Text: John 14:27-31
THE PRESENTS OF CHRIST: PEACE
During the last number of months I have sought to challenge you and motivate you to see all that God has called us to do. We have examined our vision and we have studied the Spiritual gifts with the view of being available to God, being willing for Him to lead guide and direct. It is important to be challenged and stretched but we must also remember that God provides for us in Christ. He is all-loving and generous beyond measure. So as we lead up to Christmas, I want to bring to mind the presents Christ brings into our lives, the peace, hope, joy and faith - with the view of deepening our love and praise of our wonderful Saviour. This morning we think of the Peace that is ours in Christ and our text is John 14:27-31. p>
"Peace I leave with you." It could be said that this is Jesus' last will and testament. It is the night before His death and He bequests to His followers peace. Peace is our inheritance, it is a legacy, it is a gift to you from our Lord. “Peace I leave with you.” When the Bible speaks of peace it usually does so in two ways. It speaks first of peace with God. And surely this is part of what Jesus is speaking of here. Jesus came to give us peace with God. Do you know one of the most startling verses in all of Scriptures is found in Romans 5:10 where we read that at one time were enemies of God? I read that and say, "An enemy of God? I was never an enemy of God - that's a little harsh don't you think? I may have been a little indifferent maybe, a little laissez-faire in my attitude, but certainly not an enemy?" But Scripture comes back and says, "No, you were an enemy", in that I opposed God's rule in my life - and to be honest if God tried to assert Himself and claim the throne of my heart and will I would seek to drag Him down off of there and reassert my own will, and my own desires. There was a battle going on. This really is a remarkable thing, that as small as we are, with our puny little strength, we can set ourselves against the Almighty, can resist Him, can look Him in the face and openly rebel and defy Him.
But it doesn't have to be that way. We don't need to be enemies of God any longer for God has taken the initiative, a peace initiative, if you will. The price for our rebellion has been paid by Christ on the cross and the treaty between God and ourselves has been signed in His blood. So now says Scripture in Romans 5:1:
And so as we read the New Testament the people of that ancient time are repeatedly bursting in on us through Scripture and breathlessly saying, "God is at peace with you". Think of it, after the deliberate and ignorant way with which we have treated Him. He has no grudge against you, no ill-will, no sour temper, He does not keep any record of our wrongs - we are now His children and live at peace with Him now and forever. Peace with God. It is a marvelous and wonderful truth that is ours through faith in Christ. That's part of the gift that Christ came to earth to give to you. But Scripture speaks not only of Peace with God, but also the Peace of God. And surely Jesus is speaking also about the Peace of God in this passage. He goes on in verse 27 to say, "My peace, I give to you." That is, the peace that He enjoys as a characteristic is a gift which He gives to you and to me through faith in Him. By virtue of the fact that when you received Christ as Lord and Saviour He came and took up residence in you. He now lives in you and the peace that is His is now yours. I will talk about the quality of this peace in a moment but first I want to look at the source of this peace. This is the peace of Christ which we are given - and so our source of peace will be same as His source. And His source of peace was His Heavenly Father. That phrase "My Father" occurs 22 times in this chapter, and 4 times in the last 5 verses alone. The source of Christ's peace is His Father, and so it must be ours. He says in verse 28, "you heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ ” That is, you have heard me tell you about my death and my resurrection and even of my second coming. And then He says "if you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I." Notice that our Lord's focus is on the Father. The source of His peace, the reason for His peace is His vision of the Father. Even though Jesus knew that suffering and pain and shame awaited Him on that cross, our Lord's focus was on the Father. This was the source of His peace. So we read in the book of Hebrews that Jesus "for the joy set before him endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). My friends, the source of our peace is our Father who loves us who cares for us, who has a perfect plan for each one of us. And it is upon Him that our focus is to rest. You know the story of how Jesus came walking on the water one foggy and stormy night to greet His disciples. I read it the other night to Nora at bedtime. She thought it was a neat story and said that she could walk on water. "Oh really?" I said. "How do you do that?" She said, "Well, if I run really fast off the diving board and keep my feet moving there are those few steps that I can take on top of the water before I sink to the bottom." I had to explain that this was a little different. But you know the story how in the fog the disciples thought it was a ghost. And Jesus had to reassure them and how Peter said, "If it is you Lord let me come out to you on the water". And Jesus said, "Sure". So Peter gets out of the boat and starts to walk toward Jesus on the water. But then Peter begins to take notice of the wind and the waves and he takes his focus off of Jesus and he begins to sink. That's a real life metaphor of the truth that our focus needs to be on God and not on our circumstances. The source of our peace is God our loving heavenly father. So we read in Isaiah 26:3: "Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace - in peace because they trust in you." (NRSV) Why? Because it is as we focus on our Heavenly Father we realize that He is so much bigger than our problems, that while the situation may frighten us it does not frighten Him. It is as we focus on Him that we realize that He is able. It is as we focus on Him that we realize that He does not live above the bright blue sky but has taken up residence in our lives so that we can say whatever happens in my life - I trust in You. The source of our peace is not our circumstances, it is our God. So our peace is like a rock, it cannot be shaken.
The Apostle Paul gives us this same formula in Philippians 4:6,7:
We could say that Paul is very unrealistic - telling us not be anxious about anything. What about my kids, their health and welfare? I am anxious about that. What if you have to visit your doctor tomorrow and he diagnosis some disease for which there is no cure. How can he say, "Don't have any anxiety about anything?” Is this being real? Have no anxiety about anything? Well he then says, "But". Allan Redpath was a great preacher of a previous generation in England and he was overheard many times saying that the word "but" is the biggest little word in the Bible, it changes everything. Allan Redpath once said to the students of Capenwray, and he didn't appreciate why they all laughed at this. He said the "Difference between victory and defeat in the Christian life depends on where you put your ‘but’." There is God - but there's a problem. That's defeat. There is a problem - but God. That's victory. Paul is saying if there is anything that makes you anxious present it to God by prayer and petition. And if you genuinely give it to God it becomes His problem. With thanksgiving - not thanking God for the situation. Scripture says give thanks in all circumstances. Not necessarily for all circumstances. Give thanks for what? Give thanks for God, for His sufficiency, for His sovereignty, for His presence, for His power. So you present the situation to God with thanksgiving - thanking God for Himself that this thing that threatens me does not threaten Him. This thing which is bigger than me is not bigger than Him. And the burden roles off your shoulders and on to His and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts. The source of the peace of God is God himself, our focus is to be on Him. Then, there is also this when speaking of the source of our peace - not only must we focus on God, we must not be entangled with and by the world.
Jesus says in verse 29 "And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe." Jesus is giving them forewarning here to help their faith, and then this in verse 30 and 31:
Satan came and tempted Jesus at the beginning of His ministry and at the end of His ministry - tempting Him to forego the cross. But Jesus says, “while the prince of this world will come, he has nothing on Me, he has no power over Me.” There was nothing that Satan could claim in Jesus life.
My friends, if the peace of God would be a settled reality in us we need to be free from all that drags us down, all that entangles us in this world. In the words of Jesus,
Let me put it practically. If it is wealth you long for, and it comes to settling your parent's estate, you will not have peace in yourself or among your family because you will never feel satisfied with what you received. If is a name you are looking to make for yourself, you will not have peace, for that name can be lost quicker than it can be made - with one wrong step, one wrong decision. You will not have peace. Can we truly say that our treasure is in heaven - and so is our heart. If we can, then the stock market can fluctuate all it likes, riches can come and they can go - people can praise us or thinking nothing of us - but because our heart is free from all that the world has to offer it cannot affect our peace. The source of our peace - it is in God - as we focus on Him and throw off everything of this world that hinders and entangles. But there is this yet to say, what about the quality of this peace? Jesus says in verse 27 that the peace He gives us is not of this world. And that's great news. For the peace of this world is fleeting, shallow, imperfect and false. It all depends on circumstances. If your bank account if full, your health is good, and the shores a southern destination can be reached at least once year then those of the world and in the world consider that peace. But the peace of Christ is not of this world. Primarily it means that it does not depend on your circumstances. The peace of Christ is not dependent on circumstances but is based on who you are with in those circumstances. It is that Christ is your security and that nothing in all creation can separate you from His love - that's His peace. It is different from the world's peace. That's why Paul says that this peace transcends understanding - it is a reality that is not known in this world. Peace is one of the gifts that Jesus Christ offers you - I trust that you will know it as you focus on God, not your circumstances, as you become unhindered by all that the world offers and as you rest in him who is so much bigger than the circumstances that sometimes threaten and overwhelm. May you know the peace that passes all understanding. Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - December 2002
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