How to Stay In Peace -Pastor Hope Carpenter

Welcome. I am so happy that you are here tonight, wherever you are. It might be morning for you, but I am so glad that you're here. Facebook Live or YouTube, however you're tuning in, I'm telling you, I got a powerful word for you tonight. I have been so excited about this word. You know, 2020 last year brought some crazy times. It unsettled so many of us all across the world. And, you know, it really put me into a teaching and to studying on how to stay in peace. You know, we can be rocked from all kind of areas, all kind of situations, circumstances, but I really do believe the word of God. The word of God does not lie. And no matter what's going on in your life right now, tomorrow, the next day, I that God's promises are, yes, they are true. They are amen. And they work no matter what's going on in your life. So today we are going to talk about how to stay in peace, how to keep our mind in perfect peace. You know, we are in a spiritual war. We are in a battle. And the warfare we fight is primarily won or lost in our mind. We deal with issues, we deal with people, we deal with trouble. And we deal with it in the physical realm, because that's where we live. We deal with our boss, we deal with our husband, we deal with our rebellious children. But here's the problem we address. Physical problems. Our boss, our husband, relationship, hardness of heart, physical pain, sickness in our body, anxiety. We deal with it in physical ways. And we want to fight and want to argue. And we want to get on Facebook and we want to do it with people. We want to do it with our boss. We want to fight with. We want to argue with. That is dealing with the fruit. It is not dealing with the root. Say it. Say that's dealing with the fruit. It's not dealing with the root. The physical realm, the flesh, Flesh and blood. That is not the source of your problems. I mean, I just want to scream it from the rooftop. It is not the source of your problem. We think that person that we're mad at is our problem. We think our boss and the trouble in any relationships that's going on in our life, we think they're the problem. Listen, it's the vehicle that brings problems. But problems originate in the invisible realm. They do not originate in the physical realm. So if you spend your time fighting physically all the time, and you spend no time spiritually fighting, you're swinging at the wind, you're shooting in the dark, and nothing is ever fixed, nothing is ever resolved. Listen, we are seated with him. The Bible says in heavenly places. We are seated in heavenly places. Heavenly places. See, on earth, when we are operating on earth, in the physical realm, that's just flies and bees swarming around your head, trying to distract your view from your heavenly position. You see, when you're looking at somebody this way, you see certain things. But if you get on top of the situation, you see it in a different way. Listen, that's where God wants you to stay planted and seeded. And if you try to operate in that realm, the heavenly realm, from this earthly position, all you got is carnal weapons. And you don't do anything spiritually. You never get any work done spiritually. Where are you operating from? Where are you operating from? How you operate in the spiritual realm determines how you win or lose in the physical realm. Did you get that? How you operate in the spiritual realm determines how you win or how you lose in the physical realm. Period. Let's talk about our senses, okay? Senses are just so common to us, right? They're tangible, they're real. We can feel them, we can touch them, we can smell them. You wake up hungry, you feel it, right? You feel it in your tummy when you smell the rain. It creates a sense of a feeling for you. It might take you back to a time when you were a child. You smell a poopy diaper, that creates another feeling, right? But the spiritual realm, it seems so foreign sometimes to us. It just seems so do do do do do do do do. So out there. Listen, it's that woman in church when you're a teenager, that really spooky one that you say you never want to be like. You know, the one that. That prays at the traffic light. That one. It seems so foreign and it seems so out there. It doesn't seem as real and tangible. And then what? You don't give it the priority. We fall into what is easy and what is normal. Listen. Therefore, your life is controlled by senses, and then you see no spiritual victories. When your life is controlled by your senses, you see no spiritual victories. Go to Ephesians 6, verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not flesh, for our struggle is not flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the foot full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you've done everything to stand, stand firm. So here's the goal. The goal is the day of evil is going to come, but the goal is that you stay standing after the war hits. The goal is that you stay standing when all hell breaks out against you. How do you do it? Keep reading. With the belt of truth buckled around your waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted or your feet shod with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. So number one, going to talk about these first three. Number one, the belt of truth. What is that? What is that? It's God's. It's the God based knowledge at your core. Truth. Truth is God based knowledge at your core. That's why it says, put the belt around you. The belt is around your core. Listen, the truth of God's word will set you free. You have to know it before you can use it. Truth isn't facts. But listen, truth is what God says about you and about your situation. Listen, the fact might be that I'm sick today. The fact might be that I got a bad doctor's report, but the truth is you. He sent his word and healed my disease. He took stripes on his back on the Via Dolorosa so that I could know healing. Healing is the children's bread. That's the truth of God's word and it overrides facts. Whoo. Second, the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate covers your heart. It covers your heart and out of your heart flow the issues of your life. So, see, you have to be so healed and so secure in your heart full of righteousness so that we move in the right way. You can't move in the right way. You can't live in the right way if your heart stops sick. You can't make right choices. If you haven't gotten healing in your heart, y', all, this is so good. You have to be secure in your heart so that you can live and move in the right way so that you can live and move out of righteousness. Because firstly, you have to have truth at your core so that you can move righteously. If you don't know the truth, you don't live out the truth, right? So you got to know the truth at your core so that you can live and move righteously. Now, let's talk about your shoes, number three. It's where I'm going today. You know I love me some shoes, right? We all like shoes. Every woman I know likes shoes. So let's talk about some shoes. Verse 15. Your feet are shod. That means on with the preparation. That means readiness of the gospel of peace. You will keep your peace. You will be prepared and ready if you have your shoes on. So let me tell you, back in old biblical times, in Roman times, Roman soldiers would wear these shoes with spikes on the bottom of their shoes. Why did they do that? To keep them balanced, to keep them sure footed when attack came. I'm talking about Roman soldiers would wear shoes with spikes on them so that they could be sure footed, ready, that their feet was shod for stableness. You ever seen football cleats? You know, we don't live in Roman times, but today, football cleats. Why do they wear those? So that they're able to shift and they're able to pivot. They're able to weave in and out of attack. Are y' all getting this? My God. Listen, the Bible says that attacks are coming. No doubt. Don't be mad at it, rather be ready for it. So your feet have to be shod. You have to position yourself in a stationary, unmovable position so when the devil comes at you, you don't lose your mind. You don't backslide. You don't go off on a tangent. You don't stay out all night drinking. Come on, somebody shout, position yourself. Whoo. Have you ever been knocked over in life? A place where you lost your stability? You need some shoes to hold you steady. What kind of shoes? I'm not talking about Nike and Converse and Gucci and Prada and Louis and Skechers. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about your shoes that are shod with the gospel of peace. That word peace, the translation, the word for it is Irene, and that's a Greek word. And it means the complete opposite of anxiety and worry. Your feet must be shod and stable with the gospel of peace. That definition of the word peace means calm, tranquil of soul. Soul, y'. All. This is so deep, it's so rich. Peace and calm, tranquil of soul. What is your soul that's not sitting around saying Kumbaya and doing yoga? Peace, tranquil, calm of your soul. Your soul is your mind. It is your emotions. Kama. Not just peace and calm and tranquil of, but comma, in the midst of the most difficult circumstances. Come on, somebody. Peace, calm, tranquil of soul in the middle. Right smack dab in the middle of the most difficult circumstances. Listen, Biblical peace isn't. You're calm when nothing's wrong, that's easy. It's easy to be calm when your kids are acting right. It's easy to be calm when your husband's acting right. It's easy to be calm when you got plenty of money in the bank. But biblical piece is when all hell is breaking out, when your kids are on drugs, when your husband loses his job, when your parents are in the hospital, when you got a bad doctor's report, when everything is going wrong, you stop still got your hands up, you still speak in life. You still believe in God's word over your life, when all hell is breaking out in your life. And the only way to know that you got peace like this is to see how you react when trouble hits. Philippians 4 talks about peace that passes understanding. What does that mean? That means when you're going through trials and tribulations and testing of your faith, horrible situations, you're still okay, you're still stable, you're still sure footed. Shout peace that passes understanding. Shout peace that supersedes my senses. Colossians 3, 5 says, Let the peace of God rule in your heart. That word peace means umpire. What does an umpire do on the field? An umpire counts it in and it counts it out. Let the peace of God umpire my life, my situation. Don't umpire my life. My bank account. Don't umpire my life. Peace umpires my life life is full of decisions and choices and who to marry and who not to marry and what job to take. Or should I move or should I stay? Here's how you do it. Number one, you align with the truth, that belt of truth. You gotta know the truth. The truth will make you free. Then second, the breastplate of righteousness over your heart. You got to do right. You got to know right. You got to have righteousness so that you can make right decisions. And then third, let the peace make the call. Let the peace make the call. Listen. Basically, God will keep you in peace when you live right. Y' all don't want to hear this kind of preaching. Maybe you do. Listen. People who stay anxious and anxiety ridden need to elevate their spiritual life. Bottom line, if you live from one worry to the next worry, you are out of sync spiritually. If worry is your norm, that is not God. John 14:27. Jesus is going to be crucified. Listen, listen. Let me say it again, what I'm about to explain to you. Jesus was on his way to the cross when he said this. He said, peace. I leave you my peace. He's sitting there Carrying a cross down the Via Dolorosa, called the way of sin, suffering. And he said, peace, I leave you my peace, just like I got right now on the way to the cross. Not the world's peace. What does the world's peace look like? It comes in a form of a pill. It comes in the form of a massage. It comes in the form of a vacation. God's peace comes from the inside out. No matter if you ever get a massage again. No matter if you ever go on a vacation again. That's the peace that holds you stable. It's the peace the Bible says we're talking about. Remember, weapons of our warfare, they're not carnal, but it says to do these things. So what? Feet shod with the gospel of peace. You knew I wouldn't leave that word out. It's in the gospel, with the gospel of peace. That word gospel is euangelion. That's the translation. It's euangelion. And it means good news with the good news of peace. And listen, that word euongilion, is rarely used by the Greeks in their day because that word, the translation of euongilion, translates too good to be true. I want to run all over this stage, too good to be true. However, in the New Testament, it's used all the time. The gospel, the good news, the too good to be true news is referred to death and resurrection as a substitute for our sin, for salvation. Man, that's too good to be true, right? Who would lay down their life for you? Who would die for you? Who would take your place? Who would love you when you didn't even love him? Man, that's too good to be true. That's good news. But the problem is, most of us Christians only apply the gospel and the good news just to salvation. Just about I got my free ticket to heaven, okay? But the Gospel, there's so much more to the gospel here on earth. If we are saved by his death and resurrection, how much more are we saved by his life? By his example? First, Thessalonians 5:22 says, now, may the God peace himself sanctify you entirely, spirit, soul and body. May the God of peace, Good news, Euangelion, too good to be true. Sanctify you entirely, spirit, soul and body. So the good news is, number one, you're justified, right? He paid the price. It's already done. It's your free ticket to heaven. It's salvation. But number two, it's sanctification. That is when you are transformed spirit, soul and body here on earth. I Hope y' all are getting this. The God who gives you peace does it three ways, and in this order. Spirit, soul, then your body. Say it. Spirit, soul, and then your body. See, it's an inside job. It's not an outside job. It's not a massage. It's not a break away from your children. See, we do it backwards. We're looking for peace in all the wrong places. And God says to get real peace, you got to do it this way. You got to do it spirit, soul and body. So let me show you. We have a spirit. When you get saved, he deposits his nature into you and all of God and all that he has. And all of his power is on the inside of you. But then he says he wants you to be sanctified entirely. So here you are. You're saved. Then he says your soul has to be sanctified and renewed so that that spirit that's already in you can operate and come out and manifest. Ooh, so good. So if your soul is not sanctified and renewed, then your body stays broke. It's the result of an imperfect soul. So when your soul is messed up, what is your soul? It's your mind, the way you think, the way you process your thought. Life, it's your emotions. If you're up one day and down the next day. If you're sweet this day and you're. And you know what the next day. So if your soul messed up, then you become anxious, what happens then to your body? If you're anxious, you're nervous, what happens to your body? You start to shake. You might throw up, your stomach hurts, you might miss your sleep. So a damaged soul equals a damaged body, y'. All, this is good. I'm teaching today. I'm going to save you $300 an hour. Today. May the God of peace sanctify you, spirit, soul and body. So, number one, the spirit releases the DNA of God into you. It releases it into your soul. When you know the truth and you have right standing and you make right decisions based on the truth of the word of God, not how you feel, changes start to take place in your life. Your lifestyle changes, where you go changes, your music changes, your radio stations change, what you listen to, what you watch changes. Start, then the soul then releases that godly DNA to the body. I'll say it again. Your spirit releases the DNA into your soul. Then changes start taking place. Where you go, who you hang out with, what you put in your mouth, your music, your preferences. And then your soul starts releasing the DNA of God into your body. You're not anxious. You're able to sleep. You're not shaken. You're not feeling like you're going to lose your mind. Your soul only produces what it knows. This is why you must know the truth. Because the truth is what you makes, makes you free. Free in every area of your life. Then say, then you can walk in God's peace. No matter what's going on around you, no matter what trial or tribulation you might face, you can live in peace if you have truth. Righteous living that produces peace, spirit, soul and body. I am believing this truth for you. Go to YouTube. Listen to it over and over and over and over and over again. Perfect peace. The Bible says you can have perfect peace if you get three massages a week. If you go on two vacations a month. No. The Bible says you can have perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on him. Perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed. That word stayed is set. Just like you would set a broken bone in your body. Body. It cannot move. It doesn't have the ability to move. It doesn't have a choice to move. Delete those stations on your radio. Delete those stations on your tv. Put a safeguard around your mind. You can stay in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on him. I'm believing that for you today. It's possible. But you gotta do the work. God bless you. I love you. Go to YouTube. You want some more powerful messages? Follow me on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram. I want you to live your very best life, but you are in a battle. We are in war. And you do not fight a spiritual battle with earth weapons. God bless you. Wow.

What an inspiring word from Pastor Hope. She is always so incredible and just so real. I love hearing from her. If you want to hear more from her, see more, interact with her throughout the week, make sure you check her out on social media. You can look her up on Facebook at Pastorhope C or follow her on Instagram at Pastorhope Carpenter. You can also check out more online on her website@hopecarpenter.com we'll see you next time.