THE CONVENANT OF PEACE (PART 2)
God is a God of purpose, and He won’t say what He does not mean. Whoever wants to tamper with your rest wants to destroy your destiny. Wickedness is real, challenges are real, and the devil has no better plan for anybody.
Last week we talked about God having our Jehovah’s salvation. It means our peace has been paid for. Under any circumstances, you are not supposed to lose your peace. Every encounter anyone has with Jesus, he will always tell them to be calm. Once your mind is agitated, once your mind is unrest, the life of that person will also be unrest. No person or nation can rise beyond the development of its mind. When we talk about developed nations, we talk about developed minds. When we talk about underdeveloped nations, we also talk about underdeveloped minds. No nation can rise above the development of its mind, and without the mind, enjoying peace and productivity will be impossible. That is why most of the decisions that messed up some people’s lives were taken when their minds were not settled.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters.
Psalms 23:1-2.
As sheep in His pasture, he wants you to see the true picture of your future in the water of the Word so that you can settle down. When they bring a contract for you to sign and your mind is not settled, don’t sign it. For example, Esau signed a contract that made him sell his birthright to Jacob. When we are talking about having peace inside and outside, that will stir your way to the promised land. The Bible says that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is destruction. “Education or knowledge is a better safeguard than a standing army because you cannot enslave a man that knows. People can be delivered but may not be free because deliverance is physical and freedom is mental. If you are mentally caged, you are going nowhere. God’s kind of peace is so vital, and the devil knows that. It took God one night to deliver Israel from Egypt, but it took him 40 years to deliver Israel from Israel. Why? Their mindset. The Egyptian mindset was there in them; they couldn’t see themselves established in the promised land. They still went around with a grasshopper mentality, even though they were created to be lions. They couldn’t see, which is why when they asked them to check out the promised land, they said, Yes, this land is good, but we look like grasshoppers.
They forgot that the same God who delivered them from Egypt is still alive. Until you’re able to see your victory, you cannot possess it, and without peace of mind, you cannot see the victory. Knowledge makes it easy for people to be led, but it makes it difficult for them to be driven around because you know your rights. The essence of this message is to see who you are and to see the glorious picture of your future in the scriptures. For you to be able to see the eagle, the giant that is in you, because without a lion’s heart, you can have the lion’s share of life. Religion has taught us many things that we need to delete from our minds. We used to think Jesus was a religious man who went around with a stick, but no. As a rabbi, which means teacher, he spent almost all his time teaching them rather than praying for them. He knew that the foundation of true liberty was the knowledge of the truth.
The Bible says that you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. If you want to fight a battle, you need to know the weaknesses and strengths of your enemy, and that requires the proper use of your mind. When we talk about Jehovah Shalom, we are not just quoting it without any result; it is for you to be able to understand that the peace like a river that God was talking about is for you to be able to stand and occupy your position. Knowledge makes it impossible for people to be enslaved. When the slave masters ministered Christ to the black slaves and they received Jesus into their lives, but they wanted to keep them slaves perpetually, they gave them a cloth bible where they removed scripture that talks about their freedom, so they were just convenient and comfortable just doing religion. Whatever you don’t take steps about will not change; nothing changes with time. To take the right step in the right direction, you need your mind. You need to face reality; the Bible says you’re the royal priesthood, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden, and you’re the salt of the earth. People should look at you, and they will want to run after your God. If people are looking at you and shaking their heads, something is wrong.