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: 756 Published: 25 Apr 2016
A REVELATION TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
THE TRUE ARMOUR OF GODWhat I have to share with you over the next few weeks will either change your life - or have you reject me as a weirdo, fanatic, or heretic! The choice is yours!
I grew up in a Baptist Church which, along with most other Traditional and Evangelical churches, placed little emphasis on the armour of God, other than perhaps to say to 'put on God's armour for protection'.
However, once I entered into the Pentecostal stream, the armour of God took on a whole new meaning, in line with the Pentecostal understanding of Ephesians 6:10-18.....
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
The armour referred to, has been understood as being a metaphor of the armour worn by the Roman conquerors of the Palestine region at the time the Epistle was written.
As per the descriptions given in the illustration below, the standard Pentecostal understanding is.....
THE BELT OF TRUTH (Eph. 6:14) Truth keeps us from giving in to the world's beliefs. Compare your beliefs and actions to the truth of the Word of God.
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (Eph. 6:14) Righteousness is being honest, good, humble, and fair to others. It means standing up for weaker people.
Feet prepared with THE GOSPEL OF PEACE (Eph. 6:15) The Gospel of Peace is being right with God and being contented in troubled times. Jesus said peacemakers were blessed.
(PS: Have you ever wondered why, if peacemakers were blessed, we should dress up in a soldiers armour?)
THE SHIELD OF FAITH (Eph. 6:16) Faith is being sure that God will keep His promises. Faith in God protects you when you are tempted to doubt.
THE HELMET OF SALVATION (Eph 6:17) Put on the helmet of salvation by believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again.
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (Eph 6:17) which is the Word of God. God's word is our offensive weapon. When we tell others what the Bible says, the Holy Spirit helps people see their bad thoughts and actions, and makes them want to be forgiven.
In my experience, this concept of wearing the armour of God is taken to another level by using it to aggressively resist the devil, as a soldier in battle would do to his enemies.
Thus in the Pentecostal tradition there is a great emphasis on aggressively resisting and attacking the devil through spiritual warfare.
I hear the short sentence from James 4:7, Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. taken out of context, used to justify exaggerated berating of the devil, which sadly, generally appears to have little success spiritually, other than perhaps giving satisfaction to the participant/s that the devil is defeated, temporarily at least.
But is he really?
I will leave you today with the full passage in James, of which the sentence above is but a part, to ponder upon until next week.....
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
(Continued next week.)
FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUSMay we hear what the Lord is saying to us.
The Widow’s Mite (Mark 12:41-4, Luke 21:1-4)
Donated to the Temple.
“I tell you the truth: this poor widow has put in more than all the rest together. All of them gave from their wealth what they had, but she gave from her poverty what she didn’t have. She put in all she had to live on.â€
Disciples Admire the Temple (Matthew 24:1-2, Mark 13:1-2, Luke 21:5-6)
“You see all these buildings? I tell you the truth: there won’t be one stone left upon another. Every last one will come crashing down!â€
The Four Fishermen Disciples Ask Jesus (Matthew 24:3-35, Mark 13:3-31, Luke 21:7-31)
About the signs of the end of the age.
“Make sure no one misleads you,†“Many will come claiming to be me, saying, ‘I’m the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people. You’ll hear about wars, and rumors about wars, but don’t be anxious. These things have to happen, but this isn’t the end. Nations will attack other nations, and kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places, 8but all these things are just the beginnings of birth pains.
“Then they will arrest you, they will persecute you, and they will kill you. All people will hate you because of me. At that time many believers will give up believing. They will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will come and deceive many people. The increasing evil will lead the love of many to grow cold, but those who hold out to the end will be saved. The good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed around the whole world so everyone will be able to hear it, and then the end will come. So when you see the ‘evil that defiles’ standing in the holy place that the prophet Daniel spoke about (those who read this please consider carefully), then the people living in Judea should run away to the mountains. Anyone who is on the housetop must not go down and fetch what’s in the house. Anyone who is out in the fields must not go back to get a coat. How awful it will be for those who are pregnant, and those who are nursing babies at that time! Pray that you don’t have to run away in winter, or on the Sabbath day. For at that time there will be terrible persecution—more terrible than anything that has happened from the beginning of the world up till now, and won’t ever happen again. Unless those days are cut short, nobody will be saved, but for the sake of the chosen those days will be cut short.
“So if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here’s the Messiah,’ or, ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs will appear, and false prophets too, and they will perform incredible signs and miracles in order to deceive the chosen, if that were possible. Notice that I’ve told you this before it even happens. So if they tell you, ‘Look, he’s out in the desert,’ don’t go looking there; or if they say, ‘Look, he’s secretly here,’ don’t believe it. For the coming of the Son of man will be like the lightning that flashes brightly from east to west. Vultures gather where the carcass is.’
“But right after those days of persecution the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and in brilliant glory. With a blast from a trumpet he will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from every place, from one end of heaven and earth to the other.
“Learn an illustration from the fig tree. When its shoots become tender and leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is coming. In the same way when you see all these things happening, you know that his coming is near, in fact it’s right at the door! I tell you the truth: this generation won’t pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words won’t pass away.
(Continued next week.)
You can download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
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THE WORDS OF JESUS are also now available on Amazon (Kindle) also!This, along with the "TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHURCH", are now available worldwide for electronic download on Amazon (Kindle) for $US0.99c . Unfortunately there has to be charge in order to list.
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'THE WORDS OF JESUS' REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR PDF DOWNLOAD
Join the many who have downloaded the 'The Words of Jesus'. I am sure you will be blessed by it, as I have been.One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.
You may be surprised by the different perspective this presentation gives you both in understanding of His life and ministry, and in achieving a closer relationship with Him.
Download the free PDF here.....
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
SELF CONTROL646. Self control is…
… not reacting to something you once used to.
… resisting the urge to scratch the itch when standing at attention.
… keeping your cool when others are running hot.
… not commenting on your kid’s cool clothes.
… giving good advice and seeing it go unheeded.
… Having a quiet time with the Lord when you are really busy.
… graciously accepting the smallest piece of cake.
… turning off the TV.
… leaving the last lolly in the bag.
668. The best form of self-control is to be under God’s control.
669. When you can’t control yourself, give your self to God.
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 ...
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK:A REVELATION OF... THE THREE PRIESTHOODS continues......... as we look at the priesthood today and discover the inheritance Jesus has given us.
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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. ***
312. GOD'S WILL
A farmer was on his way to town to buy a cow. On the way he stopped for a brief visit with his neighbor who was a Christian. "Where are you going today," the neighbor asked. "I'm going to town to buy a cow." Well actually, the Christian neighbor instructed, you ought to say, 'the Lord willing, I'm going to town to buy a cow.'" "What do you mean, I have the money, they have the cow, I'm going to town to buy a cow."
With that, he resumed his walk. Just before reaching the town, the farmer was mugged, his money stolen, and he was left unconscious by the side of the road. When he finally came too, and realizing all his money was gone, he started to limp back towards home. The Christian neighbor saw him coming, and hastened to help.
After hearing the story, the Christian farmer asked, "So now what are you going to do?' "Well, the Lord willing, I'm going home."
311. RENT IN THE SKY
"Once there was a Christian, he had a pious look,
His consecration was complete except his pocketbook.
He'd go to Church and give his dollar and meekly close his eyes.
So glad his weekly rent was paid for his mansion in the skies."
310. PAINTING THE CHURCH
The Pastor was painting the church one Saturday to get it nice and spiffy for services on Sunday. He had two sides of the church done when he realized that he didn't have quite enough paint to finish.
Since he was many miles from where he could buy more paint and he was running out of time, he decided to thin the paint down so he'd have enough to finish the job. After finishing the third wall, he realized he had to thin the paint even more to make it stretch.
He finally finished and was standing back to admire his work when it started to rain. He watched in dismay while the paint ran down the windows and exposed the old color on the last two walls he had painted.
Just then lightening struck followed by an ear splitting clap of thunder. From the sky came a loud voice saying,
"Repaint, repaint, and thin no more."
"FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES One of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 800 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ...
FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Who invented Asprin?ANSWER: Aspirin wasn't really invented, but discovered. Scientists in 1829 discovered that a compound called Salicin in Willows relieved pain. But they weren't really the first to understand that. Hippocrates, who lived sometime between 460 BC and 377 BC, wrote about the use of powder made from the bark and leaves of a willow tree to treat headaches, fever, and pain. (Cheaper but enough work to bring on a headache!)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What percentage of its body weight can a pelican consume in a single meal?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS 419. ‘IF AT FIRST…..’
X-rays of the Mona Lisa show that there are three completely different versions of the same subject, all painted by Leonardo da Vinci, under the final portrait. (‘….. you don’t succeed, don’t give up’ or you just might miss out on producing arguably the world’s most famous painting.)
420. AN EMERALD FOR ME
While diamonds are usually considered the most precious of stones, a large, near flawless emerald is worth considerably more than a diamond of similar size. (‘Emeralds are a girls best friend’ somehow doesn’t have the same ring to it – fortunately for men!)
421. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOLLARS
Warner Communications paid $28 million for the copyright to the song ‘Happy Birthday’. (Now have to find a way to collect royalties every time we sing it!)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
CITIES
Answer at the end of A David Musing
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can download the full version of our Trivia Book at TRULY TRIFFLING TRIVIA Or view all 1232 online at...
GENERAL TRIVIA 1
12: How many times a day did Aaron burn incense on the altar of incense?a. One
b. Two
c. Three
d. Four
Source: http://biblequizzes.org.uk
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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""!!!!!!! RANDOM ACTS of THINKING
If you cross a zebra with a chicken, will you get an egg with a bar code?
!!!!!! I knew a gal who couldn't see a movie because she didn't have 16 friends. The theater had told her Under 17 Not Admitted.
!!!!! Organized people are just too lazy to look for things.
!!!! Could you call an EKG ticker tape?
!!! My wife and I took a massage class, but she didn't enjoy my participation. Apparently I rub her the wrong way.
!! The only book I need to tell me where I should go on vacation is my checkbook.
! Is a hypocrite someone who writes a book on atheism and prays it will sell?
100'S MORE TO BE FOUND AT...
TIL DEATH DO US PART
157. LAWS OF PARENTING--The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.
-- For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.
---Toys multiply to fill any space available.
---The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.
---Yours is always the only child who doesn't behave.
---If the shoe fits...it's expensive.
---The surest way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it.
---The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.
---Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.
158. HAPPIEST MAN
The newly wed wife said to her husband when he returned from work: "I have great news for you. Pretty soon we're going to be three in this house instead of two."
The husband started glowing with happiness and kissing his wife said: "Oh darling, I'm the happiest man in the world."
But then she said: "I'm glad that you feel this way because tomorrow morning my mother moves in with us."
159. WHO?
For months he had been her devoted admirer. Now, at long last, he had collected up sufficient courage to ask her the most momentous of all questions.
"There are quite a lot of advantages to being a bachelor," he began, "but there comes a time when one longs for the companionship of another being... a being who will regard one as perfect, as an idol; whom one can treat as one's absolute property; who will be kind and faithful when times are hard; who will share one's joys and sorrows..."
To his delight he saw a sympathetic gleam in her eyes. Then she nodded in agreement. She replied," I think its a great idea... I would love to help you choose your pet dog."
160. SOMETHING ELECTRIC?
A husband and wife were shopping when the wife said, "Darling, it's my mother's birthday tomorrow. What shall we buy for her? She would like something electric."
The husband replied, "How about a chair?!?"
Lighten up here.....
UK Christians Outraged That Government Plans to Inspect Church Youth Programs
by News Staff : Apr 20, 2016 : The Christian Institute"Christians teaching Biblical truth on Sunday or any other day of the week should not be looked upon as if they are somehow doing something so awful that the State needs to be constantly looking over their shoulder. Christians are not terrorists and should not be treated as if they are." -Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern
(United Kingdom)—Christian charities CARE, Christian Concern, Evangelical Alliance, Lawyers' Christian Fellowship and The Christian Institute recently issued a joint statement and call to action over Government proposals to register and inspect church youth work.
The statement reads:
"Requiring churches in England to register before they are legally allowed to help children learn the Christian values our nation was built on is an unjustified restriction of religious liberty. Whether the threshold is 6 hours in any week or higher, the principle of outlawing 'unregistered churches' from teaching children the Gospel is an unacceptable overreach of the state.
"The Government says the Office for Standards and Education (Ofsted) will only inspect churches for 'British values' compliance if there is a complaint.
However, the scope for vexatious complaints is considerable, especially in the current climate of aggressive secularism and religious illiteracy. The experience of some Christian schools is that inspectors themselves can be ignorant of or hostile to Christian beliefs and practices.
"We do not believe Ofsted should become the state regulator of religion. For an inspector to scrutinize a Sunday School class, Bible study, youth meeting or church weekend away would be highly intrusive. The prospect of inspectors questioning volunteer leaders and children (without their parents) is an unwarranted incursion into private religion and family life.
"Christians are peace-loving, law-abiding citizens who respect authority and love their neighbors. They are a major source of volunteering, and represent the best of 'British values'. To require such people to submit to registration and inspection to ensure they are not encouraging terrorism is profoundly misconceived.
"Whilst Christians wholeheartedly support reasonable measures to prevent terrorism and violent extremism, these proposals will lead to a loss of civil liberties and create a large bureaucracy that will divert resources away from restraining extremists who reject UK law. Such individuals will simply ignore or effortlessly circumvent the registration requirements. We urge the government to drop these proposals and develop a targeted, intelligence-led approach that will genuinely inhibit the activities of violent extremists."
It concludes with the following urgent call to action:
"We call on Christians, churches and affected organizations in England to contact their MPs and urge them to oppose these plans."
CARE Chief Executive Nola Leach said:
"The Government's plans to empower Ofsted to inspect Sunday Schools and other church activities is simply not the best way to tackle the radicalization of young people. It is a wholly unwarranted undermining of religious freedom. We support tackling extremism, but not in this sweeping, overly broad manner."
Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, added:
"Christians teaching Biblical truth on Sunday or any other day of the week should not be looked upon as if they are somehow doing something so awful that the State needs to be constantly looking over their shoulder. Christians are not terrorists and should not be treated as if they are."
The Evangelical Alliance's Head of Public Policy, Simon McCrossan, said:
"These proposals amount to the wholesale nationalization of youth work and the state regulation of private religious practice, more akin to 'Big Brother' than 'Big Society.' If implemented, there is a real risk churches will feel forced to step back from the valuable services they currently provide to young people across society."
Mark Jones, Chairman of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, said:
"The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship condemns violence and terrorism. We have grave concerns about the proposals, which could be counter-productive to the stated aims and may arguably place the UK in breach of its international human rights obligations."
And Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, added:
"Christians are justifiably alarmed at the prospect of Ofsted conducting 'British values' inspections of church youth work. The freedom to proclaim the Gospel, and indeed our wider civil liberties, must be protected, not undermined in the name of 'counter-extremism.'"
Source: www.breakingchristiannews.com
Via: OpenHeaven.com
DAVID'S DOWNLOADS
A REVELATION OF... THE FIRST MIRACLE OF JESUSI have never been happy with the explanations I have heard of the meaning of the changing of the water into wine. So I asked Jesus! And He told me! Find out what He said through the Holy Spirit.
Download your free PDF Files here.....
WAXING LYRICAL
What does Christmas mean to you?PS: Realise it is not Christmas again - yet! But it soon will be! LOL!
CHRISTMAS TIME
Christmas time comes but once a year,
To be happy, you drink lots of beer!
Putting your gifts on the credit card,
Then come the repayments, oh so hard!
But Jesus came on Christmas Day,
Forever more to show the way,
How to enter into God's glorious presence.
In the ultimate of all Christmas presents!
So this Christmas, for some cheer,
Party less, put aside the beer,
And enter into the Holy Place,
To meet with God, face to face.
More of David's poetry here.....
A DAVID MUSING
This week our New Zealand ruby team, the All Blacks, won the highly acclaimed Laureate Sports Award for the worldwide 'Team of the Year.' To do this they beat off opposition from teams such as the Barcelona Football Club, the Mercedes Formula One Team and basketball's Golden State Warriors franchise.This is a great achievement for the 'little guy' succeeding against world sporting giants.
The team itself has had a 90+% winning record over several years now, and has won the last two, 4 yearly, World Rugby Cups, the first team ever to win successive titles.
All from little 'Lil old New Zealand', a small country of 4.5 million people, here at 'the end of the earth'.
It is the same with God. It does not matter about our church position, how many followers, our building, or the theological qualification we have.
God is simply looking for a close personal relationship with you and with me, plus a willingness to put aside our own ideas and ambitions, for His.
It is simple really - if we are prepared to pay the price!
So until next week.....
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: ICIEST
TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' b. Two
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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