JOYFULNESS AND PEACE THROUGH OUR FAITH

JOYFULNESS AND PEACE THROUGH OUR FAITH

Author:  Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans
Translator:  Robin Barker

Because we have this kind of belief we have peace:

HEB 11:1  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

The King James Version (KJV) states it as follows.

HEB 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

This kind of belief in our, works both ways and if it is not working so in my life,
I must work on it so that it starts working that way:
I have peace, because I have this faith.

Only when I have this faith in God and trust in Him, that I will have peace in my heart, whatever happens, only then has my faith reach maturity.

Then only does the two verses, of which I am very fond of, really makes sense:

ROM 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.

PHI 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.

In the King James Version (KJV) Philippians 4 verse 4 reads as follows:

PHI 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

I must continually remind myself that God has not promised me a trouble free journey but a glorious home coming that will continue forever.
Jesus says about our journey to our home coming the following:

JOHN 16:33  “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Do you see what Jesus says?  He says that His followers will have peace:

JOHN 16:33  “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Where do we have this peace?
Where are we with this peace?

We have this peace, through our belief in Him:

JOHN 16:33  “… In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The two main pillars that our faith is built on are, firstly, the cross on Golgotha.

JOHN 3:14-18 

14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18  Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

The second pillar that our faith is built on is the empty grave.

LUKE 24:1-9 
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

Our belief is through a steadfast trust in Jesus Christ.
                                                       
JOHN 3:36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

JOHN 5:24  Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Do you see child of God –

We, who believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, can never die and there is no condemnation waiting for us and therefore we have peace, because we know, we will live forever and no punishment awaits us.

Another translation reads as follows:

JOHN 5:24  I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. (NLT)

ROM 8:1  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
ROM 8:2  because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Together with my great hero Paul we can loudly rejoice as he did:

2 COR 4:6-10 

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7  But we have this treasure in jars (our fragile bodies) of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
8  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
9  persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.
10  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

PHI 4:19  And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
PHI 4:20  To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

So child of God – it also works in reverse –

Because I believe in Jesus, I have peace and I have peace because I believe in Jesus.

ROM 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Greetings,
Sakkie