Title: Standing in Peace and Strong
Contents
Acts 9:31 Go in peace and stand firm
Everyone, what does 'peaceful' in today's text mean? If we just gather quietly, worship quietly, disperse quietly, and if the church is always as quiet as a mouse, can we say that the church is at peace? It will never be. Once upon a time in China, there were two painters who were very good at painting. They each claimed that their picture was the best. So one day the king invited two painters to the palace. He gave me a title and asked me to draw a picture. The title of the painting was 'Peace'. The two painters were delighted to say, "Now is the time to show off my skills!" and did their best to paint.
Finally, the painting is complete. Two painters came to the palace with their paintings. The king and his servants all gather to admire the painting. The first artist painted this picture. It was deep in the mountains. There was a stillness and stillness that did not move, not even a single leaf of grass. There was a large lawn in the middle. On the lawn was an old man lying long and taking a nap without knowing the world. And next to him was his dog, sleeping with its head buried in its legs. It was a picture that made me feel sleepy just looking at it and my eyes were going to close.
The second artist painted this picture. I drew a huge waterfall. It was a painting that seemed to hear the roaring sound of a cool stream of water. However, in the middle of the waterfall, a long slender branch stretched out. A bird's nest was placed in the middle of the branch. Inside the bird's nest, a mother bird sat with her eyes closed, drenched in the splash of water falling from the waterfall. A few young birds were sleeping peacefully in the mother bird's arms. The two pictures are very contrasting. Which of these two pictures do you think is the real peace?
Is taking a nap when there's nothing to do is real peace? Everyone, think of the people in the nursing home. Older people just rest there all day. What would such a rest mean? Peace in the harsh environment, this is true peace. It will be lively, living peace.
Think of Jesus for a moment. How busy was Jesus? You were so busy that you didn't even have time to eat. So, when Jesus passed through the Sea of Galilee, the boat shook violently, but he slept peacefully with a pillow in the stern even in the storm. That is true peace.
So will the church. If you are busy running around in order to be faithful to the mission God has given you, sometimes the voices of criticism from people can pour like a waterfall. You may feel like you are about to fall because you are carrying a heavy load or alone. But in our hearts there is a peace that the world does not know. It is the peace that God gives. Hymn 478, the lyricist sings about the peace that God gives.
“Under your wing, I rest in peace, even if the night is deep and the rain and wind blow
The Father will watch over me, and there I will rest in peace.
Rejoice under the wings of the Lord, who is going to cut off that love?
My soul that rests under the wings of the Lord shall live there forever."
I hope that the true peace that God gives us, the Lord of peace, will always fill our hearts. More specifically, what should we do in order for our church to stand strong in peace? Based on today's text, I would like to take a moment to think about two things we should strive for.
1. We must fear God for comfort.
A little kid was working hard at building something with his toy Lego at his house. His father was reading the newspaper and curious, so he came closer and looked into it. Then the little boy pointed his finger to his lips and said: "Dad! Shh! Be quiet. I'm building a church right now."
He is building a church, so be quiet. The father had a special child. So I asked. “Son, why do you have to be quiet in church?” What would the child say? "Ah! Daddy doesn't know that too? Everyone sleeps in church! Doesn't everyone else wake up when he talks?"
Dear saints, We are now worshiping the living God of hosts, Jehovah. But how can we sleep through this holy time? How can we come to this wonderful time of blessing when God, the King of kings, meets sinful humans while thinking differently? We must have a heart that fears God.
According to today's text, the early church members feared the Lord. They always had a godly fear. "I stand before God now. I worship the living Jehovah, the God of hosts." Their prayers could only be hot. Even when we sing, it is a praise given to God, so it has become a powerful praise that comes from the heart. When I received the Word, I always received it with a serious attitude. That is why their worship became the worship of spirit and truth.
Today, we must also have a heart to fear God. When our relationship with God is properly established, the Lord of peace will give us peace. When we gather together to serve God properly and worship in spirit and truth, our church will be able to stand strong in peace.
2. Inwardly, we must become one with each other through love.
The early church did not need the Garden of Eden. They became one in love. We helped each other with material things. We comforted and encouraged each other. It was a church that overflowed with love and happiness. They were so beautiful that all the people admired them and praised them. Even non-believers would praise them. How many persecutions and tribulations were there in the early church? Nevertheless, because they were united in love, they were able to stand strong in peace despite all the persecution and tribulation.
Typhoons rage in summer. The wind is so strong that the trees are uprooted. Nevertheless, the trees in the forest do not even nod. Why? It is because the trees around it protect it. The roots of all the trees in the forest are intertwined. So, in order to uproot a tree in a forest, you have to uproot all the trees in the forest. So, even in the midst of a big typhoon, the trees in the forest can always stand strong.
The same goes for faith. There cannot be a single fire general. We are safe when we all come together as one in the Lord and walk briskly, hand in hand, looking out over there. It is possible to defeat the rough sepa.
This is a story from Aesop's fables. Two goldfish lived in a small fishbowl. They didn't get along well with each other. I fought every day. Then one day, we had a big fight. In the end, one of the animals could not heal the wound and died. The one surviving bird called for the joy of victory. Now I thought I could live freely and enjoy myself to the fullest. But after a few days, he died too. Why would you? This is because the body of the dead fish started to rot as it stinks.
Man cannot live alone. We have to live by helping each other. The same goes for faith. You must also believe. When the church becomes a beautiful community of faith, the church can stand strong in peace.
A golden fish with golden scales lived in a pond. Other fish would always come close to him and talk to him, seeing the beauty of the golden fish. But the posture of the golden fish was too arrogant. He always lived alone in fear of hurting his scales. Sometimes fish would gather to celebrate, but the gold fish simply stood from afar and stared. So how lonely would you be? I have always lived an isolated life.
Then one day. A fish has moved from another pond. Even the fish that moved in fell in love with the beautiful shape of the golden fish. The fish that moved in came closer and talked to him. The golden fish, who had been so lonely during that time, soon became friends with the new fish. One day, the fish that moved in asked the golden fish: "Son, friend! Can't you give me one of your golden scales? Then I'll keep it."
The golden fish willingly took one of its golden scales and gave it to the new fish. The fish that moved in loved it so much when they received it. Watching him rejoice, he also liked the gold fish. Then all the fish around it flocked. Both of you begged me to share only one golden scale. Then the golden fish took its scales one by one and gave it to them. When it was all distributed, the gold fish was no longer a gold fish. It has become like a normal fish.
But he was no longer lonely. Because I have a lot of friends around me. Then one day. A man passed by a pond and was startled. Because the whole pond was shining beautifully with golden light. As the various fish spread in all directions and gave off a golden color, the whole pond was colored with gold.
Dear saints, We want our church to be like this. Let's live by sharing love with each other. If we haven't loved enough up to now, let's live the rest of our lives giving a lot of love from now on. Then we will have the comfort of the Holy Spirit as in today's text. Our church will be a church that stands strong in peace.