Restless or Relaxed? Which Describes Your Spirit?

Introduction: I Corinthians 10:1-12 twice emphasizes that the events of the Exodus were written down for our learning. Continuing our theme of Life Lessons from the Exodus, we are going to look at an incident that takes up a mere five verses. However, the length of the passage is not necessarily a faithful indicator of the importance of the lesson. Just after the momentous deliverance of Israel from destruction by Pharaoh’s army, come our five short verses that nevertheless communicate as vital a lesson as there is in the Christian experience. Exodus 15:23-27 shows us how patience is a virtue, and these verses cause us to ask ourselves a vital question: restless or relaxed? which describes your spirit? We’ll examine two men who were restless and two men who were relaxed.

I. Two Examples of Impatience

Quotation: The Church Father, Tertullian, said, “As God is the author of patience, so the Devil is of impatience.”

Explanation: Impatience is a form of unbelief. It's what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of his guidance. It springs up in our hearts when the road to success gets muddy or strewn with boulders or blocked by some fallen tree. When the way you planned to run your day, or the way you planned to live your life is cut off or slowed down, the unbelief of impatience tempts you in two directions, depending partly on your personality partly on circumstances: On the one side, it tempts you to give up, and on the other side impatience tempts you to make rash counter moves against the obstacles in your way. Abraham illustrates the latter, and Moses the former.

A. Abraham illustrates the outward consequences of not waiting on the Lord (Gen. 12 and Gen. 16)

1. His flight to Egypt resulted in a loss of testimony (Gen. 12:10-20)

2. His taking of Hagar resulted in family friction (Gen. 16:1-6)

B. Moses illustrates the inward consequences of not waiting on the Lord (Acts 6:25; Ex. 2:11-15)

1. He was filled with fear (Ex. 2:14-15)

2. He lost his desire to fulfill the Lord’s plan (Ex. 3:11)

II. Two Examples of Patience

Quotation: There is a Chinese proverb that says: "One moment of patience may ward off great disaster; one moment of impatience may ruin a whole life."

A. Paul (Acts 16:6-40)

1. He avoided spoiling the Asian ministry that the Lord had planned for him (Acts 19:20)

2. He ended up in the place where God had prepared people to receive the Word (Acts 16:6-40)

a. Lydia

b. The Philippian Jailer

B. David (1 Sam. 16-31)

1. His actions led to conviction of sin (1 Sam. 24:16-22; 26:21)

2. His actions brought glory to the LORD (2 Sam. 7:9)

Illustration: Charles Simeon. He was a pastor in the Church of England from 1782 to 1836 at Trinity Church in Cambridge. He was appointed to his church by a bishop against the will of the people. They opposed him not because he was a bad preacher but because he was an evangelical—he believed the Bible and called for conversion and holiness and world missions.

For 12 years the people refused to let him give the afternoon Sunday sermon. And during that time they boycotted the Sunday morning service and locked their pews so that no one could sit in them. He preached to people in the aisles for 12 years! How did he last?

In this state of things I saw no remedy but faith and patience. [Note the linking of faith and patience!] The passage of Scripture which subdued and controlled my mind was this, "The servant of the Lord must not strive." [Note: The weapon in the fight for faith and patience was the Word!] It was painful indeed to see the church, with the exception of the aisles, almost forsaken; but I thought that if God would only give a double blessing to the congregation that did attend, there would on the whole be as much good done as if the congregation were doubled and the blessing limited to only half the amount. This comforted me many, many times, when without such a reflection, I should have sunk under my burden.

Conclusion: Restless or relaxed? Which describes your spirit?

Luke 21:19—"By your patience you will gain your lives."

Romans 2:7—"To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, God will give eternal life."

Hebrews 6:12—"Do not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

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