From: Noel Rowlatt
August, 2020.
Around and About the Centre Place by High Priest Paul J. Gage, Independence, Missouri.
Greetings to the dear Saints of Australia,
What is your "vision" of 2020 and the Kingdom of God now that we are seven months into this year? One thing for sure is that we can much more clearly see the need for the Kingdom of God on earth (Zion.) With the world in turmoil like we have never seen, it is obvious that we will see more of the same as we anticipate the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is vital, therefore, that we proclaim Jesus Christ to the world in the way we live and also in witnessing to others. DC 85:22a says we are to warn our neighbors. The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 gives us the answer of Jesus as to who our neighbor is. In Luke 14:28 and Luke 21:12 we are told to "settle things in our heart." Also, in I Peter3:15 we are instructed to, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer with meekness and fear to every man that asketh of you a reason for the hope that is in you."
Due to the virus situation around the world, every aspect of our lives has been affected. In the USA, rather than looking at our history and trying to find ways to improve. Many are trying to destroy our history, I guess thinking that will remove our history. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 tells us there is no new thing under the sun, so while what we are seeing today may be new to us, it has been done before. What we are seeing is a continued rebellion of mankind against God which started in the Garden of Eden. Don't be hasty to blame Adam and Eve, or even, Satan. We are told to examine ourselves and realize that we are as much a part of the problem as anyone who has gone before us because of our disobedience to God's commandments.
Keep in mind and heart, dear Saints, this is not a time to be fearful of things around us, but to lift up our heads and rejoice, for the coming of the Lord is near. Heed the counsel in I Peter 2:21-25, and trust in the Lord with all your heart.
As you might suspect, events and activities have been greatly restricted this year. A number of camps and reunions have been cancelled, as well as the CRE(Conference of Restoration Elders) annual trip to Kirtland. Most, if not all, Branches were closed for a number of weeks due to government restrictions. Many Branches have now reopened and are meeting on a regular basis.
A goodly number of Branches continue to live stream services and these are available. The CRE/POZ reunion was live streamed and can be viewed by going to the Waldo Avenue RB or CRE websites. The CRE has also been providing ministry by way of Zoom which is like live stream. It has been great to see many people around the world on Zoom. I even saw Peter and Helen Archer one time. I understand Australia has been doing the same thing. Marvelous!
The POZ (Pastors of Zion) have also resumed the annual Summer Series. There have been some good services which can also be viewed on the Waldo Avenue RB web site.
Center Place Restoration School (CPRS) is planning on opening in August, as are many other schools. It remains to be seen how things continue to go.
Hopefully you are aware of the CRE call for a Solemn Assembly September 25-26, 2020 in Independence, Missouri. Information on this is available on Tidings of Zion issue 131 and on the CRE website. Also, since April, the Restoration High Priests have been encouraging the Saints to make each Sunday a day of fasting and prayer for the Kingdom of God.
God bless and keep each of you in His arms of Love.
Riches from the Scriptures by Elder Neil Kerswell, Queensland, Australia.
Vol 4 Chapter 12
During my lifetime I have come across scriptures which clearly show us that certain events in people’s lives have come to pass because of the Sin/Transgression in an individual, or sometimes a family or a Nation. It is very easy to associate all negative events in people we know as relating to a result of their sin, when in actual fact there are other reasons that often come into play. Even if it is because of sin, there are none of us who are without sin and we are to mourn with those that mourn, to do this we must truly have Empathy. Let us read John 9.
[John 9:1] And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
[John 9:2] And his disciples asked him saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
[John 9:3] Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
[John 9:4] I must work the works of him that sent me, while I am with you; the time cometh when I shall have finished my work, then I go unto the Father.
[John 9:5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
This man, who was blind, was that way, so that the works of God may be made manifest in Him. In other words he was born that way for the Glory of God. The power of God through Christ was about to be revealed in the eyes of
the people by way of a miracle.
[John 9:6] When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
[John 9:7] And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
[John 9:8] The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
[John 9:9] Some said, This is he; others said, He is like him; but he said, I am he.
[John 9:10] Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
[John 9:11] He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash; and I went and washed, and I received sight.
[John 9:12] Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
Here we have people who actually knew the man when he was blind and have recognised him, and the fact that he can now see. You would think this would inspire great joy and gratitude on behalf of the Man that has received a miracle in his life. Maybe even causing them to want to find their own relatives who needed healing and bring them to Jesus, who obviously has great power. Furthermore wouldn’t the religious leaders of the day have seen the signs in relation to Christ and sought him out to praise him. Sadly no, the outcome defied logic and good sense. They sought Him out only to tell it to the leaders of the day
[John 9:13] And they brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.
[John 9:14] And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
[John 9:15] Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
[John 9:16] Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
It didn’t take long for the ignorance of the Pharisees to come out, instead of looking to the light of Christ that was shining through the miracle performed, they sought to pick fault with Jesus and thought they had found it through the miracle being performed on the Sabbath Day. Just asked yourself though, is there any better day than the day they rested and remembered God, for God to reveal himself through Christ and heal His people? Thankfully there were a few amongst them that questioned the Pharisees judgements.
[John 9:17] They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him who hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
[John 9:18] But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
[John 9:19] And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
[John 9:20] His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.
[John 9:21] But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not; he is of age; ask him; he shall speak for himself.
[John 9:22] These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
[John 9:23] Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
[John 9:24] Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner.
[John 9:25] He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not; one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
[John 9:26] Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
[John 9:27] He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not believe; wherefore would you believe if I should tell you again? and would you be his disciples?
[John 9:28] Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.
[John 9:29] We know that God spake unto Moses; as for this man we know not from whence he is.
These religious leaders who claimed to represent God and to be close to God, were actually Spiritually Blind, they walked in darkness and preferred darkness to light. The man who was once blind and lived in darkness in relation to his eyesight for most of his life was now in process of becoming spiritually alive, we can see this through his answers to the corrupt Pharisees, the intelligence and light of God was beginning to flow through him.
[John 9:30] The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
[John 9:31] Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
[John 9:32] Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind, except he be of God.
[John 9:33] If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
[John 9:34] They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they
cast him out.
What a tragedy in relation to the Pharisees, and what a blessing is the change in the man who can now see.
[John 9:35] Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
[John 9:36] He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
[John 9:37] And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
[John 9:38] And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
[John 9:39] And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
We can clearly see this, in what has happened in the scripture we have just read together. The Pharisees could see physically all their lives but when their lives were held in the light of God they were shown to be without a doubt spiritually Blind and when the man spoke the truth about Christ or in other words when the Light of God shone forth in their midst, rather than coming into the light, willing that their deeds might be made manifest, they held to the darkness instead.
[John 9:40] And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
[John 9:41] Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
John 3:16 to 22 has the answers of why their Sin Remained, let us read.
[John 3:16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish; but have everlasting life.
[John 3:17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
[John 3:18] He who believeth on him is not condemned; but he who believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the Only Begotten Son of God, which before was preached by the mouth of the holy prophets; for they testified of me.
[John 3:19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.
[John 3:20] For everyone who doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
[John 3:21] But he who loveth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest.
[John 3:22] And he who obeyeth the truth, the works which he doeth they are of God.
If the Pharisees had truly wanted to know truth, they would have ceased to do evil and asked questions from the heart about God and this man Christ.
Think about your own life, do you serve with a willing Heart? If when you were a child and were asked by your parents to do a job or a task, you then got in and did what they asked straight away and were finished on time and to a high standard. You would be eager for them to check on your progress because you are proud of what you have done, you feel good inside, you know your works are acceptable and will also please your Mum and Dad. In this state, you are open and honest in your heart. If this is the case, then in this example you are not afraid of the Light and are willing to come into it.
Do you Procrastinate your Day away? Sometimes we put off until later what we should be doing now. When we were young, our parents may be leaving the house for a period of time and give us some Jobs and Tasks to do, saying that when we are finished we are free to play. Sometimes we procrastinate, and decide to please ourselves first. Thinking we can play first and at the last minute we’ll quickly get in and do the work. We get distracted by play and before we know it our time is almost up and Mum and Dad could get home any minute. We hope they’re late because we just aren’t ready. We rush the work and even that which is done is of a poor standard. We hear them arrive home and we feel guilt inside, we are ashamed of what we have done. We wish we could hide. We know our work is unacceptable and will disappoint Mum and Dad. We know we are worthy of punishment and have failed them and ourselves. In this example we are afraid of the light, and would prefer to stay out of it.
In the last example given we are faced with 2 choices. Submit in Humility and Repent or defend our Position and resist our Parents Authority.
We can confess what we have done and say we are sorry and will try not to repeat what we have done.
Accept our Punishment as just for our disobedience and Love & serve even harder than before we stepped
out of line. This reconciles us to our parents and allows them to show us Love and compassion.
Or
We can stand against our Parents, Defy their authority over us, and try to justify our position through
lies and deception, even trying to transfer blame onto our Brothers and Sisters unjustly. We resist our
punishment as unjust, and refuse
to learn from it, only giving the service necessary to avoid punishment, secretly hating our Parents
This ultimately alienates us from our Parents and although they may love us, can never truly express that
love to the magnitude they can with our brothers and sisters who try their best and work hard.
This is how it is in real life between us and God:
Christ is the Light of the world. He has given us commandments and says he who keeps my commandments
is he who loves me. We can be obedient, believe and worship him, and come into the Light
Or
We can be disobedient, refuse to believe, Do our own pleasure. While being afraid of the light and loving
darkness rather than light. In the scripture we shared today the Pharisees loved darkness, seeking to protect
their lie rather than confessing and moving on unto perfection. We make the choice every day to walk
in the light or Not. What will we choose this week? What will we choose today? May we be blessed in
our choices is my prayer in Jesus name Amen.
Sr Monique Hummel -Co-ordinator of this page
Some sporting events have ‘half-time’. This is a time to step back and rest, evaluate how things have been going and decide what adjustments need to be made for the rest of the game. It can refresh those who were losing in the first half. If we’re in a place where we feel we’ve fallen, we need to take some time to rest and figure out how we can make adjustments in our lives. Maybe we’ve made mistakes, experienced disappointments and failures. Maybe life has thrown tough situations our way. But we’re still here. There’s hope because God’s able to restore and redeem everything in our lives. It’s not too late for us to follow God’s plan for our lives. God looks at our future while the enemy tries to keep us focused on our past. God will never define us by our past, whereas the enemy will try to control and confine us by using it against us. With God’s help, we can rise up from the place we’re in, and live out our future with God. He says: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?’ (Isaiah 43:18-19). When Israel was in a state of desolation and despair, the prophet Micah spoke: ‘Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.’ While these words were spoken about the nation, they can also encourage us. There will be times when we’ll fall and feel like we’re in darkness, but we’ll rise again and experience God’s light in our lives. The enemy wants to keep us chained to our past. God wants to restore us and help us step into our future with. Him.
What Now? Take some time in the middle of your day to stop for a few minutes. Use the time to rest and think about whether you need to make any lifestyle adjustments for your afternoon.
What Now? Take some time in the middle of your day to stop for a few minutes. Use the time to rest and think about whether you need to make any lifestyle adjustments for your afternoon.
This article comes from United Christian Broadcasters
A Testimony By Sr. Mandy Fry, Newcastle, New South Wales.
After the prayer and testimony meeting online last night I was prompted to send this article for The Australian News.
A few years ago I was having my usual morning ocean swim. My late husband was watching on., when I realised the beach was a long way off. I had been taken out to sea by a strong undercurrent and felt unable to swim back to shore. I asked God to help me and the very next thing I was aware of, was being lifted on a wave and deposited close to shore and a thankful husband. I fell to my knees in thanks and gratitude to God for my life. To this day each time I swim I am reminded of God’s love for me and how I was spared that day.
****************
On Line Preaching Services at 10 a.m.
Sunday 2nd Local Service
Sunday 9th Priest Peter Churchill
Sunday 16th Elder Gary Melling
Sunday 23rd Elder Peter Archer
Sunday 30th Elder Danny Archer
ON LINE PRAYER MEETING at 7.00 p.m. on EACH WEDNESDAY.
Australian Priesthood Please Note
On Line Priesthood Meeting
at 7.00 pm
Monday 3rd August
****************
Tamworth News Reported by Sr. Helen Archer
Our Group has enjoyed the ministry and seeing the Saints online each Wednesday night and Sunday morning.
Birthday. Bob Wilkinson will be 85 on the 8th of August.
****************
Church of Jesus Christ Restoration Branch--Kelvin View, Euroa. Reported by Elder Murray Broughton
21-6-2020. Church at Kelvin View Hall. Reading Matthew 25:1-12. & Chapter 24: 24--51. Then Prophecies that have been given long ago.
28-6-2020. No Church-no one came. Talking with the Saints in Agno, Pangasinan ,and in Trece Martires, Cavity City.
5-7-2020. Church at Kelvin View Hall. The Sacrament Service Reading Romans: 7-12..
Service on this, and Acts 10: 38-42, John 6: 48-51.
12-7- 2020. Church at Kelvin View Hall.
Study on Mosiah Chapter 11. Alma 4:1-6. Alma12: 1-31. Hymns and prayers.
15- 7-2020. Bible study in our home at 2pm- study on Last Days. with Linda Jukes ,and Sr Delma.
19- 7-2020 . Church at Kelvin View Hall. Hymns and Prayers, Study on Helaman Chapter 5: 51-79 -108-120. Third Nephi 1: 1-18.
Thanks to Bro Danny Archer for connecting us all for the Prayer and Testimony Services, and Sunday Services.
****************
Please include in your daily prayers the following people who are in need of a blessing
Gwen Whately, Alma & Janice Kerswell Audrey Kerswell Michael & Patty Fulton,
Gary Rowlatt Ellen Sheppard, Olive Melling, Diane Broughton, Rhonda Byers,
Gregory Mackrell, Dianne Mackrell, Kevin Dowell, Dennis, Jan & Tim DeUray.
Philippines: Elder Ace De Vera, Bro Ernie Natino, and Angela Natino who was bitten by a Dog,
and needs help.
****************
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST RESTORATION BRANCH, KINGSTON
17-19 Juers Street, Kingston, Queensland. Pastor: Elder Alma Kerswell. Phone 07 3800 1151
ACTIVITY SCHEDULE. JULY, 2020.
Sun. 2nd 10.00 a.m. COMMUNION SERVICE. Elder G. Melling asstd.by Priest G. Kerswell
Musical Item for Service : Rebecca & Linda
11.10 a.m. Favourite Hymn, Scripture, Testimony Service: Priest Glenn Kerswell
Sun. 9th. 10.00 a.m. PREACHING SERVICE. Priest Peter Churchill
Streamed in
: 11.10 a.m. Class: Elder A. Kerswell (Noel as alternative)
Sun. 16th. 10. a.m. PREACHING SERVICE. Elder Gary Melling asstd.by Priest G. Kerswll
Streamed out
Musical Item for Service; Linda Myers
11.10 a.m. Class. Elder N. Churchill
Sun. 23rd . 10.00 a.m. PREACHING SERVICE. Elder Peter Archer
Streamed in
11.10 a.m. Class. Priest Glenn Kerswell
Sun. 30th . 10.00 a.m. PREACHING SERVICE. Elder Danny Archer
Streamed in
11.10 a.m. Class: Elder Gary Melling
BRANCH NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS for Kingston Branch..
Birthdays. Happy Birthday Wishes to the following people on their Special Day.
2nd August. Alva Robinson
12th August Neil Kerswell
Wedding Anniversary. Luke and Rebecca Scott will celebrate their 4th Anniversary on the 6thAugust
****************
ON LINE PRIESTHOOD MEETING at 7.00 p.m. on Monday 3rd August.
Conributions to the Australian Restoration News need to come by the 20th of the month and must be submitted by email if possible.Email details are nandjrow@bigpond.com.au
Phone contact: 07 3824 8386
We would love to have contributions from isolated members in Australia; articles or testimonies or just greetings. We would also like to hear from American saints who have ministered in Australia.
Postal details are as follows: Noel Rowlatt, 6 Wetheral Place, Alexandra Hills. Q4161
Editor Elder Noel Rowlatt Assistant Editor Gary Rowlatt
No comments:
Post a Comment