FOS 7- Peace (and end of joy)

 Joy wrap up:

In wrapping up the study on joy, I want to clarify that when we find our joy in heaven, it is not that we are joyful because the streets are made of gold, or the gates are made of pearls (Revelation 21:21), or any of the other beautiful things that are there. We are joyful because we will finally be in the full presence of God. He is our treasure. Revelation 21:3 ESV - 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

For now, Christians have the Holy Spirit inside of us as a deposit and guarantee of what is to come, but in the end, we will be fully with God and no longer have the separation of our sin nature making it difficult to fully commune with him.

2 Timothy 1:14 ESV - 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

2 Corinthians 5:4-7 ESV - 4 For while we are still in this tent (*body), we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

*I placed "body" there as clarification.

In the 2 Corinthians 5 scripture we are called to be of good courage as we struggle here in our earthly bodies and await our final home. The deposit of the Holy Spirit gives us a taste of the joy we will have once in heaven. Have you ever felt the Spirit on fire inside of you and filling you with joy because of something God is doing? Think of how much that joy will multiply when we are fully in the presence of God.

Review from the last lesson:

Psalm 13 is representative of a number of David’s Psalms where he begins with sadness or despair and sometimes anger towards his foes and moves to joy and trust in God. God knows how we feel about things, but sometimes it is helpful to talk to Him about those things so we can then allow His Spirit to open our eyes to see and remember that our great God will get us through whatever lies ahead. Our all-powerful God is still in control.

In Acts 16:16-34 Paul and Silas were so focused on God, sharing Christ, and the joy of worshipping God that they were able to sing while imprisoned. Then when they could have walked out freely because of God’s miracle they stayed. This was a witness that gave them the opportunity to tell the jailer about Jesus. I love this example of having joy in hardship because it is a reminder that Jesus can use our sufferings as opportunities to tell about him. Sometimes I have found those opportunities within the difficult situation, as Paul and Silas did, but other times the opportunities may come months or years later. Maybe someone else goes through a similar situation and you will be able to encourage them that God is with them in it.

Psalm 51 shows David asking God to forgive His sin and rid him of it. He shows himself to be a broken and humble man before God. Sometimes, we forget that even after becoming a Christian, we still struggle with sin in our lives. We are still in our earthly bodies. Until we are in heaven there is an internal battle that continues to rage inside us between our fleshly desires and the Holy Spirit within us. Sometimes, we fail and must repent. This means confessing the sin and turning away from it. God’s Holy Spirit within us can give us the strength to turn away from our sin. It is important to repent so that the accuser (Satan) can’t deceive us into thinking we are not forgiven. Look up Revation 12:10-12. If our sin has past, we must trust that Jesus’ work on the cross was enough for it. After laying our sin at Jesus’ feet, God can restore our joy (Psalm 51:12). Past sin that we have given over to God is a way we can witness to others about God. It gives us an example of the work that God does and the joy we can have in Him.

Peace

Romans 8:1-6 ESV - 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

In the section on Psalm 51 above, we looked at the battle between our flesh and the Spirit. Romans 8:1-6 illuminates this. Did you notice what I underlined? These verses introduce another concept—setting our mind on things. We can set our mind on things of the Spirit to have life and peace. Or we can set our mind on the flesh to have death. As we work to grow in the fruit of the Spirit this is laying out another tool to help us. How can we set our minds on the Spirit? Study the word of God and meditate on it, talk to God through prayer, and worship Him in song.

Conversely, our goal is not to set our minds on the flesh. With constant access to news, turmoil in the world, the things of God being treated as wrong, and sin being lauded as right, it is easy to get distracted from the things of the Spirit. Once again the answer is to study scripture, pray, and worship God.

As we study this fruit, again keep in mind that this is not “peace” that the world seeks. This is a peace we have when chaos surrounds us. Not because we don’t care or ignore it, but because we are content inside. We know our future and we are letting the Spirit of God work a miracle in us. Let’s see what else the scripture has to show us about this kind of peace.

For study:

Look up the definition of peace in a standard dictionary and note the one that applies to these verses.

Luke 1:76-79 ESV - 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

In these Luke verses, be sure to skim the chapter to see 1. Who is giving the message? 2. Who is the message from? 3. Who is the child who will be called prophet? 4. What/who is the sunrise that shall visit us and give light to guide our feet into the way of peace?

John 14:27 ESV - 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

1. Look at the surrounding verses in John to find who gives this peace. 2. What is the difference with this peace?

John 16:33 ESV - 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

Acts 10:36 ESV - 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).

1. Read Acts 10:34 -35 to find who “he” is that sent the word to Israel. 2. How does Jesus give us peace? (Hint: look at the Roman 5 verses below)

Romans 1:7 ESV - 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1-5 ESV - 1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Why do we need “peace with God”? Do you feel at peace with God? If not, examine your heart and if you’ve fully excepted Christ’s payment for all of your sins. Are there things you don’t think he’s paid for, or sins you don’t want to turn from? Lay them at the foot of the cross. Let the Holy Spirit win that battle. 

Jeremiah 6:13-16 ESV - (Reading through all of Jeremiah 6 will add to the context & I will discuss in the next study)13 "For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. 14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown," says the LORD. 16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

The photo above is from the Alboran Sea off the southeastern coast of Spain.