Patience

Introduction

Good morning. Love hearing that. You’re visiting with us this morning. You are our guests of honor, and we are so glad that you have chosen to be worshiping with us at the South Bumbi Church of Christ. If you’re visiting with us, we ask of you to stick around a while and come to get to know us a little bit. Don’t rush off right away and uh visit with us after this morning’s lesson. And uh all of our members here would just love to get to know you and thank you for being with us here at the South Bumbi Church of Christ. Get a little upset if I got to wait for anything. You ever said that or heard somebody or seen the expression on someone’s face where they have to wait and wait and wait.

Kind of interesting when we talk about the idea of waiting or the idea of taking some time for something. A lot of people look at the word in the Bible, the word patience, and they think the word patience means something that they have to do just in that instant. That patience is something that is like a switch you can just turn on and or turn off like a light switch and say, This is the point where I need to activate my patience. This morning we’re going to talk about patience, but we’re going to talk about patience, Lord willing, using biblical examples, and also Lord willing looking at examples from the Bible and looking at the ways God speaks on patience. Patience implies to wait, endure, or suffer as a highly developed choice of willpower.

It’s not just a momentary command to activate your endurance. I once saw a guy who got ready to start a race, and it was a it was not a sprint, it was a long distance, like a cross-country race, and he just took off, started running the race, and of course he got weary very quick. The idea of patience in the original writer’s words come from two Greek words, pupomone and makrothromia, two different Greek words that are used in the Bible to talk about long suffering or patience. These two words are mentioned many, many times in the New Testament text, and the original word patience, even in the book of Job, is not mentioned so much in the Hebrew language. If you have access to the public domain free version of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, there’s an excellent, excellent writing on the term patience in there, which is where I condensed this from.

But what I want to basically say about patience to sum up when we talk about patience is that patience is a life walk, not an insta walk. I remember one time I was outside of a uh of a shopping center, I believe it was Walmart, and there was a vending machine, I believe it was Red Box, and I was standing second in line between another person, and someone up came behind me in line to a vending machine, DVD uh machine, and I said, Isn’t this great? You can just get your DVD right away right here at this, right at this vending machine. And the lady goes, Yeah, but it’s just so long. I thought, wow, it’s a vending machine. But that lady got her wish because now everybody doesn’t even use those because they have it instantly with Netflix or however they get their DVDs that aren’t even DVDs anymore, but movies some other way.

There are a lot of people that they want things right away. And patience is something that God tells us we need to develop. Patience is something that God says we need to look into the examples of the people in the Bible that had a sense of understanding. God gave us a Bible to read and we need to study it and understand there were men in the Bible and women in the Bible that took a long look at their life and said, I can endure, I can get through the hardship, I can get through whatever malady this is, or I can suffer through the persecution, like Daniel during the time of the captivity. I can have challenges in my life and still get through the challenge because I know my God is greater than any malady I face today.

1. Biblical Examples of Patience: Job and Jesus

And when I think of patience, I don’t know about you, but I go first and foremost in the Old Testament to a book called Job. In Job chapter 1, verses 2 through 1, just scan this with me. I won’t read every verse. But in the land of us, there was a man by the name of Job, one who feared God and shunned evil. And Satan came to God and said, You’ve built a hedge around this fellow. You’ve made his life easy. And God said unto this one, this uh when the angels of God came to present themselves before him, he said, uh, have you not considered my servant Job? So when you look at that context, you need to see that God had faith in man.

A lot of times we talk about the idea of we need to put our faith in God, we need to put our trust in God. Here in this particular context, God goes to the worst of the worst of the of the of the spiritual powers to the devil, and he says, Have you considered my servant Job? Have you considered him? And he looks through the situation and he says, Well, you’ve built a hedge around him. You made his life easy. Well, then, as you look as the chapters uh go on and on and on throughout the book, uh, it says that uh people came and and and uh uh bad things happened to different ones in his family, and all of his children died. And there was one servant that would come up to him and said, Oh, oh, it’s really bad.

Oh, this uh this destruction, this dismal thing has happened, and I alone have escaped to tell you. And then the next one and the next one to find out that all of his his children pass away. And then he gets really sad. He does a Jewish custom where he rinse his garments or tears his garments, and he says, Naked did I come into this world, and naked shall I return. The Lord hath taken, and the Lord hath given, the Lord has blessed, and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I came here with nothing, and it feels like now I have nothing because my kids are gone, but blessed be the name of the Lord. And then the verse says in the scripture, in all of this, Job did not sin.

Job looked at the life that he had, and he said, I am going to endure. Then we see in the next passage of scripture, a little later in the book of Job, that uh Satan is allowed to afflict Job’s skin with a skin disease, and it’s a very terrible malady. And his wife comes to him, that’s Job’s wife, and says, Well, you should just say, curse God and die. And he says, Oh, you’re speaking like a foolish woman. I mean, God’s blessed us with so many things. Should we not see that God gives us blessings and bad things happen? But God is in control, and all things good will happen in God’s good time. And lo and behold, things do happen in God’s good time. He later on, Job uh is healed of his skin disease.

Evidently, he and his wife have more kids later. His life turns around and good things happen, but there’s this ebb and flow in his life of low points and high points. But the patriarch man named Job made a point very clearly in his life, and that was this. I’m not going to blame God for challenges. I’m going to endure with God through the challenges. That’s patience. I tend to think Job probably came up with the idea that I am going to endure these challenges before they happen. It says in the first few chapters of the book of Job that Job often would sacrifice for his kids on the days when they would have special uh celebrations or such in the event that they may have done something wrong.

And then there’s this other wonderful passage of scripture that we have in the book of Mark, verses 32 through 42 in the 14th chapter. I’d like you to turn to our first scripture that I will read this morning from the Bible, which is in Mark chapter 14, 32 through 42. Look at this with a passage that relates to Jesus.

That means olive press, which to his disciples were there, and he said, Sit here while I pray. And he took Peter and James and John with him, and they began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then he, that’s Christ, said to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch. This is Jesus telling his apostles, my soul is struggling, I’m I’m not feeling well, I’m sorrowful exceedingly. So watch, okay? Be on the alert. He went a little farther and fell on the ground and prayed, that if it were possible, this particular hour might pass from him. And he said, Ah, the Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.

And your plan is the cross will save the whole wide world, so that people will look to the cross and say, if God didn’t spare his only son, but gave his son as an offering for the world, then by all means he must love me if that’s salvation is for me, if that payment price is for me, that they’ll recognize God loves me. And Jesus says, I’m not going to bypass the cross if the cross is your plan. But nevertheless, he’s sad and he’s despondent and he’s really, really sad. He came and found Peter sleeping and said to him, Simon, could you not watch with me one hour or one segment of time? Could you not watch? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. And then he says, one thing is willing, but the other thing is weak.

He says, The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Sometimes we’re like that, aren’t we? In our mind, we know we want to do right, but in our flesh we don’t. I think it’s important that we recognize that Jesus knew that his apostles didn’t have the patience they needed to have. But yet Jesus at the time of Gethsemane was preparing his heart and preparing his mind to show them what it was like to exercise the epitome of patience. Some versions in the Bible take the word patience and translate it in some particular instances correctly, long suffering, or the idea of endurance through the challenge. And if there ever was a time where long suffering commenced, it was certainly at the cross. Where on the cross, as he suspended between heaven and earth, he says, Father, forgive them.

For where he turns to another and teaches a lesson. Or he turns to another and says to John, uh, take care of my mother. Or he turns to the whole crowd after he’s prayed, and he starts to sing a hymn. Eloy loy lama sabactinoi, quoting from the Psalms. Singing that hymn. You ever thought about Jesus beginning to sing while he’s on the cross? I’m an eerie, eerie kind of thing. That he would be able to do that and we sometimes don’t. I’d like to present a few things now in our lesson that more relate to us specifically. Of course, keeping this in mind that Jesus is our example for patience, and recalling Jesus’ patience with men and patience with people in Gethsemane and other places, it helps us understand that Jesus is our example, but there are plenty of scriptures that we could say also relate to us.

2. Patience With Our Spouse

What about patience with our spouse? What about patience with our children? What about patience with our Lord? And then what about patience with ourselves? In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 22, we read of a powerful passage of scripture that relates to a number of people.

He’s going to mention different ones that are mentioned. He’s going to talk to wives, he’s going to talk to husbands, he’s going to talk to children, he’s going to talk to parents, and he’s going to talk to servants or bosses and employees, if you will, in our vernacular or our day and age. But here in this particular passage of scripture, he says in the 22nd verse through 33, says, Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and he’s the savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wife be to their own husbands and everything. Then he says this. Husbands, love your wives.

Just as also Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.

You think they’d like because you know what you want, and you think you will love them the way you want to love them. That’s not his example. It’s a nice thing to do to think comparatively to what you might like and what you think is great, but that’s not what he says. He says, You love your wife as Christ loved the church and was willing to die for her, and was willing to give himself for her, that he might, verse 26, sanctify and cleanse her by the washing of water by the word, that he might present, yes, he’s presenting her to himself a glorious church, not having any such spot or wrinkle or thing like that, but it should be holy and without blemish. I love that.

He’s saying, you’re making your wife presentable spiritually based upon your connection to her. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ in the church, he will tell them. But at the same time, he’s basically saying, one husband’s be willing to die for your wife. One husband’s put your wife before you. Three husbands, on this on the third point, he’s making the point that, like Christ gave his life for the church, think about what he did on the cross. We’ve already mentioned one thing. One thing he did on the cross was he he forgave, he showed grace, he showed love, he showed sacrifice, he gave song. I don’t know when the last time you sang for your wife was, but maybe it was through suffering.

Maybe through it was through a challenge. Many of those, perhaps who have lost a loved one, know that that’s very difficult. And sometimes they might say, like the Ecclesiastes writer says, it’s hard to sing songs to a heavy heart. But at other times it might be recognized that you joyously sing and have uh merriment with your family and with your wife. It’s important that we see here love is vital. We need to have patience with one another. There are times in life where we will not have everything just be ducks in a row and ducks in a row. Sometimes things get out of order. Rachel’s, where is she? Where is she? Over here somewhere. I’m looking for my wife. I gotta find her. Okay, she’s moved around here.

I still don’t find where is she? There you are. I had patience. No, really. She says, JR, you are the most uh ducks in a row guy I know. Everything is ducks in a row, and I’m here to move around your ducks. I I laughed about that. COVID really did that. It really did move around all of our ducks. We had everything out of a row. We get this is what that can’t happen next. Some other variable came in. You have been called. Well, what have I been called for? Uh, you are under a uh situation where you must stay in one room. How do you know that? Because I said so. Somebody else said. Do you know me? No. You must stay in your room by yourself because you’ve been contact traced.

Okay. Do you know me? No. Did you pick up uh how did you connect this? I don’t know. I’ve touched my hand at every gas pump and pumped that in there. I don’t know if that’s how it got transmitted or not. But so, anyways, he says, You you like everything ducks in a row, and I’m here to rearrange your ducks. That’s life. That’s how life is. We have two different people from two different walks of life that um have to be blended together because that’s what God wants. I’ve learned from that. I’ve let loose a little bit. I’m not as rigid as I used to be as a kid. Some of that is good to do that. And Rachel has understood what it’s like to live with someone who puts all their ducks in a row.

Marion already knows when she goes back to my office, she’s laughing already, because she does a lot of work here at the office behind the scenes, and Ken already knows I have rocks. I have rocks that are, she’s nodding her head, yes, that are sit on different things on the desk. This is a big rock, this is a smaller rock, this is a rock organized. When I worshipped in Texas, one of the elders moved around my rocks and I said, Someone’s been in my office. I could tell the difference by the rocks that have been moved around. So yeah, I have ducks in a row, but I have patience, but it’s not patience that’s instant. There are some things I have had to wait for for many, many, many, many years.

Listen, young people, it is not a bad thing to be a virgin when you’re married. That’s not a bad thing. It’s worthy to be able to say, I can wear white on my wedding day and knows what that know what that means. If you have the patience to wait to abstain from things until marriage, that’s very good. Patience, endurance, all through the challenges, all through the temptations of life, all through the decisions that you will make in life. It will be worth it in the long haul. And when you’re dealing with your spouse and you’re dealing with your children, you have to recognize not everything is instant. I struggle with patience. And I don’t doubt that many people in this audience also struggle with patience. The idea of saying, how do I make this my life walk?

How do I say, I know I need patience on a frequent basis, and so I’m going to work on patience in various ways. I heard an excellent sermon once by a man by the name of Brother Norman, preaches in uh the north right now. He said he was doing a sermon on chronic lateness, not people that just come in late or something, but just people that they’re never there ever and they show up at the last minute to things. And how that’s kind of not very nice to people. But one of the points he made was for the people that aren’t late, that are waiting, and that are having to exercise their patience. And what he said was bring along a book that you can sit down and you can read, and you can have something to occupy your time when you’re waiting for someone that you don’t know if they’ll show up on time.

Because you’re not validating what they may have to be going through struggle-wise to get to where they need to be. So he says, bring a book. I’d like to say it one step further. If you have a pocket Bible, bring a Bible. Because then in those times of waiting, you’ll be able to read the scriptures and put the scriptures into your mind. But sometimes I go pick up Robert at the car line at the high school, and I’m just sitting there. I’m not yelling, I’m not honking my horn, nobody else is, but what do I do? I have a book. I’m reading Bible articles. I’ve done that this this past week. And just read the Bible articles, understand more things to build depth. So when you have to wait for something, you don’t have to.

Are we through? But why do we struggle with that? Because that’s reality. We live under a clock. We live under this reality of waiting for things. Patience is not saying, well, I guess I’ll wait for this line at Disney. It’s saying, I am so eager to go to Disney. I get to wait through this line because this ride’s gonna be fun. I get to go to the next line, this line’s gonna be fun. Uh I’ve waited at the ticket counter. This line’s going to be fun. That’s what it is. And you’re sitting there going, No, I don’t want to wait in line. Doesn’t matter if you’re at Disney or a theme park. You’re enjoying life. And so you’re looking at life from a different perspective. You’re not looking at it from just one perspective.

3. Patience With Our Children

Now to children. Fathers, and I think, listen carefully. I think he said this to us because we’re prone to do this. You already said that? I think he said this to us because we’re, as fathers, prone to do this. He says, do not provoke your children to wrath. Guys, don’t make them angry all the time, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I I try to do this every day. I hope I do this every day. If I don’t, my kids will tell you. But I try every day to say, um, have I told you I love you? Uh have I told you I’m grateful for you? Have I told you I’m I I’m appreciative for what you’ve done? Uh do you know dad loves you?

And I try that every day. I try to show my kids every single day with each one, have I said something positive to you, and try to say that. Because I know it’s so important for young people to be affirmed to know that they’re important too. There’s a poem, I don’t know who wrote it, some guy named Anon. He kind of got an abbreviation to his name. He doesn’t write his whole name out. Just says Anon. But it says, Give me patience, Lord, when little hands tug at me with ceaseless small demands. Give me gentle words and smiling eyes to keep my lists, lips from hasty sharp replies. Let not confusion, fatigue, or noise obscure my view of life’s fleeting joys. So when in time to come my house is still, beautiful memories, its room may fill.

That’s something I’ve read. I looked at it, and as you can tell, I memorized it. Because patience doesn’t come easy, fathers. I’m not saying that poem to mothers. I’m saying that poem to relate to Ephesians 6 4. Fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. When you look at Proverbs chapter 6, excuse me, uh, Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 4, he says, bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Do we know what training is? It’s discipline. It’s, as my uncle James says, it’s what Mr. Miyagi did for karate kid. I love his analogies, right? So that’s that’s discipline, that’s training. He teaches the young uh apprentice how to be able to be strong.

4. Patience With Our Lord

And we need to train our children how to be strong. They need to learn scriptures, they need to learn biblical principles, they need to learn to love others, love their brother and sister, love their brother and sister in Christ, and appreciate their mothers and pray for their fathers. Do we have patience with the Lord? In 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 1 through 9. That’s 2 Peter 3 1 through 9. He says, Beloved, I tell you something here. I’m gonna write you the second epistle, 2 Peter 3 1 through 9. I’m gonna write you this second letter, in both of which I stir up my pure minds by way of reminder, that you may be mindful of the words with which you were spoken before by the Holy prophets, and of the commandments of us the apostles of our Lord and Savior, knowing this first that scoffers will come in the last day, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, Where’s the where’s the promise of his coming?

For since the fathers fell asleep until this day, all things continue as they are from the beginning of creation, but for by this we willingly forget, or with it we forget, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world then being uh existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and earth, which are preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Notice he didn’t say, God’s gonna destroy the world because he doesn’t like you. God’s gonna destroy the world because sometimes you’re impatient. Or God’s gonna destroy the world because these Christians aren’t 100% at the top of their game at all times.

No, he says, He’s gonna destroy the world because there’s ungodly people trying to do very evil things that are very, very bad. I don’t care about God, don’t care about you, don’t care about me, and definitely don’t care, and even say sometimes there isn’t an eternal judgment. But then he says, But beloved, do not forget that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. The Lord’s not slow or slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering or patient towards all, not wanting, that’s what willing means there, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. When we look at that passage of scripture, God cares, God loves God’s patience, and his patience far exceeds our own patience, and sometimes he’s more patient with others than we would ever be.

5. Patience With Ourselves

And so when we’re talking about people that we’re not very patient with, realize the Lord’s being patient with them. He hasn’t zapped them, and he certainly hasn’t zapped you. So let us take this time to remember that we need to have patience with our Lord as he strives to be patient as well. The patience of our Lord is plentiful and is abounding. We also need patience with ourselves. Philippians 4, 4 through 9. I don’t know how many times we’ve talked about this passage with Ken’s lessons. By the way, Kin’s a good preacher. Amen. He does a very good job. He studies, he puts a lot of effort into his lessons, and I’m privileged to work alongside him in this effort here at Bumby. But he uses this scripture a lot in Philippians 4, 4 through 9 for a lot of different points, because we’ve been talking about the foundations of our faith this year, and the foundations of our Lord and Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone of our faith.

And this is fundamental point here. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I will say, rejoice. I think Rob began that, didn’t he? Today, with that statement. He said, This is a time to be grateful every day. He says, Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Well, what does that mean? Does that mean the Lord’s right going to come back right away? Maybe that’s what that means, but maybe it’s also there just to tell us the Lord sees everything, and he sees whether we’re being gentle or harsh. Let your gentleness be known to all men. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are noble, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there’s any virtue, obviously there is, and if there’s anything praiseworthy, obviously there is, meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw and me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you, Paul saying in the book of Philippians, you saw me be gentle, you saw me be patient, you saw me endure, and you saw me focus on these things. And he’s saying, if I as an apostle can do it, you can model that for the next generation. And we can too. We can. We need to be patient with the Lord, but we also need to be patient with ourselves.

A lot of times what happens, and we relate this to Philippians 4 9, is that we don’t think we can do it. We sell ourselves short. Did it sound like Paul sold his self short and his gentleness being known to all men in that passage? No, he said, You saw me do this, so you go do that. Did he say I’m perfect? No. In one passage of Romans, he says, Wretched man that I am. I don’t do what I should do. I should do, and then I don’t, and and and and I the things I want to do are the things I want to do, but it’s not what God wants me to do. And I want to do what God wants me to do, but I don’t do the things I should do.

And I’m summarizing a much more complicated passage. But the point is, he’s not saying he’s perfect. He knows he has challenges, but at this passage of scripture, he’s got confidence. He’s got confidence in you, he’s got confidence in me. Just like God had confidence in Job, where he said, Have you considered my servant? He’s blameless. Well, that’s perfect right there. No, it means people don’t blame him. That’s what blameless means. It doesn’t mean he’s blameless and that’s never done anything wrong and never steps out of line. No, it means people don’t blame him. People aren’t walking around going, oh, that guy, he’s not very good. No, that’s not how it was. Very, very important that we recognize we need to be patient with ourselves as well.

And recognize that in the context there, that helps us. Now let’s go to our scripture readings, and then the lesson will be yours in a few moments. I’m gonna hold you for a little while here. I’m teaching on patience. I get that liberty. Okay, that was a light chuckle. Okay. So, anyways, Romans 15 5. I love, I love uh reading the Bible and studying the Bible with people. I love when their eyes are opened and they realize something they hadn’t realized before that God makes so plain through the scriptures. I love studying with people. We have studies throughout the week with various individuals, as well as systematic studies at coffee shops around the community here in Orlando. And uh some of you have been with me on those studies, especially thanks Steve and Mary, who have been with me through many of those studies, and I appreciate their uh sidekicking with me on those studies.

So if you look at Romans 15 5, I just want to say it says, May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded towards one another according to Christ Jesus, that you but may with by one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, receive one another, just as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ that became a servant, and then we’re going to pause there. So we look at the passage of Scripture, he’s saying, Jesus came to serve, Jesus came to help. And when we look at the passage of scripture that relates before that, to back to uh chapter 15, 1, it says, We who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves.

Let each one please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification, for even Christ did not please himself, but as is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. A lot of people don’t know what that means. What is the reproaches that reproaches that were supposed to go to you fell on me? Teasing. That’s what that means. Reproaches. It’s not a word we use, but that’s the word the Greeks used. And reproaches is the idea of uh when someone teases you, Jesus says, I took that. Christians today. I don’t have time for them. They do all this stuff that do gooders. No, Jesus said that fell on me. They’re teasing you like that at work, they’re teasing you like that on the job site, they’re teasing you like that in school.

6. A Universal Need for Patience

Don’t worry about it. You still stand up for what is right, and you still be patient, and you still be like-minded, and you still endure with everybody else, because I am like-minded with you. He says, The teasings that fell on you fell on me. And he says, I’ll take that, all be in charge of that. Hebrews 10 36 teaches us about a universal need, a universal need for patience. In Hebrews chapter 10, 36, we have our scripture reading. That’s Hebrews 10 36. It’s great to hear pages turning. I love that. If you’re in your digital Bibles, you can scroll at your own leisure, and I’ll digitally give you a thumbs up. 36 says, For you have need of endurance.

This isn’t just some sort of cavalier lesson that we say, oh I need to develop my patience. I know I need to work on that, so one day I’ll do that. He says here very clearly in Hebrews 10 36, he says, You have need of endurance, so that after you’ve done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

Knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for you yourselves in heaven. That’s the motive. That’s why there’s a universal need. The reason we’re patient with one another, the we reason we endure with one another, the reason we’re patient with our spouses, our children, our family members, those that we’re trying to teach the gospel message to, is because we want to go to heaven and we want everybody else that we meet to go to heaven. And if you’re not at that mindset yet, you’re not as patient as God. That sounds bold, that might even sound harsh, but that’s the reality. If you’re not as patient as the Lord and you don’t want everybody to go to heaven, or everybody that you meet, if you don’t want them to reform and live their life right and go to heaven, then you’re not being as patient as God.

Because God said in 2 Peter, He’s not slow like others count slowness, because he doesn’t want anybody to perish. He wants all to come to repentance. In fact, uh take a little excursion into Ezekiel for a minute. He says, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways. But why should you die, O house of Israel? Does that sound like a God who cares? It does to me. Sounds like a God who cares abundantly. And to make sure I say that correctly, so you can find the scripture on your own. That comes from Ezekiel 33 and verse 11. It’s important that we recognize this is a universal need.

Patience is not just something that only Christians need, or something that is only something that is attainable by men like Job. It’s attainable by you, and it’s needed till Christ returns. James 5.7. James 5.7 is a really good verse. It kind of talks about the idea of an analogy. It mentions someone out in the field. It talks about somewhere in James 5.7, that maybe we as Orlandoans don’t get as much unless we’re out in the groves. There’s some people out here who knew orange groves. Yep, you knew orange groves. You knew orange grove. No, I don’t know. But here we we’ve got what he says here. He says, Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

You also be patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Farmers don’t just sow the seed and get mad at the seed for not growing. They don’t. They sow the seed, then they start watering the seed. Well, we would pray for rain. Every farmer I know prays for rain. Why is that? Because they can’t water it alone and have a successful crop. God is involved in the patience that we have. We need to remember that. But from another point, he’s just making the point a farmer waits.

And he waits for a long time. He doesn’t just uh go up to the crop and say, Well, you didn’t grow right away. He waits and he’s patient. So when it comes the time for us to begin this new year that’s coming up, and we remember that we’ve been waiting and praying and hoping for various ones that we love to become Christians or to serve the Lord or to endure or to be stronger or to be better. Remember, it takes patience, not just an insta fix, but a long haul type of thing. And sometimes what happens that brings us so much joy, that brings us so much happiness, that brings us so much pleasure spiritually, is when someone we know has been thinking and thinking and thinking about becoming a Christian, but not making the step, goes ahead and makes the step.

Conclusion

There’s some of you in this audience who’ve been there. You’ve waited, you say, the time’s not right. But then you knew what he says, the Lord will return. And you knew very clearly that the Lord will come back on a day in which only he knows. So I will say for this lesson in Luke 21 19. By your patience possess ye your souls. That is pretty important. It’s saying the way life becomes better, the mind becomes better, the soul develops better, is when we’re patient. When we choose to be patient.

What’s he talking about? That’s a pretty big airplane. No. Fly. I won’t even need wings. I’ll fly up to heaven and rise above the clouds and be with all y’all who are righteous. For this I tell you, brethren, flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inheriting corruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised, and then we who are alive will meet the Lord in the air. It’ll be wonderful. And we shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. That’s wonderful, isn’t it?

And we’ll have victory. But this death will be victim. We’ll not have victory over us, but we will have victory over death. The sting of death is sin, but the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my brethren, be immovable. Steadfast, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor be not in vain. We need to know that. We need to treasure that. We need to remember that. We need to hold to that and know that we can go to heaven. Do you want to go to heaven? You need to hear God’s word and believe it. Repent of your sins, confess the name of Christ, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and live for Jesus.

And then as Acts 22, 16 says, Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And remember our lesson for this lesson. I need patience on a frequent basis. Not just right now. I need it frequently, all throughout my life. I need to develop patience and keep patience constant in my life. If you need to become a child of God, God’s been patient with you. But don’t forget, there will come a time when the Lord will come back. At a time we do not know, but only He knows. So be ready for the Lord. Don’t delay. Be baptized. Come forward and sit on a front row so that you might be saved.