081: Sam Mansfield- The Peace of God...Where is it?

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Welcome to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. Thank you so much for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help each one of us get the Bible in our daily news feed. And we post at the start of each week for you to listen with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to hear.

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   And now let's hear more about this week's talk. For this week, we're listening to a talk by Brother Sam Mansfield on a topic called The Peace of God, Where Is It? And this was a class that I listened with my wife, Kristen, and I while we were working in the backyard with the boys this weekend.

3. 0:57

   So we have her as a special guest to share some of her thoughts along with me on the class. So one of the points that I really enjoyed was where he talked about the peace of God. And even though we can't see the image, he describes an image that a lot of us frequently picture when we think of the peace of God.

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   And he actually talks about different verses to prove what it actually is. And I really liked his perspective on that and how he kind of switches things over a bit. So keep a listen for that. The other part was he talked about how ecclesial life should be a sanctuary for us when life is hard, but that just doesn't always go that way.

5. 1:39

   So he gave a few suggestions for how to handle life and the truth and ecclesial life so that we can still feel that peace of God. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this. We were working in the backyard with the boys, and so it was a good one to listen to. It was a good reminder of what the peace of God is, what we need to look for, and how you can seek it.

6. 2:00

   And it was also an excellent reminder, especially right now, that with all the uncertainty and doubt that we're feeling, that instead you can have confidence in finding that peace of God. I also really like building off of one of our more popular classes with Brother Phil Davidson on depression. He makes the point about sometimes people can feel discouraged because they can't seem to have found that peace of God, and instead that it's not something that you can pray or read away, that if you're feeling depressed to seek medical help.

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   And just because you're feeling depressed, that doesn't mean that you don't have the peace of God. Especially right now with everything that's going on, it can be something that can really bother people. So I really enjoyed this class. It was one that I found on Christadelphian Bible Talks, and the topic looked really applicable, so I wanted to share it with everyone.

8. 2:47

   So I hope that you enjoy it. And with that, we'll turn it over to our brother Sam Mansfield for his class, The Peace of God, What Is It? I would challenge you to find a more positive verse than this one in all of Scripture. It must be one of the most comforting verses in the Bible, the idea of God and his Son suffusing our hearts and minds with peace that's beyond our comprehension.

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   That's an idyllic idea, if there ever is one. And our comments this evening are really going to concentrate on this one phrase found in Philippians 4, verse 7, The peace of God which passes understanding. And it's a beautiful phrase and one which should be really very comforting to us. And yet, to us often, it seems a little bit like a fantasy, perhaps a little bit idealistic rather than realistic.

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    And why is that? Well, we'll have a look at some reasons shortly. Now, this idea of a prayer for peace, the peace of God, to be with us, with the believers, is common in the writings of the apostles. So, flip back a couple of pages to Paul's greeting to the Philippians, in Philippians 1 and verse 2.

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    And here we read the opening of the epistle, which is very similar to many other openings, as we'll see shortly. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father. And almost every epistle in the New Testament opens, or in some cases closes, with a very similar prayer. For God's peace to be with the readers.

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    Every epistle by Paul opens with almost precisely the same words, as you can see on the slide. Romans 1 verse 7, grace to you and peace from God. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 3, grace be unto you and peace from God. 2 Corinthians, peace from God. Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians. You can see the general idea that Paul wishes to convey in those epistles.

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    Again, 1 Thessalonians, twice in that one, that might be 2 Thessalonians. Yep, 1 and 2. 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon. And it's not just Paul's writings who has this sort of benediction, this wish for peace upon his readers. Almost all the New Testament epistles have a very similar salutation. So in Hebrews 13, so it's at the end of the epistle rather than the beginning.

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    Now the God of peace, he says, make you perfect. It's not in James that I could find. In 1 Peter, grace be unto you and peace at the introduction of the letter. 2 Peter, grace and peace be multiplied unto you. I couldn't find it in 1 John, but 2 John, grace be with you, mercy and peace from God the Father.

15. 5:43

    And again, in 2 John, peace be to thee. In Jude, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. And finally, John writing on behalf of Christ in Revelation to the seven ecclesiastes which are in Asia, God be unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come.

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    And it's not just the apostles, it's not just in their writings that this peace was promised to us. Christ himself promised to give us peace as well. In John 14 and verse 27, he says to his disciples, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.

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    Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. So the idea is of don't be troubled, don't be afraid. I'm leaving you with peace directly from our Lord Jesus Christ. Now from all those quotes we've seen right through the New Testament, do you think that the peace that's promised is just something for the future?

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    In the kingdom perhaps? Well, it doesn't really read that way, does it? The mercy and the grace and the peace that's part of the blessings that we receive now. We've received grace from God now through the forgiveness of our sins. We receive mercy from him now through the forgiveness of our sins. Why would the peace be the only thing that's some future blessing that we're not going to get into the kingdom?

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    In John chapter 14, in Christ's words, they'd seem really empty, wouldn't they? If he was just about to leave his disciples, and the one thing he leaves them with was a comfort that they're not going to receive for another 2,000 years or so. So, you know, peace I leave with you, but not you directly, but not for another 2,000 years until God's kingdom.

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    That's not really the way that that verse reads, is it? The apostle words and Christ's words certainly imply that this is a blessing that we can receive now. And yet, is the peace of God something that you could say fills your heart, that pervades your life? I'm guessing that many of us would say that it's not.

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    Now, peace of mind is seen as something of a nirvana, I guess, in modern Western society. Despite our wealth, our standard of living, despite the freedoms that we have, despite the enormous array of choices that are bombarded, we are bombarded by almost every day in almost every aspect of our life, people are more anxious, more stressed, and more depressed than ever before.

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    We sort of talk about the 1%. You've all heard about the sort of the idea of the 1% when, you know, with the Occupy Wall Street movement, they all talked about the 1%, how good they have it and how badly the rest of us are doing. And we sort of talk about that as though it's one sort of out-of-reach class.

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    But economists have measured the wealth of the average Westerner living in the 21st century and found that our wealth, our standard of living is better than 99.4% of people that have ever lived. Not just, you know, 99.4% of people now, 99.4% of people that have ever lived. We're in the top 0.6%. So, you know, talk about the 1%, we're in the top 0.6%, in the historic top 0.6%.

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    So congratulations. And yet, as we know, our improved standard of living, our longer lives, our much, you know, wealthier lives, hasn't really led to more peace. And in fact, to the contrary, as, you know, wealth and equality and even healthcare and quality of life has increased, anxiety, stress, depression, they've all increased faster.

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    And statistics indicate that 15% of women suffer a depressive episode as a result of pregnancy and birth. 39% – I think these are mostly Australian statistics – but 39% of all work-related illnesses are stress-related. In any given year, about 1 million Australian adults will suffer from depression. And that doesn't sound like many to you guys here in the US, but don't forget that Australia's population is only about, what, 27, 28 million or something.

26. 10:07

    So in any given year of those 27 million, about 1 million of them will suffer from depression. About 1 in 3 women, about 1 in 5 men are going to suffer from anxiety during their lifetime. And these statistics, of course, are not ecclesial statistics, but I suspect that the ecclesia might not be too far behind when it comes to some of these issues.

27. 10:33

    And yet, Paul and Peter and John and Jude and our Lord, they all want us to have peace from God. And almost all of their writings contain that as a blessing. And that really begs the question, doesn't it? Are these just platitudes that these apostles, Paul and Peter and John, are writing? Are they empty words, sort of with no meaning or power?

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    Well, of course they aren't. This is, you know, God's inspired word. The peace of God, the peace that Christ promised us, is not some empty phrase, just as God's grace is not an empty phrase. And peace, like grace, is something that Peter and Paul and the rest of them want us to receive from God.

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    But how does this happen? On the one hand, Peter and Paul and Christ all want us, all wish the peace of God upon us. But on the other hand, our lives seem to be filled with stress and anxiety.

30. 11:30

    Now, before we go on, it's time for a disclaimer. I'm an accountant, so, you know, everything comes with a disclaimer. And this disclaimer is that I'm not a mental health professional. I'm just an accountant. So, if you do have mental health issues, you need to treat it like any other serious illness and visit a local medical practitioner.

31. 11:48

    I'm not going to sort of glibly suggest that, you know, merely reading your Bible more is going to help your chronic depression or anything like that. But what we do want to look at tonight is what the Bible suggests are the sources, the biblical sources of peace. So, that's what we're going to look at this evening.

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    Now, the apostles didn't pluck this blessing of peace and grace from God out of thin air. They're actually referencing a very similar blessing from the Old Testament. And it's one that's pretty well known to us. So, turn with me to Numbers chapter 6. And this is where this blessing really comes from.

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    Numbers chapter 6 and verse 23. And you'll know these words well. I assume, do they sing hymns 106 and 107 at baptisms here as a general rule? No? Is it 106 and 107? Did I make that up? Yep. Okay. Good. So, we've sung these words many times, if not thousands of times. And this is where really Paul and the apostles derived their salutation.

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    So, let's have a look at Numbers chapter 6 and verse, we'll start at verse 22. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise shall you bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.

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    The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them. So, what do we think about when we sing these words at, say, a baptism or receiving in? This is where Paul and the other apostles derive their salutation.

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    And you'll note that both grace and peace are mentioned, just like they are in each of Paul's salutations in his letters. He says, you know, The Lord be gracious and give thee peace. Well, how does that happen in this blessing? Well, it happens, as you'll see, by the Lord making his face to shine on thee.

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    And in a repetition of that same idea, by the Lord lifting up his countenance upon thee. So, you can see that that's sort of a similar idea. The Lord makes his face to shine upon thee and lifts up his countenance upon thee. Same sort of concept. So, what do these words actually mean?

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    Well, the word countenance simply means face. So, they're exactly the same word in the Hebrew. The word face and then the word countenance, exactly the same in the Hebrew. So, God makes his face shine upon us and lifts his face upon us. Well, what does that mean? Well, God's face is similar, I guess, to his name.

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    It's sort of an all-encompassing term to refer to his character, his will, and his purpose. So, God lifting up his face and allowing that to shine on us is not so much about him looking in our direction as it is about him allowing us to look in his direction. So, it's not so much about him looking at us, but about him allowing us to look at him.

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    In other words, he lets us see his face. He reveals his character, his thinking, and his purpose to us. It's a word picture sort of him revealing himself to us, just as he did to Moses in Exodus 34. And just as in Exodus 34, when God reveals himself, it's not about what he physically looks like.

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    It's about his character and about his purpose, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, all those adjectives of God. So, that's where it comes from, this idea back in, this blessing back in Numbers chapter 6. Now, Paul explains exactly this idea for us, in case we didn't get the point from Numbers. Paul explains it for us in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

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    So, go forward a bit and to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And we'll see Paul's exposition of this very point. So, Paul says here, 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4. So, starting in verse 3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.

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    So, the God of this world, sin, flesh, it's blinded the minds so that people can't see something. Lest, what could they see otherwise? Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

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    For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So, see how Paul uses all the same images as Moses does in Numbers. The light shining from the face of God that Moses blessed Israel with.

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    Paul's seen it as well. And we've seen it too. Because the same light of knowledge about God and his purpose has shined in the face of his Son. And we can see that same character, can't we? That same thinking, that same purpose, every time we see the Son of God in the gospel records.

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    And reading about the life of Christ in the gospels is having God shine his face upon us. Now, what was the effect of this knowledge on Paul? Have a look at verse 7. He says, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

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    We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. So this treasure, this knowledge, gave Paul peace.

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    And that's the very thing that we're after, isn't it? Now, note an important distinction here. It brought him peace, but you'll see that it didn't make his life peaceful, did it? So there's an important distinction between the peace of God and living a perfectly peaceful life. He describes his life as being sort of troubled on every side, being perplexed and persecuted.

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    But the light of the knowledge of the glory of God prevents him from being distressed or despairing or being destroyed. He was at peace despite his circumstances, very much like the joy that we talked about in our first session.

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    Verse 15. Verse 15. So here we have one source of peace for the Apostle Paul, a source that kept Paul going to make sure he didn't faint. We've got a knowledge of God, of his purpose and his character, and we can see that same knowledge and purpose and character in his son, the same thinking of God in his son.

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    So the knowledge of God, the knowledge of his son, that should give us peace. It gave Paul peace here in 2 Corinthians 4. And we know that that purpose is eternal. And whatever travail Paul was going through, and we know that he went through plenty, he had peace of mind from knowing about God and his purpose and his long-term plan with Paul and with the world.

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    And whatever brief stress, whatever turmoil we go through now is going to be momentary compared to the eternal glory that awaits us. The knowledge of God and of his eternal purpose is our first source of peace. In fact, the troubles that we experience now should sort of ironically be a source of peace because they're a sign that God is working in our lives to develop our characters and faith.

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    Have a look at Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. It'll be on the screen anyway, but Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 6 to 11.

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    For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. So that doesn't sound great, does it? But if you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? If we're going to be God's children, he's going to have to discipline us.

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    But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

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    So it's not great while we're being disciplined, says Paul, or the writer of Hebrews, whoever you believe that is. But, he says, it's for our own good, as we try and tell our children, of course. For they chastise us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit. God does it for our profit, and he knows us best, and the best way of chastening us.

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    Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. So, chastening, scourging, correction, none of that sort of sounds very peace-inducing, does it? But, note verse 11, the peaceable fruit of righteousness is the result, if we allow ourselves to be exercised thereby.

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    So, if we allow God to work in our life through this method of chastisement, then the peaceable fruit of righteousness is going to result. We can get peace from the very troubles that we go through, the trials and pressures of life. So, there is a peace in knowing that all the pressure, all the stress, all the lack of peace in our life is for a purpose.

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    And we can really contrast that with so many people out there in the world who sort of go through a very similar process, but for no end, no reason. In the end, they die, sometimes earlier, because of all the stress that they've endured. But in the end, we live forever. Through much tribulation, the vast majority of the human population perishes forever.

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    But through much tribulation, we enter the kingdom of God. Now, that leads us to another idea. There's a peace in surrendering ourselves to God's will. We struggle with ourselves, don't we, from time to time, or perhaps all the time. We perhaps worry about our own sort of lack of discipline. We may worry about the direction our life is taking.

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    We might worry about the future. We might worry about our children's future. We sort of try and hedge our bets and protect our path and try and ensure against every possible evil. And yet, God just wants us to let him do it all. God wants us to surrender to his guidance. He wants us to rely on him and him only.

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    Now, the Bible teaches this lesson over and over, but I think the classic example is that of Jacob in the Old Testament. He's the classic example about worrying about all that's going on in his life and not surrendering to just God's will. So he has all this anxiety about his family. His birthright, he's got a plot and plan to ensure he gets the birthright.

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    He's got to worry about his father's love because his mother seems to love him more than his father. He's got to worry about his brother who's always going to be taking revenge on him because he's stolen the birthright. He works for his father-in-law and he's got to worry about his wages getting changed all the time.

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    He's got to worry about which wife is having which baby at which time. There's so many bases that he has to cover, so many sort of balls he's got trying to juggle in the air. But what does God want him to do? God wants him to leave it to him. It's not until Jacob literally can't move, it's not until he's physically forced to leave it in God's hands that he does actually leave it in God's hands.

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    God actually has to smite him on the hip and make that sinews shrink as the Bible says. He's physically incapable of doing anything for himself and it's at that point that he can actually surrender to God and surrender to his will. And what does God implore us to do? Instead of worrying about all these things, God implores us to leave it to him.

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    Surrender our lives, surrender our worries to God. Trust that he has our best interest, our best long-term interest at heart. So there's a peace that comes from surrender. Isaiah chapter 26 and verse 3, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace if his mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth on thee. So the man that trusts in God, trusts him completely, implicitly, leaves his life in his hands, God says, I'm going to keep him in perfect peace.

67. 26:35

    Here's our peace, perfect peace. And what does it result from? It results from trusting in God, trusting in him, surrendering to his will. Christ exhorts us in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lonely in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls.

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    For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now this is the peace that we all crave, isn't it? The rest for our souls. Not that there's no longer any burden to carry, but the burden is no longer our burden. It's Christ's burden. And it's a burden that we share with Christ.

69. 27:24

    It's a burden with a purpose and a direction. And of course that makes it so much lighter and easier to carry. Now sometimes we look at the truth, at the faith that we have, perhaps as an extra burden in our lives. So we might look around at the people all around us, like the psalmist does, and we look at the wicked, and we think their life looks so much simpler than our lives.

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    Sure, they might have to worry about the kids and the mortgage and the jobs and the health, like we all do, but at least they don't have to worry about the meetings and the ecclesial welfare and living the truth and our relationship with God. We envy them sometimes because we think that the truth gives us more things to worry about.

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    And that's the completely wrong way of looking at life. It's the exact opposite of what we should be doing. Instead of giving us more to worry about, the truth replaces all of our worries. Instead of lots of things to worry about, we only have one thing to worry about. And that thing is the kingdom of God.

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    What does Christ tell us? Matthew chapter 6 and verse 31, take no thought saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we close? We don't have to worry about any of those things, the things that stress us out sort of on a daily basis. As he says in verse 32, for after all these things that the Gentiles seek, I know that that's what happens in natural life, says Christ.

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    For your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Do you think God doesn't know that you're worried about that? He made you. He made the world that we live in. He knows exactly the processes that we go through in our heads. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things, all the things that I've talked about, says Christ.

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    What we're going to eat, what we're going to drink, what we're going to be clothed with, they'll all be added unto you. Not necessarily in luxury or abundance, but you'll have sufficient. We don't have to worry about what everyone else worries about, food, drink, clothing, shelter. Leave that to God, says Christ. Instead, we should only have one worry, one yoke, one burden, the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

75. 29:40

    Surrender our lives to him and all these things shall be added unto us. This is the peace of God. And of course, the images that Christ uses through the Bible really reinforce this. He calls us his sheep. Now, sheep are completely reliant on the shepherd for food and protection. He calls us little children.

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    And children are obviously completely reliant, or ours are at least, on their parents for guidance and provision of food and shelter. The same sort of complete dependence, complete reliance that sheep have in the shepherd, that children have in their parents. That's the same attitude of complete dependence that we should have with our shepherd, with our Father in heaven.

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    How much peace of mind does that sort of attitude of surrender afford? Well, that at the end of the day, we can pray the prayer of Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Again, the idea of surrender, trusting in God. And lean not to thine own understanding.

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    The example of Jacob, trying to do everything through his own power, through his own cunning, through his own understanding. Instead, in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Now, we naturally resist going down that path, don't we? We try and organize things and arrange things, and yet God offers us the opportunity to surrender to him.

79. 31:06

    He offers us the peace of knowing that he's in control, that we don't need to forge our own path. Now, our image of someone at peace may need revising from time to time as well. One thing that might be wrong with our concept of what it's like to be at peace, and perhaps the image that we have in our head is something like on the screen, sort of a meditating Trappist monk, someone who's sort of moving serenely through life, incapable of being disturbed by anything that happens around them.

80. 31:38

    Well, if that's what you're expecting from God's peace, then I'm afraid you're going to be sorely disappointed. We've already seen that the pressure that we endure, that's got a purpose, and the purpose itself is a source of peace. And our model in all of these things has to be our Lord Jesus Christ.

81. 31:58

    If we're to be filled with the peace of God, he was as well, except more so, of course. And surely we should find in him a picture of a man completely at peace. And yet, what do we find? John chapter 11 and verse 33, When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

82. 32:21

    We find a man who prayed to his father in John chapter 12, Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. Luke 22 verse 44, And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

83. 32:39

    So if we're sort of expecting an image of Christ, like some meditating Buddhist, the peace of God sort of carrying him serenely through life without a care, then we're going to be disappointed. And if we're expecting our own sort of serene trip through life, causated about by the peace of God, we're likewise going to be very disappointed.

84. 33:00

    A life filled with the peace of God doesn't necessarily mean, or won't mean in fact, a peaceful life. We can obtain peace from making peace. James chapter 3 and verse 15, This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, central devilish, says James, For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

85. 33:27

    So envying, strife, contests between brothers particularly, there's going to be confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

86. 33:54

    In other words, we reap what we sow. Do you want to reap strife and contention, says James? Well then sow strife and contention. Do you want to reap peace? Well then sow in peace. Be pure, but be peaceable and be gentle. Don't be confrontational or stubborn. Be easy to be entreated, easily approached by other people, not stubborn and confrontational.

87. 34:19

    And the place, of course, that we sow peace is in the ecclesia. The RSV translates this verse as the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

88. 34:32

    Now leaving aside the fact that making peace between brethren is clearly the right thing to do, we're going to have this additional benefit if that's our aim, if that's our work. Those that make peace will receive peace, the same peace in which we sow that fruit of righteousness. And the ecclesia should be a haven of peace.

89. 34:53

    It should be a place where we can find peace, relief from all the pressures of the world that come from our secular lives, school and jobs and perhaps family. And yet, is the ecclesia a place where we can find peace, a place where peaceful people can sow the harvest of righteousness? Well, sadly for many, if your experience is like mine, the ecclesia becomes just another source of pressure or of strife or of confusion.

90. 35:23

    And yet James tells us that if we are peacemakers, then the ecclesia of God will give us peace. So actively making peace in God's ecclesia will bring a blessing of peace from God. Being a peacemaker becomes another source of peace in itself. The forgiveness of our sins obviously is another source of peace.

91. 35:50

    And we've been talking a little bit about that through our studies. And every time the apostles wrote to an ecclesia or an individual praying for God's peace to be with them, they also pray for God's grace to be with them. Grace be with you and peace from God the Father they prayed. So the two go hand in hand, grace and peace.

92. 36:08

    If we've felt God's grace through the forgiveness of our sins, we'll also feel his peace. And the relief that we feel as a result of confessing and forsaking sin is part of the peace of God. To show this, just have a quick look and look at Psalm 32.

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    Psalm 32 and beginning at verse 2. Or verse 1. Psalm 32 verse 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered. So we're clearly in the context of the forgiveness of sins here. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile.

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    When I kept silence, says the psalmist, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. The day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. My moisture has turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledge my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.

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    Selah. For this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found. Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. So note David's sort of turmoil before his confession and forgiveness.

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    In verse 3 his bones waxed old. There was a feeling of heaviness. He's worried about the flood of great waters overwarming him. In verse 6 they're all sort of symptoms of anxiety and depression. And we've all felt these things haven't we when which can seem so overwhelming as a result of our own sins.

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    But then David in the middle of the psalm confesses his sin and he receives God's forgiveness. And then how does he describe himself? He describes himself as hidden away as protected as preserved by God compassed about with songs of deliverance. A man at peace with himself and with his God. And that's a that's a peace we can find here and now.

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    There should be a great weight lifted from our shoulders in the process of examination and a confession and of asking for forgiveness. What greater relief could there be than moving from condemned by our sins to being righteous in God's estimation? But of course we have to believe that our sins are forgiven. We're not going to get any peace of mind from God if we don't really believe that God has forgiven us.

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    David of course received his forgiveness directly from the prophet Nathan. Yahweh hath also put away thy sin the prophet told him. We don't receive that direct confirmation of course but we need to believe that it has happened. So the peace that comes from forgiveness of our sins is going to be directly proportional to the faith that we have in God's forgiveness.

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     If we can't believe it then our state's going to be the same as David before his confession. A distinct lack of peace then. So finally we want to look at finally a connection between thankfulness and peace. The peace of God in Paul's writing. So he makes this connection between peace and thankfulness not once but twice in his epistles.

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     So the first time is in Colossians chapter 3 and he says above all these things put on love which is the bond of perfectness and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. That's what we're after isn't? The peace of God ruling in our hearts to the which also ye called in one body and be ye thankful.

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     So you can see the connection between the peace of God ruling in our hearts and being thankful. And again Philippians chapter 4 which we read be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

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     So prayer with thanksgiving the peace of God shall keep our hearts and minds. Be careful for nothing says Paul and the Greek there is don't be over anxious so that status anxiety that fills this world is really sort of you know a result of trying to keep up with the Joneses in terms of money or position of society or education or in houses.

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     Don't be over anxious about your position in society or your wealth says Paul. Well that sort of sounds simple enough doesn't it in theory at least but in action of course we all know it's a little bit more difficult. But Paul has the answer to these anxieties as well. He doesn't just say well you know don't be anxious it'll all be good.

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     He says what is his antidote to anxiety? It's being thankful being grateful to God through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving he says. Instead of concentrating on what we don't have and what we're trying to get concentrate on what we do have. Instead of wishing for a bigger house be thankful for the one that we have.

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     Instead of wanting a better position at work perhaps be grateful that we have a job at all. Instead of wanting a better position of society be thankful that one day we are going to have the highest position of all as kings and priests and take the position of a servant now. Instead of bemoaning that difficult period that we are going through be thankful that God has provided another opportunity to develop our faith in him.

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     Be thankful indeed for the pressures of life for the lack of peace knowing that those very pressures which are but for a moment as we've seen are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. We have so much to be thankful for in this life don't we? Apart from all the amazing things that await us in the future.

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     We live I assume most of us in the USA or Canada or Australia already putting us in that sort of top 1% of the world's population in terms of living standards. We have comfortable houses. Think about the way that we live the truth in these countries freely in countries of religious tolerance. We've got ecclesial infrastructure around us ecclesias and ecclesial halls youth groups and Sunday schools gospel proclamation committees we've got the capacity to just hear and read the word of God if you thought about that in terms of thankfulness in the past.

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     We've got brothers and sisters surrounding us here today to support us in our times of trial and pressure we have so many things to be thankful for which will bring us the peace of God. but then think about the perfect gifts that God has given to us his word in our native tongue whatever that tongue is we have the example of his son to follow we have the forgiveness of our sins we have all those signs of prophecy being fulfilled in front of our very eyes we've got the privilege of prayer and the knowledge that God is always eager to hear us pray we've got providence God's hand directing our lives and the knowledge that all things are working together for us for our ultimate good we've got the kingdom awaiting us and the knowledge that it's his pleasure to give it to us here's one that I've been using recently as a sort of thankfulness trigger if you like thankfulness to God just for being himself sort of in our studies on forgiveness we've seen that mercy and grace and long suffering are all part of God's character have you thought of just thanking God for being that type of God righteous without being condemning or judging or hard or unforgiving like we are but eager to save to forgive and to extend mercy so our gratitude really forces our minds up doesn't it giving thanks to God telling him what we appreciate him for showing our appreciation in prayer and in action gives us the peace of God that passes understanding because it lifts our minds to God's high and broad and timeless perspective

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     we can't sort of wallow in our tiny perspective on life while giving thanks to God for his creation and his love and his kingdom our minds are forced up through this process our minds are forced to look into God's face our gratitude makes him lift up his countenance upon us and gives us peace so the peace of God is knowing his character and his purpose and taking comfort in knowing that it's also taking comfort in knowing that no matter what we are going through it's to develop our character to be like his character no matter what we're going through it's to ensure that we are going to be part of his ultimate purpose forever God gives us peace by allowing us to see him allowing us to know him and forgiving our sins we gain peace from surrendering to his will by making peace in his ecclesia and by thanking him for all his gifts let's thank him and thank his son for the fellowship that we share and the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus thank you for listening to the good Christi Delphine talks podcast please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review on Apple podcasts or whichever service you are listening from to help people find the show when they search for it if you enjoyed this talk share it on social media so other people can find it too for show notes and links to the talk that you just listened to visit our show page at anchor.fm slash gct we want to encourage everyone to share their thoughts from the talk this week

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     on Facebook or Instagram where we are at good Christi Delphine talks or on Twitter where we are at gct underscore podcast if you know of a great talk we want to know about it too send a suggestion to good Christi Delphine talks at gmail.com or message us on any of our social media platforms thank you for listening God bless and talk to you next week God bless