Bible Study Service in Malang, October 30, 2014 (Thursday Evening)

From Live Streaming of Bible Study Service in Medan

Peace and grace in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 2-3refers to the seven sprinklings of blood before the Ark of the Covenant.
It means the seven epistles for the seven churches of the Gentiles or the suffering the flesh that must be experienced by them or the church in the last days. It is also the last sanctificationdone by Jesus for the seven churches of the Gentiles or the congregation in the last days to make them perfect or without blemish like Jesus. They become the perfect Bride of heaven.

Revelation 2:1-7 is about the church in Ephesus.
Revelation 2:2-4
2:2 "I knowyour works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
2:3 "and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
2:4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

In verse 2-3, God exceedingly pays attention, appreciates, and remembers everything they have done for the work of God.

Revelation 22:12
22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

God replies all things we have done for Him. He gives us wage for our present life up to the eternal life. He never fools us.

Revelation 2:4
2:4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Nevertheless, God has something against the church in Ephesus or all of us because of our infirmities. It is really painful for our flesh, but God wants to sanctify us from all blemish and infirmity until we can be without any blemish, but as perfect as He is.

The last sanctification for the church in Ephesus or all of us happens because of losing the first love.
The first love is the love of God through the sacrifice or cross of Christ. Losing the first love means there is no love at all.

All things we do without the love is useless and meaningless even they perish forever.

Why can they lose the first love?
  1. Because of using self-truth.
    The facts found in it are as follows.

    • Judging or blaming others and God.
      In Luke 7:36-50 there is lesson about someone who receives the first love and another who loses it.

      Luke 7:36-38
      7:36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.
      7:37 And behold,
      a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knewthat Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,
      7:38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and
      wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feetand anointed them with the fragrant oil.

      The sinful woman could receive the first love and be saved by God.
      The process of receiving the first love is as follows.

      1. Hearing the Word earnestly to understand, and believe in it.

      2. Wiping the feet of Jesus with the hair of her head. It means taking off all prides, feeling unworthy and unable, and humbling ourselves as low as possible at the feet of Jesus. 

      3. Kissing the feet of Jesus. It means having reconciliation with God and others or confessing sins to them. After being forgiven, we do not repeat the sin.
         

      4. Having the anointing oil of Holy Spirit.
        Luke 7:47,50
        7:47 "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
        7:50 Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

        The anointing oil of Holy Spirit is the sign that the sin has been forgiven and there are no more curses and condemnations of sin, but salvation. It is the sign that our life produces the fragrance and beauty before God and we are used in building the body of Christ to bring the fragrance wherever we are sent, beginning from our marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding, up to the perfect body of Christ.
        The spikenard oil is very expensive. It refers to the offering of time, energy, thought, feelings, and so on. We must sacrifice all things for building the perfect body of Christ, except the true teaching Word.

      Luke 7:36
      7:36 Then one of the Phariseesasked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.

      Mark 14:3
      14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

      Luke 7:39
      7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."

      Simon the Pharisee had been healed from the leprosy, forgiven, and justified by God or he had received the first love. But, he used his self-truthby blaming others and the Lord as well as the true teaching Word. Consequently, there was no opportunity for him to judge himself and confess his sin. Moreover, he would cover his sin by blaming others and God. In such condition, he lost the first love.

    • Not forgiving the sin of others.
      Matthew 18:23-27
      18:23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
      18:24 "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
      18:25 "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
      18:26 "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
      18:27 "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

      1 talent = 6000 denarii.
      10.000 talents = 60.000.000 denarii.
      The wage of working one day is a denarius. Thus, the wage for one year is approximately three hundred denarii. Thus, the time needed for paying the debt is two hundred thousand years. It refers to impossibility.
      How great a man in this world is, he cannot pay the debt of his sin, so he must live in the curse up to perdition.
      Jesus must die on the cross to remove all our sins so that we can receive the first love. There is no sin that cannot be finished by the Lord because all sins have been finished by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, except unbelief and the sins that are not confessed.

      The requirement of getting the forgiveness of sin is we must confess our sins honestly to God and others. After being forgiven, we do not sin anymore, but live in righteousness. As a result, we receive the first love.

      After receiving the grace of God or the first love, we must also forgive the sins of others.

      Matthew 18:28-30,34-35
      18:28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
      18:29 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
      18:30 "And he would not, but went and
      threw him into prisontill he should pay the debt.
      18:34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
      18:35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."


      Unfortunately, the person who had been forgiven did not willingly forgive the sins of other. It means losing the first love. He became a wicked servant and there was negative atmosphere in his life as follows.

      1. The throat is choked means one cannot worship God, but becomes dry spiritually without the satisfaction of heaven. Consequently, he looks for other satisfactions in the world and falls in sin up to the peak.

      2. Being put in prison. It means the atmosphere in weariness, heavy burden, and perdition forever.

  2. Because of egoism or self-interest.
    Matthew 25:41-45
    25:41 "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:
    25:42 ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
    25:43 ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
    25:44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
    25:45 "Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

    There will be separation between the goat and sheep.
    The goatrefers to those who have received the first love and their sins have been forgiven, and then they have been used and blessed by God, but they are egoistic and prioritize their self-interest because of not being shepherded well and correctly. Not being shepherded means not experiencing the sanctification in heart from wicked and unclean lusts. Consequently, there is egoism, stinginess (one cannot give), and greediness (robbing the right of others and God). Finally, they become the marsh of muddy water that is satisfied only by receiving, not giving.

    Isaiah 14:23
    14:23 "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.

    Such egoistic people will go toward the body of Babylon, namely perfection in uncleanness and evil or the bride of Babylon that will be destroyed forever.

    The sheeprefers to the people who have received the first love and their sins have been forgiven and they have been saved, used, and blessed by God. They are also shepherded well and correctly.
    Beware of foolish shepherds who think that they are more righteous and clever than God until they add and take away the verses in the Bible. They interpret the Word for their self-interest.
    Moreover, beware of the shepherd who becomes sheep seller. He does not feed the congregation, but looks for physical advantage from them.
    A righteous and good shepherd will receive the revelation of the Word from God, so it can sanctify our heart from self-interest, and evil and unclean lusts. As a result, we can give and visit other people who need.

    John 10:16
    10:16 "And other sheepI have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

    We can give and visit other shepherding pen until we can be one flock with one Shepherd or one body with one Head. It means that we are used in the ministry for building the perfect body of Christ like a donkey Jesus sat on to go to Jerusalem.

    The Gentiles can be used in the building of the body of Christ only because of the mercy and grace of God that cost the sacrifice of Christ. It cannot be bought and traded by anything.
    The steps of the donkey Jesus sat on were in mercy and grace of God. It is more than anything in the world.

    The results are as follows.

    • We minister to God with the step of repentance, righteous life, and salvation.
      Romans 2:4
      2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?


    • The steps of God’s preservation in physical and spiritual life miraculously.
      Mark 6:34-37
      6:34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassionfor them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.
      6:35 When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.
      6:36 "Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."
      6:37 But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"


      All things we get from the world such as salary and other things added with the preservation of God will be abundant so that we get the satisfaction and joy from God and we always give thanks to Him.

    • The steps of miracle in our physical and spiritual life.
      Titus 3:5
      3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercyHe saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewingof the Holy Spirit,

      The spiritual miraclehappens when we have the life renewal from carnal man to spiritual ones as Jesus is. It begins from obedience to say "Abba, Father". A disobedient donkey will fall into deep pit.

      Matthew 14:14
      14:14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassionfor them, and healed their sick.

      The physical miraclehappens when the disease that is impossible to be healed can be healed.

      Luke 7:13-15
      7:13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassionon her and said to her, "Do not weep."
      7:14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."
      7:15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

      Moreover, there will be power of resurrection to revive the dead in our job, marriage, and so on.

      The last miracle will happen when we are changed to be the same as Him and we are with Him forever.
God blesses you.