Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
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ENDURANCE: The ability to keep moving forward while being intensely opposed
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2 Timothy 2:3 ESV
3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
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2 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV
5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
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1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV
27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
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1 Timothy 6:12 ESV
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
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1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
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Endurance is NOT optional.
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David: Endure Self-Inflicted Injury
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2 Samuel 12:13-14 ESV
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
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Endure Requires Repentance & Relational Restoration
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Psalm 51:9-12 ESV
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
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Elisha: Enduring Overwhelming Odds
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2 Kings 6:15-16 ESV
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
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Endurance Requires Spiritual Vision
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Naomi: Enduring Personal Loss
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Ruth 1:3-5 ESV
3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
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Endurance Requires Community
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2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
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The Distance of Your Endurance Depends on the Depth of Your Love.
