Kingwood Bible Study is a gathering of Kleros Ministries, a house church that meets in two locations in the Houston area.  All are welcome.  We meet in a home:

Sundays at 11 am:
4627 Brook Shadow Drive
Kingwood, TX 77345

See it on Google Maps

Directions:Exit US 59 and turn east at Northpark Dr. Drive 3.2 miles, then turn right on Lake Houston Pkwy. Drive 0.4 miles and then turn left on Brook Shadow Dr. Drive 1.3 miles and the home is on your left.

If you get lost or need help finding the place, please call (281) 360-7244.

In the original Greek text of the New Testament, the word translated here as “a place” is “kleros.” The King James Version translated it “inheritance,” which is one of its meanings. Kleros is a very important word in both the New Testament and in the Greek version of the Old Testament that the Apostles used in the early church (called the “Septuagint”).  This is the first in a series of lessons exploring the meaning of this term.

Reference books list the main definitions of kleros as “lot, portion, or share.”  It is the word used for casting lots to inquire of the Lord in Acts 1:26.  Peter told the money-loving Simon Magus that he had “no share in this ministry” in Acts 8:21 (“neither part nor lot in this matter”), using the same word “kleros” for “lot” or “share.”  In Colossians 1:12 Paul uses the word for the “inheritance” of the saints, and in 1 Peter 5:3 it uses the same word to call the faithful church the Lord’s “heritage” that has been entrusted to the pastors.  The common theme is our allotted portion or share, designated and revealed by God’s grace to us.

Here, kleros is a place among the true saints. When we experience salvation through Christ, we receive a place at His table, at the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb.  “He brought me to his banquet table, and his banner over me is love.”  (Song of Songs 2:4; see also Isaiah 25:6).  There is a place with your name, designated and reserved for you.

This is more than merely a geographic location that is available for you; rather, it is an invitation, an inclusion in the family of God (see Matthew 22:2-10).  You place at the table is your “kleros,” a share assigned to you by Jesus himself.  “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9).

Your place (kleros) among those who are sanctified also refers to your life here, right now, not just to our future in heaven.  God has a place for you in his own flock, his faithful church:

It is a place where you belong, where you can feel at home spiritually

It is a place where you can feel safe from both the world and from the abuses that plague religion.

It is a place where you can serve Christ and make a difference or an impact in God’s project.

It is a place where you can receive spiritual nourishment and can grow or progress spiritually.

It is a place of rest and peace (Hebrews 3: – 4:10).

“…that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise.” (Psalm 106:5)

“Kleros” is our share in the joy of God’s people, joining his inheritance, enjoying the blessings He gives them.

“…so that…” Notice the conditional structure of this sentence.  How do we receive a place (kleros) among the sanctified?  Through the opening of our eyes (revelation), and by turning from darkness to light (“repentance” means “turning”), turning away from the authority of the Enemy to God in complete submission to our Heavenly Father.  These things – opening eyes, turning form darkness to light, and turning from the Enemy’s authority to God – enable us to take a place among God’s own flock.  This phrase “so that” also reveals God’s purpose in evangelism – he sends preachers like Paul to open people’s eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, SO THAT they may receive a place among God’s people.  Godly evangelism or outreach has this ultimate goal or purpose – to see people take their place among the servants of Christ.  The goal is not merely to have a well-attended evangelism event!  We must stay focused on God’s long-term goal, which is to have them receive their place, their kleros.  God intends everyone he saves to become an integrated part of a fellowship of true saints (the body), even if that is a small group meeting regularly in a home.  We should think of outreach in terms of kleros – bringing people into their kleros, their place in the family of God.

“…so that they may receive a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” – Acts 26:18

In this passage, Paul recounts for a few royal officials (unbelievers) how he became a messenger for Jesus Christ.  He quotes the very words that the Lord spoke to him on the day of his conversion, many years before.  The Apostle Paul had nothing to impress the worldly dignitaries.  His call was to be a mere “servant and witness,” (Acts 26:17), rather than to “be somebody important.”  Interestingly, the Lord’s only promise in this passage was to “rescue” Paul from unbelievers – there was no promise to make Paul rich, prosperous, successful, or famous.  The Lord values the things of eternity, not the things of this world.

“Now get up and stand on your feet.” (Acts 26:16) – The Lord gave the same command to Old Testament prophets when He spoke to them (see Jeremiah 1:17; Ezekiel 2:1; Daniel 10:11; Micah 6:1).  In all these passages, standing before the Lord signals both reverence and readiness to act.  (As an aside, it is strange today to see “deliverance ministries” leave church members laying on the floor for a long time after they receive prayer – in the Bible, when God visits a man, He usually tells him to stand up even if the man falls facedown involuntarily at first).

Servant – Christian leaders can avoid many problems in ministry by viewing themselves as slaves/servants of the Lord Jesus, rather than as Jesus’ campaign manager, or chief operations officer, or deputy.  The servant does not worry about his legacy, or about maintaining control, or about saving face or gaining honor.  Rather, he focuses on carrying out the Master’s wishes.

“Witness to the things I will show you” – The future tense here is significant – “will show you” not “have shown you.”  Paul still had much to learn, and the Lord would continue to reveal new things to him throughout his life.  Paul committed himself in advance to testifying faithfully about whatever the Lord would show him.

“to open their eyes” – Those who are not yet in Christ are spiritually blind (2 Corinthians 4:4), unable to perceive spiritual reality.  They see only the material things and views things through the lens of their own culture and preferences.  The first item on Paul’s list of tasks is to bring revelation, to let them see the truth.  This takes a miracle, of course, so the primary mechanism to produce this result is prayer; the secondary mechanism is to preach, teach, and live out God’s truth before others.

“turn them from darkness to light” – Turning refers to repentance; coming to Christ means a decision or choice to turn away from the darkness of sin and worldliness.  The goal here is to have people ultimately facing the light so that they receive spiritual revelation themselves directly.

“from the power of Satan to God” – There are only two sources of power, God and the Enemy.  It is a hard truth that those who are not walking entirely within God’s power are instead under the power of Satan, whether they know it or not (1 John 5:19).

“so that they may receive forgiveness of sins” – Many Western churches have inverted the order here, preaching that we receive forgiveness first and foremost (many evangelists simply stop there, in fact), and then, having received forgiveness, we can have revelation.  This passage seems to put opening the eyes and turning from darkness to light before forgiveness, as a condition for it (“so that they may receive”).  Forgiveness of sins is one of the primary benefits of our salvation in Christ.

“a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” – This simple phrase contains three important doctrines – the body (“among those”), personal righteousness (“are sanctified”), and the means of true holiness (“by faith in” Christ).  God intends everyone he saves to become an integrated part of a fellowship of true saints (the body).  His goal in saving people is always to transform their lives, turning us all into saintly, godly people.  We attain true sanctification not by following human rules or obeying religious men, but by our personal faith in Jesus and reliance upon him.

Revelation 12:11-12 – “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!  But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!  He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

This passage is part of the heavenly declaration at the end of days, when Jesus returns and the faithful church claims its permanent victory.  This future declaration uses the past tense to refer back to the time in which we now live – the time when true believers overcome the Enemy (Satan), “who accuses them before our God day and night” (verse 10).  They are not just overcoming physical problems or financial problems; they overcome the “accuser of the brethren,” who uses the problem of sin to bring spiritual wrath on us.

We do not overcome the Enemy by shouting at him.  We do not overcome with spiritual rituals or superstitious habits.  We do not overcome by keeping certain rules.  We do not overcome by giving money to the church, even though giving is virtuous – stewardship is not how we overcome the Enemy.  We overcome only through two things – the BLOOD OF JESUS and the WORD to which we testify through our words and actions (the gospel).  This future declaration refers in the past tense to our situation today – we are overcoming the Enemy when we focus on the blood of Jesus (in all its dimensions) and the Word of our testimony.  Satan tells people they can overcome through other means, knowing that they will fail if they rely on anything else.  Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

How do we overcome through the blood of the Lamb?

1)    Jesus’ blood provides atonement (the final blood sacrifice) for us so that we can have forgiveness from God for sinning against Him.  We pray and ask God to cleanse us from our sins through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9).  We do this at our initial conversion, to obtain forgiveness for our life apart from God up to that point, and we do it as believers whenever we fail and lapse into sin.  We plead the blood for cleansing whenever we sin by neglecting to do our spiritual duty.  “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”  (James 4:17)  Sin should be a rare occurrence for us, increasingly rare as we mature in our faith.

2)    The blood of Jesus sustains us and strengthens his life in us.  “The life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11-14).  We plead the blood of the Lamb every day, and his life from eternity becomes renewed within us.  This increases our faith, strengthens our resolve against sin, empowers us to do God’s will, and adjusts our attitudes and thinking so that we have a spiritual mindset (Romans 8).

3)    Jesus’ blood ushers us into the presence of God when we pray and worship (see Hebrews 10:19-22).  In his presence, as we behold his glory, become more like Jesus – a deep inner process of sanctification.  “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” (2 Corinthians 3:18).  When we plead the blood, it allows us to enter into intimate fellowship with the Lord.

4)    Jesus’ blood wards off demonic attacks, much like the blood of the Passover lamb turned away the spirit of death in Exodus 12.  Of course, the first three items in this list are more important, because they pertain to eternity, whereas demonic attacks are temporary incidents in this world (not permanent).  Deliverance from a demonic attack is certainly important, but it pertains to a single incident.  The other matters pertain to eternity.

They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death… Many Christians today cannot even endure a simple inconvenience for the sake of Christ.  The smallest burden for them seems like too much trouble.  Yet many true believers in history have had to make the ultimate sacrifice for their faith, remaining faithful even when threatened with death.  God honors those believers in the book of Revelation.  It does not say they necessarily died (suffered martyrdom) in every case, but rather that they were willing to do so – they loved the Lord more than their own lives.

Revelation 12 is about “the Woman” and the Dragon.  Bible Scholars today debate about the identity of “the Woman,” a symbolic figure here.  Some scholars believe she is a symbol of the nation of Israel – out of which came the Messiah (Jesus) and the first Christians.  Others think she symbolizes the church, which brings Jesus to the world today through our testimony, and which suffers so much persecution.  We will not attempt to resolve this debate here, for our purpose is to emphasize the clearer, and more important, points in the chapter.  Similarly, scholars disagree about the timing of Satan (the Dragon) being cast to the earth.  Some believe this refers to an event in the Last Days, which intensifies the demonic activity in the world, while others think this refers symbolically to an event in the distant past.  Taken by itself, this chapter seems to suggest that it is in the last days.  On the other hand, Jesus seems to refer to this as a past event in Luke 10:18.  It is not important for us to settle such disputes in this lesson, as both viewpoints are acceptable to some sincere Bible scholars.

Other points are very clear.  The “male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter” in verse 5 is Jesus Christ (see Revelation 2:27; Revelation 19:15; and Psalm 2:9).  In addition, the “Dragon” is a symbol of the Enemy (Satan, also called the Devil), who “leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9) with spiritual deceptions and sin.  According to this passage, one-third of the heavenly angels joined Satan in his revolt against God, but they failed completely (Revelation 12:4; Revelation 12:9; see also Matthew 25:41; 1 Peter 3:19-20; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).  Nevertheless, we must not dwell on things relating to Satan or demons, lest we give them attention they crave but do not deserve.  The Bible warns us to avoid thinking or talking too much about evil things and to focus our minds instead on Christ, salvation, and the things that please God (Philippians 4:8-9; Psalm 119:37; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 3:1-2).  We now turn to the heavenly declaration, which should be the focus of our preaching on this chapter.

Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God – Christians must understand that everything around us will soon end, and Christ will abruptly replace this present world system.  Things in this world, and in our lives, may get worse before they get better, but we know the conclusion of history – Jesus reigns forever.  Salvation refers to the eternal project to rescue sinners from darkness and sin, which Jesus accomplishes – his name in Hebrew means “Savior.”  (Matthew 1:21).  The power of God will be fully manifest on earth after Jesus returns – now we prophecy only in part (1 Corinthians 13:9); and we see miracles rather inconsistently.  The Kingdom of our God is where God is in control rather than men.  The authority of his Christ – Jesus is the “Christ,” which means God’s “anointed,” because he fulfills God’s eternal project of salvation.  Jesus receives full authority from God the Father (Matthew 28:18).

The accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night – The name “Satan” actually means “accuser” or “adversary” in Hebrew.  Believers must understand that the Enemy is not merely an evil spirit who brings disease, accidents, or other misfortunes.  He also reminds us of our former sins (to discourage us from holiness) and brings accusations against us to God Himself (see Job 1 & 2).  This role of the accuser is much more serious than any physical afflictions the Enemy can bring on us!  Many people today do not take their own sin seriously – they think God will overlook sins, or be relaxed about sin.  They fail to understand the intensity of the legal charges brought against each of us in heaven every day.  The Enemy is like a ferocious, imbalanced, bloodthirsty prosecutor, highlighting every sin and failure in hopes of seeing us condemned and cursed by God.  The situation is utterly hopeless for us except for the covering of Jesus’ blood.  They “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Family Responsibilities –

1 Timothy 5:8 – “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

God’s Word uses the strongest language possible to command Christians everywhere to earn wages through honest labor and provide for the financial needs of their household.  The Scriptures say that this sin makes a Christian “worse than an unbeliever;” only one other sin in the Bible earns such a strong condemnation (incest, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:1).  Nevertheless, today many Christians act as if this were optional, as if there were nothing serious about a man refusing to provide for his family’s needs.

Worse, we meet pastors all over the world who insist that they are “living by faith” in disobedience to this command, refusing to obtain secular employment because they prefer to be in “full-time ministry.”  True faith would never lead a person to disobey God’s commands (see James 2:14-26).  Ironically, the same people who tell us they disavowed secular employment to “live by faith” go around asking any Westerner they meet to support them financially.  If they are living by faith, it seems contradictory that they need to ask Westerners for money.  This seems no more spiritual than asking an employer for a well-deserved salary.  “Full-time ministry” is easier because there is no work schedule, no boss checking our productivity, no accountability for how we use our time.  We feel said when we hear about their children living in deprivation, but the problems sometimes seen self-imposed.  The Bible tells us what to do about this.

Many churches now teach seminars on dating and marriage, in which they focus on the amusing differences between men and women, “building trust” in the relationship, the importance of “submission” (whatever the church imagines that to mean), and even inappropriate teachings on sexual intimacy.  Yet they rarely include any mention of the basic duty to earn a living and provide for one’s family and needy relatives (those who are elderly or disabled).  This is a Christian duty, part of the Christian life.  God’s Word is explicit about this, but too few Christians read His Word and they remain ignorant of His commands.  Instead, they merely follow what they see other Christians around them doing.

This is not to say Christians should be greedy or should neglect their families in their pursuit of riches (see Hebrews 13:4-6).  Greed or chasing wealth is not the same as earning a basic living to provide for your family adequately.

The command to care for one’s family does not apply to men alone.  “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”  (1 Timothy 5:4)  We please our Lord when we practice responsibility and provide for the needs of our families.

Christian parents should y to work enough so that their earnings are sufficient to build some savings for their children.  “After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.” (2 Corinthians 12:14).  This pleases the Lord.  In fact, the Bible says that we should save up for their grandchildren as well: “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children.”  (Proverbs 13:22).  Of course, the responsibility is reciprocal: grown children have a spiritual duty to provide for elderly parents who can no longer work to support themselves (see Matthew 15:3-6).

“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”  (1 Timothy 5:8, King James Version)

“Freedom” is a frequent word in the New Testament, but many misunderstand its meaning and context.  Words like this have a variety of different meanings depending on the context.  We refer to retail items as “free” if there is no price or cost.  We sometimes refer to countries as “free” if they are democratic.  As a legal term, it has still other meanings.  We even use the word sometimes to refer to personal behavior that is uninhibited – laughing freely (heartily), speaking freely (without politeness or decorum), and so forth.

In Paul’s letters, he was addressing a very specific issue that was dividing the churches: whether Gentile converts to Christianity (that is, pagans, or non-Jews) needed to obey the Jewish law, also called the Mosaic Law, with its prohibitions on certain foods, mandatory religious holiday observances, and circumcision.  The question back then was not about doing enough good deeds to earn God’s favor, as some have misunderstood it, nor was it about refraining from serious sin.  “Freedom” in Galatians refers to this very dispute – freedom from the Jewish laws, rituals, and customs.  Paul insisted that these food restrictions, religious holidays, and circumcision applied only to Israelites, not to anyone else.  The Jewish Christians back then wanted every believer to keep their rules, to be more Jewish.  They wanted Christianity to retain its Jewish heritage.  Paul knew that Christianity would never spread to other cultures if Jewish customs were part of the package.  He knew the Law of Moses applied only to ancient Israel as a nation.  Therefore, he taught that non-Jewish Christians should not keep the rules in the Mosaic Law.  “You were called to be free.” (Galatians 5:13)  Jesus called us to follow him and obey him, not to adopt the ancient Jewish customs.

Yet Paul was concerned that his readers would misinterpret this point to mean that Christians can do anything they want without consequences for their spiritual life.  Sadly, all through church history there have been heretical groups who claimed that NONE of God’s rules applied to them, that nothing they did could count as sin, supposedly because they were under “grace not law.”  Paul repudiates this false teaching here and in all his other letters, arguing instead that Christians must live up to high standards of personal morality, purity, and integrity.  In the rest of this chapter, he lists various “acts of the flesh” and warns, “Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  (Galatians 5:19-21).  Grace is not a license to sin or some kind of shield against spiritual liability for our actions.  “Freedom” from the Jewish law is not permission to indulge the flesh.

The “flesh” refers not merely to our physical bodies, but to internal desires and attitudes – a mindset that prioritizes our own comfort and pleasure.  Traits like pride, selfishness, and envy are “fleshly” and unspiritual, emanating merely from our physical existence.  Paul first addresses the fleshly attitude that causes the most damage in churches – selfish pride.  Serving one another humbly, in love, is the exact opposite.  Our flesh finds this undesirable.  Our flesh wants others to serve and honor us.  It seeks a position of superiority.

Most of the conflicts between believers are the result of the flesh – people wanting superiority over others.  Here, Paul mentions congregations destroying themselves from within.  He does not attribute this to demons or any other spiritual force.  The problem was completely human.

The doctrinal disagreement between the Jewish group and the anti-law group was really a mask for a deeper conflict over dominance, superiority, and control in the church.  This is true of most doctrinal conflicts.  Those advocating for keeping the Jewish law focused entirely on the external aspects of it, like dietary restrictions and holiday observances.  Like all legalists, they ignored parts of the Law that command us to treat other people’s needs as important as our own (Leviticus 19:18, quoted here).  Paul suggests that this part of the law does apply to Christians, and he is frustrated that the legalists ignored this.  On the other hand, the anti-law crowd in the church had lost sight of the fact that God does indeed expect certain things of us, certain behavior and character traits – love, purity, and humility.

Another mighty angel coming down from heaven – There are nearly two hundred references to angels throughout the Bible, but the phrase “mighty angel” appears only in the book of Revelation, here and in Rev. 5:2 and Rev. 18:21.  The phrase seems to allude to Psalm 103:20, “Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.”  Angels are mighty, and they do only His bidding – they do not accept instructions or requests from anyone else.  Revelation emphasizes the might of the angels in connection with the events of the end times; Paul uses a similar phrase, “powerful angels,” in 2 Thessalonians 1:7, “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.”

Religious artwork and films usually portray angels as thin and weak, often female, and fair skinned.  This portrayal is unbiblical.  The Word usually presents angels as physically imposing, intimidating beings – those who see them often fall face down in terror (Numbers 22:31; Judges 13:2; 1 Chronicles 21:16-30; Luke 1:13; Luke 2:9-10; Revelation 22:8).

The Bible never describes angels as female or as having wings except possibly once in Zechariah 5:9, where it is not even clear that those beings are supposed to be angels (they might be part of the “curse” that the other woman in that vision symbolizes).  The other 200 Biblical references to angels portray them as strong and masculine.  Believers need to rid their minds of the picture of angels that do not fit with the Bible; our thinking should conform instead to the truth in the Word.  Of course, we should not own or display any images of angels anyway.  The Bible says we should never make pictures, drawings, or statues of angels, because this is idolatry (Exodus 20:4).  Whenever there are idols, even though the image is just a drawing or a statue, demonic spirits receive the attention as worship for themselves (1 Corinthians 10:20).  True angels grieve when we have angelic images in our churches or homes or churches; but it pleases demonic spirits.  Sadly, movies now have blasphemous, unbiblical portrayals of angels as worldly, sinful, confused, and frustrated.

Robed in a cloud – This phrase occurs poetically in Job 38:9, referring to God creating the oceans.  In both passages, the point is the magnificent size of something that has clouds as garments.  The “cloud” also alludes to God’s presence and glory in the Old Testament (see Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 16:10; Exodus 19:9-16; Exodus 24:15-18; Exodus 33:10; Exodus 34:5; 1 Kings 8-10-12).

Rainbow above his head – In Genesis 9:13-16, God introduced the rainbow as a sign of his covenant with all humanity.  In Ezekiel 1:28, however, we learn that something resembling a rainbow surrounds God in heaven all the time.  This angel had the splendor and majesty of the Lord in eternity above his head, directing him in everything.

Face like the sun – (the same phrase is used to describe eternal glory in Matthew 17:2 and Revelation 1:16).  As mentioned above, angels in the Bible differ significantly from the misleading portrayals of them in art.  There is no recognizable face on an angel – it is brilliant light, like looking at the sun – except in cases where angels must cloak their true appearance temporarily (Hebrews 13:2).  His legs were like fiery pillars – like the manifestation of God’s guiding presence through the Wilderness in a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21-24; Numbers 14:14; Nehemiah 9:12-19).

Holding a little scroll – this refers to bringing revelation, just as the scroll in Isaiah 29:11-18 and Ezekiel 2:9-3:4.

Like the roar of a lion – Angels speak only the words of God, and sometimes their voice sounds like the voice of the Lord speaking himself, as he speaks through them.  The Bibles uses the roar of the lion sometimes to describe the wicked (Psalm 22:13; Proverbs 28:15; Isaiah 5:29; Jeremiah 51:38), but it also can refer to the Lord’s voice, as in Hosea 11:10 – “They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.  When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.”  See also   Amos 3:8, “The lion has roared— who will not fear?  The Sovereign Lord has spoken – who can but prophesy?” Of course, the Lord Jesus is the true Lion of Judah (Genesis 49:9; Revelation 5:5).  The angel is speaking on behalf of the Lord.

What do we do in our meetings?

We sing a few songs together, usually a mix of classic hymns (”Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” etc.) and contemporary praise songs (usually Psalms set to music). Intermingled in this brief time of worship are periods of prayer, where we intercede for needs of the group members, for more of God’s love and revelation in our midst, for outreach efforts, and for needs of foreign missionaries and ministries in the developing world.

Then we spend about 25 or 30 minutes learning from the Bible, focusing on the spiritual meaning beyond the letters on the page, and how to apply the lessons in our lives. The younger children present take turns reading portions of the Scripture chapter aloud, and then a pastor or leader shares some comments about it. Children actively participate in our meetings; we encourage people to bring their children to the Bible study.

We conclude the meeting after one hour and then have a time of informal fellowship and food. There is also an opportunity during this time for people with urgent needs or a crisis in their lives to receive prayer privately with the leaders. Many of the people who attend keep in touch with each other during the week to share prayer requests, to meet for coffee or lunch, and to encourage one another in their daily lives.

We never collect offerings or tithes in our meetings. We can send a full explanation of this if anyone requests it. We have never taken an offering or asked for money in all the years of our existence. Our leaders do not need it; they work very hard to supply their own income apart from their ministry.

Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ “

Physically, our birth was on the day that we celebrate every year as our birthday – there was a time, years ago, when our mother gave birth, and we came into this world as a baby.  Yet this is only physical, not spiritual.  We also need a spiritual birth.  Spiritual birth happens when the Holy Spirit produces a miracle inside of us – regeneration, the creation of a new person whose life is identified with Jesus Christ.  We receive this only by coming to Christ in faith and complete surrender.  Jesus give us new birth.

In this account, we see a Pharisee named Nicodemus visiting Jesus by night. Nicodemus was a very important man in Israel, whose religious sect was very strict about keeping the Law, based on their own understanding the of the Scriptures.  Yet there was a vast difference between what they believed and what Jesus taught.

In today’s society, the notion of God not accepting just any offering is offensive.  This is because we tend to value human effort, and desire to give credit to whom it is due – especially if they worked hard to earn it.  This may work for a society, but not in God’s kingdom.  During this period of history, Israel was longing for their former earthly kingdom to be restored (as in the days of King David and Solomon).  Yet Jesus came to usher in a spiritual kingdom.

In His kingdom, nothing is subject to a democratic vote or negotiable.  Instead, God is sovereign, and reveals His will to man.  Man has free will, and can either choose to obey or disobey.  Those who are obedient are a part of God’s kingdom, and are being saved from sin and eternal death.  This salvation (and all other related blessing) comes by faith on our part and by grace on God’s part.  Salvation is not by good works (see Ephesians 2:8-9).  The Pharisees thought they could earn their salvation by doing religious things.  They were obsessed with keeping and imposing rules.

When they met, Nicodemus gave a polite greeting and acknowledged Him as a teacher come from  God.  But Jesus did not return any such greetings.  Jesus is God – and God owes man nothing. We are forever indebted to Him, and could never do anything to pay Him back, or which would compare to the love He has demonstrated for us through Jesus.  God loves us and instead speaks strait to our need, as He did here with Nicodemus.  The need here was to be BORN AGAIN.

This new birth speaks of a new life, and overall understanding.  Just as a baby needs to learn everything and grow, so too must we Spiritually – regardless of our age, and human credentials.  This new birth is something that only God can give.  No priest or man can give this.  It’s something Spiritual.  Meanwhile, Nicodemus was still confusing the natural birth and Spiritual birth.  He did not yet understand that in this new birth, we are being led under the gentle unseen guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Like the wind, we do we feel His presence, though we do not see Him.  The Spirit desires to speak to us, move us, and to meet every aspect our lives.  With Him we are safe, and no longer need to rely to rely on our own resources.  He is Perfect, and His direction is always correct.

At the end of the passage, Nicodemus was still confused.  Later on however in John 19:39 we see Nicodemus again.  After Jesus was crucified, we see Nicodemus publicly helping to bury Jesus.  With him he brought a mixture of myrrh, aloes and other spices.  The myrrh symbolizes suffering.  It reminds us of how Jesus suffered, and how we too must also suffer a little in this life.  Yet we are never alone, and when we pray as the Body of Christ for one another, God’s power and mercies flow abundantly.

Nicodemus had an experience, and was now offering what he to the Lord.  We too offer our prayers, praise and thanksgiving.  We desire to be closed to Jesus at His feet.  We daily are dying to the cares of this life, and living to Him who is saving us.

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