I - Introduction:
1. We learned about the Long Suffering of God
a. The long suffering of God leads to repentance.
1. Romans 2:4
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
2. 2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance
b. The long suffering of God led to our salvation. (2 Peter 3:15)
15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
2. We come before our Lord with thankfulness for His long suffering. He waited till we came to our senses and learned about His Grace and Mercy.
a. We were enlightened through the words of God
b. We received the heavenly gift of faith
c. We have shared in the Spirit
d. And as we continued to abide in Jesus we have tasted the goodness of his word
e. We have a new life In Christ
3. Yet, even when we received His wonderful blessings, we still have troubles and sufferings just like anybody else
a. However, as we walked with the Lord, we have somehow gotten rid of our sensualities (the desires of the flesh) or put our sensualities under the control of the Holy Spirit, thereby minimizing our troubles or at least making them bearable.
b. It wasn’t long till we realized that there were sufferings that were added - sufferings that we did not experience before we became Christians called trials and persecutions.
1. Jesus said so. (John 16:33)
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
2. Do not be surprised. (1 Peter 4:12)
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
4. We need patience in the midst of our sufferings. This is the theme in Chapter 5 of the book of James. James shared some practical teachings on how we can exercise patience in the midst of sufferings.
a. Patience in Oppression
b. Patience in Persecution
c. Patience in Trials
5. The key verse is found in (James 5:7)
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.
II – The Cost of Impatience
· James is aware about the greater suffering we may experience if we are IMPATIENT. Let us look at a few examples of impatience in the scriptures:
a. Sarah and Abraham (Genesis 16)
1. God promised Abraham that he will have descendants as numerous as the stars
2. For several years when the promise was not fulfilled right away, Sarah suggested that Abraham take Sarah’s handmaid Hagar to have a child.
3. Then when Hagar was pregnant, she despised Sarah.
4. Sarah then went to Abraham and said: “This is all your fault”.
5. What is the lesson here? They were both impatient.
1. When we are impatient, we make decisions that come from our selfish nature and not what the Spirit desires.
6. I like Abraham. He is a man of faith, humble and he loved his wife. Abraham said: “She is your servant. Do with her whatever you think is best.”
7. Ishmael was the son by Hagar and Isaac was the son by Sarah.
8. Their impatience led to a hasty decision that costs unending dispute to this day. The descendants of Ishmael (Arabs) and the descendants of Isaac (Jews) continue to fight over who should own the land in the area of Palestine.
b. The Golden Calf (Exodus 32:1)
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
§ They fashioned a calf to worship.
§ When Moses saw them worshiping the calf, he threw the tablets out of his hands
§ He took the calf the people made, grounded to powder scattered on the water and made the people drink it.
§ What punishment!
c. Moses and the Rock (Numbers 20:11-12)
1. We see Moses frustrated and under pressure from the Israelites over their grumbling and in anger struck the rock twice instead of speaking to the Rock as God has commanded.
11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
2. When we are impatient, we are upset and angry. Our anger controls our emotions and oftentimes our actions displease God.
III – The Rewards of Patience
James, being aware of the terrible consequence of impatience wrote the last chapter of the book to exhort us unto exercising patience and perseverance in the face of sufferings.
1. Patience in Oppression
a. From rich and abusive people – James 5:4
4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty
· The rich have hoarded wealth and withheld the wages of the poor/ God will deal with them,. With this in mind, we can exercise patience and not retaliate. We have a mighty God who will take care of them.
b. Oppression may come from different sources:
i. People of power
ii. Family members
iii. Evil Men
c. Be Patient (James 5:7-9)
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
· The coming of the Lord is certain.
· Be patient like the farmer who waits for the early rain and the late rain to enjoy the fruit of the earth. The fruit is symbolic of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
· Establish your hearts – stand firm in the Lord.
· Do not grumble like the Israelites who grumbled and murmured and they did not see the Promised Land.
· Do not retaliate. Do not repay evil for evil. Vengeance is mine says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)
2. Patience in Persecution
a. Example of the Prophets (James 5:10)
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
b. The Faith of the Prophets – (Hebrews 11:37-40)
37 They were put to death by stoning;[a] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
1. None of them saw the fulfillment of the promise but they patiently endured the persecution for our sake. (they testified about the coming of a Savior)
· The prophets were serving us. (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
c. Anyone who lives a godly life will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)
d. Like the prophets, we too can exercise patient endurance with our Faith. (2 Peter 1:5-7)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
3. Patience in Trials
a. Example of Job (James 5:11)
11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
i. Righteous people suffer too.
ii. The perseverance of Job
1. Job lost his possessions and children
a. In all these Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:22)
2. He had sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
a. In all of this Job did not sin in what he did. (Job 2:10)
3. I know that my redeemer lives (Job 19:25)
4. Job’s reward. In the end God blesses Job with twice as much as he had before.
5. Lesson we can learn about trials in life.
a. How about Job’s three friends who judged him unrighteous by claiming that he was being punished for a hidden sin!
6. Application: As Christians we also have our trials but as James opened his message in James 1:2-4)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
IV - The Virtue of Patience
True Patience is a virtue of Christ that is available only to believers. We do not obtain patience by our own strength. We do not obtain endurance on our own. Consider these scriptures:
1. We exercise patience when we are clothed with Christ.
a. We are clothed with Christ when we were baptized (Galatians 3:27)
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
b. Therefore be clothed with patience (Colossians 3:12)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
2. We exercise patience with faith.
a. Patience comes from our Faith (2 Peter 3:5-7)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
3. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit who lives in us. (Galatians 5:22)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
We can now redefine true patience as a virtue from God through Jesus Christ, giving us the capacity or ability to accept suffering or troubles without getting angry or upset and looking forward to the hope of glory in the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
V – CONCLUSION.
1. Let us be patient in anticipation of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
2. Let not grumble when we suffer.
3. Let us not repay evil for evil. Let us not retaliate against those who give us trouble.
4. Let us follow the example of God’s servants
5. Let us consider the mercy and compassion of God.
a. God of Comfort 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
b. Let us not lose heart.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
