Perserverance

1 Corinthians 15

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Working Very Hard

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it.”? The teacher’s reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."

He failed in business in 1831. He was defeated for the State Legislator in 1832. He tried another business in 1833, it failed. His fiancée died in 1835. He had a nervous brake down in 1836. In 1843 he ran for Congress and was defeated. He tried again in 1848 and was defeated again. He tried running for the Senate in 1855 and lost. The next year he ran for Vice-President and lost. In 1859 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated. In 1860 the who signed his name A. Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States.

The difference between histories boldest accomplishments and its most staggering failures is often simply the diligent will to Persevere.

· The average millionaire has gone bankrupt three times.

· Three out of five marriages end in divorce.

· 16% of evangelical Christians said yes when asked, “Do you feel like you have been a failure?”

· 61% of working America has been fired or let go due to downsizing.

Jonah

Job….Though my reigns consume me and the skin worms devour, yet will I see God.

Paul, beaten and bruised, lonely and forsaken, old and frail... Came to the end of his journey and one day wrote:

Philippians 3

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Later on he wrote to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Mark 5

25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

28 For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

It received Jesus’ attention. He turned and said, “Who touched me”

In Acts 2 there King had died. For 3 ½ years they had followed this man called the Christ around. They watched Him feed the 5,000 and heal the sick and suddenly he was gone. BUT THEY PERSEVERED. They finally stopped their business and came in 1 mind and 1 accord. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind…

Lifting weights I hated it. In order to grow your muscle…you must tear or rip open the current one.

The Tampa Bay Buc’s started out in 1978 0-14. The following year they lost their first 10 games becoming the worst team ever in the NFL. Today they are Super Bowl World Champ’s.

The Crew

Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, Ilan Ramon

NASA controllers lost contact with Columbia at 9 a.m. EST -- 16 minutes before it was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center. It happened on the 15th day, 22 hour 20th minute of the journey.

Shuttle commander Rick D. Husband; pilot William C. McCool; payload commander Michael P. Anderson; mission specialists David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark; and Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, were killed.