Seeing Cultural Diversity As God Sees It Pastor Timothy Hinkle

Genesis 3:20 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Numbers 12: And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 And they said, Hath the L ORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the L ORD heard it.

Numbers 12: (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 4 And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

Numbers 12: And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

Numbers 12: My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

Numbers 12: And the anger of the L ORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

Matthew 12:25 25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

John 17: I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Relationships  Just as God strives to have true relationship with us, each person deep down desires to have positive and productive relationships with others!  LOVE must be the basis for ALL relationships within the family of God.  We have been commanded to LOVE one another. (John 13:34; John 15:12; Romans 12:10; Romans 13:8; Gal 5:13; Eph 4:2; 1 Thes 3:12; 4:9; Heb 10:24; 1 Peter 1:22; 3:8; 1 John 3:11; 3:23; 4:7; 4:11-12; 2 John 1:5)  Jesus said that we “would be known by our love” (John 13:35)

Acceptance  In order to have true relationships with each other, we must ACCEPT one another— Good and Bad  We must accept the TRUTH regardless of how “ugly” it may be—and then apply LOVE to heal past wounds  We need to be led of the Holy Spirit to be sensitive towards one another.

Repentance  Applying LOVE to the situation often requires/involves SINCERE REPENTANCE.  Why?  Why? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Enter In  One the “foundational work” has been done to establish the relationship(s), ENTER IN!   Definition of insanity: keep doing the same thing(s) and expect different results   Keep an open dialogue/conversation going   Confront hatred, lies, misconceptions at every turn with LOVE   Remember, “JESUS trumps RACE”