Introduction:
1. Patience, just the word is enough to remind most of us that we haven’t arrived. I don’t care who you are, I know that you sometimes struggle with being patient. It doesn’t matter whether you are a kid or a senior adult, there are times when other people get to you.
2. I had to chuckle when I read the story of a man whose car stalled in heavy traffic just as the light turned green. All his efforts to start the engine failed. You know what happened, he was trying frantically to start the car and a hundred other cars behind him were laying on their horns. In spite of his best efforts the car wouldn’t start through the entire time the light was green. The people behind him never slacked off the horn. He finally got out of his car and walked back to the driver right behind him who had been laying on the horn even though he could hear the man trying to start the engine. He politely said to the man, "I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to get my car started. Would you mind to try starting my car and I’ll blow the horn for you this time." (--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 396.)
3. We are very impatient. If you don’t believe it consider this statistic.
Cell #1--
The annual cost of people running red lights in the United States is. . .
$7 Billion
The average amount of time saved by running a red light is. . .
50 seconds.
4. We are always trying to figure out how to cram more and more things that need to be done into less and less time. We allow less and less time for things. We don’t want to waste time because we feel the pressure of all we think we have to get done. The time crunch is felt by nearly everyone. There is even a church in Florida that advertises a 22 minute service. That’s right. They promise that 22 minutes after the service begins you will be dismissed. The music is fast. . . The prayers are quick. . . The sermons are only 8 minutes long. Now don’t get your hopes up, it’s not going to happen here!
5. In the opening of my sermon this morning I’ve tried to touch on the fact that patience is especially difficult in our culture, because we all feel like we have so many things to do. Think about it with me for a moment. Don’t you get the most impatient when you are feeling the most pressure? I know that I do and I suspect you probably experience the same emotions & struggle.
6. There may be a few people who haven’t been able to relate to the first three fruits of the Spirit. You may feel like you have no problem with being loving. You may be convinced that for the most part you experience joy in your life. It’s possible that you rarely struggle with a lack of harmony, but I dare say there’s not a person here who doesn’t wish they had more patience.
7. I want to begin this sermon where I always do, God’s word, Galatians 5:22-23. As you find the passage let me share an observation that well known Bible scholar John Stott made about the fruits of the Spirit. He has observed that the fruits of the Spirit can be divided into 3 groups. He suggests that the first three: love, joy and peace, speak of our attitude to God. The second set of three relate primarily to our attitudes toward others: patience, kindness, goodness. The final three fruits of the Spirit he suggests reflect attitudes toward self: faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control.
8. I don’t know that his categories capture the fruits of the Spirit exactly, but nevertheless, his thinking may help you get your mind around this very practical list of spiritual traits. In an attempt to help us do that I’m going to suggests three questions that I think will help us with our understanding of patience. Let’s read the passage together. . .
Cell #2--
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (NASB updated)
Prayer
TS- Let’s begin with a question that is foundational to understanding this topic. . .
Cell #3--
I. What Is Patience?
1. There are a number of very interesting definitions that people have come up with that may help us understand what patience is. Let’s look at several of them. Perhaps some of them will help you. The first one is a bit humorous, although I think each of us will be able to relate to it.
Cell #4--
Patience is the ability to put up with people you’d like to put down. Ulrike Ruffert
Patience is accepting a difficult situation without giving God a deadline to remove it. Bill Gothard
"Patience is a inner calmness that comes from the knowledge that God is in control."
2. There are actually three Greek words in scripture that can be translated as patience. Why don’t we take a few minutes to quickly survey each one, with a little bit of background about each one. We will focus most of our attention on the third one, since it’s found in Galatians 5.
Cell #5--
Anecho: (From 2 Greek words, "UP" & "HOLD" )
Ephesians 4:1-2
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. (NASB, updated)
1) The word we’re looking at here is translated "tolerance" in the NASB, "forbearing" in the KJV and "bear with" in the NIV.
2) The idea is to sustain, or patiently bear with something or someone.
Cell #6--
Hupomone: ’ (From 2 Greek words, "UNDER" & "ABIDE.")
James 1:3-4
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (NASB, updated)
1) The word we’re looking at here is translated "endurance," "patience" and "perseverance" in the various translations.
2) The idea is that it’s the patience that bears up under a load and provides steadiness in the midst of life’s battles. It’s the patience that allows a person to endure life’s challenges without giving up and going home in defeat.
3) Although there’s a little difference in these two kinds of patience, both deal with hanging tough during difficult days.
Cell #7--
Makrothumi (makro= SLOW, thumos= ANGER)
It means, slow to get mad. In other words it’s the opposite of a short fuse.
1) Here is the key word that we’re looking at. It’s the idea of patience, in the form we typically think about. It’s not primarily connected to hanging in during difficult days, but it involves not flying off the handle over little things.
2) I liked the way one Bible scholar described the idea of the word, he said, (Cell 7 #2) "It means, slow to get mad. In other words, it’s the opposite of a short fuse."
3) It’s the idea of not getting mad over the little irritations that are so much a part of everyone’s life. It’s hanging onto our emotions when we feel like letting the fur fly over all those silly little things that so often get on our nerves. Let’s be honest, sometimes that can be a real challenge can’t it? Let me illustrate.
A man noticed a lady in the grocery store with her year-old in her cart. The child asked for cookies. Her mother said no. The little girl began to cry loudly. The mother patiently said, "Now Missy, we’re half way done, it won’t be long." The same thing happened in the candy aisle. This time the little girl kicked and screamed. The mother said, "There, there, Missy, only two more aisles and then we’ll be done." At the checkout counter, the child reached for the gum. When her mom said no she began to scream louder than ever. The mother said patiently, "Missy, we’ll be through this checkout stand in five minutes and then we can go home and both have a nice nap." The man followed them out to the parking lot and complimented the woman. "I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Missy." The mother replied, "Thank you, but, my little girl is Francine... Uh, I’m Missy." (12)
Cell #8--
II. Where Does Patience Come From?
1. The Bible is very clear when it comes to the "fruit of the Spirit," that these traits come from the Holy Spirit, not our own power. Now, this doesn’t mean of course that a person who is not a Christian cannot have any of these traits in their life. It does mean that with God’s help, these characteristics should be a part of every Christian’s life.
2. The reason we can get patience from God is that God has the corner on patience. Let me explain what I mean. When you look at the stories of the Bible, you can easily see that God operates on a totally different time table than we do. We often find ourselves bent out of shape because things don’t happen as quickly as we would like them to happen. The truth of the matter is that. . .
Cell #9--
God doesn’t work at the speed we want Him to work.
25 years passed before Abraham & Sarah had Isaac.
The only land Abraham owned in his lifetime was a cemetery plot.
Israel didn’t become a great nation for 900 years.
David was anointed king then Saul chased him for years.
Jesus waited 30 years after His birth to begin His public ministry.
3. The psalmist wasn’t joking when he wrote that a thousand years is like a day to God and a day is like a thousand years. Here is the point. The way God does things is often totally different from the way we would like for Him to do thing. We are ready for things to be done, yesterday, while God’s timetable is very different. God never gets in a hurry. Consider the following.
1) God appeared to Abraham when he was 75 and promised to make him a great nation. Very few fathers wait until they are 75 to begin a family, so you would expect God’s promise to be fulfilled quickly, but you know the story, (Cell 9 #2) "Twenty five years passed before Abraham and Sarah had Isaac." By the time the child was born, Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. It is safe to say, God was patient, Abraham and Sarah were not.
2) God also told Abraham that every place his foot touched would be given to him. That’s quite an amazing promise. Yet this promise isn’t fulfilled on Abraham’s timetable either. Abraham traveled many places during his life. (Cell 9 #3), "The only land Abraham owned in his lifetime was a cemetery plot." The promise would be kept, but it didn’t turn out the way Abraham thought it would. Abraham’s descendants would leave the promised land 400 years later, but they would return. God wasn’t in a hurry.
3) The idea of becoming a great nation was going to take an even longer time. After 400 years in Egypt, the people would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Then, they would enter the promised land, where they would remain a weak immature nation for many years. You can read about the instability of the young nation in the book of Judges. In reality (Cell 9 #4) "Israel didn’t become a great nation for 900 years." The more you look at the stories of the Bible, the easier it is to see that God doesn’t get in a hurry.
4) Let’s go to the story of David. God had Samuel anoint the young man to be the second king of Israel. David didn’t seek the job, God sought him out for the job. I can only imagine that visions of grandeur filled David’s head the night after he was anointed to be the new king, but again God’s timetable was different. (Cell 9 #5) "David was anointed king and then Saul chased him for years." Are you getting the picture, God’s timetable is very different than David’s timetable. God is much more patient than we are.
5) Let’s take one additional look at this in the New Testament. Jesus spent 33 years on earth. If I had been the one establishing the plan, I would have had Him hit the ground running. I mean 33 years is a short life, I would think He should make every minute count. But again, God’s perspective was very different. He was much more patient. (Cell 9 #6) "Jesus waited 30 years after His birth to begin His public ministry."
4. Most of us find it difficult to be kept waiting an hour, but God works at His own speed, not ours. I’m reminded of the words of Isaiah 40:13.
Cell #10--
Isaiah 40:31
31 But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (NLT)
If you want to FLY, RUN, and WALK you must learn to wait on God. (Wade Hughes)
Cell #11--
III. How Does Patience Work?
1. I’ve tried to lay the ground work as to what patience is all about up to this point in the sermon, but now, I want us to get a little more practical. How does patience work in the United States in 2004? How does it work in your life and mine.
1) I think patience is even more of a challenge in our culture than it is in most others because of the way we approach time. Let me explain what I mean. We live by the clock. When I visited India earlier this year I discovered that much of the rest of the world is a lot more laid back about things than we are.
2) We live by the clock today. We don’t even know how often we look at a watch or clock, it’s the way we measure nearly everything we do in a typical day. You might be surprised to know that our concept of time would have been completely foreign to people in the Middle Ages. People in those days didn’t think in terms of hours, minutes and seconds. In fact, the concept of the second didn’t even appear until the early 1700s. 6
3) In our desire to accomplish all we can many of us make lists and try to determine how long the things on our list will take us to get done. That’s not wrong, but it can get in the way of what’s truly important. Let me explain what I mean.
1} The good thing about making lists is that a list will help you get more done. Please don’t hear me putting down having a "to do list." I can assure you that I regularly have a list of things I’m trying to accomplish. I attended a management class last year and one of the primary concepts they taught was to have a list & then work your list.
2} However, the down side of a list is that while lists may help you get more done, they don’t help you do the most important things in life. For example. . .
Cell #12--
The most important things in life cannot be put down on a to do list. Our desire to be a good husband or wife, mother or father, son or daughter isn’t something you can do that way. Our desire to mature as a Christian isn’t something you can put down on a list & spend five minutes doing each day. It’s more complicated than that. (Life on the Vine)
3} It’s not wrong to make a, "to do list." It is wrong to become so tied to that list that we don’t have time for others and immediately become inpatient with them.
4} I had to smile when I read the words of a pastor’s wife by the name of Liz Reynolds. She said. . .
Cell #13--
"It wouldn’t be hard to be patient if it weren’t for other people." (Liz Reynolds)
2. To summarize what I’ve been trying to say this morning, patience means giving others the time and space that we would like to have ourselves. It means hanging tough when we feel more like blowing up. It means allowing God to help us be patient with others, just as we want Him to be with us.
Patience works somewhat differently for each of us. Let me illustrate with the story of a 4-year-old boy and his mother who was on a long trip together. He kept asking the same question every few miles, "When are we going to get there?" Finally, his exasperated mother said, "We still have 90 more miles to go. Don’t ask me when we’re going to get there again." The little boy fell silent for a while & then he timidly asked one more question from the back seat, "Mom, will I still be four when we get there?" (8)
Conclusion:
1. We have an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate patience in our culture. We can do it with God’s help.
2. The next time someone cuts you off on the highway, instead of giving them a piece of your mind you can’t afford to be without, remember it was probably an accident.
3. When you are tempted to be impatient with your children or grandchildren, remember that you were once a child too. I’m not at all suggesting that you don’t make them behave, I’m talking about the fact that your children are going to be children because there are. . . well children.
4. I’m suggesting that you show others the patience, you want them to show you. As I conclude this morning, let me remind you that God has shown us patience & mercy by sending His Son for us. If you’re here this morning & have never asked Him into your life, would you do that this morning? Let’s pray!
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1) Frank Gaebelein, Ed. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Corporation) 1998.
2) Thayer’s Greek Definitions, (Cedar Rapids, IA: Parsons Technology) 1999.
3) Timothy George, The New Ameican Commentary: Galatians, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press) 1994.
4) Scot McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary: Galatians, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Corp.) 1995.
5) Donald Guthrie, The New Century Bible Commentary: Galatians, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company) 1981.
6) Philip Kenneson, Life On The Vine, (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press) 1999.
7) Joe Bedy, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached February, 2002.
8) Melvin Newland, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached August, 1997.
9) Jeff Ambrester, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached February, 2003.
10) R. David Reynolds, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached May, 2004.
11) Wade Hughes, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached May, 2002.
12) Larry Brincefi, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached February, 2004.
13) Bruce Allen, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached November, 2003.
14) James Westervelt, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached October, 2003.
15) Denn Guptill, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached Ocrober, 2002.
16) Jason Frazier, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached November, 2001.
17) Christopher Raiford, (Sermoncentral.com) selections from a sermon preached December, 2002.
