LIVING WITH PEACE AND TRANQUILITY IN THE MIDST OF STORMS
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OUTLINE
1. BEING STILL KNOWING THAT GOD IS WITH US
2. FACING LIFE WITH PEACE OF MIND
3. THE STRENGTH OF QUIETNESS AND TRUST
4. THE PLAN OF GOD CANNOT BE THWARTED
5. LIVING WITHOUT THE FEAR OF MAN
6. THE LORD WHO CALMS THE STORMS
7. PRAISING GOD AND CLAIMING HIS PROMISES
THE MESSAGE
LIVING WITH PEACE AND TRANQUILITY IN THE MIDST OF STORMS
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1. BEING STILL KNOWING THAT GOD IS WITH US
The Lord wants us to be still and know that He is God . In the midst of troubled circumstances and crumbling foundations and stormy situations and intense
battles , the Lord wants His people to live in peace and tranquility and rest because He is the refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. The
Lord fights our battles and brings our battles to an end. We should not allow the troubles outside to trouble our hearts within. We must be still and know
that God is in control of our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
PSALM 46:1-11
God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.Selah
JOB 5:8-16
"But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside.
The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
So the poor have hope,and injustice shuts its mouth.
2. FACING LIFE WITH PEACE OF MIND
The Lord will grant us perfect peace when we trust in Him and cause our minds to stay on Him. When we allow doubt and fear and worry to fill our hearts , we
will lose our peace. When we focus our minds on the problems rather than on the Lord , we will not experience the perfect peace that the Lord wants to give
to us. The Lord Jesus lived in perfect peace when He lived on this earth , inspite of all the dangers and opposition that he faced. He even invited those who
were weary and burdened to come to Him and receive His rest. The Lord wants us to receive His comfort in all our troubles so that we can minister His comfort
to others who are in any kind of trouble.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
JOHN 14:27
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.
MATTHEW 11:28
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
3. THE STRENGTH OF QUIETNESS AND TRUST
The Lord wants us to experience the strength that comes from being quiet and trusting in the Lord. We should not weary ourselves through worry and fear and
restlessness. We must turn to the Lord and rest in Him and put our trust in Him. This is the lifestyle that would help us to face the circumstances and
challenges of life and protect ourselves from destruction.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 30:7 , 15
For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you
would have none of it.
4. THE PLAN OF GOD CANNOT BE THWARTED
The Lord wants us to rest in Him with the confidence that He is in control of our life . The Lord will fulfill His plans and His purposes. The Lord knows
everything about our life including the past , the present and the future. We must live in the confidence that the plan of the Lord will not be thwarted by
the attacks of the enemy. This confidence will cause us to be still and live in peace and rest.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 46:10
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
JOB 42:2
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
ISAIAH 14:24, 27
The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.
For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
5. LIVING WITHOUT THE FEAR OF MAN
The Lord wants us to be free from the fear of man. We must fear the Lord only. No one can stand before God when He is angry. The Judgement of God will cause
the wicked to fear and restrain themselves. The Lord is there on our side to comfort us and deliver us. Therefore we should not live in constant terror of
mere mortal man who is but grass. When the creator of the heavens and the earth who is our Maker is on our side , we must live in peace and confidence.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 76:6-10
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still.
You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry?
From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet-
when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Selah
Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.
ISAIAH 51:12-13
"I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass,
that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?
HEBREWS 13:5-6
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
2 TIMOTHY 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
6. THE LORD WHO CALMS THE STORMS
The Lord wants us to have faith and confidence in Him , when we face the storms of life. The Lord we serve has the power to still the storms and the tumult
of the peoples. When the disciples were travelling in a boat with Jesus , they faced a severe storm . Jesus was asleep in the stern. The disciples were
filled with panic and woke up Jesus crying ’Lord dont you care that we are perishing’.The Lord Jesus calmed the storm and asked the disciples why they were
so terrifed and why they had no faith. He expected his disciples to be confident and at peace even in the midst of the storm because He was with them.The
Lord wants us to live in peace and tranquility even when we face storms in our life because He is there the still the storms in our life.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 65:7
You who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.
PSALM 89:9
You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.
PSALM 107:29
He stilled the storm to a whisper;the waves of the sea were hushed.
MARK 4:35-41
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."
Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?"
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
7. PRAISING GOD AND CLAIMING HIS PROMISES
The Lord wants us to be filled with praise and worship holding on the word of God even in the time of battles and opposition. The Lord will silence the foe
and the avenger when we offer praises unto Him. When our mouth is filled with the praises of God and our hands hold on to the word of God which is the
sword of the Spirit and sharper than any two-edged sword , the Lord will fight our battles . He will inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the
peoples and bind the rulers of this world and and enforce divine judgement on them. We should not be murmuring and grumbling against God with a bitter spirit
in the time of battles. Instead we must be filled with faith and confidence in the promises of God and offering praises to the Lord . Then we would see the
downfall of the enemy and emerge triumphantly and victoriously in all our battles.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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MATTHEW 21:16
"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, " ’From the lips of children and infants you have
ordained praise’?"
PSALM 8:2
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
PSALM 149: 5-9
Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,
to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,
to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the LORD.
HEBREWS 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges
the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
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