TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHURCH: 3. FROM KINGS TO KINGDOM (continued)

The heart of the problem of the church is mankind's (in particular 'menkind'!) desire to be organised and in our ability to compartmentalise areas of our lives.

'Religion' is based upon what people want to hear. Perform a particular, proven ritual in this specific way and you will be okay, irrespective of whatever else you do.

In a Christian setting, the extreme of this religious activity was found in the latter Middle Ages when 'indulgences' were sold by the priests of the church for money, as a means of obtaining forgiveness of sins. The excesses of this unbiblical religious action, based upon appealing to natural human instinct, was a huge motivating factor in the protestations of the Protestant Reformation.

However, it did not take long for the protestants to set up their own 'religious systems' of beliefs which, while more enlightened than the practice of indulgences, still organised people into 'doing religion' in certain defined ways. 'Follow our way and all will be well with you.' Denominations were born and continue to grow in numbers. It is estimated that there are between 9,000 and 34,000 Christian denominations in the world today! So much for unity in the church!

Maybe your grouping focuses upon communion, a particular creed, following certain behaviours, spiritual gifts, or many, many other different things. 'Follow our way and you will be okay with God.'

This is perfectly understandable, as it goes right back to the temptation, to which Eve succumbed, in the Garden of Eden.

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

We still believe we can manipulate God through our human based religious actions.

Religion is based upon order, upon 'law', and this is the method kings use to control their subjects.

The kingdom of God however, works on an entirely different principle, one of 'relationship', the restoration of that which Adam and Eve had with their Maker as they walked with Him in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8)

As we see in these days when divorce is rampant, relationship is not easy, nor is it able to be programmed into a do this, don't do this, method that will work in all circumstances and conditions. If only married life was so easy!

Reality is, as man is different to woman, so too are humans different to God.

When we come into relationship with Jesus we have to learn His ways, the ways of the kingdom of God. While we have a textbook in the Bible, the application of the principles, of kingdom ways, can only be truly learned through the intimate guiding and teaching of the Holy Spirit and giving Him the authority to transform our life individually.

Our relationship is not to be with, or through, a 'king, but directly with the 'King of Kings'.

(To be continued next week)

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FROM THE WORD

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 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.” The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to th e man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

THE FALL OF MAN
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD G od as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 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. It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field. 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.” Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." (Genesis 2:15-3:24)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

RELIGION, REVELATION AND GOD'S KINGDOM

1021. Religion is of the proud, the kingdom of God, of the humble.

1022. Religion revolves round organisation, the kingdom of God, relationship.

1023. Religion is planned, God's kingdom, spontaneous.

1024. God's kingdom is visionary, religion, managed.

1025. Religion is birthed in the institutionalisation of a revelation of God's kingdom.

1026. 'God given' revelation quickly becomes 'man controlled' religion.

1027. God's kingdom is eternal, mankind's religion, transitory.

1028. Religion formalises the spontaneous informality of God's kingdom.

1029. God's kingdom 'upskills', religion removes the 'ups'.

1030. Religion is really 'the opiate of the priests'.

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CRANWELL'S CARTOON

20 In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s brother, killed him.









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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

Made around 2000BC, the Abrahamic Covenant firmly pointed the way to the coming of Jesus.

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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." ***

710. NEW BELL RINGER
Following the death of Quasimodo. the Bishop of the Cathedral Church of Notre Dame sent word throughout the streets of Paris that a new bellringer would need to be appointed. The Bishop decided that he would himself conduct the interviews, and went up into the belfry to interview the candidates. After observing several applicants demonstrate their skills, he decided to call it a day, when an armless man approached him announcing that he was there to apply for the post.. The Bishop, incredulous declared, " My Son, you have no arms!" " No matter" replied the man. He then proceeded to strike the bells with his face, producing the most beautiful melody on the carillon. The Bishop was astonished, believing he had indeed found a suitable replacement for Quasimodo. But in rushing forward to strike a bell, the armless man tripped, and plunged headlong out of the belfry to his death in the street below. The Bishop, stunned rushed to his side. When he reached the street, a crowd had gathered around the fallen figure, drawn by the beauty of the music they had heard, but a moment before. As they parted in silence to allow the Bishop through, one of the number asked " Bishop, who was this man?"

..wait for it...
wait for it.....

.." I don't know his name" replied the Bishop sadly, " But his face rings a bell."

WAIT, WAIT! not through yet!

The following day, despite the sadness that weighed heavily on his heart following the death of the armless camponologist, the Bishop continued his interviews for a bell ringer for Notre Dame. The first man to approach addressed him, "Your Grace, I am the brother of the poor armless wretch who fell to his death from this belfry yesterday. I pray that you will allow me to replace him." The Bishop agreed to an audition, but as the man reached to strike the first bell, he groaned, clutched at his chest, collapsed, and died on the spot. Two monks, hearing the cries of grief from the Bishop at the tragedy, rushed up the stairs...... "What as happened? Who is this man?" they cried. " I don't know his name" exclaimed the distraught Bishop,.........

wait for it.......
wait for it
wait for it

........." I don't know his name............but he's a dead ringer for his brother."

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Where did the expression ‘red herring’ originate?

ANSWER: A ‘red herring’ is a diversionary tactic - something that draws
attention away from the central issue. The term originated from the use of
smoked herring (which is reddish brown and extremely strong-smelling)
to distract hunting dogs from following a trail. In the seventeenth century,
smoked herring was also used as a lure to train dogs to follow a scent.
And, of course, it was also used by criminals to divert bloodhounds from
the trail. (Still is!)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What creature has infrared receptors to help it
catch prey in total darkness?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

549. HARD ROCK WORK
A scientific study has shown that Hard Rock music makes termites chew through wood at twice their normal speed. (To get away from it all?)

550. SACRIFICIAL LOVE
A female ferret will die if it goes on heat and can’t find a mate. (Reproduction is literally a life and death matter here.)

551. WATCH YOUR STEP
The placement of a donkey's eyes in its head enables it to see all four feet, all the time. (And you thought donkeys were stupid for looking down!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

GNOMONIC

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BIBLE QUESTION - WORKERS AND TOOLS

7) Huram of Tyre, worked on the temple with which material?

A - Cedar
B - Bronze
C - Silver
D - Gold

Source: www.biblequizzes.com

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""

!!!!!!! If God is your Co-pilot - swap seats!

!!!!!! Prayer: Don't give God instructions just report for duty!

!!!!! The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

!!!! The Will of God never takes you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

!!! We don't change the message, the message changes us.

!! You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.

! The best mathematical equation I have ever seen: 1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given.

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JUST JOKES

323. NO CHARGE
The state trooper pulled Mr. Schwarz over and, after inspecting his license and registration, informed the motorist that he was going to have to spend the night in jail.

"What's the charge? Mr. Schwarz demanded.

"None," replied the officer. "It's all part of the service."

322. OUT OF STEP
As he was drilling a batch of recruits, the sergeant saw that one of them was marching out of step. Walking up next to the man as they marched, he said sarcastically: "Do you know they are all out of step except you?"

"What?" asked the recruit innocently.

"I said -- they are all out of step except you!" thundered the sergeant.

The recruit replied, "Well, sarge, you're in charge -- you tell them!"

321. THE FAMILY TREE
In my search of the family tree, it was pretty exciting to learn my great-grandparents in the Appalachian Mountains were pioneers in iron and steel. I could hardly stand the excitement until I learned the truth that Great-Grandma stayed home and ironed while Great-Grandpa went off to steal. - Lawrence Brotherton

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BIBLE TRIVIA

DONKEYS

...can go for long periods without water, are able to work hard in hot climates and can survive on very little food.

Another bonus is that donkey's milk is highly nutritious, closely resembling human milk.



Adapted from: '1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About The Bible' MacGregor & Prys

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RUSSIA: COMPETING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

By Anneta Vyssotskaia
for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- After many years of persecution of Christianity and all other religions during the Soviet era, Russia experienced a great spiritual revival in the 1990s. Hundreds of thousands of Russian people turned to God. However, the spiritual revival was followed by a spiritual alienation in Russian society generally and a mistrust of religious organisations and workers. To a great extent this was a result of many negative articles in mass-media about 'sects', as well as the government's policy to support the 'four traditional religions': the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (MP ROC), Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. The spiritual revival continued but on a much smaller scale, mainly amongst the most neglected groups in Russian society: drug addicts, prisoners and street people.

Children and teenagers were another large group who remained open to the gospel. During Perestroika in Russia, the Communist regime collapsed and society went through the most dramatic period of social, political and economic change. The doors opened for preaching the gospel in all children's educational and medical institutions: schools, summer camps, hospitals and orphanages. Missionaries and teachers of the gospel were actually invited to come and tell children about God. Many children and teenagers became believers even before their parents did; they were very open to learning from the word of God and became committed members of the churches. Multitudes of elderly people who were coming to the churches during Perestroika, often to get some humanitarian aid, were gradually replaced by young people. The traditional old hymns were complemented by more contemporary worship and Christian young people full of energy and optimism enthusiastically hastened to do good works and invite their non-Christian friends to the churches. Th ese children became young adults and are now the main hope and missionary force of the Church.

The situation has changed. The doors that were once open are now closed and most churches are not allowed to access children's institutions, with the exception of the MP ROC churches. This policy is unofficially but strongly supported by the Russian government who want to see stability and solidarity in society and look to the MP ROC as a means of ensuring this. With the obvious lessening of spiritual hunger in society, MP ROC looks for new ways to strengthen their position in the Russian generations to come.

MP ROC has sought 'to win the children's souls' by its efforts in promoting 'Foundations of Russian Orthodox Culture' as a compulsory school subject. This battle has gone on for almost 10 years now and is not finished yet. Those opposing this initiative are concerned it would lead to clericalising the educational system as well as the division of children by their religion and nationality. In extreme cases it would cause eve n the persecution of those whom MP ROC considers to be 'sectarians', including all Protestants In September last year a seven-year-old son of a Protestant pastor in Voronezhskaya region was severely beaten by his classmates on his first day at school for being a non-Orthodox, after a prayer service led by a Russian Orthodox priest.

In this 'battle for the children's souls' some priests and activists of the MP ROC are trying to stop Protestant churches' ministry to children, even in Sunday schools. In March this year a United Methodist church in Smolensk was dissolved by a court order because of its 'educational activities without a licence' -- the church had a Sunday school attended by four children of church members. This happened after a complaint from the MP ROC Bishop of Smolensk, which resulted in the church being checked by various authorities, including the Organised Crime Department of Police. A leading Russian Christian lawyer, Vladimir Ryakhovsky, from the Slavic Centre for Law and Justice expressed an opinion that the court liquidation of the Methodist church will increase the threat to other religious education. Almost all the churches in Russia have Sunday schools without ever needing an educational licence, but this can now be used as a reason to liquidate them.

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DAVID'S DOWNLOAD

A REVELATION OF... THE CHARACTER OF GOD

Understanding God takes more than a lifetime! Through into eternity. Even then, I suspect he may come up with a surprise or two! But this simple revelation may help you understand Him better, as it has helped me.

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WAXING LYRICAL

Normally writing verse takes longer than writing prose. But not this time!

IN A HURRY!

Time is short,
Too much sport!

Bad attitude,
No gratitude!

Put Jesus first,
Develop thirst!

Do come aboard,
Jesus is Lord!

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A DAVID MUSING

We are into Autumn here in Southern Hemisphere New Zealand.

As we get the odd snap of cooler weather, people get reminded that winter is approaching and they need to buy some warmer clothes.

For we are the only creature that needs clothing to keep our bodies to a suitable temperature. Thank you Adam and Eve!

However, this is very good for Seekers as it generates more customers. We had a record day on Thursday, followed by a further record on Saturday, and also a record week. The long term target we set ourselves has been achieved in only 6 months! Target must have been too low. Very unlike me!

This has meant that we have been able to support further projects in Africa, which is the aim of the whole exercise.

As we move towards the development of the holy and righteous end time 'bride' church of Jesus, it will not only be reflected in greater faith but also in more works. For it is through both faith and works together, that we become a light to the world. In the past, these have long been separated, but that is not how it is meant to be.

May we all be prepared to 'walk the talk'.

Until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: ONCOMING

TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION': B - Bronze (1 Kings 7:13-14)

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

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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
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