Enduring to the End | Matthew 24:13 | August 13, 2024

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Real Truth Daily

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Daily Truths with Dave Ahlman

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Hi everybody, welcome back to Daily Truths.

[00:00:10] [SPEAKER_01]: What did people in the early church face as a result of their faith in Jesus Christ?

[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_01]: They faced persecution. They faced hatred.

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_01]: They faced insults.

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_01]: False Christ came along. False prophets came along.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_01]: There was an increase in lawlessness.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Sounds a lot like today, right?

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_01]: What do you face maybe not in the same way, maybe a little bit more subtle,

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_01]: but what do you face as a result of your faith in Jesus Christ?

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_01]: You face subtle persecution, hardship, insults, hatred.

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_01]: False Christ are around us. False prophets are around us.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_01]: There's an increase in lawlessness.

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And so in many ways what we face now is the same thing,

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_01]: maybe in lesser degrees, but it's the same thing they faced in the early church.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_01]: What did Jesus say to them to give them courage and hope and encouragement?

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_01]: He said this in verse 13 of Matthew chapter 24,

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_01]: But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_01]: What did he mean by that?

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_01]: The one who keeps their faith riveted and connected to Jesus as Savior will be saved.

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_01]: In other words, Jesus is saying no matter what comes your way,

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_01]: no matter what challenges you face, keep your trust in me as Savior, Lord, Redeemer and King.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I love what Romans chapter 5 says.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: We have peace put in a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_01]: The Bible says that he who began a good work, namely creating faith in your heart,

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_01]: he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_01]: You see faith clings to the promises of God.

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Faith clings to Jesus as Savior, the one who lived for you,

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_01]: the one who died on a cross to take away your sin,

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_01]: and the one who conquered and defeated death through his resurrection.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Faith receives what Christ has earned for us, namely forgiveness of all of our sins,

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_01]: peace with God and the promise of everlasting life.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Faith holds fast to those promises no matter what we face in life.

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_01]: You see here's the thing my friends, Christianity is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Right? And things happen. There's peaks and valleys, highs and lows, pitfalls and pratfalls,

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_01]: all the way along in life and all the way through Satan will try to do whatever he can

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_01]: to undermine and destroy your faith.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_01]: But Jesus is telling us here, endure till the end.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Keep your faith riveted and connected to Jesus as Savior and Lord Redeemer and King.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Never give up on your faith in Jesus Christ because when we don't,

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_01]: when we endure to the end, we'll receive the promise of everlasting life.

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_01]: A life that's so much better than anything we could ever experience, comprehend or know

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_01]: on this side of heaven. My friends, this is what Daily Truths is all about.

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_01]: It's about me giving you encouragement to run the race to eternal life to completion.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Now you don't do that alone. You have the Holy Spirit's power feeding your faith

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_01]: through Word and sacrament so that you can run with perseverance, right?

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_01]: The race marked out for us. I love what Hebrews chapter 12 says.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Therefore since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_01]: let us throw off everything that hinders every sin that so easily entangles us

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_01]: and let us run with perseverance, a race marked out for us.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_01]: That's how fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_01]: who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorned in shame

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_01]: and is seated at the right hand of God.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_01]: We run the race to eternal life through faith fixed on Jesus,

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_01]: who is our master, our king, the one who conquered death for us

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_01]: and gives eternal life to all those who trust in him.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_01]: May we trust in him all the way till the end of our life

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_01]: and then we'll have eternal life with God in heaven

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_01]: where there's no problems, no despair, no doubt, no death.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll be in heaven with Jesus for ever.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Indeed, Jesus said at best when he said,

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_01]: He who endure us to the end will be saved.

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Endure to the end, my friend. Keep your faith in Jesus.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_01]: And that is today's Daily Truth.

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Daily Truth