“And there came there certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing that he had been dead. 20. Howbeit, as the disciples stood around about him, he rose up and came into the city; and the next day he departed with Barnabas for Derbe. 21. And they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch…”
Acts 14:19-21 takes us into the middle of Paul’s first missionary journey. He and Barnabas had just come through a rough time in Lystra, where their adversaries had stoned Paul and left him for dead. Well, that took care of that – right? Well, no it did not. When Paul got up, he and Barnabas continued to do what they had been sent out to do – preach the gospel and start churches. This is where today’s title comes from: “What to Do When the Going Gets Tough.” Those who stoned Paul Probably thought that they taught him a lesson that he would never forget, and that he would stop this preaching about this Jesus. It didn’t happen that way. Paul got up and kept going. Which leads me to some questions for us? What does it take to make us quit in our service to the Lord? I have seen people quit under all kinds of circumstances. I have known people who quit serving the Lord because their feelings were hurt. We are living in a time when our “feelings” are obviously the most important things in the world. It has gotten to the point that we can hardly mention the name of Jesus without offending somebody. Don’t put your feelings ahead of Jesus and your service for Him. I have known people who have quit serving the Lord because they thought the church did not appreciate all of the hard work they had done. These people need to ask themselves what that “hard work” was all about. If it was about making us look good, and having people brag on how hard we have worked, then we can quit. But if it was about serving Jesus, then we cannot quit. The saying today is: “It’s not about us, it’s about Jesus.” If it really is about Jesus, then we will get up and keep going when our feelings get hurt, or when our work seems unappreciated. If we quit, who will do what God wanted us to do? Think about this for a moment. God has saved us, given us gifts of the Holy Spirit, and sent us forward to use those gifts for the purposes for which he called us. This means that God is counting on us to do His work on earth, to be His hands, feet and tongues. If we do not do what God has willed us to do, will it get done? It could because God is not crippled by our quitting, and there are others who can take up the slack. But is that really what we want? Do we want someone else to have to do what God has called us to do? Would it make us happy if God's work went on in spite of us. I joke about how I used to go to my office at the church on Monday, because I knew that if I was preparing a sermon for the next Sunday, then I planned to keep on doing it. Of course, this was not true of every Monday, but there were those Mondays when I felt like quitting. When we feel this way, it is important for us to ask ourselves if anyone stoned us and left us for dead, for even that is not an excuse to quit. There is not a person on this earth who is irreplaceable, but we should not want to be replaced because we quit when the going got tough. Ask yourself why you do what you do in your church and community? Do you do it to hear people brag on you, or to “make a name” for yourself? If those are your reasons for service, then you will quit when the going gets tough, but if you are doing what you do for Jesus and to advance His kingdom, then you will not quit under any circumstances. If you are considering giving up your Sunday School class, your place in the choir, whatever you do, ask yourself if you are quitting, or like Paul, moving on to further service? It’s worth considering. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Ron Baggett
9/14/2013 04:40:34 am
AMEN!!
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