Pray and Keep Alert with All Perseverance

Ephesians 6:18b-20
March 29, 2020
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

There are two things that I want to talk to you about today.

The first thing that I want to talk to you about is this: alertness, and alertness in prayer.

God has scheduled a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ. This day will come. On this day, the devil and all of his angels will be judged by Christ. And on this day, every human being that ever lived will appear before Jesus’ court of justice and be judged by him.

Those who were not chosen by God, those who did not repent of their sins and did not believe in Jesus, they will be cast into eternal torment and punished with everlasting destruction in hell. This is for the sake of the glory of God’s justice.

But those who were chosen by God, those who did repent of their sins and did believe in Jesus, they will go into everlasting life and receive the fullness of joy that comes from the presence of the Lord. This is for the sake of the glory of God’s mercy.

Praise the Lord.

This day will come. God has scheduled it. And this day will be a good day for us. We do not know when this day will happen. But we do know that it will happen.

Therefore, we ought to be alert. This this very important. You ought to be aware of the time that we live in right now. You ought to be mindful of the big picture. You ought to long for and look forward to the day of the Lord. You ought to be sober-minded and vigilant against worldliness and sin. This is alertness.

And all of this alertness is supposed to color all of your prayers. In light of the gospel truth of his return, Jesus commands you to keep alert when you pray. Let your manner of prayer - let what you pray and how you pray - be worthy of the gospel of Christ. And that manner is alertness.

What do your prayers to God sound like and look like? I hope that you would pray to the Lord in light of the Day of the Lord. I hope that you would pray as someone who is wearing glorious armor.

I invite you to confess sin right now. Your lack of alertness. And I invite you to think about you are living and how you are praying. Maybe you lack alertness because you are more worldly than you think. But you do not belong to this world. You are a part of the new creation. Do consider taking a serious step away from certain things of this world and do consider taking a serious step toward certain things that are of first importance. Remember, the day of the Lord has been scheduled.

Dear Highland, keep alert in prayer. Dear brother, dear sister, may your soul wait for the Lord… more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning (Psalm 130:6). Keep alert in prayer.

The second thing that I want to talk to you about is this: perseverance, and perseverance in prayer.

Those who are chosen by God the Father, those who are united with God the Son, those who are sanctified by God the Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace. Instead, they will certainly persevere to the end and be eternally saved.

You will persevere because of the unchangeable fact that your Father picked you to be saved. You will persevere because of the effective merit and intercession of your Lord Jesus Christ. You will persevere because the Holy Spirit dwells in you. You will persevere because all of this is God’s covenant of grace to you, and his covenant is indestructible. His promise to you is unbreakable. His love for you is immeasurable.

Praise the Lord.

You will be there at the end of all of this. God will make sure of it. The outcome of you fighting the good fight and finishing the race is certain and it is just a matter of time. Your inheritance in the new heavens and new earth is guaranteed. You will see Jesus face to face.

Therefore, we can have perseverance and we ought to have perseverance - because we will. This is important. This means that you will see all things through to the end. This means that you will move forward in your pilgrim life even when times are tough. This means that you will keep going back to God over and over again. This means that you will not lose heart when it comes to your relationship with God. This is perseverance.

And all of this perseverance is supposed to characterize all of your prayers. In light of the gospel truth of his perseverance of the saints, Jesus commands you to have perseverance when you pray. Let your manner of prayer - let what you pray and how you pray - be worthy of the gospel of Christ. And that manner is perseverance.

Do you pray a lot? Do you refuse to give up praying to God about certain things or about certain people? I hope so. I hope that you would have the endurance, the persistence, the resolve to pray to and depend upon and trust in God even if means that you end up praying and waiting for weeks or months or years or decades. And even if none of your prayers to God get answered your way, I hope that you would still continue to cling tightly to God in prayer… because you love him no matter what.

I invite you to confess sin right now. Your lack of perseverance. And I invite you to think about you are living and how you are praying. Maybe one reason why it’s too hard for you to persevere is because you are going at it alone. But you are not alone. You are part of the church. You are Highland. Do consider praying with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Do consider opening your life up to other brothers and sisters in Christ and asking for help as we persevere in prayer… together. Remember, the day of the Lord has been scheduled, and you will be eternally saved.

Dear Highland, persevere in prayer. Dear brother, dear sister, may you not lose heart. 

Christian prayer is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. Let us therefore run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him… endured… the cross (Hebrews 12:1-2). Have perseverance in prayer.

Soli Deo Gloria