Sermon Transcript

Let me invite you to open your Bible to 1 Peter chapter 2. We are kingdom citizens, and we’re going to see this morning, from God’s Word, how God describes those of us who are kingdom citizens. If you were here last week, we began to see that we are dual citizens. If you are a citizen of the United States of America, there are some responsibilities that go along with that; but there are even greater responsibilities and privileges in being a part of God’s kingdom.

We saw in Philippians 3:20 last week, this statement: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. . .” And so, welcome, citizens of Heaven! This is Earth! And as long as you are here, you will be constantly clashing with other kingdoms. So, last week we learned about how we live in the “land in-between” and we’re homesick for Heaven, and yet we know that it’s through kingdom citizens that God’s kingdom shines to the kingdoms of this world.

So, I want us to see here in 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning in verse 9, some descriptors of these kingdom citizens. There are five of them, and we’re going to kind of unpack them over the course of the next four weeks. Here’s what Scripture says in 1 Peter 2:9: “But you [kingdom citizens] are a chosen race…” Everybody underline the word “race” in your Bibles. If your neighbor is not underlining that word, just reach over and underline the word “race” in his Bible.

And, by the way, if you haven’t yet picked up the tension, I want to create it right now—we’re going to talk about race this morning in church, because God has some things to say about race. We, as kingdom citizens, are described as a race – “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

“Once you were not a people…” How many of you remember that season of life? Remember when you were “not a people”—you didn’t have a people group you belonged to; your citizenship was not yet in heaven? You were not a people, but Peter says, as kingdom citizens, “but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy…” Remember that stage of life? How miserable and lonely and fearful it was? “…But now [kingdom citizens] you have received mercy.” So, we have an identity that is set apart from every other racial identity that you may belong to.

Now, I am going to take a risk in church right now. What’s our theme, this year, at church? “Be Bold.” I’m about to be bold right now. I want to let you know, at the beginning of this sermon illustration, no one will be harmed or injured in any way, okay? Or embarrassed, for that matter.

I watched you coming in this morning, and I just kind of took a glance at those who were here, and I noticed, there is a majority race that kind of represents this congregation. We want to kind of find out who’s here—not to embarrass anyone in way. How do you even talk about these things in church? “Anglo-Saxon.” I was told by somebody with a sociology degree, “That is the proper term for white people, Trent. You can’t just call people ‘white.’” So, if you are a person that would be described as Anglo-Saxon or Caucasian, or you’re just white, by that, I mean this. I’m not talking, necessarily about the color of your skin. I’m talking about, I just don’t know of any other way – there’s no slash in my descriptor – my momma’s white, my daddy’s white, all my grandparents are white. We don’t have any German or Korean or Asian or Native American. We’re just from Indiana.

If that is you, the group I just described, would you just stick your hand in the air right now? I just want to look around—I’m not looking at faces. Is this a majority? Okay, this is the majority, if you would want to call that group a “race.” Now, really quickly, if you’re not in that category, just lift your hand in the air real quick. Look around—we just want to see numbers. You’ve got something of some other ethnicity in your background.

Okay, I want to say a word to those of you who are “other” than the majority. I just want to acknowledge, at the beginning of this message, that some of you have scars in your past related to racial discrimination. You may have been belittled, or you may been oppressed. You may have been denied opportunities, you may have been disadvantaged. And I want to say at the beginning of this message, I acknowledge that as a part of your history, and this message is to help us all.

The second thing I want to say to you those of you who are other than white is this: that’s not going to happen here. You are loved, you are valued and you are welcomed as kingdom citizens. We are a chosen race because of our identity in Christ. Because our citizenship is in heaven, we have a racial profile that transcends whatever may be part of your ethnicity or cultural background. Okay?

I also want to say to some of you who are white, most of us have no idea how to even comprehend some of the injustices that have been a part of the history of those in that “other” group. David Platt says it this way, in his book Counterculture, which, by the way, you can pick up out at our resource center, “The body of Christ is a multicultural citizenry of an otherworldly kingdom, and this fact alters the way we live in this ever-changing culture.”

Let me tell you a little bit about my background, okay? I grew up in a very interesting town – Lawton, Oklahoma. It’s about ninety miles southwest of Oklahoma City. When I was in high school, I remember reading an article in USA Today that listed the top ten most racially integrated cities in America. My hometown, Lawton, Oklahoma, was number four.

I had a friend who came by and picked me up from my house for school every morning. He was about a year older and had a driver’s license and a car. My friend was a six-foot-three, very athletic, black friend—with the most amazing Afro that was ever invented! I mean, it was awesome! So, there we were, on our way to school.

When I got to school, I stepped into my classroom. There were five white guys and five black guys, and there were about fifteen or twenty others that were just a mix of everything. The reason Lawton, Oklahoma, was so racially diverse is because right outside of town, there’s an army base. A big artillery base where basic training is done—Ft. Sill. Has anybody ever been at Ft. Sill? Yeah. In every congregation I go to, there is someone who has been at Ft. Sill.

About four weeks ago, I was in Cleveland, Ohio, preaching at our Harvest Bible Chapel there. I mentioned in my message that I was from Oklahoma. Before the service, right behind where I was sitting, there was a man—and I just felt like I knew him. He just looked familiar, and I wondered where that guy was from. After the service, the guy said to me, “You said you are from Oklahoma. I’m from Oklahoma! I was born there.” I asked, “Where were you born?” “Lawton.” I asked, “Where did you go to high school?” He replied, “Eisenhower High School.” That’s where I went to high school! “Where did you go to college?” He replied, “Cameron University.” Same as me. Now, the reason I felt like I knew him, was because he was Japanese/American. And everybody in Lawton, Oklahoma—other than the few of us who were “white” had some “slash” American ethnicity to their name.

There were a lot of Hispanics, because we’re close to Mexico and Texas. There were a lot of native Indians, because it’s Oklahoma. There were a lot of black guys and white guys. And these GIs, they would be stationed or deployed to some other part of the world like Korea or Japan or Germany. They would fall in love and they would bring back their bride to America, and they would have babies. And their babies would show up in my classrooms. And we were all just kind of there—we were just this big melting pot. So, it was not a thing for me. I didn’t know that people from different ethnicities didn’t always get along! Because of some of my best friends, I didn’t even know what they were—and I really didn’t care—and we didn’t even talk about it. We were just all one, together.

Now, I moved from Lawton, Oklahoma to go to graduate school in Memphis, Tennessee—one of the most racially divided cities in our country. It’s where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. All of a sudden, I realized, “We have some issues.” Those issues have continued to this day. Even to this day, American citizens are absolutely baffled by the racial tension and the racial divide and the race riots that we see. Eight years after electing the first black President, it seems like it’s even worse. We thought that was going to bring some unity, but it hasn’t.

The reason for all of this is, almost all discussion on racial issues in America are gospel-less conversations. They are void of the very thing that brings unity. American citizens should look at kingdom citizens to figure out, “How do all these people from all kinds of different backgrounds live and love and worship under one name, committed to one King?” It is because we are kingdom citizens.

So, the questions are these: “What do kingdom citizens know that so many American citizens don’t?” And, “What do we have to offer to them?” We’re going to answer these questions in three points. Here’s the first:

 

1. Kingdom citizens are a chosen race who view all other races through the lens of scripture. (1Pet. 2:9-12)

 

 

We believe that God has revealed Himself, and has revealed some things about His creation, that help us understand how we all can get along. So, we need to define this word “race.”

We see it here in the Scriptures: The NIV Bible uses the word “people.” “You are a chosen people.” That’s kind of a vague term. The King James Version, and the New King James Version, use the word “generation.” “You are a chosen generation.” The English Standard Version, that I preach from, says, “You are a chosen race.” The actual Greek word is the word “genos” spelled with a “g,” and from that Greek word we derive our English words “generation,” “genealogy,” and even “genesis.” It leads us to understand it’s all about this family tree, this ancestry and this heritage that we’ve received through multiple generations of God creating babies, and people multiplying and filling the earth in obedience to His command.

If you look at a secular dictionary, Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the word “race” is defined this way: “it’s a division of mankind” – even that part is not helpful – “possessing traits that are transferrable by descent and sufficient to characterize it as a distinct human type.” That’s not helpful.

What we’re going to understand from Scripture today is this: race is actually a human construct. It’s something that even changes over time. Missiologists and sociologists, who study these types of things – one of the terms that they use when they talk about race is a better term: it’s just a “people group.” And missiologists have discovered there about sixteen-thousand different, distinct, unique people groups on the globe. In my particular neighborhood, there are dozens of people groups who actually live in the same neighborhood. I’m sure it’s same in your neighborhood as well.

A people group is distinguished by their ethnicity, but another contributing factor is by language. So, four thousand of those people groups have yet to even hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s part of the unfinished task that we have to get the gospel to every tribe and every tongue and every language and every nation.

So, the great news about living as an American citizen, if you’re a kingdom citizen, is that those people groups are coming here! It is something that God has given us a great advantage in. They’re coming here.

I have new next-door neighbors. As soon as they moved in, we got to talking, and I found out they are kingdom citizens. They had prayed specifically that God would send them to the specific house that God wanted them to live in. They didn’t know it at the time, but they were moving right into the neighborhood next to the pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel. And they’re coming to Harvest Bible Chapel. They didn’t have a choice! They’re here, and they are wonderful people! They’re Korean in their background. When they talk to me, they speak English. But when they talk to each other – maybe about me! – they speak Korean. It’s all a melting pot because of globalization and migration and technology. It’s all mixing together, so even to talk about race is difficult.

It might help you to know that these Korean-Americans just moved here from Ohio. And Scott, my Korean-American friend, was a professor at [The] Ohio State University. See, now some of you just discriminated! Some of you are racists, right now, against Buckeyes! I get that’s why you need this message. But he’s now moved, migrated, here and he’s become a professor now at Notre Dame University.

You see, there’s prejudice in this room right now that needs to be squelched, okay? So, here I have my Korean-American-Buckeye-Irish, Irish—Indiana? How do we even get that together? So, it’s all a melting pot—it’s all being blended together, more so than it’s ever been, so, it’s hard to even talk about these things.

 

• All people groups were made from one man by God. (Acts 17:26, Genesis 1:27-28, Gen, 10:5)

 

Here’s what we need to understand: We need to ask the question, “Where did all these races, all these people-groups, come from?” Well, you have to go back to the first page of your Bible, and this is what you find: All people groups were made from one man, by God. We all are a part of one human race; we all have one human ancestor. What was his name? Adam.

We know about that from reading Acts 17:26. This is a New Testament book, it’s a history of the early church, and as God was trying to get the gospel out to different people groups, here’s one of the things we learn, as the apostle Paul was preaching to a different people group. He said, “He [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place[s]…”

Do you know what that verse communicates to us? It is God who sovereignly and providentially controls, regulates and governs the times and the places where people groups live. The fact that you live in northern Indiana is not an accident. And so, whatever your place of origin was, that’s a wonderful heritage—and that should be celebrated—but here you are, and we’re all in this together. We share a time history, and we share a geographical dwelling place, together. And all of it came from our ancestor, Adam.

In Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” So, God created man. Now, everything that I just affirmed to you is being systematically picked apart in biology classrooms and philosophy classrooms. Something called Darwinism, natural selection, the survival of the fittest. Do remember this from ninth grade? It’s the theory of evolution that competes with our closely-held doctrine of Creation.

Now those of you who want to be quick to throw out a belief in six-day, literal, Creation, and to try to make the first eleven chapters of your Bible allegorical; those of you who are quick to jettison that; can I ask you? What is going to prevent you from being a racist? Because what you believe about Darwinism is survival of the fittest, might makes right. And Darwinism gives absolutely no motivation or obligation for one who is strong to reach down and help the weak. It makes you discriminate. It puffs you up when you have power, it oppresses you when you do not.

Our belief in the equality of mankind is rooted in our doctrine of Creation. But if you jettison that, what you fail to understand is, we are all one race coming from one man whom God sovereignly made. We say, “Well, then, where did all these different people groups come from?” Well, it’s not too far in our Bibles that we learn this, in Genesis 10:5.

We read that, after the flood and after Noah and his family came out of the ark: “From these the coastland peoples spread…” So, even there, we have a distinction of people groups: the coastland people group. How many of you would like to be in “the coastland people group”? You’re a beach person; you want to hang out at the beach. You would have been great in the coastland people group. My wife, I think, is in that! She’s migrated here, far away from the coastland!

These “…coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.” If you want a biblical word for different people groups, probably the best word is this word “clans.” The problem is, ever since Genesis 10 there has been a clash of clans. It wasn’t invented as an app originally. It goes all the way back to the book of Genesis. And so, these people groups spread, and by God’s providence and sovereignty, He regulated and governed all of it!.

And then, we see this:

 

• All people groups are image bearers of God. (Genesis 1:27)

 

We read it in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him…” That word “image” is very important. It tells us that man bears a reflection of God. Every man, in every people group—in some sense—is a mirror reflecting the nature and the attributes of God! Do you know what that means? That God’s glory can be seen and known by looking at people and people groups.

Now, not all people and people groups have the same characteristics. That’s why, the more we know of all different kinds and types of people, the more glory can be revealed by God. If you are white, you are an image-bearer of God. You are gloriously white! If you are black, you are an image-bearer of God. You are gloriously black! Turn to your neighbor and say, “See that right there? That is glorious, right there!” If it’s black, that is gloriously black; if it’s white, it’s gloriously white—and all of it together bears the image and the reflection of God.

Now, what we do too often is, we want to find our greatest glory in our external characteristics. That is idolatry – to think that, somehow, the color of your skin is the ultimate identifiable mark of you, and you elevate that and glory in that. If you’re white and you somehow think that you’re better than somebody that’s not white, that’s idolatry. If you’re black, and you think that that’s better than somebody that’s not black, that’s idolatry. Our greatest glory is not found in what makes us different. Our greatest glory is found in what makes us the same. What makes us the same is this: We were imagined, designed and produced by the glorious creativity of God to be reflections of the glory of God! And so, we all have value.

And that’s the third thing:

 

• All people groups have equal value from God. (Gal. 3:26-28)

 

All people have value, equal value, from God. Look here at this verse in Galatians 3:26: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” Do you see the word “all?” “All” of you kingdom citizens – black, white, red, yellow, polka-dot, purple – it doesn’t matter. All of you are sons of God, through faith.

What makes you a son of God? It’s not your skin color, it’s not your church. It is through faith that you are made a kingdom citizen. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ [Jesus] have put on Christ. There is neither…” notice, “Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Notice those categories: Jews or Greeks. Which one of those, do you think, had advantages in knowing the revelation of God? The Jew. They had more revelation. But notice, in Christ there’s no advantage to the Jew. Then the passage says, slave or free. Which one of those do you think had the advantage? Slave or free? If you had to sign up for slave or free, which one would you sign up for? You’d sign up for “free.” They had economic advantages. But in Christ, there is no disadvantage or advantage of being slave or free. You’re all one in Christ.

Male or female. Which one has the advantage? So often, the male has tried to oppress the female. And here’s what we know in Christ: in Christ we all have equal value. Now, that does not mean that we are all the same. God’s statement here, in this verse, is about equality—not about sameness. It doesn’t mean there’s no difference. It means there’s no value distinction.

I met with a black pastor this week, a friend of mind that I’m getting to know more and more. He’s an older man, he’s faced racial discrimination, and I was just asking him, “Help me understand part of your history here, and how do you even talk about these things?” And he said, “Trent, I don’t appreciate it when people say, ‘I’m colorblind!’ They’re trying to make a statement that they’re not racist, but that’s not the best way to talk about that.” I asked, “Why not?” He said, “Because you’re ignoring the distinctive person that I am. It is by God’s providence that I’m black, and for you to somehow be blind to the fact that I’m black robs me of the value of being an image-bearer created in the image of God.” And so, we have to learn how to talk about these things.

Here’s the second thing that kingdom citizens know that American citizens need to know:

 

2. Kingdom citizens are compelled by grace to crush  the pride and bitterness that fuel racism. (Col. 3:11)

 

Look at it in Colossians 3:12: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones…” Sound familiar? Same language as 1 Peter 2, “chosen race,” “chosen ones.” He says you’re “holy and beloved.” There’s something we’re to put on. “…Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…” Those five that we’re to put on, we put those on over whatever skin color or ethnicity—or distinguishing mark—you have, we all as kingdom citizens wear kingdom robes. Five of them: “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience bearing with one another…” “…And, if one has a complaint against another…” what do you do with the complaint? You “…forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

The root of racism is pride, which is an exalted opinion of myself because I have certain ethnicity, or I’ve got a certain skin color, or I’ve got a certain economic position—and somehow thinking that you had anything do with that. You elevate yourself.

The second fuel for racism is bitterness. Once you claim your rights and demand your rights, do you know what’s going to happen to you? Someone is going to cross and violate your rights. You’re going to get hurt. And if you harbor that hurt, then it’s going to fuel bitterness in your soul. And pride and bitterness is where the gap in our culture is created.

Kingdom citizens crush pride and crush bitterness, knowing we are just simply chosen by God. We’ve received mercy and grace that has nothing to do with who we are and everything to do with who He is! Now, being a chosen child of God, what am I to do? I’m to extend the grace of God through compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience to people who are not like me. People who may have hurt and offended me, disrespected me, belittled me. And if you are a person who has disrespected and belittled others, crush your pride and begin to serve with a compassionate, kind, humble, meek and patient heart.

When I graduated from seminary in Memphis, Tennessee, I got my first full-time ministry position in a church. It was in northeast Arkansas. There in that little town, there was a church that hired me as their first full-time youth pastor. So, there I was, trying to figure out how to minister youth and teach God’s Word. I had Wednesday night Bible study, and the youth group would show up.

I remember one Wednesday night I finished the lesson kind of early, and I just said, “Hey, let’s just do questions and answers. What are you guys thinking about? What questions do you have?” And, I’ll never forget, there was a white girl who raised her hand and said, “I have a question!” This was her question: “Is it a sin for a white girl to marry a black man?” Now, how would you have answered that question?

I’m in northeast Arkansas, so I said, “No, it’s not a sin. Now, it would be a sin for you to dishonor, disobey your parents. There are a lot of other dynamics that go into it. But basically, fundamentally, is it a sin for a black person to marry a white person? No. The Bible does not forbid interracial marriage. It forbids interfaith marriage. A believer is not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. Next question?” I moved as quickly as I could from that to something else!

Now, three days later I was coming in for Sunday morning church, just like you came in this morning to church. I was about to open the door and walk in the building. I remember it very clearly. And I heard a very deep voice say from behind me, “Boy!” I turned around, and it was the parent of one of my kids in my youth group—he was actually one of my youth leaders; he was a very friendly man and we had a good relationship. He was not happy on that day! Here’s what he said. He said, “Boy, I better not ever hear you talk to our girls again about marrying a…” – “n” word.

And, it happened so fast. And from my background being in Oklahoma, I’m like, “What did he just say?” I can understand that language in Memphis, Tennessee on the streets. I can understand that language outside of the church. I really don’t understand it—I don’t understand people who do stupid things, but a person who claims to be a kingdom citizen—to have that kind of attitude?

And what he needed to do, and what many of us need to do, if you somehow have some superior attitude of pride just because of what your race is, or if you’re bitter at someone who has treated you, or treated somebody like you, or treated one of your ancestors in a way that was unjust; if you let pride or bitterness creep in, that is the fuel for racism. Do you know what the cure for racism is? It’s a very profound concept. Write this down. Are you ready? REPENT! Before God! Humble yourself!

Acknowledge your pride and arrogance, thinking that somehow you are better than another image-bearer of God. Repent of belittling and ignoring and isolating, and the words of disdain that you’ve spoken, and your attitude of superiority. Lay it before God, let it convict your heart and slay your soul under the weighty conviction of the Holy Spirit. Repent before God! You have sinned a great sin!

Not only repent, but you have to be proactive and forgive. If somebody has slighted you, if somebody has betrayed you, if someone has slandered you, if somebody has discriminated against you. Forgive! You say, “Trent, you don’t know what they did to me!” You’re right. I don’t know what they did to you, but I do you know what you, by your sin, did to Jesus Christ. You belittled Him by your sin. You ignored Him by your arrogant attitude of independence toward Him. And, from the cross, He looked down and said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing!” And now, being a recipient of God’s grace, I bend that grace out to everyone who has ever crossed my rights, and I forgive!

And then, thirdly, we love.

 

3. Kingdom citizens are compelled by love to cross racial lines to take the gospel to people of every race. (Matt. 28:18-20, Rev. 7:9-10, Rev. 5:9-10)

 

When we say “love,” we don’t mean “feel something.” We mean “communicate something.” It means to communicate, “You’re a person of value.” It means to respect someone, to show kindness to someone. To go out of your way to understand, to seek to understand, to listen to someone. To reach out and cross lines. To raise people up and give people opportunities. To open your heart, and open your home to someone who is not like you. When was the last time someone who is not like you shared a meal in your house, at your table? When was the last time you gave that invitation to somebody?

Last Sunday night, Pastor Jamie and I were up in St. Joseph, Michigan, along with the launch team at the YMCA, where we are about to launch this campus. We were having a vision meeting there, and there were some new people. It was a great crowd. We were explaining what we’re trying to do in launching this church. We had dismissed the meeting and we were all just kind of standing around. I noticed there was an African-American man who kind of stepped into the room. It’s the YMCA, so there are all kinds of people going in to work out and swim and do all kinds of different things.

He kind of walked in, and I noticed he was kind of curiously looking around. Tanya had engaged him in conversation. The man asked, “What are y’all doing?” She said, “We’re launching a church, and here’s some information about it. It’s Harvest Bible Chapel, and we’d love you to be a part of it.”

And then Tanya motioned me over and I got to meet this man and we were explaining more. He looked at me and he said, “Harvest? Y’all don’t have anything to do with that radio program on Saturday mornings, do you?” I said, “I’m the dude! I’m the guy! It’s Resonate radio, and I want you to come, yeah, and be a part of our church. We’re launching this church…”

And I could tell, the whole time I was talking to him, he was kind of looking over my shoulder. He was just kind of looking and seeing the different people who were there. And I knew what he was doing. We had a great time—we laughed—and toward the end of our conversation, I threw my arm around him.  I just leaned into him and I said, “Do you see these people over my shoulder. They are so white! My church is too white! I need you in my church!” He said, “Yeah, I was wondering where all the black people were!” I said, “Well, I don’t know where they are, but you do! And so I need you to help me get them here on September 11, when we launch this church.” He said, “I think I’ll do that.”

We, together, as kingdom citizens are committed to multiplying other kingdom citizens across all racial lines. That’s the third point of this message. It’s the Great Commission. If you’re part of Harvest, you hear this verse all the time—it is the very core of who we are and why we do what we do. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples…” So often, we stop there, don’t we? What are the next three words? “…Of all nations.” How are you going to do that without engaging someone who is not of the same race, or of the same people group as you? We’re to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”

This afternoon, we’re going to celebrate baptism of those who have come to Christ and they’re expressing their faith and their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of you have been coming to Harvest, and there’s been a new faith that’s welled up in your soul, and yet you have not yet been baptized! Today’s your day! In fulfillment of the Great Commission, in obedience to Christ, why don’t you come at the end of this service? Pastors will be here. Say, “You know what? I’ve surrendered my life to Jesus. I need to take my next step in baptism.” We’re going to do that this afternoon. It’s going to be a glorious event! It’s why we do what we do.

Next week, there will be a man and his family who are going to show up in Chicago. They look a little different than most people in Granger, Indiana. I want to introduce you to this family. This is Enrique Novella and his family. I met Enrique when, along with Andrea and Micah, we went down in March to the little Central American country called Belize. It’s an English-speaking country, so that means they speak English when we’re there—but they mostly speak in Spanish when they’re in their own home.

We went down there really asking God if He would identify a pastor, with a pastor’s heart, where we could invest in him and plant Harvest Bible Chapel of Belize. Well, Enrique and his family will be arriving in Chicago, and they will spend the next six months in Chicago, at our Harvest pastors’ training center. And then, in the month of January, they will have the glorious opportunity of spending January in Granger, okay? From Belize! This is part of our pastors’ training! It’s preparation for “the persecution yet to come.”

Do you understand what I’m telling you folks? Harvest Granger is about to plant another church in Central America, another nation. Cause we got nothing else going on, right? And we’re doing it all in fulfillment of the Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all nations.” You saw about work in Liberia, on the video earlier. We’re not giving up on that at all. We’re still full-throttle there. Now, we’re going to St. Joe, into Berrien County, and now we’re going to be investing in Belize. Harvest Bible Chapel in Indy south, under Brock Graham’s leadership will be partnering on this.

We’re going to have the opportunity to help them build a core group. We’re going to take mission trips down there and help them in training, and discipleship, and leadership, and some of you are going to come with us on that. You can’t do that if you’re concerned about somebody having a different language or a different skin tone or a different ethnicity than you.

Why do we do it? Because we know the promise in the book of Revelation is this: One day John was transported into heaven, and he saw the final days, and “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne…” Why were they before a throne? Because there was a King and they were kingdom citizens – “crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”

Again, in Revelation 5:9, praise and a song was sung before the King: “You ransomed people for God from every tribe and [every] language and [every] people and [every] nation, and you have made them a kingdom…” Kingdom citizens! “…And priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” forever.

I want you to stand to your feet right now. Do you understand that we are a chosen race? We are kingdom citizens, commissioned with multiplying other kingdom citizens, and our work is not going to be done until every tribe and every tongue and every nation sings at the top of its lungs, “Praise to our God, who reigns forever. . .and His kingdom will never end!” In anticipation of that, let’s do that right now!