Partake – Words In Scripture Explained –Sin

Welcome to Partake WISE.  The word for today is sin.

Sinning!

I wonder if you have ever played tennis and went to hit the ball but missed.  Or you actually hit the ball and it went outside the court!  Or perhaps you are a golfer, and one day you went to putt the ball in the hole, and you missed! The tennis player who hit the ball out of court or the golfer who missed the hole can be both be said to have committed a sin, because they missed!  And that is what a sin, in biblical terms, is:  it is missing the mark that God has set.

Big and Little Sins

And everybody, particularly in the West, including those who would not call themselves Christians, has some idea of sin.  They generally call doing things like telling lies or speeding in the car, “little sins” because everybody does those, they say!  And of course, only a tiny minority of people commit the real big sins, such as murdering other people or robbing banks!  So to most people’s minds, there are degrees of sins, depending on how many people actually do that kind of sin. 

Sin actually is…

So what actually is the biblical definition of sin?  Sin is the lack of conformity, , to the Moral Law of God, either in deeds, attitudes, or state. Do you remember Jesus saying the two greatest commands were to love God and love others? Any breakage of those two commandments is sin, whether by a lot or a little. There are two kinds of sin. Firstly there are the sins, which are active disobedience, or the sins of commission. These are where God’s commands are actively broken! Secondly there are the passive kinds, which are sins of omission. These occur when people are not doing, as they ought to do (James 4:17)! 

Stop! Confess! Live!

Everybody, including Christian Disciples, sin in one of those two ways!  Of course Christian Disciples have accepted Jesus Christ and have had their sins forgiven.  But Christian Disciples, still sin!  But as a Christian Disciple, you are to take God’s view of sin! You cannot claim to be without sin, because as 1 John 1 says, you would be living in self-delusion and making God out to be a liar! So, when you realise you have sinned, be quick to confess it, so that your relationship with Jesus Christ remains at peak intimacy! For as 1 John 1v9 says, “Jesus is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus wants us to have complete fellowship with him, and by confessing sin; your fellowship with Him is made richer, more intimate and stronger. 

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Partake - Words in Scripture Explained – Holiness

Welcome to Partake WISE. The word for today is Holiness.

I wonder what the biggest fence, wall or barrier is that you have either seen or that you know about! Perhaps one of the biggest walls in the world is the Great Wall of China. It is seen from space and is over 4000 miles long, about 25 feet high and up to 30 feet thick! It is huge and enormous!! It was built to keep out invaders – for that is what walls and barriers do: Keep out enemies!

Holy Barrier

However big the Great Wall of China is, there is one barrier that is even bigger! I wonder if you know what it is!! The biggest barrier to exist is the one, which separates God from all His creation. This barrier is holiness, for God is a holy God. Ezekiel 1v27-28 gives us a vivid picture of the holiness of God and is seen in the fire, light, radiance, full of glory and majesty.

What is holiness?

Holiness is what separates God from all His creation. For God alone is holy and full of glory. Exodus 15v2 “Who is like you, O God, glorious in holiness!” Or Isaiah 60v25 “To whom will you liken me, or shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Holiness is also a moral attribute of God, of purity and freedom from the stain of ALL sin. Habakkuk 1v13 “of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look upon sin. Holiness is still more than that! It is in fact the sum of all His attributes! God is holiness and holiness is God!

Holy People:

Perfect holiness, while to us is inconceivable, has been revealed; revealed in the sinless man, Jesus Christ. As a Christian Disciple, you also are declared holy! That is because of what Jesus did on the cross… He has broken down the barrier between God and man. And if you are a Christian Disciple, you are declared holy, and therefore you are to live a holy life worthy of Jesus Chrsit.! As a Christian Disciple, the Holy Spirit is transforming you into the very image of the holy one, Jesus Christ. As a Christian Disciple, you are no longer an enemy of God but a friend of God and belong to God! So live out your faith and live your Christian Discipleship in holiness.

Two books I can recommend on Holiness are:

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and A Passion for Holiness by JI Packer

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The book of 2 Peter summarised in one minute with key verses and key theme…

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Tomorrow, Monday 16th June, the mission group at the Church I attend, will be meeting to discuss whether to formally take Partake Ministries as an official church mission partner… Below is the outline I gave them and it is also attached to this posting as a PDF… Thank you for your prayers…

Dave Roberts Partake Ministries

Why Partake?

It is going to be harder to be a Christian Disciple in the western world as time goes on, and so discipleship and learning solid biblical doctrine etc is essential in order to endure sufferings/ persecution… Also discipleship is just not done a whole lot in the church today…”

Vision Statement: Partake Ministries exists to communicate and disseminate resources for the purposes of Evangelism and Christian Discipleship by employing radical and relevant methods.

Mission Statement: With the help of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen those who are weak in faith; to comfort the spiritually uncomfortable and to make uncomfortable the spiritually comfort. This is done so that people would “partake of righteousness” Matthew 5v6, and that through their life of discipleship, Jesus would have supremacy (Colossians 1v18).

What do we do?

1. Write, produce and distribute evangelistic/discipleship resources. These would be distributed both online and through churches, with a suggested donation basis. Currently these include:

• ·ADD (Active Daily Discipleship) Partake! Discipleship Course. This will be distributed by audio CD and/or MP3 CD, and accompanied by a booklet outlining the teaching with appropriate questions. Talks of up to 10 minutes, completed and recorded. Being proof-read at the moment.
• The Jesus File - 8 short talks/videos of less than 3 minutes discussing Jesus evangelistically.
• The Bible File - 8 short talks/videos of less than 3 minutes discussing how we should interact with Scripture. Audio is complete so need to work on the videos.
• Bible Book in a Minute - where each book of the bible is summarised and key verses given within a minute. New Testament written and videos produced. The Old Testament is to be started.
• JOG (Jesus Overview in the Gospels) - Series of 10 minute talks. Completed and recorded. Being proof-read at the moment.
• BBW (Big Bible Words) - Short talks of no longer than 3 minutes, discussing some of the major words/themes of the Christian faith… Currently being worked upon.
• JAPE (Jesus’ Anecdotes & Parables Explained) - Short talks of no longer than 3 minutes, discussing some of Jesus’ parables. Not started yet

2. The website(s) currently has on average about 100 unique visitors daily and on average 150 downloads occur. 3. Running a discipleship course on a lunchtime, evening or on a Saturday - either at PBC or another church in town. 4. Assist churches to use virtual communities and virtual reality in their local ministry. 5. Support smaller churches and lead worship and/or preach there in order to give the elders/pastor a break for a week. 6. Devising a welcoming & newcomers strategy for churches. 7. Devising a discipleship strategy for churches.

Reasons Why I Believe God Is In This Venture

• Other people have suggested it, including those churches that have turned me down for jobs.
• Other people who I don’t know, who have evaluated the resources.
• Other people who I do know, who say that it would suit my gifting.
• Through prayer and the regular prayer-walks I have engaged upon through Ringwood town.
• God has supplied 2 flexible and part-time jobs for me to remain in Ringwood and also have time for the development of Partake Ministries.
• Support Group has been set-up and Accountability Group will be set-up.

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Partake - Words In Scripture Explained – Old Nature & New Nature

Welcome to Partake WISE. The word for today is “old and new nature”…

Old clothing!

I wonder if you have ever had a favourite piece of clothing, say a coat, a shirt or a dress. It was so comfortable and cosy that you wore it seemingly every day. Then one day you realised that this coat was dirty and smelled badly. It was infested with fleas, mites and disease-ridden bacteria. It was filthy and needed washing. It was no longer fit to be worn yet you still wanted to wear it because it is so comfortable. But you couldn’t wear it, because it was only fit for burning and burying.

Swapping old for new!

That is the same for the Christian Disciple in regards to the old sinful nature that each person is born with. This old nature is in conflict with God, because it is self-centred and self-pleasing. When you became a Christian Disciple, you gained a new nature that is both God pleasing and God centred. When Jesus died on the cross, it was for your old sinful nature as well as your sins! Your baptism in water symbolizes your old inherent sinful nature as being buried with Jesus Christ (Romans 6v6) and you are raised to live a new life with a new nature (Romans 6v4)!

Why have this new nature?

Now that you are a Christian Disciple, and have a new nature, you are no longer separated from Him because of your old nature. You have a new nature and God has taken care of your past and He no longer holds your sin against you!

We fight the old with the new!

As a Christian Disciple, you have a new spiritual nature to help you fight the struggle against sin and disobedience against God who is now your King and master! Moreover, He has put His Spirit within you, and the more you allow Him to control you, the stronger your new nature becomes. Your old nature is gone, burned and buried. Continue living as if you are always putting on your new nature like a new coat, so that as His disciple, you are living a life worthy of His Holy Name.

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