Perseverance NT

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Matthew 24:13    . . . but the one who stands firm until the end will be saved.

Luke 21:19     Stand firm and you will win life.

Romans 4:18-21     Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said of him, “So shall your offspring be.”  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead–since he was about a hundred years old–and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.  

Romans 5:3,4     Not only so, but we also know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope

Romans 12:12     Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 15:4     For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Colossians 1:11     being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience

1 Timothy 4:16     Watch your life and doctrine closely.  Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.         

Hebrews 6:12     We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Hebrews 10:36     You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

James 1:2-4, 12     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. . . . 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.

 

David was a man admired most of the time.  He knew his heart was good, kind, generous and not self serving.  But, since the first sin committed by Eve and then Adam, humans have sinned.  some have sinned profoundly more than others–not caring, or even believing whether there is or is not a God, Creator and Judge who loves all and wants us to be saved and spend eternity with Him–once they recognize He is the Supreme Creator.  He devised a plan to free us from the chains and bonds of sin.  That does NOT mean there will be no consequences to our sinful behavior, but since Jesus came and became the final, only pure sacrifice willing to die for all sinners as long as they recognize and confess that God is Lord, Creator, Jesus is His Son, the only pure and righteous who walked amongst as full human and full God, and the Holy Spirit, our Guide, our Teacher, who will only lead us if we are accepting of the Holy Spirit as full God, sent to be our Helper on earth until Jesus comes again to claim His kingdom.

The Old Testament sacrifices consisted of lambs, birds, cattle and was hopefully a visual reminder to all the people that THEIR sins cost the life of a poor, blemish free, healthy animal.  The cost was little to them; yes, perhaps they had to purchase the cattle or lamb or whatever, but there were many, many animals on the journey to the Promised Land, and the land was fertile, so sheep, cattle and all thrived.  Their sacrifice was more an apology, not an atonement. 

David’s actions — and inactions — sleeping with Bathsheba, knowing she was a friend’s wife, not punishing the son who raped his daughter, not dealing with the selfish disobedience and ‘grabby and entitled’ behavior of his sons was the partial cause of the Jewish nations to fumble and fall.  (Talk about the sins of the father for generations . . . )  Yet, even when David messed up, he kept running to God in repentance and in sincere desire to know God deeper and to follow Him closer.  He was persevering to know God more.  Once he died, it certainly seemed there was no telling any of these “royals” that they needed to be obedient, to follow God’s Words, to honor and glorify God and He would honor and glorify them and be with them always.  Some of David’s descendants did try to follow after God–Hezekiah, Josiah, but being human, they too had their weaknesses and fell short.  Different countries invaded both Israel and later Jerusalem, and the Jewish people were enslaved quite often.  

Since all men are selfish, it is a lot of sin God was seeing within His creation.  But that changed when Jesus began His ministry.  He gathered hard working men and women, and lovingly guided, taught, led, and showed them how He wanted them to live.  He repeated that He and the Father were one, and what they wanted was one’s heart to be pure.  They wanted all mankind to live as they do–loving, guiding, restful, hardworking, yet giving rewards for the heard endeavors–good harvests each year, healthy families, plenty for all–food, cloth, work, money for taxes, and so on.   God the trinity wanted us to live, laugh, seek, and love as they did.  They wanted to see kindness, patience, endurance when times were tough, gentleness, peace, gratefulness, goodness, love, joy, self control.  They yearned to see all mans’ hearts turned with sincerity to them to honor, worship and glorify.

Yet, even now, for those of us who KNOW Jesus is the Savior, who came to earth to live, teach and then die for US, we can fight argue with our selfish desires versus knowing what God wants us to act–and we therefore sin.; He was to be the only pure and sacrificial Lamb to free us from the penalties of eternity in Hell, yet we still sin.  We judge others at times, we may gossip,   Sin is abundant in our society, and we struggle with what we want to do, and do not always follow God’s desires.   

 

But there have been many people who have demonstrated perseverance in following God.  That does not mean they were perfect, sinless, but they did continue to “run the race, to finish well for the crown.”

Helen Keller was one of those people.  At a young age she developed mumps and became deaf and blind, and it was early enough that she had very little verbal words.  Because of pity, not knowing how to care for the child and get her the help she needed, she was developing into a young wild “animal” with no manners, and only a means of grabbing what she wanted in life.  Ann Sullivan was a young woman who also had visual problems, but she moved into the home and she persevered, sometimes in extreme frustration, trying to reach this child.  And eventually she did.  And once the doors to learning were unlocked for Helen Keller, she persevered in her quest for knowledge, and went about teaching others and the perseverance of both of these women showed others the importance of continuing to try to unlock doors to reach those who have a disability to become the best they can be.

Walt Disney was another who persevered in his quest.  He bought land and had a vision of a place for families to come to and enjoy a stay and turned several properties into a special vacation for many.  His vision brought families together for a week or so, reconnecting, enjoying and loving.  But he persevered in his vision

Louis Zamperini was another who knew the importance of perseverance.  He was an American Olympic long distance runner who joined the US Army Airborne division.  Once their plane was shot down, he and three others survived 47 days floating in a raft, until finally picked up by a Japanese fishing vessel.  They were then turned over to a Japanese POW camp.  Because of who Zamperini was–a known Olympic winner, he was chosen to be abused, beaten, threatened with hours of torturous challenges.  (Holding his arms over his head while kneeling in the hot sun…..)  He was held captive in that camp for two years until the end of the war.  Zamperini was an example of one who persevered.

Billy Graham was another who chose perseverance.  He was a Christian from a young child, and was just becoming a young minister in the Evangelistic circles.  Invited to a conference with several other well-known preachers, he was intimidated.  One of those men challenged him to defend why he believed, and then prove his knowledge as he would have to support his beliefs to others, especially nonbelievers.  This caused Graham several months of doubt and he delved into the Word searching answers to his doubts, his questions.  This challenged him at his foundation.  For months he sought God on how to answer, how to be sure he was on the path God had for him.  He finally put his Bible down, knelt before it and stated to God his belief in as Creator, as God, as Jesus as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit.  He claimed these beliefs, asked God to give him the right heart if being an Evangelical minister was His plan.  And while there, humbled, broken, certainty and peace entered him.  Billy Graham knew God as Father, Creator, and that it was a trinity of Godhead.  He had persevered in trying to find his answers, and after was rewarded with the knowledge he was doing the will of God, he served and prayed with several presidents, and became one of the most humble sought after preachers to come to speak to others about God.

We all need to come to a time when we persevere whether there are periods of doubt, fear, frustration over a loved one’s choices, praying through illness, contemplating the new job opportunity, and numerous other situations that arise in one’s life.  Persevering at the foot of the cross, seeking God’s will and path, in time does give answers.  Following God’s will and design for your life is what we should daily seek.  Thankfully, we are not daily going through a crisis time, but when those times come, employ your prayer warriors, and stay at the foot of the cross with your concerns.  

Thank You for always being there, ready to listen, to offer comfort, and when You are ready for me to know, will point me in the direction You have prepared me for.  You have always been there, sometimes when I felt all alone, but You were constant for me and ‘mybellaviews.’