Speaker: Deacon Gideon Pakpahan
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 in the theme of Revelation 1:17-20 (it has been preached since General Service in Surabaya, May 11, 2014), but we still discuss Revelation 1:17-18.
Revelation 1:17-18
1:17And when I saw Him, I fell at His feetas dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
1:18I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
John was able to fall at God’s feet,meaning that he worshipped with a broken heart,we worship until our flesh speaks no more.
If we are able to worship God until our flesh speaks no more like what John has experienced, God will also touch us. If God stretches His hands, we will receive three thingsas follows.
Jesus died but He rose, and He holds the key of Hades.
If we receive Jesus who was dead and lives, we will also be victorious over the death and will not enter the Hades, but we will receive the key of the kingdom of Heaven to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
There are only 2 choices, Heaven or hell, no other choices.
What is the key of the kingdom of Heaven?
1 Peter 2:5, 9
2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
God’s call and election refer to a ministry.
Ministry can’t be separated from the services.
We are called and elected to be in the service and ministry to God, to be priests and kings.
Revelation 22:3
22:3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
Only those who are in the services and ministrycan earn the key of the kingdom of Heaven and enter it.
Entering the kingdom of Heaven is not a cheap thing, but there is a very tight selection from God.
Matthew 7:21-23
7:21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
7:22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
7:23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
‘prophesied in Your name’refers to preaching the Word.
They have served God, done many wonders, cast out demons, but God said ‘depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”.
Therefore, we have to be aware, not everyonewho serve and minister God will get the key of the kingdom of Heaven.
Why do some people who have served and ministered still not get the key of the kingdom of Heaven?
God blesses us.
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 in the theme of Revelation 1:17-20 (it has been preached since General Service in Surabaya, May 11, 2014), but we still discuss Revelation 1:17-18.
Revelation 1:17-18
1:17And when I saw Him, I fell at His feetas dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
1:18I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
John was able to fall at God’s feet,meaning that he worshipped with a broken heart,we worship until our flesh speaks no more.
If we are able to worship God until our flesh speaks no more like what John has experienced, God will also touch us. If God stretches His hands, we will receive three thingsas follows.
- ‘Do not be afraid!’ means there is no more fear(it has been explained since General Service, May 19,2014).
We have no more fear, such as fear of the future, partner, jobs, and so on.
Why are we still afraid? It is because we come to the services and worship God only as a routine. - We receive Jesus as the First and the Last (‘I am the First and the Last’), which means receiving God’s initial loveuntil the peak of love, the perfect love, the love of the Bridegroom of Heaven (it has been explained since Bible Study Service in Surabaya, May 19, 2014).
- We receive Jesus who was dead and lives [verse 18] ’I was dead, I am He who lives’, which means receiving the power over the death(it has been explained since General Service in Surabaya, May 25, 2014).
Jesus died but He rose, and He holds the key of Hades.
If we receive Jesus who was dead and lives, we will also be victorious over the death and will not enter the Hades, but we will receive the key of the kingdom of Heaven to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
There are only 2 choices, Heaven or hell, no other choices.
What is the key of the kingdom of Heaven?
- Cross, which refers to flesh tribulations.
To enter the kingdom of Heaven, we have to undergo a lot of tribulations (it has been explained). - 2 Peter 1:10-11
1:10Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and electionsure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
1:11for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantlyinto the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
‘abundantly’refers to the key of the kingdom of Heaven.
Therefore, the key of the kingdom of Heaven is God’s call and election.
1 Peter 2:5, 9
2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
God’s call and election refer to a ministry.
Ministry can’t be separated from the services.
We are called and elected to be in the service and ministry to God, to be priests and kings.
Revelation 22:3
22:3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
Only those who are in the services and ministrycan earn the key of the kingdom of Heaven and enter it.
Entering the kingdom of Heaven is not a cheap thing, but there is a very tight selection from God.
Matthew 7:21-23
7:21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
7:22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
7:23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
‘prophesied in Your name’refers to preaching the Word.
They have served God, done many wonders, cast out demons, but God said ‘depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”.
Therefore, we have to be aware, not everyonewho serve and minister God will get the key of the kingdom of Heaven.
Why do some people who have served and ministered still not get the key of the kingdom of Heaven?
- Because they serve and minister God while keep on doing evil things.
Example:
1 Samuel 2:11-14
2:11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.
2:12 Now the sons of Eliwere corrupt; they did not know the Lord.
2:13 And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.
2:14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
The sons of Eli were in the church (they served and ministered God), but they did evil things.
The practicesare as follows.- Abhorring the offering of the Lord.
1 Samuel 2:17, 15
2:17Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
2:15Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”
One of the offering for God is the fat, which refers to the tithes and offerings.
Many times, God’s servants steal God’s offering by not returning the things that belong to Him. - 1 Samuel 2:22
2:22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the womenwho assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
The second practice: ministering God while living in sinsuntil the peak of sins, namely sins concerning eating-drinking (smoking, getting drunk, and so on), and the sin of marrying and being given in marriage (doing sexual things with all of its kinds, sex on one’s self, and so on). - 1 Samuel 2:12
2:12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.
The third practice is not knowing God in services and ministry, which means serving and ministering but mocking God.
The characteristics of those who mock God are as follows.
Malachi 1:6-7
1:6 “A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
1:7“You offer defiled foodon My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’
Defiled food means as follows.- for a God’s servant:
Bread refers to the Word.
It means we preach the Word but not according to the Bible, or preach the Word added with other or strange teachings to please the church.
The true Word is revealed by God by a verse explaining other verses. - for the church: serving and ministering God, but still giving their ears to listen to strange teaching (gossips, strange teachings which are not in line with the Word).
Don’t feel that you are strong when you listen to other teachings!
If we have been in the shepherding in the true Word but we still listen to other teachings, we insult God.
- for a God’s servant:
- Abhorring the offering of the Lord.
- They serve and minister but they are not earnest in the shepherding.
As an example, Judas had ministered God but he wandered around.
A person like him is not willing to enter the narrow door, or the true shepherding which is brought up by the true Word.
A testimony:
“I can stay in this place for 7 years because I see the Pastor is preaching the Word according to the bible. If he had not been like that, it would have been better for me to quit. It the preaching of the Word had not been right anymore, I would not have had any reason to hold on it and it would have been better for me to quit and work in the world.. Because I believe that what the Pastor has been preaching is written in the bible, I keep on holding it and I stay in the shepherding. Being in the shepherding is hard for the flesh, I have to go to Surabaya from Malang. Although I have been in the shepherding in Malang, but because I am asked to minister in Surabaya, I will pass through the narrow door and enter the Holy Place.”
The shepherding is the Holy Place. There are three kinds of equipment in the Holy Place as follows.- The Golden Candlestick, referring to the General Services.
- The Table of Showbread, referring to the Bible Study and Holy Communion Services.
- The Golden Altar of Incense, referring to the Prayer Services.
If we are not willing to enter the narrow door or the shepherding, it is impossible for us to enter the Most Holy Place.
If we are willing to enter the narrow door, God will bless us.
John 10:9
10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
The one who blesses us is not the world (salary), but we are blessed from the shepherding, by entering the narrow door.
A testimony:
“Before I became a full-timer, I had worked, earned money, and lived. Now I have become a full- timer, I live, and I find pasture.”
If we are willing to enter the narrow door, just believe that God will never deceive us. - The Golden Candlestick, referring to the General Services.
- 2 Timothy 3:1-5
3:1 But know this, that in the last daysperilous times will come:
3:2For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3:3unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
3:4traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
3:5having a form of godlinessbut denying its power. And from such people turn away!
‘in the last days’refers to these days, or the end of the time.
‘denying its power’refers to denying the power of services.
The power of services is the Word, love, and the Holy Spirit.
Those who serve and minister God but denying the power deny the true Word.
Denying the Word starts from criticizing the Word, not focusing listening to the Word (joking, or anything else).
Concentrate while listening to the Word! Or else, we don’t appreciate God.
The consequencesare as follows.- We don’t experience the change of life. The power of services (the Word, love, and the Holy Spirit) is to change our lives. But because we deny the power, we will not experience the change of life and will keep on being a human of flesh and blood with 18 characters (we tend to tell lies, boast, malign, gossip, and other things, until the peak is being not obedient).
By having the 18 characters of flesh, we will be like the antichrist and marked 666. - Isaiah 5:24
5:24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
The second consequence is living in rottenness, both physically and spiritually.
Living in spiritual rottenness means having a dry life (having a dry services, worships, feeling nothing in worships), and will enter the Hades in no time.
Such life is a woman who had a bleeding for 12 years.
Mark 5:24-27
5:24So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him
5:25Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,
5:26and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.
5:27When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.
A rotten liferefers to a sinful one, facing impossibilities or dead-ends.
The way out of the rottenness are as follows.- Returning to the true Word, which is by believing and being obedient to the true Word, no matter what the risks are.
- ‘touched His garment’ refers to falling at God’s feet, worshipping Him with a broken heart.
The resultsif we believe, become obedient(we stretch our hands to touch Jesus’ garment), and worship God is He will also stretch His merciful handsto us to do the following things.- Finishing all of our impossible problems.
- Healing our rots.
- Sanctifying and changing us until we are as perfect as God.
- Finishing all of our impossible problems.
- Returning to the true Word, which is by believing and being obedient to the true Word, no matter what the risks are.
- We don’t experience the change of life. The power of services (the Word, love, and the Holy Spirit) is to change our lives. But because we deny the power, we will not experience the change of life and will keep on being a human of flesh and blood with 18 characters (we tend to tell lies, boast, malign, gossip, and other things, until the peak is being not obedient).
God blesses us.