Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The functions of the ascension of Jesus to heaven are as follows:
- He ascended to heaven to prepare a place for all of us.
John 14:1-2
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..
So, where God is, there we are. It means that we are not separated from Him forever.
Our duty in the world is preparing the place for Jesus as the Head, namely the perfect body of Christ. Therefore, we must be active in the ministry of the edification of His perfect body that starts from the marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding, until Israelites and Gentiles become His perfect body.
- He sat down on the right side of the throne of Father God and became the High Priest, or the Great Shepherd to make propitiation for the sins by His own blood.
Hebrews 2:17
2:17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
There must be the ministry of reconciliation. Why?
Exodus 32:30-34
32:30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
32:31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!
32:32 "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin -- but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."
32:33 And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
32:34 "Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin."
At that time, the Israelites committed a great sin or worshiped the idol. Idol means something that makes us not love God and prioritize the service and ministry. They worshiped money, became stingy and greedy, or had the sins of eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage. They should have experienced the condemnation or the wrath of God. But, Moses as the shepherd tried to participate in the ministry of reconciliation through an intercession prayer, so they got the ministry of reconciliation. Now, it is also for the spiritual Israel or the church of God.
The results of the ministry of reconciliation are as follows:
- The finish or removal of all sins is done by the blood of Jesus, so we do not get the wrath and condemnation of God.
- Our name is written in the book of life. It means that we are worthy to get the eternal life in the heavenly kingdom forever.
If ones keep sins up to the peak, their names are not written in the book of life or they are erased from it.
The consequences are as follows:
- They will worship Antichrist and be stamped with 666 or become the same as Antichrist who will be destroyed.
Revelation 13:8
13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
- They are cast out in the lake of fire and perish forever.
Revelation 20:15
20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Therefore, commemorating the ascension of Jesus, we must try to experience the ministry of reconciliation, so our name is written in the book of life.
The process so that the name is written in the book of life is as follows:
- We must have the white garments and the anointing oil of Holy Spirit on the head.
Revelation 3:4-5
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.
3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Ecclesiastes 9:8
9:8 Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil.
The white garments refer to the ministry.
Exodus 29:1
29:1 "And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish
Exodus 28:3
28:3 "So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest..
The anointing oil on head refers to the miraculous gifts from Holy Spirit. So, we can do the ministry according the one that God has entrusted to us.
After we have the ministry and gifts, we must be faithful and fervent in spirit in it until the end line or Jesus comes for the second time.
If one is not faithful and fervent in spirit, he will be naked like Judas Iscariot who was fervent in sins up to the peak.
Where do we get the white garments and the anointing oil on head?
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 is upon him: I am the LORD.
We get them in the Holy Place, the shepherding pen, or the perseverance in doing three main services as follows:
- The Golden Candlestick refers to the General Service to get the fellowship with Holy Spirit God in the anointing and gifts of Holy Spirit. We drink, so we are fresh spiritually and keep faithful and fervent in spirit in serving and ministering to God.
- The Table of Showbread refers to the Bible Study Service and Holy Communion to get the fellowship with the Son of God in the true teaching word and sacrifice of Christ. We eat, so we do not fall in sins, but live in holiness.
- The Golden Altar of Incense refers to the Prayer Service to get the fellowship with Father God in His love. The love is eternal. If we breathe in the love of God, we will aim at the eternal life.
In the shepherding pen, our body, soul, and spirit attach to the Trinity of God. We are specialized by Him like the apple of His own eye. It means that we get the protection and preservation from Him, so soon or later, we will bear sweet fruits.
The perseverance in the shepherding pen begins from the shepherd who must persevere to feed the sheep in the three main services to God and in intercession prayer.
Proverbs 28:9
28:9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
If a pastor does not feed the congregation with the word of God, His prayers will be an abomination for God. If the congregation does not want to eat the word, their Prayers will be an abomination for Him.
The intercession prayer of the pastor refers to the four layers of covering to cover the congregation.
In the shepherding, God gives the shepherding word like He gave manna for Israelites at the wilderness forty years until the name is written in the book of life. We are known by God and we know Him.
The process is as follows:
- The voice of the pastor calls us by our name, when we are rebuked by the word or when the word points out our sins.
John 10:3
10:3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Our attitude is confessing our sins to God and other people. After being forgiven, we do not do it anymore and we live in righteousness and holiness.
Confessing sins means knowing the name of Jesus, so our name is known by Him.
On the other hand, not confessing the sins or not being sanctified is the same as denying His name and He denies ours too.
- The shepherding word leads us, so we do not fall in sins and we are not deceived by other voices such as false teachings, the fleshly ones, and gossips. After that, we are led outside to enter the fellowship of the perfect body of Christ which does not have any blemish.
While we are being sanctified and changed, our name is being written in the book of life.
Revelation 2:17
2:17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."'
We must get the ministry of reconciliation or the finish of the sins until we are without blemish.
Revelation 21:27
21:27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
The proof is that there is no more lie or we do not stumble in words anymore.
Why is the name of a liar not written in the book of life?
Revelation 21:8
21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
- Because lie is the end of sins. When there is lie, there are the other sins.
- The life renewal from the fleshly man to the spiritual one starts from there is no more lie. Lying, one has not experienced the renewal yet.
Ephesians 4:24-25
4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another
We must be honest about the teaching and all things.
If we are honest, there will be peace.
Malachi 2:6-7
2:6 The law of truth was in his mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity.
2:7 "For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts..
A peaceful heart is the place of Holy Spirit.
The functions of Holy Spirit are as follows:
- To make us not thirsty like the Samaritan woman.
Isaiah 35:3-6
35:3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees.
35:4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you."
35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
35:6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.
- Giving us an extra power to face the physical and spiritual shakings, so we have the following things:
- The strong knee, namely we keep on standing on the sacrifice of Jesus and we kneel before Him.
- The strong hand, namely we keep faithful, fervent in spirit in serving and ministering to God, strong, and courageous. We are not disappointed and hopeless. We do not leave God, but keep on surrendering and crying out to Him.
- Holy Spirit performs miracles.
Mark 7:37
7:37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
God blesses you.