A Weekly World Wide Word of Encouragement to those in the Ministry
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A WEEKLY ‘WWW (world-wide word) OF ENCOURAGEMENT’
TO THOSE IN MINISTRY
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Issue No: 915 Published: 06 May 2019
A REVELATION OF……. THE THIRD AND FINAL DWELLING PLACE OF GOD’S GLORY PLUS THE RIVER OF LIFE. Part 4
THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE
The primary reason why the temple will not be rebuilt, at least for Christians, is that God, in the form of His precious Holy Spirit, live within us. DISCIPLES OF JESUS ARE THE TEMPLE, not a building, whether it be a church or, in this discussion, a physical temple in Jerusalem.
In talking about the New Jerusalem, which is to come when Jesus returns, John is taken up to a high mountain (Where the presence of God dwells, as above) where he sees the Holy City coming down on the return of Jesus…..
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (Revelation 21:10)
And there was no temple necessary…..
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21:22)
Actually, we don’t know whether it is physical or spiritual, nor do we actually know, if it is physical, where it will be located. The location is not in the Scriptures! Take a look at Revelation 21:9-27 to check on me. Just a thought! Jerusalem means ‘city of peace’, as we have already seen. My personal, opinion, for what it is worth, is that it allegorical, symbolic of God’s majestic presence returning to the earth.
GOD’S TEMPLE TODAY
One of the major challenges of Christianity today is that we have gone back to the Old Testament, looking at God’s ‘temple’ to be in church buildings. A building is simply ‘bricks and mortar’ and is not ‘God’s house.’ As humans, we desire physical things in which to believe. Thus we make idols of buildings worshipping them as if they were God. This may be an exaggeration, but I want you to get the point. God does not reside in buildings.
So where does He reside?
The answer is found in His Word…..
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 16:19-20)
God dwells in our bodies, in mine, in yours, as disciples of Jesus. We both are temples of the Holy Spirit, being both a privilege and a responsibility. We are called to honour God with our bodies.
Again…..
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
This brings us to another fallacy amongst Christians. ALL SINS ARE NOT THE SAME.
Don’t take my word for it, but believe Scripture…..
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. (1 Corinthians 6:15-18)
So, as you can see, not all sins are the same! There is a definite separation between those committed inside and outside the body. Let us take care to always protect our personal Holy Spirit temple!
This is confirmed in…..
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
So let us not get seduced by the attractive, but wrong, idea to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. As New Testament Christians we are to move on to a new place in God, a place of righteousness and holiness, in the ‘temple’ we have been blessed with, so enabling us to determine His personal will for us through the submission of our whole selves to Him.
(Continued next week)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32)
Spoken to the Pharisees.
“But what do you think about this illustration? Once there was a man who had two sons. He went to the first son, and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘I won’t,’ but afterwards he was sorry for what he said and he did go. The man went to the second son, and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I’ll go,’ but he didn’t. Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?”
The first.
“I tell you the truth: tax-collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you,” “John came to show you the way to live right with God, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax-collectors and prostitutes did believe him. Later, when you saw what happened, you still didn’t repent and believe him.”
Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-18)
A parable spoken against the chief priests and Pharisees.
“Here’s another illustration. There once was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, made a winepress, and built a watchtower. He rented it to some tenant farmers, and then left to go to a different country. At harvest time, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect the fruit that belonged to him. But the farmers attacked his servants They beat one, killed another, and stoned another. So he sent more servants, but the farmers did the same things to them. So then he sent his son. ‘They will respect my son,’ he told himself. But the farmers, when they saw the son, said to each other, ‘Here’s the heir! Come on! Let’s kill him so we can take his inheritance!’ They grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When the vineyard owner returns, what will he do to those farmers?”
Kill them and give the farm to others, the Pharisees replied.
“So haven’t you read the Scriptures?” “‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The Lord has done this, and it is wonderful in our eyes.’ That’s why I’m telling you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to a people who produce the right kind of fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken, but it will completely crush anyone it falls upon.”
Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14)
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who organized a wedding celebration for his son,” Jesus explained. “He sent out his servants to everyone who was invited to the wedding to tell them to come, but they refused. So he sent out more servants, with the instructions, ‘Tell those who are invited, “I’ve prepared the wedding banquet. The bulls and fattened calves have been killed—everything’s ready. So come to the wedding!”’”
“But they ignored the invitation and left. One went to his fields; another to take care of his business. The est grabbed the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king became furious. He sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and burn down their town.
“Then the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited didn’t deserve to attend. Go into the streets and invite everyone you find to come to the wedding.’ So the servants went out into the streets and brought back everyone they could find, both the good and the bad. The wedding hall was full.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man who didn’t have a wedding robe on. He asked him, ‘My friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ The man had nothing to say. Then the king told his servants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and throw him out into the dark, where there’ll be crying and grinding of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
(Continued next week)
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OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
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HEALING
As we wait, wait and wait some more, for our major items of power, NHIF Insurance, and equipment delivery, life still goes on.
HAILING
The biggest hailstorm we have ever been in! Fortunately, it came with rain so the damage was limited to the large, soft leaves of our tree tomato plants.
How's that for a hailstone? Just a short distance away the storm was heavier still, and much damage was done.
HERALDING
What do plastic covered ridged rows herald? The preparation for our first commercial crop of strawberries of course! Can taste them now! Actually, we can pick nearly all year. YUMMMMM!!!!
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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.
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
702. In God's dictionary, 'doing' follows 'being'.
703. 'To do' is simply living out our 'to be'.
704. If 'to do' does not follow out of our 'to be', then our 'to be' is 'not to be'!
705. 'To be' a witness is 'to do' God's will.
706. We are first called 'to be', then 'to do'.
707. Too often we try 'to do' when God is simply calling us 'to be'.
708. 'To do' good, it is best 'to be' good!
709. To best know what 'to do', we must first learn how 'to be'.
710. If 'what to do' is your question, look to 'what to be' to find your answer.
711. When 'to be or not to be' is the question, 'to be and to do' is the answer.
712. True 'being' results in 'doing'.
713. 'Being' without 'doing' is like a motor without a car. Makes plenty of noise but takes you nowhere!
714. 'To be' is the salt, 'to do' the light. We are called to be both.
1220. Our walk with Jesus is to start off with applying the 'don'ts' of the Law and to end up doing the 'do's' of His will.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: A REVELATION OF..... DIVIDING THE WATERS (Part 11) ELISHA’S MINISTRY AS A PATTERN FOR THE CHURCH TODAY Part 2
The final 6 applications of the ministry of Elisha as a pattern to the church today. Amazing stuff!
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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. ***
260. God Will Provide
A young woman brings home her fiancée to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother tells her father to find out about the young man. The father invites the fiancée to his study. "So what are your plans?" the father asks the young man.
"I am a Bible scholar," he replies.
"A Bible scholar. Hmmm," the father says. "Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in, as she's accustomed to?"
"I will study," the young man replies, "and God will provide for us."
"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?" asks the father.
"I will concentrate on my studies," the young man replies, "God will provide for us."
"And children?" asks the father. "How will you support children?"
"Don't worry, sir, God will provide," replies the fiancée.
The conversation proceeds like this, and each time the father questions, the young idealist insists that God will provide.
Later, the mother asks, "How did it go, Honey?"
The father answers, "He has no job and no plans, but the good news is he thinks I'm God."
QWIK QWIP: “Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you have to say. Best friends listen to what you don't say!”
261. Zeal and the Graduate
A boy was sitting on a park bench with one hand resting on an open Bible. He was loudly exclaiming his praise to God. "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God is great!" he yelled without worrying whether anyone heard him or not.
Shortly after, along came a man who had recently completed some studies at a local university. Feeling himself very enlightened in the ways of truth and very eager to show this enlightenment, he asked the boy about the source of his joy.
"Hey," asked the boy in return, "don't you have any idea what God is able to do? I just read that God opened up the waves of the Red Sea and led the whole nation of Israel right through the middle."
The enlightened man laughed lightly, sat down next to the boy and began to try to open his eyes to the "realities" of the miracles of the Bible. "That can all be very easily explained. Modern scholarship has shown that the Red Sea in that area was only 10 inches deep at that time. It was no problem for the Israelites to wade across."
The boy was stumped. His eyes wandered from the man back to the Bible laying open on his lap. The man, content that he had enlightened a poor, naive young person to the finer points of scientific insight, turned to go.
Scarcely had he taken two steps when the boy began to rejoice and praise louder than before. The man turned to ask the reason for this resumed jubilation.
"Wow!" exclaimed the boy happily, "God is greater than I thought! Not only did He lead the whole nation of Israel through the Red Sea, He topped it off by drowning the whole Egyptian army in 10 inches of water!"
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
God can speak to you personally.
Many people do not believe this, and think you are mad when you say it.
"That is only in the Bible, not for these times", they will say.
Actually, it was harder to hear from God peronally in those days, than it is now. For now, we have the Holy Spirit of God living in us. God's voice is in you and in me.
The question is, do we listen?
I make a point of waiting for Him to speak to me every day. And speak he does.
But one day this week was special. For he gave me His plan for me for the future. Not in specifics, but in a general and exciting way. Thank you Lord.
Even if you think it is impossible for you, why not take out some quiet time just to listen for His voice. You may be surprised with the result!
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
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Phone: (06) 835 0567 International (+64) 6 835 0567
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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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