Sunday Night Meditations 21 Message and Song - 1950's — Welcome Detweiler

To our radio friends. Our gospel program today opens by the male chorus of the Gospel Center singing Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken. We trust that you'll be able to listen to the entire program and that God will have a blessing in store for you.

This is Welcome Duffweiler speaking. Patiently for him, though shadows lengthen and the lights grow dim, Though storm clouds sweep across yon azure sky, May just rest in him, and on his love rely. Lean hard upon those everlasting arms, Find comfort there, and refuge from alarms.

To angry seas he whispers, Peace be still, and winds and waves obey his sovereign will. Wait patiently for him. Though future days are shrouded in a dark, mysterious haze, He knows the way. He's trod the path before.

He'll bring you safely to the other shore. And though the road be rough, and days seem long, And you grow weary mid-earth's busy throng, He's coming soon. The journey will be done. The battles all be fought.

The victory won. And then, eternal rest, eternal peace, Where wars and conflict evermore shall cease,. Eternal calm beyond life's storm-tossed sea, Shall be our portion through eternity. We have a special treat in store for you.

First of all, I want you to hear Ronnie Avalon, a converted opera singer, bring to us a message in song, and then a message from God's precious word by Lester Wilson from Albany, Georgia. Listen, first of all, now, to Ronnie Avalon.

Shifting away on life's busy land, He went away at night. A captain commanded a boat to be low, And his abode...

And Ronnie will sing again, the end of my message. I want to speak on something that is foremost in the thoughts of almost everyone today. Peace. If we read our Bibles, we notice such things as peace, rest, joy, pleasure.

God's Peace Amid a Restless World

Surely the heart of man throbs and swells as he contemplates the possibility of such possessions. Yet, such has been provided for man by God Himself, and is obtainable upon the simplest possible terms.

I want to speak mostly of peace. Peace, as the other things mentioned, emanate from peace. We live in a day of peace proposals and plans. I would like to speak of God's peace proposal and God's plan. The world is in a state of unrest.

What means the repeated conferences of heads of governments and the very existence of the United Nations itself, if it is not an attempt to obtain and maintain a condition of peace among restless nations?

What means the repeated urgent calling together of labor heads and of management, if it is not a last-minute effort to bring about peace in the industrial world? Many of these attempts have failed, and if in certain cases they have been successful, it is only for a little while, and then an outbreak again.

Sin, Conscience, and the False Peace of Religion

Why this peaceless, restless condition? I believe it can be traced to the sad lack of peace with God on the part of a large majority of the inhabitants of the earth. If a man is not saved, not born again, how can he have peace?

To be unsaved means to be in your sins, condemned already, on your way to a lost eternity. We read in Isaiah 57 -29,. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

There is no peace, sayeth my God to the wicked. Sometimes the sea is calm, the mire and dirt settle at the bottom, but it is not for long. Soon the waters are troubled by a storm, the waves run high. That which had settled on the bottom appears on the surface.

How many are trying to calm their conscience by doing the best they can, by good works? Some rest in the fact they attended the service at the church on Lord's Day, and that will suffice for the week.

Others calm their conscience by reading a chapter out of the Bible. Others are able to sleep better after they say a little prayer at their bedside. Now, these things are all right in their place, but they cannot in themselves impart true peace to the soul.

Others attend places of pleasure and amusement, while others absorb themselves in business. Thus in one way and another they forget God, their sins, and eternal matters. But then in times of solitude, sickness, death, or under sound preaching, their calm gives place to a storm.

That which had been for the time being forgotten appears on the surface and demands attention. Sin, death, judgment, and eternity, great, terrible, uncertain, press upon the conscience until the heart has become like the troubled sea when it cannot rest.

What means all this? Is God not behind it? Is it not a messenger from heaven that's troubling the waters? Yes, it is the Spirit of God dealing with man through these circumstances that He might bring him into the good of peace with God.

False Peace Versus Peace With God

There is a false peace that many have as we read in God's Word, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. It is the peace the devil gives accountably of God's peace, a peace that will be broken by the awful storm of God's indignation and wrath.

Is the devil not saying to many today, Peace, peace, when there is no peace? Many are listening to him and are deceived thereby. They have turned over a new leaf, are moral, respectable, religious, and refined, but alas, alas, the peace of God they do not know.

They are utter strangers to the God of peace and He who is the Prince of Peace. And to all such who have not peace with God, although it may be you are one of the finest types of citizens, you are classed by God as wicked.

You shudder and say, that title belongs to the out-and-out sinner. Ah yes, and it belongs to all out of Christ as well, those who have never been born again. Well, says someone, how can I obtain peace with God?

Christ's Cross as the Foundation of Peace

There was a religious worker who one time asked a child of God who was dying if he had made his peace with God. He said no. The anxious and alarmed worker urged him to do so. The dying man looked up with a smile and said, I'm 1900 years too late.

Why, Christ made peace by the blood of His cross. We read that in Colossians 1 .20. You see, that Christian knew the Bible and knew God's way of obtaining peace. Yes, all I do is enter by faith that peace Christ made at the cross.

And the moment I do, that peace enters me. God's word to you is, acquaint now thyself with Him, with Christ, and be at peace. You read that in Job 22 .21. Acquaint thyself with Him who bore your sins in His own body on the tree, who bore the judgment of God against those sins.

Be acquainted with Him who is sitting at God's right hand, and is soon coming again to take to Himself His great power and reign. Then and only then shall the world know peace, universal peace. The prince of peace will then be upon the throne.

Then shall righteousness cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. That's what the word of God says in Isaiah 32 .17.

Perfect Peace Through Trusting Christ

Is it possible for one in this world of unrest and peacelessness to be calm, tranquil, knowing peace and rest within when there is turmoil and trouble without? Yes, it's possible. If you have trusted Christ, take and shelter beneath His blood, and know you are saved, be occupied with your Savior.

For Isaiah 26 .3 says, Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. Two painters were asked to paint a picture illustrating peace. The first painted a beautiful evening scene, and in the foreground there was a lake, its surface absolutely calm and unruffled.

Trees surrounded it, meadows stretched away to the distant cattle gently browsing. A little cottage, the setting sun, all spoke of perfect rest. The second painter drew a wild, stormy scene. Heavy black clouds hung overhead.

In the center of the picture an immense waterfall poured over huge volumes of water covered with foam. One could almost hear the incessant roar, yet almost the first thing to strike the eye was a small bird perched in a cleft of a great rock, absolutely sheltered from all around, pouring forth its notes of sweet joy.

This is what we should know. Perfect peace in the storms of life, God speaks. Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round. On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found. And also remember that verse in Philippians 4 .6,.

Be anxious or careful about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You read that in Romans 5 and verse 1,. And being his child, cast on him all your care, and know daily, yea, hourly, the peace of God in your heart.

And thus living in this atmosphere, occupied with divine persons and things, you become more acquainted with the God of peace. The peace of God. Think of it for a moment. How wondrous must be God's peace.

The Divine Gift of Christ's Peace

With him there is no frailty, no error, no sin. With him there is no past to lament, no future to dread, no blunders to deplore, no mistakes to fear, no plans to be thwarted, no purposes to be unmet, no death can overcome, no suffering can weaken, no ideal be unfulfilled, and no perfection unattained.

Past, present or future, vanishing time or endless eternity, life or death, hope or fear, storm or calm, not of these and not else within the bounds of the universe can disturb the peace of him who calls himself the God of peace.

And it is this peace that is ours to possess. The peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds, not a human peace attained by self-struggle or self-discipline, but divine peace, the very peace which God himself has and is and gives.

Christ said, My peace I give unto you. Human man-made peace which rises and falls with the facilitudes of life is worthless, but the peace of Christ, what a gift is this. Will you receive this gift right now?

Eternal Peace in the New Creation

In closing, let us notice in Revelation 21 .1,. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. It is the last clause I want you to notice.

There was no more sea. The sea, as we have already seen, is a restless thing. It is also destructive and dividing. It separates loved ones. This restless, destructive and dividing element will be banished from the new heaven and the new earth.

A holy calm will replace it, and peace will reign eternally undisturbed. Peace was dethroned, took its flight like a frightened bird when sin invaded this scene in Eden. It did not return till the angels sang one night long ago, Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, goodwill to man.

Again on the banks of the Jordan, the Spirit, in the form of a dove, a symbol of peace, settled upon Christ. That gentle dove, the peaceful Spirit, nestles in every redeemed heart during this dispensation.

After the most terrible period of unrest this world will ever know, and yet soon to enter, the Lord Jesus will arise with healing in His wings. Universal peace will be ushered in. Then, the new heaven and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, holy eternal peace will characterize that scene.

The Call to Receive Christ's Salvation and Peace

Let me ask you, in all sincerity, will you be there? If not, my closing word is, as the hymn writer says, I have a peace that's as calm as a river, a peace that the friends of this world never knew. My Savior alone is its author and giver, and, oh, that I knew it were given to you.

And now, in keeping with my message, Ronnie is going to sing, He Whispered, Peace Be Still.

Once aimlessly I wandered, No hope within my soul, A vessel with no pilot's hand, No heaven and no goal. I tried to find an answer, To calm the troubled sea, I drifted with no sight of land, Till Jesus rescued me, He whispered, There hurt when He said, And now I have a captain, He'll guide, I know He will, I gave Him Jesus' full command, Since He said, Peace.

Oh, friend, if you are drifting, There's just one thing to do, Trust Jesus, He's the one demand. I heard Ronnie Avalon singing, He Whispered, Peace To Me.

And now your closing message in song, by the Choir of the Gospel Center.