Matthew Ch 2 — John 14

0:00 You get a scorecard this morning. Sometimes when you go to a baseball game, if you're the kind of person who does not find the game itself interesting, you can sort of keep score. It keeps you alert and awake. So that's what we're going to do this morning. Thank you.

0:20 But there's only a limited quantity of these little sermon outlines. So if you sat in the back, well, that's why you should sit in the front. So, Anyway, it's good to see all of you here this morning. I thought as I was singing those songs that in some sense, we have a little foretaste of heaven surrounded by, and I'm just thinking of myself, looking at the people who are here today, friends and family and students and people who have spoken into my life. I just thought, one of these days, we're going to be on the other side and it's going to be glorious.

1:17 Seem to speak, every time I seem to speak here, I I always seem to follow some tremendous speaker. In fact, at the beginning of this month, I looked at the church program and the list of speakers and I said to my wife, wow, four out of the five speakers this month are fantastic. Well, guess what, this is week five. So you get me. And I thought, since I do not have the natural advantages of wisdom or of many many years of experience of walking with the Lord, I thought that I would develop for this morning a little secret weapon.

1:56 Because I have found that there are few things that command attention and respect more than the words of a man who has a beard. You can just ask Don Morris if that is true or not. The scripture passage today comes from the second chapter of the book of Matthew. I know that Christmas is over. For some of us, that is a thankful thing.

2:26 But I thought that we would at least begin this morning by looking at certain events in the life of Christ that took place early in the life of Christ. So we're gonna look at Matthew chapter two, beginning with verse 13. Now when they, that's the wise men, when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, arise, take the young child and his mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until I bring you word. For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets saying, out of Egypt I have called my son.

3:29 And may the Lord just bless our reading of this scripture which we believe to be inspired without error and infallible. And Father, ask for your Holy Spirit this morning to take these humble words and to apply it to our hearts. Father, if I say anything that is not of you, I pray that it would quickly be forgotten. And I pray that through the study of your word, you would be pleased with our worship this morning. Christ's name, Amen.

4:35 Somebody told me once, whenever you are going to talk to people, you need to tell them what you're going to say and then say it, and then tell them what you said. So at the end, I will tell you what I said again. So if you want to doze off for the next twenty five minutes, you'll get the summary at the end. But we're going look at these words in John chapter 14. And John chapter 14 verse 27.

5:01 Christ is speaking to his disciples and says in verse 27, 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. I'd like to talk about peace for a few minutes this morning. I find it interesting that in Christ's last hours before his betrayal and crucifixion, he is concerned with the peace and the joy and the faith of his followers. Of all the things that Christ could have said or done in his last night before his death, I mean think about it.

5:50 Curing world hunger, stomping out diseases, or overthrowing the Roman government, in his last hours, he is concerned with giving his followers peace. And what kind of peace is this that he's giving them? Apparently, it is some kind of peace that leaves us free from anxiety because he says, let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. But also, this kind of peace must not simply be based on good circumstances because just a couple pages over in chapter 16 and verse 33, he says, I have said these things to you that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world.

6:41 That is a verse worth memorizing right there. In this world you will have tribulation, but take heart. Christ has overcome the world. So the peace that Christ is talking about here in John fourteen twenty seven is not the kind of peace that the world gives. And so that begs the question, what kind of peace does the world offer us?

7:06 I think that the peace the world offers is usually just the absence of conflict. When people say that they want greater peace of mind, what is it that we usually mean? I think really when people say that, what they mean is that they want security, right? Or they want insurance, or they want comfort. We want our retirement accounts.

7:32 I saw a billboard the other day that said right on it, your in laws are not a retirement plan. I thought, bummer. I better get a real job at some point. But you know, we want that kind of thing. We want flood insurance and we want identity theft protection and we want bomb shelters and labor saving devices.

8:00 And that's the kind of peace that the world has to offer us. We want peace and quiet. And it's not that these things are necessarily bad. I would say that that one of the things I enjoy most is just to sit in my brown reclining chair with a good book and a cup of coffee and just isolate myself from the distractions of the world. And by that, I do not refer to my wife.

8:29 But these things are not necessarily bad. That's the kind of peace that the world offers us. It's the absence of conflict. And when we settle for that, we're settling for the world's peace. It's human peace.

8:43 It's temporary, transitory. The peace of God makes very little sense to the world. They look at this passage and say, your peace Jesus, tomorrow they are going to crucify you. What kind of peace is that? But I believe that that is true peace.

9:47 And he says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in all things by prayer and supplication make your requests to God. And what will happen? The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. So the peace that Christ offers is more than the peace of the world. It does not make sense to the world because it is not human peace, it is God's peace.

10:16 Christ is not saying to his disciples, I am gonna create for you your own little peace. He says, I'm gonna share with you the peace that exists between the father and the son. So that's the first point this morning, if you're following along on the scorecard. That there are two kinds of peace, and that the peace of God is different than the peace of the world because the peace of the world depends on our outward circumstances, while the peace of God does not. Or as a wise man once said, it was my grandfather, in case you wanna know.

10:53 As a wise man once said, the peace of the world is temporary, but the peace of God offers hope. That's the difference. So let's look back at this account in Matthew chapter two. Here we have Joseph. Now Joseph is told in a dream to take his family and travel to Egypt.

11:18 You wonder why Egypt? Egypt would have been a land of idolatry, a land of tyranny. It was a people who were historically enemies of God. And nevertheless, Joseph is told to take his young child and his wife and travel to this land. Sometimes, I like to think, what would my response be if I were in certain situations that you read about in the scripture?

11:49 And I think this would be my response. You've got to be kidding me. Here, this child is supposed to be the son of God. And here we have no better way of dealing with this paltry tyrant called Herod than traveling hundreds of miles to live in a foreign nation. Where are the angels?

12:11 Where's the cherubim with the flaming sword? Why don't we just knock this guy out and take care of things? And anyway, this child is supposed to be the hope of his people Israel. He's so young and the land of Israel is already too hot for him to handle. I think that would have been my response.

12:29 But we don't see any of that coming from Joseph. We see that he trusts the Lord, he believes, he takes the son of God, and note this, he's willing to believe even though there seems to be no miraculous way of keeping him safe. Some people say, well, I will believe in God if I see something miraculous happen. Well, how often do we see people in scripture who believe God anyway, even if nothing miraculous happens? So Joseph takes his family, travels to a foreign nation.

13:03 I say these are not very nice circumstances. Outwardly, his external circumstances were bad. But he was traveling with God himself in the flesh. Joseph follows the commands of God. And I think, although his faith was tested, it certainly didn't fail.

14:01 My heart is often troubled. So I think hopefully we can all learn something from the scriptures this morning. There's a lot of passages we could look at. I'm just gonna look at three of them. First one is in the very beginning of Romans chapter five, if you could turn there for a second.

14:26 Romans chapter five. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace by which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope and glory of God. I think in this passage, we see the true source of real peace with God and that is in the crucifixion and resurrection of the Son of God. And we talked about that this morning in the first service.

15:07 And we think that just as Abraham in the Old Testament believed God, it was accounted to him for righteousness. Likewise, we are called to believe in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So one thing we might say is if you're sitting here this morning and you do not feel peace in your hearts, maybe the first thing we ought to check is, are we truly saved? I don't know your spiritual condition, but it's very possible that there's someone sitting here this morning saying, I am just never at peace in my life. Well, have you trusted in the Lord?

15:41 Have you accepted that free gift of his grace? If not, let me just read you one verse from Jeremiah chapter eight. This comes out of Jeremiah chapter eight verse 20. The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved. Another year is over.

16:12 2013 is just about done. And maybe you've spent another year listening to sermons and you've read your Bible occasionally. And you know what it says about sin and about death and about the possibility of new life through Christ. But maybe you still are not saved. The scriptures say that you will be without excuse when the Lord comes to judge the living and the dead.

16:41 And God is so gracious to us. He gives us so many opportunities to repent. And sometimes we are so good at eluding his grace. Somebody once said, you only live once. But I always think of the words of the monk, brother Lawrence, who said, you only die once.

17:07 When you're on the other side, you don't get a second chance. And we don't want to think that we can achieve the peace of God through somehow living a good life or doing good works. Because we're kind of like the little boy who wanted a new bicycle for Christmas. And he said to his mother, mama, I would really like to have a new bicycle for Christmas. The problem with this little boy was that he was always being bad.

17:38 And so his mother said, tell you what, why don't you go up to your room and I want you to write a letter to Jesus. So the boy went up, goes up to his room and he pulls out some paper and a pen and he starts off the letter, Dear Jesus, I have been a good boy this year. Please tell mommy that I would like a new bicycle for Christmas. But the boy felt a little pang of guilt because he knew that he hadn't been a good boy that year, and he also knew that Jesus would know that. So he tears up the letter and he starts another letter.

18:13 He says, dear Jesus, I have been pretty good most of the time this year. Then he paused and he thought, you know what? I really haven't been pretty good. And I haven't been pretty good most of the time. So he tears up that letter, he goes downstairs, and he sees the nativity scene that his mother has set up.

18:36 And he takes the little wooden statue of Mary, wraps it in a blanket, takes it up and hides it under his pillow. He starts another letter to Jesus that says, Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again, please let me have that bicycle. We find all kinds of ways of trying to get around the word of God. And there is no way that we're ever gonna be good enough to deserve his grace or his peace. So that's the first step in experiencing the peace of God is to be in a right relationship with him.

20:17 Like you are being tossed back and forth on the waves? I feel like that a lot. And that's why I love this passage because it reminds me of how I can experience peace in the midst of these waves. The key is to know the man who can calm the storms. Greater knowledge of the son of God.

20:44 How do we know the peace of God? You have to know the peace giver. Isaiah 26 verse three, you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you. Peace is the result of a settled faith in God. The storms of life, I think, are always going to be there.

21:07 You are not going to be taken out of the water. Evil is going to continue to flourish. I hate to say that. Some people think things are getting better all the time. I think things are getting worse all the time.

21:22 I know that's not a very cheery Happy New Year message, things are getting worse all the time. But we know the one who can calm the storms. And in this little passage in Ephesians, we are reminded to spend time with those people whom God has prepared. The men and women who can point us to Christ, who can speak into our lives the words of wisdom and of peace. The Christian life is not supposed to be some kind of solitary existence.

21:50 Although, I do appreciate the lone ranger, riding off into the sunset, fighting the bad guys. But in the Christian life, that kind kind of lone ranger thing doesn't work. At least it doesn't work for very long. We're supposed to be a family. And when the church is functioning as it should, its members are going to grow in love and grow into the likeness of Christ who is supposed to be our head.

22:19 Anyway, the Lone Ranger had Tonto, so he wasn't even that much of a Lone Ranger on his own. The peace of God comes to those who believe on his son, and it comes when we seek a greater knowledge of the son of God. Finally, I believe that the peace of God is connected with our obedience to him. Isaiah chapter 30 tells us, though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction. What is the bread of adversity?

22:56 I think if you ask my wife, what is the bread of adversity? She would say, it's that fruitcake you made for Christmas. It's the bread of adversity. But anyway, it says, though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, you shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it whenever you turn to the right or to the left. There are bad times in life.

23:23 Each of us has struggles and torments, unrest. Some of us experience those more than others, but every follower of Christ experiences this adversity to some extent. The good news in this passage is that in the midst of the adversity, we will be able to hear from the Lord saying this is the way, walk in it. The question is, are we going to walk in the way? Are we going to follow what he tells us to do?

24:16 No, he doesn't do any of that. He just gets up at night and he takes his family to Egypt. We have the sense that he does this almost immediately, which reminds me of the little song that we sang in Vacation Bible School. Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe, doing exactly as the Lord commands, doing it faithfully. Action is the key, do it immediately.

24:43 Immediately, right? Do it immediately. How many occasions in the Bible do we see God's people doing what they are told as soon as they are told to do it? When you look at Abraham, who is called out of one land and told to go into another, he doesn't dilly dally around, he doesn't stall for time, he doesn't consider alternatives, he just does it. And then we have the example of our Lord Jesus.

25:10 Sometime, if you have a spare 20, just scan through the book of Mark and make note of all the times that Jesus does something immediately or right away. He is a man of action. And then of course, we have accounts of people in the Bible who don't do the will of God right away and bad things happen to them. They're not at peace. Jonah, for example, tries to put off doing the will of God.

25:38 He does not receive the peace of God. In obeying the will of God, I think that Christians could borrow the advertising slogan from Nike. Just do it. Just do... I always thought that's a strange slogan.

25:53 Just do what? Buy tennis shoes? Is that really what it means? Just do it? That reminds me of one time when I was in college, a friend of mine was wearing one of those shirts that said just do it.

26:05 So I went up to him and half jokingly, I said to him, what should I do? And he looked right at me and he said, I said, your shirt says just do it. What is it that I should do? And he thought about it for a minute. And then he said to me, do whatever it is you do.

26:26 Don't let anybody else tell you what to do. Just do your own thing. Just do your own thing? That's a horrible idea. It's one of the worst ideas I ever heard.

26:35 Just do your own thing. How about just do God's thing? Right? That should be our slogan. Do your own thing and do it quickly.

26:44 I think sometimes, this is gonna sound like I'm boasting, but I'm not. I'm not proud of this. But I am the champion at coming up with reasons not to do what I'm supposed to do. I mean, example, let's say that I have a falling out with someone at my work, at school, maybe even in this church. Now I know what I'm supposed to do.

27:11 I'm supposed to go to that person and start the process of reconciliation. God has told me what to do. But I find all kinds of ways for not doing it. Today is not a good day. I just don't feel well.

27:23 I've got company coming over. I've got to clean my house. Know, it's been a tiring Christmas. I just need to rest. Got to take care of my body, temple of the Holy Spirit, know, got to take care of the body.

27:36 I got a lot of bills I need to pay this afternoon and balance the checkbook. I have to be a good steward of God's resources. I'll deal with these human problems another day or another month or another year. And then five years later, you wonder, why haven't I spoken to so and so in five years? Because we don't do the will of God when we're supposed to do it.

28:00 But that's not how Joseph responds to God. He wakes up, he takes his family to Egypt. And what is the result of obedience to God? I'm gonna read you a little passage by one of my favorite writers, Oswald Chambers. This is from his classic devotional, my utmost for his highest.

28:21 This is what Oswald Chambers says. God's mark of approval, whenever you obey him, is peace. He sends an immeasurable deep peace, not a natural peace as the world gives, but the peace of Jesus. If you are acting on your own impulses or out of a sense of the heroic to be seen by others, the peace of Jesus will not exhibit itself. God counters our self willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity.

29:04 I think there is a lot in that paragraph, but what particularly touched me was the appeal to simplicity and unity. How do we experience this peace of God in greater measure? Well, the first is to be in right relationship with God. Next, we avoid being tossed to and fro by the storms of life by seeking a greater knowledge of the son of God and by working together as a body of Christ. Simplicity, simply accepting the free gift of God's grace.

29:40 Unity, we live together as a family of believers. And finally, have now read that we can experience the peace of God as a result of being obedient to his will. So we're going to ask ourselves this morning, are we experiencing the peace of God? And it's perfectly okay if you're saying to yourself, no, I'm not. But remember that the peace of God doesn't depend on what's going on in your life right now.

30:15 It doesn't depend on your external circumstances. Surely, Joseph must have felt some turmoil or some confusion about obeying the will of God. But God was using these external circumstances in Joseph's life to bring about something greater, something that Joseph might not even have been able to imagine. And we have to be aware of the times in life when God is using circumstances which to us seem very bad to work out something which is really wonderful. Matthew two verse 15, for out of Egypt have I called my son.

31:38 We are by nature enemies of God, born in a spiritual Egypt. But when we are converted, we are called out of our spiritual bondage. God calls his redeemed out from under the power of Satan and the world. We are not able to dwell forever in this land of Egypt. We will not continue forever under the power of Satan.

32:04 The Lord himself will give us the strength to escape from whatever form of slavery or bondage we may find ourselves in. With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, God himself will save you because he has loved you from before the foundations of the world. And he purchased you with his own precious blood. So it could be this morning that you are experiencing trouble. It could be that this week, and I keep saying you, but I really am talking to myself.

32:44 It could be that this week you have been afraid or that you are earnestly striving for a greater measure of God's peace, but you still don't feel that joy or that comfort. Maybe today you are under bondage to some sin and the corruption of this Egypt. Perhaps you are thinking as the Apostle Paul wrote, to will is present in me, but how to do it, I do not know. Today, I'm gonna invite us to look up and reflect on the quiet contentment of our Lord Jesus. You have the freedom to turn your mind to him.

33:29 That is a sign that you are right with God. Because if you are not in right relationship with God, you are unable to turn your mind to anything but yourself. And anything that blocks your view of Christ is either going to cause you to worry or is gonna give you some false security. Hebrews 12 and verse two says that we should be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Who do you think that Joseph was looking at when he made that journey to Egypt?

34:05 And are we looking at the same one? Are we looking for the savior? I tell you one thing, I have tried this and it does not work to worry my way out of my problems. Somehow, it just does not get me anywhere. In fact, I tend to destroy God's effectiveness in my own life.

34:28 I become troubled because I have not been taking Jesus into account. I get distracted. Some of you have surely seen that movie, Chariots of Fire. In it, there's a scene where the great runner, the the Jewish runner, who was his friend. The the...

34:54 Yeah. Abrams? Yes. Abrams. What a great name, Abrams.

35:00 He is... He has won so many races, but he finally loses a race. And if you remember the scene in the movie, he loses the race because just as he is about to cross the finish line, he looks to see where his competitor is. And his coach just gets on him about that. He says, you lost that race because you took your eyes off the finish line.

35:26 You looked to see where the other guy was, and that cost him the race. I think there's a parallel in there for the Christian life. Anytime we are facing sorrow or loss or difficulty, let's look to the Lord for our peace. Let's obey his words and listen for his voice. Because you know what his voice is saying?

36:30 God has not promised we shall not know, toil and temptation, trouble and woe. He has not told us we shall not bear many a burden or many a care. God has not promised smooth roads and wide swift easy travel, needing no guide. Never a mountain rocky and steep, never a river turbid and deep. But God has promised, strength for today, rest for the weary, and light for the way.

37:09 Grace for the trials, peace from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love. And Father, thank you for these words we read this morning. We pray that somehow we would open up our hearts to accept a greater measure of your love and your peace. Lord, we pray if there are any here this morning who do not know you. Lord, that this would be the year in which they turn away from sin and turn toward you.

37:44 Pray as we go forth this week that we would keep in mind your words not to let our hearts be troubled, not to be afraid, and to always be looking for what you are doing to orchestrate something wonderful. Christ's name. Amen.