In For the Long Haul
Luke 18:1
“In June l955, Winston Churchill, who was then near the end of his life, was asked to give a commencement address at a British University. At this time he was physically infirm; he had to be helped to the podium. Then he held on to the podium for what seemed an interminable amount of time. He stood with his head down but then finally raised that great leonine head of his, and the voice that years before had called Britain back from the brink of destruction sounded publicly for the last time in history.
"Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." With that, Churchill turned and went back to his seat. I’m told there was silence, and then, as if one person, the whole audience rose to applaud him, because he was a man whose life and words were together. Again and again throughout Churchill’s political career, he had known setbacks. Three times, his career apparently was over, he was sent off to oblivion, and yet somehow he had a sense that there was still something left after the worst.”
This was apparently a theme for the life of Churchill because during WW II he gave a speech to the English people during the darkest times of the war in which he used only seven (7) words, “Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, give up.”
This upcoming week the nation will observe the horrible day of 9/11/01. That day in which groups of terrorist declared war on the American people. Some claim that they declared war on all peace loving people. The world, our nation, was in shock. We watched with anticipation as events unfolded over the following weeks. Would there be more attacks? What was President Bush going to do? Would congress back him? Would the world stand by as we sought to right this wrong?
We will have the events, new stories and follow up stories all this week. What I am thinking about as we move toward Wednesday the 11th is the day that Mr. Bush gave the speech declaring War on Terrorism. Do you remember that speech? Do you remember the standing ovations that he received? Do you recall the words of agreement and commitments of support that came from across the globe? I do, with clarity. I remember because at the time I was asking the question, “how long will this last?” I remember thing that this war will never succeed. Why? Because the American people do not have the fortitude for a long drawn out war. As a whole we have very short attention spans. The enemy knew that all they had to do was lay low and wait, the fervor would pass with time. IF YOU have been listening to the news the last couple of weeks you know that I am being proven right. World leaders, congress members and individuals are wanting to stop the War on Terrorism.
On the other hand we have the shining examples of people going far beyond what was expected of them to serve their fellow humans. Police, Fire and medical emergency people literally laid it on the line in this time of emergency. They are still working under that zeal and commitment today.
What makes the difference? Why do some simply refuse to quit while others can’t seem to finish anything?
This has caused me to do some serious thinking and Bible study on perseverance, stick to itividness, or just simply being in for the long haul.
Bible Foundation for Long Haul Living
– Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show that they should always pray and not give up.” (NIV)
In the past I have understood this parable to encourage Persistence in Prayer. It certainly does that, but what stands out to me this time of study is the word “AND”. This word connections prayer and not give up. But they are still two separate issues.
Jesus was concerned that:
We would pray and
That we would not give up.
Stay for the Long Haul – in what?
“But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?” Luke 18:8 (The Message)
With Christ – most of us know someone who has given
up on God.
Disciplines – prayers are not answered as one
expected, the Bible has been silent on a
subject so they just give up on spiritual
disciplines.
Church – decisions made that one does not agree with;
people put in positions that one thinks does
not belong there; and services are not what
we want so we just quit going. Giving up on
church.
Ministry – work is hard, response is not what we
expect and no one seems to appreciate our
efforts, so we just stop doing the ministry.
How to Stick for the Long Haul
The question that challenges us is, “What will help people Stay for the Long Haul?”
Let us look to Jesus for our example – “Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51
I. SERVING SOMEONE/SOMETHING BIGGER THAN SELF.
A. God
It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion. It is easy in solitude to live after one’s own. But the great man is he who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of his character.
Jesus asked, “Who do people say that I am?”
B. The people or places that we serve is bigger than our selfish ambitions.
II. GETTING UP AFTER A FALL.
I am not talking about a fall as in sin or missing the mark (although it does apply), rather I am talking about when the Enemy trips us or we take a hard hit.
"In 8/91 Beth Anne DeCiantis’s attempt to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Trials marathon. A female runner must complete the 26-mile, 385-yard race in less than two hours, 45 minutes to compete at the Olympic Trials.
"Beth started strong but began having trouble around mile 23. She reached the final straightaway at 2:43, with just two minutes left to qualify. Two hundred yards from the finish, she stumbled and fell. Dazed, she stayed down for twenty seconds. The crowd yelled, "Get up!" The clock was ticking--2:44, less than a minute to go.
Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish, with 10 seconds to go, she fell again. She began to crawl, the crowd cheering her on, and crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. Her time? Two hours, 44 minutes, 57 seconds."
Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to run our race with perseverance and never give up.
It has been said that victory is not "never falling" victory is getting back up after a fall.
III.COURAGE TO FACE THE UNKNOW.
"Surely one of the most daring of all adventurers was Christopher Columbus. He was sailing where no man had ever sailed before. His crew urged him to turn back. They threatened mutiny if he did not. Still Columbus stayed his course. We must have the courage to set a goal and then stay our course, no matter what others may think or say."
Willing to Just Hang in There
Max Lucado relates from his missionary days, “ The Brazilians describe a person who sticks with something with the word "garra." If you look up "garra" in a Portuguese dictionary, you see that it means fingernails. If someone has "garra," he has nails, he hangs in there. That to me is one definition of success because Jesus said, "He who endures to the end will be saved." He who has "garra" will be saved.
Challenge: “To continue steadfastly in a thing and give unremitting care to it.”
One of the true life Christian hero stories come out of Russia during the 1920’s; “In the 1920s, on the heels of the Bolshevik Revolution when Joseph Stalin was extending his chokehold over all of what became the Soviet Union, he sent political speakers out to Russian towns and villages to brainwash the people about Marxism and the Russian form of Communism. Peasants were forced to hear the harangues telling them what they must believe. It was made clear that the teaching of Christian faith was to come to an immediate end. The church was no longer to be active.
What none of them realized was that hundreds of years of Russian Orthodox teaching about the resurrection couldn’t be rubbed out of people’s souls just like that.
One large crowd of people sitting in a public auditorium listened for three hours to the speech of a Russian commissar as he tried to convert them to Marxism and the glories of the Communist party. When he finished, he was exhausted, but he had taken his best shot. He was sure he had convinced the crowd, so he invited questions. Here and there people rose to ask questions, but he was satisfied he had done his best.
Just as things were about to end, and he was to sign his success seal over what he had done, a Russian Orthodox priest stood up at the back of the hall: "I just have one thing to say to you. Christ is risen!"
Instantly the entire crowd responded, "Christ is risen, indeed!"
Gordon MacDonald cites that after telling this story, a couple came up and introduced themselves. The women said to me in a heavy accent, "I am from Russia. Thank you for telling your story; it moved me greatly. But I must tell you one more thing about that story, which you did not tell. You need to tell people that when the crowd said ’Christ is risen indeed!’ they knew for certain they would all go to jail."
Will you stand for Christ?
Are you living the life of Christ for the Long Haul? Are you in your ministry for the Long Haul?
The devil knows that all he has to do is lay low and people will revert back to their old ways.
Someone gets revival,
just leave them alone and this will pass.
Someone gets saved,
just leave them alone and chances are they will
revert back to old ways.
Someone gets excited about a church ministry,
just leave them alone…
Groups starts a new ministry,
just leave them alone.
Church gets revival,
just leave them alone…
