Conia [00:00:02]:
I’m excited to be here with you this week. We have been in Thursday school for the last several weeks, kind of been talking about the atmosphere of peace. And I really wanted to expound on that today a little bit further.
Conia [00:01:19]:
Further. Because there’s an atmosphere in which God can work, and there’s an atmosphere in which God cannot work. And when we’re aware of the atmosphere that we are creating, then we leave room for God to do what God does. Make sense. Okay? So we think God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He can do whatever he wants. There’s a caveat. He gave us power.
Conia [00:01:51]:
Okay? He gave us power to act in the earth. And when we use our power in his atmosphere of peace and faithfulness, he can work. But when we don’t take our authority and stay in peace, when we get in strife, what God can do is very much limited. So let’s talk about some biblical examples here. And we really want to understand what it means to make sure that we are taking proper control over our emotions, over what we’re letting affect us, so that we can make sure that God’s very best is coming through us. Okay? It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be good because it’s going to give you a really good reason to stay in peace. All right, so we’re going to start.
Conia [00:02:52]:
And really, one of the main underpinnings here is that strife hinders. Strife is going to hinder you, and it’s going to hinder what God can do through you. Okay? Peace, peace, peace releases. And the key verse that we really want to look at Here is Colossians 3:15. And let the peace that comes from Christ, it’s Not peace you have to go find. It’s not peace you have to manufacture. It’s not peace that you have to dig up. It comes from Christ.
Conia [00:03:30]:
Let the peace that comes from. From Christ rule. Rule in your hearts. For as members of one body, you are called to live in peace and always be thankful. Just a little added extra tidbit there. And always be thankful. This verse is so deep. I mean, I’m ready reading it out of the new living translation.
Conia [00:04:06]:
It is so deep, we could probably do weeks just on this verse. But I really want to kind of give you a higher level look at peace versus strife and how God can work. So we’re not going to dig as deeply as we could into this verse today, but I want to go back and let the peace. Peace is our key. We’re focused on peace that comes from Christ. You don’t have to figure it out. Christ gives it to you. And we’re gonna look at my peace.
Conia [00:04:41]:
I leave with you here in a minute, Rule. You know, I think with some of our slang and some of our vernacular, that word rule has maybe gotten watered down a little bit. In Jesus words, rule is a big deal. Okay? Being ruled or ruling, ruling and reigning is a big deal. So letting that peace rule in your heart where Christ lives, where everything that comes out of your mouth comes from letting that peace rule in your hearts. And then he says, for as members of one body, you are called to live in peace because it’s not just about you and it’s not just about what God can or can’t do through you. If you’re not in peace, it’s about everybody around you. If you’re not in peace, you are now in hindering the body from being able to do what needs to be done and always be thankful.
Conia [00:05:52]:
That’s just an extra added yay. We want to be thankful because when we’re thankful, it changes who we are, how we function, what we do. That attitude of gratitude, as our great friend Jackie Liston reminds us all the time, is such an environment that people respond to. And that as we’re going to find out when we’re in peace, which gratitude comes when we’re in peace, God can work. That environment is great. So peace is not optional. Not optional. It is the rule that allows God’s blessings to flow in our lives.
Conia [00:06:37]:
There’s a reason that Jesus left the peace with us, because we needed to be able to do things. And in the environment of peace, we can do things. In an environment of strife, very little. Very little can be Done. And we’ve got to figure that out. We have to figure out that being nasty to one another, being frustrated with ourselves, being saying gross stuff online, all of that is hindering the work of God in your life and in the lives of everyone around you in the lives of the body of Christ. We’re supposed to be kind. We are supposed to be kind.
Conia [00:07:26]:
Strife breeds disorder and blocks God’s work. James 3:16. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. The author here puts disorder and evil in the same sentence. Disorder and evil of every kind. When things get out of order, when they get out of the natural state that they’re supposed to be in, you are making an environment for evil. When you have strife in your life and among you, you have now created an environment for the enemy to work. Satan and his hooligans, that third that went with him, that thought that they were going to mightier than God, they need an open door to work, and strife opens the door.
Conia [00:08:34]:
Now you are allowing the enemy to do whatever he wants. You’re allowing him to influence you to do things that you shouldn’t do. Matthew 13:58 and so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. So this is not direct strife. Unbelief is really indirect strife. Unbelief is fear. Belief in the enemy is fear and that is strife in your heart. These people did not believe.
Conia [00:09:16]:
They’re talking about Jesus here and what he could and could not do. And because they didn’t believe the environment was such that nothing could be done. And you’ve got to really think about your environment. And we think about environment and we think about just when a person walks in the room, we can tell almost instantly how they’re feeling. They have an, they have an effect on everybody in the room. We’ve all been in a room where somebody who had just gross, I call it yuck, yuck on them, walks in the room and the whole room just seems to power down. But we also know when somebody spectacular who has joy walks in a room, the level of that room comes right up and we come right up with it. When you’ve got a great worship leader front of you that is pulling you into worship, that rises the mood of the entire room.
Conia [00:10:19]:
There’s a reason when people go and they want to see somebody be healed in a service. That service doesn’t just start with laying on of hands and let’s heal them. We’ve got to get in a posture. We’ve got to get in an attitude. We’ve got to get in an environment where that’s possible. Because if you got an environment of strife, it’s not possible. There was a. There’s a story that goes around about a church, a town, not a church, but a town in the early 1900s.
Conia [00:10:57]:
And I probably have to find some facts on this one, but the story goes, there was a group of Satan worshipers that wanted to get together and they wanted to cast evil basically on the town. And there were two deacons from the local church that went in just to kind of observe and see what was happening. They had gathered this whole group of people up that were, you know, very disgruntled and very unhappy. And there were two deacons that just went to observe and went to see what was going on, see what they were dealing with. But they had the love of Jesus in them. And the leader of this group that’s trying to cause this trouble and trying to conjure up and talk to evil spirits, which if you don’t believe that that’s possible, it is. And as a side note, we should probably all be super careful with what we give voice to in this season of All Hallows Eve. That’s a whole nother sermon.
Conia [00:11:59]:
But. But watch what you give voice to. But what happened was, is these two men, just by their very presence of bringing God into that evil environment, they were able to thwart what these people were trying to do. They weren’t actually trying to thwart it, they were just trying to observe it. But their presence bringing God into an evil situation thwarted what was going on. Evil brought in to a godly situation can also thwart whatever is going on. So you don’t want to be the one that brings strife into a situation. Okay.
Conia [00:12:42]:
Does that make sense? And the unbelief over here in Hebrews is what happened. It thwarted what Jesus was trying to do because they wouldn’t believe. So he couldn’t work. It just wouldn’t work. There’s not enough momentum there. There’s not enough spirit there. There’s not enough light there for things to work. Strife in your mind against God’s word shuts us out from his rest and restricts the miraculous.
Conia [00:13:21]:
His rest is not just when we go to sleep and we sleep well. His rest is that peace in our hearts, in our minds, in our spirits, in our souls. So we want to protect that peace and we’ll talk a little bit more about that. Disharmony will hinder your prayers. It’s going to hinder your actions, but it’s also going to hinder your communication with God first. Peter 3:7 in the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives, treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered right here. Right here. You don’t treat people as you should, your prayers are going to be hindered, plain and simple.
Conia [00:14:19]:
I mean, I don’t know how much more simple it gets than that. Proverbs 15:29 the Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous. Being righteous, being in right standing with God, has no room for fear, has no room for strife, has no room for unbelief. So when you are righteous, you are all of those things. You have the capability of being and walking in all of those things. And he is going to hear your prayers. There won’t be anything blocking that. That light that exudes from you chases out the darkness.
Conia [00:14:58]:
You have the ability. Jesus gave it to you. Holy Spirit has it in you to chase away darkness. Use it. Peace is the atmosphere of God’s goodness, your peace. If you are out of peace, if you are begging God to do something, and usually we’re begging God to do something that he’s already taken care of and already done. But if you’re out of peace, you’re going to hinder God’s ability to work in you and through you. Your light is what’s magnetic and what is attractive because you are allowing God to work through you.
Conia [00:15:39]:
Nobody can see that if you are covering it over with strife and fear and unrest. Philippians 4, 6, 7 don’t worry about anything. Don’t worry about anything. Don’t worry about anything. It doesn’t say worry about some things. It doesn’t say, oh, well, you’ve got your things to worry about and I’ve got mine. It doesn’t say worry when there’s a storm coming, but you know when the sun shines, don’t worry. It says, don’t worry about anything.
Conia [00:16:23]:
And there’s an alternative instead. Pray about everything. Now then if you’re in strife, you’re going to hinder your prayers, so you got to go. I’m in God, I’m in peace. I have the Holy Spirit in me. I’m in peace. So now I can pray and there won’t be anything between me and God. I’m not bringing strife, I’m not bringing fear.
Conia [00:16:49]:
I’m not bringing unbelief. When I pray there’s nothing between me and God, then you will experience God’s peace. His peace will Guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. It’s kind of a chicken and the egg thing. He’s going to give you more peace. When you’re in peace, you’ve got to refuse to let fear in. This is a no fear zone. This is a no strife zone.
Conia [00:17:26]:
And I’ve been known to kick people out of rooms where we’re having an event or having a meeting and they come in and they bring whatever the world is all messed up with that day into my meeting. And it’s, mm, mm, this is God’s meeting right here. We are not going to get twisted up about whatever’s going on outside these doors. We’re gonna stay in peace. We’re gonna stay in joy now that we’re not gonna deny what’s going on out there. And if God calls us to, we will intercede on behalf of the people that are having issues out there. We’re called to do that, but we are not called to fret. We are not called to moan.
Conia [00:18:08]:
We’re not. We are not called to be anxious. We are not called to call other people out that aren’t believers. People are like, oh, well, we’re supposed to call only if they’re in your church family and they have proclaimed that they’re believers, then you can call them out on whatever’s going on. But if they’re not in your church family and they’re not the believers, they haven’t even claimed Christ Jesus. You can’t call them out on Christ’s things if they’re not even claiming that. Here again, whole nother story. We’re going to get into whole other stories today.
Conia [00:18:39]:
It’s a good thing I’ve got a time limit, otherwise we’d be in trouble. So Isaiah 32:17 and this righteousness will bring peace Here again, you being righteous, you not being in fear, you being in right standing with God, you being in fellowship with God. That righteousness brings, brings the peace. And yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in safety, quietly at home, and they will be at rest. Stay in God’s righteousness, unity and peace in invite the blessing. You’re creating an atmosphere for God to work. Psalm 133.
Conia [00:19:34]:
1:3 how wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony and the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting. Romans 14:19. So then let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. Unity and peace. Unity and peace. Unity and peace. Draw God’s commanded blessing that’s the environment that’s attracted to the blessing. You want to talk about a law of attraction.
Conia [00:20:09]:
Unity and peace and righteousness bring God’s blessing. Strife tears it down, but peace builds it up and multiplies life. Peace greases the wheels. Peace makes things work. Peace gets rid of the junk. Refusing to let strife into your mind, into your heart, into your family is what invites God’s blessing on you. He can’t work if you’re all twisted up. And sometimes we just need a timeout.
Conia [00:20:46]:
I remember when Karina was about 2 and a half, 3 years old and she was misbehaving. She was, she was not, she was not in peace. There was no peace there. She was having a fit. And I think, you know, even as adults we have a tendency to have fits sometimes. And I looked at her and I said, and I was very sternly, I was trying to get her to snap out of it, right? You know, come on, come back, come back to the. She’s the first child, you know, And I’m like, do you need a timeout? And I thought she’d go, no and straighten up. And she, she surprised me.
Conia [00:21:22]:
She said, uh huh. And so timeout it was. Sometimes we need a timeout. Sometimes we’ve got to recenter, right? Sometimes we’ve got to come back to God and you can do that through His Word. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word was with God. So when you open up that Word and wherever you are in your daily Bible reading, you don’t even. I mean, you can, we can go after the peace things, right? We can go after the verses that talk about God’s peace, but you can open up that Word and just say, lord, I want you to talk to me. And you just start reading the Word and it doesn’t even matter if it’s one of the Old Testament battles and they’re all dying by the sword.
Conia [00:22:16]:
It’s like, okay, that’s a lot of gruesomeness. What is happening here? God will speak to you and he knows you’re paying attention and he will give you answers that may not even be right there on that page in black and white, white. But you’re coming to him when you go to the Word. So sometimes you just need a timeout. Dr. Pepper had an ad campaign a long time ago and they recommended you have a Dr. Pepper at 10, 2 and 4 because it would pep you up and it would make your day better to have a Dr. Pepper at 10, 2 and 4.
Conia [00:22:55]:
Well, what if we had a moment of peace at 10, 2, and 4, how would our day improve if we did that? How would improve? It would be pretty good, don’t you think? You’re gonna open up an environment for God to work, and sometimes you can do something preemptively, preempt the strife, keep strife out, don’t even let it near you, because you’re trying to create an environment for peace. You want to be fierce about protecting your peace. You want to be fierce about protecting your environment. Zig used to talk about you would not let somebody in your front door with a big stinky bag of trash and let them walk in and dump it in your living room, would you? You’d be probably pretty quick to tell them to get up and get out and, oh, yeah, take your trash with you. But we let little things in, and then they get bigger and they start to build nasty nests. And then it starts to grow, and we don’t even pay enough attention. And we just get used to it. We get used to the nastiness.
Conia [00:24:20]:
We get used to the snappy retorts. We get used to the backbiting and the fussing. And then it becomes kind of a way of life that we’re comfortable with, but God’s not comfortable with that, and God can’t work in that. So we’ve got to start getting fierce about what we believe and what we know is the environment for God to work in, because he has blessings for us. All these blessings for us that we are not even remotely taking advantage of. We’re not even remotely looking at as something that we could have in our lives every day. And we just go through life a lot of times, and we just let this stuff happen, and we just let this stuff happen, and we just let this stuff happen. And it’s like, no, no, you want to get up and you want to look around.
Conia [00:25:15]:
You know, when a realtor first comes into somebody’s house, they start. They look around the house and they get rid of, like, the clutter that’s distracting. And the homeowner generally doesn’t even see it. They’re like, oh, this is just my home. This is where I live. We’ve talked about people who are nose blind, right? You know, there’s a smell. If you live near a paper factory, that smell is just part of your life, and. And you don’t even notice it anymore.
Conia [00:25:42]:
Well, there’s a lot of stinkiness going on in our families and our relationships, in our homes, in our businesses that we just have gotten nose blind. To. But somebody else comes into that, and it’s stinky. And God comes into that, and he can’t work. He can’t work there. So we need to get pretty aware. We need to step back and walk in our front door of our heart and look and see what’s in there and see what’s hampering God’s best for us. Hampering God’s best.
Conia [00:26:24]:
So Exodus 25, 21, 22. It says, place inside the ark the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant with which I will give you. And then put the atonement cover on top of the ark. I will meet you there and talk to you from above. The atonement cover, between the gold cherubim that hover over the ark of the covenant. This is an environment that God is creating for the Ark of the Covenant. That’s the Old Testament environment. He was very specific about creating an environment where he would exist.
Conia [00:26:57]:
But in the New Testament, the environment where God exists is in our hearts. And so we need to be very specific about making sure that we are creating this great, great place for God to exist so that he can do this work and creating that sacred space, that place of peace, that environment for him to work. John 14:23. All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them. And we will come and make our home with each of them. God makes himself at home in the one who loves him. There’s intimacy with God in that sacred, sacred space, and it’s being at peace.
Conia [00:27:55]:
So we go to John 14:27, and this is where Jesus is about to leave. He’s about to leave, and he says, I’m leaving you with a gift. In this translation, it says peace of mind and heart. He’s talking about the Holy Spirit. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. This is the last thing that Jesus is communicating to those on earth before he goes to be with the Father, that he’s leaving, you know, people on their deathbed. Now, we know that Jesus didn’t die.
Conia [00:28:39]:
But people, as they’re getting ready to part the earth, they bestow upon their loved ones that most important thing. And Jesus is bestowing on his loved ones, his disciples, those he loves. And John would say that Jesus loved him. He loved all the disciples. He’s bestowing on them the most precious gift that he can bestow, and that is the Holy Spirit, and that is his peace. And that is now our peace. And he’s leaving that with us. And if we ignore it, and if we let the strife and the struggle and the nastiness of the world come on us, that peace can’t function.
Conia [00:29:32]:
But when we’re confident and we create an environment for God to work, that peace functions and blessings flow. So one last thought for you. We often say when someone has passed from the earth and gone to heaven, rest in peace. And one of the things God gave me in my quiet time just kind of heard it down in my spirit. He said, kania, rest in peace. Not just for those who have departed the earth, rest in peace is for every one of my children. You can rest in peace right here, right now, and let God’s blessings flow. Father, thank you that you have given us great peace, that it is the most important thing for us to hang on to.
Conia [00:30:35]:
Lord, just help us to remember that the Holy Spirit is right there always. Lord, help us to create an environment that invites you in and allows you to work in us, through us and for us. In Jesus name, amen. Pastor David’s coming to close us out.
