SHEEP IN THE WORD MINISTRIES Rev. Robert C. Lewis • Glendale Baptist Church • Houston, Texas quicknotes.org • 1999

1. SHEEP IN THE WORD MINISTRIES Rev. Robert C. Lewis • Glendale Baptist Church • Houston, Texas quicknotes.org • 1999

2. INNER PEACE Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

4. CONTINUAL PEACE

5. • it's possible to have peace of mind in every circumstance of life(2 Thessalonians 3:16)

6. • "continually" (of time, lit. 'through every time') and "in every circumstance" (of place, lit. 'in every turn') suggest a continual, uninterrupted mental peace—in good times and in bad

7. • this inner peace is available anytime, anywhere, day in, day out, in every situation of life (with temporary setbacks, of course)

8. APPLICATION Are you at peace with yourself? Or are you always angry, fearful, worrying? Is a war raging in your mind? What can I do to have perfect peace of mind?

11. FOR ALL

12. • inner peace is available to all Christians(2 Thessalonians 3:16) Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

13. • "may give" expresses a possibility or obtainable wish (optative mood)—implying some doubt or uncertainty (cf. Romans 15:13) Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

14. • Paul's desire was for every person in the church to have continual inner peace no matter what difficulties they faced

15. • even though this peace was available to everyone, the apostle knew many believers in the church would never experience it

16. FROM JESUS CHRIST

17. • inner peace comes from the Lord(2 Thessalonians 3:16) Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

18. • the Lord Jesus Christ continually gives His own perfect peace of mind to Christians

19. • if peace is continually given, then peace of mind is always available in all the various circumstances of life—no matter how difficult

20. FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

21. • inner peace comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22–23).

22. • peace of mind is a fruit of the Spirit and is the natural result of walking in the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:16) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

23. FROM THE BIBLE

24. • inner peace comes from a knowledge of God's Word (2 Peter 1:2) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:2–3).

25. • en ('through') is a preposition of means indicating what must be done for inner peace to be multiplied to you—Bible study

26. • inner peace is proportional to how much you know about God and His Son—the more you know, the more peace you'll have

27. • learn all you can about God (attributes, will, desires, commands, promises) and the person and work of Jesus Christ

28. • inner peace is an obtainable wish (optative mood)—it's possible for your peace to multiply from a few minutes to hours a day May grace and peace be multiplied (plhqu/nw‘to increase greatly in number or extent’)to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord’ (RCL);

29. • note the implied promise in this verse: your peace of mind will increase by leaps and bounds (not added but multiplied) as you learn the Bible May grace and peace be multiplied (plhqu/nw‘to increase greatly in number or extent’) to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord’ (RCL);

30. FROM THE PROMISES OF GOD

31. • inner peace comes from believing God's promises (Romans 15:13) Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing (e˙n twˆ◊ pisteu/ein), that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

32. • the preposition en ('through') introduces the means or mechanics by which mental peace is acquired—by claiming the promises of the Bible

33. • for example, claiming the promise "casting all your care upon him" (1 Peter 5:7) provides inner peace because you're no longer worried about your problems

34. FROM PRAYER

35. • inner peace comes from prayer (Philippians 4:6–7) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7).

36. • these verses are cause and effect: first you pray (6) and then you receive the peace of God (7) (6) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

37. • peace in testing (loss, suffering, tragedy, persecution) is beyond human comprehension—most are angry, afraid, or worried

38. • God's peace stands guard at your heart's door to keep worries out, to keep them from coming in and stealing your peace—of guards who keep people in (ethnarch of Damascus put guards at the city gates to keep Paul from escaping, 2 Corinthians 11:32–33)or keep people out (Josephus stationed guards along the roads to keep couriers out of Galilee, Josephus, Life 240)

39. • inner peace perpetuates itself by keeping worries out:peace of mind is so wonderful you simply won't let anything spoil it

40. LESSONS FOR LIVING

42. Peace of mind comes from(1) Jesus Christ,(2) the Holy Spirit,(3) a knowledge of the Bible,(4) claiming promises, and(5) prayer

43. SHEEP IN THE WORD MINISTRIES Rev. Robert C. Lewis • Glendale Baptist Church • Houston, Texas quicknotes.org • 1999