HOW ARE OUR MINISTRIES OF RECONCILIATION GOING TO GO FORWARD?
2 Cor 5:17-20 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation ; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation . 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
1 Cor 15:2-4
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1 Cor 4:18-20
18 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
Through resurrection Power: the power of God bringing forth LIFE in place of DEATH of Body, Soul and Spirit. He wants to make the person WHOLE and SAVED.
The WORD is spoken and the POWER goes forth. Without the Power of the Spirit the Word cannot CHANGE the person. The person only attains knowledge in the head and the heart is not touched. Without the Word there is nothing to call the person to believe in that which is Spiritual.
1 Cor 5:4
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
God’s Spirit joined with ours becomes the POWER throughout which God operates His work in this world.
Acts 14:3
3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
AFTER Pentecost (filled) the Disciples GAVE TESTIMONY UNTO THE WORD OF GOD’S GRACE, THEN were GRANTED of the Lord
- Signs
- Wonders
Rom 15:17-20
17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:
Acts 3:1-11
3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fasteninghis eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
q Connection! Spiritual realization! Recognition of the empowerment – not the people! The man SAW something different and obeyed what was spoken!
q Jesus sent them out in 2’s – there is power in more than one – power is multiplied – faith is built up in partnership w/Jesus and other believers
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
q Many say that he was looking for money here, but, I say, in the looking into Peter and John’s eyes, something happened that transcended the money issue. Now he was looking for “something”…. And they are able to tell him what they have to give and to give it!
q Matt 10:5-10 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
q Peter Helped him stand, but HE STOOD and then began to walk, then leap, then PRAISE GOD!
q HE KNEW WHO HAD DONE THE WORK! HE PRAISED GOD, NOT MAN!
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
q What had Peter seen in the man? He perceived the faith to receive was there. He had Jesus’ directions to go forth and do these things, just as we read in the verse above. (We see an example of this in a similar happening with Paul in the book of Acts.)
o Acts 14:9-10 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
q Lame man is healed
q Witnessed by all the people
q The people are filled with wonder and amazement – they KNOW this man. He has been among them for years, impotent. Now he is WALKING and LEAPING and PRAISING GOD!
q Many believe in God because of the PROOF!
q There is no denying God when He does His works in our midst.
q What is God doing? He is granting signs and wonders and Gospel to go forth to draw people unto Himself via His workers. Don’t you want to be one of His workers that can bring forth?
q Yet those who are in rebellion will fight even against God and His works and will persecute those who are doing His work. In the end times they will even go through the great tribulation and refuse to repent of their deeds. Think on the mentality of this. We see it in our world today.
o Rev 16:8-11 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Acts 3:12-26
12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
q What is Peter saying? This is GOD’S NORM! He is asking them, "Why are you amazed. This is just everyday GOD to do these things!"
q It needs to become our every day thing……
q He refuses to take any credit but gives all the glory to the Father and Son.
q Then he begins to preach the Gospel, a very CONVICTING Gospel if you were one of those who consented and participated in the death of Jesus!
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
q Declaration of the power source
q God has done the work to the glory of His Son Jesus! (Verse 16)
q Exposure of the condemning truth
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
q Then Peter gives them a merciful out. I wot that through IGNORANCE ye did it… as did also your rulers…
18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
q REPENT and be CONVERTED….
q Your sins may be blotted out!
q Refreshing will come from the PRESENCE OF THE LORD…..
q He is PRESENT to receive those who repent and to convert them….
q Peter KNOWS about being converted. Why? HE HAS JUST RECEIVED HIS CONVERSION at the Baptism of the Holy Ghost…
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
q He repeats the offer of God
q Shows a heart for souls
q He’s speaking to those who crucified his Lord and Master
Acts 4:1-4
4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
(5000 – Let us be about the Father’s business. We are falling VERY short! This is why America is in trouble. There are more people yielded to the devil than there are yielded to Jesus and so we are out-voted and have given away our government. Why are we outnumbered? We have not been making disciples. We have not been multiplying. We have not been doing God’s business. We have been doing OUR business and now our business is in trouble because we have ignored the more important business of bringing in the Lost.)
q Arrested for sharing the Gospel
q Arrested by RELIGIOUS hierarchy (No different than our Jehadists – Holy War people - today who are out to kill, destroy, and main all who believe in Jesus and His Resurrection so they can have pre-eminence.)
Acts 4:5-12
5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
q False ministry will always attack that which is true because it feels jealousy and threat of losing popularity and pre-eminence.
7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
q False ministry will always make a display, try to demean the True worshippers of God, to intimidate them, etc.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
q Bravely sharing
q Filled with the Holy Ghost
q HAS WISE ANSWERS from the Same Spirit to give to those accusers of the brethren, whether they do, or do not, respond positively.
q Verse 10 – Declaring the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts 4:13-14
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
q Can neither gainsay, nor resist (Even though they may arrest you, they can not change the Truth before them.)
o Luke 21:15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
An Example:
Acts 13:6-12
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
What do we learn from this example?
q Concerning Paul
o FILLED with the Holy Ghost
o His GOSPEL is with POWER!
o Deputy SEES and BELIEVES!
o What does he see? What happens to the enemy!
o Paul is instructed in how to deal with the enemy and a miracle results!
o We can not perform these kind of miracles out of our flesh. They have to be directed of the Lord via His Holy Spirit in us!
q Concerning the Sorcerer
o Subtle
o Full of Mischief
o Enemy of Righteousness
o Sought to pervert the right ways
o Sought to prevent the deputy from receiving
o Judgment came down
§ Mist – Can not think, loss of clarity of mind
§ Blindness physically
§ Humbled, put to shame for his sin in trying to deceive and prevent the Gospel
o For a season = time to repent (Verse 11)
Another Example: 1 Cor 5:4-5 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 5:1-14 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. 11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. 12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. 13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. 14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
Concerning Peter:
q Discernment – He sees that Ananias is lying out of an evil heart
q Exposes the sin – tells him what he has done!
q Judgment falls from God
q Discernment – He sees that Saphira is a party to the evil heart of her husband
q Speaks out of the filling of the Spirit
q Judgment comes down from God.
Concerning Ananias and Saphira:
q Both CHOSE to lie
q Both CHOSE to tempt the Spirit of the Lord
q They CHOSE to do it in the midst of the congregation of which God watches over jealously
q God passed judgment and removed them from the midst that unity among the brethren remained – corrupt influence taken out!
q Fear arises among the people
q Multitudes come to the Lord
Paul gives another example of this in his comment:
We need to be aware that judgment comes on our sins. We need to warn sinners that there is a way out of sin. These people were part of the congregation. They KNEW BETTER. Thus, they were removed. Death can happen at any moment – life can be done in the flesh.
Notice that it tells us, “And of the rest durst no man join himself to them…” God is going to purify His Church in these last days. When people begin to see the Body of Christ at work the lost will come in and the lukewarm will be spewed out or judged. Jesus is coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle, not a lascivious, lukewarm, sin-filled congregation that take Him for granted and refuse to obey Him. (There will be those churches in the last days – but of like-kind.)
This is New Testament. This is the Holy Spirit working through Paul and through Peter. Different situations, same Spirit, IMMEDIATE results. Many come to the Lord through the workers of God going forth with His signs and wonders acting as they hear and act at the direction of the Holy Spirit.
In these two examples God uses both Blessings and Judgments to awaken people to their need to repent and be saved.
Paul and Peter acted within the confines of the directions of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion:
It is the workings of God, granting us signs, wonders and miracles, healings, casting out of demons, and raising the dead, along with the sharing of the Truth in power and anointing, that is going to make the Ministry of Reconciliation go forth. When we have the Message and the Acts of God going forth people will come into the Kingdom of God. He will draw them unto Himself, not to our ministries. As long as we are humble, as long as we give HIM the glory, He will be able to do these very works through us.
How are we going to get there?
Personal relationship with Him.
No one else can take us there.
No one else’s prayers can take us there. We have to enter in ourselves.
There is no magic plan or method or “proper” way to do it. We simply have to seek Him until we find that place in Him that He has for us.
Theology will not get us there. Head knowledge will not get us there.
The Baptism in the Spirit in fullness and having a heart of Servitude will bring us to the humbleness and empowerment to bring forth the Fruits of our God. We are mere branches attached to the Source, Jesus Christ, the Branch of God, who is the original TREE of Life. Just as Jesus was Baptized by the Father and received power to face the devil, we need to be Baptized by Jesus to face the devil and overcome as He overcame.