Peace Part 12 “Complete Reconciliation”
This Weeks Sermon Notes:
Complete Reconciliation
God’s ultimate goal is _______________ _____________________.
“To be reconciled means to _______________ hostility and separation with peace and friendship.”
Since Jesus is concerned with ____________________, it makes sense that His followers should be also.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
As ___________________ of Jesus, we represent Him in the process of reconciliation.
Unfortunately, reconciliation doesn’t often occur because people don’t ____________ it or are unwilling to ____________ for it.
Followers of Jesus must see reconciliation as an act of ___________________ to the God they follow.
Big Idea: Complete reconciliation seeks restoration in _____________, in _____________, and in ________________.
1. Complete reconciliation seeks restoration in _____________
“nature ______________ a vacuum”.
Complete reconciliation requires use of the ________________ principle.
Matthew 5:44,
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
2. Complete reconciliation seeks restoration in ____________.
Words of hurt can be replaced by words of __________________ and ________________.
James 3:8-12
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
If we desire complete reconciliation we cannot speak both _________________ and ______________ about the same person.
3. Complete reconciliation seeks restoration in ____________.
1 John 3:18
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
“Don’t waste time bothering whether you love your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.” – C.S Lewis
It is never ___________________ to do what God says, even when we don’t feel like it.
We serve an ________ of the ______________ God.
Philippians 1:6
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Romans 12:18:
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
Will you choose to ____________ reconciliation?