HEARING FROM GOD

There are numbers of ways in which we can hear from God. Over the next weeks we will explore some of the ways that God communicates with us. We must be careful however, not to put Him into a box, to limit Him to our human understanding. For He is God and can communicate with us as He chooses!

DREAMS AND VISIONS

There are many examples throughout the Bible of people having had dreams or visions, sourced of God. One of the earliest examples was the young, 17 year old Joseph, who lacked the maturity not to tell his family the dreams God gave him!

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” (Genesis 37:5-7)

And a little while later...

9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” (Genesis 37:9)

The family's reaction was not good!

10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. (Genesis 37:10-11)

While this later came to pass, we do need to show wisdom in what we share with others!

Numbers of the prophets had recorded dreams including Daniel.

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. (Daniel 7:1)

Much of our prophetic understanding of end time events comes from the visions God gave to Daniel.

Moving on into the New Testament, God used dreams to tell Joseph it was right to marry a pregnant Mary and to take the baby Jesus down to Egypt for His safety.

19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit........ 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” (Matthew 1:19-20, 2:13)

Peter had the fantastic vision that enabled him - and me - to eat pork!

11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” (Acts 10:11-12)

And, of course, we have the well known, last day, 'age identifier' of Acts!

17 ”‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. (Acts 2:17)

I personally remember the night where the Lord gave me 4 separate dreams relating to my life, the first an encouragement while the latter 3 dealt with areas of change needed.

God gives dreams to non believers also. Both Joseph and Daniel interpreted the dreams of the Pharoah and King Belshazzar respectively.

Interestingly, one of the ways Muslims come to Jesus is after they have had a vision of Him. For example, Khalil (pictured) from Egypt.

A radical Egyptian terrorist changed from a murderous “Saul” to a forgiving “Paul” after Jesus Christ visited him in a soul-penetrating dream. This hater of both Christians and Jews set out to discredit the Bible, but instead, he was transformed when Jesus appeared to him and changed his heart. (http://www.truthnet.org/dreamsandvisions/)

Yes, God does communicate with us through dreams and visions.

But most of the time He talks to me through the Bible.

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FROM THE WORD

Joseph’s Dreams

"Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind." (Genesis 37:1-11)

The Interpretation of the Dream

"“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’ “Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. “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. ”‘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.’ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”" (Daniel 7:15-28)

Peter’s Vision

"About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests." (Acts 10:9-23)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

HEAVENLY TRUTHS GOD HAS SHOWN ME

739. - 809. God has shown me that...

... to go down is to go up.

... He can do it better than me.

... to strive is to ensure failure.

... to rest in Him brings success.

... it is better to give in to Him the first time.

... I need to be broken before being restored.

... repentance benefits me even more than the one I have wronged.

... the nearer I get to Him, the further away I find I really am.

... fear of the Lord is positive, not negative.

... the more I fear Him, the more He loves me.

... the more I fear Him, the more I am prepared to change my life.

... the fear and love of Him are intertwined.

... as pride comes before a fall, so repentance precedes restoration.

... there is nothing good in me until I am touched by His healing hand.

... I can't be found until I admit I'm lost.

... to be a servant is indeed the highest calling.

... He is to be obeyed, even when I don't understand why.

... He lives outside of time, but I don't.

... love works wonders.

... He desires me to change: not me to try and change Him.

... to give in to Him is to grow up in Him.

... life is born out of death.

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CRANWELL'S CARTOON

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: A REVELATION OF... THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF GOD

Where and what is God's kingdom?

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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." ***

244. TOP 10 WAYS TO LOSE YOUR JOB IN YOUTH MINISTRY
If you're going to lose your job . . . lose it in one of the top 10 ways!

10. Play Peanut Butter Chubby Bunnies to see if kids really do choke.
9. Leave your Pastor's kid at an orphanage in Mexico on your annual mission trip.
8. Replace the grape juice with actual wine during communion (this would only really affect Baptists)
7. Teach girls how to smoke cigars and gamble their babysitting money in a game of poker at the girls junior high Bible Study (teaching them to tithe their winnings of course!)
6. Cut up the church's choir robes to make flags for a capture the flag game.
5. Give your Sr. Pastor a free subscription to the Victoria Secret Catalogue, sent to the church address!
4. Start a food fight at the annual church spaghetti feed!
3. Start a food fight during communion!
2. Finance the down payment of your new Mustang convertible through your youth petty cash fund.
1. Bring Dennis Rodman to speak at your True Love Waits rally.

243. SEND THE BILL
A man was brought to Mercy Hospital and taken in for coronary surgery. The operation went well and, as the groggy man regained consciousness, he was reassured by a Sister of Mercy, who was waiting by his bed. "Mr. Smith, you're going to be just fine," said the nun, gently patting his hand. "We do need to know, however, how you intend to pay for your stay here. Are you covered by insurance?" "No, I'm not," the man whispered hoarsely. "Can you pay in cash?" persisted the nun. "I'm afraid I cannot, Sister." "Well, do you have any close relatives?" the nun essayed. "Just my sister in New Mexico," he volunteered. "But she's a humble spinster nun." "Oh, I must correct you, Mr. Smith. Nuns are not 'spinsters.' They are married to God." "Wonderful," said Smith. "In that case, please send the bill to my brother-in-law!!"

242. FROM DUST
A little boy came home from Sunday School and went into his room to change clothes.
When he emerged, he asked his mother, "Is it true that we came from dust?" His mother replied, "Yes, dear. God made us from dust."

The kid ran back into his room and came out all excited. "Mom, I just looked under my bed, and there's somebody either coming or going!"

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: The strongest muscle in our body is found in our leg, arm, hand or head?

ANSWER: In the Head! Yes, the strongest, and also most troublesome, muscle in the body is the tongue! (James 3:1-12) (Words fail me!)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What do selenologists study? Butterflies, traffic density, the moon, vibrations or indigenous cultures?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

169. BUSY BUGS
A full eighty percent of the world's food crops are pollinated by insects. (Which they then proceed to feast upon!)

170. BUILT IN PERAMBULATOR
Some female cockroaches incubate their eggs in their bodies until they are ready to hatch. These babies will stay with their mothers for a day or two after they are born. (An egg-ceptionally egg-citing egg-sperience!)

171. LOW FAT SPUDS
One has to eat 11 pounds of potatoes to put on 1 pound of weight — a potato has no more calories than an apple. (Chips must be health food then! Sadly - no!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

SPAWNING

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BIBLE QUESTION - WHERE IS THE QUOTATION FROM?

15) Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

A - Luke 1:18
B - Matthew 2:2
C - Jonah 3:8
D - Matthew 3:17

Source: www.biblequizzes.com

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

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

GOD SAID

!!!!!!! If you never felt pain, then how would you know that I'm a Healer?

!!!!!! If you never went through difficulties, how would you know that I'm a Deliverer?

!!!!! If you never had a trial, how could you call yourself an overcomer?

!!!! If you never felt sadness, how would you know that I'm a Comforter?

!!! If you never made a mistake, how would you know that I'm forgiving?

!! If you knew it all, how would you know that I will answer your questions?

! If you never were in trouble, how would you know that I will come to your rescue?

100'S MORE TO BE FOUND AT...

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116. DOBBED IN
When conductor Leonard Bernstein took the New York Philharmonic on tour, he found this
note under his hotel room door one night: "I think you should know that the fellow in your
band who plays the instrument that pulls in and out only bothered playing during the odd moments you were looking straight at him."

117. TOUCHE!
When I managed a chemical plant, I instituted a rule that there would be no playing games on our computers. So I wouldn't be a hypocrite, I had an information technologist get rid of the games on my laptop. Therefore I was surprised to find my grandson playing solitaire on it one weekend. I asked if he had loaded the game...

"No," he answered, "it was already there. It was just hidden - taken off the main menu."

On Monday I chided our information technologist for not getting rid of the game.

"But," he explained, "I thought I just had to keep it away from *you* - not from a nine-year-old!"

118. NEW VIRUS
Our local newspaper ran several stories about a study that tied male obesity to a virus.

One evening my brother came home exhausted from a long day at work.

"Did you read the paper?" he asked.

"I'm not going in to work tomorrow. I'm calling in fat."

119. MOTHBALLS
A hillbilly's old wife sent him to town to get something to rid the place of moths that had troubled them. The druggist sold him a box of mothballs.

Months later, the hill man came into the drugstore, complaining that "them mothballs wouldn't work nohow, noway. Marthy and me we aimed carefully, too. But we ain't hit a single moth! Maybe you got a bigger size, like one of them pool table balls."

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BIBLE TRIVIA (Manners and Customs - Clothing and Accessories)

THE HAIR CLIPPED FROM GOATS.....

was woven into coarse cloth to make the black tents in which the nomads lived. Tent size depended upon the owner's wealth, but even the simplest tent was divided by curtains into a front room for entertaining and another room for cooking and housing the children.

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

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Explosive Growth of Christianity is Changing China

Teresa Neumann (September 15, 2010)

"There is no small irony in the party's new-found enthusiasm for supporting the development of religion in China, given Communism's commitment to atheism."

Founder's Note: We can barely explain how much growth in eastern countries there is for Christ. Who knew? My dad was born in China to non-Chinese missionary parents. My parents adopted a Chinese boy. He became a great surgeon in the United States. My niece goes to China on business. Someday my wife and I will visit too.–Steve and Derene Shultz

(China) – The BBC reports that communist rulers in China have radically altered their views about religion and as a result, Christianity is growing in China as never before. The caveat is that the closely limited new freedoms are only granted to those Christians willing to worship in government-sanctioned churches.

The director general of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, Wang Zuo An, was quoted as saying there are now at least 20 million Christians in China worshipping in the state-sanctioned church.

"Such growth is unprecedented in the history of Christianity in China. Christianity is enjoying its best period of growth in China," he said, adding that, "On the question of whether there is God, the Chinese Communist Party believes there is no God in the world."

Rev. John Zhang, a Catholic priest, said: "Some officials say, 'You have done for Chinese society what we cannot do. Without any political involvement, the Church is doing a good job, and we from government appreciate it.'"

The report noted that house – or underground – churches remain a "significant part of the Chinese Christian landscape," but "both the Catholic and Protestant churches sanctioned by the state are now also seeing levels of growth that few predicted in the 1980s."

Said one young Chinese Christian student, "I think this nation will change, and I think God is doing great things in China."

Source: Christopher Landau – BBC

via OpenHeaven.com

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DAVID'S DOWNLOAD

A REVELATION OF……. THE 3 PRIESTHOODS

As we go through this study, my desire is that we will all grasp a little of the majesty and wonder of the plan of God to reconcile you and me back to Himself, after the fall of Adam and Eve to the wiles of satan through the serpent, in the garden of Eden.

As God is pure and we are not, He can only be approached through a mediator, a priest.

This study is about the establishment and development of the priesthood from the earliest of times until today.

I trust that we will all grasp the essence and magnificence of God’s perfect plan for each one who believes back into relationship with Him.

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WAXING LYRICAL

When we run out of ideas we have a tendency to make something up! Not a good idea!

THE QUANDRY!

Have no idea on what to write,
Must be careful not to skite,
But there's nothing to skite about!
Could make something up - no doubt!

Rather, I'm not that very brave,
So just will leave an empty page.
For the Lord would know of my little game,
On Judgement Day, I must take the blame!

Better to be silent now, than boasting,
In this I'll avoid a needless roasting!
So reading this huffing and puffing,
You've ended up learning nothing!

Sorry about that, my patient friend,
But that is the way, this must end!

David Tait............16 October 2005

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A DAVID MUSING

Nature has continued to exert its hold on New Zealand over the past week. We have now moved from earthquakes to storms, with extreme snowfalls in southern areas and rain and strong winds over much of the rest of the country.

The area of Hawkes Bay in which we live, has been about the least affected, for which we are very grateful.

The events of the past few weeks however, have served to reinforce that, no matter what great things mankind may achieve, they pale in comparison to the power of nature.

The 'source of the force' is, of course, hotly debated in the evolution v creationism arguments.

From my perspective however, this demonstration reinforces how powerful my God is and how small I am. May we never forget that, one day, all will have to appear before the judgment seat. I would far to take the opportunity to put things right with my God now, rather than suffer the consequences then. How about you?

Until next week.......

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: WINGSPAN

TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' ANSWER: 15) B - Matthew 2:2

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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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