John 20:19-22

“19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

• Embrace His Peace

I wonder if the disciples’ first reaction to his presence was one of guilt and shame because they thought Jesus was going to rebuke them. But instead of blasting them, Jesus blesses them and said “Peace be with you!” I’m sure this startled them because it wasn’t what they were expecting at all. Many of us have a perverted view of God, seeing Him as a punisher instead a provider of peace. We don’t embrace His peace because we expect punishment. This greeting of peace in the Jewish culture is the word shalom, a state of wholeness and harmony that is intended to resonate in all relationships. When used as a greeting, shalom was a wish for outward freedom from disturbance as well as an inward sense of well-being. To a people constantly harassed by enemies, peace was the premiere blessing. In Numbers 6:24-26, God gave Moses these words to use when blessing His people: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” The New Testament describes at least three spheres of peace:

Peace with God – this is the vertical dimension. Romans 5:1 says: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our sin separates us from God, but the Saviors sacrifice puts us at peace with God. This is a Saving peace. Next there is the:

Peace of God – this takes place internally. Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This is a Securing peace. Third there is:

Peace with others – when we have peace with God and we experience the peace of God, we can then extend peace horizontally. Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” Jesus didn’t call us to be “peacekeepers,” but “peacemakers.” Fear tends to bring friction and factions but peace provides a platform to confront conflict, so that we can complement others instead of competing with them. We are called to be peace workers not war workers. This is a Serving peace

Do you want to live in His peace or in the panic? Jesus offers you peace today but it’s different than the peace the world offers. Our culture communicates that peace is the absence of something. That’s probably what the disciples were thinking as they tried to lock out their worries and concerns. But peace is not the absence of problems it’s the presence of Christ. Because of Jesus we can have:

Peace with our past. Because of His forgiveness we don’t have to live in the failure and the fear of our past. We can have peace with our present. What are you worried about right now? Your marriage? Your finances?  A health issue? Jesus came to “bind up our brokenness” (Isaiah 61:1). We can have peace with our future. Some of you are fretting about the future because you have forgotten about His faithfulness. Do you want this peace or are you content to cower in the corner? Stop locking yourself behind thick walls, and embrace His perfect peace. Contrary to our culture peace doesn’t come from popping pills it only comes from Christ. Do you have a saving peace, have you accepted Christ as your only Savior from sin? What about a securing peace, not just peace with God but the peace of God? Are you living in the provision of His peace, trusting in Him? What about a serving peace? When it comes to His peace many of us are living selfish, self-centered lives, we are satisfied to have His peace but not to share it. What about you have you settled for a saving and securing peace but are unwilling to also have a serving peace? When we accept His peace but are unwilling to share it it’s not long before we lose it. We become like the Dead Sea, which surprisingly has the same source of water as the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River. Yet unlike the Sea of Galilee that is teaming with life, it is dead. How can there been such a stark differences between two seas with the same water source, simple the Dead Sea has no outflow. When we take in but never give out its not long before we become stagnant and start to stink. Maybe the reason you have no peace is because you are living a selfish life instead of sharing one.  What about you are you embracing the provision of His peace, or are you trying to get your peace through man made mechanisms?

John 20:19-22

“19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Here in John 20 we see one of the greatest results of the resurrection, that as followers of Jesus Christ we no longer have to live in fear. All of us have experienced fear at one time or another, you see fear is one of the oldest and strongest emotions known to mankind. Fear was the first emotion to emerge after Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. When we forsake God and seek sin fear always follows.  How did Adam and Eve handle their fear, they hid, and thousands of years later how do we find the disciples dealing with fear, hiding and holding up. It’s here that we discover that there are two ways of dealing with fear, man’s way and the Messiah’s way. Unfortunately many of us are turning and trusting in man-made ways instead of the Master. As a result we are relying on coping mechanisms instead of Christ. Like the disciples we end up relying on locks instead of the Lord. But what do locks do in our lives, they limit us. Your coping mechanism becomes your cage; instead of providing protection it puts you in prison. You have a choice, you can chose Christ or a coping mechanism, but let me ask you this, what do you really want, a crutch or a cure? So how does Jesus deal with disciples of fear? He provides us with His presence. The first truth we need to turn to if we want to be free from our fears is to:

• Expect His Presence

Just like the disciples many of us are living locked up lives because our focus is on the problems and not on His presence. Now I am not minimizing their problems, they had real problems not just perceived ones. The religious rulers had crucified Christ and their fear was that they would come and kill them next. I want you to notice a contrast here between religion and relationship. Religion brings fear, relationship brings freedom. Religion brings legalism, relationship brings life. Many of us are living in the limits because we are relying on religion instead of the Redeemer. It’s the rule based living instead of relationship based living. Now I read my bible every day but it’s based on love not law. Many of us are living in the mandates and the have to instead of we get to. Religion always result in locked up lives, it kills relationship instead of kindling it. Parents what are you communicating to your kids, rule based living or relationship based living? Because what you communicate you will cultivate, are you cultivating a life of fear or one of faith? We need to be careful that we don’t cripple our kids and cause them to live locked up, limited lives. Now for those of you who have missed the mission and messed up when it comes to raising your kids don’t despair. You see it’s into the limits and the locks that the Lord comes. Notice that man-made locks don’t limit the Lord. I also want you to see that scripture records not just a locked door but doors plural. There are lots of locks, there are multiple man-made mechanisms but regardless of how locked up we are Jesus presence has the power to fill and free your life. Your problems don’t limit His presence, your perception doesn’t limit His presence, your pain doesn’t limit His presence. Even in the limits and the locks we can experience God’s presence. We need to stop living in the anxiety and start living in the expectation and anticipation of His presence. When we wake do we begin the day in His presence or in the problems? Instead of living in the pleasure of His presence we are living in the panic of the problems. We need to stop fixing our eyes on the anxiety and start focusing on the Author. Many of us start our day in dread because we are not living in the eager expectation of God showing up and when He does we miss Him. Worry causes us to waste our energy on religion instead of being engaged in a relationship. They were living in the worrying of the religious leaders instead of the wonder of what God was doing. Are you going to look to the Lord or live a locked up life? It’s His presence that provides us with His peace. If we want to live lives free from fear we need to expect His presence. What about you are you leaning on the Lord, expect His Presence, or are you leaning on the locks and living in the limits?