Word given by brother Pedro Dong, transmitted by Instituto Vida para Todos directly from Lima, Peru, on 04/23/2023. Text not revised by the author.
- We have to be very grateful to the Lord that we are living in a privileged age. We are indeed in the final age and God needs to bring it to an end. We are coming to the end of the fullness of times and God’s will needs to be done in our day. For 20 centuries of church history there has been rise and fall, much degradation. The enemy managed to do a lot of damage to the church edification. But thank God, in the final age, God today has His church in Philadelphia, even though we are, according to the book of Luke, a little flock. However, the Lord wants to do His work through this little flock, not because He has found people more capable, skilled or knowledgeable of the Word. No! The church in Philadelphia has little strength, yet the Lord, who is ahead, has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will close. We only keep the word of the Lord and do not deny His name. It is the word of God that makes His work! Even though God has already left the Bible in our hands, He continues to speak to us in a living way. We just have to thank the Lord, because in our days we have the prophetic word, which gives us direction.
2 Pe 1:19; Ps 2:1-3, 6-9
- We are in a dark night, in the dark age. We still live in a dark world, which lies in the evil one and its prince is Satan. Man has been disconnected from God and the truth. And since the time of Nimrod, the kingdoms of the world have been associated with Satan, who rules through the struggle for power, the love of privilege and money. He controls the governments of the world and leads them to go against God, against His anointed, Christ. He does all this out of hatred, envy, because he wanted to be chosen to be the connection between the Creator and creation; however, God did not choose him, for in His eternal plan He had chosen Christ. Then Satan became sickly jealous against Christ. He, by influencing the leaders of the Jews, killed Jesus. And today Satan leads governments to go against God. This we can see in Psalm 2. Led by Satan, the kingdoms of this world want to break free from any ties to God and His anointed Christ. In verse 6 God declared that He had chosen Christ as King over Mount Zion. This Christ that He chose today has humanity. Christ is the perfect connection between the Creator and creation. Jesus, the man, was begotten the firstborn son of God. God the Father tells the Son Jesus Christ to ask Him for the nations as an inheritance, something desired by Satan. But God wanted to give His Son.
Ps 110:1-3
- Now at the end of times, God has answered His Son according to His request! Who are the people of Christ? The church! In times of degradation, not bearing it any longer, God summons His church to conclude this age. So His people come forward voluntarily on the day of power. God the Father also gave His Son a bonus: At the moment of dawn, at the arrival of the morning announcement, the drops of dew fall from the sky, which are the youth. God wants to raise an army of holy youths! That is why this miracle is happening among us. Our children too, when we take them out to pray for the people on the streets, they begin to perceive a new culture. They are pure, simple, have no concept and follow our example, praying for people. More than that, our teenagers and teens are falling from the sky as gifts to God. Without realizing it, an army of youth is forming. They are getting a taste for immersion in the Word, for the prophetic word, transcribing messages, making war cries, preparing for war in the streets. They don’t have many concepts and traditions, so they go to the streets and preach the gospel: “May I pray for you?” and leave books in people’s hands. We work with books because the church in Philadelphia is to bring about the end. The end will come only if the church preaches the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the inhabited earth.
- How does the church preach the gospel of the kingdom? With the few minutes we have on the streets in contact with each person, it is impossible for people to realize that it is the gospel of the kingdom. So we leave books in their hands. If these people read the books and delve into the Word, they will realize that what God wants is Christ’s government over our lives. From there, things come into order, the chaos in their lives decreases and somehow God will bring them to church, to live the life that is the reality of the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, do not despise colporting work. We need to get these books, which preach the gospel, of the kingdom into the hands of the people. Many have already sought the church. And even those who have not yet awakened to the gospel of the kingdom, the seed is in their house and at some point it may sprout.
- Books also have another function. When the great tribulation arrives, the overcomers will be raptured first. Today we have missionaries in the streets, we are praying for the people. Many reject us, but there are always those who want. It is crucial that people know that one day there will be no more missionaries on the streets, because they will all be raptured. It’s good that these people appreciate the missionaries on the streets today! When the great tribulation comes, we won’t be here and I hope each one of us will be a part of it. Who will feed the children of God who remain in the great tribulation? It will be the millions of books sown!
- The word that proceeds from the mouth of God is our security and the guarantee that we are on the right path. It is the word that feeds us, gives us direction and more than that, the very word of God does His work. That’s why Andrew Muller wrote in the 19th century that the church in Philadelphia will close this age. As? The church in Philadelphia will have the prophetic word as an unlocked treasure. Thank God in these last few years we have valued the prophetic word. Since the time of Brother Dong’s ministry there has been much prophetic speaking. But thank God in these last five years, little by little, more and more brothers are realizing the value of the prophetic word. And the Word is doing the work of God. Things are happening very fast and it’s not because of our capacity. But if we believe this Word, the Word does the work. And how can you be sure that this word comes from God? When it confirms. The Spirit confirms and works miraculous. It does the supernatural work. That’s what we’ve seen all these years.
MESSAGE 22
Col 4:2-4
- These verses speak of prayer, persevering in prayer and watching with thanksgiving. And especially pleading for Paul, who speaks the prophetic word. To persevere in Greek is “proskartereo”, which means to continue steadfastly, with persistence, to insist. Our prayers need to be persevering, insistent, persistent, it must have some meaning. This text is connected with the previous portion.
- No one understands why the beginning of chapter four is connected with the last verse of chapter three, which in context speaks of the relationship of servants to their masters. Possibly Paul put it that way, meaning that to have reality in the professional relationship the way is to pray, but it is not just that religious prayer. It is praying with your servants. Daily persevere in prayer. If at work we manage to get our colleagues, subordinates or bosses to pray together, the atmosphere changes. Rest assured that the environment will be different. That’s why the Lord gave us a practical path, which is immersion in the word.
- Today we have a team of people who, out of love for us, work incessantly. This message that I’m speaking now, many times, at the end of the night or tomorrow morning, already have the message notes and the immersion in the word for each day of the week, ready. Let’s thank God for these teams and also pray for them, so that their work bears fruit in our lives. Let’s use what they worked on, immersion, seven days a week. Print and carry this pamphlet in your pocket, and you can, at all times, pull out and immerse yourself in the word, pray for wife, husband and child. At work, before starting the day, gather your colleagues and distribute the immersion in the word. If you are free, make a battle cry with them. You will change the whole environment of your work, your marriage, your family. And, when serving together with the brothers of the church, instead of just dealing with the technical things, let’s do immersion! All of this will help God weave a fabric of love.
- God’s love for one another must unite us in all areas of our lives. This is the reality of the Christian life. No more living a Christian life and the facade church, appearance. It appears to be spiritual, but it has no reality. But thank God for immersion in the word we can be filled with the spirit. We can use this immersion and talk to each other. Make the word of Christ dwell among us richly. And that makes Christ truly rule our lives. You who always say “Lord, Lord”, if there is no reality Christ will say: “I never knew you”. So let’s live the reality of the lordship of the Lord. He really is our Lord. Let us make the Word of Christ dwell in us. So He starts to control our life, govern our marriage, our family, our work, the church service, the preaching of the gospel in the streets, the colportage and He can return! Can the Lord count on you? He has called you to be a last hour worker who has to get out of your conventional and traditional way of serving the Lord without producing much. God is waiting for the church to produce for heaven.
- We are often spiritual in meetings. By not living in the spirit, we waste time and don’t allow the word of Christ to take hold of us. But now it has changed as we have a tool to use it. Let’s follow the truth in love.
Col 4:2
- Therefore, this practice of persevering in prayer through immersion in the word must be done in the marital relationship, between parents and children, at work and in all areas of our lives, especially in the church life serving together. We must take advantage of every opportunity to live in prayer by immersing ourselves in the word. Let us not waste time, but redeem it. In the verse 2 portion it speaks of watching with thanksgiving. The word “watch” is for someone who expects something. Do you expect anything? What is the hope of a Christian? It is the coming of the Lord! Our glory! Christ in us, the hope of glory. It is very sad that someone has no hope. Do you know why I’m here motivated, working with sweat, tribulations, but not fading? Because I have hope! And those who have hope need to watch.
Mk 13:35-37; 1 Pet 5:8-11
- Therefore, brethren, we who have hope need to be vigilant. And what is the best way to live vigilant? It is filling us with the Spirit and making the word of Christ dwell in us. And how to do it? Talking to each other, teaching each other, warning each other through the Word. It’s the best way for us to watch. Let’s watch and pray, immersing ourselves in the word that gives us direction, like the light of a lamp so we don’t miss the path. If we go the wrong way, the lion can devour us. That is why the prophetic word is important. She is our security not to fall into the enemy’s clutches. We need to know that we are in the midst of a struggle of kingdoms, the kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness, which are vying for people over land on earth.
- When we go out into the streets to pray for people and do colporting work, we are in enemy territory to rescue people from the empire of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of God. Certainly there are tribulations, and often sufferings in our life for the Lord’s own trial, for us to be approved. Therefore, let us not be discouraged. Let’s persevere! Watch! Because we are fighting for the kingdom of God, the devil is trying to find any loophole in us to attack. That’s why we must always be vigilant, persevering in prayer, because at every moment, we have had victory through the word of the Lord and prayer.
Col 4:3-4; 1 Cor 16:8-9
- “Supplicate” is the same thing as “pray” or “beg”. Pray for the apostle, for the leadership of the Lord’s work, but more specifically for the Word, as it is what does the work of God, which gives direction and orders for the church to carry it out. If the devil can nullify the Word, the church will be lost. Which direction to take? How will we do God’s work? Without the Word there is no work of God. Without the Word there is no direction, the people are lost, corrupted. Paul’s third trip to Ephesus was a great opportunity for work, but there were many opponents. That’s why Paul, in Colossians, tells the brothers to pray, so that the door to the Word opens. If it has a door, the Word is spoken. And when spoken, the work of God is accomplished. So that God’s will, will be done. And we at the church in Philadelphia have a responsibility to cooperate with the Lord to accomplish the final work, for the Lord has called us as last-hour workers to close this age. We are different. We cannot fail or stay asleep. God wants to count on us!
Ac 19:8-10, 23-24, 26, 28-29
- Paul rented a space called “School of Tyrant”, as if for a conference. There he shared for two years and many were helped and perfected by Paul. Missionaries, workers like Epaphras who later raised churches like Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis. When Paul, by the Word, advanced into enemy territory, opposition came. Some goldsmiths thought they were harmed by Paul’s word, because sales of Diana’s niches were falling, because whoever believed in Jesus left idols. The theater mentioned in verse 29 is in Ephesus, in the open air, and it was there that they shouted the words against Paul. Paul wanted to speak to the people, but the brothers held him back, because he couldn’t take the risk. He had to wait for the tumult to subside and left for Macedonia. That’s why we say we are in a war. And are we prepared for war?
2 Cor 1:8; 2:14, 17
- In 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul mentions the situation that occurred in Ephesus. The expression “lead in triumph” is a metaphor for what Roman victorious generals spoke as they entered the capitol. These generals entered victorious, on their return from their campaigns, preceded first by the captives of the vanquished peoples. This was the order of the procession: first the captives who came from the defeated people, then the spoils and riches taken, then the general’s troops, and finally the general with them. Christ is this general!
- In 2 Chronicles 20 the prophet spoke to the people and Jehoshaphat: do not be afraid, for this battle is not yours, but the Lord’s. You don’t need to do anything, just pray and watch. Stand firm and prepared for war and see what the Lord will do. This is how the Lord does with us. Let us not be afraid! The victorious and triumphant procession is unstoppable. Verse 17 of Corinthians talks about using the word of God as a merchandise. Our colporting work is not commerce. Colporting is to bring the gospel of the kingdom! Some will ask: but why is it sold? We are not selling the Word of God, but the book has its cost of production. Just like the Bible we bought that wasn’t free. There is a production cost. Revelation, however, we receive freely and we share freely. A true apostle and prophet speaks before God with sincerity, he speaks from God Himself, because it may be that some speakers speak with sincerity, but only a true prophet speaks from God, inspired by the Spirit. This is the weapon of the apostle Paul.
Col 2:15
- If this procession we are following is Christ’s, all the opposing principalities and powers of Christ were already overcome on the cross. God has already exalted Christ in the heavenly places above all principality and power. If this work were mine, merely human, there would be fear. But being Christ’s, there is no fear, because He has already won on the cross.
2 Cor 4:1
- When Paul speaks of “this ministry” he is not referring merely to his personal ministry, but to a ministry that he was commissioned to do. This ministry is for the building up of the Body of Christ, the New Covenant ministry. It is the work that God wants to accomplish in our time through this ministry. Unfortunately, because of much misrepresentation, over the 20 centuries of church history, we may think, “But there is this or that other ministry” as if they were competitors, but the one referred to in this portion is the only one for the edification of the church. This ministry is stronger than Paul himself and protects him, since it is in the Lord’s interest.
2 Cor 4:2
- If you don’t have this ministry, you have to build your own ministry. And many build by shameful means and personal ambitions, to gain popularity. But Paul had no such motivation, for he did not use God’s word in a political way to gain popularity. Paul didn’t do that. That is, Paul spoke the truth and produced reality in the church. However, many may say “I also speak the truth”. But can they all be recommended to man’s conscience before God? No! Just the prophetic word.
2 Cor 10:4-6
- If the weapons are not the Word that comes from God, it has no power to destroy strongholds in the mind of man nor half-truths. Only the Word of God has power to turn our minds to the obedience of Christ. When the church, through obedience, comes to perfection, Christ will come, He will not have to wait. He will use the church’s obedience to punish all disobedience, and everything will be swept into the lake of fire, including Satan, at the end of the millennium.
- Today we have an army in the streets ➔ our colporteurs are our infantry who conquer land, we also have artillery, the IVPT, the work’s communication channel, which can reach people who are far away, and the BookExpo which is our cavalry.
Eph 6: 12,18-20; Num 9:23; Deut 18:18, 20-22
- The word that came out of Paul’s mouth was not his, but the Word of God, otherwise it would not work, it would not do the work of God and the Spirit would not confirm. So they needed to pray for Paul so that when he opened his mouth, the Word of God would come out boldly, make known the mystery of the gospel. The Hebrew words for “mandate” and “command”, Numbers 9, mean “the mouth” of the Lord. The people acted according to the mouth of the Lord. The Word that comes out of the mouth of God is for the people of God to march or stop. Our movement is according to the mouth of God. And where is the mouth of God? Moses was the mouth of the Lord. In other words, Moses spoke the prophetic word. And the word was God’s order, God’s mandate. The like prophet quoted in Deuteronomy 18 refers to Jesus, like Moses, who was the mouth of the Lord. A true prophet, who is the mouth of the Lord, has to put His Words in his mouth, and he is obligated to speak whatever God commands. He is not at liberty to speak his own words. That is the responsibility of a prophet. He lives in fear and trembling, because his own words do not produce the work of God, they have no power to give direction to the church. That’s why we should pray for those who really speak for God. This fight for the word must be in prayer and not against flesh and blood.
- Paul needed to speak the mystery of Christ (Col 4:3) and the mystery of the gospel (Eph 6:20). What are these mysteries? In fact, it’s just one thing. What is the mystery of God’s revealed in Ephesians 1? May all things be headed up in Christ. And how does Christ do this? First by heading up the Body of Christ, the church, with obedience and every member of it. Thus Christ will head up all things, because the church is the fullness of Him who fills all in all. For this, the mystery of God, which is Christ, needs to fill us with Himself. The books of Ephesians and Colossians relate that Christ wants to fill us with the reality of God, for he wants to take away all our impurity, all earthly nature, all disobedience, so that He can rule. He wants to fill us with Himself, with the love of God, even all the fullness of God. This is the mystery of Christ and the gospel. It is not mere theory or doctrine. He is doing this with each one of us, through immersion in the word, filling us with the spirit, speaking to each other, and causing the Word of Christ to dwell in us. The work is done in us. And all this work is done by the dispensing of the Word.
Jn 6:29, 14:10; 2 Cor 3:4-6, 4:7, 6:4-9
- Our faith in the envoy of God, that is, in the word of the envoy of God, brings about the work of God. The words that Jesus Christ spoke here on earth, the Father did His work through these words. Today, God’s work is not done by mine or your ability, we have no ability. Our sufficiency comes from God. Nothing part of us! God’s work must start from God! As part of God? Through His Word when it’s spoken, and the church believes the Word, the Word itself does the work of God! The New Covenant does not depend on our ability to speak, to do things, to fulfill the law, because this New Covenant ministry is of the Spirit and depends only on the Spirit, but it needs my cooperation in believing in this Word.
- We are just vessels, just channels. The power is not from the vessel, but from God! And the power comes by the Word of God. And what is our role? Believe and Obey! By speaking and transmitting the Word of God Paul was not looking for fame, he just wanted to be faithful to the Lord, to speak the Word that comes from God. The man in his old, natural mindset looked at Paul as if he was one of the preachers, and in his time there were several other preachers and prophets, so Paul was just one of them. When Paul spoke the truth, people accused him of being exclusive. They said: “Is what he speaks only the word of God? He is self-promoting and the only one who spoke the Word of God.” Do you understand Paul’s suffering at that time? Paul was a true prophet of God, but many wanted to make him a deceiver.
1 Tim 1:4-7, 10-11
- When Paul was released from the first prison in Rome, he visited the churches, as he was concerned that they were in a certain deviation, because they were receiving many other preachers and teachings. So he asked his young associate to remain in Ephesus. In verse 3 he asks Timothy to admonish certain people not to teach differently from what he taught. So he could already receive accusation: “Is what only you teach right?”. Different teachings were harming the church. People were accusing Paul by saying that all he spoke was the word of God and that he was doing God’s work. Paul was not concerned about these comments. Paul wanted to show that this warning was aimed at the love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith without pretense.
2 Tim 1:15
- Paul, faithful prophet of God, when he reached the end of his life, questioned that all of Asia had abandoned him? What is the error? What is the problem? Not all brethren saw Paul as the prophet who spoke the prophetic word to the church. They accepted many other types of talk and he was just another one. And it wasn’t! There were some who were Paul’s sympathizers, or even others who had a preference for another. Those who sympathized with Paul defended Paul. This vision is not enough to bring the Lord back. This vision will not close this age. We have to see that Paul’s word was God’s word to the Body of Christ. It was the only word that was doing God’s work, which is God’s economy, in faith. Satan will raise attacks against the word that is doing God’s work, showing that we are very radical. If we fall into this, God’s work stops. We are not defenders of one or the other, but of the Word that comes out of the mouth of God! When a body is affected by some attack or infection, or someone hits our mouth, the whole body reacts to defend, because the whole body feels it. So, it is not defending the person of Paul. It is not a personal ministry, but the New Covenant ministry that was given to Paul. In his day, Paul was the mouth of the body, and the body had to defend him, not his personal ministry. But for lack of that vision, all of Asia abandoned Paul.
- “As I was outlining this message nearly three weeks ago, and getting to this point, of all of Asia having abandoned Paul, I wept and imagined myself, as I reached the end of my ministry, looking to the side and there was nobody. In the bonanza, everyone are friends, in Paulo’s prison, everyone fled. Will I follow this same career? But the Lord showed me, “When you were called I told you that you were just a member of the Body of Christ, commissioned only to speak to my people and you are nothing more.” I was very worried because I didn’t have the capacity to carry out God’s work and take on this great responsibility. The Lord first gave me Exodus 30, the presence of God would go with me and give me rest, and that relieved me. The presence of the Lord is everything, because He is the one who does things and will certainly do. But he wasn’t completely calm, because he had in mind being at the head of a big enterprise, a general director of a big company. The Lord told me that I would need to know that I was a member of the Body of Christ and I would need other members. Thank God today I’m not alone. The Body fights for the Body. I do not fight for my ministry, but for the work of God. May the church be built up and may it introduce the people of God into the good land of Canaan and the kingdom be established on earth”.