LESSON 19
9/15/03
THEME SCRIPTURES: Heb.12: 1, 1Cor. 9: 24
YOU’RE THOUGHTS: When you start something, do you try to finish it?
Why is it important to be persistent?
When is being persistent wrong?
MY THOUGHTS: There are many attributes that we need to help us become successful in whatever task that we are pursuing. For this lesson, I’m only concerned about one very important attribute, and that is being persistent or to persevere in order to meet our goals. Many parents teach their children this important trait, so that they are assured that their child will grow up and succeed in their journey through life. This subject was brought to my attention in our church, during our annual Vacation Bible School program. My wife, Robin and I were portraying ourselves as mountain climbers and the main point we wanted to bring across was the importance of being persistent, or not giving up in order to be a successful climber. The scripture reference that we used to back up this illustration was in the Gospel of Mark and also in Luke. The story was about a man name Bartimaeus, who was blind, but when he heard Jesus coming his way he was determined, even when the crowd told him to sit down and be quiet to ask Jesus to heal him (Mark.10: 46-52, Luke.18: 35-43). This lesson was so neat, that it prompted me to find other examples or passages that speak of persevering, or not giving up. I would like to share them with you.
Lets start with the most obvious characters in scripture and then we can present a couple of less obvious characters, and then finish with important quotes from prominent biblical leaders including our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ.
Remember Noah? He was a simple man that decided to love God with all his heart (Gen.6: 9). With this conviction, he went about his life smoothly, until God presented His request for him to build an ark. Then God lays out the details on how He wants Noah to construct this monstrous vessel. What does Noah do? He accepts this hard responsibility and goes with it. He doesn’t give up when all the townspeople ridicule him or when his family gets discouraged and probably tried to talk him out of it or when he’s simply fatigued. Noah persevered.
How about Job? He too was a righteous man living his life in the fullness of Gods many blessings. Then bang! God decides to prove to Satan that he is and will always be faithful to Him (Job.1: 8). Let’s stop and think, in all that Job went through, he had to be persistent. If not, he would have folded. With Gods’ help and his persistence, Job proved his love for God and saw his reward (Job.42: 12).
One of my favorites is Nehemiah, who was just a cupbearer for a King named Artaxerxes. Nehemiah is a great role model for men or women that are involved in organizing reconstruction projects in small towns or cities. He had a burden for the Jews who escaped from captivity and for the demolished city of Jerusalem. He handled this burden by being persistent in prayer and not giving up in doing what ever it took to rebuild the city as God intended before His people disobeyed Him. Nehemiah was persistent on behalf of the people of Jerusalem and in result the City was restored and the inhabitance of that city was back in Gods’ favor.
There was one incident in the New Testament, where a few men tore the roof off of a very crowded house where Jesus was teaching and lowered their friend, who was in bed with a diseases known as palsy, so that Jesus could heal him (Mark.2: 1-11). These men were not going to give up because of too many people. They were persistent and they were rewarded, hence their friend was healed.
Being persistent is extremely essential in the Christian walk. It’s essential in our prayer life, which is stated in Eph. 6: 18, “ Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for the saints”. In Col.1: 9 and 1Thess.5: 17, we are told to pray without ceasing. Persistence also is essential in helping us stay in the will of God. James. 1:25, states that “ whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Jesus teaches us that we should keep our hands to the plough and don’t look back or we won’t be fit for the kingdom of God. If we make a commitment to follow Jesus, lets be persistent in holding on to Gods will and not let things that are corruptible pull us away.
I believe we covered a lot on this subject to give us a clearer understanding on why we must not give up. I encourage you to read more on this and please be persistent in your love for God and you will be rewarded. God loves you and so do I God Bless.
Scrip Ref: Col.4: 2, Phil.3: 13, 2 Pet.1: 10, Matt.10: 22, Phil.2: 16, Gal.5: 7
Do you want to make that commitment click here Bible Study Welcome