Visions of Peace--Final Session--Week 7, Day 7

Quiet listening as you read

Closing—Peacemaking

Interesting that the number 7 is the number of completeness in the Bible.  I taught this as an eight-week study, but as I put it on-line, it seems more appropriate to label this session as Week 7, Day 7! 

So, in this session we try to put it all together.  This is the session in which we discover how to be a peacemaker.  Do you know the secret yet?  How do you bring peace into this world?

I feel like I may be letting you down because the fact remains—we cannot bring peace into this world.

Consider this verse:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Note whose peace it is---God’s---the peace that passes understanding is real and it comes from God only.  You can have it but you can’t make it, it must be given to you.  You can have it, but you can’t give it to someone else, only God can do that.  WOW---see why some people never really seem at peace? 

But that doesn’t mean we can’t be a good influence in this world.  And it doesn’t mean that we can’t have peace---that is promised to us, no matter what the chaos around us looks like.  But the secret is----you must keep your perspective and control only yourself.

Pray for others, be a good example to others, listen, listen, listen to others, but stay detached from their emotion.  They will notice your peace, they will wonder about your peace, and they may even question your peace.  Then, you will be able to be a witness for God.  Then you will be able to be an instrument of peace. 

A friend of mine sent me the following analogy, I’d love to know where it came from:

An Instrument of Peace does not act on his or her own, but as the extension of the one who plays it. 

Likewise, the music that issues from this Instrument is for the benefit of all those who listen or who are touched by this grace, and yet it cannot help but return to touch the One being played. 

This is your role, to be played by the Beloved and let your music transform all those who have been given to you. Do not be attached to the results, and the results will fall naturally into place. 

It is not yours to know the end, but to become the means through which the end comes to life.

That is being truly righteous, so full of God’s peace that you are spilling over with peace. And since we are talking about instruments and music, let’s not forget the famous poem

by William Congreve, written in 1697

calledThe Mourning Bride:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

We can be that music—we can be that instrument that God plays to bring peace into this world. 

But as we try to be that we can never forget this verse---

... How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take that splinter out of your

eye,' when all the while you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? ... Luke 6: 42

So—let us always control our own emotions and be understanding of the underlying reasons for others to have these same emotions. 

Let’s review the purpose of our emotions.

Fear—to protect

Sadness—to remember

Anger—to act

And why do we feel each?

Fear---sudden unknown sensory input that must be analyzed

Sadness—low self-worth, loss

Anger—inability to control situations or people

And which feelings can be confused?  Anger covers sadness and fear, anger leads to guilt and sadness

Outer conflict is caused by anger which may be covering some of these other feelings and the other person probably doesn’t even realize it.  So to make peace you must step away, detach, and talk to them at another time after much thinking and praying.  Remember this verse as you pray:

You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike; you shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it. Deuteronomy 1:17

(Moses counseling the appointed judges that were to help him.)

(slide)

and by praying this, you hopefully will be able to know which things you are supposed to handle and which you are to leave to God.

Of course there is plenty of worldly advice that is good as well.  Here are some that I’ve collected from some of you.  (slides)

On two occasions you should learn to keep your mouth shut: when swimming and when angry.

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

(as in, saying "That is really interesting!" or "I don't think I have ever heard that before!", as opposed to, "That is totally ridiculous!" or "Are you serious, you cannot possibly believe that!?")

 “I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”                                                                                                                                                                Matthew 10:16
(Part of being a peacemaker or peacekeeper is knowing the enemy, the anti-peacemaker and recognizing whenhe is having any influence so you can avoid participating in that if at all possible.)

And along those lines, here is one that you cannot use in Bible study officially, but is a Ray Ross quote that he probably - ummmm - borrowed - from someone else, but no matter: "Never get into a pissing contest with a skunk"

And once you remember all these things at all the right times, you will have Inner Peace and that is when you become a Peacemaker.

Let’s look at the symptoms of inner peace. (handout)

I think you’ve caught it and I think it’s contagious!!  So, I’d like to end by reading

Ephesians 1: 15-19 as our closing prayer

 15For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,16do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,19and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

EXTRAS:

 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” Psalm 23:6

“God always does what he says

and is gracious in everything he does.” Psalm 145:13

Lakeside Connect (http://lakesideconnect.com) is a website that teaches students and parents very specific methods to prevent bullying and violence in schools. 

What is important to know is:

• anger involves a trigger to the emotions that so easily charges us up that we “lose it, ” and
• it will often take about 20 minutes before we can once again become more logical.

Just knowing that could really help us as we deal with our anger or someone else’s. When we know someone is “amygdala hijacked,” then we should give him or her some time (over 20 minutes) before we attempt to resolve or discuss what happened because it takes about that long for hormonal releases to decrease in intensity.

In our training course, Understanding Anger, we like to use a process which follows our three-part acronym ACEing through a grid of questions. ACEing translates as “A” for assessing, “C ” for choosing, and “E” for executing that choice. The “ing” is added because the acronym is action-oriented; that is, it requires processing the grid (or subset) of questions.

Altogether, ACEing is an effective strategy for dealing with anger. Using the ACEing grid gives one the ability to control the anger that can damage our relationships or reputation.

Max Lucado

Catalog God’s goodness.

Meditate on him.

He has fed you, led you, and earned your trust. 

Remember what God has done for you.

--Hope Pure & Simple

From: "Turning Point" <turningpoint@davidjeremiah.org>
Date: Oct 18, 2013 5:13 AM
Subject: Today's Turning Point with David JeremiahFriday, October 18
>
> Feeling Good by Being Grateful
>
> Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?
> Psalm 42:5a
>
> Recommended Reading
> 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
> Dr. Robert Emmons is unofficially known as "the gratitude scientist". Officially, he's a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and author of Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. His "10 Ways to Become More Grateful" are helpful, especially number four: Learn Prayers of Gratitude.1 It's hard to feel depressed and grateful at the same time.
>
> Actually, linking prayer and gratitude together is not so much "new science" as it is old wisdom. The apostle Paul linked the two together in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18: "Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks." When we find ourselves discouraged -- or "cast down" to use the psalmist's language -- finding ways to give thanks is a positive antidote to a negative condition. While it may be counterintuitive to give thanks for the circumstance causing our discouragement, we can still give thanks "in" that circumstance.
>
> Whether you are happy or sad at this moment, give thanks to God for the blessings you enjoy.
>
> Christian doctrine is grace, and Christian conduct is gratitude.
> J. I. Packer