A few minutes ago, we read from John's Gospel chapter 14. And this morning, we will look at verse 27. Primarily, under the heading, finding peace in an evil world. I've decided to step away from our verse by verse study of the gospel of Mark to address this issue, because I know that many of you, like me, are hurting. Given all that we have endured this last week, the loss of one of our precious ladies, the acknowledgement of serious health issues, and others, I believe it was nine of our soldiers that were killed up at Fort Campbell in a helicopter accident and other sorrows that I have that I cannot share with you. And of course, our hearts are broken over yet another mass murder, in a school specifically, a Christian school and church that was targeted. I've talked with many of you about that. One of the things that we are in need of and certainly as believers we have is a sense of peace in the midst of all of this chaos, all of this evil. This is the fourth mass shooting by a transgender in five years. That's four mass shootings committed by people who make up about one half of 1% of the population. And of course, the answer is gun control. Right? Let's take guns away from law abiding citizens and leave them helpless. And let the criminals and the crazies have their way. By the way, I do believe in some gun control, they should never allow a transgender person to get near a gun. A 2022 Canadian study entitled, meaning and life future orientation and support for violent radicalization, that I read this week said transgender and gender diverse youth emerge as the group at the highest risk of support for violent radicalization. So sad. And of course, we see this in trans activism today. They were going to have a Trans Day of vengeance sometime this last week, I'm sure you heard about that. And that was cancelled. They're protesting what they call transgender genocide, which is a total hoax. Gender ideology is, frankly, the breeding ground for despair, for depression, for self loathing, for violence, violence against all those who oppose them. And anybody that is willing to be honest will have to acknowledge the fact that transgender ideology is an attack on the image of God manifested in the creation of males and females, to give him glory, and also to enter into the covenantal bond of marriage, which is to illustrate Christ's love for His church. God has ordained two institutions, the church and marriage. Christ is to be the head of them both. And of course, Satan is doing all he can to destroy those two institutions. The self loathing and rage of the transgenders is really understandable. I mean, they've been deceived by their own deceitful hearts. They've been deceived by Satan. And they've been deceived by a culture that has encouraged them and recruited them. Homosexuals are not born they are recruited. They've been given puberty blockers, cross sex hormones. They've been surgically and chemically mutilated castrated so that they can pretend to be another gender. And now they're miserable. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, they're dead. And of course, they're filled with hate because others don't join in with their delusion. Others don't celebrate their insanity and use their ridiculous pronouns, so they hate anyone who disagrees with them, but they hate your friends they hate God especially and all who belong to Him. As James said, in James four two "You lust and do not have; so you commit murder." I read another study this week, Cambridge University research in 2020 found that transgender and gender diverse individuals are more likely to be autistic, and report higher autistic traits. Well, my point with all of this is to say any reasonable person will have to admit that these people are mentally disturbed. They in many cases are deranged, delusional. And from a biblical perspective, we understand that they are also depraved and demonic in terms of how the enemy has influenced their thinking. And yet we live in a culture that tries to celebrate all of this, rather than protect us and our children from them. Our president just proclaimed the other day, March 31, as, quote, Transgender Day of visibility. Folks, this is staggering evil that has invaded our country, another indication of the wrath of divine abandonment. And this President and his administration, and these people that support this stuff, are a national disgrace. I was reading a political commentator by the name of Matt Walsh, some of you are familiar with him. He said something that I thought was very well stated, quote, "No matter who is responsible for the latest burst of demonic violence, what lies at the root is the reality of human evil, and a society that fosters this evil. Whether it's a trans person or anyone else carrying out the latest mass, murder, the root is always a culture in a state of spiritual and moral decay. We have become a country filled with numb, detached, empty, desensitized people with no sense of overarching purpose. We try to fill in the gaps with things that cannot solve the problem, and will often only make it worse, psychiatric drugs, the internet, entertainment, trying to numb the numbness even more. Increasingly, people, especially young people, seeking a sense of identity and belonging, turn to gender identity for the answer. But there they find only more of the confusion and despair, they are trying to escape. This is the soil that these tragedies grow out of the landscape where this nightmare is playing out." End quote, well stated.

Beloved, these are days of unmitigated evil, and apostasy even in many churches. These are days of granite indifference and apathy concerning God's judgment. These are like the days of Noah. Remember, Genesis six, five, the Lord looked on those days and we read that "the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only continually evil." And our Lord said in Matthew 24, in his great Olivet Discourse, beginning in verse 37, "The coming of the Son of Man will be just like in the days of Noah." So there is another judgment coming, and everything points to it soon arrival. And can there be anything more distressing and depressing than what we're seeing play out in this whole LGBTQ woke trendsgender phenomenon. I was thinking about this, a mother's womb, a child's school and churches should be the safest places on earth. But they have become the most dangerous. And the focused rage on Christians is escalating every day. And for this reason, I want to remind you, of how we find peace. In the midst of all of this stuff, I want to encourage you, as I have been encouraged myself, because sometimes the weight of all of these things began to wear on me as I'm sure it does on you. The world craves peace, and so we need to understand what it is how we get it. So we want to know what Jesus has to say on the topic. The world is always looking for peace among the nations, people are looking for peace in themselves. If you Google as I did, how to find peace within yourself, there are 3,670,000 results. We're not going to go over all of them today. But what's funny when you look at them, one will say four ways to find peace and other 10 ways, 10 simple steps, five tips, and a cursory examination of the most popular sites listed indicate that the answer to peace always lies within yourself. That's the great lie that the answer lies within yourself. And it's typically through meditation and visualization and so forth. One popular charlatan by the name of Joel Osteen wrote a book "Become a Better You" and he offers seven steps for finding peace from the inside out. Here's what he says, "Number one, keep pressing forward, give your dreams a new beginning. Number two, be positive toward yourself. Learn to like yourself. Number three, develop better relationships, keep the strife out of your life. Number four, form better habits, keep yourself happy. Number five, embrace the place where you are. Number six, develop your inner life. Number seven, stay passionate about life." Dear friends try offering this frivolous dribble to those dear parents who have just lost their children. Try offering this kind of advice to a person who has just buried a dead loved one that has been martyred for their faith. Give the seven steps to parents who are sitting in a hospital room caring for their comatose child. Give this to a woman who has just lost her husband, and is now faced with raising her children all on her own. Give this type of foolishness to someone who has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. And you'll see how much peace it brings them. But friends, I bring you good news. Peace is available. Inner personal peace is available, a peace that we can experience regardless of the circumstances. But it is only available to those who have first made peace with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it does not originate from within ourselves. This peace is not a result of something that we do and as a result of that which is being done to us a mighty work of grace wrought within our souls by the power of the Spirit of God. It is a supernatural gift from God Himself. It's not one that is subjected to circumstances. It's a peace that will transcend circumstances. And frankly, this was the piece that sustained the frightened and the confused disciples in the closing section of Jesus farewell address to them during his final days on earth, part of which we read in John 14. This is the Passion Week of Christ and here's what Jesus said to them, in John 14:27, which will be our text this morning, he said, "Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you, let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

Now today, we celebrate the beginning of the Passion Week of Christ that leads up to his sacrificial death on the cross on our behalf, and His resurrection. And I want to give you a little historical background before we look at this text more specifically, so that you understand all what's going on. Remember that in Jesus day, at this particular time, a multitude of Jewish people were making their way to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover and coronate Jesus as their Messiah King. Jesus and his apostles also are making their way to Jerusalem. And I might also add rather than the traditional Palm Sunday what that we call this here, it is more likely on a Monday, after Jesus had been in Bethany, with Lazarus that he made his way through the eastern gate in Jerusalem. A Monday triumphal entry is very important because in Exodus 12, verses two through six, the Mosaic law required that sacrificial lambs for Passover are to be selected on the 10th day of the first month, taken into the home to be loved, until they are sacrificed on the 14th. And only a Monday triumphal entry would allow for this kind of symbolism because the year Jesus was crucified, the 10th of Nissan was on the Monday of the Passover week. And this would allow the Jews nationally to select Jesus as their Passover lamb. This was the great symbolism that we see in the scriptures, and then to symbolically take him into their hearts and their homes and love him and then sacrifice him on Friday the 14th of Nissan. According to Daniel chapter nine, verse 25, a prophecy given 600 years before the very day of our Lord's messianic presentation coming into Jerusalem was predicted by the Holy Spirit through His inspired author. There we read that 483 years after Artexerxes decreed to Nehemiah the quote Messiah, the Prince, would be presented to the Jewish nation on April 10, 30 AD. Likewise, the manner of our Lord's triumphant yet I might add humble entry was predicted 500 years earlier, through the prophet Zachariah, Zachariah chapter nine in verse nine. The text which Matthew quotes, says this, "Rejoice greatly Oh daughter of Zion shout, Oh daughter of Jerusalem, Behold, your King is coming to you. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." So, the Messiah King approaches Jerusalem with all of the crowds, they're swelling in size. They're frenzied in anticipation shouting, according to Luke 19:38, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, Peace in heaven and glory in the highest." And then we read some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' Then Jesus answered, 'I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out'". But then in verse 41, Luke records a stunning event that puts this whole scene in the proper perspective. Because there we read as Jesus, the Messiah King approaches the city of Jerusalem. He actually wept. Yay, he wailed aloud over their unbelief and rejection of their king. He does not enter the city with joy but with immense sorrow, because he knew that they were worshipping Him for all the wrong reasons. So with tears flowing down his tree cheeks we read in Luke 19:41 and following, "When he approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known in this day, even you the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side. And they will level you to the ground and your children within you. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.'" And of course, this was literally fulfilled a few years later, beginning on April 970 AD Titus laid siege there in the summer, and he slowly began to starve the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the soldiers systematically slaughtered them going into one section of the city and then the next. And many of these same people that were saying Hosanna were killed at that time. We know that they utterly destroyed the temple, they took remaining captives to Rome, to be mocked, to be enslaved to be butchered in the Roman circus, and the gladiatorial bouts. So on Monday, Jesus approaches Jerusalem, to offer himself officially, and finally as the king of the Messianic Kingdom, exactly as the Old Testament prophets had predicted. And then he returned quietly to Bethany. But on the next day, he returns again to Jerusalem. And it was early Tuesday morning that Jesus and the 12 approached the city. And you may recall that as he approaches the city, he curses the barren fig tree. We read about that in Matthew 21, verse 19, he said, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you, and at once the fig tree withered." And of course, that was symbolic of the judgment that was now going to fall on Israel, for they like the leafy fig tree had the pretense of being fruitful. But they were in fact barren. They did not produce fruit in keeping with repentance. So he enters Jerusalem, he enters the temple at that point, and he cleanses it. And for two days, he rules its precincts. He claims possession of it as the mighty sovereign. And during that time, every stratum of official Judaism was verbally attacked by the Lord Jesus. And they tried to attack him and embarrass him. But in fact, he embarrassed them with his answers. And he even rebukes them openly for their ignorance of Scripture, and he boldly pronounces judgment on them, and upon all who reject Him, and it was in his last public discourse that he denounced the scribes and the Pharisees. In a series of woes, you read about that, for example of Matthew 23. And then they leave the city on Wednesday night and they ascend, once again upon the Mount of Olives, making their way back home, to the home of Lazarus, and Bethany, and we know that at the summit of the Mount of Olives, they were able to look back and view the temple, and all of its grandeur, the one built by Herod. And Jesus then said to his disciples in Matthew 24, and verse two, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down." And then later, the disciples confused said, "Tell us when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" And then you read his answer in the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24 and 25 his longest answer pertaining to future things concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, His Second Coming and, and specifically, the conditions and the signs that would precede His coming again in power and great glory. This brings us to Thursday afternoon, Jesus and the 12 reenter the city. Preparation is now made for the Passover meal and a private room that they had obtained earlier. This would be the meal that would become what we call the Lord's supper or the Last Supper. And as evening approached, which was Jewish Friday, the supper began with a dispute among the disciples over who's going to be greatest in the kingdom. This was probably precipitated by the seating arrangement around the table. And you will recall Jesus rebuked them and said that the greatest and true leader must become a servant, like a servant. And then to illustrate this, Jesus, the honored guest assumed the role of a lowly servant. And he washed their feet. And during the meal Jesus exposes Judas as the betrayer. Judas departs, Judas had already made arrangements with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus, an event that would now take place several hours later in the Garden of Gethsemane. And now the final drama of Jesus death is set into motion. And at this point, Jesus announces his departure. Peter, then voiced his undying allegiance and devotion to Christ. And Jesus responded that instead, Peter, you're gonna deny me three times. So we have the Lord's Supper instituted and after a farewell discourse to the disciples, Jesus will depart with the 11 going into the garden of Gethsemane, and then you know, the rest of the story. Now, I wish to draw your attention to just some of what Jesus said in this farewell discourse to His disciples, especially as it relates to the supernatural peace, that he is going to give them, and all of the redeemed, one that would transcend to the sorrows of life. We're going to look at four things, we're going to see the substance of peace. In other words, what really is it from Jesus perspective, The source of peace. In other words, where does it originate? How do we receive it? And then the semblance of peace, that is the fake and fleeting peace that the world offers? And then finally, very briefly, the spoilers of peace, and that is, how can believers forfeit peace? I pray that this will minister to your spirit in a profound way this morning. So first of all, let's look at the substance of peace notice, John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you."

Now, how does Jesus define peace? Well, first of all, you must understand that it's something very different than the way most people think of it. According to one Greek Lexicon, the Greek word for peace, which is "eirene" refers to quote, "the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ and so fearing nothing from God and content, with its earthly lot of whatsoever sort that is." Now can you identify with that kind of peace? Even when your body trembles in fear, and confusion? When tears run down your cheeks, and you don't have an answer for the great adversity that you're experiencing? Do you still enjoy an uninterrupted sense of calm and contentment in the core of your being? Beloved, this is the kind of peace that Jesus bequeaths to all who trust in Him as Savior, and worship Him as Lord. Now, most people and most languages define peace as the absence of something, not the presence of something, very important distinction. Socially, peace is the absence of conflict and hostility, freedom from war, freedom from civil unrest. And personally, peace is the absence of inner turmoil, freedom from disquieting and oppressive thoughts or emotions resulting in personal tranquility and harmony in relationships. But how do you escape the conflict? The inner turmoil and many people use entertainment, recreation, vacations, you know, how well does that work for you? And others, turn to alcohol, turn to their music, turn to drugs. I know Oh, why don't I try to be the other gender, and many, finally ended up in suicide. But dear friends, the peace of God is more than the absence of something. It is the presence of God himself in the soul. Biblically, there are two sides of the coin of peace, the objective side and the subjective. First of all, objective peace pertains to our judicial standing before God, but from birth by nature, we're born in rebellion to God and as a result, we all sin, we become the enemy of God, this is so obvious. Humanity hates the one true God. But they love themselves, they love the world, they love this cosmos, which is this orderly system, ruled by Satan, in rebellion against God. So apart from faith in Christ, the person without Christ is at war with God, there is no peace with God. And then in the depths of their soul, they know this, even though they suppress that truth. God is at war with them. Ephesians four, verse 17, They walk in the futility of their mind being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of their heart." John 3"36 For this reason, Jesus warns unbelievers and says, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Ah, but unbelievers love themselves. They love this world, they don't love Christ. They love all that the world offers them. And they mock God, they mock his word. James, for verse four says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." But then, when a sinner comes to genuine saving faith in Christ, cries out for forgiveness, God does a mighty work of grace in his heart, one of which is He is then justified, he is declared to be righteous based upon the imputed righteousness of Christ. Suddenly, the war with God is over. Now he is at peace with God, because reconciliation has taken place because of what Christ has done. Enemies suddenly become sons and daughters of God. That's why the Apostle Paul says in Romans five and verse one, "Therefore having been justified," in other words, declared righteous by faith, "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." And according to Romans, chapter eight and verse six, those who once had, quote, "a mindset on the flesh, resulting in death," now have quote, "a mindset on the spirit resulting in life and peace." But apart from this objective peace pertaining to man's judicial standing before a holy God, not only will that person remain at war with God, but also he will never experience any kind of tranquility, any kind of lasting inner peace. And so this brings us from the objective to also now the other side of the coin, the subjective aspect of peace that comes when we enter into relationship with God through faith in Christ. And this is a state of tranquility within the soul. This is what replaces the turmoil and the confusion and the doubt and the discontentment. Because our opposition to God is over, the Holy Spirit, now the comforter, takes up residence within us, and we can therefore experience this transcendent peace that is impervious to circumstances, oh, yes, there will be sorrow, there will be bitter sorrow, there will be anguish, but down underneath at all, there will be a sense that God is in control. And in this I rejoice knowing that better days are coming. Our body becomes the temple of God. There is perfect peace in the sanctuary of His presence. The objective peace of justification, friends, is what produces the subjective peace of God's presence in our life. And for this reason, we can see say with the apostle Paul in Philippians, four verse six, "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard," which literally means to keep watch over, it "will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Now, you must understand that this is not some kind of passive peace that results from the absence of strife and turmoil. Nor is it some kind of short lived superficial tranquility that we conjure up through mystical experiences through contemplative prayer, or getting into some yoga position and practicing primordial sound meditation, whatever they do, or sitting around listening to underwater whale sounds while you sip on Chardonnay, that's not what we're talking about here. This is a peace that transcends everything, an active peace, not a passive peace. And it operates within us, according to the power of the indwelling Spirit of God in the redeemed, and it's unaffected by circumstances, it will always remain, it's one that causes us to transcend the inevitable sorrows and conflicts of life. You see, this is the kind of peace that would cause the persecuted Apostle Paul to declare in Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." And certainly this peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit, right? In Galatians five. It's that peace that rules the heart of every believer who have put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity, Colossians 3:14, and that results in verse 15, "the peace of Christ that rules in our hearts." This causes us to live in unity with other Christians. I find it interesting in Paul's benediction to the Romans. He says in chapter 15, verse 13, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." And similarly in his benediction to the saints of Thessalonica. At the end of second Thessalonians chapter three, verse 16, he says, "Now, may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace, in every circumstance." That is the personal peace that he enjoyed. And this is the personal peace that Jesus enjoyed even though he was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Beloved, this is the peace that Jesus experienced on the eve of his crucifixion. When he was speaking to the disciples, and trying to comfort them. Yes, his body trembled in anguish, given the torture that he knew awaited him. It was so bad that in the garden he would later sweat drops of blood, but his soul was at perfect rest. Because he was decisively committed to his Father's will and the Spirit of God gave him peace. This is the peace that sustained him during the horrors he endured before and during his time on the cross 1 Peter two verse 23, " while being reviled, He did not revile in return while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to Him who judges righteously." Beloved, again, this is the peace that animates joy within us even in the midst of suffering. This is what Jesus experienced, according to Hebrews 12, two, we read "For the joy set before Him, endured the cross." It goes on to say he is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And this is the peace that Jesus wanted to give to his troubled, confused, fearful disciples, which includes all of us. So he says, "Peace I leave with you." And he knows, he knew, he would make good on that promise, through the Holy Spirit that would soon come upon them. So we've seen the substance of peace, how about secondly, the source of peace, He says, "My peace I give to you." There it is. He is the source of this peace along with the Father along with the Holy Spirit. In fact, Paul's salutation in all of his epistles include the statement, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." And one of the great ministries of the Holy Spirit is to administer this peace in the midst of great sorrow. Again, it's one of the fruits of the Spirit. I have thought much, Nancy, and I've talked about this, how can those dear parents who have lost their little children possibly survive this? There's only one answer. It's a supernatural work of peace, that the Spirit of God gives them in their heart. Moreover, according to Romans five, five, we have "a hope that does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." In other words, this is an awareness that we as believers have of God's love for us. In fact, the Greek word translated peace reflects the Hebrew shalom, which was the customary greeting and word of farewell. A fitting expression in Jesus farewell address, and it became the primary word of greeting after his resurrection. When Jesus came and stood in the midst of his awestruck disciples, he said in John 20:19, "Peace be with you." Dear friend, please hear me if your life is bereft of peace. If you don't experience anything like this, if you're in a constant state of frustration and confusion, of anger, of discontentment, if you're anxious and depressed, overwhelmed by sorrow, and stress and strife, you must look to Christ. Jesus said in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." And Isaiah spoke of this as well when he said of the Lord, in Isaiah 26, verse three, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you." "Stayed" meaning its rest, supported by you, because he trusts in You. My friend, do you have a fixed disposition of trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? I pray that you do. Routinely, Paul spoke of the God of peace. Indeed, you must understand that God alone is the great fountainhead that feeds the comforting blessings of peace to the redeemed, the springs of peace, and that reservoir will never go dry. This is the peace that Jesus offers, "My peace I give to you." And then he says, not as the world gives do I give to you? And here we come to thirdly, the semblance of peace. This is the world's peace. This is the false peace, the deceptive peace. It appears to bring peace. It appears to bring happiness and joy. It purports to bring peace, but it delivers just the opposite. Think of the difference between the transcendent, eternal peace of God and the inadequate and fleeting peace of Satan's world system. In Isaiah 48, verse 22, we read, "There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord." Think with me about this contrast that Jesus gives between the world's peace. I mean, the world's peace is merely a mirage in the desert that distracts travelers. they think, oh, there I can find happiness and joy. But it's an elusive promise that will never deliver, it will only destroy. And every man and woman alive hopes for a better life. They believe that somehow better times are coming and they work hard to achieve those things only to discover every day that there's a new set of trouble. People in our country are pursuing the American dream. Once they have it all, they worry about losing it. The government's kind of always trying to take it away from you. Even the wealthy eventually discover that their dreams are really nothing more than nightmares. And then when a man dies without Christ, nothing that he has achieved, nothing that he has possessed in life will be any use for him. They will only serve as a tragic reminder of a wasted life as they endure the torments of hell. How different the peace of Christ for those who have made peace with God, who therefore love and live for him. We're told in Scripture that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, and unlike the world, when the Lord gives he gives forever. He even comes and dwells within us. All the years of the Christians life, he is able to experience the security of the objective peace of God because of our justification. But also we experience the subjective peace of God through the power of the indwelling Spirit. In fact, all of life can be summed up in Jeremiah's words in Lamentations three, verse 22 and following where Jeremiah said, "The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion says my soul. Therefore I have hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for him to the person who seeks Him." Beloved, I can tell you firsthand that the ones that I have talked to this week, that have experienced great loss, and are struggling in profound ways, can give full throated agreement with what we've just read. Great is thy faithfulness. Yes, the world offers peace. But it's not only an illusion, frankly, it's a delusion. It's a trap, it's a lure. It offers the bait but conceals the hook. It gives nothing more than the fleeting pleasures of happy days. The momentary joy of sexual experience, of material things, the temporary life of escapism. The great Puritan Thomas Watson said, "What fools are they who, for a drop of pleasure, drink a sea of wrath." So knowing all of this, and knowing the desperate need of his disciples, in the coming days, knowing the persecution and the confusion, Jesus says, Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. And as I read earlier in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace." And here he is referring to the Helper, the Holy Spirit, that he is going to send. And if you read about what Jesus said, He is going to come, he is going to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He is going to guide you into all truth, and he is going to disclose to you what is to come. He is going to give you a joy that the world cannot take away. And then Jesus says "In the world, you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world." I want you to think about this because we are united to Christ and saving faith. We are not only going to experience the same kind of persecution that Jesus experienced, but we're going to experience the same kind of victory, and the same kind of joy.

If I can close with the spoilers of peace, two things very quickly. They are doubt and disobedience. First of all doubt. Notice again, Jesus said in John 14:27, "Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." This command was first given in in verse one of chapter 14, which was followed by a divine remedy, that even in the midst of your tears, you should have a soul anchoring faith in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, you should have a soul thrilling anticipation of future glory. You've got to keep those things in perspective. Said differently, believers who are at peace with God will not experience this peace unless they can live consistently with who Christ is and what He has promised. We must appropriate the promises of God and as we do, the peace begins to flood our soul. What a joy it is to know that even when we've lost a loved one, we will see them again, and we know where they are. How do we know that? Because we live by faith, and God has communicated that to us. When we see the world crumbling all around us, what peace and joy we have, knowing that ultimately, we have a sovereign God who has ordained the end from the beginning, and that he is coming again, to pronounce judgment, and to enact judgment upon this world and to deliver us from it. When we do these things, God fills us with "all joy and peace in believing" Romans 15:13. You know when we're anxious and discontent about the present, it's easy to start worrying about things, isn't it? We begin to catastrophize, we begin to think make things even worse than what they are. And then we watch the news and we're ready to go jump off the roof, you know. And it's so easy at that point to begin to doubt God and dishonor him and forfeit the peace that we have, rather than as we read earlier. To obey the command to be anxious for what? Nothing. Don't be anxious about things. Every prayer supplication, give thanks, let your requests be made known to God. And then, when you do that, when you have that kind of heart attitude, the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, it will be something that you cannot explain, and the world cannot understand, because it is supernatural. In Ephesians, five and verse 18, we are commanded to be filled with a spirit. In other words, to continually live under the influence of the indwelling Spirit, and letting his word control us and this is what we must do. Otherwise, we will move not only from doubt, to disobedience, sins of omission, and commission. If you're living in disobedience, you're going to forfeit peace. In fact, Psalm 119, in verse 165, we read those who love your law, have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. So this is to live in the conscious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:16. And when we do that, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. We will manifest the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, and so forth. Colossians 3:15, Paul exhorts us. He says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." I love that word "rule" that means to referee or umpire. All right, live that way. We must always be asking, Lord is my heart attitude and my life pleasing to you? Well, I asked you, do you have this kind of peace? And if you don't, it is only available through faith in Christ. And I would plead with you to come to Christ, to repent of your sin and ask Him to save you. Again, quoting Thomas Watson, the great Puritan. He said, "If you would have peace, make war with sin. If you would have peace with God, break the league with sin, give battle to sin, for it is a most just war."

I close with a story that many of you are familiar with. Horatio Spafford was a Chicago lawyer and friend of the evangelist Dwight Moody. In 1873, to visit Moody's preaching campaign in England, he planned a trip for his family to Europe. And he set his wife Anna, and their daughters on ahead. He was going to catch up later. But the ship sunk in the passage and only Anna his wife survived. They lost their four daughters Annie 11, Maggie, age nine, Bessie, age five, and Tonetta age two. And his wife Anna sent a telegram back to her husband, which began "Saved alone. What shall I do?" Can you imagine getting that telegram? Well, Horatio quickly got on board a ship, he sailed to join his wife and Midway across the Atlantic, the captain told him that they were near the place where the ship was sunk and where his daughters had drowned. And though grieving in ways that we cannot imagine at that moment, he testifies how he experienced a supernatural peace like a river. quoting Isaiah 66:12. And you will recall the first verse of that hymn that we have sung so many times. He wrote this, "When peace like a river, attended my way, when sorrows like sea billows, roll. Whatever my lot thou has taught me to say, it is well. It is well with my soul." Let's pray together. Father, we are overwhelmed when we think of the peace that you have given us in Christ. We thank you that you have saved us by your grace and the long war with you is over. No longer does your wrath abide upon us because Jesus paid it all. And we thank you as well for the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who gives us a subjective awareness of your love for us and sustains us even in the midst of unimaginable heartache. And once again, I would plead with you to minister to those who have lost loved ones this last week. And to teach us all the importance of trusting you and living in faithful obedience that we might not ever forfeit the peace that is ours in Christ. We thank you, we give you praise. for Jesus sake. Amen.