(1) Becoming a Light through Peacemaking

 TURN YOUR LIGHT ON THROUGH PEACEMAKING Daniel Lange You Are the Light – Sermon Series January 7, 2018 Light. Light represents goodness. Light is good in that it provides sight for seeing, both for yourself and those around you. When I drive my vehicle down the road at night, I turn my lights on not just for me, but for those around me, so they can see me and avoid crashing into me. I also turn my lights on so that those who are following behind me, may not run into me, or veer off into the ditch, but may follow me. It is interesting to think that sometimes I also see just fine without my lights on, but unless I turn them on for others, they cannot see or follow me. Jesus says this amazing thing during His sermon on the mount, “YOU are the light of the world.” Mat. 5:14 Now I can tell you this, my car headlights shine pretty bright at night, but they don’t shine that bright. And effectively Jesus goes on to compare you and I to a city. “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” You are the light of the world, and your light cannot be hidden. Furthermore, you shouldn’t want to hide your light. No one lights a lamp do they, and puts it under a nightstand but on a nightstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. You are the light, your light cannot be hidden, and you shouldn’t want it to be. But of course, you know that these things only be true if you let our light so shine before men. Unless you are willing to turn the light on, your light will never shine. “How can I turn on the light?” you ask. That is the question I hope to answer throughout this short series. The easy answer of course is by following Jesus, the New Testament, the Apostles’ teaching, hearing and applying the word of God. Remember that the apostle John said of Jesus that “He is in the Light.” 1 John 1:7 If I will but follow Him, then I can rest assured that my light is turned on. But we also know this that in Him is the depths and the breadth and the width of wisdom and knowledge. To walk in His light I must “find out,” “try to learn,” “carefully determine” what is “acceptable” or “pleasing” to the Lord.” Eph. 5:10 I need to search Him out. Study His teachings. Carefully examine His instructions. I believe that if you will do that in the hearing of this word from Jesus today in that great Sermon on the Mount, you will learn this first important truth to turning on your light: “Turn on your light through peacemaking.” Are You Angry? Some preliminary questions for you as we get started as we think about this truth. Do you get angry a lot? Do you get angry a lot at someone or something? Perhaps a spouse, a sibling, a child or parent, a co-worker, maybe a friend or neighbor, maybe even someone at church? Jesus said beginning in Matthew 5:21, “You have heard that it was said to those of old (the ancient ones) ‘You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” If you want to be a light, you need to turn off anger, and turn on peacemaking. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” so says Jesus. Makarios, a prolonged form of the verb according to one Greek scholar. “Very happy,” “supreme blessedness,” upon the one who makes peace. And why shall he be so happy? Because he shall be called a “son of God.” Notice something about the beatitudes, “shall be comforted… shall inherit the earth… shall be filled… shall be… shall be… shall be… shall be,” future tense, yes? Do you believe that it is possible that one of the reasons you may not always be so happy is because true happiness lies not in the present, but in the future? And is it possible that you are hindering your happiness today, because you refuse to wait for it in the future? Is it possible? War: Now vs. Future - Peace vs. Anger There is a war between the now and the future, the fleshly demands of the present versus the spiritual rewards of the upward climb. This war between the now and the latter is an exact image of the war between peace and anger. Consider the motives behind anger. When you get angry, do you not obtain a certain measure of immediate gratification? Do you not get some instant pleasure from name-calling, division, fighting? You do, don’t you! Absolutely you do. Anger is like dropping a nuke. Immediately, you obtain the very thing you desire. The only problem is, then you find yourself dealing with the collateral damage. You raise your voice, you take control of the conversation, you pound your fists, and you stamp your feet. “Aha!” you say, “I’ve won the argument!” Yes, you’ve won the argument, but your losing your mate, your losing your sister, your losing your daughter, son, mother, father. Violence Loved, Glorified, & Practiced The feelings derived from anger and strife are euphoric, sometimes even glorified. Listen to the words of Psalm 11. The Psalmist sings: “In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” (Psalm 11:1–5, NKJV) Yes, David sings of the one who loves violence. In other words, he loves to get mad. He loves to throw the temper tantrum. He loves to go to war and sharpen his tongue as a sword. All these things he loves. Listen again to another song of David in Psalm 52: “Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue.” (Psalm 52:1–4, NKJV) And again in Psalm 109: “Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.” (Psalm 109:1–5, NKJV) Of course, just look at the world you’re living in today. Do you see what people are watching for entertainment? Two of the most watched “sports” on television today are truly nothing more than glorified violence. Many of you have probably seen or heard of the MMA and the UFC. A few years ago there was a great deal of controversy in the religious world about whether or not these two arenas were acceptable for Christians to watch and participate in. But the reality is, there shouldn’t have been any controversy. When victory is achieved by fracturing your opponents eye-sockets, breaking their limbs, causing profuse bleeding, and rendering your adversary unconscious, this is not a sport. This is war. And yes there is a time for war, but war is justified by the necessity of protecting life, not destroying it. Look at the home today and the statistics on domestic violence. The NACDV reports that 1 in every 3 women and 1 in every 4 men are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner. 1 in every 4 women are victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner. Just to put this into a day to day perspective, on a typical day 20,000 phone called are reported in to the domestic violence hotline nationwide. In fact, the Christianity Today magazine published a recent article revealing a top reason for recent church shootings has been linked to domestic abuse. Both the shooting in Sutherland Springs and Fresno, CA were related to violent men at home. One man was having issues with his mother-in-law, another had issues with his wife. Carl Chinns, a church safety expert made the statement that, “year after year, domestic abuse spill-over, when a fight at home comes to church, is one of the three most common killers at faith based organizations.” www.christianitytoday.com What am I saying? I’m saying that violence, hatred, anger, is loved, glorified, and practiced throughout the world, past, present, and no doubt the future, as a means by which man hopes to obtain the pleasures and desires of the now, rather than the future. Anger is yet again another sin committed by man among many other sins in the hopes of securing some measure of happiness in the now, in the hopes of securing his will be done, and his will be done now. Can I Be Happy Without Anger? Can I Be Content with Peace? Anger is a battle for the will. I want something to happen, something to be done, someone to change, or someone to do this my way, or treat me this way, and until that happens, I’m going to be angry, and I’m going to fight, and there will be no peace, because otherwise, I won’t be happy. Conventional thinking basically says this: “If I don’t fight for it, I won’t have it. If I don’t have it, I won’t be happy.” Listen to something the Lord’s own brother said in James 4:1, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members.” You see then that even God’s word says that strife comes from the battle to accomplish your will. Anger is a battle for the will. The only problem is, it’s a battle for your will, not God’s will. You need to remember that when you get angry, it is not God’s will that you enter in to contention, strife, hatred, arguments, and debates. God condemns all of these things. That’s why as James pens his letter he emphasizes patience and humility over and over again. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work.” “Be… slow to wrath.” “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.” Jam. 1:2-4, 19; 4:6, 10 You may not always be happy with the immediate results of patience and humility, but the Bible not only assures you and I that this is the better path, but it also assures us that it is the only path to true happiness. James says “you lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have…” So even if you don’t like the immediate results of humility and peace, spare yourself the trouble of anger and strife, it won’t get you anywhere. It won’t accomplish anything. Remember what you were taught growing up, “Getting angry about it won’t do anything.” Indeed, “the wrath of man does not produce…” Jam. 1:20 Can you be happy without anger? Can you be happy with peace? Can you be happy putting your will on the backburner essentially, and just let others have their way sometimes? I’m inclined to think so, and so too do the apostles. The psalmist said in 1 Pet. 3:10, “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil (anger and bitter wrath) and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.” Ultimate Happiness is in the Future, so Make Peace in the Now You can be happy without anger and strife, because ultimate happiness waits for us in the future. There is but one King, one Power, one Authority. He will make all things right in due time. The psalmist says, “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” Unrighteous government, the unfair employer, the unfaithful spouse, the unruly hypocrite in the church, they will all see their day in due time. “Vengeance is mine says the Lord. I will repay.” But as for you, as it is written, “pursue peace with all people, without which, no one will see the Lord.” Heb. 12:14 Make peace now. Pursue it. Run after it. Because if not, Jesus has a stern warning for you and me today. “Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ (empty head) shall be in danger of the council. And whoever says ‘You fool!’ (more – moron) shall be in danger of hellfire.” The time for peacemaking is now. “But I’ve got religious chores to do. I’ve got a church meeting Wednesday night. Then I’ve got to visit the nursing home Thursday night. Then I’ve got a bible study on Friday night. Then I help with the soup kitchen on Saturdays, and worship again on Sunday.” Jesus says, “If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.” Pursue peace, beloved of God, and pursue it quickly. Don’t wait another minute. Don’t wait another day. If you have strife with someone, set it right today. Send that email. Make that phone call. Meet face to face preferably. Put the water on that fire, and then when you’ve finished, stomp those ashes out, and blow them away forever. Whatever you do, do not deceive yourself. No one will see the Lord without peace. Turn your light on through peacemaking.