Let the peace of Christ rule

How to be thankful in an unthankful world

By Letting the peace of Christ “rule” in your Heart

Nothing turns us into bitter, selfish, dissatisfied people more quickly than an ungrateful heart. And nothing will do more to restore contentment and the joy of our salvation than a true spirit of thankfulness.

The need for thanksgiving points to the need for true peace.

The need for peace in our world can be seen in every corner of the world.

Today people are trying to find peace in isolation of “man caves, she sheds.

Also by living off grid, moving to the most remote places on the earth.

They are seeking peace through the avenue of isolation and quietness.

People long for peace.

The peace many are seeking can be defined by a few words.

Tranquility, calm, stillness, and loneness.

This kind of peace can be found.

However, it will only last if the storms of life are held at bay. Life is one storm after another.

They came like the waves of the ocean beating on the beach.

When you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, there is a rest and contentment in your heart that can’t be explained by words. That will lead to thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:7 NASB95

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

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

How can we Let the peace of Christ rule

1. What is the peace of God?

a. Its Christ peace

b. Its only found in Christ

c.

John 14:27 NASB95

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.

d. “The peace of Christ” is different from any other kind. In the brief hours before he died, Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” ().[1]

e. The peace is the Peace Jesus called “my Peace”

f. Can you imagine having the peace of Christ in your heart.

g. He gives us his own personal peace. It is not just the peace we experience when there is no conflict. It is a sense of wholeness and well-being, completeness and totality[2]

h. It’s the presence of Christ.

i. His peace and his presence are marvelously associated in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures[3]

j. ,

Numbers 6:24–26 NASB95

24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

k. The Lord bless you, and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

And give you peace.[4]

2. How does the peace of Christ rule in our lives?

a. “Let the peace of Christ be umpire in your heart amidst the conflicts of life. Let it decide what is right. Let it be your counselor.”

b. We are changed by the peace of Christ

c. Our lives are different old /New

d. Ills.

e. An old story which comes from the Salvation Army in the last century tells of a strong-willed woman who had been nicknamed “Warrior Brown” because of her fiery temper. She was often belligerent and became enraged whenever she got drunk. Then one day she was converted. Her entire life was wonderfully changed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. At an open-air meeting a week later, she told everyone what Jesus had done for her. Suddenly a scoffer threw a potato at her, causing a stinging bruise. Had she not been converted, she would have lashed out at the man furiously. God’s grace, however, had made such a profound change in her conduct that she quietly picked up the potato and put it into her pocket without saying a word. No more was heard of the incident until the time of the “harvest festival” months later. Then the dear lady who had been known as “Warrior Brown” brought as her offering a little sack of potatoes. She explained that after the open-air meeting she had cut up and planted the “insulting potato,” and what she was now presenting to the Lord was “the increase.” Warrior Brown had allowed “the peace of Christ” to be umpire of her life.[5]

f.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB95

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

g. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.[6]

3. How do we know If the peace of Christ has stop ruling in our lives?

a. When we step out of His will (even unintentionally), we lose His peace.[7]

b. When the believer loses his inner peace, he knows that he has in some way disobeyed God.[8]

c. When we obey the will of God, we have His peace within[9]

d. “And be thankful,” a command repeated at the ends of and 17. When the buckets we carry are full of Christ, our lives are bathed with the peace of God in thanksgiving[10]

4. Beware of a false peace

a. he is fleeing from the presence of the lord

b. Jonah deliberately disobeyed God, yet he was able to go to sleep in the hold of a ship in a storm! [11]

c. “I had peace about it!” is not sufficient evidence that we are in the will of God[12]

d. Jonah thought he was at peace, when actually his sins created a storm![13]

e. Have you ever claimed to be at peace with God but knew it was not true?

f. The peace of Christ cannot be argued with a false pretense

5. The test of the Peace of Christ in our life

a. How is your relationship with God?

b. ,

Psalm 32:3 NASB95

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.

Psalm 32:4 NASB95

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.

When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night

your hand was heavy on me;

my strength was sapped

as in the heat of summer. [14]

c. When there is peace in the heart, there will be praise on the lips: “And be ye thankful”[15]

d. David finds peace in God

e. When David covered up his sins, he lost his peace and his praise (; ). When he confessed his sins, then his song returned.[16]

Psalm 32 NASB95

A Psalm of David. A Maskil. 1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. 6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. 11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Psalm 51 NASB95

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. 16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 18 By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

f.

Psalm 32:7 NASB95

7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

You are my hiding place;

you will protect me from trouble

and surround me with songs of deliverance. [17]

g.

Psalm 32:11 NASB95

11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

h. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;

sing, all you who are upright in heart!

i. Are you at peace with others?

j.

Philippians 4:6 NASB95

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

k. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.[18]

Ills.

4299 Christ Of The Andes

High up in the Andes Mountains, there stands a bronze statue of Christ. Its base is granite, and the figure is fashioned from old cannons. It marks the boundary between Argentina and Chile.

Engraved in Spanish are the words, “Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer.”

For many years, the people of these two countries had been quarrelling about their boundaries. Both countries were suffering from the mistrust created.

In 1900, when the conflict was at its peak, some citizens begged their leaders to ask King Edward VII of Great Britain to mediate the dispute. On May 28, 1903, the two governments signed a treaty ending the conflict.

During the celebration that followed, Senora de Costa, a noble lady of Argentina who had done much to bring about peace, conceived the idea of the monument.

Senora de Costa had a statue of Christ shaped from the very cannons that had been used to strike terror into the hearts of the Chileans. It was taken to the summit of Uspallata Pass and was set up at the point where the two countries meet amidst perpetual snow.

At the dedication ceremony, the statue was presented to the world as a sign of the victory of good will. Senora de Costa knelt and prayed, “Protect, O lord, our native land. Ever give us faith and hope. May fruitful peace be our first patrimony and good example its greatest glory.”

This monument stands today as a reminder that only Christ can bring real peace to the world.

—Gospel Herald

Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 990.

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[1] R. Kent Hughes, Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ, Preaching the Word (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989), 110.

[2] R. Kent Hughes, Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ, Preaching the Word (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989), 110.

[3] R. Kent Hughes, Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ, Preaching the Word (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989), 110.

[4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), .

[5] R. Kent Hughes, Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ, Preaching the Word (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989), 110–111.

[6] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), .

[7] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[8] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[9] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[10] R. Kent Hughes, Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ, Preaching the Word (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989), 111.

[11] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[12] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[13] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[14] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

[15] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[16] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 139.

[17] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

[18] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), .