General Service in Malang, January 22, 2023 (Sunday Morning)

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

Revelation 18:22
18:22 "The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.

Babylon is without sound. It means being without the Word.

Revelation 18:23
18:23 "The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

Babylon is without light. It means being without the anointing of Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 4:12
4:12 For the word of God is living 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.

Babylon or the earth without the sharpness of the sword of the Word that is able to sanctify from all sins is the same as being without Thummim in the breastplate of the High Priest.

Hebrews 4:13
4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Being without the light of the anointing of Holy Spirit that illuminates the darkness of sins which are hidden is the same as being without Urim.

Exodus 28:15-16,30
28:15 " You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it.
28:16 "It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width.
28:30 "And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.

The breastplate of judgment over the heart of the High Priest means all the decisions for the congregation because of the love to them.

Babylon or the world without Urim and Thummim in the breastplate of the High Priest that is a square means being without the ministry of Jesus as the High Priest. Being without sanctification, one only commits sins until loving and being bound by sins up to the peak forever and cannot be set free anymore.

Therefore, we must be the faithful and true priests and kings who always get the ministry of Jesus, the High Priest. We must be faithful and true to the Word and the service and ministry to God. We must always receive and experience the work of Urim and Thummim or the true teaching Word in the anointing of Holy Spirit that always sanctifies our heart and mind from the lusts of evil, uncleanness, and bitterness as well as the sinful deeds and meaningless words such as lies, gossips, and slanders.

If we live in holiness, we will be able to love God until reaching the square city, namely the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:16
21:16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

Revelation 21:2
21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

It means that we become the perfect bride of God or his favorite.

Revelation 18:24
18:24 "And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth."

There is a contradictory condition. When the Church experiences the work of Urim and Thummim or gets the full love of God up to the perfection, Babylon is in the peak, namely loving the sins of evil, uncleanness, bitterness or hatred without a cause, killing the prophets or saints, and destroying the edification of Christ's body.

Revelation 18:21
18:21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.

Consequently, there is judgment over Babylon until the everlasting perdition in the sea of fire and brimstone.

One of the people who were murdered was the last prophet, namely John the Baptist [Matthew 14]. He was beheaded, but it was not a defeat because it gave the opportunity to Jesus to work, namely placing Jesus as the Head over His body.

The work of the Lord through John the Baptist is laying the foundation of salvation. This is the foundation of the edification of Christ's body.

John the Baptist was murdered. It means the transition from John the Baptist to Jesus for continuing the work of the Lord, namely edifying the body of Christ on the foundation up to the perfection.

Thus, the work of the Lord cannot be failed by anything and anyone including Satan. The church cannot be made failed to grow towards the perfection. Thus, there is no reason for us to be disappointed and hopeless until leaving the work of the Lord.

John the Baptist and Jesus worked together. It means that if we know our position or the ministry and gifts from God, we will not be jealous or have strife one another, but support one another and work together for reaching the perfection.

The place where God works for edifying the body of Christ that begins from the edification of the foundation is in the wilderness or the earth where Babylon also wants to build the body, the false church, or the bride of Satan.

Mark 1:1-3
1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1:2 As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You."
1:3 "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"

Isaiah 14:12-17
14:12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
14:13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
14:15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
14:16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,
14:17 Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?'

Satan refers to the star of the morning or the angel Lucifer who fell because of his arrogance. He did not know his position. He wanted to be the same as the Lord with his own way or made all things legal.

The truth can be blamed at because of injustice, but cannot be defeated. The truth must be victorious with God.

Consequently, Lucifer was cast to the earth until it became the wilderness.

There are two things which we can learn as follows:

1. The heavenly kingdom cannot be empty.
   Lucifer or the son of the morning became arrogant, so he fell and was cast to the world, but his position was directly replaced by Jesus, the bright and morning star, because of His humbleness and obedience up to the death on the cross.
   
   Therefore, do not leave the ministry and gifts of Holy Spirit regardless of anything that happens so that we are not replaced by others. Being replaced by others, one cannot return anymore like Judas Iscariot who was replaced by Matthias. He could not return until he burst open in the middle and his entrails gushed out.
   
   Taking off the beautiful robe is the same as being naked or serving to sins up to the peak.
   
   
2. Satan destroys the earth to become the dry wilderness and works for doing the following things:
   
   
   • Encaging or binding men in sins up to the peak, namely the sins concerning eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage.
     The house refers to the marriage. Repair the marriage and do not divorce regardless of anything that happens! Going home is the same as repairing the marriage.
     Satan wants to destroy the body of Christ that starts from the household.
     
     
   • Resisting against God, namely edifying the false church.
     Revelation 17:3-5
     17:3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
     17:4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
     17:5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
     
     It only magnifies the physical things, namely prosperity and entertainment or being without Urim and Thummim until the congregation only commits sins up to the peak.
     

God wants to build the perfect body of Christ in the wilderness through these steps:

1. Laying the foundation of salvation by John the Baptist.
   Mark 1:3
   1:3 "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"
   
   John the Baptist preached the Word so that the sinners could believe Jesus as the only Savior or enter the Gate of the heavenly kingdom. We turn from the atmosphere of the wilderness to the atmosphere of heaven. We are set free from the gnawing of Satan.
   
   Mark 1:4
   1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
   
   Repenting refers to the Altar of Burnt Offerings. We confess sin to God and others. Being forgiven, we do not commit sin anymore. We stop sinning, starting from lies and hatred.
   
   The water baptism refers to the Brazen Laver. One who has died to sin must be buried in water together with Jesus and be raised from water with Him until the heavens are opened. We get the new life, namely the life in righteousness.
   
   Mark 1:8
   1:8 "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
   
   Through the baptism of Holy Spirit, we get the heart that is anointed by Holy Spirit, namely sincerity and honesty. It is the same as the way which is straight. As a result, Jesus is passing to perform the miracles for us.
   
   
2. Building on the foundation by Jesus, the High Priest.
   
   
   • The edification of the perfect Christ's body.
     Ephesians 4:8-12
     4:8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
     4:9 (Now this, "He ascended" --what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
     4:10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
     4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
     4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
     
     The cost of the edification of Christ's body is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
     
     Do not be proud when we are used to sacrifice for the work of the Lord, but give thanks to God! The process is as follows:
     
     
     • Jesus calls us. It means setting us free from the captivity of sins, so we can live in righteousness and be saved.
       
     • Jesus chooses us. It means sanctifying us in the sheepfold or perseverance in committing the three main services to God, namely the General Service, Bible Study Service with Holy Communion, and Worship Prayer Service. Like a branch that abides in the true Vine, we get the continual sanctification until someday we must bear sweet fruits for sure.
       
       
     • Jesus gives the ministry and gifts of Holy Spirit until we are used in the ministry for the edification of the perfect Christ's body.
       
       
     There are two things which we must pay attention to as follows:
     
     
     • We must have the unity of faith or the unity of the true teaching Word.
       Ephesians 4:13-14
       4:13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
       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,
       
       If the teachings are not the same in the household, the false teaching will cause being tossed to and fro or one cannot be mature spiritually.
       
       
     • Faithfulness and fervency in spirit in the ministry and the gifts of Holy Spirit are the same as being alive and growing to the spiritual maturity or perfection.
       2 Timothy 1:6
       1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
       
       Unfaithfulness is the same as fainting or being dead spiritually.
       
       
   • Placing Jesus as the Head.
     The connection between the Head and the body is in the neck that refers to the worship prayer.
     
     Matthew 17:1-3
     17:1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
     17:2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
     17:3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
     
     There is tearing to the flesh in the worship prayer, so there is renewal from the fleshly men to the spiritual ones like Jesus is. It begins from the face that refers to the heart.
     
     For example, Moses and Elijah were changed.
     Moses was not obedient when he was commanded to speak to the rock, namely he struck it. The miracle indeed happened, but he could not enter Canaan. The greatest miracle is the spiritual one, namely the renewal of life or obedience.
     Elijah was hopeless until he wanted to die, disappointed, and doubtful.
     
     Through the worship prayer, there is renewal to be the heart that believes and obeys God.
     
     John 11:39-40
     11:39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."
     11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"
     
     Lazarus died four days. It refers to the difficulties about the daily life, impossibilities, the disease which is impossible to be cured, rottenness, sorrow, sufferings, and perdition.
     
     If we believe and obey or stretch our hands to God, He will stretch out the merciful hands for performing miracles.
     
     Lazarus was raised. It means the protection and preservation of God in the midst of the difficulties in the world. The impossibilities can be made possible. The rotten can be made fragrant. The sufferings are changed into the heavenly joy. It continues until we can reach the perfection.
     

God blesses you.