The Challenge of Perseverance
Perseverance is something we learn from the challenges we face.
I am going to tell you a story of my childhood. I had a great-uncle who raised and raced ponies and one day when I was about 8 yrs old, my father and grandfather brought home one of my uncles Shetland ponies. This pony was wild, it had never worn a halter or saddle, let a lone a rider. Shetland ponies can be onery, cantankerous animals, but I was excited. My job that summer was to ‘break’ and ride Midge. I had never ridden a pony, let a lone one that had never been ridden but my father had grown up on a farm and had broken many horses to be ridden so he helped me. Over that summer I was bucked off that horse hundreds of times. There were many days i would run back into the house crying after having the wind knocked out of me and my backside sore from hitting the ground hard and my father would always come to me and say “Gerald, you’ve got to get back on the horse, never let the horse beat you”. Over the summer I learned to ride that pony and Midge learned to respond to me. And by the end of the summer I was ridding her all over our neighbourhood. I learned many lessons that summer, but one of them was to never give up, no matter how hard it is, no matter how many times the wind gets knocked out of you, you still get up again and you always have a choice to run into the house where it is safe and easy or get back on the pony and ride again.
Winston Churchill made one of the most famous and amazing speeches to a graduating class of university students Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
In many circumstances of our lives and in the convictions of our faith we will each face the prospects of giving in or giving up but when we choose to give in – and it is a choice – we also loose out on the opportunity to see God move in our midst. To see the eternal and everlasting God do things in our lives, in our church and in our community that could only be explained by the extraordinary hand of God.
Video
What would have happened if Steven Bradbury had given up, believed he had no chance to win the race, stopped trying and quietly skated off the track
The writer of Hebrews spends the whole chapter 11 describing how
Heb 12:1-3
12 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.
PERSEVERANCE IS WHEN I AM WILLING TO GIVE MYSELF TO A CHALLANGE GREATER THAN I AM AND
THE FRUIT OF PERSEVERANCE IS – I GROW AS A PERSON.
How Perseverance helps me Grow:
Perseverance is built on the shoulders of others
The writer of Hebrews describes the faith of many men and women whose perseverance developed them into godly men and women who demonstrated through their lives the goodness of God so that we begin chapter 12 with...
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses
When we are persevering – we need encouragement, and God brings it to us through the lives and experiences of others who have gone before us.
When I was learning to ride Midge, my dad would tell me stories of times he was breaking other horses, and the times those horses would try to get him off their back.
Shortly after starting The Bridge I met a man named Will Wilding, a man who had ministered to the people of Kitsilano for 30 yrs beginning in the early ‘70’s . We met for coffee one day at Kits Coffee and he told me stories for a couple of hours of ministering in the community and then he did something I never expected – he broke out in verse and prayer speaking scripture over me and praying there in the coffee shop. It was like this man who had laid down his life for this community was passing his mantle on to me.
The Lord knew I would need men like Will in my life in those days to encourage me and pray with me for the planting and building of what would later be know of as The Bridge.
I also began to hear stories of how Henry Blackaby and his sons were working and praying for the establishment of a church in the Kits area that would influence the city.
Many people have come and gone with the vision and dream to see Gospel based churches in this area of the city and we stand on their shoulders. We have many people all around the world who have been praying for us as we establish The Bridge,
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses...
And so we take hold of our day and pledge ourselves to seeing the body of Jesus rise in strength and glory
And we want nothing from keeping us engaged in our pursuit
Robin
Perseverance builds character
, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles
Character is forged in the choices each of us make. Our Character determines who we are and more importantly – who we will be. But to persevere choices are made about what we will sacrifice and what we will not sacrifice.
Rom 5:3-5
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.
The beginning steps of forming character in me began when as a child I had to make the choices to get back on the pony. When my brothers and sisters were sipping chocolate milk and watching Gilligians Island – when they weren’t re-runs yet, I was choosing to brush myself off and get back on a pony that I was angry with but determined was not going to get the best of me.
To build Godly character – and I would add any positive character quality, we must throw off everything that hinders
Perseverance brings clarity to our vision
When we are making choices to preserver and to keep going it forces us to clarify why we are doing what we are doing. Perseverance means we are pursuing something we value, we are pushing towards something important
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.
Jesus was focused on the cross – sacrificing himself to provide our salvation, he was willing to endure it’s shame for our freedom
As a church we continue to pledge ourselves to establishing and advancing the message of Christ and His transforming power to the lives of many in this city. Even if it means we try different things, even if we risk ourselves, our comfort, our image
Pierre
Perseverance develops maturity
James 1:3-5
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.
When we preserver through our challenges in life and character is grown, and we know there are somethings in life that are worth paying a high price for then we are maturing.
Some think that by virtue of being a certain age, be it 15 or 20 or 25 or 30 or 40 or 50 that a person is then mature, but that is foolish thinking. But when we have faced our challenges and get back on the pony that just bucked you off.
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Thomas Edison
Also said: I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
Self-Control helps us stay in control of our choices, We grow through our challenges.
2 Peter 1:5-8
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.
We may know what needs to be done in a particular endeavour, but until we are willing to limit ourselves to pay a price to see that vision come to life we are not really mature.
Ordinary people become great people because they faithfully persevere through the challenges they face because they know greater things lie ahead = not only for themselves but for generations fo people yet to come.
I want to grow in maturity, in my faith, my character and purpose of vision
For The Bridge to continue to grow in meeting the spiritual needs of our community, to be the best opportunity for people to know, love and follow Jesus, we must preserver in this great calling.
Today is Pledge Sunday a time for us to commit ourselves to God and to one another to apply our lives to this endeavour of making Christ known in our city and around the world.
2 Cor 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.