SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2019.
SUBJECT : BE PERSISTENT IN SEEKING GOD!
Memory verse: "Seek the LORD and His strength, seek His face continually.” (First Chronicles 16 vs 11.)
READ: Hebrews 3 vs 14; 11 vs 6:
3:14: For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
INTIMATION:
To persist is to persevere, stand firm, insist, or continue. The Christian life was never promised as an easy way to live; instead, the Scripture constantly reminds us that we must stand firm or persevere in our follower-ship to the end. To believe in Jesus “to the end” will take perseverance because our faith will be challenged and opposed. Several trials will sift true Christians from fair-weather believers. Enduring to the end does not earn salvation for us but marks us as already saved. We must have a purpose and a plan to persist because times will be difficult and Satan will attack. The assurance of our salvation will keep us strong in times of persecution.
Jesus tells us to persist in pursuing God. People often give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude that God cannot be found. But knowing God takes faith, focus, and follow-through, and Jesus assures us that we will be rewarded. But we never persevere without the promise of a prize—a promise God will keep. Don’t give up in your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask Him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding. He will give them to you. Because Christ lives in us as believers, we can remain confident and hopeful to the end. We are not saved by being steadfast and firm in our faith, but our confidence and hope do reveal that our faith is real. Without this enduring faithfulness, we could easily be blown away by the winds of temptation, false teaching, or persecution.
We persist when we run the Christian race with a purpose; having in mind to run for the prize set before us, and running straight for the goal. We can achieve this by:
(1) Disciplining our bodies, and training it to sustain and even improve on the discipline. The Scripture says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who that competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (First Corinthians 9 vs 24 - 27.)
(2) We will not being weary in doing good, and for everyone, and not giving up. You do this to please the Spirit of God indwelling you. The Scripture says, “And let us not be weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (see Galatians 6 vs 9 - 10).
(3) You put on the full armor of God, and praying in all occasions; using all the pieces of God’s armor to resist the enemy. This helps you to take a stand against the devil’s schemes. In the Christian life we battle against “principalities” and “powers” (the powerful evil forces of fallen angels headed by the devil, who is a vicious fighter. To withstand their attacks, you must depend on God’s strength and use every piece of His armor (see Ephesians 6 vs 10 - 20.)
(4) You keep pressing on toward the day when you will be all God wants you to be; forgetting the past; straining toward what is ahead—the heavenly prize for which God called you heavenward. Our goal is to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ has in mind for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal—knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians (see Philippians 3 vs 12 - 14).
(5) You should entrust the great truths of Christ to people who are able to pass them on to others. And also being strong in Christ’s grace, even when your faith is faltering. You should endure hardship like a soldier, and don’t get involved in worldly affairs. Follow the Lord’s rules, as an athlete must do in order to win. Work hard, like a farmer who tends His crops for the harvest. At the end you will live with Christ; you will reign with Him. He remains faithful. (Second Timothy 2 vs 1 - 13.)
Our hearts turn away from the living God when we stubbornly refuse to believe Him. If we persist in our unbelief, God will eventually leave us alone in our sin. But God can give us new hearts, new desires, and new spirits (Ezekiel 36 vs 22 - 27). To prevent having an unbelieving heart, stay in fellowship with other believers, talk daily about your mutual faith, be aware of the deceitfulness of sin (it attracts but also destroys), and encourage each other with love and concern.
Prayer: Abba Father, my absolute faith is in You. Give me the grace to follow You to the end, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
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