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Peace On Earth!
First the Kingdom part 28, Peace On Earth!
Romans 14:17:
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
NASU
In our last message we were reminded that our great Lord and Savior has wonderful plans for His creation. Even now He is bringing forth the fruit of his good will in the earth as His Kingdom reign. We are encouraged in the fact that every wrong will some day be made right, but also because those of us who know and love Him can bear witness to His righteousness now — as we live and walk in the Holy Spirit!
The Kingdom of God is also a realm of peace. The peace of God is a marvelous thing to experience. Peter the apostle of Christ wrote of a peace that surpasses all understanding. This peace is real, powerful and transformative. I cannot overemphasize this or exagerate its value! In the Bible, in history and even in this present and fearful time, many have overcome and even joyfully endured great hardship because of this deep abiding peace from God.
Peace can be defined in many ways. Often we relate peace with quietness and tranquility. Sometimes we find peace in accepting situations that are beyond our control. Two countries might find an end of the war that has gone on between them, and define that as peace. All these situations describe certain kinds of peace, but the Kingdom of God deals with the real essence of peace itself. When we enter the Kingdom of Heaven we come into contact with the source of peace Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the Prince of Peace!
When we look at Jesus in the Gospels we do not see a mellow, complacent, easy-going, live-and-let-live guy who was okay with injustice and evil. Neither do we see a man willing to compromise in order to get along with everyone. In fact He had more than enough enemies against Him who were willing to orchestrate His death!
Once He said that He did not come to bring peace, but division! He knew the peace He would eventually bring would come with great cost. The cost of His very life!
He came to attack the very source of strife. Since Adam in the beginning fell out of harmony with his Creator, all of his children were born with this emptiness, which only God could fill. This condition of alienation affected not only our relationship with Him, but also our relationships with one another and the creation we were destined to care for and protect. In attempting fill the void we have grasped for things and fought wars over them to this day.
Take for instance the divorce rate in America. Why is it so high even among Christians? Could it be because we still crave the things which can never satisfy, and then blame the other person for our emptiness?
Has the Christian world too long made it about getting what we want from God and not about finding our total satisfaction and fullfillment in His Kingdom, His will in this earth?
For the rest of my life I will continue to urge people to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Yes we have heard wonderful preaching and teaching about how Christ loves you and me as individuals. “He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming love!” He IS my personal Savior! I would not take away from His work on the Cross for us all, and the victory He has won for me personally.
Yet there might just be a missing note in all of this. Jesus brought the Good News that the time for the Kingdom of God had come. We have traded this message for one that is all about a mansion in the sky for me when I die. That alone is supposed to sustain us and keep us on the narrow way. So we invest heavily in ways to motivate people to come to church and hear about the promises of a better existence somewhere in heaven.
This creates the kind of ground that Jesus described where the seed is not able to take root. The Seed, that is the Gospel of the Kingdom cannot flourish. When difficult times come, far too many will return to the lives they li[...]
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By Dan BeatyFirst the Kingdom part 28, Peace On Earth!
Romans 14:17:
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
NASU
In our last message we were reminded that our great Lord and Savior has wonderful plans for His creation. Even now He is bringing forth the fruit of his good will in the earth as His Kingdom reign. We are encouraged in the fact that every wrong will some day be made right, but also because those of us who know and love Him can bear witness to His righteousness now — as we live and walk in the Holy Spirit!
The Kingdom of God is also a realm of peace. The peace of God is a marvelous thing to experience. Peter the apostle of Christ wrote of a peace that surpasses all understanding. This peace is real, powerful and transformative. I cannot overemphasize this or exagerate its value! In the Bible, in history and even in this present and fearful time, many have overcome and even joyfully endured great hardship because of this deep abiding peace from God.
Peace can be defined in many ways. Often we relate peace with quietness and tranquility. Sometimes we find peace in accepting situations that are beyond our control. Two countries might find an end of the war that has gone on between them, and define that as peace. All these situations describe certain kinds of peace, but the Kingdom of God deals with the real essence of peace itself. When we enter the Kingdom of Heaven we come into contact with the source of peace Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the Prince of Peace!
When we look at Jesus in the Gospels we do not see a mellow, complacent, easy-going, live-and-let-live guy who was okay with injustice and evil. Neither do we see a man willing to compromise in order to get along with everyone. In fact He had more than enough enemies against Him who were willing to orchestrate His death!
Once He said that He did not come to bring peace, but division! He knew the peace He would eventually bring would come with great cost. The cost of His very life!
He came to attack the very source of strife. Since Adam in the beginning fell out of harmony with his Creator, all of his children were born with this emptiness, which only God could fill. This condition of alienation affected not only our relationship with Him, but also our relationships with one another and the creation we were destined to care for and protect. In attempting fill the void we have grasped for things and fought wars over them to this day.
Take for instance the divorce rate in America. Why is it so high even among Christians? Could it be because we still crave the things which can never satisfy, and then blame the other person for our emptiness?
Has the Christian world too long made it about getting what we want from God and not about finding our total satisfaction and fullfillment in His Kingdom, His will in this earth?
For the rest of my life I will continue to urge people to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Yes we have heard wonderful preaching and teaching about how Christ loves you and me as individuals. “He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming love!” He IS my personal Savior! I would not take away from His work on the Cross for us all, and the victory He has won for me personally.
Yet there might just be a missing note in all of this. Jesus brought the Good News that the time for the Kingdom of God had come. We have traded this message for one that is all about a mansion in the sky for me when I die. That alone is supposed to sustain us and keep us on the narrow way. So we invest heavily in ways to motivate people to come to church and hear about the promises of a better existence somewhere in heaven.
This creates the kind of ground that Jesus described where the seed is not able to take root. The Seed, that is the Gospel of the Kingdom cannot flourish. When difficult times come, far too many will return to the lives they li[...]