My Second Sermon @ Faith Lutheran

God Never Stops Persevering for You!
20th Sunday After Pentecost
Preached at: Faith Lutheran Church Bay City, MI on October 2nd & 3rd
Sermon Text: Philippians 3:12-14

1. God never stops persevering for you. This message is so true. In the Bible readings for today we’ve heard how hard our Lord seeks to save us from our state of sin and death. In fact, the apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians 3:12-14 speaks about how we as Christians are enabled to persevere: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind me and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Ask yourself this question. How hard is it for you to forget what you have done wrong in the past? I know for me it has been difficult at times to persevere when I have failed so many times before. But, that doesn’t mean that we’re only called to forget the past mistakes we’ve made against God. Paul is also telling us to continue on in the race of life. He’s urging all of us, as well as himself to continue to look heavenward to Christ as the source and goal of our faith. The hope that we have in Him makes the struggle of this life easier to handle, even when life is good. God never stops persevering for you.

2. When I read this letter from Paul I began to think about my Cross Country and Track career that I had at Concordia University St. Paul, MN. There were many times when I felt like quitting when the practices and training felt too hard to handle. On the days I had to run 5-1000 meter repeats or 20-400 meter repeats I felt like giving up. There were also those long runs that we had to endure in cross country that seemed endless—10-12 miles of runnuing at once was crazy to me at first. But, it was worth it. God helped me through those tough practices and made me stronger because of it. Today I can reflect back on the many memories I have from college track and cross and country and see that through those tough experiences I am able to face the difficult challenges that life places before me now. It’s through perseverance that God disciplines us to serve Him. I thank God that He gave me that experiences even though it was difficult to balance studying for classes, going to Track and Cross Country practice and having personal relaxation time. But God enabled me to “press on” through it. God enables us through the power of His Holy Spirit to persevere even through the most difficult situations.

3. In spite of our failures and sins God continues to “press on” for us. The Apostle Paul even says that we’re enabled to persevere because Jesus Himself has taken hold of each and every one of us through the sacrifice that He made us on the cross. We’re called to follow Paul’s example to continue on in our faith as we follow Pastor Meckes’ example and of others in the faith who model for us how to lead a godly Christian life. Even when we’re going through a difficult time in our lives God is still there enabling us to persevere. He’ll never allow you to go through anything that will be too difficult for you to bear as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:13: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God will enable you to persevere through any situation no matter how hard or difficult it may seem! God never stops persevering for you.

4. Perseverance. That word can be hard to envision sometimes, especially when we’re going through a tough time in our lives. But, it’s important to remember that God will go above and beyond the call of duty to get us through any difficult situation. This doesn’t mean that if we continue to persevere with God’s help that we’ll receive all the blessings we ask for. Such as a new car or house or that all our problems will be solved. As hurricanes Katrina and Rita have reminded us—sin is apparent in this world and because of it we’ll still have hardships in this life. But Jesus reminds us in His Word that He’ll still be there to comfort us during those hardships. He says in John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This is the hope our faith is built on! He will enable us to get through any difficult situation no matter how hard it may seem. And there is hope in knowing that this world is temporary, but Jesus has overcome it for us. He is our source of perseverance in this life. God never stops persevering for you.

5. Perseverance in this life isn’t easy as I’ve said before and I’m reminded of this fact from the movie Batman Begins. Maybe you’ve seen it this summer? In the movie there’s a scene where Bruce Wayne is a young child. He’s fallen into a well and been surrounded by bats after playing hide and go seek with one of his friends. Bruce’s father hears his cries for help and rescues him. Bruce is obviously scared, but his father asks him this question, “Why do we fall down Bruce?” The future caped crusader answered, “I don’t know.” “So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up again,” his father answered. Just as Bruce’s father picked his son out of the well, so too has our heavenly Father saved us through the power of His Son Jesus Christ. He enables us to continue to move on in the faith and to persevere for Him. Does this mean that we’re moving on in the faith by our own power? No. The Holy Spirit continues to enable us to “press on” through His Word, the sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper that continue to provide for us faith and forgiveness. He even gives us encouragement through the fellowship we have with one another here in this congregation. Remember that God is always there enabling you to persevere in the faith.

6. Listen to this real life story from John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church taken from one of his journals. It illustrates how God enables us to persevere each and every day of our lives.
Sunday A.M., May 5--Preached in St. Ann's; was asked not to come back anymore.
Sunday P.M., May 5--Preached at St. John's; deacons said, "Get out and stay out."
Sunday A.M., May 12--Preached at St. Jude's; can't go back there either.
Sunday P.M., May 12--Preached at St. George's; kicked out again.
Sunday A.M., May 19--Preached at St. Somebody Else's; deacons called special meeting and said I couldn't return.
Sunday P.M., May 19--Preached on the street; kicked off the street.
Sunday A.M., May 26--Preached out in a meadow; chased out of meadow when a bull was turned loose during the service.
Sunday A.M., June 2--Preached out at the edge of town; kicked off the highway.
Sunday P.M., June 2--Afternoon service, preached in pasture; 10,000 people came.
We can see in the life of John Wesley that God is enabling us to persevere even when it seems that our life is a complete failure. However, when success does arrive that doesn’t mean that we’re to stop what we’re doing and bask in the glory of it. No. The apostle Paul has reminded us in Philippians that we’re to continue to strive towards the goal of our faith. To strive towards heaven through the Holy Spirit’s power and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who awaits us there. Jesus is the center of our faith who enables us to continue to persevere!

7. As James 1:4 says, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” The faith we receive from God through His Word and the Sacraments continues to work within us. Through this faith we’re enabled to persevere in so many ways. It may be overcoming an addiction that you’ve been battling for a long time. Maybe it’s being able to get along with a co-worker that has given you a lot of trouble over the years. Or it could be the extra strength God gives to you to raise your kids up the right way. Whatever the trial or conflict you may be facing in life, God will enable you to persevere through it. God never stops persevering for you.

8. We as a body of believers here at Faith Lutheran Church & School are striving to persevere toward a goal that God has set before us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we know that God wants us to continue as His children of God to serve one another here in our own congregation and community. That’s exactly what we’re doing through our Ministry Readiness Study. We’re trying to “press on” with God’s help. To provide better worship. Better classrooms and meeting environments for visitors that are coming to our church, whether for school or personal needs. Larger offices and other badly needed building updates that are needed for our facility. We’re doing all this so that we may be better equipped to serve the community that surrounds us. It’s through all of this that God is enabling us to reflect upon what we’ve done in our ministry here at Faith in the past and how we can look forward in faith to the new ministries that Christ has called us to do.

9. So how do we continue to persevere towards the goal God has given to us? Much in the same way that an athlete goes through intense physical training so too our Lord wants us to go through training spiritually through the reading and hearing of His Word so that we may be prepared for the trials this life brings to us. In the same way that athletes meet for practice to prepare for a game, God calls us to meet with one another for Bible Study. It is there that we’re enabled to learn about how He wants us to live our lives in service to Him. God also calls us to encourage one another in the faith and carry one another’s burdens. We may do this by meeting together for prayer and fellowship. Worshipping as a body of believers in Christ as we’re doing now will also enable us to serve God in all that we think, say and do. Finally, having personal prayer and devotional time is also important. It is through all of this that we are enabled to keep Jesus first in our lives, who alone is the one who enables us to persevere through each and every trial that life may bring to us. God never stops persevering for you in and through the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! To God alone be the glory! AMEN.

Blessing—May He who is able to keep you from stumbling enable each and everyone of you to persevere and “press on” in the faith that our God in Christ + has given you! AMEN!