peace

Joy, not Anxiety

“Be anxious for nothing …”

Philippians 4:6

Many people in the world are anxious and worrying about current events. We seem to forget that everyone is going to die sometime (Hebrews 9:27). It is only a matter of how and when. Where we spend eternity is of far more importance as it is forever. The arrogance of man is that he thinks he can save himself by defying the Creator who sustains his very being.

Some think they can save the world by maintaining the climate as they believe it was. In this they often forget that the world has been changing considerably during its existence. They acknowledge that there has been an ice age and therefore considerable global warming since then.

Now we have a virus that has allowed governments to turn countries into police states with absolute control of people’s movements. Stores have signs saying they will not accept cash payments. The world is anxious and has therefore surrendered individual rights. As we read prophecies in the Bible it seems we are on the verge of the removal of Jesus calling out His church prior to the Tribulation period. The stage is being set but is that a reason for Christians to be anxious?

The context of Paul writing this explains how and why we don’t need to be anxious. In the previous verse he has written, “The Lord is at hand.” He is not far off and He is coming again. In verse four he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” We can rejoice and not be anxious because each day brings us nearer to that day of our deliverance (Romans 13:11). The fact that we are able to observe this in a way that previous generations could not is the reason we can rejoice and not be anxious. We are concerned for our unsaved family and friends and this will be expressed in more fervent prayer and willingness to share with them. Anxiety is a slur on the character of God.

There is a remedy for anxiety. Faith in Jesus is the remedy. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Reading the Bible will reveal to us how frequently God’s people have been in dire situations yet He delivered them. Paul writes, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). We cannot just dispel anxiety. It is not in our power to do so. It is there or it is not. Knowing and believing God’s word is the way God frees us of anxiety so we can rejoice in faith in Him.

You Shall Know

“’Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,’ says the Lord” Ezekiel 37:14

This statement and some like it, such as “Then you shall know that I am the Lord” (v 13), are repeated some seventy times in the book of Ezekiel. The Lord is making the point that the foretelling aspect of prophecy includes when the prophesied events come to pass people will know that it is God who has spoken it and done it. The test of a true prophet is that what he foretells comes to pass exactly as he said (Deuteronomy 18:22). The majority of times this statement is used in Ezekiel relate to Israel but there are quite a few that relate to Egypt and other Gentile nations so that they also may know.

Three times Jesus told His disciples that He would be crucified and rise again (Matthew 29:19). He also predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the Tribulation and His return (Matthew 24 & 25). The purpose in telling His disciples these and other things in advance was that they would not be discouraged when they occurred but rather encouraged.

In Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Thessalonica he wrote concerning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Once more we see that the purpose in informing Jesus’ followers ahead of time was that they might “comfort one another with these words” (4:18; 5:11). If these words are not to be understood in the normal literary sense then no one would be comforted.

By neglecting the foretelling aspect of prophetic revelation we rob Christians of the comfort that comes from knowing that current and future events must come to pass and that they will not prevent, hinder or delay Jesus returning, establishing His earthly kingdom and creating a new heavens and a new earth. We are in fact encouraged and comforted as we see the day approaching.

This may be one of the compelling aspects of the ministry of the 144,000 witnesses spoken of in Revelation seven and fourteen and the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11. They would be able to point people to Scripture, and what will at that time be current events, to show that the God of the Bible is the One true God and that Jesus is the Christ. This will provoke many to believe and receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus did this Himself with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27). He confirmed it as a legitimate way to share the Gospel to all the disciples. He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44).

We do a great disservice to God’s people if we fail to expound and teach the foretelling aspect of the prophetic Scriptures and we rob ourselves of joy, peace and comfort if we do not study and believe them.

Trembling at His Presence

“In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria – a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance” Isaiah 19:24-25

Considering the current Middle East environment it is quite a mental exercise to accept that these three nations will one day get along as one. The previous verse tells us that there will be a highway between Egypt and Assyria which, of geographic necessity, must pass through Israel. People who have not experienced the power of God in salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ might be inclined to say that such talk is but a dream. However, the Lord says He will perform it when He comes. Jesus is the solution to the problems in the Middle East. The question, “If there is a God, why doesn’t He do something?” will be answered forever.

This outcome will not come progressively over a long period of time. Verse two indicates a time of civil unrest or even civil war in Egypt from which a cruel and oppressive leader will arise (v 4). The river Nile will dry up most likely by drought inland. Without the Nile hunger and disease will afflict the nation. Out of this severe trial Egypt will turn to the Lord and He will deliver them (vv 20-21).

Leaders of the nations of the world carry on in futility trying to resolve the Middle East unrest, terrorism and wars but they reject the One who would show them the way. They refuse His counsel and wonder why things are getting worse. Paul describes them and their actions in Romans 1:18-32 summing up their words and actions in verse 22, “Professing to be wise they became fools.”

In the Proverbs we read, “The Lord gives wisdom” (2:6) and “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (9:10). As long as people reject God’s wisdom, knowledge and understanding they will fail at every turn. When the Lord returns He will resolve all the divisions but tragically people will suffer because they refuse the wisdom of God.

Isaiah would cry out for the Lord to tear apart the heavens and come down “to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence” (Isaiah 64:1-5) and the Lord will do so but there was still the need of the cross first. In mercy God gives time for people to repent and in this He shows His patient love. “God demonstrates His own [kind of] love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8; cf. 1 John 3:1).

The “rich man” in Luke 16:19-31 begged the Lord to send someone back from the dead to warn his brothers of their great error but Jesus responded, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets [the Bible], neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (v 31). In great power Jesus rose from the dead and there are hundreds of recorded witnesses but the exhibit of God’s power by itself is ineffective to save. Salvation only comes when a person chooses to believe God’s Word and trust Jesus Christ.

What Kind of Love

“Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” John 20:20

The disciples were behind locked doors fearing for their lives. A few days earlier they had witnessed the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter had denied knowing Jesus and the other disciples had fled when Jesus was taken. The reason for their fear was that they had not listen carefully enough to Jesus words and hence not taken them into calculation. On at least three occasions He told them about His coming death and resurrection.

When Christians fear it is for that same reason – in some matter we have not heard at all, not considered carefully enough, not believed or taken on board, something that Jesus has said. The cure of fear is to draw near to and see the risen Jesus. We have His word to read and consider as often as we desire.

Not many days before His crucifixion and resurrection Jesus said to His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” and “I will come to you” (John 14:2-3, 18). Somehow these kinds of statements by Jesus were not on their minds while their hearts were in turmoil over His crucifixion and the perceived hostility against themselves.

Our lives will be in turmoil from time to time and we may have fears but just as the disciples were at rest in their souls and were glad in their hearts when they saw Jesus so will we.

What was it that they saw in Jesus that gave them this joy and peace? Was it just because they saw Him alive or was there more? The beginning of the verse gives us the answer: “He showed them His hands and His side” where the nails had penetrated and fixed Him to the cross and where the spear had caused His blood to pour out. When they saw His hands and His side they also saw His sacrificial and unconditional love. That is what brought peace and joy to their hearts.

When we see the nail prints in His hands we see His kind of love. His “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). To know Jesus is to love Him. If we are to experience this peace and gladness we must see Jesus. When we see the kind of love and magnitude of His love written in the nail holes and the gash in His side, we will no longer be in turmoil but trusting Him to care for us and our concerns for eternity. “Behold what manner [kind] of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

Covenanting with God

“They entered a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul” 2 Chronicles 15:12

We don’t hear very often of people, either individually or corporately, entering into a covenant with the Lord. God has revealed Himself as one who makes and keeps covenants so we would expect that His people would do likewise. Fear of failure or an unwillingness to commit may be major reasons we don’t covenant with the Lord. King Asa failed later in life and is an example from which we may learn.

King Asa started out well by doing what was right and good in the eyes of the Lord. In the early years of his reign over the Southern Kingdom the Ethiopian Zerah came against him with an army more than twice the number of his army. Asa cried out to the Lord and the Lord routed the Ethiopians apparently without any effort on the part of Asa’s army. It was at this time that Asa and the people entered a covenant with the Lord. The Lord gave King Asa “rest” from war until his 36th year as king. Then King Baasha of the Northern Kingdom came against him with an army.

Instead of turning to the Lord for counsel and deliverance King Asa turned to the king of Syria for help. The prophet Hanani was sent by the Lord to make him aware of the change in his relationship with the Lord but King Asa refused to repent. Instead, he became angry at Hanani for exposing his sin and had him imprisoned.

What happened in the 35 years of “rest” from war that allowed king Asa to have such a change of heart? There are several observations we can make:

  1. The miracle of the Lord destroying the Ethiopian force did not guarantee Asa’s continued loyalty and reliance on the Lord
  2. A long period of time of prosperity and things going well with the people did not guarantee loyalty and reliance on the Lord
  3. In reality it would appear that the miracle and the extended period of peace and prosperity led to complacency and/or presumption with the result that the King no longer turned to or relied on the Lord

Peace and prosperity do not provoke reliance on and loyalty to the Lord. However, they do not of themselves provoke disloyalty. When things are going well we need to pay double attention to maintaining intimacy with the Lord. The history of God’s people in the Bible, in church history and in living memory of many of us, teaches us that miracles, peace and prosperity do not close the door of disloyalty and unfaithfulness.

Peter wrote, “Brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things (mentioned in the preceding verses) you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10).

When we make a covenant with the Lord it needs to be on the basis of the cross and God’s, gracious enablement and faithfulness otherwise we might follow Asa’s example in which pride welled up within him so that he no longer relied on the Lord.

A World Without War

“Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).

Many people have dreamed of a world without war and, though less so now, the Bible prophecies regarding a world at peace were often quoted. It seems that fewer people than ever are looking for the Lord to bring about a world without war. The dimming of this hope in the eyes of people as they get older is possibly because they have observed what appears to be never ending war in the world.

The “war to end all wars” one hundred years ago did no such thing. It was merely the prelude to a world in continuous war with increasingly devastating means of killing other people. No longer is it sword to sword but now we have weapons of mass destruction with the means to wipe out huge cities with a single bomb or whole regions with biological weapons. Is it any wonder that the younger generation who have never lived in a world without this imminent threat are inclined to end their lives when they see no hope of personal, national or world peace?

The dimming hope that education could solve the ills of the world and bring peace has long been seen to be futile. Education cannot change a person’s heart. Some of the most corrupt people in our world are well educated. Education has allowed them to express their corruption in more deceitful and more destructive ways. Greed and power do not follow the boundaries of education.

All forms of government that leave God out have been revealed as failures to bring peace within their own nation and so could never bring peace to the world. Even so, we do all we can to remove God from the minds of our children.

Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace between men in the manner in which the world seeks a peacemaker. He came to bring peace with God through the gracious gift of forgiveness of sin and changed hearts. There can never be peace on earth without peace with God. When men are at peace with God then they will have peace with one another.

From the day Adam and Eve sinned, God has promised that a day of everlasting peace would come. This is one of those promises: “He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

No person will know peace until he knows peace with God. The world will not know peace until the Prince of Peace reigns. The Bible records many emphatic statements of God to that end. There will be a time when wars will cease and no one will make the horrendous weapons of war that are so prolific today. This is not just wishful thinking or a fading hope; it is the will and word of the living God. He will do what man can never do.

When we lift our eyes to the horizon of that day and we will not be overcome by the fears of this day. Let us tell the younger generation of this glorious day ahead. Let us tell all that this day will come because Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world and is able to do what no education program can do. He is still able to change people from within and is doing so for all who ask.