Bella Vista Church of Christ

11/17/2019 A.M.

LIVING THE GOOD LIFE

The Spirit Whispers – “You Can Do This”

John 10.10 2 Peter 1.3-11 Galatians 5.22-25 1 John 3.24

We continue our study in pursuit of the Good Life...

Jesus came saying... I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly... Life at its best... Life above the ordinary... The Good Life.

Peter tells us that God has provided us with everything we need for this abundant life.

This life is ours when we add... Faith...Virtue... Knowledge... Temperance... Patience... Perseverance... Godliness... Brotherly Kindness... and Love... To our daily walk...

Doing this Peter says will...

• Make our calling and election sure...

• Make us fruitful and productive in God’s Kingdom...

• And will afford us an entrance into His Eternal Kingdom.

Paul says... The Good Life is God Living In Us... And is a result of our walking in step with the Spirit... And this walk is evident when we produce the fruit of the Spirit daily... Love...Joy... Peace... Patience... Kindness... Goodness... Faithfulness...Gentleness... And self-control.

It was John who wrote... Those who obey His commands live in him... And he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

This Morning... We are adding the can-do attitude of... Patience.

Patience is our hearing the Holy Spirit Whisper... YOU CAN DO THIS!!

Actually... The word Patience... As it is used here... Has no true equivalent in English.

Even though this word appears fourteen times in the Greek Text…

• Twelve times our King James Translators render the word long-suffering...

• Twice patience.

The Greek speaks of the ability to press on... In face of Difficult People and or Difficult circumstances.

In Classical Greek... The word is used to describe oxen plowing a field...

• Regardless of how hard the ground...

• How many stumps or rocks encountered...

• In spite of the inability of the one who is working Him...

• Regardless of the... Sun... Wind... Insects... They just keep-On-Keeping-On…. Kept on truck’in.

It was a regular commercial flight from Portland Maine to Boston as reported in the New York Times on September 4, 1987.

At takeoff the Pilot heard an unusual noise near the rear of the aircraft. Henry Dempsey turned the controls over to his copilot and went back to check out what might have caused the noise.

He quickly discovered that the rear door had not been properly latched prior to takeoff... As He grabbed the latch... The door swung open and Dempsey was instantly sucked out of the plane.

In the cockpit... The copilot seeing the red light indicating the open door...Radioed the nearest airport requesting permission to make an emergency landing.... Reporting that Dempsey had fallen out of the plane... Requesting a helicopter be dispatched to search that area of the ocean.

The plane landed safely... And the ground crew found Henry Dempsey holding onto the outdoor ladder of the aircraft. Miraculously he had caught the ladder and somehow managed to hold on for the Ten Minutes of the ordeal...

• Even though they were flying at 200 miles an hour... At an altitude of 4,000 feet.

• What’s more... Upon landing Dempsey’s head would have been less than 12 inches from the runway.

News reporters said it took several airport personnel more than a few minutes to pry Dempsey’s fingers from the ladder.

A picture of... patience... perseverance... Longsuffering... The abilityto hang on... To endure... When it would have been easier to let go.

Paul says this about our spiritual endurance... We rejoice in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us... Romans 5.3-5.

I think the first point we must settle in our heart this morning is that we all are in need of… Patient Endurance... Perseverance... Long suffering.

In chapter ten... Verse Thirty-six... The Hebrews’ Writer is heard saying... You need PERSEVERANCE... You need PERSEVERANCE... So that when you have done the will of God... You will receive what he has promised.

Christianity is a religion of… Perseverance… Of Keeping-On-Keeping-On.

Every New Testament Book... Every New Testament Writer... Has their own Specific Purpose... Their own Special Message.

The Book of Hebrews has the Spirit of God Whispering... “Don’t Give Up... You can do this.”

Let me ask you if you have ever been tempted to give up... Anybody??

Are you being tempTed or advised to give up... Even today... Then study the Book of Hebrews...Listen church...

• Hear the Spirit whisper “Don’t give up.”

• Hear the Spirit say... It’s always too soon to give up.

The Book of Hebrews was written to give us reasons to keep going when we are weary of the road.

Hebrews was written to people who years previously had accepted Jesus... And Who had withstood an initial wave of brutal persecution.

They were literally ready to die for Christ.

But the goodnews is that they didn’t have to die... The persecution subsided...Things settled down... The Hebrew church became... Safe... Secure... Comfortable... Complacent... Apathetic.

Then… All of a sudden... Their political situation destabilized and persecution returned with a vengeance... Things grew more dangerous by the moment.

This once faithful church... Out of fear... Began to give up.

Here’s what the Writer had to say... Remember... Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Listen church... Regardless of who you are... Regardless of our station in life...There’s gonna come a time when we’ll need... Endurance... Patience... Perseverance... Longsuffering.

OK… How do we do it...

How do we deal with ADVERSITY today??

How do we keep from Giving up when adversity comes

Life is not always easy... So we must embrace our adversity...

We must understand that there is much more character growth in times of adversity than when things are going well... It was that way for the Hebrews’ Church...And its true for us here this morning.

Four Scriptures in affirmation...

James has this to say in James 1.2-4... Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Romans 5.3-5 reads... We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character,

hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

From the lips of Jesus... Let not your heart be troubled... Adversity will come... Let not your heart be troubled... Believe in God... Believe in Me... Here’s the promise... The hope... In My Father’s House are many rooms and I go to prepare one for you... And I will come to take you where I am.

The Good Life looks like this...

• Tribulation produces perseverance...

• Perseverance produces character...

• Character produces hope.

• And Biblical Hope does not disappoint.

The oyster and its pearl is a picture of how this works.

This prompted J. B. Phillips to translate James 1.2-4 like this... When all kinds of trials crowd into your life... Don’t resent them... But welcome them. Realizing that they come to test our endurance. And when the process is fully developed... We become men and women of character.

Here it is church... God wants to use our troubles to develop endurance within us.

Peter puts it in these terms in First Peter 1.6-7... In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold... Even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Adversity will come... There will be obstacles in our path…But the Spirit of God whispers... “You can do this... Don’t give up!”

Secondly...We must make proper use of our crowd of witnesses.

Hebrews chapter eleven is one of the most famous chapters in the Bible... It brings to life some of the greatest people of faith in human history.

Then in chapter twelve we are challenged to allow these men and women to spur us on to greater levels of... Endurance... Persistence... Longsuffering... Therefore... Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Three things we see here...

First... We need to allow these great men and women of faith to witness to us.

We need to let them tell their story again and again and again... Are we reading... Studying... Learning... From these Old Testament narratives?

Paul says this Old Testament material was written for our learning... That we might believe... Everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Second... We must throw off everything and everybody that hinders our progress.

What is it that Satan has placed in your way and mine that keeps us from Keeping-on-keeping-on?

Can I say this and you not become upset with me?... Sometimes what holds us back is a WHO not a WHAT!

• Are there some people we need to jettison from our everyday walk?

• Are there those that are keeping us from excelling in our walk with God?

I’ll bet there are!

Why are we keeping them in our friendship circle?...

Why keep anybody there that challenges our relationship with Jesus?...

That keeps us from wanting to be like Jesus?

Listen...There are people in my friendship circle that could care less if I succeed in my daily walk with God or not.

Then there are others that genuinely care... They’ll do all they can to help me succeed in my walk... My ministry... Regardless of the storm.

Some of us need to thin out those who are a negative influence… AMEN?

Paul encourages us to do just that!!...... Watch the company you keep... Evil company... Evil companions... Corrupts good character... Stunts Christian growth.

Indeed... Sometimes it is not circumstances that cause us to give up... But people.

If it’s a friend that is holding us back... Then we’re paying too much for their friendship.

Third... Leave the sin that so easily entangles us.

Everyone of us has such a sin... Don’t we?...

• Acknowledging the fact is the first step to getting rid of it...

• Denying we have such means we will never rid ourselves of this weakness.

John wrote... If we... Acknowledge... Confess... Our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

The Hebrews Writer is saying genuine Biblical perseverance is cultivated by...

• Our learning from great men of faith...

• Excluding those who influence us wrongly... That hold us back from being what we know we should be...

• And by acknowledging our favorite sin... Dealing with the sin that so easily besets us.

I hope we can hear the whisper of the Spirit on these three points.

We must find our purpose and pursue it... Don’t ever think of giving up

Why are we here and not in Heaven...

Scripture tells us we are here for ministry… good Works

Ephesians 2.10... We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

James 1.27 tells us we are here to care for others… The widows and orphans.

Titus 2.11-13… We are to live upright Godly lives.

Listen… I hope you are not... 30... 40... 50... 60... 70... Years old and do not know why you are here... What God’s purpose for you really is.

You see church... When we don’t know our purpose... It’s easy to give up.

How many over the years have I heard say...

• I don’t understand why God is leaving me here...

• I have no purpose...

These people are ready to die... They have no reason to go on… They’re giving up!

Listen church...

• When we have no spiritual purpose...

• No ministry...

• When we don’t know why we are here...

We are ready to die spiritually... Don’t go there... And if you are there get out Before it is too late.

It’s interesting to note that the phrase LET US appears some thirteen times in the Book of Hebrews... Let us speaks of a choice we have.

We have a choice... Find your purpose... Find your ministry... Find your place in this church family… and pursue it... Don’t give up... Don’t even think of giving up.

Before the group started their assent to the top of Mount Everest... The team leader had some awesome words of advice when he said...

• Don’t let Everest be the greatest thing you ever do...

• Don’t create a mausoleum of your... Physical... Business...or Social trophies...

• Don’t retire on your laurels...

We are here for greater things than climbing Everest...

Wow… What great advice… Living the good life is a mountain peak to pursue... AMEN???

One more point before our final one…

We need to acknowledge that there are some things that cannot be changed.

I see people spending… Time… Talent… Energy… Money…Trying to change things that cannot be changed… All this only ends in a life of frustration… Certainly not the Good Life.

Remember the story about the Sailor who was on his first assignment as Captain of a Destroyer. There appeared an object on the ship's radar directly in their path. He radioed… We are on military maneuvers…You are in our path… Please change your course. The object radioed back… We cannot change. The irate Captain radioed… Change your heading… I am a Destroyer. The object radioed… I am a lighthouse!

There are some things we cannot change… Don’t spend your life trying to change that person or circumstance.

And pray to God that He give us wisdom to know the difference between what can and cannot be changed.

Finally... We must keep our Eyes upon Jesus... Keep our Mind on the Goal

I’m not going to preach this point… Simply read it from the New LivingTranslation... Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus... On whom our faith depends from start to finish. Because of the joy awaiting Him... He endured the cross... Disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne. Think about all the hostility He endured from sinful people... Then you won’t become weary and give up.

We endure because He endured...

But we don’t have to persevere on our own...

Colossians 1.11 tells us... We are strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joy.

In Philippians… Paul said he was able to keep-on-keeping-on because He gives me strength.

If you are not a child of God... Hear the whisper of the Spirit... Start your pursuit of the Good Life today by... Faith... Repentance... And the New Birth of water baptism.

If you are His child... The encouragement from the Spirit this morning is to run with patient endurance the race set before us.

Pursue the Good Life... As we stand and sing this song together.