Thank you.
All right. Good morning. It's good to see everybody this morning. We'll go ahead and
get started. Go ahead and find your seats and pull out your hymnals and we'll open up
to our first song, song number 316. Song number 316, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. Number
316, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. Though none go with
me, still I will follow. Though none go with me, still I will follow. Though none go with
me, still I will follow. No turning back. No turning back. The last. The world behind me.
The cross before me. The world behind me. The cross before me. The world behind me.
The cross before me. No turning back. No turning back.
Brother Edward, you want to pray for us this morning?
Amen. All right. Go ahead and flip to your right in the hymnal to 397.
Remember, 397? Little is much when God is in it. 397.
First in the harvest field now ripened, there's a work for all to do.
Hark, the voice of God is calling to the harvest calling you.
Little is much when God is in it. Labor not for wealth or fame, there's a crown and you can win it
if you'll go in Jesus name. Does the place you're called to labor seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it and he'll not forget his own. Little is much when God is in it. Labor
not for wealth or fame, there's a crown and you can win it if you'll go in Jesus name. Are you
laid aside from service, body worn and toiled in care? You can still be in the battle, in the sacred
place of prayer. Little is much when God is in it. Labor not for wealth or fame, there's a crown and
you can win it if you'll go in Jesus name. When the conflict here is ended and our race on earth
is run, he will say to all the faithful, welcome home my child well done. Little is much when God
is in it. Labor not for wealth or fame, there's a crown and you can win it if you'll go in Jesus
name. Amen, good singing. So this time we'll go ahead and go over our announcements. You go ahead
and pull out your bulletins. I think they have, they're on the back shelf. Brother Henry or Brother
Eli will bring them around to you. On the top left we do have our service times. Our morning service
is at 10 30 a.m. Our evening service at 5 30 p.m. And we do have that midweek bible study at seven
o'clock p.m. And underneath this we do have our soul winning times. We go out on Sunday
in between the services at 2 p.m. on Thursday at 5 15 before that bible study. Then on Saturday
we have two soul winning times. Brother Henry, let me grab one of those. Brother Henry.
Yep, no worries. On Saturday we go out at 10 a.m. That meets here at the church house. Then we do
also have a regional soul winning time at, that meets at Bay Park in Baytown at Jenkins Park and
that's led by Brother Brandon at 4 p.m. Underneath this we do have our totals. We have 52 salvations
up to date. We're going to go out today, this afternoon, hopefully increase that number. So
good job soul winning. And for a bible memory passage we are still in Proverbs chapter number
one. We're in verse number 32. So we have one more week to go and then a grace week. All right,
so we're rounding this one out so keep working on it. You will receive a special prize if you
could quote this chapter word perfect to a non-family member. So again, you got a little
bit of time left. Keep working on that. And here on the next page we have this long list
of ladies expecting. So just be in prayer for all the ladies and all the babies. Everyone stays
healthy. And for our preaching schedule today we have Brother Ben Naim came down from Steadfast
Baptist Church. It's good having him and his family here with us today. So whenever you get
a chance just give him a thank you. Sunday, February 21st we're going to have Pastor Bruce
Mejia from First Works Baptist Church. So make sure to be here for that service to support him.
And whenever he comes just give him a big thank you for coming down here to help us out with
everything that he's got going on. And then Sunday, February 28th we have Brother Dylan
Oz from Steadfast Baptist Church. And then Sunday, March 14th we'll have Brother Blake
Rincon coming out to preach for us. It'll be his first time down here so again it's a blessing
having all of these guys come preach for us. Some upcoming events. We do have that Galveston
soul-winning marathon right around the corner, March 6th, Saturday, March 6th. So I do believe
that we're going to be meeting here at the church house in the morning. We'll kind of prepare here
in the morning, get a bite to eat, and we'll kind of all convoy down there. If you do live closer
to Galveston or in Galveston we'll also have another meeting up place down there. So kind of
just whatever works best for you. But as more details come we'll go ahead and definitely inform
you on that. And then just lastly for our prayer request if you do have anything you do need special
prayer about always email those into the church at purewordsbaptist at gmail.com and Pastor Shelley
does go over those during that midweek service. But that is the announcements for the morning.
So go ahead and pull your hymnals back out and turn to your third song. It'll be song number 64.
Song number 64, Shall We Gather at the River. Song number 64.
You know the first? Shall we gather at the river Where bright angel feet have trod
With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God
Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river
Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God
On the bosom of the river Where the Savior King we owe
We shall meet in sorrow never Neath the glory of the throne
Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river
Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God
There we reach the shining river Lay we every burden down
Grace our spirit will deliver And provide a robe and crown
Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river
Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God
Soon we'll reach the shining river Soon our pilgrimage will cease
Soon our happy hearts will quiver With the melody of peace
Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river
Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God
Amen. So at this time, go ahead and pull out your Bibles and turn in your Bibles to James 5.
James 5. Brother Samson will read for us, and we'll go ahead and pass the offering plate.
All right, James chapter number 5. We'll read this chapter again together as always,
and we'll start here in James chapter 5 verse 1 where the Bible reads,
Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and sulfur is cankered, and the rest of them shall be a witness against you,
and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.
You have heaped treasures together for the last days.
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields,
which you have kept back by fraud, cry it, and they cry it to them which are reaped,
or entered, the cries of them which are reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Savioth.
You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton.
You have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
You have condemned and killed the just, and he that does not resist you.
Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waited for the precious fruit of the earth,
and had long patience for it, until he received the early and latter rain.
Be ye also patient, stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Grudge not one against another, brethren, they should be condemned.
Behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord,
for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Behold, we count them happy which endure.
Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord,
that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
But of all all things, my brethren, swear not,
neither by heaven, neither by earth, nor by any other oath,
but let your yea be yea, and your nay nay least you fall into condemnation.
Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray.
Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you?
Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And a prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.
And if ye have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are,
and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him,
let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the air of his ways
shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Let's bow our heads for a quick word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, we come before you again, and we thank you for all your prayers.
We thank you for the book of James.
Thank you for the lessons we learned here that we should apply to him,
and use him as an alternative for our lives.
Thank you, Lord, for brother Ben coming down and praying for us.
We pray that you fill him with your Holy Spirit, and let us bring us a bold message,
and an instruction of truth that we can use it in our lives,
and help us all to listen, hear, learn, and apply these instructions,
and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
James 5, verse 7, the Bible says,
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth,
and had long patience for it, until he received the early and latter rain.
Be he also patient, establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord, Joweth nigh.
The title of my sermon this morning is Be Patient. Be Patient.
We see all throughout the scriptures that patience is an important component.
It's a crucial component of your Christian walk.
Those who are hasty, those who are rash, it leads them to making bad decisions.
I'll cover that a little bit later on,
but what we see that the Bible is telling us here in James, chapter 5,
is that Jesus Christ is coming back.
In fact, it says the day of the Lord draweth nigh, and praise God for that,
because this world continues to get more and more ungodly, more and more wicked,
and so when I read scriptures like this, it gives me hope.
The day of the Lord is coming soon. The day of the Lord draweth nigh.
Now obviously there are several different events that have to take place before that occurs.
There are some charts hanging on the back wall there that you can look at
if you want more information about what must come to pass before Jesus Christ comes back.
But from now until the day of the Lord, we ought to be patient.
We ought to endure. That's what the Bible is telling us here.
Look at verse number 10.
It says, Take, my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord
for an example of suffering, affliction, and of patience.
Behold, we count them happy which endure.
Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord,
that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.
So the prophets that we read about throughout the Bible, they serve as an example of what? Patience.
They serve as an example of what? Faithfulness.
They serve as an example of individuals who are willing to endure affliction,
who are willing to endure tribulation.
Think of Job. He lost everything. He lost his wealth. He lost his prosperity. He lost his children.
And yet he said, Blessed be the name of the Lord.
And yet he patiently endured that tribulation. He endured that affliction.
He demonstrated patience. How? By keeping his integrity through all of those things.
Now here's a definition of patience.
I have several definitions of patience that I wanted to share with you just so that we're on the same page.
One is able to accelerate or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
Another definition that I found is quietly and steadily persevering or diligent.
Another one that I found is steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.
I like all three of these.
All three of these would qualify, in my opinion, as an accurate definition of patience and something that we should apply to our lives.
In fact, like I said moments ago, a crucial aspect of your Christian life,
if you want to endure what it means to be on the front lines of the spiritual warfare that we all find ourselves in today, you have to have patience.
Many things in life, in fact, even just in the carnal world require patience.
Think about acquiring a new skill, for example. If you want to learn how to play an instrument, that requires patience.
Guess what? You're not going to be an excellent piano player on day one of training.
On day one of learning. It takes patience.
How about weight loss? Yeah, I'm bringing that up.
Weight loss. Look, if you have a goal for weight loss, for physical fitness, it's not going to happen.
You're not going to see immediate results. It takes time.
You go, you grind it out little by little by little, and eventually you hit your goal.
But if you grow impatient and hasty, you'll end up quitting prematurely, and you won't hit your goal.
But with respect to weight loss, you do it little by little, and it takes patience before you start seeing results.
You're not going to look in the mirror and all of a sudden see six-pack abs after working out for a week.
It doesn't work that way. How about financial goals?
Let's say you have a goal to save X amount of money, and you're doing it little by little every single month.
Again, it's not going to happen tomorrow. There is no instant gratification in life.
It takes time. And with respect to financial goals, you have to be patient, understanding that it's going to take a long duration of time
for you to save the amount of money that you would like to save in order to purchase what you're trying to purchase or just have financial security.
Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, if you would, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1.
So patience is an important attribute, not just for your spiritual life, but also for your life out there in the world.
Because there are so many things that you're going to engage in, so many endeavors that you're going to try out in your life that require patience.
There is no instant gratification. And I might repeat that several times here this morning because it's such an important point.
This world today promotes instant gratification. You think of social media and the instant gratifications of all the likes and the comments that you can get
from the posts that you put out there, video games where everything's flashing on the screen and you can win really quickly
and everything is just instant entertainment, instant gratification. No one has any patience anymore today.
This is why many people can't find themselves sitting down and reading a book.
Because there is no instant gratification there. It's not just mindless entertainment.
You turn on the TV and you can be numbed to figurative sleep in a sense and just drool and watch the screen with this reality television
and all this garbage filth entertainment that people poison themselves with. And what is that?
Things flashing, explosions everywhere. People go watch these Hollywood movies where there's no storyline half the time.
Just things are exploding. Look over here. This car exploded. Look over here. This building, it's suddenly on fire.
Everyone's shooting each other and killing each other. It's stupid.
And those who don't have patience will seek things out like that because they can't sit through something that actually has meaning.
The Bible tells us in Galatians 6 verse 9,
And let us not be wary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap. If, here's the condition though, we faint not.
You say, I want to be somebody who doesn't faint in the Christian life. Well, you have to have patience. You have to have patience.
Don't allow what you're doing right now, coming to church every single week, going out and reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Don't allow that to fatigue you. Don't allow that to make you faint. The Bible reading, the memorization, the evangelism, the church attendance.
Day in, day out, week in, week out, it might get fatiguing. You might be saying, man, is it even worth it anymore?
That thought might creep into your mind, but I can guarantee you this, it is because God has many rewards waiting for you if you remain faithful.
If you don't faint and you say, well, I want to be that person. I want to be steadfast. Well, are you patient? Are you patient? Or are you just going to quit?
You know, those who are hasty, those who want immediate gratification for the things that they're doing, they'll stop coming to church.
They will stop. Because, you see, sometimes it takes years for you to see the manifestation of the good things that you're doing. It takes years.
And people don't want to wait, so they quit. You know what, I'm done with this church thing. I'm just going to go home. I'm going to skip the afternoon service, in fact, so I can go watch the Super Bowl.
You know, somebody invited me to a Super Bowl party today. It's Super Bowl Sunday, so I'm going to go, 5.30 p.m. is the service, but you know what, I don't need to go there.
I'll go to the Super Bowl party instead. There's instant gratification there. There's food. There's a great dinner waiting for me. Maybe somebody's prepared some tacos for you and you're a big taco fan.
You know, and we can all sit back, relax, and watch the Super Bowl. And we can also watch that halftime show too. Who's excited for that halftime show, huh?
We can all worship the devil together by watching that halftime show. You know, maybe they'll blow up a giant doll of Satan and Katy Perry will ride on the Star of Rem fan toward it or something like that this year.
It's like every year they ramp up the Satanism. Every year they ramp up the devil worship. Who needs this church thing? We can go watch the Super Bowl together.
Now look, if you don't show up in the afternoon, I'm not assuming that you went to go watch the Super Bowl. I'm not even sure if it starts at the same time, but here's my point.
People will go flee to the world because they just ran out of patience. Because they're seeking instant gratification. They want the entertainment. They essentially want to defile their minds and it's really sad to see.
And I'm talking about people who are saved, by the way. 2 Thessalonians 1. I think I had your turn there. Verse 3, it says, 2 Thessalonians 1, it says in verse 3,
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth.
Look at the things that he's valuing here. Faith, charity. Oh, you know, we're accused all the time of people who just, oh, you guys lack love. You're so hateful.
No, I love people. You know, just because I hate fags doesn't mean that I hate everyone, okay? Here's a news flash for you. That's a very small subset of the larger population, okay?
So guess what? I can hate fags and love people at the same time. What a radical concept. Look at verse 4.
So again, what are the Thessalonians commended for here in 2 Thessalonians 1? First of all, their faith, their charity, and also their patience in spite of what? Their tribulation.
In spite of their affliction. In spite of the things that they're going through today. And you know what? If it happened to that church, it could happen to this one here.
We're in the midst of a season right now where one of our friends who's coming to preach for you next Sunday, Pastor Bruce Mejia, he just had his church vandalized.
Now I have more on that a little later on. But folks, you think his people need a scripture like this right now? Of course they do.
But just because it happened to them doesn't mean that it couldn't potentially happen to Pure Words Baptist Church.
You guys are also doing an important work here in the Houston, Texas area. Think of how large this city is. It's enormous. Think of all the souls that need to be saved in the Houston area.
I look at that map back there and I think, man, there is so much work left to be done. And here's the thing, the devil will strike back the longer this church is here,
than the higher percentage, the higher chance there is of the devil striking back wide to try and discourage you. To try and discourage you here at this church.
Now despite the persecutions and despite the tribulations, we see here that they were patient. The church at Thessalonica.
The Bible says, you don't have to turn there, but in Revelation 2 about the church of Ephesus, it says,
I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not,
and hast found them liars and hast borne and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored and hast not fainted.
Here's my question for you here at Pure Words Baptist Church, are you going to be known as a church that's patient?
Or, hasty, is that going to be what you're known as? A church that quit before the work was done because, you know what, things weren't going exactly the way you wanted them to,
or because the church started receiving some backlash because of the preaching that comes from behind this pulpit and you didn't want to be involved in a church like that.
You'd rather go to a church where they're never afflicted or never face any persecution whatsoever, where the skinny jeans pastor gets up here with the fog machine in the background
and the purple lights and the glass flimsy pulpit telling you how loving and kind he is and how much all of you are just never doing anything wrong in your lives.
Okay, here's the thing. The church at Ephesus was known for their labor, for their works, but also for their patience.
And I hope that Pure Words Baptist Church could also be known as a patient church that endures even when things aren't going the way you want them to,
that endures even when the devil is striking back, when the devil is persecuting you.
You know, is this church nothing more than just a house of cards that's going to all come tumbling down the second that the devil's onslaught commences against this place,
against this church, and you know what? Against each and every one of you. You are the driving force behind Pure Words Baptist Church.
You keep this thing going. Yeah, Pastor Shelley is leading all of us, but you know what? He needs you. He needs you.
Look at Ecclesiastes 7, Ecclesiastes chapter 7. Is this a church that's going to patiently endure no matter what is thrown its way?
And what you have to understand is this. If you want to be a patient church like the church at Ephesus or the church at Thessalonica,
then you need to make sure that in your own Christian walk that you have this exact, excuse me, that you have this exact same attribute.
It starts with the individual. 1 Timothy 6 says,
Timothy is told to eschew the love of money and instead to follow after patience.
It's such an important attribute that the man of God is told to make sure that he has it himself.
Ecclesiastes 7 is where I had you turn. Look at verse 8, Ecclesiastes 7 verse 8, the Bible reads there,
You know, the prideful, they presume things. Think of Haman in the book of Esther and his presumption of acclaim, his presumption of approval.
Well, that didn't happen exactly, did it? No. Because that's what the pride do. Now, what's better than that? Patience.
How about this? Instead of presuming things, why don't you just go about your business patiently and let God exalt you, not yourself?
Why don't you go about your business? Why don't you just serve the Lord quietly?
Look at Lamentations 3 right after Jeremiah, Lamentations chapter 3. Lamentations chapter number 3.
Again, you know, this is an extremely important component of what we do, is being patient.
Look what it says in verse 26, Lamentations 3 verse 26, it is good, Lamentations 3 verse 26,
it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Now, let me clear something up for you here. That's not spiritual salvation. You don't have to wait for spiritual salvation.
That's something you have present tense right now. The second that you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you got eternal life now.
It starts now. You don't have to be patient and wait for it. Now, you have to wait for your glorified body.
You have to wait in order to see the heavenly Jerusalem, that's true. But the second you believe on Christ, you're saved.
It's a done deal. The twinkling of an eye, it's done. So that's not what it's talking about.
The patience that it's describing here is patience with respect to distress, patience with respect to temporal anguish.
It's good to wait on the Lord to save you from those things. And what's going to help you with that?
Well, the Bible says all things work together for good to them that love God.
And if you love the Lord Jesus Christ today, if you're serving the Lord Jesus Christ today and you're going through affliction,
if you're going through a situation right now where perhaps you lost your job, perhaps you lost a loved one,
perhaps you're going through a difficult time, well, all you need to worry about is whether you love God or not.
Because the Bible tells us it's clear in scripture that all things will work together for good to them that love God though.
And so that's why, folks, it's good to wait on it. That's what the Bible says here in Lamentations chapter 3.
It's good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
It's good to wait on God to help you recover from, like I said, the loss of a loved one, for example.
It's good to wait on God to help you undergo the affliction in your life.
It's good to wait on God to help you go through perhaps a medical condition that you're dealing with right now.
It's good to wait on God. It's good to be patient.
It's good to ensure, I'm sorry, have faith, rather, that the Lord will see you through whatever it is that our lives throw at us.
Look at Genesis chapter 29. Genesis chapter 29.
Let's look at some examples in the Word of God of men who had patience, right?
We read in James chapter 5 that the prophets who came before us serve as examples not only because of their faith but also because of their patience.
Well, let's read about men who had patience in the Bible.
And the first one that comes to mind for me is Genesis chapter 29. It would be Jacob.
Now, Isaac, he sends Jacob to Laban to find a wife.
And Jacob had to work a seven-year dowry for the woman that he wanted to marry.
It says in Genesis 29, Genesis first book of the Bible should be, you know, easy to find.
That's me being a little bit snarky, folks.
Anyway, Genesis 29 verse 16. Genesis 29, it says in verse 16,
And Laban had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Leah was tender-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well favored.
So Rachel was the pretty one, and Leah apparently not so much.
That's all I'm going to say about that. Look at verse 18.
And Jacob loved Rachel and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel, thy younger daughter.
And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee than that I should give her to another man. Abide with me.
And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed unto him but a few days for the love he had for her.
So he worked seven years to procure Rachel, and it was seemingly just a few days.
Why? Because of the love that he had for her. You know what that tells me?
If you're working toward a specific goal, and you have passion for those things,
if you really have true passion in your heart for what you're trying to accomplish,
it'll seem like it was just a few days by the time you complete that goal.
Verse 25. Skip down to verse 25 for sake of time.
Jacob works the seven-year dowry, but I want you to notice what happens next.
Verse 25, And it came to pass that in the morning behold it was Leah,
and he said to Laban, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Did not I serve with thee for Rachel?
Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country to give the younger before the firstborn.
So he works the seven years thinking the outcome is going to be Rachel, but instead he gets Leah.
Now what I don't understand is she went in unto him in the tent, which I skipped over that part,
and you would think he would realize that it's not Rachel, but anyway, different topic for a different time.
So he doesn't understand, you know, what's going on here, and Laban says, You know what?
Hey, I can't give the younger before the firstborn.
You know what I'm thinking here? Perhaps what goes around comes around in a sense,
because of course Jacob pretended to be Esau and took his blessing, but anyway, look at verse 27.
Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
And Jacob did so and fulfilled her week, and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
Skip to verse 30. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah,
and served with him yet seven other years. So Laban said, Hey, wait a week, take Rachel,
and then I want you to work seven more years to retroactively pay for her, to pay that dowry.
So a total of 14 years of work to pay for the woman that he wanted to marry.
And then he had to work six more years in order to procure cattle.
So a little bit of wealth, financial security there as well. What can we learn from this story?
Jacob was patient. He didn't just give up. I mean, think about this.
Fourteen years of work simply to pay off a dowry. Six more years of work to pay for cattle.
Twenty years in total of work just for the foundation of his life.
Look at Ezekiel chapter four. Let's look at another example of a man of God who was patient.
Ezekiel chapter number four. And this is a real extreme example of patience right here.
Not only is it a really cool picture of the Lord Jesus Christ,
but you're going to see what God asked Ezekiel to do here, which was to lay on his side.
And it wasn't just for a couple of hours. Ezekiel four, verse four.
Ezekiel four, verse four. The Bible reads there,
Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it,
according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity.
For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days.
So shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel, and when thou hast accomplished them,
lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days.
I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Ezekiel is told, lay on your left side to bear the iniquity of the house of Judah,
and then he's told to lay on his right side for forty days, one to represent the house of Israel,
and one to represent the house of Judah. This is a total of four hundred and thirty days.
Folks, this required, here's an obvious statement, this required a tremendous amount of patience.
Here's a picture of Jesus Christ as well, because notice the verbiage in Ezekiel chapter four,
he's told to bear the iniquity of Israel. That's exactly what Jesus did for us.
The Bible tells us so in 1 Peter 2, which says, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree.
Just to assure Ezekiel had to bear the sins of the house of Israel, that's exactly what Jesus Christ did for the entire planet,
for the whole world, and the patience that was required here to accomplish this task that was given to him by God was just incredible.
It was incredible. Four hundred and thirty days, again, lay on his left side and then switch over to his right side.
A picture of Jesus Christ, Ezekiel bore the iniquity of God's chosen nation,
and in order for him to fulfill this picture that God wanted to fulfill, he had to have forbearance folks.
Go to Mark 15, if you would. How about the Lord Jesus Christ himself? He's a patient God.
What can we learn from this story, though, in Ezekiel chapter four? That Ezekiel was patient.
Now Jesus, he bore our iniquity, his work also required this attribute.
Think about what he had to endure, the unimaginable pain that he went through for us. How about the mocking as well?
Luke 22 says, as you're turning to Mark 15, meanwhile I'll read from Luke 22, it says,
And the men that held Jesus mocked him and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, saying,
Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.
So he withstood physical anguish, he withstood mocking, they hit him. The Bible says they smote him here and then they asked him who did it.
Think of the disrespect, think of the hatred, he was derided, he was ridiculed, he was scorned at, he was sneered at by these people.
But he went through it. And you know what, he didn't fight back, did he? He didn't fight back.
That's not what he came to this earth to do the first time. Now second time's a little different.
But the first time, that's not what he came here to do. And so he went through it, didn't fight back, that was not the focus of his earthly ministry.
Mark 15 says in verse 25, Mark 15 and verse 25, notice what the Bible says there in Mark chapter 15 and verse 25.
And it was the third hour and they crucified him. You have to understand, time was calculated in the book of Mark with the Hebrew system.
So it's basically from 6 to 6. What we're looking at here is 9 a.m. when he was crucified in our, what we would say in our vernacular.
Jesus was crucified at 9 a.m. Now look down at verse 33.
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, which is being interpreted, my God, my God, why has not forsaken me?
And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost.
Crucified at 9 a.m. The Bible says that the ninth hour is when he gave up the ghost.
That's 3 p.m. folks. That's 3 p.m.
Six hours on that cross. Six straight hours hanging on the cross.
The torment, the pain, it was indescribable what Jesus went through.
You and I couldn't endure it for six minutes.
We couldn't endure something like that for six minutes, let alone six whole hours on the cross before he gave up the ghost.
But Jesus Christ patiently withstood this.
He patiently withstood the shame of the cross all so that we could go to heaven for free just by placing our faith in him.
That's the patience of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The excruciating pain of crucifixion that he went through for hours, for hours folks, for hours.
And you know what? I think personally that it was more and more painful with every breath that he took.
See, the way that crucifixion works is that it literally hurts to take a breath, to breathe.
And I think with every breath that he took, it hurt just a little bit more.
Now here's some honorable mentions for you. We're talking about examples of patience in the Bible.
How about Elizabeth and Zacharias who were barren for years and years and years before John the Baptist, before they had conceived a child.
And that gives, I think, hope to the couples who so badly want to have a child and yet haven't had one yet.
How about Joseph, backstabbed by his brethren, thrown into the pit without water.
You know, he was sold into servitude in Egypt and all the years that he had to go through that before being exalted to a position of authority.
Job, the Bible talked about that in James chapter 5, lost everything but yet retained his integrity. Why? Patience.
Here's one Noah, think of Noah, told to construct an ark for a coming flood.
He doesn't know exactly when that's going to happen. And he had to construct this giant ark for him and his family.
And that took patience. That didn't happen in a day.
I'll go to Hebrews 12 if you would, Hebrews chapter 12.
For this portion of the message, I want to transition now to give you four statements.
Four statements about the benefits of patience. Four statements about the benefits of patience.
And the first one that I have for you as you're turning to Hebrews chapter 12 is this, patience will equip you to stay steadfast.
I talked a little about this on the onset, but patience will equip you to stay steadfast.
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
I love that verse for a lot of reasons, but here's one of them.
Because of the fact that all the labor that we're doing, all the work that we're doing for God right now,
every door that you knock is not in vain, even if they don't answer that door.
Even if they're not interested in the gospel, none of it is in vain.
All the hours that you spend studying your Bible, reading your Bible, serving God, none of it is in vain.
And when the Bible uses this word steadfast, the word that comes to my mind is longevity.
The word that comes to my mind is endurance.
And another word that comes to my mind is patience. Patience as well.
Hebrews 12 says in verse 1, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
Let me stop there. You know there are people looking down on you right now in heaven?
Every move you make.
It's funny because people tend to be at their best when they know other people are watching.
Well, you know God's watching.
You know there are people in heaven, there are a great cloud of witnesses watching everything you do right now.
That ought to be a sobering thought.
Let's continue the verse.
Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with what? Patience.
The race that is set before us.
Let me give you a carnal example here that I think will kind of explain this a little bit.
When I was younger, when I was in high school, I did track and field.
And in fact I entered into a race that I had been training for.
And you know how races are, they line you up and then somebody shoots what looks like a gun into the air and we all start running.
Well, I started running as soon as that thing was shot and I thought that I was doing great.
I was in first place.
I sprinted right out of the gate.
And I looked behind me and everyone was far away from me and I said, I'm winning!
This is awesome!
And I kept running and I kept running and I thought I was, you know, doing great.
I thought I was going to finish in first place for sure.
But then you know what happened?
I gassed out.
Because I started off way too quickly, the gas tank quickly went to empty and all of a sudden the guy who was in second place ran right by me.
All of a sudden the guy that was in third place ran right by me.
All of a sudden the guy that was in fourth place ran right by me and pretty soon I was in last place, okay?
I lost, handedly, in fact.
Why? Because I spent all my energy, you know, as soon as the race started.
I had nothing left.
And they all just passed right by me.
I finished last.
It was kind of embarrassing.
And you know, I was last by a mile and before I hit that finish line there was someone in the crowd who was like, come on, you can do it.
And I'm just like, oh, this is so embarrassing right now.
But why did that happen to me?
It's because I started off a little too quick and I gassed out.
I flamed out.
I fainted.
Not literally, but using Bible terms here.
So what's the point here?
Bible tells us in Hebrews 12, run with patience.
Why? Why would it say that?
Because the benefits of the work you're doing are not immediate.
And also you have to pace yourself.
You don't want to burn the candle out on both ends.
You don't want to make it so that you immediately start sprinting as soon as the race begins and then you gas out and finish in last place because you expended all of your energy.
I have experience doing that in a carnal sense and it wasn't fun.
It wasn't fun at all.
Look at Hebrews chapter six, if you would, Hebrews chapter six.
This is why the Bible tells us run with patience.
Run with patience.
You know, slow and steady.
Just because you haven't memorized ten chapters of the Bible your first six months after being saved doesn't mean that you're on the wrong track.
As long as you're growing slow and steady, as long as you see yourself making improvements in your spiritual life, that's a good thing.
The key is to continue to grow.
If you see yourself going backwards, that's a problem.
But as long as you're growing and doing it at a steady pace, I think you're on the right track.
Hebrews six, which is all about moving away in the very first portion of the chapter, it talks about departing from the foundations.
Yeah, great.
You know the foundation of the faith.
That's awesome.
How about we learn some meatier things now.
Hebrews six, it says in verse ten.
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister.
And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence, notice, to the full assurance of hope unto the end that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
If you want to be steadfast, if you want to be known as somebody who's been doing this for decades upon decades upon decades, it takes patience and the same exact attribute that our spiritual forefathers had who patiently waited to inherit the promises themselves.
You know, they displayed endurance.
You think Abraham just immediately saw all of the components of his covenant with God come to pass the second that he told them that they would?
No.
It took some time.
How about Moses?
He saw that he couldn't enter the promised land as a picture of the law not being able to save you.
Moses picturing the law.
And he couldn't enter the promised land.
He had to wait for heavenly Jerusalem.
The Christian life is not one in which you'll experience instant gratification.
You know, the world, they'll offer you that.
The world will offer you get-rich-quick schemes.
Robert Kiyosaki and his book.
He'll teach you how to get-rich-quick.
But there is no spiritual get-rich-quick scheme.
That doesn't exist.
It takes time.
And so that's why if you have this attribute here, if you have patience, that'll enable you to stay steadfast.
You know, how long does it take, you think, to be faithful for ten years?
It's not a trick question.
It takes ten years.
How long does it take to be a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ for twenty years?
It takes twenty years.
That's a long time.
Twenty years ago, I was seven.
Go to Proverbs 19.
Here's my second point.
Patience will enable you to make responsible decisions.
Proverbs 19 is where I had you turn.
A lot of the time, people make stupid decisions for their lives because they were impatient.
Because they weren't willing to wait.
Proverbs 19 says in verse 2,
Being rash, being hasty, you know, it'll lead to you making irrational decisions that are led by your impulsive nature.
And what'll happen to you then?
You could ruin your life.
The hasty, they make irrational decisions constantly.
How about this?
Marrying the wrong person because they just didn't want to be single anymore.
Right?
People do that.
Look at Proverbs chapter 21, if you would, just a few pages over.
Proverbs chapter 21.
The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 6,
Don't be unequally yoked is what the Bible is articulating there in 2 Corinthians chapter 6.
How about this?
If you're single, listen up very closely.
Don't marry someone who's unsaved just because you want to stop being single.
Alright?
Don't make a hasty, irrational decision because you're not patient enough to wait on God to lead you to the right person.
Proverbs 21, look what it says in verse 9.
Proverbs 21 verse 9,
It's better to have a very small place to live than to live with a brawling, feminist, you know, social justice warrior
in a wide house.
In a big house.
Proverbs 21 verse 19.
Skip down to verse 19.
You know, it would be better for you, single man.
Oh, thou single man who is in the audience this morning.
It would be better for you to go dwell in the wilderness.
Go set up a tent somewhere in the forest than to marry a contentious woman.
Notice how it keeps repeating itself.
Oh, there's one more.
Look at verse 24 that I wanted to show you.
I'm sorry, Proverbs 25.
Proverbs 25 verse 24.
One more I wanted to show you.
Proverbs chapter 25 verse 24.
Isn't that exactly what we learned there in Proverbs 21?
Notice it keeps repeating itself.
The Bible repeats itself.
The truths that are articulated in God's word are repeated over and over and over again.
So don't get upset when Pastor Shelley or another man of God comes to preach for you.
You notice that he's repeating the points over and over to drill it into your mind.
That's how God communicates.
And it says it's better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Hasty decision making by those who don't have patience.
It will lead to them potentially marrying a contentious, angry, brawling woman.
And folks, if you don't wait, single men, if you don't wait on God to lead you to the right woman,
then you'll potentially ruin your entire life marrying someone that you shouldn't have married all because you couldn't wait on God.
Because you couldn't wait on the Lord to give you the right woman, to give you that right marriage.
That then you could use to enable a Christian life, not just for yourself, but also for a future progeny, for your family, for your children as well.
Proverbs 24, skip back one, Proverbs chapter 24.
Rational decisions, what do they stem from? They stem from patience.
They stem from patience.
You say, oh, Ben, but she's pretty. I mean, you don't understand.
She looks good.
Okay, here's the problem with that.
In your eyes, she might be pretty, but that doesn't excuse the fact that she has a Bernie Sanders sticker on her bumper on the car,
and that she supports the Democratic Party, and her hair is dyed pink, which she wouldn't be pretty if her hair was dyed pink anyway.
Alright, run for the hills if their hair is dyed pink or purple or something like that.
Folks, it doesn't matter. It doesn't change the fact that she isn't even saved.
It doesn't change the fact that she has nothing in common with respect to the most important aspect of our lives, which is this right here.
Run for the hills.
If you're not in alignment, the Bible says, can two walk together except they be agreed.
If you're not in alignment on this, then what are you doing putting a ring on it?
Wait.
God will lead you to the right person, and you'll be thankful that you waited.
You'll be thankful that you exhibited patience with respect to this aspect of your life.
Proverbs 24, look at verse 27.
Prepare thy work without.
Proverbs 24, verse 27.
Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field.
Notice this part right here.
And afterwards build thine house.
Does it say start building before preparing?
No. Prepare first, then build.
Prepare first, then build second.
Think of Solomon's temple.
They had to amass the materials first, didn't they?
They had to prepare first and then begin construction of the temple second.
You say, I want to be married.
Well, have you prepared?
Do you have a job, men?
Do you have the ability to provide for your wife, provide for your future children?
Do you have a means to provide for these people who are going to be relying on you to put food on the table?
You say, well, I want to move across the country to this great church.
Okay, that's great.
Do you have a place to stay?
Do you have job opportunities there so you can provide for your family?
Before you make that decision, do you have the means to actually facilitate that move?
How about this one?
I want to buy a house.
A lot of people make that decision.
They say they want to buy a house.
That's great. That's awesome.
You know, it could be in the long term a good financial situation for you, a good financial decision for you.
But before you make that decision, do you have money saved up for a down payment?
Do you have the ability from a financial standpoint to make that decision?
Oftentimes people will rack up so much debt in their lives because they're living above their means.
You see this on Black Friday where people will flock to Best Buy.
They'll flock to all these different department stores and trample over each other,
which apparently they didn't do this past Christmas season because of COVID-19.
So I guess that's one good thing about COVID.
But people will do that and they'll rack up a bunch of credit card debt that they can't even afford to pay
because the commercial told them to go out and get the latest television set.
And in the same way, people will purchase a home or they'll live above their means without actually having the ability to do so
because they weren't patient enough to wait before making a decision like this.
I think the principle that we can learn from Proverbs 24 verse 27,
prepare first, build second. You ought to have patience.
You ought to have patience, the patience to prepare first before engaging in building your house.
Oftentimes people will say, I want to build a business. I want my own business.
OK, well, do you have the means to do that? Do you have money saved up that you can invest in that business?
Also, who are you going to be working with?
I've seen businesses collapse in on themselves, even amongst family, even amongst brothers.
Businesses collapse in on themselves. The brothers start screwing each other over because of the fact that they just clashed.
So is the person you're going into business with somebody that you get along with, somebody that you can work with?
You have to prepare those things first. You have to ensure those things are so first before investing your money.
Responsible decisions require individuals to lay the groundwork first, and that takes patience.
But an impatient heart, an impatient person rushes into these things without thinking about it first, and their lives are upended.
Look at Luke chapter eight, Luke chapter eight.
My third point is patience will help you achieve spiritual goals. Patience will help you achieve spiritual goals.
Luke chapter eight, this is Jesus expounding on the parable of the sower. Look what he says in verse 15.
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
See, the seed that falls on the good ground, it brings forth fruit, but it does so with patience.
And here's what I mean by that. In Matthew 13, you don't have to turn there, the Bible tells us in verse eight,
but other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
You guys have probably heard this preached before, but the seed that falls on the good ground, it brings forth fruit,
and it does so in these three clusters, if you will. The first a hundred, sixty, and then thirty.
And I apply this to soul winning. Some people might say, I have a goal of getting sixty people saved. Sixty people saved.
You know, that's not going to happen in a day. That's not going to happen in a week unless your name is, I don't know, Tyler Doka,
these bozo idiots who claim that they get like fifteen people saved every time they go out soul winning.
That's called infiltrator, okay? If you come back from the soul winning, I got twenty saved. Not so sure about that.
But here's my point. It takes, not going to happen in a day, not going to happen in a week, not going to happen, it'll take a year.
It'll take a year, and sometimes people don't even meet it in a year, but it's going to take an entire year.
It's going to take hours and hours of effort. Hours and hours of you going out and reaching people.
Hours and hours of people saying, I'm not interested. Why don't you have your mask on? No, no, no, you just have your mask.
Why are you out here knocking doors if you have your mask? Well, don't you have one on? If you have a mask on and I don't,
shouldn't that protect you? Kind of the same logic with the vaccine. But you know, you have to endure all that garbage
for that one person who says, yeah, sure, show me. And then you get them saved, right? It takes time.
And if you lack patience, you'll rage quit. This is actually a term in video games that people use when you just quit because you're losing.
People will just quit. They'll just rage quit from soul winning if they're not seeing immediate results.
Just like working out, you're not going to see immediate results with respect to soul winning.
If you want to get sixty saved, if you want to get a hundred saved, if you want to get thirty saved, it's going to take time.
These, I believe, are results that come from an entire year of knocking doors, house to house.
And if you lack patience, you're not going to see success. You're not going to see success.
There is no cheat code you can enter in to just give you the hundred salvations just like that.
It doesn't work that way in real life, okay? Go to Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs chapter 20.
Think about Bible reading. Think about Bible reading. Could you read the entire Bible in a week?
Well, I mean, obviously, if you just did that all day, right? But it's going to take time.
If you look up plans online, these plans will take you three months, six months. Excuse me.
Some of them will take you a year. Bible reading takes time. You've got to chip away at it little by little each and every single day.
And it takes the patience necessary for you to carve out some time during your day, sit down,
put the distractions away, put away the cell phone, put away everything that will distract you from the task at hand,
and sit down and read your Bible for the allotted time necessary for you to complete it during,
for example, a three month period, if that's what you're going for, or a six month period,
if that's what you're going for, or a year long period, if that's what you're going for.
And you know what helps me is a plan. That way I can check off every day that I'm done.
I can check it off on my plan so I can see the progress being made.
And psychologically that will help you to see it through to the end when you see how much progress you've made after a month, after two months, etc.
Memorization is the same way. If you want to memorize an entire chapter, it's not going to happen in one sitting,
unless you're, I guess, really, really good at it. But you do three or four verses a day and all of a sudden you'll have the whole chapter memorized
and you'll think to yourself, man, I didn't know I could even do that. That's how memorization works.
My fourth point, patience will help you leave the vengeance to God. Patience will help you leave the vengeance to God.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 20 verse 22, say not thou I will recompense evil, but pay attention to this part.
Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord and He shall save thee.
You know, avenging yourself, what's that a product of? It's a product of a hasty spirit.
Avenging yourself is the product of someone who doesn't have the patience to allow God to do it for them.
Instead, how about you do this? Wait on the Lord. Wait on God. Wait on the Lord to avenge you.
The Bible tells us in Romans 12, you don't have to turn there, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath,
for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, sayeth the Lord.
Vengeance belongs to God. Vengeance belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't belong to us.
And so if you have patience, if you're willing to wait on the Lord, let me tell you something right now,
that'll enable you not to go around avenging yourself, but rather you'll wait on God to do it.
Look at Psalm 59 if you would, Psalm chapter 59. Think of David's life.
He didn't kill Saul, although many people would ascertain that he would have been justified in doing so.
Many people would say, you know what, if I was in David's shoes, perhaps I would have taken Saul's life.
But David had patience. He didn't do it. He didn't avenge himself.
How about with regard to Shimei, also in David's life. Shimei cursed him and threw rocks at him.
And he said, I'm not doing anything. I'm not going to take care of this myself.
Solomon eventually did, which I think is a picture of the fact that hey, Solomon picturing God, David picturing us,
he forego avenging himself and it was Solomon who did it instead.
And if you choose not to avenge yourself and take matters into your own hands, God will do it for you.
And let me introduce you to this concept. There's nothing you could do that could ever match what he could do anyway.
Nothing. There's nothing you could do that could match the vengeance of God.
So have patience. Wait for him to avenge you rather than you avenge yourself.
Look what David wrote in Psalm 59 verse 2. Saul sent messengers to David's house to kill him.
And so that's the context of this, why this is being written.
Psalm 59 verse 2, deliver me from the workers of iniquity and save me from bloody men.
For lo, they lie in wait for my soul and the mighty are gathered against me, not for my transgression, not for my sin, O Lord.
How about this wonderful picture of Christ right here?
I think you could use this as a messianic psalm in the sense Jesus' enemies, they wanted him dead.
He was betrayed and he was slain on the cross, not for anything he did,
just to assure David here, his life being hunted, but not for any of the sins that he's committed.
Look at verse 6. Skip down to verse 6.
They return at evening. They make a noise like a dog and go round about the city.
You know, sodomites are dogs. Point that out.
Verse 7, behold, they bell-shout with their mouths, swords are in their lips, for who say they doth hear?
But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them. Thou shalt have all the heathen and derision because of his strength.
Will I wait upon thee, for God is my defense.
Who's his defense? It's God.
And so he didn't have to avenge himself because he was waiting on the Lord to do it.
Because he had the patience in his heart to wait on the Lord to do it.
He says, I will wait on God. He is my defense.
And so if you go through something like this where you have mockers,
where you have scoffers who are slandering you because of the work you're doing for the Lord,
even if it's people in your own family, even if it's people who you thought were your friends,
let me let you in on a little secret. God will avenge. You don't have to do it yourself.
You can just stay away from that person and let the Lord handle it.
And that takes patience. That takes patience.
Wait on God. Be patient and he will avenge.
How about this one? How about if a bunch of filthy, disgusting faggots, domestic terrorists,
vandalize and bomb a church like they did in El Monte, California called First Works Baptist Church?
How about you wait on God to avenge? And guess what? He will. He will.
If a bunch of domestic terrorists vandalize a Baptist church because they're willing to preach against the disgusting,
filthy sodomites of our world today, if they bomb a church, if they hate and they persecute
and they protest a church like that, wait on God. Be patient and he will avenge.
If it ever happens to Pure Words Baptist Church, my statement is the same.
Wait on God. Be patient and he will avenge.
I can guarantee you that because that's what the Bible says all throughout the Scriptures.
He will avenge. He will avenge. Wait on the Lord's vengeance.
Yes, God will pour out his wrath on those dogs. God will pour out his wrath on the enemies of the Lord.
God will pour out his wrath on these reprobates who bombed First Works Baptist Church.
God will pour out his wrath on the sewer rat scum who attacked Pastor Mejia,
who attacked his congregation, which thankfully they weren't in the building when it was vandalized or it could have been a lot worse.
These people who hate the Lord Jesus Christ, they're going to be recompensed.
They're going to be recompensed for what they do and all we have to do is this,
knowing this truth, understanding what the Bible says about this topic right here.
The only thing that we have to do, the only responsibility we have is to pray, wait and be patient because God will avenge.
You know, I heard the story about what happened to First Works. I'm sure Pastor Mejia will talk about it a little bit next week.
And it made me angry. It made me really, really angry that people would do that to a Bible believing Baptist Church.
It made me really angry to see how the news media covered it.
The New York Times and all these different leftist news outlets who put in the headline,
a church known for hateful views is bombed. They might as well be saying they deserved it.
That's what they're trying to articulate with a headline like that.
Here's what they're really saying. Church that deserved to be bombed and vandalized was bombed and vandalized by peaceful terrorists.
That's essentially what they're communicating with a headline, a stupid headline like that.
Gaslighting liars in the fake news media.
And it made me angry. It made me upset. But you know what brings me hope?
The fact that I know God will avenge. I don't have to avenge myself.
First Works Baptist Church does not have to avenge itself.
Pastor Bruce Mejia does not have to avenge himself or avenge his church.
We don't have to sink to their level and go bomb one of their fag bars or something like that.
We don't have to do that. God will take care of it.
Vengeance belongs to him. He will repay.
And so what do we have to do? Pray and be patient.
Pray and be patient. How about this?
Luke 18. It says this. You don't have to turn there, but in Luke 18, I'll just quote it for you. Verse 7.
It says,
You might cry day and night for God's vengeance.
Lord, please avenge these filthy sodomites who are defiling our eyes just by existing.
Oh, they don't live and let live. They do what they do in their home.
No, no, no. Just by existing they defile our eyes.
Just by existing.
And you might cry day and night for God's vengeance with respect to that area.
You might cry day and night for God to avenge us for the slanderers,
for those who engage in defamation against great men of God, against churches like ours.
You might cry day and night. And from our perspective, it might seemingly take forever for us to see God's wrath.
It might seemingly take forever to see the Lord avenge us.
But you know what? My Bible says here in Luke 18, from God's perspective, it's speedily.
He will speedily avenge.
So don't take matters into your own hands.
It's a spiritual warfare. It's a spiritual warfare.
I should say that we use this as our weapon in the midst of this spiritual warfare.
We don't have to go take literal weapons and make it a physical one.
It's not a physical battle for us.
So here's what I said in this sermon.
First of all, I gave you some verses about patience.
I gave you some examples of patience in the Scriptures.
We looked at Jacob. We looked at the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
We looked at Ezekiel. And then I offered this as an application.
I said, my first point, patience will equip you to stay steadfast.
I said patience will enable you to make responsible decisions.
And I used marriage as an example.
Even being in a marriage takes patience. Right, guys?
Point three, I said patience will help you achieve spiritual goals.
And the last point I made is that patience will help you leave the vengeance to God.
Yeah, I want to see God's enemies destroyed.
I want to see the Lord Jesus Christ take them out.
But here's the thing. It might not happen tomorrow.
It might not happen next week. It might not happen next month.
It might not happen next year. It might not even happen in this life.
But you know what? If they hated and rejected him, they're going to face God's wrath.
They're going to be avenged for all of eternity in the fiery torment of hell.
Praise God for that.
Patience is a crucial aspect of your Christian walk.
And so as this world seeks instant gratification for everything they do,
through video games and through the television set and through Hollywood,
as they seek instant gratification through the internet and mindless entertainment,
you stay the course. You stay the course.
Even if you don't get rewarded tomorrow for the work you're doing,
even if you don't see the manifestation of your good works for the Lord Jesus Christ
immediately, even if you don't get that immediate gratification for the things you do,
be patient. Not only will you benefit in your spiritual walk,
but it will also help you carnally as well. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for this church.
And Lord, I pray that you would help us to be patient.
I pray that you would help us, Lord, to not fall into the trap of instant gratification
that's pushed on us by the world through commercials and through propaganda
and through indoctrination, but rather help us to be patient.
Help us to wait on you to avenge us.
Help us to be patient so we can be steadfast and serve you for a long period of time.
Help us to be patient so we can make rational decisions in our lives.
Help us to be patient so we can be like our spiritual forefathers.
We love you, and Lord, I just pray that you would bless the soul anytime coming up later.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Alright, go ahead and pull your giggles out and sing our last song to the world.
Song number 100.
Song number 100, Day by Day.
Song number 100.
First day by day and with each passing moment
Strength I find to meet my trials here
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment
I've no cause for worry or for fear
He whose heart is fine beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what he deems best
Lovingly is part of pain and pleasure
Mingling toil with peace and rest
Every day the Lord himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour
All my cares he bane would bear and cheer me
He whose name is counselor and power
The protection of his child and treasure
Is a charge that on himself he lays
As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure
This the pledge to be made
Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust thy promises, O Lord
That I lose not faith's sleep consolation
Offered me within thy holy word
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting
Ere to take as from a father's hand
One by one the days the moment's fleeting
Till I reach the promised land
Man, you are dismissed.
Blessed day.
You are dismissed.