PERSEVERENCE, PERSISTENCE, PATIENCE

By David J. Riggs

                        
Intro.
   A. Heb 2:1; 6:11-12; 10:35-39; 12:1-2, 12-13
   B. These words were written by the Hebrew writer to encourage
      those who were becoming weary in living the Christian life.
      1. Some of the Hebrew Christians were in danger of throwing    
         away their wonderful privileges in Christ; thus, the        
         writers' warnings.
      2. To be saved, one must have patience, persistence,
         perseverence, steadfastness, endurance.

I. PERSISTENCE, ENDURANCE PAYS IN EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE.
   A. There are many examples of those who were successful because
      they were persistent.
      1. Ty Cobb, who holds the record in baseball for stealing      
         bases, was called "out" more times trying to steal a base   
         than any other person in baseball history.
      2. Babe Ruth, who holds the record for home runs in the
         number of games which he played, also holds the record for
         the number of strike outs. He struck out 1,300 times.
      3. Thomas Edison's failed over 14,000 times in his efforts to
         make the light bulb.
      4. Abraham Lincoln had lost in eight elections before he
         became President.
      5. Albert Einstein flunked courses in math, but went on to be a
         great mathematical genius.
      6. British novelist John Creasey published 564 books. But he
         didn't make his first sale of a manuscript until after he'd
         received 774 rejections.
      7. These, and thousands of others like them, were successful
         because of one thing: "Perseverence or persistence."
   B. Persistence pays in the business world: getting a job, getting
      ahead, making a profit.
      1. Here's a free, simple lesson on how to escape poverty in
         America from Economist Charles Murray, author of the
         book "Losing Ground":
         a. "The requirements for a male, black or white, are to go
            to a free public school and to complete high school, get
            into the labor market and get a job, any job, and stick
            with the labor market. Do this and it is almost
            impossible to stay poor because among adult American
            males of all races with just a high school education, 91%
            now have family incomes greater than twice the poverty
            level."
   C. Persistence pays in marriage.
      1. Many succeeded in getting a date, and later marrying,
         because they were persistent.
      2. Maintaining a close relationship throughout the years takes
         much perseverence.
   D. In training children. Eph. 6:4; Prov. 22:6
      1. Rearing children in the Lord is as challenging a job as     
         anyone will ever undertake. It takes lots of diligent       
         effort.
      2. It is easy to ignore unacceptable behavior.
      3. It is easy to fall short of persistent teaching of the will 
         of God.
      4. Great diligence will produce respectful, pleasant children.

II. PERSISTENCE PAYS IN LIVING FOR CHRIST.
   A. The Lord wants us to "grow up."  2 Pet. 3:18
      1. We need to put away childish behavior. 2 Cor. 13:11
      2. We need persistent study, exercise, and work in the Lord to
         obtain maturity. 1 Tim. 4:7-8
         a. We need to keep studying the Word of God and
            exercising ourselves to godliness, and we will grow into
            mature Christians. Heb. 5: 13-6:1a
      3. Those high spiritual graces, which are part of the divine
         nature, come only through persistence. 2 Pet. 1:5-11
   B. Finishing the race will bring great rewards. Heb. 10:35,39

III. SINCE PERSISTENCE PAYS, WHY DO PEOPLE QUIT?
   A. They let obstacles overcome them rather than overcoming
      obstacles. Luke 8:11-15
      1. We must press on toward our goal. Phil. 3:13-14
   B. They quit because they are unwilling to pay the price for      
      victory.
      1. Anything worthwhile usually involves some pain. "No pain,
         no gain."
      2. The Christian life is like a marathon; and, as long distance
         runners know, one must run through the pain and exhaustion
         to get their second wind. Heb. 12:1
   C. They lose sight the of the goal.
      1. They lose sight of Jesus and all that He did to make their
         salvation possible. Heb.12:2
      2. They lose sight of the heavenly reward. Phil. 3:20-21
      3. They are too much in love with this world. 1 John 2:15-17
   D. They give up too easily. An old poem reads thus:
      Two frogs fell into a can of cream 
        -- or so I've heard it told 
        The sides of the can were shiny and steep, 
        The cream was deep and cold, 
        "Oh, what's the use?" said No. 1, 
        "tis fate -- no help's around -- 
        Good-bye, my friend! Good-bye, sad world!" 
        And weeping still, he drowned. 
        But No. 2 of sterner stuff, 
        dog paddled in surprise, 
        The while he wiped his creamy face 
        and dried his creamy eyes. 
        "I'll swim awhile, at least," he said 
        -- or so it has been said -- 
        "It wouldn't really help the world 
        if one more frog was dead." 
        An hour or two he kicked and swam -- 
        not once he stopped to mutter, 
        But kicked and swam, and swam and 
        kicked, then hopped out, via butter. 

IV. FAILURE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FATAL OR FINAL. 
   A. Dropping the ball or making an error doesn't mean we quit the
      game.
      1. Often a good coach will put his players immediately back
         into the game after they have fumbled the ball.
         a. He knows that his players will become very discouraged
            if he takes them completely out of the game.
      2. Spiritual slumps will happen to everyone, but we must keep
         plodding along.
      3. John Mark made a remarkable comeback. Acts 12:25; 13:13;
         15:38-40; 2 Tim. 4:11
         a. He gave us the book of Mark.
   B. Tribulations and afflictions make us stronger. Rom. 5:3-5;     
      James 1:1-4
      1. Affliction or tribulation is a great teacher of             
         perseverence. It is called, "The School of Hard Knocks." It 
         is a great school indeed.
      2. Harold Sherman wrote a book entitled, How To Turn Failure
         Into Success. In it he gives a code of persistence. He says:

         a. I will never give up so long as I know I am right. 
         b. I will believe that all things will work out for me if I
            hang on to the end. 
         c. I will be courageous and undismayed in the face of
            odds. 
         d. I will not permit anyone to intimidate or deter me from
            my goals. 
         e. I will fight to overcome all physical handicaps and
            setbacks.
         f. I will try again and again and yet again to accomplish
            what I desire. 
         g. I will take new faith and resolution from the knowledge
            that all successful men and women have had to fight
            defeat and adversity.
      3. Gal. 6:9; 1 Cor. 15:58

Concl.
   A. England was one of the first countries to make a strong stand
      against the Nazis during World War II. Winston Churchill, then
      Prime mister of England, made this statement in the beginning  
      of the War to encourage his people: "Death and sorrow will be  
      the companions of our journey; hardship our garment; constancy 
      and valor our only shield. We must be united, we must be       
      undaunted, we must be inflexible."
   B. Winston Churchill took 3 years getting through the eighth grade
      because he had a problem with English. Years later Oxford
      University asked him to make an address at their commencement
      exercises. With some of the usual Churchill fanfare, with his  
      cane and top hat, he settled in at the podium. Churchill eyed  
      his adoring crowd and said, "Never give up." After several     
      seconds of silence, he rose up on his toes and repeated, "Never
      give up."
      Churchill then reached for his cane and hat. His address was
      concluded.
   C. In closing, I want to say, "Christians: Never give up! Never   
      give up! Never give up!"
   D. Have you started the race? Are you a qualified runner? Why not
      obey the gospel now?
   E. Are you running the race with patience?