SERMON OUTLINE:
God of Peace:
“May the God of peace…” (vs 20a)
God of Protection:
“…that great Shepherd of the sheep…” (vs 20b)
God of Power:
“who…brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,” (vs 20c)
God of Provision:
“…equip you with everything good for doing his will…” (vs 21a)
God of Purpose:
“... …and may he work in us what is pleasing to him” (vs 21b)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• An elderly Christian lady attended a Christian conference gathering;
• Similar to Kewick/Spring Harvest etc.
• For her it was really the first time she had mixed with Christians from other denominations,
• It was a brand new experience;
• The week really blessed her and opened her eyes to the richness of Christian traditions
• She especially liked it when the preacher suggested;
• Instead of using the normal greetings,
• Why not use one popularised by the early Church.
• He pointed out that the first Christians were so eagerly awaiting the return of Christ;
• That they used the word ‘maranatha’;
• An Aramaic word meaning ‘the Lord is coming’.
• The elderly lady took this idea on board;
• And the next day when people were on route to the restaurant for breakfast;
• She stood by the door enthusiastically greeting everyone with the words;
• “Marijuana, brother, marijuana”.
• TRANSITION: she was close phonetically;
• And yet not really close at all!
• The verses, the benediction, the doxology we read in Hebrews chapter 13;
• Is not a teaser, it is not a leg-puller, an unattainable expectation;
• Speaking of something we all want and need but actually we can never attain!
• In Jesus Christ we can enjoy and experience the ‘peace of God’ in our lives.
• These verses instruct us that the peace of God;
• Can and should be the experience of all God’s children.
• God does not want us to be consumed by worry, anxiety, fretfulness, concern.
Ill:
• A very worried, anxious, fretful looking Native American Indian walks into a bank;
• He looked at the bank manager and said;
• “Grass gone, well dry, sheep dead”
• The bank manager took him into the back room & the Indian opened up his security box;
• It contained a number of gold nuggets.
• The Indian the replied:
• “Grass green, well full, sheep happy”
• Now the man’s circumstances had not changed;
• But now he realised he had the resources to overcome his circumstances.
• That knowledge removed his worry, anxiety, fretfulness and concern.
• Quote: The Scottish preacher George Morrison defined peace as:
• “The possession of adequate resources”.
• ill: In other words if there is enough money in your bank account;
• You don’t worry when the postman delivers bills.
Now earthly resources are important:
• That is why we go to work to earn enough money to buy these assets;
• But in themselves earthly resources are never enough;
• They may make for a comfortable lifestyle;
• But they cannot bring into our lives that quality of peace that we are need in our lives.
• And of course they were never meant to!
• That is why the Bible calls us foolish when we look to earthly resources;
• For satisfaction, for quality of life and as a means of attaining peace;
• God himself is the source of our peace!
• And apart from him we will never experience true peace of heart and mind.
(1). God of peace
“May the God of peace”
• The apostle Paul uses the title “God of peace” six times in this letter;
• Quote: Charles Swindoll:
• He suggests a practical paraphrase of this term would be: ‘Mental health’.
• For God desires that there be a calm, a tranquil, a peace within our hearts;
• And not a panic or strife or discord.
• ill: Market stall lady; “You haven’t got any peace of mind for sale have you?”
• This benediction reminds us that we cannot buy it or earn it!
• But we can experience it!
• Quote: Ajahn Chah (Reflections)
• Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a moustache:
• You won't be able to find it.
• But…when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you!
Note:
• The New Testament teaches that every Christian has “peace WITH God”;
• And as a result we can experience “the peace OF God”.
• This type of peace is divine in origin “Not as the world gives”;
• It is sourced in the very nature of God.
Many Bible commentators suggest:
• The reason the apostle Paul uses this title for God;
• Is because there was conflict and not peace in this Church fellowship;
• There was disunity and disagreements among God’s people;
• And the apostle addressed many of these issues throughout this letter.
• Sadly Christians don’t always get on:
• Quote: The old hymn:
“To dwell above we saints we love,
My won’t that be glory!
But to dwell below with saints we know,
Now that’s another story!”
• The only way to bring harmony and healing into any situation;
• Is to fix your eyes on God who has given us peace with himself through Jesus!
Note: The book of Hebrews makes it very clear:
• That ‘we have peace with God’ through the shedding of Jesus’ blood.
• In fact it teaches (9:22): “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”.
• The word ‘blood’ is mentioned twenty-one times in this letter;
• We have an ‘eternal covenant’ with God:
• A new covenant ‘in his blood’.
Ill:
• In the Old Testament animals were sacrificed,
• But these only provided a temporal covering
Ill:
• Changing rooms after playing squash;
• Some guys came in and even though they were in need of a shower;
• All they did was spray on lots and lots of deodorant!
• Now that deodorant did not remove their sweat and B.O.
• It simply covered it up;
• They would need to take a shower if they wanted to remove their sweat and B.O.
• TRANSITION:
• The sacrifice of Jesus supersedes those animal sacrifices;
• Animal sacrifices is like the spraying on of deodorant - they just provided a covering.
• But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was like a shower;
• He offers complete cleansing!
• Because Christ and his blood are of eternal un-diminishable virtue.
• His sacrifice is eternally powerful and everlasting!
ill:
• In 1927, in West Africa, a blood specimen was taken from a native man named Asibi,
• Who was sick with yellow fever.
• A vaccine was made from the original strain of virus obtained from this man.
• In fact,
• All the vaccine manufactured since 1927;
• By the Rockefeller Foundation & health agencies,
• Derives from the original strain of virus obtained from this one man.
• Carried down to the present day from one laboratory to another,
• Through repeated cultures and by enormous multiplication,
• It has offered immunity to yellow fever to millions of people in many countries.
• Through the creative imagination of science,
• The blood of this one man in the West Africa;
• Has been made available to serve the whole human race.
• In another, more important way,
• The blood of another Man has been made to serve the human race.
Note: The book of Hebrews makes it very clear:
• That ‘we have peace with God’ through the shedding of Jesus’ blood.
• In fact it teaches (9:22): “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”.
• The word ‘blood’ is mentioned twenty-one times in this letter;
• We have an ‘eternal covenant’ with God:
• A new covenant ‘in his blood’.
• The New Testament teaches that “we have peace WITH God”;
• And as a result we can experience “the peace OF God”.
(2). God of protection.
“That great Shepherd of the sheep”
Ill:
• Sheep facts.
• Sheep are an important commodity today!
• As well as providing meat for our tables
• From Sheep Hide and Wool we get:
• Lanolin (used in lotions to help keep our skin soft and moist)
• Clothing
• Yarns
• Baseballs
• Insulation
• Tennis balls
• Carpet
• From Intestines
• Sausage casings
• Instrument strings
• Surgical sutures
• Tennis racquet strings
• From sheep manure - Nitrogen Fertilizer, Phosphorus.
• From a sheep’s fats and fatty acids we get:
• Explosives
• Chewing Gum
• Paints
• Make-up
• Dog Food
• Margarine
• Medicines
• Dish Soap
• Tires
• Chicken Feed
• Antifreeze
• Crayons
• Floor Wax
• Candles
• Herbicides
• Shaving Cream
• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Lotion
• From the bones, horns and hooves of sheep we get:
• Syringes
• Gelatine Desserts
• Piano Keys
• Marshmallows
• Bandage strips
• Adhesive tape
• Combs and toothbrushes
• Buttons
• Ice Cream
• Record Albums
• Wallpaper and Wallpaper paste
• Cellophane wrap and tape
• Photographic film
• Sheep and lambs are an integral part of our every-day lives!
• They are valuable creatures.
And yet we all know that sheep are defenceless animals;
• Sheep do not have sharp teeth or razor sharp claws;
• They do not have a sting in their tails or a potion to squirt over their attackers.
• Sheep are of course defenceless animals;
• Who without a shepherd to watch over them are at the mercy of their predators.
Ill:
• This was a good picture of the original readers of this letter;
• These believers were experiencing hard times - they were very much under attack.
• Some of these Hebrew Christians were thinking of giving up.
• And going back to the Synagogue for safety.
• Christianity was outlawed at this time under Nero;
• But Judaism was a legalised faith.
Fortunately or providentially God knows our situations;
• He himself is our Shepherd.
• He is one who cares and guides and protects ill: Psalm 23.
• Note: the writer informs us that he is not just a ‘Shepherd’, but he is a ‘Great Shepherd’.
• And there is no safer place for a sheep to be than in the presence of a ‘Great Shepherd’.
• How is God able to keep us safe;
• The writer goes on to tell us……he is a God of power!
(3). God of power.
“Who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus”.
• You might be surprised to know that;
• This is the only mention of the resurrection in the whole of this letter;
• Elsewhere in the letter the emphasis is on the exaltation of Jesus;
• The fact that he is seated at the right hand of God!
• ill: We can paraphrase that as he is on the winning podium.
• By his power God raised Jesus from the dead;
• And if he can give new life to the dead;
• Then he can resurrect any hope;
• No matter how lifeless, how stiff or how cold!
• ill: Old Testament the power of God is always linked to creation.
• ill: New Testament the power of God is always linked to the resurrection.
Ill:
• The United Nations is a monument to man’s search for peace;
• They have a Bible verse written across the street on a building;
• It is from Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4:
"...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."
• So although the United Nations is a monument to man’s search for peace;
• But it is also a monument to impotence in being able to attain it.
• Our world leaders are powerless to achieve it.
• Probably more wars going on today than at any other point in history!
• Sadly news of peace keeping soldiers being killed is told all too often!
• By his power God raised Jesus from the dead;
• And if he can give new life to his corpse (ill: physically & spiritually battered);
• He can also resurrect anyone of us or any other of his children!
• “With God NOTHING is impossible”.
• But God’s help is not just life for those who are dead;
• The benediction shows us hope and help for living for him in the present!
(4). God of Provision.
“Equip you with everything good for doing his will”
In New Testament times the word translated ‘equip’ was used in a variety of ways:
• ill: To a sailor it meant; to rig a ship for a voyage.
• ill: To a physician it meant; to set a broken bone.
• ill: To a fisherman it meant; to mend the nets.
• ill: To a soldier it meant; to equip an army for battle.
Ill:
• I personally think it both scandalous and hard to believe that the ‘leaders’ of our country;
• Would send soldiers to fight in wars without the proper equipment;
• But sadly there are many, many cases of this happening.
• e.g. One such case is of Sergeant Steve Roberts;
• He was shot dead in Iraq.
• Three days before he was shot he was ordered to hand over his protective body armour;
• To another soldier because of shortages.
• An officer from the 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats,
• Has disclosed that "none of us had body armour when we crossed into Iraq”
According to verse 21 God will never do that!
• He will never send us into action unequipped.
• “He equips us” with what we need!
Ill:
• The term ‘equip’ carries the idea of;
• ‘Restoring, helping along, giving encouraging thoughts’
• In other words;
• God is not fighting against us but for us!
• God is not even passively sitting in the stands watching us struggle.
• Instead he is alongside us cheering us on.
Ill:
Romans chapter 8 verse 35-39:
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Not only does the Lord equip us;
• He works in us to do his will!
(5). God of Purpose.
“…and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Note:
• The verse does not say we are working for God;
• But rather that God is working in us!
• We often hear stories of people saying that they are a ‘self-made millionaire’;
• Yet, there is no such thing as a self-made Christian!
• Without me said Jesus; “You can do NOTHING!”
• “But if we remain in him, we will bear MUCH fruit”
Ill:
• We are like passengers on a Jumbo Jet.
• The way we travel is to rest in him.
• His power is what will get us to our destination;
• Not the frenzied flapping of our own wings.
Notice: in this verse is a curious mixing of the divine and the human:
• It is God who equips us – “with everything good”.
• God works in us – “what is well pleasing in his sight.”
• He does it through – “Jesus Christ.”
• Then we do his will.
• In other words;
• He places the desire in us,
• He gives us the power to do it;
• Then we do it;
• And he rewards us.
Question: What is that God is working in each of us?
Answer:
• “What is pleasing to him”
• That is to bring glory to him, the very reason we were put on planet earth in the first place!
• Note: That end phrase “to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
• Is what spiritual growth is all about!
• It is not about me, us!
• But it is all about him and his glory!
In conclusion:
• As the Good Shepherd (John chapter 10 verse 11):
• Jesus died for the sheep.
• As the Great Shepherd (Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20):
• Jesus lives and cares for the sheep in heaven today, working on their behalf.
• As the chief Shepherd (1 Peter chapter 5 verse 4):
• He will come for the sheep at his return.
• Our Shepherd cares for his own in the past, present and future;
Ill:
• A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their mom with a houseplant.
• They had used their own money to buy it and she was thrilled.
• The older of them said with a sad face;
• "There was a bouquet at the flower shop that we wanted to give you.
• It was real pretty but it was too expensive.
• It had a ribbon on it that said ‘Rest In Peace,’
• And we thought it would be just perfect for you;
• Because you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest”.
• TRANSITION: Every Christion can ‘Rest in Peace’;
• Here and now and not just when they die!
• Because as the Good Shepherd (John chapter 10 verse 11):
• Jesus died for the sheep.
• As the Great Shepherd (Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20):
• Jesus lives and cares for the sheep in heaven today, working on their behalf.
• As the chief Shepherd (1 Peter chapter 5 verse 4):
• He will come for the sheep at his return.
• Our Shepherd cares for his own in the past, present and future;
