Perseverance: Going FWD when you want to give up

After moving to Utah, I knew I was going to face an endurance test like none other – Getting a Utah Driver’s License

First Time I went, I thought, “I’ll go early, 7:30, they open at 9:00” and I have a 10:30 appointment.
I get there at 7:30 and the parking lot is full and there’s a line of people from the front door to the back of the parking lot. People in the front of the line are in sleeping bags, cooking breakfast over a fire. Are they selling tickets to a rock concert? Do these people know something I don’t know?
I realize I’ll never make my 10:30, so I decide to come back another day.

Next time I bring my wife. Misery loves company. Mid-Morning we show up, line out the door.
We stand and line and fill out paperwork and finally get to the desk. “Here’s your number, take a seat”

We go and sit down. You can’t leave – cuz if you do, you’ll lose your spot.
I watch employees at the wrap around desk, taking what seems like hours with each customer. When they get done, they slowly walk a piece of paper across to someone on the other side of the room and drop it off. Then slowly walk back and call the next number.

An hour goes by. Still watching, still waiting. Two hours goes by, our numbers are close, but time moves so slowly. Finally after 3 hours they call my number. I go to the desk, get the proper paperwork, “yes” I’m ready to get my picture taken and get out of here! “NO”!!! I have to take my paperwork across the room to another guy. He slowly looks over it, gives me an eye test, and hands me a book. A BOOK!

He then he tells me, go to the other side of the room where you’ll take an open book test on a computer. HOLD ON! I’ve been staring at the worlds slowest employees for three hours when I could have been prepping for a TEST! OPEN BOOK! When I was in college, I had some open book tests. The nice thing about those tests was that I had ACCESS to the books prior to the test, so that I could study for the TEST.

Now I’m sitting in front of a computer, with a 75 page book I’ve never seen before, being asked questions on a timed-test. “If you take too long it shuts down”! 3 of the questions were about how pedestrians should behave. I’M HERE TO GET A UTAH DRIVER’S LICENSE! There’s no pedestrian license. So for all of you PEDESTRIANS who don’t have a DRIVER’S license, I’d suggest you go down there and brush up on the pedestrian laws, ‘cuz there’s a whole bunch of them!

Then I get a question about what a person with a NATIONAL DRIVER”S license can do. Again, I’M here for a UTAH driver’s license. I didn’t even know a National Driver’s license existed. Now I want one!

At this time, I’m sweating bullets. Am I going to time out? Am I going to fail? The last time I took Driver’s Ed was 25 years ago! The guy next to me can barely speak English, and tells the picture dude, “I failed again”. “What do I do.” He tells the guy he has to wait 48 hours and come back. COME BACK! Oh, I can’t fail this test. That would mean I have to come back!

After 31/2 hours, it’s now mid-afternoon and I’m starving, ,my blood sugar’s tanking, my brow is sweating, I’m agitated because I’ve been in close quarters with 400 strangers all day, and my wife’s on a terminal down the row taunting me that she is going to get a better score than me. And I STILL can’t find the section on National Driver’s licenses! AHHHHHH!

I passed, one wrong, got my picture taken, got out of that place, and hope I never have to go back. Perseverance never gives up!


2 Peter 1:1-11 (NIV) 1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Before we tackle this subject, let’s define PERSEVERANCE. The Greek word Hupomone means Steadfast, Persevere, Patience. Patience 
is Bearing all trials and difficulties with an even mind, enduring in all, and persevering through all. Hupomonē never means simply the ability to sit down and bear things but the ability to rise up and conquer them.

Hupomone describes that spirit which remains under (hupo = under + meno = remain) trials in a God-honoring way so as to learn the lesson they are sent to teach, rather than attempt to get out from under them in an effort to be relieved of their pressure.

It’s different than Patience (which is passive) Just Waiting for something to happen. Perseverance looks at any trial it faces and say “bring it on” I can endure anything! Any challenge you put in front of me, I will take on, work through, and never quit until I break through the other side.

Perseverance is the runner who finishes the race, even through pain, or after falling down, because they are fixed on the finish line. Perseverance always says “I can make it”, “I will finish the race”, “I will put my hope in God”, “I will never, ever, ever give up”

2 Peter 1 reminds us that because the Divine Power that comes through the Resurrection of Jesus has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness, then we must make EVERY EFFORT to add to our faith PERSEVERANCE.

Sure, you can have perseverance in life without God, but when you ADD perseverance to your FAITH, something amazing happens.

Look at James 1:2-4 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So where do we get this PERSEVERANCE that can make us mature and complete? You come to the one who is gives you everything – Jesus, and he gives you perseverance.


Hebrews 12:1-3 1Therefore, 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. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

If you have put your faith in Christ, he is living in you! The ONE who ENDURED the Cross – LOOK at Him. Fix your eyes on him, consider him, concentrate on him as if he is the finish line at the end of the race. KNOW that he is living in your heart. And that if HE could persevere through all he suffered, than you can too!

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PERSEVERE? Throw off everything that hinders you! Throw off ALL the sin that entangles you, and RUN! RUN with perseverance! RUN the race marked out for you. Fix your eyes on the finish line. Fix your eyes on Jesus! He is the Author and Perfecter of you Faith! He endured the cross! He scored it’s shame! And winning the victory over suffering, beatings, and crucifixion on the cross, overcame death, God raised him from the dead, and he won the victory for you!
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ADD PERSEVERANCE TO YOUR FAITH?
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BECOME MATURE AND COMPLETE LACKING NOTHING?
There’s only one way – FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS, and let nothing distract you from the finish line.

In January of 2009 I turned 40. A week later I got really sick. After months of diagnosis, I was getting a medical treatment for an illness. I was supposed to get an IV treatment over a 4-6 hour period. The first day, they nurse gave it to me in 2 hours. I thought I was going to die! As I walked to my car, I felt like I had been hit by a train. I began to drive home, and felt like my entire body was being crushed.
All I could do was to cry out to Jesus. I needed his perseverance in that moment. As far as my body was concerned, I was DONE. Done with this sickness, done with this treatment, Done. I wanted to give up on it all. But then I began to sing a song I hadn’t sung in a long time.

You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel Lord, to give up I'd be a fool, You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is your Name
Taking my sin, my cross, my shame Rising up again I bless Your name
You are my all in all When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup You are my all in all

That was just a day of agony. As I was thinking about perseverance, I was wondering to myself, if I was face with what Jesus was faced with, would I give up? Would I run the other direction? Would I abandon the race?

And if I was true to myself, and the answer was “Yes”, then WHY? There is a reality check in the very next verse:

Hebrews 12:4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

The writer of Hebrews says, “COME ON”! You think you struggle, you think it’s hard. Have you ever shed your blood for your faith? Have you ever faced death head on for your faith? Have you resisted the temptation to sin with a gun to your head? I don’t think so.

And when I was thinking about how TOUGH it would have to get before I would give in or give up, I was encouraged by the life of Jesus. He was tempted.

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Some of you may remember the 1988 Movie called The Last Temptation of Christ. It was a fictional look at what someone thought the last temptations of Jesus would be. And of course, it being Hollywood, the last temptation Jesus had was Sex!

But if we look at the Bible, we can read what the last temptation of Jesus was. And I believe that we can learn something very valuable fro Jesus here.

The last temptation Jesus faced was to Give Up!
You can read the story in Matthew 26:36-46 (Garden of Gethsemene) but I’m just going to summerize it for you today. It’s the night before the Crucifixion, and Jesus knows what’s going to happen.

By his own admission, his soul was overwhelmed to the point of death. v 38

He fell on his face and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me, yet not as I will, but as you will" He returns to his closest friends who were supposed to be praying and found them SLEEPING! Jesus faced the cross, and was tempted to "Give up", and asking God for a way out.
But after 3 times in prayer, knowing the Father's will he said to his friends, "Rise, let's go!"
You may be ready to give up. You may think it’s time to cash in your chips. But before you do . . .
You should take comfort when you look at the crucified savior, that he persevered through the most horrible pain.

You should find comfort in knowing that Jesus, too, struggled with the temptation to give up. I don’t care who you are, everyone of us sometimes feels like giving up. But you need to remember this, Temptation isn’t Sin – Giving into Temptation is Sin! Remember, Jesus wanted to give up too.

The question for you today is this: Will you accept God's will and DO IT, or will you give up and go with what I think is best?

Perseverance that is ADDED TO OUR FAITH SAYS: "Rise, Let's go!" So what is it that is hindering you from completing this race? Is there something or someone in your way that is keeping you from Christ? Are you hanging on to a sin that is entangling you that you just are not willing to throw off? Is there something that God is hounding you about to give up, and you just won’t give it up? Perhaps you holding on to past hurts and wounds that you keep nursing.
Have you taken your eyes off Jesus and placed them on your trials, struggles, pain, fear?

God has called all believers to a Grand Mission and has given us a grand vision! If we are going to accomplish what he is placing before us, we need to have the Christ-Perseverance inside of us, adding it to our faith!