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Ridgecrest Baptist Church is located in Dothan, AL and exists to Reach the lost, Build the believer, and Connect people of God to the mission and purpose of God.
Take your Bibles and open up, if you will, to the Gospel of John. Gospel of John. We'll read our text here in just a bit. Hang on to your place there. I bet you'd agree with this statement.
There's a lot of turmoil in our world right now. Would you agree with that? The threat of war, some say right now is at an all-time high, or at least it is a high for the last probably 50 years. Israel is threatening Taiwan, russia continues to battle in the Ukraine, israel is at war with Hamas and it's quite likely we'll end up in war with Hezbollah. And, by the way, don't take your eyes off of Israel. And what's going on right now? People think, well, it seems like it's settled down. Don't take your eyes off. What's going on in Israel is prophetic and has eventual prophetic implications. Nonetheless, that continues and North Korea is now launching test missiles and threatening to be able to have long-range missiles. Iran is rattling their swords against the West. The Houthi terrorists are attacking ships and military bases. It's a time of turbulence and it might likely get worse.
But in the midst of all of this, there are a lot of protests, and there are protests going on all over the globe, and oftentimes they are masquerading as peace protests. We just want peace. It seems like we're on the brink of self-destruction, and it seems like peace is alluding the nations and humanity. For that matter, the Society of International Law in London reported that during the last 4,000 years 4,000 years, that's a lot of time there have only, been, out of 4,000 years, 268 years of peace, in spite of the fact that there have been more than 8,000 peace treaties made and then violated In the last three centuries, the last 300 years, just on the continent of Europe alone, there have been 286 wars. The fact is, there's always been war, there's always been discord, and there will never be external peace among the nations, really, until there's internal peace among humanity, and that kind of peace only comes through one person. That internal peace only comes through Jesus Christ. That's why he is called in the Bible the Prince of Peace.
With all the unrest and wars and rumors of war that's going on, though, there is some positive news, and the positive news is that, even in a world full of chaos, you can personally have what the Bible calls a peace that passes all understanding. You don't have to live in fear, you don't have to live in chaos, you can walk in peace, and that's what I want to talk with you about this morning and, kind of as an introduction, there are three things I want to call your attention to that all of us need, Every human needs. It's what all of humanity has to have really if they're going to walk in peace. The first the Bible teaches us is that we need peace with God. Man needs peace with God. In Romans, chapter five, verse one, says this therefore, since we've been justified by faith, look we have. He says peace with God through our Lord, jesus Christ. All of us need peace with God. The greatest need we have is to be at peace with God. If you don't know Christ, the Bible says you're at war with God. This is the whole reason God sent Jesus into the world was to make peace between His creation and Himself. Jesus is our peace treaty and in fact, the cross was the pathway to peace.
In Northern Ireland there's a city that's so divided that part of the city is called London Dairy and the other part of the city is called Dairy On the east side of the Protestants. On the west side is are the Catholics and this is, and they don't want to mix too much and they rarely go from one side to the other to connect with the other. And so some years ago they were trying to, ireland's, northern Ireland's trying how do we, how do we fix this kind of thing or try to create some measure of peace? And so they built a bridge across this, this divide. They built this bridge. It's kind of a snake like bridge. It's designed for walkers, not cars or joggers or cyclists, but you can go from one side to the other. And you know what they named the bridge? They named it the peace bridge. The peace bridge. Well, that's exactly what God did when he sent Jesus into this world. You see, we were incapable of making peace with God, so God built a bridge. That bridge was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the bridge or the pathway that enables us to have this peace with God. So the Prince of peace came to make the path to peace for us.
Billy Graham said this when we have peace with God, we have peace with ourselves and with our fellow man. And Charles Spurgeon said peace with God is the foundation for all other peace. So we need, all of us, peace with God. The second thing that we need is we need, we need the peace of God.
Paul writes in Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7, he said do not be anxious about anything. I'll talk a little more about that later in the message. But he says you're not being anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And then he adds and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding or comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Man needs not only peace with God, he needs the peace of God. And I believe the lack of peace in our lives today is really a byproduct of what he talks about.
What Paul talked about right there in the verses that we just read. It is anxiety and worry. I believe that is generally the result of our lack of peace is because we are captured by worries and anxieties. And again, when you look out there in the world, there's plenty to be anxious about, isn't there? So if you want peace, the peace of God which he says, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, he says the pathway is prayer. We'll talk about that in a minute. And then there's a third need that all of us have, and that is man needs peace from God, peace with God. We need the peace of God and then we need peace from God. Paul addressed that in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 3, when he writes to the Corinthians, listen how he opens that letter. He says grace to you and peace from God, our Father and our Lord, jesus Christ. That's what I want to talk to you about this morning. If you're physically able to do so, why don't you stand with me? We're going to read one verse and I'm going to give you some context behind that verse.
One verse verse 27 out of chapter 14, one of my favorite chapters in all of the New Testament. This is what Jesus is saying to his followers peace I leave with you. My peace I give you, not as the world gives, do I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Why? Because I give you peace. I leave peace with you. Father, thank you for that peace that comes to us only through our relationship with Jesus. That makes peace not only with God, but provides peace from God. It helps us live our lives in the midst of turmoil and chaos, storms and changing seasons. Your peace becomes our peace and Father allows us to navigate our lives. Father, would you speak to us this morning from your word. Would you instruct us and teach us, give us insight and, most of all, help us understand how we can access a peace that the world doesn't even understand. All of you, way to go. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you. You can be seated Now.
Let me give you a little bit of context here, because I just kind of yanked this verse out, and I'm big on context. I think context is important to understand what Jesus is talking about. Chapters 14, 15 and 16, and really 17, you might say. Chapter 17 is what we call the high priestly prayer. That's where Jesus prays for us. By the way, if you wonder, did Jesus pray for you 2,000 years later, go read chapter 17, because he says right there in that chapter I pray this not only for you, talking to his disciples, but for all of those who will believe. Jesus prayed for you. Isn't that incredible? The Holy Spirit makes intercession for you too. By the way, I mean, if you're wondering, jesus prayed for you.
And this context is all about some final words that Jesus is giving to his closest followers. He knows that soon he'll be arrested and soon he'll be tried and convicted in a kangaroo court and then he'll be crucified. This is all about to happen. Jesus knows it's about to happen and so he's having this gathering with his closest followers, and the whole purpose of the gathering is to give them some kind of final instructions, also to comfort them, because he knows that their hearts are about to be thrown into chaos. He says that right there, let not your heart be troubled. You saw that.
Look at verse one of chapter 14, let not your hearts be troubled. That's how he starts this kind of final discourse, because he knows that what's about to happen is gonna really throw him into a tailspin. And so he's saying I wanna tell you some stuff, I want you to understand some things. These things he says in chapter 16, we'll look at a little later on. But he says these things I tell you right now so you'll be prepared, so your hearts won't have to live in fear and anxiety and chaos. And so he gives them these instructions, this final discourse, chapter 14, 15 and 16. And he promises them that they'll be able to navigate what's ahead, because he's gonna give them two things. The two things he's gonna give them that will help them get through. One is the Holy Spirit. In fact, the verses that precede.
What the one verse that we read are about Jesus saying now I'm going to the Father, but it's imperative that I go to the Father, because if I don't go to the Father, I can't send the Holy Spirit back. And I have been with you, but he will be in you. That's an incredible statement. Jesus is really saying to this see, they wanted Jesus hang around, jesus, be with us. We feel better when you're near us, and that makes sense to me, right? But Jesus says to them look, I've been with you, but I'm gonna do something even better. I'm gonna send the Spirit back and he will be in you. He won't just be with you, he'll be in you. And he says so. He says that to them. He talks about the Holy Spirit and then he says so I'm gonna send him back to you. Okay, this is why you don't have to allow your hearts to be thrown in chaos or turmoil. But he says there's something else I'm gonna give you, and that's what we read in verse 27. He says but I'm also gonna leave. Not only send my Holy Spirit and leave my Holy Spirit for you, I'm gonna leave my peace with you. And I'll tell you why. He says that after the Holy Spirit, because there's a connection there. We'll talk about that just a little bit. So he says these two things I promise to send my Holy Spirit. He'll instruct you and counsel you and guide you and correct you and convict you, and then I'm gonna leave my peace with you because you're gonna need it in the world you're living in.
2000 years ago and Jesus understood then that they needed his peace. 2000 years fast forward. And guess what? You and I still need it, don't we? Why? Because this world has always been in turmoil. Outside of Christ, this world will. There'll never be ultimate peace in this world. And so, 2000 years later, nothing has changed. Just like the disciples, we face confusion and anxiety in our life and we need the same two things. We need the power, the Holy Spirit operating through us, and we need the peace of Christ to rule and reign in our hearts so we can face what's going on around us.
So let me show you three things about the peace that comes from God this morning. The first thing I want you to see is the peace of Christ is receivable. Look at the first part of verse 27,. Peace I leave with you. The peace of Christ is a gift to you. It is a gift to you. God has given you this gift. This gift is his peace, and you know what you can do with a gift. You have several options, you know. One of the options is, with a gift, you can I mean, we just come through the gift giving season, right?
One of the things you can do with a gift is ignore it, and we do sometimes ignore gifts, right? If you've ever been given one of those gifts and somebody thought they were giving you something really that you'd really like and you got it and you went oh, thank you so much, I'm feeling down. That's what I was hoping for. Socks, oh, somebody's giving you a gift or something you know and you took it and you put it away somewhere. Right, you didn't, I don't really need that or something. You put it away. You kind of ignored the gift. You ever done that. You put it.
Some of you ladies have a gift closet or a gift cabinet and that's where you take gifts you've received and you put them there so you can re-gift them. Right, you ever re-gifted Come on, tammy, uh-uh, uh-uh, guilty, right there. Gift, see Re-gift a gift. You know what that means A re-gift. If you have gifts to re-gift. That probably means you ignored the gift. Oh, I'll give that to somebody right? You can ignore a gift. Now, if you ignore a gift, there's no benefit in that gift to you is there really? And you can do that. The second thing you can do with a gift is you can just flat out reject the gift. I don't think we do that often, but occasionally you may reject the gift, say no, no, no, I don't want that, I don't need that, I'm not interested in that. Or you just kind of reject the gift. And if you reject the gift, I mean essentially it's no use to you, is it? Even if it's available to you, if you reject it, it's no use to you.
So in the first hour there's a man in this church and he did some work. We have a sunroom on the back of our house and it has a flat roof and it needed some repair and he did the repair work on that. And then he said, pastor, he said make sure you keep the leaves off the top of it, because it collects leaves. And so I said no problem, I said I'll do that and I said I have. I tried to get up there a couple of times a year and blow the leaves off and do that kind of stuff. But it's way up there and I now have back issues and so climbing that ladder has become a spooky thing. And Allison gets at the base of it. She's holding on to the ladder and I'm going up and she's saying hold on, hold on. And I'm climbing up and my back.
Now I genuinely have back problems and, by the way, that's not all bad. It gets me out of a lot of work and so I don't get up there like I used to. I'll be honest, I don't feel as secure as I used to when I run up that ladder Did I tell you it's real high and that Allison's holding on the bottom, which doesn't make me real secure or feel secure. You are holding this thing, aren't you? And so he said keep the legs.
I said yeah, I'll try to do that, he said. In fact, he said pastor. He said I'm just gonna come by a couple times. I didn't go. I'd like to, but you know my back or well, I can't. You think you could come by every once in a while and blow the. I didn't do anything like that. I didn't milk it or try to. In fact, didn't know, expect. He said you know what pastor? He said I'm just gonna do that a couple times. I'm just gonna come by and I'm just gonna make sure the leaves are off there. And I said to him this I said no, no, he's this great guy.
He and his family are here in the church. I said no, no, no, you don't. I said I'll take care of it. I never asked him to. You need to know that. He said no, pastor. He said I wanna do that. I said you don't need to, you're busy and you don't need to do that. I'll take care of that. And he said and then he did this. He said Are you going to rob me of a blessing? How do you answer that? Yes, I am. My back was saying don't you dare? And if you're listening, the leaves are built up. No, I'm, they have not. They really have not. Okay, but I felt kind of funny because I thought, well, I genuinely I didn't want him to feel like he needed to come by and get. I'd get up there and I also needed to hold the ladder and we would pray. But he said, pastor, you, you would be robbing me of of a blessing. He said I want to do that Now. I could reject that and I lose right. It's a gift for which I'm incredibly grateful for.
You can reject a gift somebody gives you. That's an option that you have, but when you do, you miss out on the benefit of the gift. A third thing I bet you already know what's the third thing you can do with a gift. You can accept it. You can receive the gift. You know Jesus Christ came into the world. If you don't know Jesus Christ and you're here today, you need to know something. He loves you, he died for you, but you have to accept his gift of eternal salvation. He offers it to you. But you know a lot of people just reject it, reject it, reject. You know how a person goes to hell. They don't go to hell because Jesus didn't pay for all sin. He paid for all sin, right. Why does a person go to hell? They go to hell for rejecting the payment. They go to hell because they reject the gift. But if they receive the gift, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God. That's what the Scripture says. So if you receive the gift, you get the subsequent benefit of the gift. That's what you can do with a gift.
Now, the gift of peace that Jesus gives. That's what it is. It's a gift that you have to determine what you are. You're going to receive the gift. A lot of people they don't understand. Hey, I'm good, the gift of peace is offered to me. Jesus said peace, I leave with you, but you can ignore it, you can reject it. You can receive it. Now, when I allow worry to control me, I'm either rejecting or ignoring the peace of Christ that he's left for me. Now. If the peace of Christ, though, is something that's receivable, you say okay, pastor, I know what I can do. I know the three. Then how do I receive it?
Well, let me tell you how you receive the gift of peace. First of all, the Bible tells the 1st Peter, 5.7, that you receive the gift of his peace by casting your cares and your anxiety on him. The Bible says this casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. That's how you start. You want the peace? Then you have to receive it by casting away, casting off the cares and anxieties that you have and putting them on him, in other words, by taking things that are robbing you of peace and casting them on Christ. The word casting here literally means to put upon him the responsibility for all your cares, and it is a picture of taking your cares, your anxieties, the things that disturb and rob you of peace, and taking those things and saying here, jesus, I toss them to you. It's throwing something off and throwing it on to Christ. So you begin there. If you want to receive the peace, you cast the cares on him. That's what he tells us.
Secondly, you do it by prayer. That verse I share with you a minute ago in Philippians 4-6 says by prayer you handle everything. Do not be anxious about anything. Any of you here today anxious? Any of you here today worried? What do you do with that? You want peace, but you're anxious, you're bothered, you're worried, you're disturbed. Guess what you do? You take it to him in prayer. Do not be anxious about anything. You cast it. And, by the way, I think the way I cast things on him is I cast them on him in prayer. I talk to him here Lord, take this. I'm carrying something that you never intended for me to carry. You know what worry results from it? Results from carrying a burden God never intended you to carry, and so I take it in prayer. I'm anxious, lord, I don't want to be anxious, so I'm going to pray, I'm going to talk to you about it, I'm going to give it to you.
The opposite of peace is. You know what the opposite of peace is? It's panic, discord, and prayer is a prescription for peace. Sometimes we'll talk to everybody else but God about the things that have us disturbed or anxious. I just I've got some friends I talk to. What. Nothing wrong with that, but have you talked to Jesus about it? So you're anxious, you're worried, you're disturbed, you're bothered. You don't have peace. Take it to Jesus, start there. Jesus isn't the last resort, he's the first response. Take it to him.
A third way that you receive his peace is to keep your mind on God. There's a verse I learned out of Isaiah 26, verse three in particular. I learned when I was a teenager, and it says that you, that is, god, will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is set on him. I learned that If I keep my mind set on him, he'll keep me in perfect peace. And then the second verse behind that says so trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord. God is an everlasting rock. He will keep in perfect peace. Are you disturbed today? Are you panicked? Are you anxious? Do you lack peace? Listen, keep your mind on God.
A lot of anxiety in life is simply the result of focusing on the wrong things. And the idea in those verses in Isaiah. The idea there is that you keep your focus on God rather than on the things of the world, because where you focus, that's going to set the agenda of your mind. And if you focus, if you focus on the world, the things going on the world, if you just watch the news, you'll be worried, you'll be anxious. So I keep my mind set on him and then I can access the perfect peace that only he can give me.
Now, by the way, I'm not telling you to live in denial. I'm not telling you to say, okay, I'll just act like nothing is going on or nothing's wrong in the world. Listen, that's just not the approach the Bible tells us. It's not about denying what's going on, but keeping your focus on God means that we don't live in a state of denial. It means we live in a state of dependence. You see the difference. If I keep my eyes on the world. It'll mess me up, so I don't live in a state of denial. I don't say, well, I've decided I'm going to keep my eyes on Jesus and therefore I'll just act like nothing is going on. That's not what the Scripture is talking about. It means, though, I keep my eyes on Jesus so that I'm not living in a state of denial, but I'm living in a state of dependence. All right, you got that.
Not only is the peace of Christ receivable, then, but secondly, I want you to see, the peace of Christ is remarkable. Again in verse 27, the second part of that statement peace I leave with you. And then here's the second part my peace I give to you here. It is not as the world gives, do I give to you. The peace of Christ is so different from the world. It is remarkable, it is supernatural, it is completely different, and Jesus distinguishes the kind of peace he provides against the kind of peace the world provides, and it is an important distinction. In fact, it is a distinction with a dramatic difference. Let me show you the difference.
Let me tell you, first of all, what characterizes the peace of the world. The peace that the world gives you is a natural kind of worldly peace. It's an earthly kind of peace, and that means it's circumstantial, that is, it's based on our circumstances. So the peace that the world offers depends on how things are going in our lives. So if your circumstances are pretty good, you may feel calm or at ease or peaceful about your life at the moment. But listen, our lives are oftentimes in a state of change. I mean sometimes from day to day, sometimes from hour to hour. And if our peace is merely the result of our circumstances, then you're going to the peace is going to be all over the place. One minute you're going to feel good and the next minute you're going to feel horrible. One minute you're going to be calm and the next day you're going to be a mess, you're going to be chaotic. Why? Because the peace that the world offers you is purely based on circumstances. What are you, sir? How are your circumstances? But not only is it circumstantial, it's unreliable. And the reason it's unreliable is because it's circumstantial. And since your circumstances change, the peace of the world is not reliable, because it will come and go with your circumstances. And then, third, the peace that the world offers is generally based emotionally. It's based on your emotions. In other words, it's dictated by your feelings.
So if we feel good, we feel up, we might feel peaceful or we might feel at rest. Why? Because we feel good. But you all know that, man, that can change in the course of a day, can it? So if we feel up or we feel good, or we don't have the flu or something like that, you know we go. How are you? Well, probably, if that's where we get our peace, we ought to say, at the moment, I feel good. So if I feel good, then I have some level of peace, but that's a subject to change, right. And so I wake up one and I don't feel so hot, or my back's hurting, or I got to get up on the roof and clean the leaves off. You're with me.
There's something that you don't feel, feel, feel, and the world tries to give you peace by making you feel better, and it just can't do it Now, because this is the peace that the world offers. Here's what Jesus is doing. This is why he's doing it, because he knows that when he was about, when he would be taken away from them, that their feelings were going to be all over the place, their circumstances were going to change on the short term. He knew that what they were seeing around them was not going to be reliable. And so he comes against that and he says that's the kind of peace that the world gives. But he said I don't give that kind of peace, I don't leave that kind of peace. And that's why his peace is remarkable, and that's why Paul writes in Philippians 4,7, and says the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus, that's where that peace comes from, and it will guard your heart and it will guard your mind, no matter what's going on around you. You see, the peace that Christ gives us is so different from the peace the world gives us. The peace that Christ gives us is stable. It doesn't come and go with the storms in your life or it doesn't change with the seasons of your life. It is completely stable because it is from him and not from the world.
Mark Roper told about a submarine that was being tested years ago. It was being tested and it had to remain submerged for many hours and at the end of the test, the night before the test ended, there was a massive storm. And when the submarine docked. The captain asked the commander of the ship said so how did you guys do last night during this horrible storm? To which the commander of the submarine said what storm? He said, man, there was a horrible storm and the waves were up and the wind was whipping about and there was damage and all this kind of stuff. And he said we never knew there was a storm because, you see, that submarine was far enough below the surface in what sailors call the cushion of the sea, and so everything going on on the top up there was happening. But they were nice and calm and at peace where they were because they were below the storm. The waters never were stirred where they were. Well, just like that.
The peace of Christ is stable. It is a cushion of stability in our storms and tests. It doesn't mean the storms aren't going on. It doesn't mean the tests aren't happening in our life. It doesn't mean there's no turmoil all around us. It means, though, in Christ, we have stability in the midst of the storm. The peace of Christ is stable. The peace of Christ is sufficient.
Now, it doesn't always make sense. Do you have peace? Yes, I have peace. It doesn't make sense why I should, but I do. That's the peace of Christ, that's this supernatural, that's this remarkable kind of peace. It doesn't always make sense, but it works and you know it when you have it. And people might even say I've had those occasions where I should probably had anything but peace and I had peace and yet a lot of stuff's going on around that robs us of peace. And I've had people say how can you be so calm? And it isn't because, oh, I'm not concerned about anything going around me. It is instead an inner peace that comes, that is stable and that is sufficient. Because of Christ it's stable, it's sufficient.
And then, third, the peace of Christ is supernatural. You can't always adequately explain it to people. It's not self-generated, it is rather the product of the Holy Spirit residing in our life. Now, I mentioned this at the front side, but I say this again to you Remember that Jesus talks about before the verse we read. He talks about the Holy Spirit. Remember I mentioned that to you before verse 27? He talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit to us. Verse 25, look at that. These things I've spoken to you while I'm still with you. I want you to hear these things. But the helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I've said to you, and then he goes peace, I leave with you. See, before he got to the peace he said I just want you to understand the Holy Spirit is going to come and he is the supernatural component inside of you that enables you to have supernatural peace.
This kind of peace is byproduct of the Spirit of God operating your life, and Paul further testifies to that because in the book of Galatians, chapter 5, verses 22 and 23, he gives us what we call the fruit of the Spirit. Do you know what one of the fruits of the Spirit is? It's peace. It's a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and so the Holy Spirit inside you brings this fruit of peace. It's supernatural, it's not something you gin up, it's not something you generate. It is something that comes as a result of the Holy Spirit operating inside of you. That's what makes it remarkable, that's what causes it to be a peace that passes all understanding. It's because it's not the way the world gives you peace. It is a product of the Holy Spirit inside, and so you can't always explain it to someone. You have peace. How do you have peace? I just have peace because the Spirit of God is operating in my life.
You're going to need that kind of peace in 2024. And it's going to be a direct result of the Spirit of God ruling and reigning in your life. That's why these things aren't separate things, I believe. That's why Jesus says the Holy Spirit is going to come in my name and then peace. I leave with you the Spirit, peace. They go together. So the peace of Christ is receivable, right, and the peace of Christ is remarkable, right.
There's one final thing I want you to catch. The peace of Christ is reliable. The last half of verse 27 says so. Let not your hearts be troubled, chaotic, neither let them be afraid. Don't let them be troubled or afraid of whatever you may face. Why? Because you have two things you have the Holy Spirit and you have the peace of Christ that I have left with you. Jesus connects his peace left to them and it's calming effect on their heart and their soul. I leave you peace. It's not like the world, don't try to find it there. I leave you peace, so don't let your hearts be thrown into chaos or trouble. Don't be afraid, no matter what's going on around you, because I will give you my peace. Jesus wanted them and, by extension, wants us to understand that his peace can be counted on to do what the peace of the world can never do, and that means you can live in peace in 2024.
In fact, to drive home the point about how reliable his peace is, Jesus makes a statement over in chapter 16. Look over chapter 16. This is still part of this same discourse. This is the same setting. Okay, they didn't change locations or conversations. This is still part of the same conversation Jesus is having with his disciple.
And to drive home the point about how reliable his peace is, in contrast to the world, jesus says in John 16, verse 33, look at this. You ought to underline this verse and keep it just to remind you this year that you need to tap into the peace of the spirit of God in your life. This is what I have said, these things. In other words, he's about to pray, chapter 17, and he reiterates what he said in verse 27 of chapter 14. Now he says it again at the end of the discourse before he prays.
He said I have said all of these things to you that in me you may have peace, why I'm trying to give you access to a peace that you're going to need In me in me, not in the world, but in him you may have peace. In the world, you will have the opposite of peace. You will have tribulation, but take heart, I've overcome the world so you can live in peace in 2024. That's why you need the peace of Christ ruling over your heart and mind, because this world's agenda, the world's ideas, its war perspective on just about everything will mesh you up. It will rob you of peace, it will unsettle your mind, it will steer you down paths of confusion. It will play and toy with your emotions. It'll even try to dismantle your beliefs. You know what the peace of God can create Actually, just the opposite, because it's so circumstantial and emotionally based. You know what it can do. It can start driving a wedge in your beliefs. Well, I had peace. I don't have peace. Where is God? I need God. All of that kind of stuff. That's what the world's peace will do, because it just is all over the place. It will undermine God's truth, it will steal and rob the joy of the Lord from you, and it will prevent you from having rest. I'm not talking about physical rest though I am, you know what I've discovered when my soul is at rest in God, I found that my body tends to rest better, that my mind's not in turmoil.
I was talking with some folks in between services and they said, pastor, would you pray with us because they're facing some. They're facing some of their faith is strong and they're facing some stuff. But they said at night we're laying down and we're having these strange dreams. And they began to tell me about the dreams that they're facing and they're having. And they said what do you think? And I said I'll tell you exactly what I think. I think the enemy, the enemy is messing with your mind at night because you're in a vulnerable place and he's attacking your mind. He does that, you know he does that. And I told him something. We prayed and I told him something here's what you do tonight before you go to bed. Here's what you do, because if you're at peace, if there's peace here, guess what? Your mind will settle down too, and you know what you will. You know what I love?
Psalm three. There's a song. Bradley's a Brooklyn Tabernacle. I saw Psalm three and this song. It just sings. It just sings Psalm three, david was under assault from some people, some loved ones, maybe even Absalom, his own son, people that were trying to overthrow him and everything.
And he says many there be that rise up against me. But then he says but, the Lord is a shield for me. And he says I lay me down and I slept, for the Lord is a shield for me. Wow, I get chills on that. I lay me down and I said what he was saying was the peace of God reigned in my heart and no matter what was coming at me. And some of you said, man, that's where I am, that's coming at me and you need the peace of God to help you lay down and sleep, because the enemy is spiritual war.
Sometimes I told this couple, I said you're in spiritual warfare right now. You need to understand that. But the peace of God will help you lay down and sleep. And Jesus wanted them to know. It wasn't just physical, it's spiritual peace. But the peace that the world offers you is completely undependable. But the peace and the rest that Christ leaves for us is totally reliable. Frankly, peace of the world, peace of Christ, it's a no-brainer, right, it's a no-brainer. And yet we forget that that peace is available to us, it's receivable, it's reliable, it's remarkable, it's supernatural and it changes the way we face life.
I didn't say that it takes all the difficult stuff out. It doesn't. It just helps us to face it. It's kind of like Shadrach, meshach and Abednego you know, we're not gonna bow down, doesn't matter what the king says, we're not gonna bow down, we're not gonna deny God, we're gonna live for God, we're gonna stand for God. By the way, just as a footnote, you're gonna have to do that more and more in this culture. You'll have to position yourself, you'll have to stand on some things. This culture is forcing it and you'll have to. And there may be consequences, but here's a God may not take you out of the consequences, but He'll be with you in the consequences. That's why you'll have peace.
So Shadrach, meshach and Abednego said okay, you need to know we're not bowing down. Even our God is able to rescue us, and even if he doesn't, we will not bend a knee to you. And so they're thrown in the fire. Poor guys that had to throw them in the fire. By the way, the Bible says that the servants that threw them in the fire died from the heat of the fire, but Shadrach, meshach and Abednego were walking around in the fire and it had been heated up seven times hotter than it normally was, and there's a fourth guy in the fire with them. That's what peace does. It doesn't take you out of the fire, but it just means that when you walk in the power of the Spirit of God, you'll have the presence of God with you in the fire. When I go through the fire, when the flood comes, the Scripture says you were there. That's peace. That's peace. Someone wrote this. Peace, perfect peace in this dark world of sin. Yes, it is the blood of Jesus that whispers and brings peace within.
I read a book. I just read a book this past year I think it became a New York Times bestseller. It just intrigued me when I read a review of it, so I bought the book, read the book. It's called the Wager. The Wager is about the HMS Wager, which pursued was an Armada of ships that pursued a Spanish Armada of ships trying to capture them and take gold, and they chased them around South America trying to catch them and finally they got to the bottom of South America.
This was in the 18th century, the bottom of the South America. The tip there is called the Straits of Magellan. If you know your geography, the Straits of Magellan named after Ferdinand Magellan, who found the Straits. He spent a year fighting the currents and to see that particular place in the ocean. We are told is it's icy and the waves are always massive that it's the most difficult place on the globe for ships to navigate. Most ships, especially in that era, never made it through. They were destroyed and the wager, actually, and that Armada of ships were destroyed. They were dash on the rocks. There was mutiny involved. They were stuck on uninhabited islands for months and months and many died. It's a remarkable story of survival, but they tried to pass through this area called the Straits of Magellan.
Magellan spent a year fighting these icy, currents and waves and everything, trying to break through and finally he broke through 1520,. He broke through that area which was named after him, this incredibly turbulent area, the Straits of Magellan. And when he finally broke through, when they finally broke through this area, they came on the other side. The other side was calm, I mean, it was beautiful, none of the turmoil that they had experienced, and it was a new ocean. And Magellan gave it a name he and his crew that had survived and made it through. They looked there. They'd gone from all this turbulent into this calm, peaceful ocean and they called it. This is the name the peaceful one, the Pacific Ocean, the peaceful one. Jesus is the peaceful one. Jesus, in the midst of all the turmoil and turbulence of this world, the breakthrough is Jesus, the peaceful one.
Would you bow your head and close your eyes? No one's looking about? Maybe you've never met the peaceful one? You see, we've been talking about living in peace in the midst of difficulties and chaos. But the only way you can have that kind of lasting peace, soul peace, the only way you can have it is through the peaceful one. And the way you have that peace is you have to receive the Prince of Peace, the peaceful one.
If you've never done that, you can. This morning, right here, you can call on him. The Bible says whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved. You've not sure you've never done that. Why don't you pray a prayer to him in your heart right now, sincerely, like this Lord Jesus, I don't have that peace. I don't have you in my life. I want the peace that only you, the Prince of Peace, can bring. I know I'm a sinner and I know I need you. I need your forgiveness. I invite you to come in, forgive me and be my savior right now. You call on him. I promise you hear that he's promised to do that.
Maybe you're here and say you know Lord, I've been trying to find peace, my Lord, I know you, but I've forgotten that the path of peace is in Jesus Christ. And I've been trying to find peace through the world and I just want to tell you today, lord, help me to put my eyes back on, to set my mind on you. You've said that those who keep their minds on you will find your perfect peace. Lord, help me change my focus from trying to find the peace that comes only in the world to the peace that comes only through Christ. Lord, hear these prayers. I know that you do. They're offered up to you in Jesus' name, amen. Would you stand with me for our invitation? Well, I'm so glad that you have tuned in to the broadcast today. I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. Sure has been a joy to share it with you, and even now, people at Ridgecrest are making decisions for Christ.
Perhaps, as you've watched this broadcast, you've recognized the need for your own decision for Christ. The prompting of the Spirit has caused you to recognize that you need Christ as your savior, and the good news is you can receive Him right where you are. The Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Right where you are, you can call on Him. Say something like this from your heart to Him Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I'm a sinner and I know that you came into this world and died on the cross for my sins, and right now I invite you to come into my life, forgive me and be my savior. I can assure you, if you'll call on Him, based on what God has already told us in the Bible, that He'll hear that prayer and He'll answer that, and he wants to begin this new journey in your life with you, transforming you into His image.
We'd love to help you with that decision as well. You'll see a QR code on your screen and if you would scan that, or you'll see contact information, or if you'll contact us about your decision today, we'd love to help you take next steps. There are no strings attached, no fees involved. We'd just like to help you begin that journey with Christ. You may be watching this broadcast today and say I need a church family to belong to. I already know Christ as my savior and I'd like to be a part of the Ridgecrest family. Also, if you will scan that QR code, that'll take you to a location and we'll be able to help you make those kinds of decisions, like becoming a member here or if you've never been scripturally baptized, those kinds of things. So contact us through that QR code or through the contact information on the screen. Well, again, it's been a joy to have you with us today and I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. Whatever decision we can help you with, by all means contact us. May the Lord bless you.