PATIENCE Is The Art Of Waiting On God

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The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – PATIENCE #1

“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]

We need to understand that love is the first characteristic of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is well placed at the head of the list, for it permeates all the rest of the attributes. Somehow, if we live a life of love, the other virtues will attend us all the days of our lives. Love is the key that unlocks the entire fruit basket of Galatians 5:22-23, as well as permeating 1 Corinthians 13.

The Day of Our Lord Jesus Christ is Coming Sooner!

In 2 Peter 3:1-16 NLT says, “1 This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. 2 I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles. 3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” 5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. 8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. 11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight.
15 And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him – 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.”

Peter’s purpose was to remind the believers that their lives ought to be characterized by wholesome thinking (meaning sincerity or purity of understanding). Plato had used this phrase to refer to pure reason uncontaminated by the senses. The thinking and intentions of God’s people must be able to stand up under scrutiny and not be led astray by immoral desires (Philippians 4:8-9).

The way to maintain “wholesome thinking” (2 Peter 3:1) is to remember and understand Scripture. The holy prophets had written about the coming of the Messiah, and what he would command through his apostles. Most likely this refers to the law as upheld by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount and propagated by the apostles (see 2 Peter 2:21).

The Holy Spirit unified the prophets and apostles in an unchanging message of hope and truth. The prophets had written of the Messiah, who would come to bring judgment and restore the Kingdom; those words had come to pass. The apostles had spoken and written that our Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah would return to bring judgment. Thus, believers should live expectantly, knowing that those words will also come to pass.

We, along with the first-century believers, ought to be prepared for anything because we have been warned what to watch for and how to live. Peter wrote that in the last days there will be scoffers. The “last days” began with our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection and will continue until His return, when He will set up His Kingdom and judge all humanity.

Our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles warned that during that interim, including the time period we live in, scoffers will laugh at the truth (see 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:1-9). Once again, Peter was referring to false teachers who deny our Lord Jesus Christ and thereby deny His second coming (2 Peter 3:4). These false teachers will laugh at the truth of God’s word and instead do every evil thing they desire. Peter called the believers to remember the Scriptures and to live to please God; but the false teachers will scoff at the Scriptures and will live to please themselves and their sinful desires. Ironically, the very presence of these men who scoffed at prophecy was itself fulfillment of prophecy.

The false teachers’ scoffing focused on our Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming. Our Lord Jesus Christ had promised that He would come back (Mark 13:24-27), but many years had passed and nothing had happened. The scoffers based their argument on the fact that everything has remained exactly the same since the world was first created.

Many first-century Christians believed that our Lord Jesus Christ would come in their lifetime. When Christians began to die without experiencing the Lord’s return, some began to doubt. These were prime targets for the false teachers, who pointed out that perhaps it was all a lie and Jesus Christ was never going to return. The false teachers argued that ever since creation, the world has continued in a natural order, a system of cause-and-effect. They did not believe that God would intervene or allow anything out of the ordinary (such as miracles) to occur. Therefore, they scoffed at teachings about a Second Coming and the end of the world. I like the old song, “End of The World by Skeeter Davis in memory of my mother – Herminia M. Aguilar (her maiden name). I remember she plays the piano of that song.

What these scoffers were forgetting in their argument (that the world had remained unchanged since creation) was that God made the heavens. The Creation disproves their “all things continue” argument because the creation of the earth was an imposed change on the formless void (Genesis 1:1-2). The very reason the world was continuing on in a stable, predictable pattern was because God, in His grace, had created it that way. However, this stability should not be taken for granted. The false teachers deliberately forgot that God also had destroyed the evil world with a mighty flood.

As God destroyed the earth before, He has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment. In Noah’s day the earth was judged by water; at the Second Coming it will be judged by fire (see Isaiah 66:15-16; Malachi 4:1; Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15). Judgment has already been decided. Ungodly people will perish; it is only a matter of God’s timing. Scholars have debated whether Peter was referring to a literal fiery destruction of the entire universe with new heavens and earth to follow, or to “fire of judgment.” Second Peter is the only New Testament book that says the world will actually be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10-11). The passages cited above refer primarily to the fire of God’s judgment. If taken that way, the fire purifies the earth, burns up the Lord’s enemies and the futile works of humanity, and makes the earth new for our Lord Jesus Christ’s eternal reign. Peter’s point was that destruction would come, and the godless (those who have not believed) will not escape.

Peter had made his point that our Lord Jesus Christ would certainly return and bring judgment, but the question still remained, “Why was the Lord delaying so long?” Peter offered two reasons in 2 Peter 3:8-9.

First of all, the Lord does not count time as people do. He is above and outside of the sphere of time. God sees all of eternity past and eternity future. Indeed, to Him a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day (Psalm 90:4). God may have seemed slow to these believers as they faced persecution every day and longed to be delivered. But God is not slow; He simply doesn’t operate according to our timetable.

The second reason for the Lord being slow about His promise to return was His patience. He does not want anyone to perish, so He is giving more time for everyone to repent. He wants as many people as will to come to have faith in Him. God is not “slow” at all; rather, according to His timetable, He is being exceedingly patient, giving people time to turn to Him. Love is the reason that He delays the destruction of the world.

Some have attempted to make this verse mean that ultimately everyone will be saved. But nowhere does Scripture teach universal salvation. This verse means that God, in His great compassion, does not desire that anyone should “perish” (referring to eternal destruction and/or eternal death). He wants every person to turn to Him and trust Him. God is loving, but He also executes perfect justice. His perfect love causes Him to be merciful to those who recognize their sin and turn back to Him, but He cannot ignore those who willfully sin. Wicked people die both physically and spiritually. God takes no joy in their deaths; He would prefer that they turn to Hm and have eternal life. However, the promise of judgment and destruction show that God knows that many will not choose to follow Him.

The day of the Lord is the day of our Lord Jesus Christ’s return and of God’s judgment on the earth. Peter repeated a warning used by our Lord Jesus Christ, that this day will come as unexpectedly as a thief (see also Matthew 24:42-44). Our Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming will be swift, sudden, unexpected, and terrible for those who do not believe in Him. The day of the Lord will be a time of judgment and destruction. Again, quoting words that he had heard our Lord Jesus Christ say, Peter described the coming end (see Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25). Peter described three aspects of the conflagration:
The heavens will pass away with a terrible noise describes the end of the earth’s atmosphere and the sky above.
Everything in them will disappear in fire could mean that the celestial bodies will also be destroyed (the sun, moon, stars, and planets).

The earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment is an extremely difficult phrase, which has given rise to numerous textual variants in various manuscripts. Some of the readings speak of the earth disappearing, others of it being burned up, and others of it being “exposed” so that all the works that people counted on in this earth in place of God will be revealed for their futility, and then they will all be annihilated. (See also Hebrews 1:10-12.)

When will these events occur? Some have placed them between the events of Revelation 20 (the thousand-year reign of Christ, Satan’s doom, the final judgment) and Revelation 21 (new heaven and new earth, the descent of the new Jerusalem).

Peter explained that this earth will not last forever. As God intervened in the past to judge the earth by water, so one day, He will intervene again. But in that day, the judgment will be by fire, and everything will be destroyed. Those who presume to take God’s delay of this judgment to mean that they can do as they please will find themselves surprised upon His return. And when the destruction occurs, there will be no second chances and no escape for those who have chosen to disobey the Creator. However, in the following verses, Peter turned his attention to the believers, writing to them about how they should live in light of the coming judgment.

Peter’s description of the coming destruction of the earth ought to cause Born-Again Christians to carefully examine their lives so that they are holy and godly. Such lives would be in direct contrast to the unholy living and godlessness found in the world. Such lives, lived through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, will continue on after the coming destruction. Because of that knowledge, the Christians need not fear that day; they could instead actually look forward to it.

Peter wrote that the believers can also actually hurry it along by continuing to live holy (dedicated to God and separated from evil) and godly (characterized by personal piety and worship) lives, praying (Matthew 6:10), and telling people about the Gospel (Matthew 24:14). Born-Again Christians are not called to sit and wait for the inevitable end; instead, our mission during our time on earth is to live for God and to tell the world the Gospel message. Our Lord Jesus Christ had explained that, before His return, “the Good News must first be preached to every nation” (Mark 13:10).

As noted above, at the end God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames (2 Peter 3:10). These will happen as a direct result of the coming of the day of God. The earth’s destruction will not be the result of any natural winding-down of the universe, but the result of God’s sovereign will, occurring according to His plan.

Born-Again Christian believers look forward to the end of the earth only because it means the fulfillment of another of God’s promises – His creation of the new heavens and new earth. God’s purpose for people is not destruction but re-creation; not annihilation, but renewal. God will purify the heavens and earth with fire; then He will create them anew. All Born-Again Christian believers can joyously look forward to the restoration of God’s good world (Romans 8:21). In a beautiful description of the new heavens and earth, Born-Again Christian believers are assured that it will be a world where everyone is right with God because God Himself will live among His people (including us, we as Born-Again Christians) (see Revelation 21:1-4, 22-27). Amen! We/re looking forward for that glorious day! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

As we as Born-Again Christian believers waited, perhaps impatiently, for the Lord’s return, Peter reminded them that the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved. God’s patience means salvation for many more who will have the chance to respond to the Gospel message.

When reading the various letters of the New Testament, it is interesting to study the interrelationships among the writers. Peter was one of our Lord Jesus Christ’s twelve disciples. He later became the undisputed leader of the church in Jerusalem. Paul came along later, after he was converted on the Damascus road by a vision of Jesus Christ (Acts 9). Paul was also considered an apostle. Peter and Paul had great respect for each other as they worked in the ministries to which God had called them.

By the time of Peter’s writing, Paul’s letters already had a widespread reputation. Peter backed up his words with the believers’ apparent knowledge that Paul had also written to them about this very topic. Peter recognized the value of Paul’s letters in the growth of the church, for he described Paul as writing them with the wisdom God gave him. The teachings of the apostles were never distorted by the person or area of ministry. Whether the letter came from Paul or Peter, the message could be depended on to be the same, for it had come from God Himself.

Notice that Peter wrote of Paul’s letters as if they were on a level with other parts of Scripture. Already the early church was considering Paul’s letters to be inspired by God. Both Peter and Paul were aware that they were speaking God’s word along with the Old Testament prophets (see 1 Thessalonians 2:13). In the early days of the church, the letters from the apostles were read to the believers and often passed along to other churches. Sometimes the letters were copied and then passed on. The believers regarded these writings to be as authoritative as the Old Testament Scriptures.

Some readers may have been put off by some of Paul’s comments that were hard to understand. But the cure is not to listen to those who would twist the truth, but instead to continue to increase in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The better we know our Lord Jesus Christ, the less attractive false teaching will be. The false teachers twisted all of Scripture to mean whatever they wanted. However, this would result in disaster. So, let’s be strong and courageous in our spiritual and physical health. Amen!

In the stretch between our small, short lives and the never-ending life of the Great God, we fidget and grow impatient. The answer is for us to move in closer to God and dwell in His everlasting light; only there will we find contentment with no impatience. Amen!

Giving All Thanks To God Our Lord Jesus Christ

In 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 NLT says, “4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts He has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through Him, God has enriched your church in every way – with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for He is faithful to do what He says, and He has invited you into partnership with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”.

In this letter, Paul would include strong words to the Corinthians, but he began on a positive note of thanksgiving. Paul affirmed their privilege of belonging to the Lord, thanking God for all the generous gifts he had given to the Corinthian believers because of their faith in Christ Jesus. Paul usually would begin his letters with a word of thanks for the believers to whom he was writing (see, for example, Romans 1:8; Philippians 1:3-7; Colossians 1:3-8).

God had enriched the Corinthian church. However, the Corinthians may have been putting too much emphasis on possessing the gifts of the Holy Spirit and not enough emphasis on God, who gave those gifts to them, or on our Lord Jesus Christ, who enabled them to have those gifts. They had been enriched in their eloquence in speaking about God and in their knowledge of Him. Greeks attached great importance to oratory and knowledge. God’s grace had increased their ability to speak about their faith, as well as their spiritual knowledge and understanding. These facts – both seen by Paul himself and reported to him by others – served to confirm his testimony about our Lord Jesus Christ to the Corinthian believers. The changed lives of these believers validated the truth of the Gospel message that had been preached to them.

The Corinthian church members had every spiritual gift they needed to live the Christian life, to witness for our Lord Jesus Christ, and to stand against the paganism and immorality of Corinth. These gifts would help the church battle sin both inside the congregation and outside in the world. These believers in Corinth lacked nothing – they had every spiritual gift – and because of this, they more eagerly looked forward in faith and hope to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. This statement refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ. The spiritual gifts God has given also to us as Born-Again Christian believers here on earth are merely a foretaste of what is to come.

There will be an end to the eager waiting of believers (1 Corinthians 1:7), because our Lord Jesus Christ will return. Not only have the Born-Again Christian believers received gifts for building up the church and standing against sin, but our Lord Jesus Christ would also keep them strong until the day the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Because our Lord Jesus Christ has died for us as Born-Again Christian believers, given us spiritual gifts, and promised to return for us, Paul guaranteed us and these believers that God would also consider them free from all blame (see Romans 8:33-34; Ephesians 1:7-10). This guarantee was not because of our great gifts or our shining performance, but because of what our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished for us through His death and resurrection.

We as Born-Again Christian believers need never doubt God’s grace, His gifts, or His promise to give us eternal life because God always does just what He says. God has promised, and because He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), Born-Again Christian believers can be certain that all of His promises will come true. God Himself had invited each of us Born-Again Christian believers into friendship with His Son and that call will never be rescinded. Amen! Pass it on to your loved ones.

God has called us to wait. So, we practice patience. But God has given us gifts to equip us to fulfill His purposes as we wait. Through His graciousness, we learn patience, and through our exercise of that patience, we fulfill His purposes. Amen!

Wait Patiently for Our Lord Jesus Christ

In Psalm 40:1-3 NLT says, “1 I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry.
2  He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3  He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

Patience and trust are manifest in the tension between the king’s present distressing experience and his hope for future deliverance. The following words > heard my cry – i.e., answered his prayer. horrible pit – better, “slimy pit” (NIV). This is a metaphor for the calamity (sickness or battle) which brought him to the edge of death (Hebrew she’l,) or the pit (Psalm 30:2, 3). rock – figure of security, permanence, and refuge (Psalm 18:2; 31:3; cf. Jeremiah 38:6-12). new song – See Psalm 33:3. see it, and fear – Hebrew wordplay with two similar-sounding words. Note the movement from fear to trust (1 John 4:18).

We cry out for rescue simply because we know in ourselves that we are helpless. We can do nothing but wait for rescue. We wait and God acts. We have patience and the Savior comes. Floundering, entrapped, ensnared, dying, we wait; and our patience is rewarded by the coming of our Rescuer. He lifts us from the pit, and we are in love with Him because He has saved us and endowed us with great liberty.

Patience conveys the quality of being able to handle one another’s faults and failures and refusing to avenge wrongs. No one is ever going to be perfect here on earth, so Born-Again believers must be patient with each other despite their faults.

Making allowance for each other’s faults is the action side of patience, emphasizing the willingness to forgive. To show patience requires love, which ought to be the guiding principle for all of a believer’s actions, even when natural differences and clashes occur. Bearing with one another presupposes that, at times, loving others will be a burden. Born-Again Christian believers must be willing to carry the load without expecting reward, thanks, or return. Amen!

We Must Not Oppress Others

In Exodus 23:9 NLT says, “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”

Do not oppress anyone who is still in the same spiritual state where we once were before our Lord Jesus Christ found us. Think back. Remember the days of hopelessness? Remember the hours of fear? Some still live with those burdens. Those who do not know our Lord Jesus Christ as Savior have a destiny so dreadful that Christians dare not add any criticism to the weight the lost already carry.

As Born-Again Christian believers, it is our job to “shut in” those around us. When we understand that hard times are our teachers, and we bear those times with patience, we can pass along that understanding to others. We can bring others into our world and close around them the arms of love and peace that we also have experienced. Amen!

A Song Of Trust – Stilled and Quieted Soul

(Soul is our feeling and mindset.)

In Psalm 131:1-3 NLT says, “1 Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always.”

The imagery “small child is quiet with its mother” (Psalm 131:2) suggests one who is happy and secure, having gone through the difficult weaning process. Such is the psalmist’s condition after being weaned from a desire for status.

The ego ever clamors for increasing recognition. Is there an answer? How can we focus our worship on God when our tendency is to focus on self? David says, “I have stilled and quieted my soul.” How has he done this? Like a mother weans her child, breaking the child from an infant diet, so David has broken his ego from its diet of narcissism, the constant feeding on self-importance.

This is not as easy to do as one might think. The ego is like a sparrow chick. It keeps its overlarge beak turned up, crying “feed me.” “Feed you? With what?” “Feed me with all I want; for I – your ego – cannot conceive of being happy with less than all I want. Oh, yes. And did I mention I want it now? Not just enough – more than enough. Don’t feed me. Gorge me, stuff myself, and be gluttonous. Don’t compliment me – flatter me. Don’t give me a glass of wine – intoxicate me.” LOL!

Ego keeps shouting at us for more. But when the Holy Spirit moves into our lives, teaching us the twin arts of temperance and patience, then ego at last is relegated to its place. Now, it is finally quiet. Now we can praise God freely without the ugly impediment of self-will. Amen!

Prayer is the key that unlocks and reveals faith. Effective prayer needs both an attitude of complete dependence and the action of asking. Prayer demonstrates complete reliance on God. Thus, there is no substitute for prayer, especially in situations that seem impossible.

So, let our hearts and minds in tune with God, in the power of God, the Holy Spirit. Let’s continuously and persistently pray for God’s perfect will be done. We as Born-Again Christians have been tried and cleansed, we have moved freely into a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ that is more powerful than it was before our trials. We are at home in the presence and fellowship of God, for we are heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ, more like Him that we could ever have dreamed possible. So, let’s continuously and persistently pray for God’s perfect will be done. Amen!

The principle is that no one has anything of value to bring to God in order to deserve salvation, mercy, justification, or even a second glance from God. The proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored. Acceptance before God cannot be achieved by good deeds, piety, or any amount of self-proclaimed righteousness.

Let’s never get over the effect of God’s saving transformation on people’s lives. People who were lost in sin, filled with anger and bitterness, give up their hatred and become approachable as we have studied and learned last time. That is, of course, why we minister to others. Those of us who minister are not people to whom (fruit of the Holy Spirit) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control comes naturally. We are people who have been remodeled by grace. We thankfully leave our old natures far behind as we embrace the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, the first of the list > agape love of God, and in our treatment of others. Amen!

Sunday by Sunday as we come to worship, let me encourage our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, and I want my readers and listeners to be both strong in the faith and sensitive to others’ needs. Because all, we as Born-Again Christian believers are strong in certain areas and weak in others, we constantly need to monitor the effects of our behavior on others.

In these PATIENCE Series of Podcast, we will learn the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

1. Learned the art of waiting on God
2. Reminds us how to receive the blessings of God
3. Learn to live by God’s timetable
4. Learn to think about unhurried or painstaking virtue
5. Know how to acquire this virtue slowly
6. Learn to wait from what God promises

On every Podcast, I always have three (3) questions we can answer from only these two (2) Sources: The Bible and Guidance of the Holy Spirit. The following are:

First is about our > Observation: What do these passages or Scriptures say to you?

Second is about our own > Interpretation: What do these passages or Scriptures mean to you?

Third is about how we can apply > Application: How do the meaning of these passages or Scriptures apply to you or to your situation?

If you are not sure that you are Born-Again Christian believer or you have relatives, loved ones, friends, neighbors, and people in your circle of influence, please take a look and/or guide them to one of our ministries, “An Invitation To Meet Our Lord Jesus Christ” at https://homefellowshipchurches.org/an-invitation-to-meet-our-lord-jesus-christ/

Let’s give an opportunity for the lost souls to experience on being Born-Again Christian as explained by our Lord Jesus Christ in the book of John 3:13 in the New Testament of the Bible.

It is as simple as A, B, & C > Admit, Believe, & Confess. All Born-Again Christian believers prayed this simple prayer we called “Sinner’s Prayer”

“Father God, I come to in the name of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge and admit that I am a sinner and I need a Savior. I believe and have faith in Jesus Christ who was born of Virgin Mary, died on the Cross for the penalty of my sins, and rose again that I may have the eternal life. I confess and declare Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord of my life. Comfort, guide, and help me Holy Spirit to live and grow in my spiritual life according to Your Words, purpose, and perfect will of God, in my Lord Jesus Christ name, Amen!”

If you prayed this, “Sinner’s Prayer” sincerely in your heart, you are Born-Again Christian believer. However, you are a spiritual baby who needs to grow up. (See 1 Peter 2:2)

Now, let me pray for all of you:

Father God, we come into your presence in our Lord Jesus Christ name, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for Your agape love and forgiveness you have done on the Cross of Calvary, and continue to intercede for us in prayer. Thank you Holy Spirit as our Helper and Comforter. Thank you for the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage and strength. We cling, yield, plug-in and tune-in to you Holy Spirit to help us understand God’s Words, obey them, receive Your divine revelation, know the Truth that sets us free, and apply them in our lives, in our Lord Jesus Christ name, Amen!”

Let’s praise and worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Give all thanks to God for all answered prayers.

Please send your > Praise Reports (answered prayers) and New Prayer Requests via email to: TrinityBlessings@homefellowshipchurches.org. God bless you all and our families!

A Call to Repentance and Be Blessed

In Malachi 3:7-15 AMPC says, “7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ 8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it”, says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” [Malachi 2:2.] 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer (insects and plagues) for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruits before the time in the field,” says the Lord of hosts. 12 “And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight”, says the Lord of hosts.

If the people would obey God, giving as they should, God would flood His people with blessings. There would be an overabundance of God’s blessing if He was given what He requested.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse – See 2 Chronicles 31:11; cf. 1 Chronicles 26:20; Nehemiah 10:38; 13:5, 12. If the temple storehouses were empty, it was the people’s fault. God had already blessed them with enough to give a little back to Him.

Instead of destroying our crops (blessings), God would make them come in greater abundance than we had ever imagined possible (Amos 4:9; Haggai 2:19; Zechariah 8:12). The devourer – probably referring to locusts, though the word here is general in meaning (Baldwin). In the Near East, locust swarms are known for their ability to damage huge tracts of agricultural land (see note on Joel 1:4).

A delightsome land – All of the blessings promised to Jacob would come to pass if the people would obey God (Deuteronomy 33:29; Zechariah 8:13). Their land would be a delight to all who saw it (Daniel 8:9).

The problem in Malachi 3:7-12 was the people’s departure from God as reflected by their neglect of tithes and offerings. Two annual tithes were required according to Israelite law – one for the Levites (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:21), and one to be used in worship at the annual feasts in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 14:22). A tithe was required every three years to provide for the needs of the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). There is debate as to whether this tithe for the poor was in addition to or served as a substitute for the tithe used in worship.

The New Testament pattern for tithing is proportionate giving – a person is to give “in relation to what you have earned” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Certainly a tithe should be given proportionate to one’s wealth, but not all proportionate giving is a tithe.

The anticipation of blessing for obedience to God’s command to tithe was based on the Mosaic covenant, which promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Malachi 3:10; cf. Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Generally, God will meet the needs of His own people (Psalm 34:9-10; Philippians 4:19), but that is not an unconditional guarantee. There certainly were and are exceptions. Yet, where God chooses not to provide physically, He gives sufficient grace to go without (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The problem in Malachi 3:14-15 was that the people were guilty of arrogant words against God. They were saying, “There is no prophet who is serving God,” and “God is not concerned about justice.” God responded by showing that He did distinguish between the wicked and the righteous. The righteous would be blessed, and the wicked would be judged.