Peace and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:20b
28:20 … and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age.” Amen.
The accompaniment of God is our main need. Without the accompaniment of God, there is only a step between us and death either physically or spiritually.
God is with us to the end of the age. It means He is with us in the midst of many difficulties in the world now, until the days when antichrist reigns over the world, even until Jesus comes a second time on the glorious clouds and we sit together with Him on the throne of Heaven.
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.
Who may get the accompaniment of God starting from now on until to sit together with Him on His throne? They are those who overcome together with Jesus.
Revelation 17:14
17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who arewith Him arecalled, chosen, and faithful.”
The requirement to win together with Jesus is being called, chosen, and faithful.
Thus, the requirement to overcome together with Jesus is being priests who faithfully minister and serve God according to the ministry given by Him up to the end line.
We are still discussing about faithfulness.
2 Corinthians 11:2-3
11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you asa chaste virgin to Christ.
11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The center of faithfulness is the simplicity that is in Christ. It refers to faithfulness to the true teaching Word. It determines the other true faithfulness in ministry, marriage, and everything. Faithfulness without the true teaching Word is a false faithfulness that will not bring us to the throne of Heaven.
There is only a step after betrothal period to enter the marriage supper of the Lamb of God when Jesus comes a second time. It equals to the last days, when we face faithfulness test to Christ.
There are three periods of faithfulness test to the true teaching Word as follows.
God blesses us.
Matthew 28:20b
28:20 … and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age.” Amen.
The accompaniment of God is our main need. Without the accompaniment of God, there is only a step between us and death either physically or spiritually.
God is with us to the end of the age. It means He is with us in the midst of many difficulties in the world now, until the days when antichrist reigns over the world, even until Jesus comes a second time on the glorious clouds and we sit together with Him on the throne of Heaven.
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.
Who may get the accompaniment of God starting from now on until to sit together with Him on His throne? They are those who overcome together with Jesus.
Revelation 17:14
17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who arewith Him arecalled, chosen, and faithful.”
The requirement to win together with Jesus is being called, chosen, and faithful.
- Being called means being justified or saved by God through believing Him, repenting, and being baptized in water and Holy Spirit. The result is we receive new life, that is living in righteousness and salvation. We must be careful because many are called but few are chosen.
- Being chosen means being shepherded and sanctified to be appointed as priests and kings, and equipped with ministry and the gifts of Holy Spirit.
- After being a priest, we must be faithful. Starting from a pastor must be faithful, as Jesus the Great Shepherd is also faithful until He dies.
Thus, the requirement to overcome together with Jesus is being priests who faithfully minister and serve God according to the ministry given by Him up to the end line.
We are still discussing about faithfulness.
2 Corinthians 11:2-3
11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you asa chaste virgin to Christ.
11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The center of faithfulness is the simplicity that is in Christ. It refers to faithfulness to the true teaching Word. It determines the other true faithfulness in ministry, marriage, and everything. Faithfulness without the true teaching Word is a false faithfulness that will not bring us to the throne of Heaven.
There is only a step after betrothal period to enter the marriage supper of the Lamb of God when Jesus comes a second time. It equals to the last days, when we face faithfulness test to Christ.
There are three periods of faithfulness test to the true teaching Word as follows.
- The first age or the days of Father God (from Adam to Abraham).
It is represented by Eve in the Garden Eden.
Eve’s mind is deceived by the serpent so she removes the sword of the Word that has become her life experience.
God gives command and prohibition to Adam and Eve. They have followed the sword of the Word and they live happily in the Garden Eden. But suddenly Eve is deceived by Satan so they are driven out of the Garden Eden.
Genesis 3:1,3
3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
3:3 but of the fruit of the tree which isin the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Genesis 2:16-17
2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Eve is deceived because she hears the other teaching. She adds and takes away from the true teaching Word, until she rejects and releases it. She eats the fruit that is forbidden by God.
Genesis 3:23-24
3:23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
3:24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
The consequence is Eve is naked and sent out of the garden of Eden to the world that is full of curse, weariness, heavy burden, and tears. The way to the Paradise is also closed by the flaming sword which turns every way, so men cannot return. If we reject the sword, we will receive the sword of judgment. - The middle age or the days of the Son of God (from Abraham to Jesus’ first coming).
It is represented by Solomon.
1 Kings 3:22-28
3:22 Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one ismy son, and the dead one isyour son.”And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one isyour son, and the living one ismy son.”Thus they spoke before the king.
3:23 And the king said, “The one says, ‘This ismy son, who lives, and your son isthe dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son isthe dead one, and my son isthe living one.’”
3:24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.
3:25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
3:26 Then the woman whose son wasliving spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!”But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, butdivide him.”
3:27 So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she ishis mother.”
3:28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God wasin him to administer justice.
Solomon is still very young but he is faced to international problem, that is problem concerning broken marriage. But he can solve it because he uses the sword of the true teaching Word. The decision of the sword of the Word looks hard and as without love, but actually if we firmly use it, we will receive the wisdom and mercy of God to:- Solve all problems especially problems concerning marriage and children.
- Enter the marriage supper of the Lamb of God on His second coming.
Therefore, we must be careful to ask advice about marriage. We must ask to one who holds the sword of the Word. A pastor must also be careful in giving advice about marriage. He must purely use the sword of the Word because the decision of a pastor decides the future of the congregation up to eternal life.
If one rejects the sword of the Word, he will enter blasphemous marriage or the marriage of Babylon that will be destroyed forever.
1 Kings 11:4-6
11:4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as wasthe heart of his father David.
11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
11:6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as didhis father David.
Unfortunately on Solomon’s old days, he looses the sword of the Word because he hears the other teaching and gossips from his wives. The consequence is his kingdom and marriage are split. He cannot enter the unity of the body of Christ. Faithfulness to the sword of the Word decides the split. Until the separation of two people on the bed depends on the true faithfulness in Christ.
Romans 16:17
16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
One who teaches the other teaching causes divisions of the body of Christ, and also one who supports the other teaching. We must avoid this kind of people. It is an exercise so we can escape from this world when the sword of judgment comes. - Solve all problems especially problems concerning marriage and children.
- The last age or the days of Holy Spirit God (from Jesus’ first coming to the second one).
2 Peter 2:1-2
2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, andbring on themselves swift destruction.
2:2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
On the last age, many servants of God will loose the true teaching Word that has become their life experience and follow the false teaching that will go to everlasting perdition.
Matthew 14:29-31
14:29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
14:30 But when he saw that the wind wasboisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out Hishand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter serves God faithfully until he faces the wind of false teaching and wrong gossips. Peter becomes doubtful and looses the sword of the Word and he sinks. His physical and spiritual life declines up to everlasting perdition in the lake of fire and brimstone.
Fortunately Peter stretches out his hands, cries out, and says “Lord, save me!”. We asks for God’s help so we will not doubt the true teaching Word but keep hold on it. We stretch out our hands to keep being faithful holding on Jesus until we are lifted up.
Exodus 32:26-28
32:26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever ison the Lord’s side—cometo me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
32:27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’”
32:28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
The right attitude is keeping holding on the sword. We hold on the true teaching Word that has become our life experience. It means that we are on God’s side, thus He will also be on our side. He cares and pays attention to us. He struggles with us.
The results are as follows.- The Word of God is living. It means the merciful hands of God are able to give us life and care us in the middle of difficulties in this world.
Hebrews 4:12
4:12 For the word of God isliving and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. - The Word of God is powerful. It means the merciful hands of God give us extra power to face everything in this world, so we are strong and of good courage.
No matter how great a man in this world is, he is only as clay pot that is easily cracked and broken when hitting something. The clay pot of our life must be filled with the Word so we are strong.
Being strong and of good courage means as follows.- Not being disappointed or desperate in facing everything.
- Not deviating, but keeping holding on the true teaching Word.
- Being faithful and fervent in spirit in the ministry.
- Living in righteousness and peace. If we are in peace, everything will be easy and light.
- Not being disappointed or desperate in facing everything.
- The sword of the Word is sharper than any two-edged sword to sanctify us. The merciful hands of God wash our heart and life, until we reach the number 3000 (2000 is the volume of the Holy Place, 1000 is the volume of the Most Holy Place).
Matthew 15:19-20
15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
15:20 These are the thingswhich defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
If our heart is sanctified from seven evil and unclean desires, our deeds will also be sanctified. Moreover, our character and lips will be sanctified.
James 3:2
3:2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he isa perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
Lip is sanctified so we can say “yes” for “yes” and “no” for “no”. Shepherded life (one who enters the Holy Place) is an obedient and honest life. - The merciful hands of God open the door of Paradise for us, meaning opening way out from every problem even the impossible one. There is beautiful and successful future. Even the door of Paradise is opened through His death on the cross. Until the door of Heaven will be opened on His second coming.
Hebrews 10:19-20
10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
10:20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
- The Word of God is living. It means the merciful hands of God are able to give us life and care us in the middle of difficulties in this world.
God blesses us.