Summary: In the church, there is no authority other than the authority of Jesus Christ as the Head of the church. Every member serves one another as servants, with no human authority of one over another.Call to action: By His grace, let us remain faithful in serving the church without usurping the authority of the Holy Spirit over the church. At His coming, we will share in the authority of Jesus Christ to restore all things.Our theme this time is authority in the Bible. The Greek term most often used to explain authority is EXOUSIA, which appears 102 times in the New Testament. This term refers to authority that is based on office or position, not authority derived from physical strength or

Summary: Following Jesus means hearing His voice and following Him wherever He goes. In contrast, following Christian religious leaders means following all their teachings, their religious rules, and even regarding whatever they say as true.Call to action: We must commit ourselves to continually learning to hear His voice and to follow Him wherever He leads.Our theme on this occasion is following Jesus versus following Christian religious leaders. Why is this theme important? Because many Christians assume that following Jesus is the same as following Christian religious leaders. We therefore need to discuss briefly what it truly means to follow Jesus, and what it means to follow Christian r

The Parables of the Kingdom of HeavenBy: Irnawan SilitongaSummary: By His grace, we can easily understand the truth about the kingdom of heaven if we do not hold a concept of heaven as it is commonly embraced by the majority of people in the Christian world. The concept of heaven in the Christian world is that it is a pleasant place, somewhere unknown, usually called the Father’s House, where the only activity is singing. Such a concept is not found in the Bible at all. If we can let go of this concept of heaven, then it is hoped that we will be able to understand the kingdom of heaven as revealed in the following parables. At this time we will discuss the parables concerning the Kingdom of

Series: Abiding Love — A 12-Part Journey Through the Song of SongsText: Song of Songs 1:1–7INTRODUCTION — THE SONG ABOVE ALL SONGS The book opens with the words:“The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s.” (Song 1:1)In Hebrew expression, this title points to supremacy—the song above every other song. It is not merely a human love poem, but a Spirit-inspired unveiling of the divine romance between Christ and His Bride.Watchman Nee notes in The Song of Songs:“This book presents the highest spiritual experience possible for the believer—union with Christ in love.”It is fitting, then, that the book begins with yearning.1. THE BRIDE’S CRY: “LET HIM KISS ME…” — THE AWAKENING OF TRUE SPIRITUALITYThe br

The End-Time HarvestBy: Irnawan SilitongaSummary: The End-Time Harvest speaks of reaping souls that have reached maturity for His glory. The end-time harvest is connected with the three major feasts of Israel, namely Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. In the end, all souls will be harvested so that the Father may be all in all. Many Christians assume that the ‘end-time harvest’ refers to a massive harvest of souls at the end of the age, or a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon every soul. Some even boldly claim that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (in Jerusalem) will occur again, leading to teachings about a “third Pentecost.” All such concepts of the ‘end-t

Worshiping ElohimBy: Irnawan SilitongaSummary: Worship has outward forms such as rituals, creeds, religious rules, and so on. However, the essence of worship is in spirit and in truth.Call to action: Let us enter into the essence of worship and not become trapped in the outward forms of worship to Elohim. We will discuss briefly the meaning of worshiping Elohim. This theme is quite interesting because in the Christian world many discussions have been made about worship—various ways of worship, the condition of the heart of a worshiper, and so on. It is even emphasized that the primary purpose for which humans were created is to worship Elohim. Many Bible teachers also say that in heaven we w

Throughout the nineteen eighties, I was an elder and teacher in a small congregation of about 60 people in Central Ohio in the US. We had some ups and downs over the years but by 1990 we had become part of an interesting network of churches and ministers from all over the US, and had contacts in Canada, Mexico and Australia and South Africa. At least once every October we would hold conferences where people from many areas would come to hear preaching and teaching by the men and women in this circle of fellowship.In this period we had a visiting pastor from Sidney, Australia who suggested we hold a minister's conference for several days before the weekend meetings that we had always planned.

The Kingdom of Heaven in the Epistle to the RomansBy: Irnawan SilitongaSummary: A systematic explanation of perfect salvation using three terms: justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith.Call to action: Believe in Elohim for the perfect salvation He has provided. At this time, we will discuss the Kingdom of Heaven as revealed in the Epistle to the Romans, written by Paul. Although the term ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ or ‘Kingdom of God’ appears only once in this letter, that does not mean Paul preached a different gospel from the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God. During his two years in Rome, Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven and taught abou

THE COMMUNITY OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVENBy: Irnawan SilitongaSummary: The community of the Kingdom of Heaven consists of born-again Christians who long for the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, so that the Father’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.Call to action: Learn to function as members of the organic church who become instruments for bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. Genesis 1:1 declares, “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” Elohim had a definite plan in creating all things. When He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them have dominion over all the earth,” His intention was that man, who bears

Church OfficesBy: Irnawan SilitongaSummary: The church is an organism. All its members are fellow servants, and none has authority over another. The offices in the church are merely functions for serving.Call to action: By the grace of God, let us serve the church as true servants in the full sense of the word. When we talk about positions or offices in the church, many Christians immediately think of titles such as senior pastor, synod chairman, or other positions within an organizational context. None of these exist in the Book of Acts. Yet most Christians—even those called Bible teachers—overlook the clear truth revealed in the Book of Acts.There are around seventy instances in Acts refer

My background is in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement. I believe there is a wealth of misunderstanding concerning the people in this movement. However, I am not here to defend it. In fact I have some serious concerns for the churches of our day.I grew up in a family of traditional Pentecostals and have attended some fairly wild meetings. On the other hand we also attended some churches where the bible was front and center. In more recent years, I have spent more time in fellowship with believers with different backgrounds. I would add that the average member of some Pentecostal churches read, understood and quoted the Bible much more than those in some of the Evangelical churches I have a

Allow me to be more specific. Sure, I hold to leadership in the church. But is it the sort which equips the saints to become ministers themselves, according to Ephesian 4 12 or is it akin to Milton's "New presbyter is but old priest writ large?" That is: leaders who practice priestcraft. After the manner of the old covenant priest or the Roman Catholic parish system.Historically, the latter view has been born again in the Reformed churches via "teaching and ruling" elders, supposedly based on 1 Tim 5 17. The real ministers are teaching elders. The ruling elders are "lay elders" or just layman according to this scheme. Or scam, to put it blountly. Even Calvin could not cook it up until his th