Reclaiming the 7 Mountains of Our Culture….
This means the removal of the separation between the secular and the sacred. It’s the same in God’s eyes….
It means Bringing God back into the workplace
It’s about Christians becoming aware that their work is their ministry
It’s about Christians taking leadership in their work place
And It’s about God’s power manifested in our places of work
Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. v19 Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: v20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, Amen”. (so be it).
When Jesus told us to go into all the world, he was referring to every segment of our society…..He said that as we go, He will be with us always…. He told us to bring the culture of the kingdom into the work place, into the neighborhood, into the family unit, into the areas of recreation and social activity, as well as into the church….
Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” This tells us that there is a consistency with Him which should reflect out in us, in every area of our lives and interaction (Oh the blessing of consistency!)
From this Scripture in Hebrews, we can conclude that:
1. Anything Jesus has done before He can and will do again. 2. Anything Jesus has done anywhere in the world, He can do here. 3. Anything He is doing for anyone else, He can do for you and me (because He is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:43).
When Jesus was on the earth He was operating in the power of the Spirit and in the book of Acts His followers operated in the same power.
Jesus stated what He was going to do and then He did it, in Luke 4:18-19 when He said the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him and He was anointed to 1. preach the gospel to the poor 2.To heal the brokenhearted 3.To preach deliverance to the captives 4.The recovering of sight to the blind 5. To set at liberty them that are bruised 6.To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (That’s a description of our mission while on this earth)
When He had finished stating what He was going to do He said…
Luke 10:19-20 “Behold, I give unto you (My)…… MY POWER!”
The bible says that If we were to try to explain all that Jesus did, it would fill up more books than all the books on earth could contain, nor could all the heavens, contain it all, if it were a scroll.
Jesus performed many types of healings…and He stills heals today, (fever, leprosy, paralysis, withered hand, blindness, the deaf, the maimed, internal bleeding, epilepsy, and casting out demons.) As a grand finale, each stripe that He took on his back was for a category of diseases plaguing mankind and He is still healing today!!! (tell someone that)
He supplied needs by supernaturally feeding the hungry on five different occasions; He provided tax money; He stood in the boat and calmed the storm, He walked on water, and He prophesied into their lives.
What an awesome promise He made when He said to all believers..
John 14:12 “Greater works than these shall you do also”
He did His miracles anywhere and everywhere; weddings, funerals, graveyards, synagogues, houses, mountains, downtown, in the country side, at pools, and deserts. There are places we can allow Him to use us!
How did He perform miracles?....In every way possible… He prayed, He touched, He was touched by others, He wept, He groaned, He died, but always, He was moved with compassion. If we can touch, if we can weep, or groan or be moved with compassion over the needs in this world? Then we can finish and complete what He started in our time here, wherever that may be.
He gave what was needed….He gave Moses a rod. He gave Elijah a mantle. To Samson, He gave long hair, which was his covenant of strength… to Shamgar, He supplied a jawbone, to David He provided a sling and a harp, Esther had her beauty, and Joseph had his dreams. What are we doing with what God has given us, to show His glory?
Moses had a stammering tongue, Jacob had a limp, Abraham was old, Sarah was barren, Peter had a temper… they all had things to overcome, but they believed the message that is given to us all….
Philipians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”…..We all have the ability to say what He says. • We can do what He tells us to do. • The only hands He has to use are our hands. • The only mouth He has to use is our mouth. • The only faith He has to use on earth is our faith. • He has not changed, and He is the same. • We have the same message. • We have the same Jesus. • We have the same power that was available to all of those who came before us and will come after us.
A seven-year-old boy was given a school assignment, to write about the secret of life… He approached an old man sitting in front of a garden pool, he looked up into his eyes, and said: "My mommy said that you're a very wise man, could you tell me, what is the secret of life?" The old man looked down at the youngster and replied: "I've thought a lot about that, in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words: He said….
1) The first is to “Think” …. Think about the values that are important enough to live your life by.
2) The second is "Believe." …Believe in yourself based on what you've done about the values you're going to live your life by.
3) The third is "Dream." Dream about the things that are possible, based on your belief in yourself and the values you're going to live by.
4) The last is "Dare." Dare to make your dreams become reality, based upon your belief in yourself and your values.
And with that, Walt Disney repeated the words to the little boy, principles that he had used all his life…."Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare."
Those words are what I want to use as a launching pad for what I want to spend the rest of my time on today,…..and my theme is….
Reclaiming the 7 mountains which influence our societal culture….
These 7 mountains of culture that need to be reclaimed for the kingdom, are... Business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, the family and religion.
Need To Reclaim The mountain of Business……The good news is that God is moving in an unprecedented way among men and women in the workplace today. Dr. Henry Blackaby says "God is marshalling his people in the workplace as never before in history."
There is a new trumpet call going out to men and women of business who are seeing the negative influences in their culture as a wake-up call to reclaim the high places of business. Biblical character and a high standard of ethics are necessary for the operation of righteous businesses which will produce wealth for it’s owners and it’s workers as well.
It is the right of every person to have a healthy and fulfilling work environment with adequate pay. We are called upon by everything that is good, profitable and morally correct, to eradicate corruption in the business community and as we do, poverty will be eliminated along with it!
We declare that New ideas, greater opportunities and an open heaven will open up for Christian Business men & women who follow biblical principles. We declare it over the City, the County and the state. We declare that the wealth of the wicked will come to the righteous, as God is calling upon those in the business and service industry to come up higher and fulfill His mandate-to be the head, and not the tail, to be above only and not beneath!
We Need To Reclaim The mountain of Government…..We believe that government is given by God to serve the people. It is the God-given right of every citizen, regardless of race, gender or economic status, to elect to public office, those who will govern them, with integrity, honesty, transparency and with sound, financial principals and to defend, protect and insure the safety of every citizen as much as is possible. To assure religious liberty, the right to privacy, and the opportunity to succeed with hard work and dedication. Good government frees it’s people, Bad government controls it’s people…. (we need to reclaim the mountain of government)
We Need To Reclaim The mountain of The Media…..it is the role of media to inform, educate, investigate and report on issues related to the establishment of truth, righteousness and justice in society. Fair, unbiased and accurate reporting of the truth is necessary for this to take place. Society is not best served when Media is controlled by politics.
Therefore, we believe it is our right to freely express a biblical worldview through all media outlets and to share information without censorship. It is said that “whatever you are not allowed to question, is what controls you.” The mountain of Media influence needs to be reclaimed in our culture.
We Need To Reclaim The Mountain of the arts and entertainment, This industry has a huge impact on society, and should be a more accurate reflection of our culture, instead of being used as a tool to shape culture by a minority of Godless people, who desire to eliminate God from the hearts and minds of society.
As Christians, we believe that the arts and entertainment industry are to be a tool for expressing and celebrating our Creator and His creation. Arts and entertainment should provide rest, enjoyment and information which is in harmony with a biblical world-view.
A great example of this is the Jesus movement, of the 60’s, when “Hippies” brought a revolution in the music industry and introduced what we now know as “Contemporary Christian Music”…The Jesus movement also greatly influenced movies and the arts….But what is won by one generation can easily be lost by the next….
Generations can be won or lost by what is filling their minds on the movie screens, the music they listen to, and the entertainment industry which has discarded all boundaries! Therefore, we should be totally committed to reclaim this industry of art and entertainment for the kingdom of God, to bring back some sense of sanity and common sense for this and future generations.
We Need To Reclaim The Mountain of Education…We believe that every person has the right to a good education in order to fulfill their God-given potential. This means, that the curriculum, and what the students are taught, will not be revisionist history, but the truth. And that truth must include an accurate portrayal of our country as a Christian nation from it’s very inception. It means that most of the founders of this great nation were Christian men and women, who desired to establish a beach-head for Christianity to spread through-out the world. It means that our constitution was based upon foundational Biblical values and principles, and that the bible and prayer were intended to be read and heard in the classrooms of America! When America comes to the place that it forgets these things which made it great….it will cease to BE GREAT!!!
We Need To Reclaim The Mountain of the Family….. We believe that God only recognizes marriage as a covenant bond between one man and one woman. This does not mean we hate-monger other unions, for we under-stand that there is no sin that is less or worse than any other sin….sin is sin and needs a redeemer. But we uphold the biblical foundation of the family unit.
Many forces have relentlessly undermined and fragmented the health and wholeness of the family. Many attempts have been made to change the law of the land concerning the definition of marriage. Each time it has been defeated. Now, the government has taken it upon itself to redefine marriage and require that every state follow this new definition, whether it wants to or not.
The number one cause of emotional trauma and dysfunctional behavior in individuals, is a dysfunctional family foundation. As a result of this fracturing, society itself has been weakened and crippled.
Therefore, we resolutely stand to reclaim the biblical view of the family unit, that It is a basic God-given right of every person to have the support, the safety and the sense of belonging to a caring, accepting, loving, Biblically correct family unit, regardless of age, race, or creed.
We Need To Reclaim The Mountain of Religion…..Religion can mean just about anything.. But we believe that Jesus Christ is the one true God, the Creator and owner of the world.
We believe that every individual has the right to hear that Jesus is God and that they should have the opportunity to personally accept Him as Savior. We believe that every knee must eventually bow and every tongue must eventually confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We believe that It is the role of the church to be the stewards of this world and that we are called and commissioned to bring it back and restore it to a biblical worldview.
Therefore, it is the right of every person to have the freedom to share their faith in every place. We believe that the sleeping 'giant' must wake up! That the next great revival will break off religious spirits which have handicapped and crippled the demonstration of the blood washed, spirit filled, word centered Church of Jesus Christ. We believe God for a move of His Holy Spirit, so that repentance and transformation will spring forth...LORD RECLAIM YOUR CHURCH!!!
On February 25, 2008, Lee Myung-bak was elected as the President of South Korea. Lee is a devout Christian who was strategically positioned to establish Kingdom principles in the seven mountains of societal culture in South Korea. There is a very clear contrast between North and South Korea…..Thank God the trumpet is sounding to influence and reclaim the culture of South Korea!
Joseph and Daniel did not impact Egypt and Babylon by convincing people to become Hebrews. They spoke the heavenly Kingdom into the earth and into the lives of heathen kings and their kingdoms and they influenced and transformed the culture of those nations.
The wise men who came from the East, were influenced by Daniel when he was in Babylon. He taught them from scriptures he had memorized from childhood….He knew very well the story about Balak the king who hired Balaam the prophet to curse Israel while they encamped in the plains of Moab…He knew that God had told the prophet to bless and not curse Israel….
Daniel knew the teaching about the blessing which Balaam was given by God to speak, from Numbers 24:17. It says, “I see the Lord who is coming, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel”… v19 Out of Jacob shall he come, that shall have dominion…..”
The wise men were astrologers who knew the stars, and were now equipped with Daniel’s teaching…. they were able to recognize this heavenly sign and what it meant to the whole world…..
When God’s people, just like Daniel and Joseph, take the kingdom principles and values that God has given them, into the homes and workplace situations, they bring insight, answers and solutions to problems which otherwise could not be solved.
This is how we can build a platform to speak into our culture and disciple those around us, as they begin to trust our integrity and our wisdom which flows out from the Holy Spirit.
You have been given supernatural answers to natural problems, you have been given solutions to economic and social issues which comes down from God out of heaven. Each of us have been given the Divine influence to transform our culture.
The Kingdom of God is a tangible quality of life – a state of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We can change culture on the outside, when we carry the culture of the Kingdom on the inside.
Jesus said in Luke 17:21 “Do not say, Lo the kingdom of God is here! or, lo it is there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you”. When culture is aligned with heaven, then goodness, integrity, honor, and Godliness prevails. When culture is aligned with hell, it’s easy for evil to prevail.
Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan and mourn”. Through-out the Old Testament, God tells His people to take the “high places” as an essential part of His strategy for victory! Some of the most significant events in Jewish history, were connected to mountains…..
When they didn’t, take the high places, the outcome was never good…..
We see this in 2 Samuel 1:19 which tells us that “The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high places: how are the mighty fallen”!
Because the enemy was in charge of the high places, God’s people were being defeated and destroyed….
In warfare, the first one to secure the high ground has the advantage…. When we were kids, we played king of the mountain, and the idea was to dislodge the person on top of a hill and take, and hold that position for yourself as long as possible…..
In this case, we’re taking the high ground for purposes of God’s kingdom…
Every place that God’s people went in to occupy… God told them to dispossess the high places, where Baal had set up it’s influence ….
2 Kings18:3 “And Hezekiah did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. v4 And he removed the high places (which were influencing the culture to do evil)…
2Samuel 22:33 “God is my strength and my power: and He makes my way perfect. v34 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places (places of influence upon the culture)”.
The high place is the place of favor…Favor makes ordinary students shine in an extraordinary way. It makes lonely singles attractive, it causes married people to be desirable to their spouse, it causes employees to receive recognition, it causes employers to gain influence, and for the entrepreneurs it attracts contacts. Favor is a magnet to the blessing and promotion of God.
Isaiah 58:14 “You shall delight yourself in the LORD, and He will cause you to ride upon the high places (places of influence)of the earth, and He will feed you with the inheritance of your fathers, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it”.
God wants His people to occupy the high places, the places of influence in the societal culture…..We want to commission, you, and set you in those High places, which is where the Lord says He wants you to be…..The commissioning, is when we acknowledge that God sends us for a kingdom purpose, whatever we do wherever we do it…..
