Power of Christ
PEACE TO YOU
Lesson Summary
This lesson discusses peace from God and worry which is from the devil. The goodness of God’s peace and how we can get that peace is presented. Your emphasis should be on letting God’s peace rule in you and thanking God for this great gift of comfort. Read Psalm 34 and Colossians chapter three.
Lesson Outline
I. What Is Peace?
II. Where Does It Come From?
III. Should We Have It?
IV. How Do We Get It?
Lesson
PART I – What Is Peace?
A standard dictionary gives nine or ten definitions for peace that boil down to two ideas. One is “lack of conflict,” the other is “freedom of the mind from annoyances, distractions, and the like.”
This talk is not about peace as a lack of conflict. For our purposes, the definition of peace is - to be free from harm in your spirit, mind and body (courtesy of Steve Currington). The opposite, then, of peace is worry – to live in fear of harm in your spirit, mind or body.
Notice that true Godly peace is a condition of your spirit, mind AND body together. A worry state exists if there is fear in your spirit, mind OR body.
PART II – Where Does It Come From?
First of all, since worry comes from fear, we know that it is no from God: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NJKV). So worry should not be a part of a Christian’s life.
Now let’s look at peace. The obvious Scripture is Phillipians 4:6,7: “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 understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus” (NKJV).
Note that it says the peace of God surpasses all understanding. That’s why Proverbs 3:5 says to trust the Lord with all your heart and LEAN NOT on your own understanding. Furthermore, 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our cares on God because He cares for us – in other words – DON’T WORRY!
Now back to Phillipians and God’s peace guarding our hearts and minds. Imagine a picture of a circle with your heart and mind inside that circle. That circle is God’s protective wall around us and it is consistent with what is written in Psalm 139:5 – that God builds a hedge of protection around us.
Is God a good builder? According to Matthew 16:18, God built His church on the rock (Peter) and not even the gates of hell can prevail against it. That means God is a good builder. Such a good builder in fact that the wall of peace that He builds around our hearts and minds is so strong that even the devil himself cannot knock it down!
PART III – Should We Have It?
Peace is something we should strive to receive from the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the Bible says so. In Psalm 34:14 we are told to avoid evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. Then, in Colossians 3:15, Paul tells us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. The word “let” means that we don’t even have to try to do anything. We just need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.
Finally, when you have God’s peace in your heart, you will automatically spread that peace around – you will be a peacemaker. Do you remember what Jesus said about peacemakers? In Matthew 5:9, Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (NKJV). Do you want to be a child of God?
PART IV - How Do We Get It?
Alright then. Now you know that God’s peace is a good thing to have. The question you are probably asking yourself right now is – How do I get God’s peace?
Well Micah 5:5 gives us a pretty good idea. Micah chapter 5 talks about the ruler who shall come from Bethlehem. Verse 5 says that He shall be our peace.
Here comes the good news. By the way, whenever you hear the term “good news” you should immediately think of Jesus. Why? Because the word gospel means “good news” and the gospels are about Jesus.
I turn your attention to John 14:27 (KJV) Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you.
So we don’t need to try and get peace, we already have it! All we need to do is use it. Read John chapter 14 twice and put Jesus’ words into action. The peace that surrounds you will surpass all your understanding.
Questions
1. What is peace?
2. What is worry?
3. Where does worry come from?
4. How do we get God’s peace?
5. How does God’s peace guard our hearts and minds?
PRAYER
Dear Lord, I know I have the peace of your son Jesus in me. Thank you for giving me this great gift of comfort. Your peace keeps me calm when worry comes my way. When life’s troubles are upon me, please help me to allow Your peace to guard my heart and mind. I ask this in the name of your son, Jesus. Amen.
Lesson Summary
This lesson discusses peace from God and worry which is from the devil. The goodness of God’s peace and how we can get that peace is presented. Your emphasis should be on letting God’s peace rule in you and thanking God for this great gift of comfort. Read Psalm 34 and Colossians chapter three.
Lesson Outline
I. What Is Peace?
II. Where Does It Come From?
III. Should We Have It?
IV. How Do We Get It?
Lesson
PART I – What Is Peace?
A standard dictionary gives nine or ten definitions for peace that boil down to two ideas. One is “lack of conflict,” the other is “freedom of the mind from annoyances, distractions, and the like.”
This talk is not about peace as a lack of conflict. For our purposes, the definition of peace is - to be free from harm in your spirit, mind and body (courtesy of Steve Currington). The opposite, then, of peace is worry – to live in fear of harm in your spirit, mind or body.
Notice that true Godly peace is a condition of your spirit, mind AND body together. A worry state exists if there is fear in your spirit, mind OR body.
PART II – Where Does It Come From?
First of all, since worry comes from fear, we know that it is no from God: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NJKV). So worry should not be a part of a Christian’s life.
Now let’s look at peace. The obvious Scripture is Phillipians 4:6,7: “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 understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus” (NKJV).
Note that it says the peace of God surpasses all understanding. That’s why Proverbs 3:5 says to trust the Lord with all your heart and LEAN NOT on your own understanding. Furthermore, 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our cares on God because He cares for us – in other words – DON’T WORRY!
Now back to Phillipians and God’s peace guarding our hearts and minds. Imagine a picture of a circle with your heart and mind inside that circle. That circle is God’s protective wall around us and it is consistent with what is written in Psalm 139:5 – that God builds a hedge of protection around us.
Is God a good builder? According to Matthew 16:18, God built His church on the rock (Peter) and not even the gates of hell can prevail against it. That means God is a good builder. Such a good builder in fact that the wall of peace that He builds around our hearts and minds is so strong that even the devil himself cannot knock it down!
PART III – Should We Have It?
Peace is something we should strive to receive from the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the Bible says so. In Psalm 34:14 we are told to avoid evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. Then, in Colossians 3:15, Paul tells us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. The word “let” means that we don’t even have to try to do anything. We just need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.
Finally, when you have God’s peace in your heart, you will automatically spread that peace around – you will be a peacemaker. Do you remember what Jesus said about peacemakers? In Matthew 5:9, Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (NKJV). Do you want to be a child of God?
PART IV - How Do We Get It?
Alright then. Now you know that God’s peace is a good thing to have. The question you are probably asking yourself right now is – How do I get God’s peace?
Well Micah 5:5 gives us a pretty good idea. Micah chapter 5 talks about the ruler who shall come from Bethlehem. Verse 5 says that He shall be our peace.
Here comes the good news. By the way, whenever you hear the term “good news” you should immediately think of Jesus. Why? Because the word gospel means “good news” and the gospels are about Jesus.
I turn your attention to John 14:27 (KJV) Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you.
So we don’t need to try and get peace, we already have it! All we need to do is use it. Read John chapter 14 twice and put Jesus’ words into action. The peace that surrounds you will surpass all your understanding.
Questions
1. What is peace?
2. What is worry?
3. Where does worry come from?
4. How do we get God’s peace?
5. How does God’s peace guard our hearts and minds?
PRAYER
Dear Lord, I know I have the peace of your son Jesus in me. Thank you for giving me this great gift of comfort. Your peace keeps me calm when worry comes my way. When life’s troubles are upon me, please help me to allow Your peace to guard my heart and mind. I ask this in the name of your son, Jesus. Amen.
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