SERMON ON THE MOUNT - THE KINGDOM WAY

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

EXPOSITION
There are two meanings accorded to this beatitude.

Firstly, we can look from a melancholy, physical viewpoint. A spiritual blessing will be given to those, who because of their search for righteousness suffer physical deprivation.

Secondly, from a spiritual perspective. Those with a hunger for knowing God more and becoming like Jesus, through living a righteous life, will be spiritually blessed.

TESTIMONY
A natural characteristic of my nature is to give my all to what I do.

In the physical, whether it is at work or in sport, I do my best to do my best. I remember at school (some time ago now!) competing in the annual, compulsory, cross country running race, being in third place (out of a hundred or two) with just two boys, twins actually, from the year ahead of me out in front. John, a tremendous runner, was well ahead, and his brother Robert, 50 metres in front of me. I resigned myself to third place. When Robert got to the finishing line he collapsed, completely exhausted. I arrived a few seconds later, still with some energy left. I could have beaten Robert, had I not been wrongly convinced in my own mind that he was going to beat me. I learned a lesson that day, to give my best, even when things seem impossible.

When I accepted Jesus as a 42 year old, it too, had to be all or nothing. In my early life I had been a ‘churchian’, before becoming disillusioned and moving out into the world for 15 years or so. Coming back into the church, this time as a genuine believer, I read my Bible, listened to sermons, attended teaching sessions and courses absorbing what I learned to gradually change my life. A process of change that still continues today and will, I trust, into the future.

But over the years, I have discovered that hungering for righteousness, of seeking to become like Jesus, is more than attending church and being involved in its activities. Indeed, discovered that righteousness is a state of ‘being’ rather than one of ‘doing’. This has been a profound, life changing, progressive revelation to me.

Some readers think I ‘slag’ the traditional church system. This is neither my heart, nor my intention at all. My desire, with all my weaknesses and failings, is simply to become more like Jesus personally and to see ‘the church’, however you define it, move in a similar direction. To achieve this it is necessary to change our focus away from the ‘institution’ of the church to the ‘person’ of Jesus.

The church has not made one single person righteous. It is only Jesus, through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, who can turn around our lives to live as the Father desires. The church is not to be an end in itself, but rather the means to an end. The physicality of property, position and programmes has taken precedence over the biblically ordained spiritual role of leading people to Christ and building believers into disciples, encouraging hunger for, and developing, righteousness in one's life.

Attending meetings and doing good works can lead to a form of righteousness or godliness, but as we see today, it is one without power. I will leave you with a warning from the Bible. Please don’t blame me! These are not my words!

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

May we, the church, not become as these.

(To be continued next week.)

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FROM THE WORD

Godlessness in the Last Days

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone." (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Invitation to the Thirsty

"“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.” Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.”" (Isaiah 55:1-13)

"And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." (Luke 1:46-55)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

TO BE or TO DO

701. Man expects 'to do' in order 'to be', but God requires us 'to be' in order 'to do'.

702. In God's dictionary, 'doing' follows 'being'.

703. 'To do' is simply living out our 'to be'.

704. If 'to do' does not follow out of our 'to be', then our 'to be' is 'not to be'!

705. 'To be' a witness is 'to do' God's will.

706. We are first called 'to be', then 'to do'.

707. Too often we try 'to do' when God is simply calling us 'to be'.

708. 'To do' good, it is best 'to be' good!

709. To best know what 'to do', we must first learn how 'to be'.

710. If 'what to do' is your question, look to 'what to be' to find your answer.

711. When 'to be or not to be' is the question, 'to be and to do' is the answer.

712. True 'being' results in 'doing'.

713. 'Being' without 'doing' is like a motor without a car. Makes plenty of noise but takes you nowhere!

714. 'To be' is the salt, 'to do' the light. We are called to be both.

1220. Our walk with Jesus is to start off with applying the 'don'ts' of the Law and to end up doing the 'do's' of His will.

1221. The sign of maturity in Jesus is when we live not only the 'dont's of the Law' but live the 'do's of righteousness, submission and obedience to God's will' in our lives.

1222. The 'don'ts of the Law' form firm foundations, but walls and roofs of a godly house are built of submission to God's will.

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CRANWELL'S CARTOON

JOHN THE BAPTIST PREPARES THE WAY

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:1-12)









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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

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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." ***


26. HYMNS FOR THE AGEING
--Precious Lord, Take My Hand (And Help Me Stand Up)

--It Is Well With My Soul (But My Back Hurts)

--Nobody Knows The Trouble I Have Seeing

--Amazing Grace (I’ve Got This Far)

--Just A Slower Walk With Thee

--Count Your Many Birthdays, Name Them One By One

--Go Tell It On The Mountain ( And Speak Up)

--Give Me That Old Timers Religion

--Blessed Insurance

--Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah (I’ve Forgotten Where I Parked)

25. THE LORD'S ARMY
A friend was walking out of church in front of me, where he waited to shake hands with the pastor. The pastor grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside. "You need to join the Army of the Lord," said the pastor.

"I already belong," said my friend.

"Well how come we don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?"

My friend whispered back confidentially, "I’m in the Secret Service."

24. STILL MORE CHURCH BULLETIN BLOOPERS
*** The Pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."

*** A songfest was hell at the Methodist Church on Wednesday.

*** Next Sunday Mrs Vinson will be the soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It’s a Terrible Experience."

*** Due to the Rector’s illness, Wednesday’s healing service will be cancelled until further notice.

*** Stewardship Offertory: "Jesus Paid It All."

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Why do fawns have spots?

ANSWER: Fawns are wobbly-legged and vulnerable to predators. Their
spots help them out a bit by making them less visible. Because they often
hunt in dim light, predators have specialised eyes that are sensitive to
motion, but poor at distinguishing colours, details, and shapes. So a
spotted fawn sitting quietly in the leaves is virtually invisible to the eyes of
potential attackers. Fortunately, fawns know instinctively to stay still when
danger lurks nearby. Fawns are further protected by their almost
complete lack of odour as during the first two weeks of their lives, they're
scentless. When they grow up, they no longer need their spots. As adults,
they instead rely upon their speed and acute senses to avoid attack.
(Why do teenagers have spots?)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the fastest time someone has climbed
102 flights of stairs?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

410. Unrhymed Verse
A tanka is a Japanese verse form of 31 syllables in five unrhymed lines, with the first and third having five syllables each, the others seven. (More difficult than rhyming?)

411. Just a Few!
A quart-size pail or bucket holds 8 million grains of fine sand. (How many grains on a beach?)

412. On the other Hand
A ten-gallon hat holds less than a gallon of liquid. (Everything is exaggerated in Texas!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

GURGLES

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BIBLE QUESTION - HILLS AND MOUNTAINS

14) Who inherited Shechem in Mount Ephraim?

A - Merarites
B - Children of Aaron
C - Kohathites
D - Gershomites

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

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

!!!!!!! Don't put a question mark where God puts a full stop. (period)

!!!!!! Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.

!!!!! When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

!!!! Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.

!!! We don't change God's message - His message changes us.

!! The church is prayer-conditioned.

! WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.

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LIFE'S A LAUGH

144. GETTING FRIENDLY
One caller to our answering service gave me his name, number and message and then said, "You know my name. What's yours?"

"4136," I replied, since we were allowed only to give our operator numbers.

Sounding disappointed, he said, "May I call you by your first digit, or would that be too personal?"

145. PLAYING HOUSE
Two little children, a boy and a girl, walked hand-in-hand to a neighbor's house. The little girl stood on her tiptoes and just able to reach the doorbell. Then, an elderly lady greeted them at the front door.

"Good morning, children," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"We're playing house," the little girl answered. "This is my husband and I'm his wife. Can we come in?" Thoroughly enchanted by the scene, the elderly lady replied, "By all means, do come in."

Once inside, she offered the children lemonade and cookies, which they graciously accepted. When a second tall glass of lemonade was offered, the little girl politely declined. "No thank you," she said. "We have to go now. My husband just wet his pants."

146. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
On duty as a customer-service rep for a car-rental company, I took a call from a driver who needed a tow. He was stranded on a busy highway, but he didn't know the make of the car he was driving. I asked again for a more detailed description beyond "a nice blue four-door."

After a long pause, the driver replied, "My car is the one on fire."

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BIBLE TRIVIA

Leah and Rachel and their 2 maids...

... produced 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. Jacob was blessed as long as he was obedient to God. The history of Israel would go on through Old and New Testaments, including Jesus, up to today, from these early roots.

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

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Revival Spreads from Cell Phone City

CBN News

NOKIA, FINLAND - When people hear of the small town of Nokia, Finland, they're likely to think think one thing--cell phones.

Yes, Nokia is the birth place of the major cell phone giant, but in Finland's religious circles, cell phones take a back seat to more important happenings in the country.

It's being called the "Nokia revival." On any Sunday, people pack worship services all over Finland to worship and seek healing from God. The revival started more than 18 years ago after Pastor Markuu Koivisto experienced a miracle. Through much prayer he was cured of cancer and got a new calling-- to share his story and lead the people of Finland to Christ. His story inspired and energized the nation.

"People came from all over Finland because they experienced healing the experienced the presence of the Lord," Koivisto said. The revival was so successful he started his own church, Nokia Missio. The church now has locations in five of Finland's largest cities.

"We feel that God has called us to pray for people and our main thing is to ask people to receive Christ," he explained. Nokia Missio has helped more than 15,000 people to make that decision. That's a fairly large number considering the total population in Finland is only 5 million.

The church is also spreading beyond Finland's boarders and is behind Christian schools in Albania and India. A healing house was also opened in Israel for people with drug addictions.

Koivisto has plans to spread the their message even farther. "We have plans to go to Estonia," he said. "And then we have plans to go to sweden, and also to North America."

Source: CBNnews.com

© 2009 The Christian Broadcasting Network

Via OpenHeaven.com

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WAXING LYRICAL

It's funny how subjective time can be!

LIFE!

Life is short
When watching sport......

But life is so very eternally long,
When the preacher misses the gong.......

Yet, if you time them both on your watch,
The sermon will be shorter than the match!

Funny that!

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A DAVID MUSING

There's life in the old girl yet!

No, I am not talking about the wife! But rather, our old Isuzu truck! For, on Friday, Tony and I drove the old girl, fully loaded with 6 naked women (okay - mannequins really!) and a tonne or two of clothing for 300km to our new shop, which is opening soon in Masterton.

The long trip blew the cobwebs out of the diesel engine and it purred along like a contented pussycat. It was music to our ears. The long run really did it good.

So often, with Jesus too, we make lots of short trips. Spend a minute here and a minute there, reading His Word or in prayer. But the real benefits of a relationship, both with Jesus and others, come at a cost of time, of distance travelled together.

In the end, unsurprisingly, we get back what we are prepared to give!

Until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: SLUGGER

TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' ANSWER: C - Kohathites (Joshua 21:21)

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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
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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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