THE
BLESSING OF FAITHFUL PERSEVERANCE
BREAD
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition
from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be
richly rewarded. 36 You need
to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what
he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by
faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God. 3 Not only so,
but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; 4 perseverance,
character; and character, hope. 5 And
hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials
of many kinds, 3 because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that
you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 (NIV)
11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have
persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord
finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11 (NIV)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your
faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and
to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; 7 and to
godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in
increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive
in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV)
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to
be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He
chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He
regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures
of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:24-27 (NIV)
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:24-27 (NIV)
26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end,
I will give authority over the nations-- Revelation
2:26 (NIV)
5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love
and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NIV)
BUTTER
“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“The
perseverance of the saints is only possible because of the perseverance of
God.” J. Oswald Sanders
“4 Love is patient,
love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it
is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. 7 It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) If God’s love for me is all this and always perseveres
as well, though I am a constant mess up, how much more through His power
indwelling within me, should I seek to persevere to finish well out of love for
Him and all that He has done for me? The
motivation for all my actions are to be out of love for my Father not out of
slavish labor.” BHY
“Storm the
throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.” John Wesley
“It’s really up
to you as to how you will run the race of life. You decide whether ‘Christians
have all we need, in every circumstance, at every moment, to live a godly
life. God Himself dwells in us (Romans
8:9-11) and is at work in us (Philippians 2:13). In Christ, we are powerful. We are finally free to conquer
pornography. Finally free to say, ‘No!’
to lying, stealing, and laziness (Titus 2:11-13). We are not left helpless to lie around and
booze all day – we have the might to renounce every and any temptation through
the Spirit that dwells within us (Romans 8:13).
We have the very weapon of God in hand:
His Word. The very presence of
God in us: His Holy Spirit. And the very army of God to war with us: His church.
To profess to have found him, and to bear no change, is to cast a shadow
on the Name of Christ and the power of His Spirit. Christians should be distinct from the world
in how we live. Yet we all have cause to
sing, ‘Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love’. But even when the Christian stumbles, as we
all do this side of glory, we are not content to make peace with belittling
God. We do not settle at home in our
sin. ‘We’re all human’ is not our
excuse. We are not satisfied to wander
from our Savior. When we fall, we will
roll to our knees, plead for grace’s pardon and power, get up, and continue on
our way.” Greg Morse
“That is life. It’s composed of a million choices. And most
of those choices seem insignificant, unimportant, unimpressive, and
uninteresting. But character is developed when we continue to make the
next, right choice. And character creates influence. And influence
creates legacy. So if you want to leave an amazing legacy, just keep
doing the next right thing. Four generations from now, people probably won’t remember your name. But someone you love will be
different because of you.” Laura Black
“If
there is one doctrine I have preached more than another, it is the doctrine of
the Perseverance of the Saints even to the end.” Charles H.
Spurgeon
HEART SAVOR
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God’s Word tells us we are called to persevere to the end
– to finish well in the faith.
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Never, never, give
up. Never. Never.
Never.
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Depend on Him, He can be trusted. God’s work, done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.
