RiverLife Values 2034: Ministers Restoration

From Genesis to Revelation, God’s story is one of restoration, weaving through its narrative God’s work to redeem, heal, and restore humanity and creation. The Church is the primary tool for that restoration. 

Sermon Intro

Every church is a minister of something. Most would say they are ministers of the gospel. But if you spend time with them, watch them, and listen to them, you might learn that they are ministers of something else.

• Some might be ministers of biblical truth. That’s what’s important to them.

• Others could be ministers of culture. The preservation of cultural norms and values is what’s really driving them.

• Still others might be ministers of tradition—from their denomination, their long-standing church, or their founding families.

Every church has a core framework, a lens through which they see everything else. It begs the question: what do we want that to be for RiverLife?

As we brainstormed new church values that would carry us into the next decade, I found the answer to that question while listening to music in the car.

The playlist hit a new song from the Christian band Tenth Avenue North called “Ministers.” I was enjoying it, and then one line hit me like a ton of bricks. I literally pulled the car over and put it on repeat.

Here are some of the lyrics:

We are Your ministers.

It's the title we all bare.

Perfect love's the ministry. That much is clear.

It's why we're living, breathing, taking space on earth.

Now we're broadcasting reconciliation.

We're not speaking condemnation.

We're too busy building bridges.

We are ministers of restoration.

And there it was. God gave me the answer I was looking for. That’s who I want RiverLife to be – We are ministers of restoration. That’s why it’s now our second core value.

Restoration as a value

Imagine if we looked at everything we do through the lens of restoration:

• Restoring families

• Restoring hope

• Restoring communities

• Restoring our union with God

Perfect love's the ministry. That much is clear.

We're not speaking condemnation.

We're too busy building bridges.

We are ministers of restoration.

How does this align with Scripture? I would argue that the entire Bible is a story of restoration. The grand narrative of Scripture is often described in four acts: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

Want it simpler? The entire Bible is the story of God restoring Eden, both creation and humanity’s relationship with God. Restoration is at the heart of God, so it should be at the heart of RiverLife

And God has assigned us the talk of being agents of His restoration. Did you know that? Did you know that if you’re a Christian part of your responsibility is bringing divine restoration to your sphere of influence?

Restoration in the Bible

You heard that in today’s Scripture reading from 2 Corinthians 5 & 6.

From that passage comes three steps to being a minister of reconciliation:

• Understand God’s work

• Accept God’s work

• Do God’s work

Understand. Accept. Do. You can fail this at step:

• If you don’t understand God’s work of restoration, you can’t minister it to others.

• You can understand it but not accept it within your own life. If that happens, your influence stops there.

• You can understand it and accept it but then not do anything about it. You just keep it to yourself.

But God calls us, invites us, and implores us to do all three. Let’s walk through it together. Just a warning, though: We’ll jump around this passage. Paul wasn’t linear in writing this one. Instead, he loops around to repeat and reinforce ideas.

Understanding God’s Work

Let’s start with understanding God’s work of restoration in the world.

This passage contains some of the simplest and most elegant descriptions of Jesus’ saving work for us:

Verse 14 says, “One died for all, and therefore all died.”

Verse 17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.”

Verse 18 says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.”

Verse 19 says, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.”

Verse 21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This is Christology—a theology of Christ—at its best.

Jesus Christ died for all humanity. For those who believe, our old self dies, and our relationship with God is restored or reconciled because our sins keep us from God. But in Christ, God doesn’t count our sins against us. Jesus, who was righteous and had no sin, took on our sin so that we can take on his righteousness.

That is God’s ministry of restoration—often called the doctrine of reconciliation.

• Jesus’ broken body restores our broken relationship with God.

• Through Jesus’ wounds, we’re healed.

• The cross restores what sin broke.

If a friend asked you about that, would you be able to describe God’s ministry of restoration? If you might struggle or fumble through it, you might not understand God’s work of restoration in the world.

Accepting God’s Work

That’s God’s work of restoration in the world. How about His work in you?

For this, we turn to verse 20, “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

“We implore you.” In Greek, this is a powerful work. It means to ask or seek, plead, even beg. One time, it’s translated as “please.”

• Please, be restored to God.

• On Christ’s behalf, we beg of you: receive him and his gift of reconciliation with your Creator, the God of the universe.

“Be reconciled to God.” This is a command in the passive voice, which means it’s not something you do, but something that is done to you. You can’t save yourself. You can’t

• Go to church enough

• Pray enough

• Be good enough

to restore your relationship with God. If you could, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die. But he did because you can’t.

• Your sin nature separates you from God. Be reconciled to God. Say yes to Jesus.

• Your sinful thoughts separate you from God. Be reconciled to God. Ask God for the forgiveness that comes from Jesus’ death on the cross.

• Your sinful actions separate you from God. Be reconciled to God. Ask God for forgiveness and make it right with the person you wronged.

Doing God’s work

But you can’t stop there. There’s one more thing God is calling you to.

• It happens when God gives you a holy mission, a passion.

• It happens when you say: “Not my will, but yours be done.”

• It happens when you pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

It’s when you yourself become a minister of restoration.

18 All this is from God, who… gave us the ministry of reconciliation… 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.

Scripture says that you have a ministry of reconciliation, you have a message of reconciliation, and that you are Christ’s ambassador.

The Greek word ambassador…

• In secular Grecian politics, an ambassador legally represented the authority that sent him.

• In the Old Testament, angels were God’s ambassadors, and Moses was God’s ambassador.

• In the New Testament, the disciples were God’s ambassadors. Even Paul described himself as God’s ambassador.

And now, so are you. You are not just a Christian. You are now God’s representative, his messenger, his mouthpiece… his ambassador, talking as though God were speaking directly through you.

Application

YOU are a minister of restoration. But how do you actually do that? Here are five ways to start:

1. Pray for God’s Vision.

Ask God to open your eyes to the brokenness around you. Make prayer your first step in any restorative work.

2. See people differently.

Don’t see people like the world does, with harsh and judgmental eyes. See people as God does, with the potential for change.

3. Help others find their new identity in Christ.

Remind people not who they are in themselves but who they are in Christ.

4. Be an example through integrity.

Live a life that reflects the transformative power of the gospel. Let your actions back up your words, showing what restoration looks like.

5. Be persistent in reconciling your own relationships.

Commit to working through conflicts and misunderstandings in your own life. Build peace. Pursue unity and healing in relationships, even when it’s hard.

Conclusion

I can close this message like Paul closed his section of 2 Corinthians: Don’t waste this sermon. Today is the day to do something with it.

Chapter 6, verses 1 and 2 say, “1 As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

Now is the time for us to be ministers of restoration together.

Reflection - Journaling

What is one act of restoration you can do this week? Not sure, pray.

Now, imagine 150 little acts of restoration in one week. And that is just the beginning.