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: 954 Published: 03 Feb 2020
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW?
WORSHIP - AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE v A WAY OF LIFE
Greek (Western)
Worship is an experience to be entered into and enjoyed at specific times.
Our approach to worship derives from the Greek concept of proskuneo, a specific act of reverence or homage. Many large coliseums were built in which to worship and honour the many different gods of Greece on their various designated celebratory occasions, with music, singing and dancing. People were happy and content after having worshipped.
Does this not sound like our church? We go to special purpose buildings to sing, and perhaps dance, to music provided by the worship team, generally on a Sunday morning. Like the Greeks, it is a special occasion experience, not a general part of our day to day life. Pseudo worship, today too, is found at sports events, where we are generally given to more overt displays of enthusiasm than at church! Again, these are an experience taking us away from the reality of day to day life, for a period of time.
Eastern (Hebrew)
Worship is a continuous act, being a part of work or service, as well as being practised on special occasions.
In Hebrew culture, worship is considered to be a part of everyday life.
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
There is no separation of the theological from the practical. Worship is found in looking after your spouse, being at work and while participating in community service.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. (Deuteronomy 28:12-13)
Worship is found in the beauty of nature.....
1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. (Psalm 50:1-2)
Worship is seen in our work....
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)
A practical example of this is found in the Wife of Noble Character of Proverbs 31.....
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. (Proverbs 31:30-31)
Observant Jews consider our Western 'worship services' of 1-2 hours a week as serving a part-time God! For we then move back into the secular world until the next week or another worship occasion. While we might get down on bended knees to worship God in the safe environment of our place of worship, we would not dream of doing so at work. For, unlike the Jews, we separate the two, the religious from the secular. I know, for it applies to me too!
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. We need to learn to give God thanks in all things, at all times.
2. We need to learn to rely upon God in the secular as well as the spiritual.
3. To do so is the only way we can truly become 'the light of the world' that Jesus desires us to become.
The Lamp of the Body
33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.” (Luke 11:33-6)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Sermon on the Mount(Matthew 5:1-7:29, Luke 6:17-49)
The primary ‘life teachings’ of Jesus.
The Beatitudes(Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 6:20-23)
“Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually poor, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who are kind, for they will own the whole world.
Blessed are those whose greatest desire is to do what is right, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are those who have pure hearts, for they will see God.
Blessed are those who work to bring peace, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those persecuted for what is right, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and accuse you of all kind of evil things because of me.
Be glad, be really glad, for you will receive a great reward in heaven—for they persecuted the prophets who came before you in just the same way.
Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how can you make it salty again? It’s good for nothing, so it’s thrown out and trodden on. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill can’t be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a bucket. No, it’s placed on a lamp-stand and it provides light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way you should let your light shine before everyone so they can see the good things you do and praise your heavenly Father.
Fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17-20)
“Don’t think I came to abolish the law or the writings of the prophets. I didn’t come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18I assure you, until heaven and earth come to an end, not a single letter, not a single dot of the law will come to an end before everything is fulfilled. 19So whoever disregards the least important commandment, and teaches people to do so, will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches the commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20I tell you, unless your righteousness is more than that of the religious teachers and the Pharisees, you can never enter the kingdom of heaven.
(Continued next week)
Download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
A MUZUNGU’S (White Man’s) THOUGHT – Issue 23
There is one revelation back in the 1800’s which, along with the false escape, rapture teachings, has led the church away from the Biblical instruction of Jesus, prior to His ascension, to make disciples of men (mankind that is).
It arose out of the 7,000 year Dispensational teachings that we are now living in the 2000 year of the Church Age, also called the Age of Grace.
The term ‘Church Age’ is good, but when becoming known as the ‘Age of Grace’, has led believers to assume there is no need to live lives of obedience to the Father, lives of holiness and righteousness, in other words, to become fully sold out disciples of Jesus.
The prevailing attitude of ‘easy Christianity’, where salvation is all you need and you can live your life as you wish, for God will continually forgive all your sins, is simply not what the Bible teaches.
There are a whole lot of sins, pretty well summed up as the 10 Commandments that we as disciples of Jesus, are to avoid. If, because of our human nature, we fall down, as we all do at times, God’s grace is there to forgive us. However, GRACE IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO WILLFULLY SIN IN THE EXPECTATION OF UNIVERSAL FORGIVENESS.
Additionally, we are to develop a Godly character, through the application to our lives of the fruit of the Spirit. Then we can become a light, a beacon, to the world.
Jews and Muslims are rightfully critical of Christians because we don’t reflect what we supposedly believe in our behaviour. This is the greatest barrier to their conversion.
Middle Eastern teaching, correctly reflected in both the Jewish and Muslim cultures, is that life, faith and actions are all one. In our Greek based Western culture, we compartmentalize our life. Beliefs and actions do not necessarily concur and we justify that.
The unconditional Age of Grace teaching is very convenient to the Western mind, for it enables us to justify our ungodly behaviour.
“Give your heart to Jesus and you will have an automatic ticket to heaven”, is what the evangelist will say. Another soul saved - another entry in the Book of Life.
What a shock it will be when we are called to account for our actions!
Let us change our ways and truly live for Jesus today and so reflect His likeness to those around us.
Shukrani
(Thank You)
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Our thanks to John Fickling for all his many, many hours of work, both in travelling to Kenya to film (where he was ably assisted by Moses) and in New Zealand, editing the many hours of film down into what is 13:40 of the essence of Kingdom, including video footage of our 1st cataract surgeries. Thank you so much, mate.
Lve Link.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np1ocYF5hoU&t=22s
PHOTO: Hi ho, Hi ho, It's off to video we go!
AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS.....
We have finally managed to get our Central Government MP, Dan, to visit!
Actually, he turned up to our church service next door to the Hospital, where incidentally, I was speaking, and he agreed to come over! A big deal for us, as he provided the Community Transformer for us and others to use.
Here he is inspecting the new Eye Hospital Building. I know I am not tall, and shrinking, but Dan is a giant, at near 7' tall! Our church pastor Samuel, to the left of Dan, is 6'+, so you can really see how tall Dan is. Earlier on he was a top-grade volleyballer.
In front of the transformer which the Kenyan Government provided, through Dan.
An unexpected and fun visit for us all - and He got the Word as well!
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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
1141. Perspiration turns dreams into visions.
1142. Praise God when your vision dies for it is one stage closer to fulfilment!
1143. As a flower dies before its seed germinates, so your vision must die, testing your faithfulness, before restoration and fulfilment.
1144. It takes wisdom and discernment to separate our human dreams from God's visions.
1145. Man's pride frequently gets in the way of God's visions.
1146. For visions to be effective, ownership must remain with God.
1147. Without GOD'S vision the people perish.
1148. We are to simply be the conduit for God's visions, not to invent our own.
1149. With vision, we are to be reactive to God, not proactive to self.
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CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
NEXT WEEK: TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHURCH: 3. FROM KINGS TO KINGDOM continues.....
As we look at the early church.
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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. ***
370. Sparse Church Attendance
The preacher was growing concerned about sparse attendance, so he published this item in the church bulletin:
This . . . is . . . the . . . way . . . the . . . church . . . sometimes . . . looks . . . to . . . the . . . preacher . . . when . . . he . . . goes . . . into . . . the . . . pulpit.
Itwouldlooklikethisifeverybodybroughtsomebodyelsetochurch.
371. Sleeping in Church
Perturbed that a man had fallen asleep during his sermon, the pastor called on an usher to wake the man. The usher retorted, "Why should I do that, Pastor? You should wake him up yourself, after all, you put him to sleep."
QWIK QWIP: “Live every day like it is your last day on Earth and sooner or later you will be right.”
372. Surprise Punishment
A man appeared before St. Peter to receive news of his eternal fate. Peter said, "I have good news and bad. The good news is that you get to choose where you will spend eternity, the bad news it, it won't be heaven. Come, let me show you your choices."
So Peter took the man down a long corridor. After walking a bit, Peter opened a door so the man could look in. Inside was a huge room with a cement floor, filled with hundreds of people standing on their heads. The man said he wanted to see a couple of more rooms before deciding, so Peter took him to another room where hundreds of people were standing on their heads on a hardwood floor. In the next room they were on their heads in a carpeted area, so the man silently reasoned that each situation was a little more bearable.
Then Peter said, "I'll show you one more room, and then you must make your decision." In this room were hundreds of people floating in sitting up position, drinking coffee. But there was a terrible stench, for what they were sitting in was a combination of garbage and sewage. But reasoning that he probably could soon become accustomed to the smell, the man made his decision to be consigned for eternity in this room. As he settled down into the slop, a cup of coffee was handed to him.
However, it wasn't more than 10 minutes later when a small side door opened and out came a demon who yelled, "OK. Coffee break's over. Everyone back on your heads!"
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
Here in Kenya, we are experiencing Winter conditions in Summer!
This week we have had some friends visit from the Netherlands, and it is 14c there in Winter, when it should be snowing! They even have roses flowering in their garden!
Of course, you hear similar stories from around the world.
There is no question that climate change is a reality. The only question is, how much is a natural cycle and how much is man-made. A combination I suspect, but the proportions I don't know.
Climate has a huge effect on everything we do in life. Whether it is our own comfort, traditional crops that can still be grown or have to be changed, for all is dependent upon the weather.
As the climate is changing in the natural, it is becoming obvious that the same applies to the spiritual. The old order of church life is breaking down. In the West, there is a falling away from 'doing church'. Many who leave, leave their faith behind also.
However, there is also a new call to discipleship in Christian life to those who retain their faith, whether inside or outside the church. God is calling out those who will produce '100 fold crops', those who will 'not love their lives so much as to shrink from death'.
God's call is to obedience, to holy and righteous living, no matter the cost!
Are we prepared to make the sacrifice?
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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