The Fruit of the Spirit is Peace

Phil 4:7-9

Using the histories of countries throughout the world, Gustave Valbert reached this conclusion in 1861. From 1496 BC to 1861 AD there is 3358 years. Of those years there were 227 years of peace and 3130 years of war. In other words, there were 13 years of war for every year of peace.

In the last 300 years of history in Europe, there has been 286 wars. From 1500 BC to 1860 AD more than 8000 treaties of peace meant to last forever were signed. The average time they remained in force was 3 years.

If we believe that peace is the absence of war, then there will be no way we will ever experience peace in this world. The ancient Greeks believed that peace was the absence of pain in life. We don’t experience that very often either.

So if peace isn’t the absence of war or the removal of pain, how do we define it? What does Paul mean when he tells us we need to have peace to have the fruit of the spirit? If we are to have peace as a core of our life, we need to understand four things about it.

PRAYER

I. The God of Peace

A. God’s Peace - Phil 4:4-9

1. In this text there are two phrases that deal with peace. The first one is found in vs. 7 - The peace of God.

2. The second is in vs. 9 - The God of peace.

3. Were going to deal with the God of peace first.

4. We need to understand the God of Peace before we can grasp the peace of God.

B. The God of peace

1. This description of God is found 7 times in the N. T. And is the favorite description of God used by Paul.

2. It is important to understand this phrase as the concept is that God is the source of our peace.

a) In an art gallery in Florence, Italy, a visitor can see two rather similar paintings. The one pictures a stormy sea with wild waves and fierce lightning flashing across the sky. In the raging waters the face of a drowning man with an expression of utter despair can be seen just above the surface. The other painting shows an ocean tossed by an equally violent tempest, but in the midst of the waters is a huge rock against which the white-capped breakers dash in vain. In a crevice of that boulder a pigeon is sitting on her nest, quiet and undisturbed by the wild fury of the elements.

b) We need to be like that pigeon sitting surrounded by the peace of God, our Rock.

c) Job 22:21 - Eliphaz tells Job to submit to God and be at peace with him.

d) Eph 2:14 tells us that Christ himself is our peace.

e) To have peace means we have to get it from God and no one else.

C. Let’s take this a step deeper. God is not only the source of peace but is at peace himself.

1. He wants us to have the peace he has.

2. So we come to the second phrase, the peace of God.

II. The Gift of Peace.

A. We need to understand that the peace of God is a gift.

1. In Jn 14”27, Jesus gives his disciples a promise: Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.

2. It is not something we earn, but something that God has chosen to give us.

3. An anonymous author has penned this prayer which is pertinent to the needs of many Christians: "Slow me down, Lord; ease the pounding of my heart by quieting my mind. Steady my hurried pace. Give me calmness amid the confusion of my day. Break the tension of my nerves with the soothing music of Thy love that lives in my memory. Teach me the art of taking 'minute vacations' to pray for a friend or to look at some beauty of nature. Help me to realize there is more to my Christian life than speed. Let me look upward toward the branches of the towering oak and remember that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly. Slow me down, Lord, slow me down."

B. So how does he give us this peace?

1. He gives it to us when we give our lives to him.

2. Rom 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

III. The Presence of Peace

A. Kim Sherer writes: "One night, while my young son Ryan was sleeping, a storm began brewing outside. After a loud clap of thunder, I heard Ryan wake up and run to find me, so I headed toward his room to comfort him. When I tucked him back into bed, he asked me to stay with him until he fell asleep. "As I lay there with him, I realized Ryan hadn't asked me to make the storm go away, but to stay with him. 'How many times,' I wondered, 'have I asked God to take away the storms of life, when instead, I need to ask Him to stay with me and help me weather the storms more peacefully!'"

B. That idea is backed up by our text as well as verses like Jn 14:27 where it says: I don not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

C. When we put our lives in the trust of God, we are protected from the storms of worry, trouble and fear.

1. Notice that Jesus says I will give you what the world does not give.

2. Jesus doesn’t give us worry and fear, the world does

3. If we have the presence of Christ’s peace, we won’t be distracted from the contentment we have in Christ.

4. What gives us that peace?

a) Knowing that no matter what happens in the world, in our lives, we have the contentment of knowing that we have salvation in Christ Jesus.

D. The presence of peace does not mean the absence of all problems.

1. So many young Christians leave God because they get disillusioned with him.

a) I thought all my problems were supposed to go away. They got worse since I became a Christian.

b) 2 things here.

(1) Our peace is in knowing we are saved no matter what happens in our lives.

(2) Secondly, Satan will do all he can to cause problems in your life hoping you will get disillusioned with God.

(3) He’s got the world, he wants you.

2. We need to hold fast to the realization that God guards our hearts and minds with his peace.

a) No matter what, God is still with us.

b) The last few weeks I have been dealing with some personal issues that have really stressed me out. Helene and I have been praying hard for answers. We have been praying about security in our lives. This last week I believe God answered our prayers. Not the way I was expecting, but He rarely does answer them the way I expect. That’s probably a good thing. The answer lies within a sense of peace we found after praying for several days. The situation we are worried about doesn’t really matter in the long run. He will look after us and care for us if we just continue to keep trusting him. Have the problems gone away? No, but a sense of peace in dealing them have replaced the anxiety and stress that was there before.

c) We need to be like that pigeon protected in the rock during the great storms of our lives.

d) We need to trust God and find the peace he offers during those times and all times.

IV. The Practice of Peace

A. It’s one thing to experience the peace of the presence of God, it is quite another to practice that peace with those around us.

1. Paul says to the Colossians: “Let the peace of Christ rule I your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”

2. We need to experience peace as a church.

3. One evening a teenage girl was working so hard at her homework that her father became curious at what captivated her so much. When he asked what she was doing she told him she was writing a report on the condition of the world and how to bring peace. The father told her that was a pretty tall order for one young girl. She replied, “Oh, no, and don’t worry, There are three of us in the class working on it.”

4. She was probably a little idealistic, but what a great example for the church.

B. We can experience that peace when we let the peace of God flow into the church.

1. There are all kinds of horror stories of church splits and fights, but that isn’t what we are about.

2. One of my greatest reasons for loving this church is the love we have for each other.

a) Even when we disagree, and we have a very wide spectrum of thought here, we don’t get in a huff and take our ball home so to speak.

b) People who come to visit remark that the people here really seem to love each other.

c) Those are the positives of a peace filled church.

C. Diocletian, a Roman Emperor made it his mission to try to wipe out Christianity. There is a pillar in Italy he had made that reads this: For having exterminated the name Christian from the face of the earth.

1. He would be awfully embarrassed today by that pillar.

2. Another Roman leader made a coffin to symbolize the fact that he had buried Christianity. However he soon learned he couldn’t bury Christianity or Christ and eventually became a Christian himself.

3. I once saw a picture symbolizing Christianity in which a anvil stood in a blacksmith’s shop with a bunch of worn out hammers strewn around it.

4. No matter how hard the world tries to attack the church, they end up being the ones broken by the Strength of God and his church.

5. We need to always strive to practice the peace found in Christ in our lives and in the church.

V. Concl:

A. Those of you who are a little older than me remember wearing the tee-shirts and hats with the peace symbol on them and making the peace sign with their fingers.

1. It’s a fad that is starting to come back again today.

2. The problem is that there isn’t peace here or around the world.

3. The world can only offer a false peace.

4. True peace is found in Christ and he alone.

5. Do you have peace in your life today? Is it the false peace of this world or the true peace of Christ?