On the night He was betrayed, Jesus was trying to help His disciples understand what was about to happen: He was going to be arrested, tried, and crucified. As a result, He would be leaving them. The One who had been the center of their lives was going to be taken away. They needed to know something that would give them hope and help them face the seasons of difficulty and pain that He knew were about to come. If you were in Jesus’ shoes, what would you want the disciples to know? What Good News would you want to give them that could help them hold on to hope as they lived out their faith in a fallen world? What about us as believers today, 2,000 years later? What message could Jesus give us that would strengthen us for the battles we face as His disciples today? We find one answer to that question in John 14, where we have the most detailed account in all of the Gospels of Jesus’ final words to His inner circle of 12 disciples. As He prepares them for His departure, He makes this amazing promise in Vs. 17, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” 

Our theme for the 2nd week of Advent is peace. So this promise that Jesus made in John 14 fits very well with what I want to focus on in this message. He promised them the gift of peace through the presence of the Holy Spirit. As we study this passage, we’ll discover an important truth: If you want the peace of God to rule in your heart, you have to be willing to place what you have into His hands!

In His Service,

Pastor Steve