Shalom Is A Gift To Us From Christ Himseif.

THE SIXTH SUNDAY IN THE SEASON OF EASTER,

THE MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY THE 20th OF MAY, 2001

THE TEXT ARE: .....JOHN 14: 23-29

PRAYER...MAY THE WORDS OF GOD AND HIS MESSAGE SPOKEN THIS HOUR BE BOTH A WORD OF COMFORT AND CHALLENGE

WE PRAY THAT IT WILL CHALLENGE THOSE WHO ARE COMFORTABLE

AND COMFORT ALL THOSE WHO ARE BEING CHALLENGED THIS DAY.

INTRODUCTION;;;

Two things Jesus high LITES this morning IN JOHNS GOSPEL MESSAGE 14: 23-29..

His presence and His peace IN OUR LIVES... Jesus promises His presence. He had told them that he was going away and they would see him no more, and yet by going away he would come to them.

VERSES 28.."I go away, and I will come to you."

NOW The disciples didn’t quite get this talk of going away and coming.

BECAUSE Jesus was speaking His death and resurrection and RETURN BACK TO HEAVEN.

YET EVEN THOUGH, they would no longer see Him, He would still come to them and be present with them, present in an even greater way than He already was with them - present with His words and the Holy Spirit.Not only Jesus, but His Father will be present too, because the Father and the Son are one in essence.

They are but one God. Jesus’ words are the Father’s words. And where He is, there also is His Father.

SO NOW With His presence, Jesus also promises peace.

Peace is His legacy: "Peace I leave with you."

Peace is also His gift. "My peace I give to you."

The peace He gives is an unworldly peace, a peace that the world cannot give.

The world’s peace comes through war, TRAUMA, VIOLENCE,,. But Jesus’ peace comes through His wounds, His broken body and His shed blood.

His peace holds though the world’s peace fails..

Even when all seems to be breaking loose around us, we have peace with Jesus.

Unshakable peace.

Eternal peace.

Peace that exceeds our MIND ABILITY TO COMPREHEND.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. — John 14:27.

AS OUR Lord JESUS was now about to die, to depart from this world. and to ascend to his Father; he therefore makes his LAST will AND TESTAMENT..; and this is the blessed legacy. birthright. inheritance endowment which he leaves to the faithful--"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."

The Hebrew word "shalom" describes the deep sense of

peace and

well-being,

the contentment,

the confidence,

the security that is the heritage of the people of God.

That word SHALOM, could well be the theme word in OUR passage which we will be looking at today.

a.......This SHALOM might be considered as being peace with all the creatures.

BECAUSE God has made SHALOM between his people and the whole universe. FOR THE beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee." ".

B...The words of our Lord may also refer to the SHALOM which exists among the people of God toward one another.

There is a peace of God which reigns in our hearts through Jesus Christ, by which we are bound in closest ties of unity to every other child of God whom we may meet.

BUT Leaving, however, these two sorts of peace, which I believe to be of great value... let us proceed to consider two other kinds of peace, WHICH I FEEL may be surely the richest OF AL EXAMPLES OF SHALOM.

WHAT I FEEL Our Savior MEANS here IS FIRST SHALOM with God, and SECOND SHALOM with our own conscience, MORALITY SOUL

FIRST,IS SHALOM with God,

Jesus Christ;" he hath put away the wall which separated us from Jehovah.

ace on earth" and "goodwill toward men."

SECOND ...Christ has put our sins away. and therefore there is peace established between God and our souls.

You may be familiar with the song, I HAVE peace like a river NOT IN my mind, no in my soul..

This peace of Christ is a twofold peace: a peace of friendship, of agreement, of love, between YOU and God.

It is next a SHALOM of sweet enjoyment, of quiet rest of the understanding and the SOUL,

This is a peace with God FOR those of you who have never enjoyed peace with God, and never have had true peace with yourselves.

THIS SHALOM WHICH A TRUE CHRISTIAN ENJOYS WITH GOD AND HIS SOUL HAS A SOLID GROUNDWORK TO REST UPON.

It is built on facts,

on positive truths,

it is founded upon a rock,

and though the rains descend, and the winds blow, and the floods beat upon that house, it shall not fall, because its foundation is secure.

SECONDLY, The believer enjoys, in favored seasons, such an intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, that he cannot but be at peace.