4 Helps -- Peace
Romans 8:5-6 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,Acts 7:54-60 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness
by Study-Leader @ 7:03 AM
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When you hear the word, "Peace," what do you think of?
Rest? Serenity? No conflict, worries, or struggle?
What do you think the angels were proclaiming, when they said, "and on earth, peace, good will toward men"? (Luke 2:14) What did they intend by saying that?
That night was all about the Prince of Peace, God's Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. His coming was itself the sign of God's favor and signalled PEACE in the long rebellion of man against his Creator.
Our Romans 8 passage talks about the kind of peace that is Spiritually imparted and is the opposite of the death that came as the result of sin, (Romans 5:12, 6:23), peace with God, a settled account and destiny with the One Who has the right to judge you:
Romans 8:5-6 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace
When you think about sin, remember that there are many words for this kind of thing: sin ("missing the mark"), transgression, ("breach of a well-defined law"), iniquity, ("lawlessness, contempt for and violation of, the law"). This all talks about our relationship to a standard, and, by implication, a Standard-Maker. This is why R. C. Sproul calls sin, "COSMIC TREASON." We are setting up a rogue government in the universe, moving the center of the universe to our own heart, shaking our fist at, or ignoring, God.
Peace with God is accomplished through the full satisfaction of God's justice by Jesus, our one-and-only righteous representative, "Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4:25) God was, in Jesus, "reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting their trespasses against them..." (2 Corinthians 5:19) "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)
Until we have peace with God, we will never experience the peace OF God. God is the source of true peace. Ephesians 2:14 says Jesus IS our peace. It's possible, though, for even the born-again Christians, to not FEEL peace. The Bible says, " ...be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless" (2 Peter 3:14) We don't always feel peace because we're not always walking in harmony with Him, filled with the Holy Spirit, but the more we make God our fixed point of reference, the standard and measure of all things..the more peaceful we can feel.
The Bible says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3) Peace is the Christian's privilege...but we must daily choose to center our lives on God and His will. Whenever we sin, it proves that we have failed to do that, and we need to ask forgiveness, and to be filled and controlled by His Spirit again. See http://www.growinginchrist.com/satisfied/index.html. The Law doesn't prove that we are walking in the Spirit...BUT IT CAN BE USED TO PROVE WE AREN'T. Romans 14:17 says that the Kingdom of God isn't in meat and drink...but in righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said that He was, in sending the Holy Spirit to live in us permanently, giving us His peace--not in the give-and-take way the world gives...but in a permanent way. He is the SEAL of God on us, the earnest of our inheritance.
Another important aspect of the peace the Holy Spirit provides is that it is a way He confirms the words of God to us. Do you occasionally hear Christians say, "I didn't have peace about that decision." Or "once I was obedient, I felt such a peace..." This is intended to be not just a mystical, unusual experience, but the normal experience of the Christian's life. Two different passages, Philippians 4:7 and Colossians 3:15 tell us that God's peace "keeps our hearts and minds," and "rules in our hearts" or UMPIRES, actually, in the original language.
We are urged to "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." So there is the peace of submission and trust as well as the peace of a settled destiny and peace of making God the rule of all things.
This obedience was key to Stephen's peace that was evident even as he was eing stoned in Acts 7:54-60. His peace certainly wasn't because of his circumstances! But he had just been obedient to God by giving his last sermon. But then again, being "full of the Holy Spirit" was a characteristic of Stephen's (See Acts 6).
Finally, as an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, peace is a supernatural result of the Holy Spirit's control of our lives, according to Galatians 5:22..."the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness..."
It's possible for Christians to discount the peace we have, because we almost don't remember NOT having peace....but it's a powerful testimony to those who don't have Christ in their lives. "There is no peace," the Bible says, "to the wicked." (Isaiah 48:22, 57:21) There is no certainty, purpose or meaning to the life lived apart from God.
Who are some people in your life who would love to know the secret of your peace? Commit to talking to them about it this coming week!
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