SWTRBC-Perserverance - Week 8

εὐσέβεια

ὑπομονή

For the past 8 weeks, we have been walking through the first part of the Apostle Peter’s second letter to the Church.

Personally, As I have been studying these few passages of scriptures, I continue to be amazed at the depth and the richness that Holy Spirit packed into such a small space through Peter.

The Rock Apostle, who considers himself first a Dolous (a willing slave) to Jesus, draws our attention to the truth that when we who are in Christ Jesus, are the recipients of precious and magnificent promises.

Promises that ensure that we have EVERYTHING we need for living a life that honors and reflects God’s glory and excellence.

He reminds us that we HAVE BEEN MADE partakers in Jesus’ Divine Nature.

Something the greek philosophers taught was ... just out of a humans reach.

For this reason, Peter calls us to supplement, add to our precious faith excellence, knowledge, self control, which we have discussed in much detail in the past few weeks.

Today, I want to talk to you about the item in this list that I have a deep personal connection with.

Once Again, I’m setting the table and I want to know

Can you Smell what the Rock’s been Cooking

It’s Week 8 of Lessons with Peter the Rock Apostle and today the morsel on the menu is something I have personally tasted.

For me, it started bitter in my mouth but has left an amazing after-taste.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; 1:6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; 1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love. 1:8 For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately.1

1 Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005), 2 Pe 1:5–8.

Perseverance

The greek word is Hi-ppo-mo-na. Hypomone.

It’s a tough word to cover with a single English word, but the idea is Stick-to-tive-ness or GRIT. A person that has Hypomone, seems to have ZERO quit in them. No matter what happens, they grind it out, they push through, they keep hoping, keep trusting, keep believing and the never back down from their pursuit of Christ.

Years ago there was an older lady that I went to church with.

She was like a godly grandmother figure, who had lived a lot of life and had decades of walking with Jesus to draw upon. I’m pretty sure the saying did not originate with her, because I’ve heard it since but made an impression on me and I have never forgotten it.

She said that Christians were a lot like tea bags, you never knew if there were any good until they spent some time in hot water.

There are some hallmarks of true faith. Some characteristics that true saving faith will always exhibit.

One of these is endurance in the face of hardship.

Faith that endures and simply refuses to give up or give in.

Mike Green in his excellence commentary of 2 Peter said

“This patience is no stoic quality of accepting all that comes as from the dictates of blind fate.

He Said “ It springs from faith in the promises of God, knowledge of Christ, experience of his divine power (vv. 3–4). And so it produces in the Christian a deepened awareness of a Father’s wise and loving hand controlling all that happens. Like Jesus himself, who for the joy set before him endured the cross (Heb. 12:2), we are enabled to see our apparent misfortunes in the calm light of eternity1”

1 Michael Green, 2 Peter and Jude: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 18, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987), 88–89.

I love his comments here.

it’s easy to love Jesus when things are going grand and we are living in blessings day after day.

It’s when the manure truck backs up to our front door, sets a giant fan just behind the dump bed, pointed in our direction and the feces starts hitting the rotating oscillator, that is when we find learn what we really believe.

it’s in those moments, that we find out if we trust our Father’s heart for us.

It’s in those moments that we can learn if our faith is sound and well-developed or if we were living something much less that fell just short of true faith in God.

In my mid-twenties I had just such a moment and my faith failed, I was found to be faithless. I was angry with God for allowing such hardships and trials in my life, especially when I was trying so hard to be what I thought he wanted me to be.

I rejected faith, Jesus and the Church. I rejected my brothers and sisters in faith who reached out to try and help me.

I essentially gave God the finger and proceeded to do everything last thing I could think of that would mark rebellion.

I didn’t just backslide, I got sucked into a black hole of rebellion and sin.

Keep in mind, I was saved!

I had given my heart to Jesus at 16 that was a fact.

I was going to church regularly.

I was using my gifts in the church and even experienced a moment of calling in my life, but my faith was not mature.

I hadn’t been taught the promises of God, had very little real knowledge of Jesus, if had tasted his divine power, I didn’t recognize it and there was no awareness on my part of my Father’s love for me or any trust in his eternal plan for me.

I was carry a deep wound in my heart, left by earthly father; a wound that told me that I was not a much loved son at all.

That was the filter I was operating in instead of Jesus.

And so, my faith wasn’t developed and it had no GRIT.

No doubt, when Peter was writing this he had seen brothers and sisters fall by the wayside. He had witnessed those who started well but once the trials came, it was shown that they had no root and he watched as their faith withered away.

Perhaps, as he made this appeal, his mind traveled back in time to a that night, when he thought he had the all the strength to stand and even die with Jesus and instead he denied his Lord, not once but 3 times.

As I was journaling my notes for this episode, I felt Holy Spirit remind me of a passage of scripture recorded in Paul’s second letter to Timothy.

2 Tim 2:10-13

Paul tells Timothy

“I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God, that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory

  This saying is trustworthy:

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

If we endure, we will also reign with him.

If we deny him, he will also deny us.

 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.

There is no doubt that there is stern warning in this passage, but this last phrase “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.”

Most Scholars agree was Paul adding Hope in the with Warning.

I want share the Editors notes in the NET Bible on this particular passage.

The NET notes state

“This could be (1) a word of warning (The Lord will exact punishment; he cannot deny his holiness) or (2) a word of hope (Because of who he is, he remains faithful to us despite our lapses). The latter is more likely, since Paul consistently cites God’s faithfulness as a reassurance, not as a warning (cf. especially Rom 3:3; also 1 Cor 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor 1:18; 1 Thess 5:24; 2 Thess 3:3)

and Phil 1:6

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Scripture repeatedly upholds God’s Faithfulness to His Children and I can personally bear witness to this truth.

One of the reasons I even started this Podcast, was in a hope that God would use this to reach out to my brothers and sisters who had fallen away, those.... who like me ...had their faith tested and it didn’t hold up, so they walked away in rebellion.

I wanted to reach out a bear witness to the truth, that even when we don’t endure, even when we fall away, even when we are completely faithless, God is faithful.

Never once did he abandon me. Never once did he leave alone and without hope.

Even when I was so angry and rebellious towards him, he did not turn his back on me.

God was faithful to me and in due time restored me.

He didn’t just restore me, he matured me and developed me in the process.

Today our relationship is much stronger and I am much more certain of the GRIT and the Endurance he has built in me.

I can say without any wavering at all, I trust my Father’s love for me.

If you are listening today, and you have fallen away, I want to tell you something.

You are still very loved.

You have not be disqualified!

The Body of Christ needs you and you have so much to offer.

Our Father isn’t angry at you.

He remains faithful to you and you can come home and experience the same faithful love that the Prodigal Son was shown in the story that our King once told.

Proverbs 24:16

  The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

It’s time to get up again brother.

You Father loves you. Your King Loves you and I love you.

Let’s make your comeback story so much powerful than your setback story.

I’m proof that this is possible and I can assure you, There is no way you have fallen any farther back than I did and God’s arm is not shorten.

We have never out of His reach.

In the last phrase of this passage from Peter he says “ IF these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord...Jesus Christ more intimately.”

No matter where you are, or how far you may have fallen; if you belong to Jesus, you can get up, begin pursuing these things again, they will start to increase and you can stop being ineffective and unproductive in your faith and in your knowledge of Jesus.

If this speaks to you, I pray you take this moment to simply ask forgiveness and tell our Father you would like to be restored and that you would like to get your life back on mission.

If you prayed that prayer, drop me note

My email address address is in the show notes

[e-mail]

Blessing

Until next week

24 ‘May the Lord bless you

and protect you.

25 May the Lord smile on you

and be gracious to you.

26 May the Lord show you his favor

and give you his peace.’