Integrity- People of God

God has committed to His people the ministry of reconciliationand this is done through intercessory prayer. Jesus Christ is our example; He died and gave Himself as payment to make restitution for the debt mankind owed but was not able to pay. We as followers of Christ are to die to self, pride and offense when others misuse us and forgive their wrong doing, and we are to intercede for them and to bring them before our Father in prayer. That is the example Jesus set for us on the cross when He died for us and prayed for us saying, “Father forgive them…”

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting theirwrong doings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Luke 23:34 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Though God is the creator and over all things, He gave dominion of the earth and all that is in it to mankind. God does not go back on His word; He gave mankind authority and they gave it to Satan. Thereby, God will work with mankind to accomplish His will on the earth. This is why Jesus came as the Son of Man that He may have legal right and authority, as a Man, to operate in the earth to save mankind and to regain what they had lost and turned over to Satan. This is also why God works in collaboration with humanity and not autonomously, independently or on His own, regarding the things within the earthly realm. God has respect for the words He has spoken and God does not go back on His word. 

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:10-13 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.   He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.   But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

God reconciled us to Himself and forgave us by faith throughthe death of Christ and He also put us in right standing with Himself through Christ. Our collaborative work with God is to reconcile others to Christ, through forgiveness and intercessory prayer that they may come to the saving knowledge of God by faith in the completed work of Christ. 

As followers of Christ, we must accept our calling to bring those who have hurt us and those who are hurt, full of hate and anger before God in prayer to intercede for them. We are to pray that God would open their eyes to the light of the gospel, of the good news of Christ and to bring them out of darkness so that their souls will be saved and that they may be reunite with their Lord and Sovereign King.   

Acts 28:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Some people want to say they believe in the life of Christ and may want him to save them from their sins, but they refuse to acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Master. Many want to be saved but will not allow Jesus to command or direct their lives on earth or tell them they are to obey His word. God is calling us into a relationship with Himself as Father and child where there is reverence and respect as a loving Father who teaches,corrects, disciplines and guides us in the way we should go. 

God is not calling us just to believe in Jesus, the word says “the demons believe and tremble.” God is calling us into a relationship where He is Lord over our lives and we are to be like Christ, to follow Christ and His life’s example on the earth. That is so we may reveal and reflect God’s glory on the earth. And like Christ, this may even be at the cost of giving up our comfort, our reputation, or even our lifestyle for the revealing of the truth of God’s love and forgiveness on the earth. 

James 2:19-20 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!   But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 

God is our Sovereign King, Almighty God, Jehovah and Lord of all, the one who has purchased us at the price of His Son’s life so that we are no longer our own. We as followers of Christ are not to live for our selfish concerns and desires.  Though we were once sinners and aliens to the commonwealth and family of God we are now made to be children of God, the product of His craftmanship. God is creating us to be like Christ for the good work of reconciliation and intercession for the lost and forthose who offend and mistreat us.

Ephesians 2: 10-13   For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

The old man has passed away, the self-centered, prejudiced and unforgiving person is no longer who we are. As followers of Christ, we have been made a new creature by the power of the Holy Spirit. Though we may still have to fight against the old flesh and those natural affinities that we want to stay connected to. In the past we have aligned and affiliated ourselves according to our race, ethnicity and national ties, which is part of who God created us to be. But these things cannot take precedence or prominence over Christ and the love of God in us. Only God can have preeminence, absolute authority over who we are and how we live our lives. That is what the Lord and Master does, He leads, directs, rules and governs our lives.

Ephesians 2:15-18 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Jesus came and abolished all the reasons for disunity, prejudice, hostilities and biases according to the flesh and made us to be one new person in Christ.  Many people want to say they believe in Jesus but they will not obey Him, they refuse to give up their natural affinities prejudices and also refuse to forgive others, they live in self-centeredness and pride.

They refuse to show the love of Christ because they do not have the love of God living in them. They will say “It does not take all of that, we do not have to forgive or love others, God knowsme and made me who I am.”  But, they have listened to the liesof the enemy, God did not make man in that way or in that image. 

1 John 4:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?  And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Jesus is our High Priest in heaven where He is making intercession for us before God the Father. We are called to be kings and priests on the earth, where the king has dominion over his kingdom and also the responsibility to provide and protect his people. A priest is one who represents the people before God one who also intercedes and prays for the people before God. Though mankind slayed Christ, He forgave them and though they turned their backs on Him, yet He said He would never leave them nor forsake them. This is how we too must be like Christ, to not be easily offended and to forgive and pray for those who have wronged us. 

Romans 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

In God’s love we are called to intercede for others and to bring them into reconciliation, where there is no room for unforgiveness. This is only done through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we must forgive everyone, everything.