Ian Barker is a full-time Bible student at FSM and on staff with IHOP-KC. He plays the drums (sometimes), works for Randy, and publishes a stellar daily bible study on his site, The Stability of Our Times. He is currently listed as one of the three premium links and is officially the first guest writer for FTSA.
I asked Ian to write about the importance of being rooted in grounded in the word of God. His post is a part of my Apostolic Blogging Series. He has some incredible things to say regarding the necessity of knowing Biblical truth. Also, his practical tips at the end of the article will sound familiar to anyone who’s been reading FTSA for long (reat minds think alike).
Being Rooted and Grounded in the Word
We live in a day and a time where truth is determined by the individual. There are no moral absolutes in the Western culture. Morals are based upon a person’s felt need. The moral standards of society are slowly slipping, along with the doctrinal integrity of the Church. This progression will only get worse as Paul tells Timothy,
“The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth” (1 Tim. 4:3-4).
Paul sees a day when “the man of lawlessness” or the Antichrist will become a great political leader who will arise and display himself as God (2 Thess. 2:1-12). His rise to prominence will happen slowly, until suddenly he will turn and demand worship from the earth. He will do signs and wonders in order to deceive, and he will blaspheme the name of God (Rev. 13). What will be the key factor to give this man prominence in the earth? Paul says that something and someone restrains him until that restrainer is taken out of the way. I believe that this restraint is the conscience of humanity, dictated to us by the laws of the land, which are directed and under the control of God (Rom. 13:1-7). As society slowly deviates from the laws that God has given us, lawlessness will increase. People will be deceived because they will not “love the truth” (2 Thess. 2:10).
So what does this have to do with the Church? God’s strategy during this coming time of lawlessness is not to remove the Church from the earth, but to purify the Church and empower us to preach the gospel and truth with power (Rev. 10-11). God will not allow evil to have its full expression on the earth without extending mercy by releasing a powerful witness of His Kingdom. He will raise up anointed messengers who will preach the knowledge of God.
The call to the Church today is to fill ourselves with the word of God in order to prepare for that day. The Bible is the standard of truth and is to be our lifeline. David said, “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven…I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad. O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:89, 96-97).
The word of God, as given to us in the Bible, is to be our anchor and our source of truth. We need to become students of the word of God and let the word stand above us, rather than standing above it. It is a dangerous thing when we filter the word of God through our own preconceived ideas of what it should say. As students of the word, we are to continually ask the Holy Spirit for revelation of what He is saying in the word. While we will receive new thoughts and ideas, the primary reason that we are to study is so that we do not fall away. Continual study of the word of God will hold us steady against the delusion that is coming. I believe that there will be a season before the Antichrist comes where it will be imperative that we make prayer and study of the word our primary activities. This season of intense study will dynamically fill and ground us in truth that we might be anointed with power.
The battle for truth at the end of the age will not come down to who has better arguments, or who has better speaking skills. This battle will be won by who is anointed with the Holy Spirit because the hearts of men are changed when they come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:7-11). As the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth” (Jn. 15:26), He will only anoint those men and women who speak the truth. When we speak the truth of God, the Holy Spirit is able to take those words and make them alive in human hearts. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, truth no longer is a mere fact, but it is a reality and a conviction. It no longer becomes something that might be true, but is something that must be true. Heeding to truth no longer feels optional but has eternal consequences.
We are heading into a time when the idea of truth will become non-existent in our society and the hearts of the wicked. It is God’s mercy strategy to anoint men and women who know and proclaim the truth, so that He can convict men by His Holy Spirit. By rooting ourselves in the word of God, we will become men and women who not only proclaim the truth, but walk in the truth.
As a practical note, I suggest three ways that we can begin to become rooted in the word of God.
- Get a Bible reading plan that you use every day. Try reading 5-10 chapters of the Bible every day, and use different methods (ie. reading out loud, writing it, listening to it on CD.) We want to fill ourselves with the word.
- Begin to study a book of the Bible. Get a good commentary and begin to journal on that book that you choose.
- Pray in tongues. Doing this opens up your spirit and your mind to receive the word of God.
Yuri said:
Hey, I was curious if anyone had some scriptures about that third practical point. It seems to be something I have def. seen through experience, but I have yet to hear anyone who recommends it give any scripture for it.
Just curious.
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 10:25 am
Ian Barker said:
1 Cor. 14:2 — “One who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.”
Praying in the Spirit brings our minds and hearts into alignment with what He is saying. If you haven’t received the gift of tongues, just say, “Jesus”. Even when you are reading the Bible, ask the Spirit to illumine your mind.
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 10:50 am
Randy Bohlender said:
I knew he was a writer. I knew he was smart. I did not know he played the drums.
Hmmmmm. He’s holding out on me.
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 11:20 am
Shawn said:
@ Yuri: Another good scripture is Jude 20. “Building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” Praying in tongues is a doorway into revelation of Jeus.
@ Randy: You learn something new everyday. For instance, today I learned how much effort it takes to kick your backpack so it breaks.
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 11:28 am
Ian Barker said:
Yep. I’m a drummer. I also play guitar and sing. I lead worship at the Vineyard church I attended and then in YWAM for 2 years before I came here. Bet you didn’t know that either!
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 11:35 am
ben said:
Another good way of getting rooted and grounded in the word is meditating on a small group of verses. For me its better that reading 5-10 chapters of the bible because by the time I get done reading them I forget half of what I have just read.
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Ian Barker said:
Good point, Ben. Meditation on a couple of verses is critical. We also need to have the big picture and have understanding of the whole Bible. That’s why reading larger chunks is beneficial. But we need to do both.
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Ruth said:
For me i’m trying to meditate, read large portions and study a book all at the same time. Can’t fit all of that in one day though…i just started meditating on one verse again and reading large portions usually I don’t reach 5 because I read s l o w and studying a book. My first book is Isaiah. Probably not a really good book to start with. Don’t understand half of it, yet I believe it is one of the most cool books in the bible. Just have to find a way to understand what it says…
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Ian Barker said:
@ Ruth: The 5-10 chapter thing is a good way to submerge yourself in the word. There are seasons where we study more or meditate more. And it might be better to do 2-3 chapters because you can process better.
Isaiah is a rough book, but it is worth the confusion! A good commentary can be found on-line as a free PDF download. It’s good.
http://soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Jonathan said:
Well it is good to see Ian hitting the premium link status- he is truly worthy of the premium spot!
he is one upstanding gentlemen and a man of the Word - i pretty much love listening to his wisdom which only he knows how much i need it! ha!
Plus now i know that he is a man of many many talents
Shawn wise choice in getting him locked in “AP blogging series” and i look forward to reading more …
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 2:37 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Ian: You sing too? Sheesh. Next thing I know you’ll tell us all that you hand coded your website. Sheesh…
@ Jono: Ian has been on the “priminks” for a little while now. However soon I will be rotating them to three new ones.
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Dennis said:
Great message Ian. Getting into the Word and prayer is a great place to start. I started a series on my site about moving through scripture so this plays in well.
http://storyofabullock.com/2007/02/26/moving-through-bible-scripture-%e2%80%93-reading/
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Ian Barker said:
Thanks Dennis. My purpose in writing was only to show the need and importance of being rooted in the word because of the times that are coming. I’m thrilled about your series because it will give more practical’s about how we can do this. Now we need somebody at IHOP whose last name rhymes with ‘Hills’ to write something on how to study the Bible…
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 6:21 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Dennis: Your series looks excellent. I have a “How To: Study the Bible” on my ‘post to write’ list.
@ Ian: Are you talking about the natorious ‘Dr. Hills’? I call dibbs on asking him to guest write…
Posted on February 27, 2007 at 9:54 pm
loud said:
Do you know any good whole Bible commentaries? I use the IVP New Bible Commentary and then the IVP single book ones… but if you have any suggestions, please list!
Posted on February 28, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Ian Barker said:
Whole Bible ones are hard. It’s better to buy one for the OT, and one for the NT. I don’t know of any good ones for the OT (but I’ve heard that “Unger’s Commentary On The Old Testament” is good) but for the NT I would recommend one called “Life in the Spirit New Testament Commentary”. There is also a study Bible but the commentary is great. For whole Bible stuff, I would take advantage of crosswalk.com, studylight.org, etc. These sites have older commentaries that are good. Also, download all of Thomas Constable’s study notes. They are free at soniclight.com. They are excellent.
As for single commentaries… The New American Commentary series (Broadman & Holman) and the New International Commentary series (Eerdmans) are great. They are a bit pricey, but they are great. Also, look at the Pillar series (Eerdmans), and the Tyndale Commentary series and the New Daily Study Bible series for two that are smaller.
This should get you started. Check out your local library. I’m surprised at what they have. And I can borrow books from seminaries using my library card.
Posted on February 28, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Amanda said:
And then once Ian has written his own commentary, we can all go buy his…
Posted on February 28, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Compelled By Reality » Blog Archive » End Times Resources said:
[...] Knowing the Bible in Light of the End Times [...]
Posted on August 13, 2007 at 11:28 pm
I. Disagree said:
Ian,
Folks like me are always on the lookout for the logical flaws that turn supposed “statements of truth” into substanceless assertions.
So… sorry to mention, but to say “There are no moral absolutes in the Western culture” is utterly without substance. There isn’t a shred of evidence to support the statement.
There are moral standards to which normal individuals adhere that render many things — murder, rape, racism, sexism — abhorent to us. You — and the rest of your readers — know that as well as I do.
Given that your entire argument rests on the baseless assertion that there are no moral absolutes in the West then, as Hitchens says, “what can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.”
Care to try again but with, you know, some facts to back up your claim?
Interested in your response.
I. Disagree
Posted on August 15, 2008 at 2:48 pm