SEEING THE POSITIVE IN MY PROBLEMS (3-24-13 sermon)

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 SEEING THE POSITIVE IN MY PROBLEMS

Patience, Persistence and Peace of Mind  -  Part 6 of 6

1 Peter 4:12 & 19

03-24-13 Sermon

1 Peter 4:12+19 "Don't be surprised at the painful trials you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you . . . Those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."

FIVE WAYS GOD USES PROBLEMS IN MY LIFE

1.  God uses problems to direct me

            "Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways."  Prov. 20:30 (GN)

Blank: All of a sudden Elijah goes. . .

            Ask: Where is this problem leading me?

2.  God uses problems to inspect me

       "The Lord God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years . . . to test you in order to know what was in your heart . . . "  Deuteronomy 8:2

       "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance . . . so you may be mature and complete. . . "  James 1:2-4

       "I (God) have tested you in the fire of suffering, as silver is refined in a furnace."  Isaiah 48:10

             Ask: What does it reveal about me?

3.  God uses problems to correct me

Blank: “Sometimes we often learn the value of things by losing them.

            "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your statutes."  Psalms 119:71

       (LB)  ". . . it was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to Your laws!"

       "Let God train you, for He is doing what any loving father does for his children.  Whoever heard of a son who was never corrected?"  Hebrews 12:7 (LB)

            Ask: What is this teaching me? What can I learn from it?

4.  God uses problems to protect me

            "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil."  1 Peter 3:17

            "You intended it to harm me, but God intended it for good." Gen. 50:20

Blank: When I read this verse – “It is better, . . .”

            Ask: What do You want me to learn from this?

Blank: Sometimes you do the right thing and everything falls apart.

5.  God uses problems to perfect me

       "We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us -- they help us learn to be patient.  And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it . . . " Rom. 5:3-4 (LB)

            Ask: How can I grow from this problem? How does God want to perfect me through this problem?

Blank: c 

Last slides:

Are You using this problem to direct me?

Are You using this problem to inspect me?

Are You using this problem to correct me?

Are You using this problem to protect me?

Are You using this problem to perfect me?

SEEING THE POSITIVE IN MY PROBLEMS

Patience, Persistence and Peace of Mind  -  Part 6 of 6

1 Peter 4:12 & 19

03-24-13 Sermon

1 Peter 4.  Today I want to wrap up the series we've been in on "Patience, Persistence and Peace of Mind."  Some of you say. "We've been talking about perseverance and going through disappointments and peace of mind but it's hard if you knew the problems I have.  How do I be patient, how do I have peace of mind with my problems?"  Many people think that when they have problems that God is angry with them.  That's not true.  Many people think that when they have problems they're out of God's will.  That's not necessarily true.  The fact is, there are teachers on the radio today that say that God wants everybody to be healthy and wealthy.  If you're not healthy and wealthy then you must be out of God's will.  That's not true.

1 Peter 4:12 "Don't be surprised at the painful trials you're suffering as though some strange thing were happening to you. Those who suffer according to God's will commit themselves to their faithful creator and continue to do good." 

Notice it says, "...those who suffer according to God's will..." Problems are often God's will for your life.  Today we want to look at seeing the positive in your problems.  This is a brief message wrapping up where we've been.  I don't want to explain suffering because I couldn't if I tried.  There are many explanations, many we won't ever know.  But look at your problems from a new perspective today.  See the five ways God uses problems in your life.  The problem you're going through right now, God uses it five different ways:

1.  GOD USES PROBLEMS TO DIRECT ME.

He often uses problems to point us in a new direction, to motivate us to change.  Proverbs 20:30 "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways."  We change not when we see the light but when we feel the heat.  Sometimes God has to light a fire under you.  You become uneasy, uncomfortable. Life gets hot.  C.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasure but he shouts to us in our pain."  He gets our attention real quickly when problems come on us. 

There are many examples of this in the Bible.  In the story of Elijah when he was down by the brook, God had had him there for two or three weeks.  He had plenty of resources, water to drink  in the middle of the desert, the ravens were bringing him food and he could eat the food.  It says everything was going great then one day the brook dried up. 

Have you ever had a brook dry up in your life?  All resources dry up?  A financial brook dry up?  A physical brook dry up?  An emotional brook dry up?

All of a sudden Elijah goes, "What gives, God?  I don't understand it!  Everything was going great.  You provided for all my needs.  Now all of a sudden the resources I counted on aren't there any more.  What happened, God?  You must not love me any more."

God said, "No, that's not it at all.  Here's the issue:  I don't want you to stay where the brook is.  It's time to move on.  As long as you're comfortable in that situation, you're not going to change.  The brook dried up so God could direct Elijah to a new situation.  Sometimes a job dries up, a relationship dries up, a situation dries up.  Things that were going great.  Why?  God says, "I don't want you there anymore.  I want you trying something new.  I want you working in a new area."

Remember the story of Jonah.  God told Jonah to go to Ninevah. He went to Tarshish as far in the opposite direction as you could go.  So God arranged a little Mediterranean cruise for Jonah!  I have no problem of God creating a fish that can hold a man.  If God can create the world, He can do anything He wants to.  The fish says, Jonah, you're going the wrong direction!  When he spits him out guess which way he's headed?  God uses problems to direct us. 

Remember the prodigal son story.  He comes to his dad one day and says, "Dad, I want half of my inheritance.  Give it to me now." He gives it him and he goes down to Sunset Strip in Jerusalem. It's party time in Jerusalem.  He's having a great time until he runs out of money and runs out of friends.  It says he ends up feeding pigs.  That's not a very good job if you're Jewish.  It's not exactly kosher.  It says he got so hungry he began to eat the pig food himself.  Then he came to his senses ... where?  In the pig pen. 

It's typical that we never change until we get desperate.  God uses problems to direct us, to get us moving.  He uses problems to prod us and push us and promote us and prompt us to change. We would rarely change if we didn't have any problems. 

You want to ask the question:  Where is this problem leading me? Because problems never leave you where they found you.  When you go through a problem you always end up someplace different than where you started off.  God uses problems to direct me.

2.  GOD USES PROBLEMS TO INSPECT ME.

Check me out, see what I'm like on the inside, to test me. People are like tea bags.  You never know what's inside of them until you drop them in hot water.  Then you know what they're like on the inside.

Deuteronomy 8:2 "The Lord God led you all the way into the desert these forty years to test you in order to know what was in your heart."  Circle "test".  The Bible says when Moses led the children of Israel through the Red Sea they're going to the Promised Land in Israel.  Egypt to Israel is just a matter of weeks.  It took them forty years!  Why?  God said, We're going to wander around out here for a while, while I test you.  They went through seven tests.  Seven times God tested them to see what was inside of them. 

Remember the story of Marah.  Marah was one of the seven tests. Just one.  Every time God would say, "You blew it!  One more lap around the desert!  Let's try it again.  Final exam number six!"

Has God ever tested you with a problem?  You bet He has!  God uses problems to direct me and He uses problems to inspect me. You need to ask the question:  What does it reveal about me? 

The Bible says, "Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance so you may be mature and complete."  The Bible often compares suffering to a refining fire.  You take silver and metal and heat it up and it burns off the impurities.  God does that with people through problems.  Isaiah 48:10 "I, God, have tested you in the fire of suffering as silver is refined in a furnace." God uses problems to burn off the excess in your life that's not needed, to burn off the impurities.  I asked a silversmith one day how did he know when the stuff was pure.  He said, "When I see my reflection in it."  When God can see His reflection in you He knows He's burned off the impurities. 

He uses problems to direct me.  He uses problems to inspect me.

3.  HE USES PROBLEMS TO CORRECT ME.

Psalm 119:71 "It was good for me to be afflicted that I might learn Your statutes."  Circle "learn".  Life is a school and problems are the curriculum.  Why is it that some lessons we only learn through failure?  Some things we only learn by blowing it.

When I was a little boy, my mom used to say, "Don't you touch that hot stove."  You think I touched it?  Count on it!  After I touched it, do you think I touched it again?  No.  I learned by being burned.                                                                

Have you ever learned by being burned?  Have you ever gotten burned financially?  Have you ever got burned in a relationship? Have you ever got burned in a bad decision?  I learn by being burned.  God uses problems to correct me when I'm going the wrong direction.  "It was good for me to be afflicted that I might learn Your statues."  The Living Bible says, "It was the best thing that could have happened to me for it taught me to pay attention to Your laws." 

Sometimes we often learn the value of things by losing them.  We learn the value of money by losing it.  We often learn the value of relationships by losing them.  You learn the value of health when you don't have it.  It's human nature that a lot of times we have to learn through pain. 

So God uses problems to direct me and he uses problems to inspect me and He uses problems to correct me -- to see what's inside of me.  Hebrews 12:7 (Living Bible) "Let God train you for He is doing what any loving father does for His children.  Whoever heard of a son who was never corrected?"  Do you discipline your kids?  Sure you do.  Because you love them.  Do you discipline the kids down the street?  No.  When the kids down the street throw dirt clods in my neighbor's pool at the bottom of the slope, I don't have the right to go down there and spank them. But I discipline my own kids.  I love them. 

It says that discipline is a proof that God loves you.  Problems don't mean that God hates you.  Problems mean that God loves you. He allows the circumstances to occur that are the natural consequences of your behavior. 

Many people confuse forgiveness and discipline.  They say, "I made a bad decision.  I sinned.  I blew it.  So I'm just going to confess it to God, `God I'm sorry.  Please forgive me.'"  Does God forgive me?  Yes.  Instantly I'm forgiven.  It's wiped out, no guilt, no condemnation.  But that does not mean that God withdraws the cause and effect of that situation.  You are forgiven but He does not withdraw all the circumstances.  I could go get drunk and have a car wreck, break my arm, and say, "God, please forgive me" but I'd still have a broken arm.  When we come to God and confess, He forgives us and the guilt is cleaned out of our lives.  But He often allows the cause and effect in order to teach us not to do it again.  If every time you did something that was bad for you, you could get away with it by saying, "Please forgive me", you'd keep right on doing it.  But the Bible says we sow and we reap what we sow.  God allows that to happen in our lives -- that we reap what we sow -- not because He hates us but because He loves us.  He wants us to learn.  "It was the best thing that could have happened to me for it taught me to pay attention to Your laws."  God's discipline proves that I'm His son, I'm His child, that He loves me -- that's the motive. 

You need to ask this question:  What is this teaching me?  What can I learn from it?

When problems arise, you don't want to ask Why, Why is this happening?  but "What?  What do You want to teach me?"  God may want to teach you something about Himself through this problem. Maybe He wants to teach you about His power.  Maybe He wants to teach you that He can handle any situation.  Maybe He wants to teach you that He cares about you, that He knows every detail in your life -- the good, the bad, the ugly -- and He still loves you, that He wants what's best for you.  Maybe He wants to teach you about His grace, His wisdom.  God uses problems to teach us about Himself. 

God also uses problems in our lives to teach us about ourselves. Have you ever learned anything about yourself through a problem? Sure you have.  God may use a situation to reveal a weakness, a character fault.  God may allow a problem in your life to show up a blind spot.  If you don't take care of it, it's going to cause major damage in your life.  He uses these problems to correct me.

The fact is, we don't like to face the truth.  We rarely face the truth unless we're forced to face it.  So God does it through problems.  He directs me.  He inspects me.  He corrects me.

4.  GOD USES PROBLEMS TO PROTECT ME.

Sometimes God allows problems in my life for my own benefit. Many times a problem is actually a blessing in disguise.  It prevents you from getting involved in something more harmful. 

Notice it says "It's better if it's God's will to suffer from doing good than doing evil."  You are going to suffer.  There are going to be problems in life.  You might as well have problems for doing the right thing rather than problems for doing the wrong thing.  You're going to have problems either way.  It's safer to do what's right and honest and suffer for it than to compromise your values and suffer for that. 

When I read this verse -- "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil" -- I think of the story of a man who was in our church a number of years ago.  He said, "My boss has asked me to make an unethical decision and I don't want to do it.  I know it's wrong and I'm not going to do it.  I'm afraid that if I don't do it, I'll get fired."  I said, "You're right.  You may get fired.  But God's in control.  He can get you a job."  He went back and when the boss told him to make the decision, he said he couldn't do it; it was wrong, unethical. The boss said, "You either do it or it's your job!"  He said, "I'm sorry, I can't do it.  I'm a Christian" and he gave a testimony.  And he was fired.  He lost his job for doing good. It just so happened that in a matter of weeks he found another job, better job and was back at work.  A couple of months after that his former boss and all the top employees were on the front of the Orange County Register being indicted and going to prison for fraud and all kinds of stuff. 

Did God protect him?  Without a doubt.  He suffered for doing right rather than suffered for doing wrong.  If you're going to have problems, you might as well have them for doing the right thing rather than for doing the wrong thing.  God allowed a little problem to protect him from a big problem.

For some of you maybe the best thing in the world was for you to get fired.  Maybe there was a temptation there at work, a situation, a circumstance that was detrimental to your family, detrimental to your health, detrimental to your spiritual life and God knew what He was doing.  Rather than complaining about it you need to ask, "What do You want me to learn from this?"

You don't see the whole picture.  God does.  You don't. Sometimes God uses problems to protect me.  Sometimes the best thing in the world are problems.  I've discovered in my own life that the most painful things in my life have been the things that have taught me the most and have also directed me the most. 

When I think of this -- "It's better to suffer for doing good than doing evil" -- I think of Joseph.  Remember the story in the Old Testament:  Joseph sold as a slave.  The master's wife tries to get him to go to bed with her.  She's seducing him day after day.  He says no.  So she falsely accuses him of rape and he gets put in prison for not giving in to temptation.  I'm sure Joseph's thinking, "What gives, God?  What are You doing?"  David paid a penalty for his sin.  Joseph paid a penalty for not sinning.

Sometimes you do the right thing and everything falls apart. Joseph ends up in prison and doesn't understand.  But it so happened that while he was in prison he met two men who through those relationships, later brought him to power in the nation of Egypt.  He became second in command only to Pharaoh.  He came up with the plan to save the nation and to save the nation of Israel.  Two nations were saved from seven years of famine because he ended up in jail.  Through that relationship he built in jail he ends up saving other people.  God knew what He was doing.  Joseph, at the end of his life, says in Genesis 50:20 "You intended it to harm me, but God intended it for good."

There are people out there that you're going to face this next week that intend to harm you.  There are people who want your job.  There are people who want your wife/husband/kids.  There are people who mean to harm you.  And they'll try.  And you may get harmed.  They may mean it for bad but God has a purpose.  His purpose is greater than your problem.  Look at Him.  Sometimes He's using those problems to protect you. 

Often problems are preparation for eventual success.  How do you get to be a success?  Experience failure.  Then you know what doesn't work.  Thomas Edison had things he experimented with before he found the right filament for the light bulb.  They said, "You've had 600-700 failures!"  He said, "No, I know 600‑ 700 things that don't work!"  Don't call it a failure; call it an education.  Some of you are very educated.  I'm educated.  I know a lot of things that don't work and so do you.

What is being prevented?  You have a car problem on the way to the airport and you miss a business trip.  You have no idea what might have happened on that business trip.  You just have to trust God in life.  He knows what He's doing and you don't most of the time.  Sometimes God uses problems to protect me.

5.  GOD USES PROBLEMS TO PERFECT ME.

To develop me.  Romans 5:3-4 "We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know they're good for us.  They help us learn to be patient and patience develops strength of character [circle "strength of character"] and helps us trust God more and more each time we use it." 

It's like the old illustration about the uncut diamond.  You're the uncut diamond and God wants to chip off your rough edges.  He wants to polish you up and make you a beautiful gem that glistens and reflects His glory.  So He uses problems to chip off the rough edges in your life.  He comes along with His hammer and chisel and sees a rough edge in your life and knocks it off. Sometimes, if you're resistent, He gets out the jackhammer or dynamite. 

It takes different kinds of things to get our attention.  God is trying to hone you into something for His glory and use.  God wants to make you like Jesus Christ and He does it two ways. Trough the Bible and through circumstances.  As you read the Bible He makes you like Christ.  As you go through circumstances, He forces you to become like Christ.  The easy way is the Bible. God can say, "Be patient" and you learn patience.  But if you don't learn patience that way, He'll just put you in a traffic jam and force you to learn patience.  You read a verse that says, "Be humble" so you can learn it this way (the easy way).  If you don't learn it, that's ok; he'll just humiliate you!  God will get His message across. 

I prayed for patience one time and my problems got worse.  I prayed for more patience and they even more worse.  Finally I realized I was a lot more patient than when I started out!  How does God teach you patience?  By everything going your way?  Not at all but by things falling apart.

Paul had to learn this lesson.  He talks about his thorn in the flesh.  We don't know what it was -- irritation, frustration, physical pain, emotional weakness, we don't know.  He says three times he prayed desperately, "God take this situation out of my life" and God said, "No way!  Because the purpose of this problem is greater than the pain of the problem.  If I took it out of the way, you wouldn't learn the lessons I want you to learn."  So God sometimes says No to a problem.  He wants you to learn it first.

In Hebrews 2:10 it says Jesus was made perfect through suffering. How do you think you're going to be made perfect?  The same way. 1 Peter 1:6-7 talks about the seasons in life.  Life is not the same.  You have good times, bad times, ups, downs, times of poverty, times of wealth.  Life changes.  There are springs and summers and falls and winters.  All sunshine and no rain makes a desert.  All rain and no sunshine you need an ark.  You need balance in your life.  We need seasons in our lives.  We need the seasons to season us, to prepare us and make us what God wants us to be. 

You need to ask yourself the question:  How can I grow from this problem?  How does God want to perfect me through this problem? 

Summary:  Your problem is not your problem.  The problem you've got right now is not your problem.  That sounds redundant but it's not.  Your problem is the way you're responding to your problem.  That's the real problem.

When do problems become real problems?  They become real problems when you get a bad attitude over them.  They become real problems when we lose our perspective, when we let go of our values, when we lose our sense of humor and start having self pity.  They become real problems when we start blaming other people for our circumstances.  Yesterday I saw a bumper sticker on the freeway that said:  It's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame.  That's the motto for a lot of people. 

Ask yourself some questions as we close:

         1.  Lord, are You using this problem to direct me?  If so, what do You want me to change?  What direction do You want me to go?  Where should I back off and head in a new direction.  Are You using this problem to direct me?

         2.  Lord, are You using this problem to inspect me?  If so, what does it reveal about me?  What does it say about my character flaws, about my weaknesses, about areas in my life that need changing?  Many problems in your marriage, at work are character defects in you that are causing wrong responses.  You need to change them.  What does it reveal about me?  A weakness? A misplaced priority?  A compromise?  Lord, are You using this problem to inspect me, to see what's really in me?  If you tell God, "I want to follow You 100%" you can count on it!  He's going to test you on it.  He's going to see if you really mean business.  If you say, "God, I want You to be Number One in my life" He's going to test you by providing options. 

         3.  Lord, are You using this problem to correct me?  Maybe I brought it on myself.  Maybe I'm reaping what I sowed.  Maybe I shouldn't ask, Why? but What?  "What do You want me to learn from this?"

         4.  Are You using this problem to protect me?  Your heavenly Father knows what's best.

         5.  God, are You using this problem to perfect me?

Some of you are here at Saddleback -- you've only come once or twice.  God is working in your life even when you don't know it. God has been working in your life for a long, long time even when you didn't recognize it.  You're here this morning.  You had no idea what we were going to talk about.  God works in your life even when you don't understand it, even when it doesn't make sense. 

But it is much more beneficial and profitable and easy when you cooperate for God's plan for your life.  It's so much easier. You can learn in a much shorter time.  You need to cooperate with Him.

You need to start out by saying, "Jesus Christ, come into my life.  Be number one.  Use the situations in my life to direct me, correct me, inspect me, perfect me, protect me."  If you haven't done that, let's close the service today with a prayer asking Him to do that.

Prayer:

      Pray a simple prayer like this in your heart:  "Jesus Christ, I've believed about You.  I've known about You.  But I want to know You personally.  Please come into my life and make Yourself real to me."  Say that in your mind.  He'll hear you.  "Please come into my life and make Yourself real to me.  I want to follow You.  I want to find out more about You.  I want to live the way You want me to live.  I ask You to forgive all the things I've done wrong.  I want to believe in You." 

      Father, thank You for Your word.  Help us to face the problems this week with a positive attitude, realizing that You're using them in our lives.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

3-17-13 Sermon

Listen to today's sermon by clicking here.

THE FIVE KEYS TO PEACE OF MIND

Patience, Persistence and Peace of Mind  -  Part 5 of 6

John 14:27

03-17-13 Sermon

John 14:27 (Ph) Jesus:  "I leave behind with you -- peace; I give you My own peace and My gift is nothing like the peace of the world.  Do not be distressed or daunted."

THE FIVE KEYS

1.  Accept God's _____________________________________________

       "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  Rom. 5:1

       "Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives. . . . You . . . delight to show mercy."  Micah 7:18

2.  Recognize God's _____________________________________________

       "You (God) will keep those in perfect peace whose minds are steadfast on You . . ."  Isaiah 26:3

            ". . . to be spiritually minded is life and peace."  Rom. 8:6

       "God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.  Be still and know that I am God."  Ps. 46:1, 10

3.  Obey God's _____________________________________________

       "Those who love Your laws have great peace of heart and mind and do not stumble . . . so I have obeyed Your laws."  Psalm 119:165-116

4.  Trust God's _____________________________________________

       "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."  Prov. 3:5-6

            ". . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."  Phil. 4:12

5.  Ask for God's _____________________________________________

       "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers.  If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far moire wonderful than the human mind can understand."  Phil. 4:6-7 (LB)

            Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God -- trust in Me."  John 14:1

THE FIVE KEYS TO PEACE OF MIND

Patience, Persistence and Peace of Mind  -  Part 5 of 6

John 14:27

03-17-13 Sermon

John 14.  Cover article in Parade magazine called "Stress Busters" -- "Stress is taking a terrible toll in the nation's health and economy.  More than 66% of all visits to physicians are for stress related disorders.  Job stress costs American industry more than 150 billion dollars a year in absenteeism, lost productivity, accidents, medical insurance.  Every week 112 million people take medication for stress related symptoms." 

We're in a stressful world.  Are you under stress?  Quiz:  How well do you understand stress?  Complete these sentences:

                           I'm ready to throw in the.... towel.

                           I'm at the end of my ... rope.

                           I'm just a bundle of ... nerves.

                           My life is falling ... apart.

                           I'm at wit's ... end.

                           I'm about to come ... unglued.

                           I feel like resigning from the human ... race.

        

You are pros at stress!  It's amazing what people try to do to deal with stress.  Therapy, fads, diets, cults, etc. 

The Bible has a different way of dealing with stress.  John 14:27 Jesus said, "I leave My peace with you.  Peace.  I give you My own peace and My gift is nothing like the peace of this world. Don't be distressed [that's the word "stress"] or daunted." 

He says a couple of things here.  First, peace is a gift.  God's peace is a gift.  Circle "gift".  Peace of mind is not something you work for, you earn, you buy, you learn, you search for.  It's a gift.  And God's peace of mind is different from the world's. In the first place, it's not fragile.  In the last 3500 years we've had 286 years of peace.  We don't have much peace in the world.  But human peace is based on circumstances.  If everything is ok, then I'm at peace.  But if everything's in chaos then I'm not at peace.

The Bible says peace is an internal thing.  Today we want to look at how can I be at peace under pressure?  How can I be strong under stress?  There are five keys to peace of mind.  Very simple message.  Just five things. 

The most important one is the very first one.  I want us to spend some time on it this morning.

1.  ACCEPT GOD'S PARDON

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

You were made to live in harmony with God.  When you're out of harmony with God it causes stress.  That is the greatest source of stress in your life.  When you're out of harmony with God, nothing else clicks.  When the vertical and the horizontal are out of order, your life's a mess. 

The Bible says you need to first accept God's pardon.  The number one source of stress, psychologists tell us, is guilt.  Is anybody perfect?  We all make mistakes.  I don't live up to my own standards, much less God's.  Because we all make mistakes, we all feel guilty and that guilt causes stress in our lives.  The Bible says we need to accept God's pardon.  It says "We're justified through faith".  Circle "justified".  

What does that word mean?  An easy way to think of it:  Justified means Just-as-if-I'd never sinned.  God wipes the slate clean. He washes the blackboard.  Even if there were no such thing as heaven -- and there is -- I'd become a Christian just to have a clear conscience.  Guilt causes stress.  Even Christians who know they're forgiven often don't feel forgiven.  Even Christians who know they're forgiven, don't accept it. 

So we need to accept God's pardon.  It's the number one cause of stress -- guilt.  Dr. Leslie Weatherhead said, "The forgiveness of God is the most powerful, therapeutic idea in the world.  If a person can really believe that God has forgiven him or her, he or she can be saved from neuroticism." 

Micah 7:18 "Who is a God like You who pardons sin and forgives? You delight to show mercy."  Circle "delight".  God is eager to clean your slate.  He wants to.  He's willing.  He's ready to clear your conscience.  There is no peace of mind without a clear conscience.  The word pardon means to release from punishment.  It means to be forgiven.  A man who committed a crime thirty years before kept it a secret.  Finally he confessed it and made restitution.  He said, "I was living in a personal hell for thirty years." 

We could stop with that and think about the fact that God says, "I want to offer you blanket coverage, total forgiveness for every single thing you've ever done wrong."  Do you think that would promote peace of mind?  Yes, it would. 

Settle this issue.  God wants to forgive you.  He wants to wipe the slate clean.  He wants to forgive you of all your past.  He wants you to start over.  It's called being born again.  It's like starting over and that clear conscience produces peace of mind. 

2.  RECOGNIZE GOD'S PRESENCE.

Realize that He's with you all the time.  Focus on Him.  Stress comes when you feel like you're facing everything by yourself. Isaiah 26:3 "You, God, will keep those in perfect peace whose minds are steadfast on You."  Romans 8:6 "To be spiritually minded is life and peace."  Peace is a mind set.  It is determined by what you focus on.  What I want you to learn today is to make your first response to every crisis "Lord, I realize You're here with me."

If you will do that your stress level will reduce significantly. You're not facing anything alone.  God is with you. 

Psalm 46:1 & 10 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.  Be still and know that I am God."  The background of this verse is interesting -- 180,000 enemy troops had surrounded the city of Jerusalem.  They were about to destroy the city.  The Israelis were getting uptight.  God said (Frank translation) "Chill out!  Relax.  I'm in control."  Five minutes before they attacked the city, God caused a plague to come down and decimate the enemy and the city of Jerusalem was saved.  God says, "Don't worry.  I'm your ever present help.  I'm always present.  You need to recognize My presence." 

Notice there are two steps to recognizing God's presence.  How do you know that God is with you all the time?

First it says "Be still".  In Hebrew it means "let go, ease up". Pascal once said, "All of man's problems come from his inability to sit still."  Hurry aggravates worry.  The more hurried you get, the more worried you get.  If there is anything I could do for you this week would be to get you to establish a regular daily time where you just sit still.  Most people are so busy. They hit the ground running and they're off!  They come home dead at night, watch a little TV, throw themselves into bed -- no time to be quiet.  If we took a survey right now and I asked "How many of you in the last 24 hours have had at least twenty minutes of stillness where you just sat and did nothing -- no TV, no radio, no phone,  no computer -- twenty minutes of stillness?  You just sat and talked to God in the last 24 hours. There probably wouldn't be too many people."  We need to be quiet. 

People say, "God never talks to me!"  Just sit down and shut up so you can hear Him.  You've got the radio on, the TV on, the iPod on.  You are so busy cramming your mind you couldn't hear God if He wanted to say anything to you.  You've got to be quiet.  Be still.

Then it says, be still and know.  The word "know" in Greek is the word that means the most intimate kind of knowledge.  It's not knowing about.  There's a difference between knowing about God and knowing God.  You can know about God.  You can know facts. You can go to church and know about God.  But you've got to really know Him.  The word here is literally used to mean the most intimate kind of knowledge where the Bible says, "Adam knew Eve."  She had a baby.  Abraham knew Sarah.  She had a baby. Mary knew no man before Jesus was born.  It's the ultimate type of intimate knowledge -- that's the way God wants you to know Him.  Not on a far off basis -- "God, You're on Your side of the fence.  I'm on mine and never the twain shall meet."  But personal interaction and fellowship.  God says, "I want you to know Me."

If you will accept God's pardon, recognize His presence -- that you never go anywhere in life by yourself, that every crisis you face, you're facing it with God's help -- your tension level is going to go down and your peace of mind is going to go up. 

Remind yourself as your first reaction, "Lord, I know You're here with me."  The problem is we know more about everything else except God.  Because you know who you spend the most time with. 

Accept God's pardon.  Recognize His presence.  Then there's a third thing if you want peace of mind on a consistent, regular basis.

3.  OBEY GOD'S PRINCIPLES

Psalm 119:165-166 "Those who love Your laws have great peace of heart and mind and do not stumble.  So I have obeyed Your laws."

The Bible, is the owner's manual for life.  It's not just a book of history.  There are principles in here.  If you disregard the owner's manual, it's your own tough luck.  You buy a car -- you can either follow the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual or you can ignore it.  If you follow it, your car will last longer.  If you ignore it, you just hurt yourself.

There are principles all through the Bible.  There are principles on personal happiness, on success, on how to build strong relationships, on how to build your business, on finances, on health, on marriage, on parenting.  Every different area.  You don't have to listen to this book at all.  You can ignore it, never open it, never read or study it, never obey it.  Who do you think you're hurting?  You're not hurting God.  This is God's gift to us by which we can live the kind of life He says we're meant to live. 

Every rule in the Bible is there for your own good.  It's like a rail road car on a track.  The train's going down the track and saying, "These stupid tracks!  They are so confining. I can only go where the tracks go.  I can't jump off there in the field."  The train can jump the tracks to its own detriment and destruction.  The tracks are made so it can run on and get to its proper destination.  It's what it was made to do. 

You were made to abide by certain principles.  If you ignore them, the result is STRESS.  Stress comes when you ignore the way God has told us to live.  Obey God's principles.  You won't stumble -- you won't make a bunch of dumb mistakes.  They don't restrict you; they're for your own benefit.

What has God told you to do that you haven't done yet?  What has God told you to do that you're still putting off.  When God's told you to do something and you just ignore it, is it any wonder you don't have any peace? 

"... So I have obeyed your laws."  Circle "obeyed".  It's not just enough to know the Bible; you've got to follow it.  You've got to apply it in your life.  The best translation of Scripture is when you translate it into your life. 

Peace comes through obedience.  The more I do what God says, the more at peace I am, the less stressed I am.  The more I ignore what God says, the more stressed out I am.  If I want to have peace of mind, I accept God's pardon, I recognize His presence, and I obey His principles.  And then,…

4.  I MUST TRUST GOD'S PLAN.

I must trust God when I don't understand why things happen the way they do.  Even when it doesn't make sense.  Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."  There are four verbs in these sentences to circle:  trust, don't lean, acknowledge, direct.  The first three are things we're supposed to do and the fourth is a promise that God says He'll do if we do the first three. 

         1.  First it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" That means depend on Him.  When?  Even when it doesn't make sense.  Trust in the Lord even when everything's out of your control.  It's not out of His control. 

         2.  Then it says, "Don't lean on your own understanding." This is one of the number one reasons why even Christians don't have peace of mind.  You're trying to figure everything out.  The fact of life is, many, if not most of the things in life you're never going to figure out.  There are some things you're going to ask -- questions that are just not going to be answered.  The most common natural, normal reaction to an illness, or a crisis or a loss, or a death of someone we've loved is "Why?"  Why, God? Why is this happening?” Sometimes you get an answer.  But you probably know by now from experience, sometimes you don't get an answer. 

What do you do with the whys of life?  Why did this relationship break up?  Why was this person struck down in the prime of life?

God does not promise an explanation for everything in life.  He doesn't owe you an explanation.  If you understood it all, you'd be God.  But you don't have to.  You do have to trust.  And the testimony that I've heard from people over and over is "In this crisis, in this situation, in this loss, when I finally stopped trying to figure out why and just started trusting, the peace of mind flooded my heart." 

God is more interested in comforting you than explaining things to you.  Some things you're just never going to figure out why. "Lean not on your own understanding."  One of the things I'm slowly learning in life is that I don't have to figure out the why, the how, or the when God does what He does, in order to have peace.  I just have peace about it because I trust Him. 

         3.  The third thing it says you do -- "You acknowledge". You admit some basic facts.  You acknowledge God is a good God, God is a loving God, God knows all about my problems, God is in control, God has the power to change my problems, God knows what He's doing, God has a plan and purpose, God does not make mistakes, He has no flops, no flubs, no fiascos.  God never says, "Ooops!" 

You affirm these things and that brings peace of mind when you have to trust God's plan. 

         4.  The result when you trust and you don't lean on your own understanding and you acknowledge God's goodness and His power, the result is God says, "I will direct your paths."  That will bring peace.  One of the chief causes of stress is indecision. "I can't decide.  Which way do I go?  Do I go this way?  Do I do this or that?  Do I hang on or let go?  Hold on or give up?  What do I do?"  When you acknowledge, you trust, and you don't lean on your own understanding, then God will direct your paths and that brings peace.

Philippians 4:12 Paul says, "I've learned to be content whatever the circumstance."  That's what I call a person of complete peace.  How can you upset a guy like this?  You can't.  He's learned to be content no matter what the situation.  You know God's in control.  You can be rich.  You can be poor.  I can be healthy.  I can be sick.  I can be up.  I can be down.  I can have plenty.  I can have nothing.  I've learned to be content in every situation because I trust God's plan.  That is peace of mind.  Learning to be content, not always having to have more.

5.  I ASK FOR GOD'S PROVISION.

When I need something, I simply ask for God's provision and that brings peace of mind.  The great destroyer of peace of mind is worry.  We worry a lot.  Many of you may be professional worriers. "What if I don't have the time?  What if I don't have the money? What if I don't have the energy?  What if..."  You're What if-ing yourself.  We fear that we're going to lack something. 

Worry is the exact opposite of peace of mind.  They're in conflict with each other.  When worry comes in the front door of your mind, peace of mind goes out the back door.  Worry stays in your mind until you invite peace of mind back in the front door. The root of the word for worry is the word "to choke, to strangle".  Have you ever been strangled by worry?  You feel like it's choking out your life. 

Here is God's antidote for worry, Philippians 4:6-7 (Living Bible), a very well known verse, "Don't worry about anything..." I think that is the most difficult verse in the Bible to obey.  I don't know about you, but I've blown that this week.  It says, don't worry about anything, nothing, zip!  God flat out says it ‑- Don't worry about anything. 

Whenever God gives a negative, He always follows it up with a positive.  "Don't worry about anything.  Instead pray about everything." 

You have two options in life.  One brings stress.  One brings peace of mind.  The two options are panic or pray.  Those are your options when you're facing crisis.  Panic or pray.  You can worry or you can pray.  If you're not praying, you're worrying. If we'd pray more than we worry, we'd have a lot less to worry about.  The point is this:  Turn your cares into prayers.  That's the antidote.  Don't worry about it.  Worry never solves anything.  It's a totally useless thing.  Instead pray about it because God can do something about it.  Prayer is a tremendous stress reliever. 

Here’s another verse that’s not in your outline and a question;  Ephesians 6:14-15 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

And the question is:  are you wearing your killer shoes?  Will you turn to the person next to you and ask them, What in the world is he talking about now?

Well, Paul is talking here about the armor of the Roman soldier and if you ever saw the shoes of a Roman soldier you would want to make sure that you didn’t get in his way where he might step on you!  The roman soldiers didn’t wear tennis shoes or normal shoes, they wore killer shoes!

Here in this passage Paul says that every believer needs to be clothed with the shoes of peace.  I realize that this sounds like a passive peaceful part of our spiritual armor, but these were actually killer shoes.

The shoes of the Roman soldier were vicious weapons.  They began at the top of the legs near the knees and extended down to the feet.  The portions that covered the knees to the feet were made of metal and were specially shaped to wrap around the calves of a soldier’s legs.  They were uncomfortable, but essential for the safety of the soldier’s legs. 

The shoes were made f heavy pieces of leather or metal.  The bottom of the shoes had sharp, dangerous protruding spikes and the front of each shoe had two sharp spikes that pointed outward. 

The metal that covered the legs was to protect the soldier’s legs from rocky or thorny terrain.  It kept him from getting gashed and cut by the environment.  If an enemy tried to hit the soldier in his shins to break his legs, the soldier would be uninjured. 

The spikes on the bottom of the shoes were intended to hold him in place during battle.  His opponent might try to push him around, but the spikes made him immoveable.  Plus the spikes on the bottom and front of the shoes were also killing machines.  One good kick or stomping with those shoes and an enemy would be dead. 

Notice that Paul connects these killer shoes with peace.  Why?  Well, just as the leg protection of the shoes protected the soldier from the environment and blows of the enemy, the peace of God protects and defends you from the hassles and assaults of the devil.  Our enemy, the devil, may try to disrupt you, distract you and steal your attention by causing all kinds of negative events to swirl around you, but his attempts will fail because the peace of God, like a protective weapon, enables you to keep marching forward.

And just as those spiked held a roman soldier securely in place when his enemy tried to push him around, the peace of God will hold you in place when the devil tries to push YOU around.  And as the soldier used those spikes to kick and kill his opponent, there is no need for you to ever stop moving ahead just because the devil tries to block your path.  If he is foolish enough to try to get in front of you, just keep walking.  Stomp all the way!

Paul uses this illustration to tell us that we must firmly tie God’s peace on to our lives so it will not come off when the road or the battle gets rough.

The Bible teaches very clearly that peace of mind is to be the normal Christian lifestyle.  It's the normal way to live.  It's not God's will that you be uptight, that you be pressured, irritable, tense, nervous, stressed out.  God's plan for your life is a peace of mind lifestyle. 

Peace is not problem free living, because you're always going to have problems.  Peace is not absence of conflict, because you will always have conflict.  Peace is not having everything go your way, because it won't.  Peace is never having any deadlines or pressures.  You will have deadlines and pressures. My life is filled with deadlines, constant appointments, deadlines and responsibilities. 

Definition of peace:  "A sense of order that comes from ordering my life according to God's will."  

What's got you uptight this morning?  Your kids, a problem at work, your finances are going down the toilet, your health isn't very good, you've got a relationship that's on the verge of splitting up.  What's got you uptight today?  Does Jesus Christ have anything to say to you today?  Yes, He does. 

John 14:1 Jesus says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God.  Trust in Me."  The antidote is a person.  Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace.  You will never have ultimate peace in your life until the Prince of Peace is invited in to become the resident president of your life.  When the Prince of Peace becomes the president in your life, it flows out of your lifestyle.  And you're just not at the same level of stress anymore.  Trust in God.  Trust in Christ.

Often in the middle of a storm there is a center that is quiet. While everything else is blowing apart, there's that quiet center.  You can have that kind of peace.  It is available.  But you must do these five things.  First, accept God's pardon.  If you haven't done that, do it.  Don't wait, do it.  Open your life to Christ today.  Say, "Please come in and forgive all the things I've done wrong.  I want You to be number one in my life."  He wants to make you justified -- just-as-if-I'd never sinned.  Wipe the slate clean and walk out of here with a clear conscious.

Number two, say "God, I want to start recognizing Your presence on a day by day, moment by moment basis.  I'm not in this by myself.  You're with me.  I want to obey Your principles.  I want to get into the Bible.  I want to spend some time being quiet every day.  I want to trust Your plan, when I don't understand and it doesn't make sense.  I'm going to quit trying to figure out why everything is happening and start trusting in You and lean not on my own understanding.  Then I'm going to ask for Your provision when I have a need instead of panicking I'm going to pray."  And peace of mind will flood your life.

God makes this optional.  You can walk out of here having heard this and do absolutely nothing about it.  If you're living under stress, it's your choice.  God did not mean for you to live that way.  Peace is not a problem-free, deadline-free, conflict-free life.  Peace is a sense of order in my life when I order my own life according to God's will.  There is freedom and peace I can have under pressure in spite of stress. 

Go in peace.  And if the devil comes to try to steal your peace, stomp and kick him to shreds!