Rev. Jusak Widjaja Hendra - WR Supratman 4 Sby
We still learn the epistle Jude on the subject of false church. There are four kinds of false church as follows:
- verse 4 = unshepherded church
- verse 5 = law-based church
- verse 6-7 = satanic church
- verse 8 = fleshly church
It is not our intention to charge church A or church B with false, but to separate ourselves from such churches. When the separation is manifested, we will have been saved and separated no more with God.
We still confer around the first part, i.e., unshepherded church
Jude 1:4
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out
for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness
and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The term “crept in unnoticed” shows lightness/no seriousness and
refusal to shepherding service system (three main services). Judas, for example,
was all the time with Jesus the Great Shepherd, but he was not serious in shepherding
and forsook Jesus as the feast was being made to see his own death.
The unshepherded consist of these people:
- ungodly men; unclean men as Judas
- those who turn the grace of God into lewdness
- those who deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ
Ungodly men
They have been in church/shepherding but not sincere like Judas who became a
thief, wicked and unclean although he always be together with Jesus.
Psalms 1:3-4
3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
“He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water” points
to the righteous under His shepherd. Such a man will not wither.
The ungodly are like chaff; they are only proud of and satisfied with material
things while their inside is empty because they reject the teaching word. This
has been lasting for not only one or two, but many years. What a real pity!
There are two kinds of gospel: gospel of salvation and gospel of the glory
of Christ. The gospel of salvation is intended to bring sinful men to believe
in Jesus, be saved and blessed. We previously did need this gospel as we knew
nothing about Jesus, but we have now been saved and blessed (we have got the
husk/outer/material things) so we must be filled with deeper matters of Jesus
Christ through the teaching word. Unfortunately, many reject it for its being
sharp and taking a long time. As Jesus was feeding five thousand men, all people
came near Him, but soon as He taught, they remained twelve. In spite of that,
twelve still seemed too many; Judas then also left Jesus. Five thousand men
got together and remained eleven soon after the teaching word was being preached.
What a small number!
Gospel is needed to save and bless with husk but then it has to be filled with
teaching word. Not being filled with the teaching word, a pastor who has big
church or sons of God having many riches will become the chaff.
The chaff (Christians rejecting the teaching word) are equalized with these
terms:
- Isaiah 17:12-13
12 Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
the multitude of many people refers to gentiles; many waters denotes seawater.
Thus, the chaff are like waves of the sea driven and tossed by the wind; always being unstable in all their ways.
A baby is quiet, drinking milk. Likewise, one who is new in his following to Jesus will be quiet in his life because of the Gospel. Nevertheless, a growing baby needs solid food and it is normal in life. Flowing from that, the normal spiritual life needs solid food. In fact, many Christians live abnormally because of drinking milk (hearing Gospel) only. Such are like the chaff, not being filled with grain of teaching word. Consequently, they become waves of the sea driven and tossed by the wind, always being unstable in all their ways. - Revelation 17:1, 15
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
15 Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.
The chaff are like many waters on which the woman of Babylon sits; especially from Gentiles who are satisfied with worldly things such as big church and riches and reject teaching word. They are ruled by the woman of Babylon in the form of evil and unclean spirits. It is not wrong to have material blessings such as wealth, health, big house, etc. from God but we must not focus on them because they are husks that have to be filled with teaching word.
The chaff are empty of teaching word, so that:
- they have no faithfulness, even forsake godliness.
Psalms 137:1-2
1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.
The river of Babylon symbolizes the world; Zion or Jerusalem is the center of spirituality. We wept when we remembered Zion (ministry), since the world is not for pleasure.
Willows symbolize pastors and ministers of God. Willows by the rivers of Babylon imply pastors and ministers of God whose life and ministry drift away; all that they do is simply to seek fleshly and worldly pleasure. The willows are different with the trees by the river of life/river of God (Psalm 1:3) for they are shepherded people. If a pastor considers his office as a worldly profession, not the calling of God anymore, he will become an officer who works to get money. Servants of God, let us minister in sincerity, not to seek money. They hang their whole life on the world, so that their harps are hung, which means they stop serving and ministering God (just like a boxer hangs his glove or a badminton player hangs his racket). Both mean: they stop playing)
(Note: Harp is a music instrument to praise the Lord and especially signifies ministry.)
Peter and Judas are the examples. Peter was made a fisher of men, but he then denied and returned to be a fisherman after Jesus died. For he thought of himself, what he would eat by being a fisher of men, but no worry about food in his being a fisherman. Another case, Judas followed Jesus only to seek what he needed that he became a thief. He then forsook Jesus and never came back again (Acts 8 – he was a minister of God but finally hanged himself). Thus, hanging harp means hanging oneself.
Therefore, let us beware of Babylon because we will be the chaff if we reject teaching word. One who has already been blessed but never becomes satisfied, will seek the husk continually. There is no peace in his life like waves of the sea driven and tossed by the wind until being sit by Babel; he hangs his harp, meaning unfaithfulness even leaving ministry and hanging himself.
Jesus had given Himself to hang on the cross so Judas must not have hanged himself and we mustn’t, too. Jesus alone was so much enough.
Galatians 3:13
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
Jesus had been hanged on the cross to redeem us from the curse of sin, which is a deep sorrow of men. Like Adam and Eve got after they had sinned “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.”
Still Judas hanged himself/Christians hang their harps; it means that they reject the Sacrifice of Christ, which also means they live in curse (sorrows and tears) until they perish. The curse of sin is very much heavy for the wages of sin is death. Let us become faithful in ministry, or else we get curse (sorrows and tears) and hang ourselves because of rejecting Jesus’ sacrifice. - they become selfish
Isaiah 14:23
23 "I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says the LORD of hosts.
Marsh symbolizes selfishness. As we know, marshes merely intercept and retain water falling. Unlike rivers that never stop flowing. In short, marshes refer to Christians without teaching word so that they are dominated by the woman of Babylon; they receive blessings but reject to become a blessing to the others. Such is called egoism, neither sharing nor visiting (Matthew 25 “for I was hungry and you gave Me no food … in prison and you did not visit Me.”) In such a condition, they will take the consequences as follows:- Ezekiel 47:11
11 "But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.
They will be given over to salt means being the pillar of salt as Lot’s wife who were bound to the world. Besides, the heap of salt refers to sin, like a rich person who will pull down his barns and build greater to serve himself (egoism) and then be merry, eat, drink (falling into sins and becoming the heap of salt). - Matthew 25:38-41
38 ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 "And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
Living in curse of sin/deep sorrows to an endless one in hell.
Someone claimed that God is cruel for making hell. I answered him: God is not cruel, but just, since the hell is actually prepared for Lucifer and his angels (verse 41). Lucifer was once glorified, but then put down to the bottomless pit as the wages of his rebellion. Everyone following the devil will surely be cast into the hell, of course!
- Ezekiel 47:11
- They become wicked and unclean
Revelation 18:2
2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
The chaff are under evil and unclean spirits, so that they will openly commit sexual sins (giving and marrying in marriage) and eating-drinking. Nothing can deal with these sins, except the teaching word.
In reality, we need material things and it is natural. But our mistake is to rant and show them off, whereas they are simply the facilities of God given to us to see the spiritual ones. Let us now become serious in the spiritual things in order not to be empty from teaching word.
The end of this age will return to the days of Noah.
Luke 17:26-27
26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
The days of the Son of Man shows the second coming of Jesus Christ approaching. The world is called modern, superior, what else…; it is all the same because the world is returning to the days of Noah.
Facing Babylon in the form of unfaithfulness, egoism, and sins, we have to
go into the ark of Noah. There is no other way out.
Here are the meanings of going into the ark of Noah:
- Being baptized with water
Have you?
- “No, I haven’t” – so you must pray to have it.
- “Yes, I have” – so you must really know that you have.
1 Peter 3:20-21
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.
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,
removing the filth of the flesh = taking a bath in the bathroom
going into Noah’s ark = being baptized with water in the manner worthy of God. Just as Jesus was baptized, we do likewise.
Requirement: repentance = being dead to sins
Romans 6:2-3
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Performance: being buried with Jesus Christ
Romans 6:4
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Result: renewal of life. A wicked heart - which is nothing other than evilness (as in the days of Noah) - is renewed to become a good conscience.
A whole family must be in one ark/baptism; or else, one of them or some will sink. In the days of Noah, I so much believe that there were various arks, but Noah’s was the only saved.
Babylon dwells in the hearts which are evil continually.
Genesis 6:5
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Heart, whose thought is only evil continually, is the place where evil and unclean spirits dwell. They imitate Tabernacle because God commanded Moses to build Tabernacle where He might dwell. Unclean spirit is hidden so it is difficult to confess except one is pierced by the sword of teaching word, which is important for us.
In short, the meaning of being baptized of water is the renewal of life from evil heart to good conscience (obedient heart). Having an obedient, one will not be drifted away by the stream of Babylon.
Hebrews 2:1-2
1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,
A heart of obedience is the pleasure of God and the word, Holy Spirit, and love will dwell therein. This enables us to walk in righteousness according to the truth of God. After being baptized of water in the right way as Jesus’ baptism, one has to have obedient heart. Such is righteous and Babylon cannot rule over him like flood which cannot sink Noah’s ark. - Entering Tabernacle
Genesis 6:14-16
14 "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
15 "And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16 "You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
Noah’s ark was made with lower, second, third decks. This division equals to the three places of Tabernacle: court, holy place, and most holy place (http://gptkk.org/tabernakel-en.php). Moses was commanded to go up to a mountain to see the kingdom of heaven and make its miniature called Tabernacle.
Thus, entering Tabernacle implies baptism of water, serving and ministering God according to the pattern of the kingdom of heaven/the pattern of Tabernacle (not the pattern of man). That is to say, serving and ministering God by Tabernacle teaching system.
Many claim that Tabernacle teaching is of the law. The worse is to know that
some of them are of our organization, Tabernacle Pentecost Church. They blaspheme
and assert this teaching old-fashioned. This is completely wrong! If their statement
was true, we had to build real Tabernacle with three places and all of the objects.
In reality, we do not need to do that because Tabernacle teaching is defined
spiritually to fulfill the law. Now it becomes shepherding service system. God
has demonstrated it in The Old Testament. Another fact, in The New Testament,
Jesus was born in a sheepfold, not to show poverty but shepherding system. Where
there is shepherding, there Jesus the Great Shepherd be.
Here are the details of our spirituality according to Tabernacle structure:
- faith in Christ = court (http://gptkk.org/pelataran-en.php)
- repentance = gate (http://gptkk.org/gerbang-en.php)
- baptism of water = laver (http://gptkk.org/bejana-en.php)
- baptism of Spirit = door (http://gptkk.org/kemah-en.php)
All of these have been done, but we are not perfect yet (perfection = the most holy place). So, we are now in the holy place, that is, shepherding. Going through these days as they return to the days of Noah, we find no other safe place except the ark (shepherding).
There are three objects in holy place, they are: - table of shewbread (http://gptkk.org/mrs-en.php), denoting patience in Bible Study Service and Holy Communion
- golden candlestick (http://gptkk.org/pelita-en.php), denoting patience in General / Sunday Service
- golden altar of incense (http://gptkk.org/dupa-en.php),
denoting patience in Worship.
We do pray and worship God at home, but also at church by shepherding system.
Many are called but also many are failed due to evil and unclean spirits. By faithfulness and holiness, however, we will overcome them.
Revelation 17:14
14 "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."
We were called from sinfulness to believe in Christ and be baptized, being
chosen and shepherded to become the ministers of God. It is all wonderful but
not enough; we must be faithful to overcome Satan with evil and unclean spirits
(we become winners none may overcome). Satan, false prophets, and antichrist
are expediting evil and unclean spirits, as they were great floodwaters. Seeing
that, we must go into Noah’s ark/baptism of water, lest the flood come
upon and consume us.
If you are not baptized yet, you should take it now; but if you have, you should
have a good conscience to prevail over Babylon. Afterward, you must be shepherded
by Tabernacle teaching / Bride Tidings.
At that time, Noah’s ark was the only saved, whereas many others were made more advanced. Why did Noah’s ark not sink?
Genesis 7:16
16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
It was just because the Lord’s Hand shut him in. The other arks might
be designed with hydraulics system by the prudent and operated automatically
by a machine to shut them in. Noah’s ark, however, was shut by the Lord’s
Hand. This is the difference. We have been baptized and shepherded, but we need
one more thing, that is, the Hand of the Great Shepherd to touch us.
Although we have a good conscience by baptism of water and faithfulness and
holiness by shepherding, we are nothing without the Lord’s Hand touching.
This is my prayer day and night that our service is neither dry nor meaningless
but the Lord always touches as His hand shut Noah’s ark.
Today there are scores of Tabernacle teachings and each of them is different. The only one we follow is Tabernacle teaching revealed to the late Rev. Van Gessel by which the Lord’s Hand has been manifested.
How do we feel the Lord’s Hand?
- By the Sacrifice of Christ / Holy Communion
Perhaps we are now separated from God because of our sins, so we by His Sacrifice should confess our sins to feel His touch.
Isaiah 59:1-2
1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
As long as our sins are retained, we will not feel the Lord’s Hand. Therefore, we by His Sacrifice must confess them. A sin separates us from God and His Hand. When we confess sin, the Blood of Jesus forgives and the Lord’s Hand touches us. We do not need to be afraid of making use of Holy Communion provided testing ourselves/confessing sins, and see, we will immediately feel the Lord’s Hand. - By worship
King David said that worship is to lift up our hands with faith and surrender. In such a manner, God will give His Merciful Hands to us, not an outstretched arm to Egypt to judge. If we try to work it out by ourselves, God is quiet. Although we are unclean, failed, suffered the most, we may come to Jesus’ sacrifice by confessing that we are sinful. His blood will sanctify us and God touches us. On the contrary, if we suppose ourselves good/great, He cannot touch us.
Our faith and God’s mercy work together to bring miracles: firstly, renewal
of life and secondly, all that we need.
The greatest miracle is renewal of life, not recovery (for Satan can also heal
the sick but he himself cannot be transformed by renewal of life).
A gentile woman, who was a Syro-Phoenician, had her daughter severely demon-possessed
(gentiles are commonly demon-possessed/under Babylon’s dominion). She
came to God for a help, but He did not help yet even said: It is not good to
take the children’s (Israelites) bread and throw it to the little dogs.
The woman justified by saying, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat
the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
The woman said, “Lord, help me!” This is completely true; she did
not say, “Lord, help my daughter!” Thus, the physical miracle takes
place right after the spiritual one. After saying those words, the woman got
her daughter healed.
As Gentile, we need nothing more than the Lord’s Hand, but how?
- Give ourselves for baptism
- Give ourselves for shepherding
- Lift up our hands to the Lord
Now we just need to ask God’s touching on us as He shut Noah’s ark because we are powerless gentiles.
Matthew 15:21-22, 24-28
21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon–possessed."
24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs."
27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table."
28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
God will not help gentiles if they remain “dogs”; they must be
renewed first: dogs become sheep.
Verse 28 shows the faith of a gentile and the mercy of God resulting in a miracle,
i.e. renewal from dog to sheep.
If God has not answered your prayer yet, it is because He wants you to have
spiritual miracle before you see the physical one. So, lest you be desperate!
How do dogs become sheep? It is written in verse 25 “help me!”,
whereas the sick was the woman’s daughter, not herself. The woman felt
herself guilty that her daughter was sick (“My daughter is sick because
of nobody but me.”)
Gentiles tend to be righteous in their own eyes. They always pray like this:
“O Lord, help my guilty husband / help my wife / help my children!”,
but they themselves are never renewed. This character is called self-truth and
must be renewed to be righteous in the sight of God (verse 27 “Yes, Lord.”).
How will we be righteous in the Lord’s eyes? By confessing sins to God/confessing
ourselves guilty. If your marriage is broken - for example, your husband deals
with another woman and your children are involved in narcotics -, then you should
blame yourself and confess it to God. In such a manner, dog is renewed becomes
sheep.
The tongue is also renewed:
- The tongue of a dog is always to lick vomit, yet in that story, the dog licked crumbs.
- The tongue of a dog is fond of licking sores
Let us now say about the word of God instead of gossip because there are many
dogs needing the crumbs. Let us bear witness about the word wherever we are
and use our tongues according to the word, without lying. As the result, physical
miracles happen, beginning with the coverage/protection and preservation of
God in these last difficult days as He shut Noah’s ark. You can imagine
that we are living in the middle of flood in all aspects. Who may endure? Nevertheless,
protection and preservation of God are for us.
The daughter was healed (Matthew 15); the marvelous Hand of God enables all
the impossible. This is to show physical miracles.
In short, being in the ark means being baptized of water to get good conscience
and righteous life and being in shepherding to get holy life. As the result,
we are renewed, cared and helped all the time by God until we become as glorious
as Jesus when He comes a second time. Gentiles who make sound like the roar
of the seas (Isaiah 17) are renewed because of entering into the ark. Our tongue
and character are renewed so that our voice is not consumed by the flood but
becomes as the sound of many waters to welcome His second coming.
Revelation 19:6-7
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!
7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
Hallelujah! We are with the Lord forever. Let us now be shepherded lest we become ungodly men who crept in unnoticed. Let us enter the ark of shepherding until God touches us and we have the joy. God bless us.
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