Today, we have the conclusion of Pastor Paul Chappell’s reflections on Dr. Don Sisk after a conference. The thoughts were published on September 4, 2014. Dr. Sisk was a young 80 years old. You may disagree and say that 80 is old. Evidently, you never met Dr. Sisk!
Absorb these points and let them encourage you in the weeks to come.
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- If I am careful to do the little things well, the big things will take care of themselves.
Diligence is a lifestyle, not an event. If you are always waiting for the “really big opportunity,” you’ll miss a thousand opportunities to glorify God with diligence along the way. And you never know when the “little” thing will become a “big” thing. Ask the boy who gave his little lunch to Jesus or the widow who gave her two mites.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.—Ecclesiastes 9:10
- Change is always possible. Neither success nor failure is final.
In Esther 5, Haman was the prime minister and Mordecai was sentenced to death. In Esther 6 and 7, Mordecai was wearing royal apparel and Haman was hanged. Don’t get too high when things are going well, and don’t get too low when things are not going well. Neither success nor failure are final, but God is sovereign.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.—1 Corinthians 10:12
- I must not take myself too seriously.
Take the work of God seriously, but don’t develop a Messiah complex. No one can do everything, and God will move His work forward. Relax and enjoy serving the Lord.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.—Romans 12:3
- Everyone and everything are my teachers. We are interdependent.
We are independent Baptists in the sense that we have no denominational hierarchy. But as individuals, God has designed us to be, not independent, but interdependent. We need each other and must learn from one another.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.—1 Corinthians 12:12
- Be all that you are wherever you are.
Everything I do or say impacts the Kingdom of God—positively or negatively. Thus, I must be faithful and fully engaged in every moment and in every situation. We never know the ripple effects of faithfulness in a given moment.
Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?—Esther 4:13–14
*https://paulchappell.com/2014/09/04/10-lessons-from-60-years/
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