Nine Fruits: Patience Series

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Introduction:

Grocery Store

Some food,

Outta control toddler

“Be patient Joey....”

“I’m Joey...”

Patience Does Not Equal Waiting

When you talk about Patience

Usually we think about Waiting, don’t we?

The problem is Patience does not = Waiting

The truth is you’re going to be waiting either way

Dr’s Office Waiting Room

The question is, HOW will you wait?

You’re going to wait either way

You’re going to wait for what you need

You’re going to wait for that promise, either way

But HOW will you wait?

Patience is waiting with the right spirit

Its having endurance, and perseverance

Its often spoken “the patience of Job...”

Patience of Job

Its often spoken “the patience of Job...”

Calamities, Tragedies, Adversities: Waiting to understand it all,

Waiting for restoration... But waiting with the right spirit

Job: Endurance, Perseverance

He kept a right spirit, in the midst of all of it

Why is a right spirit important?

Think again of the Dr’s office...

That right Spirit is what keeps you from giving up,

Throwing in the towel

James 5:11 KJV Behold, we count them happy which endure.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

You can have patience b’c you’ve seen the end of the Lord

Patience is waiting with the right Spirit

Paul

Paul recounts what he’s been thru...

2 Corinthians 11 (NIV)

23 ... I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.

24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,

26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.

27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

28 Besides everything else,

Now this is interesting -- Besides everything else?

Wait theres more?

How does it get any worse than that?

28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

So he has patience for all of those things

But now, people?

Whew?

He had to learn patience with people

Patient With People

Proverbs 15:18 NIV A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.

KJV says slow to anger

Slowness in avenging wrongs

We’re quick to cast judgment

To put our foot down

Quick to get back

Quick to snap back

A patient person can heal a broken relationship

Maybe its a co-worker

Maybe its a child

Maybe its a spouse

But when we are patient

It will bring a healing to that relationship

1 Timothy 1:16 (NIV) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

No matter who you are today

God has patience with you

As an example

God still loves them,

They fell down

And got back up

Jesus didn’t write off the Woman at the Well

He had patience with her

Jesus didn’t write off Zaccheus

He had patience with him

Jesus didn’t avenge Peter

He said Tell my disciples, and Peter

God has been patient with us!

And if He has been patient with me,

I must be patient w/others!

Patient With Problems

How many people have ever had a problem?

In school, they would hand you a sheet of “problems”

How many feel like that still happens?

Hey, here is a sheet of problems

...

Job had endurance in problems

Job had patience in adversity

Patience is hard because you don’t understand the situation

If at the Dr’s Office the nurse came out and said,

Here’s the situation,

The Dr is with a man who is having a heart attack right now

He’ll be with you in 10 minutes, no more than that...

But life doesn’t always work that way...

But you can always understand this about any situation...

Romans 5:3 (KJV)

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:

knowing that tribulation worketh patience;