Don't Quit

57. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Don’t Quit!

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

All of us need to know that we are here for a purpose. Not only are you on this earth for a purpose, but you are in the family that you are in, you are in the household that you are in, you are in the marriage that you are in, you are in the church that you are in for a specific purpose. It was not God’s intent to put you here to do nothing. In God’s eyes, no matter who you are, you are somebody.  

You must ask yourself today, if I’m here for a specific purpose, am I fulfilling my purpose. I know that many people uses the excuse that they don’t know what their purpose is. If I were you, I wouldn’t let that stop me from doing what I needed to do. I need to tell you tonight that everybody have a sweet spot. What is a sweet spot?

(I’m glad that you asked)! A sweet spot is a place where we are comfortable. It is a place where we don’t mind doing what we are doing. But when we are rustled or rushed out of our sweet spot, then we become reluctant to do anything.

I know that this sounds like struggles. I’m here to tell you tonight that we all got struggles. All of us are at war. We are fighting the devil and our flesh which are contrary to the spirit. What are you saying preacher? Your reality is not lining up with your revelations.

See, according to the revelations of the Bible;

·        God said, in times of trouble He will hide you.

·        God said, He would supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

·        God said, no good thing will He withhold from those that do His will.

·        God said, give, and it shall be given unto you.

·        God said, bring your tithes to the storehouse, and the windows of heaven will opened for you.

·        God said, Come to Me, and I’ll wipe the tears from your eyes.

·        Where there is confusion, I’ll bring peace.

·        Where there is sadness, I’ll bring joy.

·        Where there is sin, I’ll make you white as snow. 

But when I get to what’s real, I find myself asking the Lord, how do I deal with these struggles. How do I get my flesh to succumb to what His Spirit wants?

·        Because during my trouble, I find people talking about me. I know we say that it don’t bother you for people to talk about you, but it bother everybody.

·        Instead of all of my supplies being met and me finding my self in a surplus, I often find myself coming up short of where I need to be.

·        I’ve found out that the good things that I want ain’t always the good things that you get.

·        I’m bringing my tithes to the storehouse, but I don’t see my blessings falling fast enough.

·        I have surrendered my life to God, but my eyes are still filled with tears.

·        I’m still living in confusion, sadness is all around me. Lord, when do I get rid of my struggles?

On top of the struggles that I encounter in my spiritual life, are the struggles that I face from day to day. Somebody here got struggles on their job. They can get alone with their boss like they feel they should. Someone got struggles in their homes. Their relationship is not all that they want it to be, their children are not traveling that path that they had planned for them to travel. Someone got struggles when they step out of their front door.

Where do we find the peace? Where do we find the prosperity? Where do we find the promises that are revealed in your word?

Tonight, somebody need a renewed strength. And I know in your word, Isaiah 40:31 it says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings as an eagle, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”.

I’m waiting, but while I’m waiting it seems like the devil is controlling, capturing, and conquering my every thought. My mind that should be stayed on you is not always on your will. Mine new hands and new feet are doing old things. How do I get out of the trap that I’m in? How do I get delivered from this cage of wickedness?

Most of the time, I find myself like Paul, the thing that I want to do, I don’t do, but the things that I don’t want to do, those are the things that I find myself doing. How can I keep from falling back further, when I know I need to press on to the mark?

I’ve learned that when I find myself involved in wretchedness and wickedness, I have a tendency to quit on God. As Paul comes to the close of this letter, he is inclined to let the church at Corinth know that no matter how hard the way maybe, don’t quit.

Corinth was a metropolitan city. There were many things going on in this city. There was so much wickedness was readily available to them. These folks would leave church, go get drunk, and go to the sex party at Diana’s temple. Paul lets them know that they must be genuine believers. Today we are faced with the same thing.

Some of us can’t wait until church is over so we can go to the casino.

Some of us can’t wait until the preacher says his final amen, so we can go get our groove on.

Some of us can’t wait until the doxology had been given, so that we can get our little dirt started.

Some of us are just like these people in our text, your body is here with me, but your mind is on the other side of town.  

You know how some people feel like they got everybody fooled. You are doing your little dirt, but you don’t think anybody know about it. And then you run up in the church acting like you don’t ever do any wrong.

Ain’t no use in coming to the church and acting like you are the only person in here to knows the Lord. But when you are outside of the church and I see you in the streets, you will turn your head and won’t even speak.

The bible says that we ought not to think of ourselves more highly than we do others. Don’t you know that when you get too high, God will bring you back down? You better forget about man, and do all that you can do to please God.

So, in this last verse of the 15th chapter Paul says to them, “Therefore”. He simply says in verse 57, “we can find victory in Christ Jesus”.

In Him, shall we all be changed! IN Christ, corruption shall be replaced with incorruption. Mortality shall be replaced with immortality. Even the last enemy, “death” will be swallowed up in victory.

I don’t know about you that that verse is speaking to me,

In Christ, my tears shall become triumph.

In Christ, my sorrows shall become safety.

In Christ, my pain shall become potential.

In Christ, my hurt shall become healing.

In Christ, my worries shall become worthless. 

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

If you really look at this text, you will see that Paul is saying, since you know that you are going to be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, you are going to be caught up, Don’t quit. Hold on to your faith. Don’t quit praising Him. Don’t quit working for Him. Don’t quit giving your service for Him. Working for the Lord will pay off, bye and bye.  

Too often do we forget who we are working for! Too often do we forget what we are at church for! Too often do we forget that we are not here to praise man or to be praised by man, we are here for the glory of the Almighty God.

Be ye Stedfast

Paul lets us know that the best way to get through our struggles is to be stedfast. Now in the Greek this phrase “be ye stedfast” means “to become settled”. That is much of the problem of the world today, we are not settled with God. We want the best of both worlds. We think that it makes things okay if we just show up for church on Sunday. I think that many of us are afraid to have a relationship with God. We are afraid our ace-bon-coon will find out that we really do know the Lord.

There are too many other things that draws on our attention. We need to know for sure that our anchor’s holds a solid rock. See, when you’ve got your anchor on corruptible things, they will soon fade away. You need your anchor on a solid rock.

There are many people today who are confessing GOD, but they are not possessing GOD. Now this promised of a changed body is not to those who are just confessing, but to the ones who are possessing. They are the ones that are to be steadfast.

For the saved, there is hope, for the unsaved there is hell.

For the saved, there is a glorified body, for the unsaved there is gnashing of teeth.

For the saved, there is confident, for the unsaved there is carelessness.

For the saved, there is peace, for the unsaved there is problems.

For the saved, there is faith, for the unsaved there is fear.

For the saved, there is life, for the unsaved there is only death.

Being steadfast means to be “seated”. Now, you can scandalize me, you can talk about me, you can laugh at me, but my faith is seated in Christ. Even in the midst of my struggles, my faith remains. Even when I’m going through the worst trials of my life, my faith is steadfast. I am determined, I won’t allow nothing or nobody to turn my faith around.

The word steadfast means “to be fixed”. I don’t know about any of you, but my faith has been fixed. Just because the majority of the church is quitting on God, I’m fixed in my belief. I believe if I just hold on a little while longer, everything is going to be alright.

I don’t know about you, but I’m determined to live for the Lord, and to carry out His purpose in my life. I’m not going to allow anybody to stop me. My heart is fixed and My mind is made up.

Be unmovable

Paul says to us to be immovable. The word “immovable” means to be “unshaken”. See, today we will allow any and everything to shake our faith. We are blown about with every wind and doctrine. Today, we have become so self-centered that it is ridiculous.

We are the kind of people today that if we can’t have our way, if we can be the center of attention, if we are not the one rocking the boat, we don’t want to ride in it. We shouldn’t be fickle in our service for the Lord. Either you are going to work, or you are not. If you just refuse to work, then move, get out of the way.   

I’m not going to get mad at you if you don’t work, but at least you ought to be man or woman enough to say that you don’t want to work. My point is, God got you doing what you are going. If you will work for anybody, you ought to be willing to work for the Lord.  

As I said in the introduction, God’s got you doing things for a reason, if you are not doing what you ought to be doing, then you are hurting yourself, and you are disappointing God. You are not to allow anything to disturbed your work for the Lord.

Many people today are confused, they think that if they quit, they are going to hurt, and hinder someone else. Baby let me tell you, you are only hurting yourself. You are to stand as solid as a rock in your service for the Lord. I’ve got to give in account of my works and you’ve got to give in account of yours.

Always abound in the work of the Lord

Paul here says that we are to “always” abound. That means at all times. Whether we are here at the church, running up and down the highway, or mixing and mingling in the malls. We are to always abound in the work of the Lord.

Now the word “abound” means “to excel”. What does that mean preacher? I’m glad that you ask, it means that we are to go above and beyond our call of duty. There shouldn’t be anything lacking on our part. We should exceed our work order. No one should have to beg you to do anything.

If you are in the pulpit, you ought to preach a little harder.

If you are in the deacon ministry, you ought to prayer a little longer.

If you are in the Choir, you ought to sing a little louder.

If you are at the door post, you ought to stand a little better.

If you are in the pews, you ought to witness a little louder.

If God compels us to go one mile, we ought to be glad to go two. Never should you become satisfied with your work. You ought to be struggling and straining to run on and see what the end is going to be.

The word “labor” means “to toil and work to the point of exhaustion and fatigue”. Work until you feel like you can’t work no more. It means to never stop. Never slack up on your job.

So I came by here to encourage you tonight, don’t quit.

I know, your way may be hard,

I know, your hills are hard to climb.

I know, trials and tribulations

got you weighed down,

but I need to tell you, Don’t quit.

This world is not your home,

you are a stranger just passing through.

Keep on working to make heaven your home.

I need to tell you tonight,

don’t look for an earthly reward,

because the Lord will reward you on high.

God have promised you a resurrection and a new body,

if you just keep on working.

He promised that He would go away and prepared a place for you.

He promised that He would come back one day.

When He come back,

You’ve got to be ready.

You’ve got to have a made up mind.

I know, you’ve been through some things,

And I know, you are going through some things right now, but don’t quit.

The race, is not given to the swift, neither to the strong, but to the one that holds out to the end.

I believe, I’ll run on and see, what the end will be.

you ought to tell your neighbor to hold on.

Tears falling from your eyes, hold on.

Being talked about and scandalized, hold on.

Being buke and being scorned, hold on.

Friends have turned their backs on you, hold on.

Enemies, have build a camp around you, hold on.

Trouble is pressing on every hand, hold on.

Can’t see my way, I’m going to hold on.

The Lord didn’t quit on you,

Don’t you quit on Him.

They whipped Him all night long, but He didn’t quit.

They mock Him, and they spit in His face, but He didn’t quit.

They slapped Him, and told Him to prophesy, who hit you,

but He didn’t quit

Early, Friday morning,

They stretched Him out on a lonely cross,

But He didn’t quit.

Hung on the cross, from the third to the ninth hour,

He died, and He didn’t quit.

Early the third day morning, He rose.

Do you know He rose?

I was sinking deep in sin,

Far from the peaceful shore,

Very deeply stained within,

I was sinking to rise no more,

Oh the master of the sea,

He heard my despairing cry,

From the waters, He lifted me,

Now safe am I.

Love lifted me,

Love lifted me,

When nothing else would help,

It was love, that lifted me.