The Peace of God

John 16:8-9 8 And when he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me [Jesus]. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

We remain in a time of unrest, of protests, of unsurety, where people of all nationalities, economic status and colors; where the world is taking note of the plight of Black people in the United States of America.

CEOs and other people with a platform are speaking out denouncing the lack of leadership during the pandemic, which has no doubt been a contributing factor to the outrage over the continued police violence and lack of justice for Black people. These blatant inequities have in turn, resulted in Black people reaching a boiling point and exploding.

In social media I have seen and heard the word martyr thrown around in regards to Mr. George Floyd, which has caused others to now turn to attack him and bring up his past, like it excuses or somehow lessens the value of his life. Another tactic often used to justify the killing of an unarmed Black person.

But this word martyr and applying in to Mr. Floyd just didn’t sit well with me because I did not believe that was his goal, so I looked the word up and here is what I found, “A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a religious belief or cause as demanded by an external party.” and Webster defines a martyr as, “1 : a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion

2 : a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle”

I would agree that Mr. George Floyd was not a martyr, that was not his intention, he was not protesting, he was not advocating, renouncing or refusing, he was merely a man who was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli. And for that, a police officer, a man sworn to serve and protect, methodically, calmly and with malice, took his life; Ahmaud Arbery a Black man jogging in broad daylight and for that, he was pursued by three White men, shot and killed and until the video taken by one of the men who pursued him went viral no charges were filed. Breonna Taylor an EMT lay sleeping in her bed and for that she was shot 8 times and killed by officers in plain clothes serving a warrant on the wrong address and so the protests began and continue.

Church we need peace…peace in our cities, peace in our homes, peace in our hearts, peace in our minds and the only peace that can carry us through all of what’s happening around us is, “The Peace of God”. That is the title of my message today, “The Peace of God”.

As we come to the Scripture text, it is leading up to the time when Jesus’ time on Earth is coming to an end and He is attempting to prepare the disciples for His departure. And so he is now leaving them with some instructions.

It’s like us as parents when we’re leaving the house and we leave instructions for the kids, a list of do’s, don’t’s and here’s where or how you can reach us.

Jesus is telling the disciples that they will suffer and not to be offended so they won’t abandon their faith. When your faith is challenged, you may sometimes lose heart, get discouraged and say within yourself, “why bother”, but Jesus is forewarning them this is going to happen—don’t be surprised, don’t be offended and don’t lose your faith. Nothing has changed about who I am or what I have told you.

He told them they would be put out of the synagogues; they were going to be put out of their own places of worship and not only that, they are going to kill you.

Don’t think that just because you stand on the side of right, you are going to be embraced and welcomed with open arms. There are those who are not going to want to hear your message and they will do whatever it takes to silence you even up to and including taking your life and think they have a right to do it.

But here’s the Good News, yes there is good news in all of this turmoil, when Jesus was about to return to the Father, He left us with a Promise, the Promise also known as the Advocate, also known as the Comforter, also known as the Holy Spirit. Yes while the Holy Spirit is all of those and more here’s what Jesus said would happen when the Advocate comes…

Verse 8 says, “And when he [the Advocate] comes, but before I tell you what our Advocate is going to do let me tell you what an advocate is. An advocate is 1 : one who pleads the cause of another; 2 : one who defends or maintains a cause or proposal, 3: one who supports or promotes interests of a cause or group.

I believe that Black people are a group with a cause, it’s called “Black Lives Matter” and the other which focuses specifically on Black women is “Say Her Name”. So that is who an advocate is and now what this Advocate, the one Jesus sent when He went back to the Father does or will do—this Advocate will convict the world of its sins, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

What we cry and scream out for is justice. Justice for the lives of those taken for no other reason than the color of their skin. We march for the dignity afforded to those who lack melanin in their skin. We protest for the right to

live in peace

drive in peace

sleep in peace

go to the store in peace

sell lemonade in peace

golf in peace

Bar-B-Que in peace

Sit in Starbucks in peace

leave an Airbnb in peace

Redeem a coupon in peace

Bird watch in the park in peace

Eat lunch on a college campus in peace

shop in peace

The marches are not frivolous, the protests are not trivial, the outcries are not meaningless, they are all responses to the atrocities suffered merely because of the color of our skin.

Yet there is still hope, because we serve a God who sees us, loves us and gave His Son for us too. And now, despite what we may think, despite how it looks, despite the package the behavior is wrapped in verse 9 tells us the true problem, “The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.” That me is Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus would know the value He placed on every human life; they would know that

he came to save those that were lost

he came to heal the sick

he came to raise the dead

he came to set the captives free

he came to show us that God is not a respecter of persons He loves each and every one of us the same

he came to reassure us God’s got this, He sees your needs, He knows your trouble and He has not left you alone to deal with the issue.

Because Jesus is with the Father in heaven righteousness is available to us and the ruler of this world, Satan, has already been judged. Saints we win, it may look bleak right now but we win. Our loved ones are dying from plagues and police, but we’re not alone. The world is in chaos, but God is still on the throne, He sees all, He knows all and in His time His perfect will, will be done.

But in the mean time, in between time what do we do?

We continue to march,

we continue our peaceful protests,

we continue to call the names of those whose lives were cut short through the senseless, insensitive acts of others,

we continue to hold those in authority responsible for their actions and accountable for carrying out the responsibilities of the offices and jobs they hold

we continue pray

we continue to believe

and people, please we must vote, vote, vote so that we have leaders

leaders who make laws that protect the rights of every one and not exclude certain races

leaders who will enact legislation that benefits everyone and not just the wealthy

leaders who will enforce the law fairly and equitably and hold accountable those sworn to do so

leaders with compassion

leaders who understand, can empathize and recognize they serve at the pleasure of the people who put them in office, not as dictators over them.

And at the end of this chapter, Jesus ends telling his disciples, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.” Our peace doesn’t come from the world. Yes we should expect justice, we should expect to be treated fairly, we should expect to be treated with dignity, but at the end of the day we must know the world has no peace to give, our peace is in Jesus Christ.

The verse goes on to say, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” Anyone having trials right now? Jesus said we would. Anyone have sorrows? He warned of that too.

Sometimes we mistakenly think that because we’re saved we won’t have problems, that we’ll experience nothing but love, that we will be accepted wherever we go, that everyone will treat us they way we want to be treated—wake up they killed Jesus and he never hurt a sole…and you can be glad because the last thing Jesus said in this chapter is, “But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

It’s already done, Jesus has already won and through our faith and confession and belief we are also overcomers, so we can celebrate, we can take comfort and we can have peace, so take heart…

Phil 4:7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

If you’ve never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you’re left to navigate all this trouble and hatred and bigotry alone, but there is hope. Put your hope in Jesus, give yourself to Jesus today.