INTRODUCTION
• PC VIDEO CLIP
• SLIDE #1
• I do not know about you but I have a hard time being patient!
• I’m the type of person who will ask God for patience but only on one condition - I WANT IT NOW.
• I would be a poor doctor because I have no patience. I’ve heard it said, "If patience is a virtue. Then we are becoming a virtue-less people." Instant milk to go into instant potatoes.
• Drive through mentality of "You deserve a break today, so have it your way."
• Standing in front of the microwave and yelling, "HURRY UP!" Waiting in the line at Wal-Mart that always asks for a price check on a half dozen items.
• Sitting in church waiting for the Preacher to quit talking so you can get on with your life. These and many more as we well know, cause us to be impatient. If patience is a virtue then our society, life and church are becoming more and more virtue-less.
• The Book of James was written within 30 years of the resurrection of Jesus. The church was expecting Jesus to return at anytime and was probably surprised that it had not yet happened.
• Think about it for a moment. These people had a tough life and were eager for Jesus to come back and deliver them from this life. Today, we do not eagerly await His return because for the most part life is easy compared to what the people of James time had to deal with.
• Part of the context is that of suffering unjustly. It seemed like the rich (verses 5:1-6) were getting away with everything while the poor were getting cheated. Patience was starting to run thin, where was Jesus? The church was starting to fight with each other.
• It has been close to 2000 years since the resurrection and still no Jesus. James is encouraging us to wait patiently.
• TS: Today we are going to look at 3 keys that will help us to be able to patiently wait for the Lord to return.
• SLIDE #2
• James 5:7 (ESV) 7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. God is running the checkout lane.
• Have you ever had to wait for someone? They said that they would be over to pick you up at 6:00, and now it is 6:02 and they are not there? I used to run around with a guy who could not be on time if his life depended on it.
• What about the wife and kids, you tell them that you have to leave at 6:00 and now at 6:15 they are still getting ready.
• When we feel that someone is late, we tend to lose patience. I do.
• We need to always realize that we are on God’s timetable, and He will not be late.
• James uses 2 words in our text that are close to the same.
• The words are PATIENCE and STEADFAST.
• The word patience is a word that means, “to hold in check rather than giving way to wrath or wavering.
• But it also deals more with putting up with people whereas STEADFAST deals more with situations.
• SLIDE #4
• 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV) 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
• God is holding in check the wrath that we are due because He is being patient with us. God wants ALL to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, He desires to see everyone be saved, this is one of the reasons Jesus has yet to return.
• The church may have been beginning to think that Jesus was not coming back, that He was late, that made the people impatient. The early church lived in such a way that they literally expected Jesus at anytime, so should we. That attitude changes your whole outlook on life.
• We are to be patient UNTIL the coming of the Lord.
• What does it meant to be patient? James uses the example of the farmer. Farming in Palestine was a lot different than it is here.
• There were two rainy seasons in Palestine, fall (October, November) and spring (March or April). Grain was planted in the fall and matured with the late rains of the spring. The fall rain allowed the seed to germinate and the spring rain allowed the seed to grow.
• If you have farmed, you can imagine how difficult it could be to wait for the two rains per year you would get. The only thing that could get you through that was knowing the God would send the rains when they were needed.
• Patience does not mean to sit idly by, but it requires an active participation, serving God, serving one another and preaching the Good News!
• The farmer does not take off all year, but they prepare for the planting season and once the seed is planted, they begin preparing for the harvest.
• Jesus has not returned yet, but that does not mean that He is late, it is an example of God’s love and patience toward us.
• SLIDE #5
• 2 Peter 3:8 (ESV) 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
• SLIDE #6
• James 5:8 (ESV) 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
• SLIDE #7
II. Our time to checkout will come.
• That patience that God id showing, we too need to show.
• There is nothing more aggravating than waiting in a long checkout line, but VICTORY at last, it is my turn!
• Have you seen kids who will start fighting when they just cannot wait for their turn? When we feel that “our turn” has passed us, we get upset.
• They used to have a sign at Wal-Mart that said, “You are ALWAYS next in line.”
• Have you noticed that it does not matter how short the line is, Wal-Mart keeps that promise!
• Do you get upset when you feel like you are not going to get your turn?
• The early church was waiting for Jesus to come, they wanted their turn at the good life. Jesus said He was going to return.
• The word “coming” in secular Greek- referred to the presence or arrival of a person, especially of a visit from an important person. Used in Matt 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Thess 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23; 2 Thess 2:1; 1 Cor 15:23; 1 John 2:28; 2 Peter 1:16, 3:4
• The coming of Jesus will be worth the wait. Sometimes we wonder why we have to wait; we wonder when it will be our turn.
• We need to understand that our turn will come when we get to enjoy what we are buying in full when we get to checkout.
• So what do we do while we wait?
• SLIDE #8
III. Use your time wisely while waiting to checkout.
• There are a lot of things we can be doing while we await the Lord; some are good and some not so good. Let’s look at a couple ideas from James.
• SLIDE #9
A. Strengthen your heart.
• You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
• We are called to establish or strengthen our hearts. The word establish is a word from the LXX translation of Exodus 17:12 where some of the people were helping Moses hold his arms up during a battle, as long as Moses’ arms were held high, the Israelites were winning the battle, as his arms dropped, they were losing.
• While we are waiting for the Lord to return, we need to strengthen our heart.
• SLIDE #10
• 1 Peter 1:13 (ESV) 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• Being weak-hearted does not help one make it through life
• What are you doing while you are waiting for Jesus to come back? Are you working to strengthen your heart?
• We can sit idly by and do nothing and give up when times get tough or we can work to strengthen our hearts.
• Verse 8 reminds us we need to do this because the coming of the Lord is at hand!
• Let’s look at verse 9
• SLIDE #11
• James 5:9 (ESV) 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
• SLIDE #12
B. Stay positive with others in the line.
• Troubles tend to make people complain at each other. When we get impatient, we start to complain and pick at each other.
• When the Israelites were lost in the wilderness, they complained against each other.
• Jesus is waiting at the door to see if His servants are working
• People will point out the weakness in others so that they do not have to confront their own problems
• James is telling the folks to STOP doing what they were doing to each other.
• We really need to work on avoiding tearing one another down. It amazes me at times what people who call themselves Christians will do to one another. We need to build up instead of tearing down.
• I also have some concern I will say something that a person will so focus on that they will not listen to the message God wants them to hear.
• When you are tempted to discourage an d grumble against a person, try doing something more constructive and work on being positive, you can even correct someone in a positive manner.
• Besides, if you are one who ONLY grumbles, no one takes you too seriously anyway.
• Verses 10-11 give us some parting thoughts.
• SLIDE #13
• James 5:10–11 (ESV) 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
• SLIDE #14
C. Do not leave the line.
• Have you ever gotten in line and got tired of waiting to the point that you just left the cart full of stuff and went home.
• I did that once at Aldi’s years ago.
• I did not want to endure the wait.
• Being steadfast means that we will not let circumstances dissuade us. We will not circumstances veer us off course.
• Look at verse 10 and 11. This may be a tie in to verse 4 where we find that some of the Christians were being cheated out of their pay. Suffering is the Greek word for “misfortune”. Getting cheated out of their wages was a type of “misfortune”
• Job was blessed two-fold because of his patience during his suffering
• Endurance is patience spread out over a long time
• The prophets stayed the course even in the face of difficult times.
• SLIDE #15
• Lamentations 3:22 (ESV) The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
• This was spoken by Jeremiah in the midst of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC by the Babylonians.
• SLIDE #16
D. Realize that God’s line is the best!
• Ultimately we need to understand that God is worth waiting for, that God is worth our time and devotion.
• Verse 11 reminds us you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
• What other line would you be better off in?
CONCLUSION
• Many Christians today seldom think of the Second Coming. Perhaps we find it difficult to believe the Lord’s coming is near when it’s been almost two thousand years since his first appearance.
• More likely we don’t look forward to a better world because we feel so at home in this one.
• However, in times of sorrow, pain, grief, and injustice, we too long for the Lord to come. Yet things go on the way they always have. The rich get richer. The righteous suffer.
• We too may wonder, “How long must it be?” When we are discouraged by life, we may be tempted to blame others, to grumble, and even to give up. In those times, James calls us to patience and perseverance.
• Those who are truly God’s people have never had it easy in this world. Just look at the prophets and at Job. Yet they did not give up but trusted in the One full of compassion and mercy. We must trust him, too.
