LIVING FROM THE RECONCILING GRACE OF THE RISEN LORD.
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Good Morning Life Church,
Please stand with me for the reading of God’s word to us today.
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
As we quickly come to the end of the Easter Season we are to be mindful of what it means to be Christians.
What does it mean and look like to live in the power of the resurrection?
What does it look like to be a people of the Holy Spirit, Submitted to Christ and reconciled to God the father?
We are to remember that Christianity is not a philosophy, not a Bible quiz, not self help, but a New Kind of Humanity, ordained by God, brought into being through Jesus, and empowered and animated by the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit.
In other words, Christianity is a faith that must be lived out in the fullest measure of our human expereince.
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LAST WEEK WE DISCUSSED HOW JESUS THROUGH THE RESURRECTION RECONCILING HUMANITY AND ALL CREATION TO THE FATHER.
HOW THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS THE NEW GENESIS TO A NEW PHYSICAL CREATION WE CALL THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH.
THIS WEEK I WANT TO DISCUSS HOW WE AS CHRISTIANS EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST ARE TO LIVE FROM THIS REALITY.
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OUR QUESTION TODAY IS, HOW THEN DO WE LIVE IN LIGHT OF THE RECONCILING AND RESTORING GRACE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS?
OUR QUESTION TODAY IS, HOW THEN DO WE LIVE IN LIGHT OF THE RECONCILING AND RESTORING GRACE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS?
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FIRST WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE PATTERN OF RECONCILIATION GOD INSTITUTED IN RECONCILING YOU AND I TO HIM.
FIRST WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE PATTERN OF RECONCILIATION GOD INSTITUTED IN RECONCILING YOU AND I TO HIM.
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—
GOD HAS LAID THE FOUNDATION AND ATMOSPHERE FOR RECONCILIATION.
Paul showed us in Col it was the Father’s desire good pleasure to reconcile us. It started with Him.
The peace came through the cross, the death of our sins and guilt in Christ. - Reconciliation always takes death.
The purpose of the death and resurrection of Christ was to present you before the Father, holy and blameless, beyond reproach.
THIS IS THE FOUNDATION AND ATMOSPHERE.
The work is done / complete.
All we must do is receive His grace and live from it.
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HOW DO WE RECEIVE THE GRACE OF GOD TO BE RECONCILED?
HOW DO WE RECEIVE THE GRACE OF GOD TO BE RECONCILED?
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
But what does true faith look like?
Not like a spoiled child who takes and grabs and then expects more.
Not with pride assuming we have somehow earned this free gift.
James, the brother of Jesus, explains quite well how we must position ourselves to receive grace.
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND HOW RECONCILIATION WITH GOD WORKS BECAUSE HE IS OUR MODEL AND HIS WAY IS HOW WE ARE TO LIVE.
Our division with God and with one another is based in our sinful flesh and our friendship with the ways of the world.
HERE ARE THE FOUNDATIONAL POSITIONS TO RECEIVE THE GRACE OF RECONCILIATION.
HONESTY - GOD will not be reconciled to your false self. God will not reconcile to a lie. A sinful man hides behind masks to hide his or her grotesque heart. A righteous man stands before God and others fully unveiled.
HUMILITY - Honesty will lead to humility / recognition of our unworthiness and at the same time His great love.
CONFESSION - Sorrowful confession / Blessed are the poor in spirit/ Confession is agreeing with God about yourself and your actions.
REPENTANCE THAT BEARS FRUIT. - To repent is to have a change of mind, change of direction, a change of how you see reality.
METANOEO - WHERE WE GET THE WORD METAMORPHOSIS -
You honestly see who you have been / confess / and then become the opposite of what you were.
PAUL CALLS THIS PROCESS CRUCIFYING THE FLESH - KILLING THE OLD MAN.
PAUL CALLS THIS PROCESS CRUCIFYING THE FLESH - KILLING THE OLD MAN.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
THIS IS THE ONLY POSITION ONE CAN TAKE AND RECEIVE THE GRACE OF RECONCILIATION AND RESTORATION.
THIS IS THE ONLY POSITION ONE CAN TAKE AND RECEIVE THE GRACE OF RECONCILIATION AND RESTORATION.
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IT IS THIS SAME FRAMEWORK WE MUST LIVE IN TO BE A PEOPLE OF THE RESURRECTION IN THE FAMILY OF GOD.
LIKE OUR FATHER WE ARE TO BE PEOPLE OF RECONCILIATION.
HOW WE MUST APPRAOCH ONE ANOTHER WHEN SIN AS BROKEN OUR BOND.
HOW WE MUST APPRAOCH ONE ANOTHER WHEN SIN AS BROKEN OUR BOND.
Honesty - Both parties must be fully honest about themselves and one another.
Sin is what has divided and sin must be faced head on with all parties being fully honest.
Sin that caused division / sins that lead to the division / offenses and precieved offenses.
2. Humility - Each party must operate in humility. You stand before one another at the foot of the cross.
Only God is perfect and has no need to repent.
The offended and the offender but approach reconciliation with absolute humility and no pride or self righteousness.
3. Confession of sins -
Both parties will likely need to confess sins that have led to the division.
This is to be truthful and done with the upmost desire to reconcile and not offend.
Sin should cause us to be sorrowful and our confessions should be full of sorrow from the heart.
4. Repentance that bears fruit.
“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
This is not done in 30 minutes but rather it is a position of life that needs to be seen over a period of time.
The bond of trust has been broken and the only way for this to be made hole is through a life that is moving in a direction that is different than the offense.
TRUE REPENTANCE CREATES THE POSSIBILITY OF A NEW RELATIONSHIP.
The old way that led to disfunction / death / decay /anger / etc is dead.
Only through the death of the old relationship and its sinful structures can a new relationship be resurrected.
You are not returning to the old / or gaining what you had. You are moving towards something new!
True repentance is the death of the old and moving towards a new and righteous relationship.
5. Finally, that takes us to forgiveness.
This is not a quick process but forgiveness must always be the default mode of all Christians.
“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
We live from and for forgiveness because we have been forgiven.
Reconciliation will not happen if either party is not willing to forgive.
Yes it will take time, yes it will be a struggle for your own flesh, but we must forgive if the other has truly repented.
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RECONCILIATION IS A DEATH AND RESURRECTION PROCESS THAT IS GROUNDED IN THE TRIUNE GOD AND HIS RECONCILIATION OF US.
RECONCILIATION IS A DEATH AND RESURRECTION PROCESS THAT IS GROUNDED IN THE TRIUNE GOD AND HIS RECONCILIATION OF US.
and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
The cross kills and true reconciliation is based on death and resurrection.
Death of our pride / selfish desires / sinful desires/ the love the world / Our ego and false self
It is here in the death we are able to receieve the grace needed to be resurrected into a new and righteous relationship.
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LET US BE PEOPLE OF THE CROSS AND THE RESURRECTION.
LET US LIVE FROM THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION.
LET US BE A PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW OUR FATHER AND LIVE TOWARDS RECONCILIATION.
