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Patience
February 8,2020

Since the start of 2020 we’ve been taking a deeper look into a passage from second Peter looking at 2 Peter 1:5-8 , “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Today we’ll see the role of patience as we stack that atop temperance from last week.

The word we read as patience in the New Testament is often translated from the Greek word hupomone, meaning cheerful endurance, constancy, patience, patient continuance. For those who like to look through concordances, it is Greek word 5281 in Strong’s Concordance. Patience can easily be overlooked as we study the Bible because there is so much information we are easily distracted. Consider the following passage of prophecy which has the word patience in it. It’s normal to overlook the word patience and focus on the symbolism without realizing patience as defined in this passage will help us survive the symbolism.

Revelation 14:9-13
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

We could solely focus on the beast and the warning to not worship the beast and his image or receiving the mark of the beast because that is important information to know looking forward; however, we would be missing the key to help us survive the beast and all those who worship the beast. The patience of the saints is defined as keeping the commandments of God the Father and the faith of Jesus Christ. In order to be worthy of salvation even in horribly bad times as depicted in this passage from Revelation, we must demonstrate that we have the patience of the saints by keeping the commandments of God the Father and the faith of Jesus Christ.

Patience does not simply mean that we take the persecutions of life that Satan and his demons may give us. Those will naturally come our way anyway, but patience means that in addition to taking the persecutions of life, we will also keep the commandments of God the Father and the faith of Jesus.

Patience is not unique to the New Testament, though the Greek word hupomone is. Patience is also mentioned in the Old Testament, in the writings such as Psalm 37 which aligns to themes of the beatitudes, and also in the prophets. Isaiah the prophet talks of those who have patience, those who keep the commandments of God the Father and the faith of Jesus Christ. From Isaiah we know that God has eternal patience. God does not give up, God can outlast any evil person or spiritual being an in return gives power to the faint to increase their strength. Those who wait on the LORD will be empowered by God the Father because they keep the commandments of God and they have the faith of Jesus Christ and they will do things that will utterly confound people who do not know God.

Isaiah 40:26-31
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

Patience is an incredibly important aspect of character to have, especially in times of evil. What happens when we act impulsively in times of evil? We are more susceptible to the evil that is around us. Patience is incredibly important, and this is written down for us in the Book of Luke. Jesus said, “In your patience possess ye your souls.” The word soul refers to our lives and body and it is in our patience we possess our life and body. We keep the commandments of God the Father and the faith of Jesus Christ knowing that we do not need to be overly worried about these times of evil that will come in our life because when we are challenged spiritually, we know that through the Holy Spirit, through our faith in Jesus Christ, through keeping the commandments of God the Father, we will be given a mouth and wisdom that will not be able to be rebutted by our adversaries. We may be betrayed by those close to us, even our own family, but it is through our patience, this cheerful endurance, that we possess our souls.

Luke 21:12-19
But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.

Hebrews 12:1-3 reminds us that as we run the race of salvation that is before us on the path to the Kingdom of God, we must run our race with patience, remembering that patience involves keeping the commandments of God the Father and the faith of Jesus Christ, that patience will allow us in the most difficult of times to possess our souls, and that through patience, God will give us incredible strength.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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