Ascension Service in Malang, May 26, 2022 (Thursday Morning)

Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We celebrate the ascension of Jesus to heaven. Our highest hope is that we can also ascend to heaven with Jesus when He comes a second time. Now we are in the preparation especially when hearing the Word of God.

Revelation 16:8
16:8. Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

The fourth bowl is poured out on the sun to scorch men with fire up to perdition forever.
The sun is the image of the love of God that is great, righteous, and perfect. If men including the servants of God reject the love of God, they will surely experience the fourth bowl of the wrath of God on the sun. They will be scorched up to perdition forever. Now we celebrate the ascension of Jesus. What is the relationship with the punishment?

Hebrews 8:1
8:1. Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

Jesus comes to the world to die on the cross, but He is risen and ascends to heaven to become the High Priest, the Great Shepherd, the King of kings, and the Heavenly Bridegroom who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God the Father. What is it for? To reveal God's love that is great, righteous, and perfect through the two things as follows:

1. Jesus prepares actively a place in heaven for us. He must die, rise, and ascend to heaven.
   John 14:1-3
   14:1. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
   14:2. "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
   14:3. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
   
   
   
2. Purifying the priests or the servants of God with refiner's fire.
   Malachi 3:1-3
   3:1. "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.
   3:2. "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderer's soap.
   3:3. He will sitas a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purifythe sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
   
   The term 'sit' means using quite a long time. The process of metal plating must be repeated. Likewise, the hard and true teaching Word or the shepherding one must be preached repetitively.
   
   The fire refers to the things as follows:
   
   
   • The fire of the true, hard, and repeated teaching Word.
     
   • The fiery trial, the sprinkling of blood, or suffering in the flesh with Jesus.
     
     
   Thus, the priests appear as the silver and gold, so we are set free from the scorching fire. If we receive the purification fire, we will be set free from the one of punishment. We become the priests who have the right to be where Jesus is. We are with Him forever and not being destroyed.
   
   Celebrating Jesus' Ascension to heaven, we must experience the purification by the fire of the teaching Word and sprinkling of blood, so we can greet Jesus when He comes a second time. We are not scorched by the fire of punishment.
   

Isaiah 49:3-4
49:3. "And He said to me, 'You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.'
49:4. Then I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the LORD, And my work with my God.'"

The main duty of a priest or servant of God is glorifying or glamorizing God's name, so our reward and work are with the LORD for our life now up to eternal life. Where Jesus is, there we may be also. As long as we want to be purified, God will guarantee our life now, in the future up to eternal life. But unfortunately, there are many priests who reject and insult God's name.

Malachi 1:6,8
1:6. "A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, 'In what way have we despised Your name?'
1:8. And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lameand sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?" Says the LORD of hosts.

There are many servants of God who insult God by offering the lame. It means the lame ministry that refers to the doubtful heart.

Malachi 2:1-3
2:1. "And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.
2:2. If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name," Says the LORD of hosts, "I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart.
2:3. "Behold, I will rebuke your descendantsAnd spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it.

Consequently, one lives in curse. 'rebuke your descendants' means not being complete, but unable to be perfect. 'spread refuse on your faces' means being ashamed, and not being glorified with Jesus. He is left when Jesus comes a second time. He will experience the scorching fire in the world up to the hell forever.

Malachi 3:2-3
3:2. "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fireAnd like launderer's soap.
3:3. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.

The priests must receive the perfect love of God, so we experience the purification by a refiner's fire, namely the sword of the teaching Word and the fiery trial, test, or suffering in the flesh because of Jesus until we appear as the silver and gold which belong to God. We can be with Jesus wherever He is.

Haggai 2:8
2:8. 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the LORD of hosts.

The facts found in the ministry with doubtful heart are as follows:

1. Not answering. It means that one cannot differentiate between God and Baal (the false god).
   I Kings 18:21
   18:21. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.
   
   Jesus is the true God, the King, and the High Priest, but Baal just wants to imitate. The true God is logos, namely the true teaching Word.
   
   Isaiah 54:5
   54:5. For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.
   
   John 1:1
   1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
   
   The doubtful heart means as follows:
   
   
   • One cannot differentiate between the true teaching Word and the false one.
     
   • One cannot differentiate between the right hand and the left hand. It is the same as a child spiritually. He is not mature in spirituality, so he cannot differentiate between the true word, deed, or marriage and the false ones until he cannot differentiate everything that is right and wrong.
     
     
   He will surely fall into sins up to the peak, so he is destroyed in the hell. He cannot differentiate between heaven and hell, so he assumes all things are same.
   
   If the doubtful heart is purified by a refiner's fire, one will surely be able to differentiate between God and Baal, as well as the true teaching Word and the false one.
   As a result, we have the base to enter the true marriage, shepherding and inter-shepherding (fellowship) until we become one perfect body of Christ.
   
   
2. I Kings 18:30
   18:30. Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
   
   The doubtful heart means as follows:
   
   
   • One cannot differentiate between the true worship and the false one.
     
   • One cannot differentiate between the true ministry or ordination and the false ones, because the worship is the peak of the ministry.
     
     
   The ministry up to the peak namely the worship is a reflection of the ones in heaven.
   
   Revelation 4:8,5,10
   4:8. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"
   4:5. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
   4:10. the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
   
   The base of the heavenly ministry is holiness--'Holy, holy, holy'--, not cleverness, greatness, et cetera. Our body, soul, and spirit must be holy. The motive power of our ministry is the anointing of Holy Spirit, so we can be faithful and fervent like lightnings and thunder. We are not slow to serve God, and we cannot be blocked until we enter the heavenly kingdom.
   
   Revelation 19:6-7
   19:6. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
   19:7. "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
   
   The peak of ordination is the true worship to Jesus, the Heavenly Bridegroom. The true worship is signified with the word: "Alleluia". We worship Jesus as the King of kings and the Heavenly Bridegroom, so we experience the renewal of life. At verse 1-4, the word: "Alleluia" in heaven is written three times, and once on the earth (verse 6). It means having the same worship.
   
   Revelation 19:1-4
   19:1. After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!
   19:2. "For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her."
   19:3. Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!"
   19:4. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen! Alleluia!"
   
   The false worship is the one without saying: "Alleluia". It is the worship to the false master, namely the Antichrist. Be careful! A little leaven leavens the whole lump. On the contrary, a word of the true Word is able to do a miracle. The worship without saying: "Alleluia" is the same as being without the renewal of life. One keeps becoming the flesh and blood man like the Antichrist who will be destroyed.
   
   
3. James 1:6-8
   1:6. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
   1:7. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
   1:8. he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
   
   Ephesians 4:14
   4:14. that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
   
   A doubtful heart is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
   
   
   • The wind of the false teaching makes men doubt the true teaching Word and God Himself, so they assume all things are same. They become hard-hearted men.
     
     
   • The wind of the temptation in all things, so we doubt the power of God, and hope others. For example, the priest goes to a shaman.
     
     
   Consequently, one becomes unstable. He is always in fear, labor, and heavy burden. He does not receive anything from the Lord including faith, hope, and love. His life is empty and totally failed. He is not satisfied; even he grumbles, so he is not saved. In the relation with Jesus' ascension to heaven, not believing in Jesus is the same as not having the place in the heavenly kingdom.
   
   Romans 14:23
   14:23. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
   
   Having no faith is a sin, so one will surely experience the fire up to the scorching fire in the hell.
   

The way out so we do not doubt.
Ephesians 3:16
3:16. that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

God will pour out Holy Spirit. It is His promise when He ascends to heaven. Holy Spirit will help us to become strong and of good courage.

1 Timothy 4:1
4:1. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,

Holy Spirit helps us to become firm, namely we are able to differentiate between the true teaching Word and the false one. We can keep holding fast the true teaching Word as well as firmly reject other teachings.

Philippians 2:15-16
2:15. that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
2:16. holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

By celebrating Jesus' ascension to heaven, let us become the servant of God who is strong and of good courage. We become the priests who have firmness.We shine as lights in the world. The facts found in it are as follows:

1. Firmly holding fast the true teaching Word that has become our experience. We are honest to confess and hold fast the true teaching Word, not having partiality.
   
   Proverbs 10:20
   10:20. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little.
   
   The result of the purification is that we become choice silver, namely the tongue of the righteous. We hold the true teaching Word no matter the thing that is happening to us.
   
   
2. Obeying the true teaching Word until the flesh does not speak anymore whatever risk may come.
   As a result, we have gold like Jesus who becomes obedient to the point of death on the cross.
   

The silver and gold are God's.
Honesty and obedience are the same as stretching out our hands. We just worship and totally surrender to God. We live in the powerful hand of God.

Revelation 1:16
1:16. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

Isaiah 41:8-10,13-14
41:8. "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.
41:9. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
41:10. Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
41:13. For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'
1:14. "Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you," says the LORD And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

We are just like worm. We are small and powerless, and we are just destroyed by the scorching fire in the hell. But if we want to be purified to become choice silver and gold, we will be in the powerful hand of God.
The results are as follows:

• The power of lifting up and renewal of life. Jacob, whose meaning is a liar, is changed to become Israel, whose meaning is the winner. We become the house of prayer that calls the powerful name of Jesus. For example, Peter called the powerful name of Jesus to heal [Acts 3:6].
  
  
• The power to establish us, so we do not become disappointed and desperate as well as leave God, but we keep being faithful and fervent until the finish line. We keep on believing in God although our condition gets worse. For example, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years was healed by Jesus.
  
  
• God is with us [Isaiah 41:10], and He blesses us who are small in the midst of the difficulties of the world up to the age of the Antichrist. If God is with us, we will receive His power to make us peaceful.
  
  
• The miraculous helping power. All of problems can be finished by God. Do not lay aside the ministry to get calm! We must put away the sin that does not make us calm in ministering to God. God is able to finish all of our problems miraculously.
  
  
• The winning power up to the last one, namely we win over the death. We become perfect like Jesus to enter the New Jerusalem. We sit together with Jesus on the throne of God. Where Jesus is, there we may be also.
  
  Revelation 3:21
  3:21. "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
  

God blesses us.