08_01_30-- Two Unexpected Challenging Experiences

Two Unexpected Challenging Experiences Last night (January 30, 2008) while on the toilet before our home Bible study began, the Holy Spirit told me to print 7 copies of my Bible study about 32 Christian character traits. He wanted me to begin using that instead of finishing the Thankfulness scriptures or continuing the original first purpose of the home group discussing 1 Peter. When the two other members of the group came and we finished the talk about our current event concerns, I told them of the change of plans. The responses was very discouraging facial expressions when they saw the 3-page paper. One verbally complained by saying “this is too much”. In the Bible study, there are only 32 character traits with the definitions starting with the phrase “desire to” followed by Scripture references (at least three). And we all seemed more tired than in the previous meetings. So I quickly prayed inside my head, “God please help” even though in all of the home Bible study meetings I had had in Germany (about 30), we started tired but ended up revived and joyful. After discussing the following indicated Bible passages, we all learned some new things and became very joyful: Attentive: desire to listen and to be respectful. Luke 19:47-48, John 5:2324, John 8:45-47, John 10:25-30, Revelation 3:19-21 (Matthew 5:6), John 18:37, Matthew 13:89, (Matthew 13:1-23 or Mark 4). The highlight for me was in the last part, the Parable of “the Sower of the Seed”, I saw something new about the 4 kinds of the hearers of the Word: The first was like the individuals in church who are not paying attention at all to the sermon because of thinking about other things, so they allow “the birds” to get “the seed”. The second kind of church attendees are those who don’t do the Hebrews 10:19-23 best preparation for church. In the parable terms, they don’t toss out the stones from the field of their minds and they had no roots growing in the ground from personal Bible study during the previous week. The third kind of church attendees are those who did not keep the weeds out of the field of their minds and they didn’t do the needed 1 John 1:9 confessing and repentance in response to their sins during the previous week. So they bought “thorns” to church that would choke anything good in the sermon or the rest of the service that related to actual Scripture. And then there was the final kind of church attendees who did Hebrews 10:19-23, before coming to church, did some of verses 24-25 ministry even before the sermon, and they are able to be fully attentive to the sermon in order to learn all that the Holy Spirit wanted them to learn from it (and even from the contexts of the Scripture mentioned). They get blessed very much or wonderfully or enough for now (“some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”). They leave church happy or joyful ready to live and share God’s truths with others. For the next weeks in our Wednesday night Bible study, we will discuss the following: 1. Attentive: desire to listen and to be respectful. Luke 11:28, Matthew 7:24-27, Acts 10:21-22 & 33, Acts 13:42-44, James 1:19, Hebrews 2:1, Luke 21:34-36, Revelation 1:3, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 2:11 (Revelation 2:17 & 29, 3:6, 13, & 22), Revelation 22:16-19 25. Righteous: desire to be like Jesus Christ was when He was on Earth in human form. Proverbs 2:20-22, Proverbs 4:14-19, Zephaniah 2:3, Matthew 5:6 & 16-20, Romans 14:1619, Luke17:20-21, Ephesians 5:1-17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:8-10, Galatians 5:1926, Ephesians 6:12-14, 2 Timothy 2:22-26, Romans 1-6, Philippians 2, Ephesians 4-5 26. Spirit-submissive: desire to obey the Holy Spirit's guidance. Proverbs 3:5-7, Ephesians 5:18-21, John 14:26, 15:26, & 16:7-14, Romans 5:1-5, Romans 15:13-14, Philippians 2:1-5, Titus 3:3-7, 1 Corinthians 2:9-16, Romans 8:1-15, Galatians 5:16-25, 1 Corinthians 12:3-13, 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Wise: desire to understand and apply God's truth. Psalm 19:7-8, Psalm 107:43, Proverbs 1:1-7, Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 8:33, Proverbs 10:14, Proverbs 15:7, Proverbs 16:21-24, Proverbs 14:16, Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 9:8-12, Proverbs 29:11, Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 17:27-28, Proverbs 15:1, Proverbs 11:30, Proverbs 24:5, Proverbs 3:35

After the two visitors left, I turned on the Sean Hannity conservative radio talk show via the Internet. It had begun 20 minutes before, but I was able to discern from the discussions between phone callers and Mr. Hannity that he had done one a long monologue that was out of the ordinary. It was an unexpected response to the Florida primary election for Republican delegates to the coming Presidential candidate nomination convention. He had apparently tried to confess that he and other conservatives might be all wrong for being against the surprise winner who was so liberal in his past and present proposals for campaign/election reform, taxes, dealing with illegal immigration, etc. He said maybe United States Senator McCain might be right because 35% of the Florida voters apparently agreed with his moderate stands in the indicated issues. Then Sean finally confessed that he was only teasing and proclaimed that no happening would get him to compromise his conservative ideals that he had obtained from his study of United States history. This was like what another conservative talk radio host had done in his opening monologue as an April Fools Day joke many years ago. He pretended that he decided to become a fan of the current very liberal President running for re-election. In the past many individuals have been easily persuaded by popular leaders or manipulative friends or lovers to change their beliefs and morals and ethics. And this reminded me of one of the main conclusions in the Bible study discussion that night was that in order to be properly attentive in listening and being respectful to proper Bible teachers, we need to daily be reading or at least thinking about God’s Word so that we can discern what is good and what is bad. In other words, we need to be sensitive to Holy Spirit guidance for our learning the wonderful truths of God. Living Proverbs 3:5-6 helps me to do the just mentioned. Later in the radio program, a very good former Congressman phoned and Sean explained what he had tried to do. This man could be drafted to be the Presidential candidate for the Republican Party if the primary elections do not determine a clear winner of the three remaining candidates. He agreed that conservative Americans should not compromise and support a popular candidate who is for wrong liberal proposals for new laws and other political actions. Mr. Hannity said again that no election or other happening would influence him to believe that he had wrong ideals and hopes. If this Roman Catholic radio talk show host would be so completely committed to conservative political ideals not to be changed by any surprise happening, then shouldn’t we Christians be likewise similarly committed to the principles and the New Testament commandments in the Bible? Hebrews 12:1-4 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him Who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” 2

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 “But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” My final challenge in last night’s Bible study participants was that daily we should become more appropriately Christ-like in our occupations no matter what happens in the rest of the world. My challenge to you is what beliefs and purposes for living that you have are you willing to keep no matter what happens? If you don’t have much of such, then study the Bible to discover what true Christianity is all about. What ideas and beliefs will you never give up? Also, Christians are supposed to be ambassadors of God in doing the Great Commission. What does being an ambassador mean? What does Matthew 28:19-20 really mean for you? Who and what are you willing to even die for? It should be more than just conservative ideals. If the pre-Trib rapture theory is wrong and the USA and Europe start experiencing Christian persecution like is currently happening in some of the Third World countries, would you be ready with enough Bible knowledge and faith in God’s promises to not forsake Jesus Christ or the Gospel?

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