Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Galatians 5:22-23

Theme: Christians need to exercise the spirit-given virtue of patience in a world that hates to wait.

This cardinal virtue is the opposite of wrath.

Date: 12/08/2019 File Name: Chronicle_of_Christmas_2019_02.wpd Sermon ID:

Harvey Mackay is a businessman and columnist and author.

He is best known as the author of five best-selling books on sales strategy.

One of those books, written in 2005, was entitled Swim with the Sharks (Without being eaten alive).

It’s a book about world-famous businessmen and their secrets to success.

One of the stories he tells is about a trip to Japan to listen to that country’s top business men.

Listen to part of the story: “When I was in Japan in 1983, we had a series of seminars in which we heard speeches from the leaders of Japan’s largest industrial concerns.

We heard from the top officers of Honda, Sony, Mitsubishi, and the head of the biggest enterprise of all, the eighty-eight-year-old president of Matsushita Electric—Masaharu Matsushita.

Persuading them to speak to us was quite a coup, because the Japanese system is much more rigidly structured than ours, and they regard appearing before the troops in this fashion as somewhat beneath their dignity.

And if giving speeches was regarded as ... crude ... imagine how they felt about answering questions.

But when the eighty-eight-year-old Matsushita addressed us, he spoke eloquently and profoundly.”

Then came the questions:

Questions: “Mr.

President, does your company have long-range goals?”

Answer: “Yes.”

Question: “How long are your long-range goals?”

Answer: “Two hundred fifty years.”

Question: “What do you need to carry them out?”

Answer: “Patience.”

Patience is one of the seven spiritual fruits found in Paul’s life here in Galatians 5:22.

It is a Holy-spirit-given gift that when exercised in your life is testimony to the Spirit-filled life.

In a day when road-rage is the new excuse for impatience that spills over into inappropriate violent behavior, our society needs to witness the quiet contemplation of believers who exhibit a steadfast patience in the midst of an impatient world.

In the comparison of the Seven Cardinal Sins to the Seven Cardinal Virtues, longsuffering stands opposite of wrath.

In the Bible wrath is not merely anger, but explosive anger.

Of all the seven deadly sins, anger if uncontrolled, can lead to calamitous results.

That is why the Apostle James wrote: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."

James 1:19-20.

ILLUS.

All you need do is pick up your morning newspaper to read about the different manifestations of wrath expressed in the culture around us: There is road rage, parking rage, air rage, boat rage, surf rage, fishing rage, river rage, pedestrian rage, jogger rage, biker rage, trucker rage, shopping rage, grocery cart rage, and checkout line rage.

What makes wrath so deadly to the Christ-like life we seek to emulate as Christians is that it too often flares suddenly, powerfully, and irrationally.

The opposite, of course, is the subject of tonight’s cardinal virtue—longsuffering.

It refers to an emotional calm even under provocation.

It is a composure that entertains no thoughts of retaliation even when wrongfully treated.

The best example we have in the New Testament is our Lord’s behavior in each of the three trials he endured the night before His crucifixion.

In Matthew’s Gospel we read this account:

“Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.

13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.”

(Matthew 27:11-14, NIV)

As believers, we too, are to exhibit the kind of longsuffering that can only be explained by the presence of God in our lives and the filling of His Holy Spirit.

The Bible teaches that there are many areas where the believer needs to have patience.

But there are four areas that are particularly stressed.

I. WE MUST BE LONGSUFFERING WHEN WE WAIT UPON THE LORD

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;” (Psalm 37:7, NKJV)

1. God has always acted in His time and in His ways

a.

He does not conform Himself to our timetables or our agendas

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

(Isaiah 55:8, KJV)

2. for those reasons, it takes patience and perseverance to wait on God

ILLUS.

Some of you are aware, that one of the Apostle Peter’s most glaring faults was his lack of patience.

Peter is always putting his foot in his mouth or going off half-cocked because he is impatient.

In John’s gospel, the last chapter, we see what happens when Peter gets tired of waiting on God.

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples and instructed them to go to Galilee and wait.

Well, they do what Jesus told them to do—kinda.

They went back to Galilee and they waited, and they waited and they waited.

Finally, Peter gets tired of waiting and he tells the rest, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going back to fishing.”

What Peter really needed to do was wait until he had heard from the Lord!

3. waiting on God can be tough!

A. SOMETIMES THE BELIEVER MUST PATIENTLY WAIT FOR A WORD FROM THE LORD

1. what I mean by “waiting for a word from God” is seeking God’s will for the decisions about life that are critical to us

a. much of God’s will for our lives is found right here in the Scriptures

1) we don’t have to look very far to know the Lord’s will concerning morality and ethics and decent God-fearing living

b. but there are certain decisions in life where only prayer and the Holy Spirit can give us the direction we need

2. Peter and the other disciples needed directions for life

a. the instructions were to wait for Jesus and listen to what he had to say because He would give them the direction they needed

3. sometimes Christians need directions for life

a.

directions about job or career choice

b. directions about educational pursuits

c. directions about marriage partners

d. directions on how to fix broken relationships

c. directions on how to handle a difficult circumstance

4. these are just a few of the many areas where you may need a word from the Lord

a. you may have to patiently wait for God to reveal His directions to you

B. SOMETIMES WE MUST PATIENTLY WAIT FOR THE TIMING OF THE LORD

1. there are some situations in life where timing is everything

ILLUS.

Just ask the figure skater who is trying to execute a Triple Lutz.

“Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.”

(Ecclesiastes 8:5-6, NIV)

2. waiting on God sometimes means patiently remaining where you are until God grants you permission to proceed

a. there are times in life when we know that it’s God’s will to make a certain decision or go to a certain place or to do a certain thing—

b. but proceeding at God’s timing can be critical in determining the success or failure of what you do

c.

blessings from God may be lost by missing God’s timing

3. when faced with those situations where God’s timing is important, ask yourself the following question ...

a. “With all the information I have and all of the praying that I’ve done, do I sense that God clearly is directing me to proceed at this time?”

4. We must Be Longsuffering When We Wait upon the Lord

II.

WE MUST BE LONGSUFFERING WHILE WE WAIT UPON EACH OTHER

1. all Christians are being transformed into the image of Christ

a. for some that process takes a little longer—there are a few more rough edges to file off

2. longsuffering is needed in the Body of Christ as we put up with each other and the burden of fellowship

a. now I know what some of you are thinking, “Now wait a minute Pastor, how can the fellowship of the saints have a burden to it?”