PERSISTING IN FAITH 50 DAYS OF FAITH Dr. Ken Culver Part 5 of 8 We have around us many people whose lives tell us what faith means so let us run the race that is before us and never give up. Heb 12:1 (NCV) The Bible tells us that life is like a race. 1. REMOVE ANY DISTRACTIONS HOW TO FINISH THE RACE WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE GIVING UP Let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. Heb 12:1 b (NCV) All of us have a different life to live; all of us have a different race to run. Paul says the key to finishing a good race is to simplify your life. Get rid of the baggage. Remove the diversions. Eliminate the distractions. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT COULD DISTRACT YOU FROM YOUR PURPOSE? 1. Trying to be like other people. 2. Making wealth the primary goal of your life. 3. Habits. 4. The wrong kind of friends. 5. Your past. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race Ph 3:13-14 (LB) I m going to focus on the finish line not focus on the hurts that have been done to me and the hurts that I ve done to other people. Page 1 of 5
Don t dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18 2. REMEMBER THE REWARD You cannot run the race well without an eye on the finish line. To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I Cor. 9:25-26 Paul says it is this kind of motivation that helps you to focus not on your problems but on God s purpose in your life. Don t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them Heb 6:12 (Mes) One of the ways to focus on God s reward in eternity is by focusing on God s promises for now. Let us not get tired of doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don t get discouraged and give up. Gal. 6:9 3. RESIST ALL DISCOURAGEMENT. In a crowd this size many of you are discouraged: Health Finances Marriage Children Desire to get married Desire to change jobs You are discouraged because you are choosing to be discouraged and that is your choice. Discouragement is Satan s favorite tool in making you ineffective. D.L. Moody: I have never known God to use a discouraged person. Why? Because it is the opposite of faith. Let us not get tired of doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don t get discouraged and give up. Gal 6:9 (LB) Page 2 of 5
If doing what is wrong was hard, nobody would do it! It is easier to be undisciplined than disciplined. It takes energy to do God s will. God is not a vending machine where you put in a prayer and you instantly get what you asked for. Anything worthwhile in life takes effort, energy and endurance. Great people are just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. GREAT LIFE LESSON: IT IS ALWAYS TOO SOON TO QUIT. An oak tree is just a little nut that refused to give its ground. It just won t give up and it hangs in there. YOU CAN COUNT ON THIS: God will test your faith in life and He will test your commitment. 2 Reasons: To learn first what s inside of you. To learn what God is like. Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer. Psalm 94:19 (LB) This verse teaches 2 things to do when we re filled with doubt and we want to give up. Be quiet quiet me The less silence you have in your life the more stress you re going to have. Be renewed renew me Focus on God o First, remember God s goodness to you in the past. o Second, remember God s presence with you in the present. o Third, remember God s promise in the future. You look at the world you ll be distressed. You look within you ll be depressed. You look at Christ you ll be at rest. Page 3 of 5
God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished Phil 1:6 (LB) WHERE DO YOU NEED TO BE MORE PERSISTENT? Daily time with God Praying for family/marriage/small group Sharing my faith with friends who don t know Jesus Tithing/BFT commitment Controlling my anger/words/thought life Trusting God with my pain/problems 4. RENEW MYSELF DAILY. Learn Daily Physical Renewal God wants His loved ones to get proper rest. Psalm 127:2 (LB) Fatigue makes cowards of all of us Vince Lombardi You Need Daily Spiritual Renewal This is why we never give up our spirits are being renewed every day. 2 Cor. 4:16 (NLT) Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross. Heb 12:2 (GN) The truth is it really doesn t matter how you start the race or how you mess up in the early part. What matters is, are you going to finish it? I have finished the race, I have kept the faith 2 Tim. 4:7 (NIV) Hebrews 12 The Message Bible (Paraphrase) Do you see what this means? All these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on. It means we d better get on with it. Strip down, start running and never quit. No extra spiritual fat. No parasitic sin. Keep your eyes on Jesus who both began and finished this race that we re in. Study how He did it because He never lost sight of where He was headed. That exhilarating finish in and with God. Jesus could put up with anything along the way the cross, the shame, whatever. And now He s there in the place of honor right alongside God. Page 4 of 5
When you find yourselves lagging in your faith go over that story again item by item, that long litany of hostility that Jesus plowed through. That ll shoot adrenalin in your souls. In this all out match against sin others have suffered far worse than you have to say nothing of what Jesus went through. So don t feel sorry for yourselves. God is educating you. That is why you must never drop out. He s treating you as dear children. THREE QUESTIONS: What have you felt like giving up on? What do you need to finish? What s holding you back? Page 5 of 5