Let's take our Bibles once again.
Turn with me to the book of John, chapter 14. John 14. Let's look at verses 27 to 31. John 14, 27. Our Lord says, 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. And now I have told you before
it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 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 me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." The Lord had just told in that
26th verse His disciples, now remember, He's getting ready
to leave. These last few chapters, I'm
talking about 12, 13, 14, 15, right on into 16, all happened
in just a few hours. I mean, chapters, chapters, just
a few hours before His crucifixion. And He's taking His disciples
off to the side and He's comforting them. He's telling them, I'm
going back to the Father. Now, they've been with Him now
for over three years. They've heard Him, been with
Him, touched Him. He's their Lord. He's their God. And they know who He is. Remember
many of His disciples that heard when the Lord says, no man can
come unto Me except it were given unto Him of My Father, and they
said, From that time when they heard that, many of them went
back, walked no more with Him. The Lord asked His disciples,
He said, will you go away also? Peter said, Lord, to whom shall
we go? Thou hast the words of life.
We are sure You are the Christ. When He said Christ, this is
what He said. You are God. You are God. in human flesh. We know that
You're the Messiah. We know You are. Lord, You are. You're the One who spoke to Moses.
You're the One who spoke out of the burning bush. Lord, You're
that rock in the desert that followed Him, Lord. We know who
You are. He's going away. He tells them,
He said, but, verse 26, to comfort them. which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name." Now, just think. Think
about how He just set forth the glorious Trinity. The Comforter, 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. The Comforter. The Lord is the
comfort. The Lord is the comfort. And
the Comforter is the one that sets forth the comfort of the
sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ. The Father
has received the Son back to Himself. The Comforter now. See, while He was in this world,
He could be in one place, one time. He was not omnipresent
in human flesh. But now the Comforter, here's
the Lord Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, that's the
Comfort, the Lord Himself, the Comfort of God's sheep. The Comforter
will come. He tells them. He says, now I'm
going, but He says, peace, I leave with you. Not this worldly ease or worldly
possessions. These things, they prove to be
often, without exception I know, a great hindrance. They're not
going to last. We get taken up. And I know exactly. I do the
same thing. You know, we get to thinking
about, you know, Well, you know, we're going to have to do this,
that, and the other. And there's nothing wrong with making preparation. There's nothing wrong with that,
but the love of it at the expense of worshiping God. The love of
money is the root of all evil. But peace, peace is what a believer
needs. I need His peace. I need to know while I'm in the
midst of this wicked world. And I know it is. I've experienced
something. You have too, of it. And while
we're in this world, we're sojourners, we're pilgrims. That's what the
Scripture says. We know that we're not of it.
We're not of the world's religion. We're not of its cares. We struggle
with these things. But a believer knows. I need
peace. You know, I need right now. I
need to know. Right now. I don't have any promise
of getting through this message. If Almighty God stops my heart
right now, I'll collapse right here. It'll be over. I need the peace of God to know
that my sin has been pardoned. I need right now, I don't want
to wait, I need to know that Almighty God has put away my
guilt. I need to hear it again. I need
to know, Lord, by Your comforter, remind me, teach me afresh right
now. I need to hear it again by the
comforter. That my guilt is charged to Him. That I'm robed in His righteousness. I need the comfort of knowing
that whatever comes my way, whatever lot the Lord allows me to have,
that it has been divinely ordered. I need to be reminded of that
because there are some lots that come our way that are hard on
the flesh. I need to be reminded that Almighty
God in the glorious person of His Son is my peace before God,
that everything that I need before God, the Father looks to the
Son for it. That He is my Mediator. He is
my Lord, my Substitute, my Priest. I need the peace of God to know
that when the Lord Jesus Christ said, Father, I will that those
that Thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory. The glory I had with you from
before the world. I need peace. And the Lord said,
peace I leave you. He said, My peace I give unto
you. That peace that is His alone
to give. It's His peace. That's what He
said. Peace I leave with you. My peace. That's where it comes from. It's
His peace. I didn't work it up. I didn't
earn it. In myself, I don't deserve it.
He bought with His own precious blood. He bought peace. Peace has been established before
God Almighty, the Father, by the precious blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. in the redemption of His people. He laid down His life for His
own. He said, it's finished. It's
finished. Peace. That Almighty God ever
saw that would be established by the shedding of blood, He
did it. Peace. Established by His life
and death. Peace. Let me tell you, look
at this, 2 Samuel 2.13. I got to thinking about this
this morning, and I'll read it for you if you want to turn.
2 Samuel 12.13. David had fallen into sin with
Bathsheba, and God sent a prophet to David.
He told him, he said, you're the man. You're the man. And listen to this. You talk
about, I need this piece right here. I
know what I am in myself. 2 Samuel 12, 13, David said unto
Nathan, I've sinned against the Lord. You know, that's the evidence
of a believer, is that they'll admit, I've sinned against God.
I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the
Lord also has put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. Well, you
think, oh my, what mercy. I have sinned against God. Nathan told him, he said, the
Lord is going to have mercy on you. David went to his grave
remembering this right here. But remember, in the mercy of
God, I need some peace. I need peace that passes all
understanding, that keeps my heart and mind through Christ
Jesus. Back in John 14, peace I leave
with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. The world promises this temporary
peace False promise of security. What security do you have, does
any of us have, you know, in all of our investments? I told you this before, you know,
you work all your life and you've got a 401k, you've got a, you
know, you're just going to try to set something aside, you know,
and be responsible. You know, like you ought to be.
And stock market drops 300 points. What's the first thing you thought? I'd hate to see the bottom line
on that one now. I told you about this ad on television. I know you've seen it. It's some
kind of an insurance company. I don't know. This lady's walking
down this little path and she said, I'm only in my 60s. I've
got a nice long life ahead of me. It just aggravates me to
death when I see it. How do you know? How do you know? Lies. Oh, I need some peace. I need peace before God. Peace. Isaiah 28. Here is false peace
right here. Isaiah 28. It is false religious
peace. Verse 28. Verse 14. Wherefore, hear the word of the
Lord, ye scornful men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem,
because ye have said, we have made a covenant with death. Boy, you know, aren't you glad
that when David said, you know, what do you say, Lord? You made. You made. an everlasting covenant
with Me. And your son, you did. Here's
what the one that's got a false peace says. We have made a covenant
with death and with hell. Are we at agreement? That is, I looked up that word
agreement this morning. It means this. To look on with
approval. to look on with approval. We're
at agreement. What they're saying is this.
We've considered this thing of hell and all that kind of stuff,
and I'm going to tell you something. I'm approved. I'm approved. I'm not going to
be going there. I've made my peace before God.
I've done ABC. With hell, we're at agreement. The prophet says, when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, you say, it not come unto us. And then it's almost like the
prophet is expressing his thoughts. For we've made lies our refuge.
Not that a man that has a false refuge will say that, but that's
what the prophet is revealing under the inspiration of God's
Spirit. And he said, that's what you're saying. We've made lies
our refuge. Now you think about it. Think
about that first message, he that begets a fool. We've made
lies our refuge. I've done whatever the guy was
telling me I was supposed to do, and whatever it is, I've
made lies my haven. And under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stone, a tried
stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth
shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the
line. Righteousness to the plummet."
You know what that means. It means what the Lord is saying
is, I'm going to judge every man according to my Son. And if you're not found in My
Son, if you're not holy as My Son, found in Him, robed in His
righteousness, if He has not put away your guilt, judgment,
I'm going to lay to the line, righteousness to the plummet,
and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters
shall overflow the hiding place." There's no peace in false refuge,
in false lie, in a false gospel. 1 Thessalonians 5, 3, 4, When
they say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon
them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not
escape." The believer possesses a peace with God. He's just going
to admit, I just don't trust myself. I can't trust myself.
There's nothing in me to trust. If salvation is not by grace,
I put a little article in there by Todd Nybre. I thought that
was excellent. Read it if you haven't gotten a chance. That's
what he said. If I've got to do anything for
my salvation, I'm going to hell. If salvation is not totally by
the grace of God apart from anything that I can do, I don't have any
hope whatsoever. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. Oh, how often do we need to have
these words repeated to us? I've got an old man, and you
do too, you that know him. You've got an old man in you,
and here's what that old man tells you all the time. You've
got reason to be troubled. Now, you need to worry about
this. That's what that old man is going to say. Don't let your
guard down. Keep looking at your circumstances. And I'm telling you, that old
man has one purpose, to destroy the peace of my new man. They hate one another. I've got
two men living in me and they don't get along. Oh, in the midst
of this struggling, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter reminds
me of the words of our Lord, I'll never leave you. I'll never
leave you. I need to hear that again and
again and again. I will not leave you. Verse 28,
you've heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again
unto you. If you loved me, you'd rejoice,
because I said I'd go unto the Father, for my Father is greater
than I. He said, you've heard me say
that. I told you that before. Look at 14, chapter 14, verse
2 and 3. 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." I want to believe that. I do believe that, and I want
to believe that. That's comfort to my heart. I know this. We all know this. We're going
to leave this world. We're going to die. This is the only thing that we've
got to hold on to that's got any comfort to it. It's His Word. His Word. He said, You've heard Me say
unto you, I go away and I'm coming back to get you. Whether He comes
back, in me dying before His second return or whether He comes
back in His second return, I'm going to see Him. We'll see the
Lord. But even having heard that truth
before, He told them again, He told them again, He told them
again. You know why? Because He knows the struggles
that we have. He knows that old warring and
fighting. Think of the things that you
know. The gospel that you've heard, years after years after
years, what you've been taught, and the Spirit of God that's
truthfully taught you. But do you not still struggle?
You still struggle. I need to hear. I need to be
reminded. I need comfort. He said, if you loved Me, you'd
rejoice. Because I said, I go unto the
Father. for my Father is greater than
I." Now, the Lord is not saying there that they didn't love Him
at all. He knew they did. He had given
them a love for Himself. But what He was saying when He
said, If your love for Me, was not under the struggles with
doubt. And we do have unbelief. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. The struggles. Not a believer
in this room is going to say, I never find myself with any
struggles at all. That's not true. Yes, you do. If you know him, you do. I'm
telling you, I'm convinced. You know the scripture that says,
if you be without chastisement, I'm telling you, here's the greatest
chastisement right here in the heart. That struggling with that
old man and the doubt, you hate it. You hate it when you find
yourself doubting and struggling with him. If you love me without
the struggle of doubt, if you perfectly understood my person,
my nature, my work, If you loved Me with unclouded eyes and heart
as He does the Father, you'd rejoice. You'd rejoice. You'd rejoice to hear and see
Me go to the Father. You would behold your Lord and
your God entering into the very presence of the Father just like
you shall. You'd rejoice. You'd perfectly
perceive that I have eternally put away your guilt. You know
that. You that believe, you know that. But oh, I need to hear
it again. The Lord said, I've honored the
law. I've satisfied justice for you.
Put away your guilt, the Father and the Spirit of God, covenant
God, covenant mercy. You'd rejoice. Because I said,
I go unto the Father. One of these days, by the grace
of God, we're going to see Him. We're going to know Him as He
is and be like Him. And we're going to know that. Without the
presence of sin, But my Father, He said, greater than I. Now,
you know, without a doubt, as to His deity, the Father is not
greater than the Son concerning His deity. We are one God, equal,
equal. God Almighty, Father, Son, Spirit. One God. But the Lord Jesus Christ
is now speaking in His humility, in His taking upon Himself The
form of sinful flesh. Our elder brother. I don't even
know if that's a good term. I've said that before. I don't
know if that is. Our Lord. Our God in our flesh. Let me
say it like that. Father, that I submit myself
to as your representative. Establishing righteousness for
you. When our Lord said that the Father
was greater than He, He is speaking as the One who answers for them. That is what He meant. Revealed
in His manhood, holy manhood, the Father's servant, you ought
to rejoice, He said, because I go to the Father. If you love Me, you would rejoice
because I said, I go unto the Father, for my Father is greater
than I. Verse 29, And now I told you before it come to pass, that
when it is come to pass, you might believe. Now he's telling
her, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going to send you the comforter.
You ought to rejoice if you love me with unclouded eyes. You'd
rejoice. I know you're sorrowful now.
I'm going to send you the comforter. He's going to remind you everything
I told you. He knew how they felt. He said, now I'm telling
you this, before it comes to pass, what do you mean? Just
turn back to John 13, verse 19. Here's the Lord. Let's read 18
and 19. I speak not of you all. He just
washed their feet. I speak not of you all. I know
whom I've chosen. But that the Scripture may be
fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel
against me, and I tell you before it come to pass." What he's telling
me, he said, I'm going to be betrayed. One of you is going
to betray me. And I'm telling you this before
it happens. So that when it does happen,
you're not going to be, you know, just taken back like, what's
going on? I don't know what's happening here. I'm telling you
this before it comes to pass. We're now back in John 14. Verse
29, And now I told you before it come to pass, that when it
is come to pass, you might believe. Hereafter, I will not talk much
with you. For the prince of this world
cometh and hath nothing in me. Now, he said, you're getting
ready. I'm telling you I'm leaving.
I'm telling you that I'm going back to the Father. I'm telling
you that I'm going to be betrayed. And before it comes to pass now,
when you see it unfolding, when you see it happening, remember,
I told you all this. He's setting forth his omniscience
here. I'm telling you this is what's
going to happen. And when you see it, I'm leaving you peace. So you
can say, and can you imagine, they still struggled. They still
were scattered. I'm telling you now, Satan is
going to assault through the betrayer, through Judas, me. He's going to bruise my heel.
I'm going to crush his head. I'm telling you now before it
happens. I'm going to be made sin. I who have no personal sin
to answer for. Hereafter I will not talk much
with you, for the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing
in me." There's nothing in me to react to Satan's temptations. There's nothing there. But I'm
going to lay down my life for you. Freely. Willingly. Not as a sinner, I
said before. No. Not as a sinner. A sinner
is one that is disobedient. But it is sin. Made sin. But that the world, verse 31,
may know that I love the Father. And as the Father gave me commandment,
what is it? What is that commandment? Redeem
my sheep. Save my sheep. A sheep given
to Him. Finish the work that I have given
you. that the world may know that I love the Father, and as
the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. He said,
My meat, my food, is to do the will of Him that sent me. Let's
go. Let us go hence. Oh, believer,
truly. Were they with Him in the garden?
Yes, they were. Physically, they are going to
witness the crucifixion, and in time, they are going to flee.
But spiritually, does not the Scripture bear out that all of
God's people chosen in Him, think back on what old brother Scott
taught us through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, where the
Lord puts His people That's where He keeps His people. Placed in Him in electing grace,
the Father has eternally looked upon Christ with all of His sheep
in Him, chosen in Him. Even in the fall, That would
never negate being found in covenant mercy in Christ. When He went
to the garden before you were ever physically born, all of
His people were in Him. When He went to the cross, Paul
the Apostle says, I was crucified with Him. That verse of Scripture
was put there by the Spirit of God to teach us something of
our oneness with Him. When He died, we died. You say,
well, I wasn't there. Yes, you were. Yes, you were. You know Him, you were. If you
know Him, if you're His, you were. When He was buried, I was
buried. When He was raised, I was raised. When He ascended, I ascended.
He is seated in the heavenlies right now. We are glorified in
Him right now. I know. That is more than our minds can
figure out. I understand that. But it does not make it untrue.
It is the truth. He said, ìLet us go hence.î May
the Lord bless these words to our heart for Christís sake.
Amen.