Holding Onto God's Peace
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I saw a Meme or Phrase post this week, it said...
Fear does not stop death, it stops life, and worrying does not take away tomorrow’s trouble, It takes away today’s peace!
What a solid statement!
News these days is functioning to hold us in fear. Facebook, instagram, and social media are all playing into those fears. Feeding people’s anger, worries, concerns.
Like there is not enough going on in life between everyday difficulties we all face like sickness, health issues, relational trouble, financial struggles, and then add in COVID, racism, political division and the such!
There is a story about a problem-plagued daughter complained to her chef father about how things were so hard for her.
Her father took her to the kitchen, boiled three pots of water, and placed carrots, eggs, and coffee beans in separate pots.
Twenty minutes later, he took them out and placed them in a bowl. What do you see?” asked the father. “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
The father asked her to feel the carrot, break the egg, and sip the coffee.
The daughter felt the softness of the carrot, noted the hardness of the egg, and tasted the richness of the coffee.
She then asked the father what it meant. The father explained, “Each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had (always) protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.” The father then asked her daughter, “Which are you?”
Which are you?
- Soft carrot
- hard-boiled egg
- or rich, strong, aromatic coffee?
You all know which one I want to be like!!! lol
THe reality is we need to hold onto God’s Peace even when when we experience brokenness, when tragedy comes our way, and when life seems to wipe us out!
That seems easier said than done!
How do we experience the troubles of the world and still hold onto the PEACE OF GOD?
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Jesus told us WE WILL HAVE TROUBLE IN THIS LIFE and in this world will be TROUBLES TOO --- BUT I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD
We may see days of trouble on the horizon, it will not be the first time in this world, though it may be the last! and it may not — the key is to prepare ourselves to HOLD ONTO THE PEACE GOD GIVES!!!
You may feel like the sermon title picture — like you are falling off the cliff - but remember the Jesus we serve has OVERCOME THE GRAVE and HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD and HE IS COMING AGAIN TO MAKE US OVERCOMERS AS WELL!!!
I. Embrace His Comfort
I. Embrace His Comfort
In order to Hold onto God’s peace, we need to embrace the comfort He gives!
1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.
26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
IN order to hold onto peace — we have to EMBRACE THE COMFORT OF THE SPIRIT...
Sometimes I think CHristians like holding onto misery, fear, and unsure situations! Rather than turning them over to Jesus and allowing His Spirit to offer us comfort!
Jesus promised us His Holy Spirit to help us when we are suffering, to bring us peace in whatever we are facing.
Why is it that people want to reject the peace that God sends?
Is there a false security in hanging on to the tragedy, pain, or fear?
Do we feel as if we are denying the difficulty if we embrace the comfort CHRIST OFFERS to us?
The Holy Spirit is the source of comfort for our lives. The Greek word used in John 14 is interchangeable – helper/ comforter.
That tells us when we allow the Spirit to guide us, HIS HELP BRINGS COMFORT!
Where does He guides us? To a place of refuge and hope. It is a SAFE PLACE away from the danger and fear, a place that builds us up and allows us to carry on with the strength that only He can give us.
The Spirit helps us to remember the things God has spoken! He knows what we each need in accordance with God’s Word.
For each one, the comfort He brings is different. God knows the Word we need to hear in our moment of suffering –
The beauty of praying in the spirit is that when your troubled, you can come and pray, allowing the Spirit to pray through you, and it edifies the soul of the one praying. Paul tells us this in
4 A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.
It allows you to experience God’s presence with you.
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.
A peace that passes understanding!
Embrace the COMFORT the Spirit desires to give to you, and learn from Him that His peace may guard your heart!
II. Abandon Yourself to His Protection
II. Abandon Yourself to His Protection
To abandon something is to ultimately leave it!
To ensure there is no real hope of return.
To abandon ourselves to something – is to basically forsake everything else putting ALL OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET!
So, abandoning ourselves to God’s protection, means putting ALL OF OUR CONFIDENCE in the safety He brings us!
It is an ultimate display of TRUSTING HIM.
The Psalmist tell us in
1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
If God is a place of refuge and strength, we place our utmost confidence in Him!
He becomes our hiding place!
THe end of that same Psalm says in
10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD - I will be honored by every nation — HOld it,
Didn’t Jesus say - I have overcome the world!!! Yes, one day EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD...
So do we have to be afraid now, or can we abandon ourselves to the security and protection that Christ has for us...
No matter what we are going through - Sickness, grieving, financial struggle - we can abandon ourselves to trusting in JESUS and allowing God to be our refuge ---
Yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil!!!
What is trying to scare you today??? Abandon yourself to the Lord’s protection.
To Be still and wait on Jesus --- DO not run to potential resources, but WAIT on THE RESOURCE - Christ HIMSELF - HEALER, PROVIDER, DELIVERER
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH – Isaiah wrote!
and remember that...
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
III. Accept God’s Sovereignty
III. Accept God’s Sovereignty
If you were to look up the word “sovereign” in the dictionary, you would find words and phrases like “superior,” “greatest,” “supreme in power and authority,” “ruler,” and “independent of all others” in its definition.
The way to explain God’s sovereignty best is simply to say, “God is in control.”
There is absolutely nothing that happens in the universe that is outside of God’s influence and authority. As King of kings and Lord of lords, God has no limitations.
THAT’S RIGHT
GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THE WORLD AND IN YOUR LIFE!
Consider just a few of the claims the Bible makes about God:
6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.
- God is above all things and before all things. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is immortal, and He is present everywhere so that everyone can know Him
16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
- God created all things and holds all things together, both in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible
The world is sustained by His Hand!!! --- The old song - He’s got the whole world in HIs Hands! Even when the world seems spinning out of control, remember He knows the future!
33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
- Even when the world seems spinning out of control, remember He knows the future! He knows all things past, present, and future. There is no limit to His knowledge, for God knows everything completely before it even happens
17 “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!
- God can do all things and accomplish all things.
Nothing is too difficult for Him, and He orchestrates and determines everything that is going to happen in your life, in my life, in America, and throughout the world.
Whatever He wants to do in the universe, He does, for nothing is impossible with Him
19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.
20 Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands.
21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!
- God is in control of all things and rules over all things. He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels, and demons. Even Satan himself has to ask God’s permission before he can act
That’s what being sovereign means. It means being the ultimate source of all power, authority, and everything that exists.
Only God can make these claims; therefore
It’s God’s sovereignty that makes Him superior to all other gods
Just as peasants always bowed before their king for fear of offending the one who had the authority to take their life, God’s sovereignty compels us to bow before Him.
Will we accept His sovereignty, because only then can we accept His peace knowing HE is in full control of all things!
REMEMBER that unlike corrupt earthly kings who abuse their authority to terrorize their subjects, God rules in love. He loves you and wants the best for you.
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
This allows us to rest, knowing His will is to work things for good in our lives, and though we cannot see it now, if He is SOVEREIGN and in CONTROL, He will accomplish His purpose in our lives!
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
IN these days of uncertainty…
Take hold of the peace God offers by:
- Embracing His Comfort
- Abandoning yourself to His Protection
- Accepting His Sovereignty
We may know trouble in this world, but take heart - HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD!
