PEACE’S PIECES
VARIOUS PASSAGES
#PEACE
This sermon is going to be a little different. I am going to talk for a few minutes, but then you all are going to participate with me in this sermon and interact… I hope. Please interact. It will be a bit like a responsive reading. As we dig into the Bible, I will ask a question, and then you will respond with the answer which will be a Scripture passage. The passage will be projected on the screen. We will read it together.
THE SITUATION
My hope is that we will understand that the only source of peace for us in this life is God. I hope we know that. I hope we believe that. What I want to make sure of… is that we actually draw our hope from God in the midst of unsetting things.
2020 was an unsettling year. 2021 so far, based on the first few weeks, does not seem like it is going to be much better… but then I am a pessimist by nature and it has only been two weeks. There were three primary things in 2020 and now 2021 that are unsettling and have caused a great lack of peace among many folks.
First, there were racial tensions in 2020. It seemed like every time we turned on the news that police and African Americans were clashing and people were dying. Some of them seemed like accidents and other times we wondered. Some called out words like “injustice” and “systemic racism.” There was arguing and vastly differing opinions on things that some had long thought settled. Adding on top of these things were riots and the burning of businesses and looting that were terrible.
* Racial tensions stole our peace because of what we read on social media and what we posted on social media and from the news and terrible events we read about.
* Racial tensions smash our peace because we think we are not racist, and then we have certain thoughts when we watch the news.
* Racial tensions stole our peace because in Sunday School we use words like “those people” and we struggle for words how to even describe a person of color and it shows we really have no idea what we are talking about when it comes to racial issues. And yet, we have an opinion.
Second, 2020 will be remembered mostly for the COVID-19 pandemic which shut down normal life. Business, travel, school, sports, entertainment, and every aspect of life was disrupted because of the spread of a virus. Even church was disrupted. 2020 brought about disconnectedness in a new way and isolation that seemed necessary for health, but also was painful in and of itself. The pandemic brought much stress to a whole lot of people and broke up long standing traditions and life did not happen as normal.
* COVID stole our peace because our senior’s in school could not have graduations and somehow our entire lives were ruined and their entire time in high school was useless… because one one-hour program had to be changed.
* COVID kicks out our peace and makes us serious hypocrites. We go out to eat and to the store and yet we claim we can’t be around crowds at church. We go to sporting events and yet we don’t come to church because we are “limiting what we do.” We know we do this and we don’t care. Peace gone.
* COVID steals our peace because our health is threatened by a virus that may or may not kill us. There are all kinds of bad illnesses out there already… for years… but this one seems to be the worst of the worst. We are believers and know that to die means we are with the Lord, and yet we irrationally cling to this life ignoring the promises of God if we did get the virus and pass away. Peace gone.
Third, 2020 also brought a contentious presidential election and lots of fake news and allegations and things that could be true or false. 2021 saw unrest in Washington DC did not surprise me personally, for various reasons, but it is very concerning nevertheless. News is hard to watch because we cringe and wonder if this report is true or that report is true.
* Politics steals our peace because we think that because an election didn’t go the way we wanted that somehow it is the actual end of the world and we spiral into worry.
* Politics steals our peace and we “reasonably” think that if a certain person gets elected “we are all dead.” And not only do we believe this, we say it and our children say it and our grandchildren say it. Peace stolen from several generations.
* Politics steals our peace because we act like politicians are our barometers for what goodness or morality looks like and we act like them, sound like them, repeat them… and we end up sounding foolish like all politicians do. Peace stolen.
My point is this: there is a lot going on in our world, our country, our state, our county, and in our families and in our own heads that brings us stress, anguish, questions without answers, false hope, and drives us to act and say things we never thought we would. Or we are acting and saying things on purpose that end up wrecking our peace. Unsettling times can lead us to act in ways that wreck our peace. Unsettling circumstances and the people’s voices around us can drown out the peace of God and the promptings of the Holy Spirit that lead to peace.
THE NEED FOR PEACE
In the midst of all of this and as we head towards the swearing in of a new president and in the midst of COVID being on the rise in our county, we need peace.
* Peace enables us to face circumstances that are unsettling.
* Peace tempers anything we might say to others and also douses anger and hurt.
* Peace properly frames what is going on outside of us when peace is inside us.
* Peace fuels confidence when there is no confidence in anything or anyone around us.
ADAPTED FROM ‘THE SENIOR LEAF’, 1885, Vol III No. 2, pg 65
THE SCRIPTURES
So let us turn our eyes to God. Let us rely on Christ for our peace and confidence. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to minister to our hearts in the midst of hardship and when we aren’t sure what to think about our world. Let us focus our hearts on the Word of God which describes peace so that you and I might leave this place full of peace and ready to face each day.
Again, as we dig into the Bible, I will ask a question, and then of you would please respond with the answer which will be a Scripture passage projected on the screen. We will read the Scriptures together.
Let us begin:
Who is the author of peace in the world?
“May the LORD give strength to His people! May the LORD bless His people with peace!” Psalm 29:11
What is the title which Isaiah bestows on the Messiah who was to come?
“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
What words were given as the birth of Jesus heralding peace?
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Luke 2:14
Where does peace come from?
“Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:11-14
Peace comes from God. Real peace about life and circumstances comes from God. We notice in these verses that peace from God and peace with God comes directly through our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our anchor in peace in all circumstances. The presence of Christ in our lives generates peace in our hearts. You cannot have peace in God apart from Jesus Christ. If you have no peace, you are not abiding in Christ.
What is the great condition of peace with God?
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1
What Old Testament promise confirms this word of the Apostle concerning the effect of trust in God?
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4
I find this passage in Isaiah 26 very encouraging and very important. In this passage, God keeps us in perfect peace when we focus our minds on Him. God keeps us confident in Him when we trust in Him. God is our everlasting rock and can be trusted.
Is anxiety filling your heart? Are worries or arguments getting the best of you? Are you so worried about the future that you are making poor decisions? Are concerns about politics infecting every single conversation you have? Are your concerns over this world all you seem to focus on? It could be that our focus is off of God our Father and onto things that are temporary. Our focus is important. Where we place our trust important.
Unto whom does the Lord give His peace?
“If you walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid.” Leviticus 26:3-6
If you find yourself unsettled often or angry or afraid about many things or riddled with anxiety or arguing often with others about national events or offended with words most people say, it could be that we are not walking in the statutes of the Lord, but rather we are walking in our own way. The commands of God bring peace. Following God’s ways brings peace and security. That is truth presented in the Old Testament and also in the New Testament.
Make no mistake, this world and politics and entertainment and material things and disasters will all seek to steal peace from us. Other people can also attack peace within us. Only Jesus is our peace. Only His presence in our lives brings us peace.
What happy promise is made to those who please God?
“When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Proverbs 16:7
What was our Lord’s promise to His loved disciples before His separation from them?
“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.” John 14:27
We should notice that Jesus does say the world offers a kind of peace, but it is not the same as what Christ offers us. The peace that Christ offers is the antidote to trouble. The peace that Christ offers is not surface level, but rather deep within our hearts.
Christ, as we have seen, promised the gift of peace to His disciples. He also promised the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts. Is there any connection between these promises?
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
How is peace described, and what are its effects on human life?
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
I find Philippians 4:7 to be an important passage when it comes to peace. This verse reminds us, as others have done, that peace comes from God. Peace guards our hearts. Peace guards our minds in Christ. There is a whole lot for our hearts and minds to be guarded from right now.
Peace is thus the gift of God, the legacy of our Savior, and the fruit of the Spirit. What else does the Bible say is the result of peace?
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21
What individual duty is laid upon the Christian for his own conduct?
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18
Who shall be the sharers of this peace?
“But glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.” Romans 2:10
What does Paul directly declare God’s Kingdom to be?
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17
You and I, as believers, are part of the Kingdom of God. Righteousness and peace and joy from the Holy Spirit is our frame of reference. We live walking according to the Spirit and because we do that, righteousness and peace and joy are our ways of looking at the world.
What should be our attitude as citizens of the Kingdom of Peace?
“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” 2 Peter 3:14
CONCLUSION
It is my hope that you
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
PRAYER
