Establishing Kingdom Culture: Secret Place & Worship
Vision
We exist to elevate and empower sons and daughters to become the place where Heaven touches Earth.
Why does culture matter?
Culture is established by what a community chooses to tolerate and what it chooses to celebrate
The Lord last June made it clear to Joshua and I that our community needed to have a clearly defined Kingdom Culture
We need to be strategic in building it because if we didn’t work to clearly define it, someone else would.
Here is the thing about culture: you either build it or the enemy will
We believe that God has called this community to be apart of the transformative work HE wants to do in the city of Bethlehem
God is going to give us 10% of the city to steward
Our prodigals are coming home
Supernatural numerical growth is coming
Therefore, it is important that culture is clearly defined here in the community. So when others come, they know what we are about, they know what we celebrate, what we tolerate and how we define success.
In order for kingdom culture to be established, we must go together.
We must choose to all be players in the game, no time for sitting in the bleachers.
Our core values
To help us go together the Lord has given us a set of values
These have been labored over (in prayer and fasting) since June 2021 and clearly defined by a team of leaders here.
We didn’t have to create values, the Lord simply highlighted what already existed.
Values are necessary to culture because they clearly articulate our: Rules of engagement
This is what we will celebrate and tolerate here.
It clearly defines what is expected from us as members of this community.
It is designed to reflect heaven, so that His kingdom would come and His will would be done.
That we would truly be the place where heaven touches earth.
James 1:27 TPT
27 True spirituality that is pure in the eyes of our Father God is to make a difference in the lives of the orphans, and widows in their troubles, and to refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values.
We will not adopt the values of this world, we will make a conscious decision to embrace KINGDOM VALUES AND MAKE THEM OURS!
This will lead to our community transformed and our city transformed for JESUS CHRIST!
Can I get an Amen?!
Today will begin with our first two values: Secret Place and Worship
How do we define these values?
SECRET PLACE || FIVE MORE MINUTES
When we set apart time and space to meet with God, Holy Spirit responds to our expectancy with His presence. When we make the secret place our priority, we become the place where Heaven touches Earth.
WORSHIP || MADE FOR IT
We were created to delight the Father. As we learn of and embrace His ways, our lives become instruments of His praise. We are committed to hosting His presence wherever we go.
Adopting these values means that we are all agreeing to daily encounter God in the secret place and hosting His presence wherever we go.
If we are choosing to be a part of this community, we are saying “yes, I value this too and it frames how I live my life daily”.
-If we want to see our community and city transformed for Christ we must choose to go together. Why? Because these values will establish kingdom culture here and begin to influence the culture out there.
We see this biblically!
How do these values establish kingdom culture and influence the culture out there?
Read Acts 10-11
Adopting a Kingdom Culture will:
Establish His will for a community
For the Gentiles to receive the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.
Establish unity in a community
It brings unity into a divided community
Communities look more like heaven
Release the outpouring of the Holy Spirit amongst the community
Holy Spirit will confirm what Christ is doing
Cornelius:
Cornelius was a man of God, devout and God fearing. He was committed to encountering God regularly.
(original greek: ALL THE TIME aka he dwelled in the secret place!)
(We are talking about a Roman here! You know the bad guys in The Chosen)
Him and ALL his household served the Lord
An angel of God appears to him in a vision and affirms him (your prayers and gifts have been received by God!)
He immediately calls his men and tells them what has happened.
What does this teach us?
We must share our secret place encounters!!!
The Bible makes no mention that his men were shocked or perplexed by him sharing his encounters, this leads us to believe that it was normal for CORNELIUS TO SHARE HIS ENCOUNTERS!
Him and his household were devout and God fearing.
They all obeyed the Lord quickly and thoroughly. There was no questioning what God had spoken, they simply obeyed.
You can move fast when EVERYONE CHOOSES TO GO TOGETHER
Peter:
Now because Peter was also encountering God daily in the Secret Place, the Lord prepares him for what's to come (which could have been scary because Cornelius was a respected Roman officer even in the Jewish community)
Peter is perplexed by what God shows him in the trance/vision, but continues to meditate on what God has shown him.
“Don’t call unclean what I have made clean”
The Holy Spirit prepares him for what is to come.
Peter also obeys swiftly and thoroughly and the following day he went with some men from Joppa to meet Cornelius.
Peter shares his encounter with Cornelius: “I am not supposed to be here, it’s against our law, but this is what the Holy Spirit has shown me”.
What if they hadn’t been committed to the Secret Place?
What if they had not shared their encounters?
What does this teach us?
Peter understood that his life was created to delight the Father. Peter had chosen to embrace His ways, his life was committed to be an instrument of His praise. Peter was committed to hosting God’s presence wherever he went, even if it meant risking his life or his reputation among the jews.
My family, this is worship: a life laid down for His pleasure. A life fully surrendered to His ways wherever we go. (With our people, or not our people: We are uncompromisingly surrendered to the way of Jesus and HIS AGENDA NOT OURS!)
The Result on the Culture:
The Holy Spirit falls on the Roman people. There is an outpouring of the Spirit and all who were listening began to speak in tongues.
The Jews were amazed that the Romans had received the Holy Spirit just as they had! They were then baptized in water.
Peter receives resistance from the Jews who were not present, but PETER DOES NOT DEFEND HIMSELF!!! He simply shares what happened in the Secret Place and in his God encounter and the Jews who were originally against Peter’s actions can sense the Holy Spirit’s pleasure. They BURST OUT IN PRAISE because the kingdom of God is advancing where they once believed was an impossibility!!!
Their devotion to God in secret place and worship established His will for MANY communities and made a way for ALL to know Him!
What does this teach us?
If we truly want to see unity in this community we must go together! We must be committed to encountering God daily in the Secret Place.
We must share our encounters and trust that if Holy Spirit is speaking to us He will take care of making it come to pass
If you are committed to the secret place and so am I, we can trust the Holy Spirit to unite us in ONE SPIRIT.
We must see true worship as our lives = HIS instruments of praise. We must be committed to His presence being hosted wherever we go!
This will allow us to go further faster!
You must be dead to your way and your preferences! (cuz it’s not about you anyway, you’re a dead man walking)
We won’t waste time disagreeing or contradicting because we serve one God who speaks to his children through one spirit! The Holy Spirit will confirm what He speaks to us to you! What He speaks to you to us. We will move together, obeying God quickly and thoroughly!!!
Operating like this will ensure that you don't get left behind and miss out on what God wants to do here!
What is it worth, if Pastor Joshua and I are the only ones committed to these values? We would not get far, fast and we will go alone.
Joshua and I are not the only ones apart of this community. You are all necessary. You all have a responsibility and a call to fulfill!
No more time can be wasted! The time is now for His children to rise up to the task! To be committed to the secret place and worship. There is a city in need of transformation! There are prodigals coming home and we must be ready for the GREAT move of God!!!
God wants to establish His kingdom culture here so that it can be established out there.
What will we celebrate and not tolerate?
We will celebrate every encounter you have in the Secret Place (no matter how short or profound)
We will celebrate every time you host His presence outside of these four walls because anyone can do that within these four walls, it is out there that matters. Your life is the sacrifice. Your life is His instrument of praise!
We will no longer tolerate the Secret Place being your last resort
You call for counsel, our response will be: “What has God spoken to you in the secret place?”
We cannot go in for you. You must go in for yourself. We will cover you in prayer, but you must go in. His sheep can hear His voice.
We will hold each other accountable to live out what we sing.
Worship is not limited to what we do corportely here on Sunday. What we do here on Sunday is a verbal confession of what our lives should actually reflect.
True and acceptable worship unto the Lord is a life laid down and set on fire for all to see. Your life is the offering. Your life is the sacrifice. (Romans 12:1)
Where do we go from here?
Commit to entering into the Secret Place daily: 5 more minutes
Commit to a lifestyle of Worship: You were made for it
Share your encounters with this community
Start your conversations with: What is The Holy Spirit speaking to you?
Celebrate and Encourage one another
Alter call:
As a member of this body, I commit to these biblical values of the Secret Place and Worship. I refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values and commit my life to Your kingdom values! Thank You for this body. Unite us through the work of the Holy Spirit, that we may go together and that no man or woman would be left behind. We will allow You no rest until you establish us. We say “yes!” to what You want to do in our community and in our city. Thank You for choosing me to be a part of what You are doing. We declare that as we go together, the Kingdom of God will advance and many will come to know You as their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ the Risen King!
Father,
Establish Your will for this community
Establish unity in this community
Release the outpouring of the Holy Spirit amongst this community
-Amen
