#1 ARE YOU LEAVING TOO...?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
This is part 1.
TEXT:
John 6:2 And the great multitude followed Him,
because THEY SAW MIRACLES which Jesus had done on those with diseases.
John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples WENT BACK,
AND WALKED NO MORE WITH HIM.
1 Corintians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able,
but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that you will be ABLE TO BEAR IT.
My heart is very heavy as I ponder, ARE YOU GOING TOO...?
How sad and broken hearted must the Son of God been when the crowd started to walk away?
All the miracles? All the LOVE and time invested, and the crowd is going to walk away?
After all this is the Son of God and the crowds are leaving?
When things are hard, do we quit?
When things go different from what we expected are we going to quit?
WHEN THE CROWDS STARTS TO LEAVE IS IT EASIER FOR THE INDIVIDUALS
TO WALK AWAY?
I know there is a MOB MENTALITY, that the crowd will forget reason and become violent?
But when each person that choose to walk away, did it make it easier for others to walk away?
What are "THEY SAYING?"
What are you hearing?
I ponder self doubt and counting yourself so little that what you do or don’t do does not
matter very much?
Self doubt, as all doubt, is a parasite that is destructive and slowly ebbs away our joy and victory.
Doubt is a killer.
Doubt breeds worry and fear.
There is a snow ball effect.
We learn and reinforce what we learn.
To doubt ourselves and then doubt others, we breed more and more doubt.
Doubt loves to dig the grave for faith.
Fear, depression, discouragement and worry are types of personal doubt.
Where is the JOY?
Where is the PEACE?
Where is our HOPE?
What are you expecting?
ARE WE WALKING AWAY WITH THE CROWD?
ARE OTHERS DICTATING OUR ACTIONS?
God’s plan doesn’t always walk away with the crowd.
Hear the saddest in the words...
John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples WENT BACK,
AND WALKED NO MORE WITH HIM.
WE DON’T HAVE TO WALK WITH THE CROWD!
Each step away from doubt will release the plan of God more ...
each baby step away from doubt, every thought,
every word, every deed for Jesus and the church can carry you away from doubt and discouragement.
DON’T DOUBT IN DARKNESS, WHAT GOD SAYS IN THE LIGHT.
1. Doubt is Hell trapped in a human soul. INVERTED WORDS OF GOD
We have a big way of inverting and reversing the Scripture.
We invert the metaphor and insist that we need faith as big as a mountain to move the mustard seed.
Why?
GOD MEANT WHAT HE SAID,
If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, say to that MOUNTAIN ...
PART OF A QUITTING SPIRIT IS NOT TAKING GOD’S WORDS AS OUR OWN.
Why give doubt and suspiciousness any ground upon which to grow?
If you pray for rain, and bring no umbrella, you give ground?
Just because you can raise your voice and out argue the rest,
will not make you right. ???
Can we afford to walk away?
Doubt is often your dislikes and opinions making a case against change and
your own responsibilties / duties,
and your products produced by your daily, menial choices.
Why would you tear a new shirt, just to see if you could sew it?
You decide?
2. THINKING MY GIFT DOES NOT MATTER VERY MUCH CAN BREED DOUBT.
I love the story of a king that wanted to show his people how much he loved them.
So, he decided to pay for a great feast for his kingdom.
He decided to have a great meal and invite every family.
The king would provide all the meat, all the vegetables, all the desserts ...
everything, the king would provide all, but the wine.
The king asked every family to bring one bottle of their best wine.
He would see that there was a several thousand gallon vat for all to pour in their bottle of wine.
What a feast this would be! The King wanted to honor his people.
One poor farmer decided, he would slip in his bottle, nothing but water, no wine.
How would the king ever know his selfishness?
His one bottle of water mixed with thousands of bottles of wine would never be known.
The King would never know? The taste would still be good.
So the poor farmer climbed the stairs to the top of the vat and while no one was looking,
he poured in his bottle of wine, I mean his bottle of water in with the thousands of other
wine bottles.
No one saw him. He had fooled every one there.
He laughed, he got away cheap!
He sat down at the kings table ready for the feast.
The king was so proud, he honored his precious people.
He filled his plate with delicious food.
The King picked up his Royal Gold Chalice.
The king placed his chalice under the spout of the huge vat of wine.
The king looked into his chalice, and to his surprise ... it was clear, pure water.
Seems everybody in the kingdom thought their little bottle of water would not matter
in the vat of wine..
Dear friend, your part matters!
Doubt cannot feed on doubt else it would die.
Doubt degenerates into cynicism, faultfinding, doom, gloom, pessimism.
Life is what you should emphasize...
Do you emphasize adverse, negative attitudes that fall into hopelessness and despair?
Self inflicted depression? You decide?
Are you going to leave and quit also?
3. DOUBT COMES AFTER TAKING AND NOT GIVING?
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE FREE FISH AND FREE LOAVES? ?
There are two kinds of people in the church: Feeders and Eaters.
I used to say that at least the feeders sleep better than the eaters.
After 20 years in the full time ministry, I no longer agree with myself.
Seems eaters can eat until they are full, burp a few times, and lay back and take a nap until bedtime.
The feeders will have to do the dishes.
WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING JESUS?
SEE THE MOTIVE BEHIND YOUR WORKS WILL TELL!
John 6:2 And the great multitude followed Him,
because THEY SAW MIRACLES which Jesus had done on those with diseases.
The people had been following Jesus to see the signs and miracles.
We have a tendency in the church today to search for and follow signs.
This is not Biblical!
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe... ...
For signs should follow the believer.
Are you leaving also...?
Yes, if you are a sign seeker, there will be another CIRCUS to follow?
I heard a great TV preacher say, "Let me hurry and get the Word out of the way,
because you came to see me do miracles?"
Wow, we hear the cry, DO IT! SHOW ME? ENTERTAIN ME?
MAKE ME LAUGH?
Where is the crowd going?
Is this to hard?
Wisdom seeks more than the gift, wisdom seeks the GIVER. Lord, give me souls or give me death!
How about the old song, ROCK OF AGES, "Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to the cross I cling."
Are you a feeder or an eater? Are you a giver or a taker?
To keep water from growing stagnant, stale, slimy ... you need more than an inlet,
you need an outlet to keep the blessings flowing.
God’s blessing are designed to flow through us, my cup is full and running over...Psa.23:5.
IF THERE ARE NO ROOTS THERE WILL BE NO FRUITS, and doubt will increase.
As God’s children go through dry, lean valleys, this will produce doubt or launch greater faith. You decide?
4. Self doubt is often birthed in difficulty and problems.
When the going gets tuff, the tuff get going is not always true.
Usually when the going gets tuff, we QUIT.
How sad are the words of John 6:6 From that time many of his disciples WENT BACK,
AND WALKED NO MORE WITH HIM.
Are you going to leave with the crowds?
Quitters never win.
There is automatic default when we quit.
We need to discipline self, if I am going to quit, I shall quit quitting.
Quitting is giving up. Giving up is doubt. Why resign? Why step down?
Lois Anderson, a little mission lady in the mountains, packed her bags and was leaving the mountain work in 1952,
she had purchased her bus ticket for home.
Lois had a dream the night she was leaving, she saw the lights go out on the mountain side and darkness took the mountain.
On the weight of the one dream, Lois stayed for over 37 more years, to run a Sunday school and kids ministry without a pastor.
Lois and her sister laid the block for the church. Lois is one of my heroes of the faith.
NEVER QUIT.
Winston Churchill was speaking at a long graduation ceremony.
When it came time for his speech, he stepped to the podium, leaned into the mike, he said... "NEVER QUIT!".
The crowd applauded.
When the applause stopped, Winston leaned into the mike again and said, "NEVER QUIT!"
He had a standing ovation. He returned to his seat, his speech was over. How profound... "NEVER QUIT!"
James Ellis, Kentucky District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God used to say,
" Those that say it can’t be done are being passed by those doing it."
No matter how big the problem or the obstacle appears at the present time, God can turn it around.
Problems can be a personal prophecy, declaring you can do it.
There is a way.
1Corintians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able,
but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that you will be ABLE TO BEAR IT.
Nothing can happen that God and you can’t handle.
GOD WILL PULL YOU THOUGH IF YOU CAN STAND THE PULL.
Sometimes the worse things that can happen in life, are also the best things that could have happened.
Why doubt self because of others?
If your enemy brings you closer to God, is not he your friend?
In any situation you have an opportunity to become bitter or better?
You decide.
His servant,
Wade Martin Hughes, Sr
kYFINGERSs@aol.com Please pass this on to others?
