• 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?'
Let me ask you a question…looking back over your life has there been a time that you wish you had not quit something?
For example…
• Do you wish you had finished high school, college or graduate school?
• Do you wish you had not sold a car that you wish you still had.
• Do you wish you had kept on taking piano, voice lessons?
• Do you wish you had stayed with your previous job?
• Do you wish you had not quit on your marriage?
There are many situations in life we can look back and wish we had not made certain decision.
We now think if I had only endured I would be much better off today.
• Endurance is the key that keeps us from giving up and letting go.
• Endurance is "the power of going on in spite of difficulties."
When it comes to endurance there are popular colloquial phrases describe as:
• "Keep on keeping on."
• "Hang in there."
• "Put up with it."
• "Stick-to-itiveness."
• "Don't quit."
Synonyms to endurance is…
• Determination,
• Perseverance,
• Tenacity,
• Stamina,
• And backbone.
To have a good definition of ENDURANCE rather than just giving you definitions and synomyms let me tell you a true story.
Illus: On a consumer flight from Portland, Maine, to Boston in the summer of 1987, the pilot heard an unusual noise near the rear of the aircraft.
Henry Dempsey turned the controls over to his copilot and went back to check it out. As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket, and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door. He quickly discovered the source of the mysterious noise. The rear door had not been properly latched prior to takeoff and it fell open. Dempsey was instantly sucked out of the jet.
The copilot, seeing the red light on the control panel that indicated an open door, radioed the nearest airport requesting permission to make an emergency landing. He reported that Dempsey had fallen out of the plane and requested that a helicopter be dispatched to search the area of the ocean.
After the plane had landed, the ground crew found Henry Dempsey holding onto the outdoor ladder of the aircraft. Somehow, he had caught the ladder and managed to hold on for 10 minutes as the plane flew 200mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet. What more, as the plane made its approach and landed, Dempsey had kept his head from hitting the runway, a mere 12 inches away.
According to news reports, it took several airport personnel more than a few minutes to pry the pilot's fingers from the ladder. (Rick Ezell)
That is a picture of endurance - the ability to hang on when it would have been easier to let go.
Let me share some things with you that will help you as a child of God to ENDURE.
Let’s look at these things from this perspective…
I.THERE ARE THINGS IN LIFE WE CAN NOT CHANGE.
(Humor) Ladies I am not necessarily talking about your husband!!!
THERE ARE SOME THINGS IN LIFE WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER CHANGE. NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!
We have to ENDURE!!!
Sometimes, in one way or another, we fall out of unlocked airplane doors AND WE HAVE TO HANG ON!
It helps to remember that God is in charge of our lives. His desire is for us to grow in the likeness of his Son. So whatever enters our life is for the development of our character.
Be it good, bad, or indifferent our response to life's irritants forms our character.
Illus: The oyster and its pearl provide a beautiful picture of a positive response to life's irritants.
The pearl is a product of pain. An alien substance - a grain of sand - slips inside the oyster's shell. On the entry of that foreign irritant, all the resources within the tiny, sensitive oyster rush to the spot and begin to release healing fluids that otherwise would have remained dormant. Eventually the irritant is covered and the wound healed by a pearl.
No other gem has so fascinating a history. It is the symbol of stress. The precious, tiny jewel is conceived through irritation, born of adversity.
Had there been no wounding, no irritating interruption, there could have been no pearl. (Rick Ezell)
God has a purpose in those things in our life that DEVELOP US!!!
Illus: In the world of weight lifting they have a saying when you exercise and you are lifting all you can lift with all the effort you have they say to the lifter to encourage him or her not to quit, NO PAIN, NO GAIN!!!
• The Bible teaches strong faith can move mountains but there are mountains in our life that faith can not move.
• There are giants in our life that strong faith can not destroy.
When these things come into our life all we can do is HANG IN THERE!
These are things that we did not put there but God Himself put them there. And He wants to use those things to make us strong spiritually.
James 1:2-4 we read, My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Illus: J. B. Phillips parpharse these verses this way "When all kinds of trials crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they have come to test your endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men (and women) of mature character."
There is not anything in our lives that God does not allow. But the reason those things are in our lives is because God is desiring us to grow spiritually.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger tells about a man who had tall brothers. And he always wanted to be tall like them. He said one time, “Dog gone it!!! I am the runt in the family.”
He wanted so bad to be tall like his brothers but there is not one thing he could do about it.
Listen, some people wish they were tall and some wish they were short but there is not one things we can do about our height.
Illus: All the time we see people that are glamous on television and we wish we could look like them. But all the wishing in the world is not going to make that happen.
Whatever you are there are some things you can not change and you might as well accept them because God has a purpose in the way He created you.
We have to accept God’s will because some things are unchangeable!
WHAT ARE WE TO DO…
II. WE ARE TO ADJUST TO THE SITUATION
Illus: A young naval captain was commanding his first battleship. As it pierced through the ocean one night, a light was spotted in the darkened distance coming directly toward the ship.
• The commander radioed, "Alter your course ten degrees."
• The reply came shortly, "No, you alter your course ten degrees."
• The undaunted captain angrily sent a message, "Alter your course, I am a destroyer."
• The reply came quickly, "Alter your course, I am a lighthouse."
(Rick Ezell)
Sometimes we have to adjust our way to fit the realities of life.
There are some folks that are absolutely miserable because they refuse to accept the UNCHANGEABLE and they are not willing to make the ADJUSTMENTS IN LIFE.
However, the person with endurance acknowledges the road blocks and makes adjustments.
Illus: Thomas Carlyle noted, "The block of granite that was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping stone in the pathway of the strong."
When the obstacles of life are stacked before us we can adjust by:
• By going around it,
• Climbing over it,
• Or tunneling under it.
But we have to accept the inevitable!!!
Are there circumstances or people in your life that you have been trying to change the un-changeable.
Illus: This is why many marriages do not make it!!! They are never willing to adjust to the situation and finally they head for the divorce court.
Why not transform these obstacles into growth blocks by learning to adjust?
Don't think of adjustment as failure, think of it as an education.
I.THERE ARE THINGS IN LIFE WE CAN NOT CHANGE.
II. THERE ARE THINGS IN LIFE WE HAVE TO ADJUST TO THE OBSTACLE BEFORE US.
But there is something else we must do…
III. THERE ARE THINGS WE HAVE TO ENDURE IN LIFE.
You can get upset and destroy your health and happiness. BUT YOU CAN ALSO ASK GOD TO HELP YOU ENDURE.
Illus: Don’t’ be like Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister of England, said "I am extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end."
The only way to learn patience is by taking life as it comes.
Sometime it is holding on, gritting your teeth, clinching your jaw, riding out the storm.
Endurance is that ability that keeps us from blowing up when events don't go our way or losing our cool when others upset us.
Believers are exhorted to display endurance.
James 5:7-8 we read Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
In these two verses James shows us how the farmer demonstrates endurance.
Illus: A farmer cannot make it rain or give growth. He must patiently rely on God.
God and the farmers are share croppers. The farmer plants the seed and then he waits on God to do his part.
In this life all kinds of things come into our life and we have to wait for God to work these things out in our life.
We must not only learn to abide in Christ but also abide with Christ under the struggles and the pressures of life.
I.THERE ARE THINGS IN LIFE WE CAN NOT CHANGE.
II. WE HAVE TO ADJUST TO THE OBSTACLES IN LIFE
III. WE HAVE TO ENDURE WITH PATIENCE THINGS IN LIFE
IV. WE HAVE TO AFFIRM GOD’S PRESENCE IN OUR LIFE
As we progress toward a life that resembles Jesus Christ we must always remember that God is with us.
• Sometimes God is a fellow-worker challenging us to excellence.
• Sometimes God is a spectator encouraging us to keep on keeping on.
Whatever situation we find ourselves, God is always with us.
Paul said Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Notice, he did not say somethings, but through Christ he could do all things…SO CAN WE!
Illus: When you run in a tract they teach you about the SECOND WIND.
WHAT IS THE SECOND WIND?
Second wind is a phenomenon in distance running, such as marathons or road running whereby an athlete who is out of breath and too tired to continue suddenly finds the strength to press on at top performance with less exertion.
This is what God does when we feel like we can go no further.
Look at Isaiah 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
The secret is found in affirming God's presence.
The world says give up, drop out, run away. God says to just trust me, lean on me, and fall into my arms.
God is with you to support and sustain you. To give you hope, courage, and strength to continue. He has promised, "'My presence will go [with you], and I will give you rest'" (Ex. 33:14).
Conclusion:
During the pandemic in this country the devil used it to do a lot of damage to christians.
1) Some have QUIT attending church
2) Some have QUIT tithing to support God’s Work.
3) Some have QUIT praying.
4) Some have QUIT reading their Bible.
5) Some have QUIT attending Sunday School.
6) Some have QUIT witnessing for the Lord.
Remember, you are only a failure if you QUIT!!!
Illus: Ignance Paderewski, (Ig-nece Pad-ere-ski) Poland's famous concert pianist and prime minister, was giving a series of concerts.
A mother, wishing to encourage her young son's progress at the piano, bought tickets for a performance. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage.
The mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy eventually made his way through a door marked, "No Admittance." When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the great piano master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, "Don't quit - keep playing." Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon, his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, playing running notes the child could not play.
Together, the old master and young novice held the crowd mesmerized.
In our quest for contagious character, unpolished and incomplete though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and again, "Don't quit - keep playing." (Rick Ezell)
The Lord is with us each day and he is saying DON’T QUIT I WILL TAKE CARE OF THE THINGS YOU CAN NOT DO!
What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy.
Remember God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called.
And, he'll always be there to love and to guide you to great things.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Illus: It has been said, "Life is like reading a book. It begins to make sense when we near the end."
Endurance maintains the stamina needed to see the end and embrace the prize. So fight another round, rise another time, and, above all, like Henry Dempsey, don't let go!!!
