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Peace I Leave With You-John 14:25-27-Pentecost Sunday (Assisted Living Facility Sermon)

By Charlie Vensel | May 27, 2007

Today is Whitsunday, or as most of you are familiar, Pentecost Sunday. This is fifty days after Easter (excluding Sundays) and marks the close of the Easter season. It is the day on which the church celebrates and remembers the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (Acts 2:1). Pentecost derives from the Greek name for the Jewish Festival of Weeks, fifty days after Passover, when the giving of the Law was celebrated. Because this event signaled the beginning of the apostles’ public proclamation of Jesus as the Christ, it is often called the birthday of the Christian church…Today, we are moving into the season of the church year called Ordinary Time, which runs until the first Sunday of Advent. During this upcoming season, we are called to explore the significance of Christ’s continuing presence and ongoing activity in the world.

So, here we stand with one foot in the Easter season recognizing, “He is risen,” and the other in Ordinary Time recognizing, “and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18 NIV) However, that second quote is one that we know, but often overlook. Let me read it again, “…and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18 NIV). Jesus, granting his Church the Holy Spirit has promised our success. Because Jesus has won, we will win in the end. But, we are a sojourning people. We live between the “already”, where Jesus has burst into time and ushered in the victory of the kingdom of God, and the “not yet”, where the restoration of all things is not yet complete until his return.

We are like a people living in war-torn Europe on VE Day. The war was over, Germany had surrendered, but their military might remained in the land and could still do damage. Yes, there was great celebration for the allies, but there was also a sense of it not being over until the last of the troops were withdrawn. There were mixed emotions.

We have mixed emotions too. We are assured of Christ’s victory over sin and death, but we still see the enemy in our land. We see bombed out buildings of wrecked families, we count the body bags of our loved ones, we cough through the settling dust of our own sin, and we squint through smoke of painful tears, trying to catch a glimpse of the sunny, blue sky above. We fear, we doubt, we question whether victory has really taken place; we see rubble and the aftermath of a horrid cosmic war over our souls. We have won, but suffered great loss. Satan mocks us. He tells us we have lost; just turn on the news to see his propaganda machine cranking along like nothing ever happened. It is as if he does not know he has lost. Nevertheless, the enemy is powerless; he is defeated. Sin, death and the devil have all been defeated.

In our Gospel reading this morning, specifically John 14:25-27, we are given encouragement in how to live in this unsettling in-between time, the church age, the time between victory and enemy withdrawal. We have not been abandoned by our Leader to rebuild alone. Let us examine these verses to see how they might strengthen us: while we see that it is Christ who has guaranteed our victory, his Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to participate in that victory. There are three things I would like us to see this morning in terms of past, present and future.

The first thing is found in verses 26, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26 NIV) Here, we see that because Jesus sent his Holy Spirit, we may partake in the victory of the past.

Now, Christ is here, of course, addressing the apostles. He knows that they do not yet fully understand all the things that will take place. But, he promises them that he will send the Spirit and that the Spirit will cause them to remember all of his teaching. According to verse John 14:24, they were not only Jesus’ words, but the Father’s. The apostles would be responsible for recording them in the Scriptures. It is how we have come to understand the divine inspiration of the Scriptures; it is one of the reasons why they are trustworthy. But, it was more than just remembrance that Jesus promised. It was understanding; the Spirit would “teach” them.

In much the same way, the Spirit operates in our lives. While we do not receive new revelation like the apostles, when we became believers, God gave us a gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit to remember what we have been taught; what is revealed in the Scriptures. When faced with what appears to be a losing situation for us, perhaps nothing is as empowering as remembering God’s Word. This was the very tactic the Lord himself used while being tempted in the wilderness. The devil was there to lie, kill and destroy, but Christ recalled God’s written Word, the history of God’s mighty acts in the past. It was God’s Word he used to strengthen himself against the temptation. So, when we are tempted to feel defeated, let us look back to the promises of Scripture, for his Word is truth.

However, like the apostles, it is not just remembrance we are given, but understanding. We understand Christ’s teachings. We understand that there will be suffering in this world, but we have hope. So, when we are tempted to feel defeated, let us look back to the redemption Christ wrought for us as children of God. It has been said that a life without a history has little meaning; this is the cause of so many problems the youth who come from broken homes have; they are a people without a history. But, by the Holy Spirit, we remember Jesus’ history and our place in it; we have meaning and purpose. So, let us look back to our baptisms, our death, burial and resurrection with Christ, as signs of his unending love, the sealing of our fate, and the victory he won for us. Christ’s victory is our victory.

The second thing is found in verse 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” (John 14:27 NIV) Here, we see that because Jesus sent his Holy Spirit, we may partake in the victory of the present.

The Hebrew for “peace” is “shalom.” It was used as a greeting or a word of farewell. However, Jesus used the words in a new and deeper sense. His peace is the stability and security of one who has found salvation, who is now reconciled with God. The world’s peace is temporary: health, wealth, ease and comfort. But this peace is something that the world can never give as it was purchased by his death and resurrection. This peace is something that Jesus is both leaving behind as a legacy and something he continues to give through the Holy Spirit. This ongoing peace refers to the absence of spiritual unrest, to the assurance of salvation and of God’s loving presence under all circumstances. This peace comes from exercising faith in Christ and from contemplation of his gracious promises.

Christ’s peace is not a “happy” feeling all the time, that is the world’s idea of peace, but Christ’s peace refers to the settlement of our deepest need, salvation. The primal fear of all people is that of judgment for sin. There is no worse thing imaginable than coming before the Holy One of Israel an unforgiven sinner, yet there is no greater joy than being able to call him “Daddy.” We are a people who need not worry about judgment any more; Christ was the perfect and final sacrifice. We have been reconciled; we have peace with God by faith in Christ, the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. The Shalom of God refers to creation, when all was “very good”; before God, believers in Christ are “very good”. So, when we are tempted to feel defeated, let us remember that no matter our circumstances, we are God’s children who stand holy and blameless before him. We are his children today. It is a present reality and his reconciled peace is ours today.

The third thing is also found in verse 27, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV) Here, we see that because Jesus sent his Holy Spirit, we may partake in the victory of the future.

We are not a people who need to fear that which is coming next. With our eternal destinies secure, we can endure anything here. We have been given the Holy Spirit, not a spirit of fear, but the spirit of adoption. While we have hope in the midst of suffering, we can also look forward to coming before God face to face. In this life, we may be heartbroken, we may uncomfortable, we will endure great loss, we will shed tears, but there comes a day when all will be right. There comes a day when justice will be done, there comes a day when we will receive our full reward, there comes a day when we will receive our new bodies, there comes a day when we will be united with our loved ones and there comes a day when there will be no more sin. Imagine, no more sin?

You know, even though we have been forgiven our sins, we are not left without their consequences in this life. No doubt, many of us have done things in years past, choices that affect us even today, that we wish we could undo. While we will not be judged for them, we live with their effects: perhaps it is unfaithfulness to a spouse, unforgiveness towards a parent, abortion, children who will not speak to us because of something we have done, perhaps even something utterly unmentionable. It is as if we unraveled a baseball in a bad decision and we have been trying to rewind it back together our whole lives. No matter how hard we try in this life, it will never go back together perfectly. We will live with a certain amount of brokenness in this life, a bit unraveled, even with Christ, yet there will come a day when he hands us a brand new baseball that still in the box. We will be made completely and perfectly whole.

One day, Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We, as adopted children will sit at his banquet table and drink the finest of wines. Oh, a glorious day indeed!

So, we return to VE Day in Europe. We see the rubble, we feel disheartened, but we remember a couple of things. First, we recall the previous battles our country has won; our army is one to be reckoned with. Christ is our warrior and he has won the war. Through the Holy Spirit, we can reflect on his Word, his past redemption and our place in his history for assurance. Second, we look to the declaration of surrender signed by the enemy. It is valid. Christ is the victor and he has crushed our enemies including sin, death and the devil under foot. By the Holy Spirit, we have his peace; we are reconciled to God and enjoy fellowship with him now. Third, we have no reason to fear because we have help in rebuilding our nation; we are not left alone. Christ is the one that has promised to rebuild us, to restore all things, “behold, I make all things new,” He says. By the Holy Spirit, we are his adopted children who will be made new. This is certain.

So, let us rejoice in the good news! We win! So, when we find ourselves discouraged and tempted towards unbelief, let us remember that by Christ’s Holy Spirit, we participate in Jesus’ victories in the past, present and future. His victories were, are and will be our victories.

Topics: John, Pentecost |

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