The Peace of God Shall Come

John 14:27

John 14:27 NRSV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

The God of Peace

The book of John has a personal connection to Jesus as this was his brother and he had a first look at the peace that had come just as was promised in the old testament in the book of Malachi 3:1

Malachi 3:1 NRSV

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

In the beginning God’s plan was to bring peace to a world and a people He created in His image. Peace within once you know who Jesus is and the love he came with to live a life of goodness that the world and no other person can give you. You can search for it in sports, friends, family, extracurricular activities to get the evil of this world or even the trials you may or even are experiencing right now. John said there is someone coming after me that can give you a whole lot more than what I could ever give. This man is the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Lords that if you trust in him you will find a peace like no other. This Prince of peace is Emmanuel the one to come and to be with us now and until the end of the age and beyond.

The God of Comfort

This comfort what does this look like in your life. When the winds of life are blowing you all around your space you occupy rather it be in the home, work, at the store or while driving on the road where and how do you find comfort in Jesus. When we get comfort from Jesus we find out hope and strength in him to keep us even in our grief or troubles that we may be facing. Psalm 34:18 says,

Psalm 34:18 NRSV

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

Jesus the coming savior is coming and came to heal the brokenness we will experience in this life. Jesus experienced brokenness when his friend Lazerus died, he experience when he found out his close friend John the Baptist was killed and he had to find comfort in these moments. Where did Jesus go for this comfort, will he went to his Father. He did not go into a space where the darkness tired to overcome him because the Bible says that darkness can not overcome the light God brought comfort to his son Jesus to show us that He will comfort even the one who was coming to comfort us. We must seek Jesus and when we do he will come suddenly to this temple. Now, I want to push this piece a little further. He comes quickly to his temple when we seek him. What temple the brick and morter or the flesh temple where Jesus resides . I believe John is speaking of the temple of our heart the temple of this flesh. He will come quickly to his children that is in covenant with him. Jesus is our comforter and wants to heal and bring peace to our souls.

The God in the midst of change

Remember today we are talking about the Peace of Jesus that is to come and has come and is coming again. This Peace is of love and change that will come to help us grow in the experiences of life that baffle us from time to time, right? The Bible tells us in Matthew 8:24-27 that,

Matthew 8:24–27 NRSV

A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

Jesus is saying do not fear what you see or think is coming but to trust me in the process because I am with you in all the changes that life will bring. If you hold to his word and yes I know that changes hurt more than a pricked finger but Jesus said do not fear have faith in what I have taught you about my Father and about who I am, and when you do the peace that surpasses all understanding will bring a whole new meaning and language that you cannot even begin to explain with your own words but only with the words of Jesus Christ that dwells within you. Philippians 4:7

Philippians 4:7 NRSV

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

Yes this Peace that we speak of today, this 2nd day of Advent will guard you from head to toe from breast to breast with the love of Jesus Christ standing with you each and every day of your life. He will bring you perfect peace when you feel like the pieces are falling apart all around you. He will send his comforter to be with you in the night hours and yes even when the day has overcome the night skies God is there with you. He was there with Jesus in the womb of Mary, he was there with Jesus when his only son had to bare and carry the cross alone, he was there when his son hung on the cross to bring peace to a sin filled world. He was there when Jesus rose from the dead with all power, peace and love for you and for me so that we may be saved. John 14:27

John 14:27 The Message

I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

There is a song by Juanita Bynum that says, You are my peace, you are my peace, you are my peace and I worship thee. When God is your peace you will find yourself in worship with him all day long just to make it through. Yet, I am a witness that Jesus will give you that peace and come quickly to see about his children in the midst of whatever you are going through at this moment and in times to come. Jesus came to give peace and a love to the world. Do not be dismayed by whatever will come because God will take care of you.

My peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you is my prayer for all today. The Word of God for the people of God, thanks be to our God.