The following message from Pastor Kit Johnson comes to you from LifePoint Baptist Church in Apple Valley, California, where we pray that God's word is a real blessing to you. Amen, well you can turn your Bibles to John chapter 14. John 14 this morning. It's good to see you and hopefully you're awake so we could have a debate today about whether or not we like daylight savings time or not. You know, us morning people, we like it. We like, you know, but anyway. The extra sunlight will be nice in the evening, and so hopefully you're ready to go. So John chapter 14, our text day is verses 27 through 31. And let's go ahead and read the passage. It says, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. You heard that I said to you, I go away and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the father for the father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you for the ruler of the world is coming and he has nothing in me. but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded me. Get up. Let us go from here. Well, last week, when Tim Lovegrove was here and preached for us, he brought up verse 27, and did an excellent job. I was really encouraged by the sermon last week, and he talked about the fact that this passage is about peace. And Jesus here commands the disciples, hey, Relax, rest, be at peace. And it's a very timely challenge when you remember the context of where the disciples are at, right? They're in the upper room. This is the night before Jesus' crucifixion. And Jesus has told them that he's leaving them. And so they're upset. Jerusalem, of course, is a madhouse. I mean, just down the road, Judas is with the Sanhedrin and they're plotting to capture and to kill Jesus. So the disciples are not at peace, right? They are upset, they are anxious, and they are flustered. And maybe you can relate to the disciples. Peace is not how you would describe your mood, your feeling as you come into church this morning. And you're busy. Maybe you look at the next week and you think, man, there's no way I'm gonna get everything done that I need to get done this week. Maybe you don't feel at peace because you're grieving some sort of major loss or death in the family. Maybe you're under intense pressure at work. Your boss is breathing down your throat. Or maybe you're fearful about some unknown circumstance or situation that's coming up in the future. So when Jesus says to you in verse 27, do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. It might be that that doesn't actually sound encouraging to you. It sounds crushing because you think there is no way that I could actually obey what Jesus says there. But by the grace of God, you can have peace. You can be at rest. And so Jesus isn't promised that it will be easy. But He promises that peace is in reach for all of us. When you fight in the power of God's grace with the tools that He provides. So I want you today to believe that peace is possible for you. No matter what's going on in your life. I want us to marvel today at the incredible peace that Jesus alone offers. And ultimately, I pray that we will leave today and find peace. Find peace in the sovereign rule and sovereign grace of God. So verse 27 begins the passage with the promise of peace. Now verse 27's a wonderful verse. It's a wonderful verse. Pastor Lovegrove talked about it last week. It's so comforting. It's so reassuring, and it's also a very challenging verse. So let's talk first about the nature of this piece. Now again, Tim Lovegrove mentioned last Sunday that whenever you think of biblical peace, we have our modern notions of peace, but whenever you read about peace in the Bible, you need to remember that Jesus and the apostles were steeped in Old Testament concepts, and so when they said peace, they thought of shalom. And shalom is not just the absence of conflict. No, it's also positive well-being. It's really a wish for well-being in every sphere So when the Bible talks about peace, it talks about rest. It talks about joy. It talks about goodness in every area. And as well, he mentioned, that the Bible talks about three kinds of peace that Jesus gives to us. Right, so the first and most important kind of peace that God gives is peace with God through the gospel. When you are born again, when you are saved, God forgives you of all of your sins, you are reconciled to God, and you have peace with God that doesn't change. Your sins are forgiven, you are right with Him forever and ever. And as well, we can enjoy peace with our neighbor. You know, when we walk in grace, when we love each other, when we keep our focus on the big picture, we can have peace with our neighbor, meaning that there's no conflict. We are united. And then the third type of peace that God offers is God offers inner peace, or a calm or a restful spirit, as opposed to an anxious and a worried spirit. And verse 27 here is clearly talking about that third kind of peace, that inner peace, because it's contrasted here at the end of the verse with having a troubled or a fearful heart. So Jesus here is offering you a restful, quiet, calm heart and spirit. So if you're God's child, Jesus says that you don't have to be a slave to anxiety. You don't have to live your life afraid and worried all the time. No, Psalm 4 verse 8 says, in peace I will both lie down and sleep. For you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety. Now, don't lie down and sleep right now. But praise God that hopefully by the grace of God tonight you can lie down and go to sleep at rest because you dwell in the safety of God. And that's an incredible gift that Jesus offers peace in the midst of a very anxious and troubled world. Now what exactly is that? Well, I think it's worth saying that our world is obsessed with feeling safe. The world tries to find peace by feeling safe. So we think, oftentimes in our world, that peace means that no one ever challenges me. No one ever pushes on me. They affirm everything that I do. And that peace comes when I get free from any sort of pressure or difficulty. So peace in the world's minds is oftentimes built on affirmation and on pressure-free circumstances. But that can't be what God means when he talks about peace. Because the Bible says that very often we need to rebuke each other and we need to receive rebuke. We don't always need affirmation. And Paul, Paul made no effort to stay away from people's burdens, their sorrows, and their disappointments. If you're gonna love people well, then you are gonna have to bear their burdens. They are gonna disappoint you, and it is gonna hurt, and you are gonna grieve. So when Jesus talks about peace here, he's not calling you to escape the necessary pressures and burdens and responsibilities of life. Jesus is not promising you a carefree existence. And He's not saying that carrying a legitimate burden is necessarily wrong. No, love actually demands that we bear burdens, that we love each other well. And yet, despite all those things that we must bear, He says that you can have peace. You, by the grace of God, can lie down and sleep for you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety. Now, how is that possible? I mean, maybe you look at your life and you think, man, there is no way that I can have peace considering all that's going on in my life. Well, let's talk next about the uniqueness of the peace that Jesus offers. Jesus says, not as the world gives do I give to you. Now, you look out at our culture and our world has lots of tricks to help you achieve a feeling of peace. And the simplest one is just take some sort of drug or some sort of substance that kind of loosens you up, makes you feel good, and helps you forget all your sorrows, right? So we use chemicals, we use drugs. You know, others in our culture, they lean on distraction. So you've got problems in your life, so if you want to feel peace, do something to help you forget your sorrows. Do something to distract yourself from the realities of your life. Of course, as well, there's all sorts of methods of meditation out there that help you focus your thoughts, control your thinking. But you know, the problem with all of those things is that they're based, ultimately, on a fairy tale. And you pretend like you're in a different world. You pretend like things are not as they are. Or you wish for something that you just hope will come to pass. But folks, the problem with all of that is that it's not based in reality. It's not based in a sort of firm knowledge of what is ahead. So the truth is, is that it can't give any sort of lasting peace. Now sometimes, sometimes your circumstances do change and you do feel peace in the moment. You get the relief of some circumstance getting better. But here's the problem, is that your circumstances are certain to change again. Right, like I mean there's great relief in finding out that your cancer is in remission. But what's the problem with having cancer in remission? It's the fear that it won't stay in remission, that it may come back. So peaceful circumstances will never produce lasting peace. So if you're hoping, I'm just gonna get over this hurdle, and then I'll have peace. Well, the reality is, is there's just gonna be another hurdle behind it. You will never find peace in your circumstances. And you know why that is? It's because you're not sovereign. You're not in control. Now you might be able to escape circumstances and troubles for a time, but troubles will come. So if you're waiting for peaceful circumstances, then just get ready to be disappointed and get ready to ride a roller coaster of emotion that follows whatever circumstances come across your life. But the great news of this passage is that you don't have to ride the roller coaster because even though you're not sovereign, God is. He is in complete control of your life today and God is in complete control of your future. And God is not just in control, God is good. And so Romans 8.28 says that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. So the God of the Bible changes everything. And you're not going to find the tools to enjoy true peace anywhere else other than in a sovereign God who is also a good and wise God. And on top of that, not only do we have the truth of God to give us peace, but the Holy Spirit applies this peace to our hearts. Jesus just said in verse 26 that the Helper will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance. And verse 27 says, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. So you're not on your own to kind of drum up this feeling of peace. Jesus is not just saying, go out in the woods, meditate like Buddha, and hopefully you can achieve peace. No, he says, I give this to you, and the Spirit of God is your comforter. As you run to the truth of God, he will apply it to your heart, and you can know peace. And that's a great gift. You know, Philippians 4 says that as Christians, you can rejoice in the Lord always. Not just when your circumstances are good, but you can rejoice in the Lord always. And he says later on in Philippians chapter four, that you can be content in every circumstance, no matter what it is. And why is that? It's because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. It's through the strength and the power and the grace of Jesus. But you might say, well Pastor, that all sounds really good, But I don't feel any peace. Maybe you're anxious all the time. You can't sleep. You're irritable with those around you. Or maybe you frequently slip into the pit of despair. And so maybe you've just said, you know, I'm an anxious person. That's who I am. I'm a worrier. I will always be a worrier. I'm not gonna fight my worry. I'm just gonna cope with my worry. And you have resigned to a life without peace. So is there any hope that you can know peace? What we'll notice as well in verse 27, the demand for peace. It's interesting that verse 27 ends with two commands or prohibitions. He says, do not let your heart be troubled. And really you could say, and do not let it be fearful. They're both commands. And by the way, that's a repeat of what he said at the beginning of the chapter. Verse one of chapter 14 says, do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. So what are those commands imply? Well, they imply that you don't just sit back and wait for God to zap you with peace. And you can't as well just decide I'm not going to be at peace. I'm just going to be anxious and irritable. No. They imply that you must actively pursue it. And Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 6. This is a great passage on peace and anxiety. Jesus commands you, do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink, nor for your body as to what you will put on. And then He says at the end of the chapter, so do not worry about tomorrow. for tomorrow will care for itself. And Paul, the Apostle Paul, says something very similar in Philippians chapter four. He says, he gives you the command to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So folks, all those passages, I mean, anytime there is a command in Scripture, the implication is, is that you need to obey the command, and the implication is that by the grace of God, you can obey the command. So what must you choose? Paul commands you to choose peace. Now how do you get there? Well, first of all, he says, by prayer. So Paul says, don't be anxious for anything, but turn to prayer. So you need to make it your habit that whenever an anxious, worried thought enters your mind, that you immediately turn that anxious, worried thought into prayer. Don't try and fix it. Don't try and solve it. Don't stew over it. Your first response needs to be to pray. But I think it's important to add to that, that it's not just enough that you pray and in your prayer demand that God give you the answer that you think he ought to give you. Right, so you've got cancer. And your prayer is God, take away my cancer. And that's the only prayer. And your only thought is that God needs to fix your circumstances the way you think he needs to fix your circumstances. No. And I'd encourage you to go home this afternoon and read, we don't have time to do it this morning, Matthew 6, verses 25 through 34. Because Jesus doesn't simply command you to stop worrying. He commands you to trust the goodness and the sovereignty of God. And that's essential because you'll never know God's peace while making demands of God. You'll never know God's peace if you've got this worry, you've got this anxiety in your life, and you are determined that I will have peace when God answers my prayer exactly the way I think God should answer my prayer. So for example, the doctor gives you a diagnosis. But if your peace depends on that diagnosis, then you're telling God, God, I know what's best, and I will be happy when you give me what I think I deserve. But when you instead humbly cast your cares on his wise purposes, and you say with Jesus, not my will, but yours be done, then you can enjoy peace. Some of you in this room are carrying heavy burdens, heavy burdens. I know of many of them, but I'm sure that there are many, many burdens that are represented in this room beyond those that I know about. But the truth is, is that maybe you are refusing to truly give your burden to the Lord. You are worried, and you are distracted. Because you are consumed with the outcome. God must give me this. God must give me the diagnosis that I want. God must fix this situation in my family. God must give me this thing, take care of this need. And I feel for you. Some of those things are extremely heavy, extremely hard. And yet I have to say, that if you continue to demand the resolution that you want, and to carry it alone, that you are sinning against the Lord. And we all ought to feel sympathy towards your tears and your grief. But if your tears and self-pity really reflect pride and disobedience and stubbornness, Jesus commands you, do not let your heart be troubled. Do not let it be fearful. By the grace of God, you need to soak your soul in the character of God, the promises of God. You need to believe that God is wise and good beyond your comprehension and understanding. and you need to humbly give your care to the Lord. You need to trust Him with it. You need to say, I surrender, Lord. Not my will, but yours be done. Now, peace won't happen overnight, probably. I mean, maybe it will. But tell the Lord, I commit to traveling the road to peace. I hope that you will. I hope that you will. Because Jesus commands you to do it. And there is so much joy and rest when you just give it to the Lord. And trust Him to do what is good and what is right. Even if it's not convenient, even if it's not comfortable. So give it to the Lord. Obey Jesus. And then with the remainder of our text, Jesus gives you three practical steps towards enjoying His peace. And so the first step towards peace is to love the Lord unselfishly. So he goes on here, and really, with the rest of this passage, he's given us this command here. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor be fearful. And then with the rest of the passage, he's helping the disciples know how to get to that point. And so first of all, he says in verse 28, you heard that I said to you, I go away and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. Now in that verse, Jesus gets right to the heart of his disciples. He tells them, they're anxious, right? Why are they anxious? They're anxious because Jesus is leaving them. And so Jesus looks at them and he says to them that the reason you're anxious is because you're thinking of yourself. You're being selfish. Because if you loved me, and what's the implication? In the moment, they were not loving Jesus. They were only thinking of themselves. He says, if you were loving me, you would rejoice that I'm going home to my Heavenly Father. Because the Father is greater than I. Now, just as a little parenthesis here, what does he mean here when he says that the Father is greater than I? Obviously, Jesus does not mean that the Father is greater in glory than Him. Because Jesus has said many times in the Gospel of John that He and the Father are equal. You know, so theologians say that Jesus and the Father there are ontologically or essentially equal, meaning they share all the same attributes. Jesus possesses all the same power, the same knowledge, the same attributes, the same glory and goodness as God the Father. So ontologically or essentially, they are equal. But the Father does possess greater authority in the structure of the Trinity than Jesus. There is an authority structure there where the Father is head over Christ. And so Jesus here is saying that the Father is greater in authority. He is my boss, so to speak. And of course, Jesus talks all the time about doing the Father's will. So economically, the Father has a higher position, and in that sense, He is greater. So Jesus is saying to His disciples here, guys, I'm going to where I belong. I'm going to the Father's right hand. And if the disciples were thinking about Jesus, not themselves, they would rejoice. They wouldn't complain over His departure. They would be happy for Him. And you know what, that selfless love is vital to enjoying the peace that Jesus calls us to in verse 27. The same is true for you. Now, I want to be careful here because oftentimes people who are anxious and worried are weak and frail. I don't want to crush anyone unnecessarily. But if you are going to conquer your worry, If you're going to conquer your anxiety, it's very likely that you need to be honest about the selfishness that stands behind it. It's not innocent. Your worry very likely is rooted in the fact that you are consumed with yourself. You're consumed with your circumstances and what you want life to give you. It's about selfishness. It's about worldliness. Think about what makes you anxious. You're anxious about work. You're anxious about your bank account. You're anxious about your health or some other circumstance. Obviously, that's not true of everything, so there are exceptions to what we're saying here. But very likely, you're anxious because you love the world and you love the comforts of this world, and those things are taking priority over your love for the Savior and His purpose. You want to be healthy, you want to be comfortable, you want to be prosperous and respected. And you're wanting those things more than you want the glory of God, the advance of the gospel, and the joy of the Lord. And so, if you're gonna conquer your worry, you need to be honest about your sin and the darkness of that self-pity. And then, you need to replace it with godly affection. Yeah, after all, I mean, Jesus in his most important discussion about worry in Matthew chapter six, he says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So right there in the midst of this very important discussion on worry, he says, you need to replace your cares about the world with a focus on the kingdom of God. What God is doing, his passion for this world. Because if you keep your focus there, what is God trying to do in my heart? How is God trying to use me to impact other people? How can I bring glory to the Lord in this? Then that's gonna solve a lot of your worry. So instead of stressing about your trials, you're gonna see them as an opportunity to declare the eternal hope of God. God can use you in this circumstance. to declare who he is, to advance the gospel, and to impact those you love. So when hardships come, don't squander the opportunity to impact someone for Christ by wallowing in self-pity. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and let God take care of the rest. Focus on the Lord, trust Him, and get excited about the opportunity to display His grace. And as a wonderful bonus, not only will God use you, but you will experience peace as you focus on the things of the Lord. So love the Lord selflessly. And then next, trust God's sovereignty. Trust God's sovereignty. Look at verse 29. Jesus goes on and says, Now, I have told you before it happens, speaking there about His crucifixion, so that when it happens, you may believe. Now, I love the compassion, the foresight, the wisdom of this verse, because Jesus knows what's going to happen to disciples when He dies, right? I mean, they're going to see a dead Jesus hanging on the cross, and they're going to think, He's dead! His enemies have won! You know, what if they come after us? What if they put us in jail? What if they kill us like they killed Jesus? And Jesus understood that the disciples' faith could easily be eaten alive by obsessing over those circumstances. And that's how your worry works as well. I mean, almost always. Obviously, there's exceptions to this. You obsess over your circumstances. And when you obsess over your circumstances, you lose sight of the sovereignty and the purpose of God. And you don't see his glory, you don't see his promises, you don't see his purposes. All you see is that circumstance, and that circumstance crushes you with anxiety. So Jesus drops a breadcrumb on the path towards peace by reminding his disciples of his sovereignty over his death. It does the same thing several times back in chapter 13 verse 19. He tells them he says from now on I am telling you before it comes to pass talking about his death. So that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he so. So when the disciples are shocked by the sight of a dead Jesus. He didn't want them to despair or worry. He wanted them to know. That this is exactly what he said would happen. And he didn't just know that it was coming. He was in control. He was sovereign the whole time. His death would not be a threat to his sovereignty. Instead, it would prove his sovereignty. And notice how Jesus applies this same sort of thinking more specifically to us in chapter 16. So turn over to chapter 16. And I want to read. It's going to be a while until we get to this verse. Chapter 16, verse 33. After 16 verse 33, this is still in the farewell discourse. He says these things I have spoken to you. So that in me. You may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. But take courage. I have overcome the world. Now you see there that that Jesus is again talking about peace. So this verse is a close parallel to our text for today. And he says, and he tells, like he does for the disciples in chapter 14, he tells you your future in this verse. In chapter 14 he tells the disciples, I'm going to die. Here he tells you your future as a Christian in the world, you will have tribulation. So he tells you what's coming. What's going to happen to you. Now, how do you react to tribulation? I mean, is your reaction, oh yeah, Jesus said this was gonna happen. He's in control. No, your reaction is to panic, right? Where'd this come from? I can't believe I'm having tribulation. I didn't know this was gonna be part of my life. And we panic, we get frustrated, we get scared, and we forget Jesus' prediction. He told us this would happen. We forget His sovereignty, and we forget His promise to fix it all. And so you can change because you can learn from Jesus. When trials come, when persecution comes for our faith, remember that Jesus said this is exactly what will happen. And lift your eyes above the circumstance and see Jesus' prediction and Jesus' sovereignty. And remember that Jesus said, I have overcome the world. Tribulation will come. But take courage. I have overcome the world. So by His grace, you can thrive in your trial. You don't have to be crushed. No, you can thrive and you can bring glory to God. You can be changed into His image and make an impact on other people. So trust the sovereignty of God. Lift your eyes from that thing that is worrying you. and see God, see what He is doing and see His control. Psalm 91 verses 4-6 say, He will cover you with His pinions and under His wings you may seek refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night or of the arrows that fly by day. of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. Christian, you can have peace. You can have peace when everything around you is crazy and nuts by resting in the shadow of your Lord's wing. That's wonderful. So trust His sovereignty and then finally obey God's will. Obey God's will. So, chapter 14, verses 30 and 31 say, Jesus says, I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in me. But so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded me. Get up, let us go from here. Now, the first part of verse 30 there is a little bit confusing, maybe at first, like what exactly does he mean about Satan's hour and not talking to them? So his point here is not to say that he needs to keep some secret from Satan, because Satan is coming, or that he's afraid of Satan. No, he says there, Satan has nothing in me. Jesus is not intimidated, he's not scared of Satan. Now his primary point there at the beginning of verse 14 is just simply to say that time is almost up. My time to teach you, my time to instruct you is almost over, and that's because Satan's hour has come. Now isn't it interesting that Jesus here refers to the hour of his crucifixion, the hour of his greatest triumph, so to speak, as as well Satan's hour. Now we're gonna talk about that more tonight in preparation for the Lord's Supper. that God was sovereign over Jesus' death, but it was also an hour where Satan stuck his chest out for a time, that he had driven Judas and the Jews to commit terrible, terrible evils. And yet, even in Satan's greatest hour of triumph, Jesus says, he has nothing in me. You know, so Satan, I mean, Satan's gonna try. He's gonna try to lead Jesus into sin, He's gonna try and get Jesus to disobey the Father's will. He's gonna try and get Jesus to respond in rage when the Jews mock Him and beat Him and hurt Him. But Jesus will triumph over all of it. And verse 31 says, I do exactly as the Father commanded me. So Jesus is gonna obey. And He is going to atone for our sins. And that should be a source of tremendous comfort to the eleven and to us because Satan was not sovereign over Jesus' death. He wasn't. Jesus is going to navigate and he is going to annihilate every temptation that Satan devises. Jesus will win and the world will know, as he says, that I love the Father and I do exactly as the Father commands me. And again, Jesus will be greater than every trial and every temptation you will ever encounter. You will never come across something that by the grace of God, you cannot go through and continue to obey and glorify the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 10, 13 says, God will never tempt you beyond your capacity. He will give grace for whatever is ahead. So you will always be able to trust the Lord and do what's right as you rely on his grace. Because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. And from there, Jesus is calling the 11 to follow in his steps of love and obedience. Now, why do I say that? Well, I say that because he said in verse 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And now he ends the chapter, ends the section by saying, I love the Father and I always do exactly what the Father commands. So he sets the ultimate example of loving and obeying the Lord. And then he says to the disciples at the end of the chapter, get up, let us go from here. Now where do they go from the upper room? They go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the hour of temptation The hour of hostility, the hardship that Jesus will face and that the disciples will face is gonna grow to its most extreme level. So he's calling the disciples here to find peace by following his example of love and obedience. So what does that mean for us? Well, first of all, you need to resist Satan's devices like Jesus did. Again, greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. Satan had nothing in Jesus, and he doesn't have ultimate power over you either. You don't have to be a slave to worry, and you don't have to be a slave to fear. You can have peace when you stay close to Jesus. So don't be intimidated by Satan. Again, chapter 16, Jesus says, I have overcome the world. And so in the strength of God's grace, resist Satan's devices and you can enjoy peace. Second, follow in Jesus' steps by loving the Lord. Again, verse 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. Verse 31, Jesus says, I love the Father and do exactly as the Father commanded me. So true godliness is never just a mechanical process. It's never just that you, God told you what to do and you just go do the things that you're supposed to do. No, it all begins with love. You love the Lord. You stay close to the Lord. I mean, John chapter 15, the very next section, chapter 15, he says, abide in Christ. Stay close to the Lord. That's where we find our strength. As we read earlier, live under the shadow of his wings, because that's the only place where you will find peace. Love the Lord, and as you love the Lord, obey the Lord. Now Jesus here at the end of the chapter says, I always do exactly as the Father commanded me. And verse 15 says that you can't divorce loving the Lord from obeying the Lord. You can't say, I really love Jesus, but I'm gonna completely ignore what he says. And just as the disciples follow Jesus out to the garden, you need to follow Jesus on the path of discipleship. And I think this is really important as we think about our subject today of peace, because oftentimes we use the pressures that make us worry and anxious, we use them as excuses to disobey God. Like we've got this big trial, we've got this big problem, and we say, Lord, I cannot obey you right now. God surely understands that I have to disobey, I have to fix this my way. And we think that we can solve it better than God can. But I want to promise you today, you will never find the peace of Christ disobeying his will. You won't. You are never better off solving it your way as opposed to obeying what the Lord has said in his word. So don't compromise your obedience. Don't. God doesn't understand that you need to fix it your way. He expects you to obey Him and trust Him and let God take care of it the way that He deems is best. So stay close to Jesus. And when He says to you, let us get up and go from here into your difficult, dark moment. Trust Him and obey Him. Obey Him when it's hard. Obey Him when it's costly. Obey Him when you have no idea how it's going to work out. Because He will sustain you. And you will find peace in the shadow of His wing. Again, chapter 15, verse 5 says, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. So this passage offers you a treasure of unimaginable value. The whole world is grasping for peace. Grasping for peace. And it's always out of reach. But our sovereign, good, and gracious Savior is holding out to you the hope of peace. He says, peace I leave with you, peace I give to you. He offers you peace. So first of all, you need to know Christ as your Savior. If you do not have a relationship with Christ through faith in the Gospel, you can't enjoy His peace. So we're not talking today about mind tricks and disciplines and meditation methods to help you know peace in God. You have to be saved, you have to receive the gospel, you have to have the Holy Spirit before you can have this peace. So be sure that you know Christ is your Savior. And if you don't, then we need to have a conversation and you need to make sure that you know the gospel, understand it, and believe it. And from there, use the tools that God gives you in this passage. Love Jesus. Believe everything that Jesus says. Obey Jesus. And it's gonna be a fight, it's gonna be a struggle. I mean, Jesus is not saying in this passage that you're gonna just wake up tomorrow morning, make a decision today to apply this passage, wake up tomorrow, feel good, great, and just forget all your troubles, and you're just walking around on cloud nine. It is a constant struggle and battle to stay anchored in the scriptures and anchored in the truth of God to obey his will. But by the grace of God, you can rest in him. You can rest in him no matter what's going on in your life. No matter what fears, disappointments, cares you have, you can find peace in God's sovereign grace and in God's sovereign rule. Lord, thank you today for the promise and the hope of this passage. Thank you that you give peace. And Lord, I know there are people in this room who are grieving, who are hurting, who are afraid, and I pray, dear Lord, that you would give peace. I pray that you would give them the strength to rest in all of your promises, all of your purposes, help them not to be afraid, Help them to trust you. And Lord, whether we are today in that deep pit or doing quite well, I pray that we would all build disciplines into our life that are reflected in this passage. That we would stay close to you, that we would obey you, that we would trust you. that we would cultivate strong faith, and I pray, dear God, that your Holy Spirit would give us peace. I pray that your Holy Spirit would give us faith to believe, confidence in everything you've said, and that, Lord, we would know peace. So, God, strengthen us this week, and use us as we walk in your peace. to show the world the power of your grace and your goodness. In Jesus' name, amen.