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| Road to Emmaus by Eikonik |
en·dur·ance[ in dóorənss ]
1.ability to bear prolonged hardship: the ability or power to bear prolonged exertion, pain, or hardship
2.toleration of hardship: toleration of prolonged suffering or hardship
3.persistence over time: the survival or persistence of something despite the ravages of time.
Imagine a heart filled with freedom, love, and joy. A childlike heart at rest in the Masters presence. Now imagine that heart sitting down for lunch at a table with endurance? What would be the common ground? What would they talk about? Would they naturally be close and feel a kindred spirit and "easy fellowship"?
Endurance has been abiding in long suffering with hope for a while. Endurance has been kneeling so long over prayers deposited by God they have physical issues. Endurance can be gruff and resolute and present a hard exterior. This is not the fullness or the true expression. Love is the ultimate witness of anything originated in the Father's heart.
My favorite apostle is John. He was part of the inner circle with Jesus and he was there to see with his own eyes people rising from the dead. He saw Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. He was at the cross. He was at the tomb with Peter. He described his life in the Lord this way.....
I, John,
your brother and companion in the
suffering and kingdom
and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus,
was
on the island of Patmos
because of the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus. Rev 1:9
John is the childlike heart and the endurance of the Kingdom in one person. And so would all the apostles of Christ be as this is the normal way of following Jesus. Jesus was completely one with the Father's heart and will and moved about the world in love. Certainly Jesus was one with the Father in his heart and worshiped in all that he did freely and with the very childlike freedom. He called the disciples to it. Yet, we marvel at the work of the Cross. Jesus patiently endured the suffering that brought down the sins of the whole world. Jesus paid for our shortcomings with his own blood. He opened the new and living way to the presence of God forever. He felt what a forsaken heart can feel. But he remained with the Father, walked through hope and fulfilled his mission in love.
John "sees" prophetically and he sees Jesus in so many circumstances and revealed ways throughout his life. John sits down in the Kingdom with a childlike heart and patient endurance. He knows the deepest abiding love of the Lord Jesus in a wide vision and revelation and he has linked this with hope and patience. He saw the rule and reign of Jesus coming into the earth through his life.
John, the apostle, sits down at a table with a childlike heart that sees and patient endurance that abides in hope.
- This world's fallen reality did not ruin him or his heart. Why does it take our so easily? (Our modern mindset is that all troubles are somehow direct results of the Lord. So we take offense at God and our hearts cannot abide in his presence.)
- His life reality did not take away his ability to see the Kingdom of the King. From Jesus' words we know that that requires a child like heart....to see the kingdom. John the Apostle saw some of the most amazing things in the Kingdom of God. He also suffered persecution and boiling in oil as well as banishment.
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Mat 18:3
- John has something squared away that modern Christ followers have all but lost.
- Abiding in hope is the natural state of the Kingdom coming and opposition and conflict should not dislodge us from the presence of the Lord and a deep abiding heart.
The Kingdom Jesus is bringing is kind to the childlike heart. In fact it calls out love for God and experiencing the Love of God as the core focus. We love with the heart. We love first as we are first loved. Loving God with all our heart is a permanent abide for believers.
Endurance is a key quality in those who would accomplish great things with the Father. Yet our understanding of how life works has clouded our ability to love God with all our hearts, to run free in the vast resources of his presence. We are called to patient endurance in hope for all that we are assigned in the Kingdom to accomplish, while abiding in perfect grace and love with the Lord Jesus.
Hope is the fuel for patient endurance.
So why do we stumble? Why do our hearts loose confidence in his presence?
Here are a couple ideas.
- We fellowship with the mind of the flesh (Rom 8:1-11) We sit down with a dead man or woman and seek life. Not gonna happen.
- The mind of the flesh is death
- The mind of the flesh cannot please God
- The mind of the flesh cannot fulfill the law of God
- The mind of the flesh is by nature at war with God
- The mind of the flesh is equal to all the plans, ideas and pathways we conceive of to advance us in this life that do not originate in Christ Jesus.
- We have the Mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)
- Christ Dwells in us (Col 1:27)
- We are Temples of the living God (I Cor 3:17)
- We are living stones (I Peter 2:5)
3. We know we are in Him if we walk as Jesus walked. Jesus walked in a heart of Love with the Father. We can also. Jesus fulfilled the calling on his life in perfect worship while confronted with immense opposition and struggle. He overcame the world. We can as well.
Overcoming is what Jesus calls us into. Revelation 1-3. Each city church was called to overcome in a particular way. Reward awaited them for each type of overcoming grace.
Patient Endurance is not a pathway to a wounded heart. No in the Kingdom of God.
We can love God forever with all our hearts and be tough overcoming Saints who see the world change through his power everyday.
Thoughts? Comments? I love hearing from you.
Brother Jeff
Jeff Reynolds. Sr. Leader
Capstone Christian Fellowship
www.mycapstone.org
jeffreynoldsministries.com
jeff@jeffreynoldsministries.com
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