- From Abraham and Moses to the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment”, endurance is a common human experience.
- The Bible gives us three ways that not only help us endure, but turn it from a negative to a positive experience.
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Sermon Slides - Stories of Endurance and the Motivations that Got People Through
1. Future Joy: Heb 12:2–3
- keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
1. Prospect of Future Joy
Stanford Marshmallow Experiment (1970)
- Used children age four to six as subjects
- The children could eat the marshmallow, but if they waited for fifteen minutes without giving in to the temptation, they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow.
- Only 1/3 managed to wait.
- 10 years later they followed up the children: those who had waited were doing significantly better.
Minecraft Joy
Minecraft Joy
Reasons/Motivations to Endure
- Future Joy: Heb 12:2–3
- Faith developed & rewarded
- Specific Training
2. Faith developed & rewarded
- Faith is like a muscle that needs developing
- A step of trust
- Abraham developed his “faith muscle”
Abraham’s growth in faith
- Stage 1 —leaving his homeland:
- By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.
- Stage 2 —not putting down roots:
- By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.
- For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
- Stage 3 —waiting 25 years for a child:
- By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to have children, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.
- So in fact children were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore.
3. Training
Hebrews 12:5–11
- And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons and daughters?
“My son, do not scorn the Lord’s training
or give up when he corrects you.
6For the Lord trains the one he loves
and chastises every son and daughter he accepts.”
- Endure your suffering as training; God is treating you as sons and daughters.
For what son or daughter is there that a father does not train?
- But if you do not experience training, something all children have shared in,
then you are illegitimate and are not children.
- Besides, we have experienced training from our earthly fathers and we respected them;
shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?
- For they trained us for a little while as seemed good to them,
but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness.
- Now all training seems painful at the time, not joyful.
But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those given excercise by it.
based on NET Bible
Three Reasons/Motivations to Endure
- Joy (picture)
- Grow the faith muscle (dumbell)
- Training (the workbook)
Updated on 2021-09-05 by Andrew Fountain
