#2 Cultural Preeminent Darkness
Cultural Slavery | Dr. Stephen Phinney: While you would think Christians would be the example of battling the enemy's tactics, research proves they are not.
CULTURAL SLAVERY
The Ultimate Challenge:
Equipping the authentic Saints of Jesus Christ is a massive challenge. Since the leading social misnomer accepted by our culture is anti-authority, when the real Gospel is presented authoritatively, the masses default to this cultural ideation. Suppose you are blocked from presenting authority as the foundation for ushering in conviction. In that case, the listeners will default to, “You are not my daddy,” while being passive in answering the question, “Who is your daddy?”
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
(Romans 8:15)
Who Is Your Daddy?
There are only two daddies - the father of Lies (Satan) and God the Father. There is a confession when you encounter an individual who separates these primaries into other father figures. Unless authoritative figures are under God the Father and managed by God AS the Father, each is identified as functioning under the father of Lies. This kind of clarity of authority provokes a growing movement of hostility.
No one places themselves under authority. All of humanity is born under the limited authority of the father of Lies (Romans 6; Galatians 2:20). To get out from under this horrific position of slavery, one must be crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and then, and only then, can the individual be translated under the authority of God the Father.
Most loathe the idea of slavery.
Today, research reveals that slavery, racism, sexism, and poverty are the leading ideological issues that provoke hostility or resistance. However, I would like to point out that slavery is at the top of the pile. Since all humanity is born as a slave to Satan, all are forced into slavery. Due to Adam and Eve's act of rebellion, humanity was placed under the master, the Father of Lies - via the seed line of Adam. Thus, slavery became obligatory and not an act of choice.
As most understand, enslaved people need to be purchased to transfer ownership. The price that Christ was burdened with was His Life. Remember that God the Father honors the system of releasing a slave. He kept to the rules and placed this price tag on His Son. Jesus knew He had to go to the Cross of Death to make this payment, and He willingly paid the price required by the old master - death.
While Satan thought he had finally won the mastery battle, he didn't expect Jesus to be resurrected. Furthermore, he didn't expect the Father to place Jesus's resurrected Life into authentic believers on Pentecost. And he certainly didn't plan for acts of the indwelling Life to be the standard from Pentecost forward, releasing millions through the generations from being under the slavery of sin to being bondslaves unto Christ.
SILENCING THE LAMBS OF GOD
Folks, this is theology 101. Satan developed a system of deception - silencing the lambs of God. He probably thinks that if he can silence the real-deal believers and the authentic Gospel, transferring mastery to him will fix Jesus's plans to reach enslaved people through conversion, where Jesus comes to live in the born-again believers. Sad to say, his plan is working, which confirms what Jesus said, that the road to destruction is wide, and many are on it, and the road to Heaven is narrow, and few are on it (Matthew 7:13-14).
We must remember that God is not into numbers. He is into gathering the faithful few who will authentically honor Him as God, accept Jesus as their Life, and remain committed to the absolute doctrines and requirements to enter the gate, which grants eternal Life to all who enter by His indwelling faith.
The Leading Cause of Christian Passivity.
Modern Christians tend to be intimidated by cultural movements, so much so that droves are suffering from the temptation to renounce their faith in Christ. So, what would be the leading cause of this demonic passivity? The fear of fronting demonic doctrines and movements.
Our subject, Cultural Preeminent Darkness, tackles these demonic doctrines and movements head-on. While you would think Christians would be the example of battling the enemy's tactics, research proves they are not. Most integrate demonic doctrines into their lukewarm faith, resulting in a compromised testimony, causing the believer to fade into a social gospel.
Our mission is to separate darkness from light while empowering the people OF Light (Jesus Christ) to shine forth in darkness to deliver the people OF darkness into the Kingdom of Light and Life. Therefore, our bottom line is that authentic Christians should not be silent in advancing the Gospel THROUGH culture and not refrain due to culture.
So, why this series?
Honestly, I have found few publications that address culture with the mindset of viewing the preeminence of Christ when considering culture and its movements FROM a perspective of Christ in you.
Today, the lion’s share of publications tends to wash out the Truth of viewing life through the mind of Christ, which the Scriptures tell us dwells within all authentic born-again believers. Secondly, most quality publications I read on our topic don’t finish with an introduction to the pure doctrines of real-deal Salvation in Christ. Maybe it is because they are clueless as to the “how.” In other words, they don’t close the deal! And more importantly, most ignore the topic of culture and life viewed through the mind of Jesus Christ.
Review authentic Salvation HERE.
Wade into the quiet pool of inquiry—where ripples of curiosity meet the stillness of introspection. There, beneath the Lord’s watchful gaze, let your thoughts unfurl like delicate petals. Tread softly, for each question is a lantern illuminating hidden corridors within your mortal soul. These questions are not mere words; they are the keys to chambers where wisdom resides. So, my reader, prep your fingertips to type your answers:
Honestly, do you tend to listen to the father of lies or God the Father?
In what ways do you tend to struggle with being a slave unto Christ?
When under pressure of being confronted by unbelievers, do you tend to slip into passivity, or do you take on the challenge of fronting others with the Truth of God’s Holy Word?
When you see a fellow believer being assaulted with lies from a persecutor, do you cower and remain silent or come to their defense?
Please comment on this post with your answers. Your comments will help others in the battle against adopting cultural darkness.
Wow, those are some interesting questions.
"When under pressure..." My goal is to listen and discern how I can minister to the unbeliever(s). There have been times when the guidance has been to stop speaking, because of a lack of meekness. Other times, there are answers to be spoken. This is a skill in development.
"...a fellow believer..." This is one where I have fallen short in the past, but I now know why.
"...struggle..." it is not so much a struggle now, as it is a walk to continue to improve.
"...tend to listen..." To my heavenly father. Walking with Him, he has exposed weaknesses and why they are there. The answer is to submit, in detail, to His will in everything.
Sadly the majority of Christians don't want to hear it. What I am about to reveal is not necessarily a criticism but an observation. If you faithfully live & abide in Jesus as the vine and His word living now as a slave unto His righteousness having been set free from being a slave to sin, and speak his truths in love they try to tell you this is not at all possible, that you have to and can only live a perpetual sinful life, that you are a perpetual sinner destined to live a wilful habitual sinful life, they try to teach and tell you Jesus apparently has no power what he did by his life death burial resurrection and ascension means absolutely nothing in their unbelief they negate it all, or not teaching accurately that there is a difference between our inherited sinful nature from our very first parents Adam & Eve then to choosing to live in wilfull unrepentant sin after knowing the truth and having been set free, you are mocked & scoffed, called evil, not humble when sharing the true gospel they say that it isn't the gospel at all, that you are starting your own cult or something? That you talk too much about Jesus, you pray too much, you spend toouch time with Heavenly father, you evangelise too much, you read the bible too much, when you show His words they will say it doesn't mean what it says but means something else. You can't say anything nor uphold what Heavenly father teaches and says and this is to Christians. They will try to convince you that loving God with your whole heart soul mind and with your whole strength and wanting to serve Him and loving and serving others is somehow working for your salvation when it's a free gift of grace undeserved unearned unmerited? That if you dare say He loves you, your not being modest. I have had worldly lost people accept His truths with far more reverance and respect and treat me with far more kindness. They try to convince you witchcraft is normal and rejecting harry potter (high principality) makes you a legalistic heretic. Didn't you know that Jesus is fine with witchcraft that sorcery was all in the old covenant Testament and now Jesus is cool with it. Yet you will show verses in Acts Ephesians the book of Revelation, but they stick their fingers in their ears push the bible away and close their eyes and stick their tongues out, and say it's all ok to read the real spells in the books and watch the films, Jesus is now cool with witchcraft. Also that Darwin's theory of evolution is part of God's plan and part of his creation too?? That where it states the believers shared all their goods and had everything in common is apperently acceptance of communism and apparently shows they were socialists. I have had 80 year old Christian church going women tell me critical race theory is biblical and Godly. i have Christians tell me that we are to feel sorry for those who won't resist their carnal fleshly sins and desires as it's just too hard isn't it so they should just carry on, the church absolutely derelict in it's duty refusing to teach how to be an overcomer in Christ Jesus, yet will say aloud the Lords prayer.. lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil means absolutely nothing to them, Hebrews 12:14 that no longer means what it says anymore either, they make excuses to engage in porn and pedophilia abusing those girls or boys they are watching & masturbating over, or if married they want to convince you it's not really committing adultery, and somehow they just can't help it, and can you just please assuage and ease their guilt, that these people on there many are indeed just that, sex trafficked children and teenagers
made to appear older, and those watching that makes them all complicit and helping continue that pedophilic child and human adult sex trafficking industry. But they will go and watch a film in the cinema about how evil it is??
I have heard pastors telling members of their congregation that fornicating with a girlfriend or boyfriend is ok because in God's eyes they are married, so the fact they just keep splitting up then finding a new boyfriend or girlfriend is no longer sin as each time they are looked upon as a married couple. And yet they will call You the problem for their own aberattions and sins, saying it's normal and your the abnormal one. They say you are arrogant and there's something wrong and abnormal with you for having been delivered in and through Jesus Christ from the world, from the carnal fleshly desires of sins, from fornication, from smoking, from drugs, from the TV programming, from not wanting to seek material inanimate objects and success in this world, from having died to the world, to satans system, to the flesh to desiring only the things of God and Himself as the ultimate treasures, they tell you off for having
learnt to be content with very little materially but exceedingly wealthy in the things of spiritual heavenly riches and the things of the one who created you and me, our father in Heaven, giving everything of Himself. He is our everything fulfills us and completes us and shows and imparts things to us that are phenomenal that no money can purchase or any other human can possibly give or share. It is a pure holiness of distinctions of an intimacy that transcends this merely physical realm and dimension that many indeed want only to be slaves to.
Our beautiful abba, Heavenly father used Moses, a type and shadow of Jesus to set his people free from the slavery and bondage to Pharaoh, to the Egyptian system they were under, yet in their liberation and freedom in the wilderness, the majority all they did was complain and moan and many were so desperate to go back to their servitude serdom and slavery in Egypt thinking they had never had it so good back there, forgetting they had been crying out to be released from Egypts bondage for nearly 400 years as their backs broke and they sweated, whipped mercilessly treated no better than livestock, many dying under the harsh labour conditions, oh but they loved their garlic and their watermelons and their meat and many their idolatry. A vast mixed company came out in the exodus, the exile with the Israelites they witnessed and saw firsthand the many miracles of Almighty Creator God and His provisions yet the trials and testings, refinings and purgings they abhorred and wanted only to feed their flesh hence their longing and petitioning God for quails and they ate and fed of that flesh untill it came out of their very nostrils and kindled God's anger sending upon them a plague and they died.
(ASV) Numbers 11: 18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore Jehovah will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days,
20 but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you; because that ye have rejected Jehovah who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? .....
And there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth.
32 And the people rose up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
33 While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the people, and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague. 34 And the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people that lusted.
Jesus sets the captives free but look so many of His own people do not want it! It is heartbreaking. He desires mercy and not sacrifice. But yet we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, pure, holy and pleasing as a spiritual act of worship upon his Heavenly altar to cut away and burn off the flesh. Jesus does it He enables and empowers all those truly born of His spirit those that are not and reject His power that can make them Godly are truly none of His.