Bible Study at Surabaya - Monday, September 10, 2007

We continue our devotion by studying Jude which tells about badger skins/ the covering of condemnation. Badger skins/ the covering of condemnation now mean the protection and blessing from God to His true churches and the separation from the false churches.

Jude 1:20, 21
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
The characteristics of true churches are:
  1. vs. 20 -> building themselves on the most holy/ perfect faith
  2. vs. 20 -> praying in the ointment of Holy Spirit
  3. vs. 21 ->keeping themselves in the love of God/ living in the love of God.
Why do we have to keep ourselves in the love of God? The answer is in Matthew 24:12"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. We have to keep ourselves in the love of God because the love of many will grow cold like ice and lawlessness will abound like burning fire in the end of the world and these two things invite the condemnation of God to this world. Thus, we have to keep ourselves in the love of God. I hope we can understand it.

What are the forms of condemnation of God? The forms of condemnation of God are hail and fire. These forms of condemnation of God have happened like what is written in Exodus 9 (Old Testament) and they will happen again in the end of the world. Hence, do not be in doubt because it has been written in Holy Bible.

Exodus 9:23, 24
23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

This condemnation of God was a miracle since hail was combined with fire. This condemnation of God was the seventh curse which happened when the Israelites were going to go out of Egypt, yet Pharaoh hindered them.

In New Testament/ the end of the world this condemnation of God will happen for the second time as it is written in Revelation. The condemnation of God fell on Egypt in Old Testament, but in New Testament it will fall on all over the world. The condemnation of God to this world will happen when the churches of God will go out of this world.

In Revelation, there are three times of condemnation of God and the last condemnation of God is great hail about the weight of a talent/ fifty kilograms -> Revelation 16: 21And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstoneabout the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
The great hail from heaven which was each about the weight of talent/ fifty kilograms will fall on all over the world so that the world will be destroyed.

2 Peter 3: 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
The condemnation of God in the form of fire makes the earth burned up. These are the two forms of condemnation of God: hail and fire which fall from heaven because the love of many grows cold and lawlessness abound as burning fire.

If the love of children in a house grows cold, their lawlessness to their parents will automatically abound. It also happens in church: where there is cold love, there will be lawlessness against leaders. If the love of many grows cold and lawlessness abound until its peak, the earth will be destroyed with hail and fire. I hope we can understand it.

Nevertheless, God gives a place for us to stay keeping the love of God like what had happened to the Israelites. God told His words and showed the shelter to Moses. It means that the true teaching word which we hear patiently is able to tell or reveal what will happen and give the way to face them. Therefore, we will not be panic if we hear the true teaching word patiently.

God shows two shelters in which we can keep ourselves in the love of God so that we are escaped from hail and fire; they are:
A) Exodus 9: 18, 19
18 "Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now.
19 "Therefore send now andgather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die."'"

Tomorrow = still tomorrow = prophecy word of God -> what will happen tomorrow has been revealed by the word of God. It is not a prognosis, but the revealing of the word of God. Prognosis does not happen even deceives, but the prophecy is revealed and happens surely.

So, the first of two shelters in which we can keep ourselves in the love of God so that we are escaped from hail and fire is home. Home refers to marriage. The love will grow cold outside the marriage. For children who do not like to stay at home and prefer to stay outside, their love will grow cold.

The love of husbands who do not like to stay at home and prefer to stay outside also will grow cold. It is better for husbands to go home quickly after they work.

Wives also have to go home quickly after they do their business outside home because there is only hail outside home (love grows cold) which makes the increasing of lawlessness. Lawlessness can be in the form of affair. Hence, the first of two shelters in which we can keep ourselves in the love of God so that we are escaped from hail and fire is home/ marriage. I hope we can understand it.

How can we keep ourselves in the love of God in marriage?
Ephesians 5: 22-24
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so letthe wives beto their own husbands in everything.

These are the primary duties:
  1. wives
    The primary duty of wives is submit to their own husbands in everything. Maybe there are wives who have to work in the office and cannot cook or wash clothes --> it means not the primary duty that they do not do because the primary duty of a wife is submit to their own husbands in everything.

    You can read in Colossians that it has to start from wives because it was Eve who fell in sins and asked Adam to follow her sinning. However, there are a lot of wives do not understand this and often say that they will pray for their husband to correct their marriage. It is wrong because to correct a marriage, it has to be wives firstly (we can read about it in verses of Holy Bible which point to wives first).

    I often advise wives, who prefer to wait for their husbands to go church, to come patiently in devotion and then they can invite their husbands. If they wait for their husbands, it will be not along with the word of God so that the marriage cannot be helped. The secret is that it has to be wives first. There are a lot of broken marriages which are caused by wives who insist their husbands on everything.

    The submitted wives place their husbands as the head of wives and God as the Head of the marriagebecause there is Jesus as the Head above husbands. It is clearly written in vs. 23 --> For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. The Savior of the body = the Savior of the marriage. It means Jesus is going to be the Savior of the marriage.

    In marriage course, I say to the couple that 'a marriage is similar to a boat in the middle of ocean'. Even though wind and storm strike the boat, Jesus will save the boat if the wife submits to her husband. In contrast, the boat will be shaky although in windy and little waves if the wife fights against/ does not submit her husband so that the marriage will be broken. The causes of broken marriage are quarrel and affair. Therefore, it is very essential for wives.

  2. husband -> Ephesians 5:25-28
    25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
    26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
    27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
    28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

    The primary duty of husbands is love their own wives as their own bodies and like in Colossians it is written clearly -> Do not be cruel to your wives. Your sayings may not be rude and you may not hit your wives. Maybe there is a husband who is ill or fired and it means that man has not done his primary duty as a husband yet. The right primary duty of husbands is love their own wives.

    If you want to feel or keep the love of God, wives have to submit to their own husbands in everything and husbands love their own wives as their own bodies and do not be cruel. It means that the husbands place themselves as the head of wives and Jesus as the Head of husbands so that Jesus will bring the marriage into holiness and perfection.

    It is written in the verses above 'a glorious church' = sanctify and perfect = bring the marriage into holiness and perfection. Let us be serious to keep ourselves in the love of God because love will grow cold and lawlessness will abound. However, if the marriage is in the hail, confess your sins and forgive each other and also do your primary duties as your position in the marriage: wives submit their own husbands in everything and your marriage will be saved.

    The proof that Jesus is the Savior of the marriage is when the boat is struck by wind and storm, Jesus is asleep and then He gets up and rebukes the wind and storm so that they become calm and the boat does not sink. If husbands love their own wives as their own bodies and do not be cruel, Jesus is there to bring the marriage into holiness and perfection.

  3. children -> Ephesians 6: 2, 3
    2 "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise:
    3 "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.

    Children honor/ obey their parents and it means that those children place Jesus as the Head in the marriage so that there is happinessin the marriage. So, if wives, husbands and children do their primary duties, there will be salvation, holiness, perfection and happiness. The saved, holy, perfect and happy marriage will come into the peak that is the marriage supper of the Lambwhen Jesus returns in the second time. The marriage will not get into the Judgment day with the earth in hail and fire, yet it will be lifted and be with Jesus forever. It depends on those who are the members of marriage.
In conclusion, keeping ourselves in the love of God is:
B) Exodus 9: 26
Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

In the land of Goshen refers to the shepherding service system/ shepherded person. Being shepherded starts from I am as the shepherd. I learn to go back to the shepherding service system quickly if I have other duties outside the shepherding service system because there will be hail if I stay outside and it is harmful.

Then, the congregation also has to go back quickly to home and the shepherding service system after you get duties in another town because there are hail and fire of lawlessness. I hope we can understand it.

You have to notice two things in the shepherding service system; they are:
  1. pen. In Tabernacle, pen refers to the holy place which is the place of three instruments. Pen as two meanings as follows:
    • physically, pen is church organization
    • spiritually, pen is the holy place in Tabernacle.
    The three instruments in Tabernacle are -> Acts 2: 41, 42
    41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
    42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

    Era of Moses
    		Era of Apostles/ beginning rain
    		Now/last rain
    Golden Candlestick
    		Patience in Fellowship
    		Patience in Public Service/ Sunday
    The Table of Show bread
    		Patience in apostles' doctrine and holy Communion
    		Patience in Bible Study and holy Communion
    The Altar of Burnt Incense
    		Patience in prayers
    		Patience in worship devotion.

    These are the pen/ the shepherding service system = we are shepherded = we are in the shepherding service system.

    In Ecclesiastes 4, those who are shepherded patiently start from husbands and wives so that they can withstand each other/ not quickly broken. If we are shepherded/ in the shepherding service system, a threefold cord is not quickly broken -> Ecclesiastes 4: 12Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

    A threefold cord = patience in the three kinds of devotion.
    The three kinds of devotion are like a threefold cord which is not quickly broken.

    If a couple of husband and wife are shepherded and has a threefold cord, they will not be quickly broken because they are one in their marriage which is the smallest unity.

    The marriage unity will expand into the edifying of the body of Christ in the shepherding service system until it reaches the perfect body of Christ through the shepherding service system/ the land of Goshen and a threefold cord. Hence, let us get into the pen/ the land of Goshen since there is only hail/ cold love outside. I hope we can understand it.

    The most frequent fault we do is we walk around to and fro to seek love, yet we do not find it for there is only in the shepherding service system (a threefold cord which is not quickly broken) we can get love. I hope we can understand it.

    In John 21, there is the growing of love. Peter denied God = he did not have love. Nevertheless, when he was talking to Jesus about the shepherding service system, his love was growing and he was willing to die for the name of God. Peter were afraid of being arrested and put in jail because he did not have love and was afraid of death, but then he was willing to die in the name of God (= his love was growing).

    If we frequently make calculation with God, it means that we are afraid of death and do not have love. These two things are risky because we can deny God. On the other hand, if we are shepherded, our love will grow so that we can love God more than everything.

    John 21: 15-17
    15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, sonof Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs."
    16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon,     sonof Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep."
    17 He said to him the third time, "Simon,     sonof Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.

    Love = Feed My sheep --> the growing of love is only in the shepherding service system, yet Satan is going to destroy it.

    Jesus said to Peter --> "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.'
    The shepherd was destroyed by Satan because the shepherd is not shepherded (does not stay in the shepherding service system) so that his sheep are scattered because Satan knows that the only place to grow love is in the shepherding service system.

    Peter was grieved since he remembered and regretted that he had denied Jesus. God corrected Peter's love. The first question -> 'Simon, sonof Jonah, do you love Me with Agape love?' We often say that a great miracle is in the form of big church, but we have to be careful because there is no love outside the shepherding service system. Do not look at how great the miracle or how big the church is, yet we have to look at whether there is love!

    In 1 Corinthians 13 -> even though you can utter angels' tongues and do anything until give your life, all is nothing without the love of God. God also corrects us whether we have love. I hope we can understand it.

    Peter underwent a miracle for sure because he was able to walk on the water and he did many things in the name of God -> He fed five thousands men five loaves of bread and two fish with God. His ministry was in miracle, yet God corrected it and it was clear that he did not have love and his ministry was vain. The growing of love is only in the shepherding service system and outside the shepherding service system there is no love/dry/ cold as Simon Peter saw.

    John 21:18, 19
    18 "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry youwhere you do not wish."
    19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."

    When you are old     = spiritually mature = spiritual growing in the shepherding service system.
    Spiritual growing = the growing of love. Outside the shepherding service system = no growing = no love and only be scattered.

    Simon Peter/ we grow in spiritual life so that we can love God with all of our body, soul and spirit = all of our life. The Great Shepherd has given His life for us, thus we have to give all of our best for God. Peter was afraid of death, yet in the end of his life he was willing to be crossed with his head in the bottom because he felt that he did not deserved to be like Jesus. I hope we can understand it.

  2. food = The Shepherd's voice = The Shepherding Word of God. Besides the pen/ three kinds of devotion in which our spiritual life is growing in the love of God and we keep ourselves in the love of God, we have to notice the Shepherd's voice/ food.

    John 10: 1-3
    1 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
    2 "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
    3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

    Vs. 1 -> sheepfold (holy place)
    Vs. 3 -> The Shepherd's voice/ The Shepherding word/ the true teaching word which is given by God to a shepherd to be fed to the sheep. We have to pay attention to this since if we are in the pen, we will have the place for food that is crib.
As Gentiles, we have to know crib that is pen and food. Isaiah 1:3The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib; ButIsrael does not know, My people do not consider." Donkey/ Gentiles have to know crib that is pen and food -> Gentiles have to know assuredly the shepherding word and do not feel as a stranger to the shepherding word. We have to select the truly pen in which there is food and do not get into any pen.

We also have to notice the food, whether we can eat and enjoy it or not. If we can eat and enjoy the food , we will not go anywhere or we will be shepherded in that pen.
Hence, we have to beg to God so that as donkey/ sheep from Gentiles we can be shepherded and know the crib -> we stand firmly in the pen/ patience and edible food so that we feel satisfied. I hope we can understand it.

If donkey/ we do not know the crib because of our ignorance in the shepherding service system so that we cannot eat the word of God nicely, we will become wild donkey or onager which only lives in lusts of flesh and the peaks of sins (sins of sex and eating drinking).

In Job 39: 5"Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager,

There are a lot of errors in the shepherding service system because people think that they do not need to be shepherded since we cannot be free inside it --> this is an error, but frequently preached. In the shepherding service system, it is the flesh which is tied, not our activities so that we do not become wild. It will be vain if we serve God, yet we are wild donkey which is not shepherded and led to destruction. Our flesh is tied with a threefold cord/ the shepherding word in the shepherding service system. I hope we can understand it.

The activities of the shepherding word/ Shepherd's voice are as follows-> John 10:3
3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
The advice of the word of God which is the stretched hands of God does not only solve our problems, but also lead us to glory -> Psalms 73: 24You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me toglory.

The shepherding word points out our sins and problems because we live with sins and problems every single day and it wants us to realize our conditions, confess them and repent. If we repent, God will stretch His hands to solve our problems, lead and lift us to holiness, glory and perfection.

God stretches His hands to us. Then, what should we do? We have to be like Peter who did not doubt to stretch his hands to God. Stretching our hands to God means:
He will gather the lambs with His arm = He will hug us with His hands and here are the results:
  1. The hands of the Great Shepherd gather/unify/bring us to the edifying of the perfect body of Christ, starts from our marriage. If there is disorganized marriage, husband and wife will have to be shepherded wholeheartedly = stretching their hands to God. Thus, do not refuse each delivering of the shepherding word. Instead, we have to stretch our hands to God -> confess our sins, repent, give up, and sacrifice anything to God/ not selfish. Our hands are, in fact, not able to do anything. It is only the Great Shepherd's hands which are able to help and gather us.

  2. The hands of the Great Shepherd carry us in His bosom = God carries all of our burdens. If we carry our children, we will nourish them. So does God. He will give us relief and blessings. King Davis professed that 'The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want' = God blesses us. Therefore, let us be shepherded seriously whatever our condition is, because God is still able to help us who stay in the shepherding service system.

  3. The hands of the Great Shepherd gently lead those who are with young = The hands of the Great Shepherd lead us to the last shepherding that is the city of New Jerusalem/ the kingdom of heaven and He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. -> Revelation 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." Now, maybe you are in sorrow and tears, but do not become similar to Esau who stayed outside the shepherding service system and differed from Jacob who liked to stay in the tent so that his life was always in tears. Maybe your husband/ wife/ children/ parents cannot wipe away your tears, but in the shepherding service system Jesus will wipe away your tears. Hence, do not be hopeless if there is no one helps you because there is Jesus' nailed hands which wipe away your tears little by little until there is no more tears and it means we reach the last shepherding/ the city of New Jerusalem.

  4. If we are called and hear His calling, the hands of the Great Shepherd will write our names on the book of life-> Revelation 2: 17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."'
A new name is from manna. Manna = the shepherding word = hidden manna = angels' bread. Through the shepherding service system, God is recognizing and calling us until He writes our new names on the book of life. It is the realization of the responsibility of the Great Shepherd who was willing to give His life. We were sinners/ wild Gentiles, but the Great Shepherd who was willing to give His life calls, leads and blesses us and even writes our names on the book of life. Thus, do not stop being shepherded because God is writing our names in the book of life. We have to give our life wholeheartedly to the Great Shepherd.

God blesses us!