For those not familiar with an Anglican Service, there are four readings prior to the Message. The Readings assigned for this day are: Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:4-9; James 5:7-10 and Matthew 11:2-11
A man in Los Angeles, California ..... was arrested for negligent discharge of a weapon ..... after shooting his toilet bowl ...... five times with a 38 caliber handgun.
He claimed that he couldn't take it any longer.
His daughter had flushed a hairbrush down the toilet earlier in the day ..... which had clogged the pipes.
So he shot the offending toilet.
I have no word on the toilet's condition, ..... but the man's patience was long gone.
Is patience difficult for you?
It has been said, ..... Patience is a virtue, ..... possess it if you can.
It is found seldom in a woman, ........ and never in a man.
"Perhaps you can relate to this story.
"One day a man was to meet his wife downtown to spend some time shopping with her.
He waited patiently for 15 minutes.
Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more. After that, he became angry.
Seeing one of those photograph booths nearby (the kind that accepts coins into a slot and takes four pictures while you pose on a small bench), ..... he had an idea.
He assumed the most ferocious expression he could manage, ..... which wasn't difficult under the circumstances, ...... and in a few moments he was holding four small prints ...... that shocked even him!
He wrote his wife's name on the back of the photographs and handed them to a clerk behind the desk.
He said: "If you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, ..... apparently looking for someone, ..... would you please give her these?"
He then returned to his office content ...... that if a picture is worth a thousand words,..... then these four photos must be a full-blown lecture!
His wife saved those pictures.
She carries them in her purse and shows them to anyone who asks ....... are you married." (Pause)
We must learn the art of patience ....... if we truly want to enjoy life.
I think a good term might be "wait training" that is "W-A-I-T" training."
One workout we should regularly participate in is the exercise to me...... of patience.
For it seems that there is always something we are waiting for. (Pause)
How are you with patience?
Could you use some ...... "Wait Training"
Every day ...... presents plenty of occasions ...... for training ..... in patience.
We can resent waiting, ..... accept it ..... or even get good at it!
But one thing is certain ...... we cannot avoid it.
Hear God's Promise to us BIBLE "those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." END
Beloved ..... God is telling us ..... there are times that we need ...... to slow down.
Times we need to wait on him ... and renew our strength.
To wait on him to direct us.
We have all heard the expression; Lord give me patience -- and give it to me ..... Right Now.
The story is told ...... that the great New England preacher Phillips Brooks ...... was known for ..... his calmness and poise.
His intimate friends, however, knew that he suffered moments of frustration and irritability.
One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion.
'What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?' asked his friend.
'The trouble is,' replied Brooks, 'that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't.' I'm in a hurry but God Isn't!
Haven't we felt the same way at times? (Pause)
Patience ..... is what James is addressing in today's text.
What does it mean to wait on God?
Waiting for God is not laziness.
Waiting for God is not going to sleep.
Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort.
The Hebrew word translated "waiting" . . . has affinity with a word that means "to entrench."
The idea of waiting for God ..... is that of digging ourselves into God; ..... fully entrenching yourself in God.
Therefore..... Waiting for God is the power to do nothing ....... save under His command.
Waiting for God requires strength rather than weakness. It is the power .... to do .... nothing.
Waiting is the strength ..... that prevents us from committing a blundering action ...... that we will latter regret.
The Scripture's tell us Be still.... Be still..... and know that I am God.
Waiting is far more difficult than working. . . .
Beloved...... "Wait Training" requires spiritual strength.
James addresses the temptations we all face when problems overwhelm us:
First, We Are Tempted To Lose Patience --
And..... It Will Be Worth the Wait! Hear the words from James:
(BIBLE) "Be patient, therefore beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient." (END)
We know this passage is addressed to believers because James uses the term ..... Beloved three times in today's passage . He is speaking directly to believers.
The reason that he is addressing believers..... is that the kind of patience to which James is referring ...... can only be achieved by a person ..... who has become a new creation ...... in and through Christ Jesus.
The word translated patience ...... comes to us ..... from the combination of two Greek words (makros) which means "far away" and (thumos) which means "anger, heat or rage."
Christian Patience is not a passive resignation ...... it is an attitude of self-restraint from the rage ...... that enables one ..... to refrain from hasty ...... retaliation.
Patience is an attribute of the fruit of the Spirit.
It is a characteristic of one that has been born again.
It is a characteristic that sets us as believers apart from the world.
But patience ...... is not one of those things ..... that comes easily.
There is a price to pay ..... for patience.
The easy road leads us ..... to impatience. (Pause)
A young man, a Christian, went to an older believer to ask for prayer.
"Will you please pray that I may be more patient?" he asked. The aged saint agreed.
They knelt together and the man began to pray, "Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; send this young man...."
At that point the young Christian blurted out, "No, no, I didn't ask you to pray for tribulation.
I wanted you to pray for patience."
"Ah," responded the wise Christian, "it is only through tribulation ..... that we learn spiritual patience."
There is a price to pay for patience.
Are you prepared ...... for some ...... "Wait Training."
We have all experienced the hurt of mistreatment and the hurt of misunderstanding.
Such hurts come in a variety of forms; intolerable work situations, domestic conflicts, difficult relatives, individuals who take advantage of us, friends who turn against us, neighbors who believe false things about us ...... and many,
many other ..... hurtful circumstances.
Our natural tendency is to retaliate,...... to return evil for evil, ...... to get even, ..... or to hold a grudge ...... to become bitter.
James as pastor of the church of Jerusalem reveals a better way, ....... a spiritual way to respond.
God is calling the Christian to overcome our natural reaction ... with a supernatural response.
Peter shares with us this response: (BIBLE) "When you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God." (END) 1 Peter 2:20
Enduring unfair treatment with patience .... is a characteristic of a person who has truly been born anew.
For it is beyond ..... the ordinary human response.
When we act in grace, ..... when we do not retaliate, ...... when we do not seek revenge ..... it transforms us.
Beloved ...... it changes us; Grace transforms us. And in turn.... We mature in the faith.
Again hear James Words to us this morning: BIBLE "Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!" END
Impatience with our circumstances ..... leads to impatience with God ...... which in turn leads to impatience ..... with God's people. REPEAT
What do we usually do when we begin to feel the heat?
We complain to anyone who will listen!
And sadly we lash out at others ...... because of the pressure that we are feeling.
James does not ask us He commands us, "do not grumble against one another".
Apparently this is an internal church problem for he says, "one against another."
If you grumble you are playing into the hands of Satan.
It is an action straight from the pits of hell.
Imminent judgment should remind us, that Jesus has prohibited believers from judging one another for in Luke we read,
BIBLE "Judge not, and you shall not be judged: condemn not, and you shall not be condemned: forgive, and you shall be forgiven." END Luke 6:37
All of us should have a big sign hanging around our neck that reads, ...... "Be patient with me; God's not finished with me yet."
Do not allow your frustration ..... to turn you against those you love.
Do not allow your frustration to turn you against God's people.
And Beloved ..... Do not allow yourself to judge the growth rate ..... of those around you. (Pause)
That great American Statesman, Thomas Jefferson, worked out a way to handle his impatience.
He included it in his "Rules of Living," in which he outlined how adult men and women should live.
He wrote, "When angry, count to ten before you speak; ...... if very angry, count to a hundred."
About 75 years later, the author Mark Twain revised Jefferson's words and wrote, "When angry, count to four. ....... When very angry, ..... swear!"
Instead of following Jefferson's or Twain's advice by counting numbers, why not heed James' advice .... And the next time you are surprised by a trial. ...... Employ some "Wait Training"!
If we are honest, most of us would have to admit that although we may have tried everything from Jefferson's to Twain's philosophy, we still have a problem ..... cultivating the spiritual gift of "patience."
Some of you may be feeling the sting of some very deep pain.
Some may have endured some very heavy trials.
We often let our emotions live in the present but the Father is living in eternity.
The message of James .....is a simple truth...... yet so very powerful.
When wounded respond with patience. (Pause)
We have been bought with a price.
We are seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
We have not been given a spirit of fear ..... but of power, of love and a sound mind.
We are the sons and daughters ...... of the King of Kings. Cultivate the Spiritual Gift of Patience.
Seek not your emotions....Seek the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
For Beloved.... You are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Amen & Amen!
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