"Patience with Others" 12-11-22

Overview

Patience with Others

Paul's exhortation in Colossians 3:12–13 begins not with a command but with a declaration of identity. Before God ever said "let there be," He chose us in Christ Ephesians 1:4. We are His chosen ones, holy (clothed in the righteous garments of Christ in what Luther called "the great exchange"), and beloved—for "this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" 1 John 4:10. We so often define ourselves by our roles and occupations, but God says: this is who you are. Everything else is merely how that identity gets expressed.

Out of that reality flows the call: "Put on then…compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." Compassion is the active expression of mercy and pity. Kindness is a loving disposition toward others. Humility counts the other as more important than ourselves. Meekness is not weakness but controlled strength—like someone strong enough to carry a heavy stone yet able to set it gently on a glass table. And patience is what we learn from God Himself, who is described again and again as "slow to anger" (Psalm 103:8; Psalm 86:15; Joel 2:13). The Hebrew idiom is vivid—"long of nostrils"—the picture of one who takes a long time before anger ever vents. The Greek word makrothumia carries the same idea: "long to anger." Be slow to become hot.

But what about the person who pushes our buttons, the situation that never resolves, the call that never comes? Verse 13 answers: "bearing with one another, and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." Bearing with one another doesn't mean suffering in silence or refusing to address what needs addressing—it means a continual recognition that there is only one perfect One, and we are not Him, and neither is the person beside us. Forgiveness is not condoning, not forgetting (only God can do that— Psalm 103:12), and not necessarily reconciliation. Forgiveness is grace—undeserved love that lets go and sends away what was done or what should have been done. And it is something we will likely have to do again and again with the same people over the same things, just as Christ keeps forgiving us.

Here is the freeing truth: patience is not something we white-knuckle into existence. It appears in the same Greek word in Galatians 5:22–23 as a fruit of the Spirit. God does not redeem us and then say, "grit your teeth and get patient." He clothes us. He empowers what He calls us to. So consider today: who in your life simply needs you to show a little grace? Who needs you to bear with them, to forgive, to be slow to anger? The One who chose you, made you holy, and called you beloved is even now clothing you for exactly that.

Transcript

Would you open your Bibles please with me to Colossians the 3rd chapter? 3s

If you're using a few additions, Colossians is in the New Testament, page 178, Colossians 7s

the 3rd chapter for our study today. 14s

Cindy and our office as part of her responsibilities puts together each week the bulletin 17s

that you hold in your hands. 23s

She does an excellent job at that doesn't she? 25s

And as part of putting it together what she receives from Pastor Maloneck and myself 27s

is a sermon title. 32s

And then she goes to put a graphic on that bulletin. 36s

I'm always intrigued what kind of graphic is she will come up with? 42s

And this week it was once again one of those great graphics. 46s

Look at that with me. 51s

Would you please? 52s

There's a line of people there. 52s

The sermon title patients with others. 56s

And then there's that red person there at the end. 60s

That person in the red just kind of impatiently pushing on the line. 63s

Have you ever been that red person? 74s

Or perhaps I should ask it this way. 81s

Is there any exception among us? 85s

Probably not. 90s

Probably not. 92s

In the first sermon in the series on patients we studied that great text from second 95s

Peter the 3rd chapter that talks about the patience of God. 101s

The God is patient wanting all to come to repentance. 106s

Last week we took a look at Micah 6. 111s

And we saw how patience is linked with the humble walk. 114s

You recall what the humble walk is. 119s

That humble walk is that walk of that awareness. 121s

Where we understand who God is, what he's done in our dependence upon him. 126s

And with that awareness we then can wait upon him patiently. 133s

Well today we continue with the 3rd sermon in this series. 142s

And we're going to talk about patience. 148s

But this time patience with others. 153s

With others. 160s

To do so we turned to Colossians the 3rd chapter. 162s

Now you'll recall a few weeks ago when we were in the great full series. 166s

We studied from Colossians the 3rd chapter. 169s

You'll recall that we picked up in verse 14 and following. 172s

So we're going to loop back now to this chapter. 175s

But we're going to go backwards. 178s

We're going to go to verses 12 and 13 for our study today. 180s

Because what is revealed in these two verses is reality and call. 185s

The reality of our identity and our call as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 191s

Look at the glorious description of our identity here. 197s

This reality. Verse 12. 203s

As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved. 207s

Now let's just pause there. 215s

As God's chosen ones. 218s

I think of Ephesians the 1st chapter where it says, 222s

He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before 224s

Him in love. 234s

Before God ever said, let there be God had chosen us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 237s

God had chosen us to be His 250s

own. 254s

That beautiful, beautiful word that God chose us and that God chose us before the foundations of the world 257s

were evenly. 270s

As God's chosen ones, then He says, holy. 273s

Holy. Remember the key word there. 279s

Justified in association with holy. 281s

Remember what justified means to be made just as if we never sinned. 285s

You see, we receive the righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ. He takes our sin upon 291s

Him at the cross. He gives to us of His righteous garments. What Luther called the great exchange. 296s

Luther also said that those who are baptized have put on the holy garment which is 304s

Jesus. 316s

Chosen, holy, third word, beloved, beloved. 319s

First John, if this is love in this is love, 327s

not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 332s

Love of that is your reality. That is your identity. 343s

We so often want to define our identity by our roles, our occupations, what it is that we do, 350s

no God defines our identity for us. He says, this is who you are. 359s

All of the other stuff is how you express your identity. 367s

This is who you are. You're chosen, holy, beloved. 371s

With that reality, with that identity then, by God's grace, it expresses itself. 383s

Here comes the exhortation going on in the verse 12. Right after he says, 393s

chosen, holy and beloved, then the exhortation, close yourselves with compassion, kindness, 398s

humility, meekness. What's compassion? 406s

Pity, mercy, and sympathy. The expression of pity, mercy, and sympathy. 414s

Close yourself, the exhortation. You who are chosen and holding, 424s

below, close yourself with kindness. It's a loving disposition towards others. 428s

A loving disposition toward others. It's a concern for others. He goes on and says, 436s

close yourself with humility. What's humility? It's putting the other person first, 445s

counting the other as more important than yourself. He says, close yourself with meekness, 455s

with meekness. So often we think, and we equate being meek with weak. It's not the meaning of the word, 465s

meekness is controlled strength. The image is someone with a huge heavy rock that can carry 474s

that rock and then gently lay it on a glass table. That's controlled strength. That's meekness. 484s

God said, here's your identity. This is your reality. Your chosen, your holy, and your beloved. 497s

And then the exhortation. So because of who you are, close yourself. 505s

Close yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness. And then here it comes. 511s

Patience. Patience. 523s

We learn what patience is from God. We learn what patience is from God. I think of Psalm 103. 531s

There it says, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding instead fast love. 547s

That phrase there, slow to anger literally in the Hebrew, it's long in nostrils. Now that's 562s

image with regard to God, isn't it? That God is long in nostrils. Now, why is that image given here? 571s

Have you ever been angry? And if you ever expressed your anger by forcing the air through your nose? 584s

You get angry. And out comes the air through your nose as that's vented. The image here is of God 593s

with long nostrils to where he vents anger through the extent of his nostrils. 601s

He's long in nostril. In other words, his patience, his patience. 616s

Book of Joel 2nd chapter says, return to the Lord your God, his gracious and merciful, 625s

merciful, slow to anger and abounding instead fast love and relance from punishing. 630s

Psalm 86, but you, O Lord, are a God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding instead fast love 639s

and faithfulness. The word there in the Greek for patience were called to close ourselves with patience. 650s

The Greek word is macro-thumia. Macro-thumia. Break it down. Macro-th means long-thumia means hot. 660s

It means anger. So remember, what's the image of God, long in nostril? The word here then for patience? 671s

Be long to anger. Be long to be coming angry. Be patient. Be patient. 680s

All that sounds great. Doesn't that sounds great? But what about the person that just pushes your 703s

body or body? What about the situation that never ever, ever, seems to get resolved? It just goes on and on and on. 716s

What about waiting for the news to come and you're told this is when you're going to get contacted on this? 739s

And the call never comes. They said they would call you at this time and they don't. What about those times? 752s

Ever feel? Like the person? In the red on the bulletin cover? 767s

6.5 billion of them be here. Nine out of ten households will buy at least one. 785s

7 out of ten households say that they are absolutely or almost essential for their lives. 800s

You weren't talking about? Greeting cards. Greeting cards. 814s

Most popular, of course, is the birthday greeting card. But I saw one the other day. I saw one the other day that caught my attention. 822s

You can stand in the aisle in front of in front of greeting cards and you can write a whole bunch of sermon series. 834s

By just looking at greeting cards. Just looking at them. Well, this one stuck out at me and it said this. 844s

Thanks for putting up with me. I know you like a challenge. 855s

Thanks for putting up with me. I know you like a challenge. 863s

That greeting card is actually quite biblical. It's quite biblical. Thanks for putting up with me. 870s

You see what contributes to patients? You don't have to look very far. 885s

Back to verse 12 again. 894s

Chosen Holy Beloved. Clothe yourself, compassion, kindness, humility, 898s

meekness and patience. And look at verse 13. Butrists write up with patience there. And that whole list. 903s

Butrists write up against it. Bear with one another. 913s

Or put up with one another. Put up with one another. 923s

Now, that doesn't mean here that you don't talk about what needs to be talked about. That's not what it means. 932s

It doesn't mean here that you have to suffer in silence. 942s

Notice, it's a present part of simple. That means it's that what you continually do constantly 946s

in the moment, in the present. You continually do it. And what's it pointing to? 960s

It's pointing to the understanding that there is only one perfect one. And we're not him. 971s

And we're cold to have that understanding with each other. That understanding 987s

that the person I'm dealing with is not perfect. And neither am I to put up with to bear with the other. 1000s

How do you do that? You don't have to look far. Do you? 1024s

Verse 13, right after it says, bear with one another. It says, and if anyone has a complaint against another, 1034s

forgive each other. How do we put up with one another? How do we bear one another? 1044s

In all of our sinfulness and imperfection, how do we do that? We do that by forgiving. Now, 1056s

remember, forgiving is not condoning. For giving does not necessarily mean reconciliation. 1062s

For giving does not mean forgetting. Because we can't forget as human beings. God is the only 1076s

one that can forget. God is the one that says, I cast your sin as far as the east is from the west. 1086s

I remember your sins no more. So forgiveness isn't condoning. For giving is not forgetting. 1092s

forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean reconciliation. What is forgiveness? For giving is showing the 1104s

other grace. Grace. For giving is understanding that there's one perfect person and that other 1115s

person isn't that perfect person and neither are we. It's showing the other person. Grace. Grace is 1130s

undeserved. If grace were deserved, then grace wouldn't be. Grace. What it? 1142s

In other words, forgiveness that we see in the scripture is the word that means to let go, 1154s

to send away. So one shows grace then undeserved. 1162s

Undeserved love as one sends away. What was said, what was done, what should have been done, 1172s

it wasn't done, one sends it away. And beloved, that is something that is something 1187s

that more likely than not we have to keep doing all the time sending the same thing away. 1198s

And why? We don't have to look far, do we? For a look what comes next in verse 13, 1219s

just as the Lord has forgiven you so you also must forgive. Just as. 1232s

The Lord Jesus Christ bearing all of our sin upon him, giving to us his righteousness, 1247s

saying from the cross it is finished. The payment has been made in full reconciliation with God 1255s

effected because of the breach that sin had caused in the relationship. 1265s

We are called to forgive just as Jesus forgives us. As God's chosen ones, holy, beloved, 1274s

to close yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, 1292s

bear with one another. And if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other. 1299s

Just as the Lord has forgiven you so you also must forgive. 1307s

Patience is linked with putting up with, putting up with is linked with forgiveness. 1316s

Forgiveness, the ability to do it is linked to Jesus. 1332s

Macro-thumia. You know what's really interesting about this too? 1347s

It's guess where that word shows up again. Guess where it shows up again? 1356s

Why? It's over in Galatians, the fifth chapter. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 1365s

patience, patience. It's the same word, the same word. And as the fruit of the Spirit goes 1381s

on, there's patience just embedded almost right in the middle of it. Patience, it's the same word. 1390s

What does that tell us? It tells us that patience, patience is God's gift to us. 1398s

Patience is the work of God in our lives. God doesn't say to us. I've redeemed you. You are 1408s

your teeth and get patient. No. He says, I call you to this and I'll empower this because it's a fruit. 1422s

It's an action. It's a gift of the Spirit. Not self-generated. 1437s

Other generated from God. Who is it? Who is it today that you just need to show a little grace 1447s

to? Who is it today that you just need to show patience? Beloved, he is clothing you for just 1469s

that. 1493s