Where’s the Peace?

There has been a lot made of the protests last weekend by the women and in general since Donald Trump took office, America appears to be in a decline of unity. As I have been mulling this over lately and praying about it the Holy Spirit brought a specific scripture to mind.

Matthew 10:34-36
 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”

At this point one might find Jesus to be a little confused here. Has He forgot why He came? What happened to “peace on earth, good will to men”? Had He been late to His Sunday School class that covered Isaiah 9:6 saying “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”?

The answer is, of course, no. Jesus knows exactly why He came and He followed God’s will in completing the work His Father sent Him to do. The peace that Jesus came to bring was the peace we read of in Romans 5:1 which tells us who are His that “…since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The peace Jesus brought was accomplished on the cross. It is the peace that comes to those who have been saved through faith in His finished work on the cross. Without Christ as our savior, we remain at war with God. And it is a war that we will lose if we choose to continue in our sinful rebellion against God’s righteous commands.

Look at what Jesus says in the verses following Matthew 10:36.

Matthew 10:37-39
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

What Jesus was instructing us here was that we must be willing to take a stand and the entire teaching of the Bible is that we must stand for truth. He is saying we must set ourselves in opposition to the ways of the world. The sword? It is the Word of God.

The truth of this past election and the subsequent reaction of many is a display of fear. And what are they afraid of? They are afraid America might become a place where their sins will no longer be acceptable. Clearly the moral decline of our culture has not only allowed people to be free to live out these sins, but these sins have become celebrated. They are afraid that they might be faced with the truth. The truth that what man calls choice is what God calls sin. They are afraid that the lies they have convinced themselves of; abortion is a choice and it’s my body, sex has no boundaries, gender is up to us, will be exposed to their own wicked hearts. They are afraid because deep in their hearts they know these things are wrong. They are afraid of the sword true Christians carry. They are afraid of this verse because it cuts and it reveals the intentions of their hearts. They are afraid of being reminded that God sees and He will hold them accountable.

Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Sadly, even the church has allowed the leaven to creep in. Many Christians live in the “I wouldn’t do it, but I have no right to judge what others do.” So, they sit back and remain quiet. Other Christians dive right into the world and look nothing like the Bible’s command to be holy and separate. The Bible address this.

Romans 1:32
Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Read all of Romans 1 if you don’t understand what things God’s righteous decree forbids.

Preach these words and you will not find peace in the world. But we are not called to say what people want to hear; we are called to speak the truth in love. If these things cause people to deserve to die for practicing them, can you honestly say it’s loving to not warn people? This is eternity we are speaking of here. And there are only two options; heaven or hell.

So yes, there is division in our country. There will be until Jesus returns. Jesus knew they would hate us if we stand by God’s righteous decrees. He calls us to be salt and light. Salt will burn when put into an open wound and light will expose many things. But in order to receive healing one must recognize the disease and then apply the necessary medicine. No one enjoys medicine. No one wants others to know their weaknesses and their sins. So yes, there will be opposition.

Jesus is coming soon. The first time? He came to offer salvation. The second time? Judgment. Read His word.

Christians stand firm. Don’t expect peace. Not from the world. You will only find it in Christ. Know that you must put on the full armor of God. Know that the sword you carry brings a great responsibility.

Those people marching? They are marching towards eternity. We must not let them march to the wrong eternity even if it means no earthly peace. This is our mission. As they said in that movie, we are on a mission, a mission from God. And we are at war.

God bless those who carry the Sword of God.

The Great I Am

 One of my favorite stories of the Old Testament is the story of Moses meeting God at Horeb. I love the way God appears as a burning bush. What an awesome picture of God. A blazing fire that appears in a bush but does not burn out. The fire of God can never be consumed. This is a picture of His eternal nature. He is, He was, and always will be.

Next in the story we see that the glory of God is beyond anything we can imagine. We find out just how Holy He is.

Exodus 3:3-6
 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Watch though what happens next. Though God is so Holy that Moses must take off His sandals, for the very ground becomes sacred in God’s presence, God still knows the afflictions of His people.

Exodus 3:7-8
Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

What this is a picture of what God did when He sent Jesus to come save us and offer us a spiritual life that flows with milk and honey. Jesus came to deliver us out of our Egypt, for Egypt is a picture of our sinfulness and the bondage of the Jews is a picture of the slavery of sin we all are born into. Jesus came and parted the Red Sea of our sin and it is His blood, also red, that has delivered us from our own Egypt.

So maybe today you are struggling. Each of us face different trials and storms. Some of us face the loss of a job. Some have children who are being ravished by the horrors of cancer. Others of you are grieving. Some are enslaved to the powerful pharaoh of drugs, alcohol, sex, and all the other various addictions. Satan wants you to stay chained to your sins. He wants you bound to your fear. You know as a Christian Jesus has set you free. Yet you stare at the Red Sea and look back and see the Egyptian army right behind you. What do you do?

I have a suggestion. Tell your enemy who sent you. Tell the demons of fear that hold you back what God told Moses to say to the people.

Exodus 3:13-15
 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Tell them the Great I Am has sent you. Tell them He has set you free.

Last week at church we sang the song The Great I Am. Listen to this song and read the words on this YouTube link below. Believe them for they are the truth. The Great I Am has sent us. And we need not fear. Sing these words and believe them.

Hallelujah, holy, holy
God Almighty, the great I am
Who is worthy, none beside Thee
God Almighty, the great I am

The mountains shake before You the demons run in fear
At the mention of the name King of Majesty
There is no power in hell
Or any who can stand
Before the power and the
Presence of the great I am

There is no power in hell nor any man or woman on this earth that can stop you when The Great I Am has sent you. Stand firm and worship and praise the Great I Am. He is worthy. And if you come in His name? The demons will run in fear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_VR-zwp2KA