Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Good evening, let us hear the Word of God. Let the peace, grace, and joy of God be in the midst of us abundantly.
We are still learning Revelation 2-3.
In the arrangement of Tabernacle, it refers to the seven blood sprinkles in front of the Ark of Covenant. They also refer to the seven lettersthat were sent to the seven churches of Gentiles, which refer to the last sanctificationto the seven churches of Gentiles(the churches at the end of time) to make them perfect, without blemish like Jesus and be the Bride of Heaven who is ready to welcome His second coming in the glorious cloud.
The seven churches of Gentiles who underwent the blood sprinkles are as follows.
AD. 4. THE CHURCH OF THYATIRA
Revelation 2:26-29
2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations--
2:27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'--as I also have received from My Father;
2:28 and I will give him the morning star.
2:29 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
There are GOD'S PROMISESto the church of Thyatira who win, as follows.
We still learn the first promise, WE WILL RULE AND JUDGE NATIONS WITH A ROD OF IRONtogether with Jesus.
Psalms 2:9-12
2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'"
2:10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
2:11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.
2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Jesus, as the King, rules the nations with a rod of iron.
In Revelation 2, Jesus also promised that we will be together with Him to rule nations with a rod of iron, we will sit on the throne of judgment or the throne of glory with Him(it has been explained since Bible Study Service, January 12, 2015).
Don't let us be judged!
The conditions so that we can sit in the throne of judgmentor the throne of glory with Jesus and be delivered from God's judgment are as follows.
To be able to sit in the throne of the judgment with Jesus and be free from the punishment, we have to be in the 3 kinds of services, we enter the shepherding (the Holy Place) so that our body, soul, and spirit are connected with God Trinity.
In the shepherding, there is a shepherd's rod (in the book of Ezekiel).
We need to choose between the shepherd's rod and the rod of iron.
If we are not willing to be in the shepherding with the shepherd's rod, we will be shepherded with the rod of iron (God's punishment).
Ezekiel 20:37
20:37 "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
To enter the shepherding, there is a shepherd's rod.
It means that we have to experience the work of the shepherd's rod(the shepherd's voice or the Word) so that we won't experience the rod of iron (God's punishment, we are like a broken pot).
The usages of the shepherd's rodor voice are as follows.
These days, let's have the shepherd's rod. Let's be in the shepherding. There is a shepherd's rod that will control all of our lives until we are exalted right at God's time and everything will be beautiful in His time.
There are a lot of tribulations these days, let's surrender everything to the Great Shepherd.
God blesses us.
We are still learning Revelation 2-3.
In the arrangement of Tabernacle, it refers to the seven blood sprinkles in front of the Ark of Covenant. They also refer to the seven lettersthat were sent to the seven churches of Gentiles, which refer to the last sanctificationto the seven churches of Gentiles(the churches at the end of time) to make them perfect, without blemish like Jesus and be the Bride of Heaven who is ready to welcome His second coming in the glorious cloud.
The seven churches of Gentiles who underwent the blood sprinkles are as follows.
- The church of EPHESUS(Revelation 2:1-7) (it has been explained since General Service, July 27, 2014until General Service in Surabaya, September 07, 2014). The church of Ephesus had to return to the initial loveto be able to get back to the paradise.
- The church of SMYRNA(Revelation 2:8-11) who experienced tribulations, but God said to them not to be afraid in the tribulations but be faithful until death(it has been explained since General Service in Surabaya, September 14, 2014until General Service in Surabaya, November 09, 2014).
- The church of PERGAMOS(Revelation 2:12-17) who has to leave the false teachings(it has been explained since Bible Study Service in Surabaya, November 17, 2014until General Service in Surabaya, December 28, 2014).
- The church of THYATIRA(Revelation 2:18-29) who have to experience the heart and mind purifying to the deepest mind(it has been explained since General Service in Surabaya, January 04, 2015).
AD. 4. THE CHURCH OF THYATIRA
Revelation 2:26-29
2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations--
2:27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'--as I also have received from My Father;
2:28 and I will give him the morning star.
2:29 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
There are GOD'S PROMISESto the church of Thyatira who win, as follows.
- Verse 26-27, we will rule and judge with a rod of iron (it has been explained since Bible Study Service, January 12, 2015).
- verse 28, God will give us the morning star.
We still learn the first promise, WE WILL RULE AND JUDGE NATIONS WITH A ROD OF IRONtogether with Jesus.
Psalms 2:9-12
2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'"
2:10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
2:11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.
2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Jesus, as the King, rules the nations with a rod of iron.
In Revelation 2, Jesus also promised that we will be together with Him to rule nations with a rod of iron, we will sit on the throne of judgment or the throne of glory with Him(it has been explained since Bible Study Service, January 12, 2015).
Don't let us be judged!
The conditions so that we can sit in the throne of judgmentor the throne of glory with Jesus and be delivered from God's judgment are as follows.
- Psalms 2:10
2:10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
The first condition is to 'be instructed' which means we have to receive the true Word.
In the tabernacle, it refers to the Table of Showbread.
The true Word is the Word which is written in the bible, revealed by God, a verse describes other verses in the bible.
On the Table of Showbread, there are 12 loaves put in two rows, 6 breads in each row (6-6) which refer to the 66 books in the bible.
Now, the Table of Showbread refers to the Bible Study and Holy Communion Service, we are united with the Son of God in Word and the Holy Communion.
Through the Holy Communion, the Word can become flesh within us and we can have a true satisfaction from Heaven and a spiritual growth until the spiritual maturity or perfection. - Psalms 2:11a
2:11a Servethe Lord with fear,
The second condition is to serve and minister to God with fear of Godand not of men.
In the tabernacle, it refers to the Golden Candlestick, which now refers to the General Service, in which we are united with the Holy Spirit in the gifts of the Holy Spirit - there is oil in the candlestick.
"This is why in every general service, there are testimonies, choirs (zangkoor and youth choir)." - Psalms 2:11b
2:11b And rejoicewith trembling.
The third condition is to 'rejoice with trembling', we humble ourselves under God's feet to worship Him.
In the tabernacle, it refers to the Golden Altar of Incense, which now refers to the Prayer Service, in which we are united with God, the Father in His love.
Through a prayer, our flesh is burnt(as the incense is burnt on the altar) so that we receive God's lovethat makes us love God more than anything and others like ourselves, even love those who are hostile to us.
"If we are starting to be angry, worship God more so that God's love which is like the sun are radiated upon us. As Jesus went up to the mountain and His face was shining like a sun that are radiated to us, that is God's love that is radiated to us."
To be able to sit in the throne of the judgment with Jesus and be free from the punishment, we have to be in the 3 kinds of services, we enter the shepherding (the Holy Place) so that our body, soul, and spirit are connected with God Trinity.
In the shepherding, there is a shepherd's rod (in the book of Ezekiel).
We need to choose between the shepherd's rod and the rod of iron.
If we are not willing to be in the shepherding with the shepherd's rod, we will be shepherded with the rod of iron (God's punishment).
Ezekiel 20:37
20:37 "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
To enter the shepherding, there is a shepherd's rod.
It means that we have to experience the work of the shepherd's rod(the shepherd's voice or the Word) so that we won't experience the rod of iron (God's punishment, we are like a broken pot).
The usages of the shepherd's rodor voice are as follows.
- The first usage is to 'bring you into the bond of the covenant'. It means that the rod will bring the sheep to enter the shepherding, which is the 3 kinds of services.
"The job of a shepherd is not to bear sheep. Many shepherds are happy when they increased the number of the sheep from 5 to 5000. It is good, go ahead. However, are they in the shepherding? The job of a shepherd is not to bear sheep; it is to keep them in the shepherding. Even though a shepherd has many sheep, if they are not in the shepherding, they will be eaten by the wolves and be shepherded by a rod of iron or God's punishment."
Ezekiel 20:37
20:37 "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
ONLYthe sheep who are in the shepherding are countedby the Great Shepherd.
Those who stay on the outside are not counted. We pray so that the shepherd's rod will lead us to the shepherding because it is dangerous to be outside.
Being countedreminds us that God even counts our hair, which means that He really takes care of usso that He will do the things as follows.- God will nurtureus to abundance (so that we can always give thanks),
- God will protectus until we can feel the peace,
- God will helpus from troubles,
- God will makeus His.
- John 10:3, 16 (the chapter of shepherding)
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
10:16 And other sheepI have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
'hear his voice' refers to the shepherd's rod or voice.
'leads them out' means the sheep are led out when the door is opened. We are not led to any random place.
The second usage of the shepherd's rod is to lead the sheep out of the shepherding to another oneso that we can be united into one flock and one shepherd, which refers to a fellowship.
"I have told you so many times, wolves are wild, they eat sheep. However, shepherds are even wilder. If sheep are not brought out from the shepherding, they will be eaten by their own shepherd, even the bones and feathers are consumed. This is why we need to enter the shepherding, be counted, be blessed, but also to enter other shepherding (a fellowship).
If I became an egoist, it would be enough for me with Malang and Surabaya. I even teach Lempin-El every day, I have enough ministry, everything is enough for me. However, we need to remember the sheep from other shepherding, we should be united into one flock with one Shepherd (Jesus). If we go to Borneo or anywhere else, there are many people from many churches that come, the shepherd is not me, but the Great Shepherd, so that we will be one flock with one shepherd."
One flock with one Great Shepherd refers to one body with one Head.
Head refers to the husband.
Body refers to the wife.
It means that we enter the movement of the building of the perfect body of Christ(the bride of Heaven).
"As a shepherd, I always count my time when I go out. If it is not because of the building of the body of Christ but for something unimportant, I won't go out. We have to go to the direction of the building of the body of Christ."
If sheep arenot brought out of the shepherding, they will become goats. Sheep and goats are going to be separated: sheep on the right side and goats on the left side, 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;' which means that the goats are egoists.
"We need fellowships. Pastor Pong Dongalemba always said, 'not everyone gets the blessing of fellowship, only those who get the gift and God's trust will do it, don't let it be taken from us and given to someone else."
If we have entered into one body with one head, don't be afraid because Jesus is a responsible head, He will determine all of our lives, everything is controlled by Him, including our future.
The youth, don't be afraid! The important thing is to be in the shepherding, be counted, and we go out from the shepherding together (not alone) in the guidance of the shepherd's rod. We go out from the shepherding in a revival of the building of the body of Christ.
God has proven that He is a responsible head by being dead on Golgotha, the hill of skull (skull is a dead head). - 1 Peter 5:2-6(a chapter of shepherding)
5:2 Shepherdthe flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsionbut willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
5:3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examplesto the flock;
5:4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
5:5 Likewise you younger people, submityourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissiveto one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
The third usage is the shepherd's rod is able to sanctify and changeour lives from a carnal human to a perfect spiritual one like Jesus, whose characters are as follows.- verse 2: 'not by compulsion but willingly', which means we serve and minister to God in willingness and joyfulness, we don't feel obligated and don't push people. Shepherding is not about pushing people.
- Verse 2: 'not for dishonest gain but eagerly', which means we serve and minister God without expecting anything, we are not looking for a physical gain.
"Our elders have given us examples in spreading the Word. There were indeed committees, some surplus, and tithes for the speaker. However, for the sake of a pure devotion, we always give back the tithes to the committees for the following fellowships. We pay all of our expenses by ourselves. This is the system of shepherding: those who come with us should pay every expense by themselves.
I said this to the students of Lempin-El, 'Why would we discuss about who didn't come in the fellowship? Why don't we ask ourselves whether God has come, whether the Word is there? I give thanks to God that Pastor Pong always reminded me in his last moments, 'don't call anyone so that you can come and preach in somewhere. Let everything be normal.'" - verse 3: 'but being examplesto the flock', which means we become examples, especially in faith, not in commanding. Shepherding is not about ruling.
An example in faithmeans the things as follows.- Faith is truth.
Being an example in faith means we live in truthfulness, starting from our lives, marriage, ministry, and everything. - Holding firmly to one teaching and not being tossed by other teachings.
- Believing and hoping only to God when having tribulations, problems, or impossibilities.
"I told the students of Lempil-El Kristus Ajaib, 'if a God's servant didn't have any bread and then he told it to his congregation, he could not be an example, but his congregation.' It is very rare that someone from the congregation says 'I have no bread'. I have never heard one. Once, I prayed, and then I remembered an old lady and I sent rice to her. On Sunday, she testified, 'We have no more rice, but suddenly we got some.' This is what someone from a congregation does, she wouldn't tell anyone that she had no more rice. As a God's servant, don't preach 'God is amazing, although I don't have any rice, He will provide." That way, the congregation would know and will send some to you."
- Faith is truth.
- verse 5: "submit yourselves and be submissive", which means be humbleand obedientuntil the flesh speaks no more.
Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross. That's why Jesus rules nations with the rod of iron.
We humble ourselves until our flesh speaks no more.
An example: Abraham was told to give his son as a burnt offering and he obeyed.
If we are arrogant, we won't be able to be obedient, but we will rebel.
The resultsare we are in God's strong hands and we will be exalted in the right time, which means as follows.- We will have a successful and beautiful futureright on God's time (in the book of Ecclesiastes: 'He has made everything beautiful in its time.')
- God will useus in the revival of the latter rain of the Holy Spirit (the building of the body of Christ) for the glory of His name.
- God will helpus in His time, every problem is solved.
- God will changeus to be perfect and as glorious as Him, we are lifted up to the glorious clouds and sit on the throneto judge the nations with the rod of iron with Him.
- verse 2: 'not by compulsion but willingly', which means we serve and minister to God in willingness and joyfulness, we don't feel obligated and don't push people. Shepherding is not about pushing people.
These days, let's have the shepherd's rod. Let's be in the shepherding. There is a shepherd's rod that will control all of our lives until we are exalted right at God's time and everything will be beautiful in His time.
There are a lot of tribulations these days, let's surrender everything to the Great Shepherd.
God blesses us.