Without doubt the foremost condition of every Christian at all times should be peace but, on the surface, so few believers actually appear to demonstrate it. Peace is a gift that Christ gave us and abides within. The only thing that causes us to lose it, is our focus. When the cares and concerns of this world enter in, this causes us to shift our focus away from God and His presence. Interestingly, the peace that Christ offers is independent of our circumstances and accessible at all times. This is sometimes hard to grasp but it’s true. It’s time to turn your attention off of your cares and back on Jesus. Tune in now…
Here is a complete transcript of the podcast…(below)
“Friend, I want to tell you right now that without doubt the foremost condition of every Christian at all times should be peace. The peace that Christ offers is independent of our circumstances. I can hear you say, “Wait a minute pastor, life has its demands and pressures; we can’t be in peace all the time?” Yes, my friend, we can because it supernaturally abides within us. Peace is a gift that Christ gave us, and peace is also our umpire or referee in decision making. The Apostle Paul wrote about this issue to the church at Colossae, “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts (deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state) to which as (members of Christ’s) one body you were also called (to live). And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]” Colossians 3:15 (AMP).
This supernatural peace should rule and reign inside us. We should not however confuse this peace with a fleeting emotion that comes and goes; it is an abiding peace and tantamount to the presence of God because it’s not only a fruit of the Holy Spirit but an attribute of God’s Kingdom. In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul defines the kingdom of God and its attributes, “17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” Rom 14:17). I have learned down the years it’s crucial that we cultivate an attitude of peace throughout every aspect of our lives because the Holy Spirit works in an atmosphere of peace. Whether it’s our home, place of business, ministry, church or wherever, peace should be our default setting and we should treasure it. You know even your spouse or family members can rob your peace because you may have a different personality to them, if you’re always in a hurry and your spouse generally takes things a little slower but more deliberately that could generate strife, so just beware of this. We should appreciate each other’s different personalities certainly but not let it be a bone of contention. Seek the Lord today where your trigger points are, which cause you to lose your peace, He knows them better then you. We also need to keep a watchful eye on strife because that can creep up on us too.
I remember a funny story how my Pastor, Ms. Lynnette Hagin would sometimes get upset with Brother Kenneth E, Hagin from time to time because she would always have a pressing deadline every month for their magazine, “The word of faith”. Brother Hagin would never release an issue until he felt like God had spoken to him about the topic for the month, sometimes this would run very late, right up to the deadline and of course Ms. Lynette would lose her peace on occasion because of this, and I can understand where she’s coming from. When I worked as an Engineer, we had very pressing deadlines to get work completed and I have to admit, I lost my peace on several occasions, but looking back I know it was my fault. When it comes to the Lord, he will not have us do a task that he hasn’t equipped us for in advance and there is always a grace for it.
Think of righteousness and joy as slices of bread in a sandwich, with peace as the slice of meat, slotted right in the middle. As we attain righteousness with God as a function of our salvation, we are then able to receive ‘abiding peace’ within our hearts and from that peace, joy bubbles forth from within us. Our peace is despite the circumstances. It’s not contingent upon outcomes because it’s a supernatural influence that comes from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. I had recently gotten into the ‘molly grubs”, even though things seemed to be working out for good in my life, I had a heavy heart. I seemed to be in “endurance mode”, rather than appreciating the joy of life in the day to day. I had lost peace, and it was my fault, why? Because Jesus had already given peace to me, “27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Notice the onus is on us to steward the peace that Jesus bestowed; we are the ones who have the choice to let ourselves be ‘troubled’ or ‘afraid’.
Let me ask you this friend, whose yoke are you wearing? Now if you are not familiar with the term yoke, let me explain. Back when I was a child growing up in Wales, I saw my grandfather place a yoke around two oxen which he used to old plow and break up the soil for potato planting. The yoke was literally, the wooden bar that allowed two (or more) draft animals to be coupled so that they might effectively work together. Now let me explain also the concept of synergy, while we’re on this topic. Did you know that one strong ox can pull 2000-3000 pounds of weight by itself? So, on that basis, with two oxen connected by the yoke, you would think that they could pull maybe 6000 pounds, right? Wrong, check this out, two oxen when yoked together can pull up to nearly 10,000 pounds in weight! That is the power of synergy and if you want to apply this yoking concept to your own life, you need to be yoked with Jesus, not the devil, so you can do ten times more. Check out what Jesus said in this passage, “28″ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mt 11:28-30).
But did you know that the yoke has also meant symbolically in biblical literature as a mark of slavery, often termed as ‘the yoke of bondage’. Friend, you are either a slave to Satan or a slave to Christ and there is no neutral ground. I’m so glad I’ve taken on Jesus’ yoke in my life because I can get so much more accomplished with his help, and I know I’m not doing it all by myself! Many times, in my own life and especially working in the corporate arena as an Engineer or consultant, I would sometimes throw my hands in the air, and say, “Lord this is too complicated for me, I know you have a simple solution, and you will show it to me.” As I walked away from the problem and allowed myself to get quiet and peaceful in my spirit, the solution would often rise up from within me and unlock the code to my 24-page spreadsheet!
My old mentor, Ann Vincent would always say to me “If you’ve lost your peace, you’ve messed up somewhere”. She was a powerful woman of God who moved in a strong anointing that seemingly never waned. Her secret? …Peace. She oozed peace every time I was with her. Ann demonstrated abundant peace in her life, and she is a great example to us all. She also moved in the power of God. Peace and power go hand in hand; they are twins. If we get out of peace, we get into the ‘flesh’ and we lose faith in God’s power because faith works by love (Gal 5:6). Did you know that Jesus commanded the disciples to bring peace to the houses they visited? The presence of God brings peace, and the disciples were paragons of peace, distributing it wherever they went, the scripture makes it clear, “And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you” (Matt 10:13).
The Holy Spirit revealed to me that as time had passed, I had allowed anxiety to creep in. Anxiety is an interesting word because by definition it’s an abnormal feeling of fear or apprehension but not necessarily tied to anything specific. It can be hard to fight against because it’s more of a generic ongoing condition that is felt. The problem is if we meditate on this feeling of dread or fear concerning the future, we may start believing that something ‘bad’ is going to happen. The very fact that you meditate on this over and over, could in fact cause it to become a reality in your life because what we meditate upon has a tendency to come to pass. Living in regret or worrying about the future will always rob us from the ‘now’. What time is it? The time is ‘now’.
The time is always now. “Now faith is” (Hebrews 11:1). When I talk of peace so easily people may criticize me and say it’s impossible to live in peace all the time and I agree friend, this is not easy. Tests and trials will come to us, and the Bible does speak of the evil day, but because we know the word of God and how to apply it, we should be better off than Uncle Frank down the road who has no knowledge of God’s sustaining and equipping grace throughout the difficulties of life. There are some things we just can’t do anything about, we have no power to change them, we just need to roll them on to Gods shoulders and off ours. We need to cast our care and give them to Him. Replaying the sorrows of yesterday and dreading what’s to come; will put you in a place of misery and misery my friend is not a place where Christians should be. Misery and fear have torment; that is Satan’s territory, get out of it immediately.
There is a fascinating statement that Christ made in Matthew 6:31, “31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” Did you catch that? Jesus said you take a thought…by saying it. Once you start verbalizing what’s in your mind, you’re ‘taking the thought’. Not every thought is from the devil of course, we rationalize in our minds daily as we muse over decisions, but it’s the penetrating or interjecting thought that is either from God or Satan. The easiest way to discern the origin of our thoughts is to compare it to the word of God. If it’s accusatory in nature or discouraging, it’s not from God. Guard your mind! Satan is not in the encouragement business! So, what do we do to restore peace?
Firstly, we must cast our care, “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully” 1st Peter 5:7 (AMP). We need to get into the habit of saying, “I couldn’t care less, God is taking care of everything in my life, and He is trustworthy!” Let go of your anxiety, cast your care, pray and thank God for the answer, it’s that simple.
Friend, it’s time to get your peace back! You must value peace in your life! Don’t give it away so easily. If you’re going to be late to an appointment and there’s nothing you can do about it then, simply cast it on God but don’t lose your peace. What are you waiting for? It’s time to get your peace back. Spend time with the Holy Spirit today and take back what the enemy has stolen. Peace is not something to look for, it’s always inside of you; you just need to find it again. It’s time to reconnect with the tranquility God placed in your heart. Cast your care and feel the peace of the Lord once again!”
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