The Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures

Each and every Sabbath, as we come to services, we assemble, and it's for a very specific reason, obviously it's in response to God's call, right? This is a commanded assembly, but there are certain things we're to get out of this service that are of value. And again, certainly fellowship is one of those, very clear and direct, but one of the main and primary focuses that we come together each Sabbath is to explore God's Word. You know, we open the Bible and we understand as we approach the Word of God, it's our instruction book.

Back before the Feast of Tabernacles, I gave a sermon and I talked about in the book of Ezra, Nehemiah, how they opened up the law, right? And it was read and the people stood up. They were in the presence of God's Word, and it was such a special blessing. They were in captivity for decades before that in Babylon, and now here's this remnant, and God's Word is open now to be presented to them. And they stood up and on respect that this this is instruction for our life. And so that's why we come together in each Sabbath, and we have sermonettes, we have sermons, it's to explore God's Word and to be encouraged by what it is that we read.

And it's the goal of each person that speaks, then to give us something that we can take home as a nugget of truth to hold on to during the week, to consider, to meditate upon, and to allow it to improve our lives. For my sermon today, I'd like to highlight a couple of aspects of God's Word that I believe are very important for us to grab hold of and to keep in our focus during the times in which we live.

And those are patience and comfort, specifically. Patience and comfort. It's important, brethren, that we seek out both of those qualities in God's Word on a regular basis. Patience and comfort. Because life is becoming more and more challenging, right? More and more obstacles in this world for the people of God who seek to live this way. And these are things that, number one, we must develop. Patience. We need it to endure into the kingdom of God and to make our way through this world. And, frankly, comfort along the way as well. Because as God's people, living this way, there are times we will get, so we say, battered around, bruised, beat up, and we need the comfort that comes from the Word of God as well.

So those two are so critically important for us. So today, I want to look into the Bible and pull out some elements of patience and comfort. This isn't necessarily going to be a topical study of, you know, have patience, have patience, or be comforted, although those scriptures are all throughout the Word. And we'll look at one or two along the way. I primarily, though, want to pull out illustrations in action of patience and comfort, as in people who lived patiently and were comforted in various ways.

And then we look at their life example, and it's from that then that we draw our patience and comfort today. So the title of my message is, The Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures. The patience and comfort of the scriptures is actually a reference that comes directly from the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 15. So I want to begin there today, Romans chapter 15, and we'll start in verse 4.

Again, patience and comfort. Romans chapter 15 and verse 4, Paul says, for whatever things were written before were written for our learning. You know, before would be at least clearly what we call the Old Testament. There's not in the Word of God that distinction, Old and New Testament, but the scriptures. You know, Paul told Timothy the scriptures were given by inspiration of God, and they're valuable for many applications.

We're talking, again, what we would generally call the Old Testament, but then that was added on as the writings of the apostles became clear that they were acknowledging those as scripture as well. But he's just saying again in verse 4, whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. So God in His mercy has recorded the Bible for our benefit. You know, these are His words, and it wasn't like they were spoken, spoken by the prophet, given by the messenger, and then just never heard from again.

They were written. They were recorded and preserved. You know, they were bound up in a book and have stood the test of time to where they've come down to us today, and we can study them, and we indeed can learn. The stories recorded in the Old and the New Testament are there to teach us, and they're there to strengthen us and to comfort us, and ultimately to give us hope in God's perfect plan of salvation. That's what Paul says, that this patience and comfort ultimately results in it is hope.

It is hope in what God has set before us, and indeed what He will fulfill. That the God who knows the end from the beginning, because He has declared it, has both the power and the ability and the determination to bring it to pass, and it will pass. But we have hope in taking comfort and exercising patience. Verse 5, Paul says, now may the God of patience and comfort, the God of patience and comfort, because you see, He is the source from which this word springs.

May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded towards one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with notice one mind and one mouth. Glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So again, God is the God of patience and comfort, and He's given us the word of patience and comfort, and it's what we're to take on today. And He says, you know, if you do that, and it then brings glory to God when you praise Him with one mouth, when you walk, and you exemplify one mind as His people together.

So sort of as a side thread to this, what we need to understand is that God is all about taking multiples and making them one. And you might say, well, what does that have to do with comfort and patience? I'll just bear with me for a second. God is all about taking multiples and making them one. In the beginning, God created one man and one woman, two individuals, but He said through the marriage covenant, He bound them together as one. Right? So now they're no longer two, but one.

That takes patience, doesn't it, on our part. That takes work. You take an individual from one household and an individual from another household may be brought up quite differently. Now they come together and they're going to form not their parents' households, but their own household, and they have to find what works in their relationship. That takes some patience. That takes some work. But what is the ultimate result when it's worked through as God intended?

It's comfort. It's joy. You know, the marriage that works is a blessing and it is a comfort, and it is something that God has given to us as a gift. And like Manner, God has also called us to be united together in one, joined by His Holy Spirit, just as He and His Son are. And indeed, that was Christ's Prayer, John 17, verse 21. I'll just quote it rather than turning. John 17, 21, just before His crucifixion, Christ prayed that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

So it's a unique spiritual union that God brings about, again, when He takes multiples and He brings them together in His Spirit and they become one. For the Church, He's made us as one body, right? Many members but one body by His Spirit. And if we're yielded to Him in that process, it makes us of one mind. We speak the things that He desires to hear with one mouth. But again, that takes patience, doesn't it? Really, among us all, that takes patience for that to come together.

And also, though, when it does come together and it works as God has intended, indeed, in true, it is a comfort. It is a blessing. So again, truly, this is what God has inspired, the God of patience and comfort, and we find it in all His Scripture in multiple different applications of how it is you take those elements, and when you put them together, then it gives you hope. Right? If we exercise patience as a body by God's Spirit, and we speak with one mouth and are of one mind, and it becomes an incredible comfort, how does that give us hope? Well, it gives us hope because God's promise of eternal life is a spiritual promise by the power of His Holy Spirit, and we can look around, and we can see it is at work today in us and among us. And it's that beautiful union between one another and between God and Christ and His Church, that other Scriptures say we are all one in God, that ultimately He will fulfill when the Kingdom comes, and the ultimate spiritual fulfillment of our change comes, we will remember it started here. This gives us the comfort. This gives us the hope, but it takes patience as well. So the God we serve, the God of patience and comfort, the author of those essential attributes, and they spring forth from Him, and it's His goal to instill those in us today. And one of the ways that God does that, which is the main focus of my sermon, is through His Word. Through the Bible, which we have recorded for us, God wants us to become very familiar with the biblical accounts that are recorded, not only for our learning, but so that we can also experience the same patience and comfort leading to hope that all these individuals experience in their life. You know, their example is recorded, and we read it, and it gives us insight not only into their life, but frankly into what God is doing in our life today. So that transfers, that patience, and that comfort, and that hope transfers to us as well. The apostle Paul similarly wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 11, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come. He was talking primarily about Israel, that God brought out of Egypt and brought to the promised land, and their ups and downs, and their twists and turns along the way are examples for us that we might learn and grow and be educated in them. And indeed, God intends that we be instructed because the very same lessons he was working out in their life, ancient Israel, and the very same lessons he was working out in Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and all these faithful individuals down the line, Moses, Joshua, they're the same lessons, brethren, he's working out in our life today. And it is by taking notice of their account that patience and comfort leading to hope might be a reality in our life today as well. So let's go exploring a little bit into God's Word and just see how this works. Let's see what it is that God has us to find in his scriptures and how we can apply these things and understand the lessons. I want to start in Psalm chapter 119 and verse 41. We can see how King David himself looked at the scripture that was recorded by his time as an incredible source of patience and comfort leading to hope as well. Psalm chapter 119 and verse 41, just notice kind of the wording of it here and the emphasis on God's Word. He says, Verse 45, he says, You know, David was a man who had a very, very close relationship with God's Word.

And you'll recall that all the kings of Israel, the instruction was, at least they were to take a copy of the law, write it out by hand for themselves, keep it, and read from it throughout the days of their life so that they would not be lifted up among their brethren, so they would not forget who God was and what he had done, and they would maintain a kingship that was hopefully righteous. David did that. Others perhaps did, perhaps did not. Verse 46, David says, I will speak of your testimonies also before kings, and I will not be ashamed, and I will delight myself in your commandments. Delight. Delight. You know, it's another expressive word of what we pull from the Word of God. Delight myself in your commandments, which I love. Verse 48, my hands also I will lift up to your commands, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes. Remember the Word to your servant upon which you have caused me to hope. In these words, ultimately, you have patience, you have comfort, you have delight, but the end outcome then is hope. Hoping God, hoping his calling, hoping what he is fulfilling in our life. Verse 49, remember your Word to your servant upon which you've caused me to hope. He says, this is my comfort in my affliction, for your Word has given me life. The proud have me in great derision, yet I do not turn aside from your law. I remembered your judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself. David says, in my affliction, my time of trouble, I went to your Word, and I remembered your judgments of old, and they were a comfort unto me. So he looked at God's Word in that way, that I need peace for what I am going through. This is my solace. These are the words from God that bring that into my life. David meditated upon God's Word in his times of trouble. They brought him through, and it was to his righteous judgment that he would cling, for patience, okay, and for comfort, leading to hope.

That's a wonderful example for us, brethren, and we should take note of it, that in the midst of our struggles and trials as well, we can call God's Word to mind for support, and we shouldn't wait until we're in the midst of the trial to now go looking. That's a natural thing that we do, but in the meantime, let's be looking.

Let's instill those things in our hearts and our minds so that in our time of distress, they just come to a second nature. They're called to mind. And how about first nature, let's say, right? Because these are the words of God implanted for our benefit. So in addition to looking at the same scriptures that David had available to look at, we have additional scriptures, but we also have David's example that was recorded for us. There's so much that David went through in his life, and he was a prolific writer, and we have so many things in the Psalms that we can go to and consider.

We can look at his stories as an example of patience and comfort leading to hope. So I want to zero in on one story of David today, of his life, and that is his rise to kingship. His rise to kingship, because we're going to see God accomplish something in his life in a way that we should be encouraged by, that we should pull the same lessons by, and be filled with hope as well. Let's go to 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 1.

I'm going to go to the foundation of David's kingship, or at least his appointment to king. 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 1. And remember, all along the way as we go through this, we're talking about patience and comfort leading ultimately to hope. 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 1 says, Now the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul? Seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Saul turned aside from following God in the way of dedication that he should have. He took much upon himself in his pride, and God ultimately said, I can't use you in the way I need a king, and he rejected Saul.

I've rejected him from reigning over Israel. He says, Fill your horn, Samuel, with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons. And so the son of Jesse is going to be anointed. He's going to be anointed as king over all of Israel. And as the story develops, we know Samuel goes and each of Jesse's sons pass before Samuel, and it's like the Lord hasn't chosen any of them. And are there any left? Verse 11, And Samuel said, The Jesse are all of the young men here.

And he said, There remains yet the youngest, youngest, you know, the boy, and he's out there, he's keeping the sheep. And Samuel said, The Jesse send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here. Verse 12, So he sent and he brought him in. Now he was ruddy with bright eyes and good looking. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is the one.

And Samuel took the horn of oil, he anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. And so Samuel rose, and he went to Ramah. And so we have here the example of David anointed as king over all of Israel instead of Saul. David was God's choice. Right in other places, he read, you know, this man, after my own heart, God says, he will fulfill all my purpose.

So he was God's choice. God had rejected Saul from being king over Israel specifically. And he had appointed David to be king over Israel specifically. So you would think that would be a slam dunk, wouldn't you? You know, this is God's desire, his directive, the laying on of hands by the prophet and the priest.

And now, just, well, David, go march right into the palace, right? Go sit on the throne, your king.

But it didn't quite work out that way, did it? There was actually quite a process of time that went on in the interim years. In 1 Samuel 17, verse 33, it tells us that David was just a youth.

He was just an adolescent, not even a young man yet. A boy, literally, I mean, that's why Jesse, I would assume, didn't even have him come line up in front of Samuel when all the other brothers were there, you know, let the boy keep the sheep. This is a man's job, right? Who's going to be king?

So David was quite young when this took place. Let's go to 2 Samuel chapter 5 now, and verse 1, I want to look at when he now is ultimately accepted onto the throne. 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 1 says, Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, Indeed, we are your bone and your flesh. Also in the time past when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in. You know, David used to command armies sent out by Saul and he was victorious. And he says, And the Lord said to you, You shall shepherd my people Israel and be ruler over Israel. Verse 3, Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron and before the Lord, and they anointed David as king over Israel. David was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for 40 years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned 33 years over all Israel and Judah. And so David was anointed king by Samuel again when he was a youth. And the speculation is that he was maybe somewhere in the age of 10 to 15 years old when he received that anointing as king, and this passage said that he was 30 years old when he began to reign. So 15 years passed between when David was anointed king when he actually then now sat down on the throne. 15 years, and even in light of that he began to reign in Judah seven years before Israel would even then come to accept him as king over them. So you have quite a process of time.

And what we need to understand is that a lot happened in those intervening years which matured David into the man who would ultimately be the king over Israel. A lot of time, a lot of experiences, a lot of hardships, a lot of testing, and frankly a lot of refining by God as well, and it involved an incredible amount of patience on David's part. It required a willingness of David to submit to God's timing, to God's purpose, because, you know, humanly we might say, well, God's purpose, I be king. He sent Samuel to anoint me. He's rejected Saul. I'm just going to go and take the throne. But David had to say, this is God's plan, God's purpose, and he'll work it out according to his time. So we know the story. Saul wanted to kill David, didn't he? Because now David's a threat. And a number of those years before he became terribly aggressive, what happened?

David slew Goliath, and he was a, he was a champion, David now, a champion in Israel. And Saul sent him out, and he had great military victories on behalf of Israel, and people were looking to David, and Saul now is becoming threatened. And it's not because of who David was, it's frankly he was threatened because of whom he had become. But David goes on the run because now Saul wants to kill him.

He wants to kill him, the anointed king who would sit upon the throne. This was God's choice, and he's on the run from the king. Talk about patience. Talk about having to walk through a number of trial and obstacle, not because of sin in David's life, but because God was working out his purpose for him to an ultimate end. And I would say sometimes when we go through trial and struggle, we could lose sight of the fact that God is working out an ultimate end in our life.

And sometimes people might look at other people and say, wow, they just have trial after trial, must be some great sin, they're not overcoming. Trial can be a result of sin. The Bible does tell us that. But we also understand trial can be part of the refining process by God, by which God is bringing us along to actually be greater in his service than we would have been in the start.

I believe that's part of what is going on then with David through this time. But it involves patience and submitting to God's timing in the matter, not forcing the issue. Recall that when Saul wanted to kill David, he fled, and he was in the wilderness, on the run, like a bandit, hiding in the rocks, hiding in the clefts of the rocks, in the caves. And in fact, I jotted this down. One example I looked at, I just like the wording, it's descriptive. Saul went looking for David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. What do you imagine that terrain was like? You know, to be just again scrambling where the mountain sheep and the mountain goats go to survive for your life.

So that's a very humbling circumstance for an anointed king to go through. And throughout that ordeal, David was even provided with opportunities to kill Saul, wasn't he? To listen. We can end this, right? You'll recall a circumstance where David and his men are staying in the recesses of a cave, and Saul and his troops are on the hunt, and Saul needs to tend to his needs. So he comes into the cave, and he's in a very vulnerable position, shall we say, and David's men are like, this is it, right? This is what God has delivered. He's delivered him to your hand. Kill him now. Let's end this problem. You can be king.

Seemed like an easy solution, humanly, but what was David's response?

David said, I'm not going to lift up my hand against the Lord's anointed. David patiently waited upon God to resolve the issue, to bring him to the throne his way, and that took years, at least 15 years, it would seem, 15 years of running, 15 years of hardship, 15 years of climbing around in the rocks of the wild goats, and submitting to God's perfect will and timing.

It's an incredible story, really, and again, my point is not just read scriptures that say, be patient, read stories that teach us of patience from people who had to be patient.

And I say, we'll have an impact on our life. Let's note a Psalm, chapter 27.

Psalm 27, it's believed that David wrote this Psalm during the timing of his run from Saul, and yet through it all, David sought out his relationship with God and the comfort and the solace that God's words would provide. Psalm, chapter 27, verse 1, I'm just going to read the whole Psalm. Again, consider the backdrop. Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? You know, David was not fearful of Saul in that sense. It wasn't given to him to slay Saul and to take his place. David is simply trying to survive until God's timing to come about. Verse 2, it says, when the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies, and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

It says, though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war may rise against me in this, I will be confident. So think of yourself in times of distress, where the world maybe seems it's mounted up against you. These days will come for the people of God, and then read these words from this perspective, even in your life. One thing I have desired of the Lord that I will seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Therefore, he says, behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. From the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he shall hide me. He shall set me high upon the rock. Verse 6, and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me. Therefore, I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tabernacle. Yes, I will sing. I will sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy upon me and answer me. David, again, remember he is on the run. His life is being hunted, and his relationship and comfort is in God. He needs this response. When you said, seek my face, my heart said to you, your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me. He says, even those that are closest to you, those who brought you into this world, your own parents, the closest people who should have your back, even when they are either no longer there or have forsaken you, David says, Lord, you are there.

And that is my comfort and my strength. Verse 11, Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathed out violence. I would have lost heart, David says. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He was anointed king. And God didn't do that for some vain purpose of never ascending to the throne. He would be his king. He says, I have chosen him. And so, David says, through all of this, as I would is going on, he says, I would have lost heart, unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And God, fulfilling what he has promised to do through me. Verse 14, Wait on the Lord. And that's the instruction.

That's the encouragement. Those are the words of patience. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and ye shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. You know, if God would allow David, a man after his own heart, to go something, go through something like this in order to fulfill his purpose for David, what is it that God could allow you or I to go through in this life to fulfill what it is that he has ultimately set before us? There are scriptures that talk about obedience to God and blessing and honestly abundance, and people make a health and wealth gospel of a smooth life if you just follow God. Those elements are there, and God does provide blessing, but honestly, the overall context of Scripture for the people of God all the way down the line has been a degree of struggle and trial and test in this world, because this world is not the kingdom of God, and we are his people, number one, but also God is refining his people for his kingdom. And you have to, at times, walk through a process of refinement before you're prepared to sit upon the throne, as God would allow David eventually to do. So, indeed, the examples are recorded in the Bible to serve for our encouragement, our comfort in this age, and we too endure hardships in our service to God. And David's story of patience and waiting upon God is one we should study thoroughly along with others, and when you do, allow it to impact you. Actually, put yourself in the place of that person. Try to imagine what it was they were going through. Like, God, you promised this. You anointed me to this, and yet I'm on the run. And then consider the joy and the blessing that came through David's, frankly, only confidence being God, in God's Word.

So many times we could find ourselves, honestly, brethren, in that place. And, as we move forward in this age towards the return of Jesus Christ, I will say we will likely find ourselves in that place more often than less. David's example of waiting patiently upon the Lord should stand as great comfort in our time of need. Psalm 34, in verse 4. Let's just read through a few of these. David penned multiple psalms in times of distress, not all when he was on the run from Saul. So, but we'll just hit some of these. Psalm 34, verse 4 through 8. This one actually says, a Psalm of David, when he pretended madness before a bimilec, who drove him away and he departed. You know, sometimes you actually have to be slobbering down your beard and pretending you're crazy to get out of a situation. Eventually, you sit on the throne. I'll just say that. Psalm 34, verse 4. David says, I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to him and were radiant. You know, it's like the enemies, you know, they're not going to bow their head before God or be dismayed. They looked to him and were radiant, their faces were not ashamed. The poor man cried out, you know, me, David says, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. Again, it's an encouraging place to be. Verse 7, The angel, O Lord, decamps all around those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in him. So our confidence is in God, but you know what? It takes some patience along the way. And part of, I would say, extending out that patience for however long God would require it means that we also have to have the comfort that God provides, even in the midst of that trial. Psalm 37 and verse 4. Psalm chapter 37 and verse 4, Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. Again, verse 6, He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day.

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in the way because the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, you person of God, and forsake wrath. Do not fret. It only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord notice they shall inherit the earth. David had the vision of the future in mind. He knew what God's ultimate purpose was, and he knew in perspective of that, even the trials he had to walk through in the short term. He said, cast your cares upon the Lord. Patiently wait upon him, and the wicked may seem to prosper for a time, but in the end, if I can take liberty, we will have the last laugh. And I don't mean that scornfully. I mean laughter of joy, because the light will come, our deliverance will come, and the reward for that patience will come as well. Psalm chapter 40 and verse 1. David says, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. David says, you know, I was in such a circumstance it was like I was sinking. I was in this pit in the ground, and it was like quicksand, and it was sucking me down, and I was up to my neck.

And what does he say that God did? He set my feet upon a rock, and he established my steps.

It's like, Lord, you delivered me, and you pulled me out of that, and you put me on firm footing once again. Verse 3, he has put a new song in my mouth. Praise to our God! Many shall see it and fear and will trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Again, these are incredibly comforting words, brethren, and they are words in which we find our hope. Okay, they encourage patience. They give us comfort, but they inspire our hope. Again, the meek shall inherit the earth, the king shall sit on his throne, the reward will come to those who endure hardship. And frankly, are made better through the process. And that's what Romans chapter 15 verse 4 means when it says that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. We can see what God has done. We can see what God is doing. And we can see what God is yet to do through his word. And we see, oh, here's my place right here. Here's my part here in this day and age. And I wait upon the Lord, and it is a comfort to see what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. And the hope is in the reward of those who remain until the end. This is what God's word will lend to our lives if we allow it to dwell on us richly. Indeed, the Bible is filled with example after example after example such as this. James chapter 5. James chapter 5. James here is actually one of my favorite books in the Bible because it takes faith, and it takes doctrine, and it rolls them into the package of practical application that we call Christian living. So it's not a book full of thou shalt and thou shalt not, but all the principles are there in how you live your life and conduct your steps. James chapter 5 and verse 7, James says, therefore be patient, brethren, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and the latter rain. Many of us are people who have plant gardens. We have farmers in our midst, right? Everybody knows you don't go out and drill seed into the ground on one day and then go out the next day expecting to bring the harvest in, right? It takes time for that seed to sprout, to grow into a plant, to produce fruit, and for the fruit to mature, and maybe there's times it's got to get beaten by the storms of life.

The wind and the hail and the rain, the things that come in, but ultimately there's a crop that is produced when God's hand is bringing it to maturity, and it's the same with us as well. This doesn't happen overnight. Verse 8, again, be patient. You also, he says, be patient. Establish your heart, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, unless you be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. My brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Well, there's a study right there, the prophets, and if you look at this verse and some other translations, it says they're an example of essentially suffering patiently. If you want an example, and multiple examples of how this works, go and study the prophets. The prophets were men of God who usually weren't well received, were they? People really didn't like the message they brought.

Turn from sin, repent. Judgment is coming. Thus says the Lord. You know, many of the prophets were abused, some were killed by the very same people they were sent to turn from destruction, and yet they were still God's servants. And they went on the mission, and they accomplished what he gave them to do. And to be appointed as a prophet by God was a noble service, but frankly not a very desirable occupation. You know, I hear people who like to appoint themselves as one of the two witnesses, and I think, why would you want that job? God will appoint who God will appoint.

Those 12 people who are the two witnesses can just set that aside and let God do his work.

The fact is, though, this was all in. These men stood as examples of patience, and frankly comfort as well. Elijah found himself on Queen Jezebel's hit list, running for his life.

Daniel was thrown into the lion's den for simply maintaining his dedicated worship of God. Jeremiah, because of the word he brought, found himself imprisoned in a pit, sinking deeper and deeper into the miry muck, as David was describing in his own life. Tradition says that Isaiah was a sonder. And you can go on and on with what it is that the prophets went through as dedicated men in service to God. These were his servants, and yet God allowed them to walk through that process.

In Matthew chapter 23 and verse 37, Jesus laments over the historical treatment of the prophets. He says, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Now, Jesus looked at Jerusalem and he said, I just wanted to gather your people together, like under my wings of care and protection, and I sent my prophets to you to turn you back. And you killed them, you wouldn't hear them. And now, as he declared this, he was on the brink of his own death, the greatest of prophets that God had ever sent to that place. And they were about to do the same to him that they had done to the others. Indeed, there are patience and comfort in spades throughout reading the prophets and considering what it is that they went through. Patience through enduring, and yet comfort in knowing that their reward wasn't from this world, their reward was in God, and he was the source they relied on for strength. So again, we're called to live this, to allow God to work out in our life what he is working out, even if it is difficult. But we can lean on him, we can cry out to him, even when there is no one else. And brethren, there is incredible comfort in that, and remembering that what he has set before us ultimately is the hope of our salvation. Still in James chapter 4 verse 11 says, Indeed, we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job. You've seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. You know, how many people have compared themselves to Job in trials they've gone through, and it's very, very difficult, you know? I've heard that, and honestly, I've thought of Job often myself in times of trial, and I've looked at the book of Job. What are the lessons of Job?

Well, the lessons of his story among others are God is always there for us, even in the midst of our trial. God is always there for us, even in the midst of our trial. He did not forsake Job.

Also, nothing escapes God's attention. He is on his throne. He is all-powerful. Nothing escapes his attention. Another lesson from Job is Satan can only go so far. He can only go as far as God will allow. We know that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure, but will provide the means of escape. And to be honestly frank with you, brethren, sometimes the means of escape is the grave. It is faithful endurance to the end, to the point of rest, now that place of safety awaiting the reward. It's a story of every servant of God from the beginning of time to our day. They all rest in the grave, we could say, patiently, comforted now in the reward, in the hope, that will be their next waking moment. And you and I can take comfort in that as well. In the end, Job saw himself more clearly through his process, didn't he? And he also saw who God was more clearly. He says, now I see you, and I see me by comparison, and I repent, right? And dust and ashes, and that relationship was even greater from that point forward. And the restoration which Job received from God in the end was far greater than his life in the beginning. So this is how this process oftentimes works in our life. So again, the point is, there's places we can turn to in the Bible when we need a boost, when we're going through something. And what you're going through at a particular time may be different than what I'm going through, so what you look to may be a completely different example than what I'm looking to, but the fact is it's there and is written for our admonition, our encouragement, and our comfort.

Darla likes to post a daily Facebook Scripture, or Scripture on Facebook, and we're up in the morning, we're having coffee, and she's often going through, and she finds a Scripture, and she posted it. And yesterday she posted a passage from Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 4, verse 9 through 12. That's actually not my focus, but it talks about two or better than one, and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. But later in the day, I was scrolling through Facebook, and I came upon her post in the Scripture, and I noticed the comments beneath. And one comment that I noticed from Tyler Smith. Tyler's a friend of many of ours, a long, long time friend. Tyler commented, he says, I've always found Ecclesiastes very comforting. I thought, wow, you know, case in point, which places we go to receive the comfort we need in our times of distress. Depending on what's going on in your life, where will you go? Well, you may go to Abraham.

Right? Abraham. God promised Abraham he would own the land of Canaan, and that through his seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed. But that didn't happen right away, did it? It took several hundred years for the first part of the promise to be realized, and it took 2,000 years for the Christ to be born. And what's a lesson of the story of Abraham? You know, don't try to guide, don't try to steer God's ship your way. You know, take my handmaiden, Hagar, was not the solution. The solution was through Isaac that blessing would come, and you have to wait upon the Lord.

Depending on what we're going through, we could look at the story of Joseph.

Due to jealousy of his brothers, he was sold into slavery in Egypt. He was later imprisoned over a false accusation, but God ultimately allowed him through that trial to be a blessing to many, to bring deliverance, frankly, and life to many. Recall there was the years of famine, but there was the years of plenty before, and God gave him the gift to foresee that. And he put them in the place, Joseph, where he needed to be in order to deliver Israel and his sons for his future purpose as well. And in Genesis 45 verse 5, Joseph said to his brothers, but now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. Again, our trials aren't all about sin. Our trials aren't about what you need to get over in every case. Sometimes it is, and we examine ourselves for that, but sometimes it is what God is preparing us for in his service, a service that will be glorious to all mankind. We could remember Israel and their exodus from Egypt. We can remember that God is all-powerful, and if you are willing to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, you will open the Red Sea, and you will be delivered. These are blessings. These are stories, and they bring patience, hopefully, to our lives, and they bring comfort to our lives, and when the sea opens, what is on the other side? It is our hope, and that is what we walk towards. Of course, Jesus Christ is the ultimate example, and I do want to wrap up with him today. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1. Hebrews 12 verse 1 says, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, all these listed in Hebrews 11 of faith, plus those that have come along in the intervening years as well, but those who have gone before. You kind of give this visual image of, we're running in a race, and we're in the stadium, and the stands are packed. They're packed with those who have gone before us, and it's their example. They're cheering us on. They're saying, reach for the goal God has set before you. Therefore, since we are also surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight in the sin which so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus Christ was the ultimate example of patience under fire, wasn't he? He who knew no sin became sin in our place, and he suffered tremendously, and that required patience. But there was also the joy that was set before him, which was his comfort. And that wasn't, oh, one day I'll be glorified back at the throne, away from pain. No, the joy set before him was the fact now the door would be open through his sacrifice to reconcile all mankind to God, all who would be willing to walk in that process. Verse 3, it says, for consider him, consider Jesus Christ, who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. And so we consider him when we are struggling. We consider his life, his death, his example, and indeed what he does for us today. And what do we see about Jesus' life when we consider him? Well, we see he blessed those who cursed him.

He prayed for those who mocked him, and he loved those who hated him, didn't he? But also, indeed, we see ultimately he impatiently endured until the end. He knew what had to be fulfilled and what he would suffer. But it couldn't be compared to the glory for he and you and I that would be set before us through that process. He is our example, and indeed we look to him. So, Brethren God, in his mercy, has provided these examples in the Word so we can take confidence in what he is doing in the overall perspective so that we will not resist the process, so that we will actually allow God to teach us what he would like us to learn as we walk through these things and come out better the other side so that we would be in his image, his likeness, and his character. The God we worship is the God of patience and comfort, and the words he has expressed are recorded for us, the Bible, and these are the words of patience and comfort as well. When we have an ongoing relationship with both of those spiritual resources, the inevitable outcome will be a heart filled with patience and comfort of God because we have his spirit, we have his word, he is our God, and we look to our elder brother. The result will be patience and comfort in our heart, leading to hope. Hope of the future, hope of the ultimate goal of our calling, the hope of our salvation, a hope, Brethren, that is well worth the effort, a hope that never ever ever disappoints. Have a pleasant Sabbath.