Liberty Advocate http://www.libertyadvocate.com/
Peace On Earth
Part 1
by Karen Pansler-Lam, J.D.
You
must not yield to overwhelming worry and grief and fear
You
must not yield to overwhelming worry and
You can have peace in your heart.
Is your heart troubled?
Do you lack peace in your heart?
Do you yield to overwhelming worry and grief and fear over evil in the world?
Do you yield to overwhelming worry and grief and fear during your trials and tribulations?
Jesus promises to give you peace:
Peace
I leave with you,
Jesus Christ - The Prince of Peace - came so that you may have "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).
You
can have peace in your heart.
The Prince of Peace
The prophet Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Prince of Peace:
For
unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. Of
the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon
the throne of David, and
upon his kingdom, to
order it, and
to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The
zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah
9:6,7 And
the Book of Luke records the announcement of the birth of Jesus to the
shepherds: And
the angel said unto them, Fear
not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which
is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying
in a manger. And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory
to God in the highest and on earth peace, good
will toward men. Luke
2:10-14
The peace promised by The Prince of Peace is twofold: 1) Peace on earth within the true Church – the body of sanctified believers: and when Jesus returns to rule over the earth; and 2) Peace within us when The Prince of Peace reigns in our hearts. “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). And Paul writes to the Colossians: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15).
Some professing Christians mistakenly believe that Christ has called us to worldly peace through an unholy alliance with enemies of Christ – ecumenism. This is not Biblical and will be discussed in part 2: “Peace on Earth: Ecumenism is Unholy Unity.” Paul writes to the Ephesians: “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We are called to unity in the true body of Christ, not unholy unity with false religions in hopes of world peace. Ecumenism is the spirit of antichrist.
This message will focus on inner peace: when The Prince of Peace rules in your heart.
Peace Through the Blood of the Cross
The first step in having peace in your heart is to be reconciled to God. You must be born again. You must be sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit. You cannot have peace in your heart if the Holy Spirit does not dwell within you.
And,
having made peace through the blood of his cross, by
him to reconcile all things unto himself; by
him, I say, whether
they be things in earth, or
things in heaven. And
you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by
wicked works, yet
now hath he reconciled. In
the body of his flesh through his death, to
present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If
ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and
be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which
ye have heard, and
which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; Whereof
I Paul am made a minister. Colossians 1:20-23
Notice that Paul proclaims Christ’s death purchased our reconciliation to God and He will present you “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not be moved away from the hope of the gospel.” This is a conditional promise based on your continuing in the faith, and not sliding back into wickedness. You must continue in the faith. You must walk the narrow path of holiness and not turn back and travel the broad way that leads to destruction. You must not “draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
Jesus is the Mediator of reconciliation, who procures peace as well as pardon for sinners. He has made peace through the blood of His cross. The blood of Jesus atoned for our sins: “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). The shed blood of Jesus releases us from the wages of sin which is death and brings us under the covenant of grace. We are pardoned and accepted into the Kingdom of God.
Are you a sinner? Sinners cannot have true peace in their hearts. You must first be saved. You must pray and ask the Lord’s forgiveness of your sins and consecrate your heart, your mind, your soul, and your body to the Lord as a temple of the Holy Spirit. You must walk in holiness and righteousness. True faith is obedience unto righteousness and holiness: "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).
Be reconciled to God. This is your first step toward peace.
You
Must Have Great Faith
Wherefore,
if God so clothe the grass of the field, which
today is, and
tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall
he not much more clothe you, O
ye of little faith? Matthew 6:30 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why
are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. Matthew 8:23-26 How often has the Spirit rebuked you: “O ye of little faith”? Over and over again, Jesus rebuked His disciples for having little faith: “O ye of little faith.” We often say that we trust in the Lord, but at the same time yield to overwhelming worry and grief and fear. Are you a Christian of little faith? You must be Christian of great faith.
Great faith does not mean that you disregard the duty of diligence in your life. And it does not mean that you ignore the trouble in your life and ignore the trouble in the world. But it is a sin to yield to overwhelming worry and grief and fear. You must cast all your cares upon Him in prayer.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6,7 Notice, we are admonished “in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.” Every thing means every trouble and care – great and small. Thanksgiving means thankful for past blessings and answered prayers; and for future blessings and answered prayers according to His will. Supplication is earnestly pleading for specific needs for ourselves and for others. Prayer is presenting our requests to the Lord. And intercessory prayer is every Christian’s duty. We must pray for our family, our neighbors, our Church, our nation, for all Christians, for the heathen, for missions. And the Spirit intercedes for us! Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26, 27 Matthew Henry comments:
I.
The help of the Spirit in prayer. While we are in this world, hoping and
waiting for what we see not, we must be praying. Hope supposes desire, and
that desire offered up to God is prayer; we groan. Now observe,
But the Spirit only intercedes in Spirit-filled Christians because those who are not Spirit-filled are spiritually dead. They are false Christians. False Christians are those who profess faith in Jesus Christ but refuse to obey His Word. Their life is dead of holiness and righteousness that evidence a true, living faith.
The truth is that only Spirit-filled Christians can have true peace in their hearts during trials and tribulations. It is the fruit of the Spirit… The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Galatians 5:22,23 It is the Christian’s privilege to have peace, which is of God by faith a peace that passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7), which the world can neither give nor take away. But we must come to Jesus as little children in trusting obedience. Distrusting God’s power and wisdom is a sin. And we must have faith in the promises of His Word that He will make “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Would Jesus rebuke you: “O ye of little faith”? Or would Jesus commend you: “O ye of great faith"? You must have great faith. For faith produces peace. And peace produces hope. The God of Hope Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13 The Holy Spirit inspires us with hope. There is an obvious distinction between the true Christian and the hypocrite and infidel. The Christian has hope. The hypocrite and infidel are hopeless; they have no hope that all things will work together for good. Unless they repent and are born again, their eternity is doomed. Are you dark and despondent because you have no hope?
You must not yield to overwhelming worry and grief and fear over evil in the world.
You must not yield to overwhelming worry and grief and fear during your trials and tribulations. The God who loves you with an everlasting love promises He will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Depression and despair come from a lack of faith in God…a lack of hope. In other words, hope springs out of faith. Our hope is not based upon chance or good fortune. Our hope is not based upon the promises of fallible men. Our hope is in God. When your spirit is downcast and sad…hope in the Lord! When the wicked world is gloomy and dark…hope in the Lord! When human help is feeble…hope in the Lord! Believe in Christ as the true Object of hope – “Christ our Hope.” In sorrow and in adversity...hope in the Lord! When the wicked appear to triumph, and injustice and oppression gain the upper hand... hope in the Lord! A day is coming when Truth will triumph over lies and deception! A day is coming when purity will triumph over impurity! A day is coming when righteousness will triumph over wickedness!
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. Romans 12:12
O Christian... Rejoice in hope! Be patient in tribulation! Continue in constant prayer! Don’t let fear and worry and grief overcome you!
Through great faith and great hope you can overcome fear and worry and grief.
You must be a Christian of great faith.
You must be a Christian of great hope. Rejoice! Jesus Christ - The Prince of Peace - has overcome the world! These
things I have spoken unto you, that
in me ye might have peace. In
the world ye shall have tribulation: I have overcome the world. John 16:33 Have peace in your heart.
December 2011 Liberty Advocate http://www.libertyadvocate.com/
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