LESSON #1: PEACE ON EARTH
One of the names of the Lord Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He always brings peace whenever He comes. When the Lord Jesus was born on the earth, the angel of the Lord who announced His birth praised God together with a multitude of the heavenly host, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14) When the Lord Jesus returns to the earth, He will reign as king and peace will be on earth for one thousand years (Revelation 20:4). Finally, peace will be everlasting on earth when the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God as the Lamb’s wife (Revelation 21:2). Isaiah the prophet wrote, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.” (Isaiah 9:7)
LESSON #2: SLEEPING IN THE MIDST OF A GREAT TEMPEST
The Lord Jesus showed that He was the Prince of Peace when He was asleep in a boat in the midst of a great tempest. In his gospel, Matthew wrote, "Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep." (Matthew 8:23-24) Can we be asleep in a boat in the midst of a great tempest? I think none of us can. But, the Lord Jesus could. Why? It is because He had the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guarding His heart and mind (Philippians 4:7).
LESSON #3: PEACE SURPASSING ALL UNDERSTANDING
As the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus always gives His peace to us so that our heart will not be troubled nor afraid when we are in the midst of a great tempest in our lives. He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) The peace that the Lord Jesus gives is not as the world gives. The peace that the world gives is within the realm of understanding, but the peace that He gives surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
LESSON #4: FOCUSING ON THE LORD JESUS
The people who do not know God will only feel peaceful in their hearts when the situation around them is peaceful. They will lose their peace when the situation around them is no longer peaceful. However, the people who know God should know how to have peace even when the situation around them is not peaceful. How? By focusing the mind on the Lord Jesus as the Prince of Peace, not on their situation. Isaiah the prophet wrote, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3)
LESSON #5: CALMING THE WIND AND THE SEA
When the situation around us is not peaceful and yet we have peace in our heart, then we have the power to bring peace to the situation around us. We do not need to change the situation around us so that we can have peace in our heart, but we may need to do so for the sake of the people around us so that they may also have peace in their hearts. The Lord Jesus rebuked the great tempest and the wave of the sea when He was in the boat, not for His own sake but for His disciples' sake. He was in peace, but His disciples were fearful. Therefore, He calmed the tempest and the sea for their sake. In his gospel, Matthew wrote, "Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm." (Matthew 8:25-26)
LESSON #6: PEACE IN US BEFORE PEACE AROUND US
Many believers try to calm an unpeaceful situation around them, but they fail. Why? It is because they are not peaceful in their own hearts. It is impossible for us to calm the situation around us if we ourselves have not been calm in the midst of an unpeaceful situation. We must have peace in our heart first before we can bring peace to the situation around us. The Lord Jesus had been sleeping peacefully in the midst of the great tempest and waves of the sea before He calmed the tempest and the waves.
LESSON#7: WALKING ON WATER
In his gospel, Matthew wrote, "But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea…And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” (Matthew 14:24-25,28) What the Lord Jesus really wants from us as His disciples is not just to stay calm in the midst of a great tempest or to calm great waves of the sea but to walk on a raging sea in the midst of a great tempest. Indeed, we need to stay calm in the midst of an unpeaceful situation around us. Indeed, often we also need to calm an unpeaceful situation around us for the sake of others. But, ultimately, we need to learn to use an unpeaceful situation as an opportunity to move in the supernatural. We need to learn to walk in the impossible realm just as the Lord Jesus walked on the water of a raging sea.
LESSON #8: FROM GLORY TO GLORY
Paul the apostle wrote, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18) The Holy Spirit is in the process of transforming us into the image of the Lord Jesus from glory to glory. When we can be calm in the midst of an unpeaceful situation, it shows that the glory of God is within us. When we can calm an unpeaceful situation around us, it shows that the glory of God has spread from within us to around us. When we can do the impossible thing using an unpeaceful situation, it shows that the glory of God is full in our lives. We will be lifted up higher and higher in the realm of glory.
