Tonight, as we continue our consideration of the fruit of the Spirit, remember that Paul begins that fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. We consider the godly virtue, the godlike virtue of peace. And I would ask that you turn with me to Isaiah chapter 26, as we read there the first 12 verses. I would call your attention specifically to verse 3. The first 12 verses of Isaiah chapter 26 as we hear now God's holy word. In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. You will keep in perfect peace Him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the rock eternal. He humbles those who dwell on high. He lays the lofty city low. He levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. Feet trample it down, the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor. The path of the righteous is level. O upright one, You make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You. Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night. In the morning, my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness. Even in a land of uprightness, they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, Your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. Let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them. Lord, You establish peace for us. All that we have accomplished, you have done for us. May God add His blessing to the reading and consideration of His Word. A beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ in Isaiah chapter 57, a few chapters later, after promising the comfort of peace with Himself for those who are contrite and those who are repentant, the Lord says at the end of that chapter, but the wicked are like the tossing sea which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked. For the wicked, there is no true peace ultimately with God. And as we think about what peace is, as we think about what peace means, really, for the wicked, there is no true peace, period. Now the words in Scripture, for example, in Galatians 5, in Isaiah chapter 57 and Isaiah chapter 26, the words that we translate as peace, these words characterize peace as well-being, tranquility, ease, harmony, completeness, and rest. While the world is filled with the opposite, adversity and frustration, discord, fighting, restlessness, conflict, chaos, turmoil, a lack of ease and a lack of harmony. Again, in Isaiah 57, it's likened unto a tossing sea and waves that churn up the bottom. Restlessness. And that lack of peace in the world, we see it on the streets every day. We read about it in the newspaper. It's the first five minutes of the news every time the news comes on. And as we were reminded somewhat this morning, we've seen it again vividly this past week with the shootings in Tucson, Arizona and especially with the blame shifting among political parties as to who said what that caused this guy to do what he did. That peacelessness is all around. And the fact that many seek a kind of peace is clear, for example, through peace treaties among nations or with counseling for broken relationships and personal struggles or through lawsuits because of a breakdown of peace or with arbitration between disagreeing neighbors or employers or employees. The fact that countless dollars are spent every year on seminars or retreats aimed at handling conflict or simply looking for some sort of relaxation. All of this is proof, beloved, that there is no peace for the wicked. Oh, they want it. But they want it their own way. They want it at the expense of others. And they seek to get it by aiming to change minds and change circumstances instead of changing hearts. And therefore, all their attempts will fail. There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. Yet there is peace for those who are in Christ Jesus by faith. They are those enjoying the Spirit's blessing of peace. This fruit of the Spirit, beloved, is expressed in three ways. First of all, peace with God. And then, peace within oneself. And then also, peace with others. And I trust you see right from the beginning that the second two are completely dependent upon the first one. Peace with God. Peace with God. Our God is a God of peace. That's what Scripture says. Paul, if you read his epistles, a number of his epistles there, he talks about and the God of peace. He is a God of peace, Paul says. And we know that He is a God of peace by the very fact that we know that He has taken the initiative. He is the one who has pursued peace with sinful and rebellious man. Sinful and rebellious man wanted nothing to do with Him, let alone have peace with Him. The fact that He is a God of peace is seen clearly in this text, Isaiah 26, verse 3, as along with Isaiah's prophecy of captivity to come, even before the people were taken away into captivity, God in His mercy gives a message of hope for those who trust in Him. In the midst of captivity and chaos, which seem far from peaceful, God's promise through Isaiah to the people was this, you will keep in perfect peace. Him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you. Chapter 26 is a part of a little bit larger section, first and foremost. Chapters 24-27. And that whole section is pointing to the day of the Lord and judgment to come upon the wicked as well as the fullness of salvation for God's people including new life in and the blessings of new life in Christ Jesus who is the basis of peace with God. Peace with God is accomplished in Christ Jesus as Paul makes clear in Romans 5, verse 1, therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 7 of Isaiah 26 points to that peace in a bit of a unique way when it says the path of the righteous is level. O upright one, you make the way of the righteous smooth, pointing to rest, pointing to ease, pointing to peace. And that peace with God is accomplished in Christ Jesus. Again, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Justified with the guilt of sin, the guilt which is the cause of conflict and disharmony and separation from God, that guilt is removed. by God Himself. Listen again to what Isaiah 26.12 says, Lord, You established peace for us. All that we have accomplished, You have done for us. All that we have accomplished, You have done for us. It has been accomplished in Christ Jesus. He is the One who has made us right with God. He paid the penalty and endured the curse of sin that we couldn't begin to do. Apart from which, there is no peace with God possible. He accomplished it, and He has given it to us as our very own, as if we had accomplished it ourselves. O Lord, You have accomplished it for us. And the result in us by the Holy Spirit is a changed heart. As Isaiah says, a heart that trusts Him. A heart that receives the benefit of justification by faith alone. A heart that believes in Jesus Christ and trusts Him alone as the sole reason that I am right with God. And also then that one enjoys a steadfast mind, as Isaiah says, a steadfast mind that understands what the heart believes. A heart that is a mind that is settled on the truth of God. A mind that is comforted by that truth even if the circumstances of life do not make clear sense as indeed the circumstances of captivity would not make clear sense to the people. And the result is then knowing and experiencing by faith the blessing of peace with God. And that blessing, beloved, is a new status with God from that justification. No longer strangers and aliens with God. No longer objects of God's wrath. And that's why there is no peace for the wicked because they are strangers and aliens of God. Enemies of His. They are objects of God's wrath. But not so the child of God. That one is now a friend of a child of God. That one is now an object of His love and care and concern and protection enjoying the blessing of security. Perfect peace, the text says. Literally, it says, peace, peace. It uses the word twice. giving emphasis, pointing to the reality of this peace, a well-stayed and established peace. It is complete and unalterable and unlosable. It is lasting, true and real and enduring. And that, beloved, is the blessing of salvation. Verse 1 says again, the beginning of that song, we have a strong city. God makes salvation. It's walls and ramparts. Salvation is our security and that salvation comes with a blessing of peace with God. That peace that one day, beloved, will be without attack in the glory of heaven. No attacks against it like there is today. Because on that day, all the sources of conflict will be gone forever. Yet still today, beloved, ours is the confidence that He is now for us. He promises to work all things, all circumstances for our good and therefore we can confess with the psalmist in Psalm 62, my soul finds rest in God alone. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. My soul finds rest in God alone. And beloved, that peace with God makes for enjoying the Spirit's blessing of peace, secondly, within oneself. Again, there can be no peace within oneself in one's own heart apart from peace with God. But what a blessing of peace with God includes peace within oneself, a personal peace. We're not talking here now merely about a contentment with oneself or coming to grips with a fault and justifying that fault in our lives. At times, our conscience ought to accuse us in order that we might fight against and resist the devil. We are not to be at peace with the devil. But God blesses His people with peace within themselves. Peace within oneself when we face the challenging circumstances of life and a peace that is ours because of the foundation of peace with God which results in a steadfast mind focused on the Lord. And we ought to understand that this peace within oneself is necessary. We have a need for that peace because of trouble in the world. Jesus, in John 16.33, trying to comfort His disciples on the night before He was betrayed, said, in the world you will have trouble. He looked Him in the eye and He said, in the world you will have trouble. That's a promise. Trouble from persecution because of the faith. Paul talks about that. Trouble because of sin in the world. Trouble because of sin in our own lives that we still struggle with. You will have trouble in the world. You will have trouble. There are many things and situations and circumstances in daily life. Hardships, pain, turmoil, death. All kinds of things that disturb peace within you and me. And things that keep one who has peace with God from enjoying the peace of God in their own heart and life. Now, truthfully, often these things that disturb us are petty in nature. They're not really life-shaking in nature. And other times, they are much more serious. Yet, they cause anxiety and stress. They make one unsettled and nervous and they rob that one of peace. And probably most often because we try to handle it ourselves. Such as, how will I pay for this? Or where will we get the money for that? Or why doesn't that person react or respond how I want? Or will my friends still be my friends tomorrow? Or what if these aches and pains are something serious? There's a whole host of things. We let so many things and situations make us uneasy and upset. Some things, again, that are trivial like getting cut off on the freeway. Or if another looks at you, you think the wrong way. Or how often don't we let little mistakes and minor flaws of others just bug us. So many trivial things that break peace. But also things that are not so trivial, that are much more important. An illness or a job loss or a struggle with a college choice. When life hurts, when life is difficult, when it seems hopeless, we become filled with fear and doubt. Peace within is necessary for us. And we ought to be encouraged because our Lord also leaves us with an encouragement in John 16.33. In the world, you will have trouble. He didn't end there. He goes on. But take heart, I have overcome the world. I have overcome the trouble. Jesus Christ rules over all, even the troubling things. even the details of our daily lives. He who will not allow the sparrow to fall or a hair to fall from our heads certainly takes care of His children. He is concerned, beloved, with even the tiniest detail of life, with the most minor concern of our lives, and we are to be encouraged by that. Yet we are to also at the same time confess a problem. And the problem is this, is that we often fail to believe it, or at least we act like it. We often fail to believe that God really cares about, well, the small things and often the unimportant details of our lives. And sometimes we even act as if certainly God is not able to help with the major turmoils of life. The problem is we take the eye of faith off of Him. Instead of having a steadfast mind on Him, our mind becomes steadfast on the troubles. We focus on those troubles. And then we begin to doubt because of those things that cause us worry and anxiety and stress and fear. But He does care, as Peter says in 1 Peter 5, cast all your anxiety on Him. Why? Very simply, because He cares for you. Cast it all on Him. And now Peter's not saying something like let go and let God as if we then become careless with the circumstances of life, we are called to deal with those circumstances of life in faith, trusting Him with the accomplishment of peace within ourselves. And God accomplishes that, beloved, oftentimes, most of all, through the antidote to anxiety, as we might call it. And Paul outlines that antidote to anxiety in Philippians 4, beginning at verse 6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God and the God of peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything present your request to God. How comprehensive. Come to God in prayer. Cast all your anxiety on Him. With thanksgiving, Paul says. Thanking Him first of all, obviously, for the eternal security that is ours through Jesus Christ. That, beloved, is a guarantee that He cares. And then, recognizing and thanking Him for deliverance that He has given to us from troubles in the past. Indeed, we are to remember what God has done for us throughout our lives, to reflect on all those times that God helped us and rescued us and delivered us and gave us that which we needed. And as we reflect on those things, beloved, He will use that then to help us in the present when we face other difficulties of life. And as well to thank Him that He is in control of every circumstance of today. Nothing happens by chance. And as well to thank Him, beloved, that in His unfailing and infinite wisdom He is able to and He will work all things for our good. Why can we have confidence in this? Why can we thank Him for these things? Because this is what He promises. And the outcome is not necessarily that we will be delivered from the circumstances that attack us and harass us. God doesn't promise that. If we go back to that beautiful Isaiah 43, when you go through the fire, when you go through the water, You're going to, when you do, I will be with you. The outcome, beloved, is not necessarily to be delivered from those circumstances, but the outcome is the promise of the peace of God. Those who enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ are given the peace of God in His life. Peace that Paul says transcends all understanding. It's beyond all comprehension. Yet it guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus, guards them from overreacting or falling prey to troubles of the world in a hopeless way. It's a peace that's unexplainable so that one is not tossed about by the difficulties of life. It's a peace that makes one steady as a rock so that that one is kept in peace, So that one can say with David in Psalm 27, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And he goes on, Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. Imagine that. David was a man of war. And the war break out against me, I will be confident when I am afraid. I will trust in You. That's a peace of God that transcends all understanding. The kind that gives joy in sorrow. The kind that gives hope in death. The kind that gives calm in the midst of a deadly diagnosis. something that is completely foreign and totally not understood by the world. He will not allow the troubling circumstances to drive us to despair or to cause us to think that we have no hope as Satan would have us believe. Beloved, Satan works hard to tempt us. He works hard to trip us up with obstacles that he places in our path. He works hard to destroy us through devastating events in life. And He will even try to get us to believe that God is not able to forgive us. So the Bible says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins. I will remember them no more, our God says, but Satan would have us believe, not yours. Yours are just a little bit too bad. That's beyond the boundary of what God can or is able to do. That's what Satan wants us to believe. To doubt God. He is the adversary. And you know that word adversary is the very opposite of peace. Yet those who enjoy peace with God through Jesus Christ and then cast their burdens upon Him enjoy peace within knowing that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And then, beloved, as a peace possessor, The child of God, encouraged by the Holy Spirit, becomes a peacemaker in the third place with others. Proverbs 6, verse 19 reminds us that sowing discord among brothers is hateful. It is an abomination to God. He absolutely hates it. In Galatians 5, when Paul lists again the fruit of the Spirit, he does so. When he mentions peace, it seems that his primary consideration there would be peace with others because as he lists the fruit of the Spirit that follows upon the negative characteristics, you recall, that break peace, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy. We know that all of those things destroy peace, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. Indeed, peace with others. And beloved, our God teaches us clearly in His Word that that peace with others is to be pursued. We are to go after it. As hard as it may be, it is to be pursued according to the Scriptures. Blessed are the peacemakers, Matthew 5, verse 9. As far as depends on you, Live at peace with everyone. Romans 12, verse 18. Make every effort to do what leads to peace. Romans 14, verse 19. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace. Colossians 3, verse 15. Make every effort to live in peace with all men. Hebrews 12, verse 19. And one more, Whoever would love life and see good days, Peter says, and he includes in the answer, must seek peace and pursue it. We are called to pursue it. And the idea that we are to receive, to get from some of these verses in particular, where it talks about make every effort, or as far as it depends on you. The idea there, beloved, is of an intense pursuit. Full effort. No stone unturned, as it were, exhausting every possibility to accomplish peace with another. Isn't it true that we go after what's really important to us with a single-minded focus? I know it's true of boys and girls especially and young people that if they want something, they cannot get their mind off of it and that is the only thing they have a focus for. And in essence, that's what God is teaching us here. That's the kind of pursuit we are to engage in when it comes to peace with others. To go after it with a single-minded focus. Again, not talking about peace at any cost, just as last week when we considered faithfulness and we talked about blind loyalty. There's not to be blind loyalty or peace at any cost when sin is involved. It's a whole different strategy. Yet we are called to pursue peace with one another. And notice how clearly God places before us that this is to be our personal responsibility as far as depends on you. Now let's be honest, we're not very good at that. We are really good at making the other party responsible. well, I will only have peace with that one if I get my way, if I get what I want. Or we can never have peace between the two of us unless until they, or in order to have that peace, they have to fill in the blank. God says, you and I are to take the initiative as He did with us. If God had not taken the initiative, by choosing us by sending His Son to die on the cross by sending His Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and lives we would not know Him ever we would have no peace with God He has taken the initiative with us beloved and out of gladness of heart He calls us then too to take the initiative with one another whether they wronged you or you wronged them you see Matthew 5 and Matthew 18 cover it both ways either way you are responsible to initiate I am responsible to initiate and if you think about it if both are responsible to initiate the problem will get resolved there will be peace and the reason we are called to pursue peace with one another beloved is because as believers the Bible says we belong to one another as fellow members of the body of Christ. You might say we have a vested interest in one another as part of the very same body with the one head, Jesus Christ. And ultimately, it is for His glory, for the honor of Christ who saved us and for the honor of His church whom He has purchased with His precious blood. And this peace, beloved, is to be practiced. Things that make for peace are to be practiced even with unbelievers. If they wronged you, beloved, you and I are called to do everything possible to restore that relationship. Oh, it doesn't mean that they are going to accept it. And in that case, we are not to seek revenge, but instead trust that vengeance belongs ultimately to God. Or if we have wronged the unbeliever, beloved, we are called to demonstrate then how a believer deals with sin, working to make it right. And we are called to practice things that make for peace among one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, exercising love and patience and self-control and kindness and gentleness and forgiveness. Beloved, when we forgive one another, what peace that brings. But lacking this fruit of the Spirit breaks peace. It's one fruit. All the virtues together make for peace. And therefore, may we pray that God would make us instruments of His peace because as we sing with Psalm 133, how good and pleasant is the sight when brethren make it their delight to dwell in blessed accord. Dear people of God, true peace is only possible for the child of God through faith in Jesus Christ because it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit who Himself is given only to God's people. True peace is impossible apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. No matter how much someone is willing to spend in trying to find it, no matter how much one seeks it, they will not find it apart from Jesus Christ. All they will find is a life tormented by adversity in preparation for the never-ending torment of hell. But you see, beloved, the good news is there is hope. There is a way of escape. the Gospel that Eric so beautifully preached this morning and reminded us of this morning through Jesus Christ. He is the one and the only path to everlasting peace with God. He is the perfect peacemaker. And those who trust in Jesus Christ alone have full and complete and unfailing peace with God. And also because of that security in Him, they enjoy peace within themselves and with others, not yet perfect because we still do struggle with sin, but by the grace of God, it grows as the believer grows in faith, hope, and love. Really, a greater experience is hard to find than the experience of true calm and rest of the heart. But beloved, that true calm and rest is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Let's pray together. Father in heaven we praise your most holy name for great and glorious is your name O Lord God Almighty we do praise you Lord that you have brought us into that relationship of peace with yourself through Jesus Christ no longer your enemies but instead your blessed children And Father, we pray that You would always give us confidence of that peace with You. Even when situations of this life would seek to shake us. To shake us loose from that foundation of our God and Father. That You would continue to hold us tight and give us peace within. That even when we are sad or when we are scared and worried, and we do become, we give in to these things, Father, yet that we might have the confidence that these things cannot separate us from You. They cannot eternally harm us, but we are safe in the palm of Your hand. And Father, we pray to You that You would give us a desire to live at peace with one another at all times, in all ways. Undrive stubbornness and hardness of heart far from us, O Lord. And soften our hearts indeed for Your glory and honor to heed Your Word and to pour forth love for one another in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord God, hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in His name we pray. Amen.