Making The Cultural Shift

What’s Your Culture?

– What’s worth keeping?

– What’s not?

– Is there anything about your cultural upbringing that helps you be a better disciple of Jesus?

If we’re to be a culture that identifies us as being from God’s Kingdom, what would we be most lacking?

3 common results when cultures unite.

Amalgamation refers to a blending of cultures, rather than one group eliminating another (acculturation) or one group mixing itself into
another (assimilation).

(Joshua 7:10-12 BSB) But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these
things with their own possessions. This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their
backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.

(Matthew 17:14-21) And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,
“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from
that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

*   Our faith in God will starve at the table of this world

*   Our lack of faith is revealed by our attachment to this culture

(1 Corinthians 9:20-22 NKJV) and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might, by all means, save some.

The word “became” in Hebrew is (hayaw) and it means: to exist or have breath.

In Genesis 1:5 of the NIV  translation, “hayaw” is translated as “there was”.

God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And “there was” (hayaw) evening, and “there was” (hayaw) morning – the first day.

The word “became” in Greek (ginomai) is about birth “genesis”

How Paul was speaking sounded like: “To the Jews” I was (born) a Jew.”

•   When is a culture a stronghold? _________________________

(1 Corinthians 1:18-20) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

(1 Corinthians 1:25) For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

(Romans 1:18-25 NLT) But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal
praise! Amen.

• We gave up on ____________________ and settled for the______________________.

(Romans 12:2 Message) Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.

•  We followed our___________________ instead of our _____________________.

(Romans 8:6 NLT) So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and
peace.

• We trusted ________________________ more than we trusted ______________________.

(Proverbs 3:5-6) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Heart = Leb (Hebrew)

Beyt    Lamed

The word HEART in Hebrew is composed of two letters, the Lamed and the Beyt. 

The first letter of the Hebrew word translated into the English Scriptures as Heart is Lamed    

Lamed is pictured as a Staff. The Shepherd’s Staff is used as an instrument of authority over the sheep. It can be used to comfort, protect, discipline, control and guide the sheep.

Lamed

The Lamed means Control -To Shepherd To Have Authority – To Urge Forward, The tongue – The Voice of Authority, (Staff)

The second letter of the Hebrew word translated into English as Heart is Beyt.

Beyt

House -Tent – Son – Family – Dwelling Place, Inside – Within – 1^st Letter in the Torah that Identifies The Son of God
Tent / House 

The Scriptures compare our human body, the body we temporarily live inside, to a TENT or a Tabernacle. 

(2 Corinthians 5;1 ESV) We know, for instance, that if our earthly dwelling were taken down, like a tent, we have a permanent house in Heaven, made, not by man, but by God.

The HEBREW Picture translation for HEART is:

>  The Heart is the Controlling Voice of Authority over our tent  <