Not conformed, but transformed

Last week, strong and weak

This week, he stays on that…
Tying it to Christ himself

Scriptures

and

Reveal Answer

Gentiles - this was the plan all along

Gentiles
Eth-nay
A distinct people - plural - peoples or nations

Here’s what I know:
Most people I work with have a hard time reading the Bible. To them, its a book that is full of pleasant little checklist of things to do

Funny thing is, when you read the Bible with that as your primary question, you are doing it wrong.

The Bible one-unified story of

revealing Himself. We read the Bible to meet God and our hearts and minds are transformed. What we love changes, what we value changes, what we embody changes, and yes, what we do changes…Our transformation comes when we encounter the living God, and we do that by the Spirit in His Word.

When we come to Scripture seeking to not just build our moral checklist, but to encounter the living God, we start to find other things that fall under the #youaredoingitwrong

If you don’t see God’s heart for the

world and for people from every nation, youaredoingitwrong
If you don’t see God’s

Reveal Answer

for oppression, youaredoingitwrong
If you don’t see God’s

Reveal Answer

for reconciliation, youaredoingitwrong
If you don’t see God’s

Reveal Answer

of using light and love to conquer hate and darkness, youaredoingitwrong

Let’s start at the beginning.

the world
Humans
packed with potential
Cultivate - from the same word as culture
Variety of cultures not a mistake

Sin
separates us from God
separates us from each other
within a generation, led to murder
since then, we see the tangible darkness, we feel it in our bones
We see it through history; We know today.
All aspects of human division are rooted in sin

Race
Broken concept from the start
Eth-nay - people, nations, culture

Today, we encounter our racism
Racism, valuing one kind of person over another, is sin.
Because it is sin, it’s not just a bad habit we need to try to shake.
It is part of us, and we are all guilty.

Lament
Personal sin
Corporate sin…even if we didn’t do it, we understand the systems of the world
Part of not conforming to the patterns is naming them!!

In the garden and for the rest of the book, God begins working his plan of reconciliation.
Abe - bless all nations
Torah - Kingdom of Priests
Day of the Lord - when all people will know God as Lord
Isaiah 61
Hab 2
Dan 2

Jesus comes and he announces arrival of God’s Kingdom, His Kingdom on the earth
Jesus shows us what the Kingdom looks like
not the self importance and self seeking of the Pharisees
they had misheard the Scripture.
Gentile - different so that God could redeem
Jesus has come because God so loved the whole world
He demolishes sinful cultural barriers
he heals the foreigners daughters, spends time with the outcast
He announces that he’s the Messiah to the Samaritan Woman!
at the Cross, he takes on and defeats our sin
even the Roman solider

At His Ascension, Jesus sends his disciples to make disciples of all nations
Jesus appears to Paul and Jesus calls Paul to do the same
Soon, the people of God are made of up Jews and the nations

In Romans 15, Paul sees it as a good thing that the Jews were first
Now it is time for everyone
Hope

EPC
Pastoral letter guiding our shepherds
Lament for Racism and Hope for Christ’s Kingdom

Our world:
One side - it’s not a thing
Other side - it’s the only thing
Problems occur when we see the world only through one filter
Oppressed and Oppressor

We will not conform to the patterns of the world
Jesus transforms - every kind of people

Justin Martyr:

‘We who formerly delighted in fornication now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock and share with everyone who is in need; we who hated and destroyed one another and, on account of their different customs, would not live with men of a different race, now, since the coming of Christ, live on excellent terms with them and pray for our enemies and endeavour to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all.’ —Justin Martyr

Transformation changed the world
It was bonkers to the world then…and it is bonkers to our world now

Today, we follow Christ’s lead
In every relationship, we seek to use our strengths to serve those around us
When we seek weakness, hardship, struggle, we seek to lay down our own desires to build up others

Until that great day

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” —Rev. 7:9-12