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REFUSE THE DESIRES TO QUIT

REFUSE THE DESIRE TO QUIT
John 11:38-44

INTRODUCTION

Have we noticed that there are so many people who fail in their relationships, their careers, and their lives because they quit?
Because it is easy to give up on a relationship than to restore it.
It is easy to resign from your task than to complete it.
It is easier to spend your money than to save and invest it.
It is easy to lose hope than to use our faith.
It is easier to quit life when we are amid pressures, a lot of troubles, and disappointment rather than to face it, move forward and embrace it.
It is good to quit something that is bad and does not add value in life but not in the sense that we quit life as a whole.

SUICIDE STATISTICS

I am surprised that 700,000 people are dying every year as per the World Health Organization data twice the number of homicides. This translates to 40 people every second aside from the staggering number of people who attempted to do it. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 years of age.
Suicide is a serious threat to public health problems as most of them are preventable. This happens impulsively in the moment of crisis with a breakdown in the ability of a person to deal with life stresses such as financial problems, relationship break-ups, or chronic pain & illness.
What does this figure tell us?
That there is a real problem happening around us that we are not aware, of or we just take for granted.

QUITTING BEYOND LOSING LIFE

Quitting is not just about ending one’s life through suicide.
Some people still reporting for work physically but have already resigned from their jobs.
There might be a couple who sleeps together in their bed but in reality, they are already separated.
We may know some of our friends who are still working as OFW, but their mind is already back home.
We may be surprised what happened to your child whom you know/excelled in class but later on, she/he quits studying.
To surrender is the easiest thing to do.
This urge to quit is something most of us sometimes experience.

SHOW ME WHERE YOU STOP

In verse 32, When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jesus asked her,” where did you lay Lazarus?”
At times, we asked God “Lord where you were and why all of these troubles and mess are happening to me?”
We retire in our situations and blame it all on others, we blame it on God as seems He doesn’t care for us.
But like in the case of Martha, Jesus knows how we feel and may ask us the same question, “Why are you so worried? Why do you quit? Tell me where you stopped.”
He might be asking you right now, “Where had you stopped? I will pick you up from where you stopped.”
Never quit as God will pick us up from where we stopped.

THE MAN AT THE POOL IN BETHESDA

Remember the story of at the pool of Bethesda?
The man was there beside the pool, hoping for healing but already resigned in his situation.
He was on the porch where people are half alive and half dead. They were surviving.
When Jesus saw him, the man sighted his regrets and hopelessness for receiving a miracle because no one carried him to the pool when an angel stirred the pool.
For 38 long years, he was almost there but not able to achieve it. It was so close but not close enough.
Some of us quit when we are almost there, we can see the finish line but still, we can never make it.
So, we create an alibi to ease our feeling of failure. Like this man’s alibi that no one carried him to the pool.
Our alibis might be, “I’ve been working for all my life as an OFW but still here in Dubai, working. Is it worth it?”
“I had been courting her for a long time but till now I am hopeless if I can still have her sweet yes”.
“I’ve been working a long time in my company, but my employer doesn’t see and appreciate my effort. I never received a raise or promotion. I am now quitting”
The problem when we are on our porch is that we see other people on the other porches are happy, they are enjoying their life, they have everything while we compare ourselves that we are in misery, lot of pressure and stress.
Comparing our life with people better than our conditions trigger our desire to quit.

THREE FEET FROM GOLD

In the book Napoleon Hill’s Think & Grow Rich, he said that one of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when overtaken by temporary defeat.”
During the “gold fever” in the gold rush days, an uncle of R.U Darby had this lust for the gold, so he took his stake to work with a pick and shovel.
After weeks of working, he was rewarded with the discovery of shining ore. So, he needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he covered the mine and went back to his place and informed his relatives and friends of this amazing discovery and to pool money to buy the needed machinery.
The first car of ore was mined and delivered to a smelter. Then they proved that had one of the richest mines in Colorado, so they continue to drill and mine until something happened. The vein of gold ore disappeared, and they thought that it was the end of their journey. They drilled again desperately with sheer hope but to no avail.
Finally, they decided to quit.
They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred bucks and took the train back home. They thought that this “junk man” was stupid. The junk man called a mining Engineer and looked at the mine and do some inspection and calculations. The Engineers advised that the project failed because the previous owners were not familiar with the “fault lines”.
Based on his calculations, the vein of gold can be found just three feet from where the Darby had stopped drilling. And voila! That is exactly what they found.
The junk man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine because he continued what others started. He seeks the counsel of experts before giving up.
And this life lesson of Mr. R. U Darby becomes gold when he ventured into selling life insurance. “I may stop three feet from the gold, but I will never stop because men say “no” when I ask him to buy insurance.”

HOW WE CAN DEFY THE URGE TO QUIT

LOOK FOR THE PRIZE NOT FOR THE SACRIFICE

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
-1 Corinthians 9:24 says
“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded”
-2 Chronicles 15:7

When we focus only on our sacrifices, on our hardships, we will lose our determination to continue the race we started.
Never worry about the beating, focus on winning. This might be the motto of boxers. Watching Manny Pacquiao wins inside the rings, we wait only for him to receive the champion’s belt, but if we will follow him behind the scenes, we cannot imagine the difficulties, the hard work and discipline, and the punches he also received.
It took hard work, patience, and determination but the prize of winning is much more than the hardship you encountered.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

No temptations have overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13
God will always provide us an option, an alternative so that we could have our way out.
Problem is not given when there are no answers to that.
When there is a death option, there are also life options.
In every desperate situation, there will always be another solution.
In addition, we are not alone in our struggles. The cross you may carry is less weight than the cross being carried by others.
Look around you and you will know that we may see ourselves better than the others.
Remember that we are not alone. It is common to man.

NEVER BE OVERWHELMED BY TEMPORARY SETBACKS

Everything is temporary.
Never be defeated by temporary events and setbacks they are just a staging point of something good of about to happen.
Always expect to bounce back.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weaknesses” as what St Paul said.
Look at the story of Esau, he forfeited his inheritance because of focusing on the temporary setbacks. He exchanged something valuable with a bowl of soup.
He loses his patience to wait. He wanted to have it fast, He wanted to have it immediately.
Many people quit when they desire to do it fast. Instant gratification.
But when their expectation is never realized, they quit.
They quit on their dreams and never dream again.
They quit their relationship and stopped loving the other person.
Don’t say you are jobless; you are just temporary unemployed.
Do not say you don’t have money; you are only temporary broke.
Don’t say you’re forever single, say you are a temporary bachelor.
Be prepared for the bounce back.

BE CONNECTED WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Quitting is also attributed to the kind of people you are with.
When you are surrounded by quitters definitely your chance of surrendering is more.
But when you’re in the company of people who never allows setbacks to stop their life, your chance of winning also increases.
Connect with people whom you want to be with. If you want to fly, stay with your friends who wanted to do the same. Never mingle forever with the chicken if you are an eagle as they cannot fly with you.
Remember that there are people who don’t want you to progress, people who don’t want you to grow. And if that is the attitude of people whom you are with, change the porch you are in where you can grow, where you can succeed, where you can be free doing the right thing to do, loving what you love to do.
Look for people who know what you can do and pushes you to your limit until you succeed.
Look for people who can tear the wall to bring you to Jesus.
A mentor doesn’t ask you to do what they think, they teach you to believe.

ENCOURAGE YOURSELF

When the situation is so discouraging that one bothers to encourage you, encourage yourself.
Look at the mirror and talk to yourself that you can do it.

In 1 Samuel 30:16, David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
There are so many things that can trigger you to quit but encourage yourself in God.

May you always find the courage and strength to continue.

Mikesendon

GIVE MORE THAN WHAT THEY BEG

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GIVE MORE THAN WHAT THEY BEG
Acts 3:1-10

Giving someone will not change the world but it will change someone’s world.

We can’t give to everyone but everyone can give to someone.

This is what we want to achieve the goodness within us ripples until it becomes a miracle.

Is it not a miracle to see everyday people living happy and content because there is abundance and no one is lacking not because everyone is rich as Warren Buffet; but because everyone discovers the joy and principle of sharing?

There is greater joy in giving that God is teaching this to us. The joy the giver have is more than the joy experienced by the recipient.
That the blessings of someone who gives are far greater than the one who receives.

IS IT A RECKLESS DECISION?

We learned that giving is not a reckless decision at all.
Because we understood that it is in giving that the more we received.

There is more joy in giving than in receiving alone.

OUR PRESENCE is our PRESENT

We can give without loving but we cannot truly love without giving.
We cannot consecrate our all by giving our treasures alone.

Because sometimes, God and other people don’t need your money but they need your time.

Sometimes, our time is better than any dime; our presence is the best present we can give to a person.
Our presence cannot be replaced by any material things.

For those OFW with family miles away, we usually equate our presence with our dear ones with material things. We translate our love for them with goods, gadgets, and comfortable life.

But there are times that they don’t need our money, they long for our presence, tangible love.

Good that in this digital era, we can fill the gap of our absence by the use of social sites through FB, Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, IMO, and skype. Our presence with them becomes virtual.

But no matter how it is, the effort of making ourselves available to them cannot be discounted.

PETER HADE GAVE MORE

In the reading of Acts 3:1-10 12, Peter and John on the third hour of the afternoon for prayer, going up to the temple a man lame from birth begs them for money. Peter looked straight at him and did John, said to the man “Look at us! Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk.
A poor beggar received more than what he expected.
Because Peter and John, have given more than what the man asked.
They had given what they only have, their TIME and Jesus who is in them.

In this part of the talk, we will share how & why you have to give more than what others beg of you:

1. GIVE THEM RELATIONSHIPS NOT OWNERSHIP
If we want to improve our relationship with others, even if it’s your spouse, your children, your parents, or other people; we need to spend quality time with them.
Because you cannot replace our presence with material things.
Sometimes, people don’t need our money.

They need our time.
Because the time we devote to others sends a message that they are important to us.

The time devoted by Peter and John to a beggar on the street helps the man to understand that respect for oneself is more than a small coin he can receive.

The sense of touch and sight was felt by the beggar when he looked at the disciple’s eyes and that feeling flowed when Peter reached out his hand to the man.

This power of touch and sight is missing in a virtual and digital relationship.

I wonder about seeing couples in a cozy restaurant, dining together but they don’t look at each other their eyes were hooked on their own phone.
Leave that gadget behind for a while and start a good talk, look at each other’s eyes and connect.

This is what the lame beggar felt when he looked at Peter and John.

Connection.

Our time spent sending a clear message that you are near and available on time that they need us.

Another act of good deed is by the Good Samaritan. A businessman and a traveler where time is gold; he dared to spare his time to carry the man to his horse and brought him to care in a hotel and paid for it.

2. GIVE THEM OUR GOD NOT YOUR GOLD

We cannot truly consecrate by giving what we really have by giving our treasures alone because it is not enough.

Share to them our God when we give.

Let them know that we are just a channel of God’s goodness; that every blessing we share with them is not from us but the fruit of God’s goodness and generosity to us.

We let them realize that God is alive through us. We become Jesus to someone.

We become a living manifestation that God is real because they can sense, they can feel that He is working through us.

The reason why many desperate people don’t believe that God cares is that they don’t experience that sympathy, that empathy from people who were blessed.

The ultimate purpose of our blessing is that we become a blessing to someone who is in need.
Because all the things that we have, time treasures, and talents all come from Him alone.

Let them realize that what they receive does not come from us, but we are only sharing the blessing that we received from God.

Don’t ask them to repay you, but let them do exactly what you did to the next person with the same experience and situation.

Ask them to do other what you did to them, let that goodness ripple and daily we will see miracles. The goodness they received shall be the same goodness they will share.

Giving our God to them is empowering them to stand in their own faith and relationship with God.
By sharing with them our God, let them discover a wonderful relationship with our Master and let that relationship be intimate and personal with God.

3. GIVE THEM WHAT THEY REALLY NEED

Sometimes our intention to help is good. However, in the long term, we don’t help but rather let them be lazy, lame, and selfish.

We teach them to be too much dependent on the moment that it paralyzes them and kills us as well.

The problem sometimes with us, we let them paralyze their thinking because every decision should be coming from us. We limit their ability to think for themselves.

Don’t give them the fish but teach them how to fish.

You can empower them by teaching and sharing with them what you know and how they could be able to maximize their time and resources.

Give to our children what they only need. Don’t just give our children the taste of our wealth but teach them what made us wealthy. Don’t just give them your riches, show them how you did it. Teach them your passion, your vision, your mission, the right character, and outlooks in life so that they could have their own.

I think it’s not right that we only give food to the beggar to eat, it is hard work but we need to transform them to be a better part of our society. They need to regain their identity and integrity so that they could somehow be contributors to the common good of the community.

We should give them a chance instead of giving them a label that reminds them of their inability to be part of the community.

4. GIVE THEM MOTIVATION AND NOT DISSUASION

Some people give but they let that opportunity to judge them and blackmail people, their relatives, or even their kin.

They don’t need our judgment.

We should not use our giving to let others look stupid or use them for our own propaganda of being self-righteous.

5. GIVE THEM LOVE NOT PITY

What people need from us is not our pity but our love.

We can only strengthen their belief in themselves if we show them our trust and belief that they can do it alone.

The more we pity them, the more we let them stay in their miserable conditions.

You give not because you expect to receive but because you love.

Like the Good Samaritan, what he had given is the best out of his love and kindness without expecting any form of return.

Some people make friends because they have a vested interest in you.

Do we want to partake in a Mission of God to mankind by giving our time, treasure, and talents?

Do we want to have that happy and fruitful relationship?

Do we want to experience deeper peace of mind with God?

It is not that we are giving our time to God and man but actually, we are seizing that time we spent in our favor to experience His immense and glorious presence.

GOD’S EYE ON THE GIVER

Our giving cannot be hidden from the eyes of God. He is observant.
Every second, every time, every giving that we are doing is known to the Lord.

That is why we give our time and talent with joy.
He knows how much we give and the more, He knows how we value every act of giving we are doing.

May you always become Jesus to somebody,

Mikesendon

Jesus answered, “It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
-Matthew 4:4

DARE TO DREAM

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DARE TO DREAM

Philippians 3:13-14

All of us have dreams.

The question in front of us is, “are all those dreams still alive, or have they all disappeared like a vapor dew?”

Many of us were all vibrant and full of hope when we were young, we dream dreams. Almost excited that we can change the world, to make things happen.

But along the way, with so many disappointments and failures; we never dream again.

We surrender our goals and forget to dream again.

We just make excuses that dreaming is all for the young.

But even when we grow old, our dreams change to where God is leading us.

Dare to Dream

To dare means:

Do Action Regardless of Eventualities.

Dreams is a DEDICATED RESOLVE that EMANATES from our core gifts and life purpose, ASPIRING for the highest goal possible, MOVING FORWARD with confidence into a SUCCESSFUL and tangible results.

It’s a dedicated resolve, a decision that revs us up to focus on what to aspire with greater importance for us.

Any decision we make emanates from our gifts given to us by God and our core life purpose.

That is why when you decided to keep your relationship in marriage, you decided to love with a single purpose you want to spend the rest of your days with the man or woman you love and what God has given to you.

We always aspire for the highest goal possible because it stretches us out. It gives us challenges.

It brings out the faith in us, it brings out the best in us.

When we dream, we move forward with confidence knowing that we have God on our side.

We keep it in our mind and in our heart that it is His will and plan to prosper us and give us a good future.

All this endeavor is to taste and see the fruit of all our aspirations.

The result of all our decisions to move forward in pursuing our highest goals possible with much confidence, fueled by our core gifts and life purpose is to turn it into successful and tangible results.

Dreams that could be touched, dreams that could be seen, dreams that could be tasted.

“Taste and see how good our God can be”.

God will turn our visions into realizations, He will turn our dreams into reality.

Maaring ang isang bagay ay imposible subalit sa Diyos ito’y napangyayari

Getting rid of failures and disappointments

After so many failures and disappointments, we never dream again.

Hopeless that those aspirations will come to reality.

We made so many excuses, we dug holes where we can bury them.

All those regrets, we don’t want to remember them anymore. The more we remember, it reminds ourselves of our inability to make things happen, our weaknesses, and our limitations.

But don’t bury our dreams, but keep them with us because this gives us inspiration.

Dreams give us hope.

Burying that dream, we stay in our comfort zone. Like an eagle who lost the ability to fly, we prefer to stay with the chicken.

We build a bed on our situation.

Because staying with people with the same experience, gives you the alibi and comfort that what you become normal.

Being lame is normal when you are surrounded by people who cannot walk. Being a chicken is normal when you surround yourself with chicken.

To get out from being normal, then pursue your dreams and find your way out of your norm and comfort zone.

Be ready for a radical change.

BE READY FOR RADICAL MANEUVERING

But we cannot just stay where we are.

Because God has a perfect plan for all of us different from ours.

If other people had wavered in their dreams, some people dreamt but their dreams were not realized because God has a different plan for them.

Like St Paul, he had already a plan in his head and in his heart and he was resolved to fulfill it no matter what.

But something happened, he was walking on the wrong road. The road to Damascus was his turning point.

The change was so radical that he needed to despise himself. He needed to forget his own dreams. He was required to change the course of his journey toward the road that leads him to the path where God had called him.

He counted it a loss for the sake of Jesus Christ.

In the Middle of Crossroads

Now is 2019 and we may be in the middle of our crossroads.

We are perplexed about what to do next.

New year resolutions are not enough to make some radical change in our life.

We need to decide, we need to act.

Leave behind all our failures and shortcomings in previous years and let it be our inspiration to do something better for these years and the years ahead.

Let our battle cry be CHANGE IS COMING

Let us direct our hope and our ambition towards achieving something great.

May your happiness be full.

Mikesendon