Today we continue our series entitled “Destiny’s Child – You Are Not a Mistake!” We have been looking at Ephesians 2. We will continue to flow in that vein.
(Eph 2:8-10 ERV)
8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.
9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.
10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.
So what does this mean for you today? I told you before that you were preordained by God and also pre-wired for your purpose. I will use my life as an example today.
1. Race relations.
The point I am making today is that we were all pre-wired for our preordained divine purpose. It is the nature vs. nurture debate. Some things are taught, but some things you are just born with. The things you are born with, you are naturally good at. I believe these are the things that align with your purpose. When you are operating in your purpose, it’s not that the work is effortless (because you may have to work very hard), but the work is sweatless (because you have a grace for it).
One can make the argument that 11 am Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in the United States. It seems like Americans can work together, play together, and go to sporting events together, but many races and ethnicities go their separate ways when it comes to church. People can make arguments for why this is, but the bottom line is that I believe God wants us unified. I understand cultural differences, but we don’t have to be uniform to be unified.
God has called me to multi-racial and non-denominational ministry. I am currently in the Dominican Republic and when we do ministry events here, I use Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, and just about anybody to partner with us to do what God has called us to do. I don’t have an issue with denominations. Further, we do a great deal of ministry in the DR for the Haitian community. There is a huge racial rift between Dominicans and Haitians. Isabella and I, by the grace of God, do our part to help bridge that gap.
It’s the same in the United States. I don’t know many ministers of the Gospel that is graced to operate in the many spheres that God has called me to. I minister to Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, to the rich and poor, those in corporate America, and those in jail. I have prayed with Generals and Privates, with CEOs and interns, and I feel equally comfortable in just about any setting, where ministry is concerned.
God has been preparing me all my life for my assignment. In Brooklyn, I grew up in East New York. In my early years, there were very few Dominicans around where I lived. So I spent my time with African Americans and Puerto Ricans. I grew up with Hip Hop and Hip Hop grew up around me. In my teen years, lots of Dominicans moved in. So I got into merengue and my Dominican culture. I was one of the only Dominicans on my block who was accepted by the Black and Puerto Rican crowd. When issues arose, and they did, God used me, at a very young age, as a tool or racial unity. I was the one who brought the groups together.
The Army is very diverse. I remember one time, after a long day at the National Training Center, as we were preparing our unit to deploy into “the box,” how the Holy Spirit spoke to me about the events of that day. In one day I preached a service (because the Chaplain was tied up), provided a briefing to our teams to prepare them for the operations, played spades with a group of African American Soldiers, dominos (the Hispanic way) with a group of Puerto Rican Soldiers, played bones (the American way to play dominos) with another group of African American Soldiers, prayed Euker with a group of Caucasian Soldiers, and then wrapped up the day briefing the Battalion Commander on our conference call. The Holy Spirit said to me, “Very few people can manuever so easily in all those circles. You can, because like Paul, I have called you to be all things to all people, so that through you, some may be saved!”
2. Simplifying the complex.
One of the things I do every day is simplify complex concepts — from the Bible, the world of technology, etc. — and explain them in very simple terms. I have been doing this as far back as I can remember. When I was a kid, in school, someone would give a “nerdy answer” that no one understood. The teacher would then ask me to explain it in “English.” Basically, the teacher was saying, “Ricardo, please explain that concept in way everyone can understand.” I did and I do so effortlessly. I am still doing that today. This is part of my calling. I was born with it. It is part of the grace of God on my life.
I could go on, but for the sake of time, I will jump to a few nuggets to take away from this.
3. Thinking about your preordained purpose.
— God preordained you for His divine purpose.
— There are “good works” you were born to perform.
— God prewired you to be able to do what you are called to do.
— When you are operating in your grace, you feel like you are in your most comfortable state.
— Operating in grace does not mean you don’t work. You may work harder than you ever thought possible. But it won’t be you doing it. It will be the grace of God through you.
— When you operate in grace, it is not effortless, but it is sweatless.
— When you discover your purpose and you start walking in it, you will realize that God has been preparing you, all your life, for His divine assignment. You are not a mistake. You are a product of God’s forethought and divine design!
— When you realize you are not a mistake, you live your life with a passion and zeal that no one can stifle. The best is yet to come. Your calling is CALLING YOU!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me! I LEVEL UP by embracing Your grace to be the man/woman You destined me to be. You have been preparing me all my life for what You have called me to do. I realize it now and I embrace it. I know my CALLING is CALLING me and I won’t fight it. I walk into my destiny by Your grace! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
