Join me as we explore the topics of perseverance, navigating through life’s trials, and understanding when to hold on or let go. Listen in as I share my personal journey of relocating my ministry, church, and headquarters to Kansas City despite countless obstacles. Together, we’ll unravel how to discern if a path is right for you, how to remain steadfast when circumstances challenge you, and the power of seeking wisdom and praying for guidance.
In the next segment, we delve into the value of inviting God into our journey and how maintaining faith during difficulties can lead to emotional, financial, and spiritual fulfillment. We’ll also shed light on the significance of having a plan and adhering to it. By sharing my experiences, we’ll learn how perseverance can enhance our life experiences and how God’s presence can guide us throughout our journey. So, get ready for an unfiltered biblical truth, practical tools, and real-life experiences that will redefine your faith and ultimately, your life.
Key Takeaways:
- Perseverance is essential in overcoming trials and difficulties.
- Don’t let circumstances or fear make decisions for you.
- Stick to the plan and purpose that God has for your life.
- Perseverance leads to growth, maturity, and a life that lacks nothing.
Where To Dive In:
0:00:01 Introduction to the podcast and the topic of perseverance
0:01:25 Overview of the podcast and its purpose
0:02:14 Importance of persevering and not giving up
0:04:22 Personal story of persevering through obstacles
0:07:27 Encouragement to let perseverance finish its work
0:09:37 The promise of not lacking anything when persevering
0:11:34 Advice to not let fear be a decision maker
0:11:57 Conclusion and preview of the next podcast on starting over
0:12:06 Victory and blessings after overcoming emotional and financial challenges.
0:13:04 Perseverance leads to a life of satisfaction and abundance.
0:14:14 Having a plan and sticking to it.
0:15:11 Story of daughter finding a partner who fits the plan.
0:16:18 The value of having a plan and partnership in life.
0:17:22 Let perseverance finish its work for a fulfilling life.
About the host:
Steve Gray is the founding and senior pastor of Revive Church KC. He has been in the full time ministry for over 40 years and was launched into national and international recognition in the late 1990’s as the leader of the historic Smithton Outpouring, and again in 2009 when he lead the Kansas City Revival which was televised nationally on the Daystar television network. Steve is also a veteran musician, songwriter, recording artist and published author. His books include When The Kingdom Comes, Follow The Fire, and My Absurd Religion.
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Transcript:
0:00:01
Hey, I’m so excited about today’s podcast and it’s about Perseverance. You’ve got to keep going, and let perseverance finish its work. And you know what? You’ll get out to the other side not lacking anything. Don’t miss a moment of it.
0:00:13
You were made for more than the status quo. I’m Pastor Steve Gray, and this is the More Faith, More Life Podcast. This podcast is for Christians with an ambitious heart who want to be more for their family me, do more with their career and see more of God’s promises in their life. I’ve spent many years as a worship, artist, minister, nonprofit leader, bold, truth speaker, and most importantly, father and spouse.
0:00:37
When I was in my early forty s, I was craving more. More from God and more from life. I’d done everything I was supposed to do. My life was good, but it wasn’t good enough. So I spent the following years diving into the word of God and searching for the biblical principles that would bring me closer to God and help my purpose and life flourish. That’s what I want to share with you. In every episode, you’ll get practical tools based on real life experiences that you can put into action to redefine your faith and ultimately your life.
0:01:12
So if you’re ready to do more, subscribe to More Faith, More Life and hear an unfiltered biblical truth every week. It’s time to be and experience more.
0:01:25
Hello everyone and welcome again to another podcast of More Faith, More Life. And we got great things to talk about today that could change your life forever. First of all, this is a balance of this podcast and the next podcast. Okay? So this podcast we’re going to talk about, keep going, don’t give up. What it means to Persevere, we’re going to talk about that. And then next podcast though, we’re going to talk about starting over in case you get to that point where that’s what you need to do and not be afraid to do that either. I’ve done both, but one of my favorite subjects is perseverance. Keep going. I’ve done this many, many years. I’ve been through many, many things. I mean, you can imagine in 30 years of ministry and traveling the world and all that, you get into all kinds of circumstances, traveling obviously, and then dealing with people and all the things that go along with just life.
0:02:14
And so you can easily get talked out of what you should be doing if you let something else make the decision for you. You have to know this is what I should be doing. If you’re unsure, then you should ask for wisdom. You should pray, ask wisdom, try to get in line, think about what is God saying to me and get a clear shot at it. And then if that’s what you think, then you’ve got to write it out and not let circumstances, situation trials, troubles make decisions for you. Now there comes a time when a decision should be made to do something else.
0:02:50
That’s for the next podcast. But right now we’re going to talk about things that happen. Life happens, things happen. So I’m referring back to a scripture that’s really helped me in the years, and that is from the James chapter in the book, in the Bible, James. And in the first chapter, it talks about you need to endure, you need to keep going. When you experience various trials or troubles, difficulties, you know what I’m talking about, and everybody has them, and you can allow them to start making decisions for you or just lose hope, lose heart and make a decision that this isn’t what you’re supposed to be doing. Because if it was, then the religious side of us might say, because if it was, then God would be blessing it. If this was what I should be doing with my life, if this is how I should the direction I should be going, then it should be easier. It should be really happening.
0:03:44
But I’ve got obstacles. I’ve got troubles, I’ve got situations. Maybe even your health gets in the way and you want to keep going. But maybe this is a sign or finances is a big one, right? Money is not turning out the way you thought. And so you think, well, maybe this is a sign that I should change course, give up. And yet the Bible says this when you get in those situations, it’s very, very important that you persevere. And for me, I don’t know what you think that word means. It’s a lot of things like keep going, persevere, keep going.
0:04:22
Don’t give up. Don’t let trials and troubles at least make all of the decisions for you. There are times to consider them, but mostly I do not. Okay? This has been my attitude for many, many years. If I believe it’s the right thing to do, and in my case, I believe maybe it’s the will of God to do, since that’s kind of the business I’m in, then the circumstances don’t matter. The situation, how difficult it is, doesn’t make any difference.
0:04:50
When we decided to move to Kansas City, we weren’t just moving to Kansas City. We were moving our ministry, our church, our headquarters to Kansas City from the country. We’d outgrown the country. Well, when I made that decision, I knew it was God’s will. I knew it was God’s choice. I felt like it was the right thing to do. And yet when we got here and started moving and our staff and people started moving from the country, they didn’t want to live there in the country, they’d rather move the city anyway.
0:05:21
We had every kind of obstacle you could imagine, one of the most outstanding obstacle that really could have turned us around and made us go back, which some people said go back. So we closed down the church there, and we had these great meetings. People were coming from all over the world. That’s another story. And so a church here in Kansas City, one of the suburbs, they built a new church and they had their old church, and it was still a great church and had education wing and great auditorium. It seated about 1200 people or more, and it had everything, it was just older. And so we worked a deal with that church.
0:06:00
And so we were going to rent, we were going to lease, and then with the option to buy, and all of a sudden they changed their mind. I think they had that denominational cloud over their heads. In other words, we weren’t the same denomination as them. Okay? When they found that out, well, they’re not like us. They don’t do things like us. Maybe we don’t want to do this. We should sell it to somebody that’s like us.
0:06:30
So they backed out of it. Even though we had a contract, they let it run out. It’s a lot of legal stuff. But anyway, here we are. Half of our congregation has already moved to Kansas City that wanted to come because we’re starting to remodel it and all that kind of stuff. Bang, it’s over with our worship leader and my secretary. They already moved here. They lived in Kansas City. I’m still in Smithton in the country.
0:06:54
And we’re split and we had no place to go. How easy would it have been? And how many people said, just go back to the old country church, open it back up again and stay there because this probably isn’t God’s will. If it was God’s will excuse me? If it was God’s will, you’d have got the building. It would all worked out. Everything would have been beautiful. So when we had no building to meet in, it would be real easy, wouldn’t it? To say we’ve made a mistake, I made a mistake. But I said, no, it was not a mistake, it was the right thing to do.
0:07:27
God’s strength is in it, god’s will is in it. They made the mistake. In fact, it was a big mistake because they never did sell the building. They never got the money, and it was eventually torn down. It’s a parking lot now, something. And so they made a mistake. But anyway, we kept going, we kept trying. We looked at other buildings, they faltered. We had another building. It didn’t work out. And this went on for six months.
0:07:57
And everybody said, well, just go back to your old church. Just go back. It’s just sitting there and no, this is the place where to be. Well, it all worked out. And then the spring, we ended up buying the land that we have now, and we put a tent up because we didn’t have a building. Had tent meetings through the summer. It kind of looked like a circus tent. But you know what never backed down? And now, 20 years, 22 years, 23 years later, here we are. We’ve touched the world. We got a great campus. We got buildings, two campuses, schools, preschools. We got so many things.
0:08:35
It’s a good thing I let Perseverance finish its work. And that’s what James says in that back to the Bible. He says, look, you’re going to go through various trials and troubles, but you need to let Perseverance finish its work, and that means it’s going to work on us. It’s a character thing. We need to let it finish. But the outcome is not just character, okay? I glad I made it through that, and now I’m much stronger person or whatever. Okay, that’s a great lesson, and that’s probably true, but it’s greater than that. Here’s a Bible promise, and it’s one that you need to get in you. So when you are going through things, difficult times, you always have this to fall back on in your mind. Say, no, I’m going to let Perseverance finish its work, because he says at the end of that, I have it right here too. Let me just get it and read it to you, okay? Because at the end it says, let Perseverance finish its work so that you may grow up and be mature and complete, okay?
0:09:37
So that’s character be complete, grow up. You made it through it, learned your lesson or whatever. But then these words are tacked on, not lacking anything. So you keep going in every area. And I’m sure it would be no surprise that if we could talk to James in the Bible, he says, Listen, it’s particularly applicable to your spiritual life that you get robbed of spiritual things. You make a decision, you’re going to start going to church, and then every time you go, the car won’t start or you get ready, you’re in the car, you’re in the wife with the kids, they’re all screaming. You get into an argument, turn around, you go back home, and you made this great commitment. Well, Perseverance needs to finish its work. It will help you in your character, but then you’re going to move into the not lacking anything.
0:10:28
You’ll get past all that. And then there’s the practical side of it, not lacking anything. You’re going to succeed if you stay with it, if it is the right thing to do. All right, next week we’ll talk on that. If it’s the right thing to do, as far as you can tell, and you do not want to stop. You want to win. You want to keep going. You want to get past all this, then stay with it. Do not let troubles, trials, difficulties make decisions for you. And most of all that I try to teach people is don’t let fear be a decision maker. We all have things. There’s things lots of things to be afraid of and get nervous about and anxious about, and we need to pay attention to those things. Maybe there are important things, but they don’t have to always make a decision. And so many people make decisions out of anxiety and fear because it’s just too scary, it’s too difficult, it’s too hard. It’s too many unknowns. So they go what’s easiest? Not necessarily what’s right or the best.
0:11:34
So I stuck with it. I got many stories to tell you. Stick with it. But I stuck with it. And made that a motto of my life, is if I believe it’s right, if I believe it’s the will of God for my life at least, then circumstances, trials, troubles, difficulties, they don’t matter. You got to do it. You got to do it. You got to keep going, and you’ll get to the other side. You’ll be stronger, but then you’ll have the admiration, if I can use that word, the admiration of God, the Father. You did it.
0:12:06
Good job. Good job. You made it to the other side. And then he then puts that blessing. You’re not lacking emotionally. You’re not lacking financially, because you got through all that, right? You got through the emotional, you got through the fears, you got through the financial challenges. You learned, you grew. And now you’ve come out on the other side having all that you need, all that you need, everything you need is taken care of.
0:12:34
And it’s been a great victory for you and a great victory for God and the Spirit of God if you walk with Him. Now to do this on your own, I guess a person can a person can say, I’m not going to let my circumstances or troubles or trials make decisions for me, but I don’t need to involve God with it. I can do this myself. Well, yes, you might be able to keep going by yourself, but can you create lacking nothing by yourself?
0:13:04
That’s really beyond us to where all of a sudden there’s such satisfaction, satisfied life, great relationships, right? Finances are good, family is good, kids are good, right? We still have a few things. You had to get the car fixed or the washing machine broke or whatever, but those are small things after you get to this point, like, you just, okay, but you’re financially, you’re spiritually, you’re emotionally, your relationships, you’re not lacking anything.
0:13:34
You made it through to the other side, and that’s where we want to get you. And so that’s why Perseverance has a job to do, and that job needs to be finished. It’ll work on your character. It’ll work on your mind, your will, your emotions, everything about you, and get to the other side. Then. And then you get to the not lacking anything stage. You say, you know what? This is really good. I’m so glad I stuck with the plan, the plan of God. And by the way, I wanted to tell you something that I raised my family on, and that is when they were old enough, we would talk about what is the plan?
0:14:14
What’s the plan for your life? What’s the plan? I mean, it doesn’t mean you have to make a career decision for the rest of your life right now, but what’s the plan? And we would get a plan. And we knew the plan was what we knew the plan was. I’m going to walk with God. I’m going to be blessed. I’m going to be well taken care of. I’m going to be happy. I’m going to go to church with family. I’m going to be sitting in church with my family, and God’s going to prosper us and take care of us, and we’re going to have a good life, okay?
0:14:45
And so anytime trouble or difficulties would come, we would always go back to the plan. I said, Remember, let’s stick to the plan. I remember when my daughter Bobby was in college, and she was, like, in her third year, heading on to her fourth year. She’s going to graduate about then in another year. And all her friends, most of her friends had found their boyfriends and found their fiancé, and they’re all getting engaged.
0:15:11
And hers, it just hadn’t worked out. The guys that she had met were nice, some of them nice cut, some of them not so nice, but some of them nice guys. But they didn’t fit the plan. It wasn’t the plan. Like, they had no interest in God, they had no interest in family or didn’t have any interest in us as her parents. And that’s not what she wanted. The plan was she wanted to hold the family together, wanted to have a husband that loved God, and we celebrate together, we go to church together. They love my parents because this is what my parents do. They’re in the ministry.
0:15:45
It didn’t fit the plan. And I remember her coming to me and said, dad, the plan’s not working. The plan’s not working. And I said, it will work. It will work. Let’s stick to our plan. Well, it did work, and she found a great guy who loves me, and we’ve been buddies. He works for us now. He’s in the ministry. She’s in the ministry. Our families are very close with me, them and the grandkids and my other girl, Brooke very close, right? Zion. Zion’s here. Her husband’s helping me right now.
0:16:18
And we just talk about doing we’re always thinking when we get a plan to go somewhere, do something, we always look like maybe we all should, so get a plan. That’s not necessarily I’m going to be a space scientist, and that’s it. But the plan is, whatever I become, whatever I do, this is who I’m going to be, and this is who I need to have in my life, and this is what I’m going to do. So you can tell that person who’s going to maybe be your partner, this is who I am.
0:16:49
And then I need you to be that person close enough that we can do this together. Because I don’t want to change my plan for somebody else, right? Because I shouldn’t have to do that. I should persevere with the plan, get a plan, stay with it. You’ll be so glad you did. And when you get out on the other side, through all the trials, all the troubles, life gets better, marriage gets easier. The joy and anxiety comes. The joy come, anxiety leaves, the joy comes, and it just gets better and better till you lack nothing.
0:17:22
So let Perseverance finish its work and you’ll be so glad that you did. Until next time. Bye
