Standing In the Storm #6
PATIENCE
There is a parable in Matt.7 about two houses. One is built on a rock and another was built on sand. This is a great lesson about the way ALL PEOPLE face storms in life.
One house stood while the other fell. This is the way people do when faced with all the problems in life.
Matt. 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Notice it was not hearing the word.
The key is in the doing of the Word.
IF WE DO WHAT WE KNOW TO DO, we will overcome the storms.
Basing your life upon the Word of God assures us victory.
A pitfall that leads many people to the conclusion that the Word isn’t working:
They evaluate how well they are doing the Word only in the area in which they are having trouble.
If the storm is in the area of finances, they only check their obedience to the Word in matters such as tithing or giving. The problem is, a failure to do the Word in one area can leave you open to storms in another.
This same principal of being a DOER of the WORD is found in another parable.
Lu.8: 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
75% of the people were not DOERS OF THE WORD.
Only 25% of the people were DOERS OF THE WORD and produced FRUIT
The CARES OF THIS WORLD choked the WORD
CARES== fearful concerns
1.Fear is a cause of falling,
2.We saw there were reasons for Storms:
1. Disobedience
2.Because you are being obedient and doing the will of God
3 Because of the people to whom you are unavoidably connected.
3. We found Deception to be a cause of falling.
1. Riches,
2. The Bible is Not Literally True,
3. You Are Not Worthy,
4. It Doesn’t Matter What You Think,
5. It Doesn’t Matter What You Say.
The Devil knows he can’t defeat you if he can’t deceive you.
4. Lack of understanding
An understanding of the Word of God is the foundation of believing.
1. The Holy Spirit will teach you
2. God has provided in the Church teachers.
3. We must pray for understanding.
We have blessings in this world for meditating on His Word
Last week we saw The lust for other things = is an intense desire or passion for anything other than God’s Word.
This can be corrected by:
1. Contentment.
2. A great passion for God.
3. The mind of a servant
Tonight I want to direct our study on another area that causes Failure in Storms.
PATIENCE.
Lu.8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
This scripture tells us that when we have heard and kept the Word, they have fulfilled the things that we talked about, fruit will appear if we have PATIENCE.
PATIENCE is not waiting around or just hanging in there, it is Joyful Faithfulness
THE ONLY WAY TO PRODUCE FRUIT IS BY CONSISTENCY.
Doing the things we know to do 90-95% of the time will not assure the fruitfulness of victory.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
This is one of the reasons that there is so much defeat, depression, gloominess, sadness, misery and hopelessness in the Church today.
The lack of STEDFASTNESS when times get tough, the stability of jello, is the reason the world lacks confidence in the Church.
Heb 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
NIV36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Cast not away= this was a term of soldiers throwing away their weapons and abandoning the battle.
For ye have need of patience= you need Joyful Faithfulness.
You will never get your promise unless you are faithful to the Word that you know 100% of the time.
I was an electrical contractor in the Ft. Worth - Dallas area and I went to work at a Power Plant. I was a master electrician and I thought I knew a lot about electricity. At the Power Plant were breakers so big that you could walk into them, and they were controlled by DC power. They controlled critical parts of the plant that made the electricity. I asked why they used DC voltage and was told it was stable. AC power that we use in our houses is not stable.
If you touch 110 volts you will find it bounces. 110 volts is made +190 Volts and – 190 volts. DC is constant. It does not vary in voltage.
Christians think if they do good most of the time it will be ok.
You must be constant in doing the Word of God.
You can’t tithe 90% of the time and get your promise, even asking forgiveness will not change until you change.
Many people use the Grace Of God for a License to Sin. Confession does not equal Consistency.
There are 4 reasons for Failure to be Faithful.
I Discouragement.
Discouragement is dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is ingratitude for the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity regarding strength for tomorrow. It is unawareness of the presence of beauty, unconcern for the needs of our fellowman, and unbelief in the promises of old. It is impatience with time, immaturity of thought, and impoliteness to God. William Ward.
Ga 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
Weariness is failure in heart. This comes when we pray and the answer is delayed, when we need healing and it does not happen as soon as we want, we pay tithes and it seems that it does our bank account no good.
We get discouraged and quit and stop our due season.
Discouragement is based upon the negative past.
Php 3:13 one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
This is Putting it out of mind.
Many in the Word got discouraged .
Jer 15:10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury nor men have lent to me on usury yet every one of them doth curse me.
Lu.5 1 And it came to pass that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
1. V2 Peter had given up.
2. V.3 Jesus asked for help. We usually ask him for help.(come to Church, pray for others.)
4. V4 Jesus gave the answer.
5. V5 Peter confessed he was discouraged.(but at thy word.)
6. V6 Not just a blessing but a great Blessing.
7. V7-11 Peter call all his friends to share in that blessing.
II Laziness is a cause of no Faithfulness
Heb 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Slothful like a slug
Make God a priority. Read, Pray, Go to Church.
Pr 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster
III. Sin and Weights
Heb 12:1, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Weight = what a runner puts on to train to run, they are resistance to running.
Many Christians has forgotten to remove the weights.
Anything that absorbs your time and money is a weight.
We must get rid of SIN.
Repentance is the only thing that will remove sin.
Discipline will work for a while but will fail in the long run.
We do what we want to do. We do what our strong desires want us to do. IF WE WANT TO SURVIVE THE STORM, OUR DESIRE MUST BE FOR Gods WORD.
God can change your desires.
Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Joyful Faithfulness will produce a complete work in you FULFILLING ALL OF YOUR DESIRES.
IV Lack of Joy causes Failure.
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
When the storm comes and it will, remember the promise of JOYFUL FAITHFULNESS that it produces, and it will produce Joy that is the JOY OF THE Lord that is the strength to stand.
Patience, Faithfulness, Consistency = brings fruit
