The Messenger
M O U N TA I N B I B L E C H U RC H
Volume 26 Issue 4
April 2013
Why Do Sheep Need A Shepherd? Part 4 of 5
“He restores my soul; He
leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.”
Psalm 23:3 (NKJV)
Sometimes, even sheep
need to be taught how to
think. Christians also must
learn how to think if they
want God’s blessings in their
lives. Philippians 2:5 is an
example. “Let this mind be in
you which was also in Christ
Jesus.” Philippians 2:5 (NKJV)
It’s always easier when
the change is self-initiated
but changing the selfcentered focus of our thinking
is necessary to understand
God’s purposes for our lives.
Just like when we teach domesticated dogs and cats
acceptable behavior, shepherds do the same with
sheep. This is what happened to us.
Early one mid-spring
morning, my brother noticed
one of our ewes lying down
in the pasture. Immediately
we sprang into action knowing something was seriously
wrong. Healthy sheep never
lie down this early in the
morning so soon after entering a luscious green pasture.
That morning, I had
opened the old rustic wooden corral gate that stood
between the sheep and
meadow about a half hour
prior. The sheep had bounded for joy as they entered
the pasture just like they always do. Visions of luscious
culinary delights in the
meadow seemed to dance in
their heads.
The joy sheep and goats
show as they entered the
meadow makes opening the
gate for them a privilege I
looked forward to every
morning. I never tired of
seeing such a beautiful sight.
Even Solomon compliments his fiancé’s hair by
comparing it to the beauty
of sheep and goats bounding down the side of a mountain.
“How beautiful you are,
my darling. How very beautiful! Behind your veil, your
eyes are doves. Your hair is
like a flock of
goats streaming down
Mount Gilead.” Song of
Songs 4:1
(HCSB).
The occasional attack
of a cougar or a pack of
wild dogs made protection
for the sheep necessary; so
every evening the sheep
were brought into the corral.
We value cougars and what
they do until one decides to
start enjoying lamb chops.
One thing we knew about
cougars is that they do their
hunting at night. An important
application of this information
is that a very bright light
would be turned on every
night in the corral to shine upon the sheep. Most cougars
are reluctant to enter a
brightly lit corral to capture
their dinner.
By the way, for protection
against people predators
seeking to hurt or harm you;
turn on the bright light of Jesus! People who do evil hate
the light.
On rare occasions a cougar will overcome its natural
fear of the light and jump
over the fence to kill its prey.
That’s when a few neighbors
gather to
track the
cougar to its
den and put
a stop to its
extracurricular
activities with
the sheep.
Physical protection is one
of the primary reasons sheep
are brought into a corral every evening; but this also provided an opportunity for us to
The Messenger
make a cursory observation
of the health of each sheep
when entering or leaving the
corral.
But on this particular
morning, not more than half
an hour after the sheep had
exuberantly bounded into
the meadow; one ewe was
spotted lying down. We
jumped in to our ‘53 Chevy
pickup with urgency and
drove a beeline to where
the ewe was lying down.
We didn’t
know the nature of the
problem as
yet but we
knew she required urgent
attention.
Sheep never
lie down in a
green meadow this early in the morning.
After eating a good breakfast sheep will often lie
down to ruminate around
OUR BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPING IS
IN BLOOM!
mid to late morning but never this early unless something is wrong.
As we approached her
we realized this is the ‘mean
spirited’ ewe that was always head-butting the other
sheep.
The ewe made a feeble
attempt to escape us as we
walked briskly toward her,
but in the end she was too
dizzy to keep her balance
and kept falling down. Even
for a sheep that is
‘mean spirited’ my
heart couldn’t help
feeling compassion
for her. I wasted not
even a second. I
tackled her and held
her down until my
brother reached us
with the pickup.
Once we firmly secured her, we loaded her
into the back of our pickup
and carried her back to the
barnyard. That’s where we
discovered a most gruesome
problem. Somehow this ewe
must have missed her target
when attempting to headbutt another sheep and instead hit a surface hard
enough to break the skin on
her skull. Flies found the
open wound and their eggs
had hatched. Maggots
were busy working underneath the skin on the top of
her skull.
It’s a grisly picture isn’t
it? We were prepared with
the needed solution and successfully treated the problem very quickly. The ewe
Page 2
lived many more years and
was never observed headbutting the other sheep
again. We were able to
restore her beyond the
physical. There was an additional healing that
changed her behavior.
On occasion I have observed Christians who seem
to gain pleasure out of causing pain to other Christians.
This is problematic for a
couple reasons. The first is
the unnecessary pain caused
to other Christians. But God
will always use the pain to
accomplish gain in the hurting Christian. In the end,
they will grow stronger mentally and emotionally as
well as spiritually.
The anomaly of categorizing a Christian as ‘meanspirited’ is an incongruity for
sure but such people do exist. The second is the paradox that the one seeking to
inflict damage will ultimately
be damaged.
So how do shepherds
respond to sheep who seek
to cause pain to others? We
do the same thing we did to
our sheep; we do our best to
help them heal when they
are injured, no matter how
or who caused it.
tirety. A new life’s mission
must be brought into focus.
“Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, ⌊he is⌋ a new creation;
old things have passed away,
and look, new things have
come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB)
The old self with its old
way of thinking was filled
with anger and disappointment and lots of ‘headbutting.’
The new self, which Paul
says we must put on every
day, is filled with putting
both God and others ahead
of ourselves.
This requires going back
to retrain the way they think.
Training someone who calculatedly injures fellow team
members to be healers instead; is often a lifetime
work in progress. Sometimes it happens overnight if
they injure themselves severely enough.
Together we seek for
healing and we treat ‘all’
with unaffected love, acceptance and forgiveness.
That is how one’s soul begins
to be restored. Then we
walk with them down the
path of doing right things
toward God and people.
This will open the ‘gate’ to
the luscious green meadows
To restore ones soul reof living and growing in faquires restoring them to cor- vor with God and with peorect and godly thinking. This ple.
will include repentance from
Have a wonderful and
past actions but it’s so much
blessed April, Marv
more than repentance. It’s
allowing one’s old selfish,
self-centered way of thinking to be replaced in its en-
Volume 26 Issue 4
Thought For The Day
“Our adequacy is from
God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new
covenant …” (2 Corinthians
3:5, 6)
Do you realize that God
has placed you in what is
best described as a “harvest
field”? Do you understand
God shows no preference in
the work He would have you
do or in the place He would
have you do it? It is important for the church to
train up, prepare, and send
out workers unto the harvest,
agreed? But if you just think
we train, prepare and send
those whose title is “Foreign
Missionary," I suggest you’ve
missed the whole point of
the passage above! YOU
are a servant of the new
covenant, a minister of reconciliation. If God has so
placed you to be a senior
pastor, fine; if He has so
placed you to be a mother
fine; or if He has so placed
you to be a _____, FINE!
God calls us to different
localities, career fields, and
socio-economic status so His
gospel can go forth and His
upon it. Thank you for
new opportunities, help
me to never again waste
them. (2 Corinthians 3:17 NAS)
glory will be revealed.
Will you look where you
are at right now and see
the opportunity to be a
“servant of a new covenant”? Trust that He has
called you for His purpose,
the reconciling of others to
Himself, and begin Monday
morning to renew your ministry.
Oh Lord, I have neglected your call as a servant of
the new covenant and I repent. I’ll no longer curse the
darkness where I work, but
instead I’ll reflect Your light
Written by Tim Files
(Tim Files, author of this
thought, is an airline mechanic and serves on our
FCAP Board of Directors.
He is a friend of Ed Dunlap too.)
Music: What Lies Beneath; Responsibility In Music Part 1
The Praise Team - Every
Sunday we are introduced
to the pastor’s sermon by
the Praise Team and the
music that gives glory to
God. The Praise Team
members present themselves not only to you but to
God also. Now that is being responsible! About fifteen years or more back, I
had an opportunity to be in
what musicians term ‘the
dream band.’ This band
was definitely not like the
Praise Team and didn’t last
either.
But the lesson I’d
learned from the encounter
would not sink in until years
later. My friend Jeff Gass
summoned me and guitarist
friend John Bennett to his
house for a meeting. We
went through the formalities
of choosing the music that
we wanted played, rehearsed, and even had
studio time. Then Jeff
asked us both if we truly
believed in God. John and
I looked at each other as if
Jeff had finally cracked.
Of course, we said yes,
because we wanted this
band to take off and be a
hit. But Jeff knew I was an
addict.
Jeff proceeded to explain to us we had a responsibility to God, ourselves, and to the audience.
We would influence people; our lives would be
viewed through the camera’s eye. The music we
played would change people’s lives and our own as
well. How we conducted
ourselves on and off the
stage would be scrutinized
from the words we spoke to
our personal beliefs. Jeff
made it very clear that he
didn’t want band members
who were self-destructive.
I wasn’t ready for this and
the band never made it.
Plato is quoted as saying, “When modes of music
change, the fundamental
laws of state change always with them.” That is a
pretty profound statement
from a man whose own
culture was very diverse, a
warning for future generations. Let’s look at that
warning.
The members of such
bands as Blink 182, Mike B
the Flea, and Red Hot Chili
Peppers, think nothing of
performing in the nude.
Madonna states she is a
good role model, but when
questioned about her lyrics,
music performance and
videos containing references
to gays, lesbians, and other
sexual suggestions, she simply states, “You have no right
to judge me.” Is this being
responsible? Do we have a
right to judge?
I believe Christ says
“Judge not lest ye be
judged, but judge with righteous judgment.” Discernment
is the term I like to use but I
leave that up to you.
In part 2, I will cover
more of this form past to
present but for now, the next
time you see a member of
the Praise Team really thank
them for being responsible
and representing themselves
to you and to God.
Written by Michael Brailey
The Messenger
A Big Thanks!
A lot of people worked
very hard to make our Seder
Dinner this year a huge success.
Thank you to Janet and
Paul Smith, Susan Smith, and
Michael and Heather White
for working the kitchen and
making a wonderful meal.
Thank you to Barbara
Seibel for setting the tables
and making the lovely centerpieces. They looked so
springy.
Thank you to all the
couples that hosted tables, you did great.
Thank you to the
youth for being good
sports and sweeping,
serving, and cleaning.
Thank you Heidi Skeels
for taking care of our very
youngest in the nursery.
It was a very nice evening
so until next time, Shalom
Meet Sylas
John and Regina Clark are new grandparents…
Greetings one and all,
Sylas was born on March 14th in Bakersfield. He was 11# 9oz and 22 in long. He is
a wonderful baby. Mom and Dad are doing well and glad to be home from the hospital.
John and I are very happy to be grandparents!
God bless
Street Teams Report
Have you ever experienced Gods answer to a
specific prayer? In preparation for our Street Teams
event, we
asked for
enough food to
fill 50 boxes to
distribute in our
surrounding
neighborhoods.
Thanks to your
generosity, we received
enough food for 50 boxes
(not 49 and not 51, but 50!).
Some may rationalize it as a
coincidence, but I believe it
was Gods specific answer to
a specific prayer, in order
for us to fulfill His calling to
show compassion. Isaiah
58:7-9 tells us: “Share your
food with the hungry, and
give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who
need them, and do not hide
from relatives who need your
help. 8Then your salvation
will come like the dawn, and
your wounds will quickly
heal. Your godliness will
lead you forward,
and the glory of
the Lord will protect you from behind. 9Then when
you call, the Lord
will answer. ‘Yes, I
am here,’ he will
quickly reply.” (NLT)
flyers and handed out
Bibles. We offered to
pray with the residents
and invited them to our
Easter Sunday service
and Good Friday Children’s event. When one
of our teams ran out of
boxes of food, they continued to go door to
door, offering to pray,
give out Bibles and invite
people to church.
Sixteen of us met at
church on Saturday morning, March 23, to discuss
the neighborhoods we
were to visit and
pray for the people we would meet.
We divided into
smaller teams and
went to three different neighborhoods. We
knocked on doors, offered
food, distributed church
God’s compassion is
displayed in our own
lives and recorded
throughout scripture.
Moreover, He
calls us to be
compassionate
as He is, and
to “go.” How
He uses our
obedience we
may never
know, but we know his
word never returns void
(Isaiah 55:11) and it is Gods
kindness that leads us (and
others) to repentance
(Romans 2:4).
Jesus said in Luke 6:38:38
“Give, and you will receive.
Your gift will return to you in
full—pressed down, shaken
together to make room for
more, running over, and
poured into your lap. The
amount you give will determine the amount you get
back.” (NLT)
We are so blessed and
thankful for your donations
of food (and money to buy
food!), and to Jesus Shack
for providing the boxes, and
to everyone who participated in, prayed for, and
helped with Street Teams!
Ed Dunlap, Mission’s Team
Leader
Volume 26 Issue 4
Submission, Humility, Obedience
A few days ago in a conversation with our son, the
subject of submission to authority came up. It reminded
me of the sermons over the
past few weeks that addressed humility. That has
always been a difficult word
for me to understand.
True humility as I understand it is submission to
God’s will. He says He has
appointed those in authority
over us. When we submit to
authority we are in fact submitting to the Lord. This is
then linked to obedience (to
God.)
We [SHO] we are Christians through submission, humility and obedience.
These are hard lessons to
learn. Today, we are as stiff
-necked as the Israelites
were in Moses’ day. We
knock heads with our spouse,
our boss, our teachers and
leaders, thinking we know
better. Is that not questioning God’s wisdom in putting
that person in the position
they hold?
He has given us free will
and allows us to learn from
our mistakes. Reflecting
back on my life, it is so obvious when I was following my
will. Yet even when we
make poor decisions without
praying and seeking God’s
wisdom, he is still faithful to
use everything for our ultimate good.
As humans we are taught
from birth to become independent from our parents.
Many of us become so independent we believe we have
only ourselves to rely on.
If, at an early age, we find
those in authority over us to
be unreliable, we tend to
become fiercely independent in order to provide the
structure and protection
lacking in the home.
If we make poor choices
in relationships, we continue
to be disappointed in those
we choose to love. The
independence becomes
more set. As we progress
through life, these things
continue to accumulate. At
some point, the burden becomes overwhelming. We
are at an end of ourselves
and recognize that we cannot continue on this path.
We become humble by
seeking God and asking
Him to rescue us and He
does.
It is now that He begins
reshaping us into the image
of His son, Jesus. He raises
us to be dependent on Him.
He tells us to bring all our
requests to Him, to bring all
our anxiety to Him. Being
human, we think, “Well, this
is not big enough for God
to care, so I’ll just handle it
myself.” The cycle begins
again.
In our family, we have
had alcoholics, drug addicts, and in one case what
appeared to be sexual
addiction. When one of
these family members
chose God and His will and
submitted to Him, miraculous change occurred. In
those that chose not to submit to our Lord, death came
early. One at the age of
27 from overdose; one at
53 from heart attack due
to the damage drug
abuse had caused; one
by their own hand at 56
because life was intolerable; one at 58 from the
ravages of alcohol and
cigarettes
Those of us left grieve
and ask “what more
could we have done?”
Ultimately it is an individual, personal decision
each of us must make, to
accept Christ as our Lord
and Savior or to continue
down our self-destructive
path of willful disobedience. The emphasis on
Lord is mine. To truly
make Him Lord of your
life requires submission,
submission requires humility, and by submitting
and becoming humble we
are obedient.
Addiction is a form of
disobedience to God.
His Word teaches us
moderation. If we enjoy
something our tendency is
to want more of the good
taste, feeling, etc., over
use becomes abuse, and
can result in dependence
or addiction. The substance or activity one is
addicted to becomes our
God. Coming to an end
of ourselves and humbly
asking God to deliver us
is the first step in healing.
Let’s SHO we are
Christians by allowing
Him to be Lord of our
lives through submission,
humility and obedience.
Written by Judy Lehman
ACE AND DIANA ELOFF
HAVE A 7 – 8 YEAR OLD
COMPUTER, THEY ARE
WILLING TO GIVE
AWAY. IT INCLUDES THE
MONITOR, MOUSE AND
KEYBOARD.
CALL 304-
3959 WITH QUESTIONS.
KID'S HAD AN AMAZING TIME
AT M&M'S TONIGHT...DIANA
HART SHARED HER MISSION
EXPERIENCE WITH OUR M & M
KIDS.
GOOD NEWS!
A NEW GOOD NEWS
CLUBWAS STARTED IN
MARCH AT GOLDEN HILLS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
60 CHILDREN WERE IN
ATTENDANCE THE FRIST
DAY!
PLEASE PRAY FOR
THIS NEW MINISTRY, FOR
THE VOLUNTEERS, AND
FOR THE STUDENTS.
AS LEADER CHRIS HUGHES
WROTE, “GOOD NEWS
CLUB WAS AWESOME
TODAY! THERE WERE
ABOUT 60 KIDS AND LOTS
OF ADULT HELP. PRAISE
GOD!!”
The Messenger
Diversity
FROM CAROL PEPAJ
I WANT TO THANK ALL
OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN
PRAYING DURING THESE
DIFFICULT MONTHS OF
CHEMOTHERAPY. AFTER
THREE SETS OF TREATMENT
FOR LEUKEMIA, NONE OF
THEM HAVE WORKED TO
PUT IT IN REMISSION. AS A
RESULT I WAS OFFERED THE
OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN A
SPECIAL EXPERIMENTAL
TREATMENT PROGRAM. THE
DOCTORS DON’T EXPECT
TO KNOW ANY RESULTS
FOR AT LEAST FIVE OR SIX
MORE MONTHS.
I LOVE THAT MANY OF
YOU HAVE ASKED IF THERE
IS AN UPDATE ON MY
CONDITION AND THAT’S
THE REASON I DON’T HAVE
ONE. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING
AND ALWAYS FEEL WELCOME TO ASK OR JUST TO
SAY HELLO.
I WANT TO PUBLICALLY
EXPRESS MY DEEP APPRECIATION TO HEATHER WHITE
FOR ARRANGING TRANSPORTATION DOWN TO
USC MEDICAL CENTER
SEVERAL TIMES EACH WEEK.
I’LL MAKE SURE MY
MBC FAMILY HEARS THE
NEWS AS SOON AS I
KNOW THE NEXT PROGNOSES. I LOVE AND APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU, CAROL.
One of the fringe benefits of my husbands’ involvement with Gideon International is the opportunity to experience the diversity among congregations,
yes right here in Kern County! We have traveled from
the mountain
churches here
to desert
community
congregations
of Cal City &
Mojave to
name a few.
It is amazing
to observe the pastors who
really have the ability to
relate to the people of
their community, be it racial
or economic. No matter the
size or demographic of the
churches we visit, we enjoy
the similarities among the
faithful people, in front and
behind the scenes that mirror our church family here
at Mountain Bible.
The media often stereotypes Evangelical Christianity with shap shot images of
the mega church congregations made up of only upper middle class white
Americans. What they fail
to acknowledge is the reality. Christ’s body is made
up of the vast demography
within the location that it
serves. We need not pigeon hole diversity into just
one congregation.
When our family moved
to the South we met AfroAmericans who found our
more formal worship style
culturally unappealing to
them. Expecting either congregation to conform to
each other's ethic sensibilities is not being respectful
of either's identity. The
question each church must
ask itself, ‘do we as a congregation, have a heart
and burden for
the lost
souls of
the various people
groups
within our
community?’
Diversity can be compared to money. It is not
the amount of either that
God measures us by. It is
our attitude toward it and
what we do with it. I Timothy 6:10 "For the 'love' of
money is the root of all
kinds of evil." Without
diversity churches can
get tunnel vision. We
came from a church
that served a vast airline community. A
broke family that visited later needed housing. Several families
housed them for six
months. The ministry
lessons and blessings
benefited the families who
chose not just to meet their
physical needs, but to truly
become lifetime personal
friends. Our teens also
benefitted by having a
chance to look outside of
their small world to witness
first hand a daily dependence on God, instead of
position and affluence.
Another aspect of diversity is the degree of Christian maturity within the
body. Our former church
seldom met new Christians
or genuine seekers. Here
at Mountain Bible it has
been a spiritual high to
benefit from the new found
enthusiasm of new believers. The various degrees is
spoken of in 1 Corinthians
12:22-23 "No, much rather
those members of the body
who are weaker are necessary. And those of the body
who WE think are less honorable, on those we bestow
greater honor." We as a
church body benefit from
each other’s degrees in our
walk with Christ.
In closing...I have chosen
many words to say exactly
what Paul in James 2:1
said, "Brothers and sisters
believers in
our Lord Jesus
Christ must
not show favoritism."
Thankfully as
congregation
we are not
left to those
who study
church dynamics.
Those ideas change with
the world view and changing culture... Modeling
Christ’s view … seeing each
other and our visitors
through His eyes and a
heart with total love and
acceptance is embracing
biblical diversity.
Written by Yvonne Dunlap
Volume 26 Issue 4
CONGRATULATIONS TO
SARAH BANTILAN WHO
ADVANCED TO HER YELLOW BELT DEGREE.
Our Youth In Action
WORK DAY AT THE CHURCH. THESE
TEENS ARE EARNING POINT TO USE FOR
ATTENDING PONDO CHRISTIAN CAMP
THIS JULY. EVERY POINT EARNED REDUCES
THE COST OF CAMP.
SUPER DUPER ATTENDANCE!
CONGRATULATIONS TO
AMANDA BISHOP AND
ANDREW BOYD FOR EARNING OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE AWARDS THIS
PAST MONTH.
YOU GUYS
HAVE DONE A WONDERFUL
JOB BEING A PART OF THE
SUNDAY MORNING PROGRAM. YAY YOU!
FIRST TWO DAYS OF SPRING BREAK, OUR
YOUTH ENJOYED A TRIP TO MAMMOTH FOR
SKIING, SNOWBOARDING, AND TUBING.
For Help and Answers
Call the church office-----———————————-----822-7541
Crisis Prayer requests————-—Call Christine, 822-8849
Change address or phone———————————---822-7541
Doctrinal questions-----——————-–————--------822-7541
Wedding questions----———————-————---------822-7541
Hospital visits----------------——————————-—------822-7541
Counseling Information--———–———————------822-7541
Child dedication Service -———————————---822-7541
Student Ministries (Junior High to College)—-822-7541
Membership/Baptism-----———————————-----822-7541
The Messenger of Mountain Bible Church
Office Manager and Editor: Donna Eastham
Contributing Writers: Yvonne Dunlap, Ed Dunlap, Michael Brailey, Judy Lehman, and Pastor Slifer.
Distribution: Neya Kuithe
Sunday Morning Services at Mountain Bible Church: 8:30 and 10:30
Children’s Programs are available at the same times.
Infant care (0-2 years) is available in the nursery.
Senior Pastor: Dr. Marvin D. Slifer
Children’s Ministries Director: Lori Henry
Youth Ministries Director: Christy Boyd
Human Resource Director: Christy Boyd
Trustees for 2013: Bill Ary, Andy Eloff, Robert Garcia, Paul Hughes, David Lange, Ron Rohe, Paul Smith, Ed Weston and Ron Williams.
Elders for 2013: Dennis Collins, Sam Conklin, Ed Dunlap, Dae Lantz, Dave Lawrence, Tom Lichtenwaldt, Darrin Mason, Andy McCain
and Andy Ohmit.
The Messenger is published monthly. All submissions to The Messenger are due the twentieth (20th) of each month. We would like
contributions of news articles, photos and other information from the Youth Group, Men’s and Ladies Bible Studies, Missions Team, Let’s
Eat Cafe, Energizers and Praise Team. Please remember to put your name on the article so we can give proper credit.
The Messenger is published by:
Mountain Bible Church 630 Maple Street Tehachapi, CA 93561 661-822-7541
MOUNTAIN BIBLE CHURCH
630 Maple Street
Tehachapi, CA 93561
Phone: 661-822-7541
Fax: 661-822-8557
www.mountainbiblechurch.org
E-mail: [email protected]