DATE: February 11, 2007

LESSON: 1 Corinthians 12.31-13.4a

SERMON TITLE: The Patience of Love

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Pastor's Business Card

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.

Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

Look up Revelation 3.20

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Revelation 3:20 (NRSVA)

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter.

Look up Genesis 3.10

He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." Genesis 3:10 (NRSVA)

Obviously this has nothing to do with the sermon on Patience.

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. You know that I enjoy, really enjoy playing golf.

    1. It was a beautiful Monday at Edgewood Golf Course.

      1. It was also Clergy Day.

      2. There was an outing scheduled for the Aid Association for Lutherans.

      3. Play was very slow.

    2. Play on the 8th hole of the Pines Course was really backed up.

      1. There were two foursomes in front of us and a third one that came up behind us.

      2. I looked at one of the men behind us and said, Today, play requires a lot of patience.

      3. He looked at me and growled, "I'm not a doctor!"

        1. He was impatient.

        2. Roaming around and complaining about the delay in such a loud voice that all could hear. He sipped his beer, and banged his driver on the ground.

      4. He was impatient!

  2. We all need lessons in patience.

  3. But patience is only one part of the puzzle of life.

MAIN BODY:

  1. We offered a number of metaphors for life.

    1. Life is like a journey.

      1. We are born and enter the pathway.

      2. We grow and experience the pleasures and pains of living.

      3. One day we reach the end of our journey.

      4. Somewhere along the way we may question the destination of the journey and wonder where it is going to end.

    2. Life is like a play as Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It (2.7.143-7)

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

      1. We are merely players.

      2. We have our entrances and exits.

      3. We play many parts.

      4. What then?

    1. I have used the illustration of riding a train.

      1. This to help people that once you board a train you are stuck until it reaches its destination.

      2. There is only one destination per ride.

      3. Where is the train going?

    2. Today I would like you to consider that life is like a jigsaw puzzle of major proportions.

      1. This puzzle has a jillion pieces.

      2. There are many pieces that have the same shade of color.

      3. You acquire the pieces by the thoughts and activities of your daily life.

      4. You do not often have much time to put the pieces in place.

      5. You may not finish the puzzle.

    3. What is necessary for the successful completion of the puzzle is to develop and maintain certain attributes of character and relationship.

  1. So where are we going to find these attributes.

    1. Well you can consult with Abraham Maslow, who died in 1970.

      1. How are you going to consult him?

      2. You can read what he wrote.

    2. Well, you can explore his Hierarchy of Needs.

      1. FIRST LEVEL: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND SURVIVAL NEEDS (The Lowest Level)

Air - Food - Sex - Sleep - Shelter - Water

      1. SECOND LEVEL: SAFETY AND SECURITY NEEDS

Emotional Safety and Security - Freedom from Fear - Physical Safety and Security - Stability

      1. THIRD LEVEL: SOCIAL NEEDS

Acceptance - Belongingness - Love

      1. FOURTH LEVEL: EGO NEEDS

Competence - Esteem by Others - Self-confidence - Self-esteem - Self-respect

      1. FIFTH LEVEL: SELF-ACTUALIZATION (The Highest Level)

Accomplishment - Development of Potential

    1. We need to pay close attention to his conclusion:

      1. "What man needs but doesn't have, he seeks for unceasingly, and he becomes dangerously ready to jump at any hope, good or bad..."

      2. This means that the pieces of life are forced into awkward positions or jammed into places in which they should not be.

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  1. What is needed is a better way.

    1. This is where faith in Jesus is able to take the place of the vacuum of needs.

    2. Reliance is on the Spirit.

    3. Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:

2May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 8For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For anyone who lacks these things is nearsighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 2 Peter 1:3 through 2 Peter 1:9 (NRSVA)

      1. Verses 5 through 7 highlight Peter's Hierarchy of Needs

      2. Self-control is mentioned but not patience.

    1. Paul writes about the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5.

      1. Here Paul, in one way, outlines his Hierarchy of Needs.

16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another, (Galatians 5:16 through Galatians 5:26, NRSVA).

      1. So our Hierarchy of Needs includes the Fruits of the Spirit.

  1. One of the major Fruits of the Spirit is patience.

    1. Patience is perhaps better understood if we read the same word from the King James Version of the Bible.

      1. "Love suffers long," (1 Corinthians 13:4a (New King James Version): Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

      2. Patience may be understood as long suffering.

    2. This is the same idea that we acquire from Adam Clarkes Commentary on the New Testament on 1 Corinthians 13:4 (1)

(1.) Charity suffereth long--Ìáêñïèõìåé, Has a long mind; to the end of which neither trials, adversities, persecutions, nor provocations, can reach. The love of God, and of our neighbor for God's sake, is patient towards all men: it suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors, and infirmities of the children of God; and all the malice and wickedness of the children of this world; and all this, not merely for a time, but long, without end; for it is still a mind or disposition, to the end of which trials, difficulties, etc., can never reach. It also waits God's time of accomplishing his gracious or providential purposes, without murmuring or repining; and bears its own infirmities, as well as those of others, with humble submission to the will of God.

    1. Now that's a very tall order.

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  1. So how do you develop patience?

    1. Is Jan an illustration (2):

Jan, age 2 ½, was banging her teaspoon on her highchair while ceaselessly and shrilly demanding dessert. Annoyed by the noise, her mother, heading down to the freezer to fetch her some ice cream, said irritably, "Have a little patience." On her return from the basement, Jan's mother found her little girl in what seemed to be the middle of a convulsion. Her face was bright red, her body was rigid, her fists were clenched, her eyes were fixed in a stare, in addition to which she didn't appear to be breathing. Letting the ice cream drop from her hands and screaming, "What's the matter?" Jan's mother hurried to her daughter's side; whereupon, Jan unclenched her fists, stopped holding her breath, and replied, "I'm having patience."

      1. That's form of patience.

      2. It's not the form we might be looking for.

    1. Ever plant a garden?

      1. Once you have prepared the soil and planted the seed what fo you do?

        1. Of course you water.

        2. Of course you weed.

      2. But you do not go out and constantly dig up the seed to see if it has sprouted and is growing.

      3. This is a way to endure crop-failure.

      4. The gardener/farmer patiently waits for the maturing of the crop.

        1. You cannot hurry the product.

        2. It may take a longer or shorter period of time depending on the weather.

    2. Patience is persistent in looking for solutions.

      1. You need to keep on looking!

It's sort of comforting to know that even Albert Einstein had a massive brain cramp now and then....

Billy Graham likes to tell the story of a time when Albert Einstein took a train to an out-of-town engagement. The conductor stopped by to punch his ticket.

The great scientist, preoccupied with his work, began to rummage through his coat pockets and briefcase to no avail. With great embarrassment he explained that he couldn't find his ticket.

The conductor said, "We all know who you are, Dr. Einstein. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it. Everything is okay."

The conductor walked the aisle punching other tickets. Before he moved to the next car, though, he looked back and saw Einstein on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

The conductor walked back and politely said, "Dr. Einstein, please don't worry about it. I know who you are."

Exasperated, Einstein looked up and said, "I, too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going!"

        1. Einstein would not give looking for his ticket.

        2. It was not only to find out where he was going.

        3. This is patient endurance.

      1. We know where we are going, we have to have the patience to get there.

      2. The ability to endure.

      3. To endure is to discover.

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CONCLUSION:

  1. It's finder's keepers at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

    1. The only public diamond mine in the world, Crater of Diamonds offers you a one-of-a-kind adventure - the opportunity to hunt for real diamonds and to keep any you find.

    2. You'll search over a 37-acre plowed field - the eroded surface of an ancient, gem-bearing volcanic pipe. Begin your diamond hunting adventure at the visitor center featuring exhibits and an audio/visual program that explains the area's geology and offers tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough.

    3. The man who sat in one spot all day watching the ground in front of him was rewarded when the late afternoon sun glistened on a rather large diamond.

  2. This is patience endurance.

    1. It is not glamorous.

    2. The wait is worth it.

    3. You are still bothered but take the long view and thus endure.

    4. The benefits are enormous.

  3. May they be ours!

Amen.

1. First Electronic STEP Files Copyright © 1999, Parsons Technology, Inc. Clarke, Adam

2. -Judith Viorst, Imperfect Control (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), 33-34.

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