KINDNESS IN THE TIME OF NEED

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Pastor Elias Aguilar Busuego Jr PhD DTM

Founding Pastor – Home Fellowship Churches

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The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – KINDNESS #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]

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.

Rahab Protects the Spies

In Joshua 2:8-14 NLT says, “8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. 9 “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. 12 “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” 14 “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land.”

The spies were sent out secretly, perhaps because of what the public report by the spies sent out by Moses had brought about (Numbers 13–14). Rahab’s confession acknowledged that God had given Israel the land. She requested a blessing that reflected belief in what God had said in Genesis 12:3, that is, that He would bless those who blessed Abraham’s line. The report that the hearts of the Canaanites had melted (Joshua 2:11, 24) continued the response to God’s defeat of kings Sihon and Og in Numbers 21:21-35.

Attempts have been made since early times to represent Rahab as merely an innkeeper, but the Hebrew word confirms that she was a prostitute. Her house would have been a good place to spend the night unnoticed. Situated on the wall (Joshua 2:15), it allowed for the possibility, if necessary, of a secret escape by the spies.

But if God already had promised victory, why did Joshua choose to spy out the land? Joshua obviously discerned the need to exercise his human responsibility, understanding his part in accomplishing God’s promised victory.

But whatever was Joshua’s specific reason, the point of the story lies in Rahab’s confession of God’s great power as well as His mercy. That confession earned Rahab a place in Scripture as one of the great people of faith (Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31). Rahab lied to protect the Israelite spies. Many have sought to justify her actions based on the situation, but that is unnecessary. What the New Testament commends here is her faith (Hebrews 11:31), not the lie that she told. God could have protected the spies even if she had told the truth. Rahab’s confession was much like that made earlier by Moses (Deuteronomy 4:39).

Here is the fascinating tale of a kind prostitute. She hid the Israelite spies and lied to the government officials to protect them. We need not investigate Rahab’s integrity. She could tell the worst of lies for the best of reasons. But this passage describes Rahab with the word kind, and her integrity (or lack of it) was usable to God. Kindness in a time of need may have been Rahab’s motto. Notice that she has several strikes against her as an expected source of kindness. She is a prostitute, a Gentile, and … yes, a liar. Yet hidden beneath her faults was a woman capable of kindness.

The story of Rahab reminds us that we need not be perfect to be used by God, but we do have to be willing to take a chance in doing God’s will. Rahab risked her life in defying the authorities of her city and hiding the spies. Rahab did the right thing and showed kindness. Will we demonstrate the same kind of desire to help others no matter what the cost to us? Amen!

God Shapes Job (Us) As A Potter Does His Clay

In Job 10:8-12 NLT says, “8 “‘You formed me with your hands; you made me, yet now you completely destroy me. 9 Remember that you made me from dust – will you turn me back to dust so soon? 10 You guided my conception
and formed me in the womb. 11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together. 12 You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.”

God shapes Job as a potter does his clay. But would the potter make a pot only to destroy it?

These bolded words describe > Remember . . . – a call to God to deal equitably with that which He has created. Dust – exposing the futility and meaninglessness of having shaped the pot only to turn it back to dust.

Job moves from the pottery image to his conception and formation in the womb as a creative work of God and hence, a basis for God’s protection and care, and preserved – i.e., watched over.

Lost in the wonders of God’s creativity, Job must reckon with all the difficult things that have happened to him. There is a kind of harmony suggested here. Would a God who shaped him and carefully created him, turn on him to destroy him? Job cannot really think so. And Job’s conclusion helps us to see that God’s kindness allows us to fulfill His purposes for us.

God is consistently love, so we must not be quick to indict Him as responsible for our misfortunes. Let us rather see if we can read into our circumstances a bit of His larger purpose. When the pain overwhelms us, we may have to struggle harder to see His deeper purpose, but it must be our goal. In all things, we must strive to see the kindness of God, and then we can look past our present struggles to see His purposes in our lives. Amen!

God’s Judgment of Sin

In Romans 2:1-4 NLT says, “1 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. 2 And we know that God, in His justice, will punish anyone who does such things. 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”

The critic here is Jewish, for Paul is focusing primarily on Jews. Paul had criticized the horrible evil of the Gentiles, their sins of idolatry and homosexuality and their general lifestyle. This Jewish critic nodded in agreement and assumed that he was free from such vices.

Many Jews believed that their national heritage would save them; they thought their privilege of birth ensured entrance into God’s Kingdom (Matthew 3:8-9). They went to great lengths to separate themselves from “unclean” Gentiles.

So, when Paul finished his list of characteristics of those whom God will judge (Chapter 2), Paul knew that his Jewish listeners would agree that such people are terrible and deserve to be punished.

But then Paul says that the Jews have no right to pass judgment, because they are just as bad. They are not guiltless and therefore have no excuse. Their attitude freely condemned others’ sins but somehow overlooked those sins in themselves (see Matthew 7:2-3).

Paul assumes that all his readers will agree with him regarding God’s judgment. Human judgment is based on prejudice and partial perception; God’s judgment is based on the truth – He judges on the basis of the facts about what we do. And there is no doubt that God will punish sinners.

Seven times in the first three verses, Paul used various forms of the Greek word for judgment (krima). Though human beings pass judgments, their judgments are judged by God. When we stand condemned before God, we have no higher court of appeal.

Paul ridicules the idea that a person might escape God’s judgment by correctly analyzing the wrong in others. Those Jews, who were guilty of the same sins for which God would judge and condemn the Gentiles, would not escape God’s judgment. All people, Jews and Gentiles, have sinned, and all stand condemned before God. Paul repeats this theme over and over.

God is kind in giving us life and its fullness to enjoy; He is tolerant and patient as He bears our ingratitude and sin. He postpones punishment in order to give people time to turn from their sin (see 2 Peter 3:15).

But Paul was concerned that these Jews, overconfident in their special status with God and unwilling to repent of sin, were showing contempt for God’s blessings. So, Paul reminds them that God’s kindness is also meant to lead them to repentance, because all people need to repent!

God is kind and His ultimate display of kindness was the sacrifice of His Son for the sins of all people. When we fully begin to realize the great kindness of God, we respond with sorrow and contrition or repentance for our sins that brought about the greatest act of kindness the world has ever seen – our Lord Jesus Christ crucified.

God is kind, not in order to lead people to repentance, God is kind because it is His nature to be kind. He could not be unkind and retain His nature as a loving, perfect God. But this kindness has a huge fringe benefit. It draws us into relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

God loved the world (John 3:16-17) so much that His kindness was spent to the very last drop of our Lord Jesus Christ’s blood. Sinful humanity must ask, “Was this self-concerned planet worth it?” Theologians sometimes refer to this question as “the burden of God.” God created humanity to glorify Him, and yet humans sinned and did not glorify God. In fact, human rebellion required God to answer humanity’s sin with the life of His Son.

The kindness of God leads the world to repentance. What a heavy penalty must be levied against all those who see the kindness of Calvary and walk past it unchanged. Amen!

Lord Jesus Christ Offers A Reward To All Who Will Extend Water – A Living Water or Water Of Life

In Matthew 10:40-42 NLT says, “40 “Anyone who receives you receives Me, and anyone who receives Me receives the Father who sent Me. 41 If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

In Matthew 10:11-14, our Lord Jesus Christ described how the disciples should go about their ministry – staying in homes of worthy people (this is the main purpose of Home Fellowship Churches). Those who would welcome the disciples would receive great reward.

The word “welcomes” may refer both to hospitality (receiving the messenger) as well as conversion (receiving the message). Our Lord Jesus Christ’s representatives carry all His authority. Those who welcome the disciples welcome our Lord Jesus Christ; those who welcome our Lord Jesus Christ welcome the Father who sent our Lord Jesus Christ.

Again, our Lord Jesus Christ unmistakably claims His relationship to God. Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words to His twelve disciples, but then repeated the saying three more times using prophets, righteous people, and little ones.

To give a cup of cold water was an important act of courtesy and hospitality. The disciples definitely were “little ones” who were insignificant and despised in the eyes of the world. Those who would welcome the disciples merely because they were disciples would not lose their reward. Because the disciples would come with God’s authority, their acceptance by people would test the people’s attitudes toward God. It is that attitude that leads either to reward or loss of reward.

Our Lord Jesus Christ offers a reward to all who will extend water. It is so little a gift; one wonders that it ranks so highly in Christ’s estimation. He does not command us to give a “pheasant under glass dinner with a crème torte dessert.” Just water – water of life – something to which everyone has access and something almost anyone can offer.

Can our service to others be summed up in something as simple as a cup of water? Indeed, it can. The water is symbolic of the living water that our Lord Jesus Christ offers to a dying world. When our Lord Jesus Christ talked to a Samaritan woman, He promised that she would have eternal life if she took the water He offered (John 4:13-14). However, it is not the water itself but the kindness of the giver that causes us to notice the universal thirst of the dying world around us. Amen!

Lord’s Unfailing Love

In Isaiah 63:7 NLT says, ” I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all He has done. I will rejoice in His great goodness to Israel, which He has granted according to His mercy and love.“

This Verse 7 or passage described as a communal lament Psalm (Westermann), in which the prophet identifies himself with his community (Grogan). lovingkindness praises mercies.

The prophet recalls how God has exhibited His kindness (Hebrew khesedh) in the past. Such reminders serve to encourage one during gloomy times. Events surrounding the exodus are invoked in this psalm. Faith is the ability to trust God in present uncertainties because of His past faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness Father God!

Isaiah, who often celebrates the grand themes of exile and restoration, uses the word kindnesses twice and a good many other soft, warm words like compassion, good things and deeds for which He is to be praised.

Isaiah saw that we couldn’t enter into a time of worship without the enduring presence of God’s kindness beckoning us in. And eventually, when we enter into our quiet adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ on our own, we stop – one on one – at the Cross. When we see His nail-scarred hands, the kindness that leads us to salvation now causes our quiet personal worship experience to soar.

It is altogether fitting that our quiet time should end here, at the Cross. Now, we experience for ourselves just how far the kindness of God goes. It sees our lostness, considers our unworthiness, and dies for us anyway. Hallelujah! Amen!

This concludes today’s message of this 2nd Series of Podcast about > KINDNESS

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 KINDNESS Series of Podcast, we will learn the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

• Learned and knew the world way of thinking
• Learned always to be kind in time of need
• To get angry without sinning by grace
• Learn to approach by grace
• Learn how to apply always the golden rule

On every Podcast, I always have three (3) questions we can answer from only these two (2) Sources: The Bible and the 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 you 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). You need to find a church or fellowship to grow spiritually. We are glad to establish or bring the fellowship to your own home if it is safer.

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.