Sermon for 5/22/22 "Jesus Offers Us Peace"

John 14:23-29

This morning I'll be reading John chapter 14 verses 23 through 29. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. John 14:23-29 Judas,,, (not Iscariot,,, the one that betrayed Jesus),,, but,,, the son of James,,, or Thaddaeus as he was also known,,, has just asked the question in verse 22,,, how would Jesus reveal Himself to them and not to the world. These verses are a part of Jesus' answer. John 14:23–29 (HCSB) 23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me. 25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. 27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful. 28 You have heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday we looked at John 13:31-35 and we seen that we must “Love As God Commands”.

And we are able to do that,,, when we obey Jesus’ command to love others,,, by the grace of God,,, alone.

God’s love,,, is shown in the things that we do for others,,, those we know,,, those we don’t know,,, and even those who are our enemies,,, just as Jesus said.

And we are known,,, as Christians,,, because of God’s love,,, flowing out of us,,, as we help those that are in need,,, each,,, and every,,, day!

This morning we will look at these verses in John and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 23 says: 23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Verses 23 and 24 are Jesus’ answer to Judas’ question about how would Jesus reveal Himself to them and not to the world.

Jesus said,,, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.

And Jesus’ words are found in the Bible,,, He still speaks to us today through His word.

And any time that I think of Jesus’ commands,,, I always think of His answer about the greatest commandment and the way that we are supposed to obey Him fully.

Matthew 22:37-40 “He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

When we obey this command,,, we are known by others as children of God,,, and,,, most important,,, God knows us,,, God loves us,,, and they will come to us,,, and make their home with us!

Through the relationship that we have with the Holy Spirit living with us,,, we have God with us,,, each and every day,,, and we have it so much better than the disciples did then!

I say that because even though Jesus was there in the flesh,,, the ones that were closest to Him were in His presence,,, but the ones that were further back in the crowd didn’t have as close of an encounter with Jesus as those close by!

We have Jesus with us,,, living with us,,, guiding us,,, each and every day,,, and He’s never far away,,, always beside us,,, keeping us on the right path if we listen to Him like we should!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 24 says: 24 The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.

The one that doesn’t truly love God,,, will not listen to His word.

If they hear the “word”,,, they ignore it and go their own way,,, the way that they want to go,,, doing the things that they want to do.

Instead of taking the time to understand what God has planned for them.

And they are ignoring the voice of God when they do things their way!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 25 and 26 say: 25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

Jesus is trying to tell them as much as He can while that He is with them so that while He is away from them they can remember these things and it will help them with their faith.

And once He’s gone,,, the Holy Spirit will be sent and remind them of all of the things that Jesus has told them.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 27 says: 27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.

A person who is about to die usually writes a last will and testament in which he leaves his possessions to his loved ones.

Jesus was doing that for the disciples,,, and through our reading and studying,,, for us as well..

But,,, He did not leave us material things,,, or things of the world,,, instead,,, He left something that money could not buy,,, — ,,, peace,,, inward peace of conscience that arises from a sense of pardoned sin,,, and,,, of reconciliation with God.

Christ can give it,,, because He purchased it,,, with His own blood at Calvary.

It is not given as the world gives,,, —,,, you know,,, sparingly,,, selfishly,,, and only lasting for a short time.

His gift of peace is forever.

So why should we be troubled or afraid?

Jesus has given us everything that we need.

And we have the promise of 1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written: What eye did not see and ear did not hear, and what never entered the human mind— God prepared this for those who love Him.”

We just won’t be able to believe the wonderful things that God has in store for us!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 28 says: 28 You have heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.

Jesus will go away,,, but He’s explaining to the disciples that He will return after His resurrection and,,, He will also return one day to make everything right that sin has destroyed in this world.

The disciples still don’t understand exactly what Jesus is talking about,,, and of course we know that they really don’t until after the resurrection,,, but Jesus tries to help them as best as He can.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 29 says: 29 I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe.

Jesus is reminding them that He is telling them things that they will remember after they happen so that it will help strengthen their faith when they do remember that Jesus spoke about them before they came true.

You see,,, this time after time,,, Jesus does everything that He can to help the disciples so that they will be ready for His death on the cross.

He wants them to be ready when doubts begin to creep into their thoughts.

He is strengthening their faith,,, even before they need it!

----------------------------------------------------------- And,,, He is still doing everything that He can for us today.

We should be able to learn,,, from all that we read and study about,,, that Jesus has been faithful and true to His word.

And He will always take care of us,,, and always be with us,,, never forsaking us.

----------------------------------------------------------- Any time that we are confronted with,,, "Not knowing",,, that brings its own kind of terror.

Experience makes people less nervous,,, whether it’s driving cars,,, flying in airplanes,,, enduring thunderstorms,,, or receiving medical procedures,,, they are all easier to get through when we have knowledge about them.

The experiences,,, themselves,,, don't change.

What changes is our expectations,,, — ,,, we know what is happening,,, and,,, to a point,,, what will happen next.

That brings confidence and greatly reduces fear.

The “knowing”,,, brings peace.

Several times in this conversation,,, Jesus will point out that He is preparing the disciples to "hold fast" in a difficult time (John 13:7; 14:29; 16:4, 33).

This not only applies to His upcoming arrest and execution (Mark 8:31; John 12:34; 16:32),,, but also,,, to the persecution Christians will face because of their faith (John 15:18–20; 16:2–3).

And,,, this peace that Christ offers,,, is not like that of the world.

The best we can expect from the natural world is unfairness and death (Romans 8:20; James 4:14; Psalm 73:3).

Even attempts to be moral,,, without God,,, lead only to frustration (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Christ's "peace" here refers to a hope and reassurance that goes beyond what a fallen world can offer (Philippians 4:7).

It is permanent,,, guaranteed,,, and eternal (Hebrews 6:18–19).

Jesus encourages His followers to keep their "hearts" from fear and trouble.

This repeats the statement Jesus used to start this chapter (John 14:1).

Scholars suggest that Jesus is distinguishing between being troubled in one's "spirit,",,, meaning pain and unhappiness,,, as opposed to being troubled in one's "heart," meaning fear and despair.

We know that Jesus was said to have a troubled spirit,,, at times (John 11:33; 13:21).

What He calls for here,,, is not for Christians to be unemotional and inhuman.

Instead,,, it's to acknowledge the reality of suffering,,, while at the same time,,, trusting in God to make good on His promises.

That’s what Jesus is always trying to help with,,, for the disciples then,,, and us today.

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Jesus reassures His followers that faith in Him,,, is faith in God.

To know Christ is to know ''the way, and the truth, and the life'' (John 14:6).

The words,,, actions,,, and miracles,,, of Jesus should give us,,, as Christians today,,, the confidence to trust that He will make good on His promises.

Among those are His guarantee that He is preparing to come for us,,, so we can be where He is.

Jesus also predicts the presence of the Holy Spirit that will be available after He leaves.

This is only available to believers,,, and this Helper acts to guide,,, teach,,, and remind us.

Both for the disciples,,, and for future Christians,,, these words are meant to be comforting during hard times.

Since Christ knew,,, in advance,,, what would happen,,, we can be even more confident to trust Him.

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And that’s what we need to remember going forward.

Jesus will help us and guide us each and every day,,, if we just remember His words,,, and allow them to help us when we are afraid,,, instead of giving in to the fears that we encounter in our walk here on earth today.

Because,,, we don’t have to walk alone,,, God is with us,,, helping us along the way,,, if we just pay attention,,, and listen,,, as we continue,,, in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------