Advent: Peace

December 15, 2013 (12/4/11)

Peace
Psalm 85                                   NOT EDITED

SIS – Peace is a gift we receive when we turn back to Almighty God through faith in Jesus Christ.

What is “peace.”  The word conjures up a picture in most minds of some tranquil, relaxing, idyllic  scene—much like lying on a remote beach listening to the rhythm  of the waves crashing upon the shore.  Certainly that describes a peaceful scene, but most of life is not like a lazy day on a beach, but more like a crazy drive on HWY 101 at rush hour—honking, yelling, stop and go—mostly stop.

The Biblical concept of peace is much broader.  Biblical peace is more defined by a inner relationship with God than in terms of our relationship to external circumstances.  The Hebrew word for “peace” has a familiar ring for most of us—shalom.  This Hebrew word has a very broad application in the Bible.  Certainly, peace may involve tranquil, relaxing circumstances but not necessarily so.

The word translated “peace” in this Psalm is familiar sounding to most people.  It is, “shalom.” Certainly, political freedom is a part of the “Peace Package” as we see in verse 1:

Lord, You showed favor to Your land;

You restored Jacob’s prosperity.

This Psalm was written after a time of bondage for Israel, probably the 70 year captivity in Babylonia.  The words, “restored prosperity” literally means “turned around the captivity.”  In other words, God turned around the situation (restored) of Israel and freed them from political tyranny.  That’s certainly part of what “shalom” means but by no measure is it the most important part of “peace.”

Shalom, in the OT, like erene, in the NT refers to a “condition of the heart.”  We would say it is an “inner peace,” rather than “peaceful conditions.”  The Biblical term refers to a “total well-being” or “wholeness in life.”  You might say, peace is a “package deal.”

Our text of Psalm 85 describes what’s in a “Peace Package.”

1.  God’s PARDON (2-7)

² You (1)took away Your people’s guilt;  You (2)covered all their sin. Selah ³ You (3)withdrew all Your fury; You (4)turned from Your burning anger. ⁴ Return to us, God of our salvation, and (5)abandon Your displeasure with us. ⁵ Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger for all generations? ⁶ Will You not revive us again so that Your people may rejoice in You? ⁷ (6)Show us Your faithful love, Lord, and give us Your salvation.

The Psalmist describes pardon from sin with six different action words bringing about six different results:  (1)took away. . .sin; (2)covered. . .sin; (3)withdrew fury; (4)turned from. . .burning anger; (5)abandoned. . .displeasure; and (6)showed. . .love.

The Dictionary defines pardon as:  a release from the penalty of an offense.

A pardon excuses someone from the “penalty of an offense.”  That’s why when we find out we have offended someone we say, “I beg your pardon.”  In other words, “I’m sorry please forgive me.”

Well, in 1982 the famed country western singer, Merle Haggard, was invited to a Presidential shindig at the Reagan ranch near Santa Barbara.  Merle sang his typical country ballads, in addition to a new song that talked about all the trouble an woes of the nation.  When Merle Haggard finished the set with that “offensive” song, he looked over at President Reagan and said, “I beg your pardon one more time.”  Reagan chuckled at the singer’s statement because Reagan got the joke that most in the crowd missed.  Merle said, “I beg your pardon one more time,” because ten years earlier when Reagan was governor of California, he gave an executive pardon to Merle Haggard who had spent three years in San Quentin Prison for burglary and escape charges.  When Haggard began to be successful, he asked Reagan for a pardon because as a convicted felon, Haggard could not tour outside the U.S.  Reagan’s first pardon “removed the penalty for the offenses” Haggard had committed in 1960.

Christmas is not about parties, but about pardon.  The angel of God gave Joseph very specific instructions on “what” to name the child Mary was to give birth to, but also the “why.”  Matthew 1:20-21:

An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.  ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus,  ^b because He will save His people from their sins.”

God’s pardon “removes the penalty” for sin which is eternal separation from God in hell for all eternity.  Pardon from God brings us “peace WITH God,” and therefore the “peace OF God.”  Pardon is the first gift in the “peace package” from God.

If one misses this part of the Christmas story, they missed the most important part. The gift of pardon for sins can easily be lost when we are “partying in our sins.”

2.  God’s PROVISION (1, 12)

1 Lord, You showed favor to Your land;

You restored Jacob’s prosperity

^{………………………………..}

¹² Also, the Lord will provide what is good,

and our land will yield its crops

The word, “prosperity,” is a greatly misunderstood word in the Bible and a word greatly abused by so-called, “health and wealth preachers.”

Verse one is a complicated verse to decipher in the Hebrew.  The Hebrew phrase means, “Because you favored Jacob [meaning the nation of Israel] you turned her situation around.”  The “situation” was that of being captive slaves in Babylon for over 70 years with no political might, no real means to economic gain, and no sense of security – or, to say it simply, “no peace.”

Do you find yourself in a bad place?  God can turn things around.  VERSE 12 clearly promises:  “God will provide.”  This applies to each of us individually, as well as to our nation.  God can “turn things” around and bring a new era of prosperity to our lives – but we must trust Him and (as I’ll show in a moment) align ourselves with His purpose.

During the Christmas season in Christmas pageants all around the world there is one character that gets a really bad rap (besides the evil king, Herod).  That is the Inn-keeper.  Mary and Joseph needed a room, and the word says:  Luke 2:7

Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the lodging place.

Immediately, we focus on the inn-keeper’s poor customer service insensitivity to a young, pregnant girl.  Perhaps the inn-keeper deserves the infamy he receives, perhaps not.  The Bible does not comment on the matter but only in passing.

What stands out abundantly clear to me is this:  God provided a place for the family, even when the inn-keeper could not or would not. 

Now, notice what we don’t see in this story.  We don’t see Joseph jumping up and down screaming at the inn-keeper or Mary threatening to file a lawsuit with the housing commission of Bethlehem because of the “unsuitable” stable they were offered as an alternative.

No, Joseph and Mary peacefully settled into the stable and made what preparations they could for the coming child.  The whole scene is one of peace. Peace comes when we recognize that even though God may not give us all we want in life, God will give us all we need.

Remember, Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread, not daily steak.

We can be at peace because, God is called, “Jehovah Jireh,” God Who Provides.

3.  God’s PURPOSE (8b)

Biblical peace refers to having a vibrant, growing relationship with God.  That’s true peace.  Look at verses 6-8, and then verse 10:

⁶ Will You not revive us again so that Your people may rejoice in You? ⁷ Show us Your faithful love, Lord, and give us Your salvation. ⁸ I will listen to what God will say; surely the Lord will declare peace to His people, His godly ones, and not let them go back to foolish ways.

………………………………….

¹⁰ Faithful love and truth will join together;

righteousness and peace will embrace.

Peace is found at the intersection of  “truth” and “righteous.  Peace comes when one discovers God’s purposes and acts accordingly.

Biblical peace is associated with the favor of God, not favorable circumstances.  God’s favor comes as a consequence of obedience to God’s decrees in the Bible.  Biblical peace, shalom, does not require political peace, or peaceful circumstances

This is precisely what the angels sing about on that hillside the first Christmas:

LUKE 2   ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace
on earth to people He favors.

It is God’s favor that puts the “merry” in Merry Christmas!  No favor means no peace.  Peace is a package deal and comes as a result of a God’s favor on our lives.  God favor comes when we align ourselves with His purpose.  Jesus defined what that purpose was in a succinct, short comment in Luke 19

“I came to seek and to save that which was lost.”

This is why we have Christmas in the first place—it fulfills God’s redemptive plan to save mankind.  Misunderstand God’s purpose for your life and you will never find peace.  Peace comes as a consequence of God’s favor which comes as a result of discovering God’s purpose for your life.  How do you fit into God’s plan to save mankind?  Discover that, and you will discover real peace.

In the movie Hugo, about a long-forgotten automaton, or robot, the main character declares, “a machine has no extra parts.”   A machine, like Hugo, is created to function according to the purpose established by its inventor, or creator.  A creation finds meaning when it is performing according to its purpose.  The sadness of a broken machine is that it is not performing according to the purpose for which it is designed.  The greatest turmoil a human soul can experience is “meaninglessness” that come from lacking a sense of purpose.

God saved us not only to make us fit for heaven, but God saved us to make us “fit” here on earth.  Salvation restores our sense of purpose.  Listen to Eph 2:10

¹⁰ For we are His creation, created  in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time  so that we should walk in them.

There is no mention in this verse about being “created for heaven” (though that is a part of our Peace Package) but we are “created for fulfill the purposes of God here on earth.” 

Too many believers sit on the sidelines when God wants them to play in the game.  Too many Christians treat Christianity like a “train station” instead of a launching pad.  We sit idly on the station benches waiting for the Heavenly Train to arrive to take us to heaven.  Oh, what a horrible way to view Christianity.

4.  God’s PROMISE (13)

Notice verse 13: ¹³ Righteousness will go before Him

to prepare the way for His steps.

God has a plan and a major part of that plan is a “promise to bless those whom He has chosen.”  No matter what may come in the future, God has a plan and our welfare as His children is absolutely secure.

Thirty years ago my first daughter, Amanda, died shortly after birth of what now is mostly a minor complication.  Thirty years ago Shari and I were in a small hospital in a remote mountain town.  Tragedy struck on a day that should have been the most exciting day of our lives.

While preparing to conduct Amanda’s funeral, I sat down with my guitar and wrote a song.  The first verse says:

This road that I travel on // seems so rough and steep
The rivers I must cross // seem so chilly and deep

But there’s one thing I am sure of // I’m always in my Savior’s love
And I can’t go anywhere, Jesus hasn’t already been.

I didn’t have Psalm 85 in mind at the time, but verse 13 could well have been the inspiration for my song.  God has promised:

Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.

Righteousness here poetically refers to God.  No matter where we may find ourselves going in life, if we trust in God, He will already be there before we get there with what is needed to assure our success and promote our wellness.  That’s God’s promise.

PROMISES ARE IMPORTANT, at least for one kidnapper!  A Kansas couple hostage in their home while fleeing from authorities is suing them, claiming they broke an oral contract made when he promised them money in exchange for hiding him from police.  Jesse Dimmick of suburban Denver is serving an 11-year sentence after bursting into Jared and Lindsay Rowley’s Topeka-area home in September 2009. He was wanted for questioning in the beating death of a Colorado man and a chase had begun in Geary County. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Dimmick filed a breach of contract suit in Shawnee County District Court, in response to a suit the Rowleys filed in September seeking $75,000 from him for intruding in their home and causing emotional stress.

Dimmick contends he told the couple he was being chased by someone, most likely the police, who wanted to kill him. “I, the defendant, asked the Rowleys to hide me because I feared for my life. I offered the Rowleys an unspecified amount of money which they agreed upon, therefore forging a legally binding oral contract,” Dimmick said in his hand-written court documents. He wants $235,000, in part to pay for the hospital bills that resulted from him being shot by police when they arrested him.

Evidently this kidnapper believes what the Bible says:  “You have not because you ask not!”

One of the gifts in our “Peace Package” we receive from God is a whole book of promises.  I find great peace reading all the thousands of promises God has given us in His Word.

How many promises are there in the Bible?  I’ve never counted them, but according to Herbert Lockyear (All The Promises in the Bible) there are 8000!  Whatever the exact number, there’s a lot.  And all we need is one promise that God has a plan for our lives and that’s enough to provide us with peace—no matter what storms are raging in our individual lives or in our world.  Grab a promise and hold on!

Peace is a promise wrapped up in the package of God’s pleasure.  which we receive through Jesus Christ.  Many different blessings from God converge to create a river of peace in our lives. 

Christmas is God’s “Peace Package.”  God wrapped up the gift of peace and placed it in a manger over 2000 years ago.  At that event an angel declared:

LUKE 2   ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace
on earth to people He favors.

Even centuries before God delivered Jesus Christ as the “Peace Package” to the world the Psalmist declared:

VERSE 8:  surely the Lord will declare peace

to His people, His godly ones

This Christmas may God “Restore Our Peace.”

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