Markham Baptist Church Sermon - November 28, 2004

Preached in Markham Baptist Church, November 28, 2004

Of all the promises that come to us in the Christmas message, perhaps the most treasured is the promise of Peace. Isaiah 9 tells us that the coming King, sent by God, a mere baby, will be called, "Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” (Isaiah 9:6,7) And in Luke 2 we read of the heavenly host praising God for the birth of the promised Saviour and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom is favour rests.”(verse 14). And we say “Amen”.

We all could use some peace in our lives. That quiet calm would be a welcome visitor to any of our homes, a welcome change from the worry and stress of our every day lives. We all could use some peace in our lives.

And so we ask, Can Jesus deliver peace? And as we read through the gospels we discover that yes, peace radiates from Jesus, it is a quality of life that he often gives to the sick, the lonely, the bereaved, the sinner.

Here is the demon-possessed man from the region of the Gerasenes, (Mark 5:1-20) naked, homeless, living among the dead, so dangerous that the people have to chain him hand and foot – so strong is the demon within him that he would break his chains and run off to a solitary place. Jesus demands and commands that the demon leave the man, and the next time you see the man, he is dressed, in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus. It is a picture of contrasts - life before Christ, life with Christ. Surely He brings Peace to a life, committed to Him.

Here are the disciples sailing across the Sea of Galilee and a storm whips up – so fierce is its power and so tremendous is its force that even the most sea seasoned of them could not keep from crying out – the disciples wake Jesus up, who is sleeping in the boat, oblivious to the storm. He gets up, rebukes the wind and says to the waves, “Quiet. Be still.” (Mark 5:35-41) And the wind dies down, and the lake becomes as glass. Can Christ bring peace? Certainly.

Here I am at the death bed of one of the old saints of my previous congregation. She knows in whom she believes. She knows Jesus is the resurrection and the life, she has lived for Him and with Him her entire life and as she slips from this life into the next there is a calm in the room that I have never experienced before - a peace that passes all understanding, peace in the face of death.

Can Jesus Christ bring peace? Yes.

But what is the nature of this peace? It is first and foremost peace with God. This is one of the great messages that we read of in the book of Romans, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) No more do we need to fear the wrath of God it has been met through our Lord’s sacrifice. No more do we need to strive to win God’s favour it has been won through our Lord’s sacrifice. We have peace with God.

But we also have the peace of God. As we give over all our anxieties to God in prayer the “peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6,7) That’s a promise we are given in the book of Philippians. So the very peace of God is ours. This is not the ability to avoid life’s difficulties and troubles. This is not the ability to deny life’s difficulties and troubles. It is rather the ability to face life’s difficulties and troubles with a resolute step, a strong understanding that we are firmly in God’s hands and nothing, nothing can ultimately harm us, this thing that threatens us does not threaten Him. This circumstance that is bigger than me is not bigger than God. It is as we give Him the circumstances and difficulties that we face that we find the peace of God.

Peace with God and the peace of God. Two wonderful qualities are given to each of God’s children, to each one who calls out to Jesus Christ.

But there is something we must be aware of. As we read through the gospel of Matthew we come to some words that seem to contradict the promise of peace in our lives. Jesus says,

“Do not suppose I have come to bring peace to the earth, I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” (Matthew 10:34)

“I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Yet in Isaiah we read that He is the Prince of Peace. Or in John 14 we read, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” So which is it – is it peace or is it a sword? And the truth is – it is both. Both? How can it be both? The sword is a weapon of war, and peace is the opposite of war, how can Jesus bring both, either it is war or it is peace. It can’t be both. But it is both.

The overall truth of Matthew 10 is that commitment to Jesus Christ will not bring external peace, but will bring conflict. Look at how Christ describes the Christian life in chapter 10. He is speaking to His disciples, His followers.

Verse 16 – “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” Do you know what wolves do to sheep? It’s not a peaceful picture.

Verse 17 – says followers of Christ will be handed over to the local councils and flogged.

Verse 19 – says we will be arrested.

Verse 21 – brother will betray brother, our own families will put us to death.

Verse 23 – “When you are persecuted”. Notice it doesn’t say “if” but when.

Verse 35 – "I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

You see when you commit yourself to Jesus Christ you will receive peace with God and the peace of God but... but it will also put you into immediate conflict with the world. Why? Because you now have a new Master, you now have a new agenda, where before you went along with the ideas and opinions of the world you don’t any longer. You now have a new standard of truth and it is not public opinion, but is the Word of God. You now have a new way of thinking about reality, new values, new purpose. You now have different goals than the world. No longer will you go along with the crowd to see a certain movie because it is not what Christ would have you see and that will bring conflict with your peers. No longer will you turn a blind eye to dishonesty and greed and hatred and all the attitudes of the world but you will stand for honesty and fairness and forgiveness and that will bring conflict.

No longer are you free to spend your Sundays as you wish because you realize that it is a day especially set aside for the Lord to consciously think about God and worship God. And that will bring conflict. Conflict with sports, conflict with family agendas. Those of you who live with non-Christians know this conflict first hand.

It’s not that our Lord deliberately wants us to turn against our father or mother or mother-in-law. That’s not what He is saying. He is saying that commitment to Him will not be welcomed by the world, or in some cases by our families and that commitment will bring conflict.

Jesus states it plainly for us in verse 22 of Matthew 10 “All men will hate you because of me.” Understand that Christianity is not a bed of roses, it is not supposed to be. What else can you expect? Our leader was crucified! So Jesus says in John 16: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: “No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (John 16:18-20).

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus Christ you need to be aware of this before you make your commitment. Understand that Christians are called to live radically different lives from the world and that will bring conflict.

So there is that aspect of the Christian life that you must understand, Yes, Christ brings peace to a life but also a sword of conflict.

But there is also this. When you become a Christian you are given the gift of peace but you are also called into a conflict.

Not only will conflict come our way simply because of the decision we have made, but we are called into a battle for all that is Godly and just and pure and makes for peace.

Listen, Jesus did not come to sing a lullaby to humanity and tell it that its sin does not matter and its wickedness is nothing, and that soon all will be forgotten.

No - He came in the name of God and eternity to declare war on all the things that prevent peace. He has come to wage war on all that separates us from God. He has come to wage war on all that destroys human dignity. He has come to wage war on hunger, and pain and sickness and injustice and homelessness and loneliness and sin and all the forces of hell.

"Do not think I have come to bring peace," says Jesus, "but a sword." A sword to wage war against all the things that shut God out from this world. He has come to do battle with the principalities and powers of this world that have not yet been redeemed by his grace.

He does not come this Christmas to sing us a lullaby and administer a sedative. No, the Saviour of this world comes with a sword and flame and a fire to declare war.

And He asks you and me to join him in that battle and we as a church have got to wrap our minds around this. We sometimes fail to think of the church in military terms, even though it is a very Scriptural image. Paul speaks of “Epaphroditus his brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier,” (Philippians 2:25). He encourages Timothy to “endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:3) and Scripture encourages us to “put on the full armor of God.” (Ephesians 6:13).

I think William Booth had it right here. William Booth saw Christianity as a great battle against evil. Yet he knew that we Christians often forget this and grow complacent in our faith – so he created a movement, a denomination that would keep this idea at the forefront of his people’s minds and he called it the Salvation Army. William Booth saw the church as this massive army unleashed upon the world for the proclamation of salvation, both spiritual and practical – seeking to deliver the world from the effects of the demonic, with the belief that God is with us and is leading us to victory.

"Come follow me," says Jesus, "join me in a revolution. Join me as I seek to feed the world's hungry, join me as I seek to provide homes for refugees, join me as I seek to tell the prostitute and the alcoholic, and the divorcee and the homosexual – the lepers of our society that they are loved and cared for and can know the grace of God."

We forget that we have been called to a conflict. It was Tony Campolo who once said, “We Christians say that we want kids who don’t have a care in the world. Listen, the reality is that if they become Christians they will have more care for the world." For our Saviour comes to wage war against everything that separates people from God, he brings a sword.

You see the great news of the gospel is not just that you are loved, it’s not just that your sins have been forgiven, it’s not just that you have peace with God and the peace of God. You may remember that that was the problem with the people of God in the Old Testament. The Jews thought that what God wanted to do in History was to make them wonderful. And if there is anything that history teaches us it is that the Jews forgot their mission.

When God called Israel, He didn’t just call them and say, “I’m going to be a real blessing to you, God has got something wonderful in store for you, Something real good is going to happen to you.” This is what he said, “Through you all the nations of the world will be blessed.”

The great news of the gospel is that God is calling us into partnership with him in the battle against evil in this world. You have been saved for a mission – and the church has been created for a mission. I have come, says Jesus, to war against the things that shut God out of the world.

So it was G.K. Chesterton who said “every real Christian who believes in his faith must do two things, he will dance, and he will fight; dance, for sheer happiness; make war because he has discovered something that is irresistible, and opens a sure path to triumph.”¹

And our weapons as we engage in this war? The towel and the basin. Humble self-giving service. Prayer. The Word of God. The power of the Risen Lord.

As a church then we need to always be thinking of our role in this battle and asking the question how can we use our resources to bring the good news that peace with God can be gained through faith in Christ and the peace of God can be obtained through life with Christ. When I say that I think we need to focus on outreach this year, I am not saying that we should abandon everything that has been established and pour all our energies into knocking on doors. No, what I’m saying is that we need to be thinking of how we can use what we have in place to support the mission that God has given to the church.

How can we use our financial resources – how can we shape our budget to reflect the fact that we are called to a mission – to bring the good news of peace to the world. How can we use this building as a mission centre? How can we use this building like a great armoury where people are trained and enabled to join in the battle? How can we shape our programs and events to have an element of faith sharing? We need to be constantly evaluating our programs, policies, our vision and our dreams in light of this fact.

Will it bring peace? Yes, but at a cost. First we are called to war, not with one another, but with all that separates people from God, and it is as we do that - that peace comes.

Leith Anderson speaks of meeting a man named Phil an African American who wanted to become a church planter.² Phil decided that he would start a church in a South Eastern American city that would not necessarily reach out to the poor and disenfranchised but to professional African Americans, people who are attorneys, and physicians and politicians successful business leaders. The church experienced amazing growth, in four years it went from nothing to a 1,000 people at worship. It was a peaceful situation, everything was good.

They started to look for a permanent church plant and they found one in the heart of the city, from a congregation that had disbanded and the property was available. It was available for a good price, the building needed some refurbishing but it was suitable. So they made an offer and it was accepted. What they didn’t know was that their new church building was in the middle of an all white poor neighborhood the center of Ku Klux Klan activity in that area. And as you might have guessed the KKK was not all that happy about a black church come into the middle of their neighborhood. So what was a peaceful situation, became full of conflict.

And there were all kinds of racist expressions and threats and it was ugly and unpleasant and frightening. Conflict came to this young congregation.

So the leadership of the church got together and prayed and prayed and prayed and asked God what they should do. They could do one of two things, They could up and move and seek peace in a more favourable part of town, or they could stay and join Christ in the battle against everything that separates people from God. And at the end of days of prayer the conclusion they came too was that God was calling their church to win the Ku Klux Klan to Jesus Christ.

Now you can appreciate that, that is no small task for a black church. Now the church was entering into the conflict. Do not think that I have come to bring peace, but a sword.

So here is their strategy they observed that the people in their community were unemployed and underemployed, they were employees rather than employers That they were renters rather than owners, that they couldn’t get the services that people in more affluent areas of the city could. That they had problems with broken water and sewer lines and when they called the police they would take a long time to come.

So what they did was they offered the services of the people in the church to help the people in the community with the goal of touching people with the truth of Jesus Christ, because they had lawyers and physicians and people with connections to banks, and the skill to start businesses. You see that is bringing the sword of Jesus Christ to bear on our culture. It is attacking everything that robs people of peace.

They thought it was a brilliant plan but what they discovered was that no one in the neighborhood would come to their building for fear of the retaliation that would take place.

So they went back to pray again, and they prayed and they prayed. And finally what they concluded was that what they would do was secure space on the other side of their metropolitan area where they would go at night so they could have secret meetings with the neighbors so they could help them get loans, so they could help them buy houses, so they could help them get jobs, so they help deal with the government, so they could help them in their needs in order to reach them for Jesus Christ.

Do you think any of that brought peace? Well yes but it wasn’t without pain and difficulty and stress and hard work. You see this is what Jesus calls us too.

It is as we war against sin and all it’s affects that we are able to bring the peace of Christ into a sin stricken life. It is as we battle hunger in this world that we bring peace to a life that comes from having a full stomach. It is as we fight against immorality and impurity in this world that we are able to bring the peace that accompanies purity and holiness.

Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth but a sword. May God grant that we would pick up the sword and be willing by God’s strength to do battle with everything that separates people from God.

ENDNOTES:

1. Quoted by John Gossip in his sermon, “Revival Of Some Obsolete Notes” in his book, From the Edge of the Crowd, (Edinburgh: T.& T. Clark, 1924) page 38.

2. From a sermon preached at the BCOQ Assembly in Toronto, 2003.