Of the many titles given to Jesus, none are perhaps quite as striking as “the Prince of Peace.” When considering the names and titles which God describes Himself to us as, we should remember that God doesn’t need to name himself for His benefit. Whenever God gives himself a name, he does it for our benefit.
So when the God-breathed, holy Spirit inspired scriptures refers to Jesus as the Prince of Peace, what does that mean? That’s a challenging question to answer, but it’s vital to understand to appreciate the gift of divine peace that Jesus gives to us.
There are many promises and facts in scripture that assure us of wonderful things. Promises for a future in the heavenly Kingdom of God, and facts that we can stand on right now to secure us in the truth and free us from bondage and fear.
One particular fact that is very powerful yet a often ignored or misunderstood comes from Psalm 91:10 which says that no evil shall befall you.
For many people, these words are too fantastic to believe. Surely God did mean to suggest that no evil could touch us! You’re dreaming!
But what if He did mean it? How would that change your outlook, your emotions, or even your life? Let’s check it out.
Many times throughout the New Testament writings in scripture, Jesus says to “Fear not”, “do not fear”, or “don’t be afraid” – it’s good advice… especially now with so many global catastrophes and viral scares going around. However the advice to not be afraid really doesn’t mean anything without a reason why… if someone just tells you to not be afraid, you may wonder why, or think that they were crazy! But when you have a reason, then it becomes simple.
So today we’re going to look at some examples of Jesus, and what the scriptures have to say regarding fear, and what we find will be eye-opening.
In a few of our past studies, I’ve alluded to the fact that faith is information. And I have received some messages from people since those studies, with questions regarding exactly what this means and how to apply it.
In those messages which people sent to me, it became immediately clear that they were not understanding the difference between world information and spiritual information. Indeed, those two things are very different. Not all information is faith. Faith is a very specific type of information; information that deals specifically with Christ, what He has accomplished, and who we are in Him today.
So today in this study, I would like to share with you, the very important difference between world information (information that comes from worldly circumstances and what the world presents to us) versus Spiritual information (information about Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished on the cross, and our identity in Him today) – that is the information which is properly identified as faith.
This is what we will be looking at today.
In my past, I lived a life in deep fear. It was crippling, it was debilitating, and it caused me to miss out on many things, many pleasant experiences, and many years with family and friends. Things that I couldn’t enjoy because of my fear. Fear that was totally and completely irrational – but it didn’t seem to be so at the time, because I was believing a lie instead of the truth.
Jesus said, in John 8:32, that you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free. And we have studied that in the past before; but many misinterpret that to mean “you shall know things about the law” – when the people that Jesus was speaking to were Jews… they already knew the Law – and while the Law was true, it was not “the Truth” that would make them free.
The truth that will make them (and us) free today is not about religion, rules, traditions or the laws of the old covenant. The truth that will make us free, is specifically the truth of Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished, and your identity in Him today. That is an identity of His beloved, an identity of His perfect righteousness, and holiness, an identity completely safe and secure in Christ. That is your identity today. And what I want to share with you in this study, is how knowing the truth of His perfect love, can shatter your fears today.
Many times in scripture God has said to not be afraid (it’s not actually 365 times, closer to 110), but really once should be enough for anyone who takes the word of God seriously. However, we still find it difficult to not be afraid in certain circumstances. Often we think that being afraid of certain things is normal. Just a part of being human. However we still have the very words of God that tell us to “fear not”, “do not be afraid”. Was He just saying it for the sake of saying it… or is there something for us to learn and see in His words?
It might be interesting to note that whenever God said to not be afraid, it always accompanied a revelation of Himself… who He is and His nature, character and power. This is key when considering His words. God never tells us to not be afraid, without telling the reason why we do not have to fear. It’s one thing to simply say “aww, don’t be afraid!” – but it’s quite another thing to say “Don’t be afraid, because I am here!” and when God is the one saying it, you now have a very solid foundation upon which to securely stand. What we will be studying today is the security that we have in Christ, and how His words of fear not, are not just empty suggestions, but a reality for us to live in – all because of Jesus.