“ENDURANCE”
INTRODUCTION
Today we
are talking about “endurance”
Christianity
is not a 100 yard dash, it’s a marathon.
·
It
takes consistency
·
It
takes Faithfulness
·
It
takes stick-tuitive-ness
It is not
for the faint at heart
It is not
something you can just dabble in
It is not
something you can limit to Sundays
Grass that
is not watered consistently
Old fashion
word for endurance: Faithfulness
Christians
that are succeeding are those who are:
Praying
consistently
Serving
consistently
Meditating
on the Scriptures consistently
1Corinthinas
4:2 …it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Steward- Manager acting on behalf of the owner
Good
stewardship requires endurance, faithfulness
There is no
substitute for endurance
It is
required in so many areas of our lives
·
In
marriages
·
In
parenting
·
In
careers
·
In
athletics
Whatever
you put your heart to you are going to have to endure a lot to make it work.
Endurance-
The ability to last or to withstand wear and tear.
Psalm 9:7 But the LORD shall endure forever;
TS: Let’s look at what the Bible has to say
about endurance in Hebrews
12:1-2
One of my
favorite scriptures
Slogan of
our church
Hats
that said “looking into Jesus”
THE HALL OF FAITH
v. 1 Therefore we also since we are surrounded by
so great a cloud of witnesses…
“Therefore”
The hall of faith
Let’s look at just 4 examples of enduring faith
1.
Noah (v. 7)
500 at first mention; 600 entering
the ark = 100 yrs old
Incredible
endurance
·
Triple
decker size of a football field
·
Never
rained before
Imagine
if Noah gave up in the 90th year
2. Abraham (v. 8)
This man endured a lot, so did his
wife Sarah
·
Called
to leave Ur
·
75
years old
·
Passes
thru Canaan to get a whiff of the land
·
Famine
took him to Egypt
·
Ponds
of Sarah as his sister
·
Rebuked
by a pagan Pharaoh
·
Nephew
lot gets caught up in Sodom
·
The
Hagar and Ishmael scene
·
Circumcision
·
Called
to sacrifice his only son of promise
3. Joseph (v. 22)
·
Coat
of many colors
·
Mom
and Dad will bow down to me
·
His
brothers put him in a pit
·
Sold
as a slave for 11 yrs
·
Accused
of rape by Potiphar’s wife Hotifar
·
Put
in prison for years for 2 years
·
Answers
dreams
·
Put
second in command of Egypt
·
Makes
good financial decisions before drought
·
Saves
the Jews who are starving
4. Moses (v. 27)
wandered in the wilderness for 40
years
Not just once but twice
We are
surrounded by these great examples of faith/endurance
They are
now looking down at us (not on us)
We respect
this kind of faith that passes the test of time
We respect
people who endure hardship to reach a goal
We respect
the effort, character, persistence it takes to accomplish
LOSE THE BAGGAGE
V. 1 …let us lay aside every weight, and the
sin which so easily ensnares us…
Two
thoughts here
1.
Weight
that slows us down
·
You
cannot run your race well if your weighed down
·
Example
of the cyclists
·
Sin
weighs us down
·
It
makes it harder to last if we have a heavy load
·
What
is weighing you down?
·
“Come
to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew
11:28
2.
Sin
that trips us up
o
What
is ensnaring you?
o
What
is trapping you in or tripping you up?
o
What
snare/trap is Satan using?
The key to overcoming life limitations is
First:
Identify it
Second: Detach from it
Third:
Replace it
RUN WITH ENDURANCE
v. 1 …and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us…
Of all the
attributes that could be mentioned here God choose “endurance”, why?
Because God
can carry us through anything unless we don’t believe, unless we quit.
But nobody
respects a quitter
It is easy
to give up
It is easy
to drop out
It is a
tough race this human race, this race of faith
Accepting
its difficulty is one of the steps to its success
2Tim.
2:3 (NKJV) You
therefore must endure hardship as a
good soldier of Jesus Christ.
James 1:2 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, whenever
trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.
James 1:3 (NLT)
For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
James 1:4 (NLT)
So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong
in character and ready for anything.
David
Livingstone invite
The shallow
heart
Mark 4:17 (NKJV) and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when
tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they
stumble.
Effort = results
Bon-Bon’s
don’t get it done
IRONMAN
Triathlon endurance race
Your
body tells you to quit or slow down
Your
mind tells you to quit or slow down
To
endure you have to find a reason to go forward
You
must have an answer to the voice of pain
STAYING MOTIVATED
v. 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame…
As
Christians our motivation in Christ Himself
Looking
unto Jesus the
The
ultimate IRONMAN
He
took those iron nine inch nails and endured the cross
He
began it and perfected the faith
No
greater example
Jesus
needs to be our focus
He despised
the shame
Nothing
deterred Him
Not
even the shame He had to endure
Naked
Bleeding
Mocked
by the soldiers
Mocked
by passerby’s
What was
Jesus’ motivation?
“The
joy that was set before Him”
The
thought of redeeming us
So reverse
the process and think of Jesus
To glorify
Him
To honor
Him
Paul’s
motivation: Philippians 3:14 “I press
toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
THE RESULTS
v. 2 …and has sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God.
Results “He
sat down at the right hand of God”
It
was worth the fight
The down side of endurance
· It
is painful
· There
is suffering involved
· You
are tempted to quit
· But
nothing good comes easy
· Don’t
be a lottery looser
· If
it were easy everyone would be doing it
The up side of endurance
· Escaping
the norm
· Sense
of accomplishment
· The
fruit of your labor
· Victory
· Bring
God glory
James
5:11 (NKJV) Indeed
we count them blessed who endure.
You have heard of the perseverance of Job
