Monday - February 17th

Good Afternoon:

I want each of your to have this extraction from yesterday's message. I feel that each of us and a few others will need to hold on to the Word of God this week.

"Giving Up--Never An Option"
Matthew 9:20-22 Galatians 6:1-10

1. The Big Picture: In Matthew 9 a woman had been struggling with health problems for 12 years. She had tried one thing after another to get well. She had spent much money on doctors but still wasn’t any better. She kept searching for answers and went to where Jesus was healing people. She thought “if I can just touch the hem of his garment, I will be healed.” Actually this was a pagan custom, but she did it in hopes that she would be well. She did what she knew to do. Sometimes we even refuse to do that. She pressed through the crowd, determined to get to Jesus. She finally reached out just enough to touch the hem. Jesus knew she was there and he said, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.” What direction might her life have taken if she had said, “things will always be this way. I will never get any better?” But she reached out in hope and in faith that in spite of all of her past failures and disappointments--things could still change for her. And they did.

Paul said to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

As Christians--give up is never an option because Jesus is with us throughout life’s journey in spite of difficulties and problems. We need to look forward far enough to see the big picture and the overall goal we are pressing toward. Otherwise the day to day struggles get us discouraged and we are tempted to give up.

Hebrews 12:1,2 tells us to “throw off every thing that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We realize that Jesus paved the way before us and that he also experienced lots of difficulties on the way. Yet he had a firm vision of the end product in mind and He didn’t give up or check out before the time.

Don’t allow yourself to become fatigued in doing good because at the right time you will harvest a crop if you don’t give up. Don’t let the daily problems overwhelm you to the point of giving up. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.



2. Quitting Points:
Sometimes we don’t think of quitting even when things are at their toughest. Other times there are quitting points that cause us to give up and fade right off the map.

These quitting points could come in many forms. Maybe we faced embarrassment in front of our friends in the third grade and this has developed into a quitting point even to this day. People laughed at us then, and we won’t let that happen again. We just drop off the team. Maybe we played a piano solo in a recital years ago and we really messed up. The quitting point comes to us that says, “I don’t have any musical talent anyway so I won’t take any more lessons. I just can’t get it.”

Others say I can’t live a Christian life and I don’t want to be a hypocrite so I just won’t try anymore. We quit on God when we do that. Jesus did not quit on God. In Luke 22 before going to the cross He agonized but “an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”

What is your quitting point? We must learn to recognize these things and avoid letting the devil trap us in them. What things happen time after time to cause you to check out? It could be fear of failing, feeling as if you are going to look stupid in front of your friends, telling yourself you just can’t do it, being so tired out from being overwhelmed day after day, or any number of things. You don’t have to let these quitting points cause you to be defeated.

3. Standing Up On the Inside: When things look overwhelming to you, ask the Lord to give you the strength and power you need to keep on going. The disciples in the early church had many quitting points. They didn’t quit because they had been given the power of the Holy Spirit. This was a promise that Jesus had given them before He went to the cross. Without the power of the Holy Spirit they would have given up under the pressures and the persecution. They were persistent because they had their eyes fixed on Jesus and the big picture. They were empowered and equipped with the Holy Spirit.


Remember:Persistence is said to be like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when YOU get tired. You quit when the gorilla gets tired.

The woman who needed healing in Matthew persisted until she received healing. What do you need from the Lord today and you have been just on the verge of giving up? Giving up is never an option. Allow the Lord to put something inside you that will give you new strength to bounce back in spite of difficulties and discouragement. Allow His Holy Spirit to fill you with power. Use the armor of God when things try to defeat you. Ephesians 6:10 says, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

Remember the balloon man who kept being knocked over and bouncing back. His strength came from within.

As Christians that’s what the Lord helps us to do on the inside. To STAND UP.

Become strong in Christ’s grace even when your faith seems to be faltering.

1. Have your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and on the big picture rather than your day to day difficulties.
2. Know the quitting points and resist falling into these traps.
3. Be strengthened on the inside by the power of the Holy Spirit.


Blessings,
Pastor J.