Perseverance (The Key To Finishing Well)

You're listening to the Cross Kingdom Sermon of the Week.

We helped you enjoyed this message from Justin Carpenter. All right,

y'all can give in the back with that handsome tall

man of wisdom back there where it says Cross Kingdom Vision.

He is between the boxes, or you can give online

or give through the app. And all right, who brought food? Wow,

that's better than I thought it would be. I'm very impressed.

Lisa was asking me how many pizzas I thought we

should order for the kids. She's like six. I said,

probably ought to make it twelve, so we shall see.

And I don't. Yeah, I don't think that was quite so.

Oh uh oh, or see that you see that, buddy.

I don't want to I do want to say something

on a serious note. And if you don't, I mean,

as much as I love using my iPads and all

of that too for my outlines and stuff, I want

to encourage you, if you do not have paper bibles,

to get some, I want to encourage you to stock

up on them. I want to say something about suddenly's

that are ahead of us, just like COVID took most

of the world by surprise, except for those who planned it.

That may give me a flag, but there are suddenlies

ahead of us that are going to come suddenly, and

with those suddenlyies, you don't want to be on the

other side of something unprepared. My heart for us is

that just like the sons of Isakarn, we understand the

times and seasons that we live in. We are in

the beginnings of what I believe will be the greatest

move of God we've ever seen. It was interesting a

couple days ago, actually a few days ago, John Thomas

reposted John Paul's vision from nineteen eighty six about the bleachers.

John Paul had a heavenly encounter and they're ministers on

the first row, and there were ministers on the third row. Anyways,

I can't remember all the details, but there was a

fourth row that was empty, and all the first row

ministers came in and an angel came into the room

with this, you know, crazy hair and fiery blue eyes

and proceeded to let them know that Romans, specifically Romans

chapter four, was a key to the next move of God,

and many of these ministers on the front row had

already violated Romans four. And he said some of you

are going to lose your ministry from it, and some

of you will end up dying early because of violating it.

And then there was another row of ministers. Some of

them he didn't recognize, most of them, he said, he said,

he did not recognize. In fact, he saw RT. Kendall.

For those of you who know are RT Kendall. RT

is about eighty six or eighty seven years old right now.

RT in this in this vision, was one of the

ministers that were going to be catapulted to the fourth row,

of which no one has stood since the Book of Acts.

And specifically, the angel said in a time that you

don't suspect that's gonna happen. I also remember John Paul

prophesying over not me hearing it personally, but the stories

of it, that RT would live to a ripe old age.

But folks, eighty eight, that's a that's getting it right.

Let's getting to good age. And they just recently reposted

that and talked about that on a live stream because

they felt like it was time to get that in

front of everyone again. And then there was this other minister.

I don't know who he is personally, but he had

an encounter in Houston, I think in twenty twenty three,

and the Lord spoke to him. And I can count

on one hand how many prophetic voices I trust, and

this guy's encounter with the Lord seemed to be pretty legit.

But I say all this to say time is short.

I'm not saying the rapture if you believe in the

literal pre trip rapture. I'm not saying the rapture is

happening tomorrow, but one of these days, in a moment

that you think not, Jesus will return. And whether or

not it honestly doesn't matter what your end time's perspective is,

as long as you believe he's returning. Are you with me?

That's why we don't get into big fights about pre trib,

mid trib, post trib, pre wrath, rapture, pre millennial, millennial,

post millennial. Am I not impressing you with all these

big theological terms. All I care about is that one

day Jesus is gonna take his big, massive godfoot and

put it down on the Mount of Olives. And when

that happens, you don't want to be in regret. You

don't want to stand before him and wished that you

had sucked it up and took up your cross and

followed him fully, because then there's there is no turning back.

There is no rein carnation, thank God. But I can't

think of a time where perseverance couldn't be more of

a key. People are getting jaded, Exposures are happening all

over the place. Last week Chris Reid resigned for Morning

Star Rick Joyner's ministry, and anything that can be shaken

as being shaken my schedule. So y'all don't get mad

at me if you call the office. I am booking

in January of twenty twenty five because lots of things

are shaking now. I also want to give you a caveat.

Please don't wait on me. We have a whole team

if you need ministry and you're hurting. They got the

same Holy spirit in them that I do. There ain't

I didn't get some special order or something. Sometimes I

wonder if my angels are asking for reassignment. But that

this is the side of the room that always keeps

me humble and my wife is you know, of course.

But I just want to talk to you for the

little bit that I have left here before we celebrate

you stinkers about perseverance because it is the key to

finishing well. Do not allow the Lord's pruning of his

elders to get you jaded to walk away from church.

Don't put your eyes on man, put your eyes on Jesus.

Don't you take a human being and put them on

some pedestal they don't belong. Paul said, follow me as

I follow Jesus. He didn't say follow me because he

was the shindig or Yeah, I was not gonna say

anything differently. I just wasn't sure. I had to rethink

of what I just said to make sure it fit.

For those of you that keep score. Like Kaylen Mills

used to have a book on words I made up

that he said weren't words. I'm like whatever, It's a

sign of creativity and intelligence. People. The definition of endurance

is the power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process

or situation without giving away. Let me reread that for

some of you back with my glasses on the definition

of endurance is the power of enduring an unpleasant or

difficult process or situation without giving way. Perseverance's steadfastness and

doing something despite difficulty or delay, and achieving success the

motive of your heart will be exposed in the process

of your pursuit of your goal. So, whatever your goal is,

whatever you're trying to achieve, the motive of your heart

will be tested and exposed in that process. Last week,

remember we talked about servanthood leadership, and we talked about

all different characteristics of what servanthood leadership look like. That

nineteen percent of the population were takers and fifty six

percent were matchers or exchangers in the twenty one percent

were givers, and that even though that guy said get

rid of all the takers from your organization because they're toxic,

it was not a kingdom perspective, right, And we talked

about how we want to see people go from takers

to servants. We want to see people go from matchers

I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine, to servants.

We want a culture where we actually outdo each other

with honor. We want a culture where we don't allow

the enemy to rent space in our minds. We don't

finish conversations with others that we didn't have. Are y'all

with me Hebrew six for God is not unjust, so

as to overlook your work and the love that you

have shown for His name in serving the saints, as

you still do, and we desire each of you to

show the same earnestness, to have the full assurance of

hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish,

be imitators of those who, through faith and patient inherit

the promises for God is not unjust so as to

overlook your work and the love that you have shown

for His name in serving the saints. I want to

say something that in your service, wherever you have been

given influence in favor with God and Man, your motives

will smack you in the face because if you're doing

it for man and you don't get their applause, you're

going to get your little heart hurt. And I don't

mean that big heart, big heart hurt. But if you're

doing everything unto the Lord and not unto man, then

it doesn't matter if you get the applause of man.

If you live for their applause, you're going to die

by their criticism. And it's just another proof that your

identity needs adjusting because you're looking to man for value

and for identity. In the moment you empower them to

tell you who you are. You're empowering them to tell

you who you're not. And only Jesus reserves that right.

Y'all with me Galatians six ' nine, let us not

grow weary of doing good, for in due season we

will reap if we do not give up. If you

don't like your harvest, change your seed, and it's your seed,

it's not somebody else's seeds. You're not a victim. You

can't blame them for all the seeds you've sown. And

when that harvest comes and smacks you in the lap,

you have to take responsibility as an individual for that harvest.

So this victimhood culture crap in America has to die,

at least in the church, because God didn't create victims.

He created sons and daughters that are overcomers. Not that

we can't be victimized, because people are victimized, but that's

not your identity. If you wear that as your identity,

you will stay stuck permanently for the rest of your

life because if you're in victimhood, then you refuse to

take responsibility. And if you refuse to take responsibility, that

means you're not going to take ownership of the pain

that's in your heart. You're not going to take responsibility

for the belief system that you have, which means getting

read of the lies and exchange for truth so you

can walk in freedom. Matthew five forty three to forty eight.

You have heard that it was said you shall love

your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you,

love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you, so

that you may be sons of your father who's in heaven.

For he makes the son rise on the evil and

on the good, and sends rain on the just and

the unjust. For if you love those who love you,

what reward do you have? Do not even the tax

collectors do the same. I don't know about the irs,

but I better be careful. We're gonna get some red.

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are

you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do

the same. You, therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly

father is perfect. Every time I am tempted to feel

sorry for myself, which happened this week for a little bit.

For a little bit, but there was another one in

the room that helped me recognize in case I wasn't

hearing Holy Spirit loud enough. I had help you ever

see my little helper and he's driving, He's like, never mind, Okay,

that'll be taken wrong and get me in trouble. But

I am growing in the skill set of when I

start to feel sorry for myself, moving straight in, not

leaving that place until my mood, my mindset, in my

alignment shifts back to where it needs to be. We've

been given the mind of Christ. Y'all, you have been

set free from sin, death and the power of sin.

You understand that we no longer can say that we're

a slave's de sin. Now you can you can become

a slave to sin. But you have been fret You've

been fret free. You have been set free from sin.

So that means when we sin, we are willfully going

after sin. And the only way you break that sinful

cycle is if you actually think about your thinking and go,

what do I believe this is doing for me? Because

you believe it's doing something for you, And the only

way you live to transform life is to deal with

the lies. It says. You've been given the mind of Christ.

That says that we have a new conscience, which is

righteousness based no longer sin, guilt and condemnation. We don't

have to carry the effects of sin, according to Hebrews,

because we have been forgiven. Jesus is our guilt offering.

He paid it all, He paid everything. And the difference

between conviction and guilt, or I should say the difference

between condemnation and conviction, is that when God corrects you,

you always have hope in the process. But when the

enemy heaps condemnation on you, there is no hope. And

many times we mistake the two. We're so used to

being judged and condemned and feeling bad that we don't

understand the difference between the two voices Matthew twenty four

to twelve. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love

of many will grow cold. So is lawlessness increasing? Right now?

Are we calling evil good and good evil? I mean

it's in the y'all. Look look at around the body

of Christ as a whole, not our little pocket, but

look at the big picture of the body of Christ.

Look at I mean, look at the shakings that are

happening in the different denominations, and the war over righteousness

and unrighteousness in the Church, and it says that in

the last days, they won't hold the sound doctrine, but

they'll give way the itchy ears. They'll actually embrace doctrines

of demons. So what is that telling you. That's telling

you that there are ministers that are listening to demons

and then teaching their teachings. But if you're not careful,

if you focus on lawlessness and the increasing multiplication of

lawlessness with people, you're gonna lose your love and your

heart's gonna grow cold, and your heart's gonna grow cold

because you don't want to deal with the pain of that.

So you shut down thinking you're gonna protect yourself, and

then on the other side of it, you actually become

a part of the problem rather than the solution. Because again,

who are you serving, Why are you serving? Who are

you hoping? Seese you, there are days I want to

go on a six months sabbatical and not be seen

by anyone who shall separate us from the love of Christ,

shall tribulation or distress, or persecution or famine or nakedness

or danger or sword. You understand, when Jesus was in

the garden and he's praying, and he's literally sweating drops

of blood. We also read that it says for the

joy set before him, he endured the sufferings of the cross.

What's before us? What's before you? What do you believe

you've been called to by the Lord? Do you think

you're gonna achieve it easy? There's always gonna be giants

in your promised land, and God put him there. He

left giants in the land to test Israel. So how

are you gonna look at him? Are you gonna let

go of your perseverance? Are you gonna have the mindset

like David, who's this uncircumcised philistine? Noah? Or are you

going to have the report that the spies did. We're grasshoppers,

We're little grasshoppers. The reality they did look like grasshoppers

if you do your homework on the Nephilum and the

reality of that history. They have found skeletons thirty feet

tall with six fingers and six toes. Talk about Jack

and the Beanstalk and David. David was more than likely

a very short man, right, No, I'm not being funny.

I mean, like most men were people. People were a

lot shorter than I mean, they were a little shorter

than me probably, But remember that remember that teaching. Remember

when I had Goliath back there. He's actually in there

in the closet and the poster board that Diana made,

and he was nine foot six and he was little

compared to other ones. You understand, there's giants that you

got to face in your life. And just like seven

of them, three of them you can take out. God

told Israel that you can take three of them out.

But there are seven greater and mightier than you. In

a part for me, you can't take them out. And

it's in the process of dealing with those seven that

you come to the end of yourself. You go from

the dark night of the soul to the dark knight

of the spirit, which you should never leave, because that's

the reality of You've done everything you can, and if

he doesn't show up, nothing happens Philippians one six. And

I am sure of this that he who began a

good work in you will bring it to completion at

the day of Jesus Christ. So how long you under

construction for look through your spouse and say, hold on, honey,

it's gonna get better. I look way better in the future.

Here's another definition of perseverance. Continued effort to do or

achieve something despite difficulties, failure or opposition the action or condition,

or an instance of perseverance, hearing, steadfastness. How many of

us give up right before the breakthrough because all of

a sudden we're convinced that the pain that we're going

through in that moment is greater than the reward on

the other side, and then we throw away our hope

many times right before the breakthrough. Here's an example. Two

thousand and one, I was a relief district manager for

the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado. They were going

through a merger with the Denver Post. My boss did

not like me. I know it's hard to believe, but

he did not like me because I found out later

he didn't have a choice in hiring me because let's

say I was connected now. But on a serious note,

he started to come at me, and I got so

frustrated that I walked out. I had a pattern of

walking out when we first got married, which for young couples,

that's not healthy for your marriage if you're wondering. And

then I found out weeks later that they were about

to offer a six month severance package of your salary

to those that didn't want to continue to go through

the merger. If I would have disciplined my disappointment and frustration,

I literally three months less than three months later, could

have walked away with twenty some thousand in my pocket.

There's an example of just short of the breakthrough, but

my lack of character cost me. Just like you're seeing

in the Body of Christ right now, with all these leaders,

they had really big gifts, but they didn't have as

much character unfortunately, and their gift took them straight to

the scene of the crash because they didn't have the

character to keep them there. I didn't say being a character.

I said character, and I will never apologize. Even even

in our courses we've I've got like seven courses on

different subjects. In every single course, I hammer home character, character, character,

because character is way more important than the gift that

he gave you. Do you understand he doesn't. He's not

impressed with your gift. He's not impressed with your skill

sets that you've created. Right, he gave you those gifts.

His breath is in you. Our bodies are made from

the dirt, the dust of the earth. So he's not

nearly as impressed with us as we are ourselves at times. Yeah,

but he gives grace to the humble, but opposes the proud. Y'all,

haven't fun yet. I am Habacchic two one to four.

I will take my stand at my watch post. Isn't

that awesome? Susan did an amazing job on that. I

will take my stand on my watch post and station

myself on the tower and look on to see what

he will say to me. And I will answer concerning

my complaint. See, even Habakik had complaints, and the Lord

answered me. Write the vision, Make it plain on tablet,

so he may run who reads it. For still the

vision awaits its appointed time. It hastens to the end.

It will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it, perseverance,

It will surely come. It will not delay. Behold, his

soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him.

But the righteous shall live by faith. It is your

ruthless trust in the midst of adversity, in the midst

of the impossible. It's that crazy, ruthless trust, that faith

that you refuse to let go of, which is the

bridge that takes you to the other side of breakthrough.

Everything you need is in him. Every one of his

names addresses the things that you need in this life.

But if he's the healer, you don't need him to

manifest as Jehovah rafa you. We don't need healing. See,

we want to see his names displayed in other people's lives,

but we don't want the problems ourselves. Therefore, since we

are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let

us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings

so closely, and let us run with endurance the race

that is set before us, looking to Jesus, not leaders,

to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who

for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross,

despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand

of the throne of God. There's a cloud of witnesses.

They're not up there playing the harp sitting on a cloud,

you know. They are literally interacting with the interaction of

heaven and earth to see God's kingdom and his will

come to this earth Y'all time is running short, and

Jesus said, watch and pray, Watch and pray. When I come,

will I find faith? Watch and pray the disciples watch

and pray over and over. There's this theme, and he says,

will I find faith? He talks about the parable of

the virgins and that they're missing oil in their lamps.

This is not the time to be asleep in the church.

This is not the hour to close your eyes and

turn your head away, and to turn away from the

poor and the widow and those that are being persecuted.

Because when you do that, you're creating a harvest that

you're not gonna like on the other side of it.

Look at all the scriptures just about the poor, exploiting

the poor, overlooking the poor, not taking care of the poor.

And God steps in, and when he steps in is

not always really nice. Because he takes care. It says

a smoldering wick. He will not put out. He's close

to the broken hearted. Jesus does not care about the

American dream. He cares about his dream with you. Yeah,

Without deep roots, we will always fall away when tribulation

or testing comes. The roots represent your character, which has

developed through maturity. Love endures with patience and sincerity. Love

is kind and thoughtful. It's not jealous or envious. Love

does not brag, is not proud or arrogant. It is

not rude, It is not self seeking. It is not provoked,

nor overly sensitive and eagerly angered. It does not taken

to account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice that injustice,

but rejoices with the truth when right and truth prevail.

Love bears all things, regardless of what comes, believes all things,

looking for the best, and each one hopes all things,

remaining steadfast during difficult times. Endure endures all things without weakening.

Love never fails. It never fades nor ends. But as

for prophecies, they will pass away. As for tongues, they

will cease. As for the gift of special knowledge, it

will pass away. Your gifts are here now on planet Earth,

given to each of you as the Holy Spirit sees fit.

And these gifts are designed to destroy the works of

the evil one. But they don't destroy the works of

the evil one if you can eat them packed up

in your purser wallet and never use them. The kingdom

is not a spectator sport. We're all on one team

Ephesians four to four. One faith, one Lord. There's one body,

one faith, one Lord, one father. So that means when

somebody else is in the ditch, that's part of your body.

I don't care what labels on them have their baptikostal, Baptist,

baptis costals where a Baptist gets the baptism. I was

I'm a baptis costal because I got the baptism and

I was Baptist. Not as good as the other one. Huh,

I'm looking for I'm looking for the judges on my

dad jokes. I didn't like that one as much. All right,

hang in there, y'all, I'm landing the plane. Prayer and

supplication brings strength to the body to contend for breakthrough.

Our prayers justify God to move on our behalf of others,

and brings agreement between heaven and Earth Ephesian six't eighteen.

Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer

and supplication to that end, keep alert with all perseverance,

making supplication for all the saints. Number three Endurance assures

the victory. What does y'all? It's rigged. We already won.

If you don't quit, you win. It's not like you're

trying to get breakthrough. You're not fighting from defeat. You're

not fighting from defeat. You may feel defeated, but you're not.

That's the warfare in your mind. That's the enemy telling

you defeated because he wants you to quit and then

give up your authority. Y'all understand the whole reasons, Well,

one of the many reasons, but one of the primary

reasons demons go after people is because who has authority

over the earth. Yeah, that authority was returned back to

us in Christ. Why do you think they're trying to

jack with you? Because they want to misuse your authority

through deception. The moment you agree, through deception, they can

twist your authority that you have over this earth. They

don't have authority, they have power. They were stripped of

authority at the Cross. All right, last point, well close,

I got four minutes, y'all, I'm using them. Second, Thessalonians

three thirteen, ask for you brothers, do not grow weary

and doing good. Remember back in the very beginning when

I read Hebrews, it says he's not going to forget

the work you've done, the way you've served. It's not forgotten,

regardless of what you think in your mind. And Isaiah

forty thirty one, but wait for the Lord shall renew

their strength. They will mine up with wings like an eagle.

They will what not grow weary, They will walk and

not faint. I was cleaning the pool yesterday, which that

water has gotten a tad bit chillier because of the weather.

But I was cleaning the pool and then I sat

down in the chair outside the pool the warm back

up and the sun, and I was praying, and I

was just wrestling to break through internally. And I prayed

something very specifically. I don't know that I've ever asked

the Lord for specifically in that way, and it brought

the breakthrough. I couldn't figure out where I was stuck

at exactly, but I was heavy hearted, and I said,

Holy Spirit, will you intercede for me? In the moment,

I said, Holy Spirit, will you just intercede for me

in Jesus' name? Because remember he's interceding for us. Jesus

is interceding. So it's like stereo, y'all. The Holy Spirit

and the Sun are both interceding for us. Sometimes when

I'm stuck, I just start praying in the Spirit because

it says, you're what praying mysteries, you're edifying your spirit. Man,

there's a reason he's in you. The Holy Spirit's not

just a impersonal power. He is God. There's a little

reverberation after that one. Do you not know that in

a race, all the runners run, but only one receives

the prize. So run that you may obtain it first

Corinthians nine twenty four four. Weight and sin aren't the same. Again, Therefore,

since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us also lay aside every weight and sin which

clings so closely. The Greek word for weight in that

scripture is o gos. And if there's any Greek theologians

in here, and I'm butchering the Greek, well I'm not

a Greek theologian. But the word o gos is what

is translated weight. And there's something I've learned through experience

as a burden bearer, which one of the least understood

and used gifts that are mentioned in Firse Corinthians twelve

is actually discerning his spirits. Burden bearing is a realm

of that gifting. So if you find yourself extremely sensitive

to people like what they're carrying, you can be in

a great mood. You walk into a place and all

of a sudden you totally shift, and all of a sudden,

you're like, man, what is my problem? More than likely

it's not you. You're picking up on someone else and what

they're carrying. Burden bearing is a very powerful tool in

ministry time, but it is absolutely the realm of that.

But burden bears have a tendency of burden identifying and

then carrying the weight or the burdens of others and

not dumping them off. And burden identifying happens when you

pick up on a burden someone else is carrying that

is familiar to you because you've had the same weakness.

So you have to ask yourself in those moments, Lord,

is this me? Or is this someone else? And then

Galatian six y one, you know, restoration and burden bearing

and all this. We're supposed to burden bear with our spirit,

not our soul, which means we carry that person that's

in pain and hurting, and we carry them to Jesus,

and then we leave that person with Jesus. We don't

fill our spiritual backpack. When you start filling your spiritual backpack.

That is this scripture, let us set aside, lay aside

every weight. I have found that it can also be

a spirit oh goss, and it will wrap around you

burden bearers like a ton of weight. And when you

get free of that weight, when you choose not to

carry it most of the time. And I've seen this

on more than one occasion through doing deliverance with that,

it'll feel like it spun off of you, like a

spin top like that. And and then all of a sudden,

oh you're light. For those of you that have ever

gotten breakthrough in your quiet time with the Lord healing

or with prayer ministry account, do you ever notice how

much lighter your back gets and your shoulders get all

of a sudden You're like, oh my word, I feel

like a ton of weights off of me. Take my

yoke because it's easy, my burden, because it's light. That's

what Jesus said. So the moment you're feeling a heavy

weight which is designed to kill your endurance, which will

take you out with perseverance, you already know that you're

not staying yoked to the Lord. You're carrying false responsibility

and trying to fix things in your own soul's strength.

Does that make any sense? Okay, I'm past my time.

Let me finish with one happy point are you all ready?

Joy brings strength to preserve to the end. THAT'SO point

five of your taking notes. Joy brings strength to preserve

to the end. Hebrews twelve two. Looking to Jesus, the

founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy

that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame,

and a seated of the right hand of the throne

of God. So I have a question, if Jesus can

have joy in the midst of going to the cross

and literally bearing the weight and sin of the world.

Can you have joy in the midst of your circumstances.

Can you have joy in the midst of what you're

facing right now? Or is it bigger than the cross? Okay,

let's stand. It should be unmuted. If I can get

the pair of team up. And then after we finished praying,

and for those of you that are helping with tables

and all that awesome, thank you. I remember the old

days when I was the help. So Father, I just

pray Lord that we would not grow weary and doing good.

And Lord, in the areas of our lives that we

are sowing the wrong seeds, Holy Spirit, would you highlight

those areas of our lives right now, Lord, I thank

you for the grace, walk with you. Whatd I thank you,

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