Sermons
Why Christians Must Not Quit
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
The Bible describes Christianity as dynamic and energetic. There's nothing lazy about it. The New Testament uses some action-packed verbs to depict our lifestyle. Words like: "fight, run, contend, seize, expend, exercise, and labor." Although Christianity offers an inner repose, it's not a life of leisure.
Fulfilling the Great Commission demands activity. Jesus commanded Believers to "go" to reap the harvest.
Again emphasizing evangelism, Jesus used the word "compel" to demonstrate the means of tearing some people from Satan's clutches.
Even Luke's title for Acts indicates the activity demanded for Christian living: "The Acts of the Apostles." The reason the Holy Spirit accomplished so much in the first century is because Believers were available and willing to cooperate with His plan.
If there's anyone Satan fights it's the action-oriented, "doer of the Word" Christian. He has a full array of weaponry to distract them and He'll fire and detonate every weapon in his arsenal to oppose them.
(Illustration) (Satan's Sale of Goods . . . hate, pride, greed, murder . . . but it's the weapon of discouragement that is so frequently used.)
The reason Satan uses discouragement against Christians so frequently is because He knows its repercussions. Discouragement is the precursor of several disorders:
It creates a distrust of God.
It begets resentment toward others.
It indulges self-pity.
It brings guilt.
It assumes a depressed outlook of life that, in turn, creates doubt, worry, and complaining.
That's why you should carefully discern your motivation for discontinuing any Kingdom work. Does your motivation redound to discouragement or the Holy Spirit's leading? Never quit out of frustration or discouragement, because Satan wants to neutralize your Kingdom effectiveness. Always remember, you are under divine orders to persevere and finish the race and that means it's impossible to quit and yet succeed in the Christian life.
(Illustration) Golfers have a maxim that's occasionally used on the putting green. "You can't sink a putt, short." Meaning, if the ball isn't stroked hard enough to reach the hole it cannot be sunk. A putt can never be sunk that is stroked too weakly. That's why great golfers putt to the "pro side" of the hole rather than the short side.
Similarly, let me encourage you, as Christians, to aim for the pro side of the Kingdom. Make a solid, sure shot and don't allow discouragement or other hindrances cause you to fall short or quit.
(Transition) This sermon deals with three reasons Christians should not quit. First, Christians must not quit because only the overcomers are crowned. Secondly, Christians must not quit because God uses people to accomplish His plans. And Third, Christians must not quit because, A harvest awaits every faithful worker.
I. Christians Must Not Quit Because Only the Overcomers are Crowned
Jesus said in Luke 9:62: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Rewards are contingent upon endurance.
The anecdote is applicable here: "Winners never quit and quitters never win." The same holds true in God's Kingdom. Salvation belongs to those enduring to the end.
The Christian race isn't a 100 meter dash. It isn't a 440 sprint. It's a marathon. Winning a marathon requires finishing the course. For Christians, it's persevering, surmounting obstacles, and standing firm in the Faith that claims the victor's crown.
In Revelation Christ addressed the seven Churches of Asia Minor. Each Church received a similar exhortation. In essence Jesus said: "Don't give up, hang on until it's over."
To the Church at Ephesus He said: "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. (7) . . . To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (2:3, 7).
To the Church at Smyrna He said: "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (2:10).
To the Church at Pergamum He said: "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna" (2:17).
To the Church at Thyatira He said: "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations" (2:26).
To the Church at Sardis He said: "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels" (3:4).
To the Church at Philadelphia He said: "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God" (3:12).
To the Church at Laodicea He said: "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne" (3:21).
Jesus informed the Churches that endurance begets reward. The prize is awarded only when the race is finished!
(Illustration) Florence Chadwick was an American long‑distance swimmer that was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1970. (Copyright 1992 Grolier Electronic Publishing, Incorporated.) Her two most famous accomplishments included swimming the English Channel and the twenty-one miles from Catalina Island to Los Angeles. Chadwick failed in her first attempt to swim the Catalina Channel and was pulled from the water a mile from the shore. She evaluated her experiences of swimming the two channels. In doing so she recalled a moment in the English Channel she felt she could swim no farther. But her father, trailing her in a boat, spotted land and that furnished enough inspiration to help her finish. But in her unsuccessful bid to swim to the California coast fog had obscured the view to land. Despite being told land was only one mile away she didn't believe it and quit. Two months later, after analyzing the facts, she became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. What she lacked in her first attempt was not ability, it was perseverance. And that's true for many of our failed efforts.
Don't accept the lie that you lack strength to finish your course. God has given you all the power you need to overcome and get you home. Besides power from within He's promised to "never leave nor forsake you"; the angels will constantly support you; and the power of His Word will uphold you.
(Transition) You must not quit because only the overcomers are crowned. But second, Christians cannot quit because, God partners with people to accomplish His plans.
II. God Partners with People to Accomplish His Plans
God's working on earth is inextricably linked with man's cooperation. That's what 1 Corinthians 3:9 says: "For we are God's fellow workers." Now that's incredible! The Bible says you and I have been teamed with the Creator to accomplish purposes ordained since the beginning of time.
This partnership principle between God and man is expressed throughout Scripture. It's not because He needs us, He could have done everything alone or employed angels to accomplish His purposes. But He wanted to draw us into His eternal plan of the ages and reward us by enterprising with Him.
One way or the other, God's ultimate plan will climax unabated.
Jesus will return to earth.
"The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea."
And all creation will bow to declare His lordship.
But when Christians don't participate with God, they forfeit blessing. His purpose somehow unfolds but we miss the reward of participating in it. The Holy Spirit will find somebody, somewhere to cooperate. God wants your partnership:
When God was ready to mark the boundaries for Israel He chose Abraham to walk with Him through Canaan. And every parcel of ground Abraham's feet touched was deeded to Israel.
When Israel needed rescuing from Egypt's bondage God chose a one man army, Moses, to singlehandedly ravage Egypt and plunge Pharaoh's army in the sea.
And it was God, through Moses, that supernaturally sustained Israel forty years in the wilderness.
When the 400 prophets of Baal threatened Israel's welfare, it was God and Elijah that climbed Mount Carmel and destroyed them.
When God revealed His sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar He called Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego into the flaming furnace. Noah sailed through the flood but these fellows withstood the fire.
And in the New Testament the testimony is duplicated: It's Christ's power and Philip that produced the land‑slide Samaritan revival.
Jesus teamed up with His apostles. And when He ascended to Heaven He sent the Holy Spirit to work with us.
God employs the partnership principle to accomplish His purposes in the earth.
(Illustration) Think of the importance of one. One weak link makes an entire chain vulnerable. An automobile missing one wheel cannot transport anyone. One missing note on a keyboard matters much to a musician. One digit in a phone number, one letter in the alphabet, and one worker in a corporation are all important. And one person in God's Kingdom makes a difference.
Today's Church needs a prophetic willingness. One like the Prophet Isaiah experienced when he said: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me" (ISA 6:8). God wants you willing to serve.
(Illustration) In July 1990, as I prayed, I asked the Lord when revival would come to America. He plainly said: "Revival will come when I anoint and dispatch My servants into this nation to spark revival. They will take revival to this nation!" Shortly thereafter I was directed to read Psalm 80. Note verses seventeen through nineteen. Psalm 80:17 says: "Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. (18) Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. (19) Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved."
Again, it's God using man that brings change to the world. And without this divine‑human coupling the job doesn't get done! God could do it alone but He won't. The marvel of serving with God is this, God's supernatural presence, power, and resources are readily available.
Matthew 28:19 says: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Mark 16:20 says: "the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it."
(Transition) Third, Christians must not quit because, A harvest awaits every faithful worker.
III. A Harvest Awaits Every Faithful Worker
John 4:35 says: "Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. (36) Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together."
How does this Scripture affect you? Does it stir anything evangelistic from within? Does it burn your heart for sinners? Or are you completely apathetic toward it? Does it apply to someone else? Three aspects of this passage make it tremendously significant.
One, Jesus "the Lord of the harvest" said it! That makes it important.
Two, He uttered it with urgency! There aren't four months until harvest‑time, now is the time.
Then three, He commanded Christians to constantly focus on the harvest of souls.
How could it have been emphasized more? The harvest is always ready and our energies must be devoted toward reaching it.
Do you know what else the Church needs? We not only need prophetic willingness we need a heavenly vision! Paul received one and was faithful to fulfill it. Turn to Acts 26.
Acts 26:12‑20
Without the impartation of a heavenly vision there will be no urgency for those perishing.
Conclusion
In conclusion I want you to hear two Scriptures:
Galatians 6:9 says: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
And Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
Copyright © 2009 by Pulpit Today
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