Never Give Up

Sat here at the Moody Pastor's Conference Listening to a challenging message from 2Corinthians 4:1-6 where we were given several reasons from the text to "Never Give Up." The context is that in 2Corinthians 3 we are told of the marvelous theology of the God's glorious salvation. It is this theology that is to inform our conduct. As always, belief determines behavior. We were told that our "talk talks and our walk talks but our walk speaks louder than our talk so if our walkie walkie doesn't match our talkie talkie then we should stop talking the talk."I was particularly gripped by the truths of verse 1 where Paul says that "Since he has this ministry as he has received mercy he does not lose heart. What a blessed thing to ponder--God's mercy in rescuing us and bringing us into ministry. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. We all deserve condemnation and for any of us to be in the ministry is a testimony of God's mercy. I need to reflect upon the fact that ministry is a privilege and not a burden. Do I see ministry as something God has given or something I've "got" to do? Pastor Ford shared a story of a soldier who returned to his neighborhood in Chicago. The folks said, "That's so sad that you left your arm in Iraq." The young soldier kept insisting that he never "left" his arm in Iraq, but people kept saying he had. Finally, He told everyone, "I never left my arm in Iraq, I gave my arm in defense of the country I love." Do we have this same sacrificial attitude about ministry--we are giving our lives for Christ's sake?" Ministry is undeserved, it is a privilege.

Paul was also motivated to never give up because of the message--the Gospel. Pastor Ford kept insisting that any adjective placed in front of "Gospel" negates the gospel. We have a great message to share, but we should never give up. Great truth.

Frankly, the message was a delight and a challenge to listen to because the pastor was almost speaking faster than I could think. It was a powerful and challenging message.

Looking forward to James McDonald and the Chicago Tabernacle Choir tonight.

Lead in worship by Ron and Gary Matthews all week and they are doing a superb job.