“Keep On Keeping On”
by Joe Mack Cherry
I. Intro
A. You can’t always get what you want
1. There are times in our lives that things don’t go as we want.
2. Sometimes it truly is someone else’s fault.
a. Some set out to assassinate the character of others.
b. Cancel culture
c. Others are jealous and will plant false truths in attempts to stop someone from advancing.
3. Sometimes it’s our fault.
a. We can do things to sabotage our own advancement.
b. How often have we all prayed, “God get me out of this one, and I’ll do better.”
c. God may not allow a thing to happen because He knows it could deter us from remaining in His grace. It
could cause us to turn away completely.
4. Sometimes we receive a delayed yes that is a part of the process of a faith building process.
5. We are called to persevere. Jas. 1:1-4
B. The scenarios above.
1. In life, it is not if these situations arise it is when they arise.
2. God has His reason for things playing out the way they do. This is not easy at all!
3. Some time we have to trust Him.
a. I look back at my early days and remember when I just knew I was going to be a successful artist and
songwriter.
b. I remember the feeling of being crushed when I realized it wasn’t going to happen.
c. We all have had to deal with “No”, in our lives in a scenario such as I laid out concerning me.
II. Three Biblical Examples
A. Tonight, I want to talk about three of my biblical heroes.
1. Moses, David, and Justus
2. Right off you might say, “Well, duh, Moses and David were everybody’s hero.
3. Then you might say Justus, who’s Justus. We’ll get to that in a few minutes.
4. Personal heroes become heroes for different reasons.
a. You and I both could consider Superman a hero.
b. You may think he’s a hero because of his superpowers.
c. I may think he is a hero because he always saves Lois and Jimmy.
B. I struggle
1. Don’t we all.
2. It’s not, if we struggle, it’s when we struggle.
3. So many times, I’ve wanted to give up on myself.
4. People would say, “You have two options, get up or stay where you are.”
a. Staying where I was wasn’t much of a choice in my eyes.
b. Some might argue semantics in re to the statement.
c. Getting up was the only option.
5. The same goes with God.
a. We hold on to God with all our being.
b. We give up and waste away.
c. Again, two options, but only one real choice.
6. These three had encounters with God that could have caused them to give up on Him but they didn’t. This is
why they are heroes to me!
C. Moses endured many trials while leading the Children of Israel through the desert.
1 First encounter – the Red Sea – Ex. 14 “Moses, did you bring us out here to die?”
2 A little later in chapter 16, “Moses, did you bring us out here to starve to death?”
3 Chapter 17, “Moses, did you bring us out here to thirst to death?”
4 From the time he came back to Egypt with Aaron and Miriam until the day he died, Moses lived his life doing
God’s will. It wasn’t easy.
a. Many times, his own people turned against him.
b. Num. 16 tells us that Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 opposed Moses. That did not work out well for them
either.
5 According to Jewish history, it was in the 39th year of the Wilderness Wandering that again the Children of
Israel complained of no water.
a. Num. 20:1-12 – God told Moses to speak to the rock but he became angry and struck it.
b. God tells he and Aaron that they will not lead the Israelites into the Promise Land.
6 One mistake and everything he worked to achieve went out the door.
7 He continued to lead for another year as he always had.
8 He shows up again Mt. 17 with Elijah at the Transfiguration of Christ.
D. David
1. I would say King David would be one of the most recognizable characters in the bible.
2. Acts 13:22 – God calls David a man after His own heart.
3. David definitely had his ups and downs with God.
a. Often wondered if David wondered why he was actually king but Saul still held the title for eight years and, on
several occasions, tried to kill him.
b. Killing of Uriah, Bathsheba and the death of their first son.
c. The day he counted his men. 70,000 Israelites died because of his sin. This had to plague David in the
aftermath.
d. I Chr. 17 – David expresses the desire to build God a house (temple).
e. I Chr. 22:8 – David tells Solomon that he (David) could not build the temple because he was a man of war
and had killed many people before God.
f. I Chr. 22:14 – We find that even though David was not allowed to build the temple, he had gathered materials
and secured workers for Solomon to start construction.
4. It probably saddened David that he could not build the temple because he did have an undying love for God.
5. He did not stop serving and loving God because he wasn’t allowed to actually build it.
E. Justus
1. On first thought, you’re thinking who’s Justus?
2. His full name is Joseph Barsabbas Justus and he is only mentioned once in scripture. That is in Acts 1:22
3. It is believed he and Matthias were part of the 70 that was sent out by Jesus in Luke 10:1-17 and the 120
disciples that gathered after Jesus’ ascension. (4th century historian Eusebius of Caesarea)
4. In Acts 1:21-22, we find the qualifications of becoming an apostle.
a. One must have been present at John’s baptism of Jesus.
b. One must be present at His ascension.
c. Acts 1:24-25 tells us that one must be chosen by Jesus Christ; thus, the lot was cast.
5. It is evident that Justus truly loved and followed Jesus closely.
6. To be “nominated” was a great honor.
7. Imagine joy and anticipation he had waiting to find out.
8. Hyperbolically speaking, by the roll of the dice he was not chosen.
9. If it were me, my heart would have been broken. I don’t know that I could have continued. I would have
probably spent the rest of my life wondering why.
10. History tells the rest of the story this way.
a. It is believed that when the Christians scattered to escape persecution, he was among them.
b. Another historian Papias records that he drank poison and did not die. The report came to him directly from
the Apostle Philips’s daughter. Ref. Mk 16:18
c. Josephus records of the Jewish War of 68 AD, in Justus’ hometown of Beth Gurbin and an adjacent village
Vespasian killed 10,000 Jews of which it is recorded that Justus died.
III. Closing
A. God is always there to pick us up.
1. We should never consider quitting as an option when we have Christ on our side.
2. He went all the way to the cross for us.
3. If God says, “no “, He has a good reason.
4. Gal. 6:9 – “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if we do not
give up.
B. Study
1. We all need encouragement.
2. It can be found in scripture if we search.
3. This also helps others who become down due to circumstances.
