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
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Issue No: 887 Published: 22 Oct 2018
WHOSE CHURCH IS IT ANYWAY? Part 58
THE CHALLENGE OF..... LIVING THE KINGDOM LIFESTYLE
THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 ”‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13)
This parable, unlike most of the others we have looked at, is about 'kingdom future' rather than 'kingdom now'. It looks at the return of Jesus.
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:6-9)
The 'virgins' represent Christians. Not literally, of course, as 4 sons attest in my case. Definitely not immaculate conceptions! But, beyond the joking.....
The heart of the parable concerns the lamps and the oil. What do they represent? There is considerable discussion, and often confusion, about this. For people with varying theologies, approach the parable in different ways.
As I have been pondering this, wondering how to present it, the Lord has given me some revelation that I would now like to share with you. It is always much easier to write when this happens!
The lamps and oil can be looked at from three perspectives.
Firstly, from the perspective of Jesus. In the church there are both true and false believers. This can be regarded as those with and without oil in their lamps. The true will be saved by the blood of Jesus, the false banished from the wedding feast, from being with Jesus in heaven.
28 ”‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 ”‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:28-30)
Those adhering to traditional and evangelical church traditions will readily grasp this understanding.
Secondly, from the perspective of the Holy Spirit. Oil is associated with the Holy Spirit. Right from Old Testament times, in the first worship centre, the Tabernacle of Moses, oil was used to light the 7 lighted lampstand, or menorah in the Holy Place, the realm of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not only about spiritual gifts, but He also is our guide, teacher and friend in daily living.
15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)
While comprehended and lived by some individual believers through the ages, this principle is not understood or accepted by most of the church today. This revelation is for the 'kingdom church', not a congregation meeting in a building, but a living vibrant, amorphous group of disciples, fully sold out to becoming the light of Jesus in the world.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. (Ephesians 4:8-13)
Burning Holy Spirit oil, of obedience to the Father's will, in our lamps, creates the light of Jesus in our life.
The parable concludes with the warning not to let our 'life light' of Jesus go out, for no-one knows the hour and day of His return.
How is the oil supply in your lamp today?
(Continued next week)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida ( Mark 8:22-6)
Jesus spat on his eyes
“Can you see anything?”
And told him to go home.
“Don’t go back through the village.”
Peter Confesses Jesus as Christ (Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30)
When the disciples were asked by Jesus about His divinity.
“Who do people say that the Son of man is?”
“But what about you?” “Who do you say I am?”
“You are truly blessed, Simon son of John,”
“For this wasn’t revealed to you by human flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the powers of death won’t overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you ban on earth will be banned in heaven, and whatever you allow on earth will be allowed in heaven.”
Jesus Rebukes Peter (Matthew 16:21-8, Mark 8:31-9:1, Luke 9:18-27)
Again the question was asked. Peter gave the same reply.
“All these crowds of people—who do they say I am?”
“But what about you?” “Who do you say I am?”
Peter was told it was not easy path, for all involved.
“The Son of man must experience terrible sufferings,” “He will be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the religious teachers. He will be killed, but on the third day he will rise again.”
“If any one of you wants to follow me, you must deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow me,” “For if you want to save your life, you will lose it; and if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it. What do you benefit by gaining the whole world if you end up lost or destroyed? If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory, and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some standing here won’t taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
(Continued next week)
You can download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
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ALL IN THE LIFE AT KINGDOM
Sharing some of the highlights over the past few days.
1. Now we are really becoming Kenyan! Our finger and thumb prints have been taken for the database on which all Kenyans are held. This is the first step in getting an ID Card. Progress!
2. Kathy taking a staff training session on the subject of Advocacy. She was excellent.
3. Are Pharmacist Violet, modelling the first bed of our soon to be temporary ward block in the theatre area to be sometime earlyish next year. So now, we need a permanent Ward Block to be built.
***NOW***NINE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!!!
9 BOOKS are now available on Amazon (Kindle)!
All are available worldwide for electronic download on Amazon (Kindle) for $US0.99c . Unfortunately there has to be a charge in order to list.
Your support would be appreciated and they could well change your life!
They are all found at this link.....
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=david+tait+books/
***DAILY EZINE!*** 'DAVID'S DAILY DOODLINGS' Subscribe Today
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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
237. The Holy Spirit resides in the believer but shines through the disciple.
238. A believer loves God with heart and mind while a disciple commits the will.
239. A believer loves God and others, but they are the disciple's life.
240. A believer lives in hope, but for the disciple, God's hope is certain.
241. A believer seeks forgiveness for sin but the disciple also determines not to walk that path again.
242. A believer has faith in God but the disciple's faith is tempered in the fire of testing.
243. A believer loves the Lord, but the disciple's love is unconditional.
244. The believer serves the Lord in strength, but the disciple is made perfect through weakness.
245. God is part of the believer's life, but the central focus of the disciple.
246. A believer forgives, but the disciple also forgets.
247. A believer communicates with God at their own convenience, but the disciple's heart is open to the Lord at all times.
430. A believer knows, but the disciple does.
1077. Believing is free, discipleship costs your life.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
NEXT WEEK: A REVELATION OF... THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID - Part 4
In the Old Testament too, blessing was reflected in worldly goods, the archetype being seen in the wealth of Solomon.
Jesus however, came to bring a new and different way.
*** ANOTHER DAILY EZINE FROM WWJ!*** 'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES' Subscribe Today
As Christians, if we can't laugh at ourselves, others will! A fun way to start your day. To register today, go down to the bottom of the page link below, click on the subscribe link lao--on@wwj.org.nz (or paste the address in an email yourself and send) Then it's done!
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. ***
195. Atheist Holiday
An atheist complained to a Christian co-worker, "Christians have their special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter; and Jews celebrate their holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur; . EVERY religion has its holidays. But we atheists," he said, "have no recognised holidays. It's an unfair discrimination."
"What do you mean, atheists have no holidays," his friend replied, "People have been observing a special day in your honour for years."
"I don't know what you're talking about," the atheist said, "When is this special day honouring atheists?"
"April 1st."
QWIK QWIP: “Drifting through life without aim or purpose is the first cause of failure.”
196. Do You Have a BC?
The story is told of a lady who was rather old fashioned, always quite delicate and elegant, especially in her language. She and her husband were planning a weeks vacation to Florida, so she wrote to a particular campground asking for a reservation. She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped, but didn't quite know how to ask about the toilet facilities. She just couldn't bring herself to write the word "toilet" in her letter. After much deliberation, she finally came up with the old fashioned term BATHROOM COMMODE, but when she wrote that down, she thought she was being too forward. So she started all over again, rewrote the entire letter and referred to the bathroom commode merely as the "BC". "Does the campground have its own BC?" is what she actually wrote.
Well, the campground owner wasn't old-fashioned at all and when he got the letter he just couldn't figure out what the woman was talking about. That "BC" business really stumped him. After worrying about it for awhile he showed the letter to several campers, but they couldn't figure out what the lady meant either. So the campground owner finally coming to the conclusion that the lady must be asking about the local Baptist Church, sat down and wrote the lady. Upon reading his letter, and with great shock, the lady quickly decided not to got to that campground. The letter is as follows...
"Dear Madam, I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take great pleasure in informing you that a BC is located nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I admit it is quite a distance away, if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it. They usually arrive early and stay late. It is such a beautiful facility and the acoustics are marvellous; even the normal delivery sounds can be heard. The last time my wife and I went was six years ago, and it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole time we were there. It may interest you to know that right now there is a supper planned to raise money to buy more seats. They are going to hold it in the basement of the BC. I would like to say it pains me very much not being able to go more regularly, but it is surely no lack of desire on my part. As we grow older it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather. If you decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the other folks (remember, this is a friendly community)."
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 ..... https://www.wwj.org.nz/content/wwj18p47.pdf
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A DAVID MUSING
I woke up this morning, not well.
Fortunately we have a hospital here to deal with such things! Not that it was built specially for me! LOL!
After treatment, I have managed to finish this issue of PGIM at the hospital. Now I can go home and rest.
Thank you Lord for your rest which you gave to us to help us in the challenges of life. I will make use of it today both spiritually and naturally!
Praise the Lord!
Until next week.....
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
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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!
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