That is the question every preacher needs to ask when he is preaching. Be sure, the congregation is asking it. Maybe Paul should have asked it the night he was long in preaching and the young man, Eutychus, fell from the third loft sleeping and was taken up dead (Acts 20:9). I guess that was the time to quit—or maybe just a little sooner!
All joking aside, when does the journey get just too hard to go on? When does it make sense to give up? In Job 2:9, Job’s wife said to him, “…curse God, and die.” It is in the tough times, in the valleys, the dark valleys, that our faith is tried. Is that the time to quit? Many pastors are resigning these days with burnout. When do you say, “The match is over, I am pinned, I have lost, I give up?” When it came to wrestling, I gave up. I gave up before my first match because I was afraid I might lose. I regret it now. I wish the coach would have told me to get out there and lose, “I want to see how you handle losing.” Failing is not as bad as quitting.
In John 16:30-33, Jesus and the disciples are in a dark time. They had finished the last supper. They had left the upper room and were headed to the garden where there was a gethsemane (an olive press). In this garden, Jesus was about to be “pressed” with the weight of the sins of the world—the cross looming before Him. It is here where He sweat, as it were, drops of blood. Before crossing the Brook Cedron, Jesus talked with His disciples and then prayed for them. What did He say to them before that famous prayer?
Philip had asked Jesus to show them the Father. They had questions about the things Jesus was saying. “We cannot tell what He saith,” they said. In verse 31, Jesus said, “Do ye now believe?” They had just stated that they knew that Jesus came from God. Jesus knew that their faith was about to be severely tested. He tells them that they are soon to be scattered, leaving Jesus all alone. He says, however, that He is not alone because the Father is with Him. He tells them that He is saying this so they can have peace. Imagine the guilt they will have after they flee from Jesus. Jesus is saying that He doesn’t want them to have guilt, but peace. He then tells them that they will have tribulation also. He tells them to cheer up—He has overcome the world, and so can they! He had not gone to the cross yet, but He had already overcome the world. He had lived the perfect life. He had been examined and no fault was found in Him. He was about to become God’s Lamb, without blemish, to atone for the sins of the world. Jesus is telling them to be of good cheer. Be an overcomer. He then goes on to pray for them. In John 17:5, He prays that the Father would keep them from evil. He prays that He would sanctify them in verse 17. In verse 19 He says, “And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”
The disciples failed, but didn’t quit. It was hard for me to learn not to be a quitter—I’m still learning. A good lesson happened for me when I was working on Dick Kagele’s farm. It was my job during harvest to keep the combines running. Going along a steep hill, the combine I was driving was maxed out as far as the leveling system was concerned. After getting off the hillside, the machine would not level back up. I drove it to the edge of the road where I could easily work on it. It looked terrible all bent over. It was that way for several days as I worked on it. It was embarrassing when the neighbors went by and I still didn’t have it fixed. I wanted to quit working on it. Dick patiently had me keep working on it. I tried everything, even praying that God would do a miracle and fix it. I studied the manual—no luck. I called the dealer—the same. There was no one to fix it but me. I prayed for the rapture. I felt sorry for myself. Finally, I heard about a man who knew a lot about John Deere combines. I called him. He knew the answer right away. It only took about twenty minutes to fix. He was a master. The dealership wanted to know how I fixed it. All of a sudden, I had expert knowledge. I had a sense of accomplishment. If you run into that trouble, call me.
“From the depth of sin and sadness to the heights of joy and gladness, Jesus lifted me.” You have to be in a valley to appreciate the joy of being rescued. Call on the Master.
QUITTING TIME IS JUST BEFORE OVERCOMING TIME!
