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#29/ 01-Nov-2000

          P O S I T I V E     W O R D S
               Editor: Peter Wade

       ----- http://www.peterwade.com/ -----
   ... helping you discover who you really are!

         CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS ON THE WEB!

IN THIS ISSUE...
	1. New this month
	2. Songs I Remember
	3. Positive Words for Today
	4. Searchlights from the Word
	5. Bible Study Outlines

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1.   n e w   t h i s   m o n t h
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FOR YOU TO LISTEN ...
    The sixth and final session of the "Living is Giving" audio
series taught by Peter Wade... "Honor the Lord" examines the
powerful promise of Proverbs 3:9-10 and its New Testament
equivalents, plus a summary of this series. Listen online at --
< http://www.peterwade.com/modules.php?name=zina > (25:15). 
   The series is based on Proverbs 11:24, "One gives away, and
still he grows the richer; another keeps what he should give, and
is the poorer" (Moffatt). We are either giving or grasping!
The first five sessions are still online for you to study.

FOR YOU TO READ ...
"How to Master the Bible"
For years I have been giving out this advice... now I have 
discovered where I first saw it. Enjoy this article --
< http://www.peterwade.com/articles/other/master.shtml >

For advanced Bible students...
   "The Great Cloud of Witnesses" by E.W. Bullinger
Another excerpt from E.W. Bullinger's study of Hebrews chapter 11
-- "4. Hearing (cometh) by the Word of God".
   All true believers... must "believe God," and not man. They
must believe what God says and has said; and not the traditions
of men.
   To "believe God" is not necessarily to believe or rehearse a
"Belief."
   The popular question, "Do we believe?" is thus seen to be as
absurd as it is meaningless.
   If we answer this by asking, "Believe what? Believe whom?" the
emptiness of the question is at once exposed. These are the
questions for us to-day.
< http://www.peterwade.com/articles/bullingr/cloud00.shtml >.

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2.   s o n g s   I   r e m e m b e r
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Born in Norway, the writer of this month's hymn came to the
United States as a child. He wrote some 4,000 hymns, and this
hymn is perhaps his most inspiring and well known. In recent
years the Cathedral Quartet gave an a cappella version that was
enthusiastically received by concert audiences. To hear it sung
by a great mass choir can also bring the roof down! I remember
singing this hymn with gusto as a young man in the church where I
met my wife.

Wonderful grace of Jesus, Greater than all my sin!
How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden, Setting my spirit free;
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Chorus:
Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, 
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All sufficient grace for even me!
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame!
Oh magnify the precious name of Jesus! Praise His name!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching to all the lost!
By it I have been pardoned, Saved to the uttermost.
Chains have been torn asunder, Giving me liberty;
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching the most defiled,
By its transforming power Making him God's dear child.
Purchasing peace and heaven, For all eternity;
And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

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3.   p o s i t i v e   w o r d s   f o r   t o d a y
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                         A VERSE A DAY
                         by Peter Wade

"Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against
thee" (Psalm 119:11).

Memorization is an ongoing aid from which every believer, young
and old, can develop and gain benefit. God exhorts us to hide His
Word in our heart.
   An old saying "A verse a day keeps the devil away" has a lot
of truth in it. If I center my thoughts on one truth all day,
remind myself that this is God's statement about me and know it
must be true, then I will be blessed. After doing this for a few
weeks I will be surprised at how much of God's Word I am
understanding and appreciating. A verse a day does not sound a
lot, but it is 365 verses in a year that I will have gone over
word for word and started to understand and to apply.
   Suppose I want to memorize Ephesians 1:3, "Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with all spiritual blessing in Christ." I will
repeat the verse over and over to myself until I can repeat it
word perfect. While doing this I will be thinking about what the
verse says and means, about the potential of the great truth it
contains.  I will think about it from a personal viewpoint.
   As I repeat this truth I will begin to realize that "He has
blessed me with all spiritual blessings. Yes, I am blessed with
every spiritual blessing. I am blessed with Heaven's best!" I
will begin to understand and appreciate how much God loves me and
how much I am beginning to understand about Him.
   Someone has said that it is not how many times I have gone
through the Bible but how many times the Bible has gone through
me. (From "You Are A New Creation", Chapter 4, adapted by Hildy
Matthews.)

AFFIRMATION: I will find a positive verse each day and commit it
to memory.

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             *** AUSTRALIAN BIBLE CONFERENCE ***
                JANUARY 5-11, 2001 (Fri-Thur) 
    DR. NORMAN CAMPBELL writes: "I have been asked to be the main
guest speaker at this conference run by my good friend Dr. Peter
Wade of Positive Word Ministries, who also will be sharing in the
teaching times.  It is expected that a number of folks from
Australia, New Zealand, USA and other places will be attending
the conference set in wonderful Victorian bushland in the SUMMER.
[US visitors can miss a cold winter by coming to this summer
conference. Good flights still available: check Air New Zealand
and Air Pacific.]
   The Conference will be held in Halls Gap, Victoria, Australia,
in the beautiful Grampian Mountains in Western Victoria. Quiet,
restful, yet within easy reach of tourist activities and
recreation. 
   The conference is for the period January 5th to 11th, 2001 --
6 nights, 7 days. It commences with the evening meal Friday 5th
and concludes after lunch on Thursday 11th. Accommodation is
excellent. All rooms are motel-style, carpeted and with their own
en suite. All meals catered by conference centre staff.
   ONLY 3 ROOMS LEFT!! (minimum twin-share, plus room for a few
singles sharing). 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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4.   s e a r c h l i g h t s   f r o m   t h e   W o r d
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G. Campbell Morgan was a well-known preacher and writer of over
60 books from the first half of the 20th century. In this spot
each issue we reproduce a comment from one verse in every chapter
of the Bible. We continue with Paul's first letter to the
Thessalonians.

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks"
(I Thessalonians 5:16,17)

These three injunctions stand out in clear light upon this last
page of the letter. Probably without design on the part of the
writer they are closely related to the threefold description of
the Christian experience with which the letter opens. In a work
of faith they had turned to God; in all that such a revolution
meant let them "rejoice always." In a labour of love they were
serving the living God; let them maintain that service by
remembering to "pray without ceasing." In patience of hope they
were waiting for the Son from heaven; let them, therefore, "in
everything give thanks." 
   The one secret of true and constant joy is that of our right
relation with God. To be reconciled to Him, to have access to
Him, to stand in His favour -- these are the results of turning
to Him; and these are the things that make for perpetual joy. The
one reason for prayer which is at once acceptable to God and of
prevailing power, is that of a maintained service. To practise
our fellowship thus, is to prevail in whatever labour He
appoints. The one cause for perpetual thanksgiving is that upon
all the shadowed pathway there shines the light of the glory that
is to be revealed when the Son shall come again. Concerning all
these injunctions the Apostle said: "This is the will of God in
Christ Jesus to you-ward." That is our strength -- God's will,
and the enablement of Christ Jesus!
  
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5.   B i b l e   s t u d y   o u t l i n e s
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These Bible Study outlines come from the excellent book by F.E.
Marsh, "1,000 Bible Study Outlines".

CHAIN OF GOLDEN LINKS (II Corinthians 5:17-21)
1.  Divine Origin. "If any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new
creation" (margin). The Christian life is an implantation of the
Divine, a translation into the Divine, and a reproduction of the
Divine.
2.  Divine Operation. "All things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to Himself by Jesus Christ." Three things are stated here -
the worker, the means, and the blessing. The Worker is God. We
are God-called, saved, justified, kept, used, filled, and
sanctified. The means of our blessing is "by," or more correctly,
"by means of Jesus Christ;" and the blessing mentioned is, "we
are reconciled to Himself."
3.  Divine Ordination. "Given to us the ministry of
reconciliation... committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
All believers have this ministry and word committed and given to
them. The word is that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto Himself," and the end and aim of all ministry, to get men
reconciled to God and each other.
4.  Divine Office. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ." The
counterpart of Christ for us is, we are for Christ: As lights to
shine for Him, as witnesses to testify for Him, and as an
embassage to be on service for Him.
5.  Divine Opportunity. "We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye
reconciled to God." As the priests of old acted for God and the
people, so believers act for God and others. We pray to men for
God, and we pray to God for men.
6.  Divine Offering. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us." He
is a Message that has in it the melody of Heaven's music, and yet
how deep its meaning and mystery! "Made sin!" Made what I was and
did! Yes, and that's the reason He can make us other than what we
are.
7.  Divine Obtainment. "That we might be made," or become, "the
righteousness of God in Him!" Being "in Him," who is the
Righteousness of God, we must be what He is, even as the
ingrafted shoot is part of the tree.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A BELIEVER IN CHRIST (AS REVEALED IN JOHN 15)
Every metaphor and simile of the Christian life elucidates some
trait of the character of a Christian.
1.  A Branch for Fruitfulness -  v.5. A branch in a vine is the
outcome of the productive quality of the root and stem, and is
dependent for its fruitfulness from them. Through the branch the
vine manifests itself in fruit. It needs to be cleansed, and
pruned to bring its fruit to perfection. Being united to Christ,
we bring forth fruit, and as we allow the Vine-dresser to develop
us, we bring forth the "more fruit," yea, "much fruit," and the
fruit that remains -  vs.2,8,16. The fruit is "love" (Gal.v.22).
2.  A Disciple for Faithfulness -  8-10. Discipleship is
evidenced by fruitfulness. Being a disciple, we "learn" of
Christ, we follow Him, and we are obedient to Him -  Matt. xi.29;
Luke ix.23; John xiii.34.
3.  A Friend for Communion -  15. Three things evidence
friendship, namely, confidence, sympathy, and fellowship. We
might call these love in exercise, like the love of Jonathan for
David.
4.  A Chosen One for Holiness -  16. When anyone or anything is
set apart for a given purpose, and that purpose is achieved, the
election is seen. We prove our election by selecting the things
that faith adds to itself -  II Peter i.10.
5.  An Ordained One for Benefit -  16. Fruit is produced for
another's benefit, is lasting in its blessing, and is a
forerunner of answered prayer. See the "that" in verse 16.
6.  A Servant for Employment -  20. To serve such a Master is a
privilege, even though we may have to suffer because of our
association with Him. He has saved us to serve, and we save
ourselves from many things in serving.
7.  A Witness for Testimony -  27. A witness is one who knows,
and is able to tell out what he has seen and heard. The thing
that gave power and brought conviction in the early days was what
was evidenced in the disciples -  Acts i.8; ii.37; iv.13.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD'S WORD
The following characteristics of the Word will indicate in some
measure what it means to preach it.
1. "The Word of God" to reveal (Heb. iv.12).
2. "The Word of the Lord" to command (I Thess. i 8).
3. "The Word of Christ" to inspire (Col. iii.16).
4. "The Word of the Gospel" to gladden (Acts xv 7).
5. "The Word of Salvation" to deliver (Acts xiii.26).
6. "The Word of Reconciliation" to preach (II Cor. v.19).
7. "The Word of Grace" to build up (Acts xx.32).
8. "The Word of Faith" to assure (Rom. x.8).
9. "The Word of Truth" to arm (II Cor. vi.7).
10. "The Word of Righteousness" to feed (Heb. v.13).
11. "The Word of Life" to attract (Phil. ii.16).
12. "The Word" in its exclusiveness (Matt. xiii.19,20,
21,22,23).
13. "The Faithful Word" to instruct (Titus i.9).
14. "The Engrafted Word" to save (Jas. i.21).
15. "The Sincere Milk" to feed (I Peter ii.2).
16. "The Sure Word of Prophecy" to enlighten (II Peter i.19).

CHRIST
Jesus as the Christ was the Messiah, the Sent One of God to do a
work for us (see the 43 times in John's Gospel He is spoken of as
the One who was "sent," and the purpose why He was sent -  John
xx.31).
As the Christ He has - 
1. "Died for us" -  Rom. v.8.
2. He was raised for us -  Rom. vi.9.
3. He lives in us -  Gal. ii.20.
4. He has redeemed us -  Gal. iii.13.
5. He brings us near to God -  Eph. ii.13.
6. He strengthens us -  Phil. iv.13.
7. He is the Object for our concentration in life -  Phil. i.21.

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THANKS for reading Positive Words. Please share it with a
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(c) 2000 Peter Wade
http://www.peterwade.com/