Be Peaceful Like a Prince

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Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.  Romans 12:21(NLT)

There is a hinge that holds Romans 11 and 12 together.  In Romans 1-11, you read all about God’s gracious sacrifice of grace for our sins.  The great divide between grace and duty begins with the hinge that connects chapter 12.  Paul tells us that, as a response to all that grace he described in chapters 1-11, we are to offer our lives to God in service.

And when that is so in the life of a believer, what happens to us is like the life of a caterpillar as he changes to a butterfly in a cocoon.  God uses His grace to transform a believer into a different strain of the human species – a child of God, born from above, living a life of sacrifice – in His name. 

The practical conclusion about that change is that our theology – what we know about God – must determine and drive the actions of our everyday lives.  We follow Jesus, not the world’s fads, customs and behaviors.  So, this is all about relationships, not just how we treat one another, but how we act and work together, so we can serve as God’s ambassadors to the world. 

Paul tells us to faithfully serve together to transform a world steeped in anger, hostility, rage, and vengeance into a place of peace.  This peace is shalom, not just a treaty signed, but a condition of the heart which is characterized by everything that makes life worth living.  It’s that place where the lamb and lion can lie down together, and everything will be just fine![2]

Commit to Being Peaceable                                                                                                                     

Never pay back evil with more evil.  Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.  Romans 12:17-18(NLT)

There can be nothing transformative about our lives without an intentional decision to be, and promote “peaceableness”.  There must be a decision to roll against the tide of our culture’s anger, and our own human nature’s desire to respond to evil with evil.

In short, our lives need to be bent towards peace.  A decision at the altar to vote for peace means more than just going back home, feeling good about our lofty thoughts.  After we decide for peace, we must begin to display it for the world to see (and change).

Displaying peace means filling your life with peace by doing things in a peaceful way, as well as intentionally saturating your thoughts with peace.  As dangerous as a gun pointed without forethought, is our unguarded and undisciplined possibilities for anger.  Rather we must plan to respond peacefully in everything; we must be on guard to display peace.  The life of a disciple of Jesus Christ is a peace-pointed life.   

Commit to Peace-Making

 Dear friends, never take revenge.  Leave that to the righteous anger of God.  For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.  Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”  Romans 12:19-20(NLT)

Peace making is different than peace-loving; it’s hard business.  Peacemaking is pro-active; it doesn’t just sit back and not get angry.  Peacemaking means you get involved to destroy anger, violence and the destruction of relationships.  You go to war against war!

One afternoon, when our children were very young, there was a knock at the front door.  Elizabeth and I answered the door together to see a very angry woman we’d never met before.  It seems one of our kids had made her daughter really unhappy with something said or done that was very unkind.  Her white-hot words began:  If you think I’m going to stand by while your (&%$#@ expletive deleted) kid….  I had no idea what had happened, but I held out my hand and said:  Hi, I’m Russell, and this is Elizabeth.  I’m sorry this has been a bad day for you and your daughter.  Why don’t you come in and sit down; maybe we can figure this out together.

Now, my natural, human-self wanted to kick-in with:  Look, lady, just who do you think you are to come to my door and…...  But that would have fueled the fire, not put it out.  Peace-making is not possible when everything is about “me” or “my space” or anything that doesn’t include me caring for you.  That requires sacrifice, and that kind of sacrifice is only possible when we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  Jesus came to our door two thousand years ago, but His mission wasn’t to condemn.  He didn’t knock on the door to blast an enemy; he invited us to open the door and to sup together – to have a meal.  And that’s what we’re celebrating this morning; it’s the meal of friends remembering the sacrificial rescue of Calvary…how Jesus overcame evil with good.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Let the church say “Amen”!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

Love Like a King

[1]

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.  Romans 12:21(NLT)

There is a hinge that holds Romans 11 and 12 together.  In Romans 1-11, you read all about God’s gracious sacrifice of grace for our sins.  The great divide between grace and duty begins with the hinge that connects chapter 12.  Paul tells us that, as a response to all that grace he described in chapters 1-11, we are to offer our lives to Him in service.

And when that is so in the life of a believer, what happens to us is similar to the life of a caterpillar as he changes to a butterfly in a cocoon.  God uses His grace to transform a believer into a different strain of the human species – a child of God, born from above, living a life of sacrifice – in His name. 

The practical conclusion about that change is that our theology – what we know about God – must determine and drive the actions of our everyday lives.  We follow Jesus, not the world’s fads, customs and behaviors; otherwise…. why bother?

The twelfth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Roman believers is all about relationships, not just how we treat one another, but how we act and work together, so we can serve as God’s ambassadors to the world. 

The “relationship” is described in one, Biblical word…agape’, the God-kind of love!  This morning we look at two very important truths about how to live in that love.

Genuine (in relationships)

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.    Romans 12:9 (NLT)

To be genuine in relationships is the foundation of Christian living.  If there was ever a character trait which does not conform to this world’s ways, it is truthfulness. 

A little girl had developed a bad habit; she was always lying.  She was given a St. Bernard dog for her birthday, she went out and told all the neighbors that she had been given a lion.  The mother took her aside and said, “I told you not to lie.  You go upstairs and tell God you are sorry; promise God you will not lie again.” 

The little girl went upstairs, said her prayers, and then came down again.  Her mother asked, “Did you tell God you are sorry?”  The little girl replied, “Yes, I did.  And God said sometimes He finds it hard to tell my dog from a lion, too.”^[2] 

A Christ-follower who has submitted his/her body as a living, holy sacrifice, and is transformed by God’s grace is genuine; being false in relationships in any form is a form of lying.  God hates it because it destroys relationships.

Gracious (to all people)

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.   Romans 12:10 (NLT) 

There is a tendency to tear-down one another today, especially in American culture.  The old word “gossip” is generally thought of as being a “behind the scenes” or “behind the back activity”. 

It isn’t even that quiet these days!  Today even the ugly attitudes and rudeness of anger and careless words are flung around like cow dung in a pasture.  The Scottish preacher Alexander MacLaren once wrote:  Ugly Christianity is not Christ's Christianity.

Gossip is the opposite of gracious.  You cannot take delight in honoring anyone if you’re willing to gossip about him or her. 

A gossip separates the closest of friends.  Proverbs 16:28b(GWT)

There’s no room in any theology connected with Jesus Christ that includes in-your-face attitudes, or rudeness.  In our relationships we must be gracious towards one another.

There is an apocryphal story of Abraham that tells of a traveling stranger.  Abraham saw the old man coming along the way, very weary, and his feet bleeding.  With true hospitality he invited the old man to share his meal and to lodge with him for the night.  When Abraham noticed he asked no blessing on the meal, he enquired why, and the man said, "I am a fire worshipper and acknowledge no other god."  At this Abraham grew angry and sent him from his tent.  Soon after, God called to Abraham and asked, "Where is the old man I sent to you?"  Abraham told God he'd sent the infidel away.  The Lord answered in reply, "I have cared for him for over a hundred years, even though he has dishonored me.  Could you not endure him one night and so prove to him God's love?" 

Servanthood is not popular these days.  However, Jesus never claimed that following Him would make us popular on this earth. 

He DID say that our reward in HEAVEN would be great!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Let the church say “Amen”!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Illustrations Unlimited© 1988 by James S. Hewett. All Rights Reserved.

Seven Sons of Sceva

Thursday August 8, 2013

God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.  When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.  A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits.  They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”  Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this.  But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”  Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.  The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike.  A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.  Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.  A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire.  The value of the books was several million dollars.    Acts 19:11 - 19 (NLT)

Have you ever intentionally acted like someone else you admired?  People do it all the time.  Check out American Idol and you see the latest incarnation of Madonna or Whitney Houston.  A whole generation of star-struck “wannabe’s” in the 50’s and 60’s slicked-back their pompadour hair styles and became Elvis impersonators. 

It wasn’t a pretty sight!

It also didn’t work very well for Sceva’s sons.  Sceva was a priest of Israel, and his seven sons were in the family business.  They had heard of the wonderful miracles accompanying Paul’s ministry, and they wanted in on that deal.  They assumed the legitimacy of being “priests of Israel” gave them an automatic connection with whatever they chose in the religious realm. 

They were wrong!

The problem was that they could say the words and really mean it, but there was no power, because God had chosen Paul for that ministry – not them.  Instead of being the rock stars of the healing circuit like they expected with demons being evicted left and right, the seven sons got a good whoopin’.  They ran from the scene naked and battered.  Their so-called ministry attempts bought them a ton of misery.

Don’t know about you, but I’ve been there.

I’ve tried to preach like my heroes and lead my church like a successful big-church, doin’-it-my-way popular leader.  I’ve also gotten a whoopin’ or two!

What’s interesting about this wannabe like the big boys syndrome is that God can use even that brand of foolishness to bring about some pretty amazing results.  For the Sceva boys, their whoopin’ started a revival.  All the other wannabe exorcists got a dose of humble repentance, confessed their sinful ways and burned their sorcery books (iPads?) in a public revival meeting!

They got straight!

…and you?

What about today?

Where are you headed, and what prevents you from being you…the person God created, nurtured and expects you to be?  Not like anyone but you…just you, being you.

Heavenly Father; I give you this day.  Help me reject being a counterfeit, and give me the strength to be Your hands in this world – but only in the unique way You created and called me.