Power Of Patience

Power of patience

Galatians 5:22-5:26

Introduction-

Galatians 5:22-5:26

We will be beginning a series looking at the Fruit of the Spirit.

The Spirit of God working in our lives will produce fruit.

It will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I purposefully did not go in order because I know how much everyone loves patience.

Patience is not what we usually pray for, because God’s Word says: “knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.”

Trying of your faith is God testing your faith.

There is purpose and power in patience, but most of us will miss it because we approach God with “I want patience and I want it right now!

God make my life easy.

God make me comfortable.

Give me everything that I want.

God has taught me a few things in my lifetime.

God’s time-table and mine is almost always different.

You don’t specifically pray for patience and expect God not to test the waters a little in your life.

Illustration-

A man’s car broke down right in the middle of a busy street. The man desperately tried to start the car, but it would not start. If that was not bad enough, if the pressure was not enough, the guy behind him laid on the horn! After several attempts, the man got out of his car and went to the man behind him and said- my car won’t start, why don’t you try to start it and I will sit back here and blow the horn!

Maybe this is you- a man was shopping with his wife downtown. He waited patiently for 15 minutes. Then he waited impatiently for 15 more minutes. Then he became angry.

Is Patience difficult for you? A man in Los Angeles was arrested for shooting his toilet 5 times with a 38 caliber handgun. He claimed he got upset because his daughter clogged the toilet with a hairbrush.

Patience is a virtue

Possess it if you can

Found seldom in a women

Never in a man

We may not be praying for it, but I assure you all of us probably should be.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit and it is a characteristic of a born again believer.

What is patience? Listen to some definitions.

Patience is self restraint which does not hastily retaliate against a wrong.

Patience is the ability to accept delay or disappointment graciously.

Patience is the powerful attribute that enables a man or women to remain steadfast under strain.

Last one, patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control.

If I was to be honest, if you were to be honest, sometimes we struggle with patience.

We would have to admit that some people irritate you.

We would have to admit that circumstances frustrate you.

The Greek word for patience is Makro-thumia: meaning long tempered.

We all know people who are short tempered and blow up easily and get angry.

You hear them talk and they’ll tell you that you should just not irritate them or disagree with them and then they would not get mad.

Paul tells us –

outside of Christ we find anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive language. We find gossip, quarrels, strife and dissention.

We find marriages, friendships, churches fractured and destroyed by people with short fuses.

Paul tells us that “we need to get rid of such things.” Take off all those angry old clothes and put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Take off the old you and get rid of them, get those things out of your life.

Put on, the new you. A new creation in Christ.

God has a sense of humor- that is why your preacher is teaching you about patience.

Kid at the airport kicking my seat- irritating!

Car this week not working right-irritating!

Heating company putting me on hold for 4 weeks and doing the work the week that my friends come in from Wisconsin-frustrating!

Proverbs 14:29- “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick tempered man displays folly.”

Okay, we know what patience looks like, but the next question to ask is where does it come from?

The Bible is clear that patience comes from God. It comes from the Holy Spirit.

Patience comes from the power of God working in our lives; does this mean that we will never stumble? Probably not, but it does mean that it should be a part of our Christian life.

Let’s review

Patience is evidence in our lives that God is in control.

We know that patience is the power of God working in our lives and that we cannot achieve it without God,

Patience does not come quickly, but is usually a process,

So let apply some of these things to our life