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The Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Peace
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We have been looking at the fruits of the Holy Spirit—love, joy, and now we come to peace. I wonder if there's anyone here this morning that has a troubled heart or troubled mind. Perhaps you're dealing with issues that are robbing you of your peace.
Throughout the world, we look for world peace amongst the nations—unity and harmony where there is no conflict or distress. We cry out for peace in the Middle East, peace in Russia and Ukraine. We want peace in our communities, peace in Brixton. We call for peace within our homes, and we call for peace in our individual lives.
But the truth is, we live in a peaceless world. There will be conflicts in our homes, disputes in the church, issues in our workplace. Many of us are silent sufferers, going through things that nobody knows about. We may sleep restlessly at night, our minds troubled by stress and distress. We come to church and put on a different facade, but deep down there are things troubling our hearts.
For many, this word peace is an illusion—like trying to find the end of a rainbow. You can never find it. Some feel their lives are just one problem after another. As soon as you get over one problem, there's another issue to deal with.
Jesus Christ knows our condition and the world in which we live. In the midst of His ministry, He says to us:
"In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."
Then He says:
"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
Jesus Christ reads our hearts. He knows what's on your heart right now. Some of you are still grappling with the loss of loved ones. Some are dealing with family separation. Some are struggling with illness. Jesus Christ understands, and I want to say to you: you are not alone.
He says, "Peace I give to you. My peace I give to you. Don't worry about what the world is saying about peace, because that is not peace."
One of the important truths about peace is that real peace is divine. It cannot be obtained through any other way. No matter what we may do to strive for peace, as humans we cannot manufacture it and we cannot find it ourselves.
Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It does not come anywhere else. When you have the Holy Spirit in your life, you will have peace in your life.
Jesus said in John 14:25-27:
"But the counselor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you."
Brothers and sisters, the gift of the Holy Spirit is that He is our comforter. What does a comforter do? A comforter comforts us. In comforting us, the comforter walks beside us in our troubles. The comforter gives you assurance that everything is going to be okay. The comforter calms you down when you're going through your storm. The comforter tells you when you're worried or anxious: don't worry, everything is going to be okay.
When you have the Holy Spirit in your life, while everything around you may be chaotic, while you may not be able to control anything, you can have that inner peace knowing that God is in control of your situation.
Peace comes when we have the conviction that even though I don't know how it will work out, God will fix it for me. God will work it out for me.
In Isaiah 26:3, we are introduced to a very important word for peace in the Hebrew language: shalom.
"Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in him."
In the Hebrew language, they don't have a word for "perfect" because they only consider God to be perfect. So to emphasize the point, they repeat the word: "shalom, shalom"—perfect peace.
But this word shalom is much deeper than just inner peace. It is completeness. It is wholeness. When Jesus healed certain people and restored them, He would often say, "Your faith has made you whole." It is that completeness of shalom.
When we're talking about peace from a Hebrew perspective, we're not just talking about something that comes upon you. We're talking about your whole life. Once your life is filled with the Holy Spirit, you do become complete. You do become whole. You are covered by the presence of God's Holy Spirit.
This word shalom is something which is given to us as a gift.
So some of you may ask: how can I get this shalom peace? I have one issue after another. I'm dealing with so many things. I'm not getting on with family members. I have disputes with someone in the church. My mind is plagued with so many things.
If there's one thing that God has taught us, it is that this peace comes when we do three things.
Job 22:21 says:
"Submit to God and then be at peace with Him. In this way prosperity will come to you."
The first thing we have to do is be at peace with God. If there's something in your life that is not right, if there's a lifestyle path that you're on which is not godly, then you're not at peace with God. You are at enmity with God.
Sometimes we have to fall on our knees and say: "Father, you know my life. You know my weaknesses. You know the issues that I'm dealing with. Father, there's something in my life that is not right. You know it, Lord. Please cleanse me. Forgive me and cleanse me from this thing which I'm engaged in, which I'm doing, which I'm thinking. This attitude, this unforgiveness that I'm harboring, this hatred that I have—whatever it might be, Lord, take it away from me because I need to be at peace with you, Lord."
You can't have peace unless you are at peace with God. You have to reach a point in your relationship where you can say that you have a clear conscience—that you're living up to the light that's been revealed to you. I'm not talking about perfection. I'm talking about striving to live up to that light.
Hebrews 8:12 says:
"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself. The hardest person to be at peace with is yourself.
When you go to God for cleansing and forgiveness in your life and you claim His forgiveness, you have to let it go. Don't bring up your past. Don't feel that you made a wrong decision 10, 15, 20 years ago and beat yourself up about it.
Recognize that if God has forgiven you, He will remember your sins no more. The great God, who knows everything, will decide not to remember your sins. What is important is not what other people think about you. It is what God thinks about you.
If the enemy wants to bring up your past, you know what to do: remind him of his future. Claim God's forgiveness in your life and be at peace with yourself.
Romans 12:18 says:
"If it is possible, and as much as it depends on you, we must live peaceably with all people."
Peace with God comes first. Peace with yourself comes second. And then peace with others.
This is where a number of people fall short. We strive to be at peace with God, yet we come to church and avoid certain people because we're not at peace with them. We say a long prayer and then we still have enmity with someone in the church. You can't have peace in your life if you're struggling to have peace with people in God's church.
How many of you want to go to heaven? We're all coming from the same place—a world of sin—and we all desire to go to the same place—a world without sin. We're all on the same journey.
The church is not a hotel for saints. It is a hospital for sinners. Every one of us has a sin problem. Some are known, some are unknown. But we're all in the same boat, and we all have to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.
What is important is that when we get to heaven, there will be no fractions. There will be no corners—no Jamaica corner, no Trinidadian corner, no African corner, no Filipino corner. We are all going to have to get along together, and we have to learn to do it here on earth.
The scriptures say: "as much as it depends on you." That doesn't mean making a frivolous attempt. It is something you have to do. As much as it depends on you, make the initiative to try to live at peace with other people. They may not reciprocate, but do what you can to make the peace.
When we come into the courts of this temple, we should do so with singing in our hearts, with rejoicing, and we can greet everybody and say, "Happy Sabbath."
As I was preparing this message, I was thinking about practical examples of what this peace is. I often say that peace is a life free from fear, a life free from worry and anxiety. Because if you trust God, you know He's going to take control. When you have peace, you're not going to be burdened. You're not going to be walking around looking unsure about how things are going to work out. You're going to have that presence about you.
This week, I came into contact with two people who demonstrated this peace.
First, I spoke with someone who had been part of my pastoral team in a previous church. She had gone through several years of depression. Certain things had conspired against her, and the enemy had used certain people to attack her. She lost her position and developed mental challenges. But in the midst of her darkness, she heard that still small voice of God speaking to her.
When she was speaking to me about it, she was so joyful. I asked, "What got you out of this situation?" She said: "When I thought about the people who were against me, people who attacked me, people who turned against me, I could have chosen to be bitter towards them. I could have had hatred towards them. I could have asked God to deal with them. But I chose another option. I said, 'Lord, I don't want to get involved in those kind of attitudes and behaviors. Lord, I just want to be free from that.' And I chose the peace option. I have peace in my heart. Things may not have worked out the way I wanted to, but I have peace in my heart."
That was shown through the way she responded.
Second, this week I visited a brother who was ill. He was going through some tests and was a little concerned. I prayed for him. Last week I visited him again, and he shared that his illness had turned into a terminal illness and he was in a hospice. He had lost a lot of weight, but when I spoke to him, he wasn't bitter. He wasn't angry. He wasn't disappointed. In fact, he declared the glory of God in his life.
I asked him, "How are you able to deal with that, knowing that you have a terminal illness?" All I can say is that when you speak to him, you will sense the calmness about him. The assurance that he knows his life is in the hands of God. And that's why brothers and sisters, we're having a baptism today. His name is Edward Harris, and he is here today.
Edward Harris is what I would say is an example of what peace is. In his heart is a peace that passes all understanding. You can't explain it. You can't put human words on it. It is the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Last week, Pastor Johnson was speaking on joy and there was a blackout. He could have become discouraged and not come back on the platform. But he came back through the strength of God with a smile on his face. That was joy in action.
Brothers and sisters, God wants us to know that when the fruits of the Holy Spirit come upon us, you will see it in the lives of God's people.
Maybe there's someone here in this congregation who has a troubled mind. Maybe there's something you're going through and you want that peace that passes all human understanding. There's something going wrong in your life, and you want that peace.
As our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, I want to make an appeal. Maybe someone feels that they are held captive by the enemy. Your life has been going around following what the enemy wants you to do. But today you want that peace in your life. Peace which is freedom from worry. When you're worried about something, it debilitates you, drives you down. You want to be free from that.
I'm going to ask you to join me at the front. I will pray with you. God knows your situation. God knows what it is. Just imagine this is an altar at the front. Just imagine that Christ is here. You're laying your burden at the foot of Jesus right now.
For too long, you've been struggling with something on your mind that's not giving you the peace that you want. I'm inviting you to lay whatever it is at the feet of the cross.
Those of you who are watching online, you can also do the same. You can lay your burden at the foot of the cross right now.
As you stand at the front, the Holy Spirit knows exactly why you've come. He knows exactly what's on your mind. And he is delighted that you have taken that stand today. He wants to give you that perfect peace, that shalom—that peace that will not just cover you, but make you complete.
If you're not able to move out of your seat, just raise your hand. God knows what you raised your hand for.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you truly are a mighty God. You're an awesome God. You are the God above all gods. A God from whom all blessings flow. Father, there is nothing too hard for you. You declare that with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Father, we're doing something here by going through these fruits of the Holy Spirit because we don't just want to pray for the Holy Spirit. We want to have the evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We want to practice what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. Today we have come to the fruit of peace.
Lord, there are people standing at the front where there may be an area of their life that they have not yet got that peace because the enemy has been raging their lives. They've been knocking on the door of their homes. They've been trying to cause friction in their family. The enemy has tried to put a wedge between them and their children. The enemy has been causing problems between marriages. The enemy has been causing issues in their personal lives.
Father, you know what is important. And I'm praying for those individuals right now. They want you to fill their heart with your Holy Spirit right now. Cover them, dear God. Remove anything which is unlike you—any attitude or fault or anything which is unlike you. I'm praying that you will take it away and replace it, Lord, with your Holy Spirit which will fill them with love and joy and peace.
Father, there may be individuals who've been struggling for some time. Lord, let it be today that they will see freedom. Let it be today, Father, that they will gain that victory. Let it be today that they will be able to rise above their situation.
Father, if anyone is worried about anything, I pray that you will remove that worry, remove that fear, remove that anxiety, and give them calmness. You said, "Be still and know that You are God." And we claim your presence right now in our lives.
I'm asking, Father, that as we return to our seats, we will not do so with that same issue. We will do so knowing, Father, that we have gained the victory. No more do we need to return to that situation. You have given us the victory. And we claim that victory right now in the name of Jesus Christ. Let the living saints of God say, "Amen."
