male announcer: In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Next on “In Touch,” “Our Peace: God’s Will.” Dr. Charles Stanley: How could God expect me to have peace in my heart or expect you to have peace in your heart when everywhere we turn there is greed, political corruption, anger, hostility, war, bloodshed, disease, sickness, doubt, domestic violence, the whole idea of living safely? How can we expect to have peace in our heart when all of these things make up our environment?

And the question is, “Is it really possible to live in a society like ours, in a world like ours, and really and truly experience genuine peace in your heart?” Well, that’s a good question. And the question is, to whom could you and I go to discover that kind of peace? The kind of peace that will enable us to be stable and strong and confident, right in the middle of the most difficult trying storms of life.

I know the answer to that question. I not only have walked, but I do walk just like many of you through storms and difficulties and trials, where our faith gets tested, our peace is attacked, and Satan does his best to derail us from what God has called us to do. And yet in spite of all of that, God promises us peace.

He makes it possible for us to live and endure and to walk through the most difficult things in life with a sense of tranquility and quietness and calmness on the inside. And the big question is, do you know how to do that? That is, do you have the kind of peace that’s real? Do you have the kind of peace that will keep you stable, strong and confident no matter what you’re seeing, no matter what you’re feeling, and no matter what others may be saying, do you have that kind? Well, that’s what I want to talk about in this message.

And I want you to turn if you will to the fourteenth chapter of John. And the title of this message, “Our Peace, God’s Will.” God desires that you and I experience peace in our life, not once in a while but continually. In the fourteenth chapter of John, is the consolation chapter of the scripture.

It is a most encouraging and comforting one. And if you’ll recall that Jesus is now speaking to His disciples the night before His crucifixion, and there’s not one bit of confidence or peace anywhere to be found other than in His own heart. And even He is troubled. And listen to what the scripture says.

I want us to read only two verses of this chapter, but we’ll come back to others. Beginning in chapter fourteen, verse one, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” Then I want you to go all the way over to the twenty-seventh verse, when Jesus says, “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.” Now one of the most comforting things about our troublesome time is of knowing that Jesus Christ is aware of our troubled hearts, and aware of our desire for peace and our search for it. He certainly was aware of the desire and the hunger and the thirst to go through this difficult time in the life of His disciples because what was happening here is simply this.

They were facing three of the most trying days, the darkest days that would ever happen on this continent. Jesus was going to be crucified. And He was gonna be gone in their minds at least for a season. Their guiding star was gonna be swept away, and they would not know which way to turn or where to go. And not only that, their very faith was being shaken because how could one who said, “I am the Messiah,” now talk about being killed by someone else? By the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Their whole world was about to fall apart. It was an incredible time for them. An incredible time because everything they had believed in, and the person they’d followed now is getting ready to leave them and He’s going at the hands of those who would murder Him. And so listen to what Jesus said. Very important about what He said.

He said to them, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” Now before I translate that a little differently, I want you to remember this. You listening? Say amen. Very important, this message. When He said to them, “Do not let your heart be troubled,” He immediately was saying, “You have a choice.

You have a choice whether to have peace in your heart, or whether to be overcome by your trouble, whether to sink in the storm or not.” The same thing is true of you and me. Now when He said, “Do not let your heart be troubled,” what He was saying is this. Let your heart be troubled no longer.

Let your heart be troubled, terrified, perplexed no longer. He was not saying to them as if any kind of trouble or heartache would not be right, or that it would be sinful, or to be wrong. And there are people who believe that any kind of troublesome heart, any kind of worry or doubt, that it’s all just pure sin and that if you really believe Jesus, you’ll not have any of that.

Well, that’s absolutely, first of all, unnatural and secondly, it’s not even scriptural. Because Jesus Himself went through a very difficult time. He’s going through a difficult time right now, knowing that He’s gonna be denied, He’s gonna be betrayed, and they’re all gonna leave Him that night.

And so He said, “Do not allow your heart to continue to be troubled.” Would we be troubled when we see disaster coming our way? Yes, we will. The issue is not whether there will be troubles in our life or not, but the issue is, how do we respond? And so what I want you to see in this passage is that He makes an offer and a promise here of peace.

Listen, it is the will of God, it is the purpose of God, it is the plan of God that you and I experience peace in our life. For who, for example, is attracted to someone who’s down in the dumps, always having a pity-party. Always talking about how bad things are: their finances, their job, their clothes, their house, their car, their this, their that.

No one’s attracted to that. And so, when He said, beginning now in that twenty-seventh verse, listen, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you,” He says, “Do not let your heart be troubled, nor,” He says, “let it be,” afraid.

Now, let’s think about this for a moment. I don’t know what you’re facing in life. I don’t know what valley that seems to be absolutely overshadowing you. I don’t know what threat and fears you’re experiencing in life. I don’t know who’s rejected you or how long, what you’re experiencing as far as loss in your life, but one thing I’m certain of.

The Lord Jesus Christ will sustain you. He will give you a peace the quality of, the power of, it will sustain you, strengthen you, enable you to walk through it victoriously, confidently, no matter who you are and whatever the character of that storm. You see, these disciples are going through a difficult time but Jesus said, “No longer be troubled.

” You and I go through those times. What is He saying to us? No longer be troubled in your heart. Trouble, yes. Fear, yes. All these things will hit us, but we don’t have to live in it. We can step above it, walk above it, walk beyond it, if we’re willing to make a very wise decision. And see, when you look at the scripture and you ask yourself the question: Well, what would it take? What would it take to have that kind of peace? What is required of me to have that kind of peace? So, let’s ask the question, how do you experience that

kind of peace? You say, “Well, and you may give me some ways.” Well then, why don’t you have peace? You see, there is only one way and this is so difficult for so many people to understand. There’s only one way. That’s in a relationship. And apart from that relationship there is no peace, there can be no peace.

And you may believe in a lot of different things in life. You may have chased and pursued a lot of different cults or religions or whatever it might be. You know why you’re still pursuing? Because you’ve not found real genuine peace. Because peace comes in a relationship, a relationship with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, look at your life for a moment and ask yourself the question: Can you honestly say with the psalmist to lie down and sleep at night in peace? Can you say that you awaken in the morning with peace in your heart? Can you say that in your vocation you have peace that you’re doing what God’s called you to do? In spite of the bad things that come your way, the difficulties and the pain, do you have peace in the midst of all that? Oh yes, there’s a shock for that sudden moment, but there’s something deep down inside of you rise up to sit at

the helm of your life. And you know in that brief moment, I’m gonna survive this. I’m gonna be able to walk through this. Somebody on the inside whispers that awesome sense of assurance, “I’m here, I’m available, I’m always here and I’m gonna see you through that.” Can you say that or do you have to go back to your own manipulation? Trying to figure out how it’s gonna work? Well, how does it work? How do you and I experience that kind of peace? Well, I want you to look at two or three passages of scripture.

I want you to look if you will, first of all, remembering that He said, “My peace I give unto you.” Look at the sixteenth chapter of John for a moment because all these chapters–thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen–have to do with this upper room discourse. Listen to what He said in verse thirty-three: “These things,” the things He’d been talking about, “I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” “In Me you will have peace.” What is He referring to? Now watch this carefully. “In Me you will have peace.” When you and I trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, it’s like the Father placed us in an intimate relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.

That is, Jesus Christ is living on the inside of us and we now are in Him. And He says as we abide in Him and He abides in us, He says then we bear fruit. As the branch abides in the vine, the sap runs in the vine, runs in the branch, produces the fruit. Every single believer is indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Listen, we’re indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ. And, I want you turn if you will to Ephesians chapter two. Now I want you to notice a verse here. Ephesians chapter two, look at what Paul says. Because in speaking of our relationship to Jesus, here’s what He says. In verse fourteen as He describes what happened at the cross and how Jesus made it possible for the barrier to be broken down and now anyone and everyone who trusts Him can be saved.

Listen to what He says. He says in verse fourteen, “For He Himself is our peace.” Jesus Christ is our peace. Living on the inside of us He’s our peace. Turn if you will to Colossians chapter two for a moment. Colossians chapter two and I want you to look at a couple of verses here. Christ living on the inside of us.

Remember what He said? “My peace.” Whose peace is that? That’s the peace that Jesus has to give. And He had a perfect relationship with His Father. Listen to what He says in chapter two verse nine: “For in Him,” that is in Jesus, “all the fulness of Deity,” or the Godhead, “dwells in bodily form, and in Him,” in our relationship to Him, “you have been made complete, and He is the head over,” and “all rule and authority.

” Here’s what he’s saying. When you have Jesus, you have everything. Now listen carefully. Watch this. When you and I trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, He, the Lord Jesus Christ who is our peace, came to live on the inside of us and to live His life through us in the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit.

So that every single believer, watch this, has all the peace you will ever need bestowed upon you the moment and in you the moment you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior. Because you have Jesus Christ living on the inside of you, you have His peace. “My peace I give to you.” Here’s the mistake people make.

That Jesus is in Heaven and He sends down this peace to us like He sends down some gift. No. Listen, when you have Him, “My peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.” He says, “When you have Christ, you have everything.” He is our peace. Jesus living on the inside of us. So it’s all wrapped up in a relationship.

It’s because of our relationship to Jesus that we can have this peace. Now listen, it’s one thing to have the gift of peace in you, it’s something else to experience it. It’s something else to enjoy it. It’s something else to bring to your– to surface in your mind and heart when the storm comes in your life.

He’s there. If you’ve ever trusted Him as your Savior, He’s there. All the peace that you’ll ever need, living and abiding on the inside of you. But if you don’t know that, then you’re looking around and clinging into other things trying to find peace. He’s already there. There’s more to it than that, but that’s where it begins.

It begins in a relationship. He says in that sixteenth chapter, “In Me,” He says, “in Me you have peace.” In the world you’re gonna have the relationship, you try to relate yourself to the world and find peace there, you’re not gonna find it. You find tribulation and heartache and disappointment.

In a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you’re going to find peace. That’s the first part. But there’s more to it than that. I must be willing not only, listen, to have trusted Him as my Savior, but I must be willing to believe that the peace that He promises and that He offers is mine for the asking at any moment.

He says, “No longer let your heart be troubled, believe Me. My peace I give to you, believe Me. I’m going away but believe Me.” And what does it mean? Simply this. We ask Him, we thank Him, we listen, we act out what is absolutely true. We have His peace. We accept by faith the peace that passes all human understanding.

” That is the second part. First of all, relationship must be there. You’ll never have any peace. Secondly, you must believe Him. You must trust Him. Is He gonna offer you something and not give it? Is He gonna make a promise and not fulfill it? No, He’s not. “My peace I give to you.” Not like the world’s, it’s a gift.

And listen, when He came to live on the inside of you, part of what He brought, listen, in Himself is peace. Does not the scripture say the fruit of the Spirit who indwells us is love, joy, and peace? Listen, all the peace you’ll ever need is there potentially for your taking, believing, asking, and living out.

But there’s a third thing that’s very important. Now watch this carefully. Because this is where a lot of people miss it. It is one thing for me to have a relationship with Jesus Christ whereby my sins have been forgiven and I’m saved, and I’m a child of God. And then also to ask Him to grant me peace in this trouble time.

“Lord Jesus, I’m claiming by faith what You promised me.” He said–“You said if I ask anything in Your name, You would give it to me. And you have promised me specifically peace for the troubled times of life. I’m thanking You, I’m believing You, I’m claiming that at this moment.

” But there’s a third thing that’s very important. That relationship must be built not only with faith, but also with obedience. Now watch this carefully. All disobedience is rebellion. Rebellion against whom? It’s rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ, rebellion against God. You cannot live with peace in your heart and rebellion in your actions.

You cannot have peace in your heart and disobedience toward Almighty God. And so often times people say, “Well, why don’t I have peace? I just don’t understand why I can’t have peace. I read the Bible and I pray, and I do this, that and the other.” You know what? The issue is are you living in submission to His will? Listen to this.

Have your turned over the keys of your life to Jesus Christ who is your peace, listen, who can stabilize you, strengthen you. Listen, He can give you an equilibrium that makes it possible for you to walk through any kind of storm, any kind of furor in your life and never budge either way. Oh, at first it may hit you hard.

At first you may tumble. But as soon, listen, as you say, “Lord Jesus, here’s what You promised. You promised to sustain me. You said You gave me Your peace. I’m calling on it, Lord. I need Your peace for this stormy time in my life.” You know what? He’ll answer you, but your obedient spirit will make the difference whether you can claim and experience and enjoy the peace in a troubled time, or whether you cannot.

Listen carefully, you cannot rebel against the Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t rebel against His will. You can’t choose your way and at the same time have peace in your life. And this is one of the primary reasons so many of God’s people do not have peace in their life. They’re living in the same kind of storms the unbeliever’s living in and acting the same way.

You cannot, listen carefully. I want to say it again and I deliberately repeat it. You cannot live in rebellion to Almighty God and have peace in your heart. And this is what people try to do. This is why they go to all kinds of extremes. “Well, I know I’m not perfect.” Rationalize it. And so, they go to the pill bottle, alcohol, drugs, everything else, everything imaginable, trying to manipulate their circumstance to be able to have peace in the midst of rebellion.

Grant it my friends, you cannot, it will not work. It can’t work. It’s never worked. It will not work. If you want peace in your heart, it requires a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, your trust in Him and your obedience to Him, that’s what it takes. Now what you have to ask is this. Do I desire peace enough? Do I need it enough that I am willing to lay aside my disobedience, put aside my manipulations and my attempts to rationalize away my disobedience? Am I willing to surrender my life to Jesus Christ who is

my Savior? Am I willing to believe in Him? Because watch this, any form of rebellion will short-circuit your faith. And this is why so many of God’s people are going through stormy times and they can’t figure out why they can’t get any relief. I’ll tell you why. Your sin short-circuits your faith.

And your faith, you can’t put your faith to work to believe and to claim by faith, simple child-like faith, “Lord Jesus, here’s what You promised. I’m calling on You Lord, I need, I need Your peace.” Will He give it? I guarantee you He will give it. And I could tell you about many experiences in my own life like many of you could.

Times when the storm was horrendous. Difficulty, hardship, pain, you name it. And you know what? When I would feel that troubled time, that difficult time when it seemed almost to overwhelm me, get on my face before the Lord Jesus Christ and remind Him, “Here’s what You said. Here’s what You said in Your Word.

You can’t lie. You promised to give me Your peace and I’m calling on it, I’m claiming it, and I’m trusting You.” And when my heart has been obedient and my actions have been obedient to Him, He has never failed to quiet and calm my spirit almost that fast. You know why? Because it’s His peace and because it’s Christ releasing.

Listen, it’s giving us in practicality for the moment what we need to sustain us. Not only could I give you testimony but there are millions of others who could say, “In the darkest moments of my life, there was a peace that absolutely surpassed my human understanding. I could not figure out why I could be so at peace.

” And I can remember on one occasion in my own life. One of the most trying times of my life. When I could walk out before thousands of people, half of whom were for me and half of whom were against me. And no matter what they said, what they did, even I would walk away from that platform and think, “God, I can’t believe I’m not upset.

I can’t believe I’m not troubled about all this.” Over, listen, a sense of peace that was totally beyond my understanding. He’ll do the same for you, based on three things. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? That is, have you ever asked Him to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you and surrendered your life to Him as your Savior, Lord, and Master? Do you believe Him enough that when He says, “I’ll give you My peace,” that you’ll claim it? That you’ll ask Him for it and accept it as done?

You see, struggling over it’s not the issue. Accepting by faith, and what you accept by faith becomes a living reality to face your storm. And can you say, “As best I know my heart, I can turn three hundred and sixty degrees and as best I know my heart, Lord, there is no area in which I am deliberately, willfully, knowingly disobeying You.

” You know what? You’ll have a peace that passes all human understanding. So, remember this. In proportion and to the degree to which you develop a relationship with Christ and place your trust in Him and obey Him, to the same degree will you have a peace that will overshadow you and surround you and encompass you and fill you and protect you and guard you and care for you and supply for you and provide for you and enable you and rejoice in you beyond all human understanding.

It is a matter of choice. You want that peace? It begins with accepting Christ as your personal Savior. How do you do that? You recognize His death at the cross was payment for your sin. You ask Him to forgive you of your sin and tell Him that you’ve blown it, you’ve messed it all up, you’re surrendering your life to Him, you’re asking Him to forgive you and you’re trusting Him to do it based on not your good works or your– listen, or what you deserve, but on what He did at the cross.

And then you say to Him, “Tired of living this kind of life. I do want peace in my heart. I’m trusting You to do for me now what You promised– You promised to give me Your peace. I accept it.” And watch what happens in your life. And as you live obediently before Him. Listen to this. As you live obediently before Him, trusting Him moment by moment, day by day, your peace is a matter of choice.

And we pray this in Jesus’s name, amen. ♪♪♪