NO GOD, NO PEACE! KNOW GOD KNOW PEACE…
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
Martin Luther King said: DARKNESS CAN NEVER DRIVE OUT DARKNESS: ONLY LIGHT CAN DO THAT. HATE CANNOT DRIVE OUT HATE: ONLY LOVE CAN DO THAT.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Watch the news? The world seems to be out of control and ruled by chaos, anger and stress. We need a sense of brotherhood from the high chair to college, to death.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27 (MSG) I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.
PEACE KEEPER VS PEACE MAKER
Matthew 5:9 (KJV) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9 (MSG) "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
*Peace: reconcile, wholeness, total health, no war, no strife, to still your heart, to be calm.
*Peacekeeper: a person that tries to force, keep or maintain peace, external peace.
*Peace maker: internal peace, absence of conflict and strife.
The church must be more than religious rules it must be about A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP. There are some powerful universal principles to follow. There are 2 rules for peace. We call these the GOLDEN RULES.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
THE PROBLEM OF THE HEART IS THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM… GOD NEEDS TO DO MORE THAN CHANGE THE CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND YOU… GOD WANTS TO BRING PEACE AND CALM YOUR HEART.
Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 7:12 (MSG) "Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get.
NO GOD, NO PEACE! KNOW GOD KNOW PEACE… THERE IS NEGATIVE PEACE AND POSITIVE PEACE…
Negative peace is just the absence of fear and violence. Positive peace is real understanding, compassion and growth. Positive peace is about FOCUS, based on good attitudes, hope, actions and moving forward--- growth.
THERE CAN NEVER BE REAL SUSTAINED PEACE WITHOUT LOVE AND MUTUAL RESPECT.
Conflict is part of daily living. We must learn to “HAVE CONFLICT PREVENTION, CREATIVE USE OF CONFLICT.” If I controlled school schedules I would require classes in MARRIAGE and the Family and classes in CREATIVE USE OF CONFLICT. There is external peace and internal peace. We must learn to change what we can and accept what we cannot change.
GEHAZI IS LIVING IN GREAT FEAR… SO HE ASKS ELISHA SHALL WE KILL OUR ENEMIES? THEY ARE BLIND AND IT WILL BE EASY, WE CAN KILL THEM WITH THEIR OWN WEAPONS? THAT IS A REAL VICTORY?
2 Kings 6:21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? 22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. 23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
24 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
HATE IS A DEADLY POISON AND THAT CAN IGNITE MANY TROUBLES. WE MUST KILL HATRED, ANGER, BITTERNESS AND STRIFE TO HAVE REAL PEACE.
Do we have a Peaceful home? Are we at peace at work? What do you do to build a social peace, political peace and ethnic peace? Most important is having peace with yourself… You can never have PEACE with others until you KNOW PEACE WITHIN YOUR SELF. We must accept the challenge to understand and love self then others. The MAIN ISSUE OF PEACE IS HAVING PEACE WITH GOD’S WORD AND A PROPER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. IT IS HEARTBREAKING TO REALIZE HATRED HAS BECOME THE NORM IN THIS WORLD.
Hatred feeds hatred. Hatred always ESCALATES and tensions grow. We have road rage, violence in our schools, political hatred, religious hatred, ethnic hatred, sexual bias AND TENSION ALL AROUND US.
1 Corinthians 13:8 Charity (LOVE) never faileth:
SEEMS THE WORLD LOVES POWER, WE MUST GROW LOVE THAT OVERCOMES THE LOVE OF POWER. THE ROOTS OF PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTAND IS THE UNDERSTANDING THAT BRINGS PEACE…
IT IS GOOD TO TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS BUT WE MUST TALK TO OUR ENEMIES TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. YOU CAN HELP YOUR ENEMIES BY COMMUNICATING WITH THEM…
Hebrews 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Hebrews 13:16 (MSG) Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of "sacrifice"—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.
There is only one way to overcome your enemies --- THAT IS TO MAKE THEM YOUR FRIEND…
WE HAVE A SAD WORLD WHERE THERE IS NO PEACE… WE NEED TO SPEAK PEACE: HERE COMES THE DREAMER?
Genesis 37:19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
WE NEED SOME DREAMERS THAT CAN SEE BEYOND THE TROUBLES… TO SO DREAM THAT THEY WILL GIVE HOPE AND BIRTH TO NEW DREAMERS…
CONCLUSION: REAL SUSTAINING GROWTH CAN THRIVE IN THE RICH SOIL OF PEACE. We must make an honest effort to pursue and live in peace. The root of bitterness thrives in strife, hatred and anger.
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Hebrews 12:14 (NLT2) Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14 (MSG) Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God.
Peace cannot be kept by weapons and force… we need a SPIRIT OF UNDERSTANDING AND COMPASSION. NOTHING CAUSES A MORE DEEP SEATED ANXIETY THAN TO THINK LIFE SHOULD BE FREE FROM ANXIETY. We must never live a hurried life because it will hinder a calm spirit and spiritual growth.
Isaiah 26:3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3 (MSG) People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don't quit.
GROWTH IS HINDERED WHEN WE ACCEPT THAT STRIFE AND WAR ARE NORMAL AND ACCEPTABLE. The PEACE OF GOD IS AVAILABLE AND WILL BE CONDUCIVE TO GROWTH.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
