Persevere

After last weeks message where I shared all the different resources that we as Bridge of Faith strive to make available so that families can live securely in the land, I was reflecting on some of the challenges we have faced in order to make some of these resources available.

I thought about our staff, our leadership team, and our church body. No doubt this year has been full of challenges. Our staff worked to launch some new programs to enhance developing leaders, we have expanded our property, and we are working to improve our facilities here at church. Our leadership team has seen challenges with sickness and the home going of Jerry. Our church body has also had challenges. Some of you have expressed the challenges that you have been under. I know that we have also all had to navigate inflation and what that means for our monthly budgets.

I am a processor so I will look back and see what has happened and I will look forward and try to figure out what is coming. I will work to analyze these things and think them through. For me, we got through year 2020 with everything that it came with. Things started to get back to normal and then we get the challenge of inflation and hit with many unBiblical ideas in our culture.

Through stimulus packages, food stamp increases, and the general flow of food through the pandemic all of us experienced raises and increases. Mentally we navigated through a lot. Beginning of 2022 we saw inflation happening and we started to get ahead of it.

2022 it is all starting to catch up to us, gas prices have increased, the cost of goods and groceries have dramatically increased, unBiblical ideas I never even dreamed of are continuing to be introduced and we are still being challenged in all areas.

Challenges at home, challenges at work, challenges at church, challenges in parenting, challenges in marriage, challenges with career, challenges with knowing your purpose, challenges in relationships and friendships

I was thinking if I could stand in front of our staff and church body then what would I say to them.

I would say take time to REST (I plan to teach on this in the near future)

I would also say PERSEVERE

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Perseverance)

Perseverance

Action or condition of steadfastness.

OT Israel waited generations for fulfillment of promises which many believers never lived to see (Heb 11:1, 13, 21, 22, 39). The promise to Abraham sustained hope for centuries before Canaan was possessed.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) (Steadfast)

stead•fast

a: firmly fixed in place: IMMOVABLE

b: not subject to change

Perseverance

Romans 5:1–2 HCSB

1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 5:1

Some of the important Greek manuscripts read, “Let us have peace (echōmen) with God.” This seems to be the preferred reading. If so, then the sense is, “Let us keep on having (in the sense of enjoying) peace with God.” Peace has been made by God through our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 2:14a), which fact is demonstrated by God’s justification. A believer is not responsible for having peace in the sense of making it but in the sense of enjoying it

A believer is not responsible for having peace in the sense of making it but in the sense of enjoying it

Be careful church that we don’t get in the business of trying to make peace so much that we don’t stop and enjoy the peace we already have!

Romans 5:3–5 HCSB

3 And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Rejoice in our afflictions because affliction produces endurance or perseverance.

Perseverance:

the action of being fixed in place or immovable

The lack of perseverance is an epidemic in our culture. Social media produces what we like for us so that we don’t have to think for ourselves any longer. It populates the content for us. It starts to center everything around us.

It can lead us to lacking perseverance when things get hard and they no longer center around our likes and our desires then it is easy to just quit.

We have went from helicopter parenting to lawn mower parents. We make the path clear and easy for our children to succeed. We make sure nothing is hard for them including school, friendships, sports, church, and you name it. We as parents are paving the way for our kids and not letting them experience anything challenging.

Since 2020 we have seen so many new faces here at Bridge of Faith. I like to reflect back to those that started here with Amy and I over 15 years ago. The number is pretty small on those who are still here from the beginning. (This does make my heart sad) I will say this that those who have endured with us, that it has not been easy and we have been met with challenges (thank you to those who were here when we started)

(Social experiment) (if you was here before Amy and I stand up and remain standing)(We started in July 2007 and if you came between 2007 and 2011 the year we opened the new building then stand up, If you came between 2011 and 2019, If you have started attending from 2020 to 2022 then stand up)

Perseverance

is the action of being fixed in place or immovable.

Romans 5:3–4 HCSB

3 And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.

Romans 5 says afflictions produce endurance/perseverance produces proven character and proven character produces hope.

Romans: An Introduction and Commentary D. The Blessings Which Accompany Justification: Peace, Joy, Hope, Love (5:1–11)

let us remind ourselves that in the New Testament suffering is viewed as the normal experience of a Christian. New converts were warned that the kingdom of God could be entered only ‘through many tribulations’ (Acts 14:22); and when tribulation came their way, as it regularly did, they could not complain that they had not been prepared for it. But suffering was not only regarded as an inevitable feature of the Christian lot; it was looked upon as a token of true Christianity, as a sign that God counted those who endured it worthy of his kingdom (cf. 2 Thess. 1:5). Besides, it had a salutary moral effect on those who experienced it, for it helped them to cultivate endurance and steadfastness of character, and when these were linked to Christian faith, Christian hope was the more stimulated.

Notice the chain of actions: Afflictions, Endurance/perseverance, character, to hope(write on the ipad here)

Hope lacks because afflictions come and perseverance is never completed to bring about character that produces hope.

Everyone Perseveres in something. You either persevere in obedience or you persevere in disobedience.

You can become a fixed quitter and that in everything you do you quit or you can become a fixed finisher in that in everything you do you make sure to finish.

What we have set out to accomplish here at Bridge of Faith is not easy. It is super complex to bring the Good News of Jesus to those who are broken and hopeless.

It is challenging and it does take perseverance. Some have quit because the task is too big and too challenging.

Persevere in Obedience!

James 1:2–4 HCSB

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

James 1:12 HCSB

12 A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

A friend once shared with me and said Pastor Jonathan you do understand that when you take test the teacher is silent.

He says, you know the teacher prepares you for the test and then passes out the test then goes back to their desk and sits down at the desk and is silent.

He said sometimes you may think the Lord is being silent when he passes out the test but the Lord is near. He is present.

James says consider it great joy whenever you face trials of many kinds knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance or endurance. (The ability to be immovable or steadfast)

You will be complete mature and not lacking anything

A man who endures trials is blessed! When he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

Close with Hebrews chapter 11. Listen to the challenges of the heroes of the faith.

Hebrews 11:4 HCSB

4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

Abel died because of his sacrifice

Hebrews 11:8 HCSB

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.

He did not know where he was going

Hebrews 11:11 HCSB

11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the One who had promised was faithful.

She was past the age

Hebrews 11:24–25 HCSB

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin.

chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasure of sin

Hebrews 11:30 HCSB

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days.

Seven days walking around the city walls. Day after day enduring to the end.

Hebrews 11:32–40 HCSB

32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead—they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

Hebrews 12:1–2 HCSB

1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

Lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Run the race with endurance or perseverance(Steadfastness or the ability to not be moved)

Affliction<Perseverance<Character<HOPE

We remain Hopeless because affliction comes and perseverance is never pursued. Perseverance is to choose to be steadfast or immovable. Satan no matter what you throw at me, I will continue to declare that you are Lord, You are God, You are King.

I have heard many of your stories. Some of you have faced some serious affliction in the last couple of years and as you choose to follow Christ you continue to face affliction.

So with all the affliction what if we as a people began to persevere through the affliction. What does scripture say will happen? It says we will have character and what does this character produce. It produces HOPE!

This community can be a community of Hope. Your family can become a family of hope. Your life can be a life full of hope. Your marriage can be one with hope. Your children can live with hope. This happens when afflictions come, we choose perseverance and this builds character that in turn brings hope.

In order to have this we must learn to persevere in the midst of trials and afflictions.

Jesus died on the cross so that as you endure afflictions you may experience his peace and be filled with hope.