1. Keep On Going!
Sometimes we may become discouraged in doing the Lord’s work but we must keep on going!

2. Keep On Going!
As Christians we may sometimes become discouraged by the things we see happening around us.
The leadership of our country seems to be headed in the wrong direction.
Sin is running rampant in our society.
Very little success in convincing others to obey Christ.
False doctrine seems to be growing by leaps and bounds
Once faithful Christians have turned back into the world.

3. Keep On Going!
These type things can make us feel alone and discouraged if we allow them to.
We are not the only followers of God to have felt this way.
We have records of Godly men in the Old Testament who suffered from discouragement on occasion.
Asaph was a prophet, one of the leaders of David’s choir and a psalmist. He became discouraged by the prosperity of the wicked.
He recorded this in one of his psalms.

4. Keep On Going!
Ps 73:1 ¶ <<A Psalm of Asaph.>> Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

5. Keep On Going!
4 For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm.
5 They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish.

6. Keep On Going!
8 They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; They speak loftily.
9 They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue walks through the earth.
Their words are heard all over the world
10 Therefore his people return here, And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
The followers of the wicked who use up every thing around them by their excesses.

7. Keep On Going!
Ps 73:11 And they say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12 Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence.

8. Keep On Going!
14 For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning.
Asaph is thinking: I work hard, I obey God, I try to do what is right and it has brought me nothing but trouble. I can’t seem to get ahead.
But everything seems to go great for these people who care nothing about God.

9. Keep On Going!
Ps 73:15 ¶ If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
Up until this point Asaph had not spoken these thoughts out loud for fear of causing other followers of God to stumble.

10. Keep On Going!
16 When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me-
His thoughts about the prosperity of the wicked and the uselessness of being a follower of God tormented him.
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end.

11. Keep On Going!
When Asaph looks to God for the answer, he understands the true outcome of the wicked and the righteous.
Ps 73:18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.
19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awakes, So, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.

12. Keep On Going!
Ps 73:21 ¶ Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.
He was saddened that he ever thought such things
He realizes how foolish and ignorant it was to look at only the physical.

13. Keep On Going! Are we sometimes guilty of the same thing?
Ps 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
I believe Asaph understood that the ultimate reward for the follower of God was not in this life but in the life to come.

14. Keep On Going!
Even Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, became discouraged.
He prophesied during what may have been the most wicked years of the northern kingdom.
While Ahab and Jezebel were in power.
1Ki 16:30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

15. Keep On Going!
During this time Jezebel began to massacre the prophets of God.
In 1Kings 18 we have the story of Elijah challenging the 450 prophets of Baal.
Baal fails to send down fire for the sacrifice but the Lord sends down fire that consumes the sacrifice, the stones of the altar and the water in the trench around it.
Elijah then commands the execution of the 450 prophets of Baal.

16. Keep On Going!
These events infuriate Jezebel and she threatens to kill Elijah also.
1Ki 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.“
For some reason this seems to strike fear into Elijah.

17. Keep On Going!
1Ki 19:3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
He flees all the way to Mt Horeb and hides in a cave.
God asks Elijah “what are you doing here?” and we can hear his discouragement in the answer he gives.

18. Keep On Going!
1Ki 19:10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.“
We can relate to his feelings to some extent. Very few today seem to be interested in obeying God.

19. Keep On Going!
Our society seems to be chopping away at the basics of the morality taught in the scriptures.
An effort is being made to exclude the God of Heaven from all parts of our society (schools, government, money)
Those who make public stands for the Truth are ridiculed publicly and their livelihood is threatened.
False gods such as Allah are accepted and his followers are given special treatment.

20. Keep On Going! The sin of fornication is prevalent everywhere we look.
Sexual relations outside of marriage, homosexuality and adultery cover our televisions and the movie theatres with absolutely no condemnation.
It just seems sometimes like no one cares about what is right and what is wrong in the eyes of God!
Even those we love seem to have no desire to obey God.
No one is seeking our life yet in this country but that day may come.

21. Keep On Going! We can understand how Elijah feels.
There is a lesson for us in the way God responds to Elijah.
First off God tells him you are not alone.
1Ki 19:18 "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.“
There were 7000 more in Israel that were faithful to God!
Israel only covered an area of about 9000 square miles

22. 7000 people in a 9000 square mile area
Arkansas covers 53,000 square miles

23. Keep On Going! We are not alone either!
We must remember the Kingdom of God is not just comprised of this little group that meets here!
We have brothers and sisters in Christ all over Arkansas and the rest of the world.
We may have to stand alone like Elijah did on Mt Carmel but as long as we are on God’s side we are never truly alone.
Ro 8:31 ¶ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

24. Keep On Going! God also told Elijah to get back to work!
He outlined 3 things that Elijah needed to do.
1Ki 19:15 Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.
16 "Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.

25. Keep On Going!
Elijah needed to quit feeling sorry for himself and get back to work
This is good advice for us today.
No matter how bad the circumstances are around us we need to just keep on going!
We should focus on doing the work of God!
Even when we can’t see the results of our labor we need to keep working!

26. Keep On Going!
Ga 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

27. Keep On Going!
We may not see many results from our service to God in this life but we will in the life to come if we don’t lose heart and give up.
Paul gives the Thessalonians a very similar exhortation.
2Th 3:13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
We will eventually be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor if we keep on going.

28. Conclusion!
1Co 15:58 ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
What wonderful encouragement it is to know our labor will not be in vain.

29. Conclusion!
Our salvation is not dependant upon how successful we are in convincing others to obey Christ but rather upon how well we obey Him ourselves.
Lets remember the example of Noah who preached for 120 years but was only able to save 7 besides himself but he kept building that ark.