WEBVTT 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:36.520 We are going to continue the serious sermons 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:40.799 devoted to God. We have only two studies left 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:44.700 today and then next Sunday. Before we start, 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:46.939 let's pray. Let's pray together for these things. 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:52.899 Lord, the way you led Siri and Sang to know you, 00:00:53.060 --> 00:00:57.939 how you brought them to Christ, and then called 00:00:57.939 --> 00:01:00.179 them to engage in all these different opportunities. 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:06.079 Thank you for the heart you've given them. And 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:09.090 we ask you that you bless This initiative is 00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:11.810 that people will come to know you because of 00:01:11.810 --> 00:01:18.909 this. And empower us at ECB as we engage so that 00:01:18.909 --> 00:01:24.810 we can show your love to the world. Thank you 00:01:24.810 --> 00:01:27.230 also for your word that we get to study together 00:01:27.230 --> 00:01:30.629 today. And I ask you, Lord, I really need you. 00:01:31.849 --> 00:01:35.980 Empower me. Empower me with the power of your 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:40.099 spirit and your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:46.040 amen. In this series, Servants Devoted to God, 00:01:46.180 --> 00:01:49.060 we realize that when God saved us and we started 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:52.219 following Jesus, he did not just call us to die 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:54.040 and go to heaven one day. He called us actually 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:58.459 to follow him here and now. And when Jesus saved 00:01:58.459 --> 00:02:01.079 us, he made us part of his kingdom. He's our 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:05.019 king. We belong to him now. And as we live for 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.800 him, the Bible calls us to see ourselves as servants 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.560 devoted to God that are driven by our love for 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:14.539 God, but also by this desire to serve him with 00:02:14.539 --> 00:02:18.659 devotion. And that summarizes the whole thing. 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:21.159 If we're loving God, serving him with devotion, 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:24.500 we're servants devoted to God. That's what it 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:28.479 means to follow Jesus. And we discovered that 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.360 the first Christians, as they embraced this identity 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.879 and this calling, they had to overcome different 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:38.979 things from the very beginning. And we took time 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:41.560 each week to look at one of those different dimensions. 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:44.960 If you have not heard the previous studies, I 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:47.240 encourage you to go to the app or go to our website. 00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:49.900 You will be able to access all the studies with 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:52.219 the PowerPoints, the notes, the audio, the video, 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:56.889 everything there for you. Today we're going to 00:02:56.889 --> 00:02:59.689 be talking about the identity of the kingdom. 00:03:01.110 --> 00:03:04.330 Because when God called us to belong to him and 00:03:04.330 --> 00:03:09.669 to serve him, there's a core change that happens 00:03:09.669 --> 00:03:12.370 from within that has to do with the way we see 00:03:12.370 --> 00:03:16.150 ourselves and the way we see others. And the 00:03:16.150 --> 00:03:18.830 challenge is that you have already been shaped. 00:03:19.389 --> 00:03:22.250 The way you see yourselves or others has been 00:03:22.250 --> 00:03:26.000 shaped by your upbringing. The culture you were 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.219 in, the family you were in, the social class 00:03:28.219 --> 00:03:31.539 you were in, the political environment that you 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.300 were in, all of these different things already 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:38.000 shaped us growing up. And now that God calls 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.159 us to his kingdom, he wants us to change the 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:47.219 way we see ourselves. Now, for some people, their 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:51.199 source of identity is nationality. Oh, my country 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.849 and everybody else. Other people see themselves 00:03:54.849 --> 00:03:56.909 more from the class they belong to. It's not 00:03:56.909 --> 00:03:59.169 so much the country I am, but the social class 00:03:59.169 --> 00:04:02.530 I belong to. It's my people group and then everybody 00:04:02.530 --> 00:04:06.349 else. Other people see themselves based on the 00:04:06.349 --> 00:04:09.469 color of their skin, what they look like. And 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:11.310 it's like my people group and then everybody 00:04:11.310 --> 00:04:15.310 else. And no matter what source of identity we 00:04:15.310 --> 00:04:17.949 have, if it's not the identity of the kingdom, 00:04:18.230 --> 00:04:22.569 then it's a distorted identity. And it matters 00:04:22.569 --> 00:04:25.949 that we pay attention to it because if we don't 00:04:25.949 --> 00:04:28.670 adopt the identity of the kingdom, our ability 00:04:28.670 --> 00:04:30.870 to love God and serve him with devotion will 00:04:30.870 --> 00:04:35.949 be compromised. It doesn't matter what has shaped 00:04:35.949 --> 00:04:40.470 your identity. The struggles that we go through 00:04:40.470 --> 00:04:46.350 are the same. When I start seeing me and my people 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:49.730 as one group and then you and all the other groups, 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:54.300 It's me and them. And then that creates these 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:57.079 different dynamics that are the focus of studying 00:04:57.079 --> 00:04:59.639 sociology and anthropology, cultural studies, 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:02.800 and you will come up with all of these different 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:07.360 tendencies. Ethnocentrism means that I believe 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:11.699 that my people group, my ethnicity, is better 00:05:11.699 --> 00:05:16.560 than yours. Sorry, that's the way it is. And 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:20.569 that leads me to start thinking of your people 00:05:20.569 --> 00:05:25.889 group as a people group that I just don't have 00:05:25.889 --> 00:05:29.069 very good feelings about. I just have this internal 00:05:29.069 --> 00:05:34.250 attitude that I'm not inclined very much to your 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:38.290 people. And therefore, that leads me to discrimination. 00:05:39.089 --> 00:05:42.250 I start treating you differently than if I would 00:05:42.250 --> 00:05:44.430 treat this other person, especially if the other 00:05:44.430 --> 00:05:47.009 person is part of my group because we're better 00:05:47.009 --> 00:05:51.779 than you. But then that can also lead me to xenophobia, 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:54.800 which means that I actually feel uncomfortable 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:00.019 around your kind. I'm afraid of your people, 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:05.180 or I hate your people. Especially if your country 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:10.100 is invading my country. And now I have this hatred 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:13.980 that every time I see you or hear your accent, 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.810 it's just like, ah. Which leads me to the next 00:06:17.810 --> 00:06:20.029 thing, which is segregation. I just want to avoid 00:06:20.029 --> 00:06:24.009 your people. I cannot hear your accent. It just 00:06:24.009 --> 00:06:26.350 makes all these emotions in me. I just need to 00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:30.350 stay away from you. And if you're walking on 00:06:30.350 --> 00:06:33.290 the street and I see you, then I'm going to choose 00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:37.269 to go across. Because I want to avoid you as 00:06:37.269 --> 00:06:40.069 much as possible. Hey, we have to work together. 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:43.670 I have to work with you. But that doesn't mean 00:06:43.670 --> 00:06:48.519 I have to be your friend. I'll just keep my separation 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:52.680 from you and we will live life that way. All 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:55.920 of these tendencies are tendencies that you and 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:58.959 I, to one degree or another, have experienced 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:03.019 or wrestled with. You have been the agent of 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:07.240 it or the receiver of it. And this happened not 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.759 just to you and to me, but this happened at the 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:13.100 very beginning also to the first Christians. 00:07:16.329 --> 00:07:18.889 As you might remember, I am Chilean -American. 00:07:19.389 --> 00:07:24.629 I have two passports. And when I was born in 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:31.329 my country, my birth certificate simply had my 00:07:31.329 --> 00:07:33.189 name, the name of my parents, and my gender, 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:37.490 and that's it, and of course the date. But in 00:07:37.490 --> 00:07:40.509 my second country, when my children were born 00:07:40.509 --> 00:07:44.670 in America and the U .S., I had to also add what 00:07:44.670 --> 00:07:47.189 was the race. And there were several options 00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:51.110 to choose from. And they are not based on your 00:07:51.110 --> 00:07:53.949 DNA. They are based on a social narrative that 00:07:53.949 --> 00:07:56.810 we have. And perhaps your child was born in another 00:07:56.810 --> 00:07:59.790 country than yours. And you have to figure out 00:07:59.790 --> 00:08:02.310 some categories. Sometimes some countries ask 00:08:02.310 --> 00:08:05.730 you to put their religion, what ethnic group 00:08:05.730 --> 00:08:09.930 they belong to, etc. And I remember that I had 00:08:09.930 --> 00:08:13.490 to learn that... In the U .S., we have this different 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:16.350 narrative. We have the desire, the tendency to 00:08:16.350 --> 00:08:19.189 want to categorize people. When we see people, 00:08:19.250 --> 00:08:21.970 we want to know, what are you? And some people, 00:08:22.050 --> 00:08:25.250 you know, we can ask, and that's a normal question. 00:08:25.449 --> 00:08:27.949 What are you? And if you're not used to that 00:08:27.949 --> 00:08:29.529 question, you may realize, what are you talking 00:08:29.529 --> 00:08:33.480 about? What am I? I'm a human. What else? But 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:36.840 we think in categories, and those categories 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:40.820 are influenced by history of science, our Darwinian 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:43.539 evolution, and all these theories that develop 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:48.179 in the 1800s. To the point that even we compose 00:08:48.179 --> 00:08:51.879 Christian music like that. We say, Jesus loved 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.179 the little children, all the children of the 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:58.559 world. Red and yellow, black and white, they 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:00.679 are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:03.620 children of the world. You know, we categorize 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:06.039 children in colors, red, yellow, black, white, 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:14.919 and that's normal for us. But that's just a distorted 00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:18.559 form of identity, like the one you inherited 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:22.820 in your country, in your family. And when we 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:25.720 come to love God and serve Him with devotion, 00:09:26.019 --> 00:09:31.460 identity has to change. And the first Christians 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:35.580 will experience that. The Apostle Paul will have 00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:37.899 to start teaching about the identity of the kingdom 00:09:37.899 --> 00:09:40.580 because it was especially in the ministry in 00:09:40.580 --> 00:09:43.019 which he was involved that these things started 00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:46.559 developing. You might remember that the first 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:49.379 Christians in Jerusalem were primarily Jews. 00:09:49.950 --> 00:09:52.990 And when the persecution started right there 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:55.230 in Jerusalem, many of these Christians started 00:09:55.230 --> 00:09:58.830 spreading throughout the Roman Empire. Some started 00:09:58.830 --> 00:10:03.070 preaching the gospel only to Jews because they 00:10:03.070 --> 00:10:07.149 thought Christianity is just for us, Jews. But 00:10:07.149 --> 00:10:09.950 then some others had understood that it was for 00:10:09.950 --> 00:10:12.129 everybody and they started preaching the gospel 00:10:12.129 --> 00:10:17.220 also to Greeks and Gentiles. And in the city 00:10:17.220 --> 00:10:22.379 of Antioch in the north, that was the first multicultural 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:27.360 church that was established. The city of Antioch 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:30.340 was what the third most important city of the 00:10:30.340 --> 00:10:32.539 Roman Empire. You have Rome, you have Alexandria, 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:36.120 and then Antioch. And as a cosmopolitan city 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:39.039 with lots of business, there were people from 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:43.320 all over the area. So when you went to Antioch 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.399 and you showed up to the church of Antioch, You 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.480 will notice that as described in the book of 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.879 Acts, the leaders of that church were a representation 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:56.519 of all these different ethnic groups and backgrounds. 00:10:56.980 --> 00:11:00.159 And as you looked around, it's like, okay, these 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:03.559 are not just Greeks or Jews. These are also people 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:07.700 from other places. And you have, wow, what is 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:10.960 this? And it wasn't just challenging for the 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.230 people that were part of the community. It was 00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:16.190 challenging for those that were trying to identify 00:11:16.190 --> 00:11:18.710 them from the outside. It's like, what are these 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:21.070 people? Why do they get together? It's like, 00:11:21.110 --> 00:11:23.450 they are not Jews. They are not Greeks. They 00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:26.350 are a mix of all these things. So you know what 00:11:26.350 --> 00:11:29.149 they decided to call them? For the lack of a 00:11:29.149 --> 00:11:33.049 better label? It says in the book of Acts, the 00:11:33.049 --> 00:11:37.370 disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 00:11:38.409 --> 00:11:40.429 That was the beginning of the word Christian. 00:11:40.769 --> 00:11:43.149 Because they couldn't identify with anything 00:11:43.149 --> 00:11:45.809 else. The only thing they had in common was these 00:11:45.809 --> 00:11:48.269 people from all these backgrounds, they all follow 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:53.289 Jesus. So they call them Christians. And the 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:56.570 Apostle Paul will start teaching, not only Antioch, 00:11:56.710 --> 00:11:59.049 but the other churches that were established 00:11:59.049 --> 00:12:01.850 in that area of Asia Minor, like the Ephesians, 00:12:01.850 --> 00:12:04.370 for instance. And he will start teaching them 00:12:04.370 --> 00:12:07.309 about the identity of the kingdom. That this 00:12:07.309 --> 00:12:09.389 identity of the kingdom is different from any 00:12:09.389 --> 00:12:12.190 other identity that has shaped your upbringing. 00:12:12.990 --> 00:12:15.610 He says, for instance, in Ephesians chapter 2, 00:12:15.950 --> 00:12:24.509 consequently, you are no longer foreigners. but 00:12:24.509 --> 00:12:28.029 fellow citizens with God's people and also members 00:12:28.029 --> 00:12:31.730 of his household. You belong to Jesus? Hey, you're 00:12:31.730 --> 00:12:35.809 a part of the family. Come in. You belong to 00:12:35.809 --> 00:12:38.450 Jesus? It doesn't matter what passport you have. 00:12:38.549 --> 00:12:40.889 You're not a foreigner. You're a family. Come 00:12:40.889 --> 00:12:46.029 in. And he started teaching this to the first 00:12:46.029 --> 00:12:48.149 Christians so that they would embrace the identity 00:12:48.149 --> 00:12:54.080 of the kingdom. But there was a problem. People 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:56.559 already had other identities that shaped them. 00:12:57.899 --> 00:13:01.379 And that is going to collide with following Jesus. 00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:05.740 And the Apostle Paul has to address it. The first 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:08.700 one of those occasions was a struggle with the 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:12.659 Apostle Peter from all people. You see, the Apostle 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:14.519 Peter was the first one that preached the gospel 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:16.480 in Jerusalem. Did you remember how many people 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:21.580 came to know Christ that day? 3 ,000. Huge group 00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:26.820 right there. but they were primarily Jews. And 00:13:26.820 --> 00:13:29.320 then God used him to preach the gospel to the 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:32.740 first Gentile, Cornelius, and his family who 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:37.279 were Romans. And then he heard about what was 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.139 going on in Antioch, so he was excited, genuinely 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:44.419 excited. So he went to Antioch to visit Paul 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:47.059 and the friend Barnabas who had started this 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:50.429 place. And just to meet the new Christians that 00:13:50.429 --> 00:13:52.570 were there and teach them and interact with them, 00:13:52.610 --> 00:13:57.090 it was a good intent until, as he was there, 00:13:57.370 --> 00:14:00.049 and some of these Christian leaders from Jerusalem 00:14:00.049 --> 00:14:05.970 that didn't like Gentiles that much showed up. 00:14:06.750 --> 00:14:10.970 And suddenly, Peter's attitude started changing 00:14:10.970 --> 00:14:15.289 and Paul noticed. And to understand what happened, 00:14:15.330 --> 00:14:18.250 we have to go to the book of Galatians. Because 00:14:18.250 --> 00:14:21.830 there is written, when Cephas, that's another 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:25.389 name for the apostle Peter, came to Antioch, 00:14:25.549 --> 00:14:30.649 I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 00:14:31.149 --> 00:14:34.230 You can see that he was not conflict avoidance 00:14:34.230 --> 00:14:37.809 culture. I opposed him to his face. That's pretty 00:14:37.809 --> 00:14:39.629 much Chilean culture, by the way, too. It's like 00:14:39.629 --> 00:14:43.190 we just call it for what it is. And that gets 00:14:43.190 --> 00:14:48.399 me in trouble sometimes. He says, you know, I 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:51.659 oppose them to his face. For before certain men 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:54.700 came from James, one of the leaders in Jerusalem, 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:58.279 he used to eat with the Gentiles. He was fine. 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:03.759 But when they arrived here in Antioch, oh, he 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:07.379 began to draw back and separate himself from 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:10.840 the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:14.879 belong to the circumcision group. Oh, do you 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:16.399 remember the struggles that I mentioned earlier? 00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:22.210 He started feeling this attitude of just discrimination 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:25.549 towards these people. And he decided to start 00:15:25.549 --> 00:15:27.649 practicing segregation. I'm going to separate. 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:31.409 I feel uncomfortable around you anymore. Why? 00:15:31.470 --> 00:15:33.370 Well, because my friends feel uncomfortable with 00:15:33.370 --> 00:15:35.929 you. Because, you know, we don't like your people. 00:15:36.710 --> 00:15:39.409 That is, until Christ came. And now we have to 00:15:39.409 --> 00:15:44.850 love you. So he starts experiencing all of these 00:15:44.850 --> 00:15:48.980 things. And the problem is that it became contagious. 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:54.539 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy so 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:57.899 that by their hypocrisy, even Barnabas, would 00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:00.980 you believe it? Even Barnabas was led astray. 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:05.720 Barnabas was Paul's friend who actually invited 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:08.320 him to come to Antioch to start preaching the 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:12.659 gospel to these Gentiles. The church planter 00:16:12.659 --> 00:16:18.330 now was affected by this attitude. And you can 00:16:18.330 --> 00:16:21.169 understand why if you look at the background. 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:29.029 Because in first century culture, Judaism, people 00:16:29.029 --> 00:16:31.870 like the apostle Peter, Barnabas, and any other 00:16:31.870 --> 00:16:35.289 average Jew grew up in a context in which they 00:16:35.289 --> 00:16:38.789 were told from very little how to think about 00:16:38.789 --> 00:16:42.549 people. So it's us and them, we Jews and everybody 00:16:42.549 --> 00:16:46.460 else. We are good, they are bad. And they are 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:49.220 the Gentiles. And we have even some instructions 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:53.299 even recorded today. Let me show you, for instance, 00:16:53.379 --> 00:16:57.100 these instructions for the Jews. Like little 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:01.440 Peter in kindergarten. This is what you need 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:04.400 to know. Separate yourself from the Gentiles. 00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:07.140 Do not eat with them. Do not perform deeds like 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.740 them. And do not become associates of theirs. 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:14.579 Never be their friend. This is what they grew 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:17.589 up with. That's why when the apostle Peter went 00:17:17.589 --> 00:17:20.349 to Cornelius' home to preach the gospel for the 00:17:20.349 --> 00:17:22.250 first time, I don't know if you've ever read 00:17:22.250 --> 00:17:24.549 this story and you noticed, but the first thing 00:17:24.549 --> 00:17:28.390 that Peter says to these people is, you know 00:17:28.390 --> 00:17:31.849 that in our law, it goes against our law for 00:17:31.849 --> 00:17:36.910 me to come into your home. It was really much 00:17:36.910 --> 00:17:42.670 very ingrained in their system. But that was 00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:46.190 not the only problem. Greeks also had their categorizations. 00:17:46.910 --> 00:17:48.910 They thought we Greeks are the sophisticated 00:17:48.910 --> 00:17:52.750 one. Everybody else is less civilized. And they 00:17:52.750 --> 00:17:55.049 had words for that. They called them barbarians. 00:17:56.130 --> 00:17:58.390 So if you were not Greek, you were barbarian. 00:17:58.650 --> 00:18:02.930 And even worse, you could be a Scythian. Scythian 00:18:02.930 --> 00:18:08.650 words is like the bottom. Many of them were just 00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:13.329 only slaves. To the point that we even have some 00:18:13.329 --> 00:18:15.849 of those writings describing what they thought 00:18:15.849 --> 00:18:23.670 of those people. Us, we, good. Them, bad. And 00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:26.329 this is what Josephus says about the Scythians, 00:18:26.369 --> 00:18:30.190 for instance. Josephus was a Jewish historian. 00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:34.029 And he says this is what people thought. They 00:18:34.029 --> 00:18:38.890 differ little from brute beasts. In other words, 00:18:39.009 --> 00:18:42.240 those people. Those non -Greeks, they are just 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:48.059 animals. And now, you have the Jew that thinks, 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:50.140 oh, you Gentiles should not associate with them, 00:18:50.180 --> 00:18:52.180 those people. And you have the Greeks that say, 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:55.180 oh, those are animals. And now they come to know 00:18:55.180 --> 00:18:59.220 Christ, and they attend the same church, and 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:01.019 now there's a little fellowship with food involved. 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:12.319 So Paul, as direct as he was, says, when I saw 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:15.240 that they were not acting in line with the truth 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:19.140 of the gospel, they were misaligned with the 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:22.380 gospel itself, I was not going to put up with 00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:28.559 it. So, I said to Cephas, to the apostle Peter, 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:33.539 in front of them all, you're a Jew, yet you live 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:36.380 like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it 00:19:36.380 --> 00:19:39.730 then? That you force Gentiles to follow Jewish 00:19:39.730 --> 00:19:45.930 customs? Because Peter, are you telling me that 00:19:45.930 --> 00:19:51.170 you are better than they are? That somehow they 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:54.529 are inferior to you? Is that the gospel that 00:19:54.529 --> 00:19:57.250 you believe in? Because that's not the gospel 00:19:57.250 --> 00:20:02.710 that I know. So he writes about this. He has 00:20:02.710 --> 00:20:06.240 to teach people about these things. To tell them 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:09.480 these identities that you inherited and you're 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:12.740 trying to bring into God's kingdom are not compatible 00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:16.660 with the message of the gospel. They are not 00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:20.920 compatible with the kingdom. That categorization 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:24.000 that you inherited from your culture doesn't 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:27.539 work in the kingdom. You have to change the software 00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:33.799 of your heart. Because if you are a... The follower 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:36.700 of Jesus, if you belong to his kingdom, then 00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:42.920 our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:46.319 await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:20:46.619 --> 00:20:50.480 who by the power that enables him to bring everything 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:54.440 under his control will transform our lowly bodies 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:57.019 so that they will be like his glorious body. 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:06.549 Peter, have you forgotten the gospel? Jesus is 00:21:06.549 --> 00:21:11.609 our king. We are citizens of heaven. And if you 00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:14.490 have the Holy Spirit, you belong to my family. 00:21:14.809 --> 00:21:19.809 You are one of us. And therefore, I need to treat 00:21:19.809 --> 00:21:25.609 you with the same love of the Father. Because 00:21:25.609 --> 00:21:29.789 one day, Peter, we are going to reign with Christ, 00:21:29.869 --> 00:21:34.160 don't you remember? The apostle John mentioned 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:37.559 it in the book of Revelation. He said that Jesus 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:43.039 purchased with his blood for God persons from 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:49.339 every tribe and language and people and nation. 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:54.359 All of this diversity now part of his. Why? Because 00:21:54.359 --> 00:22:00.200 he paid for it with his own blood. And this community 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:05.650 of people, he says, Are not just anything. You 00:22:05.650 --> 00:22:08.730 have made them to be a kingdom. And priests. 00:22:09.369 --> 00:22:12.609 To serve our God. And they will reign on the 00:22:12.609 --> 00:22:16.230 earth. Peter. Have you forgotten the truth of 00:22:16.230 --> 00:22:20.049 the gospel? This is who we are. This is where 00:22:20.049 --> 00:22:24.410 we are going. Why? Are you treating your fellow 00:22:24.410 --> 00:22:30.809 believers. This way? You are not aligned with 00:22:30.809 --> 00:22:37.630 the truth of the gospel. And thank God for truth 00:22:37.630 --> 00:22:40.269 spoken in love, even if direct, because sometimes 00:22:40.269 --> 00:22:45.490 we need to hear it as it is. And God used Paul 00:22:45.490 --> 00:22:49.509 to reframe Peter and put him back in alignment 00:22:49.509 --> 00:22:53.750 with the Holy Spirit. Later, Peter is going to 00:22:53.750 --> 00:22:57.509 write about Paul saying, you know, He's such 00:22:57.509 --> 00:23:01.289 a great guy, and God has given him so much wisdom, 00:23:01.450 --> 00:23:05.109 so you need to pay attention to his writings. 00:23:05.670 --> 00:23:08.609 That's how we know that they solved this problem 00:23:08.609 --> 00:23:15.069 here. But it is true. If the Bible is going to 00:23:15.069 --> 00:23:17.509 make any categorization, it's basically a dual 00:23:17.509 --> 00:23:21.430 categorization. You belong to the kingdom of 00:23:21.430 --> 00:23:23.750 darkness, or you belong to the kingdom of light. 00:23:25.390 --> 00:23:27.329 If you belong to the kingdom of darkness, it 00:23:27.329 --> 00:23:29.589 doesn't matter what religion you have or lack 00:23:29.589 --> 00:23:33.450 of religion thereof. It doesn't matter. If you 00:23:33.450 --> 00:23:38.289 have not repented of your sins and Jesus has 00:23:38.289 --> 00:23:44.170 not saved you, then you do not belong to his 00:23:44.170 --> 00:23:48.630 kingdom. But if Jesus is your savior and you 00:23:48.630 --> 00:23:51.089 are following him, he gave you his Holy Spirit. 00:23:52.230 --> 00:23:59.099 And if you have his spirit, Then, you and I belong 00:23:59.099 --> 00:24:05.039 to the same family. You are my brother, my sister 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:12.180 in Christ. I remember that when I went to Cape 00:24:12.180 --> 00:24:15.619 Town in South Africa, there was a tour guide 00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:20.119 as we were going to see the prison where President 00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:26.579 Mandela had been. And as he was helping me get 00:24:26.579 --> 00:24:29.880 into the boat, the tour guide said to me, greets 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:32.539 me, and he says, Hi brother from a different 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:40.559 mother. And I found that so sweet, yet so profound. 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:46.720 He was right. That's the truth of the gospel 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.799 right there. You're my brother from a different 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:52.599 mother and you're my sister from a different 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:56.400 mother. But we have the same Father. Our Heavenly 00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:01.319 Father and the same Holy Spirit. We are family 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:09.519 in the kingdom. Amen. They had to wrestle with 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:11.920 all of that. All the identities coming together 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:14.839 and suddenly realizing, oh, this is not compatible 00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:18.339 with who we are now. Exactly. You have to change 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:21.160 the software of your heart. Invite the Holy Spirit 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:24.339 into that space so that you can start loving 00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:27.480 people with the love of God, not with the prejudice 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:32.460 that shaped you. But that was not the only challenge 00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:34.519 they faced. That was Peter. That was the first 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:37.680 one. The second one was Philemon. And it was 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:41.339 a whole different story. See, Philemon was a 00:25:41.339 --> 00:25:44.279 guy that lived in a city called Colossae. And 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:48.160 that city was where the Church of the Colossians 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:50.880 was established. And the Church of the Colossians, 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:54.000 that was the letter the Apostle Paul wrote that 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.359 is in the New Testament, the Book of the Colossians. 00:25:57.619 --> 00:26:01.240 So Philemon lived in that area. That was part 00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:04.359 of the Roman Empire influenced by Roman law. 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:07.559 And like many of the Roman -influenced cities, 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:12.160 it was estimated that about 30 % of the people 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:17.420 were slaves. And Philemon was well -off, so he 00:26:17.420 --> 00:26:20.960 actually had a few slaves himself. Well, one 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:26.000 of those slaves was called Onesimus. And we know 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:29.119 that the apostle Paul was the one that led Philemon 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:35.950 to know Christ. The apostle Paul had a good relationship. 00:26:37.809 --> 00:26:40.829 But you know, Paul was persecuted, he ended up 00:26:40.829 --> 00:26:45.069 being in prison, and now he's in Rome. Well, 00:26:45.230 --> 00:26:50.349 Philemon's slave called Onesimus, he gets in 00:26:50.349 --> 00:26:54.470 trouble, and he decides to flee. He escapes, 00:26:54.589 --> 00:26:58.869 and he tries to go all the way to Rome to start 00:26:58.869 --> 00:27:02.880 a new life. And God answered his prayer. He got 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:06.839 a whole new life. When he was there in Rome, 00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:09.380 for some reason, we don't understand the details, 00:27:09.500 --> 00:27:14.359 but he gets to meet the Apostle Paul. And we 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:18.240 believe that was in prison. So you can imagine 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:21.059 the Apostle Paul talking to this guy and says, 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:22.599 hey, what's your name? Onesimus, where are you 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:27.319 from? Colossa. Are you serious? Are you from 00:27:27.319 --> 00:27:29.910 that city? I have a good friend from there. His 00:27:29.910 --> 00:27:34.069 name is Philemon. What? Are you kidding? Philemon? 00:27:36.190 --> 00:27:40.430 And then they start talking. And then Onesimus 00:27:40.430 --> 00:27:44.130 says, you know, yeah, I know Philemon. And Paul 00:27:44.130 --> 00:27:47.750 says, yeah, Philemon, I led him to Christ. Christ? 00:27:47.930 --> 00:27:50.009 What's that? Oh, you do not know about Jesus? 00:27:50.690 --> 00:27:55.430 No. Let me tell you. And now the apostle Paul 00:27:55.430 --> 00:27:59.539 leads Onesimus. To believe in Jesus. And now 00:27:59.539 --> 00:28:04.640 Onesimus becomes a follower of Jesus. Small world, 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:09.619 isn't it? But the story is not over yet. Now 00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:13.799 Paul says to Onesimus, Onesimus, I think you 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:16.819 need to go back to Philemon. Go back to the church 00:28:16.819 --> 00:28:19.579 there with the Colossians, you know, and just 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:24.539 serve the Lord. And Onesimus is like, yeah, but 00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:28.640 how do I go back after I escaped? What do I tell 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:32.200 him? And Paul is thinking a little bit and he 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:34.799 says, you know, I have a solution for that. I'm 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:37.200 going to write a letter to Philemon. And he starts 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:41.680 writing. And that is the book of Philemon that 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:45.240 you find in your Bible. It's the letter that 00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:48.599 the apostle Paul is writing to Philemon, the 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:53.380 slave owner of Onesimus. And you can imagine 00:28:53.380 --> 00:28:55.839 how nervous Onesimus must have been, you know, 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:58.519 carrying the letter from Paul. He knocks on the 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:04.039 door. What is going to happen, you know? And 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:07.299 then Philemon opens the door. And Onesimus says, 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:12.460 letter from Paul. And he gives it to him. And 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:16.220 now he opens it. And this is what Paul says. 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:22.480 Hey Philemon, perhaps the reason he was separated 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:26.059 from you for a little while. Was that you might 00:29:26.059 --> 00:29:29.579 have him back forever. No longer as a slave. 00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:36.279 But better than a slave. As a dear brother. From 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:41.619 a different mother. He is very dear to me. But 00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:46.000 even dearer to you. Both as a fellow man. And 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:50.140 as a brother in the Lord. So if you consider 00:29:50.140 --> 00:29:54.839 me a partner. Welcome him. As you will welcome 00:29:54.839 --> 00:30:03.819 me. What did you do. If you are a Philemon. You 00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:06.579 have been shaped. By the Roman culture. To see 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:09.460 people in these two categories. Free and slave. 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:15.539 Good. Better. Bad. And now. As you are following 00:30:15.539 --> 00:30:19.200 Jesus. This guy that left you. That repented. 00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:22.180 Comes back. Is following Jesus. Now you are asking 00:30:22.180 --> 00:30:28.009 me to see him. Through different eyes? Yes. Through 00:30:28.009 --> 00:30:32.130 the eyes of Jesus who paid with his blood for 00:30:32.130 --> 00:30:37.170 people of every tribe and ethnicity and social 00:30:37.170 --> 00:30:44.910 class and language. Philemon, the categories 00:30:44.910 --> 00:30:49.990 that shaped you to see yourself and to see others 00:30:49.990 --> 00:30:56.259 are wrong. And if you are going to follow Jesus 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:59.740 and love him and serve him with devotion, you 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:02.559 will have to change the software of your heart. 00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:08.000 And you will have to embrace the identity of 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:13.579 the kingdom. Because in this kingdom, something 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:19.319 changes completely. From now on, as you come 00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:23.230 to believe in Christ, We regard no one from a 00:31:23.230 --> 00:31:26.869 worldly point of view anymore. Though we once 00:31:26.869 --> 00:31:29.750 regarded Christ in this way, we do no longer. 00:31:31.509 --> 00:31:37.150 Because now, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 00:31:37.170 --> 00:31:43.069 including Onesimus the slave that escaped, if 00:31:43.069 --> 00:31:46.750 anyone is in Christ, The new creation has come. 00:31:47.049 --> 00:31:51.450 The old has gone. The new is here. This is the 00:31:51.450 --> 00:31:58.329 identity of the kingdom. So yes Philemon. You 00:31:58.329 --> 00:32:02.230 need to start seeing Onesimus. Not as a slave 00:32:02.230 --> 00:32:09.410 anymore. But as a dear brother. Because in the 00:32:09.410 --> 00:32:12.549 kingdom of Jesus. There's only those in the kingdom 00:32:12.549 --> 00:32:15.660 of darkness. And in the kingdom of light. And 00:32:15.660 --> 00:32:17.599 if you are in the kingdom of light. You have 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:20.880 the spirit in you. You belong to him. You are 00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:30.579 one family. Learn to live and love like it. As 00:32:30.579 --> 00:32:35.079 you can see. The message of the gospel was completely 00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:39.079 revolutionary. Because it challenged all the 00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:42.630 mindsets and the attitudes of the heart. And 00:32:42.630 --> 00:32:44.329 it was not just the first Christians that were 00:32:44.329 --> 00:32:48.029 struggling with that. That new identity is our 00:32:48.029 --> 00:32:50.549 identity as well. And the struggle is going to 00:32:50.549 --> 00:32:54.390 be yours and mine. Because it is true that citizens 00:32:54.390 --> 00:32:57.470 of heaven is the identity of the kingdom. We 00:32:57.470 --> 00:33:03.069 are heavenians. And that's the next passport 00:33:03.069 --> 00:33:10.130 you carry in your soul. But if we are to live 00:33:10.130 --> 00:33:15.779 like heavenians. here on earth, we will have 00:33:15.779 --> 00:33:18.319 to overcome the same attitudes that the Apostle 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:20.279 Peter and Philemon and all the other Christians 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:26.920 had to overcome. Because you and I will experience 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:29.259 ethnocentrism and prejudice and discrimination 00:33:29.259 --> 00:33:32.619 and xenophobia and segregation either as an agent 00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:36.440 of it or as a receiver of it. It's part of the 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:41.740 reality. But if here at ECB we're going to have 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:46.880 The impact that we desire to have on making disciples 00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:50.720 for global impact, we cannot do that if we do 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:56.519 not embrace the identity of the kingdom. We will 00:33:56.519 --> 00:34:02.279 be held back. And just think about it, ECB, such 00:34:02.279 --> 00:34:04.920 a blessing to be part of this community. There 00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:09.619 are very few places on earth like ECB. We have 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:13.579 a community of around 70 different nations. We 00:34:13.579 --> 00:34:16.659 haven't even counted how many languages. So many 00:34:16.659 --> 00:34:22.360 different cultures. And we are part of one community 00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:24.940 that loves Jesus and we are here to love him 00:34:24.940 --> 00:34:31.440 and serve him with devotion. But man, we should 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:35.099 not be naive. I'm thinking that ECB is great. 00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:37.900 We won't ever struggle with these things because 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:45.119 we will. The very day that Russia invaded Ukraine, 00:34:45.239 --> 00:34:49.280 I was counseling a Ukrainian guy and a Russian 00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:57.420 guy here in Bangkok. And all of these things 00:34:57.420 --> 00:35:04.480 affect how we love each other. And embrace the 00:35:04.480 --> 00:35:06.780 identity of the kingdom. There are political 00:35:06.780 --> 00:35:11.900 tensions. There are things that make us now look 00:35:11.900 --> 00:35:14.000 at certain people from a certain country negatively. 00:35:14.400 --> 00:35:16.840 And now everything within me wants to avoid you 00:35:16.840 --> 00:35:20.320 because I don't like you anymore. Because of 00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:25.539 what your country did to mine. Understandable. 00:35:28.320 --> 00:35:30.440 But do you remember that you're a citizen of 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:35.530 heaven? And so. Is this other person? And that 00:35:35.530 --> 00:35:39.889 you have a new king and his name is Jesus? There 00:35:39.889 --> 00:35:44.510 is something that we will have to understand 00:35:44.510 --> 00:35:51.269 at the core of who we are. And that is that I 00:35:51.269 --> 00:35:57.670 may be a Christian who was born in Chile and 00:35:57.670 --> 00:36:01.269 then became American. But that doesn't mean I'm 00:36:01.269 --> 00:36:05.130 an American Christian. No, I'm a Christian who 00:36:05.130 --> 00:36:08.510 happens to be American. I'm a Christian who happens 00:36:08.510 --> 00:36:12.449 to be Chilean. I'm a Christian first and foremost. 00:36:14.010 --> 00:36:20.750 That is our primary source of identity. So we 00:36:20.750 --> 00:36:23.329 will have to overcome certain obstacles and there 00:36:23.329 --> 00:36:25.530 are three of them that are key. I want to take 00:36:25.530 --> 00:36:28.710 you through them. The first one of these obstacles 00:36:28.710 --> 00:36:34.809 that we have to overcome is the faulty The Apostle 00:36:34.809 --> 00:36:37.869 Paul will write about this to many other churches, 00:36:37.909 --> 00:36:41.730 and I want us to read it out loud. He's going 00:36:41.730 --> 00:36:46.210 to tell us, remember, your older identities that 00:36:46.210 --> 00:36:50.730 you inherited are not true. They are distorted 00:36:50.730 --> 00:36:54.010 by history and politics and national identities. 00:36:54.349 --> 00:36:57.849 But if you belong to Christ, this is your new 00:36:57.849 --> 00:37:00.800 identity. And this is what he says. Would you 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:05.219 read it aloud with me? Put on the new self, which 00:37:05.219 --> 00:37:08.260 is being renewed in knowledge, in the image of 00:37:08.260 --> 00:37:12.239 its creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, 00:37:12.440 --> 00:37:17.280 circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, 00:37:17.340 --> 00:37:22.099 slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. 00:37:22.260 --> 00:37:27.000 And that is what matters most. That's the kingdom. 00:37:28.809 --> 00:37:32.309 You're in Christ. That's it. All the other identities, 00:37:32.610 --> 00:37:37.769 secondary. But then he understands that this 00:37:37.769 --> 00:37:41.429 diversity brings conflict. So then he continues. 00:37:41.550 --> 00:37:44.809 Will you read the next section? Therefore, as 00:37:44.809 --> 00:37:48.409 God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, close 00:37:48.409 --> 00:37:51.670 yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, 00:37:52.110 --> 00:37:55.789 gentleness, and patience. You're going to need 00:37:55.789 --> 00:38:00.469 it. Clothe yourself with what? With compassion, 00:38:00.809 --> 00:38:06.329 kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, because 00:38:06.329 --> 00:38:09.510 once you are surrounded by people of all different 00:38:09.510 --> 00:38:13.170 cultures and tendencies and you name it, it will 00:38:13.170 --> 00:38:18.150 test your patience and your compassion. There 00:38:18.150 --> 00:38:20.429 are times in which you will want not to be kind, 00:38:20.510 --> 00:38:25.650 but clothe yourself with these things that come 00:38:25.650 --> 00:38:31.710 from the Holy Spirit. But not only that, he continues. 00:38:33.570 --> 00:38:36.670 Bear with each other and forgive one another. 00:38:37.050 --> 00:38:39.829 If any of you have a grievance against someone, 00:38:40.010 --> 00:38:44.269 forgive as the Lord forgave you. Because at moments 00:38:44.269 --> 00:38:48.550 you're going to be hurt, disappointed. It's tough 00:38:48.550 --> 00:38:50.929 to be in a multicultural community, multinational 00:38:50.929 --> 00:38:55.429 community. But when those moments you feel hurt, 00:38:55.650 --> 00:38:58.510 you need to learn to forgive as the Lord forgave 00:38:58.510 --> 00:39:05.900 you. because you are a heavenian now. And you 00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:09.519 will have to discover the true meaning of loving 00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:11.840 like Christ loved the church, you know, because 00:39:11.840 --> 00:39:16.159 he says at the end, let's read this part, over 00:39:16.159 --> 00:39:20.260 all these virtues put on love, which binds them 00:39:20.260 --> 00:39:25.940 all together in perfect unity. Perfect unity. 00:39:27.150 --> 00:39:30.710 Not perfect uniformity. You don't have to be 00:39:30.710 --> 00:39:34.690 like me for me to love you. I may not like you, 00:39:34.730 --> 00:39:38.170 that's true, but I'm here to love you regardless. 00:39:41.250 --> 00:39:46.389 But you know what? It is love that puts all these 00:39:46.389 --> 00:39:49.869 things together. And the world cannot experience 00:39:49.869 --> 00:39:51.789 that love because that love comes from the Holy 00:39:51.789 --> 00:39:56.300 Spirit. That love that is able to see the other 00:39:56.300 --> 00:40:00.219 and see ourselves from God's eyes comes from 00:40:00.219 --> 00:40:03.739 being aligned with the kingdom of Jesus. If you 00:40:03.739 --> 00:40:07.320 do not belong to Jesus, I'm encouraging you. 00:40:07.980 --> 00:40:13.579 Ask Jesus to save you. He wants you in his kingdom. 00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:18.590 And when you do, Become part of his kingdom. 00:40:18.710 --> 00:40:22.710 Then you experience his life. There's a spiritual 00:40:22.710 --> 00:40:25.630 reality that changes that allows you to love 00:40:25.630 --> 00:40:29.670 the other differently than you ever could. That's 00:40:29.670 --> 00:40:31.949 the power of God. That's the power of the gospel. 00:40:36.730 --> 00:40:39.710 I remember that one of the first times that I 00:40:39.710 --> 00:40:42.130 have to experience some of these tensions and 00:40:42.130 --> 00:40:45.590 realize how complex cultural differences are. 00:40:46.639 --> 00:40:50.079 was when my family moved to Mexico to start working 00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:55.019 in church plant. I didn't realize that we were 00:40:55.019 --> 00:40:58.940 that different. Still Latin America, they still 00:40:58.940 --> 00:41:01.099 speak Spanish, but I remember the first time 00:41:01.099 --> 00:41:04.619 I say, hi, how can I help you? This person looked 00:41:04.619 --> 00:41:06.420 at me and said, where are you from? And I was 00:41:06.420 --> 00:41:08.760 wondering, how can they tell them from somewhere 00:41:08.760 --> 00:41:10.860 else just by saying something like a greeting? 00:41:11.380 --> 00:41:13.599 That's when I realized, oh, I have a Chilean 00:41:13.599 --> 00:41:16.579 accent when I speak. which now is all messed 00:41:16.579 --> 00:41:20.079 up. And Chileans let me know that. You don't 00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:23.619 sound like a Chilean. Okay, thank you. Thank 00:41:23.619 --> 00:41:26.659 you for all that, what you called, prejudice 00:41:26.659 --> 00:41:32.860 coming in. But I was in Mexico, and we started 00:41:32.860 --> 00:41:34.719 sharing the gospel with people, and then we started 00:41:34.719 --> 00:41:36.699 discipling people. And it's like, hey, let's 00:41:36.699 --> 00:41:39.159 meet for discipleship. That's great. Let's meet 00:41:39.159 --> 00:41:43.059 at 6 p .m. Perfect. Tuesday, 6 p .m. Tuesday, 00:41:43.119 --> 00:41:46.239 6 p .m. 2 to 6 p .m. comes. I'm ready, waiting 00:41:46.239 --> 00:41:54.179 for the person. 6, 6 .10, 6 .30, 7. And I'm thinking, 00:41:54.280 --> 00:41:55.940 oh, something must have happened. The person 00:41:55.940 --> 00:41:58.119 is not going to come. So I'm going to get ready, 00:41:58.179 --> 00:42:02.360 you know, to move on. And suddenly, you know, 00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:08.199 7, 7 .30 or 8. I'm here. And sometimes not even 00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:10.260 with an apology. It's like, oh, I'm here. So 00:42:10.260 --> 00:42:13.659 it's like, and I'm thinking, what? This late? 00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:17.619 And I had to learn that that was just part of 00:42:17.619 --> 00:42:21.019 the culture. Mexico City is a huge city. It's 00:42:21.019 --> 00:42:23.860 like Bangkok. Lots of traffic everywhere. Many 00:42:23.860 --> 00:42:28.059 people drive two hours to go to work. I had to 00:42:28.059 --> 00:42:32.059 learn that time meant something different in 00:42:32.059 --> 00:42:35.380 that context. And you know what it's like. Perhaps 00:42:35.380 --> 00:42:37.519 you've had that frustration of making an appointment 00:42:37.519 --> 00:42:39.380 with somebody and you realize, oh, they don't 00:42:39.380 --> 00:42:41.840 think of time the same way. And it goes the other 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:44.239 way too. It's like, hey, come for dinner at 6 00:42:44.239 --> 00:42:46.719 p .m. And they show up at 5 .30 and you're thinking, 00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:50.940 why did you show up so early? It's like, yeah, 00:42:50.980 --> 00:42:53.480 because in their culture, that's what they do. 00:42:53.539 --> 00:42:58.300 They show up early. Others show up late. And 00:42:58.300 --> 00:43:04.159 we drive each other crazy. Be patient. compassionate, 00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:07.880 forgive one another. Paul says, that's the only 00:43:07.880 --> 00:43:14.679 way we can be the kingdom of God. There's so 00:43:14.679 --> 00:43:16.659 much about culture that I would like to tell 00:43:16.659 --> 00:43:18.980 you, but I don't have time for it. So I will 00:43:18.980 --> 00:43:22.500 just share some resources with you. The first 00:43:22.500 --> 00:43:25.179 one is this book, The Cultural Map. I highly 00:43:25.179 --> 00:43:28.500 recommend it. It's written about the cultural 00:43:28.500 --> 00:43:31.929 differences and how they affect multicultural 00:43:31.929 --> 00:43:35.250 teams or multicultural companies, international 00:43:35.250 --> 00:43:38.090 companies. If you are working for a company and 00:43:38.090 --> 00:43:39.469 you go to another country and you're working 00:43:39.469 --> 00:43:41.530 with this other team, you need to realize how 00:43:41.530 --> 00:43:44.630 cultural differences affect the teams from the 00:43:44.630 --> 00:43:47.230 way that you criticize something or the way you 00:43:47.230 --> 00:43:50.650 ask for opinions, how direct, how indirect, what 00:43:50.650 --> 00:43:53.769 about time, et cetera. It's just fascinating. 00:43:54.809 --> 00:43:58.469 So if you are part of a multicultural team, a 00:43:58.469 --> 00:44:02.340 multinational team, This is a must -read. The 00:44:02.340 --> 00:44:06.059 second one is Leading Across Cultures. It also 00:44:06.059 --> 00:44:08.139 talks about cultural studies and differences 00:44:08.139 --> 00:44:12.380 and things, but this was written by a leader 00:44:12.380 --> 00:44:14.739 of a mission organization, and he brings part 00:44:14.739 --> 00:44:17.139 of the theology of things as well. So it's a 00:44:17.139 --> 00:44:20.199 fascinating, well -written book. If you are working 00:44:20.199 --> 00:44:23.119 for a mission organization in any form of leadership, 00:44:23.320 --> 00:44:26.360 this is a good book for you. There's another 00:44:26.360 --> 00:44:29.809 book called The Way Tithes Lead. This was written 00:44:29.809 --> 00:44:36.289 by our own ECB friend, Larry. Larry, what's your 00:44:36.289 --> 00:44:42.110 last name? Persons, yeah. And he grew up here 00:44:42.110 --> 00:44:44.710 in Thailand. He understands the Thai culture. 00:44:44.730 --> 00:44:47.369 He speaks Thai. And then he did his studies and 00:44:47.369 --> 00:44:52.389 dedicated these studies to write about how Thai 00:44:52.389 --> 00:44:55.619 leadership works. And man, when I was reading 00:44:55.619 --> 00:45:00.599 that, it's like so much I did not know. If you 00:45:00.599 --> 00:45:03.400 are working and you have come to Thailand to 00:45:03.400 --> 00:45:05.460 work and you're working with a Thai company or 00:45:05.460 --> 00:45:08.920 Thai teams, this is a must read. And if you are 00:45:08.920 --> 00:45:11.019 Thai and you've never studied your own culture, 00:45:11.139 --> 00:45:15.139 this is a must read too. It will help you understand 00:45:15.139 --> 00:45:21.699 blind spots that we have. But amazing resources. 00:45:22.539 --> 00:45:25.059 One more resource I want to share with you is 00:45:25.059 --> 00:45:26.980 that I spent three years writing this doctoral 00:45:26.980 --> 00:45:30.780 dissertation, and in it, it talks about the theology 00:45:30.780 --> 00:45:32.960 that we're discussing today, the New Testament 00:45:32.960 --> 00:45:35.340 struggles that we're facing, all of these different 00:45:35.340 --> 00:45:38.400 things, the history of understanding of the narrative 00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:40.960 in American culture, but also there's a whole 00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:44.179 chapter about synergy in multicultural teams. 00:45:44.960 --> 00:45:48.000 This also will help you. But about two years 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:50.780 ago, I was invited to publish part of this dissertation 00:45:50.780 --> 00:45:54.760 in a book that was published in Chile in Spanish 00:45:54.760 --> 00:45:59.519 to address part of the immigration crisis that 00:45:59.519 --> 00:46:03.440 the country was going through. And even though 00:46:03.440 --> 00:46:05.659 I wasn't living there and there were many years 00:46:05.659 --> 00:46:08.800 I was not there, the concepts that I had learned 00:46:08.800 --> 00:46:11.800 in serving in the U .S. and then writing the 00:46:11.800 --> 00:46:15.570 dissertation applied so much to it that... They 00:46:15.570 --> 00:46:17.849 asked me to publish the book, and I remember 00:46:17.849 --> 00:46:20.289 that when they interviewed me for the TV show 00:46:20.289 --> 00:46:23.590 that they did in Santiago, and then the launching 00:46:23.590 --> 00:46:25.710 of the book, I couldn't go, so I had to do it 00:46:25.710 --> 00:46:29.269 from here, from my office. And I asked the people, 00:46:29.590 --> 00:46:32.889 this was a group of Christians, I said, if any 00:46:32.889 --> 00:46:35.170 of you has dual citizenship, would you please 00:46:35.170 --> 00:46:39.719 stand up? And only one missionary stood up. And 00:46:39.719 --> 00:46:41.539 then I said, you know the Bible says that you're 00:46:41.539 --> 00:46:43.539 a citizen of heaven if you're a follower of Jesus. 00:46:43.840 --> 00:46:46.380 So that means that you have your earthly citizenship 00:46:46.380 --> 00:46:49.139 and your heavenly citizenship. So let me ask 00:46:49.139 --> 00:46:52.360 you again. Is there anybody here that has at 00:46:52.360 --> 00:46:54.460 least dual citizenship? Will you stand up? And 00:46:54.460 --> 00:46:59.039 everybody stood up that day. If you are in a 00:46:59.039 --> 00:47:01.880 Latin American context and Spanish is your language, 00:47:01.960 --> 00:47:05.039 that book will be helpful. Take a look at it. 00:47:05.599 --> 00:47:08.260 And by the way, I don't get anything from any 00:47:08.260 --> 00:47:09.739 of those things, so this is not a commercial. 00:47:10.340 --> 00:47:14.360 But how do you see yourself? Are you seeing yourself 00:47:14.360 --> 00:47:17.300 through the right eyes of the gospel, of your 00:47:17.300 --> 00:47:19.880 savior? Or are you seeing yourself through the 00:47:19.880 --> 00:47:23.400 identities you inherited? It's us and them. Or 00:47:23.400 --> 00:47:28.519 is it us? The second challenge is distorted perception. 00:47:28.820 --> 00:47:31.820 How you see the other. And there is something 00:47:31.820 --> 00:47:36.579 that is part of the human experience. We need 00:47:36.579 --> 00:47:42.179 to be seen. Do you see me? Me? Not my accent, 00:47:42.360 --> 00:47:46.840 not my looks. Do you see me? Do you see my pain? 00:47:47.260 --> 00:47:52.699 Can you hear my cry? That aspect of seeing you 00:47:52.699 --> 00:47:58.420 for who you are is a need that we all have. And 00:47:58.420 --> 00:48:01.300 the gospel is meant to address that as we adopt 00:48:01.300 --> 00:48:06.340 the identity of the kingdom. Several years ago, 00:48:06.400 --> 00:48:08.960 I was reading this novel, The Kafir Book. Sorry, 00:48:09.179 --> 00:48:12.659 the autobiography, The Kafir Boy. And this book 00:48:12.659 --> 00:48:17.760 was the story of a famous South African tennis 00:48:17.760 --> 00:48:21.199 player who grew up during apartheid and then 00:48:21.199 --> 00:48:24.280 eventually, through tennis, was able to find 00:48:24.280 --> 00:48:27.019 a way out of poverty and then moved to the U 00:48:27.019 --> 00:48:31.880 .S. where he pursued his career. Famous, famous 00:48:31.880 --> 00:48:36.019 book. But there was a moment in which he was 00:48:36.019 --> 00:48:38.800 talking about his grandmother working for these 00:48:38.800 --> 00:48:44.420 people that were Christians. And as she was talking 00:48:44.420 --> 00:48:46.800 to them, she was saying, you guys are different 00:48:46.800 --> 00:48:50.159 from all the people that I've worked for. And 00:48:50.159 --> 00:48:51.679 what do you mean that they're different from 00:48:51.679 --> 00:48:54.599 all the people? So he hears his grandmother say 00:48:54.599 --> 00:48:58.199 to the boss, you treat us like human beings. 00:49:01.219 --> 00:49:04.539 And when I was reading that, I just underlined 00:49:04.539 --> 00:49:09.219 that in this book. And I thought, that's it. 00:49:09.920 --> 00:49:13.760 As simple as that, that's the truth of the gospel. 00:49:15.099 --> 00:49:21.679 It is calling us to see you as a human being. 00:49:22.659 --> 00:49:25.579 Not as a category, a nationality, a skin color. 00:49:27.920 --> 00:49:31.199 As a human being that has the same struggles 00:49:31.199 --> 00:49:34.800 I have, the same pain I have, and that when you 00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:40.460 suffer, I can see the suffering in you. I see 00:49:40.460 --> 00:49:44.820 you. That is what the power of the gospel does, 00:49:44.960 --> 00:49:48.000 and the apostle Paul writes to us, and he says, 00:49:48.239 --> 00:49:50.699 that is how the body is supposed to work. The 00:49:50.699 --> 00:49:53.719 body of Christ is meant to have this aspect of 00:49:53.719 --> 00:49:57.360 empathy of how we see the other. Would you read 00:49:57.360 --> 00:50:01.440 it out loud with me? If one part suffers, every 00:50:01.440 --> 00:50:04.400 part suffers with it. If one part is honored, 00:50:04.679 --> 00:50:08.159 every part rejoices with it. Now you are the 00:50:08.159 --> 00:50:11.820 body of Christ and each one of you is a part 00:50:11.820 --> 00:50:21.800 of it. Share the suffering. Share the joy. Because 00:50:21.800 --> 00:50:25.530 I see you through the eyes of God. created in 00:50:25.530 --> 00:50:29.230 his image and his likeness. You're a person. 00:50:30.150 --> 00:50:33.010 And I will not treat you as a category, but as 00:50:33.010 --> 00:50:40.949 a human being. So how do you see the other? Has 00:50:40.949 --> 00:50:44.309 the gospel of Jesus redeemed that part of your 00:50:44.309 --> 00:50:46.449 life? Or do you need to invite the Holy Spirit 00:50:46.449 --> 00:50:50.349 to transform that part of your life? And the 00:50:50.349 --> 00:50:54.820 final obstacle, earthly perspective. We're only 00:50:54.820 --> 00:50:57.599 thinking about here and now by the categories 00:50:57.599 --> 00:51:00.980 we inherited rather than letting the gospel give 00:51:00.980 --> 00:51:05.179 us the eternal perspective. And this is the perspective 00:51:05.179 --> 00:51:09.500 that Jesus gave us, captures by the words of 00:51:09.500 --> 00:51:12.300 the Apostle John. And I'm going to ask you to 00:51:12.300 --> 00:51:15.199 read it out loud with me because this is who 00:51:15.199 --> 00:51:18.239 we are and this is where we're going. If you 00:51:18.239 --> 00:51:22.500 belong to Jesus, you are worthy to take this 00:51:22.500 --> 00:51:26.449 scroll. And to open its seals. Because you were 00:51:26.449 --> 00:51:29.449 slain. And with your blood you purchased for 00:51:29.449 --> 00:51:32.750 God. Persons from every tribe. And language. 00:51:32.949 --> 00:51:36.429 And people. And nation. You have made them to 00:51:36.429 --> 00:51:40.590 be a kingdom. And priests to serve our God. And 00:51:40.590 --> 00:51:44.309 they will reign on the earth. Then I looked. 00:51:44.489 --> 00:51:47.849 And I heard the voice of many angels. Numbering 00:51:47.849 --> 00:51:51.469 thousands upon thousands. And ten thousand times 00:51:51.469 --> 00:51:55.239 ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the 00:51:55.239 --> 00:51:58.920 living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice 00:51:58.920 --> 00:52:02.840 they were saying, Worthy is the lamb who was 00:52:02.840 --> 00:52:07.440 slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom 00:52:07.440 --> 00:52:12.659 and strength and honor and glory and praise to 00:52:12.659 --> 00:52:16.809 him who sits on the throne and to the lamb. Be 00:52:16.809 --> 00:52:21.190 praise and honor and glory and power forever 00:52:21.190 --> 00:52:27.110 and ever. This is the kingdom. This is where 00:52:27.110 --> 00:52:31.670 we belong to. This is who we are. This is our 00:52:31.670 --> 00:52:40.269 identity. Worthy is the Lamb. That is how far 00:52:40.269 --> 00:52:44.250 we need to see. Because if we fail to see that 00:52:44.250 --> 00:52:48.030 far, We will not be able to see others through 00:52:48.030 --> 00:52:53.550 God's eyes. And our ability to love God and serve 00:52:53.550 --> 00:52:57.090 Him with devotion and our ability to make disciples 00:52:57.090 --> 00:53:04.690 for global impact will be compromised. Powerful, 00:53:04.690 --> 00:53:09.429 isn't it? The power of the gospel. The identity 00:53:09.429 --> 00:53:13.309 of the kingdom. It's a complete different story. 00:53:14.250 --> 00:53:16.409 And we have to invite the Holy Spirit to change 00:53:16.409 --> 00:53:21.869 the software of our hearts. So I would like to 00:53:21.869 --> 00:53:26.510 tell you finally, just this diagnosis a little 00:53:26.510 --> 00:53:33.889 bit. You know if you have a faulty identity of 00:53:33.889 --> 00:53:37.530 how you're seeing yourself for others? If you 00:53:37.530 --> 00:53:39.610 are experiencing apathy towards the suffering 00:53:39.610 --> 00:53:45.119 of other people? Are you just like... You cannot 00:53:45.119 --> 00:53:48.960 see their pain because you see them as a category. 00:53:51.460 --> 00:53:54.599 You are experiencing this negative attitude to 00:53:54.599 --> 00:53:59.039 certain people. And you just can't help it. You 00:53:59.039 --> 00:54:03.000 just feel it. Or you have decided to avoid certain 00:54:03.000 --> 00:54:07.679 people altogether. These are symptoms that your 00:54:07.679 --> 00:54:11.000 identity is misplaced. And I'm going to encourage 00:54:11.000 --> 00:54:13.440 you as we close this time together saying worthy 00:54:13.440 --> 00:54:17.219 is the lamb. Because we are not going to wait 00:54:17.219 --> 00:54:22.480 until heaven to come as a group of redeemed people 00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:25.260 of all languages, nations, and ethnic groups 00:54:25.260 --> 00:54:28.639 as one body to say worthy is the lamb. We will 00:54:28.639 --> 00:54:33.239 do that today. But as we do that today, would 00:54:33.239 --> 00:54:41.000 you invite the Holy Spirit? To heal any of these 00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:44.619 wounds that you carry. And to restore within 00:54:44.619 --> 00:54:49.579 you the right perspective. That you will truly. 00:54:50.619 --> 00:54:55.400 From within it will click. That you see yourself 00:54:55.400 --> 00:54:59.599 as a citizen of heaven. And therefore you are 00:54:59.599 --> 00:55:04.119 able to live like it. Have you embraced the identity 00:55:04.119 --> 00:55:11.860 of the kingdom? We must. Lord, it was by your 00:55:11.860 --> 00:55:16.099 blood that you purchased all of us out of your 00:55:16.099 --> 00:55:19.659 love for us and you are calling us to become 00:55:19.659 --> 00:55:22.420 a channel of that love. But Lord, we have been 00:55:22.420 --> 00:55:27.659 clogged by all of these versions of what we are 00:55:27.659 --> 00:55:31.440 and what other people are and we acknowledge 00:55:31.440 --> 00:55:38.940 the struggle. But would you today Heal that within 00:55:38.940 --> 00:55:46.340 us and give us eyes to see like you do. We cannot 00:55:46.340 --> 00:55:49.199 love people with your love unless you give us 00:55:49.199 --> 00:55:53.400 that. So I'm asking you in Jesus' name, increase 00:55:53.400 --> 00:56:00.179 our capacity to love like you love. In Jesus' 00:56:00.300 --> 00:56:26.039 name, amen. If God is calling you to support 00:56:26.039 --> 00:56:28.599 our ministries, you will find giving options 00:56:28.599 --> 00:56:32.460 on our website. And remember to join us next 00:56:32.460 --> 00:56:34.159 week. God bless you.