Living a Life of Peace
A lot of people thing that living a life of peace is impossible, but Isaiah says in Isaiah
26:3,12 “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he
trusts in thee. Lord Yahweh, thou will ordain peace for us, for thou also hast wrought
all our works in us”. We have to be like Joseph, who received the dream of God and
believed it, and was able to keep it in focus regardless to what happened to him.
Joseph told his brothers and parents about his dream of them bowing down before
him and his brothers envied him and became jealous and took Joseph and put him in
a well first, then sold him as a slave, but told their father that he was dead, showing
their father the coat which he had given to Joseph which they tore and put animal
blood on. As Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave, his master saw the favor of God
on his life and made him head over his house. Even after his masters wife lied on him
because he would not commit adultery with her and he ended up in prison, the keeper
of the prison saw the favor of God on his life and made him head over the prison. We
see that his dream did come to pass, he was made second in command in Egypt and
was able to save his family in the famine. You see that God was with Joseph even in
the hard times and made it better for him.
We can have peace in the midst of the storm. Jesus says “peace I leave with you, My
peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27), it wouldn’t have said “let not your heart
be troubled” if we didn’t have the power to do it. Now lets look at Paul and Silas when
they were beaten and put in jail, “and at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
praises to God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great
earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the
doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. God was with them in their
darkest hour. Notice not only Paul and Silas was loosed but all the prisoners, and the
jailer even got saved because he saw the peace in their lives and asked, “what must I
do to be saved”.
God told Moses to have Aaron and his descendants pray for the Israelites, so that He
could bless them (Numbers 6:24-29) “the Lord Yahweh bless thee, and keep thee.
The Lord Yahweh make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The
Lord Yahweh lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall
put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them”. As you pray this
blessing over people, you will be sowing seeds of peace for yourself; and Galatians 6:
7 says “be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he
also reap”. Paul prayed in every letter he wrote to the churches, he blessed them with
grace and peace. We should pray for peace on each other.
We are told to pray for all men (I Timothy 2:1-4) “I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. For
kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth”. Paul tells us in Romans 12:18 “if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live
peaceable with all men”. Jesus gives us the secret, He says “I say to you love your
enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for
those that spitefully use you and persecute you”(Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28).
You have to seek peace (I Peter 3:11) “let him turn from evil, and do good, let him
seek peace, and ensue it”. The Bible tells us how Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:
16 “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
heart to the Lord”. Psalms 37:37 says “mark the perfect man, and behold the upright,
for the end of that man is peace”. What’s good about that is that when we make
Jesus the Lord of our lives, we are made the righteous of God in Christ. Psalms 119:
165 says “great peace have they which love thy law (thy word), and nothing shall
offend them”. That’s why we always tell you to read your Bible. Proverbs 16:7 says
“when a man’s ways please God, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with
him”. Remember Hebrews 11:6 says “but without faith, it is impossible to please Him,
for he that comes to God, must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him”. We please God by our faith, faith is believing what God says
and acting upon it. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness,
and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he that in these things serveth Christ, is
acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things
which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Romans 14:17-
19).
Peace comes from God (Psalms 29:11) “the Lord Yahweh will give strength unto His
people; the Lord Yahweh will bless His people with peace”. In Psalms 85:8 the Bible
says “I will hear what God the Lord Yahweh will speak, for He will speak peace unto
His people, and to His saints, but let them, not turn again to folly”.
Christ is our peace (Romans 5:1) “therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Ephesians 2:13-16 “but now in Christ Jesus
you who sometimes were far off and made near by the blood of Christ. For He is our
peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition
between us. Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make in Himself of two, one new man, so making
peace. And that He might reconcile both to God in one body on the cross, having
slain the enmity thereby”.
It’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance; against
such there is no law”, and is available to us. We are told that “if we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit” verse 25.
When problems come we are told to “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say,
rejoice” (Philippians 4:4), then goes on to tell us how in verses 6-9 the Bible says “be
careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests by made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally
brethren whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, if
there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things
which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do; and the
God of peace shall be with you”.
Paul is saying for them to do what the saw him do, this sounds like what Jesus said
when He said “I only do what I have seen My Father do”; and He told us that the Spirit
when He comes will not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He
speak (John 16:13).
As we present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God, laying down our will and
agreeing with His word, and as we submit ourselves to Him and resist the devil, we will
live a life of peace. Peace doesn’t mean the absence of problems, but in the midst of
the problems knowing God who will bring us out. When James says “count it all joy
when you fall into divers temptations, we can ask God for wisdom to get out of any
problem (James 1:2-5).
Psalms 34 says in verses 1-7 “I will bless the Lord Yahweh at all times, His praise shall
continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord Yahweh, the
humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord Yahweh with me, and let
us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me
from all my fears. They looked to Him, and were lightened; and their faces were not
ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord Yahweh heard him, and saved him out
of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear
(reverence) Him, and delivers them”; verse 19 says “many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord Yahweh delivers him out of them all”.
I Corinthians 10:13 says “there has no temptation taken you but such as is common to
man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able,
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear
it”. As we understand this, we can go to God and ask for the wisdom to get out of any
problem. He said “I will never leave you, or forsake you”. Trust God for He is good.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: August 8, 2008
A lot of people thing that living a life of peace is impossible, but Isaiah says in Isaiah
26:3,12 “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he
trusts in thee. Lord Yahweh, thou will ordain peace for us, for thou also hast wrought
all our works in us”. We have to be like Joseph, who received the dream of God and
believed it, and was able to keep it in focus regardless to what happened to him.
Joseph told his brothers and parents about his dream of them bowing down before
him and his brothers envied him and became jealous and took Joseph and put him in
a well first, then sold him as a slave, but told their father that he was dead, showing
their father the coat which he had given to Joseph which they tore and put animal
blood on. As Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave, his master saw the favor of God
on his life and made him head over his house. Even after his masters wife lied on him
because he would not commit adultery with her and he ended up in prison, the keeper
of the prison saw the favor of God on his life and made him head over the prison. We
see that his dream did come to pass, he was made second in command in Egypt and
was able to save his family in the famine. You see that God was with Joseph even in
the hard times and made it better for him.
We can have peace in the midst of the storm. Jesus says “peace I leave with you, My
peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27), it wouldn’t have said “let not your heart
be troubled” if we didn’t have the power to do it. Now lets look at Paul and Silas when
they were beaten and put in jail, “and at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
praises to God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great
earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the
doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. God was with them in their
darkest hour. Notice not only Paul and Silas was loosed but all the prisoners, and the
jailer even got saved because he saw the peace in their lives and asked, “what must I
do to be saved”.
God told Moses to have Aaron and his descendants pray for the Israelites, so that He
could bless them (Numbers 6:24-29) “the Lord Yahweh bless thee, and keep thee.
The Lord Yahweh make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The
Lord Yahweh lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall
put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them”. As you pray this
blessing over people, you will be sowing seeds of peace for yourself; and Galatians 6:
7 says “be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he
also reap”. Paul prayed in every letter he wrote to the churches, he blessed them with
grace and peace. We should pray for peace on each other.
We are told to pray for all men (I Timothy 2:1-4) “I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. For
kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth”. Paul tells us in Romans 12:18 “if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live
peaceable with all men”. Jesus gives us the secret, He says “I say to you love your
enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for
those that spitefully use you and persecute you”(Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28).
You have to seek peace (I Peter 3:11) “let him turn from evil, and do good, let him
seek peace, and ensue it”. The Bible tells us how Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:
16 “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
heart to the Lord”. Psalms 37:37 says “mark the perfect man, and behold the upright,
for the end of that man is peace”. What’s good about that is that when we make
Jesus the Lord of our lives, we are made the righteous of God in Christ. Psalms 119:
165 says “great peace have they which love thy law (thy word), and nothing shall
offend them”. That’s why we always tell you to read your Bible. Proverbs 16:7 says
“when a man’s ways please God, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with
him”. Remember Hebrews 11:6 says “but without faith, it is impossible to please Him,
for he that comes to God, must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him”. We please God by our faith, faith is believing what God says
and acting upon it. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness,
and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he that in these things serveth Christ, is
acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things
which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Romans 14:17-
19).
Peace comes from God (Psalms 29:11) “the Lord Yahweh will give strength unto His
people; the Lord Yahweh will bless His people with peace”. In Psalms 85:8 the Bible
says “I will hear what God the Lord Yahweh will speak, for He will speak peace unto
His people, and to His saints, but let them, not turn again to folly”.
Christ is our peace (Romans 5:1) “therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Ephesians 2:13-16 “but now in Christ Jesus
you who sometimes were far off and made near by the blood of Christ. For He is our
peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition
between us. Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make in Himself of two, one new man, so making
peace. And that He might reconcile both to God in one body on the cross, having
slain the enmity thereby”.
It’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance; against
such there is no law”, and is available to us. We are told that “if we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit” verse 25.
When problems come we are told to “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say,
rejoice” (Philippians 4:4), then goes on to tell us how in verses 6-9 the Bible says “be
careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests by made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally
brethren whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, if
there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things
which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do; and the
God of peace shall be with you”.
Paul is saying for them to do what the saw him do, this sounds like what Jesus said
when He said “I only do what I have seen My Father do”; and He told us that the Spirit
when He comes will not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He
speak (John 16:13).
As we present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God, laying down our will and
agreeing with His word, and as we submit ourselves to Him and resist the devil, we will
live a life of peace. Peace doesn’t mean the absence of problems, but in the midst of
the problems knowing God who will bring us out. When James says “count it all joy
when you fall into divers temptations, we can ask God for wisdom to get out of any
problem (James 1:2-5).
Psalms 34 says in verses 1-7 “I will bless the Lord Yahweh at all times, His praise shall
continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord Yahweh, the
humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord Yahweh with me, and let
us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me
from all my fears. They looked to Him, and were lightened; and their faces were not
ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord Yahweh heard him, and saved him out
of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear
(reverence) Him, and delivers them”; verse 19 says “many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord Yahweh delivers him out of them all”.
I Corinthians 10:13 says “there has no temptation taken you but such as is common to
man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able,
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear
it”. As we understand this, we can go to God and ask for the wisdom to get out of any
problem. He said “I will never leave you, or forsake you”. Trust God for He is good.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: August 8, 2008
