Inner peace needed to produce outer peace . . .

England’s Field Marshall Lord Montgomery once said that he would read his own book, The History of Warfare, and try to discern how he could stop people from fighting. In all of history, peace is extremely rare.

However, the Bible speaks of peace in two ways. One is a lack of conflict between people, the lack of conflict that this Field Marshall spoke about. The other is peace with God, which results in a deep sense of inner peace. The first seldom happens because many people do not have the second one even though God makes it available. Lord Montgomery could not do it, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. Everyone who believes in Him experiences God’s gift of inner peace.

Further, Jesus calls His people to pass it on, to introduce others so that peace happens in their hearts as well. He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) The NT echoes with “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:18)

MacArthur illustrates God’s inner peace with “the cushion of the sea” in which the ocean surface may be in great turmoil but the deeper you descend, the calmer the water. Ocean bottoms are virtually still and undisturbed. Christians testify to this cushion of peace in their souls regardless of their troubled surroundings. We belong to God who indwells us by the Holy Spirit. Trusting Christ in any situation brings peace when we are filled with His Spirit:  

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23)

Law or rule keeping cannot produce this peace. It is a wonderful God-thing, often experienced in tough times and for that reason I can rejoice even in sorrow:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 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 in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4–7)

 God is the source of perfect peace and its purest example. “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” (1 Corinthians 14:33) One of His titles is Jehovah-shalom meaning ‘the Lord is peace’ from Judges 6:24. There is perfect harmony between Father, Son and Holy Spirit for God cannot be at odds with Himself. Not only that, He wants all people to know that kind of peace. He sent Jesus for that reason. When He was born, the angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14)

Yet those without Jesus do not know that cushion. This is why Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” — He was not talking about treaties and peace accords but about those who bring to others the good news — God has made available great peace for those who put their trust in Christ Jesus, His death and resurrection and invite Him to reign in their hearts.

Jesus, this is one more amazing truth about You. You give that inner peace that is often beyond my comprehension. I know that obedience and peace go hand in hand for when I stray into sin, that peace steps aside and becomes a signal for me to examine my heart and confess and repent. I know that I need to experience peace with You and within my heart so I can share it with others. I also see a great need for this to happen. Sin robs the soul of this blessed cushion of peace, the calmness that sets Your people apart as sons and daughters of God. May I be a peacemaker, today and all my days. Keep me in the center of Your calm so I am able to do it.

INSIGHT: Read Isaiah 57:15–21 and note how God encourages and warns me in relation to peace.

 

 

Spirit-filled?

I have a background in art. If someone asked me to ‘prove it’ should I pull out documents that show the courses I’ve taken? Or should I show them the work in my portfolio? I’m thinking of that old saying, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating!”

I’m thinking of a friend who insists that the greatest evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. In her mind, if that happens all is well. She points to the New Testament account of what happened to Jesus’ disciples after He returned to heaven . . .

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1–4)

Most Christians understand this was a one-time event to fulfill the promise Jesus made in John 14:16: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”

That the Holy Spirit came was made evident by the wind, tongues of file, and the ability to speak in languages they did not know. Because it was Pentecost, the city was filled with people who spoke those languages so this evidence not only convinced the new Christians that the Spirit had arrived, it also enabled many people to hear the Gospel in their own language.

Today, missionaries must do language study for being filled with the Spirit soon gave way to an even more spectacular evidence — He changes the lives of God’s people. This is an internal change that becomes visible to others. That is, the Spirit enters our spirit and gives us His life. Obviously change happens, sometimes quickly. The life of the Spirit moves from the deepest part of us to affect our thoughts, emotions and will. Our body begins to take orders from a new Master.

However, the flesh or old nature fights change. Depending on qualities like humility and obedience, this can be a short battle or a longer one. When the Spirit takes charge of the whole person, that person is Spirit-filled.

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:17–26)

Speaking in tongues happens in cults. It also happens in professing Christians whose lives are fleshy as described above. While Spirit-filled believers also speak in tongues, a far more convincing evidence of the Holy Spirit is His fruit and that the fleshy life being put to death. Pride and other nasties are abandoned and the life of Christ becomes evident as proof that the Holy Spirit is there and given priority.

Tozer says, “I do not believe in a repetition of Pentecost, but I do believe in a perpetuation of Pentecost—and there is a vast difference between the two; Pentecost did not come and go, but Pentecost came and stayed.” The abiding element was not wind, fire and tongues but the Holy Spirit Himself, the Comforter Jesus promised.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You sent the Spirit to fill Your people and abide in us. He shows the reality of You as He gives new life, the grace and strength to live godly lives and do Your will. That came, that stayed. You have called me to live in that fullness, with intensity and purity that is the evidence that You are in me. Only You can make happen that amazing kind of life. Speaking in tongues is an intimacy of communicating with You, but as the Scriptures say, it is of little value in telling the world the Good News without an interpreter, whereas love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control need no interpreter only a yielded life.