Walk Worthy of Your Vocation
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1Devotional Series: The Spirit of Truth
Teaching: The Spirit Of Truth pt. 4 (SUN_AM 2021-09-19) by Pastor Star R Scott
This fruit of forbearance, this fruit of longsuffering that works in us by the Holy Ghost—if you want to think of it this way, it might help. It’s just the opposite of an angry man. You know, the Scripture talks about angry men and the futility there is in that anger. All you’re doing is destroying yourself. I think Ephesians speaks well to it. In Ephesians, Chapter 4, verse 1, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…” Here is Paul again beseeching us. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God”; amen? That heart’s cry, that longing: “Would you listen to me? Please hear what I am saying. Catch the weightiness of this. Walk worthy of our vocation.” What is our vocation? Ambassadors, sons of God, heirs and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus called to represent Him. If they have heard you, they heard Me. Walk in this: “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Verses 2-3). Then he goes on and talks about “one body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.”
There can be no unity without the fruit of longsuffering. Patience, enduring one another. There will be conflict, it must be resolved; it can’t remain in our midst. Conflict must be resolved. Not put away, not hidden, not we just won’t talk about it—resolved! Sin must be repented of for the Holy Ghost to move in us. And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “love is not easily provoked.” We’ve shared with you what that word is referencing, and it says it’s just plain old not touchy. We need to get a little tougher on ourselves and be more longsuffering with others.
We need to be thicker-skinned. Things should just bounce off of us. When we love one another, we are patient with one another. We don’t leave it unaddressed. It can’t remain. It’s not to be mentioned once in our midst, many of these things as we go on. Longsuffering, patience, endurance, that ability to abide up under. People saying evil against us and not retaliating is the grace of God. It’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but then we have to love them in return by going to them and setting this stuff straight. You can’t just keep saying that stuff.
We don’t just abide up under and bear long with these people who are provoking us. It may not be personal provocation; it just might be that this person just continues to dishonor God! Doesn’t it break your heart, doesn’t it sometimes just aggravate you when we see some of this habitual blowing off the Spirit of Truth, the eternal Word of God? But yet we bear long, and we know that there is a growing process, and in this area and other areas, there is fruit that is manifesting itself, so what do we do? We believe God, we’re prayerful, we expect the pruning to take place, believing for that grace that they would experience true repentance. That’s causing disunity in our midst. We’re to be of one mind and one heart; the Scripture says.
There can be no unity without the fruit of longsuffering. Patience, enduring one another. There will be conflict, it must be resolved; it can’t remain in our midst. Conflict must be resolved. Not put away, not hidden, not we just won’t talk about it—resolved! Sin must be repented of for the Holy Ghost to move in us. And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “love is not easily provoked.” We’ve shared with you what that word is referencing, and it says it’s just plain old not touchy. We need to get a little tougher on ourselves and be more longsuffering with others.
We need to be thicker-skinned. Things should just bounce off of us. When we love one another, we are patient with one another. We don’t leave it unaddressed. It can’t remain. It’s not to be mentioned once in our midst, many of these things as we go on. Longsuffering, patience, endurance, that ability to abide up under. People saying evil against us and not retaliating is the grace of God. It’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but then we have to love them in return by going to them and setting this stuff straight. You can’t just keep saying that stuff.
We don’t just abide up under and bear long with these people who are provoking us. It may not be personal provocation; it just might be that this person just continues to dishonor God! Doesn’t it break your heart, doesn’t it sometimes just aggravate you when we see some of this habitual blowing off the Spirit of Truth, the eternal Word of God? But yet we bear long, and we know that there is a growing process, and in this area and other areas, there is fruit that is manifesting itself, so what do we do? We believe God, we’re prayerful, we expect the pruning to take place, believing for that grace that they would experience true repentance. That’s causing disunity in our midst. We’re to be of one mind and one heart; the Scripture says.