Keys: Part 16

For the last few weeks Pastor Rick had been teaching about "Keeping the Peace" from our series Keys to the Good Life. Well this week he continued in the series with a message entitled, "Be Loyal". We may think we are loyal to a friend, a spouse, or even to God...but are we really? Maybe you are committed, and calling it loyalty? If you think about it, there is no "loyalty" in commitment, but there is plenty of "commitment" wrapped up in loyalty.

In Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Pastor Rick pointed out that God blesses those attacked for their loyalty to him. Meaning that when you are living right before God's eyes, not our eyes, but before God's eyes, he promises to bless you. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness". Now this passage, "persecuted for righteousness sake", is speaking about those people that are targeted because they stand out for being the friends of God. Those who choose to live life in conjunction with God's instruction.

And trouble ultimately comes because righteous living produces conviction. For example, have you ever been in a situation where you came into a room and there were friends or people doing something wrong, but as soon as you showed up, they stopped, tried to hide it, or play it off? Why? Because of righteous living. They saw you coming and they were convicted by your good conduct, and it shined the light on their less than excellent conduct. Now that doesn't mean they are condemned (as in going to hell), it simply means that we recognize that we are not doing our best, when better shows up. In college, when they post grades outside the classroom, you may have thought you were doing really good by getting an "A", but you may have been convicted to do better when you saw the "A+" that one of your classmates received.

So being obedient to Christ no matter what comes, is loyalty, and it always brings blessings! So if you follow Jesus, you will obey his words, and obeying his words leads you to living a life that is pleasing to God. And if you please God, you will be blessed, and if you are blessed, you will be living the good life that God wants for us all.

Keys: Part 12

Keep the Peace

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9

1. True peace only comes from Jesus Christ.
John 14:27 is specific in stating that Christ left us His peace. He also tells us two very important things that we must live by – 1) do not let your heart be troubled, and 2) don’t be afraid. Stop allowing people, places, and circumstances to trouble you. Fear stems from trouble so do not allow it in your life. Worry is a sin! Jesus backs up this claim in John 16:33. Look into a believer’s life and you should see cheer because of what the Lord has done and provided. There is no negotiation or compromise in peacemaking. God can’t make peace come to you; He gave you the power to choose. In Christ you have peace and in the world you have tribulations. So the root is, either you’re in Christ, or you’re living in the world. Put pressure down.
A peace beyond understanding. This peace will guard your mind (Philippians 4:7).

A believer’s responsibility in governance:
Be a responsible citizen, trusting God to take care of you (Romans 13:1-5). Represent where you are from (God’s Kingdom). As an ambassador for Christ, your position is not unlike earthly ambassadors. Our armed offices, acting as our protectors, should be ministers of God. Good people, born again, spirit-filled believers are supposed to bear arms as ministers of God. Non-believers should be afraid because Christians don’t bare the “sword” in vain. The government is under your thumb. Read the first line of the constitution, you are in control. Ultimately, the enemy comes to pervert this system.
1 Peter 2:13-15 – Submit yourself of your own volition (will) to government leaders for the Lord’s sake, and in doing so, you silence the ignorant. God’s ordinance is against evil. Don’t use your freedom as a “cover” to do wrong. Last week’s message dealt with questions about evil leaders. What about them? Maintain your righteousness and use the law not rebellion, to eradicate evil. You are not in the position to judge corruption. Justice exists, but it comes from ordination. History shows us that the sword comes down on evil.

Learn to balance obligations to government and to God. (Acts 4:19, 20; and 5:29) Jesus paid his taxes, so what leg do you have to stand on if you shirk your responsibilities? If you serve God all the time and in every way He tells you to, you therefore serve the government, too.
1 Timothy 2:1-4- -- Pray for all authority. Our leaders’ personal business is between God, their family, and their own conscience. Spiritual leaders are to restore and pray in God’s authority and power for situations to come out the way they’ve prayed.

2. Making peace is easier said than done. It’s not impossible. Peace is a condition of the heart, and has nothing to do with circumstance or situations (Matthew 5:43-48).