Good morning. I invite you to turn with me in your bibles to John 14. Here again we come to a verse that is likely going to be a beloved verse. We’ll find many of those in the Upper room. This no doubt is going to be a highlighter verse.
And again, by God’s providence, we do not need to go elsewhere to find a good advent verse. This is a verse that fits well into the calendar. That’s because it talks about peace. The peace of Christ. Christ came to bring peace. He is the prince of peace. And the angels announced at his birth, “Peace on earth, good will towards men.”
There could be no other time in the year to meditate on such a theme. The holidays are often anything but peaceful things, at least for the materialists and unbelievers in our world. But as we’ll see today, we have good hope of a great peace. Please follow along as I read John 14:27…
And again, by God’s providence, we do not need to go elsewhere to find a good advent verse. This is a verse that fits well into the calendar. That’s because it talks about peace. The peace of Christ. Christ came to bring peace. He is the prince of peace. And the angels announced at his birth, “Peace on earth, good will towards men.”
There could be no other time in the year to meditate on such a theme. The holidays are often anything but peaceful things, at least for the materialists and unbelievers in our world. But as we’ll see today, we have good hope of a great peace. Please follow along as I read John 14:27…
The Peace that Jesus Gives
John 14:27 | December 15, 2019
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
John 14:27 ESV
John 14:27 ESV
Introduction
Our text today returns to the theme which commenced this chapter. There is some repetition of the idea “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Those were the words that Jesus spoke at the beginning and he wishes to reinforce them here in our passage today.
It is a reminder of the constant need for peace and the need to remind ourselves of the great blessing of being a believer. That is to say, we are peace filled people. The Prince of Peace has brought into this world his eternal peace, and we get to enjoy this blessed pearl.
And it is this subject that I’d like us to meditate on this morning. I’d like us to think about the peace that Jesus speaks of and the unique blessing that is ours in it.
There are 4 things I want to say about this peace today. I want to talk about its reality, nature, excellence, and obligation.
First, let’s talk about its reality. It is of the utmost importance that we understand that this peace is a reality which we as Christians possess.
I. It is a reality which we possess as Christians
Look at the first two phrases of this verse. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
What is he saying there? He’s saying that peace is in our possession. He’s left it here for us. It has been gifted to us.
Some have said that this is something like Jesus’ last will and testament. Jesus is going to die. He knows that. So he is preparing for that. He doesn’t have much in terms of possessions. Jesus lived a life of poverty. He didn’t have a place to lay his head. But he does have one thing that he can bequeath. It is his peace. This is the one thing he has, and he has it in abundance. And he is able to pass it on as he sees fit.
And that is what he does. He leaves us his peace. And, as a result, we possess it. It is ours. It has legally granted to us and there is no one who can take it away.
Therefore, (and this is the key), if you are one who has turned to Christ and put your faith in him, you have peace. If you are a Christian, you have peace.
This is the beauty of Christian faith. We have what other people seek. We truly possess what other people can only long for.
Let me give you an example. Some of you ladies are into the essential oil thing. I’m fine with that. I don’t really get into it myself, but, if you want to slather it on yourself or on your kids, that’s perfectly fine with me. But if you are into it, you do need to be aware of the excesses.
One of those excesses is that people think that these things can give you peace. I got news for you, peace does not come through your nostrils. Aroma therapy may smell good, but it doesn’t give you peace. That’s the work of Christ.
To illustrate, I want to show you this article that I came across online.
For a moment, my husband and I collapsed into the couch the other night. Staring out into space, my mind went numb for a bit thinking about the things I should be doing. I blinked a few times bringing myself back to the moment; then looked to my husband and whispered, “I’m exhausted.”
He nodded looking back at me. “I know…we both are.” And yet, there we were picking ourselves up off the couch to clean the house, get more work done and rush to prepare for the following day. It was seven o’clock, and it felt impossible to calm down, relax and enjoy the evening.
Then I realized something.
We’d gotten off track with using essential oils. We live in a society that operates at a dizzying pace. Between work and kids and activities and the nagging notifications on our smartphones, our brains literally sprint from the moment we wake, until the moment we either collapse or pass out.
This is the BIG reason we’ve turned to essential oils to help support our emotional well-being. This includes using essential oils for sleep and calming essential oils to help us relax not just in the evening, but throughout the day!
Our family has used essential oils for over four years now — ever since we took the leap and grabbed a young living starter kit (Best decision of our lives!).
Using these calming essential oils showed us that we CAN live in a state of peace and contentment and that we do. not. need. to live in a state of constant stress and go-go-go.
You can enjoy.
You can relax.
You can feel peaceful.
I mean, who wouldn’t want to feel that way?! Especially now. So…I’ll start with the single oils we love, followed by the blends we love, and then I will show you the two different ways you can use your calming essential oils for maximum effect.
Then the author goes through several different kinds of oils and explains their peace giving power…
1. Patchouli
This oil is strongly grounding and centering. It’s very high in sesquiterpenes, which means it has the power to relax the emotional center of the brain, support emotional equilibrium and energize the mind. I do not care for the smell at all, so we will mix it with a citrus oil or lavender to create a more appealing scent. This should be applied topically or diffused.
2. Spearmint
… Spearmint can also help open and release emotional blocks (watch out for the tears here) and bring about a feeling of balance.[1]
What I’m trying to get at here is that people really want peace. Unfortunately, they think that peace can come through their nostrils. People will try anything to get some semblance of it. Even if it will only last a few hours until the smell evaporates, they are longing for peace. They want some electrode in their brain to fire the peace bullet so that they’ll have a few minutes of a peace high.
But the good news of the gospel is that all who come to Christ get true and lasting peace. A peace that is yours and will not run out. You don’t even have to pay $8 a bottle for it. It is free, it is a gift from God, and it is all yours. And it isn’t something that is triggered in your brain. It resides in your soul.
But let’s shift gears here and talk about the kind of peace this is. The peace that we as Christians have is none other than the very peace of Christ.
II. Its nature: it is the very peace of Christ that we possess.
Jesus says, “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you.”
It’s not just an amazing thing to think that we have peace (it’s reality in our lives), but we have the very peace of Christ. We have Christ’s peace.
Think about how Christ was a man of peace. He had peace with God, of course. As the Son of God, he enjoyed perfect harmony with the Father. He not only had peace with God, he had peace with men. There was harmony in his relationships with his disciples and the masses of people that came to him.
Just this week Elizabeth and the kids were having their morning time and they were looking at the passage about Jesus in the temple when his parents left him behind. It was an opportunity to think about how radically different Jesus’ household must have been growing up. Here’s the perfect boy. Never got in trouble; never talked back; always did what he was told. What harmony there had to be in that household.
And Jesus even had peace when things weren’t going his way. His life was a life of suffering. But he never complained, did he? Even when he was on trial before Pilate, he could stand there and be silent. He didn’t have to try to defend himself in that kangaroo court. He could be at perfect peace knowing that he was condemned to die.
This is the peace that we get to enjoy. And the reason is because we have Christ in us. You have to remember what we talked about the last couple of weeks. We’ve talked about Christ’s presence with us. He comes to dwell in and with us. His divine nature is all about us, being omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ too. So he facilitates the communion we have with Christ.
All that is to say, we have unbroken fellowship with the ever living Lord. And since he comes to us and abides in us, we have not just any old peace. We have the peace of the highest order, we have the peace of Christ.
We may have peace in troublesome circumstances. Christ gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding and sets all our anxieties at ease.
We have peace in relationships as well. Scripture says, “Where do wars and fightings come from? Is it not your desires?” All spats and quarrels and clashes have their origin in one thing: selfishness. And there is only one way to have this great vice put to death: it is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is when he comes down and fills you with a spirit of love and peace. He drives out the devilish desires within you that are always kicking against the goads. And it is then, and only then, that you are able to enjoy harmony in relationships.
So too, we have peace with God. The Bible says that God’s anger for our sin has been appeased. Because Jesus Christ has taken the curse on himself through the cross, the Lord is no longer angry with us; Christ has acted as our substitute and God’s just wrath has been turned away from us. Now He takes joy in us and we have sweet communion with the Lord at all times.
So in every possible way, no matter how you would like to analyze it, you will find that the peace of Christ is very much ours. The Prince of Peace has become to us the power of peace.
III. Its excellence: It’s radically different than the world’s peace
Jesus goes on to give a contrast. When you contrast something, you’re trying to point out how much better one is than the other. And he says, “Not as the world gives do I give to you.”
He’s contrasting his peace against the pseudo peace that the world gives.
Now, we understand that the world has its take on peace or how to obtain peace. But the peace that it offers is a false peace; one that is fleeting at best.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones has a sermon on this passage that he goes through different ways that the world thinks of obtaining peace. For instance, he says that the world gets peace by means of avoidance, distraction, and wishful thinking.
Let’s start with avoidance. Lloyd-Jones gives an illustration of being at a dinner party. All the guests have arrived and they are having a jolly time together. They are laughing and making merry together. But in the same room there is a television. And during the dinner party the evening news comes on. And the anchor man is giving the day’s news. And the lead story is a war that has broken out. Several casualties have been reported and many people have died so far in this war. But the point is that the anchor man is talking about all these terrible things going on.
What does the host of the dinner party do but walk over to the television set and turn it off. He doesn’t want to be disturbed by such annoyances, so he just shuts the thing off. His way of getting peace is simply to ignore the fact that these things are out there and not let himself and his guests be bothered by the things.
That is how many people get peace in this world: they just avoid the problems. They ignore it and they think that by doing so they have peace. If your mother in law is a bother, well just don’t go round and make sure you have an excuse come time for Christmas dinner. All will be well, so they think.
This is the way people deal with God too. When I was doing evangelism on the street a while back I talked with one young lady about the law. I asked her the questions: have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever looked with lust? After going through those three she said, “This isn’t making me feel good. I don’t like it. I’m not going to talk to you anymore.”
There you have it! Just ignore it, avoid it, get away from it. That guilt is just too much. You got to put it out of sight and out of mind. That’s their version of peace. She wouldn’t wait long enough to find out that real peace that could be found in Jesus Christ.
But that’s not peace. That’s just running away from your problems.
The world also thinks you can get peace by way of distraction. Instead of running away from whatever is bothering you, you just cover it up with something fun and make yourself focus on something more entertaining.
So you have a guy who watches the news. He hears about all the terrible things going on in the world and he is troubled by it. He doesn’t turn it off; he watches right on to the end and he gets depressed. But after the news, he flicks on his video game. He picks up his controller and he jumps into his virtual world and starts to have a good time. He’s got something that makes him feel better. He’s got a distraction that pushes that bad thing out of his mind. One thing takes the place of another. It’s kind of like throwing a rug over all the dirt in the living room. It’s still there, but it’s not as visible because you have something else to look at.
Lloyd-Jones points out one other way people get peace. He calls it the wishful thinking approach.
This is the guy who looks at the news and the says, “Oh, that’s terrible, but you know, everything will be all right.” These are great people to be around because they always give you a positive take on things. They do a good job of cheering you up when you’re down. They will pat you on the back and tell you everything’s gonna work out, everything is going to be fine.
Now, you’ll get all this and more. You’ll be told how to relax and you can do breathing exercises. You can put on your oils and you can do mental exercises which help you to unwind and loosen up. You can go for a run and you can go to your happy place. There’s all kinds of psychological tips that the world will offer you, but they all have one thing in common: they don’t have any permanence and they don’t offer real peace.
Go take a yoga class. People are really going for that. Sure, as I’ve said before, if you want to twist yourself up like a pretzel, go for it. There’s nothing wrong with that. But people buy into it because it supposedly offers more than mere stretches for your muscles. It’s a real religious thing because it can offer you peace, so they say.
Sure it may help you loosen up. It may make you feel better when you’re done, but is it peace that it gives?
And Christ says, “not as the world gives do I give to you.” Jesus wants you to know of the superiority of his peace. He offers lasting peace, a peace that surpasses understanding. He offers a peace that will be there when you open your eyes.
One last thing we should take into consideration about this peace though. It is that it must be cultivated to be fully enjoyed.
IV. Its obligation: It is must be cultivated to be fully enjoyed
You’ll notice that there is an obligation that accompanies this peace. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
We might be tempted to leave off the sermon without mentioning this. It is such a wonderful thing to be given peace. But we’d be doing a great disservice if we did not understand our responsibility to it.
Yes, you have peace, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is required of you. You still must put it into practice and cultivate it in your life.
Someone might think that is odd. But we do this all the time. If you get a bike for Christmas, are you just going to let it sit there? Are you going to just look at it and think how wonderful it is to have been given a bike? Of course not, you’re going to go out and ride that thing. You’re going to pump the pedals and steer and put on the brakes when it’s necessary. You add some personal effort to make it enjoyable.
The same is true for the peace of Christ. Jesus says it’s yours, but you must not appropriate it to your life by not letting your heart be troubled and by not letting yourself be afraid.
I will refer you back again to Philippians 4. Remember what it said there about anxiety. Paul said that the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. But before he said that, he said you must not be anxious. You must rejoice. You must pray. You must be thankful and so on. The peace of God is yours, but you have the responsibility to live it and cultivate it.
So when it comes to your fears and cares, do not let your heart be troubled. There’s the responsibility to trust in the Lord and move on with life. Do not let yourself be afraid. Take heart, be of good cheer, rejoice in God that these turn of events have come about.
I actually like the word we have translated afraid. I believe the idea behind it is that of a racing heart. That’s what you need to avoid. You must not let yourself get overly exercised. You must refrain from being gripped with anxiety and you should not let your fears overrun you when life’s troubles come surging. You are called to be obedient; to fight the temptation to get agitated and let it occupy your mind in an obsessive way.
The peace of Christ is yours. It is yours because Christ is yours. If we take this reality to heart and live by it, we shall enjoy it and have much benefit by it.
_____________________________
[1] https://themilitarywifeandmom.com/calming-essential-oils/
Our text today returns to the theme which commenced this chapter. There is some repetition of the idea “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Those were the words that Jesus spoke at the beginning and he wishes to reinforce them here in our passage today.
It is a reminder of the constant need for peace and the need to remind ourselves of the great blessing of being a believer. That is to say, we are peace filled people. The Prince of Peace has brought into this world his eternal peace, and we get to enjoy this blessed pearl.
And it is this subject that I’d like us to meditate on this morning. I’d like us to think about the peace that Jesus speaks of and the unique blessing that is ours in it.
There are 4 things I want to say about this peace today. I want to talk about its reality, nature, excellence, and obligation.
First, let’s talk about its reality. It is of the utmost importance that we understand that this peace is a reality which we as Christians possess.
I. It is a reality which we possess as Christians
Look at the first two phrases of this verse. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
What is he saying there? He’s saying that peace is in our possession. He’s left it here for us. It has been gifted to us.
Some have said that this is something like Jesus’ last will and testament. Jesus is going to die. He knows that. So he is preparing for that. He doesn’t have much in terms of possessions. Jesus lived a life of poverty. He didn’t have a place to lay his head. But he does have one thing that he can bequeath. It is his peace. This is the one thing he has, and he has it in abundance. And he is able to pass it on as he sees fit.
And that is what he does. He leaves us his peace. And, as a result, we possess it. It is ours. It has legally granted to us and there is no one who can take it away.
Therefore, (and this is the key), if you are one who has turned to Christ and put your faith in him, you have peace. If you are a Christian, you have peace.
This is the beauty of Christian faith. We have what other people seek. We truly possess what other people can only long for.
Let me give you an example. Some of you ladies are into the essential oil thing. I’m fine with that. I don’t really get into it myself, but, if you want to slather it on yourself or on your kids, that’s perfectly fine with me. But if you are into it, you do need to be aware of the excesses.
One of those excesses is that people think that these things can give you peace. I got news for you, peace does not come through your nostrils. Aroma therapy may smell good, but it doesn’t give you peace. That’s the work of Christ.
To illustrate, I want to show you this article that I came across online.
For a moment, my husband and I collapsed into the couch the other night. Staring out into space, my mind went numb for a bit thinking about the things I should be doing. I blinked a few times bringing myself back to the moment; then looked to my husband and whispered, “I’m exhausted.”
He nodded looking back at me. “I know…we both are.” And yet, there we were picking ourselves up off the couch to clean the house, get more work done and rush to prepare for the following day. It was seven o’clock, and it felt impossible to calm down, relax and enjoy the evening.
Then I realized something.
We’d gotten off track with using essential oils. We live in a society that operates at a dizzying pace. Between work and kids and activities and the nagging notifications on our smartphones, our brains literally sprint from the moment we wake, until the moment we either collapse or pass out.
This is the BIG reason we’ve turned to essential oils to help support our emotional well-being. This includes using essential oils for sleep and calming essential oils to help us relax not just in the evening, but throughout the day!
Our family has used essential oils for over four years now — ever since we took the leap and grabbed a young living starter kit (Best decision of our lives!).
Using these calming essential oils showed us that we CAN live in a state of peace and contentment and that we do. not. need. to live in a state of constant stress and go-go-go.
You can enjoy.
You can relax.
You can feel peaceful.
I mean, who wouldn’t want to feel that way?! Especially now. So…I’ll start with the single oils we love, followed by the blends we love, and then I will show you the two different ways you can use your calming essential oils for maximum effect.
Then the author goes through several different kinds of oils and explains their peace giving power…
1. Patchouli
This oil is strongly grounding and centering. It’s very high in sesquiterpenes, which means it has the power to relax the emotional center of the brain, support emotional equilibrium and energize the mind. I do not care for the smell at all, so we will mix it with a citrus oil or lavender to create a more appealing scent. This should be applied topically or diffused.
2. Spearmint
… Spearmint can also help open and release emotional blocks (watch out for the tears here) and bring about a feeling of balance.[1]
What I’m trying to get at here is that people really want peace. Unfortunately, they think that peace can come through their nostrils. People will try anything to get some semblance of it. Even if it will only last a few hours until the smell evaporates, they are longing for peace. They want some electrode in their brain to fire the peace bullet so that they’ll have a few minutes of a peace high.
But the good news of the gospel is that all who come to Christ get true and lasting peace. A peace that is yours and will not run out. You don’t even have to pay $8 a bottle for it. It is free, it is a gift from God, and it is all yours. And it isn’t something that is triggered in your brain. It resides in your soul.
But let’s shift gears here and talk about the kind of peace this is. The peace that we as Christians have is none other than the very peace of Christ.
II. Its nature: it is the very peace of Christ that we possess.
Jesus says, “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you.”
It’s not just an amazing thing to think that we have peace (it’s reality in our lives), but we have the very peace of Christ. We have Christ’s peace.
Think about how Christ was a man of peace. He had peace with God, of course. As the Son of God, he enjoyed perfect harmony with the Father. He not only had peace with God, he had peace with men. There was harmony in his relationships with his disciples and the masses of people that came to him.
Just this week Elizabeth and the kids were having their morning time and they were looking at the passage about Jesus in the temple when his parents left him behind. It was an opportunity to think about how radically different Jesus’ household must have been growing up. Here’s the perfect boy. Never got in trouble; never talked back; always did what he was told. What harmony there had to be in that household.
And Jesus even had peace when things weren’t going his way. His life was a life of suffering. But he never complained, did he? Even when he was on trial before Pilate, he could stand there and be silent. He didn’t have to try to defend himself in that kangaroo court. He could be at perfect peace knowing that he was condemned to die.
This is the peace that we get to enjoy. And the reason is because we have Christ in us. You have to remember what we talked about the last couple of weeks. We’ve talked about Christ’s presence with us. He comes to dwell in and with us. His divine nature is all about us, being omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ too. So he facilitates the communion we have with Christ.
All that is to say, we have unbroken fellowship with the ever living Lord. And since he comes to us and abides in us, we have not just any old peace. We have the peace of the highest order, we have the peace of Christ.
We may have peace in troublesome circumstances. Christ gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding and sets all our anxieties at ease.
We have peace in relationships as well. Scripture says, “Where do wars and fightings come from? Is it not your desires?” All spats and quarrels and clashes have their origin in one thing: selfishness. And there is only one way to have this great vice put to death: it is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is when he comes down and fills you with a spirit of love and peace. He drives out the devilish desires within you that are always kicking against the goads. And it is then, and only then, that you are able to enjoy harmony in relationships.
So too, we have peace with God. The Bible says that God’s anger for our sin has been appeased. Because Jesus Christ has taken the curse on himself through the cross, the Lord is no longer angry with us; Christ has acted as our substitute and God’s just wrath has been turned away from us. Now He takes joy in us and we have sweet communion with the Lord at all times.
So in every possible way, no matter how you would like to analyze it, you will find that the peace of Christ is very much ours. The Prince of Peace has become to us the power of peace.
III. Its excellence: It’s radically different than the world’s peace
Jesus goes on to give a contrast. When you contrast something, you’re trying to point out how much better one is than the other. And he says, “Not as the world gives do I give to you.”
He’s contrasting his peace against the pseudo peace that the world gives.
Now, we understand that the world has its take on peace or how to obtain peace. But the peace that it offers is a false peace; one that is fleeting at best.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones has a sermon on this passage that he goes through different ways that the world thinks of obtaining peace. For instance, he says that the world gets peace by means of avoidance, distraction, and wishful thinking.
Let’s start with avoidance. Lloyd-Jones gives an illustration of being at a dinner party. All the guests have arrived and they are having a jolly time together. They are laughing and making merry together. But in the same room there is a television. And during the dinner party the evening news comes on. And the anchor man is giving the day’s news. And the lead story is a war that has broken out. Several casualties have been reported and many people have died so far in this war. But the point is that the anchor man is talking about all these terrible things going on.
What does the host of the dinner party do but walk over to the television set and turn it off. He doesn’t want to be disturbed by such annoyances, so he just shuts the thing off. His way of getting peace is simply to ignore the fact that these things are out there and not let himself and his guests be bothered by the things.
That is how many people get peace in this world: they just avoid the problems. They ignore it and they think that by doing so they have peace. If your mother in law is a bother, well just don’t go round and make sure you have an excuse come time for Christmas dinner. All will be well, so they think.
This is the way people deal with God too. When I was doing evangelism on the street a while back I talked with one young lady about the law. I asked her the questions: have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever looked with lust? After going through those three she said, “This isn’t making me feel good. I don’t like it. I’m not going to talk to you anymore.”
There you have it! Just ignore it, avoid it, get away from it. That guilt is just too much. You got to put it out of sight and out of mind. That’s their version of peace. She wouldn’t wait long enough to find out that real peace that could be found in Jesus Christ.
But that’s not peace. That’s just running away from your problems.
The world also thinks you can get peace by way of distraction. Instead of running away from whatever is bothering you, you just cover it up with something fun and make yourself focus on something more entertaining.
So you have a guy who watches the news. He hears about all the terrible things going on in the world and he is troubled by it. He doesn’t turn it off; he watches right on to the end and he gets depressed. But after the news, he flicks on his video game. He picks up his controller and he jumps into his virtual world and starts to have a good time. He’s got something that makes him feel better. He’s got a distraction that pushes that bad thing out of his mind. One thing takes the place of another. It’s kind of like throwing a rug over all the dirt in the living room. It’s still there, but it’s not as visible because you have something else to look at.
Lloyd-Jones points out one other way people get peace. He calls it the wishful thinking approach.
This is the guy who looks at the news and the says, “Oh, that’s terrible, but you know, everything will be all right.” These are great people to be around because they always give you a positive take on things. They do a good job of cheering you up when you’re down. They will pat you on the back and tell you everything’s gonna work out, everything is going to be fine.
Now, you’ll get all this and more. You’ll be told how to relax and you can do breathing exercises. You can put on your oils and you can do mental exercises which help you to unwind and loosen up. You can go for a run and you can go to your happy place. There’s all kinds of psychological tips that the world will offer you, but they all have one thing in common: they don’t have any permanence and they don’t offer real peace.
Go take a yoga class. People are really going for that. Sure, as I’ve said before, if you want to twist yourself up like a pretzel, go for it. There’s nothing wrong with that. But people buy into it because it supposedly offers more than mere stretches for your muscles. It’s a real religious thing because it can offer you peace, so they say.
Sure it may help you loosen up. It may make you feel better when you’re done, but is it peace that it gives?
And Christ says, “not as the world gives do I give to you.” Jesus wants you to know of the superiority of his peace. He offers lasting peace, a peace that surpasses understanding. He offers a peace that will be there when you open your eyes.
One last thing we should take into consideration about this peace though. It is that it must be cultivated to be fully enjoyed.
IV. Its obligation: It is must be cultivated to be fully enjoyed
You’ll notice that there is an obligation that accompanies this peace. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
We might be tempted to leave off the sermon without mentioning this. It is such a wonderful thing to be given peace. But we’d be doing a great disservice if we did not understand our responsibility to it.
Yes, you have peace, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is required of you. You still must put it into practice and cultivate it in your life.
Someone might think that is odd. But we do this all the time. If you get a bike for Christmas, are you just going to let it sit there? Are you going to just look at it and think how wonderful it is to have been given a bike? Of course not, you’re going to go out and ride that thing. You’re going to pump the pedals and steer and put on the brakes when it’s necessary. You add some personal effort to make it enjoyable.
The same is true for the peace of Christ. Jesus says it’s yours, but you must not appropriate it to your life by not letting your heart be troubled and by not letting yourself be afraid.
I will refer you back again to Philippians 4. Remember what it said there about anxiety. Paul said that the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. But before he said that, he said you must not be anxious. You must rejoice. You must pray. You must be thankful and so on. The peace of God is yours, but you have the responsibility to live it and cultivate it.
So when it comes to your fears and cares, do not let your heart be troubled. There’s the responsibility to trust in the Lord and move on with life. Do not let yourself be afraid. Take heart, be of good cheer, rejoice in God that these turn of events have come about.
I actually like the word we have translated afraid. I believe the idea behind it is that of a racing heart. That’s what you need to avoid. You must not let yourself get overly exercised. You must refrain from being gripped with anxiety and you should not let your fears overrun you when life’s troubles come surging. You are called to be obedient; to fight the temptation to get agitated and let it occupy your mind in an obsessive way.
The peace of Christ is yours. It is yours because Christ is yours. If we take this reality to heart and live by it, we shall enjoy it and have much benefit by it.
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[1] https://themilitarywifeandmom.com/calming-essential-oils/