“Sirs, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21).

I am impressed in reading the gospels at the people who did whatever was necessary to get to Jesus.  Here is a partial list. You will think of others….

–1) In Mark 2, four men brought their paralyzed buddy to Jesus. Unable to get into the house, they carried him onto the flat rooftop and tore open the tiles and lowered him into the room. I am impressed by their perseverance.

–2) In Mark 5, the woman with a 12-year hemorrhage worked her way through the crowd to get to Jesus. “If I can touch but the hem of His garment, I will get well.” People with her affliction avoid crowds, but look at her.  I am impressed by her determination and pushiness, even.

–3) In Luke 18, the blind beggar of Jericho (called Bartimaeus in Mark 10) is constantly hushed when he calls for Jesus. But the more they tried to shush him, the louder he called. I do love this brother and am impressed by his stubborn refusal to be discouraged.  He would not be denied.

–4) In Luke 19, the chief tax collector of Jericho, Zaccheus, wanted to see Jesus but the crowds lining the streets and roads were blocking his way. So he climbed a sycamore tree.  What a sight he must have made, this Roman official up a tree. Jesus recognizes faith when He sees it and invites Himself to Zac’s home and into his life.  I am impressed by Zac’s determination to do whatever it took to see Jesus.

–5) Several times in scripture (Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16, and maybe other places), the disciples discouraged mothers from bringing their little ones to Jesus. But they persisted and the Lord blessed them.  I am impressed by their love and their unwillingness to be easily dissuaded.

–6) In Luke 2, old Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would live to see the Christ child. So each day he went into the temple at Jerusalem, where he waited and waited and waited. And then one day….  (I’m smiling.)  I am so impressed by this man’s steadfast patience.

–7) In Matthew 2, the Magi must have overcome considerable obstacles to get to the Christ Child.  They were driven by strong faith and high expectations; they came at great expense and personal inconvenience. We wish we knew more of their story.  I am in awe of their sacrifice.

–8) In Mark 7, the Syrophoenician woman refused to be dissuaded even by the Lord Jesus Himself. After she absorbed the put-downs and still remained in place, Jesus gave the ultimate compliment for the mother’s faith.  Her deep love for her child enabled her to withstand any abuse.

I admire these people so much.

And on the other hand…

All around us there are people who manufacture excuses for not going to church and not serving the Lord.  These lame statements such as…

–“No one spoke to me, so I’m not going back to that church.”  Bartimaeus, the amazing blind beggar of Jericho (Luke 18:35-42), must shake his head at that.  How easily you were turned away.

–“The churches in this town are cold. We couldn’t find a church like the one back home.”  Zaccheus, the diminutive tax collector of Jericho (Luke 19), must wonder about you. You weren’t actually looking for Jesus, were you?

–“Someone criticized me, so I quit teaching that class.” The Syrophoenician mother can hardly believe her ears (Luke 7:24-30). Do you not care?

–“No one appreciated what I did, so I quit.”  The Magi are not sure they heard you correctly (Luke 2). You quit that easily? You were unwilling to pay such a tiny cost.

–“People mistreated my daddy when he was the preacher. If this is how Christians act, then I don’t want to be one.”  The mothers of Galilee wonder about you (Luke 18:15). Some things you endure out of love for your family and dedication to Christ.

We who say such things should be ashamed.

How little it took to defeat us.  How quickly we threw in the towel and left the field of battle.  How easily we were bested by the enemy. What a small price we were unwilling to pay.

My question to you today is, “What would it take to stop you from going to church and serving God?”

Please do not rush by that question and on to what follows.  This is a serious question, one that deserves your attention.

Here are my thoughts on this subject, things I would like for you to consider–

–a) Based on what I have seen in churches across the land, it would take far less than you might think to provoke you to quit.  People are dropping like flies at the least provocation.

–b) You and I are far more vulnerable to discouragement than we might think, particularly when we are tired, overworked, and stressed.  The bad news is when we draw back from church attendance and quit reading our Bibles and doing meaningful praying, we become easy targets for the enemy.

–c) By our constant harping on why we are inactive (“They were unfriendly; They mistreated my Daddy.”), we spread the infection and do the work of Satan. Others become disaffected with the church too and the work of Christ grows weaker and weaker in our city.

–d) We should be aware of this constant possibility and pray against it.  “Lord, help me not to grow weary in well doing. You have said we shall reap a good harvest if we do not grow discouraged and quit.”  Help me not to quit!

Pray that you will work on through discouragement.

–e) We should learn to laugh at our troubles and shrug off the nay-saying of the carnal-minded around us, even when they happen to be leaders of our churches. They’re human too, and just might be encouraged or motivated by your faithfulness.

The Lord gave me three brothers and two sisters, all of whom I loved dearly.  Two brothers are with the Lord now.  And our wonderful parents died a number of years back.  I like to think that during the years when we were all active and coming and going, nothing my siblings ever did or said would keep me from going to see mom and dad and loving them.  To have stopped going home because of something Ronnie said or Patricia did would have been unthinkable.

And yet, something similar to this seems to be happening all the time to a large contingent of God’s people.  Strange.

–f) You and I must work at keeping our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We must let nothing keep us from Him, hinder us from serving Him, and stop us from working to please Him.

–g) Let us be inspired and instructed by the example of Paul and Silas in the jail of Philippi, who, while their backs were still open wounds from the beating they had received from the very people they had come to serve, and while they were locked into stocks and penned into the inner jail cell, erupted into prayer and songs of praise around midnight. Acts 16:25 is one of the all-time great statements of faith, and the supreme illustration to you and me of how to be pleasing to the Lord in the midst of our trials. Rejoice anyway! (I know, I know. It’s hard sometimes.  But do it!)

Many a lesser person with weaker resolve would have bailed out when given the treatment Paul and Silas received.

You and I are such cry-babies.

–h) The thing that almost all the people of Hebrew 11’s faith roll-call have in common is that they persevered against obstacles without a Bible and with very little to sustain them other than the awareness that the Lord had chosen them and was with them.  The writer of Hebrews gave them the ultimate accolade: “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Hebrews 11:16).

I fear He is ashamed to be called our God much of the time.  (My constant prayer is “Father, find me faithful!”)

May the Lord make us indomitable.

–Knocked down, we get back up and come back to Jesus.  I want to be relentless.  See 2 Corinthians 4:8-10.

–Laughed at and jeered, we slough it off and go on with Jesus. I want to be impervious to ridicule.

–Rebuked by the world and discouraged even by the Lord Himself, we say, “Though He slay me, yet will I serve Him” and go forward. I want to be sold out. (See Job 13:15)

“My Lord.  I am here for the duration!”

“We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed…” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Hey friend, let’s encourage each other to hang tough.