Patience of Hope

The point: Evaluate ourselves as a church against the standard of the 'three crown jewels' of Christian virtue (work of faith, labor of love, patience of hope) and press toward them as a goal.

The 'work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope' are called the 'three crown jewels in the diadem of Christian virtue,' emphasizing their preciousness and significance as marks of true grace.

we also have a standard by which we as a church can evaluate ourselves. We have a goal toward which we should press by the grace of God. Now, at the very top of those lists of the tokens of grace, we have in verse 3, what we have called the three crown jewels in the diadem of Christian virtue, remembering without ceasing, your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father. We have studied the phrase, the work of faith, and the fact that Paul gave thanks to God that here were a people who had a faith that was not mere idle or sp...

2:26 - 3:48 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The word hope in the scripture, means nothing less than a joyful and confident expectation of a promised blessing.

Examples like 'I hope to take my vacation to the shore' or 'I hope daddy won't spank me' are used to illustrate the common, non-biblical understanding of hope as a mere wish or strong desire, setting up the contrast with biblical hope.

Now when we use the word hope, we usually use it in the sense of a strong wish or desire. We say, well, I hope to take my vacation and go to the shore. Or I hope that I will graduate from high school next year. Now when you say you hope, what you're saying is I have a strong desire, I have an earnest wish that such and such will come to pass.

6:34 - 6:56 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He establishes hope as integral to salvation, citing Romans 8:23-24 and 1 Peter 1:3. He then defines biblical patience not as passive waiting, but as active 'endurance' or…

The image of a patient fisherman sitting in a boat, waiting for a fish to nibble, is used to illustrate the common, non-biblical understanding of patience as passive waiting, contrasting it with the biblical concept of endurance.

I wish I could use it in that sense that every one of you could give back to me now the definition I've given to you but I won't embarrass you or myself in asking you at the door this morning. Now the word patience. What does this word patience mean? We usually think of patience as the fellow sitting in the car sitting out there in the boat in the calm lake in a sun hat pulled over his eyes hips back in his boat feet up on the edge of the boat his line thrown out in the water waiting for a little fish to nibble on his line and we say the fisherman must be very patient.

16:20 - 16:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Paul realized that perhaps nothing more clearly revealed either the sham or the reality of the truth of the Christian profession as did suffering tribulation difficulty hardship this becomes the laboratory in which the g…

The hypothetical scenario of Muslim friends being economically boycotted, losing jobs, and facing starvation for their faith is used to vividly illustrate the intense pressure and suffering that requires 'patience of hope' in the face of persecution.

what gave them that endurance to face persecution just babes in Christ what would happen to you if after a month after you professed to be joined to Jesus Christ you began to really get some kicking around for your faith some of our Muslim friends boycotted economically lose their job nobody will hire them they go to buy food no one will sell food to them you see your starving children and a crying wife what would you do all you need to do is renounce Christ you have your job back have your tummy full again have your children's tummies full you have your wife smiling again this is happening ri...

23:09 - 24:37 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He contrasts the world's 'now generation' mentality, focused solely on present life and temporal concerns, with the Christian's perspective, which governs everything by the…

The phrase 'now generation' is used to characterize the world's preoccupation with immediate gratification and temporal concerns, contrasting it with the Christian's eternal perspective rooted in hope.

what's a little hardship here so they're in the middle of it when he comes he has no other choice only to come to me and mourn them so he's not going to come back again any way All the advertisement, all the jingles, selling Coke or Pepsi or anything else. This is the now generation. You've got to live it up now. Everything's now. That's the mark of the world. Its whole concern is now.

24:37 - 25:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin laments that 300 years of comfort in America have led to a lack of appreciation for the world to come, causing believers to sing of heaven with dry eyes and neglect…

America's 300 years of relative comfort and lack of persecution are described as a 'fool's paradise,' explaining why American Christians may lack a strong hope in the world to come.

It's interesting in the early history of the church.

33:20 - 33:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin laments that 300 years of comfort in America have led to a lack of appreciation for the world to come, causing believers to sing of heaven with dry eyes and neglect…

The idea of being in a dungeon is used to suggest that hardship might make heaven 'a little more precious to us,' illustrating how suffering can sharpen a believer's hope.

How much have you thought about heaven this past week? How much have you fed your mind upon those promised blessings that will be yours when the Lord comes back again? I tell you, if you and I were in a dungeon.

34:27 - 34:40 Read in full sermon