For Heaven’s Sake, Don't Quit!

For example, so many of the things we do, are the result of our parents instilling certain values within us as a child. For example:

• Some vote for the same political party their parents voted for. They would not think of changing political parties, because that was the political party their parents once supported.

• Some attend the same denominational churches that their parents attended. They would not think of changing denominations, because that is the way their parents believed.

Timothy was blessed to have a man like the apostle Paul to instruct him in spiritual matters.

WHAT KIND OF THINGS DID PAUL INSTILL IN HIM?

One of the things that Paul instilled in Timothy, was the tenacious spirit of never QUITTING!

Illus: Churchill was invited to come back and speak at the school he attended as a young man. The news got out about his coming, and the large crowd that had gathered could hardly wait to hear him make his speech to them. The time came, and he walked to the podium and said only two words, “NEVER QUIT” and then sat down. The large audience was surprised he only said those two words, but as time went on, they realized that perhaps this might have been one of his greatest speeches.

Something today that parents and school teachers are failing to do, is to instill in the youth of this nation that spirit of “I WILL NOT QUIT!” We are raising a society of quitters.

• They quit their jobs

• They quit their marriages

• They quit their churches

They do not have that ability that our forefathers had of sticking to commitments.

• Our forefathers stayed on the same job for decades, and after 50 or 60 years, they were given a gold watch. We do not see many of these gold watches being passed out today.

• Our forefathers stayed married 50 to 60 years, and when they had their fiftieth anniversary the children gave them a golden anniversary party.

• Our forefathers stayed in the same churches their whole lifetime.

But sad to say, today’s generation does not place a great value on ENDURANCE!

But you can tell that Paul deeply instilled this DETERMINATION in the life of young Timothy.

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?

As you read through the book of 1 Timothy, you see how Paul drilled into Timothy this tenacious spirit of not quitting, by talking to him about SOME who did quit.

He refers to these as “SOME” in 1 Timothy. Let’s look at these people he referred to as “SOME”.

• SOME turned from the Truth - TURNED BY SOME

1 Tim. 1:6 “From which SOME having SWERVED HAVE TURNED ASIDE UNTO VAIN JANGLING.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - DENIED BY SOME

1 Tim. 1:19 “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which SOME HAVING PUT AWAY CONCERNING FAITH have made shipwreck

:

• SOME turned from the Truth - DECEIVED BY SOME

1 Tim. 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, GIVING HEED TO SEDUCING SPIRITS, AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - DEPARTED BY SOME

1 Tim. 5:15 “For some are already TURNED ASIDE AFTER SATAN.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - SPURNED BY SOME

1 Tim. 6:10 “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.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - MISSED BY SOME1 Tim. 6:20-21 “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing HAVE ERRED CONCERNING THE FAITH. Grace be with thee. Amen.”

We can see in these verses how Paul was concerned about SOME who were no longer serving the Lord. He wanted Timothy to take a look at these, so that the same thing would not happen to him.

In order for us not to be QUITTERS, how must we live?

I. THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE MUST NOT DO

We must not be:

A. CARELESS IN OUR DEVOTION.

Something we all understand in the physical realm, is that we must take time each day to eat nutritious food. If we DO NOT, we will find ourselves getting weak and susceptible to every germ that crosses our path.

But the same thing applies to us spiritually. If we do not take time for Bible study and prayer on a daily basis, we are going to get weak, and we open ourselves up to every demon in hell.

Paul recognized that this is exactly what happened to Demas.

Look at 2 Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world….” Demas once served the Lord with this great servant, the Apostle Paul. But he began to take his eyes off the things of God, and began to get his eyes on the things of the world, and the Bible says, he forsook the apostle Paul, “…having loved this present world.”