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Pacific Empowerment
Pacific Empowerment Podcast was founded by a Tongan woman entrepreneur, Akanesi Kaufusi, to uplift and inspire Pacific Island people to take bold action, chase their dreams, and dream as big as they dare. This podcast challenges the limitations of traditional thinking and cultural expectations that often hold our people back. It’s a space to break free from fear, take risks, and rewrite what’s possible - no matter your background or environment. Your situation doesn’t define you. Your vision does.
Pacific Empowerment
Episode 53 - How Can the Pacific Come Out of Culture?
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In this episode, Merenaisi Waqavakatoga and I discuss the wicked and ungodly parts of our Pacific cultures and how Pacific Islanders can let go of them and follow Jesus Christ.
For many Pacific Islanders, renouncing culture is difficult because culture is deeply connected to our identity, family, and way of life. But as followers of Christ, we are called to find our true identity in Him and be willing to let go of anything that goes against the Word of God.
We also discuss the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven versus the culture of Satan, helping listeners recognise the difference between what comes from God and what does not.
This episode is a call to examine our traditions, let go of what is wicked and ungodly, and ultimately choose CHRIST OVER CULTURE. ✝️
Help us continue making great content for listeners everywhere.
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You can watch the video podcast on https://www.youtube.com/@pacificempowerment
And hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Pacific Imperman Podcast with your host, Akanesika Fusi. And I am glad to welcome back Merisi this week. So we can continue our session about culture and how we can put Christ over culture. So welcome back, Mer, and thank you for joining me today. Um, what would you like to talk about today? And um, what is our next topic? What would you like to discuss and let the world know?
SPEAKER_00Our topic of discussion today will be the wickedness or idol worship in our culture or in Fiji's culture, as I won't be concentrating a lot for in the Fiji culture, but I know this will also cover the Pacific.
SPEAKER_01The Pacific, that's right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's wickedness, there's wickedness in in our culture. That's our topic. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, thank you very much. That's a very exciting topic, and I look forward to learning more from you. I have been learning so much since Mary Choling the podcast um in the first episode, and this is not the last. We will be continuing on sessions with Mary um when she has a topic to discuss. So without further ado, Mele, let's let's start. So, um, what is it in our culture, Mary, that you think that we are idolizing before God? If you want to um yeah, dive deeper into that.
SPEAKER_00Um, in Matthew 15, 6, Jesus himself explained, saying, Thus, you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. And tradition is part of our culture, right? All traditional practices, yeah, it's part of our culture. So if Jesus himself has said that you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition, then I don't know how else we could change that to, you know, to say that our tradition is okay. But if Jesus himself has said, you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition, then there is really something wrong about our tradition. Amen. Amen. Amen. And um this uh month of August, the uh Methodist conference has had started in Suva, yeah, and uh the president had put out the notice and the like I would say the instructions to all uh the ministers out there for the Methodist ministers to reduce kava and stop smoking. But I would actually want to say, why not stop it all altogether? Stop kava, drinking kava, and stop the the smoking. And not only that, because the word of God says, because this is what we uh Christians we quote this Bible verse for our land and for our for our people, 2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then God says, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. For the first three parts, this verse is divided into two uh two parts, eh? Our part and God's part. So our part, we have four things to do. Are we Pacific Island people called by God's name? Of course, yes, yes, yes, we are called by God's name. Say, if my people who are called by my name, one humble themselves, that means we have been doing that. Fasting, uh, a way to humble ourselves is through fasting, and that's one of the ways I know that we humble ourselves is through fasting before God. That's a tick, part one. Then the second part, our part as people, as God's people, is to pray. Tick, we have done that one, and number three, and seek my face. Yes, we have done that one. Tick, it's a tick. Like uh, we have been doing those three. Number four, and turn from their wicked ways. For this one, it's a big cross. We have not been turning from our wicked ways, and that's why God is not healing our land, even though He has heard our prayers in from heaven, he has forgiven our sins, but they still we need to do our part in turning from our wicked ways, then only will God heal our land. Amen. Amen. Amen. And um, how do we turn from our wicked ways? If I just uh uh explain the definition of wicked, I was going through the dictionary meaning and I was uh doing the research for the meaning of wicked. There are two meanings that I found out. Number one, evil, cruel, or morally wrong, intended to or capable of harming someone or something, extremely unpleasant. So that's the meaning of wicked. The second meaning is playfully mischievous, doing bad things on purpose. See, that's the meaning of wicked. And if God says, for the fourth part that we need to do as people of God is to turn away from our wicked ways, our wicked ways, the evil, cruel, morally wrong practices, morally wrong, uh extremely unpleasant, bad doing bad things on purpose, behaving or acting, you know, in uh in a bad, unpleasant way, ways that we need to turn away from it. So as I looked at the the origin of this word, wicked, I was surprised to see that in the old English it's a verb, it's derived from the word wick, W-I-C-K, which is a verb that absorbs or draw off liquid or moisture by capillary action. So wick, you know, in the we used to have our lantern, our kerosene lamp, it has the wick. So what it does, it draws kerosene so that it could be giving off light. So the wick draws, it absorbs and draws liquid. And then in the older English, uh word wick has this uh wicker pronunciation to it, which denotes witch. And then it is a past tense and past participle with an ed wicked, so wicked, wicked, and that makes one word. If it has the the connotation of a witch, then would that be demonic? Yes, of course, yes, yes, wicked, yeah, it's demonic. So there is uh a demon spirit or an evil spirit behind all those evil acts and cruel and morally wrong behaviors and actions. Okay, now if we go into the Bible definition of wicked, it says it describes a person who one lives in an active rebellion or moral opposition to God. Wow, and the second one is behaving and acting in direct hostility against the righteous order of God, that's the biblical definition of wicked. So if God is uh explaining to us that if we are called by his name, we are his people, the fourth part that we need to do is turn away from our wicked ways. Yes, and as the biblical definition says, if you are living in active rebellion or moral opposition to God, then we really need to dive deeper into our culture and tradition to see whether we are in active rebellion or in moral opposition to God, and whether we are against the righteous order of God. So that's why I know God has prompted my spirit and my heart to have this discussion and to ask these questions. Are our cultural ways wicked ways?
SPEAKER_01That's a really good question.
SPEAKER_00So are our cultural ways or traditional ways wicked ways? You know, understanding what Jesus had explained earlier in Matthew 15, yeah, uh six when he said, made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. So are our cultural ways wicked ways, or our traditional ways wicked ways. Understanding and knowing now that we have known that the the the definition of wicked, the biblical definition of uh wicked, yeah. So let's find out if our culture consists of wicked ways. Let's just uh talk about it. And uh for one foremost, it is the worship of ancestral spirits, isn't it? Yeah, and uh for for Fiji because of uh the word vu means our ancestral spirits, and uh I had already explained in the first uh episode, yeah. Vunda means our ancestral spirits, and vuni tamata, vuni vanua, and vuni kor ancestral spirits for the people, for the village, and for the land. So it is the worship of ancestral spirits. Another question is this is is that an active rebellion against God? It is, eh?
SPEAKER_01Yes, wow, it is when you put it that way, then yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean if we really in simple terms just ask that question, our culture requires us to say certain things and to behave in certain ways, yes, and to chant certain words, to do certain chantings, and that is worship of ancestral spirits. But biblically, ancestral spirits are fallen angels, and for little children and young children to understand what are fallen angels, because what are fallen angels, they know if if you talk about angels to little children, they know the good, the good ones, or angels, they might not know so much about fallen angels, which in simple terms we would just if we tell them demons, they understand demons, yes. So if children to say a word that will cover from the older person to the young young people to the uh little children, worship of ancestral spirits is just demonic worshiping of demons, yes. That just to put it into simple terms so that all age groups could understand, yes, and that is in active rebellion or moral opposition to God, to God, and it is against the righteous order of God, amen.
unknownAmen.
SPEAKER_00We are behaving and acting in direct hostility, yeah. Wow, and uh the second one that's the first one worship of ancestral spirit spirits or demons. Um number two, drinking from the cup of demons and eating in the table of demons. Because, as I've uh already explained earlier, about the revelation of a grog, a cover, it's the drink of Satan. Of course, that is a demonic drink. You know, people don't like it when we say all the time you are demonizing, demonizing whatever it is that you're talking about, we're demonizing. How simple should we explain it better to children? Yeah, which is true. If they don't like the truth of what we're saying, uh it's their choice, eh? Yes, but for us, we need to explain drinking from the cup of demons, which is the cover, uh, as it's written in 1 Corinthians 10 21. You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and a cup of demons, and you cannot partake the table of the Lord and the table of demons to work. So, our cultural ways, when having grog session, you are drinking the drink of Satan, and question is that an act of rebellion, an act of uh you know, in moral opposition to God, of course. Is it against the righteous order of God? Yes, it is. Uh, for our Fijian culture, the use of tambua, it is baal worship, literally, it is baal worship. Would God uh want that? Does God want that? Who? Because it's written in Romans 11, Romans 11, 4 and 5. But what does the divine response say to him? This to Elijah, I have reserved for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed their knee to Baal. Even so, at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Um, in the Old Testament, it's written there, I have reserved myself 7,000 men who have not bowed their knee. 7,000 men who have not bowed their knee to Baal. So whether you kissed or you don't kiss but present the tambua, you're still doing Baal worship. Yeah, it is still Baal worship, and that is a wicked way that God explains. That's right. That's the wickedness that God is referring to. It's still Baal worship, and the other things, our rituals and festivities, our festivals, the traditional festivals, a lot of all these um rituals, it's a must that Yangona and Tambua are usually used and presented in the traditional uh festivities, and biblically they are tradition of lives, that's as written in the word of God, yeah. Isaiah 28, 15. They are tradition of lies. Okay, if I read from uh 1 Corinthians 10, verse 7, it says, and do not become idolaters as some of them were. This is uh referring to the Israelites, yeah. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up and to indulge in revelry. That is idolatry, that's the explanation of idolatry written in the Bible. Yeah, and do not become idolaters as were some of them, as it is written. The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to indulge in revelry. Revelry is uh wild uh merry-making. Yes, and that's exactly our culture. You sit, you eat, you drink, and when the music comes, there goes the revelry.
SPEAKER_01Now, sometimes it it looks so so I would say we could just say so it's like it's like when uh Moses came down and saw the Israelites dancing, you know, to the golden calf, you know, worshiping the golden calf. So it's exactly the same thing.
SPEAKER_00So they were wicked, and that's the biblical uh definition of wickedness, of being wicked. Yeah, it is also written in Exodus 32, verses 6 and 7, that says, This is about the Israelites. Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to indulge in revelry. And the Lord said to Moses, Go get down, for your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, Egypt, have corrupted themselves. See, God even refers to the people corrupting themselves when they do that. And the the biblical definition of idolatry is eating, drinking, and rising up to indulge in revelry. And therefore, God considered and says it's wicked. That's wickedness. That's right. For we have corrupted ourselves. Peter Odiambo, the prophet from Kenya, God revealed to him that the native natives are worshipping their idols, and there's Satanism in both its modern and traditional blend. So there is Satanism. It is, and also our one of the the president of the New Methodist Church in Fiji, he was also given a revelation about the kava, the drinking of cava in the spirit, what is really happening, and that is satanism in it. No wonder Jesus had to ask in Matthew 15:3, why do you transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
SPEAKER_01By your traditions, and still is the same thing happening today, it is, and that's why we really need to let people know that we don't have to cling on to culture.
SPEAKER_00Why? Because the ways are wicked, and if we ask, then who taught us this culture? Who taught us this wicked ways? As uh revealed by the Daniel Stern, the revelation, the prophetic revelation about Fiji. That yeah, the second wave that came to Fiji after the Lopita people, the second wave of migration, those were the ancestors and thing and lutumosumba and all the yeah, the second wave, they brought, they taught the seeds of discontent and all of the debaucheries known to the evil one, to the people, they taught it to the people of the island, and so the people of the island learned the ways of the evil one. That's where you learn God didn't teach them. These servants of the evil one taught the people of Fiji. So, to answer the question, are our cultural ways wicked ways? With the six things that I have picked out, I would actually say it is. Yes. And now that we know that we know that we know, and that we are telling the people, know it, it is wicked, according to the word of God, according to the definition of wickedness, the biblical wickedness, meaning it is our culture, is all discovered in wicked ways. So I have to pose a question: can we turn from our wicked ways? Of course, it's not hard. You will be looked down upon, you will be labeled, you will be called names.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00That is nothing compared to being uh removed from the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And it's the exactly, and that is why Jesus said in the New Testament, if you Your right eye, or if your you know, your hand, or feet is causing if your eye, if your hand, if your feet is causing you to sin, remove it, throw it away. You know, it's better to remove a part of it here on earth than to enter heaven, yeah. And it's still enter heaven, than to still continue living in sin, you know, and cast out to the fire forever, with both with both eyes in with both eyes, with both hands. What is the point then of having in eyes if it's causing you to sin? So it's the same thing with our culture. If culture is causing you to sin, remove it as soon as possible. Come out of it, yes, come out of it, yes.
SPEAKER_00You know, God so much wants to heal our land, yeah. Yes, he wants to heal our land because he's a loving God, he loves to bless abundant children, he loves to to favor his children, yes, but he's still waiting on us, he's still waiting on us to do our part first, yes, then he will do, yes, the people of the land, the people of Fiji, the people of the Pacific, as yet to leave, they are still yet to turn away from their wicked ways, because they are still holding on to this cultural practices, yeah, as if life depends on it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, it's like it's like their identity. This is my identity. No, your identity is in Jesus Christ as a child of God.
SPEAKER_00Just put it into simple terms, eh? You have uh an ID, you have your ID. So if you say you it culture is your uh identity, put it into an ID card and have your Christ as an ID, your Christ ID and your culture ID. Now, when you when you enter heaven, you're going to use your culture ID? No, in simple terms, if you say this is my identity, that I need to live according to my culture because it's my ID. Well, in the kingdom of God, that is no, no, not accepted.
SPEAKER_01You can go with your culture to hell, yo.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and that's not the idea in heaven, that's the idea down there in hell in Sheol. If people still question your the Fiji culture, why are you saying it's demonic? How come you keep saying it's demonic? Yeah, if they go back to the history, the Fiji's history, as I had already explained in the first uh episode, that uh d1 and denge two, dinge was ambete. If I'll just read the Fijian version, they have changed Fiji differently or completely in a different way. This is in terms of uh worship of the chief or the king of the underworld of Sheol. So if they taught the people of Fiji their culture, they are teaching them how to worship the king or the chief of the underworld of Sheol. So that is demonic, that is Satanism. It is, yeah, it's demon worship, it's idolatry in the biblical term. That's right, and then the other explanation says, they have deceived the Fijians. From that time, until the time when the hearts of the people of Fiji are being opened to be made aware of the biblical truths from the Bible, and this is what we're doing, yeah. So the time now has come for biblical truths to be revealed to the people of Fiji and to the people of specific nations. It is uh worshiping Satan, culture is worshiping Satan, that's right, especially the Fijian culture, it's worshiping Satan, and no wonder Jesus said, For you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition, because it's Satanism. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen.
SPEAKER_00And now we have informed the world, we've let the people know, we have informed the children of God, and we have informed every Pacific Island, islander, whoever will hear this podcast, that Satanism, when you practice culture, when you hold on to your culture, you are worshiping Satan because that is Satanism, that is idolatry in the biblical terms. The word of Jesus explained that in the end times there'll be wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in various places, yeah. Uh nations against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms. Yeah. Now, the this one, what we are doing, what we are explaining, and what we are uh revealing to the people, explaining to the people that this is these are kingdom collisions, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Yes, because we are trying to tell the people of the Pacific, the Pacific nations, we belong to God, so we must be acting and behaving like citizens of heaven, yes, like the kingdom of heaven, yes, the kingdom of God, children. We should not be performing or acting or live a lifestyle according to the kingdom of Satan. Yeah, and those who will come against, or those who will speak against what we are advocating, understand that they belong to the kingdom of Satan. Amen. Amen. And there will always be a fight, there will always be a collision because the word of God says so. But we pray that God will help them, will open their eyes to understand and know that what we are explaining is true and it's biblically correct.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00So if we study the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, yeah, these are two kingdoms, right? Yeah, in any kingdom, see, only Tonga in the Pacific has a kingdom. All other nations, the Pacific Island nations, we are all uh we have president, except uh Tonga. So in a kingdom, the kingdom has a king, a monarch, a ruler. And for the kingdom of God, yeah, who's the king? Jesus Christ is our king. Yes, yes, yes, and it has a specific territory or domain. So a kingdom has a specific territory or domain, and that territory is heaven, yes, and Jesus said if you can bring heaven on earth, we as children of the kingdom of God, we're supposed to be living as we are living on earth, but in godly, heavenly um kingdom principles, yes, and uh a kingdom has a body of citizens, we are the body of Christ. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen.
SPEAKER_00Amen. And a kingdom has uh a government, it is a government, and we are ambassadors, amen. Amen. We are ambassadors, it's God's government with a system of laws and governance, it operates under God's absolute rule, and we need to walk in a personal relationship with the king. Amen. So when we renounce our cultural practices, that's a choice between each person and God, between it's it's it's a personal choice, yeah?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, so it's a personal choice for you not to participate, if you know, what if this is what if the village or the community is forcing you to participate even though you want to renounce?
SPEAKER_00Um, that's a very good question. Do you have to uh you you can explain nicely to them if they are doing it like forcefully to you, you can explain nicely, you just explain nicely. And I've made a choice, this is and I hope you'll understand. Because we must be able uh, I know we'll have to bear the price, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and this is this is the cost of following Christ. Yes, this is the cost of following Christ. You have to renounce, deny yourself, and the cost of denying yourself is attack, is you know, retaliation, gossiping, people will be saying things about you. That is the cost of following Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00And even the Bible, the word of God says when Jesus said that He has come to separate mothers and daughters, yeah, fathers and sons. It's because once you know the truth, and if the parents who still would forcefully tell the children you need to continue with this customary and cultural traditional ways, and if the children understanding and knowing this, they don't want like they make a personal choice that I'm not going to practice that because I understood the spiritual implications, yes, they have the right to choose that there, then the Bible verse will be fulfilled that God has come to separate, you know, not in terms of uh uh for good, but it's a spiritual, spiritual choice, yeah, and the last piece too is the kingdom of God has a culture, its culture is righteousness, yeah. Wow, justice, holiness, peace, truth, yes, joy, joy, this this is the culture because God uh well God's word says that his his throne, the foundation of his throne are righteousness and justice, and he will use righteousness as the plumb line and justice as the measuring line. See, yeah, so if the plumb line, if God's plumb line is righteousness, and when we participate in the kingdom of Satan's ways or culture, then according to God's plumb line and according to God's measuring line, it it does not fall into the correct place. So, in the kingdom of Satan, who is the ruler there? Satan, Satan himself, and where is his territory? Hell, Sheol, Hell and Sheol, yes, and they also want to bring that on earth, that's why there's so much wickedness on earth, but we as children of the kingdom of God, we need to live in the culture of heaven, of heaven on earth, yes, and who are citizens of the kingdom of Satan, wicked people who are doing wicked things, unbelievers, exactly, exactly, and those who have chosen to defile themselves, those who have chosen to corrupt themselves, you know when God explained to Moses, yes, go down, but the people have corrupted themselves, yes, so that was a choice the people chose to corrupt themselves. So who would be the citizens of the kingdom of Satan?
SPEAKER_01Those who choose to corrupt themselves or to do to practice corruption, idolatry, practice the culture of the world and not the culture of heaven, and uh also a kingdom has laws and rules, eh?
SPEAKER_00Yes, just like in the kingdom heavenly in the kingdom of God. So in the kingdom of Satan, the laws and rules there? What are the laws and rules there? Lawlessness, unholy Sarah, yes, unholy, yes, lawlessness, unholy, yes, and the culture, their culture in the king in that kingdom, what is their culture?
SPEAKER_01Tradition of lies, yes, tradition of Satan is the father of lies, yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_00For us as children of God, as children of the kingdom of God, when God says, If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. If only people could realize that Satan knows that his time is so short now, he's trying every means, yes, every means that he could, I mean, skills that he could apply and do an opportunity that he can get a hold of, he will he will do it. But for us, we also know when we hear all this, we should lift up our eyes, understanding and knowing that time, the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus' return is imminent.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, yes, and when you spoke about you know the father and sons, it reminds me of um when Moses came down, you know, from the mountain and saw the people, you know, they were worshipping the golden calf, and then Moses um called out and said, Who is with the Lord? Who is with the Lord? Come to this side, the Levi, they went to the side of Moses, and then Moses advised them to kill, take out their sword, go all over the tent and kill your brothers, your friend, your family, the ones that are worshipping the golden calf. And the Levite obeyed, and they killed three thousand on their day, including their own brothers, including their own, you know, families, relatives, relatives, cousins, friends. So when it comes to between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of Satan, um there is no family, there is no blood relatives when it comes to that. You have to choose your family, Jesus. You either with Jesus family or with Satan.
SPEAKER_00There is only two racism. There's no race, friend, there's no races. There is no racism.
SPEAKER_01There is no race, there is no, you know, Pacific culture, there is no Pacific islands, there is only two sides, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of Satan. That's right. So it doesn't matter if your father or your mother or your sister or your brother, you have to choose. It depends on you. You are either with the devil, with the devil, or with God. There's only two sides.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and according to the culture of the kingdom of heaven, according to this, um, you know, the rules and the laws of the kingdom, the kingdom principles, then God will hold you accountable.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_00Wow. And um uh I would like now to go into helping this the people to come out. Come out.
unknownOf course.
SPEAKER_00That is the important part, yes. And uh, if they ask, how do I do it? For my husband and I, we have daughters, and uh in the Fijian tradition, in the Fijian culture, when you have daughters, they automatically would say, Woo, you're rich, because you're going to have a lot of tambuas. Wow, nope, a lot of tamboas. Because when they come to ask for the daughter's hand in marriage, they'll have to bring as many tamboos as they can.
SPEAKER_01Wow, that is in the pigeon culture, so that's like the tongue and version of the tongue and met, tongue and met, they have to come with different kinds of met, traditional mets.
SPEAKER_00I mean, met is okay because it's not something that you kneel and kiss, and like you, and like in the Fijian. So they'll have to use the tambour as that, which is the spiritual representation of the horn of Baal. Yes. We had agreed once we learned all this, my husband and I, and then explained uh for our children, we will not accept anything like this. And then he said, Then how will we do this? We'll have to ask God, we'll have to study the how the Christian and the I would say in the Bible, the stories in the Bible, Jacob, what did they take? They didn't take the tambua, but they took all these rolls of materials and silver and gold and animals, like the gifts, the the dowry, the not the tambua. And uh even for the yangona, when uh there's a death in the family, when they take the news, the bearer of the news, when they go to to the homes to relay the message, they will always take a yangona, a bundle of yangona, to go and explain and to relay the news. For that, at home, we don't we don't accept that. So my children would see that, mom. There are some people here, and I see that they have the yangona in their hand, and I'm sure they're coming too. So I would come down and meet them on the driveway, explaining to them, could you please leave, just leave all this outside? Because we will not accept, we are not accepting any of this. Just come and talk like this, just explain it to us. What is it that needs your brain? Bring, just talk like a normal discussion.
SPEAKER_01Should there be a replacement? Should there be a replacement? If they're not bringing tampu uh or uh yagon again, they bring food or something, they can bring food or they can bring other yeah, flowers or uh you know, something as a replacement of that.
SPEAKER_00And uh, you know, thinking about the COVID time when uh people died, there was no rituals done, there was no customary or traditional practices done, straight just straight evil, and there was no harm in that, yeah, nothing and less burden as well.
SPEAKER_01You know, I was just talking about this earlier this week that our culture, our traditions, is like our people are suffering, you know, to try to meet the customary needs, the requirements to do this culture dish. Like we are burdening ourselves with all this culture when Jesus Himself came to unburden us from all of these things, and yet we still are burdening ourselves with you know suffering financial hardship and all of that because you know to meet culture to to to perform the cultural requirements, you know, it's doing more harm than good, I think.
SPEAKER_00Uh especially when there's a funeral in the family, that's even a greater burden. They're already at a loss in terms of uh the grief that they have, and then add on to that, they'll have to cater for whoever is coming.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it's uh it's a he it's the same in tonga, it's the same in tonga. And if it takes a week before the burial, they have to feed you know everyone that's coming in. So the question is why are we burdening ourselves with all of this?
SPEAKER_00Why can't we why can't we just make it simpler like have no food or have uh vegetables only or fruits only to grieve with the family that's grieving?
SPEAKER_01Yes, or the people that are coming are bringing the food and bringing the thing to help you know the family that's grieving, not the other way around.
SPEAKER_00Yes, in the culture that uh in our culture, we are feeding them, but they are also bringing all this, yes, but it's in the presentation of it, in the presentation of it, what is said in it, how it's presented, that is idolatry, and then you have to eat whatever they have brought and presented, and you're going to partake of those sacrifices because the word of God says they are not sacrificing to God, but they are sacrificing to demons. What am I saying then? That an idol is anything or what is offered to it is anything? Rather that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. See, and with all these uh cultural practices, I hope that we will, in some point, we would open up their spiritual eyes just to make uh let the people have their own choice, not to burden them and to force them. You've got to do it this way, this way, this way. It has to be we open, we have this discussion to to open their mind to help them see that according to the kingdom of God's principle, the kingdom of Satan's uh culture does not fit in the kingdom of God's in the kingdom of God, so there needs to be a complete mindset shift, shift, yes, yes, which is in simple terms or in biblical terms, repent. Jesus words is repent, repent. So, what is the meaning of repent? Repent means to change the way you think, a complete mindset shift transforms your perspective, renew your mind, turn your heart and direction towards God, and turn away from selfish gain. That's the meaning of uh repentance that I have done.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and how do you how do you do that? With the help of the Holy Spirit, or do you need to seek Jesus? Do you need to read the Bible in order to have that mindset shift?
SPEAKER_00Or for you to know the truth, because the word of God says, once you know the truth, and then the truth will set you free. So the truth, this is the truth that we are trying to explain. That we are letting the world, letting the people of the Pacific Islands to know the truth, and uh uh Jesus, when he rose from the dead, he never talked about himself, he never talked about um his death or his uh resurrection, his personal ego. But what did he talk about? He kept talking about the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God, it's written in Acts 1:3. Because uh the teachings and the preachings of Jesus, you know, he when he talks about the parables, yes, he keeps referring to the kingdom of eo, yes, for the kingdom of God is like this, yes, and then he gives a parable for the kingdom of God is such, and then he gives a parable, yes. So Jesus is always Jesus preaching and teaching, is talking about the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_01Yes, eo and the kingdom of heaven. That is the whole point, that is the destiny.
SPEAKER_00And that's why we we need to educate, we need to bring awareness to the people of the Pacific Island nations, to the Fijians, to the Tonans, to the Sahamoans, that the kingdom of God, God's principle and culture is what we need to live by. Should be our lifestyle. Should be. We should live as citizens of heaven.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that is right.
SPEAKER_00We should live as ambassadors of Christ. That's right. We should live, yes. It's an everyday choice, yes, it's an everyday living, yes, uh, behavior and lifestyle, yes.
SPEAKER_01It's not just a bath keeping like the what the Seventh-day Adventist, you have to keep one day holy in order to get to heaven, it's a living holy every day.
SPEAKER_00It's an everyday the citizens of heaven will do that holy living every day, righteous living every day. God said Jesus had to warn the people Matthew chapter 4, verse 17. Jesus said, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and then he also says in Mark 1:15, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel, and this is the gospel of truth that we are sharing, we are highlighting you. So the question that uh we are posing, and I'm going to say it out now and say, are we living the culture pertaining to the kingdom of God? Is our Fijian culture, the specific culture, in agreement or in opposition with the culture of the kingdom of God? Definitely the answer is it's directly in opposition with the kingdom of God, with the culture of the kingdom of God. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01What we are doing that that is why Jesus commanded us to be holy, for God is holy. Exactly. So, as a citizen of heaven, if we want to be a citizen of heaven, we have to live the culture of heaven, we have to live holy, we have to be holy, you know, every day. That is us preparing. So when we die, we go straight to heaven. That is is what we prepared for. Exactly. But if we are distracting ourselves, because that's what Satan is doing, distraction, distraction to culture is more important, that culture is our identity, that culture is you know what makes us specific. No, you know, that is what Satan distractions. So we are so busy, so many are so busy with the culture of the world, with the culture of Satan, that will take them to Satan in hell, you know, you know, when they die, they will go straight to where they give which culture did you keep, you know, while you are on earth.
SPEAKER_00You know, even in the churches, different churches, when it comes to functions and celebrations and uh practices, whether it be wedding, whether it be uh funeral, whatever it is, like taking the children uh for the first time to their mother's uh village, there's uh traditional practices that need to be done. The Fijians practice. These are the children of God who are praying to God and then who are living the principles of God. Yet when there's festivities, when there's customary things that is they switch, they switch from this culture to this culture. You get it, yes, and that's why the prophet from uh Kenya saying that is there is rottenness in the culture of Fiji because of Satanism, that the natives are worshipping their idols. And to come back to the first uh Bible verse that I shared, the second one, 2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, save my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will heal their hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land. And for us to come away and to renounce our wicked ways, there needs to be a turn towards God in a new, fresh way. Yeah, and the prophecy about Fiji, the first part of the prophecy that says, Oh land of joy, turn to me in a new fresh way. So, this is what how we are trying to explain to them this is how you do it. When you know, when you know, because for lack of knowledge, my people pray perish, and we are trying to make them know that practicing culture or traditional practices, it's bringing no effect to the commandment of God, it's making you live as citizens of the kingdom of Satan. Yes, it's making you distant from God, yeah, and when you turn to God in a new, fresh way, the Bible verse of 2 Corinthians 5 17, the very famous one. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation, a new being. All things have passed away. Behold, that means you will see. Behold, all things have become new.
SPEAKER_01Amen.
SPEAKER_00And uh, we hope that people will practice this being a new new creation by renouncing culture.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, you can't renounce it yourself. Sometimes people say, Oh, it's so hard to live holy. It's really hard to live holy, but that's because you are still relying on yourself and not relying on Jesus to transform your life. You need to come with humility to God, you need a complete surrender of your life and say, God, I can't, I can renounce this. Help me, help me to be able to do this because I can't do it on my own.
SPEAKER_00They keep saying, I can't do it, it's because they still want to make a little bit satisfy themselves with the self-gain.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's right. You need to come to God humbly, and then God will transform you.
SPEAKER_00And the challenge, the challenge that I'm I'm going to pose today, as uh we're about to finish our discussion in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 26 and 27, it says, if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. So we have uh explained in simple terms for anyone to understand, yes, yes, that culture is demonic, culture is practicing the kingdom of Satan's uh ways, it's in opposition to God's order, to God's uh uh commandments, and we are explaining to them, and if they deliberately continue living and practicing their culture, drinking grog, we have explained in simple terms: drinking a grog is the drink of Satan, it is a demon, cup of demon. We have explained that, and uh, if they continue deliberately, uh that's then the word of God says we have given them the knowledge of truth, we have released, and they have they have heard and they know, even though they don't want to understand, if that if even though they don't want to believe, but they know see it this word says if we keep if we deliberately keep on singing sinning after we have received the knowledge, it's not say it doesn't say after we have received the um the understanding of the truth, it doesn't talk about understanding, it's not about uh believing of the truth, but God says in this word says when you have received the knowledge, so we have disseminated this knowledge to the people, yeah. And the word of God says, if they deliberately keep on sinning, keep on drinking from that, yes, there's no more, no sacrifice left, no sacrifice, but the faithful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
SPEAKER_01And the thing is, um, not many preachers are preaching hell enough for people to take it seriously because so many that they don't understand the seriousness of hell. Hell is burning forever, and you feel everything just like what when you are here on earth, you feel everything.
SPEAKER_00Our senses are amplify amplified, amplified many times.
SPEAKER_01So, can you imagine choosing culture, you know, and burning in hell over choosing Christ and living a happy, joyful life forever with God, you know? The choice is yours.
SPEAKER_00Yes, we have uh put out this challenge. The choice is yours. We have we have put out the knowledge of truth. We have given to you, and you, whoever have uh, whoever will hear or who have heard our explanations and our uh deliberations, you have received the knowledge of truth. So it's your choice. I hope that they will uh um make the right decision and they will think of it. If they still cannot uh make the right choice, then let them seek God, because the word of God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if my people are called by my name, humble themselves, then fast and pray, you ask God for answers and seek God because it says there, seek my face, seek God's answers, seek God's direction, seek God's clarification, and for seek God's wisdom and understanding so that you will you can uh make the right choice so that you will be able to turn away from your wicked ways. And I hope that they still cannot uh make the right choice. Maybe the prayer in Psalms 119 36. If they pray that prayer, scriptural prayer, exactly, I mean, saying the exact word in the scriptures, and also in Psalms 51:10, for Psalms 119 36 says, Turn my heart towards your statutes and not toward selfish gain. So if they pray that prayer, Father, help me to turn my and turn my heart towards you, towards your statutes, towards your commandments, towards the culture of your kingdom, towards godly principle, and help my help me to turn away from selfish gain, so that I turn away from the tradition of lies. You know, they pray that kind of prayer, and also Psalms 5110 says, Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. Let's say this prayer, and we can pray that prayer and they can pray this prayer too because only God can create a clean heart in us, amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen, amen.
SPEAKER_00So, just to uh conclude with a question, I'd like to pose this question who will choose to stop doing wrong to renounce his or her wicked ways and to start living God's ways. Will you that's a challenge we are posting out the people of Fiji, the people of Tonga, the people of Samoa, the people of the other Pacific? Will you choose to renounce your wicked ways as explained according to the definition of the Bible? Will you renounce? Will you stop? Will you turn away and start living as citizens of heaven and start living as uh God wants you to live? Do you want your land to be healed? Because I want my land to be healed, that's right. And we all want our land to be healed, but the condition is turn away from your wicked ways. Come out of culture, come out of culture and live Christ's way according to the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Mary Nicey, for you know, such a very insightful, very important conversation this morning, you know, to educate our people and to um, you know, make it clear and understand because so many of them are just blindly following the traditions that they were taught by their fathers, their ancestors, their forefathers. But um, thank you for um explaining it in a in a way that everyone can understand and um they can make the decision for themselves. Now that you know, you won't have any more excuses. When God judge you, you won't say, Oh, I didn't know that garga is bad. Oh, I didn't know that garga is idolatry. Well, now you know, so you don't have any more excuses. So before we end this, uh Mary, would you like to say a prayer for us? Or do you have any last message before we um finish our episode today?
SPEAKER_00Uh just to bring out the Bible verse of what uh what you've just explained, Proverbs 24, 12, that says, You have no excuse to say you do not know, because God knows that you know, and He will repay you according to your deeds.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Amen. No more excuses, yes.
SPEAKER_00God knows that you know, yes, God knows your heart. We we're telling the Pacific people, yes, after hearing these uh explanations, and even if people who have heard our Uh discussions and they will talk among themselves and inform other people. They will know. They will know. So this verse, Proverbs 34:12, is that you have no excuse to say that you do not know because God knows that you know. Amen. Amen. And that God will repay you according to your deeds.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Thank you very much, Mary Nice. Um, would you like to say a prayer to end our episode this morning? Yes.
SPEAKER_00Let's pray. God, our heavenly Father, we thank you for the words that you have sent out today, the knowledge of truth that has been explained. We praise you, Father. We praise you, Lord, and we praise you, God. All those who will hear the explanations, all those who will decide, oh God. Yes, Lord, thank you, Lord. Who are standing at the valley of decision, oh Lord, that they will decide and they will make the right choice and make the right decision, oh God.
unknownYes, Lord.
SPEAKER_00To live as children of the kingdom of God, to live as citizens of heaven, to live as as ambassadors of Christ, that they will renounce culture, that they will come out of culture.
unknownThank you.
SPEAKER_00For it is uh in total opposition of your kingdom, thank you, Lord. Ways. Thank you. That as we, the people of the Pacific, the people of Fiji, the people of Tonga, and the people of the Pacific Island Nations, as we turn from our wicked ways, thank you, Lord, because you are a promise keeper. Thank you, Lord, that you will heal our land.
unknownThank you, Lord.
SPEAKER_00We have been fasting, oh God, we have been praying, Lord, we have been seeking your face. But this one thing we have yet to do, we have yet to renounce, we have yet to turn away from our wicked ways. And Father, thank you. Thank you that it is been made known now. The truth has been told now, has been relayed and has been explained. Help us, oh God, to choose to come out and turn away from our wicked ways. Thank you, Lord, and thank you that you will heal our land. We thank you for this time and thank you for the podcast, and thank you for Nessie's life.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Lord.
SPEAKER_00Thank you also, Lord, for all those who will hear this podcast. Thank you, Father, for blessing and all those who will um give, oh God, into and sow, oh Lord, into this podcast, oh Father.
unknownThank you.
SPEAKER_00We thank you, Lord, because whatever is sown in your kingdom, your word says that every seed you have commanded it to germinate. And thank you, Lord, that when it germinates, it will bear fruit. The laborers are few, the field is ripe. And thank you, Lord, that you will also make laborers to rise now and go out into the field and use the tools that God has given you. And as we are doing now, oh Lord, we are using these tools, the tools of the now, oh God, for this podcast to announce into the world, oh Lord, because your word says that until the message of the kingdom of God reaches every nation, every place, thank you, Allah. It is time, then it will be time for your return. Father, we look expectantly, oh God, to you, Father, awaiting your return with an expectant heart, with a heart of thanksgiving, with a joyous heart, oh God, as we complete this podcast uh session today. Thank you, Father. We give you glory, Lord. We give the honor, for yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, and we give you, Lord, the praises due to you in Jesus' mighty, glorious, powerful name we pray. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Praise God. Thank you so much, Mary Nicely, for your time today. And um, this is not the last. We will be continuing, Mary, our session, yes, on culture. But um, thank you so much, everyone, for listening. I hope you learned something today. Fafi Tai Lava, Vinaka Vakalevu, and Malo Alpito. And we hope you have a blessed week this week. God bless you.
SPEAKER_00God bless you too, and thank you, Nessie. God bless all the listeners out there.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes. Vinaka.