“Will You Finish Well?”
THIRSTY THURSDAY 💧
WILL YOU FINISH WELL?
Three Warnings. One Sobering Lesson.
Have you ever considered that a powerful anointing, extraordinary spiritual gifts, and a successful ministry do not automatically guarantee that a person will finish well?
What happens when the gift is great, but the stewardship of that gift is neglected?
What happens when the public ministry grows, but the private life needs attention?
And what happens when we become so occupied with doing the work of God that we neglect the importance of allowing God to work in us?
Today, I want to share a sobering account from the healing revival era that raises important questions about character, money, self control, and faithfulness.
This is not about judging another minister. It is about allowing the Word of God to examine our own hearts.
THE STORY OF JACK COE: THREE AREAS THAT NEEDED CORRECTION
Jack Coe was one of the prominent healing evangelists of the 1940s and 1950s. His tent meetings attracted large crowds, and he became widely known for his bold preaching and healing ministry.
In Roberts Liardon’s God’s Generals: Jack Coe, readers can explore the life, ministry, and legacy of this controversial revival figure.
A secondary account discussing Liardon’s work reports that Kenneth E. Hagin recounted three areas in Coe’s life that needed correction. According to that account, Hagin described a warning concerning Coe’s disagreeable personality, his love of money, and his overeating.
The account says Hagin believed these matters were serious enough to warrant a warning about the direction Coe was taking.
Jack Coe died in December 1956 at the age of 38. Historical accounts identify bulbar polio as the cause of his death. We should not conclude that his death was caused by any particular sin, nor should we treat the reported warnings as proof of a divine judgment.
The value of this story for us is the opportunity to examine the principles Scripture teaches about the way we live and serve.
Historical reference: Roberts Liardon, God’s Generals: Jack Coe, published by Whitaker House. See the Google Books listing and the secondary account discussing the three warnings.
I have not verified the exact wording against the original Hagin recording or the complete text of Liardon’s book. The three warnings should therefore be understood as a reported account, not a verified direct quotation.
Let us consider what these three areas teach us.
1. MONEY: ARE WE FAITHFUL STEWARDS?
Money can be a wonderful tool in the hands of someone whose heart is committed to God’s purposes.
It can feed the hungry, provide shelter, support missionaries, educate children, care for families, and carry the Gospel to the nations.
But money can also become a test of our hearts.
The apostle Paul wrote:
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
📖 1 Timothy 6:10, KJV
Notice what Scripture says. The warning concerns the love of money, not money itself.
We must never confuse financial prosperity with spiritual maturity. Nor should we assume that someone with limited resources is less faithful than someone with great wealth.
The important question is how we handle what God entrusts to us.
Are we transparent in our financial dealings?
Are we honoring the people who support the work we do?
Are we using resources for the purposes for which they were given?
Are we seeking God’s direction, or are we allowing ambition, comparison, and personal desires to direct our decisions?
These questions apply to pastors, evangelists, ministry leaders, business owners, parents, and every believer as well as to Apostles and Propjets.
Jesus taught that faithfulness in little things matters.
📖 Luke 16:10
We may never manage a large ministry or oversee a substantial budget. But every one of us has something to steward. It may be money, time, relationships, influence, opportunities, or the trust another person has placed in us.
Faithfulness begins where we are.
The goal is not simply to acquire more. The goal is to handle what we have with integrity, generosity, wisdom, and obedience to God.
2. APPETITES: ARE WE PRACTICING SELF CONTROL?
The second area in the reported account concerns overeating.
This subject requires grace and wisdom. We should never shame people because of their weight, assume that illness is evidence of sin, or conclude that a person’s physical suffering represents God’s punishment.
Yet Scripture does teach us the importance of self control and responsible stewardship.
Paul wrote:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.”
📖 Galatians 5:22–23, KJV
The word temperance means self control.
Our appetites are part of our human experience. Food is a gift from God, and our bodies deserve care rather than condemnation.
However, any habit that consistently controls us instead of being governed wisely deserves our attention.
This principle extends beyond food. It includes the way we manage our time, our reactions, our spending, our work habits, and our other desires.
Ministers often spend years pouring themselves into other people. They travel, preach, counsel, pray, and carry burdens that may not be visible to the public.
In the process, they can neglect rest, healthy routines, family relationships, and appropriate medical care.
We must remember that caring for ourselves is not necessarily selfish. Sometimes it is part of being a faithful steward of the life God has given us.
Our bodies are not disposable. Our health matters. Our habits matter.
The apostle Paul reminds us that our bodies belong to God.
📖 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
This is not a call to perfection. It is a call to wisdom.
Are we listening when our bodies need rest?
Are we making responsible choices?
Are we willing to change habits that are harming us?
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to develop self control in every area of our lives?
The goal is not condemnation. The goal is growth.
3. CHARACTER: HOW DO WE TREAT PEOPLE?
The third area in the reported account concerns Jack Coe’s disagreeable personality and the way he treated others.
This may be the most challenging area of all.
We can have remarkable gifts and still need the Lord to work in our character.
We can preach powerfully in public and struggle with patience in private.
We can lead others while resisting correction ourselves.
We can be respected for our accomplishments and still need to learn how to treat people with greater kindness.
The apostle Paul wrote:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”
📖 1 Corinthians 13:1, KJV
The word charity in this passage means love.
Spiritual gifts are important. Faith is important. Preaching the Word is important. But none of these gives us permission to mistreat others.
How do we speak to people who disagree with us?
How do we respond when someone questions our decisions?
How do we treat people who cannot advance our careers or contribute to our success?
How do we behave when the meeting is over, the audience has gone home, and no one is watching?
When someone ask’s for mercy, do your extend it?
When it’s in your authority to do good for someone, do you put your desires above their need?
Our character is revealed in ordinary moments. It is revealed in our conversations, our relationships, our responses to correction, and the choices we make when there is nothing to gain from impressing anyone.
Jesus gave His disciples a clear standard:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
📖 John 13:35, KJV
Anointing is not an excuse for arrogance.
Leadership is not permission for cruelty.
And success should never convince us that we no longer need correction.
The more influence we have, the greater our responsibility to exercise it with humility and love.
4. FOLLOW GOD’S ASSIGNMENT, NOT SOMEONE ELSE’S
There is another important lesson to consider in the life of a minister. We must learn to distinguish between admiring another person’s ministry and attempting to reproduce it.
God does not give every person the same assignment.
One minister may be called to travel internationally. Another may be called to serve faithfully in a local congregation. One may write books, while another quietly mentors young people. One may lead thousands, while another changes the direction of a single family through years of faithful service.
All of these assignments can have eternal significance.
Comparison can become a dangerous distraction when we begin to believe that our calling is less important because it does not look like someone else’s.
We may start measuring our success by the size of our audience, the amount of money we raise, the number of invitations we receive, or the recognition others give us.
But God’s measure of faithfulness is not simply the measure of public success.
Paul wrote:
“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
📖 1 Corinthians 4:2, KJV
Faithfulness means obeying God in the assignment He has given us.
It means remaining teachable.
It means resisting the temptation to compete with other believers.
It means being willing to do what God has asked us to do, even when the work is unseen and the recognition is limited.
We can celebrate another person’s success without abandoning our own calling.
We can learn from other leaders without trying to become them.
And we can trust that the Lord knows exactly where He has placed us.
THE GIFT AND THE CHARACTER MUST GROW TOGETHER
The story associated with Jack Coe invites us to consider a question that reaches far beyond one evangelist or one generation.
Are we paying as much attention to our character as we are to our accomplishments?
It is possible to become so focused on what we are building that we neglect what is happening within us.
We can measure attendance, income, productivity, and growth. But how carefully do we measure our patience, our humility, our integrity, and our willingness to receive correction?
God is interested in the whole person.
He is interested in how we treat our families, how we manage our resources, how we respond to disappointment, and how we conduct ourselves when our plans do not unfold as expected.
It is about recognizing that growth in our spiritual lives includes the ordinary decisions we make every day.
It is about allowing the Word of God to shape our private lives as well as our public testimony.
THE GREATER LESSON: FINISH WELL
We often celebrate the beginning of a ministry.
We celebrate the first sermon, the first book, the first building, the first great meeting, or the first breakthrough.
But we should also pray about how we will finish.
May we finish with our integrity intact.
May we handle our finances with honesty.
May we practice self control.
May we care for our bodies with wisdom.
May we treat people with dignity and love.
May we remain teachable when correction comes.
May we follow God’s assignment rather than compare our lives with someone else’s.
And may we never become so occupied with the work of the Lord that we neglect our relationship with the Lord Himself.
Near the end of his life, Paul wrote:
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
📖 2 Timothy 4:7, KJV
What a testimony!
Paul did not simply speak about starting. He spoke about finishing his course and keeping the faith.
That is the kind of faithfulness we should desire.
Not merely to begin with enthusiasm, but to continue with endurance.
Not merely to exercise a gift, but to steward it responsibly.
Not merely to accomplish something visible, but to remain faithful to God through every season of life.
Our prayer should be that our love for Jesus deepens as the years pass, that our character continues to grow, and that we remain faithful to the work He has entrusted to us.
Jesus gave us this wonderful promise:
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
📖 Matthew 25:21, KJV
May those words be the desire of every believer’s heart.
💧 THIRSTY THURSDAY: TAKE TIME TO MEDITATE
Set aside a few quiet minutes with the Lord this week.
Read these Scriptures slowly. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what He wants you to learn.
📖 1 Corinthians 4:2: Am I faithful with what God has entrusted to me?
📖 Galatians 5:22–23: Where do I need to grow in self control?
📖 1 Corinthians 13:4–7: Is my treatment of others reflecting the love of Christ?
📖 2 Timothy 4:7: What will help me remain faithful to my course?
📖 Matthew 25:21: What would faithfulness look like in my life today?
Take your journal and write down one area where you sense God inviting you to grow.
Do not write to condemn yourself. Write with an open heart, trusting the Lord to lead you into greater wisdom and maturity.
Then choose one practical step you can take this week.
Perhaps it is correcting a financial habit, making time for rest, apologizing to someone, receiving advice with humility, or returning your attention to an assignment you have neglected.
Small steps of obedience matter.
🙏 A CLOSING PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
Search our hearts and show us where we need to grow.
Forgive us when ambition becomes more important than obedience, when our appetites control us, or when pride prevents us from receiving correction.
Teach us to steward our finances, our bodies, our relationships, our gifts, and our opportunities with wisdom.
Help us treat others with the love, grace, and mercy You have shown us.
Give us humility when we succeed, strength when we are challenged, and courage when You call us to change.
Keep us faithful to the assignment You have entrusted to us. Guard our hearts from comparison, greed, and pride. Teach us to value character as much as accomplishment and obedience as much as recognition.
May our private lives honor You as much as our public words.
And when our earthly course is complete, may we be able to say that we have kept the faith.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A QUESTION FOR YOU
If the Lord examined our finances, our habits, our ambitions, our private decisions, and our treatment of others today, what would He find?
This is not a question to use against another person. It is a question each of us must first ask ourselves.
May we never become so impressed with our gifts that we neglect our character, so consumed with our work that we neglect our stewardship, or so focused on our beginning that we forget the importance of finishing well.
Let us run our race with faith, steward our lives with wisdom, and keep our hearts full of love, grace, and mercy.
💧 Until next Thursday, keep drinking deeply from the living water of God’s Word.
Publishing reference
For the historical background, you can include these two links at the end of the blog:
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