What is it that successful people have in common? This is the question that researcher Angela Duckworth wanted to answer. And so she studied a wide range of fields from the cadets going into the West Point Academy to students entering the national spelling bee to successful business leaders across various fields of study. What is it that successful people have in common? And what she found was interesting that the number one indicator or predictor of success was not mental intelligence. IQ it was not emotional intelligence eq but in fact, was a quality that she described as grit grit as he would define is this that it's the combination of perseverance and passion over a over long term goals. So it's a combination of perseverance and passion over long term goals. He said people that have grit really are the ones that over the long term are the ones that are gonna make it. People who have grit, have a growth mindset. In other words, failure is an event, not a condition, failure is something that happens, but not your identity and that you can continue to grow. Keep learning, keep overcoming and to be persistent and passionate over something that is worth it. So Angela Duckworth would go on to write a New York Times best seller entitled Grit and has several viral TED talks and things over this topic. But what I find interesting is that something that research has proven to be true today is actually just an expression of what God's word says from 2000 years ago. And what we find is that when we study the Word of God, when we study the Bible, that the Bible and the word of God is timeless and it is timeless because it is true and what you see in our culture today and, and not any one specific church, I'm not necessarily here to try to call people out. But what we see in various ministries and in churches is that sometimes churches substitute truth for relevance, right? We want to meet the cultural moments and say, well, actually God's word says this and we kind of move and we change to shift with culture. But what I believe to be true is that if you cling to the truth, if churches proclaim the truth, truth will always be relevant because the word of God and the truth that comes from the word of God doesn't simply speak to a cultural moment, but to the depths and conditions of the human soul. And so when we talk about perseverance, when we talk about grit today, we understand that this is actually a biblical idea So we're in week two of our series entitled Living a Legacy. Because before you can leave a legacy, you first have to live a le legacy. And what we're studying is, is Paul's second letter to Timothy, his protege. And today's message is entitled The Power of perseverance, the power of perseverance. And he's actually going to share three illustrations that 2000 years later are just as relevant to us. Today, he's gonna share a picture of a soldier, an athlete and a farmer. Now, what is it that a soldier, an athlete and a farmer have in common? I believe it's this and I encourage you to write this down. If you're taking notes, that success comes through consistent sacrifice over time, success comes through consistent sacrifice over time. It's grit, this is a biblical truth that it doesn't happen in just one day that it really happens every day. What are you choosing to do on a consistent basis? Last week, we took a look at second Timothy chapter one and we shared that when it comes to fear and faith, the fire that grows is the fire you feed that Paul encouraged Timothy to fan into flame, the gift of God and that God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self control. And so as we approach our week, we have to ask ourselves, are we feeding the fire of fear with logs of anxiety and worry? And sinful habits and thought processes and habits and, and, and questions and unhealthy things. Are we putting that into the fire? So that starts to grow or are we placing into our faith fire, the logs of God's power, God's love and God's self control and self discipline so that our faith can overcome our fear. Well, at the end of that chapter, Paul encourages Timothy that through the power of the Holy Spirit to guard the deposit and trust it into him. And he goes on to say that there were several guys that abandoned him and, and he calls them out, which that's not a good look, right? Like let's say they get saved later in life and they end up in heaven. But they're forever known as the two dudes that abandoned Paul. Like that's not a great look. But 2000 years later, you're the one who ran away. But then he offers another gentleman who actually stays with him and he says, Timothy, be like that guy. And so we pick up our story there and he continues to write in second Timothy chapter two verse one, he says, you, then my child be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses in trust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. In these couple verses, we see Paul giving Timothy, Timothy three commands and he calls Timothy to strengthen, to share and to suffer well, to strengthen, to share and to suffer. Well. So let's let's break these down of what they actually mean. First Timothy is called to be strengthened by the grace of God. Now, the phrasing of that is interesting because it's a present passive tense to be strengthened. And so it's interesting to me because Timothy is not the one doing the strengthening, but rather receiving the strength. Why is that important for you and for me? And how is it that grace itself is something that can strengthen us for those that know me, know that I love a good acronym and, and what I heard years ago it won't be on the screen, but I'll tell it to you is that when you think of a definition of grace, grace can be defined as God's riches at Christ's expense, God's riches at Christ's expense. The theological definition for grace is God's unmerited favor. The plain English version of that is that when you receive something that you don't deserve, and we might think of grace like that. It's amazing like the song or maybe we think of Ephesians 28 for we are saved by grace. But what Paul is encouraging Timothy with in this passage is that God's grace doesn't just save you. God's grace actually sustained you. Meaning it is an ongoing daily process and power that comes from God that it is something that you need each and every day. He writes in Colossians 111, he says, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for all endurance and with patience and with joy. And then in Ephesians, he says in there finally be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. I sometimes wonder if we get so caught up in our to do list, right? Gotta go here. I gotta pay this bill. I gotta have this meeting, write this email, uh block this person's phone call that I don't want um Right. Go through whatever your to do list is and we forget God's to be list, right? Who are you becoming? Right? And I think sometimes when it comes to parenting because it is mother's day, you know, we think we gotta protect our Children, which is great by the way, like not saying send your Children into the wilderness, but like it protection is good. But while protection is good, preparation is better because you will not be able to protect your child from everything, but you can prepare your child for anything. There's a difference. And so this idea of being strong, goes back to your identity that comes from the salvation that comes through Christ alone. So being a pastor and working in ministry, it's actually easy for ministry to be an idol in and of itself. Look at all the things I am doing for God. But if you try to work in your own strength, one of two things is guaranteed to happen. One, you're gonna fall and you're gonna mess up and two, even if you think you're going great and you're doing everything you can, it will not be enough. Right. Have you ever been there on either side? You've fallen, Steve Urkel from those that get the reference I've fallen and I can't get up right. or the other side where you did everything you had. If I just grind, if I just squeeze my fist a little bit harder, if I just make one more phone call, if I just do one more thing and you keep going, you keep going in, it still doesn't go your way. You still don't get the job, you still don't get the house, you still don't get the promotion. You still don't. You know what I'm saying? Because in your own strength, you are limited. But if you receive the grace of God in your life, not just for salvation, but for daily living, what that allows you to do is to take a collective deep breath. God's got this too many of us I think are saying God thank you for saving me. I got it from here. They say no, that grace I'm giving you, you need it every day. But once you've received God's grace, you can in turn bestow it and share it with others because you don't have to prove anything to anybody. You can just be the Conduit for God's blessing and God's grace to the world around you. Paul writes this in Philippians 413. He says I can do all things through what through Him who strengthens me. We all need God's strength, Timothy in leading that church in Ephesus needed the strength of God to carry on. You cannot parent and parent Godly without God's grace in your life. You cannot go through marriage without God's grace in your life. You cannot lead whatever team you might lead or be on without God's daily grace in your life. But his supply is limitless. If we would just receive it, you see, it might be passive, it might feel passive, right? Be strengthened, but it's still obedience. You still have to receive it. You ever tried to give your child something, but it they, they weren't ready to receive it even if it's a good thing like, hey, I have this thing for you, right? That's why in Psalm 23 I'm talking about the good shepherd referring to Jesus there in that Psalm. The good shepherd says he makes me lie down in green pastures, right? I never understood that passage until, until trying to give my Children a nap. You know what I'm saying? I sometimes wonder if God's up in heaven. It's like you need rest. No, we do the same thing as adults. It's like, no, you need rest. You need God's grace. OK? But Paul doesn't just say you need strength. He says you need to share and you need to suffer. Well, that second thing, what is, what are we sharing? Well, what we're sharing is the same thing Timothy is sharing. See, Timothy's mission is our mission to make and multiply disciples of Jesus. We're called to make and multiply disciples of Jesus. It says in Matthew 28 verse 18 to 20 I notice the power, the strength, the grace of God on either side of this command. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and notice again another presence of authority for behold, I am with you always to the end of the age, you got a God's power and God's grace sandwich in here. I have all authority. I'm giving it to you now, go and make disciples and forget or don't forget I'm with you the whole time. I love second Timothy Tutu. In fact, it's the theme verse for our, one of our major missions partners. Uh The Timothy initiative is based off this verse and actually our, we have a disciples making disciples group that meets Monday nights with Pastor Dave Reno that's going through based off of this verse, the and there's four generations in that verse, Paul says what you have heard from me and trust to faithful leaders who will teach others also. So you see Paul to Timothy, Timothy, the leaders, leaders to others. Now there's a few interesting things in this phrasing. He says the things you've heard from me in the presence of wit many witnesses. What I love about that is that he is going against what was known as gnostics and paganism. And people who would say, oh, I got a private word from God, even religions today. Go off of when somebody got a word from God privately and then they say something else. But this is what we have to do. What Paul is saying is actually in contrary to that he's saying, I got a word from God, but I shared it in front of everybody. So test me on it like you have accountability. He is sharing it in the context of community. We think so much that religion is just isolated and private. But actually we are called together. We're called the body of Christ. We are the branches. He is divine that we are connected together. And so Paul is saying, I've said this to you, but in the presence of others, go ahead, ask around, right? They'll hold you accountable, they'll hold me accountable. But then he says, entrust to faithful men. That word trust was just used in chapter one saying that God entrusted me and God's entrusting you with this deposit with this message of the Gospel. I think it's crazy that God not only says trust in me, but also I trust in you that He gave us the keys to the kingdom to go and make disciples. The church is God's plan. A says invest in leaders, invest in faithful men who will teach others also. Now there might be a practical thing here because at the end of this letter, Paul has asked Timothy, hey, come visit me, prison's getting kind of cold, bring my jacket, please. And so I think he actually says these things. He says, bring me my jacket and some other things of mine. OK. Uh But come see me. So maybe it's a practical setup of like, hey, in order for you to come see me, you gotta have some healthy leaders in place, right? But the principle, while in context here, he's referring to Timothy as a pastor, the practice actually does apply to all of us that we are called to make and multiply disciples of Jesus. What does that look like on a daily basis? All right. Now it continues on here and then I, I like the first two, right? Be strengthened by God's grace. Oh Amazing grace. Awesome. Right? And, and trust to others. Wow, make disciples. That sounds very churchy and suffer. Mm Suffer. Well, I I'm gonna stick with the first two. I don't know about you, right? But what you realize is that every story includes suffering and conflict. You know, the whole Bible, there's only four chapters without conflict. Four. That's it. And really 3.5 in a sense, we got Genesis one and two things are going great. And by Genesis three, we've messed it all up. The rest of the Bible. Every single page, every single chapter involves conflict. Jesus comes onto the scene and guess what, Jesus has conflict too, right? Experiences hardship and suffering. And then he has the boldness to say, hey, if you follow me, you two are gonna be persecuted and you two are gonna go through hard times and suffer. And then the early church leaders guess what happened? They suffered. Paul writing this letter from where from prison. He says you can do it well and all this stays until eventually revelation 20. Jesus returns, he returns earlier than that. But in 20 he deals with Satan once for all gets cast in the lake of fire, new heaven, new earth and we're good. But that's four chapters that if I think there's like 1800 like 20 something like 29 something like that, you can Google it, but that's not a very high percentage. So what I love about the fact that he acknowledges suffering is that he's actually saying you can suffer well, see hardship is inevitable, but it will either shatter you or it will shape you hard situations will either shatter you or shape you. And the difference is how you respond in Christ that you can actually suffer. Well, this is found all throughout scripture. Actually, James 112 says blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test. He will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. Hebrews 12 1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin that clings to us so closely and let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us. You have a race to run. But what's encouraging is that you will not be judged for somebody else's race. Yeah. So someone might have hurt you, someone might be disobeying God and very far from God, but you can only control the race that you are running. So will you set aside the things that are holding you back and run the race? Well, Romans 52 to 5 says through Him, we have obtained access by faith into the grace. Notice the grace that say, see this connection, that grace and endurance is connected here that we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts. The Holy Spirit who has been given to us suffering is temporary if you trust in Jesus, because if you trust in Jesus, this is the closest thing to hell that you're ever actually going to get to. And so what you're walking through might be very difficult and it's not necessarily because of your sin. You see these stories over and over again where people are going through hard times like, oh, what sin did they commit? Now, let's be real. We think that because a lot of people are struggling because of their sin, right? Sometimes like, oh we're being attacked. No, you just got drunk. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, no, you just, you're making poor choices like you're not being attacked there. You're, you're, you're making some bad choices there. Now some of us are tempted by different things at different gauges, right? What might tempt one person might not tempt another. But what we need to understand is that there is purpose in your pain and there is peace in your pain. And the reason Jesus came down to earth died on the cross rose again. So that one day, one day that pain's gonna cease, there will be no more tears, no more mourning, no more betrayal, no more cancer, no more loss that you will stand free face to face with the God who loves you and the troubles will be no more. But while we hope for that day, we're gonna choose to be obedient today because not only does He give us hope for tomorrow, he gives us strength for today to keep going. Some of you are in a battle right now. Some of you are struggling right now and I wanna encourage you. Keep going. God is with you in the trench. God is with you in the battle. You are not alone that it is possible to suffer well. And if you keep walking, you keep moving, you have the grit that comes from God's grace. Not only will you become stronger, you're gonna leave a legacy of generational impact for those to come. That's why Paul can write. You gotta have strength, you've got to share it with others, but you gotta suffer well and you can do that through the power that comes from Jesus. So in that power, then he goes to share three examples of perseverance. Three examples of perseverance. Let's read about these here. Second Timothy chapter two verse 4 to 7. He says, no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him, an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. And it is the hard working farmer who ought to have the first share of crops. Think over what I say for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Start with God ends with God. Isn't it amazing to you that the pictures he gives are still relevant? 2000 years later, soldier, athlete farmer, like I'm just saying like if, if the illustration like today was like, let's say you're an Uber driver. I don't know if the illustration lands in the year 4000, you know what I'm saying? But here we are 2000 years later and these pictures still stand well. What is the importance of these three images? Let's get real practical for those that have taken notes. Got a little chart here, screenshot it, write it down or go on that church center app. Download it here. But I think it's really super practical for us to gain the power of perspective. First we have here, we have the picture of a soldier. What is the problem? The problem that the soldier is facing is actually one of distraction. Now, it doesn't seem like a soldier's battle is distraction. But what was Paul's words? Paul's words were, don't get entangled in civilian pursuits instead follow what your commander, commanding officer tells you to do. What he's saying here is that don't miss the mission. So the solution to distraction, it's not simply focus but direction. Are you going after something? In other words, the reflective question here is, are you living on mission? We live in an age where it's, we can make an impact greater than ever? Before in moments you can reach the world. Isn't that crazy? The ability to connect with people has never been greater. But here is the flip side. We live in the most distracted world of all time. Like if you're back in Timothy's time, like, what are you getting distracted with? You know, but even back then people were getting distracted. Right. I know we get on people for their phones myself included. Ok. But you look at photos, what were people doing before? They had the newspapers, right? They had the four television channels, right? Unless we were as much as we like, hate it. None of us want to go back though, right? None of us. Well, maybe some of it maybe, but like, maybe we can go back but keep Amazon prime. You know what I'm saying? Ok. What's the solution to distraction is direction? I got a job to do. I got a calling to live out. I got a mission and a ministry and a purpose that is greater than the things holding me back. Are you living on mission? Sometimes your mission is not a thing to do but a person to raise or conversation to have with that coworker, that friend the neighbor. Are we making disciples? This isn't just something for pastors or those with seminary degrees. This is a charge given to all believers at all times that as we enter and go into all places we are called to make disciples. We don't have time to get entangled in the distraction, distracted pursuits of this world. When we've got a job to do, let's not get distracted. Let's keep our focus on him and live in the direction of our next step of obedience. Second image here is the athlete. What's the athletes challenge? Well, the problem is actually disobedience. The reason I say that is because Paul writes, doesn't an athlete have to compete according to the rules. We got the Olympics this summer. We got people excited to watch the Olympics. Yeah. Yeah. Or, or the commercials for it. I do want, I've said this before, I'll say it again. I really wish they would add a lane of an average everyday person. It would put things into perspective, right? Cause you got like the American team, you got the German team team from Japan and in the swimming, you know, in lane nine we got Joe from accounting cause they're all so athletic and it's like poo poo and it's like, wow, I like, but then you, you put it in real time, you're like, wow, that's incredible. Like, have you ever tried to actually run 100 m and they're like, 0 10 seconds, right? Like it is not good. Like someone can run the 404 100 m in, well, under a minute when I can't go get a diet Coke and make my way back to the couch in that time, right? OK. Athletes have to compete according to the rules within their sport. I, no matter the sport, I guarantee that no one is showing up to the Olympics. And yeah, I'll try that. This is not like the makeup spot in field day in school, right? Where little Johnny is sick. And so, hey, I need somebody to do this event. I'll try it. It looks fun. No one is trying anything at the Olympics. There's a difference between trying and training church. We're training for Godliness. Ok. That requires discipline, discipline. And then the question we can ask ourselves are, are your choices consistent? Are your choices consistent? Are you making daily sacrifices over time? That's gonna lead to a greater result. And the last image here as a farmer love me some farmers. My grandfather was a farmer. I actually I didn't even call him. His last name was Donald or his name was Donald Boy. Um But I called him grandpa farmer. That's what I did as a kid. He was grandpa farmer. Lived on a farm, Minnesota Utan. Now, Don Ch um I knew nothing about farming but grew up in the midwest in Ohio school, surrounded by cornfields. We had tractor day at school. Come on now. Midwesterners, we're some good people here and uh but we all move here because of the weather. Um And so, well, I don't know a ton about farming. Uh What I can tell you is if you want corn in the harvest. Guess what? You got a plant, I mean, corn if you want beans in the harvest. So you gotta, you gotta plant beans to start and you know what? You don't just like throw seeds out and be like, OK, let's see what happens. It takes work. You got to plow the fields, you gotta prepare the fields, you gotta plant the seed, you got water, you gotta fertilize, you gotta, I'm sure you gotta take care of watch for those conditions, right? So the challenge for the farmer is the practice of delay. You put in all this work and yet you can't control the outcome. Exactly. So what do you do in the middle of the delay? Not sure who this is for today, but I wanna encourage you again, not original to me but encourages me. So I wanna encourage you. God's delay is not God's denial just because God feels silent, doesn't mean God is absent. It takes time. Anything great takes time. And so then the solution to the delay is dedication. Are you committed? Are you committed to the harvest? The question you can ask yourself, is this, what seeds are you planting? And I know the idea of wanting corn and planting corn seeds, wanting beans, planting bean seeds seems super obvious, but yet we don't translate that to our own spiritual maturity. Do we? One day, I'm gonna be this spiritually mature person. But what are the seeds? You're planting right now because you will never become tomorrow. What you're not already becoming today. But the good news is says in Galatians that if you're faithful and consistent, one day you will reap the harvest that you've been searching for, waiting for and referring to reaching people with the gospel. Jesus actually says the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Let's be like a soldier, follow the commands of our heavenly father. Let's be like the athlete discipline to make consistent healthy choices in our lives. And then let's be like the farmer that while we're waiting, while we're in delay, we are going to be dedicated to cultivating the Godly seeds, planting in our lives. Because what God's word tells us is that true success comes through consistent sacrifice over time. I want that for you. Let's start planning better seeds today. Will you pray with me, dear heavenly Father? Just thank you for who you are and what you've done. God, may we have powerful Holy Spirit perseverance. May we be strengthened by your grace? May we share and pass on this message to others? And may we learn to suffer well with grit that can only come from your grace. God, may we have the direction, the discipline and the dedication to continue to get up day after day that even when we fall down, God, you will pick us back up and that we will move forward towards maturity and that we will experience the life that you have called us to and that we ultimately li live and leave a legacy to the next generation. We love you. It's inner sense and we pray amen.