Postlude to Peace, Part 2

Now we get to our text for this evening, the last three verses of chapter five. He says this. Through Sylvan, our faithful brother, for so I regard him, I have written to you briefly. Exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God, stand firm in it. She who was in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ. This is a sincere benediction of peace. He begins his epistle praying that God's grace and peace be multiplied in these people.

And he ends his epistle. With a benediction about peace coming to you. It's all epistle about peace. And as you read through it and as you study it and you seek to live it, you got to ask yourself the question: do you have peace? If not, you probably didn't read it right. You probably didn't apply it right. Because that's what it's about. And so we need to go back and hold ourselves in check and say, okay, what's happening in my life as to why it is I am in such agony. I am in such turmoil. Anxiety just rules my life.

Chaos surrounds me and I can't handle it. What do you do? Peter gives you the answers. That's why we spent 33 weeks covering it. Well, you can read it in about 10 minutes. It takes time to tear it apart and look at it and say, okay, how does this apply to me in my life?

How does it work itself out? Let me share with you three things about this benediction of peace. One deals with the people, two, the purpose, and three, the peace itself. First of all, the people.

Notice what he says. Through Sylvanus. Who's that? That's C. C. Sav was the one who wrote this letter for Peter. Peter would tell him what to write. Sav would write, through him comes this letter to you. Silas was a great partner for the Apostle Paul. Remember, they were in prison together in Philippi, singing praises to God amidst their persecution. Remember him? Paul and Silas. By the way, Silas was one of the guys who experienced peace. That's why he could sing praises to God by sitting in prison because he had the truth on the inside, even though there was turmoil on the outside.

And the truth on the inside always is victorious over the turmoil on the outside. But he says this about Sav. He's a faithful brother. Isn't that good? I love what the book of Proverbs says. In Proverbs chapter Twenty, verse number six Who can find a trustworthy or a faithful man? Who can find them? Where are they? They're few and far between. And Peter says, This guy, Silas Sav, he's a faithful brother. He's somebody you can count on. I counted on him. You can count on him too. Psalm. Twelve, verse number one reads this way: Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be.

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. Folks, that's a commentary on 21st-century Christianity. Right there. A commentary on the living word of God that never dies, that's always applicable to whatever age and every situation you're in. Help, O Lord! For the godly man ceases to be. Where is the godly guy? Where's the guy who loves the Lord? Who's committed to God? Where is he, Lord? Help! For the faithful disappear from among the sons. The men. Who can find a trustworthy man? Peter says, I got one.

I found one. I wonder if you would be that kind of person to Peter. Or somebody else. Somebody who can truly be counted on in the midst of all kinds of turmoil. You're faithful, trustworthy, dedicated to the things of God. He says he's a faithful br. He 's faithful to the truth. He's faithful to the God of truth. He's faithful to the people of truth. He's just a faithful, faithful man. And then he mentions Mark down to the end of verse number 13. So does my son Mark. Well, that's the writer of the Gospel of Mark.

That's the guy who was a partner with Paul and Barnabas, but got a little cold feet, and Paul didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, but Barnabas did. Bart, that great son of encouragement, whose name means son of encouragement, would encourage John Mark to become a godly man, a steadfast man. So, Paul at the end of his ministry would say, Send John Mark to me, for he's useful to me for the ministry. And Peter says, Mark is with me. He sends his greetings as well. And then he says this: She who is in Babylon.

Who's that? Some people think it's Peter's wife. I don't person think that. I believe it's the church. That he's writing from. And I believe that because of this. It's best to understand Babylon throughout the Bible as a reference to Rome symbolically. Not literally, but symbolically. You can read about it in Revelation chapter 16, Revelation chapter 17, and Revelation chapter 18. Peter's not trying to disguise anything here and kind of be secretive as to who he's trying to refer to, and they've got to kind of figure it out.

That's not what Peter's doing. No? His point is the symbolism in the name. Babylon was the great city of world empire to which people of God were carried capt. And he is saying that people, just like you, who have been taken captive against their will because they're staying for Christ. They send you greeting. Is that not what the context says? Go back to chapter 5, verse number 9, when it says these words. Knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

Well, who's that? How does Peter know that? Because he's with people who have experienced these things. And so he says, these people have experienced what you're experiencing, they send you greetings, they send you. Love because they understand, they know what you're facing. At the same time, it's also a word of encouragement because in chapter 4, verse number 17. It says, for it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Speaking of the judgment upon the unbeliever in his life. So the people in Peter's benediction, Silas, men of peace, even in prison. John Mark, who learned to experience peace so he could minister effectively to Peter and for the Apostle Paul. In this church in Rome, who had first-hand experience of living the peaceful life because of what they had gone through.

And then Peter talks about his purpose. That's point number two. He says, I have written to you briefly. Exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. He says, I've written to you, hasn't been very long, it's rather a brief little epistle, but I've written it to you in order that you might experience the grace of God. Meaning this, that when you read this and when you apply this to your life, God's grace begins to flow in and through you. In magnificent kind of ways, God's grace is His daily bestowal blessing, His strength, His help, His forgiveness, and fellowship with Himself.

All of which we need, but none of which we deserve. And Peter says, stand firm in that. Grace. Stand firm in the grace. You see, remember what Paul said to the Ephesian elders at Miletus in Acts chapter 20? He said, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, which is able to establish you and to give you inheritance among all the saints, he says. There's something about the word of grace that builds you, that strengthens you. That's why we keep preaching the word.

That's why we want you to memorize the Bible. That's why we want you to read your Bible. That's why we want you to study your B Why? Because it's like spiritual calisthenics. It builds your life, it strengthens your life. And it allows you to stand firm in that grace that God suppl. Oh. Remember what Paul told Timothy over in 2 Timothy chapter 12 Two, I believe it is. Verse number one, when he said this, You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. We know that God is a God of grace. We know that according to John 1, 14, Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth. And we know, according to Hebrews 10, verse number 29, that the Spirit is called the Spirit of grace. 1 Peter 5:10 says that God is the God of all grace. And so, what you have is the word of grace by the God of grace. And the Son of grace and the Spirit of grace all living within you. And Peter says, Stand firm in it, be strong in it. Because that's where you find your hope.

It's all right there. That's why 1 Peter is so important. That's why you need to memorize it. You need to understand it. So, when someone comes to you and everything in their life is chaotic, everything in their life is falling apart, you know, right where to go in Peter's epistle. Because it's all about peace. And people have no peace. He wants you to stand firm in it. Let me give you an example.

Can I do that? Psalm 13. Psalm 13 has got six verses, but I want you to see how David expressed The grace of God. He doesn't talk about the grace of God, but you know it's the grace of God at work in the man's life. David was a godly man. David was a man after God's own heart. David was a man who wanted to do what God wanted to do. Did he sin? Yes, he did. Did it affect his family? Yes, it did. Did it affect his kingship? Yes, it did. But the Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart.

That's God's commentary on his king, King David. And before David actually took the throne, there were 13 years that he was pursued by Saul. Saul was a jealous man. And through all that pursuit, those 13 years, David experienced p. David experienced isol. David experienced abandonment. David experienced all kinds of anxiety. In Psalm 13, it's kind of a commentary on what he did to overcome that by the grace of God. And it kind of helps us understand what Peter says when he says, stand firm in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here it goes. Three things that I want you to notice. David on his face in pity. David on his knees in prayer. David on his feet in praise. That's the sequence of the first six verses.

The first two, David on his face. In pity. You ever been there? Do you know, I hate to say it to you, but I'm going to have to say it to you. Pity really is a camouflage of pride. You know that, don't you? We pity ourselves. And we pity ourselves, and you know, I don know why it's this way. I can't understand it. And we begin to feel sorry for ourselves. And we say, well, why is it that guy over there doesn't have that? So you say, well, do you think you should? Yeah, I think I should be over there.

With him. Really? Yeah, I do. Why? Because I deserve that. Oh, now you think you deserve something, do you? See, whenever you get to the point where you think you deserve something, You're telling God that what he gives is not good enough. And you're telling God that you really are better than God thinks you are. And that's pride and arrogance, right? That's David. David's experience in a pity party, but it really is pride. Listen to what he says: How long, O Lord? You ever said that? How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me forever?

Where are you at, Lord? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? God, you don't care, do you? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Why is it my enemy is better off than I am? That's not fair, God. That's not right. Why have you forgotten me? Why have you abandoned me? How long, O Lord, must I counsel my soul? How long, O Lord, must I follow my own ways? Because you're not giving me your ways. That's what David's saying.

Four times he says, How long? How long? How long? How long? He begins to take matters into his own hands. I have sorrow in my heart all the day. You know, that's a lot more people than we ever will ever realize. The psalms speak to the hurting soul, don't they? How long, O Lord? So we see David on his face in pity and in pain. You have forgotten me, haven't you, Lord? You're not listening to me, are you, Lord? Point number two, David on his knees in prayer.

His dependency is beginning to lift. Listen to this. Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God. Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of de. Lest my enemies say I have overcome him. Lest my advers rejoice when I am sh. David makes his request known unto God. Consider me, O Lord. Answer me, O Lord. Enlighten my eyes. Cause me to see only that which is true. Not what I feel. Help me to see and understand. David, on his face in pity, moves to his knees in prayer. And he moves from his knees in prayer to his feet in praise.

That's the way he says. But. A word of contrast. But I have trusted in thy loving kind. My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. Oh God, you are good to me. Why? Because my he has rejoiced at thy salvation. Is that not what Peter said? You want to find hope in Mr. Chaos? You got to have a living hope. You got to be saved by the living word of God. Because of the living stone who gave us that word. That's where your hope begins with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

And David says, I'm going to rejoice in my salvation. That's what it's about. He's on his face. He gets to his knees in prayer. He stands up on his feet and says, But I have trusted. I'm going to trust you. I don't know what's going on around me. I can't understand it. I know what I feel on the inside. But, Lord, as you enlighten my eyes, I'm going to do one thing and one thing only: I am going to trust in my God. I will rejoice. In my heart, because of that salvation, because of your loving kindness to me.

And I'm going to sing. I'm going to sing because you've dealt bountifully with me. Wait a minute. Just, you know, a few verses earlier, he was saying, Wait, Lord, you're not hearing me, you're not answering me. And now he's saying, oh man, Lord, you have been so good to me, what you've done for me. It's unbelievable. All because of his perspective on salvation. All because, listen, of his perspective on the eternal over the temporal. See that? Here's the man experience the grace of God as God would move in and among his life.

The waves of revival that swept the Scandinavian countries during the latter half of the 19th century were greatly influenced by the wealth of hymns which flowed from the pen of a young woman by the name of Lena. Sand, born october third, eighteen thirty two, in Fra, Sweden.

She was a daughter of the pastor of the parish church of that community. Being a frail youngster, she usually preferred to spend her time in her father's study rather than to join her comrades in play. When she was 26 years of age, she accompanied her father on a journey to Goth, but tragedy occurred before the destination was reached. The ship gave a sudden lurch and Lena's father fell overboard and drowned before the eyes of his devoted daughter. Although she had written hymns prior to this tragic experience, more songs began to flow out of her broken heart, which reflects a simple, childlike trust in Christ and a deep sense of his abiding presence in her life.

She wrote this hymn entitled Day by Day. Day by day, and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart is kind beyond all measure Gives unto each day what He deems best Lovingly it's part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest. Every day the Lord Himself is near me, with a special mercy for each hour. All my cares he fain would bear, and cheer me, he whose name is counsellor and power.

The protection of his child and treasure is a charge that on himself he laid. As thy days thy strength shall be in measure. This the pledge to me he made. Help me then in every tribulation, so to trust thy promises, O Lord That I lose not face sweet consolation Offered me within Thy holy word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, Ere to take, as from a Father's hand, One by one, the days the moments fleeting. Till I reach the promised land. Here's a woman who experienced the peace of God, put it in writing, her trust in the Lord of the universe.

And lastly, point number three, the peace. Verse number 14. Greet one another with a k of love. You know, the early church has something we don't have. They had a real sense of belongingness. They would kiss one another on the cheek when they saw each other. Because they were so glad to see somebody else who believed what they believed. Ah, it's so good to see you. And they would greet one another with that holy, loving kiss. You know, today Christians rarely know that kind of relationship. That's unfortunate, isn't it?

But you know what would enhance that relationship, don't you? Persecution. That's what would enhance that relationship. Longing to see that one who believes what you believe, is committed to the same God you're committed to, to embrace them and to kiss them and say, It's so good to see you. And then he says, Peace be to you all. Peace be to you all. What a way to close this great epistle. Peter was concerned that amidst un dreams, unpleasant circumstances, and the uncertainty of each passing day, That there be an inner peace and tranquility that only God Himself can give.

And that's why the writer of Isaiah said. Th wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusts in thee. That will keep him in per peace. I wonder if you've experienced that kind of peace. Peace be to you all.