We Create Peace
An all-creatures Bible Message

We Create Peace
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
12 July 2020
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 25:19-34
Psalm 25:12-22
Matthew 13:18-23
 
We create peace, or perhaps more accurately, we redeem the peace that God created from this corrupt, violent, and sinful world.
 
God originally created a peaceable kingdom in Eden and charges us human beings with protecting it, which we didn’t do; in fact, we are the ones who corrupted it.
 
Yes, we are to still pray for peace, but in a way that strengthens us and gives us the wisdom to know how to peacefully free creation from its present corruption and eliminate the violence that causes millions of human beings and billions of animals to suffer and die every year.
 
We also need to remember that as we create peace, it must include every other human and every animal, and the environment in which we all live, for if we really look at creation as a whole, we see that everything is interconnected, and we can never have true and lasting peace without including everything that God created.
 
Think about the Bible as a whole, it begins with peace in Eden and it ends with peace in the new heavens and earth, and everything in between is about this corrupt world, with the exception of a few passages in the Old Testament that point us toward everlasting peace and the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament.
 
So as we look at Genesis 25:19-34, let’s keep in mind that this took place in this corrupt world.
 
19. Now these are the records of the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham became the father of Isaac;
 
And we should not forget that Ishmael was also Abraham’s Son who was born to Sarah’s maid, whom she gave to Abraham for this purpose.
 
20. and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
 
We should also remember that Rebekah was Isaac’s second cousin, even though this verse seems to try to hide that fact.
 
21. And Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.
 
In those days being barren was considered to be a curse against the women, and never considered that the man could be the cause of the problem.
 
If we create peace, we have to consider everyone to be equal, and as in this case, women can never be considered as being inferior to men.
 
22. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.
 
23. And the LORD said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb;
And two peoples shall be separated from your body;
And one people shall be stronger than the other;
And the older shall serve the younger."
 
And because neither of these children were peacemakers, the struggle continued on for many years, even after their deaths.
 
24. When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
 
25. Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.
 
Because he was red
 
26. And afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
 
Jacob means “one who grasps the heal” or “a deceiver”, which shows in his life as he matures, and which is not a quality of a peacemaker.
 
And don’t forget that Isaac had to wait twenty years for Rebekah to have a son.
 
27. When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.
 
Even then hunting was recognized as being violent, and Jacob was considered to be peaceful because he didn’t hunt, but as we mentioned above this didn’t make him a peacemaker.
 
28. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
 
These kinds of dysfunctional aspects in a family create even more strife and prevents peace
 
29. And when Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished;
 
I find it hard to believe that this was the only time that this happened, but only that something different happened on this occasion,
 
30. and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom.
 
A true peacemaker also has love, compassion, and empathy even toward people they have problems with, but in this case Jacob saw that he had power over Esau and could take advantage of him.
 
31. But Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."
 
It was said that Jacob was a man of peace, but peacemakers don’t take advantage of any others, and particularly those in need, so we should recognize this character flaw in others and be careful not to do this to others.
 
32. And Esau said, "Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?"
 
His remark shows that he had no regard for his birthright.
 
33. And Jacob said, "First swear to me"; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
 
I hope we all see the worldliness in Jacob’s action of taking advantage of his brother’s weakness in this way.
 
34. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
NASB
 
We create peace and we can also create strife and corruption as we see in this passage; we need to be the peacemaking children of God who help free creation from its corruption.
 
Now, let’s think about how we create peace as we take a look at Psalm 25:12-22.
 
12. Who is the man who fears the LORD?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
 
Remember that the word fear used in this context in the Bible usually means reverence, so this verse is really describing the peacemaking children of God.
 
13. His soul will abide in prosperity,
And his descendants will inherit the land.
 
As most of us know, we cannot really control the lives of our descendants, but we can also leave them our prosperity, which can be a good or bad thing, for as individuals who have a free will, they can further our peacemaking efforts or corrupt the good we have done, so we need to be careful about what we leave to our children,
 
14. The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him,
And He will make them know His covenant.
 
Those who truly reverence the Lord also have the Holy Spirit to guide them in living God’s covenants in ways that help free creation from its present corruption.
 
15. My eyes are continually toward the LORD,
For He will pluck my feet out of the net.
 
This is the way that all truly born again Christians live, and the Lord can pluck our feet out of the corruption and violence of this world, but He may also leave us there long enough to learn some lesson.
 
16. Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
 
The Lord is this way with every living being on earth, but it is up to us to accept Him on His terms, and become the peacemaking children of God that He calls us to be.
 
17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses.
 
Let’s think about an example of these feelings: as vegan animal rights Christian activists, we feel the pain and suffering of the whole of creation, but particularly for the animals that are being exploited, and the only way to bring us out of this distress would be for the world to become vegan or for us to see significant changes in that direction.
 
The key is that if we are true children of God then we have empathy that let’s us feel the pain and suffering of the whole of creation, and it is this empathy that causes us be distressed, so our only heavenly option is to funnel that distress into ways of peaceful actions that help us find ways to free creation from its present corruption.
 
18. Look upon my affliction and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
 
This may not be from the same source as we saw in verse 17, for we can be afflicted by the people and laws that continue to corrupt creation, or they could be coming for something worldly that we have done, which means that we first need to look at ourselves with the eyes of God, and repent of anything that is not in the heavenly will of God.
 
19. Look upon my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with violent hatred.
 
Our enemies should only be those who are fighting against the heavenly will of God, like those who are deliberately continuing to corrupt God’s creation and causing so much violence, pain, and suffering to continue.
 
When people hate us because we are vegan animal rights Christian activists we look upon their hatred with hope, for to us it is a sign that our peaceful message is getting through to them and they are only fighting against it.
 
20. Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in Thee.
 
This is a good prayer for all of us who do our best to continually live in the heavenly will of God, particularly when we realize that we create peace.
 
21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for Thee.
 
Again, this is the way we all should be.
 
22. Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.
NASB
 
And today, we believe that we should be praying this for the whole world so that together we can free creation from its present corruption.
 
Let’s complete our discussion about the fact that we create peace by looking at Matthew 13:18-23…
 
18. "Hear then the parable of the sower.
 
I personally believe that this is one of the most important parables if not passages in the Bible addressing our faith, or our willingness to act upon what we believe.
 
19. "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
 
The word of God is far reaching and long lasting and most people hear at least part of it, but at least enough to believe that Jesus is Messiah, our Lord and Savior, but they fail to internalize it, or as this verse says, the devil comes and snatches it away, which also can be equated to the corrupt world system that we live in, and most people seem to want to live in it despite its violent ways.
 
20. "And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy;
 
These are the people who say they believe but all too soon return to live in the world instead of the heavenly will of God.
 
Note what Jesus says about these people…
 
21. yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
 
Being a vegan animal rights person, I feel this persecution more because of this aspect of my life than because I’m a Christian, and most of this persecution comes from the church, which we believe is the cause of Christians falling back into the ways of the world; they can’t face or handle the peer pressure.
 
22. "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
 
We believe that being a vegan animal rights Christian is an important aspect of living in the heavenly will of God, because it is a non-violent way of living, as it was in Eden and as it will be in the new heaven and earth.
 
And while there are a lot of people say they believe that this is the way we should be living, when they are faces with strong peer pressure and the fear of being excluded from the group, they compromise their faith and return to the corrupt ways of the world, and thus they produce no fruit, or they do nothing to help free creation from its present corruption.
 
23. "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty." 
NASB
 
These are the ones who have remained steadfast in the word and the heavenly will of God.
 
These are the ones who believe that we create peace, and go about doing whatever they can to help bring it to fruition by freeing creation from its present corruption, which bring other people along on this heavenly journey, and this is the fruit that Jesus is talking about.
 
This is who we all should be.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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