HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER

“The joke is told of the deacon whose property adjoined that of a golf course. One Sunday morning he decided to skip church and take in some golf. He slipped over the fence onto the third fairway and began to play. As in the case of Job, Satan was standing before God and asked what God intended to do to punish the deacon’s dishonesty. ‘Just wait and see what happens on the fifth hole,’ God smiled. The fifth hole was the most difficult on the course and often was responsible for scuttling the hopes for a good game. On this particulary Sunday morning, however, the deacon (whose handicap was a barely mediocre 33) drove the ball straight and true. Not only did it find the green, but also it took the curve of the terrain and went right in the cup: a hole-in-one. Satan was aghast with incredulity. ‘Why have you rewarded this unconscionable conduct with such remarkable success?’ ‘It looks like success now,’ replied God, ‘but who is he going to tell?’”

Hebrews 10:32–38 NKJV

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

I. Stay Faithful

v.32

The movie Finding Nemo (directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich [Buena Vista Pictures, 2003]) is a great illustration of God not giving up until his child has been found. Nemo gets lost, and his dad goes on a quest to find him and doesn’t give up until he is found.

In this animated film a female fish suffering from amnesia repeats herself continually. One of these repetitions is when she say’s, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

A. Through struggles

B. Through sufferings

Job 23:10 NKJV

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

II. Encourage one another

v.33-34

A. By accompanying one another in suffering.

B. By having genuine compassion/sympathy

Pete Greig relates a story and quotes from C. S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew. In the book, a boy named Digory begs the Lion, Aslan, to give him something to make his dying mother well. “It’s a heart-rending request—a prayer of desperation—and yet, at the time, Aslan appears to ignore it completely: ‘He had been desperately hoping that the Lion would say “Yes”; he had been horribly afraid it might say “No.” But he was taken aback when it did neither.’ … But a little while later, Digory dares to ask Aslan for help again: ‘He thought of his Mother, and he thought of the great hopes he had, and how they were all dying away, and a lump came in his throat and tears in his eyes, and he blurted out: “But please, please won’t you—can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?” Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.’ Digory’s prayer remained unanswered, but everything had changed. Now, he knew that the great Lion—in whom all his hopes were resting—truly cared”

III. Remember our Reward

v.34-36

Michael Green writes, “There is a fascinating parallel between spiritual and natural laws. If we develop our muscles, our reward is that we can carry heavier burdens and still feel good. To those who have, more is given (29). And if we lie in bed and do nothing, atrophy takes over, and we find we can do less and less. We lose even the pathetic muscles we once had. It is like that in the spiritual realm. When we act faithfully under the responsibilities the Master has entrusted to us, our capacities will grow. If we do nothing with them, our ability to respond and be useful will diminish to vanishing point. The image is dynamic and organic. It is a powerful spur to responsibility in the service of the Master, and a warning against sloth, whether that is induced by laziness, fear of change or unwillingness to take risks”

Illustration of, “Lost at Battle lake.”

A. When persecution comes

B. When following God cost a great price.