There is no place in our hearts for racism.

 

In recent days, racial tension has escalated over the unjust death of George Floyd. People took to the streets in protest, exercising their constitutional rights to cry out for social justice and reform. At the same time, media and political groups exploited the demonstrations. They turned the peaceful protests into riots with looting and destruction, following the lead of the enemy who comes only to “kill, steal, and destroy.”

 

In the midst of this, we must remember “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:1). We must remember the prayer that Jesus prayed the night before He was crucified, that we, the body of Christ might be one as He was one with the Father. We must remember Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28, that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

 

At the turn of the 20th Century, America was still recovering from a Civil War. It was the height of the Jim Crow era with strict racial segregation. Into this milieu of racial tension, revival erupted within a community of African American believers that would transform the century.

 

God poured out His Spirit in an old livery stable that was converted into a church located at 312 Azusa Street. It was said that “the color line was washed away” as men, women, and children; black, white, Hispanic, and Asian; rich and poor; the illiterate and educated came together to be filled with the Holy Spirit and experience their personal Pentecost. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit was led by William Seymour, a black man, the son of former slaves, a man who could barely read and write. In this unlikely ethos, a revival was birthed that spread across America and around the globe to ultimately give birth to the Modern Pentecostal Movement, which is now over 600 million strong.

 

 

It is a call to remember our spiritual heritage and Pentecostal roots that go back to the time when God poured out His Holy Spirit, and all people came together as one. Unity is what Jesus died for, and unity is what we must live for. It is God’s plan that all races and all nations around the world come together in love and unity as one new man in Christ.

 

Let us use this time to ask Holy Spirit to search us and reveal any racism that may be hidden in our heart, then repent, and invite Him to remove it from us. Let us pray for our nation and stand in vicarious repentance for the sins of injustice, murder, and racism. These are sins of the heart that can only be removed at the foot of the Cross, where all people stand equal before God. Let us pray His Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

 

The only solution is to repent of our sins and cry out to Jesus, standing on the promise of I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

We stand and pray with those who have been hurt by the sin of racism, recognizing the pain it has caused across our nation. We call on our members to use our influence for positive change and healing. We must lead by example by addressing these issues in our hearts, families, churches, and communities.

Our mandate is to preach Christ’s Gospel of reconciliation and grace in both word and deed and call people to ‘act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.’ (Micah 6:8)