Lord We Need You: Peace

Introduction

Fear. It grips us. It can control you and everything that you do. Fear of man, fear of disease, fear of war, fear of failure, etc. God does not want us to be controlled by fear of everything around us. He doesn’t desire us to be controlled by the unknown. He doesn’t want us to be anxious about the next day. He desires for us to live in peace with Him. Our world is never going to know peace completely because it does not know Him. People who do not know the supernatural peace of God are confused by those who display it. In times of famine, disease, war, inhumanity, greed, hardship, economic turmoil, and evil people without God cannot know peace that a follower of Jesus knows. And even as a follower of Christ we can be caught up in the things around us and become so preoccupied with ourselves and the events around us that our peace crumbles in front of us. But how can we have peace today? How can we live in unprecedented times of turmoil and anxiety, and depression, and evil and STILL have peace that passes all understanding?

Peace today comes from an everlasting God

Worldly peace looks different than godly peace

Wordly peace comes from the natural sources.

WP happens ONLY when there is no war, when there is no strife with other nations, people or communities. It is dependent upon governments getting along, rulers acting ethically or correctly towards their people. Historians say that this is one of the most peaceful times in history…that is crazy to think that with everything going on we are actually living in one of the most peaceful times in human history.

Godly peace comes from a supernatural source.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” Isaiah 53:5. God’s peace comes from the death of Christ on the cross. The sinner that has gone astray, who deserves to die, who deserves to be punished Christ died and because He died there is now a way of peace with God.

“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” Colossians 1:20. The point of these 8 verses in Colossians 1 is to explain Christ being first in all things and ultimately his death on the cross is the work that is going to reconcile all things to himself. Everything that worldly peace can offer you is temporary and does not last. But the peace that Christ offers us through His death on the cross is eternal and lasts forever. Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Worldly peace=temporary Godly peace=eternal

The greatest question when we think about how we can have peace doesn’t rest in whether or not America can get along with Russia or whether or not we have another world war. These are some heavily weighted questions, but not the greatest. The greatest question is whether or not we have peace with God.

Peace of God in our lives is a gift from God

In John 13 Jesus is telling His disciples that He is going away soon. He is preparing them for His death on the cross and ascension to Heaven and they were not understanding what He was telling them. So in John 14 the night before Jesus’ crucifixion the disciples were scared and fearful. They were uncertain of the future. They felt like something was coming soon but had no clue what it was. Jesus told them that He was going to die but they didn’t believe it. In verse 1 He told them “Let not your heart be troubled” and then in verse 27 He tells them “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.”

The peace of God is a gift. You can’t earn it and God does it for you. In Galatians 5:22 Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. And Jesus says that HIS peace He gives to us…what does that mean? None of us can understand the peace that Jesus had the night before His death. But as Stacey is talking about promises of God in Scripture on Sundays right now the peace that is given to us from God is one that has perfect confidence in God. It’s from realizing that you’re putting your trust in the One who is infinitely wise and powerful, that knows all, that realizes your life is in the hands of the God who loves you enough to send His own Son to die for you, and realizing that the promises God makes in Scripture will never go out void, that He has promised to never let you go. Ephesians 2:5 reminds us that we are trophies of grace for all eternity as living illustrations of God’s grace and what it can do.

How do we get this peace?

Faith in Christ- Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.” We fall out of this peace and start to regain thoughts of anxiety, trouble, and fear when we lean on our own flesh that WE have to do it for OURSELVES and not depending on God and looking to Him for peace and instead depending on the flesh. If you’re anxious start looking for what in your life you are not allowing God to have control of…are you really putting your faith in Him to provide or are you trying to do it all for yourself?

Prayer- Phil. 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We underestimate the power of prayer in our lives. Prayer is our part in every circumstance to come in communication with God with thanksgiving and requests to Him. It is our opportunity to align ourselves with God’s will and direction in every situation. Your prayer life is an indication of how much you are relying upon God. If you have no desparation for Him and His intervention in your life to provide, sustain, work, resolve, or restore then you will have no prayer life. A lack of a prayer life is a lack of reliance upon God. That’s you telling God you’ve got this all on your own that you don’t need Him for this or that.

Trust God- Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” It’s crazy how much all of us love to worry. But this passage is clear when it says LET the peace of God rule. God wants to give us the gift of “my peace.” He wants the Christian to have rest. He wants us to experience that peace that the heart of a man longs for and hungers for. It’s not just for a preacher or a teacher or an elder or a deacon but it is for ALL that are willing to TRUST God in all things and have peace WITH God through Jesus and also have the peace of God. This whole idea of Jesus promising tribulation in this world but also promising peace is a weird experience in the life of the Christian. In the midst of an uncertain, unrestful, chaotic, war-torn world we can have the peace of heaven in our hearts and through our daily experiences.

“THe best way to avoid the shadows is to face the sun.”