Open your Bibles, please, to James the first chapter.

James chapter one and verse two.

James 1, 2 says, my brethren, count it all joy.

When you fall into divers' temptations, how could you count it all joy?

Verse three, because you know something.

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works, or we could say exercises, patience.

That's how patients develops.

It's just like a muscle.

Through exercise, it gets stronger, gets bigger, gets greater.

If you don't exercise it, it gets weaker, it gets smaller.

People have had all kind of ideas about patience, many of them incorrect.

I've even heard preachers say, oh, don't pray for patience.

Ooh, no.

Well, that's last thing you want to do.

I heard a fellow say one time, man, I prayed for patience one time.

Dear me, never been through so much stuff the next weeks and months after that, I'll never pray for it again.

Well, I've said some foolish things myself, but that's foolish.

That's not the word.

That's not right.

When you understand what patience is, you won't be trying to avoid it. You'll be wanting

to grow in it big time. Why should you want to know more about patience? Why should you want to

develop in patience? Verse four, let patience have her perfect work. Why? That you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.

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