• “Do you believe in God?” you would probably say, “Yes, of course.”
• And if I were to ask, “Do you know God?” you might say, “Yes, and I wish I knew Him better.”
• But if I were to ask, “Do you have a deep abiding peace?” I suspect that some of you would reply, “No, I don’t.”
Why would I assume that?
Because a lot of people who know God do not have the peace of God.
Peace is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit that God wants us to have in our life.
Illus: The peace of God is like the gauges in our car that tells us the tempature of our car or whether our battery is charging.
When we do not have the PEACE OF GOD it is a sign something is wrong.
Everybody wants PEACE but very few have it because they do not know how to receive it.
(1) Some do not have it…but it is not because they do not PRAY for it.
Illus: In Jerusalem, a female CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Wailing Wall to pray, twice a day, everyday, for a long, long time. So she went to check it out. She went to the Wailing Wall and there he was!
She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, she approached him for an interview.
"I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. Sir, how long have you been coming to the Wall and praying?"
"For about 60 years."
"60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"
"I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims. I pray for all the hatred to stop and I pray for all our children to grow up in safety and friendship."
"How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?"
"Like I'm talking to a wall."
Praying to a wall will not bring about the peace of god in your life.
Many do not have it but it is not because they do not pray for it.
(2) Many do not have it…but it is not because they do not WISH to have it.
Illus: A woman was walking along the beach when she stumbled upon a Genie's lamp. She picked it up and rubbed it, and lo-and-behold a Genie appeared. The amazed woman asked if she was going to receive the usual three wishes.
The Genie said, "Nope ... due to inflation, constant downsizing, low wages in third-world countries, and fierce global competition, I can only grant you one wish. So ... what will it be?"
The woman didn't hesitate. She said, "I want peace in the Middle East. See this map? I want these countries to stop fighting with each other."
The Genie looked at the map and exclaimed, Lady, these countries have been at war for thousands of years. I'm good, but not THAT good! I don't think it can be done. Make another wish."
The woman thought for a minute and said, "Well, I've never been able to find the right man. You know, one that's considerate and fun, likes to cook and helps with the housecleaning, who also gets along with my family, doesn't watch sports all the time, and is faithful. That's what I wish for ... a great mate."
The Genie let out a long sigh and said, "Let me see that map again!"
Just wishing for peace will not bring the peace of God in our life.
In this sermon I want to show you how you can have peace of God in your life. In order for you to have it you must understand where it comes from.
The Bible teaches that there are two kinds of peace.
There is a a peace that the lost world provides.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Illus: We can see the kind of peace that the world provides in the face of men like Bill Gates, Ted Turner, and Steve Forbes. These men are not Christians as far as we know, but everything is going well in their lives and they are experiencing a peace that the world provides.
There is a PEACE THAT THE WORLD OFFERS and since this is the only kind of peace that lost man knows about this is the kind of peace they seek.
But the Bible tells us there is a PEACE THAT GOD OFFERS.
Notice again John 14:27 John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,
The kind of peace that God offers is the kind of peace that Horatio Spafford had.
WHO IS HORATION SPAFFORD?
Illus: He was a Christian attorney that lived in Chicago and went through some very difficult times in his life.
For example, he was in the Chicago fire of 1871 where over a hundred thousand were left homeless, and over 300 died.
Spafford, for two years, unselfishly helped to assist the needs of the homeless, impoverished, and those grief-stricken by the fire.
Horatio Spafford was known throughout Chicago as a sincere, devout Christian.
After two years of such work, in November 1873, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation. He wanted to do two things on this particular vacation:
• Join his good friend Dwight L. Moody in one of his evangelistic campaigns in England.
• From there Mr. Spafford planned on traveling on to Europe.
However, just as the Spafford’s were preparing to leave, Horatio was unexpectedly detained by urgent business concerns in Chicago.
The decision was made that his wife Anna and their four daughters – Anna, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta would continue on as scheduled to England.
Once Spafford had resolved the business concern, he would then catch up with them on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
However, the ship which his wife and four daughters were traveling on, never reached England. The ship collided with an English sailing vessel, and the ship sank rapidly after it was struck.
Mrs. Spafford was one of the 47 to survive; tragically all four of their daughters were part of the 226 who perished in the aftermath.
Anna Spafford’s heartbreaking telegram to her husband simply read: “Saved alone.”
Horatio immediately set sail for England to join his grief-stricken wife. As the ship that he was traveling on passed the approximate location where his daughters had drowned, it is reported that due to his deep sorrow mingled with his unwavering faith in God’s goodness, he penned the words of his now famous hymn - “It Is Well with My Soul.”
Illus: Youtube Guy Penrod, David Phelps - It Is Well With My Soul (Live) [Official Video]
YouTube
· 13,627,000+ views
· 9/21/2012
· by
Gaither Music TV
The peace that God gives does not come from circumstances it comes from almighty God.
Illus: Remember when the disciples were on a ship and it looked like they were facing a watery grave that the Lord appeared to them and said in Mark 4:35-37 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
In the midst of this storm he said, PEACE, BE STILL.
We can have PEACE in the midst of the storms of life because our peace come from God not from circumstances.
Let me show you the kind of Peace the Lord provides.
I. PEACE WITH GOD
You see you can never have REAL PEACE until you make peace with the PRINCE OF PEACE.
Many have been mis-informed how to find the peace of God.
Illus: Some of you may remember a young lady by the name of Tracy Lyperd, who was a beauty queen in VA a few years ago.
She was all smiles as she wore her crown. But when we read of her in the newspaper again, she no longer had a smile on her face because she was in some serious trouble with the law.
Her boy friend had dumped her and married another woman.
She drove 250 miles to seek revenge. She took along a pistol, a hammer, lighter fluid and matches.
When she arrived at his house and rang the doorbell, it was answered by his new father-in-law. She faked having car trouble, and asked if she could use the telephone. Once inside the house, she took out her hammer and hit the father-in-law on the head. She stunned him, but didn’t knock him out. What she didn’t realize was that he was an ex-secret service agent. He grabbed her and as they struggled, she pulled the pistol from her purse and tried to shoot him. That’s when the mother-in-law jumped in to assist in the apprehension and the two of them wrestled her to the floor, holding her until the police arrived.
When questioned, she said that she was driven to seek revenge because she needed "INNER PEACE."
The world we live in is full of PEOPLE who do not have inner peace. Their life is filled with anger and hate.
It is essential that everyone come to realize:
• There is a peace that the world gives that is based on circumstances.
• There is a peace that God gives that is based on receiving his kind of peace.
Illus: A young girl who was writing a paper for school, came to her father and asked, "Dad, what is the difference between annoy, anger and exasperation?"
• The father replied, "It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean."
• With that, the father went to the telephone and dialed a number at random. To the man who answered the phone, he said, "Hello, is Melvin there?"
• The man answered, "There is no one living here named Melvin. Why don't you learn to look up numbers before you dial".
• "See," said the father to his daughter. "That man was not a bit happy with our call. He was annoyed. He was probably very busy with something and we annoyed him. Now watch...."
• The father dialed the number again. "Hello, is Melvin there?" asked the father. The man said, "Now look here!" You just called this number and I told you that there is no Melvin here! You've got a lot of guts calling again!" The receiver slammed down hard.
• The father turned to his daughter and said, "You see, that was anger. Now I'll show you what exasperation means."
• He dialed the same number, and when a violent voice roared, "Hello!" The father calmly said, "Hello, this is Melvin. Have there been any calls for me?"
• The man cursed him out for calling three times. He said, “See honey, he was exasperated!”
We live in a world where we SEE a lot of ANNOYED, ANGRY AND EXASPERATED PEOPLE!
God puts within our hearts a PEACE that flows like a river.
Illus: I like that chorus we sing, “I got peace like a river….I got peace like a river.”
The reason that song is such a blessing is because many of us know the PEACE of standing by a river. I am so thankful for the PEACE of God. But the peace of God is different than the PEACE OF THE WORLD.
The Lord said, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
God’s Word let’s us know that the PEACE He gives is not the kind the world gives.
• The peace the world gives is based on circumstances. An if the circumstances in their life change they loose their peace.
• The peace that God gives is not based on receiving Him and His Peace.
The lost man is at war with God every day of his life. But when the Lord saves us, we have PEACE WITH GOD.
This is why when a person accepts the Lord Jesus as their Savior they immediately began to experience the PEACE OF GOD in their life.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said before he got saved he did not realize how satan had loaded his life down with sin. But once the Lord saved him from his sins he said he felt like he was going to float to heaven.
This is why He says, in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”
It is a wonderful thing to have PEACE WITH GOD.
God gives us a PEACE WITH GOD. But also he provides us with-
II. PEACE WITH OTHERS
There are people who do not have peace and they set out to see that everyone they come into contact does not have any peace also. In other words they are miserable and they want to make everyone else miserable.
Illus: They can count all their friends on one hand and still have five fingers left over.
Illus: One of my favorite stories is about a grandpa and grandma who visited the grandchildren. Each afternoon Grandpa would lie down for a nap. One day, as a practical joke, the kids decided to put Limburger cheese in his moustache. Quite soon he awoke sniffing. “Why, this room stinks;’ he exclaimed as he got up and went out into the kitchen. He wasn’t there long until he decided that the kitchen smelled too, so he walked outdoors for a breath of fresh air. Much to Grandpa’s surprise, the open air brought no relief, and he proclaimed, “The whole world stinks”
Illus: President Richard Nixon could have went down in history as one of our great president. But he was like so many he kept an enemy list.
• If a journalist wrote something inaccurate they were placed on his enemies list.
• If a politician fought him on a bill he wanted past they were placed on his enemies list.
• If someone got on television and said something negative about him they went on his enemy list.
There are people who live their life this way, they have an enemy list and that list is constantly growing.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was preaching a revival in a church that one time was booming. He told Dr. Belger that he was going to resign his church. Dr. Belger was shocked to hear him say this!!!
Dr. Belger asked him why was he resigning his church? As they are driving to lunch one day he would say to Dr. Belger certain things that made him realized why he was resigning his church. He said…
• See that man on the street, that man use to attend my church and he told a bunch of lies on me.
• This pastor would point to another man and he said, see that man...he lost his job and my wife and I gave him money to help him and his family survive during hard times and when good times came into his life he quit my church and started going to another church.
• This pastor would point to a woman and he said, see that woman she use to attend my church she is one of the biggest gossipers in town.
He constantly pointed people out in this small town that had did him wrong and it was obvious he had an enemy list and he could not forgive them.
He could not see all the good people in his church all he could see was this enemy list that bugged the fire out of him and he was going to resign his church.
He had gotten where he built his life around people that he hated!!!
He did resign his church as far as I know today he is completely out of the ministry.
This man is like so many that have an enemy list that list is constantly growing. If God allows them to live they will hate so many people that when they die they are going to have to hire someone to be their pallbearer.
These kind of people will not forgive but listen you can not hate your brothers and sisters, nor can you hate people and have the peace of God at the same time.
The Lord teaches us that to live with our brothers and sisters sometime we have to go the second mile.
Matthew 5:41-45 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Notice, God’s Word teaches for us to have the PEACE OF GOD we have to be like Him.
HOW IS HE?
Notice, the Bible teaches, for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Illus: Think about that, if God was like some folks He would look at some and say that person took my name in vain the other day and I am not going to allow the sun to shine on them and they are not going to get any rain.
AREN’T YOU GLAD GOD IS NOT LIKE SOME PEOPLE!
God wants us to bear the fruit of Peace but before we can bear the fruit of peace we can not go around angry at the world.
One of the greatest changes that we can see in a man’s life after he is saved is his attitude toward others. That is:
Once we come to know the Lord, we want to live at PEACE with others.
In Romans 12:18, we read, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
It is not always easy to live at peace with others.
Illus: When I was in college I had a room mate that educated me in ways I never dreamed of being educated. I am not a NEAT FREAK but I like having things in place in my life.
• When I wanted to study he had a guitar and he wanted to play and sing. The only problem with that he could not play and he could not sing.
• He would take his clothes off and scatter them all over the room.
• He was a loud mouth obnoxious individual.
He was a terrible room mate. But God helped me to live with him and today I consider him to be one of my best friends.
Listen, the world is filled with people like this, we can turn them into our worst enemy or our best friend!!!
If we want the PEACE OF GOD we need to learn how to have PEACE WITH OTHERS.
We can’t make everyone be at PEACE with us, but we can make every effort to achieve this even if it means walking the second mile.
Illus: Two Arabs boarded a shuttle out of Washington for New York. One sat in the window seat, the other in the middle seat.
Just before takeoff, a little Israeli guy got on and took the aisle seat next to the Arabs.
He kicked off his shoes, wiggled his toes and was settling in, when the Arab in the window seat said, "I think I'll go up and get a coke."
"No problem," said the Israeli. "I'll get it for you."
While he was gone, the Arab picked up the Israeli's shoe and spit in it.
When the Israeli returned with the coke, the other Arab said, "That looks good. I think I'll have one too."
Again, the Israeli obligingly went to fetch it, and while he is gone the other Arab picked up the other shoe and spit in it.
The Israeli returned with the coke, and they all sat back and enjoyed the short flight to New York.
As the plane was landing the Israeli slipped his feet into his shoes and knew immediately what had happened.
He stood up and said, "How long must this go on?" he asked. "This enmity between our peoples… this hatred... this animosity... this spitting in shoes and this spitting in coke bottles has got to stop some time!"
When we have God’s peace, enmity stops and we have PEACE WITH OTHERS.
But also, we have-
III. PEACE WITH OURSELVES
It is only when we have PEACE WITH GOD and PEACE WITH OTHERS, that we can have PEACE WITH OURSELVES.
If we do not have PEACE WITH GOD and PEACE WITH OTHERS we can not have PEACE WITH OURSELVES!!!
But it all starts with PEACE WITH GOD.
Illus: It was 1908 - in the early days of Major League baseball in America. The Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants were battling it out for the National League championship and the opportunity to play in the World Series. New York first baseman Fred Merkle was in position to be a game-winning hero actually. He was on base when a teammate got a hit that would enable Merkle to score. And he thought he had as he crossed home plate. But the Cubs touched second base and claimed that Merkle had missed that base as he was running to score. The umpire ruled that the almost-hero was out at second because he hadn't touched the base. That mistake ultimately cost his team the championship.
He later said, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing First Base."
Imagine - you think you've made it home safely, but it turns out you're "out" because you missed a base you failed to touch. That can happen to people when it comes to the "home" that really matters - an eternal home in heaven when we die. There are just too many passages in the Bible that indicate that people who thought they would make it there will be surprised to find that they can't get into heaven.
Matthew 7, for example, portrays a Judgment Day scene when people will remind Jesus of all the Christian things they have done, and He will say, "Depart from Me - I never knew you." Somehow, they missed Christ in the middle of all their Christianity. How does that happen? How can you make sure it doesn't happen to you? You need to make sure that you didn't miss first base as you played the Christian game.
Thomas had been with Jesus, day in and day out for three years. Yet, in spite of being one of Jesus' twelve disciples, he had apparently failed to touch first base. Until he does it in John 20, beginning with verse 26. Thomas wasn't there the first time the resurrected Christ appeared to His disciples, and he can't believe Jesus is alive. The second time, Thomas was there and the Bible says "Jesus came and stood among them and He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'"
That simple, two-letter word can be the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus, between going to heaven and going to hell. There has to be a day when you make the Lord your Lord. When you walk up to that cross and say, "Jesus, for me. What You did on this cross there was for me. And I'm taking by faith what You did here for me." If you know you've done that, it's settled. But if you don't know that you have consciously given yourself to Jesus, you probably haven't. And for all you've done on His field, you've missed touching first base.”
The Holy Spirit within can provide the PEACE that you are looking for. He wants you to bear the fruit of PEACE.
Conclusion:
I. PEACE WITH GOD
II. PEACE WITH OTHERS
III. PEACE WITH OURSELVES
