Life Changing Peace

Introduction

Pray over Pete and Pam as Family Zone Mentors

Call Tracey and Sharon up on stage to do it.

A part of leading is acknowleding your weakness and recognising that when it comes to building the house of God - it really is a team effort.

Continuing series on peace - Dan has started us off brilliantly.

Today I want to talk about “Life Changing Peace”

Peace that is not changed by what goes on in our lives, but rather changes the way we go about our lives.

Pray

Segment 1: Peace is not the absence of storms, but the presence of the saviour

Mark 4:35–41 (ESV)

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

This passage traditionally has been used to illustrate the point that “peace is not the absence of storms, but the presence of the saviour”.

This means that our peace should not be defined by our circumstances but by the presence of God.

Because if our peace is rocked by the things that happen around us - then really - how solid is your trust in God?

We should always pay attention to what steals our peace - because these are often the idols and the unhealthy fixations we have in our life.

Isaiah 26:3

Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)

3 You keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on you,

because he trusts in you.

Whatever steals our peace - is what is taking our mind off God. This passage says that perfect peace is a result of the mind being STAYED on God.

So it becomes important for us to ask ourselves - what are the things that steal my peace?

What are the things taking my eyes off Christ? What are the storms or situations in my life that cause me to take my eyes off God?

Segment 2: Peace is the opposite of Security

But you know the more I read this story - something small stood out to me. Did you notice that the disciples woke Jesus up JUST so that He would intervene? “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” - they were demanding peace on their terms. Peace to them, meant safety and calm.

This is something we all tend to do without even realising - we demand peace on our terms (health, finance, jobs, family)

But look at what Jesus does - he challenges their demand wiith a rebuke - “Why are you so afraid? Why so little faith?” Why have you so easily lost your peace?

In this specfic situation - peace was not just about God stepping in to change their circumstance. It was about God challenging their idea of what peace was.

It was about God questioning them - “where do you find your peace? How fickle is your peace if even a storm can break it, when I am right here with you?”

And you know what I’ve realised - very much like the disciples, too often we demand stability and comfort in the place of peace. We think that good health and some wealth is the peace that God wants for us. But that’s not biblical peace - that’s just comfort and stability.

There is a danger with idolising comfort and stability: We lose our fire for God over fear of getting burned, we stop our giving for risk of running out, we stop pursuing God over danger of getting tired - because we learn to value comfort and stability over the presence of God - and we try to pass this off as “peace”.

There is nothing inherently wrong with comfort and stability UNTIL we mistake them for peace.

QUOTE: Dietrich Boenhoffer

Dietrich Boenhoffer has one of my favourite quotes of all time about peace. He said, “Peace is the opposite of security”

Comfort and stability are so transient - we will all lose our comfort and stabiliity multiple times over the course of our lives.

If that is where we find our peace - then we can expect to lose our peace constantly.

The peace that God offers transcends understanding - it therefore transcends our situations and our circumstances.

You know a good way to know whether your peace is from God? If your peace has cost you your fire for God, if it has dulled our faith - then it is not a peace from God. Peace from God will never lead you away from Him.

ILLUSTRATION: Riptides

I really don’t like the beach - as a rule. Sand, wetness, noise, sunburn. Like congrats to all those guys who got baptised 2 weeks ago, such an epic day - and I’m sold on beach baptisms; but you didn’t have to get beaten around by waves for an hour and swallow like a litre of salt water.

Anyway - one of the main reasons I really don’t like the beach is the presence of these things called “rips” or “riptides”. They’re actually portions of the water that look deceptively calm next to the crashing waves. However the reason they look calm is because there’s a very strong current flowing in ONE direction - out to sea.

I’ve personally watched friends get caught in these rips - all strong swimmers, who are just helplessly carried out to sea despite trying their best to swim back to shore. It’s so counterintuitive that the safest place to swim at the beach is actually in and amongst the crashing waves - because there is no underlying current there.

But I see that in our search for peace too. So often we look at the calm waters of stability and comfort and we just assume they are the best places to swim. When actually they are the fastest ways to get carried away from God.

True peace can be found when we cling to God in the crashing waves of challenge and trial - because that’s when we discover that He really is enough.

Segment 3: Peace turns Prison in to a place of praise

You know a good test to differentiate between true peace and just comfort/security? Peace does not yield to circumstances, it allows us to overcome them.

A great example of true peace is found when Paul and Silas are cast into prison in Acts.

Acts 16:25–31 (ESV)

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

First thing to note: praying and singing hymns to God despite being wrongly imprisoned. Pretty decent indicator that Paul and Silas were at peace.

Another interesting point to note is that the other prisoners were listening to them. Peace is attractive - it draws people toward it.

When we have peace in our lives, it’s noticeable, it’s attractive, people question where you get your peace, how can you be at peace.

the darker the situation you are in - the brighter your peace shines to those around you. The more attractive it is.

Despite their bad circumstances, their unjust imprisonment and the terrible state of the prison - they still maintained their peace.

They were not prisoners to their circumstance - peace had transcended their comfort and security.

Their peace did not yield to their circumstance - Instead it helped them to overcome their circumstance.

Peace had turned their prison into a place of praise

Peace actually has the ability to turn whatever trial or valley you are going through into a place of praise.

It has the ability to turn any financial hardship, any illness, any depression, any relationship failure, any situation - into an place of praise.

Peace gives us the ability to praise God - even when circumstances make it seem like we shouldn’t.

I feel like this is so powerful because praising God in the valley is one of the greatest forms of surrender. It’s like saying “come what may God - I still choose to trust you”

Picture Paul and Silas in prison - singing praises to God. They may be in prison - but they’re not prisoners to their circumstance.

Praising God realigns our perspective to God’s, it injects hope into our spirit, it invites God to take control, it is a powerful expression of trust.

That is why Paul asks us in Thessalonians “rejoice always, give thanks in ALL circumstances”

Focus on your giants and you will stumble, focus on God and your giants will tumble - Max Lucado

We cannot control the hardships we face in life - but we can control the way we respond to them. Peace turns prisons into places of praise.

Segment 4: Peace allows us to see God’s purpose

But perhaps the most powerful commentary on their peace is the fact that even when that Earthquake came, and the doors flung open, and the shackles came off their hands - they still chose to stay in that prison.

They could have run - they could have escaped, and yet they did not even try to.

Why would they not run? Because even though they may have been in a prison - they never felt trapped. Peace allowed them to see that God had a purpose for them being there.

Instead of succumbing to the situation, instead of becoming affected by the situation, they were able to affect the situation.

Not only did they stay until the jailer found them - they stopped him from killing himself, led him to Christ, led his household to Christ, and then went on to baptise his entire family and have dinner together.

If they had run from the prison, for whatever reason, they would have missed God’s purpose!

See when we don’t have peace in our lives - we can become a prisoner to our circumstances so easily. And when that happens we so often miss what God is trying to do in our lives, what His purpose is in that particular season/prison.

ILLUSTRATION: Dan’s Phone Call

Everyone knows that peace is one of Dan’s things. One of the reasons I put this series here is actually because I want to learn from Dan - I want to catch what he’s got to say on peace. Because I see that it’s just something so evident in his life. Like almost to an ANNOYING level - when stuff is happening and the deadlines are approaching and the people start screaming and running around - Dan will be sleeping on the couch you know what I mean? But a part of me really admires it - like I want to catch it. Some of it.

A couple of weeks ago - I was on the phone with Dan, and it was a typical conversation where both of us were talking nonsense to each other. And I brought up a situation with someone who was frustrating me - nothing huge, but I expressed my frustration with them. And I noticed that Dan was unusually silent. No witty remark, no backhanded comment.

And then after a while he responded to me by just saying, “You know, it sounds like that person could use some love from you. Like that’s an opportunity to minister to them and win them over.” And I thought on it for a second and realised - man he’s so right. How did I miss that??

And then Dan just said, “Maybe you need to work on not losing your peace so easily.”

And I realised that he was right - it’s so crazy that even in this GOOD season, I had allowed such a small issue to steal my peace. I had allowed my circumstances to affect my peace. And because of that I had lost sight of what God wanted me to do in this particular situation.

I’m so challenged by Paul and Silas in this passage - how deep must their peace flow, if even when the prison doors opened - they didn’t make a run for it.

How easily do we let the smallest things steal our peace from us?

Segment 5: Peace allows us to perceive what fear hides

You know - Paul and Silas, they had a peace that allowed them to see God’s plan and opportunity in their situation.

In 2 Kings 6:15-17 the prophet Elisha faces a threat when the King of Syria had surrounded Israel with their army. Let’s read about what happens:

2 Kings 6:15–17 (ESV)

15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Peace allows us to perceive what fear hides.

The servant - in his fear could only see what man can see. He saw an army, he saw they were surrounded, he saw a hopeless situation.

But Elisha was completely at peace “Do not be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Even BEFORE Elisha prayed for the servant’s eyes to be opened - he had already perceived the Lord’s army surrounding the entire battlefield.

Our fear stops us from perceiving what peace would reveal

Just like that servant - when we are fearful - we only see what is visible, we fail to perceive anything more than what man would think of the situation, we come to man-made conclusions

Peace does the opposite - peace allows us to see the hidden realities of God are greater than any visible opposition.

Peace allows us to see that God has a plan in every season, a purpose in every prison, a hope in every valley.

The waves may be crashing, the prison walls may be closing in - but the one who trusts in God will never lose their peace. They will never succumb to their situation - no trial will ever overpower them. They will overcome, time and time again.

ILLUSTRATION: David Cheong

I personally encountered one of the greatest living examples of this peace in a boy from my last church - his name was David. See, around a year and a half ago when David was just 7 years old he was diagnosed with a disease called DIPG (Difuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma). It’s a tumour in the brain stem. If you look it up, it’s one of the few conditions in the world with a recorded survivability rate of 0%. The average life expectancy ranges from 8 months to 2 years from diagnosis and death comes by slow loss of function as the tumour grows and takes over crucial parts of the brain. There is no cure, and it is inoperable. When it comes to feeling helpless in the face of sickness - this pretty much beats everything you can think of. Imagine being told when you turn 7 that you have a year to live, and there is nothing that you can do about that.

David’s parents are two of the bravest people I know. Instead of approaching this defeated and instead of blaming God for this situation; they chose to trust in God. Even though the suffering was immense for them and for David, they always chose to trust in God - and used it as an opportunity to show everyone what real faith looks like. They weren’t here to play Christian, they weren’t Christian because it was convenient, they held tight to their profession of faith, and showed the rest of us what it really means to be Christian. You know they came to church with David every single week without fail, even as the disease continued to progress into its final stages, even when the tumour and radiation therapy had caused his face to swell to double its size, even when he couldn’t walk on his own anymore and had to be pushed around in a wheelchair, even when he was having seizures that were causing him to black out at random intervals, even though they couldn’t make it through a single service without weeping - they were there at church with David.

On January the 24th earlier this year, David went home to be with the Lord. You know I realised that I never once heard him complain, say it was unfair, curse God, nothing. My wife, who’s a doctor, told me that the specialist who was in charge of David at the hospital (who isn’t a believer), was so moved by David’s faith. She said despite seeing so many people on their deathbed she had never met anyone like David. She said his faith was so real - he knew that he was going to see Jesus, and he was excited for it.

I’ll never forget this one week last year, I was preaching on the topic of peace at my previous church. I spoke about how God was our refuge, and how He gives us peace in the middle of our storms - and then I did an altar call for anybody who wanted to seek that peace in their season of storm and suffering. David’s dad, Marcus, later told me that he turned to David during the altar call and asked him, “Son, do you want to respond to the altar call?” And David’s simple response to him was, “no need Dad, I already have peace.”

True peace cannot be stolen - even in the face of death.

Our Peace is not found in the absence of trial - but in )the presence of our Saviour.

Altar Call

Pray for peace over those who are walking in the storm.

Sing prince of peace

Encourage people to praise - even if they’re in a prison situation.