26 May James 11: Growing in patience

James 5:7-12

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. ¹² But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Does anyone still remember what a dial-up internet was? I know this might surprise some of you, but there were days I had to wait for five minutes if I wanted to get connected to the internet. I had to turn on my PC, wait for it to load, connect it to the phone and modem, and hear this *dial-up noise*. And that five minutes was simply for me to access the internet. I had to wait another few minutes before I could open my email, and another few minutes to download the file I wanted. So, it took me about 10 minutes to download a single file. And what did I do in those 10 minutes? The only thing I could do was wait while playing snake on my Nokia. Does anyone know what I am talking about? But today it’s very different. If we are browsing on our phone, and it’s loading for more than three seconds, we say, “Why is the internet so slow? I don’t have three seconds to wait for this. I need a new internet provider.” Or if we text someone and we see the little bubbles, and we wait more than 10 seconds, we say to ourselves, “I know you are typing. What is taking you so long? I texted you like 20 seconds ago.”

Or how many of us do not want to start watching a new series, unless the whole season is out because we do not want to wait a week between the episodes? “Unless I can binge it, I’m not watching.” We live in a culture where everything has to be fast. Just a few years ago, if we wanted to ride a roller coaster, everyone was treated equally, and everyone had to wait in line for their turn. But today, for an extra $40, we can get a fast pass. While everyone is sweating in line for two hours, we can just walk up, show our fast pass, and hop on the roller coaster. Everything is built for speed. And praise God for speed. I love speed. But while it is great, it has a negative effect on us. Because everything has to be fast, we don’t know what it means to be patient. We live in a culture that doesn’t value patience. We are an instant gratification culture. And that is problematic because every good thing in Christian life requires patience, and we don’t have it. Let’s be honest. How many of you can say that you are lacking in patience?

In our passage for today, James is talking about the importance of patience. Think about all James has talked about so far. He has talked about trials in life, disappointments and frustrations with each other, unanswered prayers, and oppression from others. And James is telling us that in all these things, God is at work doing something good. But to experience the good we must have patience. I mean, we don’t mind waiting if we can see the good in 24 hours, right? But what if we have to wait for 6 months? What if we have to wait for 6 years? What if we are in a trial, and we don’t know how long it will last? Do you know what we would do? We would be tempted to make things happen on our own. But James is saying, “Don’t do that. Don’t try to rely on your own wisdom and strength. Be patient.” James is teaching us to have Christian patience. What is Christian patience? Let me define it for you. Christian patience is not a kind of patience that just waits around because there is no other choice, but it is an active hopeful waiting.

Let’s get into the text. Here are my three points: the essence of patience; the examples of patience; the evidence of patience.

The essence of patience

James 5:7-8 – ⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

If you remember the sermon from last week, the poor were being oppressed by the rich. So, James is addressing Christians who experienced injustice. And he says, “Be patient brothers and sisters until the coming of the Lord.” And the word patience is from a Greek word that literally means long-suffering. In other words, James is saying, “I know you are being treated unfairly right now. I know it is extremely painful for you to go through what you are going through. I know it feels like God does not care about your situation. But do not take matters into your own hands. Because God does care, and he does notice. And he will come again, and justice will be done. Be patient until then.” And that’s an encouragement. Why? Because knowing the end makes it possible to bear with something unbearable. It’s like this. How many of you like to know the ending first when you are reading a novel or watching a movie? You want to know who’s alive, who’s dead, and how things work out. I think that’s terrible, but I am not judging you. The author of the book and the director of the movie do judge you, however. They work so hard to create suspense and you ruin everything. But why do you do that? Because if you know how it ends, you can handle whatever happens in the story. Do you realize that is exactly what God does? He tells us the ending already. James is saying, “God will come again and make everything right. I know it seems messy right now, but everything will turn out well.” Do you see? God tells us the ending of the story so we can handle the suspense of the messy middle. Yes, it’s extremely tough and difficult right now, but we know that justice will be done, and God’s purpose will be accomplished in the end. That’s why we can be patient in the here and now.

To explain his point, James gives a farming illustration. Let me confess first. It should be obvious that I know almost absolutely nothing about farming. But I know this much. In farming, there are parts you can control, and there are parts you can’t control. What is in your control is you can plant the seed. You can fertilize it and you can keep the crows away. But that’s about it. The rest is not in your control. What happens after you plant the seed is mostly between the seed, the soil, and the weather. And you can’t control the weather. All you can do is be patient until the seed receives the early rain in October and later rain in March. Do you know who controls the rain? God. You are totally dependent on God to supply the rain. All you can do is wait. And if you are frustrated at the speed of growth, the worst thing you can do is to dig up the seed and try to fix it. That will kill it. Do you get what James is trying to say? James wants us to stop thinking like a programmer and start thinking like a farmer. If a programmer sees an inconsistency in the software, what does he do? He looks at the software, finds the bug, and fixes it. If a farmer is frustrated at the growth of the seed, what does he do? If he does his parts already, he waits. He doesn’t mess with the seed because it will kill it. All he can do is wait for the rain to come. The point is, there is no shortcut. For the seed to grow, you must wait patiently. The Christian life is about the process of growth and patience is a necessity. We must learn to wait.

But listen carefully. Waiting does not mean inactivity. Like a farmer waiting on the rain, to wait on God means we do what God wants us to do and trust God to do what is impossible for us to do. We take care of the sowing of the seed and let God take care of the sending of the rain. Kevin DeYoung puts it this way. “Patience is no mere passivity with life’s inconveniences. Patience is a state of heart.” Patience is about our hearts. And patience does not come automatically. It takes work. We have to remind ourselves of the truth that God is coming so we don’t take matters into our own hands. That’s why James says, “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Establishing your heart means standing firm with strong resolve. It’s like two sumo wrestlers who try to take each other out of the ring. Once one is pushed out, the other has won. You win by standing firm and holding your ground. James is telling us to stand firm, hold our ground, do not let anything move us, because God is coming soon. How soon? I have no idea. I know Christians have been saying Jesus is coming soon for over two thousand years, but that doesn’t make it less true today. For all we know, Jesus could come tomorrow. The reason why Jesus has not come is not that he is slow concerning his promises, but because he is patient, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He delays his coming so that people might be saved. Knowing Jesus will come soon and make things right enables us to stand firm. And look at what James says next.

James 5:9 – Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. This command may sound silly to us. I mean, who doesn’t grumble? If James says, “Do not avenge yourself,” we get it. But grumbling? Everyone grumbles. What is so bad about grumbling? How does grumbling have anything to do with patience? It’s simple. Do you know why we grumble? We grumble because we are impatient. Grumbling is our negative response to people or situations that disappoint and frustrate us. It’s the very opposite of patience. Patience is when people or situations are frustrating and disappointing, but we stand firm. We don’t give up. Here is where I think we often get it wrong. Sometimes we think that because we are victims of injustice, because we are the ones who are hurt by others, because we suffer, then we can’t be sinning. But that’s not true. It is actually when we are experiencing the worst suffering that the temptations to sin grow most. We know this. Hurting people hurts people. Think about it. When we are tired, when we are frustrated, when we are having a bad day, what happens? We often take it out on people closest to us, even when they are not responsible for our situations. When we get beat down by suffering, we take it out on the people who are right next to us. I am sure all of us have those moments. We have had those days where we think, “Why did I just lash out at my husband? He didn’t do anything to me. Why did I just treat my wife like that? She didn’t deserve that at all. Why did I yell at my kids? Why did I explode at my friends? They are not the ones who are giving me hard times.” Do you know what happened? Because we suffer, we grumble at them. Suffering can make us grumble against one another.

And James is telling us, “Don’t do that. Do not grumble against one another so that you may not be judged. The Judge is standing at the door.”  Here is James’ point. God is standing at the door. Do not think that he does not hear what you say. He can hear you loud and clear. Parents, it’s like when you put the kids to bed, you close the door, and you tell them, “No more talking. No more complaining about sleeping at 10.” And they don’t know that when that door closes, you are still there, and you can hear them with your supersonic parent hearing. And then you surprise them, open the door, “I can hear everything you say. Stop complaining and go to sleep.” James says God is at the door. He hears us. Don’t think that he does not hear our grumbling.

But listen. There is a difference between lamenting and grumbling. When life is hard, it is okay for us to lament and express our frustrations. The book of Psalms is filled with those examples. Lament is an expression of hope in God in the middle of frustrations. We are saying, “This is painful. This is very hard. I don’t know what God is doing, but I know I can trust him. I’m going to hope in his promises no matter how hard it is.” That’s lamenting. Grumbling is different. Grumbling is when our frustrations drive us farther from God rather than into the promises of God. We are saying, “This is not fair. I shouldn’t be treated like this. God does not know what he is doing. I can’t trust him.” We are angry at God, and we lash out at others. Lament is an expression of faith, while grumble is an expression of unbelief. Can you see the difference? But’s let be honest. Most of the time, when life hits us hard, we are not lamenting; we are grumbling. Do you know why? Because we forget God is up to something good. And what he asks of us is to wait and be patient. The seed will grow at its due time. Get this. When we know God is up to something good, we don’t grumble; we wait patiently. God is using all the painful events in our lives to work his magic. We might not be able to see it now, but if we wait, if we are patient, we will see it. So, do everything God expects us to do, do not grumble, wait patiently, and God will send the rain and make the seed bear fruits.

The examples of patience

James 5:10 – As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

After telling us what it means to be patient, James now provides us with examples to follow. If anyone should have a special place in God’s heart and plan, it was the prophets in the Old Testament. They were specifically chosen by God to deliver his messages to his people. But if we looked at their lives, many of them preached faithfully for years, and they experienced nothing but suffering before any of their prophecies came true. They were doing all the right things and yet they suffered. We must get this right. Some of us think that as Christians, we should live a good life most of the time, with occasional moments of suffering. We think we are entitled to #blessed on social media. Trip to Europe #blessed. Promotion at work #blessed. Won an award #blessed. New car #blessed. There is nothing wrong with #blessed, but if we think that’s the norm and #suffering is abnormal, we don’t get the Christian life. In Christian life, suffering is not abnormal, it is normal. The life of the prophets was filled with suffering, but they remained faithful.

Let me give you a few examples. One example is Isaiah. Isaiah received a horrible assignment from God. God told Isaiah, “Isaiah, I have a super horrible job for you. You are going to preach and speak on my behalf for the next 30 years, but no one is going to listen to you. You are going to get frustrated. You will receive no invitation from churches to preach, and no one wants to listen to you. You are going to be absolutely ineffective in your ministry. You will not have any riches and comfort. And you will be persecuted for the rest of your life.” Does anyone want to take that job offer? This is what Isaiah agreed to, a lifetime of ministry with no success. But today when we read the book of Isaiah, many of us are in tears. Especially when he talks about the suffering servant. But throughout Isaiah’s lifetime, there was not a single person who came up to him and said, “Thank you for your sermon. It is really powerful. It changes my life. I can see God is at work in your ministry.” None. Isaiah received zero applause from people around him. Jewish history tells us that Isaiah’s horrible ministry came to an end because the king put him inside a log and cut him in two. Isaiah suffered but he remained faithful to the end.

Another example is Jeremiah. Jeremiah preached at the time in which Babylon was coming against Israel. God came to Jeremiah and said, “Jeremiah, here’s what I want you to tell the Israelites. I want you to tell them that it is my will that their country be taken from them, and that Babylon is my chosen instrument to discipline them. They are not going to win this war. So, I want you to tell them to surrender to Babylon and obey Nebuchadnezzar.” Of course, the Israelites did not want to do that. So, they resisted, and they were destroyed. They were taken into exile. And when they got into exile, they said, “God will deliver us, and we are not going to settle down in Babylon for long. We must separate ourselves from the Babylonians.” Then God came to Jeremiah and said, “Tell the exiles that they have to submit to Babylon. They have to get involved in that city. They must live in Babylon, and they have to work and pray for the welfare of Babylon.” Jeremiah said, “God, are you serious? Is that what you want me to do for the next 20 years? No one is going to listen to me. Everyone is going to think that I’m a traitor for telling them to surrender and submit to Babylon.” And they did. One time, Jeremiah’s friends in his hometown decided to get together and wanted to kill Jeremiah for preaching treason. But he wasn’t. Jeremiah was obeying God. Jeremiah had a miserable life to the very end, but he remained faithful to God. Think about it. If Isaiah and Jeremiah were not patient and did not remain faithful, we would never have heard of them today. But they stayed. They were patient waiting for God’s promises to come true. And because of it, today we read their letters and were strengthened by them.

Another example that James specifically mentions by name is Job. James 5:11 – Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. We have seen the word steadfast in James’ letter before. In chapter 1, James tells us to remain steadfast when we face trials because God is maturing us through trials. It is the Greek word ‘hypomone’ which means to stand firm no matter how hard life gets. It is to continue the course despite difficulty. In other words, listen. Trials are the very means God use to grow our faith and dependence on him. They are not optional; they are a necessary part of Christian maturity. And our responsibility amid trials is to remain steadfast. And the perfect example of it is the life of Job.

Here’s what happens to Job. The Bible tells us that God is on his throne, and the angels present themselves to God. Satan walks in and God asks, “Hey dude, what have you been up to?” Satan says, “I’ve been looking at humans you created. I went to Vegas, I went to Paris, and I went to Sydney as well.” God says, “Have you checked out my servant Job? There is no one righteous like him on the earth.” It’s amazing. Job is so good that God brags about him to Satan. Satan goes, “Of course, he loves you. Of course, he praises you. You’ve given him all good things. He has many children. He is extremely wealthy. You’ve done nothing but bless him. But if you let me take all you have given him, I bet he will curse your name.” God says, “Okay. Go ahead and do it.” And we are like, “Wait, what? Did God just?” Yeah, he did. And in a matter of hours, Job loses everything. All his seven children die. All his wealth is gone. The only thing he’s left with is his health and wife. What happens when Job loses everything? Job tears his clothes, gets in sackcloth and ashes, and says, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” The Bible says Job does not sin or charge God with wrong.

Then the scene switches. We’re back in heaven, and God is on his throne. Satan walks in again and God goes, “Hey, did you see my servant, Job? You said he was going to curse me. But shhhh… Do you hear that? I think Job is singing, “You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name.” I love that song. What do you have to say now, Satan?” By the way, this is all a paraphrase. This is the Yosi Standard Version. So, Job loses everything and still praises God. Satan says, “It’s because he still has his health. If you let me take his health, he will curse your name.” And God once again says, “Okay, go ahead. But don’t kill him.” Then Satan takes away Job’s health and he is covered in boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. And his wife says, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die.” And do you know what Job says? “Gee, thanks babe. That is exactly what I need right now, your nagging. God, take the woman. Give me my dog instead.” Okay, that’s not what Job says. He says, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” And once again, Job does not sin with his lips.

In the second part of the book, Job is giving his defence. He is arguing with his friends because he doesn’t understand why God let a righteous man suffer, and he’s upset at what God has done. He’s emotionally depressed at what God has allowed. But listen to what he says in Job 13:15a – Though he slay me, I will hope in him. The only thing Job has left at this time is his life. That’s it. But he says, “God, even if you take that, even if you take my life, I will still hope in you. I may not understand what you are doing, but I know I can trust you.” And if Job is singing right now, he changes his song. He is no longer singing, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” He is singing, “There is hope in every trial, for I can trust the Lord. He will turn my heart towards him and help me bear the thorn. For I know his glory is my good.”

And let’s look at the end of Job’s story. Job 42:5 – I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. This is beautiful. Let’s put it in our everyday ROCK Sydney context. Job is saying, “God I’ve been coming to ROCK Sydney and heard about you for years. But now I am done with it. I am done with simply listening to Yosi preach about you. I am done with simply learning about you from Keller’s books. I am done with simply raising my hand and singing ‘Jesus strong and kind.’ I am done with simply going to MC and discussing you with others. They are all good, but I am done with simply hearing about you. Now my eye sees you. I know you. And I will never settle for anything less.” Do you see? There is a big difference between hearing about God and seeing God with our eyes. But do you know how we grow from hearing to seeing? Steadfastness in suffering. God wants us to go through suffering so that what we hear in our ears we can see with our eyes.

And this is what James is saying to us. He doesn’t want us just to know what happened to Job. He doesn’t want us just to know what happened to Isaiah and Jeremiah. He wants us to be able to see God for ourselves. James is trying to encourage us. He is saying, “Just like Job remained steadfast in his sufferings and received God’s reward in knowing God more, if you remain steadfast in your sufferings, you too will receive God’s reward and know God more.” And don’t be mistaken. Job is not perfect, but he is an example of steadfastness. Rather than moving away from God in pain, Job moved toward God in pain. That’s steadfastness. Here is what we must understand about all our trials: God has a purpose. Our trials are not random. Just like God has a purpose in Job’s suffering, God has a purpose in our sufferings. That’s what enables us to remain steadfast. The moment we think that there is no purpose to our sufferings is the moment suffering becomes unbearable. But God is not toying with us. He does not allow any pain in our lives without reason. He does not accidentally leave us in the oven of suffering past the time. Have you ever done that? “Oh, I left the rolls in the oven for too long, and they are all burned to a crisp.” Do you think God is like that? “Oh, I did not mean to leave you in suffering for that long. I forgot. Oops.” No. God is a compassionate and merciful God. He hears us. He loves us. He cares for us. He’s not done with us. And he will accomplish his good purposes in our lives. God’s purposes are worth waiting for. So, be patient.

The evidence of patience

James 5:12 – But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

At first, I thought verse 12 had nothing to do with the previous verses. But as I meditated more, I started to see the connection. Here it is. When we squeeze an orange, what do we get? We get whatever is inside. We get an orange juice. When God squeeze us with trials, what do we get? Whatever is inside. Whatever comes out of us in trials, reveals whatever is inside of us. When we suffer, we can either wait with patience or become impatient. How do we know if we are impatient? James has told us that we grumble. Grumbling is evidence of impatience. And do you know what else we do when we are impatient during suffering? We make vows so that God will take us out of suffering as soon as possible. “God, if you help me with this issue, if you give me what I want, if you deliver me from this problem, then I promise I will fix my life and obey you.” Has anyone ever done that? To make a vow is an extreme manifestation of impatience. James says, “Don’t do that. Do not make a vow. But let your yes be yes and your no be no.” In other words, be a person of integrity. Live a life of integrity. Be the kind of person who does what is right in every circumstance. Everything that comes out of our mouths should be true and trustworthy.

Does it mean that we can’t make vows? I don’t think so. There are many examples in the Bible about making vows. God himself swears an oath in the Old Testament. Listen to how Sam Allberry puts it. “The point is not that all oaths are always wrong, but that in everyday contexts oaths should be unnecessary. We shouldn’t need to emphasise the truthfulness of a particular part of our speech, because all our speech should be true and trustworthy.” So, James does not want us to think that there is a time for telling the truth, a time for maybe telling the truth, and a time for kind of telling the truth. Whatever comes of our mouths should be true. Let our yes be yes, our no be no, especially in times of suffering. Suffering is no excuse to be lacking in the integrity of our speech. Our words matter.

So, here is a reflection question for us. Are you a person of your word? Do people around you see you as a person whose words can be trusted? Or are you known to exaggerate? Can people trust you with your promise? Or you can’t be trusted with your promise unless you super-duper pinky swear? Do people know you as someone who tells things as it is? Or do you tell stories in ways to make yourself look better and others look worse? We live in a time where words are cheap. People break their promises all the time. For example, if you are married, you made a vow to be with each other, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to be faithful, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both live. Do you keep your word? Or are you giving up on your marriage because it does not go according to your expectations? God values words. He communicates by words. And he is faithful to every single word that comes out of his mouth. Therefore, we should be people of our word as well.

Let me land the plane now. I don’t know what kind of suffering you are experiencing right now. But for many of us, God’s word for us tonight is for us to be patient. He is telling us to wait. Does it mean we can’t pray for a breakthrough? We can and should pray for God to deliver us from our sufferings. We are to do everything God expects us to do, but at the same time, we must be patient waiting for God to do what only he can do. We plant the seed, and God send the rain. But listen. There is no guarantee that we will see all the resolutions we want in this lifetime. There are things that we have to wait until eternity for the final resolution. And let’s be honest. There is almost nothing harder for us to do than to wait. We rather God give us 50 steps on what we must do than wait. Why? Because waiting requires trust. Waiting requires us to let go of control. And that’s hard. Waiting means we have no idea what is going to happen next and when it will happen. We can simply trust God that he will accomplish his good purposes. Think about it. God did not tell Isaiah why he had to have such an unsuccessful career. He did not tell Jeremiah why he had to keep running for his life. He did not tell Job why he had to experience all those losses. That’s why Job was frustrated. He wanted to know the reason for his suffering, and God never told him why. God never told Isaiah and Jeremiah. But do you know what they did? They remained steadfast. They established their hearts. They were patient. And God accomplished his purposes in and through them.

Whenever we suffer, we have two ways to respond: we can trust God, or we can trust ourselves. We can say, “God, you are all wise. You are all good. I would never have chosen this for myself, but you know what’s best for me. You know what you are doing, and I don’t. So, I am going to trust your wisdom, your strength, and your time.” Or we can say, “This is not fair. I can’t believe it. I don’t think God has it under control, so I am going to make things happen on my own.” We can either trust God’s wisdom or rely on our own wisdom. So, the question is, how can we trust God? How do we know that God is trustworthy? I tell you how. There is only one person who can look at his life and say, “This is not fair. I deserve better than this. I did not deserve all this suffering,” but he stayed. He remained steadfast. And it was not Job. Jesus was the only true innocent sufferer. Jesus did not deserve the life he had on earth. Jesus lived the perfect life. He never grumbled, he trusted God, and he was innocent. Jesus deserved a great life, but he had a terrible life. He was misunderstood, poor, rejected, betrayed, and forsaken. But through all that agony and pain, Jesus was perfectly patient.

On the night before the crucifixion, Jesus prayed to God, “Father, is there any other way besides the suffering of the cross? It’s too painful for me to take. I don’t know if I have what it takes to go through it. But I will trust you no matter what.” That’s patience. And Jesus went to the cross and he stayed there while everyone around him mocked him. Why did Jesus do it? Why was he perfectly patient? Let me tell you why. Jesus, through his perfect patience, paid the price for our impatience. So that when we put our faith in Jesus, God the Father can be endlessly patient with us, never give up on us, never let us down, even when we constantly letting him down. That’s how we can trust God. And that’s what enables us to be patient in our sufferings. Patience does not come by toughing our hearts but by melting our hearts. We can’t beat ourselves into patience. The only way we can become patient is when we see how sinful we are and how beautiful the cross of Jesus is. When we see Jesus’ long-suffering for us, it enables us to long-suffering for him, knowing that he loves us, and that he is accomplishing something good in our lives. Look at Jesus’ perfect patience at the cross for us, that will make it possible for us to be patient and trust him in our sufferings. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What struck you the most from the sermon?
2. How is Christian patience different from inactivity? Give daily life examples.
3. Why are you often impatient in suffering? How does James deal with it?
4. What is the relationship between words (grumble and vow) and suffering? Which one is your tendency and why?
5. How does the gospel enable you to be patient in suffering?