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: 292 Published: 28 May 2007
DEVELOPING YOUR PROPHETIC FOUNDATION (Guest Editorial)
By my friend, Rodney Francis of the 'Gospel Faith Messenger' ministry. (See 'A David Musing' below.) Rodney's ministry (well God's actually, through Rodney!) reaches into 90 countries as he offers free Bible courses and much more to ministers and people worldwide. Developing people in the spiritual gifts, particularly the prophetic, is his main interest and calling. All with a good laugh, which I particularly appreciate!This is just an appetizer for you! Read on...
Over a good many years I've observed and been involved with a number of churches as a result of my pastoral and itinerant ministry. I have watched churches rise and fall. I have seen large numbers of disillusioned and frustrated people drop out of churches, and I ask myself, "What is the cause of these things?" The answers, of course, are many and varied. But there is one area that I've become more aware of in recent years that has helped me to understand why so much negativity and heartache creeps into an individual's life, and also the life of a church. It is not an area that many seem to know about, let alone understand. So we need to look more closely at it. It is that of the "Prophetic Foundation" of our life and of a church. A Prophetic Foundation is summed up briefly as being "the purpose of God for one's life, or for a church." God does not change His mind on His purpose for our life, or for a church.
Every God-ordained church starts off on a Prophetic Foundation. The pioneering leader (or leaders) carries a vision and a conviction that God has called him (them) to fulfil a certain destiny. Whenever we build our life (or a church) on God's Prophetic Foundation, the blessings of God will become evident. The Prophetic Foundation determines the emphasis, direction, vision, rules and regulations, and "flavour" of the church, and people are attracted and drawn to it accordingly. The individual, the leader (or leaders), the church that knows its God-given purpose and seeks to fulfil that, is the one that accomplishes eternal results. From God's point of view a church is much more than a meeting, or a place where friends meet. It is a fellowship of people committed to fulfilling God's eternal purposes for it.
MOVING AWAY FROM THE PROPHETIC FOUNDATION:
The tragedy in church life is often that, over time, a church moves away from its God-given purpose. It "evolves" into something different to that for which it was raised up of God. Politics and "power seeking" taint the vision and the people. That is why it is so important to know God's purpose for that particular church, and to keep that church within the purposes for which God raised it up, which is its legitimate reason for existing.
The first church I pastored was built on a Prophetic Foundation of "Obedience to the Voice of God" and the promise of God was, "If we did what He asked, we would never lack financial supply." The church was never one that had great amounts of money in the bank, but whenever there was a need to have large sums of money, it always came in. Our testimony is that we were involved in two church building projects, and we paid cash both times. Not one cent of interest was paid! The church later moved away from that Prophetic Foundation and (as far as I am aware) has struggled financially ever since.
I recall spending some time with a group of elders in a church that had experienced a major hurtful division. The church leadership was "blaming" those who left as being "divisionary." When we took some time to talk through about the original purpose of God for the church, they began to see more clearly what the original Prophetic Foundation was. They then discovered that the church had moved away from its Prophetic Foundation into other things and that the "breakaway group" were actually running with the Prophetic Foundation. That realization brought about quite a change in attitude, because they could "see" the reason the split happened.
More recently we've watched a strong missions church lose its way, because (I believe) it got away from its Prophetic Foundation. If that had been understood more, certain decisions would not have been made that have led to the heartache and difficulties it now faces. Sadly, these "happenings" always create a lot of frustration, disillusionment and bewilderment as people see their church becoming something different to that which had "attracted" them to it. Today, numbers of churches are in decline, because they have not understood the importance of building on a Prophetic Foundation.
THE BIBLICAL FOUNDATION:
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FROM THE WORD
"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22)SPIRITUAL GIFTS
"Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,†and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,†except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
REACH FOR THE SKY!82. Sparrows can only twitter in the foothills while eagles soar to the mountaintops. Why then, are there so many more sparrows than eagles?
83. Nobody told the bumblebee that he cannot fly – so he does!
84. If the bumblebee can fly, so can you and I.
85. Only eagles fly high!
341. Unfortunately, there are many more people in life who would rather see you fly low than high. They want company!
342. The higher the mountain, the fewer who are prepared to climb, but the greater the rewards.
343. It's a lot less crowded on the mountaintops!
344. It's only the unsuccessful who have the secret of 'easy success'!
345. You can only get to the top of the mountain by starting from the bottom.
346. If you don't start, you will never finish!
Please feel free to quote these quotes. Acknowledgement of David Tait as the author would be appreciated. There are now over 1300 David sayings for you to view at ...
CRANWELL'S CARTOON
7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. (Jonah 4:7)
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
NEXT WEEK THE 12 FEATURES OF CROSSING THE JORDAN A SummaryWe summarise the 12 features already looked at and find out the principal message to us today from them.
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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." ***
608. THE TOP 20
Top 20 Things overhead on the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem:
20. You've heard the old saying about the Camel being the ship of the desert? WELLLLL, I'm getting seasick.
19. OK, we got gold. We got the frankincense. We got the Myrrh. Think we should get something more practical, like diapers maybe?
18. I thought this was SUPPOSED to be a WEEKEND road trip. Boy, is my wife ever gonna be irked when I get home.
17. All this gazing at a star while riding a camel is making me woozy.
16. Wise men. They call us Wise men. What's so WISE about wandering around the desert for three years?
15. I still say it wouldn't hurt to drop by Balthazar's place for another visit on the way back. That was SOME buffet.
14. 16 hours a day on a camel. Are you sure this beats walking?
13. All in all, I'd rather be a shepherd. All they ever do is stand around and WATCH the stars. We have to FOLLOW one.
12. Time to check the map again, I think we took a wrong turn at Amal's house.
11. Why should I always have to be in the rear? It's somebody else's turn to get sand in his face.
10. I need to stop at the Bazaar in the next town and pick up one more gift.
9. Com'on, we gotta stop and ask for directions, if we don't this trip could take years.
8. You guys have any idea how to treat saddle sores?
7. Man, I'm starting to get a rush from this frankincense!
6. You guys ever eat camel meat? I hear it tastes like Chicken.
5. You know, I used to go to school with a girl name Beth Lehem.
4. What kind of name is Balthazar anyhow? Phoenician?
3. Hey, do you either of you know why "MYRRH" is spelled with a "Y" instead of a "U"?
2. Okay, who forgot to give their camel a bath before we left?
And the NUMBER ONE thing overheard on the Wise Men's journey to Bethlehem...
1. Whaddya mean we'll be part of history? A year from now, nobody will have a clue why we did this.
607. THE CUT
I was talking to my preacher I noticed he had cut himself shaving. I asked him about it. He said he was concentrating on his sermon and nicked his chin. I told him next time to concentrate on what he was doing and cut his sermon. - Jeremy Lewis
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now 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 769 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ...
FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: How did trivia (such as this), get its name?ANSWER: It is a merging of the Latin words 'tri' (three) and 'via' (road).
To educate the public, news and information was posted on boards at
crossroads (where three roads met) and so the word 'trivialis' was applied
to the snippets of un-related information. The word trivial is derived from
this ‘Trivia' as a word on its own dates to about 1920. (Trivial by name,
triffling by nature!)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: From where does the saying ‘Hobson's Choice’
originate?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS348. HOLDING US DOWN
Air pressure at sea level is roughly equal to the weight of an elephant spread over a small coffee table. (How did they get the elephant to stand on a coffee table to prove this? I know really!)
349. BETTER THIN THAN THICK
If hot water is suddenly poured into a glass, the glass is more likely to break if it is thick than if it is thin. That is why test tubes are made of thin glass. (Tested through ‘thick and thin’.)
350. SETTING A TREND
A & P was the first chain-store business to be established. It began in 1842. (There has since been a chain reaction.)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
ACROSTIC
Answer at the end of A David Musing
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can download the full version of our Trivia Book at TRULY TRIFFLING TRIVIA
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BIBLE QUESTION - BOOK OF JUDGES
20) How long did Jephthah judge Israel?A - 1 year
B - 3 years
C - 5 years
D - 6 years
Source: www.biblequizzes.com
Heaps more fun and serious 'God Facts' are found at...
IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""!!!!!!! No wonder I'm so confused - one of my parents was a man, the other was a woman.
!!!!!! I hope there is a next life because I'll definitely need another life to understand this one.
!!!!! I can't trace my family back very far, but still proudly believe that I, too, had ancestors.
!!!! Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
!!! I'm sorry for not communicating but sometimes it's hard to write on a moving planet!
!! My strange behaviour as a child is easily explained; I was training to be an adult.
! My life is already complicated enough, without trying to introduce organization into it.
100'S MORE TO BE FOUND AT...
MORE BIBLE RIDDLES
Thought we had done all possible Bible riddles in our last, very popular series. However, I have now found some more for you to enjoy, courtesy of Frank Schaefer of javacasa.comQ. What else did Jesus say at the Last Supper?
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A. "Everyone who wants to be in the picture get on this side of the table."
Lots more riddles found at...
LIFE'S A LAUGH
167. PAPER SHORTAGEA farmer wrote to a giant mail order company and asked the price of their toilet paper.
The company wrote back and told him to look on page #287.
He wrote another letter back, "If I had your catalog, I wouldn't need your toilet paper."
168. ANTHONY'S FIRST RIDE
It was young Anthony's first ride in a railway train, and the succession of wonders reduced him to a state of hysterical astonishment. The train rounded a slight bend and, with a shriek of its whistle, plunged into a tunnel. There were gasps of surprise from the corner where Anthony was kneeling. Suddenly the train rushed into broad daylight again, and a small voice lifted in wonder.
"It's tomorrow!" exclaimed the small boy.
169. THE TOAST
One of my daughter's wedding presents was a toaster oven. Soon after the honeymoon, she and her husband tried it out. Almost immediately, smoke billowed out of the toaster.
"Get the owner's manual!" my daughter's husband shouted.
"I can't find it anywhere!" cried my daughter a short time later.
"Oops!" came a voice from the kitchen. "Well, the toast is fine, but the owner's manual's burned to a crisp."
Much more real life humour...
BIBLE TRIVIA
FRANKINCENSE AND MYRRH are both fragrant resins imported from India, Arabia or Africa. That is why they were both precious and costly in the Holy Land.Adapted from: '1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About The Bible' MacGregor & Prys
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CHAPTER AND VERSE
The Bible was divided into chapters by Cardinal Hugo in 1250.The New Testament was divided into verses by Sir Robert Stephens in 1551.
The whole Bible, divided into chapters and verses, first appeared in 1560 in what is known as the "Geneva Bible." It was so called because it was prepared by the Reformers in Geneva. It is also called the "Breeches Bible," because Genesis 3:7 is translated: "They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves breeches."
Many more Bible Facts at...
DAVID'S DOWNLOAD
A REVELATION OF…….THE SEVEN REVELATIONS OF THE LAMBIt would be normal to think of a victorious God as a lion. But Jesus came as a lamb, the Lamb of God
The incredible story of how the Lamb of God is foreshadowed 4 times in the Old Testament, comes as the Lamb in the New, sets our example and will return to claim His kingdom.
Both a faith builder and a call to inherit the kingdom now.
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WAXING LYRICAL
The inspiration for the first two parts of this poem came from a cross-island trek Kathyand I went on when we were staying on the beautiful Island of Rarotonga, in the Cook
Islands. For those who don’t know, The Cooks are situated around the Tropic of Capricorn
in the Pacific Ocean. A great place to visit! The last part is based loosely on the book
of Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22, the biblical promise of what is to come. Hope it is
both enjoyable and challenging to you. Of course it is just verse, so is not all strictly
theologically accurate! Called poetic licence! My longest poem too, so will print it in small bits!
VICTORY! (Part 2)
THE MOUNTAIN CLIMB
As we wend our way ever upwards on the path,
Sweating heavily now, would love a cold bath!
The blood red markers were now on every side,
To tree after tree, with love they’d been tied.
This Jesus our guide, is oh so strong,
Always encouraging us to move along,
And when the load is heavy on our backs,
He helps us out, willing to carry our packs.
He shows us all the interesting points along the way,
Has a guidebook, called his ‘Bible’, I heard him say.
Knows all the small birds, twittering from tree to tree,
His oneness with the creation, is just wondrous to see.
For some aren’t used to this mountain climbing lark,
Exercise for them means a leisurely stroll in the park!
Of these ones Jesus takes considerable, extra care,
Before their continual grizzling, gets into our hair!
The tropical rain forest was so lush at the beginning,
But as we progress, the trees they are now thinning,
The further we go, the steeper the track,
Some of us wish, we could now turn back.
But rules are rules, as teachers so often say,
A condition of the trip at the end of the day,
So we all plod on as the going gets harder,
Learning new skills, seeking to be smarter.
To be continued over the weeks ahead.
More of David's poems at...
A DAVID MUSING
Kathy's mum is doing well. Our thanks to those who are praying for her. Please continue.Have had a busy weekend with Rodney Francis and the team from Gospel Faith Messenger staying with us. (see editorial) It is always good when you run across people of a similar heart - and sense of humour - who have shared a number of similar experiences in ministry. In fact, one of good friends asked Kathy if Rodney and I were related, as we shared the same laugh, sense of humour, and say much the same things! For me, this was a compliment - not sure whether it is for Rodney though! Meeting those whom the Lord has given a similar revelation is just so encouraging and we all need encouragement, don't we? The purpose of PGIM, in fact!
Rodney, his sister Joan, and Kerry Wright, shared in a conference in Napier on Friday night and Saturday, then spoke in 2 churches on Sunday morning, concentrating on developing the gifts of the Spirit, in particular, the prophetic, with a huge amount of success. It is amazing just what latent gifts us ordinary people have inside, if only we are encouraged to develop and use them instead of simply being spiritual spectators!
Thank you 'guys and gal' for an inspirational weekend.
Until next week...
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: SOCRATIC
TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' 20) D - 6 years (Judges 12:7)
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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
290 Flaxmere Avenue
Flaxmere
Hastings
New Zealand
Phone: (06) 8799 911 International (+64) 6 8799 911
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!
For comments upon and contributions to this service, please contact
david@wwj.org.nz