True godly patience is not a matter of gritting the teeth and holding on for dear life. It is effortless…sounds impossible? Well, not if you realise the benefits of patience and see what it can do for you. Most of the spiritual things are hard to comprehend with the natural mind, because they are spiritually discerned. The flesh often tries to parade itself as if it has the spiritual qualities under the belt. But self soon runs out of patience! There is a source of patience that is inexhaustible. There is a way to connect to that source and draw the benefits from it.
Listen to this sermonWhat Patience will do for you
Andre Pelser
9/26/2006
I wrote these notes on patience in my prayer manual of 1996! I think it is time to preach it now – ten years later! I first had to allow patience to have its perfect work in me. The moral of the story: It takes time to learn to be patient! I have seen some of the benefits of being patient working in our lives.

People only buy products if they know the benefits of the products. Here are twelve benefits of patience that will build an appetite for that virtue in our lives.
Twelve Benefits of Patience
1. Patience allows the word of God to bear fruit in your life
2. Patience holds your faith steady as you believe God’s promises
3. In your patience you possess your soul
4. Patience helps you to receive the promises of God
5. Signs and wonders of apostles are done in all patience
6. Tribulations works patience in your life
7. Abraham had to patiently endure to receive the promise
8. If the God of patience is your God, you’ll develop patience
9. He who is patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit
10. Run the race of faith with patience to obtain the prize
11. Patience is a fruit of the spirit that grows continually
12. Follow those who through faith and patience inherit the promises
Preparing the soil for the seed
In the parable of the sower Jesus described the good soil of the heart as the ground that yielded much fruit with patience.

Luke 8:15
15 “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

The preparation of the soil of the heart is the secret. The word of God is a seed and the preacher sows it in the hearts of people. Some hear it and forget it like seed falling by the wayside and the birds of the air come and devour it. There are those who hear the word gladly but their hearts are full of hardness, they have unforgiveness and bitterness that does not allow the seed to grow root and when the sun or persecution for the Word’s sake comes, the plant withers and dies. Others hear the word and shoot root, but the the cares of this life, the desire for other things choke the word like thorns and the plant crumbles under the pressure.
Those who hear the word and have the soil of their hearts thoroughly prepared and are willing to be patient, will have 30, 60 and 100 fold growth of the Word of God in their lives.

How do we prepare the soil of our hearts before we hear the Word of God? You have to learn to receive the Word of God with meekness. Meekness and humility are the keys to teachability. The key to humility is obedience and the key to meekness is submission to authority. Jesus told Peter that he would give the keys of the kingdom to his apostles. Keys unlock doors. Doors protect entrances. The entrances into the treasures of the Kingdom of God need to be unlocked before we can enter in and enjoy the benefits.

Let us think for a moment: what do we do just before we go to church? Do we simply rush to be on time? Do we think of so many other things we have to do? Do we look forward to the people we might meet? What is foremost on our mind? Do we think of how God could use us? How do we prepare the soil of our hearts for the Word of God?

Worship can help to prepare the hearts to receive the engrafted Word of God through meekness. But worship alone cannot do it. Many people worship God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. It is the preparation at home before going to church that is important. Then worship will be enhanced!

How do we prepare our hearts to hear the Word of God?

James 1:21
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

There are the pre-requisites: we first have to lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness. The things that hinder the growth of the seed of the Word of God have to be dealt with before we listen to the Word that is able to save our souls.

It is true that we do get contaminated by the things in the world, but we have to continually guard our hearts against the flood of corruption in order to keep the soil of our hearts well-prepared to receive the Word. Meekness means that I submit myself to the ordinances of word and to the apostolic instructions and commands.

The reason why so many Christians go to church but never grow spiritually is because they do not prepare the soil of their hearts to receive the implanted word of God. We have to learn from a farmer who understands the laws of sowing and reaping. They prepare a piece of land and clean it up before planting in it. The preparation has a lot to do with the harvest.

The Word of God is a seed. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Patience has to grow. So we need to remove the filthiness and wickedness from our hearts before we receive the word.

The washing of the word, repentance, the blood of the Lamb and the fellowship of the saints in the light all help us to prepare the soil of our hearts. If we would spend at least a few minutes preparing ourselves to go to church, it would have long term results in our lives.

We could open our bibles to meditate in them and allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts to see if there are any things we need to ‘wash out’ with the water of the word. If there is anything that crept into our hearts unawares, the Holy Spirit can point it out and we can remove it by faith in the Name of Jesus through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. If the cares of this world or the desire of other things have suffocated the effectiveness of the Word in our lives, we can uproot them and clear the soil of our hearts to receive the word of God. Any hardness of heart, rebellion or stubbornness can be broken up by the hammer of the word of God.
If we have willingly allowed ourselves to be influenced by the world or the things of the world have become too attractive to us again, we can repent of our sins and ask God’s immediate forgiveness.
These things do take place in a meeting where Jesus Christ and His Cross are central (not the music, the system of church growth or the rituals).
When we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and with one another; the blood of Jesus cleanses us continually like blood cleanses the organs in our physical body.

Of course, as believers we will have our faith tested on a regular basis, but that is okay because if we pass the test we are promoted!

James 1:3,4
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Withdrawals and Deposits
You cannot withdraw from a bank unless you deposit somethin