His joy and peace within his heart each week was determined by the football team that he supported. He was allowing a couple dozen college boys that he did not know personally decide on what kind of week end he was going to have.
The fact is, many folks allow THINGS and PEOPLE to decide what kind of day they are going to have.
Illus: One day as a preacher was visiting his members, he came across a little boy that was selling a lawn mower. The preacher was in need of a good mower, so he asked the young lad how much he was asking for his mower. The young boy told him and he bought it.
The preacher took the mower home with him and he was satisfied that he had come across a good deal.
When he got home, he took the mower out of the trunk of his car and he decided he would start it to see what a good purchase he had made.
• He pulled on the cord to start the mower, but it would not start.
• He took his coat off and pulled on the cord some more, and still it would not start.
• He rolled his sleeves up and pulled on the cord and it still would not start.
He called the young man up and said, “Son, I can’t get this mower to start.” The young boy said, “Oh, I was to embarrassed to tell you, before you can get it to start you have to curse it!”
The preacher said, “Son, I can’t do that, I am a minister, I do not curse.” He said, “In fact, it has been so long since I cursed I forgot how!”
The young man said, “Preacher, you keep pulling on that cord, and it’ll come back to you!”
Every day we encounter PEOPLE and THINGS that cause us to loose our joy. These PEOPLE and THINGS in our lives often determine what kind of a day we are going to have.
Someone said, “One of the most wonderful words in our vocabulary is the word “Peace”.
• God must have thought it was a wonderful word. In the New Testament alone it is used four hundred and twenty-nine times.
• Also, we can see the value placed upon peace as we consider that the New Testament speaks of God as the “God of Peace.”
There are three kinds of peace we can possess. Two of these three kinds we should seek to have in our life.
I. THERE IS A PEACE SOME FAKE
This is one kind of peace we should not seek to have in our life.
We have seen this “Fake Peace” many times in our life. For example, the hippies in the 60’s had a fake peace. During the 60’s the hippies in this nation had a lot to say about peace.
Illus: They even created a “Peace Sign” by holding up their hands and using two fingers to make a “Peace symbol”. But the only kind of peace they had in their life was a “Fake Peace”. In fact, they had such turmoil in their lives that they could only cope with life by living on “booze and drugs”. They had a “Fake Peace”.
We have seen this “Fake Peace” in many ways in this country.
A. THE POLITICIANS IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE A FAKE PEACE
1 Thessalonians 5:3, we read, “For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
Illus: President Bill Clinton was making a speech about Peace in 1999. But it is ironic that the whole time he was talking about peace, he was dropping bombs on Iraq.
The point I am trying to make is this, we live in a world today that has a great deal to say about peace, but they know very little about peace.
B. THE PEOPLE IN THIS NATION HAVE A FAKE PEACE
There is a “Fake Peace” and this is the only kind of peace the world knows anything about.
Every day we see people that are smiling from ear to ear, they seem to be so happy. But yet if you could look into their hearts you would see pure misery.
Illus: A very affluent lady called a pastor one evening at his home. She asked him if he had a few minutes so she could talk to him. He said, “Yes, may I ask who I am talking to?” She said, “I would rather not tell you my name.” She went on to say, “If I was to mention my name you would know me instantly because you have more than likely seen me on television and in the newspaper.” She said, “Preacher, I just need to talk to a pastor, I am so miserable.” She went on to say, “I should be one of the happiest ladies in town, I have a beautiful home filled with expensive furniture. I have beautiful clothes.”
A peace that is based on possessions is a “Fake Peace.” We see much of this kind of peace in the society in which we live.
There is a peace that some FAKE, but also-
II. THERE IS A PEACE SOME TAKE
Look at John 14:27. Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you ... MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU."
Notice this is a peace that He gives, but we have to be willing to take it.
Many Christians live their Christian lives in disarray. It is not because God has so willed it; it is because they will not TAKE THE PEACE He has offered them.
The Lord cannot make it any clearer than He already has. He said, “…My peace I give to you.”
Notice, He did not say, “…My peace I force on you.” He gives it to us, but for him to give it to us we have to be willing to accept it.
Every day we decide if the PEOPLE and THINGS we encounter are going to control our lives, or if we are going to live in the PEACE OF GOD that He gives us.
WHAT KIND OF PEACE DOES HE OFFER US? He offers us a-
A. SPIRITUAL PEACE
It is not a peace where the world determines our happiness.
Illus: Dr. Jerry Falwell is probably one of the best Christian debaters on national television.
There are many things about Dr. Falwell we do not agree with. But any one who watches this man on television, has to reach the conclusion that this man has a relationship with the Lord Jesus.
For example, when Senator John McCain was running for President in this great nation, he got on national news one day and attacked Dr. Falwell, and referred to him as an “Evil force.”
The News media asked Dr. Falwell about this charge that Senator McCain made against him.
The news media just knew that bringing out this attack on him would probably cause Dr. Falwell to go berserk.
But instead, he said some nice things about Senator McCain, and said he was a good man under a lot of pressure.”
The reason I mention that is because Dr. Falwell has learned not to let PEOPLE and THINGS determine his happiness. Whenever you see him on television, he consistently has a smile on his face because he has learned not to let PEOPLE control him, but the PEACE OF GOD FROM WITHIN controls him. What a great lesson to learn!
HE GIVES US A SPIRITUAL PEACE and a -
B. SATISFYING PEACE
He said in John 14:27, “My Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: NOT AS THE WORLD GIVETH, give I unto you.”
The Lord wants us to know that the kind of peace He gives to us is not the AS THE WORLD GIVETH.
The world gives us a “Fake peace”, but the peace He gives is genuine.
It is a SATISFYING PEACE that He gives within that no one but He can give.
Illus: When a person first gets saved, they experience a PEACE they have never experienced before. But as they continue to walk down this spiritual path the devil will do everything he can possibly to do get them to lose that peace by bringing sin into their life.
But as they keep sin out of their life they have a SATISFYING PEACE that the lost world does not know anything about.
The lost people in the world do everything they possibly can do to find a SATISFYING PEACE.
They seek for this kind of peace in many ways, such as:
(1) SOME BELIEVE PEACE CAN BE FOUND IN MATERIAL THINGS
They are constantly buying things. Why? Because they are convinced that PEACE can only be found in things.
Illus: Dr. David Sylvester tells the story of a young fellow who was driving his BMW in a mountainous area. He lost control of his car and it rolled down a mountainside throwing him from the car.
Onlookers saw what happened, and then saw him looking below at his wrecked car.
A policeman rushed to his side and noticed he was bleeding profusely but he said, “Oh, no, my car is ruined.”
The policeman rebuked him and said, “Mister, are you crazy? All you care about is your car and you haven’t even noticed you lost your right arm.”
He exclaimed, “Oh no, I lost my Rolex watch also!”
There are people in our society who seem to be that bad. All they think about is that if they can get THIS or THAT, then they will be satisfied.
But they are mistaken, things do not bring PEACE in our lives, the Lord Jesus brings PEACE in our lives.
(2) SOME ARE SEEKING FOR PEACE IN A PERSON OR A PET
Illus: Two ladies were going down a road at a speed of forty miles an hour, and a elderly man pulled his car into their lane. They had no choice but to smash into his car and perhaps kill him or drive into a large tree. They chose to drive into a large tree.
Do you know what it is like to be driving forty miles and hour and come to a complete stop?
A man who saw the accident rushed to the scene of the accident to check on the two ladies. They were slammed against the steering wheel and the dashboard. Their legs were broken!
In this condition all they could think about was their two cats that were in the rear of the station wagon. They said to the man who was trying to assist them, “Would you take those two cats down to the state fairground. They are suppose to be in a cat show.”
The man who wanted to be helpful said, “Yes, if that is what you want me to do.”
He walked around to the rear of the station wagon and the two cats that were in separate cages had experienced what the two ladies had experienced.
They experience what it is like to be traveling forty miles and hour and come to a sudden stop.
Can you imagine what it would be like trying to put those two cats back into those cages for the next cat show if they can remember what happened at the last cat show.
Their backs were bowed up and their eyes were as big as a couple of quarters. They looked vicious!
He walked back up to the ladies and said, “Ladies, I can carry those cats to a cat show but I can promise you one thing, they are not going to win! Those cats are highly upset.”
There are people who are trying to find peace in a PERSON or in a pet. I am here to tell you that the peace they are seeking for can’t be found in either one of them.
(3) SOME ARE SEEKING PEACE IN POWER AND FAME
Listen, if power and fame could bring happiness, that crowd out in Hollywood would be some really contented people. But some of the most miserable people on this earth are in that crowd.
Illus: They have beauty, fame and wealth, but that crowd is so messed up and so miserable that they go from one marriage to the next trying to find the PEACE they desperately are seeking to find.
The Christians that have God first in their lives have more peace in their hearts than all that crowd with their money, position, and power. The only thing they have is a “Fake Peace”.
The Lord assures us that His PEACE was not of the world.
HE GIVES US A SPIRITUAL PEACE, a SATISFYING PEACE, but also he offers us a-
C. STEADFAST PEACE
That is, His PEACE only comes to us as we “STEADFASTLY Fix” our eyes on Him.
Look at Isaiah 26:3, we read, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
In order to have this SPIRITUAL PEACE, and SATISFYING PEACE, we have to STEADFASTLY keep our minds on the Lord Jesus.
Notice, he did not say, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace who occasionally put his mind on Christ.” He said, “Whose mind is stayed on thee…”
The word “Stayed”, is the Hebrew word “Camak” which means TO LEAN UPON, TO REST YOURSELF UPON.
There is a PEACE that God gives, but we have to literally TAKE IT. He is not going to force it on us, but we can have it if we are willing to CONSTANTLY LEAN UPON HIM.
There is a PEACE SOME FAKE, there is a PEACE THAT SOME TAKE, but also-
III. THERE IS A PEACE SOME MAKE
In Matthew 5:9, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers”.
Thank the Lord for all the PEACEMAKERS. The church could not get along with out them. There are some people who go around starting brush fires, but others come along behind them and put the fires out.
All you have to do is read through the New Testament, and you will find that the church has always had TROUBLEMAKERS.
Look at Acts 13:50-52. We read, “But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.”
Look at the words “stirred up”. There was no problem whatsoever until these Jews came along and stirred up trouble.
But they got these “devout and honorable women” so stirred up that the apostle Paul was expelled from the city.
Paul and Barnabas saw that these Jews were a hopeless case, and the Bible says they shook the dust off of their feet against them.
There are some people who come across our path, and the best thing we can do with them is to shake the dust off our feet against them.
Conclusion:
There are three kinds of peace you can find in the lives of people:
I. THERE IS A PEACE SOME FAKE
II. THERE IS A PEACE SOME TAKE
III. THERE IS A PEACE SOME MAKE
