7th Fruit of the Holy Spirit
The peace of God, as I have taught before, is not available to the world nor to all men. Often at Christmas the cards say: “Peace on Earth and good will to all men”’ Well, that is not even what the angels who announced the birth of Jesus said in Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests.”
Jesus said in Matthew 10:34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Indeed God has declared, “There is no peace for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22
So the peace of God is not peace on earth or as the world thinks, and there are people on the earth that are definitely excluded from having any peace at all—as far as God is concerned. As an aside—this is a time for me to mention—whenever you hear of those who listen to the so called messages of the Virgin Mary calling for everyone to pray for peace; ask them why does she go against what Jesus said. It is not for us to pray for peace—ever—as long as Jesus has said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth!”. War is dreadful, but going against what Jesus said is even worse.
Listen: Jesus is the only person God trusts completely, and to Jesus is entrusted the task of saving the world and all that is in it. If you don’t trust the One God trusts, how can God trust you? The miraculous power of God for you to do miracles for God is only entrusted to you, or rather activated in you when God trusts you. When you trust the One God trusts, then you will find God will trust you because you have shown God that you trust Him. Jesus said in Matthew 10:40 “He who receives you receives Me, and He who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”
Take it to a higher principle—He who trusts Jesus also trusts the One who sent Jesus and your trust in Jesus is demonstrated in how much you hold onto His teachings. The whole world desires and prays for peace. —Here you are holding onto the word of Jesus and praying for an increase in war. Wouldn’t the world hate you and consider you cruel? It is cruel from a humanistic viewpoint and certainly stupid, because you are going to go through it too. However, this is often where the reality of suffering for Jesus hits the road—holding onto the teachings of Jesus. However, if you will apply yourself in study—study the whole word of the Lord first—so that you see the whole picture of salvation, then you will see that Jesus has provided the answer for the salvation of this world and for the righteous—even through war!
The Angels said, “Peace to men on whom His [God’s] favour rests.” When the favour of God rests on you, sometimes it may mean 40 years of exile in the desert, or years in the jails of Egypt like Joseph and Moses—however the peace of God is that which rises above the situation because it is the peace of the One who knows the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46:10 “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.”
So the peace of God is not the peace of people trying to avoid a situation that is a negotiated peace, done in the hope to avoid conflict—but rather, it is the peace of One who knows the ending before it begins…. And it is to those on whom His favour rests that God thus shows His peace. Now, on whom does God’s favour rest?—Let me remind you—John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Only those the Father draws to Jesus are favoured by God—because only in Jesus and through Jesus, will you ever experience the Peace that is the fruit of the Father. The peace of the Father is that He knew Jesus would succeed before Jesus even came forth for the task—that Jesus would more than succeed—He would overcome and do even more than what the Father had hoped for. That is God’s peace—the peace of the Father whose confidence in His Son is completely justified and assured at all times. There was never a moment in History where God doubted or fretted over or worried about Jesus completing his task--.
Now look at us. When do we lose our peace? When we doubt and fret over the outcome of any matter that we undertake…and that usually comes when we pay attention or rather too much attention to the circumstances; like Peter. I am not saying to ignore the circumstances
—no, acknowledge the circumstances. Peter realised he was walking out onto the water when he jumped out of the boat—but it was when he paid attention to the wind and waves, instead of finishing the task he had started that he lost faith and sank. I have to confess—that’s what I have to constantly repent of.
The Fruit of God’s Peace—the Father’s Peace is what we need to overcome our tendency to fret, worry and doubt. Psalm 2:4 The one enthroned in Heaven laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, “I have installed My King on Zion, My holy hill.” Even as the rebels were planning in verses 2 & 3 to rebel and throw off the authority of God – even as they are on their way with their plans—God says too late, I’ve already installed My King! The plans of God are more than able to overtake and sweep away the plans of everybody else. Jesus told us this in the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:18,19 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’” …. Here is the rich man making plans to build and enlarge his business and God says, v20,21 “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?. This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Now, understand this richness that Jesus is talking about is not the amount of silver or gold you are sacrificially giving to God so that He can bless you in return. Too often, when you give sacrificially like that, truth be known, it’s because you want God to bless you so that you can carry out your plans. The richness towards God that Jesus is speaking of, is the consideration and richness you show towards God’s plans when you give sacrificially to ensure that God’s plans are brought to a success first.
It is when you place God’s plans first—that is, ensuring that God’s plans come to fruit first—not necessarily what God planned for you—no! But what God planned for Jesus—that’s when God will put you first in His plans and because God’s plans are assured their success, regardless of how interesting or how scenic the route may become—God always gets to His destination. It is at this point when God puts you first in His plans because you have put God’s plans first—that the Peace of God that surpasses all knowledge and understanding will guard your heart and mind. Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Now this peace is in Christ Jesus because all that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus. John 16:15 “All that belongs to the Father is Mine.” And the Holy Spirit in v 14 -- “He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you.”
Jesus has God the Father’s peace—the Peace of the One who has full confidence in the One He has sent—and the Holy Spirit whom He has given us makes it known to us. As such, this Peace of God—the Fruit of the Spirit of God which comes from the Father—is not available to anyone else, except those who are in Jesus Christ, because God’s peace is found only in Jesus Christ. God’s confidence of absolute perfect success is only in Jesus, not Moses, David or any of the Apostles the Father gave Jesus.
Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.” When Jesus said that, He wasn’t talking just about the things He had said in John 14,15 & 16, because He had been telling of the things to come in Matthew 21,22 & 23—and especially of the signs of the End of the Age. And all these teachings occurred in the week, from His triumphant entry to Jerusalem in Matthew 21 up to the time when Judas had left them as they were walking to the Garden of Gethsemane. So when Jesus said these things I have told you, it is like a statement to sum up the week’s teachings, because at John 16:33 all teaching is finished and the Lord had His final conversation in depth to the Father.
Only in Jesus will we have the peace to handle all that is to come, because that is the Father’s peace—the peace of One who knows the end from the beginning. That is the peace that seals the Sonship of Jesus—because it is the peace that proves God’s approval on Jesus as His One and Only Begotten—the One He trusts!
This peace of God is not the peace of Jesus which Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you.” That peace of Jesus is the peace of the Son who has been and was determined to be fully obedient to the Father—come what may. It is the peace of One who is prepared to commit His Spirit into the Father’s hand—the peace of One who has said: Amen Lord, “Yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22:42—The peace of One who knows that whether He fails or succeeds, He has done God’s will and He can do no more. That is the peace of the Son—the peace of the perfectly obedient Son.
However the Peace of God the Father is the peace of the one who knows that success is guaranteed regardless, and that the one He has chosen will not and cannot fail—no matter what. Imagine if you can—you have a $10,000 bill to pay tomorrow, but you already know that tonight’s lotto first prize is yours—guaranteed because the draw has been stacked in your favour. Wouldn’t you have peace about the $10,000 bill?
It is this peace of God—the peace of the One who knows He has succeeded and will succeed that is the crowning peace of your life, for it is the peace of the God of Peace—Hebrews 13:20,21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will. It is this peace of the Father that crowned Jesus as the Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 You see, next to the Everlasting Father was the Prince of Peace but Hebrews 7:2 Paul calls Jesus the King of Righteousness and then the King of Peace. Now Jesus became the King of Peace from the Prince of Peace when He finished the work of the God of Peace.
The Peace of Jesus is the peace of a son obedient to the Father.
The Peace of God is the peace of He who knows the end from the beginning.
And, it is when we put God’s plans first now—His plans to bring Jesus back to relieve the Holy Spirit of His work, that we receive the Crown of Peace—the peace from the Father—the peace of One who knows the end from the beginning.
The peace is that which makes us true peacemakers—the Sons of God, the God of Peace, and brothers of the King of Peace. AMEN
This peace of God is never available to those who are not rich towards God—that is, those who will not put God’s perfect plans ahead of theirs, which may be good and pleasing, but not perfect, because it is their plans—not God’s!
And all who forsake the plans of God for theirs, are like all who forsake God—wicked—and for the wicked there is No peace!
AMEN HOLY SPIRIT – THE FRUIT OF PEACE!
