I'm sure by this point you've
gathered our subject is peace. More specifically, the Lord our
peace. I have learned to appreciate
peace. I know that we'll never have
peace among nations. There'll never be lasting peace
among men. Peace in our time is fiction. Somebody is always getting mad
about something. Usually it's about something
that doesn't amount to hill beans, but it happens all the time.
So peace is rare. And I truly appreciate times
of peace. And I appreciate people who are
peaceful. And I know you do too. And as
valuable as that peace is, you know, one of the things about
being out in the world, Janet and I were talking about this
the other day. She has insisted upon this. That our home be a
home of peace. And I can say I can leave work
and I already feel better before I even get there. Because I'm
going to go to a place of peace. I mean, I appreciate it. Well,
as valuable as that peace is, it pales in comparison to spiritual
peace. Because spiritual peace is peace
with God. Now, would you like to have peace
with God? Would you like to have peace
in your heart? Because you know you have peace
with God. Because God's not angry with
you anymore. Is there anybody interested in
that? Would you like to have peace in your home? Would you
like to have peace in your heart? While the world wars around you,
because there's not going to be peace in the world. So while
the world wars around you, would you like to have peace in your
heart? It's my prayer that by the time
we leave here this evening, each of us will at least know where
that peace is found. And there's a real good clue
for us. The word peace. is used over 400 times in the
Bible. I believe if we look here a little
bit, we'll find it. We'll find out where God has
provided this peace. Now, Judges chapter 6, verse
1, the children of Israel did evil on the side of the Lord,
and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel And because of
the Midianites, the children of Israel made them dens, which
were in the mountains and caves and strongholds. Israel did not
have peace. They're in the promised land,
but they didn't have peace because they sinned against the Lord.
And it got so bad for them. The oppression got so bad. They're
hiding in caves and dens in the mountains. That's exactly what
sin makes people do. Run and hide in fear. Isn't that
what Adam did in the garden? Ran and hid in fear because of
sin. The moment Adam sinned, he lost
all peace. Up to that moment, that's all
Adam knew was peace. But the moment Adam sinned, he
became scared, he became ashamed, and he ran and hid from God because
he was afraid because of his sin. And it's interesting how,
I don't know how many years all this was going on, these first
two, I guess it was seven years, we do know. No, at no point in
that seven years do we read of anyone crying to God for mercy.
We don't read of anyone asking the Lord to send peace. So verse
three, it was so when Israel had sown, they'd sown their crops
that the Midianites came up and the Amalekites and the children
of the East. Even they came up against them and they encamped
against them and destroyed the increase of the earth till they'll
come unto Gaza and left no sustenance for Israel, either sheep nor
oxen or ass. And they came up with their cattle
and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude.
For both they and their camels were without number. And they
entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished
because of the Midianites. And then the children of Israel
cried unto the Lord." You hear the Midianites oppressing Israel,
and here come the Amalekites again. We saw them last week.
You can't get rid of these Malachites. And we saw last week, are there
a picture of our sin? You can't squash them. You can't
get rid of them. They just keep popping up everywhere.
Here they are again. And this time, they brought their
friends with them. And they came to stay. There
were more of them than you could count. And they came with the
purpose of destroying the land. They brought with them the devastating
results of sin. And that's what sin does. It
leaves no life. It leaves people impoverished.
Israel was left in poverty. And this is such a good picture
of sin. Our sins are too many to count. We got sins we don't
even know about. Too many to count. And man is
still finding new ways, it seems like, to sin. And sin leaves
us, spiritually, in the same situation that Israel was in.
We're left with no food. We're left with no life. We're
left with nothing to sustain life. Sin leaves us impoverished
so that we can't pay our sin debt. We're left with no spiritual
goodness at all. Spiritually bankrupt. And sin
comes to destroy. When it's finished, sin always
brings forth death. That's the condition of all men
by nature. will not leave his people in
this condition. But now he's going to make it
so bad. He's going to just keep ratcheting
it down so tight until his people finally cry for mercy, until
they finally sue for peace. There will never be a cry for
mercy until all of our resources are gone. Never. Once everything
we have is taken away by sin, all of our hope, all of our positive
outlook, all of our positive mental attitude, when it's all
gone, then we'll cry for mercy. Then and only then will we cry
for peace. These sinful people finally cried to the Lord. Well, how does the Lord answer
their cry? Look at verse 7, he answered their cry, because they're
his people, he answered their cry by sending them a prophet.
Verse 7, it came to pass when the children of Israel cried
unto the Lord because of the Midianites, that the Lord sent
a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them,
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt,
and brought you forth out of the house of bondage, and I delivered
you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that
oppressed you. and drave them out from before you, gave you
their land. And I said unto you, I am the
Lord your God. Fear not the gods of the Amorites
in whose lands you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice."
Now God sent his prophet with God's message. That's a real
good indication that the Lord is getting ready to show mercy
and move in power and do something for his people when he sends
him a prophet. If you want to hear from the
Lord, If you want to be blessed of God, it'd be a real good idea
if you'd find God's prophet and you'd camp there and you'd listen
to his message, the message that God's given him. Because this
is a picture of how God delivers his people from bondage to sin.
This is a picture of how God gives his people peace. And he
does it, first of all, he always sends them a prophet. And Gideon
heard this prophet. Now, verse 11. And there came
an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak, which was an okra,
that pertained unto Joash the Abizarite, and his son Gideon,
thrust weak by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites."
Now Gideon was probably just like the rest of Israel. He'd
been forced to hide in rocks and dens and caves, and he's
awful tired of it. And he longed for peace. A man
like Gideon had to absolutely detest hiding behind that wine
press, trying to thresh out a little wheat. He was probably trying
to do it in a hurry, working very quickly, so the Midianites,
the Amalekites, didn't come and take it away from him. If they're
hungry, they're going to come take that wheat from him. And
if they're not hungry, they're going to come take it and destroy
it just for the fun of it. And he knows this is his situation.
He's doing his best to work as fast as he can, hiding behind
the wine press. Well, look at verse 12. And the
angel of the Lord appeared unto him. And said unto him, The Lord
is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Now this angel, we're
going to see this at the end of our text, is the Lord Jesus
Christ himself. This is a pre-incarnate appearance
of Christ and he's the angel, the messenger of God. He's not
a created being. This is the mediator between
God and men who accomplishes peace and brings peace to his
people. And here he is sitting under that oak tree. speaks to
Gideon, and there's Gideon. Now, he may be a mighty man of
valor. He must be, because the Lord called him that. Oh, Gideon
doesn't know it yet. He doesn't know he's a mighty
man of valor. He's hiding behind the winepress, threshing out
some wheat. Now, it could be Gideon's there praying. I bet
he is. It's safe to assume by what Gideon
says next that he is deeply troubled by the situation that Israel's
in. So we wouldn't be surprised to learn he's praying as he's
threshing out this wheat. And the Lord comes to him, and
the first words out of his mouth are words that should immediately
comfort and encourage Gideon. He tells him, Gideon, the Lord's
with you. Now that ought to encourage Gideon,
but look what he says, verse 13. Gideon said unto him, O my
Lord, If the Lord be with us, why then has all this befallen
us? And where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of,
saying to us that the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the
Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of the Midianites."
Well, the prophets told them why the Lord didn't, because
you'd sinned and delivered them to the Midianites. Phrygian does
not feel like the Lord's with us. Sure seems like the Lord
has forsaken us. Ever been there? When you are, be mighty careful. Be very careful what you say.
Gideon feels like the Lord has forsaken him. Gideon feels like
the Lord is so far away. And he doesn't even know yet.
He's talking face to face to the Lord Himself. The Lord wasn't
very far away. Let's always remember this. The
Lord is always near his people. He's promised never to forsake
his people, never to leave nor forsake his people. He's nearer
us than what we think most times. Verse 14, the Lord looked upon
him, and he said, Go and vest thy might, and thou shalt save
Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee? The Lord
looked upon him. how patient the Lord is with
sinners. He doesn't berate Gideon. He
just looks upon him. The look of the Lord. You know,
all it took to utterly break Peter's heart after he denied
the Lord was the Lord to look at him. And I'm confident that
was not a mean, stern look from the Lord. It was a knowing look. It was a piercing look. But I
just bet it was a tender look and it broke Peter's heart. The
Lord looked on Gideon with a look of compassion and tenderness.
He understands Gideon's praying and he knew he's getting ready
to do great things for Gideon and great things for Israel.
So he looks on Gideon and he tells him, you go in this thy
might. Now, what might is the Lord talking
about here? Is he talking about Gideon's
might? He calls him a mighty man of valor. Is he talking about
Gideon going in his might? This fellow hiding behind the
wine press, you're going to send him in his might? Don't think
so. He's talking about the might
of the Lord to send him. The Lord who's going with him.
If the Lord is on our side, aren't we sure to have victory? The
victory is guaranteed if the Lord is on our side. If God be
for us, Who can be against us? Gideon's getting ready to learn
that. Look at verse 15. He said unto him, O my Lord,
wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in
Manasseh, and I am the least of my father's house. Gideon
might be a mighty man of valor, but he's weak in faith. Now he
shows some humility. That's good. He ought to show
some humility because he knows the truth about himself. He knows
he's nothing. He knows there is no way he's
got the ability to lead Israel to a victory. But that's good
that he knows that, because the Lord always chooses the weak
things of the world to accomplish his mighty purpose. God chooses
the weak things of the world to confound the things that are
mighty. And he tells Gideon, verse 16, the Lord said unto
him, Surely I'll be with thee. Thou shalt smite the Midianites
as one man. Well, now Gideon can go in confidence
because the Lord said, you go, I'll be with thee. Well, that's
all the confidence we need. The Lord said, I'm going to go
with you. That's all our confidence that the Lord promises to be
with us. Lord, if you don't go with us,
don't let us go. But if he's with us, why wouldn't
we be in full confidence. A little child has all the confidence
in this world if they're holding their daddy's hand. You can cross
the busiest street in New York City, and if you're holding your
daddy's hand, it's all okay. Those crazy cabbies, you don't
worry a thing about them if you're holding your daddy's hand. Shouldn't a child of God feel
infinitely more secure? I'll be with thee. And you're
going to defeat this whole hole. You can't count, but you're going
to defeat him as easily as you cut off the head of one man.
So verse 17, Gideon said unto him, If now I found grace in
thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart
not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth
my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I'll tarry
until thou come again. Now this present that he's talking
about here isn't just a gift. This is more than a gift. It's
a meat offering. That could be, maybe, Gideon
is starting to suspect this is more than a mere man. This is
more than a mere prophet. Could be. We don't know exactly.
But either way, this is what we do know. A sacrifice, a meat
offering, is in order here. Peace and the sacrifice always
go hand in hand. You can't separate them. The
peace and the sacrifice must go hand in hand. So verse 19,
Gideon went in and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of
an ephah of flour, the flesh he put in a basket, and he put
the broth in a pot, and he brought it out unto him under the oak,
and presented it. And the angel of God said unto
him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them out upon
this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel
of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his
hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And there
rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the
unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed
out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that
he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God,
for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face." Now
Gideon saw this fire come up out of this rock and he is terrified
because now he knows he's seen God. And Gideon knew what the
Lord told Moses. No man shall see me and live.
And Gideon is not the only man that ever felt this utter terror
and fear that he's going to be put to death because he's seen
the Lord. The Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, the beloved
disciple, the one who laid on the Lord's breast just because
he was so close to Him. When he saw the Lord on the Isle
of Patmos, he fell at His feet as a dead man. That angel came
and told him and his wife they're going to have this son. He's
going to deliver Israel. That angel was Christ. He got
in the smoke of that sacrifice and ascended back on high. And
I said, we're dead now. We're going to die now. We've
seen the Lord. And all this fear. You think
the Lord comes and tells you, I'm going to give you a son.
He's going to deliver Israel. Oh, you'd be so full of confidence.
No fear. The Lord comes and tells Gideon,
you go, you're going to defeat this whole host as one man. No
fear. So full of confidence. Yet all
they can think about is the Lord's going to kill me. All this fear
is the result of sin. It's the same fear Adam felt
in the garden. It's the same fear that each
of us fear all the time. All of our fears come from sin. And Gideon was afraid God was
going to kill him because he knew he's a sinful man. Sin is
what brought this warfare between God and men, and Gideon knew
he's a sinner. He knew what he deserved. If
God gives him what he deserves, he's going to wipe him out. But
verse 23, the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee, fear
not, thou shalt not die. Why did Gideon die? Because that
meat offering that he brought became the burnt offering. That
meat and that unleavened bread are a picture of the body of
the Lord Jesus Christ that was sacrificed as a burnt offering
for sin, for the sin of His people. Peace with God must come through
the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Having made peace through
the blood of His cross, having made peace through the blood
of His sacrifice, peace can only come from the sacrifice of Christ. Now Gideon, he's known for asking
for and receiving signs from the Lord. He's asking, he asks
here and later on, I think it's this chapter, he asks for, he
puts out his fleece, you know, and asks for some evidences that
the Lord's in this thing, that the Lord's with him in this thing,
this work he's called Gideon to do. And I'm not so sure about this
matter, you know, for me. How often should you put out
a fleece? I don't know about all that stuff.
It must be okay because Gideon asked for it and he received
a sign from the Lord that the Lord was in this work with him.
But generally speaking, the Lord has already given us the greatest
sign He can ever give us that He's with His people. The sacrifice
of His Son. Mike, whatever sign do we need?
He's given us the sign, the evidence that he's with us. He slew his
son for the sins of his people. I believe he's with us. I believe
he's with his people. In verse 24, then Gideon built
an altar there unto the Lord and called it Jehovah Shalom,
the Lord our peace. And it's interesting to note,
you can read the rest of this chapter at your leisure. Right
after Gideon has peace, what does he do? He goes and starts
a war. Once Gideon has peace with God,
he goes and starts a war against everything that's contrary to
God. He goes and starts a war to overthrow idolatry and everything
that's contrary to the sacrifice that brings peace with God. Now,
something that I try to drive home to our hearts frequently
is this. God does more than just give his people peace. Christ is our peace. Just like Christ is our righteousness,
our wisdom, our sanctification, and our redemption. Redemption
is not something, a thing, a doctrinal theory that Christ gives us.
Christ is our redemption. And tonight, our subject is peace. Christ is our peace. Peace is not a thing. Peace is
a person. His name is Jehovah Shalom. The Lord our peace. And some
of the translators say that this name Jehovah Shalom is better
translated and I like this one better. The Lord is peace. He'll send peace. He is our peace. The Lord is peace. Think of his names in scripture.
He's the king of peace. He's the prince of peace. Throughout
scripture many times he's called the God of all peace. Christ
is peace. Now why is it so important for
us to preach this truth this way? That Christ is our peace?
Because men by nature don't have peace with God. And they don't
know where to find it. Now I'm going to give you some
scriptures here. We're not going to turn to very many of them. You can
write them down and read them at your leisure if you'd like.
Men by nature do not have peace with God. And they don't know
where to find it. Romans 3, 17. The way of peace
have they not known? And Paul tells us in verse 18
why they don't know the way of peace. There's no fear of God
before their eyes. They don't know God, so of course
they don't know the way of peace, because He is peace. There is
no peace between God and man. Man by nature hates God, and
God is angry with the wicked every day. This thing about God
loves you, and so do I, and God loves everybody? Now that's a
lie. God's angry with the wicked every
day. But God sent peace in the person
of His blessed Son to this earth. In Luke 2, verse 14, at our Lord's
birth, where those angels sang, on earth, peace. On earth, peace. Not peace on earth. Not peace
among men. On earth, peace. Peace Himself
is now on earth. He's been born, Bethlehem's manger.
And at the end of our Lord's earthly ministry, John 16.33,
this was the song of the angels at His birth and at His death.
John 16.33, He told His disciples, These things have I spoken unto
you, that in Me you might have peace. Now what things has He
spoken unto them? He's spoken unto them about going
to the cross. He's going to go be made a sacrifice
and you're going to be sorrowful. But your sorrow will be turned
to joy. Because peace is only found in
this sacrifice on earth. Peace. Because Christ was slain
as a burnt offering for the sin of his people. And through that
sacrifice we have peace. Now peace must come through the
sacrifice of Christ. You can forget making your peace
with God. It'll never happen. Ever. Just
forget it. God and man are at war. Man has declared war on God.
And for those two warring parties to be at peace, a mediator must
come and make an atonement. Sinful man is not capable of
making that atonement. So God must send peace. Now if
you want to turn to this scripture, Colossians 1. In order for there to be peace,
the mediator must come and make an atonement and put away the
sin that has caused this war, that makes God angry. Colossians
1, verse 20. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself. By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven. and you, even you that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight." How is it that
we're reconciled? How is it that we have this peace?
In the body of his flesh through death, through the sacrifice
of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look back in Ephesians
chapter 2. This could not be more clearly
spelled out. Look at verse 14 of Ephesians
2. For he is our peace. See, peace is a person. He is
our peace. Who hath made both one, and hath
broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace. and that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."
You see that Christ is our peace and it must come through his
sacrifice. Now look back in Isaiah 32. The work of Christ is to bring
in righteousness. And the result of righteousness
is peace. The only way we can have righteousness,
the only way we can be made righteous is in Christ. Well, the work
of righteousness is peace, so it must be in Him. Isaiah 32,
verse 17. And the work of righteousness
shall be peace. And the effect of righteousness,
quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in
a peaceable habitation and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting
places. When a sinner is made righteous,
God's not angry anymore because the sin that made him angry has
been removed. And the sinner is not angry anymore
either because he's received a new nature and a new birth
and he's been made righteous. He's been made righteous in Christ
and he's not angry anymore either. He has peace with God. through
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, through his sacrifice. Now, back in our text, when this
angel in verse 23, this is interesting. I looked this up. In verse 23,
the Lord said unto him, peace be unto thee, peace be unto thee. And this word that he uses here.
It has so many definitions, you wouldn't believe, I mean, the
list is strong, it's huge. And what it means. is this, it
means everything we lost in Adam. The definition of this word he
uses means to be made whole and in good health instead of our
sin deadness. Not just our sin sickness, our
sin deadness, made whole and healthy. Second, it means finished
or complete instead of our sin and coming short of the glory
of God. Third, this word peace means full instead of our emptiness,
fullness in Christ. Fourth, it means make good or
restore what's been lost. That's what Christ has done.
He's restored everything that we lost in Adam. Fifth, this
word peace means perfect. That's how we're going to have
peace with God, by being made perfect instead of our total
depravity. This word peace means harmony
and reconciliation instead of our separation from God. All
these things can only come in the person of our Lord Jesus
Christ. You see how He is our peace?
He is peace. Now, here's where the rubber
meets the road. How can I have this peace that
passes all understanding? How can I have? I want you to
have this peace that passes all understanding. How can I have
it? Well, peace comes to us by faith. Peace comes to us by believing
Christ. Romans 5.1, Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God. By faith. Isaiah 26.3, Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusted in thee." Spurgeon went to great lengths
making this point. The more faith that you have,
the more that you trust and rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the
more your mind is stayed upon Christ, the more peace you'll
have. Hard to argue with him, isn't
it? The more we look to Christ, the more peace we'll have. Thou
shalt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee. That inner peace that every human
being so desperately craves is had in the Lord Jesus Christ. I read a lot about history. And
I guess what I really know about is my time, the time that I've
lived on this earth. I don't know of a more unsettled
time. Not just in world events, because
the world's always been what it is. It's always been wars
and rumors of wars and just, you know, if somebody wants somebody
else's goddess, you know. Somebody's always been crying,
sky's falling. Maybe it is, I don't know. But
it seems like individual people are in more turmoil and more
upset. The opposite of peace. I don't
know, maybe, whatever. This is what I like to tell the
world. It's obvious. People crave peace. It's found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, if you look to Him, that's
where it's found. And because of that, We preach what Paul
called in Ephesians 6, the gospel of peace. Now, if man preaches
and the result of that is always fighting and contention, it can't
be the gospel, can it? I mean, I know the gospel causes
division, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking
about amongst people, amongst God's people. We preach the gospel
of peace. Our gospel is that God is reconciled
in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you surrender, lay down your
arms, and be you reconciled to God in the Lord Jesus Christ,
in His finished work for sinners. And if we ever have peace with
God, and we have peace in our heart, we certainly should be
at peace with one another. We'll get aggravated with one
another from time to time. We're still sinners. It ought
not be, but it's unavoidable because of what we are by nature.
Please understand me. That's no excuse. It's just unavoidable. But when believers have these
situations come up, believers will seek peace and pursue it. They will seek a way to get over
it, to get past it, and have peace. We'll look for a way to
get past it. Ephesians 4, 3. Endeavoring,
striving, working at keeping the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. Jehovah Shalom. The Lord is peace. Now that's a precious message. One more point. Let me say this.
I wrote this in my notes before I left the house and didn't see
it. the bond of peace, endeavoring to keep this unity, the bond
of peace. Look around you. This is the people you're going
to spend eternity with. Be at peace with them. Get over
it and have peace. This is a precious message. The
Lord is peace. Peace is something we should
celebrate because it's precious. And peace is something we will
celebrate if God ever shows us what we are by nature and teaches
us to hate this warfare against him. Our daughter, Holly, has
a framed picture hanging up in her apartment, the famous picture
of the sailor on VJ Day kissing that nurse. And you look at that
picture, and I've just always ever looked at the sailor or
this woman, you know. But you look at that picture,
look it up, Google it when you get home. The faces of people
in the background of that picture is pure, unadulterated joy. They have peace. They knew what
warfare meant. They had peace. I read this story. This man is in his nineties,
I think now. He says, I was that sailor. And
a lot of people say that. He said, I can prove it. If you
look over his shoulder, There's a picture where you see a face
of a woman. Great big old smile on her face. He said, that's my wife. Wasn't
his girlfriend then, is one way I understand it. But he was there
at Times Square with her. He said, that's my wife. I know
that man in that picture is me. They were married for many, many
years. I forget how many years it was.
You know, that woman never got mad at him. Kissing that other
woman. That's me. That picture would
be gone out of the house. It would not survive in my house. It survived in their house. And
you know why? She said it was a day of peace. It was a joyful
day. It was a day of peace. She found a way to get over it.
Jehovah shalom. The Lord is peace. God grant
it to be so in our hearts.