Bible Study With Jairus

Settling Legal Matters Between Believers Bible Study With Jairus - 1 Corinthians 6

Settling Legal Matters Between Believers

Bible Study With Jairus - 1 Corinthians 6

 

1 Corinthians 6 contains three distinct paragraphs. The first paragraph is about lawsuits among Christian believers. A man in our Bible study inquired whether Paul’s perspective on lawsuits between believers is still relevant today, especially given the increasing number of lawsuits between believers in the United States. It is, in my opinion, highly controversial. Some people believe that Christians should not sue one another even if they are wronged. Others use Paul’s appeal to Caesar as an example, believing that we can make an appeal to Caesar too or, in other words to go to court. They believe Christians can file an appeal in a court of law to resolve issues of unfair treatment. We always thought about cases of lawsuits between Christians when we read this chapter in the past. Should we sue to protect our benefits, or should we accept being wronged?

 

The inspirations that we will share today while reading this chapter are not from this perspective. It is only when Paul mentions that the lawsuits could involve immoral behavior that the church felt ashamed. And in their case, the law may have been used to wrong others instead of protecting their own lawful rights at the time. This is probably why Paul advised us not to file lawsuits against other believers. On the one hand, it tarnishes the church’s image. On the other hand, believers should not use the law of this world to harm others, particularly our brothers and sisters in Christ. Please continue to read my explanation as I share a verse that touched us today.

 

Should Believers Rights be Protected in Court?

We were moved by 1 Corinthians 6:8 in today’s reading. It states in verse 7, “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” This is the background for verse 8. Christians often use this phrase to argue that we should not protect our rights in court. But this verse does not contain the full picture unless we read it in context with verse 8. Verse 8 says, “But you yourselves wrong and defraud - even your own brothers!” According to this verse, Paul condemns Christians who wrong and defraud others and file lawsuits against other believers. According to these verses, Paul condemns not only those who have been wronged but those who have wronged others in court. Paul does not say that even if our legal rights are threatened, we should still be submissive. This was not the intended meaning. Paul could be trying to say it is not good for those who have already committed offenses to bring lawsuits against others, especially other believers. Perhaps what he said about “Why not rather be defrauded?” was directed at those who defraud others in court.

 

Paul Warns the Church About Sin

Furthermore, we will discuss the conditions of the eight sins mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. In these verses, we will look at why Paul discusses the conditions of these eight sins. One fundamental principle must be followed when we try to understand the Bible, and that is the relationship between previous and subsequent verses. We often overlook the relationship between verses like these, especially if the previous verse appears to be unrelated to the subsequent verse. If the correlation between two verses is not obvious, it can be very difficult to see any connection. This is the case with the verses we have been discussing. For example, let’s take a look at Chapter 6 verses 1–8. This paragraph discusses lawsuits between believers. The main topic in verses 9 through 11 is prostitutes and sexual immorality. Why does Paul bring up prostitutes in this chapter after talking about lawsuits? Is the matter of prostitutes related to lawsuits in any way?

 

My guess is that some believers who filed lawsuits may be guilty of one or more of these eight sins mentioned here. This is just a guess but let me explain my reasoning. These are the eight sins mentioned in the second section of this chapter: “sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, swindlers” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Paul also says, “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) When Paul wrote letters to people, including the Church of Corinth, he was probably aware of their situations. More than likely they understood what he was saying without him having to go into detail. Paul obscures details for them and does not mention their names or the sins they have committed. I believe he did so under the leading of the Holy Spirit and because many of the believers repented. Although Paul was lead by the Holy Spirit and did not reveal their wrongdoings, this does not mean that the wrongdoings did not exist. Those who filed lawsuits may have committed some of the aforementioned sins. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for Paul to mention them right after talking about the lawsuits. Although Paul does not discuss the details of their lawsuits, I assume it’s because he didn’t feel it was appropriate to address them publicly.

 

The reason I assume this is because in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul specifically mentions two weaknesses in our flesh: gluttony and sexual lust. He only mentions gluttony briefly, but he spends a lot of time talking about sexual lust. In verse 15, he says our bodies are members of Christ, and those who join themselves to a prostitute become one body with her, and the two will become one flesh (6:16). However, those who join themselves to the Lord become one spirit with Him (6:17).

 

 

Paul withholds the names of those believers who are involved in lawsuits, as well as the content of the lawsuits, and whether or not these believers committed one or more of the eight sins, he mentioned in verses 9-11. However, sexual immorality was one of the special sins mentioned in verses 12-20. As a result, my guess is the lawsuits between these believers were related to sexual immorality. We do not know for certain what the lawsuits were about, but they could be about prostitution.

 

We know that the city of Corinth was a thriving commercial city. There was a lot of idol worship and sexual immorality. Mark Allan Powell, a theologian, says, according to some ancient historians “throughout the empire, the expression ‘to act like a Corinthian’ came to be Roman slang for engaging in sexual promiscuity.”[1] In Corinth’s society, sexual promiscuity was part of the cultural background. Some believers had grown up in this culture, and their spiritual senses were not strong enough to pull them away from it. So Paul reminded them that while some of the believers had previously committed these sins, they had been sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (6:11). As a result, they had to learn not to join in sin and instead learn to join with the Lord, because joining with sin caused them to become one body with sin. He who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit.

 

This is just my best guess, seeing as we will never know the exact details of the lawsuits mentioned in this chapter. However, one point stands out, and that is the distinction between joining with a prostitute versus joining with the Lord. If a Christian joins with sin, the flesh, or the world, he will more or less think, act, and behave according to the world’s laws. He will solve his problems in a worldly manner, not a in spiritual manner.

 

A Dispute Between Believers

Not long after I became a believer, one older man who we shall call Adam in my church told me a story. This story took place in our dorm which was called the Brothers House. There were two students that we shall call Bob and Chris, who came from China. Bob had been a believer for a longer period of time than Chris, who was a new believer. One day, Chris accidentally hit the bumper of Bob’s car, resulting in minor damage. This accident caused an argument between them. Chris begged Bob to settle the dispute privately because if the accident was reported to the insurance company, Chris would be charged a higher premium later. Bob plainly refused and insisted on reporting the accident to the insurance company. The older man, Adam, attempted to resolve their disagreements, telling Bob, “Chris is a new believer. If you insist on reporting the accident to the insurance company, this may negatively impact his newfound faith. Please think about resolving the incident in private. Furthermore, this was a minor accident with very little damage.” Bob did not follow Adam’s advice. He persisted and reported the accident to the insurance company.

 

I’ve never met Bob and Chris but heard their story from Adam, who regretfully told me that because Bob did not follow Chris’s suggestion, Chris had not attended any gatherings since. From the way it sounded, I believe Adam was sad. If he were Bob, he would have definitely treasured the fact that Chris, who had just received salvation, could feel the love of brotherhood more than his own insignificant loss.

 

By contrasting the attitudes of Adam and Bob, we can see that Bob was following in the footsteps of the world. This is not incorrect. In the United States, reporting a car accident to an insurance company is a basic step. To Adam, who was more mature and passionate, acting in a worldly manner was not wrong, but rather it lacked the love of God. He valued Chris’s spiritual life and didn’t want his faith to be hurt through this small incident.  Is there anything wrong with reporting an incident to an insurance company in this example? Certainly not! Does Chris feel loved if Bob reports this incident to an insurance company? Of course not!

 

I shared this story to explain Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6 and to provide a better understanding of Paul’s attitude towards lawsuits. Assuming that Adam in the above story is Paul and that the car accident between these two believers occurred in the Church of Corinth and is recorded in 1 Corinthians, can I assume that “Paul disagreed to report the car accident to the insurance company”? Or am I correct in assuming that Paul preferred “resolving the incident privately” following the car accident? It would not be reasonable for me to interpret Paul’s words in this manner. But, if we explain Paul’s attitude towards lawsuits in 1 Corinthians 6, we might make the same mistake.

 

Love Among Brothers

Paul was more concerned with whether or not there was “love among brothers” than with whether or not filing lawsuits in court was appropriate. Paul says, “can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers?” (6:5). Paul may not have objected to believers filing lawsuits in court, especially if believers were forced to do so or their rights were violated. If that was the case, Paul might have advised making an appeal to Caesar, similar to what he did. Paul was concerned that the believers of the Corinthian Church were still living in the flesh. Apart from having possibly committed some of the eight sins he mentioned in verses 9-11, the spiritual life of these believers was still immature as they were still living in their flesh.

 

Paul said, “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food.” (6:13). This verse contains a lot of meaning. It reminds me of the phrase: “Man eats for the sake of being alive, but man does not live for the sake of eating.” Eating is a necessary part of life, but it is not the center of our entire life. Our lives should be guided towards something more meaningful, much like human sexuality, which is not only for human reproduction but also many other rightful causes. Sexual lust is not all we want in marriage, and it is not right to have lust outside of marriage or with a prostitute. If some Corinthian believers committed sins out of lust, resulting in lawsuits as a result of these sins, this is not what Paul would want to see. Paul hoped the Corinthian believers realized that although some of them committed similar sins, they could experience the redemptive power of Christ that is mentioned in this verse: “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.” (6:11). These words appear simple, but they are difficult to put into practice. How many Christians today live in sin, despite the fact that they have already been sanctified and justified by the Spirit of God? Why do they live with this contradiction? However, in our own journey, we must learn to overcome the temptations of sin and stay away from evil by the power of the cross and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit.

 

How do you overcome evil? Do you have an experience similar to Paul’s in Romans 7? The more you want to overcome sin, the more sin defeats you. The key to defeating evil can be found in Romans 8, where Paul discusses “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2). How can we have “the law of the Spirit of life” within us but still lose the battle against sin? This is due to a lack of union with Christ.

 

That is why, after sharing something negative, Paul followed it up with something positive about how to join with the Lord and become one spirit with him (6:17).

 

The Spirit of God Unites Believers

One of the men in our Bible study shared his heartfelt thoughts. He believed that the Corinthians’ lawsuits were merely a problem on the surface and that the main reason for this was that they did not practice joining with the Lord. He felt they would be one spirit with the Lord if they practiced joining with Him. He believed we would also have more unity with other members in the body of Christ if we were joined to the Lord as one.

 

What this brother shared was extremely good. The Lord Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35). However, we are constantly separated by different denominations and teachings and we cannot always love one another. Although we do not file lawsuits against one another in court, the nature of our relationship among different denominations is similar. Conflicts and disagreements between different denominations cause Christians to not have a good witness in the eyes of the world. If Paul was still alive, he probably would have agreed with this.

 

The ability to get along well with one another, whether it was believers of the Corinthian Church or Christians of different denominations, all depends on their ability to unite with God. We are members of the body of Christ, and like the members of a physical body, we are linked to one another. All members of a physical body are connected to the brain (or head), which sends instructions to each of the limbs, and the limbs must first follow the brain’s instructions before they can interact with other limbs. Suppose a person has Parkinson’s disease or another disease that affects the nervous system. In that case, this person’s limbs will be unable to function, perhaps even paralyzed, and his limbs will be unable to coordinate properly.

 

The same principle applies to the spiritual realm as well. We must connect with our head, Jesus Christ. We will become one spirit with God if we unite with Him.  As we become one spirit with God, this unites us in spirit with fellow believers as well. However, if we do not unite with God, it will be difficult for us to unite with  other believers.

 

Ezekiel 37 portrays such a picture. As Ezekiel prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. (Eze 37:7) And there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. (Eze 37:8) And the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (Eze 37:10) Paul also said, “and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Col 2:19) If we are unable to become one in Christ and hold fast to the head, we will not be fully nourished and knitted together.  We will not be able to grow with a growth that is from God, similar to Ezekiel 37’s description of rattling bones. We must first unite with God and receive abundant supplies from our head, Jesus Christ, just as our body parts receive instructions from our brain. Then we can unite with one another and grow and mature and experience the life of God within us.

 

In this chapter, I do not believe Paul is focusing on whether Christians should file lawsuits in court, but rather on the maturity of a Christian’s life and being one with Jesus Christ. His concern is that we should be good witnesses of one another’s love to the world so that the world may know that Jesus has sent us. Paul’s words are the inspired Word of God; however, it does not mean we need to take it literally.

 

[1] Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2009), 278.

Be Ready to Discern God’s Plan Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 10

Be Ready to Discern God’s Plan

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 10

 

Are visions important?

In Acts 10, the Lord gave Peter a fascinating vision. God showed Peter all kinds of unclean animals and asked him to kill and eat them. He refused, saying that he had never eaten anything unclean. Nevertheless, God gave him permission to eat, saying he should not call anything unclean which God has made clean. God’s words were not merely referring to unclean animals; God was guiding Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, whom the Jews deemed impure.

I was saved in a church that emphasizes the life and teachings of Christ much more than it emphasizes visions or similar topics. However, as the Lord has led me into learning more about the Charismatics, I have come to understand that Charismatics place great emphasis on visions.

How should we resolve this discrepancy?

There are dangers on both extremes of the spectrum. We should avoid being overly cautious with visions and emphasizing the Bible alone, and we should also avoid an over-acceptance of visions that dismisses and neglects the written word of God.

First of all, let’s look at Peter’s experience. We must acknowledge the fact that it was not easy for Peter to evangelize to the Gentiles. His mind was filled with preconceptions and prejudices. However, we must revisit this question: why didn’t God grant this vision to John, James, or others? We do not know the answer to this question, but we can speculate that Peter was probably more flexible. Compared to those who more strictly adhered to Jewish traditions (such as James), perhaps it would have been easier for Peter to make a concept shift.

We know that Peter had a high spiritual intellect. He understood and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of the living God. He also committed frequent mistakes, saying that God would not let the Lord be crucified. Peter was criticized by the Lord frequently, but he also rectified his wrongdoings. Possibly Peter’s personality was more receptive to changes and corrections.

Despite this flexibility, however, it was still difficult to instill in Peter the idea that God had cleansed the Gentiles and was determined to preach the gospel to them. Because Peter found it hard to believe that this vision was really from God, the Lord had to send the vision to Peter three times in a row.

Traditional churches put aside visions, mainly for fear that if the visions are not from God but from the enemy, they would cause mistakes or harm to the church. This is a valid concern. Throughout church history there have been many who have seen so-called visions that turned out to cause a lot of damage to the church or even endanger the lives of innocent believers. These concerns are real.

However, if Peter had then dismissed the vision, saying, “I’m not going, let me take a year’s time to scrutinize whether this vision is coming from God or Satan,” then God’s plan to evangelize to the Gentiles would have been compromised.

Imagine Peter as a present-day believer. As a new believer, he was taught and instructed in the Christian faith. He believes the truths he’s learned are in perfect alignment to biblical truth. Nevertheless, one day somebody challenges him and tells him that the truth is outdated, and that God has updated this truth. What was not permitted before is now permissible; what was considered wrong before is now correct. Facing this major change, do you think a church member nowadays would be easily persuaded to change his mindset? Based on my personal experience and observations, this would be very difficult.

I recall hearing a preacher explaining why God needs to speak to us through dreams and visions, and I think his explanation makes sense. He said, “God also speaks to us during the daytime through our mind or other channels. However, if there is a concept which does not align with our pre-existing conceptions, our minds would become a barrier to God’s conversation with us, thus hindering God’s words from penetrating our souls. Therefore, when God speaks to us through dreams and visions, He is using a pictorial language to bypass or get around our minds.” At night, when our souls are relatively restful with a lower activity level, speaking directly to our spirits would achieve God’s aim to communicate with us.

For instance, the Lord might use a dream to remind us that a certain action might cause us danger, especially if the action is directly related to our personal interest. In our souls we might have various excuses telling us that it is okay to move forward with a dangerous activity, and that it would be beneficial to us or even to God. God might have warned us several times, but we have not received the message. However, if in a dream at night we do the action and encounter sudden danger, such as a dog jumping out to bite and startle us, we might start wondering if we are really justified in doing the action. We might give the dream some consideration, reflecting on whether the Lord is warning us about the decision we are about to make, which might bring us danger or a predicament.  

Job 33:14-18 gives us the following insight:

“For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man; he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.” (ESV)

This passage is frequently quoted by teachers in Charismatic churches to illustrate the importance of God speaking through dreams. That is, God does speak to people in many different ways, and yet oftentimes people ignore his communication or do not understand what He means. Hence, God speaks in dreams and visions at night. He speaks in their ears and imprints the messages directly onto their hearts. In this way the spirit’s hindrance is bypassed and the objective of communication is achieved.

This passage says that dreams take place at night, while visions occur mostly during daytime. Some people say that, compared to visions, dreams contain more pictorial language that is more difficult to comprehend than visions. I think this belief makes sense. If you compare this vision seen by Peter and the dream Daniel had, you will easily reach this conclusion. Nevertheless, in principle, their methods and aims are the same: to give you a pictorial depiction of ideas that are not easily expressed by words.

Why does God send a message that is beyond words? Hasn’t God asked Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles through other means, such as through the leading of the Holy Spirit? Yes, God has probably communicated this multiple times. Peter may have felt inspired by what he learned, but he wasn’t motivated to carry it out because the idea was too radical for his Jewish ideology. In order to break through this ideology, God had to speak to Peter through visions, even multiple repetitions of the same vision. Finally, Peter is forced to pray to God and ask him about this message. God once again revealed that He had already purified the Gentiles and that it was the right time to preach the gospel to them.

 

God uses our weaknesses for his glory.

I once heard a Charismatic preacher give the following insight: “Paul was committed to preaching the gospel to the Jews until death. He was even willing to die eternally for his Israelite brothers and sisters. In Romans 9-11, he swore that it if his own eternal damnation could bring his people to salvation, he would not hesitate to accept eternal death. Nevertheless, once he had been saved, God did not allow him to preach the gospel to the Jews; instead, God sent him to a faraway place as an apostle to the Gentiles.

“Paul would have been a powerful preacher to Jews. He had studied under Gamaliel and was a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin. As a highly qualified Jew, he would have been a powerful tool to bring Jews to Christ. His testimony was a convincing and effective message for the Israelites. He could have been an excellent apostle to the Jews. However, God did not make him an apostle to the Jews.

“On the other hand, Peter was a fisherman. We don’t know for sure whether the Gentiles despised him, but the Jewish rabbis, teachers of the law, and Pharisees must have looked down on him. He was raised in the Galilee region where Jews mingled with Gentiles. How fitting it would have been to make him the apostle to the Gentiles! Nevertheless, God chose him as the apostle to the Jews and had him preach the gospel to Israelites!”

This preacher believed that in our work for him, God sometimes uses our innate weaknesses instead of our innate strengths. In this way, we are forced to rely on God’s power instead of our natural gifts. Paul is an example of this concept: When Paul went out to preach the gospel, people’s first reaction was to recoil. They knew that he had been a persecutor of Christians, so they rejected him. When God sent Ananias to speak to Paul, Ananias raised this objection. However, through God’s wisdom and sovereignty, Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles, while Peter became the apostle to the Jews.

This concept gives important insight into Peter’s apostleship to the Jews. If people like James had seen the same vision, it might have been more difficult for him to understand what God was trying to convey. This is because James and the others were deeply immersed in the sense of Jewish privilege. A breakthrough to reach the Gentiles might have been more difficult if God had used James or other disciples. Peter seemed to be the most malleable one and the weakest link among these apostles. He lacked the higher education in Jewish religion, and at the same time he had a more flexible character. Because of his flexibility, Peter sprang into action as soon as God spoke to him in a vision. In other words, in order to pass on to the Gentiles the salvation He had prepared through the Israelites, God seemingly chose the most vulnerable and open individual, Peter. He placed the most open individual when placing the “water line” of salvation to the Gentiles, so that His grace of salvation could flow out most easily.

 

God’s perfect plan

To substantiate these ideas I’ve been sharing, compare Peter’s story with the story of God’s choice of Cornelius. God truly has sophisticated plans.

After I was saved, I used my salvation testimony to evangelize my parents. Nevertheless, my mother constantly argued that someone in the village who had be baptized as Christian was constantly stealing from others. She asked, “Are you Christians more moral than others?” She refused to accept Jesus Christ because she saw the hypocrisy of some Christians.  Christians commonly encounter this objection to their beliefs. Living out our Christian values really does matter.

In other words, if God were to choose a flawed and imperfect Gentile to be the first to accept his gift of the living water of salvation, his plans would have been severely hindered. I’m not saying that God couldn’t have accomplished his plan through a flawed vessel (with God all things are possible). I am just saying that this would have caused significant challenges to God’s plan.

Now let’s look at how the Bible describes Cornelius:

“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. Cornelius your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.” (ESV)

This passage shows us that Cornelius was probably affiliated with Judaism. In modern church vocabulary, he was a “friend of the gospel” or “seeker of the truth.” He was a Gentile, but he prayed continuously to God. His whole family feared God, he was generous with the common people, and he was respected by all, even among the Israelites. The Israelites did not have complaints or even false testimonies against him. The angel also praised him. He was such a blameless person that he seemed perfect.

Can you see how amazing God’s plan and provision was? If Cornelius had had any moral issues, or if his family had had any flaws, the Jews who were against evangelizing the Gentiles would have caused quite a stir. God’s plan to bring the gospel to the Gentiles was perfectly orchestrated. With redneck Peter as the spigot and the perfect Cornelius as the water hose, God’s plan was executed in perfection.

 

Discerning attentiveness to God’s plan

When we serve the Lord, we should not block, neglect, or completely deny God’s revelations through dreams and visions just because of previous incidences of fake visions, fake dreams, and fake prophecies that were used to harm the church. We must be discerning and cautious, but not overly cautious. Being overly cautious is a lack of faith, and lacking faith in God is a sin. This is a concept which we must grasp properly.

Let me say this again: Imagine that God had devised this perfect plan of how the gospel would be transmitted to the Gentiles. Each part was in place. Imagine that Cornelius was standing by for a seamless transition, but Peter dropped the ball at the critical moment, saying, “What I saw was only a vision which might have come from God, or from Satan, or I just had too many cheese pizzas (this is a popular joke among Charismatics about dreams). Let me spend some time to check it out and see.” In that case, wouldn’t Peter be saying that God’s plan was unreliable? God is not an unreliable God; He does everything according to plan.

When Peter had seen the vision and heard God’s words, he took a bold step of faith. We need to acknowledge that this was not easy for Peter. Today if we face the same scenario and a difficult choice, we must take the risk in faith. If you slip, people will be eager to call you a “false prophet” or even attack you with stones.

In the end, we must stress the other side of the coin. If we are overly cautious, we lack faith. It is not right to be doubtful. However, it is also not right to be too trusting and believe everything without scrutiny. I’ve been learning about Charismatic beliefs for about three years, and I’ve seen many fake dreams, fake visions, and fake miracles. I’ve become acquainted with many Christian brothers and sisters attending Charismatic churches. Most of them are true Christians who have been saved. However, many of them tend to focus on the exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and not on the discipline of reading the Bible. These two need to be balanced.

 

 

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.