Introduction:
1. Open your Bibles to Galatians 5:22. The Great Chicago Fire occurred in 1871. Over 300 people died & another 100,000 were left homeless. Tragedies like this one, always bring out hero is some people. One of the heroes of the Great Chicago Fire was Horatio Gates Spafford. Spafford was an attorney, who lost a lot of real-estate in the fire. To make matters even worse, his son died about the same time. In spite of his great personal loss Spafford unselfishly helped others who were homeless, and grief-stricken because of the fire. Because of his generosity and service he was well known throughout Chicago as a sincere, devout Christian. About two years later, in November 1873, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation. Spafford was a good friend of D. L. Moody, and his family decided to meet Moody on one of his evangelistic campaigns in England, and then from there the family would travel on to Europe. However, just before they were to leave Horatio was unexpectedly detained by urgent business concerns in Chicago. The decision was made that his wife Anna and their daughters would go ahead to England and he would catch up with them as soon as possible. Tragedy was to strike on that trip. Just off Newfoundland, the ship collided with an English sailing vessel and sunk within 20 minutes. Anna Spafford was one of the 47 passengers who survived. Tragically all four of their daughters were part of the 226 who died. Anna Spafford’s heartbreaking telegram to her husband simply read: "Saved alone." The grieving father immediately set sail for England to join his grief-stricken wife. As the ship that he was traveling on passed the approximate location where his daughters had drowned, Horatio Spafford penned the words that we sang a few minutes ago.
Cell #1--
#1 "When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea-billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know; "It is well, it is well with my soul."
#2 Tho’ Satan Should buffet, tho’ trials should come, Let his blessed assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul."
2. Those of us who haven’t had our faith tested like that can only imagine what it would take to be able to write words like Spafford wrote after losing four daughters. That is peace, to be able to write a song like that after experiencing a tragedy like that.
3. This morning in the third sermon in my series on the fruits of the Spirit, I want us to look at the subject of peace. It’s a topic that desperately needs to be addressed in this war torn world.
4. I want to begin with considering the most basic question of all about peace.
Cell #2--
How would you define peace?
1) "That brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading." (quote from a sermon by Denn Guptill)
2) "The absence of conflict."
3) "Peace is knowing that we may get to the point where we can do nothing else, but that our all-powerful God has no such limits." (adapted from John MacArthur)
5. The second definition actually comes closer to getting it right. (Cell 2 #2) We know that Jesus description of peace didn’t mean merely the absence of interpersonal conflict, because conflict is a part of life. In fact, in Matthew 10:34 Jesus said that He didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword."
6. The third definition is adapted from the definition that Dr. John MacArthur gave. (Cell 2 #3) "Peace is knowing that we may get to the point where we can do nothing else, but that our all-powerful God has no such limits."
7. I like the perspective of Helen Keller when she said, "I do not want the peace which passes understanding, I want the understanding which brings peace." (from a sermon by Denn Guptill). The reality is that the peace which passes understanding comes from understanding the truth about God.
Cell #3--
Peace is a major theme in the Bible. It appears more than 80 times and it occurs at least 1 time in every one of the 39 books in the New Testament.
8. We need the peace which comes from God because at some point in our lives we all struggle to maintain the peace we need.
• For some it will be the death of a loved one– a child, parent, or spouse.
• For others it will be a heart attack, cancer, or another life threatening disease.
• Still others face divorce, financial ruin, or the loss of a significant dream.
• Sometimes the tragedies aren’t even personal– who’ll ever forget the senselessness of 9-11 or the explosion of the space-shuttle, Columbia.
• Tragedy comes into every life. The details vary, but the experience does not. (adapted from a sermon by Bruce Allen)
9. That brings us to the difficult question of whether it’s even possible to have peace in the world we live in. Many people would say that it is not. It’s only as we examine the perspective of God’s word that we come to understand how that peace is not only possible, but should be normal in the life of the person who has the Spirit inside. Let’s read our text for this morning.
Cell #4--
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Prayer---
Cell #5--
I. The Source of True Peace
1. To properly understand peace, we need to understand where true peace comes from. The source is quite unexpected for those who view God as nothing more than a crutch for those who aren’t strong enough to make it on their own.
2. Having said that, peace is described here as a fruit of the Spirit. In other words, peace ultimately comes from God not from us. The Hebrew concept of shalom is much more positive than merely the absence of conflict. It speaks of wholeness and well-being that includes our relationship with God and loving harmony with others. Paul spoke of both "peace with God," because we were justified by faith and "the peace of God," which goes beyond human understanding (Romans 5:1) (NAC)
3. In fact, in today’s world of stress, frequent misunderstanding and pain, you aren’t going to find the peace you need for today apart from God. The only place you and I will experience the true peace we long for is in God Himself. To put it another way. . .
Cell #6--
"In the world we live in, if peace depended upon us, there would be no peace."
4. If it’s not clear enough in Galatians 5 that the peace we long for comes from God, it is even more clear in the words of Jesus. Consider what Jesus said to His followers in John 14:27. Read along with me either on the screen or in your Bibles. Look at what Jesus said. . .
Cell #7--
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27 NIV)
5. It doesn’t take too much study to see that peace was important to Jesus. However, upon closer examination the source of the peace Jesus was speaking about comes from God Himself. Let me show you what I mean by sharing two very significant observations about what Jesus says in this passage.
Cell #8--
Jesus described the peace He was talking about as, "My Peace."
(2nd part) He experienced this peace on this night before the crucifixion.
1) Look closely at what Jesus said. Notice how He described this peace that He wanted them to experience. (Cell 8 #1), Jesus described the peace He referred to here as "My Peace." If you look closely you will see that it was not only His peace, but He specifically said that He was giving it to them. The peace in question here is supernatural & it’s available to those who are followers of Christ.
2) There’s another fact which makes this passage even more meaningful than it appears at first glance. (Cell 8 #2) He experienced this peace on the night before the crucifixion. In other words, the peace He wanted them to have was the same peace He depended upon during the most difficult moments of His life. What He taught them here wasn’t based upon theory, it came out of the challenge He was facing at the very moment He challenged them with it. Let me tell you, someone who can be at peace in the midst of what He was about to go through, is either out of touch with reality, or He has real peace.
Jesus wasn’t the only character in the Bible who illustrated peace like this. There are many examples of peace in scripture, but let me briefly mention two stories where people experienced peace at a time in their lives, when peace looked highly unlikely. There was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who boldly told King Nebuchadnezzar that he could throw them in the furnace, but that they weren’t going to bow before his false god. They believed God was strong enough to take care of them, but they informed the king that even if He should chose not to rescue them, they still wouldn’t bow to his idol. Move to the NT for a moment & consider Peter in the book of Acts, King Herod had already killed the Apostle James & everyone knew it was the night before Peter was scheduled to become a martyr. Do you remember what Peter was doing? That’s right, he was chained between 2 guards. That’s only what you would expect but the story says that He was asleep." Now how many prisoners do you suppose sleep well the night before their execution? I think it’s fairly safe to guess not very many.
Cell #9--
II. The Secret of True Peace
1. I believe true peace is both more complicated and more simple all at the same time. It is involves more than most people think as well as less than they think. Perhaps that sounds confusing, so let me explain a bit farther. When something is confusing, the best way to deal with it is to break it down into separate parts and examine each part on its own, so let’s do that with this.
2. Let’s begin with the complicated part of peace. I’m indebted to Philip Kenneson for pointing out that peace and righteousness are often connected in scripture. We don’t often think of the two things together, because there doesn’t seem to be a connection, but upon closer examination there is.
Cell #10--
1 Righteousness and peace often go together in the Bible:
2 Isaiah 60:17, "I will make peace your governor & righteousness your ruler." (NIV)
3 Psalm 85:8-10,
8 I will hear what God the LORD will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Lovingkindness & truth have met together; Righteousness & peace have kissed each other." (NAS)
4 Isaiah 48:22, "’There is no peace for the wicked,’. Says the Lord." (NAS)
3. When you think about it and look at various scriptures where this connection is made it begins to make sense. I’m going to move fairly quickly through the various passages so just follow along with me on the screen. Let’s begin with Isaiah 60:17 (Cell 10 #2). "I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler." For there to be peace, righteousness needs to be in charge.
4. That passage isn’t nearly as clear, however, as the one I want us to examine next. Psalm 85:8-10 speaks of the connection between righteousness and peace. Let’s read it together. (Cell 10 #3) Notice particularly in verse 10, the things which are put together. "Lovingkindness and truth have met together," and "righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
5. Before I explain what I believe the significance let me share one additional passage that deals with this connection from the negative perspective because I believe it actually makes the significance clearer. Isaiah 48:22. (Cell 10 #4) Now let me ask a simple question, "Why is it that the wicked person never has any peace?" He or she is constantly getting into trouble. They are always having to deal with the messes that their ungodly behavior creates. The reason there is a connection between righteousness and peace, is that when you are doing what you should be doing, you don’t experience the negative consequences that naturally accompany sin. That makes sense doesn’t it? In reality, it’s not terribly complicated and yet it’s a connection many people never seem to make. It helps us that scripture makes the connection for us.
6. Now, let’s go the other direction for a few moments. I said that peace is also more simple than we often think it is. I want to share a basic principle that relates to that.
Cell #11--
We will never experience outer peace until we have inner peace.
7. Before we focused on the fact that our external behavior has an impact on our peace. But the reverse is also true. We will never experience outer peace until we have inner peace. There will never be peace in the world until there is peace in our hearts. True peace starts on the inside but it is foundational to what goes on on the outside.
8. The Apostle James comments on this very issue in James 4:1-2 when it asks, "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t posses it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it." (NLT)
9. If you don’t have peace inside, you will not experience peace on the outside either. Peace on the inside comes from peace with God and from knowing that He’s in control. When we that kind of peace, we are much more likely to be able to relate peacefully with those around us.
10. Many people don’t understand how trusting God can bring a sense of peace into our lives. Let me share a story that author Catherine Marshall once told. "My friend Marge had an experience aboard a plane bound for Cleveland, waiting for takeoff. As she settled into her seat, Marge noticed a strange phenomenon. On one side of the airplane a sunset filled the entire sky with glorious color. But out of the window next on her side, all Marge could see was a dark threatening sky, with no sign of the sunset. "As the plane’s engines began to roar, a gentle Voice spoke within her: ’You have noticed the windows. Your life too, will contain some happy, beautiful times, but also some dark shadows... You see, it doesn’t matter which window you look through; this plane is still going to Cleveland. So it is in your life. You can focus on the bad things, or you can focus on the bright things, but I’m in charge either way and your final destination isn’t determined by what you see or feel along the way... " When we can understand that the Lord is in control in our lives, then we can experience a peace that is simply not possible without Him. However, when we understand this fact, it brings a peace into our hearts that affects everything else we do. To put it in a nutshell. . .
Cell #12--
True peace will never be possible until we realize that God is in control.
Conclusion:
1. The Holy Spirit working in our lives means that we can experience peace on a level that defies human understanding. It means we can experience God’s peace in our church. It means we can experience God’s peace in our homes. It means we can experience God’s peace in our work place. Ultimately, it means that we can experience God’s peace in our hearts. It doesn’t mean that any of these places is going to be perfect, because they’re not going to be. But it means in spite of the fact that those places aren’t perfect, we can have peace there because true peace doesn’t ultimately come from us, it comes from God.
2. If God has established peace by reconciling us both to God and to one another in Christ, then we must do all we can to live out this life of peace. Paul summarized the challenge of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount when he wrote. . .
Cell #13--
14 Bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
20 "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (NAS)
3. To put it in a nutshell, we must do what we can whenever we can to get along with everyone we can for the glory of God. But I do want you to notice verse 18, you can only do your part to get along with others. We are to make sure we’re doing what we can and at that point, we are fulfilling God’s requirement.
4. I think this is one of the reasons why Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said, "Blessed are the peace makers." Christians are called to be peacemakers because we have been offered true peace within our hearts. It doesn’t mean we will always see eye to eye. It doesn’t mean that everyone is going to be easy to get along with, but it does mean that if we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us as He wants to, we can experience true peace. It’s not enough to have peace in our hearts, we must do our part to bring peace to our world.
5. Perhaps some of you here today don’t have this peace that I’ve been talking about this morning. You can. It’s based upon knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior & Lord. It comes from having your sins forgiven, & having His Holy Spirit living inside you. As we come to the time of invitation, let me ask a basic question, would you like to experience this peace I’ve been talking about this morning? You can if you ask Jesus into your heart. Let’s pray.
1) Bruce Barton, Linda Taylor, David Veerman, Neil Wilson, The Life Application Bible Commentary: Galatians, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers) 1994.
2) John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Galatians, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press) 1987.
3) Frank Gaebelein, Ed. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Corporation) 1998.
4) William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: Galatians, (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press) 1976.
5) Thayer’s Greek Definitions, (Cedar Rapids, IA: Parsons Technology) 1999.
6) Timothy George, The New Ameican Commentary: Galatians, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press) 1994.
7) Philip Kenneson, Life On The Vine, (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press) 1999.
8) Donald Guthrie, The New Century Bible Commentary: Galatians, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company) 1981.
9) Sermons by, Denn Guptill, Larry Brincefield, Bruce Allen, Marty Baker, Melvin Newland, R David Newland, SermonCentral.com
10) Catherine Marshall in "Touching the Heart of God." Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 6.
