Sermon: June 22, 2008

"The Fruit of the Spirit is...Patience"

(scripture references are clickable)

1 Samuel 13:5-15

James 5:7-11

We’re continuing our sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit, the nine virtues that Paul says a Christian will produce in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We’ve already looked at the first three:  agape love, which is an unconquered, unselfish love; joy, which is a delight and trust in the Lord no matter what the circumstances; and peace or shalom, which is a well-being, a fullness, a soundness in life and relationships.  Today we’re going to look at the fourth virtue on Paul’s list:  patience.  I know that for many of us, this is perhaps the hardest virtue.  One parishioner, when she heard that we were going to be talking about patience today, even joked that she might stay home!  For we all recognize our struggle here, which is why we need this sermon more than ever!

And like with our other virtues, we need to spend some time defining what patience is.  Many today consider patience merely to be passivity, almost a weakness.  For many, patience means somehow serenely sitting back submissively, totally unaffected by life.  Many think patience means neither acting nor reacting; in this understanding, patience is a rather insipid virtue, not at all what Paul means when he talks about the Fruit of the Spirit.  No, the word Paul uses, makrothumia, is a very strong word; this patience is a conquering patience, and is used of a person who could revenge himself, but does not.  A person with makrothumia does not deviate from his purpose, even in spite of roadblocks.  It is said that Rome conquered the world because it had makrothumia; they patiently kept focused on what was important.[1]  A person with makrothumia is in control of his passions; he has overcome his temper and need for vengeance.  In the old King James Version of the Bible, this word was translated ”long-suffering”.  (I’ve always found that rather apt – patience often means that Rev. Long suffers!).  A long-suffering person does not have a short fuse, my friends.  Indeed, in the Old Testament this word is often translated “slow to anger”. 

So patience is more than just waiting – it’s waiting with a purpose, “waiting with shoes on”.[2]  This is an active virtue, one that involves both perseverance and endurance.  In the face of suffering, resistance, annoyance and trials of all kinds, patience keeps going, refusing to be dragged down or turned away from what is important.  Patience is a God-given restraint in the face of opposition.  It means a long holding out of the mind before giving way to anger, frustration and distraction.  Patience says “I know that all this is happening around me, but I refuse to be turned away from my mission, my purpose in life”. 

And like with all the Fruit of the Spirit, that’s not natural!  Oh, how we know how unnatural this actually is, especially in today’s society.  Friends, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we are not a patient society.  We no longer value delayed gratification.  No, we are the culture of Burger King, which promises us “Your way, right away”.  We are a culture of cell phones, Blackberries and portable DVD players, for we certainly could not wait to get messages, information or entertainment.  Now, don’t get me wrong – I certainly see the value of this advancing technology.  I even wonder sometimes how I survived without a cell phone!  But I also have to admit that all these advances can keep us from learning how to wait patiently, how to endure being without something once in a while.  Our “hurry-up” society doesn’t teach these virtues; it instead teaches us that our needs are what is most important, and that anyone or anything that gets in the way is to be pushed aside.  Just consider the harried, speeding driver, yelling into his cell phone, who encounters Fred and Ethel out for their leisurely afternoon drive.  How do you think Mr.-In-A-Hurry reacts?  Of course, in anger, frustration and even road rage.  No, my friends, we are a society who could stand to learn a little patience!

But how do we get patience?  How do we learn makrothumia, long-suffering, a slowness to anger?  Well, like with all the other virtues we’ve been studying, patience comes from a relationship with the Lord; He changes our hearts and enables us to learn patience.  It comes as a fruit we produce from our life in the Spirit.  Just as agape love keeps an eye on the love He has for us, just as joy keeps a firm trust and delight in His goodness, and just as peace is found in a full and sound relationship with Him, so patience is rooted and grounded in the Lord.  Patience keeps its mind on who God is and the promises He has made.  Patience keeps its eye on the long view, remembering that our Lord has promised to return and to set all things right.  James tells us “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming . . . You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:7, 8, NIV).  Patience says “Because I know that the Lord is in charge, that the Lord is good, and that the Lord has promised to carry me through all I am facing, I therefore will not explode in rage, will not grumble and complain, will not shove this other person aside just to get what I want.  Patience involves having a little perspective in life, seeing that I am not number one.  For the opposite, impatience, when boiled down, is simply selfishness.  Impatience says that my needs and wants are more important than this person who is getting in my way, and so I have a right to explode in rage, to vent my frustration, to loudly complain to anyone who will listen.  Impatience, my friends, is simply immaturity. 

And we see this in action in our first Scripture reading for today, the story of how Saul lost his dynasty.  Saul was Israel’s first king, anointed by God as ruler in response to Israel’s desire to be like all the other nations around her.  The problem was, Saul was not really fit to be king.  Oh, he was tall and imposing, and he was a good warrior.  We see him here valiantly fighting to drive the Philistines out of his land.  But Saul lacked spiritual maturity; he lacked a strong faith in God.  He recognized that he needed God’s blessing, but in the end he was not willing to wait for it.  Here in our reading for today, we see Saul waiting seven days for Samuel, God’s prophet, to come and offer sacrifices to inquire of the Lord for wisdom and guidance.  When Samuel does not come, Saul gets impatient; he takes matters into his own hands.  Now, like in our government today, Israel practiced separation of powers.  Just as our Supreme Court cannot make laws, so Israel’s kings could not offer sacrifices.  Kings were not prophets and prophets were not kings.  But here, we see Saul breaking that law.  His needs were more important in his mind – his army needed to get moving.  And so he ends up doing evil in order to accomplish something good – which, of course, never works.  For just as Saul finishes, Samuel shows up, informing him that his impatience has cost him everything.  With this one foolish act, Saul’s dynasty was lost; his son would not succeed him as king. 

Friends, how often do we act like Saul?  How often have we not been patient?  How often have we not endured, not persevered, instead giving into the circumstances – and as a result, we lose everything!  But Paul shows us a better way.  He tells us that the Fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of a full, abundant life lived in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, is patience.  Because we love the Lord, because we have a joyful, peaceful, trusting relationship with Him, because we have faith in Him, we therefore should patiently endure, patiently wait, patiently hope.  We should rise above those circumstances – even if it be an army marching against us – and not let them conquer our resolve.  Like the farmer James talks about, we need to recognize that so much is out of our control, out of our hands.  So much, my friends, rests on God.  We can plant seeds, water them, weed them – but only God can make them grow.  We can get frustrated and angry about that, but it won’t change a thing.  It’s a much better way to patiently wait and trust in God, who is good, whose love endures forever.  And if we learn this, like so many who have gone before us, then when those terrible circumstances come and threaten to provoke us, when people attack us and life turns sour, we can remember to be slow to anger, to be long-suffering, to patiently wait on the Lord and trust in Him.  

For my friends, God has indeed been so patient with us.  He has long-suffered our wickedness; He has been slow to anger.  Should we not do the same?  But again, like with all these virtues we’re studying, patience is something we must practice.  Sometimes that has to be a conscious choice, saying to ourselves “I feel myself becoming impatient, but I choose to do otherwise.  I choose to trust in the Lord and to give this over to His hands”.  After a while, that will become a habit, a learned behavior.  It takes time, but it is worth the effort!  It’s worth the effort to live in the Spirit’s new, good, full life and to produce His fruit of patience.  Are you ready to try?  Are you ready to produce His fruit?  I hope we all are!  And as we do, as we seek, nurture and produce His fruit, may He bless us richly – and to Him alone be the glory!