“By your patience possess
your souls.” NKJV
“Stand firm, and you will
win life.” NIV
Stop Worrying
1. Win in the Midst of Crisis
and
2. Win by Preventing Crisis.
Part One:
Win in the
Midst of Crisis
The Crisis Context
of Luke 21:19
Luke 21:10-18
10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11 There will be great earthquakes, famines
and pestilences in various places, and fearful
events and great signs from heaven. 12 “But
before all this, they will seize you and
persecute you. They will hand you over to
synagogues and put you in prison, and you
will be brought before kings and governors,
and all on account of my name.
Luke 21:10-18
13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14
But make up your mind not to worry
beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15
For I will give you words and wisdom that
none of your adversaries will be able to resist
or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by
parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and
friends, and they will put some of you to
death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of
me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish.
19 Stand firm, and you will win life.
The First Century Crisis.
• Note the call “make up your mind not to
worry beforehand”.
• At first, verse 18 seems to indicate they
will never experience physical harm.
But this must be interpreted in context.
They have also been warned about
persecution and suffering (verses 12, 1617). This ancient expression indicates
protection by God’s ultimate (but not
necessarily immediate) intervention.
The First Century Crisis.
• Jesus is encouraging them to
approach impending danger
with absolute optimism. God
will have the last word. They
will be raised incorruptible
(I Corinthians 15:50-58).
The Twenty-First Century Crisis.
• God still calls you not to
worry. If you faced those
dire circumstances He
would give you just what
you need at the moment
you need it.
“Stand firm and
you will win life.”
• The Greek word here for
“patience” (NIV- “standing firm”)
is ὑπομονῇ (hypomonē) which
means “patient endurance or
enduring under affliction.”
“Stand firm and
you will win life.”
• The Greek word here for “possess”
(NIV- “gain” or “win”) is κτήσασθε
(ktēsasthe) which means “to procure or
purchase.” The use of the middle
imperative means we are commanded
to take action and be responsible for
getting ourselves under control by
mastering our emotions and actions.
Part Two: Win by
Preventing Crisis
Win life by
mastering
emotions and
actions.
God wants you to
win life by
preventing crisis
in your life.
Gal. 5:22-23
22But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, 23
gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is
no law.
To be a “disciple”
includes a disciplined
life because God
wants you to be
successful
and “win life.”
Long term consequences of impulse
control and delayed gratification.
• 1. The children who waited for a
second marshmallow or pretzel
(showing self-control and delayed
gratification, fared much better in life.
Long term consequences of impulse
control and delayed gratification.
•
•
•
•
•
2. Higher SAT scores.
3. Lower BMI (Body Mass Index).
4. Lower rates of addiction.
5. Lower divorce rates.
6. More competent in life than those
who took instant gratification.
• 7. Higher level of satisfaction.
“self-control can
be learned at any
age.”
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/22/us/marshmallow-test/
The Bible has been
teaching the same
thing for
thousands of
years.
“Stand firm and
you will win life!”
Luke 21:19
Next Sunday