We Shall Over Come

We shall over come if we don’t quit!

As we continue to celebrate lets look at our Sunday School text from the perspective of the African American experience. Paul said 2 Tim1:12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. (2 Ti 1:12).

Paul understood something about his condition. It was not for nothing! Have you ever tried to frame your suffering from the perspective is is not for naught!

We have become a people that easily quits. Timothy was blessed to have a man like the apostle Paul to instruct him in spiritual matters.

WHAT KIND OF THINGS DID PAUL INSTILL IN HIM?

One of the things that Paul instilled in Timothy, was the tenacious spirit of never QUITTING! That is really why we can shout about our history we see that our fore-parents did not quit. Something today that parents and school teachers are failing to do, is to instill in the youth of this nation that spirit of “I WILL NOT QUIT!” We are raising a society of quitters.

• They quit their jobs

• They quit their marriages

• They quit their churches

They do not have that ability that our forefathers had of sticking to commitments.

• Our forefathers stayed on the same job for decades, and after 50 or 60 years, they were given a gold watch. We do not see many of these gold watches being passed out today.

• Our forefathers stayed married 50 to 60 years, and when they had their fiftieth anniversary the children gave them a golden anniversary party.

• Our forefathers stayed in the same churches their whole lifetime.

But sad to say, today’s generation does not place a great value on ENDURANCE!

But you can tell that Paul deeply instilled this DETERMINATION in the life of young Timothy.

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?

As you read through the book of 1 Timothy, you see how Paul drilled into Timothy this tenacious spirit of not quitting, by talking to him about SOME who did quit.

He refers to these as “SOME” in 1 Timothy. Let’s look at these people he referred to as “SOME”.

• SOME turned from the Truth - TURNED BY SOME

1 Tim. 1:6 “From which SOME having SWERVED HAVE TURNED ASIDE UNTO VAIN JANGLING.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - DENIED BY SOME

1 Tim. 1:19 “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which SOME HAVING PUT AWAY CONCERNING FAITH have made shipwreck

:

• SOME turned from the Truth - DECEIVED BY SOME

1 Tim. 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, GIVING HEED TO SEDUCING SPIRITS, AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - DEPARTED BY SOME

1 Tim. 5:15 “For some are already TURNED ASIDE AFTER SATAN.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - SPURNED BY SOME

1 Tim. 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, THEY HAVE ERRED FROM THE FAITH, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

• SOME turned from the Truth - MISSED BY SOME 1 Tim. 6:20-21 “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing HAVE ERRED CONCERNING THE FAITH. Grace be with thee. Amen.”

We can see in these verses how Paul was concerned about SOME who were no longer serving the Lord. He wanted Timothy to take a look at these, so that the same thing would not happen to him.

In order for us not to be QUITTERS, how must we live?

I. THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE MUST NOT DO

We must not be:

A. CARELESS IN OUR DEVOTION.

Something we all understand in the physical realm, is that we must take time each day to eat nutritious food. If we DO NOT, we will find ourselves getting weak and susceptible to every germ that crosses our path.

But the same thing applies to us spiritually. If we do not take time for Bible study and prayer on a daily basis, we are going to get weak, and we open ourselves up to every demon in hell.

In this chapter Paul said everyone has deserted him. He even names a couple by name Phygelus and Hermogenes. In chapter 4 he speaks of another deserter:

Paul recognized that this is exactly what happened to Demas.

Look at 2 Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world….” Demas once served the Lord with this great servant, the Apostle Paul. But he began to take his eyes off the things of God, and began to get his eyes on the things of the world, and the Bible says, he forsook the apostle Paul, “…having loved this present world.”

When we start to get CARELESS IN OUR DEVOTION, watch out! This is what happened to Demas, and he goes down in the history books as a QUITTER. And worst than that, he has to stand before the Lord one day, as a man who could have really made a difference with his life, but who got side-tracked by the things of the world, and became a quitter.

There are some here, who in years gone by once served the Lord, but now all the Lord can get from them is two hours on Sunday morning. WHAT HAPPENED? They got slack in their devotion by being side-tracked by the world. Demas was once a great servant of the Lord, but he got side-tracked by the world.

One of the things we must recognize that staying the course gets results.

The Montgomery Boycott is a great example of devotion to a cause. The boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and is regarded as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation. It last 350 days. it was the commitment and the black citizens that brought the white bus company to its knees. Its not that they did not suffer. They understood the suffering had purpose. This movement was done by the church community. The local ministers galvanized the black community and said we will not ride those buses until we are treated as equal citizens.

We cannot be CARELESS IN OUR DEVOTION, or…

B. CASUAL IN OUR DEDICATION

Paul said in that same verse I know whom i have believed and convinced he is able to guard what i have entrusted to him. The was a song in the church i put all in his hands. We can’t put it all in his hands unless we learn to trust him. Paul said I believe and am convinced. That’s FAITH!

Now faith is the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not seen.

Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but THIS ONE THING I DO, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

The problem today with most of us, is that we want to do to many things with our lives. And perhaps these are not bad things, but we soon get so involved in so many of these things in our lives, that they squeeze the Lord out of our lives.

The reason the apostle Paul was the successful Christian he was, is because he concentrated on ONE THING in his life that stood out above all the rest, - HIS DEDICATION TO SERVING THE LORD. He never reached a place that he felt he had it all, he kept pressing daily to, “…reach the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

We can never be successful in serving the Lord if we are going to be CASUAL IN OUR DEDICATION. Also, we can not be-

C. CARNAL IN OUR DECISIONS

The decisions we make this coming year, must be made prayerfully, not through fleshly desires. When we as Christians make “Fleshly Decisions”, we pay a dear price. Paul said, 13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us (2 Ti 1:13–14).

We have to allow the Holy Spirit to be our guide in all of our decisions. Paul instructs Timothy in Chap 2 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Ti 2:2–3). He also said 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything (2 Ti 2:7).

This doesn’t just apply to decision made at church it applies to every area of our lives.