Endurance – Walking In Power with Nate Ortiz

Hey, the word I want to talk to you today about is endurance.

Endurance is something that we need to have in our lives, in our professional space,

in our personal space.

But how do we create the endurance that matters, the things that really mean the most?

And so, and I think about this in our faith, and I look at the scriptures, I want to have

a spiritual endurance to my life.

People can have the most well-meaning intentions to serve God or to say, I want to grow my

faith, but they don't have the spiritual endurance to say, let me receive everything

that you have for me, God, let me not take any shortcuts, let me not try to minimize

it, but we have to be able to say, God, help me to develop endurance in this life.

We all need it.

There are different challenges and struggles we'll go through, but when we have the resolve

to say, even on this kickback, even in the tension I'm living in, even when there seems

to be a way out or a way forward, I believe that God is going to one do what He needs to

do inside of me.

So, going through a struggle, going through some pressure, right?

When you put something under pressure, or you squeeze in the right, what is on the inside

of squeezed out, whether it's the pressure to form a diamond, whether it's the pressure,

you put on a sponge, when it's been soaked in something, whatever is in that sponge,

it's going to be just squeezed out.

And in this life, there's a month where we feel squeezed.

Where if I God, where are you?

Where are you at?

Are you hearing me?

But I want you to remember that there's an endurance, a spiritual endurance is being built

up inside of you, not because you've done something wrong, not because God's upset,

but God wants you to have a deep well of understanding what it is to serve Him.

So when you say I worship God or I follow God, it's not coming from a shallow place, but

it's coming from a place that really says God, I'm willing to lay everything I got down.

And when there's these moments of feeling like you're giving up or feeling like man, is

there God?

Is he hearing me?

You have to faith to say I know who was on the other side of the struggle.

I know that God is refining me, putting me through the fire so I can look more like

Him.

And so I encourage you where you think about in your life, maybe there's some spiritual

endurance that you need to develop, that you need to grow.

Maybe it's going to church, maybe it's being on a pray that you just don't pray for

you 30 seconds, and say, all right, well, that's it.

I'm good, right?

God doesn't need long prayers, but is there a spiritual endurance inside of you that says,

yeah, I've been praying for something for a week, a month, a year, but you say, even though

I haven't got my answer yet, I'm going to have a spiritual endurance inside of me that

says God is still good and God is still God, even the middle of my circumstances.

So in James chapter 1, starting in verse 2, it says this, it says, consider, I'll

joy my brethren when you encounter various trials.

That almost seems counter intuitive to say to have joy in the middle of a trial, but you

can have joy in the middle of a trial because you know that God is for you and He's going

to help you through it.

So not that we welcome Him, but we have to understand that every time we go through a battle,

every time we go through a difficult time or every time we go through a great season

with God, we have the ability to tell people around us of God's faithfulness in those

moments.

So instead of just complaining and saying, well, I wish this was different.

I wish this was different.

If I had this person, it's like, no, no, you have to learn how to count in the joy that

God has given to you.

So you said, why don't have much to be thankful for?

That I think that's the place where you need to pause and stop and say, God, what have

you blessed me with, right?

Maybe things aren't going your way, but you have to be practicing the thought of joyfulness

the same.

Even in the middle of struggle, I'm going to be joyful.

I'm not going to become negative.

I'm not going to let bitterness grab root in my heart.

But I can cheer other people on while I'm still improving myself.

I don't have to tear people down and make myself feel better.

But I can live in a perpetual state of being able to be an encourager, even when I'm trying

to encourage myself.

And so it's reciprocal.

It's circular in the thought process.

But that's how Jesus, I mean, Jesus came to this earth to give life, but get the laid

down his life.

So he would ultimately give us life for eternity.

And so as we go through these trials, remember, let's have a spiritual endurance in the middle

of it, but have the joy for it.

Continent on verse three says, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance,

you want endurance, your faith will be tested.

So don't get offended instantly when you're like, man, I feel like every attack is coming

against me.

I feel like I feel like forgotten.

I feel beat down.

I feel tore up from the floor.

But you have to say there's an endurance being built up inside of me.

So I can have enough strength for people around me.

There when people are filling down or people are filling without hope worth it with lack

of faith that you can speak something.

You say, I have a spiritual endurance.

I've had to wait in something difficult with, but God has come through.

Verse four, it says, let endurance have its perfect result.

We want to push things too much.

Instead we have to say, God, allow me to wait.

Allow me to begin to wait for what you're trying to do.

Let me not rush it.

Let me not just try to move on to the next thing and the perfect work has not completed

within me.

Let us be patient with God so that we may be perfect in lacking in nothing as it finish

up in verse four.

We want to be perfect, complete lacking nothing.

Let us have patience when it comes to letting our endurance come full circle.

Verse five says, but if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives wisdom to all

generously.

And without reproach, it will be given to them.

You want wisdom in life.

You ask God for he's going to give it to you.

He's going to be generous with it.

Don't feel like you always have to figure things out.

There's going to be moments where you're having spiritual endurance and you need wisdom.

You don't see a path forward.

You don't see a way out.

But you have to say, God, I'm giving it to you.

I'm asking for wisdom.

Help me to understand this better than I could ever even imagine.

Let my wisdom go beyond my ears, beyond my experience.

Despite of who I am, God, I need your wisdom.

He's going to give it to you.

And when you ask, verse six says, but he must ask and face without any doubting.

For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

You have to stand firm.

When you get this endurance that you're trying to develop inside of you, stand firm.

Stand firm as promises is truth because that's what's ultimately give you the strength

of who you need to become in Christ.

Develop a spiritual endurance with you.

Don't give up.

Don't lose hope.

Don't feel like you're all alone in this life.

It's better than this battle.

God hears you.

God sees you.

And the work that he has for you and the work that he's doing in you, that's only between

you and God, but you have to trust him.

You have to trust him that the life that you have is for a reason, it's for a purpose.

The things you experienced, don't just live in the past, saying, well, I can't believe

that's missed my whole life.

But if we really get into the place of just slowing down with God and saying, all right, Lord,

what experience that I had in my past, right?

How does that help someone here?

How can I speak of life and so on?

How can I encourage someone?

Have the endurance to walk with God, to hang with them, to not give up, to not check out,

but to say, Lord, help me to have joy, help me to gain wisdom and God is faithful to do

it.

So I hope you're encouraged today that maybe you're going through something, have some

spiritual endurance side of you, maybe praying for 30 seconds, pray for a minute, pray

a little bit longer, maybe haven't been a church walk.

Take that endurance to say, look, I'm going to go church, I'm going to get a street

going.

I'm trying to go week after week just to develop and grow myself.

Because I can tell you, you won't see growth, right?

In the same way you see, you can go plan a seat today and look outside and look outside

and look outside.

You're not going to see growth instantly.

Sometimes growth that's taking places, doesn't in private, doesn't in secret, no one's

singing, but growth is happening.

So you might go to church, you might be reading your words, say nothing's changing, everything

is the same.

I'm still stressed out.

I'm still all these things.

But you will understand that God is doing a greater work.

So the next time you're in a moment of difficult or a difficult situation on struggle, you're

going to feel a different response come out of you than there was previously.

Because you developed a spiritual endurance in your life, develop that, cultivate that in

your faith journey and watch what God will do.

He is faithful, he is true to his word and who will bring you through anything that you're

going through.

Hope you have a great week.

I'll talk to you soon.