Psalm 85:8 - 8 I listen carefully to what God the
LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his people, his
faithful ones. But let them not return to their foolish
ways.
John 14:27 - 27“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of
mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the
peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
Phil. 4:6-7 - 6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray
about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him
for all he has done. 7If you do this, you will experience
God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human
mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and
minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Col. 3:12-15 - 12Since God chose you to be the holy
people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with
tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience. 13You must make allowance for each other’s
faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember,
the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14And
the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love.
Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.
15And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your
hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to
live in peace. And always be thankful.
II Thess. 3:16 - 16May the Lord of peace himself
always give you his peace no matter what happens. The
Lord be with you all.
Peace......so many thoughts come to our minds when the
word is used......
A. Lying on our backs in clover and Indian paint
brushes......the breeze gently blowing....the
temperature, just right......a lake....the birds
singing....etc. (you paint the picture).
B. Peace......that quiet time with your mate, after
the children have been tucked into bed....the
quiet times together before a lit fireplace.
C. All during WW II, there was a yearning for peace
from the fighting.
1. Beautiful songs were written about peace....
songs such as: The White Cliffs Of Dover.
D. There is even a serenity and peace in the concept
of death.
1. Life, itself, seems to be an enemy of peace.
Such a beautiful thought......such a great word.
A. At no time does this word or do these thoughts
gender trouble, stress, or fear.
1. The word, itself, almost seems to take on
medicinal qualities.....a balm to our soul.
a. This is the desire of all humanity....
whether Christian or non-Christian, alike.
1.) We want rest from all the wars and
conflicts, and arguments, and
political in-fighting.
2.) We want to be free from all worry...
all cares....all upsetting concerns.
3.) We don’t want our consciences
beating us and the guilt disturbing
us.
4.) Most importantly....we, as
Christians......want a real and
tangible peace between us and our
God.
1.) This is behind the whole
concept of forgiveness of sins.
2.) We understand that when the
blood of Christ washes over
our sins.....they are obliterated
.......God remembers them no
more....He can now look at us
and see His Son....and be at
peace with us.
Equally understood, is this: Again....if we revert to a love
of sin.....to the habits of sin....to a “peace” with sin.....we
lose our peace, again, with God.
A. We all certainly want peace, but perhaps we need
to be reminded of just what is necessary to
maintain that peace in our lives.
I. Those who continue in doing that which is right in the
sight of God (we call it righteousness) maintain the
blessings of peace with God.
Romans 2:7-10 - 7He will give eternal life to those who
persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and
honor and immortality that God offers. 8But he will pour
out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves,
who refuse to obey the truth and practice evil deeds. 9There
will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on
sinning—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 10But
there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all
who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.
A. Christ came to bring a message to the lost....to
break down the barrier between man and God.
1. This was Christ’s mission.
a. That mission is still real and still lives on
through those who claim His name.
2. Not only do we experience peace with God,
when we become a Christian.....but we also
become vessels of peace to others.
a. The “doing of good” mentioned in the
previous passage is the sowing of the
Word of reconciliation and peace.
Matt. 5:9 - 9 God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
3. The ones who make peace happen, in this
world are those who work to reconcile God
to every man....through the blood of Jesus
Christ.
** A paradox exists....concerning this thing of peace...
The turmoil of this world and our realization of the
relationship between us and God, and others and
God....builds a desire for....a yearning for peace.
1. God uses the wickedness that the devil sends our
way.....to bring about this peace with Him.
II. Peace can be ours.....provided we make the attempt
at understanding and living by the Words which Christ
has left us.
John 14:24-27 - 24Anyone who doesn’t love me will
not do what I say. And remember, my words are not my
own. This message is from the Father who sent me. 25I am
telling you these things now while I am still with you.
26But when the Father sends the Counselor as my
representative—and by the Counselor I mean the Holy
Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you
of everything I myself have told you.
27“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world
gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
A. Even though, at first glance, the Words of Christ
may seem to cause a great deal of conflict.....this
conflict only exists in the struggle between the will
of God and the will of man and/or the devil.
1. True peace comes in embracing Christ’s
words and ways.....and rejecting our own
solutions.
2. The conflict and struggle comes about when
men resist....argue with....and in one way or
another try to fight against the Words of
Christ.....the Word of God.
A. Man’s reasoning and philosophy will attempt to
produce a peace.....but it will be a false peace.
1. We will never be really happy and at peace
when that so-called peace is derived from
any source other than the Word of God.
III. Which leads us to the next point.....to be “spiritually
minded”.....IS peace.
Romans 8:5-8 - 5Those who are dominated by the
sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are
controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please
the Spirit. 6If your sinful nature controls your mind, there
is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is
life and peace. 7For the sinful nature is always hostile to
God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
8That’s why those who are still under the control of their
sinful nature can never please God.
Romans 7:22-23 - 22I love God’s law with all my heart.
23But there is another law at work within me that is at war
with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a
slave to the sin that is still within me.
A. When our minds wander into the fields of the
world for our peace.....our drive for security...
happiness....peace of mind....we obtain none of
these things that we are in quest of.
1. We may receive what we believe is a “peace”
for a moment....but it will not be long lasting.
a. Only when we can control our thoughts
and take them captive and focus them
on the wonderful things that God has
in store for us......only then can we truly
have “peace of mind”....a “peace that
passes all understanding”.
2. Our hope....our peace....is founded upon those
things that cannot be shaken or removed or
changed....in any way.
a. Our peace of mind is determined by just
how much faith we can place in God....
not in the physical world.
IV. Next, our peace is kept new and fresh....every day...by
the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
A. Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort,
empower, and encourage us.....in short....we
have our peace renewed daily by the Holy Spirit’s
working in our lives.
Romans 14:17 - 17For the Kingdom of God is not a
matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of
goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
1. It is from our understanding of God’s Word
that we find our ever present comfort from
His Spirit.
John 14:16-26 - 16And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.
17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world
at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him
and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives
with you now and later will be in you. 18No, I will not
abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19In just a
little while the world will not see me again, but you will.
For I will live again, and you will, too. 20When I am raised
to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you
are in me, and I am in you. 21Those who obey my
commandments are the ones who love me. And because
they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love
them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them.”
22Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with
that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal
yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
23Jesus replied, “All those who love me will do what I
say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them
and live with them. 24Anyone who doesn’t love me will
not do what I say. And remember, my words are not my
own. This message is from the Father who sent me. 25I am
telling you these things now while I am still with you.
26But when the Father sends the Counselor as my
representative—and by the Counselor I mean the Holy
Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you
of everything I myself have told you.
a. It is from some of the confusion and mis-
understanding of the Apostles that much
misunderstanding comes about from this
verse.
1.) Some believe that this was only a
promise to the twelve.....I disagree..
simply because of the wording
(cite the underlined portions,
above).
** Our peace is renewed every day by God living in us.
V. Lastly....and most importantly....The cross of Jesus
Christ bings us real and everlasting peace.
Eph. 2:14-17 - 14For Christ himself has made peace between
us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has
broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us. 15By
his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded
the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and
Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two
groups. 16Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to
God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other
was put to death. 17He has brought this Good News of peace to
you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to us Jews who
were near.
A. We must remember that without the cross of Jesus...there
would never be peace between God and man.....and
therefore....never be any reconciliation or salvation.
1. We enjoy our relationship with God....only because
of and through the cross.
Col. 1:18-22 - 18Christ is the head of the church, which is
his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead,
so he is first in everything. 19For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled
everything to himself. He made peace with everything in
heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.
21This includes you who were once so far away from God.
You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil
thoughts and actions, 22yet now he has brought you back
as his friends. He has done this through his death on the
cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought
you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and
blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
B. In our sins...and because of our sins......we were
total enemies of God.....as much enemies as satan,
himself.
1. God’s wrath was poised to be poured out
upon us.
a. We may consider this lightly, but we
need to really understand.......WE
NEVER WANT TO BE ON THE
WRONG SIDE OF GOD’S WRATH!!
Hebrews 10:26-31 - 26Dear friends, if we deliberately
continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of
the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these
sins. 27There will be nothing to look forward to but the
terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire
that will consume his enemies. 28Anyone who refused to
obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on
the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29Think how much
more terrible the punishment will be for those who have
trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of
the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people
have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings
God’s mercy to his people. 30For we know the one who
said, “I will take vengeance. I will repay those who
deserve it.” He also said, “The Lord will judge his own
people.” 31It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of
the living God.
** It was the cross of Christ that saved us from that wrath
that we deserved.
CONCLUSION:
What can we conclude from our study?
A. In absolutely no way does real and lasting peace
from the physical elements of this world.
1. Our jobs....our investments...our fame...our
health.........all are but a part of a constantly
changing world.
a. I’m reminded of a computer.....as soon as
one thinks that he has caught up to the
“giga race”....he finds that he is still
lacking.
B. Saying this, however, we continue to stress the
fact that God does want us to have real and
lasting peace.
1. Christ came and died on the cross that we
might be able to obtain that peace.
a. God offers us a peace of mind and heart
through the Father, the Spirit, and
through Christ, Himself.
Can we truly say that we have this peace that passes all
understanding......as a real and working part of our spiritual
life.
A. If we are truly at peace, our mind...our conscience
will not condemn us.
1. If, however, your mind does condemn you,
it is possible to be free from this torment and
to achieve the peace that we all so intently
desire.
a. It come only through Christ.
1.) A Christian needs to turn from the
pursuit of and the distractions of
the world, about him.
2.) One who is not in Christ needs to
give his heart, in obedience, over
to Christ.
