Perseverance!

 7^th Sunday after Pentecost

                          

Introduction:

     A.   For an athlete to be good at a particular sport, he/she

          has to practice many hours!

     B.   For a musician to be good at playing a musical

          instrument, he/she has to practice many hours, and for

          him/her to remain good, practice must be continued.

     C.   He/she has to stick-to-it or persevere!

     Trans.

          In our Christian lives we need this "perseverance" also, so let's look today at "Perseverance" and see what it really means to persevere!

 

                            Prayer

 

I.   What is Perseverance?

     A.   Websters def. =     Steadiness in seeking a goal;  persistent effort! Some synonyms                              are persistence, endurance, stick-to-it-iveness, staying power, determination, and resolution.

     B.   Persistent Effort:

          through thick and thin a continuous, persistent effort!  Not half-hearted but persistent!  Not just when things are going good!

     C.   Ray, or Marie didn't get good at playing a musical instrument without a lot of practice. It takes

          persistent effort!

 

II.  Let's look at some examples of perseverance from the Bible!

     A.   Negative.

          1.   Matt. 13:20-21

              Here through the Parable of the Sower Jesus

              explains how some will receive the word but when

              trials come they will give up!  They won't

              persevere!

          2.   Matt. 26:69-75

              Peter broke under the pressure; he didn't

              persevere!

     B.   Positive.

          1.   Gen. 6:11-22  (don't read)

              Noah persevered 100 years building a boat because

              God said to and it hadn't even rained before.  He

               had to have had some discouragements, but he

               persevered!

          2.   Heb. 12:1-3

              Jesus persevered until the end in spite of what

               men/women did to him!  “He endured the cross!”

III. We need "Perseverance" today because, like our Biblical examples, we have all kinds of pressures today to cause us to   break!

     A.   pressure imposed by time:

          1.   If you are a doer, you probably don't have enough

              time to get done what you'd like to do!

          2.   As we see things that need done and as we get more

               and more jobs and the same amount of time, it is

               enough to make us throw up our hands and say "I

               can't do it; I quit!"

     B.   personal discouragement:

          1.   This is one that Satan breaks a lot of people with!

          2.   He does it 95% with no help from the outside of

              your mind.  He does it with negative thoughts like:

              a.   You can't do that!

              b.   You can't do anything right; look at that!

              c.   You are a failure!

              d.   Everybody thinks you are a failure!

     C.   Unfavorable circumstances:  (another pressure)

          1.   Things that we can't control:

              a.   people treat us badly!

              b.   a tragic death!

              c.   people who we have confidence in letting us

                   down!

          2.   These things can really turn our world upside down

              and can break us if we haven't learned

              perseverance!

 

IV.  How can we learn perseverance?

     A.   First, God's Word!  Study!

          1.   Do you give up easy?  From God's word, we learn not to give up!  We learn that we can make a

              difference!

              a.   We can still reach people in Forsyth if we

                   persevere and don't give up! 

                   1) evidence – the 2/3 to 3/4^th of you have

                      come to the church in the last 5 years!

                   2) evidence - those who have been baptized,

                      reaffirmed your baptisms and joined the

                      church in the last 5 years.

                   3) evidence - Those of you who are serving in

                      new ways in the last 5 years!

              b.   We can still grow as Christians if we don't

                   give up!

          2.   Are you easily discouraged?  God's word has the

              answer!  "I can do all things through Christ which

              strenghteneth me."  (Phil. 4:13)

          3.   Does it seem like Satan is winning?  The Bible

              Shows us that we are on the winning side:  that is

              the main theme of Revelation. Don’t get bogged down

              in the metaphoric language but realize the main

              point; we are on the winning side!

          4.   We need a clear vision of our goal so we will not

               get side-tracked and bounce around with no

              direction.  We get it in God's word!

     B.   Secondly, Prayer!

 

          We can persevere as we keep the communications open with  Christ, our greatest example of perseverance!

 

V.   Are you a "persevering" person?

          Do Self-Evaluation!

 

Conclusion:

     A.   There's an adage:

              "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

     B.   Can that be said about you in your spiritual life?

     C.   Like the person that plays a musical instrument, if we

          are going to attain our goal of Christlikeness, it is

          going to take some perseverance (persistent effort) on

          our part.

     D.   Do you need to grow in this?  As we encounter Christ at

          the table this morning, ask Christ to help you to better

          live out this virtue of perseverance!

 

                      Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion