Pastor Timothy Patoka 6 Sunday Of Easter: May 26, 2019 Live In Love And Peace John 14:23-29 th
1) Love Is From/For God 2) Peace Is Uniquely Ours As some of you know, I have family spread throughout the whole country. My parents live in Virginia, my brother and his family live in eastern Tennessee, and wife’s whole family lives up in the Wisconsin area. When I try to keep in contact with them, I’m often reminded about how different my life looks like simply because of our weather patterns. It’s not unusual for my parents to talk about how their power goes out when the wind rips through their densely populated area and knocks over a telephone pole. And when they mention about how hot and humid it gets there, my brother and his family share it all the more. Since they are further inland, their temperature is the more extreme than what coastal Virginia’s is. Up north in the Wisconsin area, it’s only now that winter is starting to say farewell. But still my family members haven’t hung up their jackets for good because it still dips down just enough. And then I look at the forecast here in southern Arizona and remember how my life looks so much different. While the lives of my parents and brother’s family are filled with cutting lawns and feeling wet from humidity, mine is not. While the lives of my family members up north in Wisconsin are filled with cloudy skies and dressing in layers, mine is not. Like you all, my life is instead filled with enjoyable time outside and the need to remember to not rub it in their faces what blessings we have to call southern Arizona our home. It’s not just where you live that will determine what your life looks like. There are plenty of other factors as well like hobbies, responsibilities, what your friends like to do, and your faith. As we consider our verses this morning from the Gospel of John chapter 14, we’ll be looking at that faith component, about how our lives are to look like because we call ourselves Christians. It is, first of all, of a life full of love. Love from our God and love for our God. And secondly, it is a life full of peace, a peace that Jesus uniquely gives to us no matter what may be going on to us in this world. 1) Love Is From/For God We continue our time with Jesus while he’s in the Upper Room with his disciples. This is happening on the evening of Maundy Thursday, after Judas Iscariot has left to gather the troops to betray Jesus but before Jesus and his disciples have gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and be arrested. And it’s during this time that Jesus is sharing with his disciples a farewell sermon of sorts. It’s in line with that he says these to words to show them part of what a Christian’s life is to look like. “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word…The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words. The word that you are hearing is not mine, but it is from the Father who sent me” (John 14:23a, 24). 1
Pastor Timothy Patoka 6 Sunday Of Easter: May 26, 2019 To love Christ is to hold onto his words, to live as he asks and commands. These are not just Jesus’ words, but also God the Father’s words! When we remember that our Triune God is 3 persons in 1 God-head, it makes sense how it is from both persons of God. And what are some the specific words that Jesus? I think of earlier accounts in the Upper Room where Jesus washed his disciples’ feet to show them that greatness in the kingdom of God comes through willful service to one another (John 13:1-17). It is a regular and thankful reception of the Lord’s Supper when it is offered (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-21; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34). It is to trust in Jesus alone for salvation because apart from him there is no salvation (John 14:6). These are just a few of the many ways which Christians show their love for God. th
But if you notice what Jesus said to his disciples, Christians are to hold on to all of Jesus’ words, not just the ones we like or know about. As he said before, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word…The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words” (John 14:23a, 24a). Jesus doesn’t make any exceptions to which words he’s talking about. Love for God is shown by keeping all his commands, not only some. Our sinful natures do not like that. We look at Jesus’ object lesson of washing his disciples’ feet to teach that Christians are to serve instead of being served and say “No. That’s not for me. I would rather be served by others than serve others.” We look at the 10 Commandments and say that, on a surface level, we can probably keep 6, 7, or maybe 8 of them. If we were still in school, that would be a passing grade! Yet we forget that each commandment is deep and includes our thoughts, words, and actions. And that’s only the commands we know about. What about the commands we don’t know are in the Bible? I find for myself that every time I preach a sermon or teach a Bible class, I learn something new or see something I’ve learned in a new light. I already know that I will never be done studying and growing in God’s Word. What words of Jesus and God might there be that you don’t know about? Ways that we can show our love for God? Ways that we are guilty of for not showing that love? If love for God is shown by holding to all of his words, then it is humbling to consider how lacking in love we truly are. Yet God’s Word doesn’t only tells us how we have failed to show love for God. It also shows us love from God. As I’ve mentioned already, Jesus shows us that Christians to serve others instead of being served. As you look at Jesus and his life on earth, he exemplified that. He spoke his words of truth to all people, not just the who’s who of his time or those who were nice to him. He followed his own words as attested with his frequent miracles and refusal to charge for his services. After Jesus left the Upper Room, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed to God the Father asking if there was any way Jesus could still be our Savior without having to suffer and die on the cross. Yet that’s not how our salvation would be accomplished. So Jesus showed his love for us by holding to the words of his Father, to suffer and die on that cross so he could rise from the grave 3 days later. 2
Pastor Timothy Patoka 6 Sunday Of Easter: May 26, 2019 And he continues to show that love for us by holding to what else he has said. He says that if you repent of your sins, you are forgiven right then and there. He says that he will always be with you. And it’s not just God the Son who’s with you, but God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. About God the Father Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). God’s presence with you is not just a temporary visit. His home is within your heart. He’s with you at all times. About the Holy Spirit Jesus says, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you” (John 14:26). There’s a lot more we can say here about the Holy Spirit. We’ll save most of that for 2 weeks from now when we celebrate the Festival of Pentecost. But I do want to point out 2 things about the Holy Spirit. One, who does he come from? He comes from God the Father who dwells in your heart. Two, what does he do? He teaches and reminds you what all Jesus has said in his Word, how you have love from God and how you can show love for God. th
2) Peace Is Uniquely Ours As we live in love from and for God, we also live in a peace that Jesus alone gives. Jesus tells us about his peace in these words, “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, and do not let it be afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father” (John 14:27-28). Jesus’ peace is different than the world’s peace. For the world, peace happens when things are in balance and life is in harmony. It is perhaps better defined as the absence of problems because if you don’t have problems, then you have peace. If you have peace, then you don’t have problems. Yet Jesus’ peace is different because it doesn’t depend on how things are going in this world. It depends on who it comes from, from God. And we can be sure that Jesus is qualified to give this peace because he’s going back to the Father. Jesus doesn’t go back to him in defeat or because he’s retreating from his mission to save us from our sins. Rather, it’s because Jesus has completed his mission to be our Savior that he has now gone back to the Father. But I think it’s safe to say that we may not always feel like we’re living in peace. We confuse the world’s peace and Jesus’ peace. We think that because life isn’t going the greatest here, we’re somehow lacking in the peace that Jesus alone can give. Perhaps God has gotten fed up with our nation which is why we’re jumping from one disturbing headline to another. Life hasn’t gone as we planned and we wonder where God will be in our uncertain future. We struggle to maintain a child-like amazement and trust in the simple gospel truth that we are safe from our sins because of what Jesus has done for us. And we’re left wondering, “How can I have Jesus’ peace if I’m not at peace?”
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Pastor Timothy Patoka 6 Sunday Of Easter: May 26, 2019 Again, we need to remind ourselves that Jesus’ peace is not the world’s peace. Jesus’ peace is not measured by an absence of problems. It’s measured by what he gives us. It’s first and foremost a spiritual blessing, the forgiveness of our sins. If we don’t have that, nothing else matters. The best that life can otherwise offer us is what we get here on earth because what follows is certainly not the case for those without Christ. Jesus’ peace begins with forgiveness because that is what changes God’s attitude towards us from one of hate to one of love. And along with that forgiveness comes everything else – God’s declaration that we are not guilty for our wrongs, our status as God’s adopted children, being the recipients of his unconditional love, having the assurance that God is at peace with us and we are at peace with him. And when you look at it, Jesus’ peace is far greater than the world’s peace. Jesus’ peace is yours in full simply because you call Christ your Savior. And it will remain yours as long as your faith is in Christ alone, no matter how problem-free or problem-filled your life in this world may become. th
When I look around at how all my family members live across the country, I see a close connection with their weather patterns. Yet there is more than weather patterns that explain why a person lives the way they do. There’s also factors like faith. As Jesus has shown us this morning from John chapter 14, a Christian’s life will be marked with love and peace. Love that is from God as shown to us in God’s own Word. Love that is for God which holds to all his words as our way to say thanks for his blessings. And as we live in love for God, we walk in the peace which Jesus alone gives. It’s not like this world’s peace which depends on harmony or an absence of problems. It’s a peace that is based in Jesus who has completed his mission of our salvation and the blessings he gives us that come from the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.
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