Matters of the Heart: Let Peace Be Your Umpire

Matters of the Heart: Let Peace Be Your Umpire teaches that the condition of the heart shapes the direction of our lives. Rather than allowing hurt, fear, disappointment, or other emotions to make the final call, believers are called to let the peace of God rule—like an umpire—guiding our thoughts, decisions, and responses through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Sermon Summary:  Colossians 3:15, And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  In Matters of the Heart, Pastor Bryan Hudson teaches that what happens in the heart ultimately manifests in our lives. The heart is the center from which thoughts, attitudes, words, decisions, and actions flow. During seasons of change and challenge, life often forces us to narrow our focus and return to what matters most—especially the condition of our hearts and the peace of God.  The central Scripture is Colossians 3:15: “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” The word rule carries the idea of an umpire—one who decides, determines, and makes the call. Just as an umpire determines whether a pitch is a ball or strike, believers must allow the peace of God to determine how they respond to situations, emotions, relationships, and difficult circumstances.  The message emphasizes that difficult feelings should not simply be denied. Anxiety, hurt, fear, and other troubling emotions can function like a warning light, physical pain, or an unusual sound in a car: they indicate that something deserves attention. Faith does not deny reality; faith allows God to address reality at a deeper level. The symptom is not always the problem—it may be pointing us toward a deeper matter of the heart.  Pastor Hudson explains that spiritual understanding requires going beyond what can be seen or reasoned through naturally. Hebrews 11:3 teaches that what is visible came from what is unseen. Likewise, the outward circumstances of life may have roots in unseen matters of the heart. Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman illustrates this principle: while she initially focused on natural water and religious traditions, Jesus led her toward the deeper reality of living water, spirit, and truth.  The sermon further defines the heart as involving the spirit and soul together. The believer's born-again spirit is the stable foundation of life in God, while the soul—our mind, will, and emotions—requires renewal, transformation, training, and sanctification. Therefore, much of the work of spiritual growth involves allowing what God has placed in our spirit to influence and govern our soul.  Peace is not merely a pleasant emotion; peace is a governing influence. Hurt, betrayal, trauma, disappointment, envy, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, and entitlement may all be real, but they must not be allowed to become the umpire of our lives. Instead of acting primarily from what we feel, we should become quiet before God, listen to His Spirit and His Word, receive wise help when needed, and allow His peace to make the final call.  Jesus promised in John 14:27, “My peace I give to you.” God provides the peace, but the words “let the peace of God rule” imply our cooperation. We must yield to His peace rather than allowing the noise, pressures, emotions, and distractions of life to govern us.  The message concludes with a decision of faith: choose peace over everything else. Rather than allowing real emotions and painful experiences to dictate our decisions, we go to the “heart level,” where the Holy Spirit and the Word of God can bring clarity, transformation, and victory. Peace becomes the foundation from which we can properly address the challenges before us.  Central message: Let the peace of God be your umpire. When emotions, circumstances, and competing voices are making their calls, allow God’s peace to make the final decision. Closing Confession of Faith I will allow the peace of God to rule my heart. Peace will be my umpire. Peace will decide what I will do or not do When I am facing a challenge, I won't try to reason my way around it without the help of the Holy Spirit and Scripture. As a matter of the heart, I will go to the heart level to address things that I don't fully understand. God is Spirit, so I must worship and live through him in spirit and in truth.  According to 1 Thessalonians 5:23, I will allow the God of peace to sanctify me completely so that my whole spirit, soul, and body will be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will live, according to the order of spirit, soul, body. Not the reverse order of body, soul, spirit. Peace will govern my heart and mind, not mindsets and emotions such as hurt, trauma, disappointment, things that have not worked as I expected, envy, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, and entitlement. Jesus Gives the Peace That Umpires my life I agree with what He said in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you"