Believe it or not, I am way more patient now than I used to be. The Spirit of God had a whole lot of work to do on me. Because this patience is a big deal. It’s one of the “fruit of the Spirit” that we have been talking about in this “Remastered” series. It’s one of those pieces of the “image of God” that God’s Spirit is trying to cultivate in every one of us Jesus followers. And it’s hard, because … Well, we live in a world that does not revolve around us. And more than that, we live in a world surrounded by sinners. Everyone I do life with is a sinner, and some of those sins hurt me. Just like, some of my sins hurt those who do life with me. So, this … God-like … patience … is a really, really big deal. Let me show you.

Bottom line … how many of you guys … let’s see hands this time … be honest … How many of you struggle with some self-control issue? If your hand wasn’t up, I suspect you have one of 3 problems. #1: You are in denial. #2: Or you’re lying like a dog. Or #3: you have a problem with pride. Because self-control is a battle for all of us … isn’t it? Now, I’m going to be an absolute hypocrite this morning. I have a bunch of self-control issues, even though I’ve been a Jesus follower for a long time. But I’ve got to tell you God’s truth even when I struggle with it, right? I’ve told you before I preach to myself and let you listen in.

"We've been walking through the fruit of the spirit for the last few weeks and talking about love, joy, and peace. We've talked about the definition of each fruit and worked through what the counterfeit version of that fruit is. We've even talked about what the opposite of that fruit is.

So let's start real briefly with the definition of hope. I think hope is an optimistic anticipation in the person and the promises of Jesus. It’s an optimistic anticipation – meaning it's looking forward. Hope is something that has not yet happened. It's not something that is happening; it's something that's looking forward. It's anticipating something that will happen.

And it's optimistic. It's not a negative anticipation. It's looking forward in excitement. And, like we’ve seen with other fruit, there's this sense that there's a perception to it. There's a robust confidence to it because of where it's rooted. It's an optimistic anticipation in the person and promises of Jesus. That's so key to this definition. A Jesus follower has a perception that's different. Because of who Jesus is, how He lived and what he taught – and specifically His death and His resurrection. Hope is that optimistic anticipation in the person of who He is and the promises of Jesus, meaning the things that are yet to come. The promises of His return – the promises of eternal residence with Him."

"'Then' you will experience … God’s peace, he says. What would that feel like? God’s peace. Any of you need some of that? I’ll bet some of you guys need a boatload of it. Because a lot of you guys have a PhD in worry, right? You could teach classes on it! How many of you guys struggle with worry, anxiety, stress? Health issues, and you are scared to death. Money issues, and you can’t sleep. Your marriage is struggling, or your kids are a mess, and it's sucking the life out of life. Trouble at work, or maybe you’re out of work … that’s hard! Maybe you are being bullied, or maybe you’re just flat our lonely … and it’s stealing your peace. Maybe it’s sin … that is stealing your peace. Have you ever been unsettled, or even undone by your sin? I hope so. That will create some anxiety, won’t it? On top of all that … just read the news … you’re not going to find peace out there!"

Bob Russell discusses the importance of praying for the church during the end of days.

See, I think having joy includes feelings of good cheer and a vibrant happiness. But joy, in its fuller, even spiritual meaning involves way more. It is a deep-rooted, inspired happiness. It’s a feeling, but it’s also a choice. It’s a lasting emotion that comes from a choice. Joy endures through difficult moments.

Happiness isn’t joy. Happiness is fleeting, not long-lasting. It’s dependent on people making you happy or something good happening or something going your way.

Pleasure isn’t joy. Pleasure is fleeting, not long-lasting. It’s dependent on people making you happy or something good happening or something going your way.

Joy, while accompanied by emotion, is more than an emotion. It’s rooted. It’s a choice. Which means that when something happens that wouldn’t make you happy, you can still have joy. When something happens that doesn’t bring you pleasure, you can still have joy.

"This is a really big deal … if you are a Jesus follower. A God kind of love is #1 in the apostle Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit … for a reason. It all starts here, guys. Jesus identified a God kind of love as priorities # 1 and 2 for a Jesus follower. He says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22.37-39) And guys, 1 Corinthians 13 is the kind of love Jesus is talking about. He’s not talking about any of our cheap substitutes. The apostle John said, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” (1 John 4.20-21) And I Corinthians is the kind of love he’s talking about, not the counterfeit stuff we settle for."

"So, Jesus’ enemies have finally got him exactly where they want him. They had had him arrested on trumped up charges, they had put him through a farce of a trial, they had beaten him nearly to death with a whip, then stripped him naked and nailed his hands and feet to a cross … and he was hanging there … right on the edge of dying. One of his disciples was dead, 10 were in hiding, and only one dared watch. Their hopes that Jesus might be their messiah, their inklings that he might actually be even more than that … the Son of God, even … all their hopes crushed by this … disillusionment … this emptiness. And Jesus says … “It is finished.” “It is finished” … what in the world does that mean?"

Stephen "Doc" Pattison

"There are moments when Jesus looks very normal – and moments when he looks supernatural. There are moments when he sounds very human – and moments when he sounds like he has a supernatural authority. Which are you more comfortable with? Do you like Jesus as God? Or do you prefer Jesus, the man? And if you see him as God, is he a good God? Is he a failure? If he’s a man, do you see him as a winner? A loser? Pitiful? Fool?

I want us to see Jesus in the moment today. I want us to appreciate what the disciples experienced and even see what Jesus was revealing from moment to moment. And I think you’ll find you are in the story as well. And there is a sequence of stories starting in Mark 8 that, to me, really shows the complexity of what we are talking about. And as hard as it is for us to comprehend it all, we’ll follow Peter and see how he handles all of it in the moment."

Some of the stories in the Bible sound weird. Now, if you’ve grown up in the church as I have, you forget how weird they sound to people who haven’t heard them a few dozen times. And this is one of the weird ones. It’s a wild, weird story … to people who aren’t used to the wild, weird stories of the Bible. And they read it, and they’re like … “Really?! Do you actually think that happened … literally? Do you actually think it happened … that way? I mean, there are so many head-scratchers in it, right?”

It's a story of a skirmish between this “God-man” Jesus … and this supernatural being they called “Satan.” According to the Jesus stories in the New Testament, Jesus is young … about 30, maybe … just kicking off his “ministry” on earth, and he’s kind of tossed into this cage match with the devil, Lucifer, “the prince of darkness,” Beelzebub, Mephistopheles … you know, the guy we picture with red skin, teeth like some vampire, horns, a serpent-like tail, and, holding this pitchfork … for some reason. … Really?