through God's Word together. Galatians chapter 5, 16 through 24. Galatians chapter 5, 16 through 24. I'm going to read it out of the English Standard Version and you follow along. Galatians chapter 5, 16 through 24. It reads, but I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. self-control against such things as there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." We stop there. We continue our study on the fruit of the Spirit, and that is that the character of Jesus that God is growing in our lives. As you and I cooperate with the ministry of the Spirit, as you and I cooperate with the work of God in our lives, we look more, we should be looking more and more like Jesus Christ. And again, child of God, if you're here this morning, easy peasy, easy peasy. You just look back and you say, since I've been walking with the Lord, is there a trajectory of growing in the character of Jesus? Do these virtues characterize me into what degree? Where am I proficient? Where am I deficient? Where there's an abundance? Where there isn't one? Because God is not busy just growing one of them. God is busy growing all of them. Because He doesn't want you to be lopsided. He wants you to be fully orbed, fully developed. And so you and I need to be about pursuing these in a grace driven effort, fueled by the Spirit of God in our lives. We shouldn't settle for nothing less than displaying the character of Jesus Christ in all areas of life. That's what we're after. So last Sunday we began to consider the fruit of peace, and we look at 522 here, Galatians 522, it says the fruit of the Spirit is peace. And we asked, well, what does it mean? What does it mean by what he says? We looked at the immediate context, and the immediate context doesn't help other than to say that this is what the fruit of the Spirit produces, peace. Well, what kind of peace? So we look to the Scriptures, and this is by way of review. If you weren't here, this is what we covered last time. We looked at three aspects of this. Number one, peace with God. You're going to have to have peace with God. Romans 5, this is foundational. Romans 5, 1, justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is foundational, peace with God. And at the essence of this and at the heart of this justification is the concept of reconciliation. And reconciliation means that you and I have been made friends again. Okay, this is you and I looking at this, and if there was a rift between Sandy and myself, the reconciliation means that we're not just passively aggressive, just walking by and just tolerating one another. No, that means we've dealt with that which caused the rift, we've reached it, we've confessed our sins to one another, we've owned up to our part of it, and then we have been reconciled. The relationship that was strained has been now restored. So not only has there been the forgiveness, but there's been restoration. And that's what it means. It means that there's no longer conflict between one another. We said last week, it's on the screen now, when the Bible talks about peace with God, it doesn't simply mean that God is no longer mad at you. It's much more, it means that God is for you and with you. That's what means that peace with God. It's not just, oh, I'm at peace with God, he's no longer ticked. No. The contrary, it goes much more than that. Don't live in the negative. The positive thing is that He is with you and He is for you. It means that He welcomes you into His presence and you welcome Him into your presence. He delights in you, you delight in Him. Why? Because there's peace with God. That's foundational. Now, because there's the peace with God, then you and I can experience the peace of God. This is subjective. The peace with God is objective. That's based not on you or me, not on our performance, but all that God has done on behalf of His people through Jesus Christ. He establishes peace through the Prince of Peace. By the bloody death of His Son, we have peace with God. We believe in that, we appropriate it, we make it our own, and because of that grace, because of that belief, we're justified. Peace with God. Now the peace of God is a little more subjective. It's not so much the status of our relationship with God, it's more the reality of how you and I relate to circumstances. So we said last week there on the screen, it has less to do with your relationship to God and more to do with your relationship to your circumstances. That's the peace of God. When we're seeking the peace, we go, I need peace about this. What we're seeking is that gracious, that calm, that composure of mind in every circumstances. And even when they're taxing, even when they're difficult, the peace of God can happen. And it makes sense that those who have peace with God can only then experience the peace of God. Why? Peace with God is the seed out of which the Spirit brings the peace of God. Again, foundational and then the outworking of it. And this begins then to give us a hint of what we're talking about. Because there's a peace with God and because there's the peace of God, now we can have peace with others. That's how it applies here in this context. We went through it, we looked at it textually or contextually in the context. Look at it with me there. In verse 14, it says, the whole law is fulfilled in one word, love your neighbor as yourself. But then he goes right into verse 15, but if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you're not consumed by one another. That peace has to be prevailing over the problems that we see here. Later on, he says, this is the fruit of… or the works of the flesh, and he lists them in verses 20 and 21. In verse 26, he says, let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. The catch is that this peace of God is what helps us deal with one another. This is written to a church, this is written to you and me. This is supposed to be existing not only in our personal life, but in our corporate life. If our corporate life is lacking this, the character of Jesus is not being formed very well in the life of our church. And if it's not being formed in the life of our church, it may just mean that it's not being formed in the life of your life or mine, because we're a body of believers. So we must be characterized by this. So the definition we came up with was peace is the restful and quiet state of mind toward God, people and our circumstances that result from being reconciled to God. The opposite of what you read here in the sins that you read in verses 20 and 21. Sins of anger, fits of anger and biting and devouring one another. Sins of comparison, that's why there's rivalry. That's why there's envy. That's why there's jealousy. Sin of division, dissension and strife. See, the peace of God is what helps us, the antidote to verses 20 and 21, you see it there in that love, joy, and peace. It's that peace that the Spirit of God provides. So what's the opposite of that? Well, we stated last time, the opposite of peace then is hostility toward God, hostility toward others, and hostility toward our circumstances, the latter of which will often feel like anxiety and worry. When you're not happy with your lot in life, you're going to worry about it. And in fact, you're going to take it personal. Why did I get the unemployment, not so-and-so? Why did I get the guts, you know, overlooked and so-and-so didn't? Why did this person and that person, why does the brown-noser succeed and I don't? Why does they take all the shortcuts, I'm still here? See, when you and I buck against the providence of God, number one, we're going to lose. But number two, the joy is going to be lost and the peace is not going to be enjoyed because there's hostility. There's hostility. You and I need to see that that hostility is not the result of the Spirit of God at work in our life. So what is peace? That's it. The next question, this is what we pick up this morning. Why is peace a fruit of the Spirit? Why mention it? Well, because the Bible presents God as God of peace. If you're taking notes, here's some Bible references. Romans 15.33, 1 Corinthians 14.33, and 2 Corinthians 13.11. Romans 15.33, 1 Corinthians 14.33, excuse me, 2 Corinthians 13.11, the expression God of peace. the God of peace. That's the peace that God has in Himself. When we say God is the God of peace, that's one of His attributes. We're talking about His character. What does that mean? Well, I had to answer that, so I turned to a trusted theologian. His name is Wayne Grudem, and he writes the following. It'll be on the screen. God's peace can be defined as follows. God's peace means that in God's being and in His actions, He is separate from all confusion and disorder, yet He is continually active in innumerable well- and I misspelled there, well-ordered, not well-ordered, well-ordered, fully controlled, simultaneous actions. This definition indicates that God's peace does not have to do with inactivity, but with ordered and controlled activity. He's at peace. He can run. He can multitask and not go crazy. I try to do three things at one time, and nothing gets done. I try to do sometimes one thing, and nothing gets done, and I lose my mind. Well, God can run a universe and still be at peace, and it doesn't mean that He's just inactive. It's not that He's taking a, you know, He took a med to relax. No, it means that he can just run. It's part of what he does. He doesn't wring his hands. He doesn't go, oh my word, what's going on now? I didn't know that this was gonna happen to this child of mine. What? He's not surprised. He is not surprised. That's why it's an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit because only the Spirit can produce it. Our flesh, that predisposition towards sin. We're born with that sin nature. We're born with that proclivity, left to our own outside the grace of God. All we know how to do is offend God. And if you don't think you're doing it, okay, okay. You know, one day the Lord will reveal that to you. But outside the grace of God, all we know how to do is to live selfishly. All we know how to do is to offend God, to do it our way, as Frank Sinatra sang about. And we want to do it our way, so we offend in our thoughts, we offend in our speech, we offend in our actions. Because no one teaches us how to be a racist. No one teaches us how to be a liar. No one teaches us how to be an adulterer. No one teaches us any predisposition towards sin. It just comes in, it's in the apple. We got little kitties here, look at Audrey, she's just right there, come on, come on. Do you know that Audrey, no one's gonna teach her how to sin. She's gonna naturally try to get her way, naturally. We got Alberto's, Danielle's. Ethan over here, no one, he's going to grow up. No one's going to teach him. Automatically he's going to try to get his way. Why? Because he has sinners for parents. Not for a pastor, but for parents. Come on. All right. But that's the idea. So the flesh, that sinner, that predisposition towards sin cannot produce the peace that we're talking about here. It cannot. It has to be the work of the Spirit in our lives. That's why, listen, listen, I've seen it. I've seen it in social events, social gatherings. I've seen it in supermarkets, you know, or retail outlets. The kid wants something. And the parent says no. And the kid's reaction is to hit the parent. Have you seen it? I think I only did it one time. And then I woke up like a week later. Because my dad back slapped me so hard into next week. Don't you raise a hand again, boy. All right? But I've seen it, and we sometimes will laugh. I mean, it's comedy now, but if it's happening to you, you know what they're saying? That's the fullest extent of the rebellion. You are God and I am not. I am rebelling against the fact that you're restricting my sovereignty. I want this. No. Do you understand that you and I do the same thing with God? When He restricts our sovereignty, we lash out. That's sin. See, that's why the Bible calls us in Ephesians 2, by nature we are children of wrath. God cannot just sit on the sideline and allow His holiness to be trampled. And we've said it before, He may be patient, but it doesn't mean He's inactive. His wheel of justice, divine justice, may move slow, but it grinds fine. And the day will come where everyone will have to give an account. So the flesh cannot produce peace with God, and so it cannot produce the peace of God. The peace that we're talking about here is what the Hebrews understood as the shalom, that wholeness, the reality of being in a condition of wholeness and well-being that included both a right relationship with the Lord and a right relationship with fellow humans, fellow human beings. See, peace is an attribute of God. In your Bible reading, if you come across Psalm 2, you have the nations raging against God and His anointed. Read the opening verses. What's God's reaction? If you know it, say it. Scream it out. What's God's reaction? He laughs. Really? Forget your dust. Why does he laugh? Because there's no future scenario that causes him to sweat. He's in control of every single future scenario. No matter how panicked and out of control our world may seem, God is not panicked. God's at peace. God's still at work. No matter how panicked you may feel at any given moment, you set your hope not on your feelings, but on the reality of God is for you because you are at peace with God. So no matter what comes into my life, no matter what I'm wrestling with, no matter what situation or circumstance doesn't lessen the pain, but it helps me cope with the pain to know that the peace with God will provide the peace of God in that situation. And that's why you and I are here, and we're doing this, and the Spirit comes and He produces this. And again, it doesn't lessen, it doesn't mean that you and I are not going to go through some tough times. We're going to bury loved ones. We're going to battle cancer. We're going to battle some tough times in life. But we do it with the hope of the gospel. We don't live life, we don't wake up on how I feel. I live life on what I know to be true about God and my relationship with Him. So, this is why it's a fruit. It's got to work in your life. So, the next question is, what are the obstacles? What are the obstacles? Because we can sit here all we want, but you know there's obstacles. So, here I put in my notes, go downstairs. Keep them honest. Keep them honest. Talk to me. What are some of the obstacles? to peace, to the peace that we're talking about. What are some of the obstacles? Are you guys always at peace? Our own will. Okay. I have a list, but I wanted to hear from you guys. It's not that you're right and I'm wrong and I know I'm right, but you guys, you know, we're good. Anger? Hostility. Okay. Anger. What else? Pride. I'm sorry. Uncertainty. Okay. Worry. All right. Anybody on this side here? Huh? Doubt. Okay. Okay. Go ahead. Failing to read and apply the Word of God. Yes, sir. Disobedience. Let me get to this part over here. Say it. What? Somebody said something? Fear? Oh, fear. Okay. Stress. Selfishness. Boy, you guys, listen, we could just move on, but no, I've got a page of notes, so it's not going to happen. Some of you guys mentioned the ones I wrote down. I limited it to three. Number one, worry. Worry. Okay? Worry focuses on potential trouble. Worry is like a—I got this from Tony Evans years ago. Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but gets you nowhere. I mean, the guy, he did the best. I mean, I've never forgotten it. It must be 20 years now. Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but gets you nowhere. It's potential trouble. It's like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I'm worried about tomorrow. Today has enough, but I'm already living in tomorrow's troubles. So worry will disturb it. You see, Proverbs 12, 25, anxiety, the same thing, says, an anxious heart weighs a man down. An anxious heart weighs a man down. Worry and anxiety can bring disastrous effects. And listen, it could be something as simple as constant stress to ulcers and nervous breakdowns. People, because they're living out there, potential troubles. You don't even know if they're going to come. They're potential. You know what's the opposite of potential? Actual. I usually use that in a different context, but it fit today. Okay? That's actual. Potential, what might happen, what may not happen. See, Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 6, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. And when you're uncertain, someone said uncertainty, I think it was Stacey. When you're uncertain about the future, listen, yeah, the anxiety of what's going to happen, what it's going to do, how it's going to be. Listen, you can worry about all sorts of things, but they're all potential troubles you don't know. And our peace can be threatened by anxiety. Now, I want to stay real with this because the reality is that you and I can suffer from anxiety. You and I can have some anxiety in our lives. The Apostle Paul did. Second Corinthians chapter 11. If you want to turn to your Bible. Second Corinthians chapter 11. He's listing a few things there. You know, Second Corinthians has to do with him defending his ministry to a church that he loved. He spent time there. And then some yahoos came in and they were undermining his word and undermining his ministry. And he's, Second Corinthians, what you and I call Second Corinthians, it's about the fifth letter, I think, or fourth letter he writes them, but it makes it to the sacred writings of Second Corinthians. He's defending his ministry. Time and time again. So in chapter 11, he's talking about the sufferings as an apostle, and we pick it up in verse 24. Verse 24, five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. That's 39 for those of you from Hialeah, okay? She agreed. All right. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. At night and day I was adrift at sea, on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from rammers, dangers from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Verse 28. And, apart from other things, there's the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches." Your translation may read concern in many translations. That word there is translated concern. But listen, that same word used by a different author is also translated anxiety. If you fast forward to 1 Peter chapter 5, 1 Peter chapter 5. I think my Bible has a 1 Peter, yeah, there we go. Chapter 5, verse 7, casting all your anxieties, your translation may read, cares on Him. That's the key. Child of God, when you find yourself anxious, when you find yourself worrisome, that is the time to pray. That's the time to cast your anxieties on Him. Why? 1 Peter says, because He cares for you and me. He can handle it. His shoulders are broad enough. That's the secret there. You and I, listen, when we love something, we love the Lord, but something comes in and it's breaking up this peace that we enjoy, this calm and quiet state of mind. I'm not here to tell you that you're not going to suffer from anxiety. I'd be a fool and I wouldn't serve you well as your pastor. You will, there's things in life, the uncertainty of many things. But the reality is when that uncertainty starts there, that's when I go to the knees. That's when I take it up and I put it before the Lord, before His throne of grace with boldness, because I have access to Him, not because I'm good, but because I'm His. And that's the deal. Worry, worry. Alongside the requests, we also then we thank the Lord for His many, many blessings. So we got worry. Number two, we got fear. Someone mentioned it. Fear. Fear has to do with present troubles. That's the reality. There's some things going on in my life that I am not happy with, and I'm actually kind of worried about. I'm kind of fearful about it. I don't know. There's a situation in my job, and it may end up in me being, you know, unemployed. There's a situation in my body. There's things going on. There's some changes. You know, I should have never turned 30, you know, stuff like that, you know. And then, you know, and all of a sudden, and what's going on, right? And there's fear because there's this diagnosis. I was called in to the doctor. There's real fear. Does this help? Of course it does. It worries about the future, fears about the present. And just as true joy cannot be gauged by the absence of unpleasant circumstances, peace cannot be defined because there's no violence, war, strife in our lives. In fact, David's words in Psalm 3 read, I lie down and sleep, I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side." Now stop there. If you had a thousand enemies, listen, some of us are freaking out because we have one enemy. But can you imagine if you know, if you read your Old Testament, latter part of 1 Samuel, all of 2 Samuel. David lived with some real realities. He was being hunt down by King Saul, all right? So he writes that. Are you able to sleep? He says, I lie down and sleep and I wake again. Child of God, take comfort. Somebody has experienced much worse than you have Somewhere on this globe some child of God has experienced worse than you have and these were in the Word of God These ancient words are for you and me we can lie down and sleep. God gives the gift of rest I can sleep for 18 hours in a row and not rest. I Can sleep for two and God can grant me rest. I I can be surrounded by nothing but roses, in a bed of roses, and never sleep, never rest. And I can have tens of thousands of enemies around me and find myself in the center of God's will and protected, and I rest. That's the deal there. And lastly, conflict. Conflict. Conflict has to do with interpersonal troubles. And let me tell you, that is the hardest one. Even as your pastor, the hardest thing to deal with is when there's interpersonal issues between people in the church. Listen, that's the reality. We all don't always be like Christ. We all need Jesus, a little more Jesus some days, all right? If there's a book that I would want you to read, it's this one by Ken. You can't have this one, okay? It's called The Peacemaker by Ken Sandy. A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. It's not a bad read, okay? Johnny will probably take care of it in about three days. He's voracious. I mean, he has me on a, I thought I worked hard at the gym. I mean, I gotta read like there's no tomorrow. And Isaac also, we're reading a book together, and it's like, what chapter, you're nine? Oh my gosh, I'm like, I'm five, and I thought I was good. I thought I was real good. These guys are like, eh, lightweight, okay? Read this one. This is going to drive you to the scriptures. It's going to drive you to your knees. It's going to force you to look at sin in the mirror, not in someone else's life. Okay? Listen, interpersonal conflicts. Listen, the reality is not only does God give us peace, but He calls us to peace. He makes peace with us through His Son. He grants us peace, our personal peace, and then He calls us to live in peace. Conflict threatens to disrupt that. That's why Jesus, writing in Matthew chapter 5, or speaking, we read in Matthew 5, if you are offering your gift at the altar, it's time to worship. And then remember that your brother has something against you. Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift. Do you understand that worship is true worship, not the, okay, not because you got the little, you know, spiritual goosebumps. True worship, spirit and truth, understands that I cannot truly and fully relate well vertically if my horizontal is a mess. That's why Jesus says, if you're at the altar giving your offering, and there you remember your brother has something against you, don't tweet about it. Don't write this passive-aggressive keyboard courage posting on social media. Don't include it to your Insta story. No, you go to him. You go. Be reconciled. Then come back. It's not always easy, you're right, because that's why Romans 12, 18 tells us, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. And this verse is so realistic. It's really the rubber hitting the ground here. First, it tells you that peace with others is not always possible. Do you see it? If it's possible, that means it may not be possible. Some people just want to live in misery, just wants to live in misery. And they don't want to reconcile. They don't want to be at peace. They'd rather be miserable. Yeah, you pray for them, of course, but the Bible calls you to seek, to be at peace. Well, it acknowledges that you may not always be at peace. Number two, it says, you do what you can as far as it depends on you. You go. You be proactive. Don't take the road less traveled of just passivity or the road most traveled of passivity. Take the road less traveled of engaging, engaging. Finally, it tells us not to make any exceptions. Live at peace with everyone. You don't get to pick and choose. Oh, it's good with Sam. He's easygoing. He's a coastie. I'm good. I'm good. But Ismael, the crazy jarhead, I'm not doing that. Uh-uh, bro. Uh-uh. Or this person or that person, because we all know that. And you'd end that sentence. worry, fear, and conflict, big obstacles to peace, big obstacles to experiencing that. So we want to identify, and you all identified, and that's why I went to you, because you know the answer. So the reality is to take that word of God, as Rachel said, to read it and to apply it. So how do we grow in peace? How do we grow in peace? Hopefully it's clear by now that it begins with God doing something first. Peace with God, peace with God. This is not comes out of your striving. You and I, we rest upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, which provides us with the peace that we need. And though the peace with God can never be broken, the peace of God can suffer because of sin in our lives. It's still an offense. that we deal with it is when we sin, we're not going to sense the fatherliness of the Lord as easily. No, listen, we know this from our relationships. When I was a little youngster, many, many, many, many, many years ago, all right, I knew when I was in the trouble with my dad. Did it stop him from being my dad? No. The relationship, but it was stressed. When I was doing what I shouldn't have been doing and he busted me. Or she busted me, one time I'm taking some personal time off from school. And I was in a corner of 19th Avenue coming from Shenandoah Junior High. I lived in 10th Street. I was like in 15th Street. I'm like hanging out with somebody. And all of a sudden, the gray Impala drives by. I'm like, I said, that's my dad. Hey, what are you doing here? I came up with some crazy story. I can't, you can't even make it up. And my parents, I was sitting in the backseat and I was just seeing my dad's eyes. I'm like, Oh my gosh. Okay. Listen, the reality is that you see, that's what happens when you and me, we know that the Lord knows. It's not, can we all agree? If you're a child of God and you can't escape it just because you turn off the light doesn't mean that God's not looking. Just because you close your own eyes doesn't mean that he can't. He's not looking. Okay? He knows it. So what does the Spirit of God does to prompt us towards peace? He says, confess the sin. Believe the gospel again that Jesus died for that sin. Appropriate that forgiveness, and then you experience the peace that comes from the Spirit. Turn from it. What can we do to help grow in this area? Let me give you a few ideas. Number one, trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Isaiah 26.3 says, you will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. The peace of the Spirit, you know, the fruit of the Spirit that's peace, it deals a lot with our minds. It keeps us in spirit. It keeps us in check. Why? Because we trust. We trust. Jesus said in John 14, 1, don't let your heart be troubled, trust in God, trust also in Me. When you and I allow worry and fear and conflict and everything else that you all mentioned, you know, most of the time we're not trusting the Lord. The sin of unbelief has crept in and gripped our hearts and gripped our soul. The unbelief that God may not be in control of this certain area, may not be just in control of this situation, may not be in control of the outcome. And because I don't trust Him, I'm disbelieving that, then I worry. It doesn't mean that, you know, no worries, be happy, but you understand what I'm saying. Number two, love God, love God's Word. Love God's Word, read it, study it, learn it, memorize it. Psalm 119, 165, great peace have they who love your law and nothing can make them stumble. Proverbs 317, the way of wisdom or the ways of wisdom are pleasant and all her paths are peace. You know more about the Lord? The more you know about your God, the more the God of peace can reign in your life. Again, we've seen the beauty of His Word. Number three, pray and give thanks. Pray and give thanks. You want to grow in this area. Okay, Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7. Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Again, this is where I say and I repeat, as soon as you realize that worry is overcoming, and again, worry is a reality in the life of the child of God. But once you see that that worry has an unhealthy relationship has developed, it's unhealthy, okay, that's when you go and you approach God. the throne of grace. You give thanks. You give thanks. Number four, live in unity with each other. Live in unity. Ephesians 4.3, make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Colossians 3.15, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace and be thankful. Live in unity. Again, I can't stress this book enough. okay, that you want to learn biblically. We all have, and this is stuff not only that you apply at the church, you apply in every relationship. John, you should be reading this, brother. I mean, you're starting, you don't think you're going to have conflict with Andrea? You know you married Ms. Wright and you're about to learn that her first name is always Buddy, all right? So you better get this down. So, and Andrea, I mean, you're Prince Charming, that angel that you have, he's fallen, okay? He might be a fallen angel sometimes. So this is for you too, all right? I get to pick on the newlyweds, this is great, this is great. But the reality is this, you can apply this at everything, at your job, at my marriage. Interpersonal conflict is a reality. And you and I are called by the authority. You know, we all love, we've said it here before, we all love to stand on the promises of God. You know when we bucked the system? When we are called to live under the authority of God. We love to trust and stand on the promises of God's Word, but to live under the authority of God's Word, different story altogether. And the Bible tells us, you know, listen, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts as members of one another. So what can we take with us this morning? Let me remind you of some of the things we shared with you last time. Number one, how about this? God's peace is relational, not circumstantial, and it's active and not passive. The Lord actively dispenses peace to those whose minds are focused upon Him. To that end, let's keep our minds and our prayers focused on the Lord. Let's develop a Godward view of life and enjoy the peace it brings to our lives. So, the questions are, do you have peace with God? Do you have peace with…personal peace? Do you have peace with others? The good news is that the gospel provides answers to all of them. We said that last time. You have no peace with God? You have no peace with God? There's faith in Christ, in being justified and reconciled to God. Here's the good news. No peace with God, here it is. On the screen, in Jesus, God bore the penalty that our sins deserve in order that we might enjoy the peace that He provides. You want peace? Get right with God. Get right with God. No peace with God? Get right with Him. He's done what it takes. You don't have to strive to achieve it. It's been achieved. You have to trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross. No personal peace? No peace of God? Repent from the sin that hinders you. Be real with your sin. Be real, here it is, disobedience to the clear instruction of the Bible and genuine peace in our hearts do not and cannot go hand in hand. If you are actively disobeying the Lord, how can you and I think that the peace of God can reign in our hearts? If there's areas in our lives where we are deliberately and willfully going against the Word of God, the clear instruction, there cannot be peace of God because we're disturbing it with our sin. So you repent of that. No peace with others. We mentioned it last time. Here's some practical steps on the screen there. Number one, we must remember that we're fellow members of the same body. But we said that last time. Maybe you weren't here. We're members of the same body. We're on the same team. We don't chop block each other. We're… we're… we're… we're on… we're… we belong to one another, and that's number two. We must remember that we're fellow members of the one body, but also keep in mind that it's Christ's body. We're not body of Baptists. We're not a body of… necessarily of believers, even though we are. But the big deal is we're the body of Christ. And when you and I undercut each other, when you and I go behind and we use a prayer chain to be gossipers, or we… or we disguise a prayer need to be a gossip, we're not… we're not helping. If you're not willing to say something to someone in their face, don't say it behind their back. Don't be a coward. There's no time for lunch. Nothing on the lunch menu reads gossip. Let's be real. Let's be real. We want to expel from our fellowship adulterers and racists and all the big-ticket items, but the respectable sense of ingratitude, of gossip? No, we can let them exist? because we belong to Christ. How we treat one another sends a clear message to those who know us and are watching us. We must also recognize the cause of discord often lies wholly or partly with us. If you are never wrong, you got a problem. If every time you exhort and every time you have an opinion, you're never wrong, you better take a better look in the mirror of God's Word. Listen, I am seldom wrong, but I am every so often. My wife is here and she's grinning like, no more, okay? But if your interaction with everyone is always, you're the problem. Better than this? You better take a good look. We must recognize That sometimes we're the problem. And lastly, we must take the initiative to restore peace. This is not who wins the argument. It's who's going to act biblically. Who's going to take the road less traveled of humility and seek reconciliation and seek the peace amongst the brethren? That's the challenge. That's the challenge we have before us. And may the Lord help us and grant us what is needed for us to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit, that's peace. Amen? Let's bow our heads and close our eyes for just a moment. While we do that, we ask you not so you can look religious or something. It's just for the least distractions. For you to focus on the study of God's Word and how the Lord would want you to respond. In just a few moments, we're going to sing, Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. May all my days bring glory to your name. And would you reflect on that line there? May all my days bring glory to your name. Would you go before the Lord now, child of God, and just ask Him to, as your Father, to reveal that which needs to be taken care of, that area of life that's not reflecting the Lordship of Christ as fully as it should, and take it before Him. And if there's a sin to confess, you do it. My friend, if you're here this morning, you forget the peace of God. You need to make peace with God. And if you choose not to, you choose to stiff arm Him, yet again, the day will come where you'll have to answer for your sin. And there's nothing on this side of the heaven that will justify you before the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the holy, holy, holy God of heaven. Only your faith in Christ and the finished work of Jesus Christ provides you justification, reconciliation, adoption. Only through faith in Christ does the rebel become a child. Only through faith in Jesus Christ does the one who has challenged the crown of heaven find reconciliation. So Lord, we pray now that you would do your work, even as we sit, even as we sing, that you would remind us of that which we need your help with. Father, we pray for those that do not know you this morning, whether they're here in person or watching online, that you would open their eyes and they would sense the reality and the seriousness of the condition of their soul. Their soul is in peril. Help them to see that. Lord, for us, help us not to be stiff-necked, proud. Producing us the fruit of the Spirit is peace. And help us to trust in you in all times. We love you, we trust you. In Jesus' name and God's people said.