Fruit of the Spirit - Peace
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Introduction
We are continuing our series on the fruit of the Spirit…the fruit that God manifests in us as a result of us having the Spirit of God dwelling in us…The outworking of the Spirit in us when we walk in step with the Spirit.
Today’s fruit is peace...
Like a calm sea on a sunny day.
Many years ago, I used to go up to Portrush to surf all the time. And normally in Portrush there are some waves. But this was before the days of webcams, so I would never know exactly what the waves were like before I left the house.
Sometimes I would get to the sea, the sun would be shining and there would be NOTHING. I mean the sea was as calm as a lake. There would have been just these teeny tiny waves that tickled your ankles - they were called ankle-snappers.
The sea was peaceful.
It’s how I imagined the sea of Galilee was after Jesus calmed the storm…like glass. Not a ripple except the tiny ripples coming from the boat as it glided through the water.
Of course, some days, when there is a storm brewing, the opposite can be the case. There have been times that the waves have been SO big that I’ve not even bothered going into the water for fear of drowning.
But not those days…on those calm days the sea was like glass…it was so peaceful and tranquil.
Is that kind of peace available to us?
Pause
And what is peace? Is peace the absence of war? Is peace the absence of worry or stress?
Yes, but peace is more than that.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word, Shalom, is the word for peace. And it meant more than an absence of war or stress…it gave the impression of wellbeing.
I think of it like sometimes when you’re on holiday and you’re happy and rested and relaxed and you feel that all is right in the world.
When I was on honeymoon, we got a massage on the beach which cost £2 for an hour. And at that time I had finished uni and hadn’t yet started my job. That was going to start when I got back. So I wasn’t worried about my job. I’d just got married, so we were literally in the honeymoon period.
And we were in the sun, in a tropical paradise, getting a massage. I felt relaxed, I felt not a worry in the world, all was right.
That’s kinda what I think of when I think of Shalom. It’s what Adam and Eve must have felt in the garden of eden before they sinned, but MUCH MUCH better than that.
Pause
But where is that today?
Because when we look at the world, peace appears to be something missing from the world.
Apparently, over the last 3,400 years, only 268 of them have been years when the entire world has been at peace. How they know what was happening ALL over the world 3,400 years ago, I’m not quite sure. But let’s say those statistics are correct…268 years of peace in the last 3,400 years. That’s not much peace.
[show slide]
Look at the screen. On the screen is a map that shows the current conflict in the world right now.
Those red dots are areas of war or conflict in the world. The world is not at peace...
…Where is the peace on earth that the angels mention at Christmas?
The world is not like a glassy sea with no waves. The world is like a storm.
However, as David Jeremiah states, in his book on the Fruit of the Spirit - The problem is not with nations, it is with nature…human nature....the flesh.
If you remember our passage, which we’re reading every week in the hope that we can perhaps remember it after this series is over, the Spirit is at war with the flesh. They are against each other… They are OPPOSED to each other.
Our human nature wants to sin, and if you look around the world, the conflict and wars are due to humanity’s sinfulness.
Because when the flesh is doing what the flesh wants to do, there is no peace - because the flesh and Spirit are at war.
And those people who have not trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins don’t even HAVE the Spirit in them, so all they have is the sinful flesh.
And where there is sin, there is no peace.
Pause
Ok, how do we get peace…and I’m not talking about world peace…I’m talking specifically, how do we get peace with God?
Because Sin has broken our peace. Sin makes us at war with God and at war with each other and even at war within ourselves. Sin destroys peace. You want peace in your life then sin needs to be addressed.
In the garden of eden there was peace, because there was no sin.
In Revelation, in the new heaven and new earth - in the city of God, there is peace, because sin is not present there.
We are living between the two - we’re living in the book, and we are dealing with sin on a daily basis. And it’s sin that gets in the way of peace.
But thankfully, God took the first step in helping us on our way.
Let’s look at our other passage we read...
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 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 access to the Father by one Spirit.
So on the cross, it’s like Jesus reached up and grabbed the hand of God the Father, and he reached down and grabbed our hand and brought the two together. And the New Testament word for peace is Erienay - which means joined together. And that’s what Jesus did. He joined us with the Father.
Because when Jesus died on the cross and took our punishment for sin - the war between God and us was over and God was able to look at us and not see our sin anymore, but instead see Jesus and his righteousness.
Because God cannot look at sin.
Think of it like this...
We can’t look at the sun without hurting our eyes. And when there’s a solar eclipse, people wear special glasses - stronger than sun glasses - which filter out the light so they can see the sun.
It’s a bit like that with sin.
God cannot look upon sin. It repulses him. Habakuk 1:13 tells us that.
So in our sinful state God cannot look upon us. A bit like how we can’t look at the sun.
But when Jesus died on the cross he became that filter through which God can look at us and see us as righteous.
Without Jesus, God could never look on us.
And without Jesus we were not at peace with God…why? Because of our sin.
But Jesus took our sin on himself and he clothes us with his righteousness. He’s the filter that filters our our sin and instead shows us as being righteous, so that God, the Father, can look at us and bless us and so that we can enter into his presence.
And that’s why Jesus is OUR peace.
Paul also says the same thing in Romans 5:1...
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Which means that the fact that believing that Jesus died on the cross is one thing - addressing your sin and repenting of it and putting your faith and trust in Jesus is a totally different thing.
Pause
So, first and foremost - for anyone who is worried about the future - about where they will go when they die, about whether their sins are forgiven…that’s a real worry and there’s no peace for anyone who is anxious about that.
For those people, if they can say yes to these next couple of questions then they do not need to worry…they already have peace with God.
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
Do you believe that he died to pay the punishment for sin and that he rose again?
Have you repented of your sin and confessed your sin to Jesus?
Have you asked him for forgiveness?
Is Jesus Lord of your life?
Then you have peace with God.
Pause
But it goes deeper than that…Because while we may have peace with God, we can still struggle with sin and since sin gets in the way of peace, we can still not have peace in our lives even though we are Christians.
Paul lists the works of the flesh, which we’ve looked at every week...
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
These are the works of the flesh…which is in opposition to the Spirit. Which means that if anyone is exhibiting anything in this list, they will not have peace.
So, answering the questions above, you might have peace with God. I don’t know your heart...Only God knows if you’ve truly repented of your sin.
So heaven when you die? Maybe, perhaps…sure... I don’t know…but if there is unconfessed sin that you are practising in your life…if there’s something in this list that you are doing and you haven’t brought it before the Lord…Heaven when you die? Maybe, but are you exhibiting what it means to have life in the kingdom of God right here on earth? Not at all.
And will you have real peace in this life here on earth? Are you at peace even within yourself? Not a chance.
Because these are works of the flesh, and the flesh is in OPPOSITION with the Spirt. And when you are FEEDING the flesh, there will BE NO PEACE.
Pause
Peace comes from God - it comes through our faith in Jesus Christ, and that makes peace between us and God. But it also comes as a manifestation of the Spirit of God in our lives. And the more we are in step with the Spirit, and the less the flesh is driving, the the more peace we will have in our lives.
Sin and peace do not go hand in hand.
And the more we are in step with the Spirit, the more peace we can have in times of trouble.
Jesus says, in John16:33...
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Notice the words Jesus uses…In ME you will have peace…In the WORLD you will have trouble.
Jesus doesn’t say, now that you follow me you will have an easy life. He says, that in this world we WILL have trouble.
But we can take heart because the world cannot harm us because in HIM we have peace…and he has overcome the world.
Remember earlier I mentioned when Jesus calmed the storm…In the story when Jesus calms the storm, where IS he and what is he doing?
The disciples are in the boat, it’s getting tossed around like mad. They are frightened for their lives, and where is Jesus?
He’s with them…He’s in the boat with them…and he’s asleep.
Before Jesus calmed the storm there was peace in the boat…because in Jesus there is peace. So in the middle of the storm, peace was present.
So while we have peace with God through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can also have peace in this world through Jesus Christ - and that is through the Holy Spirit, which is why it is a fruit of the Spirit.
Pause
So, this evening’s service is a prayer ministry healing service. Most of you know how this works. Each and every one of us can come to the front and receive prayer for healing - and for peace.
We can receive prayer to have this state of wellbeing - to be free from the pain and torment that illness brings…but also to be free from the pain and torment that sin brings - because, remember, sin gets in the way of peace.
There may be some people here who are not at peace. Maybe it’s because of sin. Maybe it’s because if illness. Maybe it’s because of stress and anxiety.
Tonight is an opportunity to receive prayer over that and let the Holy Spirit free you from your pain and torment and bring you peace.
Paul says in Philippians 4...
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
If you want peace, you NEED to present your requests to God...
If you don’t have peace and you would like peace, I would invite you to come forward and receive prayer. It might require you to confess your sin…you don’t need to tell us what that sin is, but you do need to confess it to God when you’re being prayed for. But until you do, you won’t have peace.
So if you want peace, you NEED to present your requests to God. Here is the opportunity to do that...
To bring your sickness before God and pray for healing.
To bring your sin before God and pray for forgiveness.
To bring your stress and worry before God and pray for peace.
Can the prayer team come up to the front now please? Johnathan, can you play something quietly on the piano, please?
Like last time, I’m going to walk around and come up to the front first, because I would like prayer for peace. If you want peace too, please follow in behind me.