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: 1057 Published: 17 Jan 2022
TRANSITION FROM ‘THE CHURCH’ TO ‘THE KINGOM’
FROM "HEAD KNOWLEDGE" TO "HEART RELATIONSHIP"
Who has had the most influence on you in your walk with Jesus?
Is it the knowledgeable or the godly?
With me, I can say, without hesitation, the godly! How about you?
I have sat under anointed teachers with amazing spiritual gifts. They have taught me heaps, and I am most grateful for that. I have spoken at numbers of theological colleges and mixed with more than my share of learned Christian scholars.
Yet, it is not these who have had the greatest influence on my life. It is godly men and women from whom the Holy Spirit shines, about whom I could say.....
14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14)
Mainly they are very ordinary people, generally not in church leadership, although a few are. They know their Saviour and have made Him Lord of their lives. They can speak about Jesus in a personal way, for they know Him so well. They radiate the Holy Spirit. As you look at each one you immediately see something different in them. They are truly children of the kingdom. Who influence others by example, not simply through words.
The story of Mary and Martha illustrates this beautifully.....
At the Home of Martha and Mary `
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
Most churches are run by Marthas. That is what makes the church system function. For there is never any shortages of jobs needing to be done round a church! And Martha types get the work done!
Yet Jesus said there was a better way. A way, I would suggest, that is the way of the kingdom. For the kingdom is built upon relationship, relationship with Jesus and with each other, the way of love. As Jesus said.....
The Greatest Commandment
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40)
The church builds and perpetuates the church. So ultimately, it is these 'sold out' disciples to whom Jesus is looking to build the kingdom. Ones of whom it can truly be said.....
20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
The kingdom is not a matter of getting things done, but of living a life that reflects the Jesus in you.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 4:8-10)
May we become those kingdom people out of whom the light of Jesus shines.
Amen.
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Pharisees and Sadducees Seek a Sign (Matthew 16:1-4, Mark 8:11-13)
To prove His divinity.
“In the evening you say, ‘It’ll be a fine day tomorrow, because the sky is red,’ while in the morning you say, ‘It’ll be bad weather today, because the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to predict the weather by what the sky looks like, but you can’t recognize the signs of the times! Evil people who don’t trust in God are the one who look for a miraculous sign, and no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.”
Leaven of the Religious Leaders (Matthew 16:5-12, Mark 8:14-21)
Jesus criticized the religious leaders with metaphor.
“Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,”
But the disciples took him literally.
“You have so little trust in me! Why are you arguing among yourselves about not having any bread? Haven’t you worked it out yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves that fed five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you collect? And what about the seven loaves that fed the four thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you collect? Haven’t you worked it out yet that I wasn’t talking to you about bread? Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida ( Mark 8:22-6)
Jesus spat on his eyes
“Can you see anything?”
And told him to go home.
“Don’t go back through the village.”
(Continues next week)
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OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
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May 2022 bring better things for us all!
NEW YEAR TRULY UNDERWAY
Much of the world closes down for Christmas and Kenya is no exception.
We did remarkably well with out patients and inpatients over the holiday period. Much better than we expected.
This week we were back into eye surgeries, doing 9 cataracts 4 other eye surgeries.
Here our team is back on the job. Lily, the Surgeon, Emmanuel the Scrub Nurse, and Kathy supporting them as the Runner. All went very well.
Shortly we will have a full theatre courtesy of CBM Global New Zealand! Keep watching this space!
MY NEW SIGHTED FRIEND
While waiting for something, I most unusually had a chat to one of our cataract patients.
This gentleman came in completely blind. When I greeted him he said he could see me well!
So I sat down and asked him a bit of his story.
Until 2014 he had been a long distance truck driver. In 2018 he had a bite near to his left eye, which got cloudy. He received treatment in a general clinic which didn't work. Some time later he met a doctor from Sabatia, the big eye hospital 4 hours away from here. They had no option but to remove the eye.
His right eye, a short time later started to cloud over with a cataract, and for the past 3 months he had been completely blind. It took him until now to raise the small money we charge to do the operation. Here cataracts grow faster, and denser than in the West.
As I said earlier, the operation was 100% successful! Thank you team! Makes all the challenges, and there are plenty, worthwhile. Now he can get back to work on his farm.
HERE IS A HOME MADE BALL
Like kids everywhere, Kids here like kicking round a ball.
Unfortunately there are few balls to be had! People cannot afford them.
So improvisation comes to the fore!
The balls are made out of plastic, scrounged from everywhere, as there are no more plastic bags allowed here, and tied with string. Properly made they work quite well. But no bounce, of course.
So then, kids can be kids again!
BOOK OF THE WEEK
TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHURCH
INTRODUCTION
One day, while in the shower, (that is, from a bucket) in Nairobi, Kenya, the Lord gave me a revelation. I had just seen the amazing new TBN broadcasting auditorium on TV, filled with beautiful people (it seems compulsory for preachers to have glamorous wives, generally much younger than themselves!), fantastic choirs, singers and setting, all broadcast over 47 satellites. In the shower the Lord showed me a picture of the Pentecostal church. How it started in storefronts and homes, of how rejected these first weird ‘pentes’ were. But these early pentecostals remained fully committed to the cause, staying close to God, for they were then at the forefront of God’s revelation and indeed, presence. Gradually however, Pentecostalism (now with a capital ‘P’,) has become mainstream. Pastors (and now Bishops) have become elevated beyond a job description or a calling, to positions above the people – a new priesthood. In the west, new pastors must be seminary trained, and are likely receive a reasonable salary from the beginning of their ministry. No longer is their real sacrifice in being ‘called’ to ministry. In our services, the emphasis has changed from listening to the Holy Spirit and following His desires, to a concentration on excellence and good order, to the near exclusion of the Holy Spirit leading us. Worship times, unlike the days of the storefront believers, are based on a proven formula of thanksgiving, praise, then worship, followed by (maybe) a prophecy, then the Word and finally ministry – until we all go home after exactly 2 hours. 4 Next comes an emphasis on building buildings ‘for the glory of God’, as so grandiosely epitomized by TBN. I have been involved in three different pentecostal churches over the years and have seen this process in practice. All churches that started meeting in homes, then storefronts or halls, before being ‘called’ to build or buy a church. The church then has to be rebuilt to be bigger, or ancillary buildings added, so that a ‘church complex’ is created. Often too, we hear the statement, ‘God is in the house’. Wow! Fantastic! But is it true? Is God really in these beautiful structures man has created? Or rather, is He in the hearts of the people who inhabit the house? Or again, has He departed altogether, to allow us to ‘play church’ in the beautiful temples we have built. The process of ‘monument building’ that started in the fourth century AD with the Roman Catholic Church, and which continued after the Reformation once those churches became mainstream, continues today as Pentecostalism enters the mainstream also. This seems to be the process of a ‘maturing church’. The Lord showed me that the people He calls on to impart the next revelation are those with the kingdom within, those dissatisfied with the established status quo, those hungering for more of Him. Those whose emphasis remains on the spiritual, who have not been seduced by the inevitable physical emphasis of the ‘maturing’ church. Today God is calling out another new generation, as He has in times past. It is a new generation desiring to move forward into the new (but old!) truths of submission and obedience to the Father’s will, of servanthood and 5 sacrifice, a simple people with hearts sold our to God, those who will finally fulfil the Great Commission. A Church not of Pastors, Programmes and Property, but of ‘kingdom people’, who, through their sacrifice, will usher in the return of Jesus.
Let us begin…..
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'THE WORDS OF JESUS' REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR PDF DOWNLOAD
Join the many who have downloaded the 'The Words of Jesus'. I am sure you will be blessed by it, as I have been.
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
... the more I fear Him, the more I am prepared to change my life.
... the fear and love of Him are intertwined.
... as pride comes before a fall, so repentance precedes restoration.
... there is nothing good in me until I am touched by His healing hand.
... I can't be found until I admit I'm lost.
... to be a servant is indeed the highest calling.
... He is to be obeyed, even when I don't understand why.
... He lives outside of time, but I don't.
... love works wonders.
... He desires me to change: not me to try and change Him.
... to give in to Him is to grow up in Him.
... life is born out of death.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
TUESDAY: LIVING THE KINGDOM LIFESTYLE continues
..... as we look at the Parable of the 2 Sons and that of the Unmerciful Servant.
*** ANOTHER DAILY EZINE FROM WWJ!*** 'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES' Subscribe Today
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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. ***
QWIK QWIP: “Exercise daily -- walk with the Lord.”
145. A Dog's Love
Rev. Warren J. Keating, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Yuma, AZ., says that the best prayer he ever heard was, "Lord, please make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am."
146. Gravity Rules
A woman was at the beach with her children when her four-year-old son ran up to me, grabbed my hand and led me to the shore where a sea gull lay dead in the sand. "Mommy, what happened to him?" my son asked. "He died and went to heaven," I replied. My son thought a moment and then said, "And God threw him back down?"
147. The Truth of It
After the church service a little boy told the pastor, "When I grow up, I'm going to give you some money. "Well, thank you," the pastor replied. "But why?" "Because," the boy responded, "my daddy says you're one of the poorest preachers we've ever had."
148. More Truth
A woman invited some people over for dinner. At the table she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" The girl replied, "I wouldn't know what to say." "Just say what you heard Mommy say," the mother answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?
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
I don't know about you, but when I have a problem and find a solution once, but not a second time, I persist, and get mad with myself at the same time!
I am putting together '10 WITH DAVID', to be a weekday series of sharing the Word and my life experience. I tried a few on Facebook before Christmas, which have had some positive feedback.
However, I wanted to do it more professionally, with an intro title, and credits at the end.
The credits were okay. But the intro has caused me heartache, as I couldn't reproduce the first time, that I got it right, with the computer programme I am using. I didn't actually forget, but I didn't, even the first time, understand how I did it! That's my story anyway! LOL!
Finally, after many hours of trying over several days, I got a brainwave! I could do it a different way that would work easily. Now I am happy!
Our walk with Jesus is much like this too. We have to persevere through the difficult times until, in His timing, we will get His solution to our problem. He tests and tries us to check on our perseverance in Him.
Never give up! He willl come through in His time.
Until next time.
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 website
wwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.
Walking With Jesus Ministries
P O Box 2
Webuye 50205
Kenya
Email: enquiries@wwj.org.nz
Web: wwj.org.nz
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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