Sermon Central
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When You Feel Like Quitting Don't
Contributed by Ronald Crandall on Jan 10, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: Have you ever felt like just giving up? I hear Pastor’s say all the time I resign every monday morning... God gave me this at a very crucial moment in my ministry and I was hurt,tired and fed up. Teri and I had just lost our son.
When you feel like quitting DON’T!
John 21:1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: (NIV)
John 21:2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. (NIV)
John 21:3 "I’m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We’ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught
nothing. (NIV)
This morning are you a quitter?
Most of us at one time or another has felt like quitting, at one point or another.
I can honestly tell you while holding my son in my hands and watching him die, I felt utterly helpless.
I felt like Peter all I wanted to do is anything but minister.
And how could I minister effectively when my faith had been totally rocked.
I was angry, hurt and disappointed that all the dreams we had for our family had been destroyed in just five minutes.
God why me? I have preached all over the country for you why did it have to be my son?
The Lord began to speak in that still small voice back to me, saying "I Love you Ron." And what the enemy meant for evil I will turn it into a blessing if you just don’t Quit!
I knew the voice for I have heard him before but he just did not understand where I was at... I was broken and crushed and he was asking me not to quit, I had never been in this place before. I have always preached He is the God of "I can."
Despondant I was now the one seeking for some kind of stregnth, I kept trying to pull strength from my inner most being and it was not there. I would look into my wifes eyes and it seemed the pain was to much.
It seemed this lesson of faith was more than I could bare...
A friend of mine came to me and told me he had written a song for my babies funeral called "My Strong Tower."
As he sang that song to me I suddenly realized preacher you are in need of a "strong tower," because I was weak. The more he sang the more I cried realizing that the same Gospel I have preached night after night was also for me... for me, for my wife and my entire family.
I found when we began to get the word of God in our heart, we find the courage to face that which is facing us and the will to carry on, for He is still God.
This scripture kept running through my spirit like water over the rocks in a river.
Jer 16:21 "Therefore I will teach them-- this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD. (NIV)
Zech 4:6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, ’ says the LORD Almighty. (NIV)
I found when the going gets rough the Ranks thin, even I was being tempted to be one of those that make up thin...
There are alot of ministers who get hurt and quit, setting down there high calling and settling for second best.
I want to encourage you he is the God restoration!
Even our churches go through times when it seems it would be easier to just quit.
Do you realize that over,
35,000 churches have closed this last year
Still struggling I said "So, What the Use!"
God’s word declares unto me the harvest is ripe unto harvest and that, " There is one name whereby you might be saved "
There are people who are in need, they too need a Savior a lifter of their burdens, a healer of their hurts and mender of their broken dreams.
When we take our eyes off of Jesus all we are stuck with is Religion.
And Religion makes me want to throw-up
It cannot heal the hurts of man
It cannot turn sorrow into joy
But, Christianity, serving Jesus really excites me clean to the bone!
Yet as we look at our text "Peter was the first one to Quit."
We find 7 men went fishing and 3 were not even fisherman.
But they followed after Peter, hey we might not be able to fish but it seems like the thing to do.
How many have found this to be true
"Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” NIV
To many times we are looking for perks "Don’t look for perks."
