Faith and Patience; Healing School Aug 14th 2023

(Wisdom Revelation) Patience has a twin—faith. Kenneth Copeland calls patience and faith “the power twins,” and with good reason. Often looked at as a giant goal to attain, patience is more like the vehicle that takes your faith to the finish line—where manifestation and victory are found. In fact, faith won’t get you where you want to go if patience isn’t there to undergird it, strengthen it and keep it from caving in. (Kenneth Copeland)

James 1:2-4 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But, let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

So faith has an adversary, a spiritual one named satan, which can mess with your mind if you let "it". Sometimes we can be tempted to give up. Quitting early is only valid on Fridays! You may want to quit on Monday but you won't get a paycheck that week! Remember Mark chapter 4:35-41 "On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Can you blame them? They had no faith or patience in that scenario. They didn't realize that Jesus had authority over the wind and the sea. Satan had them so scared they gave in to fear and were aiding the enemy in trying to sink their ship and all the other ships! Jesus seemed a little miffed after being roused from a nice nap to have to rebuke the sea, but He was probably more stern because He had been teaching them about faith all day and they didn't get it!

What about other times when death doesn't seem eminent? You are just looking to get over your rash and not have to deal with it anymore. Watch what the scripture says and not what the circumstances say. The enemy will try and get you to take your mind off of the goal and tell you your faith is useless and won't work, in other terms - give up! Don't get mad at God, point that anger at the enemy!

What is patience's perfect work?

Lacking nothing. Nothing. You don't lack faith, or any of the fruit of the Spirit. The scripture says in Colossians 2:10, "You are complete in Him who is the head of every principality and power." This shows us that every spiritual blessing already belongs to us including authority over the enemy. What is there to be afraid of? If God be for us who (or what) can be against us? We are expected to be moved only by the Word of God by the Spirit of God within us. If we talk lack, we will be calling or drawing it towards us! There is no higher law than God's Word. Don't ever give in to the pressure of the situation and fold. We all know satan comes immediately to steal the Word. How? Perhaps a large distraction, or emergency, or time constraint or lack of patience.

I think we need to define patience. In James 1:4, in Strongsit is defined as patient enduring. It is the characteristic of a man who is unmoved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. Perseverance is used in the NAS translation.

Websters says, "Persevering; constant in pursuit or exertion; calmly diligent. Not hasty; not over eager or impetuous; waiting or expecting with calmness or without discontent."

There you have it, a virtuous, calm, relaxing experience, with no worries or fear, just a cake walk, sailing on a cloud on a sunny day! Just kidding. Not what fighting the good fight of faith is all about! The fight of faith is all about commitment, right? You only dress for war if you intend to fight! You are on one side or the other. You must become a defender of God's Word! One must be confident or fully persuaded to get started and stay on this journey.

Let's go to the Fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter 5 Paul is discussing contrasts between being justified by the Law versus freedom in Christ. He exhorts us to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, or human nature without God. He says in verse 18, " But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law." What do we need to know about the Holy Spirit within us to walk by faith? The attributes of God, known as the fruit of the Spirit, are verse 22-24 "But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit is love, (agape) joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faith,23 Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind; but now in verse 13 it says, "But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Because faith and patience are fruit of the Holy Spirit, verse 23 states, " Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]."

No spiritual law has any precedence, or ability greater than the fruit of the Spirit. We are talking about the Spirit of God's makeup. No devil or angel or other has any power greater than God's. When we are walking and standing on God's side in the fruit of the Spirit (His Spirit) who can come against and overcome us? Romans 8:37-39 agrees with this. "37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Satan might come to take away our confidence but if we have the God kind of patience, that patience will not be moved. We will not be moved. We will be standing on the solid rock of God's Word which is the power of God unto our salvation! You see, there is no fear in patience. So you don't have to fear. The steadiness of our Father will keep us steady. Let me ask you something. Did God shed His Love abroad in our hearts by His Holy Spirit? Then guess what else is in you. Yeah, Joy, Peace Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness, Self Control Faithfulness all together with Love! These spiritual forces of God are with us when we set out to trust our Father for anything.

Standing on the Word

We are talking about faith and patience together bringing about the will of God (promises) through appropriation. We see the written Word and what it promises and are applying our belief and faith to see it come into manifestation. But we are making a distinction between faith and belief in that belief is the first step in coming into (fully matured) faith and partnership with God over something contained in His Word. Remember the Word is His Power.It is also worth mentioning the peopleof Jesus day who sought healing went through a process of transformation from belief into faith by thinking what they heard about Jesus over and over. They probably saw themselves at Jesus feet in their minds eye and Him speaking life to them. You know, we can do the same thing. Romans 1:16, Seed time and harvest also are a part of the faith manifestation. "Whatsoever a man shall (sow into his heart) that also shall he reap." Galatians 6:7 'Whatsoever 'is anything the Word says we can have.

We also have need of maturity in walking in the fruit of the Spirit. There is a growth process here also. Growth in Love for instance comes through understanding of what God says it is and also that he has commanded us to love Him, our neighbors, and ourselves. Feeding ourselves on love scriptures will accomplish this. But be patient!

Patience can be defined as staying consistently the same in our faith and perseverance until the seed produces a harvest. We don’t know how long it will take - we stay in faith with patience until the promise is manifested.

Hebrews 11:6"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 6:12 "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." You ever see a sloth climbing a tree? Don't be that way, you will probably not reach the top!

How to gain patience

Ask your Father for It. Since patience is a necessary ingredient in the faith equation, effort on our part is required. Oh no, homework! That's right. Study and implement! You want robust and determined faith which produces mountain moving ability. So if it doesn't show up right away, stay with it and it will. We are to wear it out and not let it wear us out! Wishing and hoping won't get it done. This is not a single moment of decision to walk in faith and patience but a taking of ground in your mind and then sticking with it. We hear, obey and act on what we know. We also have to practice things like patience so that we can grow in them. Remember what James 1:4-8 said, " 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and shames not; and it shall be given him.6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

Most of us need self discovery in this area, and to help you I've added some questions you can use to define your attitudes, positive or negative, for instance:

· Do you fly off the handle easily in traffic?

· Quick to criticize?

· Frustrated easily?

· Are you constantly in a hurry to get somewhere?

· Expect others to live up to your standards?

· Think the worst of people?

· Yell at the news on TV?

All of these negatives and more can be turned into positives through the force of patience working through love because love is patient! The fruit of the Spirit can change our outlook from selfish to unselfish.

Hebrews 10:36 "For you have need of endurance (patience), so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Not many walking in patience these days, because not many are walking in the Spirit. Most are walking in the flesh. Just think if you were able to walk in the Holy Spirit perfectly by all the fruit of the Spirit daily. You could be getting Jesus kind of results daily.

If you want to be good at something you will need to practice it every day. You will be training for the marathon of faith by doing your patience sprints, no laps, no, 3 mile run, no! As far as you can go and then farther the next day! Every day. Keep in mind you want to stand until you don't need to anymore. Maybe you need a coach, Jillian Michaels! Call her up and tell her you need her here yesterday, whatever you need to do!

So what does Love have to do with it? To start, love can stop you from being angry at people. Your intentions are good but not enough to see you through, so we are talking about real change which involves determination to walk with the Lord and not your own efforts. Because Love is patient we need to major first on this and then add the rest of the fruit. Correct yourself. You know when you decide to buy a new car, a certain model, then you start looking at pictures or others driving that model. Before long just driving down the road you are seeing that car everywhere! You can get to the place of seeing Love opportunities everywhere just by looking for it. My, my looks like somebody needs a hug today! Would a $20 help things out? Maybe I'll give myself a hug today!

Start quoting 1 Corinthians13 to yourself: I love God, I love all people including myself, I am patient, I am kind, I seek the good of others, I am not provoked, I think no evil, I rejoice in the truth, I bear all things, believe all things, hope and endure all things. My love never fails! Do it daily!

Patience gains the upper hand

Making a plan can be helpful. Think through possible scenarios and come up with alternative responses if necessary.

· I have patience with others

· I am a patient friend

· I am a patient worker, (not slow in action)

· I assume the best about others, not perfection

· I am never frustrated with myself

· I am patient with myself

· I endure patiently

· Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith

· I practice God's kind of patience

· I am anointed with His patience

Wait on it

Just because the world wanted it there yesterday doesn't mean we should expect that. Many times this is unreasonable. We are not the king or queen and everybody doesn't need to let us be first in line! If we plan our time better maybe frustration won't come? You are prepping for the harvest for which you have sown seeds. No overnighters guaranteed. We are headed for victory by out waiting the enemy! You can do it. Don't rip up your seedlings with rash words! I say let faith and patience have their perfect work and you'll end up perfect and complete.

Smokey and the Bandit-(1977) Smokey and the Bandit - Big Enos and Little Enos Burdette make a deal with Burt Reynolds (Bandit) and Jerry Reid (Snowman) to run a Coors Beer loaded semi from Atlanta to Texarkana and back in 28 hours, Illegally (bootlegging) and collect $80 thousand dollars doing it. Burt Reynolds drove a 1976 Trans Am to "block" for the semi or draw law enforcement's attention away from the semi. Our heroes faced roadblocks, police chases, distractions , angry bikers, and a police helicopter. Remember the song, "Eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin' We gonna do what they say can't be done. We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there, I'm east bound, just watch ole' "Bandit" run.

Well here it is , a perfect example of faith and patience. (not exactly the God kind of Faith ) but it will do. 

1.    It was a faith challenge.

2.    It involved perseverance - Patience!

3.    There was monetary gain to be had, (reward)

4.    Obstacles to be overcome!

5.    They had to always keep on track

6.    Being always vigilant- running the race

7.    The goal and finish line was what they were after 

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, seeing we also are compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."