Bible Teaching Podcast

Many Christians caution against relying solely on spiritual experiences, emphasizing the primacy of the written word. However, valuing the written word does not mean one should downplay the significance of a personal encounter with God. Consider a doctor: while theoretical knowledge is essential, we would be apprehensive about a doctor operating on us if they lacked hands-on experience. Similarly, when someone possesses both deep understanding from scripture and personal spiritual experiences, we know that their faith is not just a theory.

One of Jesus' main topics was the Kingdom of God, but what did He mean when He was teaching about this? Why does Mark 1:14 use the term "the gospel of the kingdom of God", and why did Jesus and John preach repentance when they preached about the Kingdom of God? These are Questions Ronald Gabrielsen is addressing in this teaching.

In Matthew 13 Jesus tells several parables that teach us some important truths about the Christian life. Two of them center around the theme “The Kingdom of God”

We are all called to exercise leadership, both in our own lives and in our surroundings. To do this God has given us some amazing tools, that sadly many people don't really use. In this teaching, Ronald teaches about some of the gifts God has given us to influence society around us.

There are important life lessons to be learned from studying the lives of Saul and David. One failed, and one succeeded, and the reason for how their life ended is found in three crucial areas where their life was different. In this lesson, we take a look at these three areas.

The Bible is full stories of different people, and God has put these stories in the Bible in order to teach us from the lives of these people. This is the first of two sessions where Ronald is taking a look at Saul and David. Both of them had a call of God on their life and both of them were anointed for the call God had given them — yet one failed and one succeeded. In this lesson, we start to look at why one failed and the other succeeded.

Jesus came to show us the Father, and if we want to find out what God's view on healing is, we can just look at Jesus — because Hebrews 1:3 says that he is the exact representation of his being. In this second part of this series, Ronald also shows what Pauls's thorn in the flesh was.

Within Christianity, there are many different views on the issue of divine healing. But unfortunately, these views are often based more on our experiences than on the Word of God. In this two-part teaching, Ronald Gabrielsen is showing from scripture that God is a God who wants to heal. He also addresses some of the attitudes towards healing that are causing more doubt than faith.

They say a good recipe for heresy is to make part of the truth the whole truth, and some are in danger of doing this when it comes to grace.

They say a good recipe for heresy is to make part of the truth the whole truth, and some are in danger of doing this when it comes to grace.

The birth of the church started with a baptism in the Holy Spirit, which shows us that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a minor theological issue. All believers have the Holy Spirit, but still we see in the Bible that there is a second experience of empowerment available for all believers. 

There are two important baptism for believers — water baptism and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The water baptism separates us from the old life and the baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers us to live the new life.

Baptism is important for all believers and the Bible states clearly what the requirements for baptism is. From the the requirements we also see WHEN a person should be baptized. Many treat baptism as a voluntary thing, but the Bible is also clear that it is vital step in receiving Jesus as Lord.

Why do believers need to be baptized in water? What are the requirements for someone who wants to get baptized? And is it important to get baptized with full immersion? These are questions Ronald is answering in this session.

What is faith? For many it is an abstract belif, but the Bible talks about faith as something substantial. It's an assurance that only comes as a result of a revelation, and this revelation is not something you can attain by study — it needs to be given by the Father.

Paul says "... we have access by faith into this grace ..." (Rom 5:2). So, the key that gives us access to the grace and mercy of God is our faith in Jesus Christ. This is why faith is so essential to our Christian life, but what is faith? This is what Ronald is teaching about in this session.

Repentance is essential for the Christian faith, but repentance is not a one time event. It's a daily turning away from sin, and the lust of the flesh to rather following the Spirit. The epistle to the Hebrews also specify repentance as "repentance from dead works" and this is an important point. Just as the Jews had rituals they did "to please God", many Christians also have things they do "to please God". But our relationship with God is not based on our works, but what Jesus have already done.

What image comes to your mind when you are asked: "Who are you?". Many are not aware of it, but how we view ourselves will have a massive impact on our lives and spiritual growth. Israel people failed to enter the promised land — not because God did not want to give it to them, but because they had a "grasshopper-mentality." In the same way, there can be blessings God has for you that you will miss if you don't learn the power of having the right identity.

How do people get deceived, and how real is the danger of deception for ordinary believers? These are questions Ronald Gabrielsen addresses in this teaching session.

God created us to be fruitful, but He did not want our fruit to be a result of our effort. Fruits on a fruit tree is a result of the life inside of the tree. In the same way God placed His Spirit inside of us, because He wanted the fruits in our life to be a result of His life inside of us. In other words, we are not suppose to manufacture the spiritual fruits in our life — they will automatically come, if we make sure to stay connected.

In the Old Testament the fire of God kept people on a distance from God, but as we enter the New Testament we see John saying that Jesus would baptise in the Holy Spirit and fire. As the God revealed his glory to Moses in the burning bush, God now wants us to be the "burning bushes". 

Why does God use the imagery of fire to present Himself several places in the Bible? And what does this teach us about Him?

Jesus has a message for the church today and it is found in one of the Bibles prophetic books.

In Mark 4, Jesus is sharing a vital parable that Jesus says is a foundation for understanding the other parables. The parable's truth shows us how we can prepare our hearts so that when the Word of God is sown, it will produce the intended fruits.

In general, the church does not lack cleverly crafted Bible teaching or better programs, but spiritual power. And one of the purposes of tongues is to strengthen us spiritually. Prophecy builds up the church, so we need the gift of prophecy, but we need to be spiritually strengthened to have something to give to others. That is why we need to use this gift God has given us much more than we do today.

A lot of the misunderstanding regarding speaking in tongues is that some fail to see that the Bible talks about different kinds of tongues. If we fail to see this, we might think that Paul is confused and is contradicting himself. In this session, we look at the different kinds of tongues mentioned in the Bible.

Some say that the Bible does not talk a lot about speaking in tongues, but this is not true. Several passages directly talk about speaking in tongues, and in other passages, we understand from the context that this is the issue. In this session, we go through these passages.

Some ridicule speaking in tongues as foolish, but it's not uncommon for God to take something powerful and present it in a packaged that might seem foolish to the natural mind. Something a childlike faith would easier receive than those who insist on staying within the boundaries of what the natural mind thinks is reasonable.

Some ask if getting the Holy Spirit, when we get saved, is the same as being baptized in the Holy Spirit. But the Bible is clear that this is two different experiences that both are important for our spiritual growth. We need to be born again by the Spirit, having been made a new creation we need to burry the old "man," and we need to receive power to live the new life. 

If the first disciples needed to wait for the Holy Spirit's empowerment, then we need it even more. The great commission is not only an assignment to go out and talk about the Kingdom of God, but also to demonstrate that the Gospel is more than empty words and theology.

Many think Jesus did miracles because He was the son of God, but the Bible says Jesus stripped Himself of His Heavenly glory. In the Gospels, we see that it was the Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus, and that is why He could say that those who believed in Him would do the same work He did — because He knew the same Holy Spirit would empower them.

Jesus said that when we receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we will receive power. The baptism in water is to burry our old life, and the baptism in the Spirit is to receive power to live the new life. The word baptism means to be immersed in something, so when John and Jesus were talking about baptism in the Holy Spirit, they talked about a radical and life-changing encounter.

Teaching about the Holy Spirit, the focus is often on the gifts — or the outer manifestations. But there is also an inner work of the Spirit that provides a solid foundation for the external works. When Ezekiel prophesied about the new covenant, it is clear that God wanted to become intimate with Man again and that this new fellowship would change our behavior.

The first disciple had the best Bible school anyone could have, with Jesus Himself as the teacher. But still Jesus told them to wait fulfilling the great commission, until they had been baptised with the Holy Spirit. When this happened there was a radical change in their life. Suddenly everything Jesus had been teaching them came alive.

It started with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that turned a scared group of disciples into bold witnesses for Jesus, willing to die for their faith. This turning-point in Acts chapter 2, empowered them to impact their surroundings everywhere they went . When we no longer have an impact on our surroundings, it is a clear sign that we need a new encounter with the Holy Spirit.

This is the first session in a new teaching series on the topic of the Holy Spirit, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In this first session, Ronald shows that according to the Bible, the time we are in right now should be a time of outpouring. God has promised that in these last days, He wants to pour out His Spirit on all people.