224. What will heaven be like and what will God look like?

[00:00:09] Friends, warm welcome to Making Disciples. It's really good to have you with me. My name is Cris and I am your host. I hope you're doing alright today. And I'm hoping that this episode today will be a real blessing to you.

[00:00:21] So here in the UK, it's Black History Month. And one of the things about Black History Month is it allows us to re-approach and look at the positive impact the black community have made in the UK.

[00:00:38] Now one of the things about the UK is the UK is incredibly diverse when you look at the population. And people are from all over. One of the interesting things about the UK is we're a motley crew.

[00:00:52] And our genes come from everywhere. Nobody is pure or anything. So when people say I'm purely British, I'm like, do you even know what that means?

[00:01:02] We are a diverse people. And Black History Month every year means that you can approach your history and look at the good and the bad and you look at the things that we should have been doing better and what we can do better in the future in terms of diversity.

[00:01:17] And I was giving a talk recently, just a kid's talk really, on racial diversity.

[00:01:26] And from that, I gave a lot of thinking of theology around what does it mean to be the people of God in light of racial diversity?

[00:01:39] What does it look like to be the fullness of the people of God and how it's possible for us to not really represent the fullness of the kingdom because we are one homogenous people group?

[00:01:52] And if our churches and many of our churches across the UK may find themselves being very white, you know, if you're in a very rural area.

[00:02:00] And the challenge for us is actually are we being the full representation of the kingdom of God when we are a very homogenous church?

[00:02:07] I talked to a friend of mine who is a Pentecostal minister and 99.9% of his church are all black.

[00:02:14] And we were both saying, actually, to really represent the fullness of God, you can't have a congregation that's a homogenous group.

[00:02:23] You know, when your church is all made up of people from the same tribe or the same tongue, actually, do we really represent the fullness of God?

[00:02:30] And the answer is no.

[00:02:31] So I want to kind of explore this together a little bit today.

[00:02:35] In some ways, you know, calling this, you know, some theology on racial diversity and the diversity of God.

[00:02:40] Because I think where we'll get in this episode is we're going to start talking about racial diversity.

[00:02:46] I'm going to start talking about the church, but ultimately I'm going to talk about God.

[00:02:48] And I really hope the last third of this podcast may really cause you to think in a way that you may not have thought before.

[00:02:58] It may cause you to wonder things that you hadn't wondered before.

[00:03:04] So I'm hoping it's that helpful for you.

[00:03:06] So let's jump in as we explore racial diversity, theology of race and the diversity of God in today's episode.

[00:03:24] So here we go.

[00:03:26] Have you watched the film The Lion King?

[00:03:30] Have you watched the film The Lion King?

[00:03:32] I've seen The Lion King a whole bunch of times on TV.

[00:03:36] I'm kind of talking about the original and not the live action one.

[00:03:39] I have no much of a recollection on the new one.

[00:03:43] But I've also been to see the stage play.

[00:03:45] So here in London see The Lion King on stage.

[00:03:50] Oh my gosh, it's incredible.

[00:03:53] In the first few minutes it's just so epic.

[00:03:55] And the film is epic in exactly the same way.

[00:03:59] The film starts with this amazing piece of music, Circle of Life, Elton John.

[00:04:05] And as this is playing, in the background you've got all the animals of the jungle coming to this high point.

[00:04:13] And when they get to the high point, there is the king.

[00:04:19] And he holds up his son, Simba.

[00:04:23] Simba.

[00:04:24] Holds up his son.

[00:04:25] And as he holds up this young lion that the king to be, all of the animals of the jungle bow down and bow before him.

[00:04:37] As the king to be is held up high.

[00:04:42] And it just reminds me, that's an epic scene, opening scene to a film.

[00:04:46] And it really reminds me of the church.

[00:04:50] You know, when we gather together on a Sunday, the people of God gather to bow down before the king that is lifted high.

[00:05:01] The king that was lifted high on the cross.

[00:05:04] And then the king that was lifted high in the resurrection.

[00:05:07] And the king that was lifted high in the ascension.

[00:05:11] And the king that is now sat on the throne high.

[00:05:14] You know, we come and we bow before the king that is lifted high.

[00:05:20] And what's just spectacular about the lion king is it reminds me of what the church is meant to be like.

[00:05:25] This incredible mix of creatures, animals coming to bow before the king.

[00:05:34] All the animals gathered to see the sun.

[00:05:38] The king lifted high.

[00:05:39] And I would say the church, that's what we're about.

[00:05:42] That's what we're meant to look like.

[00:05:43] That we gather each week to see the king lifted high in worship.

[00:05:47] And in the same way, all the animals gathered.

[00:05:50] We gather from all walks of life.

[00:05:53] You know, later in the film, you see another scene where all the animals are gathered around the watering hole on the oasis on the watering hole.

[00:06:01] And, you know, that just reminds me of the church.

[00:06:04] You know, we come every week to gather around this pool of living water.

[00:06:10] To drink from the God who provides all of our sustenance.

[00:06:16] We gather together.

[00:06:18] So I love the lion king.

[00:06:19] I just think it's got this epic opening image.

[00:06:21] And it reminds me so much of the church.

[00:06:23] But it also reminds me of Revelation 7, 9 and 10.

[00:06:27] It says this.

[00:06:58] So, lion king.

[00:07:00] You have every animal of the jungle coming to bow before the king that is lifted high.

[00:07:07] In Revelation, we have this same picture.

[00:07:09] Every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation coming before the king.

[00:07:15] Bowing down and shouting, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne.

[00:07:22] And to the lamb.

[00:07:24] What an amazing image you have here in the book of Revelation.

[00:07:27] Every tongue, every tribe.

[00:07:30] What is it that we see in this passage?

[00:07:32] And what is it we're seeing?

[00:07:33] So we're getting a window here into the heavenly realms.

[00:07:37] This is God's people at the end of days.

[00:07:47] This is God's people from every nation.

[00:07:58] Every tribe, every people and every language.

[00:08:03] In other words, the whole representation of God's creation.

[00:08:09] Every person from every village, every town, every place.

[00:08:14] Every place in time, past, present, future.

[00:08:16] All come together as this holy people.

[00:08:21] I found this quote recently.

[00:08:22] And I have no idea who said this.

[00:08:25] It's a quote that I have no ability to find out.

[00:08:27] Google it, can't find it.

[00:08:28] If you can help me track this down, I would absolutely love to attribute this quote to someone.

[00:08:32] But God wants his people to be multicultural, multi-ethnic and multinational.

[00:08:41] Because he wants to create a community that reveals his love that crosses differences.

[00:08:48] He wants to create such a community in this world.

[00:08:51] Because we humans are not wired to love in this way.

[00:08:55] And friends, that's so right.

[00:08:57] We are not wired to love in this way.

[00:08:59] Proof.

[00:08:59] Prove it, Chris.

[00:09:00] Well, let's go to a high school.

[00:09:02] What do you see?

[00:09:02] You see the skate kids in one corner.

[00:09:04] You see the music kids in another.

[00:09:06] Sport kids in another.

[00:09:08] The nerds in another.

[00:09:09] You see everybody kind of hanging out in their little tribes.

[00:09:13] Because we feel safe.

[00:09:14] When we're with people like us, then we feel safe.

[00:09:19] And because we're kind of clinging on to the sameness, we end up not spending time with people that are different to us.

[00:09:29] And I think the church is the only place where you find people sat side by side that would not sit together anywhere else.

[00:09:39] So God wants his people to be multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-national.

[00:09:44] Because he wants to create a community that reveals his love that crosses differences.

[00:09:49] He wants to create such a community in the world.

[00:09:51] Because he wants humans not...

[00:09:55] Because we humans are not wired to love this way.

[00:10:00] The people of God, as we see in the heavenly realms, but also as we then see in the church, are representing this new unity that crosses all boundaries.

[00:10:11] We behave in tribal ways.

[00:10:15] We behave as people who, you know, if they're not the same as me, then that's odd.

[00:10:22] And by doing this, it makes us feel safe.

[00:10:25] God is not tribal in the way that we think of as God, as tribal.

[00:10:33] So I want to just ask you a couple of questions.

[00:10:36] I want to ask you a couple of questions.

[00:10:37] So how do you imagine heaven?

[00:10:39] How do you imagine heaven?

[00:10:41] I used to have a Bible when I was growing up.

[00:10:42] When I think back, there was a drawing in the book of Revelation of right at the very end.

[00:10:48] And there you got the throne.

[00:10:50] You got light cascading from the throne.

[00:10:52] You had Jesus there.

[00:10:54] You had the angels there.

[00:10:55] You had all the people who got in these white robes.

[00:11:00] And from my recollection, all of the people in that heavenly image were white.

[00:11:08] How do you imagine heaven?

[00:11:10] How do you imagine heaven?

[00:11:11] Every tribe and every tongue?

[00:11:14] Friends, I think heaven will be multicultural.

[00:11:18] It'll be a dynamic community.

[00:11:20] And we as the church should represent the same dynamic community in heaven.

[00:11:27] But we represent it here on earth.

[00:11:29] We show the world what does kingdom community look like.

[00:11:35] And it looks like every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation together.

[00:11:41] You know, I was just talking about Lion King.

[00:11:43] I was talking about how at the beginning of Lion King, all the animals come.

[00:11:46] They bow before the king.

[00:11:48] And they're there representing the fullness of the jungle.

[00:11:54] My favourite film of all time is Star Wars.

[00:11:58] And it's A New Hope.

[00:12:00] And Obi-Wan Kenobi takes Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and C-3PO to a place called Mos Eisley.

[00:12:06] And he says, never have I seen a more wretched hide of scum and villainy.

[00:12:11] We must be cautious.

[00:12:12] It's one of my favourite films.

[00:12:13] I know all the lines from that film.

[00:12:14] And Obi-Wan Kenobi takes Luke Skywalker into a canteen.

[00:12:19] And as they go into this bar, there's C-3PO, R2-D2 with Luke.

[00:12:24] Obi-Wan goes in.

[00:12:26] And as they're going in, what you see is a representation,

[00:12:32] almost like one of every alien in the Star Wars universe at that time.

[00:12:39] You walk in and there in the bar is one of absolutely every alien.

[00:12:42] In some ways, it reminds me a little bit like Noah's Ark.

[00:12:45] All of these aliens all packed into this bar.

[00:12:48] One of every kind rather than two.

[00:12:51] And as Luke Skywalker comes in, the bartender points at C-3PO, who's a droid, a robot.

[00:12:59] And the bartender shouts, we do not serve your kind here.

[00:13:03] We do not serve your kind here.

[00:13:07] Wow.

[00:13:09] Reflecting on the difference between the Lion King with every people, every tribe.

[00:13:14] Welcome to come and bow before the king.

[00:13:15] And now you have this cantina in Star Wars where the bartender says,

[00:13:18] You are welcome here.

[00:13:20] We don't serve your kind here.

[00:13:22] I wonder which represents the church more.

[00:13:24] I'd love it to be the Lion King.

[00:13:26] But friends, there are certainly times in recent history, if not going back 2,000 years,

[00:13:32] where the people of God have behaved like that bartender.

[00:13:35] We don't serve your kind here.

[00:13:37] We don't want your two, you're too outside of the box.

[00:13:40] You don't match what we have in our heads.

[00:13:43] You might say, Chris, give me evidence.

[00:13:46] Well, right here in the UK, we have the Windrush generation.

[00:13:49] The Windrush generation came to the UK, many of them with letters from their churches,

[00:13:58] recommending them to the local church, commissioning them, saying,

[00:14:01] Look, they're preachers, they're teachers, they're lay readers.

[00:14:04] Some pastors and priests came to the UK, came to the Church of England,

[00:14:09] expecting to be welcomed with open arms, coming back to mothership,

[00:14:15] and were told, You are not welcome here.

[00:14:18] There's not a place for you in our church.

[00:14:20] The church in England was not ready for the Windrush generation,

[00:14:23] and they said, We don't want your kind here.

[00:14:26] And what is really sad is, rather than it bringing revival to the Church of England,

[00:14:31] rather than the Windrush generation coming with a fire in their bellies

[00:14:36] that transformed the church in the UK,

[00:14:39] the church said, We don't serve your kind here.

[00:14:41] So many of those folk, they ended up going off and starting Pentecostal churches.

[00:14:46] They ended up going off and starting other churches and other traditions

[00:14:51] to do what God had called them to, create their own churches,

[00:14:53] and the Church of England missed out.

[00:14:55] And we were not the fullness of the people of God

[00:14:58] because we had turned on his own people and said,

[00:15:01] You aren't welcome here.

[00:15:02] A perfect example of where the church has let itself down

[00:15:07] because it would not welcome brothers and sisters

[00:15:11] from somewhere else to come and be a part of that community.

[00:15:16] The people of God, friends, are a technicolor people.

[00:15:20] I wonder how you would imagine heaven.

[00:15:23] Do you imagine heaven filled with people just like you?

[00:15:27] Do you imagine heaven filled full of every tribe,

[00:15:29] every tongue, every nation?

[00:15:31] Friends, what about this?

[00:15:32] Friends, how do you imagine heaven?

[00:15:34] Is it filled with humans and is it filled with aliens?

[00:15:38] If there's other creatures, if there are other humanoids

[00:15:43] or other aliens and other planets,

[00:15:45] will they be in the heavenly realms?

[00:15:47] How do you imagine heaven?

[00:15:51] I think that challenges us because, I mean,

[00:15:53] we don't know what heaven's going to look like.

[00:15:56] We can only imagine what we've seen.

[00:15:57] We can't imagine the fullness of every tribe,

[00:16:00] every tongue, every people, every nation.

[00:16:03] Well, maybe we could add in there every planet.

[00:16:05] I mean, I'm not some crazy science fiction person

[00:16:11] who believes that there's aliens flying around in spacecrafts,

[00:16:14] but I have no problem believing there's probably other alien planets out there

[00:16:19] that God created.

[00:16:20] You know, God won't have created once.

[00:16:22] He'll have done it multiple times, friends.

[00:16:25] If he's done it to us and he'll have done it elsewhere,

[00:16:27] is heaven going to be filled full of other beings?

[00:16:30] Come on, how do you imagine heaven?

[00:16:33] How do you imagine the diversity of heaven?

[00:16:37] Second question, do you know there is a place for you in heaven?

[00:16:41] Some of us might have a problem believing there's a place for us.

[00:16:46] Do you know there's a place for you in the church?

[00:16:48] If you are willing to bow down before the king who is lifted high

[00:16:53] and say yes to him,

[00:16:56] if you're willing to say salvation belongs to our God,

[00:17:00] King Jesus, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb,

[00:17:03] if you're willing to say that,

[00:17:04] then there's a place for you in God's technicolor family.

[00:17:09] Next question,

[00:17:10] who are you inviting to gather with us before the king?

[00:17:14] Like who's missing in your local church

[00:17:17] that if you don't invite them,

[00:17:19] the local church will not represent the fullness of God's kingdom,

[00:17:24] the fullness of the heavenly realms,

[00:17:26] the fullness of his created order.

[00:17:28] Is there somebody that is missing from your church

[00:17:31] that if they are not there,

[00:17:32] we are not going to be representing the fullness of God's creativity?

[00:17:35] So who do you need to be inviting to be a part of God's kingdom,

[00:17:41] God's church?

[00:17:43] Next question,

[00:17:44] who are you going to struggle standing next to?

[00:17:48] Who is the person that when you get to heaven,

[00:17:50] if you get stood next to that person in heaven,

[00:17:52] you're going to really struggle?

[00:17:53] Is there a particular nation,

[00:17:57] a particular people that you would struggle to stand next to?

[00:18:02] Is there somebody that you really feel turns your stomach?

[00:18:07] That actually God is,

[00:18:08] they could end up stood next to you in the heavenly realms.

[00:18:12] Is there something that you need to be challenged on there?

[00:18:16] So that's just some thoughts about you and heaven

[00:18:19] and the diversity of heaven.

[00:18:21] And if the church is to represent heaven on earth,

[00:18:24] if we as the church are to represent heaven,

[00:18:26] then actually our churches should be diverse places.

[00:18:29] And diverse places in terms of leadership,

[00:18:32] as well as congregation,

[00:18:34] those that are involved and those that are serving.

[00:18:37] And you know,

[00:18:38] the diversity should be riddled through our churches.

[00:18:42] So that's the church.

[00:18:44] That's the church.

[00:18:45] Now I want to pivot for a second.

[00:18:47] I want to pivot now and I want to ask another question.

[00:18:51] Friends,

[00:18:53] have you thought about the diversity of the Godhead?

[00:18:56] Have you thought about the diversity of the Godhead?

[00:18:59] If God made us in his image

[00:19:02] and we are technicolor people,

[00:19:05] then what is God like?

[00:19:08] What is God like?

[00:19:10] How do you see God?

[00:19:13] When I preached this sermon,

[00:19:15] I had a picture of Adam and God.

[00:19:19] The creation of Adam.

[00:19:21] And there you've got this painting of Adam laid down

[00:19:23] and God reaching out

[00:19:24] with their fingers touching.

[00:19:27] And that picture of God is of a white older man.

[00:19:31] How do you see God?

[00:19:33] How would you paint God?

[00:19:35] How do you see him in your eyes?

[00:19:37] As Voltaire says,

[00:19:39] if we are made in the image of God,

[00:19:41] then we have certainly returned the favor.

[00:19:44] If we are created in the image of God,

[00:19:47] which is from Revelation,

[00:19:48] sorry,

[00:19:49] it's from Genesis.

[00:19:50] If we are created in the image of God,

[00:19:52] then we have certainly returned the favor.

[00:19:53] In other words,

[00:19:55] we now imagine God

[00:19:57] to look like us.

[00:19:59] We imagine God to look like us.

[00:20:01] We see God through our own lens.

[00:20:05] And we've made him in our image.

[00:20:06] Yes.

[00:20:07] Okay.

[00:20:07] Yes,

[00:20:08] Jesus.

[00:20:09] Jesus came to earth,

[00:20:11] put on human flesh,

[00:20:12] became a Jewish man,

[00:20:13] and would have looked like us as a Jewish man.

[00:20:18] But actually,

[00:20:19] if you think about God the Father,

[00:20:22] Yahweh,

[00:20:23] God in the heavenly realms,

[00:20:24] what do you imagine?

[00:20:26] There's Jesus.

[00:20:27] He's part of the Godhead.

[00:20:29] But how would you see God?

[00:20:30] How would you perceive God?

[00:20:32] So if we are made in God's image,

[00:20:33] then we've certainly returned the favor

[00:20:34] and made him in ours.

[00:20:36] Friends,

[00:20:36] when the church represents the fullness of God,

[00:20:40] it is only when we represent him

[00:20:43] with every tribe,

[00:20:44] every tongue,

[00:20:45] every people and language.

[00:20:46] In that technical fullness,

[00:20:49] it's only then that we look something like God.

[00:20:53] It's only when we're all together

[00:20:54] as the people of God

[00:20:56] from every tribe and every tongue

[00:20:57] do we then look like the fullness of God.

[00:21:00] And therefore,

[00:21:02] underline,

[00:21:03] God is not white.

[00:21:06] God is not white,

[00:21:07] but probably

[00:21:08] is like something

[00:21:10] that you can't even imagine.

[00:21:12] If we are created in the image of God

[00:21:14] and in that,

[00:21:15] we are this technicolor,

[00:21:17] diverse people

[00:21:18] with cultures,

[00:21:20] with nationalities,

[00:21:22] with tongues

[00:21:22] that are different,

[00:21:24] then God is definitely not a white man.

[00:21:28] But it's also probably not something

[00:21:29] that we could imagine.

[00:21:30] It probably does not look like what we imagine.

[00:21:33] Revelation 1,

[00:21:33] 14 to 15 says this,

[00:21:35] describing Jesus,

[00:21:37] it says,

[00:21:37] the hair on his head was like white wool,

[00:21:41] as white as snow,

[00:21:42] and his eyes were like blazing fire.

[00:21:44] His feet were like bronze glowing in the furnace,

[00:21:47] and his voice was like the sound of rushing water.

[00:21:50] And then it goes on later in the passage

[00:21:52] to describe Jesus' face,

[00:21:54] shining bright like the sun.

[00:21:57] I wonder how you see God.

[00:22:00] What does it mean

[00:22:04] for God to be diverse?

[00:22:07] I want to give you some Bible passages here.

[00:22:10] These are all passages that,

[00:22:11] in some way,

[00:22:14] give you a description of God's appearance.

[00:22:18] In some way,

[00:22:19] give you a description of God's appearance.

[00:22:20] So let me read some of these to you.

[00:22:23] So Exodus 33,

[00:22:23] 20 to 23,

[00:22:24] it's God and Moses.

[00:22:27] And in this passage,

[00:22:30] God tells Moses that nobody can see his face and live.

[00:22:36] But God allows Moses to see his back.

[00:22:40] So God's face,

[00:22:42] there's something about it that's so pure,

[00:22:45] that's so amazing,

[00:22:46] so divine,

[00:22:48] that you cannot be seen by human and live.

[00:22:51] Daniel 7,

[00:22:52] 9,

[00:22:52] it says this,

[00:22:53] As I looked,

[00:22:54] thrones were set in place,

[00:22:57] and the Ancient of Days took his seat.

[00:23:00] His clothes were as white as snow,

[00:23:02] and his hair on his head was white like wool.

[00:23:07] This throne was flaming with fire,

[00:23:10] and its wheels were all ablaze.

[00:23:13] That's the description that Daniel is giving us of what he sees when he sees God.

[00:23:19] Isn't it interesting?

[00:23:21] Hair on his head was white like wool,

[00:23:25] and we're told the throne was ablaze,

[00:23:29] and it's got wheels on it,

[00:23:30] and the wheels were ablaze.

[00:23:32] Revelation tells us,

[00:23:34] Jesus has hair like white wool,

[00:23:38] that his eyes are ablaze,

[00:23:41] that his face,

[00:23:43] his feet are like a bronze furnace,

[00:23:45] and his voice is like Russian water.

[00:23:47] You know,

[00:23:48] Revelation and Daniel are very similar in the description of what Daniel sees.

[00:23:52] What Revelation sees,

[00:23:54] Ezekiel 1,

[00:23:55] 26 to 28,

[00:23:56] here we find Ezekiel describes a vision of God's throne,

[00:24:00] and he talks about a figure,

[00:24:03] and this figure has the appearance of a man,

[00:24:08] gleaming metal,

[00:24:09] fire and rainbow like radiance,

[00:24:13] rainbow like radiance.

[00:24:15] If we are created in the image of God,

[00:24:16] and we are a rainbow technicolor people,

[00:24:19] then God,

[00:24:21] somehow,

[00:24:22] all of these pieces will become apparent,

[00:24:26] that this is exactly what God is like,

[00:24:28] and what does Ezekiel say?

[00:24:30] Well,

[00:24:31] God,

[00:24:32] he's got this radiance,

[00:24:33] it's like a rainbow like radiance,

[00:24:36] a technicolor radiance.

[00:24:39] There are other passages then,

[00:24:40] that are very clearly about Jesus,

[00:24:42] Isaiah 53,

[00:24:44] prophetic passage about the Messiah,

[00:24:46] and it says this,

[00:24:47] he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

[00:24:50] nothing in his appearance,

[00:24:51] that would desire him.

[00:24:53] In other words,

[00:24:53] Jesus wasn't handsome.

[00:24:54] There was nothing about Jesus,

[00:24:56] that made people go wow.

[00:24:57] It wasn't his appearance,

[00:24:58] that drew people around him.

[00:25:01] His appearance isn't important.

[00:25:03] Revelation 1,

[00:25:04] 13,

[00:25:05] 16,

[00:25:06] John describes this vision,

[00:25:08] someone like a son of man,

[00:25:10] and he says he's dressed in white robes,

[00:25:12] and he's reaching down to his feet,

[00:25:14] the gold sasha on his waist,

[00:25:16] and it describes Jesus,

[00:25:18] as having this white wool hair,

[00:25:20] as I've just talked about,

[00:25:21] his eyes are ablaze,

[00:25:23] his feet are made of bronze,

[00:25:25] he's glowing as if they're in a furnace,

[00:25:28] and his voice sounds like Russian waters.

[00:25:29] Goes on to say that his right hand is holding stars,

[00:25:33] and coming out of his mouth,

[00:25:35] is a sharp double-edged sword.

[00:25:37] Swords coming out of his mouth,

[00:25:38] he says his face was like the sun,

[00:25:41] shining in its brilliance.

[00:25:42] So what we have here is a picture of a God,

[00:25:44] that his skin is not flesh.

[00:25:49] His skin is made of something else,

[00:25:50] there's something else going on,

[00:25:52] he's ablaze,

[00:25:53] he's made of fire,

[00:25:54] he's made of bronze,

[00:25:56] his voice does not sound human,

[00:25:57] it sounds like the rushing of waters,

[00:26:00] it communicates differently.

[00:26:02] So what I'm trying to get you to see,

[00:26:03] the diversity of God,

[00:26:04] what is happening in the heavenly realms,

[00:26:06] is God is not human.

[00:26:08] Jesus came in human form,

[00:26:10] but God is this diverse,

[00:26:13] technicolour,

[00:26:14] multicultural,

[00:26:16] multi-metal flame and water.

[00:26:19] This is what God is.

[00:26:20] He's made of bronze,

[00:26:21] it's an amazing image.

[00:26:22] Revelation 19,

[00:26:24] it's just another description of Jesus Christ,

[00:26:26] and it describes him as having eyes like burning fire.

[00:26:31] It says he's got crowns on his head,

[00:26:33] and his robes are dripped in blood.

[00:26:35] So the imagery that we have of God,

[00:26:38] friends,

[00:26:38] is nothing like us,

[00:26:40] nothing like us at all.

[00:26:42] So as we think about racial diversity,

[00:26:45] and we think about what it means for the people of God to be,

[00:26:48] to be multicultural,

[00:26:50] multi-ethnic,

[00:26:51] multi-national,

[00:26:53] we need to understand that as we do that in the church,

[00:26:56] we're doing it because it's,

[00:26:57] it's going to be what is in heaven,

[00:26:59] and the church wants to represent heaven.

[00:27:03] But then the God that we worship,

[00:27:05] well,

[00:27:06] he's even more diverse than we ever imagined.

[00:27:08] He's made of metals.

[00:27:09] He sounds like water.

[00:27:11] He's got wool on his head.

[00:27:14] He speaks in a way that we don't speak.

[00:27:17] Here we have a God that is radically different,

[00:27:22] culturally different.

[00:27:24] He's not like us.

[00:27:26] He's not like us.

[00:27:27] So I ask the question,

[00:27:29] I ask the question,

[00:27:31] what do you think of when you think of God?

[00:27:35] Do you think of someone that looks like you?

[00:27:39] Do you think of someone that looks like you?

[00:27:42] Because I don't think we can.

[00:27:45] And I want to encourage you

[00:27:46] to examine your own mental pictures of God,

[00:27:50] and how these mental pictures might be influenced by culture

[00:27:54] rather than the Bible,

[00:27:58] and how these images may not be helpful for you

[00:28:02] as you see God in these,

[00:28:05] you know,

[00:28:05] as in human terms,

[00:28:07] in human pictures.

[00:28:09] But maybe you need to see God

[00:28:11] in this incredible picture

[00:28:13] of bronze and flames

[00:28:15] and fires

[00:28:16] and wheels

[00:28:18] and water,

[00:28:19] you know,

[00:28:20] water and wool.

[00:28:22] Maybe you need another way of seeing God.

[00:28:25] Another picture.

[00:28:26] And may you,

[00:28:28] when you do that,

[00:28:28] come to realise

[00:28:29] that God has a diversity

[00:28:32] that is bigger

[00:28:33] than anything that you and I can imagine.

[00:28:36] The diversity of God

[00:28:37] is radically different

[00:28:38] to anything you and I imagine.

[00:28:40] This is why Jesus comes in human form,

[00:28:42] so that we might understand.

[00:28:44] Because the diversity of God

[00:28:46] is nothing that we could understand.

[00:28:49] Let me land with this.

[00:28:50] The people of God

[00:28:51] are a vibrant,

[00:28:52] technicolour tapestry

[00:28:54] woven from every nation,

[00:28:56] tribe and tongue.

[00:28:58] Each thread is unique,

[00:29:01] yet united in faith,

[00:29:03] reflecting the beauty

[00:29:05] of creation.

[00:29:08] The people of God

[00:29:09] are a vibrant,

[00:29:11] technicolour tapestry

[00:29:12] woven from every nation,

[00:29:15] tribe and tongue.

[00:29:16] Each thread is unique,

[00:29:19] yet we're united in faith.

[00:29:22] We're united in Jesus

[00:29:25] and reflecting the beauty

[00:29:26] of his full creation.

[00:29:28] So my challenge to you is this.

[00:29:31] How do you see the church?

[00:29:31] How do you see the people

[00:29:32] of God in heaven?

[00:29:33] And how do you see God?

[00:29:36] I think we have a narrow

[00:29:39] understanding

[00:29:41] of what it means

[00:29:42] to be multicultural.

[00:29:44] I think the multiculturalness

[00:29:46] of heaven will be broader

[00:29:47] and more magnificent

[00:29:49] than what you and I

[00:29:51] could ever imagine.

[00:29:52] I think we will

[00:29:55] see in heaven

[00:29:56] a bigger diversity

[00:29:58] than we could possibly dream of.

[00:30:01] And yes,

[00:30:01] there may be aliens in there.

[00:30:03] There may be creatures

[00:30:04] that we cannot even comprehend

[00:30:06] from other places

[00:30:07] in the universe.

[00:30:08] That's mental.

[00:30:09] That is mental.

[00:30:11] But if heaven is heaven,

[00:30:13] it's not just heaven

[00:30:13] for the Brits.

[00:30:15] It's not heaven

[00:30:16] for the Italians.

[00:30:17] It's not heaven

[00:30:18] for the Africans

[00:30:20] or the Australians

[00:30:21] or the Americans

[00:30:22] or the Iranians

[00:30:23] or the Pakistanis.

[00:30:25] Heaven is heaven

[00:30:27] for everyone.

[00:30:28] This technical,

[00:30:29] vibrant,

[00:30:30] tribe,

[00:30:31] tongue.

[00:30:32] I think it will blow

[00:30:34] our minds

[00:30:34] when we see the diversity

[00:30:35] of the kingdom of God

[00:30:37] stood there

[00:30:39] in the heavenly realms.

[00:30:40] So what does he say

[00:30:41] in Revelation 7?

[00:30:43] After this I looked

[00:30:43] and therefore before me

[00:30:44] was a great multitude

[00:30:46] which nobody could count

[00:30:47] from every nation,

[00:30:48] tribe,

[00:30:49] people and language

[00:30:51] standing before the Lamb

[00:30:53] shouting salvation

[00:30:54] belongs to our God

[00:30:55] who sits on the throne

[00:30:56] and to the Lamb.

[00:30:58] Friends,

[00:30:59] I pray and invite you

[00:31:02] and encourage you

[00:31:03] to examine

[00:31:04] your own images

[00:31:06] of heaven,

[00:31:08] your own images

[00:31:09] of God himself.

[00:31:13] How does that

[00:31:15] shape your theology

[00:31:17] and how does it shape

[00:31:18] how you see your church

[00:31:20] and how the local church

[00:31:22] and what the local church

[00:31:23] should represent?

[00:31:24] Friends,

[00:31:25] I pray that that might be

[00:31:26] something to chew on

[00:31:28] as your day goes on.

[00:31:30] Grace and peace

[00:31:30] until next time.

[00:31:32] Blessings.

[00:31:33] Thank you.

[00:31:33] Thank you.

[00:31:34] Thank you.