Peace

A little film clip for you from one of my favorite films, Grand Turino.

What was it like to kill a man?

You don't want to know.

Tao and Sue are never going to find peace in this world, as long as that gang's around.

What are you going to do, Walt?

Whatever it is, they won't have a chance.

We're talking about peace.

It's interesting, isn't it? I love film and media, and you know that genre, don't you,

where you've paid for your popcorn, you've paid a lot of money for your popcorn.

And you go there, and you sit, and what do you want to see?

I want to see retribution.

I want to see the good guy.

I want to see the other person shrink.

I want to see justice done.

And then I can walk out and think, that was a good film.

And peace will reign.

No.

I thought it was really easy in this, thinking about our reading this morning,

the scripture that Paul advocates.

And when you think of actually Paul himself, where Paul had come from,

Saul, to have written this scripture.

Because here is Saul, who was the person who was meeting out this retribution.

That's what he was doing, day by day, week on week, as there were just persecuting Christians.

And so he's on his way to Emmaus to deal out a bit of summary justice to some Christians,

when all of a sudden he gets this amazing, life-transforming, peace-filled experience

in the power of the Holy Spirit.

You can't get any more change and start than that.

And Paul has dramatically changed from something that is a gangster

into a man who is so passionate about Jesus

that he can't wait to tell everybody and live it out.

Do you know, and I bet there were people that knew Saul,

not as they knew Emmaus, Paul,

when they met him, using that word,

what a hypocrite.

Because I knew you.

I know your life.

And how can you change?

But Paul did.

And I want to encourage us this morning,

in part of our series in this fruitful living,

is to how we can change

and maybe get rid of some of this stuff

that has held us back from living in this peaceful life.

I want peace in my life.

But what I want to tell you is

it's certainly not an absence of conflict.

Because conflict will always be with us.

Whatever we do, life gives us conflict.

I've been on a few retreats in my life

and I have sat around with people

who, in this room where we all sort of concentrate,

I nearly use the word constipate,

because actually there's that sense of

we all are sitting around,

like trying to squeeze this peace

into this place,

knowing that two hours later

you're going to step outside

into the same life that you left.

And the question is,

how are we going to be transformed

to live in that life

where conflict is there and ever present?

And I think that's what Paul is talking about

and Jesus exhorts to us

when he gives us this scripture.

In Psalm 119 it says,

great peace have those who love your law

and nothing can make them stumble.

And there is something about living in that peace.

I want this peace.

I cannot give peace to myself.

If you have tried and you have gained

and you've paid a lot of money for it,

well done.

But believe you me, I have tried.

The peace we are talking about this morning

is not about my relationship with myself.

It's about my relationship with God.

And the word peace is about

harmonious relationship restored.

And I think that's a really important thing.

Harmonious relationship restored.

I have to ask the question,

what is our relationship like with God this morning?

Our true relationship with God.

God.

Because that's what we're talking about.

What is that thing that can bring us

as the prince and giver of peace?

What does that look like for us?

And Paul says it's about righteousness

that brings peace and allows joy,

as Russ said last week,

allows joy to actually break out.

The only way we're going to find peace

is to be truly reconciled with the Father.

Paul knows the Romans that he's talking to

because he is a Roman.

That's he knows the culture

in which he's speaking into.

And he says later,

therefore, since we've been justified through faith,

meaning made right with God,

we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can have that peace.

And I don't know about you,

I long for that.

I long for that in the conflict

that I live in

and the relationships

that I encounter and I see.

I long to see peace come in

to those situations.

Bring peace.

It's being right with God.

And he says about abiding,

abide in my love,

be in that place.

It was last year

that I found myself

suddenly whisked into hospital

with chest pain.

I thought,

here we go,

this is it.

And I found myself

in this side ward.

It was very quiet

and it was totally still.

And if that's where

you're looking for peace,

bless you.

Because in that place,

there was anything but peace

in my heart.

It was going through my mind,

my goodness,

who's going to preach on Sunday?

Does Mandy know where my will is?

Worse still,

does she know how much I'm worth dead?

Anything but peace.

And as an aside,

my heart was fine,

but my anxiety wasn't.

And sometimes we need

to hand this over to God

to actually give us that peace,

which we will hear later

the world cannot give.

When the Lord turns his face

towards you,

we experience that faith.

And I sense that peace

that we want.

It says,

the Lord turns his face

towards you

and gives you peace.

I don't know what you're like

when the Lord's face

turns towards you.

Because my experience

so often is,

Lord,

don't turn your face

towards me

because you'll actually

see who I am.

And that thing of,

we turn our face away

from God

because we are ashamed.

But actually,

the truth is,

he knows who we are already

and actually longs

to bring us that peace,

which he longs to bring.

And,

you know,

the thing the Lord

doesn't turn towards us

with his face

and say,

oh, look,

you've really messed up.

I mean,

we know that already.

And the Lord turns his face

towards you

and says,

it's okay,

I love you.

And I want to bring you

a peace

in this situation,

which you may never

have experienced before.

And I know you want.

You know,

I sense this thing

that peace is not escaping

from the reality

of this world's issues.

And each one of us

will know what that looks like

in our own lives

at this time.

So I want to encourage you

this morning

that we can find that peace.

As a police officer,

you used to turn up

at a situation,

whatever it was.

It was an accident.

It may well be

it was a fight.

A breach of the peace,

as they used to say.

And what were people

looking to you towards?

They're looking towards you

to bring order

into the chaos

of that situation.

And as the Lord

turns his face towards us

and empowers us

as his people,

blessed are the peacemakers

for us to bring order

into the chaos

of this world

through us

and into our own lives.

And I guess the world

may be looking at you

and me

as Christians for that.

So how do these Christians

behave

in stressful situations?

How are they?

Do they argue

amongst themselves?

Do they fall out?

Do they exude bitterness?

Or do they exude love?

And there is a sense of peace

in what they are doing

and in how they react.

It's about whatever

I'm called to do.

And the Lord says in Scripture,

I do not leave you

as orphans.

That verse really struck out to me

as I was looking at this

this week

because I think I'd lived

with an orphan heart

for ages.

I think I'd lived

without actually knowing

what the Father's love

actually was for me

and the peace

that that could come

from knowing him.

And there is something

about an orphaned heart

and I get that.

And yet,

to be filled

with that peace

which the world

cannot give

restores in many ways

that beautiful relationship

that he longs

to have with us.

I think that thing is,

I don't know whether

any of you have found

yourself in the mud

at Western Supermare.

I remember trying

to retrieve my dog once

and she,

being a puppy,

bounced more and more

further out and out.

I could see her

going deeper and deeper

and I knew

as soon as I stepped,

you know,

you step into that,

the more you panic,

the more you will sink.

The more you are calm,

the less you will go down.

And I stood

and I waited

and I prayed

and thought,

come back.

Come back

from there.

Come back

to a solid place.

Fortunately,

she did.

But it says

in John 14,

but the advocate

of the Holy Spirit

and the Father

will send in my name

will teach you

all things

and will remind you

of everything

I have said to you.

And I don't know

in that place

of panic,

we forget

time and time again

in that place of panic,

we forget again and again

what God is saying to us

and has said to us

down the years.

And I don't know

about you,

I do that for myself.

My goodness,

Lord,

why am I in that place?

And then

in verse 27,

it follows and said,

peace I leave with you.

my peace

I give to you.

I do not give to you

as the world gives

because we know

that's a cheap peace.

Do not let your hearts

be troubled

and do not be afraid.

I do not give

as the world gives.

What does the world

give to you

and to me?

What's it giving to you

at the moment

in your life?

Anxiety,

stress,

pain,

depression,

mental health

awareness week,

distress,

failure.

You know,

the world just

backs its truck up,

doesn't it?

Into my backyard

of my life

and dumps this stuff

on me.

And Jesus says,

do not let your heart

be troubled

and do not

be afraid.

How can you say that,

Jesus?

You don't know my life.

Yeah,

I do.

I know your life

better than you know it,

Clive.

My peace

I give to you.

my peace

I leave

with you

in the power

of my Holy Spirit.

We're going to learn

to live in this peace

when the storm comes.

Where do we access

that?

Where we go back

again and again,

my peace

I give to you,

my peace

I leave

with you.

Here is the

Prince of Peace

and the Giver

of Hope

offering

to give us

that peace.

If we are to be

disciples

and I believe

if we are to be

game changers

and I believe

many of us

are being called

to be that

in our society,

in our settings,

in our community,

I think we need

to look at this

seriously.

Because if I live

in fear

I wouldn't get

out of bed

in the morning.

In fact,

I probably wouldn't

get into bed

at night

if we live

in fear.

And yet

his perfect peace

it says

drives out

fear.

Peace

drives out

fear.

That hymn

is

it is well

with my soul.

Have you ever

sang that hymn?

It is well

with my soul.

That deep

sense of peace.

It's okay.

I am at one.

His face is

turned towards

me.

I am at one.

It is okay.

I know that the

world's going to

chuck stuff at me,

Lord,

but it is okay.

In Hebrews 12

it says,

make every effort

to be at peace

with all men,

I'll add in,

and women as well.

Check all your

relationships

are harmoniously

reconciled.

ouch.

Do you ever

have trouble

with people?

You know,

I can live

at peace

with people

unless,

you know,

I can't live

at peace

with people

unless I have

that deep

sense of peace.

And as church

we are

a people,

one people

unto God.

Do you know

what robs me

of peace?

I'll tell you

what my room

101 is.

It's not

gender specific,

but here it is.

It's the number

of people

that have chosen

the largest

trolley

in the supermarket

and put the

fewest number

of items in it

and then

choose to lean.

Trolley leaners.

Have you

encountered them?

And why is it

they're always

in the center

of the aisle?

I'm just here

for the day.

It's time

to no worry.

Love

the things

that rob me

of peace.

You will have

them all,

I am sure.

Lord,

give me peace.

Still my soul.

It says

to be at peace

with all

people,

even the

trolley leaners.

be at peace

with all

people

wherever

possible.

And if you

haven't figured

out yet,

and I have

to admit

that in a

place where

we feel

this peace,

I have to

admit as a

man that

sometimes I

am wrong.

It is a

confession.

As a man,

I realize

that I am

at fault

when Mandy

points out to

me that I am

at fault,

and I

realize that

I am

wholly,

unequivocally,

and utterly

at fault.

And if you

were to

browse my

text messages,

you will

find texts

that say,

I am

sorry,

XXX.

And yet

by the time

I have

walked from

home to

Christchurch

of a

morning,

that we

may have

had some

words before

we left.

And yet

by the time

of war,

there would

be no

surprise to

you that

all is

not well

with my

soul.

It is

not well

with my

soul,

because I

am not at

peace with

myself,

because I

am not at

peace with

those who

God has

brought around

me,

people,

to love.

you know

that

something is

not right

in your

soul.

And a

nudge

says,

you better

get sorry,

Clive,

because you're

not going

to find

that peace

today until

you're right

with me.

Honestly,

there will

be those

here who

maybe didn't

do that

thing of

saying sorry

minutes ago,

yesterday,

a month

ago.

and years

ago.

Did it

cling to

you,

maybe as

it cling

to me,

for years

and years,

and I

couldn't

find that

peace in

my soul,

which the

Lord wanted

to give

me so

freely.

It's

transformational,

I'll tell you,

it brings

freedom.

In any

room like

this,

90% of

people will

need to

do some

forgiving.

the other

10%,

you're

either

missed,

you probably

just don't

care about

upsetting

people,

but 90%

of people

have something

in which they

need to put

right with

other people.

And in a

moment,

we're going

to ask him

for that

peace,

that peace

which the

world cannot

give,

that is beyond

our understanding.

thing.

But like

you, I

don't want

this to be

temporary.

I don't

want this to

be where

we've got

together this

morning and

then we've

walked out

the door and

suddenly we

know the

moment we

walk out

that door

that conflict's

going to hit

us again,

that we're

going to go

back into

settings,

we're going to

go back into

our homes,

we're going to

go back to

our workplace

tomorrow,

we're going to

go to school

and this will

have made no

difference at

all.

This I

want for

us to be

lasting and

transformational.

About five

years ago we

were in

Harrogate,

we were at

a New Wine

Leaders

meeting and

the speaker

said,

well this is

what I

thought I

heard her

say,

this is

what I

thought my

heart heard

her say,

is if you

want peace

in all its

fullness you

have to

release the

resentment you

hold towards

others.

Now I

don't know

how long

my list

was,

but the

Lord did.

And stuff

that had

stuck to

me,

stuff that

I had

hung on

to,

and in

this big

convention

hall I

was really

pleased that

I wasn't

the only

one.

Because as

she said,

would you

like to

just come

and receive

that peace

which the

world cannot

give,

but also

at the same

time I'm

not asking

you to

phone

somebody,

I'm not

asking you

to write

a letter,

I'm not

asking you

to go

on bended

knee,

I just

want you

between you

and me

Clyde,

between me

and God

to just

sort this

and let

it go.

There's

your line,

because I

want you

to get rid

of that

stuff so

that place

can be

filled with

my peace

which the

world cannot

give.

love.

I'm not

going to

tell you

how long

my list

was,

but my

goodness

was it

mightier

than I

ever

thought.

The

Lord brought

me places,

faces,

situations

where I

was not

at peace.

I walked

out of that

convention hall

transformed and

changed.

I know

where to

find peace.

I know

where my

rock of peace

is now.

I will

not be

shaken and

when the

storm comes

I know

to that

place where

I go to

where I

find that

peace which

the world

cannot give.

I'm just

going to

invite the

team back

up again.

The

disciples,

those who

are going

to be

game changers,

those who

are the

ones that

the Lord

was going

to call

to transform

this world.

If I had

a mirror here

I'm going

to turn it

around as

you beautiful

people.

People that

were going

to change

the world,

they were

in a room,

they were

locked away,

they were

afraid,

they had

let Jesus

down,

they had

let each

other down,

they didn't

think that

he was going

to do

anything for

them,

they were

despondent,

they were

in fear,

they were

anxious,

they thought

that Jesus

had abandoned

them,

they had

thought they

had been

left alone

to sort

it out,

and then

Jesus steps

in and

says to

them,

what a

bunch of

losers,

no,

because that's

what you

and I,

the world

says to

us,

and Jesus

steps into

that place

and says

to them,

my peace

I give

to you

after all

this happened,

and my

peace I leave

with you.

the doors

were locked

in fear

of what

was happening,

Jesus walks

in and

says peace

be with

you,

why?

Because I

am sending

you,

I am

sending

you,

and he

breathed the

Holy Spirit

on them

and said

receive my

spirit,

I sense

that there's

many here

this morning

like me

at Harrogate

who need us

to hear this

message this

morning in

order to

receive that

peace,

that peace

which the

world cannot

give,

and as

Jesus came,

here he is

now in the

power of the

spirit to

say peace

I leave

with you,

my peace

I give

to you,

not as the

world gives,

do not let

your heart

be troubled,

I'm going

to invite you

now to

receive that

peace,

to receive

that peace

which the

world cannot

give,

you may be

going over in

your mind

now and

thinking there's

things,

there's people

I can't

forgive,

there's situations

for me that I

have to,

it's become part

of my

significance,

this is who

I am,

I have to be

angry about

this,

yeah,

that's fine,

but the

Lord meets

us where

we are,

in that

anger,

in that

disillusionment,

in that

fear,

whatever that

might be

and says

as he did

with the

disciples,

my peace

I give

you,

my peace

I leave

with you.