The Power of Patience

James 5:7–11 NIV

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Galatians 5:22–24 LEB

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh together with its feelings and its desires.

Introduction:

In an article about the study on ZDNet, the author writes, tongue in cheek, “The data-driven and congenitally curious might wonder, though, whether these British respondents are really all that impatient at all. You see, in this study, it took an average of 22 seconds for people to express frustration if their TV or computer doesn't start streaming a movie properly. I don't know about you, but I'm more of a 6 to 8 seconds sort of human” (Chris Matyszczyk, “Technology Is Making Us More Impatient, Says Study,” ZDNet, September 3, 2019, https://www.zdnet.com/article/technology-is-making-us-more-impatient-says-study/). As a society, we have become impatient. Yet how often, as a child, did you hear the command (plea?) “Just be patient!” from a parent figure in your life?

The Phrase; Patience is a Virtue.

But....

17 - It’s Hard to Be Patient.

- My difficulty in making models - impatient for the glue to dray on my model car engine. The pistons stuck to the sides of the cylindars.

- impatient to do tricks with my model airplane before the engine was broke in.

evan-almighty - Evans Wife, When someone prays for patience, Does he give them patience, or does he give them opportunities to develop patience?.

- The Answer is “Yes”

18 - God’s Spirit makes us Patient with...

Patience is another component of God’s Spirit in our lives bearing fruit. When Paul described the fruit of the Spirit to the Galatians, one of the attributes he used was the word “patience.” What does patience mean? Tim Keller defines the Greek word makrothymia in this way: “An ability to face trouble without blowing up or hitting out. Its opposite is resentment toward God and others, and its counterfeits are cynicism or lack of care: this is too small to care about” (Tim Keller, Galatians For You [Purcellville, VA: The Good Book Company, 2013], 154). So patience is the ability to face a difficult situation without losing your self-control, and without being angry at God or others.

How Does Patience benefit ourselves, others, and our relationship with God?

19 - Ourselves

A little boy was standing at the end of an escalator. The sales lady asked, “Son are you lost?”

“No ma’am, I’m waiting for my chewing gum to come back.”

A woman rushed up to famed violinist Fritz Kreisler after a concert and cried: “I’d give my life to play as beautifully as you do.” Kreisler replied, “I did.”

the song “Have Patience” by Frank Hernandez and Sherry Saunders Powell. In the song is this line: “Remember, remember that God is patient too.”

We can also grow in our patience by reflecting on God’s patience toward us. In 2 Peter 3:9, the apostle Peter writes that God isn’t slow in keeping his promises but, rather, is patient. He is patient with us as he waits on us to come to a place of repentance and acceptance. Praise God that he is patiently waiting for the lost to be found. The next time you find yourself growing impatient, think about the patience of the Father, watching and waiting and willing his people to come home.

And we are God’s Workmanship - We are works in progress. When we are paitient with ourselves as we grow, we live in the Grace of God.

20 - Others

- Difficult to be patient with each other during COVID. - People being patient with their churches.

- The implication of impatience on our relationships with each other is complaining about each other.

“In one of my assignments as a young infantry officer, I was sent to the 48th Infantry near Frankfort, Germany. In those days our prize weapon was a huge 280-mm atomic cannon. Guarded by infantry platoons, these guns were hauled around the forests on trucks to keep the Soviets from guessing their location.

One day Captain Tom Miller assigned my platoon to guard a 280. I alerted my men, loaded my .45 caliber pistol and jumped into my jeep. I had not gone far when I realized that my .45 was gone.

I was petrified. In the army, losing a weapon is serious business. I had no choice but to radio Captain Miller and tell him. ‘You what?’ he said in disbelief. He paused a few seconds, then added, ‘All right, continue the mission.’

When I returned, uneasily contemplating my fate, Miller called me over. ‘I’ve got something for you,’ he said, handing me the pistol. ‘Some kids in the village found it where it fell out of your holster.’

‘Kids found it?’ I felt a cold chill.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Luckily they only got off one round before we heard the shot and took the gun away.’ The disastrous possibilities left me limp. ‘Don’t let that happen again.’

He drove off. I checked the magazine and found it was full. The gun had not been fired. Later, I learned that I had dropped it in my tent before I ever got started. Miller had fabricated the scene about the kids to give me a good scare.

Today, the army might hold an investigation, call in lawyers and likely enter a bad mark on my record. Miller gave me the chance to learn from my mistake. His example of intelligent leadership was not lost on me. Nobody ever got to the top without slipping up. When someone stumbles, I don’t believe in stomping on him. My philosophy is ‘Pick ‘em up, dust ‘em off and get ‘em moving again.’”—Colin Powell

When we are patient with each other, we recognize that the other is a work in progress.

And we reflect God’s patience of us towards others. We shine his light.

21 - God

James gives us the grounding for patience - Our Hope in Christ’s second coming.

James gives us and illustration and two examples.

Farming Illustration - My lack of patience, would also be what make me a bad farmer. - Good at killing trees I want, and trees I don’t want thrive.

Patience in learning the craft, patience in the fruit, patience in the weather.

Two examples

Prophets - They told a message the people did not want to hear, and were often killed for it without receiving the promise they spoke of - Jesus. - Patience does not mean doing nothing...

“Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.”—G. Campbell Morgan

Job - Judaism of James’ day believed that even after God came and spoke to Job, it took a long time for his blessings to be restored. And this is where we get the idea of the patience of Job. He never cursed God, and he was changed - uptight about his kids, to being gracious and generous to his kids. - His Relationship Changed with God through his experience as he saw himself as very important, and a small speck in the universe of complexity God is running.

How patient are you when it comes to pursuing the purpose in your life? What would happen if God gave you a vision of what you were called to do, but the timing was such that you had to wait? First, three years; and then, fourteen more years before being able to pursue that purpose. Could you be patient? The answer is yes, you could be! The reason? Because that is a fruit of God’s Spirit in you. You can’t be patient on your own, but you can grow in your patience as you learn to trust God’s plan for your life completely. God can see the trajectory of your life, and so you can be patient, knowing his plan is perfect.

Conclusion:

22 - https://skitguys.com/videos/karens-story-trials