to the Gospel according to John
and reading chapter 14. The Gospel according to John
and reading chapter 14. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto myself. That where I am, there you may
be also. And whither I go, you know, and
the way you know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord,
we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?
Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. If ye had known me, ye should
have known my Father also. And from henceforth ye know him,
and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have
I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show
us the Father? Believe thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto
you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me,
he doth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works'
sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also,
and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto
my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in
my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If ye ask anything in my name,
I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments,
and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of Truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless,
I will come to you, yet a little while, and the world seeth me
no more. But ye see me, because I live,
ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that
I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath
my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself
to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot,
Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and
not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto
him, If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode
with him. He that loveth me not keepeth
not my sayings, and the word which ye hear is not mine, but
the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto
you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever
I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace
I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto
you, I go away and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye
would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father, for my
Father is greater than I. now I have told you, before it
come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Henceforth I will not talk much
with you, for the Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing
in me, but that the world may know that I love the Father. And as the Father gave commandment,
even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. May the Lord add his blessing
to the reading of his word. I'd like to look out this evening With the Lord's help, verse 27. Peace I leave with you, my peace
I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Well these
are the the passing words of the Lord Jesus Christ unto his
apostles. As he is nearing the time of
his betrayal and his trial and his crucifixion, he begins to
console or make aware the disciples of all that is going to take
place. he is going to go from them but that they are not to
be troubled at his going because he is going to be with them through
the influence of the Holy Spirit, through the presence or gift
of the Holy Spirit. Not only does he tell them what
he is going to do but he's also telling them where he is going. He tells them that they're not
to be troubled They believe in God, they are also to believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is going to prepare a place
for them, that he would come again and receive them to himself,
that where he is, there they would be also. And he gives them
then this great promise of the Holy Spirit that although Christ
in his physical body would not be present with the apostles
or with the church yet he was going to go from them and he
was going to give them the Holy Spirit who was the comforter,
the spirit of truth. At that moment in time he was
present with the apostles but he tells them that the time would
come that he would be in them. as Christ had been physically
present with the apostles for those three years as they sat
under his ministry, as they watched his miracles, as they were with
him as he taught them. So now he was going to give them
this invisible Holy Spirit who would bring to their memory all
that Christ had taught them. Not only would he bring to their
memory all that Christ taught them, but he would enable them
to persevere in the advancement of the gospel. We read in the
book of Acts that the Lord working with them, the Holy Spirit working
with them as they proclaimed the word, as they went forward
with the gospel into various lands and suffered much persecution. And he promises them the Holy
Spirit who would be with them. But not only does he promise
the Holy Spirit, but he also promises peace. Peace. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. If you look up in the dictionary,
the word peace, it is described as freedom from disturbance. or tranquility. A lot of money
and time is spent in this world on people searching for peace.
We like to go on holiday and we like to find peaceful spots
on the beach. We like to find peaceful moments
in the countryside free from other people, free from cars
and disturbances. It's something that we crave
after. Peace and quiet. At the end of
the day, after we've been labouring or whatever we've been doing,
we come back home, we find somewhere to sit and we seek for that peace
and quiet. But it can't be guaranteed. In
this world, peace can never be guaranteed. It's just passing.
A moment in time and then some disturbance takes place and that
peace is then unsettled. Jesus isn't speaking about the
peace that this world has to offer. He's speaking about something
far deeper, something far greater than anything that this world
has to offer. Yes, we relish some peace. Yes, we really enjoy going into
this countryside or into the mountains or on the coast and
experiencing peace and quiet and the beauty that this world
has to offer. But Christ is not speaking about
this material peace, but a far, far greater peace. In chapter 16, Right at the end of that chapter,
he tells us there, Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? Behold,
the hour cometh, yea, and it is now come, that ye shall be
scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone. And
yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things
have I spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation
but be of good cheer I have overcome the world. And so in chapter
15 the Lord Jesus Christ is telling them that I'm going to leave
you with peace. and then in the end of chapter
16 he's telling them you're not going to have peace, you're not
going to have peace in this world, you're going to flee from me,
you're going to be afraid, you're going to be scattered, you're
going to leave me alone, but he is not alone because the father
is with him. He says these things I have spoken
unto you, I've warned you of these things, I've pre-warned
you about what is going to happen so that when these things take
place you might have peace in him. And as we see the life of
the apostles, we see that they had no peace. As they preached
the gospel, they were persecuted. They were chased from place to
place. They suffered hardship. And the
early church, the hideous things that they went through, they
had no physical peace. Yet they had a peace which is
in Christ Jesus, a peace which cannot be taken away. The world's
peace is passing and fleeting. It is disturbed. Yet the peace
that is in Christ Jesus is an eternal, lasting peace. And so Jesus was preparing them.
for what was going to happen, what was going to take place
in their lives. When we pre-warn people that
does bring a measure of peace. When we realise that something
is going to happen, when it happens our minds are reminded of what
was said and that brings a measure of peace. Think of today, there
was a big earthquake outside of Russia and tsunami warnings
went off all over the world and no doubt that brought some people
peace. They were warned. They were able
to run away from the coast and find some higher ground and they
were able to rest in the fact that they had listened to the
warning and they had run away from what they thought was going
to take place and they had some peace. They had been pre-warned.
by what was going to take place and so Christ he pre-warns his
apostles about all that is going to take place he tells them there's
going to be trouble there's going to be difficulty in the world
you are going to have this tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome
the world. He overcame the world by his
death and his resurrection and then his ascension up into glory
and his giving of the Holy Spirit to his beloved people. Therefore
they can have this peace in the knowledge of the fact that Christ
has done all that he said that he was going to do and then he
is promised to come again for them that where he is there they
will be also. And so he promises then this
peace. He deals with the thing that brings no peace. In chapter five of Romans, It tells us there, verses one
and two, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. That Christ then, the peace that
he declares unto his apostles and to his people, it is a peace
that has been brought about by his finished work upon the cross
to bring about that reconciliation between God and man, where there
was that enmity, now there is that peace, where there was that
guilt, now there is that justification, now is that cleansing and the
removal of sin. And Christ is able to do this
and to bring about this peace, not only that he is the God-man,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived and died and suffered for the
sins of his people, but Isaiah tells us that he is to be the
Prince of Peace. In the prophecy of Isaiah, that
Christ was going to come and to be the Prince of Peace. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
is born, What did the angels tell us?
As they sang there to the shepherds in Luke chapter two. Verse nine. And lo, the angel
of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round
about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto
them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, laying in a manger. And suddenly there
was an angel and a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God
and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and
good will. toward men. And so this prince
of peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, to bring
about this peace upon earth, the gospel of peace. As the apostles
went forth, they preached the good news, the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ that brings about that reconciliation of
sinners to a holy God. And so Jesus says, peace, I leave
with you. And it was only Jesus who can
really offer this peace. As he says not as the world giveth
give I unto you. Christ's peace was a lasting
peace, an eternal peace, a secure peace. The world's peace it is
that fleeting and passing peace that is disturbed by by the things
that are round about us. Can't have peace for very long
in this world. But Jesus says, my peace I leave
with you, my peace I give unto you. Salvation is a gift. a free gift of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is by grace that we are saved. It is a gift given by the Lord
Jesus. Peace with God. But it's also
a peace that calms a troubled heart. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. There is no guarantee in this
world. There is a guarantee with the
Lord Jesus Christ that the things that he says, they will come
to pass. The things that he has done are
secure. The words that he speaks are
an abiding word. And so when he speaks peace into
the lives of his people, that peace is a genuine peace. It's a peace that needs to be
focused upon and meditated upon, that our hearts are subdued from
the fears that we are experiencing. And it is a peace that is to be sought after in times
of trouble. In chapter 15 he tells us there
that we are to abide in the vine, to abide in him. To abide in
the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way that we can experience
this peace. How often it is in times of trouble
that we are distant from Christ And therefore we experience great
perplexities of heart, great fear and great anxiety. Christ has said, abide in me.
The nearer we are to him the greater comfort we can experience. If you think of a ship in a harbour there it is all calm and peaceful. There are times in our lives
when we may experience a calmness and a stillness. But a ship can't
abide in the harbour forever. It must go out into the world. It must go out into the high
seas and experience the storms of life. And it's there that
we experience peace in a storm. If you think of the Apostle Paul,
he was in a ship on his way to Rome. He entered into that great
storm. Everybody in that ship was extremely
afraid, crying unto their gods, but the Lord appeared to him.
How is it that he is able to be unafraid and everybody else
filled with fear? The reason was that he had peace.
He had peace that the captain of the storm, the captain of
the ship was the Lord Jesus Christ. That God was in complete control
of all that he was passing through. That he had blessed him and drawn
near to him. In Acts 27. It tells us, when
neither sun, verse 20, stars or in many days appeared and
no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved
was taken away. But after being, after long abstinence,
Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, Sirs, you should
have hearkened unto me and have not loosed from Crete and to
have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of
good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among
you but of the ship. For there stood by me this night
an angel of God, whose I am and whose I serve, saying, Fear not,
Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar, and lo, God has given
thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of
good cheer, for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was
told me. And so he had peace. He was in
the midst of a massive storm on a boat with everybody else
and yet all of them they were suffering anxiety and the stress
of the storm yet he had peace. Why? Because he had a confidence
in God. The Lord had blessed him with
the understanding that everything was going to be OK. And the Lord
has blessed all of his people with everything is going to be
OK. Even if death should come into our life it still means that everything
is going to be okay. Peace, the sting of death has
been removed and that we can experience peace in the storm
even if that storm brings us to the very end of our lives. because the Lord Jesus Christ
has gone to prepare a place for his people and he says where
I am there ye may be also that they will go to him. peace I
leave with you, my peace I give unto you. And so even in the
storms of life, as we move out of that harbour of peace and
we go into the world and experience the great storms of life, we
can still have peace in those storms by drawing near to the
Lord Jesus. By focusing upon the captain
of our salvation, the captain who is in control of the ship,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul had peace in his trouble
and you and I can have peace in our times of distress by drawing
close to the Lord, by drawing close to him in his word, by
drawing close to him at the throne of grace knowing that we have
this great high priest. As we come later to prayer we
are drawing near to the Lord He inclines his ear unto the
cry of the righteous and he inclines his ear unto the cry of his dear
people as they pass through the perplexities of life, the storms
that they can't comprehend and understand. He is able to grant
them peace in those storms by that knowledge and that fact
that he is in complete control by us trusting our saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Don't be afraid. In Thessalonians, right at the
end, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, it says, Now the Lord of peace
himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with
you all. And so he closes with this beautiful
benediction as Christ closes his earthly life with this beautiful
benediction to his apostles by explaining to them everything
that is going to happen, where he is going, what he is going
to do, where he is ending up. who he is going to give them
as the comforter to be with them. So the apostle closes with the
benediction of the Lord of Peace. May he give you and me peace
in all the situations of life, in all ways. And the Lord be
with you all. Amen. Christ promised to be with
his people. Lo, I will be with you even to
the end of the age. So as we continue on in this
life, We know that the Lord of Peace
will give us peace and he will continue to be with his people
there by the power and influence of his Holy Spirit. Peace I leave
with you. My peace I give unto you, not
as the world give I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen. Our second hymn this evening
is from Gatsby's 567. Jesus, the Lord, my saviour is,
my shepherd and my God, my light, my strength, my joy, my bliss,
and I his grace record. Hymn 567 to the tune 861. ? My Savior is my shepherd and
my God ? ? My light, my strength, my joy, my bliss ? ? And I his
thanks give to thee ? Where I need Him, Jesus dwells,
And there He dwells for me. His eyes, my love, confess and
fill, ? The church of religion free ?
? Mercy and truth and righteousness ? ? And peace of spiritually
free ? Just Christ, the King of Grace,
give her my stand from me. And to the wilderness I run, His mercies I'll proclaim, And
when I safely reach my home, I'll still adore His name. ? Thou be my song ? ? O hear the
people sing ? ? And let the auld lang syne be full ? ? Tell joy
and sing ? The Lord will help the brothers
as they come to lead us in prayer. I'd like to ask Keith if you
could open for us, followed by David, and then Edwin and Jesse,
please. Thank you.