Sunday Sermon: Peace, November 29, 2020

Sunday Sermon at the Grateful Church (UPCI) in Phoenix

Peace

Peace is a state of mind and for peace, to reign in our lives, we must have clean thoughts. Our thought is the bloodstreams of the spirit and our spirit will be less burdened if our trials do not bring the sting of fear, pain, sickness, poverty, loneliness, etc. into our thoughts. It is the evils of fear that vex our minds, exposing our weaknesses and insufficiency. What we need during these raging storms is peace. The purpose of the cross was to break the power of fear and the sting of death from injuring the conscious.1 Cor 15:55,57 - O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

How to have peace in difficult times is the subject of the text.

2 Chron 20:16-17

16 Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

Peace in the Storm

The three strategies to deal with the corrupt influence of fear and the stings to find peace in our storm are:

1. Take a position and know our place in the battle to overcome our fears

   1. Our position is to stand on the promises of God

   2. Our place in the battle is not in combat, God does not need us to fight in the battle

1. Brace yourselves with the truth that we do not have the power and do not know what to do about the issue.

   1. A firm grip on the truth will still our emotions for strength, burden transfer, and sturdiness to avoid wavering in the winds of doctrines.

Isa 26:3 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

1. The belt of truth nails and fastens our thoughts on the promises of God

Eccl 12:11 - The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

1. We must go out and confront the issue to discover 2 things:

   1. There is no one to fight with and the situation is no more

   2. We were delivered before we know it. Jehoshaphat was delivered from the evil stings of fear and the attack of the nations before the go to the battle

   3. If we do not go out and confront the issue, our worst enemy will be fear itself

However, if we go out to meet our challenges only to find that they are no more, we rejoice in our storm. There are peace and joy in knowing that the battle of sin in some areas of our lives is no more. Jesus swallowed death in victory, and we are no longer slaves to the sting of death. May the God of peace keep our hearts and mind in perfect peace during the storm through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.