Introduction:

Helga and Henry were a Swedish couple, married for 60 years, but they fought like cats and dogs every day. Somehow, finally, the day of their 60th Anniversary arrived. Henry and Helga began the morning with a terrible spat and argued all day long.

At the end of the day, Helga said to her husband, "Henry, tonight I think ven ve pray, ve better pray for peace. Ve been fighting each other for 60 years, Henry. May the Lord give us peace. So tonight, I tink I'll pray that the Lord vill take you home, und I'll go live vith my sister, Olga."

My friends, I do not believe that is at all what Jesus had in mind when He said, "blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the children of God."

This morning I am to focus on three P's of Peace: Pursuit, Person, and Personification.

I. Pursuit of Peace

Dr. Robert Oppeheimer, who supervised the creation of the first atomic bomb, was asked to appear before a congressional committee several years ago. They asked him if there was any defense against this awesome new weapon of war. "Certainly," the great physicist replied.

"And that is - - ?" someone asked.

The audience awaited the answer in subdued silence. "Peace!" the eminent scientist replied softly.

For thousand of years, way back since Cain murdered his brother Abel, our world has been characterized by strife and war. Down through the pages of history we read of war after war.

In His prophetic discourse on the end of the age, Jesus spoke of wars and rumors of war.

Meanwhile some people are in pursuit of peace, some desperately searching for peace. Consider world events of recent years. Some hopeful signs with the breaking down of barriers between East and West in Germany, improved relationships with the Soviet Union, the fall of communism. However, a pawn of Satan stirred up the whole world taking over Kuwait. Then came the Gulf War, that ended quickly, but the dispute over inspections has had the potential of escalating into more war ever since that time. Terrorist activity goes on across the globe. Unrest is obvious in our cities with gang wars, drug wars. There is cultic and occultic activity, domestic violence, strife in many homes, and we still yearn for that elusive peace.

Money and possessions do not bring peace. Peace is not found in a bottle, a keg, a needle, a snort, or a puff. As wonderful as it is, knowledge and continually advancing knowledge fail to bring about peace.

The motto of the Apollo II Flight was, "We come in peace for all mankind." This motto was on the plaque which was left on the surface of the moon, where the astronauts landed on the Sea of Tranquility. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin found themselves in a wonderfully peaceful place there on the moon. Do you know why? There had never been any humans there before!

Not long after the development of the atomic bomb, Albert Einstein declared, "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything except our way of thinking. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive."

Later a photographer who had noted the look of immense sadness on Einstein's face asked him. "So you don't believe that there will ever be peace?"

"No," the great scientist replied. "As long as there will be man, there will be wars."

Billy Graham wrote:

"Peace is more than a mere cessation of hostilities, a momentary halt in a hot or cold war. Rather, it is something positive. It is a specific relationship with God into which a person is brought. It is a spiritual reality in a human heart which has come into vital contact with the Infinite God."

Let's move from the pursuit of peace to the:

II. Person of Peace

Read: Ephesians 2:13-14

A great preacher wrote:

"I saw a painting in England which showed a soldier who had gone to the front to repair communications lines. The message which was to flow through those lines meant life to thousands of men. He found a breach in the wires but had nothing with which to repair the break. While the enemy shells were bursting around him, he took one broken cable in his left hand and stretching out his right hand grasped the other cable and made the connection. The dramatic picture had a one word title, "Through."

Through His death and resurrection, Jesus repaired the breach, the gap, the strife, between God and Man. This is why Jesus came, to be the person of peace for all who would receive Him and His terms for peace. Recall the words of the heavenly host praising God the night Jesus was born. "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." Luke 2:14.

Don Richardson and his wife were missionaries among the Sawi people, who were head hunting cannibals of New Guinea. Treachery to them was more than a way of life; it was their ideal. So they lived in constant conflict. Sawi villages fought and peace seemed impossible. Don told the people to whom he was seeking to minister, that if they did not make peace he would leave them. They did not want him to leave. Tribal leaders met in desperation and promised Don, tomorrow we are going to make peace.

Don did not realize that according to their tribal laws, they would not have peace until a peace child was given to the enemy. The next day, as mothers screamed, tribal leaders exchanged sons and exchanged names.

Without a peace child, the person of peace, Jesus Christ, we cannot have peace with God. His terms are that we come to Him in poverty of Spirit, confess our sins, and receive God's peace child as our personal Savior. Then we will be called a child of God.

When in pursuit of peace, we meet the person of peace, we are to become the personification of peace.

III. Personification of Peace

We are to become peacemakers, following the example of Jesus. We are to become imitators of He who is our peace! What a challenge! Not complainers, bickers, criticizers.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

We are called to be peace makers, not pacifists. This is a call to action, to service. This is a call for us to make peace with God and those who have truly made peace with God through the peace maker, Jesus Christ are to live in peace with each other within the community of faith. We are also called to bring peace to persons who may be alienated from God and from each other.

Conclusion: In the Eye of a Tornado

In closing I would like to share a true story of Dave and Joan Olson, cousins of Sue.

Joan wrote:

“Mom, where is Dad? You said he would be landing!” My son’s question reflected the anxiety of the past 20 minutes. My husband, Dave, and one passenger, Vim, were on a plane that was scheduled to land at our Mission Aviation Fellowship Base in Ecuador. But on that day March 8, 1972, visibility was restricted, and our radio communication with the plane had been cut off.

The reason was apparent. A violent storm had erupted with fierce winds that tore at trees and buildings. The radio antennae on the roof of our house crashed mercilessly to the ground. During a lull in the storm, I ran to our co-worker’s house with my two preschool sons Reid and Karl. I thought we might be able to make contact with Dave on their radio. But now the wind had changed directions, and its velocity had increased. We strained our ears to hear the faintest voice on the speaker. I found myself pleading with that electronic device as if I expected it to answer, The result? Silence.

Eric, our seven year old, was still in class at the missionary school nearby. Later I learned that all the children had prayed for the safety for the men. Eric had prayed simply, “Please, please, Lord, I need my Dad.”

Meanwhile Karl tugged at my arm and suggested we read the story of Jesus walking on the water. “Don’t be afraid, Mom. Look at Jesus,” he offered.

As time passed they were able to call the control tower and Joan was surrounded by friends who assured her of their prayers and support. An hour later another pilot reported that he had heard Dave’s muffled voice say, “We’re hitting trees.” Outwardly calm, but inwardly Joan was turbulent asking God for “the peace that passeth all understanding. She knew that to have peace in this situation it would have to be supernatural.

Shortly after this a search party located the plane, reduced to a pile of rubble. Of course, Joan thought, Dave is dead. Well, as you might imagine the hours of waiting dragged on like days. Suddenly they saw a jeep from the rescue party approaching the house. Joan looked twice to make sure it was not a hallucination. Then Dave and Vim, apparently unharmed hoped out of the jeep. Dave and Joan embraced, kissed and wept. The boys clung to him fro several minutes as if never to leave him again.

Later Dave explained the cause of the crash. Although the instruments indicated the plane was 800 feet above the ground, they were forced toward the tree tops and couldn’t regain altitude. Three hundred yards further the plane rammed into a cluster of trees and went down in the jungle. The impact was deafening, but both men remained conscious and were able to crawl out of the wreckage. With air rescue improbable, they headed through the jungle in the direction of the only road and were eventually met by the search party.

We soon discovered why the plane instruments had gone askew: the plane had been trapped in the eye of a tornado. As a result the low pressure had caused the instruments to have erroneous readings.

Joan said, “I knew God had been with my husband and his partner, but I didn’t realize the extent of the miracle until I saw the wreckage. They had ckeep us so pure and clean that though we touch sin on every side, it will not cling to us. We can stand in the midst of it just as white and beautiful as that flower."

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