The devil has a plan for your life: Doubt, To make you question God’s word and His goodness; Discouragement, To make you look at your problems rather than at God; Diversion, To make the wrong things seems attractive so that you will want them more than the right things; Defeat, To make you feel like a failure so that you don’t even try; Delay, To make you put off doing something so that it never gets done.
The fruit of being patient---- Galatians 5:22, 23
What do you think happens when we ask God for patience? It seems He sends test or trials our way to see develop patience. EPH 4:1-3As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
To start I would like us to look at four ways we come across to test us just to get a feel for where you are.
The first is disturbances that come our way. These come when it appears we are busy with life and do not need them. Like when you set down for a meals and the telephone rings or there is knock at he door. You are busy in your house and a needy person knocks at your door or a family member wants your attention. You are very tired and sit down to rest but some one needs you now. Did you know that Brahms lullaby came after seven years in which he was disturbed many times? Jesus had to get on to His followers because they thought parents should not be disturbing Him with their kids when He was preaching. When Paul was busy about his ministry he had many disturbances. 2 COR 11:23-32 “I have been in labors more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in prisons more, in deaths many times. Five times from the Jews I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the deep. I have been in travels often; in dangers from waters; in dangers from robbers; in dangers from my race; in dangers from the heathen; in dangers in the city; in dangers in the wilderness; in dangers on the sea; in dangers among false brothers. I have been in hardship and toil; often in watchings; in hunger and thirst; often in fastings; in cold and nakedness; besides the things outside conspiring against me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to stumble, and I do not burn? If it is right to boast, I will boast of the things of my weakness. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I do not lie. In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes, desiring to lay hold of me. And I was let down in a basket through a window through the wall, and escaped their hands.”
Have you had disturbances and how are you dong with them?
The second test is trouble. How many of us like to have things now? It seems we get upset if things do not
happen when we want them. How many of you wanted church to start on time? How many of us will go to a
fast food place to eat because we want the food now rather than waiting for the mal to be cooked at a nice
restaurant? Most of us it down to eat and it is consumed in ten minutes. Would you believe that many of us
have physical ailments because we do not let our food digest in a good amount of time. How many of us have our spoon or fork loaded before we even are done with what is in our mouths? We could also talk about the news media in which we want instant coverage of what is happening. When it is election time many are told before they go to vote how things are shaping up. Just think which we cannot do when stage coaches came that if you missed one you would just wait for the next one in a day or two. Many of us get when we miss an elevator and have to wait. The bible gives us a story about two sisters that Jesus often visited and on one occasion the one sister got real upset because the other one just sat at Jesus’ feet while she had to get a meal ready. Does it trouble you when there are people taking time to pray and read their Bibles when there is work to be done? What are your troubles? Are they keeping you from Jesus? COL 3:12-15 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
The third test is impatience. What bugs you? NM 20:9-10 “So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" One thing kept Moses out of the promised land and it was impatience. Have you think you had a bad day? Listen to Brian Heise. In July one year his apartment became flooded from a broken pipe upstairs. The manager told him to go out and rent a water vacuum. He found out his car had a flat tire. He fixed that and went in to phone a friend for help. He received such a shock that he tore the phone off the wall. He could not get out because the water had jammed his door shut and a neighbor came by to kick the door down for him. He went out to find some one had stole his car but it did not have much gas so he found it a few blocks away. He had to push it to a gas station. He attended a military ceremony at BYU that evening and injured himself as he sat down on his bayonet when he sat down on it in the front seat of his car. This was stitched up by a doctor but his four canaries were at home and were killed by falling plaster. When he got home he slipped and fell on his tail bone from the wet carpet. He wondered that evening if God wanted me dead but kept missing. We need to learn that it is patience that makes an oyster turn a grain of sand and turn it into a pearl. What is God using in your life to make a pearl? Proverbs 16:32 ‘Although one who practices patience and self-control receives far less attention and acclaim than a warrior who takes a city, he accomplishes better things.”
The fourth test would be boredom. How many times have you heard that expression, “ I am bored.” How can one be bored when you serve a God who moves mountains? It is said that one will spend six months of their lives waiting for a red light to turn green. Then when it does turn green do you get frustrated because the person in from of you does not take off. Do you also notice people keep pushing the elevator button as though it will make it faster? PB 19:2 “Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way.” Did you know that there is a sickness now called hurry sickness? It is stated that 90% of people who experience heart attacks have a hurried life style. PR 15:18 “A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.”
How can we help ourselves develop patience in our lives? May I give you four good things that can help you?
1. Develop a new awareness. Find a new way of looking at your problems. When we have a problem it comes from the fact that we think only about ourselves. How is this affecting my wishes, my needs, my purposes, my wants, my plan and it is messing my life? The root of being impatient is our selfishness. So we need to get our eyes off our selves and see what is in other people’s lives. Learn from another’s point of view. Why is that other person feeling the way they do? This does away with the conflict in your life because now you are focusing on someone else and not your self. Pro 19:11 “A person with good sense is patient, and it is to his credit that he overlooks an offense.” We need to look at life from God’s perspective and that helps in three ways: 1. I am only human. I am not perfect and God is in control. Most of what I face in life I have not control over. 2. No one else is perfect so I should not become upset when they make mistakes or people let me down. 3. God is in control and he can make things in my life turn out to be good for me. Pro 20:24 “The LORD is the one who directs a person’s steps.” God knows best about our life and directs what goes on in our life. We become mature as we develop patience. When babies do not get what they want now they cry and fuss. Being mature lets you wait for God to bring it to pass. Let your self be aware of what God is doing in your life and wait on Him.
2. FIND AWAY TO HAVE laughableness. Have you found a way to laugh at your circumstances? LB says “A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life.” PR 14:30 it is a fact that people who laugh live longer. Laughter dissolves tension. It cures our being worried. It is life’s shock absorber. We need to learn to laugh. If you learn to laugh at your troubles you will never run out of things to laugh at. God laughs. Think of all the times in you lives that you made Him laugh. Look at life for the funny situations that come your way. Will Rogers said, “ I do not know any jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” PR. 17:22 “Being cheerful makes you healthy.” What have you laughed at today?
3. Let you love be real. The Bible tells that love is patient. So if you are impatient you are not being lovable. When you show love you are showing you care about another’s person needs, requests, wounds and wants. Love helps you not be impatient and therefore you will not be filled with anger at others. EPH 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Your love shows as you are patient.” Love is a choice not a feeling. When you show love to people who irritate you become more like Jesus for you know He came across many that irated Him. For love to be real you need to learn to praise God is every situation. How is your praise level this day? 19:11 “A man’s wisdom gives him patience;”
4. We must have confidence in the Lord. You will not be able just to phych yourself and say “ I will be patient.” Patience is not an act of our will. You cannot pretend to be patient. Patience comes form and inner peace that only comes from God. Patience only comes because our confidence is in the Lord. Patience comes from faith. It is saying I trust god. I believe he is bigger than any problem I have and he can care of me. He will work every thing out for my good. So I can say, God what do you want me to learn from this situation or circumstance that will make my life better?” Perhaps the hardest part of being patient when you are in a hurry is that God is not. How long can you wait? It appears on more than one occasion Jesus came to late from man’s point of view. He is never late. He is able to even make the dead come life. He is able to make what seems to be a disaster a great life experience. He is always on time. PS 37:7 “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;” it is written also PS 37:3 “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.4Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:” patience is an evidence that we trust in Him and our confidence is fully in Him. PR 14:29”A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.”
How about the little 4-year-old boy who was traveling with his mother & constantly asking the same question over & over again? "When are we going to get there? When are we going to get there?" Finally, the mother got so irritated that she said, "We still have 90 more miles to go. So don’t ask me again when we’re going to get there." Well, the boy was silent for a long time. Then he timidly asked, "Mom, will I still be four when we get there?"
FIT FOR PURPOSE!
In order to get fit for the purpose God has for you you’ll need to follow this training program: 1) say ’no’ to negativity: be ruthless with bad thoughts 2) don’t be a ’belly button Christian’ (just focused on yourself) put other people’s needs first 3) Eat the word: as you feed on God’s word you are made strong 4) listen to the still small voice: it’s unlikely that God will use a lighting bolt from heaven to get your attention every time! Don’t rush your time with Him and you’ll notice the difference. 5) Shift to a higher gear of faith: to go faster and cover more ground you have to hit the high gears. That means gathering momentum - just like riding a bike you’ll never get any speed up if you’re always stopping and starting again 6) get the right friendships: God’s into community not just individuals. In community, you find out what people are truly made of and you can be there for each other when the tough times come. Treasure your God given friends 7) ask God to give you understanding about the place you’re in. Knowing you’re in training for your destiny will keep you from pulling back, following the crowd or chucking in the towel. The words for you today are press through and get fit for purpose!
God is patient and if we are His children we need to be fully like Him.
