What Is Spirituality (7 Of 7)

In this passage of scripture, Peter tells us a number of things we need to add to our faith, such as: VIRTUE, KNOWLEDGE, TEMPERANCE, and he tells us we also need to add PATIENCE.

Patience give us a difficult time. After all, we are the society that invented:

• Fast food

• Microwaves

• The Concorde jet

• Drive-through service

• Pizza delivery in 20 minutes or less

• Express lanes (Confession time, how many have you ever found yourself counting the number of items of the person in front of you in the express checkout line? Raise your hand).

If you want to get some folks upset these days, all you have to do is slow them down for a few seconds.

Illus: A father, who worked away from home all week, always made a special effort to be with his family on the weekends. Every Saturday afternoon he would take his daughter out for a drive in the car. One particular Saturday however, he had such a bad cold that he really didn't feel like driving at all. Luckily, his wife came to the rescue and decided that particular Saturday she would take their daughter out. They returned, and the daughter immediately ran to her father who was laying down. He said, "Did you enjoy your ride with Mommy?" "Oh yes Daddy" the girl replied, "And do you know what... we didn't see a single IDIOT on the hi-

WHY ARE WE LIKE THIS? For two reasons:

(1) PATIENCE IS CONTRARY TO OUR NATURE

From the moment we’re born, we want things taken care of right away.

For example, when a baby wakes up in the middle of the night and is hungry, it doesn’t lie there and think, “I know mom and dad are tired, so I’ll just wait until breakfast time.” No, the baby cries impatiently until it receives the attention it demands.

Many of us haven’t changed much since those days.

(2) PATIENCE IS CONTRARY TO OUR SOCIETY

Those of you who have traveled to other countries recognize that Americans are wound pretty tight.

Illus: A lonely guy decided life would be more fun if he had a pet. He went to the pet store and told the owner that he wanted to buy an unusual pet. After some discussion, he decided on a centipede. He liked the little centipede because it had all those legs. The store owner placed the little centipede in a match box and sold him to him. He took the centipede home, found a good location for the box, and then decided he would start off by taking his new pet to a restaurant to have dinner.

He asked the centipede in the box, "Would you like to go to Wendy’s with me to have dinner?" There was no answer from his new pet. This bothered him a bit, but he waited a few minutes and then asked him again, "How about going to Wendy’s with me?" But again, there was no answer from his new friend and pet.

So he waited a few minutes more, thinking about the situation. He decided to ask him one more time; this time putting his face up against the centipede’s house and shouting, "Hey, in there! Would you like to go to Wendy’s with me to have dinner?" A little voice came out of the box from the centipede: "I heard you the first time! I’m putting on my shoes!!"

Everything in our culture is fast. We hate delay.

Illus: I heard about a furniture store that had a sign on its window, “Antiques, while you wait.”

Illus: Max Lucado says, “America, the country of shortcuts and fast lanes. We’re the only nation on earth with a mountain called, ‘Rushmore.’”

Illus: Someone wrote a poem that goes like this, “Patience is a virtue, Possess it if you can. Found seldom in a woman, Never in a man.” (Or is it the other way around!)

As a man, what I want to know is this, “Why is the hour when traffic moves the slowest called the “Rush Hour”? Shouldn’t they call it the “Slow Hour”.

Listen, PATIENCE gives us a difficult time. But God’s Word says we should ADD TO OUR FAITH, PATIENCE!

You and I will have a hard time convincing people we are Christ-like if we live a life of IMPATIENCE!

WHAT IS PATIENCE? Biblically speaking, “Patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control."

• Now that is interesting, because in the sermon before this one, Peter told us to add to our faith TEMPERANCE which means we are exercising SELF CONTROL.

• But listen, if we do not recognize GOD IS IN CONTOL then we are not going to have SELF-CONTROL

Peter says that if we are going to be the SPIRITUAL INDIVIDUAL God wants us to be, we need to ADD TO OUR FAITH, PATIENCE.