THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS PATIENCE

2 Pet 3:8-15

One night a truck driver stopped at an all night restaurant in Broken Bow, Nebraska. The waitress had just brought out his meal when 3 bikers came into the restaurant. For some reason they zeroed in on him to apparently pick a fight. One grabbed his hamburger, another took a handful of fries and the third took his coffee and began to drink it. Instead of getting mad and going at them the trucker picked up his check, left a tip, paid for his meal and walked out. The waitress watched him leave and went to serve the bikers. One of the bikers looked at her and said, “not much of a man is he?” The waitress replied, “not much a truck driver either, he just ran over 3 motorcycles in the parking lot.”

The driver knew how to practice patience -- even if it was short lived.

Our culture is impatient. We want everything now, including world peace! Richard Nixon was once asked “are we better off this Christmas than last Christmas?” He replied, “ As Americans, we have many great strengths, but one o four weaknesses is impatience. The Russians think in terms of decades, the Chinese in terms of centuries. Americans think in terms of years, moths, and even days. But if in the question for a realistic lasting peace, we expect overnight success-instant gratification- we are bound to be disappointed.

I will be the first to admit, that of the 9 aspects of the fruit of the spirit, this is probably the hardest one for me to live. I am not near as patient as I would like to be or even should be. I’m not the only one either. How many people have got upset at McDonalds when it takes them 3 or 4 minutes to have your meal ready? Or maybe you have sat impatiently by microwave complaining about how long it takes to cook something?

Let’s look at patience as it applies to the Christian today.

PRAYER

I. Patience With Others

A. Sometimes our impatience leads us to act in a way that is not Christian.

1. It involves people we deal with all the time.

a) People at work, home, church, school, the grocery store.

b) No one is immune from our impatience.

2. It’s usually those little things that get us too.

a) Constant little frustrations, distractions.

b) They all build up until we act or react in a way that isn’t consistent with our profession of Christianity.

3. Let me give you a story that illustrates this perfectly.

a) A minister in Texas was to speak at a conference one day. He started off late because he had forgot to set his alarm and so rushed like crazy to get ready. In doing so he cut himself shaving. That only made him more late and more frustrated. To top things off his shirt was all wrinkled and had to quickly iron it. He ran out the door, jumped in the car and sped down the road. Right through a stop sign. As luck would have it, a policeman saw it happened and pulled him over. In anger and frustration the minister jumps out of the car and shouts, “go ahead give me a ticket. Everything else has gone wrong today.” The policeman calmly replies, “Sir, I used to have days like that too, before I became a Christian.”

b) That hurts, doesn’t it?

B. Solomon had some advice for us in Proverbs.

1. Prov 14:29 - A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly

2. Prov 15:18 - A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel

3. Prov 19:11 - A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

C. There are ways we can learn to deal with others patiently

1. First, remember that the person you are dealing with may have something going on that you don’t know about.

a) One day a gentleman told a story about being on an airplane with a young man and a baby in the back. It was a long flight and the baby was crying incessantly. Finally someone said, “why don’t you just take that baby to it’s mother and shut it up.” After a moments pause the man apologized and said. “The baby’s mother is in a casket in the cargo hold.”

b) Before you get too impatient with others, realize there may be more to the story than what you are seeing.

c)

2. A second way to learn patience is to ask ourselves, “what would Jesus do?”

a) It’s a great question to ask because you may not always like the answer you give yourself, but you will never go wrong trying to do things as Jesus would.

3. 3rd, pray before losing your cool that you will keep your cool.

a) This is one I have had to work on and it has helped.

b) I am by natured pretty hot tempered. I have to really bite down not to react like I would want to. I started getting my anger under control as I started praying to God to help me when I feel the anger building up. It’s just a couple second prayer, but when I am getting impatient in line, or with the kids, it really helps.

c) Now I just need to learn to do it ALL the time and save some heartache and frustration.

4. All three of these actions will help us be more patient with others.

II. Patience with the Church

A. Our society as a whole is impatient with institutions, not the least of these, the church.

1. That impatience with the church is as old as the church itself.

2. We have seen the reformers in every age and many times rightly so.

3. But the way we deal with the church needs to be an attitude of patient love, not belligerence.

4. I want our younger people to really listen to what I am about to say. Your generation has very little patience with the church you attend and their mistakes.

5. I’m fully aware we don’t do things perfectly, but help us make things better rather than go church shopping at the first thing that happens that you don’t like.

B. We need to be patient with the church’s traditions

1. I would like to see us do away with some of our traditional ways, but I need to be patient and realize that some of these changes will take a long time to come about.

2. I also need to realize that just because I don’t like them doesn’t make them wrong either.

3. Traditions are not always bad, they lend strength and identity to us, but we need to make sure we don’t make our traditions, gospel.

4. The church is made up of people who have different opinions and make mistakes.

5. We won’t all be happy on every issue, but be patient with the church’s decisions and support them fully unless they are unscriptural. Then see the elders or myself.

6. When we practice patience with the church it will have a great effect on our ability to show God to the lost.

C. Eph 5 gives us a couple of ways we can be patient with the church. READ Eph 5:25-27

1. First we need to realize that Christ loved the church and all her imperfections enough to die for her.

a) If we can imitate that love, we will have no problem being patient with them and the mistakes the church sometimes does.

b) Do I get mad at my wife from time to time? You had better believe it. Would I die for her without hesitation? You had better believe it.

c) We need to love God’s church, his people, the same way.

2. Secondly, there will be a day in which we are presented to Christ without stain, wrinkle or blemish.

a) She isn’t perfect because you and I are not perfect.

b) Look at the church as it would rather be, instead of what it is right now.

III. Patience with God

A. Many of us are wrestling with God.

1. We are baffled by his silence.

2. Impatient with his slowness.

3. We are in a hurry and God isn’t and we sometimes forget that.

4. And so we begin to wrestle with God

B. We need to understand what God’s patience is all about

1. The greatness of God is found in his patience with us.

2. 2 Pet 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

3. Vs 15 - Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation.

C. The Christian patience is rooted in understanding that God’s time is always the best time, the right time, the only time.

1. We want to force God to act now.

2. A speedboat racer told of a time when he wrecked his boat while traveling at a tremendous speed. The wreck threw him clear of the boat, but so deep into the water that he didn’t know which way was up. He had to remember not to panic and let the life vest begin to pull him up and THEN he knew which way to swim.

3. We have to constantly struggle with the desire to start swimming before we know which way is up.

4. We need to learn to be patient and let God lead us to where he wants us to be.

5. When we can pray “your will be done in your time” in an honest way, we’ll have a much more fulfilled life.

IV. Conclusion

A. For many of us, patience is the toughest aspect of the Fruit of the spirit.

1. We want things right now.

2. Guess what, you can have something right now. You don’t have to wait patiently for this one.

3. You can have your sins taken away.

4. One last thought. Aren’t you glad that God isn’t as impatient with us as we are with others?