Patience and perseverance

HEBREWS 10:35-39

35 Therefore do not cast away YOUR CONFIDENCE, which has great reward.
36 For you have need of ENDURANCE,
so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.

38 Now THE JUST shall LIVE BY FAITH;
But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But WE ARE NOT OF THOSE who draw back to perdition,
but of those who BELIEVE TO THE SAVING OF THE SOUL.

ROMANS 10:10-11

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,

and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says,

“Whoever believes on Him WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”

2 CORINTHIANS 4:13

And since WE HAVE THE SAME SPIRIT OF FAITH, according to what is written,
“I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.

JAMES 4:7

Therefore submit to God. RESIST THE DEVIL and he will flee from you.

REVELATION 12:10-11

10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
“Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of His Christ HAVE COME,
for THE ACCUSER OF OUR BRETHREN,
who accused them before our God day and night, HAS BEEN CAST DOWN.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives to the death.

JEREMIAH 17:5-6

5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.

JEREMIAH 17:7-8

7 “BLESSED is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like A TREE PLANTED BY THE WATERS,
Which SPREADS OUT ITS ROOTS BY THE RIVER,
And WILL NOT FEAR WHEN HEAT COMES;
But ITS LEAF WILL BE GREEN,
And WILL NOT BE ANXIOUS IN THE YEAR OF DROUGHT,
NOR WILL CEASE FROM YIELDING FRUIT.

LUKE 18:1, 7-8

1 Then He spoke a parable to them,
that men ALWAYS OUGHT TO PRAY and NOT LOSE HEART

…

7 And shall God not avenge His own elect
who cry out day and night to Him,
though He bears long with them?
8 I TELL YOU that HE WILL AVENGE THEM SPEEDILY.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,
will He really find faith on the earth?”

REVELATION 13:10

He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity;
he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword.
Here is THE PATIENCE and THE FAITH of the saints.

MALACHI 4:5-6

5 Behold, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH the prophet
BEFORE THE COMING of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,

Lest I COME and STRIKE THE EARTH WITH A CURSE.

JAMES 1:2-4

2 My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith
produces PATIENCE.

4 But LET PATIENCE HAVE ITS PERFECT WORK,
that YOU MAY BE perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

JAMES 5:11

Indeed WE COUNT THEM BLESSED who ENDURE.

You have heard of THE PERSEVERANCE of Job
and SEEN THE END intended by the Lord

—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

MATTHEW 7:7-8

7 “ASK, and it will be given to you;
SEEK, and you will find;
KNOCK, and it will be opened to you.

8 For EVERYONE who ASKS receives,
and he who SEEKS finds,
and to him who KNOCKS it will be opened.

MATTHEW 7:9-12

9 Or what man is there among you who,
if HIS SON asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If you then, being evil, know how to give GOOD GIFTS to YOUR CHILDREN,
how much more will YOUR FATHER who is in heaven
give GOOD THINGS to those who ask Him!

12 THEREFORE, whatever you want men to do to you,
do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

LUKE 9:62

61 And another also said,
“Lord, I will follow You,
but let me first go
and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

62 But Jesus said to him,
“NO ONE, having put his hand to the plow,
and looking back,
IS FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”

HEBREWS 5:14

But solid food belongs to those who are of FULL AGE,
that is, those who by reason of use
have their senses exercised
to discern both good and evil.

PROVERBS 24:16a

For a righteous man 
MAY FALL seven times

And RISE AGAIN

Put on the full Armor

FULL ARMOR

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Eph. 6:10:19)

BELT OF TRUTH

• CRUCIAL role in the effectiveness of the soldier’s armor. It had a special place where the sword was kept. 
• It girded up (secured) all the other pieces of armor (except the shoes, helmet and shield) 
• One little piece missing from it and it was considered useless.

What is TRUTH?

• Sanctify them by Your TRUTH. Your WORD is TRUTH. (John 17:17)
• The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
• Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

• Overlapping pieces of metal with connecting front and back sections, allowing for flexibility and movement.
• Protecting the vital organs

What is RIGHTEOUSNESS? – RIGHT STANDING, FREE

• And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Rom. 6:18.
• God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21
• If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.  1John 2:29
• But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Matt. 6:33

SHOES-Firm Foundation of the Good News of Peace

• Sandals wore by Roman soldiers that had a leather sole and dozens of sandal straps that went around the feet and ankles. They provided great support. The soldiers were fast moving and well protected. 

What is the GOOD NEWS OF PEACE?

• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..Gal. 5:22
• And the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus..Phil 4:7
• Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I don’t give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
• Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17

SHIELD OF FAITH

• Long, square shaped and covered almost the whole soldier
• It was also used as an emergency stretcher
• In combat they were linked together so the many soldiers in line had a wall of metal in front of them. The real power was when used in unity.

What is FAITH? 

• Faith is the substance of what we hope for, the assurance of what we do not see. 
• We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor. 5:7
• Without faith is it impossible to please God. Heb. 11:6
• Everything is possible for he that believes Mark 9:23
• Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world..our FAITH

HELMET OF SALVATION

• Important part of the armor as it protected the head of the soldier. Even a small rock could have caused an injury that would have affected the whole body. Soldiers could expect rocks, arrows and smelly animal waste to be rained down on their heads from above.

What is SALVATION? (SOZO-saved, forgiven, healed, delivered, made whole, abundantly supplied, restored)

• For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 2 Cor. 5:21
• Jesus, the author of our salvation Heb. 2:10

• She shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus; for He shall “sozo” His people from their sins. Matt. 1:21
• For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, it pleased Him by the foolishness of preaching to “sozo” them that believe. 1 Cor. 1:21

• If I may only touch His clothes, I shall be “sozo” (made whole) Mark 5:28

• She shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus; for He shall “sozo” His people from their sins. Matt. 1:21
• For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, it pleased Him by the foolishness of preaching to “sozo” them that believe. 1 Cor. 1:21
• ..continue to work out your salvation Phil 2:12
• We take captive every thought and bring it into Christ’s obedience 2 Cor. 10:5
• ..whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, anything excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

• Called gladius, the sword was the main fighting weapon for a roman soldier.
• Always wore on the right side
• Two edged sword able to go through metal very effectively. 

THE WORD OF GOD

• In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was God and the WORD was with God. John 1:1
• For the WORD of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb. 4:12)
• Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matt. 4:4
• For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God. 1 Pet. 1:23