 Good afternoon pastor. Why hi Welcome everybody to a random moment with pastor David unfiltered a pastor something today I'd like to get your feedback on and it's Christianity and culture There seems to be this paradox between the two the two Christianity and culture but then I'm seeing that I and I want to read this quote as a question is Christ and culture does the church evangelize the world or does the world? Evangelize the church. Well, first of all, I want to make mention of the how you said a paradox, you know I I was in church one day and mice My the pastor was preaching and he said, you know, this this is a paradox And so my my sister Madeleine turned to me and she said to me actually she wrote what is a paradox, right? And so I wrote two doctors and handed it back to her Paradox And so whatever getting back to the question, right? I Don't think that it's possible that the church not be influenced by the culture that it is Serving it just is not possible because we live within the confines of a culture and the culture that we live in here in the United States is a culture that's been established over 200 plus years, you know that at one time had been founded on the principles of the Judeo-Christian faith, you know our Documents of the earliest time are just permeated with with scripture and inference is related to our faith and our laws our legal system is Built on the Judeo-Christian commands and also on the one hand culture is Is this stabilizing force that has united? these United States and has given to us a Backdrop by which we live our lives and those things that we assume to be good or those that we assume to be evil and so you know Christianity Cannot help but be influenced by the culture that is intended to Affect and so that's why the Jesus movement was such a cultural kind of Affair if you will because we took what was modern in the culture and The needs of the culture and we addressed them with scriptural answers and We formed a way of doing church if you will that that appealed Certain elements within the culture because during that day The the young people were abandoning church because they didn't find The church to be relevant to their lives and so God through Pastor Chuck and others Began a movement that eventually was called the Jesus movement and so in the early days of my walk with the Lord we would We would be aware of the culture that we lived in and so the music that was produced for example Through groups like love song and others which really had a heavy kind of a beach boy feel to him Well, that was our culture, you know and the Bible studies were Pastor Chuck would sit on a stool and casually share That was very much part of our culture and I don't I know Chuck didn't realize that I know that he didn't plan that But by the fact that he would sit with his Bible on his knee and would Speak from memory things really appealed to to the younger people that was part of our culture Lonnie Frisbee who was a young man who at one times would teach What I used to call the youth the youth group which it really wasn't it was a church service that he led Well, he was a hippie and he looked like he you know the long hair and the beard and all that appealed to our culture So there are certain things within the culture that that we the church have always Always used in order to to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ I mean even in the time of Martin Luther, he took the a bar song, you know the bar melody and And put words to it a mighty fortress is our God Which was a well-known bar song at that day, so we redeemed the culture and so we can take the elements of that which we would call 21st century and We redeem it now. Here's the problem. It's when the church begins to accommodate the message to the culture It's when we begin to compromise and Begin to make biblical excuses You know for force for lifestyles or particular sins that are Strictly forbidden, you know when you go to a church and and the leader of the church the pastor You know has a worship team That after church he goes out with and share some beers at a local at a local bar Which which happens in which I've heard of that's that's a compromise with the culture. That's not redeeming the culture That's certainly not presenting Christ to a lost culture. That's simply compromising to the culture or when you begin to preach messages that are intended to Appeal to the carnality of the listener for example I was reading a quote the other day that the person said that The three things that Satan promised Jesus and that Jesus rejected are the three things that many prosperity Preachers are promising to their congregations, you know power and prestige You know those kinds of things the less of flesh less of the eyes pride of life Those are the things Christ rejected and yet those very often are the things you'll see on on TV programs You know if you follow Christ you're never going to be sick if you follow Christ you're going to be popular if you follow Christ It's all going to be great for you. So there's no place for affliction. There's no place for for suffering in today's Theology, so I think that that is an appeal to the flesh and that's an appeal to the common culture a culture that rejects the the idea of Anything being difficult or anything causing pain So the church is intended to be salt and light. We're intended to Affect the decay and the darkness of the world. That's what we're called to do and so We can work within the confines of our culture to present a message That's an answer to the sinfulness of those who make up our culture and so I I Realized that today. I'm dressed in a way that my dad at my age would not dress You know my dad like different music than I my dad everything different because of his culture So I am aware of that. I mean I'm a pastor wearing sweatshirts and tennis shoes, right and so Not all pastors do that I remember driving years ago with Marie when our church was brand new Driving through a neighborhood and I turned to my wife and as we're driving through the neighborhood. I said to my my Marie I said Hey, that guy mowing the lawn there is a pastor and she didn't look yet. She says, how do you know? I said look at him So she looks and there was a man in a suit with a tie a white shirt mowing his lawn I said I guarantee that guy is a pastor because he's wearing his work uniform right now So in case somebody should need him he's in his suit, right? That's giving in to your culture the cultural Expectation of that pastor and so he dressed in the uniform that made him appear to be a pastor And so in answer to the question finally I think that the church is intended to be salt and light the church is intended to reveal the evil by by preaching what is true and living what is true and the church is intended to Transform the elements of the culture that are not pleasing to God whatever they may be and and instead to produce a Culture that honors God Loves God knows his word etc. In other words the church is supposed to have an influence on The darkness and that's what God has called us to do amen Thank you so much pastor because you know today We're living in a in a culture and a time where it's cancer culture. It's compromise and and hearing clarity from Pastor who's been doing this for quite a long time and that we don't transform the culture we Well, we don't try we don't transform the culture We're transformed by the renewing of our mind in Christ and the culture doesn't is not intended to transform us Yeah, you know be not conformed to the world either the things of the world in order to be Transformed by the renewing of our minds 12.2. That's right. Pastor. Thank you so much All right, and we have Wednesday evening service coming up tomorrow That's right, and we look forward you guys come joining us Seven o'clock in the chapel. Yep. We look forward to seeing you guys amen and go with us to Israel Go with us to Israel. Yes, and we'll experience the culture of of Israel with some tacos Good bless you pastor. Thank you guys. Thank you for watching