Is peace possible? There are wars on battlefields and in churches and at every turn there is a distinctive lack of peacemakers. War is one of the biggest of all businesses. Our current reality is that of endless war. The world spends about 1.5 Trillion US dollars a year on the military. The US alone makes up about a half of that. So, is peace really possible in a society that feeds off conflict both real and now virtual with the impressive military influenced video games? I would say not likely, not without a complete revamping of the current world system of thinking, morals, and politics. But if you asked if spiritual peace was possible even in the present system, I would say that spiritual peace is here.

In John 14:27 the Lord made an important statement about peace.

Jesus and the disciples had been together for about 3 years. During that time he had demonstrated the power of God on a scale that had never been seen before. On this specific night, he let his disciples know that his betrayal and death were imminent. After what they had personally witnessed, that must have been devastating. This was literally the last thing they thought could happen after having entered into Jesus’ realm of miracles and impossibilities. They had seen Jesus revive a young man named Lazurus after he had been dead for four days. Imagine how confused they were when he told them he was going to be killed. But Jesus also told them this:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27 NIV

Okay, let’s break down this verse.

His peace is here

Jesus has left his peace with his disciples. This is the same peace that he operates from. Notice the emphasis on ownership. The peace is from him. This is not developed through years of meditation or focus. This is not about our will power. This is not about the ones among us that have been gifted with a high EQ (emotional quotient). This is not about the instinctive politicians, actors, or salespersons among us that can display a convincing poise under difficult circumstances. This is his peace.

Not like the world gives

He’s implying that he gives differently than the world’s system. This is not karma. He’s not giving as a result of good things we have done. This is not payback. This is not owed. This is not because you had a good childhood or because you consider yourself to be a good person. This is not earned peace. Translation – this is about him, and what he gives to us.

Don’t we have to receive his peace?

What a terribly religious question. How did we get so convoluted with receiving? Who has bewitched us? Repeat after me. There is no work in receiving. Again. There is no work in receiving. The things of God are gifts. The only work is in believing.

Jesus said that clearly:

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Mathew 21:22

The work is never in the receiving. The work is always in the believing.

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
John 6:29

The receiving is the outcome of the work. I’d like to make this harder for some of you but I can’t. In order to receive the peace he has left for you, all you have to do is to believe him at his word. This is something I must constantly remind myself as well. That’s how we receive everything from God: by believing what he said.

New Ability

The end of this verse is where it gets tricky. Here’s his command:

…Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

With his command is the assumption that we can carry it out. But how could we just start doing this? How does this all of a sudden work? Answer: It is new ability in us through his peace. Does this make any sense to you? He’s not just telling us to keep our hearts from being troubled. He’s telling us that we have this new ability in us through his peace. What troubles you right this instance? What’s bothering you right now? Problems with people? Problems with health? Problems with finances? Problems with the world? These problems can cause us all to spiral into a world of depression, pain, anxiety, and trouble. They can consume us, but you can stop being troubled. You have that power in yourself right now. You can keep your heart from being troubled. He wouldn’t tell us to do it if we didn’t have the ability to do it. He’s practical. He’s sincere. He means what he says. Really.

…and do not be afraid.

Don’t be afraid he says. Don’t let yourselves be afraid. Bizarre I know, but he says we now have this ability to keep ourselves from being afraid. If some of you were here right now you’d be arguing with me. You’d present mountains of evidence to defend your right to be afraid. Isn’t that true? You’d talk about how fear is a good and healthy thing and how fear is sometimes unavoidable. Well, the only good kind of fear is the fear of God. Other fear can be crippling to spiritual progress. We all know that fear can dominate our lives, dictate the choices we make, stifle our growth, and undermine our goals. This is not new. Jesus says do not let yourselves be afraid. He says this as if we can. He knows more of what is possible than us. And this is now possible in us.

Lastly, if you go back and read the whole chapter, you’ll see within the context of this passage is the activity of the Holy Spirit of God. The Spirit of God brings us the peace of Jesus and this new ability. This ability is transferred from his Spirit to ours. Paul acknowledges it in this next verse.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Ephesians 3:20

Let’s look at another verse with peace and our new ability on our mind.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Jesus is talking to us not directly but through Paul. He says, do not be anxious about anything. Yes, then this is within our ability too. I know; I know. Some of you will go at great lengths to defend your right to be anxious. You will be able to state very legitimate reasons why anxiety is inevitable. But Jesus says it is not. We have new found ability.

…by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God

Do not be anxious about anything but in everything pray. Do not be anxious and do pray. We can do both. We have new spiritual muscles. Maybe you haven’t used them much or at all but they are there. Prayer helps put us in touch with this ability. What I mean by this is that making a spiritual connection to God helps open us up to our new spiritual abilities. Does that make sense? If it does, then pray.

Different kind of peace

…And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

This is a different kind of peace. To transcend understanding means that it can operate independent of the events and issues of our lives. That would mean it is independent of traditional components of peace like status, wealth, health and happiness. Go figure. That’s what it says. God must operate on a totally different plane than us, huh?

Not Conflict Avoidance

We can manufacture our own peace through avoiding conflict. Avoiding conflict is a rational strategy to seek peace. Avoiding conflict to achieve peace has its roots in the fear of people. Have you ever been in a place where in order to maintain peace you needed to be very careful what you said or did? Note to self - that is not peace, not God’s peace. Let’s hope that is not your church or your family or your job. Remember the Lord’s peace can transcend understanding. When things transcend our understanding they can seem counter intuitive. Watch this. The way of peace could sometimes lead through areas of conflict and pain and suffering. Would you call that counter intuitive?

Not Denial

We can manufacture our own peace through denial. We think we can be in peace by not thinking about our problems. And deep down we hope that not thinking about them will cause them to go away. This is denial, not peace and its definitely not faith. It won’t alter our problems. Transcending our understanding also means we can face our problems, not be consumed by them, and yet still be in peace. That's a peace we can use. A peace that only functions on a nice sunny day isn't much use during a storm. It isn't much use in our lives.

Place of Safety

…will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

It is a place of safety but a different kind of safety because it guards our hearts and our minds. Guards it from what? Guards it from going to somewhere else, like anxiety or fear. It keeps our minds from catching the fire of our problems and then smoldering day and night. Ever been there?

The world is full of stories of people in very difficult situations that got swallowed up by fear or anxiety and in moments of desperation did things they would not normally do or would never have dreamed they could do. For some, their anxiety had cornered them and left them few rational options. There is no need to go into detail here – but in Christ we have a new ability to keep this from happening to keep from going to those dark places.

Lastly, let me share one more verse about this place of peace. This is the Lord’s exhortation to live there.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Colossians 3:15

Let the peace that the Lord has given us – that we have now, let that peace rule. The Lord is saying that he wants us to make decisions and choices that keep us in this place. First, I guess we need to get a sense of what that place is like.

Do you remember a time when you said or did something wrong in a close relationship? Whether the person said something or not, could you tell something was off? Could you tell the relationship lacked something? Did you apologize? Were you able to get back to the same place?

I can remember making an insensitive comment that hurt my wife. I could sense something was off without her responding. I could feel it in my spirit. I wanted to do whatever I could to put it back. I didn’t want to get used to living without peace with my wife. It was like the Lord said, “Bingo, that’s how I want you to live with me.” The Lord wants us to let peace rule. He wants us to be committed to living in peace, his peace. Peace was meant to be a barometer in our lives – in every decision and in every situation.

Living in Peace

No secrets here just follow after peace. Refuse to ignore your heart when it says it is not at peace. Stop and fix it, change it, reverse course if you have to, apologize, whatever is required to get back to a place of Christ’s peace – or even arrive there for the first time.

Two choices are before you A and B. Choice A you fully understand. It makes sense. Choice B you just can’t see how it works. Choice B has peace. Choice A doesn’t. I am used to going with choice A and ignoring my heart, my spirit when it objects. I try not to let it bother me, but it does. You can train yourself to ignore the Lord’s leanings but there is a problem with that, because we have been called to peace.

Called to peace

His peace is our new normal. His peace is now our calling. By design we need his peace to thrive, to grow, to rest and to progress. Therefore, when we are far from peace, we are, far from our calling – far from our destiny. Called to peace is by design. If we don’t learn to let peace rule we’ll continue to be off and continue to be miserable. Again it is possible to let peace rule or he wouldn’t have told us to do it.

Peace can’t pay the rent

I am reminded by my good friend Keston, that peace can't pay the rent. That may be true, but peace is freedom from the terror of the rent not being paid. It prevents you from acting in desperation contrary to God’s principles. It permits you to seek God’s help. It permits you to listen to what the Lord is telling you through all this. It allows you to be clear of mind so you can make the best decisions and not do something crazy. Peace allows you to gather yourself and take steps in faith. And yes Keston, faith can pay the rent.

Conclusion

And this brings us all to here. Jesus left us his peace because we’re going to need it. Some of you may already be in desperate need. Some of you may be facing situations where the peace of Christ will be the difference in surviving. We have tools available to us to allow us to thrive in any condition. Look over the verses I left you. I’m not making this stuff up. Jesus has left us his peace. His peace gives us the ability to put our souls in a better place. The Lord wants us to understand that we can’t be satisfied without being in peace because that is our calling. That’s part of his design. Believe him, trust him, believe what he says, Explore the new abilities you have in him.

Sooner or later we’re going to have to start actually believing what he says and receiving all the benefits. Now would be a good time to start.

Lord, I believe what you have said, so I thank you for leaving me your peace. Thank you for what this means in my life. That I have new abilities and that I can keep my heart from being troubled and being afraid. I acknowledge that this is a peace that transcends my ability to figure it out and I am thankful that it protects my heart and mind from dwelling on things that I should keep away from. I am now committed to letting your peace rule in my life and making decisions that lead to peace. Help me put this to work and learn and grow in these new abilities you have given me through your peace. Amen.

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