Pursuing Peace
And we are like like you've been gradually reopening and it's been it's been good to put songs. I have a freshman and sophomore and now they've been fortunate that their school's been in person. Most the are most kids in Chicago have been in kind of a hybrid kind of situation and in so it's just been a bit a different year. But if you were to sit with me on a typical week in a counseling office in you and you just happened to be sitting next to me and being my co-pilot for counseling and you and you were to listen to the heartache in the situation that come into my office every week. You'd realized something pretty quickly that piece is hard to find. Bet that both peace within our soul in in peace with others. It's hard to find it. And in that many people are searching for peace and panic people are Longing For Peace, but many people are not finding it and aren't experiencing it. And so what we want to do within this series is we want to ask the question.
How do we how do we find peace we find peace in our souls? How can we find peace both within us and around us and in and I couldn't help but think that if we're going to talk about peace don't know you got to think about where where does pizza come from? And in ultimately as you read through as you read through the scriptures that you begin to find that that God is a god this passionate about peace and up many years ago a popular music artists sang out the phrase Peaceful Easy Feeling some of you may think of even the tune that the comes to mind with that but it describes the state of mind that we find so elusive in real life. If you look back over this past recent years, we live in a world riddled with conflict danger controversy distractions peace doesn't really seem to describe the experience of many of us. If I asked how's your week going? How many would say my week was peaceful? Well, not too many. A&n we struggle to to to find peace and reality peace has always been hard for every country culture in churches to find we buy many churches have been divided and not lacking Peace during this time. And so today we're going to focus on peace and how to experience more of it. But in our Pursuit Of Peace, we have to realize something it is more than a feeling of call more Tranquility pieces more than good luck or being blessed. Peace is also more than avoiding. Conflict or War. When in the Bible did the concept of pieces to main understandings two ways that the guy talks about pees and it says we need to experience peace as a position. And the disposition position is we are confident that God is a god of peace and that he has brought peace to us and that peace is possible the disposition of Peace. He is more better attitude in in the experience of Peace. We we have in our personal lives. So how would we Define it? The position of peace is the absence of conflict which results in living in a close relationship with God. The disposition of peace is experiencing contentment in my soul that leads to Greater Joy. My wife displayed in quiet trust that allows me to thrive no matter what my circumstances
Guess that there's a contentment I trust in your soul no matter the circumstances. None of us can achieve that disposition of Peace Puli on Ellen everyday. God is calling us to be people who pursue peace and God offers to us. Peace in both these ways and to what I want to do this morning is I want to unpack the heart of God when it comes to peace like I want you to be convinced of it by the time we're done this morning that God has got a piece and then if I want peace in my life, I can't find it in a park that I can't find it. Just in retreating but I can't find it just in quiet. But ultimately if we want peace and wife we're going to have to be confident about who God is and what he has done and it's going to come from an active faith and trust in what God has done for us to God offers to us. Peace in both these ways. He calls us to pursue peace in the word of God gives us an understanding of the importance of peace and the way to obtain it. In fact got offers this piece. That's perfect. Turn your bibles if you can do Isaiah 26 chapter 3
Want to talk about P. Some of you may have assumed this is a passage that I was going to.
That was going to reference but Isaiah 26 verse 3.
The prophet speaking about God says this you keep him. In perfect. Peace Whose mind is stayed on you? Because he trust in you. It's quite the claim to be able to offer someone perfect. Peace, isn't it? Turkey that there's a peace of God. That's perfect. We don't experience it perfectly cuz we're not perfect people but but ultimately offers just perfect peace and any says that is directly related to how our thinking and our trust relates to what God has done is quite the queen but it but it's honestly it's difficult to reconcile with her personal experiences. Fitbit that we don't experience is perfect peace and in the way that it would seem like we might could and so today we're thinking about how to pursue peace in us and through us and around us. How do we be people a piece and it's fitting that this topic Falls right after Easter because Easter really is all about got passion to pursue peace in the world in a culture where Jesus lived and died and rose again piece was hard to find as well and when Jesus offered peace and misunderstanding about how peace would come to pass. And Jesus teaching on peas might seem to contradict if you listen to the even these two verses you think about Matthew. 10:34. Jesus said this do not think that I have come to bring peace on the Earth. Since your passage did I have not come to bring peace but a sword. John 16:33. He said this I've said these things to you that you meant that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world. I'm not really about peace, but I got to come to bring you peace. There's clearly something going on here. It is to what Jesus is differentiating between some Jesus differentiating between the peace that is part of the Eternal kingdom of God vs. The piece that we can experience while here in the Kingdom of Earth. John. 14:27 says peace I leave with you my peace. I give to you not as the world gives gives do I give to you let not your hearts be troubled neither. Let them be afraid Romans. 14:17 says for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus is offering to us a piece that is better than an Earthly. Peace. He's offering to us a piece that that is it in our spirit in our soul to eat. He's saying that you fundamentally in the person that you are your your turtle Soul can be experienced can be right with God can be experienced in peace to Jesus is offering this a better piece a perfect. Peace because there's a piece of will never end and it's a piece that would never disappoint. It's a piece that comes from living in right relationship with God is it the piece that comes from pursuing a wife that are according to his priorities in order to understand what Jesus was teaching me? You need to fully understand what the Bible teaches about the importance of peace and it's what I want to walk through right now is just four ways that got fired up about peas. What are for what are four principles in four ways that God is involved with peace in the first is this piece is desired by God With Us. Pieces Desire by God With Us you consider it and we're going to be hopping around it in and I'm going to read some of these passes you you don't need to turn to all of them. But I just want you to listen it as we understand a little bit more about the God of Peace this morning enemies. We were reconciled to God by by the death of his son much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his wife more than that? We also rejoice and got throat War Christ Jesus when we have now received reconciliation. So there is this understanding with inscription the one we are born and when we are at War we are enemies of God. Those from military background understand you have to clearly defined who your enemy is in here. Jesus makes it clear. That that we are living we are living at enmity with God but God desires. Peace with us pieces of characteristic of who got his it is it is his desire to live at peace with his creation just get that Jesus came into the world that did not have peace. That that's true sleeping all of us. All of us are lacking that the piece that that God offers until we accept the peace that he gives but the piece was not just because the Romans and other neighboring countries couldn't quite get along but rather the whole earth was groaning under the weight of sin and hostility towards God the selfishness and pain that destroys piece was brought about by our sin. So when Jesus is talking about PC he's saying it's more than a political reality. It is more than simply the circumstances around us. He's saying that peace is something that we need. We need to be made right with God. We need to stop being enemies of God the selfishness and pain that destroys peace were brought about by our sin. And our only solution for peace is that are selfish and sinful hearts are restored to peace with God responding by faith do what he did on the cross transforms that's forming enemies of God to what does it say in Matthew 5:9 blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God that you transition from being an enemy of God to being a child of God.
Hit hit hit that you are adopted into his family. The god of the universe is not desire to be your enemy. But desires for you to receive your check for you to be his child and receive your full inheritance. That's the offer peace that the god of the universe wants a peaceful relationship with you. God desires peace with you. No, you didn't just desire it though. What is Easter ultimately about pieces pursued? I got towards house. Pursue did Isaiah 53:5 but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds. We are healed Romans 5:1 says therefore since we have been justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ just with the loss of fellowship with this creation. God was determined motivated to the people that have in Jesus Took what he took our place. Insecure the possibility of peace with God Jesus came to be with us. He died in our place and granted us a possibility for Guinness in a right relationship with God. This is ultimately why we have a choice to receive or reject the offer of peace.
But here's the question. Will we humble ourselves and put off our self-righteous attempts to please God or or have you accepted the peace that God offers you? So what's the problem with our peace is it that we're living in a man if he was God God's so compassionate that he chose to pursue us and he wants peace with us and he sent his son to die on the cross for us and we would Easter is about peace is pursued by God towards us. Repeat pieces you can get in the third Prince was pieces given by God to us what Pac-12 grace to you and peace for my from God our father in the Lord Jesus Christ again. You see the source of peace again. It is from Christ put Neosporin on what you have learned in received in her to be practicing in the God of Peace will be with you. So God desires peace. He pursues peace and offers peace when we respond by faith and follow him. So drop by with you, if you look at the word peace and you study at you'll see that the authors of the Bible often offer peace to people they offer peace is a gift and it is often the greeting and it's an understanding of who they are in Light of Christ. You see they could give this get to peace because they've received this gift of peace and Jesus is offering this peace to you as well. You know some of us to live with the fear of an angry and distant God. It will convince it that God would not want to be our friend.
it ain't a talk with many that they're worried that they you know, what when I talk to them about their faith in and even in the midst of accounting process, didn't they begin to share that did see who they when they lay in their bed, and I wonder if God really desires to love them and know them they doubt that and ultimately what I want you do to realize this morning is that God offers peace to us all God offers the ability to have a relationship a right relationship with him got offers that piece that transforms our understandings. Why don't we just eat this God give us peace. But he makes this clay meeces pieces guaranteed by God for us. Pieces often found within Covenant language within a futuristic understanding of what's going to happen in the world Hebrews 13 2021 to test out now may the God of Peace who brought again from the dead our world Jesus Christ the great Shepherd of the Sheep by the blood of the Eternal Covenant equip you with every good thing that that you make do his will working in us that is which is pleasing the site to Christ Jesus who be glory forever and ever again hear you see this this understanding that the God of Peace is going to ensure it's going to create the promise it is going to fulfill the promise of the Covenant Romans 16:20. The God of Peace will soon Crush Satan under your feet and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you again, you see you see this phrase the God of Peace talking about are guaranteed future saying that you can have a different future with Christ. so we may look around and wonder if there's ever going to be peace on Earth. Dr12 that exists craziness ever going to end. I can say is it going to be like it's 2021 going to be? better than 20/20 and it will what will my soul ever get back to a point where I'm not constantly alerted and constantly frustrated with the state of the world around me. And we wanted to Separate Peace on Earth and in Jesus hints here that someday we will have a vastly different experience. But someday your your peace will come from a vastly different experience. There's coming a day when we're in God's promise of peace on Earth will be fully realized where sin will not destroy where governments will no longer destroy. Peace. And Jesus reminded his followers that no one knows the exact time. What is coming soon that there will be a time when peace on Earth will be fully realized in Jesus reminds his followers. No one knows the exact time but brighter days are ahead for those who are at peace with God adopted into his family and right with him through the finished work of Christ.
Is it the promise of God's peace that you're looking in anticipation for a car? Are you anticipating the peace of God? So if we're going to pursue peace in a world gone mad, you're the point of the first part of my message is that we need to go to the one who promised is at. Peace. We need to go to the one who has the power to give us. Peace. We need to go to the one who is able to give us peace that can transform both our individual selves and in our culture. We're going to pursue peace in a world gone mad. We need to remember where peace comes from guitar Peace doesn't come just from finding your favorite place or finding your favorite Tunes or putting on noise cancelling headphones as wonderful as those are on an airplane. Okay? But peace comes from God. Peace comes from a right relationship with God that that we are confident that we are adopted and accepted in his family.
It's so much of what we deal with in counseling when I deal with this account for his people trying to find peace everywhere else, but God.
Trying to find peace on a horizontal level the trying to find peace in the circumstances trying to find peace and better strategies. They're trying to find peace and substances trying to find peace and relationships trying to find peace in all different places. And in there not finding it because ultimately they've got to remember where the source of pieces and they've got to work on their relationship with God or perhaps become a child of God for the first place. Now if you believe that what what's the problem? 12 pieces Desire by God, but we often do instead. We often choose distraction. You seconds Thessalonians. 3:16 Says now may the Lord of Peace give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. That's quite that's again. That's quite the I could quite the aspiration there isn't it that you experience peace at all times in every way experienced at this week? piece of all times in every way But again, like we will even this in this reality where we we can't quite where we don't we haven't cheap Perfection but boring process, but but we choose distractions rather than choosing to go to peace with a guy with God nothing but some of the attractions in this passage 2nd Thessalonians Paul was giving a warning against disregarding the instruction to be productive. In choosing to make a little impact in the world where gotten place them. There was people who basically said you don't got coming back. It doesn't matter what I do got going to come in and take care of peace and in so they chose to be idle. They chosen to just stop working for the kingdom of God that they had just isolated and retreated in into into their own world.
It's interesting that you mention to parallels for kulve didn't there I paint because one of the Tendencies relate with in call big was he didn't want you at work all dude to retreat were called the ice labor called the world, right? Because we don't want to make others sick yet yet as we reopen and as we move back into wife.
God calls us not to be people are isolated or lazy. He called us not to be distracted. He said pieces Rob by distractions and rather than serving others and winning others to Christ. Some Believers had chosen to be selfish rely upon others to do the work and justify it was religious reasoning that God was coming back soon. Anyway by pretty strong words. Remind them that we are called to represent Christ do a dark and Dying World now hear me. I'm not disregarding health and safety and and recognized it were called in different ways different people calling different ways to do different things. But but we've been distracted over this last year as a culture. We found many different distractions you think about it for different attractions at distractions in my culture.
How many of you find yourself in a position of being distracted by the culture around us. Now? You see the culture changing you see Injustice increasing you see selfishness accelerating some of you frankly didn't like me we get sad. Can you walk around all day and you watch the news and and there's their sadness? Because we see things not going well. And truthfully we can get focus on the distraction of what's going on in our culture. And what's the latest outrage of the week? And if you if you open up Twitter this morning, I'm sure you could find it. What should we be angry about this week? And in our culture is cultivating a culture of distraction. In-N-Out rage and attention God calls us to get back to the work of the Kingdom. Causes to get back to being people that that are peacemakers in the world. Waiting for distraction to my body. Substance abuse and addiction in general Skyrocket in this past year can't tell you how many people I counseled who struggled when they got a stimulus check put into their bank account.
Because addictions were a major struggle. Now we can say that you know for political reasons. I am not commenting on the validity of stimulus checks. Okay. I'm just saying you can imagine if you're somebody who's who's holding on for sobriety with all your efforts and someone gives you free money. Temptation in a challenge I think we all agree with that right addictions and substance abuse skyrocketed in general over the past year people without time people people with a lots of time and staying at home. I can tell you that that I've seen it more than ever even among Christians over this past year, but self-injury and self-harm and suicide reach record highs. Incivility in Discord seem to be the new Norm anxiety that resulted from that and in so sometimes we can be our own worst distractions so I can the peace of God. Sometimes it's an experience within our own physical bodies like we're distracted by what's going on. And so again, if we're going to have peace at all times and every way we're going to have to put aside the distractions of a culture even the distractions of our body and you think about the next one distraction to my schedule one of the hardest parts when I talk to parents about the last year, it's just the destructive nature of my schedule it in each when turned upside down grandparents unable to see DC grandkids college students only able to leave their dorms military families disconnected with with leaves that have been cancelled Farmers unsure of what the market will bear and churches uncertain of being shut down you think about every culture it every person that I counsel of his past year was affected by what we went through.
And our schedules and other things have been turned upside down. There's not one person in this room who didn't have a disrupted wife in some way. And because God made our bodies to thrive on patterns of rest routine and relationships many struggled with mental struggles, perhaps faced even a greater test isn't certainty further destabilize there thinking so there's the distraction to live our schedule distractions of her mind with the hardest parts of this last year is knowing where to focus our needs and what did think about you think about misinformation over the last year and anxiety flooding news technology suffocating us we struggle to find quiet. We struggle to find time to think free from distractions, perhaps more than ever the discipline of a quiet time and prayer is more important than ever to get that. The discipline of taking time to quiet your heart and your mind in prayer and in the scriptures in spending time with God if free from distractions, so we're going to be people who pursue peace. We're going to be people who take an honest. Look of the distractions in our life.
And we recognize that piece of Desire by God towards us he wants peace with us yet. We find ourselves in the Destroyer world of distraction. God desires for us to experience peace in at all times in every way and we can Retreat we can't Retreat to a Mountaintop or a cave. You can't you can't just Retreat from wife. We have to learn to minimize our distractions so we can experience peace. We have to learn how to prioritize the better things. We remember and enjoy God and every year of our life. The second principle that was that that we we talked about his pieces pursued by God. But we often choose Rebellion. We often choose Rebellion. I remember counseling a man several years ago in my counseling office and he he came in and he was looking for some help on how to he's looking for some help on how to deal with his wife and he wanted to get his wife to be able to listen to him to cooperate with him a little bit better and he felt like there was a stress and attention and a lack of peace. And so he made his case along with me for several sessions and then later he asked if his wife could join us and she reluctantly agreed but she clearly painted a different picture than what the husband at painted in the first multiple sessions with me. Know what you painted the picture of was horrific manipulation physical abuse Financial foolishness and callous disregard. That would be a fair and accurate way to describe the way that he had a wet his home. And if we walk through that and she spoke with such a Clarity and in he she possibly had to agree that this was accurate. That this was in fact the way that he had gone about leading his family and his home his children would no longer talk to him. His wife wanted little to do with him and in so we walk through how God has a better plan that it would require significant work. If you was going to repair the harm that he had done to his family and he was going to have peace with his family again. We going to walk through what he would have to do it and he made a statement to me that I will never forget. It Stephen he looked at me right in the eye and he said if I listen to you, I'm going to have to change the entire way that I treat my wife.
But that's a true statement, sir.
That that is absolutely the truth.
And he said I'm not willing to do that.
And he stood up. And walked out of my office shaking his head. You know, sometimes we don't experience the peace of God because we're living the Rebellion against God. He was experiencing peace of God in his wife an interpersonal level in a marriage level on a Stanley level. Why he's holding the Rebellion against God because he knew we got through calling to do and in the truth is that discomfort can be a blessing God allows discomfort as a result of the Rebellion. God allows difficulties as a result of a rebellion. And discomfort can be a blessing God doesn't want our lives to feel peaceful. When we blatantly disregard what God has called us to do. So, I'm not saying this is morning cuz Clint told me there's people in the church living rebellion in the day. I'm going to start pointing fingers. Okay, I'm not doing that in what happened in Xperia too much about my life and I don't feel real close to him. And really I kind of know the reason why cuz I'm stuck in Chains. I'm stuck in bondage. I feel distant from God and so we all struggle with your volume at times but piece was pursued by God so that we could be right with him. However, we still can act like enemies of God, even though we are saved during seasons of our life. Jesus talked about the hard-heartedness that can set in in relationships families in careers that are destroyed by Rebellion against what we know God has said, Two pieces pursued by God God wants peace with us. He wants to have a right relationship with us. He invited his 11 father. Do you have a relationship with him? Get in Isaiah 48-22 he gives us a warning. He says there is no peace says the Lord For The Wicked. ketchup warning I just want peace for the wicked experience peace to those who willfully reject God.
Next principal is pieces given by God, but we often choose why we often choose selfishness instead. James 3 says this jealousy and selfish ambition exist. There will be disorder and every vile practice, but the wisdom from above is first Peaceable and gentle and open to reason for mercy and good fruits impartial and sincere. Looking for looking to sell for peace tend to only make matters worse. He says there's his jealousy and selfish ambition that exists within our hearts that only God can cure. It's interesting. He says what happens when when that jealousy and selfish ambition takes over. He says he'll be this order will be chaos, vial practice. Like your home will not be peaceful. Your relationships will not be peace. Go to have wisdom those who understand the peace of God. Did that their first pure and Peaceable and gentle open a reason you think about how would transform the conflicts in relationships if people would just live out those principles being peace peace and gentle and open a reason for dads get yourself that test real quick. Are you Peaceable gentle open to reason? full of Mercy Is that the experience of your kids have with you or they have the experience it that your expectations matter more to you. Then then your relationship in Ultimate. God calls us to be people of Peace. He says peace is getting my God, but we choose selfishness instead it rather than going to come to God for a piece. We choose to try to get it on a horizontal level. What last one is this piece of Guaranty Bank. But we often choose doubt. We often choose doubt. Isaiah 9:7 success of the increase of his government in the peace. There will be no wind on the throne of David over his kingdom to establish it and don't hold it with Justice and with righteousness from this time and forever more the Zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Peace is guaranteed by God. And yet one of the challenges and choices of Faith. It's are we going to believe that the Zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this at that. God will bring about peace but on a personal level to some extent here on Earth, but ultimately the gods can bring about peace in internal sense. We can experience the peace of God what weather that's in this wife or whether it's in the next partially in his wife and fully in the next the peace is guaranteed bad guy, but we often choose doubt. We often choose not to trust that God is going to follow through with promises that he's made. Resultantly what what brings you peace in the middle of the night? What brings you peace in the middle of the night? It is a trust and a confidence that God will do it. God will follow through the promises that he's made that I don't need the temporary circumstances and in the circumstances of this world in order to have a peace within my own heart and within my own soul. Fitbit that peace comes from God and when we go to God with for peace and we understand what he's done, we don't doubt him. We trust him now is hear me not saying if you doubt God that somehow you're bad Christian. I'm not saying that because we all go through periods of doubt it in frankli. That's all of us as you wander like in my alone in that know you're not alone in doubting at times the promises of God, but God calls us to trust him in the more than we trust in his promises the more that we see him as the faithful God that he is the more that we experience. Peace on a personal level challenges I and this morning Have you ever gone to peace? Have you ever gone to God and accepted the piece that he offers? Have you received the peace that Jesus offers to you? He says that we are born and send we are born enemies of God in that Altima. He sent his son to die on the cross to the we can have peace with him.
Many of you have done that. Perhaps are some here. We've never done that. Calls you can we go out to talk to you further about what that means. Didn't how to how to embrace that. But even if we talked about peace today, I just want to be reminded of this that we have peace because of the good news. We have peace because of the gospel because of what Jesus has done peace is possible quote within us and around us. And ultimately peace is guaranteed by God, but even the pieces we can achieve here on this Earth. We will be granted in eternity and that we will find peace even if it is you do in the Eternal Kingdom. So what's trust got to be the source of peace it in a little bit about how do we how does our understanding of what God has done in in the piece that he offers us? How do we find Hope in the midst of the emotions that we experience in everyday life and do a little bit of work on just understanding. How did the emotions impact or how does the peace of God impact emotions and experience that we have to pray and that caused our time out this morning. Thank you that you are a God of Peace. Get your fired up about peace. You desire. Peace. Peace cost you but you still chose to pursue it. And God, we are grateful God help us to live in gratitude for the peace that you have provided God help us to live with an understanding of the peace. That is possible because of the relationship we have with you in your name. Amen.