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 learning Revelation 2-3.
In the arrangement of the Tabernacle, it refers to the seven blood sprinkles in front of the Ark of the Covenant. They also refer to the last sanctificationto the seven churches of Gentiles(the seven 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 churchesof Gentiles who underwent the blood sprinkles are as follows.
AD. 3. THE CHURCH OF PERGAMOS
This evening we read from the book of Revelation 2:12-13.
2:12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamoswrite, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
2:13 "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
The church of Pergamos was IN SATAN'S THRONE.
Here (in verse 12), Jesus showed Himself as a Great Priest with the sharp two-edged sword or the true Wordto movethe church of Pergamos from the atmosphere of Satan's throne to the throne of Heaven or God's throne.
What is the atmosphere of the throne of Heavenor God's throne?
Revelation 4:9-11
4:9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Himwho lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."
The atmosphere of the throne of heaven is the atmosphere of worship.
There is a strong relationship between the Word which is sharper than the two-edged sword and the worship. This is why God came with the two-edged sword to bring us out from the atmosphere of Satan's throne to His throne which has the atmosphere of worship.
Where there is no sword, there is no worship, and where there is a sword, there is a worship.
Who can worship God(climb the mountain of God or God's throne)?
We remember that Jesus asked his 3 disciples to climb the mountain with Him to worship.
Psalms 24:3-4
24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?
24 :4 He who has clean handsand a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
Those who can worship God are those who have the things as follows.
Holiness can ONLYbe achieved through the work of the Wordwhich is sharper than a two-edged sword (the true Word).
This is why there should be a sword in God's house. We have received the gospel Word, believed in Jesus, repented and been saved. However, to climb the mountain of God, we need a sword.
How can a sword work upon us?
Hebrews 4:12
4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Word which is sharper than a two-edged sword pierces to the depth of the heart, which means that it sanctifies to the depth of the heartwhich is the centre of our spiritual lives and the storage of sins (the evil and unclean lusts).
Matthew 15:19
15:19 For out of the heart proceed 1evil thoughts, 2murders, 3adulteries, 4fornications, 5thefts, 6false witness, 7blasphemies.
There are 7 evil and unclean lustsin the heart which should be pierced by the sword as follows.
The sword of the Word sanctifies our heart(which is the centre of our spirituality and the source of sins) from 7 evil and unclean lusts.
The number 7 reminds us to the 7 lamps on the candlestick, which refers to the light.
If our heart is controlled by the 7 evil and unclean lusts, we will live blindly; we live in the darkness (the lights are off).
The consequenceis we will produce unclean deeds and speech, like dogs and pigs.
Matthew 5:8
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
The worship comes from a pure heart. If our heart is sanctified from the 7 evil and unclean lusts, our deeds and speech will be holy and our eyes can see God's face, we will live in the light, worship God, not be dry and blind anymore. If we are in the darkness, we will be dry and not be able to do anything.
This evening, let the sword work to sanctify our heart, deeds and speech, until our eyes can see God's face. If there is something which is unholy, let it be sanctified.
Ezekiel 39:29
39:29 And I will not hide My facefrom them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spiriton the house of Israel,' says the Lord God."
'I will not hide My face' means we can see God's face. If our heart is controlled by the 7 evil and unclean spirits, we can't see God (we live in the darkness) and He can't see us.
If our heart is sanctified, we can see God and He can see us.
'I shall have poured our My Spirit' means if we can see God's face, He will pour the Holy Spirit to us.
The Holy Spirit is very important. No matter how great a God's servant is, without the Holy Spiritthey will be as follows.
We have a lot of needs, but we can have everything if the Holy Spirit is within us.
The usages of the Holy Spiritare as follows.
This evening, God comes with the sword to sanctifyour hearts and deeds until we can see His faceand worship Him.
Don't be blind in work, school, or in the family! If we live blindly (like dogs and pigs), we will live in the darkness and be Satan's throne.
Let's live in light and look at Jesus' face and the Holy Spirit will be poured. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot do anything, but become blind.
The Holy Spirit will help us to be God's throne.
The Holy Spirit will make us (1)holy, faithful and fervent in spiritso that there is God's throne, care and nurture, and we can be a testimony to others.
(2) We can be a house of prayerand God's help will come at His time.
(3) God will renew us. There will be miracles by the power of the Holy Spirituntil we are perfect to welcome God's second coming. We will enter the throne of Heaven forever and ever. We will sit next to God in the throne of Heaven forever and ever.
We have a lot of needs, but we can have everything if the Holy Spirit is within us.
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 learning Revelation 2-3.
In the arrangement of the Tabernacle, it refers to the seven blood sprinkles in front of the Ark of the Covenant. They also refer to the last sanctificationto the seven churches of Gentiles(the seven 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 churchesof 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 die(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).
AD. 3. THE CHURCH OF PERGAMOS
This evening we read from the book of Revelation 2:12-13.
2:12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamoswrite, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
2:13 "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
The church of Pergamos was IN SATAN'S THRONE.
Here (in verse 12), Jesus showed Himself as a Great Priest with the sharp two-edged sword or the true Wordto movethe church of Pergamos from the atmosphere of Satan's throne to the throne of Heaven or God's throne.
What is the atmosphere of the throne of Heavenor God's throne?
Revelation 4:9-11
4:9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Himwho lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."
The atmosphere of the throne of heaven is the atmosphere of worship.
There is a strong relationship between the Word which is sharper than the two-edged sword and the worship. This is why God came with the two-edged sword to bring us out from the atmosphere of Satan's throne to His throne which has the atmosphere of worship.
Where there is no sword, there is no worship, and where there is a sword, there is a worship.
Who can worship God(climb the mountain of God or God's throne)?
We remember that Jesus asked his 3 disciples to climb the mountain with Him to worship.
Psalms 24:3-4
24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?
24 :4 He who has clean handsand a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
Those who can worship God are those who have the things as follows.
- 'a pure heart' which refers to a holy heart,
- 'clean hands' which refers to holy deeds,
- 'Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully' which refers to a holy tongue or speech(no lies).
Holiness can ONLYbe achieved through the work of the Wordwhich is sharper than a two-edged sword (the true Word).
This is why there should be a sword in God's house. We have received the gospel Word, believed in Jesus, repented and been saved. However, to climb the mountain of God, we need a sword.
How can a sword work upon us?
Hebrews 4:12
4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Word which is sharper than a two-edged sword pierces to the depth of the heart, which means that it sanctifies to the depth of the heartwhich is the centre of our spiritual lives and the storage of sins (the evil and unclean lusts).
Matthew 15:19
15:19 For out of the heart proceed 1evil thoughts, 2murders, 3adulteries, 4fornications, 5thefts, 6false witness, 7blasphemies.
There are 7 evil and unclean lustsin the heart which should be pierced by the sword as follows.
- Evil thoughts, which refers to bad and unclean thoughts,
- Murders, which refers to the hatred without reasons,
- Adulteries,
- Fornications,
- Thefts,
- False witness, which refers to lies,
- Blasphemies, starting from a slander, calling something true as false and the other way around, until blaspheming God.
First we will slander someone, and in the end we will blaspheme God or the true teaching (we consider the true teaching as false and support the false one).
The sword of the Word sanctifies our heart(which is the centre of our spirituality and the source of sins) from 7 evil and unclean lusts.
The number 7 reminds us to the 7 lamps on the candlestick, which refers to the light.
If our heart is controlled by the 7 evil and unclean lusts, we will live blindly; we live in the darkness (the lights are off).
The consequenceis we will produce unclean deeds and speech, like dogs and pigs.
Matthew 5:8
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
The worship comes from a pure heart. If our heart is sanctified from the 7 evil and unclean lusts, our deeds and speech will be holy and our eyes can see God's face, we will live in the light, worship God, not be dry and blind anymore. If we are in the darkness, we will be dry and not be able to do anything.
This evening, let the sword work to sanctify our heart, deeds and speech, until our eyes can see God's face. If there is something which is unholy, let it be sanctified.
Ezekiel 39:29
39:29 And I will not hide My facefrom them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spiriton the house of Israel,' says the Lord God."
'I will not hide My face' means we can see God's face. If our heart is controlled by the 7 evil and unclean spirits, we can't see God (we live in the darkness) and He can't see us.
If our heart is sanctified, we can see God and He can see us.
'I shall have poured our My Spirit' means if we can see God's face, He will pour the Holy Spirit to us.
The Holy Spirit is very important. No matter how great a God's servant is, without the Holy Spiritthey will be as follows.
- A piece of claywhich can be easily broken, which means we can't handle impacts.
- A woodwhich can be easily broken and can't handle heat or cold.
- Cannot see Godand be seen by Him, but possessed by the darkness and be the throne of Satan.
We have a lot of needs, but we can have everything if the Holy Spirit is within us.
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 of the Holy Spirit is that He makes us be faithful and fervent in spiritin our ministry to God.
Hebrews 1:7
1:7And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire."
God's servants who are holy, faithful, and fervent in spiritin the ministry to God are His ministers who are like a flame of fire. There is a connection to God's thronewhich is like a flame of fire (we move from Satan's throne to the throne of Heaven).
Daniel 7:9
7:9 "I watched till throneswere put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
God's throne is a fiery flame, God's servants are also a fiery flame.
In conclusion, God's servants who are holy, faithful, and fervent in spiritare God's throne.
Don't be doubtful! We are not Satan's throne, but we are indeed God's throne.
The resultsare as follows.- We are taken care of and nurtured by Godin the middle of the crisis that is around the world.
Don't minister without earnestness or we will be in a disadvantageous position.
Minister earnestly, be holy, faithful, and fervent in spirit, have the anointment of the Holy Spirit! - Wherever, whenever, and in any condition, if we serve as God's throne, the congregation will be interested to come and be helped by God. Everything depends on us.
If the shepherd and the servants minister in Satan's throne, the congregation will run away. A ministry starts from the house (the husband serves his wife and children, and the wife also ministers).
If everyone ministers in holiness, faithfulness, and fervency in spirit, we will be nurtured in God and we will have happiness in Him. People are interested to come and be helped by God, and there are testimonies.
- We are taken care of and nurtured by Godin the middle of the crisis that is around the world.
- Isaiah 30:15-16
30:15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and restyou shall be saved; In quietnessand confidence shall be your strength." But you would not,
30:16 And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses"--Therefore you shall flee! And, "We will ride on swift horses"-- Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
The second usage of the Holy Spirit is He can make us be in rest and quietnesswhich is the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit.- In rest, meaning we checkourselvesand do not blame others. If we find anything wrong within us, we have to confess it to God and others (which refers to the cross), and if we are forgiven, we should not do it anymore. We have to repent.
- In silence, meaning we have a self controland we don't expect of others and we can pray, we believe and put our hope in God.
1 Peter 4:7
4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be seriousand watchful in your prayers.
Often we put our hope in other people, even in Satan.
We may say 'I do not put my hope in Satan, I didn't go to a shaman'.However, when we are facing a problem for example not having money, we steal. It is against the Word although we don't go to a shaman, but we are looking for our own ways which equals to putting our hope in Satan.
If we put our hope in God, we will not steal but be sure that He will help us.
Being against the Word means putting our hope in Satan.
When the boat of the disciples was tossed by the winds and waves, Jesus slept and they hoped in others. They depended on their own power (intelligence or experience) and they sank deeper. At that moment, they woke Jesus up. When Jesus woke up, He said 'Peace, be still', and everything was solved.
If we are a house of prayer, there will be a power of resurrection of God(Jesus woke up) to put the sea into a great calm and finish all of our impossible problems.
When we have problems, be in peace and still, don't run here and there.
In verse 15-16, it is written 'No, for we will flee on horses'. We tend to say no and depend on the horses.
Horses refer to the power and the speed of the flesh (we have targets, we want to achieve something) and we depend on anything instant, fast but wrong.
The consequenceis 'those who pursue you shall be swift', we are in a big failure.
If we are a house of prayer(We believe and put our hope in God), we do not ride a horse, but we depend on patience.
John 7:6
7:6 Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
'My time has not yet come' means if God hasn't helped us yet, we have to be patient because God is training us to be patient(He gives us the character of patience) and He is waiting for us to depend totallyin Him. God's time will cometo solve all of our problems right at His time.
Do neither use worldly ways nor depend on Satan.
When the boat of the disciples was tossed by the waves, God was waiting and sleeping. When they could not do anything else and shouted 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?', God finished everything.
Even though our eyes are looking at a sinking boat or a worsen problem, be in peace and be still, believe and depend on God for He will finish everything. - In rest, meaning we checkourselvesand do not blame others. If we find anything wrong within us, we have to confess it to God and others (which refers to the cross), and if we are forgiven, we should not do it anymore. We have to repent.
- 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 third usage of the Holy Spirit is He creates miracles to renew usor change us from a carnal human to a spiritual one like Jesus. This is the greatest miracle. A life change starts from being able to say 'Abba, Father' or being obedientuntil the flesh speaks no more whatever the risks are.
For example, Abraham had to give his son. If Abraham had not been renewed, he would have been angry. However, Abraham had the Holy Spirit and he could be obedient and he experienced a physical miracle(there was a lamb to be sacrificed, a miracle from nothing to something).
If the greatest spiritual miracle happens(we can be obedient until the flesh speaks no more), there will also be physical miracles(from nothing to something, from impossible to possible).
The last miracle, we will be changed to be as glorious and perfect as Jesus in His second coming. We will be the Bride who will welcome God's second coming in the glorious clouds.
This evening, God comes with the sword to sanctifyour hearts and deeds until we can see His faceand worship Him.
Don't be blind in work, school, or in the family! If we live blindly (like dogs and pigs), we will live in the darkness and be Satan's throne.
Let's live in light and look at Jesus' face and the Holy Spirit will be poured. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot do anything, but become blind.
The Holy Spirit will help us to be God's throne.
The Holy Spirit will make us (1)holy, faithful and fervent in spiritso that there is God's throne, care and nurture, and we can be a testimony to others.
(2) We can be a house of prayerand God's help will come at His time.
(3) God will renew us. There will be miracles by the power of the Holy Spirituntil we are perfect to welcome God's second coming. We will enter the throne of Heaven forever and ever. We will sit next to God in the throne of Heaven forever and ever.
We have a lot of needs, but we can have everything if the Holy Spirit is within us.
God blesses us.