RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE
BREAD
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:9-11 (NIV)
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. 8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. 9 She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor. 10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Proverbs 4:6-12 (NIV)
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:5-14 (NIV)
3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh– Philippians 3:3 (NIV)
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)
BUTTER
“As children of God, we are called to live holy lives, but not in our own strength (see Peter 1:16; Romans 8:1-17). The fruit of the Spirit is not something we can mass-produce; it is something that can only grow as we surrender daily to God.” Michael Youssef
“The true secret to all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or man’s intellect, or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of the God of the Gospel. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zech.iv.6) It is well for all ministers (and believers) to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart and give constant freshness to their ministry (and lives). A ministry which flows from abiding dependence upon the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be, or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the Holy Spirit be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or later, lose its freshness and its effectiveness. How important then, that all who minister (and live) in the gospel…should lean continually and exclusively on the power of the Holy Spirit. He knows what souls need, and He can supply it. But he must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and partly on the Spirit.” C H Macintosh
“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Will Rogers
“The truth is that we can’t make ourselves better. Out attempts at self-improvement will always fail. To walk in righteousness, we must instead rest in the grace of Christ.” Michael Youssef
“When I get depressed about my present failures, I ask God to remind me of my true identity: one who will be made perfect and has already been forgiven. ‘You’ve got to go deeper’, said the nun to my burned-out pastor. ‘Sink the well into a water table that never runs dry’…Thomas Merton conceded that everything in modern city life conspires against such surrender. We worry (fear) about money, about what we need to have and to know, about whom to compete with and what is slipping out of our control…(he) found the secret to true freedom: If we live to please God alone (the One who loves us), we set ourselves free from the cares and worries that press in on us.” Phillip Yancey
“The risk of grace is that we turn our lives over to God. Abandoned. Surrendered. We no longer have to defend ourselves because we are convinced that he loves us so much, but we no longer try to run our own lives. He is our Lord, our master, and the one we follow. We don’t know where he will lead, but we are willing to go there because we are convinced that life in him is truly the Grand Adventure. We don’t know what he will ask us to do, but we’re willing to do it because we’re sure he knows best. We respond to him like a loved child responds to his mother [or his Grammy I would add]. We may not understand everything, and we may ask a million questions, but when we don’t get answers, we still trust our Heavenly Father because he has proven himself to us. . . The deeper we press into the price Christ paid to rescue us, the more we’ll be amazed by his love, and we’ll delight in honoring him all day, every day.” Tim Clinton & Josh Straub
“Cut out that which seems good to invest in the best. It is the law of life: Early sacrifice for later bounty. It can be hard to prune good things that are blooming. It can be hard to remember why you are pruning. Because there’s a counter-intuitiveness to it, this plucking off certain life activities that will yield good fruit. Some might even think it foolish to pare back, when the bloom and gifting apparent; a good harvest inevitable. Yet it’s the pruning of seemingly good leaves that can grow a better life. To allow later seasons to yield the longed-for abundant crop. It takes courage to crop a life back — but it’s exactly the way to have the best crop of all. What seems like hard work that’s taking an eternity today — is exactly what may make the most difference in eternity.” Ann Voskamp
“Jesus has told us that we can do nothing of eternal value apart from His power. Oh we can do plenty of what the world lauds and which brings us worldly pomp and status but absolutely nothing of kingdom work can occur without the Holy Spirit. And works done apart from the Spirit are mere chaff that the winds blow away and will never make it through the fire which will one day test the quality of each man’s work. Jesus tells us in John 15:4-8 (NIV): 4 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” He is the One Who gives the power and the One Who gives the power, gets the glory.” BHY
“When we strive and perform in the attempt to earn God’s acceptance, we miss out on the sweetness of the Gospel.” Michael Youssef
HEART SAVOR
• We are to run the race that is marked out for us – fixing our eyes on Jesus.
• Our confidence in kingdom work lies not in the flesh rather in the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• When we are strengthened with all power according to His glorious might we can turn the world upside down – just as the original disciples did in their time.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 