#186 Perseverance

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The English word perseverance is used only one time in the Bible. The verb from which it is translated appears many times throughout the Bible and is Illost orten translated "to continue" or "continually". The Greek \vord is proskarteresis (pros­ kar-ter'-ay-sis) which is from the verb proskartcreo (pros­ kar-ter-eh'-o). This verb is commonly utilized when the subject is prayer.

Newsletter #186 - April 1994

This means you are ready and willing to go where ever he sends you to accomplish that gospel of peace.

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EPHESIANS 6:16-17 Above all, taking the shield of faitl?, wherewith ye shall be able to quench a/I the nery darts of the wicked. 11 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

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Perseverance might be thought of as being loyal to our Father through faith a"d streH[,rth in prayer, Take Him with you in your daily life, God will help you make the right decisions if you will only ask, This is not to say one should become a religious fanatic or pra:' in a rituaiistic manner, You don't have to pray verbally. I'm certain many of you think to yourselves. "Father, am I doing the right thing?", when making decisions through­ out the day. He wants you to commune with Him. Believe me; you don't have a lot of competition these days. Persevere in your communications with Him. You will be blessed. Let's turn to Ephesians. Paul is instructing us what 'we must do to make a stand against Satan. EPHESIANS 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Wiles might be better translated "deceit". The devil will meddle in your life, if you allow him to. EPHESIANS 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,

We aren't wrestling against our relatives and neigh­ bors. If you are one of the elect, you should be preparing for a spiritual fight against wickedness in high places. You must continually communicate with God to keep from slipping back into the vulnerable flesh. As you mature spiritually, you will realize the pettiness of wrestling with flesh and blood. You will not become offended over little things of this world. EPHESIANS 6:13-14 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, H Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

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When you take the gospel armour of God. you will be prepared to stand against anything Satan has to throw at you. EPHESIANS 6: 15 And your feet shod with the prepa­ ration of the gospel of peace;

Christ is our shield of faith. So, now vou have your girt, breastplate, shoes. shield, helmet and 'sword, What's next? Are we supposed to sit down and wait for the fjery darts? No. Here is what we are to do. EPHESIANS 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints,

Supplication means to ask for an)'thing in line 'with the Spirit. Here we have the only time the English word perseverance is utilized in the Bible. Remember, it comes from the Greek word proskarteresis. After putting on the gospel armour, we should continually be in communication with the Father through prayer. Prayer is as important as the armour. Ask Him to guide and direct your life. Tell Him you love Him. Many think you must do something "very holy" before praying. Christ removed all of that. Ask God to help you in your daily life. Talk to Him. Perseverance in prayer will allow you to become focused mentally and spiritually. You '''ill mature in Him, and Satan will grow weary of meddling in your life. But if you leave God out of your life for any length of time, guess who will be knocking at your door. Perseverance is the lubricant for your armour. Perse­ verance is the fuel for the motor that drives your armour. It takes the Word of God in action to keep your life in order. Don't just suit up and sit down, Christ's method of prayer was successful. The disciples realized this and asked Him to teach them to pray. LUKE 11:1-3 And it came to pass that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John a/so taught his disciples." 2 And He said into them, "When ye pray, say, 'Our Father Which art in heaven, Halln"ed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth, J Give us day by day our daily bread.

Praise God and ask for the bread of life daily. Christ is our daily bread. LUKE 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to

us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.' "

Repent your sins. When someone sins against you, do you forgive them? I hope so. If you don't, He is not going to answer your prayers. It is up to you. LUKE 11 :5-6 And He said unto them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; §. For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?'

In this time many traveled at night due to the heat of the day. Also, in this time cooking a loaf of bread was a great deal more work than popping something in the microwave. LUKE 11 :7-8 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not. the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.' ~ I say unto you, Tboogh he will not rise and . . give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

Importunity means consistency. or it was expected the friend would rise and give him what he needed. The perseverance of the friend in need caused the man to rise and give the traveler bread. LUKE 11 :9-10 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be aiven you; seek. and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. J.Q For every one that asketh recelveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Remember, Christ is teaching the disciples and us to pray. Are you too busy to talk with your Father? If you are, that's really too bad. because He is not going to bless you unless you ask. LUKE 11 :11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

Not cven a flesh father would do this, Your spiritual Father 'will ansv,er your prayers and give you those things which you need, LUKE 11: 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

Would the flesh father give lu" son the scorpion of Revelation 97 No, he would gl\e tllm the truth, LUKE 11.13 If ye then, bemg el/II. know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father gIve the Holy Spmt to them that ask Him?"

Christ taught us to persevere in asking our Father through prayer. Even the Holy Spirit is yours for the asking, when you pray that His Will be done. He cares about you and answers prayer that is in your best interest Christ also told us how to pray in Luke 18. LUKE 18:1-2 And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; g Saying, "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man.

This dude was an atheist that didn't care about God or man. We have a few of those in this land today.

LUKE 18:3-5 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, 'Avenge me of mine adversary.' ~ And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within hImself, "Though I fear not God, nor regard man; § Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' "

He wouldn't avenge her for awhile, but she kept pestering the judge, The widow persevered, Christ is teaching us to be persistent in prayer. The widow persevered, Christ is teaching us to be persIstent in prayer, LUKE 18.'6-7 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge saith. Z And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?

Perscverc in asking the Father to guide and direct your life. God will avcnge His own elect. LUKE. 18,'8 I tell you that He will avenge them speed­ ily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He f'''~ faith on the earth?"

Lillh and perscyerance are closely related, Those that lack faith ,,!It not pcrsevere in prayer. Those without faith say. "I kncw God wasn't going to answer my prayers", and then give up. You know, they are right. He won't answer prayer for those that lack faith and aren't persis­ tent. Perseverance is the polish for your gospel armour, How does your armour look? Have you polished it lately? In closing let's turn to John. There is another Greek word that has been translated into English "to continue". The Greek word is "meno" (men'-o). JOHN 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed;

Thc word continue is translated from the Greek meno. Menn· L·u m::m<; to abide. Christ is telling them if they will abide III HIS Word, then they are indeed His dis­ ciples. JOHN 8.32 And ve shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"

Are you free, friend? Are you free from the problems of this world? Do you abide in His Word with pers\!­ verance? Talk to the Father with persistence. This is what Christ taught us on the subject of prayer. Be careful not to make your prayers a wish list. Tell the Father what you want, why you need it, and wh lt you are going to do with it after he gIves it to )')u. God loves you and He will answer your prayers, if you talk to Him with perseverance, InHis Service,

Arnold Murray