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Pastor Steve one said and other I’ve heard other guys sent to that. Whenever you choose to preach on something God will test you during the week. And like a dummy I decided to preach on perseverance. That I have proved that to be very true. So this this week as been a jewel that’s for sure. But we shall persevered. OK so. Character traits that Christians should possess. One number one is faithfulness. Christians should be faithful people. They should possess courage. And naturally love. Representing God and he’s he is love. In military. Generosity. Integrity. You know if you look at people claim they’re Christian and then they’re not integrity they don’t have integrity the new kind of think well what’s going on you know are they really are Christian or are they just a work in progress. Another one number seven is was them. Number eight is hope. And his compassion. Tennis teach ability. And eleven is self-control. And that brings me to number twelve which is perseverance. The first eleven are evidences of Christian character perseverance creates character. Most Bibles use the word insurance or patient into. Words. But I believe Perseverance is a stronger word. Out of Hebrews ten it says you need to persevered so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he has promised. That’s out of the end I. Think of a quarterback running down the field with a football. And he’s doing fine until all these big guys are getting his way and they say we’re not coming this way. And he would have a lot easier time if it wasn’t for them here I mean he could just run down the field and take the ball were we wanted but what would be the point. And it’s the same in our Christian journey we have three big guys that step into our way and try to derail us the world the flesh and the devil. If they weren’t there would be so much easier but then again what would be the point. You know the Bible says in Revelation it says several times to him whoever comes. To him or overcomes so. The world to flourish and to double the world is like a big flea market. You can have this you can do that you only go around once so you need to get all the toys you can. Well. That’s certainly out there. And you know. How many. What disturbs me sometimes they get all these e-mails were. Just within the last day going to get up here and you know get your last day for sale. So. The world has. Everything. They think we need. The flesh is hungry for the things of the world and those things never satisfy. And it’s not wrong to have stuff you know some people lives some it’s been preached in some circles you know you go to get rid of everything well how can you help others if you don’t have anything it’s just you don’t worship the things of the world. And then there’s the devil he calls are hungry hungry flesh to the things of the world trying to get the attention off God or provider. If we have. God as our provider we don’t need to be. Where. We don’t need to. Trust in worldly things or worldly ways to get things because God will give us what we need. In our enemies ruthless trying to hold us back from for filling our God given purpose. Some people have to pre-purchase severe. Through tremendous trials. Keep in mind that Jesus is our model. He persevered. Even though he didn’t deserve what he got. He said Follow me. I have a few people here. To use as examples one is no and. You know there’s no. Out in the middle. The puck the back side of. The back side of the front side I don’t know he was out there. It’s like. He’s out there and God says Build a Boat. Build a very big but. Gave me the measurements. And I’m sure no I thought. I’m standing in like a desert place and it’s all dry and you want me to build a big boat I don’t even have an S.U.V. with a trailer to get the boat to the lake if there’s a lake. So. Many but did you ever stop to think what no one through I mean. Where did you get the tools. Loz wasn’t there yet. Where do you get the lumber and stuff you know it took three hundred some years to build the ark. And all the time all the time there’s Each people saying mid-market them and everything else they will or that guy’s office rocker look what he’s doing out there. And yet he persevered. Because God told them to he was beaten. And whirl here today because of that. And that’s when his Nehemiah. Nehemiah had to go. Rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. In spite of all the dangers in spite of where he came from was. He’s in King and God turned that King’s heart and said we’ll go do what you have to do. And so he went out. And. Typical. Desert experience with wild animals and this and any other thing and and. It was a tremendous job to build that wall. And he did it. And rallied people and they and he organized there is singing got it done. And there were people mocking him and people trying to get him to stop and you know the story. But he persevered and got the job done. King David was another one. Anointed king runnin for his life in the desert because the guy that was King was trying to kill him all the time. And. One trial after another. He had to leave. The sick leg that one town and. When he came back it was there was burned in everything was gone as well wife and all the animals and all that had been carried off. And then his own men tried to talk about stoning him. And. So but he persevered through that and he ventured he became. The king that he was destined to be. Another one as Paul. When Paul got. Saved miraculously on the Damascus Road. And started is preaching circuit. He had what he called a messenger from Satan he was trying to get rid of and that was. This spirit was stirring up. AG. Riots and everything no matter where he went to preach. And he can imagine. Having in your heart to spread the gospel and I mean he was on fire for the Lord he wanted to save the entire world and everywhere he went Nope in his mouth and there were. There was. The. The riots and he tried to they tried to kill him several times and you know you know the story there and he was shipwrecked and he was this and that and but he ended up being someone who wrote a lot of the New Testament. From prison. But he persevered. And once again where would be be if he wouldn’t have persevered. Another one is more of a contemporary I don’t know if you’ve heard of a guy named David ring. David ring is an evangelist. David ring was born with cerebral palsy. And he lost his parents early. He was one of I think he said eight kids and he was the youngest. And whenever his parents passed away all but his one sister. Four So him. So his sister would drag him to church I don’t know how old he was then. And he finally ended up getting saved and then he got to call the ministry and he said the Lord He says I. Don’t know if you noticed or not but I have cerebral palsy so been and Minister wouldn’t you know you might want to reconsider this. And so. Little bit later God spoke louder and said I want you to be an evangelist for me. And so he said OK Lord would you go to help me. But he persevered. He. Is white his yeah it was his sister made sure he got school schooling. And then. He decided to go to college. When people start telling you you’ll never make it through college you can’t do that you got serval palsy. He says I want you to know he says I Kerryn to a four year degree into five. And so he got through that. Then they started tell him. You’ll never find a wife because who’s going to want you and you can’t provide for a woman you know. He says I have a beautiful wife the stays with me and supports me and he said it I told her if she ever leaves me I’m going with her. He’s got a wonderful sense of humor if you ever hear him awhile. So then they said well you’ll never have children you don’t want to have children I mean and you know he says I prove them wrong four times. And somebody said are they normal. And he said what’s normal he says I’m looking at some of you and I’m wondering was. So but he threw his handicap. He says I have to keep saying I have serval palsy what’s your problem. He’s trying to get the church to you know wake up you able bodied people sitting listening to him instead of doing what. God wants them to do. So he has persevered and he still wrong as far as I know. They have his. Life story it’s a testimony on You Tube and it’s back when he was in his thirties and it’s a little bit dated but. He’s a good one for inspiration. So that’s some of the individuals that have persevered How about. Nations that have persevered How about Israel. Israel became a nation in one nine hundred forty eight the Bible says Can a nation be born in a day and it was. And they immediately went to war. And for the last seventy years they’ve always been living under the threat of war if you ever see a map of Israel you see all the hostile nations around them. Those nations want to look you know they say they say that oh you’re in. You’re in are on our territory and this and that So all these huge nations in Israel’s a little dot in the middle. They want to snuff it out. But Israel. Israel has persevered. And pray for Israel pray for Benjamin Netanyahu he’s going through the same kind of stuff that our leaders in this country are opposition and. They so big. And that brings us to our country. Finally as a Christian nation. Was biblical influence in our founding documents. Which are what which today are Christian. Heritage is under attack. And I have some examples here from a guy named Kelly Shackleford he. Says. In the next page I have what his outfit is called. The first Liberty Institute. My own undershirts fingers can turn to. It is. These are things that have been going on in our nation. And some of these or we’ve already heard about like there was a pastor in Texas that had his sermons subpoenaed. The other one was a Christian bakery in Oregon. Find one hundred thirty five thousand dollars in business bankrupted they were ordered by the judge not to speak publicly about their beliefs. In the city of Dallas Texas trying to shut down a synagogue. A nursing home has a piano but all Christian music is banned and they’re forbidden her Bible study. From her and told not to pray in school. Senior citizens threatened with meals being taken away. Because they were praying over them since the meals were government funded. And they always say separation of church and state and if you get educated on where that came from that is the biggest lie that has tried to paralyze the church. David Barton Wall Builders is a group. Is a good resource to study on and he even had a book called The Myth of separation. The next examples I have so little fear more hall here in the US These are the ones headed for the Supreme Court this year. Most years see about one religious discrimination case to the Supreme Court. But two seaters there are six so four. And they’re only the ones from first Liberty Institute. There’s a former Marine Marine. And a high school football coach Coach Kennedy. Fired for praying with his team which he had done for seven years. The school district sent a letter for bidding anything that even looks religious. The Ninth Circuit Court ruled that coaches are not allowed to pray if anybody can see them. Then there’s another story this has been in the news for a while but apparently it’s going to the Supreme Court it’s year one hundred year old war memorial the. Cross was. Financed by mothers who lost sons in World War One. And it was ruled to be removed since it’s in the shape of a cross. And one of the big problems there if they succeed in getting rid of that it’s in the same area is Arlington National Cemetery. So you can imagine what they want to do next. A school called crew living to Livingston Christian school. Was forbidden to exist in the church that started the school so they went to the city council they were where were cool where can we locate the school they said No where in the city limits we don’t want a Christian school in the city limbs. I’m not sure is that you just said it was living in Livingston Christian school so. I might have to I don’t know whether that’s. Just killer Shackleford was on. They were a church last Sunday night and we watched them he. He was laying all this stuff. A retired Air Force veteran Oscar Rodriguez. He was part of a flag folding seminary cemetery. Ceremony. And. Hand was and he always gave a speech giving God the glory. So he was asked by a friend who was retiring. For him to do that at his private. Retirement party and he said he would surely be glad to do that. When he did that. He before he even got started he was forcibly removed by uniformed men because he planned to mention God. These are going on in our country. Cases in two different states deciding if county commissioners should be allowed to open with prayer. What business is there. And the last one really blew me away some woman named Marion Schwartz I’m not sure her last name Schwartz It was something like that. Was turned by police she could not pray in her own home. How would they even I mean. So. First Liberty Institute a case on cases like this especially when people can’t afford to counsel he has it’s he has it structured He said a lot of places they hire lawyers and stuff where he goes to these different areas and he finds the. Best lawyers he can find and he says would you like to donate some time to a good cause and tells them what it’s about and he says most of them say I’ve been wanting to do something like that. So that way the lawyers know the people they know the area the judges usually know the lawyer and he said we have a ninety percent success rate. If he makes an important point how important it is for people to choose to persevered. If the coach for instance chance to hide his face there would be no precedent to fight for. Another freedom is lost without a fight. Each of these cases Christians or persons hearing taking personal responsibility to keep our freedoms alive in our own country. And. Shackleford sources the attacks on our faith have increased dramatically. So the all his question why would anyone care if people pray we’re not forcing our beliefs on anyone reading others. Who did this brings out the point we have this enemy this ruthless and trying to erase God from everything. They have been handling that’s had the world has never had a good definition of liberty and it seems to really need one. He said there’s two really different. Definitions. One is the right of each man. The doozie pleases with himself and the product of his labor that’s when we go by. The other one is the right of someone to do as they please with other men and the product of someone else’s labor. That’s socialism. But they still call it liberty. So what does God say second currency is three seventeen The Lord is Spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there’s a liberty or freedom. That first started the idea true liberty is an individual responsibility God calls each of us to Himself challenges us to look higher than a hot dog a day off work to be free to worship God. Thomas Jefferson was given a job to write a declaration of independence with this thought in mind. Government is to be of the people flowing from the spiritual liberty and bless that assurance brought by Jesus at Calvary This is why we sing God Bless America instead of government bless America. The thirty six men who signed that Declaration understood it the liberty liberty was purchased by Christ. In her first freedom is freedom to worship God. The signatures on the Declaration of Independence where their statement of faith as well as their death warrant. We are the only nation on earth whose founding documents says our rights come from God. This is a myth major reason that evil fight fight so hard against gun if he will can remove gone. Their rights come from the government which evil men can control. It was a survivor from a checklist of Aki. Explain that no one expected communism to take over their country but it happened. The government took away. Freedom to worship and the loss of other freedoms came shortly after. Freedom to worship is the key freedom. That holds everything else together. In a free users we me that read that we mess will wrestle not against flesh and blood. But powers and principalities of the year we might add airwaves and get a better picture of the battle it’s so easy to listen to the loudest voices on the airwaves literally speaking those things that will bring spiritual unearthly liberty. We will be commented by Christ on the last day. If we persevered against the present shortcomings of our culture. Incredible liberty that we have is our own individual responsibility to keep in pass on to generations to come. Will our descendants in two hundred years still read the declare Declaration of Independence and understand that true liberty comes from God. Another more subtle reason to person fear. Is while living in relative peace and quiet as we do in this Syria. Is destruction. We have so many things that can take our attention sports recreation and there Taman you for just for examples it’s so easy to forget. The things that God wants to do through us. None of those things are wrong. When they take the place a good. Or not right. Or wrong no need to personally rear. So that when you have done the world gawd you will receive what he has promised. When Jesus returns to find. If there’s still faith on the earth I want to be found on the field of battle with a sword in my hand please don’t let any of us be found in the stands. Waving palm homes. And with that I just want to. I want to bring those people up that I talked about praying for. We need to persevered in prayer for people. So these. These people that. Were in this accident down in South Carolina. Will resist live them to you Lord we lift. The rear that’s going through that surgery today we lift their. Last and their. I’m Clay and delay coming home from vacation. And we just speak to you willing. Him and mercy to those people or. Because you’re a great god they’re trusting in you and I thank you for that. So really lift them to you John with them in prayer this move. In for Jack and your McConville Lord. You know what they’re going through and there is. All these health situations and transition of life that they’re going to be facing. And you also with their daughter and that her family while they are. Staying there and you know you need to pray for. The caretakers as well as to the people being cared for because it’s a strain on those people so we bless Jack and healed and Christina and her family Lord we bless them with your presence that today that they would be. Lifted up and not discouraged and they could persevered through the is that. We pray for our friends Christian Nicky as they minister with John Hunter as their minister takes off and we thank you for blessing the well what you have started in their lives love. And murder and last last but not least we pray for our country. We pray that this division and hatred and discord would win since Lord God we spank destruction to the plans of the enemy. And we just ask you for ever that this nation would once again be one nation under God. Yeah good guess Kathy’s good. Hip problem that needs replaced. So we bless her today with healing with the power of God. In her body of the Lord that she would have the. Recovery. The restoration that she needs. In Jesus Name we thank you in Persia this morning. And I bless the people who came out this morning. And the ones that helped with the sound and just you have your visit your good go and then you continue to be that way we want to hear this morning Lord. And we just thank you in Frasier Jesus to me.