1) Definition: purposing to accomplish God’s goals in God’s time regardless of the opposition.
2)
Scripture: Prov. 1:19; 3:25-26; 4:25-27; 21:5,18;
24:14; 25:15; 28:19; Lk. 22:44; Jn. 4:34; 17:4; Acts 20:24; 1 Cor. 9:25; Col.
1:28-2:1; 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1.
3)
Underlying Principle: We work doggedly to accomplish
God’s purposes because we trust fully the God who established the purposes (1
Tim. 4:10).
4)
Illustration: 1 Sam. 13:8-13 tells of King Saul who did
not accomplish God’s goal in God’s time.
Saul thought the “goal” was 7 days and when Samuel didn’t show up in 7
days Saul did the work of the priest, offering a sacrifice. He blamed his fear of the enemy, the
Philistines. But Samuel told Saul the
goal was to be obedient, keeping the commandment of the LORD. 1 Sam. 24:1-7 tells of David who did accomplish
God’s goal in God’s time. The goal was
that David would become king. David’s
men thought he should kill Saul and the goal would be accomplished. But David knew that would have been
disobedient to God and that he must wait until the time when God would make him
king. Our Bible Study will speak of the
lives of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul as illustrations of
determination.
5)
Bible Study:
a)
What observations did Paul make as his life neared an
end (2 Tim. 4:7)? He said, I have
fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. “Fought” is from the Greek word agonize,
to agonize. To “finish” and “keep” have
to do with determination. He finished
the race without violating the rules of the race. I knew someone who was a great cross-country
runner in High School. His last year he
was running in the all-class Southern California championship, leading the
race, but then misread a marker and ran off on the wrong route. It was enough that he lost the race. Paul teaches us two things here. First, the race is hard, agonizing, with frequent
difficulties. Second, we must compete
according to the rules (2 Tim. 2:5: if anyone competes in athletics, he is
not crowned unless he competes according to the rules).
b) What
are some of the disciplines of the Christian life that will only be
accomplished through agony? A word of
study of agonize tells us Paul’s ministry of warning and teaching was
carried out with labor, striving according to His working which works in me
mightily, with a great conflict (Col. 1:28-2:1). The goal was to present every man perfect in
Christ; it would not happen without someone willing to endure agony. Paul preached the gospel to the Thessalonians
in much conflict (agony, 1 Th. 2:2).
He specifies this agony included suffering and being spitefully treated
in Philippi as well as the attacks at Thessalonica (Acts 16; 17:1-9). Paul also tells us that effective prayer must
deal with “fervent labor” (agonizo).
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