"Relaunch 2015"
pt. 3 - I Will Be Peaceful
Galatians 5:22-23
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Introduction: I want to welcome you this morning to part 3 of a new sermon series based on the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5. This series is all about life change and what God wants to do in our lives if we will let Him. Make no mistake my friends; the goal of God in salvation is Christlikeness. God wants to change us into the image (icon -- exact replica) of His Son in character, conduct and personality. Just by way of review let's look at a definitive statement found in:
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are (being) changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Let me also remind you that we can translate the first few words of verse 22, "The fruit of the Spirit..." to read "...the fruit that the Spirit produces..."
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy says to Charlie Brown, "I hate everything, I hate everybody. I hate the whole world."
Charlie Brown says, "But I thought you had inner peace."
Lucy's reply is a classic, "I do have inner peace, but I have outer obnoxiousness!"
There are millions of people in and out of the church who are just like Lucy. I want to present three points for your consideration this morning concerning peace and how it can change your life.
First let's consider:
I. The Fountainhead of a Peaceful Life
Jesus is our example of a peaceful life. He had:
a. Calm in the storm
Mar 4:35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."
36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"
41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" ESV
b. Composure under stress
Read John 18:1-14 and you will see that Jesus had peace when He was under stress and intense pressure.
c. Compliance to the Sovereign's will
Luke 22:39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.
40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." ESV
d. Compassion for sinners
Let's go right back to Jesus arrest in the Garden and read what He says that indicates His compassion...
John 18:8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go."
Second consider:
II. The Foundation of a Peaceful Life
There is one fundamental, foundational truth about peace. Peace begins and ends with God! We cannot know peace apart from knowing God and we cannot know God without a remedy for our sin.
Isaiah 48:22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
a. Peace comes when we are reconciled to the Father
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Romans 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
b. Peace comes when we receive Jesus by faith
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
c. Peace comes when our lives are regulated by the Spirit
Third:
III. The Formation of a Peaceful Life
We know that there is no peace for a wicked life but there is also no peace for a wayward life. If you are a Christian and out of the will of God, you will not have peace.
Listen to the words of David when he was out of God's will with unconfessed sin in his life:
Psalms 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
For peace to be formed in us and develop and grow we must keep good accounts with God! Fortunately for us we can and the answer is in God's Word:
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Next, the key to a peaceful life lies in the development of our faith. We must believe, really believe! Our peace begins with faith and continues with the exercise of our faith. Four things are important:
a. We must believe that God's Word is true
If we believe the Bible then we know that there is no way that a Christian can lose! When we trust and obey He gives us peace; the peace of a quiet conscience, the peace of a restful mind, the peace of a surrendered will, the peace of a hopeful heart and the peace of a loving fellowship.
b. We must believe that God is in control
We are not controlled by fate or fancy. God is the controller, regulator of the universe. He attends the funeral of every sparrow that falls! Dr. Adrian Rogers
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
c. We must believe that He is at work on our behalf
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
d. We must have confidence in the Will of God.
1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Finally consider:
I read an article recently that is entitled "7 Things that Happy People Do." I have modified it to speak to the issue of having a peaceful life. You will never have peace if:
1. Your default belief is that life is hard.
Peaceful people know life can be hard and tend to bounce through hard times with an attitude of curiosity versus victimhood. They take responsibility for how they got themselves into a mess, and focus on getting themselves out of it as soon as possible. Perseverance towards problem-solving versus complaining over circumstances is a symptom of a peaceful person. Discontented people see themselves as victims of life and stay stuck in the "look what happened to me" attitude versus finding a way through and out the other side.
2. You believe most people can't be trusted.
I won't argue that healthy discernment is important, but most peaceful people are trusting of their fellow man. They believe in the good in people, versus assuming everyone is out to get them. Generally open and friendly towards people they meet, peaceful people foster a sense of community around themselves and meet new people with an open heart. Discontented people are distrustful of most people they meet and assume that strangers can't be trusted. Unfortunately this behavior slowly starts to close the door on any connection outside of an inner-circle and thwarts all chances of meeting new friends.
3. You concentrate on what's wrong in this world versus what's right.
There's plenty wrong with this world, no arguments here, yet discontented people turn a blind eye to what's actually right in this world and instead focus on what's wrong. You can spot them a mile away, they'll be the ones complaining and responding to any positive attributes of our world with "yeah but". Peaceful people are aware of global issues, but balance their concern with also seeing what's right. I like to call this keeping both eyes open. Discontented people tend to close one eye towards anything good in this world in fear they might be distracted from what's wrong. Peaceful people keep it in perspective. They know our world has problems and they also keep an eye on what's right.
4. You compare yourself to others and harbor jealousy.
Discontented people believe someone else's good fortune steals from their own. They believe there's not enough goodness to go around and constantly compare yours against theirs. This leads to jealousy and resentment. Peaceful people know that your good luck and circumstance are merely signs of what they too can aspire to achieve. Peaceful people believe they carry a unique blueprint that can't be duplicated or stolen from -- by anyone on the planet. They believe in unlimited possibilities and don't get bogged down by thinking one person's good fortune limits their possible outcome in life.
5. You strive to control your life.
There's a difference between control and striving to achieve our goals. Peaceful people take steps daily to achieve their goals, but realize in the end, there's very little control over what life throws their way. Discontented people tend to micromanage in effort to control all outcomes and fall apart in dramatic display when life throws a wrench in their plan. Peaceful people can be just as focused, yet still have the ability to go with the flow and not melt down when life delivers a curve-ball. The key here is to be goal-oriented and focused, but allow room for letting "stuff" happen without falling apart when the best laid plans go awry - because they will. Going with the flow is what peaceful people have as plan B.
6. You consider your future with worry and fear.
There's only so much rent space between your ears. Discontented people fill their thoughts with what could go wrong versus what might go right. Peaceful people take on a healthy dose of delusion and allow themselves to daydream about what they'd like to have life unfold for them. Discontented people fill that head space with constant worry and fear. Peaceful people experience fear and worry, but make an important distinction between feeling it and living it. When fear or worry crosses a peaceful person's mind, they'll ask themselves if there's an action they can be taken to prevent their fear or worry from happening (there's responsibility again) and they take it. If not, they realize they're spinning in fear and they lay it down.
7. You fill your conversations with gossip and complaints.
Peaceful people like to live in the past. What's happened to them and life's hardships are their conversation of choice. When they run out of things to say, they'll turn to other people's lives and gossip.
Peaceful people live in the now and dream about the future. You can feel their positive vibe from across the room. They're excited about something they're working on, grateful for what they have and dreaming about the possibilities of life. Obviously none of us are perfect. We're all going to swim in negative waters once in a while, but what matters is how long we stay there and how quickly we work to get ourselves out. Practicing positive habits daily is what sets peaceful people apart from discontented people, not doing everything perfectly. Walk, fall down, get back up again, repeat. It's in the getting back up again where all the difference resides.
Daily Transformations photo via Unsplash by Volkan Olmez
What can you do to have real deep long lasting peace in your life? First, you can find peace by embracing the "Prince of Peace" as your personal Savior. You will have no peace apart from Him. Second, allow peace to grow by learning to trust God, believe His Word, understand His control and obeying His will for your life and you will have what Paul writes about in Philippians 4:7:
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
ILL - During Superbowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker, whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand.
When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She give a simple, "Thank you." But curious about what is in the package he has been protecting for years, he says, "If I may ask, what was in the package after all?" She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, "Oh, nothing really. Just a cell phone, GPS, a compass, a water purifier, and some garden seeds! The moral is what he needed was there all the time. The peace you crave and need in your life is available and accessible, always has been, always will be!
