23 | Come What May: Maintaining a Persevering Faith

Acts 14 | Come What May: Maintaining a Persevering Faith

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Slides:

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, [Though] the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' [feet,] And makes me walk on my high places.

Come what may:

• Fruitful ministry will be met with opposition.

Matthew 13:19-23

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil [one] comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no [firm] root in himself, but is [only] temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

Come what may:

• Faith must become personal.

Acts 10:25-26

When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped [him.] 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am [just] a man."

Come what may:

• Reject appeals to your pride and ego.

Come what may:

• We make disciples by speaking and encouraging.

Matthew 28:19-20

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Come what may:

• We enter the kingdom of God through tribulation, not by avoiding it.

Galatians 6:17

From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.