All right, we're here in Romans chapter 12, and we'll continue our series on the fruits
of the Spirit.
And today we're going to be talking about peace, and when it comes to peace, you say,
what exactly is that?
Well, in the book of Ecclesiastes, it says a time to love and a time to hate.
Those are opposites from one another.
It says a time of war and a time of peace.
So peace is the opposite of war.
And on a personal level, because I don't think we're going to be starting wars individually
with other countries, basically fighting would be basically having war with one another,
and peace would be when you're getting along with people, not having fights, not having
strife and problems and things such as that.
And so I want you to notice here in Romans 12 verse 18, Romans 12 verse 18 where the
Bible reads where it says, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with
all men.
And the first point we have here today is this, we should try to be at peace with people.
We should try to be at peace with people.
What it says in Romans 12 18 is, if it be possible.
What is the Bible trying to tell you when it says if it be possible?
It is not always possible.
That's what it's saying.
Hey, we want to have peace with people, but it is not always possible.
If it is possible, let's go for it.
Let's have peace, but it's not necessarily going to be possible.
It even says as much as lieth in you.
It's really strongly emphasizing, hey, as much as you can try to have peace with people,
but it is not always going to be possible.
And the reason why is because obviously the things we believe are different than what
the world believes.
And from time to time, it's going to cause us to have fights.
Now turn to 1 Chronicles 22.
First Chronicles 22.
And I apologize if my voice is really messed up for this.
My voice has been, I've kind of been sick this week.
I've kind of lost my voice, so forgive me if I'm not as dynamic as I usually am.
And so the first point that we should try to be at peace with people, I'm going to list
a few things where we should try to have peace with one another.
And one of those things is on a national level, as a country, we should try to be at peace
with other countries if possible.
Okay?
Notice what it says in 1 Chronicles 22 verse 17.
First Chronicles chapter 22 verse 17, David also commanded all the princes of Israel to
help Solomon and his sons, saying, Is not the Lord your God with you?
And hath he not given you rest on every side?
For he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand, and the land is subdued
before the Lord, and before his people.
And what the Bible says here is that Solomon was given rest on every side.
And so what you're seeing here in 1 Chronicles 22 is that when Solomon was godly, before
he ended up marrying all the wives, and he had all those spouses, before that, he had
rest on every side.
He did not have war, basically, the country was not fighting with a lot of other countries.
Now at the end of Solomon's life, though, you couldn't say that.
At the end of his life, they were getting in wars with a lot of countries.
You say, Why?
Because of the fact Solomon had become wicked.
But when he was godly, he did have peace on every side.
Okay, now turn to 1 Kings 2, 1 Kings 2.
Now in general, the Philippines doesn't necessarily get in a lot of fights with other countries
in a lot of wars.
But where did I live a year ago?
The United States of America.
And there is no country in the world that starts more wars than the United States of
America.
See, the Bible says a time of war and a time of peace.
But America thinks every time is a time of war.
Basically, we want oil, let's just start a war and just make up some excuse because we
want their oil.
You say, Oh, you shouldn't talk like that.
That's the truth.
It's obvious.
The Bible says when you're godly, you're gonna have peace on every side, you're gonna have
rest on every side.
So why is it the United States of America, which is what we're supposed to look at as
being the perfect country, why are they always in fights?
Why are they starting wars with countries around the world?
That's what you see.
And the reality is that God wants you to have peace as a country as well.
And when you're starting wars of things that do not belong to you, it's not your situation,
there's a problem there.
Because the goal should be to try to have peace with one another.
Now it's not always possible, but basically, if the fight doesn't come to you, why are
you bringing the fight to them?
Basically, on an individual level, it's the same way.
You don't want to try to start fights with other people, you want to have peace.
Every once in a while, you can't avoid it.
But when you're always getting in fights, there's a problem there.
First Kings chapter two, verse five, Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah
did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, unto Abner the son
of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jathar, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war and
peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes
that were on his feet.
Do therefore, according to thy wisdom, and let not his whore head go down to the grave
in peace.
And because of the fact that Joab did not practice this policy of having peace, he didn't
get to go down to the grave in peace.
He was actually killed.
Now what you see here in First Kings two, though, why God was so mad is because basically
it was not a time of war, and yet he killed his enemy anyway.
Now that's what you call murder.
It's not a time of war, and yet you kill someone, then you can say, well, you know, it was a
time of war.
It wasn't a time of war.
See, what used to take place with countries, and you see this in the Bible, is that the
leaders or heads of those countries would meet, and they would agree on the fact they
were involved in a war before any blood was shed.
But now what you see is that countries will basically do vigilantism, and just attack
another country, and then just say it's a time of war.
No, it's a time of war when you agree on it.
That's what you see in the Bible.
And if you kill without agreeing that you're going to battle with one another, that's what
you call murder.
And that is what you see countries do.
It's all over the world.
It's definitely takes place in the United States, but other countries as well, where
no longer they agree that we're going to battle, they just say, hey, we'll kill somebody, bomb
them, and then say, well, actually it was a time of war.
It's like, well, yeah, you just started the war.
You didn't agree on it ahead of time, but biblically you must agree on that ahead of
time.
Now turn to Ephesians 4, Ephesians 4.
And so on a national level, countries should try to be at peace with other countries.
So if you ever become the president of the Philippines, then remember this, don't go
starting wars with lots of countries.
And so not only when it comes to countries, but also in church as well, you should try
to have peace with one another.
Ephesians 4, verse 3, the Bible reads, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace.
Now, the context in Ephesians 4 is in reference to a local body, a church in Ephesus, and
he's saying you should endeavor.
You should strive to have peace with one another.
So basically, if somebody at church does something that you don't like, and you get mad at them,
you need to put aside differences and just have peace with them.
And so sometimes that might mean apologizing, sometimes it might mean being the better man
in an argument, but you want to endeavor or strive to have peace with one another.
Now look, the reality is that we're around each other quite a bit.
And when you're around people a lot, personalities can get on people's nerves.
It is what it is.
And when that takes place, you just talk about it and you have peace with one another, put
it aside and you say, why?
Because you're going to damage the local church if you don't do that.
It's going to cause problems long term if you have a fight and you have two people that
just don't want to forgive each other.
No, you should try to have peace with one another.
That's what it says in the fruits of the Spirit.
Now turn to Psalms 34, Psalms 34.
Now on a more practical level, when you have problems in church, one of the things I've
seen that causes problems in church is basically when kids get in fights with other kids, naturally
as a parent, you're going to defend your child.
Isn't that the truth?
Like if Zeph starts some sort of fight, my first reaction is going to be, well, they
must have started it first.
Because you want to defend your child, you naturally are going to feel that way.
But honestly, that's the wrong way to parent and you need to be realistic because foolishness
is bound in the heart of every child.
Not just every child, but your child, but every child.
And so what takes place sometimes, and I've seen this, is that children will get in fights
with one another and parents will defend their children and then the parents are fighting
with one another.
It's like, you know, children get in fights sometimes.
Sometimes just tell your son, hey, apologize to that person.
Tell your daughter, apologize to that person.
Otherwise you're going to end up having strife with people at church and it's just going
to lead to more problems.
But also just in life in general, we should seek to have peace with one another.
Notice what it says in Psalms 34 verse 14, depart from evil and do good, seek peace and
pursue it.
The Bible tells us to seek after peace.
We should pursue it.
And as much as is possible, we should want to have peace with one another.
We say, why is it then, Brother Stuckey, if around the world everybody wants to have
peace, because everybody's going to say world peace, aren't they?
Everybody wants to have peace.
Why is it that there is no peace?
Look, I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
Look, I preach sermons and to be honest, I feel like it's a peaceful sermon.
It's meant to help people and then it will start a war because people will be mad at
what you say.
It's like, yeah, I agree with you.
I'm for peace.
But when I speak, amazingly, somehow it starts a war sometimes, even though I'm not trying
to do that.
And the reality is, we're not going to ever have world peace here while we're alive.
Now turn in your Bible to Matthew five, Matthew five.
And so the first point of this sermon was kind of the fluffy point where everyone's
going to agree.
Yes, we should have peace in church, individually, as countries, everyone's like, yeah, I agree
with that.
But now is where a lot of people could get offended, not really in this room, but just
in general.
You say, why is it then if everybody wants world peace, why don't we have that?
You know, when I was a kid, my mom would watch like the Miss America pageant and the Miss
Universe pageant and things such as that.
And they had like a question at the end, and I don't know if it's like that now.
But basically, what do you think is the one thing we're missing in this world?
And every single woman would say, world peace.
If we could just have world peace, and everyone's like, Oh, what a great answer.
What a great answer world peace.
He said, why don't we have world peace?
And if everybody agrees, well, there's one thing they're missing, because half of this
1000 piece puzzle was put together with the first point, you have 500 pieces, but there's
one problem why you can't in Matthew chapter five, you're going to see this.
Notice what it says in Matthew five, verses eight, nine, blessed are the pure in heart
for they shall see God.
Verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.
Now notice in verse eight, it talks about pure or purity.
In verse nine, it talks about peace.
And what you will always see in the Bible is purity comes before peace, always in the
Bible, righteousness comes before peace.
And what the Bible teaches is, first we must need world purity, not world peace.
That's why we don't have world peace.
First must come purity and then peace.
It's always like this in the Bible.
Peace comes after purity.
That's what you see.
And so yes, I would love world peace once this world becomes pure.
Quit having the sodomites getting married, or the sodomites in general.
Quit having the worldliness.
Quit having the sin.
And guess what?
First must come world peace, but first must come world purity.
Turn in your Bible to Hebrews seven, Hebrews seven.
And this is consistent throughout the entire Bible.
You will always notice that purity or righteousness or holiness or godliness, it comes before
peace.
Hebrews chapter seven, Hebrews chapter seven.
Notice what the Bible reads in Hebrews chapter seven, verse number two.
Hebrews chapter seven, verse number two.
To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation king of
righteousness and after that also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
What comes first according to Hebrews seven, verse two?
Righteousness or peace?
Righteousness.
It always comes before peace.
This is throughout the entire Bible, purity, righteousness, holiness.
It comes before peace.
And so when you see preachers preaching world peace and let's just get along, well you better
be preaching about purity more than peace.
Because purity comes before peace.
That's what you see throughout the Bible.
Turn to James three, James three, James three.
What you must understand is that you as a believer, you can never sacrifice your purity
for the sake of peace.
And if people would understand this principle, it would change the way that they would act.
Yes, we want to seek after peace, but you never sacrifice purity for peace because purity
comes before peace.
Notice James three, verse 17.
James three, verse 17.
And the Bible reads in James three, verse 17.
But the wisdom that is from above is first purer than peaceable.
Notice the order.
Every single word in the Bible matters.
It does not say first peaceable than pure.
It says first purer than peaceable.
You say why?
Because purity comes before peace.
And we want to have peace with one another, but I'll tell you what, your purity must come
first.
You can never sacrifice your purity for the sake of peace.
Let me give you a practical example and turn to Revelation six, Revelation six.
Let me just give you a practical example.
Let's say this January, your coworker comes to you and says, man, I'm really excited.
I can't wait to go to the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
Now, this is a really godly event.
Don't you agree?
Now, look, I can tell you how you can have peace with them.
Just say, yeah, I agree.
It's a great event.
I plan to be there myself, but you know what you're doing?
You're sacrificing your purity for the sake of peace.
You should never sacrifice purity for the sake of peace.
Now, here's the thing.
If somebody tells you they're going to the Feast of the Black Nazarene, you don't have
to tell them, well, you're wicked and straight out of hell and you're going to die and burn
in it.
You don't have to say that because you should try to have peace.
But you know what you don't do is sacrifice what you believe and sacrifice your values
for the sake of peace.
You never sacrifice purity or righteousness or holiness or godliness for the sake of peace.
You say why?
Because in the Bible, purity comes before peace.
We as Christians, we must first look at purity.
That's why at this church, we preach hard against sin.
You say why?
Because once we have purity, then guess what can come?
Peace.
That's what can result.
Look, you say, Brother Stuckey, you preach a lot of really mean sermons.
You preach against drinking alcohol.
You know why I preach against drinking alcohol?
Because if you get purity in your life, it will give you peace.
You say how?
Because if you're not drinking, you won't get in fights with your wife and husband as
much.
You won't get in fights with your kids as much.
See, when you preach purity, the result can be peace.
But as much as we strive for peace, and as much as that is the third of the fruits of
the Spirit, purity comes before peace.
That's right in the Bible throughout.
Now let me read you a couple verses as you're in Revelation chapter 6.
In Luke 12 verse 51, you don't have to turn there.
Jesus Christ said, Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?
I tell you nay, but rather division.
Look, there will be a day when Jesus comes and we do have peace, and that is going to
be when He's ruling and reigning.
You say, why is there going to be peace?
Because there's going to be purity throughout the world.
People are going to be obeying His laws and His rules.
But when He came the first time, He didn't come to bring peace.
He came to start a war.
You say, why?
He was for peace, but when you speak, they are for war.
He preached sermons.
They wanted to kill Him.
You say, why?
Because they don't like when you preach about purity and righteousness and standards.
People do not like that.
Now most churches out there, what is the message they preach?
A message of purity or peace?
Peace.
Why do they do that?
Because that's what the world likes to hear.
But according to the Bible, purity comes before peace.
Look, I want you to have peace in your life.
I don't want you to get in lots of fights.
I don't want you to have lots of problems.
I don't try to attack other churches.
Like honestly, it's not really my sort of style.
We kind of stay away from that.
But we will never sacrifice our purity for the sake of peace.
And look, we could have peace with every church if we just never said anything negative and
just had a Joel Osteen type sermon.
But we'd be sacrificing our purity as a church.
And us as a church or individuals, we must never sacrifice purity.
Try to have peace with your parents if you can.
Try to have peace with your brother and sister if you can.
Try to have peace with your co-workers if you can.
It's not always possible though, according to the Bible.
Let me read to you also, the Bible says a time to love and a time to hate, a time of
war and a time of peace.
There is a time of peace, but there's also a time of war, the Bible says.
Now look, when we go soul winning, we are spreading a very peaceful message.
In fact, the Bible says the gospel of peace.
That's what the Bible says.
And yet sometimes people get very mad at you for what you're saying.
Brother Marlin was preaching the gospel yesterday.
And after preaching the gospel, the guy told him, because he preached the gospel, the blood
is on your hands.
It's like, I thought that if you didn't preach the gospel, the blood would be on your hands.
But according to this guy, you preached to me this message, the blood's on your hands
now.
No, he gave you a very peaceful message.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and you can have peace within
yourself when you're saved.
But sometimes we speak and they are for war.
But I want you to understand, now look in Revelation 6, that as much as people ask for
peace in the world, it's only going to grow more and more as time goes by.
Because the world even more is going to be at fighting with one another and strife with
one another.
Now in Revelation chapter 6, verse 4, we're looking at the second seal being opened.
Okay?
The seven year time period has begun.
And notice what we see in Revelation chapter 6, verse 4.
And there went out another horse that was red and power was given to him that sat there
on to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another and there was given
on to him a great sword.
So during the end times, peace is going to be taken from one another.
There's going to be fighting, there's going to be strife, everybody's going to be in turmoil.
And as much as the world right now is asking for world peace, they will be asking for it
even more one day when the end times come.
Okay?
Now turn to Daniel 8, Daniel 8.
So what I want you to understand during the end times, the way it's going to really kick
off is the world's just going to be in turmoil, lots of destruction, no peace, and everybody's
going to say we want peace with one another.
We're tired of all the fighting.
Let's set aside the differences.
Hey, as Catholics and Muslims, hey, we both believe in one God.
As Catholics and Hindus, hey, we both follow a lot of the same commandments.
As Hindus and Muslims, let's just set aside the differences.
We've had war for so long, there's no peace, we want to have peace.
What's going to happen?
A man is going to come and bring peace.
You say, who is that?
Well notice what it says in Daniel 8, verse 25.
Daniel 8, verse 25, and through his policy also, he shall cause craft to prosper in his
hand and he shall magnify himself in his heart and by peace shall destroy many.
By peace shall destroy many.
You say, what exactly is the antichrist going to do that's going to get everyone to believe
in him?
He's going to preach a message of peace and basically I can unite the world together.
He's going to be asking for peace and he's going to come and say, hey, let's just all
join together and by peace he's going to destroy many.
You say, what is the Bible saying?
What the Bible is saying is he's going to preach a message of peace and he's going to
use that as the means to cause destruction.
That is what's going to take place.
So what's taking place here is basically the world is going to be in turmoil.
There's going to be no peace and then people are going to be striving for peace and the
man who comes to bring it is not Jesus.
The man who comes to bring it is going to be the antichrist and he's going to use that
to destroy many.
Okay, now turn to first Thessalonians five, first Thessalonians five.
But the reality is this, that if you believe in a pre tribulation rapture, the Bible's
not going to make a whole lot of sense to you.
It's not going to fit together.
Look I'm putting the puzzle pieces together and it makes perfect sense.
There's turmoil, then a man comes to bring peace, so called the antichrist, everyone's
going to unite together against God and against people like us and he's going to use that
to destroy many.
It makes perfect sense.
Now explain that to me with a preacher rapture.
It doesn't make any sense with those verses at all.
It doesn't make any sense.
Now in first Thessalonians five verse three, first Thessalonians five verse three, and
it says, for when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon
them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape.
And so notice these people that are not saved, they want peace and they finally think they
have peace and safety and then sudden destruction comes upon them.
They're destroyed.
You say, who exactly is the antichrist destroying by preaching a message of peace?
Not just believers, he's destroying the lives of unbelievers, but they're going to die and
go to hell and they're going to be destroyed eventually.
He's not just destroying us.
He is using the unbelievers and they don't get it.
They're being used by the devil.
They're being used by the antichrist.
These false religions are just, they're just a pawn in his little game.
They're just a little puppet that's being controlled by the devil, but the devil doesn't
care about them.
He's just using them to destroy the world and destroy us.
He's going to destroy their lives.
And so basically the world's going to want peace because there's going to be no peace.
Now this makes sense because what do people always ask for?
Just can we have peace?
Just can we get along?
Just world peace and then the antichrist is going to come.
He's going to provide peace, so-called, in reality he's using it to destroy the world
and when they finally think they have peace, they're going to be destroyed.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Now turn to Judges 18, Judges 18.
Now look, if you believe in a pre-trib rapture, you have to ask yourself a couple questions.
Who exactly is the antichrist persecuting when he comes?
Because what I believe is he's persecuting believers.
I mean he comes and he's going to cause persecution.
If all the Christians are gone, who is he persecuting?
It doesn't make any sense.
He's destroying and persecuting those that are believers.
That's what the Bible teaches.
But you have to understand that we should not be ignorant of Satan's devices, the Bible
says.
And yes, this is going to be the method that the devil uses during the end times, but you
know he uses the same method today.
But it's not the antichrist that's preaching this message of peace.
But you know what it is?
90 plus percent of pastors and preachers out there.
Their message is a message of peace.
Look, we are not ignorant of Satan's devices, the Bible says.
And if you know the Bible, and you read the Bible, and you love God, you will not be ignorant
of his devices.
The devil uses the same devices.
You say, why?
Because they work.
It's effective.
Look, if you find something that works, you're going to stick to it.
Look, if somebody starts lifting weights, and they're getting stronger every week, they're
going to stay with the same routine if they keep lifting more and more weight.
The only reason why they change it up is when it stops working.
Here's the thing with the devil, it never stops working.
It's effective what he does.
Now you're not deceived, because you have the spirit of truth inside of you, and you
also know what the Bible says.
But even saved people, they don't know what the Bible says.
And they are deceived by the devices of the devil.
And so what you have to understand is that if the devil does this during the end times,
it's going to be the same thing today.
And when you hear preachers that preach a message of peace, you better watch out for
that person.
Notice what it says in Judges 18.
Judges 18, verse 5.
And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee of God, that we may know whether our
way which we go shall be prosperous.
And they're basically asking advice from this guy who's a priest who's actually a really
ungodly priest.
And they're asking advice and saying, Hey, is this way the correct way?
Is it going to be prosperous for us?
Is God going to bless us if we go down this road?
Or should we go down this road or this road?
Which way is going to be prosperous?
Which way will God bless us?
What is the right thing to do?
Judges verse six, and the priest said unto them, Go in peace before the Lord is your
way wherein you go.
You know what he's saying?
Hey, it doesn't matter which path you take.
You decide to leave your wife for another woman.
Hey, it's before the Lord.
The Lord will follow you down that road.
If you take this path, hey, that's perfectly fine.
You're going to go out and get drunk tonight.
Hey, it's before the Lord.
Whatever direction you go, it's going to be prosperous.
That's what he's saying.
Anything you think, I support you.
It's prosperous.
Basically, God has your back.
I have your back.
I support what you're doing.
It's the right choice.
Look, this is a guy who's preaching what people want to hear.
And people love it.
He said, what exactly do these false prophets do, these false preachers?
They just preach a message of peace.
Basically, whatever decisions you make in life, it's the right choice.
What did Absalom do?
Absalom heard matters, and whatever it was, he said, what you're saying is right.
It's true.
I support you.
That is what false prophets do.
They've always done that.
Nothing's changed.
This is not just in the end times.
It's also in the Old Testament, and it's also in the New Testament times.
It's always been like this.
It always will.
You say, why?
Because people will like you if you just support their decision.
People tell you stuff, and look, our temptation in our flesh is to basically say what they
want to hear.
But look, when you're preaching the word of God, you better not be saying what people
want to hear.
You better be saying the truth.
And look, I take this outside of the pulpit as well.
Many people in this room have asked me for advice about stuff, and I knew what they wanted
me to say, but I told them what I thought.
Now look, I wasn't trying to start a war, but I'm just being honest about what I believe.
You say, why?
Because you can't sacrifice your purity for the sake of peace.
Okay?
Now turn to Jeremiah 6, Jeremiah 6.
So look, by all means, we should want to have peace with one another.
It's a great thing.
And look, I don't try to get in fights with people.
I don't try to start wars.
You know, it's really not my natural personality, I don't think.
But the reality is, I'm never going to sacrifice my purity.
And I might not be the most hardcore preacher there is, but look, our stand is never going
to change one bit.
I know what I believe, I know what we stand for, and it's not going to change in order
to please people.
Now notice what it says in Jeremiah 6 verse 13.
Jeremiah 6 verse 13.
Remember to the daughter of my people slightly saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace.
These are prophets saying, hey, peace, peace, but there's no peace.
You say, why?
They're lying.
They're phonies.
They're devils.
You say, why are they lying?
Well the previous verse tells us, because they are covetous.
That's what you're seeing in verse 13.
See the person who stands behind a pulpit and just says what people want to hear, he's
doing that so his congregation will grow.
And basically people will like him.
Instead of just saying, hey, no, these are my standards and I'm not going to sacrifice
that, he will sacrifice it so the church will grow and he'll get more tithe money.
That's what we're seeing in the Bible.
Turn to Jeremiah 8, Jeremiah 8.
Jeremiah chapter 8, the Bible reads, Jeremiah 8 verse 10, Jeremiah 8 verse 10.
Never will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit
them.
For everyone from the least, even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness.
Notice a common theme in the Bible.
Given to covetousness.
From the prophet, even unto the priest, everyone dealeth falsely.
For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people, slightly saying, peace, peace,
when there is no peace.
It's a pretty common theme.
You probably feel like we just read the exact same verses.
You say, why?
Because this same situation just occurs over and over and over and over and over again.
That is why these famous preachers that have these huge churches, that is why they preach
the way they do.
They do it because they're covetous.
And they preach a message of peace, not because they really believe in it, but because they're
covetous.
And they will never say anything negative.
Now the Bible says you need to preach against the transgressions and sins of the people
you're preaching to.
And so when you're always preaching peace, peace, peace, there's a problem there.
Turn to Jeremiah 14, Jeremiah 14.
Now look, you guys were concerned.
We're doing a 10-part series on the fruits of the Spirit.
Brother Stuckey's getting watered down.
We're preaching on love and joy and peace, all these fluffy sermons.
No, I'm going to give you an accurate description of these words in the Bible.
You're seeing the full picture.
Yes, you know, peace is a great thing.
We strive for peace, but we never forsake our purity.
And when you hear all these preachers that preach on nothing, the reality is it's not
just that they're ignorant of the Bible and a little bit bobo.
No, they're actually just bad people.
That's the reality.
If they just willfully just won't preach on anything, you say, well, you know, maybe just
they just don't know.
No, they're just bad people.
Let's just be honest about it.
They're bad people.
Why?
Because they're given to covetousness.
That's the reality.
You say, how can you say that?
That's what Jeremiah said.
The people that preach peace, peace, peace.
The reason why is because they're covetous.
That is what the Bible teaches.
That's the reality.
Jeremiah 14, verse 11, Jeremiah 14, verse 11.
Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry.
When they offer a burnt offering and in oblation, I will not accept them, but I will consume
them by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence.
Notice how God says, do not pray for this people.
Now look, we should pray without ceasing, but there's a time to pray and a time not
to pray.
And there's certain people to pray for and certain people not to pray for according to
the Bible.
Verse 13, then said I, ah, Lord God, behold, the prophet say unto them, ye shall not see
the sword.
Neither shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.
Then the Lord said unto me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name.
I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them.
They prophesy unto you a false vision and divination and a thing of not in the deceit
of their heart.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name.
And I sent them not, yet they say sword and famine shall not be in this land.
By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
And so what God says is these prophets are preaching peace, peace, peace, and they're
doing it in their own name, not in the name of God.
They're not really, they'll say it's in the name of God, but in reality, they're not holding
to anything of what the Bible says.
They're not preaching an accurate message.
They're lying to deceive people because they're covetous.
You must understand that unsaved people that have been preaching for 20 years are not just
a little bit confused.
They're devils.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Look, honestly, some people are just a little bit too nice.
That's the reality.
Look, the Catholic priest that's out there, he's not just, well, you know, hopefully we
can get him saved.
No, he's a devil.
He's not going to get saved.
That's the reality of the matter.
When you look at these unsaved people that have been preaching for 20 years, they're
not just a little bit mixed up.
Now here's the reality.
There are people in their churches that are a little bit mixed up.
There are people in the Baptist churches here in the Philippines that are just a little
bit confused because their pastor's a devil.
Now look, I care about those people and that's why we preach an accurate message because
honestly we want to help them out.
And people need to leave those dead churches.
That's the reality.
But look, when a preacher is always preaching about money, money, money, and peace, peace,
peace, that shows what's inside his heart.
The only reason why he's preaching peace is because he's covetous in his heart.
And so honestly, that's probably the two things you're going to hear most preachers preach
on, money and on peace.
And the reality is it's money and money.
That's the reason why he's preaching on peace.
Okay.
Turn in your Bible to Jeremiah 28, Jeremiah 28.
As you're turning to Jeremiah 28, let me read you Jeremiah 5 verse 31 where the Bible reads,
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, and my people love
to have it so, and what will you do in the end thereof?
You say, Brother Stuckey, why do false prophets exist?
The reason why they exist is because there's a market for them.
What it said in Jeremiah 5 was the people love to have it so.
Look, most people like to be lied to.
Most people like the message of peace.
Most people like to be told, hey, go in peace.
Whatever way you go, it's before the Lord.
Hey, I know that you just cheated on your wife.
Hey, it's okay.
People make mistakes.
No big deal.
God's for you.
He understands your situation.
No, he doesn't.
Look, the people that are always preaching this message of peace, peace, peace, they're
phonies, but the only reason why they exist is because there's people that want to hear
that.
Now, in case you haven't realized it, that's not this type of church.
You can find that church.
You can leave here, walk outside, and I'm sure there's a Baptist church somewhere along
this road that's going to lie to you and say what you want to hear.
We will never be that church.
Turn in your Bible.
You're in Jeremiah 28, Jeremiah 28, and in Jeremiah 28, the Bible reads, verse 8, Jeremiah
28, verse 8, the prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both
against many countries and against great kingdoms of war and of evil and pestilence.
You say, Brother Stuckey, why do you always preach against so many things?
Because the prophets that came before preached against countries and against all these things
as well.
That is what true preachers actually do.
They preach the word of God and they don't hold back.
They preach against everything that needs to be preached against.
Now look, we had our teaching principles series and I talked about being bold and gentle and
that's true.
At the beginning of the sermon, I talked about having peace with one another.
That's true, but that's only part of the picture.
Part of the picture is you do have to preach against stuff.
That's what the Bible teaches and it says the prophets that came before, they preached
against countries and kingdoms of war and of evil and of pestilence.
Verse 9, verse number 9, the prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the
prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known that the Lord hath truly
sent him.
And so here's how we test whether or not they're a good prophet or bad.
All these prophets, they preach peace, peace, peace.
The question is, do we have peace in our country?
Do we see a righteous country?
Do we see a godly country?
Do you believe that God is blessing our country here today?
Or do you believe that we're a wicked country, like every country?
Look, when they preach peace, peace, peace, nothing bad is going to happen to you.
If it actually comes to pass, then okay, they were right about that.
But the reality is they preach these messages and it's not reality.
It's fake.
It's phony.
They'll preach basically, don't worry about it.
You don't have to read the Bible.
Don't do this or that.
Let's see if that person actually has peace at their home.
See the way people have peace is when they get purity in their lives.
You want to have a family that has peace at home, it's when purity comes to that home,
that's going to result in peace.
But if you just tell them, hey, just have peace with one another, they're not going
to have peace.
And when you look at these preachers that are preaching that, they're phonies, they're
devils, but there's no new thing under the sun.
It's going to happen in the end times with the Antichrist, happened in the Old Testament,
same thing happens today.
Turn to John 16, John 16.
And in John chapter 16 verse 33, John chapter 16 verse 33, the Bible reads, these things
have I spoken unto you that in me might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
God tells us that we can have peace in him, but if you're a godly person, yea, and all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution and tribulation.
In this world, we will not just have peace all the time.
We can have peace in God, but that doesn't change the fact we're going to have tribulation
in this world.
That's what's going to take place.
And that's not just something today or in the time of Jesus.
It always applies, which is why during the end times to say that there is no tribulation
doesn't make much sense.
Because in the world ye shall have tribulation, that's what God always says.
Now turn in your Bible to Isaiah 52.
Isaiah 52.
Isaiah chapter 52 verse number 7.
Isaiah 52 verse 7.
And the Bible reads in Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7, how beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings
of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.
When we go out soul winning, what we are doing is publishing a message of peace.
What we're saying is the most peaceful thing in the world.
We're telling people that if they just believe on Jesus Christ, then they will go to heaven
no matter what they do the rest of their life.
Look, I remember before I was saved, and I was scared that I was going to go to hell.
For a couple years before I was saved, I remember just thinking about it all the time.
Just I don't know if I'm good enough to go to heaven.
And I remember when I got saved, the feeling of relief that swept over my entire body and
my entire person, I could never describe that.
That sense of relief that I've never felt at any other time.
Just knowing I'm saved and on my way to heaven.
Look, that is the best message of peace you could possibly tell someone.
Knowing you're saved and on your way to heaven.
The average person out there, they're scared about where they're going.
Now look, on the outside, they might just fake it and pretend like they're not.
But the reality is that unsaved people are scared that if they die, that they're going
to go to hell.
Because they don't know if they're good enough.
And the message we preach is a message of peace.
But sometimes when we speak, they're for war.
Sometimes they don't like that message.
Sometimes they like the message, well, just tell me if I'm a good person, I'll go to heaven.
Now it doesn't make any logical sense, because we know nobody is good.
There's none good but one, that is God.
But they get mad at us sometimes, even though the message we're preaching is a message of
peace.
Look, a church that preaches hard against sin is the most peaceful church there is.
You say, why?
Because we're spreading peace to everybody out there in the world.
Now turn in your Bible to Malachi 2, Malachi 2.
And as you turn into Malachi 2, let me just read you where the Bible reads, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace?
The Bible is very clear, the message we're preaching out there, it is a message of peace.
But I want you to understand that the messages that are preaching really hard against sin,
those are messages of peace.
Say how is that a message of peace?
Well notice what it says in Malachi 2 verses 5 and 6.
My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith
he feared me and was afraid before my name.
The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips.
He walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
Look, when you're preaching hard against sin, it helps people turn from their sins, and
the result is they have peace in their lives.
Look, the average person out there has no peace in their lives.
Their lives are filled with turmoil and strife and fighting, and look, if they actually knew
God's laws and heard these types of sermons and got sin out of their life, they'd actually
have peace.
Look, the person out there that's a drunk has no peace in their life.
I promise you that.
Now does he want to hear a sermon against alcohol?
Probably not.
But that sermon is actually a message of peace that's being preached.
Because if he gets rid of the alcohol, if he gets rid of the sin, it will result in
peace in his life.
But first comes purity.
The sermons we preach are messages of purity, and the result is peace.
That's what the Bible teaches.
But people don't want to hear this because they don't want to make changes in their lives.
Now turn in your Bible to John 14.
John 14.
And in John chapter 14, John 14 verse 27.
John 14 verse 27.
The Bible reads, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give it on to you, not as the world
giveth.
Give I unto you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
I want you to notice where it says not as the world giveth.
See whenever there's any sermon, there's kind of two sides.
Remember we talked about love, and the world has their view of love.
And then God has his view.
We talked about joy.
And look, there is joy and pleasure in committing sin.
The world has a joy to offer.
But God has a different joy to offer.
Not as the world giveth.
See the world has a message of peace to offer.
You can basically set aside all differences, not care about them, and no matter what's
said, you just say, hey, you know what, I agree with you.
Let's just put aside all differences.
But see, that is not the peace that God has to offer.
God's peace is different.
And the way God's peace works is first comes purity, and then comes peace.
First comes purity, and then comes peace.
Turn to Philippians 4.
Now here's the difference with this kind of preaching, versus preaching in other Baptist
churches.
When you hear the typical sermon, when you're hearing it, it doesn't make you mad, it doesn't
offend you.
Well, I guess if you really know what the Bible says, we get offended because they're
telling lies and things such as that, but I'm just saying the average person, they hear
the sermon, and it's kind of a nice fluffy sermon, and they're thinking, that pastor's
so nice.
What a nice guy he is, you know, he's just really nice, he's really kind.
But the problem is, that sets you up for war in your life, by preaching their false view
of peace.
Now, this kind of preaching, it hurts sometimes, doesn't it?
You hear certain sermons, and you're like, ouch, Brother Stuckey's a jerk, man, he's
kind of mean.
But you know what the result is?
That's actually what can give you real peace in your life.
This sort of sermon.
And look, I'm not perfect, I don't have it all put together.
Pastor Man has preached plenty of sermons that stepped on my toes, and I was a little
bit offended.
But you know, the reality is, that kind of preaching is what causes you to make differences
in your life.
And look, we preach a message of peace, but we preach purity more than peace, because
the result is that peace comes once you get purity in your life, okay?
Philippians chapter 4 verse 7, Philippians 4 verse 7.
The Bible reads, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The Bible speaks about the peace of God that passes all understanding, and the reality
is when you learn the word of God and you grow as a Christian, not only do you have
the peace that you're on your way to heaven no matter what goes wrong, but in your personal
life as well, that when you're saved, no matter what goes wrong, you have all the strife and
turmoil or problems, you can still have the peace of God.
And honestly, it passes all understanding.
I can't even fully describe it, because it doesn't fully make sense.
It passes all understanding.
I try to preach it and help you understand, but it passes my understanding.
Now I'll give you an example of this.
When I was in college, my friend died when he was, I think, 19 years old, he was 19 or
20.
This was in probably like 2008, I believe, it was in August of 2008.
I was 22, 23 or something like that at the time, but my friend died and he was a soul
winner.
He loved the Lord, tragically died.
I remember at his funeral, just his cousins and family members were looking at me and
my friends.
Pastor Jason Robinson was there.
I can't remember who else, but other soul winners, and they were all just, they didn't
get it.
They said, why is it that you guys seem like you're in a good mood?
Because we were his closest friends, and I didn't really feel like I was in a good mood.
I felt like I was really struggling, but they just said, man, you guys are handling
this so incredibly well.
You say, why?
Because for one, I know he's saved and in heaven.
And quite honestly, when you're saved and living for God, you have a peace of God that
honestly it passes all understanding.
I can't fully describe it.
You can't describe that, but you have to understand this kind of church and this kind of preaching,
it prepares you for those tough times that will come.
Not that might come, that will come.
Now when you think of Job in the Bible, Job, when he was going through his trials, he was
not in a good mood.
It's not that he handled it perfectly and he was completely happy.
Job was not happy when you read that story, but he was able to handle it as well as you
could ever expect a human to.
Now I don't think he handled it perfectly, but I think he handled it as well as any human
in the world could possibly handle it.
You say, why?
Because when you're saved and you love the Lord, there's this peace of God that passes
all understanding, and it can't fully be described.
Now turn in your Bible to Psalms 119, Psalms 119, Psalms 119.
We'll look at one last verse here to close up.
And what I want you to understand when I want to drive home is that when you get on fire
for God, and you start living for God, and you're really devoted to God, and you love
the Lord, what's going to happen is this peace is going to develop inside of your heart that
even if you go through storms and trials in your life, you're going to be able to get
through it.
Now I'm not saying that you're going to love it while you're going through it.
Job didn't love it when he was going through it, but he was able to get through it because
he had that peace.
None of us when we go through storms in our life are going to enjoy it.
I'm not saying that, hey, you go through a storm, you need to put a smile on your face
and be really happy.
What I'm saying is you can still get through that trial, still keep coming to church, still
keep reading the Bible, still keep praying, and you can still keep living for God, and
you're able to deal with that problem.
And the great thing about life is although we do have storms, and you have ups and downs,
look, the downs don't last forever.
It's going to go up again.
But this kind of preaching helps you prepare for that, and it's the peace of God that honestly
it passes all understanding.
Psalms 119, verse 165, great peace, great peace have they which love thy law.
Psalms 119, 165, great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.
Now look, this verse is a hard truth, but the reality is the Bible says if you love
God's law, nothing's going to offend you.
And the reality is the more on fire you are for God and the more you love God, even when
things are not going well in your life, you're not going to be offended, you're not going
to quit, you're going to be able to last through it if you really love God's law.
And look, all of us from time to time, we do get offended, we do get mad.
And the reality is it just shows that you know what, we need a sermon series like this
because we need to work on these fruits of the Spirit in our lives.
So just to recap this sermon today, number one, we should try to be at peace with people,
absolutely, especially at church and in your families and everything.
Try your best to get along with people, try to have peace, but you have to understand
you never sacrifice your purity for peace.
Let me give you an example.
Let's say your co-workers say, hey, we're having this party at the bar, just come with
me and you don't have to drink, it's okay.
The reality is that when you go to that bar, even though you don't drink, you're sacrificing
your purity for the sake of peace.
That's the reality.
Look, we have to have set standards and we don't sacrifice them, we don't change them
to make people happy.
We must keep our purity above anything.
And the reality is the world is using this message of peace, the devil is using this,
the Antichrist is going to use it, his false prophets are using it.
They're saying peace, peace, peace.
What did the Bible teach us?
Those people are covetous.
That's the reality.
Look, you can have the peace of God which passes all understanding in your life, but
it's going to come once you get pure in your life and you start really living for God.
And the result is going to be that a peace is going to come upon you that we can't even
describe.
Let's close in a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be in your house here today.
We just ask you to bless this time.
Help us to apply this sermon to our lives, including myself, God.
Help us strive to have peace as much as is possible.
Help us learn from our mistakes and grow, God.
Help us to strive to have peace with one another, with families, with church members and things
such as that, God.
But help us never to sacrifice our purity for the sake of having peace.
We pray these things in Jesus' name, Amen.