Peace

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. You're right and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. What if you are interested in such things as the financial markets and trades of this world? You are aware that the most valued commodities, the most valued items traded in the world today are oil and gold and steel and coffee, natural gas, soybean. These commodities are sought after and traded by nations large and small by men and women known and unknown. The movement and the fluctuations in these commodities, believe it or not, affect people all over the world in every part of the globe. We all have some idea as to the value of crude oil and gold and corn. And yet this morning I want to posit something in your mind and hopefully posit something in your heart even more valuable than oil. Even more precious than gold. In fact I would argue that it is that commodity that is more sought after than all other commodities, even coffee this morning. I am talking about the commodity of peace. I am confident that most of the world would trade all of its gold and gas for peace this morning. If you think about it, few things are more popular in our world than the idea of peace. I mean just think about it, we have multitude of world peace organizations. We have an army of volunteers scattered throughout the world called the Peace Corps. Every year we hand out these prestigious Nobel prizes and science and literature and medicine and in peace. And the reason peace is so valuable in our world, beloved, is because it is sought after by so many. In fact it is sought after by everybody I would argue and yet at the same time actually attained by so few. Everybody wants it and yet it is so elusive, isn't it? Just when you think you have it, boom! Something breaks it. Peace is elusive. It is elusive because it often means different things to different people at different times. For the parent with busy and excitable children, peace might be a moment quiet when they finally go down for a nap. I just want some peace and quiet. For the small business owner it might just be the ability to pay the bills and meet payroll at the end of a month. Just having that peace of mind. For the nation that is ravaged by war and protests and unrest it might be just a treaty and an agreement to lay down your weapons so that we might have quote unquote peace in our time. Biblically speaking, beloved peace is all these things and more. We are all familiar with the word for peace in the Old Testament. This is the word Shalom. It is the word that is more than just the absence of hostility. It is more than just the absence of animosity and worship. But the word Shalom means a wholeness of life, a prosperity, a tranquility, and a unity. That was a sum up if I could and I can't but if I could this morning just for our understanding sum up the word Shalom and one English word it would be the word flourishing. Shalom, however, is one of the richest and one of the most complex and yet at the same time one of the most important words in the Bible. It informs everything about God's relationship to this world and indeed to its people. It speaks of the enormity of God's revelation of himself and his agenda for all his creation. God is a flourishing God and he desires his creation to flourish. It was built to flourish because beloved it was built to reflect God. God is a flourishing God. It is his name. Judges chapter 6 and verse 24. It is part of the self-revelation of God. The perfect name of God, Jehovah Shalom. The Lord is peace. It is not just part of his self-revelation and the perfection of his name but it is also the goal that God has for all the nations. The ultimate goal that God has for all the nations in Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 4 is that the nations would beat their swords in the plowshares and their spears in the pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore. So the ultimate goal of God for all of creation and this is the mission of the Messiah. Do you understand? That is the reason the Son of God came into the world. This is the reason the Christ went to the cross. The Bible says in Isaiah 53 and verse 5 that the punishment the Lord received in our place brought us peace. Now to us Shalom because the Lord was punished we now in him can flourish. This is the pronouncement of the angels at the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds out on the hillside to the shepherds came the word of God from the angels saying Luke 2 and 14. Shalom honor and favor to all God's people and so I text this morning as another word from the shepherds to the sheep Shalom is God's desire for you. Shalom is the desire of the shepherd for his sheep every every shepherd desires the health and the well-being the strength and the security and the safety of his sheep his job is he wants the flock to flourish. In fact it is his job it is a job to guarantee it David beloved as a shepherd of Israel understood this well and so as we saw it last time we were in Psalm 23 and verse 1 because the Lord is my shepherd David remind us I have my profession. Because the Lord is my shepherd I have my portion this morning we can say because the Lord is my shepherd I have my peace as what the shepherd does he seeks to create an atmosphere where the sheep can flourish where they are at peace. Last time it was your profession and your portion this morning it is your peace Psalm 23 and verse 2 says he lets me rest in green metals he leaves me beside peaceful streams he lets me rest in green metals he leaves me beside peaceful streams. Psalm 23 and verse 2 beloved is a vivid reminder of what the shepherd does for the sheep and David no doubt that he is meditating upon this Psalm that the Lord has given him no doubt recount the countless days and which he as a shepherd provided for his sheep hours hours of tranquility free from worry free from strife so that they could feed and be full how many times how many times that David gone the extra mile so that his sheep might find peace for waters how many times had he gone on and above so that those sheep might be sheep who are able to feed who are able to drink who are able to be light who are able to lie down who are able to live down who are able to be restored peace is the goal of a shepherd for the sheep peace in fact is the only means for real prosperity you don't understand where there is no peace there is no flourishing where there is no peace there is no good health where there is no peace there is no prosperity and what the good shepherd does is he provides an atmosphere of flourishing green pastures so the sheep can feed and lie down still waters so the sheep can drink and be refreshed but in order for this to take place beloved in order for the sheep to be at peace and in order for the sheep to flourish certain conditions had to be met in particular one element had to always be removed it is the element of fear fear the shepherd who loved his sheep went to great lengths to remove all fear and that's what the Bible tells us the first John chapter 4 and verse 18 where it says perfect love cast out fear the good shepherd loves his sheep and therefore brings peace by casting away fear peace comes peace comes when there is no fear peace comes when there is no fear he makes me lie down in green pastures this is the sheep talking now remember this is the sheep talking the sheep says the good shepherd makes me lie down in green pastures but for the sheep to lie down in green pastures there must be no fear because beloved sheep don't naturally lie down they are not desterious like that they don't lie down because they can't get up quick when they lie down they are in a very vulnerable position they are vulnerable to attack and therefore if they are afraid sheep don't lie down they are afraid they don't eat well either they don't sleep well and they don't eat well what the good shepherd does the good shepherd takes away fear and the Bible says makes them lie takes away the fear and he makes the sheep be at peace our good shepherd knows his sheep and therefore knows that if we his flock are going to flourish fear has to be gone fear has to be gone and why does fear have to be gone well beloved a few things because fear is crippling fear is crippling sheep won't sleep well for fear sheep won't eat well for fear sheep don't flourish if they are afraid and if that's the case beloved is it no wonder it shouldn't be any wonder why the most frequent command of God to his people in the Bible is what fear not don't be afraid somebody has said and I'm not sure if it's true I haven't done the math on it but there are 365 fear not in the Bible one for each day of the year that baby convenient for sermon and I don't know if that's true but I do know that there are a lot of them there are a lot of them because like sheep we are skittish like sheep we are scary faith does not naturally come to us beloved fear does and fear is spiritually crippling fear is spiritually debilitating fear is deadly you know if fear does fear causes you not to see what is always in front of you that is the goodness of God right there in front of you it goes before you but because of fear we can't see it fear causes us not to believe what is always present with us and that is the promises of God because of fear we don't believe it fear causes us not to wait on what has never failed us and that is the faithfulness of God because we are afraid we don't wait because we are afraid we get up and run rather than waiting on the Lord and therefore what fear does fear causes us not to lie down in green pastures and our good shepherd knows we are like nervous sheep who can't sleep therefore Luke chapter 12 the Lord lays out for us over and over again all the things that we worry about that we shouldn't be worrying about and we worry about everything and Jesus knows it we worry about what clothes we're going to wear we worry about the state of our health we worry about the condition of this world ancient sheep about like like ancient sheep beloved we we worry about every little move anybody makes a sudden adjustment anything new happens in our world we get so worried about tomorrow that we get scared to do anything today and the fact of the matter is beloved most of what we worry about doesn't even come to pass and that which does come to pass you probably couldn't do anything about it anyway we notice what Jesus says in the chapter 12 verse 32 what did he say fear not little flock he knows that you and I are nothing but anxious sheep who won't sleep and who won't eat and he says fear not my little flock for it is God good pleasure to give you the kingdom it is God good pleasure for you to lie down in green pastures God wants to remove your fear so you can feast upon faith you do realize that you at the Lord can tell you to not be afraid because if you are born again in the Bible says the second Timothy chapter 1 verse 7 that God has not given you a spirit of fear and humidity but of power and love and self-discipline beloved the world the world in which we live is an ancient place every day every day fear floods our streets people are afraid of unknown viral infections people are scared and worried about riots and demonstrations fires and hurricanes ravaged homes and lives children in and out and back in school football starts and stops and it starts again what are you supposed to do in a world that is full of fear the Bible said in Psalm 53 and verse 3 when I am afraid I put my trust in you the Lord the Bible says Psalm 27 and verse 1 the Lord is my life and my salvation whom shall I see the Lord is the strength of my life whom shall I be afraid in the midst of the storms and chaos of this life God gives his people peace if we are only willing to focus on him some I mean Isaiah 26 and verse 3 he keeps in the perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trust in you perfect love cast out fear those who would focus on Christ find themselves in perfect peace the Bible is called in Mark chapter 4 Jesus is on the boat tells his disciples that they are going to go to the other side and in the midst of the trip there is a great storm that rages and the disciples fear for their lives and Jesus is calmly sleeping the bottom of the boat in the midst of the storm and the disciples are frantic and they are fearful they don't know what to do and they go and they wake up and they say master do you not care that we perish there is a storm raging all around us and Jesus says the Bible says Jesus woke up in verse 39 and rebuked the wind and set to the sea peace be still and the wind ceased and there was great calm there was peace in the midst of the storm because the Prince of peace was aboard the ship the reason the disciples were anxious is the same reason you and I get anxious and that is because we were troubled by the storm instead of trusting in the shepherd that's why the Bible says in Philippians chapter 4 right in the verse 6 do not be anxious about anything storms of life the chaos of this world don't be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God and what should happen and the peace of God with trend sends all understanding will God your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus he will make you lie down in green pastures oh for lover don't don't let fear cripple you don't let fear cripple you this morning the good shepherd is leading you to the calming streams if you would just look to him this morning but unfortunately not only is fear crippling fears also contagious isn't it yeah they you know what they tell us we all know COVID-19 is highly contagious highly contagious and because it's so highly contagious they have asked that we take the utmost precautions and what they ask us to do we ought to be constantly hand washing I hope everybody rinse their hands before they came in this morning we ought to be constantly washing our hands we ought to be wearing masks hope everyone has a mask this morning and we ought to be social distancing I hope everybody keeps their distance three main things that we should be doing right constantly washing our hands wearing masks and socially distancing why because COVID-19 is so contagious but beloved I got news for you there's something even more contagious than COVID-19 it is fear it can run through our lives like an airborne disease and when one person gets this beloved it can't cause a panic and we know this it creates panic in a flock of sheep when no panic is necessary you let one sheep one sheep get scared and start running you know what the other sheep are going to do they go pick up and start running to and shepherds often often speak about easily sheep are spooked beloved and they run without knowing the reason that sounds familiar doesn't it that sounds familiar this is how we do have you ever been in a crowd have you ever been in a crowd and someone gets spooked and starts running and all of a sudden the next person starts running next person starts running and suddenly you find yourself running and finally when everybody doesn't stop then calm down everybody asks why were you running and he said I don't know he was running and he said I don't know she was running I don't know because they were running because fear beloved it's contagious fear can easily spread God knows this when he was forming the Israel into an army as they came out of Egypt and he was giving them captains and leaders and do the army chapter 20 verse 8 he says then the out then the officer shall add is anyone afraid of faint hearted let them go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become this hearted to fear is contagious love it we spread fear like we spread corona somebody said don't let the corona get on you don't let fear beloved get on you it's contagious so in order to avoid the contagion might I give you some precautions you got three precautions against COVID-19 can I give you three against fear this morning first one is don't listen to yourself listen to your shepherd Jesus said in John chapter 10 verse 27 my sheep hear my voice and they follow me you don't have to be afraid or run if you follow in Jesus to problem is not listening to the supper you're listening to yourself don't listen to yourself listen to Jesus number two don't look at others look to Jesus when the others start running to ask yourself is Jesus running when others are scared ask yourself is Jesus scared when others get anxious about the situation ask yourself has Jesus got anxious keep your eyes the Bible says in Hebrew chapter 12 and verse 2 keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus he's the author and finisher of your faith don't look at others look to Jesus listen to your shepherd look to your shepherd shepherd and lastly don't be afraid this morning don't live for the day live for eternity today is passing away true life is eternal and therefore the Bible says our good shepherd says Matthew chapter 6 and verse 33 seek ye first the kingdom of Christ and all that he has for you beloved and he will add all these other things as you have need of them the reason we get afraid is because we get so caught up in living for the day live for eternity keep eternity in view and you know that the good shepherd cares for you that's why that's why I'm beloved you can lie down in green pastures take precautions you take precautions you don't have to give COVID-19 take precautions take precautions you don't have to be afflicted with fear your shepherd leads you beside steel waters in his favor don't let fear trouble those waters the reason you don't have to let fear trouble those waters beloved because it's important to remember that fear has been conquered yes yes is crippling yes it's contagious but beloved it has been conquered the good shepherd the good shepherd who makes me lie down in green pastures the good shepherd who leaves me beside peaceful streams and verse 3 also restores my soul the good shepherd is a soul restore it's what he does he restored my soul now do you see what I see if you don't see hopefully you will see what I see here I see date I see David speaking as a sheep but he's not speaking simply as one of his own creatures anymore because what David says here he isn't talking about his sheep because his sheep didn't have souls yes his sheep light down in green pastures yes his sheep drunk from steel waters but his sheep didn't have souls it just got personal the Lord restores my soul he's talking about himself you know what I literally says literally says the Lord brings me back the Lord brings me back and if anybody knows what it means to be brought back it was David if anybody knows what it means to be restored it was David he who causes me to lie down in green pastures he who leaves me beside peaceful streams most importantly always always brings me back why should I fear why should I fear because he's always bringing me back why because the tendency for the sheep is to do what is to wonder the tendency for the sheep is to wonder the tendency here is for us to fall the liability for us is to fail to live up to the high calling of being a part of the flock of God but beloved no worries no fears the good shepherd always restores always always always did you hear what I said I said always I know you don't believe it I didn't even believe it you think you think you think that God is just in the rescue business he rescues you from sin yes yes yes God is in the rescue business he rescues us from sin but beloved that is not all God does he doesn't just rescue us from sin but he restores us from our failings every day every day every day he didn't just rescue you from sin beloved he restored you and therefore there is no need to fear no need to fear no need to fear no need to fear no need to afraid be afraid to come to church why because Jesus is going to be here to restore your soul I don't care what you've done okay what you've been you don't ever have to be afraid to come to church Jesus here to restore your soul you don't have to ever worry about be afraid to pray I don't care where you've been I don't care what you've done if you bow the knee to Jesus Jesus will restore your soul he is in the restoration business in fact beloved in fact I would suggest to you that if he wasn't in the rest in the restoration business then he wouldn't be in the rescue business why in the world would the Lord rescue you if he wasn't planted on restoring you see the house down the street that's dilapidated that's torn up torn out looks like it's about to fall apart and the property investor comes at home and he buys it but why did he buy it he bought it in order to restore it and if he wasn't going to restore it why in the world is he buying it love it if the Lord wasn't planning to restore you every day in your fallings why in the world would he rescue you in the first place the reason why he rescues is because he knows I'm going to have to spend time restoring that one and every day every day every day I don't care who you are every day the Lord restore to some people need restoring every now and then but personally love I need restoration every day I need to be restored every day every time you fall I don't care but love it they know hunting dumties around here no one falls too hard that they can't be repaired no one falls too far that they can't be found the good shepherd won't give up on you he won't stop looking until you found he won't stop working until you fully restored why are you afraid there's no consensus had I the guilt of all the world he's able to figure out if I had the guilt of all the world the Lord this morning is wanting to restore you then why should I fear that debt has been paid all I have to do is just believe you know why he restored you because you are his you belong to him you are his sheep you are the sheep of his pasture you belong to him and therefore since you belong here my dear 43 and verse 1 the Lord says fear not fear not don't be afraid for I have redeemed you I have caused you by name you are mine my name song writer says my name from the palms of his hands eternity will not erase impressed on his heart it remains in march of indelible grace yes yes beloved I shall endure as sure as the earnest is given more happy but not more secure those glorified sheep in heaven they're not they're more happy but they are not more safe they are not more secure as I belong to the shepherd just as much as they do I am his just as much as they are the good shepherd because the Lord is your shepherd you have your portion because the Lord is your shepherd you have your profession and I hope I hope I hope this morning you realize because the Lord is your shepherd you have your peace let's pray