Finish What You Started

As we stand just days away from a new year, this message confronts us with a piercing question: how many of our New Year's resolutions actually made it past February? Drawing from 2 Corinthians 8:10-11, we're challenged to examine the gap between our intentions and our follow-through. The Corinthian church had enthusiastically promised to collect funds for the suffering believers in Jerusalem, yet a year later, their good intentions remained unfulfilled. This ancient pattern mirrors our modern struggle with unfinished dreams, abandoned goals, and forsaken callings. The message unpacks four powerful keys to Paul's success: he contended for what he believed, expended all his energy, defended what he started, and remained laser-focused on his heavenly vision. Paul's litany of sufferings—beaten five times with thirty-nine lashes, shipwrecked three times, stoned, imprisoned—reveals a staggering truth: success isn't about one heroic moment but countless daily disciplines. The Kenyan runner's story illuminates this beautifully—when we shift our focus from our pain to the people we'll bless, we find the strength to push through. We're reminded that our gifts aren't for self-gratification but for others' benefit, and that true success is measured not by what we accomplish for ourselves but by how we help others succeed. The call is clear: resurrect those dreams lying in the trash heap of life, stop being disobedient to the heavenly vision, and finish what we started.