Make Every Effort to Add to Your Faith Perserverance

Being a follower of Christ will always have its ups and downs, agreed? I don’t believe I’m off my rocker when I say that, and I’m under no allusion that you would not understand that truth.

Last May I quoted from Alistair Begg who said that..

Alistair Begg: Christianity involves, always and in every case, action. To be a Christian is to be introduced to a life of steady persistence. (Running the Race, Truth For Life)

I love that phrase – “a life of steady persistence.” Another word that condenses that down into wieldy parts is a word we’re all familiar with, and that is Perseverance. Another word that is essentially holding hands with Perseverance is that of Endurance.

So while perseverance conveys a positive character quality, such as the example our Lord gave to us in the parable of the persistent widow in which she continually cried out for justice to a judge, endurance, conveys the notion of an inward fortitude to withstand stress or hardship – and that takes time to development.

There are times when all of us crack under pressure of whatever circumstance that are set before us. The writer to the Hebrews so the pressure that these Jewish believers were facing, and it seemed as though they were going to buckle on the pressure of persecution, to which the author says not to

Hebrews 10:35-36 “…throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

In other words, don’t toss out your confidence in Christ due to the pressure you are facing from those who are seeking to overthrow your faith in Him. Because if you do that, there is no hope whatsoever for having any fruitful service for the sake of his name.

Don’t throw away your confidence in Christ!

Along the same vein, Peter and the churches are facing a similar dilemma. The church is growing and increasing. They were living under a maniac emperor Nero. He loved to build things in order to magnify his name. His desire was to build Rome in his image.

So what does his do? According to history, Nero discreetly hired some men to set fires in Rome, so that Nero could continue with his building projects. Then Nero slipped away to one of his nearby resorts and watched from a distance major sections of Rome burn to the ground.

PLEASE INSERT PIC 2 https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71KPNEafoaL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

Then when an investigation ensued, he turned around and it blamed it on a new growing sect called – and you know who they are – The Christians! You can imagine the persecution that ensued from there.

The Christians were seized and thrown into gladiator arenas and fed to starving lions and dogs…

PLEASE INSERT PIC 3 https://images.theconversation.com/files/143362/original/image-20161026-11265-1pikoh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=20&auto=format&w=320&fit=clip&dpr=2&usm=12&cs=strip

PLEASE INSERT PIC 4 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Museum_of_Sousse_-_Mosaics_2_detail.jpg

Nero loved gardens – he had huge gardens. So he took some of the captured Christians, tied them up on poles, covered them in pitch, and set them on fire to as human torches to light his gardens at night in full view of his homosexual lovers…

PLEASE INSERT PIC https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/website-anf/header/_1600x900_crop_center-center_100_none/ANF-The-First-Martyrs-of-the-Holy-Roman-Church-1600x900.jpg

One non-Christian and Roman historian of those days, Tacitus, who was no friend to Christians said that the Christians were

“Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed. - Tacitus, Annals XV, 44

Christian, we have it good compared to our Christian predecessors…

Many of the early Christians of those days thought that Nero was the prophesied antichrist – he was that evil…

In case you didn’t know, Peter is writing to believers who are under those circumstances – writing to a church that has been “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” (2 Peter 1:5-7)

This church was serving the Lord and going about their daily lives when severe persecution suddenly came upon the shore of their lives…

Compound that kind of persecution from outside the church with false teaching that had crept into the church and now Peter has to teach and warn against that as well.

How do followers of the Way hope for fruitful service under conditions such as these? Because, apparently, if they were able to serve and bear fruit under the kind of condition while living under Nero, then certainly we too who are followers of the way can as-well, yes?

Now, notice how Peter does this in his 2^nd letter to the church. First he says to them in verses 3-4 that it is because of God’s divine power that he has given to his people everything that pertains to life and godliness “through the true knowledge of Him who called us ^[d]by His own glory and excellence.” (vv. 3-4)

Now, take note of what Peter said to them in verses 5-7…

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Last week Pastor Rod highlighted for us knowledge. But for our purposes on this Lord’s day, I want to highlight the notion of perseverance

“Make every effort to add to your saving faith ___________.”

If there was a person in all of Scripture that knows what it is like to persevere in his faith through trial after trial, that would be who, church?

It would be a man named Job

INSERT IMAGE https://www.luiginobruni.it/images/loghi_vari/logo_Giobbe.JPG

Job was described as “blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.” He had a family – “Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.” (Job 1:2)

He was also a well to do man – “7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.” (v.3)

That’s quite the resume!

But most importantly was that he was a worshipper of Yahweh – “When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.” (v.5)

In other words, what was in Jonah didn’t just lie dormant in his heart, but poured out by way of his action such that he prayed for them and lifted up offerings to the Lord on behalf of his family, which reflected what church? And the answer to that question lay in our summer series - Hope for Fruitful Service by way of perseverance.

And since I have been assigned the task to explain to you that aspect of adding to your saving faith perseverance, what better example does the Scripture lift as a portrait of grace than the man we know as Job. With that in mind, we’ve finally reached our proposition in that I would hope for us to see…

3 ways we can bear fruit in Service to Christ.

I. Fruitful Service Faces Trials Head on (Job 1-2)

For the sake of time, I need to do a reader’s digest concerning Job’s state of affairs. That is to say, Job found himself in a sudden state of dismay. In other words..

Trials do come to God’s people.

In one day, Job lost all of his servants – lost his business – but the most devastating loss was the loss of all of his children! And if you spoke to any mother or a father in this room who has lost a child, that kind of loss is devastating…and the Lord is keenly aware of the pain of that loss too.

I know for many of you here who have a seasoned life as a follower of Christ, it is no illusion to you when we say that trials do come to God’s people, and sometimes those trials are severe that it can halt us in our tracks, leaving us sitting on an ash-heap of those losses.

PLEASE INSERT IMAGE https://ckisler.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/image49.jpg

But we should be more concerned about…

How we respond to trials reveals what we value.

Job 1:20-21 “²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. ²¹ He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” ²² Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”

Job’s grief was real. Job’s losses were real – yet what do we find at the center of his heart and behavior? Nothing but a peculiar reality of his endurance to bear up under such devastating loss – yes, but a kind of perseverance that was already granted to him from the Father of lights in whom there is no shadow of turning…

“Make every effort to add to your saving faith Perseverance.”

I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days
Before His face I see.^[1]

Job never knew what lay behind the supernatural curtain of the Celestial realm. It was not granted to him to see that nor understand, but the Lord has seen fit to give us Special Revelation and get a sneak peak that Satan was behind his affliction, but more importantly His Creator who was in sovereign control over the helm of it all.

But for our lives, it has not been granted to us what lay behind the supernatural realm, but whatever the case me be for anyone of us, our persevering faith lay in the one who can

c. The Lord can deliver us from testing.

Matthew 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

This doesn’t mean that God solicits evil to believers, but that he allows testing to come into our lives with a view toward maturing us through perseverance which produces in us “proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” – Romans 5:3-5

II. Fruitful Service Perseveres Through Unexplained Loss (Job 2:1-10)

God measures every circumstance.

Job 2:4-7 “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. ⁵ However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” ⁶ So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

Well, we know what transpired, don’t we? Satan struck Job with “sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ⁸ And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.”

Job had no way to relieve the extraordinary physical stress he was under. He had no medicine or pain relief. The only way he could somehow reduce the trauma he was experiencing was to break open the boils with a broken potsherd to relieve himself…

Compound that stress with what his wife had said to him while he sat on an ash heap…

“Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” Now, what does persevering faith look like in its fruit/behavior?

Whatever the situation, fruitful service entrusts our lives in the LORD’s care. (v.10)

Job 2:10 “…Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Whatever my God ordains is right:
Holy His will abides;
I will be still whatever He does,
And follow where He guides.
He is my God; though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to Him I leave it all

God’s Kingdom lay at the end of our journey through earthly tribulations

In the epicenter of Job’s affliction, many a beautiful words came out of his heart.

Job 19:25-27 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. ²⁶ “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; ²⁷ Whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”

What is the overflow of your heart? Cursing? Or Blessing? What is characteristic of who you are when unexplained loss washes up on the shore of your life? The real me is seen in my circumstances and responses to them! Do people see light or do they see darkness and despair? Do they see a person with hope or a person without hope?

“Make every effort to add to your saving faith Perseverance.”

What does the fruit service look like?

Acts 14:21-22 “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

III. Fruitful Service Moves Forward God with the unanswered questions (Job 2:11-42:17)

Enter Job’s close constituents: Eliphaz, Bildad – each of them spoke three times, and Zophar spoke twice. All were eminent men in their discourse, yet each were wrong in their conclusion as to why Job was suffering the way he was. They all accused Job of sinning against the Lord in some way, which God prescribed the penalty upon Job with suffering.

But the bottom line for Job to his friends was that he didn’t understand the reason behind his suffering at all. After all, he confessed that he was not sinless, but he prayed that only God must know the reason and he prayed that God would answer him, which God would ultimately arrive to put and end to the foolishness of Job’s friends, but also to deal personally with Job Himself, because Job’s understanding of God’s ways was narrow.

And we ought to be careful not to act like Job’s friends either, in presuming upon one’s suffering as though that person provoked the wrath of God.

Does God punish sin – yes! Is God not mocked – yes! Does a person reap what he sows? Yes! But not in the case of Job, and certainly not in the case of many others in the church who are suffering. You see…

Persevering faith sees God as sovereign.

Job 38:1-5“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?³ “Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! ⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, ⁵ Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it”

Do you see what our Lord is doing. He needs to remind Job who it is he’s worshipping! Persevering faith must face trials head on. Persevering faith must push through unexplainable loss and unanswered questions. And when we can finally see that, especially in those seasons that are providentially laid before us, my friends may I lay before you that what you are doing is what, church?

“Make every effort to add to your saving faith Perseverance.”

That is one aspect of fruitful service to Christ our Lord.

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”

God continues to ask Job 76 rhetorical questions, all of which Job could not answer a single question!

Job 38:33-34 “Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?”

Job 38:37 “Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens?”

In other words, Job – church – do you know how the hydraulic cycle, Job?

INSERT IMAGE https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FzYjPpxP-Cw/maxresdefault.jpg

We didn’t even know that it existed until the 1800’s!

Job 28:26“…[God] made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm.”

Faith Church, can you fathom the invisible works of nature? Tell me, if you know!

Job 38:19 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

INSERT IMAGE https://crev.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DeepSeaVents2-IllustraOrigin-700x467.jpg

We weren’t aware that there springs of the sea until 1977! Oh it doesn’t end there, now God introduces to Job a giant creature that apparently, Job was familiar with..

What about the Behemoth/Dinosaur, Job

Job 38:15-18, 19,24 “Behold now, his strength in his loins and his power in the muscles of his belly.¹⁷ “He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together. ¹⁸ “His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron…He is the first of the ways of God…“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, With barbs can anyone pierce his nose?

INSERT IMAGE https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/tj/v15/i2/152behemoth.jpg

Or, what about the great Leviathan, Job?

INSERT IMAGE https://www.genesispark.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/leviathan2.jpg

Job 41:1, 8 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?” “Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle; you will not do it again! ⁹ “Behold, your expectation is false; Will you be laid low even at the sight of him? ¹⁰ “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him.”

Job 41:8 “Who then is he that can stand before Me? “Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

In other words, if you know that I am the Sovereign One, would you believe me that I am also in control over events and circumstances over the timeline of your life, Job? Faith Church?

Will you put your faith into action?

Persevering faith puts God’s way into action.

Job 42:1-7 “Then Job answered the Lord and said, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ³ ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ⁴ ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ ⁵ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; ⁶ Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

Persevering faith endures until the end (1 Peter 4:12; Hebrews 12:1-3)

Romans 15:4 “⁴ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

James 5:11 “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Job's life of perseverance gives hope that the Lord is full of mercy and compassion. That is what believers will understand and see revealed as they persevere. The trials come to Job and he doesn't know why. Only as Job perseveres does the goodness of the Lord and the character of God become more evident to him.

Do I have to comprehend everything in order to persevere? Some suffering and trials are so puzzling. Praise God that we have the hope that we don't need to understand everything that is happening in order to have hope and persevere righteously. We may not comprehend everything, but God makes it clear through Job's life that we can and must understand some things about God and his ways to persevere through trials well. I think these specific things in Job's life for what does persevering well actually look like and sound like in life.

We SHOULD NOT respond in these ways if we want to persevere well:

• Curse God, blame God, doubt God, neglect God, absolve God, demand an answer from God, assume you did something wrong, be proud, despair, or waste the suffering.

When we cannot comprehend the good and wise purposes of God in affliction or evil, we SHOULD respond in these ways to persevere well:

• Praise God, accept the adversity, examine our hearts, pray then enlist our sufferings for God's purposes, comfort, forgive (prayer of intercession for friends), entrust, remember, hope, rejoice and glorify God.

2 Peter 1:6 “Make every effort to add to your saving faith Perseverance.”

[1] https://founders.org/articles/hymns-and-perseverance-of-the-saints/