The Peace of Jesus. A miserable Christian is Satan s advertisement, and a peaceful Christian is heaven s advertisement. Satan doesn t pay to well.

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Tabitha Rogers
5 years ago
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1 The Peace of Jesus A miserable Christian is Satan s advertisement, and a peaceful Christian is heaven s advertisement. Satan doesn t pay to well. Go with serving God. Give people a taste of what heaven will be like. Walk with such supernatural inner-peace that you leave people baffled and asking questions- wanting to know the Source of your peace. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27). (A day before Jesus was to be taken from them, put into mock trial, beaten beyond recognition, and hung on a tree...) 1. The world s peace is from the outside in, while the peace of Jesus is from the inside out. - Let s take a pill. (Recent studies show that some of the leading prescription drugs are: anti-anxiety pills, sleeping pills, and antidepressant pills.) Let s drink another glass. Let s eat more cake. Let s watch another movie. Let s blast the music. Let s chant, hum, and do yoga. Let s look on those websites. Let s go to the mountains and sit by a river. - The world s peace is all external and sensual, while the peace of Jesus is internal and spiritual. - The peace of Jesus is a fruit of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of every true follower of Jesus (see Galatians 5:22). Fruit trees grow from the unseen realm and become visible and edible. The unseen realm, beneath the soil is a picture of our hearts or our spirits. The

2 peace of Jesus grows from inside out, from your spirit. It s internal- spiritual in origin and nature. - You can experience it in traffic. You can experience it in a Lion s Den. You can experience it in a fiery furnace. You can experience it when you are in a court and everyone is lying about you (See Matthew 26:62-63). You can experience it anywhere and everywhere- any time and every time. You don t have to go to a certain place at a certain time- because it s not dependent on a program or place, but it s from a Person- The God of all peace The Prince of Peace and the the Lord Jesus Christ and 2. The peace of this world has to do with the absence of hardship, while the peace of Jesus has to do with the Presence of God. - The world s peace is experienced when hardship dissipates, when the storm stills, the problems get resolved, the enemies die off or bug off, you get out of debt and now have plenty in the bank account, you get over the sickness, you get promoted at work, you get reconciled with a co-worker or family member. - The peace of Jesus is not sourced in the absence of hardship, but the Presence of God. - It s when there is a well of peace that you can t explain bubbling up inside of you, and things couldn t be worse. It s when you know in your heart of hearts that your life is right with God- you have peace with God through Jesus - the Prince of Peace- and now you sense the peace of God. It s when God becomes more real to you than

3 anything or anyone- and you sense His love and you know He s closer than the air you breathe. - I remember a new believer who got baptized at our church went through our Operation Acceleration. He said, I never in my life, have I known the peace I do know- of being close to God. OA was just an encouragement to get people walking with Jesus. No program is the answer. It s always a person- Jesus is. We just lead people towards Him the best we can. 3. The peace of this world shows up when things are getting easier, while the peace of Jesus usually shows up in greater power when things are getting tougher. - This is partly why people go on vacation. They want to make things easier around them for that week. So let s go on a cruise. No driving. No traffic. No employees to deal with. No employers to deal with. No s to have to reply to. No kids/parents. No phone calls to have to take. No pressure situations. Only food, food, and more food- every kind, everywhere. Entertainment galore. The peaceful ocean. You don t have to make your bed. Hot tubs. Open bar. Sunsets. You can do activities and just be a kid again. After about five days of chilling on the water, they say, Ah, this is the life... - The peace of Jesus shows up in the most profound ways when circumstances stink. The greater the pressure is, the greater the peace will be. I remember when I got the call from my sister that our mom was diagnosed with cancer of the kidney. It was a rough few months for our family. My mom was living in the hospital- and my

4 dad was spending just about every night there. My sister and I would go back and forth. When my sister and I look back to that time, we can t deny the supernatural peace that the Lord gave to our entire family during this time. My sister said, It was like we were buzzed or high the whole time...like amnesia... It s hard to explain. It s too profound. - The three friends of Daniel coming out of the fiery furnace without even smelling like fire is very profound- because the fire was very hot- 7 times hotter than usual. When you come out of your difficult situation, not consumed by it and destroyed by it- and not even scared or stained from it- because of the protective peace of God- it s even more profound. - (Acts 16): The jailer watching Paul and Silas worship in prison after a vicious beating saw that it was so profound. He was mystified! Why would these men- in such a terrible situation- have such peace and joy! The jailer had some degree of the world s peace, when he had job security. But, after the earthquake blew open the doors of the prison and he assumed they would all escape, he was ready to take his own life. Compare Paul and Silas to the jailer. Paul and Silas lose everything- and can still praise God. This jailer thought he lost everything- and wants to kill himself. Paul and Silas had the peace of God. The jailer had the peace of this world. When the jailer saw the difference- he wanted to get saved. - The more painful the problem- the more profound the peace. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him... (Isaiah 59:19). The higher the flood, the higher the peace. The stronger the flood, the stronger the peace.

5 4. The peace of this world is easy to explain, but the peace of Jesus is beyond understanding. - Of course he is relaxed, he s smoking weed. Of course he s at ease, he s on vacation. Of course she s relaxed, it s Friday! Of course he s relaxed, he s been diagnosed as cancer-free. Of course she s relaxed, she s at the beach, not living in the Middle East. - The peace of Jesus surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7). You can t explain it to someone else. It s divine and heavenly in origin. It s divine and heavenly in substance. It s not of this world, so it s not dependent on what s happening in the world. - If we want to experience the peace of God that surpasses all understanding- which serves as a military guard over our hearts, we need to give up the need to understand everything. Instead, we need to just say, Lord, I donʼt know everything. Never have. Never will. But, I trust you. - Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:16) - I read a story that blessed me of a Christian who was being martyred for his faith in Jesus by an executioner. The executioner had his machete, was following instructions, getting ready to murder someone for nothing other than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and refusing to deny Him. The martyr-to-be said to the executioner, Put your hand on my heart. The executioner was stunned, as just minutes before this man would cross over to the

6 other side, he was as calm as he was on his way to attend a wedding. Then the martyr-to-be asked the executioner, Now, put your hand on your own heart... The executioners heart was racingliving in continual violation of his conscience, under the control of evil people and spirits. Then the martyr-to-be asked, Whose heart beats the hardest? Who is more troubled- you or me? - This is not easy to understand. The peace of God surpasses all understanding. 5. The peace of this world is shallow, but the peace of Jesus is deep. - There are people who don t have peace with God. They live their lives in rebellion against God. Yet, they have a proud look, a smirk, haughty eyes, rich and they know it, beautiful and they know it, they seem to be pretty peaceful people. But that is a very shallow peace. It s a very temporary, surface-level peace, that is fleeting quickly. But deep within, there is emptiness, anxiety, and loneliness. - But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked." (Isaiah 57:21) Even this is the grace of God- that they would thirst for the Prince of Peace and find peace with God so they can receive the peace of God. - For the person who has peace with God through the Prince of Peace, and has the Holy Spirit indwelling them. In Christ, we have a deep, eternal peace- and only light and momentary afflictions and anxieties.

7 - This is a big difference that I experienced from B.C. to after Christ. I had fun sometimes B.C., yet it was more surface level. Deep within, I was empty, anxious, and lonely. After I came to Christ, there are times I look and feel anxious- but I have an eternal, deep peace in my heart- from the indwelling Holy Spirit. The surface level anxieties fall off pretty fast. - We have divine peace - a commodity of the Kingdom of God- the Kingdom of God is the only Kingdom that has no end. 6. The peace that the world gives doesn t necessarily make you a peace-maker (humble, compassionate, merciful...), but the peace that Jesus always gives makes you a peace-maker. - Nothing to prove. No ego. You know who you are. Fearful people are controlling. Fearful people are competitive. Peaceful people create peaceful environments. Their inner world affects their outer world. It can ooze out. - On the contrary, the feisty, nasty, sharp-tongued, cynical- they don t have His peace. - You get it from oneness with a Person- you take on His Personality. - One of the Bible definitions of peace is friendly. More peaceful, more friendly. More friendly, a better witness. 7. The peace that the world gives can be easily stolen from you, but the peace of Jesus can t.

8 - The world can take away my apartment, reposes my car, steal my clothe, hack my computer, take my family, but the world can t take away what it could have never given me- the peace of God. - No fireman can put it out. No policeman can arrest it. No judge can sentence it. No congress can impeach it. No terrorist can bomb it. - This is a gift from Jesus. My peace I give unto you. It doesn t rust. It doesn t wear out. It doesn t run out of batteries. It s eternal. It belongs to you. Conclusion: The peace of this world cannot compare to the peace of Jesus. - I don t care what you ride in, if I ride in the peace of Jesus- I m a richer man. - I don t care where you live, if I live in peace of Jesus- I m better off than you. - I don t care what you wear, if I wear peace of Jesus- I m wealthier than you. - If you are a follower of Jesus, you have what the world wants, divine peace. Flaunt it more. Although no one or nothing can take this peace of Jesus away from you, we need to access it continually. We can activate it. 4 Keys to Accessing Peace: (Pin Number) 1. Thanksgiving. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of

9 God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) a. Worry/ choke. Can t fully enjoy the now. i. Bad employee: Costs much, produces little. b. Anxiety/ distraction as a definition. c. Enjoy the moment. i. If us married people would do more than wallow in the past and fret about the future, we could enjoy our spouse so much more. There is a better use of energy than to blame for the past or stress out about the future. ii. I m often thinking about the church- the pains of the past and the uncertainty of the future- but it keeps me from enjoying the present. Worry steals your today. iii. I heard about a wealthy business who was always so worried about losing everything, he didn t even get to enjoy all that he had worked for. He was always living in the future. Some always live in the past. Both can rob us of the present. Be thankful for what s in front of you, for who is in front of you. iv. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (the next verse) Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, (Colossians 3:15-16) 2. Fill your mind with the Word of God. a. Good employee: Costs little, produces much. b. It s not that you think too much, you think too much about the wrong information.

10 c. Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. (Psalm 119:165) 3. Holiness. a. Is anything worth walking away from Jesus gift of peace? I don t think there is anything worth giving up the gift of peace for. b. We don t want a nagging conscience. 4. Closeness to Jesus. a. Prince of peace. (Isaiah 9:6) b. For He Himself is our Peace (Ephesians 2:14). c. (1 Peter 1:2) Peace is multiplied as we know God. d. Peace is more than a feeling, but a Person. Walk with the Prince of Peace as closely as possible and His peace will be a by-product.

The Fruit of the Spirit Peace Pastor Charles Mendenhall

Sunday, August 2, 2015 The Fruit of the Spirit Peace Pastor Charles Mendenhall Hold your bible and declare: Father, I have what this bible says I have, and I am who this bible says I am. I am the healed,