Jesus said in John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
Jesus stated that the peace He offers is a gift. We can’t earn it. We can’t buy it. We can’t use our willpower to find it. It is a gift. But as with any gift it is useless if not opened. His gift is so desirable that it is wrapped in five layers. So let’s unwrap the five layers to get to this marvelous gift.
THE FIRST LAYER IS OBEYING GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS
Psalm 119:165 “Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.”
God’s Word is the instruction manual for life. He designed us. He knows all about out buttons and knobs. He knows what it takes for our lives to run smoother. And He has placed it in his Word for our information.
If you ignore God’s Word you run that same risk for your life. If you are struggling with peace be sure that you are following his instructions. That responsibility is on you.
THE NEXT LAYER IS ACCEPTING GOD'S PARDON
Micah 7:18 “Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!”
In the Hebrew the word pardon meant to be lifted up and carried off. Our guilt was lifted up at the cross when Jesus became our sins. Our guilt was carried off and thrown into the sea of forgetfulness. God has chosen to forgive our failings. We must learn to forgive ourselves. We will never find the gift of peace if we do not pardon ourselves for our past mistakes. We cannot change the past but we can change the future. God’s word says He delights in showing unfailing love. He delights in forgiving us. We need to find delight in forgiving yourself.
NOW THE LAYER OF TRUSTING GOD
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Please don’t misunderstand. I am not advocating stumbling along with a blind faith that God will handle everything and nothing will go wrong. I do believe that God, at times, will help us through our stupidity. We are still responsible for our spiritual maintenance. We should not ignore when our spiritual warning light comes on. And that warning light is stress due to loss of peace.
When you allow stress to dictate your life, you have loss the peace that comes from trusting God. In the midst of stressful situations we are to fix our thoughts on God. We are to trust that He is in control.
When Jesus was in the garden, He was under so much stress that He began to sweat drops of blood. He asked God to provide another way for man’s atonement. His thoughts were fixed on his death. But when He fixed his thoughts on God’s will He became filled with peace.
Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.” The Hebrew word for be still meant “to hang limp, be feeble.” We are to rest in the midst of our situations. We are to recognize that some situations are out of our control and learn to trust God.
THE NEXT LAYER IS SEEKING GOD'S WILL
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
The writer of Proverbs gives us three commands and a promise. We are to trust in God. We are to put confidence in him and his choices for our life.
We are not to try and figure out circumstances. We are not to rely upon our own understanding. We do not have the mind of God or his ways. We are to seek his will. We are to recognize that God is in complete control of all the situations that occur in our lives. Nothing occurs that He does not allow for His purpose.
When we quit trying to manipulate our circumstances but instead trust God and seek his will, we have the promise of peace. When we have this spiritual peace then God begins to show us the direction He desires for us to travel.
Jesus was able to sleep in the midst of a storm. Peter was able to sleep on the night before his execution. They trusted God, did not attempt to understand God’s entire plan, and sought his will.
THE LAST LAYER IS PRAYER
Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
What are you worrying about? Have you prayed about it? Nothing is too insignificant to God. Whatever we worry about we should pray about. We are to pray about everything. We are to share our most intimate needs with God followed by thanksgiving for the times that He has shown himself faithful.
When we quit worrying and allow God to interact with us through prayer, things will begin to change. When we off-set our list of needs with worship for what He has already accomplished, we will begin to experience a peace we cannot begin to understand. It’s the type of peace that comes in the midst of a tragedy in life that assures us that we will survive through this pain.
This peace will act as a filter to our hearts and minds. We will discover that adversity has actually made us stronger.
There is a prayer that I am sure many of you have heard. It is, “God, grant me the peace to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Let this be our prayer today.
~Bits and Pieces of sermon by Larry Turner
