Peace Like a River Isaiah 66:1-14; Galatians 6:1–10, 14–18; Luke 10:1–20 

 

Grace, mercy and peace to you on this Fourth of July weekend, and this Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.

 

Our message is Peace Like a River, as we just sang, and as the prophet Isaiah says in our Old Testament: 10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy… 12 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream.

 

Peace is a very important thing in the Bible and the Christian life, and it’s a wonderful gift from God. Life without peace is conflicted and anxious, and can even be dangerous and violent.

 

The word peace is mentioned 361 times in the Bible.

 

Peace is one of the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

These are the gifts God wants us to have and share.

 

Shalom, or Peace, or was the ancient greeting of the people of God in Old Testament times.

 

And today, God’s people share the greeting, “The peace of the Lord be with you.”. And we respond, “And also with you.”

 

In the Bible, there are different kinds of peace, meaning different things.

 

First, there’s the peace we have with God that Jesus won for us on the cross, and comes into our lives by faith.

 

Romans 5:1 says, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

We’re at peace with God, no longer His enemy.

 

This is the peace the angels promised when Jesus was born, saying to the shepherds, Glory to God on High, and peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

 

In Isaiah 9, the Messiah is promised to reign with peace: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

The Son of God came from Heaven to earth, born as a baby in Bethlehem, to, through His holy life, death and resurrection, put us at peace with and reconcile us to God, make things right again between us and God.

 

Colossians 1:20 says that Jesus made peace by the blood of the cross. 

 

This is the peace that matters most, and benefits us most, the peace of salvation, a forever peace.

 

Another kind of peace, which accompanies the peace and reconciliation we have with God, is the inner peace we have, given by the Holy Spirit, peace of mind, or of heart. 

 

Our sermons usually end with the promise of this inner peace: And the 

peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7.  

 

In the Upper Room, the night before He died, Jesus promised in John 14:27, that this peace would stay with His disciples and with all who believe in Him. 

 

Jesus said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

 

Jesus strengthens our hearts with a peace that equips and empowers us to make it through, and to overcome the griefs and troubles and adversities that would try to draw us into despair and away from God, and from His mighty power and healing love for us.

 

Another kind of peace is the peace we have with our neighbor. 

 

Hebrews 12:14 says, Strive for peace with everyone.

 

Romans 12:18 says, If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably 

with all.

 

Don’t be looking for a fight, just to get your way, or to prove you’re right, or to show you’re stronger. 

 

Don’t be looking to get even, and keep the conflict going, but show forgiveness, and strive to make peace if possible. 

 

Even if it isn’t possible because the other party won’t have it, by the Holy Spirit in us, we can have peace and forgiveness toward them in our heart.

 

There’s also the peace of the Church, and peace in the Church. This is the peace we’re given and called to have and practice with our fellow believers. 

 

Since we’re all at peace with God by faith, we should be at peace with each other by godly love.

 

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:13: Be at peace among yourselves.

 

Yet in Matthew 10:34, Jesus said: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Jesus didn’t want the conflict and violence; He wanted people to receive Him as their Savior with peace and joy, but He knew some would not; some would stop at nothing to stop Him from His mission of salvation by grace through faith. 

 

And so His presence brought violence and death for Him, and for His apostles, and for the faithful martyrs throughout the history of the Church, and even today. 

 

When a nation or government goes to war against God, and against the Church, and against the Gospel, it leads to all kinds of harm and destruction that shouldn’t be, and wouldn’t have to be, not if we would just do things God’s way. 

 

In 1 Timothy 2:2, God calls us to pray for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.

 

We pray that the leaders of the nations would work for and promote justice, peace, and freedom for all. 

 

Which leads us to another kind of peace, political peace, which God wants for all nations. He doesn’t want nations to go to war, but sadly, in this imperfect world, that sometimes happens, with all the death, suffering and destruction that goes with it.

 

Ecclesiastes 2:8 says, There is a time for war, and a time for peace. 

 

Sometimes we have no choice but to rise to arms, and do what we must to preserve our nation and protect the people.

 

In Romans 13, God gives nations the power of the sword. This includes war if necessary, but as a last, not first, resort. Let us first be a voice for peace. 

 

In His sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

Finally, there is the perfect peace of Heaven, where there is no anger or jealousy or conflict or greed or selfishness or anxiety or grief, but love, benevolence, peace, joy and harmony for all. 

 

This what Isaiah is ultimately prophesying in our Old Testament reading, the eternal Jerusalem, so to speak, eternity in Heaven.

 

10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy… 12 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream.

 

With so great a peace and joy won for us by Jesus, and promised to us in the Gospel, let us strive for peace now on earth: 1) peace with God, 2) peace with and in ourselves, peace of mind and heart by faith, 3) peace with our neighbor by love, and 4) peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ, by His grace in the Church, and 5) and peace in our land, and in our world.

 

On this patriotic Sunday, we pray for freedom, justice, and peace in our nation, and all nations.

 

And finally, we rejoice in the peace of God that surpasses understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, who has won a life of everlasting peace for us, abundant peace, flowing like a river forever. Amen.