WEBVTT

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 We're going to talk about, so we've been in a kind of an evening series, if you will, looking at different aspects of Christian character, mostly from the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians, as well as well.

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 So I will, if you start in Galatians chapter 5, that's 1-1-7-2, 1-1-7-2 in the church Bibles.

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 So we've had a variety of these. We had love and joy. We had self-control. I did that one. Seth, which one did you do recently?

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 Gentleness. So we've had some really positive, fun things. Tonight we're going to talk about forbearance.

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 So if that, you know, elicits shouts of praise because you came here ready to speak about forbearance, that's one of your favorite subjects.

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 Yes, you'll be by yourself. No. But I think it is interesting. I kind of went into thinking about it, studying it without a whole lot of expectation, sort of hadn't given it a ton of thought in a specific way.

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 But I think it was, it's interesting. And so I hope it'd be helpful for all of us to look at.

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 So let's just look at that verse in Galatians 5, 22, when it talks about the fruit of the Spirit.

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 It says,

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 Right, so we have

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 the fruit of the Spirit. And you've got love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, control.

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 Against such things there is no law.

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 Right?

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 I think we can easily get there with goodness, love, joy, peace. Those are easy ones to get on board with.

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 Self-control we talked about is maybe like, okay, that one's a little bit out there. And then forbearance is thrown in there. Sometimes that's translated as patience.

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 And I'm going to tell you why that's maybe leave something to be desired.

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 But let me ask you, the word forbearance, what does that even mean? Right? I'm curious to hear what you think, without having like, done any study or thought about it very much before you walked in here this evening.

00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.000
 What is forbearance? What does that mean?

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 Patience. Patience. I gave you the clue there. Yeah, patience is part of it, for sure.

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 To keep going. I like that.

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 Endurance, in some ways, yeah.

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 What's that?

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 Tolerance. Interesting.

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 It feels a little different than endurance, but maybe related.

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 Anything else comes to mind?

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 Ability to wait.

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 Ability to wait. Yeah, that's good.

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 So yeah, patience, ability to wait.

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 Interesting.

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 Anything else before I carry on?

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 So, I think, when you think of forbearance,

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 the connotation that comes is sort of a refraining from the enforcement of a punishment.

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 Right? So, patient, enduring in the sense that the thing that should be done is being held.

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 Right? So, as we looked at God and Jonah, right, there was something that the Ninevites and even Jonah were maybe deserved that's been held off for a bit.

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 Right?

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 So, forbearance is patience, but it's a specific kind of patience, because it's kind of patience under provocation.

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 Right?

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 So, patience, you can wait for something.

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 You can wait even for others to mature and grace and find their way.

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 Right?

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 You can be patient there.

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 But forbearance is being patient when their immaturity is directed at you.

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 Right?

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 And so, we can be patient when someone maybe has a different opinion than us.

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 And we can say, okay, that's not what I think.

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 But you know what?

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 I can be patient.

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 I can endure that for a bit.

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 But when we have to forbear when that means that they are attacking or demeaning us in some way.

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 Right?

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 Or for our opinion.

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 Or for origin.

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 So, there's like a slight nuance in there.

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 Because forbearance is almost like I'm bearing something that's being directed at me.

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 I'm holding maybe what would be the right response in order to have grace in that moment.

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 Right?

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 And so, you can see that in God because the sinfulness is against him.

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 Right?

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 And so, he's holding back what would be the just return for that.

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 So, we're going to look at Romans to flesh this out a little bit.

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 So, if you want to flip there, we'll go.

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 Actually, hold on.

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 Before you do that, pause.

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 I want to read from Ephesians 2.

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 Sorry, Ephesians 2.

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 Because it talks about forbearance there as well.

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 Sorry, Ephesians 4.

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 Ephesians 4.

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 Yeah.

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 He says, Paul says,

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 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling that you have received.

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 Be completely humble and gentle.

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 Be patient.

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 Bearing with one another in love.

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 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

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 Right?

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 So, you've got that bearing with one another in love.

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 That's that forbearance.

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 Right?

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 So, you've got patience, but then you've got sort of a nuanced difference.

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 Right?

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 He said patience and bear with one another in love.

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 And so, there's a difference there.

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 And so, now, we can flip to Romans.

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 Let's go back.

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 Romans, Romans, Romans.

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 Romans.

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 It's Romans 2, which is why I was telling you the wrong thing before.

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 Romans 2.

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 This is 1, 1, 2, 9, if you haven't found it.

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 And I'll start in verse 2.

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 It says,

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 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things, this was being condemned, is based on truth.

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 So, when you, a human being, pass judgment on them, yet do the same things, do you think that you will escape God's judgment?

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 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

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 Right?

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 So, God's kindness, God's forbearance, God's patience with us is intended to lead us to repentance.

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 Right?

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 Like, the reason we read Jonah earlier was to help us kind of frame this in our mind, that the Ninevites, it said that they were doing all sorts of wickedness.

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 Right?

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 They had been running from God and not giving him glory, not worshiping him, such that God is going to destroy them.

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 Right?

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 That's the punishment that's coming.

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 His just punishment for their activity is their destruction.

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 But in his patience, in his kindness, in his forbearance, he reaches out to them.

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 He calls Jonah, he says, Jonah, go to the Ninevites, tell them that this is coming, so that they might repent.

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 Right?

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 And so, this is God forbearing, pausing what could be done, what maybe is rightly going to be done, in order for them to have time to repent.

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 And then, so, the funny thing is, like Jonah, we rarely want to work this way.

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 Right?

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 So, when we think about when something's been done to us, something wrong has been done to us, we rarely are saying, let me pause, let me wait until they have a chance to maybe repent and ask for forgiveness of that sin that they have just come.

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 Right?

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 No, we want justice, and we want it immediately.

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 We want it because our flesh desires that.

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 Right?

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 And we might even be right in the sense that they have done us wrong, and we desire there to be retribution of some sort.

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 Right?

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 But what the fruit of the Spirit, allowing us to have this forbearance, is saying, you know what, we don't pursue that, particularly in the context of in the church.

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 And so, we're looking at it, and what Paul is calling us to, is to say, be like God, and let those things be patient, and let something, let their wrong, let them have time to repent of their wrong.

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 Right?

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 Right?

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 So, it's really interesting.

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 As you keep reading in Romans, if you flip over to chapter 3, 3 verse 25, it says,

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 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith.

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 He did this to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance, he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

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 He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

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 Right?

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 Right?

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 So, God's patience with us allows Christ to come in and be just and the justifier.

00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:09.759
 Right?

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 God can be patient with us while remaining just in his self because he ultimately deals with our sin.

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 He doesn't just let it go.

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 He deals with it, but he deals with it on the cross.

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 Right?

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 And God is patient with the sin of those who hurt us while he remains just because he ultimately deals with their sin on the cross.

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 You see what's happening?

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 He allows time for repentance in us and in those who hurt us.

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 Right?

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 And so, we can be patient with those who hurt us because we know that God is just and we know that their sin will be dealt with or has been dealt with on the cross.

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 And so, just as he has ours.

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 Right?

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 And so, we can look to the cross and know that, you know what?

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 That person's sin, that thing that has hurt me, has been dealt with.

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 Right?

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 Whether they are in that place or not, that's between them and God.

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 But now, I can forbear with my brother in Christ because I know that their sin has been dealt with.

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 And there will be times when I need it.

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 And there have been times when I've needed it.

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 And God has dealt with my sin on the cross.

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 And I've been forgiven.

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 And so, he's been patient with me.

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 So, I can be patient now with my brother or my sister.

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 Right?

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 And it's just like the other fruits of the spirit.

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 We don't...

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 The ability to forbear is a fruit.

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 It's a gift of the spirit.

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 It's not something that we learn how to be.

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 It's not something that we work hard at, necessarily.

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 It's something that God's grace gives us.

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 Right?

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 The spirit in our lives produces this.

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 Because now, we're thinking differently about the world.

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 We're looking at the things that happen in life, not from our lens of saying,

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 I'm the most important.

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 And therefore, a sin against me needs punishment.

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 We're looking at it from the perspective of,

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 all sin needs punishment.

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 And God has given the punishment.

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 And he's provided that on his own son on the cross.

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 And now, we can look and live in the grace that he gives.

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 Right?

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 Forbearance is not a fruit of our goodness.

00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:37.279
 Right?

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 Nor is it a result of our exceptional spirituality.

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 Right?

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 It's a gift that God gives in the spirit.

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 In the same way he gives us love.

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 In the same way he gives us joy.

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 In the same way he gives us self-control.

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 Right?

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 These things, like, we don't determine in our lives to be joyful.

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 We can try.

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 But it's the spirit who moves in that.

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 So, anyway.

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 This is the context.

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 When we go back to, when we think about the Ephesians passage.

00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:11.580
 Right?

00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:14.460
 Where he's talking about forbearance there.

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 The context of that is unity and maturity in the body of Christ.

00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:21.320
 Right?

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 So, when we see forbearance, it's talking about between Christians.

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 Between brothers and sisters who have already looked and said, we trust God.

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 I'm committing to that.

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 And so, when we're looking at each other in this room.

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 And we're saying, like, now, like, you've said or done something to me that hurt my feelings.

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 Or made me feel like lesser than.

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 Or I've done something like that to you.

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 I've spoken harshly.

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 Or, you know, whatever else it is.

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 The forbearance is looking at that and saying, I don't need to jump into this.

00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:03.120
 Right?

00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:18.659
 I don't need to get my right, just reward of feeling like, you know, you have now been belittled or come to your sin.

00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:19.340
 Right?

00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:23.980
 The implication is that we can now interact with one another.

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 It's like, you know, we can have patience with one another and we have different opinions.

00:15:27.680 --> 00:15:30.539
 We can also forbear with one another when something has gone sideways.

00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:31.539
 Right?

00:15:31.539 --> 00:15:37.379
 And that's an important aspect of unity that Paul and others bring us to.

00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:37.940
 Right?

00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:50.139
 In order to make unity amongst the church family, based on Ephesians 4, verse 2, it says, be completely humble.

00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:50.399
 Right?

00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:58.439
 We have to show humility because our thoughts, ideas, hopes are not necessarily everyone else's thoughts, ideas, and hopes.

00:15:58.600 --> 00:15:58.720
 Right?

00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:01.699
 Even if we have the same goal in mind.

00:16:02.019 --> 00:16:02.500
 Right?

00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:06.019
 We want to see Jesus proclaimed from here.

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 We might end up with different opinions and ideas about how that might be done.

00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:10.340
 Right?

00:16:10.439 --> 00:16:16.439
 And so we have to be humble enough to allow for different ideas and different things to come out.

00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:16.699
 Right?

00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:20.180
 It's not our way of doing things.

00:16:20.580 --> 00:16:20.720
 Right?

00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:23.520
 We have to be gentle.

00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:23.960
 Right?

00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:26.320
 We have to show gentleness in order to maintain unity.

00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:30.280
 Right?

00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:35.460
 The way to respond to others either builds relationships or it tears them apart.

00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:36.460
 Right?

00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:44.840
 And so as we are going about these different things, as we're engaged in the life of the church, as we work together as a body.

00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:45.519
 Right?

00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:49.240
 We have to show gentleness to one another in order to maintain that unity.

00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:51.600
 We have to be patient.

00:16:51.900 --> 00:16:52.180
 Right?

00:16:52.420 --> 00:16:58.980
 And this is the kind of patience that others will do things that we might disagree with or we might think is not the best way.

00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:01.420
 Or we might think we have a better idea.

00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:06.059
 And yet we need to be patient with those things and say, you know what?

00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:08.900
 Like, we'll see how this goes.

00:17:09.299 --> 00:17:09.460
 Right?

00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:11.079
 Or maybe it's fine.

00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:12.240
 I don't know yet.

00:17:12.539 --> 00:17:15.180
 You know, maybe it's just their idea versus my idea.

00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:15.420
 Right?

00:17:15.420 --> 00:17:23.500
 There's a variety, a multitude of things that come to that, that we can be patient with one another as we see these things play ourselves out.

00:17:24.120 --> 00:17:24.360
 Right?

00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:41.100
 But then it also says we'll have to forbear because sometimes the other person won't be patient or sometimes we won't be patient and we'll step into something and say something that's hurtful or say something that's demeaning and it'll cause problems.

00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:41.779
 Right?

00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:45.879
 And so when that happens to us, our call is to forbear.

00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:46.879
 Right?

00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:58.099
 Our call is to look at that person in love and thank God for the grace that he has on their life and the grace that he's shown in my life and allow ourselves to move forward.

00:17:58.220 --> 00:17:58.339
 Right?

00:17:58.399 --> 00:18:02.160
 There might be a moment where we, you know, have a conversation about that.

00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:09.940
 But that's sort of separate because you can have that in a, in a, in a way that's helpful if you've forbeard through.

00:18:10.100 --> 00:18:12.660
 I don't know if that's the right way to make it.

00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:24.220
 But if we've forbeard such that the relationship is intact and now I can, I can have a conversation about why that was hurtful or whatever and we can, we can seek reconciliation.

00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:31.820
 But if you come at it, you know, looking for your just retribution, you're, you're going to hurt that relationship.

00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:32.279
 You see?

00:18:32.659 --> 00:18:48.059
 And so the unity amongst the church requires us to look at one another and say, you hurt me and I'm not going to ask for, like, I want reconciliation, but I'm not going to ask for retribution.

00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:54.919
 I don't need my, there's a word that I'm missing that I can't think of, but you get what I'm saying.

00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:55.139
 Right?

00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:57.160
 Like, I'm not making no sense.

00:18:57.860 --> 00:18:58.020
 Right?

00:18:58.100 --> 00:19:14.940
 And so here's the interesting thing about forbearance, I think, that we see in the, in the text when particularly, you know, obviously forbearance is one of these things that it's God's example.

00:19:15.020 --> 00:19:15.160
 Right?

00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:20.540
 None of us wake up wanting to just let people get away with stuff that hurts us.

00:19:20.620 --> 00:19:20.860
 Right?

00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:24.080
 Like, that's not, that's not how we would just go about things.

00:19:24.380 --> 00:19:24.820
 Right?

00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:30.439
 So this is clearly something that is God calling us to something that's outside of ourselves.

00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:31.159
 Right?

00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:36.159
 And it's because it's in his character to be patient and slow to anger with us.

00:19:36.539 --> 00:19:37.019
 Right?

00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:44.079
 And so when we see it, the reality is God determined to be patient and forbear with us.

00:19:44.439 --> 00:19:44.919
 Right?

00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:46.119
 Before he had to.

00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:52.980
 He was, he had determined to do it and then he was.

00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:53.779
 Right?

00:19:53.779 --> 00:20:08.420
 And so what, what comes from that is that we end up bearing with one another in love is not a feeling or an attitude that just will come up inside of us.

00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:09.059
 Right?

00:20:09.059 --> 00:20:22.720
 There's a, there's a, there's a, there's a choice, a commitment that as we are walking with the Lord and we, we're reading these texts from Ephesians and we're, we're considering what God has for us.

00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:26.159
 It's, it's a, he says, bear with one another in love.

00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:33.240
 And so the, the assumption is that you're reading that not in a moment where someone has already offended you.

00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:34.160
 Right?

00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:35.200
 You're, you're probably just reading this.

00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:42.600
 Maybe, maybe he has, but like the point is you're reading it at a time where you can say, yeah, no, that's, that's actually the thing that I should do.

00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:48.799
 I've seen God move and he's bared with me in love in a way that I haven't.

00:20:48.879 --> 00:20:55.519
 And so I can, I can make that decision now as part of, as, as looking to Christ.

00:20:55.519 --> 00:21:04.799
 And I can say, my, my role, my job is to commit and choose well ahead of time to bear with one another.

00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:05.420
 Right?

00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:11.619
 To look at my brothers and sisters in Christ and say, you know what, there's going to be a moment when, when I'm hurt here.

00:21:12.059 --> 00:21:13.660
 When, when something goes a little bit sideways.

00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:24.200
 But Paul and Jesus and God are calling us to say, you know what, like, let me slow, slow my role here so that I can bear with this.

00:21:24.379 --> 00:21:24.819
 Right?

00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:28.980
 You understand that I'm not saying that we should just let people get away with stuff.

00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:31.700
 That's not what I'm, not what I'm, not what the text says.

00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:32.319
 That's not what I'm saying.

00:21:32.379 --> 00:21:35.159
 But like, there's a difference in, for bearing.

00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:41.379
 So when you look at bearing with one another in love, so you bear with one another, you choose and you commit ahead of time to do that.

00:21:41.379 --> 00:21:42.819
 And in love, right?

00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:48.000
 Love in this case is the attitude and action, not the feeling.

00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:48.859
 Right?

00:21:49.059 --> 00:21:54.659
 So we're, we're, we're choosing to be loving in this moment.

00:21:54.660 --> 00:22:02.540
 To look at our brother in Christ, look at our sister in Christ who's, who's potentially done something that has hurt us.

00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:04.680
 And we're saying, you know what, I'm going to love them anyway.

00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:08.360
 Because Christ has loved me as I hurt him.

00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:09.200
 Right?

00:22:09.620 --> 00:22:10.640
 Like, do we see that?

00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:18.180
 Like, I hope I'm making sense because I'm like, this is an interesting one, right?

00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:19.960
 So this idea of forbearance, right?

00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:25.380
 Yeah, please do.

00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:25.820
 Yeah.

00:22:25.820 --> 00:22:32.680
 So I was going to, I didn't say at the start, because I was thinking, am I reading, so I'm looking at the word you're thinking.

00:22:33.380 --> 00:22:38.680
 And the modern weeks, before I'm not, that's where the meaning point is.

00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:42.640
 But it says, so you've got two parts.

00:22:42.820 --> 00:22:47.120
 You've got my problem, which for me I'd say, this is far away.

00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:49.679
 And the meaning point is anger.

00:22:51.199 --> 00:22:53.699
 So it's like, keep your anger far away.

00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:55.019
 Yeah, that's good.

00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:57.919
 So that's what I would say, this would be the word.

00:22:58.459 --> 00:23:00.439
 Good way to imagine it, right?

00:23:00.479 --> 00:23:01.799
 Keep your anger far away, right?

00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.479
 And we see that in Christ, right?

00:23:03.479 --> 00:23:08.179
 We see that in God and in the story of Jonah and in the story of each one of our lives.

00:23:08.219 --> 00:23:10.879
 If we've come to faith in him, right?

00:23:10.959 --> 00:23:14.500
 His anger was not on us, right?

00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:16.259
 When it could have been, right?

00:23:16.299 --> 00:23:18.960
 He's stayed that anger and said, you know what?

00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:21.279
 Like, here's an opportunity to come back.

00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:22.839
 And that's basically what we're doing.

00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:24.420
 We're looking at one another and we're saying, you know what?

00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:30.740
 I could be angry right now and I could come down harshly back at you and maybe be justified in that.

00:23:31.299 --> 00:23:32.579
 But I'm going to choose not to.

00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:34.539
 I'm going to keep it far away.

00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:37.779
 And I'm going to trust that the Lord will deal.

00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:39.940
 And I'm going to love you in it.

00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:45.920
 And often that's going to help us get the kind of reconciliation that we want anyway, right?

00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.120
 And there's going to be an opportunity.

00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:56.120
 But if we come down with the harshness, I mean, this is, you know, when you're dealing with kids, you're dealing with a partner, you're dealing with family members, right?

00:23:56.120 --> 00:23:57.059
 We're dealing with church members.

00:23:57.259 --> 00:23:59.880
 Like, this is not rocket science.

00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:05.340
 But it's so deep because it's how God has dealt with us, right?

00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:18.419
 And when you think about it in that way, right, like, you see what God has done and you see how he has held off what was rightly directed at me.

00:24:18.699 --> 00:24:31.939
 And he put it on his own son that all of a sudden, like, the idea of, like, not being just, like, brutal back to someone who's hurt one of us feels like not even that big of a deal, right?

00:24:31.940 --> 00:24:36.000
 And so that's the whole idea, that we can be, we can forbear with one another.

00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:36.320
 Yeah?

00:24:36.320 --> 00:24:36.380
 Yeah.

00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:42.660
 I was going to ask you, there's an additional aspect in terms of our relationship with other leaders.

00:24:43.059 --> 00:24:45.920
 Because, I mean, what you're saying is foundation.

00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:46.920
 Yeah.

00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:46.920


00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:46.920


00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:47.920
 It is.

00:24:47.920 --> 00:25:12.880
 Any other thoughts around questions?

00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:13.880
 Certainly.

00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:29.800
 I think the context of the passage that I was looking at was really in the body.

00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:35.020
 But I would, in a general sense, we should be forbearing and holding our anger regardless.

00:25:35.600 --> 00:25:35.720
 Yeah.

00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:40.720
 It's not like it doesn't apply when they don't believe and you're like, nope, smash them.

00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:44.480
 No, it's for everyone.

00:25:47.080 --> 00:25:54.780
 It can come off as a, like, that's a heavy thing to try to, like, particularly if you've been hurt, right?

00:25:55.020 --> 00:25:57.160
 It's like, that's a hard ask.

00:25:57.160 --> 00:26:04.880
 But the implication is that it's not on us to do it, right?

00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:17.519
 Like, we don't have to figure out the strength to hold because we're looking to Christ and we're looking at him and we're thankful.

00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:29.799
 And, you know, in the same way that we just sang Amazing Grace and we've prayed these prayers of, like, how gracious and merciful God has been to us, that it wells up.

00:26:29.879 --> 00:26:33.339
 The fruit of the Spirit in us allows us to do that, right?

00:26:33.339 --> 00:26:37.399
 It's not something that we have to practice in the sense, like, we should.

00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:41.599
 But practice isn't going to, like, make you a better forbearer.

00:26:42.019 --> 00:26:52.959
 It's looking closer at Jesus, believing in him and being more overwhelmed with what he's done and how he's forbeared with my own sin.

00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:59.519
 That's how you become, that's how this develops as fruit in your life.

00:27:00.220 --> 00:27:00.400
 Okay?

00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:04.759
 Let me pray and then we'll sing another song to end.

00:27:12.460 --> 00:27:20.980
 Father, we come to you recognizing that we are often like Jonah.

00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:24.640
 Jonah, we know that you're good.

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:27.660
 We know that you're kind and forgiving.

00:27:28.680 --> 00:27:35.539
 And when we are called to forgive, we don't want to because we know that you will.

00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:45.940
 And we want to see those who have hurt us feel the just ramifications of their sin.

00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:52.160
 And God, help us to remember how we were before we knew you.

00:27:52.900 --> 00:28:02.380
 Lord, that the times that we have sinned and you have held your hand and you have put your anger far away from us and put it on Jesus.

00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:06.600
 God, we want to look to you.

00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:08.600
 We want to look at what you've done.

00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:19.000
 We want to trust in your grace and your mercy on us such that that overflows out of us into how we look and engage with those around us.

00:28:19.899 --> 00:28:24.659
 Lord, we pray that the fruit of the spirit would be at work in our lives.

00:28:24.919 --> 00:28:29.839
 Lord, that you would fill us up and it would push out all the things that were there before.

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:33.459
 Lord, as Paul says, we want to take off the old self and put on the new self.

00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:35.620
 Lord, the one that comes from you.

00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:37.700
 So, Lord, I pray for us tonight.

00:28:37.840 --> 00:28:39.400
 I pray for our church here at West Kilburn.

00:28:39.779 --> 00:28:41.160
 I pray that we would forbear.

00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:46.539
 We would bear with one another in love just in the way that you've dealt with us.

00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:49.000
 And so we ask for your help.

00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:51.579
 We ask for your forgiveness when we've done it wrong.

00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.860
 And we ask for your grace to do it next time we pray.

00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:57.120
 In Jesus' name, amen.

00:29:03.460 --> 00:29:06.039
 Amen.

00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:06.039


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