Chico Alliance Church
October 8, 2006
Pastor David Welch
"Spiritually Aware, Alert, Armed and Aggressive" Pt 11
“Prepared with Peace - 2”
I. Be Aware
II.Be Alert
III.Be armed & aggressive
A.Be fully empowered
B.Be fully armed
C.Stand firm – engage the enemy
1.Stand firm having girded your loins with TRUTH
2.Stand firm armed with RIGHTEOUSNESS
3.Stand firm prepared with PEACE
This piece of armor prepares us for the battle.
Without this piece of armor we become ineffective soldiers, subject to continual defeat.
and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; Eph 6:15
This piece of armor relates to our interaction with the world around us. When things function as God designed them to function, there is peace. Peace describes the natural state of affairs when things function according to God’s design.
The actual term “peace” has a broad range of meaning and application.
It conveys the idea of health, prosperity, rest, wholeness, security, completion, unity, tranquility, serenity, calmness. The term applies to several realms,
Spiritual realm -- our interaction with God and the spirit world
Personal realm -- our interaction with ourselves, our thoughts and our feelings
Social realm – our interaction with the people around us (family, church, work, strangers)
Physical realm – our interaction with physical circumstances disaster, sickness, difficulties of life
When these realms function according to God’s design there is peace. When any of these realms fail to function according to God’s design there is chaos. It is the feeling we get when the house is in order, the activity went as planned and conceived, the relationships function well. All of these realms are intricately connected so that any malfunction in any one of these worlds affects the others. Before the fall, interaction in all of these worlds was peaceful. This is a description of life before the fall. Interaction with God was healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and secure. Adam and Eve rested in perfect love and trust and obedience. There was no ground for fear. There was continual open communication. There was no ground for Satan’s influence. It was a time of peace. The physical world functioned perfectly as designed. No death, disaster, sickness, decay, deterioration. There was perfect health. There was perfect interaction between man and beast. It was God’s original creation and it was good as God declared! It was a peaceful environment. Adam and Eve related as God designed. Absolute vulnerability, no shame, no blame, no selfishness. Perfect communion. Perfect compatibility. Perfect cooperation. The peace of God ruled their relationship. Each individual functioned to the full capacity of their gifts and carried out responsibility with competence and joyful satisfaction. No depression, no inferiority, no feelings.
Because everything functioned as designed it was a time of absolute peace. That was before disobedience and sin disrupted the peace in every aspect of our world. Disobedience turned peace with God to fear, judgment, shame, cover-up, strained relationship. Protection from the evil one turned to vulnerability and control. Their once peaceful physical environment turned to complete disruption and deterioration. Fruitfulness and health turned to futility, sickness, disease, pain and the inevitability of physical death. The climates changed, weed erupted, animals turned hostile, the whole physical world turned upside down resulting in chaos rather than peace. Romans says the whole of creation was subjected to futility and groans; longing for redemption. The peace they had with each other turned to blame, selfishness, jealousy, murder, strife and disharmony. Inner peace turned to fear, stress, anxiety, confusion, brokenness, depression and inner turmoil. Peace turned to chaos because nothing now functioned as God designed.
Ever since, man has desperately tried to restore peace to his world. Even the best of human efforts are futile since true restoration can only come from the Prince of Peace whom the world has rejected. Only Christ can restore life to the way God intended resulting in peace. God established the road to restoration from the beginning. The promises of ultimate restoration and a future eternal kingdom of peace run all through the Scripture.
We struggle with this excruciating lack of peace every day and in every realm.
We struggle in our interaction with God.
We struggle in our interaction with people around us.
We struggle in our interaction with life’s circumstances.
We struggle with our inner response to those circumstances; fear, anxiety, worry, troubled hearts, confusion, frustration, sorrow, depression.
Where can we find peace in a world of chaos? Jesus addressed our desperate longing to live in peace and at peace.
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27
Through Jesus we can experience peace with God, peace with others and peace within ourselves now as well as ultimately peace in the physical realm when creation itself will experience restoration to its original peaceful state.
There are two levels of peace. Inner peace and outer peace. Jesus came to restore peace on both levels.
Inner peace, that inner state of calm assurance and rest is based on the belief that through Christ everything will ultimately be alright.
Living in a chaotic un-restored world challenges inner peace. Inner peace in the midst of chaos comes from genuine trust. It is an inward rest and confidence based on a firm trust in God’s promises. It is not dependent on circumstances. It goes beyond a warm fuzzy feeling or euphoria or denial. It is deeper than life’s circumstance. The Bible calls it a peace that defies human logic.
Outer peace is based on restoration and reconciliation.
He has made joyful reconciliation with God possible. He empowers us to properly relate to one another with love and forbearance. He promises His presence through the storms of life itself and to work even the worst of disasters for His eternal glory and our ultimate growth.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18
He will ultimately restore peace to all of creation and our physical world.
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. Rom 8:19
Satan knows that a distracted soldier is an ineffective soldier.
Satan knows that an anxious soldier is a reluctant soldier.
Satan knows that a troubled soldier is a defeated soldier.
Satan knows that a frazzled solder is a tired soldier.
Therefore, Satan will do everything he can to keep us from appropriating this piece of armor. He will disrupt our peace with God through his lies. He will destroy our peace with others through his lies. He will disturb peace in our world through his subversive activity.
He will defeat our inner peace by his lies.
Like the other pieces of armor so far, this piece of armor has to do with right thinking leading to right living. In particular, the truth of the Gospel brings enables a state of peace and wholeness that prepares us to enter battle with the enemy and win. That is why Paul calls it the PREPARTION of the gospel of peace. He relates it to shoes because peace must characterize every aspect of our walk. We must confront life with that inner calm assurance based on the belief that through Christ everything will ultimately be alright. We must trust Christ to transform us and enable us to walk in newness of life that restores peace in all our relationships.
How do we appropriate it?
God grants peace
Ultimately we must understand that this kind of peace only comes from God. There is nothing we can do to manufacture this inner peace. It is a gift granted by God.
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! 2 Thessalonians 3:16
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27
The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace. Psalms 29:11
Such a peace comes through His power to restore and reconcile and transform.
Knowing God increases peace
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:2-3
Godly thinking and godly living results in increased peace.
The words and work of Jesus bring peace
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
It is also the works and words of Jesus that enable us to live in peace with one another.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11
Jesus made it possible for us to have peace and union with God so that we may enjoy peace with each other.
I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. John 17:23
We must let that peace rule our hearts.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15
Let Christ’s promised peace rule your hearts and your relationships.
The Holy Spirit empowers peace
The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, Romans 8:6
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Galatians 5:22
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17
The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is to manifest the very character of God.
One aspect of his character is peace, calmness, serenity, wholeness.
Trust produces inner peace
The secret to inner peace is trust in God. This inner calm in spite of outer chaos comes from the belief that through Christ everything will ultimately be alright. Life in a fallen world continually threatens our inner peace. Only a firm faith in a loving God enables us to experience peace in the midst of turmoil.
"The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. "Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4
"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. "In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3
The disciples were deeply troubled by the thought of Jesus leaving them. Jesus restored their peace by encouraging them to trust Him concerning a glorious future where they would never be separated again. In a world where things seem so not at peace, the Psalmist encouraged trust in the Lord.
Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him (trust Him); Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant peace. Psalms 37:7-11
Look at the non-peace words in this passage. Fret, wicked schemes, anger, wrath, evil doing. The one who humbly puts their trust in God will find peace. Abundant peace.
Paul found the ability to endure the suffering of life in a fallen world by focusing on the promise of God.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:22-25
Faith is the key to inner peace. The peace of the spirit led and empowered walk comes by trust in the promise of God. The Promised Land is a picture of such a victorious walk.
The Israelites were not able to enter because they didn’t trust God to fulfill his promise.
As a result, they were not able to enter into his rest but wandered around in the wilderness.
And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Hebrews 3:18-19
Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest…Hebrews 4:1-3
When we fail to trust God, we fail to enter rest. When we are not at peace within, we will not be at peace without. Inner unrest will create relational unrest. Only a decision to trust and obey will restore inner peace and enable peace with others.
Prayer produces peace
Part of trusting God in unsettling circumstances is prayer. One commentator put it, “Peace is the fruit of believing prayer.” This is one of the most significant passages related to inner peace in the Scriptures.
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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
The word used here means to have care, concern, brood, speculate. It can have a positive bent as in care for others. Paul has in mind here a fretting care that usually produces nothing but ulcers and high blood pressure. It is used in relation to the cares of this world.
Jesus used the word when he told us not to be anxious about food or clothes or the future because such anxiousness is not able to change anything. Rather, seek God’s kingdom.
Focus on Him. Here, Paul instructs us to let God know about it; pray.
Liberation from it (worry) comes as one casts it upon God, not because God grants every wish, but because prayer grants freedom from care.
One version translates this verse like this, “Don’t worry about anything but pray about everything. Paul includes a “qualifier” to this prayer. Supplication WITH thanksgiving.
This is not a demanding prayer. It is a request made from a grateful and humble heart willing to accept whatever God gives. The result to casting our care on Jesus?
The peace of God… the calm assurance that comes from trust in God) …the peace that surpasses human invention…the peace that defies human logic.
His peace will become a guard, a watchguard, a garrison, a spy set at the gates.
Guard what? Our hearts and minds. Perhaps refereeing to emotions and thoughts.
Anxiety centers in both thinking and feeling. Satan does not want us to have peace in our thinking or feeling. Prayer will bring peace which will enable us to refocus again on God’s truth. Even when we are not sure just how or what to pray, God will help us.
In the same way( as groaning for complete redemption) the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
Interesting passages relating to prayer and outer peace.
’Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’ Jeremiah 29:7 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
Obedience to God’s ways results in peace
There is a peace that comes naturally when we walk according to God’s ways.
When we live according to His design we find peace.
His ways promote peace with Him and each other.
Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. Psalms 119:165
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9
The discipline of the Lord produces peace
Finally, when we submit to God’s work in our life we will come to know His peace.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11
The application of this piece of armor is like the rest. It involves a renewing of the mind with God’s truth. This is a renewal of our thinking that focuses on the fact that through Christ everything will ultimately work out for God’s glory and our growth.
•Peace comes from God.
•Peace comes from the work and words of Jesus as we let His peace rule our lives.
•Peace comes as we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
•Peace increases the more we come to know Him.
•Peace comes when we entrust every aspect of our lives to Him.
•Peace comes when we let God know about the things that cause us anxiety.
•Peace comes when we walk according to His commandments.
•Peace comes when we respond to His discipline in our lives.
Jesus came to restore peace. He gave us a taste of the full meal deal while He was here.
He brought reconciliation with God. He reconciled people at all levels. Parents/children, Jew/Gentile, rich/poor, Slave/free. He calmed the environment with a word. He ravaged the spirit world with a word. He healed disease with a world. He spoke peace to the troubled heart. One day he will bring complete restoration and reconciliation. One day he will restore everything to its original design. (Reboot the world) Because everything will function as designed there will be eternal peace in our world.
Receive His peace
Speak His peace
Live in His peace and at peace
