John, chapter 14, please. I've entitled this message, The
Peace That Christ Gives. Let's read verse 27 of John,
chapter 14. Peace I leave with you, and 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. The peace that Christ
gives. This is what he leaves with us. This is what he gives to all
of his children. Not the kind of peace the world
gives, he says, but my peace I give to you. If you don't got
it. He never gave it. If you do not have this peace,
as yet, you're a stranger to the Lord Jesus Christ, because
he said, I give unto you this peace, my peace, I give unto
you. Now, God is called seven times
in the New Testament, the God of peace. The Lord Jesus Christ
is called the Prince of peace. The Holy Spirit came in the form
of a dove, the symbol of peace. Now, peace is a feeling. What is peace? It's a feeling.
And it's a wonderful feeling to be at peace, to not be troubled,
not afraid, no worries, no anxiety. You know, somebody that has peace
also has joy. We read in the scriptures of
the joy and peace of believing. Paul said in Romans 14, 17, the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink. It's not do's and don'ts.
It's righteousness. And what comes from righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Verse 27, let's read it again.
Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not
as the world giveth, give I unto you. Now, there is a peace that
the world gives. If you've got so much in the
bank, you can have peace. Found out that's not true just
in the last few weeks, haven't we? If you reach this goal, you'll
have peace. No, by the time you reach it,
there'll be a thousand other things to trouble you. The world can wish you peace.
Good luck. All the best. May you have peace. I hope all is well. I wish you
the best. But they're unable to confer
upon you that peace, a wish and nothing more. And then there's
the piece of ignorance that the world provides. I had no doubt
that many woke up one beautiful morning in Sodom and look forward
to the activities of that day. And they had no idea of what
was getting ready to take place. That's the piece of ignorance.
And then there's the piece of religion. Would you turn with
me to Jeremiah, chapter six? Jeremiah chapter 6, verse 14, they, the false prophets and
the false priests, the ones who deal falsely, as verse 13 says,
Jeremiah chapter 6, verse 14, they have healed also the hurt
of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, peace, peace,
everything's okay when there is no peace. Now that would describe the religion
of this world. They talk of peace, peace when
there is no peace. Now I want you to understand
this. Any peace that you or I have that is not founded upon free
grace is a false peace. Any peace that you experience
that is not founded on salvation being altogether by the grace
of God. Unmerited favor. Any peace that
you experience that's not founded upon the free grace of God is
a false peace. It's a peace, peace when in fact
there is no peace. Now, our Lord said, My peace
I give unto you. That's the peace that he had
when he lay in the ship asleep while the storm was raging. He wasn't worried about a thing. He really did not worry. He was
at peace. He knew he was in control of
all things. This is the peace that Paul and
Silas experienced in prison at Philippi, when after they had
been beaten at midnight, they sang praises unto God. And he
wasn't phony. They had reason to praise him.
And they had such peace, even as they were in stalks. This
is the peace that Paul spoke of when he said, but none of
these things moved me, these bonds and afflictions that are
awaiting me. I'm not moved by these things.
Neither do I count my life important to me. that I might finish my
course with joy." This is the peace that Daniel had when he
was brought into that lion's den. This is the peace that Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego had when they were in the fiery furnace
with the fourth one like them, made like unto the Son of God.
This is the peace Moses experienced when he was in that house and
God had said, you put the blood over the door and when I see
the blood, I'll pass over you. And Moses believed. This is the
peace that Paul spoke of when he exclaimed, if God be for us,
who can be against us? That's the same thing David spoke
of when he said, the Lord's on my side. I will not fear what man can
do to me. This is what made Paul say, He
that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Come on, bring
it on, he says. Who's going to lay anything to
the charge of God's elect? God justify it. Who is he that
can condemn? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather,
that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God. And
this is a peace that we possess even in darkness. Listen to this
scripture from Isaiah, chapter 50, verse 10, who is among you
that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, you
believe the gospel, but walketh in darkness. And have no light,
let him trust in the name of the Lord. and stay upon his God. Well did Simeon say as he held
the Lord Jesus as an infant in his arms, Lord, now let us now
thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The Lord said, my peace, the
peace that I have, And I love to think of the peace of the
Lord. He never knew what it was to worry. He never knew what
it was to be anxious. He had the peace of believing
that his Father controlled everything. My peace I give to you. Now, the peace that Christ gives
is both an objective and a subjective peace. It's both objective. It's there whether I Feel it
or not, and it's subjective. It's something that I feel. Peace
is a feeling. It's granted on something, but
peace is indeed a feeling. Turn with me to Romans chapter
5. Romans chapter 5. Now we need to read verse 25
of chapter 4. Before we read chapter five verse one, but it
says who speaking of the Lord Jesus who was delivered. For our offenses. That's why
I went to the cross. My offenses became his. And he
was raised again for our justification. You see, when he was raised from
the dead, God justified everybody he died for. Therefore, Being justified. By faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, not being justified. God is at
peace with me. Being justified, I have never
done anything wrong, and I have only done that which is right. That's what it is when you're
justified. Just as if you've never sinned, that's no good.
That won't work. Because if it's just as if you've
never sinned, that means you've still sinned. I thought about
that movie. This may be a crude illustration,
but it's what I thought about. I thought about that movie, Deliverance.
I remember that always. There's a murder in it, and at
the end, the hand popped up out of the water. Did y'all ever
see that movie? It's not making any sense to you if you didn't
see the movie. But they committed the murder.
They hid it. Nobody could find it, but it
was still there. And at the end, you see that
hand popping up out of the water. And you think of justification
is not just a covering for my sin. No, if I'm justified, that
means I've never sinned. If I'm justified, that means
I'm not guilty. Now, God is at peace with me. I've never sinned. That's an
objective peace. He is at peace with me, and I
have peace by faith, believing what I cannot see. I believe. I can't look at myself and say,
well, you don't have any sin. No, as a matter of fact, I see
the opposite when I look at myself. When I look at myself, all I
see right now is sin, vanity, and vexation of spirit. That's
an accurate assessment concerning me. I see that, but I believe
that I am without sin before God. I see nothing in myself,
but I believe I'm perfect in God's sight, justified, therefore
I have peace. I have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. I feel peace having been justified,
and my peace is the peace that Christ has. He said, my peace. You think of the peace of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He said, my peace I give unto you. Now, Christ,
first of all, had the peace of perfect obedience. It's hard to get hold of this. Well, it's not hard to get hold
of this because of who it is. Christ had nothing to feel guilty
about. And you know what it is to feel
guilty? Christ had nothing to feel guilty
about. He said, I do always those things
that please the Father. He said, which of you can convince
me of sin? He lived a life of perfect obedience
to God's holy law. Now, let me ask you a question.
If you have perfect obedience, if you've obeyed the law perfectly,
what do you have to fear? What do you have to be anxious
about? What do you have to fear? Nothing. If you're perfect before
God's holy law. Now, his obedience is mine. And that's what a believer confesses
in baptism. Here's what I'm confessing in
believers baptism. I'm confessing that his life
His righteousness, His perfect obedience, is the only hope I
have. That's my obedience before God.
His death is my sin payment. His resurrection is my justification. That's what I confess in Believer's
Baptism. I'm saying His obedience is my
obedience. That's my righteousness before
God. Christ had the peace of perfect
obedience. He had nothing to feel guilty
about. Now, you think of your own experience.
I can't think of anything that I don't feel guilty about. I
really mean that. Everything I do, everything I
think, every prayer I pray, every sermon I preach, I'm talking
about it all. I can find a whole lot to feel real guilty about.
As a matter of fact, it's not that I can just find a whole
lot to feel real guilty about. Every bit of it is something
to feel guilty about. Yet in Christ, I have no guilt. There is the peace of being debt
free. Of not owing anything, and that's
what his blood actually accomplished. Turn to Colossians chapter one.
This is the peace that Christ gives. Colossians chapter one. Verse 20. And having made peace, do you
see that? Having made peace. I think one of the most ridiculous
statements anybody ever says is if you made your peace with
God, you can't make your peace with God. You can't do it. God's
holy. But look what this says. Here's
what our Lord did. Having made peace through the
blood of his cross by him. to reconcile all things unto
himself. By him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. And how did his blood make peace?
How did His blood make peace? It says, having made peace through
the blood of His cross. His blood actually removed God's
reason for anger. His blood actually washed away
my sin. There's nothing there. So much so that when God sees
me, and how God sees is the way it really is, the way you see
me, It's not real. The way I see you, it's not real.
The way God sees me, that's the way it really is. And through
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God sees me as holy. And if God sees me as holy, you
know what? I am holy. Unblameable. And if God sees
me as unblameable, you know what? I am unblameable. and unreprovable,
nothing even to reprove me of in His sight. And if God sees
me that way, that's the way I am. That's what the blood of the
cross accomplished. I love that Scripture in Hebrews
10, verse 14 says, by one offering, talking about His death, by one
offering, He hath perfected. Have you heard that word? Perfected
forever. Something that needs no repetition.
He's perfected forever them that are sanctified. I'm reconciled. I do not owe any debts. Now, I pray every day. God, be merciful. God, be propitious. That's the word, propitious.
Let the reason for your anger be removed through the blood
of your son. God be propitious to me, the
sinner. And his blood did, and I go down
to my house justified. Turn with me to Genesis chapter
22 for a moment. Genesis 22. Verse one. And it came to pass after these
things that God did tempt Abraham and said unto him, Abraham. And
he said, behold, here I am. And he said, take now thy son,
thy only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon
one of the mountains, which I shall tell thee of. And Abraham rose
up early in the morning. He didn't delay his obedience.
He saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him and
Isaac, his son, and claved the wood for the burnt offering and
rose up and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then
on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw that place
afar off. You can imagine how it must have
ripped his guts out to think about what he's getting ready
to do. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here
with the ash, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and
will come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of
the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took
the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both of them together.
And Isaac, who else, took a wood, took wood
up a hill for his own sacrifice. You can see what a type of the
Lord Jesus he is here. And Isaac spake unto Abraham,
his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son.
He said, Behold the fire and the wood. But where's the lamb
for a burnt offering? I know we're going up here for
a sacrifice. Where's the lamb? He didn't realize that he himself
was to be the sacrifice. And look at Abraham's answer.
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide. himself a land
for a burnt offering. Now here's where I personally
find peace. God provides the land. There's nothing I'm called on
to provide. He provides everything He requires. You get peace from that? If one
thing is required of me, my peace is gone. All that He requires,
He provides. God will provide for Himself
a lamb for a burnt offering. You see, for God to do something
for me, He first had to do something for Himself. He provided for
Himself this lamb for the burnt offering. God's justice had to
be satisfied. My sin must be punished. Nothing
I can do to satisfy God's justice. Nothing I can do to make payment.
But God provided for himself the lamb for the burnt offering. And God provided himself as the
lamb for the burnt offering. Any peace from that? Oh, the peace that comes from
His blood. Isaiah said the chastisement
of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Now, His peace was a peace of
conscience. Not one time during His life
upon earth did He ever feel guilt. You know why? Because there was
nothing for Him to feel guilty about. And that peace is the
only answer to a clear conscience to every believer. Here's why
I have a clear conscience. Christ made my peace with God,
and I do not have anything to feel guilty about. His obedience,
His righteousness, His shed blood satisfies my conscience. This
really does. I've got a satisfied conscience.
I really believe that the blood of Christ makes me holy in God's
sight. And then there's the piece of
Romans 8, 28. Turn with me there for a moment. This is the peace
of Christ. We quote this all the time, but
let's read it in bold letters. Paul says, and we know. They
may not, but we do. And we know that all things Work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. Now, if that's the case. And
it is. If all things really means all
things, does it? Does it? Does it? Does all things mean all things?
Yes. That being the case. What is
there to be anxious about? Is God sovereign? Then what do
we have to worry about? That is the peace of Christ. What peace the Lord Jesus displayed
at all times, the peace of knowing who he was. When he was in the
garden and the soldiers came to arrest him and take him, he
said to them, I love to think of the peacefulness of his voice.
Whom seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.
He said, I am. And remember what they did? They
went backwards and fell to the ground at this peaceful voice. He's letting them know, you can't
take me. I'm giving up myself. When Pilate
says, speak a sound not to me, Don't you know that I have power
to crucify you and I have power to release you? And Jesus answered
and said, Thou couldst have no power at all over me, except
it be given thee from above. You know, when our Lord was going
through that wretched agony on the cross, being made sin
for his people, even then he was in control of everything.
And when that soldier lifted up his hand with the hammer to
drive the nails through his hands and through his feet, you know
who gave him the strength even at that time to do it? The Lord
Jesus Himself. Now the peace the Lord Jesus
had was the peace of knowing He was God in absolute control
of everything. And the peace that he has is
the peace we have. This is our peace. He is in control. The peace of his province. He said, my peace I give to you.
That's the peace of harmonious relationships. My peace I give
to you. Peace with God. Turn with me
to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Not mad at God. Now, have you
ever been mad at God? Sure you have. Sure you have. Somebody says, I've never been
mad at God. Then you've never had your... Well, you're lying for
one thing. You're lying. Because anytime
you get mad, you're mad at God. Because God's the first cause
behind everything. Maybe not get in your way and so on. That's
an awful way to be. Look here in 2 Corinthians chapter
5, beginning in verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself. He's removed his raisin for anger
by Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation
to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them, and has committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you
in Christ's stead, you be reconciled to God. Don't be mad at God. Drop your arms. Put up the white
flag of surrender. You'd be reconciled to God. And
here's why. For He, God, hath made Him, the
Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin for us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the very righteousness of God in Him. God's at peace with me. And when
I see God's peace with me, through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
what he did for me. I've got to say this, I've got
to bring this out. This religious world says that
Jesus Christ was made sin for everybody and died for everybody
and makes everybody's salvation possible if they'll just do their
part. How much peace do you get out
of that? I don't get any peace from that.
You know why? Because it's not the gospel. It's a lie. It's
not true. There's no sure foundation of
peace there. If he can die for somebody, he
may wind up in hell. There's no peace there. That's a lie. It's just not so. Here's where
my peace comes from. Christ died for me. He put away
my sin. And if he died for me, I must
be saved. Well, how do you know he died
for you? Here's the only evidence I've got. I believe on him. I
do. I believe on him. Faith is the
evidence of things not seen. I do, in fact, believe on him. I love that last verse of that
song, Kara, saying, you know, here's what I think. As poor
as my thoughts are, here's what I think. I believe on him. I'm not God's enemy. I'm God's friend. I'm for Him. I'm for everything He does. I'm
for everything He says. I'm for it. I'm His friend. He's reconciled to me and I'm
reconciled to Him. And then there's the peace that
we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. He said, My
peace I give to you. Not as the world give I unto
you. My peace I give unto you. Peace with my brothers and sisters,
there's nothing to be jealous of. When people are in conflict,
somebody's got something somebody else wants. That's not so with
believers in this sense. We're all complete in Christ.
I don't have anything to be jealous of because I've got everything.
You don't have anything to be jealous of because you've got
everything in Christ Jesus. We're not in competition. As
a matter of fact, when you're blessed, I'm blessed. When you
suffer, I suffer. We're one in Christ Jesus. Truly,
we're fellows in the same ship. What a wonderful thing fellowship
is. Fellows in the same ship. That's what every believer is.
And we have peace with one another. We're truly one in Christ Jesus.
And that's what makes us, as Paul said, to be kind one to
another. Tenderhearted. Forgiving one
another. Even as God, for Christ's sake,
hath forgiven us. Oh, the peace that believers
enjoy together. And it's something that takes
some effort, too. He said, endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace. It's something worth working
for, isn't it? Peace with one another. There's a very real sense in
which we are at peace with the world. Now, what do I mean by
that? What if that's over? What are
wars over? Well, they've got something we
want. Therefore, we're going to go to war. We're trying to
protect something. Do you know, I can say, by the grace of God,
I can say this world has nothing I want. My citizenship is in heaven. That's where my citizenship is.
And I'm not going to get too upset over what this world wants.
Our Lord said, blessed are the peacemakers. We're the true peacemakers
in this world. We preach the gospel of peace.
The only way you're ever going to have any peace, true peace,
the peace which Christ gives is believing this gospel from
this word that I'm preaching to you this morning. There's
peace in believing the gospel. Oh the joy and the peace of believing. Now our Lord said peace I leave
with you, my peace I give unto you. Turn with me to Ephesians
chapter 2. I want to read a few scriptures regarding peace. Verse 13. But now In Christ Jesus, you
who sometimes or before time were far off are made nigh by
the blood of Christ. You know, I can't get any nearer
to God than I am right now. I can't get any dearer to God
than I am right now through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You who were far off, you're
made nigh. I'm in the very presence of God.
Verse 14, He is our peace. Can't you say amen to that? He
is our peace, who hath made both one, talking about Jew and Gentiles,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us,
having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make it himself of two, one
new man, so making peace. and that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby,
and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and
to them that were nigh. For through him we both have
access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore you are
no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and of the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. Turn to Galatians chapter 6, verse 16. As many as walk according to
this rule. That word rule is where we get
the word canon from, this standard of measurement. You know what
a ruler is? It's a rod, you measure something. And this is the measuring
stick. And this is where a believer
will find peace, walking according to this rule. As many as walk
according to this rule, let peace be on them, and mercy be upon
the Israel of God. Now, what rule is he talking
about? As many as walk according to this rule. Verse 14, God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The only thing The only one that I have confidence in is Jesus
Christ and what he accomplished on Calvary's tree. I don't have
any confidence in anything else. I'm not glorying in anything
else. I'm not hoping in anything else. When he said it is finished,
there's my salvation. I'm not glorying in anything
else. And then he says in verse 15,
for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything
nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. A new creature. I would not have any peace if
I was looking at my old man being reformed and turned and changed
because it wouldn't be real. It's not real. Here's my peace. I have a faith. I have a new
heart that was not there before. It's not my old heart being reformed
because my old heart is beyond being reformed. It's no good.
Here's my peace. I'm a new creation in Christ
Jesus. The faith, and here's how I know that. The faith that
I have, I know that He gave it to me. I know it didn't come
from my free will. It didn't come because I worked it up.
I know He gave it to me. It's what was not there before.
The love that I have to God. The love that I have to the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I do adore the Lord Jesus Christ. He's altogether
lovely to me. And the reason I love Him is
because He gave me that love. He put that there which was not
there before. And I get peace from that. I
get peace from the fact that He's my righteousness before
God. The faith that I have, it's what He gave me. If you put me
in the equation anywhere that somehow I did something to get
this, you take away all my peace. Now, as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be on them and mercy upon the Israel of
God. Colossians chapter three, verse 12. Put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all
these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness,
and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Now that word
rule means be the umpire. Be the umpire. That's how you
can decide. The peace of God. The peace that Christ gives.
Look in Philippians chapter 4. Beginning in verse 4. Rejoice
in the Lord always. And again, I say, just in case
you didn't hear me. Rejoice, always, always. Rejoice. Glory in Him. Let your moderation. That means your... That's not talking about moderation
in eating and drinking. That's not what the word means,
although that's a good thing. But here, moderation, one fellow
called it a sweet reasonableness. Not holding people's feet to
the fire. A merciful and a gracious attitude. That's what the word means. Let
your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord's at hand.
Be careful for nothing. Don't be anxious or worried about
a thing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. And the
peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Now, the Lord said, Peace I leave with you. My peace I
give unto you. Now, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Now,
that's the only way I can understand what he means by let not your
heart be troubled, is look where he said it earlier. We saw this
a few weeks ago, but look in John chapter 14. Once again,
back to our text. Look in verse 1. He says, let
not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. Now, read verse 38 of the previous chapter. Remember,
these chapter divisions are man-made. Men put them there. God didn't
put them there. Jesus answered him, wilt thou lay down thy life
for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto you, the cup shall
not flow till you have denied me three times. Let not your
heart be troubled." How can that be? Because my salvation is not in
my strength to confess or my cowardice to deny. My salvation
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Peter did deny him. Peter was brought to repentance
by the grace of God. The Lord prayed for him. He said,
I prayed for you that your faith fail not. But our Lord still
said, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Oh, the joy and peace of believing. Believe on Christ. And you will
have peace. And if you have no peace, it's
because you are not believing. At Philippian Jailer, he saw Paul and Silas sing praises
to God at midnight. I don't know what he thought
about that. It doesn't tell us whether he was impressed or whether
he disregarded it. He was a cruel jailer. But he
did see how those men had peace in the worst of circumstances.
I mean, they had been beaten. They were in stalks. They were
in prison in that dungeon. And you know the story how the
Lord shook the place and the jail doors came open and the
Philippian jailer would have killed himself. And Paul said,
don't do it. Do yourself no harm. Don't hurt
yourself. We're all here. We haven't fled.
And he fell down before Paul and asked this question, sirs,
what must I do to be saved? What a question. What must I
do to be saved? What did he answer? Believe. on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt, thou shalt be saved. Now, I know this. Everybody in this room is commanded
by God right now to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
God's command to you, and your right to believe comes with His
command. on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved. And you believe you're going
to have this peace that our Lord speaks of. My peace, I leave
you. My peace, I give to you, not
as the world giveth, give I unto you. May God enable each person
here to enter in to the joy and peace of believing. Let's pray together.