cultural identity2

8/9/2019 Cultural Identity2

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Cultural Identity Part 2

Pastor Kerry Wilson


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Culture has been determined as the secondmost difficult word in the English language todefine. The first most difficult word to define

is nature. Of course this is not myconclusion, because my English is horrible andI am not a linguist.

I want to be definitive in what we areteaching and not be lost in the ambiguity oflinguistics.


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Using terms like culture war, disintegration

of culture can be confusing. Every culture is

made up or from ideas, values and

presuppositions which indicates how

important culture really is. Then we must

know that laws are the most dramatic ways

that any culture is expressed and enforced. Which came first, The chicken or the egg ?


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The answer is the chicken, and through the

natural course of what chickens do and who

they are, they lay eggs. This is a natural

phenomena of Gods creation. Then what

becomes a cultural phenomena is what we

do with those eggs. Some people fry them,

some eat them raw, some poach them, somescramble them, some eat them hard boiled,

we use them for recipes and the list goes on.


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This is what defines culture in the most simplisticway. It is what a person is doing with what Godhas given us.

When God created Adam, He put everything inplace by way of differentiation so that Adamcould do something that would impact Gods

creation. God gave him dominion or made him

the ruler over this garden or parcel of land. Godgave him light, water, soil but then gave him thecommandment to dress and keep it.


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God put all these things in place but Adam had tocreate the garden. He was made responsible formaking something of what God had given him. Adamdid not create from ex-nihilo or create from nothing

to something but he did create something from whatGod had given him.

The point of this sermon will be what are we doingwith what God has given us. Has this worlds culture so

permeated the Church that we no longer accept orassume the responsibility for what God has given usand more tragic is what have we done with it?


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If we are going to re-shape or change the world inwhich we live, we have to make eggs our way inthis world. Thefirst principle has to do with whowe are, or our identity. Genesis 1.26a And God

said, Let us make man in our image, after ourlikeness: Genesis 1.27 says this, So Godcreated man in his own image, in the image ofGod created he him; male and female created he

them. And the end result of this creation was Genesis

1.31b it was very good.


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In our renewed mind and in the transforming ofour minds from this system we now have themind of Christ. We think like God thinks, now oneof the problems is a familiar term in this

generation. Identity Theft, it is a relevant term,Satan, the thief has come to steal your identity,kill your ability to cultivate, and ultimatelydestroy your purpose in Jesus. ( John 10:10)

He doesnt want you to know who you are ,consequently your relationships wont know whoyou are.


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We have to start thinking before we act andspeak, we make eggs like heaven makes eggs. It isnot in many cases our first response but itbecomes a discipline, it is like playing the piano,

at first you spend years playing just notes andscales and continue to ask the question when amI going to make music. It comes with time anddiligence. One of the reasons we are to be no

more children but men and women of God isbecause in the discipline of time we mature.Children imitate, Adolescence makes somethingof this program.


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James 1.8 A double minded man is unstable inall his ways. This comes from not realizing who

you are in Jesus. You cant solve problems, make

changes, impact culture when you arent thinkingin the way that God thinks.

The second principle of what constitutes identityis Genealogy. Now in speaking of Adam,

genealogy doesnt seem important but it becamevery important in maintaining who we are whensin and satan became part of the picture.


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Culture wants to melt you into its forms, thoughtprocesses and goals. Satan has set this culture up for afall because in the recovery of man God had a differentplan.

Have you ever noticed how concerned the Bible is withgenealogy? Lets talk about Gods recovery plan ofman. You see in sin man has no identity, he is in crisis,as evidenced by the current solutions for our worldsills.

Genealogy becomes lost in the dispersion as well asidentity in creation and purpose of man. Wild originstories have their beginnings in myths and legends.


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Genesis 12 starts the journey in the recovery

of man. God chooses a man Abraham, and

that man embarks on a journey by faith. God

deals with this man and creates covenant with

him, giving him favor, blessing, and ultimate

blessing. This journey has yet to come to its

end but in fact is still be travelled by countlessnumbers of covenanted people who

tenaciously cling to their identity.


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Lets try to make it simple by outline

I. Man-Abraham

II. Family-Jacob and the Seventy Souls

III. Nation- Children of Israel in Egypt

IV. Holy Nation- Exodus 19 by Covenant

VI. Homeland from which to operate in the

recovery of the known world, and to preparecultural change by creating something for futuregenerations to build upon.


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Genealogy is very important to the born again person,they are like Jesus, who have natural birth and thenspiritual birth. His blood gives us the right by spiritualtransfusion into the family of God, heirs and joint heirs withthe King of Kings. This is why that are genealogy is so

important, we too must pro create, and procreation in thespiritual is a matter of the contraceptive methods. TheSpirit of God with the Word of God as presented by thisgroup called the church produces spiritual children. Ifculture has infused this generation with ideas, values and

presuppositions whose laws dont match the laws ofheaven then what we produce becomes foreign to theculture of heaven.


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The third principle of identity is geography,

where you are from and your roots becomes

vital in identity.

Lets return to our text and move forward in

this recovery program. Now we have seventy

souls or a big family moving into Egypt, a place

of preparation as God was revealing Himselfto His future posterity.


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God places this family in the midst of an

advanced culture as slaves. Ironic how that Gods

chosen people started in slave status, I believe

this would enable them to understand freedom inbeing the Family of God.

The geographical location is being prepared by

God for them to make something out of it, theywere going to cultivate, grow the concept of a

monotheistic God to a lost and dying world.


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The Identity of Israel the nation through whom Godwould bring the world to the concept of who He is.

Overview

Image Genealogy

Geography

Have you ever considered in world history just how this

small geographical location still continues to be a worldplayer. Why because they have never lost the vision orthe culture in which God established them.


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Deuteronomy 6,7 gives us the word picture

and warning about living in the midst of

different cultures. God warns them not to be

absorbed into nor ignorant of the power of

those cultures. God also insists that in order to

have continuity that our children are spoken

to and reminded about God and what He hasdone.


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The Bible says Now all these things happened untothem for ensamples: and they are written for ouradmonition, upon whom the end of the world arecome. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth

take heed lest he fall 1 Corinthians 10.11,12 I would call their culture the Culture of Faith, that

they had covenanted themselves with God that Hewould now be their source, their security, their Life,and that His laws would establish the parameters of

their world. That they would be victorious in their livesand that through them the world might embrace thislife.


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Their faith was continually put to the test.

When their neighbors were so often more

technologically advanced, economically more

prosperous and militarily more sophisticated.

Would they put their trust in Egypt, the place

of their captivity, for help against Assyria. Time

and time again they drifted and becameabsorbed into what seemed a better way.


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Showdown after Showdown God proving

Himself as He had promised. Victory after

Victory in unorthodox ways and in divers

manners yet they still hardened their hearts

and even ask for a king.

The invisible King with no icons or images to

look to trying to show Himself strong in theirbehalf activated by Faith.


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The result of loss of identity is captivity,captivity brought on because of a conditioning,absorbing, beguiling and enticing world around

them. The admonition in Dueteronomy 6 thatsays Beware lest you forget, becomes thecharacterization.

Prophet after Prophet, Kings, both good and bad,

Priest were infected, Nehemiahs afterNehemiahs all preaching and trying to restoreGods Way to a wayward nation.


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At first this captivity just brings sadness and

lament . The song of the Psalms which

characterizes being miserable. How shall we

sing the Lords song in a strange land. The

evolution of that condition becomes lethargy

and complacency a slow fade into total

confusion.


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Lets look at how we view any culture ?

Remember the only way that culture changes

is when something new displaces the old in a

very realistic way.

Condemn or Abandon

Criticize

Copy

Consume

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