29 October 2006

PATIENCE

Gal 5:22-25
The fruits of the Spirit are so inter-related that you can’t separate them.

Patience is related or even given as “Long suffering” - being slow to anger bearing with others, forgiving others, and bearing with the provocations of others. A patient has got to have patience. It has to d with difficult moments.

1. PATIENCE TOWARDS OTHERS
Matthew 18:21-35
Jesus teaches here about patience which is so prevalent in forgiveness.
Forgiveness cannot happen without patience. Imagine forgiving one person 77 times. That calls for great patience.
You can see this master had been so patient with the servant because the debt was so huge. And he was willing to forgive him and cancelled the debt and let him go. Wow!!.

Q. What would this call for? Gratitude.

But this man went and found one who owed him a few dollars and was very rough with him. Our nature is so wicked – We are very vengeful and without the spirit can do very crazy things. Even in our case, nothing else could forgive our sins. God had to send his Son.

Q.How do you treat others – in marriage, ministry, our physical family?

The backdrop of our patience & forgiveness should be what God did for us. As humans we want to settle scores with words and wounds e.g. insulting language, a slap, a fist, etc.

The consequences of lack of patience & forgiveness are grave & gruesome. vs 34. The master turned him over to be tortured.

Impatience doesn’t pay, it has more negative consequences.

We are to be patient with those in sin in our ministries etc.
v 35. God will deal with us according to how we deal with others.

2. PATIENCE IN PAIN
James 1:2-4
Its hard to be joyful when facing all kinds of trials – financial, health-related, etc. All these come so as to help us grow in our patience & our gratitude.
Romans 5:3-5
Many times we want the reverse – hope, character then perseverance. No!! suffering has to come first.
Our prayers should be to overcome our challenges, not for the problems to go away. As we face trials, we develop spiritual muscles.

Romans 12:12
Patience in affliction.
Things happen so as we can grow, lets help understand this.

Romans 8:28
For us to be patient, we have to embrace this verse. e.g. Joseph – sold by his brothers, imprisoned as a result of his convictions about purity. (Genesis chapter 39).
After all these, Joseph was ready to be Prince of Egypt. Moses, likewise, was ready to be used by God only after many years of exile in the desert.

2 Corinthians 1:6-7
Paul would be distressed just in order for the early Christians to be comforted.
As leaders and disciplers, we will have to go through this a lot. We have to suffer with people pray with them.

- John Maleya, Nairobi