Northside Church - Sydney
Leading A Legacy Week 4: Persevere
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Well, guys, I'm sure you'll agree with me if you've been with us these last few weeks. Sam has been leading us through a marvelous series on leadership, leading a legacy. We've been going through our second Timothy. Now, you get an extra bonus this week because Sam has prepared for those of you in connection groups. He has prepared an incredible, expositional study of second Timothy chapter three. Tonight, I'm providing a more of a topical approach based on this passage, but a more topical approach to the whole theme of perseverance. So you get it both ways. You get the exposition and you get the thematic topical kind of development of the thing as well. What a week to be talking about perseverance, Cadell Evans. Hello. Oh, yes. You just give it up for Cadell. It takes me back to my bike riding days in Perth, and yes, the ride between Apple Cross and Cott as low was, well, it was my tour de France, Michael. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Just a little bit. What happened? I thought he was running about four for something. I mean, that man is amazing. Well, perseverance. The bubble ring tonight, guys, is from second Timothy chapter three, and we're reading verses 10 down to 14. Isn't it this? Here's Paul. Now, against the backdrop of perseverance, try to dial into what he's getting at here with young Timothy. He's not just going to say, look, Timothy, persevere, mate, just keep going in the faith. Just break through and just keep going. No, no, no, he's providing evidence, evidence from his own life as to how he has persevered. Look at this. Verse 10, "But you, Timothy, have followed my teaching, my conduct, and my purpose in life. You have observed my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance." You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lestra, the terrible persecutions I endured, but the Lord rescued me from them all. Has that theme of rescue coming through tonight? Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Oh, gee, I thought it was going to be an easy life. I heard a preacher once say it would be, must have been reading the wrong Bible. And evil persons and imposters will keep on going from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves. But as for you, continue in the truths that you were taught and firmly believe. I've got a question tonight, guys. What's been the greatest example of perseverance in your life up till now? Have a little think about it, we had a time we'd probably get you to turn to a partner. What's the greatest example of perseverance in your life? I know many of you have studied hard, we've got some multiple degree people here and you sacrificed a lot, you sacrificed social life, you sacrificed some good income for a season. You knuckle down, you just pressed on and you now have the results, but boy, it didn't come, it didn't come easy. Am I right? But some of you who are in the sport, I know Michelle is a big, she's a runner. And she's not the only runner here, we've got a few runners and I know you've pressed through those barriers when you're in a marathon or a triathlon, you know, perseverance, keep just keeping at it. Some of you here are in programs designed to help people overcome addictions of one kind or another. And you tell me that your story has been one of perseverance and we celebrate with some of you, one, two, three years, alcohol free, four years, alcohol free. We have people that mourn in congregation, 30 years, plus alcohol free. And that's perseverance, that's a real journey of strong, solid endurance. On a low end, I mean just persevering to get your flat screen set up, I mean that's pretty rugged isn't it? I've got a couple of friends I ringed when that's if I have anything technical in my family or in my home, just getting a mobile phone set up, I got a new phone this week and that's not easy to get that set up and drew on the help of I wish I passed to do that and he was really very kind, he did so. Guys, look perseverance, it's one of the most important of all qualities we can have. Why is perseverance so critical? Why is it so vital to your life and mine? I tell you why, because to grow spiritually, emotionally, to grow as persons, we have to expand our horizons. We have to broaden our knowledge, we have to deepen our understanding, just don't throw life in a neutral and start cruising, I mean some do, but there's no growth there. To grow, you've got to be always on a mission or a journey of expanding your knowledge and expanding your understanding of life, but here's the thing. In that journey, we encounter barriers like you wouldn't believe, am I right? We encounter hardships, we encounter things that are just like Emma talked about tonight from her experience, things that are just designed to just stop us dead in our tracks and let the cynicism build up and say, "Well, if that's the hand I've been dealt, then I'm sorry, I'm stepping off the treadmill. This is not for me, I'm just going to wallow in a bit of self pity and I really think I deserve to because I've had a pretty rough run." That was a choice Emma Henderson could have made. It's a choice many of you could have made, could be a choice some of you have made and part of my purpose tonight is to try to get you out of that particular mindset. We encounter barriers designed to stun our growth and impede our development. Life is full of challenges. Some people are overwhelmed by the challenges of life, just absolutely blown away, overwhelmed. Others come through stronger. What's the difference? One word, perseverance. And we'd add on perseverance to the Holy Spirit, born out of our living relationship with Jesus Christ. But that word, perseverance. That's what makes the difference. That's a person's endurance, their stickability. By virtue of our calling as Christians, we are meant to be people of perseverance. It's not an optional extra guys. You don't have persevering Christians and coasting Christians. You have growing Christians who are just kind of not getting to where God really wants them to be. You have those two. I don't know where you want to be. I know where I want to be. I want to be becoming the kind of person God intends for me to come realizing my full potential in him. Jesus Christ is our great example in this whole area. He is the number one example. I want to unpack a couple of ways in which Jesus is our crucial pivotal example when it comes to endurance. In his life, in his ministry, he is our source of inspiration and our motivation. Let me show you a couple of things. Number one, people of perseverance know that before a resurrection there has to be a death. They know that. Many people only want to know about resurrection. They only want to know about the breakthrough. The answer. They want to know about the achievement, the success, they don't want to cope with disappointment, with heartache, with rejection, with criticism, with pain. Take me straight to Easter Sunday. Can we bypass Good Friday? That seems a little painful. That is not the way it is in life. In the journey inevitably there will be setbacks. Followers of Jesus know this. They are prepared for this. They understand that before resurrection there has to be a death. We have experienced that here in a very tangible way at Northside. Like as part of our journey, we have to put to death financial security. We were a comparatively death-free church before this project took place and then we were plunged into death, huge death. We have to forfeit the notion that the church was a building. I mean, Christians say, "Oh, the church is not a building. Of course not. It's people." You try to move a communion table or you try to rearrange the flowers or try to do anything that represents change in that building and that theology is put to the test. We had to put that theology to the test because I stood up out of my car on the corner of pole lane and Kristi Lane and I watched our old building be demolished, smashed to pieces over a two-day period. It didn't take very long and it really kind of, I was heavy of heart and I wasn't even sentimentally attached to the building. I didn't even have been here for three years, but there were others who had been here for much, much longer and it was hard. Then we had to go through the pain of a cold warehouse in Herbert Street, which was a great, I've got great memories of Herbert Street, but I mean, it was cold in the winter. Am I right, guys? I mean, I don't exaggerate normally, but I mean, it was cold and it was hot in the summer. Am I right? Can I get an amen to that? Absolutely. Amen. You were there, Michael. You know what it's about. It was part of the death that we had to, you know, where other churches were bright lights on the street corner, we were somewhere poked away in a warehouse somewhere and people would ring us up saying, "We tried to find you. We couldn't find you on Sunday. Where are you?" We'd give more specific instructions. We went through all this before resurrection, before achieving a vision, before getting the way God wants you to be and we're not there yet, by the way, but where he wants us to be now and we're still forging ahead. But before you get to where God wants you to be, there's got to be a death on all kinds of things. At the human level, death, the pride, or death, the self-sufficiency, a death that I can do it. I don't need you, God. Boom. Sorry. That one's got to be put to death big time before we can really tap into what God wants to do for us through Jesus Christ. Paul says in Romans 5, "We rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces endurance. And endurance brings God's approval." You want to win God's approval? Be a person of endurance and perseverance. You're more than halfway there. And his approval creates hope. Here's something else about Christians. They know it's not one race, but it's a series of races, one after the other. Now, guys, this speaks to us about getting things into perspective. That's why this point's so important. It speaks to us about getting things into perspective, breaking problems down into bite-sized chunks. Because you see, one thing that can affect our level of perseverance, I'm sure you'll agree, is a feeling of being overwhelmed. You've got to challenge. And some of you who've gained those high-class degrees, and if you've been told, if you've been showing a rapid speed DVD, that was going to cost you in the next four or five years, you probably would have given up on the spot, you know, if they've been able to sort of show you what this was going to cost you. Those of you who've built a house, they've been able to show you the pain and all the trouble they have with the tradies, you know. But what do you do? You take it one day at a time. Let's see what's on today. Let's see what's on this week. You break it down into bite-sized chunks. The Bible says, "Give us this day our daily bread. It's a spiritual principle, one day at a time." The life of Jesus is another example here. For him it wasn't one giant step from Bethlehem to Calvary. No way. What was it? It was a series of stages and seasons, all of which contributed to who he was. He grew up in Nazareth, experienced the warmth and the love of a family. He knew what it was to have a mum and dad, brothers and sisters, might have had a crush on the girl next door. Who knows? Not that the Bible, but who knows? You know, I don't know if that tests your theology, but you know, I mean, Jesus grew up as a boy, a little boy, I don't know much about his life in those early days. He was introduced into the occupation of carpentry. He was a tradie and would have had the leather belt around the waist and the seat with the spotlights on the front, you know. He was a tradesman and that would have taught him the value of work. He chose followers and he knew what it was to choose guys who, "Ooh, guys," you know. I don't know, again, him on board, I thought he was going to be much better. He went through the pain of making wrong choices. He went through feeling rejection, even in his own hometown of Nazareth. Get this guy out of here. How dare he claim to be the Messiah, get him out. Jesus met a variety of people. He got an acute awareness of their needs, their hopes, their desires, their aspirations. When he started his ministry at 30, he knew people pretty well and that's why he started so late because that was part of God's training program. Guys, I happen to believe that these experiences, these seasons, these short journeys for Jesus, these little chapters, these little grabs out of his life, they all contributed to his overall success as the Messiah. They all contributed to that moment, that defining moment in the Garden of Gethsemane when he asked the question, "If it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done." Now, guys, that's perseverance. When you want to quit, when you want to walk away, when you want to say, "I'm out of here," nevertheless, not your will, not my will, rather, but yours be done. That's one of the clearest examples of perseverance you're going to find in the Word of God. Every experience of life that you're having now is contributing to you reaching your potential. Don't run away from it. Don't shy away. One of my favorite things, don't pray for an easy life, pray to be a strong person because I'm at a stage of life where I can say convincingly, if you've pushed through some barriers through your life, if you haven't chosen to quit and bail, you reach a point of life where you feel like you and God could do anything. I think after what I've been through here at Northside, I think I'm ready for anything. You know, it's just been an amazing journey of personal and spiritual growth. Here's something else. We move into a close. People of perseverance know we can't start again, but we can start now, right now, in anticipation of a revised ending, a changed ending. We can all look back on things that we regret, things we did, decisions we made, things we did, things we didn't do, opportunities we missed, failures we experienced. Guys, preoccupation with the past, preoccupation with the past is another huge factor in dramatically affecting our level of perseverance. Preoccupation with the past, you dwell in the past for too long, it'll dramatically affect your ability, your resilience to keep pressing forward. I tried that and didn't work. I gave them a best shot and they said, "Sorry, not good enough." If you dwell on those moments of your life, it will dramatically affect your willingness and your ability to keep pressing forward. I've met many people over the years who've given up on any thought of things getting better because of past failures, and they've stopped persevering and they've settled for merely existing, just throwing it in a neutral because they've been so badly hurt and nobody understands, people do understand. But I've just been humbled by the lives I've been introduced to over the years in ministry of people who've pushed through barriers, the likes of which I've not even seen yet. I can't identify with an abusive marriage. I can't identify with some of the addictions that you guys have, have you in their grip? I can't identify with losing a loved one through a wife or husband through cancer. Some of you guys have just been through incredible stuff and you're still here worshiping, still here praising, still here affirming. He rescued me and I draw great inspiration from that. Let me take you to a chapter in my life of Jesus, it's in Luke chapter 9. If you haven't read this for a while, read this as part of your homework this week, Luke chapter 9. Long chapter, 62 verses. This is where Jesus, you want an example of Jesus pressing through, this is it. Chapter 9, let me give you three things that happen in chapter 9 of Luke. Number one, a guy comes to the disciples while Jesus is away and he says, "Can you heal my son?" And they go, "Sure we can't, we've seen the master." Where is he? Oh, he's away, don't worry about that. We can do this. Well, I don't know what they do, you know, sort of ranting and raving and maybe getting the fall backwards or something, I don't know. But it doesn't work. It doesn't work. And then Jesus appears and says, "What's happening?" And the guy says, "Oh, well, I bought my boy your disciples and, you know, they couldn't do it." And there they are on the sort of the sideline going, "Oh, gosh." And Jesus says, "How long must I be with you people?" It's a moment of real, you know, humanity. You check it. How long must I be with you people? I'm just getting tired of some of the stuff I'm seeing here. Well, the boy's healed, of course. But then there's an argument about who's the greatest among the disciples. Who's going to sit in the top seat, who's going to have the top job in heaven? After all Jesus has said about humility, you know, to be great, you must be the least of all. He's been preaching, teaching his heart out and they're having an argument about, like, you know, who's in the park in the senior passes spot, you know? I mean, it's just amazing. So again, Jesus' heart is heavy. And then they get rejected by a Samaritan village, a runner comes out, "Sorry, Jesus, senior work. Not interested." You know. But that would hit you, wouldn't it? It's all in chapter 9. Now, what else happens in chapter 9? Well, this is where this is going to blow you away. So what frame of mind is Jesus in? You know, he's had these things happen, plus a few other things, by the way. I'm just giving you three. So you're thinking of being inclined to say, you know what, I need time to think. This Messiah thing, Jerusalem, I think I might just need to contact my mentor for a while, my Chancellor, maybe go on a retreat, maybe. Verse 51, "As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and sat on his way to Jerusalem." It's in Luke 9. It's the backdrop of all this disappointment and hurt and rubbish that he had to put up with him and his disciples. 51, he set his mind on his way to Jerusalem. That's when he made the decision to see it through. That's when he decided, "This thing's going to happen. God, I'm going to do this." You see, guys, perseverance is not a feeling. It's a decision. It's not a feeling. It's a decision. With respect of the past, we can choose to press on with God's help and create a new future. There are two sayings I love. "This appointment is inevitable. Misery and defeat are optional." Through Jesus, we have the power. The second one is, "Forget yesterday. It died last night." You think about that. If you were hanging on to some past hurt and disappointment, it died last night. Here's the last thing. These people know how we finish is more important than how we begin. If you have a question, Olympic Games, 1968, where were they held? Who's the man who said that? Greg, give that man a fanta right there, because that is an amazing mate. 1968, Mexico City, the marathon, the climactic event of the Olympic Games. There's a guy who's etched his name into Olympic history. His name is John Akawari. He was from Tanzania. Something shocking happened to John as a warrior in the early stages of the marathon. He tripped and stumbled. He fell badly. Hurt, hurt himself quite badly. He crossed the line one hour after the first runner, one hour, folding the chairs, shutting the and the drinks, they're packing up just about, and John Akawari crossed the line. This is what he said in the press statement afterwards, "My country, Tanzania, did not send me 11,000 kilometers to start this race. They sent me to finish it." The similar thing happened, of course, in the Sydney Olympics, in 2000, in the 100-metres swimming event. When a guy, Eric Musumbani, remember Eric the Eel, and he took twice the length of time to do 100-metres. Everybody's hardly happy, but he just kept going, just kept going, perseverence. By the way, we would have quoted Eric the Eel if he'd said something, but he didn't say anything. So, he doesn't get, we don't quote him tonight. We quote John Akawari, but Eric the Eel, as far as I know, didn't say anything. That one man who did say something, one man who did say something, is the Apostle Paul, and this is a note we finish on. Second Timothy, a little bit beyond our reading tonight, chapter 4, verse 7, "I have done my best in the race, I've run the full distance, I have kept the faith." Guys, I want to be able to say that, I don't know, but I want to be able to say I've run the full distance, you know. I've stayed the course. The journey with Jesus is not easy. Don't let any preacher tell you it is, it is not easy. It's fraught with misunderstandings, with unanswered or apparently unanswered prayers, with lack of immediate results sometimes, with lots of setbacks, lots of dry seasons. That's been my experience in 35 years of ministry. It's not easy, but I come back to the original point, Jesus is our great inspiration, and I hang a lot of my ministry on this one verse from Hebrews 12, verse 2, look at this. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. That's the clue in the Christian life, you just keep your eyes fixed on, don't look for people for inspiration, they'll give you a little bit, but they won't be the ultimate. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross, wow. I have to have that verse at the ready to keep me going as a Christian and as a Christian leader and as a minister. Perseverance, guys, we all need heaps of it to get through life, because if you haven't noticed, life is pretty tough, and there are going to be people let you down and situations are going to threaten to bring you undone. How's your level of perseverance tonight? I want to introduce you to Jesus Christ who not only gives good advice, who not only sort of says, look, this is what you should do, but through his whole life and ministry and seasons of life puts it out there and says, I've lived it, I'm not asking you to do anything I haven't done myself, I've lived it. That's the Jesus we invite you to respond to tonight, you might be a believer, go with him in the deeper waters, then settle for the status quo, is he calling you to be a leader, is he calling you to step up into more active service in the life of his churches, is he calling you to take your finances more seriously, is he calling you to be a stronger witness in your workplace, is he calling you to be more intentional about reaching that person him you would desperately love to introduce to Jesus? I don't know. But whatever he's calling you to, it's probably going to take lots of perseverance and he'll meet you more than halfway by the power of his spirit. So let's thank him for that, shall we? Well Father God, we rejoice in the fact that Jesus not only lays out the plan for perseverance provides the teaching, talks about how it's done, more than that Lord, he actually lives it, shows it, demonstrates it in his life in those 33 years that he lived on earth and for the way in which he ministers to us in the power of the spirit urging us on calling us ever higher in a ever deeper waters and we thank you and praise you for the Jesus who is available to help us dig deep and find reservoirs of perseverance that we didn't know he even had. And so Lord will you please walk with each one of us, whether we know you well or whether we need to really connect with you for the first time tonight, give us the faith and courage to step out in prayer ministry and do what you're calling us to do we pray through to Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.