GODLY MEN AND WOMEN PREVAIL AGAINST THE ODDS
This fifth consecutive message on becoming men and women of God deals with the subject of perseverance. Paul is an excellent example of the persevering saint.
TEXT- II Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing”.
Dr. J. Robert Clinton, professor at Fuller Seminary did a study of male leadership in the Bible and
determined that only 30% of them finished well. How many of you here today want to finish well?
How many of you will commit yourself to finishing well? Godly men and women finish well.
Biblical Persons Who Did Not Finish Well.
1. Samson- immorality with a woman.
2. Absalom- the temptation of pride and power.
3. Ananias and Sapphira- the love of money.
4. Noah- the temptation of alcohol.
5. Eli- compromise and failure to teach his sons.
6. Solomon- polygamy and materialism.
Solomon was used greatly as a young man to build the Temple and unify the kingdom. God
gave him great wisdom because he didn’t ask for money or power, but he asked for wisdom. In the
end he had multiple wives and concubines, was drunk on riches and power, and he didn’t properly
train his children.
7. Barnabas- rebelled against Paul’s authority.
Barnabas was a leader in the early church. He was sent to establish the church at Antioch. He
brought in Paul to build up the church. He began as the leader of the First Missionary Journey but
when the journey was completed, Paul was the leader. He got into an argument with Paul, and
ended up his ministry in Cyprus where we don’t hear of him again.
What It Means To Persevere:
To finish well by walking with God personally to the end of your life.
To make a consistent contribution to God’s work with your time, talent and treasure.
To leave a heritage through biological and spiritual children who will continue the work of God.
To refuse the rejection and hostility of the culture.
Several modern examples come to mind of persons who rejected the rejection of others to achieve success:
In 1902, the poetry editor of The Atlantic Monthly returned a sheaf of poems to a 28-year-old poet with this curt note: “Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse.” The poet was Robert Frost, who rejected the rejection.
In 1905, the University of Bern turned down a Ph.D. dissertation as being irrelevant and fanciful. The young physics student who wrote the dissertation was Albert Einstein, who rejected the rejection.
In 1894, the rhetoric teacher at Harrow in England wrote on a 16-year-old’s report card, “a conspicuous lack of success.” The 16-year-old was Winston Churchill.
TEXT: Hebrews 12:1-3, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
This text has several key thoughts...
(1) We are under surveillance. "compassed about with ...".
(a) The Trinity, Satan, angels of light, angels of darkness, saints in heaven, saints on earth and the unsaved.
(2) We all have baggage. "Let us lay aside every weight…."
(3) We are all in a specific race, tailored just for us. "the race...".
(4) We must pace ourselves carefully. "let us run with patience...".
(Remember that the Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon.)
(5) We must never look back. "looking unto Jesus...".
(6) We cannot win the race in our own strength. "the author and finisher... ."
(7) Joy comes in the morning. "who for the joy”. (8) Discouragement, depression and defeat are all mental attitudes.
"Lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."vs. 3.
Great numbers of Christians today are quitting their marriages, jobs and their service for Christ. Some are turning away from the church. Some are blaming others-- blaming bitter circumstances-- blaming hypocrites in the church-- blaming organized religion-- SOME ARE BLAMING GOD. Many pastors are actually quitting the ministry and pursuing other interests.
WE ARE ALL IN GOD’S CLASSROOM.
Finally, when facing darkness, loss and despair... remember that God has you in His classroom. If you fail to learn His intended lessons, you will find yourself right back in the same dilemma later.... until you do learn His lessons. They are:
1. FIND THE LESSON GOD IS TEACHING.
2. ACCURATELY ASSESS THE DAMAGE.
Things are never as bad as they seem. Likewise, they are seldom as good as they seem. Many things seem urgent, but few things are important.
3. FORGET WHAT YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND.
4. LAUGH AT YOURSELF WHEN POSSIBLE.
5. FORGIVE EVERYONE INCLUDING YOURSELF.
6. RESET NEW AND REASONABLE GOALS.
7. RISK FAILURE AGAIN AND AGAIN.
Once you have fallen out of the boat, you will likely not rock it again. Fear of failure again can cause you to miss God's best for your future. Evaluate the risks, but then trust God and jump out of the boat again and again. Remember, God is with you in defeat as well as in victory.
THE BOTTOM LINE TO BE LEARNED BY ALL FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.
The life of faith which pleases God is lived on the dangerous, often lonely and always painful edge. God is stretching us daily by several methods:
A. God is raising our threshold of pain.
B. God is teaching us the art of spiritual brinkmanship.
And we must learn this spiritual art without becoming weary in well doing, victimized by burnout and quitting, or turning back.
C. God is conditioning us for the long haul.
The more we grow and the more God uses us, the more it hurts. God is bringing us into greater accountability. There are no rest stops on the King's highway!!! He is our strength.
D. God is teaching us that life is unfair but He is always reasonable and just.
I Corinthians 10:13 (LIVING), "But remember this--the wrong desires that come into your life aren't anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation's power so that you can bear up patiently against it."
MY PREMISE IN THIS MESSAGE-
You lose in life far more often than you win. You are ordained by God to be a creature of crisis.... meaning, you will never get out of trouble. The prosperity-theology preachers are very wrong. You are not promised health and wealth. Instead, you are promised pain, sorrow and death. There are three kinds of people in this sanctuary. Job 14:1 "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble."
MY PURPOSE IN THIS MESSAGE -- Since you are destined to spend most of your life down in the valley of the shadow of death, I want to instruct you on how to live joyfully and successfully in the midst of your never-ending problems and pressures. In other words, you must learn that God is not nearly as interested in getting you out of trouble as teaching you how to live with contentment while in trouble. And, more than that, He wants you to learn to bear the maximum fruit while in the maximum crisis.
Philippians 4:11-13, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be CONTENT. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."