My peace I give to you - Gal 5:20

My peace I give to you

January 16, 2011

Gal 5:20

Introduction

• How many of us here could use more peace in our life?
• Peace seems to be less available as the years progress
• Each time Dianne and I visit our kids in LA, we are so aware of the frenetic pace of life
• It is as though each time we go there, there are more cars on the freeway
• Shops are open 24 hours and it is as though there is no time for rest any more
• Here in Susanville, things are not quite so much in the fast lane
• But even here, the pace of life pursues us
• I find that it takes all my available hours to get everything done
• It is not easy to balance work responsibilities with wife and family
• Each summer, Susanville seems to empty and people move to the lakes, at least for the weekends, to enjoy a hard-earned rest

What things detract from our peace?

• Things that get in the way of peace are :
  • the demands of a job
  • time required for education - classes take time and the homework itself can swallow us up
  • the family requires time and emotional involvement
• On top of these scheduling things that stop us from having peace and quiet, other things intrude
  • Relationship problems can take away our peace
  • Maybe fear can get in the way of peace
  • Fear about losing our job, that our home may be repossessed
• We may be afraid of any number of things
• But this is not the way God intended for us to live

In the Beginning

• God created man and placed Adam and Eve in a wonderful garden, a paradise
• The animals did not hurt each other, there was perfect peace and harmony
• God had created everything that was necessary for a peaceful existence
• Adam was the gardener in this utopia
• Gardening is a peaceful kind of job
• It provides time for reflection and thinking, it quiets your senses
• The garden of Eden was a peaceful place

What happened then

• Once Adam sinned, things changed
• The vegetation changed and weeds and thistles started to grow and take over
• The ground became hard and difficult to work with
• The nature of animals and insects changed, and they now turned on each other, and man
• The peace that was once in the garden, was no more
• Man was evicted from the garden, and now had to fend for himself
• Man's nature had now changed as well
• Jer 17:9 – the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure – who can understand it
• Rom 8:7 – the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so
• Adam and Eve's son Cain murdered his brother
• Violence came into the earth and it became so violent that God had to start things over through Noah
• Peace had gone for good.

God offers us peace

• And yet, God wanted man to have peace instead of warring against God and man
• Jesus came to bring us peace
• One of his names is Prince of Peace – Isa 9:6
• That peace came by forgiving us our sins
• Eph 5:1 – Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
• v8 – God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
• When our sins are forgiven, that enmity that came between God and us is removed, and we can now have peace with God

What is peace?

• Strongs – Gr eirene -
  1) a state of national tranquillity 1a) exemption from the rage and havoc of war
  2) peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord
  3) security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)
  4) of the Messiah's peace 4a) the way that leads to peace (salvation)
  5) of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is
  6) the blessed state of devout and upright men after death

Why is peace with God so crucial?

• When we don't have peace with God, we are subject to our sinful nature that is hostile to Him
• If we are hostile to God, it will be impossible to live at peace with others, because man does not know the way to peace
• The fruits of the flesh are given in Gal 5:19
• These lead to the kind of society we see around us

But God gives us the Holy Spirit

• When we repent and turn to God, he comes and dwells in us through his spirit
• He sends us the Comforter, Helper, the One who comes alongside
• The Holy Spirit in us starts to produce outward evidence of His inward presence
• This is through the fruits of the Spirit
• This is why Jesus said in Matthew 7, you will know them by their fruits
• The tree will produce fruit according to its nature
• Hostility, fear and anxiety belong to the sinful nature
• But the fruits of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, are listed in Gal 5:22-23

And so God gives us peace

• That peace, is the absence of rage, and warring
• It gives us harmony between individuals
• It gives us assurance of our salvation
• It gives security, safety, prosperity
• It gives a sense of God being in charge of our lives, and that He will take care of us

Psalm 46

• We do not need to fear
• The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress (v7, 11)
• God tells us “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (v10)
• So whatever we are going through, we can be still, and look to God for help – he will be exalted and show himself strong on our behalf
• I can be at peace because my God is on my side and will work out all things for good in my life, because I am called according to His purpose - Rom 8:28