John chapter 14. With so many uncertainties in our society with so much going on, it makes you wonder where to turn to find any rest or relief. And in John 14, we have a similar passage to what we're living today. Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples and Jesus is about to be crucified. He's telling them, I'm going away. And they're very sad over that. They're facing new circumstances. Things would never be the same as they once were. And as they were facing that, Jesus has a few things to say to them. And I'll just give you one scripture of that this evening. But I'm going to draw a parallel to what you and I are living in right now. If you look back even a year ago to where we are today as a nation and as a church, I will tell you things are not going back. Things are not going to be the same as they once were. There is no way it's going back without something major, major changing. So the disciples were facing the same thing here. Their master was going away. Things were going to be different. They were never going back to the way they once were. However, Jesus did leave them with something that I believe we need today. John chapter 14 and verse 27. Jesus said, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. This evening I'll tell you that what the Lord left them is the same thing he leaves you and I, peace. not just peace in general, but his peace. So we'll look at that this evening. If you would, let's pray together. Father, I ask you to bless the reading of your word. You'd give us understanding, you'd comfort our hearts, you'd help us where we are. Lord, I realize there's fearful times ahead, it can be, but even in the midst of dire circumstances and hard trials and temptations, You've left us something that'll carry us through, and I ask, Lord, that you would help us to remember those things which you have said, and it would comfort our hearts and our minds in this day and hour. Lord, I ask you to bless your people, and that you'd give them understanding in your word, and that you'd draw close to them and speak to them by the Holy Ghost. I ask in Jesus' name, amen. Here in John 14, Jesus, as I told you, is passing off the scene. He's about to be crucified. He's going to be arrested within a few hours, and he's going to be taken to Pilate's Hall. This is one of the last things he tells his disciples, is that he's got peace to leave with him. Now, peace I'll not run all of those down in the scripture, but the scriptures speak a lot about peace and do you good to pull out your strong's concordance and find those. Jesus here tells them, he leaves them peace. So I'll have you first off, look at the nature of peace, the nature of it. He says, peace, I leave with you. He's leaving them a gift before he departs. And Jesus's gift is going to carry them through their trials and their troubles. This is what they need. They may not understand it, but if you have peace, it will carry you through. Jesus has a gift and that gift is his peace. And it is what is going to carry them through what they're about to face. He said that it was what he would leave. So I'll have you think about this. Objectively, which means outside of yourself, what is peace? I'd say it's your standing with God. If you've ever been forgiven of your sin, you have peace with God. Peace with God. can only be brought by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Bible says. Before, you was an enemy of God. You were not on friendly terms with him, but now you're reconciled unto God by Jesus' own blood, Colossians 1 says. So objectively, you have peace with God, but subjectively, which means yourself internally, as you look within yourself. It is experienced in the daily life. And this is the way the Bible says that kind of peace is. It is not peace with God. It's the peace of God. The peace of God shall rule your hearts and minds by Jesus Christ. So, objectively, You have peace with God. Subjectively, you have the peace of God. That's to be ruling your heart. Now, if you're saved, you have peace with God. That's your standing with God. But even after you're saved, peace of God is what's supposed to rule your hearts and your minds. Now, that's up to you. That depends on how you're going to sow and how you're going to reap. Well, I'm saved, shouldn't I have peace in the midst of this trial? Are you letting it rule your heart and mind? Then no, you're not gonna have it. You see, that's on you and I. So how do you do that? How do you let the peace of God rule your heart and mind? Well, the Bible tells us it's by the Holy Ghost in Romans chapter eight. Are you walking in the spirit? Or you are commanded by Ephesians chapter five to be filled with the spirit. and then to walk in the Spirit. You see, that's our responsibility as God's people. And if you do that, then the Holy Ghost will bear witness with you that you are a child of God. And the scripture says this, to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The only way to be spiritually minded is to walk in the Spirit of God. And if you're gonna walk in the Spirit of God, then you will have life and peace. That comes at a cost. It'll cost you your life. It'll cost you your thinking. For God's ways are not ours. His thoughts are not ours. And it'll cost you some pride. It'll cost you some humbling yourself. But if you humble yourself, you get grace and mercy to help in your time of need. Whatever you need, it will be provided by the Holy Spirit. And he is the one that that allows us to experience the peace of God on a daily basis. So we need him. Life according to the scripture is provided by the gospel because in Ephesians 6 we're told we have the gospel of peace. Have you believed the gospel? There's a peace inside of you this world can't take away. only provided by the gospel. Boy, what a gospel we have. It's good news, but it's not good news to people who don't need it. It's not good news to people who are doing just okay in life, but for those who are down and out and those who need help and those that are struggling and are under a burden and don't know how to be free, how good is the gospel of Jesus Christ? He don't relieve you of your burden. He'll let you know that your sins are gone and have been forgiven and let you know you've got peace with God. It is the gospel of peace. You see, objectively, I told you that's peace with God, subjectively, peace of God, and the objective peace lets you experience subjective peace. There is no peace that you can experience apart from your sins being forgiven. So that's important. You see this peace that is provided by the Lord, that's pressed home and lived and experienced by the power of the Holy Spirit, it'll protect you from worrying and cares and anxieties and all of those things. Do you remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount? Here's what he said, consider The sparrows, who feeds them? The Lord does himself. Not one falls to the ground without the Lord God knowing it. Consider the grass of the field, who clothes them? God does. And then he said, consider the lilies. They neither toil nor spin, which means they're not worried about where their nutrients are coming from. Who takes care of the lily in the field? God the Father does. And here's what Jesus said, you're worth more than many sparrows. If he'll take care of a sparrow and grass and lilies, he'll take care of you. This kind of peace is essential for relationship. A couple Sundays back I told you that salvation is not an experience alone. Salvation is a relationship. with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. If you do not have a relationship on a daily basis with God, I would check up and examine myself to see whether I'd be in the faith, because salvation is daily relationship. It is not a one-time shot. If you do not walk in the Spirit, He will not bear witness with your spirit. And therefore, if He don't bear witness with your spirit, Romans chapter 8 says, you don't belong to Him. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. If you're not walking in him, if you're not being led by him, you do not belong to him. For he said, my sheep, hear my voice, I know them. and they follow me. If you do not walk with Him, if you don't have a relationship with Him, you don't know Him, and He don't know you. It's nothing more than a fairy tale in your mind, and you've drummed up salvation to be an experience alone. Then that's wrong, according to God's Word. There is a relationship, and peace is essential to a relationship. In the home, you realize what it's like when there's turmoil between husband and wife, when there's not peace? Ain't much of a home, is it? Boy, you need peace in your home. It's essential to a relationship. How is the kingdom of God? According to Romans chapter 14, the kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of God incorporates peace. If there's no peace, you can be sure it's not a part of the kingdom of God. It is essential to the relationship in the church. If there's no unity, if there's no unity, there is no peace. If there is no peace, you can mark it down the prince of peace. God himself is not around. You say peace is essential. for the moving of the Holy Ghost too. Because if he's grieved, there's no peace. If he's grieved, there's no salvation. There's no confidence. There is nothing but confusion. There's nothing but disunity and schisms and fightings and murmurings and those kinds of things that divide. You see, the Lord is not the God of division. He's a God of unity. He has broken down the middle wall and partition. He's made of both, of twain, one new man. And so, and here's the word, so making peace by the blood of his cross. God is a God of unity and peace. It's essential for the church. It's essential for your relationships. Do you not realize that one of the fruits of the Spirit is peace? Are you at peace with God? Are you at peace with one another? One of the fruits of the Spirit is peace. It's the second one mentioned in Galatians 5. For the fruit of the Spirit is love. Oh, I messed up. Love, joy, and peace. It's the third one. So Galatians 5 lays that out for us. Peace will comfort you. Peace will comfort you in your trials. And that's what Jesus is giving his disciples here. He's giving them comfort in the trials. They are sorry that he's about to go away. If our master goes away, which way do we go? Where do we turn? They've already told him, you have the words of eternal life. If you go away, where are we going? We need to know that you're around, you're our leader. Jesus says, I'm going away, but I'm leaving something for you, and you'll not be alone. for I'm leaving you a comforter that'll help you, guide you, and teach you. I'm leaving a comforter. And the word comforter is the same word for advocate in 1 John 1, 9. Little children, hey, you shouldn't want to sin, but if any man does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. The word advocate is the same word for comforter. And that's who Jesus is leaving them. here for you'll find that in the text in John 13 14 and 15 and 16 Jesus tells his disciples I'm going away but I'm leaving a comforter and his name is the Holy Ghost and he'll be with you for example John 15 and verse 26, you'll find that. He said, but when the comforter has come, whom I will send unto you from the father, even the spirit of truth, which proceeded from the father, he shall testify of me. See who the spirit is, the spirit of truth, he's a comforter sent from the father. Jesus said, I'll send him to you. Why did they need the spirit? Because it's the spirit of God that provides peace. But if at any other time in our lives, we need the Spirit of God. We need peace. Our nation is in a mess. It's in turmoil, and there's so many things being said from one side to the other where people do not know which side to believe. And we're playing out the scripture. Jesus said there will be deceptive days. You don't know who to believe, who's telling the truth. Well, I'll tell you who will tell you the truth. The Holy Ghost will tell you the truth. He's the spirit of truth. So walk in the Spirit, and you'll not fulfill the lust of the flesh, and he'll guide you into all truth. If you wanna know the truth, if you wanna be set free by the truth, then walk in the Spirit of God. Jesus said, I'm leaving you peace. Peace is only afforded by the Holy Spirit. It'll comfort your heart in all your trials. You'll find that in 2 Thessalonians 3 as well. What's the source of your peace? That's easy. Look in chapter 14, verse 27. Peace I leave with you. My peace I've given to you. Where's the source of your peace? Jesus said, it's mine. Jesus is leaving, but he's giving a gift. And he doesn't just say, I'm leaving you peace. He said, I'm leaving you my peace. Boy, what a gift, not just peace, but Jesus said, it's mine. What peace did he have? Doesn't the scripture say that we need to consider Jesus himself? We need to consider our high priest. We need to look unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. And as scripture say, consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. lest you be faint and weary in your own minds. That Jesus said, I'm leaving you my peace. What peace did he have? He's about to be arrested and crucified. He's facing trials unlike anything any man has ever faced. He's not only going to face physical death, but he's going to die for you and me, that he may destroy him that had the power of death. That is the devil, the God's people, who all their lifetime are subject to bondage, Hebrews 2 says. So friend, think about this. If Jesus is leaving you his peace, what kind of peace is that? The peace that knows exactly what's about to happen and is settled inside, that God's in control and I'm gonna follow him and I'm gonna obey God and it's gonna work out in the end. I don't have to try to save my own hide. I can trust him. Jesus is saying, I'm laying down my life for your sake. And he said, I've got joy in that. If you only had joy in this lifetime in saving your flesh, you are a miserable person. There ought to be something inside of you that says, no matter what, I'm going to be all right because my heavenly father loves me. He loved me enough to give me his only begotten son. He loved me enough to send the Holy Ghost to convict me of my sin. He loved me enough to save me from my sin. He loves me enough to keep me until the very end. And I wouldn't say bitter end, but it ain't bitter. It's bitter to the flesh. But to the spirit, boy, what joy. And the Lord said, I'm leaving you that peace. It's my peace. And I'm leaving out of here and I'm giving you that. To where no matter what you face, you may know exactly what's about to happen. You, according to Peter, were led as sheep to the slaughter. And that's exactly where we are today. Friend, you gotta have rocks in your head to not know that we are, we got a target on our backs. now. If you name the name of Jesus Christ, you can mark it down within one year's time. I don't want to be a prophet. If the doors of this church is open in a year's time, we can thank our Lord for that. That's where we are. I don't want to get political, but some of them on the Democratic side is asking that they have a manifest of all the Trump supporters because our country is in such division and bad shape. Somebody needs to pay and it's going to have to be the Trump supporters. So if you voted for him, or if you put anything on your social media that lends that way, you have a target on you. That's the reality. of where we are. So you better settle it in your heart before it comes to pass. And Jesus said, you can settle it in your heart, but I've already settled some things for you. I've given you some peace that you can take in and it'll keep you in the hard trials. I don't want to be a A doomsday person, but I'm a realist. I see what's happening around us. And I would not be doing Calvary Baptist Church right by not telling you the truth of what I see. As a watchman on the wall, and what I see happening in our society, and I see people's hearts failing them for fear, I see people, they don't know what to do, so they think they can be like the ostrich and hide their head, and then just all go away. It ain't going away. It is not going away. So you need to have it settled. Do you have peace in your soul? You say, what's gonna happen to us? Only God knows that. Here's what I know. If you walk in the spirit of God, he'll give you a, not just peace, but the scriptures say a perfect peace, perfect. There'll be nothing lacking to your peace because Jesus said, it's mine. And he was the perfect man, the God man, God in the flesh. And if he gives you a gift, it's perfect and it'll keep your heart and your mind. The source is Jesus himself. And look at how he contrasted here in verse 27. He says, not as the world giveth, give unto you. Here's the contrast. The world thinks they have peace, but they do not have peace. You can look for peace in the world. You can try to satisfy the longing of your heart in everything in this world, and it'll give you a temporary satisfaction, and it may take the pressure off of you for a little while, but it comes right back. That's not peace. You can search. this world over. You can enjoy everything this life has to offer. You can indulge yourself. You can be materialistic. You can have the best things that this world can afford, and it'll still leave something missing on the inside. That's not peace. You can fill in the blank. You can try everything, and you'll still be dissatisfied. That's not peace. Jesus said, I'm not giving that kind to you. I'm giving you something that'll last no matter what happens in this life, in the good days, in the bad days, in the easy times, in the most severe trials. I'm giving you something that'll keep you, that'll help you. Not as the world gives. Boy, I've had what this world has to offer. and it didn't do me no good. All it did was left me wanting for more. But I tell you like the song says, the song satisfied, oh hallelujah, I found him who my soul so long has craved. Jesus satisfies my longings and by his blood I now am saved. There's nothing this world can offer you that'll satisfy. Jesus said, I'm not giving you something out of the world. I'm giving you something straight from my heart to yours. And Isaiah says, there's no peace, saith the Lord to the wicked. You can try to have peace and live according to the course of this world. But the Lord has promised there is none to the wicked. And Jeremiah, he said that there were prophets that were running through saying, peace, peace, when there was no peace. He said there were prophets that were saying, they only slightly healed the people by saying, peace, peace, and there was none. And then in the end of the book of Jeremiah, he said, we look for peace, but it never came. Friend, I'll tell you, that's the way the world is. It will never, give you peace that'll last nor satisfy. God's word speaks to that. You'll find that Romans chapter three, it says, the way of peace had they not known. This world doesn't know how to have peace. They're grasping at everything. It never, never makes the heart content. We're also told in the New Testament that the last days would be days just like that. For we're told in 1 Thessalonians 5, that they shall say, peace and safety, and then cometh sudden destruction. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 3. Do you know what's coming? Sudden destruction. They're claiming we're going to have peace. We've got to unite our nation. We got to unite the world. This is a pandemic. One nation can't fix it. This is a global problem. It'll require a global solution. We're going to give peace of mind to all of you. We're going to make sure you are safe. And guess what's coming? Sudden destruction. Just food for thought. For those who think a vaccine is going to cure everything, the latest news that I heard on that is it's a two-part vaccine. You got to get it in two phases. And then you still have to wear your mask and you still have to social distance and all of those things, even when you go into stores. So what good is the vaccine? And then on top of that, it's going to be a yearly regimen that you'll have to take. Is there any shock there? So is it really about health and safety, or what are they putting in you? Think about it. Peace and safety, and then sudden destruction. You see, the Lord said, I'm not given that kind. I give peace, not as the world has, but look at what he says here in the last part. He says in verse 27, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. That word afraid means coward or timid. Don't be cowardly. Don't shrink up in a corner. Don't let your heart be that way. It's going to be a battle. It's going to be a struggle. But the Lord said, don't be that way. This is the only time this particular word comes up in all the New Testament. And that's what it means. Now, the root of that word is used in Titus, that's true, where it says the Lord's not given us a heart of a spirit of fear. God's not given us that kind, but of power and of love and a sound mind. That's the kind of spirit the Spirit of God leads you to have. So the Lord said, let not your heart be troubled. In a way, I'll sum that up as follow after peace. Follow peace, live in peace as much as you can. As much as lies within you, live peaceably with all men. But there does come a time where you have to stand up and say, this is the line, I'm not going no further than this. We cannot have peace because this is my limit. The Lord has that, doesn't he? The Lord says, This is my line. You crossed the line. There is no peace. And I will tell you that we are to follow peace as much as we can. As much as lies within you, live peaceably with all. But there does come a time when there is no more peace. There is a time of peace and there is a time of war. Ecclesiastes says, I am not telling you to take up arms and to storm the government or any such, but I am telling you that there is a line to be crossed and at some point you may have to stand and you may have to say, like Shamgar did in Judges, this is my pea patch And he held up his hoe and he said, I've left it for the last time. If you come into my pea patch, I am taking you down. And Shadgar was a judge that God used with a hoe and he kept his little piece of ground. And God used that man to deliver Israel that day. He said, I've had enough of the Philistines taking our stuff and God's heritage and trying to shove their agenda down our throat. I'm staying right here. If you come into here, it's on you. Stay out there. And I'll tell you, friend, that's the way we better be as God's church. We better start drawing some lines and saying this is God's business. You keep your agenda out there and we'll do ours in here. I'll remind you that there has always been civil authorities and powers that want to overrule and squash God's people. Always. What was Egypt about? What was Pharaoh about? About telling God's people, this is what you're gonna do. You cannot worship this way. You cannot meet together. You must do it my way. And Moses said, God said. And you know what Pharaoh found out? God's in charge. And he put Pharaoh on his knees by killing his firstborn son. And Pharaoh was glad to get rid of him and took off his jewelry and put it on him and said, get. Get out of here. You're a curse. That's the way the world works. Didn't Nebuchadnezzar do that with the three Hebrew boys? Bow down and worship this way. But they had already decided before the first string was put on any of the musical instruments. We're not bowing down to that way. We're not bowing down. And because they would not bend and they would not bow, God made sure they did not burn. If you don't want to burn, you better settle it in your heart. I'm not bending that way. The only way you can have that kind of confidence is to follow after peace. The peace of God. It's only provided by the Spirit of God. So be filled with the Spirit of God. Walk in the Spirit. He's your guide and your teacher. He'll be your comforter. He produces fruits, the fruit of peace. Do you remember in James chapter three, he says, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. If you want the fruit of righteousness, then sow in peace. If you would go to Philippians chapter four and I'll close with this though. Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. Look in verse four. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Now you have to understand why he's saying that. Paul is in prison when he writes this letter. He's writing to a church that is poor. They have little to nothing. They are the poorest church in the New Testament. They don't have much money. They have been persecuted. They have faced hardships. And he's telling them to rejoice in the Lord always. In verse five, let your moderation be known unto all men. Why? Because the Lord's at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And if you'll do that, look in verse seven. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I'm gonna sum up this whole passage for you that I just read. You ready? Be anxious for nothing, pray about everything, give thanks for anything. And if you'll do that, there'll be a peace flood your soul. It'll be the peace of God that will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Do you know where the battleground is? The heart and the mind. And the Lord said, if you won't worry about tomorrow, if you'll seek the kingdom of God first, he said, all these other things will be added to you. So he says, sufficient under the day is the evil thereof. And what that means is you don't need to worry about tomorrow. The Lord's got that under control. I don't know about tomorrow, but as a hymn writer said, I know who holds my hand. I don't have to understand what's gonna happen tomorrow, but if the Lord is your shepherd, he'll guide you where you need to go. If you want the peace of God to guide your heart and mind, be careful for nothing, but in everything, pray by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Be anxious for nothing. Pray about everything. Give thanks for anything. We need peace today like never before. People, when they are not at risk, when they are not at peace, they withdraw. And they just want to be left alone. They want to seek another pathway to make things better. But if the peace of God is ruling your heart and your mind, it doesn't matter what circumstance you face in life. There is a deep, settled peace in your soul that this world didn't give and this world cannot take away. See, God has forgiven the past. He's provided for your present and he's given you promises for the future. We need peace like never before. The Lord said, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. The Lord's left you a gift. If you're looking for the Lord, He's got a gift for you, and that's peace with God, a right standing with God. Your sins can be forgiven. If you're saved, he's left a gift for you. That's the peace of God to rule your heart and your mind. There's a difference between the two. No matter who we are, we need the peace of God.