From Roots to Fruits (Week 3 - Peace)
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Attention:
Imagine that a ship gets caught in a severe storm at sea.
The passengers are panicking, running around, and screaming in fear.
In the midst of the chaos, a young boy is sitting quietly and calmly.
When someone asks him why he’s so calm, the boy replies, “My father is the captain of the ship. I trust him to bring us safely through the storm.”
Tie-In:
Just like the boy trusted his father to navigate the storm, we can trust God to give us peace in every area of our lives: with Him, with others, and within ourselves.
But all of this begs one important questions...
Q. How would you define “peace”?
Generally, peace can refer to one of two things:
A lack of conflict
An inner feeling
But God’s peace is different!
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Q. What is it that makes God’s peace different?
A condition or sense of harmony, well-being, and prosperity.
God’s peace is more than just the absence of conflict
It is a state of being
It is also can be a deep, inner wholeness
This week, we’re going to look at the amazing fruit of “peace” that is promised to those who love and follow Christ.
We will do this by looking at the three types of Biblical peace
Three Types of Peace:
Peace with God
Romans 5:1 (NLT)
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Q. According to this verse, how do we get peace with God?
The Gospel is ultimately a story about peace
Q. What is “the Gospel?”
Its not just four books
The Gospel is the story of the entire Bible!
And its all about peace
In the beginning, when God made man in His image, Him and mankind were at peace with each other; there was nothing separating Him from us
We know from Scriptural context clues that God literally walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden!
It doesn’t get much more personal than that.
But we all know how the story goes.
When Adam and Eve sinned against God, there was no longer peace between them.
The bridge between God and human kind had been cut down.
But the good news of Jesus that we read about in this verse is that, through His death and resurrection, when we trust Him in faith, He makes us right before God, so that now we are at peace again.
This is a type of peace that is permanent; nothing can shake it away!
Having peace with God is the most important type of peace to have, because without it you don’t have salvation
Everyone who has a relationship with Jesus has peace with God, regardless of any way that they are feeling from moment to moment.
And this type of peace is foundational to other types of peace;
Without having peace with God, you cannot have true peace in other areas.
The Gospel is a Gospel of peace
Illustration:
Imagine a village separated from a city by a deep river.
The only bridge connecting them was destroyed in a storm.
The villagers couldn’t reach the city for help, trade, or connection.
They felt isolated and hopeless.
One day, a master builder came to the village and promised to rebuild the bridge.
He worked tirelessly, and in a short time, the bridge was restored.
The villagers could now cross the river, reconnect with the city, and their lives improved significantly.
The destroyed bridge represents the separation between humanity and God caused by sin.
Jesus, the master builder, restored our connection with God through His death and resurrection.
When we trust Him, we are at peace with God, just like the villagers felt relief and joy when the bridge was rebuilt.
Application:
Do you have peace with God?
Or to put it more simply, are you saved?
It is possible to come to church your whole life and to never give your life to Jesus
Have you truly handed Him the keys to your life?
If you haven’t, there can be peace between you and God today!
I would love to chat with you about this (and so would any other leader)
But what about if you are already saved?
How are you allowing the peace between you and God to flow into other areas of your life?
Do the daily choices that you make show an accurate depiction of someone who has peace with God?
If not, what can you do to change that?
This isn’t just about “doing better” - it is about RESTING in the peace of God, realizing you don’t have to measure up because Jesus already did
And then, from that standpoint, you follow in obedience from a place of thankfulness towards God for allowing there to be peace between you and Him
Embrace the peace of God!
Transition Statement: And God isn’t the only one we should have peace with.
Three Types of Peace:
Peace with God
Peace with others
Ephesians 4:2–3 (NLT)
2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
Q. According to this verse, how do we have peace with others?
First, we must be humble
Being humble isn’t thinking less of yourself; it is thinking og yourself less
Q. What’s the difference between these two?
Thinking less of yourself = low self-esteem
Thinking of yourself less = treating others the way that you want to be treated
Humility = “having an accurate estimate of one’s worth.”
We have to see ourselves and others correctly in order to experience peace with others
Second, we have to be patient
I am REALLY impatient when it comes to some things.
I burn my tongue all of the time because I get excited to drink coffee or tea and don’t want to wait for it to cool down.
It is especially hard to be patient with other people
People are messy (us included!)
But peace with others requires patience
We need to be good listeners
We need to give people the benefit of the doubt
We’ll talk a lot more about patience next week!
Third, we need to be loving
Q. What does “making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love” mean?
To show others grace and mercy
We need to remember that nobody is perfect
We love people in spite of their mistakes
Of course, we do have to make boundaries with people sometimes
But even that is done out of love
Illustration:
In a community garden, various gardeners have their own plots.
Some gardeners work together, sharing tools and helping each other, resulting in beautiful, thriving gardens.
Others refuse to cooperate, leading to messy, neglected plots.
The garden flourishes where people are humble, patient, and supportive of each other.
They make allowances for each other's mistakes, share their resources, and work through conflicts peacefully.
Our relationships are like the community garden.
Ephesians 4:2-3 teaches us to be humble, patient, and loving.
When we live this way, our relationships flourish, and we experience peace with others, just like the cooperative gardeners.
Application:
What is your relationship with other people like in your life right now?
Who do you have peace with?
Who don’t you have peace with?
Your parents
Your sibling
A former friend
What can you do to help there be peace in these situations?
Pursue peace in your day-to-day relationships and interactions with others!
So we have talked about “peace” as a state of being, but what about peace as a feeling within?
Three Types of Peace:
Peace with God
Peace with others
Peace within
Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Q. What is inner peace like, and how is it different that the other types of peace that we have talked about?
Feeling peace mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc
Q. According to this verse, how do we get this type of peace?
By trusting God and praying
Prayer is the path to inner peace
Q. Where does this type of peace come from?
Inner peace is an overflow of the state of peace between us and God and others
Ultimately, our inner peace comes from the Holy Spirit, who has an infinite supply for us
Remember: peace is part of the “fruit” of the Spirit!
Think about this; we have access to an infinite supply of peace through the HOly Spirit!
As we think about the peace of God, it should create a feeling of inner peace within us
Having peace with God makes it easier for us to have peace on the inside
Q. How is this type of peace described in this passage?
It “exceeds anything we can understand”
There are no words for it; it is just great
Illustration:
There was a village by a lake known for its calm, clear waters.
No matter the weather, the lake remained still and peaceful.
The villagers drew their drinking water from it, swam in it, and enjoyed its tranquility.
They knew that even when storms raged around them, the lake would remain a place of peace.
One day, a traveler asked a villager, "Why is your lake always so calm?"
The villager replied, "The lake has deep springs that feed it constantly. No matter what happens on the surface, the depths remain undisturbed."
Our hearts can be like the calm lake.
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us that through prayer and trusting God, we can have peace that exceeds understanding. T
his inner peace, like the deep springs, comes from the Holy Spirit, who constantly sustains us, no matter the storms we face.
Application:
How peaceful does your life feel right now?
What is it that is holding you back from inner peace?
Maybe you have stuff going on in your life that is making you really anxious
Maybe you’ve been finding your identity in what other people think of you, and it has you worn out.
What would it look like for you to hand your concerns over to God in prayer?
You can start this tonight!
Spend some time before you leave in prayer (we will do this together both here and in small groups), and spend more intentional time in prayer before you go to bed tonight.
If you’re saved, spend some time thanking God for establishing peace between you and Him, and allow that state of peace to transfer over into inner peace.
Conclusion:
As part of the fruit of the Spirit, peace is one of the blessing that the follower of Christ gets to experience
It is a state of being at peace with God, and it is a sense of inner-harmony.
As we get ready to split into small groups, let’s think about our own lives as they relate to peace, and let’s share about ways we can continue to experience peace in them.
PRAY