Peace In Us Series

Message:

Did you know that having Peace is essential in producing good outcomes? It is another one of the fruits of the spirit. For example;

An older Jewish man was on the operating table awaiting surgery. He had insisted that his son-in-law, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. As he was about to get the anesthetic he asked to speak to his son-in-law…

“Yes, Dad, what is it?”

“Don’t be nervous my boy, do your best and just remember, if it doesn’t go well, if something happens to me, your mother-in-law is going to live with you and your wife.” Source: Jokes, Quotes & Anecdotes by A. Daniel Goldsmith 2010 www.xulonpress.com U.S.A. pg. 58.

That man had great confidence and great peace in the outcome of his operation and we can have great confidence and great peace when we put our faith and trust in Jesus who is our source of peace.

Peace for us as Christians is often thought of as the absence of something, the absence of conflict or difficulty or trial or persecution. Peace for us means we are in a right relationship with God and with one another.

I have heard “Peace” likened to a hurricane that has a huge outer ring that spins and turns churning up water and debris at incredible speeds and brings with it great violence and destruction yet in the eye of the hurricane it is absolutely calm and serene, utterly peaceful.

It is in the eye of this world’s hurricane that we stand. That hurricane is sin and we stand in the eye of it by the power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When in the eye of the storm we can sense the absence of its devastation as the peace of Jesus protects us.

Jesus and only Jesus can give us such a peace in the face of such a violent and devastating storm.

Living in this world as a Christian is to be a foreigner in a foreign land. Even though we may live in a democratic society it does not mean that we live in a Christian society. Our laws and social behaviour are often a reflection of the majority and we Christians are no longer that majority.

Still, even though our society is acting like a hurricane all around us we can stand calm in the eye of that hurricane as we stand in the “Peace that passes all understanding”.

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Our “peaceful existence” came to an abrupt end when we chose to sin against OUR Heavenly Father and join in the rebellion that was first launched by Lucifer. The perfect peace we once knew would be forever lost to us until we could be redeemed from our sin and made right with God by a Saviour.

Even though we are now saved we still wrestle with the enemy of peace until he and his sin can be once and for all eradicated.

It may seem to us from time to time that we wrestle against others in our society who have chosen to be a part of the whirlwind instead of the eye of the storm.

But the Bible tells us that we:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

For this reason and to assure us of His absolute victory over sin and death Jesus encouraged us with the words of John 14:27-31

Jesus not only gave us the Holy Spirit as a deposit of divine counsel but Jesus also gave us His divine peace.

John 14:27

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

It is a divine peace a peace that exceeds human understanding and human limitations.

In John Chapter 16 Jesus goes on at length to explain to His disciples just what following HIM would be like.

It will be most difficult as the world will oppose us every step of the way. It may cost us family, friends, even our faith community, possibly our lives.

Jesus said… John 16:33

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

In John 14 Jesus warns us of the prince of this world.

He is the one who has created the hurricane of sin and he now stand condemned. John 16:11

Jesus is the one who took the wind out of his sails when he went to the cross for you and me. Jesus is the one who removed the debris of sin past, present and future. Jesus is the one to create the peace for us in the eye of the storm when He rose from the grave just as the prophets predicted.