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: 1160 Published: 26 Feb 2024
A REVELATION OF....... HOLINESS
FROM 'FRUITFUL SERVANTHOOD' -
TO 'FRUITLESS SELF SERVING' -
AND BACK AGAIN
It is no accident that the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' (Genesis 2:17) grew fruit. For fruit represents our character traits - both good and bad.
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-20)
Adam was put in the Garden of Eden to serve God.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)
When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, they died spiritually and in due course, physically. For up until that moment, they were living in a world without time. A world, in which one would not grow old, where the ravages of age we experience, were absent.
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 4:17-19)
But Jesus came to reverse this situation.
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45)
He came that we might once again serve God by following His example, by returning to servanthood.
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-8)
We do this by producing good fruit in our life, which leads to righteousness (Right living in God's sight).
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18)
In turn, this righteousness leads to holiness. (Perfection in God's sight.)
19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. (Romans 6:19)
As reflected in the fruit trees at the side of the River of Life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5
SUMMARY
Holiness comes through the development of the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Which can be summarised in a single word, 'servanthood'. As Jesus confirmed in the 'Golden Rule.'
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)
Holiness personified!
(Continued next week)
FROM THE WORD
THE BEAUTIFUL WORDS OF JESUS
Request From a Mother (Matthew 20:20-28, Mark10:35-45)
On behalf of her sons.
“So what do you want me to do for you?”
To sit beside Jesus on His throne.
You don’t know what you’re asking,” “Can you drink the cup I drink? Can you be baptized with the baptism of pain I will suffer?”
“You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the same baptism as me,” “But it’s not for me to grant who should sit on my right or on my left. These places are reserved for those for whom they have been prepared.”
Jesus now responds to all the disciples.
“You realize that those who claim to rule nations oppress their people. The rulers act like tyrants. But for you it’s not like this. Anyone of you who wants you to be a ruler must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be the slave of all of you For even the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Blind Men Receive Their Sight (Matthew 20:20-24, Mark10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43)
Including Bartimaeus.
“Tell him to come here.”
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“You can go. Your trust in me has healed you.”
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector ( Luke 19:1-10)
Climbed a tree to see Jesus.
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly! I need to stay at your house today.”
Zacchaeus repents.
“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man has shown he is a son of Abraham too. For The Son of man came to search for and save those who are lost.”
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*DAVID"S DOODLINGS
Enjoy some of David's sayings here, plus 1300 more on the website at.....
'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.
Download the free PDF here.....
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
717. The Cross of Jesus points in all ways - up, down and around. There is no way of avoiding it!
718. To deny the Cross is to deny Christ.
719. The miracle of the Cross is that the very best could come out of the very worst.
720. The Cross of Jesus was designed to take life, but ironically served to give life to all who believe.
721. There is still no greater power working in the world today than that of the Cross of Jesus.
722. The devil takes, the Cross gives.
723. Pilate's charge, THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS was both the present truth and a prophecy yet to be fulfilled.
724. Don't cross the Cross. It will cost you your life!
Many more at.....
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com
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'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
Another laugh or three for you today
Many more on our website below. Also many, may, many more under these categories on our website, wwj,org,nz Look under the heading MAINLY LAUGHS. Choose from.....
THIS WEEKS TUESDAY TEACHING.....
THIS WEEK: A REVELATION OF... DIVIDING THE WATERS (part 7)
Similarly to the story of the crossing of the Red Sea, the entry of the Jews into their promised inheritance under the new leadership of Joshua also has parallels and lessons for today’s Church.
LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
448. God's Way?
And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so man and woman would live long and healthy lives. And Satan developed the fast foods industry. And fast foods brought forth the 99 cent double cheeseburger. And Satan said to man, "You want fries with that?" And man said, "Supersize them." And man gained pounds.
And God created the healthful yoghurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. And Satan froze the yoghurt, and he brought forth chocolate, nuts and brightly coloured sprinkle candy to put on the yoghurt. And woman gained pounds.
And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad." And Satan brought forth creamy dressings, bacon bits, and shredded cheese. And there was ice cream for dessert. And woman gained pounds.
And God said, "I have sent your heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them." And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And man gained pounds, and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.
And God brought forth running shoes, and man resolved to lose those extra pounds. And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2. And man gained pounds.
And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy centre into chips and deep-fried them. And he created sour cream dip also. And man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol. And Satan saw and said, "It is good." And man went into cardiac arrest.
And God sighed, and created quadruple bypass surgery, angioplastys, and stents. And Satan established HMOs...
QWIK QWIP: “Don't approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back or a fool from any side.” Yiddish Proverb
449. What is Your Faith?
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"
He said, "Like what?"
I said, "Well...are you religious or atheist?"
He said, "Religious."
I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"
He said, "Christian."
I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
He said, "Baptist!"
I said, "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
He said, "Baptist Church of God!"
I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!
I said, "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"
He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"
I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.
QWIK QWIP: “The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.” John Ruski
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
Or read even more online at.....
A DAVID MUSING
Three months ago, the Government of New Zealand changed, when National beat Labour.
In Kenya, the Government changed just over a year ago, when the new generation replaced the old that had ruled Kenya since Independence in 1963.
Of course, in America there will be an election again in November, between Demoocrats and Republicans.
Countries change, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.
But in my life, I have my Saviour and Lord, Jesus the Christ.
My Jesus never changes. I may change, governments may change, but my Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
There is a certainty in my life, that unbelievers don't have.
How about you?
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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