“Fruit of the Spirit - Patience”

**INTRODUCTION 

Hello and welcome to the “Key to the Kingdom.” My name is Bret McCasland. Have you ever found yourself becoming impatient with the people you work with or even with some of your family members? Well, I suppose we all do that at one time or another. And that's a challenge, isn't it? We don't want to be impatient with others, but sometimes it just happens. We know it is not the best way to react when something does not fit into our ideas or into our plans; and yet, we still struggle to show patience. Well, have you ever wondered why? It might be something is lacking in our spiritual walk with the Lord. Well, today on “Key to the Kingdom,” we will look at another one of the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians chapter 5. It is the fruit we call patience. We will consider how God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, responded when people did not act in the proper way. We will consider how we are to respond when things don't go our way. And patience is one of the most challenging attributes we are to demonstrate in our walk with the Lord. And we will also notice some ways in which we can put to work the patience which has already been entrusted to us. I trust you will join us for today's message as we now open our Bibles and study together.

**LESSON

In previous lessons on “Key to the Kingdom,” we have looked at some of the qualities which are to be found in those who call themselves Christians. The Apostle Paul identifies them as the Fruit of the Spirit, and he lists them in the letter called Galatians. As we begin today, I want us to read that Bible passage and then to settle in on fruit number four, that being patience. The passage is Galatians 5, beginning with verse 22. <But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.> According to Paul, those who live by the Holy Spirit of God already have these qualities or characteristics. The first three, love, joy and peace, are those which we've already studied, and they seem to draw us into a spiritual mindset. They remind us of what our lives are to look like when we are with other believers. When we come together to worship God, we focus on love and joy and peace. The fruit of patience is somewhat different. It brings us down to earth. It is something we are to consider when we go to work or when we are with other people of the world, or perhaps those who are not Christians. How do we deal with them? Let's talk about that word patience for just a moment. It literally means forbearance or long tempered or long suffering. And those might be some words that we read in some of the older translations of the Bible. Here's a more extended definition of patience: The ability to endure for a long time, whatever opposition or suffering may come our way. It is the ability to put up with the weaknesses of others without getting irritated. That's quite a definition, isn't it? And I somewhat chuckle at it. I think about the words endure, suffering, put-up-with, weaknesses, irritated; have you ever associated those words with the word patience? Does something come to your mind when you think about those words? Do they describe someone with whom you work, with whom you live, or with whom you see on a regular basis that you have to put up with such people? My guess is we all have people and we all have various situations in our lives like that, and at times it is difficult to be patient with them or in the midst of those situations. And yet, as the Apostle reminds us, all nine of these fruit are found in those who are walking closely with the Lord. They are qualities which help describe God's character. And since they are a part of God, they are also part of those who are filled with God's Holy Spirit. Now, many people suggest God takes on two different personalities in the Bible. In the Old Testament they see God as a God of wrath and anger. He is the One who destroys nations and punishes people, and His anger comes out. In the New Testament, however, God is a God of love and forgiveness. He demonstrates that love. He forgives people. And that is especially seen through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ, upon the cross. And that is the idea, the concept, some people have of God. And yet, in reality, the God of the Old Testament is very patient, more patient than what we might imagine. There are no two personalities of God, there is only one. Think about these words in Exodus chapter 32. The Lord had reached a breaking point with the Israelites. Moses was on the mountain with God, receiving those Ten Commandments; and the people had basically given up on Moses. They thought he was gone. He wasn't coming back. He had been gone for so long. And so they, with the help of Aaron, created some golden images, and those became their idols and they worshiped those idols or images as they replaced God. Well, God, no doubt, was ready to destroy His people because of that. But He did not. The Lord had every right to do what He wanted to do. He had every right to just eliminate them because of the people's rebellion toward Him. But God changed His mind and He did not strike them down. What a patient God. And in that we find these words, in chapter 34, verse 6. <He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.> Look at God's many wonderful qualities. Now, that does not sound like wrath and anger, does it? He even says the words, He is slow to anger, and that is a really good way to describe patience. And that is exactly what God did when He did not have to do it. He was patient with His people. Yes, the Lord could have taken them all out right then and there, but He chose not to do so. To demonstrate His patience, God continued to show His love toward them and eventually lead them into the Promised Land. The Lord is described this way, in Psalm number 103. <The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.> There are probably times when the Lord becomes frustrated or upset with the events of this world, and rightly so. There are times when the Lord is not pleased with the behavior of some of His children, and rightly so. There are also times when the Lord is frustrated with me, and rightly so. I understand that. He's frustrated with me because I am not living the way I'm supposed to live. And maybe we can all resonate with that. And yet, thankfully, the Lord does not treat us as we deserve. He is slow to get angry; oh, the patience of God. Well, that characteristic was transferred to His son, Jesus Christ. How many times do we see throughout Jesus’ public ministry Him demonstrating patience? The disciples did not understand what He was doing or saying on many occasions, and no doubt they frustrated Him with the lack of their understanding. Peter challenged Jesus. Philip questioned Jesus. James and John even wanted a significant role and place above the other disciples. Yes, on many occasions, Jesus' patience with people was tested in various ways. Yet instead of getting angry or giving up on His disciples what did He do, He washed their feet. Just a few hours before He was betrayed and put on trial for His life, He got down on His hands and His knees and He washed the feet of those with whom He struggled to have patience. Perhaps that is totally different than the response we would have with such people. And yet, Jesus loved His disciples, even to the very end, as He prayed in John 17, in verse 1. He also prayed to the Father these words, in verse 12 of that chapter: <"I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost, except the son of perdition."> Jesus was patient with the disciples to the point He loved and protected and provided for them. When Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem for the last time, He wept over those who lived there. He saw how they were living. He realized that many of them had refused to listen to or to obey His teaching, which had come from His Heavenly Father. And this is what He spoke about them in Matthew 23, verse 37: <“How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing."> He patiently pursued to bring those people into a relationship with Him, but yet they would not come. You know, events like these and statements like this one demonstrate the patience of Jesus. And yet those instances fail to compare to the patience which Jesus showed when He died upon the cross. The Apostle Peter saw in Jesus the prophecy that is found in Isaiah chapter 53. And Peter wrote this in 1st Peter, chapter 2, in that regard: <Jesus committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth.> When people made insults against Jesus. He did not retaliate. When people made threats against Him, He handled that. When He was dying upon the cross, people laughed and scorned and mocked Him. And He could have said something bad and negative in a retaliatory way, but instead He said this: <"Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing."> (Luke 23, verse 34) Indeed, Jesus was a very patient man. Well, what do we do with these examples which are left for us to follow? What does being slow to anger, like God, or being patient, like Jesus, look like in our lives as Christians? Well, as we seek to keep in step with the Spirit who lives within us, we are to be long suffering when people say bad things about us. We are to be able to put up with and even forgive those who intentionally do us harm. Sometimes that is a challenge, but we keep coming back and asking our self the question: Do I practice the patience God's Spirit has entrusted to me? I heard about a minister one time who was asked a question in regards to His ministry. His response was, “Well, I love to teach the Bible. I love to preach sermons. I love to visit the hospital. It’s just the people I can't stand.” I suppose that goes with all of us. Sometimes people challenge us. We like what we do. We enjoy our life. But sometimes other people get in the way and we have to demonstrate patience. Well, the Christians to whom the Apostle Peter wrote the letters, 1st and 2nd Peter, were facing some very challenging and difficult times. Families were being torn apart. Some were losing their jobs. Some were even losing their families. Things were not good. Peter recognized that and he offered some very encouraging words to them in 1st Peter, chapter 4: <Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear His name. So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.> No doubt that was a very hard message for these people to hear, and even harder for these persecuted Christians to put into practice. And yet that message, I believe, is something that Peter would share with us today, as we seek to be followers of Jesus Christ in the midst of a very hostile world. Peter basically tells us three things in this passage. Number one, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised when hard times come your way. Don't be surprised when difficult people enter into your life. It’s going to happen. Number two, don't retaliate. Don't say evil for evil. Don't try to get back at them. Don't try to one-up them. Don't retaliate. There's no need. And then number three, don't quit. Don't quit living for Jesus. Don't quit being kind to other people. Don't quit living the way God has called you to live. And it seems that the summary of all of this passage is, in the midst of those trying times in life be patient and trust God to provide. We go back to the Apostle Paul and his writings. He wrote something about how to respond when trying times come our way as we seek to follow Christ. In 2nd Timothy chapter 3, we find this starting in verse 10. <You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings -what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted...> Paul said look at my ministry. Look what I've done. I have served. I have tried to be a good witness to others for Jesus Christ. And I have had all kinds of persecutions and sufferings. But in the midst of it all, I had faith, I had love, I endured and I demonstrated patience. And then he says, in fact, if you're living a godly life then you're going to experience some of the same things I experienced. And that asks us to flip that around; if we are not being persecuted or suffering in some way, then maybe we're not living the way God has called us to live. You know, Paul did not stop living with great patience for the Lord, even when it became very difficult to do so. The persecution and the hard times he faced will probably always be greater than anything that is difficult that we might face. And yet, like the Apostle Paul, we are to demonstrate great patience when those difficult and challenging times come our way. I want to offer a few other passages, all from the Apostle Paul, that mention this very idea. 1st Thessalonians chapter 5, beginning with verse 14: <We urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.> Here's another one. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2: <As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.> And here's one more; Colossians 3 verse 13: <Bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.> Well, the same theme is found in all of those statements from Paul, and that is bear with one another, be patient with one another, and put up with one another in a spirit of love and forgiveness. Patience involves making a choice. Patience is deciding to overlook something that is hurtful and unkind instead of fighting back with harsh words or actions. Patience is being slow to get angry with others, as we remember they are trying to be patient with us. Every day we encounter a variety of people, men and women, young and old. We all have our different personalities and dispositions. We have different likes and dislikes. Our visions for our families and our careers and for our individual lives are not all the same. There are no two people alike, and I suppose that's a good thing. And that applies to those of us who are Christians and to those who are not. We are to recognize that people come and people go, and yet we are to be patient with one another. And whether we are talking about people in the community, in our homes, those with whom we work, or even those within our church family, it is imperative we practice patience in all of our relationships; and that is what the Lord would have us to do as we seek to be committed to Him. But here's the key; we cannot do that by ourselves. None of us have the strength or the ability or the courage to patiently live with other people. It only happens, as Paul wrote back in Galatians chapter 5, when the Holy Spirit is living inside of us and being demonstrated in our lives. And thankfully that happens when we walk in and keep in step with the Spirit. In other words, the fruit of patience is already there in our lives. Sometimes we might say, or even hear other people say, “Well, I need more patience.” I don't know about that. But for Christians, maybe the better way for us to say it is, “I need to practice the patience I already have.” God has given to us the patience we need. And now, it is up to us, by the Spirit of God, to demonstrate that. We have all the patience and the peace and the love and the joy and all of the other nine Fruit of the Spirit living within us if we keep in step with and keep walking by the Spirit of God. You know, if we feel ourselves lacking in patience, maybe we need to evaluate how closely we are walking in our relationship with the Lord. We might even consider whether or not we are keeping in step with His Holy Spirit. In our relationships, we demonstrate patience with other people as they discover how to be patient with us. We are slow to get angry with other people, as Jesus was slow to get angry with the disciples. We bear with the people the Lord puts into our life in the same way God bears with us. In the midst of all of those challenges, we are to remember, God demonstrates His patience to us every single day. In the midst of our sin, in the midst of our mistakes and our problems and everything else, God's patience never runs out. And when we understand that, it will keep us humble. It keeps us wanting to treat others the way God treats us. I hope today that each one of us are walking by the Holy Spirit of God and that we are allowing the fruit of patience to be demonstrated in our daily lives.

**VIDEO CLIP

This scene is perhaps representative of the traffic where you live. Cars and trucks are passing through, sometimes at a high rate of speed. Sometimes people get in the wrong lane and they want to turn, and cars are honking and it's kind of a mess. You have to go another block and then turn and come back around, and it's frustrating and it’s difficult. And at times, traffic is even more intense than what it is right now. But in the midst of all of that traffic and that confusion, sometimes times we don't know for sure what to do and we need an extra amount of patience. We might even say or do things we should not do, and we ask God to give us that patience to deal with the problems of traffic. And yet we sometimes forget, we already have all the patience God can give to us. It is one of the Fruit of the Spirit that has been entrusted to those who are Christians, and we are to tap into that patience in situations like this. We ask for that patience to be revealed so that we can handle, in a good way, these things that cause stress or anxiety in our life. I would hope, today, that when you find yourself in a trying or difficult moment, needing patience, call upon God to help you tap into the patience He has already given to you. I believe you would find that, indeed, it's there, it's available, and it provides to you a calmness and a peace that you really need. I don't know what your traffic looks like where you are. Don't let it drive you crazy, but rely upon the patience God entrusts to you in tense and uncertain moments.

**CONCLUSION

Thank you for joining us for today's broadcast. Patience is one of the most challenging Fruit of the Spirit we are to put into practice as Christians. With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us, however, we can allow patience to be seen in all of our relationships. This message is available to view or to listen to again. It can be found on our website at keytothekingdom.com. Other messages are there, as well, and I would invite you to find those that might be of interest. And as always, there is no cost or obligation to receive them. Free Bible studies and other materials are available on the website as well. I hope you will spend some time searching out those things that might encourage you in your walk with the Lord. One minute and two minute devotional thoughts also provide a daily message for your consideration. I appreciate you joining us for today's broadcast. Hopefully it was a blessing and an encouragement to you. Please join us again at this same time next week, as we continue to study the Bible on “Key to the Kingdom.”