King Sisyphus was a proud, arrogant and deceitful king. Upon his death the Greek gods punished him by sentencing him to roll a large stone up a mountain only to have it roll back down again and again for eternity. This Greek fable can at times describe the life of a Christian. As we navigate through this world, we seem to always be pushing uphill against the stream of a world increasingly hostile towards the truth of God’s word. Wish the stone up the hill only to have it at times roll back down and hit us. The path we have chosen to take is not an easy one. It is a path that will require perseverance.
Psalm 129
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—
let Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
4 The LORD is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
8 nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
This is a ‘slam of perseverance and faith. I have been oppressed from my youth and they have plowed my back, but the Lord has set me free. The history of Israel is one of opposition and oppression countered by perseverance and faith. So is the life of anyone who walks the narrow path that leads to life in Christ Jesus. The Christian life is one that is filled with joy and peace. We can rest in the fulfilled promises of thru past, present blessings in the day, and future assurances of total victory. These truths would bring us joy and peace, but they do not guarantee that we will not have trouble as we journey in this life. There is a point in everyone’s life, where they feel they cannot go on, that they have given their all and there is no more. Of the goal is important enough, if the reward in the end is worth it all, if we intend on reaching the end we must persevere.
We are told by Jesus that the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life and those that find it are few. There is not s person I know including myself that would not prefer the path of least resistance. Have you ever noticed that the more excited you are to get somewhere the longer it seems to take to get there? There are many times as I walked with God where I have often asked “Are we there yet?” The answer has always been not yet preserver for the rewards are well worth the wait.
In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth he describes his life and what he has endured as he worked tirelessly to build God’s kingdom. “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” If we are honest with ourselves if we were put on the same circumstances as Paul many of us would have second thoughts if this path, we have chosen is worth it. Paul did not persevere, because he was in better health than most, because he was braver or strong than most, ot because he was seeking his own glory and fame. Paul persevered because of his enduring faith in the Lord and because he understood that all he did he did for thru glory of God and God would be his strength. In his letter to the Philippians. He says, “Jesus has made me his own. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul could persevere because he was not a tourist, walking for his own glory, or seeking to belong to some secret society or social group. Paul was a pilgrim he walked with integrity and purpose, his walk was purposeful and intentional in answering the upward call to proclaim the gospel and God’s truth.
To preserver means not to conform to the ways of the world but to conform to Christ. When I see the state of many churches, I do not see them persevere in the ways of God but conform g to the ways of man. Bending to the pressures of a sinful world so they can fit in and be more relevant. An example of this that breaks my heart was seen recently in the state of Ohio, where a group of clergies, claiming to be doing the work of God, chose to bless a Planned Parenthood center. Planned Parenthood the largest abortion provider in thru nation responsible for the death of millions of innocent children and the men and women who have lost their way, who have failed to persevere, giving into the pressures of political correctness and false diversity choosing to ignore the word God and their upward calling God over a downward calling of man. The truth is, that when we stand firm in the truth of God’s word, we will face opposition and we will be called to preserver. Jesus tells us that even those closest to us , brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and friends will betray us. He tells us we will be hated because we have trusted and loved him. We can rest assured that when we chose to persevere, we will never have to stand alone.
The Psalm says, “But the Lord is righteous; he has cut me from the cords of the wicked….. may they be like grass on the roof which withers before it can grow.” This last week I missed an opportunity to watch my football team play. So, the next day I watched the highlights as I watched to opposing team score several unanswered points I was not discouraged because I already knew we had one the fame. We can persevere in our walk, because we know that the wicked will not prevail. Jesus makes us a promise that not a hair on our heads will perish. Even though we may endure pain and sorrow, we know that same pain and sorrow is not eternal. We know that there is nothing man can do to jeopardize our salvation. We can rest on the assurances of an eternal peace and eternal joy, guaranteed by the promises of God and what he accomplished on the cross. We rest daily in the comfort of our Savior who promised he would never forsake us.
There has been and always will be opposition to the truth of God’s word. Darkness is never welcoming to the light. We can rest assure and persevere knowing that evil like grass on a roof will not be able to take permanent root and will one day wither away forever. The philosopher Voltaire had a deep-seated hate for the bible and the Christian faith he once said, “Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd, and bloodied religion that has ever infected the world.” He boasted that in 20 years Christianity would be no more. Voltaire died in 1778 and at one point in time his house was used by the Geneva Bible Society to house a printing press. There have been many to follow in the footsteps of Voltaire. They often refer to themselves as freethinkers and humanist. They profess to know s truth as there is no absolute truth. They continue to try and eradicate Christianity seeing it as foolish and a waste of time. Many of these men and women have passed away, and many more will but God’s word endures forever.
In our quest to persevere we must guard our hearts, and to be aware that we do not slip into the trap of having a self-rightist and angry heart towards those that seek to persecute and oppose us as we stand in the truth. Not one of us has not gotten to a point where we are frustrated and tired of the battle, and in that tiredness and frustration we might lash out in anger. We cannot let that anger take control of our lives, se cannot let it fester in our hearts. Every response that we have to those that oppose us should be a direct reflection of our own relationship with God. While we should stand firm in the faith and truth with confidence, we are not to do so with arrogance. Peter reminds us “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Admittedly people are hard to love, and even harder when they oppose everything you stand for. God in his mercy and grace has declared that his wish is that none should perish but all should reach repentance. And each of us, should have the same goal as each of us should strive to have a heart like God.
We have been justified by faith and now have peace with God through Christ on the cross. Our relationship with the Father has been restored and we are no longer children of wrath but have a right to be called a child of God. We rejoice in this and rest on the assurance found in putting all your hopes in Christ. While this would on the surface seem to be enough Paul makes a declaration saying, “Not only that”, he points out there is more, so with great expectations we read on, as one can only imagine what lies ahead until Paul says, we rejoice in our suffering. So the next great expectation is to suffer and rejoice in tenant suffering? What possible good could come suffering? Suffering produces endurance. Every person who has been successful at any thing will tell you that to get to where they are, at some point they experienced loss. Any goal worth obtaining will require sacrifice and to keep going to endure we must persevere. God will often let us go or at times lead us into what seems to be a deep valley. And through enduring faith we persevere and come out on the other side reaching higher mountains and growing in our walk with God.
Endurance produced character. As we persevere and are put under pressure, we begin toe change. We become more mature in our faith, our lives and character become more like Christ. We begin to see that those that ‘persecute and challenge us are not the enemy but lost souls in need of the same Savoir that saved us. We develop wisdom to discern the truth and confidence built upon the assurances of God to stand firm in the faith and seek to glorify God in all that we do.
Character produces hope. This is not the hope found in me a hope that will end the end always disappoint. It is a hope that is focused on God and his promises. A faith sealed within us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Sol of this leads to an ever-increasing willingness to persevere and have a never wavering faith in God.
May the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind, one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. AMEN!
