Do you have peace with God today? Are you running from God? Do you feel afraid of God? Do you feel like hiding from God as Adam and Eve did? Are you reluctant to pray? What is it that’s got you running from God? Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. And Colin, I can imagine people saying, peace with God? I don’t have time to think about peace with God. I could do with some peace with myself for now. Yeah, everyone wants peace. We all want to get there. We don’t want to be in a situation of conflict. But here’s my question. If you were able to resolve every conflict in your life, all of the relational conflict that’s there, and you did not have peace with God, where would that leave you? See, if you sort out everything else that’s going wrong in your life, even if that were possible, and you were not at peace with God, what that means is that the biggest, longest lasting, eternal conflict, the greatest issue, is not settled in your life. And as long as that is the case, you cannot ultimately have peace. And that’s why peace with God actually is the beginning of experiencing peace in relation to the other difficulties of life. It’s not the last thing we come to. It has to be the first thing. It’s the root from which peace of heart eventually grows. Well, let’s look at what the Bible has to say about this. We’re in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3, and verses 16 to 18, with a message, peace and the presence of God. Here’s Colin. Now, this is the last message in our series from 2 Thessalonians. And many of you have said to me over these last weeks that you feel that God has spoken to us in a very special way through this letter. I have to tell you, I feel the same way, too. 2 Thessalonians, I think, from this time on, will always have a very special place in my life. I think I will always associate it with this time in the life of our church. Now, we come today to the ending of the letter, which is as rich as everything that has gone before. It is a prayer for God’s blessing on his people. It is a benediction, if you like. Benediction simply means a good word, a word of blessing. That’s what we say at the end of the service when that prayer is given. And we’ve seen that this whole letter is peppered with prayers. Paul’s teaching to these people in this letter is shot through with his praying for these people. And that in itself reminds us of something very important. It is a mark of authentic ministry. You have to pray for the people that you teach. Do you teach a Sunday school class? Whatever your teaching role is, you have to pray for the people you teach. And Paul models this so wonderfully here. And so, as we’ve seen many prayers going through this letter, we come to the last of them here in verse 16. And Paul is saying, now, here is what I am praying for you. May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. Now, remember that the church here had been birthed in great turmoil. Paul had preached the message of Christ in this town of Thessalonica and these people had come to faith. He had grounded them in all that it means to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. But then after just three weeks, Paul had to leave the city. You read in Acts chapter 17, the story, if you want to follow it through there, there was a mob that gathered from the marketplace and they stirred up trouble. And so Paul has to leave the city. He’s banned from the city. He cannot come back. And so these believers, after just three weeks of being grounded in their new faith, they’d know nothing about Christianity before, they faced hostility right from the very beginning, from the first day that they trusted Christ. And it was still going on. So you may remember from chapter 1 in verse 4, Paul is saying, among God’s churches, we boast about your perseverance and your faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. It was still going on. So here are people who just a few months after trusting Christ, they’re being rejected by their families. Youngsters are being ridiculed at school. They’re in the eye of the storm. Some of you are in the eye of the storm. And Paul says to them at the end of the letter, I am praying that you will have peace. Peace. Now let’s look at this wonderful prayer and see how it applies to us. He says, may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. Now that wonderful phrase, in all times, means in all circumstances. May God give you peace, whatever you are facing in this week that lies ahead. But I think there’s something more here than that. At all times means in every season of your life. And I find it helpful just to ponder that this week. Think about this with me for a moment. At all times throughout your life. So you arrive at middle school. And your body is coming to life, if you see what I mean. And you begin to wonder in a way you didn’t wonder before, who likes me? Well, for all of you who are there, may God give you his peace. Then you go to high school and you feel under pressure, maybe for the first time really, and you wonder, now who am I? And does anybody care? Some of you are there. May God give you peace. You head to college and you wonder, can I establish myself on a really big campus? Do I have anything to offer in this vast crowd of people? May God give you his peace. You get into your 20s and if you are single, you may wonder, will I ever marry? Does God have someone special for me? And then some who are married, you wonder, will we ever have children? May God give you his peace. Some of you are young parents and maybe feeling the weight of responsibility of a tiny life that has been trusted into your hands. May God give you his peace. And then a few years later, you’ve stopped asking, will I be a good parent? Now all you’re asking is, since when did I become a taxi driver? Well, may God give you his peace. Last week, we thought a little bit about the special pressures that come in midlife. Remember, staying at a level without the stimulus that got you there. May God give you his peace. Beyond these years lie your 60s and your 70s, when you begin to notice changes in yourself. You become more concerned about your health. You maybe didn’t think about it very much before, and you begin to wonder more, now what have I really accomplished? Did I do the right things? What else might I have done with these years? May God give you his peace. And then beyond into your older years, Faith for Life is our gathering of seniors in this church on Thursday afternoons, and I ran in this week, ran into some of the folks who were leaving from that wonderful meeting this week. I spoke to one dear brother who was coming out of the church, and he was on a frame, and he was obviously moving with great, great difficulty. I chatted to him for a bit, and I said to him, are you in pain? And he said, no pastor, he said, I’m not in pain, but it doesn’t get any easier, you know. May God give you his peace. At all times, in every circumstance, through the whole of life, in all of its sweep, whatever you are, whatever you’re struggling with, whatever you are up against, at all times. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Peace and the Presence of God, and we’ll get right back to the message in a moment. Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners. Today is the last day of October, and all through this month, we’ve had an offer for you in return for setting up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible. And that offer is this. If you can set up a new donation in the amount of five pounds per month or more, we would love to send you two copies of a book by Josh McDowell. It’s called More Than a Carpenter. Now, Josh McDowell was a former skeptic looking to disprove the claims of Christ, but when he looked into them, he found them to be true. So we’re offering two copies of this book, one for you to read, and one for you to give away to anyone that you think might be receptive to that message. Full details of this offer on our website, openthebible.org.uk. Back to our message now, here’s Colin. And then notice what else he says. May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times, and in every way. You say, how many ways are there to have peace? Answer, at least three. There’s peace with God, which is what Paul speaks about in Romans in chapter 5 and verse 1. Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the good news of the gospel today, and I urge you to believe it. The Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins, and he rose for your justification. That means so that you could be forgiven. And faith makes what Jesus has accomplished yours. That is how you have peace with God. Now, what do you know of this? Do you have peace with God today? Are you running from God? Do you feel afraid of God? Do you feel like hiding from God, as Adam and Eve did? Are you reluctant to pray? What is it that’s got you running from God? Do you feel that God is against you? Do you feel that he has it in for you? That he’s condemning you? Do you feel today, then, that you would like to have peace with God? It’s a wonderful gift. And not only is there peace with God, there’s a gift of peace within yourself. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 7 speaks about the peace of God that passes all understanding, guarding your heart and guarding your mind in Christ Jesus. You see, it is possible to have peace with God, that is to be forgiven, to be justified, and yet still to have a turmoil in yourself. Now, what do you know about this? Can you say to yourself, be at rest, O my soul, because God has been good to you? That’s Psalm 116 and verse 7. What do you know of peace within your own soul? And then there’s a third kind of peace, and that is, of course, peace towards others. Romans chapter 12 and verse 18, Paul says, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Now, you see the importance of what he’s saying. You can’t control what others do. In a situation of conflict, you can’t control what other people say to you or about you. But what God says is, now look at your own part here, and as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. In other words, if someone hurts you deeply, it will open up wounds, and when you are wounded, these wounds can easily fester with bitterness, with pride, and even with hatred. And then you hear, as a Christian, Jesus say, now love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. What do you know of this? Do you need to know more of the peace that would enable you to do that? So this is a remarkable, wonderful, profound, lifelong prayer. Not only that you will have peace, but that you will have it at all times, and that you will have it in every way. Peace with God, peace in yourself, and as far as it depends upon you, even when you’re wounded, that there will be a peace, not hatred, that emanates from you towards others. That’s what he’s asking God for. It’s a remarkable prayer, isn’t it? Now, when you think about the prayer and you see the scope of it, peace at all times and in every way, inevitably you will ask this question, as I have asked the question coming to the Bible, well now, how is this possible? How is it possible for an ordinary person like you or like me to have peace at all times and in every way? And I want you to notice here how he introduces the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he introduces the Lord Jesus Christ by this wonderful name in verse 16. He calls him, gives him this title, the Lord of Peace. The Lord of Peace. By the way, the Bible uses so many names and titles for our Lord Jesus Christ. Human language can barely convey the depth, the wonder, the glory of who Jesus Christ is and what Jesus Christ does. And so here is one of many, many, many titles of Christ that are given to us in the scripture. He is the Lord of Peace. Now you say, now what does that mean? Well, it means first that he has peace. He has it in himself. He has peace. That is why he’s able to say to his disciples, my peace I give to you. What I have in myself, I can give to you. It means that Christ makes peace. That’s what it means that he’s the Lord of Peace. This is why he came into the world. He came to make peace between God and us. We celebrate this today around the Lord’s table as we take bread and wine in a few minutes time. This is why the angels said when the Lord Jesus Christ was born into the world, peace to men, because this is why he was born. And he has made this peace, how? By shedding his blood. That is what he did on the cross. And he’s the Lord of Peace, not only because he has peace and because he makes peace, but because he gives peace. And that’s the particular point that Paul is making in this verse. May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace. He has peace. He makes peace. He gives peace. That’s what it means for him to be the Lord of Peace. The Lord of Peace. The word Lord has authority in it, doesn’t it? That means he has command over peace. Peace goes where he sends it. And of course, the most obvious illustration of that is the occasion when Jesus was in a boat. You remember the story well. And a storm rises on the Sea of Galilee. And the whole lake is in turmoil. And the disciples are there in a panic. And Jesus speaks. And remember what he says. Peace be still. And as he speaks, he imparts peace to the lake. He imparts it. That’s what it means to be the Lord of Peace. Now Paul is saying, this is what I am asking this Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior, to do for you. May the Lord of Peace give you peace. The peace that is in himself. Because he is Lord over peace. That means he commands it. He gives it. He sends it. He says to peace, go fill the heart of that anxious person. He’s the Lord of Peace. And peace goes where he sends it. And notice that this is something that Jesus Christ does himself. May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace. This is a direct ministry of Jesus Christ to your soul. He knows what you’re worried about. He knows what you’re anxious over. And he’s able to do this. And Paul says, as I think of all that you’re facing, this is what I’m on my knees praying for you. That the Lord of Peace himself will give to you peace at all times and in every way. So this peace can be yours. It’s a peace that Christ has died to secure. And it is a peace that Christ lives to give. This is a wonderful prayer that you can make to your own. We’ve been learning how to pray throughout this series. Add this to your prayer list. Here’s something for you to pray for yourself. Here is something for you to pray for your friends. May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. It’s a beautiful prayer. Now I’m reading through this chapter and when I get to this point, I’m asking a question. Why doesn’t he end there? Don’t you think that would be the perfect ending for this letter? Don’t you think you could just put a period at the end of that and say, that’s the perfect close? May the Lord himself give you peace. And then you look and you say, he goes on about writing greetings in his own hand and adding a couple of things here. You think, now what’s happening? Why does he go on? Why didn’t he just stop? Let me suggest this to you and I think there is something very wonderful here. We need not only to ask for peace, but we also need to know how to receive it. You need that, I need that. I pray and what do I do next? I need to know not only that I can ask the Lord of Peace for this marvelous gift, but I also need to know how can I receive it? And remember, this is a real letter that is being written to these people who are facing extraordinary difficulties like us. They didn’t know what the future holds. They have many fears. They have to know how to get up on Monday and face life, just as you have to do that in the week that lies ahead of you. What if the unthinkable happens? What if you face the nightmare scenario that you’re trying not to admit and push away all the time? Well, here’s what you can do in these times. You can ask Christ to give you peace and that’s why the letter doesn’t end here. You can remind yourself of the foundation on which peace rests. It’s so helpful, isn’t it, to remind ourselves about that foundation on which our peace rests. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Peace and the Presence of God. It’s part of our series, Staying the Course When We’re Tired of the Battle. And if you’ve missed any of the series, you can go online. Come to openthebible.org.uk and there you can listen to any of the messages in this series right there online. You can also find them as podcasts. Go to your favourite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe for regular updates. Open the Bible is supported on this station and on the internet by regular donations from our listeners. And we’d like to thank you for that. If you don’t already donate to the work of Open the Bible, but you feel it’s something you’d like to do, we have an offer for you. This month, if you’re able to set up a new donation in the amount of five pounds per month or more, we’d love to send you two copies of a book. It’s called More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. Colin, give us an idea of what’s in this book. Well, the first thing to say is that it has stood the test of time. This book has been around for more than 40 years and God has used it in the lives of many people. It sold more than 15 million copies. That is remarkable. Now, someone might say, well, a book that was written 40 years ago is hardly going to be relevant to today. So here’s the good news. It has been updated to speak to some of the questions that we are facing today. And that work has been done by Josh McDowell’s son, Sean McDowell, and it’s been done really well. So this new edition is going to bring a time tested book to a new generation. And it’s a marvellous story. Josh McDowell started out by asking some fundamental questions of his own life. And these are questions that never change. Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? And he was challenged by some friends to make a serious investigation into the claims of Christianity. He started out on that thinking that he was going to disprove Christianity. And what he found was that the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ laid hold of his mind and of his heart. And that story is told very wonderfully in this book. So this is a very useful book, both for believers so that we will be better equipped to testify to Christ and also for anyone who has serious questions about Christianity and is looking for answers more than a carpenter updated after 40 years for a new generation. This is really a special gift. And I’m delighted that we have the opportunity of sharing this book this month. We’d love to send you two copies of this book if you’re able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of five pounds per month or more. Full details of the offer and to give online go to openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon. How is it possible to have peace at all times and in every way? Find out next time on Open the Bible.