"Principles of the Kingdom of God: The Law of Perseverance" Elder Bob Vibe

Principles of the Kingdom of God

The Law of Perseverance

(Contending for the Faith)

Elder Bob Vibe

November 5, 2023 

            During my last several messages, I have been teaching about the Kingdom of God.  I thought it would be a good topic to teach, since teaching about the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43) is one of the reasons Jesus was sent.  He even told His Disciples to continue to teach about God’s Kingdom when He ascended to Heaven.  Jesus wanted believers to understand that He was bringing the Kingdom of God into their lives so that the will of the Father could be done on earth, as it is done in heaven.  Jesus also told His disciples that the Kingdom of God was in our hearts and that we should seek it first and foremost.  If we did that, everything pertaining to life would be provided for us (Matt 6:33).  Jesus often talked about principles or laws that governed the Kingdom of God through stories or parables of everyday life.  He wanted believers to understand that everything worked differently in God’s Kingdom, compared to this earthly kingdom.  Jesus also wanted us to understand that these principles could bring blessing or harm, depending on their application in our daily lives.

            After introducing this topic to you, I shared with you the Principle of Reciprocity which is based on the Scripture in Luke 6:38 which says, “Give, and it shall be given to you.”  In God’s Kingdom, the process of receiving is based on our giving, and what we reap or harvest in life, is based on what we sow in this life.  This principle is so far-reaching that it touches every relationship and condition of man, whether physical or spiritual.  However, to the world, this principle is foolishness.

            Because these principles are based on the Word of God, they are immutable and work for our benefit if we obey them, or they can work against us.  The next principle of the Kingdom of God I shared with you was the principle or Law of Unity.  The fundamental Law of Unity is more than one, working in harmony as one.  I stated that Unity can only be achieved when we first become unified in the Lord.  Unity of purpose and speech can accomplish the impossible, but any kingdom or house divided against itself will come to ruin (Matt 12:25).

            The next principle of the Kingdom of God that I taught was the Law of Use.  The basis for this teaching is found in Mathew 25 in the parable of the talents.  A major point of this teaching is that God gives gifts or talents to every believer.  Those of us who put these talents to work in our lives and multiply them will be given even more.  However, failure to use our gifts and talents will eventually lead to our losing them.

            The next principle or law of the Kingdom of God that I will share today is the Law of Perseverance.  Jesus taught that perseverance is at work in harmony with these other principles but involves the element of time.  This principle is described by Jesus and the Apostles teachings throughout the New Testament.  I will begin with the parable of the widow and unrighteous judge in Luke 18:1-8, which I read earlier.  To paraphrase, a widow who demanded justice from an adversary came repeatedly before an unrighteous judge that had no regard for God or man.  Because she was relentless in her pursuit of justice, the judge was worn down by constant pleas, and eventually gave her justice.  The Lord then said concerning the judge’s response, “will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?”

            In this parable, one of the lessons we learn about God is that He wants His children to continually come to Him in prayer.  In addition, He wants us to keep coming to Him, regardless of the time it takes to receive an answer to our pleas or prayers.  A third lesson revealed in this parable is that if an unrighteous man will grant justice due to persistence, how much more will God, who is righteous, give an answer to His children who continually come to Him.  Jesus knows our hearts and our weaknesses.  He understands that we have become a people who want answers NOW!  That is why patience is called a Fruit of the Spirit, because it takes time to grow and bear fruit in our lives.  However, there is one more lesson to be revealed in this parable.  That is the issue of faith, as revealed in verse 8: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

            I believe this Scripture is speaking about every individual request we bring to the Lord through our persevering prayer.  When the Lord comes, or responds to these prayers, will He find faith that God will answer them?  It is an important question for every believer.  Faith in God is perhaps the most important ingredient necessary in every prayer that we bring to God.  In Matthew 11:22-25 in the cursing of the fig tree, Jesus gave us a simple, yet profound statement about how we are to manifest the power of God in the invisible world.  He said, “Have faith in God.”

            We are told in Scripture that God has given every believer a measure of faith (Romans 12:3).  That measure was enough for us to become “born again” of His Spirit, but it is a measure that must continually grow in the hearts of every believer until we become mature believers in Christ.  I Peter 2:2 encourages us, “as newborn babes, to desire or crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word that we may grow up into salvation.”  According to the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4), the measure of the Word that we sow into our hearts, will be the measure that is received or manifested in our individual lives.  It is the responsibility of every believer to sow the Word of God into our hearts so we can grow and mature.  According to the 2020 “State of the Bible Report,” only 9 percent of Christians read the Bible daily.  It is easy to understand why so many believers are weak in their faith or fail to trust God for what He will do for them.  

            Faith is so important to God that it is constantly tested by trials and tribulations to see if our faith is genuine.  The Apostle Peter said (I Peter 1:1-7), “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

            Peter begins by praising and rejoicing in God for our new birth and our inheritance which is eternal.  However, he adds that in the midst of this rejoicing, we have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  Then, he explains that there is a benefit to these trials that come at us in life.  That benefit is the proving of whether or not our faith, which is more precious than gold, is genuine.  If our faith is genuine, it results in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  We know that trials are part of this visible world that we live in.

            These trials come in many forms and include sickness, disease, emotional wounds or hurts, accidents, natural disasters, and even death, to name a few.  These are all trials that come into our lives as a result of living in this visible world which has fallen.  No matter what these trials are, the Apostle John tells us that our faith in Jesus Christ is the way to overcome them.  He said (1 john 5:4-5), “Everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”

            This brings us back to the Principle of Perseverance.  If we are to have a faith that is proved to be genuine, then we must allow perseverance to have its work in developing or proving that faith.  James gives us some insight about this role of perseverance when he said (James 1: 1-4), “Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  James is revealing that the testing of our faith develops perseverance, and the end result of this perseverance is maturity and completeness, to the degree that we are not lacking anything.  From these writings, we understand that this process of testing our faith involves the element of time!

            The writer of Hebrews also speaks to this element of time (Hebrews 6:12).  He said, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”  To put it simply, To receive what God has promised involves faith and patience or God’s timing as we persevere to receive that promise.  The principle of perseverance is not just important in the proving of our faith, but it is important for anything for which we are seeking God.

            Jesus told His disciples to “keep on asking” when coming to God, or to be persistent in our requests to God (Matthew 7:7-11).  Let me read the Scripture from the Amplified Bible where the present imperative verb tense is used.  “Keep on asking, and it will be given to you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking it will be opened.  Or what man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent?  If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!”

            All of us have found ourselves in the midst of difficult temptations or trials brought on by things in this fallen world.  However, we need to be careful not to blame God for these temptations. God may test us, but He won’t tempt us with evil.  James admonishes us (James 1:13-14), “Let no man say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither does He tempt anyone.  But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed.”  Some of the difficult circumstances we face and bring to the Lord in prayer include salvation for unsaved relatives, healing for long-term illness, provision during financial difficulties, or healing of wounded hearts.  Many of these trials in our lives take time and perseverance to overcome.  If you are praying for that unsaved loved one, you might pray1Timothy 2:4 which states that God “wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” 

            If you are confronted with sickness or disease in your body, or the body of a loved one, then you might pray Isaiah 53:5: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by His stripes we are healed.”  Whatever your need at the time, pray God’s provision or promise that meets that particular need.  Then, keep on waiting for God’s response.

            When we look at the history in our nation, we can see the work of the Law of Perseverance at work in the lives of many of our great leaders.  If we look at the life of Abraham Lincoln, we all remember him as a great governmental and moral leader.  However, these achievements didn’t come until he had passed through many personal struggles and failures, including lost elections, bankruptcies, and low-paying jobs to provide a living.  These struggles, the battles, and even the wounds from persevering in his life equipped him for the time that he would make the greatest contribution to our society, the abolishment of slavery.

            Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors of the previous century, went through hundreds of experiments that were failures before he achieved success with the electric light.  He attributed his success to “2 percent inspiration and 98 percent perspiration.”  He refused to give up until he reached the goal that he knew was possible.  Of course, in the Bible we have many accounts of God’s word given as a promise to man, but in all of them, it took faith and perseverance to receive that promise. 

            One of the notable examples of persevering faith in Scripture is the promise made to Abraham that he would be the “Father of many Nations” and that his wife, Sarah, would bear a son.  In Romans, chapter 4, it states, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

            Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old- and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

            Abraham went through many struggles in His life while waiting for God to make good on his promise to him.  But Scripture tells us that against all natural hope, because his body and Sarah’s body were as good as dead, he put his hope in the belief that God would do what he promised and give them a son.  This is the kind of faith that Jesus is looking for when he comes in response to our prayers.  He is looking for a faith that doesn’t put our hope in the state of our natural condition or circumstance, but a hope based on the truth of His word which will come to pass in time.  We will all face trials in our life, but I am hopeful we can all receive the encouragement from James to rejoice in those trials, because the testing of our faith develops perseverance and perseverance is at work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.  Amen!