Preached at Point Assembly
by Pastor Louis Bartet
Why Paul Never Gave Up
or
Four Reasons For Going On!
Galatians 6:9¡XAnd let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (KJV)
Galatians 6:9¡XAnd let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. (AMP)
2 Corinthians 4 (TLB) - 1It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling his Good News to others, and so we never give up. 2We do not try to trick people into believing¡Xwe are not interested in fooling anyone. We never try to get anyone to believe that the Bible teaches what it doesn¡¦t. All such shameful methods we forego. We stand in the presence of God as we speak and so we tell the truth, as all who know us will agree. 3If the Good News we preach is hidden to anyone, it is hidden from the one who is on the road to eternal death. 4Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him blind, unable to see the glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him or to understand the amazing message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God. 5We don¡¦t go around preaching about ourselves but about Christ Jesus as Lord. All we say of ourselves is that we are your slaves because of what Jesus has done for us. 6For God, who said, ¡§Let there be light in the darkness,¡¨ has made us understand that it is the brightness of his glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 7But this precious treasure¡Xthis light and power that now shine within us¡Xis held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own. 8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don¡¦t know why things happen as they do, but we don¡¦t give up and quit. 9We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. 10These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within who keeps us safe.ƒn11Yes, we live under constant danger to our lives because we serve the Lord, but this gives us constant opportunities to show forth the power of Jesus Christ within our dying bodies. 12Because of our preaching we face death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you. 13We boldly say what we believe, trusting God to care for us, just as the psalm writer did when he said, ¡§I believe and therefore I speak.¡¨ 14We know that the same God who brought the Lord Jesus back from death will also bring us back to life again with Jesus and present us to him along with you. 15These sufferings of ours are for your benefit. And the more of you who are won to Christ, the more there are to thank him for his great kindness, and the more the Lord is glorified. 16That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day. 17These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won¡¦t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God¡¦s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! 18So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.
More than one person has been tempted to give up in the midst of difficult times.
ILLUS: A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?
ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN? Paul was a coffee bean!
Paul gives us a keyhole view of the boiling water, the adversities and hardships he went through as a Christian and minister of the gospel.
"...We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it. We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us, for he can even raise the dead" (2Cor. 1:8, 9).
In Chapter Four, Paul tells us that he had to deal with Satanic opposition.
"Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made men blind, unable to see the glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him, or to understand the amazing message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God" (4:4).
In addition to this Paul had to contend with adverse circumstances.
"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going¡K.We are under the constant danger of death to our lives because we serve the Lord¡K" (4:8,9,10, 11).
Paul’s Adversities
„X Pressed. Under pressure from every side, but not compressed or crushed in spirit.
„X Perplexed. We don’t know the answer to why and what, but we refuse to give up and quit.
„X Persecuted. We are chased by many adversaries and adversities, but God is with us.
„X Prostrated. We’ve been thrown down more than once, but we remain unbroken.
Any one of these circumstances would be enough for most people to give up and quit, but not Paul. His resounding response to problems and opposition was "WE NEVER GIVE UP...WE NEVER QUIT."
ILLUS: THE STUFF!
"A little brown cork fell in the path of a whale,
Who lashed it down with his angry tail.
But in spite of its blows it quickly arose,
And floated serenely before his nose.
Said the cork to the whale:
You may flap and sputter and frown,
But you never never can keep me down;
For I’m made of the stuff
That is buoyant enough
To float instead of to drown."
TRANS: What is "the stuff" that makes us buoyant enough to float instead of to drown? What kept PAUL going? What enabled him to keep going when others gave up and quit?
I. THE CALL
"It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work [of telling his Good News to others, and so we never give up" (4:1). Our response isn’t to the circumstances, but to The Call. Never ask if you’re being effective. Rather ask am I being faithful. As long as effectiveness is the ultimate standard by which we judge our actions, we will act only toward ends we are sure we can achieve. Just because something is impossible doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.
ILLUS: DON’T QUIT
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you mut--but don’t you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow
You might succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and falters man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup
And he learned too late, when night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint to the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit.
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit!
TRANS: The Call motivates us to neve give up, but so does The Cause.
II. THE CAUSE
"Because of our preaching we face death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you. These sufferings of ours are for your benefit. And the more of you who are won to Christ, the more there are to thank him for his great kindness, and the more the Lord is glorified. That is why we never give up." (4:12, 15, 16). Paul was not in the ministry for himself, but to fulfill the call of God on His life. He went bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, know that bounds and afflictions awaited him there. Paul stayed true to the cause and by so doing¡K
A. OTHERS RECEIVED THE GIFT OF LIFE ¡V He faced death that others might know life.
B. THE GLORY OF THE LORD - More believers means that there are more people to glorify Him.
Illus: A true leader is committed to the cause, and does not become the cause. Staying personally dedicated to the cause can become extremely difficult, particularly if the cause succeeds. A subtle change in thinking can overtake the leader of a successful ministry. He or she begins "needing" certain things to carry on the ministry--things that were not needed earlier.
I admire Mother Teresa, who decided after winning the Nobel Prize that she would not go to accept any more recognition because it interfered with her work. She knew she was not in the business of accepting prizes; she was in the business of serving the poor of Calcutta. She maintained her dedication to the cause by refusing unrelated honors.
Citation: Fred Smith, Learning To Lead. (Christianity Today, 1986), p. 29.
Don¡¦t come off the wall! Don¡¦t get distracted from the purpose God has called you to fulfill. Stay true to the cause!
III. THE COMPANIONSHIP
"God never abandons us" (4:9). God is with us.
ILLUS: Carl Conner tells of a heavy winter storm that hit North Carolina. He wrote: Following a wet, six-inch snowfall, it was interesting to see the effect along Interstate 40. Next to the highway stood several large groves of tall pine trees. The branches were bowed down with the heavy snow--so low that branches from one tree were often leaning against the trunk or branches of another.
Where trees stood alone, however, the effect of the heavy snow was different. The branches had become heavier and heavier, and since there were no other trees to lean against, the branches snapped. They lay on the ground, dark and alone in the cold snow.
When the storms of life hit, we need to be standing close to other Christians and even closer to God. The closer we stand, the more we will be able withstand.
Citation: Carl G. Conner, Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 4.
A. NOW - There is no reason to fear. "Fear not, for I am with thee."
ILLUS: Writer Kenneth Wilson tells of growing up in Pittsburgh:
That house in which we lived on the side of one of Pittsburgh’s hills was three stories high in the front and four in the back. The bottom layer was the cellar and the top was what we called the third floor, really a finished attic, the ceiling of which was cut into shadowed geometric shapes by dormer windows. Up there were two bedrooms, a hallway, and a mysterious storage room for trunks that always smelled of mothballs and history. Our family slept there, because the second floor was usually rented out for a tenant to help pay the rent.
Kenneth remembers that, being the youngest, he had to go to bed first, braving that floor of dark bedrooms. It felt like a long way up the steps, especially because they did not have electricity above the second floor, and a gas light had to be turned on, then turned off once the boy was settled.
That bed in that room on the third floor seemed to be at the end of the earth, remote from human habitation, close to unexplained noises and dark secrets. At my urging, my father would try to stop the windows from rattling, wedging wooden matchsticks into the cracks. But they always rattled in spite of his efforts. Sometimes he would read me a story, but inevitably the time would come when he would turn out the light and shut the door, and I would hear his steps on the stairs, growing fainter and fainter. Then all would be quiet, except for the rattling windows and my cowering imagination.
Once, I remember, my father said, "Would you rather I leave the light on and go downstairs, or turn the light out and stay with you for awhile?" . . . [I chose] presence with darkness, over absence with light.
B. FUTURE - "the same God who brought the Lord Jesus back from death will also bring us back to life again with Jesus" (4:14).
IV. THE CONSOLATION
"These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever" (4:16, 17-18). In light of eternity and the glory to come, the sufferings of this present life are nothing when compared to that which is to come. ...they do it for a corruptible crown, we for an incorruptible crown.
A. TINY ¡V They are insignificant in light of the joys to come.
B. TEMPORARY - They only last for a short time.
CONCLUSION
ILLUS: In the midst of World War II, Oxford University asked then Prime Minister Churchill to address its commencement exercises. Dressed in his finest suit, he arrived at the auditorium where the service was to be held with his usual props, a cigar, a cane and a top hat. As Churchill approached the podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. Standing there looking very dignified, he settled the crowd down and asked them to be seated. Standing confidently before this crowd of great admirers, he removed his cigar and placed his top hat on the podium. Then Churchill gazed at his waiting audience that included some of the most noted scholars in the world. With an authoritative tone in his voice he began with three words: ¡§Never give up!¡¨ Several seconds passed without him saying another word. Finally he repeated those same three words again, ¡§Never give up!¡¨ There was a deafening silence as Churchill reached for his hat, steadied himself with his cane and left the platform. His commencement address was finished.
That¡¦s great advice¡X¡§Never Give Up!¡¨
ILLUS: TWO FROGS
Two frogs fell into a can of cream,
Or so I’ve heard it told;
The sides of the can were shiny and steep,
The cream was deep and cold.
O, what’s the use? Croaked No. 1.
’Tis fate; no help’s around.
Goodbye, my friends! Goodbye, sad world!
And weeping still, he drowned.
But Number 2, of sterner stuff,
Dog-paddled in surprise,
The While he wiped his creamy face
And dried his creamy eyes.
I’ll swim awhile, at least," he said--
Or so I’ve heard he said;
It really wouldn’t help the world
If one more frog were dead.
An hour or two he kicked and swam,
Not once he stopped to mutter,
But kicked and kicked and swam and kicked,
Then hopped out, via butter!
--T. C. Hamlet
The Call demands that you never give up.
The Cause demands that you never give up.
The Companionship demands that you never give up.
The Consolation demands that you never give up.
