In Patience

“In your patience possess ye your souls.” Luke 21:18
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.” James 5:7,8,10

Consider the patience of Job, while waiting for answers and deliverance from his inexplicable circumstances.

Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery by his own brothers. For 13 long years, he waited for deliverance from bondage and imprisonment, but it came in glorious fashion.

David suffered for approximately 7 years, while Saul hunted him, seeking to kill him, even though David had been Saul’s most valuable servant. But by patient waiting, David traded his cross for a crown.

Jeremiah, who saw nothing but the decline and captivity of his nation, had to commit his keeping patiently into the hands of the Lord.

Elijah had to patiently endure the famine, as he faced the continual impenitence of unreasonable and wicked men.

In every generation, God’s children have had to wait upon the Lord, as they have been beset with incorrigible people and circumstances. Noah persevered in building the ark in the midst of the moral corruption and spiritual reprobation of his world.

Satan has, and will continue to fly up in the face of God’s children, doing everything he can to provoke us. IN PATIENCE – REMEMBER: the reason things bother us is because we care, and caring is a wonderful virtue. It is when evil no longer bothers us, that we have lost our savor.

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:36
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” Psalm 40:1,2,4

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Repentance

GOD COMMANDS ALL TO REPENT: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” Acts 17:30 Thus, to really believe God is to do it.

REPENTANCE IS ESSENTIAL TO HAVE GOD’S FORGIVENESS: “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3 The Bible offers no salvation from sin that is not accompanied by repentance on the part of the guilty sinner.

“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47 Repentance is turning from our sin condition unto God for forgiveness. Remission of sins is God forgiving us of the sin condition we have turned from in turning to God for salvation.

REPENTANCE IS AVAILABLE TO ALL, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, WHO CHOOSE IT.“Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31 “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Acts 11:18Repentance is not a work, it is a gift. It is something available to man from the grace of God. Apart from this gift of God’s grace, repentance would be beyond man.

However, the very nature of what repentance is, means it cannot be an irresistible work of God upon man. “But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit” Isaiah 63:10 “And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man” Genesis 6:3 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” Acts 7:31Repentance is what God makes possible for a sinner who believes God’s Word that he is a lost sinner, who accepts the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting him of his guilt as a sinner before God, and who is willing to trust Christ to save him from his sins. Since repentance is the gift of God’s grace to all who will accept it, it can never be regarded as a work of man whereby he merits God’s salvation. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

REPENTANCE IS WHAT ENABLES THE SINNER TO HAVE A COMPLETE CHANGE OF MIND ABOUT THEMSELVES, UNTO A COMPLETE TURNING FROM THEIR SIN CONDITION UNTO THE LORD FOR HIS SALVATION: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55;7 “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:13

HAVE YOU REPENTED? IF NOT, WILL YOU – LEST YOU PERISH?

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The Reviving Of Our Spirit

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:17

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” Romans 3:27 Human pride and the work of the Holy Spirit have always been distinctly different, of different origins and ultimately, with different results. God dwells with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, and revives the spirit of the humble and contrite ones. All man made religion has it’s foundation on self. It’s hope of salvation rests on the merits of self. It’s religious expression is a zealousness in proclaiming what one’s own self is and does. It’s spirit is in respect of that which is a demonstration and projection of it’s participants.

But in the exercise of that which has the consciousness of the Holy Spirit, there is a carefulness – “That no flesh should glory in his presence. That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:29,31 Thus, we know that the spirit of the humble, unassuming, has more sanction from heaven than those who are burning their own religious fires.

What man respects is different than what God respects. Man discredits him that is of a contrite and humble spirit. Man takes pleasure in that which is showy, boisterous, lofty, judgmental, assertive, loud, egotistical, sensational, preeminent, and self vindicated. Man criticizes the contrite and humble as being too dull, too poor, and too inferior, With God, however, those that exalt themselves shall be abased, and those that humble themselves shall be exalted.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth they praise.” Psalm 51:17,15The need today is not for self assertiveness, but for prayerfulness unto being led and enabled by the Holy Spirit to both recognize when and what we are to do. We don’t need to try to make a name for ourselves. We don’t need to try to gain the admiration of others. We need to beware of reaching for positions wherein we think we are standing tall. Rather, we need a conviction of sin unto a belief that without Christ, we are nothing and can do nothing.

It is such a blessed release to reach the end of ourselves unto reaching forth for the grace of God to lift us up. It is turning from filthy rags unto beholding the glory of God. Only when we turn away from ourselves are we turned unto the Lord. This God will bless.

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Diligence

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, wither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Proverbs 22:29

Diligent = persevering and careful in work; hard working. Done with careful, steady effort; painstaking.

There are many right actions and thoughts that go into personal success, with diligence being the work ethic governing all.

For example, people who know how to do things are those who have undertaken their tasks with diligence. Through careful, steady effort, they are able to discover what works and what doesn’t work.

People who are skillful at what they do, proceed at the painstaking pace that allows them to get it right. Their principle to produce the finest product, employs the patience and determination to make it happen.

“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall alike be good.” Ecclesiastes 11:6 Diligence dismisses reluctance, excuses, and all other attitudes that prevent and disable undertakings. This is described well in Proverbs 31:13-27, which sets forth the characteristics of a virtuous woman. Mothers, who fill their roles well, develop a mindset to perceive what needs to be done, and they just do it the best they can without hesitation or delay.

“By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Ecclesiastes 10:18 To be successful, individuals must accept the responsibility to think and apply themselves diligently in the business of life.  No one is entitled to a free ride. “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” 1 Timothy 5:8 “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11

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Fighting The Battle Against Sin

James 1:12-16: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.

WE DETERMINE WHAT PART SIN PLAYS IN OUR LIFE, James 1:12-14. Things get out of control by our taking liberties, rather than mortifying the flesh.

JUST AS SIN HAS A BEGINNING, IT ALSO HAS A FINALITY, James 1:15. Sin allows none to be a player, without making them a victim. Sin plays for keeps: there are no harmless sins; all sins are evil. Sin is what is wrong with the human race. All the things going wrong are due to sin.

THE NATURAL MAN IS DEAD IN SIN, THUS IT NEVER AWAKES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS. Thus, we see the same sins repeated over and over. Sin is due to the sinful lusts that lie deep within our natural man, James 1:14. Not being due to ignorance, it will not be prevented by knowledge. Adam and Eve had knowledge and good morals before they sinned. Sin is not due to deficient circumstances either, as sin conceived and brought forth in Eden’s utopia.

Neither is the answer to sin’s problem found in isolating ourselves from other men, to live in our own world. We would have to be able to first shed our own human nature. If we were the only person in the world, the problem of sin would still be with us, as we are sinners by nature, rather than by contagion. Even though God started the human race over again with Noah, it still had the inherent depravity of Adam.

The only answer to the sin problem, is the victories that are found in Jesus Christ, Romans 7:24-25.

THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW WHERE ONE STANDS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST SIN APART FROM HEARKENING TO GOD’S WORD. “…Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law…” Romans 7:7 NOTE: “by the law.” To set the law aside as the right standard, is to not know sin! What made the act of eating of the forbidden fruit to be sin, was not in how they saw it, not in how they picked it, not in how it looked or how they felt about eating it, but what made it sin was that it was the transgression of God’s law. Today, people are still judging things by how they see it, rather than according to what God’s law says, thus sin abounds!

WE MUST ACCEPT THE AUTHORITY OF GOD’S WORD IF WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO FIGHT SIN. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” John 3:4 Beware of sinning against the law by rejecting it as being God’s definition of sin! There is no remedy for this wilful sin!

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