The Crown Table Unleashed
The Crown Table Unleashed
The Finish Line Illusion: Why Satan Attacks Hardest When You're Almost Done
The most dangerous point in your spiritual race isn't the start or even the middle—it's when you can finally see the finish line. Just like championship runners who dig deeper when victory is in sight, believers must learn to finish with fire rather than fade with fatigue.
Drawing from powerful biblical examples, we explore how spiritual champions like Paul declared "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race" while others like Samson and Solomon faltered in their final chapters. The pattern is unmistakable: many begin with passion but lose their intensity as completion approaches. When fatigue sets in, distractions multiply, and urgency fades, we face what I call the "Finish Line Illusion"—the deceptive thought that we can coast to victory.
What if Jesus had seen Calvary in the distance and decided to slow His steps? What if He had paused in Gethsemane and said, "Close enough"? There would be no resurrection, no redemption. Instead, He pressed through excruciating pain to declare "It is finished," completing His assignment to the very last drop. The cross wasn't the place for relaxation—it was the place for total surrender.
The spiritual realm reveals an even more sobering reality. Demonic forces gather at the sidelines of your race, whispering "Relax, slow down, you've done enough." These ancient enemies know if they can get you to relax before you cross, they can disqualify your finish. While you might think slowing down is harmless, a fierce battle rages in the unseen.
To maintain your spiritual fire until completion, fix your eyes on Jesus, stay immersed in prayer and the Word, and surround yourself with encouragers who fan your flame. Remember, divine empowerment sustains when human willpower fades. Whether in ministry, marriage, or personal goals, don't just start—finish with intensity. Heaven didn't call you just to begin the race; He called you to finish it brightly, shining until the very end.
What area of your life needs renewed commitment today? Identify where you've slowed down and commit to reigniting it with prayer, focus and spiritual urgency. Your final lap matters most!
And remember…
We don’t just speak truth—we live it.
We don’t just carry fire—we steward it.
We don’t just build platforms—we establish altars.
Until next time,
Stay crowned, stay consecrated, and stay in alignment—
Because Heaven is still speaking…
And you were born to echo.
This has been another divine drop from The Crown Table Unleashed—
Where Kingdom conversations reign supreme.
Like 30 seconds. You want to blast in the language of the Spirit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, come on, come on, lift it up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, hey, you want to pray in the language of the Spirit? He will praise in unknown tongue and defies himself. Little voices. Come on, come on, 30 more seconds. How do you lift your voice for me? How do you lift your voice for me?
Speaker 3:Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. Meeting you where you are, no matter what time of the day it is. Welcome to the Crown Table Unleashed. Are you ready to be motivated, inspired and encouraged? It's time for you to get in step with the Spirit.
Speaker 4:Here is your host, jeffy Clark III, third good day. Good day, ladies and gentlemen. It is indeed wednesday, another week, guys. We have made it this far.
Speaker 4:God has allowed us to make it to this point again to be able to get to another day in the week. Hallelujah, that's enough, right there, to give god every praise that he deserves from you, because he is the most holiest of holies. Hallelujah, because he is indeed exactly what he says he is. That's a? What? Life sustainer, a provider, one who cares, uh, uh, one that has a emotion that loves us and cares for us, even when we um decide to um to not love him in the same way. Ladies and gentlemen, good evening, listen, I'm excited to uh get back into this um season seven y'all, as we are diving into completion um, like I told you guys um in the last episode, um, listen, we, I'm driving this thing home. Listen, seven, by the time you get to the end of this here season um, you are going to be well equipped to um understand what it is to be in your finish and to be able to keep going okay. So we're going to get right into this thing here on today. I'm excited, um, for what I have um for you on today and um, and let's get into it. Let's say, hey, father, we thank you, lord, in the mighty name of Jesus. God, for all that you are, god, all that you do, god, god, I ask that you bless every person, father, that's under the sound of my voice, father, right now, in the very moment. Father, god, whatever that person may need, father, whatever that desire is God, god, I ask that you begin to bless it for them. Oh, father, begin to allow that thing to grow on the inside of them. Oh God, whatever the vision, whatever the destiny is, father, that you have planned according to your will, god, your will, father, in the mighty name of Jesus, oh God, rokan dalalabo soye dalalaba shaya. All right, let's get into it, father, let's get into it. Oh, right now, guys, right now. So what I want you to do? I want you to picture a championship runner.
Speaker 4:The crowd roars, the finish line is in sight, but this is not the time to slow down. It is the time to dig deeper. Many believers, leaders and dreamers start strong, but lose their fire as their finish nears. The final lap is often the most defining moment of the race. So here's some truth for you. It's now. It's not how you finish, but finishing um well requires the same intensity, or more um, than you had at the start. So it got us in chapter five and seven.
Speaker 4:So biblical warnings uh, you were running a good race, who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth of nothing but the enemy, um samson scrimth. Um faded, not at the beginning, but when he relaxed his guard in judges um 16. Solomon's wisdom was great early on, but complacency in later years led to compromise in First Kings, chapter 11. So for our modern day reality, in projects, ministry and marriages and life goals, the last stretch often tempts us to ease, to ease up, because fatigue sets in, um, distraction, um, uh, multiply and the sense of urgency fades. Now I have another one for you here Um that I think, um, when we're not fatigued, when we're not um having distractions that are multiplying within our lives to come against us, and and um, when the and when we're not dealing with the, the fading of urgency, right, we're, we're still on, we fall into um, uh, um, this, this right here, which is, I believe, is the greatest danger, um, and and it's the, the finish line illusion is what I'm calling it on today.
Speaker 4:So, some, because sometimes the greatest danger isn't the middle of the race, it's when the finish line comes in to view, when you can see that thing. You have come around the corner and you can see the finish line. You can see the thing that says finish line. Um, there's the banner that's coming across. If you ever did a 5k, 10k race, marathon, you know they put up a big banner that's going across, the thing that you can see when you're on your way to the finish line. Um, but when that thing comes into view, you start thinking I've done enough, it's almost over, I can coast now. Spiritually, that's like Jesus at Calvary. Jesus seeing Calvary in the distance and deciding to slow his steps before the nails, the nails.
Speaker 4:Imagine if he paused in in gethsemane and said close enough, uh, there would be no, uh, resurrection and no redemption. See, this mindset is dangerous because premature comfort breeds vulnerability. Jesus, enemies often strike hardest near the end. The last scratch carries the most weight. One moment of hesitation can undo years of faithfulness. Finishing weak can distort the story. You risk ending with regret rather than reward. Here's my point. The cross is not the place to relax. It's the place to give everything left in you. Now imagine. Imagine this here for a second.
Speaker 4:A seasoned runner in the last stretch of the race. Sweat burns his eyes, lungs ache, but then there is the finish line in sight. Relief floods his mind, the crowd cheers and he thinks I can ease up, now I've made it. What he doesn't see in the unseen realm is demonic forces gather at the sidelines Whispering yes, relax, slow down, take it easy. You've done enough, just coast up. These are not random spectators. They are ancient enemies who have been chasing him the whole race. They know the rules. If they can get him to relax before he crosses, they can trip him and disqualify his finish.
Speaker 4:See, in the natural he thinks his slowing down is harmless, but in the spirit, a battle rages. The hosts of heaven lean over the balcony of eternity, shouting press, press. The last steps matter most. The Holy Spirit burns in his, in his chest, urging him do not stop before the cross. This is where the crowns are won and the destinies are sealed.
Speaker 4:See, um, he has two choices coast across the line, gasping with just enough left to finish, but with nothing left to give. Or he had of the of the spirit into the arms of the one who called him, who called him finishing not with fumes but with fire, but with fire. And the spirit says better to collapse into glory than to stroll into regret. So what's my point? The enemy doesn't have to stop you early. If he can cool your fire late, he still wins. I want to tell somebody right there. See, I got to repeat that because I felt it when I wrote it and I'm feeling it even the more now. Um, as the truth, the enemy doesn't have to stop you early. If he can cool your fire late, he uh steals, win he still. If he can blow your flame and get you to relax, he can still claim whatever victory he thinks he has.
Speaker 4:Now, in second timothy, chapter 4, verse 7 through 8, paul didn't just start the fight, he finished it. He ran until his last breath with purpose, passion and perseverance. Jesus' endurance. In John 19.30. It is finished. Jesus completed the assignment under extreme agony. He didn't coast to the cross, he pressed in until the last drop. Here's the principle on that thing. The final lap is not about comfort, it's about completion. Keep your eyes on the prize. Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 2, says Fix your eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross For the joy set before him. Vision fused endurance. Without a clear finish line of focus, a clear finish before him. Vision fused endurance. Without a clear finish line focus A clear finish line focus Intensity dies down. Stay in prayer, worship, worship and the word. Psalms 119 and 105. Maintain fellowship with encouragers who fanned your flame. Second timothy, chapter 1, verses 6 through 7.
Speaker 4:You got to be around somebody that believes in your vision. They know you as the person. But when, when you begin to speak, when you begin to say but I feel like God is doing this in my life, I feel like God wants me to do this, you got to be talking to somebody that's going to turn around and say you know what? I confirm exactly what God is about to do in your life and through your life. I am the supporter I am going to, as a matter of fact, allow me to walk with you on this here journey. When you got somebody that's down with you one ten toes down what you say I'm down, ten toes down. I'm down like both flats, with no seat belts and no stern wheel. I am in the thick of it with you when you are up and when you are down, when you come to places where you feel like, well, maybe I am afraid, you got that voice that's next to you, that person, to say you know what, don't be afraid, you got this.
Speaker 4:You are the same person that had the same energy in the beginning. You need to have that energy in the middle. As a matter of fact, when you're coming to the close of the finish line, you need to have that same exact uh um power and authority that you had in the beginning. See, a lot of times we lose that particular thing as we begin into the journey of a thing, as we get down into the grit of what we think we desire, we get into the vision, into the goal, and we get weaker, we get tired and we get frustrated right in the middle of a thing, knowing we got another 25 miles to keep running, we ain't nowhere near the finish line. And then sometimes some of us will get to a place, but we've done so good, we've ran so good, we did it so effortlessly.
Speaker 4:Pride begins to set in and we say, oh, there goes the finish line, let me begin to walk, let me begin to slow down. I can breathe a little when you, but in that moment is when you suppress the most. You suppress the most, you suppress the most. Philippians, chapter 1 and 6. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. And human willpower fades, divine empowerment sustains.
Speaker 4:See ministry, don't just when you are in ministry. Here's some application for you as it relates to ministry. Don't just plant the church. Shepherd it faithfully to health and maturity In your marriage. Don't just win their heart. Keep pursuing them until your last day together. Hallelujah to the marriage.
Speaker 4:Every time you look at your wife, you should see. You should see, uh, uh, uh, um. She should make you bubble up. You should be like the first time, as a matter of fact, I'm gonna do a thing. I haven't jumped off topic in a long time, but I got to give my wife some love right here on this podcast, here today. Baby, I'm gonna shower you on today. I'm gonna feel, make you feel love.
Speaker 4:I want to tell you I'm gonna play this here song now. This song is a um off topic song. It ain't got nothing to do, but with me, uh, uh, let my wife know how much I love her. Y'all hear me on today. So I want you guys to walk with me. As a matter of fact, it's part of our wedding playlist, um, but I want you guys to understand, um, um, that particular verse, uh, right there, when it says continue to pursue her. I mean every time. She should take your very breath away if you are in a place where she does not take your breath away. Um, that is indeed a problem. So I'm gonna play right here, man john legend nervous, uh, because man listen here when I hear this, it's exactly how I feel.
Speaker 6:You're staring at the stars. There's a hurricane in my head, but the lightning in my heart makes it worth it.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I still get nervous when you walk through the door and you look in my eyes. Yeah, it feels. Yeah, it feels like the very first time. I could fall for you forever, I'm certain, cause I still get nervous when your lips hit my lips and the fireworks fly, send the sparks through the air like the fall of July. I could fall for you forever, I'm certain, cause I still get nervous.
Speaker 6:Every time, every time we touch it, it's like paradise fell down from above and the high even too much ain't enough. No, no, Like flying in the fast lane headlights in the dark, that existential feeling when you wonder what you are Got a wild wind in my head, but the butterflies in my heart make it worth it. Yeah, I still get nervous when you walk through the door and you look in my eyes.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it feels yeah, it feels like the very first time I could fall for you forever. I just sit here and I think, man, how blessed I am, how good God is over my life to give me such a woman that I have in my life, who I love beyond words, beyond what I can describe, beyond the very English language y'all, and to know that one day, unfortunately, our time together will end here and that thing there.
Speaker 6:Every day I'm reminded.
Speaker 4:And that thing there. Every day I'm reminded Of how close we really are.
Speaker 4:To completion. I am not trying to run to that finish line, no faster than God has placed on our very life. Glory be to God. Still getting nervous? I sure do. I get nervous when my sweetheart walk in the room, I see. I get nervous, y'all, I really do. I really do. Let me get back into my teaching now. Let me get back into my teaching. Let me get back into my teaching. Let's talk about life goals. Ok, I'm still in my in the application part.
Speaker 4:Life goals don't just launch the vision. You have to walk it into legacy and personal faith. Don't just start strong in your 20s, burn brighter in your 70s. So if you are real hot for God in your 20s, you should be extra hot when you start getting to your 60s and into your 70s. For those that are weary, isaiah 40 and 31,. God promises renewed strength for those who wait On him. The fire you need For the final lap isn't, isn't yours to create, it's his to supply. I got a question for y'all and I want to know If you are coasting or are you pressing. Are you coasting or are you pressing? And declare this with me here today before we get out of here. I will run with fire until I cross the finish line. And here's some action that I need you to take identify one area where you slow down and commit this week. Commit this week to reigniting it with prayer, focus and urgency.
Speaker 4:In 1968, fun fact marathon runner John Stanford Akawar of Tanzania entered the stadium long after the race was over, injured and limping. He was asked why he didn't quit. He replied my country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me to finish the race. Here's the lesson from heaven. Heaven didn't call you just to start, which would be the day that you were born. He, he called you To finish it. He called you To finish it Brightly, shining. He called you Into the beauty, the beauty of it. That's what he called you into.
Speaker 4:And until Some of us God even has us, uh, in the spirit, I, some of us, god has us on on, we're in our race, but we're on pause because, um, we're about to come around turn four, we're about to hit turn four and we're not ready for the. We're not ready for the front scratch to come around to the finish line Because we've Slowed down too much getting into the turn, we've Slowed down too much Coming around the curve to get into the turn, and we've slowed down so much, so much, that it's dangerous. It has become dangerous for us. It has become dangerous for us.
Speaker 4:So God is having us come to a place where we need to say, hey, listen, let me get out. And Let me get out and refresh myself. Let me get out and get myself together so that I can come to a strong finish for God Not for nobody else, but for God, because Jesus came to a strong finish for you, didn't he? Jesus came to a strong finish for you, didn't he? Jesus came to a powerful finish For you. And even when Jesus was hanging on that cross, he had him a moment.
Speaker 4:He said Father, Father If you could allow this cup to pass. Here it is. He's saying listen, this is a lot. I'm up here. This is a lot, but if it be your will, I'll drink it. But, father, if it be your will, I will drink it.
Speaker 4:A lot of you are in situations and circumstances where God is saying this is my will, you're going to have to drink it in order to move on past this and and you don't want to drink it you just want to forget about it and try to move past it, try to skip over it and get to the finish line. But you have to move past this particular step first. You got to get past this hill first to get to where God is trying to take you. He cannot take you away in your current state, in your current outfit, your current situation, the way you currently look. You cannot go to the royal ball without a royal dress. It just won't fit. You cannot get into the promised land of what God has given you, still holding on to Egypt. So that's whatever your, your exodus is. You cannot continue To hold on to what you used to be and how you used to act, thinking that you're going to walk into what God has given you In this life filled with blessings, but you're still rotten on the inside. You're clothed in diamonds on the outside, but you're rotten and dead on the inside. You're bound For the hotness of hell than diamonds on the outside, but you're rotten and dead on the inside, bound for the hotness of hell. Your life is still filled with bitterness and jealousy and sin. Alcohol. You're drinking and you want what God has for you, but you've chosen other things before him and you want what God has for you, but you've chosen other things before him.
Speaker 4:Now I know that's a little deep for some, so let me bring it down to application, because a lot of times you say I'm going fast from social media. You have put social media. You're on the phone 24-7. You're constantly scrolling. God never gets any time Because you're so concerned With what's happening on Facebook, tiktok, instagram and 3X and X. Come on, come on. Now.
Speaker 4:Some of you are so career driven so want to be inside of your career. You serve mammon in a different kind of way through your job that you are stuck on LinkedIn Making sure you look good For man, but you don't take that much time to pad your resume for God. You don't say I'm going to take a few minutes and I'm going to pad my masters. A masters in grace, a doctorate in forgiveness? Come on somebody. Masters in grace, a doctorate in forgiveness? Come on somebody. Academic honors in peace and valedictory in the fruit of long suffering.
Speaker 4:We don't carry that kind of tenacity, carry that kind of of of of tenacity. I'm finna, go, but before I go, god has called you to press. God has called you into a place where this is not the time to quit, but this is the time to keep running. This is the time that well, god is, finna, give breath into me, into every place where you are weak. God is asking for you to call out upon his name, and at the sound, jesus has told you that at the name, when you call upon his name, you shall be saved.
Speaker 4:That is a promise. So, in your race and in your run, when you call on the name of the very Jesus Christ, the one that was slain on the cross will be saved. That is a promise listed in the bible. I decree and I declared, over your life, over your race, over your situation, over your circumstance, if there is nothing bigger, I knocked down every wall inside of your thought mind, inside of your thought process. Everything that you believe was bigger is problem. Everything that you believe, uh, um, was small to god, but it was actually big to him, is now amplified, that it is time for you to get your life correct for what God has passed for your particular life and, at the end of the day, if my God has no desire to give you anything else but eternal salvation and glory, he is still worthy enough to be blessed, praised and glorified and holy. He is still worthy enough to be blessed, praised and glorified and holy because he is.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to this episode of the Crown Table Unleashed with Jeffy Clark III. If you found today's episode meaningful and impactful, share it right now with your friends and family. Tune in again right here, same place, same time, and remember we're meeting you where you are, no matter what time of the day it is. Thank you.
