Turn, if you will, back to John's
Gospel, chapter 14. As we mentioned in the reading
a moment ago, the faithful shepherd is now alone with his sheep,
the eleven. In chapter 13, we're told that
Judas went out. In verse 30 of that chapter,
he, that is Judas, having received the salt, went immediately out,
and it was night. Therefore, when he was gone out,
Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified
in him. Notice, if you will, in chapter
14, the last sentence of verse 27. Verse 27, the last sentence
there. Our Lord, speaking to his disciples,
says, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. That's the second time in this
chapter that we find those words. Look, if you will, at verse 1
again, the most familiar verse. Let not your heart be troubled,
he says there, the first time. That's sort of in itself an illustration
of the life of the believer, isn't it? The beginning and the
end. We're told we must through much
tribulation inherit the kingdom of God. Beginning the life, when
we take up our cross to follow Christ until we're called to
glory. In Revelation chapter 7, we're
told one of the characteristics, one of the truths concerning
that multitude. I like that. The multitude of
redeemed sinners around the throne of God and of the land, we're
told concerning them, these are they which came out of great
tribulation. Are you like me? When we're hit with an unexpected,
sudden, fierce trial, temptation, we're tempted to think, I can't
get through this. I just can't bear this. How will
I get through this? But we read of that multitude
before the throne who are just like you and I, When they were
here, these are they which came out. Yes, they weren't exempt
from tribulation. They all endured great tribulation,
but they all came out. They all came out on the other
side, and now they stand before the Lamb of God. Our Lord here
tells them that one would betray him, And they looked on one another
in chapter 13, asking, Lord, is it I? Is it I? Am I the traitor? And then in chapter 16, he tells
them, you'll all forsake me. You'll all forsake me. One will
betray me, but you'll all forsake me and leave me alone. He also tells them in chapter
15 that they would be treated no differently than their master. If they've hated me, they'll
hate you as well. He said the time will come that
they which kill you will think they're doing God's service. Saul of Tarsus did until God
saved him. But I think that which probably
depressed their spirits most of all He said, I'm going away. I'm leaving you. Look at chapter
13 again, verse 33. Little children, my little children,
yet a little while am I with you. Ye shall seek me, and as
I said unto the Jews, whither I go, you cannot come. So now
I say unto you, Look, if you will, in chapter 16. He repeats
it again in chapter 16, before his high priestly prayer,
in verse 5 of chapter 16. But now I go my way to him that
sent me, and none of you asketh me, whither goest thou? But because
I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your
heart. Hath filled your heart. I'm going
away." I can only imagine how they felt,
how confused they must have been, because remember, remember, until
after our Lord rose again, they did not understand the purpose
of his mission, though he spoke it plainly. They didn't understand
when he spoke of it not long before this. Peter said, oh,
I won't allow that. won't have that completely in
the dark. Their concept of the Messiah
was like that throughout the Jewish nation, that he would
set up an earthly kingdom and they, being Jews, would have
a prominent place in that kingdom. That's what they were looking
for. And now he says, not so. I'm leaving. I'm leaving. But more than that, They loved
him. With all their faults, with all
their failures, with all their lack of knowledge about so many things,
they loved him. He loved them. And now he says,
little children, I'm leaving you. I'm going away. I'm going back to the Father.
And what will this little band do without the captain of their
salvation? Surely they thought, what will
become of us without him? These three and a half years
that we've followed him, we've been safe, secure. He's always
taken the lead. He's always protected us. Remember
when he came down from the Mount of Transfiguration? with Peter
and James and John. The rest of the disciples were
at the foot of the mountain. When they came down, we're told
that scribes had them encircled, asking them questions. And our
Lord came up. The captain came up and says,
why do you question with them? And a man in the multitude spoke
up and said, well, I brought my son who's possessed of a devil
to your disciples that they might cast him out and they couldn't
do it. Will you help me? Will you help
me? And he said, O thou of little
faith. And after he had cast out the
devil, When they were alone in the house, his disciples asked
him, Lord, why couldn't we cast him out? And he said, because
of your unbelief. They knew without him, they could
do nothing. And yet, yet, with all that being
so, he says to them, let not your heart be troubled. Isn't
that amazing? Let not your heart be troubled. Singular. Not hearts. Heart. Peter, let not your heart be
troubled. And I know I've pointed this
out to you before, but it's worth being reminded of. There shouldn't
be a chapter break here between the end of chapter 13 and chapter
14. Look at it, verse 37 of chapter 13. Peter said unto him, Lord,
why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy
sake. Jesus answered, will thou lay
down thy life for my sake? Verily I say unto you, the cock
shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice. Let not your
heart be troubled. So he spoke to Peter, but he
spoke to them all collectively, didn't he? He spoke to them all
as one. Though they should all forsake
him and flee, let not your heart be troubled. And brothers and
sisters in Christ, he speaks to you and he speaks to me this
morning. Let not your heart be troubled. Let me share something with you.
I read this the other day. This man wrote, sometimes I get
weary and despondent. It appears that my labors in
the gospel are vain. My preaching often falls upon
deaf ears. The outward visible results of
our ministry are disappointing. Part of this despondency arises
from sinful pride. The other part has its roots
in sinful unbelief. These feelings of despondency
are contrary to the gospel of the grace of God, dishonoring
to Christ our Lord, and damaging to the testimony of the gospel.
Our Lord knew that as long as we were in this world being weak
and sinful men, we would be terribly prone to anxiety, self-pity,
and feelings of emptiness and uselessness. Therefore, he gave
this gentle word of comfort, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in God. That's from Mr. Fortner's Grace
for Today, one of his readings. I appreciate his honesty. I'm
glad I'm not the only one that feels that way. And our Lord,
knowing that, says, let not your heart be troubled. And look at
the cure for the trouble of heart that he speaks of. Look at the
antidote, if you will. He says, you believe in God,
believe also in me. That's it. That's it. Believe God, he says, and believe
me too. Or, you do believe God and you
do believe me, continue to do so, he said. Believe me, as he
said on down in the chapter, I'm the truth. It's contrary
to the very nature of the Son of God to tell an untruth. He
couldn't do it. To tell a lie is a sin, and in
Him there is no sin. Everything I'm telling you, He
says, is absolutely so. I'm going to heaven. To prepare
a place for you, that's true. And I'm coming back for you,
that's absolutely true. These words in chapter 14, let
not your heart be troubled, are to the New Testament, I suppose,
what Psalm 23 is to the Old Testament. What I mean by that, how many
troubled hearts Has these words spoken comfort to? Only God knows. Only God knows. How many times when a child of God laid
in a hospital and read these words or had them read to him,
did they comfort his heart? How many times when full of fear
and doubts, Has God the Holy Spirit brought these words to
their heart? Don't be troubled. Don't be troubled. Don't be afraid. Believe me. Believe your God. Believe your
Redeemer. In sickness, in sorrow, in death,
let not your heart be troubled. With that in mind, let's look
again at verse 27. This will be our text. This is
our Lord's legacy to his church because this is his, if you will,
last will and testament. And among those things that he
wills to his church is this, peace I leave with you. My peace
I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. I'm going away. And I don't have any silver or
gold to leave you. I can't will you that. The son
of man didn't even have a place to lay his head. He didn't own
anything. Think about that. He didn't own
anything. He couldn't will any material
possessions to them. Oh, but he was leaving them something
more than all the silver and all the gold in this world is
worth. He says, I'm leaving you my peace.
I'm leaving, but I'm leaving my peace with you. Let's consider
that first. Peace I leave with you. It was a common expression, salutation
among the Jews of that day, and possibly even in our day, when
they would meet someone, a friend on the street, they would speak
these words, peace be to you, peace be to you. And when they
would depart from someone, they would say the same thing, peace
be to you. And what they meant by that is
may all the mercies and blessings of God be upon you. They would
speak it coming and going, but they couldn't give it. They would
depart with the words, peace be to you, but they couldn't
leave peace with them. Oh, but Christ can. Christ can,
and he does, doesn't he? Look, if you will, again at verse
18 in chapter 14. Our Lord said, at verse 18, I
will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. And of course,
He's speaking here, He'll come to them by His Holy Spirit. God
the Holy Spirit. I hear those people who speak
about the Holy Spirit perhaps more than anyone else and refer
to Him as an it. How little they know. No, it's
he. It's he. He's as much God as
God the Father and God the Son. I will come to you by my Spirit.
But he says, I will not leave you comfortless. You know what
the word is for comfortless? Perhaps it's on the margin of
your Bible. I will not leave you as orphans. That's the word. I'm not going to leave you as
orphans. You're my children. I'm your elder brother. I will
not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. It's true
I'm leaving, but I'm leaving this behind, my peace. My peace. Real peace for real
sorrow. Real peace that gives real comfort. Isn't that a blessing? Real peace
in time of real fear. This is not a pretense. I've
spoken to you about when I was a young boy and for several years
we lived up a hollow. And I lived, we lived in the
last house in the hollow. My, the road ended And there
was my house, the house we lived in. And often, often, I'd be
caught out after dark. And that thing was a mile or
so long. And I'd be walking up that hollow. And I'm saying to
myself, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of a ghost. I'm
not afraid of a werewolf. But I was lying to myself. I
was scared to death. I was scared to death, just pretending
that I wasn't. Oh, this peace that our Lord
gives his people, the peace that our Lord leaves with his own,
it's not a pretense, is it? Every child of God here knows
it so. They know it so. They've experienced
it. How often? How often? And I would venture, and it's
not a great venture, but I would say that even now, God may be
bringing back to your remembrance that storm, that attack on your faith,
that brokenness of heart, something that just crushed you, Oh, but
He came to you. I'm not going to leave you like
an orphan. And He's come to you and does for you what only He
can. Wraps His omnipotent arms around
you and whispers in your ear, I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. Man may, companions may, father
and mother may, but I will never leave you. And he speaks peace
to your heart that surpasses understanding, does he not? That's
the peace that he leaves. as the will, his will rather,
to his children. Listen to these words from Isaiah
chapter 26. Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in
thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever,
for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. And notice the second
thing there in verse 27 in John 14. He says, my peace I give unto
you. I give unto you. The giver of
this peace is Christ, again referring to a will. Someone in their will
may bequeath something to a son or a daughter, and I've heard
of cases where they never receive it. For one reason or another,
the bequest is never carried out. They never received what
they were willed. Well, that won't happen here. No, the one that wills this to
his children now lives to see that it's executed. He's the
executor of his own testament. He says, I give unto you my peace. And if he gives it, Joe, if he
gives it, we'll have it. Again, Psalm 23, he maketh me
lie down in green pastures. He maketh me. He leadeth me beside
the still waters. When the prince of peace gives
peace, the result is peace. Oh yes, the storm will still
rage. But the peace he gives is greater. Look in chapter 16 of John's
Gospel, verse 33. Again he says, these things have
I spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world
you'll have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. I have overcome the world. Psalm 29. Listen to these words. Concerning the peace that only
God can give. This psalm speaks of the voice
of the Lord being mighty, glorious, powerful. Whatever He wills is
so. Why wouldn't it? Why wouldn't
it? He's God Almighty. But among
those things ascribed to the will, great majesty of our God,
we read this in verse 10 of Psalms 29. The Lord saideth upon the
flood, yea, the Lord saideth king forever. Oh, I like that
picture, don't you? The Lord saideth king forever. He's always king. He's always
ruling. Our God is always in the heavens. He's always doing exactly what
He pleases. And He pleases to give peace
to His children. They shall have it. The Lord
will give strength unto His people. Verse 11. The Lord will bless
His people with peace. Last Sunday night I referred
to the hymn It is well with my soul. And it just occurred to
me during the message, and I was mistaken about what that man
had lost. It had been a long time since
I'd thought of the story. And Sandy, Sandy Giddens sent
me an email later and said she had looked up. That man who wrote
to him, Horatio Spatford, Prior to writing that, he had lost
two sons to scarlet fever. He was a wealthy man, but he
lost everything in the great Chicago fire. So he put his daughters
on a boat, a ship rather, I'm sorry, to cross the sea while
he stayed to take care of business affairs. And the ship went down,
and last Sunday night I said he lost two daughters. He lost
four daughters. Four daughters. and all his possessions, and when he crossed the sea,
took the same route where the ship went down and he lost four
daughters, that's when he wrote the hymn. It is well with my soul. It is
well with my soul. Brothers and sisters, what an
illustration. What a demonstration of the truth
of our text. My soul, he gives peace that
the world cannot give and that the world can't take away. Consider
that. He says, not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. The world's peace is temporary,
isn't it? Temporary, fleeting. It's dependent
upon circumstances. The so-called peace that the
world gives depends on what I have. What I've got in my hand, what
I can see, what I can feel, what I can taste, what I can possess.
That's why it's not substantial. That's why it's here today and
gone tomorrow. It depends on what I have or
what I hope to get out there in the future. It's all a mirage. It's a mirage. It's a delusion. It's not real. That's why every
so often we hear of celebrities, as they're called, take their
lives. They commit suicide. And folks
who don't know any better will say, why? Why? Why would they do such a thing?
They'll say, they had it all. Lester, they had everything.
Why would they commit suicide? They didn't have everything.
It was a mirage. And they thought that they would
end it all. They weren't satisfied. They
got all they wanted and they still didn't have peace. They had all the money, they
had all the fame, but they still didn't have peace. Exactly what
our Lord said to the woman at the well. Drink of this water
and you'll thirst again. That's what happens. That's what
happens. People spend all their lifetime
reaching for the golden ring. And when they get it, they find
out, I'm not satisfied. This is not enough. I'm still
empty. The Lord said, drink of the water
of this world's wells often as you want, as deeply as you want,
and you'll thirst again. They cannot satisfy. But he didn't
stop there, did he? He told that woman. who had been
drinking from those earthly wells and was thirsty and disillusioned
and unsatisfied and unfulfilled, had been cast aside, this world
looked at her and said, she's nothing, she's nobody. I suspect
that's why she came to the well at noonday. Why would you want
to carry water at the hottest part of the day? Because then
it was most likely nobody would notice her, and that's how she
wanted it. She wasn't outcast. And the Lord
told that poor thirsty sinner, drink
of the water that I give you, and you'll never thirst again.
because the water that I give you will be in you, in you. The source of your peace is in
you. The reason for it is in you. Therefore, you'll not thirst
again. The third thing and the last
thing. In our Lord's words to these
disciples and to you and I, He says, this is my peace. The peace
I'm leaving, the peace I'm giving is my peace. Oh, and that rests
upon solid ground, does it not? Turn, if you will, to Romans
chapter 4. The foundation of the peace of
the believer could not be more stable. It can't be more certain
because it rests upon the solid rock, the solid rock of Jesus
Christ himself. In Romans chapter 4 verse 22,
and therefore it was imputed unto him, that is Abraham, for
righteousness. Now it was not written for his
sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also, to whom
it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus,
our Lord from the dead, who was delivered because of our offenses
and was raised again because of our justification. There's
the foundation, and look what Paul says. In light of what he
has just said, 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. Stand. And rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. The peace God gives, the peace
Christ leaves for His people comes to us on the wings. His
mercy, His grace, His great salvation that gives us peace comes to
us on the wings of justice satisfied. Satisfied. I told you before,
I think about a brother I knew back in West Virginia. And he would often, especially
during observing the Lord's Supper, I would hear him pray or make
the statement, this is a sweet savor to God. Remember, that's
what Paul said in Ephesians 5 and 2. Christ offered himself as
a sweet savor to God. Old Brother Walter would say,
God feast on it, the believer feast on it, and both are satisfied. Both are satisfied. God looked
down from glory on the sweet aroma ascending
from the perfect life and perfect death of His Son, and He said,
satisfied. Content. That's enough. Bless his holy name. That's the
foundation for the child of God. The peace of sins put away. Sins gone. Sins forgiven. How often our Lord said, thy
sins be forgiven thee. And added this, go in peace. Oh, child of God. Does that not
bring peace? Is that not bliss that a sinner
in this world like myself, like this one standing before you
right now, has peace? Peace founded upon perfect righteousness? Peace founded upon perfect satisfaction
by my Redeemer to the Lord God? That's the peace. I read the other day in one of
Mr. Spurgeon's sermons, he illustrated
it like this. Suppose there's a convict, and
we've heard of cases like this, on death row. He's been found
guilty, he's been sentenced, he's just waiting to be executed.
Shortly, he'll be taken out and executed. And then, just before
that happens, he receives a pardon. He receives a pardon. He's set free. The prison doors
open and we're told, or rather he's told, you received a pardon.
You've been pardoned. You're free to go. You're going
to have to live the rest of your life in a little cottage, a shack. Can you imagine what he'd say?
That won't be a problem. That won't be a problem. So what? I've been pardoned. I won't be
executed. I'm alive. I'm free. Brothers
and sisters in Christ, we have the precious gift of God's grace. We have God's own Son. We have the forgiveness of sins. We have His peace. What else
matters? What else can compare to that
that we might endure as we go through this world? Oh, yes. When he had by himself purged
our sins, he sat down. When we observe the Lord's Supper,
as we'll do in a few moments, remember what he said that night
when he first instituted it, just right before our text? He
said, take the bread and eat it. This is my body. Take the
wine and drink it. This is my blood which is shed
for you for the remission of sin. for the remission of sins. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
die for a hope so. That's just ridiculous. That's
dishonoring to him. He didn't die for a maybe. He
said, this is for the remission of sins. And you know what the
result of that was? He laid down his life for the
remission of sins. And you know what laying down
his life did? It remitted our sins. He took them all the way
and his own body on the tree. Turn, if you will, to the Ephesians
2. We'll wrap this up. In verse 12 of Ephesians 2, Paul reminds God's people what
they once were without Christ. Without Christ. Can there be anything sadder, anything worse
for an individual in this life to be without Christ. Does that
describe some of you? Right now, you're without Christ. Without Christ, you're without
hope, without God. Paul says, that was our case
at one time, but not now, not now. But now, verse 13, where in Christ Jesus ye sometimes
were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Now, you're
no longer strangers and aliens from the covenant of promise.
And without God, no, now you're built upon the foundation, verse
20, of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. Did it suffice for them? Oh yes,
and it'll suffice for us. Upon this rock I'll build my
church. And the gates of hell can't prevail
against it. If we could just for a moment,
for a moment, draw back the veil, the curtain
that separates the temporal from the eternal, the unseen from
the seen, the world we're going to from the world that we're
now in, and we could just get a glimpse. We'd see Peter and
Paul and John, but not just them. We'd see every believer who's
ever died more alive than you and I are right now. That's exactly
right. That's what our Lord told Martha,
didn't he, at the tomb of her dead brother. Whosoever liveth and believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever
believes in me shall never die. Shall never die. Martha, do you
believe that? Do you believe that? Do we believe
that? Oh yes, we're no longer without
hope. Now we have a good hope in Christ. It doesn't get any,
as my little granddaughter says, it doesn't get any gooder than
that. It can't get any better than that, can it? He is our
peace. Verse 14. That's why we can sing,
it is well with my soul. And it always will be. Always
will be. I've had the unpleasant experience over the years from time to time
to be in the presence of a group of professing Christians whose
constant testimony is, well, we're just not sure. You ever
been around folks like that, profess to know God, and every
time they open their mouth, it's just, woe is me, don't know if
I'll make it or not. Woe is me, woe is thee, woe is
we, woe, woe, woe, everything. Can't be sure until we get to
heaven, I've heard them say. And the journey to that place
is on precarious ground, we just don't know. And strangers still,
they seem to think that kind of talk honors God. Strange,
strange idea. Christ said, you believe God,
believe me. That's what honors Him. I read
in His Word there is now, right now, no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus. Is that true? I read that nothing
can separate me from the love of my God that's in Christ Jesus. Is that true? I read that Christ
has redeemed me from the curse of the law. Is that true? Well,
if it is, why should I not rejoice in it? Why should I not believe
my God? I've been redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ, called by his grace and given life and faith
in him. Yes, by his grace I will rejoice. We're not going to enter glory,
children of God, like a bunch of defeated intruders. Oh, no, no. Christ has given
us a right That's what we read in Revelation. A right to enter
in through the gates into the city. And we're not going to
go in. with our tails tucked between
our legs, so to speak, like we're ashamed to be there, not sure
whether we should be there. Oh, no, no, no, no. I read in
the Word of God that we'll go in rejoicing, singing, worthy
is the Lamb that was slain. He hath redeemed us. He has put away our sin. Blessed be His name forever. Worthy is the Lamb. Oh, bless
God. He says, And until we're there,
my peace I'll give unto you. My peace I'll leave with you,
not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Your many sins are all
forgiven. Oh, hear the voice of Jesus. Go on your way in peace to heaven
and wear a crown with Jesus. Paul said when he was facing
death, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day
and not to me only but to all them also that love his appearing. Amen. Lord bless you.