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: 326 Published: 21 Jan 2008
TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHURCH: 3. FROM KINGS TO KINGDOM (continued)
The New Testament was written during the 1st century AD.During much of this time, in many places, the church was under persecution and often forced to operate underground, as indeed the majority of the Chinese church has to today.
However, from reading about the 7 churches of Revelation, it is obvious that many of the problems that beset the church today had already developed, even in the relatively few years that had elapsed after the death of Jesus. The length of time depends upon whether you believe Revelation was written before AD70 or 95-6AD.
If we also believe that John was dictating the words of Jesus (and in my online Bible they are printed in red as being personal quotations), it is obvious that Jesus was generally not happy with the direction most of the churches were taking. While He was generally gracious to pay a compliment first, He then made directional comments and warnings before finishing with a positive statement confirming the future blessing of those who obeyed Him. The amazing depth of these progressive promises is explained in the free download REVELATION’S REVELATION found here. FREE DOWNLOAD
We will now start looking at the 7 churches, starting with the 5 that were roundly criticised and later the 2 that were complimented.
THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS
He praised the people for their perseverance and endurance of hardships. Surely they must be hard out for God then? But no! Let's look at what Jesus said next.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation2:4-5)
Wow! Harsh words! The lampstand is symbolic of the 7 candled or lamped Minora that was found in the Holy Place in the Tabernacle of Moses. The lampstand speaks of spiritual gifts that God gives to His people through the Holy Spirit. (See the teaching A REVELATION OF....... THE AMAZING TABERNACLE OF MOSES FREE DOWNLOAD)
So the Lord, as with all these churches, was not threatening to remove the people's salvation, but rather, the withdrawing the power of Holy Spirit anointing from them.
I want to clarify a point. My motive in writing this series is not to denigrate the church as some think. In modern idiom, 'to throw out the baby with the bath water'! No. My heart's desire is to see the church come into the fullness of what God has for it. To replace the dirty bathwater with pure clean, living water, so that the baby may grow and mature into a church whose light will truly shine in a world that is getting darker by the day. A renewed church, operating in the will of the Father through the power and instruction of the Holy Spirit, taking the message of salvation through Jesus to the whole world. For this to happen, change is required.
Here in Ephesus, the people who started out loving the Lord wholeheartedly had, through persecution and hardship become strivers, not in God's power, but in their own. Today we admire people living in places of hardship and persecution, yet where they do not lose their faith in spite of the mistreatment they receive.
The people of Ephesus had changed focus from God to survival, one based on their own strength rather than the power of God. While this is highly understandable from a human perspective, it is not God's way. We can appear to be doing great things, yet if they are in our own strength, they are not great in God's sight.
If we don't do things the Lord's way rather than our own, He will remove the full power of Holy Spirit anointing from us.
(To be continued next week.)
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FROM THE WORD
FROM THE WORD"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
GREETINGS AND DOXOLOGY
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,†says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.â€
ONE LIKE A SON OF MAN
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.†I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,†dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was
like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 1:1-2:7)
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE915. Obedience to God's will for our life is the highest call.
916. Belief is of the mind, worship of the heart, but obedience is of the will.
917. The greatest change we can make is from gratifying our own will to obeying God's will for our life.
918. Obedience to God's will and ways is the very core of the Gospel.
919. Christian maturity develops as we submit to the will of God for our life.
920. In the world, submission is weakness, in God, strength.
921. In the world, submission comes from without, in God, from within.
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CRANWELL'S CARTOON
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
NEXT WEEK BEYOND THE VEIL – 2 NEW TESTAMENT REVELATION ON ATONEMENT THE BOOK OF HEBREWS continuesWith the final 3 points of explanation about the application of Atonement today from the book of Hebrews.
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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." ***
683. EINSTEIN
At the conclusion of the sermon, the worshipers filed out of the sanctuary to greet the minister. As one of them left, he shook the minister's hand, thanked him for the sermon and said, "Thanks for the message, Reverend. You know, you must be smarter than Einstein." Beaming with pride, the minister said, "Why, thank you, brother!"
As the week went by, the minister began to think about the man's compliment. The more he thought, the more he became baffled as to why anyone would deem him smarter than Einstein. So he decided to ask the man the following Sunday.
The next Sunday he asked the parishioner if he remembered the previous Sunday's comment about the sermon. The parishioner replied that he did. The minister asked: "Exactly what did you mean that I must be smarter than Einstein?"
The man replied, "Well, Reverend, they say that Einstein was so smart that only ten people in the entire world could understand him. But Reverend, no one can understand you."
682. FRONT ROW PLEASE
An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps. "Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely.
"The front row please." she answered.
"You really don't want to do that", the usher said.
"The pastor is really boring."
"Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired.
"No." he said.
"I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"No." she said.
"Good", he answered.
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
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FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: What is the sleeping sickness?ANSWER: Sleeping sickness, or encephalitis lethargica, was a strange
disease that appeared in Europe suddenly in 1915. By 1918, the disease,
which took many forms, had spread throughout the world. In some cases,
victims fell into a coma and never woke up. Others died from days and
days of NOT being able to sleep at all. The epidemic, which is estimated
to have affected five million people, vanished mysteriously in 1927.
Survivors didn't fare well. The long-term effects of the sleeping sickness,
which had developed into a form of Parkinson's disease, had turned
many patients into motionless ‘statues’. In March 1969, neurologist Oliver
Sacks began to prescribe L-dopa, a drug used to treat Parkinson's
disease, to sleeping sickness patients. The effect was extraordinary.
Many began to ‘wake up’ and were suddenly, after decades of not
moving, able to walk and talk and think. Some patients believed they
were still in the 1920s! Sadly though, many patients on L-dopa began to
suffer from involuntary muscle movements, bizarre motions and notions,
and other serious symptoms. (Maybe we all would if we woke up 40
years in the future!)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is a group of flamingos called?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS585. IRISH AGAIN
Windmills always turn counter-clockwise. Except the ones in Ireland, of course! (They are the only ones moving with the time!)
586. NON FATTENING DONUTS
The US Mint once considered producing doughnut-shaped coins! (Would have saved ‘a mint’ in materials too!)
587. I WAS SKEPTICAL___
Until I checked out that ‘skepticisms’ is the longest word that alternates hands when typing! (Provided it is spelt with a ‘k’, and not a ‘c’.)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
DOORS
Answer at the end of A David Musing
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BIBLE QUESTION - JUDGES (You be the judge!)
15) How big was the Midianite/Amalekite army?A - 185,000
B - Several Thousand
C - Unknown Multitude
D - One million men
Source: www.biblequizzes.com
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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""!!!!!!! No one is listening until you make a mistake.
!!!!!! Always remember you're unique -- just like everyone else.
!!!!! Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
!!!! It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
!!! It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.
!! If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
! If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
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JUST JOKES
138. STINGYA stingy old lawyer who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness was determined to prove wrong the saying, "You can't take it with you."
After much thought and consideration, the old ambulance chaser finally figured out how to take at least some of his money with him when he died. He instructed his wife to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to fill two pillowcases. He then directed her to take the bags of money to the attic and leave them directly above his bed. His plan: When he passed away, he would reach out and grab the bags on his way to Heaven.
Several weeks after the funeral, the deceased lawyer's wife, up in the attic cleaning came upon the two forgotten pillowcases stuffed with cash. "Oh, that old fool," she exclaimed. "I knew he should have had me put the money in the basement."
137. MAIL!
A man was in his front yard mowing grass when his attractive but dim female neighbour came out of the house and went straight to the mailbox. She opened it, then, finding nothing in it, slammed it shut and stormed back into the house.
A little later she came out of her house again went to the mailbox and again opened it, and again slammed it shut. Angrily, back into the house she went. As the man was getting ready to edge the lawn, here she came out again, marched to the mail box, opened it and then slammed it closed harder than ever.
Puzzled by her actions the man asked her, "Is something wrong?" To which she replied, "There certainly is! My stupid computer keeps saying, 'YOU'VE GOT MAIL.'"
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BIBLE TRIVIA
MUSTARD SEEDFew plants in the East have smaller seeds. As Jesus points out in the famous parable it can grow as large as a tree with a stalk as thick as a man's arm. Prized for flavoring - both then and now!
Adapted from: '1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About The Bible' MacGregor & Prys
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Motion to Protect Religious Speech Defeated in UK Gay Hate Crimes Bill
by Hilary White, LifeSiteNews.comLONDON, UK - The Labour-controlled British Parliament has rejected a motion that would have afforded Christians and other conscientious objectors legal protection from accusations of hate crimes by homosexual activists.
The Labour party refused to allow its majority MP's the freedom to vote on the amendment. The hate crimes bill moved through its final stages in the House of Commons on January 9.
Member of Parliament Jim Dobbin
The proposed "gay hate crimes" law would carry a maximum penalty of seven years in jail for anyone convicted of "inciting hatred" against homosexuals. The motion to amend was introduced by Jim Dobbin, the Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton, who warned that some Catholic and Anglican leaders believed the proposed law would make it impossible to teach or preach Christian moral doctrine on sexuality and marriage without incurring criminal penalties.
The motion was drafted with assistance from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Council. The two Churches made a joint presentation to the Commons Committee drawing a comparison with provisions in the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006:
"In religious hatred debates, both supporters and opponents of the Bill maintain a distinction between protection of people from personal attack, which was agreed to be desirable, and protection of their beliefs and practices from criticism or satire, which was generally thought to be undesirable."
Dobbin, who has chaired the all-party Pro Life Group and is a Catholic, told the House during the debates that a similar distinction should exist in matters related to sexuality.
"Sexual activity and lifestyle, as distinct from sexual orientation, are matters of choice," he said, "and impinge on the public sphere. As such, they are subject to evaluation and criticism and the freedom to discuss them should be preserved."
Dobbin said the Churches fear that the bill "may impinge on their basic freedom to practise their religion."
He added, "We cannot ignore such a serious concern from two important national religious institutions."
The law is regarded as unnecessary and a suppression of freedom of speech even by homosexual activists and some journalists. In the House, Dobbin mentioned homosexual rights activist Peter Tatchell who opposes the bill and has argued that existing laws are adequate to protect homosexuals. Journalists Matthew Parris and Iain Dale, both publicly homosexual, also oppose the bill on free speech grounds.
Nick Herbert, Tory MP for Arundel South Downs, who supports the legislation in general, said, "Such legislation needs very careful drafting." He said the sexual orientation clause limits the act to "intentional acts and threatening words, not merely abusive or insulting words" the bill remains unclear exactly what words and behaviour would constitute an offence. Herbert warned against "clumsy police investigations and the chilling effect of the law."
The bill now moves on to the House of Lords.
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
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DAVID'S DOWNLOAD
A REVELATION OF....... THE TABERNACLE OF DAVIDSandwiched between Moses Tabernacle, representing the church, and Solomon's Temple, representing the Millennial reign of Christ, David's simple tent is a picture of the end time church that will last for but a short time before Jesus returns.
Check it out to find out about the people God is seeking for Himself today.
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WAXING LYRICAL
Many expect life to be easy once they come to Jesus. But His life was not easy - and we are meant to be like Him!LIFE'S ROSES AND THORNS
Life may be short,
It could be long.
Will we be caught?
Or end up strong?
Money comes,
Money goes.
We do our sums,
But no-one knows.
Healthy one day,
Sick the next.
For wellness we pray,
When ill - now vexed.
All's under control,
Now it falls apart!
We're first on a roll,
Then back to the start!
In God too, we must face this place,
For all's not smooth, in life's race.
Him we are called, ever to revere,
And in daily life, to persevere.
(Continued next week.)
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A DAVID MUSING
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY...is a saying that has certainly applied to 'Seekers Megamart' this week!
The good - another record week of takings.
The Bad - One of our most loyal volunteers, Kay, has been diagnosed with cancer. Could you please offer a prayer for her.
The Ugly - Although shoplifting is an ongoing problem (sadly now accepted now as a cost of doing business, to be minimised as much as possible), we also had 2 days cash takings stolen on Saturday. Certainly shows that the world is not improving!
Welcome to the reality of today's world!
Until next week...
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: ODORS
TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION': Unknown Multitude (Judges 7:12)
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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