Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 3:1-3
3:1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
3:2 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
3:3 "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
Jesus preaches the Word to sanctify the church in Sardis so that they can have the spiritual revival or they are always watchful, especially in these two things.
Revelation 3:4
3:4 "You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
Jude 1:11-12
1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
1:12 These are spotsin your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
The garment of ministry is often defiled by the spot of Cain, Balaam, and Korah as follows.
The ways to cleanse the garments from the spots are as follows.
God blesses you.
Revelation 3:1-3
3:1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
3:2 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
3:3 "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
Jesus preaches the Word to sanctify the church in Sardis so that they can have the spiritual revival or they are always watchful, especially in these two things.
- Being watchful about the consecration or the service and ministry to God.
- Being watchful about the second coming of Jesus. It is related to two things as follows.
- The time of Jesus’ second coming is like a thief.
- Keeping the white garment so that it is not defiled.
Revelation 3:4
3:4 "You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
Jude 1:11-12
1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
1:12 These are spotsin your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
The garment of ministry is often defiled by the spot of Cain, Balaam, and Korah as follows.
- Intense craving.
Numbers 11:4-6
11:4 Now the mixed multitudewho were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: "Who will give us meat to eat?
11:5 "We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
11:6 "but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!"
It has happened when the house of Israel go out of Egypt. This is a prophecy that the intense craving will attack the church in the last days when Jesus will come a second time.
Manna is the same as the angel’s food, shepherding Word, or the true teaching Word. The spot of the intense craving means loathing manna, getting bored, not appreciating, even resisting against the Word because of pursuing fleshly things.
They are called the mixed multitude. It means that their life and marriage are in confusion until they enter the building of Babylon or the bride of Satan.
Numbers 11:33-34
11:33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague.
11:34 So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.
Although they got the physical things, they could not enjoy it. Moreover, they were dry and dead in the spirituality until they perished in Kibroth Hattaavah or the sea of fire and brimstone.
Isaiah 66:24
66:24 "And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
Romans 6:2, 4
6:2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
6:4 Therefore we were buriedwith Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raisedfrom the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
We must pay attention to the spiritual tomb, namely the water baptism, so that we do not enter Kibroth Hattaavah (the tomb of the people in the intense craving).
The requirement of the right water baptism is repentance. The execution of the right water baptism is the people who have died to sin or repented must be buried in water with Jesus and raised with Him.
1 Peter 3:20-21
3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
3:21 There is also an antitype which now saves us––baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good consciencetoward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
The result of the right water baptism is a new life or heavenly one, namely the good conscience or the sincere heart of a newborn baby.
1 Peter 2:2
2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
The new life means the life in righteousness. A baby always desires the pure spiritual milk, namely Shepherding Word, more than all things. The results are as follows.- Being full or satisfied spiritually and physically.
- Being in quietness and peace and all things are easy and light.
- Growing to the spiritual maturity.
- Egoism.
Jude 1:12
1:12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
Matthew 25:33
25:33 "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
The servants of God will be separated into two parts, namely sheep and goats, when Jesus comes a second time.
The facts found in the egoism are as follows.- Stinginess and greediness.
Matthew 25:41-43, 45
25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
25:42 ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
25:43 ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
25:45 "Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
One has already gotten the blessings from God, but there is stinginess (he cannot give for the work of God and other people who are in need) and greediness (he robs the right of others and God, namely the tithes and offerings).
Mark 12:41-43
12:41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much.
12:42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
12:43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury;
The Lord pays attention to the matter of giving very much as follows.- He teaches us about giving.
- He gives the equal opportunity to all people, both the rich and poor, to be able to give.
- The building of the perfect body of Christ. We can enter the building of the perfect body of Christ through giving.
- The grace of God.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
If we give joyfully, willingly, and with sacrifice or in the sign of blood, we will receive the grace of God to preserve us abundantly until we can always give thanks to Him. We can abound in the righteous acts or good deeds, namely we get the fine linen, clean and bright.
Revelation 19:8
19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous actsof the saints.
- Fouling the clear water and pasture.
Ezekiel 34:17-19
34:17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.
34:18 "Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture––and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?
34:19 "And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."
It means that one has gotten the blessings from the true teaching Word, but does not obey it, even he resists against it. The true teaching is fouled by the bad life journey. Such person also becomes the stumbling-block for others. Consequently, his life is not beautiful, but decreases and perishes.
Titus 2:7-10
2:7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,
2:8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
2:9 Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back,
2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of Godour Savior in all things.
The right attitude is in honesty, sincerity, faithfulness, and obedience to the true teaching Word. It means adorning the teaching Word until there are many people who are won in the true teaching Word. - Pushing with shoulder.
Ezekiel 34:21
34:21"Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,
Matthew 25:26, 30
25:26 "But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.
25:30 ‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
It means that one has gotten the trust from God in the ministry, but he is not faithful and responsible. It means wickedness and laziness. The wickedness means beating the other servants of God with gossip, slander, and so on. Consequently, he lives in the darkness, sorrows, sufferings, and the outer darkness or perdition.
The right attitude is in faithfulness and responsibility in doing the service and ministry until the end, namely we pass away or Jesus comes a second time. As a result, we experience the heavenly joy from now on when we are in the world until we enter the eternal heavenly kingdom when Jesus comes a second time.
- Stinginess and greediness.
The ways to cleanse the garments from the spots are as follows.
- Being washed by the rain water of the true teaching Word.
Ephesians 5:25-27
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spotor wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
After being dived in the water baptism, we must be dived in the water of the true teaching Word, especially through the perseverance in doing the Bible Study Service with Holy Communion.
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 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 work of the true teaching Word is to sanctify us like these two things.- Launderer’s soap.
The true teaching Word is repeated to sanctify the outer spots, namely bad saying and doing. - Refiner’s fire.
The true teaching Worde is repeated to sanctify the inner spots or the corrosion or characteristics of sin such as egoism, intense craving, revenge, jealousy, and so on.
- Launderer’s soap.
- Having the ministry of reconciliation done by the High Priest.
2 Peter 3:14
3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
There are two kinds of the ministry of reconciliation done by the High Priest as follows.- In the Altar of Burnt Offerings.
The blood is put on the Altar of Burnt Offerings and poured under it. It means the reconciliation through the forgiveness of sin. The process is confessing sin to God and others. We do not repeat the sin after being forgiven. - In the Most Holy Place.
The blood is brought to the Most Holy Place to be sprinkled. The sprinkling of blood means the suffering in the flesh without any sin or because of Jesus. For example, we suffer because of serving and ministering to God, fasting, being slandered, and so on.
The sprinkling of blood results in these two things.- The light of glory or shekinah glory.
1 Peter 4:12-14
4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
4:13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
4:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of gloryand of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
It is to renew us from carnal men to spiritual ones like Jesus.
1 Peter 4:15-16
4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.
4:16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.- There is no murderer or hatred and jealousy.
- A thief is changed until one is able to give.
- An evildoer is changed into one who does good deeds.
- A busybody in other people’s matters is changed into one who makes peace.
- The great grace or mercy.
1 Peter 2:19
2:19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.
Hebrews 4:16
4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The grace of God is able to help us and finish all matters in time of need, even the impossible problems. The grace also makes all things beautiful in time of need. We only need to wait for the time of God. Why have we not experienced the help of God yet?- Because we still keep the sin, have not confessed it yet, but blame others.
- Because we have not experienced the life renewal yet, but still become carnal men.
- Because of waiting for the grace of God or His time.
God will help us and make all things beautiful until we become His bride like Esther who was exalted as the queen. We are ready to welcome His second coming.
Revelation 22:20-21
22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
22:21 The graceof our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
- The light of glory or shekinah glory.
- In the Altar of Burnt Offerings.
God blesses you.