Finishing Finishing

Dennis Tuuri

Outline: John 4:34; 19:30 Perseverance and Being A Finisher Part Two of Two, Sermon Notes for September 30, 2007 by Pastor Dennis R. Tuuri Review – Psalm 71 (Attached) I. The Greater David and Finishing – John 4:34; 19:30; The Victor’s Cry - “It is finished!” (“rounded out to completion” G. Campbell Morgan) Jn. 10:17; Ps. 31:1-8 with Luke 23:46; A. “I Thirst” The Redemption of the Bride Heb. 7:27; 9:12 ,26; Rom. 6:10 B. “That the Scriptures Might Be Fulfilled” No Falling Words v. 28 C. “Behold Thy Son” The Re-Creation of Community/Bride D. The Overcoming of the World and the Devil – Jn. 16:33; Gen. 3:16 E. The Revelation of the Father – Jn. 1:18 F. The New Creation – Jn, 1:1-14; 2 Cor. 5:17 Finishing and Worship II. The Anointed Ones (Christians) and Finishing - Phil. 1:6 A. You were saved to be a finisher in your home; your vocation and your church. Eph. 5:1,2, 25-30; 1 Peter. 2:23; 2 Tim. 4:7; John 4:34; 17:4 B. You have been given a “Finishing Spirit” 1. The Victor’s Proleptic Gift “He gave up His spirit” (handed over) John 16:7; 7:39 (crying out); 20:22 2. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit through: a. Isolation - Eph. 4:30; Heb. 3:10,17 b. Unthankfulness - 1 Thes. 5:16-19 c. Disobedience - Acts 7:51-53 d. Hardheartedness - Mt. 3:5 C. Characteristics of the Finisher contra The Sluggard or Slothful Prov. 26:12-16 1. The Finisher Gets His Lions Right (Courage) 2. The Finisher Sleeps Appropriately (Priorities) 3. The Finisher Fights Against Depression (Self-control) 4. The Finisher Is Teachable, Humble and Accountable (and Vice Versa!) Lay Your Head Down Easy Tonight Psalm 70/71 1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance. 1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O Lord ! 2 Let them be ashamed and confounded Who seek my life; Let them be turned back and confused Who desire my hurt. 3 Let them be turned back because of their shame, Who say, “Aha, aha!” 4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified!” 5 But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay. 1 In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. 2 Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me, and save me. 3 Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5 For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. 6 By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. 7 I have become as a wonder to many, But You are my strong refuge. 8 Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day. 9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age ; Do not forsake me when my strength fails . 10 For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, 11 Saying, “God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him .” 12 O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! 13 Let them be confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt. 14 But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. 15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. 16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God ; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. 17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded , O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. 19 Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? 20 You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21 You shall increase my greatness , And comfort me on every side. 22 Also with the lute I will praise you — And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel . 23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed. 24 My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt. How to Finish Tasks and Projects Once and for All http://organizedlife.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-finish-tasks-and-projects-once.html Tip of the Week, September 2, 2007 Take a look around your home or office. How many partially completed projects can you count? If you’re like most of us, there are at least a handful of tasks that you’ve started but haven’t finished, from doing the laundry to creating a scrapbook to writing, distributing, and following up on a report at work. Unfinished projects tend to hang over our heads, requiring more thought and causing more stress than they’re actually worth. The good news is that it’s entirely possible to get those tasks completed once and for all. Here are a few techniques to help you cross things off your To Do list and move on to other tasks. Recognize that many projects require more than one step To be sure, there are some tasks that can generally be done in one burst of effort, such as taking out the trash or calling a friend whose number you already know. Many others, though, actually require multiple steps. For example, doing laundry involves gathering the things to be washed, pre-treating stains, emptying pockets, and washing, drying, ironing, folding, and putting away your clothes. Often, the process stalls somewhere along the way, and the longer it’s at a standstill, the harder it becomes to start it again. It’s not always feasible to combine steps—washing and drying will always be two distinct tasks—but there are ways to make multi-step projects more efficient. If possible, schedule them for a time when you’ll be able to do all of the steps in sequence so your attention isn’t diverted from the overall project for long stretches. Another option is to delegate some of the steps to others. In the case of laundry, for example, you might assign different steps to different family members so that more than one person is invested in seeing the task through to completion. Even when others are involved, though, it’s best to try to finish a project during a short stretch of time. Train yourself to see and plan for these multiple steps Before you add a project to your To Do list, take the time to think about what’s actually involved in getting it done. What’s involved in shopping for groceries? Writing a list of what you need, gathering coupons (if you use them), choosing where you’ll shop, doing the actual shopping, bringing things home, and putting them away. The same holds for other tasks that might, on the surface, seem fairly straightforward, such as cooking meals, paying bills, and planning a night out; more complex projects (including many work-related tasks) generally have even more steps involved. Train yourself to start taking these steps into consideration when you put a task on your To Do list and plan when you’ll do it. If a task involves multiple complex, time-consuming steps, list those steps, not the overall task, or it will be weeks (if not months) before you can cross it off your list. Make sure you have what you need before you get started How many projects have you started but been unable to finish because you didn’t have the supplies or information you needed? The number for me is higher than I care to admit. Starting on something you’ll be logistically unable to complete increases the amount of time and effort a task will require, and also increases the chances that that project will remain uncompleted. It’s worthwhile, then, to invest the time upfront in making sure you have what you need. This includes not only supplies, but also information (data from a co-worker, phone numbers, ideas on hotels for your upcoming vacation, and so on). A bit of prep time before you begin will save you from having to stop and start again down the line. Decide how to track progress on long-term projects Of course, there will always be projects that can’t be done in one fell swoop, such as work reports, home repairs and renovations, and event planning. These projects require bits and pieces of effort over longer periods of time. As such, it’s key to have a way of tracking what you’ve done, what’s ahead, and what you need to see the project through. What you use to track this information depends on the type and complexity of the project, your working style, and whether there are other requirements you need to take into consideration. Many work projects, for example, come with certain requirements for the frequency and format of progress reports, while projects you undertake on your own probably won’t have these same guidelines. In the latter case, even a basic way of keeping various pieces of information about the project in one place can save you time and headaches. Whether you choose to track your project with a computer program, in a simple file folder, in a 3-ring binder, or with some other tool is up to you. Increase your chances of seeing projects through to completion (and getting them off your To Do list for good) by putting these steps to work. You’ll find that a bit of effort up front will mean less effort and less stress overall. Questions from “Finishing Finishing” for Young Hearers 1. A finisher ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ his tasks. 2. David wanted to be a finisher by following God when he got ___ ___ ___. 3. Jesus’ food was to do his job and to ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ his work. 4. Just as he was ___ ___ ___ ___ ___, Jesus said “It is finished.” 5. Jesus finished his ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ on the cross. 6. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ is nothing without this at its heart. 7. To ___ ___ ___ ___ worship is the most important thing for parents to teach their children. 8. Christians, like Jesus, are to be ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 9. Jesus gave us His finishing ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 10. We should be ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ to the Holy Spirit. 11. This meanss being ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 12. This means normally being with ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 13. This also means ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 14. The ___ ___ ___ ___ man doesn’t finish things. 15. The sluggard gets his ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ mixed up. 16. The Finisher is ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 17. The Finisher gets his ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ right. 18. The Finisher doesn’t obey his ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 19. Which is more hopeless, a fool or the man who doesn’t finish his work?