Reconciliation

Transcript (Auto-generated)

Well, good morning. How wonderful it is to be able to meet like this on Australia Day with the freedom to worship God, to declare His name and to enjoy that sense of mutual fellowship one with another. I want to say to us this morning that the 18th of January 1788 was a very important date. Some of you will be saying you've got it wrong, Pastor, not the 18th, the 26th. No, the 18th of January 1788 was a very important date and for the cynics among you it was not my birthday. Some of you will be thinking that way. But on the 18th of January two ships out of a fleet of eleven, the largest contingent of ships, I believe, to set out into the Pacific Ocean at that time sailed into Botany Bay. They left England on the 13th of May 1787 and eight months later found themselves in this newfound land harbour of Botany Bay. But for some reason the governor of the time, the one leading that fleet of ships, Governor Arthur Phillip, rejected Botany Bay. For some reason he didn't like that location and it wasn't because of the oil spills from Kernel Royal Refinery, that wasn't there then. Something else turned him off. Not the skyscrapers, they weren't there, but something else turned him off. And when on the 20th of January 1788 the other nine ships joined him there in Botany Bay, they decided to sail a little further north and they sailed into Port Jackson, the place that we refer to today as Circular Key. And Governor Phillip and some of his crew got off the ship and went ashore and they raised the British Union Jack in the name of King George III and claimed Australia as a British colony. England's prisons had become overcrowded. So Australia had become its new penal colony, a place that was eventually named after the British Home Secretary Lord Sidney, or as the Asians would say Lord Sidney, but Lord Sidney became the famous name to call that capital of what is now New South Wales. As I said, eleven ships comprised that fleet. I don't think they were huge ships, seems to me by the passenger list that they were not all that big. They were wind powered, they didn't have diesel or oil engines powering them along. They depended on the wind to get them there. And somehow by God's goodness those eleven ships arrived and scattered across those ships were somewhere between 750 and 780 convicts, POMs, a name that has stuck with English immigrants. Many of them just like it, they don't like being called POMies because originally the word POM was spelled P-O-H-M-S, prisoners of His Majesty's service, POMs. In addition to the 750, 780 convicts was a crew of 550. They were crew members of the ships, some of them were soldiers and others were their families. Among those convicts there was quite an array of people. This was a penal colony, these were people that deserved huge sentences for serious crimes like stealing a loaf of bread. I read that among them there was a 13 year old girl sent away from her homeland as a convict in a far off land. I guess the other ships that came also brought supplies, livestock, seeds, plants, food, building materials. And they landed at that portion of the land that is known as the Gadigal Aborigini People's Land. And as they landed, instantly there was opposition. I can understand that. Here are these people coming in to take over, to establish something new. And the enmity the hatred grew to the point that 50 cuffs, spears were thrown, muskets were fired, even Governor Phillip himself suffered the injury in a calf muscle from a spear, and lives were lost. And friends, the sad thing is that 237 years later on the exact same day we have not yet got to a point of reconciliation. This morning I want us to consider this topic of reconciliation because it's a topic that is relevant far beyond the breakdown of relationships between indigenous Aborigines and British migrants. Worldwide we see animosity between nations. Nations such as Israel and Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, Russia and the Ukraine, Northern and Southern Korea, China and Taiwan, and several of the African countries like North Sudan and South Sudan, and many other places there is a breakdown of relationship. At personal level there is a breakdown of relationships in marriages, within families where family members are estranged, in social relationships where once upon a time we would enjoy each other's company, but all of a sudden for some reason something has driven a wedge between that relationship. At the levels of business and employment breakdowns in relationships have occurred, and we can go on and on and on. Friends the key statement that I want to get across to us this morning is this, that true reconciliation with others is only achieved out of a reconciliation with God. True reconciliation with others will only ever come about when there is a true reconciliation with God. The reading that I chose this morning is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 which Dylan read for us a little earlier on, and amazingly Dave, he's so busy taking notes, Dave I noticed you used that passage of scripture in the prayer plans, did somebody tell you that, hey that's an amazing thing isn't it, God sort of confirms. And here in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 18 to 21 and I'm reading from the New Living Translation which says, and all of this is a gift from God who brought us back to himself through Christ, and God has given this task of reconciling people to him, for God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them, and he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors, God is making his appeal through us, we speak for Christ when we plead, come back to God, for God made Christ who never sinned to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. Many many attempts have been made at reconciliation, but they fail, and they fail because true reconciliation with others is only ever achieved out of individual reconciliation with God. You look at our own national differences that have occurred down through the ages, all attempts to bring about reconciliation but they fail. There's been the attempt of coercion, people ought to wear the same sort of clothes, they ought to live in the same kind of houses, they ought to worship the same kind of religion. There's been the push for equal rights where all parties receive fair pay for the same job that they do, that all parties have the opportunity to vote, where all parties are able to drink at the same bar. There's been the push for land rights, and bucket loads of money have been thrown into that issue in an attempt to attain reconciliation. There's been the idea of apologising to say sorry, and all of these attempts and others have been made, some of them quite worthy, good initiatives, some of them very inappropriate, but none of them have brought about reconciliation. In the overseas situations at an international level, there have been heads of nations come together at round table conferences looking at strategies. International aid groups have got together to make offers, peace treaties have been drawn up, ceasefires have been put in place, but all of these attempts have failed and are only very temporary attempts at bringing about reconciliation. In the context of personal relationships, thousands of dollars have been spent by individuals and families, thousands of dollars of government taxes have been poured into trying to bring resolutions, government edicts have been presented, councillors and counselling agencies are lapping up the opportunities to use funding to try and help people through the maze of division and breakdown, various courses are offered, even court orders and laws are put in place, but still relationships remain broken and reconciliation is a long way off. Years ago, in my pastoral ministry, as a marriage celebrant, the government thought it would be a smart thing that when we marriage celebrants were counselling prospective couples looking to marry that we give them a brochure that talks about when the marriage breaks down, these are some steps that you could take to try and repair it. That's the sort of band-aids that we have tried to apply to bring about reconciliation. In the context of religion even, there are divisions whereby various denominations promote their individual denominational distinctives, which only widens the gap between Christianity. Don't tell the pastors, especially don't tell the denominational heavies that I don't like being a Baptist. I've thought about it on many times, why? Why don't we have these tags? And then I think it through and say, well, what am I going to do? Go and start something else, something different. I get a little excited when I hear of some of these groups under the banner of Christianity wanting to come together to get back to basics, where instead of waiving denominational banners, we focus on being followers of Jesus. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ, that presses my buttons. I love it when I go to the hospital and I introduce myself as a chaplain. Hi, I'm Alan, I'm a part of the chaplaincy team here. And usually it's the blokes who will come back with a retort, oh, I'm not religious. I said, gee, neither am I. And they, what? And we talk about it. I said, I'm a Christian. I love Jesus. I'm happy to talk to you about that if you want. I'm not interested in talking about religion. Usually from there on, we have a good conversation. And then there are those who, from a spiritual perspective, have very false misguided ideals of reconciliation. Again, in my experience as a chaplain, whether it be in the hospital situation or in the industrial factory, I come across people who believe that they will be reconciled to God by keeping the golden rule, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. Or by all the good deeds that they do, the charities that they support, the help that they offer the elderly neighbor down the street. By being a peacemaker, trying to pour oil on troubled waters, by living good morals, by working at being good to their family. And some will even be arrogant enough to say, well, if God doesn't like me the way I am, then that's God's problem. I came across this verse of Scripture in the Proverbs, the great wisdom writer. And again, it's according to the New Living Translation where the writer says, fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation. Fools make fun of guilt. You see, those who try to cover up their failings, their shortcomings by saying, oh, I give to charities or I look after my family or I maintain good moral values, they're covering the underneath problem of sin. And they're making fun of their guilt. They're boasting about it. The wisdom writer says, you fool. Those who acknowledge their wrongdoing will seek reconciliation. And it's true, isn't it? Too often, we try to cover over our own imperfections, our own weaknesses, our wrongdoings. Look, let's call it, for what it is, our sin. By boasting about how good we are, how self-sufficient we are. The wisdom writer says, only fools will make fun of their guilt. Only fools will try and cover up and boast about their wrongdoing. But from a biblical standard, they are being very unrealistic. The wisdom writer says that godly acknowledge their sin and their shortcomings. And they seek reconciliation with a holy, just, loving God. So what is this reconciliation? How is it received? The word reconciliation that appears in the passage of scripture that we've read this morning comes from a Greek word that I know very little about, katalagae. Greek was certainly not something that I was very good at at theological college. But the experts tell me that it means the establishment of a family relationship after it has been seriously disrupted or broken. There is a focus on the change in the relationship from a negative to a positive condition. That's the meaning of the word. In Alan Greaves' layman terms, reconciliation is the recovery of a broken relationship to what it was initially meant to be. Bringing it back to where it should be. And friends, all relationships, whether they are at an international level, at a personal level, or at a spiritual level, they only find true reconciliation as a relate to God through Christ. It's interesting as I read through the letters of the apostle Paul, and he's a big one on encouraging us to be reconciled to God through Christ. Nowhere does he tell us that God needs to be reconciled to mankind. Why? Because God is not the one who broke the relationship. We are the culprits. We've moved away from God's divine plan. And therefore, we are the ones who need to be reconciled back with God. And look, there's numerous amounts of evidence throughout the Scriptures and the world at large, but throughout the Scriptures alone, there's numerous amounts of evidence to show where things went wrong. Many of them are Bible stories that we've been taught in Sunday school about Adam and Eve, how they fell short of God's plan, how they rebelled and took it into their own hands to do it their way. The Tower of Babel, where people thought that they could become greater than God and get up there to speak face to face with God. The story of Noah's Ark, God's judgment upon the sinfulness of mankind, where only Noah and his family were the only ones prepared to accept God's invitation to journey with him. The Ten Commandments, given as a guide for us to live by and who the legal eagles took hold of to try and explain how these commandments could work in our lives and added hundreds and hundreds of bylaws, which have become too difficult for us to keep. And constantly, we find ourselves damned because we fall short. The Israelite people who thought that the pagans had a better God than they had and they'd want to worship the Baals and the Asherah poles because they thought that had more magic than Yahweh, the one true God, could provide for them. The rejection of God's messengers, the prophets who came to give them God's message, were put down. The religious groups of the New Testament, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, the Essenes, groups who had an idea in their mind that they wanted to do things to please God, but at their terms, their way. The failures of the numerous religious groups that have grown down through the ages and the outright sinfulness of mankind. There's the evidence, plenty of it, to see whereby we have become the culprits that have moved away from God. We are the ones that need reconciliation. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah tells us in chapter 53 verse 6, All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We left God's paths to follow our own. Again in chapter 64 and verse 6, Isaiah says, We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Paul puts it in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Doesn't say some of us have fallen short, all of us. That's a pretty inclusive word, that one, isn't it? We've all failed. We're all failures. The only way to be reconciled is to do it God's way, to follow God's plan. And friends, I'm here this morning to tell you that out of my experience, and I'm sure many of you can share it, but if you don't know, God's way is quite amazing. Those great words of John 3.16 that many can just power it off quite easily. God loved the world so much, that He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. And verse 17 follows right after, God sent His Son into the world, not just the world, but to save the world through Jesus. Paul says in Romans 5 and verse 10, For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son, while we were still His enemies, we certainly will be saved through the life of His Son. While we were still sinners, Christ took the initiative. While we're still walking away from Him, Christ has taken the initiative for us. We go back to that passage of Scripture that we read earlier on from 2 Corinthians 5. Look at the words there. Verse 18, God brought us back to Himself through Christ. Verse 19, For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. Verse 20, God is making His appeal through us. Come back to God. Verse 21, God made Christ who never sinned to be the sin offering for our sin so that we could be made right with God through Christ. I mean, He can't put it any clearer than that, can He? He's repeated it four times in the space of four verses. We can only gain reconciliation with others when we first gain reconciliation with God. And that happens through a personal relationship with Jesus. Out of His overflowing love for us, despite our wretchedness, despite our ignorance, God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him. I don't know about you, but I think that's amazing. And look how He has done it. In the latter part of verse 19, no longer counting people's sins against Him. Wow. He doesn't deal with our sinfulness as it deserves in terms of us personally. But rather, He through His Son has paid the price on our behalf. Friends, those words, no longer counting people's sins against them. For me, they have stamped all over them the two words, grace and forgiveness. Grace and forgiveness. Grace tells us that it's an undeserved act that is extended to us at no cost, except for the amazing price that Jesus paid upon the cross of Calvary. And what about the forgiveness? From His cross, His body battered and His ears burning with words of abuse and rejection. While His closest friends had deserted Him, Jesus cries out to the Father, Father, forgive them because they don't know what they're doing. And friend, if you are not reconciled with God today, Jesus cries that same prayer over you, Father, forgive them because they don't realize what they're doing. Friends, on this Australia Day 2025, I want us to understand that true reconciliation will not be found in pomp and ceremony. It will not be found through empty promises of politics. It will not be found through mere words of apology. It will not be found through religion and denominational distinctives. True reconciliation will only be found when divided parties return to God through Jesus who paid the sacrificial price in His death upon the cross to make amends for our sin as He died on that cruel cross 2,000 years ago. And international groups and parties will only ever find reconciliation. We will not find reconciliation through man-made peace treaties. We can go back to the experience of the Jews and the Gentiles back in the early New Testament era. Long before Captain Arthur Phillips sailed into Port Jackson. In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 14 through to 16, we read, Friends, if we are wanting to see reconciliation between nation and nation, if we are wanting to see reconciliation between couples in marriage or families or work situations or social groups, it will only ever come about if the two parties that are warring each other come separately to God and find reconciliation with God, then they can be reconciled together. That's how it worked for the Jews and Gentiles. That was the recipe that Paul is outlining for us here. They individually as groups recognize that Jesus was Lord, Jesus was the one who could save them from their sin. Jesus was the one who could heal their division. And when they acknowledge Jesus and were reintroduced as it were to God, then they could be reconciled to one another. The same can happen in your life, in your family, in your work situation. When both parties are prepared to come back to God through Christ, then you have a building block on which to build a firm foundation of relationship, one with the other. Reconciliation with others is only ever achieved out of reconciliation with God. I'm so glad that when the Apostle Paul wrote this letter of 2 Corinthians, that he didn't put his pen down at the end of chapter 5, but he kept writing the words of chapter 6. And the opening couple of verses of 2 Corinthians chapter 6 read, As God's partners, we beg you not to accept this marvellous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. For God says, and here he's quoting from Isaiah chapter 49 and verse 8, At just the right time I heard you, on the day of salvation I helped you. Indeed, the right time is now. Today is the day of salvation. Are you seeking reconciliation with God? Do you need to be reconciled with somebody from whom you are separated? Today is the day to deal with it. To deal with it through a renewed relationship with God by coming to the foot of the cross and acknowledging Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let's pray. And friends, let me suggest that as you bowed in an attitude of prayer, if in your own life you are unreconciled with others, ask yourself the question about your own relationship with God. And if there's a need there to confess, make your confession known. Of course, the Bible is very clear that if we confess our sin, God is the faithful and just God and will forgive us our sins and get this, and he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And pray for the one from whom you are estranged. Pray that they too might be reconciled to God. And as that reconciliation takes place, there's a firm foundation for you to build relationship afresh in the name of Jesus. Pray for our world, where many parts of it are at loggerheads. Pray that the good news of the gospel will impact the lives of leaders, world leaders, so that true reconciliation might begin. Pray for our nation. The 237 years since that first fleet sailed into Port Jackson, the animosity, the hatred, the bitterness, the pain, the failed attempts at reconciliation. And still, there are many who find it difficult to get on with one another. Pray that our nation might be a nation that seeks the face of Jesus and is reconciled to God. Father, hear our prayers, or we ask them in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.