Perseverance, Part 2

Picking up from where we left off in the previous teaching...

The Bible teaches us that all the patriarchs of faith endured because they had their eyes on God's promise, and also encourages us to emulate them.

Hebrews 10:36

For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise…

Which promises are these? They are written in the Bible, and it is said that there are over 7,000 promises in there. These promises are to help us partake of the divine nature of God Himself:

2 Peter 1:3-4

…His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The promises of God are to help us enjoy and be partakers of the divine nature of God. In other words, we get to enjoy all the good things that come with Who God is, spiritually, physically, emotionally, financially, biologically and so on. We get to enjoy the God-kind of life, here on earth. Do you want to know why many believers do not enjoy or manifest the God-kind of life, here on earth? It is because they neither know the promises of God, and those who know them do not endure long enough to see the manifestation of the promises of God, which are Yes and Amen (2 Cor. 1:20), and which were all given to us to help us enjoy the God-kind of life here on earth, and later when we go to heaven.

Perseverance starts with us holding on to something, and this something in this case is the promises of God, just as the patriarchs of faith, Jesus, the apostles and Paul all did. What has God said about your life? What promises do you hold on to? God’s promises are the key to us enjoying the God-kind of life, eternal life that we received when we received Christ. God is not only willing for us to enjoy eternal life, His kind of life now and forever, He has done His part:

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

1 John 5:11-13

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  ¹² He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. ¹³ These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

We are not looking for eternal life; we have it in us. How do we enjoy and manifest it? By holding on to the promises of God, and enduring all that comes our way. The Word of God, which is life (Jn. 6:63), is what holds these promises, and is what the devil always targets in our lives. With the understanding that the Word of God is life, read these Scriptures:

Matthew 13:19-23 (Emphasis mine)

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. ²⁰ But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²² Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

All that the devil throws at you (persecutions, tribulation, cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches) target the Word of God. They’re meant to take your eyes off the Word of God, consequently off the promises of God, to ensure that you miss out on enjoying the life of God, here on earth, and attaining all the promises of God. Because of lack of knowledge, many believers have fallen prey, and given up on the promises of God, given up on God. If the devil will not manage to keep you from hearing the Word, he will bring all he can your way to ensure the Word does not profit you. My question always is, what will it take for you to give up on God and His promises? Is it persecution? Tribulation? Temptation? Riches? Cares of this world? For us to know the deception and lies of the devil, we have to spend time in the Word, and guard it with all we have, for it is our life-line. Without the Word, without God’s promises, we have no hope, and without hope we are as good as dead:

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

Hebrews 6:17-19 (Brackets mine_

Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise [us, the believers] the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. ¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…

God has sworn by Himself that we will inherit the promises of Abraham. Consider the build-up to the above verses:

Hebrews 6:9-15

But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. ¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." ¹⁵ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Now consider these verses:

Romans 4:13, 16

For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

¹⁶ Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all…

All the promises God made to Abraham are ours, through Christ. There are many other promises made to us through Christ, that we get to enjoy as joint-heirs of Christ. It is our responsibility to know what these promises are, and stand for them. Someone said that if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. If you don’t stand for the promises of God and firmly hold on to His faithfulness, you will fall for anything the devil brings your way.

The devil will keep bringing this our way, to stop us from enjoying the promises of God. If we are not patient and utilise the fruit of the Spirit given us (longsuffering), he will win. We can either magnify what the devil does and allow it to hinder us, or we can rejoice no matter what he brings, and use all he brings to build ourselves up in patience:

James 1:2-4

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

This text has been taken to mean that we should rejoice when trials come, as trials produce patience. Trials do not produce patience; they test our faith, and when we remain in faith in spite of the trials then our patience is produced (manifested). Remember, patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and you cannot increase it or decrease it; you can only build yourself up in it, and produce/manifest it. If trials brought patience or built it, then the people who suffer most in this world would be the most patient people, and clearly this is not the case. Without holding on to faith, patience will not be produced in you. Patience is simply faith prolonged over a long period of time, regardless of the trials. The trials will always come, the question is what we do with them; do we allow them to stop us, or will we take them as opportunities to exercise our faith in God and keep holding to the promises of God, trusting in His faithfulness? 

God does not tell us to be patient in vain; apart from being perfected as our faith is tested and patience produced, and also the opportunity to receive God's promises, we are also guaranteed of a reward, when we're done:

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 

Though we should persevere because we love God and have known Him, and not because we want a reward, the knowledge of the reward should be a reminder that what we are doing is not in vain. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, who endured all He could for our sakes, we are encouraged to press on too:

Hebrews 12:1-4

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. ³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴ You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

People get discouraged in the walk of faith because they listen to the lies of the devil, compare themselves with others, and focus on everything and everyone except Jesus. If we consider Jesus, and fix our eyes on Him, it is impossible to be discouraged and give up. If we are to consider anyone else, we should focus on the patriarchs of faith, and apostles, who also endured to the end, for a greater cause. 

God has given us perseverance as a fruit, for us to be able to partake of His nature, inheriting His promises. Exercise patience/perseverance, keeping your mind on the Word of God and His promises, and your eyes on Jesus. 


Grace and peace to you!


-- Sam Gitonga.

Sunday Service Sermon, Teaching Transformation Ministry. 

Brother Sam is the Youth Leader at Teaching Transformation Ministry. We are located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.