Over 20 years ago a retired couple, concerned about the threat of nuclear war, decided to carefully research the safest place on earth to which they could move and live. They studied and traveled, traveled and studied.
Finally they found THE PLACE. And on Christmas they sent their pastor a card from their new home – in the Faulkland Islands – just prior to the war between Argentina and England in the early 1980’s over their control!
Have you heard about the newest gadget to insure peace and quiet at home? It is called a phone less cord!
Peace, could we call it the illusive fruit? We seek it for the world. Millions and millions of people expressed their desire for peace this past winter and spring as we prepared for war in the Middle East.
We seek it at home as we try just about anything – herbal supplements, sleeping aids, and meditation – to relax and find peace.
We seek it in our relationships. We enter counseling to find peace within ourselves and with one another. We read books, and listen to sermons, and ask for advice of close friends and newspaper columnists to help solve relational problems.
But, peace now seems more elusive than ever before. Is peace a possibility?
In a unique devotional on this fruit of the spirit, called Tasting the Fruit of the Spirit, (published by Group Publishing) is this exercise. (Water and cooking oil are mixed together).
(Shake it a couple of times and then set it to separate.)
In a moment, we’ll come back to this bottle and see what has happened.
Alexander Cruden notes that there are three different primary meanings of the word peace in the Bible. They are: (Overhead 1) a. Peace with God b. Submission to God’s plan or will c. peace with others
(Overhead 2) Peace with God has two aspects: a. reconciliation with God b. peace with ourselves because of this reconciliation.
(Overhead 3) Peace involving following God’s plan involves obedience of God’s will or plan.
(Overhead 4) Peace with others also has two aspects: a. Mutual respect b. Deliverance/safety from that which threatens us.
Now, let’s see what has happened to our mixture. They have separated. Oil and water do not mix.
There are many “oil and water” issues in the world today. Some countries and ethnic groups just cannot get along. They would as soon kill the other as live in peace nearby or even next-door. Some families just seem to live at opposite ends of the house. Various political groups are as far apart as they can be on the important issues of the day. They agree on next to nothing and important laws and regulations get tied up because of their agendas and disagreements. Is it any wonder that peace is illusive?
But, is this the kind of peace that Paul speaks of in our series text, Galatians 5:28-29 “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law?”
Let’s return to Cruden’s suggestions and see what turns up. (Overhead 5) As has already been noted, peace with God has two aspects, reconciliation with God and peace with ourselves because of this reconciliation.
Over in chapter 2 we read, “For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us.” Talk about an “oil and water” issue!
As Paul travel throughout the Mediterranean Sea area (modern day Southern Europe) he was in almost continuous conflict with those who believed that there could never be any peace between Jews and non-Jews unless, of course, they all became Jews. But, as we see in Paul’s own life, only when God was in control of Paul’s life, did he experience a peace that allowed him to reach out to those different from him and that was only possible when Paul was reconciled to God.
“As he [that is Paul] was nearing Damascus on this mission [a search for Christians to arrest], a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him! He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, Why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, sir?” Paul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
Paul was a man with a mission! He was going to rid the faith of this new group of people who claimed some outrageous things regarding the coming of the Messiah! Paul was at war! He was not at peace with anyone who crossed him! And Jesus, in the segment just read from Acts 9, told him in so many words, “You are at war with me Paul!”
The first way that the fruit of peace becomes a part of our lives is that we are right with God. We confess our sins. We acknowledge our guilt and ask for forgiveness. Why? Because until we are able to let go of our past (and all the junk that is attached to it) and ask God to forgive us of our past, we will always be miserable and real peace will elude us and we will not be in full relationship with God.
But when Paul encountered Christ, the past became just that, the past. And Paul would later write that all that was a part of his past was like trash and he could say with certainty “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
The second aspect of peace with God is peace with ourselves. And we see how important this kind of peace is in the lives of Peter and Judas.
Peace went out the window when, as we read in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Peter denied Jesus after his arrest. It also left Judas who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
Tragically, one could not reconcile to God and himself for what he had done. The other, in a moving passage in John 21, allowed himself, as Jesus spoke to him, to be reconciled with himself as well as with Christ.
But, in both men’s lives, the inner turmoil was great. Have you ever been around someone who was not at peace with themselves? Hard and difficult, isn’t it?
If peace is one of the fruits of the spirit, then doesn’t it mean that God wants us to be at peace with ourselves? Why is that? Because we matter to God. He created us. He loves us. He cares for us. Why then is it hard to love ourselves and be a peace with ourselves? And it is His desire for those who choose to follow Him to experience His peace through their lives.
(Overhead 6) In Philippians 4:6 and 7, Paul gives us some reasons why we have trouble experiencing peace with ourselves as he tells us how to have that peace. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”
We fail to experience God’s peace when...
• We constantly worry
• We fail to pray about everything
• We don’t cultivate “an attitude of gratitude”
• When we fail to let God’s peace take root in our minds and souls
Worry sucks the peace out of life. Worry and peace cannot co-exist together. It’s an “oil and water” issue. Worry is based on 100% of our efforts and 0% on God’s. A relationship with God is not a solo effort, it is a relationship and when I last checked, a relationship still involved two people.
Prayer gives us perspective. Prayer reminds us that God knows what he is doing. Prayer is one of the ways that He cultivates peace in our lives.
Then there is thankfulness. Two of the most important words that we can say on a regular basis are “Thank you.” Saying thank you to God creates an “attitude of gratitude.” And peace thrives and grows in an environment of thankfulness.
Now in cultivating the peace of God in our lives we must also follow God’s plan. And there is one word that captures that effort – obedience. (Overhead 7)(I’ll warn you now; you will hear that word quite a bit in this series.)
We have to keep letting God lead us in the directions that we need to go. We must follow Him day in and day out in order to really experience the peace of which Paul writes in this passage. For just as it takes time for real fruit to grow and ripen, so it also takes time for the Fruits of the Spirit to grow and ripen in us.
Cruden also notes that peace with God involves submitting to God’s will. In Job 22:21, Job’s friend Eliphaz says to Job, “Stop quarrelling with God! If you agree with him, you will have peace at last and things will go well for you.”
Quarrelling with God? How we be at peace when we are quarrelling with God? It’s one thing to ask questions of God as a way of working through challenging situations; it’s another when we continuously argue with God. Peace cannot take root and grow in our hearts and lives.
The final aspect of Cruden’s observations regarding peace in the Bible has to do with the importance of mutual respect and deliverance and safety. (Overhead 8)
Paul’s counsel to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22 is a succinct summary of this observation. “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”
Peace grows and thrives where respect and love of other believers is present. We also experience the peace of God when we stay away from things that will take us away from what is right and pure and clean.
We also build credibility with one another and with other as we live out this counsel and God’s peace becomes a clear witness of God’s power in our lives. But, then there is also the issue of what to about living with those who do not believe as we believe and live as we live. Where does God’s peace come in?
Proverbs 16:7 says, “When the ways of people please the Lord, he makes even their enemies live at peace with them.”
Now I can almost hear some of you saying, “Jim, I wish that were true. But, I have people who mock me and laugh at my way of life, how can this be true?” Good question!
What’s behind that mocking? Anger? Sometimes. How about jealousy or guilt or shame? Sometimes the greatest razzing we get is due to the fact that people see the fruit of peace in our lives and they want it. But, they are not quite ready to give up their current way of life for your way of lift. The pain or shame or guilt has not gotten heavy enough for them to make the changes they need to make by inviting Christ into their lives.
So how do we cultivate the fruit of peace in our lives? (Overhead 9)
· Be reconciled to God
· Allow God’s peace to take you over
· Seek to be at peace with others as much as possible
· Obey the Lord – daily!
May you truly experience God’s peace in your life. Amen
(Overheads for this sermon are available. E-mail me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and ask for 092103svgs)
