Ephesians 4:1-6
When the heats on - the tensions high
You can fight, you can take flight - or you can pursue peace.
In those moments do we ever think that God has place at the centre of it
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a kid growing up
We used to watch a lot of American westerns on the TV
Like the shoot out at the OK Carol
The Good the bad the Ugly
The magnificent 7
The wild wild west
and a bunch more
the highpoint of the action was always the shoot out
the sheriff challenging the outlaw of the town to a shoot out
2 lone gunman taking 10 paces away from each other turn
quick draw from the hip - fire
only one would be left standing when the smoke cleared
it's not original but it has me thinking
in a conflict I can be just like one of those gunslingers
who'd rather shoot it out
going down firing
than actually make the effort to have a larger view of Jesus in the centre of the mess that's now here
just like these 2 gunslingers
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Peacemaker Ministries: Peacemaking and the local Church
We've all had that kind of conversation about the urgent need met with the unnecessary response
In those moments do we ever think that God has place at the centre of it
When the heats on - the tensions high
You can fight, you can take flight - or you can pursue peace
like that Peacemaker pledge we looked at last week
4 Principals with 4 questions - A short hand way of remembering them is to think of them as the 4 G's
- Glorify God: How can I please and honour the Lord in this situation?
- Get the log out of your eye: How can I show Jesus' work in me by taking responsibility for my contribution to this conflict?
- Gently restore: How can I lovingly serve others by helping them take responsibility for their contribution to this conflict?
- God And Be Reconciled:How can I demonstrate the forgiveness of God and encourage a reasonable solution to this conflict?
A simple way to remember it is God/Me/You/Us
In some ways
We can all act like gun slingers when it comes to conflict
It's why we have our gaze drawn to the broader view of God's patient gracious forgiving and transforming love
Ephesians 4:1-6
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
People do not create unity- God does
Look again at Verse 1
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
That word worthy Paul speaks of
Is a word the Greeks used to mean of equal weight
think of a set of scales
doing something on each side of the equation
We don't even have to guess what that is
Paul even spells that out
It's grace
Shown in humility, gentleness, patience, loving forbearance
All fruits of the spirit
For the sake of love overlook offence - forgive
Lovingly deal with wrong
Start with looking at ourselves
See how we may have contributed to a problem
Don't always try to win at all costs