Kirkby Christian Fellowship
Date: July 18, 2007 04:29AM
Hi all, just some answers to what you asked Trina - please don't take my answers as my agreement with what is/was being taught - just how I understood things.
God's heart searcher is an angel from what I can remember. A messenger of god. From what I remember it was an angel that appeared to Elizabeth's husband Zacharias in the new testament to deliver judgement on him for not believing, so that shows angels have power to discipline. (Luke 1:19)
Wheels are one of the 'wineskins' of the fellowship. People who are 'partners', i.e. those who have made a commitment to the fellowship and to be partners of the vision are put into groups called wheels. This is based on Ezekiel's vision in the old testament of wheels that move god's throne (Ezekiel 1). They are for developing ministries and replace the typical ministries of pastor, teacher etc. So the wheel leaders are those who lead these groups. They used to meet about once a month - so a bit like house groups but less regular.
As for obedience to visions - Peter had the vision of the animals (Acts 10:9-15) and is told to 'rise.. kill and eat' animals which were against his beliefs to eat. But in being obedient to visions, that assumes, firstly the vision is from god and genuine, and secondly that the interpretation of the vision is right - god wasn't asking Peter to literally eat some 'unclean' animals.
I also read something recently that was very interesting (you may disagree!), and relates to things like the wedding dress... 'Religious symbols help believers to understand their faith... they unite the intellect and the emotions... they enable individuals to share certain commonly held beliefs... while also giving freedom to read private meaning into them. Religious symbols share these general characteristics, but are often even more intensely powerful, because they enshrine and express the highest values and relationships of life... If such symbols are attacked or desecrated, an intense reaction is felt by the faithful (haven't most of us experienced this?), which shows us how deeply symbols are embedded in the emotional life of believers. The power of symbols lies in this ability to unite fellow-belivers into a community. It provides a focal point of faith and action, while also making possible a degree of personal understanding which those outside may not share... Symbols serve as triggers of commitment in religions. The enshrine the teachings and express them in a tangible way. People can hardly live without symbols because they always need something to motivate life; it is as though abstract ideas (very abstract in some cases!) need to be set within a symbol before individuals can be impelled to act upon them.'
I know it's a bit long, but what it showed me is that all these symbols are very clever ways to get people hooked into something that may not necessarily make sense to people on the outside looking in.
Onlyme.