Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, February 3rd. Are you worried about what tomorrow might bring? or still fixated on what happened yesterday. Focusing on God's truth can help you consistently live in lasting peace. I want you to think about this verse if you'll turn to John chapter 14 for a moment.
Because Jesus says something very significant here, this 14th chapter. 14th chapter of John, the night before he's crucified, now, and the disciples are all upset and they don't know what's going on. They've heard him say a lot of things. It didn't seem to match up with him if he's truly God and if he's the son of God and he has all power. This doesn't seem to match up in the process of all this.
Listen to what he says. In the 27th verse, He said to them, Peace. I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you.
He said, I'm giving you a different kind.
So let's think of that for just a moment. Look, if you will, in 2 Thessalonians for a moment. Look, if you will, in chapter 3 and verse. Mm-hmm. Listen to what Paul prayed and what he said about the Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 3, verse 16. He says, Now may the Lord of peace hear the peace. himself. continually grant you peace. When?
In every circumstance. He didn't say just grant you peace, period. Grant you peace in every circumstance. Why? Because peace is available in every circumstance, no matter what.
Now, it isn't a matter of my opinion, it's what God says.
So, I want you to turn, if you will, to the 57th chapter of Isaiah. We've seen in the New Testament, he says peace is in him. It's bound in a relationship with him. And so he says in Isaiah 57, look at this. But the wicked are like the tossing sea.
It cannot be quiet. Its waters toss up refuse and mud. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
Now, all of us have been to the beach. And we've stood there and watched these waves come rolling in and when they crest the sparkling beauty of the sun cresting on them, it's all crystal clear and pure and beautiful. And then when it hits and stirs up the beach, what happens? It goes out sort of gray looking water. That's what he's saying.
He says there's no peace for the wicked. Can't be. He says, listen, they're like the waves cannot be quiet. Is the ocean quiet? In some parts of the country, it seemingly is never quiet.
Every once in a while, probably on this East Coast, I've seen it so it was rather quiet, but not really quiet, because you always got waves that are going to be lapping. That's the way I think about people who are without Christ.
Some of them are in such deep trouble, it's like mighty waves crashing and stirring it up. On the inside, there is no peace because there can't be any when there's no relationship with the only peace giver there is. There's one peace giver No things can give peace because think about this. We can have nothing in this world. And you just think about, at least probably some of us can look back when The only thing we had is a bed to sleep in and a puzzle of clothes, and that was it.
Perfect peace. Nobody told you you were in poverty? Nobody told you a whole bunch of things that made you dissatisfied with how much you had. Had nothing to do with it. You can take people who live in poverty with the most awesome sense of peace because of relationship with God.
Does that mean they should stay that way? No, but I'm just simply saying things and places and prestige and power and prominence and all the rest doesn't make a person happy, it doesn't give them any peace. There's one source, Jesus said, my peace I give unto you. Let not the world trouble you. Don't give in to this kind of belief.
Now somebody says, okay.
Alright, I understand what you're saying: that peace comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Now, Now tell me, how can I keep it? It's one thing to say. I read the Word of God. I trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I know I have peace with Him, but I want the peace, I want to wake up every morning with peace in my heart.
I'm going to give you three words. If you haven't heard anything else so far, And don't listen to anything else. If you will take God's word that I want to share with you in just a moment. You take these three words, I guarantee you, it doesn't make any difference what you're going through, how difficult, whether it's loss of loved ones, it doesn't make any difference what it is. I guarantee you, this is absolutely not just practical, it is absolutely truth that works every single time.
How do we have sustained peace? When the sides cave in and the top caves in, is there still peace? Yes, there is. Contentment. quietness of spirit, because he is the peace giver.
There are three things. I want you to turn, if you will, to Isaiah 26. Look at this for a moment. Isaiah chapter 26. Listen to what he says in this particular verse and then let me explain it.
He says in verse 3 of Isaiah 26, the steadfast of mind. You, speaking up of God, will keep. in perfect peace. Because he He trusts in you.
Now listen, what does he mean by perfect peace? Does that mean it's a peace? that you never feel any ruffles, storms, or anything else? No. It means a peace that is complete.
That is adequate. That is sufficient. Listen, that'll stabilize you in any given circumstance of life. Notice what he says. The first word.
I want you to think about. And that is the word Focus. Look at this. The steadfast of mind, the one that has set his or her focus upon the living God.
Now watch this for a moment. Set our focus upon God. When you and I have our focus upon God, everything else looks different.
Now, you know, for example, let's say you've got something that you know is coming in 30 days or whatever it might be, or 60 days, and it's going to be a time of great difficulty, hardship, and heartache for you. And what happens? The more you think about it, And so one week goes by, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, whatever it might be. The longer you think about it, the longer you gaze on it, the longer you contemplate it, the longer your focus is on it, what happens in those 60 days? It becomes larger, greater, grander, more impossible, more difficult, and more horrible to you.
If you spent those 60 days focused on God, You'd be amazed what the difference is. The difference is this. Listen to what he says. He says, the steadfast of mind. those who've set their focus.
The steadfast of mind, he says, You will keep. Who is it that does the keeping? It is God who does the keeping, but I have a responsibility and you have a responsibility. God will keep us, listen, in this perfect peace. But I have three responsibilities.
Number one is to keep my focus upon him. He says The steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace because the second thing we must do. It's the trust in. I set my focus upon him and trust him. Why am I going to trust him?
Because of who he is. I don't have to worry about him coming up short. Coming up late. I don't have to worry about him running out of anything. I don't have to worry about him wringing his hands or forgetting me in any circumstance.
Set my focus upon him, and when my focus is set, I will trust him. I will trust him because of who he is, what he's done, what he's said. But there's the third thing. And I want you to turn, if you will, to, because these two depend upon one other thing. I want you to turn to the 119th Psalm.
119th Psalm. Look at this. It's a big song. the hundred and sixty fifth verse. Psalm 119, verse 165.
Look at this. Very important verse. We said, first of all, I must set my focus on you steadfastly. Trust him to be to me what he says he'll be. Thirdly, look at this.
Verse 165, those who love your law Have great peace. And nothing causes them to stumble, and the implication is to stumble. and really blow it, fall out. become a victim. He's those who love thy law will have great peace.
Now, think about this. What is it that keeps our focus upon God? reminding us of who he is. What is it that keeps reminding us that we can trust Him? The most precious thing you own today, no matter who you are and what you may have to your account in this life.
There is the most precious thing you have. The most valuable, precious thing you'll ever own. This is the word of God. What did he say? He said, Those who love your law have great peace.
So, no, I'll read the Bible. That's not what he said. He said, you love it. Listen. If you love the Word of God, you're going to be in it.
If you love the Word of God, you're going to feast from it. If you love the Word of God, you're going to apply it to your heart. If you love the Word of God, you're going to believe what it says. If you love the Word of God, it's going to guide your life. And so what happens?
As we get in the Word, our focus turns to him. And our focus turns to Him. We look to see what He said, we watch how He operates, and we learn to trust Him.
So these three simple things can make the difference between up and down, in and out, off and on. unestablished, rocky, shaky peace. And peace. that has no shake. And here's what it is.
Is I get in the word? and get my focus upon him. And trust him. There isn't anything in this life. That can steal your peace.
Watch this now. Nobody can take your peace. Nobody steal your peace. Because he's the source. and he didn't give you your peace through them.
He gave you Your peace. through his son, Unshakable. unalterable, unchangeable. unmistakably from God. Everlasting, eternal, adequate, and sufficient in every single circumstance of life.
When I listen to some people's heartaches and their troubles and their trials, It's interesting that those who understand the peace that passes all understanding, they will say somewhere in that conversation, they'll say something like this: but you know what? I really can't explain it. But I have the greatest peace.
Somehow, I'm not worried.
Somehow, I'm not fretting. I don't even understand why I have this quietness, this contentment in my heart. I'll tell you why. Because they've been bound. And they've got their focus and their trust right.
and this is a part of their daily diet. This is why I say to you over and over again. meditating upon the Word of God. Feasting upon it daily, not once in a while, not when trouble comes. Listen, daily.
We drink from it. We feast upon it. We don't glance at it. We focus upon it, we gaze at it, we draw from it. We believe what it says, and we watch how God works in our lives as a result of it.
So he gives us peace. What's our responsibility? The focus, the trust. And Feasting upon his word. in order that you and I may keep our focus right.
You say, all right, I got that. I know how to get peace. I know how to sustain it. Is it possible for me to lose it? Absolutely.
How can you lose it? I want to give you three more words. How do you lose your peace? Here's the simplest way to lose it. It's a three-letter word.
S I N. You cannot Have peace with God and at the same time be living in sin. You cannot.
Now, this is why, watch this. This is why people, for example, who are believers, who are Christians, who can't figure out what's going on in their life and what are these things happening on and on, they go off and times, they can't figure it out, and they haven't stopped to realize: look at what you're doing. Look at your attitude. Look at the sin in your life. They don't want to face that.
They want to blame things on God or blame them on someone else. They don't want to face the issue. There is sin, there is unbelief, there is doubt. Or there's something going on in your life that should not be. You will lose your peace.
Sin will cause you to lose it. That's the first thing. Then there's the second thing that oftentimes we're unaware of. Turn, if you will, to Matthew chapter 6. This is one of the primary reasons that people lose their peace.
Jesus said three times. In this passage, beginning in verse 25, and he was talking about anxiety. And you can't anxiety and peace are not the same thing, not synonymous, can't inhabit the same heart at the same time. Listen to what he said to them. Verse 25, For this reason I say to you, Do not be worried about your life.
Verse 31: Do not worry then saying, What shall we eat, what shall we drink, or what shall we wear for clothing?
Now, if he'd have been writing us today, he said, What are you going to drive and where you live? He could just say a lot of things that would apply to us. Same thing here. And then so he ends up that section by saying, So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
You know why we lose that peace? Watch this. We project tomorrow's cares Or what we think will be tomorrow's difficulties, own ourselves today, and we think, oh, What am I going to do? How many times have we all worried about things that never happen? We just thought it was.
So, how do we lose our peace? We go out y'all and project on what we think are tomorrow's cares and what may happen, what could happen, what might happen, what we're just sure is going to happen or not going to happen. We bring them in today and what happens? Our focus, something happens to it.
Now watch this. Three primary reasons. Number one, what's the first reason? Seven If you don't have any peace in your heart, Or if it's up and down, off and on, in and out, kind of thing. Ask yourself the question.
Just say, God, look, Lord, I want to be honest with you. Is there something in my life that I'm not dealing with? God, just show me. You don't have to ask him but one good time. He's more than willing to show you.
The question is, are you willing to listen? Are you willing to acknowledge it? Yes, it's just pure pride in your life, or this is what you did, your attitude is not right.
So first, There's sin. Secondly, projecting tomorrow's cares into the day, and the third one. is I allow my focus to drift. Just all for him. under my circumstances and when I do, I lose my peace.
We've all been there.
So, what do we do? We acknowledge what we've done, get it back on Him, trusting Him, feasting upon His Word, and what happens? This is what makes it possible. But people to go through the most trying circumstances of life, and we say when we meet them, you know, I don't know how in the world they went through, I don't know how they have survived that. You know what?
The survivor can tell you. That's what some wonderful survivor can tell you. They're not going to take credit, but they're going to say, you know what? It's Jesus. living on the inside of me and expressing his peace.
He said to those disciples, My peace, I'm going to live with it. It's going to be sufficient and adequate no matter what.
Now, I don't know what you may be facing today. I don't know what been going on in your life, don't know what you're troubled about. But I can tell you this, the Prince of Peace. who came 2,000 years ago. only lived about 33 years in this life.
And he didn't live it just to live it, he lived it in order. to come to the end after 33 years and lay down his life on the cross. And when He died on the cross, He paid your sin debt and mine in full. And He made it possible for us to come into a relationship with the Father that would make us eternally secure. But He wasn't satisfied with that.
Because here's what he said. He said, I'm come. to give my life a ransom for many that we might be saved. And then he said, I've come that we might have life. and have it more abundantly.
What is the abundant life but a life of peace? and tranquillity and quietness on the inside.
Nowhere does it say anything about outside, inside. Because you see, it's what you are on the inside that matters, what you think on the inside. It's not changing circumstances and people's opinions and attitudes. It's Your spirit. Your attitude, how you think.
Now, you can listen to all this and say, well, that may be all right for some people, but not for me. Mm-mm. It is for every single person. who is willing to place their trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sin. Set their focus.
Place their trust in Him. And keep that focus and trust. in its proper place. By feasting upon the Word of God every day. That's what peace is all about.
And Jesus came as the peacemaker. He came to give us a life. He knew that you and I could never have apart from him. And if you've never trusted Jesus as your Savior, You couldn't find a better day. To satisfy, listen, listen to this carefully.
To satisfy. the longing of the heart of God. for you. You have a Heavenly Father. Who knows where you are?
How you got where you are? What you're into, what you're up to, what you're under, what you're suffering. And you know what? He's willing to say you day. Come on home.
You're forgiven. Trust me, and you'll be forgiven. Taking you into the family. Making you one of my children forever. And I'll give you a peace that'll make it possible for life to be absolutely unbelievably satisfying.
and fulfilling. Yeah. That's the offer of Jesus. And that'll be the best gift. You'll ever be able.
There is seen. Yeah. Thank you for listening to part two of Living in Lasting Peace. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or NTOC Ministries, stop by ntouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
