Text: I Samuel 28:3-10
Topic: Staying In the Course
I. What Separates Us in The Course
A. Man
Many believers stop attending Church because of offense caused by
Churchmates. We thought that big things offend us, but it is not, it is
the small things that caused us to stumble. Being left out.
Miscommunication. Arguments. Unguarded words.
B. Evil
The evil pursues to drag us away from the course God put us. He will
whisper lies and discouragements to freeze your heart from believing
that you will finish the course. He will show you sceneries that will pull
you back from the course. Sceneries that will make you compare
yourself to others. Sceneries that will make you forget the faithfulness
of God. Sceneries that will stop you walking to the course.
C. The Worst, Yourself
Mistakes. Sins. Frustrations. Guiltiness. These voices echo throughout
our minds, turning off the zeal we have in serving Christ. The one who
can worst stop you from continuing the course is not the difficulties,
not the people around you, but you and you, alone.
II. Staying in The Course
A. Ears listening to God’s Words
It is truly impossible to finish the course without listening to the One who
designed it. Illustration Video: Facing The Giants Scene – The Death Crawl
Matthew 7:24 - “Everyone who hears these words of mine, and puts them
into practice, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Insight: It is God’s words that always bring us back to the right path.
Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. – Exodus 23:2
Insight: It is very tempting to follow the crowd as well as the things they used
to do, but it doesn’t mean that what many people doing is right. It is fine to watch
this, “sina Kuya nga eh”,
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. – Psalms 119:105
A. Hands Doing the next right thing.
We, sometimes, commit mistakes. The stings of the mistakes pull us down in the
course, saying, “It is the end.” But my brothers and sisters, we have two choices
after committing a mistake, will we learn from it? Or will we add another mistake
after it?
B. An eye-focused to Jesus Christ
Hebrews 12:2 – Focus on Jesus
The big question that will stay you in this course is: What did Jesus do to you? Do
not focus on what other people did to you. Do not focus on what Churchmates did to
you, on how they did offend you, on how painful they did to you. Sometimes, inside
the Church, we are too busy answering the questions, “What men did to me?”
Illustration: Testimony – I get tired of doing the ministry because I start focusing on
what other people did to me. Unfair. Offensive. I do good things to them, yet I
receive bad things. You’ll get tired of the course God has set for you if you start
focusing on men!
