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: 416 Published: 12 Oct 2009
MUSINGS ON THE KINGDOM - PAST, FUTURE AND PRESENT
KINGDOM FUTUREMan will undoubtedly continue to hypothesize about the future kingdom of God, until it arrives. Of course, there are as many views as there are Christians!
Basically however, there are 2 alternatives. One, that the kingdom will only ever be spiritual, and the other, that a physical kingdom will, some day in the future, come into being, either on earth or as a new creation. It is not my purpose to get into detail here.
Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, looks forward to a day when Jesus will rule and reign with His faithful saints.
In the Old:
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Daniel 2:44)
And in the New:
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.†(Revelation 11:15)
Overwhelmingly, the people of Old Testament times looked forward to a future, perfect physical kingdom, and this too was assumed and confirmed, in the New.
Once we leave the first chapters of Revelation, dealing with the state of the churches, the remaining section that talks in clear, unambiguous, nearly all non-symbolic, terms to me, is the start of chapter 20, describing the 1000 year reign.
The Thousand Years
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:1-6)
Most Christians do believe in the existence of a future physical kingdom.
We therefore have a past physical kingdom, as described in the Old Testament, and a generally accepted future physical kingdom, promised in the New.
Next week, we will start considering the present kingdom, if indeed there is one!
(Continued next week)
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FROM THE WORD
"“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)"“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. â€â€˜But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’" (Daniel 7:23-7)
"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.†He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (Revelation 19:11-16)
"The Thousand Years
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:1-6)
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
A MATTER OF TIME333. Work shared is time saved.
334. The greatest time saver in the world is the 'Off' button on the TV set.
335. Modern appliances save us time so that we may work the longer hours required to afford them!
336. Labour saving devices are amazing. The more labour we save, the busier we get!
337. Isn't it time we took control of time?
338. Mankind is more productive than at any previous time in history, yet somehow, we have even less time than ever to enjoy it!
339. Unfortunately, it takes time to gain the experience to save time. This is a compelling reason to learn more from the experience of others.
340. True love is magnified by the passage of time.
405. The world's greatest motivator has always been, and remains, the 'last minute.'!
406. The curse of time came into being as the result of the sin of Adam. It remains with us today.
407. Man has conquered space but never, the curse of time.
431. We may plan for the future, but can only live in the present.
432. It is amazing how quickly our tomorrows become yesterdays.
433. The one event we can't control in our lives, is the moment the first becomes the last!
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
THE COMING OF THE LORD
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those
who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have
no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and
so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have
fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word,
we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till
the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who
have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down
from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in
Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive
and are left will be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with
the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with
these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHURCH: 4. CHARACTERISTICS OF KINGDOM PEOPLEToday we take a look at power in the Spirit and ministry funding.
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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." ***
107. KID WISDOM
A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's artwork. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, "I am drawing God."
The teacher paused and said, "but no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing the girl replied, "They will in a minute."
106. SCIENCE V GOD!
A group of scientists decided that mankind had advanced far enough that they no longer needed God. So they drew straws, and the loser went to find God. When he found Him, he dithered a bit, made some small talk about the weather, and finally came out with it.
"OK, look God," he said, "We've mastered space exploration, we can cure any disease, we can talk instantaneously with people around the world, we can clone human beings; basically, we don't need you any more."
God listened patiently. Finally He spoke.
"Tell you what," He said. "We'll settle this with a man-making contest. Each of us will make a man, and the first one to finish wins."
"Sure," said the man, who headed off to consult with his colleagues.
"Wait a minute," called God.
The man turned.
"We're going to do this the real way; the way I did it in the beginning."
"No problem," responds the man, bending down to grab a handful of clay.
"No, no, no," says God. "You make your own dirt."
105. BURNING FAITH
Nearing the parish church during his daily walk, a young man saw that some shubbery was on fire. He banged on the rectory door and told the woman who opened it to call the fire department. She ran to the phone, and he heard her place the call. She identified herself, gave the location, and explained the situation.
"You mean to tell me," said the emergency dispatcher, "that there's a burning bush on the church lawn, and you want to put it out?"
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: Who drew the original Mickey Mouse in his firstshort cartoon?
ANSWER: Not Walt Disney, as is commonly believed. All of the sketching
and animation was done by Ub Iwerks, Disney's chief animator in the
early days of Disney Studios. Walt Disney had largely abandoned
drawing animated characters to concentrate on the commercial side of
business. However Walt did come up with the idea for Mickey and
established his personality. He also supplied the voice. (And banked the
money!)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What do cats, camels, and giraffes have in
common?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS319. AN EXPENSIVE DRIP
A dripping hot water faucet wastes an average of 40 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month. This is the equivalent of running a colour television 8 hours a day for about 31 days. (Avoid the violence though!)
320. MILES HIGH
A cumulonimbus cloud can be gigantic! Six miles (10km) across and eleven miles (17.5 km) high, which is twice as high as Mount Everest! (Not just your average fluffy cloud!)
321. SEXY ORCHIDS
The orchid is named after the male genitalia. Its botanical family name, Orchidaceae, means ‘testicles’ in Greek and likely derives from an early notion that the orchid possessed aphrodisiac qualities. (Watch out for a man bearing orchids.)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
REDHEAD
Answer at the end of A David Musing
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BIBLE QUESTION - PROVERBS
4) Like a gold ring in a pig's snout:A - is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
B - is a wicked man in a king's court.
C - is a wealthy man in the company of fools.
D - is a righteous man among sinners.
Source: www.biblequizzes.com
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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""!!!!!!! Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your door forever.
!!!!!! If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.
!!!!! God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?
!!!! Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
!!! Peace starts with a smile.
!! I don't know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?
! A lot of church members who are singing 'Standing on the Promises' are just sitting on the premises.
100'S MORE TO BE FOUND AT...
'TIL DEATH DO US PART!
73. ATTRACTION TO LIGHT!In the back woods of Arkansas, Mr. Stewart's wife went into labor in the middle of the night, and the doctor was called out to assist in the delivery.
To keep the nervous father-to-be busy, the doctor handed him a lantern and said, "Here, you hold this high so I can see what I'm doing." Soon, a wee baby boy was brought into the world. "Whoa there Scotty!" said the doctor. "Don't be in a rush to put the lantern down...I think there's yet another wee one to come."
Sure enough, within minutes he had delivered another little baby.
"No, no, don't be in a great hurry to be putting down that lantern, young man...It seems there's yet another one besides!" cried the doctor.
The new father scratched his head in bewilderment, and asked the doctor. "Do ye think it's the light that's attractin' them?"
74. LAST REQUESTS?
Mary Clancy goes up to Father O'Grady after his Sunday morning service, and she's in tears. He says, "So what's bothering you, dear?"
She says, "Oh, Father, I've got terrible news. My husband passed away last night."
The priest says, "Oh, Mary, that's terrible. Tell me, Mary, did he have any last requests?"
She says, "That he did, Father..."
The priest says, "What did he ask, Mary?"
She says, "He said, 'Please, Mary, put down that gun..."
75. DON'T WORRY MOM
My six-year-old grandson called his mother from his friend Charlie's house and confessed he had broken a lamp when he threw a football in their living room.
"But, Mom," he said, brightening, "you don't have to worry about buying another one. Charlie's mom said it was irreplaceable."
More marriage and family humour here.......
BIBLE TRIVIA (Relationship Between the Shepherd and the Sheep)
THE EASTERN SHEPHERD HAS A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SHEEP.This gives the figure of the Lord as the shepherd of His sheep greater meaning. Not only does the shepherd normally know his sheep by name, he doesn't drive them, but leads them instead.
It doesn't mean he is always in front of them, as he may walk by their side or sometimes follow behind.
Adapted from: '1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About The Bible' MacGregor & Prys
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Spiritual Awakening: The Only Thing That Will Save Us
Tuesday, 06 October 2009 03:15 PM EDT J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My BonesWe can learn an important lesson from the East African Revival, which transformed a region 80 years ago.
The people of Uganda call it Balokole. In the Luganda language it means "the saved ones," but the word became synonymous with the East African Revival—one of the most significant Christian movements in modern history.
This revival had humble beginnings in September 1929, just before America's Great Depression. Historians trace it to a prayer meeting on Namirembe Hill in Kampala, Uganda, where a missionary to Rwanda, Joe Church, prayed and read the Bible for two days with his friend Simeoni Nsibambi. They felt God had showed them that the African church was powerless because of a lack of personal holiness.
"We must have a spiritual awakening, or we die. Political engineering, economic policies, government bailouts and stimulus packages will not save us."
It is impossible to explain exactly what happened after this prayer meeting or how the resulting spiritual fervor spread. When God comes, unusual things happen. Within weeks after the Rev. Church returned to Gahini, Rwanda, Christians gathered to pray and confess their sins openly. A heavy spirit of conviction fell on the people. Whenever they repented for their sins and failures they would weep uncontrollably, ask others to forgive them and pledge to make restitution.
The weeping spread to farmlands and open fields. Unbelievers who visited these gatherings were converted after they witnessed the sincerity of the Christians. Repentance went deep. Husbands publicly apologized for adultery and farmers repented for stealing cows from each other. Eventually, as the revival spread from Rwanda to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi, even the centuries-old tradition of polygamy (which was still common among professing Christians) was unraveled in some areas.
Balokole changed African Christianity forever. In a 1986 article for Christian History, Michael Harper writes of the revival: "It's effects have been more lasting than almost any other revival in history, so that today there is hardly a single Protestant leader in East Africa who has not been touched by it in some way."
I spent the past two weeks ministering in Uganda and Kenya, and everywhere I went I met people who still talk about the East African Revival—80 years after it began. It breathed resurrection power into dead, traditional churches and triggered aggressive church-planting movements that affected a variety of denominations.
Whether sermons were delivered from pulpits or under trees, six important themes were emphasized in those days: 1) the blood of Jesus; 2) the name of Jesus; 3) the cross of Jesus; 4) the Word of God; 5) the testimony of the saints; and 6) the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Leaders also stressed the message of 1 John 6-7: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His son cleanses us from all sin (NASB)." As was true in other spiritual awakenings in history (such as the Asbury Revival in Kentucky in 1970), people stood in front of each other and admitted their sins, no matter how embarrassing. The honesty cut deep into human pride and dealt a fatal blow against entrenched sin and religious hypocrisy.
After hearing more details about the East African Revival while I was in Uganda last week, I was convinced that this type of movement is the only thing that will pull the United States out of its current despair. We must have a spiritual awakening, or we die. Political engineering, economic policies, government bailouts and stimulus packages will not save us. No politician, Democrat or Republican, will reverse our course toward destruction.
Our only hope is that a backslidden American church—a church that is as smug, blind and lukewarm as the Laodiceans-—will "be zealous and repent" (see Rev. 3:19).
What encourages me is that God, not man, initiated all the spiritual awakenings of the past—including the First Great Awakening, which gave our country its historic Christian identity. Yes, we play our feeble part by praying, and we must storm heaven. Yes, awakenings come in response to our weak attempts to repent, and we must passionately seek a fresh baptism of holiness.
But we cannot manufacture revivals. Pentecostal fire comes from heaven alone. It is a sovereign blessing from a God who loves us and desires to rescue us from ourselves. We charismatics have generated a lot of our own sound and fury in the past 30 years, but much of what we have created is a shameful substitute for revival. We must become desperate for the real thing.
Today our movement is mired in the shallow waters of self-centered, carnal Christianity. May God mercifully send us our own version of Balokole. May gut-wrenching repentance and public confession of sin interrupt our trendy worship services. May this holy fire spread until the people of the United States see genuine Christians living the message we preach.
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.
via OpenHeaven.com
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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.
He hasn't promised a fine bed of roses,
Nor simple solutions, to all life poses.
For roses were created with thorns you see,
Representing life problems, for you and me.
Yet when we see the rose in triumphant bloom,
Its shining beauty overwhelming the gloom,
The thorns' pricks and scratches are all worthwhile,
Put aside, forgotten, when with pleasure we smile.
For there cannot be a rose, without the thorns,
So with trial and testing, we do lock horns.
In order to become the rose God wants us to be,
We must overcome the thorns of life, you see.
Then He will pick us, now His richest bloom,
Taking pride of place in His heavenly room.
Eternal blooms, never ever to fade,
For by His hand, we have been made.
When locking horns with our latest thorn,
Remember the rose - no, it does not mourn.
From glory to glory, we are being made,
The price of the Cross, now fully paid.
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A DAVID MUSING
Isn't it funny how life works out!Just before writing this I have been out collecting keys to the new premises for our Hasting's shop.
Two years ago, we approached the landlords wanting to rent one of two adjoining shops. They turned us down. We finally found an alternative, which has been okay but not as good.
Recently, looking again at alternatives, we found that the initial premises were still empty! So we approached the landlords again. This time, we have got both shops for the for just slightly more than the price of one, as rents have come down and the building had remained empty!
What was a disappointment 2 years ago turns out to become a blessing now!
So often that is the way of God. We suffer disappointment and trials, in order for Him to work in us before fulfilling His promises for us, in His timing. And better than we would have imagined!
Thank you Lord.
Photo of Shop. Will show finished version in a few weeks.
Until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: ADHERED
TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' ANSWER: 4) A - is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. (Proverbs 11:22)
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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
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!
For comments upon and contributions to this service, please contact
david@wwj.org.nz