3 Principles of Peace

Pray

For reasons I cannot quite remember (perhaps the guidebooks or the guide himself told us it wasn't much to get worked up about), I wasn't excited to visit the birthplace of Christ while on a study tour of Israel. I recall wishing we could spend our time in Jerusalem, but I didn't have a choice. If the group was going to Bethlehem, I was, too.

We walked through the dusty streets of the town and soon came to the entrance to the Church of the Nativity (candle) . We stood in line for what seemed like hours, winding our way downward into a series of caves

Once there, I was hushed by the holiness of it all. There were candles lit here, there, and everywhere. Hundreds were on their knees in prayer, scattered about on the cold, damp floor. We made our way to the traditional cave of the birth where we read the Story of Jesus birth once again. Soon we were singing. "O Holy Night," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Silent Night."

Right there in a church building that has been ravaged by war and terrorism and today is owned by four different religious groups, we prayed for peace. We offered a continued invitation for shalom. It was one of the more sacred moments of my life.

As we left, I passed by all the pilgrims yet again. Some were from Germany, Poland, and Italy others were from England, Spain, and China. They, too, sang and prayed. Anger and violence wrestled about in all our worlds… but… in that moment, we had all come together in Bethlehem to worship and celebrate the Prince of Peace.

We hear this story this morning. And I don’t know about you, but I would have loved to have been there to experience this moment... Now certainly, at this specific moment, there is tension in Israel, that’s not a new concept of course, and we certainly need to pray for the peace of Israel… but here’s the key, is that in this moment, at the believed birthplace of Christ, there was a special moment of peace to celebrate.

We transition then to ourselves this morning. With Thanksgiving now behind us, we enter into especially in the church, one of the best holidays of all. As we celebrate the Christmas Season.

But here’s the question for you, as we begin our message this morning… is Peace reserved only for one day, for one short season each year? Or perhaps is this what God desires for you in every season of life?

You see, for some of us this morning, we’re anxious. From one event to the next, one responsibility or concern to the next… life has a way of beating us down… We’re stressed about all kinds of things… For others of us, perhaps with co-workers, neighbors or others, there isn’t peace instead, we’re at war. This morning church, the prince of Peace, and Lord of Lords. desires to give us peace at alltimes.

(How do we come to peace?)

If you have your bibles, turn with me to Philippians 4. And as you’re turning there, you’ll recall last week that we finished a series on the book of Colossians with 3 principles of purity. Well, this morning, we’re going to continue with the same idea with our mind… only we’re going to focus on 3 Principles of Peace.

1. The Present of Peace. 2. The Pondering of Peace. 3. The Practice of Peace. (The price of peace / the prince of peace. )

1. The Present of Peace

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As we look at this scripture this morning, I want to briefly set a picture of the scene we encounter. Here in Philippians, we find that the Lord is using Paul to write a letter to the Philippian church, which is a coastal city located in northern Greece. And Paul was very familiar with this church, as this was the first church that Paul founded in Europe.

And as we read Philippians this morning, there are many similarities between Paul and the Philippian Church. You see Paul was a man who was very familiar with suffering, and Pain. After His conversion on the road to Damascus (3 decades before)… Paul would go from persecutor, to persecuted… Paul knew what it was like to be beating with stones, imprisoned, ridiculed and mocked, and even shipwrecked.

And The Philippian church was also accustomed to trials and difficulties. Like the many churches, the Philippian church were threatened by false teaching outside the church. They also struggled with conflict inside the church between different members. And at the same time, they faced great persecution from those outside the church, particularly from the romans.

And so, Paul, a man very familiar with suffering and trials, writes to this Philippian church who is experiencing trials and difficulties of their own. And he calls them to: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You see, At the time of this writing, Paul is imprisoned in Rome. He’s going through trials, he’s going through difficulties, and he writes to the Philippian church and tells them to 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all?

You see, I don’t know about you, but when life is difficult, it’s easy to not rejoice. It’s easy to not exactly be gentle towards others…

In the midst of stressful situations… times of stress or anxiety… How can we experience, this peace of God which peace of God?

Let’s look back at the scripture. Vs 6 tells us: 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Let me put it this way… the fact that we can take our anxiety, and our situations, out of our hands, and give them to him… truly is a present. You see as we take our cares and concerns and present them to us… He gifts us, he presents us with Presents. Peace is a gift, peace is a present, that requires us giving our cares to him this morning.

1 peter 5:7 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 thes 5:16-18

You see church, as God’s children. We are entitled to executive benefits.

In the coming holiday season, 39. percent of shoppers will purchase a department store gift card for friends and family, followed by 33. percent of shoppers opting for a restaurant gift card. But according to estimates reported in the Journal of State Taxation, the typical American home has an average of $300 in unused or "unredeemed" gift cards. These cards are often misplaced, accidentally thrown out, or only partially redeemed. The article goes on to explain… Between 2005 and 2011 alone, roughly $41 billion in gift cards went unused.

In first hearing the story, I was blown away. I mean I can’t imagine having $300 worth of gift cards that I’ve just misplaced or accidentally thrown out. And the reality is, if I told you that you had say $300 in a gift card to amazon or Walmart somewhere in your home, probably most of us would spend all afternoon looking for this gift card… You see, the value in the gift card would lead your actions to searching for the gift card.

But let me ask you a question for a moment, are we searching for peace this morning? You see, we don’t have to look far. The bible makes it clear what the solution to peace is.

Again, we’re told: 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Church God desires for us to have peace this morning.

You see I’m reminded of Jesus with his disciples in John 16. Shortly before Jesus would be crucified, He would explain to his disciples of his coming crucifixion. And in response, the bible tells us

20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Goes on to explains

31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “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.” Friends, all of us know what it means to have trouble…

But no matter where you are today, His desire is for you to have peace… Friends, are we going to Him?

Take it to the cross… and Leave it there… we tend to go back. And pick it up… (look around a little…)

As we continue discussing our 3 practices of peace, we go from praying for peace. To now, taking action in our thought life.

2 . The Pondering of Peace

And Paul writes, 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

And the question is why does Paul have to encourage the church to take control of their thought life?Yeah, life doesn’t always feel good. Things don’t always go according to what makes sense. And so, he challenges the church, in the midst of oppression and difficulty. Despite persecution, take action on your thought life.

And from here, we’re told whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I want to take just a brief moment and explain these words a little better. First of all, this idea of whatever is true, ultimately refers to the Word of God.

In John 17:17, 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Then we’re introduced to 7 additionalvirtuous categories of the thought life, which are all based on the truth. These include whatever is noble, or things that are worthy of respect. Whatever is right, Or righteous Whatever is Pure (holy, and clean), whatever is lovely, meaning “sweet” “gracious” and “generous”, whatever is admirable things that are highly regarded or thought well of. anything excellent or praiseworthy.

And again, these categories are all reflective of God’s word to us this morning… but here’s the key, we must take action on our thought life. We can’t expect holiness, we certainly can’t expect peace or anything else of Christ if our mind is constantly on worldly things.

You see if you were here last week, you’ll recall that we discussed 3 practices of purity. And we looked at Colossians 3 from a standpoint of holiness in our lives, and how it begins in the mind… But the same is true for peace this morning.Just for a moment I want to go back to Colossians and revisit what we read last week.

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Goes on to say

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

You see church here’s the point, we have as Christians this morning… you were called to peace. This is God’s desire for you this morning. God doesn’t want us to go through life shaken up by everything that happens to us. We’re told: 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts

You see church, there must be a point in our lives. Were in addition to prayer. We must put the word of God into our lives… we must mediate on his word day and night.

And the bible tells us that if we study and live by his word… the result is peace. Psalm 119:165 tells us: 165 Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

I came across a story that explains: We've all been there. Exhausted from the daily grind … Overwhelmed by expectations from work and family and social commitments … Needing the peace and quiet of a nice, structured jail cell … Wait, what?

The Mockingbird blog noted a story about a mock prison where “inmates” pay $90 to spend 24 hours in solitary confinement, away from all phones, clocks, and people. Photographer Kim Hong-Ji shows inmates meditating and resting, depositing cell phones into baskets. I don’t know what this says about me, but it all looks just a little bit wonderful … The facility is called the "Prison Inside Me," and the name seems telling—that the self could be a such prison that we might need to utterly lock-down, in an actual prison, in order to get some rest.

"I was too busy," said Park Hye-ri as she sat in a 54-sq-foot cell. "I shouldn't be here right now, given the work I need to do. But I decided to pause and look back at myself for a better life."

Clients get a blue prison uniform, a yoga mat, tea set, a pen, and notebook. They sleep on the floor. There is a small toilet inside the room, but no mirror. The menu includes steamed sweet potato and a banana shake for dinner and rice porridge for breakfast.

Co-founder Noh Ji-Hyang said the mock prison was inspired by her husband, a prosecutor who often put in 100-hour work weeks. "He said he would rather go into solitary confinement for a week to take a rest and feel better," she said. "That was the beginning." Noh said some customers are wary of spending 24 or 48 hours in a prison cell, until they try it. "After a stay in the prison, people say, 'This is not a prison, the real prison is where we return to,'" she said.

Of course, this is a bit of an extreme example. And I’m not advocating that any of us go out and get arrested after service to experience peace.

But there is something to be said about taking action in our thought life. There is something to be said about

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor 10:5

Take us to our 3rdpoint The Practice of Peace.

Philippians 3:9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

For the sake of time, we won’t spend a lot of time on this last point. But Paul continues in verse 9 and explains Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

You see it’s not just enough to hear a sermon on peace… no you must actually take action in your life.

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:22-25

Friends, do you want Freedom, do you want to be blessed (a synonym happy here), do you want peace. We have to not only here the word of God, but put it into practice…

You see we can know that we’re supposed to pray, we can know that we’re supposed to think about things of the Lord and His word… we can know the truth… but if we never put it into practice, we forget, we miss the most important part. Church, do you want freedom this morning, do you want peace? Put it into practice.

I’m going to call the worship team back up at this time

As they come forward, I want to remind us of the words of Matthew 11:28-30:

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Friends are we doing that this morning?

· Friend maybe you’re here this morning, and life has been weighing you down. For whatever reason you’re anxious.

· Maybe there’s no peace with someone in your life.

· Maybe you haven’t ever really taken action with your thought life. Could be from sin, could be with anxiety, worry and stress. Friends, would we put into practice what God wants to accomplish today.

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. Isaiah 9:6

He is our peace this morning. Would we seek Him?

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Pray