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
A FREE service, currently connecting with Christian leaders from 3,000 denominations and ministries, in 70 countries.
Issue No: 1002 Published: 28 Dec 2020
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
BORN AGAIN
3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3)
Greek (Western)
Greek thinkers consider the so-called 'Sinners Prayer' as the requirement for non-believers to be 'born again'. Salvation is related primarily to a decision of the mind, requiring minimal evidence of changed behaviour.
This position is justified primarily through Galatians 5:1.....
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
Unfortunately the verses later in the same passage are ignored.....
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13-15)
Eastern (Hebrew)
Hebrew thinkers understand being 'born again' as a complete lifestyle change. This involves a full commitment of mind, emotions and will, which will be reflected in behavioural change and obedience to God's will.
Words have different meanings, or nuances of meaning, in different cultures. Nicodemus, who asked the original question of Jesus as to the requirement for salvation, made the same mistake we do, in relating being born again to a physical experience.
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4)
However, the word 'born' in the Hebrew of the time of Jesus was 'yalad', meaning 'bring forth'. So Jesus was not talking about a physical birthing experience, but rather, 'bringing forth a choice of action' by the hearer. The results of the two alternative behavioural decisions are clearly set out in John 3:16-21. It is particularly clear in the Amplified Version.
Firstly, making the behavioural decision to follow Jesus.....
16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([d]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. 18He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.] (John 3:16-18 AMP)
….. or the alternative, not to change our lifestyle...
19The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil. 20For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved. (John 3:19-20 AMP)
And the result for the true follower of Christ.....
21But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are--wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon Him]. (John 3:21 AMP)
This change in lifestyle is also proclaimed by Paul in Romans. It is through holiness that eternal life is obtained.....
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-3)
The 'gift of God' most often refers to the Holy Spirit, and it is through Him that our life is to be transformed. The Bible confirms, in the final chapter of Revelation, the free gift of salvation, resulting in the life changing work of the Holy Spirit, leads to holiness, and the inheritance of eternal life. The words of Jesus, followed by the Spirit and the bride, through John, say.....
12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of (eternal) life." (Revelation 22:12-16)
SUMMARY
The church today views salvation as a decision of the mind, but Jesus taught the necessity of a total life transformation.
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. The church must move from the 'easy Christianity' teaching of the sufficiency of the (unbiblical) 'sinners prayer' to a call for true repentance, resulting in a changed life.
2. Discipleship, to help the new believer deal with the huge upheaval of leaving the old for the transformed new life in Jesus, must truly become a prime role of the church.
3. To witness effectively to Jews and Muslims, our actions and lives must reflect the words we speak.
3. Finally, from a father of the faith.....
“Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” C.H. Spurgeon
(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.....
Jesus Raises Lazarus (John 11:38-44)
From the dead.
“Remove the stone,”
“Didn’t I tell you that if you trusted me you would see God’s glory?”
“Father, thank you for listening to me. I know you always listen to me. I said this because of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.”
“Lazarus, come out!”
“Unbind him and set him free,”
Ten Lepers Healed (Luke 17:11-19)
But only one, a Samaritan, gave thanks.
“Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
The Samaritan returned.
“Where are the other nine? Didn’t anyone else come back to praise God—only this foreigner?”
“Get up and go on your way. Your trust has healed you.”
The Coming of the Kingdom (Luke 17:20-37)
Answering the Pharisees.
“God’s kingdom doesn’t come with visible signs that you can observe. People won’t be saying, ‘Look, it’s here’ or ‘Look, it’s there,’ for God’s kingdom is within you.”
Teaching the disciples.
“The time is coming when you’ll long to see the day when the Son of man comes, but you won’t see it. They’ll be telling you, “Look, there he is,’ or ‘look, here he is,’ but don’t go running off after them. The day when the Son of man comes will be just like lightning that flashes, lighting up the sky from one side to the other. But first he will have to suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation. The time when the Son of man comes will be like it was in Noah’s day. People went on eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah went into the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be like it was in Lot’s day. People went on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
“The day the Son of man appears will be just like that. If you’re up on the roof that day don’t go down and get your things; and if you’re out in the fields don’t go back home either. Remember Lot’s wife! If you try to hold on to your life you’ll lose it; but if you lose your life you’ll save it. I tell you, at that time two will be in
bed at night; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain, one will be taken; and the other left.”
“Where, Lord?” “Where the carcass is, that’s where the vultures gather,”
(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
294. As we grow in God, so our hope is expressed through faith and our faith through love.
295. Faith in mankind will occasionally generate human love, but godly love is a requirement of faith in Christ.
296. Lose faith and die.
297. A young person without faith rapidly grows old, while vibrant faith keeps us young at heart.
298. When we give up on faith we give up on life.
299. Other's faith is an encouragement, but can never substitute for our own.
300. Dreams may be shared, but faith must be experienced.
301. Faith is to heaven as doubt is to hell.
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK:GOD AND MAN continues.....
as we enter into the third and most important part of our study, making Jesus the lord of our life doing the will of the Father, as Jesus did.
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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. ***
489. The Funeral
A new Pastor in a small Oklahoma town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first services.
The following Sunday the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the Pastor placed a notice in the local newspapers, stating that, because the church was dead, it was everyone's duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice said.
Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the "funeral." In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered in flowers. After the Pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church.
Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a "dead church," all the people eagerly lined up to look in the coffin. Each "mourner" peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look.
In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror.
QWIK QWIP: “It's my business to do God's Business and it's His business to take care of my business.”
490. Observant
Three people were trying to get into heaven. Peter asked the first, "Who's there?" "It's me, Albert Jones," the voice replied. St. Peter let him in.
Then St. Peter asked the second one the second same question, "Who's there?" "It's me, Charlie Jones." And St. Peter let him in.
Finally he turns to the third, asking the same question, "Who's there?" "It is I, Verla Chapman," answered the third.
"Oh, great," muttered St. Peter. "Another one of those English teachers."
491. A Rumour
Rumour has it that Billy Graham Ministries is starting up a Emotional Support Group for men who are experiencing the trauma of hair loss. Reportedly they close every meeting with the benediction, "Go, and thin no more!"
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
NEW YEAR GREETINGS
2020 has been a year like few living people have experienced medically before.
Fear has grasped a large part of populations worldwide. Those who have turned a blind eye to it have suffered the consequences, likely leading to the loss of the US Presidential election for the incumbent.
Unfortunately, for the Northern Hemisphere, even with the start of vaccinations, things are going to get worse before they get better. The best hope is that by the Northern Spring, things may start to improve.
The Southern Hemisphere is in a much better position, with Summer coming on.
While medically speaking, 2021 is likely to be an improving year, it is sobering to think that the annual death toll from Malaria is still greater than from Covid.
The world is going through an extreme shock and things will never be quite the same again.
However, if we place our faith in Jesus, while taking sensible medical precautions, such as wearing a mask, God will be with us in the battles we face.
Let us rest in Him this year, like no other.
Until next time.....
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
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