Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘Dream,’ Ferguson, and God’s Plan

A recording, believed to be the earliest where Dr. Martin Luther King conveyed his ‘dream’ was reportedly just found:

August 11, 2015

Before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd in Washington DC in 1963, a small group in a high school gymnasium in North Carolina got to hear a preview.

North Carolina State University held an unveiling in the Hunt Library today of the never-before-heard recording of Dr. King giving the speech to Rocky Mount High School on Nov. 27, 1962, nearly a year before the famed rendition on Aug. 28, 1963.

The tape, believed to be the first version of the speech, was discovered by Jason Miller, an English professor at the school. (Hear portions of the tape on ABC-owned station WTVD-TV.)

It used to be thought that the first time Dr. King talked about that was on August 28, 1963 where he said:

Now is the time to lift our ion from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children…

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood…

I have a dream that my four little children will me day live in a nations where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…

I have a dream today . . . I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain will be made low. The rough places wild be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope.

So, it now seems he may have had a dream sooner.

Yet, the situation we see in Ferguson and other places sadly shows that racial prejudice still exists, and that it exists across racial lines.

But let me state that “God has a plan.”

God sent His Son who taught against racial injustice and who was willing to not only violate certain segregation practices (John 4:7-9), He also praised those of a race that the religious leaders shunned (Luke 10:30-37; 17:15-19).

God has a plan where former enemies will come together of different ethnicities (Isaiah 19:23-25).

God has a plan where people will be judged, not by outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7) nor power (Revelation 20:12), but by their character (1 Samuel 16:7; Romans 2:16) and works (Revelation 20:12-13).

God has a plan where:

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 40:4-5, KJV)

God has a plan which will result in people of every nation and race will being saved:

9…I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)

God has a plan where people of every nation will be able to rule:

9…You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:9-10)

God has a plan where “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6).

God has a plan.

And His plan will come to pass (Acts 2:21; Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 46:10), His kingdom will come (Revelation 11:15), and we need to pray for it (Matthew 6:10).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

God’s Grace is For All Is being Jewish a hindrance to salvation? What about not being a descendant of Israel? What does the Bible really teach? Here is a link to a related sermon titled Race and Grace; Do you view race as God does?
Do You Practice Mithraism? Many practices and doctrines that mainstream so-called Christian groups have are the same or similar to those of the sun-god Mithras. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote some information about this. Do you follow Mithraism combined with the Bible or original Christianity? A sermon video from Vatican City is titled Church of Rome, Mithras, and Isis?
What is Your Destiny? Deification? Did the Early Church Teach That Christians Would Become God? What is your ultimate destiny? What does the Bible teach? Is deification only a weird or cultic idea? Are you to rule the universe? Here is a link to the video sermon What is Your Destiny?
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know? Does God actually have a plan for YOU personally? There is also a video titled What is the meaning of your life?
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differ from most Protestants How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background.
Dreams, the Bible, and the Continuing Church of God Does God still use dreams? Did He use any involving those in the Continuing Church of God?
Universal Offer of Salvation: There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the Doctrine of True Apocatastasis Do you believe what the Bible actually teaches on this? Will all good things be restored? Will God call everyone? Will everyone have an opportunity for salvation? Does God’s plan of salvation take rebellion and spiritual blindness into account? Related sermon videos include Universal Offer of Salvation I: God is love and Universal Offer of Salvation II: The Age to Come and the ‘Little Flock’ and Universal Offer of Salvation III: All Are to Know Jesus, But When? and Universal Offer of Salvation IV: Will the Guilty be Pardoned? and Universal Offer of Salvation V: All Israel Will be Saved? A version of the main article was also translated in the Spanish language: Oferta universal de salvación: Hay cientos de versículos en la Biblia que apoyan la verdadera doctrina de la Apocatastasis.