WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Real joy is not dependent on circumstances. It 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:05.599 can be a steady source of strength, no matter 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.240 what you're facing. Discover how joy is more 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.900 than a feeling, it's a way of life. Order your 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:13.539 copy of The Strength of Joy by Dean and Jeffrey 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:16.640 Forrest, now available on Amazon and Kindle. 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:20.980 Welcome to week number four in our series that 00:00:20.980 --> 00:00:24.879 we've entitled Spiritual Growth. Everybody say 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:28.769 spiritual growth. Let's jump right in. 1 Corinthians 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:34.490 2 .14 tells us this. The natural man does not 00:00:34.490 --> 00:00:39.009 receive the things of the Spirit of God, for 00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:43.170 they are foolishness to him, nor can he know 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:47.409 them because they are spiritually discerned. 00:00:48.570 --> 00:00:54.210 So the things of God are foolishness to the natural 00:00:54.210 --> 00:00:58.049 man because the things of God, are only spiritually 00:00:58.049 --> 00:01:01.750 discerned. 1 Corinthians 3 verses 1 through 3 00:01:01.750 --> 00:01:05.370 says this, And I, brethren, could not speak to 00:01:05.370 --> 00:01:10.930 you as spiritual people, but as to carnal, as 00:01:10.930 --> 00:01:15.310 to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:18.090 with solid food, for until now you were not able 00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:23.049 to receive it. And even now you are still not 00:01:23.049 --> 00:01:27.540 able, for you are still carnal. For where there 00:01:27.540 --> 00:01:31.980 are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are 00:01:31.980 --> 00:01:38.459 you not carnal and behaving like mere men? So 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:41.459 in these texts out of 1 Corinthians, we find 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:45.019 that there are three types of people. Three types 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:47.099 of people. And that pretty much covers every 00:01:47.099 --> 00:01:50.780 person in the world. There are only three types 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:55.989 or categories of people. One is natural. Everybody 00:01:55.989 --> 00:01:59.430 say natural. A natural person is someone who 00:01:59.430 --> 00:02:02.950 is not in a relationship with Christ. Someone 00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:06.530 who is not born again. Someone who is not renewed. 00:02:07.689 --> 00:02:12.409 And all they have to live by is, we could say, 00:02:12.430 --> 00:02:14.870 their soul. That'll make more sense in a minute. 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:18.509 Just their flesh and their soul. That's the only 00:02:18.509 --> 00:02:21.710 thing they have to direct them. This is a person 00:02:21.710 --> 00:02:24.610 without Christ they live by just what feels good. 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:31.039 They live by what seems right in their own eyes. 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:34.460 That's the natural person. The next person is 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:39.020 a carnal person. Everybody say carnal. Now, Paul 00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:43.180 is talking to believers in Corinth when he says, 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:46.099 I want to talk to you like you're spiritual people, 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:49.520 but you're just carnal. So I still just have 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.300 to give you a little bit of milk, and you might 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:56.909 even throw that up every once in a while. So 00:02:56.909 --> 00:03:02.129 a carnal person is a Christian, but they're still 00:03:02.129 --> 00:03:05.689 living like a natural person. There's been no 00:03:05.689 --> 00:03:10.770 transformation, no change in their life. They're 00:03:10.770 --> 00:03:13.590 immature. They live on a childhood level because 00:03:13.590 --> 00:03:17.909 they will not feed on the Word of God and grow. 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:23.469 They're more concerned about the natural than 00:03:23.469 --> 00:03:27.800 they are the eternal. Or their only concern is 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:30.759 the natural. And then we see spiritual people. 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:34.039 Everybody say spiritual. A spiritual person is 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:36.979 a Christian who is led by the Spirit of God. 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:39.240 The Bible tells us that we're supposed to walk 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:41.699 in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, follow the 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:46.139 Spirit's leading, follow God. So it's Christians 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:49.419 who are led by the Spirit through the Word of 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:57.729 God. A spiritual person is growing. Now, we never 00:03:57.729 --> 00:04:03.810 arrive. None of us have made it to a spiritual 00:04:03.810 --> 00:04:07.949 level where we don't need to grow anymore. This 00:04:07.949 --> 00:04:11.789 is a process. Everybody say a process. So a spiritual 00:04:11.789 --> 00:04:15.789 person is one who is growing, one who is regularly 00:04:15.789 --> 00:04:18.769 receiving the Word of God, one who is walking 00:04:18.769 --> 00:04:21.930 and being led by the Spirit, walking in the Spirit 00:04:21.930 --> 00:04:25.879 and being led by the Spirit. So three types of 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:28.939 people. I want to ask you, where does spiritual 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:32.279 growth occur? Where does it come from? Where 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:40.759 does it happen? 1 Thessalonians 5 .23 tells us 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:43.019 something about people. We looked at their three 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:45.699 categories of people. Now we see that people 00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:51.279 are made up of three different components. 1 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:54.199 Thessalonians 5, 23. Now may the God of peace 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:59.839 make you holy. That means set apart. May the 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:02.939 God of peace make you set apart in every way. 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:08.860 And may your whole spirit and soul and body be 00:05:08.860 --> 00:05:13.480 kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:22.009 again. So we see that we are three -part. Unlike 00:05:22.009 --> 00:05:27.389 every other living thing in the world, we are 00:05:27.389 --> 00:05:32.949 three -part beings. Three -part beings. We are 00:05:32.949 --> 00:05:37.949 a spirit. Everybody say, I am a spirit. That's 00:05:37.949 --> 00:05:45.949 who you are. You have a soul. And you live in 00:05:45.949 --> 00:05:52.579 a body. We are spirits. You might say, what do 00:05:52.579 --> 00:05:55.740 you mean? What is a spirit? Well, God is a spirit, 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:59.600 and the Bible says that God created us in His 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:05.699 image. So there are different classes of beings, 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:11.000 living things in this world. And there are different 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:14.220 kingdoms for the different living things, right? 00:06:15.310 --> 00:06:17.769 Anybody remember this in your biology class? 00:06:17.829 --> 00:06:21.949 There's the plant kingdom and there's the animal 00:06:21.949 --> 00:06:27.430 kingdom. But where the biology teacher falls 00:06:27.430 --> 00:06:31.589 off the truck is he leaves out the other kingdom 00:06:31.589 --> 00:06:39.069 because there's a spiritual kingdom. The thing 00:06:39.069 --> 00:06:41.569 that makes us different from any other animal 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:46.339 Alive in the earth today. The thing that makes 00:06:46.339 --> 00:06:51.540 us different is that we are spirit beings. We're 00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:57.899 spirit beings. So, we're three parts. Our spirit 00:06:57.899 --> 00:07:05.420 comes alive at salvation. Comes alive. Has anybody 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:08.480 ever heard of the phrase born again? That's when 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:12.639 your spirit comes alive. That's when... during 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:16.339 the process of salvation taking place in your 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:20.139 life, that's when the Holy Spirit moves you from 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:25.819 being immersed in sin to being immersed in Christ. 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:32.439 That's when we come alive. Our spirit is now, 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:37.019 at that point, your spirit is alive to God. Alive 00:07:37.019 --> 00:07:42.110 unto God. Because you are separated from God 00:07:42.110 --> 00:07:45.990 because of your sin. Spiritual death. Remember 00:07:45.990 --> 00:07:49.930 in the garden when God says, hey, Adam, don't 00:07:49.930 --> 00:07:53.230 eat from that tree. Because the day that you 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:57.730 eat of it, you will surely die. Now, did his 00:07:57.730 --> 00:07:59.670 heart quit beating? Did he fall to the ground? 00:07:59.750 --> 00:08:02.529 Did he die when he ate that fruit? No, but he 00:08:02.529 --> 00:08:07.250 died spiritually. And then the process of physical 00:08:07.250 --> 00:08:10.980 death began at that point. And he ultimately 00:08:10.980 --> 00:08:13.980 died physically too, but he died spiritually 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:17.439 because his spirit was no longer connected to 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:21.300 God like it was when he would just walk with 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:25.779 God in the cool of the day. So our spirit becomes 00:08:25.779 --> 00:08:28.519 alive. Our spirit man becomes alive at salvation. 00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:32.200 Our spirit is united with Christ. And guess what? 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:34.980 At that point, we are clothed in the righteousness 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:38.600 of God in Christ Jesus because of Jesus' work 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:42.360 on the cross. Your spirit is complete. Your spirit 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:45.039 is completely righteous and right standing with 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:52.580 God. You can't grow in righteousness. You can't. 00:08:53.379 --> 00:08:57.539 You are righteous if you are in Christ. Not based 00:08:57.539 --> 00:08:59.679 on your performance, but based on what Jesus 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:03.659 did on the cross. You're righteous and complete. 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:10.049 But your soul... It's going to have to have some 00:09:10.049 --> 00:09:16.110 work. Right? This is your soul. Your soul is 00:09:16.110 --> 00:09:18.909 comprised of your mind, your will, and your emotions. 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:22.370 Your mind is your thought life. How many of you 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:24.190 know when you came to Christ, all of a sudden, 00:09:24.250 --> 00:09:28.570 all your thoughts didn't completely change and 00:09:28.570 --> 00:09:33.789 become holy and righteous, right? Chances are 00:09:33.789 --> 00:09:36.129 you've had some thoughts today that aren't very 00:09:36.129 --> 00:09:38.370 holy and righteous, especially... if you were 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:44.649 in your car coming here in the traffic. So your 00:09:44.649 --> 00:09:49.110 soul is your mind, your thought life, your will, 00:09:49.230 --> 00:09:52.789 which is your desires. We all have desires, right? 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:55.950 It's our emotions. It's our feelings. That's 00:09:55.950 --> 00:10:01.090 our soul. It's comprised of that, your mind, 00:10:01.110 --> 00:10:03.250 your will, and emotions. Now, the difference 00:10:03.250 --> 00:10:07.409 between a carnal Christian and a spiritual Christian 00:10:07.230 --> 00:10:11.289 Christian is the spiritual growth of the soul 00:10:11.289 --> 00:10:16.149 or the lack thereof. Should I say that again? 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:18.269 Because some of you are looking at me like blank 00:10:18.269 --> 00:10:23.490 -faced. If you listen better, I will preach faster. 00:10:28.809 --> 00:10:33.250 That's just the way it is. I didn't do all this 00:10:33.250 --> 00:10:39.200 work just to tell the wall about it. I want your 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.480 life to be transformed with the Word of God. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:46.580 The difference between a carnal person and a 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:49.940 spiritual person is the spiritual growth of the 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:53.700 soul or the lack of spiritual growth of the soul. 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:58.259 Your thought life, your desires, your feelings. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:03.340 Spiritual maturity is not measured by how long 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:10.049 you've been a Christian. Now, physical growth 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:13.350 just happens with time, right? Maxton's growing 00:11:13.350 --> 00:11:18.370 up. Lawson's growing up. Physical growth just 00:11:18.370 --> 00:11:25.490 happens over time. But spiritual growth, you 00:11:25.490 --> 00:11:27.809 could be a Christian for 50 years and still be 00:11:27.809 --> 00:11:32.309 carnal and an infant. It doesn't just happen. 00:11:33.809 --> 00:11:39.059 You have to participate with the process. Spiritual 00:11:39.059 --> 00:11:41.220 maturity is not measured by how loud you worship. 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:46.200 It's not measured by how much scripture you know. 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:48.500 I mean, I could pass a mic around and ask you 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:50.759 how many Bible verses you know, and just because 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:52.960 you're the one in here that knows more Bible 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:54.980 verses than everybody else, it doesn't mean that 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:57.159 you're the most spiritual person in the room. 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:00.740 It means you've got some spiritual intellect. 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:05.700 Some of the meanest people in the world have 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:11.710 a lot of spiritual intellect. Has anybody ever 00:12:11.710 --> 00:12:14.929 met some real mean people that had a lot of spiritual 00:12:14.929 --> 00:12:23.850 intellect? So how do we know? How do we measure 00:12:23.850 --> 00:12:27.409 spiritual growth, spiritual maturity? How is 00:12:27.409 --> 00:12:31.929 it measured? Jesus said in Luke 6, 43 and 44, 00:12:32.210 --> 00:12:36.250 He says, A good tree does not bear bad fruit, 00:12:36.490 --> 00:12:41.679 nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:51.580 tree is known by its own fruit. So, spiritual 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:59.220 maturity is measured by spiritual fruit. Spiritual 00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:02.100 growth is measured by spiritual fruit. And here's 00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:05.429 the deal. It needs to be constantly increasing. 00:13:05.710 --> 00:13:07.850 The fruit of the Spirit needs to be constantly 00:13:07.850 --> 00:13:11.990 increasing in each one of our lives if we are 00:13:11.990 --> 00:13:16.889 going to be spiritual people. Constantly increasing. 00:13:19.009 --> 00:13:22.409 The fruit of the Spirit needs to be evidenced 00:13:22.409 --> 00:13:28.070 in our life every day. If we're spiritual people, 00:13:28.269 --> 00:13:31.320 there should be some spiritual fruit. Can I get 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:36.940 an oh me or an amen or something? If there's 00:13:36.940 --> 00:13:40.059 no spiritual fruit, then all you have is carnal. 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:46.620 And just to clarify, this is a series in self 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:52.620 -examination. What we're talking about in this 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:54.620 series isn't so that you can go around and judge 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:58.120 everybody else in your household or at your workplace 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.549 or at school. I mean, that's not why we're doing 00:14:01.549 --> 00:14:06.090 this. We're taking an honest look at ourselves 00:14:06.090 --> 00:14:14.710 and seeing that we need to come up higher. I 00:14:14.710 --> 00:14:16.870 hate to burst your bubble, but everybody in this 00:14:16.870 --> 00:14:18.789 room needs to come up higher than you are today. 00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:22.049 You need to come up higher. We always need to 00:14:22.049 --> 00:14:27.909 be coming up higher. Always. We have not arrived. 00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:33.870 We are all a work in progress. Now, we're all 00:14:33.870 --> 00:14:38.029 on a different place in the progress line, but 00:14:38.029 --> 00:14:40.429 hopefully we're all in that line and we're all 00:14:40.429 --> 00:14:46.909 moving in the right direction. Galatians 5, 22 00:14:46.909 --> 00:14:50.549 and 23. It says this, the fruit of the Spirit 00:14:50.549 --> 00:14:53.429 is love. That was week number one. Joy was week 00:14:53.429 --> 00:14:56.070 number two. Peace was week number three. And 00:14:56.070 --> 00:15:00.009 guess what we're talking about today? Patience. 00:15:03.590 --> 00:15:05.710 I'm glad some of you are smiling. Some of you 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:09.289 are frowning. We're talking about patience today. 00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:14.049 Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. And it should 00:15:14.049 --> 00:15:16.929 always, in a spiritual person, it should... Patience 00:15:16.929 --> 00:15:20.690 should always be increasing. Patience should 00:15:20.690 --> 00:15:28.570 always be evidenced in our lives. Here's the 00:15:28.570 --> 00:15:32.389 word. Here's the Greek word. It's translated 00:15:32.389 --> 00:15:36.110 patience or long -suffering. Everybody say long 00:15:36.110 --> 00:15:39.690 -suffering. Depending on which version of Scripture 00:15:39.690 --> 00:15:44.570 that you're using. Here's the Greek word. Akrothumia. 00:15:47.010 --> 00:15:49.649 Anyway, that's my attempt. You can attempt it 00:15:49.649 --> 00:15:53.070 yourself. But that's the Koine Greek word, and 00:15:53.070 --> 00:15:55.289 it's a compound word. It's two words put together, 00:15:55.370 --> 00:16:00.409 and it's the word long and passion. Long and 00:16:00.409 --> 00:16:05.350 passion. It's translated patience, long -suffering, 00:16:05.370 --> 00:16:12.730 fortitude. That's a fruit of the Spirit that 00:16:12.730 --> 00:16:18.720 should be evident. In our lives. Also found out 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:20.600 through studying that it's a quality of God. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.379 I mean, I knew that, but it's better when you 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:27.120 hear from somebody else, not just me. But it's 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:30.039 a quality of God. It's part of God's character. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:35.419 It's part of who God is. God is patient. And 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:37.960 then to expand those definitions, I found that 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:43.419 it means waiting sufficient time before expressing. 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:51.700 Anger. It means steadfastness and staying power. 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:57.620 Then these are my input words down at the bottom. 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:08.079 Not short -fused. Not short -fused. Listen, not 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:18.609 quick to an emotional response. Not quick to 00:17:18.609 --> 00:17:22.890 give up. I remember when I was young and we were 00:17:22.890 --> 00:17:25.730 playing and somebody would get their feelings 00:17:25.730 --> 00:17:27.650 hurt because they weren't good playing. And all 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:29.490 of a sudden they'd get mad and they'd say, I'm 00:17:29.490 --> 00:17:35.349 going to take my ball and go home. Because you 00:17:35.349 --> 00:17:38.869 didn't let me win. Or you tackled me or whatever. 00:17:39.069 --> 00:17:42.829 I'm going to take my ball and go home. It's quick 00:17:42.829 --> 00:17:55.829 to give up. We need to be convicted. Right? We 00:17:55.829 --> 00:18:10.849 need to be challenged. It's part of who God is. 00:18:10.930 --> 00:18:13.630 Let's listen to God introducing himself. Exodus 00:18:13.630 --> 00:18:19.339 34, 5 and 6. Introducing himself. It says, the 00:18:19.339 --> 00:18:22.500 Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:30.299 him. And he, God, called out his own name. Yahweh. 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:34.339 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:42.240 Yahweh, the Lord, the God of compassion and mercy. 00:18:43.339 --> 00:18:47.180 I am slow to anger. This is God introducing himself. 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:50.559 He could have said a whole lot of things to introduce 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:54.440 himself, right? But he introduces himself by 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:59.759 saying, I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:06.619 love and faithfulness. This is God introducing 00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:12.140 himself to Moses. Then in Romans 2, 4, we see 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:15.710 this. Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, 00:19:15.849 --> 00:19:22.710 and patient God is with you? And you didn't even 00:19:22.710 --> 00:19:29.309 smile. Look at your life. Look at what you've 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:32.690 deserved. Look at the mess that you've made so 00:19:32.690 --> 00:19:37.029 many times. How many of you are thankful that 00:19:37.029 --> 00:19:41.130 God is wonderfully kind, He's tolerant, and He's 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:45.299 patient? I'm so thankful that God is a patient 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:48.279 God and that He is patient with me and He's not 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:50.960 quick to give me what I deserve all the time. 00:19:51.460 --> 00:20:01.759 Hallelujah. Listen. Has anybody ever told you, 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:05.279 now don't be praying for patience? Has anybody 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:08.339 heard that? Has anybody prayed it? Now don't 00:20:08.339 --> 00:20:10.819 be praying for patience. Don't be praying for 00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:16.569 patience. Because if you pray for patience, you're 00:20:16.569 --> 00:20:19.009 going to have some opportunities to be patient. 00:20:23.329 --> 00:20:27.630 So patience is probably not the fruit that most 00:20:27.630 --> 00:20:32.369 people pray for. I mean, we pray for love. We 00:20:32.369 --> 00:20:36.309 pray for joy. We pray for peace. Those first 00:20:36.309 --> 00:20:37.789 three that we're talking about, we're always 00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:41.730 praying for that, right? But are we always praying 00:20:41.730 --> 00:20:45.890 for patience? Probably not the one that most 00:20:45.890 --> 00:20:48.509 people are praying for. Patience is developed 00:20:48.509 --> 00:20:53.009 in process. Everybody say process. And especially 00:20:53.009 --> 00:20:55.710 today, we live in a culture that hates process. 00:20:57.230 --> 00:21:00.730 We want instant answers. We want instant results. 00:21:00.869 --> 00:21:04.390 We want instant success. We want instant change. 00:21:05.509 --> 00:21:10.880 We don't like process very much. Patience being 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:14.920 developed in you. The fruit of patience. That's 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:21.000 a process. It's a process. Patience does several 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.279 things. The first thing patience does is it keeps 00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:31.779 us from reacting fleshly. Carnally. Keeps us 00:21:31.779 --> 00:21:37.039 from being ugly. Patience keeps you from reacting 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:44.289 fleshly. Has anyone ever reacted fleshly before? 00:21:46.289 --> 00:21:48.450 Hold up your hand. If your hand's not up, you're 00:21:48.450 --> 00:21:56.109 lying right now. James 1, verses 2 -4 My brethren, 00:21:56.289 --> 00:22:03.190 count it all joy when you fall into various trials. 00:22:10.250 --> 00:22:12.710 So the Holy Spirit is telling us through James, 00:22:12.910 --> 00:22:18.049 when we're having a bad moment or a bad day, 00:22:18.170 --> 00:22:25.289 we're supposed to count it all joy. Count it 00:22:25.289 --> 00:22:34.470 all joy. Because you know something. My brethren, 00:22:34.569 --> 00:22:36.490 count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 00:22:36.589 --> 00:22:39.549 knowing something, knowing that the testing of 00:22:39.549 --> 00:22:46.990 your faith produces patience. But let patience 00:22:46.990 --> 00:22:51.609 have its perfect work, that you may be perfect 00:22:51.609 --> 00:23:03.450 and complete, lacking nothing. Do we need to 00:23:03.450 --> 00:23:05.190 call the ambulance or is this spiritual chest 00:23:05.190 --> 00:23:12.450 pains? Spiritual chest pains, okay. Listen, one 00:23:12.450 --> 00:23:14.930 of the clearest ways to see the level of your 00:23:14.930 --> 00:23:18.170 spiritual maturity is by looking at your reactions. 00:23:18.289 --> 00:23:25.990 How do you react? How do you react? A spiritual 00:23:25.990 --> 00:23:28.710 person reacts differently than a carnal person. 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:35.420 Spiritually immature people react impulsively. 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:38.720 They are quickly angered. They are quickly offended. 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:41.619 They are quickly discouraged. And they are quick 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:47.940 to make emotional decisions. And if that describes 00:23:47.940 --> 00:23:54.819 us, we know that we need to come up higher. Patience, 00:23:54.819 --> 00:23:59.200 listen, patience slows you down in a situation, 00:23:59.460 --> 00:24:03.549 right? Patience is what slows you down and gives 00:24:03.549 --> 00:24:06.529 the Holy Spirit room to govern your responses. 00:24:12.589 --> 00:24:14.269 Look at the person beside you and say, sometimes 00:24:14.269 --> 00:24:16.930 it's good to take a breath. Just take a breath. 00:24:18.349 --> 00:24:23.529 Don't respond. Take a breath. Has anyone ever 00:24:23.529 --> 00:24:26.069 responded in such a way that you look back at 00:24:26.069 --> 00:24:27.650 it and say, boy, I wish I wouldn't have responded 00:24:27.650 --> 00:24:34.349 that way? Take a breath. This fruit of patience 00:24:34.349 --> 00:24:37.390 is what's going to slow you down and give the 00:24:37.390 --> 00:24:41.910 Holy Spirit room to govern your response. James 00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:45.970 1, 19 -20 says this, Understand, my dear brothers 00:24:45.970 --> 00:24:49.289 and sisters, you must all... Everybody say all. 00:24:49.750 --> 00:24:52.730 Everybody say, that means me. Understand this, 00:24:52.750 --> 00:24:54.970 my brothers and sisters, you must all be quick 00:24:54.970 --> 00:25:01.539 to listen, slow to speak, And slow to get angry. 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:07.440 Human anger does not produce the righteousness 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:16.819 God desires. Proverbs 14, 29. If you're not encouraged 00:25:16.819 --> 00:25:19.579 yet, listen to this one. People with understanding 00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:24.539 control their anger. A hot temper shows great 00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:30.900 foolishness. Great foolishness and spiritual 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:34.140 maturity are on opposite ends of the spectrum, 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:40.519 don't you think so? Patience is something you 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:44.319 often admire in the driver behind you who lets 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:49.299 you merge into traffic in front of them. So you 00:25:49.299 --> 00:25:51.940 get, you're like, wow, that person has patience. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.759 They're going to do the zipper and they're going 00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:57.849 to let me merge in front of them. They're even 00:25:57.849 --> 00:26:00.230 doing it before I cut on my blinker and start 00:26:00.230 --> 00:26:01.950 throwing the nose of my car in front of them 00:26:01.950 --> 00:26:04.390 like they're going to hit me or let me in, one 00:26:04.390 --> 00:26:07.589 or the other. This is a very patient person. 00:26:09.190 --> 00:26:16.170 I admire their patience. So we admire it in the 00:26:16.170 --> 00:26:21.150 driver behind us who lets us in, but we don't 00:26:21.150 --> 00:26:24.670 admire patience for the one who's in front of 00:26:24.670 --> 00:26:32.740 us. Who wants to get in front of us. Then patience 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:35.920 doesn't work anymore. Because I saw you drive 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:38.039 past everybody. You knew you were supposed to 00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:40.619 get in line. Now you drive all the way to the 00:26:40.619 --> 00:26:42.559 very end. And then you're going to cut in front 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:48.480 of me. There's been a sign for a quarter of a 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:52.500 mile telling you to get in this lane. I'm not 00:26:52.500 --> 00:27:03.099 letting you in. Hello? That road coming out of 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:07.180 Disney, man, when it's loaded up. You're trying 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:13.099 to get on I -4. Right there is Celebration. And 00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:15.559 you've been sitting in line, and all these people 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:18.319 just in that left lane, they just run by, and 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:20.180 then they do a U -turn and come back and turn 00:27:20.180 --> 00:27:21.960 right in front of you, and you're just sitting 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:29.539 way back there, and you're saying... I experience 00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:37.180 it all the time. But how do I react? How do I 00:27:37.180 --> 00:27:43.720 react? There's this lady in Walmart, and she 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:45.880 had her little girl with her, and her little 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:49.940 girl was just out of control. Have you been in 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:53.480 a store with a child that's just out of control? 00:27:56.230 --> 00:27:58.470 sometimes forgetting to buy groceries, she would 00:27:58.470 --> 00:28:00.950 have to take Jeffrey home two or three times, 00:28:01.049 --> 00:28:03.529 go all the way home from the grocery store and 00:28:03.529 --> 00:28:06.509 have a lecture and a lesson before they would 00:28:06.509 --> 00:28:08.710 go back to the grocery store and eventually get 00:28:08.710 --> 00:28:19.289 their groceries. But there's a lady in Walmart 00:28:19.289 --> 00:28:22.490 where her little girl is just out of control. 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:30.140 So the lady keeps saying very quietly and gently. 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:35.299 She keeps saying, keep calm, Susie. Keep calm, 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:45.940 Susie. Susie, keep calm. Well, the lady behind 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:48.859 her heard her saying that, and as they exited 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:53.180 Walmart, the lady just wanted to encourage her. 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:57.799 She wanted to encourage this lady. She's saying, 00:28:57.880 --> 00:29:00.019 you know, your daughter was acting up, but you 00:29:00.019 --> 00:29:05.480 just did an amazing job by speaking calmly and 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:09.460 gently to her and just saying, okay, okay, Susie, 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:12.640 keep calm. It's going to be all right, Susie, 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:15.460 keep calm. And the lady looked at her and said, 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:19.380 my daughter's name's not Susie, my name's Susie. 00:29:19.400 --> 00:29:25.529 I've been talking to myself. Reminding myself 00:29:25.529 --> 00:29:31.630 to keep calm. Long -suffering is self -restraint 00:29:31.630 --> 00:29:36.430 in the face of being provoked. Long -suffering 00:29:36.430 --> 00:29:41.609 or patience does not hastily retaliate or want 00:29:41.609 --> 00:29:45.569 to promptly punish this fruit of the Spirit that 00:29:45.569 --> 00:29:47.930 we're talking about today. Colossians 3, verses 00:29:47.930 --> 00:29:52.680 12 through 13. Since God chose you to be the 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:57.359 holy people He loves, everybody say this, I am 00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:01.119 the holy people that God loves. Since God chose 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:03.859 you to be the holy people He loves, you must 00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:07.779 clothe yourselves with tender heart and mercy, 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:12.140 kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:18.369 That should be a description of who we are. When 00:30:18.369 --> 00:30:21.930 we are in Christ. It says this in verse 13. Make 00:30:21.930 --> 00:30:27.170 allowance for each other's faults. Forgive anyone 00:30:27.170 --> 00:30:31.990 who offends you. How many of you know we all 00:30:31.990 --> 00:30:36.009 have opportunity to be offended every day? When 00:30:36.009 --> 00:30:40.009 we're in Christ, we're supposed to quickly forgive 00:30:40.009 --> 00:30:43.009 anyone who offends us. Remember, the Lord forgave 00:30:43.009 --> 00:30:51.349 you. So you must forgive others. The Bible even 00:30:51.349 --> 00:30:53.710 goes on to say we're supposed to forgive others 00:30:53.710 --> 00:31:02.690 like Christ forgave us. Here's something else 00:31:02.690 --> 00:31:05.730 about patience. Patience is not quick to lose 00:31:05.730 --> 00:31:13.089 hope or give up. I'll say it again. Patience 00:31:13.089 --> 00:31:18.289 is not quick to lose hope or to give up. Hebrews 00:31:18.289 --> 00:31:21.609 10, 35 and 36. It says this, so do not throw 00:31:21.609 --> 00:31:29.190 away this confident trust in the Lord. Don't 00:31:29.190 --> 00:31:35.150 throw it away. Don't throw away this confident 00:31:35.150 --> 00:31:39.849 trust in the Lord. Remember, the great reward 00:31:39.849 --> 00:31:45.289 it brings you. Confident trust brings you something. 00:31:48.269 --> 00:31:50.490 Confident trust is another way of saying faith. 00:31:51.230 --> 00:31:55.289 It's another way of saying hope. That brings 00:31:55.289 --> 00:31:59.650 us something. And then he goes on to say, don't 00:31:59.650 --> 00:32:01.690 give that away. Don't give away your confident 00:32:01.690 --> 00:32:03.549 trust. Don't give away your faith. Don't give 00:32:03.549 --> 00:32:07.730 away your hope. Remember that God keeps His promises. 00:32:07.769 --> 00:32:12.369 I believe what he's saying. Remember. And patient 00:32:12.369 --> 00:32:16.930 endurance is what you need now. When you feel 00:32:16.930 --> 00:32:21.150 like giving up hope, you need some patient endurance. 00:32:23.109 --> 00:32:26.609 That's what you need now. So that you will continue 00:32:26.609 --> 00:32:31.690 to do God's will. Then you will receive all that 00:32:31.690 --> 00:32:36.269 He has promised. Because if you give away your 00:32:36.269 --> 00:32:38.190 hope and your faith and your confident trust, 00:32:38.630 --> 00:32:43.950 you won't receive it. So you need some patient 00:32:43.950 --> 00:32:48.059 endurance. Listen, nobody walks into a gym one 00:32:48.059 --> 00:32:52.039 time and leaves completely transformed. You can't 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:54.619 just go to the gym one day and say, wow, now 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:57.079 I am physically fit because I spent two hours 00:32:57.079 --> 00:33:01.299 in the gym. I'm done. I never have to go back 00:33:01.299 --> 00:33:03.240 to the gym. I never have to work out again the 00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:09.119 rest of my life because I went to the gym. Strength 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:15.690 develops through repeated resistance. spiritually, 00:33:15.930 --> 00:33:21.089 patience grows when faith continues through resistance. 00:33:23.789 --> 00:33:26.829 The Bible is filled with great and precious promises 00:33:26.829 --> 00:33:30.390 from God. The Bible tells us who we are in Christ 00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:33.549 and what we have in Christ. All those things 00:33:33.549 --> 00:33:37.250 are available to us. But all of those things, 00:33:37.450 --> 00:33:40.289 you're going to face some opposition and resistance 00:33:40.289 --> 00:33:50.420 to obtain those things. You need patience. Patience 00:33:50.420 --> 00:33:54.380 needs to grow so that you can hold on to hope, 00:33:54.420 --> 00:33:58.059 hold on to faith during those difficult times. 00:33:58.200 --> 00:34:01.059 Galatians 6, 9. So let's not get tired of doing 00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:06.180 what's good. At just the right time, we will 00:34:06.180 --> 00:34:09.699 reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give 00:34:09.699 --> 00:34:15.820 up. Patience is not giving up. Not giving up. 00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:21.159 And patience, like we talked about, is evidence 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:27.099 of spiritual growth. Romans 5, verses 3 and 4. 00:34:28.219 --> 00:34:31.440 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:34.320 and trials. Kind of sounds like the other verse. 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:40.900 Count it all joy. Right? Somebody smile. We can 00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:43.340 rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials. 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:45.420 Has anyone ever ran into problems and trials? 00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:54.210 Some of you are living an amazing flowerbed life 00:34:54.210 --> 00:35:00.489 because you didn't acknowledge that you've ever 00:35:00.489 --> 00:35:06.510 had any hardship or any problems ever come. Don't 00:35:06.510 --> 00:35:08.650 make me start pointing at you and telling you 00:35:08.650 --> 00:35:12.369 the problems that I personally know that you 00:35:12.369 --> 00:35:15.650 have encountered, that you have shared with me. 00:35:15.690 --> 00:35:24.789 Don't make me start calling you out. We can rejoice 00:35:24.789 --> 00:35:26.889 too when we run into problems and trials, for 00:35:26.889 --> 00:35:29.170 we know something. Again, just like that other 00:35:29.170 --> 00:35:32.929 verse. We know that they help us develop endurance, 00:35:33.070 --> 00:35:36.230 and endurance develops strength of character. 00:35:37.929 --> 00:35:43.550 Everybody say patience. Patience produces character. 00:35:45.090 --> 00:35:47.250 And this is something very important. Character 00:35:47.250 --> 00:35:58.000 sustains what gifts alone cannot. Gifts are just 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:03.760 gifts. And God gives gifts and talents. God gives 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:07.719 those things. But how many of you know that people 00:36:07.719 --> 00:36:14.659 who have been just amazingly gifted, but then 00:36:14.659 --> 00:36:20.219 their character didn't hold up their gift? Can 00:36:20.219 --> 00:36:25.909 you think of just one person? Patience produces 00:36:25.909 --> 00:36:29.289 character, and character sustains what gifts 00:36:29.289 --> 00:36:32.869 alone cannot sustain. One of the clearest signs 00:36:32.869 --> 00:36:35.710 of spiritual growth is not that your problems 00:36:35.710 --> 00:36:40.389 are going to disappear. It's that your stability 00:36:40.389 --> 00:36:51.369 is going to increase. Are y 'all done? I'm not 00:36:51.369 --> 00:36:52.909 sure if you're done or not by looking at your 00:36:52.909 --> 00:36:54.769 face. See, I don't just preach to the back wall. 00:36:54.909 --> 00:36:59.550 I'm looking at your expressions. I think some 00:36:59.550 --> 00:37:05.849 of you just went on a coffee break. You're all 00:37:05.849 --> 00:37:10.489 righty? Sometimes I know it's because you're 00:37:10.489 --> 00:37:22.190 just thinking really hard. You're like... One 00:37:22.190 --> 00:37:24.050 of the clearest signs of spiritual growth, who 00:37:24.050 --> 00:37:26.349 wants to grow spiritually? Who wants to be a 00:37:26.349 --> 00:37:28.010 spiritual person instead of a carnal person? 00:37:28.150 --> 00:37:30.190 One of the clearest signs of spiritual growth 00:37:30.190 --> 00:37:34.349 is not that problems disappear, it's that your 00:37:34.349 --> 00:37:37.610 stability is going to increase in the middle 00:37:37.610 --> 00:37:46.269 of the problem. Did you know that a spiritual 00:37:46.269 --> 00:37:49.130 mature person doesn't have to live... In the 00:37:49.130 --> 00:37:51.869 highs and the lows and the highs and the lows 00:37:51.869 --> 00:37:54.010 and the highs and the lows every day of your 00:37:54.010 --> 00:38:16.409 life? Woo! Woo! Has anybody in the room ever 00:38:16.409 --> 00:38:23.269 spent a day doing woo? Except me. You're just 00:38:23.269 --> 00:38:26.070 like, wow, this is wonderful. Oh, this is terrible. 00:38:29.110 --> 00:38:32.630 You go from the height of joy to the depths of 00:38:32.630 --> 00:38:43.170 depression all in 30 minutes. Spiritual growth 00:38:43.170 --> 00:38:51.469 is evidenced in stability. That your emotions 00:38:51.469 --> 00:38:54.489 are not on a roller coaster ride all day, every 00:38:54.489 --> 00:39:02.670 day. Hallelujah. You know that you're growing, 00:39:02.849 --> 00:39:05.670 not arrived, but you know that you're growing 00:39:05.670 --> 00:39:10.449 spiritually when you don't panic as quickly as 00:39:10.449 --> 00:39:16.050 you used to. When you don't become offended as 00:39:16.050 --> 00:39:21.739 easily as you used to. You don't just give up 00:39:21.739 --> 00:39:28.139 and quit when you get frustrated. You don't emotionally 00:39:28.139 --> 00:39:33.360 collapse under pressure. You remain faithful, 00:39:33.519 --> 00:39:36.320 more faithful through the processes of life. 00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:45.769 All those are evidence that you're growing. See, 00:39:45.829 --> 00:39:47.429 we should be able to look at our lives and say, 00:39:47.510 --> 00:39:49.710 you know what, I'm not where I want to be and 00:39:49.710 --> 00:39:52.289 I'm not where I need to be, but I sure am a long 00:39:52.289 --> 00:39:58.889 way from where I used to be. Somebody? I am thankful. 00:40:00.630 --> 00:40:07.590 I'm not where I want to be, but I thank God that 00:40:07.590 --> 00:40:13.570 I'm not where I used to be. I can see that I'm 00:40:13.570 --> 00:40:15.570 coming up. I need to come up a whole lot more, 00:40:15.670 --> 00:40:18.449 but I can see in my life where I have come up 00:40:18.449 --> 00:40:25.590 a little bit. Patience is rooted in the very 00:40:25.590 --> 00:40:29.849 nature of God. Throughout Scripture, we see that 00:40:29.849 --> 00:40:33.690 God is merciful. God is long -suffering. God 00:40:33.690 --> 00:40:39.219 is patient with people. Now, you might can look 00:40:39.219 --> 00:40:41.119 at some things in the Old Testament where God 00:40:41.119 --> 00:40:47.219 has been patient for 400, 500 years. For 10 generations. 00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:51.900 And then all of a sudden, that's, you know, there's 00:40:51.900 --> 00:40:57.480 judgment that comes. God is patient. You can't 00:40:57.480 --> 00:41:05.050 say that God isn't patient. 2 Peter 3, 9. It 00:41:05.050 --> 00:41:07.309 says this, the Lord isn't really being slow about 00:41:07.309 --> 00:41:13.050 His promise, as some people think. I want to 00:41:13.050 --> 00:41:16.230 put this in a framework of your thinking. Somebody's 00:41:16.230 --> 00:41:19.789 done something to you. Somebody's hurt you or 00:41:19.789 --> 00:41:23.869 disappointed you. And all of a sudden, you're 00:41:23.869 --> 00:41:26.670 at the point where it's like, vengeance is mine, 00:41:26.789 --> 00:41:31.190 says the Lord. God, defend me. You can read some 00:41:31.190 --> 00:41:33.630 of this in Psalms if you want to. God's going 00:41:33.630 --> 00:41:37.119 to get them. God, get them. They hurt me. You 00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:39.179 saw them hurt me. I didn't respond. But God, 00:41:39.219 --> 00:41:41.739 I want you to respond quickly in my defense. 00:41:44.900 --> 00:41:47.619 Everybody in here is too spiritual to ever be 00:41:47.619 --> 00:41:55.360 there, right? Listen, the Lord isn't really being 00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:58.460 slow about His promise, as some people think. 00:41:59.639 --> 00:42:04.579 No, He's being patient. He's being patient. For 00:42:04.579 --> 00:42:08.659 my sake. He's being patient for your sake. He's 00:42:08.659 --> 00:42:15.880 being patient for their sake. You know why? He 00:42:15.880 --> 00:42:20.420 doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. He wants 00:42:20.420 --> 00:42:25.639 everyone to repent. He's patient. Is anybody 00:42:25.639 --> 00:42:27.500 in the room glad that He was patient with you 00:42:27.500 --> 00:42:29.719 to give you time to repent and come to Christ? 00:42:32.199 --> 00:42:37.480 Because He had every right to take me out. He 00:42:37.480 --> 00:42:43.659 had every right not to show me mercy. He would 00:42:43.659 --> 00:42:50.980 have been just in not showing me mercy. It goes 00:42:50.980 --> 00:42:54.840 on to say in verse 15, it's the Lord's patience 00:42:54.840 --> 00:43:00.119 that gives people time to be saved. It's His 00:43:00.119 --> 00:43:07.179 patience. And patience is the fruit of the Holy 00:43:07.179 --> 00:43:13.619 Spirit. Stay with me, I'm about done. Since God 00:43:13.619 --> 00:43:15.739 is long -suffering and since God is patient, 00:43:16.099 --> 00:43:20.340 it should make perfect sense to us as His children, 00:43:20.500 --> 00:43:25.400 shouldn't it? That He would desire to cultivate 00:43:25.400 --> 00:43:28.320 and manifest this same characteristic that's 00:43:28.320 --> 00:43:31.780 His in His people, just like love, just like 00:43:31.780 --> 00:43:35.090 joy, just like peace. Just like His patience. 00:43:35.829 --> 00:43:45.630 He wants to cultivate that in us. John 16, 13 00:43:45.630 --> 00:43:47.750 through 15. But when He, the Spirit of truth 00:43:47.750 --> 00:43:51.130 comes. Everybody say spiritual fruit. But when 00:43:51.130 --> 00:43:53.170 He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide 00:43:53.170 --> 00:43:56.769 you into all truth. He will not speak on His 00:43:56.769 --> 00:43:59.829 own. He will speak only what He hears. And He 00:43:59.829 --> 00:44:04.019 will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify 00:44:04.019 --> 00:44:08.000 me, Jesus said, because it is from me that he, 00:44:08.119 --> 00:44:11.219 the Spirit, will receive what he will make known 00:44:11.219 --> 00:44:14.500 to you. All that belongs to the Father. Somebody 00:44:14.500 --> 00:44:17.860 say all. All that belongs to the Father is mine, 00:44:18.059 --> 00:44:21.800 Jesus said. That is why I said the Spirit, the 00:44:21.800 --> 00:44:26.360 Holy Spirit, will receive from me what he will 00:44:26.360 --> 00:44:36.829 make known to you. The Holy Spirit. God the Holy 00:44:36.829 --> 00:44:41.269 Spirit takes hold of the things that God has 00:44:41.269 --> 00:44:47.949 for us. And He declares them to us. He intensifies 00:44:47.949 --> 00:44:53.369 them to us. He makes them known to us. That's 00:44:53.369 --> 00:44:56.710 why patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Because 00:44:56.710 --> 00:45:01.219 it's the Holy Spirit who connects us. To the 00:45:01.219 --> 00:45:04.820 patience that God has for us and wants to cultivate 00:45:04.820 --> 00:45:14.699 in us and develop in us. See, you can sit through 00:45:14.699 --> 00:45:16.340 this message and you can say, you know what? 00:45:16.420 --> 00:45:19.139 I need to be more dedicated. I need to be more 00:45:19.139 --> 00:45:21.980 determined. I need to put in a lot more effort. 00:45:22.079 --> 00:45:24.940 If I'm going to have patience, boy, I've just 00:45:24.940 --> 00:45:28.480 got to stoke it up and I've got to produce it 00:45:28.480 --> 00:45:31.489 in myself. I've got to work on it. I've got some 00:45:31.489 --> 00:45:34.670 things I need to work on. Listen, spiritual growth 00:45:34.670 --> 00:45:37.809 is not about more self -dedication. It's not 00:45:37.809 --> 00:45:40.550 about more self -determination. It's not about 00:45:40.550 --> 00:45:43.949 more self -effort. It's about more acknowledging. 00:45:45.210 --> 00:45:48.869 It's about more abiding. It's about more walking. 00:45:49.010 --> 00:45:53.670 It's about more yielding. That's how this fruit 00:45:53.670 --> 00:45:57.179 is going to be developed. Not through your personal 00:45:57.179 --> 00:46:00.219 effort and your personal striving. It's the fruit 00:46:00.219 --> 00:46:07.139 of the Spirit. If this fruit is not evidenced 00:46:07.139 --> 00:46:10.699 and growing daily in our lives, it means that 00:46:10.699 --> 00:46:15.079 we're spending our day just not even acknowledging 00:46:15.079 --> 00:46:21.340 that the Holy Spirit is in us. Don't you know 00:46:21.340 --> 00:46:23.340 that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit 00:46:23.340 --> 00:46:27.329 who is in you? We're not acknowledging that God 00:46:27.329 --> 00:46:33.190 is here. In our everyday lives, God is here. 00:46:33.829 --> 00:46:38.829 If you're in Christ, God's in you. We have to 00:46:38.829 --> 00:46:42.409 acknowledge Him. We have to consult Him. He knows 00:46:42.409 --> 00:46:45.789 everything about everything. And we're trying 00:46:45.789 --> 00:46:48.789 to check with chat to see what we need to do. 00:46:48.869 --> 00:46:52.769 We need to be checking with the Holy Ghost. He 00:46:52.769 --> 00:46:57.519 knows everything. He knows the next step. He 00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:04.519 knows the next response. It's about more acknowledging. 00:47:05.639 --> 00:47:11.179 It's about more abiding. It's about not just 00:47:11.179 --> 00:47:13.960 visiting God during a devotion time or visiting 00:47:13.960 --> 00:47:17.119 God on Sunday morning. It's about living with 00:47:17.119 --> 00:47:21.989 God, abiding in Christ. He's the... He's the 00:47:21.989 --> 00:47:25.630 vine. We're the branches. When we stay connected, 00:47:25.690 --> 00:47:35.610 what did Jesus say? We'll bear fruit through 00:47:35.610 --> 00:47:43.590 the connection. So there needs to be more abiding. 00:47:43.750 --> 00:47:48.000 There needs to be more walking. You might say, 00:47:48.099 --> 00:47:50.179 well, Dean, I can't just stay in my house and 00:47:50.179 --> 00:47:53.719 pray all day. I got a job. I've got to do stuff. 00:47:53.940 --> 00:47:56.820 I've got to clean my house. I've got to walk 00:47:56.820 --> 00:48:00.780 the dog. I've got to... You fill in the blank. 00:48:00.820 --> 00:48:06.940 Whatever you got to do. Well, while you're doing 00:48:06.940 --> 00:48:15.320 those things, you can still walk with God. Hello? 00:48:19.050 --> 00:48:24.889 You can walk with God. Acknowledging and walking 00:48:24.889 --> 00:48:29.289 and yielding. This online worship experience 00:48:29.289 --> 00:48:31.809 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:48:31.809 --> 00:48:32.769 of Elation Church.