Introduction to John 14:27

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/24/2016 8:35 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to John 14:27

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 14:27

            Message of the verse:  “27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

            Let me begin by saying that in John MacArthur’s commentary on the gospel of John that he gives this verse a whole chapter and so we will begin to look at the introduction to this verse in our SD for today.  He entitles the chapter “Supernatural Peace.”  I surely can say that there have been many times in my life that I desired to have supernatural peace.  While putting on the spiritual armor most every morning there is the shoes of the gospel of peace that I put on “(3) I put on the shoes of the Gospel of Peace, thanking You for Your provision of peace that I have with You through the blood of the cross, and also thanking You, who provides the peace that passes all understanding.”  Notice that there is the peace we have with Christ which comes through the blood of the cross as Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians, and there is the peace that passes all understanding which Paul writes to the Philippians in chapter 4:6-7.  Now we will look at the peace that is offered to us from the gospel of John, and there is no one who has ever lived that does not desire to have peace in their lives which we will see is something that is offered to all believers.

            In his introductory comments on this chapter on supernatural peace John MacArthur states that “in the last five and a half millennia, more than 8,000 peace treaties have been broken, and more than 14,000 wars fought with a combined total of about four billion casualties.  Even though there have always been illusions of global peace, this world continues to be unsuccessful in the effort to pursue that elusive goal.”

            We know that there is different kinds of peace that people seek other than “world peace” for some people are look for peace from their past, something that they are having a difficult time getting over, or perhaps there are times when we are just looking for peace and quiet, to get away from the hustle and bushel of what we are going through.  I believe that people who live in the inner city are surely looking for peace, peace from the violence that is around them; they desire and expect local law enforcement to keep the peace.  And then there is the resting peace that is so commonplace that it has become synonym for death itself writes John MacArthur.

            One of the sad things is that many people are seeking peace their entire lives and they do not find it.  They are looking for peace in all of the wrong places, like a different job, a different house to live in, or sadly a different spouse, but in the end they still don’t find the peace they are seeking.

            As we search the Bible both Old and New Testaments we find that they underscore the divine source and the character of true peace.  There is a word that the Jewish people have in their Hebrew language that is what they used to greet people “Shalom” which means peace.  MacArthur writes that “The word, which occurs approximately 250 times, with sometimes used as a greeting (Jud. 19:20; 1 Sam. 25:6, 35), as it is in modern Hebrew. 

            I remember a story that I heard on different occasions where there was a contest for artists to paint a picture about peace.  The painting that won was a picture of a mother bird building her nest in a tree branch that was over a ragging waterfall, as the little baby birds were save with their mother even with danger all around them.  John MacArthur writes “True biblical peace does not depend on the circumstances of life, but lives above them.  One Greek lexicon defines the New Testament word for peace (eirene) as ‘the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.’  It was this type of peace that characterized the apostle Paul, who wrote: ‘I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need’ (Phil. 4:11-12).  Paul remained calm and at peace in the midst of the most trying circumstances, such as being thrown into prison (Acts 16:23-25), savagely attacked by an unruly mot (Acts 21:30-39), or caught in a raging storm at sea (Acts 27:21-2 5).”

            As believers we know that there is only one source of true peace and we will be looking at that as we go over this verse in the next few days as we look at “four features of divine peace:  its nature, source, contrast, and result.”  I look forward to learn more about this peace that Jesus is speaking of in this verse.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have read all of the stories in the book of Acts that are mentioned above and it has always been amazing to me how Paul handled himself, or probably better to say how he allowed the Holy Spirit to give him that peace that passes all understanding as he went through this difficult times he faced for the cause of Christ.  God told Ananias that this was going to happen to Paul as He said “"Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake’ (Acts 9:15-16),”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember the story that Corry Ten Boom’s father told her when she was afraid of difficult things that were going to happen to her in World War II as she was looking for strength from God.  He asked her “when do you get the ticked from me to board the train?”  She answered “Just before I get on the train.”  God gives us grace for each day, but does not give us tomorrow’s grace today.

Memory verse for the week:  (Romans 6:5-6) “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin may be done away with, so that we no longer be slaves to sin;”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “To those who were lost” (2 Corinthians 4:3).

Today’s (little) Bible question:  “Why did Zacchaeus have trouble seeing Jesus?”

 Answer in our next SD.

11/24/2016 9:38 AM