Breaking Societal Barriers – August 30, 2020

Link to sermon on Facebook

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

John 17:14 – 16 

1. Introduction 
   • We are epistles.  What are people reading?  There is a reason and purpose why God put you here.  God never wastes resources.  Are you fulfilling that purpose?
   • Christians becoming worldly to fit in 
     • Are you supporting God’s mission?  
     • Have strong reasons not strong excuses when God asks why He should bless you.  
     • Christians are becoming more worldly than becoming Christ-like
   • The human biases and choices creating preferential treatment 
     • God wants us to be fair in all our dealings
     • Colossians 4:1 ‘Masters, [on your part] deal with your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.‘. (Masters’ dealings with slaves)
   • The ongoing battle of superiority
     • Live together in unity
   • The compromise of values to blend with the world
     • Refusing to stand tall for God (mysogny)
     • Sanctify them with your word John 17:17 – ‘ Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth.‘ 
     • Christ’s opinions were not popular 
2. Preferential Barrier 
   • Preferences turn to barriers when they become partiality
   • Perverts justice
   • Romans 2:11 (AMP) – ‘For God shows no partiality [no arbitrary favoritism; with Him one person is not more important than another].’
   • “When people get used to preferential treatment equal treatment feels like discrimination.“ – Thomas Sowell
   • Makes you draw conclusions before you hear the facts (Proverbs 18:13) – ‘He who answers before he hears [the facts]— It is folly and shame to him.’
   • Operate in fairness!
3. Communication Barrier 
   • Language, physical, attitude, perception, etc.
   • Ephesians 4:15 (AMP) – ‘But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ.’  Speak the truth in love. 
   • “Communication should be with compassion not with compulsion” – PKO
   • Improve the ability to communicate in the spirit of love
4. Cultural Barrier 
   • Culture becomes a barrier when we refuse to respect the culture of others
   • Revelations 7:9 (AMP) “After these things I looked, and this is what I saw: a vast multitude which no one could count, [gathered] from every nation and from all the tribes and peoples and languages [of the earth], standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Christ), dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands;”
   • Culture – Nation – Diversity – Tradition – Belief – Ethnicity – People
   • Ask when you don’t understand 
   • God put you where He wants you to come from.
   • ‘To break cultural barrier celebrate / embrace culture without borders’
   • Different doesn’t mean deficient
5. Racial Barrier 
   • “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion.  People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.” – Nelson Mandela 
   • Romans 3:29-30 (NLT) – ‘After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. ³⁰ There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.“
   • God does not care what nationality we are.  There is only one God.
   • “Until we get to a point that we do not have an adjective to qualify a nationality, we are not going to break the racial barrier completely.” – PKO
   • This is our job as Christians – to break down barriers.  In 1953 Billy Graham asked that a demarcation be removed at a crusade in Tennessee. He took the barricade down himself told the usher that “If you put the barricade back up again, you will go ahead with the revival without me because I will be on my way out.”
   • How are we dealing with racial barriers?
6. Jesus broke 3 barriers
   • John 4:7-38; Mark 7:24 – 30 – Jesus meets the Samaritan woman
     • Racial – Jew vs. Samaritan 
     • Gender – Prophet to woman (John 4:27)
     • Social – morality 
   • We should be reforming  lives instead of demeaning lives
   • Don’t lower dignity of people because of race