Fruit of The Spirit: Patience

INTRO: Watching granddad help me make a wooden guitar stand for FFA show and seeing how good he is at it, thinking “that’s what it’s supposed to look like, that’s how you do that correctly”, and being inspired to work at being capable like him...anybody else been there, or something similar? Watching someone skillful do something and thinking “I want to try that”....

The Fruit Of The Spirit originate with God, they are traits the Spirit grows us in to be more like Him.

As we study the topic of patience today, I’m not going to tell you how to be patient. I want us to see how God has been.

If we can see it in God in awesome ways, it will inspire us towards the same. To be patient is to exhibit a characteristic of God, so I need to see and appreciate the patience of God!

God’s Patience in Noah’s Day

1 Peter 3:20 “when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”

Genesis 6:5-9, 13, 18

2 Peter 2:5 “...but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness...”

100 years of building and preaching – a chance for anyone to repent and be saved along with Noah.

Think of Noah being the faithful ONE in the world. Enduring the hard physical task and the harder spiritual task. Facing rejection for decades.

Yes we see Noah’s endurance, but remember 1 Peter 3:20 said it was God’s patience to pay attention to!

God waited 100 years after he was devastated by the current state of the world. If you’re devastated/disturbed/frustrated with something you have all the power over to change, you’re going to do it right then! God was ready to begin anew, He has the power to deal with sin right then and there, but God waited, even while watching His faithful servant He loved be ridiculed and rejected. (Rom.12:19, vengeance is His)

God was patient with a purpose.

But He wasn’t just doing NOTHING as He waited. Patience is how you wait. How did God wait? He used His servant as a light in the darkness, He was holding back judgment for a century, He was provoked but He had restraint — and in all this there was a time of mercy.

Genesis 7:16 – mercy had ended and judgement began. God shut it, the end of a the time of mercy. The time for new was beginning.

1 Peter 3:20–21 “who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”

The story of Noah is one of God’s patience wherein He provided mercy and salvation.

God is patient with the lost now, wanting them to want the new life He offers, providing every opportunity for the seeker.

God patience isn’t just with the lost - but is seen more often in scripture with those that claim to be His people.

God’s Patience In The Wilderness

Numbers 13:31-14:1

Fearful report was brought back.

They saw the land and knew it was good, they knew what God promised was grand - but they decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.

They were unwilling to endure the obstacles and trust God’s promises. They were unwilling to try to be patient through hard circumstances and rely on God to make it all work out.

Illustration: Imagine a being a perfect spouse — but not be thanked/appreciated, and even not trusted to keep doing so even though you have day in and day out. It’d be more than irritating, it’d feel like betrayal and be tempting to quit all of that.

And here is what the Israelites were doing to God - seeing the proof of His capabilities, taking advantage of His providence, but time after time still loudly complaining and not trusting Him to keep doing it. Patience would be running thin we might say. Yet God still exhibits His long-suffering.

Number 14:27-33

The faithful still get the promise.

God is telling them if you don’t want to work for me and achieve what I told you that you can achieve that’s fine, I’ll wait you out and raise up those that will. God would wait to fulfill His purpose to do it at the best time and the best way.

I hope you and I have the willingness and endurance to say “God I want to be part of your plan, not in the way and then removed.”

603,550 (ch.2:32) men 20yrs and up will die in the wilderness and God will raise up a new generation that is faithful.

God isn’t just waiting. He will raise them, train them, while waiting to continue to fulfill His grand plan.

God isn’t just punishing, though He is doing that, but God’s patience is seen as actively doing what it takes to prepare to fulfill His promises.

This isn’t just about the promised land! It’s about leading up to THE promised offspring! (Gen.22:18).

And God will take 40 years to right a wrong, He’ll take the time it needs to produce faithful people who will do faithful things.

My patience is seen in actively doing what I committed my life to while God fulfills His promises.

God’s people have always had a habit of needing to be course corrected.

God’s Patience During The Prophets

Through Joel, Hosea, and other prophets God PLEADED with his people: DON’T DO IT!...but they did it.

What did they do? Try to take advantage of God’s kindness. They only did worship as a transaction to get something from God. They did worship how they wanted to worship instead of how God wanted them to.

Joel 2:12–13 “Yet even now,” declares Yahweh, “Return to Me with all your heart And with fasting, weeping, and wailing; And tear your heart and not your garments.” Now return to Yahweh your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting concerning evil.”

God PLEADED with his people then and now “I WANT YOUR HEART NOT JUST LIP SERVICE”, and God has patiently been trying to get his people for thousands of years to understand that!

Joel 2:28-32, That’s what was spoken of by Peter in Acts 2 as being fulfilled that day on Pentecost! God, why are you throwing that in there in a message of repentance for your people 800 years before?

God was urging His people to get right and reminding them “It’s not just about you! I have bigger plans in store!” There’s a better covenant coming, with a better prophet/priest/king than they’ve ever seen that the world DESPERATELY needed!

God was patient with a purpose. Diligently working out His plan and promise, giving every opportunity for His people to be a good part of it.

Jesus’ Patience In His Ministry

When we look at Jesus, we don’t just see someone teaching patience - but lived out every step of His ministry with perfection! He embodied it with all His dealings with the crowds, the sinners, the religious folk, and certainly it’s emphasized with his own disciples.

Jesus asked ordinary men who were fisherman, tax collector, and every day people to grow from ordinary to extraordinary...you think that’s going to happen over night? He walked with them, taught them, corrected them, again and again and again!

Oh boy could the apostles be frustrating! Arguing over who is the greatest, doubting Jesus’ power like on the sea, misunderstanding his teachings and purpose, abandoning Him when he was taken into custody — with just one or two of those we each would say “I picked the wrong guys”.

But instead, Jesus knowing who they were, saw what they could be with time and guidance. He knew what they would do one day if He was patient with them. These average people would be seen in Acts 4:13 as “...uneducated and ordinary men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”

We should have an deep thankfulness that God is patient with us, giving us time to grow, time to struggle, time to prove we’re dedicated.

Patience For Us

A patient person can do something difficult for a long period of time. Year after year.

Romans 5:3-5.

Endurance/patience produces character like God’s. With the subject of patience:

Endurance/Patience proves you’re the real deal! It proves your genuineness, your loyalty, it proves what you’re really convinced of!

The end result of patience is not better character – the end result is the Hope we’re working towards! Christianity isn’t a behavior modification program. We’re not just trying to be good people with good morals – there is something FAR better we’re aiming for! It’s eternal transformation! But you’ve got to keep your eye on the prize.

Hope fuels patience! I KNOW God is faithful.

(PPT) When you understand that God is NEVER late, it affects how you wait.

Patience helps you endure for yourself and for the sake of others.

It gives time for others...it's so tempting for us to just say “you need to change now, if you knew more or were more it'd be easier for all of us and you'd be less of an annoyance. You need to be what I am!”...

Let's stop for a moment and really think. How long did it take me to get where I am? How many mistakes did I have to make? How many lessons did I have to learn the hard way? And even now how often do I still fall short and need grace and God's patience. And yet still God never gave up on me. He’s still guiding.

The truth is people are a work in progress. Every single one of us. Growth takes time, because of our own shortcomings it's rarely a straight line. There are setbacks, struggles, days of confusion, and moments of clarity.

(PPT) You can’t force a plant to grow faster by yanking on it. You nurture it. You water it. You protect it. And you do these things as you wait.

What if my patience is part of their growth story? Just like someone else's patience was part of mine? Patience is “I won't give up on you When I'm frustrated with you. I'll walk with you while you figure it out. I'll love you through the mess because God's loved me through mine.”

When we do what glorifies God, it turns out its also for our collective good. God isn’t going to ask you to do something that He isn’t willing to be or do first. God requires you to be patient since He is patient, and since He is a GOOD God it’s for your benefit.

Even if the benefit is “NOT YET”...one day, for us Christians, we will experience the eternal benefit in it’s entirety.

I need to take a page out of God’s book and say like God “I’m OK with things or people not being perfect...YET.”

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

I see how God has been patient with me...now I deeply desire to be patient too.

God’s patience is seen in his faithful activity — waiting and working to fulfill His promises.

My patience is seen in actively doing what I committed to do while waiting for God to fulfill what He said He would do.