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 seven lettersto the seven churches of Gentiles, which is the last sanctificationthat God does to the seven churches of Gentiles(The seven churches at the end of time) to make them perfect like Jesus, and become the bride of Heaven who is ready to welcome His second coming in the glorious cloud.
There are seven churches that experience the blood sprinkles as follows
THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA
Revelation 2:10
2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
The condition of the church of Smyrna(the church of the end of time), as described from verse 9, was in tribulation, poverty, being blasphemed, even cast to jail, tested, and having tribulation for ten days.
In conclusion, the church of Smyrna was in the physical tribulation with Jesus, or having the SPRINKLES OF BLOOD.
In verse 10, we learn about the righteous responseswhen we are suffering with Jesus as follows.
2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
We are learning the first response, that is 'DO NOT FEAR ANY OF THOSE THINGS WHICH YOU ARE ABOUT TO SUFFER!'.
If we are afraidto face the tribulation with Jesus (afraid physically), we will definitelydeny Godlike what Peter did.
Peter was afraid when Jesus was caught and brought to the house of the High Priest and he warmed himself near the fire, and he denied when he was asked whether he knew Jesus or not, because he was afraid of tribulation.
So, the true response in facing the tribulation is being fearful to God, and not to the tribulation.
The practices of being afraid of God are as follows.
Whatever our conditions are right now, either in tribulation or anything, let's keep on being fearful to Godwhich is described as follows.
God blesses us.
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 seven lettersto the seven churches of Gentiles, which is the last sanctificationthat God does to the seven churches of Gentiles(The seven churches at the end of time) to make them perfect like Jesus, and become the bride of Heaven who is ready to welcome His second coming in the glorious cloud.
There are seven churches that experience the blood sprinkles as follows
- The church of EPHESUS(Revelation 2:17) (it has been explained since General Service in Surabaya, July 27, 2014). The church of Ephesus has to come back to the initial loveto return to the Paradise.
- The church of SMYRNA(Revelation 2:8-11) (it has been explained since General Service in Surabaya, September 14, 2014).
THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA
Revelation 2:10
2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
The condition of the church of Smyrna(the church of the end of time), as described from verse 9, was in tribulation, poverty, being blasphemed, even cast to jail, tested, and having tribulation for ten days.
In conclusion, the church of Smyrna was in the physical tribulation with Jesus, or having the SPRINKLES OF BLOOD.
In verse 10, we learn about the righteous responseswhen we are suffering with Jesus as follows.
2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
- 'Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer!' (it has been explained since Bible Study Service in Surabaya, October 20, 2014).
- 'Be faithful until death'.
We are learning the first response, that is 'DO NOT FEAR ANY OF THOSE THINGS WHICH YOU ARE ABOUT TO SUFFER!'.
If we are afraidto face the tribulation with Jesus (afraid physically), we will definitelydeny Godlike what Peter did.
Peter was afraid when Jesus was caught and brought to the house of the High Priest and he warmed himself near the fire, and he denied when he was asked whether he knew Jesus or not, because he was afraid of tribulation.
So, the true response in facing the tribulation is being fearful to God, and not to the tribulation.
The practices of being afraid of God are as follows.
- Proverbs 8:13
8:13 The fearof the Lordis to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
The first practice of being afraid of God is to hate evil or sins until hate lies. If we commit sins when we face tribulations, it means we deny God.
For example: we steal some money when we don't have any.
When we face the tribulation with Jesus, don't commit any sins, but we have to live in righteousness, like Job who wouldn't deviate from God even though he was in the middle of tribulation.
Job 23:10-12
23:10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
23:11 My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.
23:12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.
'He has tested me' means we are in tribulation.
'My foot has held fast to His steps' means our lives stay in the righteousness.
'I have not departed from the commandment of His lips' means we don't deny God's commandments.
'I have treasured the words of His mouth' means living in righteousness to the heart, that is keeping the Word and not the others.
If we are in the tribulation and we can keep the righteousness, the resultis we get the pure gold ('I shall come forth as gold'), which means we get the tested or permanent faith. Although we face the tribulation, our faith is getting purer and purer, as the gold is not destroyed although it is burnt.
The usage of the pure or tested or perfect faithis to welcome Jesus' second coming and be glorified together with Him.
This is why we need to keep our faith.
BEHIND EVERY TRIBULATION, THERE IS GOLD (GLORY).
Luke 18:8
18:8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faithon the earth?" - Joshua 24:14
24:14 "Now therefore, fearthe Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!
The second practice of being afraid of God is serving the Lord in sincerity and in truth, without expecting any reward. We only serve God and do not look at other things (we only seek for God or the Word).
In the gospel according to Matthew, it is written a good and faithful servant.
'good' means not doing any evil or anything.
The conclusionsare as follows.- We minister God faithfully and sincerely.
- We minister God faithfully and well.
Matthew 25:21
25:21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
Starting from now, we have to minister God faithfully and well - faithfully and sincerely, and we will enter into the joy of the Heavenuntil the peak when Jesus comes to earth again, we can get into the supper of the marriage of the Lamb in the glorious clouds until we enter the kingdom of 1000 years of peace (the future paradise). After that, we will enter the happiness of the kingdom of Heaven forever and ever.
We will decide everything by our faithfulness and sincerity.
Ministering God is not determined by how wonderful we did it, but on our faithfulness and sincerity, our faithfulness and goodness.
Starting from this earth, we have to be faithful and sincere.
If we are not faithful, we will be in difficulties, weary and burdened.
Let's pray to God.
To be able to be faithful is indeed a hard thing to do, but God will not deceive us. God will not torment us although our flesh is suffering, but we will experience the heavenly happiness which can't be affected by anything in the earth.
BEHIND EVERY PHYSICAL TRIBULATION TO BE FAITHFUL AND GOOD, THERE IS A HEAVENLY HAPPINESS. - Revelation 14:7
14:7 saying with a loud voice, "FearGodand give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who madeheaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."
The practice of being fearful to God is worshipping Himas the Creator who made heaven and earth ('who made').
We remember the creation in the past, especially when God created human from the clay and He created Adam and Eve.
Worshipping God as the Creator means giving everything of our lives as clay in His hands.
In tribulations, let's give all of our lives to His hands.
The clayrefers to these things as follows.- Being unworthy.
- Having many lacks or sins, especially the sins that are not realized, which is the self righteousness(like Job).
The self righteousness is described as follows.- The righteousness which doesn't come from God's Word.
Although there are 1000 people who said that something is true but it is not according to the Word, it is a self righteousness. On the contrary, although there is only one person who said that it is true, if it is according to the Word, then it is a Godly righteousness. - Covering sins by blaming others or God, the true Word. The characteristic of such person is telling many wrong things.
- The righteousness which doesn't come from God's Word.
- Being unable to do anything.
- Being worthless.
In our worship this evening, either we are in tribulation or success, let's be fearful to God.
We live righteouslyto earn the tested faith until the pure one to welcome God's second coming in the glorious clouds.
In success or tribulation, we minister God faithfully and wellso that we have the Heavenly happiness until the peak, that we enter the happiness in the clouds and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thirdly, we worship God the Creator. We surrender our lives, 'my life is only clay but on the hands of the Creator. I am not worthy, have many lacks, cannot do anything, am worthless, but I give everything to the hand of the Creator. I return to the hand of the Creator.
When God created human from the clay, it couldn't do anything. That's why if we have confessed that we are clay on God's hands, God will soon give us the living breath or the Holy Spiritto us this evening to make us a living being.
Genesis 2:7
2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
No matter how strong a human is, without the Holy Spirit, he can do nothing, he is only a puppet of clay, can't think or anything else. Human is very weak without the Holy Spirit. This evening, let's humble ourselves and confess that we are only clay. We show our lacks and our inabilities. Maybe we are low in God's eyes, unclean or anything, but let's show it to Him so that we will be on His hands and He will breathe the Holy Spiritinto us and we will be a living being.
The meanings are as follows.- The first breath of Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit is able to give LIFEto us, the carnal human and the clay.
- Spiritually: we live righteously and holily(we commit no sins). Without the Holy Spirit, we will die in sins until the peak of sins (the sins concerning eating-drinking and the sins of marrying-giving in marriage).
God can revive anything that has died. The dead marriage can be revived and made happy. - Physically: we get a life in the middle of difficulties in the world. Although we can do nothing, we will find the way out if we have the Holy Spirit.
- Spiritually: we live righteously and holily(we commit no sins). Without the Holy Spirit, we will die in sins until the peak of sins (the sins concerning eating-drinking and the sins of marrying-giving in marriage).
- John 20:21-22
20:21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
20:22 And when He had said this, He breathedon them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is breathed again.
In the Old Testament (the first breath), the Holy Spirit is breathed to give us life (life is the first and foremost). Firstly, we, who are made of clay, should live. If we are dead, we have no use ('the flesh profits nothing').
The second breath of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit is breathed for commissioning.
When the Holy Spirit is breathed, He will give us PEACE.
The Holy Spirit gave us life. Now, the Holy Spirit gives us peace.
By having peace, we will not feel anything that the flesh feels. Maybe we come here with sadness, sickness, bitterness, hopelessness, disappointment, or anything. If the Holy Spirit is breathed to us, we won't feel any of those things but only God's loveand we can love Him more than anything, and love others as ourselves.
This is a living which can be sent(we need to have the peace).
The Holy Spirit sends those who have peace to bring peace or coolnessthrough these things.- The Word or good news for the sinful people to believe in Jesus and be saved.
- The Bride Tidings or the true Word to bring those who have been saved to get into holiness and perfection (to be the Bride of God).
Many people don't understand this thing. They have believed and been blessed but they don't know where to go. This is why we need to testify the Bride Tidings. This is important. In the fellowships, we testify the Bride Tidings.
John 21:3
21:3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
They caught nothing refers to their weak condition.
If we are only breathed, we will still be weak, we can't face the difficulties and tribulations and fail ('they caught nothing') and leave the ministry ('I am going fishing'). They changed from fishers of men to fishermen.
No matter how strong Peter was, even after he was breathed by the Holy Spirit, he still left the ministry. This is why on the upper room in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit was not only breathed but rushed mightily. - Acts 2:1-4
2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
2:3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The thirdone is the Holy Spirit is breathed like a strong wind in the upper room in Jerusalem.
It refers to the revival of Holy Spirit of the first rain. The Holy Spirit filled Peter and his friends, and God could use them until the finish line. We will never leave God anymore. They followed God until they died. We will follow God until His second coming.
Why do we need the double anointment of the Holy Spirit in the end of time?Because in the end of time, on the revival of the Holy Spirit in the last rain, we face challenges and great troubles, even the impossible ones.
John 17:11, 21-23
17:11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, 1that they may be one as We are.
17:21 2that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
17:22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, 3that they may be one just as We are one:
17:23 I in them, and You in Me; 4that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
It is difficult to be one even for us within a family. It is also difficult for us in a church, and inter-church, even more difficult for Israel and Gentiles to be united. It is impossible!
For Lazarus who was died, Jesus prayed once. For the unity of the body of Christ, Jesus prayed four times. This describes how hard it is. That's why we need the double anointment of the Holy Spirit.
Intelligence and wealth won't be able to do it. Only the power of Holy Spirit can help us. This evening, we have a lot of necessities, but everything is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives uslife, peace(commissioning), and extra powerin the end of time to face all the challenges and disturbances in the revival of the Holy Spirit of the last rain and we can follow and minister Him to the finish line (until the perfect body of Christ is formed to welcome God's second coming).
Challenges and disturbances are like the Red sea.
Moses went out from the land of Egypt. We will go out of the world (the building of Christ's body) to meet Jesus in the clouds, as if we face the Red Sea (we are facing impossibilities).
However, there was a strong wind that split the sea.
These days, maybe we are facing impossibilities like the Red Sea, but miracles do happen.
Spiritual miracleshappen and we will enter the building of Christ's body.
Physical miracleswill also happen.
Physically, the challenges and disturbances which are like the Red sea (difficulties in economy or other things) can be split by the strong wind.
Spiritually, we face the challenges and disturbance in facing Lazarus who has died for four days (being rotten, unclean, and anything else), but the double anointment of the Holy Spirit can help, sanctify, and change us to be as perfect as God.
Whatever our conditions are right now, either in tribulation or anything, let's keep on being fearful to Godwhich is described as follows.
- Living in righteousnessso that we earn the pure gold to wait for Jesus' second coming.
- Being faithful and goodin the ministry to God so that we earn the happiness.
- Worshipping Godand saying 'I am only clay, unworthy, unable to do anything, and I need the Holy Spirit to give me life, peace, commissioning and extra power in the end of time to face the building of the perfect body of Christ which is like facing the Red Sea and Lazarus who has died for four days'.
The double anointment of the Holy Spirit will help us until we enter the perfect body of Christ, the bride who is ready to welcome Jesus' second coming.
God blesses us.