I always have a particular pleasure in greeting the congregation before me as ‘The People of God,’ because I always see them as God’s own people, whom he bought with the blood of his only Son. We may be satisfied with our personal salvation. Yet, in dealing with us, God does not look at us individually as much as he looks at us as a body, the Church, His own People.
That’s why I feel it’s time we take our identity seriously as ‘God’s People’, exist for God’s glory and His own pleasure, and continually seek that identification in our lives. Once we see the NEICC as the one people of God, serving the Lord in all capacities, then, I believe, the Spirit of unity and harmony will move freely among us.
Amid each ethnic group in North East India trying hard to assert themselves, each dialect and language attempting hard to promote their own; each culture pushing for recognition; all this even to the point of exclusion and rejection of others, have you ever considered how our heavenly Father longs to have a people for Himself; how hard he tried to make a people of his own, and how he accomplished it through difficulties and obstacles, and how far he was ready to go to achieve this.
We know about the Trinity – three persons in one Godhead. The three persons existed in eternity and are sufficiently complete and perfect. No doubt about that. Yet it happened that God wants more persons, for his own people, to manifest His glory and to serve Him. He wants someone to honour, obey, love, worship and glorify him by living out His Will. He had this brilliant idea. He said, “I will create the universe, the earth and human beings in my image, and they will exist for my glory.” Then, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(Gen. 1:1).
He put the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, in the beautiful garden of Eden, where all their needs are met. God made them stewards of the garden and asked them to do just two things : (i) to look after the creation, and(ii) to multiply and inhabit the whole earth, one ‘not-to-do’ – they are not supposed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God wants a relationship with His people. He wants them to befriend Him, honour and obey Him, love and worship Him; he wants them to feel their need of Him and take pleasure in Him. But they failed. They rejected God. They didn’t want to be God’s people.
But love has to make him try again. He called out Abram from the land of Ur. He had just 1 son, but his grandson Jacob had 12 sons. All of them, in some way, landed up in Egypt but were enslaved. God called them and brought them out through his servant Moses. Moses was given the Law at Mt. Sinai so that his people would Honor and Obey him, Love and Worship him.
In the garden of Eden, there were only three instructions—two do’s and one don’t. Now, God gave them ten commandments and more than 600 specific instructions, as well as the judges, prophets, and kings. Yet, sadly, they failed Him again. They were almost lost. Yet, God didn’t give up the plan to make a People for His Own. Now, he is going to apply a very drastic measure.
I used to imagine like this. The three persons in the Trinity were holding a meeting. The Second Person in the Trinity, the Son of God says, “Father, we place them in a beautiful and pleasant garden with only 2 do’s, and 1 don’t, and they failed; we place them again in the land of milk and honey with 10 commandments, 600+ specific laws, in addition to that there are judges, prophets, and kings, they still failed. Now, I will go down among them, live with them, feel their pain and joy, enter their death, and overcome sin and death, and I will make a people for God on the basis of my blood which I’ll shed on the cross.” Now being the people of God will not be on the basis of ancestor’s blood, nor language, nor culture, nor region, but by the Blood of the Son of God.
Then Jesus came, His name was Immanuel, God with us. He is to be called Jesus, i.e., He is going to save the people from their sins. Let me sum up what he did for his people:
First, He received the anger of God for his People- on the cross. Secondly, He gives his people new heart by the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, He makes the worst evil into Good for His people. Fourthly, He married them into the family of God as the Bride of his One and Only Son – Jesus Christ.
See the difference, the work of God’s grace in making his people:
From Stewards of a garden, to the Bride of the Only Son of God; Identity on the basis of Abraham’s blood, but the Blood of the Son of God. Commandments written on stones, but now written in our hearts.
Let us remember we are the people of God; heavenly citizenship should come before our earthly ethnic, racial, or national and regional identity. Let’s enjoy being the People of God, and strive toward being the People for God. And I want you to consider your advantages of being in the North East India.
