A Vision For The Nations
A Vision for the Nations
Revelation 7:9-10
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 and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
I think all of us agree that we are living in very uncertain times. I don’t know how much we’re into current affairs, but many things about what’s happening around us can feel overwhelming, intimidating, and even downright terrifying. We have an influx of so much information coming all at once in our consciousness in our present season. It is becoming difficult to have the right perspective when so many issues are coming to us at full speed. Many times, what can happen is that we can overload information we see on the internet, social media, and news outlets, and these things can easily weigh heavily in our hearts. I have shared this with some of our people, but sometimes I do feel so many negative emotions about everything that is happening. However, these feelings do lead me to pray like I haven't prayed before. I will be honest and say that the current events have given me stress and even anxiety that I see myself just pouring my heart out to God so much more. I thank God because reading the Scriptures helps me step back and remind myself that God is sovereign and is in control of all things.
As I process and pray regarding our present time, I recognize that we are all living in a cultural moment. And now, I do believe, as a church, we have a chance to continue to shine our light. Today, I was tasked to speak about the subject of Gospel reconciliation and how it can apply to the issues we are experiencing today. I am thankful that I was given a chance to talk about this relevant topic. I admit this is a pretty big topic, but I do believe the Holy Scriptures speak into the moment we find ourselves today. However, I know that one message cannot cover everything, but I hope we can realize and engage in what God reveals to us in whatever capacity. My prayer is that we, as a church, will continue to see how God can use us in a world full of tension, division, and strife. We need to look forward to a vision that He has set upon His Word so we can truly demonstrate to the world what it means to worship God. In this message, I would love to offer us some ways we could grow to pursue the purpose and call God has for us today.
1. Be Aware of the Brokenness
“After this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…”
The Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation to the seven churches in Asian Minor to show God's people "the things to come." As discussed last week, the churches back then were in immense pressure with both forces within themselves and outside of the church. Their faith was being tested both by the pleasures of the world and the persecution from family, friends, and authorities. John gave them a vision of the future to encourage them to live faithfully in the times of danger, and distraught they were in.
In verse 9, we see here John's vision of Heaven. He sees a great multitude of people whom no human being can number. He sees them coming from every nation, tribe, people, and language. We understand that in Heaven, people retain their uniqueness from each other. In a way, we can say that when we go to Heaven, we will still be us and not turn into one mold of the perfect human. Our differences and distinctions are still a part of our humanity, even in Heaven. When we think of that scene in Heaven, doesn’t that refresh us? Doesn’t the fact that Heaven is going to be so beautiful because of the tapestry of people coming from different ethnicities united by the salvation of Jesus Christ excite us? Doesn’t that thought just make you go, wow!?
But then, we have to go back down to the scene here on earth. And it can get pretty messy and discouraging. We realize there is so much racial strife and tension seemingly everywhere we look today. We would be mistaken to think that this conflict is only present in our country in 2020. It has been a part of every ethnicity throughout history. It is innate in humans to think that a collective group of one's race can be superior to another race. Essentially, this is racism. Our history books are full of examples wherein racial superiority inflicted untold agony of so many ethnicities and has permeated social systems. This mindset can even go to demonic heights and cause so much pain and suffering. Segregation policies, internment camps, genocides, and deadly wars were waged all in the name of a supposed superior race. If we believe in the doctrine of the Fall and Sin, we realize humanity has a broken sense of the way we view race and ethnicity. The reality is, racism is an issue of our broken and fallen heart. In Jeremiah 17:9, it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
We need to understand the setting in which both the OT and the NT were written was so racially charged, and this issue of the heart existed even back then. We will only talk about a couple of instances. We see in Numbers 12:1-5 when Miriam and Aaron opposed and criticized Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman. We then see God Himself was the one who rebuked Miriam and Aaron in their opposition. We jump forward to the time of Jesus wherein there was racial strife between the Jews and Samaritans. This is why the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 was so controversial and scandalous in their time. Also, the fact that Jesus Himself was talking with a Samaritan woman in John 4 was so perplexing to His followers.
There was so much bitterness between the Jews and Samaritans that Jews back then couldn't grasp that a Samaritan could even be good or worthy to share in their salvation and resurrection. Even the Apostle Peter was guilty. In Galatians 2, we see Paul rebuking Peter for the hypocrisy he showed regarding this issue. What happened was that Peter was freely eating with his Gentile brothers and sisters. However, when other Jews came, he separated himself from the Gentile believers fearing the criticism he’ll get from the other Jews. Paul accuses Peter of not being “in step with the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:14). That is a hard rebuke from Paul. But we can see here that even the Apostle Peter was not immune to this deception.
So how does this all apply to us? We need to be aware of the lie and deceit of racism. We cannot be ignorant of the deception and subtlety of this particular sin in our hearts. It's real and it can affect us not just personally like Miriam, Aaron and Peter, but also nationally, just as it did with Israel. Racism can creep up on our deceiving hearts. In his book, Good Faith, Gabe Lyons says that today, racism can take the form of implicit racial bias. He says, "Our biases are not explicit or deliberate, yet they have enormous power over how we see society overall and individuals who look, speak, and live differently than we do.” With this bias, it can significantly distort the way we treat each other, especially those of different races and ethnicities.
And so, what can we do? We need to check our hearts. We need God to inspect our hearts and heal us. In Psalm 139:23-24, it says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!” This passage is our answer. We need God to have surgery on our hearts and, by grace, heal us to renew us. We need to be aware of this deception that can so easily assault our testimony and calling.
2. Be Intentional in Our Witness
“standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands."
As we return to our passage, we see more descriptions regarding the heavenly multitude of people in John’s vision. We see them standing before the throne and the Lamb. We can say that these people are standing before the Father who is the Sovereign One, and Jesus who sacrificed Himself for humanity. They are clothed in white representing their righteousness and purity as the blood of Jesus washes them. Lastly, we see them holding palm branches. This picture symbolizes their celebration of the victory and the joy Jesus has given them. In verse 14, we further know the identity of the multitude. They are those who have come out of the Great Tribulation. Scholars conflict to answer whether they are all believers who passed up until the Great Tribulation or those who passed during the Tribulation period. Whatever the case, we can see that they are all believers saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.
I hope this vision encourages our role in the Great Commission and our calling here on earth. We do need to participate and partner with God in fulfilling John's vision of Heaven of an innumerable diverse multitude of believers standing and worshipping before the throne of God. As a church, we are called to be peacemakers as we have been given the message of reconciliation. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. It says, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
Again, we need to answer the question: How can we do that in a racially tense and divisive world we’re living in right now? I believe we cannot be afraid or intimidated by the chaos and confusion around us. We have a heavenly vision that should motivate us in our witness and love for others. I believe one of the best tools in our witness is through our relationships. We need to be intentional in making relationships and bridging people who look different from us, have a different culture, and come from a different place than us. Let us be intentional in building interracial relationships.
There are three practical ways we can achieve this: listen, eat, and live
In a world full of accusations and hatred, no one seems to know how to listen anymore. Whatever assumptions we might have towards another group, those should be checked. We, as a church, need to listen to those around us. Let us listen to the hurts and pains of those who are even racially different from us. James 1:19 says, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Let us learn from our fellow brothers and sisters how we can be sensitive to others' needs coming from those who are not of the same race as we are. There are books and resources we can read to help us better understand each other. This way, our perspective widens as our understanding and passion for people grow. We are stepping in the middle of the mess and we will give our ears to those who can feel unheard. In doing so, will be better in loving, serving, and ministering to people God has called us to.
Next, let’s invite others to eat with us. I know we cannot do that right now in a pandemic season, but when the time is right, let's have relationships where people coming from a different race would feel welcomed in our homes. Hospitality to “the other” is such an excellent Christian character we need to develop. A dinner table is a great place where we can genuinely develop relationships to let the Gospel shine in our lives.
And lastly, let us live. We need to live in such a way we are putting ourselves out there to those who are of a different race or ethnicity than us. In this, we can learn together and have a better and more personal understanding of how the Gospel can greatly impact our lives. I’m glad because I see examples of this in our congregation today. I’ve seen families invite exchange students over for dinner. I’ve seen young adults using basketball in order to build genuine relationships with different kinds of people. I’ve seen leaders intentionally discipling people coming from a different race. I’ve seen interracial friendships in which the Gospel permeates so wonderfully. One quote I treasured from seminary is that "people don't really care what we know, until they know that we care." I hope we as a church would be defined by our care for others.
These three ways can help us in our call to be ministers of reconciliation because what are we doing here? We are trying to emulate Paul as he ministered the Gospel to those who are different from him. 1 Cor. 9:19-23 says,
"For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews, I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak, I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means, I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel that I may share with them in its blessings. In this way, we are living missionally and pursuing God's purpose in our lives."
3. Be Hopeful for a Gospel Community
“... and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
At the end of our passage, we see what this multitude of people was doing in Heaven. They were worshipping. They were praising God the Father on the throne and Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. God is sovereign, and Jesus saves is the message that the multitude of people was crying out. That is such a beautiful scene. We should continually be inspired and aspire for John's vision of Heaven. As much as the present events discourage us, we have this hope that we can bring John’s vision of heaven down to earth.
The reason why it is so important to talk about the issue of racism today is that it is not just a social issue. Just like what Paul told Peter, this is a Gospel issue. If our implicit racial biases hinder people from other races hearing the truth of the Gospel from us, then we are not living to what God is calling us to be. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: "It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning." Many statistics show that this is still the case in our nation. But what if our church is different? What if BCI is not a part of that statistic?
The reason our church has the vision to be a multicultural church is that we see that picture in the Scriptures so clearly. We want that glimpse of Heaven in our church today. But it would take all of us to fulfill that vision here on earth. We don't need to go to other countries to be missionaries to other races. God placed us in a unique place where we can be cross-cultural missionaries right here in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools. We need to let go of our own racial biases and come together as ministers of the Gospel as we see people as God sees them.
People are made in God's image––worthy of dignity and life that God has for them. They are broken, sinful, and condemned. They need the grace and truth that can only be found in the Gospel. Whatever skin color, whatever culture they have, whatever country they are from, even whatever politics they adhere to, they need Jesus. We are in a unique position because we are already a part of the multitude that will worship God for eternity. But let’s not stop there. Let us bring more people with us. People are worth it. And we as a Church should continue to have this hope.
We can give the world a glimpse of Heaven where we are not just anti-racist, but what we offer is a transcendent community bound by something deeper and stronger. We can be a community bound by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
We are a Gospel Community.
We have a heavenly community down here on earth that will be composed of people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. How exciting is that! We are building a community where we can see a glimpse of eternity in Heaven as a reality on earth. Let's not be wearied. Let's not give up. Let’s live in this hope that God is for us. Jesus promises that the gates of hell will not prevail against us, and together we will see Jesus building His Church. By God’s grace, we will see a glimpse of worship in Heaven right here on earth.
-Rev. Jerusalem Ona