To Change and Bear Fruit: Be a Peacemaker!

Luke 12:54-59 >>

54 Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. 55 When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. 56 You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.

57 “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58 When you are on the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get there. Otherwise, your accuser may drag you before the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison. 59 And if that happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny.”

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1. God’s message for me is as much as possible, to live at peace with everyone and solve conflicts and not escalate it, but resolve it as early and as easily as possible.
2. I need to ilve at peace with others because God wants me to, and so I can be a light for others. I think I’ve been making the effort to make peace whenever there are conflicts with others. I’ve been able to bring up the issue more to solve it rather than hide it.

Changing and Bearing Fruit Will Make an Impact

Luke 13:1-9

Repent or Perish

1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”6Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8” ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ “

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1. To experience change, I need to repent.
2. Repentance is so important because unless we repent, we cannot bear good fruit. Good fruit comes from a good tree.
3. If I continue to neglect opportunities to change from wrong ways and attitudes I have, I think my heart would harden and I would grieve the Holy Spirit. I don’t want that!!!

The Character of Patience is Molded Through Suffering

1 Corinthians 13:4,
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

2 Corinthians 11:19-20,
19You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.

Revelation 2:3,
3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

James 5:7,
Patience in Suffering
7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

Ephesians 4:2,
2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Hebrews 6:15
15And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

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1. The blessing for those who are patient in the Lord are that they will receive what God promised! Halleluiah! =D
2. The character of patience can be molded through suffering because that’s when we are really tested whether we can bear having our buttons pushed while still maintaining a character of Christ. If we just stay focused on Him and keep His love in us, we will demonstrate God’s sweet love in our lives despite anything that comes our way. After reading thse verses, my views towards problems and foolish people is to not see them for what they do, but just see it as a challenge to overcome and to glorify God through my actions. My focus is not on them, but on showing my love to God in everything I do. Also, God allows me to go through it so I can grow!

Give Thanks

1 Samuel 22:1-2

1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

Psalm 57

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam . When he had fled from Saul into the cave. [a]
1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.

2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me.

3 He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me;
Selah
God sends his love and his faithfulness.

4 I am in the midst of lions;
I lie among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

6 They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.
Selah

7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.

8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

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1. In 1 Samuel 22:1-2, David is facing a situation where he’s surrounded by people whose hearts have been heart, have been mistreated, misunderstood or slandered. I have faced this situation when I visit certain “mission churches” whose congregation has faced many trials and suffer seemingly more than the average person given their financial, legal (etc.) circumstances.
2. When David experienced suffering, fruits of the Spirit were evident, such as peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, and even love and joy in the Lord!
He gave thanks despite the adversities in life. I want to be the same way. Lord, please help me to give thanks at all times. I want to sing of Your great love and mercy always! In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.