Evangelism Part 25: Stories of Peace
Acts 21:37-22:22 December 30, 2023
Recap
“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind
stays up all night, telling itself stories.” – Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal
“Stories create community, enable us to see through the eyes of other people, and open
us to the claims of others.”– Peter Forbes, photographer and author
“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to
think upon.” – Brandon Sanderson, author
“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.” – Robert McKee,
professor focusing on the art of “story” at University of Michigan
Harvard Professor of Education Howard Gardner, “Stories constitute the single most
powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.”
About 1/3 of Jesus’s recorded teachings were in the form of parables. The synoptic
gospels record over 40 parables (some of them repeats) of Jesus. Jesus used these
simple stories to engage people’s minds and allow them to relate to every day realities
by which they were able to learn deep theological truths about Yahweh, His kingdom,
and how He operates (to name but a few general categories).
o Story is powerful. Jesus knew this truth and gives us the example and the
directive to be storytellers ourselves as we proclaim His kingdom and share His
peace wherever He sends us.
Matthew 10:5-13 “5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among
the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at
hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received
without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10
no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his
food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay
there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is
worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to
you.”
Season of Peace: God of Peace -> Person of Peace -> Household of Peace -> Prince of
Peace -> Peacemaker (multiple parts)
How do we share peace? Today we look at the importance of stories – or the “church”
word – testimonies.
Greeting with Peace
“Greet” (Gk. aspazomai) to draw to one’s self, to welcome (connotation is welcome with
joy)
How do we welcome someone when we are the guest?
o By sharing ourselves with the one receiving us – i.e. sharing our story, our life, our
identity (in Christ) with them.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (see also Romans 5:6-10)
By sharing ourselves, we (should be) sharing the peace we have with
God (through Christ) and the peace we have from/of God.
Enemy constantly seeking to isolate, put up relational barriers, and create fake
relationship (e.g. social media)
o Notice the command in v11 – “stay there” – i.e. be in proximate relationship with
the folks you are ministering to so that you can get to know them and they can
get to know you.
Why did Jesus eat so regularly with people? Why did Jesus have his
disciples follow him around for 3 years?
The same reason why Jesus tells us to stay with the people we are
reaching out to. To build deep meaningful relationship
Enemy is father of lies (John 8:44), who always seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John
10:10). Primary thing enemy focuses on in the life of a believer (in my opinion) is to steal
peace, kill joy, and destroy our testimony.
o So as we go out into the world, we are to be aware of those tactics, and
intentionally, walk in the peace that Yahweh gives and the Spirit produces joy
within us as we trust in the victory of Jesus Christ in our lives.
o As we do that, we will see the Lord continue to do a work in us (Philippians 1:6)
and we will have the privilege to testify to that good work that He is continually
doing in our lives.
o Revelation 12:11 “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by
the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”
Stories of Peace
Jesus said John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
As we go through this life, we will have many occasions to encounter the situations and
circumstances that put the brokenness of this world on full display.
o Sin is terrible, and we are regularly the recipients of the terrible earthly
consequences of sin (praise Jesus that He has dealt with the eternal consequences
of sin for those who put their faith in Him).
Sometimes this sin is our own and we reap the consequences of our own
decisions. Sometimes we feel the effects of the others’ sin and we are the
object of the consequences of choices of others.
In either scenario, as we go through these tribulations and trials, we have
the choice to cling to the peace of the Lord as the enemy seeks to steal it
away from us.
As we go through these moments, a testimony is born – either a testimony
of faithfulness or a testimony of forgetfulness
Either we clung to the Lord or we gave in to our flesh.
Either way, there is a story to be told…and either way the Lord can be glorified as we
walk by the Spirit and have victory or we indulge in the flesh – and by God’s grace –
repent and turn back to the Lord.
Once we experience these things, we should hold onto them and be ready to share
them when the Lord presents us with an opportunity to bring Him glory by showing how
He moved in the midst of whatever the situation was, to deliver us, strengthen us,
forgive us, comfort us, and otherwise meet us in the midst of the difficulty.
o 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction,
so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the
comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Every story we share should have The Lord at the center – He is the star of the show –
even as He is working in us and through us. We are simply an instrument in His hands
and a tool that He is refining, disciplining, and maturing as we go through this life.
An easy way to think about storytelling about God’s power and presence and work in
our lives is to think of the three main parts:
o Part 1: What was going on that showed the absence of Yahweh’s peace?
i.e. life apart from Yahweh’s presence and power
o Part 2: What was the process for coming to know the peace of Yahweh?
i.e. how did the Lord move in the situation, when/where did God “show
up”, how did I learn to trust in Yahweh or how did my trust in Yahweh
move the situation to a place of peace
o Part 3: How is the peace of Yahweh now reigning in the situation?
i.e. what does life with Yahweh’s presence and power now look like
Salvation testimonies are wonderful example of this
o Read Acts 21-22 for Paul’s example
Clearly see the three parts of a good story here
Saul’s life before Jesus and the lack of peace he had – literally was at
war with the Christians – and lived in constant fear of needing to be
spiritually “greater” (i.e. pride)
How the Lord literally intervened in Saul’s life.
How the peace of Yahweh has now moved Saul – new name Paul – to
share the good news of the gospel with all people, and especially the
gentiles. Rather than persecuting followers of Jesus, Paul is spreading
the message of Christ.
o Yahweh is the God if Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see e.g. Exodus 3:6)
Some testimonies are flashy, others are more mundane. All of them are
miraculous and glorifying to God the father.
Know and develop your salvation story so that you can share it when
the opportunity comes.
Not just salvation stories – can be any story where we can “show off” our mighty and
awesome God.
o Doesn’t have to be long either, can be short and powerful and to the point:
Story of healing for Tadas and Jeff
Conclusion
In this new year, ask the Lord to help you recognize the moments that He is showing up
so that you can share that story.
o Often times, those stories will emerge out of the most difficult circumstances.
Expect God to show up, and then bring Him glory by sharing that with those who
will listen – to encourage them and to point them to Jesus.
Remember the quotes of storytelling in the beginning, remember the power of story.
The world is going to tell all kinds of fanciful tales to distract people from the truth.
Yahweh will do miraculous things in our lives – not the least of which is saving us from
sin – that we can share with a world desperately looking for peace.
o Allow people to hear your story – to really get to know you. And listen to their
stories! And when they share stories of loss, fear, pride, suffering, oppression,
injustice, and pain.
Understand, relate (if you can), and encourage them with the hope of the
gospel by sharing a story of your own – that we would work to overcome
the work of the enemy in their life by the reality of the saving work of Jesus
Christ on the cross (the blood of the Lamb) and the word of our testimony
as we boldly share truth and peace with those who would receive it.