After a successful military career and after having been elected Prime Minister of England twice, near the end of his life he was invited back to Harrow (the preparatory school) to address the students. His coming was announced, and all the students awaited the arrival of this great orator. The day arrived and everyone waited, listening carefully so as not to miss any important thing he might say. After Sir Winston graciously acknowledged his introduction, he made his speech. He said, “Young gentlemen, never give up! Never give up! Never Give up! Never! Never! Never! Never!” And with that he sat down.
I am sure none of the students there ever forgot the sound advice they heard that day. He was sharing with them the secret of every successful man and that is, NEVER BE A QUITTER. They were hoping to hear some pearls of wisdom and they did!
Every person that ever reaches a high level of greatness did not reach that level by being a quitter.
Illus: A young man asked a professional ice skater, "How did you ever learn to skate like that?" The skater said, " I learned to skate like that because every time I fell down, I got back up!"
We have to go through life with a lot of persistence.
Illus: Here is the story of a persistent duck.
• A duck walks into a pet food shop and asks, 'Got any duck feed?'
• The shop assistant replies, 'No sir, we don't stock duck feed.'
• Next day the duck returns. 'Got any duck feed?'
• 'No sir, as I said, we don't stock duck feed.'
• The following day the duck shows up again. 'Got any duck feed?'
• 'Listen, I don't have duck feed. Never did have duck feed, never will have duck feed! And if you ask me one more time I'll nail your feet to the floor.'
• Bright and early the next morning the duck strolls into the pet food shop. 'Got any nails?' asks the duck.
• ‘No,’ says the shop assistant.
• 'Got any duck feed?'
Illus: Jonas Salk discovered the vaccine for polio. But did you know that before he found the one that did work, he had 200 other attempts?
• Someone asked him, “How did it feel to fail 200 times before you found the correct vaccine?”
• Jonas said, “I never failed 200 times in my entire life, I just discovered 200 ways how not to make a vaccine for polio.”
We live in a society of QUITTERS! That is a serious charge to make against any society, but it is not hard to prove.
We see -
I. THE PEOPLE
There was a time when people persevered through their problems, but today we see very little of that kind of perseverance. For example,
A. PEOPLE ARE GOING FROM JOB TO JOB
People used to be dedicated to their jobs and worked at that one job their entire life. Sure they had problems on these jobs, but they knew how to deal with these problems.
Men used to persevere on their jobs because...
• There were no give-away programs. A man would starve to death if he would not work.
• There was no organized labor, or unions, to protect them.
Men would persevere and stay on the same jobs until they retired.
We live in an age marked by people going from JOB TO JOB!
B. PEOPLE ARE GOING FROM MARRIAGE TO MARRIAGE
There was a time when people got married and it was taken for granted that this was a lifetime contract. They had their problems, but with God’s help, they learned how to deal with these problems. But things have definitely changed when it comes to today’s marriages.
When some couples get married they should not say, “I do,” in these modern marriage services. They should say, “Maybe,” or “Perhaps, I do.”
Not so long ago, when a couple got married, the word “divorce” was not mentioned in the home BECAUSE THIS WAS NOT AN OPTION. Today couples enter marriage not having the slightest idea about how to work out problems, and divorce seems to always be the solution.
C. PEOPLE ARE GOING FROM CHURCH TO CHURCH
There was a time when folks got saved, joined a church and went to that church the rest of their lives. You could not have pulled them out of that church with a team of wild horses. Most families stayed in the same church their entire life.
But today, a church across town can offer a free snowball and get members to leave their churches to come get the free snowball.
Today people go “church shopping” as frequently as they go car shopping. These people have no idea of what Winston Churchill meant when he said, “Never! Never! Never give up!”
One characteristic that you find in anyone that has attained success is that THEY WERE NOT QUITTERS!
One of the reasons we read so much about the apostle Paul in the New Testament was because HE WAS NOT A QUITTER! If Paul had been looking for a reason to quit, he could have found many. The apostle Paul had many excuses to throw up his hands and quit.
Look at some of the things Paul endured. We read in 2 Cor. 11:25-27, "Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a niqht and a day I have been in the deep; In iourneyings often, in perils of waters, in perils o robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren: In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunqer and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."
In Acts 20:24, Paul said, "But none of these things move me...”
It takes a lot of perseverance to be successful in anything we do, BUT ESPECIALLY IN SERVING THE LORD.
We see THE PEOPLE and -
II. THE PROBLEM
WHY IS IT THAT WE HAVE SO MANY QUITTERS? WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM?
Illus: Having all these quitters reminds me of the salesman who went to a town where almost everyone he met had the last name, “Smith.” As he was driving out of town, he was asking himself, “Where did all these Smith's come from?' Just then he looked up and saw a large manufacturing company. The big sign on the side of the building said, “Smith's Manufacturing Company.” The salesman said to himself, “That is where all those Smith’s came from; Smith's Manufacturing Company.”
But what we want to know is, “Where did all these quitters come from?” There must be a manufacturing company somewhere that is making all these quitters. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!
Let us look at TWO PLACES the attitude of quitting comes from.
A. SOME COME FROM A NATION OF QUITTERS
As already stated, America has changed. She has become a country of quitters. We see the evidence of that in the work force, marriages, and in churches. And every year this nation is producing more and more of these quitters.
Illus: How sad it is that we live in a society that has been filled with quitters. When these people grow old, they will not have anything to take any pride in, because every time hard times came, they QUIT!
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Part of the problem is prosperity. Many do not realize this, but it is a dangerous thing to live in a society that is as prosperous as ours.
WHAT IS DANGEROUS ABOUT IT? It is dangerous because we lose our SENSE OF VALUE!
Illus: People in third-world countries often have only the clothes on their backs, and there are not many clothes on their backs. In their effort to survive, they do not throw anything away. In America, and other affluent countries, people are careless and wasteful.
IT HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY IN AMERICA!
Illus: There was a time:
• When a couple would live in a house all their lives, and then sometimes their children would live there for all, or most of their lives.
• People wore clothes until they were worn out.
• When they bought a car, they drove it until it would not run any more.
• They used their appliances for years, had them repaired and used them for many more years.
Now, since we have become so affluent, many folks no longer use things until they are worn out.
People have changed. The attitude today is, “THROW IT AWAY AND GET ANOTHER ONE!”
This attitude has produced a generation of QUITTERS! Their attitude, for the most part, is...
• If I lose my job, I will get another one.
• If I lose my marriage, I will get another one.
• If I get kicked out of school, I will go to another one.
• If I get mad and leave the church, I can go to another one.
In this nation of affluence, we have lost our value system.
B. SOME COME FROM HOMES OF QUITTERS
Some people are blessed because they grew up in homes where they saw mom and dad face and survive many difficulties. Then, after fifty years of marriage, they throw big anniversary parties for these parents. Why? Because they taught them how to PERSEVERE AND NOT QUIT!
But many grew up in homes where divorce was the solution.
We see THE PEOPLE and THE PROBLEM. Now look at -
Ill. THE PERSEVERANCE
When a Christian remains faithful, it is an encouragement to other Christians.
lllus: When Colonel George Washington Goethals, the man responsible for the completion of the Panama Canal, was working on this project, he had many problems with the CLIMATE and the GEOGRAPHY.
• However, his biggest problem was the growing criticism from back home from those who predicted he'd never finish the project.
• He was asked one day by a colleague, “Aren't you going to answer these critics?” He said, “In time I will answer them!” His colleague said, “When?” He said, “When the canal is finished."
Our Lord Jesus Christ was the greatest example of perseverance. As Jesus preached, and tried to help people know God...
• Evil men would listen and find fault with His teachings.
• Evil men asked questions to try to trick Him.
• Men followed Him for the wrong reasons.
• He had false charges brought against Him.
• He was whipped and disgraced.
• He had a royal robe placed on Him so the people could mock and ridicule Him.
• He was humiliated, spat upon, and slapped in the face.
• He had to walk through the streets of Jerusalem in shame, carrying His own cross.
• He had tortuous spikes driven into His hands and feet.
• His heavenly Father turned His back on Him because He was carrying our sins.
But HE DIDN'T QUIT! One of the last things He said was, "IT IS FINISHED!"
The apostle Paul went through all kinds of difficulties, but QUITTING was not a part of his vocabulary. He said, “NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME!”
lllus: This man entered his horse in a race with 12 other horses, and his horse came in last. After the race, rather than being discouraged, he was as happy as if he had won a million dollars. In fact, he was so happy one man said, “I do not see why you are so happy. Your horse came in last.” The owner said, “I see it from a different angle. The way I see it is this; it took twelve horses to beat my horse.”
One of the reasons Paul goes down in history as one of the great men of God, is because he knew how to persevere. Perseverance is one of the key ingredients of success.
lllus: An insurance man called at an office one day and said, “I would like to see the president of your company.” The secretary buzzed the president's office and said, “An insurance man would like to see you.” The president said, “I do not have time.” So the insurance man left. For the next six days he went to the same office. Each time the secretary would buzz the president and he would say that he did not have time to see him and would send him away. However, the insurance man went back a seventh time, and the president of the company consented to see him. He went in and gave his presentation and the president bought a large policy. He thanked him and began to walk out when the president of the company stopped him and said, “You are a lucky man. I have turned six insurance men away this week.” The young man said, “Yes, I know. I am all six that you were too busy to see.”
Determined people are the ones who get the job done, not the quitters.
• Some salesmen make one call and quit.
• Some salesmen make two calls and quit.
• Some salesmen make three calls and quit.
• Some salesmen keep on persisting and these get 78% of the business.
Paul did not just preach PERSEVERANCE, he practiced it. He faced all kinds of difficulties, but he said, "...none of these things move me..."
Conclusion:
God's work needs your all, but only you can surrender your all to Him. This could be a tremendous church if all of God’s people would learn to PERSEVERE!
lllus: There is a story that goes like this, “A group of fine feathered friends got together to organize a church.”
The duck said, “We should require baptism by immersion - it's the only way.”
“No,” said the rooster, “This would make some of the good sisters mad as wet hens - I think we ought to sprinkle.”
“Well,” said the parrot, “The important thing is a good program! But what is a good program?”
The goose said, “I tell you we need a preacher who is good with young people - a preacher under 30 with at least 20 years experience in the ministry.”
So they organized a church; and as one would suspect, it was “For the Birds."
Listen, God's church needs godly people who know how to face the trials of life and say with the apostle Paul, "...none of these things move me..."
We see -
I. THE PEOPLE
II. THE PROBLEM
Ill. THE PERSEVERANCE
