Paul
All Creatures Of Our God And King
Holy One (half time/full time Lindy)
O Come All Ye Faithful
Desert Song
segue to What Can I Say
The Solid Rock
Jon
Week 5 of fruit of the spirit
Week 1 – Galatians 5, fruits of the spirit, fight against the flesh, communicable aspects of God (the fruits), walking in the Spirit
Week 2 – 1 Corinthians, love is patient and kind, Corinth had many attributes except love, opposite is fear, meeting the needs of others, counterfeit is loving someone because you need something from them
Week 3 – joy and sorrow can coexist, in suffering and trials you…, opposite is hopelessness, counterfeit is blessings
Week 4 – peace is confidence in God’s control of our lives, counterfeit is someone who just doesn’t care, opposite is anxiety and worry, can’t be peaceful with so much to do and being so scattered
Today – Patience
James 5:7-16
7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains.
8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates!
10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name.
11 Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, 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 into judgment.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises.
14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.
v 7 patience in Greek – macrothumos – large, emotional glaze/flare-up
Moving through life in the principle of delayed gratification
People, long lines, traffic
Impatience with God, impatience with life
Palestinian farmer needed two rains
1. autumn or early rains – softened the hard rocks and prepared the soil
2. late rains caused the grain to swell and fill out, bountiful, plentiful
Temptation to say the rains aren’t coming – can’t just sit back and wait
Cut our loses and make it happen yourself
Wind up with depleted fraction of bountiful harvest
Be patient until the coming of the Lord
What if He doesn’t come through?
What if we get bored?
A lot of us are in the same circumstances
Hebrews 12 – trials and tribulations are delayed gratification, yield peaceful righteousness
Have to learn to wait for the training wheels to be removed
If you stay and don’t have an emotional blaise (glaze?) …
If we were honest, we might say, “God your timetable sucks”
He likes to make us wait and learn patience
The result is beautiful things grown in your heart
Patience is going to grow in your heart just like the other fruits
In order for these things to grow in our hearts, there need to be trials, there need to be training wheels
Maybe if I read my Bible more the rains will come
Temptation to run ahead of God and say, “You’re taking too long”
Why so downcast, put your heart in God
Even when God’s schedule sucks (He’s never tricked by our flattery)
To say God can’t be trusted is impatiece
Blessings come for the heart that waits
James focuses on the heart because it is the source of it all
God’s heart for all of us is a reflection of holiness
The fruit of the spirit = holiness
Push holiness through a prism and get the fruits
Your impatience with God is the real problem
Symptoms of impatient heart – full of scorn (that person’s not worthy of my time, put downs, cutting humor, complaints)
Steadfast, unwavering heart = blessed – total and complete fulfillment that comes from an intimate relationship with God
Not gossiping or cutting people down
God makes a beeline for patient hearts
That’s where I want to live
Truly expressive of His desires
I want to look upon and work on your heart
Impatient heart disrupts our relationship with God
An impatient heart treats God like a puppy (come here!)
I want to develop patience in your life
Stir up your heart
Do we want depleted blessings?
The Lord is always directed to image of saving/rescuing God
Are you catching that aspect of God?
Be patient because He’s coming for you
Counterfeit: patient but blank, they don’t give a rip, they’re indifferent
Phlagmatic personality
Lethargic personality
You look patient, but you’re indifferent and hateful
Opposite: revenge
If you love someone you can get really angry, but not indifferent
I love you too much to let you do this to your heart
Desire to confront them to change
Change because I love you
Is my rebuke coming from patience or impatiece?
What is motivating my action here? Is it revenge or love?
How can you know?
1. Am I being courteous? Respectable tone?
2. No rhetorical questions with goal of humiliation – Why did you do this?!? What’s the matter with you?
Asking questions that are going to seek change
What is motivating your question?
Make them look bad and myself look better – humiliation
1. Do we tax God’s patience every 5 minutes?
Jesus took it all on the cross in patience for us
2. Remember the majesty of God
I’m just glad that you’re able to see me
Are you willing to wait for me to come for you?
Next time you wait, God’s making you wait
He needs those training wheels rolling
Paul
Does anybody remember the patience song by the turtle from Music Machine?
Hungry
Jon
To wait means to bind your heart
A patient heart can wait with God
Slow to anger, quick to listen
Wrap it around the heart of Christ and remember how patient He’s been with you
