“Don’t Quit Now!”

A Lesson in Facing Discouragement

Acts 18: 1-11

Introduction

Illustration:

          I wanted to begin tonight by reading a section from a classic book on taking on new challenges in life.  The book is entitled “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” by T. S. Geisel, who most now better as Dr. Seuss.

You’ll be on your way up!  You’ll be seeing great sights.

You’ll join the high fliers who soar to such heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.

You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly you’ll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.  Because sometimes you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but sadly it’s true

That the Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickly perch.

And your gang will fly on; you’ll be left in a lurch.

You’ll come down from the lurch with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a slump.

And when you are in a slump, you’re not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

We all have “slumps” at times.  There’s probably not one of us here tonight that hasn’t, at some time or the other, wanted just to throw up our hands and quit.  For whatever reason … pressures, difficulties, burdens … you’ve just felt like quitting.  The challenge is that “Un-slumping yourself” is not easy to do.

Would it surprise you to know that some of the greatest people in the Bible experienced discouragement and wanted to quit?  In fact, perhaps the most influential person in Christianity aside from our Savior was a man who got discouraged at times.  His name was Paul.  Let’s look at one of those episodes in Acts 18:1-11.

Have you ever felt like quitting?  Giving up?  If so, you’re not alone.  Sooner or later we all will hit the wall of discouragement.  When we do, we may be tempted to quit doing what we know is the right thing to do.

I.  Some Common causes of discouragement:

1. Exhaustion

The condition of the physical body can effect your emotions and your spirit.  Somebody said that the spirit, soul and body live so closely together that what effects one effect the others.  When the body is tired it is very difficult for the emotions to feel up and strong.  It’s hard to feel spiritually the way you would desire to feel.

Paul was probably tired.  It may be that he had not had sufficient time to recover from the beating he took in Philippi.  And now in Corinth he’s working as hard as ever.

(vv. 4-5) “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to

 persuade Jews and Greeks.  When Silas and Timothy came from

Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching,

testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”

Reasoned

Trying to Persuade

Devoted himself exclusively

All those verbs are imperfect in the original language, indicating

Paul’s unceasing, persistent, tireless efforts.

On top of that we learn from the first few verses that Paul was working at two jobs.  He was not only preaching, he was supporting himself by working with Aquila and Priscilla as a tentmaker.

Some of you know about that … you’re stretched thin because of the heavy obligations and the hard work.  Maybe you’re looking after a parent, or handling the parenting job all by yourself.  You may be a prime candidate for the slumps.

2. Failure

          Remember Paul has just arrived in town after the 50-mile trip from Athens.  Things didn’t go all that well for him there.  He preached his heart out, did his best to communicate the gospel clearly, and while he was met with some success, he left the city virtually untouched.  He left Athens without a church.  And while we might applaud the noble efforts of Paul, you have to believe that he was discouraged at the results.

It may surprise you to know that some of the people who have made a great mark in history at times experienced great failure.

Illustration: He had every reason to quit.  When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to support them.  At the age of 9 his mother died.  At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk; wanted to go to law school, but lacked the education.  At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store. At 26 his partner died, leaving him with a failed business and debt that took him years to repay.  At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him and she said no.  At 37, on his third try, he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he failed to be reelected.  At 41 his four-year-old son died.  At 45, he ran for the US Senate and lost.  At 47, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate.  At 49, he ran for the Senate again, and lost again.  At 51, he was elected President of the United States.  Anyone guess who it was?  Abraham Lincoln.

3.  Opposition

          When you hit the wall of opposition and obstacles, and you don’t see them budge, it’s easy to get discouraged.

There was opposition from the Jewish leaders in the city that didn’t want anything to change.  Their traditions were being threatened.

On top of that, the city of Corinth was exceedingly wicked.  He was confronted with sin so open and so hideous that morally degenerate lifestyles were the norm.  It’s discouraging when you see the unrelenting presence of evil, when you sense that the forces of darkness are sending troops to defeat you.

I’m convinced that the fiercest opposition we encounter in life is spiritual.

v     Job was attacked by Satan to try to get him to quit serving God.

v     Satan assaulted Jesus in the wilderness.  What was the purpose? To keep Jesus from trying to do the Father’s will.  To get Jesus to quit early in the game.

v     Paul’s thorn in the flesh, described in 2 Cor. 12 is said by Paul to be a “messenger of Satan” designed to torment him.

One of Satan’s most devious tools is to discourage the people of God.  He fights, he opposes, he twists, he confuses, and he lies … all because he wants you to quit.

4.  Fear

          The fierceness of the opposition can ultimately give way to fear.  Even the most courageous of us can begin to have self-doubts, to loose our confidence and our courage.

          Paul may have been gun-shy at this point.  In his journeys, he had seen mob violence … stoning … beatings … imprisonment … sickness … threats … ridicule … rejection … hatred … and verbal abuse.

So you may understand Paul when he later wrote to the church in Corinth talking about his first visit to their city he said:

v     (1 Cor 2:1,3) When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom … I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

Paul knew it all exhaustion, defeat, opposition, fear … but the Lord came to him one night and said, “Don’t Quit Now!”

Note: God knows exactly when we need a word like this.  He knows our breaking point.  He knows our limitations.  And just when we need Him most, He’s there with a word of encouragement for us.

Illustration:  Calvin Miller once gave me some great advice:  “Don’t get off the train while it’s going through a tunnel.”

When you’re discouraged, it’s like you’re in a tunnel.  That is not the time to make a sudden move.  Don’t you think that God knows what you’re going through?  God will not leave us in that tunnel without a word to encourage us.

God has always been faithful to give His people strength to carry on when they feel like quitting.

He gives that strength through:

1.  The Help of Friends

v     Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

a.  Let’s take a look at some of Paul’s friends.

          1) Aquila and Priscilla

- They may have already been believers when they came to Corinth from Rome.  This husband and wife became some of the best friends Paul ever had.  According to Rom. 16, they risked their lives for Paul.  They would leave Corinth and travel to Ephesus to help Paul.

                   2) Silas and Timothy

  -These two friends and team members came at just the right time.  Now Paul could devote himself exclusively to preaching because Silas and Timothy more than likely brought financial support to him from the churches where they had been ministering, certainly from Philippi.  They allowed Paul to devote himself strictly to ministry.

b.  We need to be part of a team.  God didn’t call us to do it alone.

          When we’re discouraged and ready to quit, friends mean so much to us.  But sometimes our friends aren’t there, or they don’t know what we’re going through, or they just can’t help us.  Above everything else, there’s a source of strength that comes only from the Lord.  And with the ministry of Jesus as our friend comes …

2.  The Promise of God’s Presence

          I’m convinced it was Jesus Himself who spoke to Paul in that dream … the same Lord who confronted him on the Road to Damascus.

          God has promised his personal presence in the life of every believer.  The gospel of Matthew begins with the story of the birth of Jesus and the promises that Jesus will come.  It gives us some of the titles of the Lord Jesus.  One of those titles, Emmanuel, means “God with us.”  Interestingly at the conclusion of the Gospel when He was giving His last orders to the disciples Jesus says:

          Mt 28:20 – And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

We need the help of friends and the promise of His presence and …

3.  The Security of His Protection

          (v. 10) “And no one is going to attack and harm you …”

What does this mean?  It means that God has an eye on your life.  You are His child and He knows you’re limitations.  He’s not interested in the enemy taking you out.  He wants you to persevere and to succeed at accomplishing His will for your life.

But Look what happens later.  It’s almost like God knew what Paul was about to face.

          (v. 12) “The Jews with one accord rose up against Paul…”

Question: Wait a minute! Did God not keep His promise?

Notice the promise God made to Paul, “No one is going to attack and harm you.”  God doesn’t promise to shield us from attack.  But he has promised to keep us from any harm that would derail His plans from working in our lives.

You go on and read to see that God protected Paul in that the Jews brought charges against him.  When the case is brought before Gallio, he refused to hear the case, and in fact threw the bunch against Paul out of his court.  Just one example of how God works in the affairs of men to bring about His purposes in the lives of His people.

Psalm 27:5 – For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

We need friends, His presence, His protection, and …

4.  The Vision of His Future

          Don’t be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.  Don’t just stay on the defensive.  Stay on the offensive.  Remain active in the will of God.  Why?  Because God is working.

There is a bright future because God is working.  If God were not working, we would have no hope of the potential of any good happening.  But, God is working and He promises Paul, I’m working.  I’m about to open the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessing.  I have many people in this city, but they don’t know it yet.  They haven’t yet been saved, but they will be; just watch.”

          Can you see the potential of what can happen if you remain faithful?

          Can you see that God is using you and there will be harvest as a result of

your faithfulness?

We must see our city, our neighborhood, our workplace, the way

God sees it.

Now you may be saying, “Wait a minute.  Isn’t Paul giving up and quitting in verse 6.

Was Paul giving up too soon?  Not quitting doesn’t mean that we just keep spinning our wheels in a unsuccessful situation.  The resistance and the rejection may be the gentle nudge that God gives us to focus our efforts differently, which is exactly what Paul does in verse 7, an there are immediate results.

The leader of the synagogue, Chrispus, is saved along with his family.  Stop to think about the impact of the conversion of this person in the city of Corinth.  Chrispus was one of Corinth’s leading citizens.  Paul could have easily left town after the bad experience at the synagogue, but he didn’t give up.  He refocused.

One of the greatest churches in the NT emerged from Paul’s ministry there.  Had he quit early, that would have probably not happened.

One of the things that keeps us from quitting is the vision that God is working.

(v.11) So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

The little connective word “So” or some translations have “and” indicates that because of the vision from the Lord, Paul had the strength and the motivation to stay in Corinth.

“Stayed” means literally “to sit down” to dwell or live in security.

Note: Our victory has already been secured.  Don’t quit now.

Illustration:

During the dark days of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in WWII, Winston Churchill was the prime minister of Britain.  The Germans attacked Britain with brutal force.  During those days many of Churchill’s closest advisors counseled him to negotiate with the Germans, some even suggested he should surrender.  His simple motto was this: “Wars are not won by evacuation.”

          And the battles of life are not won by evacuation.  But what if you don’t feel like you have the strength to keep fighting?

CONCLUSION

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it …