Sermon
Be At Peace
September 29-30, 2001
Pastor Donald Sheley

I'd like for you to take the notes out of your bulletin. You'll notice that most of the sermon today is Scripture verses. I think if you count them there are nearly 100 Scripture verses that we've compiled for our text today. Our theme is be at peace. In a turbulent world, in a time of great distress, the Bible says to rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret-it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. And Isaiah joins with these words, You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Jehovah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

Now the great hymn of the Church should reveal the condition of our heart and mind in perilous days like this. We sing it frequently:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul."

You know, I'm sure, the story behind that great hymn. A man had sent his four daughters and his wife off to Europe by way of ship some years ago for a vacation, and then he was to join with them, but there was a sea tragedy and the ship went down and he lost his four daughters. His wife was rescued. She went on to England and soon he got the next ship to join with her, and as they're crossing that section of the waters where the great disaster had taken place and he had lost his daughters, four of them, he went to his state room and he wrote this hymn.
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, You have taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul."

Another hymn sings these words:
I am resting today in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus' control;
For I'm kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul.
What a treasure, what a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,
Buried deep in the heart of my soul;
So secure that no power can mine it away,
While the years of eternity roll.
Peace, peace, wonderful peace

But the word of God has admonished us; "But mark this; There will be terrible times in the last days." Terrible, times are the results of the acts of wicked men. Isaiah tells us their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed. innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us;

We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight; we are as dead men in desolate places. We all growl like bears, and moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them: in transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter."

Evil men, terrible times, men's hearts filled with fear, violence everywhere. These are the conditions of our world, and our hearts long for peace. David knew where he could find peace. "God is our refuge and strength, and a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God. The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Think upon that. Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. David says God is our refuge and strength. So be still, He is still on the throne like he was three weeks ago.

Many of the conditions of our world today were mentioned by Jesus when He was asked to discuss the signs of the end of the age for this world. It says that Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled." Isn't it interesting that He tucks in that little admonition? You'll see them come to pass, but there's no reason to be troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. It's interesting, in the original word you can translate that word 'nation' for 'race'. And what it is saying: and race will rise against race, and the kingdom of darkness against the kingdom of light.

There will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning -- all of these are the beginning -- of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. A world filled with hatred. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Now Jesus admonished us that when all these things were taking place, as believers, we are not to be troubled. Peter wrote about the end of the age and how we should respond as believers. He says: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be? In other words, when all of this is taking place, how should we conduct ourselves? And he says our conduct should be holy and marked with godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things. What things? The things that surround us today. Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. Now in this passage, Peter is speaking of the New Testament doctrine of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but he is describing it in terms of the Old Testament doctrine known as the Day of the Lord. That phrase, the Day of the Lord, is a conception which runs all through the prophetic books of the Old Testament. The Jews saw time in terms of two ages-this present age, which is wholly bad and past remedy; and the age to come; which is the golden age of God.

How was the one to turn into the other? In other words, when would the present age become the age to come? As the Jews saw it, there was only one way in which this change could happen, it must be by the direct intervention of almighty God. The time of that intervention they called the 'Day of the Lord'. It was to come without warning! It was to be a time when the universe was to be shaken to its foundations. It was to be a time when the judgment and the obliteration of sinners would come to pass and, therefore, it would be a time of terror.

Look what Isaiah says, "Behold the Day of the Lord comes, cruel with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it." Notice what Joel says, "The Day of the Lord is coming, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness." Zephaniah, the old prophet, said, "A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds, and thick darkness." As you can see, throughout the Old Testament, when they refer to the end of time, the time at the closing of the age, it was called the Day of the Lord.

I'm over on page 5 now. What Peter and many of the New Testament writers did was to identify the Old Testament pictures of the Day of the Lord with the New Testament conception of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Peter's picture here of the Second Coming of Christ is drawn in terms of the Old Testament picture of the Day of the Lord. But there's one thing in which Peter is supremely interested, and that is the moral dynamic of the Second Coming of Christ. In other words, if these things are going to happen and the world is hastening to judgment, Peter is saying obviously then a person must live a life of piety and holiness.

If there are to be a new heaven and a new earth and if that heaven and earth are to be the home of righteousness, obviously, says Peter, a man must seek with all his mind and heart and soul and strength to fit in as a dweller in that new world. And, to Peter, as Moffatt puts it, it was impossible to give up the hope of the advent, or the coming, without ethical deterioration.

So if we believe the words of Christ and all the Scriptures that the world is headed for judgment, then this belief will directly affect the way we live our lives every moment of every day. Peter is saying if we really believe that Jesus is coming and we're near the end of time, it will affect how we live out our Christian faith.

Look at what John says, Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, that's His Second Coming. When He comes again; when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. John is saying if you believe it with all your heart, it will have a purifying affect on the way you live every moment of every day in this present world.

And Peter has just told us that if we really believe that the end is near, and that the coming of Jesus Christ is at hand, we are going to live lives in holiness and godliness. Peter ends his passage by saying, wherefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. That's a fascinating phrase -- be diligent to be found by Him in peace. Peace with God and the peace of God. Peter is telling us that since this world will be dissolved and the end of the age is coming, make sure, make sure that we have made peace with almighty God.

If that has not taken place in your life yet, let me give you the Scripture that tells us how that takes place. Look at Romans 5:1-2. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Here is one of those very, very interesting usages of words that Paul has in his writing. Here is one of Paul's great lyrical passages in which he almost sings the intimate joy of his confidence in God. Trusting faith has done what the labor to produce the works of the law could never do; it has given him as a man peace with God.

Before Jesus came, no man could ever really be close to God. It is only when we realize that God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that there comes into life that intimacy with Him, that new relationship, which Paul calls justification. Through Jesus, Paul says, we have an introduction into this grace. Now the word he uses for introduction is a word describing someone being ushered into the presence of royalty.

What he is saying is Jesus ushers us into the very presence of God. He opens the door for us to the presence of the King of kings; and when that door is opened we will find grace; not condemnation, not judgment, not vengeance, but the sheer, undeserved, incredible kindness of God." He says we have access through Christ into the very presence of divine royalty. Do you want peace with God? Put your trust in Jesus Christ and He gives us access by that grace that He provides for us.

Now there is also, in the late Greek... I'm reading on down in the next paragraph. It is the word that Paul uses, 'access' here, it's a place where ships come in. It's a harbor or it's a haven. If we take it that way, it means that so long as we tried to depend on our own efforts we were tempest-tossed, like mariners striving with a sea which threatened to overwhelm them completely, but now that we have heard the word of Christ, and we have reached at last the haven of God's grace, we know the calm of depending, not on what we can do for ourselves, but on what God has done for us.

Some years ago I went shopping down at JC Penney and they were having a sale on pictures, and there was this beautiful picture. It was a picture of three ships, old sail ships, sitting quietly in a harbor. The sails were tattered and ripped and torn, but they were hanging in peace because the old ship now had made it home to harbor I still have that picture in my front room today, because every time I look at it I'm reminded of the peace that comes after we turn our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and leave the sea that's wild and wicked, and we find harbor and peace in Christ.

Some years ago shipmate Bob would bring his Haven of Rest quartet on the radio and this is what they would sing: my soul in sad exile, I was out on life's sea, so burdened with sin and distress, till I heard the sweet voice saying make Me your choice, so I entered the haven of rest. And the chorus goes like this: I've anchored my soul in the haven of rest. I will sail the wild seas no more. The tempest may sweep over the wild stormy deep, but in Jesus I'm safe ever more.

So Paul uses that word we have access into His grace. We have been ushered in through Jesus Christ into the God of creation, the God who loves us, into divine royalty. And old Paul says when we put our trust in Christ it's like bringing a ship that's been tattered from the storms of life into a place of peace with God. If you anchored your soul through faith in Jesus, you have peace with God.

I hurry along. I want to take you to page 8, because that phrase, to be found by Him in peace, not only has to do with our relationship with God, peace with God, but it also means to be found at peace -- the implied is, with my fellow man. Look at the Scripture verses. We're admonished to be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

And Peter's idea is this; because we live in turbulent times, and because we do not know what tomorrow brings, make sure first of all we're at peace with God. Secondly, we're at peace with one another. Listen to me. I wouldn't live a day if I had a relationship that was injured, because I have found in life that the people who handle death the with the greatest amount of difficulty, are the people who live with the guilt because they mistreated that relationship gone. And at a funeral service I see that so frequently. You see people who have a guilt. They wish they could have gone back, at least had one more opportunity to at least say, I'm sorry. I didn't do this right, but when that opportunity is gone and there's no life there, the greatest guilt you'll carry in life is that you couldn't say I'm sorry to someone who's gone, or you couldn't have corrected a relationship.

And old Peter is wise. You know one of the things I've watched in the reports that have come across; last night late I listened to this mother, she said, my boy he was 24. She said, he was our joy. He finished college and for a little while he was trying to find his way. She said, three months ago he got a job with Cantor Fitzgerald and he went to work on floor 105. The last thing I remember, my boy came to me before he went to work and he put his hands on my cheek and he said, Mama, you're still my girl, and I love you and I want to thank you for everything. His father puts him in his car and takes him off to the towers and he gets out of the car and he said, Dad, thank you for bringing me to work. And dad said, son, I love you. Those of the last things they remember. But they could handle death the little easier because the separation was at least in peace.

The other day I drove home. My 89-year-old mother is dying. She's in the hospital. I got there around 6:00 in the evening and I put on the gown and the mask and the rubber gloves, and I went into the room. And the day before she had been so medicated she couldn't talk, but this day there was that window where there was clarity. And I sat down with Mom for about an hour than she went to sleep. I sat there and thought to myself, how will I handled this when I have to conduct the funeral? Because Mama said, Son, when I go I want you to take care of the funeral. I've done that for all the family. And I thought to myself this will be easy, at least I hope, because I've done my best to bring honor and joy to my mom, helped her in a time of need, hurried home and drove there clear up to Chico as frequently as possible. And I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but what I'm trying to say is I can face this issue of departure with pain, but with peace, because we're at peace with each other.

Here's what Peter says, none of us know if there is going to be another act of terrorism tomorrow, and the most important things in life is your relationship to God and your relationship to one another. Do you hear me? If there is a relationship that is injured that you have, get it cleared up as soon as possible because you may never have another opportunity to clear the relationship. Peter says, now that these things are coming to pass be diligent, don't wait. Be diligent to make sure you're at peace with God and you're at peace with everybody else.

Now if you really believe that, when you leave the sanctuary and you have an injured relationship in your life, you'll do something about it today. If you don't believe that He's coming soon, you won't. Peter says be diligent. Do it now, because you may not be able to do it tomorrow. And then he adds, keep yourself spotless. If there's any sin in your life take care of it today. Make sure your heart is right and you can look God in the face and say, God, I'm not perfect, but I sure try. I sure try to please You, and I sure try to serve You, but I make my mistakes and You know that God. I don't want to be polluted by this world. I want my life to be lived righteously and holy.

Now if you're at peace with God, peace with your fellow man, and you're striving to live righteously with God, whatever comes you'll be at peace. Amen?

Let's pray. Father, thank you for Your word. And I pray that all of us will take care of these matters today, making sure that we put our trust in Jesus our Savior so that we are at peace with You, dear God. That we've gone to those within our life where now the relationship is injured and hurting, we've done our best to make amends and to clear it, and we've sought Your forgiveness for our sins and try to live for You. Thank you for the instructions of Your word. We can be at peace in perilous times. And everybody said, amen. God bless you.