Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee. {perfect...: Heb. peace, peace} {mind: or, thought, or, imagination}
The countries of our world need peace. On the basis of the computation in the Moscow Gazette, Gustave Valbert in his day could report that "From the year 1496 B.C. to A.D. 1861 in 3358 years there were 227 years of peace and 3,130 years of war, or 13 years of war to every year of peace. Within the last three centuries, there have been 286 wars in Europe. He added that from the year 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1860 more than 8000 treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time they remained in force was two years." 1
The families of our world need peace. Sometimes, the real battlefield is in the home. Four-year-old Susie had just been told the story of "Snow White" for the first time in her life. She could hardly wait to get home from nursery school to tell her mommy. With wide-eyed excitement, she retold the fairy tale to her mother that afternoon. After relating how Prince Charming had arrived on his beautiful white horse and kissed Snow White back to life, Susie asked loudly: "And do you know what happened then?" "Yes," said her mom, "they lived happily ever after." "No," responded Susie with a frown, "they got married." 2
But the greatest need for peace is found in the heart of those who need to be at peace with God. You can’t be a peacemaker until you have the peace of God in your heart. As we look at this promise, we can be assured that when we are trusting in God even in the midst of a troubled world, we can have a perfect peace.
I-NOTICE THE PERSONALITY OF PEACE: v-3 “perfect”
I believe we can describe this perfect peace in two ways.
A-God’s Peace is Perfect In Its Character:
1)The character of God’s peace is that it able to get the job done as illustrated by Jesus in calming the storm in Mark 4:39.
2)God’s peace is not always the removal of troubles in our lives but it is His presence that gives us a freedom on the inside of our soul. Thus even in the midst of sorrow, sickness, and sadness, we can have peace.
3) Whenever I am troubled and lost in deep despair, I bundle all my troubles up and go to God in prayer, I tell Him I am heartsick and lost and lonely too, That I am deeply burdened and don't know what to do. But I know He stilled the tempest and calmed the angry sea, And I humbly ask if in His love He'll do the same for me. Then I just keep quiet and think on thoughts of peace, And as I abide in stillness my restless murmuring cease.3
B-God’s Peace Is Perfect In Its Completeness:
1)No matter how big our need might be, God always has as much as we need. His perfect peace won’t run out.
2)I think of all the times Paul needed God’s peace during his missionary trips, God was always there to meet his need in giving him peace.
3)When author and preacher David Field arrived at the country church where he was to be the guest speaker, he was introduced to a choir member. He asked her what she did. "I keep pigs," she replied. "How many do you have?" he inquired. Without hesitation she answered, "A hundred and ninety-two at the moment." Laughingly he responded, "Really? Are you certain of that?" With indignation she retorted, "Of course I'm sure. I've got names for all of them, haven't I?"
Imagine knowing the names of 192 pigs! But why not--if you regard them with the fondness that woman had for her herd?
What about the Creator, who has a name for each of the countless stars in the sky? (Isa. 40:26). That Creator is also our Good Shepherd, whose love for us rises far above the level of our human affection. And that Good Shepherd calls His sheep by name (Jn. 10:3).
We may be tempted to think that Almighty God, who upholds galaxies upon galaxies, can't possibly be concerned about us and our problems. But Jesus said that the heavenly Father notices and cares for the needs of even the smallest animals, and that we are of much greater value (Mt. 6:26). He knows our names and meets our needs. 4
The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His, And He is mine forever. --Baker
II-NOTICE THE PRODUCERS OF PEACE:
A-This Peace Is Produced By Our Savior:
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
1)Jesus is the author of Peace and He stands ready to give it to the person who will repent of their sins and put their faith in Him.
2)The story is told of a young dockworker who heard a minister named Henderson deliver a sermon based on Romans 5:1. Although impressed with the truth that one can have peace with God only through the merits of the Lord Jesus, he did not trust Him as his personal Savior. The next day that man joined the crew and sailed on the steamship London. A short time later it met with disaster on the high seas. Several months passed, and a sailor came to the clergyman and inquired, "Are you Pastor Henderson?" "Yes, I am," he replied. "I've come to tell you that I talked and prayed with a young man on board the London who had heard you preach on Romans 5:1. He was concerned about his soul but didn't quite understand the plan of salvation. I finished what you began and led him to the Savior. Only a few minutes later we were shipwrecked, and he and I were told to launch one of the lifeboats. While doing so, he said to me, 'Mate, if you get to shore, be sure and tell Pastor Henderson that I've been saved.' Somehow he failed to get into the lifeboat in time, and we had to row away immediately to keep from being capsized by the suction of the sinking ship. The last I saw of him, he was up in the rigging of the doomed vessel, waving his hat and shouting to me above the noise of the waters, 'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!'" 5
B-This Peace Is Produced By The Spirit:
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
1)If I am in tune with Jesus, He produces his fruit in me through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And one of these is the fruit of peace.
2)Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you were about to die? Several years ago, a veteran missionary was in a plane that was circling over St. Louis and unable to land because of poor visibility. As the plane's fuel supply ran low, he jotted down--just in case--his last will and testament. He wrote, "There is peace, perfect peace. . . . Life with Christ is the way to live. In this hour there is assurance--there is God underneath all the uncertainties of human existence. So I rest in God." 6
C-This Peace Is Produced By The Scriptures:
Psalms 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. {nothing...: Heb. they shall have no stumblingblock}
1)The word “Offend” means to “Disturb.” When a person gets into the Word of God, nothing shall disturb them, for they had find a peace only God can give.
2)Corrie ten Boom, author of the 'Hiding Place', writes in her book, "The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the Word of God". No matter how black and dark your circumstances may become, as you choose to focus on God and his promises, his Word to you becomes bright and beautiful in your life. But this is a matter of choice. Someone said if you look to the world, you will be distressed; if you look within, you will become depressed; but if you look to Christ you will find rest. As you focus your attention on God, on Jesus Christ, then you will find rest and peace.
3)If one is to find peace in God’s Word, they must study the Word of God;
4)They must not be like the lady in the following story: A door-to-door salesman from a publishing house asked a lady if she owned a copy of the Bible. "I certainly do!" she replied with some pride. To his next question, did she read it regularly, she responded, "Oh, yes!" and sent her little daughter to get the Bible from the table drawer. As she showed it to the man, her spectacles fell from between the pages. Without thinking, she exclaimed, "Oh, here are my glasses! I've been looking for these for 3 years!" 7
D-This Peace Is Produced By Our Submission:
Leviticus 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them 26:6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make [you] afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. {rid: Heb. cause to cease}
1)God says you won’t have to be afraid, you won’t have to worry because I will give you peace.
2)But did you notice the small two letter word that was the condition? the word “if” which denotes obedience.
3)I believe one of the reason our churches are not the Churches that Christ would have them to be is because we have disobeyed Him. And because of that we don’t see that perfect peace in many of its members.
4)A little girl was playing in the kitchen one day, when her mother told her to come and help do the dishes. The little girl continued to play. The mother again told the young girl to come help with the dishes. Again the girl ignored her. Finally, the mother said, "Didn't you hear me? I said, 'Come help with the dishes.' To which the little girl replied,"Oh, I heard you. I'm just not doing what you said." How many times do we treat God this way. We hear Him loud and clear, but we just don't do what He tells us to. 8
III-NOTICE THE PRINCIPLES OF PEACE:
A-There Is A Praise Involved In Peace:
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice.
1)This came from the lips of a man in jail, yet, he said rejoice in the Lord. Why could he say this? because he had the peace of God in his heart.
2)Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that surgery was required. In the hospital after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the doctor, "Are you sure I will never sing again?" The surgeon found it difficult to answer his question. He simply shook his head no. The patient then asked if he could sit up for a moment. "I've had many good times singing the praises of God," he said. "And now you tell me I can never sing again. I have one song that will be my last. It will be of gratitude and praise to God." There in the doctor's presence the man sang softly the words of Isaac Watts' hymn, "I'll praise my Maker while I've breath,/ And when my voice is lost in death,/ Praise shall employ my nobler power;/ My days of praise shall ne'er be past,/ While life, and thought, and
being last,/ Or immortality endures." 9
B-There Is A Prayer Involved In Peace:
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
1)Paul says, don’t worry about anything, don’t be pulled apart by the things of the world, but carry it to the Lord in prayer.
2)Among those in the court of Alexander the Great was a philosopher of outstanding ability but little money. He asked Alexander for financial help and was told to draw whatever he needed from the imperial treasury. But when the man requested an amount equal to $50,000, he was refused--the treasurer needing to verify that such a large sum was authorized. When he asked Alexander, the ruler replied, "Pay the money at once. The philosopher has done me a singular honor. By the largeness of his request he shows that he has understood both my wealth and generosity." 10
C-There Is A Practice Involved In Peace:
Philippians 4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
1)To have the peace of God, one must be doing the will of God, we can’t be hearers of the Word only, but doers of the Word also.
2)The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under. He was brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments. Yet even Wellington realized that his methods left something to be desired. In his old age a young lady asked him what, if anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. Wellington thought for a moment, then replied. "I'd give more praise," he said
3)We too should have praise in our life, more praise toward our Lord. And one of the ways we can praise Him is to live for him, to practice what we believe.11
Conclusion:
In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley's execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need. So can we!
1. Bible Illustrator
2.Bible Illustrator
3.Helen Steiner Rice
4.Robert Newhouse
5.Bible Illustrator
6.Our Daily Bread
7.L. E. Brown
8.Dan Upchurch
9.Illustration Index
10.Today in the Word, MBI
11.Bits and Pieces
