Perseverence

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The United church will be joining us for this service on friday - and we have been invited to their Maundy Thursday service, the previous day (April 14th @ 5:30pm)

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Vocabulary of the Greek Testament προσκαρτερέω

προσκαρτερέω

Pros-car-ter-ey-yo

This word is most commonly used to refer to Perseverence in the new testament.

But it’s real definition is surprising. It best translates to ‘to attend continuously’. IE: A servant constantly at their masters right hand.

It can also be translated as being ‘devoted’ or ‘constant’.

Psalm 57 is an amazing psalm talking about perseverence.

Psalm 57:4–5 NIV

I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 57:6–7 NIV

They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves. My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.

We see perseverance as an alternative route

If you get lost, or you mess something up, then you gotta stick it through. We think prosperity is God’s REAL plan, and perseverence is what he resorts to if he absolutely has to.

But the bible’s perspective is WAY opposite ours here.

Romans 5:1–2 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

So Paul is saying, we have peace with God through the cross - and this is a reason to boast. This is a reason to have hope. That when we see God’s glory, when we stand in his presence - we have everything.

That’s what we all search for, that’s what we all long for. To just stand in the glory of God.

But then Paul says this:

Romans 5:3–5 NIV

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

So, to Paul,

There’s a natural order to approaching God

We start off justified by faith

We suffer. In suffering, we learn to persevere, to stand closer to Christ.

In standing closer to Christ, we learn to be more like him

In becoming more like him, we learn to develop hope.

It almost sounds like Paul is saying, not only is sufferings and perseverence something God CAN use, it’s something he WILL use. It’s a goal, it’s a high mark. It’s something to be able to brag about.

And that’s crazy, right? who would brag about suffering, about trials?

2 Thessalonians 1:3–5 NIV

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

So here’s paul following this same pattern again - holding up faith, and then holding up suffering.

Paul goes so far as to say, ‘

We know that God’s judgment is right, because we see both faith and perseverance through trials

How is this something to boast? ‘Hey guys, we were talking to all the other churches about how you guys are going through SO MUCH.’

James 1:2–4 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Paul says, we should regard every reason to have to persevere with joy

Paul has such a high view of learning how to persevere, it’s almost like he’s saying it’s a necessary step of the process God leads us through to be saved.

Spoiler alert - it is.

James 1:12 NIV

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Matthew 24:13 NIV

but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Perseverance is built right into the fabric of our relationship with God itself

We have made being a christian all about crossing the starting line - but it’s REALLY about making it to the finish line.

Perseverance is an essential thing to our walk with God. And I think, there’s 3 primary ways God uses perseverance in our lives.

Sometimes

God uses perseverance to remind you

to the disciples, suffering and trials were a big reminder about the life of Jesus. Jesus taught them,

John 16:33 NIV

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

And they took that one to heart. At one point, they got flogged for preaching. This is how they responded.

Acts 5:41 NIV

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

God will use times of less to show you that He’s more

He’ll use times of lack to show you that He’s enough.

Sometimes,

God uses perseverance to refine you

There’s an old phrase. Everything happens for a reason - just, sometimes that reason is you make bad decisions.

Nowhere in the bible does it suggest that trials only come from the outside where somebody’s trying to drag you down.

It’s bad theology to suggest, ‘i’m suffering, so I must be doing the right thing!’ Sometimes, we suffer because we’ve let in something bad, and that is showing up in our heart and in our fruit.

But it’s ALSO bad theology to say, i’m suffering, so i must be doing the WRONG thing! There are PLENTY of people in the bible who suffered while doing exactly what God wanted them to do.

Here’s a great rule - in any situation, whether comfort or trial,

If what’s coming out of you isn’t the fruit of the Spirit - then you need refining

We are talking to the youth about justice. And how real justice can’t exist without love, otherwise it’s just vengeance. Love is what leads the way between our sinful nature and God’s character.

The bible teaches us, the presence of power isn’t enough. Miracles aren’t enough to put God’s stamp of approval on our lives and hearts - but the fruit iof the spirit, THAT shows that the Spirit is growing and moving.

Let’s say we feel wronged, and we get angry about it and we feel justified in our anger (even though, sidebar, the bible STRAIGHT UP says that human anger can’t produce the kind of righteousness that God is REALLY looking for). And maybe we’re right in what we see - our perspective is true, what we think about it is spot on. But the anger - that should be a red flag for us.

And here’s a truth i’ve learned - God’s fruit - love, joy peace… - leads us to WAY different places than our own nature would have taken us. And one of the vehicles that God uses to purge those bad parts of our nature is suffering.

But

When God is refining you - stay close to Him always

Because He knows what He’s doing - even when you don’t.

Sometimes

God uses perseverance to refocus you

God used trials to refocus Joseph’s life. He started as, ‘hey guys, look at me! You’re gonna bow down to me!’ and by the end, his message was ‘God has done all the good things here.’

Sometimes in suffering, we’re focused on the wrong thing, the wrong answer, the wrong pattern, the wrong priority. And God uses trials to take our focus off those things.

God so refocused Joseph’s life that Joseph told his brothers - who beat him, stole his favourite robe, sold him into years and years of slavery, where he was abused, forgotten, and accused of terrible things - He told his brothers, yknow, God is actually the one who sent me here, and so don’t be upset with yourself about what you did.

The focus isn’t - and should never be - on us or anything in this world. It should be on God alone

Could you imagine that your focus is so completely on God, that you could be like ‘ya, I was sold into slavery, spent more than a decade there, but God was able to do good things, so i’m great!’

The defining characteristic of success in life isn’t that things went well for us - it’s that God received more glory through our lives. And if we find ourselves fixated on anything other than getting closer to God and bringing Him more glory - we need refocusing.

Lead people through the sinners prayer at the end?