A three message series
Perfect peace.
A companion guide to Pastor Bernard's series on the peace of God: what it is, where it goes with you, and what it opens the door to.
Preached at First Church Sterling Heights · Fall 2026
A companion guide to Pastor Bernard's series on the peace of God: what it is, where it goes with you, and what it opens the door to.
This guide walks through all three messages point by point, with the Scriptures Pastor Bernard built on, the lines worth carrying with you, and space to write your own response. Use it on your own during the week, with your spouse, or in a small group.
The world bases peace on your resources. God's peace depends on relationship. Peace is not something you work for; it is something you receive, and Jesus has already given it to you. That peace is not confined to the boat, the sanctuary, or the good week. It goes with you into every place, and when it does, it opens the door for hope, joy, and rest to come in, and for fear and shame to go out.
"I have perfect peace."
Pastor Bernard asked the church to say it before the first message was preached. It is more than a verbal affirmation. It is a statement of what you already have.
When you hear that title, something in you may instinctively answer, "No I don't," or even, "No I can't." You start rehearsing every reason, and many of those reasons are real. And yet the message stands: you, hurting, struggling, warring in your mind, right now, have perfect peace.
John 13 is the Last Supper. Jesus tells the men closest to Him that He will be betrayed by someone at the table, and that He will not be with them much longer. They had no ability to see past the moment they were living in. Then, in the very next breath, John 14 opens with: "Let not your heart be troubled." How? He had just told them the plan was falling apart.
The phrase "perfect peace" in Isaiah 26:3 is, in Hebrew, simply the word for peace said twice: shalom shalom. Scripture does not add anything onto the peace of God, because nothing can be added to it. "Perfect" here carries the biblical sense of completeness. And the word "mind" is yetser, a thing formed or framed, like a potter shaping clay. God keeps you in whole, abiding peace when your mind is continually being formed by Him.
The only things the world can handle are your body, your physical things, and your time. Jesus says you cannot look to those for peace, because they will rob you of it. You cannot compare yourself into peace. You cannot fill your bank account into peace. You cannot buy square footage to peace. The false prophets of Ezekiel's day cried "peace, peace" over a broken city, a coat of paint on a broken house. God's peace is a different kind.
"In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you." Heaven is a real place, a kingdom, an inheritance, a country, a city, a home.
Philip said, "Show us the Father." Jesus said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." There are not three Gods. There is one, and we know Him. His name is Jesus.
Pray in faith. Pray in Jesus' name. Pray and operate out of obedience. "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." The Helper is not someone else. It is the Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling in you.
"He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
The chapter closes where it opened, with "let not your heart be troubled," and adds the gift that makes it possible.
"Let not your heart be troubled" means keep possession of your own soul even when you cannot hang on to anything else. Your heart is the core of who you are. Trouble may come to your life, but do not let it get to your heart. Then Jesus adds a second phrase: "neither let it be afraid." Fear is about what we cannot see, what lies ahead. Do not let trouble get to your heart concerning the past or today, and do not let your heart be afraid of tomorrow.
When the serpents bit Israel in Numbers 21, God did not remove the serpent. He had Moses lift one up, and the very thing that struck fear became the sign of healing. Jesus said that is a picture of the cross. The disciples at that supper could only see the moment they were in. With eyes of faith, you can see that even through suffering, even through three days of literal death, there is a peace on the horizon.
1 When you heard "You have perfect peace," what was your honest first reaction? What were the reasons that came to mind?
2 Which of the six reasons in John 14 do you most need to hold onto this week?
3 If you don't feel peace right now, could it be that you've put your peace somewhere else? Where?
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You can today. The book of Acts records people being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and receiving the Holy Spirit. That is where peace with God begins. Come and pray, or talk to someone at First Church this Sunday.
Jesus can bring peace into your situation. Call out to Him and trust Him. If He is in the boat with you, you have nothing to be afraid of. But God is after something deeper than a calm sea. He wants you to know that wherever He is, peace is, and He goes with you everywhere.
A great tempest, the boat covered with waves, and Jesus asleep. They wake Him: "Lord, save us: we perish." He rebukes the wind and there is a great calm. Notice their reaction: "What manner of man is this?" Even with Jesus in the boat, they wanted a peace that came from Him fixing the situation.
This time Jesus is not in the boat. He comes walking on the sea and calls Peter out onto the water with Him. You have heard this preached as faith getting out of the boat, and it is. But peace is in this story too. Peter found peace on the waves, in the middle of the storm, because that is where Jesus was.
Many times Jesus will calm the storm of your mind, your life, and your faith so that you know who He is. He is peace. But if peace is a person, then peace is wherever Jesus is, not just "with me, in the boat, on my terms." If you understand that peace is a person, you can have enough faith to step out of a boat that without Jesus may sink anyway, out of the thing you thought would bring you peace but will not, and onto raging waves, and still find peace. That is not logical. Peace is not having all your questions answered.
The Shunammite woman of 2 Kings 4 built a small room for the man of God, and God gave her a son. When that son died, she laid him in that room and went to get the man of God. Her husband asked why. Gehazi asked, "Is it well with thee? with thy husband? with the child?" Her answer, every time, was one word: shalom. It is well. Peace was not in the room yet, but she was getting peace into the room. When the man of God walked in, peace came into the room, and life came back to the room.
Peter, sinking, cried out directly to Jesus: "Lord, save me." That is a prayer. The Shunammite woman knew she had to get the man of God into that room. Prayer is what bridges the gap between the peace of God and the storm of your situation. I cannot tell you exactly what happens in that room. All I know is when I get into that room, something miraculous happens.
You are not going to sink. You are not going under. You are not forgotten. Wherever Jesus is can be a place of peace. Whatever is between you and the Lord today, get rid of it, because it is between you and real peace. It is not about Him calming the waves, although He can. It is about Him.
1 Where have you been asking Jesus for peace "in the boat, on my terms," when He may be calling you out onto the water with Him?
2 Name the places this week where peace feels hardest to find. What would it look like to bring Jesus into that room?
3 What do you need to say "it is well" over, while the answer is still on the way?
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Say that over the room before peace has arrived in it. Then go get the One who is peace.
God desires to give you peace, not just peace in your circumstances but peace in spite of them. And when you have that peace from the Lord, it opens the door for some things to come into your life, and it opens the door for some things to leave.
The peace Jesus spoke of can only come from God. Before peace comes the salvation of the Lord and the love of the Lord. Peace is not on a pedestal above them; rather, real peace flows from salvation, through love. It is not a natural peace, though it has real-world effects. You can only receive it from the Holy Spirit.
You can be saved and not let it change your anxiety. You can be saved and still fearful. You can be saved and still feel worthless, until you begin to understand what God has for you. That is how powerful looking to Jesus for peace can be. Look at what Paul finds along the way in Romans 5, being justified by faith: peace, rejoicing, and hope. We can glory in tribulation because we have peace and hope in something beyond ourselves. And hope does not disappoint.
Do you know how to bring joy into your life? It is not to figure out all the ways to dispel difficulty, and it is not to make your life easier. Many times you have no control over that. Joy comes from being faithful to Jesus and fruitful in your life. That is what brings the Lord joy, and that is where He puts His joy in you.
It is about your actions. Guilt can be confessed and forgiven.
It is about your identity, how you see yourself. That is why it is so hard to overcome, and why only peace with God can put it out.
Isaiah 53 says He was despised and rejected, wounded for our transgressions, and "the chastisement of our peace was upon him." Hebrews 12:2 says He endured the cross, disregarding the shame. The peace of God opens the door to kick shame out for good, because Jesus already carried it.
1 Which of the three, hope, joy, or rest, has been missing longest? What has been standing in the door?
2 Is what you carry guilt (about something you did) or shame (about who you are)? What does Isaiah 53 say about each?
3 What is one thing you need to let out of your life this week, and one thing you will let in?
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Check these off as you build them into your week. Your checks and notes stay on this device.
1 "Peace is a person, not an answer." Where have you been waiting on an answer when Jesus was offering Himself?
2 Compare the two storms in Matthew 8 and 14. Which one is your life right now?
3 Which of the six reasons in John 14 is easiest for you to believe? Which is hardest?
4 What has peace opened the door for in your life? What is it still waiting to let out?
One thing I will say, one place I will bring Jesus into, one thing I will let out.
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