Michael
continues his message on the Good News: God through the Holy Spirit will equip
you when you speak forth His Word boldly and in love. That which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit
thou unto faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Our
culture has attempted to make "leadership" a dirty word. According to
2
Corinthians 5, we have been called as Ambassadors for Christ. An
ambassador is the highest ranking government official sent by his sovereign
Lord to a foreign nation to represent his homeland and Ambassadors speak. Our
mission is to reconcile people back to God through His son Jesus Christ.
Reconcile means to bring together that which has been separated. The 1828
Webster’s dictionary defines the word “reconcile as; to conciliate anew; to call back into union and friendship the
affections which have been alienated; to restore to friendship or favor after
estrangement; as, to reconcile men or parties that have been at variance. Go
thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother - Matt. 5. Or 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 - 2 Cor.
5:20-21. (Yes, bible verses and
references to God and Jesus in the original dictionary to illustrate the words
meaning).To bring to acquiescence,
content or quiet submission; with to; as, to reconcile one's self to
afflictions. It is our duty to be reconciled to the dispensations of
Providence.
2
Corinthians 5:17
“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."
As
ambassadors, our commission is to bring a peace treaty from our homeland in Heaven
to our host country. Part of the armor of God in Ephesians 6 is, "having
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Beautiful
are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace. Peace is the result
of reconciliation. Peace means the end of all strife and contention
between God and man. There is no peace without the Prince of Peace, Jesus
Christ. Know Jesus, know peace. No Jesus, no peace. The ministry of
reconciliation is our mission and our commission. Reconciliation is possible
only when we meet each other at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ.
The
word gospel literally translates as “good news”. What is the good news of the
gospel? According to Mark 1:14,
“Now after that John was put in prison,
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye,
and believe the gospel.” According to the Gospels, the good news is
"Repent, turn away from yourself and to the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 10:9-10 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth,
Jesus is Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved." The good news is that there is salvation
from sin through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
The
good news of the gospel is that God's salvation through Jesus Christ is at
hand. The good news of salvation is that God is both just (because the
penalty for sin was paid for by Jesus Christ on the Cross) and loving (because
God’s grace provided an atoning substitute sacrifice for us). Don’t take
this lightly: Our sins were justified and were paid for by the innocent blood
of Jesus Christ. For He who knew no
sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the
righteousness of God in him. We are forgiven and have been redeemed by
the precious blood of the Lamb of God, not because we deserved it, but because
God loved us. For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life – John
3:16. He has called us as Ambassadors with beautiful feet to
deliver this message from our homeland, the kingdom of Heaven. We are
called to reconcile God's chosen people back to Him. Therefore we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
In
other words, preach it brothers & sisters ... Go give 'em Heaven!!
May
God richly bless you,
Your
brother in Christ, Michael
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