How Long Are You Willing To Persevere
Psalms 13:1-13:6 2 Timothy 2:1-13
Saints we are in part 3 of our series, “Why Me, Why Now.” Pastor Toby brought us “When Losses Come Into Our Lives”, Pastor Kellie came with “I Didn’t Expect This To Happen To Me.” and I have the message, “How Long Are You Willing To Persever,” in other words, just how much are you willing to put up with before you say “that’s it I quit. Lord I am out of here.”
How many of you have ever made a wish before? Now almost all wishes fall into one of two categories. We either wish for something good to happen, or we wish for something bad to come to an end. Either way, our wishes cause us to end up somewhere we currently are not. They take us to a more comfortable place.
I don’t know how it happened, but somehow the devil snuck into the church and started preaching a gospel that goes like this. Come to Jesus and you will always be healthy, always have money, always succeed, and never have a problem lasting more than a week or two. And yet we have verses in the bible like our Scripture reading today which says join with me in suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ, train like an athlete, and be a hardworking farmer.
What soldier do you know signs up for a week of service and comes home with an honorable discharge? What athlete do you know who does not experience some pain while getting into shape? What farmer do you know who plants his corn on Monday and sells great big ears of corn by Saturday afternoon.
A soldier knows that basic training is hard, but it’s nothing like seeing someone shooting at you with guns and missiles. An athlete knows if there is no pain, there is not going to be any gain. You have to push your muscles and your lungs beyond where they want to go and it hurts. A farmer knows it takes a while for crops to grow and a whole lot of things can go wrong in the meantime. A Christian is to experience the things a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer goes through if he or she is to grow in God.
We all have some dreams inside of us and that’s good. But for every dream there is a price, even when the dream comes from the Lord. Suppose God came to you in the night and said, “I have called you to be one of the nation’s best____________________and you fill in the blank. If God gave you the opportunity to be among the nation’s best, what would it be.
Now imagine how the pressure really builds, when someone comes and publicly announces that God has anointed you to become the next________________. You would probably feel pretty good about the announcement. You would probably even say, “now what’s the next step I should take to get ready for this to happen to me.”
Now before you think, nothing like this could ever happen, let me tell you it already did happen to a guy in the Bible. How many of you have ever heard of a little guy by the name of David. Well when he first got this message, nobody really knew who he was. He was the youngest of eight sons. His father Jesse, thought he was so insignificant, that when the prophet Samuel came looking to anoint one of his sons, Jesse did not even think to bring David into the house. Yet David was the one that God had chosen to be anointed the new king of Israel.
Of course David had to wait his turn in line because Saul was still King. David got off to a great start by fighting and defeating Goliath the giant when no one else would do it. He was promoted as he led the troops into battle again and again. This boy was on a fast track to success. God was with him in just about everything he did. He knew that God’s will was going to come past.
The only problem with knowing the future is that it makes us think, it’s going to happen tomorrow with minimal inconvenience to our lives. We know that if God said it, it’s going to happen. Everybody wants a prophecy of what God wants to do in their lives, but if God shows us what He has to take us through in order to get there, many of us would ask God for an alternative route based more on our liking. How many of you have gone through some things to get where you are, that you would have chosen to have avoided if God had given you the chance to do so.
David had been as faithful to King Saul as he could be. One day coming home from battle, the ladies danced in the streets and sang a song, King Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten’s of thousands. Saul got jealous that the women had made David number one over him. He started hating David from that moment on and decided to kill him. David escapes several assassination attempts by Saul to kill him. He runs into the wilderness to hide and escape.
Now go back with me for a moment to the thing, you wanted God to make are a reality for you. Would you decline it if you knew you were going to have people trying to kill you? Would you say, that’s okay if you knew you would lose all your possessions and put your family’s life at risk? Would you think twice if you knew, a reward would be placed on your head dead or alive? Would you ask God, “now just how long will I be going through with this?”
You know the thing God wants most for all of us is to be engaged in a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way to be connected directly to God. But it is not cheap to make it happen. To know Jesus, will force you to choose between your possessions and His grace. It will force you to choose between your living your life as you desire, and your saying yes to the will of God. To know Jesus it will cost you relationships that you might want to keep, but they are not God’s plan for your life.
David had to make all these kinds of choices to stay on course with the future God had in store for him. David knew that he was serving God to the best of his ability. But the picture being painted of David by King Saul who wanted to get rid of him was quite different. In the kingdom, David was being described as a thug, a terrorist, and an outlaw.
A reward was being offered to anybody who could report where he was. Now even though David had done his best to faithfully serve King Saul, Saul was jealous of David and was determined to kill him. A group of men joined David in the wilderness and became his followers. King Saul was relentless in his pursuit of David to kill him. On one occasion, King Saul almost had captured David and his men. The king and his massive number of troops were going up one side of the mountain and David and his mere 600 men were running for their lives down the other side.
It looked as though all hope was lost, when suddenly a messenger arrived at King Saul, to let him know, the Philistine army were raiding the country. Saul immediately gave orders to break off the chase of David, and go back to fight the Philistines.
After dealing with the Philistines, Saul’s jealousy sent him after David again. This time Saul chose three thousand of his best soldiers to go after David. It just so happened that David and his men were hiding in a cave.
King Saul and his men were outside the cave, but didn’t know David and his men were inside there. The king wanted to take a nap. His officers suggested, “why don’t you go and sleep in the cool of the cave. We will stand guard out here.”
King Saul, fell into a deep sleep. He never heard David’s men urging David to kill him. They told him, “this is God’s plan for your life. Kill your enemy now and become king.” Yet David refused to try to take something that God had promised to give him. The most he could do, was cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.
After Saul left the cave, David shouted out and told him, “Look King, I could have taken your life instead of cutting off a piece of your robe.” Isn’t this proof I am not your enemy. Why do you keep pursuing my life. Why can’t you just let me live in peace. Why are you stalking me again and again?
King Saul was embarrassed at his own foolishness, he promised David, “Look you gave me a tremendous break. You could have killed me, but you didn’t. I promise you, you will not have to worry about me coming after you again.” With that the king and his troops went home.
Now David had persevered there in that cave. He had waited for God to come through. But you know something, many of the victories that come into our lives are short lived. We can get so excited over something, and then watch it fall through the cracks. The child we thought had turned around, was really still doing things in secret behind our backs. The job we thought we had after that great interview turned into a rejection notice.
The bank financing for that new home fell through because of something in our credit report. The cancer that the doctors took out by surgery has been spotted somewhere else in our body. The raise our boss told us was just around the corner has been around the corner way too long.
The money we had saved up for something special is now paying to keep one of our family members out of jail. When these things happen, it becomes hard to continue to persevere. But it is still our calling.
King Saul made his promise to David in chapter 24. By the time chapter 26 rolled around, the King had put back up the terrorist wanted posters and the reward money for the capture of David all over the country again. It was at this point that David felt like banging his head against the wall crying out, “God what is going on. I try to do the right thing, and I’m in a worse mess than I was before.”
David pours out his heart to God in prayer in the Psalms. The Psalms show us how we are to be real about our feelings in our prayers. When we are frustrated with God, it’s okay to tell God. When we’re angry, it’s okay to say that too. Let’s look at Psalm 13 together and read it together.
[a]1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Now keep the picture in your mind. David wants to go home but he can’t. David does not know which people that he’s helped in the past that he can trust today? He can’t really settle down anywhere with his family. He’s got 600 men looking at him, wondering, where do we go next.
Some of them are saying, “if you had of killed Saul when you had the chance, we wouldn’t be out here in this hot musty desert. We could be living in palaces.” But David had told them God would make a way, and God has not made a way.
To top it off, David feels as though God is not listening much less answering his prayers. Four times in these short 6 verses of this psalm David asks the question how long. How long are you going to forget about my situation?
How long am I going to pray and go to church and not seem like I’m getting anything from you. How long am I going to have to wrestle with my thoughts of “what if”, and “if only.” How long will the people who are getting on my last nerve keep me down. They are just trying to get some dirt on me.
Eugene Peterson has written much of the Bible in today’s language using more common expressions of today. His version of the psalm goes like this:
Long enough, GOD— you’ve ignored me long enough. I’ve looked at the back of your head long enough. Long enough I’ve carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain. Long enough my arrogant enemies have looked down their noses at me.
Take a good look at me, GOD, my God; I want to look life in the eye, So no enemy can get the best of me or laugh when I fall on my face. I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms— I’m celebrating your rescue. I’m singing at the top of my lungs, I’m so full of answered prayers.
We have all asked the question, how long am I going to have to put up with this. But do we ever get around to asking, Lord what is it that you want me to take out of this situation. Nothing in our lives should be wasted, for in all circumstances we can do something to the glory of God.
God gives us choices right where we are. We can focus in on telling the world how rotten our spouse is, or we can allow God to make us the best spouse we could possibly be.
We can focus on being angry or jealous that someone is married and we are not, or on how long we’ve been single or we can decide to let God work in those areas of our lives that will use our singleness as an opportunity to invest our lives into others who need a friend, a mentor or someone who says I care.
We can point out the faults of our parents or our children, or we can use the time to allow Christ to make us a better child or a more loving parent. We can complain about the people we work with on our dead end jobs, or we can use it as a motivation to ask God, Lord what other doors are you trying to get me to consider with my life.
God may want you to got to school and into another field. God may be calling you into ministry. Whatever it is, God will provide a way for you if you’re willing to make some sacrifices.
We can go into deep depression over an illness or disease in our bodies or we can make the determination, God I don’t know how much time I have left, but I’m going to enjoy it and serve you to the utmost through it all. It will not keep me from being a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. I will continue to pray until something happens.
Although the church is to be a place of encouragement, by its very nature it can be a place of discouragement. We hear testimony after testimony of what God did for me be it a job, a husband, a deliverance of drugs for my child, a healing, and a degree. But someone is always thinking, then why won’t God do it for me. That can lead to depression and anger toward God.
That’s what David was feeling, when he kept asking God, “How Long.” When is it going to be my turn. Part of our problem is that the focus of our joy is not on God, but on the things that God provides. How often have we heard Jesus misquoted with the verse Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. The verse actually says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Are we eagerly seeking the righteousness of God in our situation or have we simply sought a moment with God in order for Him to give us whatever this thing is that we desire. To “seek the kingdom” means both to submit to God’s plan for our lives right now, whether we are happy with them or not here and now and to say yes Lord, I will persevere for as long as you call me to persevere.
When we are discouraged, let us remember God is treating us as His own for even His son Jesus Christ, learned obedience through the things he suffered. I close with Hebrews 12:1-3 which says , 1 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 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he 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 sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
You’re not the only person going through what you’re going through. God has already been there with others, and God will be there with you. Get to know God at this time in this situation. God is calling you to a time of perseverance. In Jesus Christ, you can do it.
Sermon Outline—Pastor Rick
3/27/2011
“How Long Are You Willing To Persevere”
Psalms 13:1-6 2 Timothy 2:1-13
A. Why Me, Why Now Series
1. Perseverance—That’s It, I Quit
2. Making A Wish
3. The Soldier, The Athlete, The Farmer
B. I’ve Got A Dream
1. A Prophet Confirms Your Future
2. The Story Of Unknown David
3. Fast track, But Not That Fast
4. One Song Changes It All
C. The Cost Of Doing The Will Of God
1. Loss Of Life
2. Loss Of Possessions
3. Loss Of Friends
4. Being Engaged With Jesus Christ
D. David’s World Turned Upside Down
1. Wanted Fugitive
2. Trying To Do Right In The Cave
3. When Victories Are Short Lived
1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
E. David’s Dilemma
1. Who To Trust
2. What If And If Only
3. Eugene Peterson’s Translation
F. Choosing To Learn From Our Situation
1. We Have A Choice
2. Lord Help Me To Learn For Me
3. Where May God Be Leading
4. When Is My Turn
5. Are We Seeking God
6. The Call To Persevere
Hebrews 12
1 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 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he 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 sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
