Never Give Up

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to ask you a question.

Can you name a few things in your own life that may have taken you many attempts but you never gave up? I think about a violinist in an orchestra who continues to practice their parts over and over and over again until they’re perfect. No matter how much their fingers hurt they keep at it until they get it right.

Think about a baby bird in a nest that is trying to learn how to fly. Sometimes it seems like they flap their little wings so much that finally they collapse from pure exhaustion. Later on they try it once again until eventually they soar into the sky.

Think about a long-distance marathon runner who has to deal with the weather, running up steep hills and even side aches in order to finally cross the finish line.

In each of these examples, perseverance is required to finally complete the task at hand.

Perseverance is doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. It’s continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.

The Apostle Paul was a man who was filled with perseverance. Even if an entire city was in an uproar with what he was teaching, he never quit preaching the gospel of Christ to the people.

2 tim 4:14-18 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Perseverance is a key character trait when you are setting out to achieve a goal.

Perseverance is to be steadfast and persistent. Persistence is adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose with determination to achieve something.

1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul understood that whatever struggles he went through, it was not in vain, and he never gave up.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

It always seems that there will be some sort of opposition to whatever you attempt to succeed at in this life. There are obstacles that need to be overcome. Even in a sports competition the opposite team is trying to prevent you from achieving your goal of winning. No matter how much opposition that you may face, the winners are the ones who never give up.

There is going to be opposition to the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because the Bible clearly teaches us that not everybody is going to believe the truth.

I’ve always taught my boys not to get dejected when somebody is negative in their response to the gospel. What we are doing is simply passing a message to someone in the community about God’s mercy and forgiveness. If they don’t want to hear the message that’s fine, just move on to the next person. It doesn’t matter how many no’s that you might hear because God can eventually open a door and you will hear a yes.

When Andrew was a very young teenager, he and I were out in Wisconsin handing out free Bibles to the community and knocking on doors in order to meet people and tell them that there was forgiveness with God availiable through Jesus Christ.

In 2007 Andrew and I were handing out Bibles in Wisconsin when he approached a neighbors door, knocked on it, and then asked them if they’d like a Bible to learn more about God’s forgiveness in Jesus. The man yelled “NO. GET OUT OF HERE.” Andrew was very young at the time but he simply walked off the deck onto the sidewalk and went on to the next house.

The Apostle Paul continued to preach with perseverance. Sometimes people may answer a door but they’re not willing to talk to anybody that day or they have other family issues that are going on at that moment. It’s possible they might completely reject your offer of God’s truth but years down the road they might still come to Christ as their Savior.

Remember God doesn’t want anybody to perish but that all men come to repentance. One has to remember to not take it personally but to be able to shake off negative responses in the spirit and never give up.

Have you ever noticed the persistence in a little child who really wants another cookie? No matter how much a parent may oppose, they continue persistently by asking over and over again. They don’t quit!

Persistent is possessing firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition or the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people. Persistence is the ability to stick with something.

Luke 11:5-8

⁵ And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

⁶ For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

⁷ And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

⁸ I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

Importunity is persistence, especially to the point of annoyance!

Moses continued on with the work that God had called him to even despite opposition.

2 Tim 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

As I’ve told my family, whenever you drive through the countryside you’re going to end up running into a roadblock somewhere. It’s the same thing with preaching the gospel.

Don’t get discouraged and remember that whenever there is a roadblock there’s usually a detour right around the corner. Don’t give up because whatever you do for Christ’s sake is never in vain!

Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody❤

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