Jordan relays how shocked he was when he first realized that in I Timothy 3, as Paul gives a long list of characteristics of what a mature, godly saint’s life should look like, anger was the No. 1 issue.
He recalls, “I took that list one time and put them into categories and, you know, the one category that had more things under it than any other was the issue of anger!
“Kind of shocked me! I studied that 2-3 times to see if I got it right. Men especially have to deal with the issue of anger and the reason for that I suppose is ‘only by pride comes contention.’
“But when you study anger, what you discover is almost always anger is a disguise for fear. Because you get angry, and when you get down to the bottom of where did the anger come from, it’s because you’re afraid of something--either to lose something or something that’s going to happen.
*****
“Fear is a debilitating thing. In John 14, the fear of men kept people from trusting and believing even when they saw the truth of God’s Word by seeing the Messiah in their midst.
“Jesus said, ‘Let not your heart be troubled.’ What does your heart do? With a heart man believes. Then He says, ‘Neither be afraid.’
“Without having that turmoil down inside, you have the ability to just go, ‘Ahhh,’ and let it all hang out and relax inside; relax in the truth of God’s Word about who Jesus Christ is and what He’s accomplished.
“Why should you trust it? Christ says, ‘Look at me; I’m trusting it!’
“He says in John 14:28, ‘Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.’
“Christ is saying, ‘You know why you ought to have your heart trust me and not be afraid? Because you’ve heard my Word!’
“He already told (His disciples), ‘If you love me keep my commandments.’ I’m living in complete total dependence on the will of my Father, is what He’s saying. Paul has a great phrase for that—he calls it ‘the faith of Christ.’
“Jesus Christ entered into a plan and an agreement with His Father about what He would do and said, ‘Now my peace I leave you.’ He’s completely at peace. He has complete inner tranquility even though He knows the agony He’s going to face (at the Cross).
"In fact, when He says in verses 30-31 (‘Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
[31] But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence’), He’s saying in the vernacular of our day:
“‘Let’s git-er done . . . Let’s get on with it! The Adversary the prince of this world has come to fulfill the conflict of Genesis 3:15 where the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan will be in personal hand-to-hand combat. That day has arrived, so let’s go!’
“Because He’s got nothing . . . ‘There’s no weakness in me at all; I’m ready to go.’
“He knows what the Scripture says is going to happen to Him and yet He doesn’t hold back. In Hebrews 12, it says, ‘Who for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame.’
“He had in His mind an understanding of what God had promised Him and believed it and trusted it confidently. There’s no rebellion, no hesitation; He has that complete inner tranquility.
*****
“There’s a fascinating passage in Philippians 4: 9:
'Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in
me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.'
“You want the God of peace to be with you? What does
that mean? Well, look at verse 7: ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’
“Wouldn’t you get the peace of God from the God of
peace? This is peace that BELONGS to the God of peace.
“When Paul talks in Philippians 4 about the ‘peace of God,’ that’s the peace that BELONGS to God. In Romans 5, he talks about ‘being justified by faith we have peace WITH God.’ That’s us and God; there’s not an argument between us anymore. God is no longer against me. There’s a cessation of hostility. No cause for God to be angry with me anymore.
“But the peace OF God is something different than that. That’s the peace that God Himself has. God is at peace with His own will. He’s at peace with His own plans. He’s at peace with His own word.
“And God’s peace; that total tranquility and inner calmness over what He’s doing, He takes that and gives it to us when we trust Him.
*****
“By the way, when it talks about the peace WITH God and the peace OF God, Melchizedek was the king of righteousness and the king of peace. Righteousness is first, peace is second. Because peace can only be based on righteousness; things have to be dealt with righteously.
“So you have peace with God where the righteousness of God is satisfied; then you can have the peace OF God.
“James 3:17 tells Israel, ‘But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.’
“First you have the righteousness, then you have the peace.
“Isaiah 32 says, 'And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
[18] And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.'
“Righteousness has to do with being right. God’s word is right and I’m in relationship with it and the peace comes out of His righteousness.
*****
“John 14: 27 is the great illustration of the peace OF God. Jesus says, ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
“Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. Here’s God living in our humanity and He has complete and total peace—inner tranquility, inner calmness, a relaxed mental attitude in His heart that results in that faith, that total dependence on the Word of His Father.
“He’s going away to receive the kingdom. Remember the parallel in Luke 19? Remember the passage in Daniel 7 where the Son of Man comes before the ancient of days to receive the kingdom and the power and the dominion? He goes there to receive the kingdom and to return.
“Philippians 2:5 says, ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.’ This is a truth that Paul followers should be very clear about and should rejoice in. Paul goes on, ‘Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
[7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
[8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’
“He made Himself of no reputation. Who did that to Him? He did it to Himself. Voluntarily, He took up a position and took upon Him the form of a servant. Though He’s equal with the Father, He chooses to function in relationship to the Father as a servant. Did He have to? No. He willingly chose to.
“The next verse says, ‘He humbled Himself and became obedient.’ What does a servant do? He does what his master, his lord, tells him to do. So when Jesus Christ says, ‘The Father is greater than I,’ it’s in relationship to Jesus Christ coming as a servant. What He’s doing is owning His place as a servant.”
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