Kingdom's Keys Fellowship
Where God's Kingdom Meets Man's Heart.
Lent 13 Peace, Real Peace
Lent 13 Matt.5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Isaiah 32:17-18 “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
Of course the prime example of peace is Jesus. There is no moment in Jesus’ life when He was not at peace. Whether it was alone in the wilderness temptations, the hostility of the religious authorities mounted against Him or in the final injustice of His brutal execution on the Cross, He was a picture of peace. He was the fulfillment of the Isaiah passage quoted above. That is why we need to investigate that passage. It informed Jesus so it will inform us.
‘The fruit of righteousness’ are the first words we see. If we liken righteousness to a tree rooted in the ground, having come from a seed, grown through weathering wind and rain, parching sun and winter cold, it has matured sufficiently to bear fruit. So if we look at righteousness as a seed of faith planted, growing and maturing, the sign of maturing is the fruit of peace which brings with it the flavors of quietness and confidence.
Remember, righteousness was defined in Gen.15:6 as faith when Abraham believed God. Righteousness is being faithful, which is being right. Right about God, right about self in relationship with God and right with God in relationship with others. Faith brings relational rightness. Only then can the use of the material world find its proper balance.
Again, this balance is the picture of Jesus we see in the Gospels. This was not lost on Paul who tells us in Eph.2:4 that Jesus is our peace. This means that peace is more than just a concept. Peace is our internal personal equilibrium. It is spiritual and it is a living quality of God. More than that it is available in our relationship with God. It is the living fruit of a living faith.
Therefore, ‘the effect of righteousness’ is that it will produce ‘quietness and confidence forever.’ Why? Faith allows the presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit to bring His calm stability within regardless of circumstance.
There is the story of the Salvation Army officer taken prisoner during the Korean conflict in the 1950’s. He was told by one of his captors to kneel on the ground and pray whether or not he would shoot him. After a moment the guard asked, ‘Well, what did you pray?’ The Salvation Army officer responded softly, “I prayed to have the strength not to tear you limb from limb.”
Faith brings that sense of right with God that defies hostile human circumstance. There is a confidence that comes when you faithfully put your life in the hands of the Lord. It doesn’t mean you won’t be anxious, afraid, tempted to run and even beaten or killed as well. It does mean you know who your final protector is in the midst of any threat. Jesus stood this way, lived this way and taught this way. Jesus trusted His Father in the Spirit and the effect was acceptance of His Father’s will even to the Cross. This is why the truth of Jesus is the way of Jesus and the life of Jesus.
It’s vs.18 that brings another dimension, the interpersonal dimension God initiated on our behalf,
“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
Through faith every one who believes in Jesus becomes part of a family of brothers and sisters. If we carry this into our present context we, through faith in Jesus, become members of the larger Body of Christ (peaceful dwelling places of worshiping congregations), in secure homes (home prayer groups) in undisturbed places of rest (the individual believing heart that is not shaken).
The verses that follow, 19-20, show, in spite of circumstance again, God’s promise is such that it will cause you to rise above circumstance and plant the Word of Jesus while you are on the way, “Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.” So what does all of this have to say? Sharing Jesus, the One who is peace, is what peacemaking is all about. Make peace, share Jesus, be blessed and stay tuned.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Isaiah 32:17-18 “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
Of course the prime example of peace is Jesus. There is no moment in Jesus’ life when He was not at peace. Whether it was alone in the wilderness temptations, the hostility of the religious authorities mounted against Him or in the final injustice of His brutal execution on the Cross, He was a picture of peace. He was the fulfillment of the Isaiah passage quoted above. That is why we need to investigate that passage. It informed Jesus so it will inform us.
‘The fruit of righteousness’ are the first words we see. If we liken righteousness to a tree rooted in the ground, having come from a seed, grown through weathering wind and rain, parching sun and winter cold, it has matured sufficiently to bear fruit. So if we look at righteousness as a seed of faith planted, growing and maturing, the sign of maturing is the fruit of peace which brings with it the flavors of quietness and confidence.
Remember, righteousness was defined in Gen.15:6 as faith when Abraham believed God. Righteousness is being faithful, which is being right. Right about God, right about self in relationship with God and right with God in relationship with others. Faith brings relational rightness. Only then can the use of the material world find its proper balance.
Again, this balance is the picture of Jesus we see in the Gospels. This was not lost on Paul who tells us in Eph.2:4 that Jesus is our peace. This means that peace is more than just a concept. Peace is our internal personal equilibrium. It is spiritual and it is a living quality of God. More than that it is available in our relationship with God. It is the living fruit of a living faith.
Therefore, ‘the effect of righteousness’ is that it will produce ‘quietness and confidence forever.’ Why? Faith allows the presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit to bring His calm stability within regardless of circumstance.
There is the story of the Salvation Army officer taken prisoner during the Korean conflict in the 1950’s. He was told by one of his captors to kneel on the ground and pray whether or not he would shoot him. After a moment the guard asked, ‘Well, what did you pray?’ The Salvation Army officer responded softly, “I prayed to have the strength not to tear you limb from limb.”
Faith brings that sense of right with God that defies hostile human circumstance. There is a confidence that comes when you faithfully put your life in the hands of the Lord. It doesn’t mean you won’t be anxious, afraid, tempted to run and even beaten or killed as well. It does mean you know who your final protector is in the midst of any threat. Jesus stood this way, lived this way and taught this way. Jesus trusted His Father in the Spirit and the effect was acceptance of His Father’s will even to the Cross. This is why the truth of Jesus is the way of Jesus and the life of Jesus.
It’s vs.18 that brings another dimension, the interpersonal dimension God initiated on our behalf,
“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
Through faith every one who believes in Jesus becomes part of a family of brothers and sisters. If we carry this into our present context we, through faith in Jesus, become members of the larger Body of Christ (peaceful dwelling places of worshiping congregations), in secure homes (home prayer groups) in undisturbed places of rest (the individual believing heart that is not shaken).
The verses that follow, 19-20, show, in spite of circumstance again, God’s promise is such that it will cause you to rise above circumstance and plant the Word of Jesus while you are on the way, “Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.” So what does all of this have to say? Sharing Jesus, the One who is peace, is what peacemaking is all about. Make peace, share Jesus, be blessed and stay tuned.
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