WEEK SEVEN (30th September – 7th October 2019) The Biblical Transformation of Culture

Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is
no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who
is in heaven.

Main Prayer Focus of the Week:

That there will be a new understanding of the transformation of culture as an integral part of the Great Commission.
Envisioning: To pray for fresh vision in the Body of Christ for all the spheres of society in light of the Great Commission and the Kingdom of God.
Spiritual Warfare: To wage war against the hordes of hell that are confusing the Body of Christ and resisting her from fulfilling her mandate.
Recommitment to fulfilling the Great Commission through transforming all of society.

OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK’S THEME

As we close this year’s season of prayer and fasting focusing on Celebration, the Arts, and Media, we will remind ourselves and pray into our mandate as the Body of Christ, to transform culture. Culture is an umbrella term that covers the social behavior, and customs found in human societies. It includes the characteristics, knowledge, beliefs, music, arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits of the individuals in these groups. The word “culture” comes from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin “colere,” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture.

Os Hillman defines the cultural mountains as follows:

The Mountain of Government: where evil is either restrained or endorsed.
The Mountain of Media: where information is interpreted through the lens of good or evil.
The Mountain of Celebration, Arts and Entertainment: where values and virtues are either distorted or celebrated.
The Mountain of Education: where truth or lies about God and His creation are taught.
The Mountain of Religion: where people worship God in spirit and truth or settle for religious rituals.
The Mountain of Family: where either the blessing or curse is passed on to successive generations.
The Mountain of Business: where people build for the glory of God or the glory of man, and resources are consecrated for the Kingdom of God or captured for the Kingdom of darkness.

The Body of Christ is mandated to disciple all these spheres and “baptize” them with the teachings of Christ. Jesus used the metaphors of salt and light to refer to the role of His followers in the world.

SALT

Salt had two purposes in the Middle East of the first century. First, because of the lack of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food, especially meat, which would quickly get spoilt in the hot desert environment. The Body of Christ is called to be preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society perpetuated by ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin.

Second, salt was used as a flavor enhancer. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ are called to stand out as those who “enhance” the flavor of life in this world. Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil.

LIGHT

In using the analogy of light, Christ stated that the good works of His followers are to shine for all to see. The presence of His followers must be like a light in the darkness as they live out the truths that He taught. It only takes the presence of light for darkness to retreat.

Culture, without the positive influence of Christ’s disciples, is decaying just as meat without a preservative gets rotten. Note that both salt and light are useless unless they go into their mediums: salt must go into the food and light must go into the darkness. The Body of Christ is called to engage society. There have tended to be two extremes in engaging with culture. On the one hand some have opted to disengage and completely retreat from it, pursuing “purity” while abandoning the culture. On the other hand others have embraced the culture but only preached a social gospel that lacks the power to transform culture. The latter have ended up being so absorbed in popular culture that they have been transformed by the culture instead of transforming it.

Both responses fail to be redemptive or transformational. Our mandate to be salt and light means that in addition to pursuing personal holiness and doctrinal correctness, we also pursue cultural influence for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. These two pursuits are not mutually exclusive. In addition to feeding the hungry and preaching the gospel we also have to engage and transform all the spheres of society, baptizing them into the truths of our Saviour.

PRAYING FOR THE BIBLICAL TRANSFORMATION OF CULTURE

Thank God for:

The increasing understanding in the Body of Christ of the Great Commission mandate to disciple the nation.

Ask God’s forgiveness for:

The failures of the Body of Christ to be salt and light.

Pray that:

The Body of Christ will fully awaken to her role as salt of the earth to preserve society through righteousness and justice, and to enhance the flavor of life in all spheres of society.
The Body of Christ will fully awaken to her role as light of the world to expose darkness by living out the principles and precepts of the Kingdom of God in all spheres of society. and to glorify God by her good works in society.
Light will triumph over darkness as all sons and daughters of God’s Kingdom understand the true meaning of the mandate to “make disciples of all nations”, and take up their respective places as they commit to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
There will be true repentance in the Body of Christ and a full return to God’s ways so that the light coming from the Church will draw the nation to God.
As we focus on the Mountain of Media in the year 2019/2020, truth will increasingly triumph over lies, good news over bad news, and, blessing over cursing as Christ is glorified on this mountain.
A strong network of believers on the mountain of media will be formed, fully committed to advancing God’s agenda in this sphere, each understanding the nature of the mandate to disciple Media and recognizing their respective callings in this sphere.
Policies that promote the positive use of media will be enacted.
Policies that restrain the use of media to propagate lies (fake news), slander, pornography and other vices will be enacted and robustly enforced.
God will judge the Hivite spirit that is dominating the media with the aim of promoting anger, fear, terror, and negativity among people.
Programs and curricula that are training mass communicators will be reviewed, reformed and upgraded to produce individuals with a constructive and positive approach to using the media for national good.
The government ministries and agencies that oversee the media: Media Council of Uganda, the Uganda Communications Commission, the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology together with the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity will all effectively carry out their respective mandates. Pray for the effective leadership and management of these organizations.
Pray that in the years ahead God will be greatly glorified in the Media Sphere in Uganda.

Remember to take time on 8th October, the Eve of our National Birthday (Independence Day) to dedicate the year 9th October 2019 to 8th October 2020 to God and His purposes for Uganda.

DEDICATE THE YEAR 9TH OCTOBER 2019 TO 8TH OCTOBER 2020 TO GOD:

Pray that the year will be marked by great advancements in the Kingdom of God in Uganda in all spheres.

Pray in accordance with the Lord’s Prayer that God will:

Increasingly reveal Himself to Uganda.
Cause His name to be glorified in Uganda in this upcoming year.
Cause His Kingdom to advance in all spheres of Ugandan society.
Enable His will for Uganda to be accomplished in the year ahead.
Abundantly bless the economy and provide for Uganda.
Be merciful to Uganda, forgive our national sins and lead us in national paths of righteousness.
Deliver Uganda from falling into snares orchestrated from the Kingdom of darkness.
Deliver Uganda from evil and from evil men and women who serve the agenda of the Kingdom of darkness, which is to steal from the nation, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10).

Pray in accordance with Psalm 144:10-14

Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace;
may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Pray that God will:

Rescue Uganda from violence and lies orchestrated in the Kingdom of darkness.
Bless the youth of Uganda and bring about fruitfulness, prosperity and dignity for them.
Bless the Ugandan economy in all fields.
Deliver Uganda from the increasing levels of crime, kidnaps, murder, and acts of terrorism.
Crown the year with bounty (Psalm 65:11).

Pray that the year 9thOctober 2019 to 8th October 2020 will be marked by great advancements for the Kingdom of God in Uganda in all spheres and especially in the Media Sphere.