BibleStudyWithJairus

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/

Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-mm4w9-1018ca6 Convergence of Two Rivers A Revival Out of Maryland In 2002, I was saved through the Local Church Movement (LCM) associated with Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. The LCM is a Christian movement that originated from China and spread to the world. Both the Plymouth Brethren (PB) and C. I. Scofield’s teachings were strong influences on the formation of the LCM’s doctrine and practice. Although some of the LCM’s practices and teachings are still controversial for Christians today, I learned a lot from them—principally, how to develop and maintain a holy lifestyle and a habit of reading the Word of God. By 2013, I had been part of the LCM for 11 years and married to my wife for 7 years. Sadly, we could not have a baby because of a medical complication concerning my wife. We sought medical help from places all over the world. One day in the summer of 2013, my wife, I and another Chinese believer went to New York to speak with a Chinese herbalist. By that time, my wife had already been preparing for her residence and she received an offer from a university’s medical center in Pennsylvania. On the way to the appointment, we were discussing the possibility of moving from Maryland where we lived to Pennsylvania. Suddenly, I had a vision! I saw a tornado or a whirlwind of sorts. It started out small, but it grew bigger and bigger. I felt the Lord tell me in the Spirit, “Do not leave Maryland. There will be a great revival coming from Maryland, and it will spread all over the world.” Initially I was a bit shocked because this was the first vision I ever received from the Lord. Since the LCM was an evangelical church who did not teach about these things, I was never taught to be prepared to receive any visions. However, my wife and I felt to follow the leading in our spirits from this vision, and we, therefore, gave up the opportunity in Pennsylvania and stayed in Maryland. I felt God was giving a promise that revival would come like a tornado and spread all over. Convergence: Two Lines Crossing Through the Sky In late 2014, I realized we could not solve our infertility problem via medical solutions. Doctors told us that we would not be able to have a baby naturally and we failed to conceive after 4-5 IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) treatments. The Lord even blocked the way for us to use an egg donor. I realized this when our one egg donor suddenly changed her mind last minute. These events pushed me to seek help outside of my evangelical church since they were not able to minister divine healing or prophetic words to us. This is when I started watching teachings on divine healing and the prophetic gifts on Youtube through other charismatic pastors and teachers. In 2015, I also began to travel within the US to join healing revivals and prophetic conferences. One of my trips landed me at All Nations Church in South Carolina. There I received prayers by Mahesh Chavda and his staff. While there, a prophetic member of Chavda’s staff told us he saw two lines crossing several times through the sky and the Lord said “convergence.” He shared with me that he felt it was a divine appointment for me to come to their meeting to receive prayer, and that this was a crossroad moment in my life. He was right on point. What he didn’t know was that I was secretly seeking help from Pentecostal and Charismatic churches while still part of the LCM denomination. Eventually I left the denomination completely and although the process of leaving was very painful for me, I knew it was necessary. I felt like a baby being weaned from its mother. However, I was comforted by the Lord as he continued to speak with me. Not too long after, I had a vision of the Yangtze River in China. The Lord showed me a tributary in both an upper and lower stream. He told me that I was unified with the body of Christ as long as I followed the leading of His Spirit. He reassured me that it was Him who brought me to the upper stream, and now He was leading me to a different stream. The people in the upper stream where I began would join me later, but I would never return to the Tibetan Plateau where I started even though my tributary began there. He encouraged me to follow the flow. I did and haven’t stopped. The Lord said these two rivers will converge… https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-convergence-is-coming-to-the-body-of-christ/

Settling Legal Matters Between Believers Bible Study With Jairus - 1 Corinthians 6 1 Corinthians 6 contains three distinct paragraphs. The first paragraph is about lawsuits among Christian believers. A man in our Bible study inquired whether Paul’s perspective on lawsuits between believers is still relevant today, especially given the increasing number of lawsuits between believers in the United States. It is, in my opinion, highly controversial. Some people believe that Christians should not sue one another even if they are wronged. Others use Paul’s appeal to Caesar as an example, believing that we can make an appeal to Caesar too or, in other words to go to court. They believe Christians can file an appeal in a court of law to resolve issues of unfair treatment. We always thought about cases of lawsuits between Christians when we read this chapter in the past. Should we sue to protect our benefits, or should we accept being wronged? The inspirations that we will share today while reading this chapter are not from this perspective. It is only when Paul mentions that the lawsuits could involve immoral behavior that the church felt ashamed. And in their case, the law may have been used to wrong others instead of protecting their own lawful rights at the time. This is probably why Paul advised us not to file lawsuits against other believers. On the one hand, it tarnishes the church’s image. On the other hand, believers should not use the law of this world to harm others, particularly our brothers and sisters in Christ. Please continue to read my explanation as I share a verse that touched us today. READ MORE: JBWM.ORG

Understanding Jehovah’s Commands Bible Study with Jairus – Leviticus 17 Consuming Blood Leviticus 17 talks about Jehovah’s command against consuming blood. Our discussion focuses on why God does not allow blood to be consumed. Of course, in addition to health and hygiene considerations, there are also spiritual considerations. I was contemplating this question while I watched Sid Roth, an American Christian TV host, inviting Michael Brown, who is Jewish and a doctor of theology, to debate with a Jewish rabbi on his show. This man who had his doctorate in Christian studies tried to prove to the rabbi that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He tried to prove Jesus was sacrificed on the cross once, and He forever satisfied God’s request so we can receive eternal salvation in Him. But the way that this Jewish rabbi understood the Old Testament was different from this man with a doctorate in Christian studies. The Jewish rabbi said that in the Old Testament, Jehovah repeatedly emphasized that one’s own son should not be sacrificed to the idols, and when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, Jehovah personally stopped him. This shows that Jehovah was very opposed to the sacrifice of sons. Therefore, he believed that the statement that God has sacrificed his son Jesus Christ was unacceptable. This is not what he believes Jehovah would do. We certainly did not agree with this Jewish rabbi, but we did have to think about why Jehovah had repeatedly warned the Israelites not to sacrifice their children to Molek, but He had offered His Son as a sacrifice. We also had to consider why Jehovah prohibited anyone from consuming the blood of any creature, but He prepared the blood of His Son for us to consume. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus clearly stated that “You will eat my flesh and drink my blood” (John 6:54). READ MORE: jbwm.org/

Bible Study with Jairus- Romans 11 In chapter 11, Paul focuses on how salvation came to the Gentiles because of the Israelites unbelief. He discussed how God’s salvation would come to the Jews again, and all Israel will be saved when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. A man in our study questioned Romans 11:32, “For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.” Why did consigning us to disobedience instead become God’s mercy? There are many different beliefs about why the Israelites are consigned to disobedience and what God's plan is for them. There are also many theological controversies about when the full number of Gentiles is and how the Israelites are eventually saved. One of the controversies is whether the Israelites’ unbelief results from them living under a curse. Matthew 27:24-25 records that Pilate refused to be involved in Jesus’ crucifixion because he did not want the man’s blood on him, so he washed his hands and told the Israelites to take care of it. But the people of Israel answered him, "His blood is on us and on our children!" So Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified. There has been much controversy over-interpreting the sentence: “His blood is on us and our children.” Some people believe that the tragic fate of the Jews, including the Holocaust during World War II, was brought about by this curse. In the history of Christianity, some believe that since the Jews crucified Jesus, they should be held accountable for their actions. In the second century, this trend of thought appeared among Christians. In the 4th century, the famous "St. John Chrysostom" pushed this discourse to a peak. He said that the Jews murdered Jesus and worshipped the devil. You can find his book "Saint John Chrysostom: Eight Homilies Against the Jews” on the Internet, which carried out severe attacks on the Jews. Under his exacerbation, anti-Semitism in Europe began to take root. Martin Luther, who sparked the Reformation, is also an anti-Semitist. His later work "On the Jews and Their Lies" also expressed serious allegations against the Jews. He encouraged believers to burn down Jewish synagogues and schools, warn people against them, refuse to let Jews own houses among Christians, take away Jewish religious writings, forbidding rabbis from preaching, and offer no protection to Jews on highways. He also wanted to prohibit usury, remove all of the Jew's gold and silver, and set it aside for safekeeping. It was only to be given back to those Jews who truly converted. Young, strong Jews were to be given a flail, ax, spade, and spindle and let them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow. READ MORE: https://jbwm.org/

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/

Be Ready to Discern God’s Plan Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 10 Are visions important? In Acts 10, the Lord gave Peter a fascinating vision. God showed Peter all kinds of unclean animals and asked him to kill and eat them. He refused, saying that he had never eaten anything unclean. Nevertheless, God gave him permission to eat, saying he should not call anything unclean which God has made clean. God’s words were not merely referring to unclean animals; God was guiding Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, whom the Jews deemed impure. I was saved in a church that emphasizes the life and teachings of Christ much more than it emphasizes visions or similar topics. However, as the Lord has led me into learning more about the Charismatics, I have come to understand that Charismatics place great emphasis on visions. How should we resolve this discrepancy? There are dangers on both extremes of the spectrum. We should avoid being overly cautious with visions and emphasizing the Bible alone, and we should also avoid an over-acceptance of visions that dismisses and neglects the written word of God. First of all, let’s look at Peter’s experience. We must acknowledge the fact that it was not easy for Peter to evangelize to the Gentiles. His mind was filled with preconceptions and prejudices. However, we must revisit this question: why didn’t God grant this vision to John, James, or others? We do not know the answer to this question, but we can speculate that Peter was probably more flexible. Compared to those who more strictly adhered to Jewish traditions (such as James), perhaps it would have been easier for Peter to make a concept shift. We know that Peter had a high spiritual intellect. He understood and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of the living God. He also committed frequent mistakes, saying that God would not let the Lord be crucified. Peter was criticized by the Lord frequently, but he also rectified his wrongdoings. Possibly Peter’s personality was more receptive to changes and corrections. READ MORE: JBWM.ORG

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/

Numbers 2 records Jehovah’s arrangement of the encampment of the 12 tribes of Israel around the tent of meeting in the following order: Judah takes the lead in the east, next to Judah is the tribe of Issachar and Zebulun. To the south is the tribe of Reuben; next to Reuben is the tribe of Simeon and the tribe of Gad. On the west is the tribe of Ephraim; next to Ephraim is the tribe of Manasseh and Benjamin. The tribe of Dan takes the lead on the north; next to them is the tribe of Asher and Naphtali. The Levites were, of course, not counted. The names of the leaders, as well as the division numbers in each tribe, were mentioned in addition to recording this order. Many readers may be confused after reading the names of these unfamiliar tribes, leaders, and numbers. It’s enough to make one’s head spin. Just this week, I saw one of my teachers from the United Theological Seminary, post a sentence on Facebook by John Wimber (the founder of the Vineyard Church). It reads, "When we are losing the encounter of the Lord, we will start counting on people.” I am paraphrasing it as I did not know where it came from. This means that we should focus on meeting the Lord every day instead of the achievements we have done for the Lord. The Bible records David's two sins. His first sin was committing adultery by marrying Uriah’s wife. The other sin was counting the Israelites. This census was the sin of spiritual immorality. Why? As Joab (David’s general) said, if David is not satisfied, he can ask God to give him more. Why count Israel? When David was counting the Israelites, his heart became proud, and he had drifted far away from God. He was counting his achievements and those achievements became the idol of his heart causing God to be displeased. Watchman Nee, the founder of the Local Church Movement, often said that God values more what we are than what we do. It’s not hard for us to draw inspiration from the story of David and the words of John Wimber and Watchman Nee. We don’t need to pay too much attention to the names and numbers of those tribes in this chapter. Rather, we should pay attention to how we can stay focused on the Lord. Under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we did notice that a very important phrase in this chapter from the second verse "around the tent of meeting." Numbers 2:2 (NIV) says, "The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family." While we had our Bible study, the Holy Spirit especially illuminated this and reminded us to pay attention to these words “around the tent of meeting.” In the version of the Chinese Bible we used, it was translated as “facing the tent of meeting.” The translation in the NIV is not that clear. But the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) version says, “The Israelites shall camp each in their respective regiments, under ensigns by their ancestral houses; they shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.” It also says, “facing the tent of meeting on every side.”

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/

https://jairusbibleworld.com/ Acts 27 records Paul’s voyage to Italy. This journey involves a variety of places, and often people don’t understand the details of Paul’s journeys and the spiritual significance behind them. Paul’s four journeys encompassed many different locations and can be confusing to those who haven’t studied it to the point of understanding. When we were reading the Bible this time, we got the illumination of the Holy Spirit; thus, we had a clear understanding of Paul’s fourth journey and had a deeper understanding of the spiritual significance behind it.

Acts 25 is like a tug of war. Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea, a place Northwest of Jerusalem. The Jews insisted that Festus send Paul back to Jerusalem for trial, hoping to ambush and kill Paul on the way. Festus tried to please the Jews and asked Paul if he was willing to return to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul insisted on appealing to Caesar. So after Festus conferred with his council, he accepted Paul's request. Looking at it from here, Festus, as the Roman Governor of Judea, was a person who didn't take sides, or we could say that he was a bit of a fence sitter. He tried to please the Jews, saying he was using a conciliatory approach to rule the land of Jerusalem. His treatment of King Agrippa's argument about Paul and the Jews allowed us to see that he didn't think their case was that important. He told King Agrippa that the dispute between Paul and the Jews was merely a matter of disagreement about their own religion and the fact that Paul declared that Jesus died and was resurrected. His heart was perplexed over this situation. He asked Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul wasn't willing. So he planned to keep Paul. He said, "hold him until I can send him to Caesar" (Acts 25:21, NIV). I didn't pay attention to this sentence before. Festus had already planned to send Paul to Rome. But after King Agrippa interrogated Paul, he sighed, saying if Paul hadn't appealed to Caesar, he could have been set free (Acts 26:32, NIV). Acts 27:24 records an angel of God standing beside Paul and telling him he would stand before Caesar. This may be why Paul stood trial before Caesar later, but the Bible doesn't record the specific details of Paul and Caesar's meeting. Instead, it just recorded the experience of Paul, Festus, and King Agrippa meeting each other. Caesar here is said to be Nero Caesar. But this is only according to historical legends. When Nero persecuted the church later, Paul was martyred. With the Holy Spirit's help, we noticed that God predestined Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome to spread the gospel to Rome. As Acts 28 records, after Paul came to Rome, he rented a house there for two years, "to proclaim the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance" (Acts 28:31, NIV). This shows that the gospel Paul spread in Rome had laid a good foundation for evangelizing Europe. Therefore, in the development of the kingdom of God and the spread of the gospel, it was crucial for Paul to arrive safely in Rome from Jerusalem. Satan attempted to stop Paul from going to Rome. He incited the Jews to kill Paul in Jerusalem. But Paul's nephew heard their plan and reported it to commander Lysias, and Paul was arrested. Then the Jews went to Governor Felix to complain, and Felix asked Paul to defend himself. Paul gave testimony to Felix, saying that he "keeps his conscience clear before God and man" (Acts 24:16, NIV, and that he did not commit any wrongdoings. Later, Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case." He ordered commander Lysias to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs" (Acts, 24:22-23, NIV). Later, Felix and his Jewish wife listened to Paul, who continued to talk about Jesus Christ. "Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come" (Acts 24:25, NIV). Felix was scared and sent Paul away. He was hoping that Paul would come to him later and give him some money. But the Bible doesn't say whether Felix was saved or not. At least from the story here, Paul's testimony to Governor Felix touched him a little, but Felix hadn't decided whether to accept Jesus Christ. At the end of Chapter 24, it records that after two years, Festus took over Felix's Governor position. He wanted to please the Jews, so he continued to imprison Paul. Many people opposed Paul's trip to Jerusalem. This included the prophet Agabus who prophesied that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem, but he did not prevent Paul from going. People in the modern prophetic movement believe that Agabus' prediction was half accurate and half inaccurate because Agabus prophesied that Paul would be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem. But in the end, Paul was bound by the Romans. Paul teaches us in the Bible not to treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22, NIV). Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-acts-25/

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/

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 have been fervently praying for America. There is a fierce spiritual battle going on in this country, and it often appears that the dark forces are winning. I am convinced of a different reality, however. Defeat is not the future of America. Though our natural eyes see a bleak situation, our eyes of faith allow us to see a spiritual reality of hope and restoration. Through countless dreams, God has shown me that a great revival is coming to many countries, including America and China. The intense spiritual battles that are going on around us are the enemy’s attempt to stop these future revivals, but God’s plans will not be defeated. A few weeks ago, I was invited to lead an online Chinese Christian Bible study. This group had been reading the book of Deuteronomy and learning about Moses’ prophecies regarding the Twelve Tribes. The group didn't understand the meaning of these prophecies, so they invited me to share my perspective. The Holy Spirit led me to compare Moses’ prophecies with Jacob’s prophecies in Genesis 49. Both passages offer prophetic visions about the Twelve Tribes. I believed that comparing these two chapters would give them a better understanding. As we were talking about Jacob and Moses’ prophecies of Joseph, the Holy Spirit spoke though my mouth. I began to proclaim that America is the Joseph of today and that her branches run over the wall. Each Christian who is fighting for America can also be the Joseph of today. When countless “Josephs” strengthen their bows to resist the enemy, God will begin to save the world. The difficult environment that America is currently facing will be a catalyst for change. Countless Josephs can arise making America, the collective Joseph, even stronger. JWBM.ORG

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.

Dissension in the Body of Christ. Bible Study with Jairus - 1 Corinthians 4 Rivalry in the Church. In 1 Corinthians 4:6, Paul urged the Corinthians not to idolize him or his coworker, Apollos. Paul said, "I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another." As I read this passage, the Holy Spirit highlighted the words puffed up. Why did Paul say that the Corinthians who picked sides, favoring Paul or Apollos, were puffed up? In politics, we often see one politician exalt another for his own personal gain. Those who exalt others usually have ulterior motives. Their purpose is to use the people they exalt to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, such scenarios also exist in the church. People who exalt others in the church often use the people they exalt to increase their own influence. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:11-12, "For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’” Paul pointed out that there was rivalry between the Corinthian believers. These rivalries stem from the flesh. Paul clearly states in Galatians 5:20 that rivalry is an act of the flesh. What is the purpose of a rivalry? The purpose of a rivalry is to pursue leadership, authority and influence. The people who were rivals in the Corinthian church were not really trying to exalt Paul and Apollos, but to gain their own influence. Paul and Apollos were just tools in their hands. READ MORE:

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/

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/

Understanding God’s Gift of Free Will Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 7 The Process of Spiritual Growth and Maturity Romans 7 is a very relatable chapter for many Christians, especially verse 24 (ESV), where Paul sighed and said, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" This type of expression is familiar to many Christians while they are in the process of pursuing spiritual life. We received new inspiration when we read Romans 7 in our Bible study. The Holy Spirit illuminated the words in Luke 2:34-35, which covered the birth of Jesus and gave us new revelation. Just like a baby in the womb, Jesus will enter our spirit and dwell in our hearts, and we have a choice to make. If we choose Jesus and let Him grow in us, it brings life and peace. But if we choose to live according to the flesh, it leads to death (Romans 8:6). Therefore, every descendant of Adam must make a choice. They can either choose the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and one will result in life, the other, death. The power we have, especially our free will, is very important. It determines whether we have life or death. Since God has given us free will, our choice is the determining factor. This is why Jesus came to the world as a baby and why the divine life we receive after believing in the Lord can also be likened to a baby. The life of this baby is in us, revealing many of our thoughts and leading us to fall and rise (Luke 2:34). One question we had was why did Jesus come into the world as a baby and not as an adult? Couldn’t God have come into the world as an adult and gone to the cross immediately to accomplish redemption? Of course, He could have. In the same way, at the moment we are born again, why is it that Jesus also comes into our hearts as a baby? Why doesn’t He allow us to go to heaven and become spiritually mature instantly so we could avoid all temptation? Could God do this? He is omnipotent, so if He was willing to do so, He could. However, this is not His will. His will is to give us divine life that starts out small, just like a baby. Jesus Christ first came into the world as a baby. Similarly, the spirit of Jesus Christ that is born again and dwells in our heart (Ephesians 3:17) is also just like a baby. How we treat this baby within us reveals the thoughts of our soul. If we are unwilling to believe that Jesus Christ came to save us and are unwilling to accept Him, we are choosing death, and we will face eternal punishment. If we choose to accept Jesus Christ and be reborn in the Spirit, He will dwell in our hearts. However, how we treat the spiritual baby-like life of Christ within us also determines whether we will be rewarded or disciplined in the future. If we set our mind on the Spirit and on things above (Colossians 3:2), we will have life and peace (Romans 8:6); If we set our mind on the flesh, we receive death. READ MORE: JBWM.ORG

Matthew 10:8 (NIV) says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” This sentence is what the Lord Jesus told the twelve disciples when He sent them out to preach. It seems that "raise the dead" is somewhat of an obscure command. Even among the twelve disciples, there is not much recorded of them raising someone from the dead. But there are a few examples, including Acts 9, where Peter raised Dorcas from the dead, and Acts 20, where Paul raised Eutychus from the dead, which we will read today. Nine people in the Bible were raised from the dead. This includes the prophet Elijah who raised the widow's son, Elisha, who revived the woman's son, and the man who revived by touching Elisha’s bones. Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Nain and Lazarus. God raised Jesus from the dead, plus the examples of Peter and Paul above. We will not discuss the other resurrections during this study. We will only discuss the resurrection of Eutychus. Why did God arrange for Eutychus to be raised from the dead? After this story, Paul arrived in Jerusalem. Was this because of God's leading, or because Paul made a mistake? From what I’ve studied and the teaching I’ve received, Paul made a mistake here. The prophet Agabus had prophesied in Acts 21:10-11 that Paul would be bound at Jerusalem. Agabus took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” (NIV) Then Luke 12:15 records the following: 12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. ” 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” 15 After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. (NIV) I was saved in the Local Church movement and accepted their teachings for many years. I remember reading something about this subject. Witness Lee thought Paul made a mistake here. When he was asked by others why Paul made such a mistake here, Witness Lee replied that only Jesus is the perfect saint. What he meant is that everybody makes mistakes. So this comment made a strong impression on me. But ever since the Lord led me to learn about the prophetic gifts in the Pentecostal Movement, I felt more confused when I heard their different interpretations of this verse. Many people with prophetic gifts hold similar views. They believe that Paul did not make any mistake here; he was just following the Lord’s leading. Because Paul was doing it in the name of the Lord Jesus, not only was he bound, even if he died in Jerusalem, he was also ready. Also, Luke mentioned afterward, “May the Lord's purposes be accomplished.” Acts 21:4 also says that “We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” (NIV) But Paul said in Acts 20:22-24, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city, the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (NIV) So at least from here, the biblical record is contradictory. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit reminds him not to go to Jerusalem through people who have prophetic gifts. On the other hand, Paul said that the Spirit compelled him to go to Jerusalem. It’s just that the Holy Spirit told him that he would face difficulties. The question is, does God want Paul to go or not? This is a tricky situation, and there is a lot of debate about this. The reason people thought Paul was wrong and shouldn’t have gone to Jerusalem stems from a prophetic word from the disciples in Acts 21:4 as well as Agabus’ prophesy in Acts 21:11. Agabus was thought to be a reliable prophet because he prophesied in Acts 11 that there would be a famine that happened during Claudius's reign. I thought the same thing, but when I was learning the gift of prophecy, some teachers who were gifted prophetically taught on how to avoid giving wrong prophesies and talked about Agabus making a questionable prophesy and how we should learn from it. I was surprised. It never occurred to me that a prophet in the Bible could make a wrong prophesy. Read more: https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-acts-20/

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/

Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 12- A Discussion of Gifts Our discussion in Romans 12 begins with a focus on verse 3. This verse says, "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." A man asked me a question about this. He said, “What is the direct relationship between this verse and the previous verses? Why does Paul mention this here? What does it mean to think with ‘sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned’?” We must understand that the background of the book of Romans is the fierce conflict between the Jews and the Gentiles. This conflict caused all the Jews to leave Rome in the time of Claudius (Acts 18:2). At that time Priscilla and Aquila left Rome and traveled to Corinth. Corinth is where they met Paul, the apostle. Since all three of them were tentmakers by trade, Paul remained there and helped to build tents. Perhaps it was prior to the time that Paul was burdened to write the Roman Church. He was also urged to write the book of Romans because he was determined to go to Jerusalem, and he was uncertain if he would leave Jerusalem alive and eventually visit Rome. Racial conflicts in society usually penetrate the church. Therefore, in our study of Romans, we have also mentioned that one of Paul’s burdens was a hope that both the Jewish and Gentile believers of the Roman church could accept each other and live in peace. This may also help us understand Paul’s words in the highlighted text. Paul is admonishing both Jewish and Gentile believers to see each other’s strengths and not to think highly of themselves. READ MORE: JBWM.ORG

Bible Study with Jairus - Romans 1 I asked everyone at our Bible study to think about Romans chapter 1 and ask questions about what they didn't understand. There was silence around the room. I jokingly said that this made sense for those who have been Christians for a long time. When you have diligently read the Bible for many years, you become so familiar with it that you feel like you completely understand it. Unfortunately, this can be a dangerous place to be because you may have the knowledge and Biblical truth but could lack in new spiritual insight given by the Holy Spirit. God's word should be a living (Rhema) Word to us. Romans 1:17 says, "For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written; "the righteous will live by faith." St. Augustine was said to be so inspired after reading this verse that he repented and was saved. Martin Luther restored the truth of justification by faith after this verse inspired him. We focused on Romans chapter 1 in mid-May, 2020. I told everyone that the Holy Spirit would illuminate this chapter and speak a timely word to us. Our intention isn't to explain the chapter verse by verse or word by word, but to enter into fellowship with the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to speak. The book of Romans was written during Paul's three months in Corinth. Why did he write the book of Romans in Corinth? Romans is a long letter with sixteen chapters. The letter was probably written on parchment because Paul obviously didn't have a computer back then. Can you imagine the burden he must have had to write such a long letter to the church in Rome? Paul wrote the book of Romans in Corinth, having never been to Rome, so more than likely, the church in Rome wasn't established by him. It seems strange that he would write such an intimate letter to people he wasn't close to. As an example, if you were Paul today and established churches in Los Angeles and New York, you would naturally want to stay connected by writing or visiting those that the Lord had burdened your heart for. Wouldn't it seem odd if you suddenly wrote an incredibly long, personal letter to a church in Texas that you never even visited? There must have been some sort of hidden connection that Paul had to the Roman church for him to send this letter. If we can understand why he had the burden to write the book of Romans, we might have a better understanding of how it applies to us today. The Holy Spirit will often disrupt our thoughts with questions because he wants to speak to us through them.

Springtime for North Korea by Sean Song Three years ago on June 12, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un historically met in Singapore, and it attracted immense attention from the world. Their summit meeting was the first in history, and Trump became later known for being the first sitting U.S. president to have entered North Korea during his second meeting with Kim. Their meetings gave people hope that the relationship between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) could normalize, and that a solution for denuclearization and peace may be a likely future. Perhaps it could even give way for the Gospel to enter North Korea. Now, three years later, these events seem to be forgotten. People no longer pay attention to North Korea because of COVID and other domestic political matters occurring in the USA. Yet, I have learned that the Lord is always working behind the scenes even when it seems He is not. On the day before Trump and Kim met in Singapore, I was taken by the Lord in a dream to the future embassy of North Korea that stood in the USA. It was a prophetic encounter. I have never shared this publicly until now. I feel it is time to revisit this prophetic dream. I believe it shows God’s heart for the future relationship of these two countries. God plans to do marvelous things with North Korea—things that will bring awe to the world as they see the saving power of Jesus Christ. My impression from the dream was also one that inferred a cleansing and defrosting process to both remove evil and warm the relationship between the DPRK and the U.S. God loves the world and its inhabitants, and if it’s deliverance that is needed to bring North Korea to himself, then let it be. Just as revival will come to China, I believe a massive revival will also come to North Korea with evidence of drastic changes to their country. READ MORE: https://jbwm.org/