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Brothers and Sisters in Christ grace to you and peace from God, our

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Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Amen.

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Spring is finally upon us.

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If you spent any amount of time with me

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there are a couple things you'll figure out first.

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I just detest cold weather.

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There's no doubt about it.

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I don't think the snow is beautiful.

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I don't care for it.

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I'm always happy when it melts.

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And finally, when the weather begins to turn and St.

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Louis goes from 30 degrees

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 to 120, I'm happy flip-flops, short shorts and a tank top, and I'm

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good to go.

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But, other than that, what it brings for me, is comfortable barbecue

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season. That would be the second thing

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you would learn about me, is, I love barbecue.

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I love to eat it.

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But more importantly, I love to cook it.

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And sooner than later on my back patio.

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You'll be able to smell Hickory and Oak aromas, wafting into the air

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with spices and pork and beef.

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Slowly cooking on my cooker.

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And if you're polite and you're willing to boost my ego and tell me

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that my barbecue tastes good.

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I might let you have a plate.

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But the thing about good barbecue is it takes determination and

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patience.

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It takes time and it's something that can't really be rushed not if

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you really want it too good.

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Now, if you want to take this this tough piece of meat that you would

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normally throw into like broth and cook for hours and hours.

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If you wanted to be tender, you have to be patient.

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You can't rush it.

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And so for hours and hours

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I'm out there

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on my back, patio watching a fire.

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Because once the meat goes on the grill, you close the lid and you let

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it go.

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So, maintaining a fire, make sure it burns, right.

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And there's one thing, I don't want to hear, is when will the food be

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done?

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I can heat, I can feel the impatience of hangry people at 3 p.m.

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waiting for dinner.

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Well, you know, you got another three or four hours and, and the

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reality is at 7 p.m.

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it might not be done.

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We might not have barbecue today.

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You might have to wait till tomorrow.

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You have to have patience for things that are good to come. Something

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that we try to impress on our three young children, something that I'm

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still hoping to learn that at the age of 37.

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It's patients.

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But what's a realistic timeline for waiting

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for things. Obviously the context of what you're waiting for will

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determine that.

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If you're asking my graduate school professors, how long they have to

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wait for me to turn in a paper.

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Sometimes it's on time and sometimes it's a couple days late.

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It is what it is.

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Dr.

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Bierman.

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I see you in the back

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have mercy upon me.

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But but in leadership, patience is also key.

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It's all those phrases.

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Patience is a virtue.

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And as be engaged with our text this morning.

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I look at Samuel with great admiration because he is a leader, who is

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demonstrating great patience with the people who he has been called

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to serve.

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And so to now, we've heard stories about the Israelite, the Samuel of

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course, is the bridge between the judges and the Kings and God's people

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are unruly as they ever are.

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The Ark has

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been stolen away as been returned and now after being returned, 20

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years later. As I was preparing this sermon that I may be out of lack

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of wanting to hear it.

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I kept skipping over that 20 years because it took 20 years from the

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Ark returning to Israel from Philistia.

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For the people of God to finally acknowledge Samuel

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as the leader that he has been called to be for them.

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And so now Samuel has been raised up as a judge.

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And now after decades and 20 years of the Ark, finally being returned

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out of the disobedience of Israel.

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They're now turning to him for guidance there now wanting to know what

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they should do it in only is taking a hopeless scenario.

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Because the Philistines are knocking on the door again, and they want

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the Ark of the Covenant back.

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And now finally, after 20 years of enduring and being patient.

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They're finally willing to give up their idols.

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They're finally willing to turn to Samuel for guidance of what they

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should do.

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For God to assist them for him to relent

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and for him to come to their side.

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I don't know about you.

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But if it had taken, 20 years for me to be recognized as a pastor, I

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might not be standing in this pulpit.

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And yet, on the other hand, when somebody asked me about Recruitment

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and how things are going into the Seminary,

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I might point to this text.

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I'm like, well, you know, it took Samuel, 20 years, to get the ship

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turned around.

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So be patient and give me a little bit of time.

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I'm not saying 20 years.

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But maybe 19.

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And yet, here is Samuel patiently waiting for the moment for God's

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people to see him who he's called to be by God as their judge as

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their, their mediator of the time.

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And he doesn't make a call to arms.

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He doesn't say okay, everybody grab your shield, a grab your weapons

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follow me out into the battle and I'm going to slay every 

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Philistine

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I see. I'm going to lay waste to the battlefield and I will set you

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free.

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Samuel turns to the only one, he knows and hopeless situations that

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can truly deliver.

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Samuel turns to God in prayer.

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And this desperate and hopeless situation after enduring his moment as

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a leader.

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And true leadership of God's people.

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Samuel recognizes that in this situation

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all he can do is ask ask the one person who can in fact do something.

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You see this

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this text isn't about the patience of Samuel, ultimately, even though

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he demonstrates it for us as, as a person that we should admire and

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try to follow after his as Servants of God.

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You see, this text is ultimately about the patient of our God.

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Because he has also been patiently waiting for Israel to return to

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him.

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To return to him in prayer and devotion, to prepare it to him

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to return to him

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in sacrifice and to return to him ain guidance and in help and in

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Thanksgiving and in all things to look to him as their God.

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And as Samuel prays on behalf of Israel, and as they beg him, not

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to relent in his prayer to unceasingly prayer to God to deliver them.

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God's mercy, his forgiveness

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doesn't take 20 years.

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It doesn't take Generations.

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It's immediate.

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God's patience with his people to return him his incomprehensible.

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Because day in and day out, just like the people of Israel

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we find some way, we find some idol to turn towards and to turn away

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from God.

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And he doesn't relent in his pursuit of us.

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And when he finally allow him to catch us, and we finally get

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hopeless and desperate enough to see that the only way out of a

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hopeless and desperate situation.

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The only way to be really redeemed from our sin to be rescued from

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ourselves by turning to God.

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His forgiveness with us is immediate.

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His patience with us is enduring.

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And his forgiveness is swift.

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What a wonderful God that we have who is patient with us.

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No everyday

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it seems like patience is in high demand in short supply.

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I don't know about you

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but when the seasons change is as things, begin to go from one thing

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to the next as workload in school gets higher as the work and demand

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of daily life gets higher as just things change from season to season.

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My patience seems to get more and more diminished.

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I seem to be running on fewer and fewer fumes of patience.

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It only takes a moment for for my child to ask for something

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reasonable for me to snap back as a terrible father and do something

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that's regrettable.

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But thanks be to God that our heavenly Father doesn't deal with us,

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the way we deal with each other.

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Thanks be to God that even in the moments of being the worst human

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being on Earth.

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Our God is still patient with us

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and his forgiveness to us, is still immediate. As we begin to transfer

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into a season of Lent.

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As we begin to hopefully reflect more and more upon God's words

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let this story of Samuel and ultimately let the story of God and his

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patients tourist is people endure in our hearts.

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So that as our patience grows less

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we're constantly reminded of God's patience towards us.

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In all situations.

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And now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

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Keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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Amen.