Bible Study With Jairus

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 15

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 15

Levels of Spiritual Growth

In Numbers 15, God gives instructions to Moses about the different levels of sacrifices they were to offer to God after they entered the Promised Land. In this passage, the Israelites are still in the wilderness. The last chapter told the story of Joshua, Caleb, and the twelve evil spies, and how God disciplined those who did not have any faith. At the beginning of Numbers 15, the Lord tells Moses how the Israelites should offer sacrifices after they arrive in the Promised Land. Later, the chapter tells two additional stories. The first story is about a man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath day and was stoned to death. The second story records God’s commands to add blue tassels and cords to their garments so they can remember the Lord’s commands. The next chapter, Numbers 16, tells the story of Korah’s rebellion.

The difference between the different levels of sacrifices lies in the amount of fine flour, oil and wine, and in the size of the animals used. Basically, the larger the animal is to be sacrificed, the more fine flour, oil and wine will be used.

The first level of sacrifices is recorded in verses 4-5. A lamb and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour are presented as an offering. One ephah is about 22 liters in today’s measurements. The people were to offer about 2.2 liters of fine flour. A quarter of a hin of oil, which is about 3.66 liters, would also be offered. A quarter of a hin is about 0.915 liters. These two were to be mixed as a grain offering. Finally, a quarter of a hin of wine, which is 0.915 liters, must also be prepared.

The sacrificial system represented salvation, so these lambs represent Christ’s sacrifice for us. The salvation of Christ remains the same for each person, but the degree to which we personally experience his salvation different. The lamb (meaning “young ram” in Hebrew) of the first level, the ram of the second level, and the bull of the third level represent salvation. Depending on their willingness and ability, Israelites brought differing sacrifices to God. However, if the size of the animal sacrifices they offered was different, the amount of fine flour, oil and wine would also be different.

Animals, fine flour, oil, and wine all represent Christ. It’s just that they represent different aspects of Christ. Animals represent the salvation of Christ; the fine flour represents the humanity of Christ; oil represents the Holy Spirit of Christ, and wine represents the uplifting power of Christ's life. For example, the Lord is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). The fine flour is made by grinding wheat, and Christ is a grain of wheat that falls into the earth to die for us (ESV, John 12:24). Therefore, the fine flour represents the death of Christ on the cross and his sacrifice for humanity. Oil represents the Holy Spirit. This is widely recognized by Christians, so there’s no need to say more. Wine represents uplifting people's lives. The Lord Jesus turned water into wine, bringing joy to the wedding guests. Like the good Samaritan, who bandaged the wounds of the man attacked by robbers by pouring oil and wine on them, Jesus brings healing to our souls. There are many more examples of how these elements represent Christ, but these will suffice.

The second level of sacrifice is recorded in verses 6-7. The animal offered here is a ram, which is a bit bigger than a lamb (or young ram). Spiritually, it represents a greater experience of Christ’s redemption. Let me repeat, Christ’s redemption is the same for everyone. But you can continue to experience Christ’s redemption in new and greater ways. At this stage, you have to offer two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, (4.4 liters), a third of a hin of oil and a third of a hin of wine (1.22 liters). Not only did the amount of flour increase, but the amount of oil and wine also increased.

This represents the different stages of God's salvation and the filling of the Holy Spirit that we experience. When you are first saved, you rejoice that you will not go to hell. You start reading the Bible, going to church meetings, and praising the Lord. When you praise the Lord, the sacrifice you offer is like the lamb or young ram. The amount of change, and the amount of Christ’s redemption that you experience is still very limited. At first, you didn't seem to feel any different about the bad things you used to do before you trusted Christ. When you became a believer, you suddenly realized these things are wrong. But the experience of Christ's tender humanity is not enough. You don’t manifest the life of Christ in your own life as much as you would like to.

But God is patient with you as a new believer. The elders in the church are also tolerant of you, and they do not place high demands on a new believer. You may also have many personality flaws. This means that your fine flour is not as much as it will be in the future. The filling and anointing of the Holy Spirit you experience is also very limited. If the elders let you preach or share, you’ll often find that there is not much to say. And it seems that there is not a lot of the presence of the Holy Spirit. This means that your oil is limited. You’ll also find that although you are willing to help some people, you can't do much about it. This is because your wine is limited.

As Christians begin to pursue spiritual maturity and change, you begin to experience Christ more and more, and his life in you grows stronger. It is as if you have presented a ram as an offering. The ram is a bit bigger than the lamb. You have dealt with some sins, and you are more enthusiastic about serving than you were when you were first saved. You are also willing to help other unbelieving friends. When you first became a believer, you only felt that you were a sinner and you had sinful behavior. But you begin to discover that your sinful disposition is actually inside you. Often, you don’t want to lose your temper and do wrong things. But you feel that you can’t control yourself. Slowly, you also begin to discover many flaws in your character. You’d never noticed that your character was so bad, even after you became a believer. At this time, you need more of Christ’s redemption of your nature, which is represented by the fine flour, and more filling of the Holy Spirit, which is the oil. Gradually, you will be able to produce more wine in your life, which can uplift other people. Others will begin to praise you, saying that you have grown spiritually and changed, and you can begin to shepherd young believers.

The third level is recorded in verses 8-10. The bull is larger than the lamb and the ram, so the amount of fine flour has increased to three-tenths of an ephah, or 6.6 liters. The oil and wine also increase to half a hin, which is 1.83 liters. This represents that the life of Christ you experienced has increased in you. The degree to which you are filled with the Holy Spirit, as well as your power to produce and supply life to others, has also increased. You grow to be a more mature Christian, taking on more spiritual responsibilities in the church. You have a lot to offer spiritually to younger believers.

The three levels of sacrifices described in verses 1-16 are thank offerings given willingly to the Lord. Verse 3 says that whether an individual offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice, or fulfills a vow or freewill offering or offers a sacrifice at an appointed feast, it should be a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Verses 20-29 talk about the sin offering for unintentional sin, while verses 30-36 talk about the results of sinning deliberately. All of these spiritual sacrifices can please God.

In Numbers 14, God disciplined the evil spies and those who could not enter the Promised Land. The words about sacrifices in Numbers 15 are for Joshua, Caleb, and the others who would be allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Christians often use Joshua and Caleb to represent faith, and the ten evil spies to represent an evil, unbelieving heart. In the New Testament, Paul also thinks that way. First Corinthians 10:5 says, “With most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” (ESV) Therefore, it is not unreasonable for us to use sacrifices in Numbers 15 to represent the different stages of the Christian life. The Old Testament is a picture, while the New Testament is the reality. It's not that we cannot interpret the words of the Old Testament spiritually, but that we must use the correct spiritual reality to interpret these pictures.

After talking about these different levels of sacrifices in verses 1-16, the Lord goes on to give instructions on presenting a loaf of the first of their dough as a contribution when they enter the Promised Land of Canaan (vs. 17-21). We know that wheat represents Christ, and flour milling represents the milling on the cross. We should follow the example of Christ, know the power of his resurrection, and become like him in his death (NIV, Philippians 3:10). As we saw in the previous section, we must become like Christ in our daily life, becoming like him in his death. Then, we will also be part of His resurrection. We must let the life of Christ have a chance to grow in us, so that we can continue to experience Christ’s redemption, the changes he brings, the filling of the Holy Spirit and the increase in power.

But in the process of pursuing spirituality and spiritual maturity, we often encounter our own weaknesses and failures. Verses 22-31 describe two situations of sin and weakness. First, when the Israelites sinned unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation should offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, with its grain offering and its drink offering, and one male goat for a sin offering (ESV, Numbers 15:24). Second, if one person sinned unintentionally, he should offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering (ESV, Numbers 15:27). In this way, their collective sins or personal sins would be forgiven. But if they sinned deliberately, they must be cut off from their people. After giving these instructions, God records the story of a man who was caught violating the Sabbath. The Lord told Moses that the Israelites should stone him to death. Obviously, this person is reckoned to have sinned deliberately, so he was severely disciplined.

This is closely related to our experience of growing in the Christian life. We often have no intention to sin, but we still sin. As long as we confess our sins and repent, taking Christ as our sin offering, God will forgive our sins. As John the Apostle said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (ESV, 1 John 1:9). We must always confess our sins so that God will forgive all our sins. As we do, we will once again enter the cycle of fellowship of the divine life, and continue to change to be more like Him. But if we do not confess our sins, we will be cut off from the cycle of fellowship of the divine life. As the Lord Jesus said, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” (ESV, John 15:6).

How do we abide in the Lord? We need to let the word of the Lord abide in us. This is what Numbers 15:37-41 is saying. In this passage, God commanded the Israelites to make tassels on the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel to remind them to remember God's words and commands. This is also our experience in the New Testament. For example, the Lord Jesus said in John 15:7 (ESV), "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

Our relationship with the Lord can be compared to the relationship between the branches and the vine (John 15:2). The branches abide in the vine, allowing the sap of the vine to circulate throughout the vine and branches. The sap of the vine represents the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord abides in us, just as the sap abides in the branches. The Lord Jesus said in John 6:63, "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (ESV) The word of the Lord, which is the sap of the vine, is life. We must use all our wisdom to let the words of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16).

Before I had a smartphone, I used to write Scriptures and hymn stanzas on note cards and carry them in my pocket. When I had time, I would contemplatively read and sing these words. In this way, I abide in God’s word actively throughout the day, filled with the Holy Spirit.

An older lady whom I know from the Local Church Movement is actively pursuing spiritual maturity. She told me that for many years, she would copy out hymns, especially the chorus of the hymns, on a piece of paper. She would sing them from time to time while she rode the bus. She lived a very joyful life, filled with the word of the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

This practice is worth promoting. Now that we have smartphones and everything is easily available, it is even more convenient for us to practice these spiritual habits. Unfortunately, many people are inundated with messages in WeChat and Facebook on their cell phones, and they have very little time to practice spiritual disciplines. When the word of the Lord stops moving through us, like the sap moves through the branches, we will wither spiritually. Then, we will be cut off. Of course, many of us will not lose eternal life. But we have lost the joy and peace that comes from our fellowship with God.

God’s words in the Old Testament and the New Testament are consistent. The Bible says we have only one God (1 Corinthians 8:6) and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His method of speaking changes with the target audience, but the spirit of speaking and the inner meaning are consistent. The Bible says, “God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2, ESV) We need to learn to be a spiritual person who judges all things (1 Corinthians 2:15).

Numbers 15 paints a picture of how we as Christians can abide in the Lord, allowing his words to flow through us so we can remain in the fellowship of the divine life. As such, we will be a branch that bears much fruit. If we as branches do not bear fruit, the natural consequence is clear. “The Father is the vinedresser. Every branch that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (ESV, John 15:1-2).

 

 

Bible Study With Jairus - Numbers 11

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 11

This chapter begins with the Israelites complaining and arousing God’s anger against them, which resulted in some of the people being consumed by the fire of God.  They also complained to Moses about how they craved the leeks, cucumbers, fish, and meat back in Egypt.  God told Moses he would give the people meat, but Moses’ response was a bit confusing.  He said, “The people among whom I am   number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’  Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them and be enough for them?  Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them and be enough for them?” (Numbers 11:21-22, ESV).

A woman in our study said that Moses’ response was baffling.  God had led the Israelites out of Egypt with many signs and wonders.  Why would he doubt God’s ability and power to provide meat for the people? It didn’t seem to make sense. Moses even begged God to kill him because he was so overwhelmed by the demands of such a great number of people and didn’t want God to see his wretchedness.  God told Moses to appoint seventy elders to help him.  He took the spirit of Moses and put it upon the elders.  The woman asking the original question also asked if the Spirit of God on Moses would be lessened if it was put on the seventy elders or would Moses possibly be estranged from God.

After the Spirit of God was put on these elders, the Bible states that "As soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it." Why did they begin to prophesy, but then they didn’t do so anymore afterward?

Later in the chapter, a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua, Moses’ assistant, wanted Moses to stop them. Why? Moses' response was very positive. He said: "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (ESV, Numbers 11:29).

In the end, God’s judgment came upon those who craved meat in the form of a plague. This raises another question. Since God proposed to give meat to the Israelites, why would He kill them? Isn't this entrapment?

These are the questions that came up at the beginning of our Bible study.

One more question was asked regarding verses 1-3. God’s anger was kindled when he heard the people’s complaints. He "burned among them and consumed some at the outskirts of the camp" (Recovery Version).  A woman noted that the translation of the Chinese Union Version reads, “When God heard them, his anger was aroused. Then fire burned among them until it reached the outskirts of the camp." The question is, did the fire burn some people at the outskirts of the camp or only the tents at the outskirts?” She thought this was a warning from God.

We have no way of knowing, but we know the history of the Israelites. When the Israelites later rebelled against God even more, especially when they worshipped the golden calf, God’s anger was kindled toward them. The Lord let Moses go out to the tent of the meeting, which was outside the camp (Exodus 33:7). Then the pillar of cloud would fill the tent of the meeting. The pillar of cloud was with the Israelites whenever they camped (Exodus 13:21).  But here in Exodus 33, the pillar of cloud only filled Moses’ tent outside the camp. It meant that the Lord’s presence was mainly with Moses now. It may indicate that God’s presence was temporarily withdrawn from the majority of His people.

Of course, we know that God’s presence was always with the Israelites during their journey to the Promised Land.  However, it doesn’t mean that God can’t remove His presence temporarily or chastise His people.  It is also true in the New Testament sense. Sometimes we may sin and feel the loss of God’s presence.  But once we confess our sins, we can regain the presence of God.  We know Jesus will be with us always until the end of the world, but sometimes we may not feel His presence (Matthew 28:20).  Why? God wants to be present with us, but He will also chastise us by removing His presence if necessary.

Whether it burned the tents on the outskirts or some of the people, it indicates that God’s presence has not left the main areas of the tabernacle where the Israelites are. Later the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down (ESV, Numbers 11:2).  So this was indeed a warning.Verse 4 (ESV) says, “The rabble that was among them had a strong craving.  And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “oh that we had meat to eat!”  The question was asked, who is the rabble?  The note beside the word rabble refers to Exodus 12:38 (ESV), which says, “A mixed multitude also went up with them and very much livestock, both flocks, and herds.”  At that time, the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that they let them have what they asked (Exodus 12:36, ESV).  It could be that the “rabble” were those didn’t trust in God but were caught up in the Israelites favor and enjoying plundering the Egyptians.  They probably didn’t understand what it would cost them to follow the Israelites into the wilderness.  The same can be said when Jesus came to Earth.  Many of His disciples, including Judas, expected Him to be King over Israel, which would undoubtedly bring glory and wealth to them.  However, they soon discovered that Jesus was taking the path to the cross, leaving them at a total loss.  In the end, Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.  Jokingly, I said that if Judas looked at following Jesus as a gamble or some sort of investment, when he saw Him about to be crucified, he thought that he made the wrong choice and sold Jesus at a meager price.The “rabble” in verse 4 represents our flesh.  They came out of Egypt, which represents the world.  There were still parts of Egypt in them. As the Israelites were going through God’s trials in the wilderness, it can be likened to the transformation of the soul.  Moses represents the human spirit.  His job was to draw near to God, yet when he faced pressure in the flesh, his human spirit was suppressed and weakened.  This is a good spiritual picture of what Paul was talking about in Romans 8:6 when he said that setting the mind on the flesh is death, but setting the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Verse 4 says that the “rabble” were the first ones to complain about their cravings.  Then the Israelites also wept and complained about who was going to give them food.  It definitely looks like the Israelites were influenced by the rabble.  God’s purpose for providing heavenly manna, which represented His Spirit, to the Israelites, was to help them break away from the influence of Egypt and taste of his heavenly food, which would change them from the inside out (Jesus refers to Himself as the food from Heaven).  Unfortunately, even though they left Egypt, they were still under its influence, craving fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, and garlic.

Watchman Nee said that Satan is a deposed king who can only use his power through our flesh.  He attacks us from the outside to influence and control our mind, will, and emotions known as our soul, and attempts to suppress our spirit.  God works from the inside out, giving us life through the Holy Spirit represented by the manna, to change our soulish nature and body to glorify him.

I was discipling a fellow believer for several years, hoping to help him grow spiritually.  He loved the Lord and was faithful to attend meetings, and enjoyed fellowship with other believers.  I was encouraging him to go deeper in his prayer life and Bible study.  Unfortunately, he was so busy with school that experiments and thesis dominated his mind.  He wasn’t committed to prayer wholeheartedly.  I suggested that he take time to pray as he was walking to school from his dormitory, and I tried to train him to pray-read scripture, calling on the name of the Lord and singing praises while he was walking home from school.  He never did apply these things.  Later, I told him that it wasn’t because he didn’t have time to practice; He just wasn’t motivated.  His mind was too occupied with school, and his spirit was suppressed, keeping him from prayer and praise.  He has since moved on from our fellowship, but I hope he has made progress and had some breakthroughs.

Many Christians experience the same thing as the man in the story above.  It’s not that we don’t have time to pray but that we get easily distracted, or our minds are too occupied with other things.  Often our spirit is too suppressed to overcome the domination of the mind and flesh.  We should take time to eat a little manna every day like the Israelites.  Read God’s word, pray and slowly allow our spiritual life to grow to a place where it will overcome the suppression of our soul and the control of the flesh.

When Moses realized how angry God was about the Israelites complaints, he got mad too and complained to God how overwhelmed he was with the job he was expected to do.  A man in our study noted that Moses’s complaining was different than the Israelites.  Their complaints were against God, but Moses just wanted God to kill him, relieving him of the burden of his job.

At this time, God's response was to take His spirit that was on Moses and put it on the 70 elders. What was His intention? Remember what I said earlier about Satan stirring the intense craving of the "rabble"? Rabble represents our flesh which prompted the Israelites to complain, representing our flesh stirring our soul.   Together they suppressed Moses, who represents our spirit, making Moses feel weak and overwhelmed. What was God's solution at this time? It was to increase Moses’ spiritual power.

There is a teaching in the Local Church Movement that there should be more Christians during evangelistic meetings than unbelievers so that there is an atmosphere of faith and evangelism can be effective. If the unbelievers outweigh the believers during meetings, the spiritual air is thinner, making evangelism difficult.

This is a true statement. It can also be applied to Moses’ experience in Numbers 11. Many of the Israelites lived in the flesh and in the soul, while only Moses had the spirit of God, which made him feel lonely and weak. When the spirit of God was put on the 70 elders, Moses’ "spiritual environment" changed. Like the example I gave earlier, when there are more believers in the meeting, the spiritual air is thick, making the gospel easier to preach.  In Moses’ situation, when the spirit of God was also put on the seventy elders, it changed the atmosphere and made things easier for Moses, releasing him from suppression and making him happy.

Verse 25 specifically mentions that as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. A question was raised as to why they did not continue doing it. My guess is that the moment the Holy Spirit was being poured upon them, they prophesied under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but they may not have received the gift of prophecy. Verses 27-28 specifically mention that Joshua asked Moses to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying in the camp when the spirit rested on them.

It could be that they received the gifts or calling to be a prophet when the Holy Spirit filled them.  None of this occurred to Joshua, and he asked Moses to stop them.  Moses wasn’t about to stop them.  He realized that if more people were filled with the spirit, his job would be much easier.  Moses represents the life of God in our spirit.  If our soul gives Him a chance, He will become greater within us.

Moses didn't stop them because the Lord had helped him change the spiritual atmosphere. Instead, he said he wished that all of the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit on them (Numbers 11: 29). This prophecy is also confirmed in Joel 2:28, which says: One day God will pour His Spirit on all flesh. Joshua didn’t realize how Moses felt or God’s will for the situation.

At the end of the chapter, God killed some of the people who craved other food. This is about dealing with the flesh. God put his spirit on Moses and strengthened him in the spirit.  He also dealt with the outward behaviors of the flesh.  We experience this in our lives today.  God fills us with the Holy Spirit, but he also uses our circumstances to discipline us.  Numbers 11 is a good picture of how Christians experience dealing with the flesh, changing the soul, and growing spiritually.

Every Christian should also pursue the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I was saved in an evangelical church and had some knowledge about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but that wasn’t enough.  I eventually left the Local Church Movement to pursue the baptism of the Holy Spirit and learn more truths in the Pentecostal Movement.  When God filled me with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I fell and could not stand for quite some time.  I’m not saying this happens to everyone, but it is a manifestation of His power.  After the initial baptism, I experienced several other manifestations.  I would sometimes feel like electricity was running through my head, leading me to be more courageous.  I also received wisdom and gifts of the Spirit as well as healing in my body.  I have experienced demons being cast out of me.

There are many believers in evangelical churches that have varied views and prejudices about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Through my own experience with the power of the baptism, I realized that my efforts alone to grow spiritually and learn His truths were not enough.  Although we tried our best in the Local Church Movement to exercise the spirit and deal with the flesh, it came up short. The baptism of the Holy Spirit empowers us to stand against the attacks of the flesh and Satan. This is what Moses experienced in this chapter.  If we look at the Israelites as one collective person and Moses’ life as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we can see that the spirit expanded to the seventy elders, which equates to our soul being expanded by the spirit, increasing our power and ability to withstand attacks from the enemy on our flesh.

This point is crucial. I know that many people long for spiritual growth. They work hard to exercise their spirit, but we need God’s strength. This is what the baptism of the Holy Spirit can do.  Sadly, many have misunderstandings about the Pentecostal Movement and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, leading them to miss out on God’s blessings. When Moses was experiencing this, he was baptized by the Holy Spirit once again. After this baptism, not only did he gain strength, but it also spread among the Israelites. In our spiritual experiences today, we can also receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit at different times and in other ways as well.

In the Local Church movement, we work hard practicing the process of entering the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies from the outer courtyard by dealing with the sins of the flesh and the impurity of the soul and slowly coming near to God in the spirit. This method is from the outside to the inside. But the filling of the Holy Spirit is to allow the Holy Spirit to come out from the Holy of Holies to pass through the sanctuary and the outer courtyard. This method is from the inside to the outside. The two should complement each other to make us more spiritually mature.

I know that many people in the Charismatic Church have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but they are not necessarily spiritually mature. Why? They pay too much attention to the gifts of the spirit flowing from them and lack the discipline of dealing with the sins of the flesh on the outside.  There must be a balance of allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through you as well as you taking the time and discipline to read, study, and meditate on His Word.  

When John the Baptist announced Jesus, he mentioned two things.  Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29) which represents the work of the cross.  We can apply the work on the cross to deal with our flesh and soulish sins so we can come near to the Holy of Holies to fellowship with God.  The second message John the Baptist mentioned about Jesus is that He will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. This represents the work of the Holy Spirit. These two different works complement each other.  You cannot ignore either one of them.

The work of the cross was a one act event for Jesus, and he accomplished it on the cross. But for us, it is a continual act.  When we first believed Jesus, we received the work of the cross by faith. But it should not stop there.  Many believers have stopped there.  We should continually apply the work of the cross to deal with our flesh and soulish sins so we can become the same image as our Lord Jesus Christ.

Likewise, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is also not only one act or event. We must continually receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit indwelling in us as the life of God described in John 20:22 is one level of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 brings us to another level of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The first case is the Holy Spirit as life in us and the second case is the Holy Spirit as power on us.  Many people have stopped with the first level. However, we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Many people think the baptism of the Holy Spirit only gives us power and gifts outside. No.  Not only does it bring power and gifts outside, it also gives us power within to overcome the weakness in our soul or the strongholds in our flesh (2 Corinthians 10:4).  Once I read a parable about prayer.  Many people thought their prayers didn’t work and God didn’t hear them.  This parable says our prayer is like the worker digging a tunnel under a rocky mountain.  If you dig one foot on one side, then God will dig another food on the other side.  Eventually, if you keep digging, you will meet God in the middle.  But if you give up, God won’t do your part, so you will not meet Him.  It wasn’t God who wouldn’t answer your prayer; it was you who stopped praying.

This parable is a good illustration of the relationship between the work of the cross and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  We need them both.  Jesus did His part on the cross, and we need to apply His work in our experience by faith.  When we apply the work of the cross to deal with our flesh and sins in our souls, the Holy Spirit who lives in us will work on the other end to help us.  He helps us by strengthening us with more power through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  If we deny the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are basically refusing the help from the Holy Spirit.  I understand the Holy Spirit has other ways to help us, like groaning and interceding on our behalf (Romans 8:26) or convicting our sins (John 16:8), or reminding us what Jesus has said (John 14:26).  However, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a very powerful way for the Holy Spirit to help us.

Unfortunately, some camps or denominations of the body of Christ do not pay attention to the continual work of the cross.  They only take this as one act or event when they received Jesus as savior.  The result of doing this is to remain fleshy or soulish in our spiritual lives.  Although all of our flesh was crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), Paul charges us to “by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body” (Romans 8:13).  Then we will live.

Other camps or denominations only pay attention to apply the cross but deny the fact of the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  They claim that all believers are baptized once and for all when the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2.  Or they argue over the manifestations of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, especially the validity of speaking tongues but avoid pursuing the baptism of the Holy Spirit itself. They also often use the immaturity of believers who were baptized in the Holy Spirit to argue the validity of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There are two sides to one coin.  We need both.   If you were baptized with the Holy Spirit but lack holiness in your life, begin to apply more of the cross.  If you have weaknesses and strongholds that you can’t seem to overcome by applying the work of the cross, seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit.   The Holy Spirit will help you.  This was the case for Moses in this chapter.  When the rabbles (flesh) aroused the Israelites (soul), it eventually brought harm to Moses (spirit).  But when God baptized 70 elders with the same Holy Spirit Moses had, it relieved Moses's pressure.

This is why Moses wouldn’t stop those who were prophesying.   He even went so far as to say that he wished God would put His Spirit on all the prophets (Numbers 11:29)!  We all face strongholds as Moses did here, and we need the Holy Spirit’s help to deliver us.  Take time to pray and ask God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.   You may be surprised that this experience may not be what you were thinking or were taught.   I pursued this truth when I was involved in the Local Church Movement but didn’t receive it to the level I experienced in the Pentecostal movement.   There are many books and teaching on this subject.  I challenge you to look deeper so that you can experience what I and many others have.

Prophetic Dreams About Donald Trump

Prophetic Dreams About Donald Trump

Many Christians who yearn for the return of the United States to its Christian foundations support Donald Trump as a president because they see that Trump acknowledges God and supports and agrees with certain Christian values and principles. However, disheartenment and disappointment swept across believers’ hearts when election results surfaced. I was also very surprised. Yet, some prophets hold to their conviction that God will supernaturally intervene in American politics to bring President Trump back into the White House. I have been following these prophets closely and I believe their words are from the Lord. One such prophet even mentioned that God is confirming these words by giving other believers across the world dreams and visions. I believe I am one of these people whom God is speaking to through dreams about Trump, and that is why I am still standing with the prophets who hold to this view.

 

It’s About God

In actuality, it’s not about Trump. It’s about God and the revival he wishes to bring to the earth. Nowadays, people are debating whether or not God has handed us over to the enemy because we haven’t prayed enough. Although this was sometimes the case for the Israelites in the Old Testament, I don’t think it applies to our situation today. Through my own prophetic dreams, I have discerned that our current situation in America is instead heavily tied to the spiritual state of America, and God’s plan for it and the world. I believe Trump is only the tip of an iceberg of change. If he were in office, we would have an administration that promotes the Gospel. An administration that does the opposite is comparable to a train going in the wrong direction. Either way, the problem does not lie in the politics of it all. It’s that one kind of leadership is aimed at stopping the global revival that God is planning to release on this earth, and the other is willing to go along with it. I believe this is why the enemy fought so much to stop Trump’s re-election.

It is not just about Trump.

There is a decisive battle at play between Christian freedom in America and the future of America and the world. God has shown me many visions of a great revival that will come to the United States, China, and the Middle East. In a strange dream, God took me to Trump's office, and I felt God's presence abiding there. I discerned that this was God’s sign of approval that Trump was His chosen one for this season. I am convinced that the re-election of President Trump will be a divine intervention to prepare the international political environment for a future revival.

 

Fishing Dream, January 5, 2021

The morning after election results were released, I had a dream. I dreamt about a person fishing. I saw a mysterious person holding a fishing rod, but I couldn't see who he was. A fish had already been hooked, but the person holding the fishing rod was sliding the fish. A child in front of him held the line to help slide the fish. Fish-sliding is a common method in fishing. After a fish is hooked, the fish is not taken out of the water immediately. One first slides the fish so that the fish's strength gradually diminishes. Only then does the fisher find a suitable opportunity to bring the fish up out of the water. If you bring the fish up immediately after it is hooked, the fish can easily unhook itself and swim away. The revelation I received from the Holy Spirit regarding this dream was, “Do not be anxious, the fish has already been hooked, but you should slide it for a while before you bring it up.”

I think this relates to the recent election between Biden and Trump. Many Christians prayed for Trump to be re-elected. When they discovered that Trump had failed to win, they began to wonder whether or not it was really God’s will to re-elect Trump. Some believers even started to criticize certain prophets for making false prophecies and many prophets apologized for making such “false prophecies.” However, other prophets and Christians did not revoke their prophecies. They look forward to the time when God miraculously intervenes and brings Trump back to the White House.

Recently, I was listening to a program on the Victory Channel called Flash Point. The host interviewed Pastor Bill Johnson and his wife Beni. Beni mentioned that when she prayed and sought God about the election, God told her to wait. Beni and Kat Kerr both believe this battle is not over. Kerr even said that God took her to the future where she saw that Trump had eventually won and God's chosen people went out to the streets to cheer. She also said that God told her to eat cake and celebrate this victory.

When Trump was in the White House, many people were against him and betrayed him. Many things did not go smoothly for him. Although God raised up Trump to help Christians and America return to faith in God, Trump could not and cannot solve all our problems. Let’s consider his re-election: if Trump is successfully re-elected and if the leftists still make things difficult for him, how much will he be able to do in the next four years? Or, if Trump is successfully re-elected and the Church is not revived after four years, won’t those on the left side continue to oppose God? Won’t they get stronger?

Unfortunately, Trump cannot be president another four years after that, so who can American Christians rely on? We must turn to God. Trump was and is simply a judge for a time. Just as God raised leaders in the Old Testament, Trump was raised up by God to free God’s chosen people from control and turn their face back to the Lord. We should certainly thank God for raising up the judges because God used them mightily to save the Israelites and bring justice. But let us not forget the fundamental reason why the Israelites were handed over to the enemy. It was because they turned away from God and worshipped idols.

 

Fierce Spiritual Battles, March 15, 2021

In some dreams, the Holy Spirit invites me to participate in spiritual warfare. From the evening of March 14 until the morning of March 15, I remained in a spiritual battle. First, I was fighting with a spirit who declared himself as a political spirit. Then I rode in a strange-looking war vehicle to fight with other enemies. This special war vehicle was like an army tank. As we rode, I fired toward the enemy. The unique part of the dream is that I was not fighting alone. I was fighting along with other tanks as an army. The tank I rode in was moving very fast and it went across different terrains such as ones with rivers and rocks. The spiritual warfare that night was very fierce. A great battle had been fought in the spiritual realm. After this dream, I heard testimonies from other prophetic people that they had difficulty sleeping that night.

 

Trump “second,” March 29^th, 2021

On the morning of March 29, 2021, I had the following dream about Trump. In the dream, I was sitting on a broad hill watching a movie. I sat below the hill facing the higher part of the hill. The movie’s name was “Donald J Trump Jr.” I noticed the suffix “Jr.” at the end of his name, but I did not know what it meant. What trigged my interest most was that the star of the movie was an African American boy. I did not see President Trump in the movie nor the boy, but I was told the movie featured this boy. Suddenly, I saw an airplane in the shape of a hummer car fly over the space where I had been sitting. Instead of watching the movie, I entered it. In the skies, I saw many eyes looking here and there. They appeared to be the eyes of a band of angelic armies and while they searched and watched, I did not see any battles take place. I discerned the battle was won. Then I realized it was a movie.

God often speaks to me like this in my dreams. First, I see a movie playing on a screen and then I will enter the movie for some time. Afterward, I will come out and return to seeing it playing on a screen. Sometimes the dream language is personal in that God speaks to me using language I am familiar with. Some messages are like word plays from the Holy Spirit.

For example, in Chinese, the words “black horse” refer to something out of the blue, or unexpected or sudden. Also, the vehicle brand “Hummer” translates to “strong horse.” I felt by combing the African American kid with the hummer- shaped airplane and the movie title, “Donald J. Trump Jr.,” God was meaning to show that something unexpected regarding Donald Trump is about to happen. This may happen suddenly like a black horse. I think the word “Jr.” from the movie title is not referring Trump’s son but instead means “second.” I feel it means that Trump will appear to the public a “second” time.

What stood out to me the most in this dream were the searching eyes and the revelation that the star of the movie was an African American boy. I felt the eyes may have represented angelic armies that accompanied the airplane. I got the feeling that Trump was inside the plane, but I did not see him. Nonetheless, I feel there is a protection from a heavenly army  upon President Trump when he returns. The eyes could also be representative of God searching for hearts who still believe for Trump’s return.

It’s possible an African American boy plays the important role in Trump’s movie because of the role Donald Trump plays in supporting the black community. Trump is sometimes portrayed by the media as a racist; however, some African Americans have vocalized their support of Trump because of his proactive work among their community and race like helping with prison reform. Perhaps God will turn the heart of the African American community toward Trump when he returns to the White House just as God turned the hearts of the ten tribes of Israel to David, even afterward anointing him to be King over all of Israel.

Two final things I’d like to share is the sensation I had during the dream, and the airplane. When the airplane rose over the hill, it came with great force. Airplanes can represent ministries, or they may symbolize the rising of the Church. Lastly, I felt joy and celebration. As Kat Kerr said, we will celebrate greatly when Trump returns. Perhaps one day we may see an African American man act as the star of a movie called “Donald J. Trump Jr.” or “The return of Donald J. Trump.” Whatever God’s purposes are, I pray that they will be brought forth. Let it be as we stand believing for this prophecy of Trump’s re-election to come to pass. May God have His way as we await the sudden return of Donald J. Trump again.

 

Bible Study with Jairus - Comparing Local Church Movement and Pentecostal Movement

Bible Study with Jairus - Comparing Local Church Movement and Pentecostal Movement

 

SYNERGY PAPER

 

Introduction

The literal interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 has shaped the general attitude toward prophecy in many modern evangelical churches. Verses 8-10 state,

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.^[1]

 

Those who deny modern-day prophets, or that prophetic gifts exist today, argue that “when the complete comes” refers to the canonization of the Bible. That is, giving and receiving revelation like that which occurs when someone prophesies came to an end after the Bible was written and compiled.

Individuals who adhere to this belief are called Cessationist. Dr. John F. MacArthur, a Calvinist pastor and teacher, is one of the leading voices today in support of cessationism. MacArthur supports his view by commenting on what he believes is the conclusion many scholars have reached regarding the meaning of “perfect.” He states, “Significantly, though these scholars disagree on the identification of the “perfect,” they all reach the same conclusion­­—namely, that the miraculous and revelatory gifts have ceased.”

 

On the contrary, there are others who claim that prophets exist today. In fact, in many Pentecostal and Charismatic churches prophets speak to congregants and prophecy is given in the church setting. I was not brought up spiritually in either of these movements. Rather, I was saved and spiritually educated in the Local Church Movement (LCM) associated with Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. In this denomination, the leaders do not recognize the kind of foretelling prophecy like that which is practiced in modern prophetic movements and Pentecostal/Charismatic churches. They do advocate a form of prophecy though. The LCM practices a unique form of “prophesying.” They practice what is called forthtelling. Charismatics understand prophecy to be foretelling.

Nee and Lee’s form of prophecy is supported by the interpretation of two scriptures: (1) “Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church” (1 Corinthians 14:4) and (2) “For you can all prophesy one by one” (1 Corinthians 14:31). The LCM rejected “speaking in tongues” since the Scripture suggests “those who speak in a tongue build up themselves.” They believed and encouraged everyone to prophesy so as to build up the church rather than self, just as the second part of the verse states. The LCM uses the acronym “PSRP” (Pray Reading, Study, Recite and Prophesy) to teach their members how to effectively prophesy.

While many believers were positively impacted by the LCM’s style of prophecy, their understanding and practice of prophecy does not form a complete biblical picture of prophecy because they overlook the aspect of “foretelling.” They also do not promote the baptism or gifts of the Holy Spirit. I learned many things about prophesying from the LCM that helped me grow in my spiritual life, but I also learned a lot from Renewal denominations on how to connect to the supernatural realm through the gift of prophecy. Leading a disciplined and biblically knowledgeable life are essential just as foretelling and moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit are essential Christian experiences/tools that I had been lacking for many years. My experience has shown me that there exist many genuine prophets and Holy Spirit-led prophecies among persons of the Modern-Day Prophetic Movement.

Caution can be given to both kinds of churches—LCM and renewal churches—so as not to become false prophets but neither neglect the gift of prophecy that is still alive today. Among those with a genuine prophetic gift, some may lack a strong basis of biblical knowledge and discipline which could help them understand more of the Word of God systematically. Among the LCM, they have extinguished the flame of the Holy Spirit. Both parties­­ would benefit from embracing each other’s practices. This would enhance prophecy for the Charismatic because they would have a more solid understanding of the Word and perhaps more precise interpretations to offer. The LCM, on the other hand, would experience a more abundant life as a congregation and encounter living in greater power.

The Lord showed me in a prophetic dream that these two rivers outlined above (denominations/streams) would converge, and a new movement would begin. Combining these two ways of prophesying will bring a convergence of Holiness with Power or Word with Spirit to usher in a new age in church growth and bring revival to China and the rest of the world.

This paper will discuss my personal experiences with prophecy in both the LCM and modern-day prophetic churches. The context of the LCM church and my involvement with them will be outlined. My journey into Pentecostal and Charismatic congregations will also be shared. A synergy of the context and my experiences form the basis for this project: that prophecy and the gifts of the Spirit are necessary components for ushering in revival to the body of Christ, Chinese congregants in my context, and the nation of China. 

 

Context

 

The Local Church Movement

The Local Church Movement began with Watchman Nee in the 1920s in China. It was one of the most controversial Christian movements in modern Chinese church history. It is considered by some the only denomination that originated from China and spread all over the world. Though its numbers of congregants are still small compared to many mainline churches, it may be the only denomination that spread outside of China that has a relatively large number of believers who are not Chinese. Watchman Nee’s writings also influenced many denominations in the West and other parts of the world.

 In later years, Nee’s coworker, Witness Lee, established more Local Churches in Taiwan and in the United States. Local Churches spread to many other parts of the world. In 1952, Watchman Nee was put in prison and later sent to a labor camp until he died in 1972. Watchman Nee allegedly entrusted the leadership of LCM to Witness Lee.  However, some coworkers of Watchman Nee did not agree with Witness Lee and, therefore, accused him of teaching heresy. This accusation was further exacerbated when many other allegations regarding the LCM were published in the West in the 1970s. These publications included the infamous books, The Mindbenders and The God-Men.

In these books, the authors defamed the LCM by accusing them of several things. Aside from being labeled one of the most dangerous cults in America, they were also charged with engaging in “deceptive, coercive, and destructive practices.”^[2] Other accusations included brainwashing, mind-bending, and fear tactics to keep members. The Defense and Confirmation Project of 2017 stated,

The first edition of The God-Men [italics mine], written and self-published by the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP), contained gross misrepresentations of the teaching of Witness Lee concerning such things as biblical authority and morality. It also sought to associate Witness Lee and the local churches with mental manipulation and Eastern mystical practices.[3]

 

In this wave of criticism, the Christian Research Institute in the United States also published an article claiming that the LCM was teaching heresies in the 1970s. The Local Church responded by filing lawsuits against these two books. The Local Church won the lawsuits.

In China, people still saw Western and American Christianity as the authority in terms of judging whether a group was heretical or not. As a result of this article and other books originating in the West, the Chinese authorities, despite the court ruling, considered this group heretical and cracked down on some of their meetings. Many Chinese believers in this movement suffered severe persecution in the 1980s. This experience also had damaging effects on the believers who lived in the United States. In early 2000, Christian Research Journal, led by Hank Hanegraaff, held an investigation on the Local Church Movement. They issued a special publication named “We Were Wrong,” as a way of apologizing for their careless article in the 1970s. They accepted the LCM as a genuine Christian movement henceforth.^[4] Many other Christian organizations, like Fuller Theological Institute, also issued similar statements declaring the LCM a genuine Christian group.^[5]

 When the apologies surfaced, I tried to share them with my Chinese Christian friends who thought the LCM was heretical. It seemed other Chinese Christians did not care about this though. Many people today still hold a critical view against the LCM and/or do not care about them. American and other Western churches showed diminished interest in LCM because they did not keep momentum in growth in the United States in the 1970s. Even if the LCM is a genuine Christian movement comprised of genuine believers, some of their teachings and practices are indeed controversial.

Although practices of this group may be controversial, there are some positive things that can be highlighted. Rick Joyner, a well-known American prophet, comments in one of his blogs on prophecy that he considers it important to learn from the differences of others that exist within the body.[6] The evidence that God used the LCM or was present in their meetings and years of ministry is clearly seen in the number of conversions they produced, and in the strong centering on Jesus and authority of God’s word that it produced. Afterall, the LCM was the only movement that originated in China and spread to the West and the rest of the world. Based on this evidence, I argue that God’s Spirit did bless their movement and spread it. The question now is, “What message did the Lord want to bring to the churches in the West and the rest of the world through the LCM?”

 

Function and Practice of the Local Church Movement

The Local Church Movement refers to themselves as the Lord’s Recovery. They believed their calling was to recover all the truths that were lost among many generations of the Church. It has been said that Watchman Nee had a vast amount of knowledge from reading a lot of Christian literature throughout history and from reading the Bible hundreds of times. He gleaned a lot from different eras of Christianity. Members of the LCM believed their organization succeeded due to the degradation of Western churches. Some may be offended with this idea, but there are many Christian leaders in the West who agree that there are problems in Western Christianity that prevent the body of Christ there from advancing in spiritual things. 

Many teachings and practices from this movement have already impacted Western churches. For example, it was the Local Church Movement thatirst started the model of cell groups or small groups, even as early as the 1940s under the leadership of Watchman Nee. Witness Lee further developed these in Taiwan. In following years, these cell groups were instituted by the famous Korean evangelist David Yonggi Cho and they circulated in Korea. Many western churches also later adopted this model. Nowadays, cell groups or small groups are common in almost every American church. The LCM cannot take credit for being the originators of such groups, but they were pioneers in reintroducing, practicing and promoting small groups to make up for the lack of intimacy in large church gatherings.

Other examples of how the LCM functioned are provided. The LCM strongly opposed the typical laity system in Christendom. They removed the position of pastors because they believed every believer should function as a priest to God. Since there were no pastors in the meetings to preach the sermons, the meetings were open to every believer to speak or “prophesy” for the Lord. This was based on their understanding that “you can all prophesy one by one” (1 Corinthians 14:31).

The LCM also placed a lot of emphasis on Ephesians 4:12 which says, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” To them, this meant the body should not be seeking personal gain, but instead seek to build up the church. They encouraged all to speak as a pastor or a professional speaker on behalf of the Lord to edify the congregation. The church developed many practical ways to help people commonly called “lay members” in mainline denominations, to speak the truth of God. They also helped many lay members like me gain biblical knowledge and develop teaching gifts. These opportunities for growth may not be possible in a traditional church setting where only the designated members do most of the speaking.

The leaders in the LCM understood that unless every believer immersed themselves in the Word of God and spent time in prayer, one would hardly have anything to share that edifies the church. In the 1940s, an elder in a church in Shanghai Yu, Chenghua, under the leading of Watchman Nee, translated a book called A Short and Easy Method of Prayer into Chinese. In this book, Madame Jeanne Guyon briefly explains how believers may enter the presence of God by praying the Word of God. Her book greatly influenced the Local Church Movement^[7]. Witness Lee further developed Guyon’s teaching and called it “pray reading.” This was his most impressive practice in the LCM, as commented on by Hank Hanegraaff when he conducted his investigative research into the LCM in early 2000.

Pray reading is the first of the four steps developed by the LCM to prepare believers for “prophesying.” The other steps, study, recite and prophesy, form PSRP. In the LCM, prayer and meditation were given top priority. Pray reading is a unique practice, similar to the Catholic Church’s practice of “Lectio Divina.” In Protestant terminology, this refers to meditation. Pray reading actively combines both the written Word of God and prayer to God into one practice. It is a simple practice and very easy to employ. Members are encouraged to repeat a single verse or multiple phrases of a verse in prayer, either silently or out loud, for a certain period of time. Believers are encouraged to speak louder than softer when reading.

The LCM believed that once a person opened their mouth to make a vocal declaration, it would help them move past the distractions in their mind and engage with their spirit-man more easily. Wesley Campbell, who is a prophet in the modern prophetic movement, teaches something similar. Wesley taught that once a person opens their mouth, their mind does not work. This habitual practice helped members enter the presence of God and receive spiritual revelation.

The LCM also practices “calling on the name of the Lord.” This can also be practiced both silently or out loud, though practicing it out loud or vocally was more encouraged to exercise the spirit. Paul teaches that there will be life and peace for the one who sets their mind on the Spirit; death for the one who sets their mind on the things of the flesh (Romans 8:6). A lot of “spiritual death” in the modern church is due to believers setting their minds on the things of the flesh. Teachings like “calling on the name of the Lord” and “pray reading” were developed and promoted to help believers get out of their minds and engage their spirit-man.

Christians also claim they do not have time to read the Bible. If they do read it, they often scan through it quickly. It is very hard to absorb Scripture into one’s spirit when little is masticated. Many Christians do not experience more spiritual growth, even though they attend church every week and even read the Bible, because they are not meditating on the Word. Members of the LCM encouraged believers to digest the Word of God like a cow digests its food. A cow first takes in the food into its stomach and then regurgitates it many times before fully digesting. In the process of regurgitation, the cow chews its food several times. In this way, the body receives more nutrients from the food.

A prophet of the Apostolic-Prophetic Movement (AP), named James Goll, wrote a book called, The Lost Art of Intercession. In it, Goll describes the meditation of the Word of God as a lost art. This seems especially true for many Protestants who abandoned teachings in Catholicism that embraced this practice. Although modern-day church leaders like Goll may think this practice was lost, I do not believe it was. It was greatly endorsed and practiced among the LCM.

The LCM understood the importance of filling one’s spiritual car with fuel. Diligently studying and reciting the Bible and other spiritual books were greatly encouraged. These represent the next two practices of “study” and “recite.” LCM leaders believed that mental capability was created by God so that one can learn from others alongside receiving inspiration directly from God. They believed that if a person could not remember a quote or took a long time to find the right verse, this would impair one’s ability to become a good speaker and hinder the presentation of the Gospel. Instead, if believers committed the Bible to memory, like a pharmacist places and labels all their drugs in order, one could find what they need when the time comes. The LCM even conducted Bible reading competitions and prizes were given to the winners. These prizes included free Bibles, spiritual books, and free airline tickets to join denominational conferences.

The last step of PSRP is “prophesy.” This practice in the Local Church setting does not include “foretelling.” The Modern-Day Prophetic Movement recognizes “foretelling” as biblically “prophesying,” but does not only attribute it to the prophets in the Bible. They believe laypeople can also participate in this kind of prophecy. The LCM does not recognize or promote modern-day prophets or prophetic gifts. Their understanding of prophesying is “speaking for God, speaking God forth, and ministering God and Christ into people.”^[8]

The LCM believes that “speaking God forth” means no one should speak about trivial things. It rather means that one should spend time in prayer to receive revelation from God so that their speaking is indeed a revelation from God. The phrase “minister and dispense God and Christ to people” is measured against its effectiveness. A member, for example, cannot just say they spoke and therefore fulfilled their obligation to build up the church. They must measure their effect by seeing if the message edified other members.

To assist in the practice of PSRP, a book called Morning Revival was compiled weekly to give members written material for pray reading and spiritual reading. It also contained suggested Bible reading plans. Members are encouraged to have daily morning prayer time and study the material to prepare for their speaking on Sundays.

By using the PRSP model, many members in the LCM learned to speak eloquently and to encourage, edify, and build up other members and the church at large. This practice caused many members to grow up spiritually, because the Word of God was given space to transform their lives. However, this was as far as prophecy went in the LCM. The LCM held caution and neglect toward foretelling prophesy. For my wife and I this was a great disappointment because no one in the LCM was able to predict if we would one day have a child. This was a personal inquiry that I sought answers to after ten years of barrenness.

 

Ministry Journey

 

Personal Involvement with LCM

I never planned to become involved with the Local Church Movement. I was born and raised in China to a family that worshiped Buddha. My father was an atheist and my mother was a devout follower of Buddha. My great grandparents and grandparents worshipped another local idol. Our house was built on a former Buddhist temple which was demolished during the Cultural Revolution. Reflecting on my early experiences, I now see that God spoke to my heart and led me on a journey to know Him even though I did not realize it at the time. 

A Korean prophet confirmed this in 2017 when he told me that the Holy Spirit had been leading my steps onto a path to know Him. I believe this to be true. In high school, I started to sense that I had a calling on my life to do greater things, beyond what I could imagine at that time. I started to prepare myself. The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart concerning which college to attend after I took the college entrance exam. He also placed a strong burden on my heart to study in the United States after graduating. When I failed to be accepted into my college graduate program, I understood it was the Lord closing the door to stay in China. This forced me to go on a journey to the United States but by first studying in England.

While I was in my first year of graduate study at the London School of Economics, I had an encounter with God. The weight of the Lord came upon me, convicting me of my need for Him, and I accepted salvation. With three hundred dollars in my pocket and a one-way ticket, I went to the United States for my second year of graduate study at the University of Southern California. I had no money to pay for tuition and no place to stay. After spending a whole day outside the registration office struggling with what to do, I decided it would be better to return to China. In desperation, I prayed, “God, I am such a sinner. Do you still remember me?”

 Not too long after, I met a Chinese Christian in the street who was a member of The Church in Los Angeles. He invited and led me to their facility called Brother House. The Brother House was located near my school campus, and there I received practical help and spiritual training. It turns out that all my contact with other ministries during this time of my life were with groups associated with the LCM. According to Jesus, nothing happens if the heavenly Father does not permit it (Matthew 10:29). I believe these occurrences were not a coincidence but a divine setup. It was God leading me. Many other members of The Church believed that I was sent by God to join them.

I was astonished by how this time of despair in my life turned around. While living at the Brother House, I saw God’s favor. They allowed me to stay there for free the first year. Nobody ever asked me to pay rent. When I started to work a year later, I began to pay rent and gradually pay back what I gained via donations. A lovely Chinese Christian, affectionately called “Grandpa Chen,” led this on-campus group. The group operated in love, and people who opposed Witness Lee and his teachings were also members of this congregation. In this context, even though I was aware of different opinions against the LCM, I was still willing to learn what Watchman Nee and Witness Lee taught.

During the first two years of my Christian life, I was very lukewarm and often did not have much to say when it was my turn to “prophesy” in our congregation times. Sometimes I said nothing or said something very shallow. In 2004, I had an encounter with the Lord. Jesus appeared to me during a conference through an internal vision and told me that He would come back once the body of Christ was built up. After this vision, I became enthusiastic in practicing the PSRP steps. I made them a habit in my life. One day when I finished pray reading a verse, I went back to work feeling as if I were walking down the stairs into a cloud. I realized I had entered the presence of God unknowingly by immersing myself in His Word and meditating on it.

I am thankful that God used my time in the LCM to develop my teaching gift and a prayer life. Although I enjoyed my time with the LCM, I came to understand that the kind of prophecy taught in the modern prophetic movement is not an incorrect form of prophesying, but biblical. In 2015, I became connected with churches outside the LCM. This is how I became aware of ministries like John Wimber’s Vineyard Movement and Randy Clark’s Global Awakening. Wimber’s teaching on “do the stuff” encouraged everyone to pray for the sick and do the stuff that Jesus taught. Randy Clark’s “little ole me” is another saying used to equip many to practice healing. Randy emphasizes that if God can use him, who is just a regular guy, God can use anyone. I began to believe that God wanted to use me in a greater way.

 

Validity of the Modern-Day Prophetic Movement

By 2015, my wife and I had been married for ten years. Although we wanted a child, we were unable to have one. We started to think something might be wrong when we realized we were not getting pregnant without prevention. From 2010 to 2014, we attempted in vitro fertilization (IVF) five times. All our attempts failed. Our IVF journey ended when top medical professionals diagnosed my wife with premature ovarian failure. This meant that we would never be able to have a child naturally. During this time, we also tried Chinese herbal remedies, but they too failed. I felt completely hopeless. Even our egg donor bailed at the last minute.

I began to consider that the Lord may have another way of fixing our barrenness. I desired divine healing and prophetic words from the Lord about this. I decided to reach out to the older, more experienced believers in my denomination. They were loving and caring toward my wife and I, but they did not have a vision or prophetic word from the Lord to give to us. Some members said that it was the Father’s will for us, and we needed to accept it. Others said that it was God’s wisdom for us to have more time to serve Him. We could not help but think it was either our sin or ancestral sins that prevented us from having children. With all their biblical knowledge, my church elders still could not prophetically nor supernaturally minister to us. They could not tell me when or if I would have children, or if there was a reason I did not have them. I came to understand that they could not do this because they did not believe in these practices. I was desperate to hear what the Spirit of God was saying about my situation.

Like many other evangelical churches, my wife and I had no interest or knowledge about the Pentecostal movement or AP during this time in our lives. We had general impressions or thoughts about Pentecostals such as, “speaking in tongues may be from the devil,” “false prophecies,” and “deceived by the evil spirits.” Although these negative labels could have given us false impressions, our experiences eventually showed us a different perspective.

One preacher in our denomination commented that in his many years of “prophesying” in Local Church settings, he never saw what is described in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 happening in the LCM. Verse 24 and 25 state, “But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, ‘God is really among you.’” This preacher was commenting on the fact that he had never seen people bow down during LCM meetings claiming that the Lord was truly among them because of a prophecy. I, on the other hand, did see this happen when I later participated in prophetic meetings in Pentecostal/Charismatic churches. I came to realize this preacher’s observation pointed to the reality that something was missing in the way the LCM prophesied.

In 2014, I made a vow to God that I would never stop praying that year unless I received healing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Lord had put a strong burden on me to receive His baptism, but I did not know how due to a lack of teaching and understanding. I would go out every afternoon to a park to pray until I hit rock bottom in the later part of 2014. At this time, the doctor gave us the final diagnosis that we could not have a baby naturally. I had lost all hope in modern medicine, and none of my prayers had worked thus far.

This disappointment became a spiritual turning point in my life. I realized the way I prayed might be lacking something. As the Bible says, God’s people went to captivity because they lacked knowledge (Isaiah 5:13). I did not know how to receive healing, prophetic words, or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I gradually began leaving my denomination and turning to other churches to seek help. I started to listen to teachings on healing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit on YouTube.

I began listening to healing evangelists such as Norvel Hayes, Kenneth E. Hagin, and Benny Hinn. I learned there are many healing evangelists nowadays and there were many healing revivalists in the past. I also learned from Andrew Wommack, Derek Prince, Reinhard Bonnke, and many others that being baptized in the Holy Spirit gives a believer access to speak in their own prayer language, tongues. Andrew Wommack states it this way:

There are other believers who acknowledge a second experience with the Holy Spirit which releases power, but they refuse the part of speaking in tongues, or at least say it’s not for everyone. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is like a pair of tennis shoes: It always comes with tongues.[9]

 

As I read more books about the Pentecostal movement and listened to preachers connected to this denomination, my spiritual eyes were opened.

I attended as many healing services as I could. In October 2015, my wife and I went to New York to attend Benny Hinn’s healing service. They spent a large portion of the service asking for donations. There was also a “prophet” who allegedly sensed and called out people’s first names to keep encouraging the audience to give one thousand dollars to receive blessings. After the healing service finished, we were very disappointed. However, during the meeting, Benny Hinn called out a word of knowledge that a lady named Elizabeth was there and that God would give her a child. Though skeptical as a medical professional, my wife said to me that if her name was called out, she would believe all of it was true. Unfortunately, Benny Hinn only called out a lady named Elizabeth. Although reluctant, I still persuaded my wife to stay until the end to receive prayer. When this did not result in anything miraculous, my wife further doubted these healing services. This was our first healing service in a Pentecostal church, and we had put so much hope in it.

 Whether my wife believed for it or not, I listened to many teachings from Kenneth E. Hagin and was amazed by his gift of healing. When I heard Hagin’s son, Wayne, was having a meeting in New Jersey, I also went there. I asked Wayne to pray that I would have a healing anointing. He said it was up to God, but he still prayed that if God were willing, He would give me a healing anointing. In the evening, I had a dream where Jesus appeared to me and told me that he already gave me a healing anointing. I replied, “No, you did not.” In the dream, Jesus asked me to raise my right hand. I raised my right arm and it felt like it was burning. Then He asked me to raise my right hand again and my right hand burned. I understood that this gift did not manifest in the day service, but in the dream in the evening Jesus showed me that He had given it to me.

I came back telling my wife I had a healing anointing to pray for her. I started to pray for her every day. Unfortunately, my wife did not believe me. She told me she did not believe that I could heal even a mosquito. Soon enough, I came across a man named Randy Clark on YouTube. He said a man named James Maloney had the gift of healing and when he prayed, even metal in pacemakers dissolved.

I listened to James Maloney and was amazed by his prophetic gifting. When I learned that he was going to take a sabbatical for a year, I decided to fly to his last service in Kentucky. However, when I arrived, I discovered that James had sprained his ankle and did not show up for the meeting. I was so disappointed. One of his associates, who is also a graduate from Randy Clark’s supernatural school ministered in his place. I had brought an airplane pillow and asked him to pray over it to heal my wife. This did not seem to work. This man called out many words of knowledge, and one of them was related to nose congestion. I stepped out in faith to claim this healing for myself. It did not come true for me either.

Despite these failed attempts, something did happen at this meeting. For the first time, I felt a physical tingling sensation on my face. I was told by a lady who had a connection with Global Awakening that this was the Holy Spirit. When I went back to Maryland, I found a local church to join that was associated with them. While there, I felt an even stronger sense of tingling on my face during worship. I understood this was a confirmation that God wanted me to stay at this church. This is how I became more involved with Global Awakening.

During the trip to Kentucky, something else important happened. When I went to the altar to receive prayer from the pastor, I received my first prophetic word. The man said,

Brother, you will begin to flow. You are getting an understanding of this. You are going to pray for the sick. You have compassion and deep compassion for sickness and people that are hurting and have no hope. The Lord says, “I will raise you.” You are going to have a voice, and God says, “I am going to use you.”

 

I never dreamt that God would give me a ministry, especially because in the LCM we were not encouraged to have our own ministries. They taught us to carry out the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee to help spread the truths God gave to them. I did not know God had plans for my life. Even though the prophetic word sounded simple, my teacher, Kim Maas, from my prophetic class at Global Awakening, encouraged me by saying, “this is a powerful prophecy.” I started to wonder what my future would be like and what that word meant. I began to eagerly pursue the gift of prophecy. I attended more prophetic conferences, read books, and took prophetic certification classes at Global Awakening.

In October, I convinced my wife to join me for another trip to North Carolina, to receive prayer from Mahesh Chavda. I had read an article that he once prophesied to a woman, and that woman conceived a year later.^[10] He even jokingly says in his own preaching, “When Mahesh comes to town, every woman gets pregnant.” Before going, I told his staff we were coming, through an email. To our surprise, they treated us like VIPs. Not only did they reserve us a front-row seat, but another leading person in his ministry took the initiative to look for us. He arranged both a prophetic and a healing team to pray for us at the same time.

He told us he saw a vision of “two lines crossing together” and it could represent a convergence point. That is, the Lord led me to this place and it represented an intersection or convergence point for my life. He said he strongly felt that the Lord was leading me in a different direction. The Word made sense to me because I was secretly learning from the Pentecostal movement but had not officially left my denomination. I was experiencing a lot of internal struggle about leaving the LCM because many believers there helped me.

Another man with a prophetic gift told me he saw me with the gift of healing. He told me it was the Lord’s will for me to practice healing prayers on my wife, and that the Lord would heal my wife through my prayers. This was my exercise. He confirmed what I experienced in the meeting with Hagin. Another lady saw a vision of the Lord using a sword to cut off the dragon in my wife’s family line, removing the ancestral curses. Later, Andrew Canon White and Chavda prayed for us with anointing oil. The prophetic lady said she felt whatever needed to be taken care of in the spiritual realm had been completed, but that it often takes ten months to a year to manifest in the physical realm.

This trip blessed us, but we were still unsure if anything would change. When I came back from North Carolina, I joined my first Global Awakening conference called Cultivate Revival in Pennsylvania. At that time, I already experienced a breakthrough in speaking in tongues and received the baptism of the Spirit to some degree. In this meeting, when two Global students prayed for me, the Holy Spirit fell on me as well as two of them, and none of us could stand. We backed up a dozen steps and fell on the chairs behind us. A student prophesied over me as I tried to support a woman receiving prayer while waiting for my turn. I watched her receive deliverance from a demon. It was the first time I had seen anything like this. She kept coughing, and then the demon was gone. The student that prophesied over me said,

You are a warrior. You come from a lineage of warriors. The Lord wants you to take the authority that has been given to you while you are in this revival meeting because you are a very powerful man. When you came to pray for this young lady, you brought a force that enveloped her. I felt this, and I can even smell this and taste this. However, I don’t know if you can tell what is happening. Man, God has this gift of healing for you, and this is going to come more and more, and become something you can have more confidence in because it is so strong on you. He is assigning this to you right now. Your hand is so mighty in healing and brings freedom and breaks off chains from people. It is all over you, man. He trusts you with His mysteries because you dare to stand before the throne of God and dispel the things that were spoken when you were a young lad. You have come to understand not only the kingdom of God. You have reached the throne of God. Now you have come here to receive the outpouring God has downloaded to you. It is so amazing. God wants to expand His territory in your soul. He is always there in your spirit. He wants you to begin to be there in the morning to see your territory because he is expanding it more. He wants you to feel His presence. He might come and stand beside you. He might stand behind you. He might stand to the side. But He wants you in that territory, so you look out and see the fact that even heavenly hosts come to your territory to find solace from the battle. Even the heavenly hosts come from heaven to your territory to get away from the battle. They come so they can receive the refreshment God has placed in your territory. I know it is deep, but this is what God is telling me. In you, He is providing a place where souls can come to find sanctuary from whatever is going on, to receive refreshment so they can regain strength and go to battle again. In your territory, He is expanding it and making you aware of more and more of this universe that is in you.

 

I was amazed by these words. I came from an evangelical background where I heard accusations about the prophetic movement that said these prophecies cater to our self or ego. In other words, these so-called prophecies make someone feel awesome about themselves but are from the soul or even of devilish deceit. They supposedly promote a believers' ego, but it does nothing beneficial to their spirit and may even harm their spiritual growth. I was not sure if the prophecy I received was true. Even the student who prophesied told me that it might sound too good to be true to me, but he said it was what the Lord was telling him at the moment.

Though I received prophetic words that God would use me greatly, I still did not have many prophetic words regarding whether I would have a baby or not. One Sunday in December the senior pastor of the church associated with Global Awakening suddenly became filled with the Holy Spirit while preaching and prophesied over me saying “your quiver is full.” He quoted this from Psalm 127:3-5:

Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

 

He explained to my wife and I that we would have a child, and that the Lord would make us have more than one child because God was declaring my quiver to be full. I was greatly encouraged but was still not quite sure if it was true because I did not personally hear God telling me this. I continued searching. I discovered that the Elijah List Conference would be held in Albany, Oregon in January of 2016. I went to this conference to seek healing and words from the Lord. Before this trip, I read a book by Chuck Pierce, one of the speakers at this conference. In his book, Chuck wrote about the Lord visiting him in the 1980s. The Lord told him that China would have a great revival, and that this revival would spread to the whole world.^[11]

When I arrived at the conference, another prophet named Dutch Sheets was speaking. In the end, full of the Holy Spirit, he said, “Today you come here not by coincidence. It is God who leads you here, and from today on, you will hear God speaking to you like you never have before.” I was greatly encouraged, so I went out during the lunch break to ask the Lord to speak to me. When I sat down in a chair outside of a Christian bookstore, my eye caught a 2016 calendar. The cover of that calendar said, “2016 Plan Your Family.” Suddenly, I heard God speak clearly: “2016, plan your family; you will have a child this year.” I was astonished as I had never heard God speaking to me so clearly, and He just said I would have a child this year. I immediately called my wife and told her what I heard. I finally received my prophetic word from God! It was the most powerful thing I have ever experienced.

I went back to China to visit my family in February 2016. My mother, who still worshiped Buddha, had been desperately praying to all kinds of idols to help us to have a baby. I had been trying to preach the Gospel to her since 2003 but had seen little effect. Since I heard God’s voice clearly saying I would have a child this year, I boldly told all my family members. I even prayed for my two cousins who could not have a baby. My mother was displeased with my behavior. She commented that I should not share such nonsense with others since I could not even take care of my own family matters. Though, I continued to believe the Word I received.

When I came back from China, I attended the Voice of Prophets conference held by Global Awakening in May 2016. There were many prophetic people there who gave me words from the Lord without knowing who I was. One day during worship, a lady from England approached me with a word. She said, “At one point in your life, you always went out to pray and dedicated yourself to the Lord, and God the Father was very pleased with you.” This brought tears to my eyes because only God and I knew that I asked Him every day in 2014 if He heard my prayers. I often cried out, “God, where are you?” or “God of Abraham, who can create things out of nothing, where are you?” After these prayers, I would confess my sins and dedicate myself to God and to His calling, even though I did not know what it was.

Her words were God’s delayed response to those prayers. I experienced 1 Corinthians 14:24-25. The hidden secrets in my heart were revealed and I cried and bowed down to God, amazed that this woman was hearing from Him. God is certainly among these groups of prophetic people. She even saw a vision of a male child running when I asked her to ask God if I would have child. I still hold this word with caution since we only currently have a daughter.

The words did not stop there. Another lady saw me with a quiver of three arrows on my back, which matched the prophetic word from my pastor in December 2015. One guy told me that God would use me greatly and he later returned to hand me a key as a prophetic action of God giving me the key to bring many into the Kingdom. I counted these words as true after the Holy Spirit told me the same things in a prophetic dream where I visited heaven. In this dream in 2017, Jesus himself told me He would use me greatly. Though all of the words I received were encouraging, I was eager to receive the fruition of having a child. I became desperate.

One day I said to the Holy Spirit,

In the Charismatic circle, people always teach that we should have an intimate relationship with you. I have prayed to Jesus and God, the Father, many times and I do not know when this is going to happen. Can you ask the Father and Jesus for me when this [pregnancy] is going to happen?

 

On the night of May 12, 2016, shortly after this prayer, I had a weird dream. In this dream, a woman (I figured it was the Holy Spirit) pointed to the back of a male figure (I figured it was Jesus). She asked me, “Did He not tell you that you will have a child next month?” I said in the dream, “No, I only sensed in my spirit it was coming soon, but I did not know it was next month.” I told my wife about this dream afterward, but she again had a hard time believing me.

Satan launched another fierce attack on my wife and I to make us quarrel. We did not talk for two weeks after I told her his dream. We only reconciled once she found out she was miraculously pregnant on May 28, 2016. Our baby was born healthy in early 2017. My mother was stunned and turned away from her idols that she had worshipped her whole life. She put faith in Jesus Christ, and I baptized her and my father when I came back to visit China in 2018. Ten years of persuasion and preaching could not change my mother’s heart, but one prophetic word from God turned things around. This event became a turning point for the salvation of my family members. My older sister also confessed belief in Jesus Christ. Later, the Holy Spirit told me through another prophetic dream that what He did in my family, He would do in many Chinese families through my ministry.

 

God Gives Me A Ministry

In 2016, at the Elijah List Conference, I received another prophetic word from God. This time it was about the ministry I would have. God said to me, “Jairus Bible World Ministry is from me.” At that time, I had begun this ministry in secret as my denomination did not encourage people to have ministries of their own. I used the name “Jairus” as a nickname to spread the revelations that I received from God in an online format. It was mainly directed toward Chinese audiences. When I received the prophetic word, I understood that God spoke this to help me overcome the fear of man so that I could walk in my calling and fulfill my destiny.

Upon leaving my LCM community, I struggled a lot. I recalled that they treated me kindly and helped me greatly during difficult times. Many believers there were like family members to me. I was very troubled thinking that I might be harming the unity of the body of Christ upon leaving. I realized afterward that the body of Christ was and is much bigger than just my denomination.

To help me through this struggle, the Lord gave me a prophetic picture. He showed me one stream of the Yangtze River, which is in western China. Then He showed me another stream in eastern China, which also flows into the Yangtze River. He reassured me that it was Him who put me in the first stream and now He was taking me to another stream. If I followed His leading, I would remain unified with the body of Christ. This comforted me. In another prophetic dream, the Lord appeared to me and there were two rivers behind Him. He told me these two rivers would converge in Maryland where I live. I received many personal prophecies about this too; words about convergence. I heard prophetic proclamations that “holiness and power” and “Word and Spirit” would converge together during this age and it would represent revival.

One day, after coming back from the Elijah conference, I was walking down the street pondering the revival in China that Chuck Pierce talked about in his book. Suddenly, I heard the Holy Spirit ask me, “What is a big revival?” I immediately answered back, “I heard that in China one out of ten people have received the Lord. Is this not a great revival already?” I answered this way because I had no special burden for China at the time. My burden was mainly for the Chinese students overseas. I did not have plans to go back to China to minister there.

The Holy Spirit promptly asked me another question, “How about two out of ten?” I was stunned. I quickly calculated that it would be another 100 million people saved. I believe the Holy Spirit was not meaning to limit salvation to only two out of ten Chinese people. Instead, He was trying to challenge and stretch me in my thinking. I had a burden for China after this encounter, and I started to have hundreds of prophetic dreams about a great revival coming to them. In these dreams, I was even brought to future events. I saw the nation change politically after this great revival. Many prophetic words were released over me from other prophetic people saying that I would travel to China extensively in the future to minister to different groups there.

 

The Synergy and Conclusion

It is believed that half or even more of Chinese Christians in China are meeting in Pentecostal or Charismatic churches. If they are following this pattern, I wonder if it is true among them also, that they prophesy well but lack discipline and understanding of the written Word. My assertion may be correct since many of these believers never had the chance to benefit from Witness Lee’s teachings or the practice of PSRP, since they had been labeled heretical and were banned.

God used the LCM to help me settle into the United States and build a strong life and foundation in the Word of God. I received a teaching anointing in the LCM, and I am a mature, discipled man of God because of them. Their emphasis on holiness prior to engaging in forthtelling ensures spiritual growth and readiness before jumping into making erroneous declarations. To become mature sons and daughters of Christ, ones who partner with God in His Kingdom, we must learn to be intimate friends with Him. This requires us to be holy, disciplined and knowledgeable in His Word.

On the contrary, God used Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to help my wife and I receive a breakthrough in healing and teach us about the charismatic gifts. We had a miracle daughter as a result of this, and these churches helped activate my prophetic and healing gifts. Prophecy has been extremely important to my journey of spiritual growth. Even when I was having a difficult time deciding whether I should continue with this doctoral program, God used a woman sitting behind me in a prophetic conference to say, “God wanted you to finish this degree, and He will use this as a knocking brick to open the doors for you to minister in the future.” I cannot imagine where my life would be without prophetic ministry.

The synergy of this paper is formed in these two conclusions. I believe my calling is to continue to spread the truths I learned from both the LCM and the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. I admire the LCM’s diligence to the practices of PSRP. It is my conviction that their model of PSRP could help recover a sincere devotion and commitment to knowing God’s written Word, that which sometimes feels lost in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. Also, PSRP affords the body of Christ more opportunity to practice public speaking in the form of prophesying.

Comparatively, the LCM and other evangelical churches need to awaken to recognize that God has used modern Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to recover and revitalize the prophetic gifts. These churches have embraced Paul’s teachings and have stirred the flame of God into action. They have honored God by honoring His desire to pour out His manifest presence in the form of many gifts to the body. A prophetic word can change a person’s life and can change one’s direction for life. A genuine prophetic word can also turn a whole family from worshiping idols to worshiping God. A prophetic word from God can even turn a nation around.

This thesis project focuses on holiness and prophesy. It is my attempt to be part of the new movement where Word and Spirit meet; holiness and power surge. The American prophet Larry Randolph said he felt what he could do for God is comparative to a drop of water in the ocean. Although so tiny, God still includes us in his plans. He does not need us, but He still gives us the grace to cooperate with Him.[12] This project is about me doing my part in the body of Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Allan, Stuart and Lynley. No Longer Barren but Fruitful in “Spread the Fire,” (January 2007). In Canada’s Christian Library Online. Accessed March 9, 2020. https://www.christianity.ca/page.aspx?pid=10596.  

 

Defense & Confirmation Project. “Contending for the Faith.” Defense & Confirmation Project. Last modified 2017. Accessed April 11, 2020, https://contendingforthefaith.org/en/the-mindbenders-history/.  

 

MacArthur, John F. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2013.

 

Miller, Elliot. “We Were Wrong. A Reassessment of the ‘Local Church’ Movement of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.” In “The Local Church,” edited by Hank Hanegraaff. Special issue. Christian Research Institute 32, no. 6 (2009): 2-52. Accessed on November 27, 2019. http://www.equip.org/PDF/EnglishOpt.pdf.

 

Fuller Theological Seminary. An Open Letter from the Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry Concerning the Teachings of Witness Lee. DCP & Living Stream Ministry, 2017. Accessed November 27, 2019. https://an-open-letter.org/PDF/Fuller%20Theological%20Seminary%20Statement%20English.pdf  

 

Guyon, Madam Jeanne. A Short and Easy Method of Prayer. Edited by J. Scott Husted. Online Self-Publishing Book Company: Lulu.com, 2011. Accessed April 6, 2020. https://jesus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/short-and-easy-method-of-prayer.pdf.

 

Goll, James. The Lost Art of Intercession. Video training. No public link available.

Accessed November 27, 2019. https://agodman.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/to-prophesy-is-mainly-to-speak-for-god-and-to-speak-forth-god-into-people/.  

 

Joyner, Rick. “The Application of a Prophetic Word, Part 3- Prophetic in the Body of Christ.” Rick Joyner’s Word for the Week, April 26, 2011. Accessed April 11, 2020. https://publications.morningstarministries.org/word-for-the-week/application-prophetic-word-part-3-prophetic-body-christ.  

 

Lee, Witness. The Practice of Prophesying. Anaheim, California: Live Stream Ministries, 1990. Accessed March 18, 2020. Living Stream Ministry. https://www.ministrybooks.org/SearchMinBooksDsp.cfm?id=33E313DFCF.

 

Pierce, Chuck. God's Unfolding Battle Plan: A Field Manual for Advancing the Kingdom of God. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2007.

 

Randolph, Larry. “Recognizing Revial” (video teaching). MorningStar Classics. October 22, 1996. Accessed April 11, 2020. https://www.morningstartv.com/morningstar-classics/recognizing-revial.

 

Wommack, Andrew. “Holy Spirit.” Andrew Wommack Ministries. n.d. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://www.awmi.net/reading/teaching-articles/holy_spirit/.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Pub., 2004). Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references in this paper are from the NRSV.

[2] “Contending for the Faith,” Defense & Confirmation Project, last modified 2017, accessed April 11, 2020, https://contendingforthefaith.org/en/the-mindbenders-history/.

[3] “Contending for the Faith,” Defense & Confirmation Project.

[4] Elliot Miller, “We Were Wrong: A Reassessment of the ‘Local Church’ Movement of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee,” in “The Local Church,” ed. Hank Hanegraaff, special issue, Christian Research Institute 32, no. 6 (2009): 2-52, accessed November 27, 2019, http://www.equip.org/PDF/EnglishOpt.pdf.

[5] Fuller Theological Seminary, An Open Letter from the Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry Concerning the Teachings of Witness Lee, DCP & Living Stream Ministry, 2017, accessed November 27, 2019, https://an-open-letter.org/PDF/Fuller%20Theological%20Seminary%20Statement%20English.pdf.

[6] Rick Joyner, “The Application of a Prophetic Word, Part 3- Prophetic in the Body of Christ,” Rick Joyner’s Word for the Week, April 26, 2011, accessed April 11, 2020, https://publications.morningstarministries.org/word-for-the-week/application-prophetic-word-part-3-prophetic-body-christ.

[7] Madame Jeanne Guyon, A Short and Easy Method of Prayer, ed. J. Scott Husted (Online Self-Publishing Book Company: Lulu.com), 2011, accessed April 6, 2020, https://books.google.com/books?id=R7YAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.

[8] Witness Lee, The Practice of Prophesying. (Anaheim, California: Living Stream Ministries, 1990), accessed March 18, 2020, https://www.ministrybooks.org/SearchMinBooksDsp.cfm?id=33E313DFCF.

[9] Andrew Wommack, “Holy Spirit,” Andrew Wommack Ministries, n.d., accessed April 24, 2020, https://www.awmi.net/reading/teaching-articles/holy_spirit/.

[10] Stuart and Lynley Allan, No Longer Barren but Fruitful in “Spread the Fire,” (January 2007), in Canada’s Christian Library Online, accessed March 9, 2020, https://www.christianity.ca/page.aspx?pid=10596.

[11] Chuck Pierce, God's Unfolding Battle Plan: A Field Manual for Advancing the Kingdom of God, (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2007), 273.

[12] Larry Randolph, “Recognizing Revial” (video teaching), MorningStar Classics, October 22, 1996, accessed April 11, 2020, https://www.morningstartv.com/morningstar-classics/recognizing-revial.

Bible Study With Jairus – Numbers 22

Bible Study With Jairus – Numbers 22

Finding Truth Amongst False Prophets and News

Numbers 22:1 (ESV) records, "The people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho." This verse paints a perfect picture of the Israelites (who represent our spiritual life) being disturbed and attacked by the Moabites (who represent our flesh) before they captured Jericho (which represents strongholds of the evil spirits). God loves the Moabites, so He ordered Moses not to attack the Moabites (Deuteronomy 2:9). But due to fear, the Moabites were stirred up by the enemy to disturb and curse the Israelites and resist God's move through the Israelites.

Let me first talk about the Israelites. Of course, they are God's chosen people. He dwells with them and walks among them. In John 1:14 (ESV), it says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." The dwelling is Jesus Christ, and He is Immanuel which means that God is with us.

 

The Relations Between the Moabites and Israelites

Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 10:4, "They all drank the same spiritual water; what they drank was the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." We can see that the rock that followed the Israelites was Christ. So, Christ, the spiritual rock, went wherever the Israelites went. God's dwelling went wherever the Israelites went.

Thus, the Israelites' process of leaving Egypt, passing through the wilderness, and entering the Promised Land was to defeat the Canaanites who occupied God's Promised Land. The Canaanites represent the evil spirits and the strongholds they set up in us. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:4 (ESV), "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds." Although the Israelites camped in the plains of Moab and were so close to Moab, the Israelite's battle was not against the Moabites but the stronghold of Jericho.

Deuteronomy 2:9 (ESV) records what God said to Moses. Moses said, "The Lord said to me, 'Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.'" This verse clearly shows that God does not want the Israelites to fight against the Moabites. Why? As this verse indicates, the Moabites are descendants of Lot and relatives of Abraham, so God does not want a war between the Israelites and Moabites.

The second is the spiritual reason I mentioned above. God knows that Israel's enemy is Jericho, the Canaanites and the evil spirits, and the power of the ruler of the air represented by the Canaanites. As Paul said, our enemies are the spiritual forces of evil. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (ESV, Ephesians 6:12).

But why is it that the Moabites were afraid and even hired Balaam to curse the Israelites? Deuteronomy 2 did not specifically mention the reason why when God told Moses not to attack the Moabites. But it noted that they would feel fear when God ordered Moses not to attack Edom. Deuteronomy 2:4-5 (ESV) records that, "Command the people, "You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession." This verse clearly shows that Edom and Moab could not help but be afraid because there were so many Israelites. For example, it was recorded in Numbers 22:3 (ESV) that "Moab was in great dread of the people because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel." Fear often propels us to make wrong decisions. It also makes us lose our peace and faith and even lose our ability to understand and accept God's words.

 

Fear Can Be Stronger Than Faith at Times

If the Moabites lived in faith and not fear, they should know that God loved them. If they knew what God was telling Moses, they shouldn't be fearful. Instead, they would feel grateful for God's love and mercy. But fear will make us do things that are out of the ordinary. The Christians of today are much like the ancient Moabites when it comes to fear affecting decision-making. How many times have Christians made wrong choices or missed God's Word because of unnecessary fear?

In other words, Moab doesn't need to be afraid. I've said many times before that God's intention is to kill all of the evil spirits represented by the Canaanites.  Part of this is to take a detour and slowly deal with the Moabites and the Edomites, who represent the mortal flesh. The former is the work of the deliverance ministry, and the latter is the work of the cross. You can cast out the evil spirits, but you can't cast out the flesh.  The flesh needs to slowly be changed by the work of the cross.

 

God's Love for the Moabites

If you read the latter judgments against the Moabites in the Old Testament, for example, Amos 2:1 (ESV) says, "Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." We see that God wants to judge or deal with Moab instead of killing them all. Jeremiah 48:11-12 (ESV) says, "Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so, his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed." Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces." This verse means that just like winemaking, the dregs can only be settled by pouring into wine bottles continuously. But Moab had been at ease for a long time, so the dregs were not removed. So, God wants to deal with Moab, just like pouring wine into wine bottles to settle the dregs.

From these two verses, we can see that God loved Moab and hoped to deal with it. God loved Lot, and He also loved Moab, Lot's descendant, even though God said, "No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever." (ESV, Deuteronomy 23:3). Since the Moabites cursed the Israelites and they sinned by fornication, we know that Ruth, the descendant of the Moabites, became the ancestor of Christ.  We understand that God loved Moab but hoped to deal with it. This led to why God allowed the Gentile prophet Balaam to prophesy in Moab.

 

Balaam Is Allowed To Travel to Moab

A lady asked, "In Numbers 22:12, God ordered Balaam not to go to Moab to curse the Israelites, but why is it that in verse 20, it says that Balaam was allowed to go with them, but he could only do what God told him? Later in verses 22-34,  why did God try to kill Balaam on the way? God said He would kill Balaam, but why didn't He kill him in the end? Why  did he allow Balaam to go with them in verse 35?" Logically, this sounds a bit confusing, and this lady was looking for answers.

I said, "I will explain this from two perspectives. The first is:  God definitely told Balaam not to go, warning him the first time. But Balaam's heart already wanted to go, so the Lord allowed him to go the second time. It may be likened to Christians today. Sometimes we have already made up our mind in the flesh, and then we pray and ask the Lord whether we can go. One attitude is to humbly wait before God and seek His leading. The other attitude is: I have already decided. I'm just informing the Lord when I'm praying. In this case, the Lord may not hinder you. But God still stopped Balaam on the way, which was tantamount to warning him again that he could only say what God wanted him to say.

The other perspective is deeper - God loved Moab. Thus, He was willing to speak to Moab through Balaam. I cited a personal example. When I was learning about the gift of prophecy in the Prophetic Movement, the teachers who taught the gift of prophecy often cited some movies to illustrate how God speaks through movies.

Media Can Speak to Christians and Non-Believers Alike

Movies such as "The Lord of the Rings" or the film and television series adapted from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by the well-known British Christian writer C.S. Lewis were the ones cited by them. God often speaks through worldly media or movies. For example, many Chinese people have seen "The Shawshank Redemption" or "Forrest Gump." These two movies have inspired many Chinese people, including believers and nonbelievers, to have hope, but the movies may not mention God in them. There is even cursing in these movies, but many people have received great encouragement from them. I feel that God speaks to many people through these two movies.

There are two scenes in "Forrest Gump" that left a deep impression on me. The first was when Forrest Gump was a child and had leg braces, but he broke free of his braces while running away from neighborhood bullies.  The second was him as an adult running with the football for a touchdown.  I feel like God was telling me that one day I will be free from all kinds of shackles holding me back, and I will run and fly in freedom!   These scenes deeply inspired me.

God can speak to unclean people through unclean media or channels.  Before I was saved, the media I came into contact with and the friends around me were all opportunities for God to speak to me. A friend said that his wife often watched a variety of films and television series and found that the Lord often spoke to her through them.  

He said that many religious people might be critical of Christians who watch so many movies and TV, but his wife gets spiritual inspiration from God through it.  I know his wife and can attest to his words.  She often takes what the Lord shows her and shares the gospel with her Christian friends.

The Tragedies of Balaam

Why would God use Balaam, a Gentile prophet who was flawed and even greedy for wealth later, to speak to Moab? Because this was a way for Moab to trust. God wanted to speak to Moab, but there was no Israelite prophet that had spoken to Moab, and there was no prophet in Moab, so God had to speak to Moab through Balaam, a Gentile prophet. Just as God told Moses directly, He would not give the Moabites land to the Israelites; God also told the Moabites through the Gentile prophet Balaam that Israel was a treasure in His eyes.

The Moabites were told not to curse the Israelites, but they didn't listen to what God told them through the prophet Balaam.  Instead, they tried their best to curse them.  In the end, through deception, Balaam enticed the Israelites and Moabite women to commit adultery (Numbers 25:1). God judged Moab by allowing Moses to kill Many Midianites (Numbers 25:17).  Through this attack, Balaam was also killed alongside the five kings of Midian.

All of these are a tragedy. Balaam might not have been killed, and the Midianites could have been protected against attacks. Moab could also have avoided the curse of the Lord for ten generations. But all this happened. Why? They didn't hear what God said through the Gentile Prophet Balaam.  President Trump often refers to Left media such as CNN as "Fake News," but if "fake news" is the only media you listen to, God can use it to speak to you. But you will hear many lies from the enemy as well. The key is how you hear the Holy Spirit's voice and distinguish the voice of God from the voice of the enemy.

 

Prophets in the Modern Church

For example, there are many prophets in Charismatic churches. In the past, some prophets prophesied that there would be an earthquake, rapture, or great spiritual revival at a specific time, but it did not happen afterward. Many churches, including the Local Church Movement where I was saved, closed the door on such prophets and prophecies. They think they are unreliable, so they are not taught and promoted in the church. This is a wrong attitude. After I left the Local Church Movement to study in the Pentecostal Movement in 2015, I found that some people in the Pentecostal church did have the gift of prophecy, but some may be false prophets.

Some people who have the gift of prophecy also might make some wrong prophecies. But we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Instead, we need to listen and distinguish God's voice in their prophecies. Balaam here is a Gentile prophet. The Bible calls him a false prophet or a person who betrays for profit, but God still used him to make Israel's most beautiful prophecy. Numbers 24:17 (ESV) even prophesies that "a star shall come out of Jacob." This refers to the prophecy of Christ's coming. You can see God's genuine prophecy through a false prophet.

If God can speak through Balaam, He can also speak to us through film and television series and through secular media. God can speak to us through unclean people and things in the unclean environment where we live because He is over all and through all and in all (ESV, Ephesians 4:6). Although the things God uses are unclean, God can speak to us through them. God can also use imperfect people, including Balaam or Trump, to speak to us.

 

God Speaking Through Trump

We cannot disregard God's words from people because the people God uses -like Balaam or Trump-are imperfect. We must draw lessons from the Moabites in this chapter. Although Trump is imperfect and has many flaws, he is someone who God uses somewhat to suppress the political tendency of the left. Trump was also used to bring the United States back to the foundation of a Christian nation so that churches have room to breathe.

They can use the opportunity to preach the gospel and spiritually grow, and truly revive American society. This is the message that God wants to send to us through Trump. However, if we are hung up on  Trump's flaws or hindered by our preconceptions (for example, the Moabites hope that Balaam will curse the Israelites), it will prevent us from seeing or hearing God's prophetic voice through Trump.

Unfortunately, many Christians committed the same mistakes as the Moabites. They did not see God's will. What is the reason for this? The reason is that they live in the flesh like the Moabites. Their motives and intentions (cursing the Israelites) became their veil, but they did not see God's blessings to the Israelites and how God would bless all nations through the Israelites.

Of course, all nations include the Moabites. Paul said, "So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." (ESV, Galatians 3:14). This is what God said to Moab through the Gentile prophet Balaam. In everyday English, what God said was, "Moabites, don't curse the Israelites because the Israelites are blessed. One day a star shall come out of Jacob - Christ. He will become salvation for all nations.

The blessing of Abraham in Jesus Christ will come to all Gentiles, including you Moabites. One day, you can receive the promised Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ. Moabites, don't be so stupid; I am blessing you. But I must bless the Jews first. Please listen to what I said to you through Balaam, a Gentile prophet!" But the Moabites' strong desire and motive to curse the Israelites became their hindrance, preventing them from hearing what God said to them through Balaam. Many Christians' dislike towards Trump or have different political views than Trump has become their hindrance, preventing them from seeing God's move on Trump.

 

Imperfect People, True Prophecies

God can speak valid prophetic words through false prophets. God can use unclean people to speak holy words. God can use the imperfect people around us to complete His perfect plan. Let's open our eyes and listen to God's words in everything. On the contrary, because there are too many unclean people, things, and social media channels around us, we must urgently strengthen our fellowship with God. We need to live in close fellowship with God, constantly get rid of false prophets and "fake news" brought by the enemy, and listen to God's voice.

I said in the meeting that the American church's situation is like the Moabites – it's mixed with a lot of things in the flesh. Whether it is the church as a whole or individual Christians, many people live in the flesh.

On the one hand, we are affected by a lot of "fake news" and are deceived many times by evil spirits. On the other hand, because of our flesh - the pain we suffered in history and our bitterness and unforgiveness the evil spirits are given a stronghold, causing many Christians to fall into this situation. Some consider Trump as God's chosen instrument, but others cannot accept him. Trump's imperfections, coupled with their preconceptions, such as being portrayed as a racist by left-leaning media, have made some believers unable to accept God's choice.

 

Spirits, Not the Flesh, Is the True Enemy

At the end of our meeting, I briefly mentioned that our enemies are not people in the flesh.   They are the evil spirits that often influence our flesh to oppose our spirit and God Himself, who lives in our spirit. Therefore, we must enhance our experience of the cross's work to deal with our flesh and strengthen our spiritual warfare to defeat the Jericho-strongholds. Usually, the place where the enemy distorts us the most or where our flesh is the most attacked becomes the place for us to rejoice after victory.

An example is Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho. She became a prostitute on the wall of Jericho. She was tortured and humiliated, but then she became the one who saved Israel's spies and a breakthrough in destroying the city of Jericho. She became the ancestor of Christ and married one of the spies, later giving birth to Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed, Obed was Jesse's father, and Jesse was the father of David. Jesus Christ was the descendant of David.

I also shared that just as God loved the Moabites, they were also relatives of Israel. Similarly, although God chose Trump, Biden and others are also created by God in His own image. Even if the enemy used many leftists, they are not our enemy. Our enemies are spiritual -evil spirits and dark forces. Those who are used and deceived by the evil spirits urgently need our prayers.

We should pray that God will be able to have mercy on them and that they can repent and eventually enter the Kingdom of God. We must not curse them. Even if some people are sent to prison for committing crimes, we must not kick them when they are down. Instead, we must pray for them. God's great love has blessed not only the Israelites but also the Moabites. God's great love not only blesses those who He uses but also saves those who once opposed Him.

Conclusion

This is the inspiration I received from reading this chapter of the Bible. We must draw lessons from the Moabites and be able to hear what God says to us through the unclean or imperfect channels He uses. We must remove our prejudice so that we can hear God's words through people we may not like.

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 21

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 21

Numbers 21 tells the story of Israel getting back to the starting point after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Forty years ago, they sent twelve spies into the Promised Land. In the end, ten were evil spies. They saw that the Canaanites were of great height, so they became frightened and forgot about God’s promise of bringing them into the Promised Land. God, in His wrath, let them wander in the wilderness for forty years corresponding to the 40 days they spied out the land (Numbers 13).

We often say that the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness represents the wandering of Christians in their soul. Egypt represents the world that the Israelites and Christians leave behind when they make their faith commitment to follow Christ. The Promised Land represents our entry into the abundant life and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The Canaanites represent the enemies occupying and preventing the Israelites from entering the Promised Land. When talking about a Christian’s spiritual experience, the Canaanites are a representation of evil spirits and the various strongholds we may face.

If we want to receive the spiritually abundant life God has for us, we must defeat the enemies who are hindering us. God can easily defeat His enemies. But to train us, God needs us to defeat them. God’s destiny for us Christians is to enter the abundance of life and the experience of spiritual victory. This is just like the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land in the Old Testament—this was God's destiny for them. But does this mean everything will go smoothly if something is God’s destiny for us? No. Often the enemy will do everything possible to hinder the good things God has ordained for us. Therefore, heeding the words of God’s prophecies and promises, and defeating enemies in battles should be our attitude.

If we cannot defeat the enemy, we will continue wandering in the wilderness. What is the wilderness experience? The wilderness experience is when you cannot go back to Egypt, nor can you enter the Promised Land. In today's Christian experience, it represents a period of struggle where one has not yet experienced spiritual victory in areas of their lives after being saved.

Our enemy is very large. We cannot defeat the enemy by ourselves. Therefore, faith is extremely important. God hopes that in our process, we do not look at the size of the enemy and the difficulties of our situation, but instead think of His promise that we will be victorious and that He is with us. Basically, we defeat the enemy through faith. God's purpose is not only for us to defeat the enemy, but that our faith in Him would increase in the process. In other words, God is using the circumstances and battles to increase our faith and to teach us how to better understand His greatness.

The first generation of Israelites completely failed. After seeing the height of the enemy, they utterly forgot God's promise. They wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Wandering in the wilderness also represents God's discipline. God will bring us into the wilderness experience to discipline us so that we can mature. There, He will also provide us with heavenly food, such as manna, so that our strength and faith may increase. Gradually, we gain the strength to fight the enemy.

At the beginning of Numbers 21, the Israelites learned their lesson and grew in faith in God after forty years of discipline. Verses 1-3 (ESV) state, “When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. And Israel vowed to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.”

These verses included the first generation—Moses, Caleb, and Joshua (Miriam and Aaron already died in Numbers 20), and the second generation of Israelites. Their attitude changed from one generation to the next. The second generation was no longer afraid. Instead, they entreated the Lord that if He delivers them into their hands, they will destroy the Canaanite’s cities. In other words, they asked God to help them win this battle and then they would destroy the Canaanites. Because the Canaanites’ measure of sin had reached its full measure according to God, they prayed according to God’s will. This was a huge spiritual advancement for the second generation of the Israelites. God also has a promise for us to defeat our enemies. Remember though, faith plays a significant role in their defeat. If we have faith in God, anything is possible.

Unfortunately, the Israelite’s victory this time, although it was an improvement, did not last long. Verses 4-5 record that the Israelites set off from Mount Hor and walked along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. As mentioned in the previous chapter, Moses asked the king of Edom to pass through his territory, attempting to find a shortcut. The king of Edom firmly refused and was even willing to fight against the Israelites. Thankfully, God ordained that the Israelites would not fight with the Edomites. Instead, they had to make a detour by the way of the Red Sea, which is the direction toward Egypt. At this point, it seemed that going south would bring them back to where they started, so the Israelites became impatient. They spoke against God and Moses, accusing them of leading the Israelites to die in the wilderness. They also complained that there was no food or water, and they were already tired of the manna. The Lord responded by sending fiery serpents among them. They bit the people, and many died. After God’s discipline this time, the Israelites repented and asked Moses to pray and ask God to take away the serpents. God did not take away the fiery serpents. Instead, he instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent, and those who looked at it would live.

One interesting point to note here is that the Israelites prayed that God would take away the fiery serpents, but the Bible does not record that God would take them away. Instead, it says that God prepared a bronze serpent. For us, the fiery serpent represents both the difficulties of our situations and God's discipline. While the “fire” may still be present, God has prepared salvation for us, which is represented by the bronze serpent. If we look at it (the bronze serpent), we will surely live. John 3:14-15 (ESV) says, “As Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.” Our world is full of suffering. Although the suffering has not been removed, we can look to Christ who has been crucified on our behalf. This experience taught the second generation of Israelites to learn to look only at the salvation God prepares and not at the lack in their circumstances. Their experience taught them how to have faith.

We will become whatever we behold. The more we look at our suffering, the more we will be frightened; the more we look at our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the salvation He provides, the more our faith grows to trust Him and we are saved. The Lord Jesus himself said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV, John 16:33) Paul also said, “We all, 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.” (ESV, 2 Corinthians 3:18)

A lady in our Bible study experienced some trials and tribulations. This day in particular, she received a revelation from the Father. She knew the story of the testing of the Israelites was the Holy Spirit's timely words for her situation to bring comfort to her heart. Although she experienced some trials of physical illness,  God had already given her His Word, telling her she would be healed. Unfortunately, setbacks in her process still left her discouraged. She asked God, “Why is it like this?” When I shared about the Israelites, I mentioned that not only does God want to heal her body, but He also wants to strengthen her faith through these trials so that He can use her in the future. She testified that many people had said the same thing to her. Therefore, she was willing to continue to lean upon God's promises and look to the healing that He offered through the cross instead of paying too much attention to her difficult circumstances.

After the story of bronze serpent, the Israelites move forward on their journey, passing through many more places. Verse 16 specifically mentions a place called Beer. Many people are not sure about its location, but it is recorded that this place is the well of which the Lord say to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water" (ESV, Numbers 21:16). This raises some questions. Is this the place where Moses struck the rock for the first time? No, that was in the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 17:7). Is it referring to the second time Moses struck the rock twice by mistake? No, this was in the Wilderness of Zin in Kadesh (Numbers 20:1), so it could not have been this place either. It must be referring to another time when God spoke to Moses.

Water often represents the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Let’s review God’s supply of the water in these chapters. The first time God supplied water was when Moses struck the rock to produce water. The second time was when God asked Moses to speak to the rock so that water would pour out. (Moses instead struck the rock twice.) The third time refers to when the leaders of the Israelites and the nobles of the people dug a well with the scepter and their staffs. Now, the first strike on the rock represents the work done by Christ on the cross so that we can have the Holy Spirit; speaking to the rock (the second time) represents receiving the Holy Spirit by faith; and digging the well (the third time) represents our cooperation with God and an experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. These three examples represent three stages of our Christian life. We must remember that Christ accomplished everything so we can receive the Holy Spirit. While it is Christ’s work alone that saves, we must apply faith to receive the Holy Spirit to obtain life and power to overcome. Lastly, as we overcome our flesh and sins, the Holy Spirit can have preeminence in our life and ministry.

I once received an explanation from the Local Church Movement about the water flowing out of the well, and it left a deep impression on me. That is, the well is like the Holy Spirit. The living water is already in us, but the living water in our well may be stopped up by mud and stones. The mud and stones symbolize the sins of the world, our flesh, etc., and we must dig them out with the scepter and staff to remove them.

Just like the picture in the Garden of Eden in Genesis, there will only be food if Adam cultivates the ground. Adam did his part and he trusted God to supply the water (mist) necessary for the ground to yield a harvest. Similarly, Christ has already accomplished salvation on the cross. While the Holy Spirit already lives in us, our well of water may be blocked by all kinds of filth. If we are willing to dedicate ourselves and deal with the sins and filth within us, the living water will more easily flow out. On one hand, the flow of living water is entirely the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit; on the other hand, our cooperation is extremely important.

Verses 21-32 record the story of Moses' victory over Sihon, the king of the Amorites. Just like last time when they were passing through Edom, Moses also asked Sihon to let the Israelites pass through their territory. Moses again promised that they would not enter their fields and vineyards, nor would they drink water from their wells. They would just go by the King's Highway. However, Sihon refused to allow them to pass through his territory. He even gathered people to attack the Israelites. Strangely, it is not recorded that the Israelites prayed to the Lord before killing Sihon. But later in verses 33-35, when the Israelites fought Og, the king of Bashan, the Lord told Moses that he would give King Og of Bashan into their hands, just as he gave Sihon to them.

The Bible specifically records that King Sihon once fought against the king of Moab and took a lot of his land. A poem was recorded to describe this situation. It mentions in verse 24 that the Israelites continued to attack the Amorites until they reached Ammon because the border of the Ammonites was fortified. The original meanings of Ammon and Moab are “born from relatives” (Ammon) and “born from the father” (Moab). They are both descendants of the incest between Lot and his daughters. Let’s recall that because of Abraham's intercession, God saved Lot. 2 Peter 2:7 (NIV) refers to Lot as “a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless." Now, although the Moabites and Ammonites represent our flesh, they are still the descendants of Lot whom God loves. God loved the Moabites and Ammonites.

Imagine that Moses and the Israelites are examples of our spirit man. Sihon and Og represent the evil spirits and strongholds in our lives. What then are the Ammonites and Moabites? Of course, they represent our flesh. How can evil spirits control us? They do so mostly through our agreement with them in the flesh. Now, think about Paul’s experience in Romans 7 and 8. Why did he exclaim that he was a “wretched man” (Romans 7:24)? Because in his mind, he wanted to be a slave of the law of God; but in his flesh, he was a slave of the law of sin (Romans 7:25). In our story, the law of sin is the work of Satan and his evil spirits—Sihon and Og.

When we try to fight spiritual things like evil spirits, our flesh loses because it cannot sustain such a battle. The same is usually true for those who want to overcome their failures or sins—they often fail because the power of the sin is stronger than one’s will to overcome. This is illustrated well in Romans 7 by Paul. The battle between Moab and Sihon is a picture of this. The Moabites, who represent the flesh, will never win the battle against Sihon, who represents evil spirits. We need the help of our regenerated spirit man to save our flesh, just as the Moabites needed help from Moses to escape the tyranny of Sihon. It is not coincidence that God records the battle between Sihon and Moab here. It has significant meaning. One of God’s plans was to liberate Moab. Moses and the Israelites were God’s tools to liberate the Moabites from Sihon. In the end, Moses’ victory over Sihon and Og can represent the defeating or casting out of evil spirits from our lives.

The next chapter, Numbers 22, tells the story of the king of Moab employing the Gentile prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites. But in Deuteronomy, God ordered Moses not to contend with the Edomites, the descendant of Esau (Deuteronomy 2:4-8), not to harass the Moabites (Deuteronomy 2:9), and not to contend with the Ammonites (Deuteronomy 2:19). Yet, the Moabites in Numbers 22 hired Balaam to curse the Israelites, similar to how the king of Edom in the previous chapter attacked the Israelites (which led to God’s judgment). The Moabites also incurred God’s judgment. Remember, the Moabites and the Edomites are relatives of the Israelites, but descendants of Lot and Esau respectively. They represent the flesh of Christians. The flesh is part of us. Although it’s not an evil spirit, the untrained flesh can and will cooperate with evil spirits to hinder the work of the Spirit of God in us.

When I took deliverance courses, I learned that evil spirits are to be cast out through deliverance. The flesh, since it is not an evil spirit, must be dealt with by the cross since your flesh can’t be cast out. One particular teacher clearly taught this because he discovered that there is a commonality among charismatic churches—they accept deliverance ministries more than evangelical churches, but they tend to go to the extreme. That is, they think that after experiencing deliverance, everything will be fine. The work of the cross is not emphasized enough. This teacher, therefore, emphasized that although we should accept deliverance ministries, we must also realize that our flesh must be continuously submitted to the cross. Just as charismatic churches may tend to deemphasize the work of submitting our flesh to the Spirit, some churches only emphasize dealing with the flesh and they do not recognize the necessity for deliverance ministries. The Bible teaches that these are two different things, both of which need to be taught in churches.

In the end, we learn from this chapter that God’s intention towards the Amorites (representing evil spirits) was to exterminate them. His plan regarding Edom and Moab (which represent the flesh) was to take the Israelites on a detour and deal with them slowly as would be the Christian’s journey of training the flesh. The judgment on Edom and Moab later recorded in the Old Testament proved that they were dealt with in this way. The Book of Amos records the judgment on Edom, Ammon, and Moab. Amos 1:11 (ESV) records the judgment on Edom as, “Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.” Amos 1:13 (ESV) records the judgment of the Ammonites: “Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.” Finally, Amos 2:1 (ESV) records the judgment of Moab. It says, “Thus says the Lord: ‘For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment because he burned to lime [ashes] the bones of the king of Edom.’” Right after these verses, the judgment on Judah and Israel was recorded. Although they were also disciplined, they were not exterminated. This is the difference between dealing with evil spirits and dealing with the flesh.

We will discuss further how God dealt with Moab in our next chapter of study on Numbers 22. We conclude with a summary of what we learned today. God wanted the Israelites to pass through the land of Moab to bless the Moabites, but Moab did not receive their blessing. God even spoke to Moab through the Gentile prophet Balaam that the Israelites are blessed because Christ would be born from their lineage to bless nations, including them. However, Moab insisted on cursing the Israelites and they eventually lost their opportunity to receive God’s blessing. Please make sure to check out our Bible study on Numbers 22 to find out more. There, we shared more about the Moabites and how we can learn from their experiences today.

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 5

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 5

Numbers 5 contains three stories. The first story is about Jehovah instructing Moses to send away all people with leprosy from the camp.  In the next story, Jehovah is instructing Moses to let the Israelites offer up sacrifices for their sins and offenses.  The third story is about Jehovah telling Moses how to deal with the problem of a husband suspecting that his wife was unfaithful.

What is the relationship between these three stories?

Let us first look at the relationship between Numbers 4 and Numbers 5.  In our previous study, we mentioned that Numbers 4 covered three different levels of ministry: the ministry of Aaron as high priest and his sons as priests in the Holy of Holies and sanctuary; the ministry of the Kohathites, the children of Levi, who were carrying the things in the sanctuary; and the ministry of Gershon, the son of Levi, who was carrying the things in the outer courtyard.  This represents three different stages of service.  Jehovah specifically reminded Moses and Aaron not to let the Kohathites be destroyed because Jehovah foresaw that the Kohathites would rebel against God.  They were greedy for the priesthood of Aaron and his sons.  In the end, they rebelled against God and were judged by Him, leading them to be almost destroyed.  This rebellion also brought a plague, which was later stopped when Aaron took the incense burner and prayed (2 Samuel 24).  Similarly, Aaron and Miriam also rebelled against Moses, which brought Miriam a judgment from God of leprosy.     Leprosy was a result of rebelling against God and the authorities He established.

So, when Numbers 5  talked about sending people with leprosy away from the camp, it did not come out of the blue.  After Miriam was afflicted with leprosy, Aaron pleaded with Moses to intercede, and Moses begged Jehovah to forgive her sins.  Jehovah said, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that, she can be brought back." Numbers 12:14, NIV).

We have already talked about this before.

Why was Kohath, who rebelled, allowed to serve and carry things in the Holy of Holies and sanctuary instead of Gershon, who served and carried things in the outer courtyard?  Aaron was a high priest, and a high priest could only enter the Holy of Holies to serve God once a year.  But when his sons Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord, they were committing a transgression of assumption, believing that they could offer fire that God had not approved.  Kohath's descendant Korah was jealous of Aaron's priestly office believing he could do the job just as well.  This was also considered an assumption.  We easily face the temptation of ambition the more we serve God and try to draw closer to Him.  But the closer our lives are to the outer courtyard, and the more we serve there, the more susceptible we are to the world's influences and sin.

For example, there are Christians who fight for church leadership positions.  In the eyes of the world or Christians who have a worldly mindset, it doesn't make sense.  If the job isn't a paid position, what's the point of fighting for it?  Christians with a worldly mindset don't understand why ministers would battle for influence in the church.  There are three stages here.  The worldly Christians are like the prodigal sons in Luke 15, and those who fight for power or attention are like the elder brother.  Those that love God and have no greed or jealousy for position are willing to serve out of a heart of love.  They may be ministering to God in the Holy of Holies, but few people serve in the Holy of Holies.  Most of us are either like the prodigal son or the older brother.

The three parts of the Old Testament tabernacle are the Holy of Holies, sanctuary, and the outer courtyard.  These can represent three different stages of our spiritual life or three different stages of our ministry to God.  People who serve in the Holy of Holies, such as Aaron, seem to be serving God Himself.  Like Aaron's son and Kohath, those who serve in the sanctuary serve and carry the holy things and help people like Aaron serve God.  Like Gershon, people who serve in the outer courtyard do many practical things, such as preparing sacrifices for people.  They are indirectly serving God and directly serving the Israelites outside.

No matter the stage of your spirituality, you can rebel against God, which is likened to spiritual leprosy.  Moses was the one closest to God of all those serving in the Holy of Holies, yet he disobeyed the Lord's command to speak to the rock to bring water from it and instead struck the rock.  God rebuked him for his lack of respect and failing to uphold His holiness before the Israelites.  As a punishment, Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.  His disobedience was considered rebelling against God.

Perhaps Miriam and Kohath's descendant Korah were both serving God in the sanctuary.  They were both jealous of Moses or Aaron, so their rebellion brought God's judgment.  Korah went down alive into Hades while Miriam was afflicted with leprosy.

The people who were afflicted with leprosy mentioned in Numbers 5 may have included ordinary Israelites who could only go to the outer courtyard.  Ordinary Christians, or even unbelievers who rebel against God, may live in a state of rebellion against Him, as in the case of the prodigal son described in Luke 15.  Those of us who live in sin are actually afflicted with spiritual leprosy, which is rebelling against God.

These three types of people with different spiritual lives can get spiritual leprosy.  How does God deal with people who are afflicted with leprosy? The first method is to isolate them and cut off their communication with the Israelites to avoid spreading it to more of God's people.  Second, cut off their fellowship with God and prevent them from defiling God.

Therefore, at the beginning of Numbers 5, Jehovah ordered Moses to "send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin diseaseor a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body.  Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them." (Numbers 5:2-3, NIV).

The phrase "Camps in which I dwell among them" means that the presence of God is in the camp of the Israelites.  We know that in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14, NIV), and Jesus Christ "may dwell in your hearts" (Ephesians 3:17, NIV).  So we are the tabernacle of God.  God dwells in saved Christians.  If we sin, God, as our father, will not cut off the relationship between him and us.  But He will cut off our fellowship with Him.  For example, if a son runs away from home, he is still his father's son.  But the communication between him and his father is cut off.  For Christians, being put outside the camp is not a permanent punishment.  Rather, it's the inability to have fellowship with God.  (Of course, if they are unbelievers, they may face different endings outside the camp.)

If you look at it this way, the second story of Numbers is significant.  This story shows us how the Israelites repented of their sins by offering sin offerings and trespass offerings.  Our repentance restores fellowship with God.

So what is the spiritual meaning of the third story, which talks about the husband's suspicion of his wife's unfaithfulness?  It shows that God is omniscient and knows when we sin.  He knows who is right and wrong, even though we may not be aware of other's faults.

Let's look at the two verses that disturb us.  Numbers 5:15 (NIV) records:

^"He is to take his wife to the priest.  He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf.  He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to draw attention to wrongdoing."

This story's background is that the husband suspects his wife has been unfaithful, but she has not been caught in the act.  But the husband suspects his wife, so he took his wife to the priest.  The priest would make the woman stand before the Lord, let her hair hang down, and place in her hands the reminder offering (meal offering or grain offering).  The priest himself would hold the bitter water that brings a curse, and he puts the woman under oath.  If she didn't do anything, she would be fine, and she would be able to get pregnant.  If she made herself impure, her abdomen would swell, and she would miscarry and become a curse among her people.

What exactly does this mean?

Oil is usually put on the grain offering (which represents the Holy Spirit) and incense (which represents the resurrection of Christ).  In this case, it was explicitly noted that no oil or incense should be added to it because it was a grain offering for jealousy, which reminded people of their sin.  This could be the only mention of the grain offering linked to sin in the Bible.

Why does this kind of grain offering remind people of sin? Paul said that when the husband and wife become one flesh, it is a profound mystery because it refers to Christ and the church.  In other words, our relationship with the church and Christ is like a husband and wife.  Many times in the Old Testament, God and the Israelites used the relationship of husband and wife as an analogy.  So, can we personify the relationship between God and man as husband and wife? If God, as a husband, suspects his wife of unfaithfulness, but his wife's infidelity has not been revealed, what method would be used to disclose this?

For example, people have different opinions concerning the recent outbreak of the coronavirus.  Some people say that Satan caused this to make it impossible for people to preach the gospel and preach it in large-scale gatherings.  They say that the enemy must be bound.  This may be true, but Jesus said that nothing would happen without the Heavenly Father's permission.  Even when Satan attacked us, God allowed it to happen.  Why does He let these things happen?  If we blame it on Satan and bind him without repenting, God's purpose in allowing it won't be accomplished. Romans 8 tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God.  All things can include good things and bad things.  The coronavirus may be a bad thing, but God can use it to work for our good.

In my opinion, one of the effects of the coronavirus can be likened to the grain offering. It is a reminder of sin.  I don't believe that everyone who contracts this virus has sinned.  Many doctors and others who lack protection and get infected are innocent victims.  With that being said, the shock factor of being told you have the coronavirus will impact people differently.  For example, what impact did this virus have on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson or Prince Charles when they discovered they were infected?  We don't know what Boris Johnson was thinking while lying in his hospital bed or how it affected the British people.

  The UK has become very secular.  I lived there for a year and experienced this.  Britain used to be the world-leading country in Christianity and evangelization.  They had Hudson Taylor and other devout Christian leaders, bringing significant progress to the rights and privileges in the kingdom of God.  But in recent centuries, the state of Christianity in Britain has been falling.  When I was in the UK, I noticed that many traditional buildings look like churches but were sold to restaurants because they couldn't keep the churches alive. 

Many prophetic prophecies say that Brexit will make Britain return to Christianity because God honors so many British people in history who were devoted to Him.  God also listens to the prayers of British Christians now and those who are already in glory.  He will raise a great revival in Britain.  If this prophecy is true, how would it happen? Without repentance, there will be no revival.  Where does repentance come from?  It comes from being aware of our sin.  We need the conviction of the Holy Spirit to show us our sin.  John 16:8 (NIV) tells us, "When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment."

Please note that Numbers 5 specifically says that no oil or incense should be put on the grain offering.  Oil represents the Holy Spirit, and incense represents the resurrection of Christ.  Generally speaking, fine flour represents human nature because flour is produced from the ground.  Barley is one of the earliest crops cooked by the Israelites, so fine flour is often used in the Bible to represent the fine human nature of Jesus Christ.  However, we notice that only a tenth of an ephah of barley flour was to be offered, which could mean that the grain offering had limited fine and resurrected human elements of Jesus in it.  The Oil or Holy Spirit wasn't in it, nor was the incense or resurrection of Christ.  This is the mystery concerning this offering.

When the Lord Jesus was in anguish to the point of death, he quoted what David said in Psalm 22:1 (NIV), "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" David said in the second verse of Psalm 22, "My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest" (NIV).  Many people in distress feel like David.  Why didn't God respond? Why does God permit bad things to happen? Why did God allow this virus to hurt so many people and bring so much loss and inconvenience? I believe that many people have prayed like this.   It may look like God is hiding and isn't answering these prayers.

We can compare it to when parents hide the eggs at Easter.  They are not hiding the eggs so that their children can't find them.  Rather they want their children to find the eggs.   In the same way, sometimes, God seems hidden to encourage us to pray.  If there is a hidden sin, we can repent and be forgiven. God's concealment is His appearance; His silence is often His speech, and his inaction is His action.

This is the meaning of the grain offering here.  It is a special grain offering.  It lacks a lot of ingredients, indicating that God has hidden Himself in this offering.  The purpose of hiding Himself is to make us reconcile with Him through repentance and confession of our sins.  Originally, according to the promises in the Bible, especially Psalm 91, neither the pestilence in the day nor the destruction in the darkness should harm us.  Then, why does God allow viruses and destruction to happen?  Has He left us, or are His promises lies? No, He didn't leave us but temporarily hid Himself from us.

The rule of the grain offering in Leviticus 2 is that it must not be mixed with leaven and honey.  It must be seasoned with salt, and oil and incense must be put on it.  This is the grain offering ordained by God.  We may still be unfamiliar with the religious customs of the Jews, so it is not obvious how to see this difference.  Take Americans, for example.  Every American knows that the First Amendment to the U. S.  Constitution stipulates that Americans have the freedom of speech and religion. But if someone changes the Constitution's provisions someday, prohibiting the freedom of speech, Americans will then know the importance of freedom.  Leviticus 2 stipulates that oil and incense must be put on the grain offering, but Numbers 5 specifies that oil and incense should not be placed on it.  This difference may not be obvious to us, but it may be a pronounced change for the Jewish priests or Jews.  They might have said, "What’s wrong? Why did God explicitly order oil and incense in the grain offering before, but now we aren't allowed to put oil and incense on it? Is God wrong? Or are we wrong?" Thinking this way may make people more conscious of their sins.

Similarly, as we are facing the outbreak of the coronavirus today, on the one hand, we need to admit that this is an attack from Satan, and we must use the authority God has given us to bind Satan.  On the other hand, we have to think, why did God allow this to happen? What sins do we need to repent of? Perhaps this can be likened to the grain offering, which helps us be conscious of our sin.  Regardless of the church, or as humans created by God, we are His bride.  Do we have other idols besides God? Have we committed adultery with our idols behind God's back? Have we forgotten God to love the world? Have we destroyed nature created by God? Have we cursed God while enjoying the sunlight, air, and water that He has given us? We need to reflect on these things.  We need to offer this grain offering for jealousy so that we can be conscious of our sins.  But the original role of the grain offering mentioned in Leviticus 2 is for God to be pleased with us.  Perhaps after we have repented, the sacrifice we will be offering is the real grain offering in Leviticus 2.  The oil that represents the Holy Spirit and the incense that represents the resurrection of Christ at that time will be put on.  Our offerings will then please God.  God will once again comfort and encourage us with His presence.

If I were a British national, I would pray and ask why God allowed our country's leaders to contract the coronavirus. Is there any word from God in it? If God is reminding us of our sins, what are our sins? Do we need to repent? What is God's hidden intention and blessing in it? How can I get it?

Of course, you don't need to be a British national to think about this issue.  When we can't go outside because of the virus, we should spend more time praying, or even fasting and praying, asking God why He has temporarily abandoned us.

We really need to repent.  This is the role of the grain offering for jealousy.  I said that the purpose of the coronavirus outbreak might cause us to pray more and repent more. So in a way, it is similar to the purpose of the grain offering for jealousy in this chapter.  The objective is to remind people of their sins.

A number of Christian leaders have testified that they now have much more time to pray and read the word of God since the coronavirus limits their ability to travel.  Since the coronavirus outbreak, I have fasted one meal each day for several months to pray.  As I have examined my heart before the Lord in prayer, I was made aware of some areas in my life that needed to change.  With God's help, I repented and overcame them.

This virus outbreak has caused many unbelievers who have found themselves in difficult circumstances to seek God and ask Him to help them.  

Let's look at Numbers 5:15 (NIV) again:

^"He is to take his wife to the priest.  He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephahof barley flour on her behalf.  He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to draw attention to wrongdoing."

We are the bride of Christ.  If we have committed any spiritual fornication or rebellion toward God, He will be like a jealous bridegroom.  He will examine us to see if we are living purely for Him.

We hope this study blesses you.  Again, it is not for condemnation.  Jesus died for our sins and took all the wrath of God.  That is represented by the burnt offering.  In a burnt offering, the sacrifice was burnt entirely to ashes.  It satisfies God alone.  We see it in Abraham's story when he offered Isaac to God as a burnt offering.  Here we talk about the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Because Jesus took all God's wrath, God will not pour His wrath on us anymore.  But it doesn't mean that God won't chastise us or that we no longer need to confess our sins or trespasses.  We still need to confess our sins, but first need to become conscious of our sins.  That is the purpose of this special grain offering mentioned in this chapter.  It is an offering to remind us of our sins.  The current coronavirus serves as a type of this special offering. Let's take time to repent.

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus- 1 Corinthians 2

Discovering God’s Strength in Weakness

Bible Study with Jairus- 1 Corinthians 2

 

Paul’s Fearfulness

In 1 Corinthians 2:3, the Apostle Paul gives an interesting insight into his personal life: "I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling."[1] This strong, courageous leader was experiencing significant fear. He founded the Corinthian church, so why did he feel weak and fearful among them?

Let’s look at an example that may help answer the question. In the American church, pastors often experience fear. Political correctness has permeated the church, and pastors dare not express their Biblical views on certain social issues. They fear that if they take a stand, they will lose their congregations and donations. Some ministers in America are experiencing “weakness, fear and much trembling.”

 If Paul came to the United States to serve as a pastor in an American certain church, perhaps he would feel weakness, fear and trembling; we don’t know. But we know that ministry provides many opportunities for fear. When Paul came to Corinth, he had recently experienced severe persecution in Thessalonica (Acts 17-18). He likely feared that the same would happen in Corinth.

The Corinthian church had been infiltrated by ungodly thought patterns. Immorality, strife, racial conflict, and fights between believers were commonplace. Paul saw the Corinthians as his spiritual children. He knew that if he disciplined them too strictly, the young fleshly infants may stumble. Paul felt weakness, fear, and trembling in response to the many hot-button issues he had to deal with in the church.

But Paul also said that when he was weak, the strength of Christ was manifested in his weakness (2 Corinthians 12). When he was weak, fearful, and trembling, he was able to look to the power and help of the Holy Spirit. He did not rely on natural wisdom and power, but on the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to shepherd the Corinthian church. This is a role model for today's ministers.

When Paul was serving the Corinthian church, he faced many problems similar to those in American society today. The church is weak; Christian leaders struggle to take a stand; and many sin issues have permeated the church. Ungodly thought patterns have infiltrated all church members, from the least significant to the most powerful. Rick Joyner, a Christian leader in the United States, has even heard members of Congress saying that they felt weak, unable to stand for the truth. The church has set an example of weakness in the face of sin and confusion. But these difficult times give us an opportunity to rely in a special way on the power of the Holy Spirit in our time of weakness and need.

 

Paul’s weakness

The Local Church Movement (LCM) has frequently emphasized the fact that the spiritual life of believers does not usually exceed the spiritual lives of the shepherds who lead their churches. For example, as a minister, I shepherd a local congregation. I always teach what I know and am good at. Naturally, believers have very little opportunity to hear and learn the things that I don’t understand and am not good at. Unless individual believers take initiative to learn these things on their own, under normal circumstances they will not obtain this knowledge. If the spiritual state of the leader has only reached a certain height, it is difficult for the followers to exceed the leader’s level of spiritual growth.

This principle demonstrates that the problems of the churches we lead are a manifestation of our own problems, to a certain extent. What is true in the spiritual world can also be observed in the business world. When you analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders of an organization, as well as the culture of the companies they lead, you will find that the leaders’ strengths and weakness have a profound impact on the company’s culture and its success or failure.

We usually think very highly of Paul, and we don’t often think about his problems and shortcomings. However, Paul himself knew he was not perfect. He said, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." (Philippians 3:12). Paul knew he would be striving for improvement until the day he died.

The Corinthian believers knew that Paul was not perfect. 2 Corinthians 10:1-2 says: "I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!—I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh." Believers in Corinth criticized Paul for “being humble when face to face with them.” The word “humble” contains some negative connotations. According to StepBible.org, this word also means “lowly, downcast, timid.” Some versions, including the New International Version, translates this word as “timid.” Other believers in Corinth believed that Paul and others were “people who walk according to the flesh.”

In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul describes significant divisions taking place within the Corinthian church. The church was arguing; Paul says, "Each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’” (1 Corinthians 1:12). We usually blame the problems of the Corinthian church on society, other leaders (including Apollos and Peter), and on the church itself. But Paul himself may have played a role in their struggles. Paul said that the Corinthians were his spiritual children, so it is hard to say that Paul was not responsible in part for their errors. When our children make mistakes, we as parents may have failed to educate our children. Paul's own spiritual children lived in the flesh, division and sin. How can Paul, as a spiritual father, have no responsibility for their failures?

What part did Paul play in the Corinthians’ weakness and fleshliness? We can only guess. Personally, I think that his teaching may have been lacking in certain areas. Perhaps the books of 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians were written to fill the gaps. Or perhaps the Corinthians’ weakness reminded Paul of his own weakness in certain areas. Their weakness may have revealed and highlighted his own weakness, causing him to feel fearful, weak, and afraid while he was with them. Paul's letters to Corinth served to strengthen and teach the believers, but they were also a way that Paul pushed himself in his areas of weakness.

In 2 Corinthians 10:10, we learn that the Corinthians accused Paul in this way: “For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.’” Why is someone criticizing Paul of being weak while he is with the Corinthians? What is Paul's weakness? We don't know. But we do know that Paul had a weakness. He said that there was a thorn in him that made him weak. He pleaded with the Lord three times to remove it, but the Lord said that His grace was sufficient for Paul because the power of Christ was made perfect in man's weakness. Paul then said, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

God permitted Paul to feel weak, fearful, and trembling in the Corinthian church so that he could manifest Christ’s power through Paul's weakness.

 

Focusing on God’s strength

Often, we blame the sins of the church on the social environment in which we live. At the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, the Corinthian society was full of chaos, immorality, and idolatry--just like the United States today. Many people say that the weakness of the American church is a result of a sinful society, which has a negative impact on believers. This idea seems to make sense, but the Bible tells us the opposite. Jesus says that the world is full of tribulation—including sin and darkness. But he has already overcome the world (John 16:33). Since God has overcome the sin of the world through Jesus, the church can be a light in the darkness. The Bible says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5).

It is preposterous to claim that the American church is weak because of the darkness of society! It's like saying that our light cannot shine in the darkness because the darkness is too dark. This is totally wrong! The Bible tells us that the darkness has never overcome the light. No matter how dark it is, when we light a match or a lamp, we can drive out the darkness. The evils of society can penetrate the church and weaken it, but they are not the root cause. The church is weak because believers do not live according to the Lord’s word, allowing his life to live through them.

This logic should be reversed. When the church is weak, the society gets darker—not vice versa. The darkness of American society is caused by the weakness of the church. The problems of the American society are manifestations of the problems of the American church. The weakness of the church is caused by the weakness of each individual believer. If every believer in every church lived by God’s words and emitted his light, the church would become a golden lampstand to illuminate the surrounding city where the church is located. If every church in every city were shining with God’s beauty, it would illuminate the entire United States.

Many Christians supported Trump and hoped that Trump would be re-elected. But as of now (March 1, 2021), Trump has not been re-elected. As a result, many Christians have become discouraged and disappointed. They feel their weakness acutely. As I mentioned earlier, Rick Joyner said that members of Congress were unable to stand strong due to the weakness of the church. This is why many Christians are discouraged, as if the end of the world is coming. This is absolutely wrong.

Why do I say this? Because when we are weak, then we are strong. Just as Paul and the Corinthian church experienced, the power of Christ will rest upon the American church when it becomes weak. In this way, His power will be made perfect in a weak church.

God knows our weaknesses; they are tailor-made just for us. The LCM teaches that each of our weaknesses is a reminder of an opposite characteristic of God. God allows us to have weaknesses so that we will more deeply understand his character qualities that will fill those gaps. It’s like a key that fits a lock. If we have an absence, or gap (like the key hole), we will become even more acutely grateful for the attribute of God that fills that weakness (like a key).  

When we are weak, we should look at God's strength. Our weakness is like a mirror. Rather than looking at the mirror (our weakness), we look through it to see the glory of God reflected in our lives. When we constantly reflect on the glory of the Lord, we gradually transform into the image of His glory and become strong (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Perhaps my weakness leads me to pray every day, which helps me access God’s strength. Where I lack love, Christ provides the love I need. When we do not pay attention to our lack of love, but to the love of Christ, we gradually change. We are filled and changed by the love of Christ, and become loving people. If we lack patience, we should not look at our own bad temper, but at the patience of Christ, because Christ is patient. When we look at His patience every day, we will gradually gain the patience of Christ.

Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church often said, “You are what you are most aware of.” This is a great illustration. In other words, you become what you give your attention to the most. If you pay attention to fake news, you will be filled with "fake news." If you pay attention to the Lord and His words, you will be filled with the Lord and His words.

In the United States, too many believers pay attention to the flesh and the weakness in their flesh. When you pay attention to your weakness, you will become weak. But when you are weak, you should pay attention to the strength of Christ. Then his power will rest upon you! His power is made perfect in your weakness! The Lord Jesus said to the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3, “I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Revelation 3:8). When we experience “little power,” we are weak. But we look to Christ, instead of looking at our own weakness. This is faith! A person who is running a marathon insists on moving forward, even though he is exhausted. All he needs is a little power to keep him going in the right direction.

We can compare the situation of the American church to Jacob’s experience in Genesis 32. God touched Jacob's hip socket, causing him to lose his natural power. In the same way, God has touched the American church, so they are unable to live in the flesh as they are accustomed. They have lost the sources of strength they are accustomed to relying on.

Because of God’s blessing and protection, American churches had been like flowers living in a greenhouse, gradually losing their vitality. God allowed the cold winter and difficult environment to give us an opportunity to grow. Through these trials, the American church is learning to put its roots down deeply into Christ and receive strength from the Sun of his Love. When we lose our natural strength, it does not mean that God has forsaken us. Instead, these are the times when God is closest to us. When Jacob wrestled with God at the ford of the Jabbok and lost his natural strength, it was then that he saw God face to face—and did not die!

Christians in the United States should not feel discouraged, but hopeful. God is among us. He created an environment that would help us feel our weakness. He wants us to turn to Him and fix our eyes on His power and strength. His power will greatly rest upon us!

 

God’s Strength in My Weakness

The weakness of American church leaders is reflected in the church. The weakness of the church is then reflected in the society. At present, the church leaders and the church are weak.

But there is hope! We need to discover that when we are weak, then we are strong, because God’s strength is manifested when people are weak. I am hopeful for the future of America. I believe that God will miraculously help us, because our weakness provides the best opportunity for God to manifest Himself.

Paul knew this truth deeply, and he tried his best to live out this truth. When he came to the Corinthians, he did not use lofty speech or wisdom to proclaim God’s testimony to them. Instead, he decided to know only Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

In other words, Paul's eyes were fixed on Jesus Christ himself. Paul may have had a tendency to “use the lofty speech or wisdom,” but he put his flesh on the cross this time. Perhaps Paul’s “lofty speech and wisdom” at his last visit led the Corinthians to accuse him of being a “timid man of the flesh.”

Many theologians say that 1 Corinthians is not the first letter Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. There was another letter before this one, which is missing. God is sovereign and no sparrow will fall to the ground without the permission of the Father. It may have been God’s will that Paul’s first letter was not included in the Bible.

Verse three says that Paul was weak, fearful, and trembling when he visited the Corinthians. The reason why he was like this was because of the weakness of his flesh. He was also afraid that he would not rely on Christ, but on his own strength. He knew well that if he relied on his own strength, he would do things according to his flesh. Instead, he chose to remain weak so he could rely on the strength of Christ in weakness. He knew that his weakness would be worth it, causing “a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”(NIV, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

The last few verses of 1 Corinthians 2 discuss the wisdom of God. We should rely on God’s wisdom, not on the wisdom of this world. Only a spiritual person can truly understand the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 2:10). First Corinthians 2:14 says, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." This is the essence of the problem. Many Christians are fleshy people. Many Christians live without the spiritual life of God. A spiritual person gives God a predominant place in his life. The life of God rules his life and is manifested through his life.

Watchman Nee said that God cares more for who we are than what we do for Him. What matters is not just what we do for God, but what we allow God to do in us. The changes God makes in our lives will naturally manifest themselves to the church and to the people we serve.

What an amazing insight! When Christians in the United States pay more attention to spiritual growth and change, they will stop being spiritual infants and be freed from the flesh. When every believer matures in Christ in this way, the church will change. The changes in the church will naturally be manifested in the society.

Every Christian in the United States needs to become spiritually mature so that the church can be strengthened and the darkness of society can be removed. If we just focus on removing darkness and bad leaders in the political realm, while neglecting the growth of the church, the fundamental problems of American society will not be solved. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why God allowed political conflict to persist in America: so that we would focus on our own growth first.

Some time ago, I heard Rick Joyner mention that the Lord appeared to him after he was infected with coronavirus. The Lord told him that the churches in the United States have not yet repented, as described in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Even now, the church in the United States has not fully repented. We must repent not only for our sins, but also for our flesh. We should even repent for focusing on our flesh and weakness instead of focusing on the Lord and His promises. When our flesh is weak, we cannot just look at our own weakness. We should also focus on the strength of Christ. We must repent for believing that the weakness of our flesh exceeds the power of God.

The original meaning of repentance in the Bible is to turn around and change our attitude, not just to regret our mistakes. We need to take our eyes off our weakness, because Christ is waiting for us to look up to Him. Just as the Israelites looked at the bronze serpent, we look at Christ to be saved! Our salvation is in sight, just waiting for us to raise our head and look in faith! When we are weak, he is strong! The power of God is made perfect in our weakness!

Our current situation can be compared to runners completing the last mile of a marathon. They just need a little bit of strength to win. I believe that our victory and the collective victory of the American church are coming soon because God’s strength is going to be manifested in their weakness. When they are strong in the flesh, God cannot do things. When God removes their flesh, they become weak; but that is when God’s power is unleashed to do something wonderful.

For this reason, I choose to stand with prophets like Kat Kerr, Timothy Dixon and many others. God will miraculously move on our behalf to bring the spiritual victory, hope, and healing that the American church so desperately needs.

Written on Feb 22, 2021.

 

 

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

 

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 26

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 26

Acts 26 was the most important turning point and transition in Paul's life as he testified about the Lord from Jerusalem to Rome. Paul's calling was to be an apostle to the Gentiles. But he could not let go of his fellow Jews, so he hoped that the Gospel could be spread further among them first. Although the prophet Agabus and others prophesied that he would be bound in Jerusalem, Paul still resolutely went to Jerusalem and was bound and taken to Rome. This chapter talks about his experiences testifying in Rome.

The Bible is our textbook. It transcends time and space. God makes the logos or written words of the Bible come alive through the Holy Spirit, which is known as a rhema word.  As a Chinese Christian, I believe that God has called me to help evangelize China.  A Korean prophet told me that God would evangelize China in the 21^st century.  Many Chinese Christians would agree with this.

We know that Paul made significant contributions to evangelizing Europe. The Gospel began to spread in Jerusalem, but it wasn't easy to spread it to Europe. Therefore, examining what Paul did in the process of evangelizing Europe provides us an essential and valuable reference for evangelizing China or other places today.

The book of Acts helps us to draw from their lessons and experience to help us do the work of evangelism today.

A sentence that we don't quite understand in this chapter is 26:32. After King Agrippa heard Paul's appeal, he said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar" (NIV).

To be honest, this sentence disturbed me because reading the Bible is like watching a movie. When you immerse yourself in the plot of this movie, you are very concerned about the fate of the protagonists in the film, hoping to give them some advice to help change their future. I often say that the Holy Spirit is the best screenwriter. When writing the Bible, each chapter is like a small movie. After reading this far, I hoped that Paul wouldn't appeal to Caesar so that he could be set free. But he did appeal to Caesar so he couldn't be set free. Agrippa also said the same thing to Festus.  Although Paul tried to persuade Agrippa to believe in the Lord, Agrippa did not make a decision. Despite all this, his attitude towards Paul is somewhat sympathetic.  This sentence probably means that Agrippa wanted to set Paul free, but because Paul appealed to Caesar, he couldn't do anything about it.

If I were the director of the movie (based on this chapter), I would not have had Paul appeal to Caesar so that he could be set free. But the Bible doesn't record it that way. Why did Paul appeal to Caesar? What was God's plan in this? Apart from Paul's appeal to Caesar in the beginning, which could help him break free from the accusation of the Jews, now, they have reached a deadlock, and his appeal has kept him bound.

The Bible doesn't record whether Paul met with Caesar while imprisoned or when he was set free.  Historical legends tell us that Paul was eventually set free and later beheaded by Emperor Nero around 67-68 A.D.  Emperor Nero ruled from 54-68A.D., while Constantine, the first Roman emperor who accepted Christianity, ruled from 306-337A.D. He began to embrace Christianity from 313 A.D., which was about 245 years after Paul's death.   At that point, evangelization was accomplished to a certain extent in Europe.

We can see that Paul had established the foundation in evangelizing the cities of Europe. He even had the opportunity to testify before King Agrippa. Philippians 4:22 mentions that there are saints in Caesar's household. That shows that although Paul's evangelical work wasn't able to directly change Caesar, it did affect the people in Caesar's family.

In the United States, Vice President Pence is Christian, and President Trump also supports Christianity.  In contrast, mainland China and Taiwan are nowhere near the level of evangelization of the United States. Evangelization in China and Taiwan are even slightly worse than what Paul accomplished in Europe.  We can't publicly testify or preach the Gospel to the government leaders either in bondage or freedom.

From the above analysis, God allowed Paul to appeal to Caesar. Maybe God wanted to use the opportunity to preach the Gospel to the high-level leaders of Rome through Paul. On the one hand, the Gospel is a civil movement. On the other hand, it is about changing the hearts of the top leaders. A man in our meeting said that if God can change a leader's heart, the work of evangelization in that country will be much easier to carry out.

There are many examples in Latin American and African countries of leaders being changed by the Gospel through evangelism.  For instance, Argentine president Peron was healed of a skin disease when prayed for by Tommy Hicks.  This president then opened religious freedom and allowed Tommy to use stadiums in Argentina to preach the Gospel, which brought about the great Argentine revival.

Many people have prophetic gifts in the United States, such as Kat Kerr, Jeremiah Johnson, and Anna Rountree. They all said that they have experienced and witnessed Jesus walking through the walls in their homes. Wouldn't it have been easier to change world leaders if Jesus had walked through the walls of their homes?  I can verify that these experiences are real because the Lord Jesus has appeared to me several times, although not quite as dramatic as the above examples.  God doesn't always choose to dramatically appear to everyone.  He is more likely to appear to those who are longing for a deeper intimacy with Him.  He often decides to radically change a person's life, like Saul, to make Himself known.  Saul then becomes Paul who testifies of his life-changing experience.

Evangelizing is a process.  Changing the President's heart in Argentina certainly opened the door to the Gospel, but that's not the only way.  Paul slowly but consistently changed the mindsets of the people in various cities, which in turn had the potential to change the leader's hearts later.  If the majority of the people in a country are opposed to the Gospel, changing the leader's hearts would not be enough.  Paul made much progress in evangelizing Europe.  When he appealed to Caesar, he was able to influence and change people's hearts in Caesar's family.  However, the Roman Empire did not accept Christianity until 245 A.D.  In other words, Paul indirectly influenced Constantine. I've heard that Constantine saw a vision of a cross in the sky during the war and believed that God would help him win the war, so he embraced Christianity.  If the vision was real, it looks like God appeared to him in some form.From the example above, we can see that evangelizing a country like China will take time.  I can testify from personal experience that Chinese leaders, as well as most of my family and friends, are not open to the Gospel.  China probably won't experience a dramatic change like Tommy Hicks saw in Argentina.  More than likely, it will be more like what Paul did in Europe, a gradual process.  Even if Jesus walked through the walls of China's leadership and convinced them, if the people still opposed God, the leader would face much opposition and not accomplish much.

Recently, after a prayer meeting about the coronavirus outbreak, I had a prophetic dream that took me into the future of what would happen in China.  Many Chinese people were worshipping God throughout the country.  There was a Chinese lady who led the tour of people accompanying me to see this.  She said this revival was not something she had seen when she lived on earth.  I also interacted with many Chinese believers there in glory.  I witnessed many things in the two hours I was there but only remember a few.

In another prophetic dream earlier, I was chased by a group of future Chinese democratic leaders who came to thank me for my articles. They said my writing greatly encouraged them. In the dream, I was puzzled as I saw that they were older than me. How could I influence them?  Later I realized this is a prophetic dream. God's message might mean that the power of the Gospel will eventfully transform Chinese society.

The Bible doesn't tell us whether Paul saw Caesar or whether he knew him.  We only know that he appealed to Caesar through King Agrippa.  Before Paul had his Damascus road experience with Jesus, he was rich in theological knowledge but did not know the risen Lord.  His whole life and perspective changed when Jesus appeared to him.

In other words, from the religious center of Jerusalem to the secular center of Rome, the turning point of Paul's journey was his experience in Damascus. We need more people to experience what Paul experienced on the road to Damascus because the population of the world is much greater today.  There are countless examples of Jesus appearing to people in recent years, yet we need many more to go out into the world, testifying to the resurrection and power of Christ.As I mentioned in a previous study, we must be able to overcome the attack of religious spirits in our own Jerusalem so that we, like Paul, can be taken to Rome to preach the Gospel to the secular world.  Christians must have their own Damascus road experience to transition from Jerusalem to Rome.  To be a strong witness for God, we must hunger to know and experience the risen Lord to help us rid ourselves of the religious spirits and barriers contained in churches. 

 

Bible Study With Jairus - Convergence Is Coming To The Body Of Christ

Convergence of Two Rivers

 

A Revival Out of Maryland

In 2002, I was saved through the Local Church Movement (LCM) associated with Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. The LCM is a Christian movement that originated from China and spread to the world. Both the Plymouth Brethren (PB) and C. I. Scofield’s teachings were strong influences on the formation of the LCM’s doctrine and practice. Although some of the LCM’s practices and teachings are still controversial for Christians today, I learned a lot from them—principally, how to develop and maintain a holy lifestyle and a habit of reading the Word of God.

By 2013, I had been part of the LCM for 11 years and married to my wife for 7 years. Sadly, we could not have a baby because of a medical complication concerning my wife. We sought medical help from places all over the world. One day in the summer of 2013, my wife, I and another Chinese believer went to New York to speak with a Chinese herbalist. By that time, my wife had already been preparing for her residence and she received an offer from a university’s medical center in Pennsylvania. On the way to the appointment, we were discussing the possibility of moving from Maryland where we lived to Pennsylvania. Suddenly, I had a vision! I saw a tornado or a whirlwind of sorts. It started out small, but it grew bigger and bigger.

I felt the Lord tell me in the Spirit, “Do not leave Maryland. There will be a great revival coming from Maryland, and it will spread all over the world.” Initially I was a bit shocked because this was the first vision I ever received from the Lord. Since the LCM was an evangelical church who did not teach about these things, I was never taught to be prepared to receive any visions. However, my wife and I felt to follow the leading in our spirits from this vision, and we, therefore, gave up the opportunity in Pennsylvania and stayed in Maryland. I felt God was giving a promise that revival would come like a tornado and spread all over.

Convergence: Two Lines Crossing Through the Sky

In late 2014, I realized we could not solve our infertility problem via medical solutions. Doctors told us that we would not be able to have a baby naturally and we failed to conceive after 4-5 IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) treatments. The Lord even blocked the way for us to use an egg donor. I realized this when our one egg donor suddenly changed her mind last minute. These events pushed me to seek help outside of my evangelical church since they were not able to minister divine healing or prophetic words to us. This is when I started watching teachings on divine healing and the prophetic gifts on Youtube through other charismatic pastors and teachers. In 2015, I also began to travel within the US to join healing revivals and prophetic conferences.

One of my trips landed me at All Nations Church in South Carolina. There I received prayers by Mahesh Chavda and his staff. While there, a prophetic member of Chavda’s staff told us he saw two lines crossing several times through the sky and the Lord said “convergence.” He shared with me that he felt it was a divine appointment for me to come to their meeting to receive prayer, and that this was a crossroad moment in my life.

He was right on point. What he didn’t know was that I was secretly seeking help from Pentecostal and Charismatic churches while still part of the LCM denomination. Eventually I left the denomination completely and although the process of leaving was very painful for me, I knew it was necessary. I felt like a baby being weaned from its mother. However, I was comforted by the Lord as he continued to speak with me. Not too long after, I had a vision of the Yangtze River in China. The Lord showed me a tributary in both an upper and lower stream. He told me that I was unified with the body of Christ as long as I followed the leading of His Spirit. He reassured me that it was Him who brought me to the upper stream, and now He was leading me to a different stream. The people in the upper stream where I began would join me later, but I would never return to the Tibetan Plateau where I started even though my tributary began there. He encouraged me to follow the flow. I did and haven’t stopped.

The Lord said these two rivers will converge…

On May 31, 2017, the Lord appeared to me in another dream. I saw two rivers. One was full of water and very turbulent. The other river had less water and was less turbulent. The second river flowed through the place where I live in Maryland, but it became muddy and stagnant. Near my city is a small town called Columbia. Columbia is an area known for its business and commerce, and for a short time I attended a small Charismatic church there. In the dream, I got the impression that I should connect the two rivers. When I looked up, I saw the Lord standing from a very high place with the two rivers behind him. It seemed that these two rivers were both just the upper parts of the streams.

Since I am Chinese, analogies of the Yangtze River and Yellow River appeared in my mind. Both the Yangtze River and Yellow River originated from the Tibetan Plateau, but the Yellow river flows north until it eventually reaches the sea in North East China. The Yangtze River flows southbound until it reaches the sea in South East China. Since the Yellow River flows north through a desert-like area, it sometimes becomes stagnant or congested. China has a project going on to build a canal to import waters from the Yangtze River to the Yellow River in its upstream to solve this problem. In my dream, I understood from the Lord that the stream I saw in Maryland was like the Yellow River in China.

Upon seeing the two rivers behind the Lord in the high place, I felt the Lord say, “These two rivers will converge.” Naïvely, I responded, “Well, we can probably build a tunnel in the upper stream of the two rivers, and it will create a shortcut to bring the streams together.” I spoke this from my natural mind and reasoning because I thought it would save time and energy. The Lord replied, “No, these two rivers will converge in the lower stream.”

Although I didn’t understand, the Lord took me back to Maryland. I was supernaturally brought back to my home by riding on roller skates from the high place where the Lord was. When I returned, I saw the river again, but this time I also saw traffic in the city and a muddy road on the street. I noticed the flow of the river had been congested like the Yellow River in China. Then I heard the Lord say, “It is not time yet.” I sensed He meant that either the time is not ready for this convergence or some people are not ready. It will happen when the time and people are ready.

After traveling to other places in my city, I was suddenly brought to another high place like the first place where I met the Lord. However, I did not see the Lord this time, but I saw my wife following me on her own roller skates. My movement through the sky was in the shape of a “U” like the ramps skateboarders use. In the first part of the dream, I was with the Lord on one end of this U shape. Now, I was on the other side of it, and the bottom of that letter U was where I lived. I saw from above that the flow of the water had indeed been interrupted from flowing to Maryland. As I watched the traffic, business, and busy routines, I got the impression that people were too occupied by their routines to prepare for or receive this convergence of streams.

That day the Lord did not tell me what these two rivers represented, but since then I have felt it may be referring to a convergence of holiness and power. A convergence must take place within the body of Christ where believers are characterized by a biblically set-apart lifestyle and attitude and are filled with the Holy Spirit and operating powerfully in the gifts and authority granted to us by Christ. During the first decade of my Christian life, I focused on developing and living a holy and set apart life. Now the Lord is leading me to study the gifts of the Holy Spirit and become active in them. I have had many prophetic dreams that seem to support my interpretation of this dream. I have even had other dreams of people from my previous denomination receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. I have also dreamt of many preachers from my previous denomination preaching fervently on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Heaven Invades Earth

Another impression I received from this dream is that a convergence must take place between the heavenly stream and earthly stream. It’s like the two camps Jacob saw. The word “Mahanaim” is the name Jacob gave to the place where he saw the angels of God in Genesis 32:2. It literally means “two camps.” The time when Jacob saw the angel armies and named the place Mahanaim was also the time that the Lord revealed himself face-to-face to Jacob and touched his hip. There were two armies when Jacob saw the angels of God there, and they were dancing together and working together.

Mahanaim is also referred to in Song of Solomon 6:13: “Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance before two armies (Mahanaim)?” (NRSV) We, the body of Christ, are the Shulammite woman, and Jesus is King Solomon. The relationship between us and the Lord is the same of Solomon and the Shulammite. Solomon is the husband and the Shulammite is his bride. Likewise, Christ is our husband, and we are his Shulammite.

Although in the dream, the Lord specifically said, “It is not time yet,” I received another impression afterward. God has been wrestling with the body of Christ for a long time as Jacob wrestled with the angel in the camp. Just as his hip was touched, God is about to touch the Church’s hip. We will lose our natural strength and be lost in Him in wonder, and when He is ready to lead us, we will go forth dancing to do battle together. The battle belongs to the Lord, but He is waiting for us to lose our natural strength. Spiritually speaking, Jacob eventually was transformed into a spiritual Shulammite when he had a face-to-face encounter with his lover Jesus Christ. His wrestling with the Lord turned into dancing with the Lord.

I believe the two streams I saw may also therefore represent heaven and earth. The heavenly army is about to invade the earth soon. The convergence is not only the convergence of different streams (denominations) comprising the body of Christ. It is also the convergence of heaven and earth. I have had dreams to support this interpretation too. For example, I have been taken into heavenly meetings where I saw saints discussing and planning things related to the coming revival in China. I shared this in another writing. Not only were the angels armies actively participating, but the saints were very much involved in planning the revivals on the earth too. The angels are also anticipating and celebrating the eventual convergence of King Jesus and His bride, the Shulammite.

Let’s remember that in Genesis 32, Jacob was in fear while he prepared to see his brother Esau. He was afraid he might be killed, but God opened his eyes to see the angel army that was with him. The body of Christ is like Jacob today. We are moving with a seemingly weak army on earth, but there is a heavenly army of angels and saints actively cooperating with us. The enemies we face today will be turned in our favor just as Esau’s heart was turned toward Jacob. When heaven starts its invading, many will repent and become our friends. As many as were God’s foes, they will become his friends because of His great love for them and us.

Conclusion: Stay Encouraged!

Let us stay encouraged despite the onslaught of negative things in the natural realm. Let’s remember that in Genesis 32, Jacob was in fear while he prepared to see his brother Esau. He was afraid he might be killed, but God opened his eyes to see the angel army that was with him. Although the Church is moving with a seemingly weak army on earth, there is a heavenly army of angels and saints actively cooperating with us. The enemies we face today will be turned in our favor just as Esau’s heart was turned toward Jacob. When heaven starts its invading, many will repent and become our friends. As many as were God’s foes, they will become his friends because of His great love for them and us.

Just as Psalm 23 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” The Lord is not only with us in the valley, but He is waiting for us to go to a higher place! And He will even give us spiritual “roller skates” to carry us there. Enjoy the ride!