Examples of Steadfastness
Selected Scriptures
March 10, 2024
Slowly read Psalm 16. Did you hear what the psalmist said of his relationship with God?
- “I take refuge in You.”
- “I have no good besides You.”
- “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup.”
- “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.”
- “I have set the Lord continually before me.”
- “Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
- “In Thy presence is fulness of joy.”
- “In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.”
Those are astounding statements, aren’t they? And no doubt there are times when we can whole-heartedly affirm them. But what about in the tough times? What about the day we get laid off? What about the day our child runs away? What about the day the house is broken into or burned down? What about the day I get sick — really sick — go to the hospital sick? What about the day that I go to jail, accused and convicted of something I did not do? What about the day that we fall into some sin that we never thought possible? On that day, or any day like it, can you and I still say, “In Thy presence there is fulness of joy?”
As you think about steadfastness, it’s easy to assume something like, “Yes, of course he didn’t turn his back on Christ, his life is easier than mine…life is much harder for me; others don’t understand the pressures I face.” Yet there is no temptation but such as is common to man — the pressures and temptations of life are regularly experienced by mankind. Your particular circumstances are unique to you, but the problems are not unique. Every problem is very typical. And because of that, the stories of our lives are told in Scripture as well. So this morning let us look at the stories of three individuals and how they remained steadfast in hard, but typical circumstances. As we look at these situations, we will learn…
Steadfastness is possible in every circumstance because God’s grace is sufficient.
Our goal this morning is not to consider every kind of circumstance when we are tempted to despair and give up, but to consider three common circumstances and then remind ourselves of one common principle (provision) for every difficulty. Likewise, we are not considering every example in Scripture; for each of these trials there are many more examples of faithfulness. These are only three examples that are designed to remind us of the commonness of our difficulties and the possibility of steadfastness. When enticed to despair, consider three examples of faithfulness in the Bible:
- Joseph: He Resisted When He Was Tempted (Gen. 39)
- Philemon: He Forgave When He Was Sinned-Against (Philemon)
- Job: He Worshipped When He Was Sick (Job 2)
- Summary: Your Circumstances May Be Hard, but They Are Typical (and God’s grace is sufficient) (1 Cor. 10:13)
Download the rest of this sermon on Examples of Steadfastness.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.
Words of Grace 