John 16:33 - "These things I
have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have
tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
In this verse Jesus tells us that in Him we can have peace. both believers and unbelievers have troubles in this world, but only Christians can have inward peace in the midst of tribulation. Because inward peace, the peace of God, only comes when we have peace with God, and peace with God only comes through Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 48:22 says - "There is no peace for the wicked," says the Lord." Since there is no peace for the wicked, that means only the righteous can have peace. And like we talked about last time, "There is none righteous" (Romans 3:10). But by faith we are made righteous through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, by His blood and righteousness, everyone who puts there trust in Him has peace with God. Romans 5:1 says - "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
In Ephesians 2:12-18 Paul talks about this and says - "Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father."
So when we were separate from God, while we were yet sinners, enemies of God, alienated in our minds by wicked works (Colossians 1) Christ died for us, and brought us near to Himself by His blood. And not only did He give us peace with God, but He Himself became our peace. He fulfilled the whole law, thus establishing peace with God, and granted us access to the Father.
So, Jesus provided the way for peace. The way has been set before mankind, and we must chose to surrender to Him. To make Him the Lord of our lives. And He will not share lordship. If we're not willing to give Him exclusive lordship of our lives then there is no way we will have peace. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth." God jealously desires the Spirit that He has made to dwell in us. In 1 John 2:15 it says - "Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Not only are we not to make wealth or possessions lord of our lives, but we're not to love the world itself. We're told in James 4:4 that - "friendship with the world is hostility toward God. Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." God wants exclusive rights to our lives, and if we're not willing to give Him complete lordship, then there is no way we can have peace.
But, on the other hand, when we give our lives to Jesus Christ not only do we have peace with God, but He also gives us the peace of God. Going back to John 16:33, Jesus was talking to His disciples and He said to them "In the World you have tribulation" but right before that He said "In Me you may have peace". It is guaranteed that we as believers will suffer persecution in this world. In John 15:18-20 Jesus said - "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you .If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also." And in 2 Timothy 3:12 we're told that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." So it's inevitable that we will have tribulation in this world, but, like I said, right before Jesus said "In the World you have tribulation" He said "In Me you may have peace." That tells me that the peace of God does not depend on our circumstances. No matter what's going on around us, in Christ Jesus we can have inner peace. In the book of 2 Corinthians Paul tells us about many times in his life when he experienced tribulation and affliction, but right along side that he talks about how God comforted him in the midst of his affliction. I'm just going to highlight a few of these instances. In chapter 1 he start off after his usual greeting by saying - "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort."
4:8-9,16-18 - "we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed... Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
7:4-6 - "Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus."
13:11 I think this is an interesting way to end this letter. After sharing with them his hardships he says - "Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." Be comforted, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with them. knowing that trials and affliction are going to come upon us doesn't seem very comforting, but because we know that the God of peace is with us, even throughout the greatest trials, we have great comfort.
But it's not only outward affliction that can cause unrest, but also anxiety. Anxiety can very easily replace our inward peace if we let it, but Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:6-7 to - "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 God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When we take our anxiety to God in prayer and leave it with Him, He will guard our hearts and minds with His indescribable, incomprehensible peace. But we have to leave our worries with Him. Gods peace cannot rule where anxiety is enthroned. And so we're told in Colossians 3 to "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts." Not simply live in our hearts, but actually rule. And when peace is ruling, all anxiety will be cast out. Just a few thoughts about worry:
1) It is completely useless. Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34 - "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
2) It is dishonoring to our faith. Anxiety is fear. Fear of consequences - fear of the future - fear of circumstances - fear of what will happen. Fear shows a lack of faith in God.
3) It hinders the growth of our spiritual life. The fruit of the Spirit begins with love, and perfect love casts out fear. So if we're living with fear of what might happen in the future, the growth of our spiritual life is hindered.
The cure for anxiety, spoken about here in Philippians 4 is, first - Carry all trouble to God, and leave it there. Second - Ask God for the blessing we need, or think we need. Third - Believe that God will do what is best for us. And finally - Cultivate a thankful spirit for all that God has done for us.
We need to "cast all our anxiety on Him, because He cares for us." and verse 7 shows the blessed outcome of doing so. When we cast our cares on Him we shall have the "peace of God which surpasses understanding." And this peace will guard, or garrison, our hearts and minds. As a garrison keeps out enemies, so the peace of God will keep out anxiety and fear.
It's true that we do have trouble in this world but even so, going back to John 16:33, though we have tribulation, Jesus said - "but take courage; I have overcome the world." We can have peace because, even though the world hates us, He has overcome the world. And because He has overcome the world, we can overcome our trials, inward and outward, and have peace in the midst of them. In Romans 8:35-39 we read - "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Even in the midst of great trial, we overwhelmingly conquer in all these things because of His great love with which He loved us. The knowledge of His great love toward us results in inward peace.
Also in 1 John 4:4 it says - "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." And chapter 5 verse 4 says - "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith." Because He overcame the world, we can overcome.
In 1873 there was an American lawyer by the name of Horatio Spafford who decided that his family should take a vacation in England because his friend D. L. Moody would be preaching there in the fall. However, he was delayed because of business so he sent his family, his wife and four daughters on ahead. But during the voyage across the Atlantic their ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, and 226 people lost their lives, including all four of the Spaffords children. Spafford then sailed to England, going over the very place where his children drowned, and as he was passing over he said a tremendous peace came over him. And that's when he penned the words to the song we sing today:
In this verse Jesus tells us that in Him we can have peace. both believers and unbelievers have troubles in this world, but only Christians can have inward peace in the midst of tribulation. Because inward peace, the peace of God, only comes when we have peace with God, and peace with God only comes through Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 48:22 says - "There is no peace for the wicked," says the Lord." Since there is no peace for the wicked, that means only the righteous can have peace. And like we talked about last time, "There is none righteous" (Romans 3:10). But by faith we are made righteous through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, by His blood and righteousness, everyone who puts there trust in Him has peace with God. Romans 5:1 says - "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
In Ephesians 2:12-18 Paul talks about this and says - "Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father."
So when we were separate from God, while we were yet sinners, enemies of God, alienated in our minds by wicked works (Colossians 1) Christ died for us, and brought us near to Himself by His blood. And not only did He give us peace with God, but He Himself became our peace. He fulfilled the whole law, thus establishing peace with God, and granted us access to the Father.
So, Jesus provided the way for peace. The way has been set before mankind, and we must chose to surrender to Him. To make Him the Lord of our lives. And He will not share lordship. If we're not willing to give Him exclusive lordship of our lives then there is no way we will have peace. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth." God jealously desires the Spirit that He has made to dwell in us. In 1 John 2:15 it says - "Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Not only are we not to make wealth or possessions lord of our lives, but we're not to love the world itself. We're told in James 4:4 that - "friendship with the world is hostility toward God. Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." God wants exclusive rights to our lives, and if we're not willing to give Him complete lordship, then there is no way we can have peace.
But, on the other hand, when we give our lives to Jesus Christ not only do we have peace with God, but He also gives us the peace of God. Going back to John 16:33, Jesus was talking to His disciples and He said to them "In the World you have tribulation" but right before that He said "In Me you may have peace". It is guaranteed that we as believers will suffer persecution in this world. In John 15:18-20 Jesus said - "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you .If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also." And in 2 Timothy 3:12 we're told that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." So it's inevitable that we will have tribulation in this world, but, like I said, right before Jesus said "In the World you have tribulation" He said "In Me you may have peace." That tells me that the peace of God does not depend on our circumstances. No matter what's going on around us, in Christ Jesus we can have inner peace. In the book of 2 Corinthians Paul tells us about many times in his life when he experienced tribulation and affliction, but right along side that he talks about how God comforted him in the midst of his affliction. I'm just going to highlight a few of these instances. In chapter 1 he start off after his usual greeting by saying - "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort."
4:8-9,16-18 - "we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed... Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
7:4-6 - "Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus."
13:11 I think this is an interesting way to end this letter. After sharing with them his hardships he says - "Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." Be comforted, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with them. knowing that trials and affliction are going to come upon us doesn't seem very comforting, but because we know that the God of peace is with us, even throughout the greatest trials, we have great comfort.
But it's not only outward affliction that can cause unrest, but also anxiety. Anxiety can very easily replace our inward peace if we let it, but Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:6-7 to - "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 God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When we take our anxiety to God in prayer and leave it with Him, He will guard our hearts and minds with His indescribable, incomprehensible peace. But we have to leave our worries with Him. Gods peace cannot rule where anxiety is enthroned. And so we're told in Colossians 3 to "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts." Not simply live in our hearts, but actually rule. And when peace is ruling, all anxiety will be cast out. Just a few thoughts about worry:
1) It is completely useless. Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34 - "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
2) It is dishonoring to our faith. Anxiety is fear. Fear of consequences - fear of the future - fear of circumstances - fear of what will happen. Fear shows a lack of faith in God.
3) It hinders the growth of our spiritual life. The fruit of the Spirit begins with love, and perfect love casts out fear. So if we're living with fear of what might happen in the future, the growth of our spiritual life is hindered.
The cure for anxiety, spoken about here in Philippians 4 is, first - Carry all trouble to God, and leave it there. Second - Ask God for the blessing we need, or think we need. Third - Believe that God will do what is best for us. And finally - Cultivate a thankful spirit for all that God has done for us.
We need to "cast all our anxiety on Him, because He cares for us." and verse 7 shows the blessed outcome of doing so. When we cast our cares on Him we shall have the "peace of God which surpasses understanding." And this peace will guard, or garrison, our hearts and minds. As a garrison keeps out enemies, so the peace of God will keep out anxiety and fear.
It's true that we do have trouble in this world but even so, going back to John 16:33, though we have tribulation, Jesus said - "but take courage; I have overcome the world." We can have peace because, even though the world hates us, He has overcome the world. And because He has overcome the world, we can overcome our trials, inward and outward, and have peace in the midst of them. In Romans 8:35-39 we read - "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Even in the midst of great trial, we overwhelmingly conquer in all these things because of His great love with which He loved us. The knowledge of His great love toward us results in inward peace.
Also in 1 John 4:4 it says - "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." And chapter 5 verse 4 says - "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith." Because He overcame the world, we can overcome.
In 1873 there was an American lawyer by the name of Horatio Spafford who decided that his family should take a vacation in England because his friend D. L. Moody would be preaching there in the fall. However, he was delayed because of business so he sent his family, his wife and four daughters on ahead. But during the voyage across the Atlantic their ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, and 226 people lost their lives, including all four of the Spaffords children. Spafford then sailed to England, going over the very place where his children drowned, and as he was passing over he said a tremendous peace came over him. And that's when he penned the words to the song we sing today:
"When peace,
like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my
lot, Thou hast taught me to know, It is well, it is well with my soul."
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