Anything That Steals Your Peace Is Too Expensive

Sermon outline

Zeal for God's house keeps you focused and undistracted, and God's glory is revealed in a life that decreases so that He can increase, settled in private when nobody is watching.

1. Guard your peace

   Peace is freedom from disturbance and a place of rest in God, His peace and not the world's: nothing missing, nothing broken. As you grow, the Holy Spirit teaches you to watch your words, to step back even when you are right, and to let the other person have their say, then raise the matter later when the season of correction comes. The fruit of the Spirit is not seasonal; it bears all year round.

   “Anything that steals your peace is too expensive.”

   • Matthew 5:9
   • John 14:27
   • Galatians 5:22

2. It takes a clear vision to get to a destination

   Before Pastor Wesley teaches, a pastor tells the church that God gave them victory before they even fasted. It takes faith, trust, a submissive heart and a clear vision to reach a destination, and the fast was to get that right for the rest of 2025, because the enemy tries to distract you and take you off course.

   “It takes a clear vision to get to a destination.”

   • John 2:17

3. The zeal of Your house has consumed me

   Zeal is an unmistakable passion for God's house that transcends our own aspirations and abilities and aligns our passion with the things of God. Zeal fuels action: when you are passionate about something, you rearrange everything else to do it.

   Illustration: Parents who cannot afford the best school will still go out of their way to bring in extra money for it, because they are zealous for their child's future. Likewise we must be zealous for the house of the Lord.

   “My passion for your vision has consumed me.”

   • John 2:17

4. When we have zeal, we have focus

   Nehemiah refused to come down from the wall. When your focus is on where you are going, nobody who steals your seat, arrives before you or makes snide comments can move you. The thought that your season here is over and it is time to go, or that you hate coming to church, is the devil distracting you, and that distraction is a blessing blocker.

   “When we have zeal, we have focus. When we have focus, we cannot be distracted.”

   • Nehemiah 6:3

5. The vision must glorify God, not man

   The earth will be filled with His glory, not mine or yours. When God's glory manifests, the vision draws nations; it becomes undeniable and people come. If it is not manifest with us, it will be with somebody else.

   “It's not about us being glorified, it is about him being glorified.”

   • Habakkuk 2:14
   • Isaiah 60:1-3

6. He must increase, I must decrease

   The world's system is that the bank increases while you decrease into debt; God's system is that we decrease and He increases, and the house and the car become by-products of God working in your life. Decreasing is not decided with raised hands in a service while the rest of the week belongs to you. It is decided at two in the morning when nobody is watching, and then God redeems the time so that one day does the work of thirty. The question is not whether you can trust God, but whether He can trust you with what He gives.

   Illustration: When the glory shows up, the people who knew you before are amazed: "Aren't you that guy from Greenwood Park? Didn't you run on the road there without shoes? Didn't I see you with curlers in your hair running with a broomstick trying to chase your brother?" Or the one the ball went through the legs of on the soccer field.

   “The question is not can I trust God enough, but can I decrease enough that He can trust me with what He gives me?”

   • John 3:30

7. Die to self, and it is worth it

   Before communion he calls the church to forgive those they have held resentment against, because at salvation we gave up the right to hold offences, and unforgiveness is a blessing blocker. The way of the crowd is wide and the way to life is narrow. If you want authority, the gifts of the Spirit, the anointing or to prosper, die to self; even pastors' children must make that choice for themselves. True deliverance is being able to say no to what used to entangle you when the pastor is not there to hold your hand.

   Illustration: On harbouring offence: "If only I was a Springbok, I would tackle you so hard. I would ruck and maul you."

   “It's your ability to die that makes you a man and a woman of God.”

   • Matthew 7:13-14
   • Revelation 12:11
   • Jeremiah 29:11

In this message