Welcome back to Cultivating Growth, where each week we take some time to sit down and discuss different ways in which we can grow as followers of Christ. This week, Jeremy and I are going to be discussing peace. How can we grow in peace? The New Testament specifically has a lot to say about Christians and peace.

And so we're going to dive into some of those discussions today, and we look forward to sharing it with you. 

Well, John, it's good to be with you once again as we sit down here and for a few minutes talk about the important point of cultivating peace. You know, you begin to think about it and, you know, certainly today it's the case, and probably has been the case for all of mankind in a lot of ways, that each and every person in some capacity is searching for peace in some way.

I mean, it is the, it's the basis of religions all over the world. All over time, and it is that that search for peace and people go about it in lots of different ways. And and certainly religion is a way that people search for peace, their own minds. They try to calm to search for peace,  the wrong ways.

Such as drugs and alcohol in a lot of ways people will turn to trying to calm the mind calm the worry calm the anxiety Searching for peace and it is something that I think is within man It's within man to search for it and to look for it but the reality is I think God knows that, and he knows how important that is to man, and so he has provided the avenue.

He's provided the avenue for peace. And so when we think about the importance of cultivating our peace or growing in peace, it starts in every way with peace. Looking to God, who certainly is the provider of that, Jesus, who is in Scripture called even the Prince of Peace. And so, in every way, if you're looking for peace, you're looking to increase peace, to push worry, to push anxiety outside of your life, God is the only place to begin that search.

You know, it is interesting, as you were talking about just man's kind of innate desire, You were have peace in our lives. I wonder if mankind as a whole is, is entirely capable of even identifying that sometimes. And I think because we struggle to identify that as the need, that as the missing piece, oftentimes in life, then we search for, It in a lot of different ways.

And we try to fill that hole in a lot of different ways. But the reality is, as you pointed out, scripture is, is quite clear. Paul writes in Colossians 3 15, let the peace of God rule in your hearts. The peace that all of us are searching for. Whether we can identify it in the moment or not, the peace that every human being is searching for is found in God.

That's where that peace can be attained. And God has made it available to us. And so it's up to us. To find it to cultivate it as we're talking about today And to help others identify the need for it and to help show them where it can be found Because at the end of the day if you're trying to find peace In all of the ways you described and many others You're always going to come up short, and there's always going to be anxiety and stress and disappointment at the end of that because the true peace that every mankind longs for is only found in God.

And so until we turn to Him, and until we submit ourselves to Him and allow the peace of Him to rule in our hearts, then we're always going to be left wanting, and we're always going to be left lacking. And that's, that's why when you look around the world, I think so many struggle. With anxiety and stress.

And I know there's some medical reasons to all of that. I don't mean to diminish that at all. Uh, but in large part, I think some of that can be rectified through a deeper relationship with God when we come to realize that he is the one who can really supply the peace we're all looking for. Yeah, no, we, you know, we certainly have already used terms like stress and worry and anxiety.

I mean, those are, those are great obstacles for man and is the case today and has, has been the case for a long time. And Each and every one of us, in some capacity, we have those kinds of things going on in our life that we have to, you know, to try our very best to deal with. And again, God understands that.

He understands how man's mind operates. He created the mind. And so even in Scripture, He has a lot to say about worry, about anxiety, about stress, about the search for peace. So I want to kind of, um, kind of, put two passages together, link two passages together, and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus really spends a pretty lengthy amount of time, in comparison, certainly, in those three chapters.

I mean, a big chunk of all of chapter 6, I mean, the back half, is really in a lot of ways surrounding this. Idea in getting a, an understanding of what's happening in the mind. And, and he makes the point, even though he doesn't use the word peace in this passage, he, he does make the point, certainly the application at the end is, is don't worry, don't be anxious about what, uh, what's, what's out there that.

I'm God. I'm able to take care of you. And so, you know, in that passage, he makes the point, look at the birds, look at the flowers, look at the grass. I take care of and supply everything that's needed for them. So certainly when it comes to man, the crowning jewel of creation, I'm equipped to do the same, that I will supply everything that you need.

And so, so he makes that point. point, and then ultimately at the end, he's like, well, then don't worry. Don't worry about, you know, those kinds of things. And so to link that passage with another passage that does use the word peace is in Philippians chapter four,  where Paul is, he makes the point specifically in verse six, where he'll say, be anxious for nothing.

That's, you know, one of the key words that we've, you know, we've been using. And he says, the reason that you can be anxious for nothing. is because you are giving everything to God. And so he continues on in that verse, be anxious for nothing but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

And then we have there in verse 7, a reference to what you had just made mention of in the book of Colossians, Philippians 4 and verse 7, and the peace of God, and then a very interesting phrase that he throws in, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

And so, you know, you think about that, this peace of God, this, what we're all searching for, it's there for us. If we're, if we're able to lean on God, he's able and able to provide it. And it is the kind of peace that you can't even express in words. But what I really love about Philippians four and verse seven, and what we miss a lot of times is he tells us what that peace will do, even if it's something that we're, will struggle to even comprehend it. 

He tells us what it's going to do. It's going to guard or protect our hearts and our minds. And in a lot of ways, that's the big key. Yeah, I love that. And that, that really brings to light and illustrates  the amazing blessing of being with God, being a part of his family, being a child of his, because through him is where that peace is found.

As we've pointed out, and I think it's so telling that, that, that phrase that you called out there, that it surpasses all understanding. There is a very real sense in which the peace that is found in God doesn't really make a lot of sense to man. Because it's not as if being in God's family takes away the hardship of life.

It's not as if it alleviates all the pain and all the anxiety and stress of life. Those things are still real. Those things are still tangible. They still happen. And so how is it that we can truly find peace in God? To the mind of the world, that doesn't really make a lot of sense. Until you feel it. And then you realize, you start to connect that with what Jesus says, as you pointed out in Matthew chapter 6.

And you realize, it's not that God is going to remove remove All of the stressful situations of my life,  it's that in those moments, I know that I serve a God who can see me through this situation. And no matter what happens, even if it's, even if the outcome of the situation is horrible, no matter what happens, I am secure in Him and I am safe and  my future is determined by Him.

And those, those realities are what What really makes the peace of God known in my life, when you're in those moments, and you think back to Matthew chapter 6, or you think to Philippians chapter 4, or Colossians chapter 3, and these passages that talk about the peace that is found in God, that's when that peace is truly felt, is when you're in those moments, but even in those moments of high stress, and high anxiety, You know that God's got your back.

He has your future secure in Him, and He is going to see you through it in whatever may come. That's what the peace of God is truly like, and until you experience it, it's very difficult to actually, uh, describe it or help someone understand it. You have to experience that peace and know it firsthand, but when you do, there's nothing like it.

Yeah, and if you come to that understanding about what God is God is willing to do, and what He, what He provides, what this peace is really all about. You start to see it in life and in other passages, even if the word peace isn't provided for us. So I'll give you an example. As Paul writes to the brethren in Corinth, and he's talking to them about, you know, Uh, the dangers and the, the stress of temptation and that each and every one of us have to deal with temptation.

And they had to deal with it then, we have to deal with it now. And again, even though the word peace or anxiety or worry isn't mentioned, you know, there, you start to understand this is a difficult spot. Temptation is a difficult place. And for the mind of man, when now God has promised us, listen, he's number one, not going to allow anything to come upon us that we can't handle.

And then secondly, he's always going to provide a way out of that temptation or around that temptation. So now, even though the word of peace isn't there, even though the word stress or anxiety isn't found, it's exactly what we're talking about is in this very difficult time and very difficult place. God is there providing the Ease of mind, the peace of mind, if you will.

And that's every way what man's looking for. Yeah. That made me think of in second Thessalonians chapter three is Paul's drawing that letter to a close. He says, now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way.  That is such a beautiful way of describing God's peace. And I think it goes hand in hand with what you just said.

That the peace that can be found in God, it can be found at all times and in every way. There is no situation where the peace of God cannot be ever present in our lives. And so, yeah, in all of life's situations, And the temptations that come our way, the challenges that come our way, the, the peace that is found in God can be present in my life at all times and in every way.

And that is such a comforting thought. And when I think about what that really means for me, that, that just, really highlights how important it is that I grow in this area. I want that. And I think everybody that would listen to this would say, I want that because as you pointed out at the very beginning, we all want peace and we all want peace in our lives.

And so everyone is going to be drawn to this. And so as a follower of, of Christ, I want to just grow into this more and more each day of my life. So that I can experience that peace that I long for and, and having that and having the security and the protection that comes with being in God's family.

It's just such a wonderful feeling and wonderful experience that you just want to share with everyone so that they too can experience this piece that God is offering. only found in that having a relationship with God. And, you know, as we kind of bring this to a close, you can, you know, just go through the, you know, the Book of Psalms, which is an incredible book of poetry, very visual in its poetic, uh, terms that you use.

And it talks about this feeling in poetic terms, visual terms, often. One of the most well known, Psalms. Uh, of any of them is Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. Uh, it is a song that a lot of people even have memorized in their, you know, in their heads. And, you know, it's on the walls of people's homes, but yet in every way it is painting this picture of incredible peace that if the Lord is your shepherd, Bird, you know, you're not gonna want, you're not gonna need for anything.

But then just think about the, the visuals that he, he paints. Verse two, he makes me lie down in green pastures. He's leading me besides still waters. Very peaceful picture. Verse four. Even though I'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I'm fear no evil because. God is with me. They, your rod and your staff comfort me.

And then even in verse five, preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies, even in the presence of my enemies. And so you have this incredible picture that the psalmist can give us that with a relationship with God, even in the difficulties of life, We can still have the peace of God. You think about the situation, many of the psalmists found themselves in, obviously David, as he penned many of those psalms.

Uh, most of them were written while he was in very dangerous situations, sometimes running for his very life, uh, hiding out in caves. All kinds of challenging situations that David found himself in at different points in his life. And yet those psalms, just, they hit home so much more deeply when you think about the circumstances he found himself in.

And yet he was able to write a psalm like Psalm 23, or many of the other psalms that he pens, that just express such a comfort and peace that's found in knowing that he has a relationship with God. God, and that was able to see him through all of those difficult circumstances. And if it worked for David, it should work for me too.

And you know, I'm not running for my life, hiding out in caves, but I have difficult circumstances in my life, just like everyone else does. And to be able to look back at some of those Psalms and realize, If there is true comfort and peace to be found in knowing that you have a relationship with God, that is such an encouragement to me to keep going and to even deepen that relationship.

No doubt. Well, let's close with a piece of practicality and a passage.  When it comes to finding that peace of God, a lot of times it comes down to being able to calm the mind. Still the mind the biblical word for that is meditate upon God who he is and what he's done for you so you see it in passages like Psalm 1 the Psalms begin with this picture of Meditating upon God in his word and then being like a tree that's planted by the rivers of water You still you see this over and over and over so we'll close with another passage It's well known to folks Psalm 46 and verse 10 where the psalmist will say very simply beast Still be still and know that I am God and he closes that passage with I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in all the earth.