IMPACT Recap

God, Give Me Patience

September 12, 2022 · 0:41:39

PatienceLoveSpiritual Growth

Recap

Pastor Travis Hearn opened his message by humorously warning that praying for patience is one of the scariest prayers, as it invites God to develop that fruit through trials. He taught that patience is a non-negotiable requirement for spiritual maturity, as outlined in James 1:2-4, where trials test our faith to produce perseverance. Pastor Travis connected this to Jesus's teaching in John 15 about abiding in Him to bear much fruit, and to the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, which includes patience. The sermon focused on three critical areas where believers need to cultivate this fruit. First, we must be patient with ourselves, recognizing we are a work in progress and giving ourselves grace, as Paul described in Philippians. Second, we must be patient with others, understanding that biblical love is patient and calls us to make allowances for each other's faults. Finally, and most challengingly, we must be patient with God, learning to wait on His perfect timing as an act of faith. Throughout the message, Pastor Travis encouraged the congregation to stop the destructive cycle of comparing themselves to others and to trust in God's ongoing work in their lives.

Main Points

  • We must be patient with ourselves, giving ourselves grace as God's unfinished work.
  • We must be patient with others, because biblical love is fundamentally patient.
  • We must be patient with God, trusting His timing as an act of faith and spiritual maturity.

Verses Mentioned

  • James 1:2-4 - "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (NKJV)
  • John 15:5 - "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (NIV)
  • John 15:8 - "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (NIV)
  • Galatians 5:22-23 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (NIV)
  • Philippians 1:6 - "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (NIV)
  • Philippians 3:12-14 - "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (NIV)
  • Romans 7:15-17 - "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me." (NIV)
  • Proverbs 16:32 - "Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city." (NLT)
  • Psalm 139:13-16 - "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (NIV)
  • 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (NIV)
  • Ephesians 4:2 - "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love." (NLT)
  • Proverbs 19:11 - "A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense." (NIV)
  • Psalm 27:14 - "Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD." (NLT)

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