God's Grace for Every Race

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with a little later in the program will tell you how you get this 21 message first hears Dr. Graham's message God's grace for every race that your Bibles and turn with me to second Corinthians chapter 5, 1958 I was a little boy living in Conway Arkansas 30 miles north of Little Rock, a small town then about 10,000 people and it was fully in the segregated South. By that I mean we had people of other races in our community. But you know we all pretty much stayed to ourselves and our own churches, our own schools and this was the way we live and we adjusted to this darkness in some way until it began to change by the power and the love of God, so everything was segregated in Conway Arkansas. Certainly, while my family was not perfectly unprejudiced. I was taught as a little boy that Jesus loves the little children all the children of the world. It took us a while as believers in America really around the world to begin to live this but we have made advances.

I can tell you this.

In all, this generation, but we know we are still a divided nation, we have witnessed injustice and the resultant anger and despair and hopelessness, violence is inflamed our streets are communities are in conflict and racial wounds I have been reopened and there is fear and uncertainty all around us as to what the future looks like, and despite the gains injustice and inequality of the last generation. It appears in some ways the racial divide is greater than ever before.

We believe in Christ. And because we believe in Christ. We believe that, according to God's Word the Bible that everyone is equal. This is written.

Of course the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation.

It is written into our documents, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, we want as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. We want a better America and a better future for everyone. Black, brown, white, all our future is in God's hands.

We know that every one of us the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord ordained by the Lord. But having said that, knowing that God has this, it is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to use our influence for good and for godliness. Knowing the past generations. It is been Christians who have stood the past 60 years, and in the gap against abortion. Six decades, and we are making progress, but Christians have been doing that Christians who Bible believing Christians who are spoken out for the sanctity of marriage that marriage according to the Bible, God's word is between a man and a woman and anything else is not true marriage.

It is Christians who led the movement not all but many Christians who led the movement of civil rights and for inequality. Only God using godly people can heal the racial division that is in our nation and we have been given a pathway to this righteousness and this just met Micah 6 verse eight says he is told, you old man what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. This is our assignment. This is our mission because we love God, to walk humbly with him because we let people to show mercy and kindness, and to act justly is a time in which problems racial problems and otherwise are continuing to divide us and we need solutions were all looking for answers, because we wanted to be better.

If you're a Christian, you want this to be better so we need, as the Scripture describes it. Wisdom from above, the wisdom from above.

According to James is first pure, and then it is peaceable. God's pure wisdom his word comes from heaven is pure every word of God is pure and then it is peaceable and that piece in the Bible is often referred to as reconciliation is one of the great words of Scripture. Words like justification and sanctification theological terms big words with big ideas. Redemption, reconciliation really encompasses all of it. The second Corinthians 5 beginning in verse 17 it says therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away the hall, the new has come in all this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. So hours as reconciled. People is the ministry to us is the ministry of reconciliation. What is that verse 19 that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses that needs their sins and disobedience against them, and entrusting to and trusting circle that entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on the half of Christ to be reconciled to God.

Another Scripture I want you to see at the outset.

Ephesians chapter 2 Ephesians 2 verses 12 and 13 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ segregated if you will separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of prophecy talking about the separation that existed between Jewish people and Gentile people all non-Jewish people. He said you alienated.

You are a Gentile, separated from Christ and the in the family of faith of Israel, having no hope and without God in the world but now verse 13 but now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have brought been brought near by the blood of Jesus. First point is we are reconciled in Christ by God's grace reconciled in Christ word reconciled means to be brought back together to be brought together. How can two walk together except they be agreed. The Scripture says so what this is saying is that in Christ we are all welcomed into the family of God that we are members of one another in Christ we are one in Christ that God is no respecter or discriminator between people or people groups.

We put people in classes and colors and categories we often classify people according to their affluence or their age or their appearance or their accomplishment, but with God really there is only there are only two classes to categories. Those who are in Christ and those who are not those who are in grace, God's amazing grace and those who are not. We know God does not look on the outward appearance, when David was chosen as the king of Israel. He was the least of the least among his brothers when Jesse was sent by God and chose David why because Jesse said God does not look upon the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart. God does not see skin God sees the soul.

Jesus welcomed everyone who came to him from the smallest child, he said, let the little children come to me for of such is the kingdom of heaven to the oldest adult a man like Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus by night, he said himself popular old man be born again when Jesus said you must be born again, he sent. How can an old man be born again in the course Jesus was talking about the new birth salvation in Christ.

Whether it was religious, Pharisees, or Jews or Samaritan women often considered outcasts in the culture of the day Roman centurions. Everyone who came to Jesus was welcomed and still I do know this, that, according to the Scripture. Every person born on the face of this is love and level at the cross, or listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham in today's message God's grace for every race. We hope you're enjoying today's message and were excited to share that for a limited time you gift a PowerPoint will be doubled up to $150,000 thanks to a generous matching grant to say thanks for your gift today will send you the most popular and encouraging messages from this past year together in one collection called the best of 2021, now you get double Panamax and request the best of 2021 is I think: 800-795-4627 that's 1-800-795-4627 can also text the word PowerPoint to 313-1316 PowerPoint to 313131 and visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our E store. Give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional our website again is Jack Graham.March. Now let's get back today's message God's grace for every race. The answer to the racial questions of our own day and of our own time is not in critical racial theories which typically are marked in toxic, the answer to the racial issues and solutions for our time is not socialism but Jesus and the gospel of Jesus Christ is the solution to the racial problem of our time.

We, as Christians, we as followers of Jesus Chris we believe injustice but not social justice per se. We believe in biblical justice, social justice often breeds socialism, but biblical justice breeds equality and here is biblical justice. What is biblical justice. Biblical justice is works not just words. Our biblical worldview is that the root of the human problem is sin and the sinful heart which divides us and separates us from God and separates us from one another but it is in Christ and the cross and the power of the resurrection that he brings us together and that includes relationship relationships are centered and and and grasping Christ if your marriage is falling apart is most likely most definitely in my view, because you don't have Christ in your life or in your home or in your family because in Christ, everything holds together.

No wonder your life is falling apart. No wonder your marriage is falling apart. No wonder the nation is coming apart because we don't have Christ at the center holding things together we stand together at the cross where we find commonality and community we stand together under the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the only color that God really seizes the Royal red blood of Jesus who saves us by his grace.

Every race, every face by his grace and this redemption brings then reconciliation. Jesus according to Ephesians 214 and 64 he himself is our peace to his made us both one is broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross across there by love this phrase killing the hostility, the hostility between holy God and sinful mankind. The hostility that exists between the races. What does God do he kills it.

Jesus gave us something brand-new. A new identity is the church. The church is not a collection of people who all look alike think alike talk alike. We share a common life we share common love we share common labor and it's all in Christ, and it is sinful. Therefore, to discriminate against any other person because of their race, or because of their face because we are all by God's grace remained in the image of God and in Christ in the church. True church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are brothers and sisters where all members of the forever family of God, and we celebrate our diversity by finding the love for one another in unity.

Christ breaks down the walls that divide us and discriminate between us. I can assure you there is no segregation in heaven and one way that I know that is Revelation 79 is a beautiful sea about heaven and the glory and the promise of heaven, and John is given a glimpse of this glory. And he says 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 robe signifying purity and perfection in Christ and palm branches in their hands, praising him from every land in every language, every life in Christ standing before the Lord, praising him every tongue O for a thousand tongues to sing our great redeemers praise.

I know this when you read your Bible.

For example in the book of acts. There were three conversions. Acts chapter 8, acts chapter 9X chapter 10, three powerful conversions and they're not there in succession by accident because each one of these three conversions describe represents a strain of humankind since the days of Noah and the sons of note when Noah and his family came off of the ark, his family and his family only survive to replenish the earth, and there were three sons and their wives and the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth then reignited or reproduce the rest of the human race. And these three brothers sons of Noah became the great three strains of humanity Ham and the sons of Ham settled in the African region of the world and the Ethiopian region of the world share of the sons of Shem are the somatic people.

You can hear it somatic, shamanic, shamanic people. The Middle East is a brown skin peoples of the Middle East, primarily, and then Japheth and the sons of Japheth settled historically in the European region so you got Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The African region, the Middle Eastern region of the European region of the ancient world and thus the rest of the world. Ultimately, so in acts chapter 8. This is really really beautiful in acts chapter 8 there was an Ethiopian, a black male who had been to Jerusalem to worship God.

Returning home he was a high profile leader in Ethiopia.

He was returning home, he was empty, but God put it on the heart of Stephen a Deacon to go to the desert and there was a divine appointment. This man, the Ethiopian, the black man was reading his Bible and's and and Philip the deacon got up in the chariot with him and share Christ with him. In fact, in acts chapter 8 and verse 35 it says Philip opened his mouth and beginning with the Scripture be telling the good news about Jesus. And so this man Ethiopian was saved. He was baptized and he returned to his homeland with the message of Christ in acts chapter 9 you have a shamanic man, Saul of Tarsus, Saul of Tarsus, a murderer of Christians, a persecutor, a terrorist of the first century who was confronted by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. He was dramatically changed and how was he changed how is this man converted acts chapter 9 verse five he said who are you, Lord, that is Saul who became Paul Saul the missionary who became Paul R.

Saul, the murderer who became Paul. The missionary said who are you, Lord, and he said I am Jesus whom your person, so it was Jesus who saved this man from the Middle East and submit it and then in acts chapter 9 there was a Roman centurion and Italian European if you will, who is seeking God and God said Peter against Peter's own will initially because Peter was discriminating between Jews and Gentiles in the thought that Christianity at that time. He just thought it was for people like him, but God convinced him and prompted him and he when he was ultimately obedient and he shared the gospel with this with this son of Japheth and in acts chapter 10 look at it. So Peter opened his mouth and said truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he said to Israel, preaching the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. You see it. This is God's grace for every race. All of the races that flowed out of those original sons of Shem. They were say in the book of acts, and how are they say Jesus Jesus Jesus. It is Jesus who brings us together by God's grace and that is reconciliation because we are reconciled by God in Christ, we are reconciled together. God loves diversity when it brings us together in unity in the church is to be a colorful mosaic of many people of many nations nation all equal racial sins denies the inherent dignity of all people. It is particularly sinful. This racism is discrimination when it shows up.

Among Christians and in churches, it cannot be along the way we as Christians including yours truly, we have made plenty mistakes in this area and we repent of our own sins. As an athlete I learned not to dwell on previous failures when you make an error and I made a few. The best thing you can do for yourself and you. You can do for your team is to learn from your era and be ready for the next play we should do it by listening to one another.

Many people of different races. We don't even know each other, but it's when we know each other that they we begin to understand each other and love one another and then serve one another for you. This may start in forgiveness. Learning to forgive those who have hurt you and trust in a God who will help you in those who love God again biblical justice is works not words and as we as Christians determine to love God, then we will love one another and ask God questions listening to PowerPoint with Jack Tran in today's message God's grace for every race. As we prepared to step into my 28th year of ministry.

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Your support is vital. That's why were excited to share that some generous friends have offered to W gift this month up to $150,000 to say thanks for your gift will send you the best in 2021 CD collection featuring 10 messages from this past year to call now to have your gift doubled by the next and requested 2021 as I thanks: 800-795-4627 1-800-795-4627 can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131 and hopefully to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our E store. Give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional our website again is Jack Graham.March pastor. What is your PowerPoint for today. Let's pray together more. Jesus, thank you for letting us. Thank you for giving your life on the cross and to live in us by the power of your resurrection. May we live devoted lives. Holy and godly for you by the power of your spirit. We pray that this day you will teach us and our children to love others as you have loved us. Allow my life at home and work to reflect your grace and generosity allow my words and my deeds to build people up and not tear people down allow my children to be tenderhearted to people all around them who need you and you need your love, teach our family how to love people and to use things not to use people and love things teach me oh Lord in my family that life is not about me and mine and ours, that life is about sharing you with our neighbors and the nations that we have something that people desperately need a relationship with you teachers not to hold onto that relationship to keep our faith but to give it away and they are family live in abundance, that your love and your grace might show the world that you are our Savior and our God in your name we pray. Amen.

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