Friday, July 27th, in the year of our Lord 2018
By Jonathan Clark
American Pastor Released from Turkish Prison
Praise God! Pastor Andrew Brunson was allowed to go to his home in Izmir, Turkey on Wednesday following a court order releasing him from his nearly two-year imprisonment.
Brunson now remains under house arrest until his next hearing in October on false charges.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced the United States would impose “large sanctions” on Turkey for their long detainment of Pastor Brunson.
Psalm 146:7 says, “[God] executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners.”
Persecution Testimonies Shared at State Department Conference
The US State Department held their first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom conference this week with representatives from 80 nations.
The event highlighted multiple Christian persecution stories.
Jamie Powell, wife of Chinese pastor John Cao, shared her husband’s story and current imprisonment in China. Peter Bhatti shared the story of his brother Shahbaz, one of Pakistan’s few Christian politicians who was assassinated in 2011. And Jacqueline Funari, the daughter of Pastor Andrew Brunson, was able to share about her father and call for his release.
Australian Church: Homosexual Faux Marriage is Legitimate
God said in Genesis 2:24, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
But Australia’s third largest denomination, Uniting Church in Australia, voted this month to change their definition of marriage to include homosexual relationships. The denomination’s president said this was to “honour the diversity of Christian belief among our members.”
The new statement of belief still allows ministers to hold to a Biblical definition of marriage, but also allows ministers to officiate homosexual weddings.
Over 60 percent of Australians voted in favor of legalizing faux homosexual marriage last year.
Illinois Makes Learning Perversion History Mandatory
Illinois lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 3249 that would require grade students to learn a so-called homosexual/transgender history if they want to graduate. Parents trying to remove their children from the lesson plan could face up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine.
Meanwhile, Indiana’s Senate Enrolled Act 65 went into effect this month, allowing parents to opt their children out of the sex education offered by public schools. The bill also requires schools to try to get written permission from parents before teaching children about sexuality. Schools must also notify parents if their education references abortion, birth control, or gender identity.
Facebook’s Dramatic Stock Drop
After reporting less-than-expected second-quarter results, Facebook’s stock dropped by 20 percent yesterday, amounting to a record $119 billion. No other company in the US stock market history has experienced such a dramatic one-day loss.
This comes after controversy surrounding Facebook’s data leaks and fake news scandals.
“Eat Mor Chikin” Cows Headed North of Border
Chick-fil-A is going international.
The Christian fast food chain is set to open their first international restaurants in Ontario, Canada. Fifteen locations are being planned for Toronto to open as early as 2019.
Sneak Peek: How God Transformed One Canadian Life
From an atheist drug addict to a Canadian Christian who is facing a $104 million lawsuit for passing out 3,000 Gospel tracts at a homosexual pride parade, stay tuned for a World View Special Report immediately following the newscast about how God pursued Bill Whatcott and brought him to Himself.
Unshakable Work Ethic Brings Unexpected Surprise
20-year-old Walter Carr was preparing for his first day of work with Bellhops Moving Company when his car broke down the night before.
Not to be deterred, Walter got up at midnight to walk the 20 miles from his apartment in Birmingham, Alabama to the job site, reports Good News Network. The day’s clients were so touched by Walter’s strong work ethic, they told the moving company’s CEO Luke Marklin.
Marklin, in turn, gave Walter his own 2014 Ford Escape. You can watch the video here.
4 World View Listeners Gave $1,560!
And finally, the big update on our fundraising campaign. Our Friday, August 3rd goal of $30,000 to keep The World View in 5 Minutes on the air is drawing closer by the day.
Each day, our team spends 8-9 hours working on The World View between researching, interviewing, transcribing, writing, editing, and voicing the newscast.
Special thanks to Summit in Arlington, Texas who gave a one-time gift of $60.
And we’re grateful to God for Amy from Perrysburg, Ohio who pledged $25/month for a year and to Gary in Granbury, Texas and Matt in Maryville, Tennessee – both of whom pledged $50/month for a year.
Together, their four gifts totaled $1,560.
Ready for our new grand total? Drum roll please. (drum roll) So far, since July 2nd, the remnant has given or pledged $22,857 toward our $30,000 goal. (applause) We now stand at 76.2% of our goal!
How You Can Make a Donation Today
Can you help? We need just 6 more World View listeners to pledge $50 per month for a year and 11 more listeners to pledge $25 per month for a year.
Go to www.TheWorldView.com, click on ‘Give’ on the top right, then on $50 or $25, and check the recurring donation button. Would you prayerfully consider becoming one of 5 more World View listeners to help today?
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Friday, July 27th in the year of our Lord 2018. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
Special Report: From Atheist Criminal to Gutsy Gospel Preacher
Time now for a World View Special Report by Emily Swanson. I’m Adam McManus.
By Emily Swanson
Bill Whatcott is facing two years in prison for simply infiltrating a homosexual pride parade in Toronto, Canada back in 2016. But Whatcott wasn’t always a strong Christian with a concern for others’ souls.
The World View spoke to Whatcott about his story who said that the first time he had an awareness of God was at the age of 17.
“The first inkling of even discerning God’s work was probably when I was 17, and still very much an atheist, and sitting in juvenile detention because from the age of 14 to 20 I was pretty much a habitual offender. At 17, I wasn’t very interested in the things of God and still very much enjoying a life of rebellion. But I remember this Salvation Army guy by the name of Bob. Every once in a while it seems like God put a burden on his heart for me. I think every staff in the institution would agree I was probably one of the biggest headaches that they had.”
Whatcott said that even the juvenile detention center kicked him out because of his behavior.
“When you get kicked out of juvenile detention that’s quite an accomplishment because you got kicked out of society to get there. And they really didn’t want me. They would try to get higher security facilities to take me.”
Whatcott said the Salvation Army guy kept coming after him with the Gospel of Jesus.
“This one Salvation Army guy would pull me into a hallway every once in a while and say, ‘Bill when are you going to repent and turn your life over to Jesus Christ?’ And I kind of mocked him a little bit. Other times I kind of would be a little downcast when he said that. I would listen to him a little bit. I remember saying to myself on a couple of occasions, ‘Bob has something I don’t have.’ And I could actually see it in his eyes, that he had something I didn’t have, which was Christ.”
Whatcott said that at one point he started breaking into Bob’s woodworking shop and sniffing his glue, so Bob had to break off contact with him.
“So I was a big problem for him too. So he kind of wrote me off, but he told me years later that he was still praying for me.”
Whatcott said that after he got out of Juvenile, he ran into a new mentor who was a left wing idealist.
“His name was Mark Grant, and he was an idealistic full-blown, left wing Aboriginal native social worker, and he meant well, but deeply, deeply confused. And as I got to know him, even his life was somewhat messed up.”
Whatcott said that Mark was the one who got him into the drug lifestyle because he looked up to Mark as the father figure that he never had.
“He believed that he could get me off of hard drugs by getting me on smoking pot. I kind of looked up to this guy. He couldn’t even be my dad. He had his own issues. He was addicted to marijuana.”
Whatcott said that after he got out of juvenile, they took him to a men’s hostel and dropped him off there. Whatcott said that at one point when he was out living on the streets, Mark, the social worker, took him in again, meaning well, but he was not the best influence on him.
“Mark heard that I was living back on the streets and slipping back into other drugs and solvents. He meant well. You can’t deny that. In some ways, I think he had a bigger heart than some Christians. He reached out and said that I could live with him.”
Whatcott said that he received $200 from his mom once which he used for a large amount of drugs. But he could see how God had intervened in his life to keep him alive.
“I was talking to Matthew. He was one of the street guys I was in jail with. It’s really sad looking back at it, but thank God. He intervened in my life. We used that 200 bucks. This other guy came by; we were in jail years earlier. He had a whole bunch of LSD. It’s a hallucinogenic drug. Thank God, as destructive as it was, we were kind of impetuous, and we thought, ‘Instead of buying a gun, why don’t we buy Paul’s LSD with my 200 bucks, 50 hits and just take all 50 hits?’ One hit is enough to make you hallucinate. Two hits really, really alters your mind.”
Whatcott said that that night was a night when he lost all hope, and he attempted to commit suicide twice. He also said that that was the night when he realized he was separated from God.
“So, I went to try to kill myself again. This time I ran over to an overpass on Adelaide Street. It was probably about 4 AM now. And at that overpass was the first time I acknowledged God. I ran up to the overpass, and it was about 60 feet over a Horton’s expressway. And I just said, ‘I’m going to drop in front of one of those cars.’ And I had profound sense that I was internally separated from God. I think that was a real libation of my need, but I didn’t know how to fix it yet. And I just said, ‘God, I wish it didn’t have to end this way.’ And I was really, really sad and knew that I was going to die and be eternally separated from God.”
Whatcott testified that God sent along a cop to save him at the last minute from his second suicide attempt.
“I put my leg over the overpass, and at that moment, a young police officer drove up on onto the overpass behind me and caught me before I jumped.”
Whatcott remarked that that night cured him of atheism. He said he asked his friend Mark about who Jesus Christ is, but Mark’s answer wasn’t satisfactory.
“That situation on the bridge kind of cured me of atheism, and I really started wondering who God was and who Jesus Christ was. And I remember I asked Mark, and even though he was a drug addict and kind of messed up, he was intelligent. He used to get high marks. I asked him, ‘Who do you think Jesus Christ is?’ Mark gave it a little bit of thought and he said, ‘I think Jesus Christ was a man, and He might have been a good man, but He was only a man.’ Up to this point I accepted everything Mark said as gospel. But I thought to myself quietly; I didn’t argue with him. Keep in mind, I was still hallucinating a bit and still very sick and beaten up. I just thought to myself, ‘That’s not a good enough answer.’”
Whatcott said that instead of going to find a job he wanted to go find God. What’s amazing is how God found Bill through his own hunger.
“I just thought to myself that I was going to go find God. I don’t know how to work, but I gotta find God. So I just left the room and started hitchhiking across the country to find God. I hitchhiked from Ontario to Saskatchewan which would roughly be from Michigan to Montana. I just hitchhiked across the country and stopped at different churches. I kind of listened, but no actual light came on.”
Whatcott said that his quest left him still searching, and he decided to return to Ontario. His life dissolved into more drug habits and sniffing glue, until he came to the very end of himself in a graveyard in Windsor.
“One day I came to a graveyard, and I tried to get high on glue there. And I believe it was the Holy Spirit. I tried to get high, but I couldn’t. When I was hitchhiking, too, sometimes Christian truckers and different Christians would pick me up and talk about Christ a little bit, and I’d kind of listen to them. So, I had that going on in my head at this point too. I just could not get high. The fumes would not reach my lungs. By the tenth tube, I just started crying because I couldn’t get high.”
Whatcott said that an overwhelming sense of his own sin came on him as he looked at the tombstones and thought about the Christians that lived 100 years ago in Canada.
“As I looked at the tombstones, and when I was in institutions, I read a lot of Canadian history. I kind of had an understanding even though I didn’t know Christ, that Canada was a Christian country, and people were cleaner living than what I was. They were going to church. They had families. But I just started crying, and then as I was feeling sorry for myself, I became profoundly aware that I was a sinner.
“And up until that point, being in juvenile detention centers and having social workers in my life, I always believed society owed me and that it had to fix me somehow. There I came to the conclusion that I’d hurt a lot of people, and then I just said, ‘God, I’m a sinner, and I’ve hurt a lot of people.’ And I just wept for two hours over my sin. When I left that graveyard I actually left clean, which being high on drugs could never do. It was like a weight was off my chest, and for the first time in my life I felt clean.”
Ephesians 2:4-6 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
And that was only the beginning of God making Bill Whatcott a new creature. There were more ups and downs in Bill’s story, but God steadily drew Bill to himself to become a mighty instrument for His kingdom.
Check out part 2 of Bill Whatcott’s story in Monday’s newscast about how God gave him a voice for the unborn. You’ll also hear about the lawsuit he’s facing for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the homosexuals and transgendered in Canada.
This has been a World View Special Report. I’m Adam McManus.