II Timothy 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: 10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
It’s easy to give an answer in church while we’re around each other, but during the week we’re more on our own. When things get hard, we can quit. It’s surprising how people go from feeling strong and say nothing can get to them….but then they do it. They quit. Why quit when you’re ahead? You’ve been beaten down before but now you feel at the bottom of a pile you can’t get from under. So you think you’ll quit. Remember nothing can force you to quit. Paul had a big list of what cannot separate us form God. Nothing should force us to quit, but can we? Absolutely! I see people do it all the time. This is not a reality television show—for one thing there is no such thing. We’ve all let things get to us, but there is no pausing on the Lord. When we do, the devil steps in and tries to get us to quit. It’s time to quit quitting and start following the Lord.
The devil tells us it’s no good to come to church. Look. None of us are perfect. We can’t use each other as an excuse. Quitters never win and they can’t expect to. A quitter loses the goal, the finish line. A soldier who quits loses the battle. Though we’re saved we don’t have perfect jobs, perfect bodies, and perfect lives. Everything doesn’t go our way. We’re in a fallen body that breaks down. Young people are in the obituaries too. Never criticize or make fun of someone. A worse thing could come upon you. Jesus came to make us winners. We are more than conquerors.
Demas quit. He forsook Paul. What we go through affects us. What happens in the home, the community and the nation does affect us. We don’t have to be losers though. It’s our choice. I want to be a winner. The only way to succeed is to fight the good fight and finish the course. Paul said Demas had left for the present world. He enjoyed the Lord until he saw the price. That price is fighting the battle and bearing the load when it comes to people, to health, to age, and so many other things. Are you determined to succeed in spite of all the obstacles? We have to endure afflictions. We all have troubles and trials. Demas let it get to him. Only Luke was with Paul and he wanted the others to come.
You can quit if you let things get to you, but don’t give up. Paul had a little more fight to go. You’ll never finish your last battle or lay down your responsibility as a Christian until the Lord comes and gets you. When runners finish a race, they quit running. We will quit fighting and running one of these days. For now, we can’t quit. We can’t give up. Nothing can make us do it. We need to be faithful until death.
Whatever we bear or how we may be pressured to put it aside and quit, hang in there. The day will come when we won’t have to anymore. Look the devil in the eye. Look your battle in the eye. Say “I’m not going to quit!” Pretty soon we’ll make it home.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 