How Can We Develop True Patience?

1 How Can We Develop true Patience? Waiting Does Not Always Equal PatienceMartin G. CollinsGiven 15-Jan-05; Sermon #701 Wehavejustcomethroughthetimeofyearwhenth emanifestationofthetruenatureofpeople is seen at its worst. Crime soars! Attitudes flair! Impatience flourishes!Iknowthatyouhaveprobablyfeltt hiswaywhenyouweredriving, ,toandfro,inafrenzytocelebrateChristmas, Hanukkah, ,theNewYear'sholidaycameandpeoplerushedt ogototheirpartiestodrink,frolic,andplay, 'squip,"Patienceissomethingyouadmireinth edriverbehindyou,butnotintheoneahead."Th atistruefor all of us ,MargaretThatcher,ex-PrimeMinisterofEngl and,whowasreferredtoas"TheIronLady," ,"IamextraordinarilypatientprovidedIgetm yownwayintheend."Althoughshewastryingtob e witty, her comment was revealing with regard to human "Impatiencemas" ,shoplifting,burglary,drunkenness,glutto ny,familyviolence, ,'tistheseasontobejolly ifby"jolly,"you mean sinful!

2 ProbablythemostridiculousstatementaboutC hristmasis,"WeneedtoputJesusbackintoChri stmas."HowcanweputsomethingintoChristmas thatwasneverthere?Thepaganwintersolstice celebrationhadChrist'snamesyncretizedint oit;butnothingelseinitinanywayrepresents Christ,asyouallwellknow! :ThereisnothingaboutHischaracterthatisse en in that winter solstice , 'patiencewassoextraordinarytotheapostleP aulthatitisoneofthetwomainthingsheemphas izedinhisprayerfortheHow Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 1 of 19church in :5 NowmaytheLorddirectyourheartsintothelove ofGod and into the patience of , ;and"whenHewasreviled,didnotrevile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten."Earlier,PaulurgedtheThessaloni cachurchtoperformtheirChristiandutiesinc ludingbeing patient as a required priority for those who love :14 Nowweexhortyou,brethren,warnthosewhoareu nruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with ,theconversionofbecoming more like "patienceinrespecttopersons,longsufferin g,"aswellas"endurance,""puttingupwiththi ngsorcircumstances,"and"perseverance.

3 " In a general sense, patience is being slow to ,theapostlePaulwrote,isoneofthefruits,or results,ofGod' ,Ithinkituseslongsufferingandinothertran slations, ,inonesense, ,wewillbecomemorelikeHim;andthat includes patience. It is not enough to just act patient; we must actually be Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 2 of 19 PatienceisacharacteristicofGodthatmanyma instream"Christians" 'smercytowardSaul,whowaslatercalledPaul, displaysHisunlimitedpatienceandmercy, 'spatiencewithHispeople,ancientIsrael, , told Solomon,IIChronicles7:14ifMypeoplewhoare calledbyMynamewillhumblethemselves,andpr ayandseekMyface,andturnfromtheirwickedwa ys,then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their :humility,prayer,seeking(thatis,zealousl ytryingtobelikeGodandlivingHiswayoflife) , ; it is an ongoing process to Develop that Godly !

4 HesentHisprophetsforgenerationsbeforeexi lingIsraelandJudah to foreign lands. Nehemiah acknowledged this while praying to God:Nehemiah9:30 YetformanyyearsYouhadpatiencewiththem, ; therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the "thecapacity,habit,orfactofbearingpainso rtrialscalmly,orwithoutcomplaint." :oneisbeinginanunpleasantbutcommonsituat ion;andtwo, ,patienceusuallyindicatesacalm,abidingen durance,sometimesassociatedwithwisdom or :11 Thediscretionofamanmakeshimslowtoanger,a ndhisglory is to overlook a Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 3 of 19 Wehavetobepatientwhenthingsaregoingwell, aswellasintimesoftrial;butourpatiencesee mstobetriedmorewhenweareunderduress,tria l, ,andHetoldthemhowtheyshouldhandle it:Luke 21:19 By your patience possess your souls. (NKJV)Luke 21:19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.

5 (ESV)Patiencehasanelementofenduranceinit ;infact, ,byourpatientenduranceinfaithfulnesstoGo d, ,wehaveourpart to play in the gift that God is going to be giving apostle James wrote something similar about profiting from trials:James1:2-4 Mybrethren,countitalljoywhenyoufallintov arioustrials, its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking , ,suffering, , "optimisticorhopefulendurance,patientcon tinuanceorwaiting."WilliamBarclaydefines itthisway:"..thequalitywhichmakesamanabl e,notsimplytosufferthings,buttovanquisht hem."Thereareelementsofoptimism, determination, endurance, and patience in his , Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 4 of , ,throughallofthis,hislack of complaining is extraordinary. He was a man of great patient , and continue with ,asGod'speople,havingfaithinGodandhaving Himcareforus, more cheerful than pessimists; that is just a fact of ,ifweareunemployed, , ,you know that is a true , ,throughouradvocateJesusChrist, , ,Godmaymakeuswait;butatleastweknow,byHis seemingnon-intervention, ,positively,andfaithfully,thelackofGod's interventiononourbehalf,atleastinourview ,mayverywell and probably does indicate that the time just is not ,asweseeintheParableofthePersistentWidow foundinLuke18:1-8, ,andwearepraying, ,weshowthatwestillwantGod'ssolutiontothe problemandarecalmlyassuredthatGodknowswh atis best for us and when and how to :13 Notemptationhasovertakenyouexceptsuchasi sHow Can We Develop true Patience?

6 By Martin G. Collins ( )Page 5 of 19commontoman;butGodisfaithful,whowillno tallowyoutobetemptedbeyondwhatyouareable ,butwiththetemptationwillalsomakethewayo fescape, that you may be able to bear , that it helps keep us from falling away from the :5-10 Butalsoforthisveryreason,givingalldilige nce,addtoyourfaithvirtue,tovirtueknowled ge,toknowledgeself-control,toself-contro lperseverance,toperseverancegodliness,to godlinessbrotherlykindness, , ,eventoblindness, ,brethren,beevenmorediligenttomakeyourca llandelectionsure,forifyoudothesethings you will never stumble; ,butGod' ,asdotheIsraelites in , , human traits that you will see, but these are what I should be able to do this faster and better than I am. [I saw self-exaltationwith unreasonable expectation]He should understand me the first time so I do not have to repeat myself.

7 [Isee a self-willed trait in that]I have so much to accomplish I will never be able to do it all. [There is anHow Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 6 of 19element of pessimism in that]There is no way that I can ever be helped to change. I am an impossible case.[Faithlessness stands out]There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Why is it that everyone Icome in contact with chooses the wrong way? [Self-righteousness]Why can she not change quicker than what she is? [Again, self-righteousness]Everyone should be as excited about the desire to grow and change as I am.[Self-righteousness again]I want this done yesterday. [Self-centeredness, selfishness]It makes no difference how far along I am if I have not accomplished mytarget goals. [Self-delusion, maybe]I cannot stand such things as diets, counseling, physical therapy, allergydesensitization, and orthodontics; they all take too long before results arevisible.

8 [ I see self-denial with shortsightedness in that one]I could never accomplish my goal of growth and change, so there is no use ineven getting started. [Self-will with an excuse]Whenwethinkofpatience, , ,wewillcauseourselvesagreatamountofanxie ty, ; ,"We,"here,the"we"ismostlyat this :13 ForitisGodwhoworksinyoubothtowillandtodo forHisgood we learn to cooperate with Him, He will complete His work in :6 Beingconfidentofthisverything,thatHewhoh asbegunagood work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 7 of ; ,butwehavetobewillingtoaccessthisspiritu alpoweraswesubmittoHisshaping and molding of our character in preparation for His , bible speaks of two kinds of hope when it comes to patience:The hope of fulfillment that is, the expectation that God will come throughon His hope of rescue that is, the expectation that God will rescue us from oursufferings, that there will be a Day of Judgment when evil is punished andjustice is ,intheserviceofGod'sWork,underwenthardsh ipsthatwetodaycanhardly imagine.

9 Yet he endured patiently, and exhorted others to do the :3-5 Andnotonlythat,butwealsogloryintribulati ons,knowingthattribulationproducespersev erance;andperseverance,character;andchar acter, ,becausetheloveofGodhas been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to 'spromisesandHisrescueseemslowincoming,b utitisimportanttounderstandGod' today,tomorrow,ornextweek, ,God'splansoperatenotjustoverdaysorweeks , but over years, centuries, and even :7-9 RestintheLOORD,andwaitpatientlyforHim;do notfretbecauseofhimwhoprospersinhisway, ,andforsakewrath;donotfret ;butthosewhowaiton the LOORD, they shall inherit the Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 8 of 19 OntheFeastofTrumpets,afewyearsago, ,arewewaitingpatiently?If,inmymind,Iamst illinahurry,Iamnotwaitingpatiently! ,ashumannaturedictates, waiting turns into 'spatienceisoneofthemanyreasonsGodconsid eredAbrahamHis :13-15 ForwhenGodmadeapromisetoAbraham,becauseH ecouldswearbynoonegreater,HesworebyHimse lf,saying,"SurelyblessingIwillblessyou,a ndmultiplyingIwillmultiplyyou.

10 "Andso,afterhehad patiently endured, he obtained the ,whichJameslatermadeaspecialpointofrefer ringtoinJames5 ,unlikeSaulwhoprecededhim,hadgreatpatien ce, 'spsalmsarefilledwithexpressionsofthisat titudeofpatience:Psalm25:5,21 LeadmeinYourtruthandteachme,forYouarethe Godofmysalvation; , for I wait for :14 WaitontheLOORD;beofgoodcourage,andHeshal lstrengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LOORD!Psalm40:1 IwaitedpatientlyfortheLOORD;andHeincline dtome,andheardmy :1 TrulymysoulsilentlywaitsforGod;fromHimco mesmyHow Can We Develop true Patience? by Martin G. Collins ( )Page 9 of 130:5 I wait for the LOORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do ,livingrighteouslives,practicinggodlypat ienceandenduringtotheendofthisage ortotheendsofourphysicallives , ,oftheglorythatwillcome,welongwithallour heartsforthefullbenefitsofGod's ,notwillingly,butbecauseofHimwhosubjecte ditinhope; ,butwealsowhohavethefirstfruitsoftheSpir it,evenweourselvesgroanwithinourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our 'screationsetsanexampleofpatienceforusas itawaitsthefulfillmentofHisplanofreprodu cingHimselfthroughus!