THE GOD OF PEACE – OUR PROVIDER: Romans 15:30-33
The phase, “the God of peace,” found in Romans 15, reveals to us what God is, namely the Provider of peace. Without God, there can be no peace, for He is peace. We all desire to have peace in our lives, our homes, our cities, towns, and country. Peace, however, seems to be a hard commodity to find. Peace does not miraculously appear it must be sought. Peace cannot be legislated; it is given to us from God. In order to have peace we must know its origin. To find peace we must look to the Truth, not to the present. We know from the Bible that Christ is the Truth, and He is our peace. In Him, we find our provision, our Provider of Peace.
Speaking the Truth in Love
by Pastor Tommy Hill
In Jeremiah 29, we find an Old Testament story of a captured people who were seeking for peace in the midst of turmoil. God helps them in their pursuit of peace by giving them some knowledge of His peace.
God’s peace is A PROPHESIED PEACE (Jeremiah 29). God’s people were in a strange land, held captive by the Babylonians. They were discouraged and troubled. The false prophets were giving them false hope about their soon return to their beloved city Jerusalem. God tells them to trust in Him, they have an expected end, and God will bring them back to their homeland, but it will be after 70 years of captivity. God prophesies that peace will come, He has not forgotten them.
God lets them know He has thoughts of peace for them, not thoughts of evil. We too are faced with much hardship and many trials, but God has promised us peace. We must trust in Him, believing in His promises. There is a day coming when all of God’s children will be gathered together and we will be taken to our heavenly home where we will enjoy perfect peace for all eternity. We have a prophesied peace.
God’s peace is A PERMANENT PEACE (Jeremiah 29:11-14). Despite multiplied transgressions and apostasy against God, there has been no change in God’s love for His people. God is a holy God and the Bible tells us that without holiness no man shall see God. If we die in our sins, we will face the judgment of God, but if we die in Him, we will receive the mercy of God. It is with this truth in our hearts that we find our permanent peace in Christ and in Christ alone.
We can never find permanent peace in material things or in things that are temporal, we find this peace, only in a person and that person is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Provider of Peace, and this is a permanent peace because it is in Him.
If there is a prophesied peace, and this peace is permanent, how do we obtain this wonderful treasure? We must understand that God’s peace is A PROVIDED PEACE. It is available through knowledge of Him. We must trust in Him and make Him our Lord. God’s heart has always been towards us, but our sin created a horrible breach in our relationship. God’s wisdom found a way to bring a banished people back into a loving relationship and be restored to Him. God provided this way through the giving of His Son, the greatest gift ever received (John 3:16), so we could find our way back to Him. God’s Son paid the penalty of our sin to satisfy the judgment of God so we could receive the mercy necessary to be reinstated into His family. Our only requirement is to trust in Him. He has provided everything needed and it is simply faith. Through faith, we can obtain this provided peace and know the joy of the greatest family relationship available to mankind.
I hope you will seek His peace today. The Bible has prophesied its permanence and offers its provision through the Son of God. Have you received this gift by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you seek peace, seek Him and you will find. Have a peaceful day.
Pastor Tommy Hill is the pastor of First Free Will Baptist Church in Hamlet. He is a Richmond County native. He can be reached at firstfwbchurchhamlet@gmail.com
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