Good Things Come...
Sunday Evening English Worship
March 3, 2019 - 5:00 pm
Messenger: Don Frank
Bible Passage: 2 Peter 3:9
Introduction: It’s a joy to be back with you all again this evening. Little by little, it’s nice to see the weather warming up and the snow melting. I think it’s kind of hard to be patient during the long winter months, especially with all this snow we have to shovel!
And speaking of patience, we have a couple of interesting proverbs in English about the word patience. The first one that comes to my mind is “Patience is a virtue.“ It may be a good thing to have in our lives, but it’s pretty tough sometimes to have patience. Another proverb that many people know is “Good things come to those who wait.“ This one is actually one of my favorites and has had a big impact on my life. As I have gone through my life, I have waited on the Lord and he has brought many good things into my life.
My elder dog, Vivian, has discovered the same thing. She has turned out to be quite a patient dog. Whenever it’s time to eat, she always waits patiently even if it takes a long time for the food bowl to come. And it’s the same way at bedtime. She will just wait and wait in front of the bedroom door for me to get the futons put down and then she goes right in to go to sleep.
And this is next aspect of God that I’d like to talk about this evening - God's patience. In January, we talked about God‘s abundance and then last month, I had the pleasure of sharing about God‘s lovingkindness.
1. The Lord Is Patient.
So, let’s begin tonight by looking at a very beautiful teaching from the New Testament. Why don’t you open up your Bibles to 2 Peter 3:9 and let’s look at our first Bible passage together.
2 Peter 3:9 (CEV) - The Lord isn't slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.
This is one of so many Bible passages that talks about God being patient. I love this one. Here Peter is telling us that even though we may think God may be too slow, He’s not. Instead He’s patient. God has His own right timing. And when He decides it's the right time, then He will act. Why is He waiting so long? Because He WANTS everyone to turn from their sins! He has compassion and love for all of his creation! He wants all people to come to know Him.
2. Let's Be Patient Too.
Now, let’s turn back to the Old Testament and see what King David has to tell us. Let’s read: Psalm 37:7 (CEV) - Be patient and trust the LORD. Don't let it bother you when all goes well for those who do sinful things.
Just like my last 2 messages, God wants us to share in His abundance and His lovingkindness and so it is with His patience. But to be honest, this is such a tough one to put into practice. And this brings me back in my mind to a saying I heard a long time ago about answers to prayer. The saying goes, "God answers prayer in 3 ways. He says 'Yes' and gives you what you want. He says 'No' and gives you something better. Or He says 'Wait' and then He gives you the best!" I really like that expression and It has become one of my favorites over the years.
Now, to ask God to give you patience is a fairly dangerous prayer. You see, if you ask for this, God may well put you in a tough situation to strengthen your patience! But if you're here tonight finding yourself playing the waiting game with God, then I can give you some nice advice from this Scripture: Trust the Lord. We can only see this hard time we are going through, but God can see the whole of our lives, from beginning to end! Good things will come to those who wait - and trust in our Lord!
3. His Power Will Be Ours.
Another very beautiful Bible passage, one of so many talking about patience is: Colossians 1:11-12 (NLT) - We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
I'm sure that there are many people in our world, even people that are close to us, that believe praying for each other really doesn't have any merit. But the apostle Paul completely disagrees with this! We can receive God's glorious power through prayer. Then we'll get all the endurance and patience we need for that situation. Then on top of that, our hearts will be filled with joy and thanksgiving. And the promise for the future is that we will get an "inheritance" with all of God's people of light!
4. And Then We Will Fly.
But I do have one more very special Scripture passage that I'd like to share with you this evening. Please turn in your Bibles to a very famous verse: Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) - But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
I can't count how many times I have relied on this promise. And it has become even more special to me as I have learned the song that goes with this verse. We sing it often here at our church, both in English and Japanese. Isaiah tells us that as we wait patiently with hope for the Lord, that God will give us an abundance of strength, so much so that it will seem like we're flying with wings like an eagle. No matter how much we run, we won't get tired and even though we walk for what seems like forever, we won't pass out! Now, that's a promise that you can take right to the Bank of Heaven and cash it in as much as you want!
Conclusion: Now, as our time is coming to an end, let's take one more quick look at the aspects of God we've seen so far. In January, God has said that He'd fill your life with abundance. Then in February, we saw how much lovingkindness the Lord showers upon us everyday. And so far this evening, we've seen that God is amazingly patient with us humans, His creations - and especially us believers, His children.
Closing Prayer: Let's close out our evening by reading together our main Bible passage this evening.
2 Peter 3:9 (CEV)
The Lord isn't slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.
Now let's look at our closing prayer, based on God's Word and pray it back to Him together:
Dear gracious Heavenly Father, thank you so much for bringing us together in this place for such sweet fellowship this evening. We want to thank you from our hearts for loving us, being so patient with us and forgiving us every moment of everyday. Help us to love, forgive and be patient with all those people around us always. Keep us safe as we go from this place. And please bring us back again soon for more great time in Your Word. We pray this now in Jesus' precious name, Amen.
March 3, 2019 - 5:00 pm
Messenger: Don Frank
Bible Passage: 2 Peter 3:9
Introduction: It’s a joy to be back with you all again this evening. Little by little, it’s nice to see the weather warming up and the snow melting. I think it’s kind of hard to be patient during the long winter months, especially with all this snow we have to shovel!
And speaking of patience, we have a couple of interesting proverbs in English about the word patience. The first one that comes to my mind is “Patience is a virtue.“ It may be a good thing to have in our lives, but it’s pretty tough sometimes to have patience. Another proverb that many people know is “Good things come to those who wait.“ This one is actually one of my favorites and has had a big impact on my life. As I have gone through my life, I have waited on the Lord and he has brought many good things into my life.
My elder dog, Vivian, has discovered the same thing. She has turned out to be quite a patient dog. Whenever it’s time to eat, she always waits patiently even if it takes a long time for the food bowl to come. And it’s the same way at bedtime. She will just wait and wait in front of the bedroom door for me to get the futons put down and then she goes right in to go to sleep.
And this is next aspect of God that I’d like to talk about this evening - God's patience. In January, we talked about God‘s abundance and then last month, I had the pleasure of sharing about God‘s lovingkindness.
1. The Lord Is Patient.
So, let’s begin tonight by looking at a very beautiful teaching from the New Testament. Why don’t you open up your Bibles to 2 Peter 3:9 and let’s look at our first Bible passage together.
2 Peter 3:9 (CEV) - The Lord isn't slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.
This is one of so many Bible passages that talks about God being patient. I love this one. Here Peter is telling us that even though we may think God may be too slow, He’s not. Instead He’s patient. God has His own right timing. And when He decides it's the right time, then He will act. Why is He waiting so long? Because He WANTS everyone to turn from their sins! He has compassion and love for all of his creation! He wants all people to come to know Him.
2. Let's Be Patient Too.
Now, let’s turn back to the Old Testament and see what King David has to tell us. Let’s read: Psalm 37:7 (CEV) - Be patient and trust the LORD. Don't let it bother you when all goes well for those who do sinful things.
Just like my last 2 messages, God wants us to share in His abundance and His lovingkindness and so it is with His patience. But to be honest, this is such a tough one to put into practice. And this brings me back in my mind to a saying I heard a long time ago about answers to prayer. The saying goes, "God answers prayer in 3 ways. He says 'Yes' and gives you what you want. He says 'No' and gives you something better. Or He says 'Wait' and then He gives you the best!" I really like that expression and It has become one of my favorites over the years.
Now, to ask God to give you patience is a fairly dangerous prayer. You see, if you ask for this, God may well put you in a tough situation to strengthen your patience! But if you're here tonight finding yourself playing the waiting game with God, then I can give you some nice advice from this Scripture: Trust the Lord. We can only see this hard time we are going through, but God can see the whole of our lives, from beginning to end! Good things will come to those who wait - and trust in our Lord!
3. His Power Will Be Ours.
Another very beautiful Bible passage, one of so many talking about patience is: Colossians 1:11-12 (NLT) - We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
I'm sure that there are many people in our world, even people that are close to us, that believe praying for each other really doesn't have any merit. But the apostle Paul completely disagrees with this! We can receive God's glorious power through prayer. Then we'll get all the endurance and patience we need for that situation. Then on top of that, our hearts will be filled with joy and thanksgiving. And the promise for the future is that we will get an "inheritance" with all of God's people of light!
4. And Then We Will Fly.
But I do have one more very special Scripture passage that I'd like to share with you this evening. Please turn in your Bibles to a very famous verse: Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) - But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
I can't count how many times I have relied on this promise. And it has become even more special to me as I have learned the song that goes with this verse. We sing it often here at our church, both in English and Japanese. Isaiah tells us that as we wait patiently with hope for the Lord, that God will give us an abundance of strength, so much so that it will seem like we're flying with wings like an eagle. No matter how much we run, we won't get tired and even though we walk for what seems like forever, we won't pass out! Now, that's a promise that you can take right to the Bank of Heaven and cash it in as much as you want!
Conclusion: Now, as our time is coming to an end, let's take one more quick look at the aspects of God we've seen so far. In January, God has said that He'd fill your life with abundance. Then in February, we saw how much lovingkindness the Lord showers upon us everyday. And so far this evening, we've seen that God is amazingly patient with us humans, His creations - and especially us believers, His children.
Closing Prayer: Let's close out our evening by reading together our main Bible passage this evening.
2 Peter 3:9 (CEV)
The Lord isn't slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.
Now let's look at our closing prayer, based on God's Word and pray it back to Him together:
Dear gracious Heavenly Father, thank you so much for bringing us together in this place for such sweet fellowship this evening. We want to thank you from our hearts for loving us, being so patient with us and forgiving us every moment of everyday. Help us to love, forgive and be patient with all those people around us always. Keep us safe as we go from this place. And please bring us back again soon for more great time in Your Word. We pray this now in Jesus' precious name, Amen.