Peace

Peace 11-08-2020

Well it has been almost a week since our presidential election and we still have no winner

During this you may be frustrated, angry, confused, anxious, and just wondering when it is all going to end

If that is you are in the right place this morning

If that is not you then you are also in the right place this morning

God has something to say about all of this

John 14:27 NASB95

“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.

God has said that He will leave you and I His peace

That is not just a comment in passing but a promise from the speaker of stars

Church do you understand that the God of the universe has given you and I peace and left Peace for you and I that this world cannot and will not understand

Now I know some of you may sit here this morning and say but wait a minute

If God has left me peace then why I am so anxious and confused right now, why don’t I feel His peace

Hebrews 13:8 NASB95

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Jesus is the same that he was yesterday, that he was the day before the election, that he was last year and 20 years ago as He is today and as He will be tomorrow and the next day and the next month and the next year

No matter who wins this election or the next one

In Daniel it says that God removes kings and establishes them

This did not catch God by surprise

God is still very much seated on the throne of God

Praise the Lord that He is still in charge

IN Philippians it talks about peace

Philippians 4:4 NASB95

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

You and I are to rejoice always

Not just when we feel like it, or when it is comfortable, or when it is easy

But we are to rejoice always

Some of you might say why always, cause parts of my life have been a real struggle

But we are to rejoice because of who Jesus is and what He has done for you and I

Understand that you and I have been saved by Jesus’s death on the cross

It is nothing you or I have done

It is nothing we can pay Jesus back for

It is finished and we should be rejoicing in that always

So church let us rejoice this morning

Philippians 4:5 NASB95

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Not only are we to rejoice always, but we are to gentle in how we carry ourselves

That does not mean we are to be a doormat for people to walk all over us, but we are to be gentle in our we deal with other people

For those of you last week who make a covenant with Jesus to follow Jesus, to walk with Jesus, to love Jesus with your entire being, and to obey Jesus

This is how you obey that you and I are gentle in our daily lives, you can be gentle and confront people with sin in their lives

But to be gentle in how we carry ourselves

Because the Lord is near!

Jesus is about to come back and you and I need to genteelly go and tell people about the sin in their lives, and that Jesus died to save them from eternal separation from God

Philippians 4:6 NASB95

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

Now this is a famous verse

This calls us to not worry but to pray

And if we stopped there I am not so sure we would every experience the peace of God

See this verse does call us to not worry

To not be anxious but to pray to the God of the universe

But the way in which it calls us to pray is the key

We are to be a praying people I think we have covered that

You and I know that there is power when the church gathers to pray, we have read about that, and we have experienced that

But this verse takes it a step further

To pray with thanksgiving

We are to be thankful with our prayers

If we are constantly going before God and telling him all about our problems, and issues then that is what will consume our mind

But rather when we take those things to God and then we continue to pray with thanksgiving

To be thankful that you and I have a God who is alive, remember he got out of the grave

To be thankful that you and I have a God who desires to hear from us

To be thankful that you and I have a God who is active in our lives

Church it is more than not worrying and praying

It is to not worry, and to pray but to go to God with a thankful heart

Philippians 4:7 NASB95

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

Notice this starts with And

Which to means that if you do what was previous then what follows will happen

So if we are rejoicing in the Lord and are carrying ourselves gently and are not worrying, and praying with thankfulness

And church I don’t believe this is a check list for you to right down but more of a what should my walk with Jesus be looking like

But if we are doing those things in our personal walk with Jesus we will have the Peace of God

Remember earlier we said that Jesus told us that He will leave us peace, and this tells us that His peace will pass this comprehension

You can have peace this morning about the election and the virus because the peace of God surpasses what this world can even begin to understand

This world is not of God so it cannot understand the peace of God

And that peace if we are doing those things in our own personally relationship with Jesus, if we are doing what Paul is encouraging us to do then that peace that surpassing this worlds comprehension will also guard our hearts

Our hearts can be protected because we are walking with Jesus and staying close to Jesus

I would say that if you are hear this morning and do not have peace this morning I would say you are distant from Jesus

Please be honest this morning and look at your own walk with Jesus and if you are distant then that would be why you do not have peace and are anxious

But you can come back to a right relationship with Jesus this morning by repenting nand running to Jesus and doing the things that Paul calls us to in this passage

Philippians 4:8–9 NASB95

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

The Paul closes this part of scripture

Paul gives us a list

After we are rejoicing always, and being gentle, and not worrying but praying with thankfulness,

Paul gives us things two dwell on

And church we would hear this and go that just makes good sense

Like it almost is shocking that we don’t already do this

But we are to dwell on and to think about truth

God is truth

We are to think about what is honorable

Stop focusing and giving so much attention to the dishonorable

We are to think about what is right

Start thinking about what is right in the world

Jesus is right

We are to think about what is pure

Jesus is the definition of purity, nothing of this world will offer you purity

we are to think about what is lovely

Jesus is again the definition of Love, you cannot love others without the Love of God inside you

We are to think about what is good reputation

We are to stop focusing so much on the negative and the drama of this world and rather than doing that

We are to be praising God

Church we are to praise God

Paul is very clear if you want to experience the Peace of God

If you want the peace that is from God Himself

If you want the peace that this world will not understand

Meaning right now you can have peace and people will see something different inside you

If you want peace that will protect your heart

Then church Paul is very clear, we are to do those things, we are to practice what we just talked about

CLOSING

As we move into this time of invitation

Maybe you are here and you are anxious and you are stressed and you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus

We want to invite you to the front to speak with someone, it is not an invitation to the front to pray a prayer and you are done but we are inviting you to the front if you want a personal relationship with Jesus to repent from your sin this morning and trust in Jesus

Or maybe you are here and you already have a personal relationship with Jesus and you are still anxious and worried, we would invite you to the front this morning to make a covenant with Jesus to do these things

Or maybe you need to spend sometime at the altar in prayer

The altar is open!!