A Vision of Peace

Hello Nanuet Project,

God is so good, and we have the privilege of sharing that news with a world in need of renewal!

Over the past two and a half months, we have been wrestling with essentially two questions: What is the Gospel? And what does that mean for us as we live in and around Rockland County?

To find our answer, we began by looking at Acts 2, and asking, “Who is the church?” The answer we found was that the church is not a building, but a body of people who BELIEVE the gospel of Jesus Christ, and who show their faith in Christ by how they LIVE with one another. We saw that “being” the church is a holistic identity that is not simply about doing “Sunday activities” like corporate worship, but it defines who we are and what we do in every area of life--from the way we use our homes, to the way we use our time, to the way we view all of our resources.

From there, we went to Luke 15, the story of the Prodigal Son. And we saw that this is really the story of two sons--the older & the younger-- both of whom have rejected their Father in an effort to control him, and neither of whom deserves his continued affection. What we saw unfold in the story, however, is that both sons are graciously pursued by a father who loves them in the midst of their rejection of him. Both sons receive their father’s mercy, when in fact, it was his judgment and rejection they deserved. And what we are pushed to see in this story is that all of us are prodigals (whether it’s a struggle with self-righteousness or self-discovery), and therefore, we are all in need of the mercy of God that only comes through trust in His truly righteous Son, Jesus.
Matthew 25 was next, where we discussed the Parable of the Talents. As prodigals who have received the mercy of God, how does that change the way we live? The first thing we saw was that everything we have is HIS, and therefore, how we use our time, our talents, and our treasure will come from a different heart perspective. When we see that everything belongs to Jesus first, His call for us to be wise stewards of His things is not offensive, but empowering. What kind of a King would give away so much? And as those who have received such generosity, what do we have to fear in giving back to God what belongs to Him in the first place?

Next, we turned our attention to Luke 10 and focused our attention even more...If God wants us to be wise investors of His things, what does that look like? Well, from our study through the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we saw that one of the clearest ways Jesus wants us to invest in His Kingdom is by loving our neighbors. And who is our neighbor? But those in our lives who are in need, who may not be able to love us back, but who have no hope apart from the grace that you & I can give them. And the irony that we found in this parable is that the only way we will EVER live this way, is by first believing the GOSPEL—that before we can be the good Samaritan, we must admit we are the dying Jew in need of the loving care of our enemy, the truly GOOD Samaritan, Jesus Christ!

In our final vision study for 2008, we briefly discussed Romans 12. There we saw that as believers, one of the ways God describes us is as a body. In other words, to be a Christian, is by definition, to be part of a grander community, where each of us has differing gifts and abilities, but all for the same purpose…so that we can all work together, to serve each other, to serve our neighbors, and ultimately to serve Christ.
And as the body we recognize that to be cut off from one another, or from our head (Jesus), is to be dead! But to live as those made for life as one community under Christ, is to live life with renewed expectations, priorities, and desires.

This week, in our first vision study of 2009, we asked the question, “If we live this way, what are the things we can expect?” Or to put it another way, “What does God say renewal looks like? What happens to our world, when the Kingdom of Jesus breaks in?”

To that end, we turned our attention to Isaiah 32:

See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. 2 Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. 5 No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. 6 For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water. 7 The scoundrel's methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. 8 But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands. 9 You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say! 10 In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come. 11 Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your clothes, put sackcloth around your waists. 12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines 13 and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers-- yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry. 14 The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks, 15 till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. 16 Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field. 17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness (at peace) and confidence (security/trust)) forever. 18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. 19 Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, 20 how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
The context of this passage is one of impending judgment upon Ancient Israel for not following Yahweh, but instead, trusting and serving other gods. Why this should make any difference to us at all, today, is because the very same Messiah that Isaiah prophesied about, is the same Messiah (or Savior) that we look to fix our broken world. So, we look back to this prophesy to better understand what Jesus was all about when he walked the earth, and what He calls us to be all about in following His path today.

As verses 1-2 foreshadow, peace for Israel would come only through the King of Righteousness, who would be a hiding place & shelter for the weary, and a stream of living water for the thirsty…the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus. It’s one of many pictures throughout Isaiah of the Oasis of Salvation that today we call Heaven, but back then they called the Kingdom of God…

What will it look like when God sends His Messiah to set the world straight?
What does the Kingdom of God REALLY look like?

Verses 3-8 tell us that the Kingdom of God will be all about the truth...where the folly of ungodliness will be revealed. Conversely, verses 9-14 tell us that life outside of the reign of this King will be typified by lifelessness, destruction & death. The contrast could not be more stark.

But it is not until we come to v15 that we find the hinge in this passage, because it is in v15 that we find out what changes everything. It is in v15 that we find out how life under the reign of this King is made manifest and spread...through the outpouring of the very Spirit of God.

And how do these verses specifically describe the effect of that outpouring?
A restored relationship with Yahweh/God
Abundant provision
Justice
Righteousness
Peace that brings quietness & trust FOREVER
And “happy” is how to describe the inhabitants of the Kingdom.

Given the context of Ancient Israel, who wouldn’t want to hear this message? Who wouldn’t want such a King?

And given the context of our lives, it is not difficult to ask the very same question. Where is there a lack of provision right now? A lack of justice and righteousness? A lack of the peace of God that brings trust & happiness forever?

You see, as Christians, we know and believe that the King HAS come, and He HAS poured His Spirit out upon us, and He IS bringing about the restoration of all things beginning first with His relationship with us!

Therefore, WE are called to be agents of that restoration…those who share the POWER OF THE PEACE of God with each other, with our neighbors & with our world!

Could there be any greater privilege? Could there be any greater calling, than to be those who introduce others to the King of the Universe by showing them what He came to do?

To bring wholeness where once there was only brokenness!
To bring joy where once there was only sorrow!
To bring hope where once there was only despair!

That is what salvation is all about…bringing about the renewal of all things! Spreading the peace of God to every inch of this world!

Therefore, the vision of our new church will be:

To know Christ, and share the power of His peace with Nanuet, Rockland County, and the world.

Not because we are able to do this...but because He is able, and we trust Him.
Please pray with us to this end, and join us!

peace to you,
Will