The Unhurried Virtue Is PATIENCE

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The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – PATIENCE #4

“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.

Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor

In Matthew 18:21 – 35 NLT says, “21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold – along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned – to pay the debt. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Peter asked our Lord Jesus Christ a question commonly discussed in rabbinic debates. The common answer was that it was considered sufficient to forgive three times. Peter may have chosen the number seven not only to indicate generosity, but also because the number seven is commonly used in the Bible to communicate completeness.

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s answer did not mean His followers ought to keep count up to seventy times seven; rather, this statement means not to keep track of numbers at all. There ought to be no limit to a believer’s willingness to forgive another believer (within the confines of the steps set out above in helping to restore straying believers, Matthew 18:15-20). All believers ought to willingly forgive, for all believers have already been forgiven far beyond their comprehension, as the following parable shows.

This parable is recorded only in Matthew and illustrates the need for unlimited forgiveness in the body of Christ. A king decided that he wanted to go over the books with his accountant. This first man found himself in debt for a huge sum of money.

The man couldn’t pay the king the millions that he owed, so the king ordered that he, his family, and his possessions be sold to pay the debt. The sale of family as well as possessions to pay debts was common in ancient times.

The man humbly fell down before the king and begged for patience. The merciful king was filled with pity, released him and forgave his debt. This highly unlikely turn of events would have surprised our Lord Jesus Christ’s listeners. What an incredible load must have been taken from his shoulders! Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end here.

The king had forgiven a debt of millions of dollars and had let his servant go free. But when that servant left, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. The thousands he was owed was a significant amount, but compared to the millions, it was extremely small. The fellow servant also begged for patience but was refused, arrested, and jailed until the debt could be paid.

Compared to what the first servant had been forgiven, his refusal to forgive another was appalling. Apparently other servants (other court officials) thought his behavior was appalling as well, so they went to the king and told him what had happened.

For some reason, the first servant just didn’t understand. After being forgiven millions of dollars, he threw into prison a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand. But before he continued too far on his merry way, he found himself summoned back to the king. The king, who had been so merciful, angrily reproved the servant for accepting forgiveness and then being unwilling to extend forgiveness to another. The servant should have had mercy on his fellow servant.

The king was so angry that he sent the man to prison. Because this man would not forgive another, the king decided not to forgive his debt either. Instead, the man would be imprisoned until he had paid every penny. This man effectively received a life sentence.

The king in the parable represents the heavenly Father and pictures his role as judge. In the context of interchurch discipline, the parable could underscore the corporate responsibility of the church to deal righteously with erring members. This includes harsh judgment on those who hurt the fellowship by refusing to forgive one another. But because God has forgiven all our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. Realizing how completely our Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven us should produce a free and generous attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don’t forgive others, we are saying that we appreciate God’s love and forgiveness but that we’re unwilling to give it to anyone else.

Elias more often offended Christie. Elias says, “I’m sorry, Christie, will you forgive me?” “Certainly, Elias. It was nothing; forget it,” says Christie. Then Elias does the same offensive thing again. “I’m sorry, Christie, will you forgive me?” “Certainly, Elias, but try not to do it again.” Then Elias does the same offensive thing again. “I’m sorry, Christie, will you forgive me?” “Uh … let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.”

Meanwhile, Christie, who wishes Elias would get hold his moral inconsistencies, also sins. It’s the same sin she regularly commits against God, and she goes before the Lord and says, “Oh, God, I know I’ve begged your forgiveness a thousand times for this same sin, but will you forgive me once more?” And Christie is surprised to hear God’s answer: “I don’t know, Christie. Did you ever get back to Elias?”

How often should we forgive our loved ones and/or neighbors? One more time than they ask. Patience is an unhurried virtue. Patience waits and forgives and waits and forgives. So, let’s forget and forgive others. Amen!

The Death of Moses

In Deuteronomy 34:1-8 NLT says, “1 Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan; 2 all the land of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea; 3 the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho—the city of palms—as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land.” 5 So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, just as the Lord had said. 6 The Lord buried him in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. 8 The people of Israel mourned for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the customary period of mourning was over.”

God linked Moses’ view of the Promised Land to His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deuteronomy 34:4) and then took Moses to be with Himself (Deuteronomy 34:5). The book ends with the passing of Moses’ authority to Joshua (Deuteronomy 34:9) and a final exclamation of Moses’ greatness (Deuteronomy 34:10-12), a greatness only to be surpassed by the greater Prophet, our Lord Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15).

Moses is 120 years old, and his eyes are not dim nor his strength abated or decreased. So why is he dying in such vigor without entering Canaan? Because, as we would say today, he “lost his cool” (abandoned his patience) in front of all the people of Israel. Patience is the virtue that demonstrates that we are fully in touch and at ease with the purposes of God in our lives.

Moses did not enter Canaan. Perhaps he learned that God desires patience from His servants. His lapse of patience at Meribah Kadesh caused him to forfeit the right to enter Canaan (Deuteronomy 32:48-52). Learned lesson. Amen!

Just A Moment, Each of Us is But A Breath

A Prayer of the Afflicted – Silence is Golden

In Psalm 39:1-5 NLT says, “1 I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue
when the ungodly are around me.” 2 But as I stood there in silence – not even speaking of good things – the turmoil within me grew worse. 3 The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words: 4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered – how fleeting my life is. 5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”

In a time of discipline, David wanted to get a better perspective on the shortness and relative insignificance of his life. Only one thing mattered: hope in God. “Jeduthun” (in the superscription of Psalm 39) was one of the choir directors appointed by David to lead in public worship (cf. 2 Chronicles 16:41). At first David suffered in silence (Psalm 39:1-2). Breaking his silence, he asked God to help him understand and accept the brevity of life (Psalm 39:3-4). He asked God to turn away his gaze of wrath so that he might enjoy the time that was left him on earth (Psalm 39:13).

How fast the days of our lives pass by. If ever we are to become good stewards, we must find a way to measure the years so they do not steal from us our sense of patience, but rather improve the stewardship of our lives. Long ago, I learned this little scheme for reckoning life in the very way that the psalmist is speaking of it here. If you lived to be 72 years of age and could reckon all the years of your life on one giant clock, you might sequence your life in this manner: Plot all 72 years of your anticipated life span on that 12-hour dial. Each hour on that dial would then represent six years of your life. Figuratively, you would then be born at 7 o’clock in the morning and would die at 7 o’clock in the evening.

When it was 8 o’clock on that great clock, you would be 6 years old.

When it was 10 o’clock on that great clock, you would be 18 years old.

When it was 12 o’clock on that great clock, you would be 30 years old.

When it was 4 o’clock on that great clock, you would be 54 years old.

When it was 6 o’clock on that great clock, you would be 66 years old.  

I am 66 years old now. I wish to live for 18 years or more. Indeed, the psalmist is right: “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath” (Psalm 39:5). During these fast-tumbling years, let us practice a determined patience and decide that these years will all be used for our Lord Jesus Christ. If we focus on using our time to develop our relationship with Him, we will never look at the time as wasted, for we will someday have eternity to reap the benefits of our time with Him now. Amen!

Final Instructions Before Our Glorious Day

In 1 Timothy 6:10-12 NLT says, “10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so, run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.”

People often misquote this verse, saying, “money is the root of all evil.” But it is the love of money that Paul speaks against. Money itself is not evil; in fact, money can do much good for the furthering of God’s Kingdom. Money supports missionaries around the globe; money helps organizations fight for Christian causes in government; money supports churches and church leaders; money helps feed the hungry and clothe the poor. Obviously, while God doesn’t need money (in fact, all the money in the world belongs to Him), He can use money given by generous people to help those in need. These people can give because they control their money. The problem happens when money controls people.

People who love money are controlled by a ruthless, insatiable master, for the love of money can never be satisfied. Loving money is at the root of all kinds of evil: marriage problems, illegal acts, blowups in partnerships, envy, immorality, lying, ruthlessness, stealing, and a willingness to even hurt others if it makes money. The worst scenario, of course, is that money would actually lead a person from the faith. It’s tragic when money replaces God in a person’s life. These greedy people found themselves pierced with many sorrows. The picture is that they were being impaled by sharp objects that they continued to push against. Instead of God’s way, they chose a path that was taking them deeper and deeper into a briar patch of trouble. Instead of the joy and happiness they expected, money brought grief.

It would be a hazardous mistake to conclude that Paul is teaching that we should not be concerned about money. In fact, we should be respectfully asking God for funds with which to carry out our responsibilities and to help others. It is right to ask God for provision for daily life and to do His will (help children through college, pay off the church mortgage, etc.). Paul was concerned about greed more than he was about money.

In contrast to the “some” of Verse 10 who had wandered from the faith in their quest for riches, Paul addressed Timothy as a man of God who should run from all these evil things, and instead to follow what is right and good. This involves wholehearted efforts to grow into the kind of person God has already declared he would be in eternity. To pursue a godly life means doing actions in line with God’s character. These overlap in meaning – the first emphasizes obedience, while the second emphasizes the God-centered motives for obedience.

Faith and love are fundamental to Christianity and basic to Paul’s teaching (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). The qualities of faith and love are constantly under improvement by the work of God’s Spirit. Our capacity to trust must grow and be renewed, and the development of our love for God and for others involves a lifelong construction project. Born-Again Christian believers are to pursue these in the sense that we practice what we already understand, while praying that we might understand and practice more.

Perseverance in persecution and trouble are vital for all believers; Timothy would need an extra dose of perseverance as he led a large congregation through difficult days ahead. Pursuing perseverance would require a willingness to undergo suffering.

Gentleness seems an odd quality for Timothy to pursue; after all, he was already timid and Paul had told him to deal firmly with false teaching. However, gentleness can reveal more power than roughness or harshness. Perhaps by mentioning this Paul was affirming a positive quality that was already a part of Timothy’s character. The false teachers could have no power against a righteous, gentle leader with the truth on his side.

Using the same word, he used in 1 Timothy 1:18 to describe Timothy’s work in Ephesus, Paul described furthering the Gospel as a fight – but it is the good fight for what we believe. The verb tense in Greek implies that this fight is an ongoing, continual process requiring diligence and discipline. Timothy would continue a fight already begun by others. Believers today continue the fight for which Timothy and Paul offered their lives.

Those who fight the good fight of the faith can already hold tightly to their prize. Eternal life had been given to Timothy (as for all Born-Again Christian believers) at the moment of conversion (see John 5:24; 1 John 3:14; 5:13). When a person confesses faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, eternal life begins. Reflecting the confidence Paul had in the outcome of Timothy’s life, Paul reminded him of what he had confessed so well before many witnesses. The specific incident Paul had in mind has been identified as unknown, but the fact of Paul and Timothy’s long association would have given the elder any number of occasions to observe the younger’s faith in action.

The world’s salvation is not an en masse event. God is not in a panic regarding the rate at which people come to Him. God knows His kingdom is built one confession at a time. So, our service to others lies in confessing Christ, fully believing that our example will bless others and bring them in time to an unhurried and earnest confession of Christ.            

Confession is the glorious calling of the church. It is the church’s great ministry of compassion, for it shows those perishing beyond God’s love to accept an eternity of grace. Confession is a ministry of identity, for it allows men and women to identify with the church by openly naming our Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Confession furnishes the joy of worship as people in the congregation openly talk about the central love affair of their lives.

There is urgency in our confession, for if people do not find Christ, they will perish. But there is also to be a well-paced preaching that takes the necessary time to explain the Gospel to the unsaved. We must advance steadily into the world, taking time to teach and preach thoroughly the confession of the church. Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-36 that professing His name will in some sense be the most nerve-racking element of our work. Why? Because the very name Jesus Christ, whose confession brings glory to the church, is at same time a word that is not everywhere welcome. Even some families have been divided over the issue of who our Lord Jesus Christ is and what His rightful place in their lives should be. Some confessions result in applause, some martyrdom.

But let the unhurried virtue of patience steadily advance the preaching of the grand truth to all those who will receive it. And may we who preach the confessional life be patient, always ready to be kind to those who will not receive the truth, treating them as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself would treat them. So, let’s love God, love people, and make disciples. Amen!

Ezra Reads The Law

In Ezra 8:1-10 NLT says, ” 1 In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, 8:1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. 2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. 6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”.“

The first day of the seventh month, October 8 (Nehemiah 8:1), may provide a literary link between the events of Nehemiah 3:1-4 (the Festival of Shelters) and the events of Nehemiah 8. Nehemiah appeared to be reminding the reader of that great gathering with the hopes that a comparison would be made with the gathering spoken of in Nehemiah 8. The Water Gate (Nehemiah 8:1) was in the east wall of the city and gave access to the Spring of Gihon. The first day of the seventh month was the day set aside to observe the Festival of Trumpets (Nehemiah 8:2; Numbers 29:1). That feast was a time to humble their souls and confess their sins of arrogance before God. Out of respect for the word of God, the people stood when it was being read (Nehemiah 8:5). Since many of the returned exiles had forgotten their Hebrew, the Levites translated the Scripture from Hebrew into Aramaic so that the Jews could understand the message (Nehemiah 8:8).

The reading aloud of the Word of God has its place in our personal worship. Yet sometimes the church faces a complex travesty, charade, caricature, parody, mockery, sham, or pretense: We read the Word of God in a slovenly, sloppy, careless, disheveled, untidy or messy and boring fashion. Can we not cry honestly, “God is speaking; please, let us not have the world think that God is as boring as our poor attention to reading makes Him appear”? When Ezra read the Word of God from daybreak until noon, the Word was all-transforming.

Let us approach worship in an unhurried fashion. Notice in this passage that Ezra the priest and scribe read the Bible from daybreak till noon (Nehemiah 8:3), and as far as we can tell from the Hebrew text, no one complained, “How can we ever beat everyone else to the local diner if our worship services keep going on so long?” Worship takes time. And apparently, the Israelites realized that they had the time. No one was hurried, and they took all the time they needed for praising God. Their worship mainly was given to the reading of the Word of God, although “all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen! Amen!’” They also “bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8.6). What was the overall response to this long, “your-roast-back-home-is-probably-burning” service? The people began to weep at the privilege, the responsibility, and the burden of hearing the Word of God spoken directly to them.

It was at this time that Nehemiah reminded them that the Word is sometimes meant to bring us to tears and conviction, but that on this particular occasion, God’s Word was to be their source of joy. They had time; the unhurried virtue of patience was on their side. Nehemiah called out to all the people: “Do not mourn or weep … Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks … Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:9-10). God desires to invade our unhurried worship, and we are to take all the time we need to make patience during our worship the unhurried heart of our praise. Amen!

This concludes today’s message of this Series of Podcast -Patience

Now, let’s talk about “Prayer and “Salvation”.

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. Reminded us how to receive the blessings of God
3. Learned to live by God’s timetable
4. Learned 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. Please 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.