Peace Unto All

What’s your definition of peace? Most people describe peace as a sense of calmness, fearlessness, or the absence of anxiety. Peace could also be described as the absence of war or difficult times. In this message, “Peace Unto All”, Pastor Eric walks us through what it looks like to have true peace in our lives, why it’s so hard for us to obtain, and provides us with a handful of takeaways, obtained from scripture, to help us achieve peace in our own lives!

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

Did you know it’s possible to have the peace of God in any and every situation? In the verse John 16:33, Jesus says “that in ME you may have peace.” You can have peace despite the disturbances within your life! When you are in a relationship with Jesus, you can have peace despite everything that is going on within the world.

What does true inner peace from God look like? Simon Peter, in the book of Acts, Chapter 12, demonstrates just how powerful the peace of God can be. Simon Peter is apprehended, placed in a prison cell guarded by more than a dozen guards, and sentenced to death! But despite this obvious tribulation in this life, he chooses to relax and sleep peacefully, fully trusting in God. An angel of the Lord does come to rescue Simon Peter but has difficulty waking him up because of the peaceful state of relaxation Simon Peter has entered. This is what true inner peace from God looks like! Unfortunately, many of us have never experienced this level of peace.

Why don’t we have the peace God planned for us? God wants us to experience peace, but we must be in a proper relationship with Him to experience His peace within us. The enemy is constantly trying to draw us away from a proper relationship with God. The enemy wants us to be separated from God. Our iniquities… our immoral behavior… our sin… is separating us from God’s peace.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you So that He will not hear. -Isaiah 59:2 (NIV)

What does your relationship with God look like? If you are struggling with a lack of peace yourself, maybe you need to review your proximity to God. We are all searching for inner peace. Sometimes we pursue peace in self-help books, podcasts, and videos. For others, it may be counseling, therapy, or prescription medications. There’s nothing wrong with any of these pursuits, but we need to know that true inner peace only comes from a close relationship with God. God just wants your whole heart and soul. He wants your willingness to give Him your life. God wants to give us His peace!

Here is what you need to know about peace based on scripture:

1. THERE IS PEACE ON EARTH

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 (NKJV)

2. GOD’S PEACE IS GIVEN TO YOU

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you… -John 14:27 (NKJV)

3. TROUBLE DOESN’T HAVE TO TROUBLE YOU

Peace, I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. -John 14:27 (NKJV)

4. FEAR IS A PERSONAL DECISION

…neither let it be afraid. -John 14:27 (NKJV)

Unwrap the gift called peace! Let God’s peace rule in you.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts… -Colossians 3:15 (NKJV)

There are so many more wonderful takeaways from this message, “Peace Unto All”, I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/l1mCso0hnzU

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

God Is...LIGHT

Despite your best efforts to maintain your passion, do you ever feel overwhelmingly fatigued or worn out in a way that goes beyond one day but rather is a description of your season in life?

In, How to Dwell Securely, Ralph Andrus shares that in 1879, Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb. Twenty-two years later, in 1901, one of these new creations was installed and turned on in the Livermore, CA, fire department. Amazingly, it’s still there, and still on! By today’s standards, it should have burned out 852 times by now. The bulb, with a thick carbon filament, was made by the Shelby Electric Company, which did not become one of the giants of the nation for an obvious reason. Instead, the Shelby Company made light bulbs to last, and nobody ever reordered.

By Rjaerial - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94821149

Unlike the Centennial Bulb (pictured above), we as people often burn out, and the more driven we are, the more susceptible we are! This phrase, “I feel so burned out…” is often uttered among people who want to perform and achieve great things in life. But, unfortunately, the desire and aspiration for more can lead to feeling dim on the inside quite quickly. I’ve learned -- the hard way -- that there are a few questions one needs to ask personally when dealing with symptoms of burnout.

• Does my life feel meaningful or meaningless?

• Am I complaining about things I used to pray for?

If you answered “Yes” to one or both of those questions, let me encourage you:

Never let the meaningful things become meaningless, or the blessing of God’s answered prayers become the source of your complaints.

Allowing either of those two things to happen is a step in the direction of burnout.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. - 1 John 1:5 (NKJV)

I’ve noticed that sunny days can have a positive effect on people. We all love sunny days at the beach or on the lake. Bright, sunny days make us feel alive and vibrant. Rays of light make us feel alive! Just like the sun affects us in the physical, the SON, Jesus, has that effect in the spiritual. When He starts to bring light into your life, He lights up all the meaningful and beneficial things. His light highlights all of the things for which we should be grateful. We start to see the answers to our prayers manifest and all the things that we should be celebrating!

We can celebrate the fact that God is light! And He does NOT burn out!

If the world around you feels dark or dim, I challenge you to open your Bible and turn the light on. Because that’s what happens when you open your Bible -- you turn the light on! And, just like the light bulb above, the Word of God never goes out!

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.- Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)

God gives us opportunities to see in the dark, but it is up to us to use the light. Closing the Bible in your life is the equivalent of putting a bushel over the light of God (Ref. Jesus’ famous Sermon on The Mount). Each of us must be incredibly intentional about having a daily relationship with the Word of God so that illumination can reveal.

Jesus is the Word of God and the Light of the World. We are to abide in Jesus, and it is impossible to abide in Jesus without obeying His commands, but it is also impossible to obey His commands if we do not know them. Therefore, the only way to learn Jesus’s commands is by reading the Word of God! It’s essential to come to this understanding because:

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” -John 8:12 (NKJV)

Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “You are the light of the world…” -Matthew 5:2, 14 (NKJV)

Did you catch it?

You are the light of the world. You receive the light by believing the Word, and you release the light by obeying the Word. When you obey the Word of God, it makes a positive impact not only on your life but also on the world! You light up the darkness that is in the world. The enemy hates it when you begin to abide in Jesus and light up the world; his mission is to keep people in the dark.

...the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. -2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV)

Turn the light on in your life and the lives of others by:

• Loving God & Others

God’s light can REVEAL what His love will HEAL.

• Serving God & Others

When you do the WORK of the WORD, you light up the WORLD.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

I leave you with three statements to think about when it comes to LIGHT:

1. Light tells darkness how far it can come. Darkness does NOT overpower light.

2. Light helps find that which is lost. If you feel like you have lost something, look for it in the Word of God, there is no better place to search. Allow God to light up your world and restore that which you’ve lost.

3. Light always wins. Because God is Light and God doesn’t lose. If you want to win, you must seek the light and let it in.

Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. -1 John 2:8 (NKJV)

I invite you to view this message, GOD IS...LIGHT, in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/TJv0FJ2lbhc

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

Spirit & Truth

God is searching for worshipers that will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Our worship may look different from one another’s but that doesn’t matter, it’s the act of true and sincere worship that God desires.

God doesn’t want you to know about Him from a distance, nor does He want a causal relationship with you. God wants to be near you. He desires a deep personal relationship with each and every one of us. God is a seeker. He is seeking the opportunity to make His presence known to us. He wants you to know His manifest presence in your life!

Worship is the key to drawing God's presence into our lives. True & sincere worship is an invitation to God. It allows God to move like nothing else and attracts Heaven to Earth. God loves our worship with His whole heart, this is why He seeks out people who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth!

...true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." John 4:19-23 (NIV)

Worship isn’t only for church services, and it's not limited to songs and music. Worship, in the name of Jesus, can be a daily part of our lives! But how do we enter into true and sincere worship? How do we praise God for who He is in Spirit and in truth?

I invite you to watch this message, Spirit & Truth, from Worship Pastor Jaron Burkhardt. In this message Pastor Jaron shows us how we can enter into true and sincere worship in Spirit and in truth, attracting Jesus to us and in doing so experiencing a deeper manifest presence of God in every area of our lives!

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NIV)

WATCH IT

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