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Riverside BTB May 17, 2026
Back to Basics
Perseverance
The topic today is PERSEVERANCE. Our ‘Back to Basics’ topics, which started back in January and will continue into July, these topics are all part of our desire to help disciple everyone here at Riverside on the fundamentals of living a ‘Christian’ life, of following Jesus. It’s discipleship 101.
One thing you will need in being a disciple of Jesus is perseverance.
Now, perseverance is an easy word to understand in our minds but a very difficult word to live out in our lives because it encompasses the rough edges of life. Perseverance includes other components like these;
Are you a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, a follower of His way🡪 you will need to persevere to the end and to finish the race, you will need perseverance.
In Hebrews 12 we read: … let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE YOUR LIFE’S RACE
Perseverance, Christians are to persevere
-steady, persistent progress -persevere
-no high drama, just slogging away, perseverance.
This is part and parcel of the Christian pilgrimage -steady, dogged commitment to doing the right thing, to following Jesus.
PERSEVERANCE
Lord, it’s me, are You talking to me?
Yes, you -you need to persevere all the way home.
(illustration)
Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Then on the Fourth of July in 1951, she attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. The challenge was not so much the distance, but the bone-chilling waters of the Pacific. To complicate matters, a dense fog lay over the entire area, making it impossible for her to see land. After about 15 hours in the water, and within a half mile from her goal, Chadwick gave up. Later she told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself. But if I could have seen land, I might have made it." Not long afterward she attempted the feat again.
Once more a misty veil obscured the coastline, and she couldn't see the shore. But this time she made it because she kept reminding herself that land was there. With that confidence she bravely swam on, she persevered and achieved her goal.
*In all of life’s struggles & trials & persecution & pain & tests:
You can swim farther than you think but only with Hope in the future & trust in God.
*When the fog blocks out your destination: keep going, persevere, have hope in your future & trust in your God. -LAND AHOY no Heaven AHOY -swim on
*When there’s a bend in the road and you can’t see around the corner; keep going, persevere, have hope in your future & trust in your God, show you trust God by persevering.
Whatever you are going through, whatever you are enduring, whatever darkness blocks the way have hope in your future & trust in your God, show you trust God by persevering.
In Romans 5:3 Paul writes "… we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope"
Genghis Khan, the 13th century Mongol conqueror, asked his philosophers to come up with a truth that would always be unchangeable. Thinking on it for a while, they came to their leaders with this quote: "It too shall pass."
*When you don’t understand and you’re grasping to hang on; keep going, hang on, persevere, have faith in God for many times ‘this too shall pass’.
This reminds me of a great verse of Scripture that says: "And it came to pass." Persevere my fellow Christian, persevere.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation (trial, burden, some heavy load or long journey) has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
🡪you are to persevere
Did you know that it was by perseverance the snail reached the Ark?
Postage stamps don’t have a clue where they’re going, they travel in darkness at times, in fog at times and they don’t know the way but they do have one outstanding attribute: they stick to it until they get there. They persevere.
*When the darkness blocks your sight & you can’t see your destination: keep going, persevere, trust God -God will lead you through it.
1 Peter 1:6-7: "In all 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 they prove the genuineness of your faith … and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed".
The Bible repeatedly emphasizes that perseverance is not only about enduring hardship but also about spiritual growth, maintaining your hope, and your trusting God. Believers are encouraged to pray continually, seek God’s strength, and remain steadfast in faith, knowing that God’s promises will be fulfilled for those who endure. PERSEVERE.
(illustration)
During a Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears' running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer remarked, "Yeah, and that's with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!" Walter Payton, the most successful running back ever, knows that everyone --even the very best-- gets knocked down. The key is to persevere and to get back up and run again just as hard.
*In all of life’s struggles & trials & persecution & pain & tests:
You can get up again more often than you think but -have hope in your future & trust in your God, show you trust God by persevering.
In James 1:2-4 we read; "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything"
You may be thinking ‘Why do I need to persevere?’ Why not give up or give in? It’s so hard, do I have to carry on -I don’t want to go on like this.
‘Why do I need to persevere? -Because if you don’t persevere you will fall -you will fail -you will lose.
Well, then, ‘How does one persevere’? -this is discipleship 101
1PRAY
-pray all the time about everything
-pray with faith, that is, pray trusting God to hear you, to help you and to guide you. It’s OK, God is on your side -have faith -persevere
-God doesn’t answer non-prayers and God doesn’t answer prayers that have no faith🡪 pray with faith
2Be Still
Psalm 37:7 -Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, …
-quiet down, stop fidgeting, don’t run ahead of God trying to ‘fix’ it yourself, and don’t lag behind God’s leading -be courageous and follow God even into more darkness.
Persevere -STEADY -be still 🡪 God will work, will complete His will
So, Wait, wait patiently, persevere the moment, expect God to answer because He will according to His good and perfect will (Yes, God’s will is perfect for you).
3Fix your eyes -fix your eyes on Jesus -look up.
Heb 12:2 -fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Keep looking up to Jesus and keep looking forward in hope.
You can endure with God by your side -and that’s where God is by your side. Hallelujah.
-don’t get distracted by what you have to endure -don’t focus on the problem -don’t take your eyes off of Jesus and Heaven 🡪you can’t persevere with a wrong focus or by being fixated on the problem
🡪fix (secure) your eyes squarely on Jesus, and Him only
Q When do I need to persevere?
-all the time, eternity will come soon enough.
Did you realize that time will pass away?
And that your troubles -they too shall pass
And that in your troubles, oh, Christian -that Help, hope and heaven -it will come to pass
The Bible encourages believers to persevere through trials, promising spiritual growth, hope, and ultimate reward for steadfast faith.
Persevere, endure, keep going, never give up because you’re a disciple of Jesus -you may fail, fall and get tripped up BUT get up again and go PERSEVERE.
