Sermon

Reigning Faith p.5 with Ap. Marci Glisson

Anchor Faith Church

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  1. We've been talking about reigning faith, Amen.

  2. And we've been going from Second Peter.

  3. If we'll go back there, Second Peter Chapter 1, we've been

    2 Peter 1 chapter mention

  4. talking about 7 qualities that need to be added to our faith or

  5. supplying our faith or ministering nourishment to our

  6. faith. And we can call that seven

  7. ingredients, 7 qualities or also 7 companions, you could call it,

  8. that are going to be those that are going to help support our

  9. walk of faith. And for us to operate fully in

  10. faith, it's not just about knowing and becoming firmly

  11. persuaded. It's about also having these

  12. characteristics developed within our faith so that when we're

  13. walking by faith, we're going to be able to see the promises come

  14. to pass and have everything we need in that walk so that we

  15. won't ever stumble or falter from our faith or receiving the

  16. promises of God. And what He says that we can

  17. obtain by faith by being firmly persuaded, right?

  18. Again, these things are going to help bring a supply and a

  19. nourishment to us so that we can remain firmly persuaded in our

  20. faith. Because remember, we are to what

  21. live by faith. We're to walk by faith.

  22. This is called a lifestyle of faith.

  23. We're not to live by sight. We're not to live by our

  24. circumstances. We're not to live by what how we

  25. feel and what we see and all the things going on around us know

  26. we're to live by faith. We're to walk that out and the

  27. way that our faith is going to be assured that we can have

  28. victory every time if we have been diligently and that what

  29. the Scripture said diligently supplying our faith with these

  30. ingredients, ingredients to our life.

  31. OK, so second Peter chapter 1 and one through 11.

    2 Peter 1 chapter mention

  32. I want to read it again. It says Simon Peter, a

  33. bondservant, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have

  34. received a faith of the same kind as ours, say I've received

  35. a faith as the same kind as theirs.

  36. Yes, by the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

  37. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and

  38. the and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that His divine power has

  39. granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness

  40. through the two true knowledge of Him who has called us by His

  41. own glory and excellent. For by these He has granted to

  42. us His precious and magnificent magnificent promises, so that by

  43. them you may become partakers of his divine nature.

  44. And having escaped the corruption that is the end the

  45. world by its lust. Now for this very reason also

  46. supplying all diligent or applying all diligence in your

  47. faith. Here it goes verse 5.

  48. Supply moral excellence, and in moral excellence knowledge, and

  49. in your knowledge self-control, and in yourself control

  50. perseverance, and in your perseverance godliness.

  51. And in your godliness, brother, brotherly kindness, and in your

  52. brotherly kindness love. For if these qualities are yours

  53. and are increasing, isn't that what it says?

  54. If they are increasing, so does God want things to increase in

  55. our life? They render you neither useless

  56. nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus

  57. Christ. For he who lacks these qualities

  58. is blind or short sighted, having forgotten his

  59. purification from his former sins.

  60. Therefore, brethren, by all the be all the more diligent to make

  61. certain about His calling and choosing you.

  62. For as long as you practice these things, you will never

  63. what stumble. You'll never stumble.

  64. For in this way, the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our

  65. Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundant, recently

  66. supplied to you. So we have broken down all of

  67. these scriptures and we've talked about how we've been

  68. given the same faith each and every one of us.

  69. When we get born again, we have been given the same faith as the

  70. disciples has, and the same faith that the disciples had is

  71. the same faith that God said He brings to people's life.

  72. OK? It's not a different faith that

  73. the apostles had. It's the same faith.

  74. And when we get born again, we get that same seed of faith,

  75. that seed of faith planted in our heart.

  76. And not only that, not only do we get faith, we get divine

  77. power. When we get born again.

  78. What does He say? That divine power is granted to

  79. us to be able to walk in this life and be able to what have

  80. everything we need in this life, and not just living this life,

  81. barely making it through, barely getting along, but we will live

  82. it godly. We will live it godly.

  83. It's life and godliness. Amen.

  84. And so then he lets us know that we not only have been given

  85. divine power, not only have we been given faith, we have been

  86. given the divine nature of God. Thank God.

  87. Thank God, I no longer have to live by the sinful nature, but I

  88. have a divine nature that's been given to me.

  89. I am partakers. Come on, Hallelujah.

  90. God himself come on, lives on the inside of us.

  91. So he lets us know that all we have to do now is apply with

  92. diligence to our faith, right? And we broke that word out.

  93. Apply or supply. And that literally means add to

  94. bring a supply to to furnish your faith.

  95. It also means to minister nourishment to your faith.

  96. So your faith needs more than just faith comes from hearing

  97. and hearing from the Word of God.

  98. No, your faith needs a supply of these 7 qualities operating and

  99. nourishing you so that when you're in a situation where your

  100. faith is there, listen, I'm going to be able to walk through

  101. it and be able to receive it and see the tangible results of

  102. faith, faith in my life because I've allowed him to nourish

  103. these qualities in my life. And I want to read second Peter

  104. one and 10 out of the amplified, just that last verse, because I

  105. think it's so important the way the amplified reads it.

  106. It says, therefore, believers be all the more diligent to make

  107. certain about his calling and choosing you be sure that your

  108. behavior. So these qualities and these

  109. ingredients have to do with what your behavior, your character,

  110. your actions, the way you function and you operate.

  111. Great. It can be evident.

  112. So he lets us know, be sure that your behavior reflects and

  113. confirms your relationship with God.

  114. So what is it that's going to confirm your relationship with

  115. God? Just that you've come down and

  116. asked him to come into your heart and save you.

  117. No, there's some behavior that's going to confirm there's some

  118. actions. What is it?

  119. There's some change in your life that's going to be a proven fact

  120. that you really are born again and have a relationship with

  121. God. Because every the way you

  122. operate, the way you behave, people can notice and see that

  123. this is the operation of what he says a Kingdom citizen will look

  124. like, Amen, a godly person, right?

  125. So it says it will confirm your relationship with God.

  126. For by doing these things actively and developing these

  127. virtues, you will never stumble in your spiritual growth.

  128. So he expects us to grow and will live a life that leads

  129. others away from sin. And you have to ask yourself,

  130. when you're around people, do you by your life and your

  131. lifestyle and your behavior and your godliness bring people away

  132. from sin? Or do you allow their behaviors

  133. and their lifestyles and their actions bring you towards sin

  134. again? OK, so there's evidence of you

  135. being a child of God. There's evidence not just by

  136. word but by demonstration because you've allowed these

  137. qualities, not just because you, you know, say you have faith.

  138. OK. And so we went through several

  139. of the points. And last week we actually talked

  140. about this point, and I didn't finish.

  141. And I think it's so necessary that I finished this point and

  142. we were on point #4 which is the fourth quality, which was

  143. perseverance. Perseverance because I am

  144. telling you right now, it is the ones that know how to persevere

  145. in the midst of situations and circumstances in life where the

  146. enemy is coming in like a flood. Come on, that you are going to

  147. have to have perseverance to be able to overcome this situation.

  148. And if you don't, you're not going to make it through.

  149. You're not going to make it through.

  150. And I have so many scriptural evidences of showing you how

  151. important perseverance and endurance is in your life and

  152. your walk of faith. And I'm seeing the generation

  153. that we're living in that does not know how to persevere

  154. through problems, that does not know how to overcome, does not

  155. know how to endure. Come on the testing and the

  156. trying of their faith. Every believer will walk through

  157. testing and trying of your faith.

  158. You will not get away from it if you're really going to live by

  159. faith. We will all encounter this and

  160. must have this quality supplying our faith walk, which is

  161. endurance. And so perseverance we talked

  162. about means steadfastness, consistency, and patient

  163. endurance, right? Remember the Scripture, which we

  164. probably will read it in a minute out of Hebrews, you know

  165. who talks about we have to what it is through faith and patience

  166. that we will inherit the promises.

  167. But it's not just patience, it's patience, endurance.

  168. And I think this key because it's not just about enduring,

  169. oh, I'm just going to have to endure through this.

  170. If I can just endure this, if I can just get through this month,

  171. if I can just endure this teenage years, if I could.

  172. No, it's not that kind of endurance, because again, I said

  173. that's your own willpower, but not only is it your own

  174. willpower, you're not really patient enduring, OK?

  175. So patience and perseverance and endurance and consistency

  176. counts. If you're going to see the

  177. promises of God in your life, you must have it.

  178. You must add it to your faith. Without endurance, you will not

  179. win the victory. You can sing about the victory

  180. all day long. You Can Dance about the victory

  181. all day long. But if you don't know how to

  182. endure to the victory line, you're not going to win.

  183. You are going to faint and grow weary and shrink back and not

  184. see the final result that God wants you to have.

  185. You'll see a result, but it won't be the result you want.

  186. OK, so perseverance is necessary.

  187. Endurance is necessary that we have to be able to nourish our

  188. faith and keep us in a place when we're going through

  189. difficult situations or challenges or not even difficult

  190. situations or challenges. How about just life and the

  191. day-to-day mundane routine, right?

  192. How about when you just feel like you maybe haven't, You

  193. don't feel anything exciting. You know, there's people in the

  194. Christian world that feel like every service has to be an

  195. exciting service, and if it's not, then something's wrong.

  196. So they run around to all the conferences that are going to

  197. get you pumped up and running around and shouting and but I'm

  198. going to tell you that's not going to help you endure.

  199. There's time for it, yes, but that can't be what you live on.

  200. Perseverance and endurance is what you live on that will

  201. supply your faith to be able to get you through to the other

  202. side. Amen.

  203. So, so many things are having to be added to our faith.

  204. And we read this out of Romans 5 and drop down to verse three.

  205. I just want to remind you this, it says, and not only this, but

  206. your joy. Let us exalt in our sufferings

  207. and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that the hardship or the

  208. pressure or the trouble or the distress produces patient

  209. endurance. You see that?

  210. And what and endurance? What is you learning how to

  211. persevere through the situation that you're going through?

  212. By faith, full of joy, walking it out every day, not feeling

  213. like it, but you do it anyway. What does it say?

  214. It proves your character. And so many people are not

  215. allowing their character to be proven because they bail when

  216. it's hard. They bail when it's difficult,

  217. they bail when things don't go their way.

  218. They bail when you know, I've been dealing with this quite a

  219. while now, Lord, and I don't know how much longer I can

  220. handle. I'm done and they bail.

  221. And I'm not saying they may bail their whole relationship with

  222. the Lord, but they bail on going through the necessary process

  223. that it's going to take to mature your faith and to allow

  224. your faith to actually grow, right?

  225. So it will produce patient endurance and endurance proven

  226. character. What is in the amplified proven

  227. character is spiritual maturity. Remember, we've been talking

  228. about the reigning church, and a reigning church is a mature

  229. church. And you're only going to grow

  230. and mature if you've allowed endurance to be a part of your

  231. faith, right? If you've allowed yourself to

  232. persevere through things knowing that by faith, I will walk this

  233. out and I will overcome. You see that a proven character,

  234. hope and confident assurance of eternal salvation.

  235. So us walking through difficult situations is doing one or two

  236. things. It's proving our character to

  237. help us spiritually grow, or it's going to put us in a place

  238. that we choose to stop growing and pushing forward.

  239. OK, So we have to recognize how important that is.

  240. Because remember, part of that endurance is us being steadfast.

  241. And steadfastness means you continue to move even in the

  242. midst of the battle, the trial, the situation, the things going

  243. on. Steadfastness has movement to

  244. it. That means you keep moving, but

  245. so many people stop. You see what I'm saying?

  246. And if you stop, you're not letting the endurance have its

  247. perfect work within you to mature you.

  248. All right, So it's necessary if we're going to see the victory

  249. and be able to overcome. And I'm going to tell you it's

  250. necessary because he says endurance must be a part of our

  251. walk of faith if we're going to make it to the end.

  252. We're going to read all of these scriptures.

  253. So I don't know about you. I've been seeing a lot of people

  254. not making it to the end, not going to church anymore, not

  255. having anything to do with God anymore.

  256. I mean, come on. I, I don't know about you.

  257. I've been in this thing now 3536 years and and I've seen a lot

  258. through and I see people today reconstructing their faith.

  259. Come on all these terminologies. What does that mean?

  260. They didn't allow these qualities to be added to their

  261. faith. They did not grow.

  262. They did not allow him to prove and test their faith.

  263. So in first Peter 5 and verse 8 and 10, this is very important

  264. because he says this, but resist him and be firm in your faith,

  265. talking about the devil who goes around right prowling around

  266. looking who he can devour. But what is he telling?

  267. Resist him, be firm in your faith against his attack,

  268. rooted, established, and be immovable, knowing that the same

  269. experiences of suffering are being experienced by your

  270. brothers and sisters throughout the world.

  271. You do not suffer alone, but after you have suffered for a

  272. little while, the God of all grace, who imparts His blessing

  273. and favor, who called to you His own eternal glory in Christ,

  274. will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you,

  275. making you what you ought to be. Do you see that?

  276. So there's some things that we have to walk through so that He

  277. can strengthen, confirm us, mature us, and this Word

  278. establish us. Because if you are not

  279. established and rooted in your faith, you're going to fail when

  280. the faith test comes. I don't know.

  281. I don't care if you know how to quote Mark 1123 and 24.

  282. You will fail if these have not been added to your faith.

  283. And nourishing your faith and allowing endurance to grow

  284. within you and perseverance to grow within you and moral

  285. excellence to grow and develop within you.

  286. Come on. And knowledge of God and who He

  287. is, not just what He can give you, but who He is, who He is.

  288. And I'm going to tell you we are going to have to be established

  289. if we are going to remain immovable in the hours that we

  290. are living, OK? And he wants us established.

  291. I said this in every area when you read Second Peter and you

  292. broke. We broke it down in complete

  293. context. He is talking about he wants our

  294. emotions in check and established.

  295. He wants our body in check and established with

  296. self-discipline. We already went through all of

  297. that. He wants what our spirit growing

  298. and strong, all parts of us. He wants this completeness

  299. within us and this is what this scripture actually was talking

  300. about in second Peter. He wants everything in check and

  301. in alignment so that we can actually have reigning faith and

  302. have dominion come on. We're we've got to get dominion

  303. over our emotions. We have to get dominion over our

  304. bodies. We are going to have to get

  305. dominion over our spirit and letting our spirit come on,

  306. continue to flourish and grow and say, I'm going to be, I'm

  307. going to be self disciplined to feed my spirit.

  308. Man, how many people are not even feeding their spirit?

  309. The only food you get is on Sunday and Wednesday.

  310. It's going to take more feeding than that.

  311. Come on, Hallelujah. It's the one food you can eat

  312. and eat. So he wants every area come on

  313. to be in a place that we have full dominion over our life.

  314. Amen. And that we can be people that

  315. are going to be unshakeable and immovable off of our faith when

  316. we're faced with a situation. James chapter 1 Remember, I read

    James 1 chapter mention

  317. this two and four. I just want to read it again.

  318. Be assured the testing of your faith through experience

  319. produces endurance leading to spiritual maturity and inner

  320. peace. And let endurance have its

  321. perfect result. So you see, we can choose not to

  322. let it have its perfect result. Again, we can choose to say this

  323. is too difficult, this is too hard.

  324. I'm not going to walk through this emotionally.

  325. I'm not going to let him, you know, deal with this area in my

  326. life. I'm not going to do you know

  327. what the word says in this situation because don't you know

  328. how bad they've treated me? And do you think they deserve me

  329. to da, da, da, da, da. Come on.

  330. No, in these moments, we have to choose to have moral excellence.

  331. We have to choose to allow him to do whatever he needs to do

  332. within us so that we adjust and we walk it out the way he wants

  333. us to walk it out, and not the way we want to walk it out.

  334. And it's when we do those things, that's when endurance is

  335. getting built. That's when perfecting is

  336. happening. That's when character is being

  337. developed. That's when spiritual maturity

  338. is starting to blossom and flourish within your life.

  339. Let it have its perfect result and do a thorough work, not just

  340. 1/2. See how good I was there?

  341. Not just halfway. Don't let don't do it just

  342. halfway. Let it be thorough.

  343. Come on, let it be thorough. Hallelujah.

  344. So that you may be perfect and completely developed.

  345. Where in your faith so endurance has everything to do with your

  346. faith, not just believe you receive when you pray or my

  347. confessions that I say everyday or come on or how faith comes.

  348. No. What about these, right?

  349. What about these being added to my faith on a daily basis?

  350. Come on. So that it, it can be developed

  351. and what it says. Lacking nothing.

  352. Lacking nothing. Hallelujah.

  353. Do you know that, Jesus? How many of you know he is our

  354. perfect example? He's our perfect example and do

  355. you know he does not expect us to do anything that he himself

  356. has not done. Only thing that we do not have

  357. to do is physically die on a cross.

  358. But we do have to die to ourself and we do have to pick up our

  359. own cross. He did everything else and He

  360. walked it out as a perfect example for us while He was here

  361. in this earth. Yes, this same earth that we are

  362. standing on. Jesus Christ Himself, if you

  363. have not forgotten, was walking on the same earth.

  364. And in Hebrews 12, it shows us an example.

  365. Hebrews 12/2, it says looking away from all that will distract

  366. us. Why is this important?

  367. Because he says, if we're going to add these things to our, our,

  368. our faith, we are going to have to be diligent.

  369. We're going to have to have some discipline.

  370. We're going to have to be diligent.

  371. We're going to have to be intent on doing it.

  372. It's not just going to fall off the tree of salvation, OK?

  373. We're going to have to be diligent, it says.

  374. Looking away from all that will distract us.

  375. Focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is what?

  376. The author and the perfector of what?

  377. Our faith, Our faith, the first incentive for our belief, and

  378. the one who brings our faith to maturity, Who for the joy of

  379. accomplishing the goal set before him, what did he endure?

  380. Did he have to endure some things?

  381. Did he have to have endurance while he was on the earth?

  382. Absolutely. Absolutely.

  383. And He endured and He walked it out and did it on the cross so

  384. that we don't have to. But He did have to endure the

  385. cross and He did it. What did it say for the joy that

  386. was set before him? He was joyous about the fact

  387. that He was getting ready to have to go through an endurance

  388. of the cross because he knew what that would produce, right?

  389. And he knew that he was doing the will of His Father,

  390. disregarding the shame. See, we know that Jesus in that

  391. moment of him having to carry his cross and be stripped and

  392. beaten and punched in the face and his beard ripped out and

  393. blood pouring off his back and and people saying prophecy.

  394. Now who punched you? You think you're the king of,

  395. you know, the Jews, You think you're king.

  396. What do you say now? He had to endure it.

  397. The slander, the physical beatings, all of it.

  398. He endured it so that we could walk into the relationship that

  399. he had for us. So he endured these things,

  400. disregarding the shame, and he sat down at the right hand of

  401. the throne of God, Hallelujah, revealing his deity, His

  402. authority, and the completion of his work.

  403. Abraham, the father of our faith, the father of us all,

  404. what's it say he had to walk through who is another example

  405. of a person that actually lived by faith.

  406. What does it say? In Hebrews chapter 611 and 15,

  407. it says, And we desire that everyone of you do show the same

  408. diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you

  409. be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and

  410. patience inherited the promise. Come on.

  411. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear

  412. by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely

  413. blessing, I will bless thee, and multiply, I will multiply thee.

  414. And so after he had patiently what endured, he obtained the

  415. promise. Endurance has to be solidified

  416. within our walk. If we're going to walk truly by

  417. faith and see the promises of God obtained in our life, it's

  418. going to have to be a part of our faith.

  419. Hallelujah, look what he says in Galatians 6 and 9.

  420. Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good.

  421. For at the proper time we will reap if what we don't give in,

  422. we don't give in. And the only way we're not going

  423. to faint, we're not going to re we we're not going to fail is if

  424. we've allowed endurance to be proven within our walk within

  425. our life, because if we do not, we will, we will back up.

  426. We will shrink back. We will not press through to

  427. receive the promise. We'll give up.

  428. We'll give up on God and we'll give up on ourselves.

  429. Second Timothy chapter 4 and verse 3.

    2 Timothy 4 chapter mention

  430. It says this for the time will come when they will not endure

  431. sound doctrine. And we are living in that time,

  432. we're living in that time, we are living in that time.

  433. People will not endure sound doctrine.

  434. But after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers

  435. having itching ears, meaning they only want to hear the good.

  436. What makes them feel good, their best life now, what helps them

  437. satisfy what they want? And they won't listen to sound

  438. doctrine, which is there is sin. You shouldn't be doing these

  439. types of behavior. Sound doctrine, which is you,

  440. you know, should not marry a man if you're a man and a woman if

  441. you're a woman. And sound doctrine like this is

  442. a man, this is a woman. Sound doctrine like this is

  443. evil. And this is good sound doctrine,

  444. sound doctrine, which is the truth of God's word.

  445. And so he's saying, listen, they're not going to endure

  446. sound doctrine. They're just going to want, why

  447. will they not endure sound doctrine?

  448. Because they have not allowed endurance to even be a part of

  449. their life. Because when times get rough,

  450. tough or hard, what do they do? They run somewhere else that

  451. makes them feel good. They run somewhere else that

  452. makes them feel good, and they want to hear what they want to

  453. hear, so they won't endure sound doctrine.

  454. Second Timothy 4. Look what he says here in Second

    2 Timothy 1 chapter mention

  455. Timothy chapter 1 or chapter 4135.

  456. It says, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of

  457. Jesus Christ, who is the judge of the living and the dead, and

  458. the appearing of His Kingdom. Preach the Word as an official

  459. messenger. Be ready when the time is right

  460. and even when it's not. Keep your sense of urgency.

  461. Whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable,

  462. whether it's convenient or inconvenient, whether welcomed

  463. or unwelcomed. Correct those who error in

  464. doctrine or behavior. Warn those who sin.

  465. Exhort and encourage those who are growing towards spiritual

  466. maturity with inexhaustible patients and faithful teaching.

  467. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound

  468. doctrine and accurate instruction that challenges them

  469. with God's truth. But wanting to have their ears

  470. tickled with something pleasing, they will accumulate for

  471. themselves many teachers, one after another.

  472. They choose to satisfy their own desires and to support their

  473. errors. They hold and will turn their

  474. ears away from the truth and will wander off in myths and man

  475. made fiction and will accept the unacceptable.

  476. But As for you, be clear headed in every situation.

  477. Stay calm and cool and steady. How about consistent Endure

  478. every, every hardship without flinching, do the work of an

  479. evangelist and fulfill the duties of your ministry.

  480. And we know this is Paul talking to Timothy, who was the pastor

  481. of the Ephesus church, the largest church during that time.

  482. So what was he doing? He was warning them.

  483. That there's a day coming, the people aren't going to want to

  484. hear the truth, they're not going to want sound doctrine.

  485. And the reason why they're not going to be able to endure it is

  486. because they've never learned how to endure in their life.

  487. They're not going to be able to endure it.

  488. So he says, warn them if we do not add endurance and

  489. steadfastness to our faith and become established and rooted

  490. and mature, we'll end up being offended at the Word.

  491. And I'm going to read the scriptures in a minute.

  492. If we do not add endurance and steadfastness to our faith and

  493. become established, rooted and mature, we will end up being

  494. offended at the Word. And This is why they don't want

  495. to hear sound doctrine. Look what he says in Mark

    Mark 4 chapter mention

  496. chapter 4. Mark chapter 4, verse 17, it

    Mark 4:17

  497. says, and they had no root in themselves.

  498. They weren't established, they weren't rooted, they weren't

  499. planted because those that are planted in the House of the Lord

  500. will flourish. Why weren't there planted?

  501. Because they were running around, hopping everywhere to

  502. hear what makes them feel good and lets them stay in the place

  503. that they want to stay. So and so endure, but for a time

  504. afterwards, when affliction or what persecution arises for the

  505. word's sake, immediately they are offended.

  506. So the very word of God will offend your life if you are not

  507. willing to allow that word to grow you and will use every

  508. every other thing as a scapegoat because you're surely not going

  509. to say you're offended at the word or God, but you will the

  510. pastor, you will the leader in your area of ministry, You will

  511. the come on the other person that you feel like was rude to

  512. you when you walked in. Look at it, what it says in the

  513. amplified Mark 4/17 it says. And they have no real root in

  514. themselves, so they endure only for a little while.

  515. Then when trouble or persecution comes because of the word,

  516. immediately they are offended and displeased at being

  517. associated even with me, and they stumble and fall away.

  518. A true disciple of Christ who has allowed him to change your

  519. behavior into a godly life. You will encounter persecution

  520. if you never encounter persecution.

  521. I want to really think about whether or not you've really

  522. become the believer and the disciple that he says you should

  523. be, because every single one of us is going to have to stand for

  524. what we believe. And we can't be afraid to say,

  525. no, I don't want that drink. I don't drink.

  526. No, I don't think I'm going to take a drag of that.

  527. No, I don't think I'm going to go to the strip joint with you

  528. tonight like they tried to get my husband to do.

  529. No, I don't think I'm going to read that.

  530. And are, are you doing that or are you just not saying

  531. anything? And, and and so you don't ruffle

  532. feathers with people you are involved with, right.

  533. So it says they're offended at his word, They're offended with

  534. him. What about this one?

  535. You're asking too much of me. God, like Pastor said on Sunday,

  536. that's a hard saying. And what happened the the

  537. disciples, those that were following at the time, all of

  538. them left. And then what did they you going

  539. to go to? It was a hard saying and they

  540. were offended at that, saying nobody wants to use the word

  541. offended because they know that's not a right word to use,

  542. but that's what you are. That's what they were right

  543. offended at the word 2nd Thessalonians 1 and 4.

  544. It says this so that we ourselves glory in you and in

  545. the churches of God, your patience and faith in all of

  546. your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.

  547. This was Paul praying for the Thessalonikis right Church, the

  548. Thessalonian church and he said what he said that I'm so excited

  549. that we can see what your patience and faith in all the

  550. persecution and tribulations that ye endure that ye endure.

  551. Endurance is a part of our walk with Christ that must be in

  552. developed. Now look at this in Second

    2 Thessalonians 1:3

  553. Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 3 and four in the amplified.

  554. It says we ought to always indeed are morally obligated as

  555. those in debt to give thanks to God for you, brothers and

  556. sisters, as it is fitting because your faith is growing

  557. even greater and the unselfish love of each one of you towards

  558. one another is continually increasing.

  559. Therefore, we speak of you with pride among the churches of God

  560. for your steadfastness, your unflinching endurance.

  561. There's that word unflinching endurance and patience and your

  562. firm faith in the midst of all the persecution and what

  563. crushing distress which you endured and endure.

  564. So our faith must have endurance included in it so that it can

  565. grow and become, what did he say?

  566. Greater and increasing, growing, OK.

  567. And when you get in situations and circumstances, it's not to,

  568. you know, you know, keep you from being able to receive the

  569. things that God has said that you can receive.

  570. No, when you get in this situations, you have to realize,

  571. I'm going to have to endure. I'm going to have to be patient.

  572. I'm going to have to persevere and be steadfast and just keep

  573. moving forward, put 1 foot in front of the other so that I can

  574. overcome this and actually walk through it so that my faith can

  575. actually grow and increase. Because every time you win a

  576. faith battle, come on, it grows. Your faith grows.

  577. It grows. Your faith grows stronger and

  578. stronger. OK, Look at Mark 13 and 13.

  579. We're closing down. It says this.

  580. And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

  581. Well, that's lovely. Are you OK with people hating

  582. you? I mean, we have a whole page of

  583. hate on social media. Are you OK with that?

  584. Right, he says, You will be hated of all men for my

  585. namesake, but he that shall endure until the end, the same

  586. shall be saved. You have to outlast it.

  587. You have to outlast the trial. You have to outlast, come on,

  588. the circumstance that's trying to keep you from pressing

  589. through and walking through. Come on into the other side.

  590. You have to learn how to endure it so that we can get to the end

  591. of it. Let me read that out of the

  592. amplified. You will be hated by everyone

  593. because of your association with me and my name, but the one who

  594. will patiently persevere, empowered by the Holy Spirit

  595. will endure to the end. Come on, and we'll be safe.

  596. See again, it's not by our willpower.

  597. It's not by us saying, well, I'm, you know, sitting down on

  598. the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside.

  599. No, the only one standing up on the inside is the Holy Ghost

  600. inside of me. Come on.

  601. Empowering us to be able to endure through the process.

  602. Amen. You can't do it in yourself.

  603. And when you try to do it in yourself, you mess it up and

  604. everything up. So we must be people that have

  605. allowed this endurance to have it's perfect work within our

  606. life. So that I'm telling you our

  607. faith will be nourished and it will be supplied in the midst of

  608. you walking through whatever it is that battle, that situation,

  609. that storm. Come on, that financial crisis

  610. when everything's telling you you're going to go bankrupt?

  611. No, my faith is going to endure. You know why?

  612. Because I am in covenant with Almighty God.

  613. Because I am a faithful tither. Because I am a faithful giver.

  614. Come on. Because I am a faithful servant

  615. of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am going to see this financial

  616. circumstance turn around for my favor.

  617. Glory to God, and I'm going to come out on the other side.

  618. That's what we call enduring faith, not crumbling, crushing,

  619. you know, trying to figure out how you're going to make it.

  620. No, this is what God said, that if I sow my seed, come on, that

  621. if I sow my seed, oh, that he would multiply it some 3060 and

  622. a hundredfold. So that's what you have to do

  623. when you get into situations. But if you've not ever allowed

  624. yourself to go through some perseverance in a trial and

  625. you've worked it out on your own and you've done and, and, and

  626. here you are faced with it again, listen, you're going to

  627. be faced with it again and again and again and again until you

  628. let him have his thorough work in you.

  629. And he's saying, listen, those who endure till the end are the

  630. ones that are going to be making it because we know the

  631. Scripture, many are going to fall away in the end, fall away

  632. from the faith, not the ones that aren't saved.

  633. No, those that are of the faith, many are going to fall away from

  634. the faith in the end. And I guarantee you it's because

  635. these qualities have not been developed in their faith.

  636. They've not learned how to persevere.

  637. They've not learned how to endure Hallelujah.

  638. They did not have consistent faith.

  639. You see them when things are going really bad in church.

  640. And then when things start going better, they go out.

  641. They get out of church. You don't see them again.

  642. Come on. I mean, doesn't take a, you

  643. know, rocket science to figure these things out.

  644. When all hell breaks loose, they run to the church.

  645. Well, I got to got to do this. I got to tithe again.

  646. I got to do this. I got to do that.

  647. And then thank God turns it around because he's a merciful

  648. God. He's a loving God.

  649. He's a patient God. He's a long-suffering God.

  650. No, what he wants is consistency, and when you learn

  651. how to be consistent in the things that he said for us to

  652. do, you'll see that perseverance grow, you'll see that endurance

  653. grow within your life, and you'll see your faith being

  654. nourished and supplied. Hallelujah.