This sermon from the Adrian Rogers Legacy Library © 2010 Rogers Family Trust. Used by permission. www.pastortraining.com www.adrianrogerslibrary.com
Introduction
Would you take God’s Word, and turn to James, chapter 1. Now, James is one of the most straightforward men in the entire Bible. He never minces words. If you want to know what James is thinking, then he’ll be very happy to tell you. And, of course, he tells you by divine inspiration. Tonight, Brother James is going to talk to us about patience, and I want to talk to you about the purpose and power of patience, or patience’s perfect work.
James, chapter 1, and verse 1: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;”—that literally means, “various trials”—“knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:1–8).
Now, that’s James, chapter 1. Turn to the last chapter of James, now—James, chapter 5. James begins this work on testing and trial by talking about patience, and he ends it talking about patience. Now, I begin in James, chapter 5, and verse 7: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.” Now, we sung tonight about the coming of the Lord, but he says, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman”—that means, “the farmer”—“waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the
judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord;”—that is, the fulfillment of what God is going to do—“that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:7–11). Well, what a wonderful, wonderful scripture! If we didn’t do anything else but just read the Scripture on patience, how it seems to move our hearts and speak to us!
I really believe, if you don’t learn patience, you probably will learn very little of anything else. If you don’t learn patience, you probably will not learn much of anything else. For example, you certainly wouldn’t learn to play the piano without patience, could you? You won’t believe this, Brother Jim; but there was a time when I took violin lessons. And, there was a time when my teacher took me and shook me by the shoulders. Now, I didn’t have patience, and I caused her to lose patience. You can’t learn to play the violin or the piano without patience. You can’t learn Greek without a certain amount of patience to do those Greek verbs. Anything worth learning, really, it seems to talk of patience.
Now, patience—when we use the word patience—we kind of think of the idea, to do tedious things—and that’s involved. But actually, the Bible word patience, and the word that I’m using here from the Book of James, means “to be able to bear up under great pressure.” “To bear up under great pressure”—that’s what the Greek word means—“to bear up under.” Literally, it means, “to endure.” And, it just might be better, rather than translating it patience, if we translated it endurance.
I picked this little thing up, and I read it. And, it blessed me so much that I just thought I would read it to you, because many of you think that one of these days you’re going to come to some great trial in life, and then, you’re going to have to have patience. But, listen to this: Most of us dream of becoming rich, or famous, or doing great things for the Lord. We thought life would be meaningful and exciting, but instead, our lives are routine. Our daily work seems of no consequence or, even worse, we’re unemployed, ill, or aged. Others do exciting things and tell of their successes, while day-by-day-by-day, we seem to go unnoticed. But God knows. He saw the poor woman throw two coins in the collection plate. He knew that Moses was tending sheep for 40 years. Jesus often used the services of ordinary people on His way to do great things:
the boy with his five loaves and his two fish, Mary and her perfume, Simon to carry the cross. Jesus knows about the car that broke down, the poor marks at school, the bad temper of the boss, the constant headache, the dull job, the stubborn children, and the ailing relative. If it concerns you, then it concerns Christ.
Isn’t that beautiful? If it concerns you, then it concerns Christ. Why? Because we’re a part of Him. We’re members of His Body. First Corinthians 12, verse 18, says: “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him” (1 Corinthians 12:18). It has pleased God to put you where you are. He is watching to see if you are faithful in the monotony as well as in trouble, or persecution, or prosperity. Now, it’s one thing to be faithful in trouble. It’s another thing to be faithful in persecution. It’s one thing to be faithful in prosperity. Hey folks, it’s something else to be faithful in monotony, huh? In monotony—I mean, in the same old life. God calls most of us to do only the ordinary, and sometimes, the menial tasks of life. We probably cannot see His purposes, but we must not refuse to meet the needs that He puts before us. Do not despise the day of small things. We may not see the effects of our efforts, but we can leave the outcome to God. When Peter asked what would happen to John, Jesus told him that it was not Peter’s problem. Jesus told him, “Follow Me” (John 21:22). And, that is our task—to follow Jesus.
Now, here is the beautiful part—listen to this: It takes more grace to care for a handicapped person than for a famous preacher. Don’t worry—just follow Jesus. It is harder to tithe if you’re poor than if you’re a millionaire. Don’t fret—just follow Jesus. You recall that it was the servant with only one talent that did not use it. God does not give us a quota to fill, but He does ask us to be faithful. You see, what most of us need is endurance. What most of us need—I’m not just talking about those people who are in the big things and the dramatic things, but I’m talking about people who are in the routine, the day-by-day things. And, when you talk about the big, and the dramatic, and the routine, and everything in-between, I think that just about includes all of us, doesn’t it? And, every one of us is to be faithful.
Now, most of us get antsy. One man said, “My problem is that I’m in a hurry, and God isn’t.” Somebody wrote:
This is the age of the half-read page,
the quick hash and the mad dash.
the bright night with the nerves tight,
the plane hop with the brief stop,
the lamp tan in a short span,
the brain strain and the heart pain,
the catnaps till the spring snaps,
and the fun is done.
Ha, that’s the way we live. Many of us ought to just pray, “Lord, give me patience.”
Now, James, here, talks about patience doing her perfect work. Now, I want to talk to you about patience’s perfect work. I want to talk to you about three things patience will do for you, and really, in the course of this, how to have this patience.
I. Patience is Necessary for Maturity
First of all, patience is necessary for maturity. Patience is necessary for maturity. Look, if you will, in verse 2: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2). Now, the word for temptations here means “trials.” It means “testings.” Now, the word temptation, in the Book of James, is used in two senses. And, I want to tell you this, because if I don’t tell you this, then you’ll get hopelessly confused in James. Sometimes, the word temptation means “a trial” or “a testing.” Sometimes, it means “an inducement to do evil.” For example, in verse 2, he says, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” But, look in verse 13: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). Well, that seems almost contradictory if you don’t understand that the word temptation here is used in two senses. There’s the temptation which is a test from God, and there’s the temptation which is an inducement to evil that comes from the devil. The temptation that comes from the devil—the temptation to sin—is sent by the devil to cause us to stumble. The temptations—the trials—of life are sent by God to cause us to stand. The devil wants us to sin, so that we might stumble. God wants us to overcome, that we might stand.
Now, these trials are there. God sends trials—this kind of testing—for one purpose. God allows us to have trouble. As a matter of fact, God manufactures trouble for us, isn’t that beautiful? Ha ha, God manufactures trouble for us. I mean, God says, “Just rejoice when it comes, because I have a purpose in it.” Trials are going to come. Notice, in verse 2: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2)—not if, but when. Everybody here is in one of three categories: you’re just getting out of trouble, you’re in trouble, or you’re just fixing to get into trouble. I mean, just count it all joy when you fall into divers temptation. These trials produce the patience that we need. See, look in verse 3: “Knowing this, that the trying”—the testing—“of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:3).
Now, you know what you’re asking for when you ask for patience? Ha, let me show you another verse. Just keep your finger there, and turn back to Romans, chapter 5, and verse 3. That makes it even more plain. When you pray for patience, let me just show you what you’re really praying for: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience” (Romans 5:3). That’s what tribulation does for you—it gives you patience. So, when you’re saying, “Lord, give me patience,” you’re saying, “Lord, send me tribulation.” Huh? Well, you say, “Well, then I don’t think I’ll pray for it.” Well, listen, friend: God has a wonderful plan for your heart and for your life.
Go back again to James, chapter 1, and verse 3: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Now, when you pray for patience, you can expect trials. But now, remember this about trials: Trials work for you, not against you. Count it all joy when they come. Trials, to the Christian, are not obstacles; they’re opportunities. And, they are there for our maturity, for our completion. Now, look at it again—verse 4: “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect” (James 1:4). Now, when the Bible says that you may be perfect, the Bible does not mean that you may be sinless. No one can live above sin unless they have a room over a pool hall. That isn’t what he means when he says, “Be perfect.” The word perfect means “mature.”
Now, I say, “That is a perfect flower.” I don’t mean, “That’s a sinless flower.” I mean, “That’s a perfect flower.” We look at a baby and say, “Well, that’s a perfect baby”—perfectly-formed. Sin is not—that’s not—what James is talking about. He’s not saying that you may be sinless. He’s saying that you may be mature. Now, one of the perfect works of patience is maturity. God wants to bring you to maturity. For example, an oak is the perfection of an acorn—an oak tree, if that’s a mature acorn. “When you are discouraged, and feeling a little blue, take a look at a
mighty oak, and see what a nut can do.” You see, an oak tree is the perfection of an acorn. Now, what God is saying is this: “You have faith, but I’m going to mature that faith.” And, the only way—listen—the only way that your faith can be mature is by endurance; it matures under stress.
Now, our muscles grow by lifting weights, and some of you work out—and I do a little bit, but not nearly as much as I ought—but almost anybody who has been around a gymnasium or had anything to do with athletics knows that there’s almost a cliché: “No pain, no strain, no gain,” right? I mean, God doesn’t want you to be a spiritual cream puff. Now, a lot of you are flabby spiritually. I won’t mention the other part, but just flabby spiritually—and we are. We live weakly, and we die sadly, because we do not respond to the trials that God gives us. And, when trials come, we just want to have the trials removed, rather than understanding that James says, “Count it all joy when you fall into divers trials” (James 1:2).
I believe I told you a story before of a man that was a student of insects and a biologist. He found a cocoon of an emperor moth, and he kept it. And, he wanted to watch that emperor moth come out of the cocoon. And, he saw the cocoon as it began to split, and that beautiful gorgeous moth, as it begin to emerge, the moth was just straining, and straining, and straining, trying to rip that cocoon—to come out of that cocoon. And, the man thought he would help the moth, and he took a sharp razor, and he slit the cocoon. And, he helped the moth to emerge, and the moth just sort of flopped out, and flapped its wings feebly, and then fell, in exhaustion and death, to the ground.
Now, that man thought he was doing that moth a favor; but, you see, God had built into that moth the need to exercise those wings, and to exercise itself, and to build that strength, before it ever came out of that cocoon. It was necessary. It was meant to gain strength by striving.
Sometimes, we don’t do people a favor, when we take away the trial. Now, most of us, when we have some sort of a trial, what do we do? What do we pray? “Lord, take it away,” isn’t that right? I mean, I want to be honest. That’s what I pray most of the time: “Lord, just take it away. Lord, I don’t want it.” But, you know what we ought to pray? Look, here’s what James says we ought to do. In verse 4, he says, “Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;”—that means He doesn’t scold you—“and it shall be given Him” (James
1:4–5).
What you do when you have a trial is to pray for wisdom; that’s what you do—pray for wisdom. Find out what God wants to do in this thing. First of all, rejoice; and then, just simply pray for wisdom. We ought to say, “Lord, give me wisdom, so I’ll not fail this test.”
You see, the word trial and the word test are related. Now, if God gives you a test, and you skip the test, then He’s going to give it to you again. He doesn’t stop giving the test. He just keeps on every time you fail, and He gives you the test again. So, why don’t you just study for the test? Why don’t you just say, “Lord, give me wisdom, so I’ll know how to pass this test. What is it that You’re trying to build in me? What proclivity—what spiritual ability—do You want to build in me?” So, what is the purpose of patience?
What is patience’s perfect work? Number one: maturity—that you may be perfect, entire, wanting nothing. God doesn’t want you to be a spiritual cream puff.
II. Patience is Necessary for Victory
Second purpose of patience: not only maturity, but also victory—victory. Let’s continue to read here. Look, if you will, in chapter 1, and verse 12: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12). Now, don’t get the idea that the crown of life is something that we get when we meet Jesus—that He says, “Well done, now, good and faithful servant,” and He puts a crown on our head. There are crowns that are going to be crowns of rewards, but that’s not what the crown of life is. The crown of life is what you have now. What he’s saying is that you may be able to live as a king—that you may be able to live victoriously right now. He’s not talking about a
future crown, but victory, right now.
If you have your Bibles, and don’t mind marking in them, then mark in the margin “Romans, chapter 5, and verse 17,” and here’s what the Scripture says: “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one;”—that is, death ruled—“much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). He’s not talking about reigning in the sweet by-and-by, but He’s talking about reigning in the nasty now-and-now—right now, to reign in life, to have a crown of life, and to be a victor. Listen, folks—There can be no victory without endurance. If you don’t bear the cross, then you can’t wear the crown. There are no cheap victories.
Now, God wants us to have victory, all right, but, you know, most of us—we don’t want the kind of victory that comes with endurance. We just sort of want a “name it and claim it and forget all the rest of it,” huh? Now, listen—Turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 2, with me, for a moment, and let me show you something—2 Corinthians, chapter 2. Isn’t the Bible a wonderful book? Amen. Look in verse 14: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Well, Paul never knew any defeat, huh? Yeah. “Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph.” Well, it looks like every time Paul gets into something, he just wins. Boy, ole’ Paul—he really had it easy, didn’t he? Never knew any difficulty—never. It’s just victory all the way—all honey and no bees, huh?
All right now, wait a minute. That’s fine, and that is true. Paul knew what victory was all the time, but now, just turn a few chapters to chapter 4, and look with me in verse 8. The same Paul says this: “We are troubled on every side” (2 Corinthians 4:8). Did you know that about Paul? Do you think you’ve got troubles? You say, “If I were right, then I wouldn’t have all of these troubles.” Was Paul right with God? I believe he was. “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” That’s what we're talking about: reigning in life, that the life of the Lord Jesus may be made manifest in our body—for what? “For we which live are always delivered
unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:8–11). Would you like the life of Jesus to be made manifest in you? Paul said these things happened to him, that Jesus would be made manifest in him, and that he would always triumph in Christ Jesus.
I'm telling you friend, that Paul knew what he was to endure. And, if you don’t bear the cross, then you can’t wear the crown. Yes, victory is our gift. Yes, God wants us to have victory. But, I’m telling you that endurance is necessary for maturity, and endurance is necessary for victory. Now, there are a lot of you who are vulnerable to every attack of the Enemy, because you don’t have this one quality of endurance. The Bible says, in Proverbs, chapter 25, and verse 28: “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls” (Proverbs 25:28). There are some folks like that here tonight. You’re like a city broken down without walls. Anytime the devil wants to come against you, he just walks right in. I mean, there are no gates; there are no bars; and there are no doors. You are open season for the devil, because you don’t have a rule over your own spirit. There is no discipline. There’s no life of
Christ. There is no victory there, and the lack of patience is causing many of us to be victims rather than victors. And, God help us that we might learn to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, if we would wear the crown.
III. Patience is Necessary for Tranquility
Now, endurance—endurance. Patience is necessary for maturity. Patience is necessary for victory. One third and final thing—a third component of patience’s perfect work—patience is also necessary for tranquility. Maturity, victory, and tranquility. Now, if you know maturity, and if you know victory, then you’re going to know peace, and you’re going to know tranquility. Go back now to James, chapter 5, with me, for a moment, and look beginning in verse 7—now watch it: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not
one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned:”—that is, don’t get the mule lip—“behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.”
Now, watch verse 11: “Behold, we count them happy which endure” (James 5:7–11). It’s necessary for tranquility. “Behold, we count them happy which endure.” Now, what Paul is talking about here is what we call the law of the harvest. He talks about the husbandman who is waiting for the harvest. Notice verse 7: “The husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth.” Now, you know the law of the harvest. We reap what we sow, we reap more than we sow, and we reap later than we sow.
When I was a little boy, we had a victory garden. That was back in World War II. And, I was a little boy, but I was alive at that time. My daddy was in the service, and so, to help things out, we planted a garden in the backyard. That’s my whole experience in farming. About the only thing I could grow was radishes, but I didn’t grow them too well, because I kept pulling them up, and then putting them back in the ground. I wanted to see what progress my radishes were making, and you can’t do it that way.
Now, notice—notice what he says here in verse 7. He talks about the early and the latter rains. Look: “The farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he received the early and the latter rain.” Now, it was the early rain that came in the fall that caused the seed to germinate. But, it was the latter rain that came in the spring that would cause the grain to swell, and grow, and be ready to harvest.
Now, what’s James saying? James is saying what any farmer needs to know: It takes patience to be a farmer. It takes endurance. You’ve got to put the seed in the ground, and you’ve got to wait for it. There is no instant harvest—no instant harvest.
Galatians, chapter 6, and verse 9, says, “In due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). Now, the problem with us is we want it now, huh? It’s like that woman who prayed, “Lord, give me patience—right now.” Our forefathers—if they missed a stagecoach, then they said, “Well, they’ll be another one along in a couple of months.” We get excited if we miss a section in a revolving door. I mean, we want it now, now—instant gratification. Put in a nickel, or a quarter, or 75 cents in and you get something out of the vending machine, I mean, right away.
I heard about a guy who wanted a cup of coffee, and he put in his 75 cents. And, he pushed the thing for sugar, and he pushed the thing for cream. And, he pushed the other button, and the thing started to whir, and coffee started to come, and the cream started to come, and everything else started to come, but there was no cup—right down the drain. He said, “Boy, that really is automation. It even drinks it for you.
Now, that’s the kind of that’s the kind of an age that we live in. Now, you’re going to get in trouble—listen, folks—you’re going to get in trouble, if you try to hurry the harvest. You’re going to lose your peace, if you try to hurry the harvest.
Let me give you an illustration of this, and I’ll be finished. Abraham tried to hurry the harvest. Go back, for just a moment, to Genesis, chapter 16. Let me show you that—Genesis, chapter 16. God promised Abraham a son whose name was to be Isaac, and he was the son of promise. Now, Abraham just couldn’t wait on God. Notice in chapter 16: “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar” (Genesis 16:1).
And, by the way, where did Abraham—Abram, his name was at this time—where did he get this Egyptian when he was down in Egypt? What was he doing down in Egypt?
He was out of the will of God. He couldn’t wait on God, so then, he went down to Egypt. Abram brought two things out of Egypt. Do you know what he brought out? He brought out cattle. He didn’t have any cattle when he went down there; he just had sheep. He was a shepherd when he went down there, and he came out a herdsman. He came out a rancher, huh? He brought cattle out of Egypt. He got his cattle down there in Egypt, and he brought Hagar out of Egypt. Now, why did he have a range war? Because of his cattle. There was plenty for the sheep. There just wasn’t enough for the cattle. That caused him trouble. Do you remember why the range war was fought? That was over his cattle, and now, he’s got this Egyptian woman he got down there in Egypt. He got antsy, and he couldn’t wait on God. He couldn’t trust God, so he got these things down there. He got this woman, and he got this cattle.
Now, her name is Hagar. “And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing” (Genesis 16:2). Well, if God restrained her, then why didn’t she wait? “The Lord,” she said, “the Lord has just put a stop on it,” so she’s not going to let God slow her down. “I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai” (Genesis 16:2). Now, what she says is this: “I want children, and I want them now. You take my maid as your concubine and see if you can father a child by her.” And, Abram said he would do it. Notice verse 3: “And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife” (Genesis 16:3). Now, that was legal in this day. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t moral.
There are a lot of things that are legal that are not moral. This was legal in his day, and Abram did that. He took his wife’s maid. And, notice in verse 4 how God let them have their own way. Now, notice verse 4: “And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes” (Genesis 16:4).
Now, notice what happens: God lets them have their own way. And, when they get what they want, they don’t want what they get. One of the most telling statements that I’ve heard in a long time is what George McDonald had to say. He said this: “In whatever a man does without God he must fail miserably or succeed even more miserably.” May I say that again? “In whatever a man does without God he must fail miserably or succeed even more miserably.” They had success. They had a baby.
Did you know that God’s greatest judgment, when we get antsy and don’t wait on God, is to let us have our own way. And, when we get what we want, we don’t want what we get? I heard about a little boy named Johnny who loved pancakes. He was greedy at the table—eating pancakes and always wanting more. One day, his mother said, “I believe I’ll give him all he can eat.” She sat him down, and fixed the batter, and said, “Johnny, have some more pancakes.” He ate them. “Have some more pancakes.” He ate them. “Have some more pancakes.” He ate them. After a while, he wasn’t asking for anymore. She said, “Johnny, don’t you want some more pancakes?” He said, “No ma’am.” He said, “I don’t even want the ones I’ve had now.” When we get what we want, we don’t want what we get.
And so, now, she begins to blame others. Look in verse 5 of this same chapter: “And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into my bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee” (Genesis 16:5). Now, she’s blaming others. And, in verse 15—skip on down—Ishmael is born: “And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael” (Genesis 16:15). He tried to hurry the harvest, and there’s been nothing but trouble ever since, and no peace—no peace—for the sons of Abraham. I’m telling you, dear friend, that endurance brings tranquility.
Go back again to James, and look at it. Look at the Scripture. Oh, how plain it is here in James, chapter 5. You have your own Bible. Just underscore it, and make it plain. Look, if you will, in verse 11: “Behold, we count them happy”—blessed, tranquil—“which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job” (James 5:11).
Conclusion
Friend, if you will learn, and not dodge this matter of endurance and patience, then you’re going to find out that you’re going to have the three things that most of us need tomorrow morning. You’re going to have maturity. You’re going to have victory. You’re going to have tranquility. Are you listening to your pastor? You can save a lot of time by waiting on God. You can save a lot of time waiting on God. You see, in the life you’ve got, you have to learn this: that there are some things you cannot control. You know, you can’t control most things. You can’t control people. I wish I could, boy. You can’t control people. You can’t control the weather. You can’t control airplanes and other things. And, what you can’t control, you just learn to endure. The Apostle Paul said: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11)—just to be content and to wait on God. Let’s bow our heads in prayer.
