Would you turn back to Colossians
chapter 3. I want to read this 15th verse
again. And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts. To the way it's also you are
called in one body and be thankful. Now that word rule in our text
It's the only time that word is used in the New Testament.
And it means umpire. That's where we get the word
umpire from. The arbitrator, the decision
maker. Now the umpire is the one who
gives the final word. I love baseball and one of my
favorite stories is after a batter had taken a called third strike. And for those of you that don't
know what a called third strike is, that means he didn't swing,
but the umpire judged that the ball went over the plate and
said, strike three, you're out. And the batter looked at the
umpire and said, everybody in this stadium could see that that
was a ball but you. And the umpire replied, unfortunately
for you, my opinion is the only one that counts. I've entitled this message, The
Believer's Umpire. The Believer's Umpire. Let the peace of God be the umpire
in your heart. Now, peace is a wonderful feeling. Everybody wants to have peace.
Everybody wants to feel tranquility. Everybody wants to feel contentment. Nobody wants to worry or be afraid. Peace is a very desirable thing,
and there are things that fight against peace. Guilt certainly
fights against peace. Anxiety over the future, over
tomorrow, fights against peace. Bad relationships fight against
peace. Debts or debt fights against
peace. Fear of what someone may do to
you fights against peace. Sickness fights against peace.
Fear of failure fights against peace. But peace is, you must
admit, peace is something that everybody wants to have. I want
to have peace, don't you? I want to have peace in my heart. Paul speaks of the peace of God. Let the peace of God be the umpire,
be the decision maker, be the arbitrator in your heart. God is called the God of peace. His son is called the prince
of peace. And I want you to think about
the peace of God. He never worries. He has no guilt. He's holy. He's perfect. He cannot sin. There's nothing for him to feel
guilty about. He has no anxiety over the future because he holds
the future. He's sovereign. Everything that
happens is what he willed to take place. He has no debts. Who, said Paul,
has first given to him and will be reconciled to him again. God
doesn't have to pay anybody back. He has no debts. He has no fears. He's all-powerful. He has no
enemies that can harm him. He's incapable of failure. He's God and he's at peace. Think of the peace of God. There's no anxiety. God is at peace with his people.
Remember, we're talking about the God of peace. If I'm one
of his people, God is at peace with me. He's completely reconciled
toward me. We're in Colossians, turn back
to Colossians chapter one, verse 20. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross, Christ made a way. for God to be at
complete peace with me, to have nothing about me that upsets
Him or makes Him angry or makes Him mad. God is at peace with
me, complete peace, because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
because of His precious blood. And having made peace through
the blood of His cross by Him, to reconcile all things unto
himself. By him I say, whether they be
things on earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable. in his sight. Now somebody that's like that,
holy and unblameable and unapprovable in his sight, and remember the
way God sees things is the way they really are. God's at peace
with that person. The fact that God and his people
are reconciled tells us that before the fall, when this need
for reconciliation took place, there was a time when they were
in communion, in union. And then the fell took place.
Now, they were in union before time began, as we were in Christ.
And before the fall, Adam walked in fellowship with God. And he
was created upright, and there was no enmity, there was no anger,
there was no resentment. But after the fall, you know
what took place. Adam went and hid from the presence of God.
And we don't read where he ever came back and said, I'm sorry,
would you forgive me? I was wrong. No, he ran and God
came to him. God came seeking him. And even
then, he didn't ask for forgiveness. I think it's so beautiful the
way the Lord totally sought him. You know, he would have never
sought the Lord if the Lord didn't seek him and cause him to be willing
in the day of his power. The Lord came after Adam. And he did everything in this
reconciliation. He is the one who reconciled. Adam blamed the Lord for his
fall. The woman that you gave me, she gave me of the fruit
and I did eat. Here he was in this state of
alienation, but God, the one who is offended, made reconciliation
through Christ. He hath He hath reconciled us
to himself. Not he will, but he hath reconciled
us to himself. And he's given to us the ministry
of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. Now, is God really at peace with
me? I mean, does God look at me right
now while I'm talking to you and say, I'm at peace with him? Turn with me to Psalm 37 for
a moment. Now, if God's at peace with me,
that means he has no reason at all to be angry with me. Now
look at Psalm 37, verse 37. Mark the perfect man and behold
the upright. For the end of that man is peace. Well sure, I reckon so. If you're perfect, if you're
upright, why would you not have peace? God doesn't have any reason
to be angry with you. But my beloved friends, that's
exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's tree. He made
his people perfect and upright. By one offering, he hath perfected. forever them that are sanctified. That's what our Lord accomplished
on Calvary's tree. If I'm perfect, if I'm upright,
hey, my end is peace. What peace? Would you turn with
me for a moment to John chapter 14? Verse 27. This is our Lord's last address
to his disciples and he says in verse 27, peace, I leave with
you. My peace, my peace, I give unto you. Now, I want you to think about
the peace the Lord Jesus Christ has. He knows When his father looks
at him, he sees one who is altogether lovely, without fault, without
spot. He sees his father adoring him. and admiring him, and he has
perfect peace. The peace of likeness to his
Father, such likeness that he said, he that has seen me has
seen the Father. Now that's the peace the Lord
Jesus experiences. He's the Son of God. He has the
peace of, I'm in control. I'm in control of everything.
What peace there is in that? The Lord says, my peace I give
unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. You know, the
world has a kind of peace to give, doesn't it? But it's a
false peace. It's a groundless peace. It's
a fragile peace. It's a peace that can leave so
quickly. Oh, you have it if you've got plenty of money and you're
not sick, but let some kind of trouble or trial come your way
and that peace is gone. But he said, my peace, I give
to you. Turn to John chapter 16, verse
30. Verse 29, his disciples said
unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that
any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou
camest forth from God. How do you reckon the Lord felt
when they talked to him like that? Oh, I've got your affirmation
now. Look the way he responded. Jesus answered them, do you now
believe? You're talking big. Do you now believe? Behold, the
hour cometh, yea, now has come that you shall be scattered every
man to his own and shall leave me alone. And yet I'm not alone
because the Father is with me. Now, these things have I spoken
unto you that in me. You might have peace. There's
one place I have peace. in him. That's it. That's it. In me, when God looks
at me, all he sees is Jesus Christ. That's the only place I have
peace. But what peace there is. He said, in the world you shall
have tribulation. You'll have trouble, you'll have
trial, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Look in Romans chapter 4. I want
you to look at these scriptures with me if you would. I want
us to understand what the peace of God is. We have to understand
what the peace of God is before the peace of God is going to
be our umpire. Romans chapter 4. He was delivered. Verse 25. who was delivered for
our offenses and was raised again for our justification. You see,
he was raised because his death actually justified us. Therefore,
being justified, having been justified by what he did. I'm
not justified by my faith. I'm justified because he was
delivered from my offenses and raised again for my justification.
Now, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ.
What peace there is in justification. You know, we have the same ground
of peace that God does. God's at peace with me for one
reason, Christ. And that's the one ground of
peace that we have. Turn to, well, let me quote this
to you. Acts chapter 10, verse 36, the gospel summarized the
word which God sent unto Israel saying, peace by Jesus Christ. I love that, don't you? Peace
by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. I love this statement by Paul
in Romans chapter 14, verse 17, where he says, the kingdom of
God is not meat and drink, but righteousness. Whose righteousness? his righteousness. Don't you
know that his righteousness is the only one you have? Righteousness
and peace, the peace that I experience from knowing his righteousness
is my righteousness before God and joy in the Holy Ghost. Turn to Galatians chapter 6. You know, something that goes
with peace is joy. Joy in the Holy Ghost. If Christ
is my righteousness, that's my peace with God and that makes
me joyful. Galatians chapter 6 and look
what Paul says in verse 16. As many as walk according to
this rule, peace on them and mercy upon the Israel of God. What rule? A rule is a standard
of measurement. It's a canon. It's the way we
measure something. Now, what is the rule of the
believer that causes peace to be upon them? Well, Paul says
it in verse 14, but God forbid that I should glory save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, does it give you peace to
know that what his cross accomplished is everything? Not just the minimum
entrance requirement, but everything. Paul said, God forbid that I
should glory, that I should have confidence in anything, save
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom? Not by which, but by
whom? The world is crucified unto me, and I in the world.
For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything,
nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. That's the word, a
new creation with a new history, a new history, a history that's
all good. That's what the cross accomplished
for me. Now, as many as walk according to this rule, peace
on them and mercy and upon the Israel of God. I love the way
Ephesians 2 14 states it this way. He is our peace. And because he is our peace,
we personally have this feeling of peace. Having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is peace. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, and peace. Isaiah or Romans chapter 15 verse
13 speaks of the joy and the peace of believing. Don't you love that verse? The
joy. and the peace of believing. You
see, believing isn't just giving intellectual assent to something.
It's relying on being glad it's that way and feeling joy and
peace that comes from that. Paul said in Philippians chapter
four, in everything by prayer and supplication, let your request
be made known unto God and the peace of God. which passes all
understanding." Now, think of that statement. The peace of
God which passes all understanding. It transcends human intellect. It goes beyond human analysis
and insight. No human counselor can give this
peace. It's the gift of God. The peace
of God that passes all understanding shall Keep your hearts and minds
by Christ Jesus. Now, in 1 Corinthians 7, verse
15, Paul tells us that we are called to peace. This is God's
calling for you. This is God's calling for me.
We're called to peace. This is the life we're called
into. Now, we're called to peace with God. Now, the only way that
we can feel peace toward Him is when we see that through Christ,
He's at peace with us. That's the only way. The question of sin has been
entirely removed. Hebrews 1, 3, I love this verse
of scripture. I could preach from this. I could
quote it every time I preach. He by himself purged our sins. He did it by himself. You know
what that means? With no help from me, you. He did it all by
himself. He by himself purged, washed
away our sins. He did it by himself and he did
it by himself. I love it when Isaac says to
Abraham, here's his father. Father, here's the wood, here's
the fire. Where's the lamb for a burnt
offering? He said, my son, God will provide
himself. You couldn't provide anything,
God does all the providing. He provided for himself and he
provided himself as the lamb for the burnt offering. When
our Lord said, it is finished, All my sin was purged away, put
away, separated from me as far as the east is from the west. Turn with me for a moment to
Hebrews chapter 10. I want us to see how the Lord's
at peace with us if we're in Christ, if we believe the gospel. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 18. Where remission of these is,
and he's been talking about how the Lord put away sin. Where
remission of these is, where this is a reality. It's not an
offer, it's something that's taken place. It's something that's
been done. Now where remission of these
is, there's no more offering for sin. Don't you dare try to
bring one. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say his flesh, and having a high priest over
the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Now, we're
going to be at peace with him. only when we believe and see
that He is at peace with us. Let the peace of God umpire in
your heart. Any peace you have that's contrary
to the peace of God is a false peace. Let this be the umpire. Let this be the decision maker.
What is God at peace with? You better be at peace with the
same thing. Let the peace of God be the umpire. in your heart. I have peace from the same thing
God has peace from, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we're also
called to peace with his providence. Paul said in second first Thessalonians
5 18 in everything give thanks. For this, whatever
it is, is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,
no matter what it is. We're called upon to have peace
with regard to his providence. Now, if you're anything like
me, and I dare say you are, there's something that you've asked for.
that you felt like you needed, that God hadn't given you. He hadn't answered your prayer.
You've asked maybe for days, maybe for months, maybe for years,
and God has not answered that prayer. You know why? Because if he would
have given it to you, it would have been for your detriment. In everything, give thanks. No
matter what it is. In everything, give thanks. For this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. Trust Him. Trust Him. Whatever He sends your way, it's
best. Sickness, heartache, loneliness,
loss, Failure, conflict, success, contentment, health, joyful relationships,
all things work together for good. To them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose, and how wrong
we are when we murmur, complain, or are resentful. This is what
the Lord sent our way. In everything, give thanks for
this. This thing that you may be having
a hard time giving thanks for, it's God's will in Christ Jesus
concerning you. Trust him. May we say with Eli,
it's the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. The next time somebody curses
us or mistreats us, maybe be like David and say, the Lord
said to Shemai, curse David. Maybe be like Job, the Lord gave
and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Shall we receive of the Lord's
hand good and not evil? Blessed be the name of the Lord. You see, our peace is not circumstantial. It's providential. Now, what
do I mean by that? Well, whenever we say that was
providential, everything is providential. If only that was providential,
that scares me to death. I don't have any peace. No, everything
is providential. The good, the bad, and that's
what gives us peace. Our Lord is in control. And we're called to all the peace
that God commends. What do I mean by that? Be at peace with one another. That's scriptural command. Be
at peace among yourselves. The writer to the Hebrews said,
follow, pursue peace with all men. Paul said to the Romans,
if it be possible, you know, sometimes it's not possible,
but if it be possible, as much as life in you is, live peaceably
with all men. Our Lord said, blessed are the
peacemakers for they shall inherit the earth. In Colossians chapter
three, we looked at this a couple of weeks ago, but look at this.
This is so beautiful. Put on, verse 12, Colossians
chapter 3, verse 12. Put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quill, a legitimate
plate against any, even as Christ forgave you. Now, how did Christ
forgive you? So also do ye. That's how I'm to forgive. And
above all things, here's what's most important, put on charity,
which is the bond of perfectness. Now, there's gonna be peace there,
isn't there? There's gonna be peace. Turn to 1 Thessalonians
chapter five. Paul says in verse 14, now we
exhort your brethren, warn them. Well, no, I needed to get it
in verse 13. So start in verse 12. This is
the context. And we beseech your brethren to know them which labor
among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and
to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake and
be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort your brethren,
warn them that are unruly. in support that comfort the feeble-minded,
support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none
render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which
is good both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing and everything
give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. Now, let the peace of God be
the umpire. the decision maker in your heart. Now, that means several things.
Number one, if my peace is anything other than the peace of what
Christ did for me only, it's a false peace. So if you get
peace from how you're growing or how holy you're becoming or
how good you are, You've got a false peace. That didn't come
from God. That came from your own wicked
heart. And it's not even real. Any assurance that is anything
other than Christ only is a false assurance. You need to get rid
of it. In our relationships with one another, turn with me to
Romans chapter 14. Let the peace of God be the umpire
in our relationships with one another. Verse 19, let us therefore pursue, that's
the word follow, pursue, make this our aim after the things
which make for peace and things wherewith one may edify, build
up another. Now, in the context of Romans
chapter 14, this is such an important chapter. This is all about believers
judging one another. Look at the first part of the
chapter. Him that's weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to
doubtful disputations, not to his doubts. For one believeth
that he may eat all things, another who's weak eats herbs. Let not
him that eateth despise him that eateth not. And not let him which
eateth not judge him that eateth. For God hath received him. Who
are you to judge another man's servant? To his own master he
stands or falls. Yea, he shall be holding up,
for God is able to make him stand. One man esteems one day above
another. Another esteems every day alike.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Don't worry
about how somebody else is. He that regardeth the day, regardeth
it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day, to the
Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the
Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not, to the
Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us lives
to himself, and no man dies to himself. For whether we live,
we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ
both died and rose and revived, that he might be Lord. both of
the dead and living, but why do you judge your brother? Or
why do you set it not your brother? That's what we do when we judge
him. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
And what that's saying, that brother you're judging, he's going to
stand accepted and perfect before Christ. He's going to stand before
him in judgment, and you are too. That's what that's referenced
in. For it's written, As I live,
saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall
confess to God, so that every one of us shall give account
of himself to God. That's the only person I want to think about.
Let us not therefore judge one another any more. But judge this
rather that no man put a stumbling block or occasion to fall in
his brother's way. I know and am persuaded by the
Lord Jesus that there's nothing unclean of itself, but to him
that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou
not charitably? Destroy not him with meat for
whom Christ died. Let not your good be evil spoken
of. For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable
to God and approved of men. Let us therefore pursue after
the things which make for peace and the things wherewith one
may edify one another. The quickest way we can tear
up a church is to just start being critical and judgmental
of each other. You can just write that down. Here's the rule. of our hearts. Let the peace
of God rule. Let it be the umpire. Let it
be the decision maker. Here's something else as far
as the peace of God being a rule. Do we have peace about whatever
it is we're doing? Do we have peace about it? If
we don't, there's a reason. Let the peace of God be the decision
maker. Let it be the umpire in your
heart. If you don't have any peace about
it, there's a reason. The peace of God is always to
be the umpire. God can and will enable us to
have his peace as our umpire. Now I'd like to close by giving
you five reasons why the peace of God should be our umpire and
our decision maker. Number one, and here's the best
reason, because God commands it. That's enough of a reason. I don't have to give any more
reasons than that. This is what God commands. He says, my peace is
to be the umpire of everything about you. Your peace regarding
your relationship with me, your peace with my providence, and
your peace with my people. Let the peace of God be the umpire,
the decision maker. Here's the second reason. This is really the only way we'll
be happy. It's the only way. The peace we have with God is
His ground of peace. And that's the only thing that
really gives us joy. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink. It's righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost. You trust Christ's righteousness.
That's God's ground of peace. You'll have joy and happiness. If we don't have peace with our
brethren, we will be miserable and unhappy. Whenever we're out
of sorts with anybody, it just makes us miserable and unhappy. And if we are not at peace with
his providence, it'll make us miserable. Isn't
it joyous to have peace with his providence? It's the Lord.
Let him do what seemeth him good. Now here's the third reason why
the peace of God should be our own power. How God is glorified
in the peacefulness of his children. It glorifies God when one of
his children finds peace in resting in who Christ is and what he
did. Oh how it glorifies God when we bow to His will in providence
and say whatever He does is best and we actually have peace. How
it glorifies God when we seek peace and pursue it among our
brethren. How good and how pleasant it
is when brethren dwell together in unity. It glorifies God. What a glorious Savior we have
that gives such peace. Fourth, this is the only way
that this or any other church will prosper, is if the peace
of God is the umpire in our hearts. Turn to Acts chapter 2 for just
a moment. I want us to look at the early church. This is so
beautiful. Verse 41, then they that gladly
received his word after that sermon on Pentecost were baptized. And the same day there was added
in them about 3000 souls. And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of
bread and in prayers and fear came upon every soul and many
wonders and signs were done by the apostles and all that believed
were together. and had all things common. And
they sold their possessions and goods and part of them to all
men as every man had need. And they continuing daily with
one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to
house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the
Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved. Look
in chapter four, verse 31. Or verse 32, and the multitude
of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them that
out of the things which he possessed was his own, but they all had
all things common with great power. Gave the apostles witness
of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon
him. Now turn back to our text. Here's my last thing I want to
say. Colossians chapter three. And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts, to the which also you are called in one body,
and look at this last statement, and be ye thankful. What is the greatest facilitator
of peace? Be ye thankful. Lord willing, next Wednesday
night I'd like to bring a message on Be Ye Thankful. May the peace of God be the umpire
of our hearts. Let's pray together.