Pride is often seen as a virtue in our culture today. But the Bible says pride is a sin. 

God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13).
Pride brings shame (Proverbs 11:2).
ONLY by pride comes contention (Proverbs 13:10). This means if there is a fight somewhere, pride was involved.
The proud will be punished (Proverbs 16:5).
Pride leads to destruction (Proverbs 16:18).

The Bible is clear: God hates pride, and we need to get it out of our lives.

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Younger people are commanded to submit to older people. Submission means “subordinate, obey, be under, subdue unto, yield.” 

Our culture often views submission as a bad thing. But it’s a virtue according to the Bible. Every Christian should cultivate the virtue of submission. 

Submission means that there are authorities to submit to. Authorities are not bad. They are necessary. The benefit of submitting to authority is protection, peace, and a quiet life.

Submission is connected to humility. If a person is humble, he or she will be submissive.

The opposite of submission is “contrariness, balkiness, defiance, resistance, obstinacy, willfulness, stubbornness, hardheadedness.” This is rebellion. A rebellious person will refuse to submit. Rebellion will lead to trouble, pain, and sorrow. 

When the Bible tells the younger to submit to the elder, it is not necessarily speaking about natural age. While it is important for young people to show respect to older people, this is primarily a spiritual instruction. God is urging those who are spiritually immature to submit to those who are spiritually mature. Spiritual maturity is not a function of years as a Christian. Sometimes people are Christians for forty years but they are still spiritually immature. Spiritual maturity comes not through time but through obedience to God. Sometimes a person has been a Christian only for a short time, but because they have obeyed God in key things they quickly become spiritually mature.

In all areas of life, there are authorities that we need to submit to. As citizens, we should submit to the government. As members of a family or a household, we should submit to the authority in the home. We should submit to authority in the workplace. We should submit to leaders in the church (Hebrews 13:7). We should all identify who the authorities are in our lives. The limits of our submission are defined by the word of God. If an authority tells us to do something that is contrary to the Bible, then we should obey God rather than man. Otherwise we need to submit.
Right after talking about submission, the Bible says that God resists the proud. This is because pride is connected to lack of submission. A proud person will have trouble submitting to authority. Lack of submission is a symptom of pride. Pride produces rebellion. 

Pride comes from the flesh. When we believed in Jesus our flesh was crucified. But sometimes our flesh is still alive and kicking and squealing like a stubborn pig. We need to crucify our flesh and put off the old man. Submission is an opportunity to crucify the flesh.

During the time I was working overseas for the Lord, I spent a summer here back in the US. This was before I was married. That summer I was studying organic agriculture so I could teach organic principles overseas as a way to reach poor farmers, and also in preparation for whatever may be coming in the world. So I planted a large garden with all kinds of crops. Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln once prophetically said, “Before long, the most valuable of all arts will be the art of deriving a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil.” That’s an important statement.

My garden was growing, and it was looking good. 

Next to my garden was a hog shed. There were two big hogs inside this shed. Somehow they escaped their pen and began tearing up my garden.

I ran out to try to get the hogs back into the shed. They didn’t want to go. I couldn’t push them, they would turn on me and push at me. They were stubborn. They didn’t listen to reason. They had an idea about where they wanted to go and no one could convince them otherwise. Finally through much prayer and the help of a big slab of plywood, I urged them back into their pen.

Pride is like a stubborn hog. It refuses to submit. It is defiant. If you tell it to do something, it squeals. It tries to bite. It will try to roll around with you in the mud.

Proverbs 9:7 says if you rebuke a wicked man, you harm yourself. The flesh doesn’t want to be corrected or rebuked. Pride says, “I know better. Who are you to tell me what to do?”

Isaiah 59:5 says when some eggs are broken a viper emerges. Some people are fragile. When someone corrects them with the word of God, they snap. They get mad. They become a viper. This violent response is a sign of pride.

Proverbs 9:8-9 says if you rebuke a wise man he will love you. A wise person loves rebuke because it helps him grow spiritually. A wise person is humble. He is submissive. He is like Christ.

In Psalm 141:5 the Psalmist says let the righteous rebuke me, and it will be like a precious oil. A rebuke from a spiritually mature person brings the Holy Spirit into a person’s life. This is why the wise love rebuke and instruction. Our flesh doesn’t like it. But let us walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). Fools are proud, and therefore they are unable to receive correction.

Pride often comes from insecurity. Insecurity often comes from worrying too much about what others think. Insecurity causes a person to walk around with a chip on their shoulder. This means that they refuse to bend down. They are defiant and arrogant. Insecurity leads a person to focus on self-preservation. The desire to preserve self produces rebellion. Jesus says we must be willing to lose ourselves in this world. He said we must take up the cross daily. If we are worried about self-preservation we will not take up our cross.

True security can only come from God. When we are secure in God, then we will trust him to preserve our lives and our reputations. Then we can take up our cross and allow our flesh to be crucified. We can become humble and submissive, knowing that God will preserve us.

God knows how to deal with pride. The Bible says God resists the proud. This means that he blocks up their way. He makes their path miserable. He opposes them. It’s not pleasant to be opposed by God.

Let us forsake pride. Let us embrace humility so we can receive grace from God. We want his presence to flow into our lives. Let us embrace submission. Submission is not a bad thing, but it’s a sign of humility and Christlikeness. As we humble ourselves, we will experience more of God’s presence, power, and authority in our lives.

The Bible says that before Jesus comes back, two things will happen. First, there will be great apostasy. This means that Christians will fall away from the truth of God. Second, the Antichrist will be revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and he will dominate the world. Both apostasy and the Antichrist must happen before Jesus returns.

We see signs of apostasy, as many Christians are teaching false doctrines, promoting false prophecies, and some are abandoning the faith. But we do not yet see the Antichrist. The Bible tells us what the Antichrist will be like, and he is not yet revealed. Therefore, we know that the day of the Lord has not yet come.

There will be a global government before Jesus comes back. The arrival of the Antichrist will be preceded by the establishment of a global government, and the Antichrist will precede the return of Christ.

The Bible says that this global government will create political unity all over the world (Daniel 7:23). This government will have a common religion (Revelation 13:8). It will promote worldwide economic unity (Revelation 13:16-17). 

When the final global government is revealed, Jesus’ return is imminent.

Peace and Safety
The desire for peace and safety drives the push toward global government.

The League of Nations was formed in the aftermath of World War I as an early attempt at global government. The nations were tired of war, and they thought a global government could stop war and bring peace. This didn’t work, and disagreements soon overwhelmed the world again. World War II broke out. After WWII, a stronger global government was formed, called the United Nations. People currently trust the UN to maintain peace around the world.

People not only want peace, they want safety. They want safety from terrorists, safety from crime, safety from climate change, safety from disease, and safety from other threats. Globalization is seen as a way to stay safe.

The problem is, peace and safety can only come from God, not come from human government. The Bible warns us that the peace and safety offered by the final global government will be a mirage. “For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). “They” refers to unbelievers. At the end of the age the world will unite in a global government, pursuing peace and safety. But when this dream is achieved and the Antichrist rules over all, the kingdom of God will shatter this global government. Sudden destruction will come upon the world as the Day of the Lord dawns.

Tower of Babel
There was once a global government. After the flood, Nimrod united the world to build the Tower of Babel. They all spoke the same language had the same ideology. “And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Genesis 11:6). Shocking advances in dark spirituality and evil technology were being made at Babylon. The limit to their progress was only their own imagination.

God didn’t like this “progress,” because it was apart from his Spirit and contrary to his word. So God scattered their language. He gave them different languages so they couldn’t understand each other. They were forced to stop their building project and disunite. They left Babylon and went all over the world, establishing different nations. 

Today, the nations of the world are uniting again. They are trying to recover what was lost at Babel. They are able to speak the same language and have a common goal. As it was at the Tower of Babel, the limit to their progress seems to be only the human imagination. But God will bring an end to humanity’s globalization through the arrival of his Son which will manifest his kingdom all over the world and destroy every other kingdom.

Our Response
We must understand what the Bible says about this final global government and be prepared to face it. Why? Because the Bible says Christians will be the final enemies of this global government. This government will persecute the people of God (Daniel 7:21). It will make war against them (Revelation 13:7). There is a path to victory, and it is by the Holy Spirit.

God’s people have often been the enemies of governments. They were persecuted in ancient Egypt. In Persia, God’s people were sentenced to death. But God gives supernatural victory to his people.

We are blessed to be living in the United States when we have freedom to worship Jesus. We should never take our freedom for granted, because most Christians today don’t have such freedom. Today, throughout the Muslim world, Christians are persecuted, and they are being arrested throughout China and India. God has given us the privilege of religious liberty for a reason. 

Freedom gives us the opportunity to spiritually prepare.

The Limits of Obeying the Government
We should try to obey the government as much as possible. But when the government tells us to do something that contradicts the Bible, we must disobey. When the government told Peter and the other apostles to stop preaching, they disobeyed that law because God said they should share the gospel. “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). We must be ready to disobey a government when it tells us to do things that are contrary to the Bible.

When the government orders people to get a mark in their bodies in order to buy and sell, we will have to refuse. Even if life gets uncomfortable, and even if everyone in the world is getting such a mark, we must not. God will take care of us. The Bible says that all who take the mark will go into hell (Revelation 14:9-11). Discomfort in this world is better than spending an eternity in hellfire.

At the end of the age God’s people will overcome through the grace of Jesus Christ and practical operations of his power. Safety is only going to be found in the bride of Christ. All over the world, God will have a faithful remnant of people who are obeying the word of God and refusing to follow the vain religious teachings of men. Just like Noah had to build an ark to be ready for the flood, we must do our part to build up the true church of Jesus Christ so we can be safe in the end times. God is raising up his bride all over the world. We want to be a part of it.

God will protect his people. He will be a shield over them to guide them and protect them (Isaiah 4:2-6). As they gather together in faithful assemblies all over the world, God will be their covering.

Don’t be afraid. God is our shield. He is our protection. Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. Jesus did not pray that God would take us out of the world, but that he would protect us from Satan (John 17:15). God is going to answer the prayer of his Son. He will keep his people safe. And even if some Christians die (and they will), they can rejoice because their names are written in heaven. They will go to be with Jesus which is far better than anything else. 

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).

One of the amazing things about the Bible is the accurate predictions it makes about the future. This is not surprising because the Bible is written by God, and God knows everything about the future. He can tell people what will happen.

Daniel was a prophet who lived during the 500s BC. He prophesied about the destruction of Babylon, the rise of Medo-Persia, the rise of Greece, and the rise of Rome. Greece did not rise until 340 BC.. Rome did not become an empire until after 100 BC. How did Daniel know about these future events? Because the Holy Spirit revealed them to him. Daniel explains in his book about how angels came and told him what the future would be.

If someone understood these prophecies of Daniel in those days, he could have easily understood what would happen in world politics.

100 years ago, liberal scholars did not believe that Daniel could make such predictions. They did not believe in prophecy, and many of them did not believe in God. So they theorized that Daniel was written much later that 500 BC by someone other than Daniel (even though the book claimed to be written by Daniel). These faulty conjectures were disproved when an early copy of Daniel was discovered along with the Dead Sea Scrolls. This manuscript was dated at 150 BC. At this time Daniel was already accepted as Scripture. The the fact that it must have taken many years for the book of Daniel to be copied and reach that location and become widely accepted as Scripture, is one strong evidence that Daniel was written around 500 BC. Archeological evidence and true scientific inquiry and discovery will always support and prove the Bible. But people didn’t need to wait for the Dead Sea Scrolls to be discovered in order to believe Daniel. Jesus talked about how Daniel wrote the book of Daniel (Matthew 24:15). Jesus believed the book of Daniel. If people don’t believe in Jesus, they won’t believe Daniel either. Daniel is an important book, and it reveals important things.

Daniel not only prophesied about the Greek and Roman empires, but he also prophesied about the end of the age. He told what the political situation of the world would be like at the end of time right before the return of Christ.

Daniel said that at the end of the age, there would be a world government. Daniel described this global government in this way: “A fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces'” (Daniel 7:23). This government will be violent. It will be evil. It will dominate the entire world. 

Daniel said this global government is “different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet” (Daniel 7:19).

This final global government will be led by the Antichrist. It’s not going to be pleasant.

We can read about this final global government in Revelation. “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.  All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:7-8).

This global government will dominate the entire world. It will demand political and religious authority over everyone. It will also unite the world economically using advanced technology. “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev. 13:16-17).

The Antichrist along with the final global government will turn against God’s people. Revelation says this government will make “war with the saints” (Rev. 13:7). Daniel says it will “make war against the saints and prevail against them” (Daniel 7:21). 

The Bible is clear. This is not a wild-eyed conspiracy theory. At the end of the age there will be a government that will rule over the entire world. It will be a strong global government that will dominate all peoples and nations. It will be Satanic. This government will demand political and religious allegiance from everyone. It will institute a new economic system of control, with a mark in each person’s head or hand. Without this mark, people will be unable to buy or sell or participate in the economic system.

There is a movement now toward globalization. The nations of the world are joining together at the United Nations and in other places in order to create more political unity. Economic unity is also racing ahead as trade deals are signed and economic barriers fall. Organizations like the World Economic Forum are promoting ideas like the “Great Reset” and “Build Back Better.” These slogans have been adopted by politicians around the world, proving that they are guided by a political power greater than themselves. These leaders envision building a new world order, in which a single global government controls the destiny of the world and enforces peace and safety for all the inhabitants of the world.

We can see these movements happening now, before our eyes. We should not be surprised. The Bible tells us where all of this is headed. A strong global government will be created. The Antichrist will emerge and dominate this government. This government will turn against God’s people.

We should not be afraid. God has a plan for his people. God’s kingdom is stronger, and it will ultimately destroy this evil global government. At the end of the age there will be spiritual victory for God’s people. 

“But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” (Dan. 7:18 KJV)

“Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” (Daniel 7:22 KJV)
“But the court shall be seated, and they [saints] shall take away his [Antichrist’s] dominion, to consume and destroy it forever” (Daniel 7:26).

“The saints will judge the world.” (1 Corinthians 6:2).

These verses speak of the final victory of God’s people over Satan and all the forces of darkness. We have nothing to fear. Greater is he who is in us, than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

We will look more into these things next week. We will learn about how we should respond to these imminent developments. The rise of this global government is ultimately a spiritual problem, and spiritual problems require spiritual solutions. To get ready for next Sunday, please read Daniel chapters 2 and 7, and Revelation.

The Bible compares growing in our spiritual life to growing physically. Just as we grew from babyhood to adulthood, in the same we we must grow spiritually from spiritual babyhood to spiritual maturity. This is a process that every Christian must go through.

Babies
When a baby is born into the world, there is a lot of joy. People think the baby is very cute. They want to spend time with the baby and take care of it. The baby is helpless. He can’t feed himself, dress himself, or take care of himself in other basic ways. He is ignorant of many things and makes many mistakes. But people are patient with the baby because they know that this is how babies are.

When we heard the gospel and believed it, we were born again. Our dead spirits were made alive, and the Holy Spirit came inside of us. At this time there was a lot of joy in heaven. Maybe other Christians were happy too. We probably made some mistakes in those early days. We were spiritual babies. We didn’t understand basic things about the Bible. We didn’t really know how to talk about God with others. We sometimes ate wrong things that made us sick (false teachings or worldly wisdom). We needed a lot of patient guidance from those who were more spiritually mature. 

Milestones
After a few months, a healthy baby will start hitting milestones. He will roll over and start crawling. Then he will start walking. He begins eating solid food. Eventually he will talk. All of these changes are remarkable and happen quickly. The baby is changing a lot in these days.

After being born again, a healthy Christian will hit spiritual milestones. He will understand and implement the spiritual foundations of Christ in his life (Hebrews 5:12-6:1-3). He will be baptized in water and baptized in the Holy Spirit. He will begin to study and understand the Bible. He will connect to a Biblical church. During this time the changes in his spiritual life will be drastic. He might change so much spiritually that he becomes almost a different person. 

Growing to Maturity
After the baby hits the basic milestones, he might be 5 years old. He is still not mature. He still has a long way to go. He’s not a baby anymore, but he is far from adulthood. He has to keep growing until he is about 21 years old and becomes an adult.

It is similar for us spiritually. Being born again and hitting a few spiritual milestones is not the end of our spiritual life. It might have brought a lot of changes to us, but this is only the beginning of our spiritual journey. We don’t just get our ticket punched to heaven and then we can sit back and relax because we’ve made it. We’ve got to keep growing.

Our goal is to become spiritually mature. Jesus commanded us to “be as perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” We’re not there yet. The word “perfect” means “mature” in Greek. We need to keep growing spiritually until we reach this very high level of spiritual maturity. 

Paul was a mighty apostle. He planted many churches, wrote a lot of the New Testament, and had powerful revelations of God. Yet he never reached this place of full maturity. He was still pressing toward it knowing that he had to grow (Phil. 3:15). If Paul was still growing spiritually until the end of his life, how much more do we need to keep growing spiritually?

God wants all of us to reach maturity (Col. 1:28). This means he wants all of us to keep growing. 

Physically, we grow until we’re about 21. Then we are physically mature and we stop growing.

Spiritually, the process of growth will last our entire lives. As long as we’re on this earth, we must keep growing spiritually. This process of growth will only end when either Christ returns, or until we die and go to heaven. 

Healthy Habits
Physical growth happens as we engage in healthy habits. We must eat healthy food, get enough sleep, and get some exercise regularly in order to grow. 

When we were young our parents probably guided us to have healthy habits and make good choices:
“Eat your vegetables.”
“Don’t eat so many donuts and Doritos.”
“Go play outside and get some fresh air.”
“Don’t watch TV all day.”
“Stop playing so many video games.”

If a 10 year old is left only to himself, he probably won’t make good choices. He needs his parents to guide him.

We need spiritual guidance so that we don’t stay spiritually immature. We need the body of Christ and input from older brothers and sisters in Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). As we listen to them they will help us develop healthy habits so we can grow.

Just as we need to form good physical habits in order to grow physically, we must develop good spiritual habits in order to grow spiritually.

We can’t just rely on our feelings. “I just don’t feel like eating my vegetables, I feel like eating cake.” “I don’t feel like exercising, I just feel like playing video games.” If a child just follows his feelings, then he won’t mature. He will get sick.

It’s the same spiritually. We must not just follow our feelings spiritually. Our feelings will not help us mature. If we are waiting for feelings before we do what we need to do spiritually, we will remain immature. We are exalting ourselves over God. We are serving ourselves and choosing what feels good to us rather choosing God and what he wants.

In order to grow spiritually, we need healthy habits.

We need to read the Bible regularly. Jesus said that we won’t live by natural food, but by spiritual food (Matthew 4:4). If we don’t read the Bible, we will not grow.
We need to pray consistently.
We must obey God.
We should share the gospel with others.
We need to go to church each week. We need input from other members of the body of Christ. We need to pray for each other and minister to each other. The early church met at least once a week on Sunday, and we need to follow their example.

We need commit to developing healthy spiritual habits in order to grow. We must not just follow our feelings regarding these things, but we must force ourselves to do what is right. As we do, the Holy Spirit will help us. The Christian life is not about following our feelings and doing what feels good. It is about obeying God and doing what he has told us to do. God wants us to grow. He wants us to not be babies anymore, but to grow into spiritual maturity. 

This process of spiritual growth will go on our entire lives. We need to dedicate ourselves to this and be diligent so that we can stand on this earth as strong men and women of God, fulfilling our divine purpose, and not crawling around on the floor like babies.

God’s people need heavenly bread in order to survive spiritually. Jesus said that we will not live by bread alone, but by the word of God (Matt. 4:4). When God’s people lack spiritual bread, they become desperate for heavenly food. These times of desperation are times that God comes through and gives them supernatural provision.

Jesus once told a parable about a man who was traveling (Luke 11:5-8). The traveller came to his friend’s house late at night and he was hungry. His friend had no bread in his house. His host became desperate because he had no bread, so he went to a neighbor’s house at midnight. After knocking a few times, the neighbor got out of bed and gave him three loaves of bread. The man went back home and fed his hungry friend.

Spiritual supply often comes to the desperate. We have nothing from ourselves that can benefit others spiritually, and we need to get something from God. We need supernatural bread. Times of desperation can be dark. They may be like midnight, when all hope seems lost. At times like this we need to go to God with our desperation. He has the supply, and he will give us all the bread we need.

Bethlehem

Bethlehem was a small town in Judah. It was an insignificant place to most people (Micah 5:2). But the provision of God often comes from places that appear small or insignificant. The name Bethlehem means “house of bread.” Bethlehem represents the place we receive spiritual supply of bread from God.

As we study Bethlehem in the Bible, we can learn about how the bread of God comes to his people.

Rachel Dies, Benjamin is Born

The first mention of Bethlehem in the Bible is in Genesis. Rachel was pregnant with Benjamin, and she and her family were traveling to Ephratah (which means fruitful) (Genesis 35:15-19). On their journey, the family stopped at Bethlehem. Rachel went into labor. Her labor was hard, and the life of both mother and son appeared to be in jeopardy. But Rachel received enough strength to bring forth her son. During the labor Rachel died. She was buried in Bethlehem. 

Bethlehem was the place where Benjamin was born – the precious son of the right hand! There was a provision there. But Bethlehem was also a place of struggle and desperation. In order to get into the place of fruitfulness, there had to be death. To get the supernatural provision of God our flesh must be crucified and we must come to the end of ourselves. When we do this, we will see a breakthrough.

Ruth and Boaz

Naomi was originally from Bethlehem. When they were young, Naomi and her husband had left Bethlehem and went to Moab. In Moab Naomi’s husband and two sons died. She became desperate because of a famine. She left Moab and came back to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth to find some food. 

When they came back to Bethlehem, their desperate cries to God were heard. Bethlehem was the “house of bread” for Naomi and Ruth. God blessed them there. First they got some grain, and then Ruth found a husband, Boaz. Boaz and Ruth then had a son named Obed. Obed became the grandfather of David.

David

Decades later, David was born in Bethlehem. David was like the runt of the family. He was ignored by people. But God had chosen him to rule over his people and become a symbolic representation of Christ. When Samuel came to Bethlehem to find David, his father showed him all his older and stronger sons. But God had chosen the youngest, David, to become king.

The provision of God often seems small. It is something that most people overlook. But it is God’s provision to deliver his people. It is God’s bread. And it comes to the desperate and hungry.

Jesus

Centuries later, Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to be counted in a census. When they reached Bethlehem, they could not stay at the inn because it was full. So they stayed in a barn. There Mary went into labor and birthed Jesus. She put him in a manger, which is an animal feeding trough. The manger represented that Jesus is the true spiritual bread that gives life to the world.

The bread of God often comes in small packages. It comes in the midst of dire circumstances. It comes to desperate people. It often comes in ways that the world does not recognize. But it comes to those who are in tune with God. When we are at the end of ourselves, the bread of God will come through to nourish us.

At the end of the age, there will be people who are desperate for God. In the midst of the trials and troubles of the dark world, they will cry out to God. They won’t be satisfied with the empty vessels of Babylon. They will want something more. God will hear their prayers, and they will receive supernatural provision that will give them strength to overcome. They will be like Mary at Bethlehem, who through the midst of terrible difficulty, saw the glory and provision of God.

Prayer opens the door for God to work in our lives. Prayer is the beginning of miracles. We need to know how to pray successfully so that we can see answers to our prayers. There is no point in praying if our prayers aren’t connecting to God or accomplishing anything. The point of prayer is to commune with God and grow in our relationship with him, so his kingdom can come and his will can be done. 

The Bible tells us how to pray successfully.

First, we need to pray in the name of Jesus. Jesus said, “whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you” (John 16:23). 

Praying in the name of Jesus means to pray under the authority of Jesus. It means to approach God because of Jesus’ righteousness, not our own. 

When we do something in someone else’s name, we do it on that person’s behalf. When we make a request in another person’s name, it is as though the other person is making the request through us. When we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, it as though Jesus is praying to the Father through us. This is why praying in the name of Jesus makes our prayers effective.

We cannot pray in Jesus’ name if our prayer is not according to the will of God. Whenever we ask for something in the name of Jesus, we must be sure that our prayer is according to God’s will. Using the name of Jesus to pray for something that is not God’s will is using his name in vain. This is wrong. God doesn’t want us to use the name of Jesus randomly or for our own personal ends. 

“Now this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). 

It is possible to know the will of God (Eph. 5:17). The Bible tells us what the will of God is. Sometimes we don’t know God’s will, and we need to ask God to reveal his will to us. When we know what God’s will is, we can pray with confidence, knowing that God will hear our prayer. Praying according to God’s will is the key to successful prayer.

To pray successfully, we must pray in faith. Jesus said, “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt. 21:22). We need faith in order to please God (Heb. 11:6). We must pray without doubt, if we want to receive answers to our prayers (James 1:6-7). 

Faith comes by hearing. When we hear God speak, we know what his will is, and then we have confidence that he will perform his will. As we read the Bible, we will understand the will of God more clearly, and faith will rise within us. 

Faith is preceded by the word of God. Faith does not create things, the word of God creates things. The power to create is inside the word of God. Faith releases the power of the word of God and brings the word to pass on the earth. When we believe the word of God, its power is unleashed to change people and situations. This is why faith comes by hearing. Our faith must be in the word of God to be effective. Faith in the air will not accomplish anything. When we pray, we must believe in the already existing word of God, and trust that God’s word will happen.

We must pray by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspires us to pray, and he prays according to the will of God. The Holy Spirit prays through us to the Father in the name of the Son. The Holy Spirit has many things to pray for. He understands things that are beyond our own minds. When the Holy Spirit prays through us, he lifts us beyond our own understanding and helps us pray in ways that are beyond ourselves. Sometimes we will pray with groans which are beyond speech (Rom. 8:26). 

We are commanded to pray with confidence – to come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace and mercy to help us in time of need (Heb. 4:16). We don’t need to be shy when approaching God. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We are accepted because Jesus is accepted, and his blood has taken away all our sins. We are no longer under the burden of guilt and shame. We don’t have to run away and hide from God like Adam did. 

We should lift up holy hands and pray (1 Tim. 2:8). Our hands are holy when they are cleansed from sin. Our hands do a lot of things, and sometimes they get defiled because we sin. When we sin we need to confess our sins and repent. Then our hands will become clean again, and we can lift them up to God in prayer. Lifting up our hands when we pray is a blessing.

When we pray, we must forgive others. We need to forgive everyone from the heart for anything they have done against us. Bitterness, anger and grudges come from unforgiveness, and these things hinder our prayers. 

Jesus told us to pray in our closet with the door shut (Matt. 6:6). This means we must shut out distractions. It’s easy to be distracted when praying. Our phones buzz, our thoughts turn to dinner, or our hearts are burdened with worry. Satan often tries to disturb our minds when we pray. We need to shut out distractions in order to pray successfully. Closing our eyes can help us avoid distraction when praying.

When we pray in a group with other Christians, the power of prayer is multiplied. When we agree together in prayer, we can bind and loose things in heavenly places. It’s important to actively agree with the others while they are praying. Prayer requires spiritual effort. 

Prayer is about talking to God, not people. When we pray in a group, let us not seek to impress others. And let us not worry about what others will think about our prayers. Let us avoid long prayers which monopolize the prayer time. Let us not pray for a long time as a pretense.

When we pray, it is important to avoid vain repetitions. Prayer is not about many words. It is about communion with God. God already knows what we need before we ask him. Therefore we don’t need to keep repeating things to him when he has already heard us. Persistence is important, but not repetition. We keep knocking, but when the door is opened, we stop knocking. We keep asking, but when the answer comes, we stop asking. Long prayers can be good; Jesus sometimes prayed all night. Persistence is important, and sometimes answers take years. But we don’t need to pray for a long time just for the sake of praying for a long time.

We are commanded to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). This means that our spirits are constantly engaged with God throughout the day. Even when we are working or talking to others, our spirits are connected to God. We are always ready to serve God – to hear from him and do something or say something for him. Few Christians live in this way, because it is so easy to be distracted by the world. But it is possible to grow in this so that our spirits are in continual fellowship with the Father.

Humility is important when we pray. True prayer is not about pride. It is about God accomplishing his will in us. When we pray, we must be willing to lay aside our own will and allow God’s will to be done. Sometimes God doesn’t hear our prayers because of sin or other reasons (Prov. 15:29; 28:9). When this happens, we are praying to ourselves (Luke 18:9-14). This kind of prayer is ineffective. To be sure that God hears us, let us confess our sins.

It’s good to pray with passion and zeal. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Jesus prayed with great drops of blood. Sometimes God’s people are desperate, and they cry out to God for help. It’s ok to allow our emotions out when we pray. It’s ok to shout and get excited about prayer. God is the most awesome person in the universe, and prayer is about talking to him. Prayer is hoping that he will work and do a miracle in this dead world. Sometimes if God doesn’t work, all hope is lost. We need to see God work, so we need to pray.

Prayer has always been important for God’s people. As we get closer to the end of the age it will become even more important. At the end of the age, the prayers of God’s people will unleash great changes in the earth (Rev. 8:1-6). We need to continually seek to pray more effectively. The Holy Spirit will fill us and help us to do this.

Along with successful prayer will come powerful results. We will be transformed, and the world will change because of our prayers.

Sometimes we get stuck in life because we look at things from the wrong perspective. We need the word of God to change the way we see things. When our perspective changes through the word of God, we can get a breakthrough and move forward.

Hagar

When Hagar was kicked out of her house with her son, she was wandering in the wilderness. She had no more water and no more food. The heat was unbearable. Hagar was sure that her son was going to die. She put the boy under a bush and went away to cry.

Then God spoke to Hagar. He opened her eyes and showed her a spring of water. He told her that her son had a future. 
The word of God gave Hagar a new perspective. It enabled to see something that she couldn’t see before.

The spring was always there. But Hagar was too desperate to see it. She was too overcome with sorrow. The tears had clouded her eyes. Sometimes our desperate emotions block us from seeing the provision that is already there. Our fears get in the way. But in every situation there is provision to get through because God will never leave us or forsake us.

Water symbolizes the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit in every situation. We need to see him and draw on this divine supply in order to overcome challenges.

God was going to make Hagar’s son a great nation. Inside Abraham’s home, her son could not become a great nation because of conflict. Hagar had to take her son into the wilderness for this prophetic word to come to pass. The wilderness was actually the doorway to the fulfillment of God’s word. God is able to bring good out of apparently bad situations for those whom he loves (Rom. 8:28).

Sometimes we are like Hagar. The provision from God might be right in front of us, but we can’t see it because we are overwhelmed. We need a new perspective from God to see this provision.

Gideon

Growing up, Gideon thought he was weak and the least in his father’s house. He had a low impression of himself and a high impression of his enemies. He grew up with idols and probably thought they were fine.

Then God spoke to Gideon and gave him a new perspective. God said that he was with Gideon. He called Gideon a mighty man of valor. 

Sometimes we need to change the way we view ourselves. We are more than conquerors through Christ. We are children of God. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. This is our identity. We need the word of God to define us, not the world. The world will put us down, and Satan will try to destroy us. But God will lift us up. We need to renew our minds through the word of God.

God called Gideon to destroy the idol in his father’s house. The things that were accepted in the past now had to be rejected. Sometimes we put up with things that we shouldn’t put up with. We are afraid that if we tear down an idol, that people will hate us or we will face bad consequences. But if we see that God hates that idol, and that he is calling us to get it out of our lives, then we will be strengthened to get rid of it knowing that God will protect us.

Gideon saw the idol with a new perspective, and then he hated it. He tore it down. 

Gideon also saw himself with a new perspective. As he began to understand who he was in God and trust in God’s power, he gathered an army. He defeated the Midianites. 

Moses

Moses was another person who got a new perspective. He had been in the wilderness for forty years looking after sheep. At the end of this time he thought he couldn’t even talk. 

God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. He asked Moses what he had in his hand. He had a shepherd’s rod. God said that rod was all he needed to break the power of Egypt. Moses was shocked. He looked at the shepherd’s rod as a mark of shame, for he was just a shepherd. That occupation seemed unimportant. But God doesn’t look the way man looks. God said that he was going to use this humble tool to break the power of the mightiest nation in the world.

God takes the weak things of the world to confound the strong (1 Cor. 1:27-29).

God had been using the wilderness to train Moses. Moses probably was sick of the wilderness, but it had been important training ground to purify him and help him hear from God. A new perspective will make sense of the wilderness in our lives too.

Conclusion

In each of these situations, the word of God came to someone who was in a difficult situation and changed that person’s perspective. The word of God brings light (Ps. 119:130). Light shines in the darkness. It shows us things that we could not see before. The word of God lifted these people up from a human perspective to God’s perspective.

In our own lives, we may have been viewing things wrongly. We may have looked at things a certain way for a long time, and wondered how we could get the victory in that situation. But God may have a different way of seeing it. Maybe we were viewing ourselves in a certain way that is not according to the word of God. We need to allow God to define us.

We need to ask God to speak to us. His word will bring light. When he gives us a new perspective, we will see things differently, and that may bring a breakthrough.

Jesus warned us that in the end of the age, there would be many false teachings (Matthew 24:4). It’s important for us to be aware of this, so that we are not deceived.

One of the most dangerous teachings in the church today is the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel teaches that if you are faithful to God, then you will be rich and have good health. One popular prosperity preacher said, “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us.”

The prosperity gospel has spread throughout the church in the USA. From here it is going around the world. It is taking over the church in countries in Africa and South America. India is also being affected. 

It is important for us to measure the prosperity gospel by the Bible. Does God promise us lots of money if we are faithful to him?

When Satan tempted Jesus, he said he would give him the wealth of the world if he would bow down and worship him (Matthew 4:8-9). Satan is the god of this world. The devil controls many aspects of this world, and he can make people wealthy. Wealth according to this verse can come from Satan.

Jesus taught us to not lay up treasures on earth but treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21). Earthly treasures include money. Heavenly treasures are invisible, spiritual riches that we gain as we obey God.

Jesus told us we cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24). Mammon is a demon that represents and controls wealth. When people serve mammon, a demon gives them wealth. Jesus told us that this demon and God are opposites, and we cannot serve both of them. A prosperity gospel that teaches that God will give us money is a false gospel of mammon.

Jesus told a rich man that if he wanted to be perfect to sell what he had and give it to the poor (Matt. 19:21-23). He didn’t tell him that his wealth was a sign of perfection.

Jesus said it was very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24). He didn’t teach that the more money you have, the closer you are to heaven.

Jesus pronounced “woe to the rich,” because they already received their comfort (Luke 6:24). 

He said a man’s life is not measured by the things that he has (Luke 12:15).

Paul said that Christians will face many challenges in this life. They will not experience lots of material comforts and pleasures. This is why Paul says if all Christians have is in this life, and if there is no eternal life, then they make themselves miserable for nothing (1 Corinthians 15:19).

When Paul defends his ministry and tries to prove that he is a true servant of God, he tells people how often he had been beaten. He was imprisoned. He was hungry, he was thirsty. He almost died in the sea. He was robbed, attacked, slandered, and weak. He didn’t boast of his money or possessions. He boasted in his weaknesses. (See 2 Corinthians 11:23-30.) Paul’s life was the opposite of the prosperity gospel.

The Bible says that Christians are appointed to suffer in this world (Philippians 1:29). They will suffer because they are living for Christ and the devil hates them. The world is full of evil and demons, and Christians are trying to live for God and bring his kingdom into this broken world. This is not going to be easy.

We are commanded to keep our lives free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5).

The Bible says that the poor people of this world are rich in faith (James 2:5). It doesn’t say that their poverty is a sign of unbelief.

Peter warned against false teachers who would through covetousness make merchandise of Christians. He said they would be experts in greed (2 Peter 2:3, 14-15).

The church in Laodicea was rich, full of possessions, and needed nothing materially (Revelation 3:17). Yet Jesus said they were spiritually poor, blind, and naked. They had material riches, but no spiritual riches. This meant that they had nothing.

The Bible directly warns us against false prosperity teachers who “suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself” (1 Timothy 6:5) We are instructed to separate ourselves from prosperity preachers.

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have staged from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:6-10).

What about the Old Testament?

Prosperity preachers often misinterpret the Old Testament. Abraham, Solomon and others were wealthy in the Old Testament. These material examples in the Old Testament represent spiritual riches for us. They got land, but we get the riches of the Holy Spirit. They got milk, honey, and gold, but we get the riches of the word of God. They had to defeat giants to get actual land, but we defeat principalities and powers in order to inherit our spiritual land of heaven. The blessings we are promised in the New Testament are primarily spiritual, not material.

There are many evil results that come from the prosperity gospel. 

It leads Christians to believe that the success of their spiritual life is measured by the amount of money they have. This is false. God’s presence is greater than money. Spiritual blessings are greater than material blessings.

The prosperity gospel leads to excess. Prosperity preachers are known to buy luxurious mansions, gold toilets, jets, and fleets of luxury cars. These things are not necessary for Christians when there are poor Christians struggling in the world and true servants of God who need support. There should be a balance in the body of Christ, so that the body of Christ rises together or falls together. One part of the body should not monopolize material things at the expense of other members (2 Corinthians 8:14).

The Dangers of Overreaction

In recognizing the errors of the prosperity gospel, we don’t want to swing too far in the opposite direction. We don’t want to embrace a poverty gospel. God does not demand that all his children be poor all the time. We should not seek poverty or wealth. Rather, we should seek the will of God. When we seek God’s will, we will please God. Then we can know how to be poor and how to be rich (Philippians 4:12).

There are some verses that reveal that financial blessing will come to those who give money to the church and to God’s work.

Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

According to this verse, what are we supposed to give? We need to give love, goodness, mercy and forgiveness, according to Luke 6:32, 33, 36, and 37. But we also need to give money according to Luke 6:30, 34, 35. Therefore, if we give money, love, goodness, mercy, and forgiveness, we will also receive these things. This promise includes money.

“He who sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). This verse is talking about giving money to the church. It says that there is a principle of sowing and reaping that operates financially. When we give to God’s work, we will be blessed financially (2 Corinthians 9:10-11). But our primary motivation to give is not to get money, but it is to obey God. As we give, we will lay up treasures in heaven.

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). Three categories of blessing are mentioned in this verse: spiritual blessings for the soul, health for the body, and material blessings in our lives. God wants us to be healthy and successful in other ways beyond the spiritual. However, we must always remember that spiritual blessings are paramount, and if we don’t have spiritual blessings, we have nothing.

We must beware of the prosperity gospel. It is a false teaching that causes Christians to focus on money and measure their spiritual lives by money. It leads to other false teachings, excess, and scandal. It contradicts many verses in the Bible.

At the same time, we must also recognize that there are a few verses that reveal that if we give we will be blessed financially. We cannot ignore this. 

In all things, we need to primarily seek the will of God for our lives, so we can be spiritually blessed. In the New Testament age, we need spiritual blessings. These blessings be with us forever, and these things will bless the world now with the presence of Christ. And he is more valuable than all the gold in the world.

Religious activity is important, but it’s not as important as obedience to God. This is why God says, “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). When we obey God, our religious activity is acceptable to him.

Jeremiah said, “I will certainly bring calamity on this people because they have not heeded My words nor My law, but rejected it. For what purpose to Me comes frankincense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me” (Jeremiah 6:19-20).

Israel’s sacrifices were not acceptable because Israel was disobedient to God’s word. All the religious activity in the world cannot make up for disobedience to God.

Sacrifices and religious activity apart from obedience to the word of God is dangerous. The Bible says it is witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23).

Jesus told the Pharisees, “in vain do you worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). The Pharisees were serving Satan and not God (John 8:44) because their religious activity was not based on God’s word.

In the Old Testament, the Jews had to do all their sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. They were not allowed to offer sacrifices in other places. When they offered sacrifices in other places, they came under demonic bondage. This teaches we must first obey God in order to spiritually be in the place where our sacrifices are acceptable.

In the Old Testament, God blessed his people materially when they offered sacrifices. God blessed Abraham and he became materially wealthy (Genesis 24:35). God blessed Solomon, and he became the richest king in the world (1 Kings 10:23). The Israelites were blessed when their land was productive, they had many children, defeated their enemies, and amassed a lot of money.

Christians are called to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (Hebrews 13:15-16). These sacrifices include praise, thanksgiving, doing good, sharing with believers, and supporting true servants of God. We don’t offer these sacrifices in order to be cleansed from sin because Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sin on the cross once for all, but we offer these sacrifices in order to please God. 

In the New Testament, we will be blessed when we sacrifice to God. But unlike the Old Testament, this is primarily a spiritual blessing and not a material blessing. The spiritual blessings of the New Testament are symbolized by the material blessings of the Old Testament. The land flowing with milk and honey symbolizes our inheritance in Christ. Milk refers to the word of God (1 Peter 2:2) and so does honey. The fruit of the land represents the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Victory over nations symbolizes victory over evil spirits (Ephesians 6:12). Gold and silver represents spiritual gifts and talents that we have from God.

Spiritual blessings are more important and powerful than material wealth. Jesus had no house of his own (Matthew 8:20), but he was full of the spiritual blessing of God and transformed the world. Peter and John had no silver and gold, but they had something better – the power of God to heal crippled people (Acts 3:6) and preach the gospel with power. 

God will bless us materially when we sacrifice to him, but the primary blessing we receive is spiritual. And this is the real blessing that we need. This spiritual blessing will impact the world.

As we obey God, we can offer him spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to him. And as we offer spiritual sacrifices to God, he will bless us. This blessing will be primarily a spiritual blessing. The spiritual blessing of the New Testament is foreshadowed by the material blessing that the children of God enjoyed in the Old Testament. If we are rich spiritually, we have all we need. And these spiritual riches are eternal. Let us pursue spiritual riches, and lay up for ourselves heavenly treasure as we offer spiritual sacrifices to God according to his word.

The Bible talks a lot about sacrifices. As Christians, we are instructed to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Pet. 2:5). What are these spiritual sacrifices?

In the Old Testament, the people of God offered many sacrifices. When Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem, he killed 22,000 sheep and 120,000 cows. This was a lot of killing and blood. All of these sacrifices were done in order to sanctify the temple and prepare it to be the dwelling place of God.

Many different sacrifices were offered in the Old Testament – sin offerings, trespass offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings, grain offerings, and others. Some of these sacrifices atoned for sins. Others supported the temple and the priests. Other sacrifices helped the Israelites relate to God or have fellowship with each other.

Sacrifices cost something. In the Old Testament all firstborn animals had to be sacrificed to God. This delayed the growth of the flock, but it yielded God’s blessing on the flock.

The best animals had to be sacrificed. Sometimes it cost 3 or 4 average animals in order to get a good animal that was suitable for sacrifice. Sacrifices are expensive.

When Abraham defeated armies and got a lot of spoil, he gave a tithe of 10% of everything to God. This shows that he credited God with the victory, not himself.

Whenever Israel had a harvest, the firstfruits of that harvest had to be sacrificed to God. The first wheat from a field or the first fruits from a tree couldn’t be eaten, but they had to be sacrificed. This sacrifice of the firstfruits may have seemed like a temporary loss, but it ensured God’s blessing on the rest of the harvest.

Sacrifices honor God. They show that he is number one. When we give sacrifices of the first things and the best things to God, we show that we trust God more than we trust ourselves or our own planning. We believe that God is the true source of our increase and blessing. The supernatural increase of Israel was due to the power of God operating among them, not to their own planning. Israel surpassed the strength and wealth of other nations because they sacrificed to God.

In the New Testament, we need to offer spiritual sacrifices to God so that we can be spiritually blessed.

“You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

This verse shows us some important truths about spiritual sacrifices.

1. The spiritual sacrifices we offer must be acceptable to God. Cain and Abel both sacrificed to God. Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable, but Cain’s was unacceptable. Cain’s sacrifice was unacceptable because he did not sacrifice according to the word of God. He sacrificed according to his own mind. Whenever we sacrifice something to God, it must be according to God’s word.

2. Our sacrifices to God must be through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was offered on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Through faith in Christ, our sins are gone. We don’t offer sacrifices today to cleanse ourselves from sin, but to obey God, serve God, and please God. All New Testament sacrifices must be offered to God through Jesus Christ. Any sacrifice apart from Jesus is pointless.

3. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered at the temple in Jerusalem (Deut. 12:5-7). For us, the temple is the church (Eph. 2:20-22). The church is the place where our sacrifices to God should be offered. This means that sacrifices are something that we do with other believers. In order to know where the true temple of God is, we must measure things by the word of God. The word of God defines the church. We will discern what is the true church as we understand the definition of church according to the Bible.

4. In the Old Testament priests offered sacrifices on behalf of the people. In the New Testament, every true Christian is a priest. This means we all have a responsibility to offer sacrifices to God.

5. In the Old Testament, all sacrifices were offered at the altar. In the New Testament “we have an altar” (Heb. 13:10). This is not a physical altar. It is a spiritual altar. It is invisible. This altar is a place where we eat. We eat of Christ at this altar. Jesus said, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you.” (John 6:53). This refers to the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a symbol of partaking of Christ. When we come together in church (temple), we partake of the Lord’s Supper (eat at the altar). We partake of Christ in heaven, and we also have fellowship with each other as we come together as a church. The Lord’s Supper is also called the “table of the Lord” (1 Cor. 10:21). This table is revealed during the church meeting as we have fellowship together in the Word of God. Jesus is among us, and we break bread together.

Identifying Spiritual Sacrifices“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:15-16).

This verse mentions specific spiritual sacrifices.

1. Praise. We are to praise God continually. There is always something to praise God about because God is always worthy of praise. We praise God in church when we sing together and talk about his goodness. Praise is a sacrifice that pleases God.

2. Thanksgiving. We thank God when we tell him we are grateful for what he did and for who he is. We thank God when we testify to others about what he has done in our lives.

3. Doing good. Helping others, showing mercy, and sharing truth are all sacrifices as we do good to others. Doing good to others is an acceptable sacrifice when it is done through Jesus Christ, according to his word and by the power of his Spirit. We especially need to do good to our fellow Christians.

4. Sharing. Sharing is the word koinonia which means community. It is the same word that is used for sharing of possessions in Acts 2. God wants his people to share with each other. They are called to not only share spiritual things but also material things.

5. Support to true servants of God. Paul said that when the church supported him financially, their offering was “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (Phil. 4:18). When we give an offering to a true servant of God, we are giving a sacrifice to God, and God will be pleased.

6. Our bodies (Romans 12:1). To be a living sacrifice, we give our life completely over to God. We are no longer living for ourselves but for God. It is notable that our bodies (plural) become a living sacrifice (singular). This shows the importance of church.

Some of the spiritual sacrifices that we are called to offer are praise, thanks, doing good, sharing, supporting true servants of God financially, and our own lives. These sacrifices do not to pay for our sins because the blood of Jesus has already taken all our sins away. Instead, these sacrifices bless God and bless others. They are how we serve God. As we offer these sacrifices, God’s name will be exalted, and his presence will become more rich among us.

There are two types of wisdom, wisdom from God and wisdom from the earth. Each type of wisdom has different characteristics. Wisdom from the earth is demonic and produces envy and strife. But the wisdom from God not only reveals the word of God, but it does so in a way that is according to God’s character. As Christians, we need to reveal the wisdom of God in God’s way. This means being peaceable, gentle, willing to answer questions, avoiding unnecessary conflict, and being impartial and without hypocrisy. 

The only way we can fulfill this instruction is by the Holy Spirit. He will help us reveal God’s wisdom in God’s way.

Here are a few Scriptures and comments from Bobby regarding the wisdom that is from above. 

James 3:17-18  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. 

Matthew 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Comment: We can see why the wisdom from above must first be pure – that is, coming from a pure heart of faith that does not doubt, does not doubt God’s Word nor God’s promises. This wisdom must be pure and free from error, being in accordance with God’s word. In addition, we need a pure heart when handling the word of God.

1 Timothy 1:5  Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart…

Comment: In this context purity is something that’s void of evil, but instead abounding in love.

Matthew 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Comment: Peaceable and peacemakers share the same root word for peace in Greek. It’s interesting to note that this verse follows the one with the pure in heart, similar to the way James describes wisdom from above.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

John 16:27  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Comment: When we believe and call on Jesus out of a pure heart, then Jesus can give us His peace so that we may have peace that world does not have and does not know. As a result, as we grow in the peace of Christ, we can become peacemakers, reconciling the world to God through the message of the gospel and by bringing Christ’s peace and wisdom to a broken world, in a desperate need of redemption. 

Titus 3:2  to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 
Comment: The word “peaceable” actually means literally “not a brawler”. It comes from the Greek “amakhos”, which seems similar to “not being a macho”. And humility can also be translated as meekness.

Comment: Basically, yielding means to be obedient, easy to be persuaded, easy to be entreated, pacified. James uses a word with similar word to describe how we need to tame and bridle the tongue:

James 3:3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

Comment: But the wisdom of above is pliable and willing to obey the truth, working for peace, while turning away from needless strife and contention. 

Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 

James 2:1-4  My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Comment: The word translated “partiality” in verse 1 and verse 4 are actually different words in the Greek. The first one means “respecter of persons”, while the second one is related to the one in James 3. They both imply the same meaning though – not to show favoritism among believers based on outward, worldly appearance.

Romans 12:9  Let love be without hypocrisy. 

1 Peter 1:22  Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart

Hebrews 12:11  Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Comment: The verses in Hebrews and James both speak about the fruit of righteousness that brings peace. In Hebrews, this is connected with the chastening of the Lord, which seems to bring temporary sorrow so that believers “may be partakers of His holiness” (v10). Somehow, I also connect these verses to Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:10  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Comment: In this verse in Matthew, both persecution and righteousness are mentioned. In fact, I can see a kind of progression (similar to the one in James):

Matthew 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5: 9  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Comment: The first beatitude seems to speak of salvation, as only those who call on the Lord from a pure heart can see His salvation. The second one seems to speak of believers who have the peace of Christ in them and they are growing in that peace by becoming disciples of others and sharing the peace of Christ with the world. Thus, they are called sons of God, as they are being led by the Spirit of God and teaching others to do the same. Finally, the last verse speaks of the persecution that will come to those who seek to obey the Lord and do His will – their righteousness, their peaceful fruit of righteous living, would invite the opposition of the enemy and his desire to wage war against them. 1 Peter 5: 8 warns that the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour:

1 Peter 5: 8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 

Comment: Yet, God will use this opposition from the enemy as an instrument for godly discipline to further establish the believers in the faith and perfect them in His holiness. 

1 Peter 5:9-10 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Hebrews 12:11  Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Comment: We must always be made aware and be vigilant that we have a powerful enemy, who constantly wants to wage war against us. In fact, this enemy has supernatural power and we cannot defeat him by our own natural means. That’s why, we should never become complacent or proud in our spiritual walk, because until our enemy is defeated, we cannot stop being vigilant and we cannot afford lose sight of what is truly important as we seek to live for the Lord. Both James and 1 Peter warn us:

James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5  “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Comment: Yet, we have great promises that when we humble ourselves before the Lord, the devil will flee, but the Lord will establish us firmly and He will lift us up.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

We are called to be merciful. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). Those who are merciful will receive mercy from God, both in this life and in the coming age.

“Judgement will be merciless to the one who doesn’t show mercy” (James 2:13). If we don’t show mercy to others, we will not receive mercy from God. Mercy is vitally important to our Christian lives.

We need to understand what mercy is. 

First of all, mercy means not giving other people the judgment they deserve. People sin, and they often deserve judgment. But when we are merciful we do not criticize or judge them harshly, remembering that we ourselves have also sinned. God is merciful to us which means that he does not punish us for our sins.

But there’s more to it than this. Mercy is more than withholding judgment. Throughout the New Testament, mercy refers to showing kindness to someone who is in need. Jesus showed mercy to sick people by healing them (Matt. 9:27, 15:22, 17:15). We show mercy to others when we show kindness to them when they have a need.

Pity is a word that is connected to mercy. In our time, pity has gotten a bad connotation, and people often say, “I don’t need your pity!” as if pity is a bad thing. But in the Bible, pity is a good thing, and God wants us to show pity to others. Pity is an important aspect of mercy. Pity means seeing the need of someone and feeling compassion for them.

The story of the Good Samaritan teaches us about mercy (Luke 10:25-37). A man was was beaten and left on the side of the road. Religious people passed by him and didn’t do anything to help him. But a Samaritan passed by and helped him. He showed him mercy, healing his wounds and taking care of him. 

Jesus told this parable for two reasons. First, he was showing us how to love others. We love them by showing them mercy. Second, he was showing us who our neighbor is. Our neighbor is the person who is next to us in our daily life, the person that we come into close proximity to. It could be someone we pass on the sidewalk, someone at the store, or someone we have a brief interaction with. These people are our neighbors, and we need to show them mercy.

There are 5 parts of mercy that we see in the story of the Good Samaritan. 

1. The Good Samaritan inconvenienced himself to help someone else. He was on a journey, but he stopped to help someone. To show mercy, we may have to go out of our way and be inconvenienced.

2. The Good Samaritan saw the distress of someone. To show mercy to someone, we must first notice him or her and see that they have a need.

3. The Good Samaritan responded internally to the person’s need with a heart of compassion. Mercy involves feelings of compassion and sympathy towards others.

4. The Good Samaritan did practical action to help the person. He bound up the man’s wounds, took him to a hotel, paid for his room, and paid for his care. To show mercy to others, we have to take practical action to help them.

5. The Good Samaritan helped his enemy. The Jews looked down on Samaritans and had no interactions with them. But the Good Samaritan helped the Jewish man anyway. God calls us to extend mercy even to those who hate us or hurt us, just as he did to us.

We need to show mercy to others. We need to help them. We should recognize their needs and sympathize with them. We especially need to show mercy to our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

It is interesting that the religious people in the story of the Good Samaritan did not show mercy. They were haughty. They ignored the person with the problem. Sometimes religion gets in the way of mercy. The Bible says that God wants mercy and not sacrifice (Matt. 9:13). God does not want us to be religious, but he wants us to be like him, and he is merciful.
Do we always need to show mercy to everyone?

Sometimes children sin, and instead of showing mercy to them, the parents punish them. Is this wrong? Jesus called the Pharisees snakes and vipers whose hearts were full of evil. Was this merciful? Rather than showing mercy to a lazy employee, a boss may fire him instead. Is this wrong?

Mercy must be balanced. We don’t need to show mercy to everyone at everytime. Sometimes parents need to punish children. God does send people into hell. Christians need to reject false teachers.

In Jesus, mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Psalm 85:10). The accurate balance between mercy and truth can only be found in Jesus Christ. We need to be led by the Holy Spirit. As we are led by the Spirit, we will know how to balance mercy with truth.

“Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). This is a high standard for mercy that is beyond our own human ability. True mercy does not come from our flesh. Our flesh is not merciful, but it wants to take revenge. True mercy is supernatural and comes from God. The Holy Spirit helps us to be merciful.

We are merciful when we understand how God has been merciful to us. Through Jesus, God took away all of our sins. He did not punish us, but he gave us eternal life. 

Receiving mercy from God changes us. It causes us to be born again. It gives us a soft heart. If we receive God’s mercy, then we are saved. God’s mercy will mark us and change us. Merciful Christians are those who know how merciful God has been to them.

Showing mercy to others is therefore a sign that we ourselves have received mercy from God. It is a sign that we are God’s children. It is proof of our salvation. If we are merciless, then it might be questioned as to whether we have actually had a revelation of God’s mercy to us. This is why the merciful will receive mercy.

Stubbornness was a sin that hindered God’s people throughout history. Because of Israel’s stubbornness, they were hindered from fulfilling their purpose and blocked from entering the Promised Land. God said, “I have seen this people, it is a stiffnecked people” (Exodus 32:9). God called his own people stiffnecked. We don’t want to be stubborn and stiff-necked like ancient Israel.

Proverbs 29:1 says, “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Stubbornness has severe consequences and leads to destruction. We want to avoid that.
In the Bible, stubbornness is compared to having a stiff neck. This is a picture that comes from oxen. An ox-driver has a stick with which he prods the neck of the ox to get him to turn in a different direction. When the ox does not turn in response to poking his neck with a stick, it is said that he has a stiff neck. 

The ox goad is a symbol of the leadings or nudgings of the Holy Spirit. When God wants us to change course, he will nudge us to do so. When we refuse to move in that direction, we are stubborn and have a stiff neck. Having a stiff neck is a picture of not being willing to change and follow God. It means that we want to go in our own way and not God’s way. Stubbornness often is revealed in response to instruction or correction. Instruction from an authority is given, and it is resisted; or a rebuke is given, and it is rejected. This is stubbornness. 

In the Old Testament, Israel was often stubborn. They refused to walk in God’s way; they just wanted to walk in their own way. This was because their hearts were hard. “They made their hearts harder than flint” (Zech. 7:12). God or a prophet would tell them to do something, and they would refuse. They would make up their own way of doing things rather than following God’s way.

God said his people were like a stubborn cow (Hos. 4:16). To get a stubborn cow to go where you want it to go is very difficult. 

In the wilderness, God told Israel to go into the Promised Land. He said it was a good land and that they would be blessed there. They refused to go. They said that they would be killed, that God wouldn’t take care of them, and that they wanted to go back to Egypt. This shows their stubbornness. As a result of being stubborn and refusing to do what God said, God told them he was going to kill them. Stubbornness has consequences. They were frightened to hear this, so then they changed their minds and said they would go to the Promised Land after all. God told them not to go now, that it was too late, but they decided to go anyway. They got up early in the morning, and began going to the Promised Land. Then they were attacked by their enemies and killed (Num. 14:39-45). 

First, God told them to go, and they refused. Then God told them not to go, and they went. They did what they wanted to do, not what God wanted. They were stubborn.
Israel trusted in themselves more than they trusted in God. They filtered their instructions from God through their own minds. They wanted to do what they wanted to do, and if God told them to do something they didn’t want to do, then they wouldn’t do it.  Stubborn people exalt themselves over God.

Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 says three times, “Today, if you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart.” A hard heart produces stubbornness. It refuses to do what God wants. We need a soft heart to hear God’s word and obey it.

God told King Saul to kill the Amalekites and all that they had because they were a very wicked nation. Saul refused. He kept the Amalekite king alive along with the best of their livestock. The prophet Samuel told Saul that he had disobeyed God. Saul’s response reveals the lies of stubborn people.

1. Denial. Saul said that he did actually obey God. He denied being disobedient.
2. Self-justification. Saul said he disobeyed God for a good reason – to sacrifice something to God.
3. Blame. Saul blamed others. He blamed the people for his disobedience.

A stubborn person will deny they have a problem. When presented with irrefutable evidence, they will try to justify themselves. And then when that doesn’t work they will blame others.
Samuel told Saul that stubbornness is like idolatry. It’s like idolatry because it exalts something over God and disobeys God because something else is more important than God. 

A stubborn person resists authority. He has difficulty in following instructions. He is set on doing his own thing. He has a hard heart. When he is rebuked or corrected, he lashes out. 

Stubbornness has bad results. It leads to destruction. It causes the loss of position and ability to fulfill one’s calling. It blocks forward progress in God. It stores up wrath from God (Rom. 2:5). 

We need to eliminate stubbornness from our lives in order to fulfill God’s plan. We can do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. The best way to get rid of stubbornness is to repent. When we repent, we change course. This is the opposite of being stiffnecked, and it is God’s will for our lives. When God tells us to do something, we need to repent and do it.

We need humility and a soft heart in order to receive direction and instructions from God. We must keep our heart tender before the Lord. We must pay attention to the conviction and leading of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit. If you ignore him too much, you will lose the ability to hear his voice and then your conscience will become hardened. But as you stay sensitive to his leading, you will walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

As we eliminate stubbornness from our lives, we will become God’s faithful servants who obey him above ourselves. Then God can do his mighty works through us.

Forgiveness is the basis of our relationship with God. When Jesus died on the cross, he didn’t die for his own sins because he didn’t have any, but he died for our sins. All the wrath of God that should have come upon us for our sins came upon Jesus instead. Because of that we are free from our sins.

“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). 

God’s nature is to forgive. 

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You” (Psalm 86:5).

God forgives us our sins for his own sake. 

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25-26).

The fact that God forgives us for his own sake shows that our forgiveness is sure. He forgives us because his very nature is to forgive, and we are his children.

When Jesus died on the cross, he cried out, “Father forgive them.” When the first martyr, Stephen was being stoned to death, the Holy Spirit inspired him to pray that God would forgive his attackers.

Sin can hinder our relationship with God. In order to receive forgiveness for our sins, we need to confess them. If we confess our sins to God, which means to tell him what we did and agree with him that it was wrong, then we are forgiven of our sins (1 John 1:9).

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy (Proverbs 28:13).

We need to confess our sins directly to God.
Forgiving Others

We ought to also forgive others who sin against us.

The Lord’s prayer includes the line “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12). 

Jesus once told a parable about a man who owed his master a lot of money. The man couldn’t repay the master, so he fell at his feet and begged for mercy. The master was compassionate and forgave him his entire debt. Then the servant met another servant who owed him a little money. The forgiven servant refused to forgive the other servant and threw him into prison. The master heard about it. Then the master threw the first servant into prison too. The master said the servant would be tortured in prison until he paid everything back.

Jesus told this parable to teach us that we need to forgive others. 

It is not possible to repay everything we owe to God. Our offense against God is of infinite weight because God is of infinite value. The just punishment for our sins, which is commensurate with the offense, is an infinite punishment. This is the reason why hell is eternal. This is also why Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was the only one who could pay the penalty for our sins. Praise God for the infinite power of the blood of Jesus Christ that forgives us this infinite debt. 
Meaning of Forgiveness

Forgiveness means to give up a demand for punishment. It means we no longer bear a grudge against someone. We no longer want to take revenge against them. Forgiveness also means to release someone. When we forgive, we release them of the obligation they owed us because of their sin against us.

Our model for forgiveness is Jesus Christ. The New Testament says we should forgive others as Christ forgave us (Colossians 3:13). We can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it is hard to forgive someone. But God will help us. The Holy Spirit is able to forgive everyone because the blood of Jesus Christ atoned for all sin. He is living inside of us, and he will help us forgive.
Forgiveness Heals our Souls

Forgiveness is healthy. The Bible tells us that forgiveness heals our inner turmoil. Bitterness often comes from unforgivness. And many evil things come out from bitterness (Hebrews 12:15). 

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

When we don’t forgive others, bitterness builds up inside of us. This produces hatred, anger, malice, envy, and all kinds of evil things. Many bad things grow inside of us when we refuse to forgive others. 
Danger of Unforgiveness

If we don’t forgive others, God cannot forgive us (Mark 6:14-15). Why? Unforgiveness is a sin, and it is a root of many other sins. If we hold onto the sin of unforgiveness, we also hold onto hatred, rage, and many other sins. As long as we hold tightly onto these sins and refuse to confess them and repent from them, we cannot be healed from them. This is why if we refuse to forgive others, we cannot be forgiven by God.

Someone once said that unforgiveness is like drinking down poison and expecting the other person to die. 
Forgiveness Heals our Bodies

Forgiveness heals us internally. It also heals our bodies. 

Many scientific studies have shown the benefits of forgiveness on mental and physical health. Here are some of the results of these studies:

1. Forgiveness heals our hearts. It lowers our blood pressure and our heart rate.
2. Forgiveness lowers our cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone. Unforgiveness raises the level of cortisol in our bodies which leaves us in a constant state of anxiety and tension.
3. Forgiveness boosts immunity.
4. Forgiveness decreases hostility. It makes us better able to manage anger. It decreases outbursts of rage.
5. Forgiveness leads to lower risk of alcohol or drug use. People often turn to alcohol or drugs to help them manage pain. Pain often comes from unforgiveness. With forgiveness, pain is decreased, and this decreases reliance on alcohol or drugs.
6. Forgiveness lowers the risk of depression.
7. Forgiveness reduces chronic pain.

A surgeon and professor at Yale Univerisity said, “I have collected 57 extremely well-documented so-called cancer miracles. At a certain particular moment in time they decided that the anger and the depression were probably not the best way to go, since they had such little time left. And so they went from that to being loving, caring, no longer angry, no longer depressed, and able to talk to the people they loved. These 57 people had the same pattern. They gave up—totally—their anger, and they gave up—totally—their depression, by specifically a decision to do so. And at that point the tumors started to shrink.”

This does not mean that every instance of fatal disease is caused by unforgiveness. However, some illnesses are a result of unforgiveness, and forgiveness can be an important part of physical healing.

Science is only now catching up to what God revealed in the Bible. Only in the past 30 years has the field of psychology begun studying the power of forgiveness. But Christians knew about this essential truth thousands of years ago. Let’s believe the Bible in faith. We don’t need to wait for scientists or so-called experts to tell us what we need to do. We need to obey the word of God and then we will be blessed by God. 

Forgiveness is something we do for ourselves. It heals our souls, minds, and bodies. 

Forgiveness heals relationships. Relationships are often harmed by unforgiveness and the evil fruits of unforgiveness. Let’s forgive people freely as God forgave us, so that our relationships can be healed.

Jesus said we have to forgive everyone who ever sinned against us at anytime (Mark 11:25). We don’t need to wait for them to apologize to us. Our ability to forgive doesn’t depend on the actions of others.

However, just because we must forgive everyone doesn’t mean that we have to be in a close relationship with everyone. Sometimes people refuse to change, and they continue to harm us. God does not want any of his children being abused. We can forgive everyone, but healthy boundaries are important.
Rebuking

We need to rebuke a Christian when he or she sins against us. We don’t have to rebuke unbelievers when they sin against us, but we need to rebuke our Christian brother or sister. When we rebuke someone, we make them aware of their sin against us. This gives opportunity for them to repent. It makes it possible for our relationship with them to be healed. It also shows that we care about them and expect better from them. This ultimately reveals our love. God wants his church to be holy. Rebuking other Christians helps this process.
Hindrances to Forgiveness

There can be hindrances to forgiveness. 

1. We might be waiting for an apology. But Jesus told us to forgive everyone, whether they apologize or not.

2. Pride can stop us from forgiving. When we don’t forgive someone, we can feel morally superior to them as we remember their faults. We may fear that if we forgive them we will be at the same level with them. But we need to recognize that this false pride is empty. Our value is not in condemning others, but in knowing who we are in Jesus Christ.

3. Sometimes we don’t forgive someone because we are afraid they will sin against us again. However, Jesus told us to forgive the same person if he sinned against us 490 times in one day. In addition, just because we forgive everyone doesn’t mean we have to be close to everyone. Boundaries can be essential.

4. A final reason we may not forgive is because we have a desire for revenge. We want to see the person who wronged us face the consequences for their actions. But vengeance belongs to God, the only perfect Judge.

“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)

The word of God contains energy or power from God. The word of God is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). 

The word of God “effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). In Greek the word is “energizes.” The word of God energizes those who believe it. 

The energy contained in the word of God is supernatural. It comes from the Holy Spirit. It is beyond the natural realm and natural laws. The power of the word of God is above these things because God is above them, and he can do all things. He is not limited.

The infinite power in the word of God often remains dormant, and it is not released. We need faith. Faith releases the power of the word of God. The word of God energizes “those who believe.” God is looking for people to believe what he says.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Without faith, the word of God does not become active within us or release its divine power to transform us.

The Bible contains grand promises like “all things are possible for him who believes” (Mark 9:23), and “whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22). These grand promises of God’s word are experienced by us when we believe God’s word.

Faith is compared to a mustard seed that can move a mountain. Faith sometimes seems small, but it can do amazing things because it taps into the power of Almighty God. 

Faith is not about just dreaming and hoping for whatever we want. Biblical faith is based on something real in the spiritual realm – the eternal word of God. The word of God already exists, whether we believe that word or not. The word of God precedes our faith. Faith does not create the word of God, but faith recognizes the already-existing word of God. Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17), not by thinking. Hearing the word of God must precede true faith.

However, we must go beyond hearing. Jesus told about a person who heard the word of God and didn’t do it. Jesus said he was building his house on the sand (Matthew 7:24-27). When the storms came, his life was destroyed. Without obedience to the word of God, our lives are not based on anything real in the spiritual realm, and they may fall apart. We need to build our lives on the rock of God’s word, then they will have eternal permanence. We build on the rock as we obey God’s word.

When Jesus comes back, some people will tell him that they spent a lot of time with him, knew him well, heard his word frequently, and called him Lord (Luke 13:26). Yet he will reject them. The reason they will be rejected is that they did not obey his word. Their disobedience to the word of God proved their lack of faith. And without faith, it is impossible to be saved.

James tells us to be “doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). People are deceived when they think that just hearing the word of God is enough. We need to not just hear the word, but we need to do it. And we will do it if we believe it. Obedience to the word of God proves our faith (James 2:18). 

If we believe that God has given us an instruction, we will act upon it. On the other hand, if we don’t believe God spoke to us, then we won’t act. It’s easy to obey God when his word is clear. But if we are not sure what God is saying, we will be less confidence in our obedience. Our wavering obedience shows our lack of faith in the word – was it really from God or not? 

Sometimes we are 100% sure God is telling us to do something, but we still don’t obey him. This reveals lack of faith in God. It proves that we don’t trust God with the consequences of our obedience. We don’t believe he is good, and we don’t trust he will take care of us. Therefore we disobey his word. Obedience proves faith, and it is the necessary complement to faith. Disobedience proves unbelief.

Once Paul was preaching. A crippled man believed what Paul was saying, and Paul saw that he had faith. Paul told him to stand up and walk. Immediately the lame man stood and walked (Acts 14:8-10). The man’s faith was proved by his obedience, and his faith released the power of the word of God to heal his crippled legs.

Jesus did not heal every sick person in every town he was in. In fact, sometimes he healed only one person. This is because he could do nothing except what he saw his Father do (John 5:19). Jesus was limited by the revelation he received from his Father. Jesus was not acting independently of his Father, saying or doing his own things. Instead, Jesus was perfectly confined to the will of his Father. This means that everything Jesus did originated in heaven. Through obedience, Jesus brought heaven’s words and works into the earth.

God has not called us to do whatever we want to do. There are many sick people in the world, but God does not expect us to go lay hands on all of them. Instead, God wants us to hear from him, believe the specific words he has for us, and then do those things. God has specific words for us to speak and works for us to do. We need to hear from God in order to understand the specific plan he has for our lives. Then we need to do the specific things he tells us to do.

When we confine ourselves to the will of God, we avoid the frustration that can arise when we have expectations that God will do things he never said he will do. The word of God is independent from us, and it is discovered as we study the Bible, pray, and are in fellowship with strong believers.

The word of God has inherent power. We need to believe the word of God in order to release this power. The eternal word of God precedes our faith and exists independently of our faith. To have real faith, we must first recognize what God is saying. Genuine faith is proved by obedience. If we believe God is saying something, then we will do it. Obedience to God proves our faith, and it unleashes God’s power which throws mountains into the sea.

In the Bible, the word of God is compared to a seed.

Jesus is the word of God who is also called the Seed. He is the seed of the woman who crushed the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). He is also the seed of God that went into the ground and sprung up as the church (John 12:24).

Jesus said that he is the sower who went out to sow the seeds of the word of God into the world. The seeds of God’s word are to be planted in our hearts. When the seeds of God’s word are planted in us, they will bring forth the harvest that God intends.

We are born again by the incorruptible seed of the word of God (1 Peter 1:23). The word of God is a seed that will never die. Some seeds die. They become useless and will not germinate. The seed of God’s word is eternal and will never die. This means that it will give eternal life to everyone who accepts it.

It is not possible to know if a seed is alive or dead just by looking at it. The only way to find out if a seed is alive is to plant it. Sometimes we don’t know that the word of God is alive. The Bible may seem boring or dead to us. But it is alive (Hebrews 4:12). When the seed of God’s word is planted in our hearts, we prove that it is alive because it will bring forth fruit.

There are many seeds from God contained in the Bible. The Bible is a heavenly storehouse of powerful seeds from God. As we plant these seeds into our souls, we will produce a vast garden of many fruits.

Seeds produce plants and fruit according to their kind. The word of God is a seed from God that will produce something in us that is according to God.

Seeds are small. They are smaller than many other things, but they contain great potential. The seed of an oak tree contains the potential of an oak tree inside it. Mature oak trees are bigger than buildings. The seed of God’s word may appear small and insignificant, but it contains the potential of God inside it. We should not take the word of God for granted. We may have Bibles all over our houses and not really value them. But the word of God is the power of God to salvation. We need to recognize the living and powerful quality of the word of God.

Seeds are powerful. They can crack concrete. They can even crack rocks. The word of God can crack the most stubborn sins and fleshly habits in our lives.

The seed of God’s word is planted in our lives through faith. When we believe the word of God it is planted in our hearts. A seed is dormant until it is planted, and but after it is planted it unleashes life. Faith unlocks the power of the God’s word in us and releases its power.

The word of God is planted in our lives when we obey it. Obedience to God’s word is the proof of faith. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). When we obey God, we prove that we believe that he told us to do something and that we trust him with the consequences of our actions. Obedience proves faith.

When the word of God is planted in our souls, it gives life to us. It powerfully works in us who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Seeds grow underground, in secret. We don’t see the beginning of the growth of a seed. We don’t even fully understand how the seed is transformed into a plant. In the same way, we don’t know how God’s word grows in our hearts. It is something supernatural that is beyond our understanding. Jesus said the seed of God’s word grows up, and we don’t know how it happens (Mark 4:27). We don’t know how the word of God will grow in our lives and change us, but we can be sure that as the seed of God’s word grows, it will bring powerful transformation.

When we share the word of God with others, it’s similar. We don’t know when or how the word may grow up and sprout in their hearts. But our job is to sow the word of God, and then God will cause the word to grow up in them.

Seeds take time to germinate. They don’t burst into full plants overnight. This is why Jesus said that after we receive the word of God, we must have patience in order to bring forth fruit (Luke 8:15). The word of God will work, it will never fail, but it will take time. We should not become discouraged or give up before the seed of God’s word begins to grow in our lives.

Birds will often try to come and eat seeds before they grow. Jesus said the birds of the air come and try to eat the seeds of God’s word and steal it from our hearts before it can germinate. The birds of the air represent evil spirits (Matthew 13:4, 19). Satan will lie to us about the word of God, twisting it and contradicting it. He will try to get us to focus on ourselves and our feelings rather than on God and spiritual facts of his word. We must be prepared to resist the devil in order to see the word of God grow in our hearts.

Weeds will often grow up along with good plants and choke them. Jesus called some weeds the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (Matt. 13:22). These things grow up in our lives and choke out the word of God. Satan often sows weeds in our hearts and minds. We must reject his lies and thoughts, and not allow his seeds to be planted in us. When we recognize evil thoughts growing in us, we need to uproot these evil seeds out of our lives and not allow them to take root and grow.

In the Old Testament, God told Israel not to plant two kinds of seed in their vineyards or fields (Deut. 22:9). This points to the fact that we are to only allow the word of God to be planted within us, and reject the seeds of Satan.

Seeds need water in order to germinate and grow. Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must water the seeds of God’s word in our hearts so that they can grow and bring forth fruit. We need to be filled regularly with the Holy Spirit so God’s word can be strong inside us.

The more seeds we plant, the bigger a harvest we will have. He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully (2 Cor. 9:6). We need to plant many seeds from God into our hearts. The only limitation is ourselves. The more we plant from God in us, the more we will reap a harvest from God in our lives. We need to saturate ourselves with God.

Our souls are like a garden that God desires to plant the seeds of his word in so that we can bring forth fruit for him. We need to tend this spiritual, inner garden well, so that it can fulfill its purpose and glorify God.

The word of God is the final authority for our spiritual lives. It is an amazing and perfect book written by God through people by the Holy Spirit. Although it was written over a period of approximately 4,000 years by many different people, it all ties together and connects in a powerful way. The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Bible and connect all the parts together, so that we can understand it properly and “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

A message from Bobby:

How do we study the Bible? We must understand it so that we can apply it. The Bible is a spiritual Book, so we need the help from the Spirit of God to lead us into its truth. But we ought to approach the Bible as the Word of God, as the ultimate authority for all spiritual truth and knowledge. That’s why, if there is anything, any thought or assumption that contradicts the Bible, we must discard it and throw it away.  

Ok, then, how do we study the Bible? How do we show critical thinking when we study the Bible? It helps having good teachers and it also helps having good fellowship, where everyone can bring a teaching from the Word. In fact, discussion often is the best way to learn the Word and discussion is highly encouraged in the Word. But, even if we have the best teachers, we must be able to check and verify that everything they say about the Word is true. Most importantly, the Bible commends those who do that – see Acts 17:10-11:

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded (noble) than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness (of mind), and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. 

The believers in Berea were commended for being more noble (that’s a better translation) because they searched the Scriptures daily to find out if what Paul and Silas were speaking to them was true indeed. They searched, they examined the Scriptures thoroughly so that they could discern if what they were being told was true. Even Satan quoted the Bible to Jesus and twisted it so he can try to tempt him to sin, but Jesus knew his Bible well and was able to discern Satan’s lies and ultimately, did not succumb to the temptation.

So, we would like to be like the believers in Berea, and like Jesus when tempted by Satan, and know how to study and examine the Bible, so we may be sure that what we believe is true and we may stand on this truth in the time of temptation or testing.

I’d like to offer an example of how we can critically study the Word and how we can avoid inserting our own assumptions into the text. Let’s look at Mark 16:15-18

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

First, we want to study what is the context of this Biblical passage. The context is Jesus appearing to his disciples after his resurrection and commissioning them before he ascended into heaven. In fact, this passage is also referred as the Great Commission and it is believed to be applicable for every disciple of Jesus. These are some of the last words which Jesus spoke before he left, so it appears to be a very important passage. Let’s assume for a moment that the gospel according to Mark is the only book we have read in the Bible and let’s see what conclusions we may reach based solely on this passage. Let’s read verse 15 again:

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 

If we take this verse literally and take it out of the context of the rest of the Bible, we may come to think that we should go and preach the gospel to the birds, to the cattle, to the animals, to the insects, etc. But, we know from other passages of the Bible (and common sense) that this is not what Jesus meant here. The other gospels clearly show that Jesus meant not every creature literally, but meant every living human being, who can respond in repentance and in faith to the words of the gospel. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 28:19 (16-20), we can see the Great Commission again, and there Jesus tells his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations… In other words, they are called not simply to preach the gospel but to make disciples. Fortunately, we haven’t heard of people baptizing animals in the name of Jesus, but who knows, we may see it one day. (But we can see people baptizing babies, even though we don’t see this anywhere in the Biblical text and even though babies cannot be disciples, followers of Jesus, because they cannot respond in repentance and in faith; but people do it anyway, simply based on their assumptions and traditions.) 

Ok, I know this verse about preaching to every living creature may not relate as much, but let’s look at the next verse – Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 

First, let me state that what this verse states is true: people who believe in Jesus and are water baptized in His name will be saved, and those who do not believe will be condemned. However, this verse does not state explicitly what happens with people, who believe in Jesus, but are not water baptized in His name. It would be our own assumption to declare that water baptism is essential to a believer’s salvation. Based on this verse, however, over the centuries, many people assumed this to be true – this is called the doctrine of Baptismal regeneration (and please feel free to Google it). Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Lutherans, Anglicans and even Mormons adhere to this belief. Perhaps, that’s why, they insist on baptizing babies, because they are afraid people will not be saved if they don’t get water baptized. Anyway, we want to know the truth of the Word and not insert our own assumptions into the text. So, what is the necessary requirement for salvation? Let’s look at Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And verse 13: For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

I think it’s quite clear from these verses what is the necessary requirement for salvation: confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart. If we assume that water baptism is required for salvation, then there will be an obvious contradiction with the rest of the Bible. Moreover, how could the thief on the cross be saved, to whom Jesus promised to be in Paradise the day he was crucified? The thief was never water baptized, and yet, Jesus promised him salvation. Also, was Jesus “not saved” before he was water baptized? It’s clearly a huge contradiction to believe that water baptism is required for salvation. However, if we are only saved by faith in the name of Jesus, then this will be consistent with the truth expressed in Mark 16:16, without contradicting any of the other parts of Scripture. The rest of the Scripture clarifies the meaning of this verse, similar to the way the meaning of the preceding verse 15 about preaching to every living creature needed to be clarified further.

Just to add that water baptism and baptism in the HS are part of discipleship, but they are not a requirement for salvation. We can see this from the Great Commission as presented in the other gospels. We just read In Matthew 28, “making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

By now, you should be realizing that when we read the Bible we should not be simply taking verses out of their context, but we should check and examine how the different passages of the Bible fit together to depict the whole picture, to convey the complete meaning of what the authors are trying to tell us. That’s what critical thinking in the Spirit should lead us to do.

For example, if we focus on one Biblical passage, but our interpretation ignores the rest of the Bible and in fact contradicts other passages, then we are exposing ourselves to the danger of elevating our own assumptions over the truth of the Word of God, and that’s not a good position for one to be in. Instead, we should conclude that our interpretation must be wrong, and we should reexamine the passage in light of the entirety of the Bible. 

Let’s proceed with the next verse, Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Again, if we take this verse literally, we may assume that every believer should be speaking in tongues. In fact, many Pentecostal denominations today believe that every believer should be able to speak in tongues. They say that they believe in “baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.” However, what does the Bible say? Let’s read 1 Cor. 12:27-30 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

I think from the text it’s quite clear that Paul asks rhetorical questions. Are all believers called to be apostles? The obvious answer is: No, they are not. Are all called to be prophets, or teachers, or workers of miracles? Again, the obvious answer is: No, they are not. So, when he asks, do all believers speak in tongues, or do all have the gifts of healing, the obvious answer would again be a resounding NO. And that’s the point of the entire message – different believers will have different gifts in the body: some will speak in tongues, but not all of them. Therefore, we can conclude that in Mark 16:17, “they will speak in tongues” refers to some believers will speak in tongues, and the word “they” does not necessarily imply “all believers”. To say that it means “all believers” would be our own assumption, which will be in direct contradiction with 1 Cor 12:30, which we just read. 

Let’s continue with the next verse, Mark 16:18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Again, if we interpret this verse literally, it would mean that believers should start picking up snakes as a sign of their salvation. In fact, there are snake-handling believers today who believer exactly that. They are found today in the Appalachian region of the United States and they regularly practice snake handling as a regular, intentional practice (and in some cases as evidence of salvation). They also believe taking up snakes is something God commands them to do. However, does this interpretation of the verse hold up to the rest of the Biblical text? Nowhere do we see in the Book of Acts or the rest of the Bible “taking up serpents” as something practiced by believers. It’s not even mentioned anywhere else. There is one episode in Acts 23 when Paul is bitten by a snake and nothing happened to him, but he did not pick up the snake intentionally; he threw it away immediately and was not harmed by it. 

So, what does then this verse mean? Well, let’s first examine how the word “serpent” is being used in the Bible. Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees, “Serpents, brood of vipers” (Matthew 23:33). Satan is called a serpent throughout the entire Bible, Old and New Testament. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus tells his disciples to “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Furthermore, in Luke 10:18-20, Jesus clearly associates scorpions and serpents with evil or demonic spirits: And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Judging by these verses, we can safely conclude that “taking up serpents” should not be interpreted literally, but rather, symbolically, as engaging with and overcoming a demonic force. It could be referring to casting out of demons, or to engaging with evil people, who are in opposition to the gospel and believers, similar to the way the scribes and Pharisees hated and opposed Jesus. 

Finally, let’s look at “lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Again, if we take this literally, we may assume that when believers lay hands on others, the sick will 100% of the time recover. But what does the Bible actually say about laying on hands and healing? First, if you recall in 1 Corinthians 12, some believers will have the gift of healing, but not all believers. That is, again, similar to the gift of tongues, it is quite obvious that this verse in Mark does not refer to all believers, but it points to the fact that some believers will have the gift of healing, and when they lay hands on the sick and pray, the sick will get healed. When we interpret “they” as “not all of them” but “some of them”, then this makes sense and is consistent with the rest of the Bible. If this were to be interpreted as “all believers” will have the power to heal, then why was Timothy advised to use a little wine for his infirmities (1 Tim 5: 23), or why was Trophimus left sick by Paul (2 Tim 4: 20 – Paul who had healed many people and clearly had the gift of healing), or why was Epaphroditus sick “almost unto death” that made Paul extremely sorrowful (Philippians 2:25-27). These verses clearly show that even though miraculous healings were part of the early church, there were definitely not assumed as a given for every believer and for every sickness. 

The Bible does not promise 100% healing for every sickness and disease in this world, but it promises 100% forgiveness of sins and 100% salvation for those, who believe and put their trust in the name of Jesus. And one day believers are promised an eternity with God, where there’s no longer pain, sickness, disease, sorrow, or death (Rev 21:4).

One of the most influential people in the Bible was king Jeroboam. His legacy dominated Israel for centuries. Almost all Israelites followed his example. Throughout the Old Testament, king after king followed Jeroboam’s ways, leading the people of God into a ditch. Ultimately, the sin of Jeroboam caused Israel to lose their nation and go into captivity.

What was the sin of Jeroboam?

Jeroboam decided to make up his own ways of worshiping God. One of the first things he did after becoming king was to make two new altars. He put golden cows on these altars (1 Kings 12:33) and told everyone to worship God at these altars using these cows. Almost everyone did.

When we read of holy cows in the Bible, we often think of Baal. But Jeroboam’s cows had nothing to do with Baal. These cows were used to worship the true God.

Ahab, not Jeroboam, later introduced Baal worship to Israel (1 Kings 16:31). In addition, when Jehu destroyed Baal worship from Israel, he didn’t destroy Jeroboam’s cows (2 Kings 10:28-29). 

Jeroboam’s cows had nothing to do with Baal, they were being used to worship the true God – Yahweh.

The people trusted Jeroboam. He was their beloved king and leader, and they thought he knew what he was talking about. “If the king says that we can worship God using golden cows, then we must be able to. Who are we to know more than him?” 

Jeroboam’s new worship style became very popular.

The people probably didn’t read their Bibles for themselves. If they did, they would have known that God never told them to worship him using cows. But even if they did read their Bibles, they probably didn’t think it would be wrong to make up some new ways to worship. They probably thought that some of these things Moses had talked about had passed away and weren’t applicable anymore.

Jeroboam decided to make up his own holiday, replete with man-made religious traditions. This holiday became popular. Even though it was found nowhere in the Bible, the people didn’t care. It was about God, so they thought it must be ok.

Jeroboam decided to make his own priests (1 Kings 13:33). He didn’t care if they were really chosen by God or not. If they wanted to serve God, they could. “Why should anyone be stopped from serving God?” Jeroboam said that whoever wanted to become a priest could become one. A little training, and they would be ready to lead praise and worship.

The problem was, God hated this new religion. It wasn’t based on the word of God. It was based on human ideas. It was man-made. God said it would all be judged and destroyed. 

No one really really seemed to care. There were a few prophets who spoke against this wickedness, but their voices were drowned out by the crowd.

The spiritual reality behind Jeroboam’s religion was shocking. People were worshiping Satan at these altars, even though they thought they were worshiping God. God said that they were worshiping other gods there (1 Kings 14:9). He said they were worshiping demons (2 Chron. 11:15).

Worshiping God according to human ideas is vain worship, according to Jesus. It’s demonic. Jesus said, “in vain do you worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).

The example of Jeroboam is written down in the Bible as a lesson to us (1 Cor. 10:11).

God commanded us not to add to his word. He doesn’t want us to make up our own ways of worshiping. He wants us to obey his word and do things in his way.

The word of God is the final standard by which all Christianity must be judged. We need to read the Bible for ourselves, understand what it says, and do it.

The sin of Jeroboam teaches us the importance of the word of God.
Don’t blindly follow leaders, even if they are famous. 
Don’t blindly follow religious traditions, even if they are popular and have been around for centuries. 
Don’t blindly run after the crowd. 

Follow the word of God. This is the only path to abundant life. Without the Bible, religion is dead and pointless.

Paul was one of the most important leaders of the early church. He had a great purpose and calling from God. He brought the word of God back to the church when they were deviating from it. He fought against false teachings and confounded false teachers. Paul also wrote almost 1/3 of the New Testament.

As Paul lived for God, he faced many challenges. 

God’s greatest saints throughout history have faced big challenges. From Moses to David and Daniel, God’s chosen ones have been people who have gone through the fire and come out the other side.

To succeed in our Christian lives, we must be able to overcome challenges too.

Challenges are not a sign that God hates us. The devil lies to us and tells us that we are facing problems because God doesn’t like us. This is a lie. 

The devil causes problems in our lives. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. Then he compounds these problems by getting us to blame God for the disasters he himself causes. This is wrong. God comes to rescue us, save us, and give abundant life. 

Paul faced many challenges that are listed in 2 Corinthians 4:8-12; 6:3-10, and 11:23-28. According to these verses, Paul was hard-pressed on every side. He was perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and delivered to death. He was put in prison. He faced riots. He had to go many nights without sleep. He was often hungry and thirsty. Sometimes he didn’t have any clothes to wear. He got cold. He was slandered. He was sad. He was whipped as a punishment by the Jews 5 times. He was beaten with sticks 3 times. He was stoned and left for dead. He was shipwrecked 3 times. He was left floundering in the ocean for 24 hours. He faced robbers. His friends left him. Some of the churches he founded rejected him.

Paul faced many different kinds of challenges. Somehow he was able to overcome them all. How? Through the supernatural power of God.

The challenges we face will probably not be on the level of Paul’s challenges. But if we are going to live for God, Satan will try to disturb us, and he might even try to destroy us. 

We can overcome through the Holy Spirit just like Paul did. The same Spirit that strengthened Paul is inside us.

Paul was so confident in the power of the Holy Spirit, that he took pleasure in challenges for the sake of Christ (2 Cor. 12:10). He knew that when the challenge came, the power of God would come. Paul knew that through the power of Christ’s resurrection, he could overcome anything. To Paul, problems became opportunities for supernatural power to operate.

How did Paul engage the power of God to meet his challenges?

1. Paul prayed. 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6).

2. Paul cast his burdens on the Lord. 

Cast your burdens on the Lord, and he will sustain you (1 Pet. 5:7).

3. Paul knew that all things would work together for good (Rom. 8:28). 

No matter what the devil throws at us, God can turn it around for good. The redemptive power of Jesus is greater than all the demons in hell.

4. Paul forgot the things that were behind him (Philippians 3:13). Paul knew that he had messed up his life. He had killed people and fought against God. Paul didn’t dwell on these things, but he forgot them. 

5. Paul moved forward into the future, growing spiritually and pressing forward to fulfill God’s plan (Philippians 3:13). 

We need to press forward into all that God has for us. He has a glorious plan for his church, and for you as an individual. This plan can come to pass.

6. Paul controlled his thought life. 

We should fill our minds with positive thoughts from God. Think about good things, noble things, positive things, and things worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8). As we think about positive things, our hearts will be full of positive things, and these good things will come out. This will strengthen us and protect us from the debilitating effects of depression. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Paul shows us how we can overcome challenges. We can overcome them the same way he did. We will do this through God’s power, not our own power. The Holy Spirit will carry us through. This means that the magnitude of the challenge need not daunt us, because God can do all things. We are drawing on an inexhaustible fountain of strength. May God help us and give us victory, no matter what we are facing.

Paul said that his life is a pattern for us (1 Tim. 1:15-16). Paul’s life is more extreme than ours, but the main points of his spiritual journey are things that every Christian will go through as we follow Jesus.

Sin and Misery
Before he became a Christian, Paul was violently anti-Christian. He was a terrorist. He led the murder of Christians (Acts 7:58). He got pleasure from seeing Christians killed (Acts 8:1). He went into house churches, arrested Christians, and dragged them into prison (Acts 8:3). Paul was probably the worst persecutor of the early church. This is one reason he said he was the chief of sinners.

We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Although we haven’t been terrorists, we have done many other wrong things. Our sins have hurt ourselves, other people, and God. Sin left us burned out and empty.

Paul “breathed out slaughter and threats” against Christians (Acts 9:1). He was full of hatred, venom, and bitterness. He was continually thinking about violence. Paul must have been a miserable person. Sin makes people miserable.

Encountering God
Once Paul was going to Damascus to arrest all the Christians there and throw them in prison. On the way Jesus revealed himself to Paul as a powerful light. Paul was struck blind. 

There is a moment in each of our lives when we encounter God. This is usually a defining moment, and after this we are not the same.

Jesus said that when Paul was persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Jesus. Jesus identifies with his people. When we are hurt, Jesus is hurt. He sees the people who are mistreating you. He will defend you, because he is just. He will defend you with infinite love, power, and wisdom. The early Christians must have prayed about Paul, and God answered their prayers in a powerful way.

Grace
On the Damascus road, Jesus didn’t strike Paul dead and send him into hell, but he showed him grace. Where sin abounded, grace much more abounded (Rom. 5:20). In the place of the worst sin, it is possible to see the most abundant grace. The grace of God is so vast that it can outweigh the worst sins, even those of Paul. If Paul’s sins can be taken away by God’s grace, how much more will our sins be taken away?

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they will become white as snow; though they are like crimson, they will become like wool” (Isa. 1:18). Our sins are taken away through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

After we become Christians, when we sin if we confess our sins they will all be forgiven (1 John 1:9). It’s a nice feeling to have a clean conscience. It feels light. This is why Jesus said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11:30).

Discipleship
After seeing the powerful light of Christ, for three days at Damascus Paul was blind and didn’t eat or drink anything. 

After three days, Jesus told a Christian named Ananias to go meet Paul. Ananias taught Paul about water baptism. He laid hands on Paul so he could be baptized in the Holy Spirit. He introduced Paul to the church at Damascus.

In our lives there was probably a point at which we met a more mature Christian who helped us grow in the Lord. This person took the time to show us the love of God and explain God’s word to us. None of us can live the Christian life on our own. We need the support of the body of Christ.

Eyes Open
After meeting Ananias, Paul’s eyes were opened and he was able to see. It wasn’t just his natural eyes that were opened, but his spiritual eyes were also opened. Now Paul saw the world in a new way. He understood things from the lens of Christ and the love of God. He was no longer full of hate and rage, but he was full of love and mercy.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we will understand the world in a new way. We will see things from God’s perspective instead of our own perspective.

Fulfilling Our Purpose
Paul began fulfilling his purpose in life. Paul’s divine purpose was not to kill people. It was to declare the gospel and the kingdom of God. So Paul began preaching about Jesus in Damascus. In the same city where he had gone to arrest Christians, he was now preaching the gospel. He began helping the very people he had formerly tried to murder.

God has a plan for each one of us. Our lives will have true meaning when we to fulfill this plan. How do we discover this plan? God will tell us. God’s plan for our lives will become clear to us as we read the Bible, spend time with other Christians who are seeking to follow the Bible, and pray.

Overcoming Opposition
As Paul preached about Jesus, the Jews got mad. They thought Paul had come to Damascus to arrest the Christians, and now Paul was telling everyone Christianity was true. The Jews began trying to kill Paul. 

Paul was just trying to help them by telling them how much God loved them and that Jesus would take away their sins. But for some reason they didn’t want to hear that nice message. They became very angry with Paul for saying such things.

The Jews placed guards at the gates of Damascus to arrest Paul if he left the city. They didn’t want him to tell anyone else the good news about God. So Paul snuck out over the wall and ran away.

Sometimes when we follow God we will face unexpected challenges from people that are close to us. Many people don’t like the truth of God. Even people who think they know God often don’t like parts of God’s word. Therefore they may not like us when we decide to follow God more closely than before. They might even become our enemies. We shouldn’t become discouraged if this happens to us, because this is normal.

Paul didn’t let this opposition deter him. He became stronger and bolder in declaring the grace and truth of Christ. He continued to grow spiritually throughout his Christian life, embracing his purpose and seeking to fulfill it through the power of God. His ministry ultimately impacted the entire world.

Paul’s life is a pattern for us. It shows us the main stages of growth that we will go through in our Christian life. 

As we stay faithful to God, at the end of our lives we will be able to say like Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day” (1 Tim. 4:7-8).

Jesus’ First Parable – The Old Garment
The first parable Jesus spoke when he started his ministry was about an old piece of clothing. 

“No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old” (Luke 5:36).

Jesus said when an old shirt gets a hole in it, a patch of new cloth can’t fix it. A piece of new cloth sewn to the old shirt will shrink when it is washed. When the new patch shrinks, it will tear the old garment (which has already shrunk). This will create more holes in the shirt, and the shirt will end up worse than it was before.

As he did with all his parables, Jesus used everyday things to make a spiritual point. In this parable he was talking about spiritual nakedness.

After the Fall, Adam and Eve knew they were naked. They were naked because they had sinned and had lost the covering of the glory of God. They tried to cover their nakedness by sewing fig leaves together and making shirts for themselves (Gen. 3:17). Their fig leaf shirts withered and ended up with a lot of holes. Their own covering didn’t work.

God then killed an animal and made leather coats for them (Gen. 3:21). The death of this animal is the first instance of physical death in the Bible. Like other sacrifices, it symbolized the death of Christ on the cross. God clothed Adam and Eve with these leather coats. They were a covering from God. Not only were they more durable than fig leaf shirts, they symbolized that God had covered over Adam and Eve’s sins through the shedding of blood.

We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We need a covering that can cover our sins so we can connect to God.

Throughout history, people have tried to cover themselves with religious practices so they can connect to God. The Jews had a very elaborate system of religion. It was originally inspired by God, but it was later corrupted by the additions and subtractions of people. When Jesus came, the old Jewish religious system was “decaying and becoming old” (Heb. 8:13). It was not able to take away sins (Heb. 10:4). It was full of holes and had become dominated by corrupt leaders like the Pharisees.

Jesus didn’t come to patch up this old religious system. He didn’t offer a few tweaks to the Pharisees. Instead, he came to bring a totally new way of approaching God. He said that if you want to be reconciled to God, you have to have faith. Then your sins will be gone and you will be clothed with the free gift of righteousness. Jesus didn’t come to patch up the old religious coverings, he came to give us entirely new garment – just like God replaced the fig leaves with leather in the Garden. But this time it was his own blood that gave us eternal righteousness and life.

When we trust in Christ, the old things pass away, and all things become new. Christianity is not about reforming parts of our lives in small ways, nor is it about reforming man-made religion. It’s about our entire lives becoming new by the power of Christ. Then our sins are gone, and we can approach directly to God.

Jesus’ Second Parable – New Wine and New Wineskins
The second parable Jesus told was about wine and wineskins. Jesus said that new wine can’t be put in old wineskins because the new wine will break them. This is because new wine will bubble and expand, and an old, brittle wineskin will break when this expansion happens. Instead new wine must be put into new wineskins, because these are flexible and can expand along with the new wine.

Jesus came to bring the new wine to us. He came to give us the Holy Spirit. 

Our hearts are like wineskins which are to hold the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to change our hearts. He came to take away the stony heart out of our flesh and give us a heart of flesh. This soft heart is able to hold the new wine. Our old, hard hearts are incompatible with the new ways of the Spirit of God. Our old sinful self cannot be repaired, we must be made completely new. When we are born again, we become vessels that can hold the new wine of the Spirit.

The new wine of Jesus not only comes to individual Christians, but it also comes into the church. In order to contain the new wine of the Spirit, a church must be according to the word of God. Then it will be a new wineskin that can contain the new wine.

The first two parables that Jesus ever told emphasize the incompatibility between Christ and man-made religion. And they show that Christ came to make us new in order that we can receive the Spirit of God.

The first miracle Jesus did was turn water into wine (John 2). This miracle is significant because it’s the first recorded miracle of Jesus in the Bible. And like the other miracles of Jesus, it has far-reaching effects and implications.

This miracle happened at a wedding. This points to the fact that Jesus came to redeem the church and prepare her for the marriage supper of the Lamb. This final wedding of all time will happen at the end of the age.

This miracle happened after three days (John 2:1). Three days represents resurrection, for Christ was raised on the third day by the glory of the Father (Hos. 6:2). Jesus was about to reveal his glory to all the people at this wedding.

At this wedding, Jesus’ mother asked him to help them get wine when they ran out. Jesus gently rebuked her, calling her “woman.” He also told her it wasn’t time yet for him to do a miracle. Jesus wanted everyone to know that they should look directly to him and not look to his mother. We don’t need to pray to Mary. We need to go directly to Jesus, because he is the only mediator between God and man.

At this wedding, there were 6 big waterpots of stone. These water pots were for religious washings (John 2:6), not for drinking. When guests came to the wedding, they washed their hands and probably feet in this water. The Jews believed that such washings would purify them spiritually. Cultures around the world try to wash away their sins with water. Hindus bathe in the Ganges, and the Jews tried to wash away their sins with these ceremonial washings.

There were 6 pots for ceremonial washings. 6 is a number that in the Bible often represents man. God never told the Jews to do these ceremonial washings. Such practices are not found in the Torah. Such washings were a man-made ritual promoted by the Pharisees (Matt. 15:2). Washing with water can’t cleanse us from sin. Only God can take away sin.

The 6 water pots were made of stone. This shows the hardness of people’s hearts. People often want to do things in their own way. They ignore God’s way. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for the hardness of their hearts which spawned such man-made religious practices: “in vain do you worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

God said that he would take the stony hearts out from people and give them soft hearts that could hear his word and submit to it (Ezek. 36:25-27). This heart-transformation happens through Jesus, not dead religion.

By the middle of the wedding, these pots were full of dirty water. Dirt from the hands and feet of all the people who had come to the feast would have been in these pots. Much of the water had probably sloshed out of these pots as everyone washed.

Jesus told them to fill these pots to the brim with water. As more water was dumped into these pots, the dirt and sediments at the bottom of would have been stirred up. This muddy water would have been very unappealing. No one would have thought of drinking this water. It was filthy.

Jesus told them to take some of this water out and give it to the leader of the feast to drink. Someone tentatively reached down and scooped some of it up. He brought it to the leader of the feast.

The leader of the feast drank it. He was astounded. It had become grape juice, probably unfermented – a miracle in that climate. Unfermented grape juice was the best “wine” in those days. (“Wine” is a broad term in the New Testament that refers to both juice and alcoholic wine.)

The leader of the feast told the bridegroom at the wedding that he had saved the best wine for last.

Jesus is the true bridegroom. He is the one who made the new wine at this wedding, and he is the one who supplies the new wine of the Holy Spirit to our hearts. God saved the best wine for last: the glories of the New Covenant far surpass the fading glory of the Old Covenant. God was going to bless humanity abundantly through Jesus.

These 6 pots of stone were now full of new wine, so they couldn’t be used for ritual washings anymore. If anyone came to the feast and wanted to wash at these pots, he would have been unable to. You can’t wash yourself in juice. All you can do is drink it.

A very religious person might have been angry with Jesus for preventing him from ceremonially washing.

The first miracle Jesus did demolished man-made religion.

Jesus destroys man-made religion because it only brings bondage. It can never cleanse us from sin. We can wash and wash in the stony pots of religion, but our sins will remain. It will just be a bunch of muddy water. Only Jesus can take away our sins and give us new life.

Jesus turned this dirty religious water into grape juice. Grape juice is healthy. It gives energy and strength. The new wine of the Holy Spirit will empower us to live for God. The Holy Spirit is poured into vessels (people) who believe in him. Jesus takes away our sins and fills us with the new wine of the Holy Spirit.

This was the first miracle of Jesus.

He turned dirty ceremonial water into wine at a wedding. This foreshadows many things about his ministry. Jesus was going to take away the sins of the people. He was going to negate man-made religious rituals. He was going to provide new life and strength to people by the Holy Spirit. And it shows that Jesus is the true bridegroom who will supply new wine of the Holy Spirit to those he invites to his wedding.

Praise Jesus that he sets us free from dead religion, takes away our sins, and freely gives us the new wine of the Holy Spirit. He calls us to prepare, so that someday soon Christ’s own wedding can happen. We will get ready as we glut ourselves on the new wine of the Spirit that he provides.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that Christianity is true. It means that Jesus is alive, and that he will someday rule the world. If someone can conquer death, that means that he is unstoppable. Only God can conquer death. The resurrection proves that Jesus is God, and that he will someday rule over everything.

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then Christianity is false. If Jesus didn’t resurrect, Christians would be the most miserable people in the world because they are wasting their time with a fairy tale (1 Cor. 15:12-22). But because Jesus rose up from the dead, we can be confident in our faith.

Paul wrote in one letter that after Jesus resurrected he appeared to over 500 people at one time (1 Cor. 15:6). Then Paul said that most of those people are still alive. If anyone doubted the resurrection, he could have checked with any of those hundreds of people and discovered that indeed the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact.

The resurrection of Jesus means several important things for us.

1. The resurrection of Christ means that our sins are gone. Jesus was perfect. He had no sin. This means that he didn’t need to die, because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). If someone sins, they must die, but if they never sin, they don’t need to die. Jesus never sinned, and yet he died anyway. Jesus didn’t die for his own sins, because he didn’t have any, but he died for our sins. When he was on the cross, all our sins were put on him. He died under their weight. Then when Jesus rose from the dead, he conquered all of these sins. All of our sins are taken away by Jesus. They are gone. The resurrection of Jesus means we don’t need to live in guilt or condemnation, and we can be reconciled to God.

2. The resurrection of Jesus means that we can have victory over sin. We don’t need to live in bondage to sin anymore (Rom. 6:14). The Holy Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead is inside of us. This is the Spirit that defeated all sin. Because the Holy Spirit has already defeated all sin, we can get victory over sin in our lives. God will empower us to defeat sin through the resurrection of Christ.

3. The resurrection of Jesus means that we have eternal life. We have this life now (John 10:28). We have been born again by the Holy Spirit. Our inner man, which is our spirit man, has been made new. Nothing can kill our souls or spirits now. Even if our bodies die, our souls will live forever with God. We don’t need to fear death. Before, we were afraid of death. We were in bondage because of this fear. But now that our souls are eternal, we don’t need to fear death. Through resurrection, Jesus sets us free from the fear of death, and he delivers us from all bondage that comes because of the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15). 

4. The resurrection of Jesus means that we will be resurrected. At the end of the age, when Christ comes back to judge the world, we will receive glorified bodies. These bodies will match up with our eternal souls, and they will be indestructible (John 5:28-29). Some of us may be alive when Jesus returns. If we are alive at that time, our bodies will be changed into glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:51). The resurrection of Jesus is a promise that we will be resurrected.

5. The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope that we will see our loved ones who believed in Jesus again. The death of a Christian’s physical body is just the releasing of their soul to go be with God. And someday we will be reunited with these loved ones forever. We don’t need to be sad therefore as if we have lost them forever when they die, because we will see them again (1 Thess. 4:13-14). This is because of the resurrection of Jesus.

6. The resurrection of Jesus means that Satan is defeated. Jesus died on the cross and rose again to crush Satan’s head. Every fallen angel is defeated by Christ (Col. 2:15). Every demon is defeated by Christ. We now have authority to cast out demons (Luke 10:19). We don’t need to fear the devil. He has lost the war. We are on the winning side. And someday, the kingdom of God will crush the devil’s entire dark dominion, throw it out of the earth, and Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire forever.

7. The resurrection of Jesus means that all things work together for good for those who love God (Rom. 8:28). Redemption is stronger than the biggest loss. In the worst situations, God can bring something good out of it. Nothing is too far gone for God. With God nothing is impossible. After death, things look hopeless. But resurrection proves that even death cannot win. There is something stronger than death, and that is the love of Jesus. So no matter how hopeless things appear, because of the resurrection of Jesus, victory is always possible.

The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. It proves that Christianity is true, and that Jesus is God. It shows that our faith is based on something eternal and substantial. And it releases infinite blessing into our lives. Let us think about the resurrection of Jesus, and draw on its power every day of the year, for this is the power by which we are to live our lives in this world.

It is essential for us to have a full supply of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God doesn’t want us to live the Christian life in our own strength, but in his strength. We need to be full of the Holy Spirit, especially as we approach the end of the age.

Jesus once told a parable about 10 virgins (Matt. 25). In the New Testament, virgins represent churches (2 Cor. 11:2). These 10 virgins symbolize churches that will be on the earth at the time of Jesus’ return. Half of them will be wise, and half of them will be foolish. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). Wise people submit to God and his word. Foolish people do not fear God, and therefore they do not submit to his word. It is important for us to recognize that some Christians/churches are wise, and some are foolish.

The main difference between the wise and foolish virgins is that the wise had oil, but the foolish did not. The wise who had oil could enter the marriage supper. The foolish who did not have oil were rejected and could not enter the marriage supper.

Throughout the Bible, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God anointed Jesus so he could do amazing things and redeem us to God (Isa. 61:1). The name Christ or Messiah means Anointed One. Jesus was fully anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Jesus anoints us today with the Holy Spirit, pouring out this oil upon us.

In the Old Testament, oil was used to anoint people for God’s work. All the things in the Old Testament are symbolic for us today (Heb. 8:5). The things in the Old Testament are shadows or examples that reveal to us the fullness of Christ (Heb. 10:1). Because oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, we can learn important things about the Holy Spirit by looking at the special anointing oil in the Old Testament.

The holy anointing oil of the Old Testament was made of five ingredients that are listed in Exodus 30:22-24. 

The first ingredient for this holy anointing oil was Myrrh. Myrrh is a very bitter substance. The name “myrrh” means “bitter.” Myrrh is like a preservative. In ancient days, myrrh was used to embalm dead bodies and protect them from decay. 

Myrrh in the anointing oil symbolizes that when the Holy Sprit operates in our lives he is going to convict us of sin and lead us to repentance. Our old man will be crucified with Christ, and our sinful flesh will be killed. When we are born again, we are crucified with Christ and our spirit is born. When we are baptized we symbolically bury the old man. When we come out of the water of baptism we are raised up to walk in newness life. 

As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be led to take up our cross. Sometimes God will lead us into hard experiences. As we go through these experiences our flesh is crucified. This is part of the process of sanctification that happens throughout our lives.

Myrrh reminds us that we are to put off the old man and put on the new man.

The second ingredient in the holy anointing oil is Cinnamon. The word cinnamon in Hebrew means to be “erect.” This symbolizes that when the Holy Spirit fills us, we are made strong. We have a strength that comes from God. Therefore we are able to stand. We can stand upright and not be bowed down as slaves. When Satan attacks us, we can stand (Eph. 6:13). 

Standing is important. This is how we will win battles. It’s how the Israelites defeated Egypt at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:13-14).

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you” (2 Chron. 20:17).

Cinnamon reminds us that we are called to stand strong for God in this world, and we can only do so by the strength of the Holy Spirit.
The third ingredient in the holy anointing oil is Calamus. The word calamus also means to be “erect” (just like cinnamon). But Calamus has the additional meaning of “to measure something with a rod.” 

The Holy Spirit will lead us to stand on the word of God. The word of God is the rock on which we are to base our lives. When we stand on the word of God, we will not be shaken by other forces. The word of God is also the standard by which all Christianity must be measured. If our religious practices or lifestyle lines up with the word of God, it will be accepted. If it does not measure up to the Bible, it will be rejected. 

Calamus was added to the anointing oil to symbolize that the Holy Spirit will lead us to apply the standard of God’s word to our lives. As we do this faithfully and humbly, we will be able to stand.

The fourth ingredient in the holy anointing oil is Cassia. Cassia means to “bow down.” 

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we will bow down to God. Ps. 95:6 says we should worship, bow down, and kneel before God our maker. Phil. 2:10 says that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow. Rom. 14:11 says that every knee will bow to God.

Cassia reminds us that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we will bow down before God. We will submit to him. We will lay down our own plans and ambitions and allow him to do with us whatever he wants. He will be the king and lord of our lives. 

In summary, the holy anointing oil was made up of the following ingredients, in the following proportions: 

1/3 (500 shekels) is the Myrrh, which speaks of death to self and the conquest of death.
1/3 (500 shekels) is Cinnamon and Calamus, which speaks of standing strong against the enemy (and also measuring things by the word of God).
1/3 (500 shekels) is Cassia, which speaks of bowing down before God and submitting to him in all things.

All of these ingredients were combined and mixed in with the final ingredient – Olive Oil. Olive oil means “brightness”. 

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be full of light. We are called to be the light of the world. We have within us light that shines out of darkness (2 Cor. 4:6). We have the glory of God in us, and this glory is to be released out from us and transform the world.

In the Old Testament this holy anointing oil was used to anoint all the vessels of ministry, and it was also to anoint people to serve God. This oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit that anoints us today. Today we don’t need oil like this, but we need the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, the anointing oil could not be put on flesh (Ex. 30:32). This teaches us that we are not to take our own plans or ideas and just ask God to bless them. We must do things in God’s way. We need to submit to God’s plans. The fact that this oil could not be put on flesh also symbolizes that Jesus did not come to reform our flesh but to give us a new life in the Spirit. We must be born again by the Spirit to inherit the kingdom of God.

In addition, God did not allow anyone to make substitutes of this oil (Ex. 30:32). This represents that we need the pure Holy Spirit. If we do not have the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then there is no point in creating substitutes. Sometimes Christians or churches create substitutes for the working of the Holy Spirit. These substitutes often stimulate the soul or the emotions, and they make people believe that they have encountered God. But they are not the Holy Spirit. We need the true working of the Holy Spirit, otherwise we don’t have anything of eternal value.

God wants us to be full of the Holy Spirit so that we can fulfill his plans on the earth. If we are living life in our own strength, according to our own will, we are wasting our lives. We need to live in the power of the Spirit, according to the word of God, and then our lives will have eternal impact. We will not be foolish, but wise, and we will be full of oil when our Lord returns.

The history of David and Goliath shows us many important spiritual lessons. 

During this time, the armies of Israel and the Philstines were facing off in battle. The people of God were mocked and taunted daily by the Philistines and their main warrior Goliath. Israel was intimidated and afraid.

David was tending sheep during this time. He wasn’t learning warfare from King Saul or his army. He was just in the wilderness with a few animals. But during this time God was preparing him.

David’s brothers were soldiers in Saul’s army. They probably felt important about themselves. They thought they were doing great things. David came to give some food to them. When he gave food to his brothers, they all mocked him. They made fun of him for leaving his sheep. 

David felt confused about his brothers and the other Israelites. He wondered why were they so intimidated by Goliath. Didn’t they know that they could defeat Goliath by the power of God? 

David said that he would defeat the giant.

King Saul gave David his armor and told him to wear it. This was probably the best armor Israel had. David put it on. But he quickly realized that this armor wouldn’t help defeat Goliath. It was a false covering that wouldn’t help. This armor represented doing things in Saul’s way. If David wanted victory, he would have to do things in a new way. 

David took off Saul’s armor and laid it aside. He took a sling, a shepherd’s bag, and a shepherd’s staff. These were things that he picked up during his time in the wilderness looking after sheep. These things appeared totally unrelated to war or defeating giants. But God was going to make these simple things more useful than all the weapons in Israel’s army. God takes the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the strong and mighty.

David also took 5 smooth stones out of the brook. 

The brook is a rushing stream of water. In the Bible, streams of water often represent the Holy Spirit. There is a river that flows out from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1). This river brings life to wherever it goes (Ezek. 47:1,9). This river makes glad the city of God (Psalm 46:4). Jesus said that rivers of living water (the Holy Spirit) would flow out from us (John 7:38). The flowing of the Holy Spirit brings fruit, power, miracles, and peace. It brings the presence of God. 

The 5 stones David selected from the brook were smooth stones. David needed smooth stones for his sling. The slightest rough part on the stone would cause the stone to fly out of the sling in the wrong direction. It would miss its mark. A smooth stone would leave the sling perfectly and hit the mark. 

These stones were smooth because they had been in the bottom of the brook. In the riverbed they rubbed against each other, and all the rough edges were worn off. 

Christians are compared to living stones that are being built up into a house for God (1 Pet. 2:5). When we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will sometimes come into the deep part of the river. This is a place we are unable to cross (Ezek. 47:5). The water is over our heads. Then our life depends on God, not on ourselves. 

In the riverbed, the stones were prepared for David’s sling because they became smooth. In order to be useful in God’s house, we must have our hard edges broken off. Then we will fit into the place that God has for us. These hard edges are broken off by friction. 

God uses friction to perfect his plans in our lives. In the river, stones rub against each other. God leads us into this. In close relationships with other believers our rough edges are exposed. We all have faults and sins. We usually try to hide these things from others. But in close relationships these things are harder to hide. This is an opportunity for repentance and for our rough places to be made smooth.

Stones on the side of the river bank don’t experience much friction. They stand alone on the riverside. This may be easier. These stones may be more attractive to the world. They will be more easily seen by people. But for killing giants, these stones will not be useful. If you want to be useful for God, you must be willing to sacrifice your independence and individuality in order to be equipped for the Master’s use. You must be willing to go into the river and get yourself dirty in the nitty-gritty of life in Christian fellowship.

It is possible to feel a lot of love and unity with someone that you don’t really know. You may see them from a distance and feel united with them. This often happens in churches or in ministries. This is a false unity because when you get close to that person you find out that their faults are very annoying. Then the superficial unity breaks. Superficial unity is too weak to overcome challenges. It lacks power.

True unity comes when people are willing to take up their cross. Self-sacrifice produces the unity that the early church experienced when they were all of one heart and one soul (Acts 4:32). This unleashes the power of God.

David is a symbol of Christ. God is preparing his hidden saints at this time to do a mighty work in the earth. They may be in the riverbed. Many of God’s chosen people are not widely heard of. Not many people know about them. But they are being trained and equipped by the Holy Spirit to slay giants.

When Israel faced Goliath, King Saul was facing many problems. Saul had disobeyed God and did things in his own way. He was tormented by demons. And yet he was the king of Israel. He was still leading God’s people. But his disobedience caused him to become very weak.

It was time for the old order in Israel to pass away. David’s victory over Goliath was part of this change. Saul was falling down, and David was being exalted. 

This change will also happen in the church. Dead religion will be replaced by the living work of the Holy Spirit. Saul’s armor will be put off, and the work of the Holy Spirit will dominate as the church prepares for the coming of Christ.

“Wait on the Lord, and he will strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord” (Ps. 27:14)

Sometimes our hearts become weak. We become fearful, discouraged, or overwhelmed. These are times we need to wait on God. 

“Those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.” (Isa. 40:31)

Waiting on God renews our strength. In Hebrew, this means to change our strength. Our strength is changed from our own strength to God’s strength. While we wait on God we are empowered. We gain spiritual energy to go forward.

Sometimes we must give up our own ideas and refuse to rush out and do things in our own power. It’s better to wait than to be hasty. 

We need to quiet our souls. “Surely I have quieted my soul… my soul is like a weaned child” (Ps. 131:2). Sometimes our souls are upset. A storm might rage within our souls. Jesus is able to speak to this storm and bring peace. “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Col. 3:15). 

Jesus told us to enter into our closet and shut the door and pray to our Father in secret. Sometimes we need to withdraw from activity and spend time with God. 

Waiting is a time to read the Bible and plant the seeds of God’s word in our souls. The word of God will grow in us and impart divine strength. Waiting is a time to cleanse ourselves from things that defile. Take a break from the TV, radio, and internet. Tune into God. Fill yourself with the word of God so you can bear lasting fruit. 

Waiting demonstrates faith, and faith pleases God. If we trust God, we will wait for him. If we don’t trust in God, we won’t wait for him. Waiting can be hard, but God will give us patience to wait for him. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Waiting gives God an opportunity to work. As we wait, God can change other people or circumstances. God needs time to arrange things to prepare for his will to happen.

Waiting on God is a spiritually active process. It’s not about being lazy. We wait with expectancy, faith, and anticipation that God will come through. This requires spiritual energy. The time of waiting may look like a time of inactivity, but many powerful things can happen during this time.

Waiting precedes miracles.

Throughout the Bible people waited for God. This had profound results, because God did what they could not do. 

Abraham waited 100 years to have a son. Abraham wasn’t perfect, but he learned to wait. Because he waited for God he became the father of our faith.

When Moses brought the children of Israel to the Red Sea, they were hemmed in. They had no place to go. Before them was the Red Sea, and behind them was Egypt’s army. All they could do is wait for God to come through. As they waited, a miracle happened, and the sea split.

“Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today” (Ex. 14:13).

David waited for God. When he was anointed king, he did not rush out and grab the kingdom away from Saul. He waited for God to exalt him. When Saul was persecuting David and trying to kill him, David was greatly distressed. A couple of times David had an opportunity to kill Saul, but he didn’t. He waited for God, who said, “vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Deut. 32:35). 

David was a man after God’s own heart. He was humble. He was merciful. He was meek. All of this contributed to his willingness to wait. As a result of waiting for God, supernatural strength and victories characterized David’s life.

The early disciples waited in the Upper Room. Days later, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them and they burst out into the world in God’s power.

Jesus knows how to wait. He waited 30 years before starting his earthly ministry. Now he’s been waiting almost 2,000 years for his bride to get ready for him. She’s taking a long time to get ready. She’s still cleaning herself up and preparing. So Jesus patiently waits. And he’s praying for her in the meantime. He knows that someday she will be ready for him and then his marriage can finally happen.

The entire creation is waiting. It’s waiting to be set free from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:20-21). This hasn’t happened yet, so the creation waits.

God’s children are also waiting. We’re not only waiting for God to fulfill his purposes in the earth, but we’re waiting for God to come through in different areas of our lives. As we wait on God, this is a time to be empowered. It’s a time to pray, hear from God, and be filled with his word. Waiting is a time when transformation can happen.

When we come out of our waiting room with God, we will be changed. We will have new strength. We will walk through the fire, but it won’t burn us. We will walk through water, but it won’t overcome us.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isa. 43:1-2).

Holiness is fitting for the house of God (Ps. 93:5). It’s appropriate and necessary for God’s house to be holy. There is a vital connection between holiness and the house of God. 

God dwells in the high and holy place. He lives in the Holy of Holies – the Most Holy Place. This is the holiest place in the entire universe. This place is holy because God is holy, and he lives there. Here the angels sing “Holy Holy Holy” all the time. 

Our God is holy. The name of his Spirit is Holy – the Holy Spirit. Holiness is the primary characteristic of God.

God wants to live on this earth among people. The church is the house of God. We are a temple of living stones that God is to live among. The church is called to be the dwelling place of God on the earth, and he wants to shine out from the church. God wants a holy house to live in. We need to be holy if God is going to dwell among us and walk among us (2 Cor. 6:17-18).

“As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.'” (1 Pet. 1:15-16). 

We are called to be as holy as God is, because we are God’s house. Being holy is a high standard. It may seem unattainable. But this is a command, and God doesn’t give us impossible commands. We can be holy because we have the Holy Spirit inside us. As we live and walk in the Holy Spirit, we rise above our flesh and the world around us. When we live according to the Holy Spirit, we become partakers of his holiness (Heb. 12:10). 

Our own righteousness is like filthy rags. Let’s throw them away. We need the righteousness of Christ. We don’t need our own holiness. We need the holiness of God.

Holiness cannot be attained through the law. The law cannot produce holiness because it depends on our own strength. Holiness can only be produced in us as a gift from God himself. As we walk in the Spirit, we are not under the law but under grace. We receive holiness as we walk in the Spirit, following the leading of God. The words of Jesus are Spirit and life. As we obey Christ in the power of the Spirit, the spiritual power of his words will be unleashed in our lives and we will be changed into his image.

Sometimes we are deceived about holiness, and we might think that holiness is unnecessary. Maybe a little compromise with sin is ok. But God is clear. God is hates sin, darkness, and uncleanness. He doesn’t want these things in his house.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10).

The first request of the Lord’s prayer is “Hallowed by thy name.” This means asking God to make his name holy. Asking God’s name to be made holy might seem unusual. God’s name is already holy, so how can it be made any more holy than it already is? 

God’s name is how God is revealed or known to the world. God wants to be revealed to the world as he actually is. When we pray, “Let your name be holy,” we are praying that God would be made known to the world as he actually is. 

God’s name or reputation is often made dirty by his people. For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ as it is written” (Rom. 2:24).

When God’s house is defiled with sin, God’s name is blasphemed. 

Ravi Zacharias passed away several months ago. He was a bestselling Christian author and Christian minister. He had a popular radio show. He travelled around the world representing Christianity, arguing with atheists and others that God is true.

Vice-President Mike Pence, who many recognize as an evangelical Christian, spoke at his funeral. He said that Ravi Zacharias was “the greatest Christian apologist of this century.” Newsweek magazine hailed him “Christianity’s top apologist.”

It was recently revealed that Ravi had been living an unrepentant, immoral lifestyle around the world for many years, using his position as a successful Christian leader to trap people into sin.

Now, Christian leaders are recognizing Ravi as a “sexual predator,” “one of the greatest frauds of this generation,” a “uniquely charismatic manipulator,” and “Satanic.”

Can the top defender of the Christian faith actually be a Satanic individual?

Jesus said that when he returns, many will tell him of all the wonderful ministry they had done, and then he will say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you who work iniquity!” (Matt. 7:21-23).

The fact that a “Satanic sexual predator” is called the “top defender of the Christian faith” reveals that there is a serious problem in the church today! There is a lot of deception in Christianity!

“But to the wicked God says: ‘What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you? When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have been a partaker with adulterers. You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver” (Psalm 50:16-22).

God doesn’t want wicked people who refuse to repent to be teaching his word to others. He doesn’t want serial adulterers traveling around the world trying to convince other people to follow Jesus. God is holy. His Spirit is holy. God wants his name to be hallowed. He wants his house to be as holy as he is. The Holy Spirit is grieved by such things. Judgement will begin at the house of God.

We need discernment. We need to distinguish between those who are serving God and those who are not serving God. There is no benefit in being deceived. There is no point in hiding behind a mask of hypocrisy. There is no point in allowing Christian leaders to hide in their sins. It is better to get rid of lies and hypocrisy so that people can repent and move forward.

A big problem in the church today is lack of accountability. Lack of accountability often arises because church or ministry structures are unbiblical. Many churches and ministry organizations today are ordered in such a way that sin is able to hide, especially among leaders. There is also a lack of the working of the Holy Spirit in many of these places.

Biblical church ought to be a place where sin is exposed and people are brought to repentance. Paul said that if someone comes into the church, the prophetic gift should expose the secrets of his or her heart (1 Cor. 14:24). This will bring repentance. This is good. We need to grow spiritually when we come into church, not use church as a means for our own religious ambitions or putting on an empty show.

Biblical church is to be holy, and Biblical church is an aid to the holiness of the individual. For church to fulfill this function, we need to get back to the word of God. We need to recover the apostolic order.

Once Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took some incense and went into the Most Holy place. They offered incense there before God. God never told them to do this. But they didn’t care. They were doing religion in their own way! 

God struck them down dead (Lev. 10:1-2).

The problem was that Nadab and Abihu didn’t sanctify God (Lev. 10:3). They didn’t make him holy. The tried to bring him down to their level and make him conform to their own religious ideas. They weren’t willing to allow God to to lift them up to his holy standard by conforming themselves to his word. A lot of religious activity is man-made and pointless. We need to get back to the word of God and submit ourselves to Jesus Christ.

Let’s pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). Let’s do things according to God’s word. As we do, we will partake of his holiness. And his name will be made holy on this earth. His house will be holy and the world will see that there is a God. Intellectual arguments are often empty and fail to win a lost world. The Holy Spirit is the one who will prove to an unbelieving world that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God is calling his people to be prophetic. He wants us to be ready and prepared for what is coming in the world. He doesn’t want us to be just reactive but to be proactive. He wants us to understand the times we are living in so that we know what we should do (1 Chron. 12:32). To serve God effectively, we need to hear from him. Jesus said my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me (John 10:27). 

One important way that we can hear from God is through dreams. God said that he would pour out his Spirit in the last days, and people would dream dreams (Acts 2:17). Dreams are connected to visions. Visions are seen when someone is awake, but dreams are visions that are seen when someone is asleep. The Bible calls dreams night visions (Dan. 7:7). Dreams are an important way God speaks to his people.

Almost everyone has dreams. Dreams can come from three sources: from ourselves, from God, or from Satan.

Dreams come from ourselves often when we are busy. These dreams are connected to the activities we are engaged in (Ecc. 5:3). Sometimes dreams come from what we want (Isa. 29:8). 

Satan can give us nightmares. To get the victory over nightmares, we need to pray. It is possible to stop nightmares through prayer. If we are tormented by an evil spirit at night, we need to use the name of Jesus against that evil spirit and command it to go.

God can give us dreams. The Bible tells us that God will speak to his prophets through dreams (Num. 12:6). Each one of us has the ability to hear from God in dreams, because the Holy Spirit is inside us. We need discernment to recognize what dreams are from God and what dreams are not from God. The Bible warns us about false dreams (Jer. 23:32; Jude 8). All dreams must be measured by the standard of the Bible.

If God gives us a dream, we need to remember that dream in order to receive guidance from it. Often dreams from God are symbolic. We must interpret this symbolism correctly.

All the Dreams from God in the Bible

In the Bible, I counted 22 dreams that were from God. It’s helpful to understand these dreams. Looking at these dreams in the Bible will help us learn how to recognize if we get a dream from God. It will also help us understand how to interpret dreams.

1. Abimelech had a dream that he should not take Sarah to be his wife, because she was already the wife of Abraham (Gen. 20). 

God can speak to people directly through a dream. God sometimes gives dreams to unbelievers. God can send a dream to a person in order to protect someone else.

2. Jacob had a dream of a ladder going up to heaven at Bethel (Gen. 28). 

Dreams are often symbolic, and they reveal spiritual mysteries. Dreams can show us God’s plan. They can reveal God’s purpose for a person’s life. To understand symbolic dreams, we must accurately interpret them.

3. Jacob had a dream to go home (Gen. 31:10-11). God can give us important directions to us through dreams.

4. Laban dreamed that he should not bless or curse Jacob (Gen. 31:24). God used this dream to protect Jacob.

5. When Joseph was 17, he dreamed of his brothers’ grain sheaves bowing down to his sheaf. This meant that his brothers would become subject to him. 

Sometimes the interpretation of a dream is obvious. Joseph shared this dream to his brothers, and this caused them to hate him. Sometimes we should not share dreams with others because it may raise up unnecessary opposition.

6. Joseph dreamed that the sun, moon, and stars were bowing down to him. This dream meant that his entire family would become subject to him. Joseph shared this dream too, and it made him even more unpopular in his family.

Joseph received dreams from God, and he also was a gifted interpreter of dreams. He was involved in 6 dreams in the Bible. Joseph said that dream interpretation comes from God (Gen. 40:8). We can interpret a dream correctly when we hear from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we need to tell our dream to a gifted person who can interpret the dream correctly for us.

7. In prison, the Egyptian butler had a dream about a vine with three branches that budded, had blossoms, and brought forth grapes. The butler saw himself taking the grapes, squeezing them into Pharoah’s cup, and giving the cup into Pharoah’s hand. Joseph interpreted the dream. The three branches symbolized three days, and in three days the butler would be taken from prison and restored to his position. This happened (Gen. 40).

8. In prison, the Egyptian baker had a dream. In his dream he had three white baskets on his head. The top basket had baked goods, and birds were eating these baked goods. Joseph interpreted this dream. The three baskets symbolized three days. In three days the baker would be hanged, and the birds would eat his dead body. This happened (Gen. 40).

9. Pharaoh had a dream. He saw seven fat cows coming out of the Nile. Seven skinny cows came up after them. The skinny cows ate the fat cows (Gen 41).

10. The same night Pharaoh had another dream. He saw seven fat and healthy ears of grain. Then he saw seven thin ears of grain. The thin grain ate the fat grain. Joseph came out of prison and interpreted both dreams to Pharoah. The seven fat cows and seven fat ears of grain symbolized seven years of plenty. The seven thin cows and seven thin ears symbolized seven years of famine.

As a result of these dreams, action had to be taken. Joseph was put in position managing the resources of Egypt so that they could survive this upcoming famine. As a result of Joseph’s faithfulness, Egypt was preserved. His family was preserved. His brothers became subject to him, according to his dreams when he was 17. God can give us dreams to prepare for the future.

11. A person dreamed of a loaf of barley bread tumbling into an army camp and causing a tent to fall over. Another person said this meant that Gideon would defeat this army (Judges 7:13). 

12. Solomon dreamed that God asked him whatever he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom, and he got it (1 Kings 3:5-15).

13. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about a large statue with a gold head, silver chest and arms, brass stomach and thighs, iron legs, and feet made partially of iron and clay. A stone struck the feet of this image and broke it. Then the entire image crumbled. The stone became a massive mountain that filled the entire earth (Dan. 2).

14. After praying and asking God for help, Daniel received the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in a dream of his own (Dan. 2:18-19). He said the image represented the political future of the world. The gold head represented Babylon. The silver chest represented Medo-Persia, which would come after Babylon. The brass stomach and thighs represented Greece which would replace Medo-Persia. The the iron legs symbolized Rome, which would replace Medo-Persia. The feet of iron and clay symbolized the nations that emerged out of the Roman Empire. The toes symbolized a political system that will be at the end of the age. The stone represents Christ and his kingdom that will smash this entire system and cover the earth with God’s glory.

15. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed that he would lose his mind. Daniel interpreted the dream, and soon Nebuchadnezzar went insane (Dan. 4).

16. Daniel had a dream of beasts coming out of the sea. This represented political systems rising from the earth. 

Daniel wrote this dream down (Dan. 7:1). It is helpful to write down dreams that we think might be from God so that we don’t forget the details.

17. Joseph had a dream that he should marry Mary, even though she was already pregnant with someone else’s (God’s) child (Matt. 1:20).

18. The Magi dreamed that they should not return to Herod after visiting Jesus (Matt. 2:12).

19. Joseph dreamed that he should go to Egypt to escape persecution (Matt. 2:13).

20. Joseph dreamed that he should return to Israel (Matt. 2:19-20).

21. Joseph dreamed that he should not go to Judea to avoid persecution (Matt. 2:22).

22. Pilate’s wife dreamed that her husband should let Jesus go because he was innocent (Matt. 27:19).

From all these examples, we can learn the importance of dreams and their interpretation. Sometimes the history of the world hinges on a dream. Sometimes dreams can save lives – multiple dreams saved the life of Jesus Christ when he was young. 

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). He’s still speaking to people today through dreams. Be alert if God may be communicating to you through dreams. If you think you may have a dream from God, measure it by the Bible. Pray for interpretation. And ask someone to help you interpret your dream if you need help. God wants to speak to you, and he might do so through a dream.

We are blessed as Christians to have a great revelation of God through his Son Jesus Christ. Many people throughout history desired such a revelation of God but never got it. They wanted to know God for themselves, but they couldn’t find him. They got confused and lost. We have a great privilege to know God, and we should not take this privilege for granted. 

In the Old Testament, the spiritual life of most Israelites was limited. They couldn’t access God directly. They had to go through other people. Priests performed religious rituals that allowed people to approach God. Prophets heard from God and spoke God’s words to people who couldn’t hear from God for themselves.

When God came down on Mount Sinai to reveal the Law, the mountain shook and quaked, and fire burned. All the people were afraid. They told Moses to go up into the mountain (Deut. 5:22-31). They didn’t want to approach God themselves. They wanted someone else to relate to God on their behalf. They wanted a mediator. They needed someone else to tell them what God was saying (Ezek. 8:1; 14:1; 20:1).

There were other limitations in the Old Covenant. People couldn’t worship God anywhere in the world. They could only worship at Jerusalem. In addition, they didn’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit, so they had to serve God in their own strength.

In the New Covenant, many of these restrictions have been removed (Heb. 8:7-13). In the New Covenant, God has written his laws in our hearts and minds. He has given us his indwelling Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. Now we all have a direct relationship with God through the blood of his Son Jesus.

All of us are able to hear God speak. Jesus said that my sheep hear my voice (John 10:27). We can all be taught directly by God (1 John 2:27). We are all priests (1 Pet. 2:5, Rev. 1:6). We can all desire to prophesy, because we all have the Holy Spirit inside us. We don’t go to worship God at a temple, but we are the temple of God (Eph. 2:20-22).
The Old Testament Law was “weak” and “unprofitable” (Heb. 7:18). It was weak because people could not fulfill the law in their own power. It was unprofitable because it didn’t allow people to become righteous or mature spiritually. This is why the Old Testament law has become obsolete (Heb. 8:13).

Sometimes we try to live as Christians in an Old Covenant sense. We try to fulfill the Law in our own power. This causes us to become mired in sin, because by the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20). We cannot get victory over sin through the law. The law is weak because of the weakness of our own flesh. We need something supernatural to lift us out of our flesh. This is the Holy Spirit.

In the New Covenant, we are no longer under the law but under grace (Rom. 6:14). Grace is not a license to sin, but it’s enabling power to walk according to God. Grace operates by the Holy Spirit. Walking in the Spirit means following the leading of the Spirit. It means obeying Christ and and living in the power of the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). 

In the New Covenant, we don’t need people to mediate between us and God. All of us can experience God directly for ourselves. This means we all have something from God. We all have spiritual gifts that are important for the growth of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:9). 

Leadership in the New Covenant is important, but it’s different than leadership in the Old Covenant. Whereas Old Covenant leadership was for the purpose of revealing God constantly to people who were unable to hear from God for themselves, New Covenant leadership is for the equipping or discipling of the saints so that every believer can have a strong relationship with God and do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13). As each member ministers, the body of Christ will grow (Eph. 4:16).

In the Old Covenant, God’s people gathered together around one man. He was often elevated on a stage. He would stand behind a pulpit. He would teach all the people, mediating between them and God (Nehemiah 8:1-8).

New Covenant gatherings of God’s people are different. New Covenant meetings are called ekklesia, in which every child of God has a right to participate. Like the Last Supper of Christ, New Covenant meetings are to be times of intimate fellowship where the word of God is shared, discussion happens, questions are answered, needs are met, and disciples are made. The early church meetings often included a meal (Acts 20:7). They were participative (1 Cor. 14:26). They happened in homes (Rom. 16:5, 1 Cor. 16:19, Col. 4:5, Acts 8:3).

We have the great privilege of living in the New Covenant. We can experience God directly for ourselves. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit. God has freely revealed himself to us through his Son Jesus so that we can reveal him and his glory to the world. Let’s not live as the Israelites did in the Old Covenant, under the law and separated from God’s personal presence and power in our lives. Individually, let’s go to God ourselves. Let’s pray and hear from him. Let’s read his word and obey it. Let’s walk in the Spirit. And as a church, let us refocus on what it means to have meetings under the New Covenant – participative meetings, healthy fellowship, close relationships, and everyone working together to edify the body of Christ.

We have the great privilege of knowing God in an amazing way because of the gospel of Jesus. Let’s fulfill our responsibilities as recipients of the New Covenant, which is based on better promises by which we draw near to God.

The gift of prophecy is one of the most important spiritual gifts. Christians are commanded to desire the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1, 39). Do you desire to prophesy? Do you know it is possible for you to prophesy because the Holy Spirit is inside you? Paul wants all believers to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:5).

Prophecy means speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20-21). Instead of speaking out of one’s mind, experience, or what one knows, prophesying means speaking as the Holy Spirit gives revelation. Prophesying is beyond the limitation of human ability. It is something supernatural that reveals insights from God. It is possible for each Christian to hear from God. This is to be normal. Because we can hear from God, we can speak God’s words.

The gift of prophecy is a good thing. It is a gift from God. As the church grows into her role as the bride of Christ, the gift of prophecy will become more and more important.
Prophesying doesn’t mean writing Scripture. Many people prophesied in both the Old and New Testaments but they all didn’t write Scripture. When we are commanded to desire to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1), we are not desiring to write Scripture. The Bible is complete, and nothing more can be added to it. The Bible is a perfect revelation of God to us, and no one has authority to add to it or take away from it.

The Bible says that we need prophecies until Jesus comes (1 Cor. 13:8). At that time we will see God face to face, and we will no longer need prophesying because we will be flooded with the light of God. Until then, prophesying is important because it gives us glimpses of God while we live in this world. The gift of prophecy will continue to be an important part of the church until the church is glorious and united together (Eph. 4:11-13). 

There is a difference between someone who is a prophet and someone who has the gift of prophecy. A prophet has a particularly strong gift of prophecy who operates regularly in this gift. The gift of prophecy is so strong in the life of a prophet that his life has begun to be defined by this gift. Because of this he can provide important leadership to the church.

The New Testament reveals some important facts about prophets. Prophets are one of the primary leadership positions of the church (Eph. 4:11). Prophets, along with apostles, comprise the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20). Prophets follow apostles in order of importance as church leadership positions (1 Cor. 12:28).

There are several prophets mentioned in the New Testament. Agabus was a prophet. He prophesied of a famine that would affect the Jerusalem church, and because of this prophecy, help was sent to the Jerusalem church. Agabus also prophesied about Paul being arrested (Acts 21:10). There were several prophets in the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1). Judas and Silas were prophets (Acts 15:32). Philip had four daughters who had a strong prophetic gift (Acts 21:9).

Prophecy often involves telling the future, but it is more than that. Prophecy means speaking the word of God by immediate revelation. God knows everything. There is nothing hidden from him. When we hear from him, we can know things that are beyond our own ability to know. The spiritual knowledge that comes through prophecy is powerful. Prophecy can expose secrets (1 Cor. 14:24-25). When hidden things in hearts are exposed, people can be very surprised and their lives can be transformed. The gift of prophecy also involves understanding mysteries and knowledge (1 Cor. 13:2).

Prophecy was very common in the early church. It was one of the primary ways the church was built up. 

1 Corinthians 14 reveals how prophecy should function in the church. Prophecy edifies others and builds up the church. It exhorts and comforts (1 Cor. 14:3). 2 or 3 prophets can speak in a church meeting, and they must speak one at a time. While a person is prophesying, others must discern whether what they are saying is true (1 Cor. 14:29). If a revelation comes to another prophet while one is speaking, the first person should be quiet and allow the other to speak (1 Cor. 14:30). Prophesying is not out of control, but those who prophesy are in control of themselves (1 Cor. 14:32).

Prophesying is similar to the gift of tongues. Both of these gifts enable a person to speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Tongues is inspired speech in a language the speaker does not understand, but prophecy is inspired speech in a language the speaker and the hearer both understand. This is why prophecy is more valuable for the church.
Christians should not despise prophecies. Sometimes when we are exposed to false prophecies, we are tempted to reject all prophecies. However, we should not despise all prophecies, but we should test prophecies because some prophecies will be false and some will be true (1 Thess. 5:20-21).

A true prophecy will line up with the word of God. No true prophecy will contradict the Bible. 

A prophet must confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh (1 John 4:1-2). This means he will admit that Jesus came in a physical body. It also means that his prophecy will be based on the word of God and the teachings of Jesus. 

If a prophecy doesn’t come to pass, we can know it is not from God (Deut. 18:21-22).

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). When the gift of prophecy operates, Jesus witnesses to God’s people. He speaks to them. Prophecy is a sign that Jesus is present among us. We need to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. He wants to speak through us by the gift of prophecy so that we are warned of future events, encouraged by his words to us today, and secrets are revealed. 

The church needs the gift of prophecy in order to fulfill its potential. Let us desire this gift.

According to the New Testament, each Christian has received a spiritual gift (1 Pet. 4:10, 1 Cor. 12:7). These spiritual gifts are important for the church to grow, and we need to operate our spiritual gifts in order to bless others. One of the most important spiritual gifts in the New Testament is the gift of prophecy. Prophecy means speaking the word of God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).

The Bible is full of prophecies, from beginning to end. The first prophecy in the Bible is in Genesis 3, and it’s about Christ who would come and crush the head of Satan (Gen. 3:15). The last book of the Bible, Revelation, is full of prophecies about future events. In between these two books there are many other prophecies. Prophecy is important for the church, because it builds the church up (1 Cor. 14:1-4).

Prophecies are becoming more and more common. Many Christians have had the experience of either giving or receiving a prophecy. Many of these prophecies have brought blessing into people’s lives.

While prophecies can be a big help, it is important to be careful. Jesus warned that many false prophets would arise and deceive many (Matt. 24:11). We don’t want to be deceived. People are deceived by false prophets when they believe false prophecies.

One of the best ways to discern whether a prophecy is true or false is by whether it comes to pass or not (Deut. 18:21-22). If a prophecy does not happen, we can be sure it did not come from God.

Throughout history, the church has been infected by false prophecies. As the saying goes, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

In 1843 a man named William Miller prophesied that Christ would return prior to March 1844. When this didn’t happen, he postponed the date of Christ’s return to April 18, 1844. This didn’t happen either. One of Miller’s followers then prophesied that Christ would come in October of 1844. This failed too. Postponing the date wasn’t working out. Miller’s followers, who numbered in the thousands, were extremely disheartened, and one of them wrote that he had to be helped to his bedroom, where he lay down “sick with disappointment.”

All was not lost for Miller’s false prophecy, however. Soon it was reinterpreted by Ellen G. White. She said that Christ did come in 1844 – he came into the Holy of Holies in heaven. The movement was revived, and the Seventh Day Adventist Church was born. This church now numbers around 25 million adherents worldwide, and is the 5th largest Christian group in the world. It’s built on a false prophecy, and a false reinterpretation of a false prophecy. Christ did not go into the Holy of Holies in 1844, he went there after he rose up from the dead. And believers since the birth of the church 2000 years ago have been going boldly into the heavenly Holy of Holies through Christ’s blood (Heb. 10:19). They didn’t have to wait until 1844.

We can learn a few important lessons from this event. When prophecies fail, people often don’t want to repent. They often postpone their prophecies to the future. When these postponements fail, the prophecies are often reinterpreted. These reinterpretations are often connected to false teachings. And all of this deception can become very popular.

Recently, many different people prophesied that Donald Trump would have a second term in office and be President four more years. At least 25 different nationally known ministers made this prophecy. Not a single one prophesied that Joe Biden would become President. It is obvious that this prophecy was false, for Trump is not now President.

Those who speak a public false prophecy publicly should repent publicly. They should take a break from prophesying and refocus on actually hearing from God, learning how to distinguish their own thoughts from the voice of God. And they should be more humble in the future, and say “I think God may be saying this, but I’m not sure.”

God is merciful. Just because someone speaks a false prophecy doesn’t mean that he or she is a false prophet. If someone repents, God can take away their sin. 

Sadly, very few of the people who prophesied about Trump having a second term have repented publicly. Some have postponed their prophecies, pushing them off in the future. And others are busy reinterpreting their prophecy. This follows a deceptive pattern. We need to be very cautious about the ministries of people who don’t publicly repent of their public false prophecies.

False prophecies are dangerous. They mislead God’s people. They are lies from Satan who is the father of all lies (John 8:44). They can bring people into bondage. False prophecies give unbelievers a reason to mock Christians. Such prophecies also sow doubt among true believers as they may wonder if anyone can really hear from God.

Some Christians, when they see false prophecies, throw up their hands and conclude that there is no real prophecy today. This is not true. The New Testament is clear that the church needs prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1). Prophecy will be an important part of the church until Christ returns.

Interestingly, many churches that reject the gift of prophecy simultaneously embrace false prophecies. For example, the Left Behind series of books is full of questionable prophecies but is popular among churches that reject the gift of prophecy.

Jeremiah said that the “prophets prophesy falsely, and my people love to have it so” (Jer. 5:30). The people of God often love false prophets. The false prophets tickle their ears and tell them what they want to hear. True prophets like Jeremiah speak the unvarnished word of God. This is why true prophets like Jeremiah are often thrown down muddy wells, but false prophets are exalted.

Jeremiah once prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would rule over Israel (Jer. 27). Jeremiah made a wooden yoke and put it on his neck to symbolize the domination of Nebuchadnezzar over Israel. The Israelites didn’t want to hear this prophecy. Why should this pagan king rule over God’s people? They got mad at Jeremiah. False prophets came against him and threatened him.

A false prophet named Hananiah came to Jeremiah and prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would soon stop ruling over Israel (Jer. 28:3). Hananiah broke the yoke off of Jeremiah’s neck in front of everyone to prove his point (Jer. 28:10). The Israelites loved Hananiah’s false prophecy. It’s what they wanted to hear. He was popular guy, supported by important and powerful people. But God hated Hananiah’s false prophecy. Soon God sent Jeremiah to tell Hananiah that he would die within a year. A few months later, Hananiah was dead.

Once, king Ahab wanted to go to war and take a city. Four hundred false prophets told him to go to war and God would cause him to win the battle and conquer the city. This was a false prophecy spawned by demons. In the midst of this deception, there was one man who actually heard from God. His name was Micaiah. He prophesied that Ahab would not conquer the city but would lose the battle and die. Ahab and the people were angry at Micaiah. A false prophet smacked Micaiah’s face. King Ahab threw Micaiah into prison and tormented him. Ahab ignored the word of God, went into battle, and died. In Israel in those days, the proportion of false prophets to true prophets appeared to be 400 to 1.

It’s easy to be a false prophet. It’s much harder to a true prophet. Throughout history, God’s people have rejected his word. They didn’t want to hear what he’s really saying. They wanted to pretend that he’s saying something he’s not saying. This is why they often like false prophets better than true prophets.

Isaiah, another true prophet, recognized this problem. “This is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord, who say to the seers, “Do not see!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits!” (Isa 30:9-10).

Isaiah said that the people of God did not want to hear what God was actually saying. They wanted to hear smooth words that sounded nice and made them feel good. They wanted to hear lies.

Just like there were false prophecies in ancient Israel, there are false prophecies today. Jesus warned us about this. We need to sharpen our discernment in the coming days, because more and more false prophets will rise up.

It’s important for Christians to rise above the political fray and seek first the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and it is coming by spiritual power. This is where our allegiance should be and where our energies should be expended.

Next week we will explore more about what the New Testament says about prophecy, and learn about how we can begin to experience this awesome spiritual gift. In the coming days we need to hear clearly from God. The church will need the true gift of prophecy possibly now more than ever. As we learn about prophecy, let us keep in mind that we must be humble in order to avoid deception.

Jesus taught us to pray, “lead us not into temptation” (Matt. 6:13). This is one of the most important things we are to pray for. The word temptation in Greek is peirasmos which means an experiment, trial, attempt, proving, or testing. It comes from a word that means to pierce through with a spear or a spit (which roasts meat over the fire). Tests are hard and often painful. 

We know that God leads us. He leads us by his word and he leads us by his Spirit. He can give us leadership through other members in the church. God leads us so that he can bless us. Sometimes he leads us into tests. However, Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer that God will not lead us into tests. 

We’re supposed to pray that God would not lead us into testing, as a group. The challenges that one of us face are faced by all of us. We need to bear each other’s burdens and pray for each other. Sometimes the entire church will be tested, and Satan will challenge us all as a unit. God will help us get through these seasons of testing as we remain faithful to God and keep loving and supporting each other.

The Bible says we’re supposed to be happy when we’re tested (James 1:2). It also says that tests do positive things in our lives like purifying our faith, helping us grow spiritually, and preparing us for spiritual responsibility. 

But if we’re supposed to be joyful when we’re tested and tests do so many positive things in our lives, why would we pray that God would not lead us into testing?

Testing is something that we all need, but it’s not something that we all should be eager to find. We don’t need to go out looking for tests. Tests are hard. We want to lead a quiet and peaceful life (1 Tim. 2:2), and tests can get in the way of that. We also need to be humble. Let’s not be overconfident in our spiritual abilities, because we know the weakness of our flesh. Tests expose our weaknesses, and we might fail a test. Although we are confident in the Lord, we don’t want to rashly face tests. Students don’t usually rush up to a teacher, eager to take a test. Soldiers don’t run out looking for war, because they know how hard war is.

But once the test comes we can be joyful in the midst of it. God will get us through. We know that God will not let us be tested beyond what we are able to bear, but he will give us a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). When tested, we can find a way out and get through. God will be with us in the test, and the test will work good things in our lives. 

And so we need to do two things: pray that God doesn’t lead us into testing, and be joyful when we are in testing.

Along with the prayer to not lead us into testing, Jesus told us to pray that God would “deliver us from the evil one.” These two prayers are connected, for Satan is often involved in our testing. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan (Matt. 4:1). The Holy Spirit was doing the leading, and Satan was doing the testing. Job was tested by God when Satan created all kinds of trouble in his life.

Testing is a time of spiritual warfare. Satan is like a roaring lion seeking to devour us (1 Pet. 5:8). He often creates problems in our lives. Powerful fallen angels seek to harm us (Eph. 6:12). God has given us all the spiritual resources we need to be victorious in these struggles, but these tests are hard. We need to draw on the strength of the Holy Spirit to overcome. Satan tempts us and entices us to sin. However, God can bring good out of all these tests and spiritual struggles, causing them all to turn around for good in our lives (Rom. 8:28).

James tells us that God does not tempt us to evil (James 1:13). This is the same word peirasmos. Let’s not blame God for the problems we face. God never tempts us to moral failure because he is completely holy and good, and he wants only good for us. He never puts evil in front of us in order to entice us. This would be contrary to his nature. God never induces us to sin, entices us to sin, or traps us in sin. 

James explains that we are tempted by the lusts within us (James 1:14-15). We are drawn out from our place of moral of safety and enticed by something external to ourselves. Then lust produces evil thoughts and evil desires and creates sinful action. Sin ultimately produces death.

Temptation does not equal sin. We can be tempted without sinning. Jesus was tempted in all points like we are, but he never sinned (Heb. 4:15). Because Jesus was tested in all points like us, he is able to sympathize with us when we are tested. Because Jesus overcame all testing, he can help us. He gives us an example of victory, he intercedes for us, and he gives us strength to overcome by his Spirit.

We must pray that God would not lead us into testing. Testing is hard, and we want to avoid it. But when testing comes, and it will, we can be confident and joyful in God. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and the Holy Spirit will help us overcome. Through the test, we will emerge stronger spiritually, closer to God and to each other.

We are living in a time of testing. The entire world is facing challenges that have not been faced before. God is looking for people who will overcome these challenges. It’s not easy. God is proving our faith so that we are spiritually strong and able to overcome. God is raising up a generation who will put Satan under their feet through the power of Jesus Christ.

In Genesis 22:1-14, God gave a shocking test to Abraham. He told him to take his only beloved son Isaac and go to a mountain and kill him. 

This was a big test – not only because it would mean the death of his son, but because it seemed to contradict the word of God. Earlier, God told Abraham that his descendants would come through Isaac (Genesis 21:12). Now God was telling Abraham to kill Isaac. Isaac had no children yet. If Isaac died he couldn’t have any children. So not only would his beloved son be dead, but the promise of God on which Abraham had based his life would be unfulfilled.

Abraham had to reconcile two apparently contradictory words from God – Isaac’s death, and Isaac having many children. Abraham had to believe that his descendants would come through Isaac, even if Isaac was killed. 
Abraham reconciled these words from God by coming to a higher level of faith. He told the people with him and he and Isaac would return down from the mountain again (Gen. 22:5). He believed that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him up from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19). Isaac would bear children, and nothing could stop it. Abraham knew that the word of God would conquer death.

By believing in the power of resurrection, Abraham passed the test and became the father of our faith.

The goal of testing is not to torment us. God was not trying to torment Abraham by asking him to kill his beloved son. Instead, God was inviting Abraham to come to a higher spiritual level.

During testing, Satan lies to us and says that God hates us and is trying to torture us. This is not true. God tests us because he loves us and wants to do good to us (Deut. 8:16). He wants us to grow spiritually and become strong. Satan lies and says God doesn’t love us. But the Bible says that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:38). Satan says that God has left us. But the Bible says that God will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). During a test, Satan tries to flood our mind with lies. We need to throw out these lies with the truth of God’s word.

Tests give us an opportunity to master a subject. Whenever we pass a test, we go to a higher level. We gain new responsibilities and have increased favor. 

In school tests show that students understand a subject – if they pass they go on to the next level, if they fail they have to repeat the material.

Physical tests determine health – if someone fails a health test, they will need treatment until they pass.

Spiritual tests reveal our spiritual condition. The Bible tells us to be happy when we face spiritual tests because they are opportunities for growth (James 1:2-4). Tests can strengthen our faith and produce patience. When we are patient, we will go through a test successfully and bear up under challenges. God will work it out. We don’t have to figure out everything ourselves because God is working in us. Patience produces maturity and completeness in our lives.

When our faith is tested, it is purified (1 Pet. 1:7). Tests purify faith because they cleanse our faith from other things. Before we were tested, we were relying on ourselves, our possessions, or our relationships. Our faith in God was mixed up with faith in other things. The test removed those other supports and we found out only God could get us through. Tests purify our faith because it helps us to trust in God alone. This leads to peace because God never fails. 

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isa. 26:3). 

Job knew about testing. He said “What is man, that you should exalt him, that you should set your heart on him,  that you should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?” (Job 7:17-18). 

Job went through very hard tests. But in the midst of his testing, Job said that he would come forth like gold (Job. 23:10). What a man of faith! Job believed that God was good, even in the midst of horrible trials. He knew that the testing would purify him.

Once Jesus gave a test to Philip (John 6:5-6). Jesus asked Philip how they would feed a huge crowd. Philip said that they didn’t have enough money to buy that much food. Jesus already knew what Philip was thinking, but he wanted Philip to understand his own thinking. Philip did not pass this test because he was thinking about natural resources rather than looking to God and his infinite resources. Soon after this, Jesus multiplied a few loaves and small fish to feed thousands of people. Jesus showed Philip a better way to think about problems.

God tested the Israelites with manna (Ex. 16:4). Manna tested Israel in multiple ways. They could only gather enough manna for one day. This tested their faith. Would they trust that God would provide manna for them tomorrow? Manna tested their obedience. Would they obey God when he told them only to gather a specific amount? Manna tested their contentment. Would they be satisfied with God’s provision? Most of the Israelites failed the manna test. They didn’t believe in God, they disobeyed his word, and they murmured.

The Bible gives us all the wisdom we need to pass the many spiritual tests that will come to us. 

When circumstances change and we face unexpected problems, we need to keep looking to God and his word. We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). We need to look at unseen things, not things that can be seen (2 Cor. 4:17-18). Magnify God, don’t magnify circumstances. This will help us overcome worry.

One key to getting through a trial successfully is to not blame God for something he didn’t do. Many things that happen in the world are not God’s will. For example, God wants everyone to be repent (2 Pet. 3:9), but everyone doesn’t. He wants everyone to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), but everyone isn’t. God didn’t want Adam to sin, but he did anyway. He doesn’t want us to sin, but we still sometimes do. When we recognize that many things that happen in the world are not God’s will, we will stop blaming God for problems we face. Blaming God for things that God doesn’t do is a demonic trap.

God is so powerful, that he can turn all these bad things around for good in our lives (Rom. 8:28). He can use these challenges to strengthen our spiritual walk. He can use them to test and purify our faith. God did not cause these problems, but he is able to bring good out of them.

There is a Biblical solution to every problem. For example, when other people choose to do bad things to us, we can love them and pray for them (Matt. 5:44). We can overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). We can draw strength from God to overcome evil. In every test, God will make a way for us to pass (1 Cor. 10:13).

Although we live in a time of testing, this is really nothing new. Throughout history God’s people have been tested. As we face these tests in faith, drawing on the strength that comes from God, we are able to pass these tests and come to a higher level in our spiritual walk. The current and future challenges in the world demand us to rise up in our faith. We must be spiritually strong. The current tests are preparing us to be ready for the revelation of Jesus Christ. We can pass these tests successfully through the power of the Holy Spirit.

How can Christians live in unity? This is a question many of us have asked in 2020. The Bible says that the desires that battle within us, in other words ‘sin’ is at the root of divisions in the church (James 4:1). Our sins are taken away in Christ, and so can our disunity be taken away in Christ. The ultimate purpose of Jesus’s death on the cross is to reconcile all things to God and restore unity in all of creation that was lost at the fall because of sin (Col 1:19). So, unity is not our meager human attempt at friendliness but it is the work of Christ in us. Let us look at some verses to understand better the biblical foundations for unity in the church.

Eph. 4:1-6

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

I. Walking In Unity Is Demanded By Our Common Calling in Christ (Eph. 4:1)

We Have All Been Summoned To A “Heavenly Calling” and We Have the responsibility to live worthy of that calling.

Eph 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love

Rom 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Eph 4:11-13 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

All believers have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, not for fulfilling individual desires, but to participate in God’s grand plan of restoring all creation unto Himself. We are all members of one another, with a diversity of gifts to serve one another. The demand for unity is not amidst uniformity but in diversity. It cannot come about by the actions of some members but by the actions of all members, as they recognize how best they fit in relation with the whole body. The word, “equipping,” katartismos, used as a noun here in Ephesians 4:12, has an interesting medical history in classical Greek. “To equip often meant to put a bone or a part of the human body into right relationship with the other parts of the body so that every part fits thoroughly. It means to realign a dislocated limb.” Only as each part does its work in harmony with other parts, in submission to the Lord, will we see unity in the church, and thereby the church can grow into maturity to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 

While we are called to eagerly desire individual spiritual gifts, it is not the spiritual gifts in themselves that produce unity, but it’s humble submission to God and other members of the body in love, that leads to unity. Just as in a human body, where every part that is connected to the brain influences another part of the body, every believer living in unity with another, acts like a joint of supply for life-giving power for spiritual maturity when connected to the head who is Christ. Paul exhorts us to pursue both love and spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14:1) as we can have spiritual gifts, but without love the gifts are useless (1 Cor 13:1). When we live in unity and also possess spiritual gifts, there will be a greater impact toward the witness for Christ (Acts 1:8). So, what we need is spiritually mature Christians living in unity, helping each other mature, to attain corporate maturity in Christ. When we act together as Christ’s body, the world can see Christ through us (John 17:21).

A spiritually mature Christian lives a life worthy of the calling, a walk that conforms to our new position in Christ and not to our old position in the world. A worthy walk is to conduct ourselves in such a way that it adds weight to the gospel and the cause of Christ. We are his representatives on earth, and our lives must show it.

Eph 2:2: in which you once walked cording to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience

2 Peter 5-8: But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

II. Walking In Unity Is Displayed In Our Common Character (Eph. 4:2-3)

Romans 12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

As we renew our mind daily with the word of God, our character is slowly reshaped; our thinking changes, our opinions, values, and attitudes are changed to comport with the nature and character of Christ. The Spirit of God leads us into all truth revealed in the Word of God (John 14:26).

1. Character for Christian Unity is produced internally

THE 1ST FOUNDATION STONE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY IS HUMILITY

Phil. 2:1-4 Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others

THE 2ND FOUNDATION STONE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY IS GENTLENESS

Gentleness (or meekness, strength under control) goes hand in glove with humility. Gentleness is consideration towards others; not insisting on our own rights (meekness); not asserting ourselves at the expense of others. The strong use their rights in such a way as to not cause the weak to stumble in their faith. 

1 Cor 9:12 If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

THE 3RD FOUNDATION STONE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY IS PATIENCE

To be patient is to be willing to wait, to be “longsuffering”, just as God waits in patience, holding back his judgement on this world, waiting for people to turn to him.

Our patience is to be expressed by bearing with one another in love, by tolerating one another’s faults out of love for one another. Love is the underlying virtue upon which both “patience” and “forbearance” are based. 

2. Peace should be the overriding character of unity among Christians

Ephesians 2:14–16: For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

God has already established peace through our Lord Jesus Christ and our role is to maintain that peace. This kind of peace is not accomplished through forced external conformity, but by conforming to Christ internally, and ministering to each other in love. As we decrease, God increases in our lives, and the peace of God that Jesus bought comes forth. 

III. Walking In Unity Is Driven By Our Common Confession (Eph 4:4-6)

Paul reminds us of our common confession of faith as brothers and sisters in Christ as he exhorts us to keep unity. 

• Unity Of Formation: “One Body” And “One Spirit”

1 Cor. 12:13: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

The Holy Spirit in us is the basis of our oneness. There is one body (the church), which is comprised of all believers.

• Unity Of Destiny: “One Hope Of Your Calling”

Tit 2:13: looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

We all have a common hope – namely, the hope of being with and like Christ. 

• Unity Of Headship: “One Lord”

Rom 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The church’s primary confession is that Jesus Christ is the sovereign Lord, the head of the body

• Unity Of Belief: “One Faith”

Phil. 1:27: Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel

Faith of the gospel (in a nutshell): For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)

• Unity Of Ordinance: “One Baptism”

Romans 6:3-6 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Christians may differ as to the ‘form’ of baptism but there is only one baptism in the sense that true baptism expresses one truth – namely, faith in, and union with, Christ.

• Unity Of Godhead: “One God And Father”

The unity of the church is most fully expressed in the unity of God himself. It is through our relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that Christians participate in this unity.

Application

Rom 15:1, 7 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves…Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

We have been called to “walk in Unity” through our common calling, common character, and common confession. We are not to reject those whom Christ has already accepted. Whether a brother is weak or strong in Christ, we accept them, because we are all called to walk together in unity. 

This does not mean that all the other teachings in the Bible that are not in the common confession are not important. Nor does it mean that we don’t try to strive for theological clarity from the word of God on other issues. There however seems to be an implicit distinction between doctrines of primary and secondary importance both in the words of Jesus and Paul. In Matt 23:24-25, Jesus Himself suggests some errors are gnats and some are camels, and some are weightier than others. Paul likewise speaks of truth of first importance (1 Cor 15:3). The “first principles of the oracles of God” (Heb. 5:12) are listed in Hebrews 6:1-2, and these are starting point for Christian maturity (Heb. 6:1).

We must certainly take stand against false teachings, especially those that go against the common confession and those that are very clearly defined in the Bible. However, when there are disputable matters that lack biblical clarity, it is an opportunity to bear with one another in love with those who share our common confession. In situations, where Paul made judgements about what constitutes a weak and strong Christian (Rom 14, 1 Cor 8), he still did not pass hard and fast rules about the disputed matters but called the church to accept each other in Christ and reminded that our accountability is before the Lord. Until we see God face to face, we will not have perfect knowledge (1 Cor 13:10). We are not to destroy the work of the Lord for the sake of secondary minor differences (Rom 14:17-20). So, though we may not agree on every secondary detail of understanding, we can be united on the gospel and work toward unity and maturity in Christ, both individually and corporately. This is not easy and can only can be done by the strength of the Holy Spirit. As we refocus on our identity in Christ, he will help us toward that healthy balance of valuing all his teaching while still walking in love with his people.

To walk worthy of our calling means (1) to live by what is demanded of our position in Christ; (2) to display our new character in Christ; and (3) to be driven by our confession of faith in the gospel. Spiritually mature Christians living in unity, helping each other mature, to attain corporate maturity in Christ.

In his book Mark of the Christian, Francis Schaeffer writes “We cannot expect the world to believe that Jesus’ claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians”

Abraham is called the father of our faith (Romans 4:1). Abraham was justified by faith, not by works. He didn’t do anything to deserve righteousness, but he received righteousness by believing in God. It’s the same for us. We can’t work our way to God. We believe God’s word, and then he gifts us with salvation and we are born again.

After being born again, we begin a spiritual journey of walking with God. in this spiritual journey God calls us to follow the steps of Abraham (Rom. 4:12).

Come Out of Babylon

Abraham’s journey began in Babylon (Ur of the Chaldees). God revealed himself to him and told him to get out from that land, from that culture, and from his relatives (Acts 7:2-5; Gen. 11:31-12:1-3). 

Babylon represents the world system that is contrary to God. God calls us to “come out of Babylon” (Rev. 18:4). He calls us out of where we are into where he wants us to be. He wants us to forsake sin. He wants us to stop dead religion and vain worship. He wants our thinking to change and line up with the Bible. This is a process, and it doesn’t all automatically happen the moment we are born again.

Abraham left Babylon and went out, not knowing where he was going (Heb. 11:8-10). Obeying God takes faith. We won’t immediately see how everything will work out. Sometimes we may not really know what we’re doing. But this feeling of uncertainty means that we are walking by faith, not by sight. Our certainty is in God, not in ourselves. We are trusting in God’s word, not our circumstances.

Abraham was looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. The city of Babylon is going to be destroyed (Rev. 18:5-8). This world system will fail; it’s already decaying. But the city of God will last forever. The city of God is not yet completed, but it’s being constructed now as God’s people are faithful to him. We need to live with an eternal perspective and expend our lives for that city which will endure forever, seeking first the kingdom of God.

Believing God’s Promises

God promised Abraham that he would have many descendants and that his descendants would have a great land. 

God has also spoken promises to each one of us. He’s given us the general promises in the Bible, and he’s given specific promises to us as individuals.

To see the fulfillment of God’s promises, we must overcome challenges. The fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham depended on him having a child. But Abraham had no children, and his wife was barren (Gen. 11:30). This seemed hopeless, but with God nothing is impossible. That particular point of weakness gave God an opportunity to work in Abraham’s life. God delights in taking weak people and making them strong. Jesus said, “my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). 

There are weaknesses in us. These weaknesses may be in direct opposition to the fulfillment of God’s word in our lives. But we shouldn’t be discouraged. These points of weakness may be the very points that God will use to bring forth supernatural fruit in us. We cannot bring forth the fulfillment of God’s word by our own power. God will bring forth his word by his Spirit, often through our weakness, for his glory.

Patience

Abraham needed patience in order to see the word of God come to pass. Abraham wasn’t perfect. Once he tried to overcome Sarah’s barrenness by birthing Ishmael through Hagar. This seemed to solve his main problem – it gave him a son – but God said this clever plan wouldn’t work. We can’t hasten the fulfillment of God’s word with our own good ideas. Often our own human attempts to bring God’s word to pass will only create more problems. We need to wait for God.

Finally, after 25 years, when Sarah was too old to have children, Isaac was born. This miracle boy was a result of faith. “Through faith Sarah received power to conceive seed” (Heb. 11:11). Faith gives us supernatural power to overcome barrenness and see God’s word happen.

Ultimately, Isaac became an ancestor of Christ. And through Jesus Christ, all nations of the world have been blessed. All who believe in Jesus become the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:29). As Abraham’s seed we have been blessed, not with an earthly land in the Middle East, but with the spiritual riches of the Holy Spirit and of heaven. Someday, the kingdom of God will dominate the world and Christ will reign as king over everything. The promises of God to Abraham were greater than his wildest dreams.

As we follow the steps of Abraham, we learn not only to be justified by faith, but to walk by faith. We will come out of Babylon, leaving things behind that do not please God. We will be patient for the word of God to come to pass, and we will trust in God to overcome our weaknesses. We will lay down our own good ideas as we look to the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s word. And through faith and patience, we will inherit the promises of God.

The word of God contains power to completely transform our lives. The book of James reveals some important spiritual hacks – tips on how to do something more easily or effectively. James shows us how to unleash the power of the word of God in our lives and see a harvest.

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7-8).

The goal of the word of God is to produce a spiritual harvest. The Bible says the word of God will not remain empty, but it will produce fruit (Isa. 55:11). Fruit requires patience. The word of God will not produce fruit immediately; it will take time. Just like a gardener plants seed in his garden and then waits until it produces a harvest, so we must patiently tend the word of God in us until it brings forth fruit.

The word of God is able to save our souls (James 1:21). This salvation is more than a one-time event when we are born again. Although we are secure in heaven after being born again, we need to grow in our faith and experience more and more of the salvation of Jesus in all aspects of our lives. This will happen as the word of God grows within us.

The kingdom of heaven is like a seed planted in the ground (Mark 4:26-29). The Bible gives us the pure seed of God’s word. We shouldn’t add to or take away from the word of God. The word of God is like DNA. If we add something to the word or take something from it, we genetically alter the word of God. Such alterations pervert our understanding of Christ and will create corrupt fruit. We need the pure word in order to have the fruit that God intends.

The seed of the kingdom of God is currently growing within each one of us. The growing word brings change. Maybe the word of God has affected us in ways we didn’t expect. We are not the same people we used to be. Our thoughts and desires changed. These changes are not bad. They are signs that the word of God is growing in us and taking over ground in our souls. The bigger the word of God becomes within us the closer we are to a harvest.

Israel was a largely agricultural society. They had two seasons of rain. The early rain fell after the seeds were planted. It caused the seeds to sprout and begin growing. The latter rain fell before harvest time, and it enabled the plants to bring forth fruit.

This is symbolic of church history. Water symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and rain represents an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of the church, the Holy Spirit was poured out powerfully upon God’s people. The Book of Acts is full of the revelation of the Spirit of God. This was like the time of early rain. At the end of the age, there will be another outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is called the latter rain. This outpouring will cause the church to grow into maturity (Eph. 4:13; 5:27). 

It is similar in the lives of believers. When we first receive a word from God, we may feel the powerful presence of God. This is like the early rain, which accompanies the planting of the word in our hearts. After this we enter a season of growth. The word of God begins growing within us. Then, when it is almost time for harvest, God pours out his Holy Spirit upon us again in order to bring forth a harvest.

We must be patient in between the planting time and the harvesting time. The word will bring forth fruit in us as we are patient (Luke 8:15). The little plant is tender, but it carries great promise. Don’t give up on the word of God. If you do, you will not see the harvest. The time of growth is when the roots of the word go deep within us. This time of growth is also a time of pruning, when things that are not according to God are removed out of our lives.

James gives us several spiritual “hacks” to help us grow during this time.

He tells us to “establish our hearts” (James 5:8). This means to turn our hearts in a specific direction and fix them there. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). We must fix our hearts on God and on his word, and not allow them to be moved away from the word by the pressures and circumstances of the world.

When David faced great challenges and his own people turned against him, he established his heart. He encouraged himself in the Lord. Literally, he “seized God” (1 Sam. 30:6). When we face challenges, we need to fix our hearts on God so that we are not moved by the winds of circumstances.

James gives us another tip. He tells us to “not grumble against one another” (James 5:9). We need our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ to help us grow. We are all growing in the Lord together. We need each other. We may not understand each other, and we may not like the way other people do things. But complaining against our brothers and sisters will bring division into the body of Christ. This will weaken others, and it will weaken ourselves. Murmuring against others in the body of Christ is self-destructive. When we tear down the body, we ruin our own spiritual life. If we want the word of God to be strong in us, we need to build up the body of Christ. This is because we need the body of Christ in order to fulfill our own spiritual potential.

James also tells us to learn suffering and patience from the examples of the prophets (James 5:10). The prophets suffered because they spoke the word of God. This word was often not popular. They spoke against sin and called people to holiness. They also spoke out against vain religious traditions that had crept in among God’s people. There are vain traditions in the church today. These are enemies of God’s work. God is looking for prophets who will speak out against these things. Prophets sometimes must suffer, because their messages are not popular.

Prophets must be patient. The word of God takes time to grow. An impatient prophet is a fruitless prophet. Truth must be balanced. A prophet must wait to see the word of God take root and bring forth fruit. It won’t happen immediately.

James gives us another “hack.” He tells us to endure. This means to stay under the word. Don’t get out from under the word that God has spoken to you. If you leave the word, you will leave the harvest. There is no joy in abandoning your spiritual position in God. Hold onto the word of God, and see the harvest in faith. This will lead to happiness, because it will lead to fruit. And where there is fruit, there is joy. Live prophetically, with the end result in mind.

Finally, James exhorts us to remember Job (James 5:11). This is a final exhortation to patience. Job was patient. Even though he saw much trouble, he also saw the goodness of God. None of us will have to go what Job went through. But even though Job went through something so hard, he still saw the goodness of God at the end. This shows that we will see the goodness of God too, when we get through our momentary troubles.

Job started out with 7 sons, 3 daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 donkeys (Job 1:2-3). Then he lost everything.

But Job remained faithful to God. He didn’t give up. He was patient. And God blessed him. At the end of the book, Job had 7 sons, 3 daughters, 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 donkeys. God blessed Job abundantly. Everything he had was doubled, except the number of his children.

The reason the number of Job’s children was not doubled was because the first children were not really lost – they went to heaven when they died. Now, Job is with his 14 sons and 6 daughters in heaven. So, his children were actually doubled too.

Romans 8:28 says all things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to his purpose. The Lord is compassionate and merciful. He sees what we are going through as we hold on to his word. He wants us to get through the difficult phase of growth. And when we do, we are going to see an abundant harvest.

“Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given you the former rain faithfully, and he will cause the rain to come down for you – the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:23-25).

Our God is full of love and power, and he wants to bless his children. He wants to do great things in our lives. There is no limit to what God can do. “With God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). God is all we need, and he is the solution to all our problems.

But we can limit God. We can put boundaries on him that prevent him from blessing us. Psalm 78:41 says that the Israelites “limited the Holy one of Israel.”

How can a finite person limit an infinite God? The reason we can limit God is because we have free will, and God respects our free will. Jesus has all power in heaven and earth, but he’s not going to force his blessings into our lives if we don’t want them.

Jesus told the Israelites that he wanted to gather them as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but they didn’t want to be gathered (Matt. 22:37). A hen gathers her chicks to protect them, provide food for them, and lead them to shelter. Why wouldn’t a little chick want that? Even though Jesus wanted to bless Israel, they refused his blessing. They rejected him. They limited God and blocked him from working in their lives.

We can limit God too.

1. We can limit God through lack of faith. This happens with the issue of salvation. God wants every person to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), but most people reject his salvation. God is not going to force people to be saved against their will. He’s not going to force people to spend eternity with him if they don’t want to.

Lack of faith will hinder us after we are born again. Jesus said that he will work in our lives according to our faith (Matt. 8:13; 9:29). Without faith, we will not see miracles. There were times Jesus was unable to do many miracles because of the people’s unbelief (Mark 6:5). 

Solution: Increase our faith. Our faith is built up when we hear God speak. Our ability to hear from God increases as we spend time in his word (Rom. 10:17). Read the Bible and let God speak to you. This will increase your faith. in the meantime be patient. Sometimes God’s word takes a while to happen. God is probably working in your life to bring you to maturity as you wait. Don’t get impatient and run out and birth an Ishmael. Don’t murmur and complain. God will come through at the right time, and his word will never fail.

2. Another way we can limit God is through fear. The Israelites feared the giants, so they didn’t go into the Promised Land (Num. 32:7-9). The Jews feared their enemies, so they stopped building the wall around Jerusalem (Ezra 4:4). Fear blocks us from doing what God has called us to do. It stops us from moving forward. Fear cripples us and then defines our reality. When we are afraid, we won’t see God work in our lives.

Solution: Get rid of fear through love (1 John 4:18). When we recognize God’s love for us and receive it, then we have nothing more to fear because we know God has us in his hands. Then we can love others. Love casts fear out from our lives.

3. We can limit God through disobedience. Once Israel experienced a famine of hearing the word of God (In Amos 8:11). They couldn’t hear God’s voice. This was because they disobeyed God (Amos 8:13). When we refuse to do what God has told us to do, God will not give us more revelation or instructions. God is waiting for us to do what he told us to do, and then he will give us more of his word.

Solution: Do what God has told you to do. Don’t put it off or procrastinate. When we love God, we will obey him (1 John 5:3), and then we will see his blessing in our lives.

4. We can limit God through sin. “Your sins have separated between you and God” (Isa. 59:1-2). God wants to work in our lives, but sometimes sin is a barrier between us and God. In Israel, there was a time when there was no open revelation (1 Sam. 3:1). This was because the priests were all corrupt and they were leading the people into sin. 

Solution: Confess your sins (1 John 1:9). When we confess our sins to God, he takes them away. Then our fellowship with God is restored.

5. We can limit God through self-reliance. God is not going to help us if we don’t want him to. If we think we can handle it all ourselves and don’t need God, then God will step aside and let us try. The Bible says “cursed is the man who trusts in man, who makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord” (Jer. 17:5-8). The Bible tells us not to lean on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6). 

Solution: Walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh (Rom. 8:4-5). This means relying on the Holy Spirit to empower us rather than trusting in our own abilities.

6. We can limit God through problems in prayer. Sometimes we don’t pray at all. “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2). When we don’t pray, we limit God because we don’t open a door for him to work. Other times we pray with doubts (James. 1:6-7), and this limits God because God responds to faith. Other times we pray for our own will to be done rather than God’s will to be done, and this limits God because he works according to his will, not ours.

Solution: Pray for big things, pray in faith, and pray without doubt. Submit to God’s will in prayer; don’t try to force God to do your will.

7. We can limit God by not seeing our identity in Christ. When we understand who we are according to the word of God, then we will be able to live as God has called us to live. But when we don’t recognize who we are in Christ, then we limit God from working in our lives because we are believing lies about ourselves that bring us into bondage.

Solution: Saturate yourself with the word of God so that your image of yourself is defined by God, rather than by Satan.

8. We can also limit God through lack of fellowship. We need each other in order to move forward into all that God has for us. As the days become more evil, we need each other even more. We are a body, and we can each fulfill our full potential in God as we are vibrantly connected to each other in strong fellowship. 

Solution: Seek out fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ, both on Sunday mornings and throughout the week.

If you are limiting God, it’s time to remove the limitations. There are practical steps to take in order to experience more of God. God is infinite and all-powerful. When you remove the shackles, you will unleash him to do all the wonderful things that he wants to do, both in your life and in the world around you.

We are like travelers going through this world on our way to our heavenly home. This journey is sometimes hard because this world is like a wilderness or desert, but we don’t need to be discouraged because there are awesome spiritual resources to get us through safely.

Our journey in some ways is similar to the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness into the Promised Land.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

God gave the children of Israel powerful baptisms, manna, a rock, and water to get them through the wilderness.

The Israelites were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the Red Sea. These two baptisms represent the Christian baptisms in water and in the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 6:2).

The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for many years. At the Red Sea, they were freed from slavery, and their enemies were destroyed. It’s similar for us. There was a time in our lives when we were slaves to sin and to Satan’s kingdom, but when we believed the gospel, God set us free, and we were born again. Then we were baptized in water, which was similar to crossing the Red Sea.

The Israelites were also baptized in the cloud. This cloud is the presence of God. It gave the Israelites direction (Ex. 13:21-22). It also gave them protection from their enemies (Ex. 14:24). For us, this cloud symbolizes baptism in the Holy Spirit. After being baptized in the Holy Spirit, God’s presence becomes fuller and more real to us. We begin hearing God’s voice more clearly. We understand his word better and can witness for him more effectively.

Baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit are necessary so we can grow into spiritual maturity.

Manna was another resource. Manna was supernatural food. It was small, lying on the ground, and each person had to gather it each day (Ex. 16:4, Num. 11:7-9). Manna is called “angels’ food” (Ps. 78:25). It is “bread from heaven” (John 6:31). Manna gave the Israelites the strength they needed for each day.

God has a word for us in due season to strengthen us just like the Israelites had manna. He has fresh revelation to encourage us. We might get these words through the Bible, through prayer, or through fellowship with other believers. We need this word. We will not live by bread alone, but by the word of God. The provision of the world will leave us dry and dead. Only God’s word can give us life. We need to gather this word daily for ourselves so we can be strong spiritually.

Another spiritual resource for the Israelites was a spiritual rock that went with them to give them spiritual drink. This rock was Christ. Christ went with the Israelites through the wilderness to give them water. They were hundreds of thousands of people and many animals. They needed a lot of water to survive. Christ gave them all the water they needed. They had water in the middle of a dry and hot desert. Other nations had no water there, and if they tried to take this journey they would have died. But the Israelites had a miraculous supply of water. 

Water symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Jesus called the Holy Spirit “living water” (John 7:38-39). He said that if we drink of the Holy Spirit we would never be thirsty but would have a fountain of water inside of us (John 4:13-14). God said that he would pour out water upon us in the wilderness (Isa. 41:17-18). This means that in the difficult and dry parts of our lives, God will pour out his Spirit upon us and bring life out of death. God said that if we are thirsty, we can come to him and drink, and that he will satisfy us (Isa. 55:1-2). Everything else will leave us empty, but God will fill us. Whatever we are going through in our journey, Christ is with us. He said he would never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5-6).

Christ is a Rock. He is our rock of safety. He is our rock of defense. He is our shelter in the storm and a covering from the heat. Our rock gives us strength and guides us (Ps. 18:31-32). Our rock delivers us from our enemies (Ps. 18:46-47). Our rock defends us and is a refuge for us (Ps. 62:6-7).

We are a holy nation. We have resources that other people don’t have. We might do things that don’t make sense to other people. This is because we are trusting in God. We don’t need to look to the world for provision or help, we need to look to God. He will help us supernaturally because we are his children. The experiences of water baptism and Spirit baptism, the daily supply of the word of God and the Holy Spirit, and the presence of Christ our Rock, are ample provision for us to overcome the spiritual challenges of our journey. No matter what we are facing now or will face in the future, we will be well-equipped to get through it all because of these amazing heavenly resources.

God commands us to be thankful. “in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18).

It is healthy to give thanks. Scientific studies prove the health benefits of thankfulness, showing that thankfulness can fight depression and heal us physically. Thanksgiving will heal our souls and strengthen our spirits.

Thankfulness is connected to humility. When we are thankful, we acknowledge that we did not do it, but someone else did. This cuts down our pride. God is doing wonderful things in our lives and blessing us. We aren’t doing these things, but God is. Let’s humble ourselves before him and thank him.

Thankfulness shows we have a testimony. Whenever we thank God, we acknowledge that God did something powerful for us. We need to remember what God has done for us and thank him for it. Through our testimonies we overcome Satan.

Thankfulness boosts our faith in God. When we thank God for what he has done in the past, our faith is built up to believe he will do similar things in the future. God is not dead, but he is alive, and he is actively working in our lives. As we thank him we boost our faith.

The opposite of thankfulness is complaining. Just as thankfulness creates a positive environment and shows a healthy attitude, so complaining creates a negative environment and shows an evil heart. Complaining erodes our spiritual life and damages our bodies. 

The children of Israel often murmured and complained when they wandered in the wilderness after they left Egypt.

They murmured about the dangers. When they were stuck between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, they thought they would die. They thought God brought them out of Egypt in order to kill them and bury them (Ex 14:11).

Even after God split the Red Sea, they still didn’t believe him. The journey was not what they expected. Instead of going into the Promised Land full of milk and honey, they were wandering around a desert. With their expectations unmet, they found plenty of things to complain about.

They complained about the food. They remembered the huge pots of meat that they used to eat in Egypt. They pined after the garlic, leeks, and cucumbers. They were slaves in Egypt, but at least they had plenty to eat (Ex. 16:1-2; Num. 11:1-10). Like Esau, they valued a bowl of soup over their spiritual birthright. They longed to go backwards rather than forwards. They were living tied to the past instead of moving forward into their future.

They murmured about God’s provision. Manna was small, like coriander seeds sitting on the ground. Each person had to go out and gather it every day. God’s provision required a little work, and they didn’t want to do any spiritual work. It was easier to eat what their slavemasters provided back in Egypt. Besides, the manna was so small. It was not as big as the Egyptian pots of meat. The manna was so monotonous – the same thing, day after day. They were tired of all of this. They wanted something new and exciting.

They complained about their leaders, Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:1-3). They didn’t like where Moses was leading them. Where was this Promised Land? Would they ever get there? They were sick of trudging around on hot sand. They wanted some better leaders who would take them back to Egypt. Even though they would be slaves again, at least they wouldn’t have so many problems.

They murmured about their enemies. Those giants looked impossible to defeat. They were bigger and stronger than they were. They thought there was no way they could defeat them. If inheriting the Promised Land meant fighting such strong enemies, they would rather not be a part of it. 

Why did the Israelites complain so much? There were several reasons.

They didn’t believe God. They didn’t think he would keep his promises. They didn’t believe he would keep his word, bless them, protect them, and give them victory. Complaining is a symptom of unbelief. Whenever there is murmuring, you can be sure there is unbelief.

They were ignorant. They didn’t understand the situation. If they had known the future, they would have been happy. They would have known that God was carrying them into a glorious land flowing with milk and honey. But they were stuck in the wilderness because they didn’t believe the prophetic word of God. Their unbelief blocked them from knowing God’s victory and inheriting God’s promises.

They were impatient. They didn’t want to wait for God’s timing. They had their own schedule, and if God didn’t do things when they wanted him to do things, then they were going to get upset, give up, and run back to bondage.

They were fearful. They were afraid of the Red Sea, the Egyptian army, lack of food, lack of water, and huge giants. Any one of these things might kill them. They magnified their circumstances rather than magnifying God (making him big). This fear of death brought them into bondage (Heb. 2:15).

What was the result of their murmuring?

God was angry with them. Their unbelief opened them up to sin and disobedience. All their murmuring and complaining cut them off from God’s blessing and blocked them from the Promised Land. They brought destruction on themselves. They had to wander in the wilderness until they all died.

These things are warnings for us. All these things that happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness are written in the Bible to warn us (1 Cor. 10:6-11).

“Do all things without murmuring or complaining” (Phil. 2:14).

Murmuring and complaining will block us from fulfilling our calling. It will create an unhealthy and negative environment that is devoid of the Holy Spirit. Miracles will cease. People will not hear from God. Murmuring will harm us, both physically and spiritually. 

We need to get all complaining out of our lives.

One of the best ways to get rid of murmuring and complaining is to thank God. Be thankful for all he has done in the past. Be thankful for what he’s doing now. And be thankful for what he’s going to do in the future. God has done awesome things. He’s going to do many more amazing things. Let’s recognize this fact and praise our mighty God.

The Bible is like a mirror that shows us who we are in the light of God’s holiness (James 1:22-25). This spiritual mirror can help us grow into the image of Jesus Christ.

When we look in a mirror, we see our actual appearance. Mirrors don’t lie. We may imagine certain things about our appearance, but a mirror will tell us the truth. We see the condition of our hair, our face, and our clothes. In response to looking in the mirror, we change things. If our hair is out of place, we comb it. If our face is dirty, we wash it. 

Jesus said unless we become like little children, we can’t enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 18:4-5). Children know that they need help, and they accept help. Their parents help them tie their shoes and comb their hair. We need God’s help in order to grow spiritually. This means we need to approach the word of God like little children. Spiritual growth happens when we are honest with the word of God. Humility before the word of God enables us to repent and change.

It’s often easier to look at others to criticize them. We can see blemishes more easily in others than we can in ourselves. But God gave us the mirror of his word primarily so we can see ourselves, not others.

God is greater than we are. He knows more than we do. The Bible is supposed to be over us, not the other way around. Sometimes we may not like something in the Bible. We may say, “I don’t really like that part of the Bible.” This is a wrong attitude. The Bible is the  word of God. It is perfect. It is a perfect reflection of God himself. If we don’t like part of the Bible, then we don’t like part of God. We need to change ourselves, not criticize the Bible.

When a mirror tells us our hair is messy, there is no point in hating the mirror. 
Throughout history, God raised up prophets to reveal his word to his people. He told his prophets to be bold, because people would hate them (Jer. 1:17-19; Ezek. 2:3-7). The people of God often stoned the prophets. They persecuted them. They dumped Jeremiah down a muddy well and left him to die. The reason they hated the prophets is because they hated God’s word. They didn’t want to repent.

Jesus Christ is the word of God made flesh. He was hated too. Rather than repent when God’s mirror showed them their need, the Pharisees tried to smash the mirror. They didn’t expect Jesus to resurrect.

The Christian life is a big calling. Jesus commanded us to be as perfect as God (Matt. 5:48). Peter said we should be as holy as God (1 Pet. 1:15-16). James told us to be perfect (James 1:4). Paul told us to be perfect (Col. 4:12, 2 Cor. 7:1, Col. 1:28). The word perfect is the Greek word ‘teleios’ which means to become mature or full-grown. It means to fulfill one’s purpose. This basically means becoming like Jesus (Luke 6:40).

Growing into the image of Jesus is a process. We are not yet perfect. We are not yet like Jesus. No one throughout history has reached this point. Paul was probably the greatest Christian in the New Testament, but he had not yet reached the great goal of the Christian life which is to be conformed into the image of Jesus. He was pressing on to get there, through the power of the Holy Spirit (Phil. 3:12-15).

We grow into the image of Jesus as we look into the mirror of the Bible and apply it to our lives. We need to not just hear the word, but do what it says. As we obey the Bible, we are changed into the image of Jesus. Obedience causes us to go from one degree of glory to a higher degree of glory (2 Cor. 3:18). 

Obeying the word of God means to take up our cross. As we do this, our flesh is crucified. The crucifixion of our flesh enables us to walk more strongly in the Spirit. 

God has given his word to us so we can grow into spiritual maturity. Look into this mirror daily. Read it. Listen to it. Be in fellowship with other believers. And do what the Bible says. This is the secret to a successful Christian life and to growing into spiritual maturity.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:2-3).

To find peace in this time, we need to focus on God. The world is full of noise about bad things, but God is full of life and goodness.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Ps. 46:1-2).

A refuge is a place of safety where we go in times of trouble. A strength is what we rely on when we are weak and facing challenges. God is both our refuge and our strength.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; his truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day. Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday” (Ps. 91:1-6).

Psalm 91 is full of promises that God has made to his people. We unlock the power of these promises when we believe them. God’s word carries infinite power, and this power is unleashed in our lives when we believe what God said. This is the power of faith.

Our place of safety is in God. It is nowhere else. If we have God, we have all that we need. According to Psalm 91, we don’t need to fear disease, war, darkness, destruction, or demonic powers.

Part of dwelling in the secret place of the Most High means focusing on God, not on the world. We are able to focus on God and not on the world because we have died to the world.

“God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14).

Through the cross of Christ, the world does not have any hold over us anymore. We are dead to the world, and the world is dead to us. It does not control us. We are controlled by the Spirit of God, not the spirit that is in the world. We are controlled by the word of God, not by information from the world. 

When Jesus died on the cross, he took away all our sins. This is not a cliche, this is a powerful spiritual fact. Every single one of our sins is gone. Jesus died, and that’s why our sins are gone. All guilt and shame are gone.

With our sins gone, the world’s grip over us is broken. Now we have peace with God.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

The world gives peace that is based on circumstances. When life is good, people have peace. When life is hard, people lose their peace. Peace from the world is unreliable.

Jesus gives peace differently than the world. His peace doesn’t depend on circumstances, it depends on the eternal God and our relationship with him. His peace remains with us regardless of circumstances. This is why Christ is a sure foundation for our lives – a solid rock that will keep us safe.

In the midst of difficult times, let’s remember that our only hope is found in God. It is not found in the world or the things in the world. All these things in the world are going to pass away, but God and his word will endure forever. Let’s focus on God, not on the world, and let’s live as children of God, shining as lights in the darkness.

According to the Bible, there will be two main signs that will happen before the Day of the Lord (2 Thess. 2:1-3). The first sign is apostasy. Many Christians will fall away from the truth and go into error. The second sign is the Antichrist. 

We see apostasy today. False teachings and false prophecies are widespread within the church. However, we don’t yet see the Antichrist. This means that the Day of the Lord has not yet come.

There is no virtue in believing that the Day of the Lord is here if it’s not. Throughout history Christians have been deceived about when the Lord would return, and they became foolish in the process. In the 1800s, William Miller led a large group of sincere believers onto the top of a hill because he said the Day of the Lord had come. After waiting a while, it became obvious they were wrong. They went down from the hill, depressed. Ellen G. White came along and created the Seventh Day Adventist church out of the broken pieces of this group.

We need to be aware of what the Bible says about the end times so that we are not deceived.

Before the Day of the Lord comes, the Antichrist will appear. It’s important to recognize what the Bible says about the Antichrist so we don’t think the Antichrist is someone he isn’t. Some Christians believed Ronald Wilson Reagan was the Antichrist because he has 6 letters in his first, middle, and last names – 666. Others believed that Barack Obama was the Antichrist, while others believed that Juan Carlos King of Spain was the Antichrist. There is no virtue in believing such things.

The Bible shows us what the Antichrist will be like.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, the Antichrist is called “the man of sin” – he will be characterized by sinfulness and the promotion of sin. He is called the “son of perdition” which means he is totally lost. He will oppose the worship of anyone or anything except himself. He will claim to be God. He will be inside “the temple of God.” The temple of God is the church (Eph. 2:19-21). The Antichrist will be a false Christian.

The Antichrist is called the “lawless one.” According to Jesus, “lawlessness” is the condition of those who hear God’s words but don’t obey them (Matt. 7:21-23, 26-27). Lawless Christians call Jesus “Lord, Lord” and may even work miracles, but they don’t do what Jesus says. The Antichrist will be a false Christian who will not obey the word of God.

The Antichrist will work miracles. He will be very deceptive, claiming to be someone he isn’t.

John warned that many antichrists had already come (1 John 2:18-19). These little antichrists were false teachers and false prophets who opposed God’s work. They began in the true apostolic church, but went out from there, forming their own denominations. At the end of time, the big Antichrist will come, and he will be worse than all the little antichrists who came before him.

John gives us a test to discern the spirit of the Antichrist. “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist” (1 John 4:2-3).

This test can mean two things. 1. The Antichrist won’t admit that Jesus Christ came in human flesh. 2. The Antichrist will not confess (say the same things as – in Greek) the true Jesus Christ who came in the flesh 2000 years ago. He won’t have the same doctrine. We can test the Antichrist through the teachings of the Bible, because the Antichrist won’t follow the Bible.

Daniel describes the global government that will dominate the world at the end of the age (Dan. 7:23-27). This government will be different from any government before it, and it will be very destructive. It will rule the whole world. The Antichrist will arise and take over leadership of this government. He will speak against God. He will drastically change times and laws. He will persecute Christians.

Daniel gives more details about the Antichrist (Dan. 8:23-25). The Antichrist will rise in a time of great sin. He will have fierce features, understand dark plans, and through promises of peace he will destroy many people. He will be empowered by Satan, be proud, and be deceptive. Further details about him are given in Daniel 11:36-45.

It’s important for us to be aware of these characteristics so we can identify the Antichrist when he appears.

The book of Revelation says the Antichrist will speak great things and blaspheme God. He will dominate the world for 3.5 years. He will war against the saints. He will rule every nation and demand worship from everyone. Everyone in the world who is not a true Christian will worship him (Rev. 13:5-8).

The Antichrist will do great miracles, deceive people, and control everyone in the world so they receive a false spirit. He will force people to receive a mark in their right hands or foreheads so that no one can buy or sell unless they have this mark (Rev. 13:11-18). He will try to kill anyone who refuses to get this mark.

Revelation says that anyone who receives the mark of the beast will go into hell (Rev. 14:9-11). People go into hell when they don’t believe in Jesus. The mark of the beast may somehow block people from believing in Jesus; it will be a means of control.

Finally, when Jesus returns, the Antichrist will be thrown “alive into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone” (Rev. 19:20). He will be “tormented day and night forever” along with Satan (Rev. 20:10).

It is important for us to understand what the Bible says about the Antichrist so that we can recognize him when he appears and not be deceived by him. Furthermore, we don’t want to believe that someone is the Antichrist who isn’t. And we know that until the Antichrist is revealed, the Day of the Lord has not yet come.

The Bible tells us all we need to know in order to be safe, regardless of what what we will face in the future. And as we follow Jesus, he will protect us from evil. Let’s remember his promise, “Greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). When we are hidden in Christ, we have nothing to fear.

As Christians, we have some basic responsibilities towards the government. First of all, we should pray for our leaders.

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

God wants us to pray for our political leaders so that we can lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and reverence. We want to live free from violence, and we want to openly practice our Christian faith. 

Today, in many countries around the world, governments persecute Christians. In China, Christianity is illegal unless it is practiced in government-recognized churches. These churches are under the control of the Communist Party. Many Chinese Christians reject the false gospel taught in these churches, and they risk their lives to meet in house churches, illegally.

In Saudi Arabia and many other Muslim countries, it’s even worse. There the government prohibits people from owning Bibles, meeting as a church, or sharing the gospel. If someone converts to Christianity, the government says he must die.

In some Western countries, a few politicians are pushing to classify some Christian teachings as hate speech – like speaking against sin, talking about hell, or saying that Jesus is the only way to God. If such basic Christian teachings ever become criminalized, persecution will follow.

In the USA, we are blessed with freedom as Christians. We should not take this freedom for granted. We must pray for our political leaders so that this freedom continues and we can continue to live in peace. 

Origins of Government
In the beginning Adam ruled the world on behalf of God. When Adam sinned, he handed the political power of the world over to Satan. This is why Satan is called “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30), and the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). The Bible says, “the whole world lies in the evil one” (1 John 5:19). 

When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, he showed Jesus all the governments of the world and said, “all this authority I will give you, and their glory, for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish” (Luke 4:6). Satan told Jesus that all the political power of the world had been give to him, and he gives it to whomever he desires.

Satan rules the world through fallen angels – the “world-rulers of this present darkness, wicked spiritual beings in heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

Once Daniel was praying, and a good angel was sent from God to answer his prayer. On the way, this angel was confronted by an evil angel called the “prince of Persia” (Dan. 10:13). When the good angel finally fought through the evil angel to reach Daniel, the good angel said he would have to again fight with the “prince of Persia” and then with the “prince of Greece” (Dan. 10:20). Today, we wrestle in prayer against these fallen angels (Eph. 6:12).

Fallen angels still dominate many aspects of the world today, including political systems. This is why Christians must use spiritual weapons like prayer to bring change to the world, and not  use guns and bombs (2 Cor. 10:4). As we wield spiritual weapons, we manifest the victory that Jesus already won on the cross.

At the end of the age, when it is time for the kingdom of God to come in fullness, the church will reveal the victory of Christ against the fallen angels, and they will fall from their places of authority (Eph. 3:10). Then the kingdom of God will take over the earth, and the glory of the Lord will be everywhere (Hab. 2:14).

Submit to the Government
In the meantime, Christians are instructed to submit to earthly governments.

Paul commanded the Roman Christians to submit to the government in Rome (Rom. 13:1-7). At that time, Nero was the Roman Emperor, and he was probably one of the most anti-Christian rulers who ever lived. Nero burned Rome, and then he blamed Christians. He tortured them mercilessly by setting them on fire.

Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, saying that earthly governments are “ordered by God.” Evil rulers like Nero, Hitler, Stalin, and Mao were mass-murderers who ruthlessly slaughtered tens of millions of people. Were they put in charge by God?

When the Bible says that rulers like Nero are “ordered by God,” it means that God is the ultimate authority in the universe and that he even allows mass-murderers to rule, and that without his permission they could not rule.

Why does God allow Satanic mass-murderers to dominate nations? Why does he allow fallen angels like Satan to have so much power?

God gave people free will, and they chose to allow Satan to dominate the world. God could have stopped Adam from sinning, but he did not. People today choose to give Satan power whenever they sin. God can stop them from sinning, but he does not. God respects human free will; we are not robots. We are called to love God, and we cannot love him if we are forced. Because God values love, he values free will, and free will has sometimes disastrous consequences. God’s respect of free will allows sin to multiply and enables sinful leaders like Nero and Hitler to dominate nations. 

More Responsibilities
Some further responsibilities that Christians have to the government are given in Romans 13:6-7.
1. Pay taxes.
2. Pay customs duties.
3. Give respect to political leaders.
4. Give honor to political leaders.

We need to pay taxes. Jesus told us to “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” We need to honor to political leaders just because of the office they hold, even if those leaders are not nice people.

Limits to Obedience to Government
There are limits to our submission to earthly governments. If a government commands us to do something that is contrary to the Bible, we must disobey that government. If a government commands to not do something that is an essential part of the faith, we must disobey that government and do what God commands us to do anyway.

There are several examples in the New Testament of Christians disobeying the government.

In Acts 4:19-20, Peter and John were arrested by the government. The government told them to stop teaching in Jesus’ name. Peter and John said they had to listen to God rather than to the government, and they kept preaching. They didn’t allow the government to stop them from doing what God commanded them to do.

In Acts 5, after getting out of prison, Peter again disobeyed the government. He was arrested again. Peter then said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

The government’s authority over a Christian is ultimately defined by the Bible. The word of God is the highest law for a Christian. We must obey the Bible, even if it brings us into conflict with an earthly government.

After WWII, the Nazis were put on trial in Nuremberg. They defended themselves by saying that they were just following orders – Hitler’s government told them to kill people, so they did. This argument was rejected by the court at Nuremberg. The court said that there was a higher law that the Nazis were accountable to – the law of God. Even though the Nazis were obeying the German government, they broke God’s law and therefore had to be punished. 

Antichrist
At the end of the age, the Antichrist will rise. He will dominate the world and demand allegiance from every person. He will command everyone to receive a mark in their right hand or forehead (Rev. 13:16-17) in order to buy or sell. He will command people to worship contrary to the Bible. The Bible says that all those who accept the mark of the beast will go into hell (Rev. 14:9-12).

At some point in the future, Christians all over the world will have to disobey the government because they will have to reject the Antichrist. Their path of resistance will follow the footsteps of countless Christians before them who disobeyed the government in order to obey God. As we obey God, he will be our light and shield, and his kingdom will come. The kingdom of God is greater and more powerful than any other government. It is destined to dominate the world. This is the kingdom we seek.

Whenever there have been great breakthroughs among God’s people, there were also great challenges. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the government ordered the murder of the male babies. When Moses was born in Egypt, Pharaoh issued the same order. Before Jesus began his public ministry, he went into the desert where he was tested for 40 days by Satan. When Nehemiah rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem, the builders had to hold a weapon in their hands to defend themselves against their enemies. If they wanted to build, they would have to fight.

We live in a time of challenge. Governments are changing, societies are changing, and we are facing many pressures that have never been faced before because of the rise of technology, information exchange, and global government. 

While these challenges seem daunting, the Bible gives us the hope that Christ and his people will ultimately triumph. In addition, considering what has happened in the past, the rise of these challenges probably means that we are living in a time of spiritual breakthrough.

Do our current challenges indicate that Jesus may return soon?

The Bible wants us to be aware of the season that we are living in. When Jesus came into the world the first time as a baby, the religious leaders of Israel were unaware of the season they were living in. They didn’t understand the prophecies in the Old Testament, and therefore they didn’t recognize Christ when he was standing among them. They were blind, and therefore they murdered God’s Son.

We don’t want to be blind, especially as we get closer to the end times. Jesus wants us to be alert and aware. Although we cannot know the exact day Jesus will return, we can know the season.

In Matthew 24 Jesus gave us 8 different signs to help us recognize what the world will be like when he returns to the earth. 

1. Deception and False Prophets. Jesus warned that before he returned there would be great deception, both in the world and in the church. This deception will be so great that Christians would be in danger of being snared. As we look out into the world and in the church, it appears that we live in a time of deception. There are many false teachings and false prophecies today.

2. Wars and Rumors of Wars. Jesus said that another sign of the end would be hearing about wars and rumors of wars. Today, we often hear about wars and rumors of wars. The news of a war halfway around the world speeds all across the globe in seconds. Centuries ago, such information would not have reached most people, whereas today it is very common. In addition, the war with the most deaths the world has ever seen – WWII – happened only a generation ago.

3. Famines. We don’t see a lot of famines today, but throughout history, there have been famines that killed millions of people. Famine might increase in the future, but it is less today.

4. Pestilences. We see the increase of some diseases today, and a disease (Covid-19) is currently dominating many aspects of our nation.

5. Earthquakes. It appears that earthquakes are increasing. This is partially because there is more seismic measuring equipment all over the world, and more earthquakes are being recorded. Even so, scientists tell us that within the last 10 years there have been more earthquakes than normal.

6. Persecution. Today Christians face much persecution, especially in China, the Muslim world, and India. Christianity is illegal in many countries like Saudi Arabia, and if anyone converts to Christ in countries like this he will be killed. According to some sources, more Christians have been killed for their faith in the last century than all preceding centuries combined. This is partially because there are more Christians in the world today, but it is also because there is widespread hostility to the gospel. This persecution will increase as we get closer to the end of the age.

7. Love of Many Grows Cold. Today we see the love of many growing cold, both inside the church and outside. There is rudeness, coarseness, and harshness. Jesus says the reason for this loss of love is because lawlessness will increase, with people disregarding the commands of God. To counteract this trend, we should keep our love strong. Love, love, love! Keep loving and being kind, even when others aren’t.

8. Abomination of Desolation. The abomination of desolation is probably connected to the rise of the Antichrist. We do not yet see the Antichrist, and therefore we don’t see the abomination of desolation. When the Antichrist appears and the abomination of desolation is revealed, there will be great tribulation.

To summarize, we see many of these signs of the end times coming to pass before our eyes, like deception, earthquakes, wars, persecution, love growing cold, and pestilence. Some of these signs we have seen throughout history, but they seem to be increasing now. Other signs (like famine) we actually see lessening. One of the major signs, the abomination of desolation, we do not yet see.

In conclusion, we must stay alert and spiritually strong. Many signs of the end are being fulfilled in our time. This means there are many challenges. But as challenges increase, so do opportunities. Let’s focus on Jesus, and make the most of these opportunities, for we will see spiritual breakthrough.

“So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:31).

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5).

Meekness is an important quality for Christians. Meekness is similar to humility and gentleness in the Bible.

Meekness is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23). Biblical meekness is not a natural personality trait, but it is a supernatural quality that is produced in us by the Holy Spirit.

Christians are commanded to pursue meekness (1 Tim. 6:11). We are commanded to show all meekness to all men (Tit. 3:2). We are instructed to behave with meekness (Eph. 4:2). We are told that meekness is very valuable to God (1 Pet. 3:4). 

In today’s world it is hard to find good examples of meekness. There is a lot of roughness and coarseness in the world’s conversation. For many ancient philosophers and cultures, meekness was not a virtue, just like today. For Aristotle, meekness was almost a vice. Beethoven ridiculed meekness when he said that “power is the moral principle of those who excel others.” Meekness is often not valued by the world.
Jesus said, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:42-45).

The leaders of God’s kingdom are called to be meek. This is opposite the way the world works. The people of the world lead by asserting human power and force of personality. God’s leaders are to lead in a different way. The best leaders are meek.

When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, he was a very good leader. At the same time, he was the meekest man on the earth (Num. 12:1-3). Moses was meek because he trusted in God’s power, not his own power.

There was a time in Moses’ life when he was not meek. When he was the prince of Egypt, he tried to do things through the power of his flesh, and he became a murderer. This did not work, and he fled from Egypt. Then after 40 years in the wilderness, he became a meek man. He trusted in God, not in himself. He became a successful leader who overthrew Egypt, the mightiest nation on earth.

Some people misunderstand meekness and think that meekness equals weakness. This is not true. Meekness means trusting in the strength and power of God, and resting in him and waiting for his mighty hand to work. It means not taking things into one’s own hands, but waiting for God to do awesome things. Meekness is relying on God, not on oneself. 

Jesus Christ was meek (Matt. 11:29, Matt, 21:5). He trusted totally in his Father and operated in the Spirit. There are many examples in the Bible of Jesus showing strength when he spoke to others and interacted with them. He was not weak, nor was he rude. He did not lash out at others in his flesh. John 18:23 is one example.

Paul was another meek man (2 Cor. 10:1). Although Paul spoke up for himself, for truth, and for God, he didn’t fight for his rights or struggle in his flesh against his persecutors. He certainly did not cower in defeat. He was strong in faith, trusting in God. One example of this is found in Acts 16:37. Paul accomplished many amazing things in the earth because of his meekness.

Meekness is not weakness. On the other hand meekness is not quarrelsome or argumentative. It does not get angry suddenly. It does not harbor malice or bitterness in the heart. Meekness enables the heart to be full of the infinite power of God and rest in him.

The wicked are not meek. When they are persecuted or offended, they release many bad things out of themselves. This is illustrated in Isa. 57:20 which says the wicked are like “the troubled sea that throws up mire and dirt.” When the wicked are disturbed, they respond by throwing up mire and dirt – harmful words or actions. When this happens, they and the people around them have no peace.

Meekness turns the other cheek (Matt. 5:39). This takes strength. It takes strength to turn the other cheek after one cheek has already been hit; it is easier to cower on the ground in fear or run away. To stand tall and turn the other cheek takes supernatural strength. This shows thatit is not easy to be meek. Meekness does not come naturally; it comes from the Holy Spirit.

Meekness is willing to endure hostility from sinners (Heb. 12:3).

Meekness is willing to allow itself to be defrauded and not fight back (1 Cor 6:7).

Meekness does not avenge itself. When mistreated, meekness trusts in God to make things right. In doing so, meekness leaves place for God’s wrath to come and rectify injustice. When we avenge ourselves we take away the opportunity for God to act on our behalf and bring justice (Rom. 12:19). God does not want his children to be mistreated or abused. He is a just God. When we don’t fight for ourselves, God will take just vengeance for us. God will defend us.

Meekness does not shout back when it is shouted at. Meekness does not threaten others when it is threatened (1 Peter 2:19-22).

Meekness is necessary when teaching Christian truth to others – whether to believers or unbelievers (2 Tim 2:25).
Finally, Jesus promises that the meek will inherit the earth. An inheritance is not gained because of a person’s energy, skill, or power. An inheritance is gained simply because the owner of a possession died. By virtue of a close relationship with that owner, a person became that owner’s heir and was included in his will or testament. Death causes the inheritance to pass on to the heir.

The earth belonged to Jesus from the beginning of the world. He died on the cross. Now all his possessions, including the earth, become our possessions because we are his heirs. The reality of our ownership of the earth will become clear in eternity, after Jesus comes back.

Let us pursue meekness. It is the pathway to peace in this life, and to glory in the next.

Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3. We have learned a lot from these churches. Church is the most important organization we are a part of on the earth.

One lesson we learn from these 7 churches is that churches can be deceived. 

A recent poll taken of evangelical Christians in the United States reveals some shocking things:

30% of evangelicals don’t believe that Jesus is God. 

65% of evangelicals believe that Jesus was first and greatest being created by God.

According to the Bible, both of these statements are false.

The first way to avoid deception in the church is to avoid deception about Jesus. Jesus is the head of the church, he is the church’s cornerstone, and he is the church’s husband. We need to understand who Jesus is in order to understand church.

As we believe in Jesus as he is, we will experience him as he is. We don’t want to limit our experience of God through unbelief or through distorted perceptions of Jesus.

Here are some verses that show that Jesus is God.

• John 1:1
• Colossians 2:9-10
• 1 John 5:7
• Acts 20:28
• 2 Peter 1:1
• 1 Timothy 3:16

Because Jesus is God, he is eternal. He existed before the foundation of the world. He was not created. He has no beginning and no end.

What did Jesus do in the past?

In the beginning, Jesus created the world. Everything in the universe was created by Jesus. Jesus wrote all laws that govern physical and chemical interactions.

• John 1:3
• Col 1:16

Jesus is part of the Trinity. There are three persons in the Trinity, but there is only One God. These three Persons are One. 

Jesus was involved in discussions with the Father and the Holy Spirit about Creation (Genesis 1,2) and about the scattering of languages at Babel (Genesis 11). The Bible uses plural “us” to describe these discussions within the Trinity.

John 8:56-58: Jesus said, “Before Abraham was I am.” Jesus is the eternal God, who is “I Am That I Am.”

Jesus appeared on the earth in the Old Testament.

Throughout the Old Testament, Jesus often appeared as the Angel of the Lord. The “angel of the Lord” refers to himself as God.

• Gen 17:1
• Gen 22:11-18
• Ex 3:2-6
• Judges 6:11,14

1 Corinthians 10:4 reveals that Jesus accompanied the Israelites through the wilderness.

Melchizedek is a mysterious person in the Old Testament who was probably Jesus, because the Bible says Melchizedek had no beginning or end.

• Hebrews 7:3
• Genesis 14:17-19

Although Jesus appeared throughout the Old Testament, he had not yet taken on human flesh and bones. Only when he was born of the virgin Mary did he take on flesh and bones and become a man. He did this so he could go to the cross and die in our place, for our sins. During his earthly ministry as a man he worked miracles and gave the teachings of the Kingdom of God. Then after his resurrection, he poured out the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is alive now.

Where is Jesus now?

Jesus is at the right hand of God.

• Mark 16:19
• Hebrews 1:3

The right hand is a place of authority and power. It is the place where someone represents someone else, and where someone acts for another. Jesus represents the Father to us, and Jesus acts in the world for the Father.

Jesus is among his people when they gather together in his name.

Jesus is inside us through his Holy Spirit.

Jesus can be in multiple places at once because he is God.

What is Jesus doing now?

• Heb 10:12-13 Waiting for enemies to be made his footstool
• Heb 1:3 Upholding the universe through the word of his power
• Matt 16:18 Building his church

What does Jesus do now for us?

Jesus intercedes for us.

• Heb 7:25
• Rom 8:34

Jesus is praying for us. When we go through challenges and need prayer, we know that the first person praying for us is Jesus. His prayers are very effective.

Jesus mediates for us.

• 1 Tim 2:5

A mediator resolves conflict between two parties. Sometimes we sin and do things that are contrary to God. This creates tension in our relationship with the Father. This conflict is resolved by Jesus. His mediation is perfect. We can come boldly to the Father because of Jesus, and the Father accepts us completely.

Jesus advocates for us.

• 1 John 2:1

An advocate represents us before a judge. The Father is the judge, and Jesus advocates for us before the Father. Jesus is a perfect advocate. This means we are perfectly accepted by the Father.

Jesus is with us all the time.

• Matt 28:20 Jesus is with us to the end of the age.
• Heb 13:5 Jesus will never leave us or forsake us.

Sometimes we feel that Jesus is not with us. This is a lie from Satan. Jesus is always with us. Sometimes we feel something is a little ‘off’ in our relationship with him. Jesus hasn’t left us during this time. Instead, this may be a sign that we need to change something in our lives (repent) so that we can be restored to intimate fellowship with him.

Jesus is our shepherd.

• John 10:11

Jesus leads us to abundant life, provides all that we need, and protects us from enemies. He leads us to green pastures and still waters. Sometimes a shepherd must lead the sheep through a challenging place in order to get to a green valley. As we keep following Jesus, he will lead us through the challenges to get to a place of blessing.

Jesus is our light.

• John 8:12

Light shows the way. When we don’t know where to go or what to do, we need Jesus to guide us. Light overcomes darkness. A cubic centimeter of light can overcome many cubic feet of darkness. Light causes growth and life.

Jesus is the Perfector of our Faith.

• Heb 12:2

Jesus began working in us, an will continue working in us. He causes us to grow spiritually. Like a sculptor works on a slab of marble to bring forth a statue, so the Lord works on us to bring us forth into his image. Sometimes this work feels painful, but it will ultimately cause us to be blessed.

Jesus works with us, confirming our ministry (sharing the gospel) with miracles.

– Mark 16:20

When we share the gospel or the word of God with someone, Jesus will work with us and confirm what we share to people by working in their hearts or in their circumstances. We step out in faith to speak the word of God, then Jesus works with us to establish his word in hearts and minds.

Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven.

• John 14:1-3

We are saved by grace through faith. This is a free gift. Then, according to our faithfulness to the Lord on the earth, Jesus is preparing our eternal home. Our rewards in heaven will be based on our level of faithfulness to the Lord in this life.

What will Jesus do in the future?

Jesus will judge the world.

• Matt 25:31-32
• 2 Cor 5:10

At the end of the age, all people will be gathered before Jesus’ throne and he will judge everyone.

Conclusion

Jesus is God.

Jesus is eternal.

Jesus is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega.

Believing and experiencing all these wonderful blessings from Jesus today depends on us believing that Jesus is God. Only if he is God will he be able to do all of these wonderful things in our lives.

When we believe fundamental facts about Jesus, we will be free from many forms of deception. We will experience Jesus more and more in our lives. We need to read the Bible to understand more and more of what Jesus is doing in our lives. As we believe in what the Bible says about Jesus, we will experience more of his love and presence.

Judge not that you be not judged.

Matt. 7:1

To judge means to decide whether something is right or wrong, good or bad. Jesus told us not to judge.

James also told us not to judge.

He who speaks evil of his brother and judges him, speaks evil of the law and judges the law

James 2:8

Paul told us not to judge.

Judge nothing before the time

1 Cor. 4:5

We should not judge because we cannot do so properly. We are imperfect and make mistakes. We have faulty perceptions and deductions, and our knowledge is incomplete, which is why our judgements are often wrong. 

God is the judge, not us.

Even Jesus didn’t judge others.

And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

John 12:47-48

Jesus said that doesn’t judge, but his word will judge. The word of God is the eternal standard of judgement that will judge everyone.

As I hear I judge

John 5:30

Jesus heard from his Father, and on that basis he judged.

Isaiah prophesied of Jesus that he would judge not according to the ability he had as a man, but according to revelation from his Father.

He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But with righteousness He shall judge

Isa 11:3-4

Jesus didn’t look at things from the outward appearance, but he based everything on the revelation or word of God.

All judgments must be based on the word of God. God’s word must be the standard, not our own thoughts.

God is the judge. His word is the judge.

With this background in mind, we can look at some verses which actually command us to judge.

But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 

1 Cor. 5:11-12

Here it says that we are to judge our fellow believers. We must recognize if they are in bondage to sin, and then separate them from the fellowship of believers so they do not corrupt the church.

Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

1 Cor. 6:3

We are going to judge angels. This means that we are much more able to judge the things pertaining to this life.

We must not judge based on our own fleshly abilities or thoughts, but we must judge based on the word of God. We are able to judge correctly when we are guided by the word and Spirit of God, not by our own minds.

Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

John 7:24

We are commanded to not judge according to how things seem to be to us, but according to the eternal word of God.

So yes, we do need to judge, but we must do so according to the word of God.

In ancient Israel there was a small bush that grew in Gilead. This bush occupied about 25 acres of land. This bush didn’t look like much. It was scraggly and small. But when its wood was sliced with a knife, sap oozed out. This sap would dry and become a medicine. This medicine was famous throughout the ancient world. People would come from all over and pay a lot of money to obtain it. To some, this sap seemed supernatural. They thought it could heal anything. It was called the balm of Gilead.

The balm of Gilead is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 37:25. Midianite traders, carrying the balm of Gilead, bought Joseph from his treacherous brothers. These Midianite merchants took Joseph to Egypt along with the balm of Gilead. The balm of Gilead would heal bodies; Joseph was destined to heal nations.

When Jacob went into Egypt to meet his son Joseph, he carried the best things from Canaan (Gen. 43:11). The first thing on his list was the balm of Gilead.

The balm of Gilead was such a famous medicine, that it became symbolic of the healing power of God.

A Sick Nation

Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet” was almost overwhelmed by the sick condition of Israel.

When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country. Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? “Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?” The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

Jer. 8:18-21

God’s people had turned away from God. They had made up an empty religion that was devoid of God’s presence and power. They had grown spiritually cold. They didn’t pray like they used to. Idolatry had crept in.

As a result of their apostasy, they faced many problems. Their minds were tormented. Their hearts were sick. They no longer enjoyed the blessing of God.

After expressing his sorrow at the condition of Israel, Jeremiah asked a question. 

“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?”

Jer. 8:22a

This question was rhetorical. Of course everyone knew there was balm in Gilead. 

Then Jeremiah asked, 

Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Jer. 8:22b

If there is balm in Gilead, why not be healed?

Spiritual Surgery

Healing sometimes hurts. A knife is often needed to cut away a disease, and as it does, it slices through nerves and causes pain.

The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). We need the word of God to excise evil and sin from our lives. When we apply the word of God to ourselves, we repent and submit to God. We turn away from our sins. Repentance is the first step toward healing.

Repentance sometimes hurts, for it crucifies our flesh.

Elijah was a spiritual physician who came from the mountains of Gilead (1 Kings 17:1). He was armed with the word of God. He was unafraid to speak to kings and rulers, calling them to repent. He boldly spoke the word of God to an apostate nation and called them to turn away from their sins.

Sometimes we need to hear a prophetic word that will take us out of our comfort zones. Such words can be uncomfortable.

Elijah was a rough man. (See 2 Kings 1:7-8). He was hairy. He had a leather belt around his waist. He kind of looked like those scraggly bushes from his home country.

Like a careful surgeon, Elijah took the sharp knife of the word of God and excised the corruption that was eating away at Israel.

Centuries later, John the Baptist came. 

He came from the wilderness, where he ate locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4). He wore camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. 

He came into the desert outside Jerusalem, preaching repentance to Israel. He applied the sharp knife of the word of God, calling people to return to God’s word. His cleansing baptism of repentance prepared the way for Jesus to come.

Jesus Christ

Jesus was like a root out of dry ground.

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” 

Isa. 53:2

Like the bushes of Gilead, Jesus wasn’t very attractive to human flesh. But he was the Great Physician, the Savior of the world. 

When Jesus walked the earth, he released the healing power of God. 

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Acts 10:38

Wherever Jesus went, life from God flowed out from him into the earth.

At the end of his earthly life, when Jesus was falsely accused and brutally tortured, he didn’t become hard or bitter. Instead, like the bushes of Gilead he gave forth life. When Jesus was killed, it was for our sins. As he hung on the cross, he cried out “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!”

Blood ran down from Jesus’ lacerated body into the earth. From his wounded head, blood flowed. Out from his pierced hands and feet, life flowed. When Jesus was on the cross, a soldier ran a spear through his side, and blood and water gushed out (John 19:34). 

Jesus was executed for crimes he didn’t commit. But he didn’t cry out for vengeance. He wasn’t full of bitterness and rage. Instead, forgiveness and mercy flowed out from him. Because Jesus was killed, his blood and the Holy Spirit were poured into the earth.

This healing flow from Christ brings healing and salvation to the world. 

It’s the true balm of Gilead.

Jesus is alive today. His anointing is freely available to all who come to him. If we ask him, he will apply this balm to our lives.

Jesus can heal inflamed minds. He can soothe hurting souls. He can heal hearts that have been burned by evil.

Jesus is like the Good Samaritan, who saw us bleeding and dying on the roadside. Other people may have ignored us, but Jesus didn’t. He came to us in our brokenness and poured in the healing oil and the wine. He bound up our wounds and put us in a safe place. Then he said, I’ll keep taking care of you until you’re 100% well.

By his stripes we are healed.

Jeremiah’s Frustration

When Jeremiah spoke of the balm of Gilead, he was upset. He was upset not only because of the apostasy of God’s people, but because there was a solution to their problems and they were not healed.

If there is balm in Gilead, then why not use it? Why not apply the healing power of God to your life?

The medicine is stronger than the disease.

The solution is greater than the problem.

In those days, sick people might have had a reason not to apply the balm of Gilead to their lives. It was expensive and hard to obtain. Maybe they couldn’t afford to buy the balm of Gilead.

But today, we are without excuse.

The balm of Gilead is freely available to anyone who wants it. There is no limit to the salvation that is available in Jesus Christ. He can do anything. He has infinite resources. He is a well that will never run dry. And his salvation is available for free without money and price.

We have all that we need for complete spiritual healing and victory in Jesus. He has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We can receive this salvation in faith, forsake our sins, and receive healing from Christ. I’m not primarily talking about physical healing (although Jesus can heal our bodies). I’m talking about the sicknesses of sin that separate us from God.

Obtaining a Testimony

Gilead means the hill of the testimony. 

In ancient Israel, testimonies rang from the hills of Gilead. “I had a terrible disease, but I went to Gilead, got some balm, applied it, and now I’m healed!”

There was joy in Gilead, as people spread the good news of its powerful balm all over Israel.

We overcome Satan by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11).

If we’ve been set free by Jesus, we have a testimony.

Today the world should be full of the testimonies of God’s people, telling others about how they were lost, and then Jesus found them. We were broken, and Jesus healed us. We were falling apart, and God put us together. The blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit are most potent healing resources in the world, and the results of their application are always miraculous.

The spiritual balm of Jesus is freely available to everyone. We apply it to our lives through faith.

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Rev. 22:17

There is a balm in Gilead. It’s the healing and salvation of Jesus Christ. Let’s apply this healing balm to our lives, and tell others of Jesus’ grace, love, and power to save.

In the Bible, symbols are often used to represent spiritual truth. For example, the lamb is Jesus, the bread is God’s word, the water is the Holy Spirit. 

The Old Testament has many symbols that represent the spiritual truth that was revealed through Jesus Christ.

The law, [has] a shadow of the good things to come.

Heb. 10:1a

The Old Testament, particularly the law of Moses, contains symbols, shadows, types, or examples of New Testament truth.

One such symbol is incense. Incense symbolizes prayer.

Let my prayer be set before You as incense.

Ps. 141:1

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Rev. 5:8

As a symbol, incense helps us understand prayer. 

God told his people to make incense in a very precise way.

And the Lord said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

Ex. 30:34-36

Four ingredients went into incense: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense.

These four ingredients reveal four aspects of effective prayer.

Ingredient #1: Stacte

The first ingredient of incense was stacte. Most ancient sources say that stacte was myrrh.

The word stacte is natap in Hebrew, which comes from the Hebrew word nataph. This word means to speak, especially to prophesy (Ezek. 21:2, Amos 7:16, Mic. 2:6). 

We are called to pray according to the word of God, by the Holy Spirit. As we do, we pray according to God’s will. We are not just praying for whatever we want according to our own mind. We are praying for what God wants by the leading of his Spirit.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Rom. 8:26

Real prayer is authored by God. God himself is praying through us for God’s will to be done. We are praying according to God’s word – which was revealed to God’s servants as they prophesied. 

When someone prophesies, he speaks the word of God by the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

As we pray by the Holy Spirit, we become more and more sensitive to God. If we learn to be truly led by the Holy Spirit in prayer, we will pray according to God’s mind. His heart will become our own. His burdens will be ours. God will pray through us. Our prayers will be prophetic. 

There is often only a small step between praying and prophesying. As we learn to pray by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we might begin to prophesy.

True prayer is to be prophetic, authored by the Spirit of God. It must be according to God’s word.

Ingredient #2 Onycha

Onycha is the Hebrew word shecheleth. This word comes from the Hebrew word shachal which means lion.

Lions are bold. They are unafraid.

A lion, which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any

Prov. 30:30

When lions roar, fear strikes their enemies. When we pray by the Holy Spirit, demons tremble.

We need boldness in prayer.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Heb. 4:16

in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Eph. 3:12

As we become bold in prayer, we will gain victories. We need to pray for big things, lay hold of them in faith, and keep persevering in prayer until they become earthly realities. Through prayer we will defeat spiritual enemies.

Look, a people rises like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.

Num. 23:24

And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.

Mic. 5:8

Prayer is of infinite power because it is based on God. It demolishes the devil’s strongholds.

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Mark 11:24

We need to bold in prayer, claiming the promises of God and believing for his will to be done.

Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. Prayer is a declaration that Jesus is King. Prayer in the name of Jesus is stamped with the power and authority of Almighty God. And when God speaks, other voices are silenced.

Ingredient #3 Galbanum

Galbanum is the Hebrew word chelbeneh. It comes from the word cheleb which means fat or finest.

When we pray to God, we should give him our best. Prayer is not an afterthought, something we do when we are exhausted at the end of the day. It’s not the last thing we do after everything else has failed. Prayer is the first and most important thing we should do.

Prayer was one of the three fundamentals of the early church.

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Acts 2:42

The early church prayed, and they saw God move.

God’s people are commanded to pray all the time. Their spirits are to be in continual communion with God.

Pray without ceasing.

1 Thess. 5:17

God’s house is his people. God’s people and their gatherings are to be characterized by prayer.

My house shall be called a house of prayer.

Matt. 21:13

When prayer is our priority, we give God the best part of our time and energy. When God is the main one we look to, we will see powerful results.

Ingredient #4 Frankincense

Frankincense is the Hebrew word lebonah which comes from the word laben. This word means white or pure.

When we pray, we need holiness and purity. God will hear our prayers when we have clean hands and a pure heart.

Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart

Ps. 15:1-2

If we want to come into God’s presence, we need to confess our sins and repent (1 John 1:9). Then God will cleanse us from evil, and his ears will be open to our prayers. 

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Ps. 34:15-16

Our righteousness comes from Christ. Through faith we are clothed with his righteousness (Rev. 19:8). Because of that, we are able to come boldly into his presence.

When these four ingredients are combined together – prophecy, boldness, our best, and purity, our prayers will become powerful.

Fire: The Catalyst

Incense by itself will not produce anything. It will just sit there, dead. Fire must touch the incense in order for it to fulfill its purpose.

Fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. When the first disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit, he appeared to them like fire and sat on each of them. They were transformed into powerful witnesses of God.

Our prayers must be ignited by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the flame that kindles our prayers makes them spiritually alive.

When incense is touched by fire, the incense is transformed into fragrance and smoke.

Result of Burning Incense #1: Fragrance

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ

2 Cor. 2:15

Incense gives off a smell. In the Old Testament, God was pleased with the smell of the properly compounded incense that was offered to him in the right way. In the New Testament, Jesus is the fragrance that pleases God. Whatever we do in Christ pleases God because it is touched by the fragrance of Jesus. When we pray in Jesus’ name, according to his will and by his inspiration, then God is pleased.

God delights in the prayers of his people. When we pray we commune with God, and he loves to have fellowship with us.

Result of Burning Incense #2: Smoke

Smoke is often a sign of God’s presence. When God led the Israelites through the wilderness, he did so by a pillar of cloud. When he came down on Sinai, the mountain smoked.

Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace.

Ex. 19:18a

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

Isa. 6:4

When God’s presence comes, a cloud or smoke is often revealed.

The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power

Rev. 15:8

Prayer brings the presence of God. When two people gather together in his name, he is there. When they agree together for something to be done on the earth, his presence and power is released. Prayer opens the door for God to work, and it causes the earth to be impacted with heaven.

We can learn many truths from the symbolism of incense in the Old Testament. We need prophetic, bold, pure prayers that are offered to God as our best. With all these ingredients in our prayers, our spiritual life will rise to a higher level. Our prayers will please God, and his presence will be revealed on the earth.