A Weekly World Wide Word of Encouragement to those in the Ministry
PRAISE GOD IT’S MONDAY!
A WEEKLY ‘WWW (world-wide word) OF ENCOURAGEMENT’
TO THOSE IN MINISTRY
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Issue No: 996 Published: 16 Nov 2020
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
DESCRIBING GOD
Greek (Western)
We focus on the being of God.
We like to imagine God as a 'super-sized' human being! We look at the creation of man as being in the physical image of God.....
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-7)
Whereas, as Matthew Henry explains, the image is in the spiritual.....
God’s image upon man consists in these three things:-1. In his nature and constitution, not those of his body (for God has not a body), but those of his soul. This honour indeed God has put upon the body of man, that the Word was made flesh, the Son of God was clothed with a body like ours and will shortly clothe ours with a glory like that of his. And this we may safely say, That he by whom God made the worlds, not only the great world, but man the little world, formed the human body, at the first, according to the platform he designed for himself in the fulness of time. But it is the soul, the great soul, of man, that does especially bear God’s image. The soul is a spirit, an intelligent immortal spirit, an influencing active spirit, herein resembling God, the Father of Spirits, and the soul of the world.
Henry, Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers) 1997.
We seek to define God by the wonders of the physical world about us. Its form, its beauty, and the miraculous for which there is no other explanation. We rationalize God.
Eastern (Hebrew)
Hebrews focus on relationship with God.
Some bragged about their relationship with God.
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; (Romans 2:17)
What God looks like, or even natural wonders are not the focus of Jewish thought. The Psalms major on relationship with God. As so many were written by King David, it explains why God considered David son of Jesse a man after my own heart;
The Psalms are all about relationship, in both good times and bad.....
7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty— he is the King of glory. Selah (Psalm 24:7-10)
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. (Psalm 118:22)
7 The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. 9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. (Psalm 9:7-11)
God is a spirit, as we see when He appeared to Elijah.....
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11-13a)
And, in the New Testament too, we are to worship our spirit God in spirit and in truth.....
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-4)
Selah.
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. We need to take our focus off the natural and look to the spiritual.
2. God is not interested in great buildings and religious ceremonies. He is interested in you! He wants to build a deep personal relationship with you. It does not matter whether you are beautiful or ugly, talented or simple, of high position or low; God loves you and wants to know you better, so He can then share more of Himself with you.
3. The end time kingdom church, the bride for whom Jesus is returning is not a new denomination but is being built informally, on the basis of relationship, firstly with God and also with one another.
(Continues next week)
Acknowledgements: http://www.followtherabbi.com and http://hethathasanear.com and http://www.wildbranch.org
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Parable of the Banquet (Luke 14:15-24)
Given to the host.
“Once there was a man who prepared a great banquet, and invited many guests,” Jesus replied. “When it was time to eat he sent his servant out to tell everyone who had been invited, ‘Come, because the banquet’s ready.’ But they all started to make excuses. The first said, ‘I’ve just bought a field and I have to go and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I’ve just bought five pairs of oxen and have to go and try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I’ve just got married, so I can’t come.’ The servant returned and told his master what they’d said. The home-owner became angry and told his servant, Quickly, go out into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
“Then the servant said, ‘Master, I did what you told me, but there are still empty places.’ “So the master told the servant, ‘Go out on the country roads and lanes, and make people come—I want my house to be full. I tell you, not a single one of those people I invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
The Cost of Discipleship (Luke 14:25-35)
Addressed to a large crowd.
“If you want to follow me but you don’t hate your father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters—even your own life—you can’t be my disciple. If you don’t carry your cross and follow me, you can’t be my disciple. If you planned to build a tower, wouldn’t you first work out how much it would cost, and see if you had enough money to complete it? Otherwise, if after laying the foundation you weren’t able to finish it, everyone who saw it would laugh at you, saying, ‘Look at him: he started building but he couldn’t finish it.’
“What king goes to war with another king without first sitting down with his advisors to work out whether he and his ten thousand can defeat the one marching against him with twenty thousand? If he can’t, he’ll send representatives to ask for peace while the other king is still a long way off. In the same way every one of you who doesn’t give up everything can’t be my disciple. Salt is good, but if it loses its taste, how can you make it salty again? It’s no good for the soil or for fertilizer—you just toss it out. Whoever has ears, then listen!”
Parable of the Sheep (Luke 15:1-7)
Three parables addressed to the Pharisees who were criticizing Jesus for mixing with tax collectors and ‘sinners’.
“Imagine a man who had a hundred sheep lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and search for the one that’s lost until he finds it? When he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders. Once he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Come and celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ I tell you that there’s more joy in heaven over a sinner that repents than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to repent.
(Continued next week)
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One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.
You may be surprised by the different perspective this presentation gives you both in understanding of His life and ministry, and in achieving a closer relationship with Him.
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
154. ULTIMATE FEAR is the uncertainty of future hope when death threatens.
155. ULTIMATE FAITH is the certain hope of life after death.
254. You can't truly live by faith until you have nothing else to live on.
255. Our faith is like the air we breath. It is only the current breath that gives life.
256. As we build our faith, so faith builds in us.
257. Past faith is but a memory, future faith but a dream, but today's faith defines our relationship with God.
258. Our faith ebbs and flows as the tide, but God's faithfulness never wavers.
259. While yesterday's faith is but a memory, it provides the inspiration to reach higher today.
260. Funnily enough, faith to move mountains, is generally given to those first prepared to remove the mountain of rubbish from their own lives.
261. The journey of faith starts with a single step.
262. Faith is a current stock item, available to all. Some however leave it on the shelf for fear the price may be too high.
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK:GOD AND MAN continues.....
As we commence our look at the guide the Father has sent to help us on our way in our walk with Jesus.
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
*** Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others. ***
476. I Beg Your Pardon
And Jesus said unto the Seminary's Advanced Theology Class, "And whom do you say that I am?"
They replied, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the ontological foundation of the context of our very selfhood revealed."
And Jesus replied, "I beg your pardon!"
QWIK QWIP: “Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.”
477. Eve and Adam
One day, Eve was walking in the garden with the Lord. She said, "Lord, the garden is wonderful, and the animals and birds provide such joy, but I am still lonely sometimes."
"No problem!" the Lord replied. "I will make you a man for a companion. He will desire to please you and to be with you. But I have to warn you, he won't be perfect. He'll have a difficult time understanding your feelings, will tend to think only of himself, and will stay out late with his bowling buddies."
"What's bowling?" Eve asked.
"Oh... never mind. I was just getting ahead of myself, sorry."
"That's OK. I think I can handle this 'man'," Eve replied.
"Great, I'll get right to it!" God said, and started grabbing some mud and shaping it.
Suddenly, the Lord stopped and said to Eve, "Oh, there's one other thing about this man I'm making for you."
"What's that?" asked Eve.
"You'll have to tell him he was here first."
QWIK QWIP: “Until you've given it to God you're carrying it.”
478. Gladys Dunn
Our old friend Gladys Dunn attended church services one particular Sunday. The sermon seemed to go on forever, and many in the congregation fell asleep.
After the service, Gladys walked up to a very sleepy looking gentleman. In an attempt to be sociable, Gladys extended her hand in greeting, and said, "Hello, I'm Gladys Dunn."
To which the gentleman replied, "You're not the only one!"
Download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES One of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 800 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ..... https://www.wwj.org.nz/content/wwj18p47.pdf
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A DAVID MUSING
This week has been another of 'unreasonableness' in the world!
In New Zealand, where we came from before coming here to Kenya, our special All Blacks rugby team lost to Argentina, for the first time in 30 matches between the two. LOL! Congratulations Argentina! You were the better team and deserved your victory.
In America, of course, post election unreasonableness is at its peak, as the country slowly wends its way towards the completion of the Presidential vote count, due next Friday. Everyone has their own ideas about whether a Biden victory will take the country to heaven or to hell! Likely neither, is the reality.
But in the end, rugby and elections are relatively unimportant in the long term scheme of things.
What matters for our eternal future, is our relationship with Jesus. We have the choice to accept or reject Him as our Saviour and Lord.
May we all keep things in perspective today.
Until next time.....
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
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ABOUT US
WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Hastings, New Zealand. A ministry dedicated to developing discipleship, fostering unity amongst God's people to achieve the Great Commission, and in doing so, preparing for Christ's return. It is securely based upon the foundational principles of the Apostles Creed while recognising the wide and rich diversity of beliefs amongst Christians in other areas. In accordance with the Lord's direction, materials produced by the ministry are available, free of charge, to genuine enquirers upon request. The ministry is solely funded by donations, as the Lord provides. A list of materials available (plus some fun!) is obtainable and freely downloadable from our websitewwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.
Walking With Jesus Ministries
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Ahuriri
Napier
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Phone: (06) 835 0567 International (+64) 6 835 0567
Email: enquiries@wwj.org.nz
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Our role is to bless and encourage those in ministry while promoting co-operation and unity of direction amongst the body of Christ, as emphasised 3 times by Jesus in His longest prayer, immediately prior to His arrest and crucifixion. "... so that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:12, 21, 23-4) Our website is currently being developed to encourage your participation one with another, to share resources, and to enable you to promote events and items of interest to the body as a whole - and have a smile while doing it!
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