The news events of this past week have been interesting to say the least. Men like the Rev. Jessie Jackson step down while other men like John Ashcroft step forward.
The appointment of Senator John Ashcroft to be our nation’s Attorney General is unprecedented. Senator Ashcroft is a devout Christian and a third generation Assemblies of God man.
His father is an A/G minister of the Gospel.
Our nation’s leaders are now telling us they are making every effort to work with one another in what has been called “bipartisanship”. Although I try to refrain from politics in the pulpit, we do need to remind ourselves of the importance of praying for all levels of our government.
If you are not sure if politics are important for God’s people to concern themselves with, I would suggest that you study the hand of God in the politics of the Old Testament.
It is simple to see the impact that the rulers of the land had with the destiny of all of God’s people.
So whether it is city hall, the county courthouse, the state capital or Washington DC, all of our leaders need our prayers.
This is why. Just last month our nation was on the fringes of political anarchy due to the “hanging chads” in Palm County, Florida. For five weeks, the Democrats and Republicans were at each other’s throat fighting for political power.
There is no question in my mind that the source of this battle was not politics as usual, rather the media was reporting to us a spiritual battle unlike anything many of us have seen in decades.
This morning, the politicians have found themselves with no other alternative but to reconcile their differences.
And for that we all should be thankful. Today, our nation is needing to set aside their political ideologies and differences.
It is time for our nation’s leaders to try and work things out.
Our new president, President Geo. W. Bush will lead us into a new day, but he is not the one we should look to in making the difference in spiritual matters.
The difference can only be in the God of Abraham.
It was reported many times this past week what Sen. Ashcroft said to the nation. The only king we have in this nation is “King Jesus”. Jesus will take care of this nation.
Listen carefully. Our nation desperately needs Jesus , and we also desperately need reconciliation.
Likewise, it is also time for God’s people to put aside the cares of this world and return to those things that matter the most.
God’s people desperately need reconciliation.
You see last year it was the pressing dilemma over the Y2K Bug that was believed to bring chaos and confusion to our land.
And of course this year it was the battle of the politics.
In the meantime, many people have all but forgotten about the most desperate crisis that faces mankind. If the crisis I am referring to is not resolved, (or reconciled) millions upon millions of people will be faced with an eternal death.
My friend, that is the problem we should be concerned with.
All of man’s trials and tribulations cannot compare with the fate man is faced with if he is unable to reconcile his differences with His Creator.
This morning, I would ask each of you to open your hearts and minds to the Ministry of Reconciliation.
Text: II Corinthians 5:17 thru 19
Prayer:
I want each of you to know that the God of this world and this age desires for you to be in right standing with Him, His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit.
The King in Whom I serve wants nothing more than for you to have a personal and intimate friendship with Him.
My Heavenly Father will not give up on rescuing your soul.
Father God knows there are many differences between you and Him that need to be reconciled. But He wants to settle those differences once and for all. Father God loves you.
In our Responsive Reading we read in Romans 8:7,
“the sinful mind is hostile to God”.
Thousands of years ago the Lord decided to reconcile these differences with mankind. He knew that this reconciliation would not be easy, and would cost Him dearly.
God sent His only begotten Son to earth to reconcile you, your sins and the sins of the entire world to Himself.
There was only one thing that God could do to forgive you and to forget your wrongdoings.
There was only one thing that would accomplish this.
Nothing else will ever bring reconciliation to mankind. That is because God’s Son Who was and still is everything (in heaven) had to become the nothing else and die on the cross of Calvary for our sins.
That, my friend, is exactly how Father God provided you and I with His ministry of reconciliation.
It was a great price to pay, but God said you were worth every drop of blood that His Son shed for you.
Notice what verse 19 tells us. It says that God has also given to US the “word of reconciliation”. What does that mean to us?
It means that as long as God is willing to be reconciled TO US, that we should as well be reconciled TO HIM.
We should know there is a spiritual bipartisan relationship that God expects in return from us.
When the politicians in our Congress want to reconcile their differences they have to make an effort to reach out to their opponents. They call this “stepping across the aisle”.
Likewise, when we decide to make the effort to reconcile ourselves with our God, we will find ourselves “stepping out into the aisle” and coming to the altar of the Lord.
Why is this Lord necessary? Why do I need to come to God?
In many different ways we have made ourselves an enemy of the Lord with the sin that was or still is in our lives. Those sins have been forgiven, but a truce is needed in the relationship we have with Father God. No longer can we be at odds with God.
We the people of God must reconcile our selves to Him just as He has reconciled Himself to us.
As I said earlier, God has certainly reconciled His differences with us. And now it is our turn to reconcile our differences we have with Him. Have you reconciled yourself to God?
We will know that we have reconciled ourselves with Father God when we have fully accepted the Lord and His terms of Mercy and the statutes of His laws.
My friend, this is the core meaning of Christianity.
Without the reconciliation of the Lord:
The non-believer will never find salvation.
This is because the person without Christ is ignoring and/or denying God the opportunity to save his/her soul.
God has great plans for all of mankind, but the non-believer may find themselves grow hardhearted.
Without the reconciliation of the Lord:
The believer will never experience any significant spiritual growth.
This is because many believers refuse to admit and confess all of their faults to the Lord. They have differences & disagreements with the Word of God, and sometimes even with God Himself.
According to our text, God may have already accomplished His reconciliation for someone. And yet that person is unwilling to admit all of their faults, and to reconcile themselves completely to the Lord. This person will secretly hang on to old sins and disbeliefs. They may fool themselves, but they do not fool God.
The unfortunate consequence of this problem is that the person without true reconciliation is never happy. You will seldom ever see the joy, the gladness or the peace of God in this persons life.
Their life is frustrating and full of disappointments.
These people, over the course of a lifetime, can become worse if they continue to run away from God.
As with the story of Jacob when he was on the run from his Brother Esau. In affect, Jacob was running from God.
Let me summarize that story as it is recorded in Genesis 32.
I have personally seen this happen with different people.
I can remember, many years ago, a friend of mine named Ron. Ron got saved, back slid, got saved again, and back slid again. He went through this frustrating cycle over and over.
Ron was even baptized twice in one year.
God was willing to reconcile with Ron’s sins, but Ron was never able to reconcile himself to the Lord. Many years past and I lost contact with my friend, Ron. My heart grieved for Ron one night when I found him strung out on drugs lying in a ditch. I could barely recognize Ron, when I tried to help him to his feet. When Ron finally recognized me, he panicked and ran away. I never saw Ron again.
It is important for the Lord to save you from your sins, but it is equally important for you to put off your past and reconcile your self to the Lord.
Verse 17 tells us the Truth that we must reconcile ourselves to,
“…old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”
When the Lord reconciles with you and I, it is a two way street of Mercy. We must decide that we will make amends with God.
This is important for each of us to understand. We may be willing for God to forgive us, but we are unwilling to forgive:
1. Ourselves.
2. The people of our past.
3. God. This is the most common problem for frustrated Christians.
Without the reconciliation of the Lord:
The spiritual growth of a church will never happen.
Many churches have well meaning people who faithfully attend most of the scheduled services. They love God dearly but the church never seems to grow and become what the Lord wants.
Why is this often the case?
Many times a congregation will see the act of forgiveness as the only reason for going to church. They struggle with trying to be a good Christian, and they want to live a righteous life.
But will often let themselves and the Lord down.
They feel guilty for the things they do wrong, so they go to church the next Sunday and make it right.
Romans 5:8 thru 11
Reference: Genesis 32
