Nuyaka Baptist Church

Patience
Key Verse: Psalm 40:1- I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
1. Impatience
a. We are living in the age of impatience. Whether it’s waiting in line, waiting in traffic, waiting for food service, or waiting for marriage, biding our time is more counter-cultural than ever. We’ve been conditioned to have it our way, right away. First it was fast food and instant coffee; then it was everything else as well.
b. Impatience is a fruit of selfishness.Impatience is a form of unbelief. It's what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of his guidance. It springs up in our hearts when the road to success gets muddy or strewn with boulders or blocked by some fallen tree. The battle with impatience can be a little skirmish over a long wait in a checkout lane. Or it can be a major combat over a handicap or disease or circumstance that knocks out half your dreams. Impatient people are weak, and therefore dependent on external supports — like schedules that go just right and circumstances that support their fragile hearts. Their outbursts of oaths and threats and harsh criticisms of the culprits who crossed their plans do not sound weak. But that noise is all a camouflage of weakness.
2. The Power of our Patience
a. Colossians 1:10-11- 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
i. It is just a relentless trust in all that we do, and all that we cannot do, that God will deal with everything in perfect justice. And he will accomplish all his purposes. Therefore we do not need to get angry. Patience is not permissive; it doesn’t think sin or injustice is okay. Neither is patience passive; it doesn’t do nothing.
1. Psalm 37:7- Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
b. Patience is, after all, a fruit of the Holy Spirit
i. Galatians 5:22- 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness
c. Ultimately we are to be patient because God is patient.
i. Psalm 103:8- The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
3. Perfect Patience
a. Demonstrating the attributes of God, therefore, is why we must demonstrate patience.
i. James 1:19- 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
ii. “Those speak foolishly who ascribe their anger or their impatience to such as offend them or to tribulation. Tribulation does not make people impatient, but proves that they are impatient. So everyone may learn from tribulation how his heart is constituted.” ~ Marin Luther
b. Our own impatience pulls back the mask to reveal our true hearts. We may think impatience makes us look and sound strong, but it grows in the soil of our soul’s insecurity and unrest. Patience, on the other hand, reveals true power.
i. Isaiah 40:31- but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
ii. And scripture identifies five specific places patience must be on display in our lives.
1. With People
a. Ephesians 4:1-3- I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
b. 1 Thessalonians 5:14- 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
2. In Doing Good
a. Luke 8:15- 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
3. In Leadership
a. 2 Timothy 2:24- 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil
4. In Suffering
a. Romans 12:12- 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
5. The Return of Christ
a. Romans 8:25- 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
b. James 5:7-8- Be patient, 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. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
c. You and I will have an opportunity, likely numerous ones, to lay down our lives for the sake of Christ. It will come when we are tempted to be impatient. That moment will be our invitation to demonstrate patience and grab hold of this truth:
i. Lamentation 3:25- The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.


Questions
1. When are you most impatient in your day to day life?
2. Charles Simeon was in the Church of England from 1782 to 1836 at Trinity Church in Cambridge. He was appointed to his church by a bishop against the will of the people. They opposed him not because he was a bad preacher, but because he was an evangelical—he believed the Bible and called for conversion and holiness and world evangelization.
For twelve years the people refused to let him give the Sunday afternoon sermon. And during that time they boycotted the Sunday morning service and locked their pews so that no one could sit in them. He preached to people in the aisles for twelve years! All told, he was there fifty-four years. The average stay of a pastor in America is about four years, under average circumstances. How long do you think is too long to be patient?
3. How can we learn to endure with patience like Charles Simeon did?