Please, Kindly click This Link Here to Read Active Persistence Pt. 1: The Pathway to Glory.
What God has called you to do are you doing it? When God comes to check your life will He find you doing it? Or you are gone on a break or sabbatical because the difficulty and the opposition is too much. And because you are not getting result, then you are not ready to go to glory, because on the path of glory requires a necessary requirement, active persistence, active commitment in spite of what you are going through.
In Luke 7:19. When John the Baptist said I have to know the reason why I have to die and he sent two of his disciples to Jesus saying; are you the coming one or do we look for another? When the man had come to Jesus and said john the Baptist has sent us to you Jesus saying are you the coming one or do we look for another, and that very hour, while they came, He wasn't doing show for them. That very hour when they came to visit, bring the word of John the Baptist He cured many of infirmities. That very hour! He was doing what He was called to do.
Afflictions and evil spirits and to many blind He gave sight and He answered and said to them, and this is the answer of somebody that is actively persistent, see what He said to them, "go and tell John the things of which you have seen and heard" go and tell John the things I am doing, you found me doing, then now check, let him judge whether I Am the One or he is expecting another. He said go and tell John what you have seen and heard.
So when God comes visiting our lives what will He see? What will He hear? Will it be in sync with what He has called us to do? Will it be that we are running our path on the race or we have shifted, God enlisted us for a 4 by 4 and we have moved to a 100 metre dash. Its faster, they finish it quick. Has God called us to a life and He has sanctified us for such a purpose and we have moved as say you know what? God the way you are using me I don't like it, every time I will be the one packing the dirt I want to be the broom, the broom is always moving. Am always at the receiving end, after the broom finish sweeping that I will be the one to pack. I want to be the broom. There is no glory.
When a packer becomes a broom, who will use it? Nobody! There is no glory. The glory is in that you are running the race that you are assigned to, and that's why when they came to John the Baptist, "are you the Messiah, He said no, don't give me an assignment that God did not give me, "I am the voice crying make way for the Lord" that's my assignment, and that's who I am, I am John.
Listen to Podcast: Active Persistence: The Pathway to Glory
And when Jesus was going to testify about John, see the glory, He said he is the greatest, he was the greatest baptizing people He didn't do any other thing. He did not heal the sick, do you know what they said about him in the previous chapter that we read? It says John did not perform any sign but what he said about this man, this assignment that He fulfilled it is true! And because of the assignment of John Jesus was believed by many people, that was the assignment.
To be a forerunner, that was the glory of His assignment, and Jesus said among all that have gone before, John is the greatest, He said he was a burning and a shining light. Baptizing people onto repentance, that was his assignment. And he did not deviate from it. When people came and wanted to make him the messiah, what you are doing is phenomenon, this prophetic ministry, why not add apostolic and He said no I am not an apostle, don't give me an assignment that is not my own.
After Jesus fed five thousand they wanted to make Him King that if we can make this man king our provision is sustained, and Jesus ran away because His assignment was not to be the king of Israel. He is the king of kings, His assignment was to come and die. So what are you doing that is not your assignment? Or what is your assignment that you have stopped doing? God requires active persistence, it requires your tenacity, your resolve, your commitment in that assignment.
The example of Paul. Apostle Paul said in Romans 28 he said what can separate us from the love of Christ? What can separate us from this assignment that we have received? What can separate us from this life that we have in Christ? What can separate us from this love that we have found? He said no angel, no power and principality can separate us from this love.
I want us to read a Scripture in 2 Timothy about the life of Apostle Paul about how he lived and he is part of the cloud of witnesses surrounding our lives. He was a man just like us. So when we give example of Jesus we would exclaim that Jesus was the Son of God. This is Paul. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 then verse 17-18
2Tim.4.6 – For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2Tim.4.7 – I have fought the good fight, (the good fight, I was not a street fighter, there was a fight that the Lord apportioned to me and I have fought the good fight) I have finished the race, (and how did he finish the race? In persistence. That race God has given to us we are required to finish it but there have been difficulty and opposition on the way. You must stay true to it). I have kept the faith,( I have kept the testimony).
2Tim.4.8 – Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, (glory is waiting for me because I have actively persisted) which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2Tim.4.17 it talks about what he encountered
He said " But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. It wasn't a figurative statement, it wasn't like there was a problem that looks like a Lion. He was now delivered from the mouth of the problem, this was a live testimony of what happened to Him, he said
2Tim.4.18 – And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! See what he had to go through, there are so many scriptures that talks about the life of apostle Paul, How he had to go through things, He said in 1 Corinthians 15 I was always standing at jeopardy at every hour, what's the meaning of jeopardy? Danger! There was a time snake bit him, they thought he was dead he shook of the place and he stood up, there was a time they almost stoned him to death, there was a time his ship wanted to capsize he did not say because of this difficulty and opposition he will stop preaching, he will stop declaring, he will stop doing the thing that God has called him to.
What are you going through? What is the light affliction that we are going through that we have chosen to through in the towel? And say God you know what? I am not doing again, let me find something else to do, at least people are living their lives, except you don't want glory, there is glory in God.
Apostle Paul attested to it, we also saw in the life of Jesus in Hebrews 12 that we read we saw how, He said see there is glory ahead of you, he said therefore we are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, Jesus, Paul, Peter, John. Men that stood in the midst of difficulty and opposition and they triumphed and overcame.
So we must continue to be persistent, the Bible says this race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong so it's not in your strength, that's why apostle Paul said in in verse 17 and 18 of 2timothy 4. He said God preserved me, God will preserve you no matter what you are going through, that thing will not consume you, that's why he said when you go through the fire I will be with you, that means you will go through the fire. Its not if ,its not probability "when" is a matter of time you will go through it
There was a place Jesus was talking about He said a servant cannot be greater than the master. They hated me they will hate you, they persecuted me they will persecute you except you are not witnessing me, what I experienced you will experience, they will hate you, but you are an overcome, if have overcome for you. So God will preserve you in that difficulty, when you was time they wanted to kill Jesus. God sent an angel to Joseph in the dream he said take the child out of this land.
God preserved Him, is that there was no difficulty? Is it that there was no opposition? But the preservation of the Lord is sure and that's why we must actively persevere the three Hebrew boys said to king Nebuchadnezzar, see we are not going to bow down, see we have persistently followed God and in the face of this opposition we will not still fall. We are going to stand, in the face of this jeopardy we are going to stand, and they stood.
And they said even if God will not save us, we will not bow. This race we will not chicken out of it. And the King commanded that they should throw them into the fire and God preserved them in the fire. So when God says when you go through the fire I will be with you I will preserve you in it, the fire will not hurt you, when you go through the waters it will not overflow you, God did not promise us a difficulty free and opposition absence journey.
He said difficulty will come, opposition will come but I will preserve you in it. That's His promise and we must hold on to it and that's why we must hold on in Him, continue to hold on to that word. It's like when pure water start to sell you leave what God has asked you to do, people are making money in pure water now let me go on sabbatical, am coming back. After I make money in the pure water I am coming back.
That's what peter was going to do at some point and God said to him, He said "do you love me more than these"? You have gone through so much difficulty and opposition is it at this time, at this point that you are going to leave? And he said Lord you know I love you and He said see feed my Lamb. Do the assignment, do the work I called you to. And that was the last time peter will go fishing.
He stayed and he fought a good fight and he finished the race, and heaven is looking down to each and every one of us this morning and He is requiring on our journey active persistence. What I have told you are you still working it actively? Are you still working the work? Are you still doing that which I have asked you to do or you have branched, are you actively persisting in the midst of the difficulty, in the midst of the opposition, what are you doing? What is your response to the difficulty? What is your response to the opposition? All through Mary did not say I regret carry this child, she would have missed out she would have aborted a divine plan.
But she persisted, you just need to paint a mental picture of what she went through at that time, and she enjoyed glory.
I believe you have been blessed!
