Who Wins The Race?
“You will be hated by everybody because of my name; but it is the person who remains faithful to the end who will be saved.” Matthew 10:22
Remains Faithful – There is one word significantly missing from contemporary Christian vocabulary. That word is perseverance. The Greek word, hupomeno, is used more than twenty times in the New Testament. In Hebrew parlance, it is the equivalent tohelet or tiqwah. Both Hebrew words mean an attitude of anticipation with the expectation that something is about to happen. This is active waiting. It is usually translated as “hope.” Hope is never wishful thinking. It is deliberate action based on anticipated results. Perseverance is the action of hope. To persevere is to pursue the anticipated result until it becomes a reality.
This means that hope must be anchored in something real! We can’t pursue what is only a dream in spite of all the goal-setting multilevel marketing techniques. If we are going to demonstrate spiritual perseverance, we must know in the depths of who we are that what God says will happen will indeed happen. We must have such a strong commitment to His faithfulness that nothing dissuades us from the goal. This isn’t always easy to do. Far too often our focus slips to the gratification of the needs in front of us. We forget that active waiting is waiting, not having. Perhaps we are feeling abandoned, lonely or misunderstood. Perseverance says, “Wait. The Father promises care and comfort.” But right in front of us is emotional escape or diversion or an anesthetic for our pain. We stop waiting, grab the relief now, and trade hope for hype. When the emotional aspirin wears off, we are right where we started. There is no perseverance without pain. Pain, trials and tribulations are the working parts of hope and the symptoms of perseverance. Following the Anointed One means walking a difficult and arduous path.
But it doesn’t mean drudgery. This path is covered in petals of joy because each step assures us that our hope is real, our perseverance useful and our goal assured. The footprints of the Master go before us. We are heading in the right direction. And what’s a little blood among friends?
Now that we have the character of the journey in mind, did you notice that Yeshua’s emphasis is about continuing faithfulness? If you get on the train from Philadelphia to New York, you expect the train to move. Just being on the train will not get you to the destination if it never leaves the station. If you find that you are sitting on a train that isn’t moving, it’s time to get off and look for one that is moving. If you discover that there is no trial, no tribulation, no velocity in your trip, then you might consider asking yourself if you’re really traveling. Remaining faithful means encountering regular obstacles. The price of travel is conflict. The size of the conflict is simply a measure of the trust God has in you to finish the journey.
Topical Index: tiqwah, hope, tohelet, remains faithful, perseverance, hupomeno
“..But G-d is faithful.” These four words are “worthy” of a tat. Not that I’m going to rush out and get one, (the canvas is quickly fading and stretching), but how foundational to our faith are these four words.
YHWH is faithful. He WILL perform what He has promised. “For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him (who is the Door) that we utter our Amen to G-d for His glory.” (2 Corinthians 1.20) “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” “in Christ.” And so through Him (Y’shua) the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of G-d.” “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1.6) G-d started this and He will finish it. He is the Alpha (the beginning) and the Omega (the end). G-d Will do this.
Meanwhile (back at the ranch) here we are, stuck in the “nasty now and now”- but anticipating the “sweet by-and-by,”our hope (assurance) of heaven and also the “Blessed Hope”- the assurance that Christ will “come again.” He will return for His bride. How do we “know” this? “It is written.” (Another great choice for a “tat!”).
-A little more about the “Nasty Now-and-Now,” or “Welcome to Monday.” My former pastor (now Above) has said (and perhaps rightly so)- “most folks aren’t all that interested in heaven or hell, they just want to know how to “hack it” on Mondays. And again, I remember him saying- how shall we spend eternity in heaven when most of us don’t even know what to do with ourselves on a rainy day?” lol!- great questions. The answer (for today, as in “right now”) is Canaan living- or life “in Christ” on this side of the doorway of death.
Helpful household hint- to get to Canaan a river must be crossed- it is the river Jordan (yes, the same river where our Master was immersed). Christ died (symbolically) in the river “Death.” Baptism is a pictorial witness to all of the death, burial and resurrection of our Master. “Buried in the likeness of His death, raised to walk in “newness of life.”
I must, (I fear), ask, -how many of us “know” this “newness of life?” Oh,-dear friends- if Christ has not radically changed your life- you have never met Him. This “change,” this “newness”, this growing awareness of the G-d who now is, happens every single day, and every waking moment- G-d has planted the seed (of His word) into our hearts and this seed is growing into a tree and bearing it’s own fruit- the “fruit” of the Ruach HaKodesh listed for us succinctly in Galatians 5:22,23. An apple tree will bear apples. Why? -Because it is an apple tree. The fruit comes from the root. An orange tree will bear oranges,-etc. -What types of “fruit” are evident in my life and in yours? “Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy- filthy communication? -I’ve seen people filled with these fruits and so have you. The fruit bears witness to the root. A pig loves to wallow in the mud. Why?- Because it is a pig. Just doing “what comes naturally”-(to a pig.)
“Following the Anointed One means walking a difficult and arduous path.” -If I were to write my “doctrinal dissertation” on this in would read- (maybe the title of my autobiography?)- “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” -I guarantee, “walking by faith” is anything but boring. YHWH will turn us- “Any Which Way, But Loose.” Sliced, diced, boiled, mashed and stewed. Rode hard, hung up wet, and pulled through a knothole twice. No one gets through this life- “unscarred and unscathed.” -“But G-d is faithful.”
There will be copious amounts of tears. But what is better for your “seeing” (both physically and spiritually) than tears? Let them flow- in reverent worship of the Son of G-d, -Christ,- the Annointed, resurrected, Living Word of G-d.
Hope. (now “abideth” faith, hope and love..) “Deliberate action based on anticipated results. Perseverance is the action of hope. To persevere is to pursue the anticipated result until it becomes a reality.” Hope -“Confident expectation.” What G-d has promised, He also will perform. His word(s) have not one time, ever failed. “And it came to pass”- uh,oh.. another “tat!” -lol!
and the other four *meno? epi, para, kata, pros
I would be delighted to understand