Heartland News & Prayer

November 13, 2011 by Wendy Carter.

Greetings!

“… let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

This past week I received an e-mail from Penny Spears listing the beneficial uses of Peroxide. Are you familiar with this inexpensive product that can be purchased in your drug store? The list included mirror cleaning, curing skin infections, lessening tooth pain, killing bacteria on a wooden cutting board, teeth whitening etc. Man is able to create so many good deeds such as developing this very practical product but all praise needs to go to God who put that intelligence and perseverance to discover in man to begin with. Thank you, Penny, for this helpful information!

Pastor Jacob Stewart leaves for Myanmar this evening to begin his trip to visit William and then Richard and his orphanage. Thank you everyone for contributing medical and school supplies along with your money. Jacob hopes to purchase some gravel and brick forms to get them started on their brick-making business in a small way. Please pray for wisdom for all in this project to allow the orphanage to sustain itself and help provide for the teenagers leaving high school in the years to come.

The Stand By Me Conference sponsored by Compass Coaching International went over really well last Tuesday evening. Dr. Swenson supplied us with fact after fact about our universe and the human body as created by God. Do we really realize Who we are dealing with? Also thank you for your prayers for Gary attending our Fellowship National Convention this week as he did have many heart-to-heart discussions with several pastors. Pray for the future under the new president’s (Steve Jones) leadership.

Please remember to pray for the Burton family this week as they had to resell their house due to financing falling through for original buyers. Lots of stress!

Home Group happens this Thursday at the Burtons’ house at 7:00 p.m. Last week we watched the life of John Newton, writer of Amazing Grace. His life eventually did turn out very good after so many very bad years. It is amazing what God can do in one’s life when someone is willing to turn in an opposite direction.

God bless,

Wendy
wendy.carter@kainos.org
This blog is a summary of our 9:00 Sunday morning services held at 7777 Churchville Rd., Brampton, ON L6Y 0H3, 905-230-8116. It can always be found at www.blog.heartlandfellowship.ca.

Prepared Answers by Gary Carter: Peter exhorts us in I Peter 3:15 to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Gary’s question for some of the pastors at the Fellowship Convention last week was, “If a new believer came to your church and asked why he/she should come to your church, what would be your answer?” Most of the pastors said they would have to get back to him with their answer.

We viewed a video of a frustrated mayor of Philadelphia who was addressing a public meeting. He blamed parents for not taking care of their children properly which resulted in their city having to take care of them in jail. He blamed teenagers for not making something of themselves, for not extending their English vocabulary beyond curse words, for blaming their problems on white people. He told them to “take off their hoodies, pull up their pants and buy a belt.” His sermon was prepared but did he really make progress?

Jake Stewart is on his way to Myanmar on our behalf to help William and Richard solve their huge cultural problem of begging by getting them to develop a brick-making business to sustain themselves. Both locations have similar problems but turning up the volume doesn’t really get leadership any where. There must be a concerted show of care, love and hope with gentleness and respect to pull them out of the slums.

Conversations with Jesus – Commitment (Luke 9: 57-62) by Chris Burton: Luke reveals the cost of following Jesus through conversations with three “not so wise” men Jesus met travelling along the road with His disciples. You are either in or you’re out – there is no such life in between. Two of these men declared that they wished to follow Jesus, to become His disciples. The other was one whom Jesus summoned to follow Him. Each of the responses seems a little harsh and unnecessary at first glance. Each of the three men seem to have reasonable responses to what Jesus says. If these responses were given to us today we’d likely say “sure…no problem…maybe some other time.” Jesus has many following him along the road. We cannot assume that only His disciples would chat with Him.
In the first conversation a man approaches and says he will follow wherever Jesus goes. REALLY! This man has seen what Jesus can do/has done and is moved to respond but has he counted the cost? Jesus reminds him that it isn’t as glamorous as he may think. Is he really ready to “live as I live” with zero job security, a zero earthly portfolio and zero property? Did the second man’s dad just die and was Jesus that callous? If the man had just lost his father would he be walking with Jesus along the road? Would he not be one of the healing stories if he had brought his father to Jesus when he was dying? Or is the man speaking of a family responsibility that he has to his dad while he is still alive. Perhaps he’s left the family business for a few days or weeks to follow Jesus as he passes through his area. Jesus asks him to give up his family tie/commitment and follow Him but the man can’t do it. “Let me wait until my dad passes away and I get the family business all squared up…then I’m good to go.” The third man’s request seems reasonable so why such a strong/demanding response? The plow image speaks of the importance of staying focused on the job. Plowing a field requires you to focus on a point on the horizon and aim for it. You may glance back to see if the rows are straight but if you focus on what is behind then the path/rows will be crooked. Once committed it is forward only not back where you came from. Sure the man could have written home to friends and family. He may have even been able to stop and visit, assuming they wouldn’t stone him for his new faith. But he wanted to go back first and in doing that he would allow the past to overtake the present. Jesus wants the past left behind; the goal is up ahead on the road.

So why turn away followers? Jesus isn’t looking for fair weather believers. Does He want to build the kingdom? Yes. Does He want to add to those doing his work? Yes. Jesus said to the first man, “Count the cost.” He said to the second man, “Leave it behind.” He said to the third man, “Don’t look back.” The cost of not following Jesus is no eternal life, no guidance (or meaning) in this life and no opportunity to glorify God.

Revelation (6) by Steve Macdonald: So who were the four living creatures surrounding the throne that John viewed (Revelations 4:6-11)? Were they cherubim, seraphim or possibly representations of Jesus? Cherubim, from the Assyrian “kirubu” (to be near) were familiars, personal servants, bodyguards, courtiers or angelic beings involved in the worship and praise of God. Cherubim are mentioned 69 times in the bible - 68 times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament. The first time is in Genesis 3:24 after God drove man out of Eden. Other passages of note were Ezekiel 1:5-25,10:1-22 and 28:12-15 (description of Satan). Cherubim have four faces and four wings. Seraphim is from either the Hebrew verb “saraph” (to burn) or the Hebrew noun “saraph” (a fiery, flying serpent). Seraphim are only mentioned twice in Isaiah 6:2,6.
Some believe John describes different aspects of Jesus - like a lion, king of the beasts; (Jesus King of kings); like an ox (cow, heifer), an animal used for sacrifice (Jesus Christ the Servant who was sacrificed for man’s sin); like a man’s face, humanity (Jesus as a Man, Christ, the Perfect Man); like an eagle, high flying above anything else, sovereign, supreme (Jesus in all His Deity, Christ the Son of God). Are these cherubim, seraphim? They almost appear to be a combination of the two - a blend between Ezekiel and Isaiah’s visions. Johns says they were “like” these creatures. He is under a directive by Jesus to “Write on a scroll what you see …” So why not spend more time describing these creatures? Maybe the creatures’ exact description is not important. With what John provides, the seven churches can draw references from Ezekiel and Isaiah for a clearer picture.

Are the creatures watch dogs, keeping an eye on everyone and reporting to God, providing an account to Him on how we are doing? Nope. Read Romans 14:12. With the exception of Jesus, these creatures are closer to God than even the 24 elders. Covered with eyes, they see everything that can be seen. With that available knowledge they give glory and honour and thanks to God continually. They know that God is worthy of this glory and honour. As the creatures see all and proclaim the truth, the elders recognize this and respond to it; they fall in worship, as their natural response to Him. These elders, human representatives, lay down their crowns, lay down any claim to rule, before the One who alone is worthy to rule. They worship the Lord as the One who made all things and who sustains all things. He alone has claim to rule it. Is it important that John provide a detailed description of the creatures so we can know whether they are cherubim or seraphim, angels, or some kind of description of Jesus?? Does it matter - 1 eyes or 1,000,000; 1 face or four; four wings or six? If it was, he would have provided us with just such a detailed description. What is important is not what they look like; it is what they see and do. These creatures see everything and they are continually proclaiming the truth that God is worthy of glory and praise - that God alone is worthy to rule yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Obstructed View – Why Can’t They See? by Gary Carter: The church is growing the greatest in China. Most of the meetings occur underground. The darker the world the brighter the light we must be. People are broken and can be renewed (Romans 1:16) through love even with evil around. They can be rescued by a decision of reconciliation (Luke 24:47; 2 Corinthians 5:19). You can’t try to mix the old rules in with the new and create your own compromise recipe for life. You can’t rely on your own self-assessment for your answers from compelling media, solitary thought (seems good to me!) or group discussion. You can’t do it your way or learn as you go along (Isaiah 64:6-7). You need advice for eternity (James 1:22-24). Andrea Crouch, a well-known Gospel musician in the 70s reached out to Michael Jackson who never really seemed to get it.

We can learn about some dangerous coping mechanisms from Psychology 101:
Aim Adjustment … Lowering sights to what seems comfortable.
Avoidance … Avoiding situations/ thoughts that cause discomfort.
Compartmentalizing … Separating conflicting thoughts into categories.
Denial … Pretending it is not so.
Displacement … Shifting one’s attention to an easier target.
Intellectualization … Moving real issues to the harmless world of thought.
Passive aggression … Agreeing but then avoiding compliance.
Projection … Putting your bad feelings on others.
Rationalization … Creating realistic but false explanations.
Reaction formation … Over acting in the opposing direction.
Regression … Going back to a former state.
Suppression … Consciously holding back unwanted thoughts.

Using these mechanisms can hurt our bright light and the cause of Christ. Sometimes we see faults in others that occur in our own lives. We can’t compare. God doesn’t grade on a curve. The hallmark of the Christian life is love in the house (2 Corinthians 10:12; John 13:34). What if everyone did what I do? Would anything get done? We must see lost people and give them the opportunity to know Christ.

Punny Enough by Steve Macdonald:
How to Get Attention by A. U. Overthere
Woman in Danger! By Warner Quick
Ready … Set … by Sadie Word
The Miracle Drug by Penny Cillin
Overweight Vegetables by O. Beets
Political Correctness by Noah Fence
I Need Insurance by Justin Case
Nordic Groundskeepers by Leaf Rakers
The Palace Roof Has a Hole by Lee King

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