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: 936 Published: 30 Sep 2019
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW?
BORN AGAIN
3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3)
Greek (Western)
Greek thinkers consider the so-called 'Sinners Prayer' as the requirement for non-believers to be 'born again'. Salvation is related primarily to a decision of the mind, requiring minimal evidence of changed behaviour.
This position is justified primarily through Galatians 5:1.....
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
Unfortunately the verses later in the same passage are ignored.....
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
(Galatians 5:13-15)
Eastern (Hebrew)
Hebrew thinkers understand being 'born again' as a complete lifestyle change. This involves a full commitment of mind, emotions and will, which will be reflected in behavioural change and obedience to God's will.
Words have different meanings, or nuances of meaning, in different cultures. Nicodemus, who asked the original question of Jesus as to the requirement for salvation, made the same mistake we do, in relating being born again to a physical experience.
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4)
However, the word 'born' in the Hebrew of the time of Jesus was 'yalad', meaning 'bring forth'. So Jesus was not talking about a physical birthing experience, but rather, 'bringing forth a choice of action' by the hearer. The results of the two alternative behavioural decisions are clearly set out in John 3:16-21. It is particularly clear in the Amplified Version.
Firstly, making the behavioural decision to follow Jesus.....
16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([d]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. 18He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.] (John 3:16-18 AMP)
….. or the alternative, not to change our lifestyle.....
19The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil. 20For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved. (John 3:19-20 AMP)
And the result for the true follower of Christ.....
21But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are--wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon Him]. (John 3:21 AMP)
This change in lifestyle is also proclaimed by Paul in Romans. It is through holiness that eternal life is obtained.....
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-3)
The 'gift of God' most often refers to the Holy Spirit, and it is through Him that our life is to be transformed. The Bible confirms, in the final chapter of Revelation, the free gift of salvation, resulting in the life changing work of the Holy Spirit, leads to holiness, and the inheritance of eternal life. The words of Jesus, followed by the Spirit and the bride, through John, say.....
12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of (eternal) life."
(Revelation 22:12-16)
SUMMARY
The church today views salvation as a decision of the mind, but Jesus taught the necessity of a total life transformation.
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
- The church must move from the 'easy Christianity' teaching of the sufficiency of the (unbiblical) 'sinners prayer' to a call for true repentance, resulting in a changed life.
2. Discipleship, to help the new believer deal with the huge upheaval of leaving the old for the transformed new life in Jesus, must truly become a prime role of the church.
3. To witness effectively to Jews and Muslims, our actions and lives must reflect the words we speak.
3. Finally, from a father of the faith.....
“Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” C.H. Spurgeon
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Jesus’ Messages to the Seven Churches (Revelation 1:1-3:21)
Through the apostle John.
To the Church in Philadelphia
“Write this to the angel of the Philadelphia church: This is what the One says, the One who is holy and true,
who has the key of David. He can open and nobody is able to shut, he can shut, and nobody is able to open: I know what you have accomplished—look, I’ve opened a door for you that no one can shut. I know that you only have a little strength, but you did what I told you, and you did not deny me. 9From Satan’s synagogue I will bring those who say they are Jews, (but are not, they are liars), making them come and worship at your feet, so that they will acknowledge that I love you. Because you have persevered as I told you to, I will take care of you during the testing time that is coming on the whole world when those who live on the earth will be on trial.
“I am coming soon! Keep a tight grasp on what you have, so no one can take your crown. Those who are
victorious I will make into pillars in the temple of my God. They won’t ever have to leave. I will write on them the name of my God, the name of the city of my God called New Jerusalem which descends from heaven from my God, and my own new name. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.
To the Church in Laodicea
“Write this to the angel of the Laodicea church: This is what the Amen says, who is the faithful, true
witness, highest ruler of God’s creation: I know what you have accomplished—you’re neither hot nor cold. I
wish you were hot or cold! 16But because you’re lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I’m going to spit you out of my mouth. You say to yourselves, ‘I’m rich, I have wealth, and don’t need anything.’ But you don’t know that you are miserable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so you may be rich; and have white clothes so you can be properly dressed and you won’t reveal your nakedness and shame; and ointment to put on your eyes so you can see.
“Those I love I correct and discipline. So be really sincere, and repent. Look, I’m standing at the door,
knocking. If anyone hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me. I will have those who are victorious sit down with me beside my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down beside my Father on his throne. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.”
The Final Words of Jesus (Revelation 22:7-21)
He is coming soon!
“I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the prophetic words of this book.”
“I am coming soon, and I am bringing my reward to give to everybody depending on what they’ve done.”
“I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they have the right to the tree of life, and can enter into the city through the gates.
Those outside the city are dogs, those who practice witchcraft, those who are sexually immoral, those who murder, those who worship idols, and all those who love and invent lies.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony to share with the churches. I am both the root and
the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
“Yes, I am coming soon.”
(Continued next week)
Download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
A MUZUNGU’S (White Man’s) THOUGHT - Issue 12
A MUZUNGU’S (White Man’s) THOUGHT – Issue 12
Many people, ministers in particular, prefer the Old Testament to the New.
Why is this? In my view, because the Old is more user friendly to priests, pastors, leaders, etc. In the Old Testament system the Priests were the conduit between man and God. The Priest was above the people. The Priests collected the tithe, seemingly a clear cut way of collecting money. (Actually, if you do a study of the tithe, it can be up to 30% every third year, and is mainly either given to the poor or used for the people to feed themselves when they went to the 3 annual Feasts of the Lord, Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, in Jerusalem.) Today’s financial ‘sacrifice is ‘giving’, not tithing.
People today too, generally prefer this system of Priesthood. For then you can perhaps go to church on Sunday, then leave your ‘God stuff’ up to the minister for the rest of the week. If you have problems, you then go to the minister/priest for answers, rather than seek God’s answers out for yourself. For that takes time and effort. And we are all too busy with daily life to do so, aren’t we?
In the Old Testament the Priests were placed, or placed themselves, on a pedestal, as Jesus indicated with His scathing criticisms of the Rabbis, in particular.
The New Testament minister is to be a servant, as Jesus was, beautifully illustrated by His washing the Disciple’s feet at the Last Supper. Not such an attractive proposition to natural man!
Priestly gowns, collars, other distinctive clothing is Old Testament too, for remember, Jesus did not stand out in a crowd, and He only had one sat of clothes. Nor did he have a house or any other property.
And we are called to be like Jesus! Spiritually of course, we say!
Jesus went through a period of popularity in His early ministry, after which He was hunted by Herod, and had to travel from place to place, away from Jerusalem, in order to avoid Herod until His time came.
He had no means of transportation other than ‘shank’s pony’. He even had to borrow a donkey for His kingly entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
I think you get the picture!
New Testament Christianity, both for ministers and people, actually is much more challenging than the Old.
But beautifully, we have a forgiveness that Old Testament people did not have, through the death of Jesus on that terrible yet victorious cross on Calvary’s hill.
Yes, the cost for us is great, but the rewards, eternal.
Shukrani
(Thank You)
OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
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Kathy and David on the driveway into the hospital. The Eye Hospital is on the right and the Outpatients Clinic and Ward, to the left at the rear.
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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
927. If we obey those we respect, it begs the question, "Do we respect ourselves more than Jesus?"
928. If God knows more than me, shouldn't I take His advice?
929. As God grows in me, there is less and less room for me myself!
930. Heaven is reached through obedience to God's will, not simply the recitation of a 'Sinners Prayer'.
931. Godly obedience is the present outworking of belief and faith.
932. I cannot truly say I'm a believer if I'm not prepared to follow the path of the one in whom I believe.
933. Freewill is a choice, obedience the choice of freewill.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: A REVELATION OF... GOD'S CALL TO HIS CHURCH concludes
as we look at two remaining barriers to the progress of the church.
*** 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. ***
317. Constipation
Q: Where is constipation mentioned three times in the Bible?
A: (1) Satan is bound. (2) Elijah said, "Nothing will move me." (3) Moses took 2 tablets.
QWIK QWIP: “In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma - but never let him be the full stop. (period)
318. What Now?
The young priest rushed into his superior's office. "Father Murphy," he exclaimed. "Come quick! Our Saviour is in our church!"
The two clerics rushed into the church and sure enough, there was the Lord Jesus praying at the Altar.
"What should we do?" whispered young Father McLaughlin
"Try to look busy!" answered the older priest.
319. More Kids Letters To God
Dear God:
If you give me a genie lamp like Aladdin, I will give you anything you want except my money or my chess set. Ralph
Please send Dennis Clark to a different camp this year. Peter
Our school teacher told us that Thomas Edison invented light. But in Sunday school they said You did it. So I bet he stoled your idea. Sincerely, Donna
320. Getting What You Deserve
Matt, Kimo, and Ken are killed in a car accident and end up at St. Peter's gates. St. Peter tells Matt that a wife has been chosen for him for eternity. St. Peter then introduces Matt to his new mate, who is ugly and not to the Matt's liking. Matt says "What did I do to deserve this?" St. Peter answers, "You killed 10 birds in your lifetime, and this is the eternal result."
Kimo is then introduced to his eternal wife who is even uglier than Matt's wife. Kimo grumbles, "What did I do to deserve this?" St. Peter replies, "While you lived, you killed 20 birds, and this is the eternal result."
Ken nervously approaches St. Peter but is overjoyed to meet his new wife, a beautiful woman any man would be thrilled to have. Kimo asks "What did I do to deserve this?" St. Peter responds, "You? It was her...she killed 30 birds!"
321. Just Checking
When Adam stayed out very late for a few nights, Eve became upset. "You're running around with other women," Eve charged.
"Don't be ridiculous, honey," Adam responded. "You're the only woman on earth."
The quarrel continued until Adam fell asleep, only to be awakened by someone poking him in the chest. It was Eve.
"What do you think you're doing?" Adam demanded.
"Counting your ribs," said Eve.
QWIK QWIP: “You can only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
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
LIFE IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME!
This is a popular responsive saying, in churches here in Kenya,
But is it true?
It certainly is a positive spiritual declaration about life in God, for He is always with, through good - and bad!
Did I say - bad!
Yes. Life in God is not an easy life. In fact, it is often very challenging. God lets us go through trials and tribulations to rub the rough edges off our lives with heavenly sandpaper!
And it hurts when He scrapes at our treasured ungodly ideas and actions!
However, without the hard times, we would never change our ways.
I know this because we have been millionaires twice and bankrupt twice. When did I come to and learn more about God? In the bankruptcies, of course!
In difficult times He is always there for us. We just need to call out to Him and learn the lessons He is teaching us.
It is not easy or pleasant, but an essential part of living life for our God.
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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