John Bevere - One Aspect of Living Well Is Finishing Well
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Okay, you just got through with chapter 18, and we’re going to talk about this. I love the subject of longevity. I want to finish well; I don’t just want to start well; I want to finish well. As a matter of fact, you know I have a ministry goal. You know what my number one ministry goal is? This is it: I want to be more in love with Jesus—truly, authentically in love with Jesus—the day I leave this earth than on the day I started in ministry. I want to have a greater holy fear of God in my heart the day I leave this earth than on the day I started ministry, because you know what? I’ve seen too many people not finish well.
I tell the story of when I was in Malaysia, and the power and presence of God came into that auditorium. Oh my goodness, it was such an awesome presence of God; the authority—oh, it was mind-blowing. I remember thinking, «John Bevere, you say one wrong word, you make one wrong move, you’re dead.» Would that have happened? It did happen with Ananias and Sapphira in that atmosphere. I don’t know if it would have happened with me, but I knew irreverence was not to be tolerated. I remember it hit everybody in that auditorium, and it lasted about five minutes; it was one of those encounters that changes you forever. I remember when we were walking out, this couple from India—Bible school students from that Bible school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—looked at each other, and she finally said, «I feel so clean inside.» I said, «Man, that identifies it! That’s what I felt in Brazil; that’s what I felt in North Carolina; that’s what I feel now—I feel so clean!»
Well, I remember I went back to the hotel, fell asleep, and the next morning, I was going to play basketball with the guys in Malaysia. As I was putting on my basketball shorts, I heard the Holy Spirit say, «Son, read Psalm 19.» I thought, okay. When Moses saw the fire, he turned aside; he didn’t say, «I’ll wait.» He turned aside, and I’ve learned when God speaks, act immediately.
So I opened up Psalm 19 and started reading; it didn’t make much sense to me, but I got to the ninth verse, and it said, «The fear of the Lord is clean,» and I went, «Oh wow, there it is!» But then the statement was made, «It endures forever.» That was when the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, «Lucifer beheld my glory and led worship right before my throne; he didn’t fear me—he didn’t endure forever. A third of the angels surrounded my throne; they beheld my glory—they didn’t fear me; they didn’t endure forever. Adam and Eve walked in the presence of my glory; they beheld me; they didn’t fear me—they didn’t endure forever.» Then I thought about all the pastors that started ministry on fire; they didn’t fear God, and their ministries didn’t last forever.
So what does the fear of the Lord do for us? It creates longevity and endurance. We have so many people asking the question today: why are so many leaders falling? Why are so many believers falling? I believe it’s a lack of holy fear. I believe when you embrace the fear of God, it gives you the stamina to finish well. Living well means nothing unless we finish well because Jesus continually says, «He who endures to the end, he who endures to the end, he who endures to the end.» We want to finish well, and the fear of the Lord gives us that ability to do just that.