Love, Faithfulness, Righteousness, Peace and Kissing
Today we will be reading from Psalm 23
Today we will be looking at Peace
What is peace?
How can I get me some of that???
The world thinks they know.
Today I typed “how to find peace” into my duck-duck-go search bar and this is what came up …
How to Find Inner Peace: 15 Things You Can Start Doing Today
How to Find Inner Peace | Psychology Today
How to find inner peace: 22 things you can start doing ...
How To Find Inner Peace: 13 Steps To Overcome Stress ...
9 Powerful Ways to Find Peace of Mind
5 Ways to Find Peace - wikiHow
- This was the “shortest one” so let’s see what it says …
- Each of the five “ways” to peace has 4 or 5 steps …
Finding A Quiet Place
1. Take twelve minutes in the morning.
2. Participate in acts that encourage meditation.
3. Take a walk in nature.
4. Grow a green thumb.
5. Commute quietly.
Removing Distractions
1. Turn off cell phone notifications.
2. Complete unfinished tasks.
3. Remove clutter.
4. Unplug the television.
Relaxing Your Body
1. Focus on breathing.
2. Rest your eyes.
3. Relax while you sit in a chair.
4. Kneel or use a pillow.
5. Sit cross-legged.
Concentrating on Stillness
1. Become mindful.
2. Practice conscious physical immobility.
3. Perform yoga.
4. Count backwards.
5. Come back to center.
Moving Beyond the Present Moment
1. Spend time with friends and family.
2. Engage in meaningful work.
3. Believe in yourself.
4. Seek professional advice.
I had to kind of chuckle about that last main step of “moving beyond the present moment”. You know how that is accomplished, right?
It is accomplished by staying alive.
You really don’t have a choice; just try staying in the moment you are in right now. Time won’t stand still for you!
All of these sites had one thing in common - they ignored Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Let’s look at one of the most beautiful pictures of peace found in the Bible. It is found in Psalm 23 (Read or quote at this time)
Let us pray for the Lord’s help …
Now, even though we read Psalm 23 this morning, that is not the Scriptural basis for peace, it is a picture of the result of peace.
Since we are meeting outside today you all should have lyric sheets for the songs we sang. On those lyric sheets is a verse that may seem unusual but this verse holds the key to peace as the Lord God intended it to be from the beginning.
Psalm 85:10 says,
“Love and faithfulness meet together;
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.”
This is one of those verses that you might read over dozens of times and then, suddenly, one day it jumps off the page and just smacks you in the face! (in a good way …)
When you read this Psalm you see that it is a plea from the nation of Israel for reconciliation between them and the Yahweh, the LORD.
It is a plea for forgiveness, for mercy, for national restoration, for His presence.
Listen to Psalm 85:8-10
“I will listen to what God the Lord says; He promises peace to His people, His faithful servants - but let them not turn to folly.
“Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.
“Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”
Psalm 85:10 can also be extended to individuals as well as nations or groups of people.
First we must see what is meant by the terms in this verse:
Love -
Do you know that the word “love” is found in seven of our thirty-eight memory scriptures? And, often it is there multiple times.
This is not talking about infatuation or lust or passion or simple affection. This love is all about self-abandonment for the other’s well being.
The apostle Paul had this type of love for the nation of Israel when he said in Romans 9:1-4a
“I speak the truth in Christ - I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit - I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel.”
And we see that Paul’s love for Israel was only a reflection of God’s love for us demonstrated in John 3:16a - “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son …”
So, when we look at the word “love” in Psalm 85:10 that is the type of love it is speaking about.
Matthew 22:37-40 says that we must:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Those are the over-arching commands of the Bible.
And our love for God overflows into love for one another as described in 1 Peter 3:8
“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love one another as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.”
Or in Philippians 2:3-4
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.”
Next in Psalm 85:10 we see the word faithfulness but it does not stand alone.
It MUST be joined with love. “Love AND faithfulness meet together.”
Love and faithfulness are inseparable.
A husband cannot truly love his wife and be unfaithful to her at the very same time! It is impossible!!
You cannot love someone in a self-sacrificial way and then emotionally stab a blade into their heart and twist it.
That is exactly what unfaithfulness does.
That is what adultery does.
A song by Paul Overstreet tells about a frightening event in his life.
It goes like this:
I guess we must have met somewhere - When you were not around
I can't remember why I fell - Why I did not turn her down
But then I thought about you - And my heart began to cry
‘Cause I knew how it would hurt you - And your trust in me would die
And somewhere through the darkness - Came a Little stream of light
That opened up my eyes - And washed away the night
Then I saw it was you - Who had been holding me tight
I'm so glad I was dreaming - I'm so glad it didn't happen
I'm so glad that when I woke up - That it all went away
I was dreading to tell you - That your man had been unfaithful
I’m so glad that I was dreaming - When I went astray
---------------------------------
In the same way, the Lord equates spiritual unfaithfulness with marital unfaithfulness; spiritual adultery with marital adultery.
They are both deadly serious.
OK. So, Love and Faithfulness get together, right?
And, Love and Faithfulness fall in love and they have two children. What are their children’s names?
Their names are Righteousness and Peace!
Righteousness and Peace are the offspring of Love and Faithfulness and it is a beautiful thing in both our relationship with Jesus and our relationship with our spouse or with anyone else for that matter!
What if we were to have a co-worker who we loved in a way that we helped them when they were unable to carry a load and encouraged them when they were discouraged?
What if whenever someone was speaking ill of that co-worker we spoke up and defended them and looked out for their well being?
If we did that, if we showed love and faithfulness for that co-worker we would be righteous in their eyes and in the sight of God AND we would have peace with that co-worker and with God!
Once again, love and faithfulness would result in righteousness and peace.
Now, you will find that there are many people who are filled with anger and hostility and who will reject being treated with love and faithfulness. That’s OK.
This is a quote from Jesus our Master Himself found in
Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
And how are we to be like our Heavenly Father?
“For God so loved …”
Earlier we read the 23rd Psalm there was a phrase that did not seem like a peaceful situation.
You may not be feeling peace right now.
You may feel like you are literally “walking through the valley of the shadow of death.”
Can we have God’s peace within us even when we are surrounded by trials and tribulations?
Yes, yes we can!
How?
Imagine being Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they were confronted by King Nebuchadnezzar and they were about to be thrown into a blazing furnace because they refused to bow down before the King’s golden statue.
If you don’t know this story you’re going to want to read it when you get home. It is found in Daniel 3.
Do you think they were experiencing a time of love and peace with the King? Hmmmm…. Probably not …..
Do you think they were at peace with God in the midst of this amazing trial? Absolutely!!!
Why? They loved Yahweh, the God of Israel AND they were being faithful to Him. This resulted in their righteous actions and a supernatural peace in their souls.
“Love and faithfulness meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other.”
Wow! Do you want that? You CAN have that.
But here’s the thing. This peace is ONLY for those who belong to Jesus!
No Jesus, no peace.
Know Jesus, Know Peace!
This peace is for those who are sold out to God.
This peace is for those who selflessly love and pursue God.
This peace is for those who selflessly love others.
And these things are only possible through Jesus.
This week I watched the testimony of a man who was raised as a Jew but had later immersed himself into the occult and consequently he was possessed by a demon.
He was terrified of going to sleep because of the torment he would receive during those periods.
This demon so terrorized him that he was almost driven to suicide. Death seemed to be the only way of escape.
He had heard testimonies from people about Jesus did not believe.
One night he was dreading going to sleep but right before he drifted off he said this two word prayer, “Jesus, help.”
When he awoke in the morning he was a new person, a new creation! The demon was gone! He was filled with joy and peace.
Now, you can ignore Jesus and mistreat others and you will not have peace in your heart or in your relationships with others.
You can “play at” being a Christian and you will pretty much have the same results as those who ignore Jesus and mistreat others.
You will not have peace in your soul or elsewhere.
The Lord will not be trivialized or toyed with; He knows the heart.
Those in this category will often be those who claim, “I tried Jesus but it just wasn’t for me ….” And they will not have peace.
So, you can ignore Jesus or you can play at being a Christian and lose out.
But, if you passionately surrender to loving God and others …
If you passionately surrender to being faithful to God and others …
Then love and faithfulness will meet together and the offspring will be righteousness and peace that will passes all understanding.
Do you want that? It is available for you not only today but right this very instant. Are you willing to say, “Jesus, help!?”
Final comments
Leading into communion
Prayer of benediction
