The Narrow Path To Personal Peace – Dr. Charles Stanley

Dr. Charles Stanley: Jesus said, "My

peace

I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor be afraid." And He spoke those words to his disciples the night before he was crucified and, of course, they didn't quite understand what this was all about. They had an idea that something really difficult was getting ready to happen, but He said, "My

peace

I give to you." And if I asked you this morning, do you have peace in your heart? I mean, do you have an established sense of satisfaction?

It is not that everything is fine, but that you have a relationship with God through which you are convinced and persuaded or whatever you face in life is going to be fine, because you are assured that He is living within you. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. One of these days, whether you die or He comes first, you know that you will go to heaven and this whole mess will be over and things will be okay like He promised. Do you have that feeling in your own heart? Well, we don't live in very peaceful times, that's for sure.

People have no peace about their jobs, their marriages, their children, the circumstances in which they live, where they live or how they have to live. And so when Jesus comes and says, "My peace I give to you, not as the world gives." That is, the world cannot give the kind of peace that Jesus offers. Then I would ask them: "Do you have that kind of peace?" Can you honestly say, "I have this feeling of peace?" Now, the Greek word is "eirene," which means to bring something together. That is, join it. That is, when a person has genuine peace, we feel this union in our hearts.

We feel this unity without conflict, without consternation and all the things that happen. The peace that Jesus Christ offers is the peace that comes through a relationship with Him. That is the only true source of lasting peace. Everything else is a falsification of the world. You can have all the money you want in the world, go wherever you want, do almost anything you want to do, have almost anyone you want to have, but if you don't have Jesus, you have no peace. Always fighting for something. And when I think about the days that Jesus lived, Rome was doing everything it could to keep the peace.

But how were they trying to preserve it? Two

path

s: power and pain. And that's how they kept everyone in subjection. How does God want us to enjoy peace? A relationship. Think about this. A relationship with a person can bring peace to your life. But if that relationship is not with the right person, there will be no peace. And you can have a pretty good relationship with a lot of different people in life, but until you have a relationship with Jesus, you won't have peace. And here is the reason. Something will always be missing. This week I was talking to a doctor, a friend of mine.

And he knew what he was going to preach, so he said, "I want to tell you something. When I look at all my patients and I look back over the years at how they've responded to things," he says, "I think I could honestly say that most Of them, ultimately, when we get to the bottom of what is happening in their lives, they are anxious about something. They do not have any peace. They cannot sleep. They find themselves being very negligent about things and many times looking where they should not be looking. ", and he goes on and on talking about people who have no peace.

And if this morning he asked you: "Do you really have peace in your life? Is there a sense of stillness, calm, fullness and completeness?" You don't need to have anything else and you don't need to have anyone else to have peace. Jesus said, "My peace I give to you." Because he said that? Because that is the only source of true genuine peace, it is a

personal

relationship with Jesus Christ. So if you think about the things that Jesus said and the way that he said them: "He said that we are children of God." And this God is a God of peace.

That is what we are. And when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you entered into a completely new relationship, the most important relationship in life. The only relationship that will last beyond this life, and that is a relationship with Christ. He said, for example, that we should be followers of the Prince of Peace. Who is the Prince of Peace? Jesus. He is the avenue, He is the prince. And He said in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to be called peacemakers. I wonder how many of you consider yourself peacemakers? Now some of you would have to say, "Well, not with the situation I live in, I'm not a peacemaker.

Well, Jesus didn't say, "Except, if, and, but." peacemakers Look at this. There must be something inside us to connect with another person and help you connect with the true peacemaker, that things begin to change. When your relationship with Jesus Christ is right, then you will have the foundation of true genuine peace. there. And if you ask most people, "Do you have peace?", they would have to say, "Well, sometimes, maybe, and ultimately, no." Jesus said, he said we have been given the gift of peace. It's not, I mean, it's not something we work towards. It is a gift that He gives us.

What is that gift? Look at this, it is the gift of Himself. When Christ comes into your life, watch carefully as He satisfies the longings of your heart. He satisfies those hungers and thirsts that exist in our lives. really and truly satisfy. The world has all kinds of counterfeits, but there is a

narrow

path

that leads to peace and it is not the focus of the world. They offer many counterfeits: a single

narrow

path to peace. And most people will die without finding it. And I would ask you if you know what that peace is. Do you know how to go down that path?

Or are you like the rest of the world, trying to get all this and all that and going here and doing this and that, trying to find something that satisfies your heart's desire? One thing is for sure: you can't fake peace, not really. Peace is a precious, precious gift from one person, and that is Jesus. And nowhere in the Bible does it say there is another source. But I would just ask if you have it. It doesn't mean you have everything you want in the world, but look at this, you can have an absolute, amazing, complete, continuous fulfillment of the peace of God in your life and not have a lot of things.

And when I think of Jesus and the apostles, He said, "My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, I give it to you." Because he said that? Because He is telling them that the world cannot satisfy the longing of his heart. "My peace," Jesus said, "My peace I give to you, not as the world strives to give." So when I think about it and think about it, I came across this verse of Scripture that I don't know how I had missed all these years, and I felt kind of ashamed of myself when I realized I had missed it. he.

I had to ask God to forgive me. And then, if you go to Luke chapter ten, you will have to ask him to forgive you as well. But let's look at this, so to speak. Luke, chapter ten. When Jesus was sending out his disciples, well, he was instructing them what to do and how to do it. And He said in the ninth chapter of Luke, and I'm going to the tenth chapter, and as you go, for those who do not receive you, as you leave that city, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony.

Against them. And then it goes to chapter ten, and this is what it says in verse five. Now think about this and apply it to yourself. Think, don't think it's in the New Testament. Think right now: "Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'" See what that says? Whatever house you enter, say first: "Peace be upon this house." And I got to thinking, "Lord, how many, how many houses have I been to in my life and I never said that? Jesus said, 'Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'" So, I had to ask the Lord to forgive me.

I thought, "Lord, that's not what I've done." You say, "Oh, Jesus didn't mean what He meant, because what He was saying is, "Pray, Pray for this home." Pray, pray for the people who live here." What kind of problems are they having? Are they having marital problems, problems with children, financial problems, disappointments and all the things that happen inside a house? Drive around the block. You live, and when you look at every house and think, "I wonder what's going on there." I wonder if the peace of God is there. I wonder what's bothering them? Are they suffering from headaches, difficulties, trials and needs, illnesses and maybe someone is close to death?

Jesus always had a purpose for everything he said. And so, this is what He told them. Wherever you go, wherever you go, you bless that house before you enter it. Now, there are some things that rob us of peace in our lives, so I want us to think about that. For example, He has promised to give us peace. And we have peace with Him when our hearts are right. We have been saved by the grace of God. It doesn't mean you never sin, but you ask Him to forgive you and your walk is a walk of peace.

But there are some thoughts, there are some ideas that steal our peace. So remember we said peace is a narrow path. That is, if you are walking in peace, there are many things that are not going to be on that path. So let's think for a moment about some thieves of the peace. One of them is lustful thoughts. You cannot have lustful thoughts and have peace, because the Spirit of God in a Christian, for example, will make you feel not only peace but a sense of conviction. When a person looks at something or someone with a lustful thought, the Spirit of God is not saying to bless you.

The Spirit of God is convicting you that you should not look, you should not see, you should not think, you should not desire, you should not covet. The narrow path of peace eliminates many things. Lustful thoughts do not create peace, but chaos in a person's heart, in a person's soul. And we live in a society that is full of it. So that's a thought. Then, for example, feelings of guilt. If you feel guilt about sin in your life, guilt about something you didn't do, should have done, guilt about something you said, shouldn't have said, you can't have, you can't have peace.

See this. Peace, you who listen, say amen. Peace is fragile. Feelings of guilt will absolutely destroy your peace. I think about people who are getting divorced. For millions and millions and millions. There is no peace in that relationship. I think about the parents who don't know where their children are. There is no peace in the heart of that mother or in the heart of that father. I think of friends, I think of people who know that what they are doing is living in sin, all kinds of sexuality and drunkenness and everything... and drugs and everything else.

Find someone who is living in adultery and has peace in their heart. Or someone who lies to keep her job. It goes on and on and on. The path of peace is very narrow, and guilty thoughts destroy peace. Or anger, you can't be angry and be at peace, it can't be. God speaks of wrath, he does not belong in our hearts. You can't be angry with someone and have peace in your heart at the same time. You say, "Well, but if you know what they did to you, you have a right to be angry. No, you don't.

How can you have peace in your heart if something inside you is eating away at you and you're getting more and more bitter? No." It's possible. Peace is a narrow path. I think about people, for example, who are very, very bitter about something that happened to them in the past, and they can't get over it, what they feel may be true. And nowhere in the Bible does it say, you have the right to be angry and bitter if someone does this and that. No. I'll tell you what resolved that was to the cross, if someone had the right to be bitter and angry and resentful, He.

He did it, but He didn't do it and so, by example, He says it, and with the word he teaches us not to be bitter and angry, it doesn't matter. And there are many people who feel miserable today because they are? bitter towards someone for something they have done. Maybe they deceived you in some way, maybe they made a promise they didn't keep. And I think about how many people made promises to each other about marriage and broke those promises. You cannot live a double life and have peace. No matter how good your car is, how big your bank account is, what position you have, you can be number one in any situation you are in, you have no peace with God if you are not obedient to God.

You can not. The world doesn't believe that. They are trying to numb their conscience and numb their feelings because what is happening inside them that is wrong is destroying them. In our thinking life, you cannot escape what you think by taking a pill or having a drink. Think about this. How silly, when you can have the peace of a loving Heavenly Father and you decide no, this is the path I'm going to take. And then people who are apparently quite good, if you look at them, self-centered, very self-centered. It's all about me. It's about what I want.

It's about what I deserve. It's about what I think. It's about what I want to do. Hear. You cannot have peace if you are all wrapped up in yourself. That egocentrism is selfish, it says pride. You can't have peace like that. Then I think about the people who doubt, the people who live in doubt. They doubt the Word of God. They doubt that God will answer his prayer. They doubt that going to church will make any difference in the world. They doubt their friendships, their relationships. They live, they are skeptics at heart. There is no peace in that.

In fact, if we think about it, it is a very, very, very narrow path to genuine peace, because we have many things around us that will steal our peace, if we allow it. Can you live in peace, have peace and enjoy peace in a world that is confusing, confused and as wrong as theour? If you can. See this. It is not a plus relationship. It is the period of the relationship. You should write that. It is not a plus relationship, it is a period of relationship. It is Jesus in you. He is the source of peace.

He is the provider of peace. Him and only Him, and all you have to do is look around you, talk to your friends or your enemies or the people you work with. Find out how many, find out how many people you talk to and you can tell from their conversation if they have peace or not. Because look at this. A person who does not have peace cannot hide it. And people think that if they get enough money, they will have peace. How much money is enough? It's never enough. There is only one source of true genuine peace.

That is having a sense of oneness with God, a sense of oneness. That is the source of all genuine peace, no matter what. That's why from time to time we come across people who are going through situations and circumstances and we think, "How do they handle that?" And once in a while, I've met someone who... And I'd walk away and think, "Oh God, I hope I can have the kind of peace that they have going through what they're going through." Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is the source of true, genuine and lasting peace. Anything else and everything else is a substitute.

I also think about people who live with doubts about the things of God. I think of people, for example, who simply are not believers. And I can tell you this. And I've lived long enough to know it. I have never met a non-Christian who gave me any genuine evidence that he was truly happy. A little nonsense on the outside, a lot of it, sounded good, but the more I listen and the more I look and the more I didn't see and didn't hear, that's not peace. Let me tell you something. When you have Jesus in your heart, you can't keep it to yourself.

And it's not that you have to act, you don't have to act at all. Simply allow Him to express who He is through your conversation, observe this, your conversation, your behavior and your character. And I think, for example, people who live in unbelief are miserable. No matter what they tell you, they are miserable. If not...if you don't have Jesus in your life, let me ask you a question. What do you have that you can really and truly depend on? Jesus is the source, the narrow way to peace is a relationship with Jesus. And I think about people, for example, who get jealous.

They think they have everything right and someone else shows up and they get jealous about this and that and jealous about someone and that is not peace. Peace is a gift from God that comes through the presence of Christ in our lives, that is the source of peace. And that's why some people can go through the most terrible, horrible circumstances and situations of loss and suffering, heartbreak and pain in their lives and have this amazing sense of unbreakable peace. Because they have a relationship that is correct. Now, how do we experience this peace? I want you to write them down, and the first one says this.

We must believe that He is in control of our lives and our circumstances. If I don't believe that, I won't have peace. Otherwise, we will try to have control and there will be no peace in that fight. But do I believe He is in complete control? He is. Just because I'm out of control doesn't mean He's out of control and it doesn't mean He doesn't control everything. So ask yourself the question, “Do I believe He is in control of my life?” I didn't say I wanted to. Do you believe He is in control? The second statement is this.

We must believe that his peace offer is real and be willing to accept his peace offer despite our feelings. I can't be guided by feelings. His offer: "My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, I give it to you. Let not your hearts be troubled." He... what I'm giving you, He says, is not what the world has to offer, because it doesn't satisfy anything. And then, to have peace we must completely surrender our entire life, mind, will and emotion to Jesus as Lord. We must completely surrender our entire life, mind, will and emotion to Jesus as Lord.

That is my character, my conversation and my behavior, I must surrender to Him. Peace is this wonderful eternal relationship, this unity with Jesus. Does that mean you'll never have any problems? No. Does that mean you will never get sick? No. Does that mean you will never be afraid? No. But this is what happens. Whenever and whatever comes your way, you will be able to respond with this absolute certainty. The Lord Jesus who is in me will help me get through this. He will be right no matter what is going on in my life. So I would ask you a simple question: "Do you have peace in your life?

Were you sitting here this morning when you first came in and were you worried about something, worried about something?" Maybe you were jealous. Maybe you were feeling lustful. Maybe you were simply feeling distressed by the way you were treated. Maybe you were worried about what will happen tomorrow at work. Or that person you just don't like being around. You see, you can go to church and be in terrible shape when you leave. Unless you're willing to give your life to Jesus and say, "Lord, here I am. Here's my life. I'm going to trust you, not because of how people will treat me, but because of what I'm going to receive." or not receive, I am going to trust that You are in me what only You can be and I am going to trust that You have absolute control and that You are going to make everything turn out in such a way.

It's going to be a blessing to You, Lord, and a blessing to me." Sometimes the most difficult and painful circumstances in life turn out to be a seedbed, simply a seedbed of amazing peace that God sends into your life. Now listen. You have heard all this and each of us knows in our hearts right now whether we have peace or not. You don't have to ask anyone else. You know if you have peace or not. Look at this carefully. You can have it. passing, you can have it. The invitation to peace is always there from Jesus.

So what does it require of me? I give my life to Him. "Okay, Jesus, I have ruined everything. I am simply surrendering myself to You. Whatever you choose, I will do it. I will believe that You, the source of my peace, are my peace." and You will help me get through whatever I am facing. And you will help me get through it, knowing in my heart that You are the source of my peace." I ask you one last question, if Jesus is not the source of your peace, now be honest, if Jesus is not the source of your peace, what is?

I love that verse: "My peace I give to you, not like that of the world. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor be afraid." And maybe you've been listening or watching and you're thinking, "Okay, you just don't know my circumstances." He does. He knows everything about your circumstances. And do you know what He is willing to do? He forgives your sin, cleanses you, but it is a matter of surrender and a matter of faith. Am I willing to believe that He can clean up this horrible mess I've made if I surrender my life to Him?

Let me ask you a question. Is there any disaster too big for God? So He has your number, right? He is waiting for you to deal with it. He's waiting for you to take him and say, "Lord, I've messed up these things in my life. I've hurt other people. I've cheated," or whatever you've done in your life: "I'm sorry." giving everything. I'm giving you my life." What will he do? I forgive you... look at this and forget it. And give you a new start. And that is my prayer for you. And Father, thank you that you did not list for us twenty things that we had to do and change to have Your peace.

You said, "Trust me. Trust me. Trust me." Thank you for loving us enough to make it so simple and easy. Thank you for loving us enough to forgive us and forget us and give us a new beginning. In the name of Jesus, amen.