FIVE STEPS TO REAL PEACE
August 13, 2006
District Superintendent Emeritus Ron Greeno
Sparks Nazarene Church

 Scripture:   John 14:27   “I leave my peace with you.  I give you my own peace, and my GIFT is nothing like the peace of this world.  Don’t be distressed.” 

 I.     ACCEPT GOD’S FORGIVENESS

Romans 5:1  ”Since we have been JUSTIFIED through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ø  Psychologists tell us the number one source of stress is guilt.

Ø   Justified means just as if I had never sinned.

Micah 7:18  “Who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgives?  You DELIGHT to show mercy.”

Ø       God is eager to wipe your slate clean.

II.    RECOGNIZE GOD’S PRESENCE

Isaiah 26:3  “You, God, will keep those in perfect peace whose minds are steadfast on you.”

Ø      Peace is a mind-set

Psalm 46:1  “God is our refuge and strength, an EVER PRESENT help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:10   “Be STILL and KNOW that I am God.”

Ø      The word know means the most intimate kind of knowledge.

III.     OBEY GOD’S ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­PRINCIPLES

 Psalm 119: 165-168a  Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.  I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and I follow your commands.   I OBEY your statutes, for I love them greatly….”

Ø       The Bible is the owner’s manual for life.

Ø       Every rule or command in the Bible is there for our own good.

Ø        If we ignore God’s commands, the result is stress.

Ø       It is important to understand that peace comes through obedience.

 

IV.              I MUST TRUST GOD’S PLAN.

 Proverbs 3: 5-6  “TRUST in the Lord with all your heart and LEAN NOT on your own understanding; in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE Him, and He will DIRECT your paths.”

Ø “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”

Ø      “Do not lean on your own understanding”

Ø      Acknowledge that God is a good and gracious God”

Ø      The result of trusting God is God will direct our paths.

V.    ASK FOR GOD’S PROVISION

Ø      The great destroyer of peace is worry.

Philippians 4: 6-7  “Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by PRAYER and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Ø      We have two options in life:  panic or pray.

John 14:1  “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, trust in me.”

Ø      The antidote for stress is found in a person – Jesus Christ.