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

Upon returning from Africa, I asked the Lord why He should want me to change tack and set up a recycled clothing business. For I had spent 9 years, at His leading, seeking His Word and sharing it with you, and others, as He led and provided. I worked hard, as I have always done, but obviously in a different way to that of running a business.

Several months before travelling, He had started to prepare me for a change by indicating that He had now given me the basic teaching He wanted me to share, and my focus was to change from receiving to getting it out. I had no knowledge of how that was to happen.

Under the 'kingly' church system, the highest calling is seen as being in fulltime pastoral, preaching and teaching ministry. Ministers are placed on a pedestal by the people - and all too rapidly pulled down when their human failings are exposed.

Effectively, a new priesthood has been created. No matter how humble the leader, it is almost impossible to avoid being affected by this, for it is encouraged by both leadership and people alike.

I am saying this from the foundations of experience in travelling the world and seeing its reality in many countries and different church situations, as well as from being a non denominationally aligned ministry, accepted by some and rejected by others.

However Jesus came and died to eliminate the professional Aaronic priesthood of that time and establish a new, universal priesthood of all believers, to take its place.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 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. (Revelation 1:5b-6)

When I sought the Lord over this, He showed me two things.

Firstly, while it is an honour to share the Word, we are also required to 'walk the talk', as the saying goes. For the call upon all our lives is to become the 'living word'. This is a 'kingdom' principle. James was particularly strong on this.

14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

Preaching, teaching, evangelizing, prophesying, is of limited value, if we do not 'practice what we preach', to quote another saying.

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26)

The second thing the Lord pointed out, and the more controversial to many leaders, is that we rely too heavily upon our followers' provision for our needs. We will have a look at this next week.

(Testimony to be continued next week)

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FROM THE WORD

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.”" (Revelation 1:5-8)

FAITH AND DEEDS

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:14-26)

JESUS LIKE MELCHIZEDEK

"If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’” Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrews 7:11-28)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

FAITH AND WORKS

691. Man is made to work – but not all the time!

692. Show me faith. Show me works. And I will show you a faith that works.

693. Building faith takes time but good works are always ready and waiting.

694. How much faith does it take to do good works?

695. People come, people go, but needs go on forever.

696. Works reflect the light of Christ in us to a dark world.

697. Faith reflects our place in God, works reflect God’s place in us.

698. Faith is internal, works external.

699. Works are the reflection of our faith to a disbelieving world.

700. Works are the single most convincing expression of our faith.

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CRANWELL'S CARTOON

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens— 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground— 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:4-7)





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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

GOD AND MAN continues

We will consider the 3 individual parts that go to make up the soul, plus the spirit.

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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." ***

736. WHY GOD IS LEFT-HANDED
Little Johnny was spending the weekend with his grandmother after a particularly trying week in kindergarten. His grandmother decided to take him to the park on Saturday morning. It had been snowing all night and everything was beautiful.

His grandmother remarked___"doesn't it look like an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God painted this just for you?"

Johnny said, "Yes, God did it and he did it left handed."

This confused his grandmother a bit, and she asked him "What makes you say God did this with his left hand?"

"Well," said Johnny, "we learned at Sunday School last week that Jesus sits on God's right hand!"

735. EVER MORE CHURCH BULLETIN BLEEPERS
~ Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. Come tonight and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

~ Announcement in the church bulletin for a National PRAYER & FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals."

~ Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 pm in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

~ Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again" giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

~ "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."

~ Next Sunday is the family hay ride and bonfire at the Fowlers'. Bring your own hot dogs and guns. Friends are welcome! Everyone come for a fun time.

~ The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

~ The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water" The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus"

~ Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

~ Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

~ The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy."

~ Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.

~ Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.

~ Don't let worry kill you off --let the Church help.

~ Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

~ The service will close with "Little Drops of Water." One of the ladies will start quietly and the rest of the congregation will join in.

~ Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and do so.

~ The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen in the church basement Friday.

~ A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

~ At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Is it possible that a caterpillar could have
more than 1,000 muscles?

ANSWER: Yes, it certainly is! In fact a caterpillar has over 2,000 muscles
to control the movement of its long body and many legs. (No wonder they
move slowly! A wonder they move at all!)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Who invented Asprin?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

519. MISNAMED
Anteaters actually prefer termites to ants! (Difficult to determine.)

520. STRONG AS STEEL
A strand from the web of the Golden Spider is as strong as a steel wire of the same dimension. (The fly doesn’t stand a chance of escaping.)

521. PIG PLEASURE
A pig’s orgasm lasts for 30 minutes! (So that’s why they have so many piglets in a litter!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

FAINTED

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BIBLE QUESTION - WORKERS AND TOOLS

19) In Jeremiah, Babylon's destruction is likened to 'how broken and shattered is the ____ of the whole earth

A - Axe
B - Hammer
C - Anvil
D - Sword

Source: www.biblequizzes.com

PICTURE: Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

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

!!!!!!! Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

!!!!!! A man may make many mistakes, but is not a failure until he starts blaming someone else for them.

!!!!! When people deserve your love and support the least, that is when they need it the most.

!!!! If you wish to dwell in the house of many mansions, you must make your reservation in advance.

!!! It seems like every time history repeats itself, the price doubles.

!! Children are natural mimics; they act like their parents in spite of every effort to teach them good manners.

! It is when we forget ourselves that we do things that are most likely to be remembered.

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GREAT GROANS!

55. ELEVEN GREAT PUNS ABOUT THE LAW-YERS
11) Lawyers wear law suits.

10) Next time you get a lawyer a drink, give him just-ice.

9) A lawyer using a facsimile machine must be sure to get his fax straight.

8) A lawyer for a church did some cross-examining.

7) Does a lawyer representing an angry cow find just cause for sour milk in a dairy case?

6) A detective likes to have a brief case.

5) The detective who went to investigate a burned down post office figured that it must be blackmail.

4) There are many judges who would like to acquit smoking.

3) Old judges never die, they just slur their sentences.

2) A police dog is often the scenter of a drug arrest.

1) If there's one person you don't want to interrupt in the middle of a sentence, it's a judge.

56. PUN ALERT!! SO BAD !
Q: What's the difference between a batman and a thief?
A: Batman can go without Robin.

Q. Why did the lady go outdoors with her purse open?
A. Because she expected some change in the weather.

Q. How do you attract a vegetarian?
A. Make a noise like a wounded vegetable.

Q. Which is worth more...an old ten dollar bill or a new one?
A. An old ten dollar bill is always worth more than a new ONE.

Q. What did the salt say to the pepper?
A. Season's Greetings.

Q. What flower is in between your nose and your chin?
A. Two lips!

Q. What's brown and sticky??
A. A stick.

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BIBLE TRIVIA

AN UNKNOWN BEAST

Job goes to great length to describe the 'leviathan'. In fact, 34 verses in chapter 41. Was this a whale, a crocodile, or something mythical? Most likely, it was a crocodile, although fire was said to spurt from its mouth.

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

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Young Christians give sacrificially to provide Bibles

By Bill Dolack
Special to ASSIST News Service

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (ANS) -- The combined population of Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique is 39.5 million. Of these, 20.8 million are believers, and of these, 12.2 million are literate. The sad reality is that during the last calendar year, only 172,135 Bibles were delivered to Bible societies, Bible houses, and shops in these countries for sale to churches. Only a small portion of this number was bought by churches on outreach, denominations, or mission agencies and given to poor Christians.

The fact is, millions remain without the Word of God.

Yet, God has raised up partners who make personal sacrifices to provide Bibles to needy African believers. Anthony, 12, and Veronica, 10, brother and sister from South Africa, decided they had to help after hearing about the shortage of Bibles among African Christians. They wrote to Bibles for Believers, a partner ministry of Hope Builders International, which is laboring to fill this need:

"My sister (10 yrs) and I (12 yrs) attended Bibles for Believers day at Church last Sunday. We felt very sorry for the people showed on the screen that have not been able to read a Bible. We decided to give them a Bible from us.

"My sister and I each receive R150 (about $19) pocket money each month. We give R15 to the church and then we have R135 to spend on ourselves. This month we are giving R100 each from our pocket money to you so that two people will be able to receive a Bible.

"Please take the money and give two people the Bibles. We are praying for you and your team."

This request was fulfilled when 11-year-old Hannes, the son of one of the team members, recently presented two Tonga and three English Bibles to grateful young members of the Magoye Church near Mazabuka in Zambia.

The gifts were joyfully received, and during the outreach five churches received a total of 360 Bibles. Many of the church members in the district have been displaced by the recent floods, so team members also distributed corn meal, blankets, and clothing generously donated by various churches.

With so much disruption in the lives of local Christians, evangelism and church planting were more difficult than on normal outreaches. Despite this, several people came to Christ.

Today, fellow believers in Zambia have Bibles because of the sacrificial giving of partners around the world, like Anthony and Veronica.

And now, as Bibles for Believers outreach teams plan to visit Nampula (Mozambique) and Copperbelt (Zambia) in the next few weeks, please keep them in prayer, that their visit would result in a fruitful harvest for the Kingdom of God.

To learn more about Bibles for Believers, visit Hope Builders International at www.hope-builders.org

Source: (ANS) www.assistnews.net

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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ___

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WAXING LYRICAL

An introduction to the weird world of David Tait! You may like him (me – this is confusing!) or you may not, but he (I!) is what he is. (I am!) Written around nine years ago as an introduction to the book 'Eagles Fly High'. Am not the same person now, I trust. Hope I have grown up more in Him, not just grown older in myself!

'TIS ME'

’Tis me, David John is the name,
Born for business to be my game.
For 30 odd years, I did give it a go,
Often successful, other times low.

Ten years ago now, it collapsed all around,
Misery in my life, did plentifully abound.
So I gave my heart to the Lord, you see,
For by now, I had come to the end of me.

In the time since then,
My God I have sought and fought,
In these years of ten,
He has of me, taught and caught!

He restored me in the business world.
At the same time, my desires He curled.
Now he has me writing this book,
I trust you find it worth the look.

David John is the one I would like to be,
A ‘King David’ with a heart after his God,
If only the Lord would say the same of me,
A real sinner, but still worthy of his nod.

The Apostle John too, has a special place,
In the shadow of Jesus, he did run his race.
Given revelation of our heavenly destiny,
Proved his love for Jesus was a reality.

(Continued next week.)

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A DAVID MUSING

THE BUILDING

Look, look, look,
It's all it took,
Not by the book,
Nor how to cook.

Look at one,
Yes, its done!
Too much mon,
It's no fun.

But this week?
More to seek.
Find no leak,
Must be meek.

Offer Tuesday,
Answer Friday.
Delayed Monday!
Relaxed today.

More delay,
Here stay.
Only pray.
One day!

Met landlord,
Seeming accord.
All aboard?
Monday Lord!

(To be concluded next week?!)

For the past 10 days I have had my friend Asher Peri, who runs our Indian ministry, staying with me initially, then us, once Kathy returned from her sojourn to Scotland. It is always good to spend time with Asher as we have very similar hearts and understanding of what God is wanting to do today.

We also helped him find his muscles again, as he spent a lot of time packing clothes to send to Africa as well as helping empty clothing bins.

We do not realise how heavy clothes are! The few on our body don't seem to weigh too much, but in bulk, they are really heavy. Three average items go to make up a kilogram. 70,000 items, weighing 24 tonnes, to fill a 40' container. Praise the Lord for forklifts! Building the pyramids of Egypt by hand is not something I would want to repeat today with either stones or clothing!

Thank you Asher mate, for all your help!

Until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: DEFIANT

TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION': 19) B - Hammer (Jer. 50:23)

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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
7 Bull Street
Ahuriri
Napier
New Zealand

Phone: (06) 835 0567 International (+64) 6 835 0567

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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