General Service in Malang, August 08, 2021 (Sunday Morning)

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

Revelation 13:16-18
13:16. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
13:17. and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
13:18. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Revelation 13:11-18 is about the false prophet.
Verse 11-12 is about the appearance of the false prophet.
Verse 13-15 is about the great signs from the false prophet that causes the false worship.
Verse 16-18 is about the mark of the false prophet.
The false prophet gives the false mark, namely the one of the Antichrist (666) to men including the servants of God, so they belong to the Antichrist who will be destroyed forever.

Who is the church of God that is marked with 666 on the right hand and forehead?
  1. The church of God who worships the Antichrist.
    The power of the Antichrist is Mammon, namely the bond of money.
    Worshipping the Antichrist means that one depends on money.

    The facts found in it are as follows:

    • Being greedy and stingy.
      Ephesians 5:5
      5:5. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetousman, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

      Stinginess means that one cannot give for God and others who are in need.
      Greediness means that one steals the possession of God and others, including lying, not paying the debt, making corruption, et cetera.

      Being stingy and greedy means that one just depends on money, not God or the word of God.

    • One who is unclean and wicked as well as lying and repaying evil for good.
      Revelation 13:8
      13:8. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

      Revelation 21:27
      21:27. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

      His deeds and words are without faith and truth.
      The church of God who is marked with 666 means being without faith.

    Deuteronomy 8:2-3
    8:2. "And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
    8:3. "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.


    In the Old Testament, the Israelites went out of Egypt to Canaan, and they passed the wilderness with the threat of the beast and disaster because God wanted them to experience the total tearing of the flesh, so they knew and experienced that they lived by manna.

    In the New Testament, the church of God will go out of the world to the heavenly kingdom. God also allows us to experience the atmosphere of wilderness, namely crisis, threats, disaster, and difficulties, so we experience the total tearing of the flesh. We experience that we live by the spiritual manna, namely the repeated true teaching Word from a shepherd.

    Manna is given every day, so the shepherding Word is preached regularly and repetitively to become the spiritual food for the congregation.

    The Israelites gathered one omer of manna for each person for five days.
    One omer is equal to three point six liters.
    And they gathered two omers for each person in the sixth day.
    It means that if we hear and obey the shepherding Word, we will experience the purification of the senses (the number five).
    It is the same as experiencing the purification of heart from all of evil and unclean desires. We also experience the purification of words and deeds.
    It means experiencing the purification of whole life.

    So, the most important need in our everyday life is the purification by the working of the sword of the Word.
    We live by faith or the true teaching Word or we live by God.
    As a result, we are taken care of abundantly in the wilderness like three point six liters of manna for each person until we give thanks to God, and we become blessing for others.

    Deuteronomy 8:4
    8:4. "Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.

    'Your garments did not wear out' means not returning to the old life.
    'nor did your foot swell' means that we are not lost and arrogant, but we keep humbling ourselves. We do not fall up to the New Jerusalem.

  2. The church of God who is bent spiritually.
    Luke 13:10-11
    13:10. Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
    13:11. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.


    Without the true teaching Word, we will be bent and in vain no matter how great we are.
    It is like the Israelites' surrounding Jericho. Without the Ark of Covenant, all things will be in vain.

    Proverbs 12:25
    12:25. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

    Being bent means that one worries and troubles himself, so he starts laboring and being heavy laden, and full of tears and sorrow until he cannot minister to God anymore.
    Mary has chosen the best part. Worrying like Martha is the same as choosing the worst part, so one lives in sorrow and tears.

    Matthew 6:31-34
    6:31. "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
    6:32. "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
    6:33. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
    6:34. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.


    There are two kinds of anxiety in the church of God as follows:

    • The anxiety about eating, drinking, and wearing.
    • The anxiety about tomorrow.

    Consequently, one cannot prioritize the ministry or heavenly thing anymore. He cannot prioritize God. He cannot become the true and faithful servant of God. It means becoming lazy and wicked. He is useless and without Holy Spirit. He does not have any hope like Esau and Judas Iscariot.
    Esau lived in tears, and Judas Iscariot fell headlong, burst open in the middle. He is useless even destroying the body of Christ.

    Being faithful and true means having a hope.
    Being lazy and wicked means that one is without hope and unable to be expected.

    Luke 13:12-13
    13:12. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."
    13:13. And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.


    The preaching of the teaching Word is God's attention to us even though there is none who cares about us, especially when we are in the sin, temptation, et cetera.
    The matter of Jesus' calling her means that He gives us an opportunity to be helped privately, especially when the Word of God shows our sin and doubt. We become God's priority.
    If we confess our sin, God will forgive us. Do not sin after being forgiven!
    As a result, all problems are finished.

    God lays His hands on us. It means that we who have been helped will be used to glorify His name. We become the true and faithful servant of God. It is the same as girding ourselves (Isaiah 11:5).

    Luke 17:8
    17:8. "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?

    Not being bent anymore means one who is holy, true, faithful, and being used to glorify God.
    Ministering to God is the same as giving food and drink to Him. We satisfy God, and He will surely be responsible for our life.
    We have no lack because all things are given by God from the cross.

    Being faithful and true is the same as girding ourselves or strength.
    For us who are in lack and weakness, the faithfulness and perseverance will become our strength.

    Psalm 18: 32
    18:32. It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.

    If we have the belt of faithfulness and righteousness, we will be able to keep ministering God until we receive an entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
    The power of God also makes our way perfect. Our life becomes easy, light, and beautiful.
    Do not doubt about our future!
    One who is faithful and true has big hope.

  3. The church of God who does not experience the renewal of life.
    2 Timothy 3:1-5
    3:1. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
    3:2. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
    3:3. unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
    3:4. traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
    3:5. having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!


    Having a form of godliness but not experiencing the renewal of life happens because one rejects the power of the cross (suffering in flesh) and the sword (the purification Word), so he keeps the eighteen characters of flesh, and he cannot love God and others.

    The mark of 666 means being without love.

    - 6: lovers of themselves = egoism,
    - 6: not loving others,
    - 6: not loving God.

    Love comes from the cross. We must come to the cross to receive the love of God. It means confessing sin to God and others or making peace by the encouragement of the purification Word.
    When the Word shows our sin, we must confess and repent. If the sin is not found, we must forgive others' sin and forget it.
    By making peace, we can receive the love of God.
    If we judge one another, we will go toward the destruction.

    By the love of God, we can love others as we love ourselves, so we just do the good deeds, even we love our enemy, and we can love God more than anything.

    Colossians 3:14
    3:14. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

    The love of God will unify us in the one body up to the perfect body of Christ. We can greet Jesus when He comes a second time on the glorious clouds.
So, those who are marked with 666 are those who are without faith, hope, and love.
That is why we must make effort to do the things as follows:
  1. Hearing and obeying the Word, so we can live in holiness or have faith.
  2. Ministering to God faithfully and fervently. It means having hope.
  3. Coming to the cross of God and making peace. It means having love.
If we have faith, hope, and love, we will not be marked with 666.

In the New Testament, James refers to faith, Peter hope, and John love.
The results are as follows:
  1. We become a pillar, namely being strong and of good courage. It means that we can minister to God faithfully, fervently, and correctly. We never go back, but we will be used in the revival of Holy Spirit in the last rain. There is no more worry.

    Galatians 2:9
    2:9. and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

    Matthew 6:27
    6:27. "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

    There are no more doubt and worry. We just use every step of our life in the building of the perfect body of Christ, starting from marriage, shepherding up to the perfect body of Christ. Jesus as the Head has died on Golgotha to totally be responsible for our life.
    Not one hair of us shall fall without God's permission.

  2. We will not drown, but ascend to the mountain of worship. We can surrender and cry out to God.
    Matthew 17:1-2
    17:1. Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
    17:2. and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.


    In the worship, we experience the renewal of life from fleshly men to spiritual ones like Jesus. We can obey God until the flesh does not speak anymore like Jesus who becomes obedient to the point of death on the cross.
    The obedience is always followed by honesty.

    Becoming obedient and honest is the same as having love. We become the same as the first creation.
    The love that is like the sun will illuminate the valleys. It means that we can defeat the darkness as well as leave the dark life because of sin. All problems can be finished.

    Mark 5:37-38
    5:37. And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.
    5:38. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.


    Further, the love that is like the sun can illuminate the valley of death, help us to finish the impossible problem, and help one who does not want to eat the teaching Word (spiritual death).

  3. By faith, hope, and love we can greet Jesus when He comes on the glorious clouds. We enter the One-Thousand-Year Kingdom of Peace and the New Jerusalem forever.

    1 Corinthians 13:12-13
    13:12. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
    13:13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.


    Our highest hope in the world is greeting Jesus' second coming.
God blesses us.