ASI 2011: Inspired to Finish Strong

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

ASI 2011 Plenary Meetings

Doug Batchelor

Be Courageous

Frank Fournier

Marred in Our Hands

David Kulakov

Giving Our Best to Our Loving Lord

Members in Action

Just a Thought

Matt Parra

Why Should You Believe in You

Ivor Myers

The Blueprint

Beyond the Righteousness of Angels

Lyndi Schwartz

Worship and Song and Praise

Ted N.C. Wilson

God’s Remnant Church - Finishing Strong

ASI Presents

Chester Clark

The Patience of the Saints

Have you been inspired to finish strong this weekend?

When I think of finishing strong I think of Stefan Ingels who when he was a boy he had bad asthma and he was told that he would never be able to run and play like the other boys.

But he persevered in his exercise and ended up setting a Guinness World Book of Records by running or competing in 20 Ironman triathlons in a year.

But just recently he set another Guinness Book of Records record by completing 365 marathons in 365 consecutive days.

When I think of finishing strong I think of endurance.

In fact Jesus said if you have your Bibles here you can turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24.

We're going to be talking about endurance this evening in the few minutes that we have together.

Jesus is speaking to those of us living in the last days and he says if we want to finish strong we must endure.

Matthew 24 and verse 13 it says, but he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be what?

You know endurance means different things to different people.

I think when I was a 12-year-old boy, endurance to me meant waiting 15 more minutes until mom had lunch ready.

I think a little earlier this year, I'm an unmentioned number of years older, endurance meant waiting for my wedding day when I would marry Jane, the love of my life.

Endurance means different things to different people, but tonight what I want you to see is that Endurance is not about simply being the last 1 standing.

It's not about simply being there when everything is over.

In fact, we know looking at the Bible's prophecies that there will be 2 groups of people in the last days, right?

Those who are saved and those who are lost.

Enduring does not just mean being there in the last days.

Usually endurance is associated with hardship.

And we find that in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 22, Jesus said, And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth unto the end shall be saved.

Again in Mark chapter 13 and verse 13, Jesus said, you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

You see, endurance isn't endurance until there's some sort of a challenge or a hardship.

When things are going well, when things are easy, you can't really say that you have endurance.

Endurance is associated with hardship, it's associated with trials.

But in fact, endurance is more than that.

Endurance is associated with a choice of the human mind.

And I want to just take you a little bit into the Greek here.

Anyone with a strong concordance can verify what I'm sharing with you here.

But here the Greek word which Jesus uses when he says, he that shall endure unto the end, the word is hupomono, and it's a combination of 2 words.

1 is the preposition hupo, which simply means to remain under, or to be under.

It's the position of under, beneath or through.

And mono, which is a verb that means to stay, to remain, to abide, to continue, to dwell.

You see, endurance is not something that comes just because we happen to be there.

Endurance only comes when we make a conscious choice to remain in the will of God, to remain right where God has placed us, no matter what circumstances may come our way.

And we want to look at that a little more here tonight, as we unpack this concept of endurance.

Endurance is what Moses manifested when the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 25, he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

And Jesus when he's talking about the spirit that we should have when we are enduring trials, he says in Luke chapter 6 and verse 23, Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, great is your reward in heaven.

Endurance is not just about gritting your teeth and bearing it.

Endurance is not about complaining and murmuring.

Yes, the children of Israel, they endured many things throughout their wilderness wanderings, right?

But in fact, they didn't have the endurance that Jesus was talking about, because they were not submitted to the will of God.

They were not surrendered to the experiences that he was allowing to come into their pathway.

And so they began murmuring and complaining.

They blamed everyone but themselves for the unhappiness which they felt.

They failed to truly endure as the word would indicate.

In fact, if we want to finish strong, we're going to have to understand and experience the endurance which Jesus says those who are saved would have.

I believe Paul, the apostle, he understood what endurance was all about.

He says in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 3, Thou therefore endure hardness, he said endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

In fact, I think that if we're going to be finishing strong, we're going to have to endure hardship.

We're going to have to endure to the end.

Perhaps no 1 could speak with more authority than the Apostle Paul.

He was shipwrecked, he was beaten, he was hated by his enemies, by those who weren't of the Jewish nation.

He was hated by his brethren, those who were of the Jewish nation.

Even among the Christian church, he was often ill-spoken of.

He says, I think God has set us, the apostles, forth last.

We're the ones that are hated by all people.

Leadership carries a price, and Paul learned what it meant to endure hardness, and that's what he tells Timothy to do as well.

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn with me to Philippians.

The book of Philippians chapter 3, we find what Paul says about this endurance and he uses the language which our theme uses this year.

Philippians chapter 3 beginning with verse 13.

He says, brethren I count not myself to have apprehended but this 1 thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul had given them an example of endurance, of choosing to remain in the will of God no matter what the circumstances might be.

You know, in those days, they didn't send emails, they didn't send by satellite television these messages to the churches.

And so Paul's letter would have arrived by the hand of a courier, perhaps a traveler to Philippi, and the church would have been gathered.

And there they would have been listening to Paul's letter being read.

And I can just imagine the enthusiasm as they listened to what Paul was saying, because they knew what Paul was saying was not mere idle words.

Paul lived what he talked in Philippi as he had been there among them.

You remember the story how a woman possessed by a spirit had been following them around.

And finally, because she was causing disgrace to the cause of God, to the truth of God, Paul commanded this spirit to come out of her, and as a result, her owners, her handlers, lost the income that they had been getting, and they started a rumor, a mob grew, and Paul and Sias were thrown into prison.

And you can read the story in Acts chapter 16.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Acts chapter 16.

We find here the story of what took place.

He has been only trying to help people, he's only been doing God's will, God's work, and what does he get for it?

He gets persecution, he gets misunderstanding.

And in Acts chapter 16, the Bible says, verse 22, the multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded to beat them and when they had laid many stripes upon them they cast them into prison charging the jailer to keep them safely.

I suppose this is 1 of those times when Paul received 39 stripes, 40 stripes was commonly believed to be that which would kill a man.

And so they gave 39, the skin would be lacerated from the back of Paul and Silas by this beating.

The Bible says in verse 24, the jailer receiving them thrust them into the inner prison and they made their feet fast in the stalks.

I don't know if you've ever been to a third world country and seen the condition of jails, but it's not a very pretty sight.

And here in this dark, dank prison, in the inner dungeon, Paul is taken.

The skin is gone, and he's made, as I understand it, when they put their feet into stocks, They didn't just put you in a comfortable, lazy boy recliner and clamp your feet in some stocks.

No, they would put your feet above your head.

They would elevate your feet so that the only thing you could do is lie on your back.

That back which is bleeding and has no skin left on it was against that dank and dirty floor.

And here in pain and agony, probably 1 of the most miserable circumstances a human being can find himself in, Paul had to endure, is that right?

Series

ASI 2011 Plenary Meetings

The Patience of the Saints

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

The Endurance of the Saints

54m

The Trials

The Trials- Part 1

52m

Now Converted: Lessons from the Life of Peter

Lessons from the Life of Peter 1

52m

The Final Hours

2. Gethsemane

37m

Norman McNulty: The Book of Hebrews

Hebrews 11:39-12:4 Jesus and the Last Generation

39m

Dunamis 2005

What is a Seventh Day Adventist?

1h

The Everlasting Gospel for These Last Days

02 The Righteousness of God Revealed

59m

Peter Chung: How Can I See Jesus in the Final Crisis?

The Mob, The Trial, and the Death Decree, Session 3 (Part 1)

57m

A Living Sacrifice

The Sacrificial Faith of the Reformers

59m

Are We Ready for the Storm Ahead

04 You Will Receive Power

58m

Facing Sensationalism

43m

ECYC 2012: Bible Boot Camp

Characteristics of a Healthy Church, Part 1

46m

Sound Doctrine