"A CALL TO ENDURANCE"

August 4, 2020     A Call to Endurance  Hebrews 12:1-2

“*Sorry for the delay in posting!  We have been without power since 4am…it came back on at 12:30 pm!” “By the way, we really did endure…”
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “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.”  (Hebrews 12:1-2)  The message of this passage of scripture is the need for perseverance or endurance through trials & tribulations (AND WE SURELY HAVE THEM TODAY). I want to let you know that we are going to have to go through some trials and tribulations. I want to let you know that the race is not given to the fast neither to the strong, but it is given to the one that endures to the end. Paul develops the image of an athletic contest, and urges the readers to run with perseverance the race of faith. As a climatic ending to his presentation of the great heroes of faith, Paul recalls the endurance of Jesus in the face of extreme suffering, shame and opposition.  The Lord NEVER was, nor EVER HAS BEEN on the losing side! He knows what it is like to stand in the face of opposition. He experienced it as he hung on the cross. I’m glad that the Lord knows first-hand all the same things that I experience. He knows my pain because he has felt pain. He knows my sorrow, because he has felt sorrow. He knows how to be down. He knows how to shiver in our cold and how it feels to sweat in our heat. He knows what it feels like to be hungry and thirsty. I’m glad that he knows all about us. So when you feel like you just can’t make it, you can be assured that he knows just how much you and I can bear! The appeal to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, suggests that our Christian life is more a marathon than a short sprint. We are to continue to press towards the mark. Paul says in Phil.3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul had a steadfast determination and he would not quit, He would not turn back, He would not give in. He would not throw in the towel. He would not slow down. He pressed toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If you want to be a winner in this race of Christianity and deal with the challenges of our present day, then you must have a spirit of endurance.  Listen, you have got to put some energy and effort in what you are doing for The Lord Jesus Christ. Victory doesn’t come easy. It takes a little sweat no, let me re-state that, It takes a lot of sweat. But the Lord says, “if I’m with you, I’m more than the world against you.” Paul says that we are to throw off every weight that hinders us. We are to get rid of any association or activity that hinders us, and the sin that so easily entangles us. The greatest encouragement comes when we fix our eyes on Jesus. The bible describes him as the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus is the perfect example of the faith that we ought to express. We ought to be able to say that I can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength. For a long time, I thought God was pleased knowing that I was more than willing to do what I could. I have always felt that if you can’t do what you want to, just do what you can. I thought that it was enough for you and I to live up to our potential. I never thought that it was reasonable to ask someone to go beyond their capabilities. It seems to me that it ought to be enough when one does what he can.  There aren’t many folk who do what they can, let alone what they can’t do. Very few of us have reached our potential let along exceeded it. We get annoyed when someone wants all that we have, let alone ask us for something that we don’t have. God is not pleased with us just doing our best. God wants something more.  Heaven rarely gets excited because we do all that is within our power. God wants us to do something that is above our head and beyond our strength. He wants us to do what we can’t. That’s the mark of a Christian and the sign of the faithful when you are able to do what you can’t. When you attempt the impossible and do the unbelievable.  It’s not enough to do just what you’re able to do, that’s the least you can do. It’s not enough to give all that you’ve got, that’s just a down payment. Paul tells us to present our bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service. Somebody may feel that they cannot do that, but God wants us to do what we can’t. We serve a God who calls us to a mission impossible. He calls us to go into the hedges and highways and compel men to come to Christ. Christ does not call us to a religion of ease but he calls us to a service. He does not call us to convenience, he calls us to sacrifice. God doesn’t want to hear, Lord I’ve tried. God is not calling us to be average. God calls us to be unique. He wants us to be the vessel that holds his power. The world knows what man can do. But God wants us to be an example of what he can do. Man already knows about our abilities but man needs to learn about God’s capabilities. Man already knows what we can do, but we ought to be a witness of what God can do. Christianity is not about what we can do, but it’s about being able to do all things through Christ who strengths us. Anybody can do what he can but it takes a child of God to do what he can’t. All of us are able to do what we can do even if we don’t do it. It’s good to do your best. But if you’ve been born again, if you’ve been washed in the blood, if the Lord saved your soul, you ought to be able to do what you can’t.  Whatever you can do, you and God can do it better. With God, your little becomes a lot. With God a handful of meal and a cup of oil is more than enough to feed a hungry preacher and a starving widow. Whatever you got becomes greater whenever you hook it up with the Lord. Knowledge hooked up with the Lord is turned into wisdom. A dream blessed by the Almighty becomes a vision. A career that yields to the spirit becomes a calling. A life that is dedicated to the Lord becomes an abundant life. When you trust God with what you can do he gives you power to do what you can’t.  If you are determined to endure, God will turn your “can-nots” into “cans.” I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me. I can run and not get weary. I can walk and not faint. When you give him all you got. He supplies you with whatever you lack. Look unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith. Sometimes when trials and tribulations come up, we find ourselves ready to give up, but if you look to Jesus, who kept on running, He endured the cross, they whipped him with 39 stripes, they pierced him in his side, they laid him in the tomb, but he kept on running. But early, one Sunday morning, he got up with all power in heaven and earth in his hand. Paul said I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do. Forgetting those things which are behind and pressing on toward the mark of the Prize of the High Calling Which Is In Christ Jesus. Soon, our running days will be over. After a while we will receive a crown of life. Forget the chaos of this world and continue to endure, serve God and be “A BRIGHT LIGHT IN THIS DARK AND EVIL WORLD!” Stay Strong, Stay Focused… Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!!