What does it take to have peace?

To you, dear saints of God in Christ here at Immanuel, grace, mercy, and peace be unto this day from God our Father and our Lord and our Risen Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The words that fill our hearts this day are taken from John's gospel the 16th chapter, verse 33. "I have told you these things so that in Me, you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world." This is our text. These words of Jesus are words for His disciples. They're words for His church, they're words for you and for me. As Jesus continues to explain to His followers what must happen to Him, they fail to understand that Jesus is going away. That He will suffer and die and rise again on the third day. And Jesus continues to guarantee them, that in the midst of all that is taking place, they have peace. Peace, which does not come from within, but is given solely by Him and His word to them. So that, after He rises from the dead, and He appears to them behind locked doors, He simply says, "peace be with you." May this shalom, may this whole piece that God gives to His people be ours today in Christ Jesus. Piece given to us because our Savior shed His blood on a cross. Because He died and rose for us, this peace is a peace which the world cannot ever give to us. In this text today, you have an admonition that there will be trouble, there will be trials and tribulations and temptations that will come as a result of following Christ. And not just because the disciples follow Christ, will they experience trouble, but they will experience trouble because they are sinners just like we are. Sinners in need of the Savior's perfect love, His perfect forgiveness, and His perfect peace. So, how did Jesus do with His words today? Did he hit the nail on the head? Was He right? Are we living in a day and a time filled with much trouble? I'd say He didn't do so bad. Not only do we experience trouble in the future, but trouble is an ongoing thing. An ongoing reality for each one of us. Maybe you can identify troubles and trials and tribulations that you've been through, experiences that have marked and shaped you as a person. With my grandma and grandpa going through the Great Depression, there were certain things that identify them and their generation as those who experienced trouble. The became the savers and the repurposers and the ones who would use the clothing again and again, after it's been repatched, because that's just who they were. They've gone through trials and troubles that many of us may never experience. And then there are different troubles that take place because of calamities in this world. Disasters and natural disasters.

On your training to become a pastor, you get to do this thing called vicarage. It's basically your internship, and you guys are excited to have a vicar here, and you will receive him warmly, and he will have an experience that he will never forget, that will shape him in his ministry. One of my vicarage experiences in Minot, North Dakota was the flooding of the Souris or the Mouse River. This flood impacted 80 families in the congregation where I served, and 4,000 people in the city of Minot. It's changed the way they lived. It changed their livelihoods, their homes, all of the things that they worked so hard for, a flood had come and destroyed. In this world, you will have trouble, trials, and tribulations. But Jesus' words remain the same: "take heart, I have overcome the world." You will live in a world where cancers and car accidents and calamities will happen to you and those you love. Those aren't great words you want to hear. These are the realities of what happens when sinners live in a sin-broken world, a world broken by sin. When we've fallen into sin, and sin has corrupted all that we know. Death and sickness and sadness are a part of this life. You can take it to the bank that these things will happen because sin is present in our world. The bottom will fall out of life. But "take heart, I have overcome the world." How and why can we have confidence today, in this time of sadness and calamities and sickness and natural disasters and economies that are tanking and gas prices and inflation, how can we possibly have any peace? We turn to God's word, and we are reminded that He was despised and rejected by men. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with suffering, as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him, stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the punishment that brought us peace. And with His wounds, we are healed. Now, I could ask our little lambs, who is the "He" in that passage? And they would tell me Jesus. Of course. He is the Suffering Servant. We have peace today because we have One who has overcome the world, just like that painting reminds us - Jesus stands victorious over sin, death, and the devil. And because of His victory over death for you, you have the promise of eternal life in His name. You have a Savior who is not far from you, who identifies with your every need, who knows what it's like to suffer. He knows what it's like to be tempted. This Jesus knows what it's like to pass through death's portal. He also knows what it's like to be raised victorious. And so we, too, have the tremendous promise that in this world, even as we suffer, we have victory. We have One who has overcome, we have, in the midst of our troubles and fears, One who is with us and beside us and who knows us. That these perils which await His disciples are perils which Jesus knows and understands intimately. That when we tremble in fear, we stand on the Rock that does not tremble. We have an unshakable hope in Jesus Christ.

Many people see God as the One who just gets them from point A to point B. All God is in our life is someone or something that I can call upon in my time of trouble. And He gets me from point A to point B. Now, this isn't wrong. God is certainly there for us to call upon in the day of trouble. But God is more than just, more than just a therapist or someone you can call on to help you in your time of trouble, and He pacifies that, and then He comes out the next time you need Him. No, God is the One who, in the fullness of time, has redeemed and restored creation. God is giving to us a bigger picture, a picture of life redeemed by Him, and Life Eternal which is to come. This God doesn't just get me through the day. This God of my salvation has won for me Eternal Life, and He will redeem all of creation and make it right on the final day. What God is moving us to, is this redemption of all of creation. Restored creation for you and for me. A creation that no longer has need of the sun, because the Lamb is it's sun. A creation that no longer needs gates, because evil and wickedness are out there, but there is a city where there is perfection and beauty, where there is peace, where there is wholeness. A place where there's no more sin and sickness and death. A world without trouble and tribulation. That's the promise that God is pointing us to. A promise of peace in Him, that in this time of trouble, we have a Savior who's overcome for us. One of the favorite confirmation verses that I've come across is Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen to that. That's a tremendous encouragement and a promise of God's word. But that promise goes beyond just my day-to-day "God's going to help me run the fastest in this track meet, God's going to help me lift the most I've ever lifted, God's going to give me the most money I have ever wanted." No, God really reminds us in that verse that we can do all things through Him, because He's done all things for us. We can suffer all that we need to suffer, because of Jesus. We can endure all that we need to endure. I attended a pastor's conference at Camp Luther sometime ago, and one of the speakers at this conference was Dr. Robert Bennett and he is an LCMS pastor, and he talked about spiritual warfare. And I found it very fascinating that as he described the spiritual realm, spiritual warfare, demonic possession, and Satan, he commented two things that stuck out to me. The first was, there's only one true Exorcist, if you might say that, and that's Jesus Christ. The One who has conquered darkness and Satan and hell on our behalf. And the second thing he stated, was that everything in this life is a spiritual matter that Satan can use to wedge between you and your faith in Christ. For instance, he talked about breaking your leg. If you break your leg, that is a spiritual matter. If you break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, that has spiritual implications. And as you begin to see with eyes of faith, all these things are tied together. That in God, we have One who's overcome for us. So that the broken leg doesn't keep us from coming to church. And because we don't come to church, we don't receive the gift of communion, the fellowship of being together. That as we stay away from God's house - because we have this ailment or sickness or broken leg - Satan begins to attack us and to overcome us. But what is the plan God gives to us? What is the battle plan God provides for His people for whom He has redeemed them by His blood? Well, God gives us three things. One: join together in worship. That's a great way that God has blessed His church with peace. You have a peace the world does not have. The second thing is prayer. God invites us to pray, just like Lydia and her family were brought into the household of faith, and they were praying for God's kingdom, we too, are people of prayer. We worship. We pray. And lastly, God has given us the tremendous gift of His Word. We are rooted deeply in that Word. We are reminded in that Word of His promises made to us. We have peace because Jesus has given us the gift of His Word. A gift which does not leave us, nor forsake us. And in that Word, you encounter Christ, who is your Prince of Peace. The One who has loved you eternally, forgiven all of your sins, and assured you of your place in His kingdom, so that with joy, we may continue to carry out His work. We never take our eyes off the Savior. We never take our eyes off the One who has given us peace in the midst of a life filled with so much chaos. In this world, you will have trouble. "But take heart," Jesus says to you, "I've overcome this world." In your baptism, God has reminded you that you are His child, an heir of all the promises of heaven. Today, through the gift of communion, God gives you His very body and blood to strengthen you and to give you His peace. And as you go forward this day, you have the remarkable peace that nothing in all of creation will touch your salvation in Christ Jesus. And because you have this piece, you are givers of that peace to others. God bless you and keep you, dear friends, as you continue to live in that peace, as you share that peace, and as you remember that Jesus has overcome even death for you. Amen. And now, may that peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard our hearts and our lives in Christ. Amen.