BibleStudyWithJairus

Bible Study With Jairus - Romans 13 God’s Will for Believers and Politics Roman chapter 13 is about obedience to authority. Paul tells us that all authority is given by God, and that we must submit ourselves to those who govern us. If we resist authority, we resist God, because God has set up authority to punish evildoers on God's behalf. If we do good, we don’t have to be afraid. Paul also notes that we must pay taxes, because the ruler is God's servant. Jesus also said “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). The words of Jesus have been interpreted in different ways throughout the ages. Some have used them to argue that Christians should not participate in politics. This will be our study focus today. How on earth do you understand what is being said here? First of all, the truth has two sides, and we must deal with each side in a balanced way. Although we should obey those in power, the premise is that those in power are doing what God wants them to do, such as maintaining social justice and punishing wrongdoers. But if the authorities persecute Christians by saying that they cannot believe in the Lord or preach the Gospel, this is a violation of higher authority. God's Word charges us to preach the good news to all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, throughout the ages, many people have disobeyed the orders of those in power by preaching the Gospel. Second, regarding understanding Jesus' words, Christian participation in politics also needs to be considered with a balanced principle. Let's start by looking at some different historical interpretations of whether Christians should participate in politics. READ MORE: https://jbwm.org/

Bible Study with Jairus – Leviticus 9 The Threefold Office of Christ in Leviticus 9 My heart was stirred and inspired by Leviticus 9, which begins in verse 1 with the powerful statement that, “On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the Elders of Israel” (English Standard Version). The subsequent parts of Chapter 9 detail Moses’ induction of Aaron into the Priesthood and his instructions about the offerings and sacrifices to God, and it ends with the appearance of the Glory of God, which consumes the burnt offering. What stands out in this chapter is how the three offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, – which, up until this point, had all been held by Moses, – are divided and appointed to separate people. In Leviticus 9 we see those assignments broken down by Moses in the office of Prophet, Aaron as Priest, and the Elders of Israel as King, all of which work together to demonstrate God’s authority and usher His people into His Glory. Each part of the Threefold Office serves a distinct function in the Old Testament, long before the birth of Christ, just as it did during Jesus’ earthly ministry, when He ultimately fulfilled these roles. The separation of these offices and their duties is similar to the United States Government’s separation of powers into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Moses represents the Prophets that receive God’s Law, which can be likened to Congress’ legislative responsibilities in establishing laws and the Constitution. Aaron represents the Priests, whose mandate is to interpret, explain, and apply God’s Law in the country, comparable to the judicial role the Supreme Court plays. Finally, the Elders of Israel represent the Kings that execute the Law, similar to the executive function undertaken by the President and the Cabinet. READ MORE: https://jbwm.org/

Unity and Humility in the Body of Christ. Bible Study with Jairus - 1 Corinthians 3 Have you ever wondered why Paul seems to expect Christians to leave behind spiritual childhood, while Jesus expects Christians to become like little children? Paul asked Christians not to be “infants in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1), yet Jesus commanded us all to “turn and become like children” (Matthew 18:3) Which is it? Does God want us to become mature in Christ, or does he want us to become like little children? The difference between spirit, soul, and body To understand the answer to this question, it’s important to understand the difference between the spirit, soul, and body. To grow spiritually, our soul needs to be transformed, but that does not mean our physical self—mind, will, and emotions--remain immature and childish. Our will, along with our IQ and EQ, will continue to grow and develop as we mature. What is important is for us to maintain “child-like innocence” in our hearts. A person controlled by the Holy Spirit should be very innocent. In other words, Jesus calls for our hearts to remain pure like the heart of a child. Paul, on the other hand, encourages us to grow and mature, so that we do not remain immature, like an infant. Our souls need to experience transformation and renewal through Christ. This discussion relates to a correct understanding of the heart, soul, spirit and body, and the ways they are perceived differently by different churches. In the Local Church Movement (LCM), I was taught that a person has three parts – spirit, soul and body. A person’s soul consists of his mind, emotions and will. A person’s spirit consists of his conscience, fellowship, and intuition. A person’s heart consists of the spirit’s conscience and the soul’s mind, emotions and will. Whether or not these definitions are complete is a discussion for another time. However, by using these definitions, we can focus the discussion on the difference between spirit and soul. Read More: https://jbwm.org/

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. Read More: https://jbwm.org/

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. Read More: https://jbwm.org/

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. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study/

This synergy paper is a combination of two assignments. We can only include a portion (abstract) of my spiritual biography, so this synergy paper is a combination of my spiritual biography and the project I am about to begin. This project is about comparing the prophesying practice between the LCM and the Pentecostal Movement. So in this paper, you will see a brief combination of my spiritual biography and my experiences in the LCM and Pentecostal Movement. My teacher is a Christian pastor with solid academic experience and a Wesleyan background. He is an expert on the Holiness movement taught by John Wesley. He provided the comments on this synergy paper, I am enjoying reading your material very, very much! Your journey is amazing and challenges my faith very much – to go deeper with the Word, and to keep seeking more revelation and empowerment. I think your project will be very interesting. This paper was really enjoyable and challenging, Sean. Thank you for all your hard work to advance the cause of Christ. I did not include his name here as this version is unofficial, and it may contain errors that I have made, and I don’t want him to bear any blame. Read More: https://jbwm.org/part-2-synergy-paper/

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). Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study/

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." 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. Read More: https://jbwm.org/

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 8 Numbers 8 has two different stories. The first story is about Jehovah instructing Moses and Aaron how to place the lamps in the golden lampstand. Numbers 8:2 (ESV) records: "Speak to Aaron and say to him, when you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand." We keyed in on the phrase, "the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand." The lamps must light in front of the lampstand. The second story is about Jehovah telling Moses how Aaron should offer the Levites as a wave offering. The main verse we discussed at this meeting was verse 11 (ESV), "Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the LORD." The phrase that stood out was Aaron offering the Levites as a wave offering. Why were the Levites presented as a wave offering? The wave offering could be unleavened bread (ESV, Exodus 29:23) and the breast of the ram (ESV, Exodus 29:26). Unleavened bread was to be burned on the altar on top of the burnt offering before the LORD (ESV, Exodus 29:25). After the breast of the ram was waved, it could be returned to Aaron and his sons. Here it said that Aaron would offer the Levites as a wave offering. We understand that this is a spiritual representation. So, are the Levites like the unleavened bread, or the breasts of the ram, or both? Maybe both. But why would they be offered as a wave offering from the Israelites? Why not let other animals from the herd or the flock be offered as a wave offering instead of the Levites? Numbers 8 mentions that when the Levites were offered as a wave offering, they needed to be sprinkled with the water of purification, to shave, and wash their clothes (Numbers 8:7, ESV). They shall take a bull from the herd and its grain offering, and another bull from the herd for a sin-offering (Numbers 8:8, ESV). They shall use one for a sin offering to the LORD and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites (Numbers 8:12, ESV). The Levites shall offer them as a wave offering to the LORD (Numbers 8:13, ESV). The reason the Levites were treated as a wave offering was that "the Levites shall be mine" (Numbers 8:14, ESV) and "in place of the firstborn of all the people of Israel" (Numbers 8:16, ESV). Because "On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself" (Numbers 8:17, ESV), "I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel." (Numbers 8:18, ESV). Then the Levites could do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and make atonement for the people of Israel, so that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary (Numbers 8:19, ESV). A man in our study asked, "What is the practical spiritual significance of the Levites' story of being wave offering to Christians today? Christians can now approach God's throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16, NIV), and we don't need an intermediary as the Levites did." To answer this question, we need to take a closer look at Numbers 8:11 (NIV), "Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the LORD." Aaron's work is to serve God in the Holy of Holies, which represents our spiritual life living before God to serve God Himself. There are very few such people around. I saw a conversation between our Heavenly Father and Anna Rountree. He asked her to eat the food in His hands and even told her that there were very few people serving Him in the Holy of Holies. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-numbers-8/

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 7 After our Bible meeting finished, we were still puzzled over Numbers 7. We didn’t understand some of the questions in this chapter. For example, the twelve tribes of Israel offered the same gifts twelve times. Each time, they were exactly the same. Yet, they are described repeatedly. We know that one written word of the Bible is worth a thousand pieces of gold. The Holy Spirit would surely not record unnecessary words in the Bible. However, from the perspective of efficiency, it seems a bit wasteful to repeat the sacrifices offered by the twelve tribes. This was a question that everyone had during our meeting. The context of Numbers 7 is the story of Moses and the tabernacle. Moses finishes setting up the tabernacle and anoints and consecrates it and all its furnishings. He also anoints and consecrates the altar and all its utensils (NIV, Numbers 7:1). We noticed something unusual in this verse that we will discuss. Brother Watchman Nee has a famous hymn. One of the sentences states, "First the blood, and then the anointing oil." This references the general order of the sacrifice. First, the priest was to present a sin offering or sprinkle blood. In fact, the book of Exodus instructs that the priest first be sprinkled with blood before he is anointed with oil. Exodus 29:21 (NIV) says, "Take some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated." Exodus 29:36 (NIV) then says, "Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it and anoint it to consecrate it." This second verse demonstrates that the sin offering must be offered first before anointing the altar to consecrate it. However, Numbers 7 does not record the rule of sprinkling blood or offering the sin offering first. We should keep in mind, therefore, that Numbers 6 had mentioned the sin offering as it relates to the law concerning the Nazarites; therefore, it is likely these verses in Numbers were specifically spoken and directed towards the Nazarites after their defilement. It seems the verses in Numbers and Exodus may have no direct relationship. Of course, the sacrifices of the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel later included the sin offering. Each leader presented a male goat as a sin offering. The total number for the sin offering was twelve. But this happened after Moses anointed the tabernacle, altar and all its utensils. Today, we will not discuss the specific numbers and spiritual meanings of the various sacrifices offered by the leaders of the twelve tribes. We will just talk about the last verse of Numbers 7 which states, “When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. And he spoke with Him" (NIV, Numbers 7:89). How did Jehovah and Moses talk before? When Aaron and Miriam rebelled against Moses, Jehovah came to defend Moses. It was recorded that He spoke with Moses face to face (Numbers 12:8). It was also recorded in Exodus 33:11 that Jehovah spoke to Moses face to face like speaking to a friend. However, in Numbers 7 Moses heard Jehovah's words on the atonement cover, and he spoke with Jehovah in that place. So, when Jehovah was talking with Moses here on the atonement cover, was it a new way? Since the tabernacle had just been set up, perhaps a new way had been established. Exodus 40 records that when the tabernacle was set up, a cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not even enter the tabernacle. This chapter also talks about Jehovah commanding Moses to anoint the tabernacle and the altar and sanctify them. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-numbers-7/

Coming Great China Revival by Jairus Bible World Ministries (Prophecy China 2021-Full Version)

Moses’ prophetic word Numbers 16 tells the story of Korah's rebellion and the discipline God sent as a result. When Moses spoke out about the earth opening and swallowing these imposters, did he know in advance what God was going to do? Or did the prophecy come to him in that very moment, before he had even realized it? Numbers 16:30 says, "If the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.” I don’t believe Moses knew in advance what he was about to say. Instead, I believe he released prophetic words in that very moment. When a prophet speaks, things start happening to fulfill his words. When I first learned about releasing the "word of knowledge", the teachers in my prophetic class proposed many ways to receive the word of knowledge, including "hearing", "seeing", "feeling", "dreaming" and "speaking out." When those who have the gift of prophecy use this spiritual gift, they speak out first and only later realize that what they said is not of themselves, but of the Holy Spirit. These practices are not preached about or exercised in evangelical churches, so many evangelicals lack such experience. But in the Pentecostal Movement, which pays more attention to the use of prophetic gifts, there are many such examples. For example, Chuck Pierce, a Charismatic prophet, was prophesying at a meeting when he suddenly found himself saying that Bin Laden would be caught within a few hours. He recalled that he felt regret and fear immediately after saying this, because if this thing did not happen, he would be convicted as a false prophet or a prophet who gives false prophecies. However, it turned out that Bin Laden was indeed caught within a few hours. I had experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit which made the prophetic gift possible. I tried my best to pursue the gift of prophecy, but I have never experienced the ability to predict future events. However, when I am sharing the Lord's words in meetings, I often find myself saying something I had not previously planned on saying. Other times, someone asks me a question about a verse I don't quite understand, and I suddenly get an inspiration about its meaning. Sometimes, I give the explanation quickly, before my thoughts and understanding can catch up. After experiencing the filling or outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I frequently have experiences like this while serving the Lord. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-numbers-16/

The Meaning of Almond Blossoms Numbers 17 tells us that Aaron’s staff blossomed with lovely almond flowers. You may be wondering about the significance of almond blossoms. Why did Aaron's staff sprout, bud, blossom, and even bear ripe almonds? Why did the budding of Aaron's staff imply that God had chosen Aaron? Why did it put an end to the grumblings of the Israelites? Even more perplexing, why did the people think they were going to die after seeing the blossoming rod? First, let's answer the question about the almond blossoms. We want to clarify that we don't have an absolute answer, but we can share our inspiration on the passage. When Jeremiah was young, he was called by God to be a prophet. Jeremiah’s first reaction was, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” (ESV, Jeremiah 1:6). But the Lord said to him, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.” (ESV, Jeremiah 1:7). Then the Lord began to teach Jeremiah how to be a prophet. Whether it is a prophet in the Old Testament or a prophet in the New Testament, an important part of the gift of prophecy is to see and explain prophetic visions. In Jeremiah 1:11, the Lord asked Jeremiah, “What did you see?” (ESV) The Lord gave Jeremiah a prophetic vision and then taught him how to explain the prophetic vision he saw. Jeremiah replied to the Lord, "I saw an almond branch." The Hebrew word for almond branch sounds the same or similar to the word "watch" (take care of, help, look after). According to Stepbible.org, the word for Almond is שָׁקֵד (sha.qed) in Hebrew. While the word for Watch is שָׁקַד (sha.qad) in Hebrew. They look and sound similar. This is a pun that the Lord used to explain the prophetic vision that Jeremiah saw. In other words, the Lord showed Jeremiah the vision of an almond branch, which is in line with what He said: “I am watching over my word to perform it.” (ESV, Jeremiah 1:12). Jamie Galloway, a Pentecostal prophet, was a teacher at the prophetic school I attended. He often uses this story to tell how prophets learn to see prophetic visions, hear the voice of God, understand prophetic visions and transmit God's words. He said that God often speaks in puns. So although we are not sure about the significance of Aaron's staff being made of almond wood, the story of Jeremiah may shed some light on this question. It is true that Aaron was chosen by God, and that God would take care of Aaron and watch over him. God would bring fulfillment to the tasks he had given Aaron to do. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-numbers-17/

Overcoming evil through faith. Many Christians are familiar with the story of the twelve spies who explored the land of Canaan, the promised land that God had promised to give to the Israelites. Numbers 12 explains that ten of the spies gave a bad report. Caleb and Joshua, the last two spies, believed they could overcome their enemies and take the land. God was pleased with Caleb and Joshua. Forty years later, when the people of Israel finally entered the Promised Land, these two were the only spies that were allowed to inherit the land. The other ten evil spies died in the wilderness because of unbelief. Numbers 13, however, introduces some themes that we don’t often hear about in church. For example, Numbers 13:33 gives a cryptic reference to some lesser known people, the Nephilim. This verse clearly states that the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim. Genesis 6:4 introduces us to the Nephilim: "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God come in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown." ESV Christians disagree about the identity of the “sons of God" in this passage. Some believe they were evil spirits, that is, fallen angels. When they married the daughters of man, they gave birth to "Nephilim.” "Nephilim" means "giants" in the original text. According to this interpretation, these people were a combination of evil spirits and man’s flesh. They precipitated the worldwide flood of Genesis 6 that wiped out all human beings except Noah's family. We know that Noah is a descendant of Adam, not the "Nephilim.” So shouldn’t all the "Nephilim" have been wiped out by the flood? How were there still "Nephilim" surviving in the Promised Land? Some people say that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:4 is a reference to the son of "Seth". We have no way of knowing this. Even if this interpretation were correct, these so-called "Nephilim" should have all been wiped out in the flood. All human beings should be the descendants of Noah. Therefore, it seems logically impossible for the "Nephilim" in the Promised Land to be the descendants of the "Nephilim" in Genesis 6. Did the evil spirits unite with humans to produce giants a second time? We have no way of knowing this, either. If so, it provides an extreme example of what evil spirits can do to humans. We do know that evil spirits can indeed control and possess people. The story of the Lord Jesus casting out demons, as well as countless stories about casting out demons in modern churches, tell us that evil spirits can indeed possess people. No matter how the "Nephilim" came into being here, they were obviously possessed by or united with evil spirits. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-numbers-13/

Stop Hiding: How to cleanse your heart’s infection In Leviticus 15, we find a shockingly candid discussion of human discharges. Though our culture is often hesitant to discuss these topics, God had an urgent reason to bring this subject to our attention. God’s laws about cleansing discharges can teach us an important lesson about the cleansing blood of Jesus and the importance of spiritual sanitation. In this passage, a few types of discharges are specifically described, such as emission of semen or menstrual bleeding. But the rest of the discharges are not clearly specified. The New Testament hints at a few other types of discharges, such as the bleeding woman who touched the cloak of the Lord and was healed (Mark 5). In modern medical terminology, we could say she might have had a bleeding disorder like hemophilia. Discharges can also include infectious emissions, such as pus. Under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, these discharges can have important practical implications for our Christian life today. Let's dive in! When someone receives a serious cut or wound, it’s important to stop the bleeding and keep the wound clean and dry so that it can heal. Otherwise, we run the risk of infection. During war time, many people died from untreated injuries. The wounds themselves were not life-threatening, but the infection that followed caused death. An infected wound can cause disease or even claim your life. Both blood and water play an important role in guarding against infection. Blood cleans the wound as it flows through the damaged tissue, washing away dirt and killing bacteria. Later, it creates a scab, allowing the wound to heal. Not only do we need blood to cleanse from the inside, but we also need water (or another disinfectant) to clean from the outside. The wound needs to be washed to remove toxins trying to enter from the outside world. Otherwise, the germs will get into the blood stream and damage the body. The same is true spiritually. As Christians, our sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus washing away our stains. Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” (NKJV) His blood cleanses us as we repent and confess our sins. However, we also need to be washed externally. Ephesians 5:26 says that Jesus wants to “cleanse [the church] with the washing of water by the word” (NKJV). Jesus washes us with his word, and we participate actively through confession and repentance. The blood of Jesus is always effective, but there are conditions for the blood of Jesus to cleanse us. We need to allow God’s word to wash us (John 13:8). We need to confess our sins and turn to him for forgiveness. We need to wash away worldly influences in our lives. Otherwise, the infection of sin will quickly and insidiously sneak in from the outside. Before we have a chance to confess it and turn to the Lord for cleansing, sin will begin to take over every part of our lives. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-leviticus-15/

Unity in the Chinese Church The Chinese church, like all churches around the world, has struggled with unity for many years. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1 provide encouragement and hope for any church in its fight against conflict and disunity. Several years ago, I met a young lady who had been saved in a traditional Chinese church. After encountering Charismatic practices in my ministry, she opened herself to speaking in tongues, signs and wonders. In need of personal healing, she participated in some special meetings associated with supernatural healing. Her church tried to persuade her not to participate in these activities, saying that she was church shopping. They told her she should only attend gatherings at their church instead of running around. However, this lady has a different opinion. She has noticed that praying in tongues has benefitted her spiritually. I agree. I’ve watched her fear diminish and her faith grow stronger. She believes that if pastors omit these vital teachings from God’s word, believers will become spiritually malnourished over time. In addition, she noticed that her evangelical church struggles with legalism. The church asks believers to recite the Bible and teaches them to condemn themselves for not confessing and repenting enough. Over the years, this Christian lady has beat herself up and condemned herself many times. Now, she realizes she has freedom in Christ. She sighs, “All these years, I have unnecessarily condemned myself so many times.” I was saved in the Local Church Movement (LCM) and have attended its gatherings for many years. When I met this lady, I was still in the LCM and had no contact with the Pentecostal Movement. At that time, some members and I tried to persuade her to join our church, but she refused. One of the reasons she gave was that she could not accept Brother Watchman Nee. Most Chinese churches outside of the LCM generally support Brother Watchman Nee and oppose Brother Witness Lee. The church that the lady was in was influenced by Pastor Stephen Tong, who is also against Watchman Nee. I read some of Pastor Stephen Tong’s criticisms of Watchman Nee online. He discusses theological disagreements and differing theological views. This lady mentioned a book to me - My Uncle Watchman Nee by Pastor Stephen C.T. Chan, Watchman Nee's nephew. She recommended this book because the book points out some of Watchman Nee’s shortcomings, remind us that Watchman Nee is not perfect. The LCM speaks highly of Watchman Nee, overlooking his shortcomings. Many outsiders criticize the LCM for idolizing Watchman Nee and putting him on pedestal. Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-1-corinthians-1/

As we mentioned last time, Paul met Aquila and his wife Priscilla. They were Jews coming from Rome to Italy. Paul had already left Athens and they all came to meet in Corinth. I’ve said before that their meeting was a turning point in Paul's spiritual life. Why do I say that? We usually think that Paul is an apostle, so he is always better than others and there is no need for him to learn from others. This isn’t the case. All of us have a learning process. Even when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He needed to learn to grow in the grace of God and man. Similarly, Paul also went through a learning process. In our study on Acts 17 last time, we mentioned that Paul may have made a mistake of being rash in Athens. He may have been influenced by the environment possibly having a negative rather than positive effect on evangelism. But in Acts 18, it shows the process by which the Holy Spirit further led and perfected Paul through the circumstances. Let's take a closer look. The Holy Spirit patiently leads us into God's will for our lives. The Lord Jesus said that, “Everything is in the hands of the Father. No two sparrows will fall to the ground without His consent.” (Matthew 10:29). Aquila and his wife Priscilla had just left Rome to Corinth because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul also came to Corinth from Athens. Is it accidental that they met there? No. Everything is arranged by the sovereignty of God. The purpose was to let Paul be further perfected and receive help from others in his ministry. There is some deeper insight here that the Holy Spirit allowed me to see while reading the Bible. It takes time for a person to completely follow the Lord and walk on the predestined path that He has laid out for us. However, often at the beginning we might not have a clear idea about what God’s will is or how to obey it; so we spend our time and energy following another path and are unable to unleash the gift that God has given us. For example, If you are called to minister in music but you spend all of your time learning to paint because you didn’t follow your heart, it results in failure and has very little effect for the kingdom. When you finally understand that music is your gift and you throw yourself into it, you will find that God has opened all the doors. Another example would be if God called you to be a cartoonist but instead you studied finance because your parents wanted you to be able to support yourself. When you realize that there is no joy in finance and you return to the industry you love, things will flow and you will be successful in the end. There are many examples like this. Read More: jbwm.org/acts/

In the beginning of Acts 17 it tells us that Paul and Silas came to the synagogue in Thessalonica to preach the gospel. Some people were persuaded, but it also led to the opposition of many Jews. The Jews wanted to bring Paul and Silas out to the crowd but could not find them. Because of this, the Jews dragged Jason out who had received Paul and Silas. Because of this, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea, and upon their arrival, they started to preach the gospel in the synagogue. The people there were more open-minded than the Thessalonians. When the Jews in Thessalonica heard about it, they came over to stir up trouble again. The believers then sent Paul to the coast and escorted him to Athens, while Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. When Paul arrived in Athens, he asked the people who escorted him to let Silas and Timothy come over. Then the Bible records: 17:16 (NIV) While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17:17 (NIV) So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 17:18 (NIV) A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. The Christian woman who was leading our Bible Study asked, “Why is it that the Jews of Thessalonica were so opposed to Paul's evangelism and when Paul arrived in Berea, why did the Jews from Thessalonica travel to Berea to oppose Paul? Why is it wherever Paul and Silas went, they went to the synagogue first to preach the gospel? And why is it when Paul arrived in Athens, he still let Silas and Timothy to come over? It seems that Timothy had always been with Paul, but why is it he didn’t mention Timothy when he was in Thessalonica and Berea? After the Jews brought Jason to the crowd, why was it recorded in Acts 17:7-8 (NIV) that: "Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus. When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil." Why were they thrown into turmoil? Read more: jbwm.org/acts/

The Journey to Faith I was born in the Hebei province of China. My hometown was a small village in the south Hebei province. It is adjacent to the Henan province and is located near a river. My family was poor but started to earn more money when my father began to work at the local township auditing department. My mother stayed in the village to grow crops and feed pigs. In spite of the hardships, my family’s financial situation was more stable than other families in the village. As a child, I always wondered what our purpose was on earth. I would often think about this in my yard while looking up at the stars. Sometimes I sat on a small hill near my village wondering, “Where will I be in the future?” My older sister enrolled in college in 1981 and was the only one in our county to be accepted into a college that year, which ended up being a huge event. Not only did the local teaching authority pay a lot of attention to this, but it also changed the mind of my grandpa and other family members in regards to the possibility of success. It was not common for a child from a rural village to enter college. Also, people in the village were prejudiced against females. So, my grandpa said that my brother and I must be accepted into college. When it was my turn to go to college, I was accepted into a college in Beijing. However, I faced many hardships. Not only was I pressured financially, but I also had to face inequalities. There are always prejudices against people from rural or poor areas in China. I felt hurt inside and sometimes became very shy and withdrawn. After four years of college, I stayed and worked there for another four years. I wasn’t satisfied with that life, and I still felt empty and didn’t know what my purpose in life was. Because of this, I decided to study abroad, which is a dream of many Chinese students. I got a joint offer from the London School of Economics in the UK and the University of Southern California. The tuition for the university in London was around 10,300 pounds, but I only had 10,000 pounds. By the third semester, I ran out of money. I did not have enough money to pay rent, tuition, and living expenses. I was also unable to find a job. I asked my family to help, and they gave me 1000 pounds. The university later offered help with my tuition, so that problem was solved. Read More: https://jbwm.org/part-1-spiritual-autobiography/

Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 16. The verses that inspired our bible group were Romans 16:19-20 (ESV), “For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” A brother in our group asked, “Why does Paul say be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil? What does this mean?” I said, “First, let’s look at the structure of Romans 16.” Romans 16:1-16 consists of greetings to people in the Roman church; verses 17-20 are words of exhortation; verses 21-23 are more greetings from Paul and others that were sent to people in the Roman church; and verses 25-27 are Paul’s summary of the gospel. When Paul wrote his letters, he probably wrote on parchment. In his day, there were no computers or even paper, so we can imagine it was very inconvenient to write a letter. The greetings in verses 1-16 and 21-23 are naturally indispensable in the last chapter. We can assume that what appears in the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans must be his burdensome words since he took the time to write more. Paul’s summary of the book of Romans in verses 25-27 seems to be very important, but why is his exhortation in verses 17-20 so important that it was placed in the last chapter? One of the difficulties of the Roman Church was the societal conflict between the Jews and Gentiles, which may have led to the conflict between Jewish and Gentile believers within the Roman church. These societal challenges were just external causes of conflict. Those who taught differently within the church are what Paul refers to as the internal causes of conflict. Paul said in verses 17-18 (ESV), “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” It is evident to us that Paul knew that some people in the church in Rome were “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” They did not consider the interest of the sheep or the flock as the most important thing. Rather, these persons deceived believers out of self-interest. This situation was not only present in Paul’s time, but it also exists among churches today. Upon hearing of the situation, Paul’s first natural reaction was to blame these “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” At the same time, he reminded the innocent believers to be “wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.” The direction to stay away from evil and be “innocent as to what is evil” is easy to understand. No Christian is willing to or should do evil. But the good deeds of Christians are sometimes taken advantage of by the enemy. Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-romans-16-2/

Romans 15 is the penultimate chapter of the book of Romans. One more chapter and the book is finished. Therefore, at the beginning of this chapter, Paul once again talks about “how Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs” (ESV, Romans 15:8); and how God accepted the Gentiles (Romans 15:9-12). We can envision the conflict between the Jewish and Gentile believers in the Roman Church. Perhaps it is no less than the racial conflict in American society today. The serious racial conflicts between African Americans and Whites in American society are also reflected in the church. Although I personally don’t think that the former president Donald Trump is racist, he is portrayed as such by some media outlets and, therefore, opposed by most African American churches and believers. I personally believe that Trump was a vessel chosen by God to bring America back to the foundations of a Christian nation. But because racial conflicts penetrate the church, many Christians clash over whether to support Trump or Biden. Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-romans-15/

The verses of Acts 16 begin with Paul coming to Derbe and then traveling to Lystra where he met Timothy. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium had spoken well of him. Paul intended to take him along on the journey but his father was a Greek (which is the Greek of the Gentiles). He took Timothy to be circumcised for the sake of the Jews who lived in that area before they began their travels. Paul traveled with Timothy and they went to different cities, and they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem for the disciples to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. At this time, the flow of the writing of the Bible had suddenly changed and it began to describe how the Holy Spirit did not allow them to preach in Asia. They had no choice but to go through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. Because many of us are not familiar with the geography of ancient Israel, when we hear these names, we may feel confused or overwhelmed trying to understand the story. As a result, the names of these places will not leave a deep impact on us. This is one of the difficulties in reading the Bible. We have a relatively poor understanding of ancient geography and historical knowledge, so it causes some difficulty understanding the Bible. When the author of the book was writing these, the original readers would understand these differences, so no special explanation was needed. I studied the map and found when you travel from Derbe to Lystra, you’ll be going from west to east, and then north to Iconium. Then from Iconium, you go west before you arrive in Asia. This time, Acts 16:6 says that the Holy Spirit forbids them to preach the word in the province of Asia. The location of Asia is in the south, so this means that the Holy Spirit does not allow them to go south. Then they went to the region of Phrygia and Galatia, which were in the north of Asia, but it’s located in the south of Bithynia. They tried to go north to enter Bithynia from the border of Mysia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them to go again. If you are confused, Galatia, Phrygia, and Mysia are lined up from east to west, and north of them is bordered by a place called Bithynia. In other words, Paul and others went from the southeast of Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium to the northwest, and then they tried to go south to Asia until the Holy Spirit forbid them so, they had no choice but to go northeast and go to Galatia, then go west and continue to go to Phrygia, and then continue west to Asia, and then continue to go north to Bithynia, but again, the Holy Spirit would not allow them to. During this time, Paul had a vision, that told him the Macedonians needed them to preach the gospel. Macedonia is closer to the west. At that time, Macedonia was a place where the message of the gospel had not yet reached. Therefore, this so-called "Macedonian Call" is often used in Christian history to describe the call of God to His servant to head to places where the gospel had not yet been preached. Even though we discussed the locations, order of travel, and names of the various places unless you are looking at a map now, it may still be a bit confusing. Because of this we thought of an analogy. It’s like Paul went to Washington DC (the capital of the United States) from Florida. But he also hoped to go south to Virginia, which is south of Washington DC, but the Holy Spirit did not allow him. So he had to go northeast to New York and then go west to Pennsylvania (which has the same latitude as the State of New York) and Ohio. Throughout this process, they tried to go north to Canada, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. Then suddenly Paul had a dream at night. From the other side of the Pacific Ocean, he dreamt that a Chinese person said, "Paul, we need you to come to China to preach the gospel." Read the complete transcript on: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-acts-16/

Chapter 27 is the last chapter of the book of Leviticus. It talks about Jehovah giving Moses the laws concerning people's vows and dedications. The value that is set on each person when one makes a vow is not the same. A male has a higher value than a female, older people and children have a lower value (verses 1-8). If a man has already dedicated himself to the Lord, he must not exchange or substitute it. Although the animal and house that he dedicated can be redeemed, a fifth must be added to its value (verses 9-15). If a man who dedicates a field wishes to redeem it, he must add a fifth to its value. If he does not redeem the field, it can never be redeemed (verses 16-25). An animal's firstborn must not be dedicated; he may repurchase the unclean animal after adding a fifth of the value to it. If he does not redeem it, it will be sold at its set value (verses 26-27). But nothing that a man owns and devotes to the Lord may be redeemed (verse 28). No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed (verse 29). A tithe of everything from the land belongs to the Lord. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it (verses 30-31). Leviticus 27:32-33 says, 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.'" (NIV) The last verse says, "These are the commands the LORD gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites" (NIV, Leviticus 27:34) One Christian who shared at the beginning of this meeting didn't understand what verses 32-33 meant. Why couldn't they pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution? And if anyone did make a substitution, the animal and substitute became holy and couldn't be redeemed? Although we have briefly outlined what Leviticus 27 is talking about, when people read the Bible, they often get confused and don't understand what they are reading. Is this your experience when you read the Bible? I remember reading a survey about Christians reading the Bible. The first reason why Christians don't read the Bible is not that they are lazy, but rather because they don't understand it. Sometimes after reading the Bible, they don't know what it is saying or how it applies to their lives. If you have finished reading this chapter of the Bible, what do you think it's talking about? I often say that our understanding of the Bible can limit the growth of our spiritual life. For example, how can a person who doesn't understand the Bible or doesn't usually read the Bible be changed by the Word of God? The spiritual growth of new believers is subject to the limitation of their knowledge of the Word of God. On the other hand, a person can thoroughly read the Bible from cover to cover and only see it as words on a page rather than a living word. They don't possess the spiritual experience of the Bible and have a limited understanding. The Chinese are very wise in this area. Although Chinese people don’t have a long history of studying the bible, they have a lot of experience understanding the world. For example, the Chinese say that a person can only better understand the world and become a useful person if he/she "travels ten thousand miles and reads ten thousand books." This is a very philosophical statement. "Reading ten thousand books" is like the first example of when we read the Bible. We need to read more about the Bible and various spiritual works. We must also listen to other pastors' teachings to help us understand the Bible and glean as much spiritual knowledge as possible. "Traveling ten thousand miles" is like a Christian who regards prayer as essential and who enjoys pursuing spiritual truths. Through the Holy Spirit working in him and his circumstances, he learns how to deal with the flesh, control his mind, live in the spirit, and become deeply rooted in the Lord. The two are inseparable and complement each other. Of course, I advocate reading the Bible more and reading it every day. I was saved in the Local Church movement and was taught to read three chapters in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament every day. We can read through the whole Bible this way in a year. I still insist on doing this every day. Every morning, I read three chapters in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament, and I find a verse that moves me. I use this verse to practice pray-reading, which is meditation during lunch break. It has been very beneficial to me. In addition to attending the meetings in the Local Church, I diligently read the spiritual works of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee... Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-leviticus-27/

Acts 28 includes two stories. The first story is about Paul staying on the island of Malta for three months and then leaving there after the winter to go to Rome. On this island, he supernaturally prevailed against the attack of the viper. He also healed the father of the chief official of the island and other sick people. We don’t understand why Paul lived on this island for three months but didn’t record much of his ministry there. For example, if we are talking about healing people on the island, Paul would be able to lay hands on them and heal them in just a few days. Since Paul was a prisoner, he probably did not have the tools to weave tents as he always did in his profession. While in Malta, did Paul preach the gospel and teach the natives about the Bible? Since details aren’t given, we don’t’ know exactly what he did for those three months. Three months is a long time. If Paul’s daily life was recorded daily in a diary, it could have been as thick as the Bible. The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. One written word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. It is the Christian’s instruction manual for life. Though details may be left out, we can be sure that those details were not significant for the future of the church. Verse 11 tells us that they had wintered on the island for three months before setting sail on the Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. The details mentioned in this passage are significant, which is why they were included in the Bible. For example, Castor and Pollux are Greek gods, indicating that ships from Alexandria, Egypt (under the jurisdiction of Ancient Greece) were going to and from Malta. The Greek crew members wintered in Malta for three months, yet the Bible doesn’t say anything about Paul preaching the gospel to them. What did Paul do for those three months? In the second story, after Paul arrived in Rome, he preached Jesus as a gospel to the Jews, but a dispute arose among them. Then Paul quoted Isaiah saying: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:” 'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' "Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!" (Acts 28:25-28, NIV) Why did Paul say this? You might remember that in Romans 9-11, Paul recorded his burden for the Jews to be saved, wishing that he would be cursed for the sake that the Jews would be saved (Romans 9:3). And we have witnessed in the previous records of Acts that every time he went to the Jews to preach the gospel, although they did not accept it and chased Paul to persecute him, Paul did not give up. But why is it that he gave up this time? Remember that the Lord Jesus once said to Paul, "Quick! Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me" (Acts 22:18, NIV). In Acts 22:21 (NIV), Paul also recorded what Jesus said, "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" So we can see from these two verses that Jesus had told him long ago that the Jews in Jerusalem would not accept his testimony, and that He would be sending Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. But Paul's mind couldn’t keep up. He was hindered from fully understanding Jesus' will for him Because of his love for the Jews, his own cultural and religious limitations, perspectives, and personality. Previously, we've talked about whether Paul's trip to Jerusalem was God's plan or his own. This is a controversial topic. We reasoned that it could be from God because when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem, Jesus appeared to him and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome" (Acts 23:11, NIV). In addition, some believe that Agabus' prophecy wasn't completely accurate. He prophesied that Paul would be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem, but in reality Paul was bound by the Romans in Jerusalem. This could be why some Charismatics who have the gift of prophecy say that Agabus' prophecy was not accurate. The Bible does say that when Abagus prophesied, he said: “this is what the Holy Spirit says." Others tried to persuade Paul not to go, but he didn't listen. Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-acts-28/