Bible Study With Jairus

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 3

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 3

 

During exhausting and depleting times, we all yearn for rest, refreshment, restoration, and hope. Acts 3:19 promises a wonderful blessing to God’s people: “times of refreshing” which come straight “from the presence of the Lord.” (NASB)

These times of refreshing are not just a vague memory from the past or a vague hope for the future. Instead, they are a present reality that we can experience every day. When we repent and turn away from our daily worry and wandering away from God, we can experience these "times of refreshing" anytime and anywhere. Hebrews 4:11 (ESV) says: "Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience."[1] As we call on the Lord's name and enter His presence, God saves us from worries and brings us into his rest.

 

Surfing the Waves of God’s Working

 

In Acts, we see Peter being used greatly by God. But we also see him stumbling greatly. On the one hand, he healed lame people and performed miracles. On the other hand, he cowered in the face of legalistic Jews, pretending he didn’t care about the Gentile Christians. Even Barnabas was led astray by Peter’s hypocrisy.

 

This discrepancy demonstrates a profound interaction between human and divine effort in the early church. When Peter cooperated with the Holy Spirit, he performed great acts of service for the Lord. But when he got out of step with the Holy Spirit, he fell and failed.

 

The Holy Spirit can be compared to a puppeteer who directs the puppets, and believers can be compared to the puppets acting on the stage of life. Unlike a puppeteer, however, God does not control us or force us to act a certain way. Instead, we can liken God’s influence to ocean waves. The power of the Holy Spirit can carry us along, like a wave carries a surfer. When a surfer stays in sync with the waves, he will surf the waves and troughs. But when he gets out of sync with the motion and rhythm of the waves, he will be knocked over. Overwhelmed, he will crash to the ground. A surfer needs to understand the wave patterns and how waves move so that he can move in cooperation with the waves’ power.

 

In the same way, if we move in sync with the Holy Spirit, we rise to new heights. However, if we fail to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, or fail to grasp the wave patterns, we may get stuck or fall. Rather than a powerful force to propel us forward, the waves have become a force that hinders us and even kills us. When we don’t stay in sync with the Spirit, we will be overwhelmed by worldly trends, worries, and opposition from the enemy. However, when we let his power propel us forward, we can thrive—even during times of opposition and difficulty.

 

Persecution in the Book of Acts

On the one hand, the book of Acts retells the history of the church. It recounts powerful preaching and miracles performed by the apostles through the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, it is also the history of their constant persecution. After Peter rebuked the Jews for crucifying Jesus, he suffered for it. Paul was later flogged and mistreated, just like the Lord Jesus. Peter was imprisoned.

 

Why is there so much persecution in the book of Acts? When we demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, Satan will do everything he can to hinder us. This is a clash between two kingdoms, the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.

 

Wherever the Lord Jesus or the apostles went, they aroused fierce resistance from the evil spirits.

One way to know whether we are filled with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is by asking ourselves whether we have encountered persecution and opposition. If there is no opposition or persecution in our lives, perhaps we do not pose a threat to the evil spirits. We can infer that the power of the Holy Spirit is lacking in our lives.

 

The more I seek the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit, the more opposition I face. Although

 I am deeply disturbed by these unprecedented attacks, I accept them as an inevitable part of following Jesus.

 

We Christians not only face outward pressures, potentially including imprisonment, but we also are subjected to inward pressures, such as fear and worry. Our fear and lack of confidence keep us from riding the waves of God’s power.

 

Prophetic dreams: big bowl of noodles and small bowl of noodles

 

Acts 3:19-20 says, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Let’s dive in deeper and seek to understand what God means by these “times of refreshing.” This verse looks forward to the millennial kingdom, a future time of restoration that God has promised. However, we can begin to experience this blessing right now. If we draw near to God with prayer and faith, we can have a foretaste of God’s promised blessings today.

 

In a church meeting, one of the men in our church shared a testimony about his stressful job. He shared that as a stockbroker, he handled tens of millions of dollars in transactions every day. He realized that if he made the wrong decision, it could cost the company millions. He had never dealt with such large amounts of money before. Sometimes the stress of his responsibility kept him up at night.

 

Two days before the meeting where he shared this burden, I had a dream about him. In the dream, I was eating noodles with him. I had washed two small bowls and was preparing to make noodles for the both of us. Suddenly, I saw a huge bowl appear. It was as big as a jar. I heard a voice saying, "That bowl is too big, you can't eat such a big bowl of noodles right now."

 

I have been having prophetic dreams since 2015. God often speaks to me and those around me through prophetic dreams. God speaks to me with personalized metaphors and imagery. As a Chinese immigrant, I have many dreams about eating noodles. Slowly I began to understand that God used "noodles" to represent "food", which demonstrates his provision.

 

Since God instructs us to comfort, strengthen, and encourage others through prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:3), I shared this dream with him. I knew he was under a lot of pressure. I then asked the believers in our meeting to share their inspiration with him.

 

The man's wife shared that this dream reminded her of the story of five loaves and two fishes, which teaches us that God will give us even greater blessings through our small contribution. Because of his excellent upbringing and streamlined journey through college and into his career, it was easy for him to depend on himself. His current difficulties would help him rely on God’s strength and support, rather than on his own ability.

 

My wife had an important insight to share. She wondered if God had chosen me and this man to work together. God was preparing us for future cooperation and service. He wants us to band together to preach the gospel to the Chinese people. I was preparing to serve the Chinese by studying theology and Bible truth, and perhaps God had sent this man to me so we could serve together. Perhaps he will use his financial acumen to help me manage my finances in the future. Or perhaps God will bless him financially so he can make large contributions for His kingdom.

 

The ministry God will give us in the future may be huge, just like that big bowl of noodles. But our capacity is still small right now, and God will continue to increase it. What this man is currently experiencing may be a process through which God increases his capacity. Perhaps God is allowing him to go through a lot of pressure so he can realize his endless potential. After he has gone through this difficult process, he will find that his capacity has increased.

 

I also shared my own insights. I think we need to focus on serving God in the present and achieving the things within our reach. Although the large bowl of noodles seemed like a promise, the voice said, "You can't eat such a large bowl right now.” We must take things one step at a time and slowly increase our capacity.

 

I shared with this man that recently I’ve been very busy. There have been so many things I needed to do. I was not efficient enough to multitask and complete all the tasks I was hoping to do. So I made some adjustments. I decided to focus my entire energy on whatever I was doing at the moment. If I only have 20 minutes to pray, I will focus entirely on praying, instead of praying for 20 minutes and thinking about things for 20 minutes in my 40-minute prayer time. Although I only have 20 minutes to pray, my mind is completely focused on praying, which is actually more effective. In all of our daily tasks, we will be much more efficient if we concentrate on one thing at a time.

 

It is very difficult for us to focus. Many people find themselves procrastinating, unable to focus. Because of their half-hearted attitude, they get very little accomplished. In reality, the ability to focus is strengthened through our spiritual disciplines and our fellowship with God. Meeting with the Lord every day, listening quietly to his voice, taking time to be still, and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit will increase our ability to focus.

 

Every morning, I pray for at least half an hour. At noon, I set aside time for contemplative Bible reading and meditation on God’s word. In the past, I would also fast and pray once a week. These habits help me stay in the presence of the Lord and stay in sync with the “waves” of the Holy Spirit. They help me keep in step with the Spirit and follow in his footsteps. As we keep in touch with God, we can surf the waves and ride the wind. As our lives flow in rhythm with the Holy Spirit, we will do great things.

 

However, if we lack fellowship with the Lord, the same force that helped us move forward will become a force that suppresses us. If we neglect our fellowship with the Lord for a long time, we will find that we are overwhelmed by the forces of work and life. Why? Because the Lord is a river of living water within us; He always flows out of us. He is a powerful force. Only when He flows out of us can we withstand the pressure from the world.

 

We can compare God’s power in our lives to centrifugal and centripetal force. The Lord attracts us towards heaven, just like the moon or other planets attract the earth. His centrifugal force pulls us towards our eternal home. In addition, the Lord is at the center of our being, attracting inward closeness to him. This is an inward or centripetal force. As we maintain a balance between these two forces, we can stay strong against outside pressures. Without the inner strength that comes from fellowship with the Lord, the pressures we are facing will crush us.

 

Christ is our center. We must focus on Him. When we focus on Christ and his word, rivers of living water will flow out of us. Just like this man, the stress of this life can keep us from resting in Christ. The more we fellowship with the Lord, the more inner strength we will receive from Him, which can help us beat all of our worries and pressures. As we allow God to set us free from worry and the pressures of this life, we will enter the "times of refreshing" mentioned in Acts 3:19.

 

Prayer and repentance bring times of refreshing

Like this man, many Christians lack the inner strength that comes from fellowship with the Lord. They are overwhelmed by the busyness and pressures of the world, and their lives are full of worries. When we are overwhelmed and stressed, we must ask God to help us enter the rest he has prepared. We must prioritize our fellowship with God. We must let go of our busy lives and focus on worshiping, praying, reading God’s word, and waiting on Him. As he delivers us from our stressful lives of hurry, we will enter God's rest and peace. The more we practice a disciplined and quiet life, the more we will grow in our ability to focus. Even when we are outwardly busy, we will be able to enjoy God’s rest on the inside. We will be able to maintain our focus and concentration, get twice the results with half the effort, and become highly efficient.

 

The beauty of the Chinese language contains hidden wisdom to help us understand these concepts. For example, The character “忙” (busyness) is composed of two parts. On the left is the word "heart" and on the right is the word "dead". It means that when we are busy and preoccupied with worldly tasks, our hearts are dead. Paul said that setting our minds on the spirit brings life, but setting our minds on the flesh brings death (Romans 8:6).

 

True repentance includes a change in attitude as well as a change in behavior. The former is aimed at our heart, while the latter is aimed at our life. If we really want to repent before God, we must change our attitude and our actions. For example, if we repent of being busy, but make no changes to our busy lifestyle, our repentance has no practical worth. We must actually set aside time to pray and connect with the Lord. We must schedule time for spiritual practices such as prayer, praise, reading the scriptures, speaking in tongues, etc.

 

The Holy Spirit is a river of living water. He promises that those who believe in Him will have rivers of living water within them (John 7:37). Our responsibility is to have fellowship with Him, remove the mud and stones that block the channels of his love, and allow the rivers of living water to flow out of us without hindrance.

 

Conclusion

 

We don't need to wait for the millennial kingdom to have "times of refreshing". This future promise is real. Like the big bowl of noodles I shared about earlier, it is a promise for the future. But today, we can start enjoying the small bowl of noodles. We can increase our capacity and grow our ability to focus on the present. We can repent from our busy lives and focus on the Lord. In this way, our sins will be wiped away and we will experience times of refreshing every day. The inner peace and strength brought by fellowship with the Lord will prevent us from being entangled in worldly trends, and will help us surf the waves of God’s love. In the strength of the Holy Spirit, we will impact the world like Peter did.

 

 

[1] All Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

Showing Gentleness and Humility towards those who believe differently. Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 21

Showing Gentleness and Humility

towards those who believe differently.

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 21

 

One of the ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us is by highlighting. Whether we’re reading the Bible or using prophetic gifts to prophesy, the Holy Spirit often points out something important that we should pay attention to. This is called highlighting.

 

For example, when a person with prophetic gifts is getting ready to prophesy, they often start “people-watching” to see which people in the meeting catch their attention in a special way. When one person jumps out at them, they ask the Holy Spirit what he wants to say to that person. Often, the Holy Spirit uses the prophet to speak specifically to that person that he highlighted—just like the prophet expected.

 

In traditional churches, many people use the word “inspire” rather than “highlight.” For example, people may say, “God inspired me to read a certain verse,” or “He inspired me to call someone.” Both “inspiration” and “highlighting” describe ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us.

 

For example, when you read a chapter of the Bible, you may suddenly notice a verse you never paid attention to before. Or perhaps you had read the verse many times, but you never thought about all its potential meanings. But today, you glean more meaning out of it than you ever had before. You need to pay special attention to this verse; you can be sure the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you.

 

When a particular verse jumps out at you, you need to learn to be quiet and listen to God’s voice. In the book of Samuel, God tells a story of young Samuel, who heard God calling him during the night. He thought it was his guardian, Eli, who was calling him. Because he didn’t know how to distinguish God’s voice, he missed the message God was trying to send. But Eli instructed him that the next time he heard God calling, he should say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening" (NIV, 1 Samuel 3:9). After old Eli taught him how to discern God's voice, Samuel began to learn to communicate with God. We must learn to pay attention to the way the Holy Spirit speaks to us while we read the Bible and fellowship with the Lord. Otherwise, we may miss His message, as Samuel did at first.

 

 

Be gentle towards those who are different

The main story told in Acts 21 is about the trials Paul encountered in Jerusalem. As we’ve learned in previous Bible studies, Jesus stood by Paul and gave him strength, telling him that he must testify in Rome as he did in Jerusalem. Paul’s friends and acquaintances prophesied that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem. Through these prophetic voices, the Holy Spirit tried to persuade Paul not to go to Jerusalem. When Paul decided to go anyway, the Lord stood by him and gave him strength. We have already discussed in detail the spiritual significance of these seemingly contradictory facts, so we will not repeat this theme here.

 

In today’s reading of Acts 21, I feel that the Holy Spirit is especially highlighting a verse to me, which is, Acts 21:21: “They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.” (NIV)

 

Paul had gone to see James and the elders in Jerusalem and shared what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When these elders heard it, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law" (NIV, Acts 21:20). This verse provides the context for verse 21, the verse the Holy Spirit is bringing to our attention. The Holy Spirit not only highlighted verse 21, but he also emphasized a few words in particular: "teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses." The highlight in these words is "Jews who live among the Gentiles.”

 

In other words, one of the main reasons for this uproar in Jerusalem was the concern of the Jewish elders (the “they” in verse 21). Tens of thousands of Jews who were zealous for the law had heard rumors that Paul was teaching the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses. They felt that what Paul was doing went against their interests, which caused this uproar.

 

When I read this verse, the Holy Spirit showed me that the Jews may not have been concerned that Paul taught the Gentiles themselves to turn away from Moses and abandon circumcision and Jewish customs. Their main concern was the rumor that said that the Jews who lived with the Gentiles were being taught to turn away as well.

 

According to the general logic of Christians, Paul did not do anything wrong here when he was preaching that “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation” (NIV, Galatians 6:15). Paul had already said he regards everything as garbage because of knowing Christ (NIV, Philippians 3:8). Naturally, he regards "circumcision," "customs," and even "Moses" as garbage. I don't think Paul is wrong, and I don’t believe the Holy Spirit is blaming Paul for the way he taught. But I think the Holy Spirit is encouraging us to be gentle with people who are different from us, or who have not yet recognized the truths that we’ve already realized. Let me explain.  

 

We should treat others with love and inclusiveness, even if their beliefs seem like garbage to us. When we speak to them with gentleness, we show respect to them and their journey. What we see as garbage, others may regard as a treasure; and what we see as treasure, others may regard as garbage. When we treat a certain concept as garbage, and impose this view on others who value that concept as a treasure, it may harm the other person and cause conflicts between us. For example, many Chinese Christians believe that the people who have blind faith in Buddhism are idolaters and are completely "garbage." Because I am Chinese and there are many people in China who worship Buddha (including my mother, who worshiped Buddha for many years), this attitude may be hurtful to my unbelieving friends. I don't think there is anything wrong with the concept itself; compared to Christ, worshiping Buddha is indeed garbage. But I’ve observed that people who try to preach the gospel to Buddhists, while simultaneously proclaiming that their beliefs are garbage, do not have good results.

 

Similarly, my denomination’s prized Bible truths may seem like "garbage" to another Christian group. Let me give two extreme examples. When I used to take the train to Washington, I would often see Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. One day, I met a zealous Filipino Jehovah’s Witness on the train. We debated on the way to our destination. He told me that Christ is not God, but that he is just a human prophet. The man gave me a lot of examples from the Bible, trying to prove that Jesus is not God.

 

For me as a Christian, acknowledging Jesus is God and is the son of God is a basic prerequisite. A preacher in my former church said that one day, some people came knocking at his door. When he saw that they were Jehovah's Witnesses, he said to them, "Jesus is Lord" and closed the door. He also taught us that we must reject people like Jehovah's Witnesses because the Bible says, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work” (NIV, 2 John 1:10-11). I accepted this teaching, so I treated Jehovah's Witnesses quite coldly. But then I began to be introduced to a different way of treating Jehovah’s witnesses. This is not to say that what the Jehovah's Witnesses are preaching is correct. Rather, we are saying that Jehovah’s Witnesses are like the Samaritans in Jesus' time.

 

As you may know, the Samaritans were not considered orthodox by the Jews. Samaria was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel (which was later destroyed). People there worshiped the golden calf and deviated from the true worship of God. Jews despised the Samaritans because of their heretical beliefs.

 

Because of this, Jesus’ response to the Samaritans might surprise you. John 4 records that when the Lord Jesus came to the well and met a Samaritan woman, He approached her with compassion and openness. Not only were the disciples surprised, but even the Samaritan woman was surprised. She said to the Lord, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans)” (NIV, John 4:9).

 

Later, she even asked questions about theology: "Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem" (NIV, John 4:20). In previous lessons, we learned that the Northern Kingdom of Israel sinfully worshiped the golden calf. The mountain the Samaritan woman is referring to is not Jerusalem; likely, she is referring to the place where the Northern Kingdom worshiped the golden calf. The Lord Jesus explained, "Woman, believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem" (NIV, John 4:21).

 

Jesus not only challenged the theology of the Samaritan woman, but he also challenged the theology of the orthodox Jews. The theology of the Samaritan woman was undoubtedly wrong, but Jewish theology needed to be renewed as well. Later, we’ll see that one of the reasons the Jews could not accept the Lord Jesus was that He challenged their existing theology. For now, let’s consider how to imitate the attitude of the Lord Jesus towards the Samaritans. The Jews considered the Samaritan woman to be a heretic, just like most orthodox Christians consider Jehovah’s Witnesses to be heretics. But the Lord’s attitude towards the Samaritans was not one of rudeness. He did not reject them brusquely and close the door. After I understood this truth, I slowly changed my attitude towards Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

I often take the train to Washington, D.C. Every day, rain or shine, I see Jehovah's Witnesses outside preaching. Although almost no one pays attention to them, I am still quite moved when I see them standing there. They are more hard-working than any other Christian group I have seen. Now, whenever I see them, I give them a friendly smile. I know I cannot change their beliefs or theology. But at the same time, I have heard many prophecies that predict that the next move of the Holy Spirit will convert many Jehovah's Witnesses to Christ.

 

Another time, a young man with a name badge pulled me aside at the entrance of a subway station. He told me that according to the Bible, humankind has fallen into sin and failure. Through the ages, God has sent prophets like Moses to save us. These facts were not wrong.

 

But then he began to say that God had sent John Smith to carry out the same work. At this point, I couldn’t bear to listen anymore. Based on the truth, I certainly could not accept his statement. But even though I reject his theology, I should respect and love him as a person. God loves all people, even Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Throughout Christian history, we’ve failed to show love and grace to so-called heretics; we fail to treat them with the dignity they deserve as fellow image-bearers of God.

 

I cited these two extreme examples to illustrate that all people deserve to be loved—even those who are universally recognized by orthodox Christians as heretics. We should learn to respond the way Jesus responded to the Samaritan woman—with love. Unfortunately, many of the so-called heretics in history have been persecuted. Sometimes, the church persecuted people who later turned out to have true, biblical beliefs.

 

For example, in church history, the Catholics would not only burn Reformers, but also the Anabaptists. Anabaptists, the predecessors of modern-day Amish and Mennonite Christians, were against infant baptism. Because of this stance, they were considered to be heretics by Catholic and Reformers alike. The Reformers committed many atrocities against the Anabaptists, even drowning them to death. The massacre of Protestants by Catholics is widely known, but the massacre of the Anabaptists by the Reformers is less widely known. This example illustrates that we sometimes make mistakes; those we consider to be heretics may later prove to be orthodox, Bible-believing Christians.

 

This issue hits close to home for me because I was saved in a branch of the Local Church movement in the United States. Many Chinese Christians believe that the Local Church Movement and Witness Lee are heretics. Not only does the Local Church teach that each town should have only one church, but it also teaches that “Christ is the Spirit” and “God became man so that man might become God.” These teachings are controversial and condemned as heresy. The latter was not just said by Witness Lee, but also by the early church father Athanasius.
This issue should be considered to be a theological debate rather than a heresy.

 

Many Chinese Christians in mainland China are affected by this accusation of heresy. A Chinese Christian was very happy when I preached the gospel to her unbelieving husband. Later, when she learned that I was a member of the Local Church Movement, she told me on the phone that our church was "not good."

 

In addition, I often used to participate in campus services at a campus of the University of Maryland. I would often invite Chinese Christians from other places, but after a while, I’d notice that they’d stopped coming. It turns out that other Chinese Christian groups were telling them behind our backs that our church is heretical. Christians often work overtime to destroy rival groups behind one another’s backs. They claim they are focused on preserving the truth, but sometimes there is also an element of competition.

 

Christian Research International (who originally called out the Local Church Movement as heretical) published a magazine in 2009, acknowledging that their initial judgment was wrong. They now accept the Local Church Movement as an orthodox evangelical movement. But the damage has been done, and the situation cannot be remedied in one day. Many people still see the Local Church Movement as heretics because of their original article.

 

God led me to leave the Local Church Movement in 2015 in order to come in contact with churches in the Charismatic movement and to learn the gifts of the Holy Spirit and other teachings of the Charismatic movement. Indeed, I did break with a lot of the ideas and teachings of the Local Church Movement. After learning the teachings and practices of the Charismatic churches and other churches, I no longer agreed with some of the teachings and practices of the Local Church Movement. For example, I found that the Local Church Movement, like other evangelical groups, lacks basic understanding of many of the truths that God has restored through the 100-year history of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement. But this does not affect my continued adherence to many of the good truths taught by the Local Church Movement. These principles have been of great help to me in my spiritual growth, and they continue to benefit me to this day. I think that some teachings and practices of Local Church Movement would be very beneficial to evangelical Christian groups and Charismatic groups. However, if they are labelled as heretical, many people will be fearful to learn from them. Of course, we also need to distinguish between the truths that are worth learning and those which are not worth discussing.

 

The point I want to make with these examples is that Christians are often wrong in their judgments and evaluations of other Christian groups. Our understanding of the Bible is often subject to bias.

 

Breaking away from Bias

Going back to the content of this chapter, did the Christians have a bias towards the Jews? Did they interpret Paul’s treatment of the converted Jews through a distorted or biased lens? Is there a bias that continues to affect our attitude towards the Jews today?

 

While studying for my pre-Doctoral program at the United Theological Seminary in the United States, I took "Introduction to the New Testament" for two consecutive terms. During this course, we analyzed the story of Galatians 2. In this chapter, Peter was pretending not to care about the Gentiles and refusing to eat with them.

 

In my homework for this project, I wrote that the Jews were trying to be justified by the law through the efforts of their own flesh, while Christians were justified by faith. Here, Peter clearly understood that we are relying on God’s grace to be justified. But because of fear, he pretended that adherence to Judaism was required for salvation. The Jewish Christians sent by James were overly influenced by Judaism. They pressured Peter because they had not fully broken away from the concept of keeping the law. This is not in line with the teachings of the New Testament.

 

I did not expect my teacher to disagree with my point of view. She asked me a serious question. She said, “Why did you say that the Jews are all trying to be justified by their own efforts, by keeping the law through the flesh? What is your reason for saying this? Many modern Bible scholars disagree with this idea. You are seriously prejudiced against Jews.”

 

She said that for Jews, keeping God’s law is a way they can please God and live in the grace of God. Just like Old Testament saints kept God’s law and pleased God, she believes modern-day Jews can live in God’s grace through keeping the law. Her explanation was completely opposite to mine. I explained that my view was justifiable, based on the way I’ve been taught.

 

I am instinctively suspicious of modern seminary and modern Bible scholars. Although I was led to a seminary by God, I didn't have a good impression of seminaries. I feel that many seminaries are full of liberals and religious scholars. Many theological dissertations are barely touched or read. They are nearly covered with dust.

 

Additionally, I have heard that seminaries are a cemetery. Many excellent Christians and pastors never studied at a seminary, yet do an excellent job. After studying at a seminary, however, their spirituality becomes suppressed. Some even become unbelievers.

 

Because of my suspicion, I couldn't accept my teacher’s point of view at first. There were some tensions between us, but I told myself that I should be humble and listen to her logic.

 

I was also taking two consecutive terms studying Christian history, which taught me how Christians persecuted the Jews after their rise to power. Previously, I knew nothing of this historical persecution. For example, some people developed a theory that since the Jews killed Christ, all Jews were cursed and should be exterminated. Even during the first Crusades, many Jews were annihilated.

 

What's more, after Martin Luther's reformation, when anti-Semitism was on the rise, most German Christians did not step forward to stop Hitler from using this line of thought to incite hatred against Judaism. Only a few Christian scholars stood up for the Jews.

 

I began to understand that theological errors among Christians were exploited by the enemy to cause great harm to the Jews. Unbelievers often ask, "Where is God? If there is a God, why did the Jews, God's chosen people, suffer such a massacre?" God did not want the Jews to be massacred; this was done no doubt by the Enemy. But the enemy has taken advantage of our Christian theological errors.

 

In particular, Christians have misunderstood Matthew 27:25. In this passage, the Jews were preparing to have Christ crucified. Rather than blaming Pilate, the Jews shouted, “‘His blood is on us and on our children’”. Many believe that the Jews were bringing down trouble upon themselves. For this reason, hateful people over the centuries have subjected Jews to a series of punishments and massacres, saying they were meting out the divine punishment the Jews asked for.

 

Oh my God! In the past, I accepted this teaching as well. As I thought about it, I realized that this view is not in keeping with Jesus’ prayer on the cross. Before Jesus died, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (NIV, Luke 23:34). Were the Jews more evil than other Gentiles, thus making them unworthy of the forgiveness of Jesus? Were the Jews not included in the "they" that Jesus prayed here?

 

Should we blame God for all the massacres, saying he was punishing the Jews? I do not deny that God sometimes punishes people. But now that Jesus has taken the full wrath of God upon Himself on the cross, we should think seriously before concluding that God is punishing someone. We are no longer in the Old Testament. The hostility and intolerance that Christians have shown towards Jews has furthered Satan’s goals of persecuting the Jews.

 

After understanding this, I pondered over what my teacher had said again. She said that Jews who seek to be justified by the law may not be doing it out of fleshly motivations. Further, Christians living under grace may not be living fully in the faith they profess; they may have adopted a legalistic motivation as they pretend to live only by grace.

 

She said Jews in the Old Testament were justified by the law, and that Christians often live in the flesh as they try to save themselves by their own efforts. She believes it is more accurate to say that whether Jews keeping the law or Christians relying on faith, both of them have a sincere side that seeks God through the law or faith, and they also have a ritualized and religious side. The key is to see if a person is really keeping the law (or seeking God through faith), or is just pretending. Every Christian denomination contains people who have true faith in God, and others who pretend.

 

She believes this principle also applies to Jewish groups. In other words, we can’t throw out one particular system as completely evil and problematic. Rather, every system can be abused. It’s true that many Jews keep the law out of their flesh, but we cannot say with 100% accuracy that every Jew of all times has kept the law out of one hundred percent fleshly motives. In the Old Testament, many diligent law-keepers were accepted by God because of their faith.

 

I understand what she meant, and I still can't fully figure this problem out. Christian theologians have different understandings about how Israel is saved in the end times. Some say that in the end, Israelites are saved because they were God's chosen people. According to God's covenant, all families of Israel will be saved in due time. Others hold that before the world ends, Israel will experience a great spiritual revival; many Israelites will come to know Jesus Christ and will be saved.

 

Working together in the Body of Christ

The verses I mentioned earlier, which the Holy Spirit highlighted, mention that the elders of Jerusalem were accusing Paul of teaching the Jews who lived among the Gentiles to abolish circumcision. Paul seems to teach that since Christ has come, the Jews don’t need to be circumcised. As I mentioned earlier, Paul said, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation” (NIV, Galatians 6:15). It seems that Paul is against the continued circumcision of the Jews.

 

But in drawing this conclusion, we may have overlooked other verses. For example, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:18-20, "Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them." (NIV) Many people believe that Paul is saying this to avoid offending the Jews. But what Paul means here is circumcision or uncircumcision is not important. If a Jew is circumcised and saved, there is no need for him to become uncircumcised. If a Gentile is not circumcised, then he should not be circumcised. Why do I say that the latter statement may refer to the Gentiles? Because the Jews are generally circumcised on the eighth day. They do not wait until they are saved to consider whether or not to be circumcised. So Paul’s statement that they don’t need to be circumcised is referring to Gentiles.

 

When Paul mentions becoming uncircumcised, what is he referring to? We know that circumcision refers to cutting off the foreskin. Becoming uncircumcised would mean growing the foreskin back. Anyone who has relevant medical knowledge knows that one can't grow the foreskin back. Only modern skin grafting could replace a lost foreskin, but this wouldn’t have been possible in Paul’s time.

 

Why were some of the circumcised Jewish Christians thinking about becoming uncircumcised in the first place? We can suspect that in places where there were many Gentile Christians, the Jews felt the pressure of public opinion "to make the Jews like the Gentiles".

 

We know that there was pressure placed on Gentiles by Judaizing believers. In churches dominated by Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, the pressure of this public opinion was so great that it led to Peter’s pretension in Galatians 2. He used to eat with the Gentiles, but after the people sent by James came, he pretended to not eat with them. Why? Because eating with the Gentiles does not conform to the laws of the Jews. This pressure had led some Jewish Christians to believe that Gentiles should also obey the law and be circumcised. A similar pressure existed in today’s chapter. The elders referred to it in Acts 21:10 "Brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law" (NIV).

 

We all know the pressure of "Judaizing the Gentiles," but we may have not noticed another kind of pressure, which is, "to make the Jews like the Gentiles." Paul may have faced both of these pressures. So when the Jews in Jerusalem accused Paul of "teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses" (NIV, Acts 21: 21), it was not groundless. I personally think that it was not Paul who was teaching the Jews to abandon the law and circumcision. Likely, in the Christian community dominated by the Gentiles, there was an atmosphere that denied all of Jewish tradition and law. As an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul was wrongly accused by the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. In other words, Paul became a scapegoat here.

 

I personally think that Paul didn’t completely condone the Jews who wanted to abandon all their laws and Jewish characteristics to become a complete Gentile. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:20, “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.” (NIV) Paul did not completely deny the Jewish law; he recognized it as a part of Jewish identity. When Paul came to Jerusalem, he brought some people into the temple and paid for them to fulfil their vows. All of these behaviors are in keeping with the rules of the Jewish law.

 

It is true that Paul opposed the Jewish Christians who tried to impose the law on Gentile believers. We know that Paul did not advocate for Gentiles to be circumcised. But he also refused to allow Gentile Christians to completely annihilate the Jewish characteristics from the Jews in their communities.

 

In other words, the Jews who lived among the Gentiles did not have to eliminate all of their Jewish characteristics to be pleasing to God. Paul often advocated for the Jews to continue to be faithful to their religious duties.

 

This discussion will help us understand how to accommodate different opinions within the body of Christ. We need to learn to be gracious to people who are different from us. We don’t blindly talk about inclusion for the sake of inclusion. We don’t go to the opposite extreme of saying that Christians must embrace all religions, condone homosexuality, or agree that all religions bring us to God.

 

On the one hand, we Christians should be tolerant towards each other when we have differing understandings of certain passages. On the other hand, we should not accept those who deny basic Christian principles. We should not be inclusive just for the sake of inclusivity. We must maintain a healthy balance of being inclusive without losing our principles. This is the way Christ lived. As we face disputes with other groups of believers, we should contend for the faith but never lose sight of love.

 

Pastor Bill Johnson said that when God works in a mighty way in the world, the people He uses are often persecuted by the people God used previously. This is absolutely true. Whether we look at Jews persecuting Christians, Christians persecuting the Jews, Catholics persecuting Protestants, Protestants persecuting the Anabaptists, the state church persecuting the Puritans, Evangelicals persecuting the Charismatics, or early Charismatic sects persecuting new Charismatic sects, we see this pattern playing repeatedly. If you study church history, we see that the people used by God in His previous move end up persecuting the people and groups used by God in His next move.

 

When God's next move comes, will you be the persecutor or the persecuted? Will you be used by God, or will you seek to destroy those whom God is using? Larry Randolph, an American prophet, said that sometimes our posture determines whether or not God brings revival. The distance between revival and lack of revival may be the width of a fishing boat: a few feet. When Peter cast the net on one side, he caught nothing. But when he changed his posture and cast his net on the other side according to the Lord’s command, he was able to catch a lot of fish.

 

If a tornado is coming, and you are in it, you will become very dizzy. You’ll think the earth and sky are spinning around. But if you are not in the tornado, you can just stand by and watch, without having the slightest damage. Will you be a member of the new move that will be persecuted and used by God, or will you be a member of the group who is persecuting people used by God in His new move?

 

A prophet prophesied that when the next revival comes, it may come from a place like Galilee, a place you don’t expect God to come from. We must be careful. Many people in history missed God's move because of their prejudices. The Jews missed Jesus because they weren’t expecting him to come from such humble circumstances. Many Christians have also missed God’s revival. I hope that we can be alert now.

 

Returning to our passage, I believe that in the end, the early Christians realized that they should not force the Gentiles to become Jews. However, in church history, the pressure of “annihilating Jewish characteristics” still exists. This pressure caused many Christians to misinterpret Paul’s attitude towards the Jews. It even caused the tragedy of Christians persecuting and even killing the Jews. I think the way that all Jews will eventually be saved may not be the way we imagine. Let us learn from history to accept the differences of other members of the body of Christ and help each other fulfill God’s will.

 

Each of us must realize that our own personal view only represents one side of the matter. We do not have the vantage point of God, who looks down at His body in a holistic manner. We must be alert to the enemy’s temptation to use our narrow-mindedness to reject others and force them to be like us. We must have an inclusive attitude towards other races, cultures and Christian groups. We should learn from, tolerate and accept each other in order to avoid the mistakes made by many Christian groups throughout history.

 

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 15

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 15

 

Acts 15 tells us three stories. The first story is about Paul and Barnabas getting into a fierce argument with people about the need to circumcise the Gentiles. Peter and James responded saying that God had chosen the Gentiles. The second story is the sending of Judas and Silas to Antioch to comfort the brothers and sisters of Gentiles. The third story is about Paul and Barnabas getting into a disagreement whether or not they should take Mark to Pamphylia. 

 

The discussion we had in our Bible study revolved around these three stories.

 

In the first story, the woman leading our Bible study asked why Paul and Barnabas opposed circumcising the Gentiles? What does circumcision signify? Why did the Pharisees insist on circumcising the Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses? This opened up our discussion. I shared some of the views of an American teacher on the history of the Pharisees, while I was studying a New Testament course in seminary. My teacher recommended some books in class, telling us that the Pharisees are actually people like the "vigilantes" of Jewish history. “Vigilantes" is the nickname I have given to the Pharisees. If you don't know the meaning of this internet slang, you can look it up online. I call them “vigilantes” because they are always looking for someone making a “mistake.”  For example, the Pharisees challenged Jesus for not washing His hands before meals and, in the end, were rebuked by Jesus. He said that the Pharisees broke the law of God because of their human traditions. God never created a rule that Moses should wash his hands before meals. This law was created in the Jewish tradition. Although the law requires the Levites to wash themselves when they serve in the tabernacle or in the temple, the Pharisees are not the Levites. And, the law does not require the Pharisees, or even the Levites, to wash their hands before meals. This was a human created law, not one declared by God.

 

The Pharisees were an extremely strict sect. When they were suppressed by the Romans, they felt that it was because the other Jews did not keep the law, so they have adhered strictly to the law (voluntarily) and forced others to obey all of the rules, those made by God and those made by man. They believed the Jews were under the power of the Gentiles because they did not keep the Law of God. Thus, they strictly obeyed the Law of the God and even added a lot of rules to it.

 

In other words, they were acting like "vigilantes." Vigilantes are people who aren’t policemen, but act like they are. The Pharisees were such people.  God didn’t call them or order them to do so; they volunteered to do these things out of their responsibility to preserve the survival and law of the Israelites. Actively obeying the Law of God is good, but on the other hand, they were unconsciously becoming the executors of the law. This was a bit much because God did not ask them to do so.

 

The Bible did require the Jews to be circumcised. This was a sign of covenant between Jews and God. But the Bible does not strictly require the circumcision of the Gentiles. All the Bible said was that those Gentiles who live in Israel need to satisfy certain conditions first before they could be circumcised. Instead, the Pharisees demanded that the Gentiles be circumcised. Circumcision is one of the many laws the Pharisees tended to enforce.

 

The woman who led the Bible Study also asked why the following verse was mentioned twice: “Gentiles wanted to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.” (NlV, Acts 15:20).

 

It is first mentioned when Simon witnessed how God saved the Gentiles and filled them with the Holy Spirit. After that, James said that God also gave salvation to the Gentiles. He used the prophetic words in the Old Testament to confirm that God did promise He would one day reveal himself to the Gentiles. Therefore, he suggested, "Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the Law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” (NIV, Acts 15: 20-21).” When the brethren sent Judas and Silas to explain these to the Gentile brothers, they had again mentioned: "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements.  You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things." (NIV, Acts 15:28- 29).

 

What do these two repetitions mean? This is important because, the Pharisees would execute the law excessively, and the Gentiles knew nothing about the law. So, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the brethren decided to adopt a compromise or balanced strategy, by applying only a few laws to the gentiles. This helps us understand how to work with different Christian groups today while maintaining unity in the Spirit. The conflict among most churches is still due to their different understandings of the Bible. If we can take a step back and hold to some basic truths, such as Jesus (the Word) became flesh, died and was resurrected, without arguing over other controversial issues, then we can stay unified in the Holy Spirit.

 

 

The second story is about when the apostles and elders chose two people, Judas and Silas, to go to Antioch and explain the unanimous decision, reached by the Church of Jerusalem, denying that the people who were calling for the circumcision of the Gentiles were not sent by them. The Bible commended Judas and Silas for being “men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"(NIV, Acts 15:26). Verse 22 says that "They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers.” This passage of scripture foreshadows our understanding on why Paul and Barnabas argued later in this chapter. We did not see it at the beginning, but we realized this foreshadowing while talking about the third story.  

 

The third story is about Paul and Barnabas engaging in a conflict with Mark. Barnabas insists on taking Mark, but Paul thought that Mark was not suitable to bring since he returned home early on their last trip. Paul and Barnabas disagreed. Eventually, Barnabas takes Mark and sails for Cyprus. But Paul chooses to take Silas with the blessings of the brethren, and travelled through Syria and Cilicia to strengthen the churches there.

 

The teaching that I’ve received explains that the reason why Barnabas and Paul were arguing is that Barnabas may have a bias because Mark was his relative. And, perhaps, Paul just thought that Mark was not suitable to go with them at this time. But Paul admitted in his letter later that Mark was useful to him, and that Mark was restored years later. One argument of those who hold this view is that Barnabas has never been mentioned in the subsequent verses of the Bible.

 

This argument makes some sense. But through our study of this chapter in today’s study, several members had different opinions. One woman said that maybe the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas is not a question of who is right or wrong, but rather Paul not wanting to risk their mission since Mark left early last trip. Barnabas seems to think that Mark is still trustworthy to serve. Therefore, he regards Mark's spiritual life as more important and is thinking about Mark first. From this point of view, the difference between Paul and Barnabas is not necessarily a question of who is right or who is wrong, but rather different priorities being placed on them by the Holy Spirit. Because Mark is restored later maybe we can say that Barnabas played an important pastoral role in his restoration.  

 

While this argument is reasonable, another woman replied that this still does not explain why the Bible does not mention Barnabas again, as if his exit is a bit unexpected. She asked everyone: “Is it unexpected for people like Moses, whom God favors, to suddenly exit out of the scene of Bible?” I said that although Moses offended God, and God did not allow him to enter the Promised Land, Moses still appears later in the New Testament (NIV, Matthew 17:2-3). From this, we can see that Moses was able to enter the Promised Land in a different way. And there is a greeting behind every letter written by Paul so it is reasonable to end something properly. This woman speculated that perhaps Barnabas did something that made God unhappy. In this regard, I think that everyone who serves God will make mistakes, but some mistakes are too big and carry consequences for future generations. Maybe Barnabas changed and no longer was following the Lord’s leading and, thus, no longer appears in Scripture.

 

The meeting approached its end, but I saw that not everyone wanted to finish. I sensed the Holy Spirit might have something else to say. As expected, the Holy Spirit suddenly inspired me regarding two verses.

This verse appears after the sending of Judas and Silas (who represent the church of Jerusalem) to Antioch and other places to read the council’s letter.

“The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Silas decided to remain there.” (NIV

, Acts 15:31-34).

 

Suddenly, I was inspired by the Holy Spirit and asked everyone a question: "When the brethren sent Silas and others back from Antioch and to Jerusalem, why was Silas unwilling to leave then?” The Bible specifically stated that only Silas believed that he should continue to stay in Antioch. And, the Bible also mentioned that Silas was a man who led the brethren in Jerusalem and said that he risked his life for the Gospel of God. He is also a prophet, a person who has received words and revelations from the Lord.

 

This involves a huge principle of the Holy Spirit, and it is definitely not a simple disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. Rather, the questions should be: (1) How can the Holy Spirit move forward and assign who will be the leader for the next move of God? (2) Who will be able to match Paul with moving God's work forward? (3) And, how will the Holy Spirit make use of His spiritual gifts to build the church?

 

The verses that I’ve mentioned (and laid a foundation) in the beginning of the article clearly show that the Holy Spirit wanted Barnabas to step out in this stage. This is only on the surface, and the root cause of it is that God wanted to guide Silas towards front-line service and co-work with Paul. This is a big point that many of us have overlooked. I had not seen this before and just saw this in the meeting when the Holy Spirit suddenly illuminated these words.

 

I’ll explain it in more detail. Perhaps it will help you understand it better.

 

First, let's look at the relationship between Barnabas and Paul. When Paul was still Saul, he experienced a sudden change from a person who persecuted Christians to a person who served God. The disciples had not accepted Paul; only Barnabas introduced and accepted Paul. Barnabas’s mentoring played a significant role in Paul’s development. This may be one of the reasons why the Holy Spirit had not mentioned Barnabas' shortcomings and weakness here. God was willing to cover for him because he was helping Paul to grow spiritually. Once, when I was teaching in another session, I asked our bible study members, why did Barnabas accept Paul and not the others, but in the end Barnabas and Paul get into a conflict resulting in a split? My answer then was that it’s not easy to accept a new person, and it’s even more difficult to accept a new person to be your leader. The first point is that Barnabas was doing better than others. The second point is that maybe he is not doing so well.

 

Why do I think this? For example, if we are in the church today or even in a cell group, a newcomer, who has lower qualifications than you or even a person you have helped/mentored before, becomes your boss or leader, how would you feel? Perhaps some bitterness? This is only human nature. Barnabas was certainly useful in shaping Paul, but when Paul was mature enough to be a builder (which God called him to be), perhaps this is where the conflict between him and Barnabas started. On the surface, it seems that it’s a problem with Mark. But the fundamental problem is who is in charge. Barnabas may have felt that he was older than Paul, and he also recommended bringing Paul into the ministry. Paul should listen to him, or at least agree with him by allowing Mark to go, but Paul is adamant, putting Barnabas in an awkward position.

 

But maybe Paul is the one following the leading of the Holy Spirit, and he may have felt in his spirit that it wasn’t right. He did not give in just because he had a relationship with Barnabas. Maybe Barnabas wanted Paul to take Mark, so he could learn. If Barnabas was a senior at that time ready to retire, Mark could probably inherit his mantle and continue his ministry. Why didn't Paul use this opportunity to give Barnabas a favor and help Mark?

 

If Paul had let Mark come, it would be understandable according to human standards, but he may have missed God's will because God's plans for your life far exceed human standards. I told many of the men and women who have been with me in our Bible studies that the Holy Spirit is the best film director and screenwriter. Every time we read the Bible, we must carefully understand the ideas and thoughts of the directors and playwrights, in order to help us understand the Bible better.

 

The previous argument over circumcision led the disciples to choose Judas and Silas as the “men who were leaders among the believers” (NIV, Acts 15:22), and praised them that “they can risk their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NIV, Acts 15:26). Afterwards, it says that “Judas and Silas were prophets themselves, and they said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.” (NIV, Acts 15:32). When the brethren of Antioch thought that they had already spent enough time there, they intended to send him and Judah off safely. The Holy Spirit specifically mentioned that only Silas felt that for some reason, he should continue to stay there. Why? We can say that since he is a prophet, he was moved by the Holy Spirit to stay. At that time, he still didn’t know the reason why he should stay and not leave. But, after reading and listening to this part, I think you may already understand the reason behind it. The Holy Spirit decided to have Paul and Silas to work together so that Silas could be at the forefront of this stage of history. From just a background character, who renders service to a person who is put in front of the stage, to a leading role with Paul. This leads him to go with Paul who is set out by God to build the house of God and lead the movement of God. Thus, Silas was moved by the Holy Spirit and to stay in Antioch. Otherwise, if he did not obey the will of the Holy Spirit and left in accordance with the opinions of the brethren, then he would not have been able to complete or accomplish the task that was to be entrusted to him.

 

God’s plan was for Silas to stay with Paul, but the brethren of Antioch had the intention of sending him back to Jerusalem, and Barnabas wanted to bring Mark along with him. This clearly shows the inconsistencies between humans and God. Even church leaders or mature Christians can miss God's will. This is God’s will versus man’s opinion. This has a very significant spiritual significance. A pastor in the United States, Bill Johnson, often says that "Over the ages, people who have opposed the new move of God are the ones used by God in His previous move." In other words, yesterday, we may have been greatly used by God, but when God moves forward again, we may not be able to keep up and, consequently, hinder God’s work. For example, Barnabas may be a good person. As the Bible stated, maybe, he had no intention of being hard on Paul as I’ve guessed before. Perhaps, it was just that Barnabas was already old and had some established views on things and how God works. On the other hand, Paul was young, and had received revelation from God. Still, Barnabas may have felt that Paul was not reliable. As a result, the two had a conflict. Their conflict may be caused by their love of God. The two sides have no selfish motives. They are both trying to do what they think is right for the sake of the Lord and the Church. But they have affected God’s work. Even if Barnabas’s idea is a little old, and he hasn’t done anything bad to Paul, it still may not be suitable to be co-workers with Paul again.

 

My other guess is that perhaps God has reminded Barnabas many times: "You can retire, let the young people do it. Through your guidance and mentoring, Paul has become more mature now. You can retire already. Let's give the young people some opportunities." Barnabas may have said to the Holy Spirit, "Actually I am still like Caleb. I refuse to give in to old age. My expertise is still needed.  For example, Mark is a good young man. Shouldn’t I continue to develop him to be a co-worker for Paul in the future?

 

I shared at the meeting that it’s not easy when you are the leader in the church because, when the time comes, they’ll let you retire and let the young people replace you. This is hard because sometimes you don’t feel ready to retire just yet. It’s also hard because if you retire, you hope to put someone in place who will give you some say in the future. This is only human nature.

 

But I said that this is not the purpose of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to introduce and bring Silas to the front stage. In addition to the special commendation by Holy Spirit towards Silas that I’ve mentioned previously, the Holy Spirit continues to give Silas more credit, paving the way for his appearance. This has another profound hidden meaning which is contained in 1 Corinthians 12:28. The verse says “And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.” (New International Version, 1 Corinthians 12:28).

 

Both Paul and Barnabas are apostles. How did the apostles come into being? These two apostles are mentioned in Acts 13. When the prophets and teachers were worshiping the Lord and fasting in the church at Antioch, the Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to be apostles. Rick Joyner, a prophet in the United States, said that only when teachers and prophets come and serve together, will the apostles be produced. He is referring to the traditional church's neglect of the gift of the prophet and other churches that acknowledge the gift of the prophet but do not pay attention to the gift of the teacher. The two did not integrate fasting and praying so it is impossible to produce apostles like Paul and Barnabas in today’s church.

 

Another aspect of this passage is Christ Jesus’ work in building the foundations of the apostles and prophets. This is what the Holy Spirit said through Paul in Ephesians 2:20. Ephesians 2:19-20 says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (NIV) Since the Holy Spirit has laid a good foundation for the church (through apostles like Paul and Barnabas), the next step is to build a second foundation, the prophets. Therefore, the Holy Spirit specifically mentioned that Silas was a prophet Himself and had said much to encourage and strengthen the believers in Antioch. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and because of this he remained in Antioch. The Holy Spirit’s guidance had profound significance because it lead a prophet like him to work with Paul, while building the second foundation of the church, the prophet.

 

Some people say that the apostles are the greatest gifts to the church. Paul was gifted in many ways. His role as an apostle meant he could function as a prophet, teacher, miracle worker, servant etc. In layman’s terms an apostle is a well-rounded person or a general practitioner. A general practitioner is not an expert in any one area, but versed a little in all of them. For example, when you have a general practitioner as your family doctor, they know a little bit about everything. When the patient comes, the general practitioner can help further diagnose the problem, but you will probably need to see a specialist for serious issues. But since a good general practitioner knows a thing or two, they will be able to help find the problem, but might not be able to fix it. Sort of like Tiger Balm, which can do a lot, but not fully heal everything.  

 

The primary gift of the prophet is to hear God's timely word. Although I am a Christian who grew up in a traditional church focused on the gift of teaching, I am still extremely eager to pursue the gift of prophecy. I was exposed to the modern prophetic movement in the US, after the Lord led me to come out of my evangelical church and into the Charismatic church. Since I have studied the five prophetic courses in an online prophetic school, I understand the prophetic movement more clearly. In particular, I’m familiar with the tradition of paying attention to the gift of teaching, which takes a lot of time to study and teach God’s word. But now I’ve been exposed to the prophetic movements who tend to worship, praise, be alone with God, staying up all night waiting for God, fasting and praying etc. People have limited energy. You could be well-rounded, but there is only one Paul in this universe. You may not be a well-rounded person like Paul, or even if you are, you may not be as good as Paul.   God raised up some well-rounded leaders like Moses, David, and Paul, who were talented in many areas, but this is not the only path. In the church, we have different gifts, according to the grace given us. The Holy Spirit is unbiased, but we have different callings. The gift given to you is different. It’s not that God doesn’t want to give you the good gifts, but you might be too distracted if you are given too much. You may not be able to focus on God’s calling because your time, energy, and ability are limited. What God wants to create is not only a person like Paul, but a team, or a structure - the gift of the body of Christ, such as the apostles, prophets, teachers, etc., working together to build up the body of Christ.

 

I heard Rick Joyner say in a message that the gifts of the prophets and teachers need to be balanced by each other. Prophets can often hear God's timely words, but if there is no balance by the gift of teaching, it’s easy to fall into extremes. I know what this means because I have been pursuing the prophetic gifts. I mentioned previously that I have had some prophetic experiences including seeing Jesus in heaven and I have also been taken to mysterious, heavenly places in my dreams. I am still a novice who has learned only a little about the gift of prophecy. Many people who have more experience with the prophetic gifts may have more wonderful spiritual experiences. One day they may say they visited heaven and another day they may say they’ve visited hell. Should you believe them or not? So, if there is no foundation and restrictions of God’s word, it will be unbalanced. For example, I recently saw a WeChat article saying that a Korean pastor had witnessed Calvin in the lake of fire. I know some churches that were deeply influenced by Calvin, were opposed to the charismatics, and blocked the work of God to a certain extent. But just because of a vision or testimony that Calvin is in the lake of fire by a pastor, you cannot know that Calvin is in hell. Sometimes stuff like this just gets circulated on the web. I personally think this may be an extreme example of relying too heavily on the so-called prophetic gift or personal experiences.

 

On the other hand, the gift of teaching also needs to be balanced by the gift of prophecy. This is one of the reasons why God put the gift of the prophet in front of the gift of the teacher. If the teacher isn’t able to get God’s timely touch and words, there is a danger that the spiritual understanding of the message of the Bible can be elevated to the level of doctrine. Over time, it will limit the freedom of the Holy Spirit. I was saved in a traditional evangelical church. This church pays great attention to the study of God’s word. Basically, it is indifferent to or against Pentecostalism and the prophetic movements. When I was led by God to leave my church and come to the Pentecostal Church to learn about the gifts of the Spirit, the church elders who care for me were honest with me about their fears that I may have been deceived by the evil spirits. They loved me so much that they wouldn’t directly reprimand me, but they expressed some anxiety.

 

I personally think that the evangelical church pays too much attention to the gift of the teacher and has overlooked the gift of the prophet, which leads to dogmatism and legalistic tendencies. As the Bible says: “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint.” (NIV, Proverbs 29:18). The prophet sees vision from God, and teachers need to learn from them keeping their minds open. Of course, another imbalanced situation can happen in the Pentecostal Church if they pay too much attention to the prophets and ignore the teachers of the Word of God.  

 

Back to our topic, who should Paul take on his journey – Silas, Barnabas, or Mark? Naturally, the Holy Spirit wanted him to take Silas, otherwise the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have annointed Silas to stay, nor would it praise Silas again and again in the text. God wants to build the foundation of the church through the gift of the prophets and the apostles. Barnabas was just another apostle, and Paul had already worked with him for a while, and he did a good job. God continued to lead the merger, or cooperation of apostles and prophets. But is Mark a prophet or a teacher? The Bible isn’t explicit about that. Paul later mentions in another letter that Mark was useful to his ministry. Perhaps Mark has the gift of the "helper" mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12. Of course, the Bible does not say that, it’s just my guess.

 

So, what the Bible addresses here is not only about Barnabas and Mark, but about the question of who will continue to work together with Paul and how will the church be built? At face value, it is a human dispute, but it’s actually about how the church will develop. One false step will make a great difference. If Paul listens to Barnabas's suggestion and lets Mark become his co-worker, it may have interfered with God’s plan (again, this is my guess).

 

In my life, various circumstances have come up that didn’t seem to make sense at the time. Over time I realized that this was the Holy Spirit intervening through circumstances to lead me in the proper direction. We don’t often see it clearly in the midst of difficulty.  This is especially true when I don't obey God's guidance. God always stirs something up around me that forces me back in the right direction of God's leading. When I look back, I realize that these small accidents or changes in my life are actually orchestrated by God. God may have spoken to Barnabas many times and led him to withdraw from the stage, or he may not have followed  God’s leading, so God allowed the disagreement with Mark to happen resulting in a separation between Barnabas and Paul. Either way, Paul ended up taking Silas who was prepared by the Spirit to work with Paul. I am not saying this because I want to advocate conspiracy theories or say that God used unethical means. Instead, I am saying this because I hope to comfort those who have experienced church disputes and divisions. You should not think that it is merely the attack or destruction from evil spirits, and there is no need to argue on who is right or wrong in these kinds of disputes. We can look at it from another perspective. Perhaps God’s guidance is different towards different people. Perhaps God is leading you in a new direction, taking you to the place He has prepared for you which is beyond your expectations.

 

If we are like Barnabas, and have been used by God to help bring someone further toward God, when the time comes, will we be able to let go of our pride or resist and be a hindrance to God? Have we allowed Silas, who was led by the Holy Spirit, to enter the front stage and play the leading role? Or will we choose Mark instead, someone who was fostered and trained according to our past church traditions? I have no intention of belittling Mark, but the Bible does not mention that Barnabas ever helped or guided Silas. At this time, Barnabas didn’t know Silas. If you were Barnabas, could you accept this reality? You may have longed to see the revival of God, but you didn’t expect that when the revival came it would fall on a church next door or on a group of people who you disagree with. Would you throw yourself into the revival fire of the Holy Spirit or would you just stand at a distance and criticize it? These are very practical issues, and it is worthwhile for us who serve God and who are church leaders to think them over.

 

Silas was a great help to Paul in his later service which is clear because Paul repeatedly mentions him and even says some of the letters were written by both Paul and Silas. Just like 1 Thessalonians 1:1, where Paul, Silas, and Timothy have written to the church at Thessalonica. Acts 16:25 tells us that Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Afterwards, in 2 Corinthians 1:19 Paul says: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”” (NIV, 2 Corinthians 1:19).

Even Peter said: "With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it." (NIV, 1 Peter 5:12).

We see from these verses that Silas is a faithful person, more so than Mark who left halfway through their last journey. Clearly, there is a reason why the Holy Spirit chose Silas to replace Barnabas to work with Paul, and Silas was even valued and praised by Peter. This proves once again the importance of our character to the service of the Lord.

I hope I have made it clear to you what was really happening in the dispute between Paul and Barnabas. It was not simply an HR dispute. It was a much deeper. It was the question of who should continue to co-labor with Paul to lead in the next move of God. Silas’s gift and calling as a prophet would help the Apostle Paul to build the foundation of the church which is the work of Apostles and Prophets, as mentioned in Ephesians 2:20.

Dear readers, or listeners, have you been taught that there are no apostles or prophets today? If you have, I am telling you that you are being fooled by the enemy. God is restoring the gifts of apostles and prophets today. Once your veil is taken away, go do some research, and you will find out God is doing a great work in restoring these gifts today.

Have you ever wondered why we don’t have great apostles like Paul today? It is not that the age of apostles has gone. But it is because that the teachers and prophets haven’t come together to pray and fast.

One night the Lord appeared to me in a dream and told me two rivers would merge together. I have been thinking about it ever since. I may share more about the experience in another blog, but I would say the merging of the gift of teaching and the gift of prophecy could be the merging of two rivers in my dream.

Thank you for your time reading, or listening, and stay tuned. We have a lot more to share.

 

 

Understanding the Power of the Soul Through Numbers 14

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 14

 

Understanding the Power of the Soul Through Numbers 14

When reading Numbers 14, we come across what at first appears to be an inconsistency in the text. Why is it that verse 24 (ESV) says, "But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it," but in verse 30 (ESV) it says, "Not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun." Why would the Lord say two different things? Why did He only name Caleb the first time He spoke, but mentioned both Caleb and Joshua the second time? Does this have any spiritual significance?

My thinking is that God had a different target audience and setting when he was speaking. The first time the Lord spoke, He spoke to Moses alone. The beginning of verse 11 says, "The Lord said to Moses...," revealing that this was a private conversation between the Lord and Moses. Numbers 11:28 (ESV) says, "Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth...," indicates that Joshua was chosen by Moses. Moses was a man of God. He chose Joshua. So it stands to reason that Moses would have spoken with the Lord about his assistant. Numbers 13:16 (ESV) says, "Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua." This verse is also very interesting. "Hoshea" means "salvation." "Joshua," in the original Hebrew text, is the name "Jesus" in Greek, which means "The Lord has become our salvation." Therefore, Joshua, who was chosen by Moses, led the Israelites into the Promised Land through battle, which is a representation of Jesus, the commander of our salvation, when he waged spiritual battle against death, hell, and the grave. Today, this warrior against our enemies, our “inner Joshua,” if you will, can represent our spirit. He will help us win victory when we turn to our spirit and call for help.

I think that in the context of verse 24, the reason why the Lord did not mention Joshua to Moses was not because He excluded Joshua; rather, because the minds of God and Moses are in sync.

But at the beginning of verse 26, it is recorded that "the Lord said to Moses and Aaron." Here the Lord was publicly commanding Moses and Aaron to tell all the Israelites that only Caleb and Joshua could enter the Promised Land, and that every other person would perish in the wilderness. This is was a message for the whole nation of Israel. Naturally, He had to make His plan clear to everyone, so there is no inconsistency in what He said.

 

What is Our “Inner Caleb?”

If Joshua represents our spirit, then Caleb represents the strongest part of our soul, or the good part of God's original creation. Our “inner Caleb” must rise up and fight to help our spirit obtain the victory in our spiritual battles. The soul is very powerful. Paul's words in Romans 8:6 (ESV) are a good proof of just that. He said, "For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." If the thoughts in our soul (which are represented by Caleb) can help our spirit (which is represented by Joshua), then we can receive God’s abundant life in the Spirit today and enter the spiritual Promised Land that God has given us.

The lives of the ten evil spies indicate the law of sin and death in our flesh (Romans 8:2). Caleb represents "our inner being who delights in the law of God" (Romans 7:22, ESV), while Joshua represents "the law of the Spirit of life" (Romans 8:2). We must get help from Caleb in order to help Joshua win the battle.

In order to understand this concept, let me give a few examples to illustrate how this “inner Caleb” works within us. My belief is that not everyone is gifted to preach. Some people are not gifted with words, but they are very caring. In the 1980s, there were brothers who came to Guangzhou (in the south of China) from Inner Mongolia (North China) to get a copy of the Bible. In order to save money, they purchased standing-room-only tickets on the train and didn’t eat for a couple of days. An older woman in Guangzhou, who was not good with words, came every day with a basket full of food she had bought, and fed these hungry brothers. The love of this lady is her “inner Caleb,” or the strongest part of her soul, at work within her. The love in her soul is like the attributes of Caleb that God bestowed on her so that she could be victorious in the Spirit.

Each of us has certain characteristics and strengths, which were especially given to us by God when He created us. For example, one of my strengths is persistence. No matter what obstacles I face, I am always determined and persistent in accomplishing what I think is right. When I was writing these articles, my wife often said, “You spend so much time writing, who will read those?” My mother told me, “The articles you have written are so long. You should write shorter. No one has that much time.” I know that a lot of the inspiration I receive during our Bible study comes from God and I must faithfully record it, because if I don't, I will gradually forget it. The Holy Spirit also told me through the mouth of a Korean prophet that one of my characteristics is that once I set my mind on something, I must carry it through to completion. Thus, my ego is a bit strong, and the Holy Spirit wants me to surrender myself to Him. On the last day of 2017, I was taken to heaven in a prophetic dream. The Lord Jesus said something similar to me. He told me that I should surrender so that He could greatly use me. The people around me also recognize this characteristic of mine, and my wife often says that I am “resilient.” Although I look weak on the outside, I am persistent on the inside. I came to the United States with only $300 to my name. An American teacher who helped me in those early days didn’t like me at first. However, after I attended her class for one semester, she commented, "You have a big soul." She meant "You have a strong will and a persistent soul." Of course, I got through that difficult period by relying on the grace of God and the love and help of brothers and sisters in the church and my teachers. But this also has something to do with my personality of persevering and never giving up. I often say that my IQ and EQ are not high, but the reason why God may use me is more than likely because of my perseverance. Everyone who serves God has something in them that God can use.

This is the “inner Caleb” that God has given me, which is one of my greatest strengths. It is what the Lord praised here: "Caleb has a different spirit and has followed me fully" (Numbers 14:24). It’s not only me who has this strength – you have it in you, too. Just like every snowflake created by God is one of a kind, every human is also made distinct and special by Him. He must give you unique qualities, which others do not have. That way, you can bring unique happiness and glory to the Heavenly Father.

 

How God Uses Weaknesses in the Soul

I know a woman who was sick, and recently experienced God's healing. She said that her will is often weak, but her compassion and empathy are strong. Emotional richness seems to be her forte. Like the old woman from China who fed the traveling brothers, she is loving and feels deeply. They both gave their love to Jesus, just like Mary, who poured perfume on the Lord.

God may have given you virtues and good characteristics, but you must discover them and make good use of them. This will be the key to your spiritual victory. The strong "Caleb" in you is often the point that is most fiercely attacked by the enemy, or where he will often try to deceive you. For this reason, some people never discover the inner “Caleb” God gave to them.

The woman who had been healed went on to say that because she was weak-willed, she found she was often deceived or intimidated by the enemy. But after recent trials, she hopes to become a strong fighter for the Lord. I then shared with her a teaching I received in the Local Church Movement, which I think is very useful. The teaching goes like this: each of our weaknesses is a "mirror" that reflects a characteristic of Jesus Christ. For example, when I lack love and I look up to the Lord because of this weakness, I will gradually begin to reflect His love. I will slowly transform into the image of the Lord and become a caring person. Similarly, if you lack a strong will but you often look upon and reflect on the strength of the Lord, you will slowly become strong like Him.

In other words, your strengths and weaknesses are created by God, or at least were permitted by Him. Their purpose is to help you win spiritual battles. Even our weaknesses can be used by God to change us. I remember reading an example in Brother Witness Lee's "All-Inclusive Christ," which is also a good illustration. In the story, there were two brothers; the elder was more kind and caring towards his parents than the younger brother. When the elder brother began to follow Jesus, he still treated his parents well because of his natural goodness, and he did not pray for God to change him. The younger brother was also saved later on, but because of his natural selfishness, he often prayed to God to help him be more compassionate to his parents. Thus, he slowly became caring and tenderhearted as well. The question is, who experienced more divine changes in their life? The answer is, naturally, the younger brother. In this example, the brother who had natural weakness and no love prayed frequently because of those very same weaknesses, and thus experienced more of God's transformative power. The elder brother, who had been living by natural goodness all along, underwent fewer divine changes in his life.

Much to our dismay, there are still many qualities in us that are more reminiscent of the ten evil spies. This is because of our ancestors’ sins and our own, our social environment and cultural influences, satan's deception, etc., that have caused us to have unbelief within us. Each of us have some qualities of these "inner evil spies," which are not pleasing to God, thus we have to experience the killing work of the cross. The evil spies here had to drop dead in the wilderness, and were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. This actually represents them having experienced the killing work of the cross.

I went on to share some of my weaknesses and "inner evil spies" with the woman from my earlier story. She sighed and lamented that she struggles greatly with this. These "evil spies" may be the effects of the fall of man (e.g. unbelief, lust, greed, theft, deception, etc.). They are rooted deep within us because of our sin and weakness. They often try to work together with Satan to kill us. Just like Paul's experience in Romans 7, the law of sin in his flesh often bound him, and even killed the good behavior in his soul that tried to obey God’s law. For that very reason he called himself a wretched man (Romans 7:24)!

Whether you have a strong will and faith or are weaker in these areas, the “inner Caleb” in our souls must rise up and stand firm, and cooperate with God’s promise and the Joshua in our spirit. It’s only when we are strong in certain aspects of our souls that we can help our spirit win.

 

The Power of the Soul

Many Christians often ignore the power of the soul, thinking that as long as we are saved, we can exercise our spirit in all things to overcome the difficulties in our souls. Things are definitely not that simple. Because although God’s life flows through our spirit, and our spirit also has the “law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2), our spiritual power usually starts out small and fragile, like the seedling of an oak tree. Although it can grow into a towering tree that is dozens of yards tall, a small oak seedling can be eaten by a deer in one bite. I have a deep understanding of this because there are a lot of deer that gather near my house when I plant trees and vegetables in the Spring. I must install a fence to stop the deer, otherwise the deer will ruin them all overnight.

Have you ever watched swans take flight? It’s an awe-inspiring sight. They run on the surface of the water before taking off. This run-up is very important. The same goes for an airplane takeoff. Although planes and swans rely on wings, not legs or wheels, when flying, these parts still have to be immensely powerful in order to give them the lift necessary to achieve flight, because of their huge body mass. For us, our flesh is a heavy mass that weighs us down, and our spiritual power is still not strong enough to achieve takeoff on its own. We need the power of the soul to get off the tarmac. But one day, when our spiritual life is strong enough and our flesh no longer burdens us so much, we won’t need the runway anymore. We can take off directly from a launchpad, like a helicopter.

We must not underestimate the power of our soul, but use the positive part of its power, our “inner Caleb,” to help our spirit overcome the “evil spies in our flesh. Although Paul mentioned in Romans 8 that the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death in the flesh, he did not neglect to mention that our soul, especially its power of choice, brings different results.

Some Christians who pursue spirituality belittle the power of the soul, and do not clear up its problems. Instead, they blindly pursue spirituality, and eventually find that they arrive in a bottleneck. I have seen this many times, especially when I was studying Inner Healing Ministry and Deliverance Ministry in the Pentecostal Movement. Some people who pursue spirituality in traditional churches do not recognize or ignore problems in their souls. They treat them as their old selves, thinking that it is enough to just exercise their spirit. They have a saying that the soul is a "city of problems" and the spirit is a "city with no problems.” Some people even categorize inner healing in the Pentecostal Movement as simply "counseling." But as far as my learning experience is concerned, it is not that simple. We cannot ignore the fact that the killing of the flesh and our old man needs the work of the cross. The damage of the soul needs inner healing, and the demons inside need to be cast out. These are two different aspects of spiritual truth, which are both necessary for true freedom. According to my study and observation, many inner healers of the Pentecostal Movement often use prophetic gifts when serving people. They receive miraculous words from God and illuminate the problems of the souls they minister to, thereby letting people be set free and receive inner healing.

 

Unleashing Our “Inner Caleb” Sets Captives Free

For example, a Charismatic prophet I know said that once when he was ministering to a woman, he received an inspiration from the Holy Spirit and mentioned the name "Mike.” Immediately, the woman became hysterical. After that, they carried out deliverance and cast the demons out of her. Later, they continued to interview her and give her inner healing. It turns out that "Mike" is the name of the person who raped her. Because of this painful experience, her soul was distorted. But because the prophet brought up this matter through the gift of the Holy Spirit, told her through the love of Jesus that this was caused by the person’s evil, and assured her that the love of Jesus Christ is always there to guard her, she was set free, able to know God's love, and get rid of her hatred towards men.

This is of course an extreme example. Although the situation and degree of severity differ, each of us has a "Mike" in our soul. It is the unspoken pain in your heart that you hide from the world. Even if you believe in the Lord, these "Mikes" are still there, obstructing your spiritual pursuit. They are just like blisters - if they pop, they must be treated properly so as not to cause an infection, which would affect your overall health. Similarly, the path to pursuing spirituality requires solving the problems in your soul. I once observed a Charismatic church in Baltimore that was able to lead hundreds of people, many of whom were struggling financially or addicted to drugs, to salvation in just a few years. I believe their tremendous results came from the great importance they placed on helping people solve their actual material needs, and also on solving the problems in their soul through inner healing and deliverance ministry. They held many inner healing classes and trainings on "Identity in Christ." I have seen many people at many different churches use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to minister to others in similar ways, as well.

We minister to people not only to provide the light of God's words, but also to nourish people's spirits, so that they can grow spiritually. When we minister to people, we need to be able to help them recognize and solve the problems in their soul, discover their own value from the soul, and use the power of their soul to help them develop their spirit. This is a question of mutual help. Our spirit can help our soul overcome the control of our flesh, and once our soul can stand against our flesh, we have the opportunity to mature spiritually.

I know that the soul problems of many people are piled high and seem overwhelmingly numerous. It is difficult to solve them all at once. But the Holy Spirit is God. He will illuminate our soul, clear up any of its problems, and strengthen and renew it, thereby saving our soul.

This is the inspiration I got from reading this chapter. I am praying for you to discover the “Caleb” inside you that can rise up to fight with your “inner Joshua,” in order to win your spiritual battles. You need also to find the “ten evil spies” in you and put them on the cross. Our souls need inner healing so that we can become strong “Calebs” today. Let go of your “Mike,” but let your “Caleb” rise up in you! Do you agree with me?

 

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 7

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 7

 

In Acts 7, we find the story of Stephen being stoned to death. As we consider Stephen’s tragic death, we see two types of people: people of faith and people of fear. Stephen, a person of faith, saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. The angry crowd, people of fear, could not see the heavens opened. Instead, they covered their ears and stoned Stephen to death. We must ask ourselves: Are we people of faith who can see into the throne room of God, or are we covering our ears and seeing nothing but the material world around us?

Are we those who see the heaven opened, or are we persecuting those who see heaven opened?

Bill Johnson, an American Charismatic pastor says that each new wave of God’s work in the world is persecuted by people instrumental in bringing about the last wave. This is not limited to persecution between denominations. Even within the Charismatic church, each new movement is persecuted by the previous movement.

For example, when the charismatic movement was just emerging, many charismatic denominations were persecuted by their previous evangelic denominations. One of the big charismatic sects, Denomination A, was persecuted by traditional evangelical churches. Neville Johnson, an Australian prophet, says that Denomination A also participated in making up lies about future prophets. Regarding the prophet who has been accused of claiming to be Elijah, Johnson says, "The prophet William M. Branham did not claim to be Elijah and there were tapes to prove that he had said that he was not Elijah. This [accusation] was made up by the people of Denomination A.” If Neville’s statement was correct, then the once-persecuted Denomination A also participated in persecuting others.

In addition, the church in Canada that initiated the Toronto Revival was originally a church of the Vineyard Movement. But when the revival began, John Wimber, the leader of the Vineyard Movement, excommunicated the church. This type of persecution has been seen not only in the Charismatic movement, but in many religious groups throughout the history of Christianity.

In Acts 7, the persecutors were the Pharisees, scribes, elders and priests. They were the elite of the elite, and they believed they knew all they needed to know about God and the Bible. They believed they had mastered the truth, and that their persecution was an outflow of their dedication to God. Why did Israel’s elite make this mistake? Why were they unable to see heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God? Why did they cover their ears and beat Stephen to death? 

Rather than condemning the Pharisees, scribes, elders and priests, we should consider our own lives. We must be careful not to degenerate to the same degree. We must make sure that when others see new revelations of God, we do not cover our ears, condemn them as heretics, and try to kill them out of service to God.

 

Entrenched Preconceptions and Traditions

What is the root cause of this hard-heartedness that rejects others’ experiences of God? Often, entrenched beliefs and traditions can cause us to fall into rigidity. After a person reaches 40 years old, they often solidify their existing knowledge and slowly become stubborn and narrow-minded. Instead of being open to new beliefs, we often believe whatever we like—what we have always believed. As we grow older, we need to continue to learn from each other’s strengths. We need to work to understand different perspectives held by different churches and denominations, so that information and truth can flow freely and we can obtain different perspectives and fresh information.

While I lived in London, I had a discussion with a roommate who was also Chinese. She found out that when cooking Chinese food, I heated the oil first, then put in ginger and garlic to sauté, and finally added vegetables. She told me I was wrong: I should put vegetables in first, and then add ginger and garlic. I explained that I’d watched my mother cook since I was a kid, and she always did it this way. She replied with the same response. Both of us were imitating our parents, and both of us thought the other was wrong.

This small example shows the powerful influence of traditions. We all grow up in a specific environment. When others teach us specific things, we naturally form specific ideas and preconceptions. We must be careful not to let these traditions keep us from learning and growing.

 

In Stephen’s sermon, he shared a familiar story from Israel’s history. Why did he tell a story that would have been so familiar to his Israelite listeners? Why is his information recorded in such detail? Why did the story cause the Israelites to hate Stephen to the point of killing him?

At the end of chapter 6, the Israelites accused Stephen of “speaking against this holy place and the law” (Acts 6:13). At the beginning of chapter 7, the high priest asked Stephen to give his defense against these accusations: “Are these things so?” (Acts 7:1). In response, Stephen began to tell the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. He explained how the Israelites worshiped the golden calf under Aaron’s leadership and later worshipped other idols. After that, he mentioned Joshua, David, and Solomon, and criticized the Israelites for killing prophets throughout the ages and for not observing God's law (7:2-53). By this time, the Israelites were very angry, and they stoned Stephen to death.

While at first glance it seems that Stephen was just repeating Israel’s history; he was telling the stories from a new angle. He drove home a point that the religious leaders did not appreciate. He illustrated how the Israelites killed the prophets and refused to abide by the law. Stephen’s narrative retold the same events, but with a different emphasis. His narrative differed powerfully from the narrative of those who killed him. This is the power of different narratives. Stephen’s interpretation challenged the long-held narrative and traditions that the religious leaders held.

Throughout the ages, many kings and dictators have attached great importance to the power of controlling narratives. How you tell a story will eventually affect people's thinking and make them form a strong perception and prejudice. One way to break this perception and prejudice is to retell the story from a different angle, with different conclusions. This narrative will challenge the mindset of the people who hear it and force them to rethink. Although the stubborn people refused to change, and even killed Stephen, his efforts to change the narrative were definitely not meaningless. His efforts eventually changed Saul’s (later to become Paul’s) view of the world.

We learn in Acts that God appeared to Saul (Paul) after Stephen was put to death. Why did God wait so long to appear to Saul? If Saul, who was renamed Paul was chosen by God when he was in his mother's womb, as we learn in Galatians, why did God wait to appear to him until after Stephen’s martyrdom? If God had appeared to Paul earlier, the needless persecution of Paul towards believers could have come to an end earlier.

However, God chose to allow Saul to witness Stephen’s martyrdom before calling him to apostleship. Listening to Stephen’s new narrative and witnessing Stephen’s martyrdom must have had a powerful impact on Saul’s life. God wanted Paul to hear Stephen’s interpretation of Israelite history. This event would prepare him for encountering God.

In Acts 8, Jesus appeared to Saul on his way to Damascus. This appearance was not only a result of God’s sovereignty, but also a natural consequence of Stephen’s narrative and testimony. We can have the same spiritual experience today. As we remove the veil of our preconceptions and traditional mindsets, we will encounter God. Many times, our preconceptions and traditions prevent us from grasping certain spiritual truths. They prevent us from entering into deeper spiritual experiences.

When our hearts are turned to the Lord, the veil will be removed

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul said that Moses covered his face with a veil so that the Israelites would not gaze at his shining face as it slowly lost its glow (2 Corinthians 3:13). Then Paul changed the narrative and said that the Israelites’ minds were hardened when they read the old covenant. Only through Christ is the veil lifted (2 Corinthians 3:14). Paul goes on, “Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:15-18)

Paul was telling us here that the Israelis’ prejudice while reading the Old Testament was a veil which prevented them from knowing Jesus Christ. When their hearts were turned to the Lord, the veil was removed. Once the veil is removed, we can use the mirrors of our hearts to reflect the glory of the Lord and slowly change into his image.

If the glory of the Lord is like the sun, then the Israelites’ preconceptions were like a dark cloud. On a cloudy day, the sun is still shining, but the dark clouds obscure the sun. Similarly, the dark clouds of Paul’s preconceptions needed to be removed so he could see the bright light of Jesus’ truth. If he had not heard Stephen’s sermon and adjusted his narrative, he might not have been able to respond to this encounter with God.

This truth is demonstrated by the fact that his traveling companions did not see the light. The light of Jesus’ presence was there, but only Paul saw it. Why are unbelievers unable to see God’s light? Because the veil in their minds prevents them from seeing the light. A small insulator can block the power of electricity, and a small prejudice can keep us from understanding God’s truth.

Stephen’s narrative enlightened Saul, who was standing nearby. Paul was a prominent Pharisee whose thinking was shaped by the Israeli narrative. Paul had been circumcised on the eighth day and belonged to the tribe of Benjamin (Galatians 3:2). He was educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of their fathers (Acts 22). Paul was zealous for God, believing that his persecution of Christians was a service to God. At that time, the veil in his heart had not been removed. However, Stephen’s sermon helped open Paul’s mind.

Stephen’s sermon included historical stories familiar to the Israelites such as Paul, but his conclusions were completely different from traditional teachings. Stephen said in Acts 7:51, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, this sentence must have administered a strong psychological shock to Paul.

This experience is not unique to Paul. I am a Chinese immigrant who encountered Christ here in America. At our church, we preach to both Americans and Chinese immigrants, but we often find that immigrants are more open to the gospel. We’ve often wondered why this is the case. We’ve concluded that since many Chinese students have never heard of the gospel, they respond in amazement and acceptance when they hear about Christ. However, many Americans have heard about Jesus since childhood. They are very familiar with the Bible, and this familiarity has become a veil in their hearts which prevents them from knowing God. Familiarity with God does not equal intimacy with God.

This is not only true in evangelism but also applies to helping Christians to know the Bible. Many Christians already have fixed preconceptions about the meaning of certain Bible verses. Their knowledge of these verses has become a veil in their hearts. When they read the Bible, they are unable to get fresh revelation because they feel they already know what that verse is saying.

 However, when we remove the veil of our existing knowledge of God’s word and pray humbly before God, He will give us new revelation of his truth. These revelations can illuminate and change our lives.

 

God opposes the proud

 

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Pride blinds us to realities that are obvious to others. Pride exaggerates our blind spots.

A story from Chinese history illustrates this point. After China established the Republic of China in 1912, a warlord named Yuan Shikai seized power as a president. Deep down, he still hoped to be a feudal emperor of China. However, all the people in the country were against it. So his son and others made a fake newspaper which reported that the people all over the country wanted him to become emperor. They gave this newspaper to Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai was a very smart person, but he failed to realize this was fake news. His blind spot and pride led him to make a big mistake. After he became emperor, he received fierce opposition from the whole country and soon died.

This story demonstrates that we should avoid pride. If our church is not open to learning from other denominations and the light that God has given us, we will not have access to the whole story of God’s revelation. We will make wrong judgments because of incomplete information.

The root cause of pride is overconfidence in our own understanding of God. Some Christian groups believe that their understanding of the Bible is absolutely correct. They often fall into the trap of pride. It’s impossible for any Christian or denomination to completely, fully grasp the truth in an absolute way. When we think we have mastered the truth, we are in a dangerous place spiritually.

 

Stephen passed the baton to Paul

Like a relay runner, Stephen had finished his journey and handed the baton to Paul, another fast runner. When Stephen finished his race, he was lifted into the presence of God. When Stephen gave his testimony, a seed was planted in Paul which would later grow into maturity. Paul would imitate the legacy Stephen left behind.  

The blood of martyrs is a seed which later produces great fruit for God. Stephen testified for the Lord and was not afraid to die. As he was being martyred, he forgave his persecutors, just like Jesus did before his death. Stephen imitated the Lord, like a mirror reflecting the glory of the Lord. Stephen mirrored Jesus so well that when Paul looked at Stephen, he could see the glory of Jesus Christ reflected on Stephen's face. 

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Paul probably had his own experience in mind when he said this. Stephen was like a mirror. When Paul looked at Stephen’s face, full of glory, he could see the glory of Jesus reflected, as in a mirror. Jesus Christ is the radiance of the glory of God (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus Christ reflects the glory of God, and Stephen reflected the glory of Jesus to Paul. At the same time, Stephen was able to look into heaven and see the glory of God reflected in the mirror of Jesus’ face. 

Many Israelites did not see the vision that Stephen saw. Instead, they stoned him to death. However, Paul was deeply moved. He not only saw the glory of God reflected in Stephen, but he later glimpsed the glory of Jesus himself: “the heavens are open, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God ” (Acts 7:55)!

God’s work among his chosen people on earth is like a relay race. Stephen ran faithfully and finished the race. He left a left a good testimony and example for Paul to follow. He then handed the baton to Paul, who became one of the best runners the kingdom of God had seen.

Paul compares the work of God to an athlete. He said, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. But I discipline my body and keep it under control.” (1 Corinthians 9:25, 27). Paul was a very good and disciplined athlete. He also finished his race, won his crown, and received his reward (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

We can imitate Stephen and Paul today

When we know Christ like Stephen did, we can reflect Christ and have a strong testimony to others. Our testimony can help remove the veil of misconceptions in others’ minds, helping them become great servants of God, like Paul. Conversely, if we don’t know God deeply and personally, we lose our effectiveness for Christ.

In addition to imitating Stephen, we can also imitate Paul. We can take up the mantle of those who have gone before us, living up to the standard set by our predecessors. We can follow their example of faithfulness to the mission of God.

When others give a strong testimony of love for the Lord, we must let go of our preconceptions and fixed mindsets. We must not cover our ears. Instead, we must open our hearts to see the vision of the Lord that they see.

Are we following the example of Stephen and Paul, who saw the heaven opens? Or do we cover our ears? These questions are worth pondering. 

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 6

Caring in love and ministering in the Word of God

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 6

 

Acts 6 is very brief. In the past, my understanding was that these Greek-speaking widows were neglected, and the apostles were too busy to take care of them. The apostles said that the more important thing is to pay attention to the word of God (verse 2). There was no time to deal with these widows, but since they were protesting and making trouble, there was still a need for someone to deal with their need. Finally, Stephen and others were found. These people were not apostles, just ordinary disciples of Jesus who were spiritually mature due to it being the beginning of the apostolic era. Stephen was not only good at cooking, but also full of the Holy Spirit, faith, wisdom and the words of the Lord. Miracles also followed him and the other men who were serving. In short, the apostles did not have time to deal with these matters so they were handed over to others.

But when we started talking about this, we found that the Holy Spirit led us to a broader understanding of the situation. I felt that the words and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit were that these complaining widows were not only materially poor, but also lacking the Lord's abundance in the spirit. Therefore, the apostles’ decision was not only to arrange and provide meals for them, but also to allow people like Stephen, who were full of the Holy Spirit and the Word of the Lord, to both serve meals and dispense the Spirit and the Word to these poor people.

 

Poverty limits our imagination

I was born in an ordinary family in rural China, the bottom rung of society. The people in our Bible Study also include many Chinese from the same background, so we naturally talk about poverty. Our experience of poverty has not only caused us to be materially poor, but also limited our imagination and made us lack self-confidence in many ways.

We talked about the spirit of poverty in modern Chinese society, American society and even among some Christians in the US. The external poverty is not terrible—the most terrifying thing is that poverty limits our imagination. Some of the women in our study said that American social scientists investigated the impact that poverty has on human nerves.  This study showed a decline in human learning ability. Therefore, some educators in the United States hope to include children from poor families in special education.

This argument is controversial. One woman said that being poor on the outside does not necessarily mean being poor on the inside. For example, Forrest Gump’s mother in the movie "Forrest Gump" encouraged him to maintain a pure heart even though they were poor, and at last Forrest Gump achieves success. I think the discussion on both sides makes sense. I also specifically mentioned that, for example, at the time of the founding of the United States, even though the American Puritans were poor outside, they were rich in spirit. Compared with people at that time, Americans nowadays are rich in material goods, but even poorer in their spiritual richness towards the Lord.

But we have to say that material poverty and spiritual poverty (or any restriction which leads to lack of self-confidence and imagination) are often closely linked. The lowliness and poverty of our birth often lead to our lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem. I used to work as a reporter for a newspaper in New Jersey, often interviewing people at Princeton University. I saw many Chinese children attending summer camps at Princeton. I was very envious. I thought to myself that if I had such a good opportunity when I was a child, I might be more successful in my career and healthier in my personality. However, when I was young, I did not have these opportunities. Because I lacked adequate role models and help, I used to feel very inferior.

Reasoning from the above logic, if the Greek-speaking Jews and their widows are ignored and not taken care of, they will also develop spiritual problems after a long time. So, their grievances are not a trivial matter. Like physical poverty will bring about poverty of spirit, physical negligence will bring about improper spiritual growth and development.

 

The relationship between shepherding in love and the provision of the Lord’s words

Let me give an example. I heard a fellow believer talk about the relationship between giving loving care and using the Lord’s word in ministry. He said that our love seems to be a hot pot for Chinese believers to cook their spiritual food.  If the pot is not hot, the dishes are not cooked well. We preach the gospel and help the new immigrant believers with their physical needs, often doing something like driving them to gatherings, helping them buy groceries and rent houses, and visiting them often. These actions of love will warm their hearts. If their hearts are not warmed, they will be closed to us. Even if we have the Lord’s words, they won’t be open to us. So, loving care is very important. It is like a hot pot.

However, merely making the pot hot is not enough. If the pot is hot and even smokes, but there is no oil in it, it is impossible to cook the food. In the same way, if we do deeds of love without the Word of the Lord and the Holy Spirit to minister to the people, it will be as if the pot is hot, but there is no oil in it.

This is not only true in our lives today but it was true when Jesus walked with the disciples on their way to Emmaus. By walking with them to Emmaus even when they did not recognize Him, Jesus was caring and ministering to them in love. While He explained what the scripture said about His resurrection, their hearts burned (Luke 24:32). If Jesus had not walked with them all those miles, He would not have the opportunity to minister to them. If Jesus had not made the Word of God regarding His resurrection clear to them, it would be impossible for their hearts to burn, and later recognize the resurrected Jesus. Jesus set an example for us of how to care by loving well, and ministering the Word of God at the same time.

 

Imagine that Stephen is a chef who is good at cooking and also filled with the Holy Spirit. When he is cooking, he is particularly concerned about a newcomer or widow, and gives them each a spoonful of vegetables to express his concern for them. This action may warm their hearts. In addition, they find that Stephen had cooked dinner for everyone that day.  Cooking the meal was very tiring, but he did not blame them because it was hard or tiring. His smile was full of joy, and he often shared some words of the Lord to comfort and encourage them. They would realize that what they lack is not only the food and care outside.  They would observe the joy in the Lord that Stephen has, his wisdom in the Holy Spirit, and the abundance of the Lord’s words. Therefore, the service they receive goes far beyond providing meals in the moment.

The early church did well because it was built on the disciples’ foundation, which was personally completed by Jesus Himself, and because the work of the Holy Spirit was strong. I think if the Holy Spirit keeps doing the work Himself, it may be better than what we do. But why did the church fall? It is God's desire to put the building of the church in the hands of people. Although God’s people will make mistakes and take detours, they will learn through these processes sooner or later, so that they can finally reach maturity through their service. This is God’s will.

Our current failures in building the church involve nothing more than these two aspects. On the one hand, the church lacks love for God and people. On the other hand, it lacks the Word of the Lord. In the worst cases, it lacks in both areas. Therefore, if we are to build the church well today, we must recover these two aspects, so that the Holy Spirit has the freedom to love and care for others through us, as well as ministering God’s Word to others through us.

 

The spiritual meaning behind grievances

Acts 6:1 says: "In those days, the number of disciples multiplied. Some Greek-speaking Jews complained to the Hebrews because they neglected their widows in the daily supply." People who spoke Greek may have been Jews from Gentile lands. They could have been immigrants or vulnerable groups. They complained that their widows were neglected. They seemed to be complaining that their material needs were neglected, but perhaps they were also complaining that their spiritual needs have been neglected. Why do I say that? Because people's material needs are often connected with their spiritual needs. The spiritual needs are often hidden behind people’s material needs.

I met with a man who shared about his occasional quarrels with his wife. His wife is somewhat short-tempered, which makes it easy for him to get hurt. He asked me how to deal with this situation. I said that I had the same difficulties in my marriage, and I have learned a lot. I told him that the things our wives complain to us about may seem trivial and confusing to us. If we consider each complaint individually, we won’t be able to solve the problem in the end. The key to solving the problem is found in looking at the big picture. Our wives’ complaints remind us that not only did we neglect their feelings in trivial matters, but also that we are not spiritually mature enough. We aren’t manifesting Him by living out the Lord’s love nor feeding them with the spiritual abundance of His Word.  So her grievances actually indicate her spiritual hunger and thirst, although she may not realize it. 

Although dealing with matters in the material realm or getting marriage counseling in the realm of the soul are helpful to marriage, they cannot fundamentally solve our problems. The fundamental solution to conflicts between husband and wife is that the husband matures in his spiritual life and can feed and support his wife spiritually. The Bible says that the husband is the head of the wife, not lording over her, but providing the her with spiritual protection.  Consider the comparison to the human body—the head will direct the mobilization of blood circulation and nerve transmission to supply our limbs at any time. If a person's body is paralyzed and he loses the use of his lower limbs or is even a high-level paraplegic, but the person's head is still healthy, then he can still live well. But if a person’s head has a problem, he will decline to a persistent vegetative state.  Although his limbs are fine, they will gradually lose their function. In the same way, when I tried only to correct my behavior during the difficulties of marriage, it did not have much effect. However, when I surrendered to God, learned to get close to the Lord and communicated with the Lord more deeply through these challenges, my difficulties were reduced.

I used the theory of the " Slumbering Spirit " by John Sandford, a pioneer of "Inner Healing" and "Deliverance Ministries" in the American Charismatic Movement to continue to explain this truth. When I was studying the "Inner Healing" and "Deliverance Ministry" courses, his books were included in the teaching materials. He put forward a theory that many people's problems are not only in their souls, but in their spirits. If a child does not get enough hugs and care during his growth stage, his spirit becomes a "Slumbering Spirit". In other words, his spirit no longer continues to grow, which also hinders the normal development of his soul. Many of these children develop psychological and emotional disorders.  In ministering to these people, he used God’s timely Rhema words which are obtained through both the Bible and through his prophetic gift (including words of knowledge, and prophetic words) to awaken the spirit of those people, to tell them that God loves them.  Gradually, their hearts were healed through this process.

When I shared the above story with this man, my baby was still being bottle fed, so I continued to explain with the story of feeding my baby. The child would cry at night when she was hungry. My wife was exhausted from working all day, so I got up at night to feed my daughter. She could not speak and could only cry. Her complaining cry said that she was hungry. Faced with her need, we had two choices. One choice, at the expense of our convenience, was to feed her whenever she was hungry. The other choice was to ignore her. If she cries and no one responds, after a while she will not cry anymore. Why? Because she would find that crying does not work. I read an article that said that if you do this, the child will gradually get used to it, but her stomach will shrink and will not grow larger. The baby's stomach is already small, so it gets hungry after a few hours. When we feed her on time, not only will she get full, but her stomach also gradually expands. After a while, she will sleep through the night.

We normally don’t treat children like this. However, I heard that many children in orphanages often cried but were ignored, so they gradually stopped crying. They knew that crying did not work, so they stopped. However, their spirits would shrink and become the “slumbering spirit” mentioned earlier, and they would no longer believe that there is love in the world. When their spirits begin slumbering, some functions of their souls, especially emotions, will be distorted. Therefore, caring people often go to the orphanage to hug or touch these children, which awakens their spirits and helps them grow up relatively healthily. Modern science also proves that receiving frequent touch and hugs will make people feel warmer and more loving, another reason this practice helps these orphans to grow up better.

I once worked as a reporter and interviewed a murderer in the courtroom. After his parents divorced, he felt abandoned. He gradually went astray, and eventually became a murderer.  Many who commit homicides in the United States have no father or have received no love from their father, so they feel hatred for this world. These people have been hurt by the world and deserve our sympathy.

Going back to the issue of the wife's complaint that I mentioned earlier, I told that man that our wives’ grievances seemed to be somewhat trivial to us, but they are actually opportunities God gave us to live for and manifest Christ. Every time a wife complains, we have to come out of our own emotional injury. Do not focus on the quarrel itself but focus on examining your recent spiritual situation before the Lord. Ask yourself in the presence of the Lord, “Am I close enough to the Lord? Am I full of the Holy Spirit and the words of the Lord? Have I shared some of the Lord’s words or spiritual experiences in my life intentionally or inadvertently, and provided for my wife's spiritual life?” If after reflection, you find that your spiritual life doesn’t measure up, and you have not provided for your wife's spiritual life in this way, you need to make up for it. Only in this way can you fundamentally change your situation.

Joyce Meyer, a famous preacher in the United States, also shared an experience between her and her husband. She said that the Lord trained her through marriage. Sometimes she would get into arguments with her husband. She asked the Lord, “Why can’t my husband change?  Why require me to change every time?” She refused to obey at first, but then the Lord would discipline her through her marriage. She learned a lot in the process. 

Another preacher, Yvon Attia, shared a similar experience. She said that she was also struggling with these problems. But the Lord told her that she should forgive the other party first because his spiritual life was not as mature as hers and he was unable to forgive. In other words, in a Christian couple, one person's spiritual life is more mature, and the other’s spiritual life is relatively immature. People who are spiritually mature always have to forgive others first. It is because they have a deeper fellowship with the Lord, which makes them more capable of exercising this ability.

Both examples above are about women. We can see that it is not only the husband who can provide for the wife spiritually. If the wife is more spiritually mature, her husband is like the complaining child who is yearning for spiritual feeding.  The Jews who spoke Greek in this chapter are like the young children spiritually. Their complaint was not just because the widows had no food.  They also needed to be fed by the Lord's words and given spiritual care.

The apostles knew this truth well. Otherwise, they would just have arranged for someone who could cook to serve these widows. However, they chose Stephen and others, who could not only serve meals, but were also people full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (verse 3), full of faith and the Holy Spirit (verse 5), and the apostles also laid their hands on them to pray to pass on blessing and authority from God (verse 6). The apostles knew that the widow’s grievances were definitely not only about material things, but it was a signal that they needed to arrange for someone to serve the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to them.

As a result of that verse 7 says: "The Word of God has expanded, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem has greatly multiplied, and a large group of priests have obeyed this belief." In other words, the Word of God expanded there because of the apostle’s decision to put Stephen and others in charge who were full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, and faith who not only served the widows meals but also the Word of the Lord. These widows grew spiritually and their testimony affected other orphans and families, gradually expanding the influence of the Word even causing many priests to receive to the faith. Just as a stone thrown into the lake, causes a wave of ripples, when the apostles arranged for Stephen and others to provide the widow's meals and the Lord's words, it brought a series of positive results.

Conversely, if the apostles had ignored the grievances of the Greek-speaking Jews and their widows, it would be as if the babies I mentioned earlier were ignored. Their spirits would become shrunken and lethargic because they didn’t get enough care. Feelings of dissatisfaction and even betrayal could have arisen in their souls, which would have eventually hindered the spread of the gospel in Jerusalem.

This is not only the case of the family or the church we cited above, but also the truth of everything in this world. Paul said in Romans 8:19, “The creatio is eagerly expecting, eagerly waiting for the sons of God to be revealed.”  He meant that after Satan’s rebellion and the fall of man, everything was in bondage. God's salvation begins with man, who must be reborn as God's son and be glorified. When man finally receives the glory of the Son of God, all things, including plants and animals will be free from this bondage. They groaned with all creatures and suffered the pain of childbirth together until now because they hoped to be redeemed (Romans 8:22). Everything is groaning and struggling, and hoping that we will become the image of the Son of God soon, so that we can be liberated together. This is why the Lord Jesus said that the church is a city on a hill and a light in the darkness, and we cannot put its light under the bushel. When our church does not shine, when it is not like salt to the world, we cannot illuminate the world. All the while, the world is in darkness, and is looking up to see our light.

The problem in American society is that the church has lost its light to some extent. When society is full of problems, it is actually crying and complaining to the church, just like a baby crying or a wife complaining. If we listened to these grievances in the Spirit and translated them, they would say: "Why doesn’t the church shine and illuminate me? Why doesn’t the church feed me?" The darkness of society is only a manifestation of the darkness of the church.

 

We need to use the Lord's word to build up believers

The problem with the American church is the lack of feeding people with God’s word. You may not be convinced of this. You might say, "Aren’t there many pastors preaching and feeding people with the God’s Word?” This is true, but what we are missing is people like Stephen, Philip, Procurus, Nicanor, Timon, Pamenas and Nicholas from Antioch who converted to Judaism (verse 5)— people are who are full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom and faith. Even if every pastor was like this, it is not enough. We also need many believers like this. In this chapter, it is not only the apostles who are full of the Spirit, wisdom and faith, but many ordinary believers were as well. While we recognize Stephen and Philip’s names, who knows or remembers Procurus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas? They were also people full of the Spirit and wisdom as is mentioned clearly in verse 3. You see, the Lord Jesus did a great work of discipleship through these ordinary men!

Many churches still work in the outer courtyard, which is just taking care of the widows’ food. However, we must go further and be able to serve the believers God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. A dominant characteristic of American culture is superficiality and the fast-food culture. This culture also affects the spiritual atmosphere of the church. Many ordinary believers are not being edified and discipled, so the church cannot be built up strongly enough to withstand the attacks of the enemy. Although there was a time when American society claimed that 70-80% or even more of the population were Christians, it was still not enough to prevent American Christianity and society from degenerating or the attacks of anti-Christian agenda in this county. What a sad fact! How can the majority of people be defeated by the minority of unbelievers, if the statistics are true? The reason lies in the lack of spiritual edification or discipleship of believers. Many people with insight into American Christianity have already admitted this. Therefore, the fundamental way to reverse the decline of American Christianity lies in the discipleship of believers. The lack of discipleship makes the church look like it’s built on sand, unable to resist water, rain and wind (Matthew 7:24-27).

If the believers were better disciplined in God’s Word, it would transform the church and the society. We need what happened in this chapter—the Word of God expanded first, then the numbers of the disciples in Jerusalem greatly multiplied (verse 7).  It is not the other way around. We cannot seek for the numbers first, but should seek to expand the Word of God first. The Bible charges us to be filled with the Words of Christ in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16) but the reality is that many believers have never read through the entire Bible once in their lifetimes. If you read three chapters in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament a day, you can read through the Bible once a year. I have been doing this for many years.

As your hunger for God’s word grows deeper, begin meditating on one verse each day. This will help bring the black and white of the written word into light and it will transform your life!

Do you agree? I personally think that God’s calling for me is to help to disciple believers, and make the church stronger. If this message blesses you, please help to share this word with a friend. 

Bible Study with Jairus - Acts 5

Bible Study with Jairus - Acts 5

 

Acts 5 begins with the story of Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Holy Spirit about the proceeds of the land sale. The Holy Spirit punished them severely for keeping some of the proceeds for themselves, while claiming they had given it all. Ananias and Sapphira’s sin doesn’t seem very serious, so why was the punishment so severe? Many modern-day Christians do not even tithe, let alone give the entire proceeds of a sale or business deal. So why doesn’t the Holy Spirit punish modern-day believers?

 

As we consider this question, let’s put aside the lens of punishment and fear for a moment. This lens can limit our understanding of this issue.  

 

Being closer to God is like being closer to the sun

 

First, we can understand this issue using the analogy of “light.” We often hear others say that God judges us not because of the sin and darkness that is in us, but rather for how much we reject the “light.” Before salvation, we lived in darkness and ignorance. The sins we committed before we came to Christ were committed in ignorance.

 

However, after we come to know Jesus, the “light of the world,” it is another matter altogether. God holds us accountable for rejecting the clear presence of the Holy Spirit. In vs. 15, we see that the Holy Spirit was powerfully working all around Ananias and Saphira. Even Peter’s shadow could heal people of their diseases! Despite all this, Ananias and Saphira still sinned blatantly against the Holy Spirit. Hence, it is only natural for them to be punished severely.

 

The closer you are to the sun, the more you are at risk of being burned. In the same way, the closer we are to God’s light and the Holy Spirit’s powerful working, the less our darkness is tolerated. However, if the Holy Spirit is not as active in the world, and an individual is farther away from God, the punishment will not be as harsh.

 

This does not mean that God excuses sin. God hates all sin. However, as we draw closer to God, God’s expectations for our holiness increase. As we serve God, we need to be holy. As mentioned previously in our study of Acts 4, the Holy Spirit was specifically at work during this time, choosing the apostles and working powerfully among the people. Despite this, Ananias deliberately lied to the Holy Spirit. For this reason, he was severely punished.

 

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the capacity of the vessel

 

Second, we can consider this topic using the concept of "capacity.” Humans are like vessels, or containers, that hold God’s power and glory. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is like a powerful current of electricity. Only the strongest of wires can handle such high voltage.

 

God wants to strengthen us so we can handle his “high voltage.” Peter and the other disciples had been prepared during Jesus’ three and a half years of ministry on earth. Without this preparation, they would not have been able to handle the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Modern-day Christians also need to undergo many trials and tests to prepare us to handle the weight of God’s powerful working. We need to grow our capacity.

 

Consider the analogy of a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers can withstand higher pressure than normal non-pressure cookers. If a regular pot is placed under high pressure, it will explode. Even a pressure cooker has a limit to the amount that it can withstand.

 

Similarly, each of us has a different capacity to withstand pressure. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:13 that he would not boast beyond limit, but would only boast about the area of influence God had assigned to him. We each have our own area of influence. We must not reach beyond the measure or capacity that God has assigned to us. Each of us has a limit to the amount of pressure we can take, but we are often greedy for more than we can handle. Then we are unable to manage this pressure.

 

So, to a certain extent, it was not God who killed Ananias, but rather Ananias’ own lack of capacity to cope with the pressures of such holiness. Jesus explained that when you put new wine in old wineskins, the wineskins will burst. On the one hand, the new wine caused the wineskins to burst; on the other hand, the old wineskin was unable to manage the pressures of the new wine. During the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Ananias tried to receive and contain God’s glory within his flesh. But since he was not a clean and pure vessel, he self-destructed, just like a normal pot disintegrates under high pressure.  

 

Ever since the ascension of Christ to heaven and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has always been with us. If the Holy Spirit is present with us, why do we lack the manifestation and movement of the Holy Spirit within the Church? One reason could be the lack of capacity of our own vessels.

 

Jesus Christ molded and empowered the disciples as vessels for His use. This process of preparation is essential to prepare us (his vessels) to receive the Holy Spirit. It only takes a second for the Holy Spirit to fill you, but it takes more than 20 years to prepare a vessel.

 

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is like a heavy downpour, and we are the containers that are used to collect the rainwater. If we are not prepared to receive the Holy Spirit—in the areas of holiness, character, personality etc.--we are an ill-prepared vessel. When the rain comes, we are unable to manage the rainwater. Instead, we will leak.

 

In the Old Testament, Elisha performed the miracle of providing olive oil to the widow. Elishaa asked the widow to borrow vessels from her neighbors. When all the vessels were filled, there was no more oil. This is a wonderful image which illustrates that our vessel’s capacity limits the amount of oil we can receive (2 Kings 4:1-7). We need to ensure that we allow God to prepare us to be vessels for him, so that we can manage the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we will run into trouble.

 

Many Christians desire revival but have not made themselves ready as vessels. For this reason, many spiritual revivals die a premature death due to lack of preparation of the vessels. God wants to grant us our desire. He wants to send a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But he wants us to be willing, prepared vessels. He is using the waiting time to prepare us as his vessels.

 

 

The process of obtaining God’s glory

 

The third lens through which we can approach this subject is the importance of God’s glory. Although Ananias and Sapphira’s sin may seem inconsequential, it was significant because it was an affront to God’s glory. The couple wanted access to God’s glory without sacrificing their money to God. This is a very serious matter. The couple sinned in the same way as Satan did: exalting themselves against God and wanting to steal his glory.

 

Jesus was different. He humbled Himself, never desiring to obtain glory for himself. He sacrificed himself because of God’s love, and in return he received glory and honor. If we want to receive God’s glory, we must take the path of self-sacrifice. If we desire glory without sacrificing our own interests, we will be punished. God will not share His glory with such people.  God punished Ananias as a warning to us. We must not attempt to steal God’s glory.

 

America experienced a healing revival in the 1950s, where God blessed many with the gift of healing. However, this revival ended prematurely. Many healers refused to train other assistants, hoarding the gift of healing for themselves. They wanted glory for themselves instead of giving the glory to God. Because they tried to steal God’s glory, God withdrew his presence and cut short the great revival.

 

God’s severe punishment of hypocrisy

 

Fourth, we must consider this question through the lens of hidden sin and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy must be exposed. Those who live double lives bring great harm to the church. Servants of God who sin morally while pretending to be godly cause great destruction. In the scripture, Jesus also points out the hypocritical pharisees, who seem morally flawless but have hidden sins. They may be able to deceive many people, but they cannot deceive God. God exposed them for all to see.

 

Some sins are obvious to all. Even non-Christians who abide by worldly moral standards will disapprove of these sins. These sins are condemned by the conscience and by the law. However, other sins are hidden in the heart. Only God, who sees the heart, can perceive these sins. Therefore, God alone can expose these sins. If Ananias had become an apostle without his hypocrisy being exposed, he might have brought great harm to the work of God. No one would have ever known about his sins.

 

Even today, God continues to expose hidden sins of church leaders and lay leaders. He does this so that the church can become a pure, holy community.

 

Where did Ananias’ wife go?

 

Acts 5:7 says, “after an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.” Where was Ananias’ wife during those three hours? The Bible doesn't tell us, so we don’t know the answer to this question. However, my guess is that she went to settle the fortune, the money they had decided to keep. Due to the powerful presence and working of the Holy Spirit, everyone in the Christian community was sharing the money they had with the Christian community. But this couple wanted to keep half the money for their own use. 

 

Ananias and Sapphira both sinned. They fell into sin as a couple, just like Adam and Eve did. In Genesis, Eve was deceived, and Adam consciously chose to sin. Both husband and wife faced temptation at the same time. This story reminds us that Christian couples need to help and support each other. When one spouse is weak, the other spouse needs to be strong. If both are weak at the same time, it is a recipe for disaster. Many believers can attest to the value of mutual support. The husband can support the wife when she is weak, and vice versa.

 

If either Ananias or Sapphira had been spiritually strong, they would have been able to have avoided falling into sin. The strong one could have supported the weak one and keep them faithful to God. Unfortunately, both were weak and sinned at the same time, which led to this tragic outcome. 

 

Positive and Negative Examples

 

Often, when the Bible gives a positive example, it follows up with a negative example of the same concept. For instance, the positive example of Barnabas’ generosity is given in Acts 4. Barnabas ‘sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostle’s feet.’ Then in Acts 5, God gives a negative example about the lack of generosity: Ananias and his wife. The Bible often places a positive and negative example together to illustrate a point. The point God illustrates in this passage is that we need to sacrificially give to God, and not lie to Him.  

 

Your enemy could be God’s messenger

Because Peter preached about Jesus and performed signs and wonders, there were some who wanted to kill him and his fellow apostles (Acts 5:33). However, a pharisee named Gamaliel interfered. He said, “Keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” (Acts 5:38-39 ESV). Because of Gamaliel’s wisdom, a disaster was averted.

 

This story illustrates that the very people whom we view as enemies could be God’s angels in disguise. Even though Jesus had criticized the Pharisees, Gamaliel the Pharisee actually helped Peter and the apostles at this critical juncture. Some people whom we treat as enemies or do not consider as friends, could all be angels in disguise. God can make everything work together for the benefit of those who love God.

 

Here is an example to illustrate this point. There was a Taiwanese Christian couple who often performed charitable acts and took care of children with cancer. However, due to their status as celebrities, they were criticized by those who did not believe them. People began to spread rumors that the couple were profiting financially off of their acts of charity. This was completely untrue, and the couple felt deeply betrayed. However, because of the rumors, many people learned about their charitable work and donated to their cause. They gained a lot of publicity, which meant they received many more donations and were able to help many more children.

 

To be free from punishment and fear

 

Nobody knows if Ananias and his wife went to heaven or hell, as it is not recorded in the Bible. However, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:5 regarding Christians who have sinned, “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” In the Old Testament, Aaron’s two sons and Uzzah were both killed by the Lord. What happened to Aaron’s sons, Uzzah, Ananias, and Sapphira after death? God is the one who judges; only He knows the answer to this question. According to Paul’s principle, there is a possibility that God struck them down to prevent them from committing a greater sin. Although their bodies died, their spirits may have been saved.

 

When we read the Bible, our understanding is often clouded by our own perception. Our perspective of fear and punishment makes us think that God is easily angered. We imagine he will punish us for every little mistake. Many Christians say that God is love, but are unable to truly grasp God’s love in their minds and hearts. Many Christians feel like God is intentionally punishing or hurting them, just like he punished Ananias. Even though Ananias’ story is an extreme example and many do not have the same experience in their lives, Christians can become fearful and expect God to punish them like he punished Ananias. Understanding God’s love helps us understand difficult stories, such as the story presented in this chapter.

 

We need to change our perspective about trials and difficulties. The hard times we go through were not created by God. God allows them to happen in order to increase our capacity and prepare us as vessels for His glory. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit lives inside us (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Holy Spirit wants us to exhibit the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

At the same time, God’s discipline is real. Even though the killing of Ananias is an extreme example, we often encounter God’s discipline in our lives today. God disciplines us in order to put our flesh to death. He trains us for our own good. Galatians 5:17 states that, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Our flesh often tempts us to indulge in greed, sinning against the Holy Spirit. However, God does not kill us. The killing of Ananias is an extreme example and should not be used to negate God’s love for us. God is love. His love is patient and kind (1 Corinthians 13:4). More often than not, God treats us with great kindness and patience, even when run away from Him. God loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). However, if we want to be united with God and partake of His love, we need to flee from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (2 Peter 1:4).

 

God’s love and holiness are two sides of the same coin. God loves us, but He is also holy and just. Because God loves us, He sent His son to redeem us. On the other hand, God is also holy. If we want to draw close to Him, we need to live in holiness.

Bible Study with Jairus - Acts 4

Bible Study with Jairus - Acts 4

 

Acts 4 tells the story of Peter healing a lame man. For 40 years, the man had been begging for food at the temple gates with no hope of healing in sight. However, the lame man's faith and perseverance finally cured him. When Peter met him, he was healed instantly.

 

We can learn an important lesson from the lame man. In the process of seeking God, we should not be disappointed and depressed when healing takes a long time. We should not be deterred by the spirit of religion. Instead, we should be bold enough to pay the price and pursue all the promises of God by faith.

 

Why did it take 40 years for the lame man to receive healing?

 

While reading Acts 4, the Holy Spirit led me to dive deeper into the story of the lame man who was healed by Peter at the Beautiful Gate. Although the healing of the lame man has already been mentioned in Acts 3, this chapter records the impact of this incident. As a result of the healing, the priests, court officials, and Sadducees came to arrest Peter. They interrogated him, asking him by what ability and in whose name he was doing these miracles. Of course Peter told them it was in the name of Jesus that he could perform such miracles.

 

The chief priests would not even believe Jesus while he performed miracles on earth, and they were even less willing to pay attention to rowdy Peter. The chief priests tried to frighten Peter and the other disciples, telling them they were not allowed to preach in the name of Jesus anymore. However, Peter and the others didn’t listen.

 

Acts 4:22 says, “The man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.” A brother in our Bible study wondered if there was any special meaning to the man’s age. This question leads to the theme of our study today. We will look at this story from the perspective of the lame man who was healed.

 

The man had lived 40 years without cure. It took more than 40 years for him to be healed. This fact reminds me of other occurrences of the number 40 in the Bible. It is interesting that 40 often correlates with times of difficulty and trial. The Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness, and Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness. Both were times of trial. What about this lame man who had not been healed for 40 years? Was he also undergoing a type of trial?

 

Begging was not easy in Israel. Many beggars were people with disabilities, such as the two blind men in the book of Matthew. These beggars were begging for food when they heard that Jesus was coming. They immediately threw off their clothes and ran towards Jesus, shouting, “Son of David, save us.” They wanted to recover their sight. Some preachers believe that the clothes they left behind were not ordinary clothes, but clothes approved and distributed by the chief priests, elders, scribes and other leadership systems of Israel. The cloak confirmed that you were blind, giving you permission to beg. When the Israelites saw this cloak, they would give money to the poor and blind, as their legal code prescribed. Over time, the cloak had become a symbol. It was the approval they needed within the system in order to beg for food and receive relief from others. It gave them a certain degree of protection.

 

When the blind men threw off their cloaks, they were abandoning their former status and identity as blind people. Ignoring the criticism and hindrance of the disciples, they ran towards Jesus for healing. This is the modern-day equivalent of abandoning social security or disability insurance.

 

There was a price to pay for pursuing Jesus by faith. The chief priests, elders and scribes did not approve of those who believed in Jesus. The formerly blind man in the book of John was cast out of the synagogue for his faith in Jesus. The synagogue and the temple community were of great importance to the Jewish people, so this rejection cost him his relationship with family and community. The price of trusting Christ was high, but Bartimaeus and the other blind man ignored this. They abandoned the shackles and benefits of the system and trusted in Jesus alone. Naturally, they also received a generous reward.

 

I want to briefly mention the healing of Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the flow of blood. The woman with an issue of blood kept telling herself, “I can be healed by just touching Jesus’ clothes.” According to the law, this woman was unclean. If she went into crowds and contaminated others, she could be stoned. But she did not care. She risked her life to see Jesus, and in the end, Jesus praised her great faith.

 

Everyone who is healed in the Bible is outstanding in some way. Whether they had outstanding faith or persistence, they all are all amazing examples to us. God’s mercy and sovereignty extended to these ordinary people and made them great. We can extrapolate that the man at the Beautiful Gate was also an extraordinary person.

 

The Beautiful Gate was at the entrance of the temple. In Eastern cultures, a gate is a place of great importance. When I was in China, I witnessed two fruit vendors fighting over the premier spot at the gate. In China, if you set up a stall in a market or at the gate of a school to sell things, you will not be able to occupy the best spot unless you have special skills. Even if you are able to occupy the best spot, more clever and ruthless people will eventually drive you away.

 

With that in mind, let's imagine that it was a big accomplishment for this man to beg at the Beautiful Gate. We don’t know how many years he’d been begging there. It is likely that he had been begging there for quite a long time. It was not easy. We don’t know if he had friends in the system, a relationship with the high priest or his relatives, so that no one would drive him away. If he was someone in the system or someone who had benefited from the system, then there was a relational price to pay for accepting Peter's services. This man was far from ordinary because he was willing to pay the price.

 

The lame man must have been grateful he got to beg at such a premier spot. Maybe other blind men envied him, saying how fortunate he was to be able to beg at the Beautiful Gate. There, he was sheltered from wind and rain. The people who entered the temple to make sacrifices were not short on money. He had many advantages over those who begged out in the streets. However, this man was not satisfied and continued to seek more. His yearning for more shows that he was not an ordinary person.

 

Jesus must have been in and out of this same temple many times during his lifetime. Did Jesus encounter this same lame man while he was living on earth? If so, he did not heal him. Did this man feel disappointed and avoid coming here to continue begging? We know that inside his heart, he was longing to be healed. Although he didn’t even recognize it externally, we know that the man was seeking for healing by faith.

 

Why can we be so confident about his faith? We know that when Paul healed someone, the Bible specifically mentions that Paul saw that the person had faith to be healed. Before he released the healing, Paul evaluated the person’s faith. In other words, many in the Bible were healed because of their faith. They may not have known it, but the apostles saw their faith. We can imagine that this lame man was yearning for healing. Even after so many years, he persisted in begging at the Gate of Beautiful in hopes that one day, he would get healed. Even if he might have missed the healing from Jesus, he did not give up. His persistency shows that he was extraordinary.

 

God blesses the humble

 

If Jesus saw the lame man, why didn’t he heal him? We have no way to prove that Jesus really saw him or not, but if he did, we can draw on a general principle to formulate an answer to this question. When Jesus healed a blind man, he did it to display God’s miraculous deeds. In the same way, the disabled man in Acts must have been uniquely destined to display God’s awesome deeds through the apostles.

 

Peter was a fisherman from Galilee, and many people did not trust him. However, God wanted to perform signs and wonders through the apostles in order to show God’s power. Most people did not respect this rowdy Peter, but this lame man had no prejudice against him. In his spirit, he sensed that Peter could help him. His humility and discernment enabled him to hope that Peter could help him. This shows the extraordinary humility of the lame man.

 

In the church today, many people look down on a humble person being used by God. Because of pride, we cannot accept the help of someone who seems inferior to us. How many blessings have we missed because of our pride? As mentioned earlier, this lame man may have been from a noble or upper class, since he could get a spot to beg at a place like the Beautiful Gate. Even if he was from a rich family, he was willing to seek help from a poor fisherman like Peter. His humility shows that he was not an ordinary person. Many high priests, scribes, and palace guards were too prideful to accept Peter's or Jesus’s help. They scoffed, “What good could come out of Galilee?”

 

God often speaks through the humble person. God often speaks to us through people we look down on. If we have a proud spirit, we will miss God’s blessings because we will not hear what the Lord is saying to us.

 

The story behind the healing testimony

 

We usually read the Bible from a broad, traditional perspective. When we read this chapter, we see overarching themes such as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit’s power through Peter. However, there are subtler things that might be easy to miss. For example, just think about the rescue and redemption that this healing brought to the man and his family, who had suffered so much humiliation!

 

In my own life, our healing and miracle baby had a great impact on our unsaved family. My mother, who worshipped bodhisattva for many years, has noticed a difference in me since this miraculous baby was born. Before our baby’s birth, she said that my smile looked forced on photographs. Even though I was smiling, she could see the bitter sadness on my face. However, the photos now show an inner happiness which can't be concealed. My mother also agreed not to worship bodhisattva. “The God you believe in can perform miracles and wonders,” she exclaimed. Because of this miracle, she believed in the Lord and got baptized.

 

Another Christian brother shared his mother had been paralyzed and bedridden for five years. While listening to the preaching of the gospel, she stood up by faith. What an impact this event had on this young man, who was in middle school at the time. He was shocked! The power of the gospel is so great. This brother’s mother later came to America to visit her son, and I saw her with my own eyes.

 

I don’t deny that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and Peter’s healing authority and power from God had an important impact on the healing of this lame man. However, the role of the individual cannot be ignored. For Peter, this was just an ordinary ministry day. But for those who were healed, it was a life-altering moment of salvation.

 

In my experience of seeking divine healing, I have encountered opposition and differences of opinion. Some people think that God no longer heals today. I told them we would rather believe but be disappointed than give up seeking. In the end, we chose to continue to seek God and finally received His healing touch. When I talk about this experience, I often say that if a person is not healed, he experiences 0% of God’s healing, and if he is healed, he is experiencing 100% of God’s healing. There is no in-between. In other words, you either got it or you didn't get it.

 

God shows no partiality to man

 

In conclusion, God is not partial to people. He has set a specific time and place to heal you. There are signs, wonders and blessings waiting for you. However, God hopes that through the process of waiting, you grow in humility and confidence, growing in your experiential knowledge of his love.

 

However, many people gave up halfway and don’t hold on till the end. Brothers and sisters, it’s not that God is unwilling to bless you, or that God is partial. It is because you did not continue on the road of blessing that God has set for you. We encourage those brothers and sisters who are still suffering to believe in God’s love. Continue to seek the miracles that you hope for with faith. You will surely receive them!

 

 

Why didn’t the church continue to hold all things in common?

 

The last paragraph of Acts 4 tells us that the disciples had everything in common. The text mentions that Barnabas sold a field that belonged to him, brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet (36-37). Why was Barnabas specifically mentioned here? I believe his action was part of the reason God chose him as an apostle. When Barnabas sold his field and placed it at the feet of the apostle, his action proved that he was true to God, and God was pleased. Later the Holy Spirit chose him to be an apostle, alongside Paul.

 

However, Ananias’ story turned out very differently. Ananias sold his property and only donated half of the proceeds. Because he claimed he had donated all of his earnings, he was killed by God. Perhaps this was a special time when God was choosing the apostles. Such a deliberate deception to God was severely punished by Him. We know that in the church today, many Christians don’t even tithe in the first place. They give far less than Ananias did. Yet God does not punish them as severely as he did Ananias. Perhaps Ananias longed for the status of an apostle and knew that God was in the process of choosing his servants. Because of Ananias’ lack of total consecration, he was severely punished by God. Such punishment may reflect God’s high standard for his chosen servants. It is not necessarily a general principle for the church.

 

Ananias could have become an apostle just like Barnabas. Although he yearned to do good works, he was not humble like Barnabas. Although he wanted to be an apostle, he refused to pay a similar price. As a result, he received a severe judgment instead of special status. This is a wake-up call for those of us who serve God today.

 

Have you ever wondered why we no longer share all things and hold all things in common? As was the case with Ananias’ death, this may also be a special case. After the church formed on the day of Pentecost, God intended the gospel to be spread forth from Jerusalem. Therefore, it was especially important for an apostle to be able to give himself entirely to the ministry. The apostles’ complete consecration was crucial so that the gospel could spread forth from Jerusalem for the very first time. Just like the first shell fired by a cannon needs to have adequate gunpowder, God needed the apostles to be completely consecrated so that the gospel could spread for the very first time.

 

Although the practice of holding all things in common has not been a continual practice of the church over the centuries, there are specific examples of this happening during times of great spiritual revival. George Mueller, the father of faith giving, established an orphanage by faith, which moved many people to donate money. One day, a poor old lady donated her life savings to him. She said, "I've saved all my life, hoping to buy a coat that I love. I'm going to save enough money soon. However God moved me to donate this money today.” Mueller replied, “Your money is too precious, you think about it again.” However, this old lady insisted on donating the money.

 

In the Plymouth Brethren movement led by John Nelson Darby, many members of the brotherhood were well-off. Following the example of John Nelson Darby, they donated their property and were willing to serve God in poverty. Darby himself came from a noble and rich family, but for the sake of the gospel and the holiness of the church, he was willing to give up his wealth. I don't mean that that every servant of God must become poor. But since many of the clergy of the Anglican Church at that time were unsaved and were greedy for the world, Darby offered himself as a shining example of poverty and holiness.

 

The Holy Spirit moves in different ways at different times, but he always calls us to holiness, purity, and joy in Him.

Bible Study With Jairus – Acts 2

 

Bible Study With Jairus – Acts 2

 

Acts 2 introduces us to some hotly debated topics: tongues, dreams, visions, and the infilling of the Spirit. Even though these topics are controversial among Christians, most Christians do not deny the historical events in this chapter. What Christians cannot agree upon is whether such experiences still occur today.

 

Let’s dive in and examine some important questions related to the birth of the church in Acts 2.

 

Why is the Holy Spirit like a tongue of fire?

 

When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in bodily form as a dove. Should we conclude that the Holy Spirit only takes the shape of a dove, or are there other forms that the Holy Spirit can take?

 

When the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples in Acts 2, he came in the form of tongues (Acts 2:1-4). In verse 3, God says that “divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one.” Did the Holy Spirit appear in the form of fire, or of tongues? The Bible clearly states that the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of tongues—tongues that seemed to be made of fire. We all know that Acts Chapter 2 details the infilling of the Holy Spirit, so we can conclude that the tongues were the Holy Spirit or the display of the Holy Spirit. 

 

Why the tongue shape? As the book of James mentions, the tongue is very difficult to control. James noted that the tongue is the most troublesome member of our bodies. It can praise God or curse men. Like the small rudder of a ship, the tiny tongue has great power to direct the course of our lives. Like putting a bit into a horse’s mouth to control it, we need to control our tongue (James 3:2-12).

 

So, what does it mean for the Holy Spirit to come down in the form of tongues? Perhaps the Holy Spirit is asking us to surrender to Him and let him control the most untamable part of the human body, the tongue. As we offer our tongues to him, we can then offer our entire bodies as living sacrifices to God. We can allow the Holy Spirit to speak in and through us, allowing our tongues to pray and speak for the glory of God.

 

The original intention of speaking in tongues made provision for the entire body, will, and tongue to be surrendered to God, an indication of a spiritual and mature Christian. However, tongues have been used by the evil one to cause arguments within the Christian body, so much so that the mentioning of tongues is viewed as a lack of Christian maturity.  

 

The understanding of the experiences in Acts 2 often differs across different Christian groups. We know that Satan often distorts the most important truths of the Bible. For example, Satan often lies to Christians about their identity in Christ, which is vital to spiritual growth. Similarly, tongues are an important tool of a mature Christian. Therefore, Satan actively attacks and distorts the truth regarding the use of tongues. As a result, some Christians believe that speaking in tongues is a sign of immaturity in the spiritual life.

 

How do tongues help Christians mature spiritually?

 

As you mature spiritually, the hardest area to surrender to God is your tongue. The Holy Spirit wants to use your tongue to utter prayers. When you surrender your tongue to God, God will use your tongue to build you up in your faith (Jude 1:20). God will use “groanings too deep for words” to intercede for you (Romans 8:26). He will use your tongue to build  you up personally (1 Cor 14:4) and to build up others when the tongues are interpreted. (1 Cor 14:26). When we use tongues appropriately, we benefit the body of Christ in many ways.

 

However, if we do not live surrendered lives, our tongues are useless. This does not indicate a problem with our tongues. Just like any spiritual issues in the churches, it is often not about the issue itself, but whether individual believers live in the flesh or in the spirit.

 

Hence, objecting to tongues for the sake of objecting is a fleshly response, just like speaking in tongues for the sake of speaking in tongues. To God, it is most important that we be truly surrendered and obedient to Him, whether or not we speak in tongues.

 

Tongues: Human languages, angelic languages, prayer languages and prophetic words

 

What exactly are tongues? Are they human languages or angelic languages? They are both. In this passage, we see that the tongues are human languages. Jews from different regions were bewildered by hearing the disciples speak in their own languages, and the Galileans were startled to hear believers speaking in their native language as well (Acts 2: 7-8).

 

Paul also mentions the language of angels (1 Cor 13:1). Paul says, “if I spoke in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” This verse is often used to undermine the use of tongues. However, the issue is not whether you speak in tongues, but whether you have demonstrated God’s love. Speaking in tongues without love is just as useless as not speaking in tongues without love.

 

Tongues are also a language of prayer (1 Cor 14:14). In this verse, Paul says, “If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.” Paul also mentions that “one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God” (1 Cor 14:2), and “builds up himself” (1 Cor 14:4). Many view the “building up of self” negatively, especially when compared to “building up of the Church.” These believers feel that building yourself is not the priority. But in reality, we need to build ourselves up so that we can build a better church.

 

Jude 1:20 says that we need to build ourselves up in the most holy faith, and “pray in the Holy Spirit.” Many believers think that Paul’s reference to “praying in the Holy Spirit” is synonymous with “praying in tongues.” Previously, Paul used “pray in a tongue” and “pray in spirit” interchangeably (1 Cor 14:14-15). As we practice praying in tongues, we experience how tongues can build up our inner man. This practice will also increase our faith, and open doors to many gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

At the same time, tongues are also a form of prophecy. Paul wrote in 1 Cor 14:26, “What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” The tongues mentioned in this passage refer to prophetic messages. When messages spoken in tongues are not translated, others cannot understand the message. For this reason, Paul does not allow for believers to speak in tongues during gatherings. However, if the tongues can be translated, then he permits a few to speak in tongues. Paul wrote in 1 Cor 12:30, “Do all speak with tongues?” This verse is not saying that believers cannot use tongues to pray personally, but rather that not all believers are gifted by God to speak and interpret tongues as a form of prophecy. 

 

Many people lump the different types of tongues together and end up blindly objecting to the use of tongues, without even understanding the mysteries of tongues.

 

How should we perceive dreams and visions?

 

In Joel chapter 2, God foretold that in the end times, he would pour out his spirit on all flesh. People would prophesy, dream dreams and see visions. Though many Christians believe we are in the end times, few people actually see visions or have dreams. Those who do have prophetic dreams and visions usually interpret them subjectively. It’s important to gain a clear understanding of the Bible’s teaching on dreams and visions.  

 

The Bible is full of accounts of dreams and visions. Christians understand the dreams and visions differently. When the dreams are difficult to understand, such as Daniel’s dreams and John’s visions in Revelation, these differences of interpretation are even more pronounced. Many believers are even more skeptical about modern Christians’ dreams and visions. Skeptical believers point to past mistakes in the area of dreams and visions—mistakes which have caused harm and hurt to Christians. However, we cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater.

 

Does God still speak through dreams and visions today? The answer is a definitive yes. Despite the subjective nature of dreams and visions, and the possibility for misinterpretation, we cannot completely neglect, belittle or deny such experiences. If we do, we will miss out on important opportunities to encounter God and the Holy Spirit in a fresh way.

 

My personal encounter with dreams and visions

 

I have personally experienced a series of dreams that provided me with direction when I needed to make decisions. My natural mind interfered with my interpretation of these dreams and visions, but God provided guidance through more dreams and the moving of the Holy Spirit. In the end, I found the right path.

 

In 2015, after 10 years of infertility, the Holy Spirit guided me to seek help in the Charismatic movement. Through YouTube, I had learned about Randy Clark and his ministry work under Global Awakening. As I participated in a few sessions organized by Global Awakening, I heard about the “Christian Prophetic Certification Program” and “Christian Healing Certification program”. I longed for God’s healing and wanted to hear His voice, so I signed up for the two certification programs. They also organized the “Global School of Supernatural Ministry” that lasted for two years. In addition, Global Awakening shared that they were partnering with the United Theological Seminary to organize a Doctor of Ministry (Dmin) program.    

 

Through his “still small voice,” the Holy Spirit moved me to get this training. In addition, I received some prophetic words which confirmed my internal witness. Realizing that this idea was of God, I began the certification course so I could be equipped to serve him.  My plan was to complete the online courses for “Christian Prophetic Certification Program” and “Christian Healing Certification program”, before going full-time to the “Global School of Supernatural Ministry” for two years. After graduation, I would then join the United Theological Seminary to pursue the Dmin program.

 

In 2015 and 2017, I completed five semesters of the “Christian Prophetic Certification Program” and twelve semesters of the “Christian Healing Certification program” (4 semesters of supernatural healing, 4 semesters of inner healing, 4 semesters of deliverance ministries). At the beginning of the journey, we had not yet received miraculous healing or our miracle baby. However, during this process, I was continually seeking God’s words and healing. We were finally blessed with a miracle baby in 2017.

 

During my studies, I remember praying unceasingly to God. I told him that if He healed us and gave us a baby, I would be willing to give up my business and translation job to go full-time into the “Global School of Supernatural Ministry” and serve God full time. I prayed unceasingly for God’s healing. My wife also wished that God would give us a child, and she was willing to do whatever was needed, even allowing me to go into full-time ministry.

 

During the summer break of 2016, even though I had not completed both programs I was in, I wanted to quit my job and sign up for the “Global School of Supernatural Ministry”, while completing the other programs online. However, my wife did not agree. Since we did not yet have a child, my wife was unhappy and would not allow for me to go into full-time ministry to study.

 

One day, I felt extremely discouraged. During the moment of discouragement, I felt the Holy Spirit speaking: “One day, you will be seated in a classroom to study.” These words brought great comfort. I knew that God would allow me to undertake the theological education I had wished for, and that He would provide us with a child so that my wish to go to seminary could come to pass.

 

On July 18, 2016, I had a dream which reinforced my belief. In the dream, I took public transportation to the location of the Global Awakening classes. There were two stops. At the first stop, some people got off, but I did not. At the second stop, I got off. The female driver led me to a billboard that listed the names of some songs, such as “Crazily in Love with Jesus.” After that, a picture showed me that I would receive more of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

 

Besides this dream, during one of the online lessons, I heard the Holy Spirit speaking to me that when I had more time to serve, God would pour out His Holy Spirit on me. At that time, I saw a person being filled with the Holy Spirit during the laying on of hands. I wondered, “When will I be able to experience this?” The Holy Spirit spoke immediately, “When you are able to give more time.” I believed that God was leading me to quit and give up my translation business and go into full time ministry. However, because I did not yet have a child, all these goals could not be accomplished. I had the feeling that, once God gave us a miracle baby, doors would begin to open. If God gave us a child, I would quit and give up my translation business and go into full time ministry.

 

Sure enough, our miracle baby was born in February 2017. Besides feeling very happy about the birth of my child, I also believed that God would open doors for me to go into full-time ministry and studies. I planned to stay in Maryland and commute to Pennsylvania daily for school. While the trip took two hours, traffic was smooth and allowed for a daily commute. During the day, my mother-in-law would take care of the child, and I could take care of the child at night.

 

However, my wife did not agree. I prayed to God in confusion. I had thought I was following God’s will in making these arrangements. In addition, my wife had once promised God that if he gave us a child, she would agree to anything.

 

Additionally, I believed that the first bus stop where I did not get off in my dream represented the year 2016, and the second stop with an open door was 2017. Sure enough, the miracle baby was born in 2017. It seemed like an answered prayer.

 

However, my wife objected to the arrangement, questioning whether there was really a need to go to seminary full-time if I could do online courses. Furthermore, she emphasized that the school was setup for high school students. My wife was strongly opposed to my plans. As I prayed to God for guidance, I again had a dream.

 

In this dream, I was attending school in a classroom, and it seemed like class was over. However, I insisted on studying that particular topic, while the teacher wanted to change topics. I heard the teacher telling me not to be so stubborn. What he meant was for me not to insist on my viewpoint.

 

I felt like this dream was God telling me that He did not want me to attend Global School of Supernatural Ministry right now. My understanding of the second stop was wrong. A prophet spoke to me at a seminar, sharing that she felt that this was not God’s route for me, since family should be my top priority. She believed that leaving my wife and child to study at a school that was so far away was not a good arrangement.

 

For this reason, I had to continue with my online courses in the “Christian Prophetic Certification Program” and “Christian Healing Certification program”. Between 2017 and 2019, I also started on preliminary courses for the Dmin program at the United Theological Seminary, officially embarking on the Dmin program in 2019.

 

I faced many challenges during the DMin studies, and even wanted to give up. One day, I attended a seminar on prophetic teachings. I sat in front of a sister-in-Christ from Nigeria, who suddenly prophesied over me that she felt God wanted me to finish the Dmin program. She believed this program would lay a strong foundation for serving Him, opening many doors in my service to Him.

 

At the end, the different pieces of evidence showed that God was indeed pointing me to undertake a Dmin study. God showed me that the joint program between Global Awakening and United Theological Seminary was the second stop in my dreams, while the Global School of Supernatural Ministry was the missed first stop. Even though the dream was from God, I had a wrong interpretation of it. The Holy Spirit, through the internal witness, other dreams, prophecy and environmental factors, allowed me to understand God’s guidance. 

 

Due to my misunderstanding of God’s will, I was prepared to give up my translation business in order to go into full-time ministry. However, though many dreams, God led me to continue my translation business. In a dream, one of my earliest business clients spoke to me to continue my translation business, because clients trusted me. After that, I also received a prophecy saying that God wanted me to continue the translation business. It would not only provide for me financially, but also train me in leadership skills so that I would be able to manage bigger areas of service to the Lord in time to come. God’s goal for my business was not making me an entrepreneur, but teaching me basic business skills and organizational management capabilities. This dream and prophecy helped me understand God’s will. As a result, I continued my translation business so that I could continue to develop these skills.

 

This testimony shows that God speaks in many ways. He speaks through the Holy Spirit’s still small voice and the internal witness. In my case, God’s voice led me to get more education. However, my natural mind was a hindrance. I misinterpreted God’s guidance, thinking that God intended for me to give up everything so he could pour out His Spirit on me. When God answered our prayers for a child, I wanted to honor my side of the promise and give up everything. However, God used visions and prophecies, as well as environmental factors (my wife’s objection), to clarify his guidance. We can see that God uses many ways to speak to us and to help us understand His leading. Dreams and prophecies helped me understand God’s guidance, and even though I misunderstood the dreams at first, God used more dreams, prophecies and environmental factors to help me understand His intentions.

 

 

Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved

 

Acts 2:14-21 talks about Joel’s prophecy, placing special emphasis on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh. When the Holy Spirit was poured out, “sons and daughters shall prophesy”, “young men shall see visions” and “old men shall dream dreams” (verse 17). God says, “even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” (vs. 18)

 

And that’s not all. Verse 21 says, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Revelations 19:10 says, “for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” The essence of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. Paul added that the purpose of prophesy was to “speak to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” Since dreams, visions and prophecies are tools God uses to encourage, console, and build us up, we should not blindly reject them. Instead, we should learn how to use them appropriately.

 

Recognize the Risen Christ and Peter’s work

 

In Acts 2:22-47, Peter preaches about the risen Christ. At one time, Peter had failed to recognize the risen Christ. But in this passage, he speaks about the risen Christ and brings thousands of people to salvation. To be able to do the work God has called us to, we need to experience the real and risen Christ. This chapter describes the beginning of Peter’s beginning of apostleship. Later in Acts, Paul appears on the scene. The work of Peter and Paul are two main themes of the book of Acts, which we will discuss in detail in later passages.

 

To recap, we have learned about the importance of tongues, dreams and visions. A correct understanding of these truths is an important foundation to accurately interpreting the book of Acts. May the Lord open our spiritual eyes so that we don’t blindly object to these spiritual matters. Instead, may we humbly learn about them and use them as tools to bless others and accomplish God’s work.

 

Translated 7/7/2021

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus - Acts 1

Bible Study with Jairus - Acts 1

 

Different perspectives lead to different understandings

 

A fellow Christian once asked me how believers are able to effectively understand and interpret the teachings and lessons from the book of Acts. He wanted to know how believers from different churches and denominations can come to a similar conclusion as they read the text. My response was that we need to always look at things from a balanced perspective. Though the Bible is a book written in black and white, we cannot only focus on wordings while ignoring personal spiritual experiences and spiritual encounters. We also cannot ignore the importance of understanding the resurrected Jesus.

 

As believers, we must be mindful as we read the Bible, specifically, as we read the book of Acts.  Due to the variety of denominations and beliefs, controversial issues such as: how we see God's miracles, the angels, the resurrected Jesus and his manifestation, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, how we regard seen and unseen things, and how we balance Bible knowledge and spiritual experience can be very divisive amongst believers. Different perspectives result in different interpretations of the events in the book Acts and will lead readers to have different spiritual experiences.

 

Lack of spiritual understanding of the Word of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit in their works or ministries will cause believers if not careful, to end up just like the Pharisees who follow the law strictly because they have biblical knowledge of the scriptures without experience. Legalism can spiritually weaken the church over time. However, placing too much emphasis on spiritual experiences such as dreams, visions and encounters with angels without a focus on studying the Word, can lead believers to the opposite extreme of superstition. These are some of the dangers that those who seek only spiritual gifts in some Charismatic churches will face. These believers are spiritually immature, often lack a solid foundation in the Word of God and growth in the life of God. They are easily swayed by the wind of doctrines. One's pursuit of a deeper relationship with Jesus will flourish by having a balance of the above.

 

In our Bible study meetings, I have shared with fellow believers, some of my personal experiences including multiple encounters with Jesus Christ, and seeing with the activities of angels in prophetic dreams. I think these experiences have helped me gain a better understanding of the Bible, and also have given me more insights into what is happening in the spiritual realm. These encounters have also enabled me to receive assistance and breakthroughs that I would not have received from the traditional Evangelical church that I came from. I also mentioned that some Charismatic churches go too far in their pursuit of this experience, which has led to not only superstition, but the followers experiencing slow growth in their spiritual lives. My conclusion is that while it is a remarkable blessing to have visions or dreams; to experience seeing angels, or miracles, we should not become preoccupied with them. We need to focus on being saved from both eternal perdition and the constant worries of our lives. We must seek Christ first and foremost for it is only those who call on the name of the Lord who shall be saved.

 

How to view the things seen and unseen

Acts 1 tells of the selection of an apostle to replace Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. The eleven disciples suggested two men, one named Joseph and the other Barsabbas (also called Justus and Matthias). Matthias was chosen through casting lots (Acts 1:15-26). Because there is no detailed introduction to these two men in the Bible, we don't know much about them. Readers will no doubt be curious to know why Matthias was chosen and whether this was random or the result of casting lots.

 

Nothing happens by chance with God. In the above case, this also holds true. The Lord knows everyone’s hearts (Acts 1:24). God has complete control over everything. Jesus Christ while on earth said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father," (Matthew 10:29). Based on evidence from human history, everything is under God's control. Unfortunately, we do not always have this kind of perspective and recognition based on our own experiences. We choose to view things through our lens instead of through the Lord's. To have the Lord's perspective, we must be able to see the unseen.

 

With the knowledge of God's omnipotence, we can conclude that He chose Matthias.  Matthias would have been chosen no matter whether the people cast their lots or not. I can speculate jokingly that perhaps an angel was there to ensure that Matthias was chosen based on God's plan. We cannot see the activities of angels unless we are gifted in seeing the spiritual realm. Angels truly exist in the spiritual world. They exist, regardless of us seeing them or their activities. Of course, our spiritual eyes must first be open to seeing these angels. This vision is one function of the prophetic giftings.

 

I heard someone once say, "If you truly know God, you will see God's burning flames after every thorn bush." If you do not know God, even if you see the burning thorn bush, it is only a thorn bush for you. To know God and His works, we must learn to see the unseen with our spiritual eyes. The records in the Bible are not just words in black and white; they are actual events that happened in both the physical world and the spiritual world. We often have more understanding of what is happening in the natural world than the spiritual world. This sometimes makes it feel difficult to connect the dots. That is why, to truly comprehend the meanings of the Bible, we must first understand what has occurred in the spiritual world.

 

 

 

The Chinese enjoy eating sea cucumber. Sea cucumbers are considered to be a high-class food with high nutritional value. Dried sea cucumber, which we usually purchase at Costco, is extremely hard, almost as hard as rock. This should not be eaten right away. Preparation of this includes softening them in water for a few days before they are cooked. Sadly, many people read the Bible as if it were dried sea cucumber. They are aware of its nutritional value but are unable to chew and digest it. This is why we need the help from the Holy Spirit, just as water softens dried sea cucumber. The spiritual water softens the words of the Bible so that readers can properly digest and understand them. The Bible teachers used by the Holy Spirit to interpret the Bible must do the same thing. A good teacher will spend a few hours explaining just a few sentences in the Bible using various quotes and examples. His purpose is to rightly handle the word of truth or make the Word more digestible to the listeners (2Tim 2:15).

 

We must diligently pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten us and help us understand the meaning of the Bible and know what is happening in the spiritual realm. This procedure is similar to the previous paragraph's discussion of soaking dried sea cucumber in water. We are not to change God's words, but with the enrichment of the Holy Spirit's water ingest them.

 

How we perceive angels

Our natural eyes cannot always see God or angels, but God and angels do exist. Many Christians in traditional churches do not deny the existence of God and angels, but they ignore the existence of angels and never discuss them. Some Charismatic churches often discuss angels, while Christians from traditional churches respond by saying, "we cannot worship angels" (Rev 19:12) and never revisit this issue. I received salvation from a traditional Evangelical church that rarely mentioned angels when I was there. Although we acknowledged angels in the Bible, we didn’t discuss or see angels in modern church activities.

 

In contrast, angels and their work, are always discussed in churches where the prophetic gifts are available and readily manifested. Prophets who have received the gift to see into the spiritual realm are often known as Seers. They can see spiritual things and activities, such as God and angels. That is why Seers are always willing to share what they see regarding any angel encounters. An American prophetess Kat Kerr who is a Seer once explained that the Bible tells us not to worship angels, but gives no command to avoid communication with them (Rev 19:10).  She went on to say that she saw in the spirit, that God sent many angels to work with various people. Unfortunately, they did not know how to release God's words in asking the angels for help, so the angels were left with nothing to do. 

 

I am not suggesting that believers can give angels orders. I do, however, want to propose that angels do respond to the words of God declared by us to cooperate with us. If Kat Kerr is indeed correct, it behooves us to think about it. Why not enlist the assistance and cooperation of angels in our spiritual battles and our service to God? We are all fellow servants of Christ, and so we can serve God together. Angels, on the other hand, are ministering spirits sent out by God to serve those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

 

I have never seen angels with my natural eyes, nor have I ever seen angels in a vision during the day. However, in 2017 I attended a special meeting held by a Jewish Christian Church near my home. While there, a woman approached me and prophesied that God would bless me with prophetic gifts which would allow me to see angels and understand other people's tongues. This would be given to me to know what God is speaking through people when I visit other churches to minister. Not long after that event, I began to see angels' activities in my dreams regularly. For example, I saw a huge angel, using an extremely long stick swaying from the sky to the earth to stir, and then I saw waves of the sea, buildings collapsing, and people fleeing. I heard a voice from the spirit say that this stirring was to shake people's hearts and cause them to repent. I still await the second part of that prophesy to interpret the tongues of others.

 

Angels and their activities play a crucial role in the Bible. We must understand that while we do not worship angels, it is permissible and acceptable to admit our need to understand their activities, and even cooperate with them in serving God. We do not need, however, to place too much emphasis on them. It is exciting to be able to see angels and their activities. People in the Charismatic churches often tell stories about angels appearing and dropping feathers in their gatherings. Perhaps, this story is true, but putting too much emphasis on it is not good. I once attended a Charismatic conference where I met a participant who showed me a feather without speaking a word. I surmise he wanted me to see that the feather was from an angel. My thought though, was that the feather came from someone’s coat. With this experience, it is obvious that this kind of attitude towards angels does exist in some churches.

 

How to perceive the Holy Spirit and baptism of the Holy Spirit

How believers perceive the Holy Spirit and baptism of the Holy Spirit is very diverse as well. On the surface, the disciples appear to work for God, but in reality, it is the Holy Spirit who works for God through His disciples. The Book of Acts could easily be renamed, "Acts of the Holy Spirit." Before Jesus’ crucifiction, He commanded the disciples not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father. He also promised that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4).

 

The Holy Spirit is a promise from the Father. Jesus is the one who will baptize us in the Holy Spirit through the Father (John 14:26). Many Christians from traditional churches often quote the following two scriptures to criticize those who teach about the working of the Holy Spirit. John 15:26 says: The Spirit of truth will bear witness with Him. John 15:13-14 says: and declare what He has heard from Christ, and glorify Christ. These Christians ignore the different stages of work by the Holy Spirit, the Father, and Jesus Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is an essential part of God's work on the earth today. Let me explain more in detail.

 

In the Old Testament, God the Father chose the Jews and prepared them to receive His Son who became a blessing to many nations (Gal 3:14). Satan's main role in the Old Testament was to persecute and corrupt the Jews to prevent Jesus’ birth which would ultimately lead to His victorious death on the cross.  Satan’s role during this timewas to prevent Jesus' work of salvation. The Holy Spirit was poured out on believers after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit's main role was to establish the church so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27). God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit are represented by Abraham, Isaac, and the old servant. The old servant's task was to find a wife for Abraham's son, Isaac, as directed by Abraham. Similarly, God has given the Holy Spirit the task of finding a wife for His Son. That is why Satan is so hostile to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit's work in the New Testament church.

 

In three ways, Satan resisted the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To begin, Satan used the world to oppose the Father. The Apostle John said, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1John 2:15). To begin, Satan used the world to oppose God the Father. Satan uses the world's temptations, busyness, and sin to entice and occupy many Christians, rendering them incapable of loving God the Father. Second, Satan worked hard to oppose Jesus' works. 1 John 3:8, says, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." This reflected Jesus is to abolish the devil's works. Third, Satan made a concerted effort to use our flesh to oppose the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:17 says, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do." God's work of choosing and planning is complete, and Jesus Christ's work of salvation is complete as well. The Holy Spirit must demonstrate this completed work in each follower. Satan can resist the work of the Holy Spirit by using lies and our flesh.

 

Satan spreads lies among Christians through whatever means he can. One lie, in particular, is that if we proclaim the Holy Spirit’s work, we will be exalting Him above Christ. That is Satan's misinterpretation of the Bible. A Chinese Christian accused me of preaching the Holy Spirit while belittling Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit, I replied, is to exalt and glorify Christ. If you oppose my preaching of the Holy Spirit and do not accept the works of the Holy Spirit, you are opposing the Holy Spirit exalting and glorifying Christ within you. The Holy Spirit will never exalt Himself. The goal of preaching the work of the Holy Spirit is not to exalt and glorify Him above Christ, but to exalt the Holy Spirit so that the He can exalt Christ within us.

 

Even though the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each focus on different stages of the work, they are all working together. When we compare the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to a kite, they look like an upside-down kite. The Holy Spirit is the kite in the sky; the Son is the string that keeps the kite flying, and the Father is the man who holds the kite. Jesus said, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). Such a picture regarding the tree and wind is depicted in Jesus's word above. This picture also applies to my illustration of a kite. Jesus Christ is behind the Holy Spirit, and God the Father is behind Jesus Christ. They are one. We should see the kite, the string, and the man holding the string.

 

We must be regenerated in the Holy Spirit and receive the Holy Spirit as our life (John 20:22). Many Christians do not object to this viewpoint, however they object that we must also be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). This latter experience allows us to gain a better understanding of those unseen things, as well as receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is not an experience that Christians usually gain when we are baptized in water. Rather, it is a second experience. Satan attempts to keep us from knowing this truth in the modern church while also triggering conflicts between those who accept and those who reject it. Christians, as a result of this divisiveness, are unable to become one.

 

One of the main reasons for church splits today, is whether or not to accept the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. We must be aware of Satan's tricks and strategies, as he seeks to divide our beliefs in seeking and accepting the baptism of the Holy Spirit along with speaking in tongues. By being keenly aware of this, we can help to bring churches together while receiving power from the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit are the key aspects of the book of Acts. If you do not know the Holy Spirit and refuse to accept baptism in the Holy Spirit, you may have a hard time understanding and comprehending God's words in Acts. At the very least, your perspectives will vary from those who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirt and had their spiritual gifts activated.

 

How to understand the resurrected Christ

The topic in Acts1-8 is about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the resurrection of Christ is in Acts 9-11. Many times the resurrected Christ appeared in front of disciples, but they seldom recognized Him. For example, Jesus walked with the disciples to Emmaus, but they did not recognize Him. After Jesus Christ was crucified and died, Peter and the other disciples went fishing. Jesus appeared to them, but they did not recognize Him either. Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Him (John 21:4). When the resurrected Christ appears to us, He often changes His appearance, and often, we do not recognize Him. In saying this, Jesus may have appeared to you many times but because your eyes were not open, you did not recognize Him. Jesus is often hiding. He often hides among people and things. To see the resurrected Christ, our spiritual eyes must be open.

 

Jesus often appears to me in prophetic dreams, however, I find that I may not notice or recognize him. In my prophetic dreams, an elderly Chinese lady always appears to me. I was unaware she was a disguise for God in the beginning. Eventually, on the last day of 2017, she came to visit me and led me to heaven in a prophetic dream. I was initially hesitant to follow her because I was concerned about who she was. Finally, she overcame me with her power to take me to heaven, where she later transformed into the image of Jesus. I realized at that point that she was Jesus in disguise in my previous prophetic dreams. I recalled the details of my other prophetic dreams with her presence and started to pay attention to subsequent encounters realizing they were from God. Also, after these kinds of experiences, I have a better understanding of how to tell the difference between God's manifestation and the fake ones from the evil spirits. This helps me know what is from God and what is not.

 

Christ often hides in a variety of people, things, and environments, requiring us to open our eyes to recognize Him. He may speak to you through various people or environments, but you may not recognize His voice. He may appear to you many times, but you may not recognize Him. We must learn to recognize the resurrected Christ to understand the Bible better as well. Our main goal as we read the book of Acts is to be able to recognize Jesus Christ in all situations.

 

How to look at miracles and visions and dreams

Miracles play an important role in the Bible. We must bear in mind that miracles still happen today, and God still uses visions and dreams to communicate with His children. Given that one-third of the contents of the Bible is about visions and dreams, we must never rule them out; though we must carefully examine them in all circumstances. Our different perspectives and understandings on miracles, visions, and dreams will lead to different interpretations of Acts as well.

 

How to strike a balance between knowledge and spiritual experience

The Chinese proverb "It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books" can also be applied to our Bible reading habits, especially when it comes to the book of Acts. This Chinese proverb is trying to say we need more hands-on experiences than head knowledge.  To me though, both reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles are valuable for a person to better understand the world. The implication is that we must have biblical knowledge while also having a spiritual experience. I was a member of the Evangelical church from the time I received salvation in 2002 until 2015. I rarely had visions and dreams. I was unaware of the prophetic gifts still available today and had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As a result my experience of seeing things in the spiritual realm was limited.

 

 

In 2015, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and began to have dreams and visions. My prophetic gifts were activated from the Holy Spirit after the baptism of the Holy Spirit and I began to see into the spiritual realms. Many times in my prophetic dreams, I was taken to the third heaven to see heavenly activities or sometimes the second heaven to experience some spiritual battles. I was able to see some of the activities of God and the angels as well as activities of the demonic forces.

 

These encounters have helped me break free from the constraints of my thinking and gain a deeper understanding of the Bible through spiritual eyes. It also made me aware that spiritual warfare exists. My previous experience in the Evangelical church helped to establish solid Biblical knowledge which helped me not to get too caught up in being deceived or sidetracked. These spiritual experiences allowed my limited thinking to be opened as I gained a better understanding of the Bible and knew how to apply it in my life. The Bible knowledge and our personal spiritual experiences are two sides of the same coin. They are identical to our two feet. To walk further, we must strike a balance between the two.

 

An important verse in the book of Acts is "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). We must recognize miracles, dreams and visions, angels, and things in the spiritual realm; but we should always keep our focus on God and the salvation we have received in Jesus Christ. We must endeavor to be saved from eternal perdition, as well as from various temptations and snares of the world. By calling on the name of God, we will be saved from both the eternal perdition and anxiety of the world today. We need to continue to call on the name of the Lord after we have been saved, and we will experience various types of deliverance and salvation from anxiety, worries, and any other pains of life. The book of Acts is about the Holy Spirit and how we can be saved, and do great works for God through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we call upon the name of God, the Holy Spirit will work in our hearts to save us from going to hell and deliver us from evil and He will also empower us to do great things for God.