In this message, Dr. Stanley explains how Christ can set us free from thoughts that steal our peace. We don’t have to haul around a load of insecurity, inadequacy, and hurt when we have a Savior who can heal and deliver us, replacing our burden with His peace and joy. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to intouch.org/tv.
when we think of Christmas one of the
words that pops in their mind often
times this piece we sing about it we
talk about it we write about it we hear
about it but how much of it do we really
experience especially peace within
ourselves we talk about peace between
nations peace in groups that are voting
on issues but what about peace within
ourselves how many of us have genuine
peace within ourselves you remember
Jesus said my peace I leave with you my
peace are given to you not as the world
gives give on to you but let not your
heart be troubled God is a God of peace
and God is interested in peace within
all of us and one of the issues that we
have to deal with the peace is this
whole idea of peace within ourselves so
I want to think about peace for just a
moment it’s mentioned 353 times in the
Bible so it says something about how
important it is Jesus talked about it
let’s think about this whole daughter
idea peace within ourselves if I should
ask you today do you have peace within
yourself are you happy about yourself
are you at ease with yourself can you
sleep with yourself and be happy can you
go about your work and be happy or is
there something missing in your life
there are three areas of life in which
you and I suddenly want to have peace
and the first one is peace with God
which is his gift to us when we accept
the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal
Savior for the forgiveness of our sins
we have peace with him the war is or no
country then there’s peace with one
another which is the result of our
learning to live in a harmonious
relationship with others and this is a
very difficult situation with many
people they have a very difficult time
really being at peace with many people
in their life sometimes it’s for their
own home with their children with their
friends the people they work with but
there seems to be conflict when there’s
no peace there’s conflict there’s
something wrong but you know the burning
greek word RNA which is the greek word
for peace means to bind the yellow and
when you don’t have that you have
conflict then of course this one that’s
what we want to talk about peace with
ourselves
when you think about it would you think
that you have peace with yourself you
had to yourself you’re delighted with
what God’s doing in your life what
you’re accomplishing what you’re
achieving so pleased with ourselves
which is the inner quietness and
serenity that comes when we learn to
live in a harmonious relationship with
our inner self how do we live with
ourselves many people cannot this is why
they get entangled in all kind of
situations and circumstances that are
very damaging to their life they don’t
have any peace in themselves there is
only one place that you’ll find peace
that makes it possible for you to have
peace with yourself to accept yourself
to be at ease with yourself to be happy
with yourself and that is in a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ no other
way I know that many of you who are
trying all other things say well some of
these some want to somehow I’m gonna
make peace with myself no you’re not not
apart from Jesus Christ and so when I
think about that and I think about the
struggle that people go through to find
peace for themselves
the things that they do the places they
go the money they spend how do you find
peace with yourself and that’s what I
want us to talk about primarily in this
message and I want to think about how
piece really eludes us we think well
everything is just fine
then all of a sudden we don’t have any
peace because we forget what the base
several pieces it’s the basis of our
peace with ourselves is the relationship
its relationship to God but its
relationship to ourself if I should ask
you do you love yourself oh you
shouldn’t talk about loving self yes you
should you should love yourself because
watch this only those you love will you
really treat adequately you do not love
somebody you’re not gonna you said what
about all the people I don’t know there
is a capacity God has given us to feel
and to express love for people we don’t
know otherwise why would God give us a
great Commission go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature
if we do not have the capacity to love
people we don’t know people will never
see then there’s something wrong with
the Great Commission given to us by
Jesus because there’s a capacity to love
even those you don’t know our problem is
loving the people who we do know and
loving ourselves but it’s loving
ourselves that I want us to know
primarily here and Psalm 34 verse 14 if
you’ll turn there for a second it’s just
a very very short passage of Scripture
and the reason I want you to turn this
because of what it says it’s a very
short verse and here’s what it says seek
peace and pursue it it isn’t just enough
to seek it but go after it there was
when you find it pursue it that is work
at it because peace does not come
cheaply and it does not come oftentimes
easy so honest I think for just a moment
if you think about your peace with other
people if you have it it’s going to be
expressive in a certain way if you don’t
have it it’s going to be expressed in a
certain way so let’s think about it for
just a moment now listen you have to be
honest with yourself you can sit in
think a lot more Christian and I’ve got
peace with everybody know you
not really if you asked me if I had
peace with everybody I couldn’t tell you
that I have peace with every single
person because some people create
conflict and you have to work at having
that kind of relationship with people
who are just conflicting by their very
nature so let’s think about it in this
light and that is a person that we have
problems being at peace with people for
example who don’t like the way they look
you said well no what’s this got to do
with just stay with me they don’t like
the way they look they get up in the
morning and they look at themselves and
this is not right that’s not right this
is not right and this is too tight and
these shoes are the wrong color and my
stocking has a whole run in it and on
and on you go and so after all you think
what in the world is going on that you
don’t like that you don’t have peace
with yourself until you can accept
yourself and all of us have expectations
of ourselves so naturally we’re going to
judge ourselves on the basis of what we
expect and so sometimes people do well
till they look in the mirror and they
think oh my what’s happened to me I’m
getting old I’m getting too thin I’m
getting there otherwise and so they have
a problem with it then people feel
inadequate they don’t feel like they’re
up to doing what they need to do and
ought to be able to do and so they feel
inadequate they don’t have any teas you
have a job for example you go to your
job on Monday morning you don’t feel I
think that you can do it it’s over your
head you don’t having the peace and so
listen to this when there’s no peace
that’s what conflict and when there’s
conflict that’s not happiness there’s no
joy there’s no real sense of
satisfaction and acceptance of ourselves
and so the conflict is an indication
something’s not right
then there’s feeling unworthy and I
don’t deserve that and you have seen
people like this and met people and
maybe you have congratulated them for
something you’ve given them something
and you’ve told them how grateful you
are and what do they say all you know
they say
I don’t deserve it you should and so
they don’t know how to accept
congratulations that my how to accept a
gift that oh my how to accept the fact
that you think they’re special that you
think there were they can’t accept that
Samara why not because of something
you’ve done but because of something
they feel on the inside they don’t feel
worthy of a gift they don’t feel worthy
of your desire and many people for
example get into marriages and they get
into measures that don’t last because
they never settle this they never get
this issue of a personal acceptance
right and so sometimes because they
don’t accept themselves they don’t allow
someone else to accept them because they
don’t even know how they can’t even
interpret it and so before long they
have a problem there’s conflict not what
the other person would but within
themselves that is at the acceptance of
one’s self on the basis of spiritual
things that’s very very very important
then of course there’s the feeling of
being not only unworthy but insecure
about themselves if you’re insecure
about yourself you’re never quite happy
I’ll tell you what it’s like it’s right
walking like this I’m not too sure I’m
gonna put my foot the right place you
don’t feel secure you don’t feel that is
these are not feelings that God intends
for his children to have because if
you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your
Savior he’s gonna make you very good
he’s gonna he’s gonna enable you to be
at peace with your surroundings but many
people are not and of course there’s the
feeling that they don’t fit any group
they don’t they don’t fit a son in class
at church they don’t that any group
where they work in their community that
they just don’t fit if you ask him why
they can’t tell you why then watch this
they have this feeling I don’t fit if
you say will describe that foam but they
can’t tell you why they just feel
inadequate they feel unloved they feel
unacceptable and you ask them why they
can’t tell you they’ve never experienced
the awesome indescribable unconditional
love of
Jesus Christ he’s the foundation of true
genuine love and then of course many
people don’t feel loved by anybody and
this is one of the biggest problems that
they in our society children grow up
they have their college education paid
for they have an automobile all the
clothes they want all the rest but they
never got accepted at home as a part of
the family
listen voices carefully you can’t give
in as substitutes for love you can’t
give any substitutes or accepting
somebody you can’t give into substances
but just acknowledging who they are and
accepting them as they are they’re no
substitutes for that and one of the
major problems in our society is we
don’t accept each other we can always
come up with some reason to criticize
and to blame and rather than accept the
fact that we’re all different we’re not
you know and that no to people this is
hard to believe in it all the billions
of people in the world no two of us are
like you think well surely there must be
somebody out there like me but usually
the people who are arguing with that
don’t want to divide like them they
can’t accept themselves so I’d ask you
this simple question do you accept
yourself just like you are this is who
you are God wants us to accept ourselves
listen in his love in his predetermined
will he wants us to accept ourselves and
when you trusted him as your Savior he
didn’t say well look there’s a wholeness
though he I want to deal with now No
he began to work in your heart watch
this when you trusted him as your Savior
the Holy Spirit came into your life he
sent him to sealed you under the day of
redemption which means once you’re a
child of God you’re always a child of
God you may not act like it you may not
look like it you may not dress like it
you may not do anything but you still
are and when you don’t do the right
things
his chastising hand comes upon you and
you wonder well where is this level of
God that’s what he’s doing loving you by
chasing you to get you back in line
so God wants us to live in peace and he
wants us to have his peace and to be at
peace with one another here’s what I
want you remember
are you listening say Amen when you and
I carry with us negative attitudes about
ourselves we may think that that’s just
between us and nobody else it’s also
between us and God but now here’s that
here’s the bad thing all those negative
thoughts weigh on us they’re in your
mind all that negativism is in your
brain in your mind and you’re thinking
about that you say well what’s that got
to do with you so it’s got to do with
negative thinking about yourself
unloving thoughts about yourself way
something they weigh against you and so
you carry that with you all of that
trashy stuff weighs within a person’s
life and this is why they are
emotionally been over you may stand tall
but if you’re not emotionally right on
the inside this is what happens the real
picture is this because all of its
negative thinking – God – his love –
what he thinks about you is weighing you
down so when I think about that the fact
that we battled these things all the
time and I think about children who grew
up in a home or the mom and dad fussing
at each other no acceptance of each
other
what does that y’all have chale has a
mind full of chaos conflict
consternation unloving bad words bad
deeds bad sites that they say and they
grow up with it and we don’t realize
what this thinking does – listen this is
right with and love God we’re to be at
peace with him we’re to be at peace with
each other unless we’re at peace with
him we’ll never be at peace with each
other and so
people struggle to overcome these things
and they can dress up job the best live
the best talk the best but unless God
has dealt with you’re thinking about
yourself watch this carefully if
somebody criticizes you listening
carefully say Amen if somebody
criticizes you that doesn’t mean it’s
the truth doesn’t mean it’s a truth God
is healing the true judge that sometimes
all of us need to be corrected but
that’s not listening correcting my
attitude or my particular action or what
I say that that’s not who I am
sometimes I may need correction but I
think about people who grow up in
conflict it’s constant conflict and the
reason I make an issue of that it’s
because I grew up in that and I look
back and realize how long it took me to
get that all of that out of my system
and we will act what we think what we
feel and the only God can deliver us and
when I went to see my stepfather and
deal with my attitude toward him
set me free I’d already been a pastor
but I knew something was wrong and
wasn’t right I had to deal with it and I
had to go to see him and express what I
felt in my heart and not blame him but
accept the fact that that my feelings
told him we’re not right and get that
straight as long as you carry watch this
you can’t get rid of it unless you ain’t
God yet relevant you can go to
psychologist psychiatrist and everything
else you and God must deal with negative
attitudes that are nothing other than
conflict no peace my peace are given to
you not as the world giveth give unto
you let not your heart be troubled Jesus
made it very clear that the peace that
he gives
is peace that makes it possible for me
to live among people different people
who from other nations of the world and
yet we get along why because we have one
central figure and that is Jesus Christ
he’s the one who is a central figure and
that’s the way God intends for us to
live we at watch this we accept each
other because of who you are not because
of what you do all of us make mistakes
we don’t always look at best we don’t
always we don’t always do it best we
accept each other because we belong to
God and because Christ living within us
listen God intends for us to live
submissive to his will so that he can
express himself there was two other
people and the fact that we don’t is
because we do not realize we’re in a war
with ourselves as long as you’re at war
with yourself watch this you cannot be
at peace with others he can’t you won’t
happen and the reason we have such
conflicts and I think about all the
political conflicts and all the racial
conflicts and all the religious
conflicts and all national can’t say
conflict conflict conflict everywhere is
that necessary I don’t think so
you say well you don’t know what you’re
talking about I know this wherever Jesus
is he can eliminate conflict he can give
us peace in our heart acceptance of
ourselves and acceptance of each other
and one of the reasons we have problems
accepting other people as we don’t
accept ourselves when you’re living with
a mind full of conflict it may have
started in your home as a kid small
child it may have started later on in
life at this conflict there’s no peace
and if I should say today to you can you
name somebody in your life that when you
see them you feel conflict you may not
do that but your system does when you
deal with people with whom you have
conflict your whole system
is affected Jesus said my piece are
given to you that is the world gives I
give on you you can’t buy it you can’t
trade it you can’t swap it my piece are
given to you not as the world gives give
unto you let not your heart be troubled
what about it do you have real peace who
is there in your life with whom you feel
conflict even today is it somebody who’s
already died and buried but is in the
grave still have conflict somebody that
you married first still have conflict
your kids who went over to college and
haven’t written you a note I’ll called
you since they left your boss who fired
you and you thought felt it was
absolutely unnecessary and unfair who is
there in your life that still is there
no matter what because you’ve not dealt
with it my peace are given to you listen
when Jesus said that Rome and the Jews
were in terrible odds with each other
and yet Jesus said my peace are given to
you not as the world gives give honor
you let not your heart be troubled
neither let it be afraid he told us to
love each other not carry a load of
guilt and here’s the thing that’s so
such a burden to my own heart when I see
people who’ve grown up in families full
of hatred animosity and conflict with
each other and coming along in life in
facing life and carrying all that with
them when I think about it it’s it’s
really it’s really harmless to believe
that any two people could marry and be
happy if you think about where people
have come from the kind of homes they
grew up in
and then they marry someone and then
what happens if they haven’t dealt with
it all the past and all the past and
when all of us past meets it’s like an
explosion and we judge each other
accuse each other want to leave each
other want to weep want to hurt each
other and what we don’t realize this all
that started way back yonder we didn’t
deal with it then because nobody talked
to us about it kind of education never
mentioned it now I have all of this
stuff where we live where we drove what
we drive I have all this reputation all
this big job big this big that the
conflict is still there listen carefully
whatever has happened no matter how
you’ve been treated you don’t want to
carry the weight listen it didn’t
innocent come in pounds he comes in tons
tons of weight of negative feelings
thoughts ungodly feelings and thoughts
unforgiving feelings and thoughts it’s
there right here right here and if you
ever have any peace in your life you
can’t make enough money to buy driving
the big cars divided I live in the big
enough home they live one thing they can
set you free it’s Jesus Christ and when
you surrender your life to Him yes what
happens when you surrender your life to
him he takes away all the guilt he
taking take away all the hurt would you
have to deal with it yes you will but he
wants to clean you up whatever’s in your
heart that shouldn’t be there lay it
down lay it down you say how do I do
that
you confess it to God and you surrender
it and Lord I lay that down I choose to
ask you to take that out of my mind
I forgive whatever it takes don’t keep
care
the tonnage of unforgiveness hurt pain
grief in your life when it doesn’t
belong there my piece are given the you
Jesus said not as the world gives
because it doesn’t work nothing’s the
world give I give you my love my peace
and my joy and that’s the promise of
Almighty God to those of us who will
surrender our life to Him yield
ourselves to him and let him begin the
healing process in our life if you’ve
never trusted Jesus as your Savior
remember this you don’t have the
capacity to forgive you may have like a
passage to give a little bit but it
won’t last you need Jesus you need to
ask God to forgive you of your sin and I
trust that you’ll be willing to ask the
Lord to forgive you cleanse you set you
free and watch him work amen thank you
dear Lord for the awesome power of your
word when you said if we can test our
sins you are faithful and just that
means you always will forgive us of our
sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness all of these thoughts
their way as done in Jesus name Amen
you
This is a good subject to talk about. Generally when I come across these sort of things I like to post them on Digg. This article probably wont do well with that crowd. Ill take a look around your site though and submit something else.