I once heard a very godly gentleman say when he was in the twilight of his life, ‘It takes the same dedication at seventy years of age as it did when you were twenty.’ Do we get a pass on being committed just because we are in the fourth quarter of our lives? Do we get to ‘retire’ from living like a believer in Jesus? Just because we have some age under our belts does not mean we get a break from trusting God. We have to learn the fine art of focusing. We have to know what it means to finish our race in Jesus.

[Tweet “Have you looked at your dream while you were in the secret place of God’s Presence? (Psalm 91:1)”]

Luke 18:8 (ESV)
8 … Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

• Personalize this verse.
• Put yourself in it.
• When the Son of man comes will you have faith in Him?
• We shouldn’t read this verse from a negative perspective.
• That’s how some view it.
  • “Well you know the whole world is just going down the drain. There’s no faith anywhere –  no one’s believing God.”
• What about you dear heart? Aren’t you part of the world you’re so down on?
• There are 76 million baby boomers in America – all hitting the 4th quarter of their lives.
• Here is the question Jesus is asking – “Do any of them have faith?”
• “When the Son of man comes will he find ‘baby boomers’ (put your name in here) believing God?
• The Lord wants to find His children believing Him no matter what quarter of life they are in.
• He wants you to be strong in faith all throughout your entire time on planet earth.
• Let us elongate this thought into:
  • “Faith that is Four Quarters Long” or
  • “Fourth Quarter Faith” or how about
  • “Faith that Finishes or what about
  •  “Making The Last Ten Percent” or finally
  • “How to Go Out on Top.”
    
• Paul said the following about His fourth-quarter walk with God.

2 Tim. 4:7 (NKJV)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

• The easiest thing in the world is to start something.

Michelangelo’s Unfinished Fourth Quarter

• Did you know that Michelangelo had some unfinished fourth-quarter art?
• During the last 14 years of Michelangelo did not finish a painting.
• Did you know that during the last 22 years, he did not finish a sculpture?
• There is a museum in Florence, Italy that has in it many of his unfinished works.
• Sculptures of people who have not made it out of stone.
• What would the world have in its possession if one of it’s greatest artists had some staying power?
• What about you?
• What projects for God do you have in your life that have not made it out of stone?
• Works for God that are unfinished because you stopped believing Him?
• Holy Spirit inspired dreams which you’ve abandoned because of testing, trials, and opposition?

The Power of the Last Ten Percent

• It’s always that last ten percent that makes a man.
• We must push through and complete the vision.
• Ninety percent is good.
• One hundred percent is the real ticket.
• The story of  Olympic Marathoner John Steven Aquari illustrates the power of pushing through the last ten percent of your dream.
• The story takes place at 7 p.m. on October 20, 1968, at the Mexico City Olympics Stadium.
• It was beginning to darken and to cool down.
• The last of the Olympic marathon runners were being assisted away to first-aid stations.
• Over an hour earlier, Mamo Waldi of Ethiopia had charged across the finish line, winning the 26-mile, 385-yard race looking as strong and as vigorous as when he’d started.
• As the last few thousand spectators began preparing to leave, they heard police sirens and whistles through the gate entering the stadium.
• The attention turned to that gate.
• A sole figure, wearing the colors of Tanzania, came limping into the stadium.
• His name was John Steven Aquari.
• He was the last man to finish the marathon in 1968.
• His leg was bandaged, bloody.
• He had taken a bad fall early in the race.
• Now, it was all he could do to limp his way around the track.
• The crowd stood and applauded as he completed that last lap.
• When he finally crossed the finish line, one man dared ask the question all were wondering. “You are badly injured. Why didn’t you quit? Why didn’t you give up?”
  Aquari, with quiet dignity, said these words.

My country did not send me seven thousand miles to start this race. My country sent me to finish. – John Steven Aquari

• I am here today to tell boldly that God did not send you to start anything – He sent you to finish.
• I am talking the Habit of Faith.
• The habit of trusting God to your last breath.
• I am talking about Faith that Finishes.
• What is it that keeps you from finishing whatever it is that God has laid on your heart?
• Have you examined it?
• Have you looked at squarely in the face?
• More importantly, have you looked at it while you were in the secret place of God’s Presence dwelling in the shadow of the Almighty? (Psalm 91:1)
• Why is that we start things for God but we don’t allow the work to make it out of stone?
• Why is it that we don’t finish?
• Why is it that we shut-down during the fourth quarter of our lives?

Call to Action:

• It’s time to rise up.
• We need to know how to focus and finish.
  
• We need to know how to go out on top.

Question: What spiritual counsel would you give another believer who was struggling to execute God’s vision for their lives? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.