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John 14:27-15:17 "Connecting With Christ"
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, "I am going away and coming back to you." If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, " I am going to the Father, for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here. (John 14:27-31)
Peace is a very fragile thing that the world longs for
but cannot obtain. In many places around Japan I have seen a white post
with the words written in Japanese and English, "May peace prevail
on earth." I am sure that these posts have been put up by one of
the Buddhist sects and I hope that they have some effect, but I cannot
help but think that it is just wishful thinking. In history there has
only been two kinds of lasting peace. The first, such as the Pax Romana,
which lasted for 200 years, was essentially an enforced peace, which
an overwhelmingly strong Rome kept over the people that it had conquered.
The second kind of peace is when two rivals are roughly equal in strength
and neither can gain the advantage over the other. In some ways the
mutually assured destruction doctrine of nuclear war has been the best
peacekeeper of modern times. But neither of these kinds of peace are
anything close to God’s ideal. The world proclaims peace when
the soldiers have gone back to their own side of the border and the
guns have stopped firing. But real peace is a much more positive thing
than just a ceasefire. Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid." The thought of nuclear warheads with
the capability to destroy all life, has never been a comforting thought.
The peace that Rome enforced with an iron hand on the Jews, was really
only peace for the Romans. They got all the benefits and gave the Jews
all the trouble.
Real peace cannot be found in this world. I used to think that Japan
was the most peaceful nation on earth. When I arrived here eleven years
ago I was amazed to find that I could walk anywhere in this huge city,
day or night and never feel afraid. I used to boast to my friends back
home in America that women walk home from the stations at midnight and
think nothing of it. But I don’t say those things any more. Just
this week a young man in Nagoya killed a housewife because he wanted
to have the experience of killing a person. Of course the biggest news
story this week was the hijacking of a bus by a mentally disturbed teenager
who had been released from an institution for the holidays. The fragile
balance of economic, social and cultural factors that made Japan such
a safe place to live has started to break down. In this world, peace
is the exception, trouble and fear are the rule. The reason why is because
Satan is the ruler of this world. As long as men continue to be ruled
by sin, coveting what their neighbor has got, envious of someone else’s
position, blaming their own troubles on others, there cannot be peace.
But Jesus said that the "ruler of this world has nothing in Me."
There was no sin in Jesus for Satan to control Him with. Instead Jesus
was ruled by the Father. This is the peace that He has given to us.
When Jesus died on the cross He canceled Satan’s right to rule
over us, because He canceled out the sin in our lives.
How does this give us peace? The world continues to be just as dangerous
and unfair as always because it is still ruled by the enemy. The only
difference is in us. But the difference is great. Because we are free
from the power of sin over our lives, we can choose not to sin. Jesus
said, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
That means that we have control over our own hearts. Jesus would not
ask us to do something that we could not do. The first half of peace
is being peaceful yourself. When the world around is unfair, when your
neighbor has all the newest things, your co-worker is promoted before
you, when you are so sure that everything is all that one person’s
fault. When you are tempted to compare your life with theirs, you can
choose not to let your heart be troubled about it. You can keep your
peace. You can even become a peacemaker, simply by controlling your
own heart. Remember Jesus on the cross. If anyone was more unfairly
treated than Him. If anyone had more reason to seek revenge. And yet
Jesus looked down from the cross on His tormentors and said, "Father,
forgive them for they do not know what they do." Jesus gives us
the power to make peace. But what about the rest of the world? They
are just as violent as ever! Remember, Jesus said "neither let
your heart be afraid. The other half of peace is living without fear.
How can we live without fear in a world with nuclear weapons, children
with knives and guns, state-sponsored terrorism, people killing people
for the experience and madmen on the loose? We can’t unless we
know the love of God for us. Even though Satan rules the hearts of men
through sin in this world, God is still in ultimate control. He cares
for us and He is our shield and defense. At times it might seem that
things are out of control, but it is then that the Bible commands us
to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace
of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil 4: 6-7) The key to overcoming
fear is knowing that God answers prayer. He loves you and hears your
cry.
Peace is one result, or fruit of a Christian life. Love is another one of these fruits. They are distinctive results, and testimonies to the reality of God in our lives because there is no other way to get them than by knowing God. The love of God is so different than that of the world that people will know we are Christians simply by seeing our love. It is the same with peace. When people see that we are in control of our hearts and that we are not troubled or afraid, they know that God is real. Jesus tells us how we can be fruitful disciples and introduces one more of these spiritual fruits.
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every
branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You
are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless
it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am
the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide
in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them
and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me,
and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall
be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much
fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have
loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide
in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide
in His love. These things I have spoken to you , that My joy may remain
in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:1-11)
Unless we abide in Jesus, we will not have any fruit in our lives. He
is the source of love, the source of peace, the source of joy. A branch
that is cut off from the rest of the plant will dry up and die. You
cannot expect to get any fruit from it. The same thing applies to us
as Christians. Without Jesus, there is no fruit, no matter how often
we pronounce the words or proclaim it so. We can express our wish for
peace to prevail, but it is only a wish. A while back we got a digital
phone for free. The company had set up a booth at the local supermarket
and was giving away its phones. The phones were free but the service
was not. Of course, they charged by the minute plus a basic monthly
fee. After a few months of this we canceled the service. Well, now my
daughter plays with the free phone. Without the service it is useless.
The phone is no good unless it is connected. Christian, unless you are
connected to Jesus, you are useless. How then do we stay connected?
Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you
will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." The most
fundamental way that we stay connected with Jesus is by prayer and the
word. Take the words of the Bible as truth and pray them into your life.
The result will be fruit. As you ask God for what He has promised, He
will do it. Ask Him to give you love for that person who is giving you
so much trouble at work. He will do it. Ask Him for peace about your
future husband or wife. He will do it. Ask Him for joy when your situation
is bleak. He will do it. Please realize that it is not enough just to
ask. You need to know the words of Jesus and then ask. The more you
ask the greater the connection will be between you and the Lord and
the more fruit you will bear. The connection is the dynamic of word
and prayer, Jesus speaking to your heart through His word and you praying
back your heart to Him. Many people think that all they need to do is
learn the principles of Scripture and apply it to their lives. But this
is very close to impossible. We all know of things in the Bible that
are easier said than done. They have to be prayed into your life. It
is not enough pick up a copy of the Bible and learn what it teaches,
you have got to have that prayer connection to Jesus or else it is useless.
Jesus also says one more way to connect with Him. "If you keep
My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s
commandments and abide in His love. Jesus’ commandment to His
disciples was to love each other, that is the principle, but His commandments
are each opportunity to love that He places before us. The Holy Spirit
prompts us to come alongside and help each other. When we obey these
commands to love, we are abiding in Christ’s love. The second
fundamental way to stay connected with Jesus is to love each other.
The natural result of connecting with Jesus in this way is that His
joy will remain in us and our joy will be full. This joy is another
fruit that can only be ours through Jesus Christ.
Jesus wants us as a church to bear much fruit. He wants people all around
us to see love, joy and peace like they have never seen before and know
that He is real. So our task as a church is to stay connected with Jesus,
the source of that fruit. According to Jesus there are two ways to do
that and that is what we should be doing as a church. The first is the
know the Word and pray it into our lives. Let me challenge you today
to reconnect with Jesus by joining a Bible study if you are not involved
in one already. If you are not studying and praying in His Word, you
are like a branch that is cut off. Like a phone that is disconnected.
The second is loving each other. Let me say a word about this. In Tokyo,
we live so far apart and are so busy that oftentimes we don’t
even know when our brother or sister is in need. We don’t find
out about the problem until it is too late. Let me challenge you today
about this as well. If you don’t come to church you miss out on
the opportunity both to love and receive love. When you are in trouble,
share it with your brothers and sisters and give them the opportunity
to come alongside you to help. If you feel uncomfortable sharing in
front of the whole church, at least ask one or two to pray with you.
But be sure to ask. You have to connect with each other to give and
receive love. Otherwise you are like a branch that is cut off. Connect
with His word, connect with His love and you will bear much fruit.
Copyright 2000 Jonathan Wilson
All Rights Reserved
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