A Call To Persevere Sermon & Notes

A Call to Persevere

“keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” (Jude 21, ESV)

1. We must remember what the Word says. The way we do that is by practicing what the Word says.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25, ESV)

“that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,” (2 Peter 3:2, ESV)

2. The believers could not “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” unless they were able to discern genuine faith from counterfeits.

“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.” (Revelation 2:2, ESV)
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13, ESV)

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,” (Philippians 1:9, ESV)
“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14, ESV)

3. Paul spoke of his fear that the Corinthians would be led astray because of their lack of discernment and tolerance of error.

” I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.“ (2 Corinthians 11:1-4, ESV)

” Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” (1 John 4:1-3, ESV)

4. What are we to remember? What they said to us.
“knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” (2 Peter 3:3, ESV)

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 3:12-4:4, ESV)

5. These scoffers cause divisions, and are worldly people (those trying to bring the world in) and are devoid of the spirit.
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:9, ESV)

“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:” (Philippians 3:2-4, ESV)

6. We are to build ourselves “up in our most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.”
” Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7, ESV)

“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,”
(Ephesians 6:18, ESV)
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
(Romans 8:26, ESV)

7. Keep yourselves in the love of God. How do we do this – BY GRACE!

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14, ESV)
“And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.” (Acts 13:43, ESV)

8. Waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

“waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:13, ESV)
“waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (2 Peter 3:12, ESV)

9. Have mercy on those who doubt – save others by snatching them out of the fire – to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

““I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.” (Amos 4:11, ESV)
“And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”” (Zechariah 3:2, ESV)

“If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:15, ESV)
” Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.” (2 Corinthians 5:11, ESV)

“If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:15, ESV)

10. Knowing the truth that we know we are to discern false teaching and correct those who are following it.
” Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.” (2 Corinthians 5:11, ESV)

Spurgeon Quotes on Perseverance

“The saints prove their conversion by their perseverance, and that perseverance

comes from a continual supply of divine grace to their souls.” CHS

“Final perseverance is the necessary evidence of genuine conversion” CHS

“We believe in the perseverance of the saints, but many are not saints, and therefore

do not persevere. Nominal saints exhibit no final perseverance” CHS

“Temporary Christians are no Christians: only the believer who continues to believe

will enter heaven” CHS

“But some, who do run well at first, have hardly breath enough to keep the pace up, and

so turn aside for a little comfortable ease, and do not get into the road again. Such

are not genuine Christians; they are only men-made, self-made Christians; and these

self-made Christians never hold on, and never can hold on, because time wears them

out, and they turn back to their former state” CHS

“Christian, it is not with you that you may persevere or not—it is not an optional

blessing—you must persevere, or else all you have ever known and felt will be good

for nothing to you. You must hold on your way if you are ultimately to be saved” CHS

“They start fairly, but the taste of the garlic and the onions lingers in their mouth,

and holds their minds by Egypt’s fleshpots still. Like the planets, they are affected by

two impulses: one would draw them to heaven, but another would drive them off at a

tangent to the world; and so they revolve, like the mill-horse, without making

progress; continuing still nominally to fear the Lord, and yet to serve other gods

practically and in their hearts. Beware, dear friends, of the call which makes you set

out, but does not lead you to hold out. Pray that this text may be true to you, “They

went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and to the land of Canaan they came” CHS

“Conversion is a turning into the right road; the next thing is to walk in it. The daily

going on in that road is as essential as the first starting if you would reach the

desired end. To strike the first blow is not all the battle; to him that overcometh the

crown is promised. To start in the race is nothing, many have done that who have

failed; but to hold out till you reach the winning post is the great point of the matter.

Perseverance is as necessary to a man’s salvation as conversion” CHS

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