Endurance
Last week, I listened to the Passion Conference on LiveStream. There were some awesome speakers who brought a fresh word to me. The conference is led by Louie Giglio (Passion City Church) from Atlanta. The teachers brought some powerful words to my ears. I listened with anticipation of what God was going to say to me. This was the first time I had listened in to this conference. I don’t know what previous conferences were all about, but this one was bringing awareness to the plight of 27 million who are held in slavery. The conference is kicking off an “End It” movement (check out the website www.enditmovement.com). Francis Chan spoke about being a part of the battle. Beth Moore spoke on Jesus’ last Passover meal. John Piper spoke on embracing the suffering. And then the conference was wrapped up with Pastor Louie.
Pastor Louie spoke about the dry bones passage found in Ezekiel 37. I love this particular passage. He brought home the fact we are to be anointed with the Holy Spirit in order to work in the power of the Holy Spirit. The night before, John Piper spoke about embracing suffering just as all who are called to the cause of liberation have to endure. There is a prize for those who endure the suffering. The prize is found on the other side of heaven and it is worth it all. In the passage, God had to put the breath (the Holy Spirit) in the slain in order for them to live. Once the breath of God entered the bodies, they stood up and were a vast army.
God is calling us to stand up. There are many who need for us to take up their cause – to fight when they can’t do so. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to fill us, in order to fight the fight. We need to embrace the suffering that will surely come when we take up the cause of liberation. Jesus came for our liberation. He embraced the suffering he knew that was coming on that Passover night. He fulfilled the Scriptures in every sense of the Word. The Passover Lamb was slain, the bread was broken, and the cup (of wine) was poured out for each of us. And once it was finished, He sat down at the right hand of God. The race is before us. The course is set. Will we finish the race or give up because it costs us too much?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
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