Sermon Central
-
The Peace Of Christ
Contributed by Christian Cheong on May 31, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: Peace is a gift from Christ, you can’t earn it. Only He can grants such a gift because He is in control of all things. We must believe in the sovereignty of God, learn to let go and leave our burdens with Him, and take the gift of peace by faith.
25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Phil 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
John 14:27 is an often quoted verse. We’ve probably read it a couple of times.
• I was thinking through this verse for last Sunday night service, and something dawn upon me.
• The way Jesus talked about peace is odd – He says He can give us peace, as if it is a gift, and then He says that this is His peace, which is different from the world.
• This is what we’re going to think through today. There is something for us to learn.
We all need peace, but what give us peace really?
• Is peace just an absence of any trouble or problem?
• Is peace just an atmosphere of quietness or serenity?
• The world defines it this way. It has to do with the surroundings.
• If you are strolling along the path in Botanic Gardens and not downtown Orchard road, you would probably say it’s peaceful.
If peace is the absence of any noise, problem or trouble, then peace is a product of the surrounding.
• Yet when we look at what Jesus said here, this is not what true peace is all about.
WHY DO WE NEED TO PRAY - because only in Jesus can we find true peace.
• If Jesus says, “peace I leave with you…” – it means He is the SOURCE of peace.
• If He says, “my peace I give you…” – it means He is the GIVER of peace.
• If He says, “I do not give to you as the world gives…” – it means only in Jesus can we find true peace - something that the world do not have.
In order words, it has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with the surrounding or to what is happening in our world today.
• His peace is different from the world, and something you can’t find in the world.
• No wonder Paul says it is a peace that surpasses understanding!
What is the practical implication of all these:
• If you’re worried over some things, anxious or disturb, and you needed peace in your heart – you have to turn to Christ. That’s the only way.
• You may find some sense of comfort by hiding in a quiet, serene place, but you’ll never find true peace. Emotionally you may feel good, but only Christ can give us true comfort and peace.
No wonder Jesus needed to say this – the disciples really need it.
• They were about to face the greatest shock of their lives – Jesus would soon be arrested and crucified.
• Their Master for > 3 years will be taken away from them forcefully.
• They would be left on their own, for the first time… without a teacher, a guide, someone whom they have depended upon for 3 years.
The disciples need to know that NOTHING has gone out of control.
• You see, everything will look like a defeat to them. They are defeated.
• Judas managed to betray Jesus, he won. The soldiers arrested Jesus without a fight. The people succeeded in killing Jesus.
• Circumstances tell them it’s a FAILURE.
They need to understand – and we need to understand that today – that nothing has really gone wrong in the eyes of God.
• Everything was in God’s plan. Everything is still in God’s control.
(1) BELIEVE IN THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
What Jesus says is very true. Only He can give us peace.
• Why - because only God is in control of all things.
• If God can handle this whole universe, He can handle your problems.
• If He cannot, He is no God. Then we’ll have no guarantee of peace.
If we believe that God is Sovereign, then we have nothing to fear.
• Man cannot find peace because he is not in control.
• We cannot control the circumstances, we cannot control the future.
