Winning by surrendering part 10 Building a Culture of Peace
Notes
Transcript
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42 The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers.
43 A sense of awe came over everyone. God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles.
44 All the believers were united and shared everything.
45 They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them.
46 Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity.
47 They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.
Intro
Key points to hit
Timothy was told to practice his gift, to hone his craft, to improve.
13 Until I arrive, pay attention to public reading, preaching, and teaching.
14 Don’t neglect the spiritual gift in you that was given through prophecy when the elders laid hands on you.
15 Practice these things, and live by them so that your progress will be visible to all.
16 Focus on working on your own development and on what you teach. If you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you.
Intro
Building something takes materials, personnel, know how, time, patience, guidance.
It didn’t work so well for me.
On the other hand, the VBS team built a campus designed so that the gospel can be effectively communicated to children.
Building a Culture of Peace
the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization
Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary., 2003.
Culture: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. (Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary., 2003.)
Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary., 2003.
Biblical Ways to Deal With Conflict (Slide)
Make every effort to maintain peace. ()
Surrender to Christ. ()
Four G’s of peacemaking
Glorify God ()
Get the Log Out of Your Eye ()
Gently Restore ()
Go and Be Reconciled ()
We have surrendered to Christ.
Thus we are winners. The victory is in Jesus.
But because of Christ we are inspired to carry on.
18 Live in this way, knowing that you were not liberated by perishable things like silver or gold from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors.
19 Instead, you were liberated by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a flawless, spotless lamb.
20 Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you,
21 who through Christ are faithful to the God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. So now, your faith and hope should rest in God.
22 As you set yourselves apart by your obedience to the truth so that you might have genuine affection for your fellow believers, love each other deeply and earnestly.
23 Do this because you have been given new birth—not from the type of seed that decays but from seed that doesn’t. This seed is God’s life-giving and enduring word.
Do this because we have been born again through Jesus. Do this because of the gospel.
23 Do this because you have been given new birth—not from the type of seed that decays but from seed that doesn’t. This seed is God’s life-giving and enduring word.
We will get treated poorly.
10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise through Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are dishonored! 11 Up to this very moment we are hungry, thirsty, wearing rags, abused, and homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are insulted, we respond with a blessing; when we are harassed, we put up with it; 13 when our reputation is attacked, we are encouraging. We have become the scum of the earth, the waste that runs off everything, up to the present time.
Common English Bible, (Nashville, TN: Common English Bible, 2011),
10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise through Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are dishonored!
11 Up to this very moment we are hungry, thirsty, wearing rags, abused, and homeless.
12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are insulted, we respond with a blessing; when we are harassed, we put up with it;
13 when our reputation is attacked, we are encouraging. We have become the scum of the earth, the waste that runs off everything, up to the present time.
.
But we struggle forward.
Timothy was told to practice his gift, to hone his craft, to improve.
Do this because we have been born again through Jesus. Do this because of the gospel.
13 Until I arrive, pay attention to public reading, preaching, and teaching.
14 Don’t neglect the spiritual gift in you that was given through prophecy when the elders laid hands on you.
15 Practice these things, and live by them so that your progress will be visible to all.
16 Focus on working on your own development and on what you teach. If you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you.
Practice practice practice
About how professionals can become stagnant. How much more important as Christians to constantly develop, to practice practice practice.
Youtube medical procedures. You wouldn’t want me to watch the video and then try it out on you for the first time?
Use the resources, reference your materials
The Seven A’s of Confession
; ;
ADDRESS everyone involved
AVOID if, but, and maybe
ADMIT specifically
ACKNOWLEDGE the hurt
ACCEPT the consequences
ALTER your behavior
ASK for forgiveness
The Four Promises of Forgiveness
; ;
I will not dwell on this incident.
I will not bring this incident up and use it against you.
I will not talk to others about this incident.
I will not allow this incident to stand between us or hinder our personal relationship.
I will not talk to others about this incident.
I will not allow this incident to stand between us or hinder our personal relationship.
hinder our personal relationship.
I will not talk to others about this incident.
I will not allow this incident to stand between us or hinder our personal relationship.
The PAUSE Principle of Negotiating
;
Prepare
Affirm relationships
Understand interests
Search for creative solutions
Evaluate options objectively and reasonably
Ask for help
Example of a peaceful culture in (highlight elements)
42 The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers.
43 A sense of awe came over everyone. God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles.
44 All the believers were united and shared everything.
45 They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them.
46 Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity.
47 They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.
Put others first because of Jesus
John Henry Weidner was born tweet that she had been his family in Belgium 1912.His father was a pastor who taught Greek and Hebrew At the Adventist UniversityIn France. It was located just across the Swiss border from Geneva. As a boy he's been a great deal of time playing outside in the mountains in and around the campus and learned a lot about the countryside. He did not know what at the time, but he was learning important skills that would help him in his work years later.
John Henry Weidner was born tweet that she had been his family in Belgium 1912.His father was a pastor who taught Greek and Hebrew At the Adventist UniversityIn France. It was located just across the Swiss border from Geneva. As a boy he's been a great deal of time playing outside in the mountains in and around the campus and learned a lot about the countryside. He did not know what at the time, but he was learning important skills that would help him in his work years later.
As he grew older John Weidner eventually got into the textile industry and his business expanded into many other cities in France during that time World War II was in full swing and people were fleeing the city ahead of the approaching German Army in 1940. He soon became involved in an underground resistance organization called Dutch Paris. This network consisted of more than 300 agents who operated an underground escape line from the Netherlands Belgium and France into neutral Switzerland. This group ended up helping 800 Jews, 100 down Allied aviators, and others to escape certain death under the Nazi regime.
Quotes..
“when the war started I thought, as a human being well that's the question: how to help people. I thought I had a way to help them. If a Jewish person could reach Switzerland or Spain, he was safe. Those countries were neutral. Big question was how to reach Switzerland from Holland. Everywhere there were the Gestapo, the SS, the soldiers of Hitler. The borders were closed. The border between France and Switzerland was heavily guarded, because the Nazis knew that Jewish people were trying to reach Switzerland. But I knew the border between France and Switzerland from my days of best college," Widener said.
This was a very dangerous undertaking. Before long he was found out and on the top of the Gestapo’s most wanted list. On three separate occasions he was arrested, Tortured, interrogated. Eventually a member of their movement who was captured, ratted out almost 150 of their network. Many were arrested and sent to concentration camps and never seen again. John amazingly remained untouched.
After the war he worked for the dutch government to track down Nazi collaborators. But by 1950’s he decided to make a fresh start in America. That’s where he met and married an Adventist lady named Naomi. Who at the age of 96 still retained her church membership here at Temple City. He started a second career with her here, opening a chain of health food stores called Weidner Natural Foods. He was active in his church and community.
His wartime efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Although he preferred to be quiet about his life in Europe, several books have been written about him and and for his courage he was awarded many things. US medal of freedom.was made a member of the order of the British empire, and even Israel honored him as one of the righteous among the nations in Yad VAshem, the country’s holocaust memorial. And when the US opened its holocaust museum in 1993 in DC, he was one of 7 selected to light candles recognizing rescuers.
This touched me. Notice how caring and humble he was. Weidner said…
Second quote…
“During our lives each of us faces a choice: to think only about yourself, to get as much as you can for yourself, or to think about others, to serve, to be helpful for those who are in need. I believe that it is very important to develop your brains, your knowledge, but it is more important to develop your heart, to have a heart open to the suffering of others. As for myself, I am just an ordinary person, just someone who wants to help his neighbor. That is the aim of God for me: to think about others, To be unselfish. I am nothing exceptional. If I have one hero, it is God, who has helped me to fulfill my mission, to fulfill my duties, to do what I have to do.”
He died in 1994, after a long life lived courageously for savior. His services were held in this very sanctuary.
He serves as an example of the selfless love of Jesus. Serves as an example of how we should approach reaching out to those who do not yet know Jesus.
As we aim to practice our mission muscles, how fortunate we are that we can do so without being under the extreme conditions of John Weidner. We deal with hot CA summers, or LA traffic, trying to get around to see people, conduct ministry. We have a high cost of living, but not with the peril to life, liberty, and happiness John experienced.
Let’s get busy, or get busier, it’s like we have no excuses.
Application
We can do so much more for the betterment of others. We are not under the demands as John Weidner. Now is a good time to practice. To get stronger. Yes, the Lord helps us. We are saved by grace. And at the same time he is mandating practice. Calling us to strive for excellence in how we love others, meet their needs. The care we take in perfecting our careers, interior decorating, meal prepping, diet, Sabbath keeping, The care we put into all this, we should put as much or more in how we develop our mission muscles.
Instead of turning people away who do not fit our ideals, we go out of our way to create a space that works.
Thus rise to a challenge greater than ourselves. We stand head and shoulders above the crowd. We become an example for the conference, Union, NAD, the world of how a church transforms the community and takes on the challenge of working with people and ministering to people who are broken. Rough around the edges, in need of a tune-up, missing Christ and an attitude of surrender.