Matthew 5 if you're following along with us, which I hope you are as we've been studying the beatitudes. I've been so pumped up for tonight because this has been so, I have enjoyed this to, I can't even tell you how much I've enjoyed this teaching. It has been so refreshing. It's been encouraging.
It's been challenging. It's been such a blessing to study it, to teach it, to preach it, just to hold on to his word. And I pray that it's been all those things to you as well. Matthew chapter five verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
Amen? You know, when anything is repeated, it's repeated for a purpose. Say it's repeated for a purpose. I used to have an uncle, he hated it when his pastor repeated something.
He hated it. As a matter of fact, one time he yelled out from the congregation, he said, how many times you're gonna say that thing? That's how much it irritated him. And his pastor said, until you get it.
That's how long I'll, because if the Holy Spirit's prompted me to say it, and by your reaction and response, you need to hear it, you know? So there are things that I feel very strongly, Holy Spirit prompted me to say to you over and over again. And so I'm gonna say a phrase to you. I've said you for 25 years.
You should be able to say verbatim. Teaching brings understanding and understanding brings truth. And truth will what? Satch you free.
Why? Because teaching destroys ignorance. Teaching destroys ignorance. Do you know what teachers need?
Teachers need students. Teachers need someone to teach. Here's my question to you tonight. Are you available?
Are you teachable? Do you want to learn? Do you desire to learn? Do you have a teachable spirit?
Because there are a lot of folk that don't have a teachable spirit. George, even in Bibles, but we want people to come out of duty, but with a teachable spirit. Because if you do not come with a teachable spirit, you will leave as disgruntled and as miserable and as hopeless as you may have felt when you came. But teaching destroys ignorance.
And so teachers need students. We need people to teach. And we want to encourage you to come. And are you ready to receive teaching tonight?
Are you ready? Do you want to receive it tonight? We have positional, say positional. We have positional peace because of where we are seated with Christ.
You and I have positional peace because of where we are seated with Christ. We have peace that's available to us that others cannot even begin to fathom or no up because of where we are seated with Christ. And I'm gonna talk you about how that peace works tonight and how we can walk in that peace. I got another question for you.
Are you ready to receive wisdom? Are you ready to receive wisdom tonight? Then go with me back to Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four, we're gonna read verse six and seven.
I'm reading to you out of the ESV, the English standard version. And this is what it says. Do not be anxious. What do you think the word's trying to say to us?
Yeah, it's pretty simplistic in that. Don't be anxious, don't worry about what? About what? About anything.
How many want teaching? How many want wisdom? How many want understanding? How many want to walk in peace?
Do not be anxious about anything. But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. So he gives us a formula here. He tells us that if we will do this, first thing, prayer, it's a general word.
Prayer is a general word. It's a general terminology about talking with God, worshiping God, having adoration and communicating with him, all right? Supplication, he said with prayer and supplication. So he wants us to communicate with him.
He wants us to come to us to come to him. He wants us to talk to him and supplication, it's more of a bringing a specific or a particular need to him as like an urgent request, that we would come to him with a deep sincerity, with a specific thing. So catch this, when Paul uses these two words with prayer and supplication, say them, prayer and supplication, he's emphasizing how we are to approach God, prayer equals ready, if you take notes, relationship. We talk to people we have relationship with, right?
So we have relationship with God, so we communicate with God, we come to him and worship, we come to him and talk him, we specifically tell him these things that we have need of. So we've got prayer and then we've got supplication, which means specific. Scripture says we're not to ask a mess, we're to be specific, I've prayed general prayers in my life. Have you ever just prayed a general prayer?
You didn't really get specific about things, but we're to be specific with the things that we ask God for. So this supplication means specific petition, asking God for help in the area that you have need of, okay? So the Apostle Paul outlines for us an image, a visual image here in Philippians, what we need to do that will lead to peace, will lead to peace in our lives, peace of God, not the peace that comes with, I got something that I wanted or I've been needing this thing or I've been desiring this thing and I got this thing and so it brings me some joy or that's not the peace that we're talking about. We're talking about peace in the midnight hour, we're talking about peace when everything else is falling apart and you're able to go to sleep.
I've had that type of peace where Jesus was in the boat and he fell asleep and the disciple said, don't you care? I've been able to fall asleep at times when I shouldn't have been able to fall asleep. That's called peace. That's because you've come to a place where you may not like the thing, you may not understand the thing, but you trust in God, right?
And so then that peace fills your heart and mind to know that regardless of how this thing may play out, God is for me and not against me. So Paul outlines for us what we're to do with prayer and petition being specific, we go to him, we communicate with him and we tell him exactly what it is that we're bringing to him and get this. You ready for this? I'm telling you, this will help you, this will change things in your life.
And I know, I know as soon as I'm gonna say it, I know there will be some of you that'll say, that's just impossible. You'll say, I can't do that. You'll say, well, that's just the way I am. That's just me.
See, ungenerate, sometimes when you tell him you'll be obedient, he'll ask you to say things that you know people don't like. An ungenerated heart says, that's just the way I am. Because when we come to him, we come just as we are. But then we turn and we follow the cross before us and the world the old way behind us.
An ungenerated heart says, this is just me. Come on, I'm trying to help you. Why? Because teaching will destroy ignorance.
Some people have got so accustomed to worry that they couldn't live in peace because their only peace is worrying. There are people that find comfort in worrying. I know that sounds crazy. I caught myself, I wasn't gonna say the word, but it is, it's crazy, isn't it?
But sometimes we find comfort even in things that don't comfort us. Here it is, three words. If you're a notaker, you wanna write this down. Refuse, you have the right of refusal in your life.
How many of you know that? You have the right of refusal. How many of you have had a thought in your mind in the last 30 days that you knew you shouldn't do and you didn't? Like, just a slack game, you wanted to do something that you knew wouldn't have been pleasing to God, and you didn't do it.
You exercised, no you're gonna admit that you did it. You used the right of refusal. In other words, if you ever faced a temptation and you walked away from it and you didn't enter into that, you exercised the right of refusal, the right of refusal. You could say no, say no.
Say like you mean it, no. All right, how many of you ever said did you kiss? No, right? No, right of refusal.
Refuse to worry. For God has not given us a spirit of but of but of. All right, we're quoting all different translations all at once in time. I was trying to figure them all out.
I think we had the passion translation in there and pretty sure I heard NIV, I heard ESV, I'm pretty sure I heard King James. For God has not, I'll quote King James for you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. That word sound means are you ready for this?
How many won't be taught? It means disciplined. It means no when no should be spoken. It means no when you know the thing that you're being presented with is bad for you, no.
But I want them to like me more than God. But I want them to be my friends more than a friend of God. Well, I can't say no to that. How many times have you ever heard somebody say, I just can't say no to that.
Yes, you can. Why? Because he's given you a discipline, for God has not given you a spirit of fear, but power unlimited, power unlimited resource, love and a sound disciplined mind. Sometimes the greatest love you can show someone is by saying no to them.
Sometimes the greatest thing you could do for someone is tell them no, because if they're not disciplined in and of themselves to make the right choice, then you've got to say, because you have right of, whoo, that's good. That's good. That'll help you. I'm telling you that'll help you.
That'll set you free. Refuse to worry. Do not be anxious about, but what about this thing? What about that thing?
Worry is the enemy of peace. Worry is the enemy of peace. Worry and peace cannot coexist at the same time. Matter of fact, they've done, they've actually done studies, medical studies with wiring people's brains up and I don't know all the terminology, but how the brain works, the difference when there's worry and there's peace, and the two of them cannot coexist together.
They can't. That's why scripture, that's part of the reason why scripture tells us to not be double minded, not to be double minded. Oh my, where is the enemy of peace? It focuses on, ready?
Here's what worry does, it focuses on the unknown. It focuses on the unknown. And you know what, it inflates. It builds, it magnifies the fear.
Man, oh, that's good. That's good. No wonder I've so pumped up to talk to you tonight. I kept going over it and going over it and going over it.
And I actually want point, I shut my iPad off, I said, Lord, I can't take it. I'm like, I'm ready to bust it at the seams here. I can't keep going over it because I wanted to, I want to give it out. Who wants to receive it?
Worry is the enemy of fear, it focuses and it inflates our fears, but Paul says we are not, we are not. We like to hear that in church. We clap about that in church. We praise the Lord about that in church, but on Monday morning, where when we get some difficult news, my mother said to me the other day, she said, who are you?
I said, I'm your baby. She said, my baby. I said, yeah, she said, you don't look like a baby. How old are you?
I said, I'm 62. She said, what's your name? I said, Sean. She said, oh, you're not Sean.
He's a little boy. And I said, you know what, mom? She said, what? I said, I don't suck my thumb anymore.
And she bust out laughing like crazy. And then it was like, she kicked back around and she kind of knew everything that was going on at that moment. But for a moment, there was a lapse. And she was unaware.
The unawareness in our life is what brings it's confusing. It's hard to understand what's next. Don't be anxious because the problems and the majority of things we fear and worry about and stress about, but God is greater. Fear is false evidence appearing real.
It's an acronym. False evidence appearing real, but can I tell you tonight? God is real. Therefore, pray about everything.
Resist fear. Trust God. Paul said, but in everything by prayer and supplication, peace comes when we turn our cares ready, when we turn our cares and we go to Him in praying and petitioning and giving to Him those things. We exchange in that process of prayer and supplication.
We exchange our burden for His strength. Oh, Jesus, come on, church. When we go to Him with honesty, sincerity, with faith, and trust, we exchange our burden for His care. And then He says, with thanksgiving, gratitude aligns our hearts.
Gratitude aligns our hearts. You know that word, and I just almost did it. I just almost did it and I caught myself. Supplication.
Every time I read it today, you know what I said in my mind? Subluxation. Supplication, supplication. That's a brain-scrabbler for somebody who's got dyslexia.
Make known your request to Him. Go to Him and be thankful. Well, you mean I'm going to be thankful for that? Yes.
Why? Because listen, do you know how much worse that could have been? Do you realize, well, I'm not thankful that that thing broke in the house and I'm not thankful it's going to cost money to fix? Are you thankful for the house you live in?
Are you thankful for the roof over your head? Are you thankful for the money you have to be able to pay your utilities? Are you thankful for the food that you put in your mouth? Are you thankful for the table you sit at?
Are you thankful for the TV that you watch? Are you thankful for the garbage you drive? Are you thankful for the breath in your lungs? Do I need to go on?
We need to live a life of Thanksgiving, learning to be thankful, gratitude aligns our hearts with the goodness of God. And when we go to Him with Thanksgiving and we align with the heart of God, then we accuse Him less of not being a good, good father. We sing good, good father. How could you let this happen?
Well, a good, good father wouldn't let that happen. He's a good, good father, but we live in a fallen world and we face a real enemy, right? Even in trials and tribulation and difficulties and heartache and pain and suffering, when you turn to giving thanks, it shifts. It shifts.
Are you ready? It shifts your focus from the problem ready to the provider. When we go to Him and we pray to Him and we bring our request to Him and we're thankful to Him, it shifts the focus of our problem to the provider. Yes, you may have a problem, but He is the...
Oh, Jesus. He is the provision. He's the provision. Oh, this is so good.
From your problem to your provider. Make your request made known to God. Talk to Him. Tell Him everything.
I mean, you know, He's not offended by your fears and He's not challenged by your requests. And as we surrender the outcome to Him, you ready? As we surrender the outcome to Him, say, I surrender the outcome to Him. When you surrender the outcome to Him, you receive His peace in return.
Isn't that good? Isn't that good? Because Paul says, and then the peace of God. When you've done what we've just talked about, He says, then the peace of God.
Say, then the peace of God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Will guard... Ooh, hear that word, because I got some things to tell you about that word.
Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I'm here tonight to tell you that peace doesn't always take away your problem. Peace doesn't always take away that heartache or that pain. You have this in spite of...
You have this regardless of what you're going through, because He is God, because you've put your trust in Him. And here's the thing, even though you have a problem, even though you have a situation, He protects you in the middle of it. He protects you in the middle of it. It guards your heart, the center of your emotions.
Where discouragement, fear, despair, try and take root. It guards your mind. It guards your mind. The very battlefield of thoughts, doubts, anxieties, worries and fears.
But catch this, we're going to close with this. The word guard is a military term. The word guard. It's a picture of a soldier standing at the door of your heart and your mind, keeping out anything that would disturb your peace.
That is so good. God's peace is meant to be ready, momentary. It's not meant to be fleeting. It's meant to be daily.
And it's reliable. Colossians 3, verse 15, and then we're done, I promise. Colossians 3, verse 15 says, let the peace of Christ. God Almighty.
Let the peace. Who's peace is it? What's our responsibility? Just as we have the right of refusal, we have the right of acceptance.
We have the right of acceptance. Just as we have the right of refusal, we have the right of acceptance to receive His Word. We're throwing their phones now. Let that let, L-E-T, what's a small little word, but what implication, right?
Let that's an act of your will, my will, let. Let me in. Who's that up to? The person standing in the doorway.
You can let them in or you can block the doorway and keep them out. Let me do this. Let me do that. Let, it's an act of your will, right?
Let. Can I ask you what do you let? I want you to think about that. Do we come together and multiply this?
What do you let? What do you let? Let the peace of Christ. It's like no other peace.
Let the peace of Christ roll in your hearts. And that's what we got in tonight. That's a good place to end though, isn't it? Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.
Thanks for being here tonight. I pray that you really, really, really, I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, I thank God so much for the Holy Spirit. I thank you so much for the anointing. You know, there was probably two times tonight, I'm thinking of myself, man, he's good.
Because I'm not that good. I said some things tonight and I thought to myself, well, I was really good. You're good, man. That's good.
Not I'm good. He's good. He's good. I'm thinking of myself, wow, you amaze me every time, but you can use somebody like me to speak a word like that.
That is so good. You are good. He is a good, good father. He is a good, good father.
Receive the word of God tonight. Believe the word of God tonight. Be patient on the word of God and let the peace of God. It's an act of your acceptance.
You can deny. You can say no, or you can open up. You got to know what to open up to and you got to know what to deny. And to a large degree, that'll dictate the peace you walk in.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you so much for tonight. Thank you for your word. It has been so good to be in the house of the Lord tonight. I'm so thankful Lord for these moments and these opportunities that you give us.
God, thank you so much for the fresh infilling of your spirit tonight. Thank you for fresh wind. Thank you for fresh fire. Thank you for fresh anointing.
Thank you Lord for speaking to our heart through your word tonight. God will never ever be the same because of it because your word never returns void. It never comes up empty. It always accomplishes what you set out for it to accomplish.
So Father, I thank you. I thank you tonight that we do not have to walk in fear and worry and stress and anxiety and uncertainty. But Lord, we can have the peace of God every single day. It doesn't have to come and go with situation and circumstance.
We can walk in your peace every single day. I thank you for that. Seal your word in our hearts as we leave this place tonight. We bless you in Jesus name.
Amen.