MEN ALIVE: Jim Cunningham & Paul Estabrooks' Podcast
Programs to help men become transformed to the image (character) of Jesus Christ.
MEN ALIVE: Jim Cunningham & Paul Estabrooks' Podcast
MEN ALIVE 212 - The Art of Cultivating Inner PEACE through Faith
Are you ready to embark on a journey of peace? This episode of Men Alive promises to enlighten your understanding of true peace and its significance derived from complete faith and adherence to God's Word. We, your hosts Paul Estabrooks and Dr. Jim Cunningham, bring you an enriching discussion on cultivating a peaceful heart, learning how to forgive, surrendering to God's will and maintaining harmony within your family and community.
Welcome to Men Alive, a biblical journey to help us conform to the image of Jesus Christ. I'm your host, paul Estabrooks, our teacher. As my longtime friend, dr Jim Cunningham, consultant in adult education, director of Go Teach Global and author of the book Men Alive.
Speaker 2:Pablo, many countries know how to wage war. In today's program, we're going to discuss how to wage peace, the third in a series from Galatians 522. The apostle Paul says the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. One of these is peace. You and I have visited countries where there is very little peace. In fact, some of the countries we visited are now at war with their neighbors, and we've also visited their neighbors.
Speaker 1:Brother Andrew often said that to have a country with citizens at peace, you must have neighbors living in communities at peace. That requires families living in peace, which comes from the individuals being at peace.
Speaker 2:I remember a conversation with Brother Andrew about his book Late Force, written in 2004. Eventually I expanded his three points into a three-part workshop at a theological conference in East Africa. I titled it Peace and Reconciliation for Community Transformation. Our mandate is to equip and empower individuals to achieve peace and reconciliation for community transformation. Another way we could say it is how do we wage peace? One is titled A Heart at Peace, taken from Proverbs 14.30. That says A Peaceful Heart Leads to a Healthy Body.
Speaker 2:Jealousy is like Cancer in the Bones. This is our earnest desire as Christians to have a heart at peace, free from guilt, free from anger and free to forgive, while practicing biblical disciplines that evidence our love for one another, based on our personal reconciliation to our Lord Jesus Christ. During our first session in East Africa, we studied some of the internal and external tactics used by your adversary to try and keep us from having a heart at peace. One of the biggest factors is fear. Fear comes from focusing on our circumstances rather than Christ.
Speaker 2:A second cause of no peace is a lack of forgiveness. Here's a paradox People who refuse to forgive are in danger of becoming like the one they hate. Quick story for you A person condemned their alcoholic father for his addiction, but years later that person was obese. One day they looked in the mirror and said I am an addict, just like the person I condemned. God revealed they had an out of control addiction to food, called excess eating. After examining biblical texts, they forgave their alcoholic father for his actions, even though he had passed away. A heart at peace removes fear and motivates us to forgive Jim.
Speaker 1:back in 2016, I read a book titled Not Forgotten the true story of my imprisonment in North Korea, written by Pastor Kenneth Bae. He spent two years in a prison camp for supposedly being a spy, he concludes. During my captivity, I also learned I must give up my rights. If I really trust God, my life must be about his will and plan, not mine. He is sovereign God and his plan is always better than mine. I learned to stand at his feet during the time of trial and hardship. I learned that Jesus is worth living for. He is even worth going to prison for. I would not have learned that otherwise. I finally realized what it means to rejoice in suffering, especially suffering for the sake of his name, pastor.
Speaker 2:Bae is a great example of a heart at peace no anger, no bitterness, no hatred and no vengeance, just trusting God to work his will in our life, like he did in so many others, like Joseph in the Old Testament and the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. I believe this is the kind of inner peace that Jesus had in the Garden of Gethsemane when he knelt and prayed Father, if it is possible, let this coming trial be changed. Then he added Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. A heart at peace is filled with the Holy Spirit and obedient to the sovereign will of God, as revealed in his written word. Any person listening, who is obeying God's word, has a peace that passes all understanding. If you are not reading, studying and obeying God's word, you will have no peace, regardless of how much you buy, spend, eat or drink. There will only be peace within when you are filled with the Holy Spirit and surrendered to his will. Isaiah 26.3 says you meaning God. God will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.
Speaker 2:Our second session was called A Home at Peace. As practicing Christians, when we have hearts at peace, we desire to have our home at peace, free from abuse and violence, based on our hope for reconciliation with each member within our family. Like forces are coming against the family today and against God in his creation of the family unit. These forces cause conflict within many Christian families and can be used by our enemy to challenge the fruit of peace in our hearts. Conflict and division often destroy peace within families. When someone in the family decides to become gay, change genders, refuse to have children, heaven abortion, commits adultery or gets a divorce, these actions are what I call a peace robbers for mums, dads and family members. Peace in the home comes when each person is in accordance with the guidelines for life established by God in the Bible. Because of brokenness and sin, some family members may not be living by God's guidelines, but we must continue to live at peace with them.
Speaker 2:This provides a segue to our third session A Community at Peace. As followers of Jesus Christ, we desire to live in a community at peace, free from fighting and conflict, based on principles of respect and responsibility blended with prayer and reconciliation with one another within our churches and our community. But it may not be possible. There may be pressure and persecution against Christians. What do we do? The Scripture says as much as lies within you, be at peace with all people. Peace is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Despite the community around us, we can radiate that inner peace given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:I agree. It's not natural for us to be at peace with all people. Only the Holy Spirit can fill us with wise, peaceful responses to other people. James 3,16 says For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. You are listening to Men Alive with Dr Jim Cunningham from Go Teach Global. Visit our website at goteachglobalcom. That's goteachglobalcom for more information, programs and reference materials.
Speaker 2:Pablo this passage of Scripture from James 3,16 is powerful Wisdom from God brings peace. The world is begging for peace. At the time we are recording this broadcast, there are over a dozen areas of the world with armed conflicts ruining the peace in many communities. The apostle James went on to say that human wisdom, or fleshly wisdom, is the opposite of the peace-loving wisdom of God. James said if you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying, for jealousy and selfishness. They are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
Speaker 1:My turn to tell a story. One of the most dramatic examples of waging peace happened at the end of the Standing Strong Through the Storm seminar that you and I, jim, taught to church leaders on an island in Southeast Asia. Conflict had raged there for many months prior to our arrival. Thousands were killed, displaced or fled the island. On the fifth day of the seminar, the pastors had a day of prayer, agreed to forgive their enemies, selected a committee of five to meet the leaders of the opposition, asked church members to fast and pray for three days, went to the antagonistic leaders and offered a peace apology, agreeing to return to the days before the conflict began.
Speaker 2:And they did Peace returned to that island and has continued to such a degree that I was able to take my wife Rita there a few years later to teach at several Bible schools on the island, plus visit with friends who had returned to live on the island. It was once again a community, a peace.
Speaker 1:As I recall, jim, the Christian owner of the hotel in which we taught, dedicated the room at the top floor as a 24-hour prayer room, opened 365 days a year, for people to come and pray for peace in regions of conflict around the world.
Speaker 2:That's right. We visited the prayer room and found flags that represented countries around the world. They seriously prayed for peace for each of those countries. Their prayers included their own political leaders. One banner quoted Psalm 122, verse 6, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. The name Jerusalem is a combination of two names united by God Yura, the abiding place, the name given by Abraham to the place where he planned to sacrifice his son, and Shalom, place of peace, making the city of God the city of Shalom, the abiding place of peace, yerush Shalom. When one has peace in their heart, there is a readiness to pray for peace in our home country and other countries.
Speaker 1:Jim, let's review for a moment. The third fruit of the Spirit is peace. You've made three points taken from Brother Andrew, who said we must first have peace in our hearts to have peace in our homes, from which we seek to establish peace in our communities. Is that a correct summary, you?
Speaker 2:got it, pablo. I did a quick check of a variety of translations of the Bible and found the word peace mentioned up to 397 times in one translation. Once we are transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, we begin to produce the fruit of the Spirit and become citizens at peace who, in turn, live in peace. Those who practice anger and hatred in war are not being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:That's very prescriptive. Let's close by affirming the positive aspects of peace.
Speaker 2:When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies be at peace with him. Peace is elusive but attainable. Do not hang out with bad people. 1 Corinthians 1533 says they will corrupt you more than you will change them. Let me be direct with men who are ignoring God's grace and love and forgiveness, thinking I'm at peace with my actions even if they are contrary to God's word. Scripture says this Pursue peace. Listen to Romans 8.6. Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death, but letting the spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Ephesians 6 says we are to have our feet covered with the sandals of peace. To me that means whenever we walk into a room, people should recognize our character as being Christ-like and say to each other hey, here comes a man of peace, wow, what a tribute.
Speaker 1:There you have it, men, the third fruit of the spirit Peace In our upside down, backwards world. May we be men of peace and exhibit that peace through our words and our actions, to be known as men and families and churches and communities that live in peace. Be sure to check out more information on our website, goteachglobalcom and send your reactions or comments to Dr Jim at the email address menaliveuntogodd at gmailcom. Until next time, I'm Paulist Brooks, on behalf of Dr Jim Cunningham, encouraging you to be a man of peace, becoming more and more like our Savior Jesus Christ.
