A Spirit of Peace

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  May 19, 2024

Please note: Pastor Heidi will be on sabbatical for the months of June, July, and August.  During that time, sermon notes and recordings will not be posted.  You are always welcome to join us in person.  You may also listen to the services on the conference call line (339) 207-7394 each Sunday at 11:00 a.m.  

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Read John 14:8 - 17, 25 - 27
 
I want to invite us this morning to pay particular attention to verses 16 and 17 as well as verses 25 through 27 from the New Testament lesson as we reflect on the theme: A SPIRIT OF PEACE.
 
Today is Pentecost Sunday, a day in the life of the church when we pause to reflect on the gift of God’s Holy Spirit and celebrate what is traditionally recognized as the birth of the church. 
 
It is not just the birth of Ledgewood Christian Church or the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) or even the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, or other mainline Protestant denominations that we celebrate today.
 
Pentecost celebrates the birth of THE church of ALL believers… those joined together as one that we read about in the Book of Acts 2 (42, 44-47) which reads as follows in the Message Paraphrase:

They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers… And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

What a wonderful world it would be if all of the churches who believe in the Lord Jesus would come together on one accord as these early disciples did. 
 
Just think about it, with all of the churches we see throughout every community, around the state and across the country, if they could all just come together as one… to pool resources to ensure everyone’s needs are met… to worship together and to fellowship together and to live in harmony… together.
 
And as strange as it may sound… if we look at the text, we can see that it is not totally outside the realm of possibility. 
 
In this passage from John’s Gospel, Jesus promised the disciples that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit… and it is God’s Holy Spirit who brought that first church into being… and it is the same Holy Spirit who will bring the whole church together once again when Jesus returns.
 
But until that day comes, we have Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit will help us and be with us forever… to be our Helper, our Advocate, our Comforter. 
 
Now, according to the text, Jesus said the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of everything He has said.  While in the next verse, which is actually the last verse of our text, we find a promise that we can all cling to in these uncertain times in which we find ourselves living. 
 
Verse 27 offers these words of assurance from Jesus, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” 
 
Or as it reads in the Message Paraphrase, “I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.”
 
Let us keep in mind, when Jesus was saying all of this to the disciples, He had not yet been crucified… but He knew what was coming and He wanted to assure the disciples that they did not have to be afraid, upset, or distraught.
 
I believe those words of comfort and reassurance are just as relevant, if not more so, for us today. 
 
In a world that is constantly in a state of turmoil… knowing that we have been given A SPIRIT OF PEACE through Jesus the Christ makes it that much easier to endure what can best be described as some truly challenging times.
 
And it is that SPIRIT OF PEACE… God’s Holy Spirit… that is at the heart of our text this morning and more importantly, at the heart of our celebration of Pentecost. 
 
Because the Scriptures tell us that on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were gathered together in that upper room… there was a sound like a rushing wind… tongues of fire came and rested on them… and the Holy Spirit came and filled them. 
 
While those who were gathered tried to make sense out of what was happening, Peter preached to them and reminded them of what God had spoken through the Prophet Joel (2:28 – 29, 32a) years before:

…afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days… And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And according to the Book of Acts (2:41), following Peter’s sermon, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”
 
Now, within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), there is a concentrated focus during the season of Pentecost on New Church Ministry and the mission to support church planters in their commitment to answering God’s call . . . to serve their neighbors, spread the gospel, and make more Disciples…
 
After all, that was Jesus’ great commission which we find at the end of Matthew’s Gospel (28:18-20):

Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

And that is still the call to each of us roughly 2,000 years later… to “go and make disciples of all nations.”  It was that call that led to the formation of this very church 59 years ago and it is that same call which continues to move us forward as the church today.
 
Although there are some who would question the need for creating new churches when there are already so many churches in existence… it would seem that there is still much work that needs to be done. 
 
As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (see Matthew 9:37, Luke 10:2).
 
As we look forward to the day of Jesus’ return… this truly is a time for all hands, on deck.  There ought to be a sense of urgency in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone we can… and that means we need as many people as possible doing their part to spread the Gospel… to get out in the field and harvest souls for Christ.
 
In Matthew 24 (14), as Jesus talked to His disciples about the signs of the end times, He told them, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
 
The time for Jesus to return is drawing ever closer day by day.  But until that day arrives, it is the church… not the brick and mortar, stained glass, and pews… but the body of believers that is needed in order to spread the gospel as a testimony to all nations… and that is what is needed for us to reap the harvest.
 
And so it is incumbent upon us to make more disciples… not simply to build more church buildings… because we need more workers to get the word out far and wide about Jesus… because His desire is that NONE should be lost (John 18:9).
 
But just how do we make more disciples? 
 
Let me suggest that in spite of the ways in which some faith traditions may have tried to complicate the matter with various rituals and protocol… it really is as easy as 1-2-3.
 
If we look at Romans 10:9 – 10, we find these words of the Apostle Paul,

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

One – declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.”
Two – believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.
And Three – you will be saved.
 
Confession, belief, salvation… 1-2-3.
 
And if we look at John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
 
One – God loves us.
Two - God gave His one and only Son for us.
And Three – whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.
 
God loves.  God gives. We receive… 1-2-3.
 
Unfortunately, for far too long, people have continued to devise ways to make things more difficult than they need to be.  They have created mechanisms that lead to exclusion and separation rather than encourage inclusion and unity.
 
But let’s be clear, we… the church, the collective body of believers… we cannot afford to put roadblocks or obstacles in the way of people getting to Jesus.  We have been called and commissioned to make it as easy as possible for them to get to Him. 
 
Just the other day, I was listening to a podcast and the host quoted a line from the movie, Black Panther, that seemed rather fitting in light of what we see happening in our world today. 
 
Although the podcast host quoted only a snippet, I want to share the full text of what the main character, T’Challah, said in a moving speech that he made before the United Nations:

Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence.  We all know the truth.  More connect us than separates us.  But in times of crisis, the wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers.  We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one, single tribe.  (Black Panther, Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, 2018)

I can’t help but wonder if the film writers were looking at the Scriptures as they wrote this particular scene… because in His prayer found in John 17, Jesus says multiple times, “that they may be one as we are one…”  And how many times do we read Jesus’ command to “love one another”?
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It really isn’t all that hard… I mean, it is not exactly rocket science… it is simply about us loving one another and coming together as one… just as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one.
 
We just need to look to Jesus… the One who has promised not to leave us as orphans… the One who has promised that He will come to us.
 
Jesus has promised that He is coming back for His church. 
 
And until that day comes, Jesus has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to sustain us, to teach us, to guide us, to correct us and convict us.  And along with all of that, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will give us A SPIRIT OF PEACE.
 
It is a peace that only Jesus can give… unlike the peace the world may try to promise… the SPIRIT OF PEACE that Jesus gives is a peace that surpasses all understanding… it is a peace that can bring together a world that feels more fractured and divided than ever before…
 
And if your desire is to experience A SPIRIT OF PEACE that only Jesus can give that truly has the ability to bring our world together… then I want to invite you to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: O for a World (v. 1, 2, 5) #683.
 
 

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