Patience with God, Ourselves & Others as we go to the Cross

 

2^nd Sunday before Lent – Patience  with  God, Ourselves & Others

The Epistle
2 Corinthians xi. 19.

YE suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

 

The Gospel
St. Luke viii. 4.

WHEN much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way-side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way-side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 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.

The Collect

O LORD God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Patience with God, Ourselves and Others

 

 

 

Luke 8:15

 

 

 

“Patience (or forbearing) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. Antonyms include hastiness and impetuousness”  from “ Wikipedia”

 

 

“The cardinal virtues are a set of four virtues recognized in the writings of Classical Antiquity and, along with the theological virtues, also in Christian tradition. They consist of:

• Prudence - able to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time
• Justice - the perpetual and constant will of rendering to each one his right^[1]
• Temperance or Restraint - practicing self-control, abstention, and moderation; tempering the appetition
• Fortitude or Courage - forbearance, endurance, and ability to confront fear, uncertainty and intimidation”

 

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who quipped, "I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end."

 

How many sermons have we heard on the Parable of the Sower?  You know---the one that talks about the Sower and the seeds on the ground.  Of course we would all like to be the good ground of vs. 15 of Luke 8,  “  But …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.”     The greek word for honest is precious , sound , good , beautiful...   “ of great value” ;Good is the Greek word kalos which means that which is intrinsically good.

 

Patience with God?  What does this look like?  “

I once heard a humorous story about the Pope who was on a visit to America for a period of time. On his last day of the visit, he was delayed due to meetings and was unable to break away to catch a flight.

Since he couldn’t depend on his Pope Mobile, he phoned for a limousine. When the limousine arrived, the driver was joyfully surprised that it was the Pope who called for him. The driver became nervous and was beside himself. He proceeded to drive very slowly. The Pope became nervous and told him to hurry up. It did not make a bit of difference. The driver went slower; he wanted to keep the Pope in his limousine as long as he could. The Pope could not be delayed any longer so he asked to drive the limo himself. The Pope sped off and reached the speed of 85 miles an hour. The policeman who stopped him was shocked when he discovered the famous personality behind the wheel. He frantically phoned his police chief and said, “Chief, I have stopped a very important figure for speeding. I don’t know what to do?”
--“What do you mean? Give him a speeding ticket!”
--“Sir, in all honesty, I can’t.”

Is it the mayor?  “ No sir.”
 --“Is it the governor?”
--“No, sir.”
--“Is it a congressman?”
--“Is it the president?”
--“No, sir.”
--“Well, then, who is it?!”
--“I don’t know sir! All I know is that the Pope is driving him to the airport.”  From SERMON CENTRAL illustrations

Patience with God means that we admit He has a plan that is not ours.  As we know “ as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher  than your ways, and my thoughts than your thought.” Isaiah 55:9  We are supposed to run “with patience ( hupomone gree= hupo=under, meno= abide or to abide under or endure) the race that is set before us” Hebrews 12:1)  The  devil is active according to Jesus.  He takes the seed (“the Word of God) out of people’s hearts “ Lest they should believe and be saved.” Luke 8:12 . We face many difficulties that we cannot change and that we have to bear up under in this world., “ the cares of this life “  Of course we can change our attitude toward these things through God’s help.  “ And that which fell among the thorns are they , which , when they have heard go forth, are are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life , and bring forth no fruit to perfection.”8:14  There is also those who are on the rock “ and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture” 8:6  These are the ones who receive the word with joy  but have no root, “ which for a while believe and in a time of temptation, fall away>”   Note they were never believers in the first place.   Our attitude in our hearts must be of the good ground. 

 

We must have patience with ourselves when we fail.  Now that is a whole message in itself.  We will go forward and we will go back and it only matters we do not give up and continue in the right direction that God is leading us.

 

Lastly, we should have patience with others.  Now that may be a little difficult.  This is more of a message about forgiveness here .  If we do not approach others on their ground,so to speak, we will not be talking to them. We will be talking over them.  And I submit that our Christian life is a process toward holiness.  It is not a done deal until when we arrive and that is arrival in God’s presence!

 

As we go toward Lent on FEB 17 this 40 days could be a good time to re-look our hearts.  What kind of ground is it?  Good ground? Rocky? Thorny?  The Way side?  Then if it is good ground, ask , “ What can we do to work on our issues?”

I close with an illustration. The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. "What's the trouble, Mr. Brooks?" he asked.

"The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!" Haven't we felt the same way many times?