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5
Secrets to Inner Peace
Samuel Stone
The
question is, how do we find peace in this stormy sea of suffering?
Let's
look at how Jesus left his peace to us in today's scripture lesson.
When Bertrand Russell was on his deathbed, he asked his wife,
Edith Finch, to embrace him and he said, “My love, I’ve been searching for
peace all my life, but I’ve never found it except in your arms.”
It
sounds quite romantic, but it also surprises those who know him as one of the
greatest peacemakers of the 20th century and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The
great peacemaker said he has never found peace except in his wife’s arms, and
if you know Bertrand Russell, you know that this is his fourth wife.
This
was a great disappointment for those who looked up to him, as a model atheist,
to see if human beings can find peace and happiness outside of faith in Christ,
ever since he authored “Why I am not a Christian,” which became the
Bible of atheism and agnosticism, at least to some extent.
Russell
also authored a short but famous book “The Conquest of Happiness,” in
which he wrestled philosophically with the issues that make us unhappy and
those that do.
Peace
is one of the most sought-after wisdoms of life.
I did a
search on Amazon for books on peace and I got over 50,000 results. The fact
that there are so many books on this subject means peace is a big business.
We live
in this stormy sea of suffering and everyone wants to reach out for a straw
that might keep them afloat.
Without
peace, there’s no happiness. The question is, how do we find peace in this
stormy sea of suffering?
The
scripture lesson today has an interesting verse. Jesus said,
“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.” - John 14:27 NRSV
Jesus
is saying that the peace he gives us is different from what the world could
give us.
This
explains why people search for peace elsewhere will never find peace at the
end.
Jesus
left his peace with us. His peace is the peace allows him to stand still in the
strongest storms of life.
His
peace is the peace that allows him to forgive people when suffering the most
excruciating pain of crucifixion.
The
Bible provides us five secrets to peace. I organized them for you in a mnemonic
acrostic using, PEACE.
1. Pray About Everything.
P is for Pray About Everything.
The Bible says, “Do not worry about anything, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7)
Notice it says “everything.”
You pray about everything. For the things that you messed up in
the past, pray for the forgiveness of sins.
For the things that you worry about in the future, pray for
guidance. For the things that you are happy about, pray to give thanks.
It says, when you do that, “the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.”
Life is full of things to worry about, but most 90% of the
things we worry about never happened.
The rest of the 10% of the things we worry about are beyond our
control, so it is meaningless to worry about the things we cannot change.
So, spend the time for worry in prayer and you will have peace.
Pray about everything.
2. Entertain Beauty.
E is for Entertain Beauty.
The Bible says, “Finally beloved, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things
that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of
peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
I summarize all these things listed here with the word “beauty.”
You go to the Broadway to entertain beauty. You go to the parks
to entertain beauty. You read the Bible, to entertain beauty. You listen to
music, to entertain beauty.
Last year I spend the spring season going around taking pictures
of flowers. You might have seen them on my Facebook.
When I zoom in to take a close up shot of a flower, I begin to
see the beauty that I’ve never seen before.
Some of them are just breathtakingly beautiful. They amaze you
about God’s handiwork. You see God’s fingerprints in them.
Entertaining beauty makes you think about what God can do for
you instead of what this world can destroy you.
Jesus said, “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which
is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more
clothe you?” (Matthew 6:30).
So, entertain beauty. Think about the things that are true and
don’t think about the things that are untrue.
Think about the things that are honorable, and don’t think about
the things that are honorable. Think about the things that are just, and don’t think
about the things that are unjust.
So on, and you will discover that the God peace will be with
you.
3. Accept God’s Gift of Peace.
A is for Accept God’s Gift of Peace.
Before Jesus left for the cross, he said, “Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” (John 14:27a)
Peace is a gift, and since it is a gift, all you need to do is
to accept it and claim it.
One of the reasons that we don’t have peace is because we look
for it in the wrong places. We think money can give peace, so we try to find
ways to accumulate money.
Barbara Walter was interviewing Jim Carry some time back. Jim
Carry talked about how poor he was when he started out in Hollywood, and how he
worked hard to because so successful.
Barbara asked him, “So, now you have a lot of money. Are you
happy?”
Jim Carry laughed and said, “Anyone who thinks money can make
him happy has not yet have money.”
In the same way, I can say that anyone who thinks procession,
power, and prestige can bring peace is just delusional.
The good news is the true peace is not so hard to get. All you
have to do is to accept it as God’s gift, and you will be able to experience
peace.
King David says, “I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.” (Psalm 4:8).
4. Conquer Your Fear
C is for Conquer Your Fear
We have fear when we feel weak and don’t have someone to guide
or guard us.
In another word, we have fear when we don’t have the presence of
God because in such times, we are like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus knew that his disciples would be afraid after he left.
That’s why he said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them
be afraid.”
He wants them to understand that even though he is no longer
physically with them, he is with them spiritually.
He said, in verse 23, “Those who love me will keep my word,
and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with
them.” (John 14:23).
It says God will make his home with you. Do you want it? I’m
sure you do.
If God is with you, you will be able to say like King David, “Even
though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me.”
(Psalm 23:4a).
How do you have the presence of God? It says, “Those who love
me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them
and make our home with them.” (John 14:23).
The key here is to love Jesus. How do love Jesus? By keeping his
word.
When you keep his word, God will love you and both God and Jesus
will make their home with you.
You will have peace because the God of peace will be with you.
5. Emulate The Saints
E is for Emulate The Saints
We don’t have enough time in our life to learn everything we
need to learn.
One of the shortcuts to grow faster is to emulate those who has
been there and done that.
That’s why the Apostle Paul said, “Keep on doing the things
that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of
peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9)
He said, “Hey, look at me and learn from me. Do as I do
because I learned from Jesus and I do as he did.”
When you read the Bible, you learn from the saints — King David,
Moses, Joseph, Paul, Peter, the Apostles, and so on, and of course Jesus, our
ultimate model of peace.
You can also learn from the saints outside of the Bible.
That’s why I love biography of people like Abraham Lincoln,
Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Billy Graham, and many more.
The Bible says, “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses.” (Hebrews 12:1).
So let’s review the five secrets to peace:
P is for Pray About Everything
E is for Entertain Beauty
A is for Accept God’s Gift of Peace
C is for Conquer Your Fear
E is for Emulate the Saints
Peace be with you! Amen!
Pastor • Trinity
Presbyterian Church • North
Jersey • Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
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