The Ingredient of Endurance
As we liken our completed faith to a recipe to which we must add many ingredients, the first ingredient we will discuss is endurance.
"And so, after he [Abraham] had patiently endured, he obtained the promise" (Hebrews 6:15).
Why must I wait? How am I able to wait and endure?
The word endurance in Greek is Makrothumeo which means longsuffering, patience, to undergo heat or suffering for a long time.
Many people will be very disappointed at some future date if they do not take this enduring process seriously and with God's mind. I submit that there are two main reasons for this enduring process. One has to do with you, the changing of you. The other has to do with others and His Kingdom. I believe fewer believers would give up during the enduring process if they would realize the responsibility, the heavy responsibility, that God has entrusted to them for eternal matters!
How can I wait long enough when my patience to inherit the promises of God seems to be lacking? Longsuffering is a part of fruit the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22, which means that Jesus inside of you has the patience needed. That is grace, or a gift for which you did not work; a free gift. You just need to be emptied, reach the end of yourself, and let Him take over. He will!
The writer of Hebrews warns us that if we become sluggish, we may not inherit the promise that God has given us by faith.
Hebrews 6:11-20
11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14 saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you."
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The anchor of the soul is dug into the very presence of God. Once you have gone into God's presence your anchor, is fixed. His character and His power will provide the patience you lack. If you have obtained faith, a promise or reassurance by a personal touch or encounter with God through the Word and the Holy Spirit, then your anchor is fixed in solid ground, the very presence of God.
Why does God have us go through this endurance time in order to obtain what He promised? We are warned many times in Scripture that we will have to suffer and endure the trials and testing of faith. I would like to offer four principle reasons, three in this chapter and the third in the next chapter, that I have found in Scripture and in my life's experience for this time of enduring.
1. To lack nothing.
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2-4). How would you like to "lack nothing"? Keep that hope and vision in your mind and heart as you are going through trials. What a great goal, the abundant life!
2. Character: To have our character developed for God's work and glory.
The process described in Romans 5 is like a potter who is forming a clay pot.
Romans 5:1-5 says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
We are told that tribulations produce perseverance, which is a similar word to endurance. Perseverance produces character, which produces hope, and hope keeps us from being disappointed during our enduring times, because, as it says, we are a vessel whom the Holy Spirit fills.
While the pot is on the potter's wheel it is soft clay. If water were poured into the pot while it is soft, it would not hold the substance. Then the potter "fires the pot" or puts it into a very hot furnace that makes it complete. Then the pot can hold a substance and be of great value.
Romans 5:5 says that we are containers for the Holy Spirit. Therefore we must go through the fires of life, enduring them, in order to be vessels fit to contain the Holy Spirit for valuable work. Our character is shaped and God can give us more assignments for His glory.
3. Receiving the full salvation, or healing of our souls.
God wants His character to be stamped on us. The Greek root of the word character means to imprint. Our suffering imprints the suffering savior on us.
"But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). The Strong's Concordance defines saved as: Saved: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue one from danger or destruction, from injury or peril.
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:6-9).
The Salvation of the Soul – by Watchman Nee [1]
The salvation of the soul is quite different from what we commonly know as the salvation of the spirit. The spirit is saved on the basis of faith; once we believe, it is settled forever. The soul is saved on the basis of following; it is a lifelong matter, a course to be finished. The spirit is saved because Christ lays down His life for me; the soul is saved because I deny myself and follow the Lord.
The soul is the seat of our natural desires; it enables us to feel and enjoy. The desires of this soul life demand to be satisfied. Yet if people seek satisfaction for these things in this age, they will lose satisfaction in the age to come. Whoever enjoys his soul in this age has already gained the pleasures to be derived from his body; therefore, he will lose of these pleasures in the age to come. (See Matthew 16:25-26,)
He who overcomes sin enters heaven; this is forgiveness! He who overcomes the world enters the kingdom; this is reward.
The Lord does not train us to be ascetics; He only wants to persuade us not to be captivated by the things of this world. If we begin to indulge in these things to excess, we have gone astray. Be it clothing, food, or shelter, we should not seek our own enjoyment.
God places the choice of heaven or hell before the sinner. And in like manner, He places before each Christian the choice of the world or His kingdom.
Receiving salvation of spirit is the beginning of our faith, and receiving salvation of soul is the end of our faith (1 Pet. 1:9).
God demonstrates through Christ that only He Himself can live up to the standard He has established. Hence, God not only appointed Christ to die at
God's salvation causes the Lord Jesus to live in us as well as to die at
Actually, God asks you to do one thing only: give yourself over to Him from this point forward. It can be summed up in one word: surrender.
The most intimate of all our environments is our emotional being. If you are able to conquer your emotions, you will be victorious over other environments, too. Whoever cannot overcome environment has not overcome emotion. He who conquers environment has first conquered his own feelings.
4. To possess the
"I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom" (Daniel 7:21, 22).
We often feel that during these times of trials, endurance and testing of our faith that it is all about us. While there is a truth embedded in that, it is not entirely true. Some of it has to do with what God is working in us, and some of it has to do with the
Surprise! Enduring is much bigger than you may think, there is a much bigger prize. It has to do with reigning with Him. To be continued on the next lesson titled, Running The Race. The next chapter will deal with the prize, the crown. When we realize that our endurance, our race, is about more than just us and that it carries more responsibility than we first realized, the power to endure comes easier.
"If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:12).
Let history be your teacher.
Looking back at history one can see that all people who succeeded in most any endeavor, who made a great contribution to society and the Kingdom of God, had that one quality in common, that being endurance. They persevered. Many years ago I read a book by a man who devoted his life to study the most successful people who had lived in recent history. He found only one common trait in them, that being that they all had succeeded right after failure or apparent failure.
Circumstances and the satanic world will always try to discourage you and convince you to quit enduring. Remember this: with God, if you don't quit, you will win!
The surprise is revealed in the next lesson. It's all about Running The Race.
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