Last week we began a discussion on Jesus as the Prince of Peace. We learned how he calmed the storm and that we still have access to the peace of Jesus. 

Today we are going to continue our discussion with a story. 

The Interesting Testimony of the Burger Place

A couple years ago, after one of our Overflow church services, we decided to go to a local burger place. 

We had never been to this place but heard good things, so we decided to try it out, with about 18 people in our group.

The night was cool, and there was a line at the place. The manager lady came to the line and picked a random spot just in front of us, and made us all go outside to stand in line, in order to keep the hallway clear to the bathrooms.

We’re like, “It’s cold out there.” She wasn’t having it, and so we went outside. We talked about possibly going somewhere else but decided to just stay.

A few minutes later, the manager came back out and said they were out of regular fries, and recommended all of us just leave. We asked if they had sweet potato fries, which they did, and we all just decided if we wanted fries, we’d just order the sweet potato fries, no big deal.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, I decided to go to the bathroom. The music was strange, and the place felt strange, so I prayed that an environment of Heaven and of peace would be released into the environment of the restaurant.

Well, we finally made it back indoors, and again the manager came out, recommending we leave. We had already waited about 20 minutes, so we were pretty well invested into trying out this place. Plus their food looked good, and folks were starting to clear out.

I got all the orders for my family written down on a note in my phone and was planning on ordering for all 5 of us, in order to make things simpler for the cashier. Typically, all 5 of us order separately, but I figured we’d work to reduce the chaos.

At long last I made it to the front of the line, and this nice cashier girl started to take my order. But she was interrupted by, guess who? The manager lady. The manager asked us how many were in our group. I said, “18, but we’re ordering as separate family groups of 4 or 5, so just treat us like individual groups.” 

Again, she encouraged us to leave. I told her, “Listen, we’re here already, and it’ll be too much of a hassle to leave. We’ll just order, and you guys can seat us as you have tables available, like you do for any other groups.”

The manager made the nice cashier girl wait longer before she took our order, and we just stood there awkwardly, trying not to look at each other too much, each of us wondering when we could just, you know, go ahead and order like at a normal restaurant. At one point, the manager again reminded us that they ran out of regular fries. I reiterated that we would be ordering sweet potato fries. 

I really think our persistence, our patience, and our unwillingness to just leave finally broke through. Plus, the restaurant was starting to feel better. Peace was coming in.

We finally ordered and got to sit at 3 or 4 different tables, with not much drama. Then, like at normal restaurants, food started being delivered, and it was really good. Our conversations were great, and we spent another couple hours there just talking and eating and hanging out. The environment felt great at that point. 

Now, why do you think the manager lady didn’t want us there? I think it’s because we were bringing in a better environment, one of peace, and this government of Heaven clashed with the government that was in operation over the place.

Did you know that you can bring in this Government of Peace into your workplace? I often invite the Holy Spirit into my work building, and I expect the Peace of Jesus to manifest in the place throughout the day.

And this is something you can do too: you can expect God’s peace to become a reality around you. You can declare God’s peace, God’s shalom over situations, over locations, over choices and doors of opportunity. Follow His peace. Follow where it leads, even if it seems scary, or even if you know it’ll require a step of faith. That’s really how you know it’s God leading you in a given direction. There’s a ton of peace, and you realize it’ll take faith and trust in God for that direction. You may not know how it’s going to work out, but He is going to work it out in your favor. That’s what He does for His kids.

Sometimes Peace doesn’t look like Peace

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34 (ESV)

I think probably a lot of people have been confused about this verse.

I mean, why would Jesus, the Prince of Peace, say that He didn’t come to bring peace but a sword?

This is how I interpret what Jesus was saying: “Don’t think that I came to overlook the evil and status quo of how things are going on in this earth. I am upsetting the kingdom of darkness and how things are now. I am cutting out the flesh and bringing in the Spirit!”

And in this process, Jesus was actually bringing True Peace. Jesus is upsetting to the kingdom of darkness and the ways of the enemy. Jesus doesn’t care about destroying the works of the devil – that’s one of the things He accomplished while He was on the earth.

The Greek word for sword used in this verse is a small sword or knife, distinguished from a large sword. The knife was used for cutting up animals… think: sacrifice.

So Jesus is bringing the knife of sacrifice to cut out the evils of the flesh and bring in the true peace of Heaven. And we see throughout history that this has actually been happening since his death and resurrection. Evil has been exposed and defeated many times, and the gospel has spread around the globe multiple times!

Sometimes for peace to show up in a situation, the junk and gross stuff of the heart has to manifest first. This isn’t fun. It’s not fun to deal with, but it is necessary to deal with, because this is True Peace doing its work in our hearts and in our situations. The Lord upsets the status quo. He upsets the plans of sinful humanity. He upsets the plans of the devil. 

And He brings in peace, because He truly is the Prince of Peace!

And we are stewards and keepers of His peace. We get to experience the peace of Jesus, just like Jesus experienced. Do you believe this? Ask the Lord to help you believe this!

Choose Peace

When talking about peace, I always have to mention these two verses, two of my favorites that I pray often over people.

“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)

As we choose God’s peace instead of living in anxiety… And as we choose to pray about everything… and as we choose to be thankful and let God know what we’re going through and how we’re feeling, He promises us something very special.

He promises us peace. His peace is beyond all understanding. It doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t work. We shouldn’t be able to feel it in the midst of the difficult situations and trials, but we do! We don’t have to understand it in order to experience it!

He promises that His peace will stand as a guard over hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. His peace is a realm in Christ Jesus that provides great benefits for our hearts and our minds. Allow your heart and your mind to benefit from the Prince of Peace. Ask for it. Receive it when you ask for it. 

In fact, let’s ask for it right now!

Part 1