There are three spiritual phenomenon’s God uses to change  a culture.
1. Transformation.
2. Restoration
3. Redemption

Today we'll look at transformation.

1. TRANFORMATION:
Romans 12:2, "be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,"


TRANSFORMATION:


The obligation being to undergo a complete change which, under the power of God, will find expression in character and conduct.

In culture, character and conduct are the fruit of our culture. If the culture is corrupt then character and conduct will be corrupt.
No one can change their character and conduct to the point where God is pleased without His power being allowed to make the change. It is through the power of the word and the Holy Spirit that man can change.

The more people change the more culture changes. If there is a drug culture or alcohol or any sin culture, only the gospel of Jesus can change it.

Poverty is a cultural matter. At this writing, Polk county is ranked number 5 in poverty in Florida. When people serve the lord and transform their mind with the word of God and become givers, their poverty level will change.

Tomorrow we'll explore restoration.

Be Blessed!
Pastor Dave

Mark 1:21-34

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!"

25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!"  26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching — and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
NIV

Acts 8:1-8

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
NIV

Tomorrow we'll look at three spiritual phenomenon’s God uses to change  a culture.

Be Blessed!
Pastor Dave

WHAT IS CULTURE?
Dictionary Definition: The behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture; The sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.

Generational curse is the term many use to describe this plague of sin that is upon each generation.  With each passing generation the problem gets worse.  What was labeled rebellion in school in the 50s and 60s was spit balls and chewing gum in class.
Today it is open sexual immorality, aggressive rebellion, and at its worse, assault weapons and mass murder.

Romans 5:20-21 NIV

The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

*At Evans Mills, he was troubled that the congregations continuously said they were "pleased" with his sermons. He set about to make his message less pleasing and more productive. At the end of his sermon, which stressed the need for conversion, he took a bold step: "You who have made up your minds to become Christians, and will give your pledge to make your peace with God immediately, should rise up."
The entire congregation, having never heard such a challenge, remained in their seats.

"You have taken your stand," he said. "You have rejected Christ and his gospel."

The congregation was dismissed, and many left angry.  The next evening, Finney preached on wickedness, his voice like "a fire … a hammer … [and] a sword." But he offered no chance to respond. The next night, the entire town turned out, including a man so angry with Finney that he brought a gun and intending to kill the evangelist. But that night, Finney again offered congregants a chance to publicly declare their faith. The church erupted—dozens stood up to give their pledge, while others fell down, groaned, and bellowed. The evangelist continued to speak for several nights, visiting the new converts at their homes and on the streets.

He rode from town to town over what was known as the "burned-over district," a reference to the fact that the area had experienced so much religious enthusiasm that it was thought to have burned out. Newspapers, revivalists, and clergy took notice of the increasingly rowdy meetings—meetings unlike those of reserved Calvinists.
The revivalistic Congregationalists, led by Lyman Beecher, feared that Finney was opening the door to fanaticism by allowing too much expression of human emotion. Unitarians opposed Finney for using scare tactics to gain converts. Across the board, many thought that his habitual use of the words you and hell "let down the dignity of the pulpit."

The zenith of Finney's evangelistic career was reached at Rochester, New York, where he preached 98 sermons between September 10, 1830, and March 6, 1831. Shopkeepers closed their businesses, posting notices urging people to attend Finney's meetings. Reportedly, the population of the town increased by two-thirds during the revival, but crime dropped by two-thirds over the same period.*

In the New Testament entire regions were shaken by the gospel. The word that was preached and the signs that followed moved people to repentance. The power of the gospel is the same today. Are you hungry for that kind of move of God?


More on this tomorrow...

*Source unknown.  Please notify us if published information on Finney is known.

In the past 6 weeks there has been another encounter with God and His Spirit has spoken again and given more VISION.


At a Pastors’ conference in Ohio, my wife and I sat waiting for the service to begin. The host pastor took the microphone and began to open in prayer. The moment he began praying the Holy Spirit began to speak to me, not audibly, but in my inner man. I wrote down some of what was said:


“You have now entered through a door that takes the church to a place in me that I have ordained for you. There is no turning back, I have released an anointing on the house that will cause you to fulfill my plan for your region.”


The presence of God was so overwhelming that night. The word that was preached confirmed all that God was saying to my heart. We came home very refreshed and very full. Then I was led to this scripture:


Luke 14:16-24


Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.  'But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.  'And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you to have me excused.  'Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.  ' So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.  'And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.  'Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"


You will never taste of the goodness of God until you sit at His table, and there is room at His table for you


Jesus wants His house filled with people, all kinds of people.
It doesn’t matter what condition they are in, He said compel them to come.
The table is set. Jesus paid the debt for all our sin and the debt of the sin nature passed to us from Adam. It is troubling to Him that even though He is ready to meet every need of man, excuses are made and reasons given why some don’t come.


We are praying for you. The Holy Spirit is drawing you. Come to the table.


Psalm 34:8

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.


Be Blessed,
Pastor Dave