The King's Church in Ilford
Talk by Dave SansumFortitude
and Reward – 13th April 2008
Scriptures,
notes and quotes (Scriptures taken from ESV)
Matt Damon:
Feeling Old
One Thanksgiving
Day morning, Matt Damon was roused from bed by his triathlete
brother at 5:30 a.m. to run a 5-kilometer road race.
"It was kind
of an eye-opening thing," he recalled. "I started to feel old for the
first time when I'm about two thirds of the way through a 5k and I'm going
like, 'I'm working it. I'm doing good,' and look over
and these two 8-year-olds passed me. They're like talking to each other, not
even trying..."
["The worst
thing was, by the time I finished the race, some camera crews had shown up so I
come blasting across the finish line, because I'm trying to catch these
8-year-old brats, and there are these Channel 4 News types: 'Hey you just ran a
5k - how do you feel?' And now I gotta try to be all
Jason Bourne about it and not cry, which is what I want to do."]
2 Thessalonians 1
Greeting
1
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To
the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for
you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the
love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for
your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions
that you are enduring.
The Judgment at
Christ’s Coming
5This is evidence of the righteous judgment of
God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are
also suffering—
6since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict
you, 7and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the
Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire,
inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the punishment of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his
might, 10 when he comes on that day to
be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed,
because our testimony to you was believed.
There
are many themes in this passage. I want
to highlight the theme of endurance and reward.
Endurance
The ability to withstand
prolonged pain, distress, hardship, stress or strain of any kind without
succumbing
Paul
often uses endurance athletics to illustrate what it is like to live as a
follower of Christ:
1
Corinthians 9
24Do
you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the
prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25Every athlete exercises self-control in
all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I
discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
1 Timothy 4: 7-9
7Have nothing to do with irreverent,
silly myths.
Rather train yourself for godliness; 8for while bodily training is of some
value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present
life and also for the life to come. 9The saying is trustworthy and deserving of
full acceptance.
In
order the we might get the full impact of this I’d like to share a little of
what I am enduring in the hope of winning a medal in the 5,000 metres at the World Corporate Games this summer.
Keeping mental discipline. Thinking of what we do in this moment (C. S.
Lewis) and the glory we will receive on the big day.
Why
do athletes push themselves so hard? Why
do the
Hebrews
10:36
For
you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may
receive what is promised.
Endurance
/ Fortitude is essential to succeed as a follower of
Christ:
Jesus
would from time to time speak to His followers of the cost of following
Him. These followers had heard His great
wisdom and insight and seen His miraculous signs and wonders. But faced with the prospect of persecution
and the thought of living for Him instead for themselves, many of them left Him.
Genuine
disciples have fortitude.
Fortitude – The strength
of mind to bear adversity with courage
Pirates of the
Captain Jack Sparrow : Mr. Cotton ? Do you have the courage and fortitude
to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?
We
should add this to the pool questions when we baptise
people.
We
require fortitude to live for Christ in every part of life:
To
be diligent at Work
To
be faithful and selfless with Family
To
resist Temptation
To
persevere in Ministry
To
endure persecution
Hitch quote
Definition of
perseverance
Continuing in a
course of action without regard to discouragement, opposition or previous
failure
Jesus
is our example:
Hebrews
12
1Therefore,
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, 2looking 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.
God
is our strength
Romans
15
4For
whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that
through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have
hope. 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such
harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may
with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The
reward for those who with endurance, live for Christ:
In
God’s presence there is Glory: Hope, Joy, Peace, Light and Life
The
consequence for those who refuse to stand up and follow Christ:
In
the absence of God’s glory : Despair, Misery, Turmoil, Darkness and Death
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1