Endurance

CONDITIONED TO ENDURE
2 Tim. 2:3
Verse 3 says, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of JesusChrist.

"Tozer said, "In our eagerness to make converts I am afraid we have lately been guilty of using the technique of modern salesmanship, which is of course to present only the desirable qualities in a product and ignore the rest. We go to men and offer them a cozy home on the sunny side of the brae(hill). If they will be accept Christ He will give them peace of mind, solve their problems, prosper their business, protect their families and keep them happy all day long. They believe us and come, and the first cold wind sends them shivering to some counselor to find out what has gone wrong; and thatis the last we hear of many of them."

I continue to quote Tozer: "The teachings of Christ reveal Him to be arealist in the finest meaning of that word. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find anything visionary or over optimistic. He told His hearers the whole truth and let them make up their minds. He might grieve over the retreating form of an inquirer who could not face up to the truth, but He never ranafter him to try to win him with rosy promises. He would have men follow Him, knowing the cost, or He would let them go their ways.""All this is but to say that Christ is honest. We can trust Him. He knows that He will never be popular among the sons of Adam and He knows that His followers need not expect to be. The wind that blows in His face will befelt by all who travel with Him, and we are not intellectually honest when we try to hide that face from them."Jesus conditioned His followers to endure. We should do not less. There is that temptation to soften by our presentation the harsh reality of "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." We who believe the gospel love the lost and desire their conversion and know if they truly experience it, they will be able to see things from our viewpoint. Salvation does bring a new power of perception of spiritual things. But in stark reality the change that brings about this change cannot take place unless the candidate hasbeen told the naked truth without any softening of the message. Jesus was not a modern psychologist who had figured out a way to slip in the Sword without pain. The message of the cross offends the natural man (Gal. 5:11).The Bible is a Two Edged Sword: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful,and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunderof soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of thethoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).

A friend of mine told about a lady who had wandered out of an alley screaming for help. She had her insides in her hands and said, "I've been gutted. Someone call for help."Well, when the Word of God penetrates deeper than anything has ever been.You are brought by it to the brink of the abyss and you are given the opportunity to accept or reject God's remedy. Jesus always gave those with whom He dealt the opportunity to say no without begging for a change ofmind. Now to the over zealous, this will be offensive.

Just remember this."He that is persuaded against his will is of the same persuasion still."

I believe the churches are being filled with people who have never repented and have been told that they can have all of this down here and heaven to."God wants you to be prosperous. God does not want you to be sick. Send meyour money and I'll pray for you, etc., etc." This is not what the Bible teaches. Jesus had a tough message for the present life. He informed His disciples that they would be persecuted.Jesus said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hatedyou. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because yeare not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore theworld hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is notgreater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecuteyou; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all thesethings will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not himthat sent me." Jesus is clear in His message. He is conditioning them to endure. He does this by telling them, "IF the world hate you (and it will), ye know that it hated me before it hated you." Jesus is telling them in advance that becoming my disciples has put you at odds with the world around you. The world hates me and since I am going to relive my life through you after I am gone they are going to hate you as they hate me. They are going to express that hatred toward you in the same way they have expressed it toward me. If you are a Christian, you have been conditioned to endure. Are youenduring?