Pastor Julius Rwotlonyo. COURTESY PHOTO.
Watoto Church associate team leader Pastor Julius Rwotlonyo urges that the kind of culture that nations adopt will position them to live either under the blessing of God or under a curse.
This, Pastor Julius explains, is because culture greatly impacts the social behavior of citizens.
“Culture is more powerful than we realize. It will affect us as individuals, because the kind of culture we adopt will eventually translate into our personal habits, and they will either set us up for success or failure,” he said in his sermon on Sunday.
Pastor Julius Rwotlonyo said there is need for countries to adopt a Kingdom Culture where God reigns supreme in every sector, and biblical values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ are upheld.
The preacher explained that Jesus’ teachings are often opposed by many, because they challenge their way of life.
He quoted Romans 12:2.
The passage reads, ‘Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.’
Pastor Julius Rwotlonyo cautioned that in nations today, there is a push for secularism.
“Many of us are familiar with political or economic battles that nations face, but we ignore the battle for culture. And remember, what you begin to believe affects your behavior and becomes your culture,” Rwotlonyo said.
“In Uganda, there is a rise of ancestral worship and traditional practices like witchcraft. The business community in Uganda is driven so much by witchcraft, and that is very dangerous for our nation,” he said.
“There is also a global push for a secular agenda (secularism), that is trying to remove God out of the centre of society. And once God is out of the centre, people become their own masters. They begin to determine what is right and wrong,” he continued. “We must resist secularism. Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” If we want to be a blessed nation, God needs to be at the centre of our society; God needs to be at the centre of culture. A life that is built around Kingdom culture is blessed.”
A lie we must reject
If you’ve spent much time within Christian circles, you’re probably familiar with this statement found in John 17:14-16: ‘In the world, but not of the world.’
Pastor Rwotlonyo believes it captures a truth about Jesus’s followers, and their need to evangelize, and reject lies embedded in certain cultures.
“We all have a culture. It does not matter which part of the world we come from. And all our cultures have unique things about them. We need to celebrate these things if they are morally right,” he said.
“Every culture also has lies, and we must reject the lies that are shaping these cultures. Some cultures look down on women and children. They see them as secondary. We must reject that lie, because everybody is created equal before God’s eyes. In some cultures they say; what I do in private is my personal business is and it does not really matter. This is a very big lie. What you do in private actually matters. It affects you and those who are around you,” he explained.
“Here in Africa, I have heard some people say; hey, we need to accept that corruption is a part of our culture and we need to live with it. In fact, some businesses plan with a margin called ‘cost of doing bussiness’ which is a cost to pay for corruption. They say corruption is a necessary evil because it speeds up bureaucratic processes in our favor; that it is good for development. This is a lie we must reject,” he maintained.
If nations are to enjoy the good and perfect will of God, Pastor Julius urged the need to live according to Kingdom Culture.
“We must never conform to the culture or pattern of the world around us. The Kingdom culture is based on truth. Truth is found in one place and that is God’s Word. It is not found in the acceptable patterns of life and society. Truth is not found in the philosophies that man has. Truth is not found in the humanistic beliefs that people have in this world. Jesus said that we are in the world, but not of the world. In other words, we are not of the system or partner of the world around us,” he said.
