The Ministry of Reconciliation

During this festive season, let us take a moment to reflect on the year that was and who God is and all He has done. For many, this year has been most challenging. Circumstances appear overwhelming as the storms of this life appear to be intensifying. Yet through it all God continues to speak to us as we walk with Him through to eternity. As you listen be blessed, empowered and transformed in Jesus name.

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Transcript

00:00 Intro music and voice over.

Welcome to jesus loves the world podcast. For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name! 

00:21 Speaker

During this festive season, let us take a moment to reflect on the year that was and who God is and all He has done. 

For many, this year has been most challenging. Circumstances appear overwhelming as the storms of this life appear to be intensifying. Yet through it all God continues to speak to us as we walk with Him through to eternity. 

God began this year with His continual invitation to ‘Come Up Higher’. Through this series God revealed the depth and of His unchanging character. For God is and always will be love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and goodness, faithfulness and gentleness and self control. As we came up higher, we could see through God’s perspective. Just like an eagle gliding high above the clouds.

However God reminded us that to look through His eyes into eternity, is a daily journey of continual surrendering and receiving from Him. For it is God’s desire that we live in the freedom and victory that He has suffered and died to give us. Where we can be free of the destructive and controlling negative forces of our selfish desires and the lies of the evil one. So He continues to invite us to ‘Come Up Higher.’

In the middle of the year God urged us to be still and know that He is God. As He took us deeper into His heart, He was empowering us to keep our eyes on Him, instead of the circumstances of this world. Being in the epicentre of His presence, at peace and rest, whilst in the midst of these storms. 

Throughout the year God also spoke about the end times, in light of our future inheritance and hope. So as we live in this world damaged by evil where evil appears to be winning, we need not fear. For Jesus assures us, these things must take place before the judgement of evil and its elimination occur. With judgement also comes the fullness of our salvation. This is when we receive our eternal bodies and dwell with our LORD for all eternity. Where we live in the new heaven and the new earth and our bodies never get sick, never wear out and never die. 

Also through the book of the Revelation of Jesus we saw a glimpse into heaven. An open door representing God’s continual invitation to not only come up higher, but spiritually enter His abode. That is His home. Not only are we invited into God’s abode but we saw into eternity with thousands upon thousand generations falling down in worship to the one who sits on the throne. 

Having received Jesus, received God, together with all those before us, we too sing the song of freedom. We declare, Lord You are worthy of it all. For you created all things and by your good will toward humanity and selfless love they exist. 

For the LORD God almighty, Father, Son and Spirit is holy, holy, holy forever and ever. He is the eternal one, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. He is the one who is above all thrones, dominions, powers and positions. In His selfless love He has redeemed us with His own shed blood and made us kings and priests. Together with Him, we rule and reign above it all. 

So as this year draws to a close, we give thanks for who God is. As we live in this present reality, in daily surrender of self to God our Father in heaven, we are continually receiving more of His character. Being transformed by Him, ruling and reigning with Him. So let us take a moment to reflect on God and His character. 

Father as we surrender the highs and lows of this year back to You, open our hearts to receive from You, amen.

The word for next year is, the ministry of reconciliation. That is to bring into agreement or harmony. To have a relationship of mutual agreement. 

It is God’s desire that humanity is reconciled to Him. The entire cosmos is His story of a selfless love so profound that no human language can express. Everything God has done, is doing and will do expresses His heart for humanity. Out of His selfless love He gives humanity free choice in every aspect of life. Including the choice to be reconciled with Him or not. 

Sadly the history of humanity tells a different story. A story of what happens when the destructive forces of self and evil are fuelled. Power imbalances occur and the abuses of power  fall upon those who are powerless. This injustice is a common thread throughout history and  humanity has woven through every culture and people group. 

For it was humanity who chose to reject God and His right to rule and reign. Chose to give power to their selfish desires and evil. The Apostle Paul puts it this way.

Romans 5:8-12 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 

But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

So in amongst it all, God’s love story continues to be told. His story is in our story and our story is in His story. God demonstrates His selfless love in everything He does, for that is His nature. 

God is the one who not only initiates reconciliation but He personally becomes the one through which we are reconciled. Jesus the Son of God became one of us. He experienced the full human condition. In the ultimate expression of selfless love, He became the one who paid the cost. The cost of all offences every said thought or done by humanity against self, others and ultimately God. Humanity demanded that someone had to pay and God Himself became that someone. 

Therefore through the death of Jesus, God made a way for humanity to be reconciled to God. A way that even our selfish desires could receive and believe. 

Through Jesus’ resurrection, He defeated death and humanity is now saved by His resurrection life. Even though humanity is now saved, God gives each individual the right to hear this truth. Not only the right to hear but the right to choose. That is choose to receive God’s gift of salvation in Jesus or reject God’s free gift of salvation. For in rejecting Jesus and His right to rule and reign, is declaring war on God and rejecting salvation. 

It is out of His great love that the Almighty God has given each one the right to choose who they worship and thus who they give their allegiance to. This is the complete opposite to self and evil.

The act of reconciliation is the process of making compatible, bringing harmony. So not only does God give free choice, but He has done everything to enable us to be at peace and at home with Him. As He is at home with us. 

God has made the way for humanity to receive His eternal forgiveness that is always there. To be set free from the guilt and shame, lust and pride, unforgiveness and hurt and pain. All this is His gift of reconciliation and a work of the Holy Spirit. 

So for this to be a reality in our every day, we simply surrender to our Father in heaven and receive more of Him. 

As God’s heart and mission is reconciliation, He continually pursues humanity in love. All throughout God’s love story the Bible, His heart for reconciliation is evident. Through individuals and people groups God tells His story of reconciliation. Even within those who claimed to be God’s people, were those who were not. They had actually chosen to reject God. Within the Ancient Israelites there were times when the majority rejected God. Not only rejected God but even falsely accused God of rejecting them. Their history is littered with transgression, sin and iniquity. 

Transgression being the rebellion or revolt against God. Sin being an offence. Iniquity in this context is perversity and aligning oneself with evil. 

But God in His endless love and amazing grace promises reconciliation. The LORD God Almighty continues to share His heart for reconciliation with individuals and people groups through both the Old and New Testament. 

Throughout God’s journey with the Ancient Israelites we learn much about God’s desire for humanity to be truely free. God revealed much about not only their times of past and present but also a future time. One individual of the Ancient Israelites that God shared His heart of reconciliation with was Daniel. 

Daniel 9:24 ‘Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy...’

God revealed that He had set a time in eternity where transgression will be finished. That is Daniel’s people will no longer defile themselves with their idols.

God also promises to Daniel, he will make an end of their sins. That is they will be clean from the offences against self, others and ultimately God. Free from those offences that have caused themselves to be in bondage. God personally will bring this reconciliation. He will purge all guilt and shame. 

God also promises to make reconciliation for iniquity. He makes a new covenant with those from the 12 tribes of Ancient Israel. A covenant of mutual agreement, where those of Jewish lineage will know God and receive His right to rule and reign. Those of Jewish lineage who say yes to Jesus, yes to God become and are His people.

God also seals up the vision and prophecy. There is an appointed time when all will be fulfilled. At the time Daniel received this from God, it was not that time. God personally and intimately assures that He will do all this. 

God also is to anoint the Most Holy. The most holy in this context seems to represent the purest and most intimate place of God’s presence. The holy of holies. As the dwelling place of God’s presence, the temple had been corrupted by the priests. They were no longer set apart from the corruption, sin and iniquity. So God once again will bring reconciliation. He will cleanse the temple.

Jesus, God the Son fulfils all this. In His first coming, Jesus paid the cost for all humanity’s rebellion and offences. Not only for those of Jewish lineage but for all people from every tongue, tribe and nation. Jesus reconciled the imbalances and abuses of power, bringing His kingdom of equality and true justice. He reconciled the human condition of guilt and shame. Jesus gave humanity His innocence and victory. 

Yet we still live in this world damaged by evil. Where God’s kingdom has not been realised. However Jesus will return. The rejection of God’s ministry of reconciliation in Jesus will be judged. Together with evil and the empires of humanity, transgression, sin and iniquity will be totally eliminated.

Until then, those who have said to Jesus, yes to God are reconciled to God. Tune in next week as we continue on with God’s ministry of reconciliation with the episode titled, Being Part of the Dawn Chorus. 

19:40 Outro music and voice over. 

For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name!