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Sermon Title: I Want Patience and I Want It Now!

1. Introduction

1. Gal. 5:22

1. We have covered Love, Joy, Peace, now we focus on Patience (also steadfast, endurance)
2. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit.  This Means:
1. First, We have the capacity by the Spirit to be patient

1. 2 Thess. 3:5 – Our hearts are directed into patience! (God is directing, must be possible)
2. Can’t is not an option
3. Yet, many of us are still working at fulfilling our potential.

2. Second, We are commanded to be patient.

a. It is our love for God and his will that drives us toward perfect patience.

2. Patience Defined

1. What is Patience? 

1. My Def - Patience is the endurance to absorb life’s daily annoyances.

1. Ex. Sally, 1^st Grade Teacher, Stormy so alarm clock did not sound, bad hair day, children can’t go out because of rain, children restless, grew more restless, couldn’t wait till 3:00.  Got them ready to dismiss at 2:45.  Sorted out boots, hats, coats.  One child left, boots to small for his feet.  No straps, zippers… took all of her strength to get them on.  Finally, got them.  Sigh of relief.  Little boy looked at feet, “You know what teacher?  These boots aren’t mine”. Teacher did not know whether to laugh or cry… bravely began to take them off.  Harder to get off than on.  Yanked, pulled tugged.  At last they came off.  She looked at the little boys face.  He smiled back at her at said, “These boots aren’t mine, they are my sisters, and I got to wear them.”

2. Col. 3:12-17 – Put on, clothe yourself with Patience.

1. Clothed with patience, we can absorb frustration like a good bath mat absorbs water.

2. And What is Long-Suffering? – Is It the Same as Patience?

1. Col 1:9-11 -  For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
2. 2Ti 3:10-11 - But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

3. The Bible uses the two words separately in the same context, thus, they are not the same.

4. My Def - Long Suffering is enduring the same annoyances over time.

1. Best example of this is the quirks of a spouse experienced endlessly
• Snore
• Eat off your plate
• Leave clothes on the floor instead of hamper
• Constantly, leave the seat down

b. A spouse who is longsuffering will endure these painful episodes with head held high.

3. Who Wants Patience?  Patience is Something We all desire. (List 3 – We, God, Others)

1. We want to be patient

1. It shows our love for God – John 14:15
2. It is a demonstration that we are of God – I Tim. 6:11, 2 Cor. 6:4
3. God will Reward Our Patience – Heb. 10:36
4. Luke 21:19 – We have control over our souls.

2. We want to Receive Patience from God

1. We do not want to be under Zero Tolerance! (At Times, God has shown this)

1. Sons of Korah – Num. 16:1-5; Num. 16:28-33
2. Moses Striking Rock twice and rebuking at Meribah – Num. 20:7-12
3. Prophet who refused to strike the other from I Kings 20:35-36

2. God is a Very Patient God

1. Did not destroy Adam and Eve
2. Patient in the time of Noah – I Pet. 3:20 – Noah Preached
3. He was patient when they complained about:
• Food
• Meat
• Water
• He gave them all of these and more!  Their clothes did not wear out! Duet. 29:5
• He told them he would keep them from disease if they followed. Ex. 23:25
4. He was patient when they worshipped a golden calf
• Exodus 32:7-14
5. God was patient with Ninevah
• Sent Jonah to call them to repentance
6. Patient with David when he sinned with Bathsheba 2 Sam. 12:13-14
7. God Was patient with Israel and their wicked Kings
• I Kings 20 – God delivered victory to evil Israel and King Ahab
8. God sent Prophets to Israel even when he knew they would not turn from their ways.
• Jer 22:21 - I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
• Jer 5:21 - Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; that have eyes, and see not; that have ears, and hear not:
9. Today, our God is patient toward all of us though we sin.
• 2 Pet. 3:9
• Rom. 9:22
• James 5:7-8
• Are we not Fortunate! Are we not Blessed to have a Patient God?

3. Others Want to Receive Patience from Us and Us from Them

1. How Do We Know?

1. Mark 12:31 – “…Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
2. Do any of us want:
• To be ridiculed when we don’t understand something quickly?
• To be attacked if we disagree with someone?
• To be honked at when we are having car trouble?
• To be badgered when we are digging for a nickel at the register?
• To be scowled at when our baby is crying?
• To be shunned because we made a mistake?
3. Rom 15:4 - For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus:

2. Mat. 18:23-35 – Both Slaves desired Patience

1. No one wants to end up in the shoes of the Unforgiving Slave.

4. The Absence of Patience Results in Sinfulness

1. Col. 3:7-8 – These were the things we were clothed in before submitting to Christ.
1. We all know people who are short-tempered:
2. People who lose patience quickly and blow up in anger.

1. Ex. Brother made some not want to talk in classes because he would get mad.
• Mark 9:42 – And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
2. Ex. Same brother once threatened physical violence because did not like conversation.

3. Patience has to do with having a fairly long fuse, being able to absorb life’s annoyances without exploding in anger.
4. Sins are prominent, when we disrobe ourselves of the patience of Christ.

2. In the above verses, Paul Declares a Life Without Christ as a “Life of Anger”

1. Without Patience you find:

1. You find gossip and quarrels.
2. Friction and division
3. Split churches, broken marriages, fractured friendships.
4. Lots of short tempers. Lots of anger. Lots of trouble.

2. A life outside of the Patience of Christ shows up in:

1. Accusatory politics
2. Violent talk shows.
3. Aggressive Soccer Moms
4. Out of Control sports fans and players
5. Vengeful movies
6. Violent music.

3. “[Get rid of such things,]” Paul says, “[clothe yourselves with …patience.]” 
   

Part II of Sermon – Too Frustrating to find Poem on Patience… Eccl. 3:1-8

5. Our Patience is Going to Be Tried

1. The Suffering for our Patience is not IF, but When:
1. Jeremiah 15:15 - O Jehovah, thou knowest; remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach.
2. Rom 12:12 -  rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly in prayer;
3. 2 Co 1:6 - But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which worketh in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
4. Eph 4:1-3 - I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
5. 2Th 1:4 - so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure;
6. James 1:3-4 – Knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience.  And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.

2. Are We Better than the Prophets of God?
1. Jam 5:10 - Take, brethren, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spake in the name of the Lord.
2. Num 11:11-15 – Moses to God – “Kill me!”

3. Are we better than the Man Jesus Christ?

1. Heb 4:15 - For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
2. Mar 4:39-40 - And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? – Apostles irritated
3. Joh 1:10 - He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. – Dealing with rejection trying on patience. - Do someone Good, and not appreciative?
4. Heb 2:9 - But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Patience had to be tried to be away from heaven!
5. Mar 14:65 - And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

1. How would you respond to this?  Would you pray for their forgiveness?  Or having the power of God, would you have destroyed them painfully and instantly? 
   

Our Patience is Going to Be Tried!

6. Four Suggestions for Developing Patience

1. See People through the lens of Imaginative Love

1. Don’t tailgate pokey driver… imagine it is your grandparent.  A loving grandparent.  Who tailgates a loving grandparent?
2. How does Jesus see people?

1. He can see the pain they have experienced.
2. He can see the walls they have put up with their “crankiness”.
3. Why is a person so hardened to Christ?  Maybe they are blaming God for the loss?
4. We do not know or the circumstances behind many daily irritations.

2. Hang Around Patient People – True for Young and Old

1. 1Co 15:33 - Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals. - Dog Samson

1. Watch – Want to learn how to build something? 
2. Listen – What to know how to get somewhere?
3. Learn – You can’t learn ballet from a hippo.  An algebra teacher cannot teach you French.  A Basketball player can’t cook like Paula Dean.
• More directly, you learn Christian things from mature Christians.
• Young people, you want to know how to grow into Christ, start spending more time with mature Christians.
• If we want to learn patience, we must hang around patient people.

3. Keep in Mind God’s Patience Toward Us

1. God could have wiped us out a long time ago.
2. He forgave me although I swore.
3. He forgave me although I lied.
4. He forgave me although I had turned my back on Him.

4. Keep Our Eyes on Jesus Christ

1. Jesus experienced sorrows, pain, shame, irritations, and annoyances.
2. He was rejected and neglected.
3. Jesus saw the injustices to the poor, the hungry, the needy.
4. Jesus did not retaliate or take vengeance on us all.

7. Patience is Not Rolling Over

1. Anger Vs. Righteous Indignation

1. Yes, Acting without Patience is Stepping Out of Our Robes of Christ
2. Yes, When We Step Out of Those Robes We Engage a “Life of Anger”
3. However, is all anger sinful?

a. Eph 4:26 - Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

2. Two components of this Verse: Sinful anger and non-sinful anger.

2. Example of Sinful Anger

1. Gen 4:5-8 - But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

3. Examples of Righteous Indignation – Non-sinful anger

1. Duet. 4:21 – God angry over Moses Sin, for sake of Israel.
2. I Kings 11:9 – God angry with Solomon for turning from Him.
3. Isa 12:1 - And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. – Speaking of their return from the punishment of captivity.
4. Mat 21:12  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Jesus was Angry!  But we know he did not sin! 

4. Eph. 4:26 – Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath- Explanation
1. First component discussion of sinful anger
2. Second component the anger we should not let the sun go down on.

1. Righteous Indignation
• Rom 12:9 - Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
• Rev 2:2-3  I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary.
2. Righteous Anger is Guided by Patience
• To Harm Others would Be Sinful – IE. Attack a False Prophet at Your Door
• Remember, Rom 12:19 - Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
• Righteous Anger should compel you to defend and support the Word of God in a Godly manner.

Jesus Did Not Roll Over in the Face of Evil

Closing

1. Via the Holy Spirit we have The command and the Capacity to Be Patient.
2. Patience and longsuffering are the endurance of short and lasting sufferings.
3. We all desire to be patient, have God’s patience toward us, and Mutual Patience Among one another.
4. When We Take off the Patience of Christ, We put on a Sinful “Life of Anger”
5. Our Patience is Going to Be Tried, as the Patience of all Men are tried, Prophet, Priest, and King for God is no Respector of Persons.
6. Four Suggestions for Developing Better Patience

1. See People through the lens of Imaginative Love

2. Hang Around Patient People

3. Keep in Mind God’s Patience Toward Us

4. Keep Our Eyes on Jesus Christ

G. Patience Does not Mean A Christian Must Roll Over

1. Have Patience, Fight with Righteous Anger, and Do So in a Godly Manner
1. 1Ti 6:12 - Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.
2. 2Ti 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith:

The Burdens of Every Day Make Life Seem Very Long 

Patiently Lay Your Burdens on Christ