Avizandam. In Scots law, this term describes the careful consideration given by the judge before an important decision. Join me each week as we explore various topics from a spiritual perspective and take matters. Avise endum In Revelation, the last book of the Bible, the Apostle John describes a glorious scene in heaven. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.
all of the angels and the elders and the four living creatures fall on their faces before the throne and worship God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever. Amen. This picture is full of wonder, and we rejoice that every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages will be there. In the Great Commission at the end of Matthew, our Lord Jesus commands His disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations.
This seems an impossible task, but filled with the Spirit, the Apostles and followers of Jesus turned the known world upside down. Such was the power of God as these men preached Christ crucified, and testified that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead, and is alive for evermore. Followers of Jesus now seek to obey the command of Jesus to make disciples of all the nations. This is our mission at Calvary Church. From the human level it seems impossible, but with the power of God and in His grace we are impacting many nations.
Calvary has always been committed to the goal of the translation of the Word of God, so that all peoples would be able to read the Holy Scriptures in their own language. We continue to have that priority and work through various mission agencies to accomplish that task. We believe that God's love embraces the whole world and that everyone, everywhere, needs to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth. Believing that God shows no partiality to different nations or peoples, we're committed to developing authentic Christians among all peoples and are committed to all peoples praising God with joy so that all the ends of the earth Fear him. One of my joys as pastor at Calvary Church is seeing, over the twenty years I've served here, tremendous change in our congregation.
Now we have over 40 different nations worshiping with us. They are ambassadors for Jesus Christ in their own families, cultures, and communities. we recognize and enthusiastically embrace different cultures, perspectives, traditions, and races, believing that what unites us as a people of God in Christ is far richer than what divides us. This is seen even in our pastoral staff, where we have a Jamaican pastor, an Indian pastor, a Scottish pastor, and several Americans. Based on our understanding of Scripture, we do not form various congregations meeting independently in our facilities.
That is, we don't have national churches within Calvary Church. We don't see that in the New Testament. We recognize our equality in Jesus Christ, and therefore our goal is for different ethnicities and cultures to come together as the one body of Christ at Calvary, with mutual love and respect, enriching and strengthening one another. This commitment to the unity of the body of Christ means that our Lord Jesus is the basis of our unity, rather than language or nationality or culture, and has been a rich blessing over the years to see all of the different cultures coming together at Calvary in one united body of Christ. We recognize that first generation immigrants may struggle with the language.
Therefore, we have simultaneous translation during our worship service into Russian, Spanish, and Chinese. We also have life groups in Spanish and Russian. But we found that worshipping together and listening to the Word of God helps immigrants quickly to learn English. Being an immigrant from the United Kingdom and my wife being an immigrant from Scandinavia helps us to relate to the various cultures and immigrants. We believe that this integration of different ethnic groups into the body of Christ at Calvary glorifies God and is a visible display of Christ's love to the world.
All of this has not decreased the impact of our overseas missions. That continues to be vibrant. It seems that almost every month, Calvary is adopting new missionaries. Recently, we've had a focus in Central Asia, where we're able to provide financial support, prayer, and resources to local pastors who, amidst difficult circumstances and sometimes persecution, proclaim the kingdom of God. All of us look forward to that future scene when all of the redeemed shall praise the Lamb who is worthy of all praise and glory.
Avizandum. You're listening to the weekly Avizandam podcast from The Verdict, featuring Pastor John Monroe. John is senior pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Listen to John's daily program, The Verdict, on broadcast radio or major podcast platforms. For more information about the Verdict Ministry, visit us online at calvarychurch.com/slash the verdict.
