Embracing Patience in an Instant Culture

Summary

In today's message, we explored the tension between our instant culture and the agricultural kingdom of God. We live in a world where everything is at our fingertips, from instant communication to immediate access to information. Yet, as followers of Jesus, we are called to embrace a different rhythm—an unforced rhythm of grace that requires patience and trust in God's timing. This rhythm is not about quick fixes or immediate results but about planting seeds, nurturing growth, and waiting for the harvest.

Jesus often used agricultural metaphors to teach us about the kingdom of God. These parables remind us that spiritual growth, like agriculture, takes time. We are invited to slow down and learn the unforced rhythms of grace, as described in Matthew 11. This involves establishing a rhythm of patience in our lives, which stands out in a world that values speed and efficiency.

Patience is countercultural and reflects the very nature of God. It is not merely about waiting but involves being unhurried, showing restraint, and engaging in spiritual warfare against the forces that seek to rush us. The early church grew rapidly because of the patience they exhibited, which was a stark contrast to the Greco-Roman world that did not value this virtue.

We are encouraged to be patient in our spiritual practices, with God's promises, and with people. Patience in practice means not rushing through our spiritual disciplines but allowing God to speak to us in His time. Patience with promises involves trusting that God will fulfill His word, even if it takes longer than we expect. Patience with people requires us to show grace and understanding, recognizing that everyone is on their own journey of growth.

Ultimately, patience is a reflection of God's character. He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance. As we cultivate patience in our lives, we become more like Christ and can better reflect His love to the world around us.

Key Takeaways:

- The Tension Between Instant Culture and Agricultural Kingdom: In a world that values speed and instant gratification, we are called to embrace the agricultural principles of the kingdom of God, which require patience and trust in God's timing. This involves planting seeds, nurturing growth, and waiting for the harvest, much like the teachings of Jesus centered around agriculture. [50:03]

- Patience as a Countercultural Virtue: Patience stands out in a world that does not value it. The early church grew rapidly because of the patience they exhibited, which was a stark contrast to the Greco-Roman world. Patience reflects the very nature of God and is a powerful testimony to the world. [55:14]

- Patience in Spiritual Practices: We are encouraged to be patient in our spiritual disciplines, not rushing through them but allowing God to speak to us in His time. This involves being unhurried and showing restraint, recognizing that spiritual growth takes time. [01:03:39]

- Trusting God's Promises: Patience with God's promises involves trusting that He will fulfill His word, even if it takes longer than we expect. Throughout scripture, we see examples of individuals who waited patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled, reminding us that God is faithful. [01:07:24]

- Patience with People: We are called to be patient with others, showing grace and understanding as they grow in their journey. This involves not rushing to judgment but allowing God to work in their lives, recognizing that everyone is on their own path of growth. [01:18:24]

Youtube Chapters:

- [0:00] - Welcome
- [47:43] - Instant Culture vs. Agricultural Kingdom
- [50:03] - Teachings of Jesus and Agriculture
- [51:53] - Unforced Rhythms of Grace
- [52:53] - Establishing a Rhythm of Patience
- [55:14] - Patience in the Early Church
- [57:16] - Understanding Patience
- [58:48] - Patience as Warfare
- [59:39] - Tertullian on Patience
- [01:01:11] - Patience as a To-Go Message
- [01:02:43] - Patience in Spiritual Practices
- [01:06:04] - Patience with God's Promises
- [01:09:47] - Biblical Examples of Waiting
- [01:11:30] - Patience with People
- [01:18:24] - Jesus' Patience in John 8
- [01:23:49] - Invitation to Patience and Repentance

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 11:28-30
2. Psalm 40:1-2
3. 2 Peter 3:9

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Observation Questions:

1. In Matthew 11:28-30, what does Jesus invite us to do, and how does He describe the rhythm of life He offers? [51:53]

2. According to Psalm 40:1-2, what was David's experience while waiting on the Lord, and what was the outcome of his patience?

3. How does 2 Peter 3:9 describe God's patience, and what is His ultimate desire for humanity?

4. The sermon mentions the early church's rapid growth due to their patience. What cultural contrast did this patience create in the Greco-Roman world? [55:14]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the concept of "unforced rhythms of grace" in Matthew 11:28-30 challenge the way we approach our daily lives? [51:53]

2. In what ways does David's patient waiting in Psalm 40:1-2 serve as a model for trusting God's timing in our own lives?

3. How does 2 Peter 3:9's depiction of God's patience inform our understanding of His character and His expectations for us?

4. The sermon highlights patience as a form of spiritual warfare. How can patience be seen as an active stance against the pressures of instant culture? [58:48]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your daily routine. How can you incorporate the "unforced rhythms of grace" into your life to better align with Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30? [51:53]

2. Think of a promise from God that you are currently waiting on. How can David's example in Psalm 40:1-2 encourage you to remain patient and trust in God's timing?

3. Identify a situation where you tend to be impatient. What practical steps can you take to demonstrate patience as a reflection of God's character, as described in 2 Peter 3:9?

4. The sermon discusses the importance of patience in spiritual practices. How can you slow down and be more intentional in your spiritual disciplines this week? [01:02:43]

5. Consider a relationship in your life where patience is needed. How can you show grace and understanding to this person, recognizing that everyone is on their own journey of growth? [01:11:30]

6. Reflect on a time when someone was patient with you. How did their patience impact your life, and how can you extend similar patience to others?

7. The sermon mentions patience as a countercultural virtue. How can you use your patience as a testimony to others in your workplace or community? [52:53]

Devotional

I'm ready to provide the 5-day devotional based on the steps outlined. Here it is:

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Day 1: Embracing God's Timeless Rhythm

In a world that thrives on instant gratification, the kingdom of God invites us to a different pace—one that is slow, deliberate, and rooted in trust. This agricultural metaphor, often used by Jesus, teaches us that spiritual growth is not about quick fixes but about planting seeds, nurturing them, and waiting patiently for the harvest. This process requires us to slow down and align ourselves with the unforced rhythms of grace, as described in Matthew 11. By doing so, we learn to value patience and trust in God's perfect timing, which stands in stark contrast to the speed and efficiency valued by our culture. [50:03]

"For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations." (Isaiah 61:11, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you feel rushed or impatient? How can you intentionally slow down and trust in God's timing this week?

Day 2: Patience as a Radical Testimony

Patience is a virtue that stands out in a world that often overlooks it. The early church grew rapidly because of the patience they exhibited, which was a stark contrast to the Greco-Roman world that did not value this virtue. Patience is not just about waiting; it is about being unhurried, showing restraint, and engaging in spiritual warfare against the forces that seek to rush us. By embodying patience, we reflect the very nature of God and offer a powerful testimony to the world around us. [55:14]

"But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:25, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a situation where you are tempted to act hastily. How can you demonstrate patience and reflect God's character in that situation today?

Day 3: Cultivating Patience in Spiritual Practices

In our spiritual practices, we are encouraged to be patient, allowing God to speak to us in His time. This involves not rushing through our spiritual disciplines but being unhurried and showing restraint. Recognizing that spiritual growth takes time, we are invited to establish a rhythm of patience in our lives. By doing so, we open ourselves to deeper encounters with God and allow His transformative work to take root in our hearts. [01:03:39]

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!" (Psalm 37:7, ESV)

Reflection: During your next time of prayer or Bible study, how can you intentionally create space to listen and wait for God's voice without rushing?

Day 4: Trusting in God's Promises

Patience with God's promises involves trusting that He will fulfill His word, even if it takes longer than we expect. Throughout scripture, we see examples of individuals who waited patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled, reminding us that God is faithful. This trust requires us to hold onto hope and believe that God's timing is perfect, even when it doesn't align with our own expectations. [01:07:24]

"For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay." (Habakkuk 2:3, ESV)

Reflection: What is a promise from God that you are waiting to see fulfilled? How can you strengthen your trust in His faithfulness during this waiting period?

Day 5: Extending Patience to Others

We are called to be patient with others, showing grace and understanding as they grow in their journey. This involves not rushing to judgment but allowing God to work in their lives, recognizing that everyone is on their own path of growth. By extending patience to others, we reflect Christ's love and create a space for healing and transformation in our relationships. [01:18:24]

"With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:2-3, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs your patience and understanding today? How can you show them grace and support in their journey of growth?

Quotes

1. "We live in an instant society. And look, it's not bad to have access to things instantly. Like, back in the day, I used to love going to Blockbuster on a Friday night, pulling up with the family, browsing the shelves, grab the VHS, checking out, waiting in that line, rewinding the tape after, bringing it back in three days, you know, and I think that whole process is about as long as it takes to find something on a streaming platform, to be honest with you, right? What do you wanna watch? I don't know, what do you wanna watch? Oh, there's nothing good, you know, there's a million shows now, and none of them are good. Just being real, there's like one or two that are good, you know, you gotta find that one, and you sit there, and the whole time, you're trying to find something. So I do appreciate instant. I do appreciate that I have access. access to my phone that I can text and call and do all the things instantly." [47:43] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2. "Well, we might live in an instant culture, but we're citizens of an agricultural kingdom. It's not about an instant culture. It's about agriculture. And you're like, agriculture? What is this crazy word that you're using, pastor? I've never heard, even heard about that because of the world we live in, right? Everything's provided for us. We got farmers somewhere doing something with drones or whatever they're doing these days, but they're providing us with food or different things, right? We're not always going out and planting our own food, reaping, all that kind of thing. Agriculture. But most of the teachings, if we're honest, most of the teachings of Jesus are centered around agriculture, right? Around the mustard seed parable, around the vine, the branches, around the harvest, fruit, fig trees, sowing, reaping, yeast, leaven, on and on and on, if you look throughout the scriptures. And it creates quite a tension for us as believers, right?" [50:03] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3. "Because we're not called to live in an instant culture, but an agriculture, right? A culture of the kingdom of God, of the word of God. And it's a different way of doing things. It's a different rhythm, planting, watering, growing, harvesting. It all takes time. It's not instant, right? This morning, I planted a seed in this pot. And can you tell, can you see all the growth that's happening? No, you can't see it yet, right? Because we understand the seed was planted. It's going to take some time to grow. It's going to take some time to grow. It's going to take some time to grow. And this one right here, though, how many of you know, I didn't plant this this morning, right? I was provided this. Someone gave this to me this morning, this plant. But they, whoever they were, they did the work. They planted a seed. They waited for it to grow. They did other things to it that I don't know about because I'm not into that." [51:53] (48 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4. "The unforced rhythm is the rhythm of life we establish as we follow Jesus. As we follow him, it's an unforced rhythm. And honestly, there's so many different things we could talk about. We're looking at four different rhythms the last four weeks. But today, one of these rhythms that Jesus calls us to is establishing the rhythm of patience. And some of y 'all are like, yeah, I need, some people were asking earlier, like, what are you talking about today? Like patience. Oh man, I need that. I need that. I need that. I need that. I need that. I need that. I need that. I need that. You know, it's for sure. I'm like, yeah, I need it too. Right. Something we all relate with. We all need. But we don't always know how to go about it. So we're going to look at establishing a rhythm of patience. Not just a momentary patience. Not outpatient. How about that? But a rhythm of patience. All right. Look, in an instant culture, patience is countercultural." [52:53] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5. "Patience is going to stand out. When everyone at your work is going crazy or whatever, you're, you're the patience that you bring to that moment is going to stand out. They're going to say, what is it with this person? How, how, how could you like, how could you manage this right now? Then you're, then it's an open door. You're able to share your faith with them. But this week I was reading a book called The Patient Ferment of the Early Church. And a guy named Alan, Dr. Alan Crider, he explores this idea. And the idea that he explores though is how did the early church grow in such a rapid pace? Right. Right. If you think about it from the time of Christ to the time that Christ ascended back to the father, in that first 300 years of the church, there was just this massive amount of growth. People hearing about Jesus all across the world. And what he says is it doesn't, it doesn't make sense that it doesn't line up because the Roman empire was pushing it down." [55:14] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6. "Patience is counter -cultural, but patience reflects the very nature of God. We always want to show people who God is and what he looks like. Patience. That's who God is. That's a huge aspect of God's nature. And by showing the world patience, we're showing them who God is. But that begs the question, what is patience? Because we could all have a different idea, a different preconceived idea of what patience is. We often think of patience as, yeah, that's a nice, like, good quality to have, being patient, being able to wait through difficult things. Or maybe we just think that's something that's, you know, my neighbor needs that. My wife needs that a little bit more, you know, or my husband, you know, whatever, you know, I don't want to call it that. I don't want to call it that. I don't want to cause any controversy in your home, but our spouse, they, you know, they need the patience. I'm, I'm good, but we all need patience, by the way." [57:16] (49 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7. "Patience is being unhurried. It's being unhurried. Do you know people in your life that are unhurried? When they talk to you, they're talking to you. They're not looking around or checking their phone or their watch. Like, they're dialed in. Even if what you're saying is not that interesting, you know, they're still dialed in because they care about what you're saying. They're not hurried. Jesus was like that. Throughout scripture, he was one -on -one with people, listening to them, talking with them. He wasn't in a hurry, right? So patience is unhurried. Patience is also restraint. It's sometimes restraining or pulling back when you're in a hurry. It's sometimes restraining or pulling back when you're in a hurry. You could do something. You could say something, right? But instead, you pull back, and maybe instead of hurl an insult, you pray for that person. It's restraint. Sometimes being patient, holding back." [58:48] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8. "And patience is not simply waiting. You know how I know that? Because you can go to the DMV, and guess what? Everyone's waiting. But not everyone's being patient, are they? You can go to a certain fast food establishment that I won't name because my kids talk about how expensive this place is. You know, all right, I'm not going to talk about that fast food establishment anymore, but we all know when they have the bad customer service, you're sitting there waiting, right? But you're not being patient. You're just waiting. The two very different things. I also want you to know that patience isn't waiting. It's warfare. You might have this idea of patience just kind of, yeah, it's restraint. It's being unhurried. It's being just relaxed. That's valid. But it's also warfare. It's also when we're patient, when we display this to the world, we're actually going on the offensive. We're showing them a better way." [59:39] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

9. "In the midst of the instant society that we live in, God's calling us to establish a rhythm of patience. Not just so we can wait in line at Costco. When the lines are all the way to the deli. When the lines are all the way to the deli. Section. He's given us this patience so we can live a lifestyle, have a better way of living. And I thought about this this week as I was preparing. This message isn't a dine -in message. You know what I'm saying? It's to go. Some messages, you need it right here, right now, for this moment. I think all of them you do to a degree. But for this one, there's something about it where it's about patience. So after these few minutes of us together talking about this, we're not going to have it all solved. It's not going to happen. It's agricultural. You're going to need to take it home. Put it in the to -go box. Bag it up. Put it in the fridge for a little bit this afternoon and then bring it out." [01:01:11] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

10. "The first way to establish the rhythm of patience is to be patient in our practice. Be patient in our practice. Another early church father in 230 AD, Origen, wrote this. Christ followers are not in a hurry. They listen carefully when the word is read and preached. And they patiently call to account straying Christians who attend services irregularly. Even in the 230s. People were irregularly coming. Praise God. You're not irregular. You're here right now. That's amazing. But this was an issue back in 230. But he also says, Christians aren't hurried. When we listen to this, we're not in a hurry. When I'm listening to other stuff throughout the week, I'm in a hurry. I don't want to listen to that." [01:02:43] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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Transcript

What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?

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