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: 1082 Published: 11 Jul 2022
TRANSITION FROM ‘THE CHURCH’ TO ‘THE KINGOM’
FROM “ORGANIZED” TO “ORGANIC” Part 7
e. TESTIMONY
I am sure there will be readers who are thinking, "It's all very well David, but what are the practical realities for today's world and church?"
As I said, I cannot tell you what your response should or should not be, for that is between you and the Holy Spirit to work out.
However, I would like to share with you 3 experiences I have had over the past week, which may help you.
1. TRAVELLING WITH A MAN FROM A TRADITIONAL CHURCH BACKGROUND
I spent several hours travelling with a gentleman in his 60's on a business trip. I found out he was a Christian, at one time an undertaker who, in that role, had had a lot of experience in dealing with churches, pastors and ministers. His observation was, that in strongly evangelical (primarily meaning Pentecostal churches, I would suggest) he had observed that the church attendees were followers of their charismatic personality leaders, and had little opportunity or encouragement to develop their God-given gifts within the structure of the church. He observed that the people's spiritual growth over the years was virtually at a standstill for they seemed to be going round in circles spiritually. He also observed that many were leaving these churches, disillusioned with their lack of spiritual development.
All this was completely unsolicited by me! He did agree that this was happening in the more traditional churches too.
2. A PENTECOSTAL LADY MET AT A PARTY!
On Saturday evening, Kathy and I attended a party for a friend who is shifting to Australia, as many New Zealanders have done over many years. A lot do come back in due course!
While there, I talked to a lady, whom I didn't know, and she shared with me the story of a humble, very talented worship leader, who was frozen out of the worship team of her local church as she represented a threat to the established leadership. (Her words not mine.) She persevered for several years in this church, but eventually was called out to a church in Australia where she now leads a large congregation. This lady also indicated, as did the previous gentleman, that there were many others within the church who were leaving because of dissatisfaction with the church system.
3. EQUIPPING STATION
Through my friend Rodney Francis, sadly now deceased (THE GOSPEL FAITH MESSENGER), operated a ministry training people in the use of spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of prophecy.....
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
.....Kathy and I started a group here in Napier to help people who want more of God to develop their gifts. People have been encouraged to step out in a safe and friendly environment to further develop gifts they know they have but have not been able to exercise within their church environment. We firmly emphasize that we are not interested in setting up yet another church but are here to help people take their newly developed gifts into the community and apply them in their day to day lives.
Interestingly, the result of this, over time, has been that we have grown into an 'assembly' very much like what we understand of early New Testament church meetings. For example.....
26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. (1 Corinthians 14:26-31)
These meetings are truly is led by the Holy Spirit, and His palpable presence is there. No one person dominates. And it works! Everybody now shares and ministers to others. People are participators, not spectators. We do not know where the Spirit will take us, and He takes us to places we have no conception of beforehand. We are learning to pray as true intercessors, praying God's prayers, not our own desires. Every second meeting we eat together and share communion. That is the greatest level of organisation we have! We meet in a cafe belonging to a local church. Interestingly, this church is pleased to have the Spirit present in their premises, on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday evenings of the month!
These meetings are very different to traditional 'Home Groups' (often promoting a 'church line'), or even 'Home churches', where a person or persons 'leads' (dominates) the meeting rather than the Holy Spirit being allowed to have His way.
Practical experience is showing us that once the group consistently reaches 25-30 attendees, it needs to be split, in order to ensure that all can participate.
I trust that these testimonies may be of value to you in considering the future direction of your fellowship. We don't pretend to have all, or even many, of the answers. What we do know though, is that the Lord is building His kingdom in ways that are beyond our human ability to organise. He is moving from an 'organised' religious monolith to a united, 'organic' kingdom body which we are now beginning to see and experience, in preparation for His return for His perfect bride.....
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)
(Continued next week.)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Jesus Predicts His death to the Disciples (Matthew 20:17-19, Mark10:32-4, Luke 18:31-4)
On the road to Jerusalem.
“We’re going to Jerusalem,” he told them, “and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and religious teachers. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the foreigners. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. But three days later he will rise again.”
Request From a Mother (Matthew 20:20-28, Mark10:35-45)
On behalf of her sons.
“So what do you want me to do for you?
To sit beside Jesus on His throne.
You don’t know what you’re asking,” “Can you drink the cup I drink? Can you be baptized with the baptism of pain I will suffer?”
“You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the same baptism as me,” “But it’s not for me to grant who should sit on my right or on my left. These places are reserved for those for whom they have been prepared.”
Jesus now responds to all the disciples.
“You realize that those who claim to rule nations oppress their people. The rulers act like tyrants. But for you it’s not like this. Anyone of you who wants you to be a ruler must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be the slave of all of you For even the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Blind Men Receive Their Sight (Matthew 20:20-24, Mark10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43)
Including Bartimaeus.
“Tell him to come here.”
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“You can go. Your trust in me has healed you.”
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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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PHOTO: Possible look of Jesus in society of the time
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
BEAUTY
1078. 'Beauty Within' outpaces 'Starlet' in the 'Race of Life'.
1079. We value the superficial but God' loves a beautiful heart.
1080. You cannot judge a book, or a person, by their cover!
1081. Beauty is fleeting, but a beautiful spirit, eternal.
1082. A beautiful body attracts a king, but a beautiful heart, the King of Kings.
1083. We can do little to alter our appearance, but a lot to beautify our heart.
1084. Beauty comes, beauty goes, but a beautiful heart goes on forever.
1084. To be beautiful in your old age cultivate a beautiful spirit now.
1085. Wrinkles follow the pattern of the heart rather than the shape of the face.
1086. Outward beauty is a blessing, inward beauty, God's gift.
1087. The foolish person seeks beauty, the wise, wisdom, the godly, a beautiful spirit.
1088. As the beauty of youth fades, inner beauty blossoms.
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: A REVELATION OF……. THE WAY OF HOLINESS
The pursuit of holiness is at the centre of the Christian faith, yet it is also one of its least understood principles.
Over the years I have struggled with its meaning, and more importantly, its life application! Like us all!
The interesting thing is that it can't be laid out simply in points 1 through 10, as many people make the mistake of trying to do. Rather, holiness is a life learning and development process during which the individual grows more into the image of Jesus.
This is not a theological presentation of 'the principles of holiness', for I am not a theologian, and would not attempt it. Nor would it likely do much good! For the real problem is in living it!
Rather, this is a revelation of some of the principles the Lord has shown me and which I am doing my best to apply to my own life. I am not presenting them as the super secret of, "do this and you will be holy!" The purpose is that you will take the principles and apply the lessons they contain, to help you deepen your 'walk with Jesus'.
The Lord has given me a large number of sayings, which I call 'David's Doodlings'. As you can see, I like alliteration! One doodling, in particular, seems to sum up the mystery, the dichotomy, and the experience of our pursuit of this ultimate goal.
"The closer I get to God, the further away I find I really am."
Yes, the pursuit of holiness is a lifetime walk, a journey that our Lord so much desires each pilgrim to take. I trust that this may help us a little as we seek to walk with Jesus.
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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. ***
213. Little, But Smart
A little boy wanted $100 badly and prayed for two weeks, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write a letter to the Lord requesting the $100.
When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to The Lord, USA, they decided to send it to President Bush.
The President was so impressed, touched and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5 bill. President Bush thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was delighted with the $5 and sat down to write a thank you note to the Lord, which read:
"Dear Lord, Thank you very much for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington, D.C., and as usual, they deducted 95 percent."
214. Joyful Reponse
A Sunday School teacher wanted to elicit the word HALLELUJAH from her class so asked,
"What is it people shout out with joy in our church?"
A bright young thing yelled out "BINGO!!!!!"
QWIK QWIP: “God is more interested in making us what He wants us to be than in giving us what we think we ought to have.”
215. The Optimist Can't Win
Two friends, one an optimist, the other a pessimist, argued constantly from their own perspectives.
Finally, the optimist decided to win his friend over by taking him hunting. The two stood by the side of a small pond when a pheasant took to the wing. The optimist's shot was accurate, and the bird fluttered down onto the pond. An order was given, and the optimist's dog quickly ran across the water and brought back the fallen bird.
"So, what do you think about that?" asked the optimist.
The pessimist was quick with his answer,
"Well, I guess the poor dog doesn't know how to swim."
QWIK QWIP: “God has a history of using the insignificant to accomplish the impossible.”
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
Kathy has now been in New Zealand 10 days or so, and is now starting to relax and get into the swing of things.
It is a country in strife with a surge in Covid plus the usual flu season putting huge strain on the hospital and health system, plus high inflation, with the resulting turmoil, in the political system.
The current worldwide challenges are making people uncertain where they are heading in their lives. Most Christians are the same.
However, disciples rely upon Jesus when things are tough. For they know we are held in the palm of His hand.
Sure, things will still go wrong. But full trust in our Lord gives us His peace in the midst of turmoil.
How strong is your faith?
Until next time.
His servant and yours
David Tait
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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 website
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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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