DO WE HAVE KNOWLEDGE IN CHRIST JESUS
(Bearing Up Under Trials)
Part 6 of 9
Holy Ground Spirit Filled Church
6-17-06
Pastor: Joe M Garza
Text: 2:Peter 1:5-8
INTRODUCTION:
We have observed that growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ begins with the foundation of faith (conviction and trust)
----faith to which we add the quality of virtue (striving for excellence)
----virtue manifested by increasing in knowledge (regarding God’s will)
----knowledge to which we add the grace of self-control (mastering one’s desires)
*In our text 2 Peter 1:5-8, we note that to self-control we are to add perseverance
----the KJV renders it patience (as does the NKJV in many places)
----The AMP has the word steadfastness
a. What comes to mind when you hear these words?
b. How does this relate to self-control?
c. Are you adding perseverance to your life as a Christian?
I. THE DEFINITION OF PERSEVERANCE
A. THE GREEK WORD IS HUPOMONE
*This literally means, “an abiding under”
*Charles Spurgeon defines the word as “a cheerful (or hopeful) endurance”
*It implies suffering, enduring, or waiting, as a determination of the will and not simply under necessity
B. IT IS MORE THAN JUST A PASSIVE VIRTUE
a. In a PASSIVE sense
----WATCH ME CUZ I’M GOING TO FREAK YOU OUT! It would be like a ship anchored in a storm under attack by the wind and waves and anchored in just one spot
----the wind and waves are our problems
----the wind and waves are our finances
----the wind and waves are our sickness
b. In the ACTIVE sense
----It is like a ship sailing despite the obstacles but pressing on to its destination despite the obstacles
*George Mueller describes it as “bearing all trials and difficulties with an even mind, enduring in all, and persevering trough all”
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us [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, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
*WATCH ME! Endurance is the steady determination to keep going, regardless of the temptation to slow down or give up
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (NKJV)
Do you not know that those who run in a race ALL RUN, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. [25] And everyone who competes for he prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown
----WATCH ME! A runner cannot win a race if he walks
----his goal is to win first place
----WATCH ME! Your goal is to fight through all the trials and tribulation and not slow down at all
----you need to get in shape for the big race that is about to happen as soon as you leave from here
----we must endure every race that we compete in and as long as you are in Jesus’ side He will sign you up for every single race so be ready in season and out of season
*Self-Control is crucial to victory
2 Timothy 3:10-11 (NKJV)
But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, [11] persecutions, affliction, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.
* Persecutions is the Greek verb that literally means “to put to flight”
*WATCH ME! The Lord repeatedly delivered Paul from persecutions and it should have encouraged Timothy
----it should encourage you when you are on your last breath and you are turning that corner in the race of trials and tribulations
----WATCH God step in a be your second wind in that race where it will no longer be you it will be Jesus pulling you through that finish line
[Perseverance is not simply bearing with trials, but “bearing up under trials,” and it is a quality required of Christians………………….]
II. THE DEMAND FOR PERSEVERANCE
A. IT IS NECESSARY FOR MATURE GROWTH
*Lester Sumrall said, “Real greatness grows out of character”
*We must allow patience (hupomone) to develop a mature character
*Aaron Burr is one such person. History give him prominence, but only in the sense that it remembers him as a tragic failure. His life was a monument to squandered potential. Burr’s father and grandfather were godly men. His father, the Reverend Aaron Burr, was the second president of Princeton College. His grandfather, Jonathan Edwards, is best known for his fiery preaching. Edwards was used mightily of God during the Great Awakening in colonial America. He was also briefly President of Princeton, an office he held when he died. Burr himself was brilliant. His academic record at Princeton has never been surpassed to this day. But his lusts were unquenchable, he lacked personal discipline, and his behavior often reflected immaturity. He joined the colonial army, but he got in a fight with General Washington and deserted his post. (like some people do in the church) H he was successful for a time in politics and even held the office of vice president of the United States. But he was suspected of tampering with votes to steal elections. Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, and then he fled to Europe to avoid prosecution. He eventually found his way back to New York, where he died friendless, penniless, and in disgrace. His great intellect and giftedness had brought him fame and position, but they could not make him a great man.
*Nehemiah’s life and work reveals no blemish on his character
----in other words, he exemplified piety, integrity, faithfulness, patriotism, diligence, humility, and a host of other virtues
----Nehemiah was man of initiative
----we need to take the initiative in our lives and in the church
Romans 5:4 (NKJV)
And perseverance, character; and character hope
----in other words, we need to endure and have the ability to remain under tremendous weight and pressure without succumbing
*A better translation for character is “proven character”
*The Greek word simply means “proof”
*WATCH ME! It was used of testing metals to determine their purity
----In other words, this is the proof of a Christian character
----Christians can glory in tribulations because of what those troubles produce
B. PERSEVERANCE IS NECESSARY TO ENDURE TRIALS
a. Perseverance helped the Thessalonians to endure trials
2 Thessalonians 1:4 (NKJV)
So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure
----in other words, nowhere was their growth in faith and love more evident than the way they patiently and faithfully endured hostilities and suffering from the enemies of Christ
----the Thessalonians really didn’t need to speak because their lives spoke clearly enough
b. It helped Job to endure his trials
James 5:11 (NKJV)
Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful
*Job is the classic example of a man who patiently endured suffering and was blessed by God for his persevering faith
----in other words, just as God had a purpose for the suffering of Job
----do you not know that God also has a purpose for you if you can just persevere through the trials you go through instead of bailing out
*WATCH ME! The Lord’s character is a great comfort in suffering
----WATCH ME! If we could only persevere through the trials because the Lord’s character through the trials is merciful and compassionate
C. PERSEVERANCE IS NECESSARY FOR ETERNAL LIFE
a. We must be patient in doing good to receive eternal life
Romans 2:7 (NKJV)
Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality
b. We must have patience (hupomone) to receive the promise
Hebrews 10:36 (NKJV)
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise
[If we hope to grow, endure difficulties, and eventually receive the promise, we must “add” the quality of perseverance to our character………………….]
c. How does one do this?
III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSEVERANCE
A. THE RIGHT ELEMENTS
a. The Word of God
Romans 15:4 (NKJV)
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope
----the Word of God provides patience (hupomone) and hope
----in other words, the Word of God informs us how to endure but it also encourages us in the process
----WATCH ME! Without the clear and certain promises of the Word of God we have no basis for hope
b. We need to have strong HOPE
Romans 8:25 (NKJV)
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance
----in other words, it helps us to wait eagerly with perseverance
c. Prayer
Colossians 1:11 (NKJV)
Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy
*WATCH ME! Patience looks more at enduring difficult circumstances while longsuffering looks at enduring difficult people
*Lester Sumrall said, “A true champion is nourished on time spent alone with god”
----WATCH ME CUZ I’M GOING TO FREAK YOU OUT! You do not get your sustenance for the day at the breakfast table, but in the prayer closet
*Prayer is more important to than food when it comes to energy for serving God and before you can go forth to do some great work for the Lord you must first retreat to Him in prayer
----in other words, God won’t use a man who loves to put himself on a pedestal before men
----he chooses instead those who spend time on their knees before the throne of grace
A. The test of any person’s spiritual character is his prayer life
*WATCH ME! Real success comes not from the work we do when the world is watching, but from the life we live when no one can see
----in other words, no man or women who fails at prayer can be truly successful at any endeavor for God
----Regardless of what your gift is, no matter what God has called you to do, the secret to ultimate victory is the victory you gain in secret.
B. The most important aspect of your calling is your prayer life
*Nehemiah’s prayer was in no sense a cop out………It wasn’t that he was afraid to act …….he was a man of action
----before this man acted on things, Nehemiah was first a man of prayer
----before he was going to build a wall for God, he was going to build it on a solid foundation of prayer
*WATCH ME! No decision is so urgent that there’s no time to pray it through
Lester Sumrall said, “The greater the impact of the decision, the more time I spend before the Lord, asking Him to direct my thoughts and help me make a wise decision.”
*Nehemiah 1:4 shows how this man of God responded to the devastating news that the crumbled city walls had become a reproach: “So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
*Notice the five keys verbs in that brief passage: sat down, wept, mourned, fasting, and praying
----Nehemiah, for all his determination to get going and rebuild the walls, was a man of true compassion and deep feeling
----he had to weep and mourn over the ruins before he could rebuild the fallen walls
----we as a church needs to weep and mourn over the church
----we need to mourn and weep over our children, marriage, finances
d. Tribulations
Romans 5:3 (NKJV)
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance
----we know that tribulations means pressure
----tribulations produces perseverance
----in other words, perseverance prepares us for tribulation
James 1:3 (NKJV)
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience
----in other words we will learn to withstand the pressure of a trial until God removes it at His appointed time and even cherish the benefit
B. THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
a. Looking at Jesus
Hebrews 12:1-4
----in other words, the key to running the race set before us is by considering “Him who endured such hostility” we are less likely to grumble and give up
*Jesus persevered so that He might receive the joy of accomplishment of the Father’s will and exaltation
b. Looking to the prophets of old
James 5:10-11
----their example of steadfastness should motivate us
Hebrews 11:32-38
----to know what the Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, and David and Samuel and the prophets and the apostles how they patiently endured, and our excuses for lack of perseverance or failure to bear up under trial seem silly and foolish
c. We need to be looking to each other
Hebrews 3:12-14 (NKJV)
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; [13] but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin [14] For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV)
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works [25] not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching
----in order to be a powerful aid we need to encourage the brethren to be persistent in coming to church
----through daily exhortations and frequent assemblies, we are more likely to bear up under trials
d. Looking at life with a positive attitude
James 1:2-3 (NKJV)
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience
----the trial that we go through is for our betterment
----they will mold us and make us what God would have us to be
----we need to rejoice and glory in tribulations
e. Looking to the future
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NKJV)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day [17] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory [18] while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal
----in other words, trial are short and light compared to eternal weight of glory
----if you persevere glory awaits you
----let the promise of future glory encourage us to persevere
IV. THE DEMONSTRATION OF PERSEVERANCE
A. REQUIRED IN “TRYING” CIRCUMSTANCES
*WATCH ME! There are times when remaining active for the Lord is difficult
----in other words, lingering suffering, illness, grief
----many Christians make some disappointment, loss, or grief an excuse for shirking their duties to the Lord
*To truly demonstrate perseverance we must continue to press on in doing good
----we can work for God, even if we are laid up in bed
B. REQUIRED IN “TEMPTING” CIRCUMSTANCES
----WATCH ME! We need perseverance when we are faced wit earthly delights, pleasures, seductions of the world
----these distractions are just as dangerous as tribulation I rendering us unfruitful
(Luke 8:14)
----in other words just as the dark clouds of trial may render us inactive, so may the dazzling brightness of temptations blind us and render us useless
CONCLUSION:
*Perseverance involves the idea of bearing up under trials and pressing on
----one is in times of tribulation, it means to spurn the trials
----in times of temptation, it means to turn our backs on them
----in other words, we need to continue to do good as the Lord directs
*In a sense, it is an extended version of self-control
----self-control is a daily exercise
----Perseverance is self-control exercised today, tomorrow, the next day, and so on
----we need to add perseverance to self-control
