The J.o.y. of the Peace of God

Dear friend in Christ, May the peace of God through the God of peace be in you today and always, Amen.

Why do we do the things that we do in our church? Namely, what is behind the greeting of God’s Peace which we say to one another? Is it something unique to ourselves, or is it a greeting that belongs to all Christians? Do we say it to only those who we know have the peace of God or do we say it to everyone we greet?  Let us think on this today and may we come to the right conviction concerning this.

When I was a youngster I remember hearing people say these words when they greeted one another by shaking hands, saying Jumalan Terve and when they left they would say Jumalan Rauha. In my early years I had no idea what they were saying in the Finnish language. Eventually I came to understand that when they met they  said God’s Greetings and when they departed they said God’s Peace. Growing up I became one who was taught and learned to greet others with the same greeting regardless of whether it was meeting another or leaving another, by saying God’s Peace.  

It has taken me many years to come to appreciate the depth of the meaning of that greeting which is grounded in the events of God’s great peacemaking and peace keeping mission to and on earth.

May I suggest that there are three aspects to the greeting of God’s Peace:

1. The greeting of God’s Peace is a powerful testimony of that which God has done in Christ for the whole world,

2. it is a testimony of that which God has done in us and is doing in us through His Word and Spirit through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

3. It gives us the privilege and opportunity to be a peace maker in this world.  We are the children of God of whom Jesus, the Ultimate Peace Maker, refers to in the first reading today, from the Sermon on the Mount.

KJV Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

What is this peace that we are talking about? Between nations, between people, or between God and man? Which comes first, or which must come first? It is not too difficult to realize that the enmity and hostility that came into the world because of our disobedience to God that the relationship between God and mankind must first be restored.

In our second reading from John 20:19-22, on the afternoon of His resurrection from the dead, Jesus comes to the quaking in fear disciples to quiet their fearful hearts and to begin their transition to being peace makers through Him. In other words, Jesus is saying that I have bridged the chasm that was between God and mankind, receive that peace and go out to tell others that God has forgiven them through the cross.

John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

 20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

He speaks peace into their hearts, then empowers them by breathing into them the Holy Spirit and commissions them to go out to tell the world that their sins are forgiven through His redemptive work on the cross. The Apostle Paul later wrote to the Corinthian congregation concerning how this works as he by the Holy Spirit explained.

2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

KJV 2 Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

May we not miss the monumental meaning that is being made in these verses.  Verse 18-19 speaks of God now being at peace with the us through Jesus Christ, and as a result of faith,  we are now peacemakers sent out to tell others that their sins are forgiven, and to strongly encourage them to believe that reality.

We cannot be peacemakers until we have come to live in peace with God through the cross, and therefore the true rejoicing in the Lord is only through this knowledge and experience by faith. Therefore we can understand how we are able to truly rejoice because our sins are forgiven, our life is eternal and therefore it is lived for the sake of others. And because it is lived for the sake of our neighbor, we watch over both our outward witness and our inward witness. For the enemy wants nothing greater than to take us away from the peace of God and from the God of peace through trials and temptations.

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

 5 Let your moderation (mildness, gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

 6 Be careful for nothing; (Don’t worry about anything) but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

In verse 7 it is written that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus and in verse 9 it is written as a result of not only believing the Gospel but by also living in the promises of the Gospel and by demonstrating the Gospel outwardly, that the God of peace shall be with us. Jesus earlier had taught His disciples of how it was living in the promises of the Gospel as well as living our lives in response to the Gospel, that they live in the blessing of peace. After demonstrating his humility by washing their feet, he applied the lesson to them with these words.

John 13:5 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

In conclusion, may we reiterate the meaning of God’s Peace!

1. The greeting of God’s Peace is a powerful testimony of that which God has done in Christ for the whole world.

2. it is a testimony of that which God has done in us and is doing in us through His Word and Spirit.

3. It offers us the privilege and opportunity to be a peace maker in this world.  We are the children of God of whom Jesus, the Ultimate Peace Maker, we see all others as redeemed by His blood and have the privilege to tell them about real peace.

4. So when we greet any other person on earth with God’s Peace, we are telling them that their sins are forgiven through the cross, we are giving testimony that we know the God of peace who has given us His peace, and we are encouraging them and calling upon them to believe that it is for them that Jesus died and arose again. That is what is meant when we say God’s Peace!

5. We know the God of Peace and we have the peace of God. Happy/blessed will we be when speak peace through the cross to our neighbor.

   God’ Peace to you!

   Pastor Orval Wirkkala

The J.o.y. of Heavenly Citizenship

Dear friend in Christ,

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and from His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Think of that my dear friend, it is a new day of grace in which we are so blessed to live in the favor of God through Jesus Christ, who has loved us and given himself for us.

As we continue with Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians, we remember from last week as a result of coming to faith in Jesus Christ, he began to live in eternal life through knowing God and Jesus Christ. (John 17:3), (Phil 3.10-11) As a result of being reborn, He began to live an entirely new existence, which was that now he boldly preached the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ instead of persecuting Him in his followers.

Last week we heard of how his great desire was to attain the resurrection of the dead, (Phil 3:11) and so he pressed on toward that goal, as he now lived out who Christ had called him to be. (Phil 3:14) As was said last week, he looked through the “windshield” and not the “rear view mirror” which he explained in verses 12-13.  Paul was grasped by grace and now he began to preach the message of grace to a graceless world. He did not look backward but forward in how he could make an eternal difference in the lives of his dear fellow human beings.

This week we will consider Philippians 3:15-21. May the Lord grant unto us the meaning of His Word into our minds and hearts by the illumination of His Spirit. Amen.

Philippians 3:15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

After speaking of how he came to know Christ according to the Scriptures, he now encourages his people to walk in maturity in the essentials, namely that through faith in Christ one is a new creation. He calls them to stand fast in the essentials, and to be charitable in the non essentials. Here he is talking about that which occurs within the heart and mind of a person through faith before going on to speak of the evidence (love) of that which has occurred within one’s mind and heart. Stand fast in your knowledge that through faith in Christ we have eternal life.

 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

He now calls upon us to be an imitator, a copy cat. In other places he qualifies his request by telling them that in actuality, they are following God and Christ. Left unsaid, is that if he is not following Christ, don’t imitate him.

KJV 1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

KJV Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

Now that we are followers of Christ, we no longer live for ourselves, but for the sake of others. How are we leading so that those who are watching us will be drawn to Christ? Are we living for ourselves, or are we conducting our lives in a way that those watching and those being influenced by our example will be led away from Christ? 

It has been said the children are like wet cement, in that when they are young they are soft and pliable, believe that which they are told and hear and eventually firm up in their ideas and convictions as they grow up.  We need to consider our ways……..

He now reveals his deep love for the souls of all people, by giving a warning, weeping as he does. He has been so deeply affected, no we could better say infected with the heart of Christ, that he weeps as he warns them of the danger of those who would rob them of earthly joy and eternal joy.  The joy robbers are back again, by bringing a gospel that is a false gospel, and who are living according to their fleshly existence, which means that they do not believe God in His Word. Their end is destruction.

3:18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

The Scripture records Jesus as weeping twice.  Why did Jesus weep?

John 11:32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

 34 And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."

 35 Jesus wept.

 36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?"

 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

Was it because He saw the pain and misery that sin and death brought into the world?

Luke 19:37 As he was drawing near- already on the way down the Mount of Olives- the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,

 38 saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."

 40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

 41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

 42 saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side

 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Here Jesus wept because they did not receive Him as the Prince of Peace and that judgment was coming to them.

Paul demonstrates of his Christ indwelt heart as he says goodbye to a congregation he had cared for a number of years.

Acts 2:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

He closes our text today by pointing us to that which is to come, to that which is not seen by our earthly eye, by our external eye, but only by the eye of faith.

Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Let us not forget, that “The best is yet to come……” Perhaps these last two verses will be best explained by the following…….

How many of us remember the times in our youth when we would ask our parents as we traveled on a long road trip, "Are we there yet? How many more miles?"  A common question from us when we were in the beginning years of our lives and at which point we had not come to understand that there is a lot of waiting on life's highway. 

Our God has set the longing for eternity with Him into our hearts and has given us a foretaste through the Holy Spirit of that which He has prepared for us on the new heaven and on the new earth. We are as foreigners in this strange land which we are passing through, for we are looking for that city whose builder and maker is God. The sureness of our successful arrival to our final homeland has been guaranteed through the sealing of the Holy Spirit upon us. But sometimes we forget that which the Lord has won for us, that which He has placed into our hearts and minds and that which has only been described in earthly terms.  May the following story refresh our hearts and minds as we wait for that glorious day....

A man and his wife had spent over 50 years in the mission field in a foreign country, and had become somewhat crippled as they ended their many years of serving the Lord. As they left the field, and as they began their journey on the ship to come back to the United States of America to spend their final years in their native land, it just so happened that the president of the United States was traveling back home to the US on the same boat, as he returned with his entourage from a hunting expedition.

As the ship approached the New York Harbor, great crowds could be seen from afar as they excitedly awaited to welcome home their president. As can be expected, there was much noise and activity as the ship tied up at the dock, as the president and his supporters walked down the gangplank, into the crowd and into waiting vehicles of transportation. Soon everyone was off of the ship and and shortly thereafter the streets were deserted.

At this point, the missionaries began to hobble down the gangplank and as they did the elderly man voiced his frustration."There is not one person here to meet us, we who have been doing the Lord's work for all these years! How fair is that there is no one to meet us when we come home, but there are thousands that came to meet the president when he comes home? It is so unfair!!!!"  His wife listened, but said not a word.

So that night after they had settled down in the place that they were staying, again he began to voice his frustration about the lack of reception at their homecoming. His wife kindly told him that perhaps he should take it up with the Lord and see what He says about it.  So the man retired to his prayer closet, and began to pour out his heart to the Lord in a respectful but yet direct way about how unfair it was that no one welcomed them home. Soon the man became quiet, began to listen to the Lord and then he began to feel his heart softening as he listened to what the Lord had so say to him. He returned to his wife with a joyful and restful countenance, which to his wife was very surprising.  Naturally she asked him, Wow, what did the Lord have to say to you?

The elderly crippled missionary spoke in a joyful, but humble and quiet voice:  He said, "You are not home yet..........."

Faith is not only believing God in His Word, but it is also resisting all those things in life that are brought forth as reality and as truth. Let us remember, that God is only known as revealed through His Son from the Holy Scriptures through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. He is faithful……

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.  2 Thessalonians 3:5

Waiting with you for Him,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

The J.o.y. of knowing Jesus 2

Dear friend,

May the grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

What is the greatest exchange that you have ever heard of? How about this one, where someone took away all our bad and gave unto us all their good? That is what occurred when Jesus Christ became sin for us, He who knew no sin, so that we might be made righteous with God. Martin Luther called this action of God's grace the Great Exchange.

As we continue hearing the Apostle Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, share the letter he wrote to the Philippian congregation, we are reviewing of his experience of the Great Exchange. That which he thought was on the plus side, he came to see that it was on the minus side. In this 3rd chapter of Philippians he gives his testimony concerning his spiritual journey which resulted in Jesus Christ finding him As a result,  he One he formerly had persecuted he now began to preach and proclaim Him.  He not only counted the former things for loss, he had counted and continued to count ALL things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.

Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

What did Paul mean when he says, "to win Christ?" If we understand his former way of thinking that he considered himself having favor with God through his Jewish background, upbringing and service, it would mean that he thought he was winning favor with God by his own actions. It can be confusing to us when we are comparing merit with gift and the same terminology is used for both. Paul certainly was not speaking of his merit gaining Christ's favor, a fact of utmost importance which he clarifies in the next verse by saying "to be found in Him."

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Here he clarifies what he is speaking about as he contrasts being justified by the law (by doing) vs justified by the merit of Christ (by receiving), which is  applied to him/to us by faith.

 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

What is Paul referring to here when he says "that I may know Him and so on? The first scripture verse we heard read today was from John 17:3 which is as follows:

KJV John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

To know Christ is to have eternal life. Not to know of Him, or about Him, but to know Him. What does it mean to know Him? Well, let us consider an earthly example of what it means to know of somebody vs to know somebody. We all know a lot of people, but by far the vast majority of our friends we know only of them but do not really know them. Do we know them from what others say about them or do we know them from sharing of life together with them? What do they think of us, what do they want for us and so on?

Is to know Christ to know, to believe and to trust in that which He out of love has accomplished for us? Paul said in another place concerning knowing...

KJV 2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

As a result of being connected to Christ's merits through faith, Paul now knew Christ, and of how He had been  delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.(Romans 4:25) He understood and received the grace of God in Christ.

By faith he also recognized that in this relationship with Christ he would be drawn closer to Him through suffering in Him and for Him, as he continued to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit's presence in him.  He saw by faith that one day he would be raised up by Christ at the last day.

John 6: 39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the(upward) high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul exudes confidence which resulted from him "knowing" Christ through the revelation of the Holy Spirit of the will and purposes of God for him. He may have thought that he was sounding a little uppity with his hearers, so now he softens his approach to them, saying something like this: 'It is not as if I have already arrived, for I have not, as I am still in the maturing process.

Faith has given me all the knowledge of Christ that I have need of, but because the old nature still lives in me, I am subject to looking back, or even inward. I want nothing more than to grasp that which Christ grasped me for, and even though I am still incomplete in this knowledge, I know that I am looking through the windshield instead of into the rear view mirror.

Here is some real application for us all. How much joy and peace are we robbed of when we look back and say things like, "I should have, I could have, Why didn't , How could I have been so blind? and so on? While it is true that Apostle Paul did look back, he did only to remember from which he had been before, but he did not go back in order repunish himself for his past sins. Another had taken the punishment for them, namely Christ. That is the Christ Paul know and the One we must know.

Apostle Peter is another one who could have beat himself up for his past, but in reading his epistles it is difficult to find where he did so. Instead, he magnified the grace of God in his past, present and future life. There is a lesson for us in these two men in how they understood, experienced and proclaimed the grace of God in Christ. How did Peter come to know Christ?

Luke 23:32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.

 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

 34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

 Luke 22:59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean."

 60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."

 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

By what he wrote as the last verse of his 2nd letter, we can be fairly certain that he knew Jesus as His Saviour and Lord.

KJV 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

May our gracious Lord bless His Word into our hearts and minds today so that we by faith may say as my dear mother did as she drew near her departure from this life: Eternity will not be long enough to praise my Saviour for saving me.”

All glory and honor to God through Jesus Christ now and always, Amen!

Pastor Orval