BLACK HISTORY
"I Just Want to Do God's
Will ..."
By The
American Tract Society
CBN.com –
These are words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s
last sermon, spoken the day before his death. They succinctly
sum up this influential leader, his message, and his life’s
mission of serving God.
Martin was born Michael Luther King in Atlanta, Georgia, January
15, 1929, and died April 4, 1968, by an assassin’s bullet
in Memphis, Tennessee. He was killed because of his stand against
racism, war, poverty, and injustice for African-Americans and
all races.
At about six years of age he received the name “Martin”
from his father—Martin Sr.—who named his son after
the Christian reformer, Martin Luther. What an appropriate name
because, like Martin Luther, King was destined to radically change
the world he lived in.
Martin came from a decidedly Christian background. His father
and his grandfather were both Baptist ministers. Martin L. King,
Sr. was pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin
Jr. grew up listening to his father preach and his grandmother
sing and play the piano.
After graduating from high school, King enrolled in Morehouse
college in Atlanta in 1944. He received his BA in 1948, attended
Crozer Seminary in Pennsylvania, and received his doctorate from
Boston University in 1955. While in college he met and married
Coretta Scott, who became his life partner and mother of their
four children. After graduate school he and Coretta moved back
to the south where his Christian heritage and personal calling
began to manifest itself publicly.
King moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where he accepted the pastorate
of the now famous Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. It was here that
Martin began to make his mark on the civil rights movement in
America.
When masses of people began to meet and pray about the arrest
of Rosa Parks, the leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association
(MIA) and chose Dr. King as their president. Out of these daily
prayer meetings King began to preach his message of love and non-violence
which he developed directly from the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Dr. King practiced what he preached as it related to non-violence.
Even though he was stabbed, beaten, put in prison, house-bombed,
cursed at and called names—he never retaliated with violence.
He was even accused of not being a Christian, but King thoroughly
believed in Jesus for salvation for all mankind, and that is the
message which he preached:—“Bound by the chains of
his own sin and finiteness, man needs a Savior…. Man cannot
save himself, for man is not the measure of all things and humanity
is not God.”
Dr. King had a personal relationship with God. In his famous
speech in Memphis that fateful April 3, King summed up his mission
to serve his Lord. He said: “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... But I’m not concerned about that
now. I just want to do God’s will.”
King’s words echo the words and life of his Savior, Jesus
Christ. “And he [Jesus] … fell on his face, and prayed,
saying, ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
Matthew 26:39
Like Christ, Dr. King spent his life in service to those who
suffered. He worked to change not only the laws that oppressed
people, but the thinking that held them back as well. His love
for Jesus was reflected in his teachings, but more importantly,
it was manifested by what he stepped out and accomplished.
Dr. King willingly admitted, “Bound by the chains of his
own sin and finiteness, man needs a Savior.” By “Savior”
King was referring to Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Martin Luther
King was committed to Jesus, to His church, and to His cause.
Dr. Robert C. Smith
Do you know Jesus in this way? You can meet the One Dr. King
loved and served when you realize:
“…that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the
third day according to the scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
1) You are a sinner.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
2) Your unforgiven sin leads to death.
“For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23
3) Jesus died for your sin.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
4) You are saved because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
by the death of his Son much more, being reconciled, we shall
be saved by his life.” Romans 5:10
You can tell God of your decision through a prayer like this
one:
Dear God, I know I’m a sinner and that I’ve fallen
short in my life by living without You.
I believe your Son, Jesus, died on the cross and rose again to
purchase my forgiveness and set me free from the penalty of sin.
Thank You, Lord, for loving me so much. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, please send us an e-mail to let us know. Or you can call our CBN Prayer Counseling Center at (800) 759-0700. We would love to talk with you and send you some literature to help you begin your walk with the Lord.
Would you like
to request prayer for yourself or someone you love?
Courtesy of The
American Tract Society.
More from the Black
History Section on CBN.com
1 - Strength to Love, p. 97, 1963.
Bible references: KJV
Photo by NewsCom • Printed in USA • © American Tract Society. Used with permission.
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