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How To Endure Suffering
June 28, 2026 · 50 min
A pastoral meditation on why Paul urges us to 'endure'—how worship, Scripture, and faith sustain us in trials.
Series 2 Timothy Video
Calvary Chapel teaches the Bible simply and literally, presenting scripture verse by verse so everyone can understand and apply God’s Word to daily life. We
June 28, 2026 · 50 min · 2 Timothy Video
A pastoral meditation on why Paul urges us to 'endure'—how worship, Scripture, and faith sustain us in trials. ...more Show the full description Show less A pastoral meditation on why Paul urges us to 'endure'—how worship, Scripture, and faith sustain us in trials.
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In this video 0:00 Endurance Requires Focus: The Good Soldier10:19 Endurance Demands Discipline: The Athlete26:36 Endurance Produces Fruit: The Hardworking Farmer37:02 Closing Prayer and Challenge50:17 Prayer and Application
Endurance Requires Focus: The Good Soldier 0:01 Father, we're always grateful for opportunities that you give to us to open your word. And, god, I would pray for all of us that this is not the only time this week that we've opened0:13 our Bibles. But truly, Lord, that we've spent time digging through the scriptures, searching, seeking, looking for instruction, looking for direction,0:24 searching for peace in our hearts, knowing the times that we live in, lord. And, and your at any moment, you can come home you can come and take us0:36 home, and we certainly would love that. But, lord, we also wanna be well equipped for the things that you've called us to here on earth while we're still alive, while we're still breathing, while we still have time.0:48 So equip us this morning as the apostle Paul continues to instruct young Timothy in his ministry and his life, we pray, god, that we would glean from these truths as well.1:00 Such a rich section, of 2nd Timothy, and I'm excited to be able to share it. And I just pray, god, that, this time would be, dedicated to you and committed1:12 to you, that we would truly, truly have ears to hear what you're gonna speak to us. You may challenge us. You may, convict us. You may encourage us. All of1:24 those things are needed in our lives. And so we just pray that our hearts would be open and ready to receive. Now that we've worshiped you, now that we've lifted our voices to you and drawn our attention towards you, we
1:35 pray that your word would come alive to us. Bless us as we read. Bless us as we study. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. 1st
1:47 thing I wanna say here is in no way, shape, or form, is this message something that your pastor has perfected?
1:59 I'm not here teaching from a position of authority other than the authority God has given to me. As I read these, scriptures, as I read this text, it ministers to me just as much as it does you, maybe even
2:10 more. And so never do I want you to think I'm teaching down to you or at you. I am teaching to all of us, the importance of applying god's
2:22 word to our lives. And I really do believe that this 1 will kinda hit home for all of us. You see, in the church, we talk about blessings. We all we want, always want god's
2:34 blessings. We talk about breakthrough. We want breakthrough, god. We want, something to change, an open door or or or a season to change in our lives. We talk about the favor of the lord, flourishing in our walk with
2:46 God, the abundant life which we all want and all are promised in the word of God. And all of these things are real. All of these things are true because scripture speaks to them. But there
2:58 is another section, a word that Paul considers so central in Christianity. He uses it 3 times in the very
3:09 1st, very 1st 13 verses of this chapter. 3 times, he uses the word endure. Endure. Endurance. We don't talk about
3:21 it a lot in church, but it's so important that we endure difficult times. And the the topic of today's message is how to endure suffering.
3:34 Clearly, the reason why I said I've not perfected this. I'm trying to endure suffering in my own life. I'm trying to endure the struggles in my own life, just as we all are. But there is
3:45 such rich truth in this area of text that Paul is writing to young Timothy that we can all glean from, and hopefully some of us will go, oh, yeah. I'm doing that. I'm trying to do that. I'm applying that to my life. Or
3:57 maybe you're being around, oh, I need to do more of that in my life. Because to me, even as we were singing this morning and worshiping, and I'm thinking about how to endure suffering,
4:10 Worship is such an important part of the Christian walk, to truly let the world around us fade away. Let the things of life just sit by the side from us so that we
4:22 can worship our creator, so that we can worship our God and worship our savior. Worship worship is something we get to participate in.
4:33 Worship isn't something that we just sit back and listen to. Please, I pray when we sing these songs and the lyrics are up there is to help you, but it does it's a a desire to
4:45 draw your heart into the presence of God and worship our creator who loves us unconditionally, who loves us eternally. And the Bible says there is nothing that
4:57 we can do to stop God's love for us. So worship helps us deal. Coming to church, being in fellowship helps us endure because we get to co labor together.
5:09 But there's 5 things in this next section. We're gonna talk about 3 this morning that the apostle Paul is trying to teach to Timothy and showing him that you can do this, Timothy. You
5:21 can endure sufferings. Remember, and I probably remind you every single Sunday that I'm teaching from this book, Paul is in a Roman dungeon. Paul is changed to a a Roman guard. Paul
5:33 is probably gonna lose his life. This is the last letter he ever wrote. And here is a man in a bad place still able to encourage a young man to endure
5:45 suffering, to endure difficulty. He's not, again, he's not teaching it from any place of perfection, but he certainly is applying it to his own life. And what a joy that is for us who go
5:57 through difficult times to be there for someone else that is gonna go through a difficult time. And we can teach and and minister to them from a position of I've been where you've at are at. I've been what
6:09 you've been through. I've done it myself. I know God can get you through this. It's that confidence that we have in God getting us through it. Paul will say, you therefore
6:20 must endure hardship as a good shoulder of Jesus Christ. Notice it didn't say maybe. No, but it didn't say you might. No. It says
6:32 you must endure hardship. This is not a passage for the spiritually fainthearted, but a passage for the spiritually honest. That sometimes we can say it's okay.
6:44 I'm going through a tough season. I'm going through a difficult thing. It's alright for anyone who has ever wondered why following Jesus is harder than they expected,
6:56 or if it is for a leader in this room who's weary in what they're doing, or perhaps a believer whose faith is costing them something. It's
7:08 for you. If remaining faithful is even possible, is that the question in your mind? Is can I remain faithful? Is that even possible? Things are so, so hard.
7:20 But the good news is that the apostle Paul doesn't simply command Timothy to do this. He shows us and shows him and shows us how to do it, and what a joy it is. And as I
7:32 said, as I've been reading it this week, it's been an encouragement to me. I am gonna start in verse 1, but we're gonna basically, our text is gonna be from verse 3, to 13. But,
7:44 again, starting in verse 1, we say we read, you therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have
7:56 heard from me in a among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who'll be able to teach others also. So we talked about that last week, those 2 verses. And then starting in
8:07 verse 3, you therefore must endure hardship. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, no 1 engaged in warfare
8:19 entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also, if anyone competes in athletics,
8:32 he's not crowned unless competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must 1st must be 1st to partake of the crops. Consider what
8:44 I say, and may the lord give you understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the
8:56 dead according to my gospel, for which I suffered trouble as an evil doer, even to the point of chains. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore,
9:08 I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is a
9:20 faithful saying, for if we died with him, we shall also live with him. If we endure, we shall also reign with him. If
9:32 we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, and I will submit, we are faithless. If we are faithless, he
9:43 remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. 3 things I wanna look at. 5 in total, like I said, but I don't think we're gonna get past verse 7 this morning.
9:56 But there's 3 things this morning I wanna talk about. As the apostle Paul starts out here in verse 3, you therefore must endure hardship. You therefore must
10:08 endure hardship. He knows that the the career, if you will, the call that Timothy has accepted as a pastor is not gonna be easy. He understands there's gonna be difficulty. He
Endurance Demands Discipline: The Athlete
10:19 understands in this world that it's not just for pastors, it's for all believers. We endure hardship. We endure struggle. We endure setback endure setbacks and changes in life and difficulties in life and
10:31 challenges in life. And so it's a reminder for all of us that we must endure a hardship. When something happens in your life and it's hard, when something happens and
10:43 it's devastating, and I'm looking out in this room and I'm seeing some people that have gone through some very difficult seasons in their lives, and I can remember that hurt. I can remember that pain. I can remember when
10:54 we got the news, whether it was cancer, whether it was a loss of a child, whether it was whatever it may be, a relationship, whatever it may be, someone who is struggling with something in their, in their marriage, in
11:03 their life, in their family, whatever it may it was hardship. But every time I hear of these things, it's like, what choice do we have but to endure? Do we give
11:15 up as believers? Somebody say no. No. We don't give up. We endure. We get through it. We figure out, Lord, help us get through it. Lord, you know this was coming. You knew we were
11:27 gonna be in this place. You knew it was gonna be hard. Lord, help us get through it. You've heard me say many of times when we pray, don't pray that God takes away your trouble. Pray that God gets you through your
11:39 trouble, that he strengthens you through it. Nobody's gonna pray for it. Nobody's gonna wake up every Lord, give me the toughest day of my life, please. But maybe we
11:51 should. Maybe we should. We should say, god, give me the toughest day of my life, but also give me the strength to get through the toughest day of my life and make us stronger, would make us better.
12:04 So there, you therefore must endorse hardship. Now he again, he gives us 3 illustrations, 3 examples of what enduring hardship is,
12:16 enduring difficulties. 1st, he starts out with a soldier. He reminds Timothy as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. What do soldiers do?
12:30 Fight. Right? But they go into battle. I'm not talking about the soldier that stands guard at the the gate and doesn't move at all. I'm talking about the soldier that's engaged in battle. Timothy, you
12:41 are a good soldier. I love that he qualifies that, quantifies that. No. You're a good soldier in Jesus Christ, but you are a soldier and you're called to fight. And in order to endure
12:53 suffering, we have to understand the position of a soldier to endure these hardships, is to fight, is to get engaged in the battle. This word endure
13:05 hardship means to suffer, listen, together, to share in hardship. When you're going through something, you're not going through it alone, Christian.
13:17 Don't forget that. And I'm not talking about your spouse. I'm not talking about your friends. I'm not talking about your pastor. The Lord Jesus is with you. The Holy Spirit is there to help
13:29 you endure. You are not in anything alone. And to me, in hardship, the 1st thing we must do is acknowledge god's presence with us. Lord, you're here.
13:41 Again, I said it. He knows you this was coming. He knew this was gonna happen to you, and he may probably was preparing you for it and he was equipping you for it. And now that it's here, he's gonna say, okay, let's get
13:51 through this together. It's a hardship and we must endure it. Paul used the same root word in, chapter 1 verse 8 when he urged Timothy to share with me in the sufferings for
14:03 the gospel. Share in me in this, Timothy. Paul was again ministering to Timothy in a position that Timothy was in because Paul was in the same position. So share with me in this, Timothy. Isn't
14:15 that the beautiful thing about the body of Christ? That we get to do life together. We get to share in these things. You know, when when you're weak, hopefully, someone in the fellowship, someone in your life is
14:27 strong to help you. Right? To to help be there for you, to encourage you through it, to help you endure this hardship. And so Paul is repeating this idea of suffering because he knows it's
14:38 important. He wants Timothy to get it. And Paul is not issuing just a generic exhortation to toughen up Timothy. It's gonna be hard.
14:53 Quite frankly, the opposite would be even more difficult for Timothy. Don't worry, Timothy. Everything will be fine. God will show up every time for you. No. That's that's that creates spoiled Christianity.
15:06 He's calling Timothy, and he's calling every 1 of us this morning to a fellowship of suffering. If Jesus suffered, if our savior suffered, why would we think we
15:17 wouldn't? Right? He said if they hate you, don't forget they hated me before they hated you. And as
15:29 I said, nobody wants to suffer. Nobody wants to go through pain. But if if you looked back upon your life and remembered the seasons
15:41 that you've gone through that were hard, I ask you, did you see god in it? Did you see god get you through it? Did you see god's presence in it? You
15:53 may not have noticed it in the moment. You may not have noticed it when you were going through it. But when you look back, you're like, wait a minute. God was there at that moment. God showed up in this position. That
16:03 was the lord that did that. Have you ever experienced what the bible calls the peace that surpasses understanding? There's a few of you in here. Yes. You to
16:15 truly experience a peace when you're going through something that should be wrecking you is a peace that goes beyond understanding. Like, man, I should be a wreck. I should be
16:27 a mess. But God has given me this peace, and it's that peace that he gives us because we acknowledge his presence. We acknowledge that he's there. We may not feel him. We may not sense
16:39 him. We not might not see him, what he's doing, or how he's doing it. We may still be questioning him. Lord, when are you gonna do something? But the knowledge that we have that I'll never leave you nor forsake you, that
16:50 he's there brings this sense of peace that I'm not doing this alone. And that, my friends, is amazing because the 1st thing when it comes to, enduring hardship is
17:02 endurance requires focus. Focus. And a soldier is 1 that focuses on the job. Notice it says again, you therefore must endure hardship as a good shoulder of Jesus Christ.
17:14 No 1 engaged in warfare and tangles himself with the affairs of this life. The focus is don't look at what's happening in your
17:26 life. Don't look at the problem. Don't look at what you're going where's the focus need to be? It needs to be on god. It needs to be on his word. It needs to be on those things that you know that bring you encouragement.
17:37 That's why he talked about worship. Worshiping god gets your mind off of the suffering. So there's a focus that must be on the lord because probably every single 1 of us in this room
17:49 know that if we focus on the problem, if we focus on the potential of what could happen, it consumes us. It erodes us. It's a a cancer in our
18:01 soul that brings us discouragement. You know, when we start thinking, why is this happening to me? Why is this going on? I'm so faithful to God. I love God, but why am I why is this happening?
18:13 Listen. Quite often, the reason it's happening in your life is because you are a Christian. Because the world hates us, the enemy hates us, and he wants to put us through
18:25 something that is so hard that he's trying to break us. But if we focus on god because that scripture, greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world, and we focus on him, guess what?
18:37 We can endure and we can get through. And when Paul says good soldier, what he means is
18:51 it's it's nobility. It's excellence. It's being fit for the task. He's reminding Timothy, listen, Timothy. You have everything you need. You've been equipped by God to
19:02 endure suffering. So be a good soldier. Be a soldier that's effective. Be a soldier that moves in that way and moves in in in, that gifting and that anointing.
19:18 In Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 through 14 says, not that I have already attained nor I'm already perfected, but I press on
19:30 that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Then verse 13, brethren, I do not count myself as to have apprehended,
19:42 but 1 thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. Notice that commit I'm forgetting those things that are
19:53 behind, through forgetting the past, forgetting, and looking ahead. Verse 14, I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
20:05 Christ Jesus. That's focus, guys. That's focus. And and the Apostle Paul is telling the church at Philippi, listen, I am not there yet. I did not arrive
20:17 yet. But 1 thing I'm doing, I'm moving in that direction, and my focus is on god. What do you need to do in your life to adjust your focus, to get your focus
20:29 on God, to get it off your finances, to get off your relationships, get off your career, get off your neighbor, get it off whatever is going on in your life that you're struggling with? How do you need
20:41 to get your focus on god and press forward, Paul says? Notice what
20:53 Paul says about the good soldier in verse 4. No 1 engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please
21:04 him who enlisted him as a soldier. Who enlisted you as a soldier? Jesus.
21:17 When you gave your life to god, you now enlisted in the warfare, the spiritual warfare of being a Christian and walking in faith.
21:29 And the apostle Paul said, listen. You're gonna be a good soldier. You're gonna endure. You're gonna focus on what you're called to. You're not gonna worry about the things that are going on in the world. You're not
21:38 going to worry about the thing. And I'm not saying don't be concerned about the things in the world. I'm not saying that, but you're not going to be focused on that. You're gonna be focused on the call and you're going
21:48 to be doing everything in your power to please God, the 1 who called you into it, the 1 who called you into his family, the 1 who called you into his kingdom.
22:01 This word entangles. Gosh. Speaks of being caught in a net, speaks of being ensnared, unable to move. That's the world. When we get entangled
22:13 in the things of the world, we get caught up. We get we get our focus off. A Roman soldier, I wrote this down, a Roman soldier could not be distracted by personal business.
22:25 His commanding officer required his full and undivided attention. His singular aim was to please him who enlisted him. He was to please his
22:37 what is it? Jordan? Commander? Was it I got it right. That's a miracle in itself right there. That's the focus. Follow the
22:49 command. Follow the instructions. Christ has given us instructions to to be in the world but not of the world, and to be a participant in it, and to make a difference
23:01 in it. Listen, there is nothing only nothing inherently wrong with the affairs of this world. You have to have a job. You have to be involved. You gotta earn money. You
23:13 gotta take care of things. You gotta work. You gotta enjoy recreation. You gotta enjoy family, friends. But when the focus is on those things, when that's the primary focus is on the things of the world, that's when we
23:25 get our our, affairs off. That's when the affairs of this world of this life are taking control. When we measure obedience listen. When we measure
23:36 obedience by the cost of our comfort, our career, or our reputation, then we're getting caught up in the affairs of this world.
23:49 Do you care? Listen. You're gonna don't misunderstand. Do you care more about how god sees you than how the world sees
24:01 you. Because god sees you everywhere. He sees everything that you're doing. He sees everything in your heart. And so to please him helps our focus
24:12 stay on him. So endurance requires focus. And maybe for some of us in this room, even this morning, you're
24:24 like, I gotta get my focus in the right place. I gotta stop focusing on, am I gonna get a new job? Am I gonna find a new house? Am I gonna find a spouse? Am I what where's your focus?
24:36 Maybe your focus need to be adjusted this morning. That's number 1, and that's the soldier. Number 2 is the athlete in verse 5. And, also, if anyone competes in athletics,
24:50 he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Also, Paul sometimes is just so simple. He just brings it down to simple
25:02 understanding, and the people hearing this and Timothy hearing this would have understood it. The 2nd image shifts shifts from the barracks to the arena. Okay? Working within the
25:13 context of the rules. The imagery here for, Timothy and for all that would read this letter would be immediately recognizable. You know, the Olympic games were events in
25:25 the day that were enormous, of of of enormous cultural significance. Victory brought not just a wreath on their head, it brought lasting honor, it brought
25:37 fame, and it brought celebration. But Paul's point here is not the prize, it's the process. It's running the race. If anyone competes in this, it is not crowned
25:49 unless he competes according to the rules. I think it was last was it last year's turkey trot? I don't remember who I was walking with, but,
26:02 I think it was me that suggested we took a shortcut. I think you were with me. Or maybe you weren't. Maybe you weren't. Cheating. I was
26:14 cheating. Yeah. I was like, why do we have to walk all the way down there just to walk right back? We could just turn right here, and we're right there. I think we did.
26:26 Actually, I don't remember. I don't dude. I'm a rule. You're a rule, father. Good. See, that's the point. That's why I said I haven't perfected this yet. You gotta go according to the rules. Right?
Endurance Produces Fruit: The Hardworking Farmer
26:39 And what's that? Oh, it's, rummy, rummy. You know, there's some people God puts in your life that you go, why, Lord? Why?
26:52 Okay. Alright. Your pastor is a cheater. But I'm working on it. Thank you. See, someone has a good what's that?
27:04 Has been known to cheat. There you go. It has been known to cheat. In my defense I I can't believe I'm gonna be actually safe. I did cheat in Skippo. I
27:15 did. I stole someone's card so that I could I could try to win. I still lost, and at the end of the game, I said, I cheated. Gosh.
27:31 I know. We gotta get a new preacher. Right? It's all it's all for fun. Okay? The question would be is if I won, would I still have told the truth? Anyway, let's move on to
27:43 the point we're getting here. Again, the process. We gotta follow the rules. Right? I mean, it's so tempting in the world to cut corners. It's
27:54 so tempting, to to try to find a shortcut. And and and I think that can be a difficult thing in society where these younger kids think it's just easy to get to
28:07 achieve a lot, but you gotta put in the hard work. You gotta put in the time. And then for the apostle Paul, as he's talking to Timothy, listen. You're competing, Timothy. You're competing in not athletics, but you're
28:18 competing in ministry, and you gotta do it right. You gotta honor the lord in it. And so that's really the 2nd point. Endurance demands discipline. It demands discipline. It has
28:30 to have focus, but it has to have discipline to follow the rules. Where where do we get the rules for Christianity? The Bible. This is our rule book.
28:42 Read it. Know the rules. Don't try to cut corners. You're you you might fool some people, but you're never gonna fool God. And you don't wanna do that. You
28:54 wanna walk in the context to endure suffering means doing what's right because it honors God, because I truly am a believer that if we don't follow God's rules,
29:06 the suffering lasts a bit longer. He allows it a little longer. But if we do it according to the rules, we might get through it quickly, learn
29:18 quickly. Hebrews 12 1 says to us, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
29:29 witness, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnared us thus and let us run with what? Endurance, the
29:41 race that is set before us. So Paul very clearly says, listen, we have witnesses that have gone before us. We have those who have been faithful. We have those in the Bible who
29:53 have done it right, who have certainly not been perfect people, but they've they've finished the race. As the Apostle Paul will say, I've run my race. I've finished it well. And there are other believers in our in our
30:05 world that have finished the race. They've done it well, not perfect, but they finished well. But don't miss this. Let us lay aside
30:17 every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. There's things that happen in our lives that slow us down, that hinder
30:29 us, that cause us to not run with endurance. I mean, it'd be like carrying 100 pound backpack while you're trying to run a race. It's
30:41 a hindrance. It's a slowing, you know, and Paul says take that off, set it aside. Whatever it is, the weight, whatever that weight might be in your life that's hindering you going through your suffering, God is telling
30:52 you set it aside. No longer do it. 1st, you have to lay aside every weight. Lay aside whatever hinders you and hinders your progress. Lay aside that which causes you
31:04 to be held back. And oftentimes, the number 1 thing I believe that hinders us, that weighs us down is our thoughts.
31:16 The way we see a situation, the way we think about a situation, the way that we evaluate a situation. And I I have come across these 4 things to help us deal with the thoughts that we
31:28 have in our heads that may hinder us. I'm not saying if you're having a thought and it's a positive thought. I'm saying if you're having a thought, but it's not a true thought, I want you to ask yourself 4 questions.
31:40 Number 1, is it true? Is the thought you're having in your head true? You may believe it, but is it actually true? Be still
31:52 and ask yourself if the thought is absolute truth. And if it's not, move on to the next question. Can you absolutely know that it is true?
32:04 Definitively, like you have facts, you can support it. Okay? But if you can't, then you don't know for sure if it's true. And the Bible speaks of holding all
32:15 thoughts captive to the authority of Christ. So if it's not a true thought, try to get rid of it in your mind. That's number 2. Number 3, how do you react when you believe
32:28 that thought? What does it do to you? Does it invoke pain? Does it invoke anger? Does it invoke jealousy? What does it what does the thought
32:39 do when you have it? Okay? Imagine excuse me. Does believing this thought make things better for you or worse?
32:53 Because listen. As you heard me say many times, stinking thinking is not good. God wants us to have the mind of Christ, to think on good things,
33:05 to meditate on everything that's pure and lovely and right. But if we're focusing on negative thoughts, it's hurting us. It's hindering us. And if you get to question number
33:17 4, who would you be without this thought? How would you react and how would you be if you didn't
33:29 believe what you're thinking? Again, because the thoughts come in. You know, the the enemy can make us think things. The enemy can make us consider things or or maybe we look at a situation and immediately think
33:41 of the worst. You know people like this? They immediately think the worst is gonna happen. And it's like, well, maybe it won't happen. So use this to help
33:52 you manage your thoughts. And again, the 4th question, would you, how would you be without that thought? Imagine how the imagine now that you didn't believe that thought
34:04 and how your life would be different if you didn't dwell on that thought. If anybody in here have ever been overwhelmed with thoughts, consumed by it.
34:17 Right? Can't get it out of your head. Lay down in your bed, and that's all it's it's just there. It's just there. It's just there as the hours tick by. It's a
34:29 thought. Is it true? And if this is true, then listen. Say, god, this thought that I'm having that is true, help me not be consumed by it.
34:41 Because even if it's true, we can be consumed by it. Beside your thoughts, what else can weigh you down? I've written a couple of things. Unhealthy relationships,
34:53 inaccurate belief. We believe things that are not true. That can hinder us as well. And or to lay those things aside. Or to set them
35:05 aside, focus on God, and keep our commitment to him. That helps us endure suffering. Again, the phrase according to the
35:17 rules means lawfully and legitimately. An athlete who cheats? Okay. I'm convicted. I'm just telling you that. May cross the finish line 1st, but he doesn't get
35:29 the crown. He doesn't get the crown. We have to compete by the rules. The way we endures the way we endure matters more than whether
35:40 we endure because we have to endure properly. So endurance requires focus. Endurance demands
35:52 discipline, and we get discipline out of the word of God. The 3rd thing, and probably the last thing we'll talk about today, endurance produces fruit.
36:04 Endurance produces fruit, so we focus on the fruit. Look at verse 6. The hardworking farmer must be 1st to partake of the
36:16 crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. So we've gone from a soldier, we've gone from an to an athlete, and
36:28 now we have a farmer. The image is agricultural. The word here, hardworking, is a strong word, very strong word. Some of you in this room are very hardworking. You're
36:40 committed to your career. You're committed to provide for your families. You're committed to do whatever it has to whatever has to be done to get there. The, basically, this word means to
36:52 labor to the point of exhaustion. It's like stresses me out just reading that. To toil with every ounce of energy.Show more
Rob Taylor7.57K followers
