Philippians 2:13 NLT "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him."
Fighters use this
term to call a fight to say they surrender.
I’ve had enough
and will not be able to continue.
I quit.
1.
You have to have something to quit, in
wanting to quit. Most people I know who have successful ministries/lives
struggle with quitting because they have the option to quit.
a.
You can’t
quit something you are not doing.
i.If
you desire to do anything in this life you will receive the option at some
point in your life to throw in the towel.
b.
You are either involved in something
great or on your way to greatness if you’ve
ever wanted to quit.
ii. If
you are never tempted to throw in the towel then chances are you aren’t attempting anything with any amount
of significance.
iii.
Only champions are presented with the
option of throwing in the towel.
c. Champions
have a strong desire to quit. Only winners want to quit.
i.Peter
wanted to quit, the bible said he went back to fishing when he betrayed Christ.
ii. John
the Baptist wanted to quit he was like look should we look for another messiah
or are you the One?
iii.
King David almost quit after the
transgressions of his life.
iv.
Samson threw in the towel to Delilah and ruined some great opportunities but his hair was growing back.
v.
Jesus Himself wanted to quit when He
said let this cup pass from me Father yet not my will but yours be done.
1.
Wanting to throw in the towel means
your life has value.
2.
Your future has value, your marriage
has value, your career has value, and your destiny has value.
2.
Don’t
quit.
a.
Never throw in the towel of life.
b.
Never throw in the towel in your
marriage.
c. Refuse
to throw in the towel in your dreams for God.
Philippians
2:5 “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was
God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead,
he gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and
was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 He humbled himself
in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God
elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all
other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
**Philippians
2:13 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what
pleases him.”**
d.
In your future don’t fail, fight.
e.
If Moses would have quit when things
got difficult where would an estimated 2 million Israelites be?
f.
Where would the city of Nineveh be if
Jonah would have continued to run from God?
g.
Where would Jeremiah be cause he
wanted to quit but instead he turned his desire to quit into a rallying towel
and an explosive desire to keep on keeping on.
i.The
bible said that locked up inside of Jeremiah was a fire and God wanted the fire
released and the devil wanted the fire quenched.
ii. Jeremiah
decided to fan those flames and begin to wave the rally towel for a victory.
iii.
When the going gets tough start a I
can’t quit because
speech…”I can’t quit cause my TK is counting on me,
I can’t quit cause Alec
is counting on me, I can’t quit cause Chase
is counting on me, I can’t quit cause Madi
is counting on me, I can’t quit cause…
3.
Always serve.
a.
One thing about all of you is that you
serve.
i.Never
lose that investment.
ii. Die
to yourself as you plant the seed of service. Never get selfish.
iii.
Never lose that awesome, awe
inspiring, God living, life altering privilege of serving.
b.
Throw in the towel of service into the
lives of others.
i.Jesus
used a towel.
ii. Jesus
selected a towel as His weapon of choice.
iii.
I have truly found myself in serving
others.
1.
I am blessed cause I throw in the
towel of service.
2.
I am honored to, I am called to, I am
privileged to, just like Christ it’s
in my DNA.
John
13:1 “Before the Passover celebration,
Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father.
He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them
to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted
Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.3
Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he
had come from God and would return to God.4 So he got up from the table, took
off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist,5 and poured water into a basin.
Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had
around him. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him,
"Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7
Jesus replied, "You don't understand now what I am doing, but someday you
will." 8 "No," Peter protested, "you will never ever
wash my feet!" Jesus replied, "Unless I wash you, you won't belong to
me." 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, "Then wash my hands and head as well,
Lord, not just my feet!" 10 Jesus replied, "A person who has bathed
all over does not need to wash, except for the feet,* to be entirely clean. And
you disciples are clean, but not all of you."11 For Jesus knew who would
betray him. That is what he meant when he said, "Not all of you are
clean." 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down
and asked, "Do you understand what I was doing?13 You call me 'Teacher'
and 'Lord,' and you are right, because that's what I am.14 And since I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet.15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I
have done to you.16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their
master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the
message.17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.”
4.
One question from the disciples
continued to burn in their hearts…who
was gonna have the Chief office in the Kingdom?
a.
Jesus finally had to get onto His
hands and knees to wash their feet, the menial service of a slave, to burn into
their minds that He had called them to serve and not to rule.
b.
Oh how the church has suffered in
centuries before because we have been consumed with the passion to be great.
i.Instead
of humbly serving Christ we use Christ’s
name to serve ourselves.
c. And
He poured out the water on their feet and girded Himself the scripture said
with a towel.
d.
He tied around Him a towel.
e.
Do you understand He could have girded
Himself with a legion of angels as a symbol of His authority?
ii. He
could have girded Himself with a sword as a symbol of His authority but He
girded Himself with a towel.
iii.
And poured out water and washed their
feet.
1.
Christ’s
weapon of choice, a towel.
2.
A symbol of servant hood.
3.
A core value of my life.
