Tag Archives: Bible study

The Road Through Romans: When Man Plans and God Laughs

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Today we are moving into a whole new realm with our discussion on Romans. For those of you who missed it we just completed a five part series on the gifts of the Spirit using Romans 1:11,12 as our spring board. Those discussions can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Today we will begin moving on to Romans 1:13,

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,d that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

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There are many words I would use to describe Paul. One of those words is not Fly-by-the -seat- of- your -pants. By his own admission in verse 13 Paul was a planner. By his own admission also in verse 13, some of his plans were “prevented” from coming to pass.

Who or what prevented Paul’s plans from coming to pass? Was it the people? Was it lack of money? Was it Paul’s physical condition? Was it the Devil? Was it Jesus? The answer to those questions is: Yes, maybe, probably, assuredly and ultimately absolutely (in that order).

People can get in the way of our plans for sure and for certain.

Money is always an issue when we are trying to walk out the plans we make.

As far as physical condition goes, the older I get the more this becomes a consideration in what I do for Jesus or how I do it for Him in the very least.

The Devil, He sniffs out my plans on a regular basis and always try to put the old kibosh on anything that would benefit me or God’s kingdom.

But ultimately God is in charge of my plans. Sometimes he allows people, money, my physical state and even the Devil to be used as tools to direct and guide me in the way I should go. Everything and I do mean everything is just an implement in His hand to get me going in the direction I need to head in.

Sometimes when I plan a thing (even what I consider a very good thing) I can almost hear God laughing as He puts his own countermeasures in place to change or modify my course. Have you ever been there? Are you there right now?  Don’t despair. Have faith that God is on your side (Read This).

Jesus is pulling for you to succeed and sometimes that means He has to mess with your plans because they aren’t exactly going to get you where you need to go. So stop being angry with God if He seems to be laughing at your plans. Choose to laugh with Him and accept that the course he is charting for you will take you exactly where you need to go even if it is a little different than the course you had planned.

The Road Through Romans: The Thing About Spiritual Gifts Pt. 5

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I know this post was expected four days ago but it got holidelayed (see what I did there?). Today we are moving on from Romans 1:11 to Romans 1:12. We are however continuing our discussion regarding the Gift of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

If you have missed any of our previous discussion on spiritual gifts you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

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Romans 1:11,12 reads,  “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— — that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

Whatever you may believe about the spiritual gifts: how they come upon a person, when they come upon a person or what the first evidence of their arrival is there is one thing that cannot be questioned; That is the purpose of those gifts.

The purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is to encourage those who experience them  in the faith. The purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to strengthen the force of love in the lives of those who are baptized.

Paul says in effect that the reason he longs to impart the spiritual gift to the Romans is so that they and he may be built up in their mutual faith.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit must make a palpable difference in the lives of those who are baptized. It should also make a powerful difference in the lives of those around the one baptized otherwise the baptism is all for nothing.

In 1 Corinthinas 13:1-3 Paul says it this way,  If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

The long and the short of it is that  a person can be baptized in the Spirit and still miss the point. The gifts: tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, healing, working of miracles…all of these things are just the method, not the point. If the gifts are manifested but they do not increase the three things which will last forever (faith, hope and love) then it is all just so much useless noise and wasted energy.

I don’t know about you but I have no time or energy to waste! I must let the baptism in the Holy Spirit drive me deeper into faith, hope and love!

Road Through Romans: The Thing About Spiritual Gifts 4

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We have been discussing the baptism in the Holy Spirit in relationship to Romans 1:11 “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—”

If you need to play catch up you can do that on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

The question I want to discuss today is this, If the baptism in the Holy Spirit is such an important part of the Christian experience, how does one obtain it?”

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift, a promise. In one sense there is nothing we can do to obtain it. Jesus said, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

According to this, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit and He clothes us with the Holy Spirit (baptizes us). Our job or part according to Acts chapter 1:4 is to wait for it, to put ourselves in a resting position focused on Christ until He baptizes us.

In my own experience I waited for two weeks. I spent time every day waiting quietly before the Lord, worshiping both at the church altar and at my bedside. I believed that it could happen and one day when I was worshiping I felt this great emotional swelling from the pit of my stomach. I can’t say why exactly but I knew this was it. I opened my mouth and began to speak words that came to mind. They were not English words. I don’t know what they were but I knew the experience was changing me. The feeling in the pit of my stomach just grew stronger and brighter and I was filled with a new certainty a deeper certainty of the reality of Jesus.

There are many misconceptions about tongues:

Some think that talking in tongues is a sign of being out of control. Not so. When I speak in tongues I am aware of what I am doing. I can start and stop at will. Many times now I even understand what I am praying about in the foreign tongue. I can even control the volume and the timing of  it. Not being able to control tongues is actually a sign of inner carnality.

Some would say that tongues is a sign that you have arrived and are on a higher spiritual plane than other believers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tongues is a manifestation of the Spirit but does not indicate a person’s actual level of sanctification. The baptism in the Spirit can lead a person deeper into spirituality but only if that person allows the Spirit to move beyond the display of tongues into the work of inner sanctification. Many choose to stop at the side show and go no further. They allow themselves to be satisfied with making people think they are spiritually superior rather than actually growing in the things of the Spirit.

Tongues according to Paul in 1 Corinthians is the least of all the gifts. I consider it the gateway to the other gifts and a passage way to a higher level of sanctification. I need to go through the gate to get to what Paul calls the greatest gifts 1 Corinthians 13. If I choose to go through the gate and then hang out at the gate though I accomplish little (and believe me there are plenty of tongue talkers hanging out at the gates).

My goal in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit was not to talk in tongues but to become strong in the Lord and the power of His might and that thought will lead us on to tomorrow’s discussion in Romans 1:12

I know some of my thoughts are controversial even among conservative Christians. That’s Ok. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts on Holy Spirit.

Road Through Romans: The Thing About Spiritual Gifts Pt. 3

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Last time we had a discussion on Paul’s letter to the Romans, we were dealing with Romans 1:11. I mentioned that I thought perhaps the spiritual gift Paul wanted to impart to the Romans was the actual baptism in the Holy Spirit.

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— Ro. 1:11

If you missed that discussion you can catch up with it on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

I believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a very important even (dare I say it) necessary part of salvation. Oh I am not saying we need the baptism in the Holy Spirit to get to Heaven. I am saying we need it to make us strong.

Jesus said it this way:

“very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:7-15

In another place he said,

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit….you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:4, 5, 8

What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Maybe our fellowship’s statement will help you understand a little better.

 

All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry.

This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth.

With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as:

  • an overflowing fullness of the Spirit, John 7:37-39 [KJV/NIV], Acts 4:8 [KJV/NIV]
  • a deepened reverence for God, Acts 2:43 [KJV/NIV], Hebrews 12:28 [KJV/NIV]
  • an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work, Acts 2:42 [KJV/NIV]
  • and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost, Mark 16:20 [KJV/NIV]
  • The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance.
    • Acts 2:4 [KJV/NIV]- Taken from ag.org

This gift was important to Jesus and as we learned in the last post it was important to Paul. I think in light of that it should be important to us.

Thoughts?

The Thing About Spiritual Gifts Pt. 2

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We are still in Romans 1:11 in our discussion through the book of Romans. If you have missed any of our conversations you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Romans 1: 11 reads,

 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—

The things about spiritual gifts is that they are spiritual. That may seem obvious, but for those of us in the western world when we think “gift” one of our first go-to thoughts is not “Oh I hope it’s a spiritual gift. I really like spiritual gifts.”

Some of my first thoughts when someone says they want to give me a gift are:

“How big is it?”

“How much did it cost?”

“Will it fit in my house?”

“Will I use it?”

I go to the functional. The useful. The practical aspects of the gift. Don’t you? Maybe you are more spiritual than I.

I seldom think.

“Will this gift make me a better person?”

“Will this gift make me a more effective Christian?”

“Will this gift help me to win people to Christ?”
“Will this gift help me to crucify the flesh?”

But the spiritual gifts are more important than any earthly gift could ever be.

The first spiritual gift we are given is salvation. The gift of eternal life. It comes when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and call Him Lord.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.- John 3:16

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

It is this first spiritual gift that Paul spends a good deal of the next 15 chapters expounding on. I wonder though, is this the spiritual gift he wanted to impart? I am thinking it is not. I am thinking his letter imparts the spiritual gift of salvation quite well. I am thinking perhaps the letter is a foundation, a 101 class, for another spiritual gift he desired to impart to the Roman church. It is a gift he imparted to many other churches as he worked his way through Asia and into Europe.

In Acts 19 we read,

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[b] and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

Could this “baptism in the Spirit” as it is called, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, have been the spiritual gift Paul wanted to impart to the Roman Church? If so what is it? What is it for?

I would love to hear your thoughts and we will explore more tomorrow.

The Road Through Romans: The Thing About Spiritual Gifts…

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We are continuing today our discussion through the Book of Romans. We’ll be spending at least another day in Romans 1:11 because there is a bit more I have to say on the subject of spiritual gifts.

Paul wrote,

 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—Romans 1:11 NIV

I suppose most of you don’t know this but I wasn’t always a Christian. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home. My parents were agnostics influenced by the early New Age movement. In my pre-teen and early teen years I was an avowed pagan. I wouldn’t have called myself wiccan, exactly, but I did spend time channeling spirits and talking to “angels”.  I tried astral projection and did have a few out of body experiences.

It was more than a flight of fancy. I experienced real power in my pagan practices. I craved power. I craved strength because, God knows, I wasn’t finding those things in my earthly experience.

My initial decision to attend church was actually at the insistence of one of my spirit guides. I think I was supposed to make some kind of scene in the church and disrupt the service. That didn’t happen. I remember walking in the door and being hit with the presence of the most amazing love I had ever experienced. I was overwhelmed by it actually. It wasn’t the preaching that did it. I could hardly understand the Pastor who was from Trinidad. It wasn’t the music. There really wasn’t any. The piano player only knew “Jesus Loves Me” So she would get up and clap to any song that wasn’t that.  And the I didn’t experience love because the people were wicked friendly or anything. It was New England after all. There was one lady in the congregation who prophesied just about every week. She was so mean when she did it,the Pastor eventually asked her to stop and when she wouldn’t he had to kick her out of the church.

The love came through the people from God as a spiritual gift to me. It was an atmosphere they created more than an action they practiced. It wasn’t what they did that brought the love. It was was Who dwelt in them that caused me to experience it, as I sat in the church service and heard the people worship. It was a gift imparted.

For the first time in my life, love was becoming a force stronger than every other spirit I had ever experienced. In its presence the voices in my head were silenced and I was left powerless in its wake.

BUT

Then I learned that this power, this love, wanted to dwell inside me and strengthen me for life.

One of the reasons I became a Christian was because I became convinced that no other power in the universe could match this God of love I was experiencing. I wanted to align myself with that kind of power. It was not a question of me accepting Christ. I knew He was bigger than me and bigger than all the other spirits I had been entertaining. It was a question of Him accepting me. The question I had to toy with once I acknowledged that God was God and there was no other was, “would He accept me?”

He did! The spiritual gift of salvation was imparted to me the very  day I asked.  I will go on from here to speak about the impartation of the Spirit called the baptism of the Holy Spirit tomorrow, but first…

why don’t you take a bit and tell me about your own experience of meeting God.

If you have missed any of our discussions through Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

The Road Through Romans: What Makes Us Strong

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“I’m sorry,” I said to the woman sitting before me in my office.

“Our benevolence fund is empty. I don’t have any money to give you but we can pray about the need and I know God will help.”

I remember she was wearing a blue sweat jacket. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her face wore a mix of weariness and anger that comes with living long in the shadow of despair.

“No. If you can’t give me money there’s no point in praying.” She returned flatly.

Today we are discussing Romans 1:11 in our conversation through Romans. Pick up previous bits of our chatter on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

In Romans 1:11 Paul writes,

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— Romans 1:11

I wish I could say that the story above was a one time deal. I wish I could say that I have only ever had to turn one person away without providing the need. I cannot say that because the need is always greater than the cash supply. Someone always walks in the door after the last turkey is given away or the last gift card is handed out. Someone’s oil tank always runs dry just after we have helped someone else pay off the rent bill and we have to say with the apostle, “Silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee.” Acts 3:6

The truth is though, it is when the silver and gold run out that the Christian life…church life really gets exciting. The power of the church has never been in its fiscal solvency or its financial prosperity. The power of the church is found in its ability to impart spiritual blessings.

Spiritual blessings change lives from the inside out. In the end that is what we really need. We need the inside out change more than we need the rent payment or the lights kept on. We need the power of God transforming our souls more than we need our next meal. If we come to live in kings palaces but our souls are lost what have we really accomplished? On the other hand Christ’s promise is this, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33,34

What I long to give people is a spiritual blessing. Our culture may not value such a thing but then our culture does not share many values with Christ or his apostles anymore. I decided long ago I would throw my lot in with the Jesus instead of the world. His way of spiritual blessing ultimately opens the door to meeting all the other needs men might have.

 

 

The Road Through Romans: Is Your Road God’s Road?

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“God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.” Romans 1:9,10

We all have wants, desires and dreams. The first question is how many of those wants desires and dreams are  what God wants, desires and dreams for us?

Paul’s pathway was entirely committed to the Lord’s design for His life. He wanted to go to Rome but only if God made a way. For those who don’t know the story, God did answer Paul’s prayer. He did go to Rome…in chains!

So the second question I would put to you is if your wants, desires and dreams do end up being God’s wants, desires and dreams for you will you still want, desire and dream them even if there is some pain in the realization of them?

There is always a cost for life’s God dreams. Will you pay it?

 

 

 

The Road Through Romans: Constantly

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100_5431We have been working our way through the first Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. If you have missed any of our discussions thus far you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

The verses we will be dealing with today are Romans 1:9,10

God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

I want to spend a bit of time talking about Paul’s prayer life today.

Paul tells the Romans that he constantly remembers them in prayer. The word constantly is the word adialeiptōs which means Paul is praying for the Roman church incessantly.

The idea of incessant prayer is a familiar one in Paul’s life. Paul was a mighty apostle of the church. He was a prolific writer, an effective communicator, an able administrator and a wonderful pastor; But above all Paul was an outstanding PRAY-ER.

Listen to these words from some of his other letters:

“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Thess. 1:2,3

Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe 1:Thess. 2:13

We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Col. 1:3

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  Eph. 1:15-17

Paul’s desire, though, was not just to be a powerful prayer warrior in his own right. He expected that every Christian would be like him. His command  to the churches was that, like him they should, 17 Pray without ceasing. 1 Thess. 5:17

If Paul in his day needed to be a man who prayed without ceasing, how much more do we the Christians upon whom the end of the age has come need to be men and women of unceasing prayer?

What must you eliminate from your life so that you can spend more time in prayer?