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 before 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.
We are learning the fifth church, the church of SARDIS.
This evening, we are reading the first verse.
Revelation 3:1
3:1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
To the church of Sardis, Jesus appears as follows.
This evening we will study the first one, Jesus as the One 'WHO HAS THE SEVEN STARS'.
'Star' has the following meanings.
Jesus as the One 'who has the seven stars' means Jesus is the Great Shepherdwho has seven shepherds and seven congregations of Gentiles, or the leader and owner of the congregations.
Whydoes Jesus show Himself as the leader and the owner of the congregations?
Acts 20:28
20:28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Because Jesus has givenHis own blood to the congregations.
Overseers refer to human shepherds.
"The congregation is not mine. Saying that is a big mistake. The congregation of the church in WR Supratman 4 Surabaya belongs to God, not me, I am only an overseer."
This is why a shepherdshould be earnest in the shepherding, especially in feedingthe sheep, which is the main duty of a shepherd; if not, he will have a debt of blood which cannot be paid with anything, because the sheep are bought by the blood of Jesus.
If a shepherd loves his congregation, he will control the food for them.
On the other hand, a congregationshould also be earnest in the shepherding, especially in eating the Word: if not, he will have a debt of blood which cannot be paid with anything, even the punishment in hell cannot pay for it.
The proof is the fact that a punishment in hell is everlasting: there is not any temporary punishment in hell.
This is why, be serious, because Jesus has bought us with His own blood!
The duties of the Great Shepherd are as follows.
God as the Great Shepherd has seven stars, His name is put on our forehead, we will be His forever and ever, and no one can disturb it.
We need the Holy Spirit these days. God will lead us. God's hands are the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit lead us and create miracles within us. Don't be discouraged in anything!The Holy Spirit or God's hands are able to create miracles within us.
God blesses us.
We are still learning Revelation 2-3.
In the arrangement of Tabernacle, it refers to the seven blood sprinkles before 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, 2015until General Service in Surabaya, January 18, 2015).
- The church of SARDIS(Revelation 3:1-6).
We are learning the fifth church, the church of SARDIS.
This evening, we are reading the first verse.
Revelation 3:1
3:1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
To the church of Sardis, Jesus appears as follows.
- 'He who has the seven stars'.
- 'He who has the seven Spirits of God'.
This evening we will study the first one, Jesus as the One 'WHO HAS THE SEVEN STARS'.
'Star' has the following meanings.
- In particular, it refers to the shepherd or the angel of a congregation.
- In general, it refers to the congregation or God's servants.
Jesus as the One 'who has the seven stars' means Jesus is the Great Shepherdwho has seven shepherds and seven congregations of Gentiles, or the leader and owner of the congregations.
Whydoes Jesus show Himself as the leader and the owner of the congregations?
Acts 20:28
20:28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Because Jesus has givenHis own blood to the congregations.
Overseers refer to human shepherds.
"The congregation is not mine. Saying that is a big mistake. The congregation of the church in WR Supratman 4 Surabaya belongs to God, not me, I am only an overseer."
This is why a shepherdshould be earnest in the shepherding, especially in feedingthe sheep, which is the main duty of a shepherd; if not, he will have a debt of blood which cannot be paid with anything, because the sheep are bought by the blood of Jesus.
If a shepherd loves his congregation, he will control the food for them.
On the other hand, a congregationshould also be earnest in the shepherding, especially in eating the Word: if not, he will have a debt of blood which cannot be paid with anything, even the punishment in hell cannot pay for it.
The proof is the fact that a punishment in hell is everlasting: there is not any temporary punishment in hell.
This is why, be serious, because Jesus has bought us with His own blood!
The duties of the Great Shepherd are as follows.
- Psalms 23:1-2
23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
23:2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
The first duty is to lead us beside the still waters.
It meansThe Great Shepherd has to lead us to peace, or being in the anointment of THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Although the waves are roaring in the sea of the world, we will be in peace if the Great Shepherd leads us.
The resultsare as follows.- Everything is easy and light.
- We can face the end of time. In the end of time, the world will be shaken in every aspect, many people will die in fear.
Luke 21:25-26
21:25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
21:26 men's hearts failing them from fearand the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
If we have the peace or the anointment of the Holy Spirit, we will not get stressed, be dead spiritually or physically even though the world is shaking. Instead, we will live with God to the eternal life if we can give thanks to Him.
- Psalms 23:3
23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousnessFor His name's sake.
The second duty is to lead us in the paths of righteousness, to lead us to live according to the truth of the WORDor to be a righteous man.
In this difficult time, it is difficult to find a righteous man.
If we are not in the shepherding, it will be difficult for us to live righteously, even impossible for anyone, including God's servant, apostles, teachers, or prophets. It has been fulfilled in Romans 3:23, 'for all have sinned ...'. From the end of our hair to the toes, including our feeling, nothing is righteous, except if we are led by God to the shepherding.
If the Great Shepherd leads us, we will be righteous and guarded by Him.
Psalms 5:12
5:12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
If we live righteously, the resultis God will surround us with blessings and His grace, we live in the atmosphere of the Paradise where no curse can enter even though we live in the world which is full of curses (the curses are changed to blessings).
The world is full of curses because Adam and Eve have committed sins and were thrown away. Wherever there are sins, there are curses or thorns.
Do not think that we can live a good life by committing sins because actually it is the life in curse.
When Adam and Eve were righteous, they did not go against God and commit sins, they had the atmosphere of Paradise.
This is the importance of being in the shepherding. Jesus shows Himself as the One 'who has the seven stars' because He wants to ensure that we really belong to Him. He wants to put us all in the shepherding to bring us to the still waters(1) (in the anointment of Holy Spirit, in peace), so that everything will be easy and light. We are able to face the shakes on earth, we are not stressed and dead with the world, but we can give thanks to God until the eternal life. We can also live righteously(2) so God will surround us with blessing and we can feel the atmosphere of Paradise.
If the first and second duties of the Great Shepherd are combined, the first one refers to the anointment of the Holy Spirit and the second one refers to the Word.
These two refer to two wings of a great eagle.
If the Great Shepherd leads us to the still waters (the anointment of the Holy Spirit) and to live righteously (the Word), we can live in peace and righteousness and we will have the two wings of a great eagle.
The peak of the shake of the world is when the antichrist reigns on earth for 3.5 years.
Revelation 12:14
12:14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
When the antichrist reigns, we have nothing except if we are willing to worship him.
We can only live if we have the two wings of a great eagle.
If we live in peace(we have no envy, quarrel, bitterness, uncleanness) and in righteousness(according to the Word), the two wings of a great eagle will bring us to the desert, far away from the eyes of the antichrist and he will not be able to touch or see us, we are protected and nurtured directly by Godfor 3.5 years.
"I repeat it over and over again. Israel was not working for 40 years in the desert and they received manna every day. We will also experience the same thing for 3.5 years. No one will work, but everyone is a full timer servant of God, we are protected and nurtured directly by God from Heaven."
Let God lead us to the still waters and to the righteousness. God has wanted it for a long time. This letter was written to the church of Sardis, which is a letter with an ownership(He who hasthe seven stars, which refers to an ownership). - The land for Israel is not the desert, but Canaan. In the desert, the Israelites received manna every day, they had better days compared to the days when they had been in the land of Egypt where they had been persecuted and enslaved. However, their place is not the desert, but Canaan.
The same thing applies to us. We have already had many great things in the shepherding, we have an easy, light, and peaceful life, God protects and nurtures us, we stay calm even though the world is shaking. We can give thanks to the blessings that God has given us, there are no curses or thorns. We have the wings of a great eagle that will bring us to the desert. However, the desert is not our place. We need to go to the New Jerusalem.
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."
The third duty is to lead us to living fountains of waters, a place where there are no tears, which is the throne of New Jerusalem, the last place of shepherding. This is why a shepherding is very important. This is why Jesus was not doubtful to buy us with His precious blood, because the destination is not only peace and blessing, but the New Jerusalem. Let's be in peace through the anointment of the Holy Spirit. Be in peace!Do not have grudge, disappointment, bitterness, uncleanness, or anything, but be in peace and give thanks to God.
Be in the righteousness and live according to the Word, so God will surround us and give us the wings of a great eagle when the antichrist reigns, and bring us to the throne of the New Jerusalem.
The Great Shepherd will lead us to the throne of the New Jerusalem, which means we have to have the renewalfrom a carnal human to a spiritual one like Jesus. The steps to the New Jerusalem are the steps of renewal.
The first thing to renew is THE HEART, the core of our spiritual life.
Ezekiel 11:19-20
11:19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them,and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,
11:20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
'they shall be My people' refers to God's ownership upon us.
Our heart is renewed from a heart with an evil and uncleanness tendency (like the age of Noah) to a good consciencethrough the water baptism.
We are born as a man of blood and flesh with a conscience that tends to do evil and unclean things.
There were only 8 people with a good conscience and they entered the ark, while other people perished in God's punishment. The other arks were destroyed, only Noah's survived. The same thing applies to the water baptism: there is only one true water baptism. We are in one body and one head, therefore there is only one water baptism which is according to the Word or God's will.
1 Peter 3:20-21
3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
3:21 There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism(not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
A good conscience refers to an obedience.
When Jesus was baptized, He went out of the water and the sky was opened, a dove went down.
The phrase 'Jesus went out of the water' means Jesus was submerged in the water. Instead of being drowned in the flood like the one in the age of Noah - and later, God's punishment is in the form of sea of fire and sulphur - we are better submerged in the water baptismso that our conscience is renewed. If we keep our evil and unclean conscience, we will drown in sins and in the sea of fire and sulphur. It is better to have our conscience renewed to have a new life, an obedient heart.
A dove refers to a sincere heart, which also means honesty. We have to be honest especially in confessing our sins.
If there are sins, we have to confess them in the presence of God and others, and if we are forgiven, do not commit those sins any more.
If we have a good conscience, we will never judge others.
A good conscience is like a face of water (the place where Holy Spirit hovers).
Genesis 1:2
1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The face of water refers to the zero point, which refers to the place of someone who can humble himself.
Without humility, we will not be able to confess our sins, but we will pile them up, especially the sins of self-righteousness (we blame others).
An obedient, honest, and humble heart is the place of the Holy Spirit ('the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters'). It means that the Holy Spirit is poured upon us and we can contain Him.
Without the Holy Spirit, the flesh men can do nothing, it seems that they live but actually they are dead ('It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.')
The usages of the Holy Spiritare as follows.- Romans 12:11
12:11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
The first usage is to make us faithful and fervent in spiritin our ministry to God. We become the apple of God's eyes. - Titus 3:5
3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
'the washing of regeneration' refers to the water baptism. If we are baptized, we will have a new heart and be the place of the Holy Spirit.
The second usage of the Holy Spirit is to renewus from the carnal human to a spiritual one like Jesus, starting from our mouth.
"If we remember what happened in Jerusalem when the apostles received the Holy Spirit, they spoke with others as what the Spirit taught them, and then Peter was brave to preach. This is the other tongues. Peter had been afraid, he even had denied Jesus. After he was anointed by the Holy Spirit, he testified about Jesus to thousands of people and three thousand were baptized."
Tongue is the smallest part. If the tongue is renewed to speak the truth and good things, it can be a blessing, testify and worship God with a broken heart (an unspeakable moan or tongues).
Keep an eye on what we say, it should be truthful and good!
We once gossiped, but now we testify, once murmured, but now we worship God.
This is the greatest miracle (a spiritual miracle). If the spiritual miracle happens, the physical one will happen too, the impossible becomes possible, especially if we have worshipped God with a crushed heart until we can speak no more. We can surrender our problems to God, a total surrender to God and the Holy Spirit will create miracles for us.
"I have testified that 2015 is the beginning. I begged for miracles. When I preached the Word, there was someone who was discouraged. I prayed to God, 'if this indeed comes from God with a year of blood sprinkles but also a year of God's glory, there will be God's miracle, and I ask for God's mark.' This man had no more hope. For the whole day, I could not speak or sleep, but I only whispered, 'God please help.' He survives up to this day. I said to God, 'It is up to You to take Him, but show us Your miracle', and God gave Him a longer life, another chance to change his life. God helped him up to this day."
When Jesus comes for the second time, we are changed to be like Him, we will not say wrong, but we only shout 'Alleluia' and we welcome His second coming in the glorious cloud.
Now, let's worship with a crushed heart (an unspeakable moan), and one day Jesus will come back and we will shout victoriously.
"I do it too. Since it is a very critical moment, I struggle for the whole day."
Revelation 19:6-7
19:6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
19:7 Let us be glad and rejoiceand give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
God as the Head (the Bridegroom) and we as the body (the perfect bride) meet in the glorious cloud, there will be voices 'Alleluia'. This is the supper of the marriage of the Lamb.
The bible is opened with a physical marriage of Adam and Eve. It was destroyed. However, the bible is closed with a perfect and glorious marriage of Christ and His congregation.
After the supper of the marriage of the Lamb in the glorious clouds, we will enter the future Paradise (the 1000 years kingdom of peace), and we will sit on the throne of the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 22:3-422:3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lambshall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
22:4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
'serve' means worshipping.
We are in the throne of Heaven, we serve and worship God days and nights in the throne of Heaven, 'His name shall be on their foreheads', we belong to Him and no one can cancel it.
- Romans 12:11
God as the Great Shepherd has seven stars, His name is put on our forehead, we will be His forever and ever, and no one can disturb it.
We need the Holy Spirit these days. God will lead us. God's hands are the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit lead us and create miracles within us. Don't be discouraged in anything!The Holy Spirit or God's hands are able to create miracles within us.
God blesses us.