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! Introduction
By 7 p.m. on October 20, 1968, at the Mexico City Olympics Stadium, it was beginning to darken.
It had cooled down as well.
The last of the Olympic marathon runners were being assisted away to first-aid stations.
Over an hour earlier, Mamo Waldi of Ethiopia had charged across the finish line, winning the 26-mile, 385-yard race looking as strong and as vigorous as when he'd started.
As the last few thousand spectators began preparing to leave, they heard police sirens and whistles through the gate entering the stadium.
The attention turned to that gate.
A sole figure, wearing the colors of Tanzania, came limping into the stadium.
His name was John Steven Aquari.
He was the last man to finish the marathon in 1968.
His leg was bandaged, bloody.
He had taken a bad fall early in the race.
Now, it was all he could do to limp his way around the track.
The crowd stood and applauded as he completed that last lap.
When he finally crossed the finish line, one man dared ask the question all were wondering.
"You are badly injured.
Why didn't you quit?
Why didn't you give up?"
Aquari, with quiet dignity said, "My country did not send me seven thousand miles to start this race.
My country sent me to finish."
So it is with God.
God didn't just send you to start this race.
God sent you both to start and to finish.
What is it like for you?
Most of us here are closer to the end of our life than the beginning.
As you finish the race you began when you invited Christ to come into your life, how are you doing?
There are some wonderful words in the Bible which promise that those who endure to the end will be saved.
This morning, I want to encourage you to endure.
!
I.
The Promise
Let us be encouraged by the many Scripture passages which promise us that if we endure, we will receive great spiritual blessing.
!! A. Encouragement to Endure
In II Timothy 2:11-13 we read, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us, if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
In this passage, there are four promises which speak about the assurance of salvation in a Christians life.
The first promise is that if we have died with him, we will also live with him.
This is reminiscent of Romans 6: 1ff which is basically a statement about our salvation.
If we have placed our life under Christ, having died to sin, then we have also received the eternal life which becomes our possession as soon as we become followers of Christ.
Is that salvation assured?
Well, the next promise states that if we endure, we will also reign with him.
This is where the promise that we receive blessing from God on the basis of our endurance comes in.
If we stay the course, if we are victorious, if we stand firm, then we will also receive the blessing of reigning with Christ.
But the statement about endurance also warns us that if we disown him, he will also disown us and if we are faithless, he remains faithful.
What does this mean?
It is one of the most difficult ideas in the Bible and many have debated it on both sides of the issue.
Some say that once we belong to Christ, it is impossible to lose that relationship.
They point to such passages as those which say that “no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
Others suggest that we can lose our salvation if we walk in sin without repentance.
They point to such passages as Hebrews 6 which warn that it is impossible to bring someone back when they have turned from Christ.
This passage in Timothy helps us understand.
These two phrases are important.
I believe they teach us that we can be unfaithful to Christ by not always living by faith.
If we do that, Christ remains faithful and will not disown us.
However, if we go so far in our unfaithfulness as to deny Christ, then Christ does not force us to remain his child.
He will deny us.
Of course, when we enter into eternal life, we realize what a great blessing we have in Christ.
Why would we want to lose what we have?
So the encouragement of the passage is that we must endure.
Many other passages use the same language to encourage us to endure.
One other interesting one that I would like to remind you of this morning is the series of passages in Revelation.
Jesus speaks to the people of the churches in Asia, the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
There is a pattern which repeats itself in the end of each of the letters to the churches.
Each time there is one or the other of two phrases.
Sometimes it says, “ “to him who overcomes” and other times it says “he who overcomes” which basically amounts to the same thing.
The word is the same in both cases and means, “the one who conquers.”
So we see how important this idea is.
The Bible recognizes the importance of making this invitation to endure.
!! B. Promises To Over-comers
Before we go on to talk about why it is necessary to endure and how to endure, let us be encouraged by the great promises which are made to those who overcome.
In Timothy we were encouraged that if we overcome we will reign with Christ.
Look for a moment at the promises which are made to the churches in Revelation.
Revelation 2:7 - the right to eat from the tree of life
Revelation 2:10b, 11 - crown of life, not hurt by the second death
Revelation 2:17 - hidden manna, white stone with a name written on it
Revelation 2:26 - authority over the nations
Revelation 3:5 - dressed in white, name never blotted out, acknowledged before the Father.
Revelation 3:11, 12 - a pillar in the temple, never leave it, name of God written
Revelation 3:21 - right to sit on the throne
Revelation 21:7 - will inherit all this, I will be his God, he will be my son.
What blessing there is for those who will endure.
That in itself is a great encouragement to all of us not to give up and to keep on.
!
II.
The Temptation
As we think about this, we realize an interesting thought.
Why does God have to encourage us to endure?
I was standing, rather precariously on the top rung of a ladder making a repair on the house.
Carla was down below with a worried look on her face telling me to be careful.
Warnings like “be careful” or “watch yourself” are not made if there is no reason to make them.
The same is true of a warning like “endure.”
The Bible contains these warnings because there are dangers out there which could cause us to lose hope and to give up on what we have.
The Bible is very clear what some of those dangers are.
Essentially, we are called to overcome because we are still engaged in a struggle with sin and with evil forces.
We are in a battle which may include a struggle with sin, a struggle with doubt, a struggle with false teaching, a struggle with persecution, a struggle with assurance.
Behind all of these struggles is the presence of an enemy who would like very much to bring us to the place where we would give up.
I John 1:8 reminds us of our continuing struggle with sin when it says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
I John 4:1 indicates our struggle with the truth when it warns us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
In John 15:20, Jesus warns us, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
I John 3:21 says, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.”
This verse speaks about the doubts that sometimes come into our life.
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