I could sing that every week
because I need to be revived every week. Colossians chapter 3, open your
Bibles if you would to Colossians chapter 3. The name of the message
is let peace govern your heart. Let peace govern your heart. Colossians chapter 3 is where
we'll be studying. will be in verse 15, but I'd
like to read the context of the verse. It's always, always important
for us to read the context. So many times I see people rip
out scriptures out of the context that they're placed in, and they
make some kind of weird doctrine out of it. And we won't do that. We're going to look at the context
of the verse, and we'll preach what the text says. In Colossians
3, we're starting in verse 12 and we'll go to verse 17. Put
on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows of
mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering,
forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have
a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do
ye. And above all these things put
on charity, now we looked at that last week, that's love,
agape love, sacrificial love, which is the bond of perfectness.
And here's tonight's verse, and let the peace of God rule in
your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and
be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word
or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving
thanks to God and the Father by him. So last week we looked
at verse 14, and we saw that love is the bond which keeps
believers together. It is the bond that joins us
all into the body of Christ, and it's the love of God in Christ. It's the agape love of God. Now
we have a filial love for each other as brethren, but this agape
love is shed abroad in our hearts, and we'll look at that, if you
would, turn to Romans chapter 5. We'll look at that too. It's
shed abroad in our hearts. Now we have love for God. Now
that he has revealed himself to us, but there was a time when
we did not love God. There was a time when we were
dead in our trespasses and sins. Now we have love also for the
Lord Jesus Christ now. a love that we didn't have as
believers. Before we were saved, we were unbelievers and we did
not have love for Christ. But now as believers, we have
a love for Christ that we didn't have before. And we also have
a love for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will not
settle for anything else. We must hear the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We don't want to hear about how
to make our marriages better. We don't want to hear about how
to live a victorious Christian life. We want to hear about the
one who is our savior, the one who is our redeemer. That's the
one we want to hear about. And that's the one who God's
sheep feast upon in the clover of his world. It's the Lord Jesus
Christ in him alone. We will settle for nothing but
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now we have a love
as believers for God's people. We have a love that we never
had before. And now because of that love of Christ, we're knit
together in love. Scripture declares that we're
knit together in love. If you don't mind, I'm gonna
tell you, Matt was telling me how you and him had talked this
week. And he said it was so wonderful
because now he talks to you as a sister in Christ too. Well,
no, but she's his sister. And he's your brother in Christ
now. And so now you guys have a bond that you never had before. And it's wonderful. And it's
absolutely wonderful. And all God's people, we have
that. We have that. And now we have a love for the
scriptures too. Do you know I avoided this book as much as possible
before I was saved? I didn't even know what it said.
It there was one that sat in my parents house and it's still
there and dusty as ever. Never opened, but it was there.
Never opened, never looked at. Now. I love it. I love the word of God. I love
the word of God. And we are. Now, also, we set
our hearts and our minds upon Christ, where before we didn't,
our hearts, our affections, are set upon Christ and the things
of Christ. And this love which is shed abroad
in our heart, look at Romans chapter five, is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God. And it comes from God
who is the source of this wonderful love. God himself is the source
of this wonderful love. Romans chapter five, verses one
to six. Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. God's people
have a hope in the glory of God. We didn't have that before. We
had no hope before. Ephesians 2 tells us that. We
had no hope. We hoped in ourselves, but that's
a vain hope, isn't it? That's a hope that's doomed.
Now we have hope in the glory of God. And not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh
patience. Spurgeon said we glorify God and we give thanks to God
in our misery and when things are going well. We never did
that before. We never did that before, but
now we do. Now we do. And patience, experience, and
experience hope. And hope, make it not a shame,
because the love of God is shed abroad. in our hearts by who? By the Holy Ghost, which is given
unto us. This love is is not natural to
us. It's not a natural love. It's
a love which God places in our hearts, a love for his word,
a love for his gospel, love for his son, a love for a love for
the scriptures. In Romans 5.5, it says, shed
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. For when
we were yet without strength and due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. That was us. That was us. So go back to our text in Colossians
3.15, we'll be looking at this. And let's look at this verse
now in light of what we learned last week about the love of God.
This verse says, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful."
Now, from the Scriptures, we know from the Scriptures that
the Lord Jesus Christ is our peace. We saw that in Romans
5.1. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I'll state that again later on
in the message. Think of this. It's very simple.
Without Christ, we have no peace with God. None. We have no reconciliation with
God without Christ. We have no redemption without
Christ. We have no justification without Christ. Without Christ,
we are dead in trespasses and sins. No matter what people say,
no matter what they think, that's their state. That's their state
without Christ. But in Christ, the believer has
peace with God, Peace with God. And this scripture tells us we're
to let that peace rule in our hearts. We're to let that peace
rule in our hearts. And with Christ, we have reconciliation
with God. With Christ, we have redemption.
With Christ, we have justification. And with Christ, we're made alive,
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. So in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ, the believer has peace with God. Why? Because Jesus Christ is our peace.
He is our peace. God's people, first point here
is God's people possess, they possess the peace of God. Now
we might not always feel like we do, but scripture declares
this, look at this. And think on this before we look
at this a little bit more. Many people have peace, but it's
a false peace. It's a false peace because they
built this peace upon a refuge of lies. They've built this peace
upon a refuge of lies. They proclaim peace to themselves,
and they think that they will live in ease. They think they
will live for many years, and they delight in temporal happiness.
But when sudden destruction comes, they have no hope. Turn, if you
would, to 1 Thessalonians 5. 1 Thessalonians 5. Paul was writing about this in
the day of the Lord, when the Lord returns. Paul was writing
about this very thing. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5, verse
3. For when they shall say, Peace
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. as travail
upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. Now think of
that, think of that in light of when an unsaved person and
they have, they're trusting in themselves. They think, well,
I'm not a bad person. I'm not as bad as those other people.
And surely God won't hold that against me that I'm a, that I
sin a little bit because they don't really think they're sinners.
And then it's their time. And they face the Lord clothed
in their own self-righteousness. And they are doomed for eternity.
No, Christ is our peace. And this peace that the believer
has is true peace. True peace with God. And it comes
from God. And it's only in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. It says here, and let the peace
of God rule in your hearts. Peace with God, beloved. Let
it ring in your heart. Let it ring in your ears. Peace
with God. Peace with God. If you are reconciled
to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not to act as
if it were not true. This is something that the believer
has. Therefore, being justified by
faith, So you must believe that if you don't believe on Christ,
you don't have this peace. Therefore, though, being justified
by faith, we have. We don't always feel it, do we?
But the scriptures declare we have peace with God. How? through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is our peace. He is our
peace. He is our peace. Think of this
in all of God's providential works in our lives. No matter
what comes, our peace with God doesn't change, right? Now our
peace, our tranquilness may be disturbed, but as far as our
peace with God before the law and justice of God, that'll never
change. That'll never change. Think of this too. Having peace
with God is not based upon our actions. It is in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's in and through Him. It's
about what He has done. And this is what makes it amazing.
This is what makes it amazing. Because Scripture declares it
is the peace that passes all understanding. You see, the world's peace is
a false peace. It's a false hope. The believer
has true peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's incredible. Have you ever
thought, how did I make it through that? It's because God took you
through it. He took you through it. He brought
you to where you are. It's amazing. God's people have
peace with God, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God. So the one who believes on the
Lord Jesus Christ who's born again by the Holy Spirit of God
has peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. Here's something to think
about, and this has helped me in the past. What are man's offenses
against us compared with those which God has forgiven us? What is man's offenses against
us? So anything that man can do to
us, what are they? compared to what God has forgiven
us, forgiven me. Man may sin against me a few
times, right? I sinned against the Lord billions
of times. He forgave me all my sins. We see why it ties in, why this
piece ties in. with what we looked at in verse
13 which says, forbearing one another and forgiving one another.
If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you,
so also do you. We're to keep short accounts,
aren't we? Short accounts with each other and with others around
us. And we will, it'll be easy for
us to do that when we think and when we reflect on how much the
Lord has forgiven us. He's forgiven me so much. And
I know he has you believe too. And this is a piece here again,
like the love spoken of in verse in verse 14, this is a piece
which God works in our souls. This is a piece which is not
natural to us. It's a piece we cannot produce.
It's actually a fruit of the spirit. And we'll look at that
later, love, peace, love, joy, peace, it's a fruit of the spirit.
It's a work of God. The Lord takes the wild, raging
beast of a rebellious heart out of us. And oh, how wild and rebellious
is our heart, right? Which has no peace, and he puts
a new heart within us. And this new heart hungers and
thirsts after righteousness. It hungers and thirsts after
God, after Christ. And it has the peace of God within
it And this is the divine work, as we're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. And it is a work only God can
perform. Only God can perform this work. And the peace of God
is a greater peace than any other peace, as it proceeds from Him. It proceeds from Him who is holy.
It proceeds from Him who is, He who is eternal. And it is
a peace that passes all understanding. And it is an eternal peace. It's
an eternal peace. Let's continue in our text here.
We are to let this peace rule, which in the Greek is govern.
Govern in our hearts. And let the peace of God rule,
govern in your hearts. To the witch also ye are called
in one body and be ye thankful. Again, the Greek word for rule
means to govern. The peace of God is to rule or
govern over our hearts. Over our hearts. Deciding and
settling all matters that arise in our minds are in an assembly
of believers. And that's why later on we'll
look at that. He brings in the body of Christ, the local body
and the universal body. So let us think upon this in
order for there to be peace, there must be a ruler. In order
for there to be peace, there must be a ruler. Is there be
no peace without a ruler? The Lord Jesus Christ rules over
our hearts. He rules over our hearts. Before
we are saved, we have a mind that is dictated by our dead
nature. which only loves sin. And we were carried away by the
lust of the flesh and did whatsoever we willed. That will being ruled
by a dead nature only chose sin. Only chose sin. I remember to
my shame. But I was ruled by a dead nature
My will was ruled by a dead nature, therefore my will was in bondage,
as Luther wrote, in the bondage of the will. And I had no peace. I don't know
about you, but I had no real peace. No real peace at all. My heart was in constant turmoil. I feared death. I feared facing
God. And my hope, my hope was built
upon a refuge of lies that I had built, thinking that I wasn't
as bad as the guy down the street. I wasn't as bad as the guys in
the prison. And thinking that God would weigh
me in the scales of his justice and that I would come out OK. Well, that all came crashing
down when I finally opened up this book. And this book declares there's
none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. The soul that sins that
must die. And I was in trouble until God
revealed the Savior. My substitute. Who died in the
room in place of me. and all his people, all the elect
of all the ages upon Calvary's cross, and who paid everything
that God demanded for the purchase of my soul. And now I have peace
with God. It's so with you too who believe,
isn't it? And we just glorify our great
God We glorify our great God. We who are born again by the
Spirit, we now have a new nature within us. And we are ruled by Christ, by
Christ alone. Our hearts are subdued by the
peace of God. It restrains the passions of
anger, wrath, and revenge, bringing us to remember how much Christ
has forgiven us. And as I say, that's why Paul's
writing this, that if anyone offends you, just remember how
much Christ has forgiven you. Now, we're still sinners, aren't
we? We're still sinners. That's why Paul says, and let
the peace of God rule in your heart. Let it govern your heart.
Let it govern your heart. Christians still fight against
fleshy impulses, anger, unforgiveness. Anything that the world struggles
with, we still struggle with it, right? And that's just to
mention a few, and there's many others, aren't there? But we
still struggle, and we will till the day we die. We sin against
one another, which is brought out in verse 13. And that is
why Paul is bringing forth that we should let the peace of God
govern our hearts, because we have a war constantly within
us, beloved. We have a war constantly within
us, a war with the flesh, and Paul addresses that here, bringing
forth that the peace of God should rule in our hearts. John Gill
brings forth this metaphor, and several commentators did the
same thing, so I thought I would mention this. This metaphor with
the peace of God ruling in our hearts, Gill brings forth it. The metaphor is taken from a
judge in the Olympic Games who was an umpire, the moderator,
who determined who's victory, who was the victor, who wasn't
the victor, and to whom the crown belonged. And the apostle would
have no other umpire among the saints than the peace of God.
See, it should govern our hearts. That's why it says, let the peace
of God govern rule in your hearts. What a gift. Of the grace of
God in Christ is the peace of God, which rules in the heart
of the believer, and it must rule as it alone has the power
to put down all rebellion in the believer. What do we ask God to do when
we're going through a trial or a tribulation? Or we're murmuring
about someone or something. Don't we always go to Christ?
Don't we always go to our great God and King and say, give us
peace. Give us peace. This Spurgeon
said, come put down my murmuring, arrest this bad temper. Help
me that I may not break out into anger. Lord, be my strength, help me.
And we yield ourselves, don't we, to the peace of God, desiring
that it would rule in our hearts. And this peace only comes to
us again in and through the Lord Jesus Christ and it's truly amazing
grace. We've truly received mercy beyond
words. Mercy beyond words. And the believer desires that
God would rule in our hearts and in our minds. When disputes
come either in our personal lives or in the church, this peace
is often broken and disrupts the peace that we have. Most
disputes are about little things. A person getting worked up about
something, and then it starts to spread like wildfire, right? Oh Lord, may we walk and live
peaceably with one another in the body of Christ. May we. May
we. May we let the peace of God rule
in our hearts and in our minds, forgiving and being forbearing
with one another. And God is glorified, beloved,
when we let the peace of God rule in our hearts. One commentator said, if we are
always fretting and anxious, how can you proclaim that we
have peace, we have the peace of God ruling in our hearts?
If we are always finding fault with others, We need to let this
peace of God rule in our hearts because it brings unity. It brings
unity and it brings peace to the body of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, let us
remember this too. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
peacemaker, beloved. He's the peacemaker. And we, his people, rejoice.
We rejoice. Don't you rejoice? that scripture
declares that you have peace with God in and through the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's remarkable. It's amazing
that God has had mercy upon a sinner like me. And if you're a believer,
a sinner like you. And that we have peace with God.
Our text continues and we'll look at the next point, which
is called in one body, and let the peace of God rule in your
hearts, so govern your hearts, to the which also ye are called
in one body, and be ye thankful. God's people are called in one
body. Now, we have a local body here,
a local assembly of believers, but there's a universal body,
the body of Christ, of all the elect, of all the ages. I used
to go to a church when I was in religion and they said that
they were the true bride of Christ and everyone else was just guests. That's a lie. All God's people
are the bride of Christ. All. All. Now in the body of believers,
again, disputes are ineditable. We know that schisms occur, theological
disagreements occur, and they become threats to the unity and
peace of the church. And this is all too real. It
can happen anywhere, can't it? So remember who Paul's writing
to here, too. He's writing to a body of blood-washed
saints, isn't he? Just like what we are. A body
of blood-washed saints, a colossus. who have been given this peace,
which Paul is speaking of, from God in Christ, and he's counseling
them, that they should, amidst the false teachers in their midst,
right, people starting disputes, and people starting up contention,
and saying, oh no, you've got to come this way, I've got some
secret knowledge I can tell you about. But only I can tell you
that. Because that's what the Gnostics
were doing, right? Paul says that, amidst the false
teachers causing division, let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, govern, to which indeed you were called in one body.
So even amidst all that was occurring, let the peace of God. See, that's
why I've told you many times in the pulpit here, we study
the truth to know the counterfeit. So if someone comes in and they
start spouting stuff off, we are gonna say, that's enough
of that. That's just wrong. That's why we guard the pulpit.
That's why we have men come in who preach the gospel of God's
free grace, plus nothing. We guard the pulpit. We guard
the gospel. So Paul here is speaking to blood-washed
saints. He tells them, let the peace
of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called
in one body, because there are some who have come in and started
to cause division. And Paul brings forth the fact that they were
all affectionately called. Look at how he brings that brings
that forth. He says to the which also you
are called in one body there. Every one of those believers,
just like every one of the believers in this church, has been affectionately
called by the Holy Spirit of God. Everyone. And we're called the same way.
The Holy Spirit regenerates us and draws us to Christ, doesn't
He? And we run to Christ. We're born again. So, Paul brings forth the fact that
the Colossian believers were all affectionately called to
peace by God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. That they
have received the forgiveness of sins, which is in Christ Jesus
and Him alone. And this has all come from the
One who is the God of all peace. We have been redeemed. God's
people have been redeemed. God's people have been called,
and God's people have been forgiven in and through the One who is
the great Peacemaker, the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture declares
this, and the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I
bring you great good tidings of great joy, which shall be
to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. The
Peacemaker has arrived. Here the great Peacemaker between
God and His people, a Savior, which means He's a rescuer whom
God had provided and whom God hath appointed from eternity,
has arrived. He had long been promised and
much expected because He's the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. And He is the Great One, fully
God and fully man, the One who is able to work out a great salvation
for all of His people. And it is a great salvation,
beloved, when you consider just how much God has forgiven my
sin and yours, and not just that, but all the elect of all the
ages, a number that no man could number. What a great salvation! What a great salvation Christ
Jesus our Lord has wrought! And He worked out a great salvation
for great sinners to our shame. Because that's what we are, we
sin much, greatly. And beloved, He has accomplished
the salvation. In this, He is a complete Savior. There's nothing to be added to
His work. We only have peace, we only have
redemption, we only have salvation through Christ in Him alone. He is the only Savior for sinners. He is the everlasting Savior.
And His name is Jesus, because He saves His people from their
sins. He alone has fulfilled the law
of God in our place. He alone stood as the substitute
of His people, of God's elect on Calvary's cross. And it is
in Him alone that we are called as one body. and Christ in Him
alone, and the Lord Jesus Christ as He is the head and all the
elect of all the ages are the body. Is it any wonder then, turn if
you would to Galatians chapter 5, is it any wonder then that
one of the fruit of the Spirit is peace? And this is the very
thing that Paul is telling us to let the peace of God rule
in your hearts? which also you are called in
one body and be ye thankful. Look at Galatians chapter 5,
verses 22 and 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, which we looked at last week. Love, joy, peace. There it is. Long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith. meekness, temperance against
such, there is no law. There is no law. So, beloved,
our God is the God of all peace. Our God is the God of all peace.
And peace is one of the fruit of the Spirit. Christ is the
Prince of Peace. And by the Holy Spirit of God,
peace is a fruit in the believer. Those who are being born again,
the gospel is the gospel of peace.
And we who believe are in a state of peace with God in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of that. You are currently
in a state of peace because of what Christ has done
with God. You're currently in a state of
peace with God through Christ Jesus our Lord. That's amazing. Because we're proud rebels by
birth. My! And we praise God for the peace
and unity that we have in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spurgeon brings out this illustration. He calls you in one body. What
would you think of if the hand should say, I'll have no peace
with the eye? Or if the foot should say, I'll
not carry the heavy body about? What is to become of the glory
of Christ if the members live in contention? You see, that's
why we praise God for unity. That's why we praise God for
peace. because it's all comes to us in and through the Lord
Jesus Christ. And now for the church universal
and for our local body here, Jesus Christ is our peace. And
it's the peace of God that floods our souls, beloved. And that
that peace comes in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And it
comes from Christ. And this peace, this peace spoken
of should rule in our hearts. It should govern our hearts as
we are the body of Christ and we being called with an holy
calling. Every one of God's people being
called with a holy calling in one body. Just as my body is
one body and your body is one body, so the body of Christ,
it's a picture. He's the head, he gets the preeminence,
and we're the body. And the body does whatever the
head tells it to do. And it's in subjection to the
head. It's incredible. So as members of the body of
Christ, we are to love and serve one another, and we are to endeavor
to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, Ephesians
4.3. This bond of peace goes along with the bond of perfectness,
which we looked at last week. This should be what rules our
hearts, the peace of God, a genuine love for the Lord Jesus Christ,
a genuine love for the Lord Jesus Christ, which will move us to
love one another. It'll move us to love one another.
A sincere desire for the peace of God to rule in our hearts.
and that our love for one another will cause us to be gentle with
each other, to be kind, to be long-suffering, to be forbearing
with one another, to be forgiving with one another, and it's all
for the glory of God. It's all for the glory of God.
In Christ Jesus our Lord. Because who did he give himself
for? The body. All the elect. He gave himself
for his people. All right. So Paul says, let the peace of
God rule in your hearts, to which also you are called in one body.
Every believer was part of the body of Christ. And we've been
called to that. And it says here, it closes with
this. And be you thankful. Thankfulness is the opposite
of grumbling or murmuring. It's the opposite of grumbling
or murmuring. It ain't hard for me to grumble. It isn't hard
for me to murmur. But the opposite of that is to
be thankful. And I desire to be thankful.
Do you? We all do, don't we? We desire to be thankful. Paul
tells us over in Philippians 2, verse 4, he says this, do
all things without murmurings. In the Greek, it's grumblings.
It's grumbling. This is so convicting, isn't
it? Because we're so prone to grumble,
aren't we? I know. Do all things without murmurings,
grumbling in the Greek, and disputings, which is debate. So we're not
to grumble, and we're not to debate. I like what Donnie says
sometimes. He says, I don't debate the word
of God. I just proclaim it. Just proclaim what it says. We
don't have to argue with people. We just say what it is, and that's
what the word of God says. Christ alone is our hope. Christ
alone is our hope. And it is Christ alone who makes
us think. We are to be thankful, so let us remember that it is
the love of God in Christ which gives us peace in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. That'll make us thankful. When
we start to ponder how much we've been forgiven, and that Christ
has given us this peace, and that the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts, it'll make us thankful, beloved. It'll make
us thankful. It is the joy of the Lord which
gives us peace, knowing that all our sins, A.L.L. There's not one sin that's left
out. All our sins are forgiven. All of them. That'll make you
real joyful. That'll make you real thankful.
Oh. And this is what enables the
believer to have joy and peace, knowing that all our sins are
forgiven in the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what comes, we have
joy and peace amidst the struggles which we face in this sin-cursed
world. Not until we experience the peace
of God, this peace of God, can we look, as one commentator said,
from our little bubble, our little world, and really engage in the
life of another. Until then, beloved, we are at
war with God in our natural state, serving self and bowing down
to the idols, which Paul described earlier in the passage. So Paul
writes then to the Colossians that we who believe, we are to
be thankful. It's grateful in the Greek. We're
to be grateful, grateful people. And be ye thankful, our text
says, the new man The new heart God has given us is thankful. Thankful for what Christ has
done for us. Thankful for what God has done in and through Christ
for us. Thankful that we're born again
in the Holy Spirit of God. Thankful that we're redeemed
by the precious blood of Christ. And the new heart loves the brethren,
loves one another. The new heart desires the unity
of the Spirit. The new heart loves to be at
peace with one another and desires unity in the body of Christ,
don't we? We desire that. So let us be thankful and appreciative
first to God for all His grace which has been given to us. And
let us be thankful for one another that we are able to pilgrimage
through this world with fellow believers who have the same struggles
that we have. The same burdens that we have.
The same trials that we have. The same temptations that we
have. We're much alike, beloved. We all struggle. But let the
peace of God rule, govern in your heart. And it'll lead to thankfulness.
It'll lead to thankfulness. Where love, peace and thanksgiving
are absent, faith is absent. Where love, peace, and thanksgiving
are absent, faith is absent. When peace rules in our hearts,
then love really is the bond of perfectness. It really is. It is that which binds us together,
the love of Christ. And we are to bless God for all
our miseries, as well as for all our mercies. May God give
us grace and strength to let the peace of God rule in our
hearts. Gracious Heavenly Father, oh,
we come before Thy throne. We pray that You would give us
grace and strength to let the peace of God, let Your peace
rule in our hearts. Oh, Lord, when we think about
how much we have been forgiven, we glorify Your name. We praise
Your mighty name. We are in awe of Your mercy,
which is only found in Christ Jesus and Him alone. Oh, we pray
that if it's Your will that You'd make one of your lost sheep willing
to flee to thee, that they might see their desperate need for
you, and that they might flee to you, Lord Jesus. We pray you'd
be glorified in the preaching of the word, that this message
would go forth with power, and that hearts and minds would be
lifted up to you, we pray, and we give you all the glory and
honor and praise in Jesus' name, amen. Brother John.