“A Time for Patience”
2/9/25
Heb. 6: 11-15 “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”
I want to talk to you today about joining patience to your faith in order to obtain the promises of God.
Put another way, you can have great faith, but without patience you may miss what faith is believing for!
One definition of Patience is, “the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming angry or upset.”
Another defines true patience as “waiting without worrying.”
Another wrote, “God’s best gifts come slowly. We could not use them if they did not.”
A few synonyms of patience are calmness, composure, poise, self-control, serenity, staying power.
We live in a world where waiting is a part of every day life.
We wait at red lights,
we wait for trains to go by,
we wait in line at the grocery store,
we wait in rush hour traffic jams,
we wait when put on hold on the phone,
we wait for a table at restaurants, and on it goes.
And we also wait for God to act on our behalf!
But here’s the thing:
Some of God’s promises are immediately obtained shortly after prayer.
While other promises take time to obtain.
It is these kinds that require the dynamic duo of FAITH and PATIENCE.
We often grow impatient with God!
ILLUS: One day the friend of a well-known preacher saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. “What’s the problem,” the friend asked. The preacher replied, “The problem is I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”
Even the Psalmist grew impatient with God,
“Hurry to me, O God! You are my help and the One Who takes me out of trouble. O Lord, do not wait” (70:5).
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The Bible is filled with examples of FAITH joined to PATIENCE:
In Psalm 40, David testifies, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, And heard my cry.”
His deliverance swung on the hinge of both FAITH and PATIENCE working together.
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We also see in our text that Abraham received the promise from God of a son, but it was “after he had patiently endured, that he obtained the promise.”
In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John recognizes “the patience and the faith of the saints” (13:10).
Jesus went so far as to say, “In your patience you possess your souls” (Lk. 21:19).
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So by joining faith with patience we experience deliverance, obtain promises, and hold fast to our salvation!
Faith believes it, and patience keeps you in the game till you receive it!
The Bible encourages us, “And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up” (Gal. 6:9).
We can believe all day long God’s going to bring an answer to our prayers, but if we lose patience and quit, we can miss it.
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Now, when God requires us to exercise long patience in receiving a promise,
or we’re experiencing an extended trial,
you can be sure He is working some important things into your life.
First, He is:
I. Building your character
Listen to James: “Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, 3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow.
4 So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete” (James 1:2-4).
Christian character is complete with patience but incomplete without it!
In fact, Scripture teaches that an impatient person is at a disadvantage in life.
Prov. 25:28 “People who cannot control themselves are like cities without walls to protect them.”
Circumstances easily overwhelm the impatient person—they become angry, short-tempered, and hasty in decision-making.
Remember—Patience is the opposite of frustration, agitation and anger!
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So how do you grow in patience?
James encourages us to cooperate with the process of building patience—“let patience have her perfect work.”
Embrace the process
Learn to see God’s sovereign hand in patience-testing circumstances—He’s in charge.
Yield to His Spirit when patience is being tested
Col 1:11 “that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come.”
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Patience is even so valuable we’re to chase after and pursue it!
“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”—1 Timothy 6:11
PURSUE: to aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a prize catch!
I wonder how many professing Christians aggressively chase after patience like it was a prize!
One man wrote, “God wants us to see results as we work for Him, but His first concern is our growth. That’s why He often withholds success until we have learned patience.”
So PATIENCE is a key feature of godly character!
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A SECOND thing God does while we wait is:
II. Build your faith
As I pointed out earlier, Abraham persevered for 25 years in his faith that God would give him a son.
Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes Abraham’s faith mixed with patience:
“And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Rom. 4:19-21 NKJV).
So while Abraham mixed PATIENCE with his FAITH, God was strengthening that same faith!
And He does the same thing with us, His blood-bought children!
As you embrace the process of learning patience, God will grow your faith!
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Lastly,
III. Patience is the pace of the race
Heb. 12:1 “…let us run with patience the race that God has set before us.”
The Christian life is compared to a race, and this verse tells us HOW we’re to run it—with patience!
We’re all in a race toward a finish line—
The race we’re in is to serve Christ in this life,
to become more and more like Him,
and to one day step over the finish line into the glory of heaven.
Phil 3:13-14 “No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven…”
The Christian is not to run a frantic race, an impatient race, a hectic race, a doubting or uncertain race.
—No, a patient stride, a patient pace is how we run the race.
We’re not in a 100 yard dash, but a life-long marathon.
And a marathon runner patiently paces himself.
Remember, that’s how the tortoise beat the rabbit—with a steady, patient pace!
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Today, are you feeling discouraged or impatient in your waiting for the fulfillment of a prayer you know is God’s will?
Be encouraged by His word!
The more we grow in faith and patience, the better our success rate will be in obtaining the promises! LET’S PRAY