Embracing Peace and Patience Through the Spirit

Devotional

Sermon Summary

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"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. And then verse 22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires. And if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." [00:00:31]

"That a choice to live life at a higher level, where we get to experience His grace in every aspect of our daily lives. We are not bound, not bound by our own weakness, not bound by our own failed characters, not bound by our own uncontrolled emotions, but we get to live experiencing His grace in every aspect of these things, which means we get to live better lives in every area of our lives. It means we become better friends. It means we become better partners. It means we become better mums and dads. It means we become better workmates. It means in every area, we get to enjoy a level of life that on our own ability, we could never enter into." [00:01:43]

"Scripture is not saying, work on that, get better at these things. What Scripture is saying, that this fruit is not our fruit. This fruit is God's fruit. This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And the beautiful thing is, the transformation comes, the fruit comes, the more we are in intimate connection, the more we yield, then the more we experience His fruit manifest in our lives. Not self-effort, but a surrender and an intimacy. So His fruit, His characteristics start to flow in our lives. And it's also a partnership." [00:02:46]

"And all of these things apply into our lives as well. That's why Scripture says to us, hey, learn to live by the Spirit, learn to walk by the Spirit, and learn to keep in step with the Spirit. The good news there is that, hey, as we do these things, as we partner with God, as we partner and yield with the Holy Spirit, then in the process of time, all of these fruits will begin to manifest in our lives. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing. And the great thing is God never expected it to be instant." [00:03:52]

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it again. Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all, for the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. My goodness. Seriously? Seriously? Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And then Paul goes on to give the two other pieces of advice. Basically, he's saying, if you want to know God's peace, you've got to guard what you focus on, and you've got to put certain disciplines into practice. Verse 8, he says, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." [00:07:06]

"True peace can only come from God and true peace only comes when our mind is fixed on him, our focus fixed on him. Isaiah 26 verse 3 says, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast. The Amplified Version said, whose minds are committed and focused because they trust in you. We read in Philippians, don't be anxious about anything. That word anxious in the Greek, it means to be in pieces, means to be fragmented in mind, a mind that is divided by fear, doubt and uncertainty." [00:12:00]

"The beautiful thing about the peace of God when we understand that it comes through the Holy Spirit and not our own effort, when we focus on God, is understanding no matter what's going on, no matter what the needs may be, no matter what the pressures or what the opposition may be, we can experience that peace of choosing what really matters. God's presence in that moment. And we can experience patience. So let's quickly look at patience." [00:14:17]

"James chapter five, verse seven and on, says, Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You too must be patient. Take courage for the coming of the Lord is near. That word, patient, means the ability to take trouble from others or life without blowing up. Also means to endure suffering joyfully. So again, patience is a deep conviction. It's a knowing, an unshakable conviction, knowing that no matter what is going on, no matter how long we have to wait, exactly the same as peace, knowing that God is good, knowing that God is all-knowing and all-wise, that He is in total control, that He is for you, He is not against you, and that He is always faithful." [00:15:18]

"It's a conviction and a submission saying, God, not my time, not my agenda, not my way, but God, your way. We are followers. We are followers, which means we must be submitted to the one that is leading us. And it's important because if we don't allow this fruit of patience to develop in our own lives, instead of experiencing peace, we have nothing but frustration, nothing but anger, nothing but resentfulness that can rise up within us. Instead of experiencing trust, resting, enjoying that peace of trust, we become full of doubt, full of fear, full of anxiety. And instead of waiting, we can choose to take control." [00:16:30]

"When we step in our own strength, we are in so much trouble. But the wonderful, wonderful thing is, that in those times, if we learn to walk in the spirit, if we learn to allow God's fruit, to come into our lives, everything changes. So, how do we do it? What is the test of the waiting room? Can I say this morning, when you're in the waiting room of God, make the first decision, to stay in the word. Stay in the word. Psalm 119 verse 165 says this, Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. Friends, whatever's going on, can I encourage you to develop a daily rhythm of the word of God? We have daily rhythms of so many different things. We have daily rhythms, some of us, of the newspaper, daily rhythms of the television, daily rhythms of having a coffee, daily rhythms of all sorts of things. But can I tell you, as believers, and" [00:19:13]

"As followers, if we want to see the fruit develop in our lives, we've got to stay fixed in the Word of God. Because when we stay in the Word of God, we're staying in the place of revelation. We're staying in a place where God can put things in our spirit that we may not even be aware of at the time, but are going to come up just when we need them. The Word is our anchor. And no matter how strong the storm might be, no matter how great the winds might blow, if we are attached to the anchor, we can endure. We can know peace. We can know patience in the Word of God. But let's make it a daily habit." [00:20:56]

"Prayer is the place, particularly when we're talking about anxiety or when we are talking about frustration and wondering what's going on. Prayer, it can be a place of divine exchange where we can come down on our knees and we can say, God, I'm bringing to you my anxiety. I'm bringing to you my worry. I'm bringing to you the issue with my children. I'm bringing to you the issue with my health. I'm bringing to you what's happening with my job. I'm bringing my anxiety to you, but I'm going to leave it with you." [00:22:44]

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