Patience/Longsuffering: God bless everyone! Praise and peace from God the Father, Jesus Christ, His Son, and the Holy Spirit for each one of you for being here this morning. (Galatians 5:22-23).

Sub-Introduction: “We all need to be patient in life. And that’s because, without patience, it is impossible to serve God. Life is filled with ups and downs. One moment we are happy, and the other moment we are tempted by the devil. In our challenges and temptations, we must remain undeterred and focused on our service to God.

That’s where patience comes in. Patience is the ability to hold back and persevere through all forms of temptations and trials. It is one of the main qualities we need to put on as Christians. Each day we face lots of temptation and pain. We are angered and hated by a lot of people for serving Christ.

We also face lots of trials and tribulations set by the devil. In our anger, frustration, and suffering, we must be patient and trust in God.‘Having said that, the exact words ‘patience is a virtue is not in the Bible.’ It is an idiom used many years ago to illustrate patience as one of the virtues of Christians. But thankfully, there are numerous verses about patience in the scripture”(faithfulchristian.net).

If you would, please turn with me to Galatians 5:22-23. While you are turning to Galatians 5:22-23 be thinking about a time in your life when you were going through a difficult time when you needed to persevere and be patient through your trial. If you are there with me in Galatians 5:22-23, say Amen! If you would, please stand with me in honoring the reading of God’s inspired, infallible, inerrant Word.

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”

Opening Prayer!

Introduction:

Thinking back on a time in your life when you were going through a difficult time. At that moment, when you needed to persevere and be patient through your trial. Did you struggle with keeping patient? Were you able to get through the problem without losing your cool? Some may respond with a yes, no problem, while others fail with remaining patient. Suppose you have been unable to be patient. Do not beat yourself up over it? God provided a way out of our frustrations, struggles, troubles, and problems.

How?

We have the Spirit of God, working His good in us to bring glory to His name by supplying us with the way out. The application of the Fruit of the Spirit inside of us.

The Fruit of patience takes:

time

work

change

And, yes, the power of the Holy Spirit in us to produce and grow in patience.

We are amongst a group of people struggling with being patient with a pushy person. The individual is persistent in trying to push your buttons. Would you seek the Lords’ guidance through the Spirit to remain patient? Or, would you, in your weakness, give in to the temptation to blow up on this pushy person?

What if? Out of the group of people you were with, God used someone to help you remain calm, be patient with the person, and show them some grace and mercy by persevering throughout the ordeal. There are times when we need to surrender to the Spirit and let Him lead us through patience. Then, there are other times when we as, brothers and sisters in Christ, need to encourage each other to persevere. To overcome the temptation of giving in to the flesh and not let the troubles of this world cause us to lose our patience in the circumstances of life.

What about the moments when you need someone to help you through the troubles your experiencing?

Would you help your brother or sister in trouble? Would you take the time and be patient with them yourselves? Or, would you turn and go the other way when they needed you in their time of trouble?

Illustration: Holding the concrete block up in front of me for as long as I can hold it. Use to blocks. Start with one. Ask a congregation member to add the second block after a few minutes and continue the illustration. Ask the Lord to give me strength and patience to persevere through the pain and suffering while holding the weight of the blocks up in front of me. Father, God, I really could use some help here in my time of trouble. Would you please send someone to help me persevere?

Interpretation: Scripture Verses on Patience

Romans 8:25 “But if we hope for what we do not see, we await it eagerly with patient endurance.”

Romans 12:12 “rejoicing in hope, enduring in affliction, being devoted to prayer,”

Hebrews 10:36 “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

1 Thessalonians 1:3 “because we remember your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,”

Psalm 27:14 “Wait for Yahweh. Be strong and let your heart show strength, and wait for Yahweh.”

Colossians 1:11 “enabled with all power, according to his glorious might, for all steadfastness and patience with joy,”

Luke 21:19 “By your patient endurance, you will gain your lives.”

Psalm 130:5-7 “I await Yahweh; my soul waits, and I wait for his word. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning. Yes, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, wait for Yahweh. For with Yahweh, there is loyal love, and with him, there is abundant redemption.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 “Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, it does not behave dishonorably, it is not selfish, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs,”

James 3:17-18 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among those who make peace.”

James 5:7-11 “Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient concerning it until it receives the early and late rains. You also be patient. Strengthen your hearts because the coming of the Lord is near. Brothers, do not complain against one another so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge stands before the doors! Brothers, take as an example of perseverance and endurance the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the patient endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” “Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient concerning it until it receives the early and late rains.”

Proverbs 15:18 “A man who is hot-tempered will stir up strife, but he who is slow to anger, he will calm contention.”

Proverbs 14:29 “He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but the hasty of spirit exalts folly.”

Ephesians 4:2 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love,”

Romans 15:1 “But we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak and not to please ourselves.”

Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength. They shall go up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not be faint.”

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not delaying the promise, as some consider slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”

2 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if our outer person is being destroyed, yet our inner person is renewed day after day.”

Lamentations 3:25-26 “Yahweh is good to those who wait on him, to the person that seeks him. It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of Yahweh.”

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, putting aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, let us run with patient endurance the race that has been set before us,”

Application: