“Luke Embrace Your Destiny” is a sermon written by Rev. Tony Williams a longtime friend and Holy Cross College brother which he delivered on Sunday, January 20th 2019 at First Calvary Baptist Church 400 Long St., in Salisbury, NC 28144 to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s 90th birthday.

1. Luke Embrace Your destiny!
Scripture: Acts 11:19-26
Text:
Acts 11: 26,​ Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
“Luke Embrace Your Destiny” is a sermon written by Rev. Tony Williams a
longtime friend and Holy Cross College brother which he delivered on Sunday,
January 20th 2019 at First Calvary Baptist Church 400 Long St., in Salisbury, NC
28144 to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s 90th birthday.
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2. I was born into a world filled with white privilege in a small town in the
South. We would be justified in asking just who the recipients of white privilege
were? For me, it was those Southern Baptist, that lived across town, the group that
formed because of their stance on slavery and white supremacy, in 1859. They
have a history of unabashed racism. They adhered to the tenets of treating black
people as less than. They were not so bad for me, as long as I knew who
I was—a black man living in America. As long as I stayed in my place, invisible,
without interest in enterprise, or justice—as long as I was powerless. No matter
what the content of my character or my point of departure, at best black people
were marginalized. In 1995, a short resolution acknowledging their historical
participation in slavery and worst, and just recently, within the last two months, a
72-page paper was rendered; a statement expressing remorse which did not offer
any path to reconciliation. These are the same people in which Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. wrote a letter from a Birmingham Jail explaining:
Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth-century prophets
left their little villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the
boundaries of their hometowns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village
of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and
city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of
freedom beyond my particular hometown. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to
the Macedonian call for aid.
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I
cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in
Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught
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3. in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to
live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside
the United States can never be considered an outsider.
1
They did not get it then and they do not get it now!
I digress for emphasis, it was not so bad, for, at some crucial times in a few
particular circumstances, certain individuals had the courage to let the light of their
Christian nature shine forth and put the evil powers of Jim crow and prejudice on
hold. These occasions, as they say, were "few and far between". Most of us still
drink out of separate metaphorical water fountains, we ride in the back of the bus
when it comes to economic and educational opportunity, and we are the last one in
the doctor’s office, to be treated because the Affordable Health Act is under attack
and Social Security and Medicare are being held hostage by spiritual wickedness in
high places! No matter how intense our illness, white privilege will take care of
their “ingrown nail” before a little poor black or brown boy or girl with a fever so
high it threatens death. Now, this appeared to be okay for my grandmother, my
mother, my aunts, and uncles, and perhaps most of the people in the community
that I grew up in. But there is one thing I am sure of; it was and is not acceptable to
1
​The Atlantic Monthly; August 1963; The Negro Is Your Brother; Volume 212, No. 2; pages 78 - 88.
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4. me! I was happy to leave a place where I first felt the painful sting of segregation
and the bitter bite of hatred.
The summer before I went away to college, in 1975, I got an introductory
course in what embracing my destiny could encompass. At the time I had no clue
of just what it would be. I accepted the call for volunteers at my church, to work
with the Southern Poverty Law Center, with Morris Dees. Sometime in the spring
of the year, A black man named, Clemme Moultrie, was served an eviction notice.
The law demanded that he leave the premises of a rental home, that was owned by
another black man in the community. Mr. Moultrie had been there for thirty years.
He was old, he had paid his rent, and he had, no doubt paid his “proverbial dues”,
but the owner wanted to raise the rents. It was not a black white thing; it was not a
green thing, it was greed; it was the love of money surpassing the love of a brother.
In Mr. Moultrie's mind, he had no place to go, and the only thing of value he really
had was his dignity.
Apparently, no one cared enough for him because he was poor and black.
Nobody tried to talk to him. Nobody pointed to a better way out. So, the local
police were called in, who were no doubt outstanding officers of the law and
models of the community! Five white men with guns drawn converged on the
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5. property intending to throw Mr. Moultrie out onto the street. But before they
reached his door, Mr. Moultrie dropped all five with five trigger pulls on his rifle.
There was a mistake, the sheriff’s office sent five “Barney Fifes,” rather than, one
“Andy Griffin.” Where was reason? Where was the Christian touch? Mr. Moultrie,
I am sure knew somebody that could have given him Godly counsel and Christian
comfort, but it did not happen. Mr. Moultrie was tried, convicted and was headed
for the electric chair. But there were no blacks on the jury. In fact, the jury pool
was almost exclusively white. God’s way is not our way. For God intended the
Christian touch not by any means necessary, not but by human institutions, but by
his Grace when it moves another heart to compassion. It was the Grace of God that
enabled me to volunteer that summer to work with two young attorneys. A black
man, and a white woman from the Southern Poverty Law Center. We spent two
weeks in the courthouse counting the jury pool. Our hearts knew beforehand what
the tally would show. The count revealed that the percentage of the African
American population was woefully misrepresented in the local jury pool. Because
our hearts were moved to action, the light of God’s Grace was opened to Mr.
Moultrie. The small rural community was introduced to a social justice ministry
that made a difference. When good people come together in a common cause and
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6. stand for what is right. This is what social justice ministry is, Dr. King said it so
eloquently:
When people are caught up with that which is right is—if they are willing to
Sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point, short of victory!
Mr. Moultrie was spared the death penalty, and the local jury pool began to
be populated with more African Americans. As jury pool was transformed, justice
began to seep into the limited worldview of the wider community. The jury pool
grew from less than 1 percent black to reflect a population of almost forty-seven
percent. Success in this endeavor did not come without a personal price. This did
not happen without sacrifice. “Prayers are great, scripture tells us: “…the effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16) “…but perfect love
cast out all fear.” (1John 4:18) From then on, the local police began to harass me,
stopping my car several times for nothing, no ticket was ever written. Each time
someone was in the car with me, so I think this might have saved my life. But I
want you to know that I am in God’s plan and it was not yet time for my departure.
God had not yet opened my spiritual ears to hear the call ​“Luke, Embrace Your
Destiny!”
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7. I think you ought to know that I have personally been affected by the dream
and the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. My decision to accept a scholarship to
an elite Catholic school in New England was influenced by the protest and the
prophetic words of Dr. King. As a young man applying for college, I was acutely
aware that Dr. King went to school in Boston. What I did not know at the time
made me look back and wonder how I got over. It was Dr. King’s assassination
that opened the door for me to attend Holy Cross College just a few miles outside
of Boston.
On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired the nation with his
powerful mountaintop vision, which he shared in Memphis, Tennessee on behalf of
1300, sanitation workers. On the very next day, April 4, 1968, an assassin’s bullet
struck down our beloved Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His death shook the
nation. Not long afterward, in the same month, Reverend John Brooks, a professor
of theology at Holy Cross College, in Worcester, Massachusetts, had the same
vision that Dr. King had of an integrated community. Rev. Brooks drove up and
down the East Coast to recruit African American high school students. He
recruited encouraged and supported young black men who he thought had the
potential to succeed if they were just given an opportunity. “Among the twenty
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8. students Father Brooks recruited were Clarence Thomas, future Supreme Court
Justice, Edward P. Jones, who would become a Pulitzer Prize winner for literature;
and Theodore Wells, who became one of the nation’s most successful defense
attorneys.” Seven years later I was recruited by Ralph Moultrie, one of the next
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generation of black men to attend Holy Cross. By this time Father Brooks was
President of the College.
The incalculable opportunities that Holy Cross opened for me were
unimaginable. Who would think that a poor black boy from Walterboro would
have an opportunity be a part of a community in which his best friend was
Ambassador to three countries? This friend, Harry Thomas, served three Presidents
as a Senior officer in the State Department. Who would envision that while in
college I would meet and dance with Yolanda King, Dr. King’s daughter while at a
party at Smith, just outside of Boston? Who would believe that I would get a job
just off Wall Street, work for a former CIA agent, and have dinner with the King of
Spain’s attorney at the Waldrop Astoria?
The question for us today is how Christians must respond to Dr. King’s
dream, but more importantly, how do we make his vision real in our lives and for
the community in which we live. Before you react hastily with raw emotion, or
2
​Diane Brady, ​Fraternity​ (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2012), Book Jacket.
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9. with an oversensitive critical comeback, whether you are a part of my tribe or not, I
would remind you of a Chinese proverb that all of us should bear in mind. ​“The
person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”
Just moments before his ascension, Jesus tells the disciples, “​It is not for
you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own
power. ​8 ​
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
God’s plan includes our destiny and is executed when we participate in his
will and his way. If we seek our purpose by discerning and following the leading of
the Holy Spirit, we will find that we are part of the greater cloud of witnesses
spoke of by the writer of Hebrews. Sometimes he tells us to leave our native land
and “go into a land that I will show thee”. Sometimes he leads us besides the still
waters; other times he leads us like a Rock in a weary land and is a shelter in the
time of a storm. Sometimes he wants us to march around the walls of Jericho! But
there are times when have to go down to Egypt land and tell old Pharaoh to let my
people go. Sometimes we got to steal away to Jesus! Sometimes God wants us to
wait on the Lord and he will renew our strength! Sometimes we must stand still to
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10. see the salvation of the Lord! On rare occasions, God will take us to the
mountaintop. I wish you could have been there when he spoke these words through
the eloquent voice of Dr. Martin Luther King:
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days
ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the
mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long
life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just
want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And
I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with
you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the
promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm
not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the
Lord.
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Stephen was a good witness I don’t know if his speech was so articulate as
Martin Luther King Jr. But I do know that when he told the story it empowered the
disciples. He told the whole Gospel story from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to
Moses and the prophets to a revelatory moment. When he shared his vision and it
cost him his life just like it cost Martin his life. I do believe he saw Jesus standing
up at the right hand of God. After hearing this powerful, beautiful, and effective
sermon, the Jews choose to stone him. They tried to put out his light.
3
​Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered this speech in support of the striking sanitation workers at Mason
Temple in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968 — the day before he was assassinated.​ ​Access date 01/12/2019.
https://www.afscme.org/union/history/mlk/ive-been-to-the-mountaintop-by-dr-martin-luther-king-jr​.
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11. In chapter 11 verse 19-20, we find that the disciples have fled Jerusalem
after the death of Stephen. Scripture tells us they ​scattered because of the
persecution that took place over Stephen. Some went as far as Phoenicia,
Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message to no one but Jews. ​11:20 ​
But there
were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them who came to Antioch
and began to speak to the Greeks too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord
Jesus.”
Stephen’s faithful witness was so powerful that the Holy Spirit activated
their destiny while they were on run for their lives. On their way somehow, they
were able to obey the command of Jesus, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I
am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Scripture tells us that some of the disciples stopped by Judaea, some passed
through Samaria, and some entered into the uttermost part of the earth. One of
these way stations on the way to the uttermost part of the earth was in the city of
Antioch. These few scattered and bewildered followers of Christ did not sleek
around at night hiding in the red-light districts. They did not hide behind walls of
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12. denominational or racial division. Peter's vision on the rooftop solved that problem
while he was praying on the rooftop in chapter 10. The bible says, the disciples
were preaching, they were teaching, and they kept on living like the followers of
Christ. What they did and who they were could not be hidden. Scripture tells us
they were first called Christians at Antioch. The name of the church in which I first
became a Christian was Antioch, in Phoenix City, Arizona. You can say for me
and my family that this was truly the uttermost parts of the world!
But wherever I am I try to speak with everyone the Lord sends my way.
When I speak to African Americans, especially millennials and Gen Xers, I try to
develop a rapport and talk to them about faith and their beliefs. If I am successful
with the initial conversation, I push a bit, I ask them “do you believe in Jesus.”
Most of the unchurched will say, “that’s a white man’s religion.” Or they will say,
“I am spiritual, I don’t believe in organized assembly”, or they will say, “I don’t
have the right clothes to wear” or they will say, “there are too many hypocrites in
the church.” But if we are honest; if we are real, if we would “keep it at 100” we
have to admit, that the church needs to make some major changes.
I can’t do evangelism if as a member I don’t come regularly to the worship
service. So many are fearful and do not find it important to speak to anybody about
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13. the church or Jesus. Most know more about their sports team than they know about
Christ or the church. If your church were a major basketball team, would anybody
want to come and see you play? What induces people to come out and watch, then
cheer on the players on the court? Well first of all people don’t come out to the
game to see how the water boys dress. People don’t come to the game to watch
folk sit on the bench in the same seats that been sitting in for forty and fifty years.
People don't come out to the game to see the team go through the motions but
come up short of winning week after week! In basketball, only a few can get into
the game but because on what Jesus did on Calvary’s hill everybody can get in the
game, everybody can play. Everybody can do something because that is the way
God designed it. We are in a relationship with God and humanity. We all have
something to offer, just like the “Little Drummer Boy” we can offer what we have
to God and the community in which we live or where it is accepted. Too many of
us are benched in the pews. Too many of us are just sitting in somebody else’s
pulpit, pouting with God and the preacher because we think we are being prevented
from using our gifts. But I think you ought to know that there are many highways
and byways that we as Christians ought to frequent. Many have not been visited
with a witness that will transform their lives. When was the last time you talked to
a young gang member? When have you reached across the chasm of denomination
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14. and race just to meet a new brother or sister in Christ? The first Christians were not
known as Catholics or Protestants, they were just Christians. In the Greek,
Χριστιανός​, the meaning (of Christ).​ ​The early Christians, under persecution,
sought to spread the saving message of Jesus: that he was not just crucified but
resurrected, and all may experience the salvation and life he offers by entering into
a relationship with him. They preached the Gospel on the run, they were itinerant
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preachers, they were despised and rejected, looked down on. Jesus and most of his
disciples were from impoverished backgrounds (e.g., fishermen) or were viewed as
people of disrespected status (e.g., a tax collector) . The church has seemly lost its
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way we just need to go back to where it started. A band of believers dedicated to
Jesus, so much so that it showed up in a life that compelled and persuaded
somebody “to come out of the darkness into the marvelous light.”
The church will begin to grow again. We must rediscover the reasons why
people are not interested in coming to the church house. We must take a close look
at our meager ministry of evangelism. We must reexamine our non-existent
ministry of hospitality. If the church is not serving what, the renowned
4
Bokedal, T., & Barry, J. D. (2016). ​Christianity​. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein,
D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), ​The Lexham Bible Dictionary​. Bellingham, WA: Lexham
Press.
5
Ibid.
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15. hymnologist, Mr. Isaac Watts, identifies as “the present age”, we will sadly
discover that we are not bound for the promised land. If our lukewarm attempts to
spread the good news is limited to timid invitations to a lackluster worship service,
then we must tell the truth. We are just wandering around in the wilderness, and as
the songwriter says, “far too long.”
Preacher you have highlighted the problem, as many have done before but
what do we offer as a solution to the problem? This is a good start. Too many
churches cannot admit that there is a problem. There is much to be said about
Alcoholic Anonymous. Nothing much happens until we tell the truth to ourselves.
Oh, we have identified the problem in others and we want others to admit that they
are a part of the problem. We fancy ourselves as modern-day prophets by speaking
truth to power, but we fall short in speaking truth to ourselves. Many have been
looking at others so long that “we cannot recognize the truth if it hits us in the
face.”
What is true? Christians must be prepared to engage the apparent strong
excuses why people are unchurched. We have to start with the basics. In John
chapter 17, “Jesus prays for all believers that they may be one, [he says] I am not
praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through
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16. their testimony, ​17:21 ​
that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I
am in you. ​I pray that they will be in us so that the world will believe that you sent
me. ​176
If we want the church to be a vibrant, effective, and relevant voice in the
community, Christians must be true to their Identity. Christians ought not be
divided, but be in relationship and ministry connected to one another. This
connection is based on relationship rather than some abstract doctrine of theology,
tribe, tradition, race creed or denomination. What connects Christians is the
courage to love and share their lives with and for others. Anthony DeMello, S.J.
(1931-1987) offers a great metaphor, to explain, to demonstrate the relationship
and the love Christians ought to have.
He says, “A holy and loving person is like a rose: Have you ever heard a
rose says, I am going to give my fragrance only to good people? No, it is of the
very nature of the rose to spread fragrance.” We must love so much that the
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fragrance of love is noticed in the community in which it resides. The members of
the church must be identified as a people who manifest the magnificent Glory of
6
​Biblical Studies Press. (2005). ​The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible
(Jn 17:20–22). Biblical Studies Press.
7
​Anthony De Mello, ​Walking On Water​ (New York: Crossroad Pub., ©1998), 64.
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17. our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. The world knows who we are by what we
practice.
African Americans have been given a lemon, so we have grown accustomed
to making lemonade. When I was a young man, I heard this from a beautiful girl I
tried to date. She was Hispanic, she told me that I needed to stay with my kind. It
made me wonder just what is my kind? At the time I did not know why maybe I
was too short, could it be I was too ugly. (smile) Strike that last part—but thank
God I have come to know just who my kind are: my kind is certainly not of the Ku
Klux Klan, nor what some call the religious clan. My kind has got the same blood,
our hearts bleed for others whether or not they are in the Christian band. African
Americans were in that first church that was first called Christians. Acts 13:1 is
clear on this fact. Folks need to smell the fragrance of love that was at that first
place we were identified as Christians, not as we describe or label ourselves but by
the way others who are not a part of our family see us.
In that first church, there were some roses, because common folk saw the
unity that God wants to be demonstrated in the community. One band of Christian
believers diverse but in harmony with one another. I wish you had been there
where we were first called Christians! Paul and Barnabas were there, and they were
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18. Jews, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian were there, and they were
Africans. Even some mixed Jews, Edomites were there, Manaen (a close friend of
Herod the tetrarch from childhood).
So, my brothers and sisters whether or not you are black or white, rich or
poor, Jew or Gentile, no one can claim to have an exclusive on Jesus. We all must
be born again. But what I want you to know is that the black man was there in the
beginning and our people were there in the 1​st​
century AD, at the place where the
followers of Christ were first called Christians. ​Luke Embrace Your Destiny!
Today we hear a lot about people searching for the answers by identifying
with the Republicans and the Democrats, “Black lives matter” and “All lives
matter”, the “homosexual agenda,” the “me-too movement”, and the so-called
white evangelical Christians.
But ​Luke Must Embrace His Destiny! ​The disciples of Jesus are not
destined to be lost in darkness or doomed to die in the wilderness of life. But some
of us have lost our way. Many have fled into a virtual fantasy world spending all
our time playing and mastering violent video games. We live in a time where
modes of communication are varied, but the manner of living is deeply divided and
very limited. Many people are stuck in a depressive trance, life is too painful and
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19. difficult to face so we try to escape into opioid thrills. Others are paralyzed by fear.
In a world filled with all kinds of social media intended to bring us together, people
still find themselves, lonely with nobody to talk to. While many others are caught
up in cyberbullying, gossiping, spreading discord among the brethren, and just
plain lying.
The church and the wider community have erroneously concluded that
building beautiful edifices that the people in need can come to worship, with
million-dollar light shows, will address this multitude of social maladies, but until
we in the church are viewed in the same way as the followers of Christ were
viewed at the Church in Antioch, not much will change. Where we live, whether it
is in an affluent neighborhood or a poor neighborhood subsidized by section 8,
there is injustice among us. Buildings won’t change human nature, money is said
to be the answer to all things, but it cannot give a listening ear that cares, or a
loving hug when we need it.
Some politicians brag above the economic system, there appears to be full
employment. But when somebody has to work three jobs just to make ends meet
and one percent of the people who own 90 percent of the wealth rally against a
living wage that’s not full employment; it’s just another iteration of servitude.
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20. When wicked leaders in high places callously shut down the government while
they are still getting paid, it is plain to see that politics and a good government job,
will not save us. In the realm of morality, the Time magazine picture of a two-year
girl crying while looking up as Trump towers over her has to show us that even a
two-year-old knows right from wrong. When men with automatic weapons and riot
gear separate children from their mothers and fathers. When these innocents and
orphans are mistreated while they are fleeing from tyranny only to be terrorized by
the so-called land of the free and the home of the brave Christians ought to do
something about it. ​Luke Embrace Your Destiny!
When less than forty percent of the country can block the will of the
majority, by use of, the gerrymander, voter suppression, race baiting, division, and
outright stealing of votes; everybody, in their hearts, know instinctively, that this
will not make "America Great Again". A close examination of the title will give us
the answer. Take the name, Luke, it means Light-bearer, and if you claim to be a
Christian, try this, substitute your name in the place of Luke stretch out your arms
and give your destiny a great big hug. ​Luke Embrace your destiny​! Become well
acquainted with your calling! ​Luke embrace your destiny!​ Look in the mirror and
view your vocation! ​Luke embrace your destiny! Pursue your purpose!
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21. Back in 1983, the third movie of, Return of the Of the Jedi, in the Star Wars
series provides a special insight. There is a scene where the character Darth Vader,
gives his Son Luke Skywalker his imperative. “Join me Luke on the Dark Side,
embrace your destiny and come by my side and together we can rule the universe!”
Luke cannot do this because his very core is the opposite of that of Vader’s
enchantment with the dark side. Starting with Luke’s name we see he is a Light
Bearer; every child of God ought to be a light bearer. For we are light for the
nations and are the salt of the earth. The bible speaks about those who walk in
darkness and those who walk in the light. If you are walking around in darkness
today my friends you are a part of the problem, if you are walking in the light you
must hold on for those who walk in the light. You are part of the solution for the
world that is in the depth of the deepest darkness. Our destiny is dependent on
being faithful over a few things and God will make us ruler over many. ​Luke
Embrace Your Destiny!
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