Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled (Jn. 14:27)

Introduction

· You can take your Bible and turn to John 14 this morning.

· Some say the presidential election is now over. Others say it’s still too early to declare a winner. To be honest, I don’t know who to trust right now, but I think all would agree this is a sad time for our country. Many of us are tired. We are weary both emotionally and physically. We are tired of the division, frustrated by the corruption, and anxious about the future.

· I prayed this week, what would Jesus say to his church right now? What truth do we most need to hear? And my mind was drawn to Jn. 14. The title of our sermon today is “Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled.”

· Our text this morning is Jn. 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

· I want to share with you three features of the peace of Christ: it is a helpful peace, a heavenly peace, and a healing peace.

1. It is a Helpful Peace

· “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”

· Jesus is speaking of a departure. He says in this verse he is about to leave.

· The evening began as a simple celebration of the Passover meal. Something these disciples had observed dozens of times. But now, it had turned into a more sobering event. The early hours of dinner conversation, laughter, and frequent bantering had turned into a somber silence. 13:33 “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you. ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” They were stunned. Peter asks in v. 36, “Lord, where are you going?” In 14:5, Thomas says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?” Then in v. 8, Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” In v. 22, we have the only recorded time in the Gospels where Judas not Iscariot (aka Thaddeus) speaks. “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” He struggles with how Jesus can be Messiah, and yet he is not yet reigning visibly. The disciples were full of questions. They were already feeling abandoned. Jesus comforts them in 14:18, “I will not leave you as orphans.”

· These disciples were weary. They were rattled. Later when Jesus would take Peter, James, and John with him into the Garden to pray, they would fall asleep. Luke 22:45 says “they were sleeping for sorrow.” Their sadness had worn them down, and without a spirit of watchfulness and prayer, they were vulnerable to the enemy. By the end of the night, they would be physically and emotionally spent. They needed help. Jesus knew that, and so he promised he would leave them with a special gift that was exactly what they needed.

· What was that gift? It was peace. This was no consolation prize or “white elephant” gift. It was exactly what they needed to hear and to receive.

· When we first came to the church, we had a housewarming party and had all the church members over. One of the ladies in our church, Lynn Farmer, got the biggest kick out of the fact that the walls in my study were painted pink. You see, it used to the be girls’ bedroom of our former homeowner, and at first, it was my study until later it became of the kids bedrooms. But Lynn just got the biggest kick out of that. So she gave me a pink candleholder. It looked like it was made out of marble and was the kind of a gaudy nicknack you might put on your shelf. I was never quite sure what to do with it. It was kind of an inside joke, but I have to admit it was kind of a meaningless gift. But Jesus’ gift was not like that.

· And Jesus said he would leave his peace with his disciples. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Cf. 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.” After he rose from the dead, he would appear to his disciples and three times he says to them, “Peace be with you.”

· These disciples would face trial and temptation. They would endure isolation and imprisonment. They would stand before kings. They would be hated by Christ’s enemies. The only possible way that they would remain faithful is if they would experience peace.

· Likewise, he says to the Seven Churches of Revelation, “Grace to you, and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth” (Rev. 1:4-5). How good it is when the Prince of Peace gives his peace! How blessed when the one who calmed the sea can say also to our soul, “Peace, be still.”

· >>This peace truly is a helpful peace…

2. It Is A Heavenly Peace

· Not as the world gives do I give to you.

· This world does offer you peace. Psalm 28 says that the wicked “speak peace with their neighbors, while evil is in their hearts.”

· What kind of peace does the world offer? The peace of this world is an empty peace. It is a peace that only lasts while things are going your way. It is based on the size of your bank account, and the number of toys in your garage. It is based on good health, and fluctuates with election cycles. It is a peace that pretends everything OK, even when there is deep pain inside. It is a peace that smiles in public, but weeps in private. A peace that always looks ahead to a time it hopes things will be better. It pretends everything is OK, even when inside you are falling apart. It is a peace that needs to be in control, that refuses to forgive, that is terrified of death.

· In 2014, Huffington Post ran an article on Pat O’Brien, long time host of Access Hollywood and sportscaster for many sporting events including the Olympics and the Superbowl. Huffpost Reported, “Pat O’Brien seemed like the type of celebrity who had it all together. He was a well-liked entertainment news anchor on “The Insider,” he routinely rubbed elbows with stars like Angelina Jolie and Kevin Costner, and he took full advantage of the numerous perks his celebrity status provided. He also drank — a lot. [he once went through 14 bottles of wine in a single day]… [he said] “The thing about ‘fame’ is that we are people who love to be loved by strangers,”… And by his assessment, there are far more unhappy stars than happy. “I can name, out of all of them, 10 really happy ones,” he says. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pat-obrien-celebrities-happy_n_5717815

· If this world offered true peace, then why are so many celebrities unhappy? Why do so many fall into drugs and alcohol, and many even commit suicide? Why do we have so many Marilyn Monroes and Kate Spades? So many Heath Ledgers and Robin Williams and Pat O’Briens? Because it is not a true peace at all.

· One sure sign that you have only the peace of this world is that you complain when things don’t go your way. If you hear a lot of grumbling and complaining coming out of your mouth, it’s a sure sign you have not yet discovered the kind of peace Jesus offers.

· Jesus says his peace is not like the peace of this world. It is the kind of peace that leads Paul to write from prison, Philippians 4:6–7 do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

· Where does such peace come from? It comes from trusting in the Lord and resting our weariness upon him. Isaiah 26:3–4 (ESV) You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (CSB) You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. Trust in the Lord forever, because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock! H is the everlasting rock, the “Rock of Ages.” “Stayed” means to lean on support. “Trusts” means to be confident in God, his word, his character, and his promises.

· This is a heavenly peace. In fact, it comes from God the Holy Spirit. It is no coincidence that Jesus’ gift of peace immediately follows his promise of the Holy Spirit. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. (Love, joy, peace…) Those who are living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are guaranteed to have peace, because it is part of his very nature and he produces it in our lives.

· I love what Acts 9:31 says about the early church. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. May the same be said of us!

· >>When we experience this kind of peace, we will find the true remedy to our worry…

It is a Healing Peace

· Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

· The kids when they are young would sometimes be afraid of scary shadows. Their grandpa and grandma have a light out in the front driveway that shines through the trees and casts spooky shadows onto the window. One night they were sleeping on the air mattress in our family room. Our window looked out into the backyard. As a car would drive up the hill, their headlights would shine up onto our yard, through our shrubs, creating scary shadows like fingers and arms. The shadows would grow and move as the car would move along. We had to pray sometimes for courage and try to remind them these are only shadows. They aren’t really dangerous. They can’t really hurt us.

· Worry and anxiety are serious conditions. They go beyond mental health and really deal with spiritual health. Only Christ’s peace is the medicine that can overcome this disease.

· Jesus gives a command here: “let not your hearts.” It is in the present tense, meaning it is continuous. We could translate it, “Stop letting your heart.” Jesus knows your heart. He knows how frequently you and I worry.

· But we cannot be driven by emotions. In fact, we have a responsibility to keep our emotions in check.

· Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. We are to let the peace of Christ rule, not our fears and anxieties. Sometimes, we have to have a hard conversation with ourselves.

· The conversation might go something like this: Now, heart, I’ve noticed you’ve been worrying again. You’re thinking about all the bad things that could happen. You’re entertaining worst case scenarios. You’re living in a fantasy world, but it’s a dystopian nightmare. You’re trying to predict the future -- a future that he has not revealed to you. In fact, it is a future absent of God, his care, and his providence. Heart, you need to realize that when you do this, you mess up the rest of me too. The stomach feels it and gets tied in knots. The mind feels it, and is constantly distracted. The muscles feel it, and grow tight. The body feels it, and blood pressure begins to climb. Heart, you need to calm down. I can’t let you stay troubled like this. You need to slide out of the driver’s seat and let the peace of Christ rule instead.

· When you have heartburn, you take an antacid to calm things down and sooth the stomach. When you have anxiety, you go to God in prayer and his word and let his promises sooth you. You can be comforted with scriptures like this…

· Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— whom should I dread?

· Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears.

· Psalm 112:5–7 Good will come to the one who lends generously and conducts his business fairly. He will never be shaken. The righteous one will be remembered forever. He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.

· Proverbs 3:23–26 [My son, keep sound wisdom]…Then you will go safely on your way; your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant. Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare.

· Puritan John Flavel: “Enemies, like wild horses, may prance and tramp up and down the world, as though they would tread down all that were in their way; but the bridle of providence is in their mouths, and upon their proud necks, and that bridle has a strong restraint.”

Conclusion

· The peace of Christ is helpful, it is heavenly, and it is healing.

· 2 Thessalonians 3:16 May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with all of you.