Patience Under God

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Prayer

How many of you know what this is all about?

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We all know what it’s like to - WAIT......and WAIT.......and WAIT

This is actually EXACTLY what it’s like for me when I go to my doctor’s office…*

And so know this - IF anyone in here needs to HEAR this message today - IT’S ME!!

and the reason is because - I don’t like to wait!

According to Scripture, “PATIENCE” is a fruit of the Spirit...

which means it’s something that is SUPERNATURAL...

the kind of PATIENCE that we’re talking about here, is the kind of PATIENCE that can handle the most difficult of situations… or circumstance

So let’s look at this fruit of the Spirit.

And seeing that it is a fruit that the Spirit Himself possesses, and so....

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let’s look at the Patience Under God…His Patience Toward Us

Patience Under God

Exodus 34:1–10 ESV

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” 10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

We read this passage and maybe it’s lost on us that this is actually the 2nd time that Moses had met God on the mountain to make a covenant with the people of Israel.

And this is actually AMAZING…why?

Because when we look at the WHOLE picture....we see the sheer PATIENCE God has with His people...

These people were UNBELIEVING at the Red Sea...

They GRUMBLED and MURMURED in the wilderness...

AND NOW - they come to Mt. Sinai, and God makes a covenant with them...

It went like this: SLIDE

"If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"

But what happened…?

Before Moses could even get back to the people to proclaim to them this COVENANT...

they construct for themselves…an idol - a golden cow (worship)

And so NOW - in Exodus 34, we see Moses going back up the mountain to receive another chance....

What does God say in verse 6?

Exodus 34:6 ESV

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

The God we serve is a MERCIFUL God...

Fast-forward through Scripture and what we continue to see is...

The people of God continually falling away - going off to serve OTHER things...

And YET - He is merciful....and patient with us!

Have you felt God’s PATIENCE with you this week?

MEANING - how many of us have NEGLECTED to pursue Him this week?

neglected to SEE Him in the moments of our days…?

How many of us - LIKE the israelites…have worshipped the idols that we create?

If so - He has been PATIENT with you…merciful to you...

Which HOPEFULLY would lead us to change ourselves!

Slide: Patience Under God - Our Patience Toward Him

Patience Under God

One of the hardest things to do as a Christian is this - WAIT on the Lord...

We know that we’re called to WAIT on the Lord...

We’ve heard of the need to DO THIS...

We’ve read the verses...

Isaiah 40:31 ESV

31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

WAIT on the Lord - this says -

But isn’t PATIENCE an interesting thing...

It seems that our PATIENCE is very closely tied with - OUR EXPECTATIONS!

When you go to Cedar Point, in the middle of the summer - you EXPECT to - WAIT in lines...

and so you seem to have - PATIENCE...

What happens when you go thru the DRIVE THRU and Arby’s…and it takes them 10 minutes to get your food to you…??

Patient?

NO - why? Expectations!

We go thru the DRIVE thru because we want to - HURRY

It’s CALLED - Fast Food!

NOW- how do you think the apostle Paul handled this?

Acts 16:6–7 ESV

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

Here you have Paul, Silas and Timothy, wanting to preach the Gospel to those in Asia, and the Holy Spirit wouldn’t allow them...

Anyone ever WANTED to DO something for the cause of Christ...

…only to find that God closes the DOOR??

Is that FRUSTRATING??!!

Pamphlets at IMARC

Meeting scheduled to talk about God / cancelled

And it’s in these times that we have to KEEP from getting frustrated...

and instead to just TRUST that God knows better and He has a plan!

It makes me think of Jim Elliot..

the missionary to the Auca Indians in Ecuador...

Think about his story...

he finally makes contact with the tribe...

and yet before any real work gets done…the tribe kills Jim and his 4 companions...

They never got to see the fruit of their labor...

Many, if not most all of the members of that tribe ended up coming to know the Lord...

thru the work of Jim’s wife Elizabeth Elliot...

And isn’t that often the case...

We strive, and press on to advance the kingdom of God, and yet it seemingly is FRUITLESS....

When all along, God’s plan is being played out...

REMEMBER:

SLIDE: God Wants Faithfulness: Leave the Fruit to Him

God Wants Faithfulness

Think about it - “Converts is NOT a fruit of the spirit - but faithfulness is”

And we see prime examples of this in Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:1–16 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Over and over again - we see those who REMAINED faithful…PATIENT with the Lord!

Joseph waited 13 years...

Abraham waited 25 years...

Moses waited 40 years...

Jesus waited 30 years...

And so DON’T THINK IT STRANGE if you find God making you wait...

He wants to MOLD you into the person He wants you to be...

God wants to see if you will continue to TRUST Him while you wait...

And so just like in the case of Joseph, Abraham, Moses and many others...

we see this...

SLIDE: Patience Under God: The Language of Hope

Patience Under God

Romans 8:24–25 ESV

24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

With these verses hanging overhead, let’s think back to the story of Joseph!

It starts with Joseph being obedient to his father…out pasturing the flock with his brothers...

He tells them his dream, they don’t like it...

They begin to hate him...

He goes out later looking for them, again, being obedient to his father...

and his brothers throw him into a pit…and then sell him into slavery...

But then he gets a good job in Potiphar’s house…in Egypt

Problem is - Potiphar’s wife…she accuses him of trying to lie with her...

RESULT?

Joseph was thrown into prison...

So Joseph continues to be obedient, yet - you would THINK that his circumstances weren’t lining up with that!

In prison, he finds favor with the keeper of the prison…and is given responsibility...

He ends up interpreting the Cupbearer’s dream...

Joseph thought this would help him get out of prison...

BUT…the cupbearer forgets about Joseph…for 2 YEARS...

So Joseph = WAITS!

What ends up happening? Joseph is raised up - eventually..

and becomes second in command - behind Pharaoh!

After that - he ends up saving his own family from starvation!

And what does Joseph say to them when they realize he’s now in charge in Egypt?

Genesis 50:18–21 ESV

18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Biblical Patience is the language of hope - hope grounded in the promises of God!

How do you think Joseph got through those 13 years…?

HOPE: Hope grounded in the reality of Romans 8:1

Romans 8:1 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Joseph could have spiraled down into the mindset that God was now against him based on his circumstances...

but he didn’t!

there is NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus...

And because Joseph KNEW this was true…he KNEW that his circumstances would WORK FOR him....

not against him!

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Joseph knew that his slavery…his imprisonment would WORK FOR him…not AGAINST him...

His hope was grounded in the promises of God...

How about you?

How we respond to trial will reveal where our HOPE lies...

AND IF our hope is grounded in the promises of God...

Patience will be our posture through life...

trusting and waiting on the Lord...

Let’s Pray

Lord’s Table...

This brings us to the Lord’s Table…a time for each of us to reflect on our lives, to examine ourselves spiritually, and to remember the cost of our faith. We were bought with a price, and these elements remind us of this.

1. Have you experienced the Saving Power of Christ at the cross? I ask because IF you haven't...you should not partake.

The Bible says not to take this lightly. Scripture says – “ whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

2. If you are a child of God - Saved from your sins by the Blood of Christ...then I ask - Are you seeking to KNOW HIM more?

Not MAINLY by working for God

Not MAINLY by DOING things FOR Him...

BUT... by seeking to know Him more IN HIS WORD...

by seeking to know Him more through prayer...

by seeking to know Him more through life in the Body...

Take time now and examine yourself before the Lord.

SLIDE: Shane & Shane (Psalm 145)

22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

“do this…in remembrance of me.”