PERSEVERANCE

History is filled with examples of men and women who have accomplished great things while encountering great difficulties along the way. Through perseverance they achieved what they set out to accomplish in spite of everything and everyone who came against them. I think of the inspiring story of Gladys Aylward who was a missionary to China. She was rejected by the China Inland Mission because she had a severe learning disability. She was determined to obey the Lord’s call on her life and took on extra work so she could save money for her train ticket to China. The day came when this 28 year old single lady had saved enough money to purchase it and board the train. She carried with her two suitcases, a bedroll, pots and pans and a little portable stove to cook her food. The train she boarded was not able to pass through to China because of the war. She was told that she needed to get off the train as it would proceed to the next city and then stop. She stayed on the train and sure enough it came to stop and she had to get off and walk back to the previous stop in subzero weather. She persevered and walked all the way back and over the course of time, eventually found her way to China where she spent her life ministering to the people and leading hundreds of children to safety during the war. She could have quit many times but she persevered and accomplished a great work for the Lord.
David Brainerd was called to minister to Native Americans on the east coast. He was constantly fighting sickness and disease but he persevered because of his passion for God. “He pushed his fail dying body mile after mile, heaving and coughing and spitting up blood, drenched by the thunderstorms as he rode his horse by day, and soaked by his feverish sweat as he slept in the wild by night. But there were more American Indians to be reached. So onward and onward he went-bemoaning his lack of zeal all the way!(Brown, Power of God. P. 141) David Brainerd never saw his 30th birthday but he accomplished more than many people who live to 80.
John G. Lake was called by God to be a missionary to South Africa. God supernaturally supplied for his family to move there and provided other missionaries to work with him. At one point there was no financial support for the workers who were with him. He called all the workers together and informed them that there was no more money to support them and there was no promise that money would come in the future. One day after the workers met alone they called John Lake into their room to take communion with them. They had something important to say to him that exemplifies the perseverance they exhibited.
“Brother Lake, during your absence we have come to a conclusion; we have made our decision. We want you to serve the Lord’s Supper. We are going back to our fields. We are going back if we have to walk back. We are going back if we have to starve. We are going back if our wives die. We are going back if our children die. We are going back if we die ourselves. We have but one request. If we die, we want you to come and bury us.” The next year, Lake buried 12 men, 16 wives and children. Through their perseverance through tremendous difficulties a great move of God came to South Africa.
Perseverance is not a character trait found among many people today who have little patience and less fortitude to press through adversity. It is all too easy to let obstacle change our course and lead us down a pathway that does not lead to the original destination. We want instant relief from anything that is uncomfortable or inconvenient. We lack perseverance that will enable us to press through difficulties and be transformed in our character in the process. We all have faced times of difficulty in our lives and service to the Lord in which we came to the crossroads of choosing the path we should take. One of the pathways seems to be much easier and the other filled with difficulties. One will require perseverance and the other seems very easy and very inviting. In nature we witness what happens when a bird is being hatched and how important it is to struggle to escape the shell. It is during this struggle to leave the shell that the little bird develops parts of its body that would not develop if someone tried to rescue it by knocking away the shell to make it easier for it to be released. The bird has to struggle or it will not develop normally. Some parents make life too soft for their children. They come to their rescue too quickly and pamper their child to the point that the child does not develop perseverance and they grow up expecting someone else to always bail them out of a situation they created. The child can easily become a spoiled brat who never learns the value of hard work and perseverance. Married couples who are experiencing challenges often are faced with the decision to either persevere in the relationship and work through the hard times or call it quits and each go their own way. I know a married couple who recently was faced with this very same decision of persevering or bringing the relationship to an end. One partner wanted to persevere while the other wanted it to end. In American law only one party needs to call it quits to make divorce a reality. At their court hearing the judge before making his ruling asked the couple if they could not give 90 days to seek counseling and do their best to reconcile their differences especially after being married for more than 20 years. He was reluctant to see the marriage trashed and wanted to encourage them to persevere but one refused and the marriage was terminated. When we choose to not persevere we are also choosing to not let God work in us and through us to bring about the changes that He wants to make. I am not saying that in every situation we have to persevere because there are times when you have to bring things to an end to protect yourself from destruction. I am talking about the times when deep inside you know what you should do but you do not want to persevere so you make choices to quit. In these times I believe the devil can easily deceive us into thinking that life will be so much better for us and for everyone involved. The reality is that there will be a wake of destruction that will follow the decision to not persevere and you will not realize this until it is too late.
Perseverance is a response to obedience to the revealed will of God. When you know what God has called you to do and you are determined to do it at any cost then perseverance is what you will need to get you through the hard times. I believe that when we set our hearts on obeying the Lord, he will honor that and give us perseverance to face the adversity that is before us or will hit us in the future. If you are uncertain about what God has called you to do you will be more prone to leave a situation that you do not like but if you know with certainty what God has asked of you then you must respond in obedience and trust God to do a work in you to come to your aid in the time of questioning or adversity.
We persevere in obedience to God in spite of what we may have to go through. The outcome is in the hands of God and what he requires of us is to persevere and trust him even when things are going opposite to what you want them to be or thought they would be.

As in the case of the workers of John G. Lake several of them died as they persevered in their obedience. Just because we persevere does not mean that we will be delivered from every adversity but it does mean that we will leave behind us a testimony and a legacy to others who will follow in our footsteps that will be an encouragement to them. Your obedience will pave the way for others to go beyond the point where you ended. We do not see this from our limited perspective, but God can and he knows what will result from your willingness to persevere. Hebrews 11 is filled with examples of men and women who persevered but never obtained what was promised to them. Persecution of the church is another example of believers who persevere yet die for their faith. We will not always be delivered, we may die in the process but we must never give up or give in to the enemy or lose sight of God during the ordeal. Some of you may know Carol who was our “Baker for the Maker” at the coffee house. She is back in Texas and is facing a real battle with her son-in-law who has terminal cancer. He has persevered in the battle and has been willing to let the doctors do whatever is necessary to fight the cancer because he wants to live. It would be easy to simply give up at the first mention of terminal cancer but he has put up a fight against it that will be a testimony to his family whatever happens. I received an email today from Carol which indicated that the doctors have tried everything they could to save his life and defeat the cancer. There is nothing more they can do so they have sent him home.
Peseverance also comes when we have faith that something will be accomplished or will be changed because we have stayed on course. We can keep moving forward or keep enduring hardship when we have faith that in spite of what we are experiencing God is at work and He is in control and will work all things for his purposes. Abraham had this kind of hope that enabled him to persevere. When he was called to sacrifice his only son Isaac, he had faith that God would raise him up from the dead if he died. He persevered through his doubts and fears because he had hope in God that what was promised to him would come to pass. When we have faith that what we believe will come to pass then we can persevere until it comes to pass. Great men and women of faith were also great men and women of perseverance. Noah persevered for 120 years building an ark because he had faith that God had spoken to him and that what God said would come to pass. Joseph had faith that the dream given to him by God would come to pass if he would persevere through the hardships he experienced. Moses had faith that helped him persevere for 40 years in the wilderness because he knew God was going to fulfill his promise to bring the Israelites to the Promised Land. David had faith that he would one day be King of Israel and he persevered all the trials and attacks against him by King Saul. We read in the New Testament the story of the Syro Phoenician woman who had faith to believe for the healing of her daughter. She persevered and set aside all the doubts of other people to seek out Jesus. She persevered even though she was called a “dog” because she had faith that Jesus would heal. When we have faith that is unshakeable we can persevere and we will be rewarded.
We can persevere when we believe that we are on the right track and in spite of our failures we press on. The inventors of WD 40 named their product that is widely used today as a lubricant based on two things. The WD stands for what the product can do, water displacement; it can minimize the effect of water and 40 stands for the number of formulations it took before they were successful. According to Snopes.com, “The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a “Water displacement” compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.” They were able to persevere because with each failure they were really getting closer to finding the right formula. Like Thomas Edison who tried 6,000 vegetable growths to find the most suitable filament material for a light, they saw their failures in a different light; they had discovered 39 formulas that did not work. We can persevere when we know we are getting closer to finding a solution. Perseverance pushes us closer to our goal. Sometimes we do not know how close we really are and we can give up just before our breakthrough. I think of the story in the Bible of the lady who constantly appealed to a judge for help. He finally gave in and helped her but what would have happened if she would have chose to not go through with her final appeal to him? She would have never received the help she was requesting and the judge would have been happy to not have her bother him anymore.
We persevere because we want to be obedient to what God has called us to do. We persevere in spite of the outcomes being different than what we want or expect because we trust God to be in control and accomplishing his purposes. We persevere because we know that we will never receive what is promised if we quit. We persevere because in the process we are getting closer to our goal, closer to a breakthrough or discovery that will bring about changes that may be beyond our dreams.
In our relationship with the Lord there are specific areas that we are challenged to persevere. One area is that of prayer. We should never give up and stop praying for situations to change or people’s hearts to soften toward the Lord. We may spend years praying for a person and not see much if any change. It would be easy to not persevere and think that they are beyond reach. The hardness of a person’s heart and unwillingness to change must become a motivator for us to continue and persevere in prayer for them because we know that God hears our prayers and that he responds to them in his timing and purposes. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:7-9; 7 “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.
Each of these requires a little more effort on our part but perseverance is the key to obtaining what you are praying for.
Paul was an example of one who persevered in prayer. In his letter to the Thessalonians he stated, 9 How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy in the presence of God. 10 Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill up anything that may still be missing in your faith. (1 Thes. 3:9-10)
In reformed theology they speak of the “perseverance of the saints” regarding working out our salvation. In Phil 2:12 Paul states, 12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
We are to persevere in working out our salvation because God is at work within us to will and do of his good pleasure. When we work, God works with us as a synergistic effect. When we persevere, God will be working with us, partnering with us to bring about the changes that are needed. God will finish the work he starts, he will not quit on us so we must also be willing to continue and persevere in working out our salvation. God has committed himself until the end, how can we do any less than persevere until the end. God calls us into partnership, he works with us as we persevere in the work he has given us.
Jesus when teaching about the end times said in Matthew 24:9-13 9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because of your allegiance to me. 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will lead many people astray. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But those who endure to the end will be saved. Those who persevere unto the end will be saved.
We are to persevere until the end being faithful and we will be rewarded. Hebrews 3:14 states, 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Revelation 2:26, Jesus says to the church, 26 “To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, I will give authority over all the nations. Our future reward and responsibilities will be determined by our perseverance to be faithful to the end.
Perseverance is being persistent in the process of pursing a goal. We may not reach that goal on earth but God will reward us and grant us what we have pursued in obedience to him when we are with him eternally.
Through perseverance in difficult times, God builds his character in us.
Through perseverance we overcome obstacles that stand between us and our destiny.
Through perseverance we obey what God has called us to do in spite of its difficulties and hardships.
Through perseverance we leave a legacy upon which others will receive inspiration and build upon to advance God’s Kingdom.
Through perseverance we learn from our mistakes and move closer to achieving our goal.
Through perseverance we keep praying and believing for the salvation and spiritual progress of others.
Through perseverance we work out our salvation with God’s help. As we endure and are faithful to the end and we will be rewarded.
Maybe you are here tonight and you are weary in the battle, maybe a little tired and discouraged by what has happened or not happened in your walk of faith. I believe God wants to encourage you tonight to persevere and carry out your assignment in obedience to him and allow him to work his divine nature into each us. God is a work in you through the circumstances you are facing. As you persevere he is forming his character in you, he is bringing about changes that are necessary for you to move forward and develop in the areas he wants you to develop. We can choose to persevere or quit and retreat or retire.
There have been many times in my life when I wanted to give up and change the course of my life. It has been a challenge to be here and the road has not been completely smooth. There have been obstacles along the way, personal failures and mistakes, people have come and gone for a variety of reasons, financial challenges have been a threat and there is always a voice calling from the other side of the fence. Perseverance has been required and I believe it will always be required as we walk in obedience to the Lord. The fruit of our labors is not always apparent but one day we will see with perfect vision and understanding and we will see the results of our perseverance. We have much to lose if we do not persevere but we will be rewarded greatly by the Lord when we choose to persist in our pursuit to progress toward the goal God has for each one of us.

An audio file of this message can be downloaded at: http://www.supload.com/sound_confirm.php?get=191229356.wma