You're Never a Failure Until You Quit

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Galatians 5:22Our society is becoming increasingly impatient every day; we do not deal well with inconveniences.Patience is a quality among the fruit of the Spirit; when we bear patience, we learn that inconveniences are opportunities for growth.Patience is not simply grinning and bearing hardship; it is praising God during those hardships with blazing hope. Without patience, also called endurance or long-suffering, we are failures, but we are never failures until we quit.James 1:3-4 says, “...knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”Patience is necessary for maturity.We become like Jesus as we mature in our faith. But there is no maturity without patience and no patience without trials. God allows us to face trials and tribulations to give us opportunities to grow in our faith.Patience is necessary for victory.We are created to be strong warriors for God, not putty in the devil’s hands. Trials make us victors, not victims; trials exercise our spirits and build our endurance.Patience is necessary for prosperity.James 5:7 says, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”Many don’t reap because they do not wait; if we want to prosper, we must follow the law of the harvest: We reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow.God knows what is good for His children, and when it is good for His children.Adrian Rogers says, “With God, timing is far more important than time; just wait on the Lord.”Patience is necessary for tranquility.An impatient person is an unhappy person; when we learn to laugh at the appropriate times and things, we’ve learned well.Finally, patience is necessary for love, because it enables us to see things from another’s point of view; when a person is filled with love, almost nothing can provoke him.We can only bear patience, a quality among the fruit of the Spirit, if we abide in the Vine, Jesus Christ.Apply it to your lifeIf you are having trouble with impatience, have a little joy; find the fun and relax. Pray for wisdom to laugh at inconveniences and strength to endure hardships.