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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 13th August 2006 PMPEACE IN THE STORM Pastor Colin Meadows Readings: Ps 46:10, Is 9:6, 26:3, 53:5-6, Mark 4:35-41
· Finding safety in a storm! Finding peace today is so difficult. Conflicts seem to flare up with regular abandon in so many different areas. I have been reading up on cyclones and tornados (or hurricanes as they are called in the US). When winds exceed 74mph then the storm becomes a cyclone. That wind speed is 119kph just in case you are wondering! Terrible destruction can take place as these violent storms tear through a community. Just recently there was a tornado in Australind with considerable damage resulting. What I find interesting about such storms is that there is a place right in the centre of the storm where it is calm, which is called the eye. At that place there is almost complete lack of wind, a place of safety. In the storms and upheavals of life there is a place of calm where peace prevails, right in the centre of God’s presence. That is what we will explore together now. But firstly, we need to ask just what is this peace we are seeking? · Just what is peace? Many people feel that peace is the absence of war and hostilities. If that is so then the world has seen very little peace for a long time. Over the past 3,100 years of recorded history all but 286 years of that period have involved major wars and conflicts between nations. At one time in the 1990’s I remember reading of 13 major conflicts that were going on around the world. Peace, meaning the absence of wars, is thus a very scare resource. Other people speak of peace as being a state of calm that is free from stress and anxiety. Yet even in this area, we struggle. I read recently that one third of Australian adults take drugs and prescription medication to get through each day. Many of us have a lot of personal conflict, stress and pain that cause each day to be a real challenge. It is reported that children of Primary School age, some just eight years old, are being diagnosed with depression as a result of stress in their lives. Peace of that sort is thus very scarce also. The Bible speaks of peace in terms of finding wholeness and order irrespective of our circumstances. For this to take place we first must find peace with God. We need to restore our broken relationship with Him. Then he will give us His peace in the midst of the storms of life. As his peace flows into our hearts we will be able to pass it on from the overflow to others. Let’s explore these things together right now. · Make peace with the peacemaker. Our first step towards discovering peace is to talk with the peacemaker, the one who is our source of peace. Long ago the prophet Isaiah spoke of a peace child who would come to change the course of history: Isaiah 9:6-7 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” The prophet then explained that this prince of peace would suffer to bring us peace. Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” When the Christ child was crucified on a cross these prophetic words came sharply into focus. Now people could see and understand. What about us? Do we see and understand that the Prince of Peace, Jesus, came to die so that we could find peace with God? Rom 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” Have you found peace with God through Christ? Yes, first we need to make peace with the peacemaker. · Experience the Peace of God by faith. Once we are at peace with God, then by faith we accept his peace into our lives. Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD the LORD, is the Rock eternal.” By faith we need to accept the peace of God into our lives. This is an active seeking after God in prayer and in reading his Word. We rest in our position in Christ and live by faith in the light of who God is and what He has done. The more we understand of God’s Word, the stronger our faith walk will be. Experience the peace of God by faith. The early disciples needed repeated reminders of this truth. The incident in the boat on the Sea of Galilee is a case in point. Night had fallen as they climbed into the boat with Jesus and sought to cross the lake. A vicious storm of such ferocity came upon them that they thought they would drown. Waking Jesus up, they asked him to intervene. Jesus quickly settled the storm in the vicinity of the boat but then rebuked them gently with two key questions: Mark 4:40 “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Note that he did not say “Why didn’t you row harder? Why can’t you take care of things by yourselves? Why bring me into your personal issues?” No, he asked then why they were afraid and where was their faith. Jesus asks the same two questions of us today. He wants us to trust him, no matter what is happening around us and to involve Him in all that takes place. As we confront our fears by faith, so we grow strong. Eleanor Roosevelt noted “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face.” Another person noted “Faith is fear that has prayed.” Instead of being fearful, let us be faithful, reaching out to God daily, accepting the truth of His Word into our lives. Is this your experience of peace in your life? Yes, let us experience the peace of God in our lives. · Pass on God’s Peace to others. As we experience God’s peace in our hearts, let us seek to pass it on to others. The calming of our hearts will affect others. That night on the lake there were other boats nearby. Mark 4:36 “…There were also other boats with him.” When Jesus calmed the storm that night, people in boats nearby would have been affected. Their lives would have been touched by the peace that had come to that region. When God’s Holy Spirit takes control of our fears and by faith we step out into God’s peace, so other people are touched. We can talk with our friends about how Christ can make a difference in their lives but when people see and feel the experience of peace that Christ has brought then that is another matter! I was reading recently about Thomas Hamill, a US truck driver who was taken captive by insurgents in Iraq April 9 2004. He later escaped after 23 days in captivity and was picked up by a US army convey that was passing. He said that during his time of captivity he was kept from fear by prayer. When he realized that he was on his own, he put himself in God’s hands and the fear left him. Comments on a blog-site about Hamill I checked were very insightful, especially one person who commented on the video clip that was taken of Hamill before he was whisked away into captivity. The person said they were awed by Hamill, especially that he looked so calm in spite of his desperate situation. Hamill was demonstrating the peace of God to others. Let the peace of God flow in your life and out to others. Thomas a Kempis noted “First keep the peace within yourself; then you can also bring peace to others.” · Where there is depth there is peace. Have you found the peace of God through Christ the peace child? Do you have peace in your life right now? Are you passing on the peace of Christ to others out of the overflow in your own life? Sometimes we struggle as Christians to hold on to our peace. What should we do? A massive hurricane was swept across the ocean one day and caught two divers by surprise. The weather forecast had not predicted such an event. One of the divers was experienced and seemed very calm in the face of such an onslaught. The other, a novice, was shaking with fear. Seeing his friend’s discomfort, the experienced diver quietly said “There is no need to be afraid. We just need to dive deep and we will be safe.” The novice had not yet realized that storms seldom affect the ocean deeper than about 8 metres. Below that it is as if the storm did not exist. As we dive deep into Christ by faith, putting down roots of trust into God’s Word and in prayer, so we will escape the storms that threaten our souls. Where there is depth there is peace. Put down deep solid roots of faith and nurture those roots daily in prayer and in reading God’s Word. Horatio Spafford lived in Chicago in the 1870’s and became very wealthy. A successful lawyer, he also owned many businesses and had a large family. He was a keen Christian, belonging to a Presbyterian church and actively supporting the work of DL Moody. Then life took a sad turn for him. His only son died then fire destroyed all his properties in 1971. In 1873 he sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to the UK, with him to follow later. The ship collided with another and sank within twelve minutes. His four daughters drowned, with his wife left to cable him the tragic news. Spafford hurriedly caught the next available ship and as his boat passed over the stop where his daughters had been drowned he was moved to write the now well known 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. The peace of God which passes all understanding enabled Spafford to continue on despite incredible grief. Discover peace with God for yourself, experience the peace of God and pass on this peace to others. And constantly nurture this peace by sending down deep roots of faith. Then you will find peace, the peace of God, in the storm!
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