Recap:
Good morning, Cross Points Church!
What a joy to be with you. My husband and I have been part of this family for twenty-five years, and I have to tell you, you are an amazing church. Your heart for missions is unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere in the world. You pray, you give, you send, and because of you, lives are being changed all around the globe. Thank you for being a church that truly carries God’s heart for the nations.
Now, if my accent sounds a little funny, it’s because I’m from Denmark! These days, though, I spend most of my time preaching in Mandarin Chinese. My husband and I serve as missionaries in Taiwan, a small island off the coast of China, home to an unreached people group called the Hakka, about fifteen percent of the population. When we arrived forty years ago, only two out of every thousand Hakka knew Jesus. Most had never even heard His name.
When we first went to the little town of Sanan, five thousand people, not one Christian, we were young and full of zeal. We taught English, joined community events, drank endless cups of tea, and tried our best to make friends. But after ten months, nothing. Not one person had come to faith. We were exhausted. We cried. We felt unqualified, inexperienced, and so small.
Then one afternoon, after praying and deciding not to give up, there was a knock at our door. It was a man we had visited months before, Mr. Han. He said, “Can my house become a church? My wife and I have decided to follow Jesus.”
And that day, everything changed. That was the birth of the first Hakka church in that town.
Key #1: Don’t Give Up
That’s the first key to declaring His glory among the nations, don’t quit.
When you feel incapable, when the task feels too big, keep going.
God delights in using ordinary, unqualified people who simply refuse to give up.
Joseph in the Old Testament understood this. Betrayed, enslaved, forgotten, yet he never quit. Scripture tells us, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4).
Or Galatians 6:9: “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”
If you keep sowing, you will reap. The only people who don’t see the harvest are the ones who stop sowing.
So if you’re praying for your family and haven’t seen change, don’t give up.
If you’re tired in ministry, don’t give up.
If you feel small and unseen, don’t give up.
God’s not looking for the most talented, He’s looking for the most faithful.
Key #2: Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
Years later, my husband and I started another church in the city of Toufen. After sixteen years of work, we hit a wall. No one was getting saved. No one was being baptized. Ministry felt heavy and dry. That’s when God whispered, “You’re relying on your own strength.”
We knew the verse, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord, but we hadn’t learned to live it. My husband received a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit quickly, but I had walls of pride. I had decided what God could and couldn’t do. Yet when I finally humbled myself and said, “Lord, don’t pass me by,” the Holy Spirit met me powerfully.
He showed me two pictures:
First, people dressed in black, lost, hopeless.
Then the same people clothed in white, radiant with joy.
And God said, “If you trust My Spirit, this is what it will look like.”
From that moment, everything changed.
Our meetings shifted from programs to presence. We stopped just “doing church” and started being with Jesus. Healings began to happen. People were saved and baptized. One year, twenty-two new believers! The joy of the Lord returned. Ministry wasn’t heavy anymore, it was alive.
Friends, this is the second key:
If you want to see God move, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses to the ends of the earth.”
Without His presence, we can work hard and still feel empty. But when His Spirit fills us, everything changes, our hearts, our homes, our church, our mission.
Closing
Cross Points, I believe these two keys are for you today:
- Don’t give up. Persevere in what God has called you to.
- Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Live from His power, not your own.
When we do those two things, God takes ordinary people and writes extraordinary stories through them.
So as we close today, let’s make a decision together:
“I won’t quit, and I won’t settle for less than all God has for me.”
Let’s ask Him to fill us again, until our lives overflow and His glory is declared among the nations.
Group Questions:
Icebreakers (Choose 1–2)
- Tea Time: Eva mentioned drinking “endless cups of tea” to make friends in Taiwan. What’s your go-to drink when connecting with people?
- Never Give Up Moment: Share a time you wanted to quit something, but God gave you strength to keep going.
- Accent Challenge: Eva joked about her Danish accent, what’s one place you’d love to live or serve if language wasn’t a barrier?
- Mission Map: If you could visit any country to encourage believers or share your faith, where would you go, and why?
Scripture Reading
- Galatians 6:9 – “Let us not grow weary in doing good…”
- James 1:4 – “Let perseverance finish its work…”
- Acts 1:8 – “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…”
Discussion Questions
God Uses Ordinary People
- Eva said, “God delights in using ordinary, unqualified people who simply refuse to give up.”
➤ How have you seen God use ordinary people to do extraordinary things?
➤ Why do you think perseverance matters so much to God?
When You Feel Like Quitting
- The missionaries saw no results for ten months.
➤ What do you think kept them going?
➤ Have you ever had a “Mr. Han moment” , where breakthrough finally came after a long wait?
➤ How can we encourage each other not to give up when results seem small or slow?
The Power of the Holy Spirit
- Eva shared that when she finally surrendered her pride, “The Holy Spirit met me powerfully.”
➤ Why do you think surrender is often the key to spiritual renewal?
➤ What’s the difference between working for God and working with His Spirit?
➤ How can we create space in our lives to be freshly filled with the Holy Spirit?
From Programs to Presence
- Eva said their ministry changed when they shifted from “programs to presence.”
➤ What does that phrase mean to you personally?
➤ How can our small group, family, or church make that same shift?
Living on Mission
- The Hakka people went from 0 believers to hundreds of churches today.
➤ How does that inspire your view of what’s possible through faithfulness and prayer?
➤ Where is God calling you to be faithful right now, even if it feels small?
Closing Reflection & Prayer
- Invite each person to share one area where they’re tempted to quit or feel weary.
- Pray together for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit and the strength to persevere.
End by declaring together:
“I won’t quit, and I won’t settle for less than all God has for me.”