Sermons
Another door – uncomfortable for some. Challenge your thinking today
God focused, Word based, Spirit empowered
3 types of church
- Monocultural
- Multi-national – nations but dominated by one culture in style – assimilation / segregation
- Intercultural – Biblical model, nations united round the gospel learning from each other
Define the value – Heaven is made up of believers from every tribe and tongue and nation. The Gateway church aims to be an outpost of heaven on earth. We are a thoroughly international church appreciating, valuing and encouraging the different cultures and backgrounds of our people. This is expressed in everything we do, including our worship, preaching and our leadership.
Set the scene Biblically
Gen 12
Rev 4-7
Pretty bad in Jesus day – ultra nationalist. Gentiles called dogs
Acts a journey of the church becoming one people made up of every tribe and tongue.
Acts 1:8
Didn't leave Jerusalem until God allowed persecution to scatter them in 8:1-2
Last week – Phil Moore said God using immigration in the same way for the Gospel.
5/6 new disciples from other nations original.
Email conversation about Phil's comment that was thought to be left wing and liberal.
Immigration is and has been badly handled by left and right.
Population fact – 2.1 magic number for net fertility rate (ave no. of kids a woman has).
2.1 = stable population
>2.1 younger growing population
<2.1 older shrinking populations
UK has dropped from 3in 1960 to 1.5 now – need migration to bolster workforce.
Left and right know that, but also no its unpopular with voters.
Both sides made mistakes – Under Blair in 2004 EU expansion Poles – 1 million came not 10,000.
Left/Right could stop migration easily – just stop issuing visas and close the border. Both sides will make noise about zero net migration and not in practice do anything, because they know with a 1.5 birth rate, we need immigration
Make noise about the tiny % of migrants that come by boat rather than legal routes.
Immigration hugely political but here to stay
</political bit>
More interested in what the Bible and the Spirit are saying.
Act 10 major change – God's church goes from largely monocultural to intercultural over 4 days!
Ton of revelation, angels, trances, Spirit activity to change hearts and minds. May He do the same with us too!
1-2 Cornelius Italian God fearer – not Jew
Peter Jewish fisherman under occupation, nationalist / racist as we will see
V9-16 Peter has a trance and vision including a conversation with an angel, where it gets explained 3 times. Get that! He needed to hear God 3x for the change of heart and mind to happen.
V17 Perplexed – I would be after a trance!!!
V25-29 goes to Cornelius.
Notice v28 he says unlawful
Weird translation. Normal Greek word was nomos. He used athemiton – not our custom.
Not in OT Law that Jews and Gentilescan't associate – added to the Law as custom. Many Pharisees and Sadducees associated with Gentiles. There's an element of racism/nationalism here
V34-43 he preaches the Gospel and the Lordship of Christ. And then the Holy Spirit confirms it all by coming on everyone present
Account has deliberate parallels with Pentecost – amazement, tongues, extolling God.
Everyone is changed!
Cornelius – Gentile, saved, filled, baptised
Peter goes from being a bit racist to embracing God's heart for the nations.
One commentator – perhaps Peter changed more
V14 indicates pride in his separation.
Maybe this is hard to take
Splendid isolation like Peter. Read/watch/listen to media that is nationalistic and spread fear.
Need the Lord to take away fear – maybe you need the Spirit to speak 3 times too?
Early church went on a journey from monocultural church to intercultural.
Our heart is that too.
43% of our church not born in UK – 10% locally, 14% UK
Anointing we carry! – prophecy & anointing stories
What will intercultural church look like
Worship – already singing songs from other cultures, more other styles. More dancing too!
Food – best way to get stuck in with each other
Leadership – expect God to pout out his gifts on all the church including the 43% not born here.
Other week announced goal for a non Western elder. Most f/b we've ever had
Throwaway line that could have done with some assumptions behind it explaining
Biblical elders – recognised by the body and eldership, endorsed by the apostoli, character checked and hands laid on.
God will raise up more elders – young and old and every nations – Sense God's leading that will be a non UK born one next. Someone from the 43%
Some have expressed uncomfortable with that – tokenism/positive discrimination.
Lets look at the Bible – Acts 6
Jewish Church – but with Hellenistic (Greek) Jews and Hebraic Jews. Some beginning to have a mix of cultures and one was feeling overlooked.
Elders answer – look for men of good repute/Spirit filled and wise and appoint them as deacons.
Church came back with 7 to do it – Greek names!
As the church grew in diversity they need to actively appoint leaders – good repute/Spirit filled/wise from the different community to balance it up and solve some issues.
All the steps in Acts are reactive
Acts 6 Greek Jews getting overlooked – balance the wider leadership team
Acts 8 – no-one left Jerusalem for Judea, Samaria and the Ends of the Earth – persecution so they could spread the gospel as they went.
Acts 10 – no non-Jews in the church, so God arranges trance, angelic messengers in a vision and comes in power to confirm Peters change of thinking and good preaching!
We get to read that, see that God's heart is for a people of God who are made up of every tribe and tongue and nation and be proactive.
That's why we are trusting God to raise up a non Western elder…. And some others too!
Me thinks this sermon was uncomfortable for some, and some of you a bit cross perhaps.
Counter-cultural.
Fear sells newspapers and so on. So the media and politicians stoke fear
Difficult – much easier to stay in your ghetto with people like you
Mistakes – will make loads of cross-cultural gaffes
Requires humility – listening and asking questions
Maybe you need the Spirit's revelation today – Peter needed revelation x3!
And time – Peter took 4 days – he changed his thinking (repentance) and lst some of his pride.
Pray in a moment
Round table to discuss what intercultural looks like in practice and begin to see who the Lord is raising up – that'll be Sun 12th Nov in the evening.
Lets ask the Spirit to come.