Sermon Tone Analysis

Are you like me? Do you have a difficult time with patience?

A man in Los Angeles, California was arrested for negligent discharge of a weapon after shooting his toilet bowl five times with a 38-caliber handgun.

He claims that he just got upset.

He couldn’t take it any longer.

His daughter had flushed a hairbrush earlier in the day and clogged the pipes.

So, he shot the offending toilet.

I have no word on the toilet’s condition, but the man’s patience was long gone.

Someone has said,

Patience is a virtue,

Possess it if you can.

Found seldom in a woman,

Never in a man.

Perhaps you can relate this story.

“One day a man was to meet his wife downtown and spend some time shopping with her.

He waited patiently for 15 minutes.

Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more.

After that, he became angry.

Seeing one of those photograph booths nearby (the kind that accepts coins into a slot and takes four shots while you pose on a small bench), he had an idea.

He assumed the most ferocious expression he could manage, which wasn’t difficult under the circumstances, and in a few moments, he was holding four small prints that shocked even him!

He wrote his wife’s name on the back of the photographs and handed them to a clerk behind the desk.

"If you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, apparently looking for someone, would you please give her this?"

He then returned to his office content that, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then four photos must be a full-blown lecture!

His wife saved those pictures.

She carries them in her purse now.

Shows them to anyone who asks if she is married.”

[Sermon Illustrator.

Patience – “Wait Training” www.sermonillustrator.org]

How are you with patience?

It seems that there is always something to try our patience.

Having to wait is one of those things.

We wait on mail, wait on doctors, and we wait in lines.

We wait to hear about a new job.

We wait to complete school or to retire.

We wait to grow up or for maturity in a child.

We wait for a decision to be made.

We wait for someone to change his or her mind.

Every day presents plenty of occasions for training in patience.

We can resent waiting, accept it, or even get good at it!

But one thing is certain - we cannot avoid it.

Perhaps we can hear the Lord speak to us about the possibilities for patience in our own lives today, that is, if we are not in too much of a hurry to get out of here.

We have all heard the expression; I need patience — and I need it RIGHT NOW!!!

The story is “told that the great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was known for his calmness and poise.

His intimate friends, however, knew that he suffered moments of frustration and irritability.

One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion.

‘What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?’ asked his friend.

‘The trouble is,’ replied Brooks, ‘that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t.’”

[David Jeremiah.

Turning Toward Integrity.

(Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1993.)

p. 166.]

Haven’t we felt the same way many times?

Patience is what James addresses in our text.

Turn with me now to James 5:7,

James 5:7–12 (ESV)

7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

8You also, be patient.

Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.

You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

James here addresses the problems that we all face when problems overwhelm us, (1) We are tempted to Lose Patience, (2) We are tempted to Lose Perspective, and (3) We are tempted to Blame Others.

First,

When We Are Tempted to Lose Patience – Remember It Will Be Worth the Wait!

James 5:7-8

7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

8You also, be patient.

Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James sets the theme for the whole section with this command he gives right up front.

In fact, he states it twice, once in verse seven, and once in verse eight.

He begins verse seven with this command and the word "therefore" or "so then."

The people to whom James is writing were experiencing tremendous difficulty and persecution.

As we learned in the first six verses of James 5, the wicked rich were oppressing and persecuting Christians, but their condemnation is coming... therefore, James says, "be patient."

Be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others.

This appears to be perfect advice for what his audience is going through, doesn’t it?

We know this passage is addressed to believers because James uses the term brethren four times (vv.

7, 9, 10, 12).

The reason is that the kind of patience to which James is referring can only be achieved by a person whose life is connected to God.

“Be patient” in Greek means to be “long tempered” The word translated patience comes to us from the combination of two Greek words (makros) which means “far away” and (thumos) which means “anger, heat or rage.”

This is not a passive resignation but an attitude of self-restraint that enables one to control his temper, even when provoked.

Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit.

It is a characteristic of being born again.

As such it is one of those things that set the believer apart from the world.

But patience is not one of those things that comes easily.

There is a price to pay for patience.

The easy road leads us to impatience.

We have all experienced the hurt of mistreatment and misunderstanding.

Such hurts come in a variety of forms; intolerable work situations, domestic conflicts, difficult relatives, individuals who take advantage of us, friends (so called) who turn against us, neighbors who believe false things about us and dozens of other hurtful circumstances.

Our natural tendency is to retaliate, to return evil for evil, to get even, or to hold a grudge and become bitter.

But there is a better way to respond to such hurtful circumstances and James as pastor of the church of Jerusalem reveals this to his congregation.

God is calling the Christian to overcome our natural reaction with a supernatural response.

We find out what that response is from Peter (1 Peter 2:18-20).

1 Peter 2:18–20 (ESV)

18Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

19For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.

20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?

But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

Anyone can endure when things are going well.