The Rock Church

Tag Archive: Patience

  1. A Life Worthy of the Calling

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    A Life Worthy of the Calling — a word by Pastor Tony D'Amico from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "live a life worthy of their calling. He emphasized that our actions should naturally reflect the divine calling we have received from God."

    In Ephesians 4, Paul called Believers to live in a manner worthy of their calling. Even now, he reminds us how vital unity and spiritual growth are within the Church.

    If we remember, the Church in Ephesus was mainly Gentiles. They were just beginning their Christian lives. Gentiles and Jews had always been very different. Now, they were to be one with them. These verses also guide us today as we live in community. They urge us to live in humility, gentleness, patience, and love — regardless of our differences.

    Let’s dive into the first three verses and see how to apply their principles.

    “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.” — Ephesians 4:1 (NLT)

    Paul’s description of himself as a “prisoner for serving the Lord” underscores his commitment and dedication to his faith. While imprisoned in Rome, he wanted us to understand, even more importantly, that he was a prisoner for serving the Lord.

    He desperately wanted the Believers to live a life worthy of their calling. He emphasized that our actions should naturally reflect the divine calling we have received from God. In fact, this verse is significant as it reminds us to align our daily lives with our spiritual identity. Consequently, we should embody virtues such as humility, patience, and love.

    Living in a manner worthy of our calling honors God and strengthens the Church’s unity and growth. Additionally, it fosters a community that mirrors Christ’s love and teachings. Ask yourself, are you imprisoned to the Lord? Is it perhaps other passions?

    Look Within

    “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” — Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)

    Next, Paul tells us always to be humble, gentle, and patient with each other. Along with that, we should make allowances for one another’s faults because of our love. This verse emphasizes the importance of treating each other with kindness and understanding. Coupled with that, we must recognize that none of us are perfect.

    Think about your own life; how often do you see the faults in others but forget to look inward and see faults of your own? This is a great exercise as you look at other’s faults. Instead, reflect on your own. Without a doubt, it will change your perspective.

    “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” — Ephesians 4:3 (NLT)

    Lastly, at least for this blog, Paul urged the Ephesians to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. That, despite their differences, they were to be united as one body in Christ. Equally important, they shared one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And above all, one God and Father of all.

    His Purpose For Us

    By no means is this unity about being identical. Instead, it’s about embracing the diversity of gifts and roles within the Church. Again, this had to have been mind-blowing for those Gentiles. People had told them their whole lives that they were unworthy of God’s love. Now, they were to live in peace with the Jews. That peace could only happen because they had the Holy Spirit in them. How about you? Are you living in peace with others?

    God calls us to a life of purpose. It’s His for us, no matter how difficult it may seem at first. Paul wanted us to know it. What’s keeping you from living for the purpose God has for you?

    Learning to live out a life worthy of my calling,

    Tony

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  2. Waiting on the Lord

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    Waiting on the Lord – a word by Pastor Tony D'Amico from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Waiting on the Lord is an integral part of our Christian walk. It is a journey marked by trust, growth, and deepening faith."

    I often find myself reflecting on the idea of waiting on the Lord. Waiting can seem frustrating in our fast-paced world, where immediate results and quick fixes are highly prized. My personality is to get in and fix things as soon as possible. So, it’s not easy when I have to wait days, weeks, or months for something. I can start to get anxious very quickly.

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  3. Patience and Seeking in Faith

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    Patience and Seeking in Faith – a word by Pastor Tony D'Amico from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "seeking God isn’t passive. It’s not just about sitting back. Instead, it’s a deliberate pursuit of undoubtedly engaging in prayer,"

    “Don’t care how I want it now.” Veruca Salt sings these words while dancing in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. She also insists that she gets what she wants when she wants it. It’s easy to cringe at her horrible attitude. We tell ourselves we are certainly not like that. But on the whole, in our fast-paced world, patience is not something most of us have enough of.

    Get Rich Quick! Lose Weight Fast! Get Instant Access! We all see a good deal of these types of headlines while scrolling on our phones. It’s everywhere — instant gratification in everything from communication to consuming movies to getting meals.

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  4. Do You Fear God?

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    Do You Fear God? – a word by Pastor Bryan Edwards from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "I leave you with the words of Solomon found in Ecclesiastes 8:12, “...I know that it will be well with those who fear God...”

    “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” — Psalm 130:3-4

    The fear of God (or the fear of the Lord) is definitely a big theme in the Bible. But, when we think of fear, we often think of, you know, FEAR — or being afraid. Like the fear of spiders or the fear of clowns. Other times, fear is why we don’t do certain things. For example, you might fear flying for fear that the plane might crash. And the reason you didn’t eat the boss’s last donut was for fear of being caught. However, all this is to say that this is not what it means to fear God.

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  5. Live by the Spirit

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    Live by the Spirit – a word by Pastor Tony D'Amico from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "ask the Holy Spirit for help when a conflict or a hard conversation develops. I ask myself, “What is the desired fruit from this situation,"

    “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other.” — Galatians 5:14-15

    The Fruit of the Spirit is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Paul explains the fruits to the Galatians right after these verses. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These virtues are interconnected and essential for our spiritual growth.

    However, we can easily cultivate the opposite virtues. They entirely oppose the working of the Holy Spirit. Responding in our flesh leads to negative consequences, such as hate, despair, anxiety, impatience, cruelty, wickedness, unfaithfulness, harshness, and impulsiveness.

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  6. Do Not Lose Heart

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    Do Not Lose Heart – a word by Pastor Tony D'Amico from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "don’t lose heart while you’re waiting. Sometimes, just like for Zechariah, God needs to grab our attention during the process. Take heart."

    Have you ever prayed to God and seemingly nothing happened? How about praying 10 times? 100 times? Maybe you felt like you didn’t even deserve the gift you asked for? I recently read the first chapter of Luke and empathized with Zechariah. God spoke to me in a new way — to not lose heart when I pray. I had three takeaways I wanted to share with you.

    Remember These Things:

    1. Be faith-filled and pray continually.

    Think about how long Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child. Being advanced in years and well beyond the age of having children (Luke 1:18), they must have prayed thousands of times to have a child. They continued to have faith and pray even though their prayers seemed unanswered (Luke 1:6).

    2. Gifts from God are good.

    When God answered their prayer for a child, Zechariah didn’t believe it. I can certainly empathize with that feeling! There are times I feel like I don’t deserve a blessing from God. In fact, it leads me to doubt the prayer will be answered. God shook Zechariah a bit by removing his voice until his son was born. It was as if God needed to get his attention (in a drastic way) for him to understand the depth of the gift he was about to receive. Being mute drove Zechariah to an even closer relationship with God than he had before (Luke 1:67–79). Take heart, even when things seem like they are “bad”, God is working it for good.

    3. God loves us and will answer us.

    He hears us and answers according to His will for our lives (Luke 1:13). Certainly, our prayers aren’t always answered the way we want. That’s because our Father knows what’s best for us. I know there have been times I’ve specifically prayed for something and it didn’t happen the way I wanted. But God knew what was best.

    When we faithfully pray, we are heard and loved by Him. He will answer us according to His will for our lives. With this in mind, don’t lose heart while you’re waiting. Sometimes, just like for Zechariah, God needs to grab our attention during the process. Take heart.

    Learning to pray continually,

    Tony

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