God’s Peace
December 4, 2022
We’re in one of the most drama filled months of the year. As we prepare for Christmas, planning menus, shopping, parties and family gatherings. And when we get together with family, that can lead to some interesting, some funny and some not so fun moments. I’m wondering, how many of you know someone that's a little difficult to love? Don’t point, just raise your hands!
Is it me, or does it seem that the past couple of years has made more of them. This is a great time of year, but it can also be a crazy time of year.
Even though family and Christmas go together, sometimes, they don’t. Sometimes, it’s best just to stay home and enjoy the peace. It can get complicated. You know what I mean?
It’s incredibly complicated right now. Because, so many subjects are taboo. It’s to the point that even talking about the weather may lead to a feud. People are so quick to be offended and angry. And if you say something they don’t like, they’re likely to unfriend you, call you out, block you or cancel you.
And there’s some people who always seem to be on the lookout to be offended. They enjoy complaining about things. They’re quick to point out how they’ve been wronged, even when they get a bargain, they’re still mad. It’s a no win situation.
Have you ever met a person who said - - - "My life is so much more productive because I'm always angry.” I’ve never heard that. We would think they’re crazy to say that. Everyone seems to be on edge. And this is where I’m heading,
being offended is inevitable, but living offended is a choice.
It's a choice. I want you to get that today. We’re talking about finding God’s peace and not being a Grinch! As followers of Christ, we need to choose wisely. In fact, we need to do the difficult . . . We’re going to see what Paul had to tell us in Romans 12. It’s a great section of scripture about how we should act. This isn’t an easy scripture, but it’s necessary. Paul said - - -
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
The practical instruction Paul gives in this chapter is honestly enough to get us to work on who we are for the rest of our lives. Because this isn’t easy. And we’re just looking at a snippet today.
In verse 14 Paul wrote - - -
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
I want to start off with what Paul means when he says persecute. Because again, in our world, we can be pretty thin skinned. We think we’re being persecuted when someone disagrees with us, or doesn’t like our post on FB. But that’s not even close to what Paul’s getting at.
The word Paul uses in the Greek literally means TO BE ZEALOUSLY AND AGGRESSIVELY CHASED, LIKE A HUNTER PURSUING IT’S PRIZE. And what’s cool is we’re going to see this word on the flip side in a couple of weeks.
That’s aggressive persecution. So, when we’re being persecuted, we’re being hunted down. This is not a fun type of persecution. What does Paul say to do? I’m telling you upfront, you’re not going to like this! Just know I told you!
Bless them! Bless and don’t curse them. I mean, you’ve got to be kidding? I don’t want to bless them! Who wants to bless people like this?
But that’s what Paul tells us.
The word to bless comes from the Greek word E-U-L-O-G-E-O. YOO-lo-geh-O
It’s a compound word, made up of E-U, which means good! And the second part is LOGOS, which means word! So, literally it means to speak well of or to wish the best blessings for someone - - - it’s to say a good word about them.
Yup, just what you came to hear today. Go bless all those people who are against you, people who are rude to you, people who ignore you, people who won’t give you the time of day, people who cut you off and take your parking space. Those are the nice ones, Paul’s also talking about speaking well and wishing those nasty people who persecute the best as well.
Now, I have to admit, it’s easy for me to bless someone I like. It’s those difficult people who make it hard to bless. We all know it’s easy to bless people who bless us, to be generous with people who are generous to us.
But when someone persecutes me or worse, one of my loved ones, well, now, we have a different ball game. I don’t want to bless. I want to attack! I think Paul knows this is our human nature. That’s why in verse 19, he added - - -
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Of course, we tend to think God’s too slow to act and our punishment would be more severe. You know what it’s like. Now, don’t judge me, because you’re identifying with me right now. That’s our nature.
OK, the confessional is now closed!! Understand that Paul isn’t suggesting we do this, he’s commanding us. But the tense he uses means more. His command is in the present imperative. Every time you see the present imperative it means do this and keep doing it. It’s not a one time act. You could restate this as - - -
Be a continual blessing, always saying good things about those who are chasing you down and causing you pain. Doesn’t that sound fun!?
And yet Paul’s giving us this imperative, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that we, as followers of Christ, are to be a continual blessing to those who are a problem.
This isn’t the Christmas season message you’re wanting, but this may come in handy over the next few weeks!!
So, how do we do this? I mean, it’s really not in our nature. I don’t care how nice and sweet you are. Nobody steps and hunts down your loved ones without experiencing your wrath.
You see, the only way we can do this is through the power of God in our lives. Understand the context of what Paul’s talking about in Romans 12. He wrote ---
1 I appeal to you therefore, BY THE MERCIES OF GOD, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
This chapter is predicated on that phrase, in view of God’s mercy to you . . . live this way!
Consider how merciful God has been to you. Consider how much God has extended His grace and forgiveness to you. In view of that, in view of God's goodness for you, in view of His grace, Paul tells us "to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice."
We can erroneously think worship is only what we do on Sunday mornings. But that’s not correct. Worship is a constant. Worship is the life we live. Loving people is a spiritual act of worship. In fact, living is an act of worship.
Paul says we're to be "a living sacrifice." When you think about a living sacrifice, consider Jesus as our living sacrifice. He’s the One who said, No one takes My life, I lay it down.
How do we love others? We lay down our own natural responses. We lay down our own desires. We die to ourselves so that Christ can love others through us.
If we were to be honest, we don't have that in us. We want to fight back, retaliate, get an eye for an eye. But God tells me He sent His Son, to die for me, and when I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior, He pours His Spirit into my weak spirit and it changes me from the inside out . . . and if I’m willing, I will be a changed man and somehow, not on my own, I will be able to bless those who are pursuing me.
Hey - - - we’re just getting started! We’re going to jump to verse 16 - - -
16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your estimation.
Some versions say live in harmony, but the most accurate translation is calling us to be of the same mind. It doesn’t mean we can’t disagree with one another, but Paul’s point is to be of the same mind when it comes to Jesus. It’s to major in the majors and minor in the minors. Know who you are in Jesus, understand that life is not all about you.
Don’t be haughty, in other words, don’t be arrogant, don’t have a big head and ego, but associate with everyone. And don’t be wise in your own sight. Don’t be proud. Don’t be conceited.
Remember Jesus didn't call us to be right. Jesus called us to love. He didn't say the world was gonna know us by how correct we are, but they’d know us by our love.
We’re called by God to demonstrate His love to the world. Go into the world and be a difference maker. Tangible acts of love in the name of Jesus. Our lives are too short and our calling is too great to allow those moments where we’re offended to pull us away from Jesus.
Imagine if Jesus was easily offended. What if Matthew dozed during the sermon on the Mount? What if Jesus was freaked out when He healed 10 lepers, and only 1 came back. "Nobody cares about Me, nobody appreciates Me. I can't go on.”
Or, "I raised the dead, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, calmed the storms, made wine and bread ... was resurrected . . . and Thomas still doubts? I’m done!”
Our calling is too great to be offended by something small. We need to get over it. Our mission is more important than this, our calling is greater.
Someone's rude to you? Get over it. Your mother-in-law corrects your kids again? That's a tough one. Get over it. Someone makes a passive aggressive statement? Get over it. Someone ignores me. Get over it! It’s their loss and I’ve got more important things to do.
We need to apply this to the people we love the most. Apply it to the people at home. Apply it to the people who are closest to you. We’re all going to offend one another, we’re all going to get on one another’s nerves, but can we move beyond it?
In our effort to be right, some have forgotten to be loving. Every marriage is a ministry. Every relationship demonstrates who Christ is in your life. Our calling is too great to get caught up in the smallness of life.
Finally, Paul tells us in verse 18 - - -
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
I love how Paul worded this. In a sense he gives us a little freedom, because we can’t control others. We can’t control what they say and do, or what they don’t say and don’t do.
So, if it’s possible, as much as it depends on you, as much as you can do in the midst of this uncontrollable situation . . . try to live at peace with ALL people. And notice Paul doesn’t say, those who you like, or those who are Bears fans. Live at peace with ALL people.
That means the person that you're not talking to right now. As far as it depends upon you, be at peace with them. Having peace isn’t always easy. But it goes back to what Paul said in verse 1, in light of God’s mercy. In light of His mercy, can you be reconciled to one another, because God has reconciled you to Himself.
Many of us have stories of success and stories of regret. We have stories about how we overcame a bad situation and other stories about times we held out. Times we thought about calling that person, but didn’t. It weighs on us, but friends, Jesus came to give us peace. His peace --- He gives to us. Not the peace of the world, but it’s the peace of the Most High God.
Maybe you have another chance with somebody. You still have a chance for your marriage to be healed. An opportunity to begin a relationship with your child, parent or sibling who you haven't talked to for years. You still have a chance to forgive someone who wronged you and maybe see a miraculous restoration that only God could write.
It's tough and you can't do it on your own. You need help from the One who is peace and brings peace. What you're gonna say though is, "But they're not whatever. They're not being nice. They didn't apologize. They're not being kind. It takes 2 to reconcile." Yes, it takes two to reconcile, but it takes one to forgive.
It takes two to reconcile, but it takes one to be loving. And so as far as it depends on you, as far as it depends on me, we're gonna live at peace with everyone. I promise you - - - people are gonna let you down, I'll let you down. I may have ticked you off today. Being offended is inevitable, but living that way is a choice.
And remember, Jesus, the One who is our peace, He didn't tell us to always be right, He told us to always be loving. So as far as it depends on us, on me, on you, what are we going to do as followers of Christ? We're gonna do our best by the power of the Spirit of God in our hearts and minds to live at peace with everyone.
It’s the peace of God which is ours - - - if we’re willing to accept it, if we’re willing to embrace His grace and hope. We can’t say we’re at peace with others when we don’t accept His peace.
Our peace is predicated on His peace. We gain God’s power through His Spirit. It’s not on our own, it’s not Dr. Phil’s or Oprah or Fox News or CNN that’s going to give you peace.
It’s the gift, the supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit that came to us in Jesus Christ, that child who came into the world to redeem you, to save you. He offered Himself to you, so that you could experience His peace!
He offers you the greatest gift. Peace with God. Reconciliation with God. Forgiveness with God. You can set your heart, spirit and mind at ease and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Hold onto Jesus, experience His peace as never before and your life will be forever different. Better, more powerful. As mush as it depends on you . . . live at peace with others.
It’s easy to get offended, but being offended is a choice, and living in peace with others is a choice as well. But we can do all things through the powerful name of Jesus. Choose peace and experience God’s power and grace. He will give you the power and ability to be a peacemaker! And in that, you will find strength!
