KEEP ON HOLDING ON
INTRODUCTION:
– Recently I received an email, and the sender told me that they were at their wits end. They just wanted to give up.
– This feeling is something that we all have to face in the course of life.
– I want to encourage you today and remind you to HOLD ON.
– It is as we HOLD ON that we can step over into victory.
– The season of HOLDING ON is an important part in the development of our character.
– There is an old song that speaks in this regard. Its words are as follows: ‘Hold to His hand – to God’s unchanging hand’.
– Today, no matter what you are facing, keep on holding on.
1. WHAT ARE YOU HOLDING ONTO?
– We all need to ask ourselves this question.
– What are we holding onto in life for our security?
– Are we holding onto something that can be trusted?
– I have discovered that the ability to hold on depends on whether or not we have taken hold of that which can be depended on.
– When we hold onto anything other than God we can expect to be disappointed.
– People will let you down, money comes and goes, beauty is temporary and even those close to you will drop you.
– But God has told us that He will never leave us or forsake us!
2. WHAT YOU HOLD ONTO WILL TAKE HOLD OF YOU
– This is a very interesting phenomenon.
– If we will hold onto things, eventually those things will take hold of us.
– The issue is where we will place the emphasis in our lives.
– If we hold onto money, eventually money will take hold of us and influence us in all aspects of our lives.
– If we hold onto our fears, eventually our fears will take hold of us.
– Psalm 119:143 ‘Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me.’
– But if we will take hold of God and keep on holding on, faith will take hold within us, and we will be able to trust God.
3. HOLDING ON TO WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US
– Perhaps you have promises or unanswered prayers.
– Things that God has spoken in your life that are as yet unfulfilled.
– I want to encourage you to hold on and not give up.
– In a sense it is a fight. It isn’t simply a statement or a belief, but it is something that we have to take hold of. This is what faith is all about.
– 1 Timothy 6:12 ‘Fight on for God. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you.’
– Hold onto everything that God has promised you!
– Proverbs 4:13 ‘Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.’
4. DOING OUR OWN THING
– If we don’t hold on to God we end up doing our own thing.
– We end up doing what seems good to us.
– In a sense we let go of God and do our own thing.
– Have you ever felt like you are doing all the right things, but it is just not happening?
– Jeremiah 2:13 ‘For My people have done two evil things: They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters; and they have built for themselves broken cisterns that can’t hold water!’
– We need to return and take hold of God all over again.
– We need to repent of doing our own thing.
– We need to re-establish our hold on God and that will restore our ability to hold on!
5. HOLDING ON AND DEVELOPING OUR CHARACTER
– Holding on, as hard as it is, is part of the way in which development takes place in our lives.
– We live in an instant world. Everything must be instant.
– Because of this it is difficult for us to understand why we must hold onto God, and we get disappointed when things don’t happen exactly when we would like them too.
– Romans 5:3-5 ‘We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us – they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.’
6. GOD IS FAITHFUL
– God intends to be faithful to us.
– If we will hold on and keep on holding on, God will be faithful to us.
– Hebrews 3:6 ‘But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.’
– There is a key word right in the middle of this scripture and it is the word ‘IF’.
– If we will hold on to our courage and our hope.
– Don’t let go of your courage and your hope.
– God wants to be faithful to you!
7. HOLD ON
– This is what God is calling us to.
– He is calling us to a life of taking hold of Him and holding on to Him no matter what happens and no matter what the circumstances may look like.
– Revelation 3:11 ‘Look, I am coming soon! Hold tightly to the little strength you have.’
– Perhaps you have let go or released your hold.
– I want to encourage you to turn back to the One Who can be trusted and take hold of God all over again.
– It will be worth it.
– Revelation 3:3 ‘Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to Me again.’
By Andrew W Roebert
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