Peace of Mind in a World of Anxieties and Animosities-Part-5
CHRIST -CENTERED LIVING BRINGS PEACE
We continue with the 5th and the last part of our study about “Peace of Mind in a World of Anxieties and Animosities” for this our text is taken from the Gospel of John chapter fourteen. In this part of the Gospel, Jesus is giving His homily to the Apostles after the Last Supper meal, before His Crucifixion.
Jesus said “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.” (John 14: 27)
John was very selective in recording the words and works of Jesus Christ, “Peace I leave with you “- This was a common form of benediction among the Jews. It is the invocation of the blessings of peace and happiness. In this place it was, however, much more than a mere form or an empty wish.
It came from Him who had power to make peace and to confer it on all, Jesus, fully aware of the distress and death he is going to face but wanted to encourage his disciples with His farewell word of peace. Jesus has confidence in God's plan and power (13:3) and knows that God is in control. Full of peace in the face of tremendous suffering, He offers His peace to His disciples; a peace that is unlike the world in that it is grounded in God's sovereignty and is genuine, given without ever being retracted, present in the worst of trials. Christ being about to die and leave his disciples, makes his last will and testament, and as the best legacy he could leave them, bestows peace unto them; “my peace I give unto you” he left the Gospel of peace with them, to be preached by them to all the world; which is a declaration and publication of peace made by his blood; is a means of reconciling the minds of men to God and Christ, to the truths, ordinances, and people of Christ; of relieving and giving peace to distressed minds; and which shows the way to eternal peace: and as Christ had kept his disciples in peace one with another, so he left them in peace;
Now question is How is it that Jesus could give His disciples "peace" when He was about to suffer death on Calvary and His disciples would soon go through the worst experience of their lives up to that time?
Look at the words of Jesus before his death Jesus said “The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can get it back again. No person takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life. And I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father told me." (John 10:17-18 ERV)
Jesus didn't just die; he died with power and authority. His life wasn't taken from him; he laid it down willingly to die for our sins. His crucifixion was an apparent defeat for some, but turned into a lasting defeat for the evil one who sought to use his death to win a victory over God. No one could take Jesus' life. He gave it willingly to save us and purchase us from death. The Cross is God's love and power demonstrated in humanity's worst forum. It is our glory!
Jesus said he was choosing to lay down his life for us. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this that someone lays down his life for his friends."2Before his crucifixion Jesus was very clear and fully aware of his imminent crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus stated his intent as he talked to his Father: "that the world [may] know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Jesus volunteered to become a human forever, to take our part, to reconcile for us and on the cross, He accepted our guilt. Taking on the role of the offender, He could then reconcile us to God. And that’s the final piece of the puzzle as to where God was when Jesus died.
The Father hid His face, fully aware of the pain it caused, so that Jesus could experience the separation that sin entails and fulfill the wrongdoer’s role. Though unseen by Christ, the Father actively engaged with the suffering Son. For God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ. Both Matthew and Mark record Jesus’ cry, “Why have You forsaken Me?” Both accounts next relate that someone gave Jesus some sour wine. Christ then cried out once more in a loud voice, and breathed His last. John’s account also mentions the sour wine and the loud cry, but John, the only disciple actually on Calvary that day, tells us that when Jesus received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.”Jesus experienced the agony of separation from the Father. In that anguish, He cried out the words of (Psalm 22) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Yet He realized that this separation was part of the process of reconciliation.
The psalm declares “He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” And with that realization came the certainty that His task—the one for which He was born, and for which He came to this world—had been completed. So as Jesus finished His task in triumph and breathed His last, He heard in His mind the words of the last verse of (Psalm 22:27-31 GNT) “All nations will remember the Lord. From every part of the world they will turn to him; all races will worship him. The Lord is king, and he rules the nations. All proud people will bow down to him; all mortals will bow down before him. Future generations will serve him; they will speak of the Lord to the coming generation. People not yet born will be told: “The Lord saved his people.”
Two thousand years have passed since the Crucifixion and resurrection Day, yet the Bible account enables us to visualize the event with a great deal of accuracy. As we gaze up at the death and resurrection, we realize that it is only because Jesus was willing die on the cross that we don't have to live lives of desperation. The darkness in our hearts that makes us surrender to the power of death, the darkness in our society which makes us victims of violence, war and destruction has been dispelled by the light that shines forth from the One who gave his life as complete gift. Resurrection symbolizes victory over sin, death, and all destructive forces in people’s lives. . Resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. It is precisely because the physical resurrection of Christ is at the very heart of our faith and Hope.
Just three days later, at evening on the day of His resurrection, Jesus came and stood in the midst of His disciples and said to them, "Peace be with you.-- Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord" (John 20:19, 20). What an amazing King! Death and the grave could not hold Him. Resurrection of Jesus made all the difference in the world. The death of the body, some day, is strangely linked, in a way that we do not fully comprehend, with the death which is at work in our inner lives, right now. That is, death is all one thing, whether it takes place and affects the physical body some day, or whether it is taking place within the spirit of man today. It is all of a piece. And that inner death is what we experience in a thousand ways - sometimes as loneliness, bitterness, emptiness, despair, depression of spirit, and sometimes it is malice and resentment and violence. Whatever it may be, it is not what God intended for man. It is an enemy which has seized man and lives with him and haunts him in everything he does. The glorious hope as it is in Jesus, is that Jesus Christ, in dying and rising from the dead, that he defeated it by his risen power. And the result is peace instead of restlessness, acceptance rather than guilt, love in place of lust or hate, power to replace weakness, joy for mourning, beauty for ashes, hope for despair, courage in place of cowardice, and cleansing from all dirt and filth of spirit.
"Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: 'I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea' “(Isaiah 48:17, 18).
The Old Testament prophecies claiming the Messiah would be the Prince of Peace were referring to peace with God through the new covenant of peace. Through this covenant, the Messiah would justify sinners through His sacrifice as the guilt offering of God. Those who accept Jesus as Savior experience the peace provided by Christ. This peace surpasses all comprehension for those who have never experienced it before.
"Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble" (Psalm 119:165).
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:3, 4). Trusting in the Lord brings peace and strength.
In the above scriptures, peace is equated to "heeding" God's commandments and trusting Him. "Heeding" implies to pay attention. God's commandments were given to guide mankind in ways of peace and doing what is right. All God's laws are given to benefit men and women, to direct them in the way of doing what is right and to protect them from sin and suffering. Paying attention to God's laws means following them, practicing them, being guided by them. When we follow God's instructions, our peace will be "like a river." This is God's promise to us.
What is the promise to those who do not pay attention to God and His instruction? "There is no peace," says the Lord, "for the wicked" (Isaiah 48:22). That's pretty clear. Those who heed God's commands will have peace. Those who ignore Him will not have peace.
What do you do to get real peace of mind in your daily life? Where do you found peace of mind? Well, the best place to begin is with the prince of peace, Lord Jesus Christ. God wants you to have true and everlasting peace by having you not worry - about anything. Peace is not an absence of war; it is the presence of Christ and His love, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, and justice. Nothing can bring you peace except the prince of Peace and He said “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."
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
I wonder how many Christians have really come to understand the great fact that peace is our inheritance. Peace is what Jesus has left us. It is fundamental and cannot be taken away from us by any circumstance. That is what He means by, I do not give to you as the world gives.
God’s peace is greater than anything we can desire or imagine. God’s peace means becoming a people who seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. When Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” he is telling us to be people who bring God’s Peace to all people and to all the nations.
Jesus wants to give us all Peace. Jesus wants to give us all of this and more than we can either desire or imagine. Jesus doesn’t want us to worry, he doesn’t want us to get stressed about exams or about what other people think about us Listen as he calls to us, He says: My own Peace I give to you; I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Peace I leave with you. It is yours to have and to give to the rest of the world.
"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).
Nothing can bring you peace, but Christ. Nothing can bring you peace, but the victory over yourself, triumph over your body and mind, desires and cravings. If you have no peace within yourself, it is vain to seek it in external objects and outward sources of this world. Where then can you look for full security and perfect peace? You can find this in the perfect relationship with Christ. He is an embodiment of peace. He is beyond time, space, and matter. Real, deeper peace is independent of external conditions. Real, abiding peace is Jesus. If you can rest in this ocean of peace, all the usual noises of the world can hardly affect you. If you enter the silence or the wonderful calm of divine peace by stilling the bubbling mind and restraining the thoughts and withdrawing the outgoing senses, all disturbing noises will die away. Motor-cars may roll on the streets; boys may shout at the pitch of their voices; railway trains may run in front of your house; several mills may be working in your neighborhood - and yet, all these noises will not disturb you even a bit.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6, 7).
Only a heart centered in God can be kept steady and peaceful. The psalmist declares, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise.”(Psalms 57:7). With the whole trust in God, he could rejoice in quietness of mind. With our hearts fixed on God, we have inward peace in the midst of outward troubles. It is possible to be “troubled on every side, yet not distressed… perplexed, but not in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8)
I heard a story of a little girl who walked to and from school daily. The weather one morning was questionable and clouds were forming, yet she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming sword, would cut through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile. When the mother's car drew up beside the child she lowered the window and called to her, "What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?"The child answered, "I am trying to look pretty. God keeps taking my picture." It’s all about our heart...A hearts fixed on God can be the salvation of a difficult situation.
“The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6)
The mind of sinful man is death, The phrase the apostle here uses, includes the best part of corrupt man; the mind, the perceptive, the judgment, the will, the desire, the thoughts, the reason, and reasoning of sinful man; This sinful man , or to live under the influence of the carnal mind is to live in the state of condemnation, and consequently liable to death eternal: whereas, on the contrary, he who is spiritually minded has the life and peace of God in his soul, and is in full prospect of life eternal. Spiritually minded men are the only living persons in a spiritual sense, they have a spiritual discerning of spiritual things; they are not only alive, but lively in the exercise of grace and discharge of peace. Peace is outcome of spiritual mindedness; this is a fruit of the Spirit; a part of the kingdom of grace which is the gift of God passes all understanding, which will be perfect and eternal.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”. (Romans 14:17)
Since world peace is an outward reflection of our inner psychological state, it is imperative for us to discover an inner peace not borne of the world. It is important for us to be in the world but not of it. Bible says the kingdom of God is in you. Righteousness is in you. Joy is in you. Peace is in you. Love is in you. Wisdom is in you. All of the things of God are already in you in Christ Jesus because they all abide in the Holy Spirit, and He abides in you... if you are a spirit lead believer. The bottom line is that the kingdom of God which we have been called into is not about these physical things and mental debates. We should settle in our hearts and walk in the truth we know, but the kingdom is about righteousness, peace and joy. Righteousness is the state which makes a person acceptable to God.
"The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (Isaiah 32:17, 18).
Peace is not only the absence of strife; it is also the fullness of righteousness, assurance, quietness and love. We constantly look at ourselves, others, and the world through the pale cast of thought. We emphasize labels rather than relationship. We overlook simple acts of loving kindness as if they were exceptions to the rule, rather than a natural expression of our true nature. Love is an inner realization of a multidimensional higher truth; yet, we still have the ‘free will’ to pursue negative and unproductive behavior patterns, and, in this regard, evil must be equated with human cruelty. Thus, what the world needs now is new paradigm thinking replaced by new paradigm loving. Love is the only true paradigm, and it is the only hope for the future of humanity. In this violent world, where quite often our foes can be found in our own homes, Jesus is presented as our peace. But peace in Jesus is not measured by the absence of conflict or struggle in our lives or in the world around us. Peace is not just a serene feeling or even a pleasant condition.
Peace of mind is a state of love, and of conscious intimacy, existing between the soul and God. It does not consist merely in the soul's being reconciled to God, but also includes the fact that God is reconciled to man, and In this state of mind we are aware that God has accepted us, and forgiven us, that our peace is made with him. Peace is a state of total happiness of mind with God's will as expressed in creation and providence, his law and gospel. I say conformity with his will, for if in anything we are not content with God, we are restless, like a troubled sea. There cannot be peace between us and God as long as an iota of discontent with God's ways and will remains in the heart. Peace is a state of mind in which there is a conscious yielding of everything that God command, and yield, not merely of necessity, but willingly and cordially to all that He requires of us. This state of mind is like the calm, deep flow of a river. It is a calm, deep flow of feeling in conscious harmony with God's state of mind.
The mind controlled by the Holy Spirit, does not consist in external observances. But in righteousness - The image of God stamped on the heart; the love of God and man, accompanied with the peace that passes all understanding, and joy in the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” (Galatians 5:22) We should walk in supernatural peace and joy because these are the fruit of the Spirit that was given to us at salvation Paul said in the next verse, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25)
Jesus said. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29). When you come to Him, you will find relief and relaxation in the freedom He gives. “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:18)- An active, sparkling peace that is refreshing and strong, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus “(Philippians 4:7). Will you come to Jesus, casting your burden upon Him? He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Let not you heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”(John 14:27)
