Peace
and Trouble
by
Jason Lovelace
Key Scripture:
John
16-32~33 – Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is
now come, they ye should be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me
alone: and yet, I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things
have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Merry Christmas!! When you think of Christmas and New Years, what do you
think about?
How
do you feel about the coming holidays and all the preparations, work, and
fixings that are required? Do you approach the Christmas Season with thoughts
of Joy, dreams of Good Will, and hopes of Peace to all? Do you come into the
holiday season with a sense of unhappiness, dread and fear? Studies in the USA
have shown that Christmas is the most troubling, depressing and distressing
time of the year. These studies showed that the reason for the distress and
trouble has to do with the stress and pressure people put themselves under to
buy that perfect gift for each and every member on the Christmas gift list.
People literally have gone mad looking for and shopping to get gifts for their
friends, family, and loved ones. Having a large and friend-and-family-filled
Christmas Dinner or Christmas party also adds to the stress levels at this time
of the year. Getting the perfect turkey and that too-hard-to-find cake can really
take the sanity out of a person, especially as Christmas Day approaches, and no
turkey in the freezer. There is also work-related stress at this time of the
year, as well, as many employees go to great lengths to impress their
employers. The studies that showed this high rise in these all-bad areas
showed, too, that suicide rates rise during what Americans call the holiday
season (this holiday season starts with Thanksgiving and doesnÕt really end
until after New YearÕs Day), and in Winter. When you add in the normal,
day-to-day stress and trouble that people normally have during non-holiday
seasons, life can be pretty depressing and/or stressful. What is your life
like? When you think of Christmas, what do you think about? Do you have peace?
Do you have a calm heart, even in the midst of a turbulent, stormy time of
life?
Point #1 – EVERYBODY has trouble:
Our
Scripture Verse for today speaks clearly to this truth. Jesus Christ is very
plain here: everyone will have trouble. Jesus says, ÒIn the world you will
have tribulationÉÓ (John
16.33), and he is right. You donÕt have to look very far to see that
this world is a truly troublesome place. In the news, we hear much about Iraq
and Afghanistan, and how these seem to be the most trouble-filled places.
However, if we look at Japan by herself, we can easily see that Japan, too, is
a very trouble-filled place. I came to Japan almost ten years ago. Every year,
for those nearly-ten years, violent crime among young people has risen. Every
year, since I came to Japan, government corruption continues to be a plague in
Tokyo. Every year since 1998, more and more families are breaking up, more and
more people are killing themselves, and more and more people are giving in to
fear about the future. I do not say these things to say that Japan is a bad
place. Japan is a wonderful place. But the facts show that Japan – as
good a country as she is – is a very, VERY trouble-filled place. This is
true for the USA, as well, and for every other country on the face of the
earth. Trouble abounds everywhere. Anyplace a person would go trouble for him
or her is still going to crop up. People still get sick, people still die,
children still get hurt, and old people still have pension problems. Crime will
always abound, and criminals will sometimes get away, running with the money
theyÕve taken (even if movies show that the bad guys get it in the end). Ladies
and gentlemen, this is the world we live in. It is troubling, trouble-filled,
and it is only getting worse. Everyone has trouble of some kind or another.
ThatÕs the bad news.
Point #2 – Everybody CAN have PeaceÉ but Not Everybody Takes it:
Here
is the good news: you can have peace if you want it. Even if everything around
you is in terrible, horrible turmoil, you can still have peace. Is your life
full of trouble? Do you want peace? Who doesnÕt? Peace – real, true,
lasting, unspeakably joyful peace – is waiting for you if you want it.
Just recently in the USA, a professional football player was killed by a
burglar in his own home. This young man was only 24 years old. He and his wife
have a baby girl whoÕs 18 months old. On Thursday, I was reading and I also
listened to an interview with this young football playerÕs Dad. People were
asking him how he and the family were doing. He replied that God was keeping
them. His words were very profound. Here this father had just lost his young,
talented, athletic son. He died at a very young age. His death was senseless.
Yet, this Dad stood with a look and with words of peace on his face and in his
heart. Though he was deeply saddened, deeply hurt, probably devastated by his
sonÕs death, this father only spoke words of praise, words of faith in Jesus
Christ. I saw another interview on TV concerning a father whoÕd lost his mother
and his two daughters. The contrast between the man whoÕd lost his daughters
and the man whoÕd lost his son was very different. The father whoÕd lost the
daughters and his mother spoke only words of grief, words of hopelessness. His
sadness and his hopelessness were terribly grieving. The man, however, whoÕd
lost his football-player son, however, had words of hope, words of faith, words
of encouragement. Yes, he, too, was sad – terribly sad. But his words,
his attitude, his heart had nothing but peace.
Reader, do you understand what I am writing here? This comparison showed the
stark difference between a man who had placed his trust in Jesus Christ, and a
man whoÕd placed his hope and his trust in nothing. This is the peace that you
can have. Jesus said ÒBe of good cheer; I have overcome the world.Ó
(John
16.33) And Jesus says this to us so that we, too, by him, can also
overcome the world. Do you have that peace? Do you have Jesus Christ? You can
have him today, if you want him! You can have the kind of peace that can help
you through lifeÕs hardest storms if you want it!
The reason why many of us have depression, have overbearing stress, and get
cranky and upset at Christmas is because many of us have lost sight of what
Christmas is all about. We get so wrapped up in doing, going, cooking,
shopping, preparing, and hosting that we lose sight of Jesus Christ. The reason
why Jesus came is so that people can and will have peace. Suicide rates are so
high at Christmas because people have lost the hope that Christmas is all
about. People have deep depression at this time of year because we have
forgotten the joy of Christmas that only Jesus Christ can bring. People get
bent out of shape so much at this great time of year because we have taken
Jesus out of the manger and put the almighty yen (or dollar) there. When we put
Jesus Christ back as the centre of Christmas, we will have peace – the
peace that words cannot expressÉ
Point #3 – ÒJoyful People Make me SICK!Ó
Do you know someone who is so full of joy, so at peace with life, and seems to
have everything under control that it makes you angry? Do you know a person who
never gets ruffled, no matter the circumstances? My Dad is like this. I have
seen and heard people say to my Dad that he makes them angry because he always
seems to walk around with a song in his heart and a smile on his face. My
brother is the same. When we were both university students, some of the guys we
worked with at our part-time jobs would be so upset with my brother because he
always whistled while he worked. Do you know someone like this? A better
question is, do you want to be a person like that? Ladies and Gentlemen, the
best Christmas gift you could ever receive is Jesus Christ. The most wonderful
peace and joy can be yours if you know Jesus Christ. If you already have Jesus,
but you seem to have lost that peace, remember that Jesus is waiting to give
you his peace again! If you donÕt have Jesus, understand that you will never
really, truly know what peace is all about. The Bible says in Matthew and Luke
that, without Jesus, your life will always be like a sand castle when the
storms of life come. Your life will begin to crumble, and eventually will fall,
but if you have Jesus, then your life will be like a REAL castle during a
military siege: no matter what comes against you, with Jesus, you will have
peace, and victory is assured. You can have the peace that Jesus gives, and you
can be a joyful person if you choose Jesus Christ today. This can be the best
Christmas of your life, if you want it to be. Lets prayÉ
Prayer
Father,
thank you for this day. Thank you for these good people who have come. Help us,
Lord, to remember that while we will always have trouble in the world, we can
also have peace. Help us to know, Lord Jesus, that you are waiting for each of
us to come, and trust in you. Help us, Lord, to know that your peace is the
kind of peace that will never fail, and will never die. Help us all to have a
great week. Help us all to have a great Christmas! Please bless all who read
this, today, Father. We pray this in JesusÕ name, AmenÉ
