HCC Monthly Harvest Seed

Ephesians 6:13-14 - Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Winston Churchill is famous for his commencement speech to his alma matter at the Harrow School for boys when he said, “never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never, -in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense”.

Vince Lombardi is famous for his quote – “Winners never quit.”

I have said many times that it is ok to think about quitting as long as you know you never will.  Faithfulness is all about staying with a thing, a commitment or a person.

All of us face times of difficulty, discouragement and hardship. Many times, the difference between success and failure are those who quit and give up and those who don’t.  There is a childhood saying, “quitters never win, and winners never quit”.  Sometimes we just have to make the decision, emotionally and physically, to stay at it.  You don’t have to fake it until you make it, you just have to keep at it.  Marriage, child rearing, a dream, a goal in the workplace or the ministry God has called you to all require a determination to keep going through the good times and the difficult times.

True champions are finishers.  Jesus is known as the Author and Finisher of our faith.  When He died on the cross, He cried out the words of someone who kept at it- “It is Finished”.

Learn to stand when times are hard and difficult.

Hebrews 10:36 - For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

Those who have endured are those who have stayed with it until the end.  Matthew 24:13 - But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  While this verse applies to the end times it is also a great reminder for any situation.

James 1:3-4 (NLT) - For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Many times, when God allows you to endure His purpose is not so much in the destination as in what we are becoming. When your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  Having to endure helps us to realize our limitations, weakness and areas we need to develop and strengthen. What once used to feel unreachable and impossible now becomes the normal because our ability to endure has made us stronger.

Years ago, I ran across a poem entitled, “Don’t Quit”

When things go wrong as they sometimes will, when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, and you want to smile but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit – rest if you must but don’t you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems so far. So, stick to the fight when you are hardest hit, it’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.

Many of us are fighting some pretty big battles and are standing in faith.  You are obeying what the Word says “when you have done all, to stand. Stand”.  Look around. You are still standing in the strength and power of God and you are not alone.  Just like Jesus, we are finishers!  Our God is answering prayer.  You have sown good seed and in due season you will reap a harvest.
You are Rooted and Fruitful! - You are Loved! 
Pastor Marvin and Dawn