27th Mar 26 | 16:08
Studies by Book
02 Acts 12 20-25 THE WORD OF GOD GREW 18 Acts 12 25 Church working along with the move of God
📖 Acts 12:20-25
18 – Tue, 11 Feb 2025 – *Church working along with the move of God* - _Acts 12:20-25_ – THE WORD OF GOD GREW – _II Corinthians 05:18-20_
_Acts 12:25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark._
Barnabas and Paul were faithful in fulfilling the ministry assigned to them by the church at Antioch.
As His people, we have a larger mandate given to us. Within this larger mandate, we have smaller assignments, which tie into the larger mandate of God. We must always be able to see both.
Firstly, what is the larger mandate for us as His people?
Our mandate comes from the mandate of God. The Lord is reconciling all things to Himself through the blood of the cross. _Colossians 1:19-20 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (20) and *by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross*._
Through the blood of the cross, we receive our personal salvation, which is in three tenses. We are saved from the punishment of our sin, which is justification. We are being saved from the power of sin in the present, which is sanctification, and we will one day (future) be saved from the presence of sin, which is glorification.
_II Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells._
This work of reconciliation that Jesus provided for us on the cross is not limited to our personal salvation but it extends to all of creation. _Ephesians 1:9-10 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, (10) that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times *He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him*._
The word, reconciliation, in the New Testament, is the word, eirēnopoieō pronounced as i-ray-nop-oy-eh'-o. which means to harmonize: - make peace. God is restoring Shalom through the cross.
(Shalom consists of a wholesome relationship with God, which is a habitat relationship; wholesome relationship within ourselves; wholesome relationship with one another; wholesome relationship with creation)
This is God’s great task and He has entrusted this awesome task to the church. _II Corinthians 5:18-20 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, (19) that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God._
*When we come to Christ and experience salvation, we do not rest, but we move on to bring about God’s reconciliation for man and the whole of creation. This is the huge task of the church.*
_Ephesians 2:5-6 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ *(by grace you have been saved), (6) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus*,_
This is our larger common mandate as His people. All of us come under this mandate.
Within this larger mandate of God, each of us has various assignments at different seasons of our lives. These smaller assignments must converge with the larger mandate. As an example, if we are studying, working in the corporate world, or even if we are retired, we are fulfilling all things as part of the greater mandate that is upon us.
We are studying not to compete with fellow students, get a degree, or make ourselves secure or well-settled in life. *We study to honor God*. We are preparing ourselves for the Lord to make us lights on a lampstand for the Gospel. When we have this as our motivation for our studies, we will excel in our studies, we will have several opportunities to help fellow students and share Jesus with them. We will also have plenty of time to participate in extracurricular activities and sports.
Our workplace is where we work for Jesus, giving glory to Him. Our work, therefore, will be of excellence because our motivation is not for personal success or benefit. Our workplace will become the place where we are reconciling all of creation back to God through our relationship with Christ through the cross. *We will help in making policies and strategies that are responsible for God’s creation.* There will be several opportunities for us to share Jesus with colleagues.
As a retired person, we look for opportunities to help people see the larger picture of the mandate of God. We invest in younger leaders and make them aligned with the larger mandate of God.
_Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ._
In several cases, it will be the church that will be assigning us our tasks, just as it was with Barnabas and Paul.
```The church must see with spiritual discernment how the Lord is preparing and moving members of the body of Christ towards His goal of reconciliation of all things to Himself, and the church must work along with the move of God.```