Steadfast Focus

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition aboard the ship Endurance. The goal: to make the first land crossing of Antarctica. The ship left South Georgia Island and headed towards the Weddell Sea, intending to reach the continent’s edge and begin their historic trek. However, as they ventured deeper into the frigid waters, the conditions rapidly worsened. The Weddell Sea, notorious for its thick sea ice, began to tighten its grip around Endurance. By January 1915, the vessel became trapped in the ice floes, effectively immobilized, with no clear path to open water.

Shackleton wrote Alexander Macklin, one of the ship’s surgeons, “did not rage at all, or show outwardly the slightest sign of disappointment; he told us simply and calmly that we must winter in the Pack; explained its dangers and possibilities; never lost his optimism and prepared for winter.”

In private, however, he revealed greater foreboding, quietly expressing to the ship’s captain, Frank Worsley, one winter’s night that, “The ship can’t live in this, Skipper … It may be a few months, and it may be only a question of weeks or even days … but what the ice gets, the ice keeps.”

Shackleton and his crew of 27 men faced the harsh Antarctic winter in this frozen prison. They hoped for a thaw that would free their ship, but as months passed, the ice’s relentless pressure began to splinter and crush the hull. Shackleton realized that their only option was to abandon ship and survive on the ice.

THe Antarctic, A great Frontier. Many were looking to traverse and explore and ultimately establish outposts for future exploration. ANd such is our commission is it not. TO go into ALL the World and Preach the Gospel!

Behold The fields white to Harvest, and now is the Time to go. BUt interestingly enough we can see throughout the history of those Great Explorers of the Gospel OF Christ they like SHackleton were met with great difficulty.

The Uknown

Acts 20:22–24 “22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

THe Apostle Paul letting us in on a little secret..... He doesnt know how its all going to play out. But he is Bound for Jerusalem. HE is compelled by the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel everywhere he goes. For Him, HE Has no other option as HE is Bound In the Spirit.

South! - The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-1917

The ice all around was now too broken and soft to sledge over, and yet there was not sufficient open water to allow us to launch the boats with any degree of safety. We had been on the march for seven days; rations were short and the men were weak. They were worn out with the hard pulling over soft surfaces, and our stock of sledging food was very small. We had marched seven and a half miles in a direct line and at this rate it would take us over three hundred days to reach the land away to the west. As we only had food for forty-two days there was no alternative, therefore, but to camp once more on the floe and to possess our souls with what patience we could till conditions should appear more favourable for a renewal of the attempt to escape. To this end, we stacked our surplus provisions, the reserve sledging rations being kept lashed on the sledges, and brought what gear we could from our but lately deserted Ocean Camp.

Our new home, which we were to occupy for nearly three and a half months, we called “Patience Camp.”

WHen Shackleton an his men abandoned ship and left the Endurance to be certainly crushed by the ice and sea, they did not know how they were going to escape. Paulete Island was 346 miles away to the west and the nearest possibility of finding Food and Shelter. THey are forced to wait in “Patience Camp” for an indefinite amount of time.

The uknown would be absolutely crushing to the morale. WHere our thoughts will take over and bring us to the state of despair. THe clouds of the unknown loom over us. THe Fear of the final resting place for these brave men would be constantly visiting their minds.

There are times in our walk with God, where we too must camp at Patience Camp. WHere the outcome is unknown.

Have you prayed for something so earnestly, with the very core of your being for years it would seem, and the answer you get is “NOT YET MY CHILD”?

Shackelton and his men must sit and wait on an ice cube and for months have no real assurance of making it to Paulet island.

He remarks: We were at the mercy of the wind, and could no more control our drift than we could control the weather.

By March 17 we were exactly on a level with Paulet Island but sixty miles to the east. It might have been six hundred for all the chance that we had of reaching it by sledging across the broken sea-ice in its present condition.

For the next two or three days we saw ourselves slowly drifting past the land, longing to reach it yet prevented from doing so by the ice between, and towards the end of March we saw Mount Haddington fade away into the distance. Our hopes were now centred on Elephant Island or Clarence Island, which lay 100 miles almost due north of us. If we failed to, reach either of them we might try for South Georgia, but our chances of reaching it would be very small.

The Known

Acts 20:22–24 “22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Paul then lets us know what he does know and Im not any more comforted by his words. The Known sometimes is worse than what is unknown is it not.

A loved one who is not right with God. A marriage that is broken. A Family that is seperated. Addiction that has its grip on someone. Getting

Beloved, Life dances on the edge of the known and the unknown, weaving moments of certainty with threads of mystery.

The Unmovable

Acts 20:22–24 “22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

What Makes this scripture so powerfull, IS that no matter what is known or Uknown, HE is Focused on what God wants him to do.

What is God asking you right now to be focused on friend?.....

We have all been entrusted with treasure. Did you know that friend? This treasure is Light.

Matthew 5:14–16 “14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

How do we finish? How do we in the face of adversity finish the Race, and the Ministry which we have recieved?

With everything we have, everything we own we must finish what The Lord has started in us.

Knowing that none of these things move me, and that My life is not my own. or as paul says, is so dear to me that it eclipses the lord and his call.

You may be saying to yourself, I am not called. OHHHH Friend. YOu are The CHurch is only made up of those who are called. Called out ones,

1 Peter 2:9 “9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

EKKLESIA

Systematic Theology: Revised Edition The Church Defined

The word is compounded from the preposition ek, “out,” and the verb kaleo, “to call.” Hence ekklēsia originally denoted a group of citizens called out and assembled for a specific purpose

Called to Join The Choir, Called to Be a good neighbor, Called to witness to a family member. Called to Be A CHILD OF GOD.

Like a city on a hill, we are called to Be that to a world that is so easily SHaken, We are to be unmovable.

Acts 20:24 “24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

NO IM NOT MOVED BECAUSE OF THAT FAILURE, IM NOT DISSUADED BECAUSE OF FEAR OR SUFFERING. WE MUST AS PAUL SAYS, YES THE HOLY SPIRIT GUARANTEES CHAINS AND TRIBULATION, BUT I AM ALREADY IN CHAINS, BOUND BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. CHAINED TO VICTORY BELOVED!!!!

IM not pushed around too and fro form the difficulties of life. or the pleasures of Life. LIke PAUL and the LORD JESUS i will set my face like a flint toward the Goal.

We must be focused, on what is really important. THe very Reason we are alive beloved. To Be the Best US we can be. TO MAKE IT HOME! where GOD CAN SAY WELL DONE.

SHackelton

By October 1915, the Endurance succumbed to the ice's crushing force, leaving the men stranded on a vast, lifeless expanse. Shackleton’s unwavering leadership and determination became their beacon of hope. He quickly devised a plan to save his crew, making sure that each decision, every step, was aimed at one goal: survival. They established camps on the drifting ice, moving supplies, setting up shelters, and even improvising a routine to maintain morale. Despite the bleak situation, Shackleton’s leadership shone through—he kept the men focused, hopeful, and disciplined. After months of drifting, the ice finally began to break up in April 1916. Shackleton seized the moment, leading his men in three lifeboats towards the nearest land, Elephant Island. The journey was perilous, with freezing temperatures, treacherous seas, and limited supplies, but the crew’s resilience saw them through. Reaching Elephant Island was a small victory, but they were far from rescue. Shackleton, determined to save his men, chose five others to accompany him on a daring 800-mile voyage to South Georgia Island, navigating one of the most hostile and unpredictable seas in a small open boat, the James Caird. After 17 harrowing days, they reached South Georgia, though on the uninhabited side. The men then trekked across the island’s rugged terrain to reach a whaling station. Shackleton’s perseverance culminated in a successful rescue mission. By August 1916, after multiple attempts, Shackleton returned to Elephant Island with a Chilean ship, the Yelcho, to rescue the remaining crew. Miraculously, not a single life was lost. Shackleton’s story is a testament to the power of unwavering focus, courage, and leadership in the face of almost certain defeat. His actions during those desperate months have inspired countless tales of endurance, highlighting the extraordinary capacity for human resilience and determination.