Hebrews 10:36
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 

 

Introduction

“You do not yet know the strength of your hearts”

There is a powerful piece of dialogue from the book Lord of the Rings that captures the heart of the necessity of endurance. A fellowship has been chosen from elves, dwarves, men and hobbits to destroy the most powerful ring in the fires from which it was made, in Mt. Doom. Frodo, a hobbit, the least and most unlikely to be the bearer of the ring, has volunteered to accomplish this mission and the rest are there to help him carry it through. As they are ready to depart, Elrond the King of the elves, gives them this final charge and has this exchange with Gimli the dwarf:

“The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom.  On him alone is any charge laid: . . . the others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way.  You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside to other paths, as chance allows.  The further you go, the less easy will it be for you to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will.  For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road.” 

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,” said Gimli.
“Maybe,” said Elrond, “but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the night fall.”
“Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking hearts,” said Gimli.
“Or break it,” said Elrond. (Tolkien, 1986, p. 274)

Following Jesus is dangerous. Jesus has said as much (Lk. 9:23-24). He has also said that the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matt. 10:22). As followers of Jesus, our quest to reign with him in the new heavens and new earth is wrought with dangers and difficulties. But if we will trust him, he promises to be our guide and our strength to get us there. The message of the good news of the King and his kingdom that we bear witness to along the way is received by some and met with hostility by most others. Therefore Jesus asks us to count the cost before embarking on this quest (Lk. 14:25-33). Is the reward we are after – is he – worth it? Is the promise of life with the King in his kingdom forever, worth it? 

If we have decided to enter on this quest, we will find ourselves joining up with one or more groups or bands to carry the good news of the One we are traveling to. Everyone must hear! It is costly to follow Jesus in this world. Period. But some places we carry this news to will have a higher risk of difficulty than others. InnerCHANGE is one such band of kingdom workers who carry the message of Jesus to places that tend to be of greater risk and difficulty. For this purpose, we must understand our need for endurance. For this reason, we bring people along in increasing levels of commitment. We really do not yet know the strength of our hearts. It is foolish to vow an unwavering commitment to “walk in the dark” together with a band of workers when we have not really experienced the night fall. Peter did that once (Lk. 22:33). We are in need of endurance, but it will be an endurance that comes through the strength that God supplies (1 Peter 4:11) and through the joy of the priceless promised inheritance that lies before us. 

In the parable of the soils, Jesus taught that a plant that had no root because it was planted in rocky soil quickly withered bearing no fruit when the heat of affliction came. The writer in Proverbs wrote “…but the root of the righteous bears fruit” (Proverbs 12:12). A.W. Tozer wrote back in 1955, “Our fathers looked well to the root of the tree and were willing to wait with patience for the fruit to appear. We demand fruit immediately even though the root may be weak and knobby or missing altogether,” and again “A tree can weather almost any storm if its root is sound…” (The Root of the Righteous pp. 7, 9). Roots that are healthy and have grown deep in the soil of faith in Christ, produce fruitful endurance. Nothing tests the soundness of our roots like suffering and persecution (1 Peter 1:3-7). This module aims at increasing our endurance and deepening our roots through our trust and hope in Jesus.

Ajith Fernando from Sri Lanka writes from his own experience with workers from the Global North,  

I think one of the most serious theological blind spots in the western church is a defective understanding of suffering… Christians are not taught why they should expect suffering as followers of Christ and why suffering is so important for healthy growth as a Christian. (Joy and Pain Locations 489-490)

We have, in fact, been called to this very thing (1 Peter 2:21; Acts 14:22). Trials, suffering and persecution are not only the result of following Jesus, but they are a key strategy for advancing the gospel. Nik Ripkin, who spent years sitting at the feet of those from the persecuted church around the world to learn from them how to endure says, “…persecution and suffering and sacrifice are necessary parts of His ultimate strategy, even today” (Insanity of Obedience, p. 5).

A word about using these modules

  1. Endurance to the end, as Jesus uses that phrase, is in reference to saving faith. Even as it is used in the book of Hebrews, it has to do with not losing our ultimate hope and trust in Jesus in the midst of persecution and difficulty. Struggling to endure or remain in our difficult contexts does not infer a loss of saving faith. There are many reasons why we may need to leave a particular context or difficult circumstance. But there are those who have experienced a crisis of faith because of the pain and suffering encountered in the many contexts InnerCHANGE serves in for which they were not prepared. And, sadly, some have even walked away from their faith. We want to deal honestly with our response to suffering when it comes, because we cannot escape it. Peter says that trials test the genuineness of our faith. What does the pain we encounter in the lives of our neighbors, or in our own lives, reveal about what our ultimate hope and trust is in? These will reveal the depth of our roots.
  2. This is only a beginning point for meditating on, and immersing yourself in, the Biblical view of trials, suffering and persecution. This is an ongoing process and only deepens when tested and applied. None of us knows the strength of our hearts but hopefully we come to trust wholly on the strength and preserving power of God on our behalf.
  3. Each module is in a 4-column Discovery Bible Study format (a 4-column worksheet is provided) to work on on your own and then to discuss together with your coach. This method of study is meant to be reproducible and easily transferable to someone else that you can lead through the same study. The emphasis is on what God is showing you through his word and how he wants you to apply it. Do one session at a time and be sure to apply what you are learning. How frequently you meet to reflect on a session is up to you and your coach.  Module 1 is meant to be done before arriving on the field if that is possible. Module two is to be done the first year on the field and then Module 3 at the completion of the first year. Again, this is ideal but you will have to figure out with your coach the best pacing for your situation.