“Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ”.
Introduction: Ancient Greetings
Whenever the ancient people came in contact with one another…, they greeted one other by saying: Grace be to you and peace…This was “the custom”…and …It didn’t even matter how many times they saw each other in the course of that same day… every time they met... this is what they said….
Now, as far as the Jews were concerned … Whenever they met…they always said: “Shalom”… Peace… and then they would say….peace be with you…with “heavy emphasis” on that second “peace” …Now…obviously Peace was their favorite term… and if you really think about it…there was a real good reason for this: It has a lot to do with their torrid history…….
Hebrew History: A 5-fold Negative Attitude
It was a history full of rebellion and idolatry… both rejection and acceptance of God’s will…We’re talking about an “Exodus” people …who in the beginning… had a 5-fold jacked-up attitude toward Moses and God: Listen to their jacked-up attitude: God’s way is too hard for us… that’s what they said to Moses…These are God’s rules… not our rules…As a matter of fact…we don’t like His rules…we want to make up our own rules…Sounds like us doesn’t it…And then….that 4th thing…As far as we’re concerned: It was better for us to live and die in Egypt…. than to be brought…. all the way out here and die out here in this wilderness… and then finally…that 5th thing… Moses… didn’t we tell you while we were still in Egypt to leave us alone…well….Leave us alone…
Exile, Persecution, Near Genocide
Like I said… it was a torrid history…a history of trials and tribulations…internal fighting… bowing down to a golden calf …other idol worships… 430 years slavery and Egyptian bondage…Babylonian exiles and border wars… intermingling and forbidden marriages with women from heathen nations… especially after God told them not to do it…Not to mention.. . more persecutions….destroyed temples…. near genocides …and sandwiched in the midst of all their historic chaos and drama… and closing out the Old Testament with another 400 years of censorship and silence… between the end of the time of the Book of Malachi that lasted unto the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 3… And this happened because in the Book of Malachi… Malachi preached and told the people about their laxed attitude toward God..In response….the people literally stuck their noses up in the air and asked several times “when did we do this against God…when did we do that against God… where in have we rob Him… and they said it with a God don’t turn me own anymore attitude ….
Well… God got so mad at the arrogance of his chosen people that HE literally stopped speaking to them.. told Malachi I have nothing else to say to them…sent no more prophets or messengers to them for 400 years…until Matthew 3:1-3 when John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea… saying “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”…Prepare ye the way of the Lord!.. and make His path straight…. Yes…they have had a history….And believe me…when you have had the kind of life history the Hebrews had…. you can see why they always spoke of peace because… The way they greeted each other truly expressed what they longed for for so very long…It echoed what having real peace meant to them…because …for so much of their history…it has been anything but peaceful…
The Peace of God: "A Condition of Freedom"
So…as we talk abut the Peace of God: Peace in the general sense… is defined as a condition of freedom… free from disturbance… whether from outward influences, (as of a nation cessation from war or harassing enemies), or from inward turmoil, (experiencing a “serene calmness”) within a person’s soul.
In the Old Testament… peace meant different things... in different situations… In earlier times …when a person or a people were being harassed by their enemies…peace was the primary blessing pronounced upon that person…Then there were times when…Peace meant being sound of health …or being complete… and at other times …Peace meant the total wellbeing of the person…or the total prosperity in relationships… between other men and God…
In the Hebrews way of thinking…all of these different types of peace were “God-given”…and according to Psalms 119:165… the way they got this peace was by following the Mosaic Law…. But at other times…to them…Peace sometimes had a “physical meaning”…. that is… according to Psalms 4:8…it meant security …. in Psalms 122:6-7…it meant prosperity….In Isaiah 26:3…it meant contentment…and in 1 Samuel 7:14…it meant the absence of war… but in every case… what they learned about the peace of God was…God’s peace has to power… to cover the totality of the human experience…and God’s peace can keep you in perfect peace if…you keep your mind… focused on HIM…
Grace: and Peace: Being a "Partaker of Divine Favor
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So… in verse 2…. the Apostle Paul … piggybacks off these ancient greetings…and He greets the church by saying: “Grace be to you…and peace”…from God the father and from the Lord Jesus Christ…By greeting the church in this manner…Paul was conveying “a valuable pertinent message” embedded deep inside this greeting … Here’s the message: Anytime Paul said “Grace” and “peace” to the church… Paul was really saying was: everybody in the church needs to “Be a partaker of divine favor”… because God is the sole source where every blessing comes from” …That’s why… I can do all things through Christ…because Christ strengthens me… and not only that …whatever I need…My God shall supply all of my needs… according to HIS riches in Glory by Christ Jesus…This salutation was another way of saying:: Let your eyes… look to the hills… where your help comes from… because all of your help… comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. It was Paul’s way of letting us know….that God is the joy and the strength of our life…that it is HE that moves all pain… misery ….and strife…HE promised to keep us…never to leave us …because He never…ever come short of HIS word…
Grace and Peace: It's all about Jesus
First of all: This greeting is a constant reminder of what a friend we have in JESUS…ALL OUR SINS AND GRIEFS TO BEAR….WHAT A PRIVILEGE.. IT IS TO CARRY…EVERYTHING TO God in prayer! Yes…Yes…A constant reminder that God will not allow our foot to be moved…. He would cause us to stand firm…give us stability….make us steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…that He’s got our back and we are fully protected in Him…You see…He is the GREAT I AM THAT I AM…He is our “soul” preserver,… our heavenly covering… our shade on our right hand… our divine sun screen… keeping the sun from striking us by day …and the moon by night….Not only that… HE”S is a keeper… it was HE that keeps Israel… and it is HE that is keeping us… He never slumbers or sleep… HE was always awake… and HE keeps a steady, watchful eye upon all His people…Paul used this “Grace “sign on to show the church that he had a real concern about their welfare and well being. Paul uses this greeting beyond it being the traditional “Jewish” thing to say…. By saying it to the churches… Paul changed it from its Old Testament meaning and gave it a new and far reaching meaning in the Christian realm …
So then secondly…When we talk about the GRACE of God… we are talking about the free, undeserved love and favor of God, and….along with that…. all of HIS “embedded graces” given to us… by the Holy Spirit that are fully contained in “God’s Amazing Grace”….And before you even ask the question: Yes, there is more GRACE embedded within God’s grace… not only that…there is a kinship and companion relationship between grace and peace… that is so intertwined… that the relationship between the two…bring forth a myriad of important fundamental Christian truths …about the doctrine of the Christian faith …and about all of us… who are saved, sanctified and Holy Ghost filled… The question is…Why do we need grace and peace?
Why Do We Need Grace and Peace?
The answer is there are several “holistic reasons”… we need GRACE AND PEACE ….because we all have fragmentations in our lives…areas where things are shattered and tattered….busted and leaves us utterly disgusted… Is there anybody in here who want to be made whole…If you want to be made whole…look somebody in the eye and tell them: you know what…if we’re going to make it on this journey…we need both grace and peace….Let me explain why….
First of all…the Grace of God is the source…the origin and the foundation of everything else vital in the Christian life…Look…In order for us to obtain the peace of God… we got to have God’s amazing grace… You see…Grace… is the beginning of our faith….Salvation… is the end result of our faith in Jesus Christ… and Peace… is the end goal of our faith….What am I saying..….Without grace…you can’t have peace…and peace is at the end of God’s grace …In fact….Let me put it to you another way…the Christian life is designed to produce peace…With Grace on the Alpha end…that’s the beginning….Salvation on the Phi end….that means…”sandwiched” in the middle and Peace on the Omega end…everything else that we will ever need in this life from God… will be wrapped up between Grace…Salvation...and Peace…Let’s dissect “peace” for a moment…
Peace: 3 Sources:
Peace comes in 3 ways: first… there is peace with God…..and then…there is peace in God…In addition to that… there is the peace of God which surpasses all understanding…. So my brothers and sisters…If we are going to make it on this journey….we’ve got to have the kind of gracecoming from God that leads to all 3 kinds of peace…
The reason we do is.. the Second reason…Adam’s sin messed us all up…
What do you mean? Obtaining the knowledge of good and evil wasn’t the problem… That was just forbidden fruit pulled from the forbidden tree… that God planted in the middle of the garden… besides the Tree of Life in Genesis 2:8… The problem wasn’t even the “forbidden” tree…The problem was the disobedience of the pair on the ground that pulled and ate the forbidden fruit from that forbidden tree… God told them out of every tree in the garden… you can freely eat… but don’t eat the fruit from that forbidden tree in the midst of….for the day that you eat thereof…you shall surely die… As a result of what Adam did…all of mankind was born in sin and shaped in iniquity…
But let’s go deeper…into the SECOND REASON…look what Adam’s disobedience did: because of their disobedience…Sin changed our relationship with God…Sin tainted our bloodline… everybody born after the fall of Adam is now born in sin and shaped in iniquity… Man was now born as a babe wrapped in a blanket …laying in a hospital…born in innocence….behind the 8 ball… with a tainted bloodline and already at odds with God… That’s why… it took another baby ….born in Bethlehem…wrapped in swaddling clothes…laying in a manger….with an untainted bloodline…whose Father was not of Human origin, yet… was the same Father in Genesis 1:27 that made man in His image… and after His likeness… to redeem and reconcile a fallen Adam back into the good graces of a Holy God…. SIN causes every man born after Adam to be at enmity… at odds with God,…as a result…man is born into this world a “hater” of God! …What makes you a hater?
Man: A "Hater" of God
God wants you to live your life His way and yet…you fight God because you want to live life your way…You fight God tooth and nail like He’s your enemy…You fight HIM In the way you think…you constantly try to tune HIM out by ignoring what you know HE said to you …You fight HIM In the way you live…A runaway child running wild….living your life in a ball of confusion….you strive constantly against HIM… It shows up in your vulgar conversations….the crude and lude jokes you tell…You use His name as a swear word….and then follow up HIS Holy name with that dreaded “D” word… The devil has nearly convinced you that God really doesn’t exist…. Yet each and every day Jesus knocks on the door of your heart and said “Come unto me all ye that weary and heave laden and I’ll give you rest…
The third reason is… .you are not only at odds with God, but, the truth is…you are also at odds with yourself….and everybody else….
Internal...Infernal War
There’s a warring in your members….a conflict between the your flesh…and the spirit…I’m talking about the warped way you think in sharp contrast to what God thinks about the way you think…It’s Laodecean in nature…I can hear you say…I’m rich….I’m increased with good and need of nothing….that’s what you say…but I hear God saying… don’t you know that you are really wretched…poor…blind…and naked….It’s a titanic struggle….an “inner conflict” that even if you tried… you can’t even explain it… it’s that inner conflict… where you battle with your own self…. On one hand…and you war with God on the other hand… you battle with yourself….
When you would do good… something won’t let you…You want to do this… but a voice on the inside says do that…! You want to be happy…but you think happiness is in the shot of bourbon,.. .a 5th of scotch…a Slow Gin Fizz… A Harvey Wall-banger…a Pina Colada…a pull on a marijuana roach…. A snort of cocaine…and a blow on a crackpipe…and night capping with sleeping around with as many people you can…and after the “heat of a steamy night”…. you wake up in the morning….completely hung over… foggy in the head… more confused than you were the night before and ….wondering what in the world have I done that makes this race so hard to run? And because you can’t be a peace with yourself … you can’t be at peace with nobody else…
And Finally.....
Then the final reason you need grace and peace is because man as a whole has bought into the lie of the devil that told him in the Garden of Eden… if you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…your eyes will be opened…and you can be as gods, knowing good and evil… All throughout bible history…man has been forever trying to deify himself…Man has a prideful attitude about himself and a jacked-up attitude about God. It’s like it was at the Tower of Babel ….We’ve built cities….We’ve built towers….We are constantly striving to make a name for ourselves…we keep trying to put ourselves up on a pedestal…We set up our own desires…We make up our own rules as we goes…..We are hard headed and hard hearted….We acts ego-centric and ego maniacal…We are trying to be our own gods… Man is dying in his sins and own his way to a burning hell….
Man is Man...Not God
Let me tell you something …man was never designed to be his own god…. We were made in such a way by God… that the only way we can be at peace internally and externally with ourselves is when we are at peace with God…. the kind of peace that Jesus Christ talked about ….It was a combination of hope, trust, and quietness in the mind and soul…brought about… by a reconciliation with God. In Luke 2:14…Such peace was proclaimed… by the host of angels at the birth of Jesus… when we heard them say: Glory to God in the highest …and on earth…peace…and goodwill toward men...and the same kind of peace was taught by Jesus …
What You Need to Do
In other words…As a child of God…. You need to stop…. allowing yourselves to get agitated and deeply disturbed… by other people’s drama…that includes the devil’s too ….allowing them and him… to get you all bent out of shape…When the devil comes at you ….just like a flood…with both barrels blazing…you begin to look around…and the lightning begins to flash…the thunder begins to roar…the sin breakers are dashing… trying to conquer your very soul…just remember… having been justified by faith… we have* peace with God… through our Lord Jesus Christ… through whom also…. we have access by faith… into this grace in which we stand,… and rejoice… in hope… of the glory of God…. And not only that… but we also glory in tribulations… knowing that tribulation produces perseverance… and perseverance (produces) character; and character (produces) hope…. and what I’ve learned about having hope is … hope …does not disappoint…and the reason it doesn’t is because the love of God… has been poured out in our hearts… is spread abroad…by the Holy Spirit… who was given to us…
For when… we were still without strength… in due time… Christ died for the ungodly…. For scarcely… for a righteous man will one die… yet perhaps for a good man…. someone would even dare to die…. But God demonstrates His own love toward us… in that while we were still sinners… Christ died for us. Much more then… having now been justified… by His blood,…we shall …be saved from wrath through Him… For if when we were enemies…. we were reconciled to God… through the death… of His Son… much more, having been reconciled… we shall be saved… by His life. And not only that…, but we also… rejoice in God …through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom …we have now received the reconciliation...
In other words…the Glory of God is shown in the person of Jesus Christ…and the workd He did for our sins…I head HIM say…though your sin be like scarlet…. they shall be as white as snow… I can hear …Grace says: Where sin abounds…I will…much more abound….Grace says: God commended His love toward us… in that while we were still sinners…Christ died for us….Grace says: God so loved the world…he gave His only begotten Son… that whosoever believe in Him should not perish….but have everlasting life…For God…sent not His son into the world to condemn the world….but that the world through Him might be saved….I heard grace say: for by Grace are you saved through faith….that not of your selves….it is,,, the gift of God….not of works….lest any man should boast…Jesus gave His life that we all could live…He died on the cross…they buried Him in a borrowed tomb but early….Sunday morning He rose from the grave with all power in his hand….finally…finally…
Jesus said… Behold, I stand at the door and knock…. If any man will come and open the door… I will come in and sup with him and he with me. I will commune with you …..I’ll let you get to know me …If you come unto me all of you that are weary and heavy laden….I’ll give you rest… I’ll Let you find out first hand… that my yoke is easy and my burden is light…let you find out ….just who I AM…
I AM: ….I am Daniel’s rolling stone that was hewed out of the mountain…I AM Ezekiel’s wheel in the middle of a wheel…. I AM Jacob’s ladder and every round goes higher and higher…I AM… Gideon’s battleaxe in the time of trouble…I am the rose of Sharon and the Lilly of the Valley…the Bright and morning Star…. I AM…everything you need !
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