If you have your Bibles, you can turn to James chapter 5. James chapter 5. And it's been about three weeks. So I'm going to read where we left off. James chapter 5, verse 1. It's a real comforting scripture here to those who are wealthy. And actually it's not, but let's read it again. Come now you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days, indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields which you kept back by fraud. cry out. And the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury. You have fattened your hearts, meaning with pride, and as in the day of slaughter, you have condemned, you have murdered the just, and he does not resist you. Now that's a hard passage, but as we talked about before, the Bible talks to both the sinner and the saint. Charles Spurgeon said many years ago that when we preach, we actually encourage the saint, but warn the sinner. And it's hard to find that balance, and that's what James is doing. He's writing to wit, not witches, wealthy, rich Jewish believers during the time of when this was written. These Jewish believers mainly have become fat, meaning prideful and arrogant in their hearts and their wealth. They're taking pride in their wealth and it was consuming them. And Matthew Henry, he's a commentator I think it was probably in the 1600s or so. It was said that George Whitefield, a famous evangelist, would carry the Bible and a copy of Matthew Henry's commentaries. That's all he did when he traveled on horseback. Matthew Henry is probably one of the most prolific commentators I've read. It's hard because it's sometimes the old English, but very insightful. He said, public calamities are most grievous to rich people who live in pleasure and are secure and sensual. And therefore they shall weep and howl more than other people for their miseries that shall come upon them. And isn't that true? The richer a person becomes, the more they are not ready for death, the more they're not ready for losing that wealth. The more they gain, it becomes a curse. And that's one thing we have to remember. Wealth and money in and of itself isn't bad. It's the love of money that is bad. And as we begin to build and build and build, if we love it, it becomes idolatry. And then we start to make decisions based on wealth. We put wealth first and money first and it becomes our God. and that can happen obviously to unbelievers that's a given but believers can allow money to creep in and we say Lord bless me give me this job and finances start coming in I would say probably more than anything else I've seen people drift from God either because they became very successful or because they lost a great deal One or the other. They lose things. They lost their job. They're losing this. God, how could you? And they become bitter at God. And they begin to drift from God. Or wealth comes in. And now they're making a lot of money. And I've got to work. I can't go to church. I can't spend time. They don't need God as much anymore because now they're making a lot of money. And that can pull them away. So it's a hard area because money is needed. Have you discovered that yet? Yeah, and it's okay, I believe, I mean, if you look at Abraham, you look at Job, you look at David, you look at a lot of people that God has blessed, they weren't always poor. God blessed them with prosperity and riches and wealth, not to necessarily hoard, but to be a blessing to others and to give to others. And one good gauge that you can look at is When you look at this aspect of money, how much do you give away? How much do you hoard or how much do you save and how much are you freely giving away? I know there's a pastor that's well known. If I said his name, many of you would know him, but I don't want to say it just in case I don't want to endorse him per se. But supposedly he gives back 90% and lives off 10%. He's very wealthy because he has best-selling books and doesn't take an income from any other area, but he actually lives on 10% and gives away 90%. To me, that says a lot about the person's character. It says a lot about who he is and what he stands for. And I've watched men, maybe you have as well, throughout my life, a lot of preachers I look up to, Chuck Swindoll, out in Texas, and Charles Stanley, of course, John MacArthur, David Jeremiah, a lot of the people we listen to on the radio, I listen to on the radio as well. And I've noticed that a lot of those guys live very humble lives. They've shown pictures, though, for example, of Joelstein's house, and that's not very humble house. I think it's 12,000 square feet. And so that's why it gives kind of people a bad name, regardless of what they choose to do with their money, but it will send a certain message. If how we live this lifestyle and we let others know about this great wealth that we may or may not have, it does send a message. So James is writing to rich people, many of them not believers, but also believers, to be careful for this snare. And that's why Jesus said, it's easier for a rich man to what? Go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. So it's easier for a rich man to go through an eye of a needle. I'm sorry, let me back up. Some of you are going, wait a minute, you missed that verse. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter something. How is a rich man going to get through the eye of the needle? I'm missing something here. But the point was that doesn't happen. And the reason is because Wealth draws a person away from God. Now, I don't know what your theology is, if you believe it's called election, where God elects certain people to salvation, or there's like Armenianism, where a person has to choose or reject. The bottom line is, when I look at that scripture that's hard for a rich man to enter heaven, tells me that something is clouding his decision-making process. Something is prohibiting him from fully repenting. It's an interesting thing that this area of money, most people you'll see who come to the Lord, come to the Lord when things are challenging. I haven't seen too many wealthy people when things are going great. You know what, I just might repent today and turn my life over to the Lord. Now it does happen, I'm sure. I'm sure I'll get an email on it. And my cousin, Sam, he was a millionaire. Okay, it happens. But the majority, that's why I was telling Craig earlier today, this evening, that we've had over 80 people come to know the Lord through the hospital homes in two and a half years. That's more, more people have come to the Lord than many churches have led to the Lord. The reason is, they're very receptive. I actually have to leave here tonight and go to one of them because there's a person dying, not doing good. and they're already believers, they just need encouragement, but many times when you go and you tell the gospel, you present the gospel to these people, they're hungry because they've been broken. And money buys medicine, buys doctors, buys health many times, and we begin to trust in our wealth and not God. That's why it's a double-edged sword. It's a wonderful blessing. Here's the thing about money. Always remember this. It's a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. When you switch those over, And it becomes your master and not your servant. That's when you begin to cross a dangerous line. I've shared this before, and I'll share it again. And not to say me and my wife are perfect, because this is a hard area for most people. But when we purchased our home, when we did our bills, we made sure that we'd be able to give to the church right off the top, just like a normal large chunk, or just right off the top. And then everything else would come underneath that. And it was funny when we went to the bank to get a loan three years ago, they're like, oh, you don't have to worry about that bill. That's not a bill. The bank doesn't look at it as a bill. You can qualify for at house $100,000 more than that. Let me show you some. And we're thinking, well, wait a minute. Well, maybe God's opening this. I mean, if we could barely squeeze here and barely do this and, and, you know, we're trying to, you know, like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We need to, you need to live below your means so money doesn't control you and become your master. And it's funny how loan companies will not notice or look at when you give to benevolence, or when you give to nonprofits or anything like that. They don't consider that a bill. And having a background in real estate, I saw a lot of people, I would say the majority of buyers compromise in this area. They would say you qualify for 300,000. They go, great, let's go find 305. Versus why don't you find a 200,000 and live well belonging your means and don't let money control you. So money's hard because it comes into play in so many different areas. So make it a servant and never a master. So the title of the message is what is trying your patience? What is trying your patience? Does anything try your patience? Or is it just me? Irritability, long lines, people not getting back to you. Doesn't happen here, but other places. Just things irritate and James is going to talk about patience. Verse 7, 5, verse 7, Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Now this is a weird transition to some people. He just slammed these rich people. You have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just. He does not resist you, meaning the just person does not resist him. Therefore be patient, brethren, It's like he just transitions from this severe rebuke to rich people. But therefore, it's obviously, why do we wonder what that word is there for? You look why it's there. And it goes back to this whole point. Therefore, here's what you need to do. Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Here's what we need to do. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth without grumbling and complaining. It doesn't say that in your Bible, but I'm adding that in there. That's what the whole point he's going to get to in a minute. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth without grumbling and complaining. And he's giving an imagery there. You plant a corn seed, what farmer is going to go sit on his porch and the next day start getting mad at that seed for not growing? Like, why haven't you sprouted yet? I need that corn by tomorrow. And grumbling and complaining. The farmer doesn't do that. They know. I planted it. I'll come back and, gosh, when are they planting? Probably October in this area. Ladder rains, former rains, and then harvest, you know, six months, seven months later. That's a waiting time, a process. So wait patiently for it until it receives the early and ladder rain. So let me read the whole thing. Therefore be patient, brethren, us, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and the latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. So God's timing versus our timing. Timing tries our patience, doesn't it? My timing versus God's timing, we're usually not on the same page. Very rarely are me and God on the same page with timing, because we want to move forward quickly. He says, no, patiently wait, and wait, and wait. Now timing, the early rain, the farmers, if they would plant, say in October, the early rain will be October, November in Israel there, and then the latter rain will be closer to April and May. You know, May flowers, April showers, bring me flowers. That's the latter rain. So the farmer waits for the first rain, the water soaked, wet, and then it gets rain again, and then the harvest. So growth is a cycle, as is God's timing. Timing tries our patience because we're in a hurry. But when God grows us, or grows a church, it's always in His timing, not ours, or grows you, or grows your character, grows your children. It's a process that takes time. So be patient in this area. My timing versus God's perfect timing leads to impatience. When I forget that God is in control and I want to do things my way, I get impatient. And it tries my patience. Come on, God, hurry up. We have this picture, I think, of Him being in heaven sleeping. Like, wake up, come on, wake up. Let's get this thing going. Let's get moving. But he knows what would happen if that seed started to sprout early on. It wouldn't handle the weight. An apple tree that's just planted can't bear abundant fruit. There's no root system that would hold the tree. It's impossible. So timing is very important. Also, the wrong focus tries our patience. The wrong focus, self-focus, and a hurried focus leads to impatience. So James is saying here, get your focus off of riches, get your focus off of yourself, don't be in a hurry, be patient, and wait on God till the day of the Lord comes. Also, listening to the wrong voice tries our patience, or it can make us very irritable. Are you listening to the wrong voice? Think about this for a minute. God leads us. God's leading calms our heart, but the devil wants us to rush. God leads, but Satan pushes. God encourages, but Satan discourages. God reassures us, but Satan frightens us. God enlightens us and Satan confuses us. What I mean by enlighten is shows us through his word, shows us through his nature. He makes it clear. He gives us wisdom. But the devil confuses us. God convicts us and Satan condemns us. So that's how you hear two voices. And if you listen to the wrong voice, we become very impatient as well and frustrated. Patience is the result of making wise decisions that correspond with God's Word. Disobedience leads to disappointment. So ask, is God truly guiding me before making a very important decision? Furthermore, if you're not in the Word, the Word will not be in you. One of the best ways to know if God is truly guiding you is to pray, stay, and obey. Stay in His Word, obey His principles, and ask for direction. I like what J.I. Packard said here, God is more likely to direct me through wise teaching than through inner voices. Wise teaching through His Word. Now, this aspect of stay, pray, and obey, this is how you work on patience. If I'm waiting for something and God's not moving quickly enough, I stay in His Word, obey His principles, and pray for direction. God never gets upset at that. Sometimes I think God gets mad if we begin to obey Him and just wait on Him. Like, Shane, why aren't you moving quicker? I told you to move quicker. Now, there are times to move quicker. Don't misunderstand. But the majority of the time, our problem is rushing ahead and not waiting on God. So he says, hold on, stay, pray and obey. That's what James says, focus on the end of the age when the Lord is coming again. Establish your hearts. Establish your hearts that we just read solid footing. It's like a foundation. So James says, establish your hearts, build a foundation, a solid foundation on which to build your lives. And the coming of the Lord can occur at any moment. We live in that the eminence of Christ, we're always waiting for His return. He can return any minute, any week, any month, any year. Depending on what your theology is, most people, most Christians believe that He can return at any moment. So that's what we focus on. See, if you remember, Jesus is coming, I'm going to live as if he's coming soon. And I'm going to be patient and wait on God, it will change everything, you're not going to be as frustrated at work, because it's God's timing, you're not gonna be as frustrated in your marriage, because it's God's timing to just grow and develop, you're not gonna be as frustrated with your children, that's a hard one. But they're growing just like we were. And we have to be patient in that area. Impatient people do not grumble and complain as often. Because James is going to talk right here next about grumbling and complaining. I know it won't apply to anybody in this room, but this is a biggie for most Christians, isn't it? Grumbling. You know what that is? Now this cartoon with that little dog. That's all right, let's walk around. He's just grumbling and complaining about everything. That is not a good quality of somebody who is filled with the Spirit of God. So verse 9, once he says, be patient, establish your hearts, trust in God, Jesus is coming again. Verse 9, therefore do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. My brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed, we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful." So the whole point of this is do not grumble and complain against each other. We can put people down. You can murder with your mouth. You can pull people down. It's a good test. Are we building each other up? And I honestly, that's one thing I'm excited about Westside Christian Fellowship. Maybe it's just me, but I don't hear a lot of this. Obviously it exists, but I don't hear a lot of people pulling themselves down or others down and gossip just going crazy. It's people who love the Lord and they'll struggle in this area, but grumbling and complaining is not a good thing, because it says you will be condemned. By the same words you use, God will use those to judge you. The judge is standing at the door. My brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. And it's interesting, I came across something where it says one another Do not grumble against one another. Does the Bible say how to treat one another a couple more times throughout the scriptures? I don't know if that kind of jumped out at you, but it did to me. And I did a little research. And there are 59 one another verses. Look, I don't want to go through these all. We'd be here an hour, right? But there are 59 one another verses, how we should treat one another. That would be a good sermon titled one another. Because how we treat others really reflects what God is doing in your heart. He says, how can you love the Lord and disdain your brother? Here's just a few. Mark 9, live at peace with each other. John 13. Yeah, John 13. A new commandment I give you, love one another as I have loved you. So you must love one another. John 13 again, 35, by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have a PhD in theology. They'll know that you're my disciples if you read through the Bible every year. How does a person really know that a person is a follower of Christ? If they love one another. John 15, my commandment is this, love each other as I have loved you. Encourage each other in the faith. Romans 1, Romans 12. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourself. Romans 12. Live in harmony with one another. Romans 13. Let no debt remain outstanding, except continuing the debt to love one another. What's Paul's problem here? What's Jesus' problem here? It just keeps going on. One another. How we treat one another. Because my vertical relationship with God should flow horizontally. If I'm truly loving God, then I should horizontally that should flow out into other people. If not, then we have to wonder what's going on in our heart. Because the Christ love for us is shed abroad in our hearts to others. Let me just, a few more that stood out. Colossians 3.16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude. First Thessalonians, therefore encourage each other with these words. And it just goes on and on. Encourage, embrace, take care of, Watch out for. So there's so many different things that the Bible talks about how we should treat others and how that filters into our own lives. As we all know, God is unhappy when we pull others down. What comes out of our mouth? Do we hurt? Do we harm? Do we encourage? Do we build others up? This is the best way to stop grumbling and complaining immediately. is we stop hurting others. We stop shooting them. And we're basically shooting them with our words. We're putting them down. We're hurting them. And then he talks about the endurance of Job. Endurance is a wonderful quality. Going through a difficult season with integrity and not giving up. That's what endurance means. Endurance is a wonderful quality. Here's why the Bible tells us to endure. What's the opposite of enduring? If I don't endure, I quit. So I either have to endure in the faith or I quit, I give up. And God says endure, the definition of endurance, going through a difficult season with integrity and not giving up. Endurance always has to do with a difficult thing. If it's not difficult, it wouldn't be called endurance. It would be called just going through life. This is easy. This isn't challenging. But when it gets challenging, that's when endurance kicks in. So as a believer, the one thing a lot of churches haven't taught, I think, in the past, and it's really dumbed down a lot of discipleship and different things is the Bible calls us to persevere, to be self-disciplined. to be men and women of integrity, to fight the good fight. We see these words that are challenging their heart. Who wants to persevere? Who wants to pick up the cross and follow Jesus? But that's what discipleship is. It's dying to self. And then verse 12, But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no. unless you fall into judgment. Now this is interesting, do not swear, because when I read that, what are you thinking of? Cuss words. Now it does mean that, but a couple different things. What it could mean as well, do not make a solemn declaration while appealing to God for the truth of what is affirmed. In other words, When they say, I swear to God that I will do that and I will fix your car. And I swear to God, you pull down God to validate what you're saying. He's saying, don't do that. Just say yes or no. Just say yes or no. I think that's a wonderful lesson for Christians today. Because we're getting really bad in this area. We say yes, just to make somebody feel better. We plan on counseling later. Our yes and our nos are not yeses and nos. They're like, well, person, can you be at this event? Yes, I can. And then a week later, no, I can't. Something came up. He's saying, don't do that. Don't be double minded. Let your yes be yes. See, I remember also when I was growing up, I was 12, 13, 14. I don't even think in construction there are now, but there weren't too many contracts. You know what the contract was? Jim, you agreed to do this price for $1,000. That was it. Let your yes be yes. I mean, my dad, I don't remember signing very many contracts until later in his business. He would just tell them what the price was. You stood by that price even if you lost money. We've lost that. Now you've got to have all these paperwork drawn up and all these little loopholes, and just in case there's a loophole. I didn't really say that. I didn't really mean that. We've dumbed down what our word used to mean. When a person said something, they were bound by that to perform it. And guess what? You spoke a lot less, and you thought things through a lot more efficiently before you committed to something. And it's good to go back to that. If you can't do something, just say, no, I won't be able to do that. If you say, yes, I can do that. I can volunteer. And we see this a lot. Yes, I can volunteer for children's ministry, for example, right? Ambrosia, you'll know this. People say, yes, I want to volunteer. And then it comes time to volunteer. Like, I don't want to volunteer. I'm tired. I want to sleep in. Well, let your yes be yes and your no be no. It's real easy to say yes. But when it comes time to do it, that's when it becomes hard. And now we've got all the excuses. I don't feel good today. I'm sick. I ran into this. There's traffic. And we have all this. We have a suitcase full of excuses. But get back to let your yes be yes and your no be no. If you say something, perform it. If you commit to something, see it through. Or at least say, I'll get back to you. Let me think about it. What's it involved? It's okay to get more information. So that's what he's saying here. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. So they would say, I swear by the temple. I swear by the gold in the temple that I will not do it. And they had to beef up their words because their commitment, their integrity was lacking. And James is saying, don't turn into that person. Also, do not swear could mean to make a promise or an oath. I promise to do this. I make an oath, and sometimes they can't fulfill that oath. And you have to be careful in that area as well. We are bound by our commitments and our words. So think of that next time. The next time you say yes or no, you are bound by that. You are bound by a yes or a no and perform it. Now it does mean to be profane, which means disrespectful. So if I'm profane, I'm disrespectful, and I'm feeling a certain thing in my heart, and now the abundance of the heart, the mouth is going to speak. So my heart's feeling a certain way, and I'm going to speak it. That's swearing. And that's why people take Jesus's name in vain, or God's name in vain. It's that volcano inside that's getting ready to erupt, and they swear. out and they make this accusation or they say these things that they're going to regret later. So James is saying, do not do this. When people or circumstances, try our patience. Here's what we need to do. This could be a good tip. It'll help some of you tomorrow morning, if not tonight. So on this area of patience, be quick to listen and slow to speak. Your flesh is going to feel the opposite. You're going to feel like, I can't wait for them to be quiet, I'm going to just let them have it. Are you the type of person who you're preparing what you're going to say as they're speaking, so you're not even listening to what they're going to say. Got it? Okay, as soon as you're done, I'm going to let you have it. The machine gun approach. But we learned earlier in our study that be quick to listen. Listen, and then slow to speak. Because what happens is you're listening. You're listening. And then you're slowing your words, you're thinking them through. And I can't tell you how many times I've been quick to say something. And once I let a person just speak, and sometimes in counseling, sometimes at the hospital homes, and an hour would go by or half hour, how I responded was not even close to what I was initially going to say. It's like, oh, I'm so glad I didn't open my mouth. Because I didn't hear the whole story. The person's been abused, molested, been discarded, and I start to listen. And then my, you know, advice, well, here's what the Bible says that I was going to just write out them after I listened. Then I was able to weigh my words carefully and respond instead of react. Now, I wish I could tell you I do that all the time. Doesn't happen. That's why it says just be quick, be very quick to listen, slow to speak. Another great tool to do is when you're upset, save that draft text or save that email. Come back and read it later when you calm down. And nine times out of 10, you'll hit the delete button. or the edit, you know, edit it very nicely. And that's what, because the enemy wants us to do impulsive. Here's what impulse is. My flesh gets hurt. My flesh feels offended. I'm going to lash out. The flesh lashes out. So the flesh has to be brought in submission to the things of the Spirit. So instead of lashing out, I'm going to take it in. Instead of speaking my mind, I'm going to listen. So that's a reaction is often of the flesh. You hit somebody, what are they going to do? Hit you back. When I grew up, is that how it was, guys? Maybe you fought when you're younger. Somebody hit you, they're like, you're not going to just turn your cheek and think about it. You're okay. You hit me and now we're on. It was just that immediate thing. Same thing happens at home. What happens at home when your spouse says something? Right? Go back and forth, back and forth. And we don't, okay, how can I help? How can I listen? And be quick, very quick to listen and slow to speak. Respond to somebody. Don't react. Here's why a reaction usually calls for an apology. When you react, you have to apologize later often. But when you sit and you respond, you weigh your words carefully, you know, something I do sometimes you could try is just say, I'll get back to you. Let me get back to you. Let me process this. Let me think about it. And I'll get back to you. Because what's going on in here is probably not going to be a good idea. So you just let them know you want to process it and get back to them. Say yes or no versus getting in long discussions, because in the multitude of words, sin is not lacking. What he says, yes or no. If you say, well, yes, I can do it. But, you know, next week this and by following week, and what's it really involved? And how long do I have to come in? And you start to backpedal and you're just yes or no. Yes or no, and let the person know that you have committed to that and keep that on track. And it's God's timing, not ours. Always remember that it's God's timing. That's what James is saying here. It's God's timing. Look at how the farmer watches the corn grow. It's God's timing. What's he doing in your life? What's he building in your life? If you're praying for patience, guess what? How are you going to develop patience? by waiting and by being challenged with things that try your patience. There's nobody's going to wake up and go, I, you know what, I've just, I'm so patient now as a person. I used to be very difficult last week. And now I'm the most patient person that I've ever met. It's a process. Now, granted, when an unbeliever comes to know the Lord, you see a major change take place. They used to be hot headed and heavy handed and mean and quick tempered. And now you see a complete change in them. That's because their spirit is changing. The old man is dying, the new man is living. So I just want to encourage you in this area of patiently waiting on God, because we want things quickly. We're used to microwaves. We're used to things being done quickly. That's why a farmer can appreciate it. Even growing up, I've shared with some of you, my dad came from the farms of Oklahoma. And they were patient people. You know, they would sit on the patio and it took a while to make ice cream. Remember that thing? Put a little salt in there and cream and you start stirring it for a while out on the patio. Let's just talk for a while. No, no, no. I want to stop by the dairy and get some dryers. I'm ready. I'm ready now. That's one thing with our culture, with our phones and everything. We've forgotten how to wait. We've forgotten to just patiently wait on God and we become fast-paced. And as you know, what happens to a NASCAR car often? It has to be repaired. What happens when we're running on high adrenaline, fast-paced all the time? Our body's going to break down. We were not created to move so quickly. We were created to wait patiently on God and allow things in His timing. So I'm going to conclude with that was about 35 minutes or so sermon. And Brad's going to come up and do a few songs. And take this time during worship, what I usually do is just identify Lord, I'm impatient in this area. I'm impatient in traffic. That's been, in the past, that's been bad for me, because I don't like, I wish I had a sign that came up on my tailgate that said, please back off. You know, because I don't like being right on you and being in traffic. Lord, help me with patience. Help me with kids sometimes, my own kids. Like, come on, you guys, you don't get it, you're impatient. Hurry up, come on, hurry up, get out the door. Like, where's my shoes? Where's my book? Where's my Awana book? Where's my jacket? And impatience. So Lord, help me in these areas. You have to identify those areas. Because what you do is you bring them to light. Lord, I'm impatient with my spouse. I've got a quick tongue. I'm not listening with my children. I'm impatient at work. I frustrate people at work. Lord, help me in these areas and identify them. Then you can begin to work on them. By identifying them, what will happen is tomorrow or this week when the things come up, you'll say, aha, this is what I identified. This is what I prayed for, and this is what's happening. Here's how I'm going to react to it. Here's how I'm going to respond. And God will begin to change your heart. Trust me, coming from a type A personality, that God can really do a major work when you just wait on Him and realize that God is sovereign. And when you go ahead of God, there's problems. When you try to push doors open that shouldn't be open just yet, there are problems. In His timing, He knows what His perfect will is. So rest in that. Have comfort in that. You've got a God who said, I'll guide you, I'll lead you, just wait on Me. And one thing I love about God, if you're waiting on Him, you're asking for direction, He will literally kick you through some doors. He'll open doors. He'll show you things. You're like, Lord, do I take this job? I don't know what to do. God, I'm just going to wait on you. I'm going to wait on you. This job says, hey, we're going to need to lay you off next month. What? And then this job says, hey, can you start next month? How'd that happen? I waited on God. Same thing when we were praying about the churches coming together. Lord, I'm just going to wait on you because I have no clue. I'm just going to wait on you. I have no clue. And then they asked me to preach here and that felt wonderful. The people were great in the atmosphere and you could feel it was all coming together. Lord, you're going to have to push us. God, you're going to have to push us into it. And we just waited and waited. Don't rush ahead and just let God push you into things. Now we can become lazy. sometimes and not do anything. I'm not talking about that. I hope you understand that. And there's so many different things that this can apply to. But when you wait on God to answer prayer, just say, Lord, show me what you want me to do today and allow Him to open and close those doors. He will do it if you trust in Him.