Tips for Conflict Resolution

Lessons from a Jesus-Peter Interaction :

Keep in mind spiritual realities:

"Praise God, Rebuke The Devil"

1. Let's acknowledge how God speaks to us through each other.

{Main Text: Matthew 16}

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

--->If we fail to do this we are: a) Not paying attention to God when He does speak through people. b) We are not giving God the glory. We are giving it to each other. Yet it all belongs to Him. Yes we are to "bless each other and encourage each other IN the Lord" but the glory should all go to the Lord.

2. Let's rebuke the devil and how he wants to sneak in his schemes (opposing God's plans) in us and through us.

" (Jesus predicts his death)...Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification." (Romans 14:19)

***-> Let's resolve conflict coz it hurts God (he doesn't like disunity), it affects worship (Matthew 5:23-24), affects fellowship and keeps us from bearing fruit (love, joy, peace...). To address conflict with the urgency it deserves we have to remember that we are our "brother's/sister's keeper" so we have to devote ourselves to God's word and to each other (Acts 2:42).

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 )

(Message I shared with InterVarsity on Nov. 3, 2011)