Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E118 | Everyday Eurasia | Daniel Fink

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S1-E118 | Everyday Eurasia | Daniel Fink · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  This week we will join the Western Mediterranean field as
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  they share about the team new wine.
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  Across the field, they are witnessing a fresh movement of
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  God within the body of Christ. People from around the world are
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  coming together to celebrate and take part in what God is doing
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  in these countries. Today we will listen to Danielle
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  Fink. Danielle is the district
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  Superintendent of the Italy District and pastor of the
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  Florence Church of the Nazarene. Hello, this is Daniel Fink
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  speaking and it's a joy to be with you today.
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  First, Peter chapter 2, verse 9 says like this.
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  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
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  and people for God's own possession, so that you may
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  proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of
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  darkness into His marvelous light.
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  Living and serving here in Florence, Italy, I'm constantly
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  surrounded by history. Every stone in the city speaks
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  of power, of religion and the influence of the church on the
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  state. But today I want to take an A
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  journey with you even further back in time to understand
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  something that hits very close to home for us here in Italy.
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  When we think of ancient Israel, especially during the time of
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  King David, we tend to imagine a nation just like any other.
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  A king, an army, and fixed borders.
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  On the surface, that's exactly what it looked like, a
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  combination of monarchy and theocracy.
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  But if we look closer at the history and the ancient texts,
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  we discover that Israel was designed to be something
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  completely different, almost alien compared to its neighbors.
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  Let's look around the Middle East.
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  Thousand of years ago, everyone followed the same pattern.
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  The king ruled because he was chosen by the gods.
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  The Moabites, for example, had the God Kemos backing their king
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  in Aram. Damascus, the priests and the
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  deity themselves dictated the law.
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  In Babylon, the king was an absolute monarch, ruling of
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  divine with divine right. And in Egypt, well, there
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  Pharaoh wasn't just a representative of God, he was
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  God. And Israel seemed to copy this
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  model. But if we go back to the very
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  moment of Israel's birth in Exodus 19, we find an origin
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  story that breaks all rules. Picture this at the foot of
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  Mount Sinai. God isn't speaking to nobles or
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  warriors or strong people. He's speaking to a mixed
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  multitude. Former slaves, the poor, people
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  with no roots. And then the incredible happens.
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  God doesn't say I'm giving you a land so you can finally be a
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  nation. God says I'm offering you a
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  covenant. And in that moment, Israel
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  becomes a nation before owning a single inch of land Without
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  Borders and without an army. What defines what defines them?
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  The free choice to enter into an alliance with God and their
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  mission is even stranger. You will be for me a Kingdom of
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  priests and a holy nation. Now stop for a second, a Kingdom
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  of priests. Usually priests were a tiny
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  elite caste. Here God is saying everyone is
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  1. And what is a priest?
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  Well, a priest, as you know, is a bridge, a mediator who
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  connects heaven and earth, bringing people to God through
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  worship and intercession. Israel's mission wasn't to
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  conquer the world, but to bless the world, to connect all
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  nations back to God. And this brings us to a
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  provocative point, especially for us living in the country
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  like Italy, where Christian symbols are bound everywhere.
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  We often talk of being a Christian nation, but what do we
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  actually mean? Is Italy a Christian nation
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  because it has the Vatican or the Pope, or because our leaders
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  identify as such? Or is it because crucifixes are
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  on the walls of every public building?
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  Or because we study religion in our schools in Italy?
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  We know the story well, but are we truly a Christian nation in
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  the biblical sense? The Bible suggests an
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  uncomfortable truth. There is no such thing as a
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  political state that is a Christian nation, no matter how
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  many laws are based on the Old Testament.
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  According to the New Testament, the only Christian nation is the
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  church. The church is the only people
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  held together, not by a passport or a territory, but by a free
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  covenant with God. By following Jesus, who embodies
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  God's love, the church becomes the nation Without Borders,
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  without armies to protect private interests, whose only
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  mission is to be a blessing to others.
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  Being holy doesn't mean being better than our neighbors here
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  in Florence OR across Italy. It means being set apart for a
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  purpose, to bring God's love with where there is hate and
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  hope where there is darkness. So next time we think about our
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  identity, let's ask ourselves, are we citizens of a territory
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  or are we part of that priesthood called to unite
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  heaven and earth? Let's pray.
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  Heavenly Father, without you we would be lost in a dark and
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  despairing world. Without you, Lord Jesus, we
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  would be without life. Without you, Holy Spirit, we
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  would be frozen in a cold and meaningless existence, without
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  hope and without future. But you are the reason and the
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  living 1 Lord, who leads us out of our tombs of despair and
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  hopelessness, and you feel our lives with rejoicing.
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  And so today, we give you all our gratitude in the words we
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  speak, in the songs we sing, and in the lives we live as high
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  priests, wholly filled with you. Amen.
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  Thank you for listening to the everyday Eurasia podcast
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