Pastor Bukola, taught on Finishing Strong and he began by reading from 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16…
He mentioned that irrespective of your duration in Christ, you have a ministry. Our ministry is our Lord Jesus. Man is the carrier of this gospel. We see that in the life of Paul on his way to Damascus, he received the ministry. Writing the same thing in the same chapter is not a tautology but a matter of emphasis. It signifies a refusal not to give up. This gospel we are carrying about, we do not lose heart in carrying it out. Paul, on his way to Rome, traveled by sea, and a contrary wind arose. In other words, life may happen our way of carrying out this gospel, life may happen but we should not lose heart. Men have a tendency to faint, which is why Paul is encouraging us. Regardless of the challenges we face, we must keep our faith and commitment to Christ.
Paul went through all manner of things; he understood the assignment wasn’t his own and must be delivered. The ministry, work of God sometimes come with sufferings and consolation. The things that happen don’t matter, but how we handle them matters. Paul said “… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering.” We do not want to share in his sorrow, but we do want to experience his power. Power is good, but it requires a sacrifice. Prayer will give you confidence. One of the sufferings is that people will find your fault and magnify it. There has never been a single servant of God who was faultless. Abraham had his own fault; he lied to save his life. Moses had anger problems, and because of that, he couldn’t see the promised land. Hardship shapes us for ministry. Paul was constantly persecuted and restricted, yet he persisted. He resorted to using them for God’s glory.
Sometimes, life does not make sense to us; we dip our feet into the deep waters of life, yet the gospel, our service, and our fervency must continue. We faint not should be our slogan; life can bring unexpected challenges, and we must continually remind ourselves that we faint not. You may be bleeding, yet you are leading; tell yourself that you faint not.
2 Corinthians 11:22-28 explains what Paul went through for the sake of the gospel. He was imprisoned, sentenced to death, assaulted, stoned, and so on for the sake of the gospel.
Romans 8:35-37 NKJV “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
In Romans 5, the Bible admonishes us not to faint in the midst of tribulations and trials.
What then can we do during adversity?
1) Keep praying (Luke 18:1) It is not easy, but we must keep praying. If you are not praying, you will faint.
2) Confess what you have prayed for. Speak positively only. Regardless of how tough the conflict is, confess positively. Despite all that Paul went through, he confessed that he was more than a conqueror. Continue saying it. Write it and keep confessing it.
3) Bring out the catalogue of God’s faithfulness from your archive. Remember the last victory you experienced in Christ.
4) Don’t run from God; run to God.
Acts 4:23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
We must always be found in the midst of brethren. We must not be among negative people. This is because what we hear influences our subsequent actions. What we hear will bring back what we have in our mind. We have control over what we hear. The Bible said they went back to their company. Who is your friend? Iron doesn’t sharpen wood. Iron sharpens iron. We gear ourselves up. We pray for each other in the days of adversity.
Secondly, We rejoice always. We must rejoice because it keeps the enemy confused. We must not be found gnashing out teeth, bowing our heads in sorrow. We do not bow down our heads in ashes. We must rejoice despite all things. We rejoice in the God of our salvation. Rejoicing is a weapon to fight the enemy. Rejoicing itself is our task. It is to confuse and fight the enemy. We must be seen being active and serving in the church.
Philippians 1:12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;((KJV).
The things that happens should not hinder the gospel. The aim of the enemy is to hinder the gospel. Most of the letters Paul wrote were from prison. Paul would have gone to those places yet he wrote for the furtherance of the gospel. Paul had depth. He has the utterance. He was imprisoned to hinder the gospel being preached by him. However, the work of God was not hindered. We should have stability in the face of trial as we face issues. We are the prevailing army. We shall not be hindered in the face of trial. Giving up or fainting is not an option from the Lord. The work of the Lord cannot be hindered. The things that happened to Paul led to the furtherance of the gospel.
The message we have received is the target of the enemy. In the atmosphere of His glory we do not suffer shame. The ministry God has given unto us was not without fight or opposition. If we lose heart we lose sight and mind- we will not be coordinated. Our peace and prosperity are required in fulfilling the calling of God. No matter what happens we will be seen advancing and moving forward. Our service to the kingdom must be laser focused and not restricted.
Colossians 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.It is not easy to fulfil ministry. Regardless, we must not be hindered. What the enemy targets is the gospel. We must say to ourselves that no matter what happens we must not give up. The gospel in our hands must prosper. The ministry in our hands must prosper.
Proverbs 24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small (KJV).
If we faint in the days of adversity, our strength is small. Another version of that text says that we do not have strength at all. We are not immune to the issue of life. It will come. God does not allow what we cannot bear. He will not allow what will consume us. He knows we can persevere when we are passing through challenges. That is why we must wait upon the Lord to renew our strength. We shall mount up with wings like an eagle. For us not to grow weary, our strength must be renewed. Give in to deliberately renew your strength daily because you need it in the day of adversity.
When you begin to be complacent about your spiritual growth and activities that warrant it, you tend to faint. In the process of moving the gospel forward, life challenges may come our way and the enemy desires that we are weighed down. Whereas God’s will is that the gospel spread to the nations of the earth.
Ephesians 6:10
We would put on the whole armour of God as we continue on this journey. We face life squarely. We go through life knowing that God is with us till the end of the age. He is with us always with and for us. His promise was that when we pass through fire he would be with us. “When”… implies a certain time. God is with us, we are not alone. Fainting is not an option. We understand that consistency is the rule of the game. The atmosphere of the kingdom is the atmosphere of glory not shame. Therefore we run with this mindset that we faint not.