-
We want to continue
in our series called SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE.
-
[John
12:32] And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will DRAW ALL MEN unto me.
-
Jesus is drawing
every person. No one is immune to the draw of Jesus.
Every person experiences the draw to the kingdom of
God.
There should be no contest on Sunday when we wake as
to if we will go to church or not. It was that way
with Jesus. Multitudes came to him. Children flocked
to him. Church should be so good that it is
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE. It should be that way, but
sadly, it often is not. Why? It is because some
people never open up and help make church that way.
If every person opened up and did what they should
do, nothing could stop the church, not even hell.
-
Matthew
16:18-19 And I say also unto thee, That thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. And I will give unto thee the KEYS OF THE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven.
-
Nothing can resist
the advancing kingdom when we allow Jesus to place
us and build us into his church. He gives
IRRESISTIBLE keys that unlock heaven and unlock
earth. These keys are important and I want to talk
about a key today. Today, I want to talk about
IRRESISTIBLE PEACE. Peace is a large part of the
kingdom of
God.
-
Romans
14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink;
but righteousness, and PEACE, and joy in the
Holy Ghost.
-
Paul gives three
keys for the kingdom – righteousness, peace, and
joy. People must see those three things in our lives
if we properly display the kingdom. When we are not
in peace, we are not in the kingdom of
God,
etc. QUESTION: WHEN DO WE NEED PEACE – WHEN
THINGS ARE GOOD OR WHEN THINGS ARE NOT SO GOOD?
I said that Jesus was IRRESISTIBLE, but was
he IRRESISTIBLE only in good times? Was he
also irresistible when things were not so good?
-
Question: What is
your greatest fear? What is it that robs your peace,
removes you from the kingdom, and damages your
witness? In the movie “Batman Begins,” Bruce Wayne
(Batman) had to face his deepest fear. Do you know
what his deepest fear was? It was bats! As a young
boy, he had fallen into a cave hole and bats
attacked him. It was not until he faced his deepest
fear that he reached his highest potential. I know
that the movie “Batman Begins” is a Hollywood
production, but the principle remains true. Our
deepest fear, and sometimes not even our deepest
fear, but fear alone, will stop us from reaching our
highest potential. WHAT IS YOUR DEEPEST FEAR?
We all have one.
-
The deepest fear of
Jesus was the cross. That fear attempted to
overwhelm Jesus in Gethsemane. It attempted to stop
him from coming to his highest potential. However,
for the kingdom to exist, Jesus had to face his
deepest fear. Had Jesus not had a peace to go to the
cross, there would not be an irresistible kingdom of
God
today. There would be no church and there would be
no salvation for us. That is the importance of
peace. Peace was a key for the kingdom then and
peace is a key for the kingdom today.
-
We talked about the
IRRESISTIBLE BEST. We talked about how
the kingdom
of God has spread today to its largest growth in
history. More people are Christians today than ever.
The church and kingdom are larger, more powerful,
and more irresistible than ever. However, there are
negative things happening at the same time. We live
in a world full of pandemonium and chaos. If not
already that way prior to September 11, 2001, it
definitely became that way afterwards. We now have
new terms in our vocabulary - Al Qaeda; suicide
bombing; dirty bombs; anthrax; bio-chemical;
homeland security; high alert, etc.
America invaded Afghanistan. We were at war with
Iraq. We are at war with terrorist. North Korea is
building nuclear weapons. The projection of the
media is that more and more of the world hates
America and Americans. The economy bottomed. The
reporting of child molestation is at an all time
high. Some high schools now use metal detectors to
guard against weapons brought to school. It is no
longer a big deal for high school students to use
condoms.
-
On top of all that
“world” chaos, we have our individual personal fears
– health, finances, family, children, parents, job
security, school, future, etc. If we allowed them
to, all these concerns would drive us insane. What
does the future hold? What is around the next corner
or over the next hill? What is behind the next
sunrise? Where is peace? Fear attempts to get us
from every side. It seems that nearly every person
we talk with is worried about, or angry about,
something. Worry consumes Christians so, that it
takes their peace and they do not even come to
church. How does that translate to others when
trying to present an IRRESISTIBLE Kingdom?
-
The Bible tells us
about the night before Jesus would go to the cross.
The cross was less than twenty-four hours away.
Jesus was alone with his disciples. He told them
that it was time for his betrayal, and arrest. It
was time for him to be brought before the
authorities. It was time for his beating, scourging,
and crucifixion. As we read about that conversation
in St. John chapter 13-17, we see that Jesus had
total PEACE. It was an IRRESISTIBLE PEACE.
-
But, what if Jesus
had not had peace? What if he had said, “Oh my God!
How horrible this is. I am going to be arrested. Oh
my God! I am going to be beaten. I am going to be
crucified! Why me? What have I ever done to deserve
this? Oh my God! Get around me guys and lay hands on
me and pray for me that I can make it through this!
Oh my God!” However, that was not what he did. He
had peace, and because of that peace, he brought his
disciples to the place they needed to be to bring
forth the IRRESISTIBLE KINGDOM.
-
An amazing part of
this was that Jesus told them some horrible things
would happen to them, but they were able to accept
it, even though they did not understand it.
Amazingly, he told them their greatest fears were
just ahead.
-
John
15:18 If the world HATE YOU, ye know that
it hated me before it hated you.
-
John
15:20-21 …If they have persecuted me, THEY WILL
ALSO PERSECUTE YOU
-
John
16:2-3 They shall put you out of the synagogues:
yea, the time cometh, that whosoever KILLETH YOU
will think that he doeth God service. And these
things will they do unto you, because they have not
known the Father, nor me.
-
The Jews would hate
the disciples, throw them out of the synagogues,
persecute them, and kill them. For the kingdom to
continue, fill the earth (Dan 2:35, 44), and be
irresistible, they would have to somehow move beyond
their deepest fears. It was key – essential and
crucial – that they got beyond their fears. What was
it that took them beyond their deepest fears? Jesus
said to them,
-
PEACE
I LEAVE WITH YOU;
MY PEACE I GIVE YOU. I do not give to you as
the world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
-
A little later in
the same conversation, Jesus said again,
-
These
things I have spoken unto you, THAT IN ME YE
MIGHT HAVE PEACE. In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world. [John 16:33]
-
THE KEY AT THAT
MOMENT IN HISTORY FOR THE KINGDOM OF
GOD
TO EXIST AND ADVANCE WAS THEIR HAVING PEACE. Their
understanding all that would take place in the next
days or years was not the key. There was no way they
could understand, even with Jesus explaining it. The
key was the IRRESISTIBLE PEACE that only
Jesus could give. Today, a key to the advancement of
the kingdom of
God
and our reaching our loved ones is that we have an
IRRESISTIBLE PEACE. You will never understand
all you face or why you are facing it. UNDERSTANDING
it is NOT the KEY. If we truly want to reach people
and have a SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE church we must
have an IRRESISTIBLE PEACE.
-
Did you know that
every disciple, except one, died a martyr’s death?
Herod killed James the brother of John by a sword
(beheaded). Thomas was killed in India. Simon was
crucified in Egypt. Matthew was beaten, crucified,
and beheaded in Armenia. Andrew was crucified and
burned in Archaia. It is said that John was boiled
in oil, yet lived to write the Revelation of Jesus
Christ. Stephen was stoned. Philip was stoned.
Jewish leaders threw James from the roof of the
temple. The fall did not kill him, so they crushed
his skull with a club. Peter was crucified
upside-down. The Romans beheaded Paul because of the
Jews.
The disciples and
apostles went all over the then known world
preaching the kingdom of
God.
Amazingly, not one of them, though faced with
certain death, renounced Jesus. To me, that is one
of the greatest proofs of the resurrection and
kingdom of
God. Each one
had the IRRESISTIBLE PEACE that only Jesus
gives. This peace made the kingdom of God SIMPLY
IRRESISTIBLE.
-
Think about that.
You are watching a man facing execution. His hands
are tied behind his back. He kneels to his knees at
a chopping block and lays his head upon it. He can
see and smell the blood, on the block, from people
executed before him. He knows that this is no joke.
He knows that in a few moments, the axe will come
down and slice through his neck, severing his head
from his body. He knows without a doubt that he is
about to die. The command comes, “Renounce Jesus as
the Christ and you will be freed and live.” Instead
of denying Christ, he proclaims with a loud voice,
“JESUS IS THE CHRIST AND JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.” The axe comes down and his head
rolls away with eyes open. For several seconds, it
can still think. His body collapses, jerking and
quivering. What affect would that execution have on
you? Either that man was an idiot, or Jesus is real!
We could see maybe one, or even two, of those
disciples being that fanatical about Jesus if Jesus
was not real, but not EVERY ONE of them. It made the
kingdom IRRESISTIBLE. “PEACE I LEAVE WITH
YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE YOU.
-
Peace was/is a key
to the kingdom of
God.
Do we have that kind of peace? Do we have a peace
like THAT? Many of us do not have enough peace to
keep from fighting with our spouses, or worrying
about our children. Some of us are so consumed with
finances that we can’t get out of bed and be on time
for church. WHERE IS THE IRRESISTIBLE PEACE
THAT ADVANCES THE KINGDOM AND MAKES IT IRRESISTIBLE?
It requires a peace that passes understanding.
-
Philippians 4:7 And the PEACE of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall KEEP YOUR HEARTS
AND MINDS through Christ Jesus.
-
I see our hearts and
minds not kept. Is a mind “not kept” a lost mind? We
lose our minds when we lose our peace. Here is what
I want to say. People are watching us. As it was
with the disciples, it is when others see that peace
of God operating in our lives, that the kingdom
becomes IRRESISTIBLE. Your neighbors are
watching you. Your families are watching you. That
person that you have been praying to receive Jesus
and come into the kingdom is watching you. People
you do not even know watch you. It is not your
blessings and how well you do they want to see.
People are jealous of that. They are watching, and
sometimes even wanting, to see you have bad times.
They say “You say you are a Christian. Well let’s
see if you really are.”
-
When you handle bad
times well, with peace, they say, “I want what you
have.” They want the peace you have. They do not
know that is what it is, but they know there is
something IRRESISTIBLE about you. To present
a kingdom that is SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, we
need an IRRESISTIBLE PEACE. IRRESISTIBLE
PEACE is KEY. It draws (drags) people in. We
have all seen it. We all want it.
-
We try to sit down
with some people before we do each series and talk
about what I want to express. We throw ideas around
and come up with thoughts that I need to cover. We
did that with this series. One of the people (Doug)
said that we needed to include IRRESISTIBLE PEACE
in the series. He reminded me of a time in 1990
when he experienced some serious, life threatening,
health problems with total peace. He said that
without that peace, he would have gone crazy. I have
watched many of you express that peace. Others saw
that peace in you! They saw the God of peace in you!
They saw the kingdom of
God
in you! It impacted their lives!
-
Not long ago Judy
(my wife) was at a Life Group meeting. The doctors
diagnosed Richard Wible with lung cancer and Lily,
Richard’s wife, was having heart problems. Lily
commented about how she and Richard felt. She said
that God was going to heal them, but they had
talked, and if God did not heal them, they had lived
long and good lives. They had a peace that passed
understanding. It is the peace that Jesus gives. It
is kingdom peace. It is a peace that crushes Satan’s
attacks on us, our children, our families, and
anything else that he attempts to destroy.
-
Romans
16:20 The God of PEACE will soon crush Satan
under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with
you.
-
It is a peace that
GROWS, and is ONLY in believers through Jesus. You
cannot buy this peace and no medication will give
you THIS PEACE.
-
Galatians
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
PEACE, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness
-
Peace grows like a
fruit. It matures and becomes sweet giving
nourishment.
-
It is a peace that
we receive from the gospel of Jesus Christ.
-
Ephesians
6:15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the gospel of PEACE.
-
It is a peace that
rules in our hearts NO MATTER what we face. We have
that same peace that Jesus had and the disciples
experienced.
-
Colossians 3:15 Let the PEACE of Christ rule
in your hearts, since as members of one body you
were called to peace. And be thankful.
-
Jesus has a special
peace to give you. What is your greatest
fear? What is it that robs your peace? There is an
IRRESISTIBLE PEACE in the kingdom of
God.
It will get you through ANYTHING, and when others
see it, it will DRAW them to the kingdom of
God.
It makes the kingdom and church SIMPLY
IRRESISTIBLE. Jesus is saying to you today,
“PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE YOU… DO NOT
LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED…” How many want that
IRRESISTIBLE PEACE today? Simply do what the
disciples did. Receive his peace and then allow it
to grow.
-
Jason Freeman,
The Peace of Christ
-
-
Foxe’s Christian
Martyrs of the World, pages 5-9
|
