Hebrews 11:39-40

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 10:19-25

A Call to Persevere in Faith ¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 12:1-2

¹ 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, ² 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.

How do we persevere, whatever the disabppointment?

1. Embrace the journey.

2. Enjoy the big dream, looking for its fulfillment in the next life.

3. Embrace life’s great gift.  God’s presence and voice in good times and bad.

4. After disappointments, go to God not away from God.

5. Do life with godly friends

6. Run with perseverance the race set out before you.

7. Fix your eyes on Jesus.

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

 ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

How can you bring out the best in people?

1. Call out the good God is doing in others.

2. Model ever-growing godliness yourself. (I Corinthians 11:1)

a. Persistently go to Jesus with all your own troubles.

b.  Stay encouraged by praising God in everything.

3. Call people into, not away from, challenges

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Ephesians 5:18-20

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:39-40

 ³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.