Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
11/03/2019 A.M.
Rivers of Biblical Peace
John 10.10 Galatians 5.22-23 & 25 2 Peter 1.3-11
John 14.27 Romans 5.1-5 Philippians 4.7
We’re in a Series of Studies on LIVING THE GOOD LIFE.
Jesus came saying… I came that you might have life… And have it MORE ABUNDANTLY…
• Life above the common…
• Life at its best…
• Life to the fullest….
THE GOOD LIFE.. Available in Christ.
Paul tells us that THIS ABUNDANT LIFE IS…
• Walking in step with the Spirit…
• Producing the Fruit of… God… Jesus… LIVING IN US THROUGH THE SPIRIT HE GAVE US.
Peter tells us that adding these SPIRITUAL TRAITS will…
• Make our Calling and Election sure…
• Make us fruitful and productive in God’s Kingdom…
• And will afford us entry into His Eternal Kingdom of Heaven.
Our yearning for peace can be seen everywhere about us…
• If our Statue of Liberty means anything… It offers peace to those who would come to live in our country… It’s a symbol of America’s desire for PEACE IN THE WORLD.
• The Christ of the Andes… A huge statue on the border between Chile & Argentina… Was constructed to celebrate and express the hope FOR WORLD PEACE.
• In Paris… There’s the Plaque of Peace at the foot of the Eiffel Tower… This glass monument has the word PEACE written in forty-nine languages.
• In Tokyo stands a statue with arms outstretched toward heaven… And the word AGAPE…Written in Greek and Japanese.
So universal is OUR LONGING FOR PEACE that the words of Isaiah 2.4 are engraved in a park across from the United Nations Building… He..God… Will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more.
The New Testament word PEACE has a great history… It’s a translation of the Hebrew word SHALOM… A common Jewish word for greeting others.
Jews used shalom much like we say…
• Good Morning…
• Hello…
• How are you…
• God bless… Etc.…
However…Shalom has a much richer meaning… Shalom is more than the absence of hostility…
• Shalom speaks of A TOTAL WELL-BEING…
• Shalom speaks of peace IN EVERY ARENA OF LIFE.
Shalom is the condition… Where everything in our life is just right.
God’s peace is about…
• Fulfillment…
• Maturity…
• Harmony…
• Tranquility…
• Security…
• Friendship…
And the total well-being… Of a person… Or of a community.
THIS GOD-PROMISED PEACE is the reason God sent His Son into our world… In fact… At His birth… Jesus was called THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
• He came bringing good will…
• The abundant life…
• Shalom…
To all mankind
So…Church… The peace we are talking about this morning is more than the absence of stress… IT’S a relationship with THE SAVIOR.
Jesus’coming brings… SHALOM… PEACE… Total Peace… THE ABUNDANT LIFE.
I believe we can say that He came to bring peace on four levels…
Peace God to Man…By forgiving our sins… Removing that which separates us from God.
Peace Man to Man…Scripture tells us how to have this man-to-man peace… By loving… Agaping… One another… Jesus came showing us how to live making this peace possible.
Peace Within… Jesus came to give us peace regardless of the circumstance and situation about us.
This Personal Peace can be ours because…
• We are forgiven… WE HAVE NO SIN-GUILT…
• And regardless of what’s going on about us… We have the hope of heaven.
• Because we know that God is present in our lives…Working what is best for us… Regardless of what’s going on around us… Within us.
Listen to these verses affirming this God given… Peace… shalom…
John 14.27… 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.
Romans 5.1… Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Philippians 4.7… For the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I believe a good illustration of this God-given peace available by the presence of Jesus living in us can be found in the Gospel of John chapter twenty…
It was the Sunday evening following the resurrection… The Apostles were huddled in a room with the doors… shut… fastened… and locked because they were afraid OF THE Jewish & Roman authorities.
John says… Suddenly Jesus appeared… Standing before them… Twice in this narrative Jesus said… Peace be with you.
Then He affirmed His identity showing them the wounds in His hands and side… And John says They were overjoyed.
Listen church… I hope we are at peace… Are overjoyed… By the fact that Jesus is present in our life… And that He is affirming His identity daily by His blessings... Amen?
OK… Let’s note the fact that there are four main rivers
upon which the peace of God travels toward us…
The first river is the Holy Spirit… Peace flows to us through the Spirit.
When Jesus told His disciples that He was leaving… They were like children… They began to ask… Where are you going… Can we go with You… Who’s gonna stay with us?
Then in John chapters 15 & 16… Jesus tells them He will not leave them as orphans… But will send the… Comforter… Counselor… the Paraclete… One who will run along beside them… Leading them into all truth…Convicting the world of Sin… Righteousness… and Judgment to come.
At the end of chapter sixteen… Jesus says… I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble… But take heart!... I have overcome the world.
Listen church… This same Holy Spirit is promised to us… He may not enable us to do miraculous works as He did the Apostles… But his presence brings peace… This is god’s promise!!
Don’t miss this point… In our text… Paul affirms that… The Fruit of His presence in our life is peace… The peace Jesus came to offer is ours when we allow…
• The Holy Spirit to direct our life…
• When we walk in step with the Spirit…
• When we walk in… The light… The truth…He came to deliver.
Then there’s that verse in Isaiah 26.3 which says… We will be kept in perfect peace… When our mind is focused upon God… When our trust is in Him.
Or Second Thessalonians 3.16…. May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace always in every way.
Listen… I hope you believe that God and His Son Jesus lives in you through the Spirit He gives us… And that when we respond to the Spirit’s will… Walk in step with the Spirit… We will have… Peace… shalom.
Peace also flows into our heart by the Word of God.
Our word peace appears nearly 400 times in the Bible…
• Scripture is about peace…
• Scripture is about the coming of the Prince of Peace.
Again…Peace is not about the absence of stress… But the presence of a Savior.
Interesting isn’t it that the Psalmist uses 176 verses of Psalm 119 to extol the virtues of the Word of God…
In verse 105 he says… Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Then in verse 165…Great peace… Shalom belongs to those who love Your law.
Again Isaiah 26.3 tells us that there is a perfect peace available to those whose mind and trust are focused upon God.
Did you notice in these verses… Not just peace… But great peace… Perfect peace.
How could we forget Psalm one… Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is… WHERE?... In the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Of the twenty-seven New Testament Books… Eighteen begin with a greeting of peace… Not just peace from the human author… But peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul is frequently found saying… Grace and peace to you…
Here it is church… When we receive God’s grace… He gives us peace.
Without His grace there is no peace.
You see… We are saved by grace through faith…
• Faith is how we receive His grace…
• And the resulting Salvation brings peace.
Romans 5.1 affirms this… Since we have been justified through faith… We have peace with God… And how do we obtain this…Justifying… Saving… Faith?
Romans 10.17 tells us faith comes by our being into the Word of God.
Peace from the Word is ours when we take God’s advice from Psalm 46.10... Be still and know that I am God.
Indeed…We must separate ourselves from the cares of this world… Make time to Read…Study… Ponder… the Word in our life…
• Trusting in His promises.
• Obeying His commands…
The third river of Peace is prayer.
Our admonition on prayer comes from …
First Thessalonians 5.17… Pray without ceasing
Philippians 4.6… Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Here we see three rooms…
• The room of Anxiousness… This room is empty… There’s nothing good here… don’t go there!
• The room of Prayer… A room in which we are to bring everything in life. Listen… If it’s important enough to cause us concern… Bring it into our prayer closet.
• There is the room of Thanksgiving… A room filled with gratitude for each and every good thing God has placed in our life.
Paul is saying… Be anxious for nothing… Prayerful in everything… Be thankful for every blessing.
Indeed!!... This kind of prayer life produces Peace.
1 Peter 5.7 says… Cast all your… Cares… Anxiety on him because he cares for you.
So… When we speak of PEACE... As a fruit of the Spirit... We are speaking of a state... A condition... An economy... That can and does exist... Regardless of what is going on around us.
• For instance... Jews meeting on the streets of Babylon... Would greet one another with...
SHALOM... But they were in captivity... In the New Testament they were under Roman rule... Yet SHALOM...PEACE... Was on their lips.
• In his Epistles... Paul begins with Grace and Peace... Yet at times he was in prison.
• Knowing that the next day... He was going to die on the cross... Jesus said... Don’t let your heart be troubled... Be not afraid... Peace I leave you... My peace I give you.
• In a time of severe persecution… John introduces the Book of Revelation with the words... Grace and peace to you from Him who loves us... And has freed us from our sins by His blood.
There is no doubt that genuine Biblical peace is the result of a relationship with God… Indeed…When the Spirit of God lives in us... He produces a peace that is beyond human understanding... Beyond human description.
Again... This peace is…
• A state ofmind...
• An economy...
• A way of life...
That brings contentment... Regardless of what is going on around us at that moment.
OK… Here is our fourth river… Obedience…
Listen church… God’s peace is only available when we complete our faith in obedience to his will.
• Jesus is heard saying in John 14.23… If you love Me you will… You will Obey Me
• James makes the point that faith without obedience is dead… Powerless to save… In 2.17 & 28.
There is no peace in knowing truth and NOT obeying it…
Peace… Shalom… Comes from our having a pure conscience because we have obeyed God’s truth… Amen?
I want to close with a story indicating that we are each in control of our own peace… PEACE IS A CHOICE WE MAKE by allowing God to work in our life.
Two men who were confined to bed in the same hospital room. One had a bed looking out the window... The other looked out the door into the hall. Each day... The man by the window would explain the beauties he saw... as he looked outside...
• He would tell of... Children playing...
• Birds in flight...
• Flowers blooming...
• Lovers walking in the park...
• Families enjoying a picnic...
• The red sky at sunset.
One day... The man by the window passed away... And his friend asked if he could be moved to the window... I want to enjoy the view. When the aids moved him... He found that there was no window at all... Just a blank wall.
You see church...
• Joy is a choice we make....
• It’s a heart condition..
• It’s a decision we make to listen and trust in God’s promise of shalom in our life.
If you are here this morning and not a child of God…This peace cannot be yours.
Peace is knowing we are… Forgiven… Saved… Heavenbound…
Peace is a relationship with God… His Living in us through the Spirit He gave us…
Peace is allowing the blood of His Son to cleanse us…
Decide on peace by… Faith… Living a changed life… And being born again in New Testament baptism.
As children of God… We must make up our mind that we can enjoy His peace by…
• Enjoying His presence in our life…
• Knowing we are.. Forgiven… Saved… Heavenbound.
Come enjoy His peace as we stand and sing this song together.