PBPC Update - Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Here is the link to today's sermon, and the manuscript is attached. Hope you can join us on Zoom for worship next Sunday. Have a great week!


Blessings,

Pastor Chris

Sermon – "He Is Our Peace" 
May 24, 2020
Chris Coon, PBPC

Good morning and welcome to the sixth Sunday of Easter. As we continue in our series on the fruit of the Spirit, our topic today is peace. But the larger theme of this season is the new life that we have from God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This new life is made real within us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Next Sunday is Pentecost, 50 days after Passover and Easter, the day that we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples. Today is also an important day on the liturgical calendar: Ascension Sunday, the day we remember and celebrate the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven to be enthroned at the right hand of God. This took place 40 days after Easter, which means the actual day would have been this past Friday. The details are not nearly as important as the promise that Jesus made to his disciples that the Spirit would be coming to them.
Our Scripture readings today are Acts 1:1-5 and John 14:25-27.
1In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." 
The presence of the Holy Spirit is nothing less than the presence of God and the presence of Jesus with us. The Holy Spirit is the power of God in our lives, working through us and helping us to grow to be more like Jesus Christ. The fruit of the Spirit are the aspects and qualities of our heart and personality that reflect the heart of God and that allow us to live the most fully human life possible, loving God and loving other people. But this fruit is not produced in us automatically; instead, we are called on to follow Jesus Christ and to seek after God's kingdom and God's will with our whole hearts. 
Peace
Which brings us back to today's fruit: peace. No matter when or where we live, stress and anxiety are part of the human experience. Not that we all have the same experiences or challenges - living in modern America, we have a very high degree of security, freedom and material wealth compared to the rest of the world and certainly to those who lived in the past - but it remains true that there does not seem to be much peace in many of our lives. There are family demands, pressures at work, strained relationships, and nervousness about the future, all combined with the busyness of life that makes it difficult for us to experience a sense of peace. Even as we shelter in place, constant exposure to the news and to the internet can keep us in a constant state of anxiety.

The concept of peace is major theme in the Bible. In Old Testament Hebrew, the word for peace is the beautiful and complex word shalom, which means all-round well-being, freedom from fear and want, and contentment in relationship with God, others, and creation. This is the vision of what God desires for us, and it is what God promises for His people. Of course, as fallen and sinful people we have fallen short of this ideal most of the time, and the attaining of true peace in our lives and in our world seems to remain ever elusive and unobtainable. But it remains the desire of God's heart for us to experience peace – peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace with one another.

Peace with God
The peace which scripture speaks of goes beyond a feeling or an attitude; it is actually a state of being between two parties – beginning with God and us. The grand story of the Bible is that fallen humanity was in a state of rebellion against God that prevented us from knowing Him and being in relationship with Him. God Himself is the One who took the initiative to bridge the gap and bring about reconciliation.

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 this grace in which we now stand. - Romans 5:1-2

The gospel message is that you and I need no longer be separated from God. God has done all that is necessary through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to bring about the forgiveness of sins and the healing and restoration of our intended life with Him. Through Jesus Christ, God has made and given us peace. 

The peace that we experience in our everyday lives must ultimately be based upon this peace that God offers us in Christ, otherwise it is a temporary peace at best and may even be a false peace. The deep peace of Christ means that we know that we belong to God and that he loves us. Peace in the rest of our relationships follows from this.

Peace with Ourselves
So the peace that we speak of as a fruit of the Spirit is the peace that is produced in our lives as a result of God's Spirit within us. We could even say that the peace we have with God leads to the peace of God within us. 

The peace of God transforms our everyday lives and our relationships with other people. One way that this transformation takes place is in our worries and anxieties about life. Some of us are naturally more anxious people than others, but each of us experiences some level of worry in our lives, especially in times of difficulty or crisis. Jesus presents to us an image of a loving and caring heavenly Father who does not want our lives to be consumed by worry. God invites us to bring our needs and our concerns to Him, and to trust Him for the outcome. Paul takes up this theme in Philippians:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in all things, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

God does not want us to be anxious, but rather wants us to experience peace - specifically, the peace that comes from laying our worries and our needs before Him and releasing them into His care. God promises not only to answer our prayers and take care of our needs, but also to give us the deep peace within our souls that can only come from Him - "the peace that passeth understanding."

Peace with Others
The peace that we experience in our lives as the fruit of the Spirit is not only the peace that we have in our hearts in the midst of difficult times, but also the peace that God calls for in our lives. God has made peace with us, given us His peace, and now He calls us to live in peace with one another. 

Jesus was a man of peace, and he calls on his followers to be people of peace as well. His Church, the Body of Christ, is made up of those who have been reconciled to God and to one another. Having received God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness, we are commanded to extend this same grace, mercy, and forgiveness to others. When we pray for God's kingdom to come, we are praying for God's peace to reign throughout the world, and this begins in our own lives and relationships. This is a theme throughout the New Testament:

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. - Ephesians 2:14

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. - Romans 12:18

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. - Ephesians 4:3

Conclusion
The idea of God's shalom in our lives is a beautiful vision, and it is a possible vision as we offer our lives to God through Jesus Christ and experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The result in our lives begins with peace with God, leads to peace with ourselves, and finally comes to peace with the people around us.