Peace Is An Inner Reality

Acts 16:16-34

There once was a king who announced a painting contest. He was building a new palace, and he wanted the main entrance hall to be decorated with a large work of art. The king envisioned his kingdom as a peaceful land, so whoever’s painting best symbolized peace would win a large cash prize. Over the next few months, hundreds of paintings arrived at the palace. The king decided on the top two. Before announcing a winner, he hung both paintings in the palace for public viewing.

The first painting was of a majestic lake, so tranquil and still that the lush hills behind it were perfectly mirrored in its reflection. The sky was a brilliant blue with soft, puffy clouds floating above. Wildflowers bursting with color outlined the lake, and a family of deer calmly grazed in a far meadow. All who saw it felt peace and happiness.
The second painting portrayed a tall mountain cliff, rugged and strong. A few small trees grew out of the cracks of the face of the cliff, with gnarled roots clinging for life. A foamy waterfall angrily crashed down the cliff and into the rocky land below. Above, dark ominous clouds loomed, and in the distance lightning flashed. Halfway up the cliff grew a small bush. In its branches, a bird sat in a nest apparently warming her eggs.
After several weeks, the king declared the second painting the winner. Confused and upset, the people asked the king to explain his decision. He said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is a state of mind. Those who experience peace have love in their hearts even when turmoil surrounds them.”

Peace is an inner reality. You can have a tranquility of heart, mind, and soul even when conflict and crisis is breaking out all around you. When everyone else panics, you can be a person of peace. Here in America we enjoy historically unprecedented security from warfare, but could be really say that the average person in the country enjoys personal peace? Let’s figure out how to accomplish this by going to God’s word, the Bible. We’re going to focus in on a story that provides …

1. A Portrait of Peace

As we join the story we find Paul and Silas spreading the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ to the city of Philippi. They had with them a young man by the name of Luke who provides us with a first hand eyewitness account of the incident.

Acts 16:16-24 (NLT) One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed along behind us shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”

This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and spoke to the demon within her. “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,” he said. And instantly it left her. Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted. “They are teaching the people to do things that are against Roman customs.”

A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So he took no chances but put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

If you were paying attention you probably noticed that, so far, this does not fit with what we’d think of as peace. Just the opposite. Stalked for days by a demon-possessed woman, unjustly arrested, falsely accused, attacked by a mob, beaten with wooden rods, thrown into a dark prison that smelled of urine, feces and sweat with your feet locked into stocks just to make sure you don’t get comfortable – take all this with the fact that in those days you didn’t go to jail to serve time, you waited for execution or release, and you don’t have the hallmarks of what our culture pictures as peace.

But remember my title. Peace is an inner reality. If you have peace on the inside it really doesn’t matter what’s going on around you. Paul and Silas had this peace. You’ll see it clearly in just a moment. Their circumstances were miserable, but they had peace because they were able to …

2. Flow in the Spirit of Peace.

Look what happened next: Acts 16:25-26 Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! (NLT)

Notice that they were enjoying peace before the chains fell off. In the midst of awful circumstances, what did they do? They prayed and sang hymns. It is evident that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Peace himself was flowing through them. Jesus promised his followers that because they believed in him, he’d send his Spirit to live in and through them. He described the Holy Spirit’s presence as a refreshing experience like streams of living water flowing out of the heart. What we see here is Paul and Silas enjoying that inner reality. How else can you explain a revival service at midnight in the grime of stinking jailhouse?

Jesus said that all of his followers could expect this kind of peace because if flows from the Spirit of Peace who would indwell them.

[Jesus said]“The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:26-27 (NIV)

If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ the peace of the Holy Spirit is within you. The problem is that many times we just don’t flow in it. We let the circumstances build a dam and dry us out. Sometimes you have to take active steps to tear down the worries and anxieties to get in touch with the peace of God again. One way is through prayer. That’s exactly what Paul and Silas did in that dark dungeon.

Some years later, Paul even wrote about the need to pray and get the flow of peace moving again. He eventually established a church in Philippi and here’s what he wrote them: Philippians 4:6-7, Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

I can’t completely explain it, but simply going to God is a peace producing experience. Recently there was a relationship problem that was causing me a lot of anxiety. I didn’t know what to do, so I told Donna I needed to get away. Anytime I say that it’s code for “I’m going to go and pray.” I was seeking God and he answered me pretty clearly. I came back home peaceful. I’ve got to tell you though that I don’t always get an answer, but I do get peace even if I can’t see the solution clearly. When circumstances disturb your peace follow Paul and Silas’ example. Let prayer restore your peace.

What else did Paul and Silas do in that jail cell? They sang to the Lord. Praising God, thanking him, worshiping him also opens the flow of peace. Again, I can’t comprehend, much less explain this mystery, but somehow lifting our praises to the Lord fills us more completely with God’s Spirit. He, in turn, ratchets up the peace. Look again at how Paul describes the process: … let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. Ephesians 5:18-19 (NLT)

He tells us to let the Holy Spirit fill us and then he tells us how – praising God. I sued to think that people singing and worshiping God with freedom and abandon was a sign that he was filling them. Now I’ve come to understand that the more we give ourselves over to him in worship, the more of himself he gives to us.

I can also tell you from experience that reading and meditating on the Bible stirs up the peace of the Holy Spirit as well. Paul and Silas didn’t have a copy with them in jail. (They were probably stripped of their possession beforehand.) But I think it’s a pretty safe bet that they were reminding one another of the promises found in God’s word. Paul wrote about the practice of going to the scriptures to find peace Colossians 3:16: Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. (NLT) Notice that he puts Bible reading and meditation right up there with praise. It opens the flow of peace from the Holy Spirit, among other things. Recent studies on Bible reading back this concept up.

Tyndale House Publishers found evidence that reading the Bible promotes a positive outlook. According to a study they commissioned with the Barna Research Group:
Eighty-two percent of regular Bible readers described themselves as "at peace" compared to 58 percent of those who said they never read the Bible. Seventy-eight percent of regular Bible readers said they felt "happy" all or most of the time compared to 67 percent of nonreaders. Sixty-eight percent of regular Bible readers said they were "full of joy" compared to 44 percent who said they never read the Bible.

At the very least reading the Bible provides peace because it tells us the ultimate end of all things. Here’s what I’ve concluded from my 31 years of Bible reading, meditation, and study: We win. No matter what happens, nothing can separate God’s children from him. Circumstances could result in my immediate death, but it just doesn’t matter. God’s word promises the peace of life with him forever just because we believe.

Now let’s jump back to our heroes. They’re flowing in the Spirit of Peace and God miraculously intervenes with an earthquake. The prison doors fly open, the shackles are loosened and the chains fall off. What we see next is an extension of Paul and Silas’ inner peace. They demonstrate it outwardly and …

3. Show God’s peace to others.

Acts 16:27-28, The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Don’t do it! We are all here!” (NLT)

How would you have responded to that jailer? Here’s the guy who was probably in charge of the beating and mishandling you just received. He’s given you no food or medical treatment. He’s locked you in the most uncomfortable position possible. He’d kill you if he could although you’re completely innocent. How many of us would have kept quiet and giggled when he fell on his sword? We might have spoken up, but only after it was poking through his kidney.

I submit to you that Paul and Silas were able to extend peace to this man only because the peace of the Holy Spirit was flowing through them. When you have God’s peace it flows into your relationships with friend and foe alike. This is the only we can accomplish seemingly ridiculous commands like the following that Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: Romans 12:17-18, Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. (NLT)

Peace that flows eventually shows. It affects the way we treat people. It is a conflict reducer and happiness enhancer. That’s why Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

Blessed means happy. People who demonstrate peace simply enjoy life more. They have peace of mind that they’ve done everything in their power to heal conflicts with others. In addition, they have joy because they come to realize that they’re demonstrating the image of God. They’re doing what God does. Peace that flows from the Holy Spirit shows in our relationships.

This same peace is the thing that compels us as Christians to take the message of God’s peace to those who don’t know him. Not only will an inner peace show itself in the healing of conflict in relationships, it goes over the top in offering God’s peace to people who have not yet come to faith. Again, our friend Paul puts it this way: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (NIV)

A peace that flows shows, but you can only have it if you …

4. Know the Prince of Peace.

Before we read the rest of the story, let’s get it in perspective again. Put yourself in the mindset of the jailer. The evening before you callously, cruelly ordered two innocent Jews to be beaten to a pulp. Bruised and bleeding they’re throne into the darkest smelliest part of the prison at your command. To add insult to injury you tell the guard to lock their feet in the stocks. Then you dine on a hot meal and drift off to sleep in total comfort without a pang of guilt. At midnight you’re awakened by a rumbling sound. Realizing that it’s an earthquake you dash off to the cells to make sure no one has escaped. To your horror the prison doors are wide open. You assume all the inmates are gone and, knowing that you will face their punishment for letting them escape, you decide to take the least painful way out by falling on your sword. But before you can follow through you hear the distinct voice of one of those pitiful Jews. His accent gives him away. He calls out in Koine Greek, the universal trade language, and assures you that they’re all still there.

What’s going through your mind at that point? Here’s what happened next. Trembling with fear, the jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with your entire household.” Then they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household. That same hour the jailer washed their wounds, and he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. Then he brought them into his house and set a meal before them. He and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. Acts 16:29-34 (NLT)

The jailer realized that his life was not right. These men had something that he lacked. He was the one with the power but they were the ones with the peace. It flowed out of them. The jailer was given a spiritual insight that their peace came from God. That inner peace that flowed and the outer peace that showed derived from knowing the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

Paul and Silas immediately extended the peace of God to this man. They invited him into a saving relationship with God through faith in Christ (a pattern we’d do well to follow). In another place, Paul wrote about how we gain peace with God. Romans 4:24-5:1, God will declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God. Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. (NLT)

If you want a peace that flows and shows you’ve got to know Jesus Christ.