Bible Study at Surabaya - Monday, March 12, 2007

We still confer around the epistle Jude, which is in Tabernacle shown as covering of badger skins. Covering implies the protection and attention of God towards true Church as well as separation from the false one. Today the false is still mingled with the true, just as tares and wheat grow together in a field, even the tares grow faster. But God will sometime pull it out and cast into fire. Therefore, we should not see what appears to the eye, but only look upon the Lord by the revealed word.

The features of the true Church are as follows:

1. Verse 3 – contending earnestly for the faith
2. Verse 9 – hoping only in God
3. Verse 20-25 – having the love of God

Jude 1:3
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Faith and salvation are one.
How to contend earnestly for the faith?

1. By hearing and doing the word of God (to result in works of faith)
2. By testing of faith (to result in pure gold)
   God permits the testing to increase our faith becomes as pure as gold lest our faith falls.
3. By growing the faith

Here is the growth of faith adapted to Tabernacle system, which Moses received on the mountain with two tablets of stone according to God’s commandment as follows:

1. gate = faith
   How to enter the gate of heaven?
   Romans 10:17
   17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Indonesian: firman Kristus the word of Christ).
   This is the healthy faith. Some people, however, keep the unhealthy one; they believe and accept Jesus not by hearing the word of God, but by:
   • feeling of something in themselves, such as prosperity, delight, or discomfort to reject.
     John 6:26
     26 Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
   • seeing signs (like Tomas’s faith)
     John 20:27-29
     27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
     28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
     29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
   “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” So, those who see first and then believe are not blessed. Besides, they become inconsistent in faith and easily deceived.
   John 2:23-25
   23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.
   24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,
   25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
   Faith by sight will not make its believers happy for Jesus does not commit Himself to them; they do stretch out their hands to Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t. This is called one-side faith, whose believers become inconsistent and easily deceived by false prophets’ great signs – such as fire coming down from heaven and the severely wounded beast is healed (Revelation 13).
   Romans 10:17 emphasizes the word of Christ, not any kind of word because the word of Christ is in the anointing of Holy Spirit who reveals the secret of the true teaching word.
   Hebrews 13:7-9
   7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
   8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
   9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.
   That Jesus Christ is the same especially refers to His consistent doctrine. From this point, we can learn two things:
   • We must hold fast to the true teaching word that has become our life experience and must not turn to another teaching that we are not deceived with heresies. A pastor must believe in one true teaching word. Otherwise, he is changing in doctrine and it is a big danger. He may preach the consistence of Jesus’ power but more important than it is the consistence of Jesus’ doctrine.
   • We must hear with hunger the word of God under the anointing of Holy Spirit. Hoe we hear the word determines whether we may enter the gate of heaven or not. If we joke or being sleepy while we are hearing the word, we will never enter the gate of heaven.
     Luke 8:18
     18 "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."
     By hearing the word with hunger (like a man needs food, our soul needs the food of God’s word), we will be able to enjoy/understand and be sure of the word – so that we have the true faith / enter the gate.
     A pastor must preach the word under the anointing of Holy Spirit that the word is the truly revealed word of Holy Spirit, not a philosophy depending on intelligence. The hearers have to be under the anointing of Holy Spirit so we hear the word with a need. It will make us believe and sure of the word. In such a manner, the word becomes faith in our heart and we may enter the gate of heavenly kingdom. Students of Lempin-el, you must take heed how you hear the word! If you are serious, you will be saved, entering the Gate of Tabernacle. Whether we are saved (enter the gate) depends on how we hear the word of God.
   What comes true after we enter the gate?
   Genesis 28:16-17
   16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."
   17 And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!"
   That is, we become faithful to the service and ministry in the house of God.
   Services performed from house to house is good, but must be brought to church. At home we read the word, at church there provides Bible Study Service; at home we pray, at church we also pray; at home we sing praises to God, at church there provides Sunday Service and we minister God. This is complete, since none can be perfect alone and we must be together.
   Faithfulness to the service and ministry in the house of God will not be in vain, for God promises us the life in world as well as in heaven. Do not leave the service and ministry because of seeking daily needs.
   1 Timothy 4:8-10
   8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
   9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
   10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
   Here is the double promise of God:
   • For the life that now is: everything that we need is provided, such as food, drink, and clothes.
   • For the life that is to come: eternal life in heaven.
     Seeing that, Apostle Paul did not hesitate to exhort us to labor and struggle for the service and ministry more than any activity. Nonetheless, it does not mean that we may not pursue education or job, only lest we prioritize it to the service! Let us enter into the gate of heaven, not other gates
2. Table of Shewbread (http://gptkk.org.mrs-en.php) = patience in Bible Study Service followed by Holy Communion.
   In this service, the word is revealed deeper or preached repetitively for several reasons below:
   1. To confirm
      Philippians 3:1-2
      1 … For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
      2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!
      “write the same things” = being repetitive or deepened.
      We should not be bored with the repetitive word or think that the pastor has no more preaching material, for the repetitive word is actually the compassion of God. Verse 1 is to confirm.
      2 Chronicles 36:15-16
      15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.
      16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
      In such a manner, we may say: if there is no repetitive word in a church, there will be no compassion of God; but as long as the repetitive word is preached, we will find His compassion.
      We should not reject or abhor the repetitive word; otherwise, there will be no help or remedy, but gate of death.
      Psalms 107:18
      18 Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death.
      In short, the repetitive word is needed that we are not tossed to and fro and carried about with heresies. If the word is not repetitive, we will forget and follow another teaching. It is a real pity if a pastor asks which teaching is true: A or B? He cannot stand to the true one, what then will happen to his congregation? I pray for such pastors that they hold fast to the true teaching word having been their life experiences.
   2. sanctifying ministers for their offering being found acceptable and perfect to God
      Malachi 3:2-3
      2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderer’s soap.
      3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
      The Lord came to His house to purge the sons of Levi.
      Every pastor and minister of God must attend Bible Study Service that they may offer to God an acceptable ministry and endure His second coming. Otherwise, we will be left and not be with Him.
   In Bible Study Service, the teaching word is preached repetitively like launderer’s soap and like a refiner’s fire.
   (1) Launderer’s soap is to purge our clothes, which points to ministry and daily conduct (deeds and sayings/outside parts of our life). Lest we commit sinful deeds and speak vain words!
   (2) A refiner’s fire is to purge our inward man / heart / characters to become gold and silver. Someone may speak sweet words, but none knows what is in him. It often happens to the servants of God who want the great number of churchgoers through welcoming them with sweet words although the hearts are full of wickedness.
   • Gold refers to godly characters, one of which is obedience.
     For instance, Sarah obeyed Abraham.
     1 Peter 3:6
     6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
     The true teaching word makes us obedient to the Lord for it is a commander. One will go astray if the commander is wrong although he is obedient. It is really a pity as one obeys other who commands him to enter a well. Thus, pastors and servants of God have to be in the true teaching word seriously. I have an experience about it when I was a teacher in senior high school. I had a student who had failed. His parents asked me to pay more attention to him. Paying more attention to him, I became a commander for him. As the result, his marks in the first semester are good and it really made me happy. In the second semester I did not pay attention to him like I had done in the first semester. As his commander, I became careless. Consequently, his marks became worse and he failed again. I was afraid to see him and hiding my self in toilet. This experience marks our heart. Nevertheless, failures in school can be settled by moving to another school but how about failure in entering the gate of heavenly kingdom? It is indeed my responsibility as a pastor. Let us obey the true teaching word/the will of God to have the gold.
   • Silver refers to honesty.
     Proverbs 10:20
     20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver ...
     No lie goes out of the right tongue. A priest has to be sanctified in his deeds and saying by the launderer’s soap also in his inward man by the refiner’s fire until we have no corrosion at all and we appears as gold (having obedience to the teaching word) and we have the uprightness (silver).
   As it is mentioned above, we will have the promise of God for our lives now and eternal lives if we become faithful in the house of God, and now also if we become obedient and honest.
   Haggai 2:6-9
   6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
   7 ‘and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.
   8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts.
   9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts."
   We face many shakings in the world. The land, the air, and the sea are shaken. There is no saved place for us now.
   Verse 8 shows the finishing of the building of Christ’s body while there are many shakings. In this time of crises, do not wait until you become rich to serve the Lord because the finishing of the building of Christ’s body happens in the time of crises.
   Verse 9 refers to the guarantees from God through His protection/gold and silver.
   Verse 10 shows the protection of God that we can have peace although we are in shakings. What amazement, we have a guarantee for our lives now and eternal life through entering the gate and we have gold and silver through being purged in Bible Study Service.
   “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine” implies these two things:
   • Nothing can shake us for God saves us from crises
   • God gives peace and joy until we become His Bride.
   To sum up, we must contend our faith and have the growth of faith as follows:
   1. The Gate
      We hear the true word and do not change in doctrine. We hear it seriously until we believe and have the true faith and faithfulness in committing service and ministry to God.
   2. The Table of Shewbread
      Priests have to commit Bible Study Service in which we are purged to become gold and silver. We live in God’s hand to become His possession nothing can charge against. We have joy and protection of god forever.
   Here are the significances of the repetitive word:
   • To confirm/make us sure of the word itself
   • To sanctify our ministry to be acceptable unto God
   • To perfect us
3. Golden pot contained manna (in the Ark of Covenant)
   Hebrews 9:4
   4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
   Man is originally a clay pot, which is fragile in nature – even if he is a prominent, smart and rich man. Only if he is always filled with the true teaching word preached repetitively – like manna rained down continuously – he will someday become a golden pot. Gold simply refers to God and clay refers to the flesh.
   Manna is angels’ food, while angel denotes shepherd. Thus, manna is the shepherding word.
   Psalms 78:23-25
   23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,
   24 Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.
   25 Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full.
   Therefore, do not interpret the word in physical way by saying that one kind of bread will make us bored. The system of God is through manna/angel’s food/shepherding word in order to change earthen vessel become golden pot.
   The golden pot that had the manna has two meanings as follows:
   • permanent/perfect faith like Jesus’
     The faith must be tested to become permanent. In former times, God allowed the people of Israel to hunger and sent them manna, that He might make them know that man shall not live by bread alone, but by the word of God.
     Deuteronomy 8:2-3
     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.
     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.
     God allows Israelites to hunger where they cannot sow and reap as the test of faith. Nevertheless, they murmured but God fed them with manna, referring to the word of God. Let us not murmur when we face the test of faith/difficulties as living in desert/facing whirlwind or multidimensional crises also the beast of Satan with wicked and unclean spirit, but fill our earthen vessel with manna to become golden pot. We confess that we live by faith, not by the world. This is permanent faith so that we are not hopeless. Students of Lempin-el, I believe you may live although you do not have church because you have the shepherding word/manna. You and servants of God do not rely on the number of churchgoers but on the shepherding word/manna for it is our live.
     Formerly, Israelites lived in the desert where they neither sow nor reap for forty years. They lived only by manna, not by the world. Likewise, we will undergo it for 3.5 years. Now we undergo the condition as if we are in the desert with difficulties in economy, in seeking food, etc. Do not murmur but fill our lives with manna while crises and peak of sins happen, until we confess that only the word of God may settle such difficulties, not our certificate/company. We will be fled to the wilderness where we live by manna/God’s word only, when antichrist reigns over the world.
     Now we are going toward there, do not have misunderstanding if God allows us to face difficulties because He wants that we live by faith, not by the world. Living by faith/the word has a simple practice that is to say giving tithe to God. (the golden pot contains an omer of manna; an omer is one tenth of an ephah. You may check in Genesis 28 that Jacob also gave tithe to God. Many forbide us giving tithe with a reason that it will make the pastor rich. It is wrong because a servant of God does not live from tithe he has received but from tithe he has given to God. If a servant of God lived from tithe he had received, God was unjust because servant of God whose churchgoers were few would not live.
     Thus, the practice of having golden pot containing manna/permanent faith is living not by the world but by faith through giving tithe to God.
     A youth in junior high school came to me, saying that he could not give tithe because he had no job yet. I told him that tithe was our confession that we were blessed by God not that we had a job. If tithe were the confession of having a job, one would not give tithe when he had no job. I asked the youth whether money he got from his parents was God’s blessings or not. He said yes, and he understood.
     Let us learn, do not become like Judas who lived not by faith but money so he did not give tithe to God but stealing God’s possession. In such condition, his pot was not of gold, but earthen vessels that was broken although it was filled with money and he perished. Judas never changes to become golden pot.
     We must be careful in these last days. Not only the money stolen like Judas did but also the trust of God to a pastor for receiving the tithe. Consequently, there is no manna for the Church so the Church becomes dry and dead. Church often suggests that a pastor lives from tithe he has received from them. It is a big mistake. A pastor who has received tithe million thousand will not live if he does not give tithe to God. We see his great riches but he faces many problems as if having death in his living body. Such is what Satan does in the last days, i.e. stealing the trust Of God on a pastor.
   • Glory of life / renewal of life, from fleshly man to spiritual one
     The late Rev. Van Gessel synchronized the golden pot with the first and second epistles of Corinthians, which further means: renewal of life is the result of a testing of faith.
     2 Corinthians 4:16-17
     16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
     17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
     light affliction = testing of faith

2 Corinthians 5:6-7
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

A renewal of life is manifested through confidence. We must be always confident and not complain in any situation. For example, Sadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego would be cast into furnace seven times more than it was usually heated, but they still believed and trusted themselves to God. It is written in John 6: “What shall we do..?” Jesus answered, “… believe in Him whom He sent." Thus, confidence is to believe and trust ourselves to God.

Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
18 "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."

If God help us, we will worship Him, but if God does not help us, we will still worship Him. This is called confidence, believing and trusting ourselves to God.
If we love to complain about a trial, lament after the others and try to work it out by ourselves, we are not confident yet.
The three persons – Sadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego – symbolizes spirit, body, and soul; meaning we should be confident by trusting our spirit, body, and soul to God, and let see that God never leave those who believe and trust themselves to God.

Daniel 3:24-25
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."
25 "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."

Three men were cast into the fire, but there became for men and the form of the fourth was like the Son of God – Jesus Christ who is always with us. If we believe and trust ourselves to God, it means we stretch out our hands to God and God stretches out His Hands as well. Jesus will cover and care us although we are in the midst of the ‘fire’.
Are you in trouble? But it is not beyond what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had. God had saved them and He will save us provided we believe and trust ourselves to Him.

Above all, He whose face is of an Angel transforms the earthen vessel into the golden pot, that is, a man as perfect as Jesus is. It had happened to Stephen. He was stoned and reproached (such was a testing of faith), but people then saw his face as the face of an angel. His earthen body destroyed was being transformed into a golden pot. Stephen finally left the world to come to the throne of God in the form of a perfect man.

Acts 6:15
15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

To conclude, lest we be downhearted in a trial, for the testing of our faith trains us to believe and trust ourselves to God. As s result, God will do what we cannot do anymore, including to become as perfect as He is. God bless you!