Encouraged To Advance Series

INTRODUCTION

• Today I want to speak on this subject of discouragement.

• I entitled it “Encouraged to Advance.”

• Discouragement can be something that stop people from moving and achieving what they’re supposedly able to achieve.

• Discouragement can cause a great athlete to give up even before he reach the point of his best potential.

• Discouragement can cause people to be blinded with hopelessness and thinking it is a waste of time.

• Discouragement can come in many forms, maybe fear, or from rejection, or even the feeling of no one understands you, you feel lonely.

• Especially given the effort you put in, the time you put in, the strength you put it, the brain juice you invested in,

• and yet, the result is not what you expected.

• It can be discouraging.

Oxford Dictionary: Discouraged - having lost confidence or enthusiasm; disheartened.

• All of us go through a season of discouragement in our lives.

• No one can be immune to discouragement in life.

• How do I know everyone experienced or will experienced discouragement?

• Some of you shared your discouragement with me, and I experienced it before too.

• Great man like Elijah was discouraged to the extend of giving up because of the opposition, “Jezebel”

• After great spiritual victories over the prophets of Baal

• Elijah ran for his life, far away from the threats of Jezebel.

• And there in the desert, he sat down and prayed, feeling defeated and worn.

1 Kings 19:4 (NKJV)

4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"

That was really a great discouragement and fear that he experienced.

Moses was discouraged when the people of Israel he led sin against God.

Exodus 32:31-32 (NKJV)

31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."

• Also known as the weeping prophet, Jeremiah suffered from constant rejection by the people he loved and reached out to.

• He lived alone, he ministered alone, he was poor, ridiculed, and rejected by his people.

• In the midst of it, he displayed great spiritual faith and strength, and yet we also see his honesty as he wrestled with despair and a great sense of failure:

Jeremiah 20:14a & 18

“Cursed be the day I was born…why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?”

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• If you still remember Acts 16 and 17,

• you will see how difficult it was for Paul even in that few pages words.

• It may look like a short story, but it was long and tough experience for Paul.

• Paul, one of the New Testament heroes many churches often preach about.

• He too has his moment of discouragement because of all the great challenges he faces.

• To put ourselves in Paul’s shoe, it was not easy at all.

• When we read it and hear it as a story, it may appear lighter compared to truly experience what he went through.

• But it was like really really tough.

• Apart from the physical hurt, he still faces emotional hurt by the mocking and intimidation by the Athenians.

• Today we want to look at Acts 18, but before we read Acts 18,

• let’s read the last few verses from Acts 17 to have a clearer picture.

Acts 17:32-34 (HCSB)

32 When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him. But others said, “We will hear you about this again.” 33 So Paul went out from their presence. 34 However, some men joined him and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Acts 18:1 (HCSB)

1 After this, he left from Athens and went to Corinth,

• Most of the cities before this,

• he left due to persecution.

• But when he left Athens,

• it seems like he left it on his own will.

Let’s look at Paul’s experience in Athens, before Corinth.

It appears to be a:

A. LONELY SERVICE

• Last time he was with Barnabas, after that, they separated.

• Often time he was with Silas and then Timothy, but when he went to Athens, Silas and Timothy stayed back at Berea.

Acts 17:14 (HCSB)

14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go to the sea, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there.