Experience Supernatural Peace with Jesus Christ

Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure and promises them supernatural peace.

This peace is not given by the world, but by Jesus himself.

Jesus bequeathed his peace upon his followers, leaving them a great heritage.

This peace is a result of reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Music Music In the Gospel of John, we read that Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure. He knew they would be troubled by the way he would be taken from them, so he was reassuring them of the peace that they would have if they remained faithful to him. In John chapter 14, verse 27, Jesus said, Peace I leave with you, my own peace I now give and bequeath to you, not as the world gives do I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed, and do not permit yourself to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled. There was a wonderful testimony about a man who was facing death, and we see the scripture that we have just read in John 14, verse 27, come alive with this perfect peace in Christ. It goes like this. There was a martyr once in Switzerland standing barefoot on a bundle of sticks that were surrounding him. He was about to be burned to death. The brave martyr asked the magistrate, supervising his execution to come near him. He said, Will you please lay your hand upon my heart? I am about to die by fire. Lay your hand upon my heart. If it beats any faster than it ordinarily beats, do not believe my religion. The magistrate, with palpitating heart himself, and all in a tremble, laid his hand upon the martyr's bosom and found that he was just as calm as if he was going to his bed rather than to the flames. This is certainly a glorious testimony, perfect peace in Jesus Christ, just as he promised, My peace I give you, my peace I leave with you. Godliness is great gain to him who has it. Just think about what our precious Savior promised us, dear church. Jesus left us a great heritage or a legacy. When he departed from this world, we could say Jesus made his will. He said, Father, to you I commit my spirit. And he left the concern of his burial to Joseph of Arimathea and his clothes fell locked to the soldiers and Jesus put John in charge of the care of his mother as he was upon the cross. Just to note that Joseph of Arimathea was mentioned in scripture as one who was waiting and expecting the Messiah's coming. In Luke chapter 23 verse 15, the scripture says that a man named Joseph, a member of the Jewish Supreme Court, from the city of Arimathea in Judah, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He was a godly man who had been expecting the Messiah's coming and had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other Jewish leaders. You see, our precious Lord Jesus had arranged all the aspects of his departure before he went to the cross to willingly die on our behalf. He left nothing undone, or we could say he left no loose ends. And we also see that he left his faithful followers or disciples something far beyond gold or silver because he had none. He bequeathed his peace upon them. Peace I leave you. This is a peace the world cannot give their church. This is a peace that is promised to the generations of time since our wonderful and generous Savior spoke that promise to her disciples over 2,000 years ago. There is another testimony that I thought was very befitting to mention, and this is a true story or account of a battle that occurred in South America many years ago. And it goes like this. The Earl of Dundonald fought with a solitary ship in line of formidable forts in South America whose gunfire proved so overwhelmingly rapid that his men could not be found anywhere in sight to stand by their guns. Calling his wife, he asked her to fire one of the guns and show these men how to do their duty. She did so. Instantly they returned, burning with shame, to their post, and soon the victory was theirs. The lady, in rehearsing the circumstance, said that the thing that was felt by her was the most terrible, was not the clamorous noise of the battle, not the barrage of fire, but the awesome calmness that sat fixed on her husband's countenance, and it seemed to carry in itself the sure anticipation of victory. It seems that most individuals at some time or another have felt a settled calmness while standing in the face of danger of some sort. But when we speak about the incomparable or matchless example of our dear Savior, on that day he was preparing to go to the cross to face his agony of death, we have no other comparisons in the divine legacies of legacies that have bequeathed upon humankind since that time. This peace is not without, it is within. It is calm assurance that relates to the inner tranquility and poise of the believer in Jesus Christ, whose trust is in God through Christ. It was prophesied in scripture about the one who would come and bring this divine peace. In Isaiah chapter 9, beginning in verse 7, For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace. The peace that Jesus was bequeathing upon every believing follower of his was a combination of hope and trust and quietness in the mind and soul, which is brought about by reconciliation with the Almighty Eternal Father God. Apostle Paul wrote that this peace brings peace and spiritual blessing and is a direct result of faith in Jesus Christ alone. In Romans chapter 5, beginning in verse 1, the scripture tells us, Therefore, since we are justified, acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God through faith, let us grasp the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy. Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Verse 2, Through him also we have our access, entrance, introduction by faith into this grace, state of God's favor in which we firmly and safely stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. Verse 3, Moreover, let us all be full of joy now. Let us exalt and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that the pressure and affliction and hardship produce patience and unswerving endurance. This peace comes through reconciliation, which is the process by which God and man are brought together again. This scripture teaches us that God and man are alienated from one another because of God's holiness and a man's sinfulness. Even though God loves a sinner it is impossible for him not to judge sin In Hebrews chapter 10 beginning in verse 26 the word declares If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sin is left, but only after a fearful expectation of judgment and raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Verse 28, Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think that a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Verse 30. For we know him who said, It is mine to avenge. I will repay and again. The Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Remember those early days after you received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest and faced the suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution. At other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. and you sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had a better and lasting possessions. Verse 35, do not throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded. Verse 36, you need to preserve so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. for just in a very little while he who is coming will come and will not delay. Verse 38 But my righteous ones will live by faith and if he shrinks back I will not be pleased with him. But if we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed we are of those who believe and are saved. We see through the scripture that biblical reconciliation affects both parties. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, man's sin is atoned, and God's wrath is appeased or satisfied. So therefore the relationship of hostility and alienation is changed into one of peace and fellowship. Romans chapter 5, 8 declares, While we were yet in weakness, powerless to help ourselves, at the fitting time Christ died for in behalf of the ungodly. Verse 7, now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life, even for an upright man. Though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor, someone might even dare to die. Verse 8, but God shows and clearly proves his own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ the Messiah, the anointed one, died for us. So we see that the initiative of reconciliation was given and motivated by God himself, while we were still sinners and enemies of Christ. And this is why Jesus Christ died for us, dear ones. Reconciliation is sovereignly God's own completed act, and it took place before human actions such as confession of sin, repentance, and restitution even took place. God himself and God alone has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ's death upon the cross. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 18 declares, But all things are from God, who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to himself, received us into favor, brought us into harmony with himself, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation, that by the word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with him. Verse 19, it was God personally present in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with himself, not counting upon and holding against men their trespasses, but canceling them and committing to us the message of reconciliation of the restoration to favor. In verse 20, we see Paul's urgency for the salvation of souls. The scripture tells us that he begged, implored, and endeavored to persuade men to be reconciled to God. Verse 20, Paul says, we are Christ's ambassadors, making his appeal as if it were through us. We, as Christ's personal representatives, beg you for his sake to lay hold of the divine favor now offered you and be reconciled to God. And in verse 11, much of the same chapter which is speaking of the judgmentcy of Christ, we see Paul's eagerness for the reconciliation of all who would hear his message. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 9-11 Therefore we make our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to him. Verse 10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are well known to God, and I also trust are all well known in your consciences. Paul knowing the terror of the Lord pleaded and implored and endeavored to persuade men to be reconciled to God for those who will hear the message of reconciliation Jesus leaves an outstanding bequeathal or gift of comfort which is greater than gold or anything else that could be bestowed by a father or mother's dying blessing being reconciled to God ushers in a divine peace which transcends all understanding. In Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 through 7, the word declares, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition. With thanksgiving, present your request to God. Verse 7, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You see, God's sovereign peace reflects his divine character, which is strength, love, good, and power. It actually emanates from his presence in our lives. In 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 16, we see this. Now may the peace of the Lord himself grant you peace, the peace of his kingdom at all times, in all ways, under all circumstances and condition, whatever comes. The Lord be with you all. Isn't it comforting to know that Christ Jesus pours out his peace to us like a troop of military forces which are sent to stand guard over and around us? Although we cannot totally understand the divine peace of God with our human minds, it is unquestionably real and obtainable only in Jesus Christ by faith because the word tells us so. When anyone who believes, truly believes and is sincere in their walk with the Lord and follows and obeys him, he says, my peace I leave with you. And this peace is within our hearts. It is a calm serenity of pardon and reconciliation of the soul who loves the Lord with all that is within them. And another testimony I have come across is a true story of Christ's peace in a dying hour. And it goes like this. A poor soldier was mortally wounded at the Battle of Waterloo. His companion carried him to some distance and laid him down under a tree and before he left him there the dying soldier entreated him to open his knapsack and take out his pocket Bible and read to him a small portion of it before he died. When asked what passage you should like to be read, he desired his friend to read John 14, verse 27. And now he said, I die happy. I desire to have peace with God, and I possess the peace of God which passes all understanding. A little while later, one of his fellow officers passed him and seeing him in such an exhausted state, asked him how he was doing. The soldier said, I die happy, for I enjoy the peace of God which passes all understanding. and then he died. The officer left him and went into battle where he was soon mortally wounded. While surrounded by his brother officers, full of anguish and dismay, he cried out, Oh, I would give ten thousand worlds if I had them that I possess the peace which gladdened the heart of the dying soldier whom I saw dying under the tree, for he declared that he possessed the peace of God, which surpassed all understanding. I know nothing of that peace, and now I die miserable and I die in despair. The scripture found in John 14, 27, that was read to the dying soldier, is what Jesus said when he was departing from his disciples. You see, this divine peace is a peace that personally and especially belongs only to Jesus Christ. Jesus alone possesses it. And having finished his work and bringing our salvation by his last dying words, which were, It is finished. And the words, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. After our Savior arose from the dead, his jubilant spirit and soul arose in complete victory and peace. and he was raptured into the bosom of his father and was seated next to him on his throne. Hallelujah. You see, the capstone of peace, which alone belongs to Jesus Christ, is now imparted into the humblest of his followers. They become pardoned, accepted, and sanctified in the beloved. It is really vain to seek this kind of peace apart from Jesus Christ. This peace, Jesus tells us, is not as the world gives. We can read this in Isaiah chapter 57, verse 20, as the word declares, The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. The wicked are all who are transgressors of the law and remain unpardoned by God Almighty, because they refused to come unto his son, Jesus Christ. The sea is always in motion and is never entirely calm. It also lashes against the rocks and foams as it he's with wild commotion. And this is how the unrest of the soul is within the unregenerate soul of people who remain unsaved. The world offers nothing but trouble and eventually death of the soul of those who endeavor to seek their peace and happiness from it, just like the dying soldier who knew he had no peace when he died. We just attended a funeral of a daughter of some friends who died suddenly in her sleep. The pastor officiating the funeral service was the uncle of the woman and knew her very well in her infancy and in her childhood years as she was growing up. He said she was a very bright and precocious little girl and could read when she was three years old. Evidently, she struggled with mental issues most of her 41 years of age. I guess the thing that caught my attention mostly is when he said that this young woman always fought against God. Evidently, she attended church as a young girl, but it was known that she didn't really come to Christ or have true relationship with him. The grieving for the family was very immense, especially for those who are true believers in Jesus Christ. It was so sad to see the family loss and their emptiness and the departure of this wayward individual who never found her peace in our Lord Jesus Christ, because she fought against him. Try as one might, on their own and in their own strength, to measure up to the righteousness in which God demands, they will never find that freedom and peace which belong only to Jesus Christ and his alone to give. 2 Chronicles 13, beginning in verse 11, tells us that people who fight against God and his holy ways will not succeed. The word says, Behold, God himself is with us as our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O Israelite, fight not against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot prosper. Jesus warns us in Revelation chapter 16 verse 15 Behold I come as a thief blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments that he may not walk naked and he may not see his shame. He is speaking here of the judgment day the great day of God the almighty in which the father has committed all judgment to his son The warning and constant reminder for all of us is to keep watch over our souls and keep our garments clean. The word tells us that the spirit-led Christian, as he yields to the Lord Jesus Christ's commands, will experience the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Philippians 2.13 declares, not in your own strength, for it is God who all the while effectively at work in you, energizing and creating in you the power and desire, both to will and to work for his good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. It is in this way only that we are empowered and have the desire to obey God's commands and find comfort in the supernatural peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 8 beginning in verse 12 says, So then, brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh. We are not obligated to our carnal nature to give a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates of the flesh. Verse 13, For if you live according to the dictates of the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you are officially putting to death, making extinct, deadening the evil deeds prompted by the body, you shall really and genuinely live forever. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. You see, in the old nature that fights against God and his ways, there is absolutely no obligation to do anything that speaks of God's righteousness. But the true believer in Jesus Christ can live in the genuine victory, the freedom and supernatural peace that comes from Jesus Christ. Let's look at the contrast of the life in the flesh and life in the spirit in Romans chapter 8 verse 5 For those who are according to the flesh are controlled by its unholy desires Set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh But those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit. Verse 6. Now the mind of the flesh, which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit, is death. Death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter. But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and soul and peace, both now and forevermore. Verse 7. That is because the mind of the flesh, with its carnal thoughts and purposes, is hostile to God. For it does not submit itself to God's law, neither can it. So then, those who are living the life of the flesh, catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature, cannot please or satisfy God or be acceptable to him. Understand that these verses are not describing two kinds of Christians here, as one carnal and the other spiritual. Paul is describing and contrasting the saved and the unsaved. He is telling us that the unsaved person does not have the Spirit of God. Therefore, he does not belong to the Lord. He is saying that the unsaved lives in the flesh, and that that means that he or she satisfies the desires of the flesh, that their minds are centered on themselves, on me, myself, and I. But the true believer in Jesus Christ has the Spirit of God within their temple and lives in an entirely new, different place and sphere and realm. Their minds are fixed on the things of the Holy Spirit and the things that please God. Their consciences are attuned to those things, and they are on guard for anything that would disrupt their relationship and fellowship with the one whom their hearts love. And this does not mean that the unsaved person never does anything good or that the one who is saved doesn't do anything wrong. It does mean, however, that their lives are totally different. One lives for the flesh and the other lives for the spirit. The truly saved individual absolutely hates the fact that they have sinned and turns away from anything that has caused them to disobey their Lord. They absolutely hate what they have done to displease God. The unsaved person is alive physically, but is spiritually dead inside. Their consciences are seared and hardened to the things towards God, and they do not respond to the nudgings of the Holy Spirit who endeavors to break through their hard shell. These kinds of people might be quite moral and even religious, but they absolutely lack the spiritual life in Christ that could bring them to true salvation and peace beyond all comprehension. Verses 6 and 7 tell us that they are at war with God. Verse 6. Indeed, it cannot. So then those who are living in the life of the flesh, catering to the appetites and impulses of their own carnal nature, cannot please or satisfy God or be acceptable to him. Dear Church, it makes such a difference in our internal peace and happiness when the Holy Spirit lives within us. An individual experiences new life, and even our physical faculties take on a totally new realm of experience. There is a divine realm of experience in which Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 11, describes, and this is important for all of us to see. Beginning in verse 11. And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will restore to life your mortal, short-lived, perishable bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Verse 12. So then, brethren, we who are debtors not to the flesh, we who are not obligated to our carnal natures to live a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates of the flesh. Verse 13. For if you live according to the dictates of the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you are habitually putting to death, making extinct, deadening the evil deeds prompted by the body, you shall really and genuinely live forever. Verse 14. For all of us who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For the spirit which you have now received is not a spirit of slavery, put you once more into bondage of fear. But you have received the spirit of adoption, the spirit producing sonship, in the bliss of which we cry, Abba, Father, Father. Verse 16. And the spirit himself thus testifies together with our own spirit assuring us that we are the children of God. And if we are his children, then we are his heir also, heirs of God. and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing his inheritance with him. Only we must share his suffering if we are to share his glory. Verses 12 through 17 describe this divine realm in which the true believer in Jesus Christ lives and grows and matures with the help of Holy Spirit of God who leads us into all truth. What we have just read and should see in these scriptures is that the Spirit of the Lord must have a hold of us. It is not enough for anyone to say, I am saved and I have the Spirit of God. You see, words are easy. Words are cheap. But dear listener, the Spirit of God must truly have a hold of you. It is easy to say, God's Spirit lives in me. But I ask and I provoke you with the question, does he own you? You see, it is only in this way in which the precious Holy Spirit can produce the abundant and victorious life of Christ in us and give us the supernatural gift of peace, belonging only to the family of God and being fellow heir of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Now we have no obligation to please the flesh because the flesh only brings one troubled after another in our lives. The scripture tells us that we do have an obligation to the Holy Spirit because he is the spirit of life. He is the spirit of adoption, and only he can empower us to obey our beloved Jesus. And only he can help us to become more like Jesus Christ, who is called the Prince of Peace. And only he can bestow or bequeath the supernatural gift of peace in our lives. This is our legacy of legacies, dear church. Hold on to your beloved Savior Jesus Christ and his precious Holy Spirit, who alone can empower you and me to become more like him every day. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. .

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