Participants: Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000040A
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00:29 Hello, I'm Lance.
00:30 And I'm Dwayne, and welcome to another episode of TKS, 00:34 A True Knowledge of Self, 00:36 where we get to know ourselves from a biblical perspective. 00:39 We have been going through several studies 00:41 where we were looking at, 00:42 not only the cornerstones of hip-hop culture 00:45 and looking at it in comparison 00:47 to the principles of the Christian culture. 00:50 But today we're going to be talking a lot 00:52 about culture in its, in and of itself, 00:54 because there's another dynamic in hip-hop culture 00:57 that we would do well to consider, 00:58 because it is a very, very forceful emphasis 01:02 or set of elements 01:04 as stated by its thought leaders 01:05 as it relates to what constitutes 01:07 hip-hop culture in its expression. 01:10 We're going to talk about that today 01:11 because there is a place for this, 01:13 because at the end of the day 01:14 everybody has feelings, everybody has thoughts. 01:17 We come from different parts of the world. 01:19 We come from different circumstances, 01:21 and as a result of that 01:23 it does produce certain thought processes, feelings 01:26 and ultimately expressions of those thoughts and feelings, 01:29 so we're going to take a look at that today 01:31 because I believe that the Word of God 01:33 has instruction for us 01:35 even as it relates to expression, 01:37 as it relates to what we express, 01:39 how we express it 01:41 and then even answering the question "Should we?" 01:43 express everything 01:44 that is on our minds and on our hearts. 01:46 Sometimes people have a way of, you know, kind of saying, 01:49 "Well, it's on my mind, I wear my feelings on my shirt," 01:51 meaning I'm going to tell you what I think 01:52 and I'm gonna tell you like it is and it is what it is. 01:55 It's who I am and it's what I'm about. 01:56 Like it or love it. 01:58 And this is kind of an attitude 01:59 that you can see happen in various points of society 02:02 as well as in hip-hop culture, 02:03 and we're going to talk about this today 02:05 because there are some elements in hip-hop culture 02:08 that we need to consider 02:09 and, Lance, we know that some of these elements 02:12 are things that we ourselves participated in. 02:15 An example, break in or break dancing. 02:18 Of course, MCing which is where you get into the rapping. 02:21 Then you have DJing, then, of course, 02:23 you have your expression through graffiti artwork 02:26 and from that you have, 02:28 you know, these would be the first four elements 02:31 and then as Afrika Bambaataa 02:32 would often say the fifth element 02:34 which is the knowledge, the wisdom 02:36 and the under or over standing, 02:37 and from that there were other expressions 02:41 that would come out of that everything from, 02:43 you know, street fashion to street style dancing 02:47 or even street style entrepreneurship 02:50 which is very interesting, you know. 02:51 So there's lots of elements that make up hip-hop culture 02:56 which ultimately is expression. 02:58 It boils down to expression. 03:01 Things is happening 03:02 within a certain group of class of people 03:04 and from that this is the way 03:06 that they're expressing themselves. 03:08 And I remember when I used to study martial arts 03:11 and when I studied it, 03:12 I looked at many different disciplines. 03:14 I took taekwondo, I took shuriken 03:16 and a lot of these other things. 03:18 And as I stated before for clarity, you know, 03:20 especially for our viewers, these are things today 03:23 that I would not advocate 03:25 because I see them adverse to Christian principle, 03:28 so I'm not an advocate of the practice of martial arts 03:32 as it is being demonstrated in our world today. 03:34 Nevertheless in my past these were real experiences, 03:37 and I was doing studies 03:39 because I remember there was a martial art form 03:41 that really caught my attention 03:43 and it was a amalgamation of martial arts and dancing. 03:47 It was called Capoeira 03:49 which was birthed out of Brazil, 03:51 and what was interesting is that 03:53 because the people did not want to be identified 03:58 by what was happening in that time 04:00 as it relates to the military 04:01 and being looked upon as possible revolutionaries, 04:05 you know, if they see you practicing martial arts, 04:07 then this would suddenly become 04:10 a potential danger to the government at that time. 04:13 Then they started to disguise their martial art practices 04:16 in the form of dancing. 04:18 And lo and behold, this is how the Capoeira style was birthed, 04:21 you know, this dancing martial art form. 04:23 Well, today, that's even been engrafted now 04:25 even into the various forms of expression in hip-hop culture, 04:28 where there's a lot of jumping and flipping and etcetera 04:31 which fits very much with the breaking. 04:33 And these things are considered to be cultural. 04:36 They are considered to be forms of expression 04:38 and no one wants to be suppressed, 04:42 no one wants to feel like, "Why can't I express myself? 04:44 I have a right to express myself." 04:46 And the way we've been talking about hip-hop culture 04:49 over the past several episodes, 04:51 it would seem 04:52 that we are probably saying to people, 04:55 hip-hop culture is something 04:57 that is adverse to Christianity, 04:58 adverse to the Bible, 05:00 and as a result of that, it should be suppressed, 05:02 and it is possible that somebody may say, 05:05 "Well, then wait a minute. 05:06 If you're saying that this culture 05:09 should not be allowed to express themselves, 05:12 then how would you explain something 05:13 like 1 Corinthians 9. 05:15 You know, this happens sometimes. 05:16 You know, you talk about principles, 05:18 and you make certain standards, 05:19 and then people kind of throw it back at you. 05:21 So I'm going to take us to 1 Corinthians 9 05:24 and we're going to consider it, 05:25 and I'm going to ask you to give us a comment on it 05:27 because I believe that 05:29 individuals very well may use this text to say, 05:32 "Hey, well, what about this and how do we apply it?" 05:34 So I'm going to ask you to help us out with that, right? 05:36 So we're gonna look at 1 Corinthians 9, 05:39 and we're going to consider what the Bible says 05:41 as we look at verses 19-22, 05:44 and here's what the Bible says, 05:45 the Apostle Paul was talking about soul winning, 05:48 and he says in verse 19, 05:51 "For though I be free from all men, 05:53 yet have I made myself servant unto all, 05:56 that I might gain the more. 05:58 And unto the Jews 05:59 I became as a Jew that I might gain the Jews, 06:04 to then that are under the law as under the law, 06:07 that I might game them that are under the law. 06:09 To them that are without law, as without law, 06:13 being not without law to God, 06:14 but under the law to Christ 06:15 that I might gain them that are without law. 06:18 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. 06:21 I am made all things to all men 06:24 that I might by all means save some." 06:27 So here goes Paul, you know, really expressing his love 06:30 and his desire to win souls to Jesus, 06:33 and he is expressing it to such a point that he says, 06:36 "Listen, if I need to become like the Jew 06:39 so that I can reach the Jew, I'm willing to do it. 06:42 If I need to become like the Gentile, 06:44 I'm going to be like the Gentile 06:45 that I can win them. 06:47 He's willing to become whatever it takes 06:48 to win others. 06:49 Well, this may be a rationale that's used 06:51 even in hip-hop culture to say, 06:53 "Listen, the hip-hop culture deals 06:55 with a lot of what was happening in the streets 06:57 and therefore to those in the street, 06:59 we have to become like those in the street. 07:02 So what is wrong with us 07:03 being able to practice certain things 07:06 as it relates to the culture of the street 07:08 and being able to reach those in the streets. 07:10 This is something that I'm sure one would ask 07:12 or at least think of when we're talking 07:14 about the art forms of expression 07:16 in hip-hop culture and should it be done, 07:19 should it not be done? 07:20 Where is it permissible, where is it not permissible? 07:22 If you can, share some light with us on this? 07:24 Yeah, I mean, the same principle applies 07:26 as we've been going through all these things 07:28 like we're talking about recreation 07:30 and what is acceptable, 07:32 what is really genuine having fun, you know, 07:36 from a biblical perspective, 07:37 and the bottom line is the principles are there, 07:40 so for example, 07:41 if we look at the principle of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 07:47 that showed us that our bodies are not our own, 07:51 they're the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Ghost, 07:55 and that we are to glorify God in our body 07:57 and in our spirit which are God's, 07:59 so we highlighted the fact 08:00 that we're not at liberty to do what we want, 08:02 whatever we want with our bodies 08:05 or with our spiritual preferences 08:06 or what have you. 08:07 We're not, we're not able, 08:09 we don't have the right to live the way we want to live, 08:12 because God has created us, 08:14 and because God has redeemed us through the death of Christ, 08:18 in the resurrection of Christ, in the ministry of Christ, 08:20 we are obligated, 08:22 we are bound eternally to this service to God. 08:27 He owns us if you will, 08:29 and we have to be okay with that. 08:31 We become His possession, 08:32 we become His child if you will. 08:35 We become his spouse if you will, 08:36 it's a full relationship. 08:39 So when we think of that 08:41 and we're talking about reaching others. 08:44 And we want to say, "All right, we want to become like them 08:47 to get close to them." 08:49 So I remember I had a friend once 08:51 who came from, you know, the inner city in New York 08:55 and he grew up kind of in the bar culture and know... 08:58 Right. 08:59 It's another little subculture, you know, 09:01 the people that literally almost live 09:03 at these local bars 09:05 and he was alcoholic obviously 09:07 and he left that to become a Christian, 09:10 and he had a desire to go and reach those people 09:13 that he kind of left behind, you know, in that same culture. 09:17 And he had the idea that he was going to go 09:19 and gauge in like a bar ministry, 09:21 he was going to go in ministry to visit these bars, 09:25 to try to win the alcoholics 09:28 and the people that he hung around with 09:29 at these bars 09:31 and we, you know, for many, many reasons, 09:33 this is not a good idea 09:34 because you are telling God 09:37 how you're going to reach the people 09:38 that you desire to reach 09:40 instead of consulting with God to figure out 09:42 how He wants you to reach those people, 09:44 and thinking that I have to go into a bar, sit at a bar, 09:49 you know, hang out at a bar when, you know, 09:51 maybe six months or less than a year ago, 09:54 I was sitting at the bar drinking 09:56 and I was an alcoholic, 09:58 and now I'm going to put myself in the situation 10:00 where all of that temptation and all of those triggers 10:03 and psychological triggers are going to be there, 10:05 and I'm just going to demand that God protects me. 10:07 Now somebody might say, "Well, wait a minute, 10:09 didn't Christ mingle with sinners? 10:11 Didn't Christ sit down with sinners? 10:13 So why can't I go in a bar and sit down with sinners? 10:15 I'm following the example of Christ." 10:17 How would we help an individual 10:18 if they were to use that interpretation? 10:20 Well, the key is this. 10:21 The key is that we are never allowed, 10:25 never authorized to compromise truth 10:28 for the sake of reaching a soul, 10:30 so, you know, it's like the idea of a white lie. 10:34 There is no such thing. Lying is a sin. 10:37 It is a violation of the covenant with God. 10:40 So I can't tell a lie in order to escape, you know, 10:44 there are all these role playing scenarios 10:46 sometimes they doing like, 10:47 you know, churches and youth groups 10:48 and say what would you do 10:50 if such and such and such and such. 10:51 The bottom line is, in any situation 10:54 it is never permissible, 10:56 it's never safe to violate your commitment to God, 11:00 to commit sin, to compromise truth 11:03 in order to reach an individual. 11:04 So when you say, 11:06 "Oh, well, Jesus went to all these places." 11:07 Well that's a situation 11:08 where He got invited to somebody's house 11:11 to eat dinner. 11:12 Jesus is not, you know, in this scenario 11:16 is not going to reject an invitation 11:18 to eat dinner at somebody's house 11:20 because, you know, there might be people, 11:22 you know, drinking wine at the table, at the dinner table. 11:25 Right. 11:26 You know, that, that wasn't the issue, 11:28 the issue that the Jews had 11:29 is they thought that you were spiritually defiled literally 11:33 if you even shared space with a "sinner". 11:36 If you shook the hand of a sinner, 11:38 and if you engaged in this level of intimacy 11:41 and sharing a meal with a sinner, 11:43 it was considered socially taboo. 11:46 So this is the critique that they had with Jesus. 11:48 He wasn't going, necessarily going to a bar 11:50 and ministering to people, 11:52 He was going to somebody's house to eat dinner 11:53 as an invited guest, as an honored guest, 11:56 and immediately what you always notice with Christ is, 11:58 as soon as He entered into the scene, 12:01 He always directed all of the audience 12:04 to the kingdom of God. 12:06 He used it as a deliberate means 12:08 to direct people to the kingdom, 12:10 not as some means 12:11 just to hang out at a party or hang out somewhere 12:13 and hopefully people might become friendly 12:16 and somehow He might be able to do something later. 12:19 It wasn't, you know, friendship evangelism. 12:22 He was designed to be their friend, 12:24 but He was deliberately overtly directing them 12:27 to the kingdom of heaven. 12:29 So let's make an application. 12:30 So when Christ would go into an environment 12:32 with the worst sinners, 12:34 He would go to where they are and meet them. 12:36 Yes. 12:38 And when He went there, 12:39 what He did was always create a forum 12:44 that He can have a holy influence to the people. 12:47 Yes. 12:49 This is what Christ did 12:50 when He ate and drank with sinners. 12:52 What Christ did not do was simply go there 12:55 and just indulge in their conversation, 12:57 indulge in their music, indulge in their food, 13:00 and indulge in this and indulge in that, 13:02 and just think that because His presence was there 13:05 that somehow this is going to have 13:06 a witnessing effect to the people. 13:07 Right. This is what He did not do. 13:10 All right, well, this is important then 13:11 because I can remember in my experience 13:13 when I was trying to evangelize a friend of mine, 13:16 and he and I used to love playing video games, 13:19 and I started getting convicted on several levels 13:21 about my video game times. 13:22 Number one, it was a waste of time. 13:24 I mean, I wasn't developing, growing, 13:25 I wasn't getting any better in any area of life really, 13:28 so I had a problem with that 13:29 because I believe in development. 13:31 Nevertheless, I also felt that the games we were playing 13:35 was not good for my mind, 13:36 because we would play martial art game, 13:38 Tekken and Mortal Combat and these type of games 13:42 where you're pulling people's heads out of their bodies 13:45 and this horrible gory stuff. 13:47 So I got convicted about it. 13:49 I said, you know, I can't do this anymore. 13:50 I don't think this is right. 13:51 How can I say thou shalt not kill, 13:53 and I'm entertaining myself killing people? 13:54 So it didn't make sense. 13:56 Well, I wanted to win my buddy, 13:58 so I would go to his house and just say, 14:00 "Hey, you know, let's hang out, let's talk." 14:03 And I tried to witness to him by just being present. 14:07 He knew I was a Christian 14:08 and I try to be present but he would always say, 14:10 "Come on, man, let's play the game." 14:11 And, you know, after a while I was like, 14:13 "No, I don't want to play," and then he was like, 14:14 "Come on, man, let's play the game. 14:16 And before you know it, I was like, 14:17 all right, all right, all right and before you know, 14:19 I'm ripping people's heads off and everything else, 14:20 and I have literally damaged my witness, 14:22 because how am I going to go to him later on and say, 14:24 "Hey, that's wrong," 14:25 and the first thing he's going to say is, 14:27 "You were doing it with me," 14:28 you know, so it damaged my witness, 14:30 so instead of me evangelizing him, 14:32 I got evangelized... 14:33 That's right. 14:35 And that's another thing we have to be careful of. 14:36 The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:12, 14:38 "Let a man take heed 14:40 when he thinks he stands lest he falls." 14:43 Galatians 6:1 says, you know, 14:45 "Ye which are spiritual restore individuals 14:47 back to the Lord," but it says 14:49 but consider yourself lest you also be tempted, 14:52 so this is something important when we're thinking about. 14:55 "I'm going to go in the streets 14:56 to reach the people in the streets 14:57 and I'll become like those in the streets 14:59 that I can win them. 15:01 There are some serious limitations 15:03 that we have to watch out for 15:05 but what are the things that are permissible? 15:07 What would be a practical example of 1 Corinthians 9 15:11 and ministering to those that are in the streets 15:13 and meeting them where they are in their culture 15:16 and not violating principle. 15:18 Yeah, I mean, you depending whether or not 15:21 you're a member of that community, 15:23 you go, you can go to where the people are. 15:25 It is absurd, you know, as a Christian church to think 15:31 that all of the sinners 15:32 are going to just come to your church. 15:33 They're going to just come to where you are 15:35 and come to your services, 15:37 however many times that might be once a week, 15:39 two times, three times a week, every day, 15:41 so that is not the role of the church, 15:43 the role of the church is to go and to make disciples 15:46 of all nations, right? 15:48 Rich, poor, free, bond, male, female, everyone is deserving, 15:53 and I wouldn't say deserving in the sense that God owes them 15:57 but God is love and He has made provision 16:00 for everyone to be saved and God desires, 16:03 deeply desires beyond our comprehension 16:04 for every single person, 16:06 every human being that He has created to be saved, 16:08 no matter what their present condition, 16:10 no matter what things they have done. 16:12 So God has chosen those individuals 16:14 who have come to Him and accepted Him 16:16 to then go out and to reach others, 16:19 so we ought to go and make disciples 16:22 and in order to do that, 16:23 we have to go to where they are, 16:24 whether that be in the inner city, 16:26 whether that be in the suburb, 16:28 whether that be in a rich neighborhood, 16:29 poor neighborhood, bad neighborhood, 16:30 whether that be homeless people wherever, 16:32 so we have to find ways 16:34 in which God minister to people, 16:36 I mean, that's the best example. 16:37 You look at what Jesus did. 16:38 What did Jesus do? 16:40 Matthew 4:23 says that Jesus went about all Galilee, 16:43 teaching in their synagogues 16:45 and preaching the gospel of the kingdom 16:46 and healing all manner of sickness 16:48 and all manner of disease among the people, 16:50 so that's the kind of a guy, that's a practical guideline 16:52 where we're supposed to go everywhere... 16:54 Right. 16:55 ..preaching, teaching, and healing. 16:57 Well, how do you do that, you know, so it goes on and on 16:59 because the questions will keep coming 17:01 as we identify new, 17:02 you know, practical measures to take, 17:04 but we need to go and ministers to the people as Christ did. 17:08 He was constantly present with those that were in need. 17:10 As He said many, many times, 17:12 the well, those that are well or healthy 17:15 are not in need of a physician, 17:17 but those that are sick 17:18 and you could try to keep telling 17:19 the Jewish leadership 17:21 that's why I'm here with these people 17:23 that you call sinners because they need help. 17:25 That's right. 17:26 You guys are sinners just like them and even worse 17:29 because you don't even think you need help. 17:31 So the idea that Jesus says like in Matthew 11, 17:36 "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden 17:39 and I will give you rest," right? 17:42 He's not looking for you to make all these changes 17:44 and then come to Him. 17:46 With the invitation that the gospel offers 17:48 is for you to come to Him as you are, 17:51 but you have to be willing to accept the change 17:54 that He is going to provide once you come to Him, 17:56 so there is going to be a change 17:58 but you can come as you are. 18:00 So in order to walk into church, 18:01 you don't need to come off the street, 18:03 you're not a Christian, you don't know, 18:05 you don't need to dress this way or that, 18:07 you can come in as you are, 18:09 but understand that as you come in 18:10 and accept the gospel, 18:12 it's going to, Christ is offering change. 18:13 He's offering something better, 18:15 so number one, 18:16 you're letting people come to you as they are. 18:19 You're not sitting there and trying to change people 18:21 and make people, you know, 18:23 have some kind of compulsory attitude 18:25 towards religious, you know, observance 18:27 or some intellectual assent to knowledge, 18:29 but it's a relationship 18:31 so you don't just walk up to a person and say, 18:33 "We're going to get married," you know, 18:35 there's a relationship that's involved, 18:36 so you treat it the same way 18:38 so I'm going to come and develop. 18:40 There's a book that I like, 18:43 you know, it's one of my favorites, 18:45 it's called the Ministry of Healing 18:47 and on page 143, 18:50 it talks about Christ's methods 18:52 and it's just articulating what the Bible says... 18:54 Sure. 18:56 ..like we just read in Matthew 4 18:57 but it says that Christ method alone 18:59 will bring true success in reaching the people. 19:01 That's right. 19:02 It says that the Savior mingled with men 19:04 as one who desired their good 19:06 is that He showed sympathy to them, 19:08 ministered to their needs and won their confidence, 19:11 then He bade them follow me, 19:13 so even Jesus understood that there are barriers, 19:16 that sin has separated man from God, 19:20 so in order for man to come back, 19:22 there's things that need to take place 19:23 that we've talked about but it is a process. 19:26 It is a process of growth and development 19:28 and there is a willingness that the person has to have, 19:30 so I can't make them do anything, 19:31 so I need to go to where they are 19:33 and minister to their needs. 19:34 I need to show sympathy, 19:36 I need to win their confidence before I say, 19:38 "Hey, you know, get baptized, become a Christian. 19:40 Study your Bible, do all these things, 19:42 " I have to treat them as I would treat a child 19:46 who I'm trying to teach a lesson 19:48 and not in a demeaning sense, not literally like a child, 19:51 but the same way that you would try 19:53 to educate a person in any line 19:55 with care and consideration and He want them to understand. 19:58 He want them to grow and develop. 20:01 He want them to, you know, do something better and change. 20:04 Make a change. 20:05 Then I am going to make every effort possible 20:07 without compromising the truth. 20:10 I am not gonna drink... 20:11 As a matter of fact, that reminds me. 20:14 When I was first beginning in my study of the Bible after, 20:19 you know, reading, you know, over 50 books 20:21 and different religions and, you know, 20:23 passing through all of this confusion, 20:25 I started to kind of get settled in the truth 20:29 and I had already made decisions in my mind 20:31 that I was going to no longer drink, 20:32 no longer smoke, no longer do this. 20:34 I changed my diet 20:35 because I saw in all religions to this health emphasis, 20:38 no pork, and no red meat and all this stuff, 20:41 so when I started actually visiting churches, 20:44 you know, before I was baptized 20:45 and before I made an official decision, 20:46 but I was kind of settling into the truth, 20:49 I would still go and hang out with my old crew 20:52 and they understood the changes I was making, 20:55 so, you know, how it gets, 20:56 you know, some people that understand, 20:58 "Oh, now, you're a Christian," so, you know, 20:59 they curse around you and they'd be like, 21:01 "Oh, oh, sorry," you know, you don't care for, 21:03 his brother is a Christian now, we can't do these things. 21:06 But I remember what we used to do when we get together. 21:08 We always smoke. 21:10 We're always, you know, smoking weed, 21:11 we were always drinking just in passing, you know, 21:13 just to pass the time and so lo and behold, 21:17 I'm at a friend's house 21:19 and they're getting ready to do, 21:20 you know, their ritual 21:22 and they almost get to the point 21:24 where we're about to light up 21:25 and then I'm sitting there on the couch and they're like, 21:27 "Oh, no, no, no," you know, let's not, you know, 21:29 Lance doesn't smoke anymore, 21:31 let's not smoke in front of him, 21:32 and so they all went in another room 21:34 to do what they are doing, 21:35 I just sat on the couch like there by myself, 21:37 you know, wondering, 21:39 and obviously I started to realize 21:41 that I'm not really making any impact whatsoever 21:46 and this whole idea that, 21:48 you know, they smoke over there and I'm over here, 21:50 I'm like, what am I doing right now. 21:51 Right, right. 21:52 It even got so bad that at for many, many like months, 21:55 if I think of it right, I used to actually prepare. 21:58 I used to take the weed, break it up, roll it and then, 22:02 you know, you know, give it to them to smoke, 22:05 so I was still part and, you know, 22:06 still engaging in half in and half out in that area. 22:11 You know my friend used to... 22:13 that same group we used to be in his, 22:17 you know, room and smoking 22:18 and he was dating a Muslim girl and he wanted to marry. 22:22 He was this girl for a long time. 22:23 He wanted to marry her but the problem 22:25 is the parents wouldn't have any of it, 22:26 you know, they demanded that he become a Muslim 22:29 before he even approached the subject so he, 22:32 you know, he was studying Islam, 22:33 he had a Quran and he had in his room and anybody knows, 22:36 you know, proper Islam, you know, 22:38 you put the Quran in a sacred place. 22:41 It has to go in a prominent place 22:42 and so normally they will have stands, 22:44 there's all kinds of, you know, 22:45 things that and so he had his Quran 22:47 on the stand in his bookcase in his room, right? 22:49 And it was leaning there and I didn't see it. 22:52 I didn't know what it was because it had a veil over it. 22:55 It had like a white like veil covering it and I'm like, 22:58 "Man, what's that thing under there?" 22:59 And at this time we were smoking, 23:01 we are sitting in the room smoking 23:02 and my friend said, 23:04 "You know that's my Quran, 23:06 I had to cover it because we're smoking. 23:08 You know so he understood. 23:10 He didn't want to violate the sacredness of the book 23:13 so he veiled it so the smokers won't hit it. 23:16 I mean, are all of these concepts, 23:18 you know, he's not helping me accept Islam in that situation, 23:23 I'm not helping them by, you know, 23:25 refraining from smoking weed 23:27 but rolling and sitting in the other room 23:29 while they go in another room and smoke. 23:30 I'm completely disconnected so that's not effective. 23:33 It's not effective. 23:34 They understand the changes I've made. 23:35 They understand that God has made changes in my life 23:37 'cause they see it, they know who I was 23:39 and they know who I am now, 23:40 so the idea that we have to go out and reach people 23:44 where they are in their communities, 23:46 whether they're rich, poor, homeless and as I said 23:48 we've got to go and do it in the way that God is giving. 23:51 So when God says, go make disciples, 23:53 He doesn't just say go make disciples, 23:54 you guys figure it out. 23:56 He says, go make disciples and here are the guidelines, 23:58 here are the principles 24:00 that are going to govern your engagement, 24:03 the rules of engagement if you will. 24:05 There's rules of engagement for war 24:06 and all kinds of other things. 24:07 There's rules of engagement in this going out to reach people 24:11 or bringing people into your church 24:13 or bringing people into your home or your fellowship 24:15 so what is, you know, 24:18 to make it real simple and plain 24:20 even though God respects culture, 24:23 essentially God is created culture. 24:24 That's right. 24:26 But culture became perverted through sin 24:28 and rejection of the knowledge of the truth. 24:30 As that culture degraded 24:32 and man went further and further away from God 24:34 and began to invent cultural practices 24:37 influenced by Satan 24:39 God doesn't respect that. 24:41 God doesn't love that. He hates that. 24:43 And so when God bring somebody, He doesn't say, 24:45 "Oh, well, in order to be a Christian, 24:46 you need to change your language, 24:48 in order to be a Christian," and when I mean language, 24:51 I mean like French, Spanish, Italian. 24:52 Okay. 24:54 You know, God doesn't, you don't have to speak Latin 24:55 to read the Bible, 24:57 you know, like some other religions, 24:58 you can't even study the sacred text 25:00 without learning a certain language 25:02 and that becomes a real problematic, 25:05 so God doesn't say, oh, well, you're Italian, 25:07 I'm rejecting that or you're this, 25:09 I'm rejecting that. 25:10 He'll respect culture 25:12 but the culture has to be subservient 25:15 to the superior culture 25:17 which is Christian biblical culture. 25:18 No violation, no compromise 25:21 and your engagement in receiving individuals 25:23 are going out to minister to them. 25:25 So then expression of a culture is not in and of itself wrong, 25:31 it depends on what you're expressing 25:33 and how you're expressing it. 25:34 Exactly. 25:36 Things that are not conflicting with the Word of God, 25:38 things that are not conflicting with God's truth 25:41 and can be in harmony with God and His truth, 25:43 we are totally allowed to continue 25:45 to express those things without a problem, 25:48 but the things that we can see 25:49 that's encased within our culture 25:51 that we can go ahead and express and do whatever, 25:54 but we can look back and say, 25:55 hey, wait a minute as we search the Scriptures, 25:57 we see these things are countering and conflicting 25:59 with the Word of God. 26:01 These are the things that must be surrendered 26:03 to this superior culture which is called Christianity. 26:06 That is right. 26:07 This is the point of what Paul was bringing out 26:08 in 1 Corinthians 9 26:10 when Paul became like the Jew to win the Jew, 26:12 and these are the points that God wants us to understand 26:14 when we're going to come to those in hip-hop culture, 26:16 we're not going to use hip-hop necessarily to win those 26:20 that are in hip-hop and otherwise 26:22 we're going to be building on this thought real strong 26:24 because we've been setting a very profound foundation 26:27 as we get ready to bring some final points to a close, 26:30 so I'm excited about this and I hope you are too 26:33 and that you've been enjoying these points 26:35 that we've been studying together. 26:36 We're going to build on this even more 26:37 because we're going to bring some specifications 26:39 of particular expressions in hip-hop culture 26:43 that we're going to be able to look at 26:44 and let the Word of God be a guide to us. 26:47 So we want you to go ahead 26:49 and prepare your hearts for that 26:50 and continue to study 26:51 and invite a friend to come back 26:53 and take a look with us. 26:54 And until we meet again, 26:56 just remember those words of Proverbs 2:6 26:58 that tells us 27:00 it is the Lord that gives wisdom 27:02 and out of His mouth 27:03 comes knowledge and understanding. 27:06 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-04-03