Patience

Patience

 

 

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

2 Tim 2:24-26 (KJV)

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

James 1:2-5 (KJV)

 

    Patience. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit and a character quality that will definitely be tested in ministry. Minister, don’t waste your energies striving but be gentle unto all men. This is very challenging, especially in light of the fact that there are false teachers and false doctrines that we get into being consumed with opposing. However, the Scripture says, be gentle unto all men and in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.

     Are you growing in patience? In my own walk, I have seen over the years that I am more patient in several areas than I used to be—the Lord is producing His fruit! Yet, none of the fruits are perfect this side of Heaven, so we all still have a lot of growing and pruning to go.

 

Waiting and Patience

Waiting and Patience

    Waiting is one of the core values of Focusing on the Mark Ministries because of the profound impression the Lord has given me of how importance it is.  For this point, I am just going to include my notes and a link for the FMM Core Value Series sermon on Waiting.

Sermon Link: http://www.sermon.net/fmm/sermonid/1199940111

 

FMM Core Value Series

Waiting

Matthew 6:33—means waiting on “the other stuff of life.” Set the unimportant things on the shelf, and do what’s most important—your time with the Lord—first.

Psalm 25 KJV

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

² O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

³ Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

⁴ Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

⁵ Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

⁶ Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

⁹ The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

¹¹ For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.

¹² What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

¹³ His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.

¹⁴ The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

¹⁵ Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.

¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.

¹⁸ Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹ Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

²⁰ O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.

²¹ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.

²² Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines waiting as: Staying in expectation.

Waiting upon the Lord.

Isaiah 40:28-31

²⁸ Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

 

Psalm 37:7,9,34

⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

³⁴ Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

 39:7

⁷ And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.

 106:13

¹³ They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

Proverbs 20:22  

²² Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

For all those who are going through a time where darkness is everywhere—you’re in the valley of the shadow—here is a verse for you:  Isaiah 8:17

¹⁷ And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

Isaiah 30:18

¹⁸ And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

 49:23

²³ And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Jeremiah 14:22

²² Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

Lamentations 3:25,26  

²⁵ The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

²⁶ It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

Micah 7:7

⁷ Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Hab 2:3   

³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Zeph 3:8   

⁸ Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

Luke 12:36  

³⁶ And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Acts 1:4 

⁴ And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

Gal 5:5  

⁵ For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

1 Thess 1:10  

¹⁰ And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

 

 

End: Psalm 23—wait on Him, dear Christian.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Waiting Can Be Hard, but….

Waiting Can Be Hard, but….

 

God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds as we abide in Christ

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 (KJV)

 

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. John 15:9-11 (KJV)

 

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21 (KJV)

 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. John 14:27-28 (KJV)

 

There is Hope, Mercy, Love and Fellowship with the Lord

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Lamentations 3:21-27 (KJV)

 

Thought 321: Only You from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 321

Only You

  Only you can fulfill your calling, because only you have the right equipment and experience given to you by God to overcome and accomplish all that He has for you.

  Do you know what your Spiritual gifting(s) as a Believer is? What talents do you have?—you have at least one  Most importantly, what is Holy Spirit prompting you to do right now, even if you feel totally unprepared: what is your passion? Pray about it, the Lord will direct you. God does want to use you as a light to others. Ask Him “how Lord?” Then see where He gives peace (even if you experience attacks of peace from the enemy, but now in your spirit that He has given you peace to do something).  When He answers, do what He says.

·        Act in Faith: that is, believe what God tells you.

·        Walk in Peace: that is, only go and do where God gives you peace in your Spirit. If you don’t have peace, don’t move.

·        Wait patiently and endure suffering as a good soldier of the Lord.

Lastly, GO and STAND (Matthew 28:19-20 and Ephesians 6:10-19)