...from the desk of Rande Wayne Smith D.Min., Th.M., M.Div.

Battlegrounds - 1

PEACE OR CONFUSION

Job 7:1-4,6
Human life is like forced army service, like a life of hard manual labor, like a slave longing for cool shade; like a worker waiting to be paid. Month after month I have nothing to live for; night after night brings me grief. When I lie down to sleep, the hours drag; I toss all night and long for dawn. … My days pass by without hope, pass faster than a weaver’s shuttle.

May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion to His glory and our edification.  Amen.

This is already becoming a rough hurricane season. Last week we were praying about Gustav. This week our attention is on Hanna, Ike, and Josephine.

Hurricanes are storms with winds that exceed 74 m.p.h., and accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning. I was living in Key West in 1992 when Andrew came through causing major damage to southern FL.

Now one of the amazing things to me about hurricanes is that while they rage over the ocean, whipping up waves and creating a scene of havoc and chaos … a mere 25 feet below the surface, the waters are clear and calm. The fish there go on about their lives totally unaware of the thunderous tumult just above them.

When there is depth, there is peace.
Now, I believe that many Christians … many of us … are facing storms with a hurricane force in our personal lives. We are being battered by all kinds of things … it may be relationships, financial matters, health issues … we long for peace.

H.G. Wells said, “I cry out. I cannot adjust my life to secure any fruitful peace. Here I am at 64, still seeking peace. It is a hopeless dream.”

As a pastor/counselor, I have to believe that the problem of inner peace is one of the main issues I deal with when talking to people.

Many of us are struggling with anxiety, worry, guilt, regret, and fear, which create havoc and conflict and discord in our lives.
And if we fail to do something about it, those things will cause spiritual and mental damage to our being.

Isaiah, the prophet, describes this kind of thing saying it is “like the restless sea, whose waves never stop rolling in, bringing filth and muck.”

That word picture is appropriate. And that filth and muck will weigh us down and prevent us from living in peace. And sadly, that’s a fitting description of how many people are living today.

Let me begin this morning by asking … what’s behind the absence of peace in our lives? Hear me when I say … God isn’t responsible for it. God did not design for us to live a life of personal inner conflict with ourselves, with Him, or with others.
Like an automobile designer who carefully balances engines, suspensions, and bodies for smooth, vibrationless performance, God has willed that human beings experience a tranquil and serene inner state, like fish deep in the water.

The Apostle Paul alluded to this when he talked about how we are to relate with one another. “God does not want us to be in disorder but in harmony and peace.”

In other words, our lives are going to be filled with either peace or confusion. God is the author of the 1st of those circumstances. The other … confusion … is caused by the absence of peace (of God).

Both the Hebrews and Greeks had words for peace. I’ve spoken to you before about the Hebrew word … “shalom.”
To this day, as in Biblical times, “shalom” is used as both a greeting and a parting wish. If you call Paul Helle, pastor of the Messianic Jewish congregation that meets here on Saturday mornings, he will answer the phone, “Shalom, this is Pastor Helle.”

For the ancient Hebrew, shalom/peace was important; probably because they didn’t experience a whole lot of it. Shalom described the conditions in which things became prosperous. A drought is not a condition for crops to grow. But warm, moist temperatures are. The conditions have to be right for a harvest.

So the Hebrew who said “shalom” was simply saying, “May you find an atmosphere in your life in which you can grow and be successful.” Not bad!
The Greek saw peace slightly differently. For them the word “eirene” described the interlude between 2 conflicts. Soldiers could leave the ranks of the army and go home, plant crops, build houses, and raise families. It was a time for well-being to be established.

Out of both of these meanings comes something important. It’s God’s desire that a human being will grow and mature and become all that He has intended for them. But if a person denies themselves these conditions, there’s trouble ahead.

So why don’t so many experience this peace? James gives the Scriptural answer when he says that people desire worldly attitudes and actions, rather than Heavenly ones, and this results in “jealously” and “selfish ambition.”
James says, “Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.”

Confusion! Within and without … people unable to get along with themselves and one another. It’s the result of choosing to live outside of God’s plan for their life and that leads to trouble.

James calls it selfishness and jealousy … Paul says it is life controlled by human nature, and he says, it leads to death. “To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.”

What Paul and James are trying to say is that a person cannot choose to live indefinitely away from God and expect their life to run smoothly.
Sooner and later something will begin to go wrong.

Think of it as something like a burglar alarm system some of us have in our homes. Devices attached to every window and door touch off a screaming siren the moment an intruder enters the house.

God has built within the human body an alarm system designed to go off when we violate His spiritual and natural laws.

At the base of that alarm system is something called a conscience. We’re supposed to feel uneasy, guilty, restless, when we step outside of God’s will.

But many people choose not to listen to their alarm system. It goes off and they ignore it.
That brings us to our 2nd question … can spiritual peace be restored if it’s been lost? The answer is “yes,” but the process can be painful and time-consuming. And sadly, most people are unwilling to pay the price.

Now people may try to fill this God-void by diversion or rationalization, but when all is said and done, sin is sin no matter how we try to camouflage it.

So, how do we get rid of confusion? How do we find peace?

We begin with repentance … a word many people today like to avoid. It seems to be old fashioned in our world. But repentance is a word which describes a dramatic change in the direction in which a person has been living.
It means to suddenly stop, take stock of bad decisions that are leading to confusion/destruction, and turn in the opposite direction.

The average person stops right here. Repentance is too large a pill to swallow. To acknowledge that how they are living their life is on quicksand is a terrible admission. It is humbling, threatening, and numbing.

I have shared moments of repentance with many people. It is often important that repentance be done in the presence of someone who is trusted.

I’ve urged people to kneel in my office, pray out loud, and confess to God everything their alarm system tells them is true about themselves.
Then I’ve had the privilege of praying for them and confirming that now that they’ve repented, God has forgiven them.

John wrote, “if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.”

That’s an important understanding for the person who has just admitted to sin in their life … and with it God brings peace.

David, in the O.T., had a terrible problem of inner confusion. For him, it took the shape of fear. At the height of his struggles he writes,
“I prayed to the LORD, and
he answered me;
he freed me from all my
fears.”
This was the testimony of a man who was facing all kinds of storms. Listen to how he describes his life.
“I am bent over, I am
crushed;
I mourn all day long. …
I am worn out and utterly
crushed;
my heart is troubled, and
I groan with pain. …

My heart is pounding, my
strength is gone,
and my eyes have lost
their brightness.”

This is a man who suffers from all this stuff that’s coming at him. He’s feeling exhausted, depressed, self-pity, fear, and self-doubt. Have you ever felt like that? I have.
But David testifies,
“The LORD is near to those
who are discouraged;
he saves those who have
lost hope.”

This is life, and it can happen to the best and worst of us, but peace begins with repentance.

A 2nd step is just as hard. It might be called drastic readjustment. Simply stated … the repentant person must pursue a dramatic new style of behavior in those areas where life has gone off path.

Sometimes this has to be done very deliberately. I tell people to get a sheet of paper and write down specific things that they are going to do each day in order to form new habit patterns.
David found out that when he came to the Lord about his sins … God sent him in a new direction.

“The LORD says, ‘I will teach
you the way you
should go;
I will instruct you and
advise you.
Don’t be stupid like a horse
or a mule,
which must be controlled
with a bit and bridle
to make it submit.’”

We want to learn these new habits because God tells us they’re good for us.
But it must be daily, deliberate, and conscientious on our part. Like an alcoholic, we cannot afford to flirt even once with old behavior patterns.
A 3rd rule to bring about peace in our life is fellowship. A person must be surrounded by supportive love.

I visit a hospital’s ICU, and it suddenly hits me that seriously ill people are treated around the clock by specialists working in a unique environment with the best of equipment.

The person who suffers from the storms of life, and is feeling overwhelmed, needs to be surrounded by relationships and friendships of people who are committed to the Lord, and who will bring help and encouragement.

Paul wrote, “We who are strong in the faith ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves.”
He went on to write to the Galatians, “My friends, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way.”

We can become a spiritual ICU for one another when we worship and fellowship and pray regularly together. I believe to live a life of peace is an on-going struggle, and it takes the help of other Christians.

This brings us to the next step, peace, in the midst of storms, comes when we engage in acts of servanthood. In other words, people who have been serving themselves need to start serving others. The Christlike life is a servant’s life, where we begin to center our concerns on the problems of others.
It is not healthy to be constantly preoccupied with one’s own situation.

When people were healed by Jesus, He often said, “Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” And that’s what He wants to do for every person who comes to Him in repentance … He wants to put peace in their lives. Confusion out … peace in.

Which brings us to question #3 … What will peace bring to your life?

Scripture has a lot to say about peace. The original creation was a beautiful, peaceful place where people could grow to the fullness of their potential. It was only when Adam and Eve chose to do things their way that confusion entered the picture.
When Scripture talks about peace, it sees it on at least 3 levels. For example, you and I can have peace with God.

“Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I know to people who have come to church for years and listened to lots of sermons those words may seem devoid of excitement … almost ho-hum. But to the person who is facing storms, confused, struggling, and feeling overwhelmed … those words take on awesome possibilities.

To think that God and I can be in intimate fellowship with one another. I can be at peace with Him. Repentance means God forgives, and to be forgiven means that God holds nothing against me.
A 2nd level of peace occurs in our interpersonal relationships with others.

Paul wrote to the Galatians that “the Spirit produces love, joy, peace …” within us. He’s saying that the life yielded to God gains a new power to enter into peaceful experiences with others.

We now have the capacity through Christ to be peace-lovers and peace-makers.

Then a 3rd level of peace … resulting from the 1st 2 … is peace with ourselves. The internal war is over.

This, like with the other 2, comes when we give God our lives and begin to do things His way. But let me caution you … all this takes time.
While peace with God comes instantly and thoroughly, it may take a longer period for our entire spiritual system to adjust to the other changes in our lives.

It may be a slow process for some, and there will be moments of doubt and discouragement. There will be moments when we question.

But the old familiar invitation hymn expresses the importance of coming to Christ “just as we are” with all our hang ups, our short-circuits, our clumsy mistakes, our frustrations.

This hymn points to the healing and restoration that is possible. When I deal with a person struggling with peace, I always point them to this hymn and ask them to meditate upon it.
I think of a woman who had lived with the guilt of an adulterous affair for 5 years. Her inner conflict was so great that she shook with fear and self-hate. So great was her need for forgiveness; so little her capacity to accept it.

We went into the sanctuary of the church I was serving and knelt at the steps to the pulpit area. I listened to her confess her sin to God, and then I prayed.

When I was through I said, “Having heard your confession, I believe God has forgiven you. Go in peace.”

We then read the words to this hymn, and they remained a continual comfort to her as she struggled to find her spiritual peace and equilibrium in the days which followed.
Before we come to the Table, I want to give you a chance to pray a prayer of repentance, and then let’s sing this hymn.

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am – Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve.
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
 

MARANA THA