MINISTRY
OF RECONCILIATION
BREAD
11 Since, then,
we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is
plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are
giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who
take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we
are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ's
love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore
all died. 15 And he died
for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him
who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now
on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded
Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through
Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not
counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation. 20 We are
therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through
us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him
we might become the righteousness of God. 1 As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive
God's grace in vain. 2 For he
says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I
helped you.” I tell you, now is the time
of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2 (NIV)
24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in
my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake
of his body, which is the church. 25 I have
become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of
God in its fullness-- 26 the mystery
that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the
saints. 27 To them God
has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this
mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim
him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present
everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end
I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. Colossians
1:24-29 (NIV)
19 Pray
also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I
will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador
in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)
18 Then
Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.” Matthew
28:18-20 (NIV)
11 As the
Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all
who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on
the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom
they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless
they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news!” Romans 10:11-15 (NIV)
20 “Gather
together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those
who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. 21 Declare what is to be, present
it-- let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared
it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none
but me. 22 ‘Turn
to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no
other.’” Isaiah 45:20-22 (NIV)
BUTTER
“A hero is someone who does
something selfless, something sacrificial. A hero is someone who puts the needs
of another above his or her own. Sometimes heroes are known in their lifetime
for their achievements, and sometimes we call them heroes after they’re gone.
In that case, we sometimes call them unsung heroes because we didn’t realize
how heroic they were until time had passed.
One unsung hero from the New Testament is Andrew, Peter’s brother.
Andrew didn’t get a lot of ink in the New Testament, but what we do read about
him is significant. Andrew is primarily known as the guy who brought others to
Jesus. In fact, when he discovered that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah of
Israel, he went and found his brother and brought him to the Lord. How easily Andrew could have kept this to
himself and said, ‘I don’t want Peter to get in here. He probably would try to
take over the whole operation.’ Instead, Andrew brought him to Jesus. In fact,
every time we read about Andrew, he is bringing someone to the Lord. We might say that Andrew is the patron saint
of unsung heroes, the kind of people who are willing to do what needs to be
done and fly under the radar. They just want God to get the glory. And here is
the thing we need to remember: If we had more Andrews, we probably would have
more Simon Peters.” Greg Laurie
“Celebrities
are people who make news, but heroes are people who make history. Time makes
heroes but dissolves celebrities.” Daniel Boorstin
“Jesus’
whole life was a witness to his Father's love, and Jesus calls his followers to
carry on that witness in his Name. We, as followers of Jesus, are sent into
this world to be visible signs of God's unconditional love. Thus we are not first
of all judged by what we say but by what we live. When people say of us: ‘See
how they love one another,’ they catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God that
Jesus announced and are drawn to it as by a magnet. In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger,
and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that
can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.” Henri
Nouwen
“I owe my conversion to Christ to an unknown person, who certainly was no minister in the ordinary acceptation of the term; but who could say this much, ‘Look unto Christ and be saved, all ye ends of the earth.’” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Nothing
is beyond God’s capacity, ability, or desire to redeem, restore, and reconcile.”
Deidra Riggs
“There will be times when God will
put a burden on your heart to approach a certain person or say a specific thing
or go to a specific place. You have a choice in the matter: you can go, or you
can not go…You can be a Jonah, or you can be an Ananias.” Greg
Laurie“Jesus gave all His followers – not just a few - the immense privileged duty of the ministry of reconciliation. He sent us to proclaim the Good News – with both our actions and words - that through His blood we no longer need remain alienated from God and even each other – wallowing in the filth of our sins, lacking significance, always coming up wanting. His desire is for all to be turned back from our miserably sad point of departure – which we were all born into excepting Adam and Eve – to walk again in the garden, so to speak, in the cool of the day; to commune with Him; to be filled with the fullness and completeness that He alone gives and to experience the life that is truly life. God greatly desires to bring back the lost wanderer to the former state of harmony that our original parents were privy to and He confoundly uses people like me and you to accomplish this great work. That’s actually what the word reconcile means in Scripture – ‘to bring back to a former state of harmony.’ Christ’s blood reconciled us allowing those who would believe in Him the changing back to that time of no variance. That amazing Truth is to be shared and not hoarded and He calls all of His followers to be faithful to the task.” BHY
“The Christian is a new creature, born and
taught from above…and has renounced the confused, distant, uncomfortable
notions he/she once formed of God…He/she sees God in Christ, reconciled, a
Father, a Savior and a Friend, who has freely forgiven him/her all his/her sins
and given him/her the spirit of adoption; he/she is now no longer a servant,
much less a stranger, but a son/daughter; and because a son/daughter, an heir already
interested in all the promises, admitted
to the throne of grace, and assured expectant of eternal glory.” John
Newton
“Paul dedicated himself to telling people about the cure for the plague of sin. He never allowed their relentless attacks, false accusations, or assaults on his integrity to stop him. He maintained his focus on positive living by remembering the costly price Jesus paid for the cure, as well as his own calling as God's ambassador. ‘We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God’ (2 Corinthians 5:20). No matter how difficult our circumstances, how severe our pain, or how unbearable our life seems, we can find release from these burdens. How? By remembering that we are ambassadors of the Lord of glory and by sharing His message of reconciliation with others. When we focus on others, sharing the Good News of God's deliverance with people tormented by fear and anxiety, our own burdens will lighten. Nothing is more uplifting. ‘All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation’ (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). As long as we live on this earth, we have a purpose: to be God's messengers and to serve on His behalf. When we begin to understand this role, nothing can keep us down for very long.” Michael Youssef
HEART SAVOR
·
“God made
Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the
righteous of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
·
God has
given to all His followers the immense privileged duty of the ministry of reconciliation.
·
I am to
be faithful to the task.
