Knowing The Things That Make For Peace - Part 2

Two weeks ago, we were looking at 2 Peter and chapter 3, it speaks there about the coming of Jesus, the return of Jesus and what will happen. It says, the day of the Lord will come like a thief, 2 Peter 3:10, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned out. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people are to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat. But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless. That's what we were thinking about. The Holy Spirit commands us to be diligent, to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless and we looked when Jesus, towards the end of his days on this earth, when he passed by Jerusalem, he wept over the city and said, if you, even you, had known the things which make for peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes. And later, Luke 19:42, verse 44, he says, because you did not recognize the day of your visitation. And that's what we were thinking about two weeks ago, the things that make for peace. And we saw the most important things that make for peace. One was the cross on which Jesus died. And through that cross and through his death, Romans 5 tells us that we have made peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we are introduced into the grace in which we stand. We also saw that the second thing, the blood of the cross. The blood of the cross that has brought us together, reconciled us to God, and not just that, the vertical arm, we were thinking about, we have heard even Brother Sykes speak about, but it's not just the vertical arm. The blood of his cross has broken down barriers and dividing walls between us. There was no Jew and Gentiles, and whatever communities we come from, when we come to the cross, make peace with God, and we make peace with one another, all the barriers and dividing walls are broken down. I trust that that's how we have it, whoever it may be, that we are at peace with all men. And that's why the Holy Spirit tells us to be diligent, to be found by him in peace, you know, when we know that all these things are going to happen. Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 27, he says, I'm leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. The peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. And Hebrews 12, verse 14, we have heard often in this church, pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. So it's very clear there. These two things, if we don't pursue peace and sanctification, we will not see the Lord, no matter how many meetings we attended to, no matter what I may claim that I have been born again, I've come to know Christ as my personal Savior. If I'm not pursuing after peace with all men, all men, whoever it may be, and most of our brothers and sisters, our relatives, to pursue after peace and sanctification, holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. But we know there are some who don't want peace. So the Holy Spirit says in Romans 12, verse 18, if possible, if possible, as far as it depends on you, that is, as far as it depends, we are pursuing after peace, we pursue after peace, but some people don't want peace. So like we heard, as Zach said, that we love them at a distance, it says, as far as it depends on you, in our pursuit of peace, be at peace with all men. As long as it depends on me, I am to be at peace with all men. I pursue after peace, but some people don't want peace. Okay. I still love them and love them from afar. So it's so important, my brothers and sisters, that we see that we have peace in our hearts and we pursue peace with one another. Luke chapter 2, verse 14, Luke 2, verse 14, the birth of Jesus was announced by a huge angelic choir praising God and singing glory to God in the highest. And then the angels sang, peace to all men and women on earth who please Him. Not like you see on Christmas card, peace on earth to all men. It's not peace on earth to all men. You read it in your Bible. It's peace to those with whom He is well pleased. It's peace among men and women with whom He is well pleased. That's God's will for us, that we have peace with one another. The church is a place of peace, that people can find peace, peace with God and peace with one another. I trust that has been our experience and that's what we seek to live. Zechariah, you know, if you turn there to Luke chapter 1, he prophesied when his mouth was open. He prophesied and he prophesied from Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 2. In the end there, Zechariah 1, verses 79 and 18, it says to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Our feet don't automatically go walk in the way of peace. We have a flesh, you know, where all kinds of things come up, competition, jealousy, so many things, strife, petty quarrels, petty conflicts, especially in the home. And our feet are automatically not guided in the way of peace. But when the sunrise on high shines upon us and shines in our hearts, our feet are guided into the way of peace. And Jesus has made that way of peace. And the Holy Spirit guides your feet and my feet into that way of peace. And as I walk this way in my life and my walk on this earth, then I am doing what the Holy Spirit tells me to do in 2 Peter chapter 3, that I am diligent to be found by Him in peace. It is so important, my brothers and sisters, that we really want to be, we want to look for these things. We look for a new heaven and new earth in which righteousness will dwell. There are other things too which make for peace. You can find a lot of things there in the Bible, but I have seen four or five things that have spoken to my own heart. And the third thing that makes for peace, you know, we saw in that word, if Jesus said, if you knew, you, even you in this day, the things that make for peace. And that's what we are talking about, the things that make for peace. And in Psalm 119, if you turn there to Psalm 119, in verses 162, it's a wonderful psalm to read. I encourage you, there are 22 sections to this psalm. And I believe it was written by David, though it does not say so, because when you read the psalm, you know, and that is none other than David himself, because he loved God's word so much. And there are 22 sections there, the Hebrew alphabet. And read Psalm 119, take time to read it, because it will draw you to, like it says here in 162, great peace, great peace for those who love God's word. It says, those who love your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. There is no stumbling block. It says then in verse 162, 119, 162, I rejoice at your word as one who finds great spoil, great treasure. I hate and despise falsehood, but I love your law, love your word. Seven times a day, I praise you. Under the old covenant, that was a great thing, to praise God seven times a day. Under the new covenant, we praise Him all day long, and all night long, even when we get up at night, that we not have grumbling and complaining in our hearts, that we can praise Him. And for whatever reason, we get up at night, that we can still have a song of praise in our hearts. And so under the new covenant, we praise Him not just seven times, but all day and all night. And because of your righteous ordinances, that's what this psalmist says, seven times I praise you because of your righteous ordinances. Those who love your law have great peace, not just peace, but great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble. We'll have no stumbling block if we love God's word. And that is how, that's what happens when we come to God through Jesus. When we are born again, that we must be drawn to God's word. And we'll begin to love God's word. And I trust that all of us sitting here, don't just read God's word. Don't just say, I read the Bible. I refer to the Bible as God's word. The Bible is a collection of books. That's what the meaning of Bible means, a collection of books. But the Bible that we have is God's word. And we need to be drawn to love God's word and to obey it. The great peace have they who love your word and nothing will cause them to stumble. You'll never get offended. There'll be no stumbling block. It's literally, if you imagine there, no stumbling block. If you love God's word, because God's word guides our feet into the way of peace. In Isaiah 26 and verse 3, it says, the steadfast of mind, you will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in you. Great peace and perfect peace. Don't we want that, my brothers and sisters? I trust that you're drawn to God's word. That's how you know you're really born again. You have a desire, you have a longing to God's word. I think back on the time when I was born again, when I came to know the Lord, and I was on the railways then. I had a job where I had to work only eight hours. And the rest of the time, I had a lot of time. I would lock myself up in the room. I thank God for that time. Nobody there in that restroom where I lived. And I would lock myself up and just devour and devour God's word. I had such an appetite for God's word. I thank God for those times, not just then, but different times when we left the denominational church. There's a lot of time. There's no more religious activity. A lot of time on my hands before I started business. When I started business, there was less time. But my heart was always drawn to God's word. And I want to say to all of us sitting here. If you want to know whether you're really born again, are you drawn to God's word? You'll love God's word, great peace, you'll find great peace. And I thank God that in the 50 plus years that I have followed Jesus, I found great peace in God's word. I found every answer for all the questions that came up in my life, in my home life, in my family, with my children. There was an answer in God's word. So I encourage you, if that is lacking, there's something wrong with your foundation. You need to check that out. Because we have God's word. There's no book, no written word in the whole wide world, on the face of this earth, in this universe, that has been God breathed. That's the scriptures we have. Not these printed pages, but the word is God breathed, inspired by God. Men wrote the scriptures were inspired by God breathed into them and they wrote God's word. That's what we have. It's unique. It's not like all the other so-called sacred books. We have a collection of books which is God's word to us in our generation. In all the generations since Jesus went back to heaven. What a privilege we have. And God, not just God's word, but there's power in this word. And that's what I wanted to see in Luke chapter one, verse 37. A word that has blessed my heart long, long back. And I really believe that. You know, what the angel said to Mary's question. Luke chapter one, verse 37. Unlike Zechariah, who said, how can this be an unbelief? I am old, my wife is old, Elizabeth is old. How are we going to have a child? And the angel said, he didn't believe God's word. He said, you'll be dumb till you see that really happened. And then you know the story, how his mouth was open. But Mary, this young girl, when the angel came to her with the message, she was to bear a child. She was to be the mother of the son of God. Something miraculous was going to take place in her womb. She said, how, if you have a margin, you'll read the literal word, how can this be? But what she said was, how will this be? How is this going to be? I'm excited, but how is this going to be? And the angel said, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you. And for that reason, the holy thing begotten, in the margin it says, the holy thing is something that's happened in your womb. God has made you pregnant. That's really what it will be called, the Son of God. We saw that in the sisters' meeting, that what God did, he didn't come, the Son of God didn't come through the heavens. He could have come that way. The Son of God that's not made pregnant by a man, but God himself made Mary pregnant, she conceived, preserving her virginity. Says, how can this be, because I have not known any man, I'm a virgin. So the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and that which is conceived in you will be the Son of God. That is the word of God, and that's what the angel said. In the next sentence it says, for no word of God will be without power. Nothing will be impossible. In the literal translation of that, there's no word of God will be without power. There's power, my brothers and sisters, there's dynamite in God's word. How can we neglect it? How can we just do a cursory reading, I read my Bible today, and that's why everything went well. Now to love God's word, that I am drawn to it, this is food for my soul, this is food for my spirit, that I can come to know God, and God's word has power. I want to really, really create an appetite in all of us this morning, that we will be drawn to God's word. We will experience what David, the psalmist who wrote Psalm 119 said, great peace have they who love thy word, and there's no stumbling block before them. There's no word of God that is without power. Every word that God has spoken has power in it. Believe it, my brothers, there's dynamite there. And whatever the situation, that if God gives you a word and God speaks to you, that he will do something just like he did for Mary. In Jeremiah chapter 2, the same thing there, the same phrase in 32 verse 7, where God told Jeremiah to buy his uncle's land. Just imagine, buying your uncle's land, and they're going to be invaded by the Babylonian army. Nebuchadnezzar has raised his siege ramps, and they were about to come in and take Jerusalem and burn the city down, and God said, buy that piece of land. You have the right, your enemy is coming to you, and God said, buy it. And Jeremiah believed God's word. He says, nothing is too difficult for you. And in verses 25 and 26 of Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah said, this is his testimony. You have said to me, O Lord God, buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses. Although the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans, that's the Babylonians, then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me? And Jeremiah said earlier, nothing is too difficult for you. That is the faith we are to have, my brothers and sisters, in God's word. That is what should guide our feet in the way of peace. I love God's word, because God's word has power. And I can have God's word for every situation, for every circumstance, for whatever I'm facing in life, I can experience that power. No word of God is without power. I pray that the Holy Spirit would register that, burn that into our spirits this morning. No word of God is without power. God's word has power. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, read to you from the living. Hebrews 4, verse 12, so whatever God says to us is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest dagger, cutting swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires, with all their parts exposing us for what we really are. That's the power of God's word. It's full of living power, sharper than the sharpest dagger. Sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. That's what God's word does to us. And if not just reading it, but letting, meditating on it, and studying it, like Psalm 1 says, blessed is the man who meditates on God's word day and night, that God can speak to us, even when we're lying on the bed. And we hear a word, something that we heard in the meeting, something that I read from God's word, and God speaks to us. And God reveals our innermost thoughts and desires. And if we are not drawn that way to God's word, we'll get no revelation on ourselves. We'll be the same kind of person year after year, day after day, and week after week. We come to the meetings, get a pep talk, and that's about all. And that's all that our Christian life is. God have mercy, my brothers and sisters. That is not God's will for you and me. God wants us to get to know him. And if we let his word do his work in us, God's word is powerful. So we must love it, and not just read it, but as God speaks to us, we obey it. In the beginning of creation, that's exactly what happened. The spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters. The earth was all dark, without form, shapeless. That's how our lives were. I want you to see this, the power of God's word. The spirit of God, Genesis chapter one, moved across the surface of the waters. Everything was dark, and they were empty, and a wasteland. And God spoke, said, let there be light. There was power in that word. And immediately, there was light. And all the emptiness and all the darkness vanished. That's the power of God's word. That's what happens to us when we are born again. Exactly what happened to Mary. Exactly what happened at the beginning of creation. My dear brothers and sisters, that's what happens to us when we are born again. Exactly what happened to Mary. Exactly what happened in the beginning of creation when God spoke and the spirit of God moved and made God's word real. That's what God does to us. God said, let there be light. There was light and all. There was shape, there was form, there was beauty, and everything unfolded. And the same thing, the same work God does in our lives, when we surrender ourselves to him. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 tells us that. It confirms that. It says, God who said, let there be light. We're talking about now Genesis 1. Is the one who was shown in our hearts to give us the light. Listen to this, not of the knowledge of God, but the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. We read the Bible, we read God's word carefully. Light has shone into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Just like when God said, let there be light. And not just light and darkness, and not just separate from light. You know, everything that unfolded, everything was beautiful, everything was good. And God saw everything, that everything was very good. And that's the work God wants to do in your life and mine, my brothers and sisters, where you can look at my life at the end of time, when my time is over, and see it's very good. Because I yielded myself to the power of God's word. I yielded myself to the Holy Spirit. And that's why it says, and I want you to look at this word in 1 John 2, verse 9. A powerful word, I hope you believe this. This is how we know whether we are born of God. Many things that John says there, for those who are born of God, read it. Those who are born of God, a lot of things that he says there. And there's one thing here that he says in 1 John 2, 9, listen to it. No one, no one who is born of God practices sin. Why? Because God's seed, and the word there is sperm, spermatoza. Because God's sperm, God's seed abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. This is not talking about not sinning at all. It's talking about practicing sin. No one who is born of God practices sin. I cannot go on living in sin if I'm born of God. I have something wrong with my salvation. Something wrong. It's good to go back and check up my foundation. It's impossible. Those who are born of God will not continue to live in sin. You can backslide. God's seed is still in you. God's spirit will work in you, not leave you alone and bring you back. But if we go on hardening our heart, we can lose our salvation. We can fall away. And then it becomes impossible to renew such a one to repentance. But here's the word that we need to take seriously. No one who is born of God practices sin. Because God's seed, God is just like happened in Mary's womb. God impregnated Mary and put his seed and the son of God came to life in Mary's womb and was born. And lived on this earth for 33 and a half years. The same thing, the very same thing. That's why he had to be made like his resident in all things. The same thing takes place in your life and my life. When I come to God through repentance and faith in Jesus and believe in him and repent of my sins and turn to him, God puts his seed in me. I'm born again. That's what God, what Jesus told Nicodemus. Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. He thought he had to become a baby again, go back into his mother's womb. No, that which is born of flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit. I want to say to all of us this morning, my dear brothers and sisters, examine your life. Are you really born of the spirit? Are you really born of God? Has God put his seed in you? You will not want to sin. And it says there, he cannot sin because he's born of God. I can come into a life where I can overcome all sin. I may be defeated, but I battle on through the power of the Holy Spirit, not my own strength, and I come into a life where I can overcome all sin. Just like Jesus overcame, sat with his father on his throne. He says, if we overcome, we'll sit with him on his throne. All things are possible, and if we believe that, that God's word, no word of God is without power. And I trust that God has put his seed in us, if we claim to be born again, then we will not want to sin. All things are possible, I was saying, but there are some things that are impossible. Do you know? There are some things that are impossible to God. What are some of the things which are impossible? We say nothing is impossible with God, but do you know there are some things that are not possible? In Hebrews, in Numbers chapter 23, Balaam prophesied, the false prophet Balaam says that God, it's impossible for God to lie, so that's why God's word has power. God will not lie, if he says something, that's it. His word is yes and amen, and if God has spoken, and God has spoken to us, and in whatever situation we believe it, it's impossible for God to lie. Another thing that is impossible is in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6. It's impossible to please God without faith. Without faith, it's impossible to please him. Here are some impossibilities that even God himself cannot please him without faith. It was impossible for death to hold Jesus in its power. Acts chapter 2, verse 24, therefore God raised him from the dead. It's impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Only the blood of Jesus. It's impossible to renew to repentance those who have fallen away, Hebrews 6:6. So there are some things that are not possible, but God, impossible. So we see here, God's word has power, my brothers and sisters, and I prayed this morning that we would surrender our lives to God afresh and say, Lord, I want to love your word. Those who love your word have great peace. Psalm 119, I take time to read it. It is so blessed, so challenging. How can a young man keep his way pure? How can a young man stay pure? 119, verses 9 and 11, by reading your word and following its rules. That's what it says in verse 10. I've tried my best to find you. Don't let me wander off from your instructions. I'm reading from the Living Bible. I've thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin. Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The unfolding of your word gives light, revelation. We get revelation. It gives understanding to the simple, not to the intelligent. The intelligent don't get revelation. The simple, the humble, that's why we should love God. The unfolding of your word gives light. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus and that two hours or whatever, two, three hours that they walked with Jesus. And he explained to them, he unfolded to them the scriptures and their hearts burned within them. That's what will happen. That's why we'll be drawn to God's word, not just to meetings. We'll be drawn to his word. I hope you don't get your food only on Sunday morning. And maybe if you go to the midweek meeting, I hope you're getting food every day. Even if you don't get time to sit sometimes and read the Bible, you can be so busy, but then there's a word that God speaks to you. While you're washing your face, you're brushing your teeth, while you use the toilet, that God speaks to you. There's a word that God will speak to you, get something from heaven. Even if you don't have time to open, I trust we all can make time, whether it's early morning or any part of the day. I hope we are drawn to God's word. And I pray, like I said, I hope this will challenge us, my brothers and sisters. We need men and women of God who know God's word, who believe this, that God's word, there's no word of God without power. I hope you will be that man and that woman of God. So let's really take heed to what we have just shared together. Great peace have they who love your word. In Psalm 119, verse 97, how I love your word, it is my meditation all day. And so I can go on and on, but read it there, take time to read Psalm 119. Job says, I treasure the words of your mouth more than my necessary food. Jeremiah says, is not my word like fire? The Lord says to Jeremiah, declares the Lord, like a hammer which shatters a rock. You see how powerful God's word is? God's word is a sword, a double edged sword, by which we can overcome temptation, we can overcome sin, we can overcome the lust in our flesh. With this sword of the spirit, we will overcome the enemy. That's how Jesus overcame. And that's what John saw in the vision towards the end of God's word in Revelation. In verse chapter one, verse 16, he saw coming out of the mouth of Jesus a sharp two edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in its strength. Revelation 19, 15, from his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that he may strike down the nations and rule them with a rod of iron. Do you know that is God's word? That's how Jesus is going to rule the nations. In Isaiah 55, verse 11, it says, my word which goes from my mouth, it will not return to me empty. I hope the word we hear this morning will not return to God empty. It will accomplish what I desire and without succeeding in the matter in which I sent it. So I pray that God will give us a great love for his word that we will find great peace, my brothers and sisters. And let the spirit of God take the things of Jesus, take God's word and reveal them to you. It has done so much in my life. I love God's word and I can testify before God, I found great peace. Whatever situations, whatever circumstances, you can experience that also. Be diligent to be found by him in peace. And also, we see that God's word, like Peter says, we are drawn to it like a baby who's crying for milk. That's how I know 1 Peter 2, we don't have time to read it. 1 Peter starts with chapter 1, verse 22, maybe it turned there. I think it's, even if I take a little more time, it's very important. That we see where we stand, whether we are really, really born of God. That's what I want us to examine our hearts this morning. It says in verse 22, 1 Peter 1, 22, that's where it begins. And before we come to chapter 2, verse 1. Since you have an obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, 1 Peter 1, 22. Fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again. There it is, you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is God's seed. That is through the living and enduring word of God. For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, the flower falls off. But the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you, and this is the word that is being preached to you this morning. It has power in it, my brothers and sisters, to draw you to God, to draw our hearts to God, to unite our spirits with God. That God can do his work in us and what he did in the womb of Mary. What he did at the beginning of creation, he can do in your life and mine. Therefore, that's why I said, always when there's a therefore, go back, starts with verse 22. Therefore, putting aside all malice, and all deceit, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word. So that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And then it speaks about coming to him as a living stone, and we are built up into a spiritual house. And that's what God does in us. But I hope all of us here, if you say you're born again, that you have this cry in your heart, like that newborn baby cries for its mother's milk, it cannot say anything, it just cries. And until it's fed, and it's had enough, it's satisfied. That is how our life must be. You want to know whether you're really born again? Here it is, my brothers and sisters, don't deceive yourself. If you don't have a desire, you find the Bible boring, you find God's word boring. Something is wrong. Check your foundation. Check and see whether God has put a seed in you. If not, before it's too late, do something about it. We grow in respect to salvation. Growth comes from God, but growth is God gives us his word, and his word is with power, and God can do his work in us. And not only that, we become mature. Hebrews 5 verse 14, from milk we must grow to have solid food. A baby that is on milk, if it's going to be on milk all its life, you know what will happen. It needs solid food, so after a few months, I watched that with my two new grandchildren, the two boys. Now they need a little solid food, and they grow strong. Then they'll be able to take some more solid food. Then many other things, and they get strong. That's how it must be spiritually. I should not be living on milk all the time. You're coming to the meetings to hear God's word, you're living on milk. You should be growing, God should be speaking to you, God should be putting a longing and a desire in you, that you long for solid food, that you can become mature, that you can lead others, that you can help others, that you can teach others. That's what we need, that you can become shepherds, my brothers and sisters. A shepherd who knows and loves God's word, who is mature, who can lead others. That's a great need in CFC today. I pray the spirit of God would challenge some of you young men, some of you young brothers. If you don't have a desire, a love for God's word, something is wrong. Check up, go home, fall on your face before God, Lord, something is wrong. I've done that numerous times in my life. If I found when I was being defeated by sin, I'd gone on my face, Lord, am I really born again? I don't want to wake up with a shock in eternity. And I want to encourage all of you this morning, my dear brothers and sisters and dear friends, get right, time is short. Be diligent to be found by Him in peace. And great peace have they who love God's word and who obey it. You will experience that, I can testify to that. And finally, one last thing, we are to be free. Not only we can have great peace, but we can have God's peace to be a guard, to garrison us. Philippians 4, verse 5 and 7. God's peace, the word guard is a military word, a garrison. It says rejoice, Philippians 4, verse 5 to 7. Rejoice in the Lord always again, I will say rejoice. Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. That means your selfish, considerate spirit be known to all men, for the Lord is near. Always when the Holy Spirit has something very important to say to us, He reminds us, the Lord is near. Let your gentle, unselfish, considerate spirit be known to all men, even your colleagues, those who work with you. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And we can't claim the next promise unless we do what the Holy Spirit asks us to do. Be anxious for nothing, because the Lord is near. Not just because the Lord is near, but if I want what it says, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, all comprehension, will garrison, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God will guard or garrison, a military garrison, not just a sentry, just that's the word the Holy Spirit used, a garrison, will guard your heart and mind. If we allow the Holy Spirit to turn our anxieties into prayer mixed with thanksgiving, we can experience that. The peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. I will not get into unrest. I will not be disturbed. If I allow the Holy Spirit to turn my anxieties, my worries, into prayer and supplication and petition, with thanksgiving, mixed with thanksgiving, to God, and then the peace of God, and God says, just leave it to me, the peace of God is a garrison around our heart and our mind in Christ Jesus. That is God's will for us, my brothers and sisters. Recognize the things that make for peace, lest they be hidden from your eyes. There are times God draws near to us, and I believe that God is drawing near to some of us this morning to help us to see our condition, and that we would seek to make peace. And finally, the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet. You see it? The God of peace himself will crush Satan under your feet.