Patience

How many people here this morning like to garden?

OK so if I would like to grow a garden with squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, eggplant, swish shard, watermelon and whatever else I can think of, what do I have to do?

Well, I have to have a place for a garden

Decide which type of gardening I’m going to do. Drip, raised beds, no till etc.

Work the ground

Plant seeds

water

Weed

fight outside forces. (bugs, & animals)

etc.

The point is gardening is hard work. You can’t just wake up one day and decide that I want to have a garden, throw some seeds at the ground and expect for the ground to produce for you delicious produce.

When I was in High school my first job when I turned 16 was to work at an agricultural Research Station and I worked for a weed scientist.

His job was to do research to try and get plants to grow in the midst of weeds.

My job was to take care of all of these massive weed infested gardens.

Unfortunately, we were never successful at keeping the weeds from choking out the plants. In order for plants to grow you still have to do a lot of work. Now hold on to this thought because we will come right back to it.

Over the last few weeks Troy has been walking us through the fruit of the spirit. In this text Paul is contrasting the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit.

Paul would argue here that the works of the flesh in fact don’t take any work at all. The flesh becasue of its sinful nature already desires to do these types of things.

But then Paul moves from talking about the works of the flesh to talking about the works of the Spirit but rather than identifying them as works he uses the metaphor, fruit.

He says the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy Piece, patience,Kindness, Goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, & Self control.

You see I believe Paul is very intentional when he refers to the works of the Spirit in our lives as fruit.

Let me ask you a question. Those tomatoes that you see on the screen are tomatoes from my garden in Haiti. I put in a tremendous amount of work in this garden but at the end of the day can I say that I grew those tomatoes? No. I did not grow those tomatoes.

The growth of the tomatoes where done by forces out side of my control. For example there is this huge ball of gas that puts out a enormous amount of energy and I have no control over that. I have no control over wind and cloud cover, the genetics of the plants and then there is this whole photosynthesis thing right… The actual growth of a fruit is out of my control. The point is I did not grow those tomatoes.

But what I did do was put in a lot of work to provide an environment where fruit like these tomatoes could be grown.

You see the same is true when it comes to the fruit that the Spirit produces in our lives. It is the Spirit who produces these qualities in our lives but Paul makes it very clear that we play a crucial role in this process to just like a Gardner plays an important role in growing fruit.

Our job is to garden our lives so that the desires of the flesh do not hinder the work of the spirit. Yes, the spirit lives in us and yes it is the spirit who produces these qualities that Paul mentions in Galatians 5 but we control how much the spirit has control of our lives.

We have to spiritually garden our lives by weeding out the desires of the flesh so that our bodies are an environment that is conducive for the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our lives.

You see when we understand our role as gardeners its then that the spirit can produce within us love, joy, piece, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

When we think about the hard work that is involved in allowing the Spirit to produce these qualities within us none is more difficult, especially for us Americans, than that of patience.

We as a general rule we are not patient people. Although I struggle with patience here my patience has never been tested more than when I lived in Haiti.

I remember countless times getting so frustrated while waiting on people who were coming to meet with me.

They would over and over again tell me that they were on their way. They would say Map vini, that meant I’m coming.

When they would tell me that they were coming, I knew where they were coming from, so for example if they were coming from their house to mine even in bad traffic they should arrive in 30 minutes.

Well, 30 minutes would pass an hour, two hours, three hours, and eventually after me waiting my day waiting on them they would show up.

It wasn't until this happened countless times that I learned that when someone says in creole that they are coming that doesn't mean that they will arrive in x amount of time like it does in English but rather it simply means that they will at some point in the day be by to see you.

Since learning this I have become a much more patient person by I am by no means perfect.

All of us have had our patients tested time and time again. So the question before us this morning is how do we get to a place where we can take full advantage of the patience that the spirit offers.

This morning I am going to share with you what I believe the key is to allowing the Spirit to produce patience within you.

The key is one word. And that word is LOVE! You want to be a more patient person, than you must learn to love.

In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth he begins his list of love’s qualities with this simple declaration: Love is, you guessed it, patient, 1 Corinthians 13:4.

You want to learn to be a patient person than first we must learn to love people like God loves us.

In 2 Peter 3:8-9 Peter has this to say about God’s love.

2 Peter 3:8–9 ESV

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

It seems that some of the members of the first-century church were becoming impatient — with God. They wanted to know why Jesus hadn’t returned? They wanted to know why their persecutors weren’t being punished? They wanted to know why God’s promises weren’t being fulfilled immediately? They wanted to know why God was being so slow? They were being impatient with God.

Peter explains to them that in fact God is not being slow but rather he is being patient becasue of his love for all people.

Unlike us, God isn’t focused on the clock. He’s focused on doing good to people’s souls. And if pausing his wrath means that his beloved children will reach repentance, then our God is willing to wait.

Often times the reason we are impatient people is becasue as one author put it we [have] fail[ed] to see that all people have significant and lasting value. We become so focused on their behaviors in the moment, which cause us to loose our patience, that we don’t consider their value in eternity.

We get frustrated with slow drivers, slow performers at work, we get impatient with our kids lack of quickly doing what we have asked of them. We get impatient with you fill in the blank....

When we understand the love that God has for us and how he has been and continues to be patient with us than these things that we get impatient about will seem less important.

But not only do we need to learn to love like God loves in order to be a more patient person but we also need to learn from our Savior.

Jesus was a patient person becasue of his love.

In his earthly ministry, Jesus too expressed love by patience. Let’s briefly look at just one example of Jesus demonstrating how it is possible to be patient with people when you love them first.

Turn with me to Mark 10. In Mark 10 starting in verse 17 Mark tells the story of a time when Jesus was leaving for a trip.

Mark 10:17 ESV

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

How many of us like being interrupted right when we are about to leave.

Maybe you are leaving work and someone who has had all day to talk to you decided they need to have an important conversation with you.

Maybe someone who needs help stops you just as you are about to leave.

I don’t know about you, but the moment I’m leaving to go anywhere , whether its on a trip, for an appointment, to run errands that is the worst possible moment for someone to interrupt me.

My car keys are in hand, my agenda is planned, and my GPS has already declared my ETA. I don’t have time to stop and talk, I have some where important to be. At least I think it is important.

Lets keep reading verse 18. Mark 10:18-22.

Mark 10:18–22 ESV

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

When the rich young man interrupted Jesus, how did he respond? Did he say sorrow man I am in a hurry, I’ve got an appointment can you come back another time?

No Jesus didn’t care that time was slipping away but what he did do was count the value of the man’s soul. Because he loved this man’s soul, He stopped. Jesus recognized the moment as an opportunity for eternity.

What’s important to notice from this story is that even when the man persisted in his self-righteous narrative, Jesus didn’t give up and head out.

What did he do? the text says that He “loved him,” and kept on talking to him. Jesus noticed what he lacked, he offered him riches beyond earthly worth, and he even invited the stubborn and arrogant man to come along with him.

You see It was only when the man left Jesus that Jesus continued on his way. He was patient with the man. He didn’t run him off because he was in a hurry. You see, our Savior was willing to wait becasue he saw the value in doing good for people’s souls.

When we are able to see the inconvenience of others as an opportunity to love them and their soul we will be able to be patient like Jesus is patient. Love is the key.

Since we have been loved by a our patient father and a patient savior, we too must be patient towards others because of our love for them. Just as our Father was not willing for us to perish, we shouldn’t dismiss the eternal future of the people around us. Our temporary delay may be a gospel opportunity. And if nothing else it certainly will be an opportunity to love another.

As we talked about to begin this lesson being a gardener is hard work. But the fruit that can be produced by our creator because of our hard work is amazing.

The same is true when it comes to receiving the gift of patients from the spirit.

Its hard work but if we can learn to love one another like our father and our Savior than we will be patient with others. People may cost us valuable minutes, but their souls are worth as long as it takes. Let us all learn to be patient becasue of our love for one another.