Patience - James 5:7-11

Introduction

What we have been doing is answering the question: Easter happened now what? How do we live in light of it? What does it do to us on a Tuesday or in our suffering?

One thing we have to realize is that Easter and the Gospel are not simply ideas or belief separated from our everyday

The Big Idea for all of this has been: our faith isn't a static belief; it is a dynamic, daily movement that defines the "total sum" of who you are.

I came across this amazing quote this week:

Have you ever wondered why the Bible is so lengthy? One reason is because God is so patient. It’s the long story of his longsuffering. And why has he been so patient? Because he loves us, yes. But even more specifically, because he’s been carefully executing a plan—a plan to share his endless joy with his rescued people

We are going to be in James 5 today to see what we need to live out our faith to the end and see His plan perfectly executed in our lives …especially when we want to give up or justice seems so far away

We need something only God can give us to finish our race

Patience

Not in the light way we think of it

But in a deep into our bones fruit so we can cling to the promises of God when we seem to be hoping against all hope in life

And he is going to use 2 words in these verses to describe what we need…

Patience and steadfastness

The Message of James 14. Enduring to the End (5:7–12)

patience is the self-restraint which does not quickly retaliate against a wrong, and steadfastness is the tenacious hope which does not easily succumb under suffering

Real patience lived out in light of easter is not passive

It is tenacious

It Fights to hope

It fights for Joy and longs for the things of God

It Clings to the promises of God and doesn’t let go

For James he wants us to see Patience and Perspective are what we desperately need

James is essentially saying: "Don't give up in the final mile of your race

Stay the course

Trust God’s heart even when you can’t see His hand

So here is the main point today: Patience is a Fruit, not a Muscle:

I. The Farmer’s Patience (v. 7–8)

James 5:7–8 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.”

This is the first word he uses for patience we need

Makrothumia- it means long suffering or the kind of day to day patience we need

James uses this when talking about the Farmer (v. 7-8) and the Prophets (v. 10).

This is patience in regard to people or circumstances. it is the ability to hold your temper or your frustration for a long time while waiting for a result. It is the steady, persistent endurance of the farmer who cannot rush the rain.

As we wait on God, we can become impatient. It is testing to wait for prayers to be answered, for justice to come, outcomes to change, conflict to resolve, or a breakthrough to happen

This is the longing of every christian

The Epistle of James 1. Endurance in the Test 5:7–11

The Christian hope is the coming of Christ when all the wrongs suffered will be set right

So James points to the farmer who waits for the "precious fruit of the earth."

The farmer is completely at the hands of the process

He cannot hurry it or even explain it

He can’t hurry it even though it is sure

The Message of James The Fruitfulness of Patience (5:7–9)

the farmer, who cannot explain or understand the processes of growth, nevertheless superintends and watches over the developing crop with persistent care

that is us

has your christian journey made complete sense to you?

Do you understand perfectly what God is doing with you and why?

But every farmer has a task to make ready for the fruit to come in its time

The farmer doesn't sit on the porch; he prepares the soil, plants the seed, and then waits for the "early and late rains."

Verse 8 tell us what our task is

Be patient, strengthen your hearts

Patience begins with watching your heart

Why?

Because Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”

This is a war for hope and patience and joy and all of these fruits of the spirit

We aren’t giving you life hacks to be a nicer person

We are trying to equip oursleves and you with ammo to war for hope in the gospel in the face of the human experience

Look at this intensity

The verb for fix your heart is used one other place in the bible Luke 9:51 where Jesus fixed his face toward Jerusalem for all of the horror that awaited him on the cross

we fix our hearts as he set his face like flint for the joy that lay before him

Waiting on God is not pretty or perfect it is a gritty war for your heart and hope

The Message of James The Fruitfulness of Patience (5:7–9)

we are meant to feel the whole force of the word: determination, steely resolution, persistence

The Epistle of James 1. Endurance in the Test 5:7–11

“establish your hearts,” means to stand firmly in the faith, not to give way to doubt

All of that is how we attend to our hearts with tenacity and resolve to not believe the lies our pain tells us about God

To not believe the lies that he doesn’t care about the injustice you are suffering

To not believe the lie that he doesn’t care about your tears

To not believe the lie that God is holding out the good life on you

We war for our hearts to love God as ultimate and His way as the path of life

Because we live toward what our hearts love the most

Tenaciously set your heart on Christ in your waiting

Keep working toward Gospel living waiting on the rain

That is the start of patience

That is why Patience is a fruit only God can give and not a muscle we flex

So here is the challenging question I was hit with

Are you trying to "force" growth in your life or church, or are you faithfully "establishing your hearts" while trusting God for the rain?

So fix your heart is part one

Part 2 of patience is surround yourself with Gospel people

II. The Community’s Patience (v. 9)

James 5:9 “Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!”

We guard our hearts and guard our community

James knows that when the "harvest" is delayed, we tend to take our frustration out on those closest to us.

Back in chapter 3 James teaches us that the harvest of the christian life depends on the soil of our fellowship together

We can compare our lives with others and become bitter or envy

We can close off to people because we assume they don’t know what it is like

We can feel we have to be dishonest with others about how we are really doing

We can get resentful at people who mean well but give awful advice trying to help

Proximity makes things hard

But we need each other in the war for our hearts

If we are honest right now though I had to stop and ask: In a passage on patience why does James insert this random line about not complaining about one another because Jesus is going to judge the quality of our community?

Fair question

Here is a couple reasons why the the war for our hearts and our words are not out of place here but have everything to do

Luke 6:45 “A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”

What is in your heart How you are doing in the war is going to be shown the most in what you say

Here is another more practical reason

In sports when a team is winning every little thing that is wrong isn’e an issue

Winning cures everything

But what about when the losses start piling up?

Everyone turns on each other

That is what James wants us aware of in our suffering and seasons of waiting on God

He knows that impatience usually leaks out as interpersonal conflict.

In the why of our suffering or waiting or unanswered prayers or big decisions about what direction to go in as a church with some things …the people we are closest too are the most scrutinized

Maybe it is my spouses fault

Maybe it is this church members fault

Maybe it is my parents fault

And even maybe it is God’s fault

James understands human nature: when we can’t control the circumstances we start trying to control—or criticize—the people around us.

We want control over something when we feel we have control over nothing and everything is a threat

God hates sin of every kind and the sin we commit in our impatience is just as serious as anything else

he knows and cares

(v. 9) is a reminder that while we are busy judging each other’s pacing or contributions, the true Judge is watching how we treat one another in the "waiting room."

Why is it so important He remind us God is watching?

Because this is the people in the church he is talking about we are wounding

And the church is His bride

He died to purchase His bride

He will not sit back and watch you trash it

And the church is the final apologetic the world will use to see if what we believe is true

John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””

How are we walking along side each other as others around us are in seasons of brutal waiting?

Do we have a culture of patience and long suffering together

Or a culture of grumbling and division

He moves from what not to do with our words to what the heroes of the faith did with their words as they suffered faithfully in patience

III. The Prophet’s Patience: (v. 10)

James 5:10 “Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience.”

James points to the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord

How did they so in the war for their hearts?

When God’s answers seemed delayed

When it looked like the bad guys were winning

What did they do?

Being in God’s will doesn’t exempt you from suffering; often, it’s the reason for it. The prophets were patient not because life was easy, but because their message was eternal.

This is "long-suffering." It is the spiritual stamina to keep speaking and living the truth even when the "dynamic and culture" around you is resistant.

Look at the prophet habbakuk

Habbakuk is the gold standard of active waiting

Habbakuk 2:1-3

After bombarding God with questions about why evil was prospering (Habakkuk 1), he makes a deliberate choice to stop talking and start listening:

"I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint." (Habakkuk 2:1)

God's response in verse 3 is the ultimate word on patience:

"For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

Habakkuk didn't just sit on his hands. His waiting was active, intentional, and spiritual.

1. He Positioned Himself (The Watchtower): He used the imagery of a watchman on a city wall. This means he removed himself from the "noise" of the world and put himself in a posture of high alertness. In a modern sense, he created space for God to speak.

2. He Expected a Reply: He didn't just throw prayers into the void; he "kept watch to see what He will say." He waited with the confidence that God was not silent, just timed.

3. He Prepared for Correction: Notice he says he is waiting to see how he might reply "when I am reproved." He was humble enough to know that his "complaint" might be wrong and God’s answer might challenge him.

4. He Recorded the Vision: When God finally spoke, He told Habakkuk to "write the vision and make it plain" ($Habakkuk 2:2). Part of his waiting was documenting what God was doing so that others could read it and run with it.

5. He Worshipped Through the Lack: By Chapter 3, he is still waiting for the physical circumstances to change, but his heart has already shifted. He famously says that even if the fig tree doesn't blossom and there are no cattle in the stalls, "yet I will rejoice in the Lord" (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

But there is another gold standard for endurance in our waiting for the fruit of patience

IV. The Sufferer’s Patience: Seeing the Lord’s Purpose (v. 11)

James 5:11 “See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about—the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

Now he switches the word for patience

Hupomonē

It means steadfastness," "endurance," or "perseverance."

This is patience in regard to trials or burdens. While makrothumia is about waiting for a harvest, hupomonē is about staying put under a heavy load without breaking. Job didn't just "wait" for his life to get better; he stayed under the crushing weight of his grief without abandoning his faith.

"The Farmer shows us the patience of Expectation (makrothumia)—looking forward to the rain. community shows us how our hearts are doing in the furnace of waiting and

Job shows us the patience of Endurance (hupomonē)—staying faithful in the storm.

DONT MISS THIS FOR US - His "patience" was his refusal to walk away from God.

James says it is The Spirit produces all of it in us ."

I think so often we pray for patience when we are waiting or pray the season comes to an end

But do we pray for God to do what only He can do in us in it?

Are we praying specifically for Hupomone?

God give me endurance only you can give right now because I want to give up

So often then His answer is Look at the cross and look at what I am doing

James is ending with the character of God—"compassionate and merciful."

Patience is possible only when we believe that God’s "purpose" (or "end goal") is ultimately good.

I can endure if I know what is coming outweighs what I am going through

Job’s patience wasn't silent or stoic—he complained and struggled—but he stayed in the presence of God. Biblical patience is "remaining under" the trial without running away from God.

Ultimately at the end of all of this because Patience is a person

Biblical endurance and tenacity to cling to God and not let God is a person not a muscle we flex to white knuckle our way through life

Patience in the Bible is a person

Patience waited for Just the right time to come and die for us

Romans 5:6–8 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

Patience clings to the hand of the Father waiting on us to be set free from sin as he works patiently all things together

Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Romans 2:4 “Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

That is the slow patience of Jesus working in our lives to save us and make us whole

Exodus 34:6–7 “The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.

Psalm 103:8 “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.”

Listen to the character of the person who is patience

Patient compassion, patient grace, patient to not anger, enduring to tencaciously love us and be true when we run to lies, he maintains patiently faithful tenacious love for a long patient time…to generations

We place our lives in reach of God’s character toward us when we are patiently enduring like Job

Hurt, wrestle, complain, cry out…..but don’t let Go of HIs hand

What is coming outweighs what we are passing through

The culmination of our saving is coming

We will tangibly feel everything sad come untrure

2 Peter 3:15 “Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation….

For the Joy set before us we patiently endure

Because Patience is a person and its what he did to be patient

Hebrews 12:2 “keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

My life is a standing testimony to the reason for His patience

So that in me…the worst of sinners you can see His character toward you

I echo the words of Paul

1 Timothy 1:16 “But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.”

If he can save a wretch like me…he is patient enough to save you

Cling to that