Never
Give Up!
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. In
1972 NASA launched a satellite named Pioneer 10. Its three year mission was to
photograph the giant planet Jupiter and its
moons. Pioneer 10 had a transmitter that
used only eight watts of electricity.
That’s less than a night light in your bedroom. It
successfully completed its mission but it
did not stop. The gravitational forces of
Jupiter acted as a slingshot hurling the
tiny spacecraft into the outer reaches of our
solar system. It photographed Saturn and
its rings along with the planets Uranus and
Neptune. Twenty-five years after its launch
the little satellite was still transmitting
radio signals back to earth.
1. Whether it is a satellite, an automobile
or some other piece of machinery we
appreciate endurance.
2. The same is true for people. In
Ecclesiastes 9:11 Solomon said, “I again saw under
the sun that the race is not to the
swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and
neither is bread to the wise nor wealth
to the discerning nor favor to men of ability;
for time and chance overtake them all.”
a. In the race of life it is endurance
that matters. It is not your physical ability. It is
not your intellect. It is not your
background.
b. It is endurance – the ability to keep
on going in spite of the obstacles.
B.
Some of you this morning are ready to quit.
1. Some are ready to quit your job. You’ve
run up against difficult circumstances or
difficult people and you’re tired of
fighting those battles.
2. Some of you are ready to quit your
marriage. What began as “happily ever after”
has turned into heartache.
3. Some of you are ready to leave the
church. Perhaps situations have arisen that
have challenged your faith. Maybe there
has been disagreement or conflict with
another person. Perhaps you are weary
and feel like giving up.
4. You may even feel like giving up on God.
In the midst of your difficulties you have
cried out to Him and yet the answers you
sought did not come as you desired.
Does God care? Where is He?
C.
James, the half-brother of Jesus, was a leader in the Jerusalem church of the
first
century. He was an eyewitness to the
persecution, difficulties and hardships many of
those early believers faced. James sought
to encourage Christians to never give up
by means of a letter we know as the book of
James in the New Testament.
1. The first thing he says in this letter
is, “do not quit.” Listen to James 1:2-4.
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when
you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that
the testing of your faith produces
endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect
result, so that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing.”
2. A young man was playing high school
football. In his first game he was a receiver.
The quarterback took the ball and threw
it to him. He turned, looked downfield and
had an open lane all the way to the goal
line. He started running. There was no one
around. He ran as hard as he could,
outrunning the nearest defenders and then
dove across the goal line. The only
problem was when he stood up he realized it
was the five yard line instead of the
goal line. He was humiliated and embarrassed
because he quit too soon.
D.
Listen to the encouragement from James this morning. Never give up!
I. NEVER GIVE UP WHEN YOU ARE TROUBLED.
A. James says, “Consider it all joy, my
brethren, when you encounter various trials.”
B. You do not have to become bitter and
discouraged when things do not go well in
your life.
1. Joseph experienced the scorn and
hatred of his brothers, the bondage of slavery
in Potiphar’s house, the false
accusations of Potiphar’s wife and the pain of
prison. He never gave up on God.
Years later he told his brothers, “As for you,
you meant evil against me, but God
meant it for good in order to bring about this
present result, to preserve many
people alive” (Genesis 50:20).
2. Paul and Silas were imprisoned in
Philippi after preaching the Gospel.. In Acts
16:25 they were singing and praying
at midnight and others heard them.
3. In 2 Corinthians 7:4 he wrote,
“I
am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.”
4. The writer of Hebrews commended
Christians who, “accepted joyfully the seizure
of your property, knowing that you
have for yourselves a better possession and a
lasting one” (Hebrews 10:34).
C. Barbara Johnson: “Pain is inevitable.
Misery is optional.”
II. NEVER GIVE UP WHEN YOU ARE TESTED.
A. James continued by writing, “knowing
that the testing of your faith produces
endurance.”
1. If you want to develop endurance you
must have something to endure.
2. Bumps are what we climb on to reach
higher ground.
B. Do you ever wish there were no problems
in life? Do you wish life was always
smooth sailing with no wind or
waves?
1. Jesus said that is not going to
happen. He said, “In the world you will have
tribulation (John 16:33).
2. If there were no obstacles, no
difficulties, no challenges, no problems – you
would never grow.
3. Why do athletes spend hours
conditioning their bodies? The only way to
develop muscle tone is through
resistance. If they want to compete they must
have put their bodies through the
rigors or training.
.
III. NEVER GIVE UP WHEN YOU ARE TIRED.
A. James wrote, “Let endurance have its
perfect result, so that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking in nothing.”
B. Endurance produces maturity.
1. The word “perfect” in this passage
does not mean sinless. It means complete or
mature.”
2. A mighty oak tree with its strong
branches did not grow overnight. It began as a
little acorn. Someone wrote, “When you’re
discouraged and feeling blue, take a
look at the mighty oak and see what
a nut can do.” The mighty oak has stood the
test of time. It has weathered
winter snow, spring storms, summer heat and
drought. Every autumn it loses all
of its leaves but it keeps coming back year
after year after year.
C. Endurance requires faith.
1. When we read of the early church and
see their endurance in the face of such
persecution we need to ask the
question, “how did they do it?”
a. When Peter and John were arrested
in Acts 4 and commanded to not preach
Christ what gave them the
stamina to continue?
b. When Stephen was stoned in Acts 7
what gave him courage to face death with
confidence and conviction?
c. When the disciples in Jerusalem
began to be persecuted and were scattered
what made them preach the word
wherever they went in Acts 8:1-2?
d. When James was killed by Herod
and Peter was imprisoned in Acts 12 why
didn’t the other Christians give
up?
e. When Paul was stoned and left for
dead in Lystra (Acts 14) what prompted
him to get up and keep preaching
Christ?
2. It was faith! They knew what their
mission was. It was like a laser beam that kept
their faith focused on Christ.
a. Many people quit and give up
their faith because they have never understood
their mission, their purpose, and
passion.
b. A lack of mission breeds apathy
and discouragement in the church.
CONCLUSION:
A.
Have you ever eaten a banana that was ripened on the tree? I have made several
mission trips to the little island of St.
Vincent in the Grenadines. The largest crop in
St. Vincent is bananas. There is no
comparison to the flavor and sweetness of a
banana that has ripened on the tree to
those we get in our stores. The ones in the
stores are picked when they are green. They
were picked before they were mature.
1. Too many people quit in life before they
are ripened by the hand of God.
2. Perhaps you?
B.
Never give up! God never gives up on you. He keeps pleading with you and
promising you His grace if you’ll accept it
and be obedient to Him. If you are in need
of becoming a Christian today we urge you
to come in faith, repent of your sins and
be baptized into Christ. As a Christian –
never, never, never – give up!
