WAGE PEACE Written by John Paul Jackson, he noted that
contrary to the modern Western thought here in America that peace is a fairly
violent word. Excerpt from his book. (
He passed due to a breathing problem in February 2015) In
Greek, peace means to obtain quietness by removing what seeks to distract and
destroy you. It is not a compliant serenity but an aggressive taking out, a
forceful extraction. If a dentist must remove something in your mouth causing
pain, then it must be removed by a forceful extraction. In Hebrew, peace has a
similar meaning. Peace is not merely a state of mind. It means to destroy and
remove the chaos and anarchy around you.
Peace has a very similar meaning in
Hebrew. When we study the Hebrew pictographs that comprise the word peace, we
find that it, too, is not merely a state of mind; it means to destroy or remove
the chaos and anarchy around you. When
Jesus spoke “Peace be with you,” He was not simply greeting His disciples but
was issuing a command to the chaos and anarchy in their lives. Essentially, He
was saying, “May the chaos and anarchy that are trying to keep you from doing
what God wants you to do be removed from your life.” Peace is an active
implement to remove …that is root up and demolish every single work of darkness
meant to keep God’s peace, and His kingdom from advancing. 1 John 3:8
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might
destroy the works of the devil. God’s
peace will tear apart the anarchy around us. It dissolves the tumult. We could
say that God’s peace is a weapon, not just our refuge.
A Woe of Rebuke by the Prophet Jesus, In these two chapters, the first thing was a woe spoken to Impenitent Cites. Matthew 11:20 -24 NKJV…………….20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." ( HOMOSEXUALITY)
Jesus makes it clear that REJECTING THE GOSPEL is a more
heinous crime than crime that was committed by the Sodomites when they rejected the warning given
them by Lot. Repentance is God's will & pleasure……2 Pet. 3:9-13 NKJV…
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some
count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to
repentance.10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, & the elements will
melt with fervent heat; both the earth
& the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these
things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy
conduct & godliness, 12 looking for & hastening the coming of the day
of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, &
the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His
promise, look for new heavens & a new earth in which righteousness
dwells.
Rest Was Found in Jesus…A cease from anarchy and chaos: Matthew
11:25-30 NKJV 25 at that time Jesus
answered and said , “I thank You, Father; Lord of heaven and earth, that You
have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to
babes; 26 Even so Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 All things
have been delivered to Me by My Father and no one knows the Son except the
Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the son, and the one to whom the
Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you & learn from Me, for I
am gentle & lowly in heart, & you will find rest for your souls. 30 For
My yoke is easy & My burden is light.
……….Yoked: walking side by side
1.
Cease from toil, there is a
refreshment
2.
Resting in Jesus: living with the
Lamb’s finished work and victory
3. Notice it does not say to come to Him who beg, and plead for help. They are labor to care for themselves and family!
Normal
Sabbath Regulations Needed to Yield to Human Need. Matthew 12 : 1-8 Jesus lord
of the Sabbath….12:1 At that time Jesus went
through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry,
and began to pluck heads f grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it.
To him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the
Sabbath!” 3 But He said to them, have you not read what David did when he was
hungry, he and those who were with him; 4 how he entered the house of God and ate
the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with
him, but only for the priests?” 5 Or have you
not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane
the Sabbath and are blameless? 6 Yes it say to you, that in this place there is
One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy
and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the
Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
1. Men were enforcing law over people
and their needs
2. He gave men the Sabbath and He can
do with it as He pleases
3. They were to do good on the Sabbath
and that included healing
Healing on
the Sabbath Matthew 12: 9-14
NKJV 9 Now when He had departed
from there, He went into their synagogue.
10 And behold, there was a man
who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal
on the Sabbath?"—that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them,
"What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit
on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more
value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath." 13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted
against Him, how they might destroy Him.
1. Jesus'
healing of the man with the withered hand (also in Mark 3:1-6) reveals a
fundamental difference between Jesus and the Pharisees in their approach to the
Sabbath. How do we enter to worship or
do we come to worship God? Are we seeking welfare of others and seek out those
who need some loving concern?
2. It is the Pharisees had not entered the
synagogue to worship, nor did they ask Jesus their question—"Is it lawful
to heal on the Sabbath?"—out of loving concern. Were they thinking about others and how God
would touch them or how they thought the flow of service would be? In an accusing
authority, the hypocrites were judging Jesus by the regulations that they had
implemented into their religion that was far from God! Those who usually think
they do not sin are the ones who need to repent of sinning against God! In
their development for a consistent way of their doing , it included the Sabbath
conduct, these men had compiled regulations: 1500 covered the Sabbath alone!
(1,521 regulations)
In this, the man obeyed Jesus and put out his hand. And in
obedience to Jesus, restoration came to the withered part of him. Leaders at
times will be misguided by their own good in their own eyes. But we must
recognize the Lord in His healing that will liberate, yes, bring a man to live,
work and fulfill the purpose God has for him. This man was healed, was to see
the rewards of righteous work and would have victory in Jesus when He was
crucified and raised from the dead.
By faith, I reach out speaking as I walk, the Lord heals all of me in that operation! I keep confessing I have strength and His power to move through my day for myself and my family!
By faith, we live spiritually connected to God and heaven.
There is no sickness in heaven so none should be on earth. We are told in Jeremiah 17:9 says, our heart is
"incurably sick" (margin). God gives us the Sabbath day to help free
us from the chronic problems of human nature.— I like what the Amplified bible
reads in verses 9-11….9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is
exceedingly perverse and corrupt and
severely, mortally sick! ( that is
mortally to death) Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted
with his own heart and mind]? 10 I the Lord search the mind, I try the heart,
even to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his
doings. 11 Like the partridge that gathers a brood which she did not hatch and sits on eggs which she has not laid,
so is he who gets riches by unjust means and
not by right. He will leave them, or they will leave him, in the midst of
his days, and at his end he will be a fool.
These men sought out to make plots to be rid of the Lord. They wanted to
destroy Him and in their own planning and creating out and against the order of
the Lord, the whole of that came down on their heads. They sought not Him Who
could deliver them from rituals, from men’s ways and plans. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us: a man’s mind plans
his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. Anything outside of God is not sure, is
mortally sick that is leading to death of a fool!
Matthew 12:
22 begins the debate: the Pharisees would conclude the man was not healed by
God! A House Divided Cannot Stand:
Matthew 12:22-30 NKJV 22 Then one was brought to Him who was
demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute
man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could
this be the Son of David?” 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This
fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. 25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to
them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and
every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons
by Beelzebub, by whom do our sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your
judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of
God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one
enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the
strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 he who is not with Me is
against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
1. The demons are a kingdom divided
against themselves. Jesus is addressing
a challenge that the demon He had just cast out of this person had been cast
out by Satan. Jesus' argument is, "No, Satan would never cast out
Satan." It would be stupid for Satan to cast himself out. He is not saying
that under every condition Satan or other demons will not cast out other
demons. Indeed, that does occasionally take place. They are very capable of
doing signs and lying wonders. They can make it look as though somebody has
been healed, when God has not done the healing at all, but simply by the
removal of one demon by a demon of greater power.
2. One of the things that saves us is
that the demons are divided against themselves. Because they are a kingdom
divided against themselves, they cannot stand—they cannot get their act
together because their character is such that they are always in competition
with each other. Just look at the
divisions seen today. One group wants one thing, another destroys a city to
speak another & denounce some groups and still others want to denounce the
church!
3. We can understand this when we
recognize that the governments and most of humanity has been subject to and
deceived by demons. Just look at those willing to kill a newborn child! This is a demonic act!
4. Carnal, human nature, is a
reflection of the nature of Satan and his demons. What fruit does that produce
among men? Can men get along? No. Never do they get along! The other side of the coin is that the beings
who inspire, guide, direct, or motivate men..........those who not get along with one another
cannot get along with themselves either!
The only thing that keeps them unified is that at the head of this
organization is a demon of such power that he is able to whip them into
line from time to time to carry out his bidding. He does it by sheer
force. A manipulation and they do not
serve in love of him. They are a kingdom divided against themselves. They will
fall and that is an advantage to us. Kind of sounds like muslims pushing sharia law in the United States: one nation under God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth!
5. Being rebellious, they are disorganized. They
cannot get their act together. Far more important is they know God exists, and
they tremble before Him. They are therefore restrained.
Unpardonable
Sin Matthew 12:31-32 Therefore I say to
you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against
the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the
Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against eh Holy Spirit,
it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
1. Jesus addresses this group who think
their religious and they speak against the Spirit of God
2. From verse 28 of Matthew 12, Jesus
performs a miracle by the Spirit of God and it is an indication of the presence
of God in that place.
That
Blasphemy of lips and character of Person, A tree Known by its Fruit: Matthew
12: 33-37 NKJV Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree
bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers!
How can you being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaks . 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth
evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle account of it in the day
of judgment. 37 for by your words you will justified, and by your words you
will be condemned.
1. When people are unfaithful as these
were to God they demanded more signs
2. But these men would even refuse the
greatest sign of all;;;the Resurrection from the dead found in Matthew 28:11-5
The Scribes
and Pharisees Ask for a Sign Matt.
12:38-42 NKJV 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees
answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." 39 But
He answered and said to them, "An evil & adulterous generation seeks
after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet
Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the
great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will
rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented
at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The
queen of the South will rise up in the
judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
1. "...so will the Son of Man be three days
and three nights in the heart of the earth." Why would the Pharisees ask Him for a sign?
The answer appears in the section immediately preceding their request. Jesus had
been preaching that "a tree is known by its fruit" (verse 33), so
naturally, these Jews asked for a sign from Jesus to prove He was the Messiah!
They wanted to see what fruit He would produce! Jesus swiftly rebuked them because
for they completely missed the point (verses 41-42). To satisfy their
curiosity, they wanted to see a miracle, but the fruit Jesus meant was
repentance, good works, and spiritual growth. He would make them wait to see
the fruits of His ministry.
2. Fruits that point to a changed life!
He paraphrasing, "The only sign that will absolutely prove the truth of My
message is one that I will have no control over. I will be exactly 3 days &
3 nights in the grave. I will be dead. I will not be able to resurrect Myself.
So if God the Father resurrects Me after exactly three days and three nights,
it will be proved beyond doubt that I am the Messiah." He gave the same sign in other places to
different audiences, each time using similar wording.
Unclean
Spirit Returns Matthew 12: 43-45 NKJV 43 When an unclean spirit goes out of a
man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest and finds none. 44 The he says, I
will return to my house from which I came, And when he comes he finds it empty,
swept and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits
more wicked than himself and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of
that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked
generation.
1. Be warned that returning to a past
bondage from which you were once delivered results in deeper bondage. If
delivered from any kind of smoking, any drink or drugs, going back is going
back into bondage and you will have more activity of darkness against you.
2. Choose to trust Jesus. For like
Israel a nation reject Jesus, nothing is left to replace the vacuum except
satanic deception.
The
Violent Take It by Force:
Ephesians 2:16 & that He
might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting
to death the enmity. 17 And he came & preached peace to you who were afar
off & to those who were near. Chapter 2: He is peacemaker: reconciled man
back to God, Chief Cornerstone, a temple consisting of God’s people ,under the
blood that covers………Behind a stronghold is a lie---a place of bondage.
Any place of a personal bondage is where God’s Word has been subjugated to any
un-scriptural idea or personally confused belief that is held to be true. Behind
every lie is a fear, and behind every
fear is an idol. Idols are established
wherever these exist, a failure to trust in the provisions of God that
are ours through Jesus Christ.
1. Idol is the American Dream
2. An idol is being married: people can
put a future spouse in God’s position instead of holding onto the Lord in hope
for that future spouse.
3. Another idol can be tattoos, where you cover your body in pictures of birds, evil, swords, blood and death.
Weapons God
Supplied for our Use: God’s word will Pull Down strongholds, Hebrews 4:12-13
NKJV 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edge sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And
there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open
to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. God’s word reveals to him both is ingrained wickedness and the saving
way of faith! The Blood of the
Cross is a Weapon: Revelation 12:11 NKJV 11 And they overcame him by the blood
of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their
lives to the death. And the Name of
Jesus is a Weapon: Mark 16:17 NKJV 17 And these signs will follow those who
believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new
tongues,18 they will take up serpents & if they drink anything deadly, it
will by no means hurts them: they will lay hands on the sick & they will
recover.
The
presence of God’s kingdom calls each believer to responsible to spiritual
warfare and anticipated victories. But the evil struggles for survival. Though
he is cast down, still the Serpent writhes viciously. Though temporal, the
issue will be a standoff. We do battle in faith and faithfulness looking to the
Lord’s kingdom, and knowing that the Holy Spirit is preparing us for those
kingdom victories today!
Grace and righteousness, ithe character of God. Saving sinners in His act of grace and rewarding saints in His act of righteousness. In the book of John it is god revealed in eternal life. He John showed the way in his writing about Jesus, the way, truth and life. In Revelation he reveals the rewards. He also disclosed judgment of the saved. Salvation is eternal life, but serving in the kingdom of God, serving alongside Jesus is that spoken about in Revelation. The Christ life, the believers’ works and their victory is what we are to grasp.
Believers will be judged as to their works before the judgment seat of Christ, The third is the nations will be judged on earth Matthew 25:31-46 and fourthly the judgment of God of the dead of the great white throne found in Revelation 20:11-15. One is passed and three are coming. Judgment is coming not for sin, but for the rewards : SEE in 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12; Matthew 25: 14-30 and 1 Corinthians 3:10.
Works are
to be like that found in :1
Cor 3:11-13…. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver,
costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is,
because the Day will bring it to light. NIV
Let’s
continue to light this with His word that is going to appear soon! Amen and
Amen.
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