The Importance of Peace

(This sermon was preached previously, and is part of our occasional "Best of" series.) 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15 Question: “What rules your heart?” “What dominates your thinking?” As a kid I remember fear at times, ruling my heart. One night my dad was preaching at a church over in Chattahoochee, FL and he and mom drove over there, and I stayed home with my younger sister. Sometime that evening Carla told me she heard someone rubbing up against and shaking the heating oil tank outside her bedroom window. I listened and sure enough, I could hear someone outside rubbing against the tank. In my mind’s eye, I envisioned an escaped convict, crouched down ready to break in our house. Even though we didn’t have ammunition, I grabbed my dad’s shotgun, and sat on the bed, shaking in fear… After several hours my parents came home and turns out the noise we heard, was the neighbor’s dog rubbing his back on our heating oil tank. But it scared me and fear ruled my heart. 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15 The Greek word for “rule” comes from the root word from which we get our English word “Umpire.” It means to govern or to arbitrate. When I played Little League baseball, I was a pitcher. I learned that once the umpire made the call, it was decided. I would throw the ball to home plate, and the umpire would call it either a ball or a strike. His decision was final; there was no opportunity for a video replay. Paul says the peace of God should be an umpire in our hearts – let the peace of God make the final call about which opportunities you act on, and which ones you let pass. Four Things About God’s Peace: #1. There Is A Difference Between Having The Peace Of God And Having Peace With God. A. Every true follower of Jesus Christ enjoys peace with God. True believers repent of sin and believe the Gospel. The Gospel can be summed up in five simple statements: God became a man in Christ Jesus. God stepped into this world by taking on human flesh. The religions of the world call men to work their way to God. Christianity explains that God came down to us. Jesus lived the life we should have lived. God expects us to keep His moral law. Christ lived a perfect life, completely yielded to God. This was the life God intended all men and women to live. Jesus died the death we should have died. Jesus died because evil must be punished. If there is no consequence for breaking a law, then the law ceases to be a law. Jesus Christ bore our punishment by taking our place on a Roman Cross. Jesus rose from the dead. His resurrection proves that He is God and His authority is real and gives us hope there is life beyond the grave. Jesus Christ offers salvation to those who will repent and believe. He not only forgives our sins, but He delivers us from the power of evil in this life and in the next. To repent means to turn from evil and from trusting in our own efforts to earn our own salvation. We turn from evil to Jesus Christ. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 osGGTherefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 Paul says God speaks to believers, not through having peace with God, but through having the peace of God, or the lack thereof, concerning specific situations. And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. Colossians 3:15 AMP He will act like an umpire continually! The Holy Spirit inside you is the umpire who continually declares peace… or the lack of peace. When a Christian has a decision to make, and he says: “I just don’t have peace about it,” he is not saying that He doesn’t have peace with God, but that he lacks the peace of God concerning the specific decision he is trying to make. At other times when a decision has to be made, the Holy Spirit will give a tremendous foundation of peace - double dose that gives assurance to the believer. This overwhelming peace is indication that the decision is in the will of God. The peace can be so overwhelming that it is hard to resist a smile or even laughter. A. Many years ago, a successful businessman in the church I was pastoring tried to talk me into constructing a new building on our campus. Truth be told, I wanted to construct the building he was interested in, but every time I prayed about it, I felt a sense of unease in my heart. For 6 months I told the businessman, I wanted to build it, but didn’t have any peace about it. Finally h