James was speaking to people whose patience was being tried.

It can be difficult for us to be patient esp. when suffering.

"Patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control."

Same Gr. word trans.- to bear long, suffer long, patiently endure.

"Longsuffering is that quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate; it is the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy. It is the quality that does not surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial; it is the opposite of despondency and is associated with hope.

Bible teachers who talk too long

1) Long lines at the grocery store.

2) Working with computers.

3) Telemarketers at 5:00 P.M.

4) Driving in Los Angeles.

5) Baileys on the way to Church.

1 Cor 13:4 (NIV) Love is patient....

Proverbs 14:29 (NIV) A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

Ps 37:7-8 (NIV) 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-- it leads only to evil.

For years William Wilberforce pushed Britain’s Parliament to abolish slavery. Discouraged, he was about to give up. His elderly friend, John Wesley, heard of it and from his deathbed called for pen and paper.

With trembling hand, Wesley wrote: “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you would have been worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God?

“Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it.”

Wesley died six days later. But Wilberforce fought for forty-five more years and in 1833 he saw slavery abolished in Britain. Three days later he died.

What if he would have given up ?

Some give excuses for lack of patience :

1) I am (nationality).

2) God made me this way - impatient.

James encourages us to be patient - the farmer does it all the time.

Consider the farmer :

1) He has no control over the weather.

2) He waits a long time for results.

3) He works hard while waiting.

C. H. SPURGEON, A Visit to the Harvest Field

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington 1871

“Yes, the husbandman waits. He cannot push on the months; he cannot hasten the time of the harvest home; but he does not wait in silence; in sluggishness and negligence; he keeps to his work and waits too. So do you, O Christian men! wait for the coming of your Lord, but let it be with your lamps trimmed and your lights burning, as good servants attending to the duties of the house, until the master of the house returns to give you the reward. ...If I am a worker, I must look to God for the result, but then I must also use all the means. In fact, the Christian should work as if all depended upon him, and pray as if it all depended upon God.”

Grudge not, murmur not.

Greek - groan :

- a half-suppressed murmur of impatience not uttered aloud.

The opposite of patience is complaining.

What emotions do you feel when you are complaining ?

Frustration ? Discouragement ? Resentment ?

They usually result in anger.

What can I do when I am getting angry and want to complain ?

1) Ask - is this really worth getting angry about ?

Will it cause more problems than it solves ?

2) Control your anger - you have a choice

- You can recognize it, admit it, and express it properly.

3) Direct your anger at a thing not a person.

Don’t say “You make me angry”.

How can I be more patient ? Remember :

1) ...how patient God was and is with me.

2) ...to make allowances for each other. (Irregular people).

3) ...patience is an act of worship.

4) ...nothing has come into my life that God has not allowed.

5) ...to see the eternal perspective.

6) ...don’t be discouraged, perseverance pays off.

When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them.
* At age nine, his mother died.
* At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk.

He wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn’t good

enough.
* At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store.
* At 26, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt that

took years to repay.
* At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry

him. She said no.
* At 41, his four-year-old son died.
* At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost.
* At 47, he ran for vice-president and lost.
* At 49, he ran for the Senate again, and lost.
* At 51, he was elected president of the United States.

His name was Abraham Lincoln.

Where would our country be today if he would have given up ?

Where will others be tomorrow if you give up ?

B) The Judge is at the door

“lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door“

KJV render condemned. Other versions use judged.

How can a believer be condemned since we are forgiven ?

It means that you may be found to be at fault before God.

Philips “...you may be the one at fault yourself. The judge himself is already at the door“.

James refers to Matt 7:1 “Judge not lest you be judged“.

To "grumble against one another" is virtually to judge, and so to become liable to be judged. - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown.

Suffering :What do I know about suffering ? Nothing - interview.

In contrast to the rich in 5:5 who “Lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure...”

The prophets were tortured, mocked, scourged, in chains, in prison, stoned, sawn in two, tempted, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, and put to death (Heb 11:35ff.).

What can we learn from their example ?

James 1:3-4 (NKJ) Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Vs. 11 (New Century Version) We say they are happy because they did not give up.

In 1955, Winston Churchill, was near the end of his life, gave the commencement address of a university in Britain. Mr. Churchill was so weak at the time that he had to be helped to the podium. Once he was at the podium, he stood with both of his hands clinging to the podium and his head down for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he lifted his head, and the voice that, years before had called Britain back from the brink of destruction spoke publicly for the last time. Though he only spoke nine words, they were possibly the most powerful words he ever spoke.

“Never give up. Never Give up. Never give up.”

You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

Job’s example of patience :

1) Lost possessions.

2) Lost his children.

3) Lost his health.

4) Harassed by his wife.

5) Taunted by his friends.

Yet he never cursed God.

He questioned, struggled, wished he had died.

Job persevered, so can we.

God does great work under pressure.

The last sentence is...

“The Lord is full of compassion and mercy“.

Are you having difficulty persevering in the face of suffering ?

Are you saying “I can’t take this any longer” ?

A) What is patience ?

B) What tests your patience ?

C) What does the Bible teach about patience ?

D) An example of patience - The farmer

A) Don’t grumble

B) The Judge is at the door

A) The prophet’s patience

B) The patience of Job

My outline, notes, and study materials are available at my website :

http://www.geocities.com/scripturestudy/

GENEVA

Be patient therefore, brethren…
The apostle here addresses himself to the poor who were oppressed by the rich men, and these he calls "brethren" of whom he was not ashamed; when he does not bestow this title upon the rich, though professors of the same religion: these poor brethren he advises to be patient under their sufferings, to bear them with patience,

unto the coming of the Lord;
not to destroy Jerusalem, but either at death, or at the last, judgment; when he will take vengeance on their oppressors, and deliver them from all their troubles, and put them into the possession of that kingdom, and glory, to which they are called; wherefore, in the mean while, he would have them be quiet and easy, not to murmur against God, nor seek to take vengeance on men, but leave it to God, to whom it belongs, who will judge his people:

Be ye also patient…
As well as the husbandman, and like him; and wait for the rains and dews of divine grace to fall, and make fruitful, and for the ripe fruit of eternal life; and in the mean while cheerfully and patiently bear all injuries, and oppressions:

stablish your hearts;
though the state of the saints is stable, they being fixed in the everlasting love of God, in the covenant of grace, in the hands of Christ, and on the rock of ages; yet their hearts are very unstable, and so are their frames, and the exercise of grace in them, and need establishing, which God's work; which is often done by the means of the word and ordinances; and these the saints should make use of, for the establishing of their hearts: the sense may be, take heart, be of good cheer, do not be dismayed, or faint, or sink under your pressures, but be of good courage, pluck up your spirits, lift up your heads: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh; when he will render tribulation to them that trouble them, free them from all their sorrows and afflictions, and enter them into the joy of their Lord; which will be either at death, which was not very far off, or at the last day, which was drawing nearer and nearer, and which with God was near; with whom a thousand years are as one day.

Grudge not one against another, brethren…
On account of any happiness, temporal or spiritual, which another enjoys; do not inwardly repine at it; or secretly sigh and groan in an envious manner at it, though nothing may be said, as the word used signifies; much less complain of, accuse, and condemn one another, or meditate and seek revenge:

behold the judge standeth before the door;
there is another that judgeth, who is the Lord, and he is at hand; he is just at the door; a little while and he will come, and not tarry; which may refer not to Christ's coming to destroy Jerusalem, but to his second coming to judgment, which will be quickly; for the Gospel times are the last times; there will be no other age; at the end of this, Christ will come.

Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the
name of the Lord…
Men who have been highly honoured of God, with a gift of prophesying, or foretelling things to come; to whom God revealed his secrets, doing nothing without acquainting them with it; and who were sent forth by him, and prophesied in his name what were made known unto them; and yet, though these were his favourites, they suffered much; as cruel mockings, scourgings, imprisonment, famine, nakedness, and death in various shapes; some being stoned, others sawn asunder, and others killed by the sword; all which they endured with incredible patience. And therefore the apostle proposes them to be taken,

for an example suffering affliction, and of patience;
their afflictions were many and great, and yet they were very patient under them; and through faith and patience they went through them, and now inherit the promises; and so are a very proper example and pattern for New Testament saints to follow and copy after

Behold, we count them happy which endure…
Affliction, with courage, constancy, and patience, and hold out to the end; for such shall be saved; theirs is the kingdom of heaven; they are happy now, and will be so hereafter: the Spirit of God, and of glory, now rests upon them; and it is an honour done them that they are counted worthy to suffer for Christ; and they will be glorified with him to all eternity; the consideration of which may serve to encourage and increase patience.

that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy;
as to Job, so to all his people; his paternal relation to them engages his pity towards them; nor does he willingly afflict them; and when he does, he sympathizes with them; he is afflicted with them, and in his pity redeems them; his heart moves towards them, and he earnestly remembers them, and works deliverance for them in his own time and way; and therefore it becomes them to be patient.

FOOTNOTES:

F25 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 3. p. 9.

JBF

Chapter 5

In this chapter the apostle denounces the judgments of God upon those rich men who oppress the poor, showing them how great their sin and folly are in the sight of God, and how grievous the punishments would be which should fall upon themselves (v. 1-6). Hereupon, all the faithful are exhorted to patience under their trials and sufferings (v. 7–11). The sin of swearing is cautioned against (v. 12). We are directed how to act, both under affliction and in prosperity (v. 13). Prayer for the sick, and anointing with oil, are prescribed (v. 14, 15). Christians are directed to acknowledge their faults one to another, and to pray one for another, and the efficacy of prayer is proved (v. 16–18). And, lastly, it is recommended to us to do what we can for bringing back those that stray from the ways of truth.

PEOPLES N.T.

James 5:7

James 5:7

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

[Be patient, therefore] Because God is coming to execute judgment on this wicked people, therefore be patient until he comes. He seems here to refer to the coming of the Lord to execute judgment on the Jewish nation, which shortly afterward took place.

[The husbandman waiteth] The seed of your deliverance is already sown, and by and by the harvest of your salvation will take place. God's counsels will ripen in due time.

[The early and latter rain.] The rain of seed time; and the rain of ripening before harvest: the first fell in Judea, about the beginning of November, after the seed was sown; and the second toward the end of April, when the ears were filling, and this prepared for a full harvest. Without these two rains, the earth would have been unfruitful. These God had promised: I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, <Deut. 11:14>. But for these they were not only to wait patiently, but also to pray, Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so shall the Lord make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to everyone grass in the field; <Zech. 10:1>

James 5:8

Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

[Be ye also patient] Wait for God's deliverance, as ye wait for his bounty in providence.

[Establish your hearts] Take courage; do not sink under your trials.

[The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.] Eengiken (grk 1448). Is at hand. He is already on his way to destroy this wicked people, to raze their city and temple, and to destroy their polity forever; and this judgment will soon take place.

James 5:9

Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

[Grudge not] Mee (grk 3361) stenazete (grk 4727). Groan not; grumble not; do not complain through impatience; and let not any ill treatment which you receive, induce you to vent your feelings in imprecations against your oppressors. Leave all this in the hands of God.

[Lest ye be condemned] By giving way to a spirit of this kind, you will get under the condemnation of the wicked.

[The judge standeth before the door.] His eye is upon everything that is wrong in you, and every wrong that is done to you; and he is now entering into judgment with your oppressors.

James 5:10

Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

[Take, my brethren, the prophets] The prophets who had spoken to their forefathers by the authority of God, were persecuted by the very people to whom they delivered the divine message; but they suffered affliction and persecution with patience, commending their cause to him who judgeth righteously; therefore, imitate their example.

James 5:11

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

[We count them happy which endure.] According to that saying of our blessed Lord, Blessed are ye when men shall persecute and revile you-- for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. <Matt. 5:11>, etc.

[Ye have heard of the patience of Job] Stripped of all his worldly possessions, deprived at a stroke of all his children, tortured in body with sore disease, tempted by the Devil, harassed by his wife, and calumniate by his friends, he nevertheless held fast his integrity, resigned himself to the divine dispensations, and charged not God foolishly.

[And have seen the end of the Lord] The issue to which God brought all his afflictions and trials, giving him children, increasing his property, lengthening out his life, and multiplying to him every kind of spiritual and secular good. This was God's end with respect to him; but the Devil's end was to drive him to despair, and to cause him to blaspheme his Maker. This mention of Job shows him to have been a real person; for a fictitious person would not have been produced as an example of any virtue so highly important as that of patience and perseverance. The end of the Lord is a Hebraism for the issue to which God brings anything or business.

[The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.] Instead of polusplangchnos (grk 4184), which we translate very pitiful, and which might be rendered of much sympathy, from polus (grk 4183), much, and splangchnon (grk 4698), a bowel (because anything that affects us with commiseration causes us to feel an indescribable emotion of the bowels), several MSS. have polueusplangchnos, from polus (grk 4183), much, eu (grk 2095), easily, and splangchnon (grk 4698), a bowel, a word not easy to be translated; but it signifies one whose commiseration is easily excited, and whose commiseration is great or abundant.

(from Adam Clarke Commentary)

SPURGON :

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

A Visit to the Harvest Field

A Sermon

(No. 1025)

Delivered by

C. H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waited for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."_ Jam 5:7-8 ;.

THE EARTH THAT YIELDS seed to the sower and bread to the eater has received its constitution from God; and it is governed through his wise providence by fixed laws that are infinitely reliable; and yet, at the same time, with such diversified conditions and minute peculiarities as may well convince us that the Almighty intended the operations of nature to supply us with spiritual instruction as well as with material good. He who ordained the seed time and the harvest meant to teach us by them. Nor has he left us in vague uncertainty as to the lessons we should learn! In metaphor and parable he has interpreted them to us. The author of the Bible is also the architect of the universe. The book that is writ and the things that are made alike bear witness to his eternal power and Godhead. He who shall study them both will see clearly the idioms of one author. In the two masterpieces the hand of the same great artist may be discerned. We are all so dependent upon the labors of the field, that we ought at the season of harvest to remember how much we owe to the God of harvest. It is but common gratitude that we should go to the field awhile, and there hear what God the Lord may have to say to us among the waving sheaves. No matter what our business may be, the wealth of the country must after all, to a large extent, depend upon the crops that are produced, and the well being of the whole state has a greater dependence upon the harvest than many of you could probably imagine. We will not forget the bounties of God. We will not fail at least to endeavor to learn the lesson which this bountiful season is intended to teach us. Our Lord Jesus often preached of the sowing and of the reaping. His were the best of sermons and his the choicest of illustrations: therefore, we shall do well if are repair to the field, mark the scattering of the corn, and the ingathering of it, to enforce the exhortation of the text.

I. First, then, HOW DOES THE HUSBANDMAN WAIT? He waits with a reasonable hope for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and latter rain. He expects the harvest because he has ploughed the fields and sown the grain. If he had not, he would not be an example for our imitation. Had he left his fields fallow, never stirred the clods, and never cast in among them the golden seed, he would be an idiot were he expecting the soil to produce a harvest. Thorns and thistles would it bring forth to him_nothing more. Out on the folly of those, who flatter their souls with a prospect of good things in time to come while they neglect the opportunity of sowing good things in the time present. They say they hope it will be well with them at the end; but, since it is not well with them now, why should they expect any change_much less a change contrary to the entire order of Providence? Is it not written "He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption"? Do you expect to sow to the flesh and reap salvation? That is a blessing reserved for him who soweth to the spirit; for he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. As for the man who scatters nothing but the wild oats of sin, who simply lives to indulge his own passions, and determinately resolves to neglect the things that make for his peace,_he can but upbraid himself if he collect to reap anything good of the Lord. They that sow to the wind shall reap the whirlwind, they that sow nothing shall reap nothing, they that sow sparingly shall reap also sparingly. It is only those who by God's grace have been enabled to sow abundantly, though they have gone forth weeping, who shall afterwards come again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. Patience by all means, but not that foolish patience which expects something good to turn up in spiritual things, as some fools do in business when they turn aside from legitimate trade to foster bubble schemes. Thou shalt have, my brother, after all according to what thou art, and to what thou art fairly going for. If thou art a believer, to thee shall be the promise_thou shalt share the victories and spoils of thy Lord. If thou art a careless, godless worldling, to thee shall be the fruit of thy deeds, and sad and bitter shall be those grapes of Gomorrah that thou shalt have to eat. The husbandman waits with a reasonable hope; he does not look for grain where he has cast in garlic. Save then that thou art a fool, thou wilt like him count only on the fruit of thine own sowing.

While he waits with a patient hope, he is no doubt all the more patient of the issue, because his hope is so reasonable. And not only does he wait with patience, but some stress is put upon the length of it; "and hath long patience for the precious fruit of the earth." Now, brethren in Christ, our waiting, if it be the work of the Holy Spirit, must have this long patience in it. Are you a sufferer? There are sweet fruits to come from suffering! "Not for the present seemeth it to be joyous but grievous, nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby." Have long patience for those peaceable fruits. You shall be brought out of your trouble, deliverance will be found for you out of your affliction when the discipline for which you were brought into it has been fulfilled. Have lot patience, however, for not the first month does the husbandman find a harvest. If he has sown in the winter, he does not expect he will reap in the early spring: he does not go forth with his sickle in the month of May and expect to find golden sheaves. He waits. The moons wax and wane; suns rise and set; but the husbandman waits till the appointed time is come. Wait thou, O sufferer, till the night be over. Watch after watch thou hast already passed through; the morning breaketh. Tarry thou a little longer, for if the vision tarry it shall come. "Thou shalt stand in thy lot in the end of the days." Ere long thou shalt have a happy exit out of thy present trials. Are you a worker? Then you need as much patience in working as you do in suffering. We must not expect to see immediate results in all cases from the preaching of the Gospel, from the teaching of Scripture in our classes, from distributing religious literature, or from any other kind of effort. Immediate results may come. Sometimes they do, and they greatly cheer the worker; but it is given to some to wait long, like the husbandman, ere the fruit reaches maturity. Truth, like the grain of mustard seed, does not wax into a tree tomorrow being sown to-day: it takes its leisure. Or, like the leaven in the measure, it doth not work in the next moment; it must have its time. If you have some principle to teach that is now obnoxious, go on with it. Perhaps, you may never see it popular in your day. Do not mind the fickle winds or fret yourself because of the nipping frosts. Truth is mighty and it will prevail, though it may have a hard fight before it wins the victory. Souls may not be won to God the first time you pray for them, nor the first time you exhort them, nay, nor the twentieth time. If thou hast gone to a sinner once on Christ's errand and he has rejected thee, go again seven times; nay, go again seventy times seven; for if thou shouldst at last succeed by thy master's gracious help, it will well repay thee. The long, tedious winter of thy waiting will appear as a short span to look back upon when thou hast reaped the field of thy labor. The little patience that thou hadst to exert for a while will seem as nothing, like the travail of the mother when the man-child is born into the world. Hush, then, your sad complaints, and still your petulant wailings.

"O dreary life! we cry, O dreary life!

And still the generations of the birds

Sing thro' our sighing; and the flocks and herds

Serenely live while we are keeping strife."

Be patient, O worker, for impatience sours the temper, chills the blood, sickens the heart, prostrates the vigor of one's spirit, and spoils the enterprise of life before it is ripe for history. Wait thou, clothed with patience, like a champion clad in steel. Wait with a sweet grace, as one who guards the faith and sets an example of humility. Wait in a right spirit, anxious, prayerful, earnest submissive to the ways of God, not doubtful of his will. Disciple of Jesus, "learn to labor and to wait."

With regard to the result of Christian obedience, the lesson is no less striking. The first thing that a farmer does by way seeking gain on his farm is to make a sacrifice which could seem immediately to entail on him a loss. He has some good wheat in the granary, and he takes out sacks full of it and buries it. He is so much the poorer, is not he? At any rate, there is so much the less to make bread for his household. He cannot get it again; it is under the clod, and there too it must die; for except it die, it bringeth not forth fruit. You must not expect as soon as you become a Christian, that you shall obtain all the gains of your religion, perhaps you may lose all that you have for Christ's sake. Some have lost their lives; they have sown their house and land, relatives, comfort, ease, and at last they have sown life itself in Christ's field, and they seemed for the time to be losers; but, verily I say unto you, this day, if you could see them in their white robes before the throne of God, rejoicing, you would see how rich a harvest they have reaped, and how the sowing which seemed a loss at first has ended, through God's abundant grace, in the greatest eternal gain. Have patience, brother, have patience. That is a false religion that aims at present worldly advantage. He who becomes religious for the loaves and fishes, when he hath eaten his loaves and fishes, hath devoured his religion. There is nothing in such piety but pretension. If thou canst be bought, thou canst be sold: if thou hast taken it up for gain, thou wilt lay it down for what promises thee a better bargain. Be willing to be a loser for Christ, and so prove thou art his genuine follower. The husbandman, I say, does not expect immediate reward, but reckons upon being a loser for a while. He waits, waits with long patience, for the precious fruit of the earth. It is a reasonable waiting on the outset, and not regretful when wearied and worried with delay.

II. Very briefly, in the second place, we have to ask, WHAT DOES THE HUSBANDMAN WAIT FOR? for we are in this respect like him. He waits for results, for real results; right results; he hopes also rich results. And this is just what we are waiting for_waiting as sufferers for the results of sanctified affliction. May those results be read; may they be right; may they be rich. Oh that we might have every virtue strengthened, every grace refined, by passing through the furnace. There are great blessings connected with patient endurance as in Job's case. He had a plenteous harvest, may we have the same. And you workers, you must work for results, for, though conversion is the work of God, it is in many cases as clearly a product of the holy living, the devout teaching, and the fervent praying of his servants, as any collect can be the result from a cause. Go on, go on, and may you have real conversions_not pretended conversions_not such as are sometimes chronicled in newspapers_ "fifty-one conversions of an evening"_as if anybody knew! May there be real conversions, and ripe fruits for Jesus, in the growth and advance of those who are converted, and may many of them turn out to be such fruit-bearing Christians when they are matured in, grace, that the richest result in the prosperity of the Church may come to you from all your work. You are waiting for results. And you are, also, dear brethren, like the husbandman, waiting for a reward. All the while till the harvest comes, he has nothing but outlay. From the moment he sows, it is all outgoing until he sells his crops, and then, recovering at once the principal and the interest, he gets his reward. In this world, look not for a recompense. You may have a grateful acknowledgment in the peace, and quiet, and contentment of your own spirit, but do not expect even that from your fellow-men. The pure motive of any man who serves his generation well is generally misrepresented. As a rule the lounger looks on at the laborer not to praise but to blame him: not to cheer him but to chide him. The less he does, the less he will be open to rebuke, and the more he does oftentimes, and the more vigorously, the more he shall be upbraided. Look not for your reward here. Suppose men praise you, what is their praise worth? It would not fill your nostrils if you were about to die. The approbation of those who have neither skill nor taste_what pleasure can it afford the artist? Should one stoop for it, or, having it, lift his head the higher? Our reward is the approbation of God, which he will give of his abundant grace. He first gives us good works, as one observes, and then rewards us for those good works, as if they were altogether our own. He gives rewards though they are not a debt, but altogether of grace. Look for the reward hereafter. Wait a bit, man, wait a bit; your reward is not yet. Wait till the week is over, and then shall come the wage. Wait until the sun is gone down, and then there will be the penny for every laborer in the vineyard. Not yet, not yet, not yet. The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth. This is what we wait for.

It were worth going through a thousand perils by land and by sea to come out and win that "Well done." We might count it worth while to face the lions of hell and do battle with Apollyon himself, to snatch but one poor lamb from between their jaws. It were worth while to do all that I say, if we might hear the Master say to us, "Well done," at the last. This then encourages us, as well as the husbandman_the preciousness of the fruit.

A godly husbandman waits with patience, again, because he knows God's covenant. God has said "seed time and harvest, summer and winter, shall not cease," and the Christian farmer knowing, this is confident. But oh, what strong confidences have we who have looked to Christ, and who are resting on the faithful word of a covenant God. He cannot fail us. It is not possible that he should suffer our faith to be confounded. "Heaven and earth may pass away," and they shall, but his word shall not fail. They that sow in faith shall reap abundantly. The glory shall be theirs. And, brother workers, if we do not for a time see all the results we expect, yet the Lord has said, "Surely all flesh shall see the salvation of God." The day must come when the dwellers in the wilderness shall bow before him and lick the dust. "He has set his king upon his holy hill of Zion," and they that said, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast their cords from us," will have to submit themselves and lick the dust at his feet. Have courage, therefore. The covenant stands good, the harvest must come as surely as the seed time has come.

Moreover, every husbandman is encouraged by the fact, that he has seen other harvests. I suppose if the farmer had never heard of a harvest, and had never seen one, it would take some considerable persuasion to get him to sow his seed. But then he knows his father sowed seed and his grandsire, and that the race of men in all generations have put their seed under the clods as an act of faith, and God has accepted their faith, and sent them a return. And, O brethren, have not we multitudes of instances to confirm our confidence? Let us cheerfully resign ourselves to the Lord's will in suffering, for as others of his saints who went before us have reaped the blessing, So shall we. Let us work on for our Lord and Master, knowing that apostles and confessors, and a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before, have seen great results, and so shall we. Let us patiently tarry till the Lord come, for as in the first coming those that waited for him rejoiced, so shall those who are found watching and waiting at his second advent. We have not only the promise of God, but that promise fulfilled to tens of thousands who have preceded us, therefore, we should be ashamed to be impatient, rather let us patiently wait and work on, till the day breaketh, and the harvest cometh.

But the benefits of patience are too many for me to hope to enumerate them. Suffice it to say, patience saves a man from great discouragement. If I expect that God will bless my labors to a large extent the first month, and so strain every nerve and toil with every sinew till my strength is ready to yield, and my spirit begins to flag; and the blessing does not come at the time I looked for; I shall be disheartened. But, if I expect some result, a great result in God's appointed week of harvest, even though I may not count on seeing it myself at once; I shall keep on renewing my labors, reviving my hopes, and encouraging myself in the Lord my God. Surely a farmer would give up his farm in sheer despair if he expected a harvest in a month's time after sowing. He would be month after month in a very sad way, if waiting to see it were not a condition for which he was thoroughly prepared. If you expect an interval during which your patience will be tried, you will not grow discouraged, because it is absolutely requisite that you should wait. Expect to wait for the glory; expect to wait for the reward which God hath promised; and, while you are waiting on the Lord your bread shall be certain, and your water shall be sure: you shall often eat meat, thank God, and take courage. The short days and long nights shall not be all charged with gloom, but full often they shall be tempered with good cheer. When we patience it keeps us in good heart for service. A man to whom it is given to wait for a reward keeps up his courage, and when he has to wait, he says, "It is no more than I expected. I never reckoned that I was to slay my enemy at the first blow. I never imagined that I was to capture the city as soon as ever I had digged the first trench; I reckoned upon waiting, and now that is come, I find that God gives me the grace to fight on and wrestle on, till the victory shall come." And patience saves a man from a great deal of haste and folly. A hasty man never is a wise man. He is wise that halts a little, and ponders his ways, especially when adversity crosses his path. I have known brethren in the ministry get discouraged and leave their pulpits, and repent as long as ever they lived that they left a sphere of labor, where they ought to have toiled on. I have known Christian people get discouraged, and touchy, and angry, fall out with the church of which they were members, go out in the wilderness, and leave the fat pastures behind them. They have only had to regret all their lives, that they had not a little more patience with their brethren, and with the circus stances which surrounded them. Whenever you are about to do anything in a great hurry, pause and pray. The hot fever in your own system ill fits you to act discreetly. While you tarry for a more healthy temperature of your own feelings, there may be a great change in the thermometer outside as to the circumstances that influence you. Great haste makes little speed. He that believeth shall not make haste; and as the promise runs, he shall never be confounded.

Above all, patience is to be commended to you because it glorifies God. The man that can wait, and wait calmly, astonishes the worlding, for the worldling wants it now. You remember John Bunyan's pretty parable (as you all know it, I will only give the outline)_of Passion and Patience. Passion would have all his best things first, and one came in, and lavished before him out of a bag all that the child could desire. Patience would have his best things last, and Patience sat and waited, so when Passion had used up all his joy, and all he sought for, Patience came in for his portion, and as John Bunyan very well remarked, there is nothing to come after the last, and so the portion of Patience lasted for ever. Let me have my best things last, my Lord, and my worst things first. Be they what they may, they shall be over, and then my best things shall last for ever and for ever. He that can wait has faith, and it is faith that marks the true Christian. He that can wait hath grace, and it is grace that marks the child of God. O that the Lord would grant to every one of you more and more of this excellent grace of patience, to the praise and glory of his name.

I have well nigh done. Yet there is one other respect in which our case is like that of the husbandman. As the season advances, his anxieties are prone to increase rather than to abate. If he has had long need of patience while the seasons have succeeded each other, and while organic chances have been in course of development, surely there is a stronger denoted on his patience as the crisis approaches when he shall reap the produce. How anxiously at this season will he observe the skies, watch the clouds, and wait the opportune time to get in his crops and garner them in good condition! Is there no peril that haunts him lest, after all, the blast or the mildew should cheat his hopes; lest fierce winds should lay the full-grown stems prostrate on the ground; lest then the pelting showers of rain should drench the well-filled ears of corn? I might almost call this the husbandman's last fear, and yet the most nervous fear that agitates his mind. In like manner, beloved, we have a closing scene in prospect which may, and will in all probability, involve a greater trial of faith, and a sterner call for patience, than any or all of the struggles through which we have already passed. Perhaps I can best describe it to you by quoting two passages of Scripture, one specially addressed to workers, the other more particularly to sufferers. For the first of these texts; you will find it in Hbr 10:35-36 ;. "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, What, after ye have done the will of God, ye may receive the promise." This is sweet counsel for thee, O pilgrim, to Zion's city bound. When thou wast young and strong, thou didst walk many a weary mile with that staff of promise. It helped thee over the ground. Don't throw it aside as useless, now that thou art old and infirm. Lean upon it. Rest upon that promise, in thy present weakness, which lightened thy labor in the days of thy vigor. "Cast not away your confidence." But, brethren, there is something more. The Apostle says, "Ye have need of patience, after ye have done the will of God." But, why, you will say, is patience so indispensable at this juncture of experience? Doubtless you all know that we are never so subject to impatience as when there is nothing we can do. All the while the farmer is occupied with ploughing, harrowing, tilling, drilling, hoeing, and the like, he is too busy to be fretful. It is when the work is done, and there is nothing more to occupy his hands, that the very leisure he has to endure gives occasion to secret qualms and lurking cares. So it ever is with us. While "we are laborers together with God," our occupation is so pleasant that we little heed the toil and moil of hard service. But when it comes to a point where we have no province, for it is "God that giveth the increase," we are apt to be grievously distrustful; our unbelief finds full play. Hence it is, brethren, that after our fight is fought, after our race is run, after our allotted task is finished, there is so much need of patience, of such patience as waits only on God and watches unto prayer, that we may finish our course with joy and the ministry we have received of the Lord Jesus. And what about the second text? Where is that to be found? It is in the early part of this epistle of James. Turn to Jam 1:4 ;. "Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." Oh, how indisposed we all of us are to take this advice! Methinks I see Paul retiring thrice to wrestle with God in prayer, that he would remove the thorn from his flesh. He felt the rankling, and he craved for relief. He had hardly thought of it as a seton that must irritate before it could relieve, or as a medicine that must gripe before it could head. But oh, patience is then wrought up to its climax, when the soul so accepts the chastisement from the hand of God that she cannot, and will not, ask him to change his treatment or alter his discipline.

Seemeth it not as though patience were a virtue par excellence which puts the last polish on Christian chastity? We will hie us back to the cornfields again: I am afraid we were forgetting them. But this time we will not talk so much with the farmer as with the crops. Knowest thou then what it is that gives that bright yellow tinge of maturity to those blades which erst were green and growing? What, think you, imparts that golden hue to the wheat? How do you suppose the husbandman judges when it is time to thrust in the sickle? I will tell you. All the while the corn was growing, those hollow stems served as ducts that drew up nourishment from the soil. At length the process of vegetation is fulfilled. The fibres of the plant become rigid; they cease their office; down below there has been a failure of the vital power which is the precursor of death. Henceforth the heavenly powers work quick and marvellous changes; the sun paints his superscription on the ears of grain. They have reached the last stage: having fed on the riches of the soil long enough, they are only influenced from above. The time of their removal is at hand, when they shall be cut down, carried away in the team, and housed in the garners. So, too, beloved in the Lord, it is with some of you. Do I speak as a prophet? Do I not rather echo a trite observation? "The fall of the year is most thickly strewn with the fall of human life." You have long been succoured with mercies that have come up from mother-earth; you have been exposed to cold dews, chilling frosts, stormy blasts; you have had the trial of the vapory fog, the icy winter, the fickle spring, and the summer drought; but it is nearly all over now. You are ready to depart. Not yet for a brief space has the reaper come. "Ye have need of patience." Having suffered thus far, your tottering frame has learnt to bend. Patience, man_patience! A mighty transformation is about to be wrought on you in a short space. Wait on the Lord. Holiness shall now be legibly, more legibly than ever, inscribed on your forefront by the clear shining of the Sun of Righteousness. The heavenly husbandman has you daily, hourly, in his eye, till he shall say to the angel of his presence, "Put in your sickle." Then, as we pronounce your obituary with the meed of praise due to one in whom God has wrought a perfect work, we shall record that you were patient under affliction, resigned to the will of the Lord, and ready to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Patience has had her perfect work: you lack nothing. God grant unto you this gracious "nunc dimittis" when your time for ingathering has come!

Now, I have only spoken to believers, because as I have already said, the unbeliever cannot wait with patience, for he has nothing to wait for. There is nothing for him but a fearful looking for of judgment. Oh, it must be an awful thing to go from a life of poverty, or of suffering, or of drudgery here, into the world where the wrath of God abideth for ever. It matters not what your position here may be, if at the end you enter into rest. Equally little does it matter what joys or wealth you have here, if after all you are driven from the Lord's presence. May you be led to believe in Jesus. There lies safety. May you rest in his precious blood. There is pardon; there is salvation. God grant it, for Christ's sake Amen.

by MELVIN NEWLAND

Galatians 5:22-22

by James Westervelt

Galatians 5:22-22

by Ed Vasicek

Proverbs 16:32-32

by Denn Guptill

Galatians 5:22-23

THE POWER OF PATIENCE

Building Great Relationships

I Corinthians 13:4

Ed Allen, December 27, 1998

The Bible confirms our experience when it says that it's not good for a person to be alone. We were made for community. It's not by accident that solitary confinement is considered punishment. Relationships are very, very important for three reasons.

Relationships determine your happiness. They are the source of our greatest pleasures and our greatest pain. Psychologists tell us that most emotional problems are rooted in wrong relationships. Most suicides happen because of unhealthy relationships.

Our relationships determine our success. The American Management Association said the number one important skill that an executive should have is the ability to get along with other people. Rockefeller said, "I'll pay anything for the ability to deal with people".

Our relationships develop our character. Who we are a year from today will largely be determined by two things: the things you allow in your mind and the people to whom we relate. This is especially true of young people. The Bible says in I Cor. 15 "Bad company corrupts good character." Who we spend our time with shapes us.

But in our society relationships are fragmenting at an alarming rate. We are much more likely to live away from our parents and a natural network of support than were previous generations. Half of us are divorced. We work longer hours and spend more time watching TV so we have less to time interact with others. And there aren't many good role models around that show us how to develop healthy relationships.

If I want make good relationships one of my resolutions for 1999 how do I do that? How do I build healthy relationships?

Today we're going to resume a series called building great relationships which we started before the four Sundays of Advent. The first week we talked about diagnosing the problem. We saw that there is a great gulf between us and God that damages our ability to relate to Him and to one another. This great divide can be bridged by a relationship with Jesus.

The next week we observed that loving others is life's greatest aim. We saw that the Bible says Love is to be the basis of all our relationships. We all know that. But the problem is most people misunderstand love. We need to define it. God dedicated an entire chapter in the Bible to it, saying Love is this, Love is not that...

Today we're going to look at the first characteristic given for love. I Cor. 13:4 "Love is Patient". God says that when you're going to relate to people, if we want to have big, healthy, growing relationships the first thing we need is patience.

Why would God know that? He's had several thousand years experience dealing with people. He's had to have patience. One Greek dictionary suggested that the word in Greek literally means "It takes a long time to boil". We talk about somebody having a short fuse; Patience is having a long fuse. This word is never used in relationship to anything else in the Bible except people. You need to take a long time to boil when you relate to people.

Love is patient. That means that when we act under the impulse of love we will be patient. It's unloving to be impatient. When I'm patient with my kids I'm loving them. When I'm patient with my wife, I'm loving her. When I'm impatient I'm unloving.

So Why is Patience so Vital to Relationships?

Why do you suppose God starts off his list of how to build great relationships with patience? Why is it the most important thing?

1. Because Patience has the Power to persuade.

Proverbs 25:15 says, "Through patience a ruler can be persuaded; and a gentle tongue can break a bone."

Lewis Smedes wrote a great book on love called Love Within Limits. Commenting on patience he said, "patience is not passive. It is a tough, active, aggressive style of life. It takes power of soul to be patient."

God's patience towards us is an active force. It waits on us with expectancy. It exercises its energy toward us, coercise, motivating, inspiring and slowly bringing change that could not be brought about quickly for fear of doing damage.

Before moving to N. VA, Diane and I lived and pastored in the Boston, MA area. Larry came to our church during the first month of our time there. Over time we realized there were two significant barriers to Larry's spiritual health and to his relationships. He had a drug habit that was off and on but which he could not seem to overcome and he had a problem with the truth, meaning he had no use for it if it did not serve him.

Larry was confronted for years. Furiously and even violently by his wife. Angrily by friends. With great frustration by many people in our church. At several points, given a clear albeit difficult passage to change, Larry refused to take it. And finally after several years Larry disappeared from our lives and the life of our church.

About two years later I received this letter:

Ed,

I'm glad to know you are still at the church. I spoke with someone the other day who knows you. He said things were going good. That's good to hear and its important to me even though you may not think so. It was kind of a reminder to me of how you're in the right place and I'm not. I guess that's always been true. In case you did not know it, I'm in jail at Charles Street. Things have been tough lately. (he goes on to explain)

Well, I'm writing to let you know I guess you were right all along. I don't think I understood or maybe I did not want to. Anyway, I know I need to make some of the changes you talked about. (He goes on to list some of those changes and ends with this)

Thank you for being patient with me. I know I can write this because I know you won't be looking down on me and stuff. I guess if you tell someone something long enough, sooner or later their gonna get it. Pray for me. I cannot make changes in my life unless God helps me.

Your brother,

Larry

There is a physical principle that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This is also true of the emotional world. Impatience escalates and exacerbates. It is usually met with equal amounts of anger and intensity. Patience softens and resolves. Over time, it is met with appreciation and change.

2. Because Patience is the power to inherit.

Hebrews 6:10-12 "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."

God is not in favor of merely hanging on. He advocates active, robust, vital patience. Because patience is powerful. It eventually inherits what impatience long ago gave up on.

This really gets at the heart of what it means to be patient. Patience is the ability to wait and to endure. In older English they used the word long-suffering to communicate this idea. Older versions of the Bible translate this verse "Love suffers long."

Concerning this, Lewis Smedes, said,

"Love is an uncommon power to cope with common suffering. Suffering itself takes no talent. It comes to us, takes us captive, pins us down. We are all its victims. Some of us have to suffer more than others. Some are able to suffer with more grace than others. But it is love that enables us to suffer long.

However, to suffer long seems like a grim return on love. Love, it would seem, holds a poor hand if long-suffering is one of its best cards. But in a world where suffering is almost a law of life, the power to suffer long may be one of life's most needed gifts."

Do you want your marriage to work? Do you want your life to have an impact on others? Then you must exercise PATIENCE! You have heard the old proverb, "good things come to those who wait." That's why love suffers long. Love puts up with another, love endures in relationships, love stays even when things are frustrating and tough. Love is not blind to fault, but it is patient. Real, lasting change does not come easily or quickly. Love suffers long.

This does not mean that love does not draw any lines or set up any boundaries. The wife of the abusive husband, the friend of the alcoholic, the parent of the drug addicted or habitually irresponsible child - all of these must set limits and sometimes make tough choices. But the impulse and motivation must be love. It must be with a view toward the long-term good of the other. It cannot be because we have run out of patience. If we have run out of patience and respond out of anger or frustration or despair, then we have run out of love. We have surrendered the power to persuade. We have lost what we might have inherited.

But sometimes it is almost impossible not to respond out of frustration, or anger or despair.

Why is Patience So Difficult in Relationships?

1. Because everybody is different.

Everybody is an original. Each of us was individually crafted, "fearfully and wonderfully." As evidence look at your brothers and sisters, or at your own children if you're a parent with two or three kids. From the same family, completely different people. God made us with a unique shape.

There are five factors that make us different from one another. These factors are how God has shaped us.

S Your spiritual gift --

The special abilities God has given you to serve Him and establish a relationship with Him. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says,

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone."

In this way God acknowledges the uniqueness of each of us by working through each of us uniquely.

H Your heart --

We're all motivated differently. We all have different interests, different passions. The Bible declares the importance of the heart when it tells us in Psalm 15 that the blameless in heart are the ones who can come into God's presence. Jesus agrees, telling us that the pure in heart will see God. The condition of our heart, that is, our priorities, our values, our interests, our passions, is critically important in determining who we are.

A Abilities --

We all have different natural talents and skills and capabilities. Some can draw, some can sing, some are smart, some are athletic.

P Personality --

We all have different personalities. Different perceptions and understandings. There are shy people and outgoing people, people who like routine and people who like variety, people who are introverts and those who are extroverts...

E Experiences --

We all have different backgrounds, different needs. And different things have happened in life. These experiences interact with the other factors to finish off the picture of who we are.

Because of these five things -- the way God has shaped you -- there is nobody else in the world like you. You are very different and very complex. There is nobody else like you.

We have different perspectives. For example, some of us think the cup is half full, some of us think it is half empty. Witnesses at a crime scene often see very different things from the same set of facts. Last week, the U. S. House of Representatives voted on highly partisan lines to impeach an elected president for the first time in our nation's history. The Democrats voted one way, the Republicans voted another - and yet very, very few of them disagreed on the facts. But they disagreed vehemently on what conclusion those facts led to.

Here's another example:

Imagine bringing home a report card with 5 A's and 1 B. English, A; Math, A; History, A; Physics, A; Biology, B; P.E., A. If this had been your report card how would you have felt?

1) I'd feel good knowing my parents felt good too.

2) My parents would want to know why I made a B in Biology.

3) I would expect a big reward from my parents if I brought home this card.

4) I'd feel sad because I hadn't gotten straight A's.

5) I'd call NBC news and schedule a press conference to announce the great results!

We are all different. Because we're all different, we need to be patient in dealing with one another...

2. Because differences create misunderstandings.

Because none of us are alike it creates misunderstandings. Often we just can't figure each other out. We don't know where other people are coming from. Look again at the debate last week over impeaching President Clinton. There were people speaking passionately from both sides, completely unable to understand the other.

I Cor. 2:11 "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him?" How would you restate that in your own words?

"I just can't figure out what he's thinking." "Honestly, you never know what's on her mind." Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Sound familiar?

The same words mean different things to different people so communication that should be clear, breaks down. Given exactly the same kinds of feelings, different people respond differently so I'm not always sure what you're feeling even when I know what you're saying and how you're acting.

Have you used any of these phrases in the last thirty days?

I don't understand the way he acts.

She doesn't understand me.

He's on a different wave length.

She doesn't make any sense.

How can you think that way?

My parents are from another time zone.

Why do I have to tell you 48 times before you do it?

Why won't you talk to me?

Why do you get so emotional?

What is perfectly clear to me, is muddy and vague to you. I left things tentatively. You heard the same thing and thought it was sure. I need to be alone to think. You want lots of others around so your feelings are hurt. Because we're so different we have misunderstandings.

If we're going to develop healthy relationships patience is vital.

HOW TO BE MORE PATIENT WITH PEOPLE

So how do we do this? The Bible tells us to "Be patient with everybody." (1 Th. 5:14) This is not a suggestion; it is a command. But how? We've already talked about how difficult it is. I misunderstand people and they misunderstand me.

To dwell above, with those we love, that will be a glory

To dwell below, with those we know -- that's a different story.

And yet, God commands our patience. And He puts it as the first building block in the structure of great relationships. Fortunately God does not give commands that He does not show the way to obey.

Here are five guides to being patient with people.

1. Remember how patient God is with me.

The next time you say to your kids, "Grow up!" remember God wants to say that to you. Or when you want to say to a coworker, "How many times do you need to be shown the same thing?" Remember God has shown you the same thing over and over again.

Romans 15:7 "Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you." The motive: The reason I am to accept other people is because God has accepted me. The reason I am to be patient with other people is that God is patient with me. The reason I am to try to get along with others is that God gets along with me. The starting point is to remember how patient God is with me.

2. Recognize How God sees You.

A big reason that Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Corinth was because he had heard about a series of arguments and quarrels among them. He was shocked.

"I can't address you as spiritual people," he says, "since there is jealousy and quarreling among you."

"Do not be deceived. If anyone thinks they are wise by the standards of this age, they should become a fool so that they may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."

If our wisdom looks like foolishness to God, imagine what our foolishness looks like. We will have an easier time being patient if we see ourselves in the clear light of God's perspective. We are like sheep. Dearly loved, with some great qualities, but not very smart.

We need to see ourselves as God sees us.

3. Make allowances for each other.

Everybody's got bad days. We're all flaky from time to time. Time of day, week, month. Diane knows there are certain times she should just get out of my way. She makes allowances for me. We all have bad days, it's just a fact of life. This is what the Bible means when it says, "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

4. Be still before God.

Several of the themes that we have talked about are brought together by King David in Psalm 37. Read with me verses 3-7a

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."

Patience is a matter of character. When we are outwardly tried what is inside comes oozing out. Real patience is beyond our momentary control. That means if it is not part of our character, then we will not have it when we need it. If we do not know how to operate under the impulse of love then when we are suffering or irritated or exasperated, we will not be able to choose patience.

Patience is a matter of ongoing character, but stillness before God is always a moment by moment choice. We can choose stillness and this in turn teaches us patience. Daily stillness before God nurtures within us God's perspective. We will see how much He loves us. We will see our own foolishness before Him and His great patience with us. We will see the way to make allowances for others. We will be filled with the love which is the impulse behind real patience.

5. Receive God's work in you.

Galatians 5:22 says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

This tells us that patience is a fruit of God's work in our lives. All an apple tree has to do to bear apples is grow up. (Bugs Life Illustration)

Letter:

God has restored a marriage and rekindled a love that was virtually dead. God had to break, bend, and finally remold me so that I would be ready when God began a work in my husband's life. Five years ago I sat in the last row and I thought you surely were talking to me as you told of Jesus' love and hope for the despairing. As my tears quietly fell, I found God's loving forgiveness and real hope and strength. I went home that day with my one year old son to a husband who worked constantly, drank heavily and was emotionally hurting. But this time Jesus came too. You'll never know the strength that God gave me over the months that followed. I wanted to run away and start over but I stayed and stayed and let God begin his work of changing me. I stopped praying for God to fix my marriage and husband and started asking Him to change me. Through the pain God sheltered me. Two years ago God removed from my husband a desire for alcohol and He did it overnight. This past summer I decided to get off the fence and commit every area of my life to Christ. I gave Him all those areas I'd stubbornly held on to. I said, "God, whatever it takes to bring me close to You, You do it. I'm going to stay in this marriage and let You work Your will in my life. Three months later, in God's timing, my husband accepted Jesus Christ as His savior. Talk about an answer to prayer! I'm married to a brand new man, one who loves God and wants our family to live according to God's will. You've said on so many occasions how God can rekindle a dead love. My husband and I are proof of God's caring, His power and His ability to change hearts and bring to life a dead relationship. I love my husband now more than ever. Our priorities in the family are straight. God is first. God is so faithful in restoring the years that the locusts had eaten. He's been wonderful to us. Now, our six year old son prays, "Thank you, Jesus, for coming in to my daddy's heart and making him nice to me and not mean. I love my daddy." As a family we now anticipate growing in the Lord Jesus, participating and fellowshiping and being an encouragement of love to other people.

That's the power of patience! Instead of saying, "God, instead of changing those people who are irritating my life start working on me and my attitude." Once He's got you right, then He can start working on other people.

Remembrance, Recognition, Allowance, Stillness, Reception

Gateway Community Church (703) 858-0400

P.O. Box 2388 Ashburn, VA 20146

www.gatewaychurch.org

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SERMON 83

[text of the 1872 edition]

ON PATIENCE

"Let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:4.

1. "My brethren," says the Apostle in the preceding verse, "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." At first view, this may appear a strange direction; seeing most temptations are, "for the present, not joyous, but grievous." Nevertheless ye know by your own experience, that "the trial of your faith worketh patience:" And if "patience have its perfect work, ye shall be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

2. It is not to any particular person, or Church, that the Apostle gives this instruction; but to all who are partakers of like precious faith, and are seeking after that common salvation. For as long as any of us are upon earth, we are in the region of temptation. He who came into the world to save his people from their sins, did not come to save them from temptation. He himself "knew no sin;" yet while he was in this vale of tears, "he suffered being tempted;" and herein also "left us an example, that we should tread in his steps." We are liable to a thousand temptations, from the corruptible body variously affecting the soul. The soul itself, encompassed as it is with infirmities, exposes us to ten thousand more. And how many are the temptations which we meet with even from the good men (such, at least, they are in part, in their general character) with whom we are called to converse from day to day! Yet what are these to the temptations we may expect to meet with from an evil world? seeing we all, in effect, "dwell with Mesech, and have our habitation in the tents of Kedar." Add to this, that the most dangerous of our enemies are not those that assault us openly. No:

Angels our march oppose,

Who still in strength excel:

Our secret, sworn, eternal foes,

Countless, invisible!

For is not our "adversary the devil, as a roaring lion," with all his infernal legions, still going "about seeking whom he may devour?" This is the case with all the children of men; yea, and with all the children of God, as long as they sojourn in this strange land. Therefore, if we do not wilfully and carelessly rush into them, yet we shall surely "fall into divers temptations;" temptations innumerable as the stars of heaven; and those varied and complicated a thousand ways. But, instead of counting this a loss, as unbelievers would do, "count it all joy; knowing that the trial of your faith," even when it is "tried as by fire," "worketh patience." But "let patience have its perfect work, and ye shall be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

3. But what is Patience? We do not now speak of a heathen virtue; neither of a natural indolence; but of a gracious temper, wrought in the heart of a believer, by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is a disposition to suffer whatever pleases God, in the manner and for the time that pleases him. We thereby hold the middle way, neither _holigOrountes_, despising our sufferings, making little of them, passing over them lightly, as if they were owing to chance, or second causes; nor, on the other hand, _ekloumenoi_, affected too much, unnerved, dissolved, sinking under them. We may observe, the proper object of patience is suffering, either in body or mind. Patience does not imply the not feeling this: It is not apathy or insensibility. It is at the utmost distance from stoical stupidity; yea, at an equal distance from fretfulness or dejection. The patient believer is preserved from falling into either of these extremes, by considering, -- Who is the Author of all his suffering? Even God his Father; -- What is the motive of his giving us to suffer? Not so properly his justice as his love; -- and, What is the end of it? Our "profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness."

4. Very nearly related to patience is meekness, if it be not rather a species of it. For may it not be defined, patience of injuries; particularly affronts, reproach, or unjust censure? This teaches not to return evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing. Our blessed Lord himself seems to place a peculiar value upon this temper. This he peculiarly calls us to learn of him, if we would find rest for our souls.

5. But what may we understand by the work of patience? "Let patience have its perfect work." It seems to mean, let it have its full fruit or effect. And what is the fruit which the Spirit of God is accustomed to produce hereby, in the heart of a believer? One immediate fruit of patience is peace: A sweet tranquillity of mind; a serenity of spirit, which can never be found, unless where patience reigns. And this peace often rises into joy. Even in the midst of various temptations, those that are enabled "in patience to possess their souls," can witness, not only quietness of spirit, but triumph and exultation. This both

Lays the rough paths of peevish nature even,

And opens in each breast a little heaven.

6. How lively is the account which the Apostle Peter gives not only of the peace and joy, but of the hope and love, which God works in those patient sufferers "who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation!" Indeed he appears herein to have an eye to this very passage of St. James: "Though ye are grieved for a season, with manifold temptations," (the very word _poikilois peirasmois_,) "that the trial of your faith" (the same expression which was used by St. James) "may be found to praise, and honour, and glory, at the revelation of Jesus Christ; whom, having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." See here the peace, the joy, and the love, which, through the mighty power of God, are the fruit or "work of patience!"

7. And as peace, hope, joy, and love are the fruits of patience, both springing from, and confirmed by it, so is also rational, genuine courage, which indeed cannot subsist without patience. The brutal courage, or rather fierceness, of a lion may probably spring from impatience; but true fortitude, the courage of a man, springs from just the contrary temper. Christian zeal is likewise confirmed and increased by patience, and so is activity in every good work; the same Spirit inciting us to be

Patient in bearing ill, and doing well;

making us equally willing to do and suffer the whole will of God.

8. But what is the perfect work of patience? Is it anything less than the "perfect love of God," constraining us to love every soul of man, "even as Christ loved us?" Is it not the whole of religion, the whole "mind which was also in Christ Jesus?" Is it not "the renewal of our soul in the image of God, after the likeness of him that created us?" And is not the fruit of this, the constant resignation of ourselves, body and spirit, to God; entirely giving up all we are, all we have, and all we love, as a holy sacrifice, acceptable unto God through the Son of his love? It seems this is "the perfect work of patience," consequent upon the trial of our faith.

9. But how does this work differ from that gracious work which is wrought in every believer, when he first finds redemption in the blood of Jesus, even the remission of his sins? Many persons that are not only upright of heart, but that fear, nay, and love God, have not spoken warily upon this head, not according to the oracles of God. They have spoken of the work of sanctification, taking the word in its full sense, as if it were quite of another kind, as if it differed entirely from that which is wrought in justification. But this is a great and dangerous mistake, and has a natural tendency to make us undervalue that glorious work of God which was wrought in us when we were justified: Whereas in that moment when we are justified freely by his grace, when we are accepted through the Beloved, we are born again, born from above, born of the Spirit. And there is as great a change wrought in our souls when we are born of the Spirit, as was wrought in our bodies when we are born of a woman. There is, in that hour, a general change from inward sinfulness, to inward holiness. The love of the creature is changed to the love of the Creator; the love of the world into the love of God. Earthly desires, the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life, are, in that instant, changed, by the mighty power of God, into heavenly desires. The whirlwind of our will is stopped in its mid career, and sinks down into the will of God. Pride and haughtiness subside into lowliness of heart; as do anger, with all turbulent and unruly passions, into calmness, meekness, and gentleness. In a word, the earthly, sensual, devilish mind, gives place to "the mind that was in Christ Jesus."

10. "Well, but what more than this can be implied in entire sanctification?" It does not imply any new kind of holiness: Let no man imagine this. From the moment we are justified, till we give up our spirits to God, love is the fulfilling of the law; of the whole evangelical law, which took place of the Adamic law, when the first promise of "the seed of the woman" was made. Love is the sum of Christian sanctification; it is the one kind of holiness, which is found, only in various degrees, in the believers who are distinguished by St. John into "little children, young men, and fathers." The difference between one and the other properly lies in the degree of love. And herein there is as great a difference in the spiritual, as in the natural sense, between fathers, young men, and babes.

Every one that is born of God, though he be as yet only a "babe in Christ," has the love of God in his heart; the love of his neighbour; together with lowliness, meekness, and resignation. But all of these are then in a low degree, in proportion to the degree of his faith. The faith of a babe in Christ is weak, generally mingled with doubts or fears; with doubts, whether he has not deceived himself; or fear, that he shall not endure to the end. And if, in order to prevent those perplexing doubts, or to remove those tormenting fears, he catches hold of the opinion that a true believer cannot make shipwreck of the faith, experience will sooner or later show that it is merely the staff of a broken reed, which will be so far from sustaining him, that it will only enter into his hand and pierce it. But to return: In the same proportion as he grows in faith, he grows in holiness; he increases in love, lowliness, meekness, in every part of the image of God; till it pleases God, after he is thoroughly convinced of inbred sin, of the total corruption of his nature, to take it all away; to purify his heart and cleanse him from all unrighteousness; to fulfil that promise which he make first to his ancient people, and in them to the Israel of God in all ages: "I will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul."

It is not easy to conceive what a difference there is, between that which he experiences now, and that which he experienced before. Till this universal change was wrought in his soul, all his holiness was mixed. He was humble, but not entirely; his humility was mixed with pride: He was meek; but his meekness was frequently interrupted by anger, or some uneasy and turbulent passion. His love of God was frequently damped, by the love of some creature; the love of his neighbour, by evil surmising, or some thought, if not temper, contrary to love. His will was not wholly melted down into the will of God: But although in general he could say, "I come 'not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me;'" yet now and then nature rebelled, and he could not clearly say, "Lord, not as I will, but as thou wilt." His whole soul is now consistent with itself; there is no jarring string. All his passions flow in a continual stream, with an even tenor to God. To him that is entered into this rest, you may truly say,

Calm thou ever art within,

All unruffled, all serene!

There is no mixture of any contrary affections: All is peace and harmony after. Being filled with love, there is no more interruption of it, than of the beating of his heart; and continual love bringing continual joy in the Lord, he rejoices evermore. He converses continually with the God whom he loves, unto whom in everything he gives thanks. And as he now loves God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strenght; so Jesus now reigns alone in his heart, the Lord of every motion there.

11. But it may be inquired, In what manner does God work this entire, this universal change in the soul of a believer? this strange work, which so many will not believe, though we declare it unto them? Does he work it gradually, by slow degrees; or instantaneously, in a moment? How many are the disputes upon this head, even among the children of God! And so there will be, after all that ever was, or ever can be said upon it. For many will still say, with the famous Jew, _Non persuadebis, etiamsi persuaseris_: That is, "Thou shalt not persuade me, though thou dost persuade me." And they will be the more resolute herein, because the Scriptures are silent upon the subject; because the point is not determined, at least not in express terms, in any part of the oracles of God. Every man therefore may abound in his own sense, provided he will allow the same liberty to his neighbour; provided he will not be angry at those who differ from his opinion, nor entertain hard thoughts concerning them. Permit me likewise to add one thing more: Be the change instantaneous or gradual, see that you never rest till it is wrought in your own soul, if you desire to dwell with God in glory.

12. This premised, in order to throw what light I can upon this interesting question, I will simply relate what I have seen myself in the course of many years. Four or five and forty years ago, when I had no distinct views of what the Apostle meant by exhorting us to "leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and go on to perfection," two or three persons in London, whom I knew to be truly sincere, desired to give me an account of their experience. It appeared exceeding strange, being different from any that I had heard before; but exactly similar to the preceding account of entire sanctification. The next year, two or three more persons at Bristol, and two or three in Kingswood, coming to me severally, gave me exactly the same account of their experience. A few years after, I desired all those in London who made the same profession, to come to me all together at the Foundery, that I might be thoroughly satisfied. I desired that man of God, Thomas Walsh, to give us the meeting there. When we met, first one of us, and the the other, asked them the most searching questions we could devise. They answered every one without hesitation, and with the utmost simplicity, so that we were fully persuaded, they did not deceive themselves. In the years 1759, 1760, 1761, and 1762, their numbers multiplied exceedingly, not only in London and Bristol, but in various parts of Ireland as well as England. Not trusting to the testimony of others, I carefully examined most of these myself; and in London alone I found six hundred and fifty-two members of our society who were exceedingly clear in their experience, and of whose testimony I could see no reason to doubt. I believe no year has passed since that time wherein God has not wrought the same work in many others; but sometimes in one part of England or Ireland, sometimes in another; -- as "the wind bloweth where it listeth;" -- and every one of these (after the most careful inquiry, I have not found one exception either in Great Britain or Ireland) has declared that his deliverance from sin was instantaneous; that the change was wrought in a moment. Had half of these, or one third, or one in twenty, declared it was gradually wrought in them, I should have believed this, with regard to them, and thought that some were gradually sanctified and some instantaneously. But as I have not found, in so long a space of time, a single person speaking thus; as all who believe they are sanctified, declare with one voice, that the change was wrought in a moment, I cannot but believe that sanctification is commonly, if not always, an instantaneous work.

13. But however that question be decided, whether sanctification, in the full sense of the word, be wrought instantaneously or gradually, how my we attain to it? "What shall we do," said the Jews to our Lord, "that we may work the works of God?" His answer will suit those that ask, What shall we do, that this work of God may be wrought in us? "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." On this one work all the others depend. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and all has wisdom, and power, and faithfulness are engaged on thy side. In this, as in all other instances, "by grace we are saved through faith." Sanctification too is "not of works, lest any man should boast." "It is the gift of God," and is to be received by plain, simple faith. Suppose you are now labouring to "abstain from all appearance of evil," "zealous of good works," and walking diligently and carefully in all the ordinances of God; there is then only one point remaining: The voice of God to your soul is, "Believe, and be saved." [See the Sermon on "The Scripture Way of Salvation." (editor's note)] First, believe that God has promised to save you from all sin, and to fill you with all holiness. Secondly, believe that he is able thus "to save to the uttermost all that come unto God through him." Thirdly, believe that he is willing, as well as able, to save you to the uttermost; to purify you from all sin, and fill up all your heart with love. Believe, Fourthly, that he is not only able, but willing to do it now. Not when you come to die; not at any distant time; not to-morrow, but to-day. He will then enable you to believe, it is done, according to his word: And then "patience shall have its perfect work; that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

14. Ye shall then be perfect. The Apostle seems to mean by this expression, _teleioi_, ye shall be wholly delivered from every evil work; from every evil word; from every sinful thought; yea, from every evil desire, passion, temper; from all inbred corruption, from all remains of the carnal mind, from the body of sin; and ye shall be renewed in the spirit of your mind, in every right temper, after the image of Him that created you, in righteousness and true holiness. Ye shall be entire, _holoklEroi_, (The same word which the Apostle uses to the Christians in Thessalonica: [1 Thess. 5:23]) This seems to refer, not so much to the kind as to the degree of holiness; as if he had said, "Ye shall enjoy as high a degree of holiness as is consistent with your present state of pilgrimage;" -- and ye shall want nothing; the Lord being your Shepherd, your Father, your Redeemer, your Sanctifier, your God, and your all, will feed you with the bread of heaven, and give you meat enough. He will lead you forth beside the waters of comfort, and keep you every moment: So that loving him with all your heart, (which is the sum of all perfection,) you will "rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks," till "an abundant entrance is ministered unto you into his everlasting kingdom!

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[Edited by Jennifer Luhn, student at Northwest Nazarene College (Nampa, ID), with corrections by George Lyons for the Wesley Center for Applied Theology.] 

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This document is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library

at Calvin College. Last updated on May 27, 1999.

Contacting the CCEL.

The Bible in Basic English

World English Bible

GOD'S WORD

New Century Version

Third Millennium Bible

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE

PHILIPS TRANS.

PATIENCE

James 5:1-20 NASB

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, {and} which has been withheld by you, cries out {against you} and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

6 You have condemned and put to death the righteous {man;} he does not resist you.

7 Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.

8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.

10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

11 Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and {is} merciful.

12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no, no; so that you may not fall under judgment.

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back,

20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.

(NAS)

NIV

(James 5:7 KJV) Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

(James 5:8 KJV) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

(James 5:9 KJV) Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

(James 5:10 KJV) Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

ALL OCCURRENCES OF PATIENCE : KJV :

patience (KJV)

Matt 18:26

26 "The slave therefore falling down, prostrated himself before him, saying, `Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything.' (NAS)

Matt 18:29

29 "So his fellow slave fell down and {began} to entreat him, saying, `Have patience with me and I will repay you.' (NAS)

Luke 8:15

15 "And the {seed} in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. (NAS)

Luke 21:19

19 "By your endurance you will gain your lives. (NAS)

Rom 5:3

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; (NAS)

Rom 5:4

4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; (NAS)

Rom 8:25

25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (NAS)

Rom 15:4

4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (NAS)

Rom 15:5

5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; (NAS)

2 Cor 6:4

4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, (NAS)

2 Cor 12:12

12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. (NAS)

Col 1:11

11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously (NAS)

1Thes 1:3

3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, (NAS)

II Th 1:4

4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. (NAS)

1 Tim 6:11

11 But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance {and} gentleness. (NAS)

2 Tim 3:10

10 But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, (NAS)

Titus 2:2

2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. (NAS)

Heb 6:12

12 that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (NAS)

Heb 10:36

36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (NAS)

Heb 12:1

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (NAS)

James 1:3

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (NAS)

James 1:4

4 And let endurance have {its} perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (NAS)

James 5:7

7 Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. (NAS)

James 5:10

10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (NAS)

James 5:11

11 Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and {is} merciful. (NAS)

2 Pet 1:6

6 and in {your} knowledge, self-control, and in {your} self-control, perseverance, and in {your} perseverance, godliness; (NAS)

The New Testament Greek Lexicon

Found 4 entries matching: PATIENCE English Translation Original Word Transliterated Word

3114 have patience makroqumevw makrothumeo

3114 have long patience makroqumevw makrothumeo

3115 patience makroqumiva makrothumia

5281 patience uJpomonhv hupomone

KJV Verse Count - 3114

Greek Word: Makroqumevw

Transliterated Word: makrothumeo

Book to Display: James

Verse Count: 2

Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh

KJV Verse Count - 3115

Greek Word: Makroqumiva

Transliterated Word: makrothumia

Book to Display: James

Verse Count: 1

Jas 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

KJV Verse Count - 5281

Greek Word: UJpomonhv

Transliterated Word: hupomone

Book to Display: James

Verse Count: 3

Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

There are 11 instances of verses containing Strong's number 3114. Here they are!

Mat 18:26 The servant [1401] therefore [3767] fell down [4098] (5631), and worshipped [4352] (5707) him [846], saying [3004] (5723), Lord [2962], have patience [3114] (5657) with [1909] me [1698], and [2532] I will pay [591] (5692) thee [4671] all [3956].

Mat 18:29 And [3767] his [846] fellowservant [4889] fell down [4098] (5631) at [1519] his [846] feet [4228], and besought [3870] (5707) him [846], saying [3004] (5723), Have patience [3114] (5657) with [1909] me [1698], and [2532] I will pay [591] (5692) thee [4671] all [3956].

Luk 18:7 And [1161] shall [1557] [0] not [3364] God [2316] avenge [1557] his own [846] elect [1588] [4160] (5692), which [3588] cry [994] (5723) day [2250] and [2532] night [3571] unto [4314] him [846], though [2532] he bear long [3114] (5723) with [1909] them [846]?

1Cr 13:4 Charity [26] suffereth long [3114] (5719), [and] is kind [5541] (5736); charity [26] envieth [2206] (5719) not [3756]; charity [26] vaunteth [4068] [0] not [3756] itself [4068] (5736), is [5448] [0] not [3756] puffed up [5448] (5743),

1Th 5:14 Now [1161] we exhort [3870] (5719) you [5209], brethren [80], warn [3560] (5720) them that are unruly [813], comfort [3888] (5737) the feebleminded [3642], support [472] (5737) the weak [772], be patient [3114] (5720) toward [4314] all [3956] [men].

Hbr 6:15 And [2532] so [3779], after he had patiently endured [3114] (5660), he obtained [2013] (5627) the promise [1860].

Jam 5:7 Be patient [3114] (5657) therefore [3767], brethren [80], unto [2193] the coming [3952] of the Lord [2962]. Behold [2400] (5628), the husbandman [1092] waiteth [1551] (5736) for the precious [5093] fruit [2590] of the earth [1093], and hath long patience [3114] (5723) for [1909] it [846], until [2193] [302] he receive [2983] (5632) the early [4406] and [2532] latter [3797] rain [5205].

Jam 5:7 Be patient [3114] (5657) therefore [3767], brethren [80], unto [2193] the coming [3952] of the Lord [2962]. Behold [2400] (5628), the husbandman [1092] waiteth [1551] (5736) for the precious [5093] fruit [2590] of the earth [1093], and hath long patience [3114] (5723) for [1909] it [846], until [2193] [302] he receive [2983] (5632) the early [4406] and [2532] latter [3797] rain [5205].

Jam 5:8 Be [3114] [0] ye [5210] also [2532] patient [3114] (5657); stablish [4741] (5657) your [5216] hearts [2588]: for [3754] the coming [3952] of the Lord [2962] draweth nigh [1448] (5758).

Jam 5:8 Be [3114] [0] ye [5210] also [2532] patient [3114] (5657); stablish [4741] (5657) your [5216] hearts [2588]: for [3754] the coming [3952] of the Lord [2962] draweth nigh [1448] (5758).

2Pe 3:9 The Lord [2962] is [1019] [0] not [3756] slack [1019] (5719) concerning his promise [1860], as [5613] some men [5100] count [2233] (5736) slackness [1022]; but [235] is longsuffering [3114] (5719) to [1519] us-ward [2248], not [3361] willing [1014] (5740) that any [5100] should perish [622] (5641), but [235] that all [3956] should come [5562] (5658) to [1519] repentance [3341].

ALL OCCURRENCES OF SRN 3115 (KJV)

Rom 2:4

4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (NAS)

Rom 9:22

22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? (NAS)

2 Cor 6:6

6 in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, (NAS)

Gal 5:22

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (NAS)

Eph 4:2

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, (NAS)

Col 1:11

11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously (NAS)

Col 3:12

12 And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; (NAS)

1 Tim 1:16

16 And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. (NAS)

2 Tim 3:10

10 But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, (NAS)

2 Tim 4:2

2 preach the word; be ready in season {and} out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. (NAS)

Heb 6:12

12 that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (NAS)

James 5:10

10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (NAS)

1 Pet 3:20

20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through {the} water. (NAS)

2 Pet 3:15

15 and regard the patience of our Lord {to be} salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, (NAS)

ALL OCCURRENCES OF SRN 5281 :

5281 (KJV)

Luke 8:15

15 "And the {seed} in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. (NAS)

Luke 21:19

19 "By your endurance you will gain your lives. (NAS)

Rom 2:7

7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; (NAS)

Rom 5:3

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; (NAS)

Rom 5:4

4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; (NAS)

Rom 8:25

25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (NAS)

Rom 15:4

4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (NAS)

Rom 15:5

5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; (NAS)

2 Cor 1:6

6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; (NAS)

2 Cor 6:4

4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, (NAS)

2 Cor 12:12

12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. (NAS)

Col 1:11

11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously (NAS)

1Thes 1:3

3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, (NAS)

II Th 1:4

4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. (NAS)

II Th 3:5

5 And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. (NAS)

1 Tim 6:11

11 But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance {and} gentleness. (NAS)

2 Tim 3:10

10 But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, (NAS)

Titus 2:2

2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. (NAS)

Heb 10:36

36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (NAS)

Heb 12:1

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (NAS)

James 1:3

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (NAS)

James 1:4

4 And let endurance have {its} perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (NAS)

James 5:11

11 Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and {is} merciful. (NAS)

2 Pet 1:6

6 and in {your} knowledge, self-control, and in {your} self-control, perseverance, and in {your} perseverance, godliness; (NAS)

2 Pet 1:6

6 and in {your} knowledge, self-control, and in {your} self-control, perseverance, and in {your} perseverance, godliness; (NAS)

Rev 1:9

9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance {which are} in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. (NAS)

PATIENCE, PATIENT, PATIENTLY

A. Nouns.

"Patience perfects Christian character, <Jas. 1:4>, and fellowship in the patience of Christ is therefore the condition upon which believers are to be admitted to reign with Him, <2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 1:9>. For this patience believers are `strengthened with all power,' <Col. 1:11>, `through His Spirit in the inward man,' <Eph. 3:16>.

"In <2 Thes. 3:5>, the phrase `the patience of Christ,' RV, is possible of three interpretations, (a) the patient waiting for Christ, so KJV paraphrases the words, (b) that they might be patient in their sufferings as Christ was in His, see <Heb. 12:2>, (c) that since Christ is `expecting till His enemies be made the footstool of His feet,' <Heb. 10:13>, so they might be patient also in their hopes of His triumph and their deliverance. While a too rigid exegesis is to be avoided it may, perhaps, be permissible to paraphrase: `the Lord teach and enable you to love as God loves, and to be patient as Christ is patient.'"

From Notes on Thessalonians by Hogg and Vine pp. 222, 285.

In <Rev. 3:10>, "the word of My patience" is the word which tells of Christ's patience, and its effects in producing "patience" on the part of those who are His (see above on <2 Thes. 3:5>).

B. Verbs.

1. hupomeno ^5278^, akin to A, No. 1, (a) used intransitively, means "to tarry behind, still abide," <Luke 2:43; Acts 17:14>; (b) transitively, "to wait for," <Rom. 8:24> (in some mss.), "to bear patiently, endure," translated "patient" (present participle) in <Rom. 12:12>; "ye take it patiently," <1 Pet. 2:20> (twice). See also under A, No. 1.

C. Adjectives.

Notes: (1) For epieikes, translated "patient" in <1 Tim. 3:3>, KJV, see GENTLE. (2) For anexikakos, translated "patient" in <2 Tim. 2:24>, KJV, see FORBEAR.#

D. Adverb.

makrothumos ^3116^, akin to A, No. 2, and B, No. 2, denotes "patiently," <Acts 26:3>.#

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

LONGSUFFERING (NOUN AND VERB)

A. Noun.

makrothumia ^3115^, "forbearance, patience, longsuffering" (makros, "long," thumos, "temper"), is usually rendered "longsuffering," <Rom. 2:4; 9:22; 2 Cor. 6:6; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 4:2; Col. 1:11; 3:12; 1 Tim. 1:16; 2 Tim. 3:10; 4:2; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:15>; "patience" in <Heb. 6:12> and <Jas. 5:10>. See PATIENCE, and Note under FORBEAR.#

B. Verb.

makrothumeo ^3114^, akin to A, "to be patient, longsuffering, to bear with," lit., "to be long-tempered," is rendered by the verb "to be longsuffering" in <Luke 18:7>, RV (KJV, "bear long"); in <1 Thes. 5:14>, RV (KJV, "be patient"); so in <Jas. 5:7,8>; in <2 Pet. 3:9>, KJV and RV, "is longsuffering." See BEAR, No. 14, ENDURE, PATIENT, SUFFER.

From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine, pp. 183, 184.

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

PERSEVERANCE

proskarteresis ^4343^ occurs in <Eph. 6:18>. Cf. the verb (and the formation) under ATTEND, No 2.#

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

(Mat 18:26 KJV) The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

(Mat 18:29 KJV) And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

(Luke 8:15 KJV) But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

(Luke 21:19 KJV) In your patience possess ye your souls.

(Rom 5:3 KJV) And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

(Rom 5:4 KJV) And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

(Rom 8:25 KJV) But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

(Rom 15:4 KJV) For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

(Rom 15:5 KJV) Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

(2 Cor 6:4 KJV) But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

(2 Cor 12:12 KJV) Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

(Col 1:11 KJV) Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

(1 Th 1:3 KJV) Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

(2 Th 1:4 KJV) So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

(1 Tim 6:11 KJV) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

(2 Tim 3:10 KJV) But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

(Titus 2:2 KJV) That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

(Heb 6:12 KJV) That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

(Heb 10:36 KJV) For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

(Heb 12:1 KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

(James 1:3 KJV) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

(James 1:4 KJV) But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

(James 5:7 KJV) Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

(James 5:10 KJV) Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

(James 5:11 KJV) Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

(2 Pet 1:6 KJV) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

(Rev 1:9 KJV) I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

(Rev 2:2 KJV) I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

(Rev 2:3 KJV) And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

(Rev 2:19 KJV) I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

(Rev 3:10 KJV) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

(Rev 13:10 KJV) He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

(Rev 14:12 KJV) Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

PATIENCE

Forebearance under suffering and endurance in the face of adversity. Two Greek words are translated as patience: makrothymia <Heb. 6:12; James 5:10> and hypomone <Matt. 18:26,29>. The former word generally expresses patience with regard to people. It is also translated longsuffering as a quality of God <Rom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9> and is listed by the apostle Paul as one of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit <Gal. 5:22>.

The second word, hypomone, generally expresses patience with regard to things. It may be described as the quality that enables a person to be "patient in tribulation" <Rom. 12:12>. The Christian has for his example the patience of Jesus, who "endured the cross" <Heb. 12:2>. The Christian is challenged to run with endurance the race that is set before him <Heb. 12:1>.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

PATIENCE

PATIENCE.

1. Gk. makrothumia. Endurance, constancy, forbearance, long-suffering.

2. Gk. hupomone. "A remaining under," steadfastness, constancy, a patient waiting for.

The difference between these two terms is given by Trench (NT Syn., 2:14): "Makrothumia will be found to express patience in respect of persons, hupomone in respect of things. . . . We should speak, therefore, of the makrothumia of David <2 Sam. 16:10-13>, the hupomone of Job <James 5:11>." Patience is that calm and unruffled temper with which the good man bears the evils of life, whether they proceed from persons or things. It also manifests itself in a sweet submission to the providential appointments of God and fortitude in the presence of the duties and conflicts of life. This grace saves one from discouragement in the face of evil <Luke 21:19>, aids in the cultivation of godliness <2 Pet. 1:6>, aids the development of the entire Christian character <James 1:4>, and, continued till the end, will terminate in reward in the life to come <Rom. 2:7; James 5:7-8>.

Patience of God. Respecting the patience of God, Trench says (vol. 2, p. 15), "While both graces [the two forms mentioned above, namely, with persons and with things] are possessed by men only the former is an attribute of God. Men may tempt and provoke him, and he does display patience in regard to them <Exo. 34:6; Rom. 2:4; 1 Pet. 3:20>; there may be a resistance to God in men, because he respects the wills with which he created them, even when those wills are fighting against him. But there can be no resistance to God, nor burden upon him, the Almighty, from things; therefore patience of things is never ascribed to him." The "God who gives perseverance" (hupomone) means that God is the Author of patience in His servants <Rom. 15:5>.

(from New Unger's Bible Dictionary)

(originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (C) 1988.)

PATIENCE

(pa'-shens) (hupomone, makrothumia): "Patience" implies suffering, enduring or waiting, as a determination of the will and not simply under necessity. As such it is an essential Christian virtue to the exercise of which there are many exhortations. We need to "wait patiently" for God, to endure uncomplainingly the various forms of sufferings, wrongs and evils that we meet with, and to bear patiently injustices which we cannot remedy and provocations we cannot remove.

The word "patience" does not occur in the Old Testament, but we have "patiently" in <Ps 40:1> as the translation of qawah, "to wait," "to expect," which word frequently expresses the idea, especially that of waiting on God; in <Ps 37:7>, "patiently" ("wait patiently") is the translation of qul, one of the meanings of which is "to wait" or "to hope for" or "to expect" (of <Job 35:14>); "patient" occurs <Eccl 7:8> as the translation of 'erekh ruach, "long of spirit," and <Job 6:11> "that I should be patient" (ha'arikh nephesh). Compare "impatient" <Job 21:4>.

"Patience" occurs frequently in the Apocrypha, especially in Ecclus, e.g. 2:14; 16:13; 17:24; 41:2 (hupomone); 5:11 (makrothumia); 29:8 (makrothumeo, the Revised Version (British and American) "long suffering"); in Wisd 2:19, the Greek word is anexikakia.

In the New Testament hupomone carries in it the ideas of endurance, continuance (<Lk 8:15; 21:19; Rom 5:3-4>, the American Standard Revised Version "stedfastness"; <8:25>, etc.).

In all places the American Revised Version margin has "stedfastness," except <James 5:11>, where it has "endurance"; makrothumia is translated "patience" <Heb 6:12; James 5:10>; makrothumeo, "to bear long" (<Mt 18:26,29; James 5:7>; See LONGSUFFERING); the same verb is translated "be patient" (<1 Thes 5:14>, the Revised Version (British and American) "longsuffering"; <James 5:7-8>, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "patient"); makrothumos, "patiently" <Acts 26:3>; hupomeno <1 Pet 2:20>; anexikakos is translated "patient" (<2 Tim 2:4>, the Revised Version (British and American), the King James Version margin, "forbearing"); epieikes, "gentle" (<1 Tim 3:3>, the Revised Version (British and American) "gentle"); hupomeno (<Rom 12:12>, "patient in tribulation"). For "the patient waiting for Christ" <2 Thes 3:5>, the Revised Version (British and American) has "the patience of Christ."

Patience is often hard to gain and to maintain, but, in <Rom 15:5>, God is called "the God of patience" (the American Revised Version margin "stedfastness") as being able to grant that grace to those who look to Him and depend on Him for it. It is in reliance on God and acceptance of His will, with trust in His goodness, wisdom and faithfulness, that we are enabled to endure and to hope stedfastly. See also GOD.

W. L. WALKER

(from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft)

LONGSUFFERING

A word in the KJV and NKJV that refers primarily to God's patient endurance of the wickedness of the sinful <Ex. 34:6>. The purpose of God's longsuffering is to lead people to repentance <Rom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9,15>. But since God is a God of justice, He cannot endure sin forever. He must ultimately punish all who do not repent and trust in Him for salvation <2 Thes. 1:5-10>.

Believers are to imitate their heavenly Father in longsuffering <1 Cor. 13:4-5>, because He has been patient with us <Eph. 4:31-32> and because vengeance belongs to God alone <Rom. 12:19>.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

LONGSUFFERING

(long-suf'-er-ing) ('erekh 'appayim; makrothumia): The words 'erekh 'appayim, translated longsuffering, mean literally, "long of nose" (or "breathing"), and, as anger was indicated by rapid, violent breathing through the nostrils, "long of anger," or "slow to wrath." The adjective is applied to God (<Exo 34:6> the King James Version, in the name of Yahweh as proclaimed to Moses; <Num 14:18> the King James Version; <Ps 86:15> the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) "slow to anger," which is also the translation in other places; the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) <Neh 9:17; Ps 103:8; 145:8; Prov 15:18; 16:32; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Nah 1:3>); it is associated with "great kindness" and "plenteous in mercy." The substantive occurs in <Jer 15:15>: "Take me not away in thy longsuffering." In <Eccl 7:8>, we have 'erekh ruach, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "patient in spirit."

The word in the New Testament rendered "longsuffering," makrothumia (once makrothumeo, "to be longsuffering"), which is the rendering of 'erekh 'appayim in the Septuagint, is literally, "long of mind or soul" (regarded as the seat of the emotions), opposed to shortness of mind or soul, irascibility, impatience, intolerance. It is attributed to God <Rom 2:4; 9:22; 2 Pet 3:9>, of His bearing long with sinners and slowness to execute judgment on them. It is, therefore, one of "the fruits of the Spirit" in man <Gal 5:22> which Christians are frequently exhorted to cherish and show one toward the other (<Eph 4:2; Col 1:11; 3:12>, etc.); it belongs, Paul says, to the love, without which all else is nothing: "Love suffereth long (makrothumei), and is kind" <1 Cor 13:4>; The verb makrothumeo is sometimes translated by "patience" (<Mt 18:26,29>, "Have patience with me"). <Lk 18:7> has been variously rendered; the King James Version has "And shall not God avenge his own elect .... though he bear long with them"; the Revised Version (British and American) "and yet he is longsuffering over them," the American Revised Version margin "and is he slow to punish on their behalf?" Weymouth (New Testament in Modern Speech) has "although he seems slow in taking action on their behalf," which most probably gives the sense of the passage; in <James 5:7-8> the verb occurs thrice, the King James Version "be patient," "hath long patience"; the Revised Version (British and American) also translates by "patient"; this, however, as in <Mt 18:26,29>, seems to lose the full force of the Greek word.

According to Trench (Synonyms of the New Testament, 189), the difference between hupomone ("patience") and makrothumia is that the latter word expresses patience in respect to persons, and the former in respect to things; hence, hupomone is never ascribed to God; where He is called "the God of patience," it is as He gives it to His servants and saints. But in <James 5:7> it is used with reference to things, and in <Col 1:11> it is associated with patience (compare <Heb 6:12,15>), suggesting patient endurance of trials and sufferings. In <Col 1:11> it is also associated with "joy," indicating that it is not a mere submissiveness, but a joyful acceptance of the will of God, whatever it may be. In Wisd 15:1; Ecclus 5:4, we have "longsuffering" (makrothumos) ascribed to God; also in Ecclus 2:11, the Revised Version (British and American) "mercy."

W. L. WALKER

(from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft)

PERSEVERANCE

The steadfast effort to follow God's commands and to do His work. The New Testament makes it clear that faith alone can save. But it makes it equally clear that perseverance in doing good works is the greatest indication that an individual's faith is genuine <James 2:14-26>. Indeed, perseverance springs from a faithful trust that God has been steadfast toward His people. Through persevering in God's work, the Christian proves his deep appreciation for God's saving grace <1 Cor. 15:57-58>.

As a result of perseverance, the Christian can expect not only to enhance the strength of the church, but also to build up the strength of his own character <Rom. 5:3-4>. In short, he can expect to become closer to God. He learns that he can persevere primarily because God is intimately related to him <Rom. 8:25-27> and especially because he has the assurance of a final reward in heaven <1 John 5:13>.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

PERSEVERANCE

PERSEVERANCE. A term used both in ethics and theology. In ethics it denotes the duty and privilege of a Christian to continue steadfastly in obedience and fidelity to Christ, not in order to inherit eternal life but to demonstrate love and gratitude to Christ for His great salvation <1 Cor. 15:58; Rev. 3:2>. Arminian views stipulate this faithfulness to inherit eternal life, but Calvinists hold that the NT teachings testify to the safety and security of the believer as a result of his faith in Christ and his resulting position in Christ (<Rom. 8:28-39; Eph. 1:1-14; 2:8-10>; etc.). The Christian's fidelity and obedience will be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ. His salvation is not affected by lack of human faithfulness, but his rewards are. Calvinists teach that final perseverance is a result of the doctrine of unconditional election. Thus the Westminster Confession says, "This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will but upon the immutability of the decree of election flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father. . . ." In other words, those who are real Christians cannot fall away or be eternally lost. Their position in Christ by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit assures their eternal salvation. When men begin to interject human faithfulness and human works into the question of their eternal salvation, they take it off the rock of Christ's finished work and place it upon a flimsy basis. If getting to heaven depended upon human merit or faithfulness in any degree, no human being would ever get there or claim merit for entrance. Christ will abundantly reward faithfulness in His redeemed children, but He can never accept their faithfulness as merit for salvation. Failure to distinguish between salvation and rewards has confused this subject in theological thinking and this is, accordingly, a much disputed doctrine. (m.f.u.)

(from New Unger's Bible Dictionary)

(originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (C) 1988.)

PERSEVERANCE

(pur-se-ver'-ans): The word occurs only once in the King James Version <Eph 6:18>, where it refers quite simply to persistence in prayer. In theology (esp. in the phrase "final perseverance") the word has come to denote a special persistency, the undying continuance of the new life (manifested in faith and holiness) given by the Spirit of God to man. It is questioned whether such imparted life is (by its nature, or by the law of its impartation) necessarily permanent indestructible so that the once regenerate and believing man has the prospect of final glory infallibly assured. This is not the place to trace the history of a great and complex debate. It is more fitting here to point to the problem as connected with that supreme class of truths in which, because of our necessary mental limits, the entire truth can only be apprehended as the unrevealed but certain harmony of seeming contradictions.

Scripture on the one hand abounds with assurances of "perseverance" as a fact, and largely intimates that an exulting anticipation of it is the intended experience of the believer (see <Jn 10:28> above all, and compare among other passages <Rom 8:31-37; 1 Pet 1:8-9>). On the other hand, we find frequent and urgent warnings and cautions (see e.g. <1 Cor 8:11; 9:27>). The teacher dealing with actual cases, as in pastoral work, should be ready to adopt both classes of utterances, each with its proper application; applying the first, e.g., to the true but timid disciple, the latter to the self-confident. Meanwhile Scripture on the whole, by the manner and weight of its positive statements, favors a humble belief of the permanence, in the plan of God, of the once-given new life. It is as if it laid down perseverance" as the divine rule for the Christian, while the negative passages came in to caution the man not to deceive himself with appearances, nor to let any belief whatever palliate the guilt and minimize the danger of sin. In the biographies of Scripture, it is noteworthy that no person appears who, at one time certainly a saint, was later certainly a castaway. The awful words of <Heb 6:4-6; 10:26-27> appear to deal with cases (such as Balaam's) of much light but no loving life, and so are not precisely in point. Upon the whole subject, it is important to make "the Perseverance of the Saviour" our watchword rather than "the Perseverance of the saint."

HANDLEY DUNELM

C) How is patience expressed ?

A. Patience in problems

B. Patience with people

C. Patience with God’s plan

D. Patience with ourselves
Edison, examples, etc... P62

makrothumia ^3115^, ALSO TRANS : "longsuffering,"

(Rev 14:12 KJV) Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

(2 Pet 1:5 KJV) And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

(2 Pet 1:6 KJV) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

(1 Pet 2:19 KJV) For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

(1 Pet 2:20 KJV) For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

(James 1:3 KJV) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

(James 1:4 KJV) But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

(Heb 12:1 KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

(Titus 2:1 KJV) But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

(Titus 2:2 KJV) That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

(2 Tim 2:24 KJV) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

(1 Tim 3:2 KJV) A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

(1 Tim 3:3 KJV) Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

(1 Th 5:14 KJV) Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

(Col 3:12 KJV) Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

(Col 1:10 KJV) That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

(Col 1:11 KJV) Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

(Eph 4:1 KJV) I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

(Eph 4:2 KJV) With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

(1 Cor 13:4 KJV) Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

(Eccl 7:8 KJV) Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

(Psa 37:7 KJV) Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

(Psa 40:1 KJV) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

(Acts 26:3 KJV) Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

(Heb 6:15 KJV) And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

(1 Pet 2:20 KJV) For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

patience is an act of worship

Here are five guides to being patient with people.

1. Remember how patient God is with me.

2. Make allowances for each other.

(Prov 14:29 KJV) He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

(Prov 16:32 KJV) He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

the reason/motivation for being patient 8b

the encouragement to patience 8a

the example of patience 7b, 10

the opposite of patience 9

wait with long patience 7,8

don’t complain or grumble 9,10

don’t quit 11

BLESSING IN SUFFERING. THERE IS A TIME I WOULDN’T TRADE IT. IT BROUGHT ME CLOSER TO GOD.

GOD ALLOWS ALL THINGS IN OUR LIVES. SUFFERING IS A BLESSED PLACE.

PATIENCE IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING

7, 8 An encouragement to be patient in the face of suffering

A) What is patience ?

B) What tests your patience ?

C) What does the Bible say about patience ?

i) The benefits of patience

ii) Exhortation to be patient

D) An example of patience - The farmer

What helps us to stand firm ? Vs8

be calm in your waiting - bible in basic English vs 8

9 Instruction on being patient in the face of suffering

A) Don’t grumble

B) The Judge is at the door

10, 11 An example of patience in the face of suffering

the prophet’s patience

the patience of Job

they did not give up - vs 11 new century version

God’s compassion and mercy

Patience= Perseverence - Edison failed over 3,000 times before finding an effective filament for a lightbulb.
Patience is the "ability to keep on keeping on." Patience and hope are inseparably linked together!
Excuses that don’t work :

1) I am (nationality)

2) God made me this way - impatient.

3)

patience is wholly the work of God in our lives - it not ourselves.

discouragment perseverence suffering

Put Greek on powerpoint

post notes on website

make outline