14 December 08
John 14: 15 – 27
If you believe the internet, ‘peace of mind’ is big business in our stress ridden world.
Try typing in the phrase ‘peace of mind’ as I did this week and you will find reference to everything from; music video clips, candles, crystals, body soap, retirement funds (although they have got their work cut our right now) and ‘Peace of mind hypnoses therapy.
There is also a perfume called peace and the promotion material invites the ladies, ‘To wear it and feel the serenity.’
If it were only that easy! Just a little dap will do it and then blissful peace all day.
Sadly other people take mind destroying drugs, or experiment with New Age rituals.
There is so much tension in our world, very few people can escape it and live completely at peace with themselves.
So peace of mind is another of those deep human needs that God promises to meet. Jesus was called, The Prince of Peace.
Most of you will not be surprised about our next name for God.
Jehovah Shalom = “I am the God of peace.”
The most common greeting in the NT between Christians is, ‘Grace and Peace’; which, points to the fact that we are to live gracious and peaceful lives as Christians.
The seventh Beatitudes;
“Blessed are the peace makers, for they will be called the sons of God.” Matt. 5:9 NIV
One of the most wonderful promises of Jesus was the gift of peace; made to his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion.
Jesus. “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart!
And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives- so don’t be troubled or afraid.” Jn.14:27 LB
Now if God says, “I’m offering you the gift of peace.” He means it.
It’s not something that we deserve or can work for; it is a gift so why not receive it?
Now, I need to say that having God’s peace does not mean we will have a problem free life.
If we had to wait for all our problems to be solved before we can be at peace we would never be at peace.
Jesus said, “In the world you will have problems.” – We can count on it.
But with God’s help we can have peace of mind in the midst of storm.
Now God’s peace is the result of three important decisions that we need to make.
1. Accept What Cannot Be Changed
Worrying about what can’t be changed will rob us of peace every time. Becoming resentful or bitter, full of guilt and self pity about things that can’t be changed will only produce discord, which is the opposite of peace.
There is only one thing that will ever bring peace in the midst of strife and this is ‘our acceptance of what we cannot change’.
In 2 Samuel there is a story about King David who was faced with the prospect of losing his baby son; the baby was dying.
David did everything he could to save his son; he fasted, he wept, he cried out to God and pleaded for the child’s life.
On the seventh day the baby died, God did not grant David’s prayer.
I don’t know why, one day we will know the answer to all the why’s of unanswered prayers.
When David’s friends heard that the baby had died they were afraid to tell him, afraid for what he would do to himself.
But he overheard them whispering and asked, “Has the child died?”
Yes they answered. And we read that David got up, took a bath, put on clean cloths, ate a big meal and went back to work.
His advisors were astonished, “what are you doing they asked. You were in agony when the child was dying now that he is dead you are at peace. What has happened to bring about such a change?”
David’s simple response was that there was now nothing more that he could do, so he had to get on with his life.
He accepted what he could not change.
You may also remember something that the Apostle Paul wrote from prison in Rome, to the Philippians; one of the most positive books in the Bible.
“I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. I know how to live when I am poor and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. I can do all things through Christ, because He gives me strength.” Phil 4:11 – 13 NCV
Acceptance is a learned response.
We usually learn it in the difficult times, with God’s help.
There is no peace without acceptance.
One of the things that robs us of peace and causes us to feel stressed is the need to know why. Why is this happening to me? Why did God allow this to happen?
But is it really necessary to understand why?
i. God does not owe us an explanation for anything. He is not obliged to explain anything that He does to us. He is our Creator and all we need to know is that He loves us as a father loves his child and He says, “Will you trust me with all the things you don’t understand and can’t change?”
ii. Even if God did explain His reasons we probably wouldn’t understand them.
Who can comprehend the ways of God?
Isaiah 55, “My thoughts are not like yours.”
iii. Explanations never bring peace anyway.
An explanation might make us better informed but what comforts us is God’s presence in our lives not God’s explanations. ‘God’s promise is His presence.’
What we need most in times of difficulty is God’s care, concern and comfort. So stop looking for something you don’t need.
Job went down that track of demanding an explanation from God for all his suffering. He had some very unhelpful friends who offered lots of suggestions; all wrong but only when he stopped demanding did he actually see God and that was enough.
Q. Have you ever been in a crisis when God was silent? You’ve been rattling the gates of heaven but no one is answering. God is silent.
Here is the lesson that Job learned. When God is silent we need to be silent too.
Remember when you were at school and the teacher wanted to test you understanding of his/her or subject; to find out what you had learned.
Now during the test the teacher was silent, right?
We know there is no point in asking the teacher to help us with the answers during a classroom test.
In the same way God is not going to give us the answers to the tests of life, perhaps later on we will understand but certainly not during the actual test.
There is a prayer that millions of people have learned to pray every day called the Serenity prayer, it’s written by a German man called Reihold Neibor.
Q. Who is familiar with this?
Serenity Prayer
“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
It’s a very famous prayer but it has been edited there are nine more lines that you may have never heard and the power in this prayer comes from these next lines.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is not as I would have it.
Trusting that You, God, will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will.
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen
The power in this prayer is in the words, acceptance, trust and surrender to God, all in the second part as I said.
These three responses are the paving stones of a pathway to peace and serenity.
When we experience things in life that we don’t like, we are to do all we can to put them right; including seeking medical help if we need it, financial advice if we have money problems, counseling if this is what is required.
But when we have done all we can and nothing else can be done we are to; ‘accept what cannot be changed.’
This is the starting point on the road to God’s peace.
2. Trust In God’s Loving Care
“You, Lord, give true peace to those who depend on you because they trust you.” Isa 26:3 NCV
God gives peace to those who trust Him because they depend on Him.
Proverbs 13: 5 – 6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding (don’t try to work things out). In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.” NIV
We will never live a problem free life; there will always be something to rock the boat. As soon as we deal with one thing, something else lines up to take its place.
Why does this happen? Why is life one challenge after another?
There are several reasons why we have problems;
i. We live in a fallen world; it’s not yet perfect. A world that has lost its way.
ii. We have an enemy his name is Satan which means ‘advisory’ of God. The Bible talks about him a lot and in 1 Peter 5:8 we read;
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
The news paper keeps us up to date with his work.
Jesus said, “He comes only to, kill, steal and destroy.” Jn. 10:10
He is trying to rob from you every day; he wants to undermine your relationships, health and finances.
He is particularly interested in the followers of Jesus who are trying to do the right thing.
So we live in a fallen world, we have a personal enemy competing against us and on top of all this we are our own worst enemies.
iii. We bring problems on ourselves.
In fact most of the problems and pain our life are the result of our own poor decisions.
When we sow bad seed we always reap a bad harvest.
But sometimes the pain in our life is no one’s fault.
iv. Problems are part of the greater purpose of God.
One day Jesus and his disciples met a man who was blind from birth.
The disciples asked Jesus,
“Who sinned Lord, this man or his parents that he was born blind?”
This was the popular notion of the day, someone must have been responsible, and sadly some people still believe that.
We look to someone to blame for our problems; maybe our parents, sometimes we blame God or the Church for everything bad that happens to us.
Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents were at fault. This happened so the work of God may be displayed in his life.” Jn. 9
You know it really doesn’t matter what or who is responsible for our problems.
The point is that our response should always be the same no matter who has hurt us or wronged us; we are to trust in the loving care of God.
(Jesus) “Don’t be worried about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”
Phil, 4: 6 – 7 ICB
We will find peace through trusting in God’s loving care more than in the circumstances of our life. (Remember the response of Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego when they faced the fiery furnace of king Nebuchadnezzar?)
“Our God will save us but even if he doesn’t we won’t bow down to any other God.” Dan 3
But there are two responses that we are tempted to make when things become difficult; both are fatal.
i. To try even harder; so the more out of control our life is the more controlling and compulsive we become. “I’ve just got to make this work.”
This can only lead to more stress.
ii. Do the exact opposite; which is to give up and give into despair. “I’m a victim and I will be a victim for the rest of my life.”
Both responsive are foolish and won’t change anything.
There is a third step along the path to peace.
3. Surrender To God’s Loving Control
It might shock you to hear me say it but ultimately, anxiety, tension and turmoil are the consequence of resisting God.
We think we know better and we tell God how He should solve our problems.
Every day when we wake up we have a decision to make, ‘Whose going to be in charge of my life today; God or me?
Am I going to be in control or is God going to be in control?
The more we take control, the more out of control our life becomes; because self control doesn’t work.
Paul says, “If a person’s thinking is controlled by his sinful self, then there is death. But if his thinking is controlled by the Spirit, then there is life and peace.” Rom. 8: ICB
These are the alternatives; ‘death’ or ‘life and peace’.
Q. Who is going to be in charge of your life?
I don’t know if it occurs to you but in a war with God you are going to lose; God loves us too much to let us win.
When I was a youngster Mohammed Ali was the heavy weight boxing champion of the world and he used to boast that he was the greatest.
(Story about Ali and the Air Hostess)
I will never forget the sequel to his boasting; a most tragic scene when having been chosen to light the Olympic flame in Atlanta. Now gripped by Parkinson’s disease he could barely control his shaking limbs enough to take the few steps to light the torch.
In an interview afterwards he said, “God gave me this disease so I could remember that I am not the greatest but He is.”
I think he earned more respect from these words than he ever had from his boasting.
Sometimes God places a limitation on our lives to exposes our powerlessness and to prove His trust worthiness.
Sometimes He has to make us lie down, to show us who is in control.
Final Question.
Q. What is the evidence of a life surrendered to God?
It’s a life of obedience, isn’t it? Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Jn. 14
If God says ‘do this’ we are to do it, whether we understand it or not, whether it’s easy or difficult.
Our rebellious human nature doesn’t find it easy to obey everything the Bible teaches. Paul says our human nature is at war with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 
But if we want to seriously follow the Lord we will have to fight a war against our human nature every day of our lives; but it’s a war with God’s help we can win, unlike a war against God which we will never win.
One last verse,
“Those who love your teaching will find peace, and nothing will defeat them.” Ps 119: 165 NCV
God’s will is to be found in God’s Word; the Bible is God ‘Will and Testament’ and like all good ‘Will’ God has provided for our future and above all our peace of mind and heart. But you will never know what He has left you unless you read it; all of it.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, you know how we have resented the problems of our life and you know how we have pointlessly resisted the things that we cannot change.
We have asked you many times for an explanation that has never come.
Today we want to stop fighting you over the situations that we do not understand. We ask for your forgiveness for not trusting you.
We want to walk the pathway of peace.
Help us to change the things that we can change and to accept the thing that we cannot change.
Lord Jesus help me to trust more in your loving care, when things don’t make sense, than in my own understanding.
Help me to make peace with you and with my circumstances by faith so that I can have the peace of God which passes all understanding, through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen