The Peace of God

Transcript

GR 641
4/17/1983
The Peace of God
Philippians 4:7
Gil Rugh

Book of Philippians in your Bibles; the Book of Philippians and the Fourth Chapter, great message in the music we’ve had this morning, and the way that God works in our lives, the difficult times, the good times, the hope that we have, the finality of the decision that we have been brought to by the grace of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit; good to be reminded that’s an irrevocable decision. There is no turning back and that’s encouraging to know. It helps you to plough on in difficult times. You don’t have to sit and wonder and weigh and decide, there is no decision, we have determined by the grace of God to place our faith in Christ, and there is no going back.

Book of Philippians, we’ve been talking about that great section on what God is doing in our lives as believers in producing his joy, his peace, his tranquility of inner life in the midst of difficulty and trial. And we are going slowly in this section taking it piece by piece and somewhat topical. So we do verse by verse, because of its importance; I am concerned that we as believers are not enjoying the peace that God intents us to enjoy, that because of the situation in the world; the way the world responds to its pressures, that so often even Christians are beset by worries and anxieties and fears. When its God’s intention and its God’s provision that we be living in the midst of turmoil and enjoying the fullness of his peace and joy.

In our last study, we looked at verse 6 of Philippians Chapter 4. And in verse 6, we were commanded not to be anxious. We noted when God tells us not to do something and we proceed to do it, we are involved in sin. So it's not only a great privilege for me to be free from anxiety and enjoy the peace of God, it is also a responsibility given to me, to not be anxious. Now you have to be careful, for one sin compounds another, because we become anxious and then we realize that anxiety is a sin; then we worry about being anxious, because we are sinning. And what the solution is; is very simple and we will be labor to point in verse 6 last week. We are to be anxious for nothing, no circumstance, no situation merits anxiety; anxiety, worry, fretfulness is never a proper response on the part of a believer.

But in contrast of that, in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. That’s God solution, don’t be anxious, but turn your concerns over to me. And we noted we are going to see that in our further considerations today. God does not necessarily remove the problems. He does not remove that which is causing the worry or the anxiety, but he demands of us that we turn our concerns over to him in that situation. Now if I recognized that he is a loving heavenly father that he is more concerned about me than I can ever realize; then I recognize the logic of what he is saying, that we turn over the things that concern us.

And we looked in the examples of our own homes with our children; that we as parents are concerned to meet the needs of our children. We care about them. We want to undertake to do what is best for them to meet their need, to provide for them; what is necessary for their health, their food, their clothing, their protection and so on. And the scripture makes clear; God loves us and does the same for his children. So for me to be fretful and worried is to indicate a lack of confidence in God, and that’s why worry and anxiety for a believer is sin. It indicates an unwillingness to trust God, and thus a lack of confidence in him.

Now where we are going and we are taking this piece by piece. I’d encourage you since we are going so slow to take the time to memorize these verses, if you haven’t already and many of you have. One verse a week we will move you along at the pace we are going. So that verses you can recall to mind, which you can roll over in your mind that you can reflect upon, that you dwell upon, that you can remind yourself of these great truths in the pressures that come into your life. Verse 7 is follows verse 6; and gives the result of verse 7, don’t be anxious, but let your request be made known to God, and the result of doing that will be the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension shall stand guard at your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So here is God’s promised conclusion, as anxieties and difficulties press in upon me; I turn those over to God. Father these are your problems, you care about me. I am casting these all upon you and God gives me his peace and his tranquility within. And that’s where we want to focus our attention this morning.

Let’s have a word of prayer before we look into the details. Father how privileged we are today to come together as a body of believers, as members of your family. So look at the tremendous provision that has been made for us in Jesus Christ. Lord our desire is that the spirit himself would open these glorious truths, so that we might grasp and understand them. Lord apply them to our own personal situations, you know the condition of our hearts and our minds. Father you know what we are concerned about, what is burdening us; Father what causes us anxiety and worry. Lord prays that even as a result of our time in the world today, we might even learn more of your love for us and the privilege we have to place these burdens upon you. We ask it in Christ name, Amen.

And the peace of God’s; that word and, leads us into the conclusion of what he’s been saying; and I stress that, because I don’t want you to lose the connection here, easy to learn verses one at a time. But the context here is crucial; as a result of letting our request be made known to God, the peace of God becomes our portion stands guard on the inner person. Now we talk about the peace of God I want to look a little bit at this with you, and it's basic foundational aspect, and then in it’s outworking in our life to appreciate the significance of this peace. We have to look at the Old Testament background of it. This word for peace is amazed and it's emphasized 91 times in the New Testament. This word “eirene” is used, meaning peace there are other words for peace used as well.

This one word used 91 times encourage you for a study, get your concordance and look up the word peace, and look at those passages and go through each one and read them. You see there is a strong emphasis in the word of God on peace, and it's God’s intention that his people be experiencing and enjoying this peace. This word “eirene” is based upon the Old Testament concept to peace. The Old Testament word being shalom; and we are familiar with that, we use it in our greetings, in a sometimes a friendly way shalom, because of the Hebrew word, meaning peace. And the basic biblical concept in shalom is primarily that of wholeness. Wholeness; it is used as a synonym for salvation in the Old Testament. In fact the peace offerings of the Old Testament or an occasion called salvation offerings.

Peace, salvation, wholeness; that word shalom is brought it includes a breath that includes the material realm often as well as the inner person. But that idea of wholeness I think is crucial, because when we talk about peace we’re talking about a person being and enjoying what God intends him to be as a whole person, as a person who is all that God created him to be. And we see that the lack of peace, the anxiety, the fearfulness that’s present in people is an abnormal situation. It is result of the disease that infects and affects the life of every person sin. And because of sin, we do not function in the realm of wholeness as God created us and intended us to be. That’s why in Jesus Christ I am made a new creature, I am made complete in Christ, I am brought in to the relationship and into the condition that God has intended for mankind to be from the time of creation.

That wholeness, that’s encouraging; God’s intention is for me to have peace, that’s part of the completeness of my life as his child. Now if that’s the case, and the issue is sin and the result of sin is the lack of wholeness, a lack of being what God intends me to be, a lack of peace of in my life; the foundation point is the establishing of peace between God and men. Turn back to the Book of Isaiah verses, we often quote, but I want you to look at them this morning as well. Isaiah Chapter 48; in the context here you see what God has done for his people. Look at the last statement in verse 20; say Isaiah 48 in verse 20 the last statement of that verse. Say the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob; and the provision, the redemption as he brought them out of Egypt and so on, and provided for them in every way and in every realm.

And you remember as God provided for his people there was never a problem with the lack of provision, but there was a constant problem of fear on the part of God’s people, that God wouldn’t provide. And we talked about that last week; our fears relate to tomorrow, because God has provided for the todays and the yesterdays. So with Israel as God continue to provide for them, they were constantly be set by the fear of tomorrow or what would happen. But note the last statement of Isaiah 48 verse 22, there is no peace for the wicked says the Lord. So you see the lack of peace is connected with the lack of right relationship with God. So there is not wholeness, something is wrong in the life, there is no peace for the wicked. I take it that’s an absolute statement.

Look over in Isaiah Chapter 57. Look in verse 15, for thus says the high and exalted one who lives forever, whose name is Holy, I dwell on a high and holy place, also with the contrite and lowly of spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. You see here God’s provision for those who have trusted him; they have humbled themselves, not the proud and arrogant who stand against God, but those who looked him for their help. Verse 19 creating the praise of the lips, peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near, says the Lord, and I will heal him.

You see God’s provision of peace in bringing healing to those who turn to him. But the wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, its waters toss up refuse and mud. There is no peace says my God for the wicked; the condition of the wicked, lack of peace, the turmoil the churning that goes on. That’s the portion of the wicked it's like the sea you ever walked along the seashore after a violent night or a storm. There is all kind of debrief been cast up, that’s what the wicked are like. They are constantly churning; and that churning produces and turns out sin and wickedness. This is what James is talking about; when he talks about that wars and strives and so on, come from within, it's the churning of the wickedness of the heart. There is no peace says my God for the wicked.

Now again God makes it clear. The wicked cannot have peace. Now they can have a relative tranquility and sometimes it seems that they are doing so well and receive them, they are laughing supposedly enjoying life, but true inner peace they cannot have. They can have a relative peace by being observed in the external circumstances of life. And as long as those circumstances are going well and they ignore the realities. They can have a limited relative peace, but it's not the true abiding permanent peace within that God is talking about.

Back up to Isaiah Chapter 52; if the issue in peace we’ll be laboring this, because you cannot step over this. This is the problem in modern psychology and psychiatry that does not have a biblical base. It deals with people who are unhappy, who are depressed and discouraged and fails to realize that the problem is the spiritual problem, and has a spiritual solution. So on Isaiah Chapter 52 verse 7, verse 6; therefore my people shall know my name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, here I am how lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness and who announces salvation and says to Zion, your God reigns.

You see the issue here; those who bring announcements of salvation bring the message of peace, regarding to living God. That’s the message we have to proclaim, that’s the beginning point. Then we proclaim a message of salvation, which brings peace; people say, oh look I don’t want to get into all that religious stuff and the Bible, I need something practical and relevant for my life. We go home and spend a couple of hours reading the paper and the news magazines and watching the news, and see if this message isn’t it's relevant as you could have anywhere, how people can have peace; is through the message of the living God.

Come over to the New Testament. The Book of Ephesians Chapter 6, Ephesians Chapter 6; it’s just before the Book of Philippians, which in case you forgotten as what we are staying. Ephesians Chapter 6 verse 15, for the armor that is given to us as believers. This is important, the armor given to us as believers, having shot your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. We are given good news of peace to proclaim. How so, back up to the Book of Acts; when you get lots of practice this morning in moving around in your Bibles. Acts Chapter 10 verse 36; Acts 10:36, the word which he sent to the sons of Israel; note, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all, preaching peace how; through Jesus Christ.

So we want to talk about peace, what is the starting point; a right relationship with God. How is that established; that is established through Jesus Christ. In other words for man to have wholeness, to have peace he must have right relationship with God, because that’s the relationship for which he was created. And that relationship is only established by faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1, therefore having been justified by faith; we have peace with God, and you cannot have the peace of God in your life until you have peace with God.

You come back to the Book of Philippians. I want you to go over one page to Colossians, Chapter 1 verse 20, verse 19. Colossians 1:19, for it was the father’s good pleasure for all the fullness; all the fullness of deity, to dwell in him. Note verse 20, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, bring into right relationship with himself, bring back into personal relationship with himself to reconcile all things, having made peace through the blood of his cross. You know for reconciliation, particularly now we are talking about between God and man to occur, peace had to be established through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. So by his death he paid the penalty for sin, by believing in him God can declare me forgiven and bring me back into right relationship with him.

So Christ has made peace through his death on the cross. That’s how peace is established. So the world pursuit peace, that’s why I am not part of the peace movement that is so popular today. I hope we don’t have nuclear war. I hope we don’t have war period, but I realize there is no hope for true peace apart from Jesus Christ. So I am part of God’s peace movement, because I am proclaiming the Gospel of peace. I don’t have time to get caught up in the externals and the superficial. I have the message that transforms the inner person that cures the disease, because wars and fightings come from within James says, and it's an indication of mans arrogance and rejection of God that he thinks he can establish peace apart from God’s plan for peace in the person of his son Jesus Christ.

It took the death of Jesus Christ to make peace possible, but it takes place on an individual level. It's as you are confronted with him and come to recognize and believe that he is the one who died for you that you are brought into a relationship of peace and as you share that and others do. Now back in Philippians turn the page back to Philippians Chapter 4. He says, the peace of God; and I take it that’s the peace which comes from God. If your take your concordance and look through these passages, you will see the related ideas. Down in verse 9 of Philippians the last statement, the God of peace here. And verse 7 you have the peace of God. Down in verse 9, you have the God of peace. The peace which comes from God and he is the God of peace, because he is the one who gives peace, who else can affect me on the inside.

Remember a couple of years ago, when one of the popular TV personalities committed suicide, surrounded by friends in the same apartment with him, trying to talk with him, trying to cheer him up, trying to bring meaning and purpose and joy back into the life. When they walk out of the room, and he puts the gun into his head and kills himself; why, because you cannot bring peace in from the outside, only God can get in on the inside and transform a life from within, and a peace that comes from within and thus moves out. Its God’s peace, finds him as its source and its origin and its cause.

Now note the next statement that he says; the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension. Now what we are talking about here goes beyond understanding, goes beyond human intellect there is no rational human explanation for it, on the physical level thus peace that surpasses comprehension, that we as God’s children should be privileged in the midst of turmoil and the midst of up evil in all the circumstances that go contrary to peace, should have tranquility on the inside, should be able to be at peace within, there is no way to explain it.

As I mentioned the unbeliever can have peace as long as he’s got his health, as long as he’s got his job with good income, as long as he doesn’t have to fear that someone is going to drop a bomb at anytime, as long as his family is doing okay, as long as there are circumstances that are smoothed out, and what you find the unbeliever trying to do; you try to him to constantly find, a ways to smooth out the circumstances, why; oh that gives me peace. I can sit back and enjoy life now, but it's only a mirage, it's not real and genuine. The believer here we are in the midst of turmoil, things coming apart, jobs lost, health lost and what do we say, oh I have never had such peace; that is supernatural; unbeliever has to walk away and say, it's affected their mind.

I think they have really gone over the edge. They don’t realize how bad it really is, they don’t understand the hopelessness. I said there and saying, oh I understand it better than you do, oh I have never had such peace; you don’t understand how bad it is, I understand every bit as well as you do how bad it is and I never had such peace; you know why, my peace is not related to how good or how bad it is, my peace comes from a God who is always the same. My trust is in the God who cares through me, not in the goodness or the badness of the condition. It's a peace that surpasses all comprehension.

Turn back to the Book of Ephesians again, just in front of Philippians. You have this expression that surpasses or goes beyond comprehension. In Ephesians 3 and verse 19, and a long sentence we won't take time to read the whole sentence. Note verse 19; Paul’s prayer is that they might know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge; surpasses comprehension, same expression; goes beyond understanding; how do you explain on the human level the love of God; you don’t, you can't that God would love us so much, that Jesus Christ would give himself for us vile wretched sinners, it goes beyond understanding. I understand that he did it, but all such love it goes beyond comprehension; it defies human explanation.

So over in Philippians Chapter 4, the peace of God defies explanation. Verse 7; let’s go on, the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and your minds. It's a military term, guard; it pictures soldier standing on guard, protecting something. So here you have the picture that God’s peace is a soldier on duty at the heart of the believer, protecting our heart. There are things that would assault us that would try to break in and upset our peace, anxieties that try to squeeze in, fierce that try to assault us; God’s peace stands there. It's a sentinel, as a guard to protect and keep my peace.

Interesting; Philippians, jot down First Peter Chapter 1 and verse 5; just jot it down don’t turn there I will read it to you; talks about you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation that is to be revealed in the last time. Same word, we are protected by the power of God through faith, for our ultimate salvation. We are under God’s guard, when we say you know I have a heavenly father who takes care of me, he is looking out for me, I should be afraid. So here his peace stands guard. Now I want to note something here that we observed in our last study, but I want to drive home; so we are sure to grasp it. He does not promise to keep us from calamities, does not promise to protect us from difficulties or even to remove us from hard situations.

You have a guard where there is danger of assaults and attack, for protection. So the very fact that God’s peace stands guard at the heart indicates that there are situations and circumstances that would assault that peace, that would attempt to stir anxieties. Now that’s crucial, otherwise you find yourself praying about these things, turning them over to God and say, God hasn’t changed anything, he does not promised to change those circumstance, he did not promise to remove you from the situation; he does promised to put it guard at your heart. So that no matter what is going on around you, the peace that he gives you protects you. You can enjoy his peace and tranquility in and through every situation.

Now you have to go to Second Thessalonians; and again why didn’t you expect us to be the case, even the unbeliever enjoy they certain relative temporal peace, when everything is going well. The unique thing about us as believers it in the midst of turmoil, we have this peace. That’s exciting to me. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I know there is nothing that can happen tomorrow that can take away the peace that God gives me. In second Thessalonians Chapter 3 and verse 16; now may the Lord of peace himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance; love that, continually in every circumstance grants you peace; the one who is the Lord, the sovereign of peace.

Now is there anything left out here, continually in every circumstance grants you peace. Take it that means all the time, in every situation. Remember what Jesus said in john Chapter 16 verse 33, as he was preparing to leave his disciples. In the world you shall have good times. Now what he said, in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, the one who gives me the peace is greater than the world. He is defeated the God of this world, the one who would assault us and attempt to take away the peace that God gives. That’s why I need God’s protection at my heart. The assaults come from those who would be greater than I shall stand guard at your heart and mind.

You know jot down to Hebrews Chapter 12 verse 11. So many passages, we have already skipped half a dozen or so out of my consideration for your peace, because it causes some great anxiety when I go overtime, and I don’t want to contribute to that. Hebrews Chapter 12 verse 11 tells us, that the discipline of God yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. The discipline of God; the trials and the difficulties that God brings into our life, yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. The peaceable fruit of righteousness; righteousness is inseparably linked with peace, righteousness coming from God, we are declared righteous by faith in Christ yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

So God produces peace in us even through discipline, and as we go through the disciplining times it's a privilege for us to learn to trust God, as we learn to trust him more, real more of these problems over to him, we experience more of his peace. Come back to Philippians 4; this peace shall stand guard at your hearts and your minds. The heart in the scripture, the essential nature of man, it's the basis, deceit of both intellectual and the emotional activity; it's what you are on the inside. Your hearts and your minds, the hearts includes the emotional aspect, the minds or your thoughts we are going to get into our thoughts in our next study. It shall stand guard at your hearts and your minds your thoughts.

So both our feelings our emotions and our thoughts are guarded and protected by God. That’s important; both our feelings our emotions and our minds; what we think about are protected by God. God is concerned about my emotional wellbeing, my intellectual wellbeing. He wants peace to characterize me both in my feelings my emotions and in my thoughts, and you might be thinking; the inner man and his entirety is to be protected by God’s peace; note where this occurs in Christ Jesus; those of us in Christ. Now we talk about in Christ being this fear in which we live; in Christ and in relationship with him, I am promised these things, and as I am living then as one who is in Christ, submissive to him, obeying the instructions of the word. You say, look I have been a Christian for years and I don’t have this peace, well are you functioning in obedience submissive way; I mean we have this in our own families don’t we, if our children are resisting our instructions, it affects their peace, it affects their enjoyment of their life, it necessitates further discipline.

So for us if we are resisting rebellion what God says, are we turning these things over to him in prayer, are we functioning in a way that is submissive to the word. Turn over to Colossians 3; part of what Jerry read for our scripture reading. And I think the context is interesting and we don’t have time to look at the various contexts where peace is associated with love, and peace is associated with grace, and peace is associated with being of one mind as believers. Just note verse 15, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts; note word the rule, means to be the arbitrator or they can mean to be an empire, it's be the decision that peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. And verse 14 in the context of love and unity, so peace as they characterize us, and that’s the determining factor how will this affect my peace as a believer, how will this affect our peace as a body of believers.

You know sometimes believers go on a rampage and it affects the peace of the body, the decisions I make; I make how will this affect my peace in my relationship with Christ, how this affect the peace of this body of believers, and then I function accordingly. This peace is produced by the Holy Spirit, we see it comes from God Galatians 5:22; the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace. And it's interesting we talked about joy earlier in Philippians 4, interesting in a number of passages peace and joy go together. And without the joy of the Lord you won't have the peace of the Lord; and without the peace of the Lord you won't have the joy of the Lord, and you find that, when you are on turmoil on the inside, you don’t have true happiness; when you have fear on the inside, you don’t have true happiness. You can't really enjoy your life as a believer, if you are fearful and so they go together.

Maybe in closing we could just take time to read a couple of the several passages starting in the Psalms. Psalm Chapter 4; I really hope you will take the time just to sit down and look into the word on the subject of peace. We live in a world that’s be set by fierce. We are in Psalm Chapter 4; and we as God’s children are privileged to live above that, to live in the midst of it, but we are going through in a protected state; whether it's fear of a nuclear war, whether it's fear of a financial collapse, whether it's fear of losing jobs, whether it's fear of diseases; praise God whether you are privileged to have peace. We are just pilgrims passing through this mess, anticipating that we shall see him face to face.

Look in Psalms Chapter 4 verse 8; in peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, thus make me to dwell in safety. And go to bed at night close my eyes and sleep, I like it. I will go lie down and sleep. Now you know you go to bed, you toss and turn you fret, you worry you know David says I go to bed and I go to sleep; why, it's only the Lord that makes me dwell in safety. In other sense me going to bed worrying about whether someone is going to climb through the window and finish me off or blow at my house or whether somebody is going to do something that’s going to mean I am going to lose my job or lose my money or lose my health; only the Lord makes me dwell in safety and he takes care of me.

Tremendous verse, we can't sleep at night remember Psalm 4:8. Psalm 29; you see why I am worried and if I can't sleep, because of my worries. When I am saying; I am afraid the Lord isn’t going to keep me safe; he is not going to watch over me. Psalm 29, verse 11; maybe it verse 10; the Lord sits as king at the flood; sat as king of the flood, yes, the Lord sits as king forever. The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. You see his position as sovereign as Lord enables him to provide strength and to provide peace for his people. Psalm 119, verse 65, I think I should be as verse 165. Yes Psalm 119 verse 165; those who love that your law have great peace, those who love the word of God have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.

Couple of a few verses from Romans; Romans Chapter 14 verse 17; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That’s what the kingdom of God is all about. That’s what God’s done in our lives for us to us and in us. It's not food and drink, not the externals; but its righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. In Chapter 15 of Romans verse 13; now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit; now we are going to spend all series of studies on that one verse, see what God is doing, he is the God of hope, he is producing hope. He fills you with all joy and peace in believing. What else God want me to have as a believer; joy and peace in my faith in him.

Verse 33; of the same Chapter now, the God of peace be with you all, Amen. That’s our portion as believers. When you think about it rather simple isn’t it, rather basic and yet so profound that it surpasses understanding. It defies explanation what we have read very simply today is simply what God says. But the explanation of it is supernatural. It can only be produced by God in the life. What your peace been like this week, have you been anxious, things worrying you, worried about your job, worried about your health, worried about something that’s going to transpire this coming week or month or whatever, you should think we are privileged as God’s children to turn over to him and his peace shall stand guard at my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

I don’t know what tomorrow hold, I don’t know what my health will be like in a week or a month, I don’t know what will take place in the world, but I don’t know that the peace of God is mine regardless of what it takes place. I know that God takes care of me as his child, no matter what happens, and I rescuer in that relationship, and in the peace that he’s brought in that relationship. And the question; do you have a relationship with peace with God; I am not talking about the power of positive thinking here, we are not telling you to tell yourself things were alright when they are not; we are talking about being realistic. Let’s starts with the right relationship with God. Jesus Christ the son of God died to pay the penalty for sin. So that we might be forgiven and be brought into a position of wholeness to be all that God intends us to be, all that God created us to be; that we might be a people who function with lives full of peace and full of joy; full of the hope of seeing him at his coming.

Let’s pray together. Father, we thank you for the simplicity of what we have studied today; that your peace is provided for those who heed the exhortation to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let their request be made known to you. May that characterize us that your peace might stand guard at our hearts and our minds. Lord in each of our situations we have those things which assault us in a particular way, each of those areas where it seems that it's especially difficult to trust you. Lord to rest in you, to be confident that you will work it out according to your privileged plan.

Lord, pray that we might be a people who trust you that we might have the full enjoyment of your peace and your joy in every situation. Lord you know the hearts and minds of those who are here today, for those who do not have peace with you; I pray the spirit might do that work of grace in causing them to see the greatness of your love and having your son die that he might establish peace for those who believe. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.