Last week we introduced you to our new teaching series.
TAKE OUT PRAYER CARD…READ THE PRAYER...
The prayer of St. Francis. The peace prayer.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Over the next few months, we’ll be talking about this prayer...looking for the biblical foundations & KINGDOM TRUTHS found within it.
Last week, I gave you a bit of historical background on the prayer itself. I won’t repeat myself (you can go online & listen to the info) but the PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS (or the PEACE PRAYER).
There is a very popular PRAYER credited to Francis, not because he actually wrote it, but because it reflects the KINGDOM LIFESTYLE that Francis so hungered for.
I first discovered the prayer when I ran a Christian bookstore in Evanston, IL in the late 1980’s. I’ve held the prayer close to me since then. I find it to be a radical, daring prayer.
Don’t be mistaken, it’s not just a Catholic prayer...
This “Prayer of Peace” associated with St. Francis has become one of the world’s most well known prayers. Embraced by not only Catholics and Protestants, the prayer has even found a place of honor with Jews and Muslims. Read at the funeral of Mother Theresa of Calcutta and used regularly by the chaplain of the US Senate in the chambers of Congress, this prayer so beautifully encapsulates Jesus’ ministry.
Each week over the next few months, we’ll be exploring this prayer, going deeper into the biblical foundations found within this prayer.
So let’s start…First line of this prayer…Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
LIFE POINT ONE: PEACE: DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!
MAKE ME A MAN OF GOD’S PEACE..
Lord make me handsome. Lord make me rich. I understand that…but what is… "Make me an instrument of GOD’s PEACE"?? God’s peace???? What’s that???
Let’s look at a few scriptures together to help answer that question…
Numbers: 6: 22-27
The Priestly Blessing
Nu 6:22 The LORD said to Moses,
Nu 6:23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
Nu 6:24 “ ‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you;
Nu 6:25 the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
Nu 6:26 the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. ” ’
Nu 6:27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
JOHN 14: 26-27
Jn 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Jn 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Philippians 4: 4-7
Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Phil 4:5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Phil 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
The Bible is very clear that there is something unique about “peace” that comes from God..
In the OT, the Hebrew word ‘shalom’ is used to describe God’s peace…different from worldly peace. So much more than English. Not just the absence of war & conflict.
Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.
“complete, perfect and full”.
Shalom is one of God’s 72 names in Hebrew. In OT
One of Jesus’ names….Sar SHALOM (Prince of Peace) is one of the descriptive names the Bible uses to indicate the ministry and personality of the Messiah: Isaiah 9:6
So…being distrubutor of God’s peace is HUGE. It’s better than being a ice cream dealer on a hot sunny day.
Ok…so now we know what we’re called to give away. HOW do we give it away.
LIFE POINT TWO: INSTRUMENT: SO WHAT KIND OF MUSICIAN ARE YOU?
INSTRUMENT of peace.
In my Band director days…there were 2 kinds of kids:
1. ones with musical abilities. Careful, watch for direction, play with feeling, watch the dynamics, sensitive
2. ones with very little musical ability (mainly drummers)…no patience. Always loud, overbearing, blasting, emptying the spit valve during the quiet parts
Just like playing music takes an instrument with sensitivity…so it is with instrument of peace.
WWJD As with most aspects of the Christian life, it’s good to watch the MASTER as He distributed peace…
Jn 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Jn 20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Jn 20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Jn 20:22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Jn 20:23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Lk 10:2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Lk 10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
Lk 10:4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
Lk 10:5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
Lk 10:6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
Lk 10:7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
Lk 10:8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.
Lk 10:9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’
In Jesus’ economy… Mt 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
WORDS & WORKS. Speaking PEACE & demonstrating PEACE.
QUIETLY & GENTLY HEAL WITH WORDS & WORKS.
LORD, MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF YOUR PEACE…
This is where it gets really practical.
The truth is….YOU are an instrument of something…
Everybody is distributing something…
The question is…WHAT ARE YOU DISTRIBUTING?
And HOW are you distributing it?
Oh, God…help.
You can’t give away something you don’t have. LET’S ASK FOR IT. The Holy Spirit comes & brings SHALOM.
Now…as we get it from God..Lord. give us sensitivity to distribute YOUR PEACE with your guidance & wisdom. Waiting for the director to show us how & where.
AMEN.
