Video Transcript: A Curious Peacefire Question – Three Things to Remember

We talked about our habits of responding to conflict and what we're talking about in this course is developing new habits, habits that seek the Lord at the Peacefire and respond to conflict from there rather than responding out of our emotion and out of the circumstances that are happening in the wildfire.  So how do we change those habits?  And what can help us develop these new habits of staying focused on what the Lord is saying to us at the Peacefire?  

Well, there are three principles that help us keep our focus on the Peacefire.  I call these three principles, the three things that every conflict firefighter must know.  And the first one is that the Lord is always at work.  And if you can remember that in every one of your conflicts you're well on your way to changing the dynamics of conflict in your life, because if we remember that the Lord is at work, it gives us almost an immediate peace.  Knowing that whatever's happening in the conflict is not taking him by surprise.  And that even if someone is intending harm to us or evil to us, the Lord is capable of taking that evil and turning it for good.

Psalm 121:4 reads, “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”  Jesus said to them, in John 5:17, “My father is always at his work to this very day, and I too, am working.”  The Lord is at work in every one of your conflict stories.  He's always at work.  So if he's always at work in the midst of conflict, what is he doing?  We'll consider three things that he's always at work doing.  In your conflict stories, there will be additional things that He's doing, things that are personal to you, are personal to other people involved in your conflict.  Those things are revealed to us as we seek him at the Peacefire.  But the three things I'm going to talk about now that the Lord is always at work doing are general things that we can trust from his Word that he's at work doing.  And so these can encourage us in the midst of our conflicts, what the Lord is doing, and how we can partner with him and pursuing his purpose.  

The first thing the Lord is always at work doing is He's always looking for someone to empower and use to glorify Jesus Christ in their conflict.  Second Chronicles 16:9 reads, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth, to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  Did you know that the Lord is looking for people to empower and use?  He's looking for those whose hearts are perfect toward him.  That doesn't mean they're perfect people.  It just means people that are at peace with him, people that are committed to Him, people that have made themselves available to him to serve him.  He looks to and fro throughout the earth, that He might show Himself strong on their behalf.  

Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us?  And I said, Here I am.  Send me.”  

Here's a curious Peacefire question.  Lord, are you looking for me?  Is he looking for you, in the midst of your conflict story?  To be the difference maker?  To be the one who starts to bring about restoration of relationships, changing labels, writing a new story, a transformative justice story?  

Here's another curious Peacefire question that we can ask the Lord.  Lord, here I am.  What do you want me to do in response to this conflict wildfire?  The same question that Joshua asked him in Joshua, Chapter 5, “Lord, what do you want your servant to do?”

The second thing the Lord is always at work doing in the midst of conflict, after He's looking, looking, looking, and He finds someone to use, He's always at work transforming his people into the image of Jesus Christ.  “For we are God's handiwork, his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  That's Ephesians 2:10, and in Romans 8:29 we read, “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”  The Lord is always at work transforming his people into the image of Jesus Christ, and conflict is one of the tools He uses to do it.  

In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read, “And we all with unveiled faces can contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  And finally, in Philippians 1:6 we read, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  

Jesus Christ is committed to transforming every one of his followers into His image, day by day, moment by moment, from glory to glory.  It's a process that takes a lifetime.  And the Bible tells us it won't be complete until we see Him face to face.  But when we see Him face to face, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.  But from now till then, He's at work, transforming us.  And so in the midst of conflict, things are exposed that don't look like him, and we have the opportunity to bring those things before him and ask him to change us.  

So here's a curious Peacefire question.  Lord, is there something this conflict has exposed about me that you want to change to be more like Jesus Christ?  Is there something that's been exposed in your conflict story that the Lord wants to change?  He doesn't come to us and ask us to try to change ourselves and be better people.  He says, Bring it to me.  Cast it before me.  And let me change you.  The Lord is always at work.  So the Lord is always at work looking for people to empower and use.  He's transforming his people into His image.  And the third thing that the Lord is always at work doing is he is always at work accomplishing His purpose, and good pleasure. 

Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.”

And in Jeremiah 1:12, the Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”  

The Lord is always at work, fulfilling His Word, accomplishing His purpose, accomplishing His good pleasure.  And he's looking for people who will partner with him, that he will transform in the process to be more like Jesus Christ, and at the Peacefire, He reveals those purposes to us, that we might experience His peace and His transformation in the midst of our conflicts and be used of him as an ambassador of his kingdom, an Ambassador of reconciliation.  

Another curious Peacefire question to take before the Lord.  Lord, how do you want to use me to accomplish your purpose and your good pleasure in my conflict story?  He wants to use you and your conflict story to bring about His purpose and His good pleasure and in the process to transform you and to empower you to do His will and His good pleasure.  

So the three things every conflict firefighter must know - first, the Lord is always at work.  Second, the Lord corrects those whom he loves.  The Lord’s correction is a path to life.  In Proverbs 6:23 we read, “For this command is a lamp.  This teaching is a light and correction and instruction are the way to life.”

The Lord often uses conflict to teach us and correct us in areas of life where we need to learn his ways.  Conflict often exposes these needs, adjustments in our life, things in our life that we're living contrary to His Word.  Remember, He's always watching over his word to perform it and in the lives of his people, He corrects us, He prunes us so that we can be stronger, so that we can be more like Jesus Christ, so that we will bear more fruit that looks like Jesus Christ in our lives.  

There are promised benefits to submitting to the Lord's correction.  Let's look at some of those.  

When we submit to the Lord's correction, he pours out His Spirit on us and He reveals His Word to us as we seek Him.  Proverbs 1:23 reads, “Repent at my rebuke, then I will pour out my thoughts (or my Spirit) to you.  I will make known to you my teachings.”  

The Lord's correction is a sign of His love for us.  In Proverbs 3 we read, “My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves as a father, the son he delights in.”

The Lord honors those who listen to his correction.  In Proverbs 13:18, we read, “Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.”  And those who listen to the Lord's correction are considered wise.  Proverbs 15:31, “Whoever heeds life giving correction will be at home among the wise.”

So there are those blessings that accompany submitting to the Lord's correction.  But the Bible also gives us warnings against ignoring that correction.  In Proverbs 15:32, it tells us that, “Those who reject the Lord's correction despise themselves.  Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.” 

When we reject the Lord's correction, we can lead others astray.  “Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray,” Proverbs 10:17.

Another warning is that those who reject the Lord's correction are considered foolish.  In Proverbs 12:1 we read, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.”  So a curious Peacefire question regarding correction, a question to take before the Lord.  Lord, is there something I have said or done in my conflict story that you want to correct? 

Three things every conflict firefighter must know: the first the Lord is always at work.  The second, the Lord corrects those he loves.  And the third is the secret of giving thanks in all circumstances.  When we give thanks to the Lord, it directs our attention away from the wildfire, and to the Peacefire.  Giving thanks brings us into God's presence, where he can reveal His purpose and His power to us.  Giving thanks is part of God's will for our lives.  It's God's will that we be thankful at all times, even in the midst of conflict, even in the midst of your current status in the conflict story that's brought you to this class.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  

When we pray with thanksgiving, we can give the Lord our anxious thoughts, all our anxieties about the wildfire, in exchange for his peace, for that transforming peace that we've been talking about, that protects our hearts and minds in the midst of the conflict wildfire.  

Listen to this promise in Philippians Chapter 4:  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to the Lord.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  So when we're in an intense wildfire, and we're in the middle of that flame and this burning around us, and there's conflict all around us, the Lord says take your anxious thoughts, give thanks bring them to me.  Let me know what they are, and give thanks.  And in exchange for that, I'm going to give you my peace that passes understanding.  And I'll keep your heart and I'll keep your mind in that peace.  

This is that peace that we can experience in the midst of conflict.  This is bringing the Peacefire right into the midst of the wildfire and standing here as long as the conflict fire burns until the king calls us out.  This is the secret of giving thanks in the midst of conflict.  

The Lord wants his peace to rule in our hearts; our thankful hearts.  In Colossians 3:15 we read, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body, you were called to peace.  And be thankful.”  There's a great connection between being thankful and experiencing the Lord's peace in the midst of conflict.  When we lose our peace in the midst of conflict, one way to restore it is to start giving thanks.  Giving thanks turns our attention away from the wildfire, away from the conflict, turns it to the Lord, where He will take those anxious thoughts and replace them with his peace.  

A curious Peacefire question to take before the Lord.  Have you given thanks as you stand in the midst of your conflict story?  

Let's review the notes from this lecture.  A curious Peacefire question.  How do we continue to keep choosing the Peacefire over the wildfire when a conflict becomes intense and personal, risky?  Three things to remember.  

1. The Lord is always at work.  

2. The Lord's correction is a path of life and blessing and a sign of His love for us and 

3. Give thanks in all circumstances.  

The Lord is always at work; looking for people to use; transforming you into His image and accomplishing His good pleasure.  The Lord is always at work.  The Lord is correcting because He loves us; correcting those things that are exposed in a conflict, things He wants to change in us.  And He wants us to give thanks.  And by giving thanks, we experience His peace.  

Thanks for watching this lecture.  God bless you.  We'll see you next time.