DON'T GIVE UP

Text: Luke 5.17-26

 18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they soughtmeans to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

 19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

The friends of the paralysed man in this passage tried bringing him to Jesus but the crowd was so much that they could not reach Jesus through the door. Instead of giving up and taking the paralysed man back home, they broke the roof and created another path through which they brought the man to Jesus.

1. DON’T GIVE UP BECAUSE OF A FAILED ATTEMPT
You tried running a business before but it didn’t work. Don’t give up because of that. Give entrepreneurship another shot.
You failed an exam before. Don’t give up. Pull yourself together and go for it again.
Failure is an opportunity to start all over again more intelligently.
Failure is an opportunity to surpass your initial effort.
Failure is only a feedback that you should use another approach. Identify what went wrong and make another attempt while avoiding previous mistakes. 

2. DON’T GIVE UP BECAUSE OF LIMITED RESOURCES
You have a dream. You have a vision. But you don’t have immediate access to the resources you need to execute your dream. Please don’t give up because of this. Hold on to your dream.

Job 8:7  Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. 

Lift up your heart to God rather than quit.

Psa 121:1  I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 
Psa 121:2  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 

Look into your spirit for revelation on how to access the needed resources.
The cattle on a thousand hills belong to Him.
When you give up on the inside the game is over. Don’t give up!

3. DON’T GIVE UP BECAUSE THINGS ARE NOT WORKING ACCORDING TO YOUR EXPECTATION.

The Bible makes it very clear that,  “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Pro 24:10

Tough times don’t last but tough people do.

The fact that things are not working today does not mean that they will not work tomorrow. Winners don’t quit and quitters don’t win.

4. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX.
When they couldn’t reach Jesus through the traditional means (the door) they elevated their thinking and broke through the roof. Don’t be limited by tradition. Think of ALTERNATIVES. Life is about options. There is always a way out. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see the alternatives.

5. BE PATIENT
Heb 10:36  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, ……… Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 

Success is a process. It requires patience. There is time between seed and harvest.

6. BE PERSISTENT
Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 

Sustain your effort even when things are not happening fast. It is not the first blow that breaks a rock but an accumulation of several blows.