Act Like Men, Part 10

Thank you Aaron. One day around the table of the king, what a great day that will be. Amen? A little weak on the amen there, but hopefully you'll be there. I will. Hopefully you will be there too. Here's the deal. Jeremiah, great prophet of God, called by God from his mother's womb. Well he called in eternity past, but God let Jeremiah know that he was called to be his representative, to be his prophet. And so from the outset of his ministry, Jeremiah knew that the hand of God was upon him. He was called to proclaim to the people of God their way back to God.

He was a prophet, helping people know the way to the living God. But there was so much idolatry, so much confusion in the land, so much iniquity in the land. And Jeremiah would continue to preach. But Jeremiah came to the Lord one day in Jeremiah chapter 12 and asked the Lord, pleaded with the Lord, wondered why God was doing what he was doing. He said to the Lord in Jeremiah chapter 12, verse number one, righteous are you, O Lord, that I would plead my case with you.

Where else am I going to go? You are righteous and you are just. Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with you. Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? I got a problem, Lord. It seems like the wicked are so much better off than your people. That bothers me. You have planted them. They have also taken root. They grow. They have even produced fruit. You are near to the lips, but you're far from their mind. But you know me, O Lord. You see me and you examine my heart's attitude toward you.

Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter, set them apart for a day of carnage. How long is the land to mourn and the vegetation of the countryside to wither for the wickedness of those who dwell in it? Animals and birds have been snatched away because men have said, he will not see our ladder in the Lord. What are you going to do? How long is this going to continue? Why do the wicked seem to prosper in your land and your people are being destroyed because of that? And the Lord had a unique response to Jeremiah.

It wasn't like, you know, Jeremiah, I hear you. I feel you, Jeremiah. I feel bad for you, Jeremiah. It wasn't like that at all because the Lord doesn't respond that way. Never has, never will. Listen to how he responds to Jeremiah. If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? Jeremiah, are you kidding me? If you can't run with footmen or if you've run with footmen, you can't even do that. How is it you can maintain your pace with horses? Better translation?

Follow through in the verse. If you fall down in the land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? If you can't handle the situation when the land is at peace, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan where animals prowl around and seek to devour you? In other words, Jeremiah, if you can't handle the easy things, how on earth can you ever handle the hard things in life? What is wrong with you, Jeremiah? That's God's response. Then he goes further. For even your brothers and the household of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you.

Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to Oh, Jeremiah, you think it's bad now? You wait. Your whole family is going to turn against you. You see, for Jeremiah, he had to learn a very important lesson. He had to learn to bear up under pressure. He had to learn to handle the difficulties in life. He was a prophet of the living God. He needed to set the example for the people. And if the prophet of the living God can't handle hardship, how can he expect the people to handle hardship?

And if you can't run with footmen, how will you ever run with horses? If you can't deal with things in life when it's not that difficult, how on earth will you ever handle hardship and difficulty and pain and tragedy when it comes your way? God told Jeremiah, made it very clear to him that hardship's coming. You haven't seen anything yet. And you're going to have to bear up under the pressure. Which leads us to this. In our series, Act Like Men, meaning that we are to be mature, strong, courageous, steadfast.

That we are to lead the way as men. The 10th principle in our outline is you must live perseveringly, persistently. You must live without giving up. You must live without quitting. You must live with strength and determination. You must be able to live a life that doesn't falter by the wayside. And we told you in our point, living patiently, that word was macrothermia, the ability to bear up under people or bear up with people. This word is different. This is not macrothermia. This is hupermone, to bear up under pressure, to bear up under pain, to bear up under persecution, to bear up under all your problems.

The ability to bear up under difficulty and not fall by the wayside. To be steadfast, to be triumphant, to be courageous, to be strong, to be bold, to live perseveringly. Such a unique aspect of the man of God who has matured his faith. So many times we crumble under pressure. So many times we want to run with footmen, but we can't. But when the horsemen come, we are trampled under their hooves because we can't even begin to stand. That's why Solomon said to his son in Proverbs 24, verse number 10, if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is tiny.

Your faith is tiny. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is limited. Your faith is small. Solomon said to his son, you can't afford to faint in the day of adversity. That's why we said earlier in our outline, you need to live prayerfully because men ought always to pray and not to faint. If you're not praying, you're going to faint. If you're not on your knees, you're going to fall. Men ought always to pray and not to faint. So Solomon says earlier than that in the book of Proverbs, son, if you faint in the day of adversity, oh, how small is your strength?

How weak is your faith? See, we don't like to hear words like that because we really want people to coddle us, hold us, kiss us, rub our owies. That's what we want people to do. Yet the Bible speaks to the fact that we are to be strong and to persevere and to bear up under pressure, to be strong in the faith. That's why there's that great doctrine of scripture called the perseverance of the saints. You ever heard of that doctrine? The perseverance of the saints, the doctrine that says that all those God has elected and all those God has called and all those God has justified will never ever finally and fully and fatally renege on their faith.

That's a doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. That all those God has elected, all those God has called, all those God has justified will never ever finally fully or fatally renege on their faith.

They won't do that because their faith is God's faith. And they're partakers of the divine nature of the living God. That's why in the book of Revelation, the 14th chapter, the Bible says this, here is the perseverance of the saints, Revelation 14, 12.

What is it? Those who keep the commandment of God and their faith in Jesus. That's how the Bible defines the perseverance of the saints. Here is the perseverance of the saints. And remember that God is talking to those saints in the tribulation who, by the way, have faced the greatest turmoil, the greatest difficulty in the history of the universe. Not like us today. We don't face near the pain and difficulty that those in the tribulation will face. Because they will be beheaded for the name of Christ.

They will be severely persecuted beyond anything we can ever begin to imagine. But the Bible says here is the perseverance of the saints is defined by those who keep the commandments of God and keep their faith in Jesus Christ, their Lord.

Now, how can they do that? Because God's enabled them to do so. And so there is a doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. And then there is a duty that you and I have to persevere day in and day out because of what God has already done in our lives. The Bible speaks of what we will call the promise of perseverance. The promise of perseverance. That is, we are promised by God that we will persevere. That our faith will never ever finally, fully, fatally fail.

There are times your faith will falter, as it did with Peter. But he never finally and fully fell away from the living God.

But he did falter in his faith. I'm going to give you a reason for that. I'm going to explain to you how that happened in Peter's life. But there is a promise of perseverance. In fact, in Revelation chapter 3, it says in Revelation 3, verse number 10, to the church of Philadelphia, because you have kept the word of my perseverance. Christ speaking to the church of Philadelphia. The church that was strong, that did not compromise, that was not corrupted like the other churches in the book of Revelation.

He says, you have kept the word of my perseverance. I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. A phrase given specifically for those who are unbelievers in the tribulation age. But he says, you have kept the word of my perseverance. Earlier in Revelation 2, it says in verse number 13, I know where you dwell, speaking of those in the church of Pergamum, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast my name and did not deny my faith.

You see, you can't deny God's faith, because it's God's faith that he granted to you to believe in him. That's why you persevere. Even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you where Satan dwells. Antipas was the guy whose name means against all, because he was against all that was against Christ. And Antipas was against all those things, but he did not deny the faith of God. He believed in God even to the point of death. And he is pointed out in scripture as the key man who persevered amidst pain and death.

He became the example in the church of Pergamum. A someone who did not deny the faith of Jesus Christ. There is this promise of perseverance. It says over in Hebrews chapter 3, Hebrews chapter 3, verse number 14, for we have become partakers of Christ since we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. In other words, because we hold fast the assurance of our faith to the end, we have demonstrated the fact that we are partakers of the true and living God, his nature. The only reason we can continue keeping on strong is because we are partakers of the divine nature of the living God.

That's the promise of perseverance. The Bible says that we are overcomers. First John 5, 4 and 5. This is the faith that overcomes the world. Okay, those who believe that Jesus is the son of God. We are the overcomers. In fact, the Bible says in Romans 8, 37, we are overwhelming conquerors, hupernike.

We are over the top conquerors. And we got to ask ourselves the question, how come I can't conquer the little issues in my life then? How come I keep faltering? The Bible says I'm an overwhelming conqueror.

How come I'm not conquered anything? How come I keep falling down? How come I can't handle my temptation? How come I can't handle a little difficulty that comes my way? How come I can't handle a little problem in my relationships? Why is it I keep falling down? Good question. I have an answer for you, but you got to stay with me. Okay, just stay with me. God's got an answer for you. But there is a promise of perseverance that God has given to all those who believe in him. You will persevere to the end.

On top of that promise, do you know there's a prayer for your perseverance? There's a prayer. It's in John 17, the high priestly prayer of Christ, the living God. In John's gospel, the 17th chapter, the Lord says this, John chapter 17, verse number 11. I am no longer in the world, yet they themselves are in the world. And I come to you, Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. Wow. Verse 21, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me.

And I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. Christ in his high priestly prayer in the upper room on the eve of the crucifixion, prayed for his disciples, but also prayed for those who would one day believe, that's us, and that we will be kept in the name of the living God. Now, let me ask you a question.

Does the Father always answer the prayer of the Son? Answer? Yes. Because it's the perfect prayer. Remember this, Luke 22, Christ comes to Peter, says, Peter, Satan has come and asked, that he might sift you like wheat. Imagine that. Here's Peter. Talking with the Lord. And the Lord says, Hey, Peter, I want to let you know something. Satan wants you. He's coming to ask for you. Remember, Satan can't do anything unless he has permission, right? Satan has to ask permission to do anything in your life.

He has no control over your life. He must ask God for permission. God must grant him permission. Like Job, perfect example. Peter, perfect example. So Christ says, Hey, Peter, Satan has asked for you.

He wants to sift you like wheat. What would you say? I'd say, Well, you didn't grant him any permission, did you? Did you, Lord? You said no, right? And the Lord responded, I said, Hey, Peter, I got good news for you. I have prayed for you. I had prayed for you so that your faith will not, what? Fail. Because it can't fail. Because Christ is praying for you. Your faith will never finally, fully, and fatally fail.

But it can falter. If Peter says, Peter, I prayed for you that your faith will not fail. And that afterwards, when you return, you can strengthen your brethren. Because Christ told him, I prayed for you that the faith I've given you will never fail because it won't, but you will falter. And when you do, when you, but you're going to return because your faith will never finally, fully, and fatally fail.

So you're going to return. And when you return, you're going to strengthen your brethren. And that's exactly what Peter did. Exactly what Peter did. See, the problem with Peter is Mark 14, 54. He followed Christ from a distance. That was Peter's problem. Because earlier in Mark's gospel, or John's gospel, or Matthew's gospel, or whose gospel? When they were in the garden, he was standing next to Jesus. And the foot soldiers, the temple police came to capture Jesus. Remember that? And Christ asked him, whom do you seek?

They said, Jesus of Nazarene. And Christ said, I am. And they all fell over backwards. All the soldiers, all the temple police, Judas, I think, remained standing, but everyone else fell over backwards. I think if you read the context of John 18, you realize that Judas remained standing while everyone else fell backwards. Somewhere around 600 different individuals fell over backwards. And the amazing thing is that they got back up again. And Christ asked the same question, whom do you seek? Jesus of Nazarene.

Well, Peter has all this confidence. Why? He is standing next to Jesus. He's standing right next to Jesus. And Luke's account tells us that he whips out his knife and he slices off the ear of Malchus the high priest, or the earlobe of Malchus the high priest. I think he was going for his head but missed and just got the earlobe. He had all the confidence in the world. He had all the strength in the world. Because he was standing next to Jesus. But when they took Jesus away, the Bible says, which is the status verse in all of Scripture, they all forsook him and fled.

That's a bad place to be. They all forsook him and fled. And Peter would muster up enough energy to follow Jesus from a distance, but following from a distance did not help him. When we follow Christ from a distance, it doesn't help us. If we're not intimately acquainted with the Christ, if we're not standing next to the Christ, if we're not walking in the spirit, so we don't fulfill the lust of the flesh, we will falter in our walk with the Lord. Peter faltered because he followed from a distance.

Yes, Christ prayed for him. We have an advocate, right? Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 John 2 verse number 1. We have a defense in heaven. Hebrews 7 25. Jesus lives to make intercession for you and me. Can you imagine that? He is in heaven living to make intercession for you and me. He is our defense attorney before the throne of God in heaven. And when Satan says, See, see, they failed. Christ says, I prayed for that sin.

I've already forgiven that sin. It's forgiven. He's our defense attorney. So we had this prayer for our perseverance. And it's not your prayer, my prayer. It's Jesus Christ, our Lord, our advocate praying for us. Can it get any better than that? A little weak there, a little weak there. Should have been absolutely not, pastor. It can't get any better than that. Jesus is praying for us. His whole ministry was a ministry of prayer, right? So life, he was always sneaking away, getting up early in the morning to pray.

He knew the source of his strength in his humanity. But even as he hung on the cross, he would pray. Because his whole life from the resurrection on would be one that intercedes on behalf of your life and mine. Your faith will not because it cannot fail. Finally, fully or fatally.

There are times your faith will falter as it did with Peter. As it did with other men of scripture. Their faith faltered. Their eyes were off of Christ. They followed him from a distance. Were not intimately acquainted with all of his ways. Not in fellowship and communion with the living God. And their faith will falter. Just like yours and mine. So we must understand that there is a promise of perseverance. A promise. There is a prayer for our perseverance. And on top of that, there is what the Bible calls, I call it this, the pillars for our perseverance.

The pillars for our perseverance. One is based on the promises of God. The other is based on the presence of the Holy Spirit. Because the presence of the Holy Spirit indwells us. We are sealed unto the day of redemption. Right? Ephesians chapter 1, 13 and 14. He is our down payment. He is our guarantee that we're going to make it to the end. Not only did Christ pray for us, He gave us a spirit to guarantee that we make it all the way to the end. Wow. What? How great is that? So now you have the promise, which is a pillar.

You have the presence of the Spirit of God. You also have the power of God. Because the Bible says in Peter's epistle that we are kept by the power of God.

And not only that, there is the purposes of God. All those whom He has called, He has justified. And God said that all those He has justified, He will glorify. God has a purpose. To bring us into His eternal presence. Spotless and blameless for the honor and glory of His name. So, you gotta ask this question. If I am given the promise that I will persevere, never give up, never quit. That I will be strong, confident, courageous. I will live triumphantly and victoriously. Because I'm an overcomer.

I'm an overwhelming conqueror. I've been given that promise. If I have a prayer from Christ to the Father on my behalf. And I am given the pillars of perseverance based on the promises of God. The presence of the Spirit of God. The power of the living God. And the purposes of my God. Why is it then, I go through each day. And I have a hard time making it with footmen. Let alone unable to run with horses. Why is it in the land of peace, when things are going well. There is no turmoil. And I have a hard time.

How will I ever handle the thick of the Jordan? When the beasts begin to prowl at my door. Or if my whole family deals treacherously with me. How do I handle that pressure? How do I bear up under that pressure? How do I bear up under that pain? How do I bear up under those problems? How do I do that? How can I do that? I have no time to tell you that. This week. But I will have time, Lord willing, next week. So given you the promise of perseverance. Given you the prayer of perseverance. Given you the pillars of perseverance.

There are the principles of perseverance. That is our duty. There is the great doctrine of perseverance of the saints. And you need to understand it. That all those who have been elected. All those who have been called. All those who have been justified by the true and living God. Will never, ever, finally, fully, or fatally, renege on the faith that they have in Jesus Christ our Lord.

They will be preserved to the end. But it doesn't mean there are times that your faith will falter amidst difficulties. And in those times, what do you do? How do you handle that? Or before those times come, what does the Lord say I need to do? Well, you can't follow them from a distance, that's for sure. You got to be in intimate communion with the living God. You're not spending time with the Lord. If you're not on your knees with the Lord. If you're not in the word of the Lord. I got nothing for you.

You'll falter. Guaranteed you'll falter. Because you're following from a distance. Not up close. But there are principles the Bible gives us. That once we understand, we'll invigorate our walk with the Lord. That will give us a boost of energy through our journey in this life. That will allow us to act like men and live perseveringly. You come back next week, I'll give you those principles. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you for today and all you do. You are so good to us. The very fact that you are in heaven as our advocate, praying on our behalf, is astounding. We need it. We can't function without it. But Lord, you have promised that those who believe in you, those whom you have called unto yourself, will make it all the way to the end. They will be glorified. They will persevere. And yet, Lord, there are days where the circumstances seem to be so overwhelming. The problems seem to be so hard.

The pain so severe. How do we bear up under those difficulties? Your Word speaks to that. For that, we are eternally grateful. Because, Father, we don't have to be left in the dark. We can know what the Word of the Lord says. And pray that you'd bring us back again next week, if it be your will, that we might hear those principles. In Jesus' name, amen.