HOW TO DEVELOP PATIENCE #2
Patience, Persistence and Peace of Mind - Part 2 of 6
James 5:7-12
02-17-13 Sermon
1. WHEN TO BE PATIENT
* When
circumstances are ______________________________
"Be
patient then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer
waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is. . . " v. 7
* When
people are ______________________________
"As
an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who
spoke in the name of the Lord." v. 10
* When
problems are ______________________________
"You
have heard of Job's perseverance. . ." vs. 11b
2. WHY BE PATIENT?
* Because
God ______________________________
"Be
patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." vs. 8
".
. . resting your hearts on the ultimate certainty. . ." (Phillips)
When
you are tempted to be impatient, remember…
It
may be out of my control but this situation is not ______________________
God's
purpose for your life is greater than any __________________________
God's
timing is ___________________
*
Because
God ______________________________
"As
you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered." vs. 11a
"Blessed
are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of
evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. . ." Matthew. 5:13-14
* Because
God ______________________________
"You
have heard of Job's perseverance, and have seen what the Lord finally
brought about. The Lord is
full of compassion and mercy."
vs. 11b
God's
delays are not ____________________
"God is at work within you both to will
and to do His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13
"For in all things God works together
for good." Romans 8:28
3. HOW TO BE PATIENT (WHAT TO DO WHILE
YOU'RE WAITING FOR GOD)
* Wait
______________________________ (vs. 7)
".
. . I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for He has promised." Ps. 130:5 (LB)
"The
Lord says. . . No one who waits for My help will be disappointed." Isa. 49:23 (GN)
* Wait
______________________________ (vs. 9)
"Don't grumble against each other
brothers or you'll be judged." James
5:9
"It
is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Lam. 3:26
"These
things won't happen right away.
Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be
fulfilled. If it seems slow, do
not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Hab. 2;3 (LB)
* Wait
______________________________ vs. 11b
"I
will wait confidently for God. . . " Micah 7:7
HOPE – H_____________ O____, P___________
E_________________
HOW TO DEVELOP PATIENCE #2
Patience, Persistence and Peace of Mind - Part 2 of 6
James 5:7-12
02-17-13 Sermon
Would you agree that we're in
a very impatient culture? Technology has trained us to expect instant
gratification. We want it and we
want it now. As quickly as possible. We are the now generation.
We have been programmed to be
impatient. We hate to wait. We despise delays. We don't like anything that takes time. We want it and we want it now. We want overnight success, instant
wealth, quick solutions to our problems, rapid recovery from illnesses. But the reality of life is you spend a
large part of your life just flat out waiting and that's all you can do. It's logical to know that one of the
keys to your happiness is to develop the quality of patience in your life.
Last week we looked at this
-- How to Develop Patience -- but I wasn't quite through with what I wanted to
say so I decided I'd hold it over to this week just to make you wait! In James 5, James mentions the word
"patience" or "persistence" six times. He gives us three illustrations -- the
farmer, the prophet, and the person of Job as examples of how, why and when to
be patient.
First he says when we should
be patient.
I. WHEN
TO BE PATIENT
1. When
circumstances are uncontrollable.
The fact is, many things in
life are beyond your control. Have
you ever had to wait on a plane?
There's absolutely nothing you can do. You just sit there.
Have you ever been stuck in traffic?
James gives us the
illustration of the farmer. He
says "Be patient then brothers until
the Lord's coming. See how the
farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he
is." He says farming
requires a lot of patience. In a
farmer's life a lot of things are out of his control. He can plant, water, harvest, cultivate. But a lot of things are out of his
control -- the weather, the soil, the rain, the sun. He has to be patient.
2. When
people are unchangeable.
That's another fact of life
that some people are never going to change and your only choice is to just be
patient with them. The example he
gives is that of a prophet. He
says a prophet's duty is to change people, to turn the person back to God. He says "As an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the
prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord." He says it wasn't a very happy job because people naturally
resist change and they resent people who try to change them.
Have you ever tried to change
anybody? A husband, wife, son,
daughter, somebody at work. Let's
say, for example, you wives develop a Personal Improvement Program for your
husband. You say, "You're not cooperating!" He says, "You're trying to change me!" We resist change.
Some people are never going to change and you've got to know how to deal
with them. As a parent, you need
to be patient. As a pastor, I need
to be patient. As a partner, you
need to be patient. As a
professional, you need to be patient.
3. When
problems are unexplainable.
The only thing you can do is
be patient. It is a fact of life
is that life is not always fair. Things don't always turn out right. There's not always a happy ending to things. Sometimes you're just not going to understand
why things happen the way they do.
You're just not going to know why.
He says the only alternative is learn to be patient.
The classic example of this
is Job. v. 11 "You have heard of
Job's perseverance." Job
played in the Superbowl of Suffering.
He won the championship. He
was the wealthiest man alive in his time.
He owned a huge spread, a ranch.
He had lots of cattle, lots of children. One day, in about 48 hours, he lost everything. All of his kids were murdered. He went bankrupt. He got a terrible, painful disease and
all of his friends left him. He
went from hero to zero overnight!
He loses it all and his lovely wife comes to him and says, "Job! Why don't you curse God and die?" That's a support system! It's interesting that God took away
everything in his life except a nagging wife.
But the most important thing
-- the worst part of Job's circumstance was that there was no apparent reason
or explanation given for his suffering.
Job has no idea why it's happening. It doesn't make sense.
"Why me?" For 37 chapters in the book of Job, God
is absolutely silent. He doesn't
give him a hint of what's going on.
God knows what's going on but Job doesn't. For 37 chapters God is silent. The point is, when God is silent, I've got to be
patient. Patience is really
trusting God. It's trusting God
when God doesn't give the answer to your "Why? Why is this happening? This unexplainable problem?" The solution is be patient. Just like Job. Patience is trusting God when He
doesn't explain why.
II. WHY
BE PATIENT?
Then why should I be
patient? If He doesn't explain it
why should I be patient? Three
reasons:
1.
Because God is in control
v. 8 "Be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is
near." Underline
"the Lord's coming is near".
It's interesting that three times in this passage it says Jesus is
coming back. The Bible talks more about Jesus' second coming (which is yet to
happen) than it does about His first coming at Christmas time 2000 years
ago. Why did he bring that up when
he was talking about patience?
Because the second coming of
Christ is the ultimate proof that God is in control. It doesn't matter what the headlines say about the middle
east or about Asia, South America, Canada, Africa -- God is in control. History is moving toward a climax.
Everything's on schedule. God has
a plan and a purpose. History is
"His story". Phillips
translation says, "Resting your
hearts on the ultimate certainty..." The first reason to be patient is God's in control.
On a personal level, God has
a purpose and a plan for your life. We've talked about that many times. When
you're tempted to be impatient you need to remind yourself of two or three
things.
One, It may be out
of my control but this situation is not out of God's control. Maybe I can't do anything about it but
God can, so I need to be patient.
God's purpose for your life is greater than any
problem you're facing. No matter what problem you're facing,
God has a purpose behind that problem and that purpose is greater than any
problem you're facing, even ones you've brought on yourself. You need to be patient.
And, third, God's timing is perfect. He's never late. A delay does not mean a denial. God is in control. A delay never destroys God's
purpose. Be patient. He's in control.
2. Another
reason to be patient is…Because God rewards it.
God rewards patience. v. 11 "As you know we consider blessed those who have persevered." Circle "blessed". He's saying that it pays to be
patient. It's profitable. It's more profitable to be patient than
it is to be impatient.
There are tremendous benefits
if you'll learn to develop patience in your life. Many more blessings will come into your life if you're
patient than if you're impatient.
For instance, you'll be honored by other people. Nobody ever honors impatient people; we
honor people who have patience.
Are relationships better when you're patient or when you're
impatient? When you're patient. So
you have better relationships.
You're honored by others.
It builds character in your life.
There are all kinds of rewards and blessings that come into your life,
so be patient just for the blessings that will come to you.
If not in this life, he says,
there are eternal blessings. The
Bible teaches that every time somebody ticks you off or irritates you or
criticizes you or puts you down, when you respond to that in a patient way,
when you don't retaliate, the Bible says that you're stocking up rewards in
heaven, every time you're patient.
Matthew 5:13-14 "Blessed are you when people insult
you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is
your reward in heaven."
Circle "reward in heaven". When somebody at work attacks you, criticizes you, puts you
down or somebody at school or somebody in your home irritates you, calls you a
name and you don't retaliate, God says, "I'm
counting that one!" Every
time you are patient, you're building rewards in heaven. Great, it says, will be your
reward.
The fact is, if we're honest,
one of the strongest and most natural inclinations is that when we're hurt we want
to hurt back. If you criticize me,
I want to criticize you. If you
put me down, I want to put you down.
If you hurt me, I want to hurt you. If you attack me, I want to attack you. That's the most natural thing in
life. God says you need to go against
what's natural and you need to be patient.
The pastor and Christian
writer, Chuck Swindoll , said one time he got out of a car in a parking lot to
go grocery shopping. As he opened
the door, he banged the door of the car next to him. It was just light.
The guy was sitting in the car.
He looked and there was nothing wrong. It hadn't dented either car. He said, "Sorry!" As he walked away something told
him to turn around. He could see
the guy had gotten out of his car, walked around to the other side to open his
door and slam it against Swindoll's.
Chuck said, "Every fiber in
my body said `Go over and knock that guy's lights out!'" Then he said he got to thinking about
the headline, "Pastor kills man in
parking lot!" or even worse, "Man
kills pastor in parking lot!"
You've got to learn to be
patient. Don't be irritated
easily. God will reward your patience.
This week when somebody
criticizes you or they put you down or insult you or slander you in some way,
when you're about ready to retaliate, before you strike back, stop and ask
yourself, "Is this worth giving up
eternal rewards for?"
Most of the time it's not.
In fact, it never is.
You'll enjoy those rewards for eternity and that is nothing in comparison
to the momentary feeling of pleasure you're going to get by sounding off,
blowing up, retaliating.
James says first you need to
be patient because God's in control. And if God's in control, He has more in
His arsenal for getting even than you do.
One day God's going to settle the score. God says, "Either
you can settle the score or you can let Me settle the score. Who can do a better job of it?" He's saying "Be patient, I'm in control.
Be patient because I will reward it not only here on earth with better
relationships but also in heaven."
3. A
third reason to be patient is…Because God is working things out
Behind the scenes, God is
working things out. v. 11b "You have heard of Job's perseverance,
and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." He wants us to be like Him. Circle "finally". It says eventually God settled the
score, God solved the problem, God explained the question that Job had and He
brought him out of all of his misery.
The point is that God's delays are not God's denials. God is working it out.
While I'm waiting, God is
working. You need to burn that
truth into your mind. While I am
waiting, God is working. It may
not look like it. In fact, usually
God is working behind the scenes. He is working in ways that you cannot see
visibly. But while you are waiting
on that uncontrollable circumstance, unchangeable person, unexplainable problem
-- while you're waiting, God is working.
Count on it! He's working.
This is what the illustration
of the farmer is all about. While
the farmer is out there waiting for his crops to sprout and grow and be
harvested, where is God in all of this?
God is working. God is bringing about the conditions that will cause
that plant to sprout, to grow, and give fruit.
Philippians 2:13 "God is at work within you both to will
and to do His good pleasure."
What does this mean?
You say, "I'm a Christian, but I don't see any growth in my life. I don't
feel like anything's happening.
I've been waiting for this marriage to turn around but it hasn't. I've been waiting for this financial
situation to reverse, but it hasn't. I’ve been waiting for my child to change,
but it hasn’t happened. I’ve been
waiting…”"
God is working in you -- in
you -- while you're waiting. You
may not see it but God is working in your life and one day it's going to sprout
and blossom. Just because a plant
hasn't come up above the ground doesn't mean it's not growing. It is. But it's got to push up through the ground first. There's some growth that's not seen before you see the growth that
is seen.
Romans 8:28 "For in all things God works together
for good." In all things,
God works. That means even in the
bad things, God works. Even the
things that catch me off guard, they don't catch God off guard. God is never surprised. God saw the crisis coming. He's in control. He will reward patience. He's working it out. He wants you to trust Him.
As I said last week, patience
is a form of faith. How long can
you wait? That's a mark of
maturity. Little kids can't wait
at all. But mature people know how
to wait. They know the difference
between No and Not yet. So you
wait because in all things God is working. Even in the things I don't like, God is working. Even in the things I don't understand,
God is working. Even in the things He doesn't explain to me, God is
working.
I don't know what problem
you're facing this morning, but I do know this: While you are waiting, God is working. You need to trust Him.
WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WHILE YOU'RE WAITING ON
GOD?
James answers that, too. He tells us When to be patient and Why
to be patient and then How to be patient.
Using these illustrations of the farmer and the prophet and Job, he
says...
1. I've
got to wait expectantly, like the farmer.
Like the farmer in v. 7, I
need to wait expectantly. What
does a farmer do while he's waiting?
He prepares. He doesn't plant
the seed and then go spend a year in Florida. He's the whole time anticipating, expecting, that there's
going to be a harvest, so he starts getting ready for it.
Psalm 130:5 (Living Bible) "I wait expectantly trusting God to
help for He's promised."
What have you been waiting for God to do in your life? For your marriage to be turned
around? For a financial situation
to be reversed? For a loved one to
come to/come back to Christ? To
heal a hurt? For a physical healing? For my teenager to get his/her life
back in line?
On these things you're
waiting on... One, Are you really
expecting it to happen? Because the bible says "According to your faith it will be done to you." Some of you really don't expect it to
happen. Do you expect it to happen?
Two, If you expect it to
happen, what are you doing to get ready for it? Because faith prepares. That's what it means to expect. It means you prepare in advance. While
you're waiting, be preparing, because that demonstrates faith.
I've discovered that many
times I thought I was waiting on God, many times God was waiting on me. You need to get your act in order. You need to get prepared for it, for
the blessing God wants to give you.
Once you're ready and once you've learned patience and once you've built
the character you need, God will answer.
"You're not waiting on
Me," says God. "I'm waiting on you! I'm waiting on you to make the changes
necessary so I can bless your life."
Isaiah 49:23 "The Lord says, `No one who waits for
My help will be disappointed.'"
Even Jesus... He spent thirty
years in a carpenter's shop and then He spent three years in public ministry --
from age 30 to 33. He accomplished
more in three years than any of us will do in our lifetime. I'm sure that during those first 30
years in the carpenter's shop, He was probably sometimes saying to the Father, "I'm ready. You sent Me here to earth to do this. I'm ready. Let's go. Let's
get on with it! I'm tired of pounding
nails." God said, "No, the time is not right yet. Trust Me." If Jesus Christ had
to wait, then certainly we do too.
But you wait expectantly. "I wait expectantly trusting God to
help."
2. You
wait quietly.
We don't mind waiting as long
as we can complain about it. If we
can grumble about it, we can handle it. I don't mind standing in line or having
to wait if I can gripe and mumble and complain.
James, in this passage, gives
us two things not to do. He says
you need to manage your mouth. v.
9 Don't grumble. "Don't grumble against each other
brothers or you'll be judged."
New English Bible says, "Don't
blame your troubles on one another."
He says if you're going to
learn to wait, you wait expectantly and you wait quietly. That means you don't gripe about it
while you're waiting. Do you rise
and whine in the morning? You say,
"I come home at night dog
tired." It's because
you've been growling all day! I
heard of the lady who was a real complainer and nag. When her husband died she put on his tombstone, "Rest in peace." When she read the will, she found out
that he had left her five bucks and left everything else of his estate to his
secretary. She had the tombstone
changed to "... till we meet
again!"
Do you grumble? Do you gripe? The Bible says Don't
grumble.
I have learned that the more
expensive the restaurant, the longer the wait. I've done a scientific study that there are actually five
types of waiting that you do when you're in a restaurant. First, you wait to get a seat. Then you wait to get the menu. Then you wait to order. Then you wait to get the meal. Then the longest wait of all is the
wait to get the bill. Then they
have the audacity to call that guy the waiter. I'm the waiter.
He's the wait-ee.
The Bible says when you're
waiting, you wait expectantly and you wait quietly. You don't grumble about it. He says, Wait quietly.
Don't grumble. Don't
complain. Manage your mouth.
Lamentations 3:26 "It is good to wait quietly for the
salvation of the Lord."
The word "patience" in this chapter is Greek word makrothumos -- "makro" means "long", "thumos" means "heat". Like a thermometer is a thumos-meter --
a heat meter, a thermostat is a heat controller. So makrothumos is
the original word for patience. It
means "long heat". It
means you don't get hot quickly, it takes you a long time to get hot. That's what patience means. You've got a long fuse rather than a
short fuse. You don't blow
up. You don't get overheated real
quickly. That's what it means to
be patient. That's what you need
to develop if you're going to be like God and if you're going to be happy.
Habakkuk 2:3 (Living Bible) "These things won't happen right
away. Slowly, steadily, surely,
the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these
things will surely come to pass.
Just be patient! They will
not be overdue a single day."
Some of you need to cut this
verse out and put it up on your refrigerator. What is your vision?
What's your dream? What's
your goal in life? What is the
deepest prayer request of your heart?
The Bible says, "These things
won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the
vision will be fulfilled. If it
seems slow do not despair for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient. They will not be overdue a single
day." God's timing is
perfect. God says the vision will
be fulfilled. Just be
patient. If it seems slow do not
despair for these things will surely come to pass.
3. You
wait confidently.
Micah 7:7 "I wait confidently for God." When the outlook is bad, you look
up. This is what hope is. It's confident expectation.
HOPE -- Holding On, Praying Expectantly.
How do you show confidence
when you're waiting? By not
wiggling. By standing still. How
many times in the Old Testament does it say, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!" Don't get nervous. Don't get antsy. Don't get the spiritual wiggles. Wait
confidently. Don't get nervous.
Let's get real personal and
practical. Where do you need
patience the most this next week?
Some of you are facing uncontrollable circumstances. They're out of your control. Or some
bad thing has happened. What do
you do?
You wait. You wait on God.
Some of you are dealing with
an unchangeable person. It's
frustrating when you want your marriage to work but the other person isn't
willing to put the effort into it.
You're willing to change but they aren't. It's frustrating when you, as a parent, say the same thing
over and over to your kids and it just doesn't seem to get through. It's frustrating when you have those
irritating relatives, those irregular people and they're just kind of ... not
all there. They're irritating and
they're never going to change. And
they're coming for vacation!
How do you deal with it? You trust God.
Some of you are dealing with
unexplainable problems. Maybe you
feel like Job's twin and you're saying, "Why me?" It just doesn't seem to make any
sense. "Why has this happened
to me?" What do you do?
First you remember. Remember that God is in control. It's out of your control but it's not
out of His. You remember that He
rewards patience and you remember that while you're waiting, He's working. Then you wait. And you wait confidently, and you wait
quietly, and you wait expectantly.
Prayer:
I
invite you to pray and prayer in your heart right now. "Jesus Christ, I
need more patience. Would You help
me be patient this week, Jesus?
Would You help me to remember that You are in control? Would You help me to remember that Your
purpose for my life is greater than the problems I'm facing, that nothing is
beyond Your power? Help me to
remember that You will reward patience, if not in this life, in heaven. Help me to be patient. Help me to remember that You are
working behind the scenes, that even when I can't see it, You're working in
hearts. Jesus, would You help me
to wait expectantly? To prepare
for the answer while I'm waiting?
And to expect You to work in this situation. Help me to wait quietly, to not grumble and complain. And when I'm irritated to not take out
my frustrations on those around me.
Help me to wait confidently, to be still and not get anxious or worried
or nervous. Help me to plant good
seeds of patience and expect a harvest."
Father,
we thank You for Your word, that it is practical and it helps us in life. We pray that we would be patient people
this week. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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