Most people don't think much about peace—until it's gone.

When anxiety rises, relationships become strained, life feels out of control, or our minds won't slow down, we quickly realize how valuable peace really is.

In Part 3 of the Life on the Vine series, Marcel Hall explores the fruit of the Spirit known as peace and why biblical peace is much deeper than the absence of conflict. Drawing from Galatians 5, Philippians 4, and the broader story of Scripture, this message examines how peace grows when we stay connected to the God of peace.

Along the way, Marcel unpacks the biblical meaning of peace, the difference between temporary relief and lasting peace, why we often look for peace in the wrong places, and how following the Holy Spirit transforms us into peacemakers who bring God's presence into our families, workplaces, schools, and communities.

Whether you're dealing with anxiety, uncertainty, conflict, or simply feeling overwhelmed, this message offers practical and spiritual guidance for experiencing a deeper peace that isn't dependent on circumstances.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Sports Story

02:00 The Fruit of the Spirit: Peace

04:00 What Peace Really Means

07:00 The God of Peace

10:00 Peace Is a Fruit of the Spirit

12:00 Cultivating the Conditions for Peace

14:00 Walking With the Spirit

20:00 Drawing Near to the God of Peace

22:00 Peace Through God's Presence

24:00 Peace Through God's Truth

25:00 Peace Through Remembering God's Faithfulness

26:00 Philippians 4 and Anxiety

27:00 Becoming Peaceful People

29:00 Becoming Peacemakers

31:00 Practical Action Steps

33:00 Final Challenge and Prayer

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OC Church of Christ

Good morning, brothers and sisters.

2

Good morning.

3

It is good to be together.

4

My name is Marcelle Hall, and, uh,

I have the honor and privilege to

5

be a minister here in the church.

6

Uh, I serve with my wife, Karina.

7

We've been married almost 21 years.

8

We have three kids.

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And, um, and it's summertime, so it's,

uh, an active household for sure.

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Uh, definitely grateful to be able

to speak God's word this morning.

11

Um, I, I need your prayers.

12

Can, can you, can you pray

for me silently right now?

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Or, uh, we'll pray here in a second.

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But, uh, I was getting over a

little bit of a cold, uh, this,

15

uh, this week, and then I watched

the championship game yesterday.

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Some of y'all, I guess, are

not happy with the results.

17

And, uh, I'm a, I'm a big basketball fan,

a huge sports fan, and I get really into

18

sports, and I get really into the games.

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And I didn't really care too much who won,

but, uh, there was some plays at the end

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of the game, uh, that were just pretty

mind-boggling for me, as a basketball fan.

21

And I, I, I jumped up literally, and

I'm standing and I'm yelling at the TV.

22

And then I, I yelled so much that I felt

a little something in my voice, and I

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said, "Oh, I should not have done that."

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And, uh, those who know, I've had a,

uh, history of a, a vocal nodule, which

25

is a benign tumor on the vocal cords.

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I have to be very careful with

my voice and not yell, because

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then I can aggravate it.

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So I feel it in my voice a little

bit, so I feel like I'll be a

29

little more subdued today, okay?

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All right.

31

And so, but we need the Spirit

to still speak this morning.

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Amen?

33

Amen.

34

So we are going to continue a sermon

series that we started a couple of

35

weeks ago, called Life on the Vine.

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We're walking through, uh, Galatians

5:22-23, seeing the fruit of the Holy

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Spirit's work and presence in our lives.

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And so let's go ahead and, uh,

give you the topic for today.

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Today, we will be hitting on peace.

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Amen.

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Let's go to God in prayer.

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Father in heaven, I thank you

so much for your presence.

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Father, as we were singing earlier,

the Holy Spirit, you are welcome here.

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May we be more aware of your presence.

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May we experience more of

your glory and goodness.

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Amen.

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And Father, I pray right now for that.

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I pray that, uh, you will use me, and that

I can just be an instrument, that, uh, you

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move me to the side and speak your word.

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Father, bless my, my voice for being

able to make it, and God, again,

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communicate your message for us today.

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In the name of Jesus, amen.

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Amen.

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Again, we are talking about peace.

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And you know, what's funny

about peace is peace can be

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overrated until we don't have it.

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Yeah.

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Right?

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You know, you'll s- you're willing

to sacrifice certain things,

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and people say, "Hey, well you

know, that might affect you."

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And you're like, "But that's okay."

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But then once you lose peace,

you go, "Whoa, you know what?

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I really need that peace in my life."

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And then when we have a time to

reflect and think about it, we

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all want and need more peace.

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Do you need any less peace in your life?

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No.

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Of course not.

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You're like, "That's a foolish question.

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I want more and more peace."

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And so we're going to see how God

has a big plan and works in our lives

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so that we can not only experience

peace, but also bring peace.

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Let's get into the scriptures.

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Brothers, sisters, are

you with me this morning?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Galatians 5:22, the Apostle Paul

has just talked about what it's like

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to have life, freedom in Christ.

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And then he talks about how

sin, the acts of the flesh, can

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actually separate us from God.

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He says, "But the fruit of

the Spirit," verse 22, "is

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love, joy, peace, forbearance,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

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gentleness, and self-control.

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Against such things there is no law."

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Now, what comes to mind

when you think of peace?

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Let's get a couple answers here.

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What comes to mind when

you think of peace?

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Quiet.

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Okay, someone said quiet, right?

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Yes, we usually think quiet

when we think of peace.

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What are some other things?

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You can raise your hand here.

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Yes.

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The ocean is peace.

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You go out there, you see

the nice Pacific Ocean.

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Okay.

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Yeah, all right.

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That's good.

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Uh, yes?

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No anxiety.

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No anxiety, right?

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The absence of things here.

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Yes?

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Contentment.

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Contentment.

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We think, man, when I'm content,

therefore I am peaceful.

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We'll go one more.

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Secure in Christ.

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Secure in Christ.

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All right, so a number of things come

to mind when we think of peace, and

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often we can think of situational peace.

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No clutter, no qui- you know, no,

no noise, and stuff like that.

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I know when I come home and the

place is clean, that brings some

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serious peace to a brother's soul.

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'Cause I've noticed when it's not

like that, I'm li- I'm disturbed.

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Something's not right in me,

and peace has evacuated my soul.

117

But you know, the Spirit of God

produces peace that's independent of

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situations, and can make us peaceful,

and therefore become peacemakers.

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Yeah.

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Let's look at this word

real quickly of peace.

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And so then the old, in the, the Hebrew,

in the Old Testament, the word is shalom.

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In the New Testament,

it, it's, uh, eirene.

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Forgive me on my

pronunciation of my Greek.

124

I failed that class.

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I never took it, but there you go.

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But there's this idea here of

peace n- not just being the absence

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of conflict, but being more.

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It means to be whole,

this idea of being whole.

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When things are together, when

things are in order, or your

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wellbeing, therefore you have peace

or harmony, harmony with others.

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And so this idea of peace, biblically

speaking, is more than just the

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absence of chaos- Yeah … but

it's to be spiritually whole.

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It's to be also to have a

wellbeing in your life, and to

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have harmony in your relationships.

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And so this applied politically,

whether it was the nation of Israel.

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This applied to the individual, but

it also applied to our relationships

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with one another, and most of

all, our relationship to God.

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And so this is the biblical peace

that is mentioned in scripture.

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And so it's this peace

that is upward, me and God.

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It's a peace that's inward.

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There's a peace from within, a

peace of mind, a tranquility.

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And then there's a peace that's

outward, that's harmony with others.

143

And so this is the fruit of

the Holy Spirit in our lives.

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And if you think about it, it makes

sense because when you don't have

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these things, you don't have peace.

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When things are out of order in

your life, do you experience peace?

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No.

148

When your wellbeing is not where it could

or should be, do you experience peace?

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No.

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When there's conflict in your

life, do you have a sense of peace?

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No.

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In fact, what does that produce?

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Anxiety.

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It produces everything but peace.

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Yeah.

156

And so we see here, we have to be

reminded that this is the fruit of

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the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.

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Now, we're gonna break this down some

more, but we have to understand something

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very fundamental as we understand the

Holy Spirit's work of peace in our lives.

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And first of all, it is this,

that our God is the God of peace.

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God is the god of peace, and we see this

explicitly stated in a number of passages.

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Romans 15:33 talks about, "The

God of peace be with you all."

163

Romans 16:20 says, "The God of peace

will soon crush Satan under your feet."

164

Philippians 4:9 says, "And whatever

you have learned or received or heard

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from me, and put into practice, and

the God of peace will be with you."

166

1 Thessalonians 5:23, "May

God himself, the God of peace,

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sanctify you through and through."

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And in Hebrews 13:20, "Now may the

God of peace who through the blood

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of the eternal covenant brought

back from the dead our Lord Jesus."

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You see, our God is the God of peace.

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Yes.

172

That's who he is, that's his

character, and that's his nature,

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and that's also what he produces.

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Now, here's what's really cool.

175

Think about this.

176

So if God is the God of peace, and

we know because we are taught in

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scripture that we actually receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit in our

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lives when we repent and get baptized.

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So now the God of peace now dwells within

us, and what is the, the Spirit doing?

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Producing more peace in our lives.

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Yes.

182

And it makes sense because if the God

of peace is within me, then he's going

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to bring his peace in my life, and

he's gonna work peace through my life.

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And so we're reminded again

here, Galatians 5:22, is that the

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Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit

is love, joy, peace, and so on.

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It is the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

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The…

188

We cannot physically, we cannot, uh,

strategically manufacture the godly

189

peace in our lives with self-efforts.

190

Yeah.

191

It is a product of the Spirit in our

lives and the Spirit working in our lives.

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Do you hear what I'm saying?

193

So this peace is a gift, however, we

know that we also need to cultivate the

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conditions for the Spirit to produce

more and more peace in our lives.

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Yeah.

196

Yeah.

197

There's always this divine

relationship with God, that God

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works, but then includes us to

participate in His good work.

199

Amen.

200

We see this with the Holy Spirit,

and we can understand this when we

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look at a lot of things in life.

202

Again, we have to cultivate the conditions

where the Spirit's peace will grow in us.

203

I wanna show you something

here real quickly.

204

This is, uh, my son Dominique's,

uh, little plant that he just

205

brought home the other day.

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Right.

207

You see his name on there, Dominique.

208

And so he ju- they went to a

farm for, uh, uh, one of his,

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um, we call them field trips.

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And he brought back this little plant.

211

And he's like, "Man, I- I'm putting this

up," and he, he starts watering the plant.

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And the other day I said, "Hey,

so what, what, what kind of,

213

uh, what kind of plant is this?"

214

He says, "I don't know."

215

I say, "You, you don't know

the plant that you just got?"

216

"I don't know."

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And he just goes on and keeps playing.

218

I said, "Okay, well are you, uh,

are you still watering that thing?"

219

"Yeah."

220

"Every day?"

221

He didn't really answer the question.

222

And so we understand

how this works, right?

223

We understand, what does

Dominique need to do?

224

He needs to put that thing

in the sun, and it's outside.

225

And actually, when I told him, he rem- he

reminded himself, "Oh, I better go outside

226

and grab this and put this in the sun."

227

And so he knows, and we all know, if we're

trying to grow a plant, what do we do?

228

We gotta go ahead and get some

soil, we gotta get some water,

229

we gotta go ahead and what?

230

We gotta get in the sun.

231

And we know as time goes

by, what will happen?

232

It will grow.

233

It will grow.

234

And so we understand this.

235

We're like gardening, right?

236

We put effort, but we aren't the

ones who actually make it grow.

237

But we do need to do our parts.

238

Yeah.

239

We do have a responsibility.

240

And so whether it's preparing the soil,

planting, watering, weeding, pruning,

241

protecting, we do all of that, but the

fruit of the Spirit comes from God's work

242

in our lives, but our responsibility is to

cultivate the conditions where the Spirit

243

grows more and more peace in our lives.

244

Yes.

245

So again, we don't manufacture it,

but we need to cultivate so that the

246

conditions can be ready so that God will

produce more and more peace in your life.

247

And we see this in the scripture.

248

And so we're gonna look here.

249

We're looking at f- Galatians 5:22-23.

250

But right before and right afterwards, we

see this divine partnership at play here.

251

Look at these scriptures.

252

Galatians 5, over in verse 16,

it says, "Walk by the Spirit."

253

Yeah.

254

He also says, "But if you are

led by the Spirit, you are

255

not under the law," verse 18.

256

"Since we live by the Spirit, let

us keep in step with the Spirit."

257

Right.

258

And that is sandwiched in between what?

259

The fruit of the Spirit.

260

Right.

261

So we see this beautiful, divine

combination take place, which we

262

understand with this metaphor of

gardening and life on the vine.

263

And so the growth of the s- of fruit of

the Holy Spirit, we have to make sure

264

we are obeying the Spirit in our lives.

265

That's right.

266

Right.

267

You know, we have to make decisions

to live by the Spirit of God.

268

Not the flesh, but to live by the

Spirit of God, 'cause then God's

269

going to make the fruit of His Spirit

grow more and more in our lives.

270

Amen.

271

You know, I wanna bring up my friend Kyle.

272

Kyle, can you come on stage here?

273

Kyle's gonna go ahead and, uh, we're,

we're, we're gonna try to do, uh, show

274

what this looks like here, all right?

275

So Kyle, come on up stage.

276

Gi- give some love for my

main man Kyle right here.

277

All right.

278

This kind of look a little bit like

Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson, doesn't it?

279

There you go.

280

But Jalen Brunson won, so you know

it was- all right, anyway, sorry

281

That wasn't a burn.

282

I don't know what the "oh" was

about, you know what I'm saying?

283

We just having some fun, y'all.

284

Okay.

285

All right.

286

So here's how it works here, so we

can understand how all of this works.

287

Okay, so Kyle is going to be a

representation of the Holy Spirit.

288

I am representing us.

289

And so what the scripture

tells us to do is to do what?

290

We need to follow the Holy Spirit.

291

So come on over here, Kyle.

292

Let's go ahead.

293

And these are our lives,

this is our lives.

294

And so as the Holy Spirit

leads us, go ahead and walk.

295

We are called to do what?

296

Follow.

297

Follow the Spirit.

298

Let's go ahead and stop right there.

299

We get into some trouble, let me

just say this right now, when we

300

try to get ahead of the Spirit.

301

Yeah.

302

You ever tried that?

303

Yeah.

304

We get in trouble when we do that or

when we say, "Hey, you know what, Spirit?

305

I know you wanna go this

way, but can we go this way?"

306

Yeah.

307

No, we are called to

follow the Holy Spirit.

308

And so as we walk with the Holy Spirit,

go ahead and walk, Kyle, the, He also

309

gives us the fruit of the Spirit.

310

So this is the peace of God.

311

And so as we walk, go ahead, Kyle.

312

G- I, man, I need some

more of that Spirit.

313

Can you give me some of that?

314

He gives us the Holy Spirit.

315

Yeah.

316

You with me here?

317

Yeah.

318

And so let's go ahead,

let's go this way, Kyle.

319

Kyle, you, He's walking and He wants

to take me down different places.

320

Now, life doesn't always

have a straight line.

321

It's a little bit of

twisting and turning, right?

322

So Kyle, can we have some

twisting and turning through this?

323

We gotta make sure that we do

go ahead and do this, right?

324

Yeah.

325

We have to make sure we do that.

326

Now, here's the thing.

327

At these times in our lives when we have

twists and turns, we can go ahead and

328

draw near to God and receive more of

His Spirit because He wants to give us.

329

So it, during this twist and turns,

He's giving more and more of the

330

Spirit, and I'm saying hallelujah.

331

Hallelujah.

332

The Spirit wants to make it

rain with some, with some,

333

with some peace in my life.

334

And so again, as we go in

there, there's times where I'm

335

like, "God, I need your help.

336

Can you give me some more of that spirit?"

337

He does and he gives it.

338

But here's the problem.

339

Sometimes we do this.

340

Go ahead, come on back, Holy Spirit.

341

Here we go.

342

I don't tell the Spirit

to tell me, but you, you-

343

But sometimes, here's what I can do.

344

God, I need the Holy Spirit.

345

I need it bad.

346

Oh, I wish you would just give it to me.

347

No, keep your hand down.

348

Give me some more Holy Spirit.

349

Oh, if you would just give me more.

350

I'm struggling, it's hard.

351

And the whole time he's

offering, but I'm not receiving.

352

Yeah.

353

Sometimes I get distracted.

354

Oh, yes, and the Spirit's walking, and

he wants to, he's got it available,

355

but then I'm going, "Oh, man."

356

But I want this peace.

357

God, give me this peace.

358

Holy Spirit, keep walking.

359

I want this peace.

360

I want this peace.

361

Why are you not giving me peace?

362

There's a problem, isn't there?

363

Yes.

364

Is it the Spirit's fault?

365

No.

366

"Man, God, he doesn't give me

what I want when I ask him."

367

Maybe I'm not in step with the Spirit.

368

Right.

369

Maybe I decided to walk

outside of His will.

370

Maybe I'm not even realizing that He's

available, He's right there, and if

371

I was close to Him, I could have that

peace, but for some reason, I have some

372

stinky thinking, and I, and I avoid it.

373

I don't receive it

374

Sometimes, and this is what I

do, "Can you give me spirit?

375

Thank you, Lord.

376

But you know what?

377

I'm still praying, a- a- a- a- and

I'm gonna give that back to you."

378

Amen.

379

I don't consciously do that.

380

But subconsciously I do this.

381

I keep praying, but then all I do is I

get more and more anxious as I'm praying.

382

Has that ever happened to you?

383

Yes.

384

I'll be honest with you, that was

happening to me about 15 minutes ago.

385

Come on.

386

No, I'm dead serious.

387

I was sitting down, and I'm

like, "Man, God, you know what?

388

I, I thought my voice was gonna

be a little better," and I started

389

feeling more and more anxious.

390

I'm going, "I'm about

to preach about this.

391

Why am I going through this right now?"

392

And I said, "Man, I got, I gotta,

I gotta draw nearer to you.

393

I gotta draw nearer to you.

394

God, you're gonna work this out," but

I'm, I'm wrestling- Yeah … right

395

there in that seat next to Karina.

396

I'm wrestling with it.

397

So it was available, it's there, but I

gotta draw near- Right … to the Spirit.

398

Because why?

399

This is the God of peace, and

my peace is gonna grow when

400

I'm close to the God of peace.

401

That's right.

402

Yeah.

403

But when I'm distant, I may

have peace that's temporary,

404

but it won't be godly peace.

405

Yeah.

406

And we also get into trouble as

the Spirit wants to lead again,

407

when we get in the front or we

try to direct, or when we have,

408

again, some stinking thinking and we

think we can get peace from other places.

409

Yeah.

410

Yeah.

411

Let me turn to food.

412

Let me turn.

413

Let me turn to shopping.

414

Yeah.

415

Let me turn to vegging out.

416

Let me turn to social media.

417

Let me turn to TV and film.

418

Let me turn to drugs.

419

Let me turn to some form of sexual

immorality or sexual impurity.

420

Because then I will feel secure, I will

feel peace, but then it is fleeting, and

421

we realize we didn't have peace at all.

422

That's right.

423

We had a temporary fulfillment, but we

didn't have the peace we were needing.

424

That's right.

425

And so we see here, we need to do what?

426

We need to draw near to the God of peace.

427

And as the Spirit walks, we

need to make sure we're keeping

428

in step with the peace of God.

429

Go ahead.

430

Thank you, Kyle.

431

Appreciate that.

432

There's some peace for

your life right there.

433

And so what should we do in response?

434

I think it's pretty obvious.

435

The scrip- the scriptures

articulate this very well.

436

We need to keep in step with the Spirit.

437

Amen.

438

When we keep in step with the Spirit,

we will therefore cultivate the

439

conditions where the Spirit of God

will produce peace in our lives.

440

And how can we do this?

441

Well, through God's presence.

442

Let's see here.

443

Through the presence of God.

444

You know, again, peace grows when

we stay close to the God of peace.

445

We will get reminded that God is present.

446

He's not distant.

447

He's not far off.

448

He's not just above.

449

God is present in my life.

450

That's right.

451

He's right there.

452

Now, when I'm standing next to

Kyle, we're walking down the

453

street, I feel a lot more secure.

454

'Cause I'm like, "They're not

gonna mess with me when I got

455

this tall dude right here."

456

Yeah.

457

I know I feel better.

458

When we stand and we're close, and

I'm not talking about knowledge close,

459

I'm talking about intimacy close.

460

Right.

461

Yeah.

462

I'm not talking about just proximity

close, I'm talking about intimacy close.

463

I'm talking about relationally close.

464

When we have that presence of God,

what does it produce in your life?

465

Think about it.

466

When you feel close to God,

what do you experience?

467

Peace.

468

Peace.

469

Yeah.

470

When you don't have a close

relationship with God, how do you feel?

471

Amen.

472

You don't feel that peace

of God that he provides.

473

That's right.

474

And so, and again, we need to make

sure we draw near to the God of peace.

475

He's present.

476

And then we can be confident in who he is,

his character, his plans, and his deeds.

477

And so again, what does this come back to?

478

We need to pray.

479

We need to be praying a lot.

480

We need to have devotional time.

481

We need to be in God's word.

482

We need to meet up with God's

people, 'cause I see the, the, the

483

elements and components of God in

different ways, and I get a chance

484

to experience God in a different

way than when it's just me and God.

485

We need to go ahead and draw

closer to him, being vulnerable.

486

Being vulnerable with god.

487

God, here's who I am, here's what I'm

feeling, here's what I'm thinking.

488

We're vulnerable, and that produces more

confidence in our relationship with God

489

We also do this through truth of god.

490

You know, when God's truth is

understood and trusted, it brings peace.

491

Again, we can have some stinking

thinking in our situations and in our

492

relationships, and we start to believe

a narrative that is actually false.

493

And when we believe a false narrative,

we no longer can enjoy and experience the

494

peace of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

495

So we have to get centered and

reminded of the truth of God.

496

You know, there's times, and there's

been min- number of times in my

497

relationship with Karina, we've been

married, I said almost 21 years, where

498

I'm like, man, there, there, some,

some insecurity, some doubt comes

499

into my mind in the relationship.

500

And then I get smacked in the face

spiritually, emotionally, or somehow,

501

I'm like, "This woman loves me."

502

Yeah.

503

You tripping, Marcel.

504

You think she would've put up with

you all these years and all this

505

nonsense if she didn't love you?

506

You right.

507

You right.

508

For real.

509

I'm over here doubting that this

woman is loving me right now.

510

Now we might have something we

need to work through, but did

511

she ever really stop loving me?

512

No.

513

She might be mad at me, but

she didn't stop loving me.

514

That's right.

515

Come on.

516

You guys get what I'm saying?

517

Yes.

518

I need to be centered.

519

And the same thing spiritually with God.

520

We got some stinking thinking.

521

God, I don't know if you're there.

522

I don't know if this.

523

What is the truth about God?

524

He's there.

525

He's good.

526

He's true, and he's faithful.

527

Yes.

528

Yes.

529

Come on.

530

So do I need to be anxious about this?

531

Do I need to fear about this?

532

No, things are actually in place.

533

I actually am whole spiritually.

534

Amen.

535

And again, what happens?

536

Peace grows in our lives.

537

When you are close to God, when you know

God's truth, what have you experienced?

538

Peace.

539

Appreciate Christian and his reminder

earlier, even in communion, we have what?

540

Yes, we might have weaknesses,

but God is gracious.

541

Yeah.

542

That was a truth.

543

We come to communion, what?

544

Reminding ourselves and

centering ourselves on what?

545

Truth.

546

God is good.

547

God loves me.

548

God is faithful.

549

We also cultivate this

through remembrance of god.

550

Recalling past experience with God

and God's provision produces peace.

551

We can say, "You know what?

552

I've been here before, and

he will get me out again."

553

Same thing in my relationship with Karina.

554

There's times when we have conflict,

and I'm able to be reminded by God's

555

grace and mercy, "You know, we've had

conflict before, and we got through it."

556

Amen.

557

We're gonna be able to

get through this conflict.

558

Right.

559

And so I have to recall

experiences, and the same with God.

560

We need to recall when God's

faithfulness has been proven

561

and experienced in our lives.

562

Amen.

563

Again, all these things are interlinked

because now we get reminded of this truth,

564

but then we also can recall experiences.

565

God, you've been good.

566

Yeah.

567

You are good this moment.

568

Yeah.

569

And we are going to be okay.

570

I am going to be whole.

571

I'm gonna have wellbeing, and there's

gonna be harmony, whether it's with me

572

and you, within myself, or with others.

573

Remember past times of victory.

574

When you think of your victory

and the times you had, what

575

does that produce for you?

576

Peace.

577

The shoulders are no longer as what?

578

Clenched up and tense.

579

You do this

580

And you start to have what?

581

Confidence.

582

Security in Christ.

583

Look at this in Philippians 4, I believe

it articulate, articulates it very well.

584

"Do not be anxious about anything."

585

What does that imply?

586

You and I are going to be anxious.

587

Some of us can read this like,

"Well, that's impossible."

588

No, it's saying, when you are

anxious, here's what you need to do.

589

"Do not be anxious about anything,

but in every situation, by prayer

590

and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

591

And the God of peace, which transcends

all understanding, will guard your

592

hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

593

Amen.

594

He says, "Bring your requests.

595

Remember God's faithfulness,

and experience God's peace."

596

Yeah.

597

You know, I believe that God has a bigger

aim and has more possibility with this

598

idea of peace than you and I realize.

599

'Cause we can think, "Yes, I

want to have peace in my life.

600

I need peace in my life right now.

601

There are some things going

on that it's really hard."

602

And I believe that the Spirit wants

to minister and provide peace in

603

those situations, but I believe

it's a lot bigger than that.

604

Here's what I think is clear from our

knowledge of God and also through the

605

scriptures, is that this idea of peace

is not just for us, but it's for us to

606

also become peaceful disciples of Jesus.

607

Wow.

608

When we receive this peace on a

consistent basis, what does that

609

produce in our character and our nature?

610

We become peaceful.

611

That becomes our character, our nature.

612

Why?

613

'Cause He's the God of peace, and

God is making and forming you and me

614

more into His image, so therefore,

we will be people of peace.

615

Amen.

616

But then check this out.

617

This isn't, this scripture

and all the scriptures, it's

618

not just for the individual.

619

It's for the whole community.

620

It's a communal command and directive.

621

Yeah.

622

It's for us to have peace within

each other, within the church family.

623

Yeah.

624

It is for us to be peaceful people.

625

And when you get peaceful people coming

together, what does that produce?

626

More peace.

627

Yeah.

628

And so you don't have a group that gets

together and is fighting and str- and…

629

No, you have a group that is bonding,

gelling, getting closer together.

630

So this leads to communal

peace within the church.

631

And then as peaceful disciples

of Jesus, what, what happens?

632

We become what?

633

Peacemakers.

634

Amen.

635

We bring peace, not just

individually, but collectively.

636

If all of us here collectively went out

these four walls, and we brought the

637

peace that we are receiving from God to

our work, to our school, to our families,

638

to our neighborhoods, what would happen?

639

We'd be bringing peace in those

areas, in those situations.

640

Right.

641

It would have a domino effect.

642

It would have a ripple effect upon

those around us, and they get a

643

chance to see and witness, and even

experience and taste the glory of

644

the Spirit of God in your life.

645

Amen.

646

And so we can see this again, peacemakers.

647

In our families, we can be instruments

to break generational cycles of

648

anger, bitterness, and dysfunction

by helping with reconciliation.

649

Amen.

650

Our jobs and our schools, we can

refuse to engage in gossip, slander,

651

bullying, by being calm, fair,

and being a unifying presence.

652

I'm not here to divide.

653

Let's figure out how we can be unified.

654

Right.

655

In our neighborhoods, in our communities,

us collectively and individually serving

656

and bridging cultural and social divides.

657

Does our country need that at this moment?

658

You see, again, this peace isn't just

for you to walk out and go, "Woo!

659

I, I, I'm able to deal

with the drama in my life"

660

No, the peace is to transform you-

That's right … more into the

661

character and nature of God Almighty.

662

It's for us to collectively reflect and

experience the peace of God together,

663

and then together to bring that peace

to those that we live and work with.

664

Amen.

665

God has a bigger aim, and

there's a greater possibility

666

than just individual peace.

667

We get a chance to join in that

participation or in that, in that

668

partnership with God Almighty.

669

Wow.

670

So let's get real practical.

671

You know me.

672

I gotta have some action

steps for the week here, okay?

673

So pull out your phones, your notebooks,

whatever it is that you do here, and

674

let's go ahead and let's talk about

some action steps for the week here.

675

First up, find a peace verse of the week.

676

Find a verse.

677

Maybe it's a verse that

we already looked at.

678

Maybe it's another verse.

679

Whatever it is, but

find a verse this week.

680

Go ahead and Google it.

681

Put it in ChatGPT, Claude,

whatever it is, your flavor.

682

Go ahead and find a verse, and go ahead,

read that verse every day this week.

683

Yes.

684

Remember that verse when

you're going through something.

685

Try to go ahead and memorize the verse.

686

Philippians 4:6 and 7, those

have been my verses of late.

687

'Cause again, I've shared where,

where my failure's in this,

688

and I have to constantly go

back, and God is constantly…

689

He's been working on me, and I'm so

grateful for the Spirit's work in my

690

life, but it's been rough, but I'm

so grateful for the scriptures that

691

are centering me, reminding me of His

faithfulness, His goodness, and His truth.

692

And so I would encourage

you, find a verse.

693

Read it.

694

Recite it.

695

Memorize it, and share it with others.

696

"Hey, here's my peace verse for the week."

697

And second, let's pray.

698

Let's pray for the church, for all

of us, to cultivate, experience,

699

and bring peace this week.

700

Amen.

701

God, may you bless us.

702

May we do our part in cultivating

the Spirit's work in our lives.

703

May we all experience peace

today, and God, may you use us to

704

bring peace to those around us.

705

Again, not individually, but collectively.

706

I believe, brothers and sisters, when

we do this, we will see and testify

707

to the Spirit's work in our lives.

708

As we close, we're reminded

our God is the God of peace.

709

Amen.

710

The Holy Spirit of God produces

the fruit of peace in our lives,

711

and this peace grows when we

stay close to the God of peace.

712

And so we keep in step with the Spirit

through His presence, through His truth,

713

and through remembering His faithfulness.

714

That's peace upward, that's peace

inward, and that's peace outward.

715

Amen.

716

Galatians 5:22, we close out here.

717

It says, "But the fruit of the Spirit-

is love, joy, peace, forbearance,

718

kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.

719

Against such things there is no law.

720

Those who belong to Christ

Jesus have crucified the flesh

721

with his passions and desires.

722

Since we live by the Spirit, let

us keep in step with the Spirit.

723

Brothers and sisters, may we have

peace from living a life on the vine.

724

Amen