You're Not Allowed to Quit

This message is from  Pastor Matt Jones of Citymark Church, our guest speaker for Revival Sundays.  

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I have a simple but urgent message: You're not allowed to quit.

I know that might sound harsh, but stay with me. Because God has a race for you to run. It's not anyone else's race.  It's YOUR race.  Are you going to finish?

The Race God Has Called You to Run

On October 20th, 1968, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania finished late in the Olympics marathon, injured and limping. When asked why he kept going, he said something that stopped me in my tracks: "My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish the race."

God didn't bring us this far to just start the race of faith. He has called us to be finishers.

The fact that your heart is beating right now means God wants you to run like you're still alive. And the reason you're still alive is because there is a mission that God has laid out for you. Do you know what Jesus is praying over you right now? He's praying that your faith wouldn't fail (Luke 22:32).

I don't know about you, but when I'm in ministry and walking through life with people, there are so many times I just want to quit. I'm done. I want to do something else. It's harder than I thought. It's not worth it. But I distinctly remember the Holy Spirit speaking to me: "You're not allowed to quit."

You're not allowed to quit either.

How to Run the Race God Has Called You to Run

Hebrews 12:1-3 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."

Here are four practical ways we can actually do this when everything in your life is discouraging you and urging you to quit.  

1. Remove Distractions

If you're going to run the race God has called you to run, you're going to have to remove distractions. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9 that runners run for the prize, not aimlessly. Too many believers live life without focus, bouncing between emotions, giving up at the first sign of trial.

There's a famous book called Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. In it, a character named Christian has to cross a large field to reach a narrow gate. An evangelist tells him, "When you get into the field, there's going to be all these things that are going to try to pull you away from the narrow gate, but you need to focus on the light."

Christian gets into the field, and all these temptations and distractions come at him. Eventually, he puts his fingers in his ears and shouts, "Life, eternal life!" until he makes it to his destination.

Most of life is a distraction. Trauma bombs go off all around us, and the enemy is like a firework: big, loud, bright, no substance.We give energy and time to random things that are actually pulling us away from the best that God has for us.

Have you noticed that the critics always show up when you want to do something great for God? The devil left you alone when you were partying in the club, but when you decide you want to serve God, everybody has an opinion. Sometimes you have to allow your haters to be your motivators.

I'm on mission from the King, and the King has given me orders. And sometimes I have to say, "Life, eternal life" and determine not to listen to the criticisms.  It's not about talent, it's about the anointing. If the hand of God is on my life, no one's "no" can stop God's "yes."

2. Lay Aside Heavy Weights

Hebrews tells us we need to lay aside every weight. Some things may not be outright sin, but they slow us down in the race of faith.

I do CrossFit (yes, I'm one of those people), and sometimes they make you wear a weighted vest. It's just 20 pounds, like carrying a toddler. But you put it on and suddenly start feeling sluggish. You're losing your breath, aching in your knees. It's amazin what a little bit of weight can do.

1 Corinthians 6:12 says, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful or beneficial. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."

I'm going to be real with you. For me, it was alcohol. I don't think you're going to hell if you have a beer or glass of wine every once in a while. But I do believe there are things that slow you down. Is it lawful? Yes. But is it beneficial? Is it adding to your life or taking from your life?

The Bible says those who mourn will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). But in America, we don't like to mourn because we don't like negative feelings. So we numb those feelings with alcohol and substances. We have a drink to "take the edge off." The problem is that when you numb with alcohol, you don't allow yourself to feel those emotions that can only be regulated by the power of the Holy Spirit and God's Word.

I remember calling my dad once when I was going to have a drink on my anniversary after months of not drinking. I said, "Dad, what if I just have it tonight?" I'll never forget what he said: "If you make this a reason, there'll always be a reason."

It's my anniversary. It's my birthday. I had a bad day. I had a good day. I had a boring day. Miles sacked the quarterback. There's always a reason.

Some of you are not just a "one and done" person. You're an all-or-nothing person. That's how God made you. And I'm sorry, but you're not allowed. I had to tell myself I'm not allowed.

I'm trying to help somebody get to the finish line. God's not mad at you. Jesus is probably more like, "I've got so much more for you. That's slowing you down. Just put it down."

3. Perform for an Audience of One

A lot of people live their lives trying to prove something to someone else. "I'm going to do this and they'll learn." Can I ask you a question? Who have you given the scorecard of your life to?

Most people aren't even thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves. I'm going to run this race, I've got to run it for one person, and His name is Jesus.

History tells us George Frideric Handel faced great failure and even paralysis in his hands. But after meditating on Isaiah 40, he composed Messiah in just 23 days. When "The Hallelujah Chorus" was first performed, King George II rose to his feet in awe. In the same way, our life's purpose is not to please the crowd, but our King. At the end of our race, we long to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21).

Here's how you perform for an audience of one: 1 Peter 2:5 says, "You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

When you prayed the prayer to make Jesus the Lord of your life, you became a priest. And priests don't come to church to receive,they come to give. When I give my tithe and offering, I'm not giving to a pastor. I'm giving to Jesus because I'm a priest.

Consumers say, "What's this going to cost me?" Priests say, "I hope it's enough for the Lord."

How can you hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant," when you don't serve anywhere? How can they say "Well done" when you give more to Starbucks than you give to the house of God?

I've never left Costco thinking, "Costco just wants my money." But here, kids are getting saved, people are getting water baptized, marriages are being healed. God is using you to be a part of His ministry.

When I come to church, I come as a priest and give the Lord what He asked me to give, not what I'm willing to give. Ministry isn't about me or how well I'm doing. God can get the blessing to you, but can He get it through you?

4. Run Hurt

Jesus endured the agony of the cross for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). Likewise, we too must sometimes run hurt.

In 1992, Derek Redmond tore his hamstring mid-race in the Olympics. As he struggled to continue, his father rushed from the stands, held him up, and helped him finish. That is the heart of our Heavenly Father. We may be wounded, broken, or weighed down by sin, but God runs to us like the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20). He meets us where we are and carries us toward the finish line.

I once asked Domata Peko, who was the captain of the defense for the Cincinnati Bengals, "How do you do it?" He'd been in the league over a decade. He said, "Every single person you see on Sunday out there playing is playing hurt. I don't think I've ever played an NFL game where I don't have eight shots in my knee an  ten shots in my back. But if I don't play, I don't get paid. So I've got to play hurt. Everyone plays hurt."

Let me share something personal. When Kate was pregnant with our daughter Georgia, we found out at 22 weeks that she had a tumor called an epignathus teratoma, which is essentially a growth inside her mouth.  The doctors told us it would continue to grow, and  that Kate might die. They told us Georgia would never eat, never talk, and never live a normal life.

I was walking this edge of having to live my everyday life, pastoring and ministering, having to run, but thinking, "Is my wife going to die today? Is my daughter going to die today?"

I remember my pastor, Marcus, put his hand on my shoulder when I was weeping. He said, "I wish we were exempt, but we're not exempt." We're going to do great things for God, but we don't escape pain. It's not true that serving God means no suffering.

5. Keep Pulling Forward

Sailors use something called kedging. They would drop an anchor toward their destination, pulling themselves closer during storms. The anchor would fall ahead, and the ship could get where it needed to go even with waves going crazy, because the anchor was ahead pulling them forward.

In the Bible, we see that David lost an infant son (2 Samuel 12:15-23). David prayed and asked God to heal his baby, but his baby died. Then David got up and ate. Everyone was confused. David said, "My baby can't come to me, but one day I'll go to him."

These three remain: faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). What happens when faith fails and love dies? There's hope in the middle.

David's faith failed. His love died. But he had hope, which is an anchor for the soul (Hebrews 6:19). So when you're running this race and your faith has failed, when you prayed and it didn't happen, you need to take hope and throw it all the way out to the finish line. When storms are raging and everything's trying to weigh you down, link by link, step by step, the hope you have in the future of what God is going to do will pull you through the storm.

I was so discouraged with Georgia's situation. But day by day, we kept believing God was going to heal her. I refused to believe what the doctors were telling me. And little by little, God started to heal her. The ventilators went away. The trach came out. My faith had failed. My love died. But there was hope in the middle.

Already, But Not Yet

This is the definition of prophecy: it's already, but not yet. Because God lives outside of time, He knew that even though Georgia looked one way, He also knew she was already healed. But not yet.

You may be thinking, "How is this ever going to happen?" I want to tell you: you're already healed, but not yet. You've got to prophesy. You've got to say what God can do, exceedingly above anything you can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Your Declaration Today

If you're reading this and you're going through a hard time in your marriage, remember that at one time you held your spouse's hand and said, "I do." You said, "Till death do us part." And right now you're contemplating quitting.

Listen to me: You're not allowed to quit.

I know it doesn't look how you want it to look, but hope. Just say, "One day we're going to get better. Day by day we're going to get better." God's going to heal you.

Maybe you are discouraged in your mind, in your body, in your heart. I need to tell you: Do not quit. You don't know what is in your future.

Make this your altar moment. Make the declaration: I'm recommitting. I was going to give up, but I'm recommitting to the fight. I'm recommitting to prayer. I'm recommitting to the house. I'm recommitting to the priesthood. I've been backing away, on the sidelines. I'm recommitting my marriage. I'm recommitting to the race.

You're not allowed to quit. God has something on the other side of the finish line that you can't see yet, but He can see it. And if you quit, you're not going to seize it.

Run your race. Remove distractions. Lay aside weights. Perform for an audience of One. Run hurt. Keep pulling forward.

You're going to finish what God has called you to do.