Zephaniah 3:14-20
14 Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.
16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
18 "The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you.
19 At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.
20 At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes," says the LORD.
(NIV)
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
INTRODUCTION
In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah says there come times when people say “Peace, peace, but there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14)
There certainly is no peace in our world today.
And I don’t know anyone who feels at peace.
We feel fear.
We are afraid for the young people who are fighting in a war.
We are afraid of the future of our nation.
We are afraid for where our nation and world are headed.
We are afraid of terrorist attacks here at home.
The Terrorist Alert has been elevated to Orange – and the last time that happened many people bought duct tape and plastic sheets to cover their windows.
This week, we invaded Iraq. Once that war is settled, we still have to deal with the people who attacked us September 11th. Al Quada is still out there, at large and still a threat. On the horizon, there are other threats to peace – North Korea is just one.
Jesus warned us in Matthew’s Gospel (24:6) that we would “hear of wars and rumors of wars.”
We are certainly seeing such a time in this present age.
And violence is not just overseas – it is here.
The Terror Threat has been elevated to Orange. We scurry about getting duct tape and plastic sheets for our windows.
And it is not just foreign terrorists. We are surrounded by violence everywhere.
Elizabeth Smart came home safe, but we should not forget she was abducted and held against her will for months.
Just a few months ago, snipers were killing innocent people in Maryland and Virginia.
In our own lives there is domestic violence. The threat of home invasions.
Add to that the economy, the gas prices, the uncertainty of jobs and layoffs.
If you are not afraid, you must certainly feel some anxiety about these times.
How do Christians survive such times?
POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, writes about peace. He gives a wonderful benediction to the readers of his letter in which he says that the “peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ.”
In this benediction of Peace, Paul tells us how we can experience peace in our lives.
The first step is to have a positive attitude.
Paul says in verse 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
I’m not talking about putting your head in the sand and ignoring the troubles around you. I’m talking about having a realistic, but positive attitude about life.
Someone emailed me with a story this week about a 92 year old woman whose family decided it was time to move her into a nursing home. The family worried about the change, but the woman took on a positive attitude. On the long drive, the family began to talk positively about the nursing home, talking about wonderful staff, the nice view, the good food. Finally the woman declared, “I love it.”
Her son said, “But you haven’t even seen it yet. But just wait, I’m sure you’ll like it.”
“I don’t need to see it,” she said. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged... it’s how I arrange my mind.”
That is a rare gift!
I know that there are some folks who never experience peace because they have such a bad attitude about life.
Several years ago, I met a fellow named Andy.
Andy was without doubt the most depressed person I have ever met.
He was so gloomy and depressed, that he radiated gloom and depression.
All you had to do was to come within 10 feet of the man, and you began to feel gloomy and depressed yourself.
Andy never looked on the positive side.
He always looked on the negative side.
I remember he came to the Men’s Club at the church – and I was serving a very small church at the time. He came to the Men’s Club and said, “You know, I don’t understand this church. We never seem to get people interested in our events. Look at this. There are only 20 people here.”
Well, I thought – hey – we have 20 people here – that’s great. There are only 25 men in the whole church. Besides, the Men’s Club met for breakfast. On Sunday mornings. At 6:30 AM. I was always amazed that anyone would get up that early on a Sunday morning for breakfast.
But that was Andy. Never looked on the bright side.
One day I went to visit Andy to try to get him out of his gloomy attitude.
He told me he was gloomy because he was so lonely.
I suggested that he invite some folks over, have a small get together, a party.
“Wouldn’t work,” Andy said. “My wife wouldn’t want to do all the work to get ready for it.”
I suggested that he have a dinner with just one other couple.
“Wouldn’t work,” Andy said. “People don’t like the kind of simple foods I like.”
I suggested that he go out and visit other people in their homes – just drop by for a visit.
“Wouldn’t work,” Andy said. “People don’t like you dropping by like that.”
Finally, I suggested to Andy that nothing was going to work because he liked being gloomy and depressed.
Andy agreed.
He was lonely, anxious, restless, never had a moment’s peace, because he was allowing his bad attitude to become a stumbling block in his life.
On the other hand, a positive attitude can become a pathway to peace.
Paul in this New Testament letter we read from for today, told his readers, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.”
The prophet Zephaniah, in our Old Testament lesson, said, “Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart… Don’t be afraid, don’t let your hands hand limp. The Lord is with you.”
Some people are like Andy. They let their bad attitude become a stumbling black in their search for peace. Others however, seem to find a sliver lining in the darkest cloud. For example, during the Second World War, General Creighton Abrams found himself and his troops surrounded on all sides. With characteristic optimism, he told his officers: “For the first time in the history of this campaign, we are now in a position to attack the enemy in any direction.”
Whatever problem seems to surround you, concentrate on the solutions, not the difficulty.
Have a good, healthy attitude. A positive attitude. As Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord.”
PRAYERFUL ATTITUDE
Another important attitude to have is the attitude of prayer.
Paul, in this New Testament letter, wrote, “Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.”
When the armies of Napoleon swept over Europe, one of his generals intended to make an attack on a little town on the Austrian border. It was Easter, and as Napoleon’s great army maneuvered nearby, the citizens gathered together to decide whether to surrender or to attempt a defense, useless though it seemed. The pastor of the local church stepped forward and told the people, “We have been counting on our own strength, and that will fail. This is Easter Sunday, the day of our Lord’s resurrection. Let us ring the bells and have worship service as usual, and leave the matter to God.”
The council accept his plan and in a few minutes the bells were ringing, calling the community to gather for Easter services.
Meanwhile, back at the front, Napoleon’s army heard the bells and got worried. The triumphant bells sounded like they were announcing joy, not the despair that was actually being felt by the townspeople. The invaders decided that the bells must be announcing the arrival of Austrian reinforcements. They broke camp and retreated from the area as fast as possible.
The people of the town had lifted up the problem to God and went peacefully to church, and God redeemed them, granting them peace of mind, and even peace from the invading army.
So often, we wring our hands in despair over things that we cannot control. We worry and we become anxious about the situation.
The Scripture lesson for today says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
If one is to experience peace, having the proper attitude is vital.
You must have a positive attitude, rejoicing always in the Lord.
And you must have a prayerful attitude, praying with thankful hearts to God.
PURE ATTITUDE
It is also important that you have a pure attitude. Pure in the sense that you live a pure life, ethically and morally, and that your thoughts are pure.
Paul, in this letter, wrote, “Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. Put into practice what you learned and receive from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.”
Living life with a pure attitude is not the “in” thing to do.
Society encourages, and even expects impure behavior. What God expects of us, and the way in which we actually conduct ourselves often seem to be on two completely different wavelengths.
It is easy to see how much the world’s values differ from God’s.
God says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” but society says, “Blessed are the achievers.”
God says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” But society says, “Blessed are the self fulfilled.”
God says, “Blessed are the merciful,” but society says, “Blessed are the manipulators.”
God’s understanding of what our values and ethics ought to be is on a completely different wavelength than OUR own understanding.
And it is not hard to look around and to see what the values and ethical practices are in our society.
Almost a quarter of all American adults cheat on their income taxes, according to a survey done for the US News and World Report. The study showed that a fourth of those surveyed admit lying to family and co-workers 28% pad expense accounts, and more than a third believe there are times when stealing from an employer is justified.
We manipulate our ethics. Our values are flexible. Moral behavior is decided by public opinion.
As a minister, I meet many people who are not at peace. They live anxious lives. They live in despair. And while this is not ALWAYS true, many times the cause of their misery is their lifestyle. They are living unethical, impure lives.
A lifestyle not in keeping with the rules God has laid out for us, is a stumbling block in the path to peace, but as Paul reminds us in the Scripture, to think on what is true, noble, right and pure, and to live following his example, builds a pathway toward peace.
CONCLUSION
We all want to experience peace in our lives. We want peace in the world. We want peace in our homes. We want peace in our hearts.
The attitude of peace can be ours. A peace so great, so intense, that it passes all understanding.
Copyright Maynard Pittendreigh, 2003
All Rights Reserved
