Okay, let's read one verse here
in Colossians 3, verse 15. This is our text tonight. The only verse we're going to
deal with. Lord willing, we're going to look at the next verse,
which is a wonderful verse and deserves a message by itself
as well, on the Word of Christ dwelling in us. We'll look at
that, Lord willing, on either Sunday or next Wednesday. But
tonight, verse 15. A wonderful verse. Let the peace
of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called
in one body, and be ye thankful. This is written to the elect
of God. He said up there in verse 12,
didn't he? Put on as the elect of God, holy and beloved. Not
everyone, but God's people who have been given a new heart.
I'm talking about peace ruling in the heart. And those are those
who have been given a new heart, who have peace with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who this is talking to.
And he says, let the peace of God rule in your hearts. And
I believe, I hope this will be a great help and a comfort and
hopefully give more peace. Give more peace. Let the peace
of God rule in your heart. The word let means yield to.
It means give way to. In this country, we have signs
yield. You know, a yield sign. It means
you let the car that has the right of way, you let them. In
England, the sign is give way. That's what their sign says.
Give way. Here comes a car. give way, you
back off. So this says, let the peace of
God rule in your heart, give way. He's not telling us to let
God do anything. That's what false religion says,
you know. That's talking about a God who's not God. Let God
be God. It doesn't say that in the Scripture. In fact, Isaiah 43 says, God
will work and He will lend it. who will prevent it. But as I
said, this is talking to God's people who are alive unto God,
who are responsive to God, given a new heart and life. And he
says, let this peace of God yield to it, give in to it, give way
to it. Give in to this. He said, don't
give in to, don't give way to the opposite. The opposite of
peace is war and turmoil, unrest, anxiety, fears, and so forth,
which we're so given to, aren't we? We're so prone to that. Every one of us have these things
often. Anxiety and fears and worries. We're so easily beset by unbelief,
aren't we? So what he's saying here is let
this peace of God rule, overrule those thoughts. in your hearts
and mind. Dwell on it. Dwell on it. Alright,
what is this peace of God? What is it? Well, it is not the peace, so-called
world peace that the world speaks of. Everyone is talking today
about world peace, aren't they? And I certainly wish we could
have world peace, don't you? I wish there would be no more
wars, but that is not possible. Besides, our Lord said there
will be wars and rumors of war. There will never be world peace
as long as men and women are not at peace with God. Because
the only way there can be peace between people is if there's
peace with God. Okay? But this is not talking
about world peace. That's impossible. This is not
talking about some kind of inner peace that you acquire through
meditation or transcendental meditation
or whatever you want to call it. I call it navel gazing. Or positive mental attitude. People say you can obtain some
peace with just a positive mental attitude. That's a delusion.
That's a delusion. It won't last. Spurgeon talked
about peace of ignorance. There's people who have peace,
but it's because they're ignorant. And what you don't know about
God, about His Word, about yourself, will hurt you. It will damn you. This ignorance, this peace through
ignorance is a false peace. It won't last. He talked about
the peace of indifference. There are those who, I'll just
ignore that. And so they have some measure of peace when they
ignore the truth and try to ignore a problem. Well, we'll just not
think about that. That won't last any, either.
And then there's religious peace, you know. There's all kinds of
religion that people try to get some peace from. And false prophets
the world over cry, peace, peace. when there is no peace, no lasting
peace, no true peace. Our Lord said there is no peace
to the wicked. That is, those who do not know
God, those who are not thankful to God, those who do not believe
the truth, those who reject the Son of God, there is no peace.
They may seem like they have some. They may feel like they
have some right now. Our Lord said, you say to the
wicked, it shall not be well with them. Anybody that's in
rebellion against God Almighty cannot have any lasting peace. God will not allow it. He will
not allow it. And this peace is not something
you find. You look for it and you find
it. It's not something you make.
You don't make peace with God. Everybody says that, don't they?
When a man is on his deathbed, well, he made his peace with
God. You can't do that. It doesn't say that in this Bible
anyway. This is called the peace of God, verse 15. The peace of
God. In other words, it's His to give.
He has to give it. And Scripture plainly says that
It comes from the Lord Jesus Christ making peace. He's the
one that makes peace for us. And what God the Holy Spirit
does to us is He just comes and tells us. Reveals it to us. And breaks down the enmity in
us. Reconciles us to God. Makes us friendly toward God. No peace to the wicked though.
Psalm 29.11. This peace is not for everyone.
We don't tell everybody. God loves you, because that's
not so. They don't tell everybody like
false prophets do, He has a wonderful plan for your life. I don't know
if He does or not. If you're one of Christ, He does.
If you're not in Christ, it's not going to be wonderful at
all. Peace, peace, when there is no peace. No. Psalm 2911 says
the Lord will bless His people. with peace. And, well, I've got
to go on. But this peace, this peace of
God, the only true, real and lasting peace is just that. It's the peace of God. Let this
peace of God, that is, believing that God is God, let that rule
in your heart. We sang it. "...will keep him
in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, stayed upon
Jehovah, that is, the Rock, that God is God. He said, Be still,
that is, be at peace, and know that I am God." I am God. Meaning, absolute sovereign ruler
and controller over everything and everyone. That's God. There's peace in believing that
God is God. Thy God reigneth. The Lord reigneth. Whatever it is, it is the Lord. Or it would not be. It is the
Lord. That's what Eli said, didn't
he? It is the Lord. Job. All that befell Job, what
did he say? The Lord did this. The Lord did
it. The Lord gave and the Lord taketh
away. The Lord, God, who worketh all things, good and evil, somehow,
I can't explain it, but it's so. Isaiah 45, 7 plainly says
that and other places. God who worketh all things according
to his will. His will is perfect. His will
is infinitely wise. And it's for the good. Brother
Gabe read Romans 8 again tonight in the study. And verse 28, which
many people quote, but everyone doesn't really believe that.
But God's people do. We know that all things work
together. Why? Because God's working them
together for good. For good. There's nothing in
a believer's life that's not good. even trials and sufferings
and afflictions and persecutions, it's of the Lord. He's sent there. And it's for good to them that
love God who are called according to His purpose. That's His elect.
So this peace of God is believing that God is God. Let this peace
of God rule. Don't let unbelief rule. Don't
let your fears and worries about this and that and the other rule
you. Nothing happens but what God
Almighty wills it. Spurgeon used to say, even the
particle of dust you see in the sunlight coming through the window,
God Almighty before the world began predetermined the path
and the place where that particle of dust would land. Can you believe that? Well, the world
thinks that's ridiculous. Well, that's God. What is an
atom? You know, everything's made of
atoms, isn't it? Atoms misplaced or somehow collide. Well, you
have everything. Everything. God Almighty reigns
and rules and controls all things where He's not God. Nothing happens
but what God wills. No one can do anything for or
against us unless God has willed it. Let this peace rule in your
heart. Rule your heart. Don't give way
to unbelief. Don't give way to what you see,
what you hear all around you. Listen to what the Lord says.
Let this rule in your heart. Psalm 37. We all love Psalm 37.
Don't fret not. Rest in the Lord. Wait. You'll see. All these promises
that the Lord gives us to promote peace, He says, you wait. You'll
see. It's all so. It's all so. What He said. And you will delight
yourself. Psalm 37, 11 says, you will delight
yourself in the abundance of peace. And the end of the perfect
man will be what? Peace. So let this peace of God
rule in your heart. When your heart frets, when the
heart worries over world events. And who does it? You wouldn't
if you didn't watch the news. I don't watch it much. Some people
make fun of me because we don't watch the news. What's wrong
with you? See, they're all upset and fretting and fussing and
worrying and so forth. So did you see what was on the
news? No, I didn't. And it goes on, you know, until the next
day. Same thing is going to happen the next day. It's sufficient
for tomorrow or the evil thereof. It's going to be bad news tomorrow.
We've not been any of the worse or any of the better for watching
it or not watching it. If something happens, somebody
will tell you about it. When the World Trade Center was
bombed, I was sitting down here in my study, reading the scriptures,
just having a good time, until they come running in and said
they're bombing New York. Well, you'll find out about it. And
if the bomb hits here, you'll really find out about it. World events. World events, let
this truth overrule you, rule in your heart. The earth is the
Lord's and the fullness thereof. The world, that is, everything
in the earth, all things belong to Him. And the world and they
that dwell therein, even terrorists, can't do anything. This is the
God who is God. And this is the only one worth
believing and it will give you peace. You can go to bed at night. He that keepeth Israel. There
is a good illustration of that little country of Israel all
these years. Everybody wanted it obliterated off the map and
they can't do it. Why? He that keepeth Israel. They are surrounded. There was
nothing they would like. They were worried about Iran.
Oh no, Iran is going to get the bomb. Come on now. Let this rule your
heart. Let this rule your heart. The
world and they that dwell therein. When your heart frets and worries
over everyday needs, your sustenance, your provisions, and who does
it? Mack was talking to me about the finances. He said, we're
living on a shoestring. Well, we always have. That's
called living by faith. Not a big bank account. Not by
sight, but by faith. Let this rule in your heart when
you worry about things, your needs and all. Jehovah-Jireh. Keep repeating that to yourself.
Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord will provide. That's
His name. The Lord will provide. Hasn't
it? Not anyone in here has ever missed
a meal. My parents and I were talking
at dinner last night about his parents who went through the
Depression. Had it tough. I mean, they had
it tough. They had it tough. And there's
not anybody here of that age right now who really knew anything
about that. They were too young, but their
parents lived through that. Tough, tough. No running water
and so forth. Well, the Lord still provided. And as I said, our brethren down
in Mexico, they've never had running water, never will have
running water, will they? Dirt floors, cook over a fire, they
have all they need, food and rain. That's what our Lord said,
didn't He? Jehovah Jireh. The cattle on
a thousand hills are His. All the gold and the silver in
the mines are His. He can make you rich if He willed
it to be so. Don't give a dollar to the lottery. You're not going to win it. Oh,
no. It would be positively detrimental
to God's people. You're not going to get rich.
So save your dollar lottery money. Give it to the missionaries where
you ought to be giving it. He's not going to let His people
get rich. That's what the Scripture says. Keep me from riches or
I'll forget you. Don't let me be poor unless I
steal and deny thee. But don't let me be rich or I'd
forget you. And that's exactly what we all
do. We get a little extra spare change and all we can think about
is spending it. So we're not going to be rich. All the gold
and the silver and all of mine belong to the Lord. And as I
said once before, the Lord never gave one thin dime, one mic to
one person while he was walking on this earth. Not one. This
health and wealth gospel today is a lie. The Lord wants you
to be rich and healthy. That is a lie. That's Satan's
lie. Elisha the prophet died of sickness. Elisha the prophet. Read it for
yourself. He died of some sort of sickness. What was it? Cancer?
Could have been. Elisha. The Lord doesn't want
you to be sick. That's a lie. Some of the greatest
blessings the Lord has given people is sickness. It's been
the entrance into glory for some of His people out of sickness.
They're going to die of something. And it's also been a means of
great glory and honor and a witness and a testimony to the world
and to God's people by the sickness of His people. It's been a good
thing. If I ever get deathly sick, I
hope I can witness like your mother did and my sister did
and my mother-in-law and Joe and others. I hope I can witness
like that. Where am I? That's the next thing. When we fret over and we worry
about trials and tribulations and troubles, it's the Lord. It's the Lord. Let this rule
in your heart. this reign over your thoughts
and in your heart, and it will give you peace. Sin and guilt,
when you fret and worry over sin and guilt, let the peace
of God rule in your heart. Alright, that brings me to my
next point. That this peace of God, what is the peace of God?
Well, Scripture says we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our peace. Those who do not have the Son
of God do not have life and do not have peace. Look at chapter
1, verse 20. You know this. We just looked
at it. But this is all through Scripture. You see, we don't
make peace with God. Christ made peace with God for
His people. Verse 20 and 21. Speaking of
the Lord Jesus Christ, having made peace through the blood
of His cross by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him
I say, not you and Him, by Him I say, whether they be things
in earth or things in heaven, and you, even you that were sometime
alienated enemies in your mind by wicked work, yet now hath
He reconciled." You who were enemies of God,
that's what you read in Romans 8, 7, didn't you? The carnal
mind, enmity against God. He made you friendly toward God.
You, men and women, are haters of God by nature. God has to
break down that enmity. And He's the one that does it.
So Christ is the peace of God. The Lord Jesus Christ. So when
sin and guilt Rule your heart and trouble you when the accuser
begins to accuse you. Remember his words that we heard
on Sunday? He said to that woman, remember? Woman, where are thine accusers? Doth no man accuse thee? Why
didn't they? Where were they? Where did they
go? Those accusers. All those witnesses
against her. She was guilty. And they had
to have two or three witnesses for a person to be stoned, to
be found guilty. But Christ did something and got
rid of them. There weren't any. And she looked
up and saw that they were all gone. If we look to Christ, we'll
see our sins gone. Where are they? Doth no man accuse
thee? Say it. He told the woman, say
it. Doth no man accuse thee? No man, Lord. Say it. Romans
8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ. Look at John 14. Christ is the
peace of God's people. Peace by His cross. Peace by
His blood. God is not angry with His people.
God is angry with the wicked every day, Scripture said. God
who by no means cleared the guilty. Why is God not angry with His
people who do wickedly at times, who are guilty of sin? Why is
God not angry with them? Because Christ bore their sin. Because Christ bore their punishment
for them. The chastisement of their peace
was laid on Him. He took our weapon. He took our weapon. Look at John
14. I love this. Someone said these three chapters,
14, 15, 16, are the greatest sermon ever preached, followed
by the greatest prayer ever prayed. I agree. The prince of preachers
is not Charles Spurgeon. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He
just told Peter in chapter 13 that he would deny him before
the sun came up, he would deny him three times. And so do we. Nearly every day we do. Some
way. In our attitudes, our actions, whatever, we deny the Lord. We
look like we don't even know Him. Now, here's our Lord's first
word. After Peter, you ought to deny
me three times before the sun comes up. Verse 1, let not your
heart be troubled. I wish John were here, because
John loves that passage in 1 Timothy that says, if we deny him, he
can't deny himself. In other words, if we're in Christ,
there's such a union of the believer in Christ that he will never
deny us. He will never deny us. He says,
let not your heart be troubled. And he went on to say, You believe
in God, believe also in me. What do you mean? I am God, he
said. Verse 10, you believe not that
I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Philip says, show us the
Father. He said, Philip, have I been
so long time with you? He that seeth me hath seen the
Father. Call his name Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father. God manifests in the flesh. He
said, I'm going to prepare a place for you. Verse 2, in my Father's
house are many mansions or dwelling places. Many. When God says many,
that's a lot. You understand? When God says many, He says the
people of God are as the sands of the seashore and the stars
of the sky. You know what my hope is? Well,
what's one more? I mean, God says many. There are many dwelling places.
That means there just might be room for me, you reckon? Oh, he said, if it were not so,
I would have told you. Who's he talking to? Who's he
talking to? You say he's a disciple. Well,
I'm a disciple. Aren't you? You're talking to
the followers of Christ. He's talking to those that believe
a lot. Is that you? He's talking to
these sorry, no good... Who's he talking to? Those that
love him, love his salvation. Who's he talking to? He's talking
to you. He's talking to me. Disciple. He says, if it were not so, I
would have told you. You can't lie. I go to prepare
a place for you. He doesn't have it. There's no
names here. He doesn't say Peter. He doesn't say Thomas. He doesn't
say Bartholomew. He says you. So I'm going to
take that. Is that presumption? It's faith. Whatsoever things
are written are written for our learning. And he said, I go and prepare
a place for you, and I will come again and receive you unto myself.
Who? Those that trust him. Bonnie,
that's us. He's talking to us here. I'm
going to prepare a place for you. There are many places. If it were not so, I would have
told you. And if I go, I'll come again, I'm going to receive you
to myself." That's peace. He can't lie. And he went on
to say, I won't leave you comfortless. Now in verse 27, peace I leave
with you. Peace that he is about to make
going to the Calvary's tree. He's about to make that peace.
He says, I'm leaving that with you. I'm leaving that with you. And my peace, verse 27, I give
unto you, not as the world giveth. We were just talking about that,
weren't we? The world promises peace and it doesn't last. This
is peace, that passive understanding. I've got to go on. I want to
get to that verse. The peace of God, let it rule in your heart.
that Christ is your peace. Don't give in to these fears
and worries and unbelief. The peace of God is also this.
It's peace, believing that God is God. It's believing that Christ
is your peace with God. And it's peace within, the love
of God that's shed abroad in the heart. It's peace within
that makes you peace-loving and a peacemaker. Peacemaker. Scripture says, let
this mind be in you. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus. Blessed are the peacemakers. They shall be called the children
of God. Now, who does that describe more
than the Lord Himself? The Son of God who made peace.
And long before Mahatma Gandhi and long before Buddha and all
these other phonies came, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince
of Peace came. And He not only made peace for
His people, but He showed us real peace. Not by sitting cross-legged
like that Buddha. No, no. Or the other fellow.
No, no. Many ways. Many ways. And he
gave us this example throughout the Scripture. Scripture says
things like this. When he was reviled, he reviled
not again. He said, turn the other cheek.
He did just that. He said, I gave my back to the
smite. He blessed them that cursed him.
Hanging on the cross, the first words out of his mouth were,
Father, forgive me. Did he have peace? He blessed them that cursed him
who, when his enemy was hungry, he fed him. He fed him. Clothed him. Psalm 1, Christ
must have the preeminence and he is that blessed man in Psalm
1. Happy is the man. That's him,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said this, if you know
these things, happy are you if you do them. Look at verse 15 in our text
of Colossians 3. It says, Let the peace of God
rule in your hearts to the which also you are called in one body. As we quoted, Blessed are the
peacemakers, they shall be called the sons of God. You are called
to this. You are calling, brethren, your
vocation as sons of God, Scripture says, as children of the Most
High God. Let this peace rule. Kindly affection
one to another. Children of the Most High God,
and so on and so forth. In one body, they say, to which
you're called also in one body, members of the body. We're not
put in the body to serve ourselves, we're put in the body to serve
the body. to serve the head. This is what
Colossians, I'm sorry, Ephesians 4 says, the whole body is fitly
joined together and compacted and every joint supplied. That
which every joint supplied edifies the body. Edifies the body. And he tells us we're called
to make peace, to strive together for the unity of the body, for
the unity of peace. And we don't do that as long
as we're keeping to ourselves or feeling sorry for ourselves
or causing trouble, do we? He says, you're called to this.
Blessed are the peacemakers, they shall be called the sons
of God. And you're called in one body
to strive together for this unity of the body, peace, peace. And
Margaret, you and I were talking about this Sunday. Scripture
says, if it be possible, as much as life within you, live peaceably
with all men. Margaret was talking about how
some people are so hard to deal with, you know, in the world.
And everybody in here has that problem now. David said it. He
said, they're for war. I'm for peace. They just want
to fight and struggle. I don't want that. I want peace.
That's what God does to His people. He makes them peaceable, gentle,
easy to be entreated, peace-loving, peacemakers. Peacemakers, not
brawlers, but peacemakers, if it be possible. As much as life
within you. Live peaceably with all men. How? How is this peace going to rule
in our hearts, huh? How? Are we going to strive together
in the unity of the Spirit when this old man It's still there
and so forth. How? Help, Lord. We always say that,
don't we? Without me, you can do nothing.
Help. Lord, help me. Lord, restrain the old man and
constrain the new one. Constrain the new one. Lord,
help me. That's why I said pray without
ceasing. That's where it began. That's where it began. But I've
got some good points from my pastor. I listened to a message
about him today. on peace. Where does it come
from? What is this peace? And he said,
we don't need to defend ourselves. There's no peace if you keep
trying to defend yourself, if you keep getting offended. The
only peace is if you realize you're nothing. That's what he
said up in verse 12, meekness, humbleness of mind, meekness.
Think too highly of yourselves. You won't get too offended if
people say bad things about you. That's what the Scripture says,
too. We're dead. We ought to be dead. Don't let the applause
of the world puff you up. Don't let the curses of the world
bring you down. He said this. He said, We have
no honor to defend. We're trying to give Him all
the honor. We have no glory. We don't have any glory. It's
His glory. He gets all the glory. We have
no position to attain to. You know, it's a dog-eat-dog
world, you know, climbing up the corporate ladder. Let them
go. Go on. There's no ladder I want to climb
up except Jacob's. Huh? I don't aspire to anything
higher than knowing Christ, do you? If you do, you won't have any
peace. But ambition and all that. He said this. This is good. He
said, remember this, God is the first cause of all things, not
men. So don't get angry with people. Why get angry with people when
God is the first cause? You remember the story of Shimei,
don't you? Cursing David. I bring it up all the time. Shimei,
this fellow, cursed David. David didn't deserve that. David's
a fine man, a kind man. He didn't do anything to make
that man curse him. Well, David's friend was going to cut his head
off, and David said, no, don't do that. He said, the Lord sent
him to curse me. I must be humbling today. The
Lord sent him. The Lord take care of him, and
he did. Solomon cut his head off later on. Don't get mad at second causes. God's the first cause. And he
said this, men are men. Don't expect anything out of
men and women when that's all they are. Remember their frame.
You know what they are? They're just like us. So, don't expect too much out
of yourself. Don't look for anything in yourself.
You'll be bitterly disappointed. Don't be too upset with sinners.
People are going to do what people always do. They're going to act
like their nature. Don't get too upset. We need to know their frame like
the Lord knows ours. And remember this. It says in
verse 13, Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Forgive men their
trespasses. Who? What men? Anybody. Love your enemies, he tells us.
He tells us this. Remember that. You know, to whom
much is forgiven, they'll love much. Those who have been shown the
most mercy will be the most merciful people. Remember that. Remember
that. And remember this, everything
is temporary. Nothing is worth fighting over. Nothing is worth
getting too upset over. It's just not. It's all temporary.
It's all temporary. Philippians 4 in closing. Well,
look at the last part of verse 15. It says, Be ye thankful then.
This peace of God will rule in your heart if you're thankful.
Philippians 4. Philippians 4 gives us a few
things for this peace of God which passes understanding to
keep your heart, to rule your heart. He says in Philippians
4, verse 4, Rejoice in the Lord always. That's what we said,
didn't we? God is God. Rejoice. God is on
the throne. Rejoice in the Lord. Thou art
thou downcast within me, O my soul. Hope thou in God. You'll
yet praise him for the health of his countenance. You may be
down now, but you just wait. You'll rejoice. The Lord reigneth. Rejoice in the Lord, our righteousness.
The Lord, our provider. The Lord, our peace. Rejoice
in the Lord. Again, I say rejoice. Let your
moderation be known unto all men. That means moderate in your
temperament, moderate in your behavior, moderate in your desires
and so forth. The Lord will honor that. That
honors Him and He will honor you with peace before men. Confess Him, He'll confess you. Verse 6, Be careful for nothing. Be careful for nothing. No anxious
care. Didn't our Lord say that? Take
no thought for tomorrow. Be not filled with anxious care. Don't worry about what you eat
or drink." He said, that's all the world is concerned about.
He said, consider the sparrows. They don't sow, don't reap. You're
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not worth much more than
many sparrows? Oh, my. Don't be filled with
care. That's what gives us turmoil,
doesn't it? When we get rid of this anxious
care, we'll have some peace. In everything, verse 6, by prayer. Prayer will give us peace. Prayer. He says, call on me. I'm a very present helper. Lord,
I don't have any peace. I'm a very present helper. Call on me. And everything by
prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving, he said, be
thankful. Let your request be made known
unto God. Be thankful. In everything, give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. In everything,
give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. Be ye thankful. A thankful heart
is a peaceful heart. Giving thanks will cause you
to forget your troubles, and prayer If you're praying
rightly, if you're praying for other people, not just praying
for yourself, that will cause you to forget your trouble. And
think on them. Think on things above it. Be
thankful. A heart full of murmuring and
complaining, God's not going to give that
person any peace. Like the children of Israel. You know why they
didn't enter the Promised Land? They sinned every sin imaginable. But this is why they didn't enter
in. Murmuring and complaining. That's right, isn't it? God gave
them, and gave, and gave, and gave, and forgave, and gave,
and forgave, and gave, and gave, and gave. They never missed a
meal. Their shoes didn't wear out. Their garments didn't wax
old. They didn't like for anything.
All those years, they didn't like for anything. But they were
still in their tents. They had a tent. And so do we. They were still in their tents,
probably with food in their mouths, murmuring and complaining. And
God said, that's it. That's it. Be ye thankful. Be ye thankful. And He said here
in Philippians 4, that peace of God, all these things, rejoicing
in the Lord, in moderation, the Lord is at hand. Be careful for
nothing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. Tell the Lord
everything. Tell it to the Lord. Let your
request be made. And the peace of God. Peace of God which passeth all
understanding. You won't be able to understand
it. The world won't understand it. But it will keep your heart.
Keep your mind. It will rule your heart through
Christ Jesus. Remembering Him. Looking to Him. Alright, so, let the peace of
God rule in your heart. To the which you are called.
Also called. And be ye thankful. In one body.
And be ye thankful. And Lord willing, as I said,
next time, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Let's look
at what that means. Okay, stand with me. Our Lord and our God, thank You
for Your Word. We know Your Word will not return
void. It will accomplish what You send it to do. It's a saver
of life to life or death to death. Lord, may it be a saver of life
to every person in this room, young and old. It's not too hard
for Thee. It's not impossible. Lord, we
pray, we ask that You might be pleased to use Your Word powerfully,
not just Word only, but in power in the Holy Spirit. Give Him
much assurance that Thou art God, that Christ is our peace,
that all things are good for them that are in Him. Lord, forgive
the poor comments by this poor vessel. Overrule. Use what You will for Your people,
we pray. But let not the fowls of the
air steal away the Word, Lord. Let it not fall on by the wayside
or hard, stony ground, but plant it in our hearts and cause it
to spring up tomorrow so we might need it. Let this peace, Lord,
we ask You to make this peace rule and overrule our hearts. We are thankful. We thank You
for Your Word. above all else. It's in Christ's
name we pray. Amen.