Don’t Lose Heart, Part 2: The Ministry of Reconciliation Every Believer Carries

Don’t lose heart, because God has given every believer a ministry, and that ministry does not depend on how you feel. In this message, the pastor continues last week’s theme from 2 Corinthians 4 and shows that the church has been handed the ministry of reconciliation: bringing people to a Father who loves them. He teaches how to remember that responsibility, how to combat the enemy who blinds minds, and how to stay resilient when life is hard.

This message continues from Don’t Lose Heart, Part 1: Hope That Renews Your Strength — Pastor Paul Hohman. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was preached at NTC Ministries and posted on April 30, 2024. It runs about 55 minutes and closes with communion and a prayer of blessing. The pastor says he is continuing the topic he shared the week before, don’t give up and don’t lose heart, because we live in a crazy world with crazy feelings and crazy circumstances, some we are ready for and some not so much.

His foundation is 2 Corinthians 4, which he takes in chunks, with side trips into 2 Corinthians 5, 2 Timothy, 1 Peter 5 and Isaiah 40. He opens in prayer, calling God’s Word a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105) and asking for grace to walk by faith and not by feelings.

God Purposed You Before Time Began

None of us asked to be here, the pastor says, but God purposed it before time began, and His plan for your life is amazing if you choose to take hold of it. If you do not take hold of it, you are running from it, and he does not want to run away from the blessings God has in store. It is when he tries to do things in his own strength that he trips, falls and fails.

When the Word is alive and active inside you, you can declare that with God all things are possible and that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). Everyone goes through times of not knowing what to do. It is fine to ask God what He is doing and to ask for help. What we are not to do is question His purpose and plan.

Jesus Himself cried out in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had the same flesh and the same feelings we have, and He took on all our sin and all our shame, not just part of it. He was also honest that trouble would come: in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

That is why we have the Word, the pastor says. God does not just want us to make it through the day. He wants us to thrive, to see increase and to see His precious promises alive and active in our lives. So take heart, do not give up, seek the Father’s heart and press in to Him.

Remember Your Responsibility

The opening verses are the foundation. Since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart; we renounce secret and shameful ways, refuse deception and do not distort the Word of God, but set forth the truth plainly; and if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:1–3). The pastor’s first point: remember your responsibility.

Many believers have never thought of themselves as having a ministry, he says. They are not apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers, so they assume Paul is not talking to them. But Paul is speaking to the church. This is our ministry. Do not quit, do not back away, do not shy away; give everything you have to the ministry of the gospel.

Before he was the apostle Paul, he was Saul, a man very good at killing Christians who believed he was doing right. Then he had an encounter with Jesus and went in a completely different direction. Renouncing secret and shameful ways meant dealing with old habits. God can set people free instantly, from addiction, a bad mindset, worry and anxiety, but nothing is hidden from Him, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Not distorting the Word means not watering it down. We cannot save anyone; only God does that, when He gives a new heart for the old heart of stone. Our job is to declare the truth plainly. You are here by divine appointment, the pastor says. You are part of the army of the living God, the body of Christ, His hands and feet.

Paul writes that God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace given to us in Christ Jesus before time began (2 Timothy 1:9). You were on His mind before you were thought into being, and you are on His mind today. One day each of us will answer to Him alone and hear either well done, good and faithful servant, or depart from Me (Matthew 7:23). Am I putting Him first? Am I a doer of the Word?

The Ministry of Reconciliation

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17–19). That means we cannot let the past dictate the future. The only thing the pastor holds on to from the past is what Jesus did on the cross. Paul had to let go of what he had done, even when Satan probably used guilt and shame against him.

All things are of God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. What is reconciliation? Bringing people to the Father and letting them know His love so they can surrender their lives. It is not about our works, the pastor says, but about God’s works through us. And God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.

Saul had been sending believers to God as martyrs. Now he was bringing people into God’s kingdom. That is every believer’s calling, in word and in deed: toward loved ones, enemies, co-workers, neighborhoods and communities. None of us knows what tomorrow holds, and Jesus could come back in the twinkling of an eye.

The pastor says this is why the church does what it does. He lists the outreaches, each with the same message, that God loves people with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3):

Satan feeds on the question of why we are here, lying that we are not good enough. The pastor says the church must tell people, including children, that there is a greater way and that God loves them. This is not an if-you-feel-like-it ministry. Whether you are training your children, influencing your workplace or volunteering, let your light so shine before men (Matthew 5:16). We are not the sin police; we are there to show love.

The real test of maturity, he says, is to keep going when the fun is over. Quoting a Kentucky preacher, Wayne Smith, he says he likes people who crawl in sick, not those who call in sick. Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9). God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

He adds that this is why he gives. You can work and work and it is never enough, but when he tithes, he says, he watches the Lord fill his cupboards and keep his household in divine health. The Word only works as you apply it, not while it sits on a shelf or in the car. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). You are planted in this church, he says, not to make sure the chairs do not move, but to make sure the chairs are full.

Combat the God of This Age

Paul continues: the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ; we preach Christ Jesus as Lord, not ourselves; and God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:4–6). There is a real enemy, the pastor says, and we have to learn to combat him.

The Word works like a GPS. When we start believing something contrary to it, the voice says “recalculating” until we turn around and get back on the road God gave us. Jesus said His sheep know His voice and will not follow a stranger (John 10:4–5).

He illustrates with a story about a golfer with the yips whose psychiatrist told him to play a whole round without a ball. He had the round of his life and on the eighteenth hole met another man doing the same thing. They bet ten dollars on the hole, and when the first man’s imaginary shot spun back into the cup, the other said, “You hit my ball.” The point: sometimes we are listening to the wrong voice, taking whatever help sounds good even when it contradicts the Word.

We need truth seekers. If you abide in My word, Jesus said, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31–32). Keep reading until God tells you what to do, and stay steady. And why wait for catastrophe to tell people God loves them?

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee; draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:7–8). These are promises, the pastor says, not suggestions. Those who lay hands on the sick will see them recover (Mark 16:18). If you have prayed and not seen it yet, keep doing it. If someone got upset when you spoke the truth, keep speaking it. Our job is not to convict of sin but to convince of righteousness.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time; cast all your care on Him, because He cares for you; be sober and vigilant, because the devil walks about like a roaring lion; resist him, steadfast in the faith; and after you have suffered a while, God will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you (1 Peter 5:6–10). Pride insists on its own way, but God offers a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20).

Due time is like a farmer’s harvest, weeks, months or even years away. The pastor says he gets into the Word every day even when he does not see or feel anything, and that makes him sensitive to the moments when they come. Recently he asked a man whether he had ever thought of going back to church, and the man said his mother had just been talking to him about it. “Then you’re hearing from God, brother,” he told him.

Be Resilient and Do Not Lose Heart

If you are going to doubt anything, the pastor says, doubt your doubts. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). We walk by faith, not by feelings, because feelings will wreck us until we step back into God’s arms of grace and mercy.

He reads Isaiah 40:28–31: the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. He gives power to the weak, and even youths faint and young men fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. God wants to renew you, revive you and restore you, breathing His breath into you so that a sailboat becomes a speedboat.

Back in 2 Corinthians, Paul says we are hard-pressed on every side yet not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying the dying of Jesus so that His life may be revealed in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:8–10). Paul knew heartache and stress. He may have been down for a while, but he did not stay down. He was resilient.

The pastor compares it to a flat tire. You can sit at the roadside asking God why, or open the trunk, put on the spare and drive on. Fear, stress, anxiety or sickness can keep you on the sidelines, but the truth of the Word is like putting on a spare that is better than any tire you had.

The chapter ends with the heart of the message. We have the same spirit of faith: we believe and therefore speak. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though the outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look at the things which are not seen (2 Corinthians 4:13–18).

That, he says, is why he reads the Word and declares who he is in Christ every day, using the confessions Dr. Hohman wrote. He may not see or feel it, but he is sowing seeds for his future. Before communion he reads Hebrews 12:1–3: lay aside every weight and run with endurance, looking unto Jesus. We all get down, he says, but we do not have to stay down. God never leaves us or forsakes us, and He has us in the palm of His hand.

How Not to Lose Heart This Week

Here are practical steps drawn from this message:

• Own your ministry. You do not need a title. Name the people in your family, workplace and neighborhood whom God has placed you to reach.
• Invite someone. The pastor asks when you last invited someone to church. Make it this week.
• Get the Word off the shelf. Read it daily so faith rises and old worries lose their grip.
• Check your GPS. If you have started believing something contrary to Scripture, turn around and get back on the road.
• Doubt your doubts. When the thought comes that you cannot do anything, answer it with Philippians 4:13 and 1 John 4:4.
• Put on the spare. When life goes flat, do not sit on the roadside asking why; stand on God’s promises and keep moving.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Opening prayer: faith, not feelings
• 0:56 Purposed before time began
• 2:36 Do not question God’s plan; Jesus in Gethsemane
• 3:29 John 16:33: take heart
• 4:28 2 Corinthians 4:1–3: we have this ministry
• 5:26 Remember your responsibility
• 7:27 Renouncing secret and shameful ways
• 10:37 2 Timothy 1:9: a holy calling
• 12:47 New creations: 2 Corinthians 5:17
• 13:51 The ministry of reconciliation
• 16:19 Child care, Academy, radio and food pantry
• 18:32 Every day is ministry
• 21:01 Life is duty: pressing through
• 24:07 The Word works when applied
• 26:28 2 Corinthians 4:4–6: the god of this age
• 28:49 The golfer with no ball
• 32:30 John 8:31–32: the truth makes you free
• 33:41 James 4:7: resist the devil
• 35:50 1 Peter 5:6–10: humble yourselves
• 40:14 Doubt your doubts
• 42:35 Isaiah 40: renew your strength
• 43:47 Hard-pressed but not crushed
• 45:03 The flat tire and the spare
• 47:30 Light affliction, eternal glory
• 50:02 Communion and Hebrews 12

Don’t Lose Heart Series

This is the second of two messages on not losing heart. Go back to the first:

• Previous: Don’t Lose Heart, Part 1: Hope That Renews Your Strength — Pastor Paul Hohman
• You are here: Don’t Lose Heart, Part 2: The Ministry of Reconciliation Every Believer Carries

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it wrong to ask God what He is doing in a hard season?

No. The pastor says it is fine to say, God, what are You doing here, show me and help me. Asking for help is right; Jesus Himself cried out in Gethsemane. What he warns against is questioning God’s purpose and plan, as though He had made a mistake. Seek Him, keep reading His Word and trust that His plan is good even when you cannot see it yet.

What should I do if someone gets upset when I share the truth?

Keep speaking it in love. The pastor says to let them be upset and continue, because it is not our job to convict anyone of sin; that is God’s work. Our part is to convince of righteousness by knowing and telling the truth. Either God will reach their heart, or if they run into trouble, they will come back to the one person who told them the truth.

Why does he connect giving with not losing heart?

Because both are about trusting the Word over what you see. He says you can work and work and it is never enough, but when he gives, he watches the Lord provide. In the same way, he sows the Word daily by declaring who he is in Christ, even when he does not feel anything. Due season comes like a farmer’s harvest, to those who do not give up.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• 2 Corinthians 4:1–3 — we have this ministry; we do not lose heart
• 2 Corinthians 5:17–19 — the ministry of reconciliation
• 2 Timothy 1:9 — called before time began
• 2 Corinthians 4:4–6 — the god of this age
• John 8:31–32 — the truth shall make you free
• 1 Peter 5:6–10 — humble yourselves, resist the devil
• Isaiah 40:28–31 — renew your strength
• 2 Corinthians 4:13–18 — the inward man renewed day by day
• Hebrews 12:1–3 — looking unto Jesus

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

Watch More Messages

If this message encouraged you not to give up, there are hundreds more teachings from NTC Ministries waiting for you. Browse the full sermon archive and keep growing in the ministry God has given you.