Spiritual Growth: Peace

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Welcome to week number three in our series on

spiritual growth. Everyone say spiritual growth.

Let's jump right in. 1 Corinthians 2 .14 says

this, the natural man... does not receive the

things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness

to him, nor can he know them, because they are

spiritually discerned. Everybody say, natural

man. 1 Corinthians 3, 1 through 3 says this,

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual

people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.

I fed you with milk and not with solid food,

for until now... you were not able to receive

it. And even now, you are still not able. For

you are still carnal. For where there are envy,

strife, and divisions among you, are you not

carnal? Behaving like mere men, or we could even

say behaving like natural men, right there. So

in these verses, we see that there are three

types of people, and these three... Types cover

everybody in the room, everybody surrounding

us. There are only three types of people. First

one described is a natural person. A natural

person is someone who is not born again. They're

unrenewed. They're led by their sensual nature.

Or we could say they're flesh. That's all they

have to follow. They have nothing else. Right?

That verse, the first verse that we read. It

says they can't receive the things of God because

they're only spiritually discerned. So this is

a person without Christ. All they have to live

by as their guide is by what feels good to them

or by what seems right in their own eyes. That's

the only way they have to live. Now, a carnal

person is a Christian. Because Paul was talking

to the believers in Corinth when he was talking

about being carnal, being babes, not being able

to handle meat, not even handling the milk very

well. A carnal person is a Christian, but they're

still living their lives like a natural person.

They're still living according to their flesh.

They're immature. They live on a childhood level

because they will not feed on the Word of God

and grow. Then we see a spiritual person. Everybody

say spiritual. A spiritual person is a Christian

who is led by the Spirit of God. We're supposed

to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit

of God. That is part of our inheritance in Christ.

So a spiritual person is a person who is led

by the Spirit of God, who's serious about the

Word of God, because the Word of God is going

to make sure By knowing the Word, we're going

to make sure that we're on the right track. Because

the Spirit of God will never lead you to do something

that is contrary to the Word of God. So a spiritual

person is someone who's growing. Look to the

person beside you and tell them it's a process.

It's a process. And we're all, all of us, including

the preacher, we're all in this same process.

of spiritual growth. But to be spiritual, we've

got to be regularly receiving the Word of God.

You've got to be daily walking in relationship

with God Himself, the Holy Spirit who is inside

of us. The same Holy Spirit who took us from

being in sin and moved us to being in Christ.

He's in us. Know you not that your body is a

temple of the Holy Spirit? If you're in Christ,

God lives in you. We're supposed to be connected

with Him. A carnal person just visits God every

once in a while. A spiritual person is connected

to God on a regular basis. So where does this

spiritual growth come from? Where does it come

from? Are you ready for another three? Had three

types of people. Right? Here's another three.

1 Thessalonians 5 .23 says this, Now may the

God of peace... Everybody say, I'm thankful that

I have a God of peace. Now may the God of peace

make you holy in every way. Everybody say, set

apart. May the God of peace make you set apart

wholly in every way. May your whole spirit and

soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord

Jesus Christ comes again. Do you see that we're

made of three parts? Can you see it right there?

Some people might debate you on this, but I think

it's very clear here in 1 Thessalonians. May

your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless

until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. So we

are three -part beings. When I say man, when

I use man, I'm talking about mankind, I'm talking

about humanity. So you are a three -part being.

You are a spirit. Everybody say, I am a spirit.

I know we've talked about this every week so

far in the series, but we need to know this.

You are a spirit. You have a soul. And you live

in a body. It's very important that you know

that you are a spirit because we are created.

in the very image of God, you being a spirit

is what separates you from every other living

thing on this earth. We're created in the image

of God, who is spirit. He's a spirit class, we

could say, of being. There are different classes

of beings. Right? There's the plant kingdom.

Got some living plants outside. There's an animal

kingdom. I've got a wonderful grand puppy, Labradoodle,

weighs almost 80 pounds, and she thinks she weighs

about 10. And then there's a spiritual kingdom.

Now, your biology teacher might just tell you

that there's a plant kingdom and an animal kingdom,

but there's another kingdom. There's a spiritual

kingdom. Three types of beings. Living natural

beings in this world. Three types. So, we are

a spirit and we have a soul. We have a soul.

And we live in a body. Everybody pinch yourself.

That's your body that goes out. Alright. So our

spirit comes alive at salvation. Comes alive

unto God at salvation. Do you remember in the

garden in Genesis where God says, hey, everything

is yours except this one tree. Do not eat from

this tree because the day you eat of it, you

will surely die. How many of you know Adam and

Eve ate from the tree? How many of you know that

they didn't have a massive heart attack and die

on the spot? But they died. Their spirit, who

they were, became detached from God. Detached

from God. Talking about spiritual death, not

just physical death. Now they began the process

physically of dying. That sin brought all that,

the physical death, but immediately there was

a separation from God that took place. Things

were different. Now, when we come into a relationship

with Christ, when we are born again, our spirit

is now united with Christ. That means we're born

again. Everybody say born again. So our spirit

is now alive unto God. And at that moment, this

is good. At that moment, you are clothed in the

righteousness of Jesus. you will never be any

more right with God than the day that you came

into a relationship with Jesus. Because His righteousness

became your righteousness. His life became your

life. His victory became your victory. So, our

spirit man comes alive at salvation. We become

righteous and complete. Fit for heaven. Right

at that point. But our souls, how we've been

living our lives up until that point, because

our spirits were dead to God, we had to just

make it on our own until we come into a relationship

with Christ. And we're just soul beings. I'm

a soul man. Alright. I'm glad some of you woke

up. We just live by our souls. What is your soul?

Well, your soul is comprised of three more things.

Everybody say three more. It's comprised of your

mind, your will, and your emotions. Let's break

it down so we can understand it even more. Your

soul is comprised of your thought life. You're

always thinking something. That's in the soulish

realm. Your thought life, your desires, you're

always wanting something too. And your feelings.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, feelings. And we can have some

great feelings and emotions. We can have some

God feelings and emotions. But every feeling

and emotion that we experience is not a God feeling

or emotion. Sometimes our emotions and our feelings,

if we decide that we're going to live by our

emotions and feelings instead of living by our

spirit, we're going to have a rough life. But

see, that's all we know to live in until we...

Find out those things that are from the Spirit

that are only spiritually discerned. And the

Holy Spirit always calls us to come up higher.

Always. Always. So the difference between a carnal

person and a spiritual person is the spiritual

growth of the soul or the lack thereof. The spiritual

growth of our thought life. The spiritual growth

of our desires. The spiritual growth of our emotions

and feelings. Do you know all those things can

grow spiritually? When they're led by the Spirit.

When the Spirit of God who is... completely connected

with you as you are a spirit, then when He helps

us and empowers us and shows us and brings revelation

to us, then it can begin to impact and take charge

over our soul. And as that happens, Our flesh

is even going to start getting in line. Hello?

How many of you would agree with me that your

flesh could be a little bit more in line than

it is right now? How many of you agree with me

that your soul, your thought life could be a

little bit more in line? Your desires could be

a little bit... Your emotions and feelings could

be a little bit... Some people think that spiritual

maturity is measured by how long you've been

a Christian. That's not the case. Because time,

unlike physical growth, time makes no difference

whether you grow spiritually or not. You could

be a Christian for one year and be more spiritually

mature than everybody in this room, including

the preacher. So spiritual maturity is not measured

by how long you've been a Christian, how often

you attend worship services. Boy, I'm mature

because I go to church every week. I ain't going

to say it. Spiritual maturity is not measured

by how loud you worship. What kind of show you

put on when you're worshiping? Spiritual maturity

is not even measured by how much scripture you

can quote. We went around the room and said,

okay, give me all the Bible verses you know.

And we couldn't say that the person who knew

the most Bible verses was the most spiritual

in the room. Because you can know a lot of Bible

verses and still be mean. Has anybody ever met

some mean person in a church somewhere? Has anybody

ever met a sour person in church? It's no matter

how much you go to church or how many scriptures

you can quote. That's not spiritual maturity.

How is spiritual maturity measured? Luke 6, 43.

And 44 says this, A good tree does not bear bad

fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For

every tree is known by its own fruit. So spiritual

growth, then, is measured by spiritual fruit.

And you know that you're growing if the fruit

of the Spirit is constantly increasing. You know

that you're spiritually growing if the fruit

of the Spirit is evidenced in your life, in your

daily walk, not just in the time on Sunday morning

or at life group. Not just in those times. I'm

talking about when you're at work. I'm talking

about when you're at school. I'm talking about

when you're home. Is the fruit of the Spirit

evidenced in your life? And here's the deal.

We're not having this series so that you can

look at your family member, your husband, your

wife, your kids, your parents. We're not having

this series so that you can look at somebody

else and say, well, you're not being very spiritual.

This whole thing is about a self -examination.

Let's examine our own hearts. Let's examine our

own lives. I've said this before in this series,

but I'm going to say it again. You know, if I

ask myself, How spiritual I am? My answer is

almost always, if not always, always going to

be, I think I'm a whole lot more spiritual than

I am. That's going to be my answer. Oh, I'm going

to be real spiritual because I'm the preacher.

Listen, it don't matter what I think. What matters?

is if the fruit of the Spirit is increasing and

evident in my life. And I would say that I'm

like every single one of us. There are times

when it's not very evident. Come on, somebody.

Don't shout me down while I'm preaching good.

Because we face circumstances and situations

and then all of a sudden, All of a sudden, love

is not evidenced in my life. All of a sudden,

joy is not evidenced in my life. And today, all

of a sudden, peace is not evident in my life.

Week number three, so we're going to be talking

about peace. Everybody say peace. Galatians 5,

22 and 23, there's a list of the fruit of the

Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. Everybody

say love. Joy and peace. Fruit of the Spirit.

Things in our life that should be growing and

should be evident all the time. Somebody say

all the time. All the time. No matter what we

face. No matter what we encounter. Because if

we lose it, here's what that means. If it's not

evidenced in our lives when we face a challenging

situation, if love is not evidenced, if joy is

not evidenced, if peace is not evidenced, then

we're depending on natural love, joy, and peace.

But spiritual love, joy, and peace is something

supernatural. So we're supposed to have a whole

different level. When we're in Christ, when we

are growing spiritually, oh, we need to be at

a whole different level. A supernatural level

of love and joy and peace. That's what's available

to us. See, and I'm not saying that you've got

to work it up in the flesh. Because some people

can listen to what I'm talking about and all

of a sudden they can start feeling guilty and

condemned. That's not what's happening here.

I'm telling you that there's something supernatural

available to you that's fruit of the Holy Spirit

that's going to flow. Everybody say flow. It's

something that's going to flow from your spirit

to your soul to your flesh to the world. It's

going to flow. And I'll go ahead and throw it

in. That's another way to tell if you've got

the supernatural kind or not. Because it's going

to flow. And people around you are going to notice

it and see it. And it becomes a testimony of

the goodness of God. And that's where we need

to live. In the flow. Whoo! The word peace. Here's

the Greek word, reine. Peace, and in the strongest

concordance, has this quietness, rest, to set

at one. How many of you know if you're just all

scattered and crazy that you're not having peace?

I mean, that's just like, it's all just wow.

Maybe not on the outside, but on the inside.

Does your inside ever go wow? Too much overload.

Set at one. And then I pulled this word from

the New American Standard Concordance. Because

I think it will help us understand a little bit

more. Peace is being undisturbed. You like that?

I liked it. Undisturbed. I want you to let that

sink in this week. Because if you have supernatural

peace, you're going to be undisturbed. How many

of you know there's going to be some things that's

going to happen today or this week? that are

going to try to take you out of being undisturbed

and make you very disturbed. If you're alive

in this world, right? But this supernatural peace

that I'm talking about is just living your life

undisturbed. It's available. It's available.

In Christ, it's available. See, we're living

in a world filled with chaos. Everybody around

us is anxious. Everybody's fearful. Everybody's

overwhelmed. Everybody's mentally exhausted.

Sometimes it's us. See, anybody can have natural

peace. Anyone can be peaceful when their bank

account's full. Anyone can be peaceful when their

doctor's report is good. Anybody can be peaceful

when all their relationships are just going really

well. Anyone can be peaceful when their future

seems bright. It's like, boy, sunny horizon ahead.

But that's just natural peace. Natural peace.

The Bible says that God has given us everything

we need. He's already given it. Somebody say,

He's already given it. He's given us everything

we need for life and godliness. He's already

given it. It's already yours. If you're in Christ,

it's already yours. Everything you need for life

and godliness, it's yours. You don't have to

beg for it. You just have to receive it. God

has given us everything we need to keep us steady.

Even when our lives and the situations around

us begin to feel unstable, God has already given

you everything you need to keep you steady. If

your mind just said, oh, I wish, he's already

given it. You just have to receive it. Let's...

Talk about it a little bit deeper. Look at the

person beside you and say, go deeper. Go deep.

Your peace, or lack thereof, begins in your mind.

That's where it begins. It doesn't begin with

the things that are going on around you. You

might think it begins there, but it doesn't.

Because two people can see the same thing, go

through the same experience. Hello? See the same

thing, go through the same experience. And one

can have peace, and one can be tore up. Your

peace begins in your mind. Your lack of peace

begins in your mind. Now, if you were here for

our last series, Jeffrey gave an illustration

that there's always birds flying over your head.

Thoughts. Everybody say thoughts. Birds represent

thoughts. So there's always birds flying over

your head. You can't control. Whether the birds

are flying over your head or not. But you can

control which one of them builds a nest in your

hair. You can control what you set your mind

on. You can control how you process. See, your

mind controls how you process what you see, what

you experience. You process it in your thought

life. Here's what God says. Isaiah 26, verse

Isaiah 26:3

3. Does anybody want more peace than you have

today? Somebody help me out. I'm telling you

how to get it. I don't know if you saw my post

this morning, but I said, if you're searching

for peace, come to church today, and I'm going

to tell you where to find it. Isaiah 26, 3. God

will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him

and all whose thoughts, everybody say thoughts,

all whose thoughts are fixed on Him. You as God.

God, you will keep in perfect peace. everyone

who trusts in you, you will keep them in perfect

peace. If they keep their thoughts fixed on you,

you will keep them in perfect peace. Everybody

say expectation. See, when you know the truth,

you have to let it affect your expectation. Maybe

you need to write this down and say this, this

afternoon when you leave church. God, my thoughts

are fixed on you. God, I trust you. So I expect

you to keep me in perfect peace. That's setting

your words in agreement with God. Romans 8, 5

and 6. Listen to this. Those who are dominated

by the sinful nature think about sinful things.

Everybody say natural. Everybody say carnal.

Natural people and carnal people are dominated

by their sinful nature and they think about sinful

things. They set their minds on things that are

contrary to what God has provided, what God has

promised. natural and carnal people. People who

aren't being transformed by the Holy Spirit through

the Word of God. Let's continue. Romans 8, 5

and 6. Those who are dominated by the sinful

nature think about sinful things, but those who

are controlled by the Holy Spirit, everybody

say spiritual people, those who are controlled

by the Holy Spirit think about things that please

the Spirit. Is worry natural or spiritual? Hello?

We're just putting it down where the rubber meets

the road. Setting your mind on something that

brings worry is natural. As a matter of fact,

Jesus said that's the way carnal people think.

That's the way natural people think. Remember

from our last series? I mean, I don't have it

up here, but where Jesus said, you know, don't

worry about what you're going to eat, what you're

going to wear. He said, look at the birds. Consider

the birds. Here's what He's telling us. We may

look and see lack of food or clothes. That's

natural. But Jesus said, don't look at that.

He said, look at the birds. Look at the flowers.

Look at the faithfulness of God is ultimately

what He's saying. Look at the faithfulness of

God. Consider the faithfulness of God. Think

about the faithfulness of God. Don't think about

the lack. Think about the goodness and faithfulness

of God. You might say, well, what's that going

to do? It's going to open up the gate to God's

supernatural ability and power to work in your

life. That's what it's going to do. Those who

are dominated by the sinful nature think about

sinful things, but those who are controlled by

the Spirit think about things that please the

Spirit. Letting your sinful nature control your

mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control

your mind leads to life and peace. Somebody say

peace. Peace. You might say, well, how do I let

the Spirit control my mind? You've got to acknowledge

Him. You've got to consult Him. You've got to

walk with Him. You've got to know what the Word

of God says about your peace. You've got to side

with what God says instead of what situations

and circumstances in this world says. Everybody

say thought life. If you're not experiencing

peace, chances are your thought life has to change.

Talked about the birds, but you can think of

it this way. You know, at MCO, there's a control

tower. At the Orlando International Airport,

there's a control tower. And the control tower's

in charge. Hello? Don't try to read ahead. Look

at me. The control tower is in charge of who's

going to land and when they're going to land.

They're in charge. Your mind functions like the

control tower of your life. Listen, whatever

you allow into your thinking, whatever you set

your mind on, See, different thoughts are going

to come. Different planes are going to try to

land. You know, it's coming in, but whatever

you allow into your thinking begins landing in

your emotions. And if the wrong planes start

landing in your emotions, you're going to start

walking and living by your emotions. and by your

feelings, and you're going to be on a crazy roller

coaster because it's going to be up and down

and up and down and up and down and up and down

and spin and turn and woo, up and down and down

and up. Supernatural peace of God is not affected

by natural circumstances. There is a peace that

is higher. Than natural peace. A peace that is

unaffected. Here's an example. Mark 4, verse

Mark 4:35–41

35 through 41. As evening came, Jesus came to

his disciples. Let's cross to the other side

of the lake. So they took Jesus in the boat and

started out, leaving the crowds behind, although

other boats followed. But soon, a fierce storm

came up. High waves were breaking into the boat.

It began to fill with water. Somebody say, oh

no. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat

with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke

him up shouting, teacher, don't you care that

we're going to drown? Does that seem like us

sometimes? Hey Jesus, don't you care that this

is about to kill me? Don't you care about what's

going on in my life? Don't you care about what

I'm facing? Jesus, don't you care? My son tells

me I'm not supposed to say stupid anymore, but

that's stupid. I mean, I didn't grow up with

stupid being a cuss word. So I'm not cussing.

If you think I just cussed, I didn't cuss. Who

are we to say and question that Jesus cares about

us or not? What kind of thought is that? A wrong

thought. Jesus, don't you care? Of course Jesus

cares. He always cares. There's nothing that

comes into your life that He's not concerned

about, that He don't care about. And there's

nothing that comes into your life that, listen,

He hasn't already provided the way of escape.

He's already provided everything you need for

life. He's already done it. He did it on the

cross. Teacher, don't you care what I'm going

through right now? Jesus, don't you care? Of

course he cares. When Jesus woke up, see, he

was sleeping through the storm because he had

supernatural peace. The disciples were saying,

don't you care? We're about to die. They were

in panic. They were in fear. Well, they only

had natural peace. When Jesus woke up, He rebuked

the wind and said to the waves, Silence, be still.

Suddenly the wind stopped and there was a great

calm. Then He asked them, Hey guys, why are you

afraid? Do you still have no faith? Do you still

have no faith? Why are you so afraid? And that's

the same thing Jesus asked me and you when we

go into a situation and we have no peace because

all we have is natural peace and he's given us

supernatural peace and he's like, wait a minute.

Why are you afraid? Where's your faith? So faith

is involved in having the peace of God. Listen,

supernatural peace is not the absence of storms.

It's the constant and complete confidence. That's

a lot of C's together. It's the constant and

complete confidence in God during the storms.

Should I say it again? Supernatural peace is

not the absence of storms. It is the constant

and complete confidence in God during the storms.

Peace grows where trust grows. It's one thing

to sing, I trust in God, right? It's another

thing to really trust Him in everyday life. And

peace will grow where trust grows. Are you a

thermostat or a thermometer? Everybody's done

right ahead. I'm going to quit putting it up

there and just have notes up here for me to read.

God is calling us to be thermostats, not thermometers.

A thermometer just reacts to the environment

around it. But a thermostat changes the environment.

I thought it was good too. John 14, 27. You might

say, well, you know, you keep saying that Jesus

gave me this supernatural peace. Can you show

me? Can you tell me when he did this? Well, he

did it before he even went back to heaven, before

he even died on the cross. John 14, 27, he says,

I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and

heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world

cannot give. The world cannot give you supernatural

peace. But Jesus has already given you this supernatural

peace. And then he says this. So, since I've

given you this supernatural peace, don't be troubled.

It's a choice. Don't be afraid. Don't be troubled.

You might say, do you really think I can live

my life without being troubled, without being

afraid? Me personally, I don't know if you can

or not, but Jesus said you can. Is that not what

it says? I didn't write this. This is the Bible.

When are we going to start believing the Bible?

Hallelujah. Peace is a gift that must be received.

How many of you know that you have to receive

salvation? Jesus died on the cross for your sin,

for my sin. Just because He died on the cross,

does that mean that everybody who's ever lived

and ever will live will be forgiven? No. Was

his sacrifice enough on the cross? Yes. It's

available for everyone. The Bible says, God said,

it's not my will that any should perish, but

that all should come to faith. But salvation

is a gift, but it has to be received. And listen,

everything that God has for you works just like

that. Just like that. It's a grace gift from

God. Peace is a grace gift from God. Joy is a

grace gift from God. We talked about joy last

week. All these things are grace gifts from God.

But we have to receive them. Philippians 4, 6

-7. Here's some more verses. Don't worry about

anything. Could it get any more direct or plain

than that? Don't worry about anything. Instead,

pray about everything. And I'm not talking about

just begging God. I'm talking about declaring

heavenly realities in your prayer. Pray about

everything. Listen, tell God what you need and

thank Him for all He has done. Then. When is

then? Well, you've got to not worry about anything.

You've got to pray about everything. And then

you've got to talk to God about what you need

and you've got to thank Him. You've got to do

these things first before the then happens. Then

you will experience God's peace which exceeds

anything we can understand naturally or humanly.

His peace. will guard your heart. His peace will

guard your mind as you live in Christ Jesus.

It's powerful. Powerful. Living in Christ. refusing

to worry about anything, praying and keeping

an open communication with God, being thankful

for all He has given and all He's done and all

He's provided, just being thankful and grateful.

Supernatural peace begins to flow. And it's not

like the world's peace, because the world's peace

depends on what's going on around you. Supernatural

peace. Doesn't matter what's going on around

you. You can have it. You can have it. It'll

guard your heart and mind. There's the Greek

word. Pharreo. It means to guard, it means to

protect, it means to keep watch over your heart

and your mind. Romans 14, 17, we quote this verse

a lot around here. The kingdom of God is not

about eating and drinking. It's not about the

rules. I spent so many years in my Christian

experience thinking that there was a set of rules

that I had to keep and do things that I do, things

that I don't do, and it was all just about me

and my performance. But that's not what the kingdom

of God is about. The kingdom of God is not about

eating and drinking. It's about righteousness.

It's about being right with God through what

Jesus did on the cross. It's about righteousness.

It's about peace. Everybody say peace. It's about

joy in the Holy Spirit. Those are the markers

of whether we're on the right track or not, spiritually.

Not living in guilt and shame and condemnation.

Living in the righteousness of God in Christ

Jesus. Having the peace of God that surpasses

all human understanding. Having the joy of the

Lord as our strength in the Holy Spirit. Those

are markers. Those are markers. In this verse

we see that peace is one of the predominant expressions

of the kingdom of God. Oh, please receive this.

How many people are living in the kingdom of

God? Just me and Kate. Okay, some hands are late.

Some of your hands are real late. It's okay.

How many of you want to live in the kingdom of

God? In the eternal rule and reign of God? Who

wants to live there? Peace is one of the predominant

expressions of people who are rightly connected

to God, connected to Christ. He's the vine. We're

the branches. When we remain connected, when

we abide, we will bear much fruit. Listen, here's

the sad part. You can hear Bible verses until

your ears are full. Does anybody, your ears just

get full? That's a saying that, I don't know,

I think I got it from Gayna's family out in North

Carolina. But it's like, my ears are full. Anybody

know what I'm talking about? You've heard so

much that your ears are full. See, we read a

lot of Bible verses about peace, and you can

hear Bible verses until your ears are full. Preacher,

be quiet. My ears are full. My butt's tired and

my ears are full. See, it doesn't matter. I mean,

faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word

of God, but you can hear, hear, hear, hear, hear,

hear, hear. But listen, I've discovered something.

There will be no transformation until what you

hear becomes alive in you. Until the Word becomes

alive in you. I've seen people... that have no

peace, no evidence of peace in their life, and

somebody else has no peace, and then they start

quoting verses. The person who is not walking

in peace and has no peace, they start quoting

verses about peace to somebody else who needs

the peace of God. And they know all the verses,

but they hadn't become alive. How do those verses

become alive? I'm glad you asked. John 16, 13,

but when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will

guide you into all truth. He will not speak on

His own. He will speak only what He hears, and

He will tell you what is yet to come. He will

glorify me. This is Jesus talking about the Holy

Spirit, unless you haven't figured that out.

He will glorify me because it is from me that

He will receive what He will make known to you.

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That

is why I said the Spirit will receive from me

and He will make known to you. The Holy Spirit,

God the Holy Spirit, takes hold of the promises

and the provisions of God and then He declares

them, He intensifies them to us and in us. He's

the one who connects. He's the one who brings

this revelation, which is something that can

transform your life instead of just increasing

your intellect. We're talking about transforming.

Having the peace of God that surpasses all understanding

is spiritual transformation happening in the

face of trouble or circumstances. This is why

love, joy, and peace are called the fruit of

the Spirit. I had that aha moment in between

last week and this week. It's like, aha! It's

not just knowing the verses or hearing the verses.

It's the Holy Spirit taking the things of God,

the promises of God, the gifts of God. My peace,

I... Leave with you. My peace I give to you.

Not as a world peace. The Holy Spirit, He's the

one who takes that and says, this is for you.

And when you read it, it's like, it's for me.

It's for me. It moves from, boy, I sure would

like it, to it's mine. It's mine. I receive it.

Jesus wasn't just spouting a bunch of words.

He was talking to me. It's mine. These thoughts,

I'm kicking them out. No vacancy anymore because

I have the truth. I'm established in what God

has promised, in what God has said. I am now

established that I have the peace of God. My

mind is stayed on him. He's going to keep me

in perfect peace. 1 Corinthians 2, 14. Remember,

we started with this. A natural man doesn't receive

the things of the Spirit of God. We could say

the carnal man, the born -again believer who's

not walking in the Spirit. Who's not in the Word

of God. They're not going to receive the things

of the Spirit of God. Pieces of the Spirit of

God. Some people could listen to everything I

say and say, that's just foolishness, Dean. That's

foolishness. You don't know what I'm going through.

You don't know what I've been through. What you're

talking is just a bunch of foolishness. I'm sorry.

Sorry that you can't know them. Sorry that you

can't know it, that you can't have it, that you

can't get it, because it's spiritually discerned.

Spiritually discerned. The Holy Spirit connects

us to the promises. And then our faith, by faith

we receive the promises. We hear that empowered

word, that anointed word. That now word from

God. You can memorize a Bible verse and it still

not be a now word from God for you. Then we have

to believe it. Have to wholeheartedly believe

it. Have confidence. Then we need to start aligning

our words and our thoughts with what God says.

It's not going to be just like poof. It's going

to take some work. I know everybody in the room

would just like to come up here and me just touch

you on the head and you just be just flooded

with the peace of God. Because we just want the

easy way. We just want the easy way. I'll pray

for anybody who wants to be prayed for. But I'm

telling you, if you're going to walk in the peace

of God that surpasses understanding, you're going

to have to put in some work yourself. You're

going to have to take over your thoughts. You're

going to have to decide what's going to land

in your mind and land in your emotions. You're

going to have to participate. And if you're sitting

there saying, well, it won't work for me, bless

your heart, it won't. It won't work for you.

If you say it won't work for you, I'm just going

to go ahead and tell you it won't work for you.

But I think I've just established that that's

what God wants for you. That's what God has given

for you. It is available for you. But if your

thought life says you can't have it, then you

can't have it. Last slide. Somebody say hallelujah,

he's done. Look. I want us to walk in peace.

I want you to walk in peace. Bigger than that,

God wants you to walk in peace. This will change

your life. I'm not interested in it changing

your intellect. I'm interested in it transforming

your life. The Word of God will transform your

life. And the measure of your peace on bad days,

on difficult days, the measure of your peace

We'll let you know the measure of your spiritual

maturity. Don't be condemned. Because the Holy

Spirit is calling you to rise up. The Holy Spirit

is calling you to receive. He's calling you to

rise up. Not to be condemned. Not to start beating

yourself up. That's not from God. So if that's

the thoughts that are hitting your head, you

say, nope, that's not from God. Nope, that's

not from God. God doesn't bring me shame and

condemnation. God brings me life. This online

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