When Sister Bee Ching spoke on the attribute of God as one who is "Slow to anger or long suffering", the emphasis was mainly on God's character. This sermon will take a look at our human side or perspective and the title of the message is "Lord, help me change my attitude of impatience."
James 5:7 - 11 The apostle James urged the early Christians to be patient and not to grumble but to stand firm until the Lord's coming again. Job's perseverance in the face of suffering was highlighted as an example that those who persevered were blessed.
Colossians 3:12 - 16 The apostle Paul urged the Christians in Colosse to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forgiving, loving and thankful.
Eph 4:2 Paul urged the Christians in Ephesus to be "completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
We are a very impatient culture or society; we
want everything fast or instantly. Fast
food, fast cars, fast computers, fast degrees
where you don't have to study for it. We fret and fume and get all upset when
we encounter situations that call for patience.
Every one of us has been guilty of impatience
at one time or another. We have
been impatient with service people, we have been impatient with our colleague, and we have been with our
spouse, our children and even with our
God.
Have we learned anything from each incidence of impatience or do we repeat the
same attitude again and again? Our God is a very patient and long suffering
God, Thanks to Him we have been saved. It
is God's desire for us to be patient
people simply because we are created in His image. It is not good enough to know that God is patient; the
question is do we display
the patience that he wants to impart to us?
What is PATIENCE?
Comes
from Latin pati-entia. The word
pat in Latin means suffering. The suffix entia means state, quality, (something good). So patience is
"something good that comes from
suffering"
It is
the ability to endure or to persevere hardships, difficulties
and even sufferings without complaining.
Have you
heard this prayer before? "Dear God, please
give me patience. And I want it RIGHT
NOW!"
Patience
cannot be given nor develop instantly. The Apostle
James quoted the patience of Job, the classic example of patience in the
face of suffering. He also gave an
agricultural illustration of how to cultivate patience.
The farmer has to wait patiently for his land to yield
its valuable crop. The farmer waits for the autumn and spring rains;
he sows his seeds and waits for the summer sunshine. The seeds
germinate and grow, then the farmer has to wait for the fruits to
mature and ripen before he can harvest. It is all working and waiting.
Seven important points to remember about patience
from the texts to the Colossians and to the
Ephesians:
1.
PATIENCE comes
from God. It is a divine attribute given to believers who are in intimate relationship
with their longsuffering God. We become like Him when we
trust and obey His word.
2.
PATIENCE is
LOVE enduring in every trial and test.
If we love someone
we cannot be impatient or unkind to him/her (1 Cor 13:4). Many a quarrel between spouses is due to impatience towards one another.
3. PATIENCE is a Fruit of the
Holy Spirit viz; Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness. There is a German
proverb which says "Patience is
a bitter plant, but it has a sweet fruit" Bitter because of our sinful nature, but when we mature and able to bear fruit, it is sweet.
4. PATIENCE develops
through suffering. Read
Romans 5:3-4 we know that suffering produces perseverance'
[patience]. We all want patience but without sufferings.
When we are guilty of impatience we need to feel the
remorse and learn the lesson not to be
impatient again.
5. PATIENCE is
related to HOPE. Hope
is located in ourselves. If we have
hope for something we patiently wait for it to become reality. In Romans 8:24-25 Paul wrote
"But if we hope for what we do
not yet have, we wait for it patiently." See also Romans 5:4 if we are impatient we lose hope.
6. PATIENCE is
also related to FAITH similar
to hope except faith is located in God 'Being sure of what we
hope for and certain of what we do not see.' Read Hebrews
6:11-15 Faith is patience in action.
Paul in
his famous chapter on love in 1 Corinth 13: concluded that at the end of everything three things
remain FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE How are they related to
PATIENCE?
PATIENCE with
others is LOVE PATIENCE with self is HOPE PATIENCE with God is FAITH
7. PATIENCE is
Persistence
in Prayer. In the Gospel of Luke 18:1-8
Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. The parable was to tell the
disciples that they should always pray
and never give up just like the widow (v.1) They
should also exercise faith and pray persistently until an answer is obtained. How persistent are you in
praying for the salvation of your loved ones?
APPLICATIONS:
1. Are
you a patient person?
2. Which
aspect of the sermon speaks to you and how do you
intend to apply?
3. Do you agree with statement: "God wants
His children to be patient with one another"?
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make me patient, Lord,
Patient in daily cares,
Keep me from thoughtless words
That slip out unawares
And
help me, Lord, I pray,
Still nearer Thee to live,
And as I journey on,
More of Thy presence
give.