There's a passage of scripture
found in the 14th chapter of John, verse 27, in which our
Lord said, Peace, peace, I leave with you. My peace I give unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled,
and neither let it be afraid. Peace I give unto you. My subject today is peace. Where is it found? True, genuine,
lasting peace. Peace that passeth understanding. Peace with God. Peace within.
Peace with others. Not many people have Now, I'm
not talking about world peace. According to the Word of God,
there never will be any peace in this world. Men are just speaking
of folly when they speak of world peace. The Bible says there shall
be wars and rumors of wars as long as this world shall exist.
Because of the depravity of the human heart, There never will
be peace between sinful men, sinful nations. So I'm not talking
about world peace. And I'm not talking about ecumenical
peace. Now error and truth can never
walk together. Don't expect it to be so. Error and truth can never live
together in peace. Men who believe in an absolute
sovereign God, cannot walk in peace or live in peace with men
who build idols. Children of the lesser God and
children of the greater God cannot walk together in peace. Men who
believe the Word of God is verbally inspired, is literally actually
the Word of God, can never live in peace with men who deny the
Word of God. That's an impossibility. They're
at opposite ends of the pole. They cannot have common projects
and live in peace. Men who believe in salvation
by grace alone, by the power of God, for the glory of God,
can never live in peace with men who believe in salvation
by works and free will and human morality. You sooner expect the
Pharisees to live in peace with the Lord Jesus Christ. They couldn't
do it. They nailed Him to a cross. Nor
could the Lord Jesus Christ live in peace with the Pharisees.
He called them a generation of snakes. So I'm not talking about
world peace, which is an impossibility, and I'm not talking about ecumenical
peace, which is an impossibility if men are true to their convictions.
And my message has nothing to do with psychosomatics. Mind
over matter. One does not find true peace
through positive thinking. One does not find true peace
through some kind of arrangement of his mental powers. Mind over
matter will not bring genuine, lasting peace, only a veneer. Our Lord said, they cry, peace,
peace, but there is no peace, and they know it. They cry peace. They call me Lord with their
lips, he said, but their hearts are far from me. They say, but
they do not do. So I'm not talking about a psychosomatic
peace, positive mental attitude, positive thinking. That's not
peace. That's a veneer. That's a phony
peace. A man can have calmness on the
outside and be raging like a troubled sea on the inside. That's not
peace. And he may have peace out in
public and war at home. That's not peace. No, sir, we're
not talking about world peace or ecumenical peace. We're talking
about real peace. My Lord said, My peace I give
unto you. My peace I give unto you. Real peace, genuine peace, lasting
peace. peace and rest based on a sure
foundation, and the peace of God, which passeth understanding,
it's certainly not understood by the natural mind, nor accomplished
by the natural man, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Jesus Christ. This is the peace of God. Would you like to listen to this
message? Why don't you pull up a chair
and sit down and listen. Where do we find real peace? Peace. Rest. The peace of God. Where is it
found? Now, this peace and rest is the
common need of everybody. Every one of you out there. I've
got, I've got our number today. This is what we need. Peace.
And it's threefold. It's threefold. This foundation
has to be laid before I can go any further. What is this peace
that we need? Number one, we need peace with
God. That's our chief need. And that's
why we don't have peace in other areas, is because we don't have
peace with God. That's the reason parents and
children and husbands and wives and boss and laborers and people
on the street and neighbors can't get along. They can't get along
with God. How do they get along with one
another? They have no peace with God. Our sins have separated
us from God, and God's angry with the wicked. God's angry
with the wicked every day. Every son of Adam has a right
to fear God, has a right to fear death, has a right to fear judgment,
has a right to fear what is called after that. You know where that's
found in the scripture, after that? It's appointed unto men
once to die, and after that. Judgment. Judgment. And we have a right to be afraid.
If you die in your sins, Christ said, you can't come where I
am. Our souls are like the troubled sea because of sin. Our souls
are like the troubled sea because we have no peace with God. We're
troubled people. We have no peace with God. That's
our first need, peace with God. Secondly, now watch it. This
peace I'm talking about is not only a peace with God, a rest,
the warfare is over, the enmity is gone, but I'm talking about
a peace within. A peace within, a satisfaction. Now, only a fool is satisfied
with himself, because man at his best state is altogether
vanity. Listen to Solomon. He said, I've
tried everything. I tried wisdom, I tried art,
I tried buildings, I tried wine, I tried money, I tried gold and
silver, I tried women, I tried everything, everything. I withheld
nothing from myself as the world's richest, greatest man." And he
said, when it's all over, I find vanity, vanity, all is vanity. There's no peace or rest or joy
or satisfaction to be found in anything. that man can do, has,
or receive. Listen to Paul in Romans 7. The
things I would do, I do them not. The things I would not do,
I do. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? Listen to David. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy presence? Who's going
to ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who's going to stand there
if he could get there? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who's never lifted up his soul to vanity and never
sworn deceitfully, and that's nobody I'm talking to. Our thoughts
are carnal, our minds are worldly, covetous, our dreams are confusing,
our words are careless, our consciences depress us and trouble us. We
have no reason to be at peace in ourselves or with ourselves
or within ourselves. No peace. Thirdly, now listen,
we need peace with God, we need peace within, and we need peace
with others. Now, no man is an island, and
no man or woman lives unto himself. Our lives touch the lives of
others, and our lives are interwoven with the lives of others. And
much conflict, conflict, every day and night is a day and night
of conflict. Much conflict is experienced
in the home, on the job, at the schools, in the neighborhood,
even in the churches. Conflict, trouble, discord, misunderstanding. Constantly. We're not at peace.
People are not at peace. They have no peace. No peace. Do you have trouble forgiving?
Do you have trouble forgetting? Do you have trouble understanding? Do you have trouble with envy?
Trouble with jealousy? Do you have trouble entertaining
the best thoughts of others? Are you always suspicious? You
see, this type of relationship, and this is the type of relationship
most people have, this is what I run into all over the world.
wherever I go. I don't run into peace, rest,
joy, blessed quietness. I run into trouble and discord
and misunderstanding and unforgiving spirit, sharp words, discord,
all of these things. And this destroys peace. Men
by nature have no peace with God. Consequently, they have
no peace within. And therefore, They have no peace
among themselves. Is that not right? You know it
is. Let me say it again. First of
all, men by nature have no peace with God. And because they have
no peace with God, they have no peace in here. And because
they have no peace in here, they have no peace with anybody else.
And that's the problem. Now, you want to know where true
peace is found? And I tell you, it's not for
sale. It's not something you can do. It's not something you
can go down to a church and buy or borrow or beg or profess. It's not something another son
of Adam can give you. This peace is the gift of God. And it's in Jesus Christ. Now
listen to my text again. He said, My peace. He's the Prince
of Peace. That's what the Scripture says.
He's the Prince of Peace. I am come that you might have
life, peace. My peace I give unto you. My
peace I leave with you. Let not your heart be troubled.
Peace is found in the King of Salem, Christ our peace." I'm
not oversimplifying this thing. No, I'm not. You say, you're
oversimplifying. Not at all. Not at all. Every
man who has Christ has peace. Every man who has not Christ
has not peace. Let me read you a scripture over
here that I found in the book of Luke. Luke chapter 10. Now
listen to this. He talked to his disciples, and
he said, And into whatsoever home you enter, into whatsoever
house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the
Son of Peace be there, If the Son of Peace be in that house,
your peace will rest upon it. And if not, it shall not rest,
but it shall return to you." Christ is our peace. John 16,
33, he said this, "'These things have I spoken unto you, that
in me you might have peace.'" Where? In me, in Christ. Ephesians 2, 14 says, "'He is
our peace.'" Now let me explain that in the
light of these three things that I've mentioned. I said, I said
this, men have no peace with God. We need peace with God.
That's where it all starts. And having peace with God, we'll
have peace within. And having peace within, now
listen to me, we'll have peace with others. And Christ is our peace with
God. Romans 5.1 says, therefore being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That peace
has been purchased. That enmity has been put away.
He's put away the enmity. First Colossians 1.20 says, He
made peace through the blood of His cross and reconciled us
to God. We were without hope, without
help, without God, without Christ in this world. But He, by the
blood of His cross, hath made peace. 1 Corinthians 1.30 says
this, Of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us. All we need, wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. And having these things, we have
peace with God. If you read Hebrews 10 sometime,
you'll find peace with God. in the person and work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ, God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself. He is my peace with God. God
does not look at me and find any satisfaction. God does not
look at my deeds and find any pleasure. I beg your pardon.
But God looks at His Son, the person of His Son. He says, this
is my Son in whom I'm well pleased. And he looks at the work and
deeds of his son and the life and death of his son, and he
finds satisfaction, reconciliation. And if I'm in Christ, I'm at
peace with God because Christ is accepted and I'm accepted
in the Beloved. Peace. I have peace with God. The cannons of heaven are no
longer turned in my direction. The wrath of God is no longer
upon us who are in Christ. We have peace with God. And having
peace with God, we have peace within. Romans 5, 1. Now listen to this. There is
therefore now. Romans 5, 1 says, therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God. Romans 8, 1 says, and
therefore there is no condemnation, no condemnation to them who are
in Christ. No death to fear, no judgment
to dread, no eternity to fear. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth Christ's
dying? Who can separate us from the
love of God? If the Son shall make you free,
you're free indeed. Free from what? Free from the
curse, free from the penalty, free from the power of sin. I shall not look to the law,
or to my works, or to my religion, or to my baptism. I look to Christ. He is my peace with God. And being my peace with God,
He is my peace within. Now, I'm not going to cease to
struggle with the old man, but I reckon the old man to be dead
in Christ. I shall not cease to mortify
this flesh, but in Christ I'm righteous. I shall not cease
to repent and believe, but in Christ I'm accepted. Christ is
my righteousness, my advocate, and my high priest. And He's
my peace. And I can rest. I have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through His righteousness,
through His death, through His substitutionary work, through
His intercession, through His advocacy, through His entering
into the veil as my forerunner. That's the anchor of my soul.
God's not angry anymore. God is reconciled. And being
reconciled to God, I can have peace within. I don't have to
fear. I don't have to be afraid. He's
my Father. He's your Father. Abba Father. It's the spirit of adoption.
We cry, Abba Father. He said, cast your cares upon
Him. He cares for you. He said, if
you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
shall your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask
Him? But there's no father-son relationship except in Christ. Now watch it. having peace with
God, and peace in here, in heart and soul with God, even though
we're in the flesh, there's still peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. We have peace with others. Paul
said in Romans 12, if it be possible, as much as life in you live peaceably,
peaceably with all men, work peaceably, live peaceably, walk
peaceably. How can that be done? Well, it
can be done if you realize several things. Number one, of course,
there's peace with God through Christ and there's peace within.
You're not on the defensive if you're in Christ. You're the
son of a king. You have nothing to prove. The
battle's not yours, it's the Lord's. You have no honor to
defend, it's His honor. You have no glory to seek, it's
His glory. You have no ambition. You have
attained everything you want. You have Christ. You don't have
to prove anything. You don't have to battle anybody.
You don't have to strive for position or ambition or objectives
or anything else. You have Christ. If you have
Christ, you have all things. Paul said, I know how to be a
base and I know how to abound. Either way, it doesn't make any
difference. being content with what you have, whatsoever state
you're in, because you have Christ. There's nothing else to want.
And then secondly, I recognize God's the first cause of all
things in the lives of His people. We need not be angry or upset
with men. They're just second causes. God's
the first cause. Even the crucifixion of Christ
shows that. He said, those old wicked men
crucified Christ, they sure did, but if you'd have been there,
you'd have done it too. But it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
I'm glad he died. I rejoice that he died. If he
hadn't died, I wouldn't have a Savior. I thank God for his
mercy in Christ. No use being upset with people,
holding grudges against people. They're just doing what people
do. They're saying what people say. They're acting like people
act. And people have said and done and acted that way ever
since people have been on this earth. And you're not going to
change them. And no use carrying a grudge
or holding ill feelings or fussing and fighting with them. They're
all in the good providence of God accomplishing His blessed
will. He's the first cause. Secondly,
I recognize that men are but men. And like myself, they're
prone to sin. So God says, Be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God, for Christ's
sake, forgave you." How? As God, for Christ's sake, forgave
you. Oh, God loved me. I must love them. They're no harder to love than
I am. God Almighty forgave me. I'll forgive them if I know God.
He said, if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your father forgive yours. God knows I'm frail and I'm dust. He said that. He remembereth
that we're dust. Well, so are they. They're just
people. If you have a knowledge of God
and peace with God and peace in Him, you'll have peace with
others because you recognize like yourself. You see, those
who love most are those to whom most is forgiven. And those who
are the most sympathetic and kind and gentle are those who
know that God's been the most sympathetic, kind, and gentle
to them. And then I recognize this. I recognize this old world
fades away. Every human relationship is considered
in the light of eternity, death, and eternity, and it doesn't
amount to anything anyway. There's not one relationship
that you have on this earth that will not be dissolved except
that relationship with Christ Jesus. That's exactly right. There's
not a house you've built or a building you've built or an acre you own
or anything else that will be retained beyond the day you breathe
your last breath. And then it's just you and God.
So I tell you this, we need to look upon these things this way
right now. When it all boils down to the
fact of the matter, there's nothing but me and God right now. And
if I have peace with God, and I have peace in my heart, then
I can handle whatever this world can throw my way, and you can
too, because it doesn't amount to anything. It's not worth a
snap of your finger. It's not worth fretting over,
or quarreling over, or fighting over, or fussing over, or dividing
over. There's nothing to it. It's all
just... Material rubbish. Now, peace
is found in Christ. It's not found where most people
are looking for it. It's not found in going to church.
Oh, you'll find some temporary peace there at best. The atmosphere
of religion will only last as long as you're there, though.
And then when you've got to leave, you've got to leave sometime. You've
got to go out the door. And you lose your peace. Making a profession
of religion is not going to bring you peace. Putting on the robe
of religion will not give you a new heart. You can cover this
old flesh with the robes of religion and have a wicked, evil, black
heart underneath. That's not going to help. Getting
involved in religious activities is not going to bring you peace.
We must have peace alone within, with God, before it'll affect
our activities. Group therapy is not going to
bring you peace. Telling others about your weakness
is not going to change your nature. The only true peace, lasting
peace, genuine peace, with God, within, and with others, is found
in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that? Now here's my conclusion. I have
just a few moments left, and I'm going to bring you a conclusion.
Now listen. True peace with God. is our need. Is that not true? It's mine.
Secondly, true peace with God is not the product of the natural
heart. I can't find it, buy it, or produce it. It's got to be
the gift of God. Is that not true? Thirdly, true
peace, lasting peace, is not found in religion. It's not found
in religion. You find more warfare in religion
than anywhere else. Fourthly, where is true peace
found? true, lasting, genuine peace. Listen to the Word of
God. Jesus stood in the midst of them and said, Peace, my peace
I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 16, 33, In me you
have peace. Acts 10, 36, And the disciples preached peace
by Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Romans 1-7, grace, mercy,
and peace be unto you from God the Father through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Ephesians 2-14, He is our peace. You see, I haven't oversimplified
it at all. I've just defined it. Christ
is our peace. He's our life. When Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye appear with Him in glory.
He is our hope, Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is our
first love. If any man love not our Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Well, also He is our peace. And our Lord said, when you go
to a home, say, Peace be unto you. And if the Son of Peace
be there, then peace is there. If you want this message on peace,
where is it found? At the one I brought last week.
You send two dollars, we'll mail it to you. The address will be
given to you on the screen. May God bless you, everyone.