Three Kinds Of Peace

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.”