Week 2
LESSON 2
Peace with self and God (Col.3:15)
Rom.14:17-19 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 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.
As a child of God, Jesus in Matt.6 commands us:33 to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness before our basic needs. When we do this, we will have peace and joy. (Note: You cannot have joy without peace and peace comes only through the Lord Jesus. Jn.16:33) As someone who has been hurt or offended and has gotten away from church, the saints, and the Saviour, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost has been replaced with bitterness, anger, hatred, which are the works of the flesh.(Gal.5:19-21) This is a very dangerous state to be in. What happens is that you leave the path that the Lord has for you, the paths of uprightness, and you end up walking in the ways of darkness. Prov.4:18-19 "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble." Where at one time when decisions had to be made, you were being led by the Spirit, God was real in your life, and though life around you was rough, you had that peace that passeth all understanding. Now you're not sure which way to go. You're unstable, and instead of being led by the Spirit, you're being controlled by your hurt, anger, and emotions.
So, what are those things that you need to follow which make for peace?
1) Make peace with yourself. How?
a) Forgive those who might have caused you pain. Mark 11:25-26 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have fought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. A good example of this would be Joseph. Here is a young man who never did anything to his brothers, but because of their jealousy and envy, there first planned was to kill him. When Reuben his brother interceded for him, they then stripped him of his coat that his father made for him, threw him into a pit with no water, and finally came to the realization that they could make some money by selling him off as a slave. He was lied about and thrown into prison. His youth, country, father, family life, all was taken from him. But for all these things, Joseph forgave them. They didn't deserve his forgiveness, but Joseph loved them enough to overlook what they did to him. What all Christians need to realize is that" we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph.6:12. There has been a few times I have been hurt by the brethren and have carried a chip on my shoulder and in my mind I could justify leaving all because of that hurt, but I realized that losing that peace would not be worth the revenge I wanted to take or the hurt that I wanted to inflict on them for what they did to me. If I did those things, I would be leaving that righteous path and would be headed down a wicked path that may have taken years to get off of. Not to mention that I could take others with me. Josh 22:20... man perished not alone in his iniquity.
b) Ask God to forgive those who have caused you pain. Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. After you have forgiven the individual(s), now you need to ask God to forgive them for what they have done. When you come to this stage, God's peace is already working in you. Instead of retaliation, you're asking for restoration between you and others.
It's a wonderful feeling when you can go to God and ask Him from your heart to forgive someone. It truly is a peace that no one can understand. The worlds motto is get back, get even. God's motto is forgive, let go, and go on to perfection.
c) Ask God to forgive you for allowing Satan to get in and cause divisions between you and another child of God. 1 Thes 5:13 ... be at peace among yourselves. This is a command from God. He knows that we will not all get along, that we will say things that are not right. This is why we are told to have longsuffering, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness with one another. The Bible says in Eph.4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not. And the next verse(v27) tells us Neither give place to the devil. So when you do get angry and break fellowship and you quit coming to church, what you've done is give placed to the devil and therefore you've sinned. But know this, it's not always the other parties fault. At times, the fingers point back to us. Col.3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. The question is who's ruling who?
Now that we see how to reinstate true peace within ourselves, how can we have peace with God? Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Get reacquainted with your Saviour. When we are in a backslidden state, we break that precious fellowship with our Father. Scriptures that we were once able to quote from memory are now hard to recall. Where at one time we enjoyed going to church, listening to the preaching, fellowshipping, encouraging other saints, it's now replaced with a feeling of emptiness, loneliness, bitterness, and anger. You've forgotten what God has done for you, the blessings He bestows daily, the price He paid on Calvary so you can have the peace of God when you made peace with God. Get back to you Friend, realize He wants you back in fellowship with Him. But understand that it won't happen until your back in fellowship with others.(Mat 5:23-24) Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. Psa.62:8
In conclusion, after you have made peace with yourselves, others, and God, here are 5 factors you need to remember.
1. Anger and bitterness causes confusion. 1 Cor.14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
2. True peace came when you received Jesus as your Savior. God forgave you when you didn't deserve it. Go, and do likewise to others. Col.1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross
3. The need to swallow your pride and humble yourself in order to get that peace. Sometimes the road God leads us down when we want help is not always the road we would have picked! But if we want that peace, we will pursue it no matter the cost. Psa.34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
4. You need fellowship. It is a very important part of our Christian walk. God never has set it up for Christians to be loners.(Ec.4:9) 2 Tim 2:22 follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
5. You need knowledge. 2 Pet 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
2 Pet 1:5-9 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.