The Times They Are
A Changin #2 Social Influnceners
In session one of
The Times Are A Changin we explored a few examples of social insanity and in
this ever-changing world in which we live in our response as disciples of Jesus
living in a society that is out of sync with God.
Signs of social
insanity abound. People who live in
gated communities want open borders.
People who employ private security want to defund the police. People who demand inclusivity are
spearheading segregation. People who
urge unity demonize their opposition.
People march against the oppression of those of color while looting
businesses of those of color. People
want their voice to be heard while shouting down those whose opinion differs
from theirs. This kind of nonsense will
continue to grow, eventually, like a snowball rolling down the mountain
becoming an avalanche destroying everything in its path.
Social insanity occurs
when foolishness abounds when common sense leaves the arena. When
the restraining power of the Holy Spirit is slowly withdrawn (2 Thessalonians
2:7) egoism becomes unleashed and people forget that we are to do to others
what we would want others to do to us. The Holy Spirit withdraws where God is
rejected. When we read the Hebrew Bible
we see every time the nation of Israel turned their collective back to God
catastrophe eventually happens and misery follows. You can prevent it from happening.
2 Chronicles
7:13-14 (NIV)
"When I shut
up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land
or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will
humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their
land.
The signs of social
insanity are an invitation for God’s people to step up and become
influencers. While you weren’t looking a
new profession has risen, that of the influencer. “An influencer is someone who has: the
power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her
authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience. a
following in a distinct niche, with whom he or she actively engages.” [What is an Influencer? - Social Media Influencers
Defined [Updated 2021] (influencermarketinghub.com) ]
To be an influencer
for the Kingdom of God you must be a believer in the gospel. The gospel is God has provided a way for you
to have direct access to Him and in the process live your life to the full. The gospel reveals that love motivated God to
incarnate. The incarnate God is Jesus of
Nazareth. Jesus reveals what God’s
intention for humanity is, a right relationship with Him. Jesus reveals the heart of God to
humanity. Personal trust in the message
of Jesus, dedicating yourself to following His teachings, consenting to allow
the Holy Spirit to indwell you, then God transforms you into being a
believer. You are a member of the tribe
called God’s people. Do you have a
personal trust in the gospel? Have you dedicated yourself to loving God and
loving others? Have you asked the Holy Spirit to enter into your life? Are you one of God’s people? If not look at the signs of the times,
consider the trends of society, the direction of the culture, and then decide
if you want to be a citizen of this world or a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God
is so misunderstood by those who have turned faith into religious
Christianity. Religious Christianity
creates an “us and them” mentality in which it is easy to distinguish between
those going to heaven and those going to hell according to how well a person
adheres to tradition, doctrine, theology, rites, and rituals with well-defined
do’s and don’ts; must do’s and must never do’s.
Tradition, doctrine, theology, and the rest are meant to be a means to an
end, to be a guide to an intimate relationship with God. It is only in the Kingdom of God that you
will find community where there is equality, solidarity, and justice. Race,
nationality, gender, social status all disappear. In the Kingdom judgment is left to God, there
is no room for prejudice or oppression. The
only law there; the only rule to follow, is the law and rule of love. Each one looks out not only after their
interests but also for the interests of others.
It is only in the Kingdom of God that a person is free. We pray:
“Your Kingdom come…” for that very reason.
Hate, injustice,
oppression are invitations. Perversion,
incivility, corruption are invitations. Confusion,
distrust, and social inanity are invitations.
You recognize these types of things and it’s God's invitation to you as
a believer to become an influencer for the Kingdom.
As an influencer
you have chosen to do life God’s way, you’ve humbled yourself, bent the knee to
a higher authority than yourself. You
are teachable, you are gentle, you listen, and in humility, you become bold in
Christ. Humble has no room for arrogance, humble has no room for demands,
humble has no room for violence. Humble
brings healing, reconciliation, and peace-making. This type of humility doesn’t look down upon
oneself, doesn’t even consider oneself, rather this humility is focused on
doing the will of the One who has called you into the Kingdom. Doing God’s will, God’s way, on Earth as it
is in Heaven. Humility is a prerequisite
to prayer. “If my people will humble
themselves…”
As an influencer,
you are called to pray. A key to
intimacy is communication; that is why prayer is important, the 2nd
spiritual habit of a disciple; prayer is a means to communion with God. As an
influencer in our prayer, we present the problem we see in our society and then
we listen to for God's perspective and God’s will. Prayer is preparatory to God’s will on
Earth. I’ve prayed worthless prayers
when I have asked God to intervene, to transform a situation, and then personally
done nothing to be a means of that blessing.
Prayer is preparatory, requesting everything we will need to do God’s
will, God’s way. Prayer is preparatory
for action. “If my people will humble
themselves and pray..."
Have you ever heard
the term “Ideological Subversion?” Ideological subversion is a way to change the
culture into something you desire, it is social engineering that gets an entire
generation to think a certain way.
There are four steps to Ideological subversion. One. Demoralize. Demoralization occurs when we discredit our
history, our origins, our heroes of the past.
When former first lady Michelle Obama said “I’ve never been proud of
this country” that’s an example of the effects of demoralization. Public school students are taught that George
Washington was evil because he owned slaves. That’s demoralization. Demoralization occurs when we ignore the
historical situation and highlight the bad and never mention the good. We learn to hate who we are as we are taught
foundational American values are bad.
Two. Destabilization. Destabilization occurs when the foundations
of culture are eroded. The hostile
non-corrective attack on the family, on white males, on police, on the
traditional institutions of society are all examples of destabilization. Trust no one. Thus we create a society in which everyone
is out for themselves. We segregate into homogenous tribes of like thinking,
looking, and speaking people, suspicious if not out-right violent towards those
who are different than us. Self-service
leads to self-absorption, which leads to self-destruction.
Three. Crisis. A crisis is a time of intense trouble or
difficulty. Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff
under the Obama Administration and former mayor of Chicago said:
“You never let a
serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do
things you think you could not do before.”
A crisis creates fear, and people will give up their freedom and liberty
to be safe. A crisis also increases
ratings. So we go from manufactured
crisis to manufactured crisis and when a real crisis pops up like a natural
disaster it’s even easier to control the masses. The Department for Homeland
Security, the Patriot Act, and gun control are all examples.
Four.
Normalize. Normalization is what happens
when something that was previously rejected becomes accepted. For example, vaccines are becoming normalized
by the government demanding you undergo a medical procedure to alleviate social
anxiety. For example, gender neutrality
is becoming normalized by the idea that people that don’t identify with
biological gender need to be protected with special laws and the censorship of
free speech. For example, microchipping
is becoming normalized, all your Identification, your financial information,
all embedded where no one can steal it, with a GPS tracker so we can always
know where you are. Lab manufactured
meat, population control, sustainability, equity, the wants of the elites far
outweigh the needs of the many, all ideas for a brave new world, ideas that are
becoming mainstream.
Ideological
Subversion is like the yeast of the Pharisees, introduce a little and it slowly
almost imperceptibly takes over the entire loaf. “Most of the people who graduated in the
sixties, are now occupying positions of power in the government, civil service,
business, mass media, educational system. You are stuck with them. You cannot
get rid of them. They are programmed to think and react to certain stimuli, in
a certain pattern. You cannot change their mind, even if you expose them to
authentic information.” They “refuse to
accept fact, logic or reason even when it is presented to them.” “Even if you
prove that white is white and black is black. You still cannot change [their]
basic perception and logic of behavior…. [Ideological
subversion - PreparingYou] [How To Brainwash A Nation -
YouTube ] These are the same people who have taught our kids from the ’80s on in
public schools. What was once rejected
now becomes main stream.
“The times are a
changin.” “If God’s people, will humble
themselves and pray”—then. Then
what? God will magic zap our country,
turn back time to a conservative Christian America. I don’t think so. The religion that Christians have built needs
to change. Jesus is the only way the
only truth the only life, not our systems we use to justify our righteousness.
2 Chronicles 7:14
(NIV)
“…if my people, who
are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways…
The wicked ways of
His people are idolizing their religion at the expense of a relationship with
God. Religion kills, relationship gives
life. Religion is a person’s attempt to
get in good with God through does and don’ts.
Jesus didn’t start a new religion, He opened the door to having an
original relationship with God. You
“don’t need any one organization to connect you to God” (Bruxey Cavey, The End
of Religion, p. 23). You need
Jesus. Seek Jesus and you become an
active influencer. “Then” through you,
God “will heal their land.”
During this time of
transition, God’s influencers need to step into the fray after they have
prayed. Prayer is not enough, the
“then,” is a call to action. God uses
His people to influence. God has given
you a niche to influence. God has given
you gifts to use to influence. God has
given you a platform to influence. God will work through you to create a better
normal than the one we’ve known. A
dystopian future awaits if you do nothing.
What is it you are
to do? You do whatever God directs you
to do. You become an influencing
activist for sanity, for common sense, for wisdom. You support causes that are in line with the
values of the Kingdom of God. You write
your Politian, you engage your neighbors, you start a movement. You take a stand, you voice your concern, you
throw a spotlight on social insanity. As
you do you live a life of integrity, you live honestly, you live transparently. You do not condemn, you do not judge, you do
not complain, instead, in love you live the way, the truth, and the life, like
Jesus.
Most importantly
you tell people about the hope you have for the coming Kingdom and how they too
can become a part of that Kingdom. In
the Kingdom of God
“There will be no
more … violence, fear, heartaches, sin, or evil. There will be no more racism,
nationalism, social oppression, or war. There will be no more abuse, greed, or
the pursuit of power. The principalities and powers that divide us will be
defeated. This glorious hope empowers us to be optimistic about the future” [How God Changes the
World - Greg Boyd - ReKnew] This is not something influences wait for, it
is something you manifest in your life right now. As you do, the world changes one soul at a
time, as people are attracted to the faith they see in you.
“The times are a
changin” and in this time of transition from what we have known to something
else, it’s time for you to become an influencer for the Kingdom of God. You are the force in God’s hand that
restrains social insanity. The Holy Spirit uses you as the voice of reason, of
sanity, of calling people out of dead ends and into life eternal. Your actions will be the catalyst that will
heal the land.
Will you consent to
allow God to use you to be an influencer?
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