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.
God will be with us to the end of the age, meaning God is with us starting from now on until He comes a second time on the glorious clouds, and we sit with Him on the throne of Heaven forever.
Moses asks for the accompaniment of God during the journey in the wilderness to Canaan. The accompaniment of God is our main need that cannot be replaced by anything in this world. Everything in this world, including the Heaven, is useless without the accompaniment of God.
Now, we also ask for the accompaniment of God to go to the New Jerusalem.
There are two kinds of God’s accompaniment as follows.
We still discuss the first one. There are three forms of the grace of God as follows.
ad. 2. God guides us.
Exodus 33:14-15
33:14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you,and I will give you rest.”
33:15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us,do not bring us up from here.
The term ‘guide’ refers to the shepherding system. One who has been saved and become God’s sheep must be shepherded so he will not be preyed and destroyed by the wild beasts (Satan, antichrist, false prophet with the power of sin, temptation, and false teaching).
Where must we be shepherded?
We must be shepherded as a branch that abides on the true vine, or as a donkey tied on the choice vine. It means that we must be shepherded on the true teaching Word.
The requirements of being shepherded are as follows.
The consequences of being not shepherded are as follows.
God blesses us.
Matthew 28:20b
28:20 .... and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age.” Amen.
God will be with us to the end of the age, meaning God is with us starting from now on until He comes a second time on the glorious clouds, and we sit with Him on the throne of Heaven forever.
Moses asks for the accompaniment of God during the journey in the wilderness to Canaan. The accompaniment of God is our main need that cannot be replaced by anything in this world. Everything in this world, including the Heaven, is useless without the accompaniment of God.
Now, we also ask for the accompaniment of God to go to the New Jerusalem.
There are two kinds of God’s accompaniment as follows.
- Exodus 33:12-17; the grace of God.
- Exodus 33:18-23; the glory of God.
We still discuss the first one. There are three forms of the grace of God as follows.
- [verse 12-13] God shows us His way, that is the way of the cross.
Exodus 33:12-13
33:12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’
33:13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation isYour people.”
If we do not follow the way of the cross, God will not accompany us. Without the cross, there is no accompaniment of God. - [verse 14-15] God guides us.
- [verse 16-17] God walks with us.
ad. 2. God guides us.
Exodus 33:14-15
33:14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you,and I will give you rest.”
33:15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us,do not bring us up from here.
The term ‘guide’ refers to the shepherding system. One who has been saved and become God’s sheep must be shepherded so he will not be preyed and destroyed by the wild beasts (Satan, antichrist, false prophet with the power of sin, temptation, and false teaching).
Where must we be shepherded?
We must be shepherded as a branch that abides on the true vine, or as a donkey tied on the choice vine. It means that we must be shepherded on the true teaching Word.
The requirements of being shepherded are as follows.
- Hearing and being obedient to the voice of the Shepherd, that is the true shepherding Word.
John 10:27-28
10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
10:28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Shepherding Word is the true teaching Word trusted by God to one pastor in order to be preached to the congregation with faithfulness and full responsibility. It is preached repetitively and becomes spiritual food to the congregation so they grow to spiritual maturity and perfection as Jesus.
Through the shepherding Word, we follow the pattern of the pastor who also follows the pattern of the Great Shepherd.
John 10:5
10:5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
If sheep eat the true shepherding Word, they will not hear strange voice, even flee from it. The strange voice is the false teaching that is not according to the Holy Bible, and gossips whose truth cannot be accounted. The strange voice causes one to become disobedient to the true teaching Word, even to rebel God. - Always being within the true sheepfold.
Within Tabernacle there is Holy Place with three kinds of equipment. In the New Testament, they are fulfilled by three kinds of perseverance [Acts 2:41-42]. Now, they denote perseverance in three main services as follows.- Golden Candlestick (the days of Moses)= perseverance in fellowship (the church at the early rain)= perseverance in General Service (the church at the latter rain).
- Table of Showbread= perseverance in the apostles’ doctrine and the breaking of bread= perseverance in Bible Study Service with Holy Communion.
- Golden Altar of Incense= perseverance in prayers= perseverance in Prayer Service.
Leviticus 21:12
21:12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God isupon him: I amthe Lord.
A shepherded life will always be anointed with the Holy Spirit from Heaven. Outside the shepherding, we will dry spiritually.
The usefulness of the shepherding is as follows.- Firming our salvation.
- Giving us the joy of Heaven (Nain = pasture = pleasant place).
Luke 7:11-12
7:11 Now it happened, the day after, thatHe went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
7:12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
Unfortunately, in Nain there were two groups with different direction. The group of Jesus, the only Son of the Father, walked into Nain and the group of a widow with her only son who had died went out from Nain to the grave. Fortunately, they met near the gate of the city. The gate of the true shepherding is good conscience, which always realizes when there is something not okay or not in line with the true teaching Word. One with good conscience will always be obedient and find the true shepherding.
During the days of Noah, there were only bad consciences that always blame the others. They join the group of the widow who walked out from the true shepherding and went to the grave. Grave is not only in the form of discotheque, movie theater, et cetera, but also the wrong shepherding, that is church that does not prioritize the true shepherding Word.
One with bad conscience is also being within the true shepherding, but his heart actually is not there. It is as Judas who crept into the true shepherding. He stirred up the shepherding and was destroyed forever.
John 10:27-28
10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
10:28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
If we are obedient and firm in the true shepherding, we are within the hands of Good Shepherd. The result is the hands of God care our life and give us guarantee of good and beautiful future, up to eternal life. - Golden Candlestick (the days of Moses)= perseverance in fellowship (the church at the early rain)= perseverance in General Service (the church at the latter rain).
The consequences of being not shepherded are as follows.
- Being weary and scattered.
Matthew 9:36
9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Being weary means in labor and heavy burden. Being scattered means there is none who is responsible for his life, especially for the salvation of his soul.
Esau is not shepherded and only hunts for the flesh. He seems to get the physical matters and shows them to Jacob. But later he comes in weariness and hunger. He needs the lentils, which are the true teaching Word that is not mixed with the flesh. Esau must pay the price and lose his birthright.
Jacob is calm and has no potency. He stays within the shepherding and receives everything. - Falling into a deep pit.
Matthew 12:9-11
12:9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.
12:10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.
12:11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift itout?
The sign of being not shepherded is the withering of the right hand, meaning being dry spiritually. A withered right hand means as follows.- Being not able to give for the work of God (time, energy, money, et cetera). If we cannot give, it means we cannot receive the blessing from God, especially the blessing of salvation and perfection.
- Being unfaithful and not fervent in spirit in ministry.
- Leaving the ministry and being not able to worship God.
Proverbs 23:27
23:27 For a harlot isa deep pit, And a seductress isa narrow well.
A deep pit also denotes the building of Babylon, that is the bride of Satan who will be destroyed. - Being not able to give for the work of God (time, energy, money, et cetera). If we cannot give, it means we cannot receive the blessing from God, especially the blessing of salvation and perfection.
- Being dead, as the young man carried out from Nain to the grave.
Luke 7:13-17
7:13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
7:14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried himstood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
7:15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
7:16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”
7:17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
Shepherding concerns our personal life, ministry, and marriage and children. A marriage that is not shepherded is marked with tears and death. The death means preserving sins, starting from lie up to the peak of sins that is sins concerning eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage. They also face failures, sadness, despair, impossibilities, and have no future. If we have good conscience, we must confess when there is something wrong.
What we need is the visit of God as the Good Shepherd through the true teaching Word and His mercy. It is as the two hands of God that are stretched out to us. Thus, spiritual miracle will happen, that is our marriage is restored, the dead is raised, and the impossible one becomes possible. He also wipes every tear from our eyes until there is no more tear. It means God sanctifies and renews our life. We are renewed starting from confessing when there is something wrong and confessing our sins to God and the others. After experiencing the visit of God, we must bear witness about the true shepherding.
Until we reach the New Jerusalem and sit together with Him on His throne.
Revelation 7:17
7:17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
God blesses us.