Galatians 5:16-24

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[a]you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

After looking at the patience of God we come to the next way that patience is described in Scripture:

2. Patience with People

If God is patient with us, then we should be patient with other people, but we can’t be patient in our own power. The answer to patience with people is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:14, where Paul says, “And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” Notice who Paul is talking to, He says, “brothers” these are fellow Christians. He is not calling pagans to be patient he is calling Christians. It’s here that we are reminded that without the power of Christ we are unable to be patient. I also want you to notice that Paul is calling us to be patient with people not just our situation. But which people are we called to be patient with, all people, everyone. This is where many of us want to object instead of obey as we say things like, “But you just don’t know what it’s like at my house or my work” or “But when someone drives like an idiot, I just get so mad” But it’s not about us it’s about our witness to a watching world. In 1 Timothy 1:15 – 16, Paul says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” When patience is produced by the Holy Spirit and put into practice in the life of the Christian it serves as an example for those who don’t yet know Jesus. But what happens to our witness when we “lose our patience”? Well, if we call ourselves Christians when we lose our patience we do damage to the Name of Jesus Christ. When a Christian gets mad and throws a golf club it does damage to the Name of Christ. Patience really is just a reflection of our relationship with Jesus. When we exhibit impatience, it reveals that we have just taken back control of our lives. So, if you are a Christian and you struggle with being patient then your REAL struggle is in allowing the Holy Spirit to be in control of your life. You may want to blame your patience problem on people, but it’s time to take personal responsibility and not only recognize what is wrong in your relationship with God but to repent and let Him be in charge. This brings us to the last way that patience is described in scripture:

3. Patience with God

The Bible talks about God’s people being patient with God by waiting patiently for the Lord’s return and not getting angry with the Almighty. James 1:2-4;12-18 and James 5:7-9 says, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” We need to wait patiently on the Lord because He is coming back soon. But it’s hard for us to sit still because many of us want to be in charge and call the shots. The truth is impatience is a form of unbelief. It’s what happens when we start to doubt God’s wisdom, His timing and the goodness of his guidance. We feel like nothing is happening because we are walking by our feelings instead of by faith. So, we conclude that God doesn’t care and we get angry and go off not just on God but we spray shrapnel everywhere, ruining all our relationships. We have two decisions to make.

• We can choose to wait on God right where we are or giving up on God. What if instead of bailing, we view God waiting room as a place to build us up and mold us into the people He has called us to be. Second:
• We can determine to go at His pace or be reckless and try to run the show. We need to learn to give God His place and keep in step with His pace.

Phillips Brooks was a great preacher in New England during the 19th century. He was nationally known for his sermons against slavery and His sermon on the death of Abraham Lincoln moved an entire the nation. His Yale lectures on preaching are still widely read and taught today. But you probably know Him best for a simple Christmas song that he wrote, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Even though he was a very well-known and powerful preacher he still struggled to patiently trust. One day a friend saw him pacing back and forth in his study like a caged lion. His friend asked him what the trouble was. His reply was classic. This great man of God who seemed to have it all together said, “The trouble is, I am in a hurry. But God isn’t.” We need to learn to lean on the Lord otherwise we will get restless and run ahead of Him. So how are you handling the frustrations of life? Are you impatient with God? Do you complain to God and demand that He intervene and remove your trials? Patience is willingly to endure times of trials by waiting on God and not murmuring against God because you know that even in the chaos He is still in control. Are you being patient with others and recognizing that they too are growing in grace and are not perfect. Where do you need the Holy Spirit to prune your life so that the fruit of patience can blossom and bless those around you?

Galatians 5:16-24

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[a]you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 A Scriptural study of the word “patient” and its forms reveal that it appears 45 times in the Bible. As one studies out these 45 occurrences it becomes clear that the Bible speaks about patience in 3 different categories. 

1. The Patience of God

First of all, the Bible talks about God’s patience which we may be tempted to think does not apply to us. Of course, God is patient, He is perfect while we are imperfect. So, we wrongly conclude that we should just pass over the Patience of God and go on to the other ways that patience is described in the Bible. But He is the basis and model for our patience. The goal is for us to be like Christ, to conform to Him and not to the culture, and while we don’t become God we are supposed to use God as our example. To keep our eyes on Christ and to allow the Holy Spirit to change us to become like Him. When it comes to patience 2 Peter 3:8-9 tells us, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” It’s here that we are reminded of how patient God is with people. People come with problems that will challenge your patience, but do you notice that God the Father is focus on them coming to faith not on the frustrations. One of the keys to being patient with people is a proper perspective. Many of us are making it about the frustrations instead of people coming to faith. The second key to patience is we need to focus on serving not selfishness. Notice that God’s focus is on people, His patience is centered around helping others. Look selfishness never serves patience, instead it will sever the spine of patience, leaving you crippled and callused. Many of us become impatient with people because we have put the spotlight on self not serving. Now think of how long God waited for you to accept His Son Jesus and for some of you He is still waiting. Think of all the ups and downs in your Christian walk, those seasons of sin and rebellion and yet the Father in His faithfulness patiently pursued you. We see the same thing in 1 Peter 3:20 where it tells us that “God waited patiently, in the days of Noah…” In the days of Noah, sin had become so widespread that God only spared 8 people during the flood. In spite of the stench of all the sin, God waited patiently while the ark was being built. Aren’t you glad God was patient? I’m sure it would have been tempting to just be done with the whole mess. I mean it’s only 8 righteous people and based on some scholars population predictions the percentage of righteous people would have been less that 1/10 of 1%…Yet God waited patiently. When you look at the stories of the Bible, it becomes abundantly clear that God operates on a totally different time table than we do. We often find ourselves bent out of shape because things don’t happen as quickly as we would like them to happen. The truth of the matter is that God doesn’t work on our timetable. Both Peter and the psalmist were not joking when they said a thousand years is like a day to God and a day is like a thousand years. Here is the point, the way God does things is often totally different from the way we would like for Him to do it. We want things to be done yesterday but God is in charge not us, He created time, so He is not bound by it therefore He is not in a hurry. We get in a hurry because we tend to focus on time more than God’s truth. We have become motivated more by our watches than God’s Word. When it comes to time we need to remember we need to stop listing to its ticking and learn to trust in God’s truth. Don’t forget that God appeared to Abraham when he was 75 and promised to make him a great nation. Very few fathers wait until they are 75 to begin a family, so you would expect God’s promise to be fulfilled quickly, but you know the story, 25 years passed before Abraham and Sarah had Isaac.” By the time the child was born, Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. While God was patient, Abraham and Sarah were not and chose to take matters into their own hands and made a mess, one we are still living in today. God also told Abraham that every place his foot touched would be given to him. Yet this promise was not fulfilled on Abraham’s timetable either. While Abraham traveled many places during his life the only land Abraham owned was a cemetery plot. God kept His promise, Abraham’s descendants would leave the promised land 400 years later, but they would return. After 400 years in Egypt, the people would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Then, they would enter the promised land, where they would remain a weak immature nation for many years. In reality Israel didn’t become a great nation for 900 years. Don’t forget that Jesus spent 33 years on earth but only began His public ministry at age 30. Now if I had been the one establishing the plan, I would have had Him hit the ground running. I mean 33 years is a short life, I would think He should make every minute count. But again, God’s perspective was very different. He was much more patient, Jesus waited 30 years after His birth to begin His public ministry. Most of us find it difficult to be kept waiting an hour, but God works at His own speed, not ours. I’m reminded of the words of Isaiah 40:13 “But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” If you want to FLY, RUN, and WALK you must learn to wait on God. Yes, patience has a price tag but a lack of patience costs far more. Let’s say a quart of oil cost $3.00, so you decide to save some money and not buy any it won’t be long before you will discover that it will cost thousands to rebuild that engine. Understanding how patient God has been with me prepares my heart to be patient with other people. In Ephesians 4:2 Paul says we are to be “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.” And in Colossians 3:12 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” These verses tell us that we are to be long-suffering with others just like God is with us. Why not take some time today and ponder how patient God has been with you not only in your past but also in your present. Then spend time in prayer thanking Him for the present of His patience in your life.