Gusti Yesus wis maringi kita akeh janji bab istirahat lan tentrem-rahayu sing saben wong, sing pretyaya marang Panjenengane lan sowan marang Panjenengane lan sinau saka Panjenengane kudu ngalami. Damai Gusti, which passes all understanding and shall keep the hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. If the Word has made these promises, Napa akeh wong, who say they believe and claim to be Christians, don’t experience rest and peace in their lives but the exact opposite? What is the cause of this turmoil, rasa kuwatir, mental anguish, lan emotional distress? How can you experience the rest and peace of God in your life? What does the Bible say about the peace of God?
The wicked have no peace
Nanging wong duraka iku kaya segara kang gonjing, nalika ora bisa ngaso, kang banyune nuwuhake reget lan reget. Ora ana tentrem, Pangandikané Allahku, marang wong duraka (Yesaya 57:20).
Ora ana tentrem, Pangandikané Gusti, unto the wicked (Yesaya 48:22)
We live in a time of turmoil, where many things take place. But as long as we remain faithful to Jesus Christ and stay in the Word and seek those things which are above and set our affection on things above and not on things on the earth, we shall experience the promised rest and peace of God.
Sabda ngandika, that the wicked have no peace and shall never find rest for their soul.
Sing amarga, they don’t know God and are separated from God and live in enmity and disunion with God.
And as long as they keep avoiding Jesus Christ and don’t acknowledge and accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and don’t believe in Him as the Saviour of their sinful nature and the Healer of their fallen state (broken state ) and Reconciler between God and man, and therefore don’t repent and become born again in Christ, they shall not have rest and shall not experience the peace of God in their lives (Maca uga: ‘Katentreman, Gusti Yesus mulihake ing antarane wong lan Gusti Allah sing tiba‘ lan ‘Gusti Yesus mulihake posisi wong sing tiba').
The carnal man tries to enter a state of rest and experience inner peace through means of human philosophies and carnal methods
People try all sorts of ways and use all kinds of natural means and methods, to find rest and inner peace. They apply (wetan) agama, filosofi, cara, lan teknik, kaya mindfulness, Meditasi, yoga, Terapi pijet, Akupunktur, Reiki, lsp., and do all kinds of things to experience rest and inner peace in their lives.
Even people, sing ngaku wong Kristen, but are not truly born again and have not crucified their flesh in Christ, apply this worldly knowledge, Kawicaksanan, cara, and technics in their lives, to enter a state of rest and experience inner peace.
They not only get involved with these occult practices, but they even promote these occult practices and bring these occult practices into the church.
Since many churches are world-like and are spiritually asleep and don’t possess the discernment of spirits, they allow these occult practices in the churches and defile the churches with these occult practices.
And so these wolves in sheep clothing, who belong to the devil and serve him, enter the churches and mix the faith with the world by Christianizing these pagan doctrines and practices.
They put the word ‘Christian’ in front of these pagan doctrines and practices and mislead many believers with their pious words, which seem credible to them, and by quoting Scriptures from the Bible, kang dijupuk metu saka konteks.
Some even claim that these occult pagan practices come from God and that God is the Inventor of these carnal doctrines, cara, and technics and say that the world has copied them from God.
Why do so many people believe the lies of the devil?
Sayange, many people believe these lies and are misled by these wolves in sheep clothing, because they are worldly and carnally minded, kaya dheweke, and are looking for alternatives for the things of this world, and because they do not know the Word personally and therefore they don’t know the karsaning Allah.
They love the world and want to do the same things as the world and because the word ‘Christian’ is in front of it, they think that it’s ok to practice and that it can’t hurt and that God approves it. But when people, sing ngaku wong Kristen, approve of these pagan doctrines and practices, doesn’t mean that God also approves these pagan doctrines and practices. God is very clear in His Word about pagan practices and the world (Maca uga: ‘Apa sampeyan bisa misahake spiritual saka filsafat lan praktik Timur?).
And so the devil has acted upon the will, wishes, and desires of carnal Christians and originated a.o. Christian meditation, kesadaran Kristen, Christian body scans, Christian massage therapy, trigger-point therapy, Yoga Kristen, and established Christian spiritual wellness centers, so that people, sing ngaku wong Kristen, can experience the same wellness treatments like the world, but only under other names.
They think they have found alternatives for mindfulness, Meditasi, yoga, Terapi pijet, Akupunktur, Reiki, lsp., and that they can practice it without any spiritual danger and without feeling guilty towards God.
Nanging, the spiritual aspect is still connected to these carnal philosophies, laku, teknik, lan metode, whereby they shall not help them to find rest and to experience inner peace, tinimbang, they shall experience more anxiety, gegeran, mental anguish, lan chaos in their lives.
They can believe and think whatever they want and ease their conscious by believing that it’s spiritually harmless, but the ruler of this world is a liar and what he promises is not true, but a lie. And because many are not truly born again and don’t walk after the Word and the Spirit and don’t discern the spirits, but are carnal, they believe the devil’s disguised lies and enter his crooked ways and think they will get what they want and what is promised to them. But they shall receive the exact opposite from him.
What happens when you become involved with the darkness
The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace (Yesaya 59:8)
Kabeh wong, who becomes involved with doctrines and practices that derive from the kingdom of darkness becomes involved with the devil. Instead of rest and peace, the turmoil, rasa kuwatir, and mental anguish shall only increase and by allowing the powers of darkness into their lives, they will be brought further into destruction and eventually be destroyed
The people shall become lukewarm towards Jesus Christ and the things of the Kingdom of God and shall allow sin (najis seksual, laku jina, laku cabul, nyembah brahala, lsp.) lan sabar ing dosa.
Kejabi, they shall become unhappy, kuwatir, mbrontak, agitated, nesu, down-casted, rushed, stres, and experience depression, insomnia and shall blame God, wong, the surroundings, and/or situations, while they are responsible for their own actions and the fruit of their actions (Maca uga: 'Apa sing sampeyan nyebar sampeyan bakal panen'lan'Mungkasi nyalahake Gusti Allah!')
Instead of walking on the way of God, they have entered self-chosen ways and, kaya jagad iki, refuse to lay down their flesh by faith and regeneration in Christ and to nyingkirake wong tuwa lan kanggo sijine wong anyar. Mulane, they will experience the same nakal minangka donya.
The Way to enter God’s rest and experience the peace of God
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Amarga ana ing Sang Kristus Yesus ora ana sunat apa wae, utawa ora tetak, but a new creature.Lan kaya-kaya mlaku miturut aturan iki, Tentrem rahayu, lan sih-rahmat, lan marang Israel saka Gusti Allah (Galatia 6:14-16)
There is only one Way to Ketik liyane Gusti Allah and to experience the peace of God, sing ngliwati kabeh pangerten, and that’s through Jesus Christ and by faith and regeneration in Him and by putting off the old man (daging) lan sijine wong anyar (roh).
Only through regeneration in Christ you can become a son of God and see and enter the Kingdom of God, whereby you no longer belong to the devil, since you have laid down your flesh.
Ing Kristus, Sampeyan wis dadi titah anyar. Mulane, you shall no longer live, the way you lived before, when the devil was your father and you did the will and desires of your father.
But now that you have become a son of God and belong to God and made a choice to follow Jesus Christ, Sampeyan kudu nindakake karsane Gusti Allah.
This means that it’s no longer your way but Dalane, no longer your thoughts but Pikirane, not your truth but His Truth, not your words but His words, not your opinion but His opinion, not your will but karsane.
Regeneration and following Jesus, means a complete surrender and submission to Jesus Christ; tembung.
Jesus was fully yielded to the Father and spent much time with the Father. Jesus spoke the words of the Father and learned from the Father and did what He had seen the Father do. And so Jesus walked in the Name of His Father after the Spirit in His will.
The words of Jesus are spirit and live and bring forth peace
Roh iku sing gawe urip; Daging daging iku ora ana apa-apa: tembung sing dakkandhakake karo kowe, Dheweke dadi roh, Lan dheweke urip (John 6:63)
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly (Amos 5:10).
The world didn’t receive Jesus Christ, because the words Jesus spoke testified of the evil works of the wicked (menyang. John 7:7)
Gusti Yesus ngandika, His words are spirit and life, but for many, the words of Jesus were not spirit and life and didn’t bring forth peace but the opposite. Because His words meant the death of their flesh and its works. And since many were not willing to lay down the works of the flesh they rejected Jesus and His words. Lan iku isih kedadeyan.
Amarga kasunyatane, that only a few people are truly born again and lay down the flesh and walk after the Spirit, which means to walk according to the Word in the will of God, only a few will truly enter God’s rest and experience the peace of God in their lives.
Many people think that they have entered God’s rest, nanging ing kasunyatan, they have not. Because if they would truly have entered God’s rest they would experience the peace of God and the joy of God in their lives.
But many don’t experience the peace of God and the joy of God in their lives, but live in fear, gegeran, distress and are worried, nesu, down cast and experience anxiety, stres, Depresi, lsp.
And because they refuse to follow the way of the Word and ndherek Gusti Yesus Kristus and become born again and put off the flesh, they rely on the wisdom and knowledge of the world and try to obtain rest and inner peace in their lives through natural means and by applying Filsafat Timur, carnal technics and methods.
But Jesus Christ is the Only Way to enter God’s rest and to experience the peace of God. Ora ana cara liya! If someone comes with another doctrine and another way that deviates from the Word, then the church should reject that doctrine and that way, instead of allowing it in the church (Maca uga: 'Is there only one Way to eternal salvation? lan ‘Doktrin setan mateni pasamuwan').
The grace and peace be multiplied through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord (2 Petrus 1:1-2)
Lan tentrem-rahayu saka Gusti Allah, sing ngliwati kabeh pangerten, bakal njaga atimu lan pikiranmu liwat Kristus Yésus (Filipi 4:7)
If you have entered God’s rest by faith and regeneration in Christ, you shall experience God’s peace and you shall stay in God’s peace by staying faithful to God and by abiding in the Word and by walking after the Spirit and by seeking those things which above, ing ngendi Kristus lenggah, instead of seeking the things on this earth.
Through your personal relationship with God the Father, Yesus Kristus, and the Holy Spirit and your experiential knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, our Lord, the sanctifying grace and peace shall be multiplied unto you.
'Dadi uyahing bumi’
