The Art of Ego Displacement is GENTLENESS

The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – GENTLENESS #5

“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 in the LOVE Chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians 13 – New Testament – in the Bible.

In John 14:6-7 NLT says, “6 Jesus told him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. 7 If you had really known Me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!”

In John 3:16-17 NLT says, “16 “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.”

We are glad to invite you all to join us in our Zoom Services; Sunday Service at 6 pm and Bible Study on Wednesday at 6 pm, and Praise & Worship/Karaoke on Friday at 7 pm Central Time (CT).

To Join our Zoom Meetings, just click the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7354863381?pwd=aFJXV0g4S0NZcUNVeGtZZ0NsTHVZUT09

Meeting ID: 735 486 3381
Passcode: 718522

Notice to Cell Phone Users: Click > To Open the Site Menu – (God’s Promises for All Our Every Needs, Purpose and Mission Statement, Ministries, and Etc.) Using the Three-Lined “Hamburger Icon” at the Top Right of the Screen

Topic: Fruit of Holy Spirit & God’s Promises for All Our Every Needs, Book of Revelation and Romans, Pastor/Chaplain Elias book – “From the Words and Thoughts to the Swords and Battlegrounds”, Etc.

Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples,

Pastor/Chaplain Elias Aguilar Busuego Jr PhD DTM

Founding Pastor – Home Fellowship Churches – https://homefellowshipchurches.org

Chaplain – American Legion (AL) District 10 – Texas, AL Post 302 Hutto, TX, formerly at AL Post 447 Round Rock, TX

trinityblessings@homefellowshipchurches.org is inviting you to scheduled Zoom meetings.

Paul Defends His Authority

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 NLT says, “1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. 2 Well, I am begging you now so that when I come, I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives. 3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.”

Paul’s opponents questioned his authority. From 1 Corinthians 7:8-16, we know that the majority of Corinthian believers sided with Paul. However, a minority continued to slander him, saying that he was bold in his letters but had no authority in person. 1 Corinthians Chapters 10–13 are Paul’s response to this charge.

Although most of the Corinthian congregation sided with Paul (as is evident from 1 Corinthians 7:8-16), a persistent minority continued to slander him. The group impugned Paul’s integrity by pointing out that he was bold in his letters but timid in person – in other words, reluctant to exercise any authority when he visited them. Paul’s critics saw this as duplicity and an indication that Paul truly didn’t possess the spiritual authority he claimed.

This harsh section of 2 Corinthians (chapter 10 through 13) begins with kind and gentle words. Paul had the authority to command, yet he consciously refused to exercise his authority in an overbearing manner. Instead, he pled with them. Our Lord Jesus Christ was Paul’s model in the approach he took here. Although our Lord Jesus Christ possessed complete heavenly authority, He came to this earth as a servant (Philippians 2:5-11).

Instead of commanding obedience and respect, our Lord Jesus Christ simply asks for people to believe in Him. Following our Lord Jesus Christ’s example, the apostle Paul, who possessed full authority from our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:17; 5:19), merely pleaded with the Corinthians.

In this way, Paul was showing them our Lord Jesus Christ’s gentleness and kindness. The Greek word for “gentleness” has the idea of “forbearance” – like that of a benevolent judge being lenient on the guilty. “Kindness” speaks of friendliness and cheerfulness. In other words, Paul wasn’t going to act like a harsh and overbearing judge.

In Verse 2 described here Paul explained why he was writing this letter. He was hoping and praying that when he came, everything would be in order in the church (see 1 Corinthians 13:7). He wanted to give the Corinthians enough time to deal with the difficulties in their church on their own. This verse also clearly identifies Paul’s critics: those who think we act from purely human motives. Apparently, Paul’s opponents in Corinth were accusing him of making decisions and preaching according to worldly standards instead of God’s holy standards. In the first chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul had already defended his recent travel plans from just such an accusation (see 1 Corinthians 1:17).

In Verse 3, of course, Paul was human, thus susceptible to all kinds of difficulties, oversights, and weaknesses. Yet he said that he and his fellow workers did not wage war with human plans and methods. Paul equated the Christian life to a war. This war isn’t against “flesh and blood, but against the . . . authorities of the unseen world” (Ephesians 6:12). The Christian life is a spiritual battle against spiritual forces aligned against our Lord Jesus Christ. Fighting this spiritual battle with weapons of the world – with physical strength, worldly strategies, and material wealth – would be foolish. A spiritual battle requires spiritual weapons that can only come from God. Amen!

In Verses 4-5 described that according to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, God’s mighty weapons are faith, truth, righteousness, the Gospel message, and the Word of God. The Holy Spirit equips Christians for the struggle, providing the weapons they need (see Ephesians 6:6; Ephesians 6:10-20). Worldly weapons – wealth, fame, and political might – may wield some power on this earth, but they are useless in spiritual battles. The devil’s strongholds included every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God and rebellious ideas. The world of ideas is the real battleground for God and the devil. Many complex theories and philosophies try to block people from knowing the truth about God and worshiping Him. These false philosophies that divert glory from God and hide the truth are the devil’s strongholds. In Corinth, where advances in Greek philosophy were held in high esteem, the believers were tempted to evaluate the Gospel with the various tools of Greek philosophy. In an earlier letter, Paul had already told the Corinthians that the Gospel would appear as foolishness to those who saw the world through the lenses of secular Greek philosophy (see 1 Corinthians 1:22). Just as an army would attack a fortress, so Christians must take apart and defeat these false and evil arguments.

In 1 Corinthians 10:6 described Paul wouldn’t hesitate on his next visit to use those spiritual weapons entrusted to him to punish those who remained disobedient. But notice how Paul attached a condition to his exercising of his authority. He would not do so until the rest of the Corinthian believers recommitted themselves to be obedient to the Gospel. According to Titus’s recent report, the majority of the Corinthians had already done this. They had been filled with godly sorrow about the recent problems in their church and had made the necessary steps toward reconciling themselves to Paul (see 1 Corinthians 7:7-13). From the way Paul carefully defended his ministry in this letter (see 1 Corinthians 1:12-18; 3:1-5; 5:11-17), it is clear that there was still a rebellious minority in the church (see 1 Corinthians 2:17). At the end of this letter, Paul promised to deal sternly with this minority on his next visit.

We, like Paul, are merely weak humans, but we don’t need to use human plans and methods to win our battles. God’s mighty weapons are available to us as we fight against the devil’s “strongholds.” We as Born-Again Christian believers must choose whose methods to use – God’s or the world’s. Paul assures us that God’s mighty weapons – prayer, faith, hope, love, God’s Word, the Holy Spirit – are powerful and effective (see Ephesians 6:13-18)! These weapons can break down the proud human arguments against God and the walls that Satan builds to keep people from finding God. When dealing with people’s proud arguments that keep them from a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, we may be tempted to use our own methods. But nothing can break down these barriers like God’s weapons. Amen!

The fine art of ego displacement only matters when we make a decision about what we are going to displace our ego with, and the only acceptable answer is our Lord Jesus Christ. In this passage, Paul suggests how we are to bring our lives under the power of our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit. We are fighting a war for the control of the world, and the battlefield is our minds. The world can only be transformed if we understand that we are not fighting with ordinary military weapons but with our thoughts. We are not fighting hard. We are fighting smart! Amen!

We are called to make Jesus Lord of our gray matter. When we have let our Lord Jesus Christ’s mind dwell in us, our minds will achieve a new dynamic. This dynamic will enable us to be the most creative and achieving people in the world. Amen!

Christianity has always been involved in warfare of the mind. It is with our minds that we have power to out-think and out-pray the sinister forces of Satan, the god of this world. So, our intentions are our broadswords. Our dreams of the kingdom are our tanks and rifles. And our minds are the bunkers where we deploy the powerful winning strategy that will not be overcome.

But how does all this war-like verbiage promote ego displacement? We will show the world that arrogant armaments cannot stand before the innocent power of gentleness. And we will arrive at this gentleness by taking every thought captive and making it obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that, between the time we think a thought and the time we turn it into words; we have transformed it into something that our Lord Jesus Christ would say. Will such a battle tactic work? Can such disciplined gentleness win? YES! Amen!

God Was Warning All His People

In Isaiah 8:6-8 NLT says, “6 “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen to King Rezin and King Pekah. 7 Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels 8 and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.”

Because the people of Judah rejected God’s kindness, choosing instead to seek help from other nations, God would punish them. We see two distinct attributes of God – His love and His wrath. To ignore His love and guidance results in sin and invites His wrath. We must recognize the consequences of our choices. God wants to protect us from bad choices, but He still gives us the freedom to make them.

God has a way of teaching humility to those whose towering, gigantic, or soaring egos have never desired to learn the art of gentleness. Unfortunately, the lessons of ego displacement are usually hard to bear. So, this passage is a reminder that the people who desire peace may have to face the tread, walk, step, or trample of combat boots on their own soil to learn God’s way of gentleness.

In this passage, Isaiah contrasts two waters, the gentle waters of Shiloah and the floodwaters of a mighty river. Those who live near rivers understand the incredible force of a river at flood stage. When the waters rise and overspread their banks, nothing can hold back the flow. Everything in the path of the river is swept away and destroyed: vegetation, homes, and belongings. A flood is terrible and awe-inspiring to behold.

It is interesting for me to know and understand this passage because I designed flood storm water control infrastructures and facilities such as dams, levees, culverts, drainage, catch basins, etc. Before I design them, I have to model them first to make sure there are no high velocity of floodwaters flow that will destroy them and its surroundings. Let me compare the high velocity to high ego here. High ego will destroy our lives. Be smart. Amen!

Apollos Instructed by Priscilla and Aquila at Ephesus

In Acts 18:24-26 NLT says, “24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. 26 When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.”

From Alexandria, the second most influential city in the Roman Empire, came a Jew named Apollos. Growing up in that Egyptian city’s university atmosphere, Apollos was highly cultured and trained in philosophy and rhetoric. As a Jew, he also knew the Scriptures well. It is not stated what prompted him to move to Ephesus.

Apollos had heard only what John the Baptist had said about our Lord Jesus Christ (see Luke 3:1-18), so his message was not the complete story. John focused on repentance from sin, the first step. But the whole message is to repent from sin and then believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. Apollos did not know about our Lord Jesus Christ’s life, crucifixion, and resurrection. Nor did he know about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of salvation to him.

Apollos was an eloquent and powerful speaker. He had an accurate though incomplete message. While he had knowledge of the Old Testament, he knew only about John’s baptism (referring to John the Baptist). In all likelihood, Apollos’s preaching was a more polished version of John’s message: “Turn from your sins and turn to God” (Matthew 3:2). John had focused on repentance from sin and on water baptism as an outward sign of commitment to and preparation for the Messiah’s Kingdom. Apollos was probably urging people in a more eloquent fashion to do the same. Apollos needed to get the entire picture, and then he would be a powerful witness for our Lord Jesus Christ.

The eloquent, fiery young man who was so ably interpreting and applying the Old Testament messianic Scriptures in the synagogue was quickly noticed by Priscilla and Aquila. Upon hearing Apollos preach, they immediately recognized the deficiencies in his message. Consequently, they took him aside (probably to their home) and explained the way of God more accurately, telling him about the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. As Aquila and Priscilla set forth the historical facts of the Gospel, Apollos must have seen many Old Testament prophecies become clear. The reports of his subsequent ministry suggest that he was filled with new energy and boldness after he received the complete Gospel message.

This passage speaks of one of the hardest of errors to correct: doctrinal error. The focus of the church on spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ must be preserved and protected. But people are very sensitive about what they believe – whether or not it is biblical. So, to correct them requires the most sensitive of approaches. Aquila and Priscilla seemed to have this ability. Perhaps their own gentle spirits were the true enablers.

False teachers can sometimes be reclaimed, but it is never done better than when we approach them with a gentle spirit – that means displacing our own sense of ego with a serving spirit. There are some Pastors who knew only the baptism of John the Baptist. We may invite them to our home and explained to them the way of God more adequately about the baptism of the Holy Spirit by our Lord Jesus Christ. The church must strive to retain a pure message and focus on our Lord Jesus Christ. The lives of gentle and teachable leaders and followers are the guarantee that the church does not lose its focus. Amen!

Son of king David – Absalom’s Defeat and Death

In 2 Samuel 18:1-5 NLT says, “1 David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains to lead them. 2 He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, “I am going out with you.” 3 But his men objected strongly. “You must not go,” they urged. “If we have to turn and run – and even if half of us die – it will make no difference to Absalom’s troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us, and it is better that you stay here in the town and send help if we need it.” 4 “If you think that’s the best plan, I’ll do it,” the king answered. So, he stood alongside the gate of the town as all the troops marched out in groups of hundreds and of thousands.5 And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.”

David took command as he had in former days. In recent years, his life had been characterized by indecisiveness and moral paralysis. At this time, he began to take charge and do his duty.

At Mahanaim, David was operating in a region very friendly to him and one that provided him now with militiamen to serve alongside his professional army. The larger units are called “thousand” and the smaller “hundred.” This may not mean that there were exactly that many troops in each unit. Joab, Abishai, and Ittai led the three divisions. Thus, we again see the army organized into three forces or groups, which was a most convenient formation for maneuvering to fit various battlefield circumstances. For example, one group might take a fixed position while the other two occupied flanking positions; when the enemy attacked the fixed position, the two flanking groups hit them from both sides. Or, two groups took fixed positions, and one was held in reserve to see where it was needed – perhaps to prevent an enemy breakthrough, or to overwhelm a weak enemy spot. The three divisions of the army represent the time-honored method of organization in Israel (cf. Judges 7:16; 1 Samuel 11:11)

But so much depending on the life of the king, and his being the chief target of the enemy, he is not allowed to take the field in person. He is no longer fit for any heavy fighting, yet is eager to do something, especially if his presence inspires his troops. He allows himself to be persuaded (2 Samuel 18:3) to stay inside the city walls. He is given a small unit to be held in reserve under his command, which he can order into battle if a need for them is reported to him. As his commanders march their forces past him, out of Mahanaim to the probable battlefield some miles away, David asks them to spare Absalom (2 Samuel 18:5).

In 2 Samuel Chapter 18 Verse 5 described that on the one hand, this moving charge to his commanders can be seen as proceeding not only from David’s overwhelming affection for his children, but also from his consciousness that this rebellion was the punishment of his own sins, Absalom being merely an instrument in the hands of retributive Providence.

On the other hand, it may evidence David’s increasing inability to view his kingly-fatherly situation realistically. When it comes to Absalom, David sees through rose-tinted glasses and thinks of him not as a full-grown and self-centered man who would prove a disaster to Israel, but as his “little boy.” David’s confidence (that his forces will win) and his weakness (to deal appropriately with Absalom) are evident here.

David’s charge can hardly have pleased the commanders and the regular army men, who have been forced into a civil war by the ambitions of an uncontrollable, spoiled prince whom they are now asked to spare.

Those who lust for power bring fruit and pain to those around them. When anyone makes ego the prime focus of life, others will naturally be left out, left behind, or trampled in the process. David learned that lesson through the bitterness of circumstances.

David in this passage feels the lingering effects of old sins. His long-ago affair with Bathsheba demonstrated that he was capable of using power to get what he wanted in life. Now when he sees the same tendency in the life of Absalom, he must be cut to the heart. For Absalom, like his father before him, is resorting to abusive power to get what he wants in life.

Power. What is this swaggering force that makes us puff, gust, cloud, blow or praise ourselves up with grandiose self-congratulation? What is there in power that is drawn to brutal politics and cruel force to take what we want in life no matter the cost to others? The world has been a vast weeping planet for scores of centuries because of the lust for power.

But do not think that power is only the province of swaggering warlords like Absalom. Hardly. Power causes people to contemporary corporations to squelch, squash, smother or hush up their competition and hurt employees in lesser positions. Power causes ordinarily decent men and women to “do unto others before others do unto them.” Power sponsors a new definition of the Golden Rule. “He who has the gold, rules.”

So, we come to a day when the powerful can buy the law they need in order to purchase the souls of the weak.

But nowhere is the abuse of power uglier than in the church. When competition, greed, and ego displace gentle concern for others, we find the church a center of turmoil instead of a haven of rest. How we need to displace our egos with gentleness, to abandon control and let our spirits minister to others in the house of God! That is our call. That is our responsibility to our fellow human beings. Amen!

Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

In Luke 18:9-14 NLT says “9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Prayer is important (Luke 18:1-8), but the attitude of prayer is vitally important. The people who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone were the Pharisees and other religious leaders who saw themselves as the only ones righteous enough to be acceptable to God. To these people, our Lord Jesus Christ told a story about two men who went to the Temple to pray. These two men were as different as could be: the one was a law-keeping and religious Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector.

This Pharisee’s actions and his prayer provide a picture of his life and occupation – he was a separatist, but his separatism and desire to remain clean before God had hardened into a lifestyle of self-righteousness. He stood by himself and prayed.

The words of this prayer, however, while probably true, were not prayed in the correct attitude of humility before God. He thanked God that he was not a sinner like everyone else. While the Pharisee was probably not like everyone else in a lot of ways, he erred in thinking that he was “not a sinner.” This Pharisee knew that he was far better than the tax collector he saw praying across the way. Tax collectors were not noted for their honesty, so this Pharisee compared himself favorably, telling God that he himself had never cheated or sinned or committed adultery. And, by the way, he also fasted twice a week and tithed from his income.

This Pharisee was confident of himself and his righteousness, while at the same time despising this other man, even though he, too, was in the Temple praying to the same God. The Pharisee did not welcome the tax collector who may have been seeking God; instead, the Pharisee gloated that he was so much more righteous.

The focus shifts to the tax collector who had come to the Temple and seems to have known full well the extent of his sin. He felt so low that he did not think he could even lift his eyes to heaven into God’s face; instead, he beat his chest (a sign of sorrow), praying for God to be merciful to him. He recognized himself as a sinner. He had been convicted of his sin and had come to the one place where he could find forgiveness. He had come to God, humbly recognizing that he did not deserve mercy.

Surprisingly enough, only the tax collector returned home justified before God. The word “justified” means God’s act of declaring people “not guilty” of sin. Only the tax collector recognized his sin; therefore, he was the only one God justified. The self-righteous Pharisee had said that he had no sin; therefore, there was nothing for God to justify for him. He returned home no different than when he had entered.

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.

This passage illustrates why most of us would rather deal with an honest sinner than an ego-driven church member.

Those who focus on how they look to others are those whose religion is mostly performance. Those who know they are sinners, on the other hand, find their needs too great to imagine that they could achieve actor-status before God.

We must remember that our Lord Jesus Christ called the Pharisees hypocrites, and that word means “actor’s mask.” But gentleness is naked – stripped and vulnerable. It never argues that its face is pretty – only honest. So, the tax collector goes home justified because integrity has replaced egotism. Gentleness never appeals to people of power, but it learns worship in the simple acts of openness and integrity. Amen!

Please continue below for the Invitation to meet our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK!

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 GENTLENESS Series of Podcast, we learned the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

• Gives us the idea of forbearance, patience or self-control
• To learn the art of ego displacement
• Helps us to speak of friendliness and cheerfulness
• Learn to humble ourselves like a child
• Know a way of winning others to Christ
• The Best Approachable Life
• The Art of Ego Displacement

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 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 by appointment.

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 Message to be Blessed:

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.

A Call to – Make A Difference – Generous Giving

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 NLT says, “1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. 3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. 6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many ways – in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us – I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. 8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches. 9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. 10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. 14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. 15 As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”.

Paul, writing from Macedonia, hoped that news of the generosity of these churches would encourage the Corinthian believers and motivate them to solve their problems and unite in fellowship.

During his third missionary journey, Paul had collected money for the impoverished believers in Jerusalem. The churches in Macedonia – Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea – had given money even though they were poor, and they had sacrificially given more than Paul expected. Although they were poor themselves, they wanted to help. The amount we give is not as important as why and how we give. God does not want us to give grudgingly. Instead, He wants us to give as these churches did – out of dedication to our Lord Jesus Christ, love for fellow believers, the joy of helping those in need, as well as the fact that it was simply the good and right thing to do. How well does your giving measure up to the standards set by the Macedonian churches?

The Kingdom of God spreads through believers’ concern and eagerness to help others. Here we see several churches joining to help others beyond their own circle of friends and their own city. Let’s explore ways that we might link up with a ministry outside our city, either through your church/fellowship or through a Born-Again Christian organization such as Convoy of Hope – The Bridge Church -Hutto, Texas (My adopted local home church). By joining with other believers to do God’s work, we increase Christian unity and help the Kingdom grow. Amen!

The Corinthian believers excelled in everything – they had faith, gifted speakers, knowledge, enthusiasm, and love. Paul wanted them to also be leaders in giving. Giving is a natural response of love. Paul did not order the Corinthians to give, but he encouraged them to prove that their love was real. When we love someone, we want to give that person our time and attention and provide for his or her needs. If we refuse to help, our love is not as genuine as we say.

There is no evidence that our Lord Jesus Christ was any poorer than most first-century Palestinians; rather, our Lord Jesus Christ became poor by giving up His rights as God and becoming human. In His incarnation, God voluntarily became man – the person Jesus of Nazareth. As a man, our Lord Jesus Christ was subject to place, time, and other human limitations. He did not give up His eternal power when He became human, but He did set aside His glory and His rights (see Philippians 2:5-7). In response to the Father’s will, He limited His power and knowledge. Our Lord Jesus Christ became “poor” when He became human because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us “rich” because we received salvation and eternal life.
What made our Lord Jesus Christ’s humanity unique was His freedom from sin. In our Lord Jesus Christ, we can see every attribute of God’s character. The Incarnation is explained further in these Bible passages: John 1:1-14; Romans 1:2-5; Philippians 2:6-11; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 1:1-3.

The Christians in the Corinthian church had money, and apparently, they had planned to collect money for the Jerusalem church a year previously (see also 2 Corinthians 9:2). Paul challenges them to act on their plans.

Four principles of giving emerge here: (1) Our willingness to give enthusiastically is more important than the amount we give; (2) We should strive to fulfill our financial commitments; (3) If we give to others in need, they will, in turn, help us when we are in need; (4) We should give as a response to our Lord Jesus Christ, not for anything we can get out of it. How we give reflects our devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!