Peace

Philippians 4:7 NASB95

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

“PEACE” is a heavenly word.

When Jesus was born the angels sang: “peace on earth” .. Luke 2.

It’s through Jesus you and I can have peace today.

If we would be persecuted together in this room by some mob of unbelievers… we can have peace in Jesus

If we experience loss and tragedy and suffering together… we can have peace in Jesus

And here we are in this room, at PEACE, in Jesus. But your life may not reflect it.

I’ve seen time and time again, where Christians, and myself included, come to worship with a disturbed mind.

It might be something major, might be something small / insignificant… but how easy it is for our hearts to become uneasy about the most trivial things.

We try to worship, but we can’t. Like having dust in our eyes… causes us pain and we can’t focus on what matters.

Turmoil, hardship, pain, depression, anxiety, problems with one another.

We may look distinguished on Sunday morning but how are we really feeling?

Did you backslide into sin again? That’ll hurt your peace more than anything.

But it’s in these moments we turn back to God in prayer, and I pray for myself, and for every believer in this room:

“May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, KEEP your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is the one who wrote this verse.

I think its true that Paul experienced the brightness of peace, in the darkness of dungeons.

He loved peace / preached / lived in / died in / has entered into the fruition of peace, and dwells in peace right now.

3 Lessons in this verse about the peace you and I might have in Jesus.

1. “Surpasses all comprehension”

We cannot describe it, but it’s the greatest feeling one can ever know.

And you have to know it for yourself before you can teach it! Because you cant TEACH something you don’t understand

Illustrate this: Chicken tenders in the Italian mall “Americano Graffiti”

Taste it and SEE!!!!

Taste and SEE that the peace of God is good!!

Oh it surpasses all understanding and description, you MUST come to be at peace with God!

2 Thessalonians 3:16 “16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!”

John 14:27 “27 “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.”

Colossians 3:15 “15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

2. “Will guard your hearts and minds”

Our hearts and minds shouldn’t be easily pulled by the world, but they are:

TELEVISION / PHONES / LUST OF EYES / FLESH / PRIDE OF LIFE.

If we don’t keep our eyes on Jesus, our hearts and minds are gonna follow, down a path of ignorance and separation from God.

Ephesians 6:10–12 (NASB95)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

When our peace is in Christ, there’s nothing that can cause us distress!

You’ll be like those buoys in the ocean that cannot sink. Whether storm or high waves it doesn’t matter! You’ll rise above them all.

If your peace is in Christ, this world CAN’T drag you down!

Peace, LITERALLY guards your heart!

“Because of Christ, I WILL not give in to sin”

Peace guards you mind!

“Because of Christ I KNOW what is right.”

And the peace of Christ produces peace in us. A peace that we are called to share with the world.

3. “In Christ Jesus”

We can’t have peace with God on our own. I can’t MAKE it right with God on my own… peace comes through Christ.

He is our head, and we are his members

He is the cornerstone, and we are built upon him

There’s no peace we can have with God apart from Jesus our savior.

Ephesians 2:12–19 (NASB95)

12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;

18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

Matthew 5:9 (NASB95)

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The devil is a troublemaker

To be a peacemaker… you have to have peace within your heart already.

You cannot give what you don’t possess

You have to know peace in Christ for yourself, so you can give it away

Not a “oh I’m at peace with the world! Yadda Yadda Yadda”

But a peace that results from no longer being estranged from God

Before we became preachers / Christians… we were separated from God, there was tension.

Didn’t feel like I HAD to be at every service

Flipping TV channels… couldn’t press the button fast enough

The problem is that theres separation / tension between you and Christ.

But when we come to Christ and receive forgiveness for our sins, that estrangement goes away!

That division / separation / coldness goes away… produces joy & peace

Romans 5:1 “1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

WHAT GENERATES PEACE?

“grace and peace to you” .. why? because peace is an outgrowth of grace.

I think the reason we get bogged down today is because we don’t necessarily believe that 100%

We think peace is produced by our performance.

“I studied my Bible today, Im at peace now” or.. “I haven’t been praying like I ought too I’m going to Hell.”

The problem is, you never really know if you live up to the standard, nor CAN you!

“God you have FORGIVEN me of ALL my sin!” …

We have the get off the train that says: I have to be good enough for God, and say: I’m NOT good enough for God, therefore I’ll serve Him as best I can.

When we desire to share peace with God, sometimes it can ring hollow when we don’t have peace with ourselves.

For they shall be sons of God:

The reward of peacemakers is that they are recognized as true sons of God… and share the same passion for reconciliation that Christ had for us

CONCLUSION:

Peace comes from being a child of God.

For the Christian who has obtained peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… how do you keep it?

family issues, financial, stresses of life.

Philippians 4:4–7 (NASB95)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.