The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – PATIENCE #2

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. There is no law against these things.” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Patience_2Download

PODCASTING
The Manifestation of the HOLY SPIRIT is on FIRE!

The Day Of The Lord

Hebrews 11:35-40 (NLT) says, “35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.“

Some even received their loved ones back again from death. The widow from Zarephath received her son back from the dead because of Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24), and so did the Shunammite woman, through Elisha (2 Kings 4:8-37).

We, too, can experience victory through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We may have experiences similar to those of the Old Testament saints; more likely, however, our victories will be directly related to the role God wants us to play. Our lives may not include the kinds of dramatic events recorded here, but it surely includes moments where faith is tested. Give testimony to those moments, publicly and honestly, and thereby encourage the faith of others.

While the above examples mention great victory – there is a victory that may not seem so. Other believers were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God. These faithful people experienced the blessings and endured persecution because they placed their hope in the resurrection. These people lived by faith because they knew that gaining the world and achieving this world’s success was not their objective. They waited for a better life that would begin after death. This promise of a better life encouraged them during persecution and other difficulties.

These descriptions could apply to many people who lived by faith – including some who were part of the community of the original readers of this epistle. Many Christians were persecuted and punished for their faith. They were:
mocked – like Elisha (2 Kings 2:23-25); Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:19; 4:1); and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18:12); cut open with whips – like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:15), chained in dungeons – like Joseph (Genesis 40:15), Samson (Judges 16:21), Micaiah (1 Kings 22:26-27), Hanani (1 Chronicles 16:10), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:16; 38:6); killed by stoning – like Zechariah (1 Chronicles 24:20-21); according to Jerome, Jeremiah was stoned at the hands of Jewish Egyptians because he denounced their idolatry; killed by being sawed in half – like Isaiah, presumably. Although we do not know for sure, tradition (from the apocryphal book, The Ascension of Isaiah, chapters 1–5) says that the prophet Isaiah was sawed in half at the command of King Manasseh because Isaiah had predicted the destruction of the temple. Isaiah had at first escaped and hid in the trunk of a tree while in the hill country. Manassah supposedly had the tree sawed in half with Isaiah in it; killed with the sword – although some prophets did escape death by the sword, others did not (see 1 Kings 19:10).

Many of God’s followers who lived before our Lord Jesus Christ and many who have lived after Christ have been persecuted. Their clothing was the skins of sheep and goats. Many faced being hungry, oppressed, and mistreated. Some had to wander and hide in the wilderness. Despite their difficult situations, the writer of Hebrews claims that they were too good for this world. These people were great men and women of faith.

One of the most tender verses in the Bible is Hebrews 11:38. After recounting many hideouts death of early followers of God, this wonderful verse says, “the world was not worthy of them.” Those faithful saints who were killed for their beliefs are here honored. Ironically, many of those who have held the marches or wielded the implements of torture throughout time were people who claimed allegiance to God and who believed that they were doing God’s service by burning inferior disciples. Arrogance alone lights such heinous fires.

All of the above people mentioned by name and those alluded to received God’s approval because of their faith. These people looked forward to a better day and salvation, but none of them received all that God had promised. Of course, they saw some of God’s promises fulfilled, but not the promises that referred to the new covenant and the promised eternal Kingdom. These people did not live to see the Kingdom arrive, but their future citizenship was secure there. Thus, they were able to endure suffering.

Hebrews 11 has been called faith’s “hall of fame.” No doubt the author surprised his readers by this conclusion: these mighty Jewish heroes did not receive God’s full reward because they died before Christ came. In God’s plan, they and the Christian believers (who were also enduring much testing) would be rewarded together.

The far better things that God has in mind refers to the new covenant. The forefathers did not receive this; rather, it is experienced by those who live after the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the one who introduced the new covenant and the new promises (see Hebrews 1:2).

There is a solidarity among believers (see Hebrews 12:23). Old and New Testament believers will receive the prize together. Not only are we one in the body of Christ with all those alive, but we are also one with all those who ever lived. One day all believers will share in the promised blessing with our Lord Jesus Christ. We will then be complete and perfect in Him.

Hebrews Chapter 12 contains clues regarding the situation of the believers to whom this letter was written. They have been encouraged not to drift away (Hebrews 2:1), but in this chapter we perceive a community weary of persecution, struggling to stay strong in an increasingly hostile environment, but weakening perhaps to the point of giving up and turning away from their faith.

How many a martyr died feeling that God was disinterested or uncaring in this time of need? Yet, here in a tender expose of faithfulness, the writer of Hebrews says, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.” Their patience and perseverance ended in more waiting.

What is the plan that God has prepared for us? What is the “something better”? Who can say for sure? His purpose will not be entirely consummated until our Lord Jesus Christ splits the skies and history is finished. And then we will know the end of all truth. God never lies; all that He has promised will come to be after we have waited long enough. Patience will at last expose us to glory immeasurable, for patience is the key to the final blessing of God. Amen!

Published by Elias A Busuego Jr PhD DTM

Elias A. Busuego, Jr., PhD, DTM is self-described as “proud of the only two women in my life – my wife and my daughter (with her husband and one grandson & one granddaughter). I am also proud of my three sons: John and his family (two sons & 1 daughter); Christopher and his family (with his wife and one grandson & one daughter); and Elias Jr. IV and his family (with his wife and one son & one daughter), who are all serving in the U.S. military.” The author states that he read the Bible back-to-back, and learned the history behind it, but did not understand its deeper spiritual perspective until he experienced of being Born-Again, born in spirit. Since he was Born-Again on March 17, 1972, he started understanding the Passage and/or Scripture on John 3:3-7 NLT. These are most of his favorite verses. In John 3:3-7 NLT says, “3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again? "Jesus replied, “I assure you; no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ In John 3:5 – This statement has perplexed and divided commentators for many centuries. Some traditions have taught that the water denotes physical birth (referring to the “water” of amniotic fluid or even semen) and Spirit to spiritual birth – in which case our Lord Jesus Christ would be saying that a person has to have two births: one physical and the second, spiritual. This view builds upon the preceding context when Nicodemus referred to physical birth. It also points to the parallel our Lord Jesus Christ makes in verse 6. According to this position, our Lord Jesus Christ would have been granting the Pharisee’s point in order to highlight the nature of the second birth as spiritual. Two strengths of this interpretation are that it avoids making the physical act of water baptism a necessity and that it avoids bringing almost a “third birth” idea into the discussion. If water doesn’t refer to natural birth, say its defenders, then our Lord Jesus Christ seems to be saying that a person must be born of their parents, born of water, and born of the Spirit. Other traditions have taught that the water refers to baptism and the Spirit to spiritual regeneration – thus, our Lord Jesus Christ would have been saying that a person must both be baptized and receive the Spirit in order to enter the Kingdom of God. This view is at times influenced by the belief that the sacrament of baptism is itself a requirement for salvation. A parallel view makes water refer to baptism but places the emphasis on teaching two steps of baptism; one by water, the other by the Spirit. For support, these views point to the larger context in John where John the Baptist and water baptism are mentioned just preceding the events in Cana and following this encounter with Nicodemus. They also rely on the tendency of previous generations of Christians to equate the mention of water with baptism. But in the first seven chapters of John, water appears in some way (naturally or symbolically) in each chapter. To associate water and baptism too closely makes baptism a higher priority than the Scriptures give it. Here, for instance, if our Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of two completely separate acts, two baptisms, it is odd that the rest of the discussion between our Lord Jesus Christ and Nicodemus never again refers to the subject but revolves entirely around the work of God’s Spirit. Still other traditions have taught that our Lord Jesus’ reference to water is not physical in either the sense of birth or baptism. The term water is simply another description of the Spirit – or the Spirit’s activity of cleansing and giving life (see John 7:37-39). In John 3:6 – Humans can produce only more human beings; this answers Nicodemus’s question in verse 4. Only God the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. At the same time God puts His Spirit into us, we are given a new regenerated human spirit. It is God’s Spirit, not our effort, that makes us children of God (John 1:12). Our Lord Jesus’ description corrects human hopes that we might somehow inherit goodness from parents or earn it by good behavior, church background, or correct associations. At some point we must be able to answer the question: Have I been born of the Spirit? In John 3:7 – Our Lord Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus that evening has been heralded to all the world ever since. Both Jew and Gentile have heard the divine mandate: You must be born again. Without the new birth, one cannot see or enter into the Kingdom of God. In those words, millions have heard our Lord Jesus Christ speaking directly to their hearts and our hearts. Behind our Lord Jesus’ challenge is His invitation to each of us –” You must be born again; allow me to do that for you.” Since he was born again on March 17, 1972, he started also understanding his other favorite Passage on Romans 12:2 NLT. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” When Elias offered his entire self to God, a change happened in his relation to the world. As one of Born-Again Christians, he believes we are called to a different lifestyle than what the world offers with its behavior and customs, which are usually selfish and often corrupting (Galatians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:14). He commented that Born-Again Christians are to live as citizens of a future world. There will be pressure to conform, to continue living according to the script written by the world, but Born-Again Christian believers are forbidden to give in to that pressure. But refusing to conform to this world’s values must go even deeper than the level of behavior and customs – it must go to the transforming of the way we think. In Elias testimonies as a Born-Again Christian believer, he emphasized that born-again is an experience and he experienced a complete transformation from the inside out. And the change must begin in the mind, where all thoughts and actions begin. Much of the work is done by God’s Spirit in us, and the tool most frequently used is God’s Word. As we memorize and meditate upon God’s Word, our way of thinking changes. Our minds become first informed, and then conformed to the pattern of God, the pattern for which we were originally designed. When we as Born-Again Christian believers have had our minds transformed and are becoming more like our Lord Jesus Christ, we will know what God wants and we will want to do it for it is good, pleasing to God, and perfect for us. It is from those gleanings that he was able to write this book.