John 20:19-23

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. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

 As we continue in John 20 we see that not only should we expect His presence but second we should:

2. 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 saying, “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 that Romans 5:1 describes: “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 what I call a Saving peace

Peace of God– This takes place internally as Philippians 4:6-7 reveals: “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 what I call a Securing peace

Peace with others– When we have peace with God and we experience the peace of God, we can then extend peace horizontally as Matthew 5:9 talks about: “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, and to compliment instead of competing with others. We are called to be peace workers not war workers. This is what I call 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 Jesus 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. Because of His peace we can also 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). But His peace doesn’t just impact our past and our present but also 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. I know what you’re thinking it’s just not that easy. You are going through the same struggle that the disciples had, how do I trust in the trying times? But the reason you have not embraced His peace is because third you have never:

3. Examine His Proof

Jesus offered evidence to His doubting disciples,showing them His hands and His side. If you want to forsake your fears, then you need to pay attention to the proof. Christianity is not just a system of rules and regulations, it’s a relationship with the living Lord. Mary missed Jesus because she mistook God for a gardener, here Luke 24:37 reveals that the disciples miss Him because they mistook God for a ghost! “And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ³⁷ But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!”Fear creates a false perception, it perverts your perspective causing you to miss the Messiah. Many of us are living in the panic instead of the promises because we haven’t taken time to examine the proof. We are living in the fear instead of the finished work. Phobia comes from the Greek word for fear, but it refers to a panic that is completely out of proportion to the perceived threat behind it. They were afraid of people because they had forgotten about God’s power. I think today we need to come back to the cross, to ponder the proof so that we can live in the power. If Christ has conquered the cross, and defeated sin and death then what do we have to fear? Are you living in the reality of the resurrection or the ruin of religion? If you believe the proof, then it should change your practice. Instead of being consumed with panic we should be concerned with proclaiming.

John 20:19-23

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. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Last time in John 20 in our series “Living in the reality of the Resurrection” we saw how the Risen Savior took a woman named Mary Magdalen from worry and weeping to worship and witnessing. Today as we continue in John 20 we will see one of the greatest results of the resurrection, that as followers of Jesus Christ we no longer have to live in fear. We’ve all experienced fear at one time or another. 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, Genesis 3:9-10 “they hid from the Lord God among the trees. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”¹⁰ He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 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, hold up instead of handing out hope. 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 conquering one. Like the disciples we are 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 choose Christ or a coping mechanism, but let me ask you 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:

1. Expect His Presence

Just like the disciples many of us are living locked up lives because our focus is on the problems and not 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. Religion results in rule-based living instead of relationship-based living. The reason we read the bible should be based on love not the 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 we communicate we will cultivate. If we are not careful we will cultivating a life of fear for our kids instead of a life 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. Because 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 you 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 the what if’s instead of being engaged in the One who is. They were living in the worry of the religious leaders instead of the wonder of the resurrected Lord. Are you going to look to the Lord or live a locked-up life? Only His presence can provide us with real peace. Are you living in His presence or in the problems?