BibleStudyWithJairus

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/

Before I woke up in the morning, I saw a plane coming from Japan to my home town in China. I saw the airplane pass through a cloud and come directly to my childhood home in China. My home town is close to the capital, 400 kilos south of Beijing. The door of my home faces east and I came out of my door to give the airplane a signal and I opened up the door to allow the light to shine through so the airplane could see where I was standing. Then the lamp in front of my house started to blink like a car light is blinking during left turn or right turns. Read More: https://jbwm.org/dreams-about-japan-an-airplane-from-japan/

I dreamed about a shoe and I was told in the dream I could grow vegetables using this shoe so I went to wash the shoe. I was also told in the dream I could put flour in a white hat, then we could make dumplings that the Japanese like to eat. So I put the dough into the white hat. After that I traveled with some people to Mexico, with one man was guiding me on the way. We went to a few places, one was seemed like Canjun. I was brought to a place with stairs and somebody asked me, “do you want to have deeper experience?” I agreed, and I was brought to a room after climbing some stairs while other people had to remain outside. Next, the same man who had guided me before brought me to other places but I don’t remember them. He also brought me to wrestle with some world leaders; I remember Shinzō Abe was one of them. My relationship with them grew closer through wrestling. I was covered in sweat as well due to the wrestling. Read More: https://jbwm.org/dreams-about-japan-a-shoe-and-a-trip-to-mexico/

In this dream I went to Japan and I found myself in a place where I was listening to the radio and something was going on over the radio but I don’t remember what was being broadcasted. I felt it was something about God. I also had this vague impression it was in a foreign language. I guess this broadcast drew me to the next scene in Japan. In this part of my dream I found myself fishing but I didn’t have a fishing rod in my hand. Rather, I was picking up something from the sea by using a pair of tongs like the ones used in a kitchen. From what I could tell I could have been on a small island because I was surrounded by water. In the next scene I met some people there. I thought they were Japanese. I asked them to teach me how to catch fish or sea creatures, and they were very willing to help me and they were also using tongs. Or at least I remember I was using tongs. Something was caught but I don’t think it was a fish but something else. Later I found my hand was hurt and I asked one of the guys to help me. He seemed strong and tall and was the leader of these people. I felt he was the Lord but I was not sure. Then I saw him opening a hole in his leg and pouring out something from that hole. I guess it could be sea salt or something that would heal my hand. I put the sea salt on my hand and rubbed my hand. He told me it would take a while to sterilize it or heal it. I suddenly realized that I could not find my bag and I needed to find my bag because it contained something very important. Then one of guys in the group shot out a thread or a rope (One of my teachers in Christian Healing Certification Program offered by Global Awakening had a vision for me at the same time. She saw I was riding on a horse with a lasso in my hand to catch people for Christ with the love of God. I felt it helped to understand the rope and the propelling power of the rope behind it. ) then I found myself being pushed by this rope to other places. I then met some Japanese people on the road and I saw some people were playing basketball. As I was running, I suddenly felt the burden to preach gospel to the Japanese people, I felt the love of God towards the Japanese was flowing in me which was not normal for me. (I am Chinese and I have never had a burden to preach the gospel to Japanese people before these dreams.) When I was under the basketball hoops, I caught the basketball and landed, and knelt down, and said sorry. I woke up about 6:30am, fed the baby, and went back to sleep again. I began dreaming and I saw a screen which showed information related to preaching the gospel to Japan. I could not remember it in detail, but it was something like this. The movie on the screen said, one American went to Japan and had a good start. Then I saw people walking to different Japanese villages to preach the gospel to them. I saw a family with a young boy and they went to the entrance of a Japanese village and I saw some Japanese people in their traditional clothing come out the village to talk with them. They asked the Japanese people if they were open to receive something non-Japanese, like Chinese people and the gospel. Some seemed to refuse the offer. Then they went to next village and some were willing. Later it looked like they set up a station and reached some goals in preaching the gospel. This part of the dream seemed to be a movie or story told on a big screen. Read More: https://jbwm.org/dreams-about-japan-broadcasting-and-fishing/

I went back to sleep at 4:30am and suddenly I saw fire in the heavens and it seemed very far away and it was comprised of many different colors. Then I realized it could be God and I remembered that people will feel fear when they see God. I did have that fear with me later. Then I was lifted up like in a rocket, and as I was traveling up I heard a broadcast. It could have been broadcasted in Chinese but I don’t remember. I realized I was not in a dream but more like in a vision. I thought I was not sleeping and I realized my baby maybe crying. Later, I was probably brought to China and then Japan after that. I forgot many of the scenes in China but I found I was skating on a skating shoe with a wheel in a Japanese mall. I was very tall and I felt I was on a stilts and underneath them was a wheel. I was traveling very fast in the mall and a Japanese lady yelled at me “you cannot skate in the mall!” but I went on towards a door and I remember thinking I needed to lower my body so I could pass through the door without stopping. But I woke up later and I don’t remember if I passed through the door but I felt I was out of that mall. Read more: https://jbwm.org/dreams-about-japan-fire-in-the-heavens/

In this dream, I went to Japan with a man who helped me find lodging. Then I was brought into a hotel which looked like a downtown luxury hotel. I asked him, “isn’t this very expensive?” He replied, “it is okay.” Once I was in the hotel, I found myself being led to the basement of the hotel. There were already some people there serving us some tea and biscuits which looked like Japanese style refreshments to me. I saw many Chinese people there and I noticed an older woman. I found myself lying on a bed and the old lady held me up like holding a baby, and she said, “It is how a grandma is holding her grandson”. Then she told me she had supported Sun Yat-sen who founded the first republic of China and that she has been fighting in many wars. She smiled when she was saying this and looked very happy. For those who may not be aware, Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese exile in Japan before he led the revolution to overturn the Qing Dynasty which was the last monarchy in China. That same night I had another dream where I was on a boat and met several Japanese young people there. They were discussing China with me. I told them China is rich and China is also poor. There are very rich people and also very poor people. The rich people are so rich that they can buy a Japanese city. But there are poor people as well. In this dream the technology in China was also so advanced, for example, they built a website about cat with a special technology, where you can find anything related to cats. Read More: https://jbwm.org/dreams-about-japan-visiting-a-hotel-and-a-boat/

Revival is Coming to China A Message for the Body of Christ Sean Song, March 11, 2021 My name is Sean Song. I also have a nickname, Jairus, which comes from the name of my ministry, Jairus Bible World Ministries. There is something in my heart that I want to share with you about a revival that is coming. Before I do that, I want to share a little background about me.

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/

Does God still love me, despite my past? Can I really experience a personal relationship with him? Why do my sinful desires keep tripping me up? Numbers 12 has some fascinating metaphors that will help us understand our relationship with the Lord. God’s unconditional love for all people. In this chapter, we hear a puzzling piece of news: Moses has married a Cushite woman. Why did he marry her? Is his current wife dead? Did he have more than one wife, like Jacob? Did he marry her out of greed? The Bible doesn’t tell us, so we have no way of knowing. We also are left wondering why Miriam and Aaron spoke out against Moses because of this (Numbers 12:1). Verse one says that Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because he married a Cushite woman. But in verse 2, what they really said was this: "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" (ESV) Is this really what they wanted to say? Why didn't they just come out and say it directly: "Why did Moses marry a Cushite woman"? Biblical scholars generally believe that the Cushites are black people, based on Jeremiah 13:23, "Can the Cushite change his skin?" (CSB) Psalm 68:31 also says, "Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.” (ESV) Stepbible.org explains that Cush is in the area of modern-day Ethiopia, so the word “Cushite” means “black.” When we are dissatisfied with people, we often fail to say the real reason for our dissatisfaction. Instead, we find some of their shortcomings or mistakes to blame. This seems to be human nature. Why did Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses saying, "God did not speak only through Moses," just because Moses married a Cushite woman? The essence here is the rebellion of Miriam and Aaron - to challenge Moses' leadership. As a result, God punished Miriam with leprosy. What is the spiritual meaning of this story? A lady who was leading our Bible Study asked these questions. I prayed for God's help, and suddenly I got an inspiration in the Spirit. This inspiration came in the form of a question: "Think about where this black woman came from before coming to the wilderness." Immediately, I was inspired. I felt that there was a close connection between this chapter and Numbers 11. Numbers 11:4 tells us, “Some foreigners among the Israelites had a strong craving for other kinds of food. Even the Israelites started crying again and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat!’” (God's Word Translation. GTW) The complaints of the Israelites and the strong craving of the foreigners brought the discipline of the Lord. His fire even burned some outlying parts of the camp. That place is called Taberah, and the word means "burn," because the fire of the Lord had burned among them (Numbers 11:3). In the end, the Lord struck some people with plague. That place was called "Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving" (ESV, Numbers 11:34). ("Kibroth-hattaavah" means "graves of craving.”) Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-numbers-12/

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/

By 2015, I had been in the United States for 13 years and a Christian for the same amount of time. In 2006, my wife and I married and like many other Chinese couples, we had every intention of building a family. In 2015, however, we also approached 10 years of bareness. We wanted a child, but we simply could not have one. We realized something was wrong when we were not getting pregnant without prevention. From 2010 to 2014, we attempted in vitro fertilization (IVF) five times. Top medical professionals were treating us, but all our attempts failed. When we tried Chinese herbal remedies, they too were fruitless. I hit my lowest point when our doctor announced we would never be able to have a baby though natural means. Our doctor assured us that the only way to have a baby was through an egg donor. In desperation, we tried an egg donor too. I felt completely hopeless when our egg donor bailed at the last minute. As a Christian, the only thing I knew to do was turn to God. This was not always my approach to life, however. I am Chinese and was born and raised in China to a family that worshiped Buddha and other gods. My father was an atheist, my mother was a devout follower of Buddha, and my grandparents worshipped another local idol. Even our house was built on a former Buddhist temple. Before I came to the USA, I met the Lord during my first year of graduate school at London’s School of Economics. Shortly after, I bought a one-way ticket to the USA and this began a new kind of life for me. When my wife and I reached the point of hopelessness, I began to consider that maybe the Lord had another way of fixing our barrenness. I decided that I would pray every day until God healed us. I desired supernatural healing and to hear prophetic words, but up until this point in my life, I had not had many encounters with miracles or prophecy. In fact, I only knew of such things because of an encounter I had years before where Jesus appeared to me in a vision during a conference and told me he would return after the body of Christ had been built up. I later came to understand this meant Christ intended for the gift of prophecy to continue. For many years, though, and like many other persons in evangelical churches, my wife and I had no interest or knowledge in these Pentecostal or Charismatic things. We had general impressions or thoughts about Pentecostals such as, “speaking in tongues may be from the devil,” “false prophecies,” and “deceived by evil spirits.” I even heard accusations about the prophetic movement that said prophecies catered to self or ego. As in, these so-called prophecies make someone feel awesome about themselves but are from the soul or even of devilish deceit. They promote a believers' ego but do nothing beneficial for a person’s spirit and may even harm one’s spiritual growth. Read More: https://jbwm.org/miracle-baby/

Bible Study With Jairus - Buddhist Mother Accepts Christ Have you ever tried to witness to a Buddhist friend about Christ only to hear them say they are perfectly content with Buddhism? Even if you try to argue that Jesus is the one true God, you may be met with anger. It is true that some Buddhists can be won over by a Christian who demonstrates Jesus’ love and patience, but typically this is a long process with a limited rate of effectiveness. In my hometown, there are a lot of Buddhist believers. I am referring to the city of Handan, China. In China, there are two main groups of people who do not believe in the Christian God. The first group are atheists and they claim to believe in no god. They think burning incense to Buddha is superstitious and worshiping Christ is a crutch for the weak and unsure. They don’t believe in God, spirits or ghosts. The other type of person believes that gods exist, but they only worship the gods whom they think will do something for them. If an idol they worshiped manifested itself or helped them at some point, their loyalty will stay with that god. I have a lot of direct experiences with people of the second group. Both my great-grandfather and grandfather are devout believers of Lü Zu. This is a god in Taoism. A local legend teaches that one day the Japanese were preparing to attack our village. Due to heavy fog, however, the Japanese got lost and were not able to enter our village. The villagers thought it was a manifestation of Lü Zu, so they built a special temple for him. The temple was demolished during the Cultural Revolution but restored afterward. After it was rebuilt, incense burned and flourished showing the power of the people’s faith and superstition. I never met my great grandfather, but I heard from my family that he was an enthusiast of the Lü Zu Temple. When it was being built, my grandfather even donated wood to it. It was clear to anyone who came to visit that my grandfather worshipped Lü Zu. My mother, on the other hand, always worshipped Guanyin Bodhisattva. In fact, our house was built on the site of a Bodhisattva temple that was previously demolished. Villagers said that our family lived in the “West Temple.” Before my mother came to faith in Jesus Christ, one of her reasons for worshiping buddha had always been that “our family is in the West Temple.” She was not willing to offend the gods by denying this privilege and tradition. Although my mother was not on good terms with my grandfather for most of her life and she also didn’t worship Lü Zu, she still highly respected the village sorcerer of the Lü Zu Temple. This sorcerer didn’t have a good education nor did he come from an influential family line. It happened that suddenly one day, this man became possessed by a deity and became a sorcerer henceforth. Everyone often asked him questions; they treated him like a Christian would treat a prophet. He was a frequent and respected guest at the Lü Zu Temple. When I was young, he even used to visit my house. I didn’t like him at all, however. Like my father who was deeply influenced by communist education, I really hated this kind of feudal superstition. Later in my life, I became a Christian and moved to the United States. I have always tried to witness to my family, but with trivial effect. My mom always said that we should go our own way. She stated once, “You believe in your Christ; I believe in my Bodhisattva.” Despite her suggestion, I still tried to witness to her. One year I took my parents on vacation to another city. My friend, a Christian brother, treated us to eat and witnessed to my parents. My father ended up leaving the restaurant in anger. Read More: https://jbwm.org/elijah-list-conference-testimony-part-ii-buddhist-mother-accepts-christ/

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 12 The beginning of Acts chapter 12 discusses how after James was killed, Peter was imprisoned and then miraculously rescued by an angel. The end of the chapter talks about Herod being struck by an angel, eaten by worms, and dying because he didn’t give praise to God. Let’s look at the following verses: 12:21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. (NIV) 12:22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” (NIV) 12:23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. (NIV) A member of our Bible study asked the question, “What exactly did Herod say that made God strike him like that?” Is it because what he said was not the word of God? Was it perhaps the word of man which was then exalted by the people as the word of God, so he committed the sin of presumptuousness and was struck by God? Did God tell him what to say but he didn’t give praise to God and was therefore struck down? There are many evil people in the Bible, and many of them were punished. Herod’s demise of being struck by God’s messenger, eaten by worms and dying, is a rare case. This is a difficult question to answer, because the Bible doesn’t record what Herod said, so we have no way of knowing. If we look at the train of thought in this chapter from the beginning, it may help us understand this question. Aside from Herod's death being strange, James' death is also hard to understand., When we compare it with Peter's miraculous rescue, James died unjustly. This doesn’t seem fair at first glance. Peter was imprisoned and magically rescued by an angel. Then we have James, who was persecuted and killed by Herod without God intervening at all. Peter, like us, also encountered unjust things. When the Lord Jesus was with His disciples on earth, He told Peter, “When you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (NIV, John 21:18). This indicates the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God (NIV, John 21:19). Peter’s first question to Jesus was, “What about John?” (NIV, John 21:21). The Lord said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (NIV, John 21:22). In the end, there was a rumor spreading that John would not die. But John explained that the Lord was not saying that he wouldn’t die. Rather, the Lord was saying that if He wanted him to remain alive until He returned, it was none of Peter’s business. This was a matter between the Lord and John. The Lord said to Peter, "Follow me." Read More: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-acts-12/

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/

March 11, 2021: Tune today at 1 p.m. for #UnitedChapelLive. Doctor of Ministry student and founder of Jairus Bible World Ministries Sean Song will be sharing his testimony and hopes for revival in China and all over the world. We will also be led in song by Doctor of Ministry student Rev. SangDae Park, Master of Divinity student Mr. ManSoon Kim and their family. Sean (Jairus) Song received the Lord in 2002 in the Local Church Movement. His wife Ruth received the Lord in 2003 and they got married in 2006. They were both born in China and came to the United States for graduate studies. They have been preaching the gospel to overseas Chinese students and scholars but in 2016 there was a turn in their spiritual lives. They both got baptized in the Holy Spirit and witnessed a miracle healing. Now they are ready to be witnesses for both the Word of God and the supernatural ministry of Jesus Christ. Sean has finished the Christian Healing Certification Program (CHCP) and Christian Prophetic Certification Program by Global Awakening. He is currently a Doctor of Ministry student at Randy Clark’s Scholars program at United Theological Seminary (UTS). Randy Clark Scholars is a joint program between UTS and Global Awakening. Sean also has a special burden for his home country China. His vision is to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, and equip the saints and build up the body of Christ. More information can be found on his website: https://jbwm.org/ We look forward to the coming of Christ when every tribe, tongue and nation gathers together around the throne to worship the Triune God. Join us at 1 p.m. to be empowered for global ministry!

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/

Jairus means “Jehovah who enlightens.” This is not a commonly used name and until 2016, it didn’t mean anything significant for me more than any other name. However, through a series of personal challenges, Jairus suddenly became very meaningful to me and thus Jairus Bible World Ministries came to bear this name. I married my wife in 2006. For 10 years, we battled with infertility. We tried every method available to us including Chinese herbal medicine and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Our five IVF attempts failed, and even our last-ditch effort to secure a pregnancy with an egg donor ended quickly when our donor changed her mind at the last minute. You can imagine the darkness my wife and I experienced. Through a long journey of relentless prayer and fighting to believe a prophetic promise from the Lord, God spoke to me in a dream and told me that my wife would soon become pregnant. Miraculously, and to our surprise, my wife found herself pregnant with our miracle daughter on May 28th, 2016. Elim, our crowning glory, was born healthy months later and remains our precious miracle baby. Though our hearts are now filled with great joy, this ten-year process was not without many dark moments of the soul. When I look back, I can see that God tried to speak to me and give me strength many times, but I had a difficult time hearing him. The years between 2014 and 2016 were a time of transition for me. I didn’t know it at the time, but God was transitioning me from an Evangelical church to a Charismatic congregation and entrusting a ministry to me! I would move from a season of testing in the wilderness to abundance. Yet, before I could, I had to face the reality of my situation. Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-why-we-use-the-name-jairus/

At the 2016 Elijah List conference, God challenged me to consider a great revival that is to come to China. Before the conference, I read a book written by Chuck Pierce called God’s Unfolding Battle Plan. In this book, Chuck talks about a time when Jesus visited him in the 1980s and told him there would be a great revival in China. This revival would spread all over the world. When I found out that Chuck was going to be one of the speakers at that year’s conference, I reread the book on my way there. I was not sure why this particular testimony of revival caught my attention again. I later came to understand that the Holy Spirit was awakening my spirit to something he wanted to share with me. After the trip, I was walking a street in D.C. one day and I suddenly heard the Holy Spirit ask me, “What constitutes a great revival?” This question came to me after I received the prophetic activation of hearing God’s voice clearer, something we received at the conference. I was surprised by the clarity with which I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me; it had not been this way before the conference. I immediately answered him in my spirit, “I heard that one out of ten people in China is now a Christian; isn’t that a great revival already?” Then the Holy Spirit replied, “How about two out of ten?” I quickly did the calculation in my head and realized that would be another 100 million Chinese people. I was shocked. Bob Jones once prophesied that one billion souls would be harvested in the soon-coming world revival. For me, it is not hard to imagine that at least 100 million Chinese would be included in this number. Now, to clarify, I don’t think the Holy Spirit meant that only two out of ten Chinese people will be saved. Instead, the Holy Spirit was challenging me to think outside of my box. I am encouraged thinking how China and the world would be if even four or five out of ten Chinese people were saved. Since immigrating to the United States, thoughts of ministering in my home country of China were never on my mind. I have taught, preached, and ministered mainly to Chinese students and adults within my denomination in the USA. This encounter with the Lord, however, caused me to rethink my ministry. After I accepted that God desired for me to be a part of China’s coming revival, I started to have many prophetic dreams about it. After the Elijah List conference, I also started receiving similar prophetic words and even symbolic tokens from people such as keys. Read More: https://jbwm.org/elijah-list-conference-testimony-part-iii-chinas-great-awakening/

My life was full of anxiety. I cried out in my innermost being, saying, “Whoever gives me peace, I will believe in him.” Finally, I decided to come to the US with a one-way ticket and a couple hundred dollars. When I was on the airplane, I didn’t even have a plan or know what I would do. The first night in the US, I stayed in a classmate’s house. The second night, I had to move out, but I had no place to go. I signed the housing contracts with the school and moved into the dorm, but I could not sleep all night. The next morning, I went to the registrar’s office but I couldn’t decide if I should register. I knew that if I registered, I would have to pay the fee. If I didn’t register, I would just go back to China immediately. I just couldn’t decide. I wandered outside of the office from morning until late afternoon. It was a painful experience. Eventually, I decided to go back to China because I realized that I could not survive here. I had already fulfilled my dream by coming to America. I started to look for some Chinese students to ask where I could find a travel agency to buy a plane ticket. Just before I did this, I cried out again in my deepest part to God: “God, I am such a sinner, do you still remember me?” I remember exactly how I said it, and it was in English, not in Chinese. After I did that, I felt peaceful in my heart and decided to go back to China. I found a couple of Chinese students and asked them if they knew where to buy plane tickets, but they told me they had no idea. Later, another student came across the street; I was having a hard time telling if he was Chinese or Korean. He looked Korean, so I asked if he was Korean. He was actually Chinese and a brother from the Church in Los Angeles. I asked him about the same thing, and he asked me why I wanted to go back. I told him the reason. He told me that I should not go back and I should finish my study here. Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-my-testimony/

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/