Oh, how he loves you. Oh, how he loves me. Oh, how he loves you and me. Second verse, second verse, or last verse. Jesus to Calvary did go. His love for mankind. What he did there brought hope from despair. Oh, how he loves you. Oh, how he loves me. Oh, how he loves you and me. Amen. With that, we're going to have an opening word of prayer. I'm going to ask, if he doesn't mind, Brother Clark, could you open this up, please? Thank you, sir. Yes. Amen and amen. And you may be seated for this next hymn, which is right across the page from hymn 63. It's hymn 62. Hymn 62. Hymn 62. Hymn 62. Amen. Sing along. Oh, one day when heaven was filled with his praises, one day when sin was as black as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin, dwelt among men. My example is he. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried he carried my sins far away. Rising he justified freely forever. Oh, one day he's coming. Oh, glorious day. Oh, one day they led him up Calvary's mountain. One day they nailed him to die on the tree. Suffering anguish, despised and rejected. Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is coming. A living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely. Forever, one day he's coming. Oh, glorious day. Oh, one day they left him alone in the garden. One day he rested from suffering free. Angels came down. Carry my sins far away. Rising, he justifies freely for me. Oh, glorious day. Oh, one day the grave will be no longer. One day the stone. Rolled away from the door. Hey, man. Then he arose over death. Now is a sin. A living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a living, a He's coming, oh glorious day. I don't know about y'all, but when I sing that part, that makes me smile. Because I know it's a promise from the Lord. One day he's coming, and that's going to be a glorious day. Amen. Last verse. Oh, one day the trumpet will sound for his coming. One day the skies with his glory will shine. Oh, wonderful day, my beloved one's bringing. Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine. That's right, he's mine. He's yours, too, if you know him. A living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justifies freely forever. One day he's coming. Oh, glorious day. Amen. My brothers and sisters, at this time, we'll turn the podium over to our very own. Good to see you tonight. I'm glad that you're here. I'm just going to give you a quick update. Doug and his family are back in the Philippines at their home. Amen. They got out about 24 hours ago. They got out of all their Yep, all that stuff, it's done. And when they got home, God always does things for us before we know we need them. And our policy and our family's always been if God gives you money, don't spend it, hang on to it, something's coming. He got home and all of his cabinets were, because the area that they live in, in the Philippines, is really a jungle area. It rains there almost every day, if not every day. They have many hurricanes and typhoons that come through that area. And his cabinets were now rotting and falling off the walls. Some mice had gotten into the house and had eaten up the pantry, not the stuff in the pantry, because there really wasn't anything in the pantry. So they ate the pantry instead. And their refrigerator was dead. They had to replace the refrigerator, their microwave, their television, their range. Did I miss anything? See, you can't drink the water in the Philippines as an American. It's just different, and you'll get very sick. So they have a water container there, that electric water container, you put the water on top, it puts out the water, and it all died as well. But God had given them all the money in advance to take care of that, and so he hadn't spent it, amen? Because we know that when God blesses us in advance, There's a reason for it, amen. So yesterday they got out. When I say yesterday, it was Wednesday, their day. They got out and they spent all sorts of money, came back home. Everything's supposed to be delivered, would be probably tonight, right? Yeah, tonight, which is their tomorrow morning, and all their stuff is gonna be there. And then what a more thing, what was that? Oh, and he preached to his church for the first time last night. They were excited to have their pastor back after such a long period of time. Thank you for your prayers because I believe the prayers of God's people makes the difference. I also believe that God's people praying for their return, God also provided for their return because they were faithful. and serving him, waiting upon the Lord, and the Lord rewarded their faithfulness. So they're there, they're already winning people to Christ, they're already doing things, they went out soul winning already, and just the work that needs to be done is getting back to business for them in the Philippines. So thank you so much for your prayer, and we wanted to let you know. Pastor? Amen. Man, preaching the first time to your people in a couple of years, man, that had to be a good day, amen. I'm telling you, I would have probably preached at least a couple hours. It takes a while. When you got all this that you want to talk to your people about, it takes a little while. But I'm thankful for that. Glad you're here. Everybody glad to be here to say amen. Amen. I'm thankful that you're here. Appreciate you coming. Just a few announcements real quick. Saturday morning, men's prayer breakfast, men. Amen. So y'all come on and be ready to go. It's our last prayer breakfast this year. And so we've made it an entire year, so just thankful for that. God's been good again. So please be ready to go this week at 8.30. Also, let me remind you again about our Christmas banquet that's coming up December 12th. What we'll do, we're going to have morning worship service. Brother Carwile is going to cook some brisket for us and some pork. and there are some sign-up sheets on the bulletin board for side dishes and desserts, so if we could get all of our folks to bring those kinds of things, that would be great. And then, so Sunday the 12th, we're gonna meet. We're gonna have service in here that morning. We're gonna go back here and we're gonna eat. It's gonna be set up banquet style. We're gonna have our round tables and everything. And so they're gonna go right back here and eat. And then while we're there, after lunch, we're gonna go right into our banquet. We're gonna have a guest speaker. We're also gonna do some other things that we normally do in a banquet. We're gonna have our our jar full of stuff that you count, win a prize, all those kinds of things, and we're gonna have some other stuff that we're gonna do, but we're gonna have a banquet. Amen, a church banquet. We hadn't done that in a while, so I wanna encourage you, you come, put your best foot forward, and stay and eat lunch, and then stay for the banquet. We're gonna have a good time that day, so please, that's December the 12th, don't forget about that. Now, backing up a little bit, Christmas, our Bible study, Monday, 645, ladies and men. Men, I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is the ladies aren't going to let us stay in there and crash their part of the Bible study. They want us to do our own thing so they can do their usual thing. Amen. So we're gonna do our thing, all right? So what we'd like for everybody to do is bring finger food and just something easy. You don't have to, just bring something easy, all right? There's a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board as well for what you're gonna bring. Now men, this is for your benefit because the ladies already know, I think, what they're doing. Men, we need you to bring a gift for a white elephant exchange. Have y'all ever, men, have y'all ever done a white elephant thing? OK, good. Don't spend over $20, OK? And so we're going to do a white elephant thing, and while the ladies do their own thing. OK, good. But we're going to bring a gift men for White Elf and just bring something. You know, don't bring anything just terrible, but if somebody wants your gift and it's nice, they're going to have the chance to swap with you. Now ladies know all about that. From what I've heard, I've heard stories about theirs. And men, it's probably going to be a good thing we're going to be down there, OK? But bring a gift. Ladies, it says, wrapped ornament, gift exchange, or secret pal. So y'all know what that is? Good. Amen. Because I have no clue, and I don't need to know. But men, be ready to go, all right? 645. Please, don't forget. Oh, it's all winning Saturday morning, men, after prayer breakfast. And have you noticed the ceiling? I'm telling you, this afternoon, about 1.30, you wouldn't have thought that it was going to look like it does right now. The pews in here was over here. Some of those are scooted up this way. The ladies came, and we didn't make the pews. But be careful. Some of those aren't anchored down yet. So and it's usually right in here where, yeah, Brother Mike's sitting on one, I think. So be careful. But we'll get those fixed before Sunday. Because it, they tore off the wooden fixture. And they fixed it back. And I'm telling you, because if I want to, These things get, if it leaks again. Good, amen, and I thank everybody that was a part of that and prayed and just thankful for what God's doing here at our church. So please pray. Let's pray that we have a good day Sunday. Let me encourage folks that are, again, traveling, and if you're gonna be here Sunday, do your best to bring somebody with you. Amen, good, good. Brother Shelton, he is for us. And brother Marco is for us. I may have to get a couple more guys up here, you know. But anyway, let's have a good day Sunday, please. We're only going to get out of Sunday what we put in between now and then, okay? So let me encourage you, you put the work in, and also put the prayers in, and let's have a good day, all right? You got your prayer sheets? Anybody do not, if you need one, raise your hand. Okay, there's a bunch of them. While you're receiving your prayer sheet there, let me encourage you to pray for these that are on here. We've made some additions, so please keep them in your prayers. Also, I wanna pray for Ron Lucero, who's scheduled for surgery. Keep him in your prayers. Also, remember to pray for Miss Jackson. She had to go to the hospital yesterday, so they've had to run some tests on her, but she's doing better. So keep her in your prayers, along with Miss Roslyn and the rest of the family as they wait on her. So please keep her in your prayers, if you would, please. And you're doing all right in your prayer books, everybody still doing good? Amen, good, hang in there. They go all the way through the first of the year, so stay with it, all right? And again, remember to pray for all of these on our prayer sheet tonight, and pray for our day. Sunday, remember the missionary of the week, the Midkiff family, missionaries to Indonesia. Please remember to pray for them. Good report on Brother Douglas Marco. What a great man. I'm telling you, I'm excited because I know they're excited to be there. So keep them in your prayers, all right? Well, let's go up, Lord, in prayer, and we'll pray for our offering. Please remember this month is for the month, the gift for Jesus. That's what these gifts are for. There's also special offering envelopes in the foyer on the table back there. We're going for our van. And watch the slides when they're down. It's on there. It has what we've saved to this date. And we do have a goal in mind, but we just want everybody to listen a little as much. And we may not each of us be able to do a lot individually, but collectively, we can do big things. And so let me encourage you. You do what God has laid on you. We pray and thank you, Lord, for our people. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. is Jesus, the anchor of my soul, the ruler of this universe, the one who's in control. He saved me, and he will keep me till the end. The rock of my salvation, on Christ I will depend. My hope is Jesus. My hope is Jesus When he shall come with trumpet sound Oh, may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. Jesus, the anchor of my soul, the ruler of this universe, the one who's in control. He saved me, and he will keep me till the end. The rock of my salvation, on Christ I will depend. My hope is Jesus. My hope is Jesus. My hope is Jesus. My hope is Jesus. ♪ ♪ My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking. The end of my soul. First and last verses of hymn 324. Hymn 324. And then briefly greet each other as we prepare for tonight's Bible study. Hymn 324. How shall my talk describe it? Where shall its praise begin? for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Oh, wonderful the master's grace of Jesus, deeper than the mighty rolling sea, higher than the mountain, sparkling like the fountain, all sufficient grace for even me, broader than the scope of... You know, Psalm 34 3, it says, oh, magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together. Amen. Third verse. Here we go. power, making him just dear child. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. Purchase of peace and happiness. We have a. Amen. John. Just turn there. Seated, if you would. We'll read down to the end of the chapter. Everybody found your place, amen. Well, let's go ahead and stand. And bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said. Father, for my father is greater than I, and now I have told you before it come to pass that when it is come to pass, you might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you, for the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me. but that the world may know that i love the father and as the father gave me commandment even so i do arise let us go hence dear father bless the reading of your word and i pray god again as we continue on the thought of peace and stress lord i pray god that you'd help us lord understand what you're trying to teach us from your word and i'll give you praise in jesus name amen you may be seated i like I'll leave with you. Comforts in this life. So he's leaving, but peace is staying. You still follow me, say amen. Now the Bible tells us, this is kind of where we left off last week, the Bible tells us that there are two kinds of peace. There's peace with God, and there's peace of God. Romans chapter 5 and verse 1. Turn there with me if you would please. Romans chapter 5 and verse 1. We'll look at the first one. The peace with God. Romans 5.1 it says, therefore being justified by faith, we have what? Peace with God. That's what happens to us when we are reconciled to God through faith or when we get saved and BORN AGAIN, THEN WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD. WE'RE RECONCILED TO GOD THROUGH FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THE BIBLE USES THE WORD ENMITY. THE ENMITY BETWEEN GOD AND MAN IS ENDED AND AS A RESULT OF SALVATION THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, THEN THERE IS NO LONGER THAT ENMITY WITH GOD. WE HAVE PEACE. with God. Does that make sense to you if I say amen? So because we have made peace with God through Jesus Christ, then we're no longer at odds with him or at enemies with him. But then there's the peace of God. And if you read here in John 14, you have to go back and read the whole chapter The Lord is talking about the peace of God. He is saying that it's possible in the midst of traumatic circumstances to have an inward peace that brings stability in unsettling times. We talked about this Sunday about being spiritually stable. Folks, listen, I'm telling you, I've never seen as many spiritually unstable people in all my years as what I see today. Think about it, I'm talking about spiritually unstable and we'll get to that. But we today, we can be stable and have the peace of God in unsettling times. If you go to Mark chapter 4. And read about the time that the Lord and the disciples, they were out on the Sea of Galilee, and they were headed to the other side, and the storm came up. We talked about this last week. And when the storm came up, you remember the Bible says that the boat was out in the water, but then all of a sudden the water started getting in the boat. I mean, that's a pretty bad storm. When the water gets in the boat, you're in trouble. Okay? Well, in life, You know, the storms of this life have a tendency to throw a lot of water in our boat, you know, in our being. But in the midst of all this, the disciples got worried, and you remember what they said, they went and the Lord was asleep in the hinder part of the ship, and they said, Lord, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And the Bible says that he rose up and he said three words, what'd he say? Peace, be still. And when he said that, the Bible says that the wind stopped, the waves stopped, and then the Bible even tells us that the men in the boat, the disciples, they marveled that even the wind and the sea obeyed his voice. Well, he created it. Amen? And as a result, if you go read, the Bible says, when he said, peace, be still, remember, I said, the Bible says there was a great calm. And I mentioned that the same thing last week, that listen, if God can do that kind of great calm in the things of this world, then he can do the same thing in my life and in your life in the midst of a storm. There can still be a great calm when everything around us seems like it's falling apart. I'm telling you that you and I, we don't have to fall apart. The world today, and Christians today, listen, we don't have to look very far, but we see a lot of Christians today that are falling to pieces. And when peace is right there available, and we're gonna talk about that, Paul spoke of the peace of God in Philippians chapter 4 in verse 7. And he talked about, the Bible says, a peace that passeth what? All understanding. And I've watched Christian people deal with tragic events in their lives, circumstances that just seem like, man, you know, and yet, in fact, I keep remembering my aunt and my uncle, J.W. Died with cancer. He was a four-pack a cigarette smoker a day and he was a big guy about six to six three he'd go about 240 and but when he died he weighed about 75 pounds and When we did his funeral They asked me to big part and this was several you know a long time ago And I came and I sang and and she sat right on the front. I still remember ain't Carolyn She was sitting down here, and I was singing, and after it's over, and all the time I was singing, she was just sitting there with the biggest smile on her face. And all the time, at that time, I might have been 23 or four, and I was thinking, how does she do it? I mean, her husband, my uncle, he's laying here, his tabernacle, the body's laying here, and yet she's sitting there smiling. How does she do that? You want me to tell you how she does it? How she did it? Peace of God. I mean, they have the peace of God that only comes through knowing Jesus Christ. Watch this, and having a personal relationship with Him. You remember what Paul said? To know Him. and the fellowship of his suffering. Now I want to show you, number one, I want you to see the context of Christ's peace. Christ offered his peace to the disciples during a really difficult time in his own life. And think about this, the Lord Jesus himself He was enjoying the peace of God, but he knew that his disciples were going to go through something that was, you know, and they were about to be tested, and they're going to need God's peace as well. Well, listen, sometimes you and I get tested. Amen? And I wonder sometimes how often when God tests us, how often do we fail that test when God is going to see if we have the peace of God in our life? Listen, the peace of God is available to us as Christians all the time. All the time. And listen, anybody can have peace when things are going good. Amen? I mean, we got a little money left over at the end of the month, you know, and all the bills are paid, there's groceries in the refrigerator, the car's running good, there's gas in it, you know, plenty of oil in it. I mean, the kids are all well, the grandkids are doing good. You know, guess what? Man, I've got peace. I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like... I mean, we can sing it when things are going good. But when things fall apart, you know, and things begin to get a little bit tough, listen, it's then that God wants us to enjoy and experience peace and manifest it to the world. Listen, as Christians, when things fall apart in our life, the world needs to see a people that has the peace of God in their life. COVID should have been one of those times while I'm thinking about it. But listen, you know what the world has seen in the lives of a bunch of Christians? When things like COVID comes, they see Christians fall into pieces. If anybody ought to have it together, it ought to be me and you as born again children of God. We ought to have peace. Jesus offered his peace to the disciples at exactly the time that they were going to need it most. A time when things were at their worst, And the Lord wants his disciples and us, watch, to experience peace even in the most difficult times of our life. Now the peace does not come from the church you go to. Okay? I mean, and I'll get into this later, but I mean, listen, why do you think there's so many church hoppers? Because they think that the peace is in the church, but the peace is not in the church you go to. Now, it may have something to do with it, but I'm telling you, the church is not what brings you peace. Peace comes from a deeper personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, not from the pew you sit in. As believers, we can live in a world where bad things happen without warning and not come unraveled by worry and fear. I know Christians today that haven't been to church in two years because of COVID. We can have peace knowing that God is in control of our lives. You know, when I had my motorcycle, and my wife would always say, you know, she said, I'm not really worried about it. She said, if God wants you to go come home, it doesn't matter if you're going to be on a motorcycle or not on a motorcycle. She still wouldn't ride behind me when I was riding. But you know what? When I left somewhere, she thought, you know, God's got this. He's in control. Listen, it's the same thing with you and I. I mean, when it looks like things are out of control in this world or in our lives, we can know that we are eternally protected and watched over by God's sovereign and loving care for us. Listen, God cares about us, and he's in control. Look in verse 27. Notice where he says, we're talking about the contrast of the Lord's peace. The Lord says he gives peace, not like the world gives. The world has a kind of peace that it offers and we hear a lot about it. You hear a lot about when you watch the news and there's all kinds of peace talks and international relationships between countries and all those kinds of things. But listen, this is an external peace. Y'all still follow me? Say amen. This is an external peace. It's not like the peace that God gives us. So I want to show you, number one, the peace of the world is marked by insincerity. There's even commercials today that talk about world peace. There's even a guy called, isn't he called world peace or something like that? Yeah, but didn't nobody change his name too? I mean, but really? I mean, it don't matter what we change. We could change our names and stuff like that. We can write it on our shirts. Listen, but I'm telling you, the reality is the world is unwilling to acknowledge the person who can bring peace. The world is unwilling to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember way back when the United States and Russia, they went into this cold world thing, a cold war, is an extended time of peace. But it really wasn't peace. Not really. I mean, when you think about it, even to this day, there's an undercurrent and tension between countries, between China, US. Listen, there may be peace out in front, but listen, I'm telling you, underneath everything, there is anything but peace. The world today is unwilling to acknowledge the very person that can bring peace. Listen, in the world system, we'll never have peace. But when the Lord comes and sets up His kingdom, I can promise you there's going to be a peace that passes all understanding because the Prince of Peace is going to be on the throne. Amen. The peace that the Lord gives results in peace on the outside because it has first produced peace on the inside. But the peace of the world is marked by insincerity. The peace of the world is marked by inability. It doesn't have the ability to bring world peace. Men and women all over the world, they gather in that one place up in New York to make speech after speech and they plead for these countries to pursue peace. peacefully but when it's all over they go back and they try to have peace by by war and by force listen and they try listen and the United Nations has done anything but bring world peace you know why because the United Nations has not the ability to bring peace anything in this world can't bring it mankind does not have the ability to bring peace We look for it, we want it, we strive for it, but peace won't come. The peace of the world is also marked by inadequacy. Now, think about this, the world gives whatever it gives grudgingly. And they give just enough to keep people hungry. Think about what's going on today in the government system and what they're doing. You know what, they give you just enough to keep you hungry. It's the same thing with peace. If the peace that the world gives were sufficient, then you know what there would be? World peace. Listen, the peace that the Lord gives is experienced by those who claim the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Only you and I, who are born again Christians, can have peace. But understand, we can have it. But it's like saying, you know, I have a gift for you. Here it is. Y'all can get, y'all, this is all yours, right here. And you can send it out there to everyone and say, y'all, that's mine. Yeah, there it is. It's up there practicing down in the mine. And if somebody comes to try to get it, and you say, hey, get back, that's mine. That's mine. Pounder said, I can have it. You know, if I wish, somebody, you got a $5 bill? Somebody got a $5 bill? Come on, somebody help me. Now, I have in my hand $5. It's a real five dollar bill, right here. Brother Coy just said it to me. Whoever wants it can have it. You know what? Any of y'all could have had it. But y'all said that. Now, no, I mean, I looked and no, I didn't even see anybody else move. Brother Coy was the only one. But you know why? It was available to everybody. Listen, anybody could have had it freely. It was without any strings attached. It could have been yours. All you had to do was give it. I mean, he had to come a lot further than Lonnie. Lonnie could probably move a little quicker than his brother Boyd. Listen, all you have to do is come. Listen, I want you to understand that's exactly the way the peace of God is. God stands and he says, listen, you can have peace of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's available to everybody. All you have to do is come and get it. Yeah. That's peace. I know that's where I can get it. It's right there. That's mine. You know, I can get it. Oh, man. He beat me to it. But you know what? When it comes to the peace of God, guess what? There's still more. He didn't get all of it. Isn't the peace of God unlimited? Isn't there an unlimited God? Then why is it that we all don't have the peace of God? Why? You know why? We don't receive it. I mean, it's there. Listen, if believers, now watch this. If believers fail to experience the peace of God, it is not because he, God, or his peace is inadequate, but because we fail to receive the peace which he offers. God's peace is not inadequate. It's not limited. There's no, you know, oops, there's not enough. No, wait a minute. God is enough. And His peace is enough. Listen, it is our inadequacy to receive, not His inadequacy to give that causes us to be without peace. I mean, That's pretty simple. I mean, you know, there's not really that I can find anything in here that's really difficult to get ahold of, you know? The one thing that God did when he gave us this book, he put it down on this shelf down here where everybody can get ahold of it. Peace is the same way. Now let me show you the condition of Christ's peace. Unlike some churches who advertise, come to their church, they don't have any conditions, no requirements, the Lord has some conditions. He has some requirements. And in order for the Lord to give what He promised, that it was necessary for Him to give, listen, He had to go back to heaven. Look in verse 28, John 14. He said, you've heard now, I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you. If you love me, let me see, if you love me, you would rejoice because I said, I go unto the father for my father is greater than I. Now watch, he had to go back. Now, this is important in a lot of different ways, but I want to focus and stay on peace because that's what we're talking about. The Lord is reminding His disciples and you and me that before His peace could flood our hearts or flood their hearts, it was necessary for Him to go back to heaven and be with the Father. Now, why? If peace was coming, why was it necessary for Him to go back to heaven? Look in verse 25 and verse 26. We'll back up. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I said unto you. You see what he's saying here? The Holy Spirit is going to be sent by the Father after the Lord Jesus was no longer present with them. If you go back, and I wrote this down, I can't remember where I wrote it. But the Lord said that it's expedient that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter cannot come. That word expedient, you know what it means? It means it's profitable. It's profitable for you that I go away. That's what he's telling his men. Because the Holy Spirit is resident in the life of every believer, it becomes possible for every believer to experience peace. Because peace is found in the person that brings peace, and that is the Holy Spirit of God. And as born-again Christians, listen, the Holy Spirit lives in us, then the giver of peace lives inside of you and me. And if we don't have peace, it's because we fail to receive it. Not because he is inadequate to give it, Yet there's believers all over the world today that are just, man, they're just threatened and, you know, I mean, we're just, we're worried. Listen, you remember Galatians 5.22? It talks about the fruit of the spirit. Do you know what part of, you know what, there's a part of the fruit of the spirit, you know what part of it is? Peace. I mean, you wanna know why people, many of whom are Christians, experience guilt? because they don't receive the peace of God. You know, we did something, I was talking to Brother Marko about this today. There's a lot of, you know, things that we've done in the past that I think we ought to try to do again. One of them is that we did a thing one time where I had, you know, the Bible says that when we pray and ask God to forgive us, that the Bible says that he cast our sin into The deepest part, listen, do you know what's at the fault? It's like three miles deep. Yeah, about three miles deep. You know, that's a long way. Nobody's ever been down there. Do you know that the Bible says that he casts our sins behind his back or in the deepest part of the sea into the sea of God's forgetfulness to remember them against us no more. So I told people, I said, okay, y'all write down a sin in your life that you have trouble with that just eats you up with guilt. And I said, I want you to write it on a piece of paper, and they wrote it down. And I said, okay, now don't, I said, don't put a name, nobody's gonna get it. And I said, you just wad it up. And I said, after you write it down and you wad it up, I said, I want you to just, everybody walk up here, we're gonna just throw this over into the sea of God's forgetfulness. And literally, people all along the way, and they got up. They had their piece of paper, and I said, this is the sea of gospel evangelists. And they came up. I mean, people were getting up all over. They were throwing that stuff in there. forgiven, and it is forgotten. And now all you have to do is receive the peace of God. And if you feel guilty about it again, that means you have went into the deepest part of the sea, the sea of God's forgetfulness, and you've brought it all back. God didn't do that, you did it. You know, we people have such a hard time with guilt, but it's not anything that anybody else does. It's what they allow Satan to do to them. Listen, because they choose not to give way to the leading of the Holy Spirit of God in their life. Listen, do you know that peace only comes through the Holy Spirit? I mean, he's the one that brings it. So instead of somebody saying, you know, if there's a sin in their life and they don't want to confront it or give it to God, and they don't want to forget about it, you realize that they choose to carry guilt around. They choose to feel guilty. And oftentimes, instead of them getting it right, you know, they, well, But it's a lot easier to point finger and push blame off on somebody. I can get two of them out. It's your fault. It's that church. They just expect way too much. They have all them rules down there. So you know what they do? They rob themselves of peace and they go to another church thinking that church down there will give it to me. That church over there can afford me peace. When the peace is not in the place and it's not in the person who stands here, it's in the giving way to the control of the Holy Spirit of God in their life. And yet they choose not to. Listen, so they continue their search for peace. A peace that's offered to them, but never received, and for them, their peace never lasts. It's a fleeting thing. Listen, guilt is a trick of the old devil. And he'll beat you up with it and rob you of your peace all the time. Let me show you one more thing. The confrontation, I got about four minutes. The confrontation of Christ's peace. Look in verse 30. Notice that the Lord mentions Satan, the ruler of the world, the prince and the power of the world. And Satan here is using men, Judas and religionists of that day, to make a last-ditch effort to destroy the Lord. But if you notice in verse 30, look what it says. He says, hereafter, the Lord says, I will not talk much with you, for the prince of this world cometh. He's saying, listen, I'm telling you, he said, the prince of this world, he's using people to try to destroy me. But notice what he says right at the end. He's talking about the prince of the world, Satan, he said, and hath nothing in me. In other words, the Lord said Satan has no place, no opportunity in the life of Jesus to control him as he was doing Judas. The Lord says he has nothing to do with me. He said, listen, I'm doing the will of the Father and Satan, he'll not change me or make me move one step or one thought, one iota. He has nothing to me. Listen, Ephesians chapter four in verse 27, you know what it says? It says, neither, he's talking about anger here, but it can work in this situation for peace. It says, neither give place to the devil. Folks, Satan needs some sort of fertile ground in our lives in which to get an opportunity to lead us astray. You follow what I'm saying? Listen, if he leads us astray or tempts us to do something that God doesn't want us to do or robs us of our peace with God, listen, then we have to allow him to do that. Listen, there's a lot of things that I'm just not going to allow. And you realize that if we want to have joy, that is a choice. I am not going to allow, and I choose... Listen, you say, well, do you ever let the devil... I sure do. Just like the bricklayer. And I said, listen, I just want to let you know, I said, I apologize for what happened the other day. I said, I didn't mean it. I shouldn't have done that. And he said, you know what, preacher? He said, I'm sorry. He said, I didn't handle that well. And he said, I apologize, too. And he said, I sincerely mean that. And I said, you know what? I said, it's all good. I said, you know, I said, you did a good job. I appreciate it. And I said, listen, I just, you know, I said, I left that kind of lifestyle when I left the oil field 35 years ago. And I said, I don't want nothing. I'm sorry. He goes, me too. He said, I apologize. And I thought, well, praise the Lord. Listen, I'm not going to let the devil get me. And I did that day. But listen, you know what? I can choose to make him get away from me just like that. I'm not going to allow him to get the ultimate victory. So I got back and I said, you know what? I choose joy. I choose Christ. And I refuse to let Satan have anything for me to rob me of my peace. and it's because they have forgotten that they can have the peace of God. Listen, if we're willing, now watch this, I'm almost done. If we are willing to forego the peace of Christ and yield to temptation or guilt, then we open ourselves up for Satan to come and lead us astray even further than what we already are. Whenever the Prince of Peace comes to live within us, there's automatically a conflict put in motion between his peace and the events of the world. When tragic and bad things happen in our lives, it's easy for people to ask, what if? And when we entertain those kinds of thoughts, then we find ourselves meditating and speculating on what could have been. That's given place and fertile ground to Satan. And then when we give place to those kind of thoughts, then all of a sudden, here comes a sense of despair, a sense of depression, even guilt, and it begins to fill our hearts and minds. So let me ask, do those kind of feelings come from God? Absolutely not. Isaiah 26 and three, it says, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. You realize when we don't have peace and we feel that guilt and all those other feelings that come, that we've taken our trust away from the one who we ought to be trusting the most? Listen, Psalm 84 verse 11, it says, No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. God says he'll keep us and guard us and that our lives are in his hands. And if he should choose for something bad to come in our life, listen, we understand that he's the one that allowed it. He's in control. And for me to brood and worry and think about all the tragedy that could happen, and listen, it just gives Satan the opportunity to destroy my peace. And I'm not gonna, listen, I'm telling you, a guy was telling me the other day that he said, my folks are older, he's about 80, and he goes, man, he just sits around and watches the news, and he worries and broods, and I thought, man, that is exactly what God's talking about. Don't give place to the devil. need to come back to the truth of God, that the Holy Spirit has been given to me and given to you that we might have peace no matter what the circumstances. Listen, no matter what goes on in this world, I'm telling you folks, you and I can have a peace that passes all understanding. When, listen, not if tragedy comes, but when it happens, it'll happen, then I'm thankful. I'm thankful for the people that try to come and help. People with good intentions try to come and help us and comfort us. But when it comes to restoring peace to those who are troubled, I'm reminded of how thankful I am to have the peace of God that I can depend on. I'm not dependent on people to bring me peace. They can't bring it to me. Only the Holy Spirit of God. So when the Lord Jesus went back to the Father, now watch this, He left with us the peace of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. And He, and He only, is what the world needs today. Listen, God help us that when we leave this place to understand that the ability or the, that's not a good word, that we have the opportunity to receive peace because the person of peace lives in us. If you feel guilty about something, come and tell the Lord and just receive the gift of peace that comes only from the Holy Spirit. If you're troubled about something, come back and give it to the Lord. But listen, when you throw it into the sea of God's forgetfulness, leave it there. And when you walk away, you just carry away a peace that passes all understanding. And I'm telling you, and when tragic things come, you can be like my aunt that sat that day and just smiled. You know why? One, because she knew everything that was going on had already been filtered through the fingertips of an omnipotent, loving God. Listen, and my uncle, he was a saved, born again child of God. walking on the streets of gold in her brand new body. So as a result of that, man, she had a peace that passes all understanding. You too can have that peace. So let me ask you, do you have it? If you don't, you can. The devil got you feeling guilty about something? Then you come and remind him where he's headed. And you'd come and receive the peace that passes all understanding. Father, help us, Lord. And I just want to take a minute and give our folks an opportunity, Lord, to realize that all we have to do is receive that peace. God help us. The world wants to.