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Living Hope
Fellowship Church
FAITH OF PATIENCE
Training
Material
by Pastor Kevin Badgley
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FAITH OF PATIENCE
Preface
(patience, faith)
Luke 21:19 says, “In your patience possess ye your souls.”
Patience or the lack of it shows up in all our
activity.
The devil is desperate and tries to “hurry” you into
trouble, but know that impatience lies at the door of sin!
God’s Word in James 1:4 says, “But let patience have her
perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.”
Patience is one of the most painful processes we know, but
this is the method that God has chosen for us to enter in.
This is how we decrease and are made humble before God. I
pray that God will do a work in us and teach us to wait on
God.
FAITH OF PATIENCE
by Pastor Kevin Badgley
The Lord dealt with me about the importance of patience.
Patience is NOT a word that denotes pleasure, self
exaltation, or self satisfaction. Its very mention denotes
trial and stress. Jesus said that as a child of God your
patience is where your soul is. Impatience can get you
damnation if you are not careful. What we do when we get
impatient or desperate can curse us. Patience or the lack
of it is evident in the way we behave, in what we say, and
in all our activity.
Often we overlook this profound statement in Luke 21:19:
“In your patience possess ye your souls.” Without faith
it is impossible to please God, and it is patience that
keeps the soul. When you act on impatience, you do
things that are unbecoming of salvation. It starts out
with thoughts and graduates into words and actions.
2 Peter 3:8 says, “. . . one day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The Bible
states that God can redeem the time, and if He wants to work
quickly, He can. He can redeem what you have lost, and make
it so that you never lost anything, but rather gained. We
don’t look at that when we get impatient.
The Lord quickened to me that the devil is damned without
hope or redemption. The devil is desperate. 1 Peter 5:8
says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour.” He knows that he has but such a short time!
We, on the other hand, think we are running out of time so
we say, “Hurry up, God!” We think that we might live 70 or
80 years by the grace of God. Every breath we take is by
the grace of God! Remember that God can redeem the time!
He might run you up to age 69 and then work in you to where
all of your life isn’t worthy to be compared with the glory
of your last years! Paul said in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Jesus is never too late. It was not too late when Jesus got
to Lazarus. He waited two extra days on purpose. When He
got to Lazarus’ tomb people said that it was too late. They
were impatient, and they spouted it. Both of Lazarus’
sisters, Mary and Martha, said that if Jesus had been there
on time their brother wouldn’t have died. This made Him
groan, because their faith wasn’t set in patience for the
Lord. He raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been in
the grave four days!
Saul backslid from a position with God. He was the first
king of Israel and was called to be a judge and a saviour
for Israel against their enemies. Samuel told him not to
offer the sacrifice until he got there. However, Saul got
tired of waiting, because the people began to wonder if
Samuel was going to show up. Saul went ahead and offered it
ahead of time. When he got done Samuel arrived. He was
impatient, and Samuel told him that he had done foolishly!
Many foolish things are done through impatience and
desperation. Even Christians do this. When you feel like
you are running out of time, you start getting desperate,
and then you start acting like the devil. The devil
knows that he has but a short time, and he is always
impatient. The Spirit of the Lord will not punch you,
and punch you, and punch you to get you to do something. He
will draw you, and deal with you, and convict you to get you
to do something, but He will never punch you.
The devil knows if he doesn’t hit you in a certain amount of
time, he has lost you. God won’t let temptation stay but so
long, and with every temptation, God makes a way of escape
for the Christian (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). The devil
knows that he only has a little while to hammer you, so he
does it with all of his fury, but he is a liar and a loser!
We are fighting a defeated foe! Hallelujah!
When Jesus walked into the synagogue (church) there was
liberty, because it wasn’t just the man Christ Jesus; it was
God in Him. He had the power to cast out every demon.
Jesus spent hours upon hours in prayer. Sometimes it was
all night, and people would meet him at sunrise with their
sick to be healed. There was no time to catch a nap. He
would just start praying for the sick and casting out
devils.
God gave Him power, but even Jesus had to learn obedience
according to Hebrews 5:8 which says, “Though he were a Son,
yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”
The Lord dealt with me mightily that one of the most
powerful things that He had to learn was not endurance of
pain, but patience! In glory, He didn’t have to wait on
anything. If He wanted it, He created it.
You have to be patient and not give up! People tend to lose
hope and give up when they get impatient. They say, “I
don’t have time,” and they quit while God is preparing a
miracle for them. Meanwhile, the devil is telling you that
it is too late! It’s too late - but the devil is a liar!
It IS too late for him!
Do you think that God is slow? In six days He created the
universe. The sun is 93 million miles from the earth. I
don’t know how many millions of miles are between the sun
and the nearest star, but they call it “light years”. A
light year is one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per
second. That is a hundred and eighty-six thousand miles
every time I can double clap. That is how fast a beam of
light can travel.
Some have bounced signals off of planets and stars and have
found out how many millions of light years away they are.
Think about the vastness of our solar system, and there are
multiplied millions of galaxies beyond that! Think how big
the universe is! The Bible says that God created it in six
days! Do you still think God is slow? Be patient for the
coming of the Lord. If the Lord wants to move, He can
redeem the time and do a thousand years’ worth of good in
one day!
We know that we have a little bit of time, but we are not
sure how long, so we say, “Hurry up, God, and move!”
However, God will move in the exact pace that is necessary
for us.
Learning to wait is part of your faith. Sometimes the
activity of your faith involves nothing other than waiting.
Generally, when people start getting impatient with God,
they start working “their way” to try to speed the process,
not realizing they are going the opposite way. They think
nothing is happening, and that is impatience crying out!
The carnal mind is always clamoring to “get busy and do
something!”
Jesus said in Revelations 3:18, “I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be
rich. . . .” Peter says in 1 Peter 1:7, “That the trial of
your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found
unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ:” Jesus’ faith was tried, so ours will be too.
James 1:3 says, “Knowing this, that the trying of your
faith worketh patience.”
Many Christians can believe that God heals the sick, but not
everybody has the patience to hold on until God does it. A
lot of people won’t come to prayer meeting because they
don’t have the patience to pray for one hour! Jesus
told the disciples in Matthew 26:40, “. . . What, could ye
not watch with me one hour?” You get the victory in
prayer! Jude 1:20 says, “. . . building up yourselves on
your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.”
The trying of your faith creates patience, and James 1:4
says, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye
may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” In other
words, if you are willing to wait on it, God is going to
give it to you!
Jesus had verbal and physical persecution, social
persecution, and even his own family said He was crazy. He
endured through it all, and patience had its perfect work.
Some sinners believe that GOD IS, but they don’t
serve Him, because they don’t have the patience.
Faith and patience are kin, they work together, and it is
impossible to separate the two. God will work on your faith
and patience, but so will the devil. We are given a measure
of faith in order to believe that we need to receive Christ
Jesus as Saviour and Lord. That faith can grow from a
mustard seed and become a tree, in other words, Christ in
you, the Hope of Glory.
Your faith must be tried, but in your patience you possess
your soul! If you haven’t got any patience, you won’t stay
saved very long, because you just won’t put up with God’s
Word and His commandments. You will say that you can’t do
it! It is because of impatience.
The Bible says in Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the
LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they
shall walk, and not faint.” We wait upon the Lord for
answers, but we also wait upon Him to manifest in our lives
in a greater fashion. We wait upon the Lord to crucify us
away from the world and the things that so easily beset us.
The time period required is called patience.
Patience is not just a character trait. Patience is also a
position in God. The scope of patience is broader than we
realize. Patience is what makes you perfect. We think if
we have to wait very long, it tears us down. We start
doubting and wondering. We get upset. Then the devil comes
in and brings carnal lusts. Then he starts bringing you
faster (not better) solutions. Those who are in a hurry to
get married will just marry anybody through impatience!
What trouble they will have for the rest of their lives if
they want to stay saved!
Desperation follows on the heels of impatience. You must
work in patience, hold fast to your faith, believe God, and
refuse to budge. You don’t sit idly by and wait. This
isn’t like going to the doctor’s office and waiting. While
you wait you have to seek the Lord in fasting and prayer.
Waiting is the time required to obtain.
God can give anybody anything, anytime, but He doesn’t. He
gives a perfect work to the patient ones. Matthew 10:22
says, “. . . but he that endureth to the end shall be
saved.” This walk of faith is being tried by waiting. They
that wait on the Lord shall lack no good thing. They that
wait on the Lord shall not be ashamed.
Some scriptures in the Bible really challenge us.
Revelation 1:9 says, “I John, who also am your brother, and
companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience
of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos,
for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus
Christ.” What a place to put the word “patience”! It is
right in there with “the kingdom”! It fact, it holds the
same weight! The kingdom of Jesus Christ is held up by that
patience.
We don’t just sit around waiting quietly. Waiting is
humbling and soul searching. If you don’t think so, then
find out what your mind does when you have to start
waiting! If someone is late for an appointment with you,
your mind will start thinking stuff.
Have you noticed that the bigger your request, the more you
have to wait, generally? For example, if you buy something
that is expensive, you have to wait a while to save enough
money to get it (usually). We want revival for this area,
and it is taking a little more time than your tea to heat!
This is not a microwave religion! However, the Bible says
if we continue to wait upon the Lord, we will obtain (see
John 15:7).
The kingdom of Jesus Christ involves patience, and one
of the best ways for the carnal nature to be crucified is to
make it wait.
If you want to eventually be able to lift 100
pounds above your head, you must train. While you are
training, you are waiting for development to the
place and point where you can attain the goal you set. God
has called us to be like Jesus and nothing is impossible
with God. He said that we are to get to the place where
nothing is impossible for us (see Matthew 17:20). Let’s
believe the whole gospel!
God’s Word teaches us the truth. Mark 16:17-18 says, “And
these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover.”
John 14:12 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my
Father.” If you aren’t doing these works, then you are
going to have to seek the Lord, and patiently wait on the
Lord until it is done. Why? Because you take
responsibility for the fact that the leper is not cleansed
yet, people die prematurely, and many are afflicted and
tormented.
The works of the devil are manifest, but Jesus was sent to
destroy the works of the devil! Since Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday, today, and forever, He is still destroying
the works of the devil.
Prayer is an act of faith. Jesus spent all night long in
prayer waiting until God gave Him the breakthrough. We
should get in the habit of getting down and praying until we
feel the breakthrough. Pray till it is a done thing! Keep
it going, and the kingdom of God will come down and manifest
in this realm. It will be on your life first, and then on
those you are praying for.
The Lord commends the church in Philadelphia in Revelation
3:10 which says, “Because thou hast kept the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,
which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth.”
Jesus said in Mark 14:38, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter
into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is
weak.” Impatience lies at the door of sin.
People will wait on their supper, but they won’t wait on
God! According to Revelation 3:10 patience has keeping
power! Patience will keep you saved, healed, and will
keep you delivered. That is what keeps you in the
admonition of the Lord, but when you start getting impatient
you have been doing too much stinking thinking.
2 Thessalonians 3:5 says, “And the Lord direct your
hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting
for Christ.” When the Lord shows up it is so glorious
that it is worth the wait! We have a tendency to wait on
that which we value.
We are tried to our utmost, but we must endure until the
end. What is the end? It is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26
says, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
Paul says in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
Revelations 14:12 says, “Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and
the faith of Jesus.”
James 5:11 says, “Behold, we count them happy which endure.
Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end
of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender
mercy.” Consider the faith and the patience of Job. Job
cursed his day, and he got sick and tired of his situation,
but he never cursed God. He wished he was dead, but he
never cursed God. I know what that feels like. That is
patience and waiting where there is nothing left but faith.
There is no zeal left and all you have is the kind of faith
that God uses for “now faith”.
God says if we will do all of our waiting first, then when
we pray, things will happen immediately. That is the key to
it, and it is so simple.
Revelations 14:13 says, “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.”
In Revelations 14:12-13 those who kept the patience and
faith of the Lord will be resting from their labours. That
is where man has entered into the rest of God, and has
ceased from his own works. That is talking about total
crucifixion of self, becoming a new creature. Then when you
pray, things happen just like it did for Jesus. It comes
through patience in the Lord.
A lot of people have faith in the Lord, but our patience
with the Lord is where the perfect work lies. I believe God
for the most awesome things, but I haven’t seen them
accomplished yet. However, I am waiting.
As we wait on the Lord, we go to Him in prayer. We tell Him
what we desire, and He brings it. However, that is all in a
time frame, and the more we seek and wait on Him, the less
time it is going to take when we pray and expect God to do
something.
Let patience have her perfect work. Wait on the Lord for
His manifestation. I’m believing God to be able to
translate. I’m believing God to be able to pray for
anything, and it will happen. I’m believing God to hear the
latest thought from Heaven. We have the same Spirit so that
we may walk like Jesus. Jesus said that He did all things
to please the Father, and it is because He learned patience.
Patience is one of the most painful processes we know,
but this is the method that God has chosen for us to enter
in. This is our crucifixion and His glory. This is how
we decrease and are made humble before God. I pray that God
will do a work in each of us and teach us to wait on God!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
PASTOR KEVIN BADGLEY
LIVING HOPE FELLOWSHIP, P. O.
BOX 111, GRAND CHAIN, IL 62941
CHURCH / FAX (618) 634-2541
E-mail
livinghopefellowship@lazernetwireless.net
These condensed Bible
studies have been published to help new Christians in their
new walk with the Lord. Kevin Badgley, the author, is the
pastor of Living Hope Fellowship Church.
This is a Living Hope
Fellowship publication.
©
Living Hope Fellowship, Inc.
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