The Pursuit Of Diversity
It's a surprise if you thought that prayer and worship nights don't have Bible teaching, welcome to King's Cross because we will hear we really do love opening up God's word, and we exalt Jesus, not just through singing, but through sitting under his word. And so once again, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Caesar. Welcome to King's Cross Church, I have the privilege of leading this beautiful, ragtag team of people who just love Jesus and we don't know what we're doing, but we trust in the one who does know all things. So just by way of reminder for the fall, if you guys don't know this, we're meeting once once a month to do these prayer and worship nights. And part of the reason we're hosting these once a month here, one is because we're, we're meeting here, so we want to get people just situated and say, Hey, like, welcome. This is where we're going to be meeting until God calls us somewhere else. But we're also, each month going to cover a portion of our vision. And if you don't know what it is yet, because some of you don't, have never heard what the vision of King's Cross Church is, I'll just, I'll read it for you, and it's very simple, we exist to be a diverse church community that seeks the presence of God, leads people to become fully formed disciples of Jesus, and prays for and engages in the spiritual renewal of the city and the nations. If you need. I can text it to you guys, but that is what we have here. And so tonight, we're just going to talk about one of those four pillars, and we're going to talk about diversity. We're going to be how to be, or what is a diverse church community. Now that word diversity, it's a loaded word, especially in our age, because it's usually synonymous with being part of a particular political group, usually diversity. That word diversity is a selling point for a politically progressive group, and as a result, diversity almost becomes like this taboo word for Christians and for the church, because there's an assumption that if a church or Christians pursue diversity, or they're mindful of diversity, it must mean that they're part of a progressive agenda, and I think that's part of the reason why we don't see a lot of diverse churches in America, because we're afraid that if we pursue this, we'll be lumped in with just certain political agendas. But regardless of how loaded that word might be the Bible, the church needs to recognize that the promotion and pursuit of diversity is a biblical mandate. It is a kingdom of God agenda. Our pursuit of being a diverse church community has nothing with doing with CO opting political agendas, but it does has everything to do with us seeking to be obedient to Jesus and his desire for His church, but I will tell you to be a diverse church community is a messy endeavor, and not just because of the potential political affiliation, but because having a diverse church community is a messy experience, because when we talk about diversity, we're not just talking about skin color or race or ethnicity. We understand that word diversity to mean what the New Testament authors did, which covers a large scope. So diversity covers race and ethnicity and gender, people groups, socioeconomic status, political affiliation. It's people from all walks of life and backgrounds gathered to worship Jesus and to live together church like not just this church, but God's global church is a diverse community of people that have come together as a response to the call of the gospel, surrendering their lives to Jesus and together, living in the new life that Jesus has provided. But we have all these different people with different customs and cultures and experiences that often clash. Like, it's funny how different ethnic groups experience church, right? Like, I, I'm from New York, I'm Latino, so I grew up in a Latino church, and it wasn't until I moved to Florida where I where I saw people come to church and shorts and flip flops, and I was like, How dare you? Like, I just thought it was so sacrilegious, because that is something you don't do in Latino churches. You wear suits and dresses and all these like you, you wear your Sunday best. But you know what? Latinos will show up 15 to 20 minutes to worship service. They'll show up late, and they'll show up late to everything. And my wife brothers and sisters, like, what are you doing? You know, we start this time every week, and then we have our black brothers and sisters where they you know, they have two or three or four or six or all day services. Well, the rest of us are like, Man, I hope the pastor's done preaching early enough for me to get lunch, and that's just on the surface, but Orlando does have a history of racial tension between blacks and whites, there's a tension in the Latino community between Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, who has the better food, who is truly Latino, who speaks the better Spanish. There are waves of immigrants coming to Orlando because of the global political instability, and it makes people who are flow grown feel rather uncomfortable in Orlando. It. Is, by all accounts, a purple city evenly mixed with Democrats and Republicans, which is a whole other level of tension, which you're not going to get into tonight. And then there's all these questions, right about positions of gender and sexual identity. And you have all of you have all of these furnishings of diversity on display in the city of Orlando, and we're supposed to invite that into the church. Yes, diversity is a messy endeavor, so why in the world would we ever pursue it? So I'm going to invite you to open up your Bibles to to the book of Revelation. It's the very last book of the Bible will be in Revelation. Chapter Five, verses eight through 10. I will read it for us. I'll give you a second. Did prepare it? You apologize, Revelation, chapter five, starting in verse eight, and when he Jesus had taken it the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood, you purchased for God, persons from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made these people to be a kingdom and priest to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. This is the word of the Lord. Now these verses we're about to cover is Jesus giving us an understanding of what He desires, not what you desire, or what I desire, what the world desires, but what he desires for the church to look like today. And while this vision of church may be difficult to accomplish, if not impossible, and it will be tempting to forego because of the difficulty, Jesus is going to show us in this passage, why he wants us to be faithful to this vision to his vision for His church. Now, most biblical scholars agree that the author of Revelation is the apostle John, the same person who wrote the Gospel of John, Matthew Mark, Matthew Mark, Luke and John. Now, Revelation is a compilation of visions that Apostle John receives from Jesus, and his visions are meant to help Christians stay the course and commit themselves to following the way that Jesus has charted for them. So now again, let's look back to verse eight. It says, When he had taken it, the four living creatures and 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Now see what's happening here is Jesus has taken the scroll from the Father. This is a scene that is happening in heaven and has happened. And the scroll is important because it reveals the plan of salvation and judgment for humanity. It's God's blueprint for how he plans on saving humanity from sin and death, but the person who grabs the scroll is only able to grab it if they are able to carry out whatever is in the scroll. So Jesus comes, and he takes the scroll, which means he has the power and authority to carry out God's plan of salvation for humanity. And then you have these four living creatures, and these 24 elders, these 28 beings, are worshiping Jesus because they recognize that Jesus has done something that is great and amazing and worthy of praise. That's why, in verse nine, it says they begin to what to sing. What? What kind of song? A new song. Okay, I'm the kind of person like a little bit of reception. So if I ask a question, is that rhetorical? I want you to respond. So this idea of a new song is connected to the Old Testament. See, a new song was sung always as a result of a great victory, or when an event that they long to happen, they finally does happen. So just as an illustration, anybody here like when they're hungry, and they finally get food before them do a little food dance. Anybody like a little food shimmy? Anyone talking, you know I'm talking about, right? So maybe you're hangry, and then you go to Chick fil A, and you're sitting with the blessed chicken from God, and you start praising Jesus, like, Praise Jesus like, my hunger is over. I'm blessed and highly favored. Like, I'm about to go, I'm gonna go to town on this Chick fil A sauce, right? So what? So what we're about to read is a better song than that. It's bigger like what we're about to read is a is an event that is worth all of us doing more than just a little shimmy. It's about giving our entire praise and worship to Jesus. Because what we're reading here is that Jesus has saved his people, and it requires a new and greater song, one that's never been written before. Let's look at the content of this song. Verse nine says that. So these these 28 beings, begin to sing. And they say, Jesus, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seal. Us because you were slain, and with your blood, you purchased for God persons from each tribe, language and people and nation. We'll stop there. What does the beginning of that song remind you of? Is it perhaps the gospel narrative that Jesus the Lamb of God who was slain to redeem and to restore and Ransom God's people back into the family of God. It is by Jesus's blood and his blood alone where Jesus single handedly freed God's people from sin and death and suffering and emptiness and aimlessness, because these are the things that have been plaguing humanity since the beginning of humanity's story, and now the restoration is here. It's what humanity has been longing for, and it's finally here. But did you catch what kind of people Jesus purchased? What kind of people, every tribe, every language, every people in every nation. This is the language of diversity. Diversity didn't get created by humanity. Diversity was taught by by God to His people. You see in His earthly body. Jesus was an ethnic Jew, practically a Middle Easterner. And instead of saying that he came only for those who are part of his tribe, which is a tribe of Judah, and he only came for people who speak like him, which was Aramaic, and part of his part of his people group, which was ethnically Jewish, and from his nation, which was Israel, instead of saying, I only came from my people who looked like me, talk like me and think like me, what is he saying? He purchases people from every tribe and language and people and nation. You see, Jesus on the cross didn't just come to save people. He came to purchase a diverse people, his bloody, his body broken, and his and his blood spilled. Jesus crucified and slain for a people that is diverse, a people a new humanity that is brought together, not by thoughts and customs and ideas, but by the blood of Jesus and His people, full of different skin color and customs and experience walks of life and language, so that they can be with him and experience Life and fullness. But what we have to understand today is that this beginning Psalm provides Christ's vision for the church today, the global church, not just the American church, and not just this local expression that's King's Cross, but the whole church for all of history, is a result of Christ's redemptive work, and as such, is meant to be a diverse church. The Puritan writer Richard Baxter writes this, the church is a society of men and women who, though they are of diverse backgrounds, come together in love and unity, reflecting the communion of saints in heaven. See, the church is the kingdom of God. God's heavenly kingdom on earth today, and it's meant to be beautifully diverse, brought together by Jesus sacrifice. But Jesus does have a plan for this night, the new new diverse people, because Jesus doesn't just save random ethnic groups and different types of people and holds them in a trophy case, like there's some kind of token group to be paraded around. But no, he has a purpose and direction for these new people. Read what verse 10 says you have made them, meaning the people he's purchased to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth. So Jesus takes his new, diverse people, and he does two things. What does he do? Jesus makes them a kingdom, which really is that Jesus brings them into His kingdom, Colossians. Chapter one, verse T first, verse 13, says that God, the Father, delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, Jesus. But so not only does it make us a kingdom, but that he makes these people, these diverse people, into priests and rulers of his kingdom. Now I just, I want you to give me your ear for a second, because this is, this is it gets awesome here. Watch, in the Old Testament, the priests and the rulers, or the Kings, were the two highest positions that anyone could hold within the kingdom of God. Okay, so the Old Testament priests, they were the one in charge with going to the temple, and they were the ones who could experience deep intimacy in the presence of God. And then the Old Testament kings, they were the ones who could rule on behalf of God and extend the goodness and mercies of God over God's people. And so Jesus purchases us, you and me, and he elevates us like right where you are. You are a priesthood, and you are rulers, kings and queens in God's kingdom. But why does he do that? Because isn't Jesus already the perfect priest? You? Isn't Jesus already the perfect King? Doesn't he already have a perfect kingdom? So why would he have Napa as like us be priests and kings with him, or priests and queens with him? It's because he wants us to join him in participating in the redemptive work of Jesus. He wants us to serve God alongside him. That's what it says here, right? Jesus, You made us to be a kingdom and priest to serve our God. You see, when Jesus came to earth, he brought the kingdom of God with him. The Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God over all creation. And the mission of the kingdom of God is to undo all the effects of sin and death in this world. And so the kingdom of God exists to push back the darkness and bring restoration and transformation and change this world. And look how Jesus achieves that mission. Jesus takes every person in his kingdom and he elevates them to a position that only Jesus should hold. I mean, this is Jesus, King of King, Lord of lords. This is his house and his domain, and yet he deems it good that we would be rulers and priests in his kingdom. And Jesus doesn't lower the standard. He doesn't lower the bar for perfection, but instead he lifts us up and makes us as good and perfect as he is. Jesus takes his new diverse kingdom, and he unleashes them on the world to bring about redemption for a broken and death filled world, and because of the work of Jesus. Now let's just hear this for a second, because of the work of Jesus, okay? And because if you place your faith in Him, in His work, and you are joined to him, no matter what you look like, whether you're a man or a woman, no matter your background, your story, your failures, your successes, your family tree and customs and culture, whatever you want to fill in the blank in Jesus, you have full and unfettered access to the presence of God, and you have been commissioned to serve and rule in Christ's kingdom. And this diverse Kingdom is represented by the church today, we as the diverse church, are being called into this work. You, you, you, you are all now called into this work. You are kingdom of rulers and priests, tasked in joining Jesus as He brings redemption and restoration to this world. There is no spiritualitism in the church. There is a call, this call to all of God's people. Now, if I could just encourage some of you in the room with this truth tonight, so I know there's some, some mothers in the room with young children, and perhaps you feel that you're not contributing enough to the kingdom of God, because, quote, unquote, you're simply a mother, but Jesus has made you a priest and a queen, which means that your role as mother and instructor is elevated to the same importance as the rest of the work of Christ's kingdom as a mother, and it honestly applies to fathers as well. You serve your family as a priest and ruler of Christ's kingdom, you play no small role. And there are some of you who haven't found your career yet. Some of y'all are baristas, and some of you feel like unless you work in a church, you're not doing Kingdom work, or you're not doing good work. Listen, you're a priest. Actually. Let me just speak to the baristas right here. You're a priest and a ruler in God's kingdom, which means that y'all can serve coffee to the glory of God, that whether you're a janitor or a barista or a nurse or a coach or or insurance agent, you're serving in the kingdom of God, and your work is just as important as the pastor or the worship leader or the kids director, whatever role you think is important the church. See, a church job is not more holy than any other job outside the church, because Jesus has made you holy and set you apart for His kingdom as priests and rulers. And so when a church like King's Cross commits themselves to living out this vision of the church that Christ provides here a diverse kingdom of people that serve God as rulers and priests, when a church commits to this vision, we become a billboard for Jesus's plan to save all kinds of people. This is why we pursue a diverse church, not because it's cool or because it's easy, but because a diverse church proclaims to the world that Jesus can redeem and use anyone. Do you hear that they. You as I'm saying, I want a response. Oh, come on. I'll take it a minute any day of the week, and think about the various stories that are in this room tonight. Think about how Jesus has uniquely met every single one of you. There are people who have similar stories to yours that need to hear about how Jesus was slain so they could redeem you, and if they could redeem you, it could redeem them. Some of y'all haven't heard me preach much, or I've ever at all but but often in my sermons, I do talk about how I was a porn addict for close to over a decade of my life. And people like ask me, Why do you do that every time? It's not because it's fun. It's like I like thinking about it. It's because I know that there are people in the rooms that I teach in who have a similar story to mine and God's work in my life screams out to them that God saves and uses broken people like me and them all the time. And so God's redeeming work in your life is a testament to others in this world and to others that might come to King's Cross Church, that Jesus can save everyone. And that isn't enough. Remember, we have been made priests and rulers called to proclaim the saving work of Jesus. We are called to invite people into this new life with Christ. Think about the least, the last, the lost and the lonely that are in your life or in this community. See, this church has not been by accident, located right between pine hills, a place that historically has much need and College Park historically has less need, but still in need of the gospel. There's no accident. There is a massively diverse demographic between these two neighborhoods, and they both need to hear about the God who redeems. Imagine telling a homeless person, which you might just find driving five minutes down the road, that they that they can find their dignity in Christ, and that he magnifies them and that they don't have to be lowly anymore, but he can raise them up, just as Christ has raised himself up. Imagine telling people in minority cultures who have felt silence in the world that Christ has given them a voice and see at the table as CO heirs of the kingdom of God. Think of think about that person who is rattled under the bondage of their sin, and they think that their money and their status will free them, but they're lost, and instead, you get to point them to the one who actually does free Jesus. Think about the ostracized and the outcast and telling them that in Jesus they will forever have and be brought in to an eternal family you don't have to imagine this much, though, because this is what Jesus did for you. Jesus himself pursued you a diverse people with his gospel, and he purchased you with his body, and he made you into a kingdom of priests and rulers. So let me ask, as we come to a close, are we as God's people, pursuing the very thing that Jesus died to make a reality? See, diversity takes effort, building a diverse church that glorifies Jesus takes a national intentionality. It does not happen by accident or by wishful thinking or by listening to one passionate person tell you this tonight. It happens by being committed to the vision Christ has set out for his church. Now, whether you stay here at King's Cross or you go back to your respective churches, how can we as the body of Christ, biblically and practically pursue a diverse church for the glory of Jesus? I tried to summarize this because here it is. I just want you to close your your ears for just to close your ears, close your eyes, open your ears. Close your eyes, open your ears. Pastor Tony Merida, he's a pastor of an intergenerational inter ethnic and interracial church, and he says this, I think this is the way forward for the church today. How do we pursue Biblical and practical practically a diverse church? We welcome new people, regardless of their skin color, every week in corporate worship and in small groups, intentionally invest in Christians of other ethnicities demonstrate that other groups matter to you. Do not make this a theory, he says, But practice it. Invite them over for dinner in your home, invite people of diverse backgrounds to corporate worship. Passionately seek justice and display mercy for other ethnic groups, unlike your own love the poor. Seek justice for those who sold into slavery. Care for orphans of every skin tone. Gladly work together with those of other nationalities for the advancement of the gospel. Pray for wisdom and diversity in your local church, and be glad when you see new elements in worship, like singing in Spanish. This is hard work, but it is work. It these intentional acts glorify the Crucified Savior who died to bring us to God and to one another. Can open your eyes, perhaps one of those things stuck out to you, I pray that one of them does, because if all of us were to commit ourselves to even just one of those things today, tomorrow and ongoingly, we would be joining Jesus and building his diverse church that testifies to His redeeming work for all people. So family, may we leave this place and seek to bring about Christ's vision for his diverse church, and may his vision for the church replace our vision of a church based on our preferences. This is Christ's Church. This is Christ's people, and may we seek to make much of it Amen.
