Perseverance

And Ricky Vidal, in the first message, mentioned about meat and deuceason. And we're gathered here as God's family not to speak our own words, but to share God's word in the Bible. What he says is important. I would like to cover one of the great principles in the Bible today, especially since the Passover is only a bit over a month away. And many are facing difficult trials. Never a dull moment in life.

It seems like every week something comes up, some challenge, something to face. And there is one great principle in the Bible. Many times we don't focus exactly on it, so I would like to call attention to it. And it's based on a verse in Ecclesiastes 7 and verse 8. It's pretty well known, but perhaps the principle behind it is not as well known. It says, The end of a thing is better than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Now, it's interesting that other translations connect these two parts of this verse. For instance, in the Message Bible, it makes it even have more sense. It says, endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out. In other words, you might not stand out in life, but before God, sticking with it to the end is praiseworthy.

It's something very important to Him. How we end our lives. We know when we're born. We know how we develop. But He determines whether that person was a winner before Him at the very end of a person's life. It's like a race that you run. You go through different circumstances. It's like one of these cross-country races that you have a lot of obstacles to overcome and takes a lot of patience and endurance to do so.

And so, the subject that I'm going to cover today is based on this principle in Ecclesiastes 7-8. The principle of perseverance, of what the Bible says enduring to the end. Because many times people begin, they start out running very well, but they don't realize this is a marathon that we're running. A spiritual marathon. And so, we have to pace ourselves. We can't get burned out.

Some people just take off and are so idealistic and so enthusiastic and then boom! First obstacle in the way, first disappointment, and all of a sudden they just turn cold. Many times they lose the faith or they never recover that initial love of the truth that they have. Yes, our armor is going to be dinged up before our lives finish. That nice shiny armor that we receive at baptism is going to be dented and it's going to be dirtied, just like a veteran of a spiritual war.

Now, it is one of the essential qualities of godly character. We don't have perseverance. We might have many other wonderful things, but if we don't have this one, we might not make it to the finish line. It is so important that it stands out from Genesis to Revelation as a key spiritual trait of the men and women of faith. All of them asked God for help in times of trials, and God helped them, provided the strength to persevere, to endure, to the end.

In fact, preparing and attending Passover services is a test to see how we persevere. Who has stuck with it, no matter what tests and trials a person had to face during the year? Going to Passover services, taking these symbols of the commitment to God year after year? In spite of being tested by the three great enemies that we have, were they able to gain the upper hand on us during this year? What are those three great enemies that we have?

They're mentioned in Scripture. The first one is ourselves, our human nature. That is the main enemy that we have. So inside of ourselves, we have a struggle. One part doesn't want to obey God. One part doesn't want to submit to God. One part just wants to do what is most pleasing to the person, what feels better, what gets them excited and they really want to have.

And so that human nature is our main enemy. It's a number one. That human nature is what causes more people to not persevere in the faith. Either they just weren't close enough to God, they let their human nature take over, and then it was downhill all the way. Notice what it says in Jeremiah 17. This is the classic definition of human nature in Scripture. Jeremiah 17, verse 9, talking about the heart which has to do with our human nature.

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? So it deceives us. It acts like it's our best supporter. And yet, it's an instrument of enormous damage. And who can know it? It doesn't say man knows his nature very well. Verse 10 answers that. I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit or the actions of his doings, what a person produces. And so, we've had a whole year to fight our human nature, struggle, right against wrong, good against evil, the weakness of the flesh, versus the strength of the spirit.

Who has gained the upper hand? Now, this is just the number one enemy. Number two is the world. It's a powerful stream running the opposite to God's stream of life. And Ephesians chapter 2 tells us about that stream, that current, that can pull you and suck you in back to society's false values. In verse 1 of Ephesians 2, again another classic description, just like we had Jeremiah 17, explains what human nature and how deceitful it is. Here it tells us what the world is. Verse 1. And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. So he says, when God calls you in his holy calling, we were already condemned.

We were already guilty of sin, condemned, dead in trespasses and sins. We weren't going to have another chance unless it's through Jesus Christ. We're going to die, and we don't have eternal life living in us automatically.

He goes on to say, in which you once walked according to the course. Another translation, the stream of this world, or current, according to the prince of the power of the air. Talk about Satan, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we were all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love, with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you have been saved. And so we see the world, the pulls, it's gotten more powerful. The world has a lot more temptations than it did 50 years ago. It has multiplied the temptations, the attractions. Everything now can be done in a virtual world that this electronic revolution has caused. Now you just have so many things being bombarded, and that you have access that you have to be able to deny than before.

And the third enemy is Satan himself, Satan the tempter. So he goes around looking at the weak spots. He's like the lion, as it says there in 1 Peter 5 and verse 7, that Satan is like the roaring lion just waiting to pounce on somebody who has weakened themselves.

I saw one of those nature films this week, and how that typical nature, the lion will go and he'll creep up, and then he'll all of a sudden leap and roar, and all the gazelles start running. And he doesn't go after the fastest or the strongest. He goes after the weak, and he'll eventually find out which one is running with less speed and is having a problem, and they'll focus and they'll go right to him. And Satan, he'll always try to pick off the weak member. So these are our enemies. Satan does not want us to be prepared for the Passover.

That was the blow that he received, and now it's just a matter of time before he's sentenced and expelled forever. So he knows that there's no way out for him. He's just trying to distract human beings now. This is what demons do. They know their sentence. They know they're going to have to face expulsion and everything. So what are they doing now? They want to distract themselves. Just like what is the worst thing for a prisoner? They put them under the solitary confinement. Just isolate them so that they can think about all their crimes and all the things they did wrong.

They're desperate there. What do they want? They want to get out and be distracted. Get involved with other things. Demons are the same way. They want to distract themselves, possessing human beings and living their lives. In that way, bidding their time, wasting their time so they're distracted in this way. That's the way they work. And so Satan is the tempter, whispering in our ears, just like he did with Eve.

So God has said so and so, but are you sure? Should you do it that way? So this person did this to you. Yeah, they shouldn't do that. You should get mad at them. Don't forgive them. Hold the grudge. Get back at them. That's what Satan is whispering. So life is unfair. Yeah, you got a bad deal. Yeah, you should go against this unfairness. Get bitter. Blame. Accuse. Do anything, but don't change yourself. That's the way Satan talks and thinks.

So going back to the main point, we need to ask God for that quality, that virtue that is perseverance. Do you know that God can give us perseverance if we ask Him for it? Notice in Romans chapter 15 and verse 5, Paul says the following. Now, may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another according to Christ Jesus. Now, there's a problem with this translation, and this is something very common in the New Testament. So, OK, perk up your ears, because this is an important biblical point. And that is, in most places where the term is translated as patience, it comes from two different ideas altogether. One is the typical patience, which means long suffering. It means putting up with things. That's the way we have patience, please, when you're there to purchase a ticket, maybe for a ballgame or something. And they're long line, and people get desperate. Please be patient. You'll get there, wait in line. That's talking about being long suffering, which means not being short-tempered and get angry about things. That's the proper term for patience. Unfortunately, the translators almost all translated the second word, which means perseverance. And instead, they put the word patience, which is not the proper translation, as far as we use patience today. So the word should be translated as perseverance. Notice what it says here in the World English Bible. It's called the Web Bible Translation. It says, now the God of perseverance and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus. So God's the one that provides that perseverance and, he says here also, the encouragement.

So we can really improve and advance our understanding and in Bible study. Look up at the word patience and make sure it's not translated wrong. It should mean the long suffering, macrophobia, instead of this other word that we're going to focus. Macrophobia means long suffering. This other word, who pomine, who pomine. That is the one of persevering, of enduring with patience and you are under a trial, you're being put to a test, and you need that endurance.

Notice in 2 Peter, chapter 1.

Very few translations have the right translation for this word, who pomine.

2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 2. Notice here the translation of the term. It says, So it is God's power, His Holy Spirit, that gives us all these spiritual gifts through the knowledge of Him, and to us by glory and virtue, by which we 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, through that former life, based on our vanity and our ego and the lusts of the human nature. Verse 5, He says, But also, for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control. To self-control, here it's translated correctly. Perseverance.

Who pomine? Who pomine is the term. So here it's translated correctly as perseverance. Now, this word, who pomine, is actually two Greek words joined together. Who po, which means being under something. For instance, we use hypo as a translation from the Greek, which is who po, like hypodermic needle. That means a needle that goes under your flesh. Hypo. So here it's who po in the Greek means under, and monae means to remain. To stand, to remain. You're steady. You're not going to move. So it means to be steady under some stress, some trial. You remain steady, steadfast. You don't move. It describes a capacity, here from the word study dictionary, describes a capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances. Not with passive complacency, but with a hopeful fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat. Being further understood as that which would be as opposed to cowardice or despondency. So it means a person that, even under trial and stress, is going to remain firm.

He's going to remain cool under pressure. He's going to handle the situation. He's not going to run away. He's not going to give up. This is something that God can provide for us.

Notice in James chapter 5, who Pomenae is used here, James chapter 5, in verse 11, talking about Job.

Verse 11, it says, It says, So did Job curse God after he was afflicted with all of these tragedies? Losing his children, losing all the possessions, and with a horrible skin disease. You'd think the person would have said, No, that's enough. I'm leaving. I don't believe a God of love would permit this for me to go through this. No? He stuck it out. He went through a lot. God was teaching him a valuable lesson. But the thing is, he didn't give up.

He had up Pomenae. He stood fast. With the faith, he didn't give up. William Barkley, a Bible commentary, basically has a section on this. He has a book that's recommended. It's called Words in the New Testament, which he discusses different Greek words that are important. And this is what he writes about this word about perseverance, hupomenae. He said, hupomenae is one of the noblest of New Testament words. Normally, it's translated as patience or endurance. It has one very interesting use.

It is used of the ability of a plant to live under hard and unfavorable circumstances. Not the plant that's in a nice fertile soil, watered, has ideal conditions. No, this is the hardy plant that even without the water, without the circumstances to make it better, it survives. This is the same description that they used in the Greek world when they described a plant that was hardy. He goes on to say, well, I want to interject here, Mark 4, verse 20, because Christ compared people who thrive in God's way of life as plants that have to go through different things.

He talks about the seed that is sown in the hard ground, and then by the wayside, and then with the weeds, and finally the ones that survive and thrive and produce. Multitude of fruit. In Mark 4, verse 20, it says about that fourth group, but these are the ones sown on good ground. Those who hear the word accept it and bear fruit. Some 60, 30 fold, some 60 and some 100.

It got my attention. It wasn't just hearing it. It was accepting it. Do you remember the moment that you accepted God's calling and His word in your life? Boy, I remember mine. I was just a young teenager at the time, but somehow God worked it out to get my attention, soften my heart, all the things He did. But I remember when I accepted it, and when I did, that was like putting your hand on the plow and not looking back. I went against my parents' wishes to continue to go to the traditional church, against my parents' wishes to go to medical school. I went to this little college over here, well, first in Big Sandy, Texas, even smaller than Pasadena.

But that's where I wanted. I had accepted God's word. It doesn't mean superficially. This was now the heart of my life. And it developed into a very deep conviction. It says you accept it, and then you bear fruit. God starts working through you, bearing fruit.

And you can start seeing how it multiplies to the honor and glory of God. I'm just an instrument. I'm nothing. I'm a vessel. But He can use that vessel. He can put His Spirit in His vessel and do something with it. Also, in the contemporary Jewish Bible, the complete Jewish Bible, it says, So this is the parallel one, and Luke brings out the word, hupamone, which means persevering.

You have to persevere. You're going to go through a lot of stuff in life. It's not supposed to be a cakewalk, a picnic in the park. It's supposed to be an obstacle race. God has a great reward. So we're going to go through things. You don't think athletes have it easy? How many times do they lose before they start winning?

How many times do they feel like giving up and they don't? Barkley continues saying this. It is not the patience which can sit down and bow its head, and actually the term here should be perseverance, which can sit down and bow its head and let things descend upon it and passively endure until the storm is passed. Again, that's the other term, long suffering. This here, perseverance, is the spirit which can bear things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope. It is a spirit which bears things because it knows that these things are leading to a goal of glory.

It is not the patience which grimly waits for the end, but the patience which radiantly hopes for the dawn. Hupalmane is used in connection with faith. The testing of faith produces perseverance. James 1. Let's go there. James 1.

Verse 3. All of these men use this term because it is so important for their faith. Let's start in verse 2. It says, It says, I have here as an alternative, it says endurance or perseverance. So this is combined with the faith by the testing of faith produces perseverance.

Barkley goes on to say, It is hupalmane which perfects faith. It is used in connection with hope. Tribulation begets perseverance and begets experience. In Romans 5.3, notice in Romans 5.3, the same word is used here, perseverance.

It says, So at least they corrected the text in the new King James version instead of just using patience all the time.

It also, along with perseverance, is accompanied with joyfulness. Colossians chapter 1, starting in verse 10. Colossians chapter 1 verse 10.

Let's start in verse 9. It starts the thought. It says, So actually, long-suffering with joy. So actually, long-suffering is the proper word for patience here. But here, patience hupalmane means again, perseverance. So it says here, it brings joy eventually. Now, no trial is convenient, but everything that tests us and we remain firm, just like that word means standing firm. Remaining under the trial and being firm is going to produce results. We're going to be able to resist temptations better. We're going to be able to do what's right because we've got a record of overcoming, of persevering. You don't become a prime athlete if you give up every time you skin your knees or you lose a game. No, that comes with becoming a champion. No champion has won every game. They have lost. They've learned from it, just like we have to learn from our falls, our defeats, and how we can come back, strengthen ourselves. Fasting, for instance, is a way that we are saying we're going to stand firm and we're holding fast and we're going to get closer to God. We're not going to get close to the world. This helps us strengthen us, gives us perseverance. In the Message Bible, Colossians 1, 10-12, it says, We pray that you will live well for the Master, making Him proud of you as you work hard in His orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you will have the strength to stick it out over the long haul, not the grim strength of gridding your teeth, but the glory strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father, who made us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that He has for us. Those are the principles.

And one last point that Barkley makes. Often, who pomine is connected with some goal of glory, some greatness which shall be. He cites Luke 21, verse 19. It says, By your patience possess your souls. Again, this is the wrong word here, patience. The message, there are some that say by your perseverance, you possess your souls. The message, Bible, says, Staying with it. That's what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry. You'll be saved. Yes, we're not saved right now in the sense that the race isn't over, but we are in the process of being saved. And God has saved us from our past life. So there are all of these different terms that need to be applied properly. The book of Revelation is full of this word, perseverance. Christ is encouraging the church through the different trials that it will go through. And he just says, ask for that perseverance. God can provide it, but it is necessary. Notice in Revelation 1, verse 9. Revelation 1, verse 9.

It says, I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos. Now the word here, patience, who pomene, it should be perseverance. The world Bible. This is the Wyimith. Wait, hold on. Yeah, this is the world English Bible version. It says, I, John, your brother and partner with you in the oppression, kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus was on the aisle that is called Patmos. So again, perseverance is the proper translation. It's a mistake that translators make. Time and time again, you'd think with all of the different versions, you would have finally separated the two words instead of using patience for two different meanings. In Revelation 3.10, here it is properly translated. It says, because you have kept my command to persevere, same word, who pomene, I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. So again, it's the necessity of persevering. You have persevered in my word in this modern society. You have not given up. You have not given in. You have persevered. He says he's going to protect his people from that great trial that is going to come upon this earth. I'd like to get a free ride in Noah's Ark before the door closes. How much would you pay for that entrance? I'd like to be able to be inside when God finally closes the door. It's interesting that it wasn't Noah who closed the door. It was God who closed the door of the Ark. Nobody else got to go in. And he says here, because you have persevered in my word... Another translation that I actually put in my... You have persevered in the word. That's the way, literally. It should be you have stuck with it. You have kept the Sabbath. You have kept the feast days. You have kept the commandments of God. He's going to especially bless those people.

In Revelation 14.12, another example of a wrong translation. Using patience again, which should be perseverance. It says in Revelation 14.12, here is the patience of the saints. Again, I have a little number, number one. And what does it say? It says it should be translated as a steadfastness, perseverance. And that is the proper... It should say, here is the perseverance of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. He said it in a way that it shows it's going to be tough to do so, to persevere. You can have all kinds of different temptations. To quit obeying the Sabbath, to keep the commandments of God. He doesn't say, here, nine out of ten are good enough. No, you keep the commandments, all ten of them. Nine out of ten is not good enough. We are just witnessing the end of the Winter Olympics. Probably a lot have watched the different athletes and how they had to persevere. To the end, many times it was just at the last second that they knew who won the gold. And it reminds us that we are also spiritual athletes and need that perseverance. In 1 Corinthians 9, in verse 24, Paul compares the need for that perseverance just like the athlete has to do so. Verse 24, it says, And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate. He controls himself. He's self-disciplined in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Yes, it looks nice. It's not even solid gold. We just put a little lacquer of gold on it. Therefore, he says, He says, So we don't know what is the outcome of our lives until that last breath. Just like even Jesus Christ said with His last breath. Notice in Christ's words in John 19, verse 30, it says, And the message, Bible, it says, After He took the wine, Jesus said, It's done. Bowing His head, He offered up His spirit. In other words, it says, It's done. It's complete. He finished the race He had to run. In a way, it was a sigh of relief. I've been able to finish. The Apostle Paul also, he said, He was running the race. Let's go to 2 Timothy, chapter 2. We're finishing up here. 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 4, chapter 4, verse 5, he says, He says, Talking about Christ's return. Yes, all those spiritual athletes. So, in our lives, we need to make sure we complete the race of faith by crossing the finish line. Yes, we can say, with our dying breath, whether it's at the hospital, at our home, wherever it is, we can also say, It is done. I crossed the finish line.