Birthing the Ministry of Reconciliation

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birthing-the-ministry-of-reconciliationI have written quite a bit about the need in the Body of Christ for a heart of restoration: for mercy to triumph over judgment, and about how all of God’s people are continuously being restored to His original intent for mankind.

I’d like to expand that train of thought today, to address the actual ministry of reconciliation:

  • what it is;
  • why we need it;
  • and the special promise it carries when we birth it in our churches.

What is the ministry of reconciliation?

The ministry of reconciliation is essential to God’s strategy to bring His Body into alignment with His purposes. This ministry happens when you add up two components:

  1. Godly people who do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God; PLUS
  2. A humble understanding that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and that we all need restoration back to God’s original intent.

By adding those two things together, you get people–leaders and non-leaders–who are simply willing to be agents of God’s heart on the earth. These people then abandon the evil desire for vengeance and retribution, and they start to minister God’s heart to others. That is the ministry of reconciliation: when God’s people walk in wisdom and use their authority to bring people back to God’s original intent.

Why we need the ministry of reconciliation:

We need to minister reconciliation in our churches because it’s the foundation of the Gospel. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus came to earth as a man for the specific purpose of redeeming God’s people back to His glory.

For too long, we have taken our delight in vengeance and gossip, rather than reconciliation. Like the soldiers at the foot of the cross, we have gambled for the garments of the fallen. That is sin, and it needs to be forgiven.

Since Jesus said that if we forgive the sins of others, the Father will also forgive their sins, let’s stop right now and forgive the Church for every time it has walked in retribution, rather than reconciliation. Would you pray the following prayer with me?

Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, I choose to forgive the sins of the Church for every time it has loved judgment instead of mercy. I choose to forgive the Church for every time it has walked in retribution, instead of reconciliation. I humbly ask that You would forgive us, Your Body, as well. Cover us with your goodness, mercy, and grace, and birth Your ministry of reconciliation in our hearts. In Jesus’ Name, let it be done. Amen.

lord-make-me-a-minister-of-reconciliation
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Now for the special promise God gives when we birth the ministry of reconciliation in our churches:

The weirdest thing happened a few years ago: God started to use me in deliverance ministry. This was weird, because I’m not a counselor. I’m an intercessor, but I had never had a desire to work in deliverance at all.

Nevertheless, He told me to work with someone. I had no idea what I was doing. I prayed in the Spirit the whole time and spoke what I heard Him say to me, and He did the work. He set someone free from bondage and oppression, and filled them with the Holy Spirit. This person was radically changed. It’s the coolest thing.

But I was wondering why on earth God told me to do it. Our church has a huge encouragement and deliverance ministry–in which I am now involved, but I wasn’t at the time. They counsel people all day every day, and they’re great at it. I had never done it before. So why me?

Then I came across Isaiah 42:22:

Start-quoteBut this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder, and no one says, ‘Restore!'”

They are FOR PREY, and no one delivers. They are for plunder, and no one says, “Restore!” Get it? This is huge; don’t miss this:

Deliverance from bondage and the ministry of restoration are connected.

This thing struck me right between the eyes. I had been wondering why on earth Papa used me to help do the work of deliverance for this one person. I never connected it to anything else going on in my life. Yet, at the time, I had actually been praying about restoration for months, asking the Lord to birth His heart to restore in His people.

And I realized that the Lord had been hearing my prayer to restore His people, so He threw me into deliverance ministry. Deliverance from oppression and restoration are two sides of the same coin.

How is this a promise for our churches?

When we begin to operate in the ministry of reconciliation, ministering restoration to God’s people, chains that have kept our churches and our people in bondage are going to fall off. 

God’s people have been robbed and plundered long enough. They have been in bondage long enough. When God’s people stand up and cry “Restore” on behalf of the saints, God Himself is going to deliver us from oppression and bondage.

So let’s birth the ministry of reconciliation in our churches. Let’s cry out to the Lord for restoration.

Will you cry “Restore!” today?

Does this message speak to your heart today? If so, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

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11 Comments

  1. AMEN!!! Jamie, I have seen the power of reconciliation in the church personally walking with ministers and their families in the process. There are two incredibly beautiful outcomes in restoration that have the potential to birth revival in the church. First, a leader has the humility and courage to confess that they are human and NEED GOD, just like the rest of us, usually releasing a spirit of repentance in a body where others are freed to openly confess their own secret sin, beginning the process of breaking shame and bondage off of whosoever will. Secondly, it gives the congregation the kairos opportunity to choose mercy over judgment. When we choose mercy, walking in love and forgiveness, we release the spirit of Jesus! Repentance in the revelation of our desperation plus the spirit of Jesus will release the spirit of revival and renewal. Praise God, let’s all get real and follow the lead of open and honest ministers who admit their faults and call on the name of the Lord for mercy and restoration.

  2. Karen Hardin says:

    Powerful word!!

  3. Thank you Jamie for a timely word. 2 Cor. 5:18 says that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

  4. Gwynne Nation says:

    Oh my this has been the cry of my heart to see the depth of people’s needs and to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Thank you for a timely word. As we allow Him to tune our heart to the music of His spirit of deep healing and wholeness!

    1. Amen and amen. Yes. To restore as He restored. “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more,” He said. May we all be gracious as He is gracious.

  5. Hi! …& Happy Wednesday!
    You are right =-on with this. Almost 100% of sites on this topic are about one’s personal reconciliation…almost nothing about praying to God for others to be saved/reconciled to Him.

    I am sure that prayers of others whose hearts went out to this crappy human (me) for my salvation/reconciliation were the only thing that moved God to visit me and love me into His hands.

    I have been trying to get Churches to be/do/live this ministry…not much success. But now, with your post and site I may be able to better reach them.

    THANK YOU!!

  6. Jamie, I was surprised when I read the reply here from
    “Dave says: May 19, 2021 at 12:50 PM”, because it was like ME saying those thoughts/words from MY experiences! I had to think hard to decide it was not me who had written it all! lol

    I have talked and written extensively for a couple years to Christian friends, acquaintances, and leaders about what 2 Cor. 5:18 should mean to we Born-Agains., and how powerful this could be for individuals and fellowships and, of course, The Kingdom.

    What I think is a key to reconciliation not working VERY powerfully, is that most born-agains are in sins of which they are unaware.
    –Therefore I myself pray to know any hidden or blindness infecting sins, and for God to help/move others, even ALL born-agains to do the same …in order to become fully RE-reconciled to ALL of God’s desires again. And to also pray for ALL those who are still ‘lost’ to be somehow moved by God to get reconciled for the first time with God’s desires for THEIR lives to HIS ideals.
    –Oh, yes, I know that there’s no perfection in this life, but the best any human can do is to learn how to grow TOWARD perfection (Sin-repent. Sin-repent = growing) with God’s/Spirit’s helps…that no one can boast of their successes but God Himself.. (:

  7. Ah! Now I remember! I did write that in May 2021. (blush)

    I’m embarrassed. But,… that doesn’t make my second reply/comment invalid, does it?

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