https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Longsuffering.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Numbers 13:30-14:12<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. In a desire to be kind, to give each person a chance, our criminal system frequently fails to\nuphold justice\n A. We assume people want to improve themselves, so we give people multiple\nsecond-chances. \n
1. For a few it is an opportunity to turn their life around<\/p>\n
2. But for many, it is a means to avoid the consequence of their action.<\/p>\n
B. Parents do the same thing.<\/p>\n 1. Misbehavior is excused and ignored for as long as possible because we\nhope that it was just a mistake.\n
2. We forget the warning – Ecclesiastes 8:11<\/p>\n
C. Yet, are we not to be longsuffering? Shouldn’t we be showing patience?<\/p>\n
II. Longsuffering is not endless tolerance<\/p>\n A. II Peter 3:9 – God doesn’t want men to perish, so the destruction of the world has\nbeen delayed.\n
1. Notice though that there is no promise of a permanent delay.<\/p>\n
2. In fact, look at II Peter 3:7. We know that there will come an end.<\/p>\n B. When mankind was found to be wholly evil, God could have wiped out the world\nimmediately. Instead, God waited for Noah to build an ark – I Peter 3:20\n
C. Some people misapply the longsuffering of God – Romans 2:3-4<\/p>\n 1. Condemning others for what we do ourselves makes a mockery of God’s\nlongsuffering.\n
2. We could be wiped out on the spot when we sin, but God doesn’t.<\/p>\n 3. God suffers with us so that we might repent, but too many act as if the\ndelay is approval for their own sinful deeds. They make no attempt to\nchange.\n
III. Longsuffering is not equally applied<\/p>\n
A. God shows great patience with his people – Psalm 86:15-16<\/p>\n
B. Yet, there is a limit – Exodus 34:5-7<\/p>\n
1. God is patient with the failures of those trying to do his will<\/p>\n
2. Yet, those uninterested in turning from sin are punished.<\/p>\n
C. Notice the difference.<\/p>\n 1. Some people make a mistake and sin. God suffers with the sin so that the\nsinner will repent and make effort to live righteously.\n 2. Some people sin with no desire to change. God does not always delay the\npunishment of these people.\n
IV. Longsuffering does not mean sin is not punished<\/p>\n
A. Notice that Moses quotes God’s own description of himself in Numbers 14:18<\/p>\n
1. God is longsuffering with an intolerable people<\/p>\n
2. He forgives sin, but justice is still applied to the guilty.<\/p>\n
B. Moses pleads with God to forgive the people – Numbers 14:19<\/p>\n
C. God grants his request, but those who rebelled are still punished – Numbers 14:20-23<\/p>\n D. At times God puts up with sinful people so the greatness of His glory may be\nshown – Romans 9:22-24\n 1. God did not withhold destroying the Israelites because He did not wish to\nlook mean\n 2. He did not withhold destruction because they were only human and bound\nto sin.\n 3. God withheld destruction to show his greatness and to fulfill his promises\nto Abraham\n
4. Yet, even so, the people who sinned did not enter into Canaan.<\/p>\n
V. What longsuffering is<\/p>\n A. Longsuffering for man is to continue seeking God when everything goes against\nyou\n
1. II Timothy 4:1-4<\/p>\n
a. Notice that Paul is not telling Timothy to tolerate sin. <\/p>\n b. He had to rebuke and reprove, but he had to have the attitude of\npatience.\n
c. Why? Because people will not always listen to a preacher!<\/p>\n d. But a preacher can’t give up. He must deliver God’s message even\nwhen it is rejected.\n e. The suffering here is not suffering with sin, but suffering with\nrejection.\n 2. II Timothy 3:10-11 – Paul is the example of continual dedication in the face\nof persecution.\n B. Longsuffering means having patience when dealing with our fellow Christians –\nColossians 3:12-13 \n
1. We cannot succeed in get along if we take offence at each apparent slight.<\/p>\n
2. It doesn’t mean that sin is ignored, but is dealt with in a loving manner.<\/p>\n
C. The goal of longsuffering is to bring repentance and not a continuation of sin.<\/p>\n
1. Our duty is to expose sin – Ephesians 5:11<\/p>\n
2. The innocent, the weak, still need protection from error<\/p>\n
a. At times sin will creep into a church<\/p>\n b. Some will not notice because they have not matured – Hebrews\n5:13-14\n c. It is the responsibility of the mature to point out the sin – Romans\n16:17-18\n d. Sometimes there is a hope that what is not noticed will not\ninfluence a person, but this is not how sin works.\n
e. False teaching unchecked spreads.<\/p>\n
D. Longsuffering is a chance for salvation – II Peter 3:14-17<\/p>\n
1. This is how Paul was saved – I Timothy 1:16<\/p>\n
2. But understand that others will use the time to distort the teachings of God<\/p>\n
3. Since we are warned, we must be on guard.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Numbers 13:30-14:12 I. In a desire to be kind, to give each person a chance, our criminal system frequently fails to uphold justice A. We assume people want to improve themselves, so we give people multiple second-chances. 1. For a few it is an opportunity to turn their life around 2. But for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[758,581],"class_list":["post-47768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-longsuffering","tag-patience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42231,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/forbearing-one-another-in-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":47768,"position":0},"title":"Forbearing One Another in Love","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Brian Faulkner On Being a Christian","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22008,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/patience-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":47768,"position":1},"title":"Patience","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 33:12-22 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What do you do when things don\u2019t go your way? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When money becomes tight? Or someone cheats you? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What happens when life gets difficult and you don\u2019t have a solution? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Or what happens when something needs to be done and you don\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31681,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ornery-cows-and-longsuffering\/","url_meta":{"origin":47768,"position":2},"title":"Ornery Cows and Longsuffering","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Glen Young Sentry Magazine, June 2000 Once, when I was growing up, my dad traded a hog for a cow. I didn't think at the time it was a very good trade. The old cow suffered from what was called 'holler horn' and besides, I did not relish the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cow-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4897,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-security-in-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":47768,"position":3},"title":"Our Security in Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward O. Bragwell In our Grace \u2013 Obedience \u2013 Fellowship discussions, we are often told that without those in Christ being continuously cleansed of sin (even as they sin) we can have no real sense of security in Him. It goes something like this: It must be that God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34569,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-bible-say-that-gods-patience-is-long-but-not-endless\/","url_meta":{"origin":47768,"position":4},"title":"Where does the Bible say that God’s patience is long but not endless?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Sir, Kindly let me know where exactly it is written in the Holy Bible that God's patience is long but not endless? I am very eager to know the exact book, chapter, and verse in the Holy Bible. Answer: \"And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, \"The LORD,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60001,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-impenitent\/","url_meta":{"origin":47768,"position":5},"title":"The Impenitent","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jeremiah 26:1-15 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jeremiah was told to warn the people of the doom that was approaching them \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God thought there might be chance that the people would change - Jeremiah 26:2-3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Did they respond? Yes, but not in the right way - Jeremiah 26:8-9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jeremiah\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}