Got Peace!
Do we need peace? Since
9/11/01, we have come to understand some of the hostilities that most of the
world has lived with for generations.
We have enjoyed peace in our country for so many years that we
haven’t seen the need of it. But,
recent events have made us realize that peace is something that we desperately
need to continue to live in a land of liberty.
People need peace in their hearts to overcome the hostilities that are
natural to our sinful natures. We
need to be at peace with God, with ourselves, and with our neighbors.
We need peace in our church, communities, and homes.
What
is Peace? From
the American Heritage Dictionary. 1.
The absence of war or other hostilities.
2. An agreement or treaty to end hostilities.
3. Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations: They
made peace with each other. 4.
Public security and order: disturbing the peace.
5. Inner contentment; serenity: peace of mind.
Peace is that quiet assurance that everything is going be all right.
Peace is attained when the warring parties meet in the middle and agree to
disagree. By nature we are at war
with God, with ourselves, and with others.
You see it takes two. By
me.
"An
appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile -- hoping it will eat him last."
- Winston Churchill -
_Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 66. But
peace is attained when one makes friends with the croc. who agrees to not have
him for dinner.
Peace is not the absence of trouble, but
the presence of God. -- J. Oswald
Sanders
A
New Year editorial by the Nobel prize-winning scholar Elie Wiesel of Boston
University concluded with these sentences: Humankind needs peace more than
ever, for it has, more than ever, been
saturated with violence and war. Now
the entire planet is in danger. But
peace is not God's gift to His creatures.
It is our gift - to each other.
- Michael J. Hostetler, Illustrating the
Sermon, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989) 50
Scripture Text:
Micah 5:1. Mobilize!
Marshal your troops! The enemy is laying siege to Jerusalem. With a rod they
will strike the leader of Israel in the face.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small
village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins
are from the distant past. 3The people of Israel will be abandoned
to their enemies until the time when the woman in labor gives birth to her
son. Then at last his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own
land. 4And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s
strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord
his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly
honored all around the world. 5 And he will be the source
of our peace. When the
Assyrians invade our land and break through our defenses, we will appoint
seven rulers to watch over us, eight princes to lead us.
What
is the way to peace in our world today?
a.
The Way to have Peace: Rom.5:1 Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ: One
person at a time is the way.
I remember hearing of a young man who
went to a minister of Christ in great distress about his spiritual state. He
said to the minister, "Sir, can you tell me what I must do to find
peace?" The minister replied, "Young man, you are too late."
"Oh!" said the young man, "you don't mean to say I am too late
to be saved?" "Oh, no," was the reply, "but you are too
late to do anything. Jesus did every thing that needed to be done twenty
centuries ago." --The Wonderful Word
b.
Our source of Peace: Jesus .
5 And he will be the source of our peace
Phil.
4:7 The peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus.
c.
Peace in the Past: Isai
9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will
be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
d.
Peace in the present:
John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be
troubled or afraid.
e.
Peace in the Future:
Micah 4:3 The Lord will
settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and
military training will come to an end. 4Everyone will live quietly
in their own homes in peace and prosperity, for there will be nothing to fear.
The Lord Almighty has promised
this! 5Even though the nations around us worship idols, we will
follow the Lord our God forever
and ever.
f.
Do you know the Prince of Peace? Do
you have peace in your life? Do
you have peace between you and your neighbors?
Do you have peace between you and the Lord? Do you have peace in your heart, with your family, with your
neighbors, and with your God?
A young lady was dying, and one Scripture which she had heard in health
came to her at this time: "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed," and she was led by the Holy Spirit to
rest in him of whom it spoke, for salvation. A friend said to her one day,
"You suffer much, I fear." "Yes," she said,
"but," pointing to her hand, "there is no nail there. He had
the nails; I have the peace." Laying her hand on her brow, she said,
"There are no thorns here. He had the thorns; I have the peace,"
Touching her side she said, "There is no spear here. He had the spear; I
have the peace." --Young People's Delight
There was a dispute, which had grown into a
lawsuit between two farmers as to just where the line between them was and
where a fence should be. Finally one of the farmers sold out, and the
purchaser moved in. Soon he met Farmer Smith, who was agitated and said to his
new neighbor, "They tell me you have bought this farm, and I just want to
inform you that you have bought a lawsuit." He was asked to explain, and
said, "Well, the fence, being located where it is, cheats me out of two
feet of my land." "Then," said the newcomer kindly, "we
will move it back four feet." "No," said Farmer Smith,
"that is more than I ask." "But," said the new neighbor,
"I would rather have peace with my neighbors than a few feet of
earth!" "Then," said Farmer Smith very quietly, "if that
is the way you feel, the fence stays just where it is and the lawsuit is all
off." The Bible says,
"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
By William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations.”