Peter Tan-Chi - Resolve Conflicts in Truth and Love
Today, I'm happy to share with you a very, very important topic related to conflict. When was the last time you encountered conflict? Second, how many of you have had conflicts this week? Raise your hand if you've had a conflict with someone this week. Lift it higher! You see, it's exactly the same situation as in the first lesson. The fact is that conflict is inevitable. Let me say it again. Conflict is inevitable. It will happen. I'll tell you why. Conflict happens because we are all different, we have a past, we have experiences, it happens in your marriage, it happens in your family, especially in your office, especially in church Believe it or not, there is no perfect church, so there will be conflicts.
For me and my wife, I asked my wife, we don't always have conflicts, but we do have conflicts, let me give you an example, I and My wife is so different, take cell phones for example, I have a habit where I know where my phone is and when I get home I know where to charge it. My wife is different, her spirit is like free flowing so I Tell her honey you need to find a place for your phone but she didn't follow my advice so almost every other day we have to find her phone and I told my wife if you want to spend the rest of your life looking for your phone But, I still love you. So we're different, my desk is really not tidy, but I know exactly where my stuff is because that means my wife is super tidy and she likes to tidy things up so I tell her, please don't touch my desk, you have your table, I have my table but you know my wife is so cute and sometimes she will put my table and I said you moved my table, right? Why? We are different people.
Do you realize that if you have no awareness of conflict, you will be discouraged in life? So everyone tells me: conflict is inevitable but conflict is good, you know Why? I'm starting to get to know my wife more. In the pastoral community of CCF, we don't always see eye to eye with each other, so we have conflicts, but the reason conflict is always beneficial is because we work it out. Our differences of opinion, when we have conflicts, I start to realize that your ideas are different from mine, so nothing is personal and we will discuss what is the best idea, and usually, the best idea wins because Our agenda is simple, our agenda is God's agenda, what is best for the Kingdom of God? So conflict is inevitable, but it is beneficial only if you resolve it properly. Today I hope you will take a look at conflict. Whether you believe it or not, conflict occurs from time to time in the Bible. Everyone, let's take a look Acts Chapter 15.
Last week, we discussed how Christianity is experiencing explosive growth. Praise God, the Gentiles came to know Jesus. Many of them... Acts 15 is probably one of the most important chapters in Christian history, and you know why? I'll tell you why, first let's look at conflict. Let's read together, Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, saying, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Do you understand how serious this problem is? It 's not enough to just believe in Jesus, you have to be circumcised, which is why I call this chapter a key chapter of the New Testament. If they don't handle it properly, Christianity will be corrupted. Christianity will no longer be just Jesus, but Jesus plus Jesus.
On top of other things, here we add circumcision and religion. This is a very serious matter. The Bible tells us that this matter is very serious. Let's read: Acts 15:2 Paul and Barnabas had a great argument with them. The quarrel became fierce and a conflict was inevitable. Everyone has their own ideas. So the disciples decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the church should go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders to discuss the matter. Here are a few things I saw: Don't be shocked when a conflict occurs, but there must be a process for resolving the conflict. There was such a process in the early church. This process was: they would bring it to Jerusalem, to the elders and apostles, and to the elders and apostles. To the mother association, why? Because sometimes you can't resolve the conflict yourselves, you need other people and in this case they bring the issue to the mother church.
Ladies and gentlemen, don't be surprised when there is a conflict. You are bound to have a conflict. But do you know this process? Today I will share with you how to resolve conflicts through Acts Chapter 15. You can apply this principle in your family, in your office, and in the church. Do you enjoy learning how to resolve conflicts? This is very important, there was a study at the University of Copenhagen, and this is their study on conflict. People who are in constant conflict are 100% sure to die younger than people who know how to resolve conflict.
Let me say it again, if you want to live longer. You'd better learn how to resolve conflict if you want to die sooner, you can keep the conflict going So you guys want to live longer or die faster? Do you want to live longer or shorter? Want to live longer? Well, I'm going to teach you how to resolve conflicts. It can happen to anyone, and I ask Pastor Glenn, a man who loves God, and his family. Believe it or not, Pastor Glenn is a man who loves God, but he also has conflicts. Do you want to hear about him? How to resolve conflicts? Let's give a warm welcome to Pastor Glenn.
Today's topic is very simple. Let's read today's topic, "Resolving Conflicts in Truth and Love". You have to resolve the conflict. The question is how do you resolve the conflict? Can I suggest that? In Acts 15, you'll notice the following points. Number one, be proactive. Say it to me: be proactive. Be proactive. Again, don't be passive. Filipinos, Asians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, we Asians don't want confrontation, we want to avoid confrontation. When possible, we resolve conflict by denying and withdrawing. Glenn is holding back a little bit, friends, don't hold back, be proactive and take action, secondly, I would suggest that when dealing with conflict you should deal with it in person, face to face, make sure you are willing to meet, a lot of times people don't want to meet, they want to go through other People come to convey the message, so it must be resolved face to face.
The third point, and another point is this, when you resolve a conflict, you look at me now, you should listen, what's the problem? What kind of perspective is that? What is the other party complaining about? And then you have to listen to God. What's God's perspective? Then you listen to the leader's point of view. In other words, there is a process. This process is: you take action and face to face; second, you have to listen to what your point of view is; third, I suggest that you need to practice Love, you need to practice love in the process of resolving conflicts, which is not always easy. Fourth, you need to pursue God's agenda. How do we see this in Acts? are you ready? Let's find out, but before we get started, I'm going to show you some spiritual principles for conflict resolution.
Let's read together, Ephesians 4:1-3. As a prisoner for the Lord, I urge you: As you are called, Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Paul is now telling believers: You are to act as believers. You are to act as believers because we have been redeemed. We are believers now and we have to act worthy of what God has done for us. So what do you have to do? Everyone reads: First, be humble in everything. If you want to resolve conflicts, you need to be humble. Be gentle and patient. To understand someone else's point of view, you need to be patient and listen. Bear with each other in love, be tolerant and loving, my friends, they are not always like you, I mean, we are different, we need to learn to accept each other, everyone read, strive to keep the unity of the Holy Spirit. A heart of oneness.
You see, we are already together by the Holy Spirit, but we need to hold on to this. The devil wants to create division. I've been to a lot of churches, I've counseled a lot of leaders, and I always notice one thing: the devil wants to divide families, divide churches, divide groups, and that's the devil's job, and that's his name diabolos. What does diabolos mean? It's the schismatics. We are one. Look at the next section. We are one body. Notice the diversity. Christian life is likened to one body. We have different parts and different functions, but we are one. So is the church. In the same way there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope. Our hope is really that Jesus will come back to change this universe, this world. One Lord is our Lord. The master is not ourselves, not our denominations. One Lord, one faith, only one faith, Jesus is Who and what has He done for us?
One letter. One baptism, I don't know how many of you have been baptized, but when you were baptized, did the pastor say I baptized you in my name? Did the pastor say: I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? You see, we belong to God and we belong to Jesus. One wash. When you are baptized, you do not join a church, you join Jesus. One God and Father of all, notice how many "ones" there are in this verse, one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, seven "one". My friends, the Bible is saying: Let's keep our unity. So turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor: Let's keep our unity.
You see, the Bible tells us that Paul applied the teachings of Jesus, Phil. 4:2 I exhort Euodia and Syntyche, both women, to be of the same mind in the Lord. You see, there were problems in the early church. I also beg you, a true yoked man, to help these two women. Now I am not saying that women have more problems, okay? I didn't say that. But if you want to think so, that's up to you. But the reality is that there was a problem between these two women, and Paul didn't tell us about their problem, he just said... Everyone read: I'm asking you, this is the plural, grammatically speaking, I'm asking you all to help these two woman. For they have labored with me in the gospel; and Clement, and all the others that labored with me, their names are in the book of life. In other words, you may have conflict and still go to heaven. There is conflict between these women. But you have to solve it.
Friends, women are women and men are men, when you hear there is conflict, you can't say this is not my problem, this is our problem, so I tell our pastors, I tell all our discipleship leaders, if there is conflict in your group, we have a responsibility to help people reconcile. Because that is our calling, we are one body. In fact, this is the heart of Jesus. Before Jesus died, this was the last time he prayed publicly to his disciples. Look at what he prayed when he was with his disciples. Everyone reads: Jesus is saying: John 17:20-21 I pray not only for these, not only for these disciples, but also for those who believe in me through their word, so Jesus is thinking of us, I am praying for those Future believers pray, those who believe in Jesus through their word, that is us.
Everyone read: that they may all be one. Just as your Father is in me and I in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Unity is so key, harmony is so important, because the best way to witness to the world is how we love one another, and that's why the devil wants to divide the church, because when you divide the church, when schism happens, what does that lead to? As a result, people in the world will say, aren't these people Christians? Why do they always argue with each other? Aren't Christians a big family? Why were they separated? What's wrong with this group? My friends, unity is the heart of Jesus. Think from God's perspective. I'm a dad and I like my five wonderful kids to love each other. I don't want them to fight and so does God. God loves us and God wants believers to love each other. Amen?
What's today's topic? Resolve conflicts in truth and love. So what do we do, let's read together: Acts 15:3 So the church sent them on their way. As they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported everywhere the conversion of Gentiles to the Lord, which made all the brothers rejoice. The Bible tells us that when they arrived in Jerusalem, the church, the apostles, and the elders received them, and they related all that God had done with them. So now you understand the context of the story, Paul and Barnabas went back to the parent church and described to them what had happened, and as he related it to them, this question arose: Only a few of the believers were from the Pharisee sect. Men, rise up and say: You must circumcise the Gentiles and command them to keep the law of Moses.
Ladies and gentlemen, do you understand the problem? Don't judge these people, because they are sincere. They have been Jews all their lives. They were trained in the Law of Moses and they were circumcised. Now, if you don't know about circumcision, you and I do. Circumcision is what God told Abraham to tell him. His descendants, to show that you are my people, you must circumcise a male baby on the eighth day of his life, so the Jews circumcise on the eighth day, so the Jews are very religious, you know, now we know Jesus, all these Gentiles also had to join Judaism so that they could be saved. Do you understand their mentality? For many, many years, only the Jews were considered the people of God, and now all of a sudden Jesus comes and He transforms the lives of the Jews, but amazingly, there are also the Gentiles... who are the Gentiles, by the way? Could you please turn to the person next to you and tell your neighbor that you are a foreigner? We are Gentiles.
What happened to the early church? There was a wonderful outpouring of the Spirit of God into the Gentiles, and they were starting to become Christians, and so they were going to church, and some of the Pharisees were now followers of Jesus, and they were becoming Christians, and they were thinking: You need to be circumcised, This is a serious question, and if this question were not resolved, imagine if this question were not resolved, there would be no Galatians, and there would be no this vital truth: Salvation by grace alone, Also by faith. There will be two kinds of Christianity, one by grace and one by grace plus good works. In the worst case scenario, the church will even be divided. This is a serious problem. So how do they solve this problem? Remember this is serious, let's read: The apostles and elders met to discuss this matter; Friends, you must be proactive. When there is a problem, be proactive, don't be passive. Don't expect to let chance solve the problem.
Problems rarely happen by chance. And to get it resolved, you need to be proactive, and then you need to understand where their perspective is coming from. In order to solve the problem, you must meet, eye to eye, face to face. Someone said this a few years ago, unity is what matters most. There can be freedom in things that don't matter. In all things, have love. When you want to resolve a conflict, ask yourself, is this really important? Is this really, really important? If it's not important, it doesn't matter. For example, my wife and I, we are different people, I love her, she likes certain foods, I like certain foods, I don't have to force her, you know what?
A few years ago my wife asked me, Peter, do you want to marry a Peter? I said, what do you mean? She said you want me to be exactly like you. Do you want to marry a Peter? I was thinking, yes, my wife is right. I want my wife to be exactly like me and that's not right. I praise God that my wife is different, she is dynamic and creative. Imagine if everyone was like you, do you know why you would be angry with others? Because they think differently than you do, and their way of doing things is different from you. So turn around and tell your neighbor, tell your neighbor, I accept you for who you are. So we have to resolve conflicts, there will be conflicts, that's 100%. The way you look at things... these people are Jewish, but if it's something very important, you need to get involved, so what's the important thing?
My professor taught me this a few years ago, the important thing is the thing you are willing to die for. That is the important thing. You are willing to sacrifice your life for it, you can debate it, there are some things you don't have to die for, you can discuss it, are we clear? So what is the most important thing that you have to die for? What is unimportant? Please listen to me. Parents, I'm going to tell you now about your child. Your child is going to do something that makes you angry. Now you have to ask yourself, is this worth discussing? Or should I just let it go? Because you can't care about everything, my suggestion is as follows. As far as church matters are concerned, if it is a doctrinal matter, what are the doctrines for which you must lay down your life? In my case, who is Jesus? He is the Son of God, the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to God without Jesus.
This is basic, non-negotiable, what matters? Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This is fundamental, non-negotiable, the gospel, what is the gospel, what is this good news? Jesus died for our sins, He rose from the dead, and if you believe in Jesus, you will go to heaven. That is the gospel. Salvation, everyone read: Salvation is by grace alone through faith. This is fundamental. Salvation is not by good works, but by grace through faith. This is fundamental and non-negotiable. The authority of the Bible. You see, in some churches, they teach this: The authority of the Bible is equal to human authority and traditional authority. For us, the Bible has the final authority. Everything else must be based on the Bible. We understand.
The question is this: What if there are different interpretations? That's why we're going to teach you how to search the Bible. The Bible is clear on fundamental issues. On fundamental issues, there is no need for debate. On certain matters, I will share with you what issues are open to debate. The indwelling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit is the basic essence. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to live a Christian life. Therefore, we teach the Holy Spirit and you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. You have to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The return of Jesus. This is extremely important. Jesus is coming soon, OK? These are examples of the basics. They are contained in CCF's Statement of Faith.
Now what is secondary? When will Jesus come again? You know, there are some sincere believers who believe in pre-tribulationism, they're called pre-tribulationists, that before the tribulation happens, Jesus will return. Some people believe that Jesus will return during the great tribulations. Some sincere believers believe in post-tribulation theory. They believe that after seven years of tribulation, Jesus will return. To me, it doesn't matter, you don't have to die for it. Because, what is certain is that Jesus will come again. Are we clear? If you don't believe when He will come back, as long as you believe He will come back, that's OK with me. Divorce and remarriage is a very controversial issue as Christians on both sides have been arguing about it for thousands of years. God hates divorce, no problem.
What if they were divorced before they came to Christ? What if they were divorced before they knew Jesus? Their family is in a mess, the wife has remarried, the husband has remarried, and now they meet someone, can you remarry? Do you see how controversial this is? Some are even willing to die for this truth. No, no, no, you must not remarry. Some people say: No! Please look at me, this isn't worth dying for. At CCF, we have a stand. Do you want to know where we stand? Haha, that is another topic, but you can ask the elders or the pastor. God hates divorce. Can people remarry? Not necessarily, it needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Do you understand what I'm saying? But some people are going to die for this, and I'm not going to die for this. It's not worth dying for. We can discuss, we can debate. What about the method of baptism? Some people believe in sprinkling, and some believe in baptism. Look at me now, would you die for this?
Now there is a man in the hospital who has a high fever and is about to die. He has just believed in Jesus and he says: Pastor, I want to be baptized. Oh, don't you allow sprinkling? Could it be that you would say: I want to take you to the Taiping River, but it is inappropriate for you to say that. Do you have to be baptized? I mean these are not fundamental truths, do you agree with me? But to some, everything is fundamental truth. It takes a mature mind to understand the difference. Church governance, how to govern the church? Is it elected by the congregation, is it an Anglican model, or is it a Presbyterian model where elders govern the church? what is this? It's not worth dying for, my friend. Baptism of the Holy Spirit. You know, for some churches, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is different from salvation. They believe that after believing in Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit, but you need another baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is called a terminological problem, a problem of terminology.
For some people, you need to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues proves that you have the Holy Spirit. Is this question worth dying for? My friend, what matters to me is this: When you received Jesus Christ by faith, you received the Holy Spirit. But some would argue. Tithing, oh my gosh, some people would argue, what percent? 10, 8, 11, 12? No need to tithe, just give. My friend, is this worth dying for? Do you want to know the CCF's position? Most biblical, that is. We will teach you another day. Do we believe in tithing? certainly. Now, more secondary: the form of worship, the style of music, can we use drums, can we use guitars? You know, in our day, many years ago, I remember it was organ music, piano, no guitars, no drums, and people would die for that, you know? It's crazy that they would die for it.
What about preaching style? You can only refer to exegetical books, not thematically. You can only talk about them book by book. You know what I tell these people? Even if you talk about it book by book, verse by verse, you will have problems. Because Jesus never did that, and the apostle Paul never preached that way. There was no New Testament for the first 300 years. So how do you go about it verse by verse? It's not worth dying for, my friends. How about this? Day and time of worship. Should it be Friday? Should it be Saturday? Should it be Sunday? How often should Holy Communion be celebrated? Some say it should be done weekly, some say daily, some... you decide. How often do we do this at CCF? Once a month. Would you like to receive Holy Communion more often? This can be done in your group. But I mean, it's not worth dying for. Also what clothes to wear and what movies to watch.
Did you know that in our time, ladies were not allowed to wear pants? It's true, no pants allowed. You can only wear skirts. Men are not allowed to wear shorts during worship. Do you know why? You are blaspheming the name of God and you are not allowed to go to the movies. Spiritual people are not allowed to smoke, drink, or watch movies, and they must dress appropriately. My friend, look at me, are you listening to me? None of this is worth dying for. So ladies look at me. If you're wearing a miniskirt, I just ask you to think about it, am I glorifying the name of God? We don't legislate, and if you notice, if you want to wear really tight jeans, that's up to you, but what I'm saying is, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Are we clear? OK, can I drink? May I smoke?
Hear me, you and the Lord... Will this bring glory to God? When I'm with very conservative Christians, very conservative ones, I'm very careful and I don't touch alcohol, even though drinking is not a sin. My friends, be careful what is important and what is not important. The immature Christian, the young Christian, has not yet matured and everything is worth dying for. For them, everything is a big question, Ladies, do you have to marry a husband? He was very fussy, everything was a big deal, and look at me, remember that book? Don't sweat the small stuff. So my friend, I'm just telling you, it's important to understand unity, to resolve conflicts, but you can't resolve every little conflict in life, because it's impossible, there are so many differences, for example, lattice Where's Dr. Glenn, you know I love Dr. Glenn, Dr. Glenn, he likes to eat pork, he likes to eat pork, what do I like to eat fish?
We love each other. Did you guys know that I love Leviticus food recipes? I like healthy food, avoid shrimp, avoid crabs, but when I make it a policy, if you eat shrimp, if you eat crab, let's separate and build a church separately. If we don't, it's not worth dying for. Are we clear? Well, my friend, how do you resolve conflict? So, to address it face to face, okay, you need to be proactive, let's read this. Acts 15:7 When there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said, Read this: Brothers, you know that God has chosen me among you, so that through my mouth the Gentiles may hear the word of the gospel and believe. Peter is now the spokesman, and there is a process here. Peter is obviously a leader, so he speaks, and he says that people heard the gospel and they believed.
Notice that Peter goes on to say: God, who knows the hearts of the people, bore witness to them, and gave them the Holy Spirit, just as he also gave us; Peter is now speaking from God's perspective, God Himself accepted these people, and He makes no distinction between us Follow them. Read this together: He purified their hearts through faith. What Peter is saying is: circumcision is not required to be saved, it is by faith. Do you understand what Peter is saying? Remember: to resolve a conflict, you need to have a face-to-face dialogue, you need to have a discussion, and then Peter continues: Let's read: Why now do you tempt God to put a yoke on the necks of his disciples that our fathers and we were unable to bear? What is the yoke here? It's the yoke of legalism, I have to do this, I have to do that to get to heaven. But... now everyone reads: But we believe: We are saved, please note that you are saved, by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.
This is the most critical chapter, if you ask me, because in Acts, Christianity is growing, and now there's this question: Is salvation by grace alone? Ladies and gentlemen, how does one get to heaven? Is this a very important question? As early as the first 20 years... as soon as Jesus died, a few years later, there was already this problem. People are teaching another doctrine, they're saying: grace plus something else, and Peter is saying: no, there's a process, and they go to the mother church, and they discuss this: My friend, let me ask you a question. : How can a person go to heaven? First option: Faith in Jesus plus good works, religious (pious) rituals. They're going to do that, add religion into it, and then you can be saved. There are, believe it or not, a lot of sincere people in this country who believe that the way to heaven is faith in Jesus plus other things.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is why Galatians was written. To counter this false creed, this is close to being true, but it is heresy. Because what are the principles of the Bible? Please take note. Belief in Jesus is enough. When you believe in Jesus, you are saved. Where is the evidence of faith? Good deeds result. If you don't understand God's grace, you will never be sure of your salvation. God's grace means you cannot earn salvation. You will never be good enough, it's all God's doing for you. All you have to do is admit that you are a sinner, repent, and come to Jesus, and pay attention to what the Bible says. Let's read together: The Bible is our authority, please read together: Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved, note: For by grace you have been saved. You don't deserve this. It is by grace that you are saved, and you can have the assurance of salvation.
Many people are unsure about salvation. Do you know why? They don't understand grace. Because it is by grace, you can be sure today that you are saved. How were you saved? By faith. What is confidence? Trust what God has done for you. He died on the cross for your sins, He paid the ransom. And this not of yourselves, not because you are qualified; no, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. So the gospel is clear, it's not about good works. But people ignore the next verse. What's the next verse? Everyone read: We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. Please note that good works come after salvation, it is not a prerequisite for salvation. It comes after you are saved. That we might do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.
So, ladies and gentlemen, you must understand that true faith will bring about true transformation, and good works will follow. What's on the other side? The flip side is a misuse of God's grace. Let's read this together: Jude 4 Indulgence in lust, what is indulgence in lust. Because there are those who sneak in, who have been condemned from ancient times, who are ungodly, and turn the grace of our God into an opportunity to indulge in lust, a license to sin, because I already have Jesus, I'm going to heaven, Crime is OK. and deny the only Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ladies and gentlemen, do you see the errors? One is legalism, I have to do this, I have to do that, to get to heaven, and the other is: I'm saved, I can do whatever I want. I remember this girl telling my wife that I was divorcing my husband. My wife said: Why do you want to divorce your husband? Is there any biblical basis for this? There is no biblical basis for this. I'm just not happy with him anymore. I met another man, God wants me to be happy, No matter what, I'm saved, I'm safe, God wants me to be happy. That, my friend, is a dangerous statement: I am already saved. There is no fruit or evidence of life, so all this girl has is religion. But there is no Christ. Do you know why? If you have Christ, you will not deny Him. Look here: turning the grace of our God into an opportunity to indulge in lust, and denying the only Lord, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Who is a Christian? A Christian is a person who understands grace. I don't deserve to be in heaven. Jesus died for me. He paid the price for all my sins on the cross. I gave my life to him and I will now follow Jesus, so a Christian is a person who understands grace, he is now a follower of Jesus. If you don't follow Jesus, is Jesus your Lord? Everyone is looking at me now, if you say you are a Christian, but you don't follow Jesus at this moment, and you don't listen to Jesus, is He your master? louder please! The last thing I want to do is play games with all of you, and I'm very concerned about the many Christians who are playing games with the Lord. You never took your Christian life seriously, and you know why? Because you don't understand grace, true grace changes your heart, true grace makes you love Jesus, so maybe you don't have grace, because I can't love Jesus in my own strength.
It makes me cry as I learn about God's love and grace. How could God accept me? I understood God's grace and I began to hate sin. I started running away from sin. Why? God's grace. I'm not saying you have to do A, B, and C to get to heaven, no, no, I can't go to heaven with my good deeds, and I will never be good enough to go to heaven. Totally grace, amen? But what is true grace? Look at your heart. Do you have the most sincere heart to follow Jesus? If you don't have a sincere desire to follow Jesus and please God, I'm afraid some of you don't really have Jesus. No conversion, no relationship, no love, no credentials, and don't judge people, I would never judge people and say: You don't belong to Jesus, only God knows, amen? I'm going to love people, and I can't judge, so the Bible tells us, everyone was silent, listening to Barnabas and Paul... notice, in order to resolve conflict, you have to listen. You have to hear the other person's point of view and you have to be quiet.
Can I ask all the men to stand up? Men, please stand up! I want to teach you how to resolve conflicts. Men, please stand up, you know what our biggest problem is? We don't listen and when we have a problem we want to hold on to our own ideas. Can I suggest something? To listen and be quiet. When there is a conflict, you ask your wife, you ask the person you love, what is the problem? listen. All men, all men say, listen, this is how conflict is resolved. There is a process, you have to be proactive, you have to meet them face to face, and then you have to listen. So who are you listening to? It's okay to listen to your wife.
Gentlemen, please take a seat. Wives, please stand up, ladies, please stand up. Ladies, I know you girls have the gift of talking, but I wonder if you have the gift of listening. Ladies, do you want to resolve conflicts? What should you do if you have a conflict with someone, with your husband? louder please! Listen, listen, listen. Parents, do you listen to your children? Or do you want to teach your children a lesson right away? You know, when children have problems, many parents don't listen and immediately reprimand them. No, no, no, look here, everyone read: Silence, they are listening... You need to learn to listen, amen? So who are you listening to? who? Listen to others. Listen to your child, your child will be surprised today. If you say: I really want to hear your thoughts. Wow, really? Do you want to listen to me? You mean, I'm a human being and you want to listen to me? Yes. What are your thoughts on computer games? Can I hear it? Your children will love you very much. But I'm not saying let them play, I didn't say that. I mean, listen, listen.
Please take a seat. And they paused, and watch, you let them finish what they're saying, and when they've finished speaking, and then you say again, this time, Jacob answered: Now, who is Jacob? Look, in this chapter, we have Peter speaking, then Paul and Barnabas, and now James. Who is James? Not the apostle James, he was beheaded, remember? In which chapter of Acts? Chapter 5? Chapter 6? He has been beheaded, the apostle James is no more. This is James, the brother of Jesus. How do I know? The Bible is very clear. Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Maria? Aren't his brothers called James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Jesus had several brothers. The Bible tells us that when Jesus died, He appeared to James. Why? Because Jacob did not believe in Jesus in the past.
James could not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. He could not understand how his eldest brother suddenly became the Messiah, the King of Kings, until Jesus appeared to him after his death and resurrection. This tells us something about Jesus. Jesus loves his earthly family. He appeared to Jacob, and history tells us that Jacob was made righteous, and he wrote the Book of James. He became a martyr because he recognized that Jesus died and rose again. So this James became a leader, and he later became something like the bishop of the church in Jerusalem. This was James. Notice what he said, he said: Just now Simon Peter was telling how God had visited the Gentiles to take people from among them for His name; so now he's talking to everyone about what Peter went through, and then he quotes from the Bible, James now quotes the Old Testament, and the words of the prophets are consistent with this idea.
You see, James is not saying, I am the brother of Jesus, and you must all listen to me. perspective, God's perspective, listen to me, every time you have a problem, you have to be proactive, you have to be proactive, you have to understand what other people are saying, you have to understand what God's perspective is, you have to understand what the leader is saying. Perspective, because there is a process, you need to learn to listen, what is God's perspective? Here's God's perspective: After this I will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David that has fallen down, and rebuild and raise up the broken tabernacle. Now, you're not Jewish, so it's hard for you to understand this.
Let me explain to you, in the Old Testament, the promised Messiah would come from the line of David, but over the centuries, Jerusalem was conquered and Israel was no longer a nation, remember? The Babylonian Empire, the Roman Empire, so the House of David has been destroyed, but the Bible tells us, in the Old Testament it is written: I will rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David, and the Messiah will come from this line, and I will raise up the House of David, and then the Bible says: Let the remnant seek the Lord. The descendant of David who was raised up was none other than Jesus. Every foreigner who is called by my name seeks the Lord. This is spoken by Him who has revealed this from the foundation of the world.
So Jesus' brother James quoted from the Old Testament, this Jesus from the line of David is now going to bring the whole world to Jesus. In the past only the Jews could come to God, that was the way it was. But he is saying: This is no longer the case. Through Jesus we are all included in the people of God. Amen? Is this good news or bad news? Then you will no longer have to be circumcised. The Bible tells us, look what James said? So in my opinion, don't make things difficult for the Gentiles who surrender to God; in Filipino: practice love and don't give them problems. It's not a big problem. James didn't say: Let's vote, no, no, he said: This is my judgment. Submit to the leader. There is a process, my friends. The daughter church goes to the mother church, the elders, they're experienced, they know, the Bible tells us, that's how it happened.
Notice what James said. James said, We will also write to them... What concessions are being made now? What did Jacob say? To practice love, command them to abstain from the impurity of idols, from adultery, from strangled animals, and from blood. James mentioned several Jewish practices. They were not allowed to eat food sacrificed to idols, animals strangled, or their blood, and they were not allowed to commit adultery. Why? Let me tell you why, because James is saying, because the book of Moses has been preached in every city since ancient times, and read in the synagogues every Sabbath day. In other words, most of the churches that Paul founded started out in synagogues, and there were a lot of Jews, and he said these Jews would definitely stumble, and if you don't walk in love, be careful with your food, it's not critical to salvation. Yes, but act in love.
What do I mean? Let's look at the Bible together. Please read together. 1 Corinthians 8:8-9 In fact, food cannot make us favor with God, because we will lose nothing if we don't eat it, and we will gain nothing if we eat it. But be careful, lest your freedom become a stumbling block to the weak. You see, there are many weak Christians...how to put it? mabusisi? How do you say it in English? What is mabusisi? They are annoying and nitpicky. They are troubled by so many things and they are weak Christians, OK? Can't do this, can't do that. That's what the Bible says, respect them, don't make fun of them, don't let them stumble. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat to avoid causing my brother to stumble.
Do you see the principle of love? I want to resolve conflicts, and if I'm doing something that causes you problems, that's okay. These are not important things, but because of love, this is OK. Please see the next section. I love this verse, read it together: Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. This is my guiding principle. When I resolve conflicts, I say whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. Do not cause any one to stumble, whether Jew or Greek or the church of God; just as I please everyone in everything, think of others and act in love. Do not seek your own benefit, but seek the benefit of others so that they may be saved. It is very sad that Christians fight among themselves. We are divided among ourselves, we do not speak to each other. You need to follow this process, be proactive, and proactively resolve issues face to face.
Don't wait, meet each other, and then what do you do? Perspective, listen, listen to them, what do you have to do? You have to practice love, receive love, and give love. This is not the basic truth. It doesn't matter, just let it go. I remember there was a time, I don't know if Yi Tu remembers it, Yi Tu and I, secretly, we didn't have to tell you what it was, we had a problem together and we brought it up to the elders, the elders They told us what to do, do you remember? We worked it out and that's why this guy loves me so much. Because even though I didn't agree with the elders' opinions, I obeyed. No, that's a joke.
But here's the thing: Friends, there are solutions to problems, right? You have to listen, and please note that at that time, the apostles and elders thought this was very good, and the apostles and elders and the whole church decided to choose people from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; note that it was face to face. It can be solved locally, so send people out. The ones chosen were Judah and Silas, who were called Barsabbas. These two men were the leaders among the brothers. Note, it's not just the leaders, they are very smart and wise. They chose a man named Judah, Barsabbas Judah, a Jew. And a man named Silas, a Roman citizen, more like a Gentile, even though he was a Gentile. Silas, who was more of a Greek, and Judas, who was more of a Jew, went to the churches to explain the letter.
Let us read it together, and then the letter was given to them, and they all read: The apostles and the elders send greetings to the Gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. These are different churches, different branches. There is a process here, there is a chain of authority, and they say: We write to you, the apostles and the brothers who are elders, these people are the leaders. Read, everyone, we have heard that certain people have gone out from us to trouble you with their words and confuse your hearts. We have chosen certain men and sent them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. You may not realize this, but in the CCF Executive Committee, we are often in agreement. When the question comes to us, why? We want to know the mind of God, we pray, and the Bible tells us, let's read it: These two men risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words, these people have no purpose of their own but only the things of God. So we sent Judas and Silas, one a Jew and the other a Roman citizen, his name was Silvanus, to tell these things with their own mouths. You see, initiative, perspective, practice love, you have to practice love. You have to practice love, face to face, you know? So face-to-face is important, and I don't know why many Christians don't want to resolve conflicts face-to-face. No text messages, are you listening to me? Don't use text messages, don't use emails, don't use phone calls to resolve conflicts. Face to face, that's the best. Then let us read this: The Holy Spirit is graceful in this. Please note that there are no prayers written here. This is understandable. They prayed and the Holy Spirit participated in them. Apart from these few urgent matters, we determined not to mention anything else. A heavy burden is placed on you.
So what are these urgent things? For the church in Antioch, Syria, Cilicia, For the church there, look. They abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. Do you know about adultery? Are you listening to me? young people. A lot of people think it's okay to have sex outside of marriage as long as you're not married. Let me say it again, people think it's okay to have sex as long as you're not married. That's not true. Adultery refers to any kind of sexual behavior, whether single or married, any sexual behavior outside of marriage is adultery. All wrong. That's a moral question, don't do it. Then he told us: It would be great if you could refrain from violating these things. I wish you peace.
You see, a simple letter. Explain through face-to-face communication. After they were sent, they went down to Antioch, gathered a crowd, and delivered the letter. And when all the people read it, they rejoiced because of the comforting words in the letter. My friend, your job and my job is to encourage believers, and it's very frustrating when there's conflict and you don't resolve it appropriately, and I tell people, are your actions going to encourage believers or make believers What about discouragement? See, Judas and Silas were also prophets, and they encouraged and strengthened their brothers with many words. The purpose is all about encouraging people and building them up. After staying for some time, the brothers sent them back to those who sent them in peace.
Why were they sent out again? Do you know why they were sent out again? Because you have to pursue God's agenda, and God's agenda is to evangelize. But it seemed fitting that Silas should remain there. But Paul and Barnabas still lived in Antioch, reading and teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others. My friends, that's what we do, seek what God does, and that's how you resolve conflict. You see, when you elevate what you want to do personally over what God wants to do, conflict occurs. Think about this, do you know why people are in conflict? They have their own things to do, and what I have to do is simple. I want to glorify God, whatever CCF is going to do, we want to win people to Jesus and make them like Christ, we want to make disciples and have disciples make disciples, that's what we're going to do, and I told the pastor, don't.
There is a private agenda, the important thing is not CCF, the important thing is God. Are we clear? If you have a common agenda, you won't have a problem. So why do I like this photo? Someone shared this photo with me a few years ago, if people have a common agenda, a common mission, the church is like a ship, if everyone is rowing in the same direction, there is no conflict. When does conflict occur? When someone is not rowing, when someone is just sitting there criticizing, oh, oh, oh, oh... you know, my friends, if we are all rowing, how can there be conflict? Because what we have to do is the same, right?
Now let me ask a question, what is the mission God has given to CCF? My experience is that those who are not serving the Lord are the ones who complain the most. Those who are serving the Lord have no time to complain. That's true. They only discuss the major issues and I don't have time to deal with the minor issues. You know why? I'm busy dealing with big issues. I am not sacrificing the truth, but I am making the basic truth very clear. If something is not clear in the Bible, you can explain it in two ways. It is not the basic truth. You can explain it in two ways. Oh, it doesn't matter, I respect you. So what is God going to do? We're almost done. This is what God wants to do. Everyone read it together.
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. What God wants to do is to make us all new creatures. I don't know your past, and I don't know what you've done in the past, but we all need a new chance, right? The Bible says this is God's will. If anyone is in Christ, He makes all things new. Ladies and gentlemen, this is good news. How does He make all things new? Let us read: All things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. The greatest reconciler, the one who most wants to resolve conflicts is God. He gave His Son. The Bible tells us that God reconciles us to Himself through Christ.
Ladies and gentlemen, there are two kinds of people here, and you can't make peace, you can't resolve conflicts with other people, until you resolve the greatest conflict of all, which is your conflict with God. Let me repeat, you and I cannot resolve the horizontal conflict until you resolve the vertical conflict. The Bible says you need to be reconciled to God. Look at the next verse. This is God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Do you know what God is talking about? I want you to be reconciled to me, and I give you Jesus. not imputing their trespasses to them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. My job is to help people make peace, first with God and then with each other.
My friend, do you know how to resolve conflicts today? To have a right relationship with God, and then to get back into a right relationship with others, be proactive, let's read: Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were making his appeal to you through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. I stand before you today and ask you to make peace with God and then with those you love.
Let's bow our heads. There may be someone here today who is not yet at peace with God, you are not at peace, and you are not even sure if you are saved. You don't know what the word "saved" means. But you want to make sure today, you want to make sure you are saved. I want to pray for you, please raise your hands. Those of you who want to be sure that you are saved, please raise your hands, be at peace with God, and lift them high.
My friends, your hands are up, and I want you to hear me clearly. To be saved is to be reconciled to God. How do you get reconciled to God? When you raise your hands, it's all grace, you don't have to say I need to do this, I need to do that, no, salvation is actually very simple, you accept Jesus Christ by faith. A-B-C, A admits that you are a sinner, B believes that He loves you and that He died for you, and then you repent and come to Jesus. Are you listening to me? Those of you who raised your hands. So I want you to pray this prayer with me, and those of you who are unsure, please pray this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus, I'm not sure if I'm saved, and today I want to be sure, I realize it's all by grace, I realize it's not by good works. I realize it's not because of me, it's because of what you've done for me, by grace, and I don't deserve this salvation, Jesus, I come to you now, Lord Jesus, I accept your gift of forgiveness, I accept your gift of eternal life. Thank you for dying on the cross for me, for changing my heart, for changing my life.
Please put your hands down. I challenge everyone right now, God wants you to resolve conflicts, if anyone today... You seem to have some kind of conflict, but it's not resolved, I love that you pray, I love that you are proactive, I love that you get to know them. From my point of view, I am happy for you to complete this process. If you can't solve it yourself, you have to find other people to help you. There is a process and you have to go to the leader. But don't neglect conflict resolution.
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that you are the great Reconciler, we thank you that you command us to live in harmony with others, that you want us to glorify your name on earth. I pray now for all CCF members, that we all act with humility, that we realize the importance of harmony, the importance of conflict resolution. Lord, this is because of you. Please help us to walk in love. Please help us practice patience and listen to each other. May you bless CCF so that we may bring honor and glory to your name. We all pray in the name of Jesus, Amen! Amen! God bless you!