Good afternoon. Open your bibles with me to Genesis chapter 33 and we will read the entire chapter. Genesis chapter 33 I’ll be reading from ESV. And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favour in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favour in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it.
Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you.” But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favour in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city.
And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God will stand forever.
After his wrestling match with God, Jacob went to be with his family limping. And when he saw his brother Esau he bowed down seven times which was in their time, a sign of respecting your master, respecting your lord. Not only that Jacob has prepared many gifts for his brother, also a sign of seeking forgiveness. And if the gifts were accepted, that would mean that the apology was accepted, that he truly forgives that person who’s giving the gifts. That’s in the context of the ancient Near East in their time. Now take note that 20 years ago, Jacob left Canaan because Esau wanted to kill Jacob. He was so furious with Jacob because of what Jacob has done. Jacob has stole the blessing of Esau, he deceived Esau, he also deceived Isaac, so he wanted to kill his brother.
And what a reversal of that picture back then 20 years after. Now we see the great picture in verse 4. One of the greatest moments in the life of Jacob. Jacob, and I would say one of the greatest moments in the Book of Genesis verse 4. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept. I mean you would see the picture of the father and the prodigal son running, weeping, embracing. Now you see the two brothers after I would say more than 20 years. Because before 20 years, they were already against each other’s throats. Now we see, we see a picture of reconciliation between two siblings who hated one another before. And what a blessing this is in the life of Jacob, right. Obviously their relationship was restored. We see a different Esau here. We see a different Jacob here as well. Now you would say, or some would say, well time heals all wounds. 20 years? So, that’s a long time, right ?
But did time really heal the wounds of unforgiveness? The wounds of anger? Was it really time that healed all these issues? You know prior to this, Jacob saw, prior to this moment. What was the scene? The scene was Jacob seeing the God-man face to face. Jacob actually wrestled with God and he prevailed. So he had such encounters with God because he had an intimate relationship with God. Why? I mean who want to know why, why the sudden change of scene. Bakit from 10, 20 years from now, Esau was trying to kill Jacob but now, Esau was running to meet Jacob. And now Jacob was in front and bowing seven times! I mean sobrang nag-iba. What happened? I mean if you want to answer that question..what happened..anong nangyari? Anyare?
Because God reconciled Jacob to himself. Meron siyang encounter with God face to face, right. Just previously, that’s, that’s the reason why.
Because they have a relation – Jacob and God had that relationship. The sinner, the deceiver, Jacob has been reconciled to the holy, to the most holy, high God. And because of this, Jacob now is, now is a renewed man. Nagbago na siya. He now believes in God. He now believes in the promises of God and of course that includes the promises of God that that He would bless Israel and from Israel will come a Messiah. He believes that. Hence, we can say that Jacob has been converted. Jacob has been redeemed by the Lord. He has been saved. Again, he has been reconciled with his God. So why did Jacob want to reconcile with Esau in the first place? Because Jacob experienced a better reconciliation already. Yes, masasabi na Esau was running.. oh that’s a picture of grace and mercy, oh, amen, yes. But we see here Jacob, bowing seven times, showing humility, calling Esau his brother lord. We see a more humble person in Jacob. Why? Because he has been reconciled with God. Because Jacob has experienced a better reconciliation. It was of God and man, Jacob. It was of a holy God and a sinner, Jacob. This shows us that such broken relationships like Jacob and Esau, I mean these kinds of relationships can be restored. I mean the relationship that is most impossible to be restored, which is the relationship of Jacob and God of man and God has been restored.
Therefore, even the Esau and Jacob relationship can be restored. Kung tingin natin na napaka-imposible na ito, balik tayo sa Genesis na gustong patayin siya ni Esau. Imposibleng magkakabati itong dalawang ito. And yet, God has reconciled Himself to Jacob, that’s more impossible. And then go back to Jacob and Esau, wow! Hindi pala talaga imposible because something else, something impossible has already happened. And that is the reconciliation of God and man. Which of course tells us that human relationships that are broken can indeed be restored as well. That is my message this afternoon. That the gospel of reconciliation, the gospel what Christ has done. He has died on the cross in behalf of God’s people so that God’s people can be reconciled to God. And who initiated that work? It is God. Therefore it is God who reconciled Himself to man.
The gospel of reconciliation gives us hope that broken relationships here on Earth can be restored. You want hope? You want assurance that broken relationships can be restored? Look at the gospel. Now if you look at the passage, the first part of our verses today shows us this: The Relationship Restored. That is my first point. And the second part of our passage, it also shows us the Separated Siblings. That is my second point.
Let us consider the first point, Relationship Restored. So after the wrestling match, we now see Jacob’s fear being gone. Naalala niyo, takot na takot si Jacob. Nag-pray pa siya sa Panginoon because of his fear, takot na takot siya, right. Kita naman yung takot niya , pinadala niya yung different grooves, different groups, so that the groups would first meet Esau, so that paunti-unti ma-a-appease yung galit ni Esau. So that, ang plano was, so that when Esau meets Jacob, wow, sobrang ano na, sobrang bawas na bawas na kung anumang galit pa ang natira, right?
Verse 3. What happened? He himself went on before them. Jacob went on before his family. Nasa harap na si Jacob. We now hear, we, we have here now a renewed man. I am ready. A limp man ready to meet my arch enemy, Esau, my brother. I am ready to say, to apologise to him, to give my gifts to him, so that he would receive hopefully my forgiveness. We have here a renewed Jacob. He’s now in front, he has placed his family behind him. Before, while the desire to reconcile what’s there, meron naman talaga. The fact that he wanted to give gifts to Esau, the desire to reconcile was there. But there was also fear. Meron pa ring takot. He was sending his gifts, he even allowed his family to go first, tapos mag- isa na lang siya, remember. But now we’re seeing a more urgent, a more desire, to reconcile with his brother. He is more assured now, he is more determined now, even though he is limp. We see his determination here. A different Jacob, a better Jacob you would say. When Esau asked him about the gifts, Jacob said that it was to find favour in the sight of my master, of my lord, Esau. And then when Esau first rejected the gifts, ayaw ni Esau eh. Jacob insisted again saying verse 10 no, please if I have found favour in your sight, then accept my present from my hand for I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God. And you have accepted me, please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough. Jacob was basically saying forgive me Esau. Accept these gifts, Esau.
These gifts that God Himself has blessed me with since I stole them from you, and that I deceived you, accept them Esau. Forgive me. I don’t deserve all of this. They are yours. Seeing you embracing me, showing forgiveness to me, extending grace, forgiveness to me, Esau. It’s like when I saw the face of God as well. When God has shown His mercy to a deceiver like me, you also have shown mercy to me. When I saw your face Esau, the same mercy and Grace that I received from seeing the face of God is the same vision that I saw when I saw your face. Oh Jacob was not saying Esau was a redeemed saint. He wasn’t saying that you are a Christian that’s why I’m saying that I can see the face of God when I see your face, no. Nung nakita niya yung mukha ni Esau, it’s like, because, yung handa rin si Esau magpatawad. Na-remind siya nung nakita rin niya ang kaniyang Diyos na handa rin siyang patawarin. He saw the same face. See, Jacob here, I mean if we’re just gonna compare the two, who among the two understood really the necessity of being reconciled? I mean, pwede nating sabihing oy, si Esau, tumakbo siya, umiyak siya, right. I mean hindi naman siya tatakbo kung hindi niya unang nakita lumuluhod, na gumaganun na si Jacob sa kaniya. It was Jacob. Jacob knew the need to be reconciled with his brother. Why?
Because he experienced reconciliation first hand first hand. When his hip, yung hip niya na-dislocate, he was holding on to a God-man. And that God-man was the one who’s holding him. Nakadepende siya sa Diyos. He knows the blessedness of being reconciled with his God. That God has dealt graciously with him, sabi niya. Jacob knew, Jacob understood what God did to him. Again, if there’s anyone in this picture who understands what reconciliation is that would be Israel, Jacob. If there’s anyone in this passage who would be more willing, more determined to be reconciled because he understood his unworthiness, because he understood how sinful he was, and how and how gracious his God was to reconcile to Him, to forgive him of his sins. That would be Jacob,
Let me ask you, have you been reconciled to God? If you believe in Christ, here’s the good news- you have been reconciled to God. And who better understands reconciliation? The you and I who professes the gospel of reconciliation, who has first hand experienced of the reconciliation of God. Sino’ng mas nakakaiintindi sa atin ng reconciliation? We were like Jacob. Now we understand it more. Us christians, we are the ones who should understand reconciliation better because we have been reconciled with God. The problem is, when we have conflicts, what’s in our mind is that you should be able to understand it. Mauna ka; mauna kang lumapit sa akin. That’s the problem. You know before we were converted, the distance, nabanggit natin ito kanina, the distance between God and us was so great. We are but mere creatures. God is our creator. Add to that, the sin that we have, sinners like us cannot be in fellowship with the holy, the most holy high God. We were in a state of alienation from God, sabi ni Paul, Ephesians 2, we were separated from Christ, strangers to the promises of God. We had no hope, we had no God in this world. We were at war with God, at enmity with God. Yes, giyera; against tayo sa Diyos. We were far off.
Malayo tayo sa Diyos as creatures and He, being our creator. Add to that, the sin; sobrang layo na.
But Ephesians 2 tells us that we who are far off have been brought near. Yung nearness na ‘yun, hindi lang parang katabi natin ang Panginoon. When we talk about salvation, we’re talking about us being united, being in union with our Savior. That’s the nearness that we have with God. That’s the nearness of that reconciliation that we have with God. We were brought nearby the blood of Christ, meaning because of His death, God has accepted the death of Christ, and the death of Christ satisfied the wrath of God. Hence, that wrath will not be any more poured out to God’s people, because it has already been poured out to Christ. It is as an effect of that, we are not anymore at enmity with God, we have been reconciled with God. Sabi ni Paul, Christ Himself is our peace. He Himself is our reconciliation. The wrath of God was satisfied on that cross. If you believe in Jesus Christ and His work God accepts you. Hindi tayo nag-a-accept kay Christ. Ang Diyos ang nag-a-accept kay Christ. Accept mo na si Christ. Accept mo Siya bilang Lord and Savior mo. Imagine mo nga kung ganyan ang sinasabi natin. Imagine if that is our kind of evangelism.. We’re like saying go let’s go back to the old covenant where the priests are offering the animals to be sacrificed to God. God, accept the sacrifice. And when we say to a person, oh, accept mo si Christ.. we’re saying o, yung animals, accept mo yung animal para maligtas ka..No! It is God who accepts us because of what Christ has done. He accepted the work of Christ. It satisfy the wrath of God therefore tayo ay in-accept Niya. we don’t accept Christ. We repent of our sins and come to faith in Him. That’s how we are saved brethren, friends, that’s how you will be saved. If you repent of your sins and believe that that sacrifice on the cross is enough for your salvation then you will be saved. That is the gospel. The good news that those who truly have faith in Christ are reconciled to God. Hindi ka na kalaban, hindi ka na kaaway ng Diyos. If you are not in Christ, the problem is that you are at enmity with God. Yun yung pinaka-malaking prublema, kaibigan. Lahat ng prublema sa buhay, fall short, fall short. The problem in life is not finances, your problem in life if you’re not in Christ, your problem is not finances. It’s not that you don’t have anything for tomorrow. It’s not that you don’t have any plans for the next years. It’s not that you, you think your, your workmates hate you, your boss is not likeable or that workload is too heavy, the real problem is not that there’s a family issue at home. Those problems are problems that can, that may be fixed. But the real problem is that you are at war with God because of your sins. That the wrath of God is waiting, naghihintay to be poured eternally to a sinner who is in rebellion against his God. And you can’t solve that problem, my friend. The only solution, the only remedy, the only way to God, the only ladder to God is none other than Jesus Christ. Receive Him. Receive your salvation by having faith in Him. Now, if you are in Jesus Christ, you are reconciled to God. Problem solved. Now fix your other problems. You reconcile to God through Christ. We saw what Jacob did. He had that desire to reconcile with his brother, why? He imitated his God who reconciled to him. Most importantly, you know what? You do know what Jesus Christ did to us. He is the better Jacob. According to Ephesians 5 and Ephesians 6 He gave himself up for us, He is our reconciliation and He is the model of reconciliation. Binigay Niya ang Kaniyang sarili. And so tayo din. Tayo ang mas nakakaintindi sa reconciliation. Kung ikaw ay nakatanggap talaga ng reconciliation ng Panginoon. And I praise God that you have experienced it, brethren. Sa mga kaibigan ko na nandito na probably hindi pa, tumalikod ka sa iyong kasalanan at maniwala ka sa salvation na bigay ni Kristo. Pero kung ikaw ay kay Kristo, ito ang challenge sa atin ngayong hapon if possible. You have experienced reconciliation, therefore make sure that reconciliation with people begins with you.. starts from us. Sa atin dapat ito nagsisimula. I say if if possible..kung posible. Ginagamit din ni Paul ang lengguwahe na ito sa Romans chapter 12 verse 8 — if possible, live peaceably with all. Kung posible lang sabi niya. I mean we recognise that there may be providential hindrances that reconciliation here on Earth may not be possible anymore. Paano kung wala na yung tao?
Paano ka makiki-reconcile? Paano kung sobrang layo na, wala ka nang contact, hindi mo na ma-reach out, tini-try mo lahat, i-exhaust mo ang lahat, hindi mo talaga ma-reach out yung tao. Or the other party doesn’t want to reconcile with you anymore? Wala na tayong magagawa doon kundi ipag-pray na lang talaga siya. But those are providential hindrances. Ang question ko sa iyo, yung hindrances ba na sinasabi mo kung meron man, divine providence ba iyon? Or sarili mong definition ng hindrance? Dahil ayaw o lang maki-reconcile.
Brethren, again, if possible, make sure that reconciliation with people begins with us. As christians, it should start from us. And that would mean you, us, seeking forgiveness first, or you, us, forgiving others first. Paul says that we must forgive because we have been forgiven in Christ. Ganoon din yung reason. Anong basehan na kailangan mong magpatawad, dahil pinatawad ka rin ng Panginoon. Anong dahilan mo, anong basehan mo para makipag-reconcile ka sa iba? Kasi ni-reconcile ka ng Panginoon sa Kaniya because of Christ. It is our prayer that when they see your face, that in a sense it’s like seeing the face of God, that they would see the face of a Christian reconciled to his God; a Christian who experienced mercy and grace from God.
One of the problems that we have sometimes we are guilty of not forgiving others even the most minor offences. Again, reconciliation must start from us brethren. Sino pa ang mas nakakaintindi kung. Tayo’y kristiyano, tayo iyon kapatid. You have a better reason to reconcile because you have been reconciled to God. Do you currently have an enemy? Huwag niyo itaas ang kamay ninyo. I-reflect niyo lang iyon.
Baka bigla ninyong itaas. Do you have an enemy? Do you know who understands reconciliation better? When you have conflicts with your spouse, do you always wait for your spouse to come to you and say sorry? Do you know who understands reconciliation better? When you have conflicts with your brother or sister in the faith, is ‘time heals all wounds’ our motto? Ay ano na lang, next year na lang. Mawawala rin naman. Magpapansinan din naman kami; okay na yun. Or is it Christ didn’t just heal my wounds, He restored a dying person like me and reconciled me to Himself therefore, I’m sorry brother. I’m sorry sister.
When you have conflicts with your family members, when reconciliation begins with you, when you seek forgiveness, or if you’re the one extending the forgiveness and when they see your genuine heart to reconcile to them, you’re basically saying I want you to see the face of God. I want you to get a glimpse of the greater reconciliation available for you through Christ. Do you have any conflict with anyone? Do you know who understands reconciliation better? It is us. Let’s do it. Trust God with the results. And remember too that the gospel of reconciliation gives us hope that broken relationships can be restored. That’s our hope.
Now after their reconciliation, we’ll see what happened next. And this is my second point, Separated Siblings. So after Esau received the gifts, he was the one who was insisting. So kanina, Jacob was insisting..tanggapin mo ito, tanggapin mo ito. Now it’s Esau. Siya na ang nag-i-insist ngayon. He’s the one insisting Jacob to come to him to say, here, sumama ka na sa akin, mag-journey na tayo together sa Seir, kung saan ako nakatira. Verse 17 Esau said let us join you on our way and I will go ahead of you. Sundan mo ako, and we see Jacob was already saying no, no. Nag no no na siya dito. Hindi lang niya ma- straightforward na no, right. He said my lord knows that the children are frail and that they’re nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day all the flocks will die. Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant and I will lead on slowly at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me. And at the pace of the children until I come to my lord in Seir. Mauna ka na my lord. So medyo mabagal lang muna ang aming takbo kasi may mga kasama akong mga bata, marami akong mga kasamang flocks, and baka mamatay sila kapagka sabayan namin ang pace mo. Mauna ka na. Ininsist pa rin ni Esau. Sabi ni Esau, let me leave with you some of the people who are with me. Sige, may mga kasama ako dito, mga malalaki katawan, tutulungan ka. Baka buhatin pa yung mga bata, buhatin pa yung mga flock mo. Jacob said, what need is there? Bakit pa kailangan? So Jacob said, sabi niya, basically that he would follow Esau. But verse 17 tells us on his way to Canaan, Jacob journeyed to Succoth. Magkaibang ruta. Magkaibang ruta. He journeyed to Succoth instead and built himself a house there. Nanatili muna siya sa Succoth; hindi pa yun yung mismong destination niya. But Succoth is already inside Canaan. Now many commentators are saying that Jacob lied here. Many commentators are also are saying that it was just a social tact; meaning he was just being polite. He was politely turning the request down. Now you have to understand that they’ve been traveling miles and miles away and they were being chased by Laban and it’s not a lie. Hindi siya nagsisinungaling when Jacob said that he had children, marami siyang mga anak na kasama. And that they were tired that they were exhausted. It’s not a lie as well that the flocks may truly die if they travel miles and miles away again. Especially that Seir is not really their destination. Imagine they’re going to travel to Seir but knowing that, teka, Canaan is on the other side so we’ll travel again, many more miles. You have to understand that. Seir is in Southeast, Canaan is in southwest.
Now I believe that Jacob really was just saying no to Esau. But here’s the point. Ito yung kailangan nating maintindihan dito mga kapatid. The point that we must know here Verse 18 after Succoth, Jacob came safely to the City Of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan. This is why Jacob must part ways with his brother. Yes, they were able to reconcile with one another but you know what, we are not compatible. They can’t be together. Genesis chapter 36 verse 7 yes, gives us one reason why they can’t be together it says there for their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. Yes, there is that reason. But ultimately, let me share to you the primary reason why Jacob had to go to Canaan because God told him to do so. God told him to go there. He had a covenant with God. God promised him that He would bless Jacob and that He would give him the land of Canaan, not the land of Seir.
Jacob and Esau cannot be together because Jacob wanted to obey God and glorify God. He wanted to erect an altar and call it El-Elohe-Israel meaning the God of Israel. Magkaiba sila ng purpose sa buhay. On the other hand, Esau wanted to go somewhere else away from the people of God. Away from the land of promise. Yes, Esau reconciled with his brother, Jacob that’s great. But at the end of the day, he’s not in a covenant relationship with God. While he’s reconciled with his brother, Jacob, he remains to be unreconciled with his God. Again, remember in the New Testament, we are all warned to be, to not be like Esau.
Hebrews chapter 12 verse 16 it tells us see to it, sabi ng author ng Hebrew, see to it that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau. In fact in our passage today we see the contrast between two opposites.
Jacob has been giving glory to God, hindi niyo ba nakikita sa kanilang conversations? While Esau didn’t say anything spiritual here. Jacob was always giving glory to his God whenever he spoke to Esau. Etong blessing na ito ay galing sa Panginoon. I’m reconciling with you because I have enough and God has dealt graciously with me. More importantly, they have different destinations, they have different purposes. Well let me ask you: are you also on your way to the land of promise? to the Heavenly City? to an eternity of Joy with God? Or are you going to a different path? a path that is bound to be destroyed. And friend, you may be like Esau. Kaibigan, able to reconcile with people yes, you can do that. Someone who is not in Christ can definitely reconcile with people can in fact do civic good, good rather. But let me tell you: that doesn’t bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. Because it’s not done by faith. Well good is something that you can do in this world. It may be good in the eyes of men. But if you remain christless that is in vain. Yun yung nakita natin kay Esau. Tumakbo siya, lumuha siya, and we can say that he may be genuine. But at the end of the day, it is not done by faith it is a christless reconciliation with someone else. It is a reconciliation with his brother without having faith that it was from God. But Jacob knew when he reconciled with Esau, oh, this is from God. This is the purpose of God for me. Therefore, I want to reconcile with my brother. See the difference! An unbeliever may do good, civic good, but that would remain in vain. And the only way to God is Christ. So if you are in a sense like Esau, trust Christ with all your heart and soul. But if you are in Christ like Jacob, like Israel who parted ways with his brother, Esau, our reconciliation with God means ngayong united tayo sa Diyos, na- reconcile tayo sa Diyos ang ibig sabihin noon is we must also part ways with the ways of the world. Do not be partners with them in sin. Do not join them in sin. Do not say amen. Do not delight, do not celebrate their sin. Do not be partners with them in their darkness. That is our challenge for this afternoon; we separate ourselves from worldliness and as a consequence of that, as a result of that, we must be dedicated to Christ. As you part ways with worldliness, you run to Christ. You are living a life of running from sin and running to Christ. You don’t run to sin, you don’t run to Satan, although huwag kang maglaro ng apoy. You run from Satan and sin. You run away from them and you run to the one who defeated sin, the one who defeated death, the one who defeated Satan for you. When the world presents a false beauty of sin run from it. And run immediately to Jesus who is the epitome of true beauty.
So are we easily tempted to go to the other way? Are we easily enticed by the ways of the world? Do you always fail brother, sister? If yes, welcome to the christian life. It happens, yes, but here’s the good news of being reconciled to God, if you fail, hindi nawawala ang reconciliation natin sa Diyos. In fact, sabi sa Ephesians 5 dial reconcile Ghana we have boldness we have access with confidence through our faith in Him. Sabi rin sa Hebrews chapter 4, dahil reconciled ka na, let us then with confidence drew near, draw near, to the throne of grace Hebrews chapter 10 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. What a privilege we have in Christ. What a privilege it is to be reconciled with God we can always draw near to God the The Mercy Seat is open still, sabi nga sa kanta. We can always go to Christ that even when we fail in this life and we will, we can always run to Him. Of course when you use this as a license to sin, you have mistaken what grace means. Reconciled pala ako heh, then let’s be reconciled with the world and part ways with God. No. Again, isn’t this good news brethren. Once we have been reconciled with God we are called to continue separating ourselves from the ways of the world. What we have been reconciled with God the assurance is that nothing can separate us from God.
The wife of Adoniram Judson whose name was Ann Judson, was writing in her journal. After her conversion, sabi niya and I quote “where it left to my choice whether to follow the vanities of the world and go to heaven at last or to live a religious life have trials with sin and Temptation and sometimes enjoy the light of God’s reconciled countenance, I should not hesitate a moment in choosing the latter for there is no real satisfaction in the enjoyments of time and sense.” and quote If there’s a choice, she would always choose the latter, the light of God’s reconciled countenance over the false presentation the false beauty the presentation of that false beauty of sin. So brethren, in her own words, ni Ann Judson, flee from the ways of the world and enjoy the light of God’s reconciled countenance, the face of God in Christ’s reconciling work on the cross.
Our challenges today, we are called to reconcile to others because Christ is our reconciliation. He is the reason why we’re able to access God, He is our mediator, He’s our ladder. We are called to separate from the world because Christ is also our sanctification. In His life, He continued, He lived a life separated from the world truly sanctified. He is our model, He is our reconciliation in our sanctification. That is the good news that we have in Jesus Christ brethren. May the word of God enrich our knowledge of Him and may it stir us to live in light of these truths.
Let us pray. Our great God and gracious Father, thank You Lord for reconciling us to Yourself. Lord, we couldn’t do it because of our sins nor because of even our human ability, Lord, we cannot come to You apart from Christ. Lord we are we were at war with You. We hated you Lord, we loved our sins but because of Your work, because of Your grace in us, because you have given us Jesus Christ who lived the perfect life in behalf of us, who died on the cross so that we will not experience Your wrath and that wrath had been satisfied on that cross by Christ’s death. Lord and also that He rose again from the dead giving us hope that we too will rise from the dead. That death has truly been defeated. Lord, thank You but because of Christ and His work, we can always come to You. That even in prayers Lord, we can definitely call You our Abba Father. We can pray to You and give to You our petitions whatever’s in our hearts O Lord we can talk to You. We can draw near to the throne of grace. It is only because of what Christ has done. We are truly reconciled with You and nothing can separate us from Your love nor angels nor heights nor depths nothing, O Lord can cut that line of reconciliation. And so Lord, we are truly grateful. Lord. I pray that the message of reconciliation that is preached to us would encourage us to be reconcilers, to be peacemakers here on Earth. So whenever we have conflicts here or that we will be the first ones to be reconciled to them, that we will be reminded of Christ but in our reconciliation with people that they would see that we, ourselves carry that message of reconciliation in the hope so Lord, as we reconcile to them they too would be reconciled to You. So Lord thank You Lord. We commit to You our time. I pray Lord that we truly reflect in your message since this morning and up to this afternoon and these messages will truly help us, would benefit us the rest of the week in our spiritual battle against sin.
We bring back all the glory to You in Christ’s Name, Amen.