Men's Breakfast - August 7 2021
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Good Morning guys. Today I want to focus on something that many of us shift uncomfortably because most of us are pretty terrible at it. I want to focus on Patience. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit that now dwells in us. Are we seeing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Can others around you point out those fruit? Can they see patience?
Some of us in this room will remember life before the internet. Wifi and devices. You went on a trip without a cell phone. You were gonna be gone, truly gone for the DAY!. Mom said be back for dinner after breakfast right! Things took longer and that was just how it was. I remember the first computer we got. It took forever to connect. You would click it and then walk off to do something else. Come back…it would be ready for the next click.
Amazon swooped in and now we all expect that shipping should always take 2 days. Not a week. Not 7-10 business days. 2 days.
How Patient are you? to be honest I struggle with patience..
We often think of our 1st World problems..traffic, shipping of our things, waiting in line for food, .- there are many people around the world that would be grateful to be be in line waiting for food..
The problem is that we have a consumer mindset: “I want it now! I want it fast! And if I don’t get it from you, I will go to someone else who will serve me faster..
we are almost a culture of impatience… (Keller) If you go back you see that ancient cultures valued patience… Impatience was seen as shallow and lacking in thought… it was reckless and could result… in lost opportunities…open to dangers.for example in Proverbs it tells us...
Self-control is pictured as a wall that provided a hedge of protection… when the wall is down you have no defensives… and are open to the enemies attacks..
In the NT Patience is an essential virtue as a follower of Christ.. --- It is one of the attributes of God… the Bible tells us in several place that God is slow to anger...
New England preacher Phillips Brooks - famous preacher from the last century... was known for his poise under pressure, but close friends knew he struggled with impatience. One day a friend, seeing him pacing, asked, “What’s the trouble, Dr. Brooks?” The great preacher replied: “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”
God being patient is actually a really good thing for us...
In Exodus 34:6-7 there is this beautiful self disclosure of God… Where God passes before Moses on the Mountain..
It was written after Moses returns to Mt. Sinai a second time to receive the ten commandments.. The first time Moses went to receive the law Israel after month or more Israel had become impatient with Moses…they began worshiping a Golden calf. Moses comes back and gets angry…smashes the law.
God instructs Moses to cut new tablets and return to the mountain… and is here in the cleft of Mountain. where God reveals to Moses his name and his character..
Exodus 34:6 ESV6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
God proclaims his Name his nature to Moses — he uses the title Lord or JHWH his covenant name twice… This is no accident but rather for emphasis… basically God declares himself… “The One Who Always is,” Really is”
God is always -- full of merciful and gracious He really is…full of mercy and grace. … God is always patient…He really is patient— slow to anger - steadfast love and faithful…
God is Patient in His nature…it makes sense that when we abide in Christ..… His divine Nature is going to fuel our lives… Christ works in and through our lives.. It’s his nature that shines through..
When we express love --- it’s not our love… but His love… it is His joy… His peace… His patience…
The key to living in this fast pace culture… Is allow His Patience to Fuel our lives…
Patience carries this idea of steadfastness… standing in… having determination when facing difficulties..
There are four things that Patience is going Fuel in our lives.. the first...
1. Patience is going Fuel our Hope.
1. Patience is going Fuel our Hope.
Hope is an important part of life… It has said that a “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air...but only for one second without hope...Hope is oxygen for the Soul...
Studies have proven that people who have hope (who are optimistic about the future) tend to enjoy better physical and psychological health.. Not only do they enjoy better quality of life but they seem to recover much faster..
One of the reasons for higher success rates are those how were hopeful used problem-focused coping…When we have hope, we seek out support, we look for where God is at work even in the pit that we are in. When we are not hopeful, we tend to rest on denial, we become more stressed even as we lie to ourselves and became disinterested in the goal they were pursuing...
Hope is not dependent on your circumstances it is dependent on your focus.
We are going to be looking at the book of James this morning.. James was the biological brother of Jesus and the leader of the church in Jerusalem. His letter is written to Jewish Christians who are scattered by the dispersion...
They are living in a society that has been characterized as being angry…people who divided between the very Rich and poor… people were polarized…by money, powe, and ideology.... sound familiar?
James is encouraging the Christians to be authentic in very difficult times .... He urges to develop Patience, perseverance, stamina… James starts our with taking on trials with an attitude of Joy..
James 1:2–4 ESV2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James tells us to Count it ALL Joy when our lives meet difficult situation… The word Count is the same word for Reckon - Which is an accounting term --- used when Reconciling your books…(to put to ones Credit)
In other words James is telling us to... Take all your Trials.... All Your Difficulties… and move them to the Credit Side…of the ledger.... Take them from the expense column and put them as an Income ---as a Benefit…
James says let Patience Fuel your Hope..
James is inviting us to change our perspective of the trials that come our way… to take 10 steps backwards… and look a the big perspective..
James says have joy in the face of your trial because the testing of your Faith produces - Steadfast Endurance — When you exercise developing patience and joy in your circumstances… it increases.. our joy…
Patience is the vehicle (or the means) that that is going to equip us for life…
The word “complete” in verse 4 means “whole, well, physical or spiritual well-being. This word is often used of people Jesus healed..
The phrase “lacking nothing” in verse 4 means “not deficient with regard to spiritual strength.” With each trial endured, we’re that much stronger to endure the next one..
In other words the afflictions and difficulties of life are actually the pathway to our sanctification, (Sanctification just means become more like Christ)l… Tests are the progressive road to becoming perfect and complete, lacking in nothing...
The word “testing” is same word for testing was used to describe the refining process of metals like gold. They would melt the metal into liquid form so that impurities would rise to the top and be skimmed off. The precious metal was then much more valuable. That’s the purpose of our testing too! God removes impurities from our lives as our faith is tested.
A faith that has been tested is a faith that can be trusted. - Craig Groeschel
T/s There are four things that Patience is going Fuel in our lives..
1. Patience is going Fuel our Hope.
2. Patience is going to Fuel our Faith.
2. Patience is going to Fuel our Faith.
When you look at Faith in the Bible there is always a timeline… God makes promises… and then there is this period of waiting and trusting… and then fulfillment…Every promise has a Delay.. Just read through Hebrews 11 and see all the delays.. … Abraham and his call into Caanan land…Abraham and Sarah…the list goes on and on. Some even died in faith… not receiving the things promised..but seeing them from afar...
Faith is never just one step… Often we get stuck in the delays…we get frustrated and angry... We need to remember that God is more concerned with the Journey of faith.... God does his best work in the delays of our lives...
We often think of Faith as being instantaneous… In the Gospels we we see Jesus healing people instantaneously when they had faith... What we often fail to see is the struggle…Think of the woman in Mark 5 who had been bleeding for over 12 years. spent all of her money to find a solution but nothing. I don’t think her faith was evident just on that day that she touched the garment of Jesus....she endured for 12 years and her faith was fueled by patience.
This is what James teaches these Christians that are scattered through out the Roman empire… they are going be facing trials… Hold onto your faith with Patience endurance..
James 5:7–8 ESV7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Be Patient, is written as command as an imperative.. the word patient means to be even tempered while enduring difficult situations..
James uses the Farmers as an illustration … Look at the farmers see how they wait for the precious fruit from the land… These are not commercial farmers there subsistent farmers depending heavily on the crop to feed their family… all bets were in and if there was no harvest there was no food for their families… The lesson of the Farmer is that good things happen when we wait...
There is absolutely nothing he can do to speed up the process of rainfall and the subsequent harvest. Everything has its appointed time
the Chinese bamboo tree does absolutely nothing--or so it seems--for the first four years. Then suddenly, sometime during the fifth year, it shoots up ninety feet in sixty days. Would you say that bamboo tree grew in six weeks, or five years?
I think our lives are similar to the Chinese bamboo tree. Sometimes we put forth effort, put forth effort, and put forth effort ... and nothing seems to happen. But When you focus on the right things for extended time it is going to fuel your Faith...
T/s How does Fruit of Patience Fuel your life?
1. Patience is going Fuel our Hope.
2. Patience is going to Fuel our Faith.
3. Patience is going to Fuel Our Relationships.
3. Patience is going to Fuel Our Relationships.
How many of you have difficult people in your lives? You don’t have to answer that… nobody in this room at least… but out there somewhere are difficult people…From time to time God allows someone or a challenging situation to arise in our lives and relationships to build our character… It can come in the form of our marriages, friendships… within the work place… And the way we handle things is important…
Every conflict — there is powerful lessons- we need to learn perseverance… James talks about this in James 1:4
James 1:4 ESV4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
How do we exercise patiences in relationships. We exercise patience through our words… not just what we say to people but what we say about people when they are not around..
James 5:9 ESV9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
What is interesting is that the church at this time is experiencing pressure from outside and it is at the same time causing pressure with in the community of faith..
How many times does conflict outside of our homes.. for example from our work, family members, relationships… cause problems on the inside…
James wants these Christians to guard the unity in the church… and make sure that they are not filled with resentment and bitterness to one another… The instruction is simple… REFUSE TO GRUMBLE about each other…
What’s grumbling? When people are frustrating, disappointing, and disillusioning to you, how do you respond? Grumbling is a response you sometimes do outwardly, but in many cases you do it inside. Grumbling is responding to people who disappoint and frustrate you with resentment, negativity, and cynicism..
Exercise Patience means controlling our words.. We don't tend to view grumbling and complaining as serious sins, but James specifically names grumbling because he regards it as a serious sin that will lead to God's judgement.
If you have read the Book of Exodus, you will note that when God delivered his people, the Hebrews, out of the land of Egypt—where they had been slaves for 400 years—and led them through the desert en route to the Promised Land, they grumbled about not having meat, onions, or leeks. God regarded the sin of complaining and grumbling as being very serious… It was there grumbling and complaining that kept them wondering around in circles for 40 years..
Patience that fuels relationships… comes from patience in bearing with one another or forbearance
Forbearance… as a verb...means that you make the effort to “bear with” other people, even when they irritate and annoy you, or worse.
Forbearance is when you choose to forgive people, rather than hold a grudge against them.
Forbearance is when you choose to overlook something that was hurtful or unkind, rather than fighting back with harsh words or making sure you get even with the one who did you wrong.
Forbearance is when you learn to be patient with others, mainly because you are very well aware of your own shortcomings and weaknesses. It means you remember that other people are probably also having to be forbearing with you!
T/s How does Fruit of Patience Fuel your life?
1. Patience is going Fuel our Hope.
2. Patience is going to Fuel our Faith.
3. Patience is going to Fuel Our Relationships.
4. Patience is Going to Fuel Our Endurance.
4. Patience is Going to Fuel Our Endurance.
In the 1970’s, there was a study that outlined what it looks like to have delayed gratification in children. A child could ring a bell and get one marshmellow. If the child waited for the adult to come back on their own, they would get two marshmallows.
Some kids squirmed and kicked trying desperately to wait long enough to get 2 marshmallows…others broke down and rang the bell within a minute. Others lasted fifteen minutes.
What the study revealed was that..
The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores. They got into better colleges and, on average, achieved more as adults. The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to become bullies. They received worse teacher and parental evaluations ten years later and were more likely to have drug problems at age thirty-two.
Mischel concluded that children may be taught “that it pays to work toward the future instead of living for instant gratification.” David Brooks, “Marshmallows and Public Policy,”
James teaches us that Patience is the path way to wisdom. James is offering pastoral and practical wisdom (like the book of proverbs) how to live in Christ in an angry world…He calls the church to authentic faith that goes beyond surface level but rather but rather expressed Faith through deeds
James 5:10–11 ESV10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Patience is all about Pace… It’s not a 100 yard dash… It’s about going the distance… The Fruit of patience is going to Fuel your ability to persevere in the face of the challenges..
One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is to slow down...
James wants the Christians to think of those who they considered blessed..
Think of the Prophets who lived in difficult times… God blessed their words… but they all went through trials…
Who do your considered Blessed? I can assure you that anyone that we might consider blessed have endured some sort of test or Character building.. We see this over and over in scripture but especially in Job
The book of Job is a challenging book to understand... God allows Satan to test Job a righteous man in an incredible and unusual way. Everything that Job loves and possessed in his life was taken from him in one moment. He lost his family, servants, livestock and property...and then his own health to almost the point of death…almost.
Job was a righteous man and God allowed Satan to test his faithfulness in unusual ways and more than anyone I know in scripture. But, from this place of despair see HOPE rising, from the depths of his agony, Job makes a declaration of faith..
Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!
Job remembers that God himself is still the great hope of his life
Out of the ashes Job saw his Redeemer of Israel, the eternal one who would make good on his promises. Job turns back to God through repentance and God pours blessings back into his life…
James says if you want to understand how to preserver with patience take a page out of the book of Job… Hebrews tells us that we have a whole grandstand of witness that point us in the right direction…
Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Christ is the focal point… in the present tense. And in that present tense we let patience fuel our life through hope, faith, stronger relationships and with endurance. In doing so we allow God to mold us more and more into His image.