Patience

Intro

Good Morning—Welcome

We believe and often say here at Grassroots that Relationships and community are central to the Christian faith. That we can believe all the right things, say all the right things, go to Church gatherings, give to church…but if we are not investing in our relationships

With our spouses

Our friends

Our church communities

Those who are far from Jesus

Our children

Then everything good we do is pointless. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13…Even if you do all the right things…but do not love…then what’s the point?

And to go with our theme this year of becoming a church that exists for this city…we are going to spend the next 5 weeks on looking at elements of a good relationship. This isn’t a series about Marriage. This also isn’t a series about parenting or how to navigate platonic relationships. This series will hopefully help us to add some tools to our belts as we engage in and build relationships.

The 5 tools we are going to talk about can be used in any relationship we have and help us grow stronger in those relationships, whether they are intimate relationships with our spouses, or platonic relationships we have with one another.

One thing I want to make clear is that these 5 things do not make a relationship fully successful, but they are great starting places and things we can begin to practice in our current relationships and in those discipleship relationships we are trying to make in our city.

And today…we are going to begin with looking at Patience. And in particular, taking our cue from our Creator in what it means to be patient by examining how he is patient with us.

Let’s pray together.

Story

Patience—Makrothymia

Patience, Forbearance

Hebrew equivalent means Patient endurance of pain or unhappiness

And that is a really great definition of patience. We don’t need to exercise patience when times are good, when everything is going well.

But patience is needed when we are up against something especially when other people are pushing up against us.

I am generally a patient person. But there are moments when my patience runs thin:

1) When my schedule becomes overloaded

-When we overload our lives we reduce the space or the energy we have to invest in the relationships that truly matter. The busier you are, the worse your relationships become.

-When my schedule becomes overloaded my patience with my family begins to dwindle.

2) Mornings: Do not speak to me before 8am. I am not a morning person. Never have been. And when my peace is disturbed in the morning

3) Driving

4) When I have to repeat myself over and over and over again.

Ben has a tactic to get us to lose our patience quickly. It’s to repeat himself over and over and over again about what he wants to do.

But when we think about relationships, Patience in our day and age is key. It’s something that is distinctly lacking in our culture:

We are so hurried, so in our lanes that when any of that gets disturbed or disrupted our patience begins to thin.

We are over scheduled

We are largely over-extended and stretched thin that we become extremely permeable by the slightest inconvenience.

And it seems like over the past few years so many people have become stretched so thin that patience has halted.

And stretched thin doesn’t always mean business:

Stretched thin:

Emotionally

Physically—Health

Psychologically

And when stuff begins to empty our cups, then we start to look in inopportune places to find something to fill that. Especially relationally. So today, the first thing is patience. What can we learn from God about being patient.

Our primary scripture today is going to be in the book of Judges, Chapter 6.

But before hand, lets look at different way sin which God/Christ practiced patience with humanity.

Patience with Friends

Philip needed to see God: Jesus was patient with him (John 14:8)

Thomas: Demanded to see Jesus wounds

Jesus made him wait 8 days

Peter: 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. . . . Count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. (2 Peter 3:9, 15)

Patience with Enemies

Paul is a great example.

Paul: Formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. . . . But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:13, 16

Patience through rebellion

He showed Patience with Adam and Eve

He showed Patience with Sarah and Abraham even when they grew impatient (Taking things into his own hands with Ishmael—Gen 16)

He showed patience with the Israelites as they moved their attentions toward other gods in the wilderness (Exodus)

He showed Patience with Jonah and corrected his path.

Gideon

Or my personal favorite…Gideon…Which is kind of the funniest story in the Bible. Judges 6

We meet Gideon…who we consider today to be some great warrior…But that isn’t actually the case. He’s a fearful guy. Very careful. Doesn’t want to be disturbed. Wants to just keep on living his life the way he wants to live it.

Threshing wheat inside on a wine press….because he was scared of the midianites.

He begins by questioning God, if God is with us…then where is all the cool stuff our ancestors had?

Wheat threshing:

hard surface on a hill.

Then livestock would pound the wheat and loosen it up.

Then you would take the grain and throw it into the air and the inedible chaff would fly away and the edible bits would fall back to the ground.

In other words…this couldn’t be done inside.

God calls him “Mighty Warrior...” And Gideon’s response is…”excuse me?” Me? I’m literally beating wheat into a wine press…like an idiot.

My clan is the weakest and I am the least.

Then Gideon give God three tests

He’s trying to get out of his call to destroy the Midianites with 300 soldiers right?

First test….”Here’s stew from a sacrificed goat and some bread, do something with this.” God makes fire come from a rock and consume it.

“Alright, alright…cool.” Then God commands him to tear down the altar to Baal. He does…but at night because Gideon is a fearful person.

then God calls him to arms. But Gideon is like.

Hold on…one test…Here’s a fleece…Make it wet but the ground dry.

God did it. Cool cool cool.

Now…just one more….Make the ground wet…but the fleece dry.

Obedience

Often times…we are sitting around, waiting for God, asking God why things are the way they are. We think about solutions, we think about processes, we think about how issues can be fixed. And we ask God…why is this not being done? Why is the world around us so screwed up?

And God’s response is…Am I not calling you?

And what do we do “Hold on…me? Prove it.”

Regardless of our desires to just keep living life in this way…God shows us extraordinary patience.

As Peter once wrote:

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. . . . Count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. (2 Peter 3:9, 15)

God’s Will is going to prevail…and His patience with us is proof of his desire for a few things:

1) To follow him and his call…regardless of what we want to do.

2) Through his patience we find salvation. God has every right to throw the earth into the sun. But he doesn’t.

Often times we think of our need to wait on God. And I think we often use that as an excuse to be inactive. But do we ever consider the truth that it’s not us who are waiting on God…but it’s God who’s waiting for us?

How does this inform our patience?

I think there are a few questions we need to ask ourselves when we find our patience running thin:

Why am I feeling anxious right now?

or.... What am I trying to control?

b. What is the root of why this person or that person is trying my patience? Is it truly them or is it my reaction to them?

c. How would God react in this situation?

Would he call down fire from heaven like James and John wanted to do in Samaria? Just remove the problem altogether?

Or would he exercise immense grace and mercy why continuing to move forward and inviting us to join in with him. Even when we want to get out of it.

As we go on a journey of making disciples, people are going to try your patience:

They will want you to prove things.

They will test your faith and understanding.

They will reject you, what you believe, and what you desire for them to believe as well.

They might come up with excuses as to why they cant do something or why they don’t like church or the idea of God or some other seemingly valid excuses.

But it is our job, not to reject them back, but to keep pursuing.

Pursue through the rebuking, through the denial, through the pain, through tough times, and simply show them the mercy

Story of Old man John in Ephesus chasing a guy up a mountain.

So the first tool…Be patient.

Control only what you can.

Endure through the things you cannot contorl

Pray earnestly to God to give your soul rest in times of impatience.

And Finally,

At the center of patience is grace. Show grace. Show the grace that God has shown you. Be that grace to others.

Let’s pray.