You're Not In Kansas Anymore

Introduction

EAGLE AMONG TURKEY’S ILLUSTRATION. POINT: LOSS OF IDENTITY RESULTS IN A LOSS OF IMPACT. WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE YOU LOSE THE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE THE CULTURE IN WHICH YOU’VE BEEN PLACED.

CONNECTING TO OUR TEXT. ISRAEL IS FINALLY READY TO MOVE INTO THE PROMISED LAND, YET GOD IS VERY CONCERNED FOR THEM. HE DOESN’T WANT THEM TO FORGET WHO THEY ARE WHEN THEY GO OVER THERE. SO HE HAS THEM DO THREE THINGS IN OUR TEXT, THREE PROFOUND, IDENTITY SHAPING THINGS THAT REMIND THEM OF EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE AND POSITION THEM FOR INFLUENCE.

CREATING THE NEED: SECULARISM. WELL, WHAT IS ISRAEL IN STORE FOR? VERSE 1. A LAND THAT DOES NOT HOLD THEIR CONVICTIONS OR BELIEF IN GOD. SUCH IS THE SAME FOR US. WE LIVE IN A LAND THAT DOESN’T HOLD OUR BELIEFS OR CONVICTIONS. WE LIVE IN A THOROUGHLY SECULAR CULTURE.

SECULARISM DEFINED. HARD TO DESCRIBE. WHAT’S WATER ILLUSTRATION. WHERE GOD IS NOT IN THE CENTER BUT ON THE OUTSKIRTS, THE SUBURBS, THE PERIPHERY. SECULARISM IS WHERE THE INDIVIDUAL IS AT THE CORE, NOT GOD. TENETS OF SECULARISM: 1. RELATIVISM: THE LOSS OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH. WHAT’S TRUE FOR YOU IS TRUE FOR YOU. BUT DON’T DISAGREE OR PROJECT YOUR TRUTH ON ME. LOVE LIVING IN CALIFORNIA WHERE EVERYONE HAS AN OPEN MIND UNTIL YOU DISAGREE WITH THEM! SHAKING HANDS IN CHURCH THE OTHER SUNDAY, “YOUR TRUTH”. 2. NO CONCEPT OF SIN…SHAY AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD…SHE JUST ASSUMED; 3. MORAL DECADENCE, “EACH PERSON DOES WHAT IS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN EYES”; 4. INCREASINGLY HOSTILE TO CHRISTIANITY. VERSE 9, REPROACH. THEY’RE PROGRESSIVE, WE’RE FUNDAMENTALISTS, BIGOTS, ETC. THIS IS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. AS DOROTHY REMARKED IN THE WIZARD OF OZ, ‘WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE’.

HOPE. AND YET AS BLEAK AS THINGS MAYBE, THE REASON WHY WE ARE STILL HERE IS THAT GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON CULTURE OR THE BAY. IN FACT, THE CRAZY CHRISTIAN TRADITION WE COME FROM IS THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS USED A CREATIVE MINORITY OF GOD FEARING PEOPLE TO BE HIS INSTRUMENTS OF CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT AND HUMAN FLOURISHING. DANIEL IN BABYLON, CLAPAHAM SECT IN 19TH CENTURY ENGLAND, CRM. WE CAN DO THE SAME, BUT IT ALL BEGINS WITH US BEING REMINDED OF WHO WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF THE SECULAR CITY.

WE ARE HOME- VERSE 12

OUR PASSAGE IS ALL ABOUT READYING GOD’S PEOPLE TO ENGAGE A SECULAR SOCIETY WHERE THE GOD OF ISRAEL IS NOT AT THE CORE. IF THERE’S A PHRASE THAT SUMS UP OUR PASSAGE IT IS ALL ABOUT IDENTITY FORMATION. GOD KNOWS THEY CAN’T IMPACT THESE TURKEYS UNLESS THEY SEE THEY’RE EVIL. AND UNLIKE THE WORLD THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION HOLDS THAT IDENTITY IS NOT ACHIEVED BUT RECEIVED. AND THERE’S THREE THINGS WE NEED TO CONSTANTLY BE REMINDED OF.

WE ARE HOME. EXPLANATION. EAT THE PRODUCE MARKS A CHANGE OF SEASON. MANNA WAS THE OLD SEASON WHERE THEY WERE REMINDED THEY WERE WANDERING HOMELESS IN THE WILDERNESS. NOW THEY GET TO THE PROMISED LAND IN HARVEST SEASON. EATING OF THE PRODUCE IS GOD’S TRUMPET CALL TO THEM ANNOUNCING YOU’RE HOME!!! THIS IS THE PLACE I’VE CALLED YOU. YOU’RE HOME! INFLUENCING THE BAY AND OUR SECULAR SOCIETY BEGINS WITHI US EMBRACING THE FACT THAT WE’RE HOME. .

ILLUSTRATION. COUPLE WHO RENTED OUT THEIR HOUSE IN AUGUST TO ROLEX FOR 50K…TWO DIFFERENT DYNAMICS. SHE HAD AN OWNERS MENTALITY AND CARED PROFOUNDLY WHAT HAPPENED THERE. IT WAS HERS. THE OTHERS NOT SO MUCH. HAVE AN OWNERS MENTALITY. TENSION: IT’S QUITE POSSIBLE TO LIVE SOMEWHERE AND ACT LIKE YOU’R A VISITOR AND NOT REALLY EMBRACE IT AS HOME.

BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO HAVE AN OWNERS MENTALITY? THEY WERE TO CONSUME BY EATING, BUT IN A FEW MONTHS THEY’D OWN THEIR OWN FIELDS AND WOULD BEGIN CULTIVATING AS WELL. SO THAT TO BE HOME MEANS A COMMITMENT TO NOT JUST CONSUME, BUT TO CULTIVATE AS WELL.

APPLICATION. SO MANY COME TO THE BAY TO CONSUME. OPPORTUNITY, WEATHER, LEISURE, PLEASURE. THE THE CHRISTIAN MENTALITY IS GOD’S CALLED ME HERE. THIS IS HOME AND WHEN I LEAVE I DON’T WANT TO HAVE JUST CONTINUED THE LONG LEGACY OF TAKING, BUT I WANT IT TO BE BETTER. IF YOU’RE A STUDENT THIS IS HOME, EVEN IF JUST FOR A FEW YEARS…IMAGINE IT’S YOUR LAST DAY HERE IN THE BAY AND YOU’RE LEAVING. A FAREWELL PARTY IS BEING THROWN AND THOSE INVITED OR THOSE LIVES YOU’VE DEEPLY IMPACTED BECAUSE YOU’VE COMMITTED TO NOT JUST CONSUMING, BUT CULTIVATING. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE? WHOSE SHEDDING TEARS? WHEN IT’S TIME TO SHARE WHAT ARE THE SAYING? ARE UNSAVED NEIGHBORS THERE? SETTLE DOWN, BUILD HOUSES, YOU’RE HOME.

WE ARE NOT HOME- VERSES 2-9

AS GOD READIES HIS PEOPLE TO ENGAGE A SECULAR CULTURE LIKE CANAAN HE HAS THEM DO THREE VERY INTERESTING IDENTITY FORMING THINGS: CIRCUMCISION, PASSOVER AND EATING OF THE PRODUCE. IN GENERAL THESE THREE THINGS ANNOUNCE ONE THING TO THE PEOPLE- YOU’RE NOT HOME.

IMMIGRANT ILLUSTRATION. HUH? I’M HOME BUT NOT HOME? WHAT KIND OF SENSE DOES THAT MAKE? . OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN. PHILIPPI A ROMAN COLONY THAT BOASTED OF THEIR ROMAN CENTURY. YOU’RE NOT FROM HERE PAUL IS SAYING. - WE ARE AN EXILE. EXILE MEANS IMMIGRANT. AN IMMIGRANT IS A PERSON WHO WHILE THEY LIVE IN ONE COUNTRY ARE ACTUALLY FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY AND YOU CAN TELL BY THE WAY THEY TALK, THEIR CULTURAL PRACTICES AND CELEBRATIONS, AND HOW THEY ACT THEY’RE JUST DIFFERENT, THEY’RE NOT FROM HERE. GOD SAYS THAT’S HOW THE BELIEVER IS TO BE. TALK DIFFERENT. WE MUST BE IN TUNE WITH THE FACT WE’RE NOT FROM HERE IN ORDER TO INFLUENCE AND SHAPE HERE. FORGET THAT AND YOU’LL GET SWEPT AWAY. TO HELP US WITH THIS THE BELIEVER NEEDS TO BE IN TOUCH WITH THREE SPECIFIC AREAS IN WHICH THEY’RE DIFFERENT.

CIRCUMCISION. A SIGN OF COVENANT. WHILE A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE DOING IT, ISRAEL WAS THE ONLY NATION TO DO IT. A SIGN YOU BELONG TO GOD. LITERALLY, THE CUTTING AWAY OF THE FORESKIN AND GOD WANTS IT DONE WITH THESE GROWN MEN HERE. I’D BE LIKE CAN’T WE FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WE’RE DIFFERENT? ONE OF THE WAYS THE CHRISTIAN IS TO BE DIFFERENT IS HOW WE STEWARD OUR SEXUALITY. IT WAS SAID OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS BY SECULAR ROME THAT WHILE THEY SHARED THEIR MONEY WITH EVERYONE THEY SHARED THEIR BEDS WITH NO ONE. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS WERE PROMISCUOUS WITH THEIR GIVING, YET MONOGAMOUS WITH THEIR SEXUALITY. NYC COMEDY CLUB AND PEOPLE CLAPPING THAT WE’D BEEN MARRIED FOR “SO LONG”…ONE OF THE LOUDEST WITNESSES TO THE WORLD IS HOW WE STEWARD OUR SEXUALITY.

SPIRITUALLY DIFFERENT. PASSOVER EXPLANATION. A PICTURE OF SALVATION. GOD REDEEMING US, SETTING US FREE FOR JOYFUL SERVITUDE TO CHRIST. THE PASSOVER IS THE REMINDER THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE CEO OF MY LIFE. THE LORD’S SUPPER IS THE REMINDER THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE CEO OF MY LIFE. I BELONG TO HIM.

RELATIONALLY. GILGAL. VERSE 9. WORD MEANS ROLLED AWAY. IT’S A PLACE OF FORGIVENESS. WHAT MAKES US UNIQUELY CHRISTIAN, WHAT ANNOUNCES TO THE WORLD THAT WE ARE SAVED IS THAT WE NOT ONLY HAVE RECEIVED THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD THROUGH CHRIST, BUT WE LAVISH THAT FORGIVENESS ON OTHERS. FORGIVEN PEOPLE FORGIVE. OUR FORGIVENESS COMES THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS. AS YOU KNOW JFK WAS ASSASSINATED, SHOT DEAD AND HIS BLOOD SPLATTERED ON HIS WIFE JACKIE. FOR AWHILE SHE REFUSED TO CHANGE HER OUTFIT. WHEN ASKED WHY SHE SAID I WANT THE WORLD TO SEE WHAT THEY DID TO HIM. THERE’S POWER IN THE BLOOD. FOR US THAT POWER IS FORGIVENESS. OR AS ONE SCHOLAR SAYS IF THE INSIGNIA OF THE WORLD IS VENGEANCE, THEN THE BADGE OF THE BELIEVER IS FORGIVENESS. HOW FORGIVENESS/TRC TRANSFORMED SA.

WE WIN (HOPE)- VERSES 13-15

OUR PASSAGE ENDS WITH QUITE POSSIBLY THE STRANGEST ENCOUNTER IN THE OT. THE NT EQUIVALENT IS THE ROAD TO EMMAEUS. JOSHUA HAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH A MAN.

EXPLANATION. WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? POINT ONE? NO ONE’S I’M NEITHER ON ISRAEL’S SIDE OR CANAAN’S? GOD DOESN’T WAVE ISRAELI FLAGS, OR GERMAN FLAGS, OR USA FLAGS. APPLICATION- HS AND GOD AND JESUS AREN’T STANDING AT NATIONAL ANTHEM. GOD HAS BLESSED AMERICA, BUT AMERICA IS NOT GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE. BE PATRIOTIC. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY. BUT THE MOMENT YOU ELEVATE PATRIOTISM TO GOD YOU’RE GUILTY OF THE SIN OF NATIONALISM. THAT’S WHY WE DON’T HANG FLAGS HERE.

BUT THERE’S A GREATER POINT. THIS IS A PRE-INCARNATE APPEARANCE OF CHRIST. BOICE QUOTE. . THIS IS JESUS! AND WHAT IS JESUS DOING, HE’S WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO ENSURE THEIR VICTORY. ILLUSION. THERE’S MORE GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES THAN WHAT YOU REALIZE! WE WIN! AND THIS KEEPS US HOPEFUL.

APPLICATION. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? WHEN WE’RE NOT HOPEFUL WE BECOME FEAR BASED PEOPLE. AND WHEN DRIVEN BY FEAR WE GO DOWN INTO HATE, AND CONTOL AND MAKE TOO BIG OF AN ISSUE OF POLITICS. THE CHILDREN OF FEAR AND HATE ARE THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT AND MORAL MAJORITY. HOWD THAT WORK OUT?

ILLUSTRATION OF READING THE BOOK BEFORE SEEING THE MOVIE. I WAS CALM AND JOYFUL WHILE MY WIFE WAS FRANTIC. THE DIFFERENCE WAS I READ THE BOOK AND DIDN’T FLIP OUT. HAVE YOU READ THE BOOK? DON’T FREAK OUT. READ THE BOOK! WE WIN!