Learning Kingdom Culture To Communicate It

About four years ago the Spirit told me to put more effort into my French studies. This might have seemed strange for people who knew me considering I had spent four years in Belgium and another 19 years in Quebec. But on my return to Canada I ended up in english ministry in Quebec, not requiring much french at all. I could get by In Montreal with my limited french. But here now the Spirit said “study”.

So I have studied, most days three hours a day, and my french has greatly improved. Then the Lord instructed me to join in with an apostle we greatly respected, joining my church in with his. This church operates in three languages but is primarily a french-speaking church. Ah, I get it Lord. He had been preparing me.

Language is key to understanding culture. My french is great now, giving me great comprehension of the spoken and written language. But to understand and to be understood are two different things, and so here is my weakness, being capable of understanding and struggling to express. But this is not about my struggle with french.

The KIngdom of God is a very unique culture, a culture far more powerful and important than any culture on this planet. We are not native to this culture but are instead adopted into it. We have the same challenge as any immigrant coming into our country's culture, they need the language to understand the culture so they can adapt to this new life.

Many a day, as I plugged away at my studies, I wished that my brain could be transformed into a french thinking brain. French is a wonderfully precise language that reveals the unique way of thinking of a french speaking person. To grasp it you have to let go of your own way of thinking which helps you form sentence structure. You have to let go of the old to grasp the new. This describes the Kingdom process as well.

Jesus warned us that the old had to go in order for the new to come. In the Kingdom this is both transformational and also a process. Unlike our differing cultures, the Kingdom makes it possible for our minds to be transformed to grasp and live according to Kingdom culture. It’s called “renewing”. Apostle Yvon Stabili has said that the only thing we need before Jesus is redemption and the thing we need after Jesus is a daily renewed mind. Scripture encourages us:

“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.” (Romans 12:2)

If we want to understand Kingdom culture we need to bathe ourselves daily in Kingdom language as found in the Word and to grow in our relationship with the Spirit who teaches us this culture. It is a completely foreign way of thinking and living. Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you. Honour leaders who may be against you. Give just because someone asks and give more than what is asked for. Pray and the sick will be healed and the dead will be raised. This is crazy talk from the point of view of the cultures of this world. Without the Spirit we could never make the transition.

My struggle with french is that I can live every day without needing to speak it. Almost everyone I know speaks english and when we are not forced to use something we often don’t. I need people in my life who cannot switch to english out of their sense of compassion. I need situations where I am forced to communicate in french. It is the only way I will improve. I need to get past my fear of imperfection, if you know what I mean. The Kingdom is no different.

The only way we will grasp the Kingdom is when we live the Kingdom. If we study it and even memorize it, there is no value to it. Scripture tells us to not just read and know the word but to live it. Do  the Word. Live the culture empowered by the Spirit and you will progress in the process. Do it. Just do it.

The biggest stumbling block to speaking a new language is our fixation on perfection or our fear of mistakes. We must be willing to learn as a child learns, living daily in imperfection until things fall into place. This applies in a big way to  Kingdom culture. Father is not afraid of our imperfections, it is part of our growth. He wants us to listen to his voice and step out to live this culture, being daily renewed and living according to his heart. We have to become like children to see the Kingdom which means we move forward as children, knowing we have a lot to learn and mistakes to learn from.

So, let’s not give up. Let’s encourage each other to press on through our learning and growing so that someday we will be better able to communicate the heart of Father through all that we do.

“But we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved.” (Hebrews 10:39)

Capitalism, Socialism, Or Another Ism?

There is much debate in Christian circles about capitalism and socialism. There is debate because we are often too occupied with the systems of the world to understand the culture of the Kingdom. There has even been such a watering down of Kingdom culture as current evangelism has mixed preferences for world systems in the spreading of the gospel. We need to surrender all opinion and seek Father's heart to get a clear understanding of the Kingdom.

There is one place I always like to start in Scripture when I want to get focused on Father's heart and Kingdom economics. I believe in Kingdom economics. I believe that the Lord intends for us to be prosperous in everything and to use this prosperity to bring a form of equality. In this he will be glorified to the nations. There will never be perfect equality because we live in a broken world but we should come very close to it in the Church, which is Kingdom culture on earth.

The place I like to start is in Deuteronomy 15 because here we can see the intention our Father had for Israel. Here in verse four he says that there will be no poor in Israel because he would prosper the people in their obedience to him. He promised them great stuff if they walked in obedience. Simple. But then a few verses later he gives instructions in case there are poor among them.

Father knew that not everyone would manage to walk in obedience so there would be those who failed to enter into prosperity. It was more than just a reward for obedience that he was promising. The Law itself was the building block for prosperity. A society based on honour would lend itself to the success of every citizen and that is where the Law would bring this nation, to a culture of honour.

Father knew some would fail but he did not tell the nation to cast those people out. He told them to surround them in loving support. He told them to share the wealth, to give to them whatever they asked for and not to resent it. This was the method by which equality would be achieved, that everyone would be honoured, and poverty would be destroyed. As I already stated, in this culture of honour God would be glorified to the nations. Perfect, right? It should have been.

The one great failure in all of creation is us. We keep getting in the way of our own success because we keep putting ourselves in the middle of everything. It is hard for us to take a supporting role. But when we see our role as helping other people become successful we begin reaching the pinnacle of our purpose. And in a culture of honour, as I am occupied with your success someone else is occupied with my success.

The Royal Law, as James calls it, is "Love and respect your neighbour as you love and respect yourself". Unfortunately, the self-centered attitude lends itself to mental illness so that we do not even love and respect ourselves. 

How about the golden rule, another one that Jesus gave us, "Do to others what you would have them do to you"? Once again our self-centeredness changes it to "I'll do to you whatever you do to me". 

This we can understand in a broken world. The only thing that will fix it is the transformation that Jesus offers. But this self-centered culture should never exist among brothers and sisters of Christ. It isn't the Lord's way so it shouldn't be ours. We realize that everything we have has been given for the benefit of the Body of Christ. Not for the most deserving but for anyone who is in need. Father does not qualify this directive to the Israelites but Jesus made it plan with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

A lot of judgement has crept into the Kingdom Culture which means it isn't Kingdom Culture at all but a cheap knock off. Father made it clear, mercy is greater than judgement. Jesus stated that the merciful are blessed and will receive mercy. He said that we will reap what we sow. He has made it clear to us, just as Father made it clear to Israel that those who receive blessing have the responsibility to share those blessings even with those they may deem to be unworthy.

The issue is not capitalism or socialism. The issue is, are we obedient citizens of the Kingdom of God, learning to live by his culture in a foreign land?

Overcoming Prejudice - Friends

In the previous posts we have already established that there is no room in the Kingdom of God for prejudice. Simple verses such as we find in Proverbs where Solomon wrote that the one thing the rich and the poor have in common is that God created them both. We also have James writing that a person has no faith if he favours one group of people over another. But the greatest condemnation of prejudice is Jesus' life.

It goes beyond the "whosoever believes" of our salvation. Jesus demonstrated Father's attitude toward the unseen people of the world. These are the people who are easily ignored, disfavoured, trodden upon. Jesus took great delight in putting the spotlight on these people because that is what Father does. He lowers what is getting too much attention and lifts up what is not getting enough so that there is equality. Just read 1 Corinthians 12.

In the previous posts titled "Touch" I pointed out Jesus' treatment of the leprous man and how he did not just speak the healing but purposefully touched him. Jesus knew he had authority over this disease but he did it to make a point in a culture that isolated this poor suffering man. Now consider those who he chose to hang out with him, who he called to leadership.

This Jewish culture had a lot of prejudices. It wasn't just with the Romans, Greeks, and Samaritans but people within their own group. Galileans were a rough, hardy, determined working class of people. They did not pursue the book learning and finer aspects of life but instead were the fishermen and farmers of the day. They were highly educated in their own right but not recognized by the rest of society. They put food on people's tables but were also the butt of jokes.

Consider that Jesus chose people like Peter, James and John from this looked-down upon people. In fact, these three became his inner circle. They were so prominent that the whole group of disciples were considered Galileans. That was meant to be a derogatory label. It is not exactly a move that someone would make when trying to establish their ministry. Today we would only choose the best looking, best educated, most talented, most widely accepted people to help us reach success. Jesus was making a point that everyone in the Kingdom is valued and that Father has purpose for each person no matter the opinions of culture. But it was not just Galileans he chose.

Tax collectors were considered traitors. They were local agents of the occupying force. They not only forcefully collected the tax of this occupying army but they also took extra for themselves. So here is Jesus throwing all convention to the wind, choosing Matthew to be one of his students and future pillar of the Church. Remember the Church is the manifestations of God's Kingdom on earth, and we are that Church. Can I belabour this for a minute more?

In most churches today they have a standard for leadership and acceptability. Leaders must be professionals, highly esteemed and educated. They must be beyond reproach. Depending on the culture of that church, leadership is chosen from an acceptable group within their church. There is a lot of prejudice involved and the denial of the anointing. Father does not choose according to human ability, race, creed, education, good looks or colour. Also consider for a moment that Matthew, traitor to his nation, was also highly favored by being chosen to write one of the four gospels. Jesus saw him as he sees everyone else, marked for redemption. Everyone has value. But Jesus is not done yet.

Consider Judas. He was a Zealot. The Zealots wanted to throw off the Romans by force. This is not an attitude that would line up well with the tenants of the Kingdom. Not only that but Judas had a tendency to steal, placing his own needs above those of the community he belonged to. Jesus knew him. Jesus knew his heart. But Jesus showed value for every person he met. He knew that Judas had the same potential for redemption, the same potential for love, the same potential for grace. Judas' failure is his own. People will fail us. That is no reflection on their people group but on them as an individual.

This could be one of the most challenging things about overcoming prejudices in our life. We cannot afford to look at people with the eyes of this world. To love, respect and honour everyone we need to see with Father's eyes. We need to see the unseen that lay within each person. We have this ability to see. Since we are a new creation we have been given the seeds in us to bear Father's image, to see like him, to think like him. As Scripture tells us, we have the mind of Christ.

The way we overcome is first to confess our desire to love and respect like our Father has loved and respected us. It is a life of surrender, where we surrender our old way of seeing, thinking, feeling and understanding. So when we know we are getting it wrong we confess it and then surrender it. This allows Spirit God to overwrite the old habits with Father's heart. If we try to deny the old habits nothing will change but when we bring the old into the light then everything shifts.

Does your selection of friends demonstrated the value Father places on all people? Maybe you need to have a conversation with Spirit God on this one.

 

Overcoming Prejudice - The Touch

Laws are not going to change hearts. The best way to overcome the prejudices our society has instilled in us from infancy is by developing a culture of honour. Not where we honour just those who we deem worthy but honouring everyone based on the fact that they are alive.

The Kingdom of God has just such a culture even if we have forgotten to teach it or expect it from each other. I am not sure how we have forgotten our Kingdom culture but I think we have. To see how we are falling short of the new life we have been birthed into all we have to do is look at Jesus to see what it is suppose to look like.

Jesus accomplished many things in the short three years of his ministry. He revealed the Father's heart to us. He set the example of what life walking in Spirit looks like. He paid the price for our redemption. He laid the seeds for the birth of the Church. And he demonstrated to us the Kingdom of God and what that culture looks like.

There were a lot of injustices in Jesus' day. The poor were mistreated. Women were little better than dogs. Children were tolerated. The sick and the physically challenged were isolated. Jesus overcame these and many more. Maybe we don't see it because we have normalized the stories but when you are willing to see it from the Kingdom's perspective it is quite breathtaking.

One encounter that has moved me the most over the years is the one with the leper who knew that he could be healed if Jesus was willing. There were different levels of faith expressed by people when they encountered Jesus. Some were the basic level of "If you can". Others expressed a higher level of "If you are willing". And still others spoke the greatest faith of "Just speak Lord". But it wasn't the level of my faith that caught my attention but rather Jesus' response.

Ever since becoming sick this leprous man would have to call out "unclean" anytime he was in public. Talk about anxiety provoking. He would not have known human touch since the day of his diagnoses. He would have been removed from family and forced to beg for a living in a culture that would have ignored his existence. Isolated in a crowded room.

This is why it is so moving to read Jesus' responses to his pleas for help. It is not so much the words of our gracious King who said to the man "Of course I am willing", but his generous gift of a human hand upon his diseased flesh. Jesus could have just spoke, he did not have to touch. But what was the greatest need here, the rescue from the disease or the acknowledgement of his need for contact? Jesus did both, touching the man while assuring him of the willingness of our compassionate Father.

In one simple heart-felt gesture Jesus let it be known that the culture of the Kingdom is far superior to the limited culture of a broken world. He demonstrated that ever person has value, is important and is deserving of compassion and grace, regardless of their condition. 

Israel had a culture of division and prejudices. Jesus seemed to take great delight in destroying these one by one. Jesus highlighted those who had become invisible in this pious culture. He brought such people out into the light and honoured them in the sight of those who considered him their enemy. He demonstrated the culture of the Kingdom in which we are sons and daughters. Today we look to our King to know how honour overcomes prejudice and lifts up those who have been trodden down.

Over the next few days I want to highlight these actions of our King. I want to discuss with you the example of our Lord so we can better grasp his Kingdom. I want to show you the many faces of what a culture of honour looks like. Come take this important walk with me.