Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Many people like to run in a long distance endurance race, but if you are going to get all the way to the end, it’s going to require persistence and stamina. There are some very long endurance runs throughout the world. Consider the Transcendence 3100 mi race in Queens New York which is the longest certified foot race at around 3,100 miles. Another one is known as the Badwater 135, which is a brutal 135 mi non-stop run through Death valley during the extreme summer heat. But if you like the cooler side of things, up in Canada they hold the Yukon Arctic ultra, which is a subarctic race that covers 430 MI in freezing conditions, and this race has become known as the coldest ultra marathon in the entire world. When people compete in these types of events, they will need a lot of endurance if they expect to make it past the finish line.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Endurance is something that each of us are going to need in order to enter into heaven, and we will have to overcome all of the sins of this world, just as Jesus did when He was tempted out in the desert. The Lord completely resisted them all, and we will have to do the same if we are going to successfully complete our course. Just like an endurance runner, we will have to endure every temptation, so that we can eventually cross over the finish line and enter eternal life.
James 1:12-25 (KJB) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
First of all, the Apostle teaches that we are blessed when we endure temptations, and that means to resist them completely without getting involved with sin. Whenever you love things in this world more than the Lord Jesus, that’s when sin can pull you away from abiding in a close relationship with Him. The Apostle John warns about the exact same thing in one of his writings.
1 John 2:15-17 (KJB) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Earthly passions and lusts come from within the flesh of every man, and will try to pull you away from walking according to the will of God. This is a battle that rages within every man because each of us have our own weaknesses. This is why we must be strong in our faith, and not allow sinful lusts to access our hearts. We must overcome this world, by walking in the Spirit, and renouncing all of the sins of the carnal nature.
Revelation 21:7-8 (KJB) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 3:5 (KJB) He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
God’s Wird can potentially save us, as long as we apply it’s teachings to our daily lives. People can hear the Word of God taught regularly, and even have memorized large passages in the scriptures, but this really doesn’t account to anything if you never really put into action the things that it teaches. We must always remember what it says, so that we can continue down a path of humble obedience during our walk with God.
Ephesians 4:17-24 (KJB) This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
The Christian Life is a very high calling, and we must rid ourselves completely of the old sinful creature that we were in our past. It’s going to require a lot of endurance if you want to get all the way across the finish line, just make sure that you have what it takes, the next time that you compete, in,……
…….The Yukon Arctic Ultra
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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