Sunday, September 03, 2006
How to Endure
Introduction:
Today my heart is full of gratitude and praise to God, for bringing ISI Ministries at Fresno Korean Baptist Church victoriously through 150 services. I am so thankful when I think of everything that has happened, the lessons that have been learned, and the lives that have been touched and changed by God’s work in this ministry. Even so, I still believe that the best is yet to come – we have not even scratched the surface of the good things God has in store. So instead of resting on past accomplishments and past blessings, today is a day to look forward and press on towards the mark of the high calling that God has for us. Today we are going to examine God’s Word in Philippians 4 for some keys to persevere in the ministry so that we can last AT LEAST another 150 services…
ENDURANCE is the key – as the Bible says, “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” Anybody can serve God for a little while and be enthusiastic for a season, but God wants to know who is with Him for the long haul. Who’s going to stick it out when things get tough? Here are some keys to endurance…
1) CHOOSE TO REJOICE
(Read Philippians 4:4)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
To endure and persevere in doing the Lord’s work, we must choose to rejoice regardless of circumstances. If Paul could rejoice in jail, then we sure enough can rejoice in whatever situation we are in. The joy of the Lord is our strength – and Satan knows that if he can steal our joy, he can rob us of our strength. To quote Rev. Thompkins, “Make the choice to rejoice!” We must keep a healthy praise life. Don’t wait for the circumstances to change before you praise Him – in fact, the praise might be exactly what God intends to help lift you above your circumstances.
2) CONVERT YOUR WORRIES INTO PRAYERS, STRESS INTO PEACE
(Read Philippians 4:6-7)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Satan would love for us to be so worried and so stressed about things in our lives, that we have no focus left for ministry or serving others. But God’s Word gives us a remedy for that, and if we live it out, it becomes much easier to endure through any trials or tribulations that we face. Praying churches are the ones who persevere… everything in ministry must be built upon a solid foundation of prayer.
3) GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS
(Read Philippians 4:8)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
We can’t afford to let stray thoughts derail us from God’s plan and God’s vision – or for Satan’s mental darts to distract us from the truth of God’s Word. Remember that we are in a spiritual battle. Negative thoughts –ranging from doubts to temptations to depression – will derail a ministry faster than anything, and spread from person to person if we don’t guard our minds. Sin begins in the mind, so we guard our heart by guarding the gates of our mind. You might think it’s hard for your mind to find a way to meet the criteria of Philippians 4:8 – but the easiest way is to keep God’s Word in mind constantly. We must stop listening to what people say, what our emotions say, what our flesh says, and what circumstances say – and start asking ourselves “What did God say?” about the things we go through. We must cast down any thought that rises up in opposition to the truth of God. Turning to God and His Word to win the battle for our minds is a key part of being able to endure in ministry.
4) PUT GOD’S WORD INTO PRACTICE
(Read Philippians 4:9)
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the peace of God will be with you.
To thrive as a ministry, we must not only be known for teaching the Truth of God’s Word, but even more so for living it out! There is no limit to what God can do through an obedient church body, with each member playing his/her part. And when we do that the world will see a difference in us, and be drawn towards God. It’s not enough to simply KNOW God’s Word – we are called to live it out.
5) REMEMBER THE SOURCE OF YOUR STRENGTH
(Read Philippians 4:13)
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
Notice it doesn’t say you can do all things through your great talents or sharp mind. We aren’t going to accomplish God’s vision due to our intelligence, our strategies, our numbers, our efforts, or anything else. There is ONLY one way that we are going to do it, or that we CAN do it… and that is, THROUGH CHRIST. It sounds so simple, yet we must never lose sight of that. On our own strength I doubt we could have even made it to 15 services, much less 150! The fact that we are still standing and thriving is a living testimony of the truth of Philippians 4:13.
It doesn’t matter if you FEEL like you can do something or not. In fact, it’s actually good if you don’t, because you’re not supposed to be operating from your own strength anyway. The strongest position in the Christian life is when you admit your weakness and place everything in God’s hands – just say, “Lord, I’m at the end of my rope, I’m weak, and I have no strength. Come work through me. If you don’t do it through me, then it’s just not going to get done.” We must admit our own weakness and then put everything (including our faith) in the hands of the Lord. His strength is more than able, especially when yours has run out!
Conclusion:
Today is not only a day to celebrate what God has done, but also a day to make sure that things are right between us and God, so we can move forward with confidence towards the wonderful future that God has in store for us, both individually and collectively. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the future. We need to go out and inreach and outreach like never before… encourage each other daily… and be the “salt and light” that God has called us to be.
Today my heart is full of gratitude and praise to God, for bringing ISI Ministries at Fresno Korean Baptist Church victoriously through 150 services. I am so thankful when I think of everything that has happened, the lessons that have been learned, and the lives that have been touched and changed by God’s work in this ministry. Even so, I still believe that the best is yet to come – we have not even scratched the surface of the good things God has in store. So instead of resting on past accomplishments and past blessings, today is a day to look forward and press on towards the mark of the high calling that God has for us. Today we are going to examine God’s Word in Philippians 4 for some keys to persevere in the ministry so that we can last AT LEAST another 150 services…
ENDURANCE is the key – as the Bible says, “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” Anybody can serve God for a little while and be enthusiastic for a season, but God wants to know who is with Him for the long haul. Who’s going to stick it out when things get tough? Here are some keys to endurance…
1) CHOOSE TO REJOICE
(Read Philippians 4:4)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
To endure and persevere in doing the Lord’s work, we must choose to rejoice regardless of circumstances. If Paul could rejoice in jail, then we sure enough can rejoice in whatever situation we are in. The joy of the Lord is our strength – and Satan knows that if he can steal our joy, he can rob us of our strength. To quote Rev. Thompkins, “Make the choice to rejoice!” We must keep a healthy praise life. Don’t wait for the circumstances to change before you praise Him – in fact, the praise might be exactly what God intends to help lift you above your circumstances.
2) CONVERT YOUR WORRIES INTO PRAYERS, STRESS INTO PEACE
(Read Philippians 4:6-7)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Satan would love for us to be so worried and so stressed about things in our lives, that we have no focus left for ministry or serving others. But God’s Word gives us a remedy for that, and if we live it out, it becomes much easier to endure through any trials or tribulations that we face. Praying churches are the ones who persevere… everything in ministry must be built upon a solid foundation of prayer.
3) GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS
(Read Philippians 4:8)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
We can’t afford to let stray thoughts derail us from God’s plan and God’s vision – or for Satan’s mental darts to distract us from the truth of God’s Word. Remember that we are in a spiritual battle. Negative thoughts –ranging from doubts to temptations to depression – will derail a ministry faster than anything, and spread from person to person if we don’t guard our minds. Sin begins in the mind, so we guard our heart by guarding the gates of our mind. You might think it’s hard for your mind to find a way to meet the criteria of Philippians 4:8 – but the easiest way is to keep God’s Word in mind constantly. We must stop listening to what people say, what our emotions say, what our flesh says, and what circumstances say – and start asking ourselves “What did God say?” about the things we go through. We must cast down any thought that rises up in opposition to the truth of God. Turning to God and His Word to win the battle for our minds is a key part of being able to endure in ministry.
4) PUT GOD’S WORD INTO PRACTICE
(Read Philippians 4:9)
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the peace of God will be with you.
To thrive as a ministry, we must not only be known for teaching the Truth of God’s Word, but even more so for living it out! There is no limit to what God can do through an obedient church body, with each member playing his/her part. And when we do that the world will see a difference in us, and be drawn towards God. It’s not enough to simply KNOW God’s Word – we are called to live it out.
5) REMEMBER THE SOURCE OF YOUR STRENGTH
(Read Philippians 4:13)
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
Notice it doesn’t say you can do all things through your great talents or sharp mind. We aren’t going to accomplish God’s vision due to our intelligence, our strategies, our numbers, our efforts, or anything else. There is ONLY one way that we are going to do it, or that we CAN do it… and that is, THROUGH CHRIST. It sounds so simple, yet we must never lose sight of that. On our own strength I doubt we could have even made it to 15 services, much less 150! The fact that we are still standing and thriving is a living testimony of the truth of Philippians 4:13.
It doesn’t matter if you FEEL like you can do something or not. In fact, it’s actually good if you don’t, because you’re not supposed to be operating from your own strength anyway. The strongest position in the Christian life is when you admit your weakness and place everything in God’s hands – just say, “Lord, I’m at the end of my rope, I’m weak, and I have no strength. Come work through me. If you don’t do it through me, then it’s just not going to get done.” We must admit our own weakness and then put everything (including our faith) in the hands of the Lord. His strength is more than able, especially when yours has run out!
Conclusion:
Today is not only a day to celebrate what God has done, but also a day to make sure that things are right between us and God, so we can move forward with confidence towards the wonderful future that God has in store for us, both individually and collectively. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the future. We need to go out and inreach and outreach like never before… encourage each other daily… and be the “salt and light” that God has called us to be.
