Is Your Heart Sitting Down?
Col 3:12-17
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
MATTHEW HENRY SAID, “When Christ died He left a will in which He gave His soul to His Father, His body to Joseph of Arimathea, His clothes to the soldiers, and His mother to John. But to His disciples, who had left all to follow Him, He left not silver or gold, but something far better—His PEACE!
This “peace of Christ” that Paul says should rule our hearts (vs.15) is that inner calmness of soul that we all long for. Lack of inner peace is usually due to one or more of 4 things:
A restless spirit
A guilty conscience
A lonely heart
A troubled mind
John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Now if Jesus promised us this inheritance, how come we worry and fret so much? How come we don’t exhibit a life filled with peace?
Well, that’s what this sermon is all about
SOME MISSIONARY BIBLE TRANSLATORS were working very hard to find a word for peace in a primitive tribal language. At last, a native who was working with them found a combination of words that had the concept—“a heart that sits down.” So they translated John 14:27 as having Jesus say, “I will make your heart sit down.”
It’s the peace that says, “I don’t understand everything, but I’ll just rest in God and He will bring me through.”
It’s the peace that says, “Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.”
It’s the peace that says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
It’s the peace that says, “I will trust the Lord and not fear what man shall do unto me.”
It’s the peace that says, “I know who I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
So how do we acquire this peace of mind?
1. By Admitting That We Need It
Peace can never be obtained by one who claims he has no need of it. We must be willing to admit to God, and ourselves, that we do not have it.
I believe that there is someone here today that is troubled about something. It might be unresolved guilt over some sin; or fear is gripping their life due to some circumstance. The first step to inner peace is admitting that it is missing in our lives.
With appealing humor, Ron Hutchcraft, busy author, speaker, and counselor, tells about his battle with stress. One day Ron decided to "interview" the family gerbil. "Tell me, Gerbie," Ron asked, "what do you have planned for today?" "First, breakfast," he replied, "and then get started." "Doing what?" Ron questioned. "Why, the same thing I did yesterday, and the day before that." "What’s that?" Ron asked again. "The wheel." And sure enough, Gerbie climbed on his little wheel and started running in circles. Hours later, he was still running. The more Ron watched that gerbil, the more he saw himself. He had his own personal "wheels"--demands, deadlines, aggravations, ambitions. He felt as if he was running in circles, and he longed for peace. In his search, he made this discovery in Psalm 34: Peace isn’t automatic or passive; it must be pursued. Not only that, but peace is also a result of a right relationship with the Lord.
As never before, Ron enthroned the Lord as the Shepherd of his life. As he did, peace, instead of the stressful wheel, became normal.
2. By Getting the God of Peace
Before you can have the peace of God, you must have the God of peace! According to Eph.2:14, Jesus is our peace. There is no peace with God apart from Him. There is no peace of God apart from Him.
HE IS THE PRINCE OF PEACE—PEACE PERSONIFIED.
All other attempts at securing genuine and lasting peace are as hopeless as those who chase after their shadows.
Max Lucado, in his book, When God Whispers Your Name, says “You have one. A sack. A burlap sack. Probably aren’t aware of it, may not have been told about it. Could be you don’t remember it. But it was given to you. A sack. An itchy, scratchy, burlap sack. You needed them so you could carry your stones.”
Stones of Rejection
Last one to be picked for the team
Rejected by that employer
Rejected by one you once loved
Stones of Regret
The day you lost your temper
The day you lost your innocence
Guilt for sins committed
Try carrying a sack for a while—no energy, no joy, a negative attitude—life is irritable, unhappy.
Some folks take the sack:
To work
To therapy sessions
To the happy hour
To a wild weekend
To the bar
To church (religion)
And all the time, Jesus says, “Come unto me all you who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest” (Matt.11:28,29).
And common sense tells us that the more we open up our lives to His presence, the greater degree of peace we will possess.
3. By Getting the Poisons Our of Our Minds
Illus.: “Abscessed Tooth, the Source of Trouble”
When I was representing the Billy Graham organization, I called on a donor who told me that her husband had been hospitalized for many weeks with sever damage to all his major organs. The doctors ran many tests to discover the source, but without success until at last they discovered the culprit: an abscessed tooth!
There are certain poisons in our minds that must be removed:
Unforgiven sin
Bitterness and resentment
Jealousy
How do we get them out? By asking for outside help! Only God can do it. We can go to that pill bottle, or therapist, but there are some things that only God can reach because they are buried too deep. But He can take His divine scalpel and remove them.
Fanny Crosby was right when she wrote:
O, what peace we often forfeit,
O, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.
4. By Filling Our Minds With Right Things
Luke 11:24-26: "When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, `I will return to the person I came from.’ 25So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and clean. 26Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before." (NLT)
Fill your mind with right things:
(1) The Word of God Ps 119:165: Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
(2) The Thoughts of God Isaiah 26:3: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Illus.: “Buddah Is Sleeping”
In a large city in Sri Lanka there is a huge statue of Buddah in a reclining position. The chiseled face is calm, the eyes are closed and the head rests upon one hand. A full 50 feet long, the image is impressive except for one thing: Buddah is sleeping while the world goes by. He is paying no attention to his worshippers. How could he. The “he” is an “it.” It is a thing, not a person. How unlike that our God is. He cares for us. He watches over us. He protects and blesses us. Shame on us when we are filled with fear and uncertainty.
Ps 121:3-4
3 He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
During World War II, an elderly woman in England had endured the nerve-shattering bombings with amazing serenity. When asked to give the secret of her calmness amid the terror and danger, she replied, "Well, every night I say my prayers. And then I remember that God is always watching, so I go peacefully to sleep. After all, there is no need for both of us to stay awake!"
(3) Wholesome Thoughts Phil 4:8: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.
Illus.: The Potato Peeler
A college girl who was a fine scholar volunteered to be a counselor at a girl’s camp. Despite her abilities, she was required to peel potatoes in the kitchen. The head of the camp, realizing that this was quite a menial task for such a bright and talented girl, exclaimed, “It’s too bad that a girl with your abilities has to peel potatoes.” The young lady looked at her and said, “Oh, but I don’t have to think about potatoes when I’m peeling them.”
Remember, whatever occupies your mind means more than anything else in your life. Your thought life will determine what you become in life.
Negative Thoughts
Dr. Elinore Kinarthy says that the average person has more than two hundred negative thoughts a day—worries, jealousies, insecurities, cravings for forbidden things, etc. Depressed people have as many as six hundred. You can’t eliminate all the troublesome things that go through your mind, but you can certainly determine which ones will stay there.
5. By Praying Believingly
A psychiatrist was quoted in the newspaper as saying that he could not improve upon the apostle Paul’s prescription for human worry. Paul said in Phil.4:6,7: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
The word “guard” was a military term that described a Roman soldier holding his weapon, walking back and forth in front of an open gate so that no one could enter. Paul is saying that this is how God will guard your hearts and give you His peace. Our Father is a Father who delights to give good gifts to His children. He will actively guard your heart against whatever is troubling it. He will not allow any menacing worry to enter.
Its as though Paul was saying, “Peace is the fruit of believing prayer.” The peace of God will stand like a sentinel, guarding our hearts and minds.
Is your heart sitting down? Do you have that inner peace? You can if you…
Get the God of peace
Get the poisons out of your mind
Fill your mind with right things
Pray believingly
