The Temple of the Holy Spirit – The Peace of God

And we've been in a series called The Temple of the Holy Spirit.

The Temple of the Holy Spirit.

How many have enjoyed that series so far?

Amen.

Praise the Lord.

So if you've been following along in our series, you'll notice that because of the death of Jesus and his resurrection, you have not only gained access to salvation, and you not only have gained access to a new life, but you have gained access to becoming the very temple of the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead.

You understand that this morning?

Everyone should be saying, Praise the Lord for that one.

So when we give our lives to Jesus, and when we recognize our need for a Savior and surrender our lives to the Lord, what happens is now that we have allowed Jesus to usher in the Holy Spirit into our lives.

And what happens?

A change begins to happen inside of us.

Scripture tells us that we become a new creation, a new creature.

So now no longer are we just an empty, broken down vessel with some type of potential, but now you are living, you are a living, breathing, intentional, called and chosen child of God who is an important part of God's family.

Amen.

I want to repeat that this morning.

When you have, when you've surrendered your life to Christ, you're a new creation.

And what's happening is now that you are a living, you are living, you are breathing, you're intentional, you're a called and chosen child of God, an important part of God's family.

All of us play a part, all of us have an important role, no matter what it might be.

You all are children of God.

Amen?

Amen.

Let's look at 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 19 through 20.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20

And this is kind of the key verse as we go in through our series, 1 Corinthians 6.

It says, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own, for you have been bought for a price.

Therefore, glorify God in your body.

And I want to pause there just for a second.

That word body in the Greek is called soma S-O-M-A.

And that's referring to not just a spiritual thing happening, but it's it's your it's your whole person, body, soul, and spirit.

So when you give your life to Christ, you're giving your body to him.

So what you do with your body should be glorifying him.

Your mental capacity, how you think, what you do, you're giving it to him, so that in that mental capacity, you're glorifying him in that aspect as well.

And of course, spiritually, the same thing.

We're giving glory to him.

And how do we do all this?

By having a relationship with him.

That's how we give glory with our body, body, soul, and spirit.

Amen.

So when you read that, it's not just talking about your spiritual person, it's talking about every aspect of who you are.

So when you gave your life to Jesus Christ, a change was made inside of you.

The Holy Spirit moved in and began and is doing a work in you.

So no longer death, but life.

No longer a waste of time, but life now has a purpose.

Why?

Because the Holy Spirit took residence inside of you to transform you and to make you to the best version of yourself.

And you hear that a lot of times, and you might think the best version of myself, meaning, like, am I just I'm just trying to be the best version of me.

No, the best version of yourself is what scripture says, it's making you into the image of Christ.

You understand that this morning?

The best version of yourself is reflecting who God is in your life.

So you might think, well, I'm already perfect.

I don't need that.

I don't need to be changed, I'm already good.

No.

That's wrong thinking.

Watch out for the lightning bolt.

I'm stepping away from you if that's you this morning.

I believe we haven't even met the full person that God has intended us to be.

See, it's a continuing process as we go through this life.

Paul calls it a race, it's perseverance, it takes discipline.

We continue to move and step and have our being in Him, and we continue to walk after the things of Him every day of our lives.

It's not just a Sunday thing, it's not just a Wednesday or a Friday thing, it's every day of our lives.

We are seeking a place where the Lord can transform our lives so we can become the best version of ourselves.

See, a person who operates in love and kindness.

We want to be easy to forgive.

We want to move with confidence and power.

We want a people, we want to be a people who speaks the word.

And you can continue to be who you are, and you can run after the things of the spirit, because that's what we're supposed to be doing.

But so if you're not running after the things of the spirit, who are you, who are you really?

Think about that this morning.

If you're not if you're not focusing on the things of God, you're not actively asking the Holy Spirit to transform you, who are you?

Who are you really?

What are you doing?

This is just the facade.

You're just kind of going through the motions.

That's not who God has called you to be.

He is a real God, he has power, he has presence, he has love, and he wants to instill that inside of you and transform you.

As we continue through this series, Pastor Stephen talked about greater things, greater things that we will do.

We see in the book of Acts that when before Jesus ascends into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, he promises up us what?

The Holy Spirit.

So the Holy Spirit came in the upper room with 120 and it poured out upon all the flesh that was there.

And I believe the Holy Spirit is still moving and still filling and still baptizing men and women of God, filling them with his presence and his power.

Why?

To be his witnesses.

How many know we all have a job to do?

It's not just, it's not just get all these, get all these blessings, and that it.

No.

We we have a job to do.

We have a job.

We are called ambassadors of Christ.

We are witnesses of Christ.

We share about the good things that He can do, what He can do for you.

And you use your own life as a testimony.

Look where He took me out of.

Look where I was.

Does that mean you have to be a perfect person, a perfect Christian to share the good news with somebody?

No.

If that was the case, no one would be sharing the good news.

Pastor Stephen also talked about the spirit of truth a couple weeks ago.

He said, You and I being the temple of the Holy Spirit, we need to realize that the source of all truth and all wisdom and all understanding and all revelation is living inside of you.

John 14, 17 says, in verses 25 through 26, it says, The helper.

It says, the helper is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, but it does not see him or know him.

But you know him because why?

He remains with you and what?

Will be in you.

Verse 25 says, These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and remind you of all the things that I have said to you.

See, there are so many who choose to rely on their own truth, their own understanding, their own opinion.

And where do they find themselves?

They find themselves deceived, taken advantage of, stressed, depressed, worried, and constantly starting back over again.

In the book of Acts, it talks about Stephen, a man who stood up for truth, even in the face of losing his own life.

See, Stephen was operating in truth as he was a person of high regard and full of wisdom.

He was willing to put his life on the line for truth, knowing there is freedom.

Listen to this.

Knowing that there is freedom in truth and there is a future in truth, and the truth is Jesus Christ.

See, this morning I want to highlight another aspect of the Holy Spirit, another characteristic of the Holy Spirit.

And that is the peace of God.

The peace of God.

And if you look at John chapter 14, if you have your Bibles, your phones, whoever you want to look at, it's up here on the screen.

John 14 · chapter mention

John chapter 14, verse 27 says, Peace I leave you.

John 14:27

My peace I give you.

Not as the world gives, do I give to you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.

Another version says, I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart.

And the peace I give you is a gift the world cannot give.

So don't be troubled or afraid.

So as Jesus is talking about his return to the as his return to the Father, preparing his disciples for what is still to come, he's telling them, When I leave, I'm going to give you peace.

My peace I'm going to give to you.

And that's the peace you want operating in your life.

Amen.

That's the peace you want operating in your life.

I'm not looking for the world's peace.

That's a false and hopeless peace.

I'm looking for the peace that passes all understanding.

I'm looking for the peace that the Lord gives us.

Something beyond that we can even comprehend.

So if you were to ask someone, what is peace?

What is peace?

You'd probably get a variety of answers.

You hear phrases like, peace, finally, I got some peace and quiet.

Those kids went to bed and they're asleep.

All the new moms and dads out there, right?

Or if you want to make peace with somebody, something happened, some kind of uh conflict.

Let's make peace, let's talk this out.

We hear weddings, speak now.

Well, you don't really hear this one anymore, but speak now or forever hold your peace.

Someone might pass away, and people say finally he's at peace.

Or rest in peace.

When I go to heaven, I'm gonna say peace out.

See you later.

How about all the old hippies out there?

Any old hippies?

I don't know, you're older, turn your hairnate up a little bit.

You might not hear me.

All the old hippies, what did they say?

Peace and love, man, that's groovy.

But if you look up the definition of peace, peace is defined, is defined as the state of harmony, marked by the absence of war, violence, hostility, or even mental anxiety.

And yes, peace can be a state of mind or an atmosphere or a feeling, but peace, as described by Christ, is sourced from the Holy Spirit.

It comes from the Holy Spirit, which for believers is residing inside of us, residing inside of you.

So you might not realize it, but you have the peace of the Lord inside of you already.

So in the same passage where Jesus is talking about sending the Spirit of truth as it returns to the Father, he tells the disciples that he is leaving them with peace, and it's his peace.

And when I think of Jesus in peace, I think of Jesus on the boat with his disciples, and a great storm had developed.

Everybody knows that story?

The disciples were afraid, they were running around the boat thinking that they were gonna die, trying to throw the water out of the boat.

And where was Jesus?

He's sleeping in the middle of the storm.

And sometimes I I I like to think, like read between the lines to try to make it a little funny.

I don't think Jesus was really sleeping, I think he was pretending.

And he hears them running around, he hears Peter, oh no, we're gonna die! And he's just rolling his eyes like oh no, my bucket fell overboard.

Oh, oh brother, these guys, what are they thinking?

So they come downstairs and he pretends he's sleeping.

That's not in the Bible.

I made that part up, so none of that was there.

But they were they were afraid.

I want to look at Mark.

We're gonna read this story.

Mark chapter 4, verse 39.

Mark 4:39

It says, and a great windstorm arose, and he rebuked the winds and the waves, and the waves beat against the boat, and so that was already filling.

But he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow, and they awoke him, and they said to him, Teacher, teacher, don't you even care?

We're going to die, we're gonna perish.

And then he arose and rebuked the winds and the waves and the sea, and he says, Peace be still.

And immediately the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

And he said to them, Why are you so fearful?

Why are you so fearful?

How is it that you have no faith?

And they feared him.

The disciples feared him exceedingly, and some other versions say they were terrified.

And they said to one another, Who can this be?

Who is this man that even the winds and the waves obey him?

See, with just his words, Jesus spoke peace into the storm.

Even while the storm was going on, Jesus was asleep on his pillow.

It didn't terrify him, he wasn't scared.

Why?

Because he knew he had power and there was peace that was operating in his life.

And we know this because when Jesus was baptized in the beginning of his ministry by John the Baptist, we see that the skies opened up, and the scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove.

And he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And Jesus is operating in power, Jesus is operating in peace, Jesus is operating in the Holy Spirit as he goes about healing and restoring and bringing life and wisdom and peace to this broken world.

And Jesus says, Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you.

Not the world's peace, but my peace.

Peace that can calm the storms of your life.

That's why you have peace.

And even while you're in the midst of the storm, you can be asleep and not have to worry about anything because you know who has who's going to fight your battles for you.

Even in the midst of those storms.

People might look at you and say, What is wrong with you?

You're you're the you just got a bad report of the doctor.

How are you happy?

Because I got the joy of the Lord.

What's going on?

You just something, you just lost your job.

How are you happy?

Because my strength's in the in the Lord.

My focus is on him.

He's gonna take care of me.

He knows what he's gonna open the doors for me to walk through.

I don't have to worry about anything.

The Bible tells us when worried, when we were worried or anxiousness comes upon us, what are we to do with those things, those negative thoughts?

We take captive, we take them captive, and we give them to the Lord, and he takes care of those things so that we can be free to do his will.

We can be free to communicate with him through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That's the God who we serve.

The God who loves you, wants to take care of you, who doesn't want you running around like a chicken with your head cut off, all stressed out and worried about life.

That's not the God who you serve.

The God who you serve is gonna take care of you and prepare a way for you.

He's gonna close doors that you don't that you don't need to walk through, and he's gonna open doors that you that he wants you to walk through.

Even in the midst of the storm.

Sometimes, I've said this before, sometimes as you're walking through life, a storm happens, and he can take you out of that storm immediately.

He can move you to the left, he can move you to the right, he can take you over, he can take you under.

But sometimes he has you walk right through that storm, and you have to walk through the storm.

But that doesn't mean you're alone, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they're in that furnace.

There was that fourth man in the fire.

And that fourth man is inside of you, and he's gonna lead and guide you, amen.

You gotta get that inside of you.

When we talk about peace, peace is also a fruit of the spirit.

It's something as Christians that we should be producing in our lives.

People shouldn't see us being chaotic and running around, being stressed.

Like what kind of reflection of that's the God you serve?

A God who's running around doesn't know what they're going there and there is all over the place in their life?

That's not that's not who you're supposed to be.

So after Jesus ascends into the heavens, he sends the comforter, the helper, our advocate.

Jesus puts his peace in us as we as we become the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And now you carry the peace of Jesus Christ.

You carry the peace that passes all understanding.

Philippians 4 7 says, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding, understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

See, peace will spend their entire lives looking for the peace of God.

Maybe you've met someone who's always looking for peace in their life and they're looking all in the wrong places.

One of my favorite sermons, my father-in-law used to preach, PT, Pastor Tom.

He used to preach about peace, and he would use Elvis and Judy Garland as this example.

And you could tell if he was a little older, because some of you guys, some of you people here are like, who's Judy Garland?

You can look her up.

But it was about them looking for peace and never finding peace in their lives.

Why?

Because people want world peace.

People want peace in their community.

People and people want peace in their schools and their jobs.

They want peace in their families, but the problem is they're looking for peace in the wrong places.

In order for you to have peace and to have and peace to take place in your life, you need to find community with God first.

You need to have a relationship with God first.

You need to surrender your life to Him in order to have that peace.

See, mankind was created to do good works with God at the center of it all.

See, man without God doesn't even know how to get along with itself.

Why do you think there's so much depression and so much war and fighting all throughout history?

And even today and in the future, the same thing's gonna happen.

Because there is no true peace outside of God.

There's no peace in the world, there's no peace amongst your brothers and sisters, there's no peace in your community, there's no peace unless God is in it.

Because not only is God the author of peace, but he is also our peace.

He is the source of peace.

And I want to read these this verse to you.

It's from Ephesians chapter 2, verses 11 through 14.

Ephesians 2:11–14

And it says, Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders.

You were called uncircumcised heathens by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it only affected their bodies and not their hearts.

In those days you were living apart from Christ, you were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them.

You lived in the world with without God and without hope, but now you have been unified and united with Christ Jesus.

Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

For Christ Himself has brought peace to us.

Christ Himself has brought peace to us.

He united Jews and Gentiles into one people, when in his own body when in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.

So no man or woman will ever experience true peace until they come into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Because the scripture says he is our peace.

You might think you're getting along with your brother or sister, or this nation might be getting along with that nation.

And it's just for our time being.

But until Jesus Christ comes into the mix, what you're experiencing in your life is just a pause.

It's not true peace.

Because people are tired and busy, maybe they're thinking about something else.

But then what happens?

We see that how fragile peace can be when it's not of God.

And all it takes is one comment, an opinion, a thoughtless act, even just a bad day to start, and things happen.

There's no peace in your life, there's no peace in a nation.

Whereas a revelation that Jesus is our peace and has made it possible for the Spirit of Peace to dwell inside of us, calming every storm.

Bringing clarity, bringing wisdom, bringing security, a freedom to forgive and to let go.

So before Christ, you and I couldn't even get along.

Maybe it wasn't even possible.

Maybe we wouldn't like each other.

But because of Christ, we're now family.

But now because of the Holy Spirit, because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we can be at peace with each other and at peace with God.

Amen.

And I want to read this scripture to you.

This is the second half of that scripture.

It's from Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Ephesians 2 again.

And it says this He did this by ending the system of law with his commandments and regulations.

He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating himself one new people from two groups.

Together, as one body, this is so important.

Listen to this.

Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross.

And our hostility toward each other was put to death.

He brought this good news of peace to you, Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were.

Near.

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners.

You are citizens along with all of God's holy people.

You are members of God's family.

Together we are in we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.

And the cornerstone is Jesus Christ Himself.

We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

How many know that you are the church?

See, the church isn't just a building.

Our church isn't just in the His presence just in the Ark of the Covenant or in the temple anymore.

We are the church.

Because His Spirit dwells inside of us.

We make up the church.

When we're together, we are the church.

When we're separated, we're still the church.

When we're out in the world, we are the church.

And we are ambassadors of that church.

We should be living a life that glorifies Him.

So when people look at the church, they see who Christ is.

So we need to be acting like children of God.

We need to be living a life like children of God.

We need to be raising our kids the best way that they are able to glorify God in their lives.

Believe it or not, when you call yourself a Christian, people look at you and they wonder what's going on with that person.

They call themselves a Christian.

How are they acting?

Does that mean you're going to be perfect?

No.

But they're going to see that there's some type of difference in your life.

The difference in the way you talk, the difference in the way you walk and how you live your life.

The difference how you do your job and how you do it honestly.

With your finances, how you are with your people, how you are with your friends, the music that you even listen to, the TV shows that you watch and you talk about.

How are you living your life?

Remember, you are the temple of the Holy Ghost.

And that involves every aspect of who you are: body, soul, and spirit.

I don't know what you might be going through in your life today, and there may be storms that are going to come up in your life.

They might be chaotic, it could be a nightmare.

I don't know what your day-to-day looks like.

But I know I've experienced days where everything is just going fine, and all of a sudden something happens.

And there's a storm there, and there's stress there.

And the enemy wants to just fool me into running around like a crazy person, just like the disciples on that boat.

And you got the stress level up to the eyeballs, and then you're trying to sleep and you can't sleep because you're thinking about a certain situation or what you gotta get done.

And then and then it just kind of escalates there.

You don't feel good.

And then, like me, sometimes I like to stress eat.

I look into the fridge and just sit there.

What do I want to eat?

Really, I don't want anything.

I'm just kind of whatever.

That's not who God has called you to be.

You have to remember that I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And the same peace that settled the winds and the waves, the same peace that can cause the demons to flee and jump into the sea, the same peace that descended like a dove and rested on Jesus Christ, the same peace that exceeds all comprehension is living inside of me, inside of you.

And so I can close my eyes and I can pray, and I allow the Holy Spirit to bring strength and confidence and wisdom.

I open God's word and I allow the Holy Spirit to bring assurance and revelation of who I am.

And from there, and I remind myself who my who my who the help comes from.

And I can sing a song of praise.

I can sing glory, glory, hallelujah.

And I give way for faith to rise up within me and take another step and another step.

And the Spirit reminds me of the words that Jesus said, seeing that it is his responsibility to do so.

That I am a child of God, that I serve the King of Kings, I serve the Lord of Lords, I am victorious because he is victorious.

I have overcome because he has already overcome.

I've read the end of the book and I already know what happens.

That someday we're going to rule and reign with him because he is our blessed hope.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

And you can take strength in that.

And the fire of God begins to burn inside of you.

Those things that you were worried about, those things that you were stressed about, they go to the wayside because now you realize that he is in control of your life, he is in control of your situation.

You just have to surrender it all to him.

Amen.

Amen.

Listen to this verse before we close this morning.

John chapter 16, it says, These things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace.

John 16 · chapter mention

In me you may have peace.

Meaning outside of him, there is no real peace.

You have to be with him.

You have to have a relationship with him.

You have to have a desire to know he is.

You have to have the desire to be in his presence.

Have an encounter with him to have his peace.

See, in the world you have tribulation, but take courage.

I have overcome the world.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's close our eyes just for a few moments this morning.

I want to challenge you this morning.

We have to remind ourselves that He is our peace.

He is at work within us.

He has already overcome the world.

This morning, as we close, let us pray that His peace would rise up within us.

That there would be an awareness of the peace that we carry, the peace that unites us, the peace that brings life in a future, the peace that provides by the Holy Spirit as we allow the Spirit to transform our lives into the image of Jesus Christ.

Lord, I just ask that your hand would continue to move among your people this morning.

Lord, if there's somebody here who doesn't know who you are, Father, I pray that you begin to move on their hearts, Lord.

I pray that they would surrender themselves to you, Lord.

That they would give their lives to you so they could feel the peace and the love and the joy that you have for them that you want to fill them with.

It's not a peace that fades away, it's a peace that continues to work and continues to move along with us.

Lord, if there's someone here who who that fire might be dwindling a little bit, I pray that they will return to you right now in the name of Jesus.

That they would feel the fan that flamed again in their lives, Lord.

They would feel your presence in their lives, and that you would bring that peace and that joy back into their into that spiritual person in every aspect of their lives, Lord.

I pray for everybody who might be going through a storm in their life right now.

Whatever it might be, Father, we we pray that your hand would be upon it, that they would feel your peace in your presence in the midst of the storm, that they could have joy, that they could have love and and and just continue to move on, Lord.

Move in your being, Lord.

Move in your presence.

I pray for reconciliation this morning and forgiveness and bitterness and jealousy.

Things that sometimes harbor in our hearts.

I pray that those would be removed by your Holy Spirit.

That we wouldn't feel those things anymore, that we would have forgiveness for others.

And that you replace that with your peace and your joy as well, Father.

Hallelujah, Jesus.

Come on, let's just worship him for a couple minutes.

Maybe there's something going on in your life that you need to pray about.

Give it over to him this morning.

You are the peace that passes all understanding, Lord.

Even when we don't understand exactly what's going on in our hearts and our lives, Lord, I pray that we will rely on your strength, Lord, that you will continue to be our shield, our strength, our strong tower, Father.

Help us to continue to stand on your word, continue to stand on the rock, the foundation of who you are.

Help us to continue to be the best version of ourselves, which is the image of you, Lord.

I pray for our families, Lord.

I pray for our ministries here at our church.

I pray for jobs, Lord.

I pray for whatever we might be facing, that you would be there with us, Lord.

And like Joseph, Lord, whatever we put our hands to, it would prosper.

Why?

Because we are seeking after the things of you, Lord.

We thank you, we praise you in your precious name.

Amen.