Text: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5: And I, brethren, when I came to
you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save
Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I
was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power: that your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Determination is having the strength that carries
you through the path of success in the midst of obstacles.
Synonyms
for determination are: resolution;
will; firmness.
Obstacles are a thing that blocks one’s way,
prevents or hinders progress.
Some
synonyms for obstacles are: barriers; snag; hurdles;
stumbling blocks; obstructions; blocks; impediments; difficulties; problems;
disadvantages; complications.
The enemy uses
them all to kill our “determination” to do the work God has called us to do.
Paul was a
Jewish man. We all know how Paul of
Tarshish persecuted the Christians for a time, but he, himself was converted to
Christ by means of a vision or encounter with the “light”. He also became one of the greatest of the
apostles and wrote many of the books of our New Testament. His name was Saul before he became a
Christian (Acts 9:1-22).
Even though
he faced much persecution, he had a “determination” to continue to do the work
of the ministry.
● Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither
count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy,
and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the
gospel of the grace of God.
God had
already showed Paul to Ananias in a vision and said to him:
● Acts 9:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
But Paul had
a “determination” to let nothing stop him.
What about
you and me. Will we let things stop us?