Sermon notes: Peace

The Peace of God
Philippians 4:7    And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

So how can I experience peace?
4 simple steps

1. Salvation
If you do not know Christ as savior then you can never know peace because you are living as a condemned person with no hope.

Ephesians 2:12    That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13    But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14    For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

PRAISE GOD!

Acts 4:12    Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

2. Get out of sin
Although you cannot lose your salvation, you can be cut off by sin from having close fellowship with God.
Psalm 66:18    If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

3. Give your problems to God
Many people claim that they are saved by God, that they believe in Christ, and have trusted Him with thier soul, they claim to have faith in God.... But so often we claim to have trusted Christ with our never dyeing soul and fail to trust Him with our simplest needs.  1st Peter 5:7    Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.




3 thoughts that keep us from giving our problems to God

1. The thought: God doesn't care about my problems
A lie from Hell!
The devil wants you to think that God is to big to care about your needs, but God cared enough about your soul to send His son to His death for you and I.     John 3:16

2. The thought: I don't want to bother God with it

God already knows your needs and He wants to help you, but He wants you to ask for the help.

Matthew 6:8    Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Luke 11:9    And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

The problem is we talk ourselves out of asking

3. The thought: I can handle it on my own

1st Corinthians 3:19    For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
1Co 3:20    And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

We are imperfect people, therefore our plans on how to "fix it" will also be imperfect wether we see it or not.

4. Recognize and submit to Gods authority

Job lost,
The lives of his children///The health of his body///The respect of his friends///The means of his income///The faith of his wife

After Job lost his children he was able to say one of the simplest, yet hardest to accept statements in all the bible.

Job 1:20    Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
Job 1:21    And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 1:22    In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

We must remember it is not for us to understand why things happen...

Why the loved one died
Why I'm sick
Why there is strife and conflict
Etc etc etc

We don't need to understand the trial as long as we understand that God is still in control and that He... Not we... But He has the best plan for us.

Philippians1:20    According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.


So how can we have peace?

Salvation
Forsake Sin
Give our problems to God
Recognize and submit to Gods authority


Jeffrey s. Lynn