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In this episode, we look at this question and deep dive into one of the teaching points of this program. Do you see the face of your community? The representation of community has changed even if you are in rural North Carolina, because of what's happened with the "Me Too" movement, with the Coronavirus, with the racial injustice, and there has been a call for change. Of all the foreign-born immigrants that have been moving into the USA, the numbers have doubled and in some places tripled and quadrupled the number of foreign-born internationals living inside of our communities.
We are now no longer just seeing a mix of blacks and whites, we are now seeing the mix of the world coming together. And so today in 2020, we find that the face of the community in which we lived has changed. Today, we are seeing churches that used to be predominantly white now becoming a representation of a global mixture. Churches that used to be predominantly black are now a representation of a global mixture. We need to look at our community and ask this question, “Is our church here on earth representing the church in heaven?”
We also need to pay attention to the value of just becoming friends with a foreign-born international. God has allowed them to come to our home, the USA, to our nation, and we have an opportunity to know their name. We have an opportunity to recognize their faces. This word “face” is something that we are confined to. We need to really see the value of the faces that God is allowing our eyes to see. Do you see the face of your community?
With every person, the foreign-born internationals in our community have a name. They have a face, they have a value to God, God created them. Jesus died for them. God loves them. It's within His sovereign plan that they are in our community, that they are here. They all have a name. They all have a story. They all have a life. They all have a face and we serve a savior that has identified Himself like a shepherd who would know His sheep. They would know His voice. We should know a foreign-born International's voice. We should have a name. We should know the face. We should have a relationship with them as our savior would desire that they would know Him.
Do you see the face of your community? I believe you do.
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If you did not catch last week’s episode with Chuk, you will want to go back and listen to his story because it sets up how God used Chuk, an Indian national living in the USA, to have ministry into his household and specifically his father and mother's life today.
Anjanibabu is 72 years old and currently living in Mumbai, India. He is the oldest of a family of seven siblings. And he ended up raising his siblings because his dad was always traveling or not around much. Even though he had great character, good values, and did everything to the best of his abilities, he found that he never could go beyond where he wanted to be. He gets close to the pinnacle, but something would happen that would prevent him from reaching it and that has been his story for a long time. And then he did well for himself in the end, he retired, but throughout this journey, he finds that his struggles were never answered.
When he came to visit the US his son, Chuk, took him to Summit Church where he accepted Christ as his savior. After accepting Christ, everything started falling into place. In 2010, Anjanibabu had a massive stroke and everyone thought that he was not going to make it. The local missionaries in Mumbai went to the hospital and prayed over him. When he had a stroke, his mind became almost paralyzed. But when he started having more faith in Jesus, he started gaining more courage and they started seeing his health improve by 85%.
Anjanibabu also shares how his faith influences others to put their faith in Jesus. He has shared his testimony with their congregation in Mumbai. He prays to Jesus every single day and continues to share his miracle story of how Jesus has healed his body after having a massive stroke.
More about Living the Dream Podcast
Meet Pastor Kevin: Pastor Kevin is Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India and your host for Living the Dream Podcast. He’s a poor kid from rural North Carolina, but get this… He just returned from his 50th trip to India in 20 years. If he doesn’t yet hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the most trips to India then he’s got to be close. He’s flown over a million miles to 27 different countries. He’s taken nearly 1,000 people on mission trips to India. Global Hope India has seen thousands of Indian Nationals and Americans radically transformed by God through missions. The miracle continues! More about Pastor Kevin.
GHI Resources & Contact Info:
Chuk is an Indian national and a former board member of Global Hope India. He introduces us to his father, Anjanibabu, who is from Mumbai, India. Chuk was living in New York City before moving to North Carolina. He came to North Carolina in 2007 to work for Duke University’s medical center. For Chuck, the past 13 years has been a fascinating journey. Being with the church has given him the opportunity to experience the gospel firsthand and serve the community, and minister to people who want to listen and get to know Christ. He believes that there is still so much more work to do as there are hundreds and thousands of people coming in from different countries. This means that there is so much work for them to do to be able to minister to others.
Chuk shares the story of his journey of faith. Chuck grew up being exposed to a secular system and remembers feeling that there was a void in their lives. Chuck and Anjanibabu experienced setbacks and challenges that prevented them from achieving what they wanted. When Chuk came to the US, he received several opportunities but it all came together in 2009 when he accepted Christ as his savior. Since then, he has experienced a radical transformation in his and his family’s lives.
He shares his observations from when he first came to America and began to be a part of a majority Christian culture for the first time. He talks about the advantages of having plenty of resources, having a community that supports each other, and how that message of support in itself is so powerful. Chuck has brought some of his friends to church and he can feel them warming up to the gospel once they are exposed to it in the US. He shares some amazing stories on how a person’s life can be radically transformed by just one prayer.
In next week’s episode, you will hear Part 2 of this interview where we talk to Chuk’s father, Anjanibabu, and hear about his journey of faith.
More about Living the Dream Podcast
Meet Pastor Kevin: Pastor Kevin is Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India and your host for Living the Dream Podcast. He’s a poor kid from rural North Carolina, but get this… He just returned from his 50th trip to India in 20 years. If he doesn’t yet hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the most trips to India then he’s got to be close. He’s flown over a million miles to 27 different countries. He’s taken nearly 1,000 people on mission trips to India. Global Hope India has seen thousands of Indian Nationals and Americans radically transformed by God through missions. The miracle continues! More about Pastor Kevin.
GHI Resources & Contact Info:
James was born in the UK and lived there until he was almost 10 years old when his family migrated to the United States. He is a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan and has lived in North Carolina since 1995. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have 4 kids. He was not raised in a Christian family. They hardly ever went to church, never read the Bible, and never really prayed unless they really needed something. James shares how he went off the deep end and got into drug abuse and other bad stuff as a teenager. It was when he was already a young adult when he heard the gospel and was saved by God from that background.
He was then discipled and it did not take long for him to catch a heart for evangelism and sharing the gospel. James believes that if somebody had not shared the gospel with him, not only would his life still be in the gutter but he would spend an eternity apart from the presence of God if he died. This is why sharing the gospel for him is kind of like a paying-it-forward thing or "passing the baton". He started getting involved with evangelism ministries through their church and as he studied the scriptures more, he realized that God has a heart for the nations. He then started praying about missions and he and his wife, Elizabeth, started getting involved with short term mission trips.
In 2016, Elizabeth had a heart attack and this became a turning point for them as it closed the door for them going back overseas. But this roadblock did not take away their calling and love for the internationals and for the people of South Asia in particular. Through research, James became aware of the fact that the Triangle has one of America’s most thriving and largest Indian and South Asia communities. So he and Elizabeth decided to move to Morrisville that same year so they can continue to let their light shine among our South Asian neighbors there. Since then, he has seen amazing relationships not just for themselves, but also through others that they have been able to work with - either church partners or just people that have joined their team.
James shares a story where he became a bridge for conflict in their community. He talks about the importance of being relational instead of transactional when it comes to understanding our foreign-born international neighbors. James also shares how it is important to reach them here so that they can then become the evangelists to their people back home. God did not only bring them to the United States, but He will rescue them from death and bring them to himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. And we need to have faith that it is His strategy to deposit the gospel in them so that they can become a light to their people. This is God's plan to fulfill the great commission.
More about Living the Dream Podcast
Meet Pastor Kevin: Pastor Kevin is Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India and your host for Living the Dream Podcast. He’s a poor kid from rural North Carolina, but get this… He just returned from his 50th trip to India in 20 years. If he doesn’t yet hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the most trips to India then he’s got to be close. He’s flown over a million miles to 27 different countries. He’s taken nearly 1,000 people on mission trips to India. Global Hope India has seen thousands of Indian Nationals and Americans radically transformed by God through missions. The miracle continues! More about Pastor Kevin.
GHI Resources & Contact Info:
Bishop T.D. Jakes and Pastor Carl Lentz continue their discussion on racism in America.
"Our silence is abuse."
Speaking to Lentz about the problem of systemic racism in the US, Jakes - the bishop of The Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch, says that this is not a new problem. It's not the result of the pandemic. It's a result of a spiritual pandemic and a cultural pandemic that has existed in America from the very foundations. We've never dealt with it, we don't talk about it. It's taboo to discuss it.
Discussing the brutality that many African-Americans experience at the hands of law enforcement, Jakes also put in clear terms what he wishes to see change. One of these much-needed changes is for police officers to not allow their fraternity to other police officers to be stronger than their commitment to God. They can not have such an allegiance to the other officers that they willingly betray God to protect them. Additionally, the famous preacher added that he is not asking for black people to be immune from arrest, in as much as no person, regardless of race, should be treated as above the law.
“And if God could love me and God lives in you, then how can you say that He dwells in you and you could stand there and watch a grown man cry for his mama?”
According to Bishop Jakes, we need to speak up for God’s sake. Do whatever we can do with whatever we can do. There has to be a shift where people start holding themselves accountable. We can not have churches that are one dimensional, and we can not have pastors that are one dimensional, and we can not have parties that are one dimensional. And most importantly, we need to reject that notion of a world that excludes people that Jesus died for.
“And if we are the children of God, then we ought to love who God loves. We ought to care when God cares and we ought to fight when God fights for each other.”
For those of you seeking justice for George Floyd, please text Floyd to 55156. There you will find what you need to help move this process along.
Subscribe to the official T.D. Jakes Ministries channel to stream our latest messages, your favorite sermons from over the years, and much more.
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Follow Bishop T.D. Jakes on Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bishopjakes
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bishopjakes
Follow Pastor Carl Lentz on Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carllentznyc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlLentz4
Access sermons, conferences, and more exclusive content:
TDJ OnDemand: http://ondemand.tdjakes.org
Bishops Village: https://www.bishopsvillage.com
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More about Living the Dream Podcast
Meet Pastor Kevin: Pastor Kevin is Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India and your host for Living the Dream Podcast. He’s a poor kid from rural North Carolina, but get this… He just returned from his 50th trip to India in 20 years. If he doesn’t yet hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the most trips to India then he’s got to be close. He’s flown over a million miles to 27 different countries. He’s taken nearly 1,000 people on mission trips to India. Global Hope India has seen thousands of Indian Nationals and Americans radically transformed by God through missions. The miracle continues! More about Pastor Kevin.
GHI Resources & Contact Info:
Protests have exploded across the United States after George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was filmed falling unconscious during an arrest by a group of Minnesota police officers. One officer, who has now been charged with murder, held Floyd face-down to the ground, pushing his knee into his neck for over eight minutes before Floyd lost consciousness and later died. Pastor Carl Lentz of Hillsong NYC has hosted a powerful conversation with Bishop T.D. Jakes following the death of George Floyd. This is an insightful interview with Bishop T.D. Jakes and Pastor Carl Lentz on the topic of racism and racial justice during the Hillsong NYC services. Bishop T.D. Jakes shares his very personal thoughts and reactions to the George Floyd events and offers a prayer for all of us in these troubled times.
T.D. Jakes has a willingness to disrupt the status quo and is one of the most globally-recognized influencers in business, education, film, and entertainment. With his earnest approach, Bishop Jakes has been able to reach millions of people from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, nationalities, and creeds. The senior pastor of The Potter’s House, a global humanitarian organization and 30,000-member church, Bishop Jakes’ presence spans digital media, film, television, radio, and books, including his most recent book, "Crushing: God Turns Pressure into Power."
For those of you seeking justice for George Floyd, please text Floyd to 55156. There you will find what you need to help move this process along.
Subscribe to the official T.D. Jakes Ministries channel to stream his latest messages, your favorite sermons from over the years, and much more.
Follow Bishop T.D. Jakes on Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bishopjakes
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bishopjakes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bishopjakes
Follow Pastor Carl Lentz on Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carllentznyc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlLentz4
Access sermons, conferences, and more exclusive content:
TDJ OnDemand: http://ondemand.tdjakes.org
Bishops Village: https://www.bishopsvillage.com
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More about Living the Dream Podcast
Meet Pastor Kevin: Pastor Kevin is Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India and your host for Living the Dream Podcast. He’s a poor kid from rural North Carolina, but get this… He just returned from his 50th trip to India in 20 years. If he doesn’t yet hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the most trips to India then he’s got to be close. He’s flown over a million miles to 27 different countries. He’s taken nearly 1,000 people on mission trips to India. Global Hope India has seen thousands of Indian Nationals and Americans radically transformed by God through missions. The miracle continues! More about Pastor Kevin.
GHI Resources & Contact Info:
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