The Peace Filled People

We're going to begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise. We're singing in Psalm 40, the Scottish Psalter Version, page 259, Psalm 40.

! I'm going to sing from verse 1 down to the end of the double verse 5.

I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear. At length to me he didn't climb my voice and cry to hear.

He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay and on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way.

And we thank God that he gives us a new song. He put a new song in my mouth.

Our God to magnify. Many shall see it and shall fear and on the Lord rely.

We'll stand to sing to God's praise. Psalm 40, verse 1 to 5.

Psalms 40:1–5

I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear.

A day to me he didn't climb my voice and cry to hear.

He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay and on a rock he set my feet,

He put a new song in my heart.

Our God to magnify.

Our God to magnify.

Then he shall see it and shall hear and on the Lord rely.

O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord rely.

Please, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are

Thou hast done, thy gracious thoughts to us were far.

Above all thoughts are gone.

In order none can let on end, till ye at end ye bear.

And speak of them, I would be more than can be number one.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Let us pray.

Lord, our gracious God, we come before you and you this evening thankful for these words that we have sung.

Thankful for the reminder to us of all your gracious ways towards us, your gracious thoughts.

To us were far above all thoughts are gone, the psalmist says.

It just reminds us, Lord, that as we come, we want to give thanks and praise to you for your graciousness towards us in this day.

For your goodness to us, Lord, that we have been blessed by you in so many ways.

But as we look back to you, Lord, we see that your gracious ways towards us has been throughout our lives, throughout our experiences.

The way that you have been patient with us, the way that you have watched over us, the way that you have guided us in every step, even when we're unaware of you.

And we do pray and thank you, Lord, for your goodness to us in all of these things.

And we thank you, Lord, that you are the one who we have come to wait upon, that you are worth waiting for.

And for when we realize, Lord, what a God you are and what you have done for us in Christ Jesus.

And what we've been remembering together here this day of the one who was condemned for our sins.

And when we think of all that he bore for us, all the suffering, all the shame, all the mocking, all of these things, Lord, that he endured for his people.

We can only but come humbly before you, recognizing how unworthy we are.

And yet worthy is the lamb who was slain.

And we thank you that the praise and glory is to him.

And the way that he brings us to that place where we know what it is to trust, what it is to believe,

when we are brought from that fearful pit and from the mighty clay,

and have our feet set upon that rock, that rock that is Christ.

And we thank you for all here this evening who know that security, that faith in him,

and that it is not in anything worthy of ourselves that we come boasting,

but boasting only in the cross of Jesus Christ.

And we thank you this night, Lord, that you have remembered us in these things.

And we pray, Lord, that you will give us that song, that new song to praise you,

that new song to glorify your name, and to praise you with all our hearts.

And we ask, O Lord, that even this evening as we gather for worship,

that you would not just give thanks, that we would not just give thanks as people who have believed,

but also those who are still waiting on you,

those who are still waiting to trust in you or to confess you,

those who may be long for it in their hearts.

We pray, Lord, that tonight you would give them a new song,

and that they would be able to praise and magnify your name in a new way and with a new song.

And we do thank you, Lord, for the fellowship of your people.

We thank you for the blessings that there are in that unity together,

in that fellowship we enjoy,

even the peace that we have had this day together.

We thank you for that.

And we just pray for that peace to continue over us,

that as we go from here this night and into the week ahead,

that we would go as a people who know your peace with us and among us,

that peace that passes all understanding.

But there would not be a peace that makes us complacent,

but a peace that makes us recognize our dependence is upon you day by day,

and that we long to see your blessing over us as a people.

We long to see your spirit moving in our midst.

We long to see your church being built up in more and more ways and in more and more places.

And we do thank you, Lord, that your word reminds us that you are indeed building,

that you are a God who is always building.

In times you are rebuilding, but always building your church, O Lord,

that it would be for your glory throughout all the ends of the earth,

that your name would be proclaimed,

and that your people would be brought in to you and to the number who are being saved.

And so we thank you, Lord, for the church that is yours and the head that is Christ,

and the spirit that works all around the world,

the spirit that calls, the spirit that convicts,

and the work of salvation that we see going on in so many places and so many ways.

We thank you that there is one God,

and that you are God and Lord of all.

And help this world to acknowledge and to recognize that.

Help us to always have your name on our lips,

confessing you and speaking of you,

the wonders of your grace,

the wonders of your power,

and the wonders of the purpose which we have in this world.

For our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

And yet so often we are distracted from that.

So often there are other things that come into our experience and into our lives,

and into our communities, and even into our churches,

that keep us from giving that glory to you.

And yet we pray, Lord, that you will help us to glorify you and to enjoy you day by day.

We thank you, Lord, for all that we are involved in as a church in this community.

We thank you for all the meetings of prayer.

We pray that you will encourage us in our prayers,

that we would always pray and not lose heart.

We can often feel that prayers are unanswered,

or prayers are not having the impact we would want.

We can often be mocked even for prayers offered up that seem to be unanswered.

But we thank you, Lord, that your word reminds us that we are always to pray that your will be done.

And teach us, Lord, that will.

Teach us to know what it is.

Teach us to be a people that are able to live in your will,

and to delight even in the will of God for us,

even when it seems so absurd or so ridiculous to us at times,

that we would rejoice in things that seem to bring the church down.

And yet, O Lord, as we are reminded so often in your word,

it is often in these times when, in our weakness as we see it,

that you remind us that you are indeed God,

and that you alone are the one who is able to do what is impossible for man.

And that is where we come in prayer, Lord,

looking to you to help in all our different needs,

whether they be personal to ourselves,

whether they be very intimate to ourselves,

might be things that are unknown to anybody else.

And yet we thank you that we can come to you in prayer.

And we thank you that collectively we come,

that we come as a people who share one another's burdens,

who are able to pray for even those who are unable to pray for themselves.

And we thank you that we can bring all our cares and our concerns to you in that way.

We do ask, O Lord, that you will hear our prayers for those around us,

for those who are unwell at this time,

for those who are in their homes,

those who have maybe had difficult news even in this past week,

for those who have been going through or are awaiting surgery,

and for those who maybe are very uncertain as to what the future holds for them.

And yet, O Lord, we pray that you will bring comfort and help

and the presence and peace that only you can in the midst of all such experiences.

Remember, Lord, our people around us then.

We thank you too, Lord, that our prayers extend throughout our community.

We again bring before you all that's been going on in our community

with the search for that missing boy, Alexander,

and just continue to pray for an outcome that would be in many ways a surprise to us, Lord,

but something that we would be able to rejoice in.

We thank you for all who have been helping in the search,

for all that's been done looking for him and helping the family as well.

And we just pray your nearness to all of them,

that your peace would be with them.

And Lord, we do pray for our communities

when we see the direction our community and our islands and even our nation is going.

Lord, we spoke so confidently in the past of this being a Christian community.

And yet in these days, we recognize that we are in so many ways far from you,

and there are so many with no interest in you.

And we just pray, Lord, that you will help us to be a people with a purpose to share the gospel,

to proclaim the good news, and to show forth the wonders of your work,

the wonders that the psalmist speaks of,

the wonders that thou hast done that are so numerous and numberless.

Lord, we cannot number them for they are so many.

But we pray, Lord, for others to see it as well,

to see the greatest need in this world and in this life is to find that peace with God.

And so we pray, Lord, for all endeavors to reach out to pray for these people.

We pray for our nation again, Lord.

We commit it to you.

We thank you for every congregation of your people up and down our land who are faithful to your word,

to your truth, and proclaim it day by day and week by week.

We thank you, Lord, that in so many different places we find places of worship,

maybe unexpectedly at times, when we think of a people or a place at times,

maybe we have visited and we've been surprised to see numbers attending church

or numbers believing in you.

It is a reminder to us, Lord, that you have your people in every city, in every town,

and every village, and that you are building your church throughout our land.

And so, Lord, in days when things seem dark,

we thank you for the light of the gospel that shines in so many places in so many ways.

And we pray for a great harvest in our nation,

a great turning of our people, Lord,

that we would come to rejoice in you once more.

We do pray for your help towards this world.

We thank you, Lord, that it is yours,

that the earth belongs to the Lord and all that it contains.

And we thank you, Lord, that you are God over all.

And we just pray for places and people to know the power of your salvation

and the power of your word being blessed to them.

We thank you, Lord, for our fellowship here,

and we pray that you will continue with us in this day.

We thank you for the fellowship to meet after the meeting this evening,

and pray for Paul and Elizabeth as they come to speak to us.

We thank you for their faith and for their witness for you.

We pray that we will be encouraged together in that time of fellowship,

that you will continue with us into the rest of the evening

and even into the week that lies ahead, Lord,

that you would guide us and help us, protect us and keep us.

We have been encouraged.

We have been blessed.

And we know that so often when that is the case,

we so often come under attack within the moments of leaving here

and going into the workplace, going into the community, Lord.

We know that we will be vulnerable in so many ways.

And we are reminded, Lord, that we are in a battle.

But we thank you for the armor of God.

We thank you for all the protection you give us by your word, by your spirit,

by your truth, and by your promise of presence with us.

So hear our prayers, Lord.

Continue with us and watch over as we pray.

Bless your word to us as we open it up, as we share from it once again.

That we will be blessed to each of us in the singing of your praise,

that we will lift up our voices to you with that joy in our hearts,

that joy of salvation.

Hear our prayers, Lord.

Continue with us and pardon all our sin as we ask all these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise.

Psalm 119.

And let's sing Psalm's version.

Page 167 of the psalm books.

Psalm 119.

We're singing at verse 161.

Psalm 119.

Verse 161.

We'll sing the whole of this section.

The rulers hound me without cause.

My heart fears nothing but your word.

For in your promise I rejoice.

Like one who finds great spoil, O Lord.

All falsehood I abhor and hate.

With all my heart I love your law.

I praise you seven times a day for your commands.

I hold in awe.

Great peace have those who love your law.

They will not stumble in the way.

I wait for your salvation, Lord.

And your commands I will obey.

We'll sing this section of the psalm.

Psalm 119.

Verse 161.

We stand to sing to God's praise.

O ruler's end me without cause.

My heart fears nothing but your word.

For in your promise I rejoice.

Like one who finds grace for you, O Lord.

All falsehood I abhor and hate.

With all my heart I love your law.

I praise you seven times a day.

For you commands I hold in awe.

Great peace have those who love your law.

They will not stumble in the way.

I wait for you salvation, Lord.

And your commands I will obey.

I will obey.

I will obey your statutes, Lord.

My love for him is great and true.

Your laws and precepts I obey.

For all thy ways are known to you.

We'll turn to read together now in the Gospel of Luke once again.

We're turning into chapter 24 this evening.

Chapter 24.

We're going to take up our reading at verse 28.

So as we come into this chapter, we see Jesus has been buried at the end of chapter 23.

And then beginning on chapter 24, we see the day of the resurrection and how there was a mixture of fear and trembling and delight and joy and unbelief in the midst of it all.

It says in verse 11 of chapter 24, but these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them.

So even as people were hearing that the Lord was risen, they wouldn't believe it.

And then as we come up to verse 28, we come into the middle of the journey on the road to Emmaus, where two of them were going to that village called Emmaus.

And the Lord Jesus came alongside them and started to speak to them.

But even in the midst of that, their hearts were downcast and they were wondering who this was.

But we come to verse 28 and pick up our reading there.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going.

He, that's Jesus, acted as if he was going further.

But they urged him strongly saying, stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.

So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.

And their eyes were opened and they recognized him.

And he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.

And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying,

The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.

Then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread.

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,

Peace to you.

But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

And he said to them, Why are you troubled?

And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.

Touch me and see.

For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them,

Have you anything here to eat?

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,

that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them,

Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations,

beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things.

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you,

but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy

and were continually in the temple, blessing God.

Amen.

And may the Lord add his blessing to that reading of his word.

Again, we'll sing to God's praise this time in Psalm 73,

the Scottish Psalter version, Psalm 73,

at verse 23 to the end of the Psalm,

page 316 of the Psalm books.

Nevertheless, continually, O Lord, I am with thee.

Thou dost me hold by my right hand and still upholdest me.

Thou with thy counsel while I live, wilt me conduct and guide,

and to thy glory afterward receive me to abide.

We'll sing from verse 23 down to the end of the Psalm.

To God's praise we stand to sing.

O Lord, I am with thee.

Thou dost me hold by my right hand and still upholdest me.

Thou dost me hold by my right hand and still upholdest me.

Please, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray

The night is high, besides me there is none.

My flesh and heart hath gained and failed, but God hath failed me never.

For of my heart, God is the strength and portion forever.

For, Lord, we are far from thee, forever perish thou.

Then that thou rolling from below, thou hast destroyed all.

But surely it is good for me that I draw near to God.

In God I trust that all thy works I may declare, Lord.

Well, we can turn back together to a reading in Luke's Gospel, chapter 24.

Let me read again at verse 36.

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,

Peace to you.

Peace to you.

As we've come together over this weekend, last evening and today,

we've been seeing different ways that Jesus was with the people at the time of his crucifixion.

We saw last evening how he was before Pilate and before the crowd.

And we were thinking of the prevailing voices that were there then.

But the voice of the Lord, especially, that was over it.

And then this morning we've been at the cross.

We've been looking on Jesus as he was pierced for our transgressions.

Our Saviour died on the cross.

So we've come.

We've come towards the cross.

We've been at the cross.

But now we're maybe coming away from it in a sense as we come away this evening.

And we want to ask, well, how are we going to come away?

When you see people coming away from the cross here in the Gospels,

and as we look at the Gospel of Luke, you see many of them came away despondent,

despairing, doubting, all of these things going on in their minds.

But then there was a great change.

The most significant thing happened.

They met with Jesus.

And it says there, as they were talking about these things,

Jesus himself stood among them.

This shouldn't happen.

They had watched him be put to death,

watched him on the cross there die,

watched him be taken down and buried.

But now he has appeared before them.

And all of a sudden, there is delight.

And all the doubts, all the despair,

all the downcast spirit that they had,

suddenly there's joy, suddenly there's delight.

Why?

Because he is risen.

And today we have been remembering the Lord's death.

But we don't come away just mourning his death.

We come away remembering the great fact that he is risen.

He is risen.

Because that changes so much for us.

If we were only worshipping someone who had died,

like other religions do,

we would be without hope.

And yet here we have that great reminder

that he is risen.

That he died for our sins.

But that he is risen.

And there are some events that happen in the world.

Sometimes it's just a small event that gets spoken about in the news.

It may last for a few days.

There are other events that are remembered for maybe a longer time.

Significant events in the world

that are spoken about maybe for months or even years after the event.

But they still tail off after a time.

Although there's some significant events

that maybe appear on an anniversary or something like that.

We hear about them occasionally.

But what about the resurrection?

As we read of the resurrection here,

it's not something that's been forgotten about.

It's not something that's tailed away.

It's something that's spoken about all the time.

It's one of the greatest things we have to speak about.

The wonders that God has done for us.

We cannot number them.

And yet here in these chapters that we've been looking at,

we see how Jesus came for his people.

How he was mocked and rejected by many.

But how he was condemned.

And yet caring, concerned for his people.

How he was the chosen one.

But it didn't just end there.

And when you look through the Gospel of Luke,

you see at different points,

Jesus reminds us of what had to take place.

In chapter 9, verse 22, he says,

The Son of Man must suffer many things

and be rejected by the elders,

the chief priests and the scribes.

We've seen that.

We've been looking at that.

How he was rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes.

How you will be killed.

We've looked at that.

And you see it even here,

as the angel appears to the woman at the tomb earlier in this chapter.

In verse 7, it says that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified.

So it's there again.

It's repeated for us.

But there's something else that Jesus said.

In chapter 9 and here in verse 7 as well,

Well, it's this, on the third day he may be raised.

He would be raised.

On the third day he would rise.

And so there's the wonder of this.

That he is risen.

You see, the death of Christ,

it wasn't just, it wasn't the end.

It wasn't that everything was accomplished that needed to be through his death.

No, there was more still to come.

He would rise on the third day.

He had told them so.

And yet you find the two on the road to a maze, for example, going away, downcast.

Even though they've started to hear whispers that he was risen.

The disciples themselves, in verse 11 it says,

These words seemed like an idle tale.

And they did not believe them.

It was unbelievable.

This just couldn't register with them.

He is risen.

And there is power in that for us.

The resurrection of Christ.

But do we know that power?

Do we have that power for ourselves?

That as we come away from the Lord's Supper today,

as we go away this evening,

as we go into the week ahead,

are we remembering,

Yes, Christ died for our sins.

We have remembered that.

But that we remember, too, that he is risen.

And that because he is risen, he goes with us.

R.C. Sproul once said,

Our natural inclination is to hide ourselves from God.

And we see that so often in our own experience,

in our past.

We see it here in the Gospels,

as Jesus was being crucified.

The natural reaction to so many was to shun back,

to hide back.

You think of Peter and his denial.

You think of those who we mentioned this morning,

who watched on from afar.

In verse 49 of chapter 23,

the woman and those who had followed him from Galilee

stood at a distance,

watching these things.

Our natural inclination is to hide ourselves sometimes.

And for the disciples here,

and those who had been followers of him,

they'd kind of hidden themselves away.

They had gathered together in a room,

just the disciples and a few others.

The two on the road to Emmaus had gone away,

heading off to another place,

another village.

They'd all turned away because Christ had died.

But what changed everything

was the fact that he is risen

and that he appeared to them.

Even as they were talking about these things,

Jesus himself stood in their midst

and said to them,

Peace to you.

And what great peace that is

to know that he is risen.

The resurrection changes everything for us

when we think of what that means for ourselves,

for ourselves today,

and for ourselves even in the future.

Because there is no peace apart from God.

But the peace that we know is that he is risen.

And because he is risen,

we have that hope of the resurrection ourselves.

That we will not die,

but live,

as it says in the gospel so often.

We live because he lives.

Because he is risen.

But what does that mean for us

as we come away from this communion weekend?

Well, there's three things

I want us to take with us

as we go from here this evening.

And they're all based on this idea

of this peace be with you.

And this peace-filled people

that we begin to see here

at the end of Luke.

And as you go on into the book of Acts,

you see Luke continuing

to show what these peace-filled people did,

what the resurrection did

for them as a people.

But we get an indication of it

here at the end of Luke

in chapter 24.

And the first thing that we see about them

is the peace that they had.

And then that leads us

to see the purpose

it gave them.

And then the third thing we see

is the power

that was with them.

This is all based on the fact

that Christ died

for our sins,

but on the third day

he rose.

So we just want to look

at these things.

First of all,

the resurrection brought

this peace

to the people.

The disciples

and those who had been

at Calvary,

coming away from there,

they were like mourners.

They had been to a death,

they had seen the Lord buried

and they came away

as mourners.

And the days following

the crucifixion,

they rested

on the Saturday,

on the Sabbath

as it was,

but they didn't have

that rest.

They didn't have that peace.

Because,

as you see,

with the two on the road

to Emmaus,

when you read verse 18,

it says there,

one of them named Cleopas

answered him,

are you the only visitor

to Jerusalem

who does not know

the things that have

happened there

in these days?

And he's saying,

you know,

what things?

And they said to him,

concerning Jesus of Nazareth,

a man who was a prophet,

mighty indeed,

and word before God

and all the people,

and how our chief priests

and rulers

delivered him up

to be condemned to death

and crucified him.

And you see there

that they've got two

out of the three things

there,

of what Jesus had taught

and what they had seen,

that he had been delivered

and that they'd been crucified,

but the third bit

is missing.

Because what they say is,

but we had hoped

that he was the one

to redeem Israel.

We had hoped,

but it's like their hope

is gone.

But like Jesus had said,

on the third day

he will rise.

But they had forgotten

that it was like

their hope was gone.

The resurrection

changes all of that.

And that's why we see

the amazing way,

the amazing power

of what Jesus says

in verse 36.

Their mourning

has been turned to joy.

And Jesus stood among them

and said,

peace to you.

Here he was,

here he was beside them all,

with them all,

speaking these wonderful words,

peace to you.

and what a difference

that made to them.

And we've reflected

on how so much

of what we read here

about the death of Jesus,

we also go back

to Isaiah 53.

And again,

this evening,

as we think of Jesus

saying,

peace to you,

we go back to Isaiah 53.

And in verse 5,

we are reminded there,

he was wounded

for our transgressions,

he was crushed

for our iniquities.

Upon him was the chastisement

that brought us peace.

That brought us peace.

And with his stripes,

we are healed.

And so as we look here

and see that Christ

was brought before the scribes

and the Pharisees

as he was crucified,

but on the third day he rose.

there is peace.

There is a peace

that Jesus brought

to his people then

and there is a peace

that he brings to us now

to know

that he has risen.

Another example

of what a difference

it made

into those

who were around him

in these days

was the Gospel of John

speaks about

the account of Mary

meeting Jesus

at the tomb.

in another way

it goes into more detail.

She was weeping

over Jesus.

She was looking

for his body.

And Jesus himself

came to her

and in John 20

John 20:15

verse 15

it says,

if you have carried him away

tell me

where you have put him

and I will get him.

She didn't know

it was Jesus.

But Jesus said to her,

Mary,

one word.

And she turned to him

and cried out

in Aramaic

Rabboni

which means teacher.

Her despair,

her tears

are turned to joy.

She turns there

and sees him

Rabboni teacher.

Suddenly there is joy,

there is peace.

And what did this

lead her to do?

Well she threw herself

at his feet

and clung to him.

She didn't want

to let go.

But when she left him

she met with the disciples

and said,

I have seen

the Lord.

I have seen him.

And these are the words

that they are saying

were just idle tales

and they did not believe

until they saw him

himself.

She had something

worth talking about

and so do we.

So do we have something

worth talking about

when we think of this peace

that the Lord

is able

to give.

Peace for life,

peace for death,

peace for

eternity.

one of the saddest things

I have seen

on the television

in these last few days

has been

as we have been

seeing the vote

that took place

in the parliament

and the response

to it.

One lady broke my heart

as she spoke

on television

saying,

I can now die

in peace.

peace.

And it breaks

your heart

when you see

because that is

someone with

no thought

of Christ,

no thought

of God,

no thought

of eternity

but saying,

I can now die

in peace.

peace.

But there is

no peace.

There is no peace

apart from Christ.

Somebody once put it

like this,

the most unhappy

person in the world

is not someone

who didn't get

what he or she

wanted.

The most unhappy

person is the one

who got what he

or she wanted

and then found out

it wasn't as wonderful

as expected.

And that's the reality

of our situation

today.

People have got

what they wanted.

But it will never

be as wonderful

as they expected.

You see,

the secret isn't

getting what you want

but getting what you need.

And what we need

is this peace

of Christ,

the peace

that he speaks

because this is the peace

that changes lives.

This is the peace

that brings us

to see the world

in a different way,

to see our lives

in a different way,

to look at the cross

in a different way

even and see

he died for our sins

but he rose again.

He's victorious

and therefore

we have hope

in his death

and his resurrection.

We find peace

in that

because that is the peace

that is ours

through faith in Christ

and the peace

that leads us on.

So we look

to this part

and we see

the peace

that Jesus gives

to his people.

but we also see

the resurrection

and the peace

it brings.

It brings a new purpose

to the people

as well.

When the disciples

met with Jesus

after the resurrection

it gave them

a new purpose.

You think of Mary

who we spoke of

as soon as she

met with Jesus.

What did she want to do?

She wanted to go

and tell others

he is risen.

And you look

at the two on the road

to Emmaus

and suddenly

their eyes are opened

and what do they want to do?

They want to go back

to Jerusalem

and tell others

that they have seen

the Lord.

We have seen him.

He is risen.

And so their lives

are transformed.

Their hearts

were burning

within them

just wanting to burst

and go and tell others.

And you see it go on

with the disciples

at the end

of this chapter

and then as you go

into the book of Acts

you see Peter

in all boldness

standing before the crowds

proclaiming the gospel

proclaiming the good news

of Jesus Christ.

The Christ

who was condemned

by the scribes

and the Pharisees

the Christ

who was crucified

the Christ

who is risen

the Christ

who is risen.

You see Paul

and his purpose

in life

transformed

by meeting Jesus

from one

who was condemning

the Christians

in his day

to going out

and proclaiming

the Christ.

And again and again

he makes that point

in his letters.

We do not preach

ourselves

but Jesus Christ

as Lord.

Woe to me

if I do not preach

the gospel.

And what is at the heart

of this

is the resurrection.

The resurrection

that Christ

is risen.

And that's the

peace filled people

that we see.

Lives that were

so despondent

so dismayed

transformed

because

he is risen.

It is

the peace

that Christ

gives

as Paul says

in Colossians

Colossians 3:15

chapter 3

verse 15

let the peace

of Christ

rule your hearts

to which indeed

you were called

in one body

and be thankful.

Let the word

of Christ

dwell in you

richly

teaching and admonishing

one another

in all wisdom.

You see the peace

that he gives

it gives us

something worth

talking about.

It gives us

that purpose.

And they go

from being

startled and

frightened

even as you see

here

in verse 37

they were startled

and frightened

and thought

they saw

a spirit

they didn't know

what they were seeing

and yet in verse 41

it says

while they still

disbelieved

for joy

and they were

for joy

and were marveling

he said to them

have you anything

to eat.

They're transformed

they're brought

from startled

and frightened

to joy

even in the midst

of disbelief

they can't believe

what they're seeing

and that's the wonder

of the gospel

it's a wonder

that we see

and the purpose

that it gives

something so

unbelievable

something so

amazing

something so

wonderful

and yet Christ

has spoken

to us

and Christ

has given

to us

that peace

and that hope

Christ

is good news

Christ

is the good news

that our world

needs

and even as we think

of the month

that comes

ahead of us

as we think

of the run up

to Christmas

when so much

is about

distraction

from the real

meaning

of Christ

and what he means

to this world

it's being pushed

out

yet what an

opportunity

it is for us

to tell the story

of Christ

who came into

this world

to save sinners

because we realize

that Christ

died for us

and rose again

and when people

come to understand

that as you see

here

it changes

everything

and so this is

worth speaking

about

this is worth

telling others

about the

resurrection

gives us

purpose

when we know

the peace

of Christ

in us

it gives us

purpose

to go and

share

with others

the gospel

it's central

to our mission

it's central

to what we are

as a people

what we are

as a church

these three things

that Christ

must suffer

at the hands

of sinful men

be crucified

and on the third

day

rise

the importance

is there

because Jesus

himself told

it so often

and so the

purpose

as he says

to them

here now

as he comes

into their midst

and speaks

this word

of peace

he says

then in verse

44

these are my

words

and I spoke

to you

while I was

still alive

that everything

written about

me in the law

of Moses

and the prophets

and the Psalms

must be fulfilled

and then he

opened their minds

to understand

the scriptures

and then he

goes on to say

thus it is written

that the Christ

should suffer

and on the third

day rise

from the dead

and the purpose

then is

that repentance

and forgiveness

of sin

should be

proclaimed

in his name

to all nations

it is the purpose

given to the church

to the people

of God

to proclaim

this message

of a risen

saviour

to a world

that is perishing

so we see

the resurrection

and the peace

it brought

we see the resurrection

and the purpose

it brought

but finally

we see the resurrection

and the power

that was brought

as well

the resurrection

reminds us

of the power

of Christ

his power

over sin

and death

that he has conquered

and the power

that he has

to save

to the uttermost

you see

he is saying

there

the repentance

and forgiveness

of sin

should be proclaimed

to all nations

beginning in Jerusalem

you are my witnesses

to these things

and behold

I am sending

the promise

of my father

upon you

that he is going

to be with them

that the Holy Spirit

is going to come down

upon them

and be with them

so

the resurrection

and the mission

of the church

are so connected

with the promise

of the power

of Christ

with his people

the Holy Spirit

poured down

upon them

and that is the way

that we see

the gospel

this amazing way

it transforms

people's lives

the way the gospel

opens hearts

the way the gospel

brings us to see

a new purpose

in this life

instead of

worshipping self

and the gods

of this world

we come

to worship

the true

and the living God

the resurrection

brings power

Paul again

writing in

1 Corinthians

says

the word of the cross

is folly

to those who are perishing

it is foolishness

to those who are perishing

the cross

means nothing

but he goes on

to say

but to us

who are being saved

it is the power

of God

the cross

is the power

of God

God's word

is powerful

God's word

is active

God's word

is able

to save

in a world

that sees

so much folly

in the cross

we should never

lose heart

instead there is

the power

of God

the power

of God

to salvation

that is our hope

that is the gospel

that we are called

to proclaim

with purpose

and with power

all for the glory

of God

John Wesley

was a great

evangelist

and his vision

was never

a small

vision

and he once

said this

I want the whole

Christ

for my saviour

I want the whole

Bible

for my book

I want the whole

church

for my fellowship

and I want the whole

world

for my mission

field

he never

underestimated

the power

of God

the power

of God

to save

and the peace

filled

people of God

are always

to be a people

of purpose

and a people

of the power

of God

with them

because we have

something

to talk

about

we have

something

to tell

the world

around

about

that

Christ

came

he came

to be

put into

the hands

of sinful

men

to be

crucified

but on the

third day

to rise

and that is

a reminder

to us

that for

everyone around

us

for us all

here

for us all

everyone we see

around us

that the day

will come

when we must

appear

before the

judgment seat

of Christ

the day

of the

resurrection

the final

resurrection

and what

then

where will we

stand

then

will the cross

then be

foolishness

will it be

folly to us

on that day

when we see

indeed

Christ appearing

in our midst

will it be

foolishness

to us

or will it

be too

late

the cross

is the

power of

God

to salvation

it's the

cross

that we

look to

the cross

where we

see the

one who

was pierced

for our

transgressions

the one who

we look to

in the midst

of a world

that's calling

in so many

different voices

to go this

way to go

that way

to shun

God

to turn

away from

him

are we going

to listen

to these

voices

or will we

listen to

the voice

of the

Lord

the voice

of the

Lord

who even

this evening

we could

say

is here

with us

he is here

with us

through his

word

and his

word this

evening is

peace

to you

peace

but do

you have

this peace

do you

have that

peace

that can

only be

found

in Christ

nothing

in this

world

can offer

the peace

that he

gives

because it

is a

peace

for today

it is a

peace

for tomorrow

it's a

peace

that passes

understanding

and it's a

peace

that will

see us

through

into

eternity

there is

a peace

for us

but it's

only found

in Christ

we despair

for those

who would

say

that to

die

without

Christ

is to

be able

to die

in peace

it never

is

the only

way to

die

in peace

is to

die

with

Christ

in your

heart

and that

assurance

of believing

in him

the one

who was

condemned

the one

who was

crucified

but the

one who

is risen

the one

who rose

on the

third day

and the

one

who will

come

again

the one

who is

victorious

the one

who is

building

his church

the one

who would

want to

come and

say

my

lord

my

god

my

king

may we

find our

peace

in him

let us

pray

lord our

gracious

god we do

thank you for

all that you do

for us

all that you

have done

as we have

reflected so

much on the

cross and

all that you

suffered

there

yet we

thank you

that as we

come this

evening we

see too

that just as

you had

spoken to

your people

that you

would rise

on the

third day

so it

was that

you appeared

to them

even though

it brought

disbelief

in so many

even though

there were

so many

who were

frightened

and startled

yet we

thank you

that there

was joy

there was

joy in

the one

who was

risen

in the

one who

they saw

in disbelief

at times

and yet the

one who

they rejoiced

in

and we

thank you

that you

are the

lord who

is risen

today

that we

look to

the one

who rose

from the

grave

who ascended

to heaven

who is

even now

at the

right hand

of god

the father

making

intercession

for us

and the

one who

we know

will come

again

and to

bring that

day of

peace

that we

long for

but we

thank you

today lord

that with

you

that there

is peace

to be

found

and we

pray that

we will

know that

peace

going forward

this evening

and into

the days

ahead

and that

that peace

would give

us a

great

purpose

in sharing

the message

of the gospel

with others

and that

that peace

would remind

us of the

power that is

ours through

christ

so hear our

prayers

continue with us

and forgive

our sins

as all we ask

we ask in

jesus name

amen

we're going

to conclude

by singing

to god's

praise

in psalm

16

in the

sing

psalms

version

psalm

16

in the

sing

psalms

version

we'll sing

from

verse 8

to

verse

11

and these

words are

the words

that remind

us how we

go from

here

setting the

lord

before us

but also

speaks to

us too

of the

peace

that it

gives to

us as

we go

on

before me

constantly

i set

the lord

alone

because he

is at

my right

hand

i'll not

be

overthrown

therefore

my heart

is glad

my tongue

with joy

will sing

my body

too

will rest

secure

in hope

unwavering

we'll sing

from verse

8 to

the end

of the

psalm

to god's

praise

voy voy

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

voy

Because it is that my right hand I'll not be overdone.

Therefore my heart is loud, my tongue which I will sing.

Thy body too will rest in pure in hope and withering.

For you will not allow my soul in death to save.

For when you leave your holy blood to see the truth today,

you have made hope to me.

Where hath the light divine,

This shall I hope that you're right hand,

Joy from your face will shine.

We'll give thanks for the food we're going to have next door,

and then the benediction, and after that I'll go to the main door.

Lord, our gracious God, we ask you to continue with us now in our fellowship together.

We thank you for all that's been prepared for us.

The food that we are about to receive, Lord, bless it to our bodies

and continue to bless our fellowship around your word

and the encouragement that we have in sharing and hearing of your goodness

in the lives of your people.

We pray that you'll bless both Paul and Elizabeth as they speak to us

and all that we do in your name this evening.

Now may grace, mercy, and peace from God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.