In Luke chapter 24, there are two disciples on the road traveling on the road to Emmaus and Jesus Christ joins them in their walk.  But they don't recognize Jesus.  This is after the resurrection.  And the disciples were talking about the things that had happened in Jerusalem leading up to Jesus resurrection and Jesus asked them a question.  He says, what are you talking about?  And they said, where have you been?  Haven't you heard about the things happening in Jerusalem and Jesus, we might think Jesus would respond well, yes, I was there and here I am, and let's go back to Jerusalem and celebrate with the disciples.  But that's not what he said.  He said, What things?  


So they recounted to him everything that happened about his crucifixion and reported resurrection.  And he said to them, oh, fools and slow is hard to believe, and then he opened for them the Scriptures in the Old Testament and as they walked, he told them, and opened up the Scriptures, the Old Testament Scriptures about the prophecies from the prophets, the Messiah is coming, and they arrived at Emmaus and to the destination where the disciples were going, and Jesus acted as if he was going to go on farther, and they invited him to stay.  And so He stayed and they broke bread together.  And in the breaking of the bread, their eyes were opened as Jesus gave thanks for the bread.  And then he disappeared.  

And after he was gone, the disciples turned to one another, and they asked each other, Luke 24:32, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and open the Scriptures to us?”  

Have you ever had that experience when you're reading God's word? When the Lord opens the scriptures to you whether it's you reading the Bible, studying, or maybe it's listening to your Pastor, a Bible teacher, and you get that, that burning heart?  Well, Jesus Christ is the one who provides that fire.  He is that fire.

In this session, we're going to talk about the Peacefire the second fire of conflict.  In the last session, we talked about the Wildfire, and how the Wildfire represents everything and everyone involved in a conflict.  Well, the Peacefire is another fire that can burn in the midst of conflict, but it doesn't happen automatically. 

A Peacefire can only be lit when someone intentionally seeks Jesus Christ.  Right in the midst of the Wildfire.  And when someone cries out to him and pursues, pursues him and pursues his purpose, seeks his presence, seeks to appropriate his power in the midst of the Wildfire, Peacefire ignites.  The Peacefire has two aspects, the peace and the fire.  Jesus Christ is our peace.  In Ephesians 2:14 we read “For he himself is our peace.” 

In John 14:27, we read Jesus saying, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.  I did not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  

You know, the peace that the world gives is so different than the peace that Jesus gives. The peace that our world pursues is an absence of conflict.  The peace that Jesus brings, is a peace that passes understanding is a peace that brings healing.  It's a peace that brings restoration of relationship. 

In Philippians 4:7 we read, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  This is the peace that Jesus Christ brings to us in the midst of conflict, a peace that guards our heart and that guards our mind, that keeps us from just responding to the dynamics of the Wildfire and empowers us and enables us to have a different response to conflict, a response that glorifies Jesus Christ, a response that fills our hearts and our minds with peace.  

At the Peacefire Jesus Christ is not only our peace, He's also that fire.  The fire that transforms. 

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist said, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. and with fire.”  

In Isaiah 48:10, we read, “See, I have refined you, though not as silver, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”  

In the midst of conflict that fire that burns when we seek the Lord is a transforming fire.  Conflict is often a difficult, sometimes even a painful experience, but even in the midst of those Wildfires, when we seek the Lord of the Peacefire, He transforms us, He even uses those conflicts to change us and to use us to change others in the midst of conflict. 

5:48 Isaiah 1:25, “I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities.”  The purifying process of the Peacefire. 

In 1 Peter 1:6-7 the apostle Peter wrote, “In all this, you greatly rejoice though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory and honor, when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 

At the Peacefire, we pursue Jesus Christ rather than the desired outcome.  In the Wildfire, we're pursuing what we want.  And every conflict is different, every situation is different.  We're not after a formula that helps you put the Wildfire out or get what you want because the Lord is at work doing different things in your life than he is in mine, and in the situations you are in, he's doing different things in the situations I'm in.  But one thing is common. In all of those situations, he desires to glorify His name, to bring glory, honor, and praise to Jesus Christ through his people and to show Himself strong on your behalf. 

So when your next conflict erupts and it ignites into a Wildfire around you, don't just pursue your desired outcome.  Intentionally seek the Lord Jesus Christ, start that Peacefire, and ask Him, what do you want me to do?

There is nothing like pursuing Jesus Christ in the midst of conflict.  I am fully persuaded after 25 years of practicing law, and serving people in conflict as well as experienced conflict in my own life, the pursuing Jesus Christ and relying relentlessly on him in the midst of conflict not only brings you great peace but it increases your faith, it strengthens your faith and it transforms you and changes you, more and more into the image of Jesus Christ, day by day, from conflict to conflict, as the Lord sees fit to do in your life as you seek him.  And pretty soon, we recognize these desired outcomes that we have are just things that He uses to change us into His image. 

May the Lord bless you in the next session, we're going to talk about the choice that exists in every conflict. God bless you. We'll see you then.


Last modified: Monday, July 17, 2023, 7:10 AM