John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
There are times in our lives when the circumstances of life seem overwhelming, when from our homes to our nation it seems as if everything is in utter chaos. Yet, no matter how overwhelming our lives, Christ is always on the throne and always in control, and we can always have peace in our hearts. Peace in our hearts is a very different kind of peace than that which the world speaks of so often today. In society’s view, peace is the absence of conflict. We define a peaceful time in our history as a time when there are no wars occurring. The peace that Christ is showing us here in John 14 is not the absence of conflict in our lives, but the internal peace we have within our hearts, no matter what conflicts or circumstances are occurring in our lives. Christ’s peace transcends our circumstances.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you”. Just as Christ leaves His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, Christ leaves us His peace (John 14:26). He makes a very important statement here. Peace can only come from Him. Notice how He uses the words, ” my peace I give you” . Romans 5:1 explains to us the origins of this peace: ” Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. We can have peace in our hearts, once our salvation is secure. This is the ultimate security, my friends, and no other security can match it. This is why true peace can only come with Christ, because it comes bundled with the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of our salvation. ” For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). If we are following the way of the flesh and not following Christ, we are destined for a life with no peace whatsoever, but a life filled with Christ and His Holy Spirit is a life secure in His love and peace.
“Not as the world giveth, give I unto you”. There are many things in this world that we look for when we are seeking peace and security. Money, relationships, social standing and job security, all seem like they would make us feel more secure and more at peace, but we all know that even with all the money in the world, we can still not be at peace. These worldly things we seek are like the promises of the false prophets in Ezekiel 13:10 who ” have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter” . These prophets promised peace, and built up a strong wall, but the wall was built with morter that would not hold. When the rains and hail came, the wall fell. The people who sought security in the wall and not in their God, were bitterly disappointed. Christ makes it very clear to us in Matthew 6 what we should be seeking instead of worldly security. ” But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself “. Our peace and security must come from the security of our salvation, and not from those things that the world would desire for us to place our security in.
“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. In this last part of John 14:27, Christ tells us the results of our being at peace. Because of the peace that rests in our souls, we need not be troubled or afraid. We are at peace because we have salvation through the God of the Universe and we have His Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. Our salvation is secure and our God promises to supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). Our peace must lie in this and in all of God’s promises. If we keep our eyes on His promises, we cannot help but be at peace. Christ promises to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5). He promises to never change (Malachi 3:6). He is continually at our side, holding our hand (Isaiah 41:13), upholding us with His righteousness (Isaiah 41:10), and dwelling in our very souls (John 14:26). If we hold onto promises such as these, we need never be troubled or afraid, because we know we are never alone.
My friends, seek the truest peace you can ever find by seeking Christ with all that you have. You cannot be disappointed. Remember John 16:33 – ” These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world “. Christ never promises us a world free from conflict or tribulation, but He does promise us that in spite of conflict or tribulation, we can ” be of good cheer” . We can be of good cheer because Christ has overcome the world. His death on the cross paved the way for our salvation. We can be of good cheer because by our acceptance of Him as Lord and Saviour of our lives, we have His Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts and lives, filling us with His peace. We can be of good cheer because He will supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19) and we need only seek after Him and His righteousness and all of our other needs will be met (Matthew 6:33). Lastly, my friends, we can be of good cheer because we have an entire Bible filled with God’s promises for us. Now this, my friends, is peace – a belief that no matter what life’s circumstances may be, we can have complete confidence in our God, to provide for and care for all our needs. ” Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).