2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
In the last verse of our scripture reading, Paul mentioned that Demas had forsaken him, having loved this present world.
I want to mention some things today that are easier to do, but are not the right thing to do:
I. It Is Easier To Stop Serving God Than To Keep On Going For The Lord
A. When you are tired
1. We all get tired…we are all human.
2. It is easy to get tired 'in the work of God'
3. But we shouldn't get tired 'of the work of God'
4. God has promised us that He will strengthen us if we will wait on Him.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
B. When you are troubled.
1. By financial problems
2. By family problems
3. By fellowship problems between you and another Christian
4. Problems can often cause us to want to quit and give up on serving God.
5. I have known many believers who have gotten discouraged in troubles, and have given up on life!
2 Cor 4:9 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair
C. When you are triumphant
1. Some people get distracted after they succeed at doing something for the Lord and they quit.
2. That may seem strange, but I have seen that take place in folks' lives nearly as often as discouragement.
3. All of a sudden it seems they don't need God…
4. Or perhaps they are just too busy for Him!
DON'T QUIT
When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road you're crossing seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you try to smile but you have to sigh, When cares are pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don't give up, though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with your next blow.
Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far; So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit; It's when things seem worse, that you must not quit.
Note: Paul sought to destroy Christianity before he got saved! After Christ came into his life, he spent the rest of his days seeking to build Christians up.
Galatians 1:23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
II. It Is Easier To Smash Something Than It Is To Build Something
A. It is easier to destroy our HEALTH than to build it
1. In eating: too much of it!
2. In exercise: too little of it!
1Ti 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
3. I used to joke about this verse, until I found myself on the operating table facing open heart surgery, then it wasn't near as funny!
Ge 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
4. If we aren't SWEATING when we work, we had better get some exercise!
B. It is easier to destroy a HOME than to build it Pr 14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
1. This principle is applicable to both husbands and wives.
2. We don't need to use a wrecking bar to destroy our home and family.
3. We can do it with our tongue…we can do tremendous damage with our words.
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
C. It is easier to tear down a church than it is to build one.
1. How do members tear down a church?
a. Through inactivity…
b. Through gossip…
c. Through apathy…
2. Determine that you are going to be part of the construction crew rather than the demolition crew!
III. It Is Easier To Sit Down Than It Is To Stand Up
Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
A. We need to stand up and be identified
Lu 22:55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
1. Peter sat down to keep from being identified as one of the Lord's disciples.
2. Often we want to do the same, it is easy to live for the Lord within these walls, but the real test is how we walk once we leave here.
3. I've mentioned this before, but we need to stand up and let the world know that we are His children…don't be ashamed of Christ!
Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
B. We need to stand up and get involved
Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
1. There is a gap in this church…
2. As a matter of fact there are many gaps!
3. A gap is an opening…we have immediate openings for service.
4. Who will stand up and say, "Count on me"?
5. David stood up to fight Goliath, and everyone else LET him!
Every day we are faced with choices. Taking the easy way out is seldom the right thing to do. Will we be remembered as Demas, who forsook the Lord? Or will we be remembered as Paul, who finished the course and kept the faith?
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.