Finding Peace

RecentlyI was very discouraged and my life long friend Keith Allison sent me this portion of his sermon. I have been so blessed with encouraging friends. It's long but good!


The following is a portion of my sermon this past Sunday. I hope this canbe an encoragement to you. Remember God is in Control.

Philippians 4:6-7"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer andpetition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peaceof God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts andyour minds in Christ Jesus."Matthew 6:25-27 says "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is notlife more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away inbarns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much morevaluable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to hislife?

John 14:27 says "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do notgive to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and donot be afraid.

"Imagine a shift from anxiety to peace.Do you have a life of anxiety or a life of peace. God wants his childrento experience deep and lasting rest for our souls, for our bodies and ourminds. But where do we find rest for our minds. How do we deal with theonslaught of stress, anxiety, worry that can paralyze us? Can we have apeace of mind in a world that is filled with suffering, pain and loss?The Holy Spirit does many things but at the top of the list is the peacethat only he can bring.In the 80's a stupid song was written called Don't worry Be Happy. If youremember it was one of those songs that just stuck in your head. Christwants us to remember his Word . Peace I leave with you.Do not let yourheart be troubled.With Jesus we can have a no worries attitude. This doesn't mean that realchallenges wont come and we wont have struggles. It just means that ourminds don't have to filled with anxiety, worry and fear because Jesuspromises to give His peace to us.Are you worried every time you go to the mail their might be a bill youcant pay, a letter with bad news or every time the phone rings you wonderif its bad news. May I say Jesus says Don't worry Be Joyful that God is incontrol and we are not.Is work so stressful that you dread going. Are you anxious about your pastor maybe anxious about your future and what God has in store for you?Maybe your anxious about the price of gas. Ok so maybe we will allow thatone!!!There is plenty to worry about. God is the great anxiety buster. I know inmy own life that until I turned a situation over to Him I would worryabout it, lose sleep over it, think about it constantly. But once I turnedit over I mean Really turned it over he did what he promised. Peace.So lets look at three Seismic Shifts suggestions we can make1. From worry to Prayer (Read 2 Cor 11:26-28) The answer to the stress,worry and anxiety of this world is not to develop an escapist attitude. Weare not called to run away or avoid the tension and challenges of life weare called to answer with prayer.I remember at one time wondering if I would ever be healthy long enough toget married, have kids, be in the ministry and then how long.2. From My plans to God's Will (Matthew 4:19; 9:9 Jesus called hisdisciples to Follow Him. All through the Bible we are called to seek andto follow God's will.Read James 4:13-15. The best way to discover His will for your life is todig deep into His word.There are many questions that God is very clear and answers in His Word.These are what we would call definitive answers. Should I have sex beforeI get married? Should I share my resources with the poor? If Im aChristian should I share and tell others about Jesus?However there are questions you may have that are not direct yes or no inthe Scriptures? They demand prayer, counsel, wisdom, and discernement.Is this the time to change careers or jobs?Is it time to get a new car or buy a house?Is this the right person for me to date or marry?Wouldn't it be great if God wrote us a letter that had the whole lifething written out for us. but he doesent.We must learn to listen to his voice. The sheep listen and know his voice.James 1:5 says if anyone of you lacks wisdom he should ask ask God whogives generously to all.3. From Alone to Hand in Hand with JesusWe are never alone. Man I wish the world knew that. They are never alone.God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. The Fatherwatches over us, the Spirit dwells within us, and Jesus intercedes for us.Ken Davis a comedian came up with an idea for a t-shirt that captures thisshift. On the shirt is a scrawny lamb walking through a valley. All aroundhim are wolves with sharp teeth. It is clear that they see dinner in theirfuture. But walking next to this lone sheep and holding his little hoof isJesus. The bubble above the sheeps mouth says I'm with Him. When we walkwith Jesus we can walk in peace because we are never alone.