THE BLESSING OF FAITHFUL 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)
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)
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 (NIV)
11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11 (NIV)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV)
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:24-27 (NIV)
26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations– Revelation 2:26 (NIV)
5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NIV)
BUTTER
“We need solid footing outside ourselves to persevere. When we feel the temptation to weariness, we have somewhere to turn — Someone to turn to — for clarity and direction and strength. We are not left to drum it up from within. We know the one who does not faint or grow weary.” David Mathis
“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“It costs much to obtain the power of the Spirit: It costs self-surrender and humiliation and a yielding up of our most precious things to God; it costs the perseverance of long waiting, and the faith of strong trust. But when we are really in that power, we shall find this difference, that whereas before, it was hard for us to do the easiest things, now it is easy for us to do the hard things.” A. J. Gordon
“What is needed is not mere present professions, but perseverance to the end in the power of faith.” Ignatius of Antioch
“The perseverance of the saints is only possible because of the perseverance of God.” J. Oswald Sanders
“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) If God’s love for me is all this and always perseveres as well, though I am a constant mess up, how much more through His power indwelling within me, should I seek to persevere to finish well out of love for Him and all that He has done for me? The motivation for all my actions are to be out of love for my Father not out of slavish labor.” BHY
“He who perseveres makes every difficulty an advancement and every contest a victory.” Charles Caleb Colton
“Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.” John Wesley
“It’s really up to you as to how you will run the race of life. You decide whether ‘Christians have all we need, in every circumstance, at every moment, to live a godly life. God Himself dwells in us (Romans 8:9-11) and is at work in us (Philippians 2:13). In Christ, we are powerful. We are finally free to conquer pornography. Finally free to say, ‘No!’ to lying, stealing, and laziness (Titus 2:11-13). We are not left helpless to lie around and booze all day – we have the might to renounce every and any temptation through the Spirit that dwells within us (Romans 8:13). We have the very weapon of God in hand: His Word. The very presence of God in us: His Holy Spirit. And the very army of God to war with us: His church. To profess to have found him, and to bear no change, is to cast a shadow on the Name of Christ and the power of His Spirit. Christians should be distinct from the world in how we live. Yet we all have cause to sing, ‘Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love’. But even when the Christian stumbles, as we all do this side of glory, we are not content to make peace with belittling God. We do not settle at home in our sin. ‘We’re all human’ is not our excuse. We are not satisfied to wander from our Savior. When we fall, we will roll to our knees, plead for grace’s pardon and power, get up, and continue on our way.” Greg Morse
“Failure is not fatal nor success final. What matters for the believer in sweet Jesus is the perseverance to end in the power of the Spirit. That is indeed finishing well.” BHY
“That is life. It’s composed of a million choices. And most of those choices seem insignificant, unimportant, unimpressive, and uninteresting. But character is developed when we continue to make the next, right choice. And character creates influence. And influence creates legacy. So if you want to leave an amazing legacy, just keep doing the next right thing. Four generations from now, people probably won’t remember your name. But someone you love will be different because of you.” Laura Black
“If there is one doctrine I have preached more than another, it is the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints even to the end.” Charles H. Spurgeon
HEART SAVOR
• God’s Word tells us we are called to persevere to the end – to finish well in the faith.
• Never, never, give up. Never. Never. Never.
• Depend on Him, He can be trusted. God’s work, done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 