Eternal Growth Group, Inc.

Be comforted to know that God is always in the corner of the righteous especially when they are persecuted for His sake. Like He was in Job’s life after bringing Job to a place of humility, so He is in ours too. Are you humbled yet? The sooner you get here to a place of humility, the sooner you’ll see His hands fighting for you.

2 Thessalonians 1:6 (KJV)
“Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,”

1 Peter 4:19 – Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls [to Him] in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

1 Peter 5:2-9
2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

It’s amazing to realize that nothing on earth becomes perfect without a process or preparation. A tree bearing fruits first has to be a seed that dies in the ground. Pure gold must suffer intense heat during its purification, new or refurbished homes at some point have to be demolished hammered, plastered etc to become that beautiful edifice people gape at. So why should we Christians be different. I submit to you that our process or preparation that helps us become mature Christians is what we experience as trials, tribulations, temptations or persecution. So if you are living holy or striving to leave holy, embrace or be ready for the persecution that here or that is coming to you. At the end of it you’ll be better than you ever were if you submit to the process that matures you.

Revelations 2:10 (Please read all of Revelation chapter 2)

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

I pray that God gives us grace to be patient to endure the persecution that comes our way in Jesus name, Amen.

Patience or endurance, forbearance or longsuffering are very synonymous and they all convey to others our faith and trust in God as well as our love for Him. God said Love is patient then the reflective absolute of that truth is that Patience is Love. So please be patient so you may express your godly love to others and to God. Be patient even in the face of trials to see and enjoy God’s unravelled promise and blessings to you.

Isaiah 30:18
18 So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.

1 Corinthians 4:5
5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Psalm 69:3
3 I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.

Psalm 46:10
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

There is so much strength and humility in those who submit completely to the will of God. In so many words, when we wait on Him, we say to Him, “I trust in you completely God.”

Psalm 62:5
5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

Psalm 38:15
15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

If we could only learn from the seed buried in the ground. Though it seems defeated, dead and done with, one of the greatest miracles on earth, resurrection, occurs to it. It first has to die before it can give new life. It depends completely on God for this to happen. I pray God gives us grace to be this patient.

Psalm 43:5 NET Bible
5 Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention.

John 12:24 (NLT)
24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels–a plentiful harvest of new lives.

For this week our focus will be patience. Care must be given to establishing a foundation or good roots. However, we will require tons of patience to see the process through as well as patience to wait to reap the fruits that come with d harvest.

Hebrews 6:11-12
11 Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.
12 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and patience (or endurance).

Our patience and willingness to see God’s process through speaks volumes about our trust and confidence in God and His word.

Micah 7:7
7 As for me, I look to the LORD for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.

Have you ever sat down to watch a plant grow from seed into a tree or shrub and watched it every day? Or what about watching a house being built from foundation to the laying of the roofs? They both feel like it takes forever don’t they? Like they say, ” it’s like watching paint dry”. Well, that’s the depth of patience that we need to cultivate. To be able to patiently wait for the completion of that beautiful home or the maturation of that fruitful tree that also provides shade. We must be patient to allow God complete us and/ or His promise to us.

Job 14:14
14 When a man dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief (or change) comes.

To build a solid or strong house you definitely want a good foundation. Now, the higher the structure, the deeper the foundation needs to be. The same applies to our faith and our Christian walk. We cannot lay a shallow foundation and expect a strong powerful walk with Christ. So let’s go deeper or better said let’s build deeper.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11 (NLT)
10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have–Jesus Christ.

We have been talking about having a solid and deep foundation as well as sinking our roots deep into Christ and the word of God.

Please stop for a moment, evaluate your foundation and your roots in Christ, fix or plan to fix what ever is broken or uproot and re-plant any shallow seated roots in your life. Restart life from this point and aim for nothing less than Christ or His standard.

You can still overcome!!!