Opening Prayer: Lord help our understanding, to get beyond what the world tries to call peace, and to understand Peace as a fruit of your Holy Spirit. We commit this time to you. Amen!
INTRODUCTION: Peace, the word is used so loosely at times I think we are at risk of loosing sight of it's real meaning. Greenpeace - would have you think that peace is based on caring more about the Earth than the people who are housed there, lest you think I'm off-base their stated goal is "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity". The Peace Corps - would have you think that peace can be attained through a volunteer process that promotes better understanding between the U.S. & other cultures, and helps meet the needs of people in various less-advantaged places in the world. Peace Coffee - would like you to think Peace is about being Organic & Fair Trade, and they use the 1960's Peace sign in their logo. We even speak of various Peace Processes at work between Governments - Peace in that case would be a cessation of hostilities. I don't have anything against any of these organizations - I'm just trying to establish what the world sees as Peace.
PRINCIPLE: God's Peace is not the peace the World gives.
In John 14:27 Jesus says "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."
Though our book mentioned the Greek word for peace, I'm going to go a step further (I believe) and use the Hebrew word for Peace - Shalom. So as I use the word Shalom, I want you to understand I mean God's Peace - Peace at that higher level, including the Spiritual Fruit of Peace.
I. Shalom - What is it? Where does it come from?
I read two daily devotionals, it's how I start my day most days, and I get them both on my phone - one of those cases where technology is being used for good - yep, there's an app for that! I read Our Daily Bread & Today Daily Devotion. On the Today Daily Devotion for February 1st it spoke about Shalom this way:
"The longing of every human heart is for shalom. Shalom ... consists of far more than the absence of conflict. Shalom entails human flourishing in right relationship with the Creator God, with our fellow creatures, and with all of God's creation."
God's Peace has at it's source God Himself. One of the titles for Jesus is Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), and He will reign over all His people in Peace - but perhaps not until after he returns to earth as the King of Kings (Revelation 19:16). For now, in this world, we do not have peace - Jesus told us that He didn't bring peace for the Earth (Matthew10:34-35) but instead a sword (God's Word?) that would cause division, even among close family members. It is through the power & indwelling the Holy Spirit that we today can obtain & express God's Peace - Shalom.
PRINCIPLE: Shalom is the result of being in right relationship with God.
Shalom is peace from God, that we get from being in right relationship with God, and is used by God in and through the lives of believers.
II. Shalom in the life of a Christ Follower
From our book I gleaned that the Spiritual Fruit of Peace for the believer is:
- The assurance of a life placed in God
- A quiet in your inner self
- Harmony, tranquility, and contentment despite circumstances
Our Daily Bread (ODB) for February 5th was speaking of a psychology professor's findings that developing optimism is good for human health & well-being. This professor was encouraging people to "try activities that build joy, gratitude, love, and other positive feelings." ODB went on to say "We know, however, that more is required than a general wish for good feelings. We need a strong conviction that there is a source of joy, peace, and love upon which we can depend." ODB also suggested a study of Psalm 37:1-8 as an antidote to pessimism & discouragement - that's what our Group Exercise is for today. Psalm 37 clearly points to the Lord as our source for encouragement.
How do we get Shalom? Isaiah 26:3 tells us that those whose minds are steadfast & trusting in God will be kept in perfect peace. This reminds me of Peter's attempt to walk on water - he was just fine until he took his eyes off of Jesus and started looking at the circumstances around him... when he lost focus on God he began to sink. We are like that too, if we keep our minds steadfast - e.g. focused on God - then we're going to be able to handle the storms that come up in our lives; in fact, we'll be able to do so with a calmness of heart, knowing that we can trust our lives in God's hands no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Last week you'll remember I was a bit rattled. I was sleep deprived & thinking about Jeff's procedure later in the day. I was tempted to worry, but kept putting things right back in God's hands... and instead of being nervous & anxious I was relatively calm. I'm surprised how calm I was, I was fully expecting to learn my lesson on Peace the hard way (as I had with Love & Joy), but instead I learned it the right way - and I hope that in the future I will continue, because I can be a world-class worrier. God knows that we have worries, but He tells us (1 Peter 5:7) to cast our cares on Him, and to trust in His care for us.
PRINCIPLE: God's gift of Shalom allows the believer to graciously weather the storms of life.
Shalom removes worry, Shalom resolves stress, Shalom brings contentment, and Shalom can even allow us to be angry & express anger without sinning.
What undermines your peace? What buttons get pressed that kick up your anxiety or ruffle your feathers?
My biggest stumbling block is finances - I quit working almost 6 years ago & cut our income in half, and we've not made the adjustments that I feel we should in order to "safely" accommodate our new level of income. Add to that the fact that I'm trying to get a business going, and it's deeply in debt due to investments in equipment... well, you can use your imagination. God has been working on me about this, and I have come a long way. I am learning to trust God more, in doing so I'm learning to trust Jeff more - for a long time the only one I could depend on to take care of me was me (ok, Mom & Dad helped at times), so this has been a learning process.
III. Shalom through the life of a Christ Follower
If Shalom were only for our own benefit it would be a terrific benefit, but as a Fruit of the Spirit it's not just for the benefit of the believer.
Shalom allows the believer to be in the midst of a crisis situation, and bring peace & calm to that situation - to be a Peacemaker. James 3:18 says Peacemakers can sow peace, planting peace where there may be none to find otherwise, and in doing so will reap a harvest of righteousness. It seems to imply that when a believer exhibits calm in a crisis, they draw others to faith in God - or at least cause the faith of others to be strengthened.
Shalom allows the believer not to seek vengeance when wronged, but instead to be good to those who mean us harm. Romans 12:17-20 tells us to live at peace with everyone if at all possible & to trust God to avenge, that our job as believers to to overcome evil with good. Again this is being a Peacemaker, or living out Shalom in a broken world. Roman's tells us that this will "heap burning coals" on the head of our enemy - it will get his attention.
I was reading on Today - a digital news version of the Today show - they shared a snippet of an interview with Dr Phil. The gist of the interview was that it is more effective to whisper to get your kid's attention than to shout. The problem with shouting is that it cuts off communication, shouting results in more shouting, soon everybody is shouting and nobody is listening. Dr Phil shared that if a child is having a tantrum the best thing you can do is whisper because it is so different that it get's their attention, peaks their curiosity, and causes them to quiet down in order to listen.
PRINCIPLE: God's gift of Shalom allows the believer to whisper & be heard over the shouts of the world.
I am not going to share any personal political opinions here, that's not why I'm here, but I have noticed that in the last few decades things have gotten worse. Everybody seems to be shouting & nobody seems to be listening - well, almost nobody. There is one local politician that appears to rise above the fray, and though I don't necessarily agree with this politician's politics, I have respect for the person. This politician gets real work done, work that appears to be benefiting constituents, and is widely respected as a result. When a politician stops behaving like the rest, stops simply shouting out their own opinions, and does the right thing for the right reasons, it gets your attention.
When God's people remain calm in a crisis, or are kind to those who are cruel to them, it get's attention as well... like whispering at a child throwing a tantrum.
CONCLUSION: Let's trust in the Peace that Jesus gives to His followers, a Peace that keeps our hearts from being troubled, a Peace that can work through us to get the attention of the World.
Closing Prayer: Lord we thank you that you provide peace when we place our trust in you. Help us Lord to not just experience peace for ourselves, but also to have your peace working though us for the sake of others that we might reap a harvest of righteousness for your name's sake. Amen!
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