DON’T GIVE UP! YOU CAN MAKE IT!
Text: Judges 11:1 ¶ Now Jephthah the
Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot and
Gilead begat Jephthah.
2 And Gilead's
wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up and they thrust out Jephthah,
and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art
the son of a strange woman.
3 Then Jephthah
fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered
vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
4 ¶ And it came
to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
5 And it was
so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of
Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
6 And they said
unto Jephthah, Come and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of
Ammon.
7 And Jephthah
said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my
father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress
8 And the
elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that
thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our
head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
9 And Jephthah
said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the
children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
10 And the
elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do
not so according to thy words.
11 Then
Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and
captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh
ü Life presents us with lots of opportunities to give
up!
Ø Pilots that
give up on the way never get to their destinations
Ø Drivers that
give up on the way never get to their destination
Ø Students that
give up never graduate
Ø Researchers
that give up never discover anything
Ø Business men
that give up never have breakthroughs
Ø Those who give
up in relationships never marry the best
WHY DO MEN GIVE UP?
·
They look at their background
·
They take off their eyes from the goal and end Mt
14:30 “But when he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink he cried saying Lord, save me”
·
Friends 1Corinthians 15:33
·
They see others giving up! 1Samuel
31:5
“And when his armour bearer saw that Saul
was dead he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him”
·
Satanic attacks
·
Discouraging situations and circumstances-Mountains
·
Not ready to pay the price!
·
Fear
HOW NOT TO GIVE UP IN LIFE:
§ Don’t depend
on your background
§ Keep your eyes
on Jesus Hebrews 12:1-3
§ Keep your eyes
on the cloud of witnesses
§ The right
company-good coach, good fans, good friends, good family, great mentors, etc
§ Keep your eyes
on the goal 1Corinthians 9:26
§ Keep praying
Luke 18:1
§ Confessions of
faith Mk11:22-24
§ Strong
wholehearted determination to please God-Joshua 14:10-14
§ Right attitude
“A middle-aged man from New Zealand painfully hauled
himself up the last few feet to the summit of Mount Everest in May, 2006.
Nothing so unusual in that - after all, climbing Everest has become so popular
that its slopes are often crowded, and more than 100 people have scaled the
mountain already that year - but Mark Inglis is different: he has no legs. Mark
Inglis, 47, reached the peak of the world's tallest mountain on 16/05/2006,
phoning his wife Anne on the South Island to say he had made it and returned to
his party's base camp. Mount Everest is 29,035ft high and Inglis had spent a
gruelling 40 days on the mountain”.
v 1951 Edmund Hillary was defeated by Everest but won on May 29, 1953
BRO ABRAHAM LINCOLN
NEVER GAVE UP IN THE FACE OF DISCOURAGEMENT
The
story of Abraham Lincoln is one of the most fascinating testimonies of a man
who never gave up.
Ø He had less than 1 year of formal
education and failed miserably in business in 1831
Ø He was defeated for the legislature
in 1832
Ø He lost his job in 1832
Ø He was elected to the legislature in
1834
Ø He suffered the death of his
sweetheart in 1834
Ø He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836
Ø He was defeated for Speaker of the
State Legislature in 1838
Ø Only one of his four sons lived past
the age of 18 in 1842
Ø He was defeated for nomination for
congress in 1843
Ø He was elected to congress in 1846
Ø He was rejected for the position of
Land Officer in 1849
Ø He was defeated for the Senate in 1854
Ø He was defeated for the nomination
for Vice-President of the United States in 1856
Ø He again was defeated for the Senate
in 1858
Ø He
was elected President of the United States in 1860.
This
man who never gave up went on to become one of the greatest Presidents of the
United States and the most quoted of all-Abraham Lincoln.
1Corinthians 16:13 “Watch ye stand fast in the faith, quit you
like men be strong”
An amazing scene
in which Israel was conquered in spite of possessing the ark for these men
refused to give up: 1Samuel 4:9 “Be strong and quit yourselves like men, O
ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to
you: quit yourselves like men, and fight”
