The power of Acceptance Romans 15:7 FUBC 732005...
The power of Acceptance
Romans 15:7
FUBC 7/3/2005
On May 29th I spoke to you from 2 Cor.5:17-21 from the theme “what in the world is God doing”. We talked about the ministry of reconciliation.
God has given unto us the ministry of reconciliation . ( Every person in the room has......)
4. to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: Rom. 12:18 if possible, so far as it depends on you..
5. to reconsecrate.
6. to restore.
Reconciliation means to change thoroughly, to change from enmity to friendship, to bring together.
The main idea of that message was that God is about the business of reconciling things, and the mission of the Church should be the same. That means........
The Church (each one of us) should be in the business of helping other people grow, but to often, what we do, is focus on a particular problem that someone may need help with, such as a negative attitude, or any other character defect that can be seen,------ to often we speak to “problems” and “symptoms” and we will even try different religious formulas to fix them,------ and we miss the real “life - changing” dynamics of this ministry of reconciliation.
On June the 12th I talked to you from the theme that “God uses people Too” In that message we talked about the fact that God uses people the same way we use a glove. He wears people as His uniforms, we are His instruments, listen yall, God is made alive inside of people and lives out His wishes and will through them in a mystery called the body of Christ or Church.
That’s why God gave certain gifts to the Church,
Ephes. 4:11 (KJV)
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; why did God give these gifts ? Look at the next verse;
Ephes. 4:12 (KJV)
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
That’s why all of us are gifted different, so that we can minister to each others needs.
The other thing we talked about in that message was the importance of being connected to other people.
Connection
People’s most basic need in life is relationship. People connected to other people thrive and grow, and those not connected wither and die. It is a medical fact, for example, that from infancy to old age, health depends on the amount of social connection people have. Infants and older people die from a lack of relationship, and those in the middle suffer and fail to recover from illness.
At the emotion level, connection is the sustaining factor for the psyche, the heart, and the spirit. Virtually, every emotional and psychological problem, from addictions to depression, has alienation or emotional isolation at it’s core or close to it. Recovery from these problems always involves helping people to get more connected to each other at a deeper and healthier level than what they are.......
And you know what, I can’t help you grow, and you can’t help me grow if we don’t accept each other. That’s the power of acceptance !!!! Acceptance begins first with God. Our text says,
accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. Christ’s acceptance of us is the model for how we are to accept each other.
The word acceptance means “taking to oneself “. It”s an invitation. Briefly defined, acceptance is the state of receiving someone into relationship. To be accepted is to have all your parts, Good and bad received by someone else without condemnation. Listen, in order for you to help me you have to accept my weaknesses as well as my strengths. In order for you to help me grow, I have to be able to expose my weaknesses to you without the fear of you condemning me. And in order for me to help you, you have to be able to expose your weaknesses to me without the fear of condemnation.
God originally designed acceptance as a way of life. As humans we were to relate to Him and each other with no thought of condemnation, judgement, or criticism.
Let me work with them three words.
Yall listen to me, If you condemn me you hinder me from accepting myself. (Example, fat, some people are picked at about the lightness or darkness of their skin, as a result these people can’t accept themselves because they have been condemned by others). Words are powerful !!! They can build up or they can tear down.
If you judge me you question my motives, which can cause me to question or second guest myself.
Ultimately, judging has to do with playing God.
Listen, we should evaluate not judge.
When we judge someone, we do three things.
First, we place ourselves above another as if we were his or her God.
Second, we condemn another.
Third, we create a standard for someone else.
When we evaluate someone, we do not do these three things.
First, we do not place ourselves above another person. Instead, we
indentify with the person as a fellow sinner and struggler, humbling ourselves as we realize that we are subject to the same
temptations.
Second, we do not condemn another person and damn this person with guilt, shame, and the wrath of the law. After all, we are just as guilty as they are.
Third, we do not make up the standard. We humbly bow to God’s standard in evaluating each other and call each other to repentance.
Look at Rom. 14:1-4
1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
If you continually criticize me you have not accepted me. Have you ever noticed that some people never have a praise, never have a compliment, rarely an encouraging word, some of the reason is because they don’t value the person and have not accepted them for who they are. Acceptance poses a problem for us sometime.
In the beginning when Adam and Eve fell from grace it posed a problem for God. His holy nature could not accept the sinfulness of man; yet His love kept Him caring about us. God provided a costly solution: His Son Jesus – Fully God – fully man, and without sin – died to atone for our sins (1Peter 3:18). This sacrifice appeased the requirements of God’s holiness and restored us to acceptance.
God’s acceptance of us in no way negates or minimizes our badness. In fact, he is able to accept us now, not because we’re so innocent, but because our debt of guilt has been fully paid, once and for all. So when we find ourselves doubting His acceptance because of something that we have done wrong, it’s us, not Him minimizing and negating what god has already done on our behalf.
Rom. 8:1&2
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
"No condemnation" that means that the believer is not doomed and damned, but is freed from the penalty and condemnation of sin; he is not judged as a sinner, but is delivered from the condemnation of death and hell; he is not judged to be unrighteous, but is counted to be righteous.
Very simply stated, the person who is in Christ is safe and secure from condemnation now and forever. He will not be judged as a sinner; he will not face condemnation. He is beyond condemnation; he shall never be condemned for sin; he shall never be separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.