Finding True Peace Through Faith in God

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. **John 14:25-27**: "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
2. **Philippians 4:6-9**: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
3. **Romans 5:1**: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

#### Observation Questions
1. What does Jesus promise to leave with His disciples in John 14:27? How is this peace different from what the world offers? [52:39]
2. According to Philippians 4:6-7, what are the steps to experiencing God's peace? [01:03:44]
3. In Romans 5:1, what is the basis for having peace with God? [01:00:08]
4. How did the Sawi people initially react to the story of Judas betraying Jesus, and why was this significant? [01:09:16]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. What does it mean for Jesus to give us "His peace" as opposed to the peace the world gives? How might this impact a believer's response to life's challenges? [52:39]
2. How does the promise of the Holy Spirit as an Advocate and Coach in John 14:26 provide comfort and peace to believers? [51:57]
3. In Philippians 4:8-9, Paul lists virtues to focus on. How do these virtues contribute to maintaining the peace of God in one's life? [01:04:23]
4. Reflecting on the story of the Richardson family and the Sawi people, how does the peace of God transform hostile environments and relationships? [01:08:19]

#### Application Questions
1. Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27). What specific fears or anxieties are troubling your heart today? How can you surrender these to Jesus? [52:39]
2. Philippians 4:6-7 encourages us to pray about everything and express gratitude. What is one specific worry you can turn into a prayer this week? How can you practice gratitude daily? [01:03:44]
3. Romans 5:1 speaks of peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Have you experienced this peace? If not, what steps can you take to seek reconciliation with God? [01:00:08]
4. The sermon mentioned the importance of filtering out noise and focusing on godly virtues (Philippians 4:8-9). What are some distractions in your life that you need to filter out to experience God's peace more fully? [01:04:23]
5. The story of the Sawi people shows the transformative power of God's peace. Is there a relationship or situation in your life that needs God's peace? How can you be an agent of peace in that context? [01:08:19]
6. Reflect on the idea of Jesus as both Savior and Lord. How does recognizing Jesus as Lord change your approach to daily challenges and decisions? [01:01:37]
7. The sermon highlighted the need to actively engage in spiritual practices to maintain peace. What specific spiritual practice (e.g., prayer, meditation, scripture reading) will you commit to this week to cultivate peace in your life? [01:04:42]

Day 1: Reconciliation Through Divine Grace
Reconciliation with God is not a result of human effort but a gift received through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the foundational peace that comes from accepting Christ's sacrifice, acknowledging His death and resurrection for the redemption of sins. This peace is the cornerstone of a transformed life and the first step towards true spiritual tranquility. [01:01:05]

Romans 5:1 - "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Reflection: How does understanding peace as a gift from God, rather than something earned, change your perspective on your relationship with Him?

Day 2: The Gift of Inner Tranquility
The peace of God is a profound inner calm that defies human understanding and remains steadfast, even in tumultuous times. This divine tranquility is not contingent on external circumstances but is a manifestation of God's presence within, offering assurance and strength to face life's challenges. [01:04:26]

Philippians 4:7 - "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Reflection: When have you experienced the peace of God in a situation that seemed overwhelming? How can you seek this peace in current challenges?

Day 3: Cultivating Peace Through Spiritual Practice
Maintaining the peace of God in our lives requires intentional spiritual disciplines. Prayer, thanksgiving, and meditating on virtues are not passive activities but active engagements that help us focus on God's truth and filter out life's distractions. This disciplined approach guards our hearts and minds, allowing us to live in the fullness of God's peace. [01:05:32]

Colossians 3:15 - "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Reflection: What are some practical ways you can incorporate prayer, gratitude, and reflection on virtues into your daily routine to maintain God's peace?

Day 4: Transformative Power of God's Peace
The story of the Richardson family and the Sawi people exemplifies the transformative power of God's peace. It shows that this peace can overcome cultural barriers and change hearts, demonstrating the gospel's reach and impact. God's peace is not limited by our backgrounds or circumstances but is universally accessible and powerful. [01:08:45]

Ephesians 2:14-15 - "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations."
Reflection: Can you think of a situation in your life or community where God's peace could bring transformation? How might you be an agent of that peace?

Day 5: Social Implications of Divine Peace
The peace of God has profound social implications, leading to reconciliation and harmony among individuals and communities. It inspires action towards justice and unity, as exemplified by figures like Martin Luther King Jr. This peace is not just a personal experience but a catalyst for societal change, reflecting the heart of the gospel. [46:57]

James 3:18 - "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
Reflection: How can you actively pursue peace in your relationships and community, and what steps can you take today to promote reconciliation and understanding?

So a lot of manifestations there of knowing that I have the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit in my life, and it's not me producing; it's the Holy Spirit.

Last week we did a little survey with you, and we've done the survey in several other areas. We simply asked, of all of these manifestations or the graces of the fruit of the Spirit, what are the top three that you need now more than anything else?

It was interesting, the responses, but when we tally those up, I'm going to give you what was the third highest that we say we need now. And then next week I'll give you the second highest. And then the following week I'll give you number one that we've all agreed this is what I need more than anything else right now.

So are you ready? This is what you said. Number three, the number three most important thing coming in third is peace. Say peace.

You know, we talk about peace in this nation as we celebrate tomorrow a great man, Martin Luther King Jr. He talked a lot about peace—peace between each other. We marched for peace. We protested for peace. We've been singing about peace. We've been doing all of that.

But the sad thing is the majority of people in this world don't have peace. You can come here today and for whatever reason, your life is in turmoil. Your mind is in turmoil. Your spirit's in turmoil.

You know, I want to show you a picture of a painting in just a minute. But this is the second most recognized painting among people in the art world. In fact, this painting was sold in 2012 for $120 million. Let me show it to you. Here it is.

Yeah, that's it. It's a painting by Edward Munch, and it's a timeless portrait of anxiety. Basically, it's a self-portrait of the anxiety and the fear that's in his life.

See him there holding his hand? I mean, you know, if you had a little happy face there and hands up, you'd say, boy, that'd be different. I'd like that. But $120 million, the second most notarized or noticed painting outside of the Mona Lisa.

And I have a look at that and I think, why is that happening? It's a story about, in fact, inscribed in the very top of the painting is this phrase: "can only have been painted by a madman."

And so people through the years thought somebody had hurt the painting or they wrote it there themselves, but they found it was the author who did it there. It's a picture, a creepy mirror of looking and seeing how a lot of people feel today about what's going on.

What am I going to do about my life? What am I going to do about my future? What am I going to do about my marriage? What am I going to do about my kids? And it's just a torment. It's the opposite of peace that God brings.

This week when I Googled, I Googled the word peace, and I came back with over three billion responses. World peace: 1.7 billion; inner peace: 215 million. The New York Times Magazine wrote an article a few years ago and said, in the 3,400 years of recorded history, the world has only been at peace for about 8%.

Do you know how many treaties have been broken? All of them, right? I love this. Someone said, peace is the moment in history when people standing around are reloading.

Now we think of that in a war, but I want you to think—it just brought to me in my mind, and I didn't say this in the first service—that it's really what happens in a lot of conflict. Instead of listening to the person, you pause because you're reloading. You're thinking, how are you going to come back? I'm going to get them straight. I'm going to get them right. They're really off, and I'm going to do that.

So peace doesn't happen like that. Peace happens when it's on the inside. When I say peace, there's a lot of different thoughts that happen in our mind. Some people said, well, it's just that place of resigning, that the Lord is my Savior, that He's with me.

I love some of the fun things that people said. Peace, like Pastor Chris said, peace is when I can get alone in the shower and have some quiet time. That's peace.

I don't know what peace is for you, but I believe today that the Lord wants to speak to us and give us a picture of peace. Would you like to see a picture of God's peace?

If you would, I'd like you to turn to John chapter 14, verses 25 through 27. We're going to look at this. This is a picture of God's peace, a picture of God's peace.

Now, let me put this in context. Jesus is in the upper room with His disciples. His disciples, He went along and He said to people, "Follow me," and many of these guys quit their profession, gave up what they had, left it in charge of somebody else, and they began to follow Jesus because Jesus said, "I'm going to set up an earthly kingdom," and they wanted to be part of that.

And so they put all of their hope, all of their confidence in that Jesus is going to bring in this external peace, to overthrow the Romans and bring external peace. And on this night, Jesus is saying to them, "Guys, I'm going to die. In just a few hours, I will be arrested. They will torment me, and then they will crucify me."

So in light of that, I want to leave you with something. Now, you can just imagine what the disciples are feeling: fear, frustration, bitterness, anger, because they thought if they served Jesus, they'd never have another issue. Now He's saying He's going away and He's leaving them on their own.

And in the midst of that, here's what Jesus said: "I'm telling you these things now while I'm still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, the encourager, the coach, as my representative—that is the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have told you.

I'm leaving you with a gift." These guys, you've got to see this. There's fear, there's worry, there's uncertainty. What's going to happen? Where are we going? And Jesus is going to say, "I'm going to leave you with a gift."

Now, if He's going to leave me with a gift at a time like that, I'd like for Him to give me something that's going to totally change me, you know, externally. Give me a level that I can move on.

And He says, "I'm going to give you a gift. Here's the gift that I'm going to give you. Listen to this: peace of mind and heart. And the peace that I give you is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."

This is the last meeting, and He says, "I'm going to give you peace. I'm going to give you peace—peace in your mind, peace in your heart." Some of you are so troubled by things you can't even sleep at night.

And you never live in silence because you're so tormented. You've got to have the radio on, you've got the TV on, you've got to scroll, you've got to do this, you've got to do that. Why? Because you're afraid to just get alone with you.

Because you see, you've tried a lot of external things to bring peace. Maybe it's how you drink, maybe it's marijuana, maybe it's just a happy night out with somebody you don't even know. All of those external things, right?

Well, they last. It says sin is good and it's great for a while, but then the result of that is not good. So there's some of you right here, and this word, it's not an accident that you're here today because you're so troubled in your mind and in your heart because you've been trying to figure everything out.

I can imagine the disciples trying to figure out, what does this mean? Well, he's going to leave. How are we going to do it? This thing started and there's people that are being healed and chastened. How is this going to happen?

And Jesus says, "Here's the thing that you've got to carry with you. It's not going to happen when you look for external things to bring you peace, but it's got to be my peace."

What's He talking about? Here's the Greek word, and it's the word "Irenae." Irenae means an internal state of tranquility. An internal state of tranquility. Always going back to the Old Testament to the Hebrews, the word was "shalom."

You've heard that a lot. Shalom means to extend peace, to make whole, to wish you well. It doesn't mean that you'll never have any more difficulties, but the real peace of God is that when I'm in a storm and everything is around me, it's blowing, and everything is pushing, that I am able to stand with peace.

Do I know how I'm going to make it through? No. Do I know what tomorrow's going to bring? No. But somehow, I can't explain it, but somehow in the midst of that, I can stand with an inner tranquility that I know that God's going to bring it out right.

How many of you have ever been in a storm like that, and God has given you that peace in your heart? Would you raise your hand and say, "Yeah, that's me?"

Sailors talk about the cushion of the sea, and by the cushion of the sea, what they mean is you can go to the bottom of the ocean, to the bottom of the sea, and it's perfectly tranquil.

I mean, if you were there in a sub—sometimes people have been there in a submarine—there's a typhoon, there's everything else happening, and when they come up and they surface, somebody says, "Well, how did you make it through that storm?"

"What storm are you talking about? We were down at the cushion of the sea." The Lord sent me to tell you here today, that's what He has for you: a cushion of peace.

That when everything is bombarding you, you can stand, and people say, "How can you stand at a time like this?" Andrea yesterday gave a great, I don't know what you call it, a great eulogy of her mom, and I'm sitting there listening and I'm thinking, "How can you do that in the midst of all the uncertainties that you have and all the things?"

But I know what it was. It was in the midst of a storm, in the midst when everybody else is falling apart. You can stand, and you've got peace. That's why it's one of the fruit of the Spirit, the manifestations is that peace.

Do you have it? Do you have it? It's for you. Jesus said, "My peace, I deposit and leave with you." Notice, He doesn't say, "I want you to manufacture peace," but He said, "I'm the manufacturer and I'm the distributor. I'm going to give you my peace."

And I think that's so important to look at. He doesn't just say, "I'm going to give you peace." I'm going to give you peace, but He says, "I'm going to give you my peace."

As I've walked on this planet Earth, as I've faced all the sins and temptations that you and I would ever face, and in the fact of knowing that tomorrow He's going to be scourged and that He's going to be crucified, He's going to go through humiliation, be hung on a cross naked, He knows all that is ahead of Him, and He stands in the middle of that and He says, "I'm going to give you my peace."

So I'm looking at that, I'm thinking, "My peace." But reread the Gospels. Do you ever read Jesus biting His nails? Say, "What are we going to do now? How are we going to get out of this?"

No, why? Because He walked in a place of peace, and He says, "That's the peace that I want to distribute to you. I want to deposit in your life, and when the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and into your life, you have the ability to have this kind of peace."

But then He says, "Look, don't be troubled." So there's a promise, and then after the promise, there is this whole thing about, "Now I want you to appropriate that peace."

I want you to—it's like, say for instance, somebody gave you a billion dollars. I was going to say a million, but that doesn't matter as much anymore, does it? A billion dollars.

And so they put it in your checking account, and then you tell somebody, "You won't believe this. I have a billion dollars in my checking account." And then you're driving an old clunker that drops more oil than it does anything else.

And people look at you and say, "You got a billion dollars? Why are you driving that?" And then you go home to a house that's in shambles and falling apart, and they look at that and say, "Why would you live there when you got a billion dollars in your checking account?"

But a billion dollars in your checking account does you no good unless you make a withdrawal—a withdrawal from something that is yours. It doesn't belong to somebody else; it's something that belongs to you.

So God sent me to tell you today, He's given you peace if you're a follower of Him, and you have the ability to reach on the inside and say, "I'm going to withdraw. I'm going to manifest real peace in this time."

If you believe that today, give the Lord a hand clap, all right?

You see, here's a quote from Oswald Chambers that I really love. Would you read it with me? "Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God."

Romans 5 and 1 says, "You know, since we've been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us."

Let me talk to you about two things of peace. We talk about peace with God and the peace of God. Let me explain those. Those are totally different.

The peace of God is objective. The peace with God is objective. It's outside of us. It's something that happened when we raised up our white flag and surrendered and said, "I give up. I give up to you, God. I've been trying to live my life on my own, and I'm troubled. I'm living in a horrible way."

And in the midst of that, I surrender. By faith, I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and He rose on the third day. So because of that, then I accept you in my life. And now I have peace with God.

I can't get peace with God by myself. That's why Jesus had to come. So you say I have peace with God because of what Jesus has done in my life, not because of how good you are, not because of how smart you are, not because of how you treated people this week good, but simply because you have a stand in God and you have peace with God.

Now, the peace of God is something that happens in my life. It's when I walk around and I feel it. I know that I have the peace of God, and I can say it is well with my soul no matter what I go through.

I love this. Look at this. Jesus as Savior brings peace with God. Read that with me: "Jesus as Savior brings peace with God."

Jesus as Lord brings peace of God. You see, some of you don't know Him as Lord. You've taken out fire insurance so you don't go to hell, but you've never moved beyond that.

You raised your hand, you prayed a prayer, you walked an aisle, you prayed a prayer, but you've never surrendered your life. You've asked Him to forgive your sins and to give you hope, but you've never moved beyond that.

You see, when He becomes Lord in my life, my whole attitude changes. The first one there, when He's my Savior, He brings peace with God that I can't do anything with, but when I see Him as Lord, you see, a Lord is somebody who's in charge of everything, right?

So if I have a Lord, I say, "Okay, it's all yours. My car, my house, my finances, my life, my hope, my dreams, they're all yours." And if I know Him as Lord, then it brings the peace of God in my life, and I'm able to walk through storms.

He said, "Look, I'm leaving you a gift. It's peace." And then He says, "Don't be troubled or afraid." It's a promise and a command. He says, "You have a responsibility to appropriate this."

You see, it's interesting that when you look at that, that phrase, "Don't be troubled or afraid," is in what we call the present passive imperative. That just means here, this is how you would literally translate this: "Stop an action you're doing. Stop being stressed out. Stop being overly anxious. Stop that."

Why are you doing that? Why are you looking to things in the world that's going to bring you up? "I just need a little peace right now. I just need a little break right now."

And so the more I do that, the more I'm letting that worldly thing become my Lord and less of Jesus becoming my Lord. But when I'm able to say, "The only thing I'm turning to for peace is you, Jesus, because you're my Savior and you are my Lord."

How do we keep peace in our lives? Philippians 4, 6 through 9 says it like this: "Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and then thank Him for all He's done. Then, look at that, then you will experience God's peace."

Now he's talking to people that have already had peace with God, but now he's talking about that you're going to experience God's peace. And it exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And then he gives us a remedy, and it's called fix. Would you underline that in your scripture there in verse 8? It says, "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one thing I want you to fix." Just underline that, look at that, F-I-X.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy. Look at this, verse 9: "Keep putting into practice." In other words, here it is again. It's that command. You've got to do something about it.

It just doesn't float in. If you sit around and watch TV all day long and never read the word and never pray, then there's no wonder that you don't have peace.

Yeah, you may be saved and you're going to heaven, but you're living a life like you're in hell right now because there's no peace. Why? Because you're not putting into practice all that you've learned from Him.

He says, "Then the God of peace will be with you." So F stands for filter the noise. Filter the noise. We have a lot of busyness of noise, don't we?

This, that, everything tries to get our attention and pull that. That's why some of you have been fasting social media this week as you're seeking God. Why? Because you want to cut off the noise.

But it's amazing how many people love to live in noise because it distracts them from who they are. You ever notice people that radio's on, the TV's on, something else is on? Why? Because it's noise that grabs our attention.

But here the scripture says, "No, filter out that noise." It doesn't say delete it because you can't delete it, but fix your thoughts. Fix your thoughts. Fix your thoughts.

You hear something come in. All right. So you say, "Well, am I going to believe that or am I going to fix my thoughts on what the Lord said?"

And then I stands for investigate the truth. Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, continue to investigate God's ways. Here's what he says in verse 9: "Keep putting into practice all that you've learned and received of me, and the result will be the peace will be with you."

The X here stands for X out the enemies of peace. X them out. All the enemies of peace: fear, anger, guilt, frustration, worry, feelings of inadequacy.

The X there is not just a little cute ending for this acronym, but the X there really in the Bible is a symbol of the name of Jesus. It stands for it's the sign of Christos. It's the letter. It's the symbol of the name Christos.

So sometimes when people see at Christmas time X-mas, they feel like people are X-ing out the Christ of Christmas. But really the understanding of that is that X is short for Christos, which is Christ.

So they're not X-ing out necessarily. I'm not saying everybody does because some people will. But do you understand what I'm saying? It's saying here's the way that you really celebrate is through Christos, through the X.

So here's what I'm saying today. You need to let Christ, the Christos, X out the things. You can't do it with a counselor. You can't do it with a pastor. You can't do it with a 1-800 number. But it's Jesus.

And the scripture says peace that passes understanding. I can't explain it. I wish I could say A, B, C, D, this is how it is. No, but I'm saying why in the world if the Lord wants to give us peace, would we constantly keep fretting, frustration, worry, and anxiety?

We don't know what's coming ahead. No, we don't know what's ahead, but we know who sits in charge of what's ahead, right?

So look at this. 2 Corinthians 5 and 18: "He included everyone in His death so that everyone could be included in His life, a resurrection life. He wants to give us a fresh start, a new beginning."

I don't know if you've ever read the book or seen the movie "Peace Child," but I would recommend that you see it. I think it's on Netflix and some of the others, and you could probably pull it up on your phone or whatever.

But it's a true story of Don and Carol Richardson. In 1962, they felt called of God to take their family to New Guinea to the tribe of the Sawi people.

Now you say, "Well, that sounds interesting." They're going there to help them, but you've got to understand the Sawi people were headhunters. They were cannibals, and they valued treachery more than anything else.

And so here they come in the midst of that, not knowing the language, so they have to take time to learn the language. And as they're learning the language and making themselves available and helping them, they brought tools and stuff to help them to build houses and do things.

So in the midst of all of that, as they learn the language, Don is trying to explain to them about Jesus and how that He gave His life for us. So he's telling the story, he's walking through it, and he's telling the story about Judas.

And he's talking about how Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And the Sawi village started cheering and clapping and stood up. Why? Because Judas was the hero.

Because in their culture, the more treacherous you were, the more that you could coop up something like this. Because you see, what they would do is they would try to befriend somebody of the other tribe.

In fact, they would invite them over, they would feed them, and basically what they were doing was fattening them up. Then they would kill them, and then the village would feast on the person's body.

And so Don is saying, "How in the world can I ever..." Because you see, the acts of kindness to them were something that you would never want. But the more treacherous, the more revengeful you are, the better you were.

So Don said, "We didn't know what we were going to do."

1) "Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God." [01:00:26] (Download)

2) "The peace of God is objective. It's outside of us. It's something that happened when we raised up our white flag and surrendered and said, I give up." [01:00:26] (Download)

3) "I can't get peace with God by myself. That's why Jesus had to come." [01:01:05] (Download)

4) "Jesus as Savior brings peace with God. Jesus as Lord brings peace of God." [01:01:05] (Download)

5) "You've asked him to forgive your sins and to give you hope, but you've never moved beyond that." [01:01:51] (Download)

6) "If I have a Lord, I say, okay, it's all yours. My car, my house, my finances, my life, my hope, my dreams, they're all yours." [01:02:33] (Download)

7) "Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and then thank him for all he's done." [01:03:49] (Download)

8) "His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." [01:04:26] (Download)

9) "The real peace of God is that when I'm in a storm and everything is around me, it's blowing, and everything is pushing, that I am able to stand with peace." [55:18] (Download)

10) "I can stand with an inner tranquility that I know that God's going to bring it out right." [55:18] (Download)