https://youtu.be/QIAk5n-iGlw

Intro story- homeless 

Hebrews 12:14-17

14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or [a]profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

I didn’t pursue peace with that man

It ended up ruining the rest of my night

I had an unsettling feeling late into the night

I could’ve helped that man and instead I was lead by emotion and not peace

The scripture says pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord

I had an opportunity to represent Christ to this man and I failed. What if this was the only time or last time someone could represent Christ to him

It was a few days later that Pj gave me this scripture to preach and immediately prayed Lord what do you want me to know about peace

Its funny how the Lord works because he started showing me areas of my life that I don’t pursue peace

I was like that’s not what I mean show me other people not me

So what does it mean to pursue peace

The word pursue is a verb, and to pursue something means to actively chase after it, to follow it , or seek it out

Psalm 34:14

14 Depart from evil and do good;Seek peace and pursue it.

We need to be people that relentlessly chase after peace with people 

Jesus tells us we should be peacemakers

Matthew 5:9

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,For they shall be called sons of God.

Story-man

Here are some areas that we can strive to chase after peace with people in our lives

Some places we can start are grocery stores, work, school, or any other interactions you have with people

We should actively be peaceful with people at our jobs

Don’t be the person that as bad interactions with people at work and then end up not being at peace

Don’t let the bad experience get to a point where you leave work then complain about your coworkers to anyone that will listen

That’s not pursing peace. Its better to talk with people and resolve the situation

If you allow it to build up overtime you will start to hold a grudge and become bitter

Allow the Holy Spirit to calm you down and make peace with them

It would also do some people well to just stop talking on social media

That is a very easy place to allow frustration to set in and not be peaceful

Stop saying whatever you want whenever you want then have on your Profile “Christian”

Some arguments I see on facebook are just ridiculous. Word of advice, you know people can see stuff you are commenting even if we aren’t friends with the same people.

Don’t let social media keep you from pursing peace if you have to delete it then do it

Remember we are held accountable for every idle word we speak.