How to Sustain Peace in Your Life Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on How to Sustain Peace in Your Life Part 1. He will be in John 20:11-31.

We are the manifested presence of Jesus, and that maybe somebody needs a hug, maybe somebody needs an ear, maybe somebody needs prayer. Somebody is looking for the presence of Jesus Christ when they come to meet with the family of God.

Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from The Open Door Church. We are very excited that you could join us today, and that we have this opportunity to study the Bible together. We’re gonna be in the Gospel of John, Chapter 20, continuing our study through the Book of John.

We’re now in Chapter 20, and we want to cover Verses 11 through 31, and I wanna talk to you about how to sustain peace in your life, so make sure you get your Bible, make sure you get your cup of coffee, and let’s start studying together how to maintain and sustain peace in your life.

In 1944, a man by the name of Bert Frison was an infantryman on the front line in Europe. American forces had advanced in the face of shelling and small -arm fire throughout the morning hours, but not all was quiet.

His patrol had reached the edge of a wooded area with an open field before them. Unknown to the Americans, there were Germans that were waiting about 200 yards across the field. Bert was one of the two scouts who moved out into the clearing, and once he was halfway across the field, the remainder of his battalion followed him.

Suddenly, the Germans opened fire, and machine -gun fire ripped into both of Bert’s legs. The American battalion withdrew into the woods for protection, while a rapid exchange of fire continued. Bert lay helplessly in a small stream as shots were volleyed overhead.

There seemed to be no way out. To make matters worse he now noticed that a German soldier was crawling towards him. Death appeared imminent, so he closed his eyes and he waited. To Bert’s surprise, a considerable period passed without the expected attack, so he ventured opening his eyes again.

He was startled to see the German kneeling at his side, smiling. Then he noticed that the shooting had stopped. Troops from both sides of the battlefield watched anxiously and without any verbal exchange.

This mysterious German soldier reached down to lift Bert in his arms and proceeded to carry him safely to his comrades. It is a reminder to us of what Jesus Christ has done for us. For when Christ came, He came to break down the walls that separate us from God.

He came down to tear down the walls of fear, to tear down the walls of sin and even death. Jesus came to conquer death. He came to bring us peace and forgiveness and grace. And every time I think about the Christmas story, I think about a Savior who entered into a hostile world, a world that was divided, a world that was full of sin and shame.

But out of great love, the Bible tells us that the Father sent the Son. And the Son willingly and obediently came into this world and He gave His life for you and for me so that we might have eternal life.

It is a beautiful story. It is a redemptive story. It is a story of God’s incredible love for each and every one of us. A love that is broad, a love that is high, a love that is deep, a love that is particular in drawing each one of us in unique ways to the moment and the time that we have received Jesus.

Christ as our Savior. And a part of this redemptive story is not only the coming of Jesus Christ, but it is that He was crucified and that He resurrected. And we pick up in our text this morning in the Gospel of John chapter 20.

And last week we learned about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this week we want to talk about the disciples’ response. And I want you to note, as we are unable to cover every detail of every verse, but let’s begin in verse 14 of John chapter 20.

And I want you to remember that Mary Magdalene, she had come to the tomb to properly apply ointment, spices, to the body of Christ in preparation as part of caring for him. But she came to the tomb to find that it was empty.

She found that he was not there and the Bible teaches us that she began to weep and she was so upset because she thought somebody had stolen the body of Christ. The Bible tells us that there were angels and that those angels began to communicate with Mary.

She thought that they were the keepers of the ground, that they were responsible in protecting and taking care of the tombs and the property. And she began to wonder and question where they might be and that if these keepers and gardeners had found the body of Christ to let her know and we pick up in verse 14 and the Bible says that when she had thus said she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus.

Jesus said unto her, Woman, why weepest thou whom seekest thou? She’s supposing him to be a gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou has laid him and I will take him away.

Jesus said unto her, Mary, she turned herself and said unto him, Rabona, which is to say, Master, when Jesus called her name and he said, Mary, she had heard him say that before. She had heard his tender, compassionate and loving voice before and she knew not by sight that it was him, but she knew by his voice that he was truly the master.

We pick up in verse 17. Jesus said unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father and your father and to my God and your God.

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then the same day at the evening, now let’s stop there, the same day, Jesus arose on a Sunday.

Why does the church gather on Sunday? For many reasons, but certainly because we celebrate, not just at Easter, but we celebrate the resurrection as believers every Sunday. And Jesus rose again on Sunday and we gather to rejoice that we have a living Savior.

We rejoice, we come together because the Old Covenant has been fulfilled in Christ. that we no longer have to participate in rituals. We no longer have to participate in religion, but we can have an authentic living relationship with Jesus Christ who is alive.

And the Bible says in verse 19, John chapter 20, that on that same day in the evening, the church was together in the evening, being the first day of the week when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews came Jesus, and he stood in the midst and saith unto them, peace be unto you.

This morning I wanna talk to you about how to sustain peace in your life. And I wanna share with you four principles out of this text that will help us to learn to sustain the peace of God in our life.

I think that during the holiday season, things can get a little crazy, can’t they? And our anxiety monitor can go real high. And we can find ourselves trying to keep up with the Joneses and we can find ourselves trying to make sure everybody in the family is happy and that we can all get along just on this one day.

Can’t we just get along? Can’t we just work it out? And things can become very anxious. We can be anxious because we know that during the holiday season that it’s not always easy. We have loved ones in heaven.

We have folks that mean so much to us that we will not celebrate here on this earth. Christmas with them. soul, we can become restless, and we really need the peace of God, don’t we? We need God’s peace to not only strengthen us, but to empower us and help us to keep our focus on Him.

So this morning I want to teach you how to sustain peace in your life. Number one, I want to encourage you to acknowledge God’s presence in your life. Now as we look at this text, again the Savior has been resurrected.

He is not at the tomb anymore, obviously, and they’re wondering, the disciples are wondering where He is. Verse 15, Jesus said unto her, Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking for? Of course she was seeking for Jesus, and Jesus was there, and He said, Don’t touch me, because His body was a resurrected, incorruptible, immortal body that had not been fully glorified.

in the presence of the father and he said don’t touch me just yet but there he was in the presence it was the presence of God that helped Mary because she was full of anxiety and she was full of tears and she did not know what they did with Christ’s body and she was devastated but Jesus reminded her in verse 19 he said peace be unto you and when he had said so he showed unto them his hands and his side and there were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord the disciples Mary devastated about the absence of Christ the disciples don’t know where Jesus is Mary says hey I saw him they’re not sure if she’s a credible witness they don’t know if she really lost it if she’s just emotionally overwhelmed is she just somehow psychologically out of step with what is really reality but then Jesus appears to his disciples and the Bible tells us that they were afraid they shut the door they locked the door they didn’t want to have anybody to attack them they were afraid that somebody was going to be angry that the Jews were going to attack them but the Bible says that Jesus miraculously appeared in their presence and what does the Bible say in verse 20 it says that they were glad that’s the power of the presence of God that’s the power of the presence of Jesus in this one account we see that Jesus was seen that he was heard and that he was even touched and here we recognize that Jesus wanted to appear to the disciples so he could calm their fears and that he could put peace in their hearts the Bible teaches us that for 40 days Jesus walked on this earth after his resurrection and he appeared 12 different times as recorded in the Gospels that he was seen by over 500 people.

The Bible tells us in Acts 1 verse 3 that he presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

The affirmation that he was truly risen but Jesus wanted to affirm and confirm to each of his disciples that were filled with anxiety and fear that he truly was alive and that he had not left them and that he had not abandoned them and that everything he taught them all the promises that he had made he would and did fulfill.

and that they needed to know that Jesus Christ’s presence was evident. Now why do you and I need to know about the presence of God in our own life? We know that our Savior has ascended into heaven. We know that the Bible teaches us that he’s at the right hand of the Father in interceding for his people.

Jesus is praying for you. But the presence of God, the presence of God in my life, listen, the Bible tells us that Jesus taught in John chapter 14 that he would not leave us comfortless. The idea of the word is he would not leave us as orphans.

He would not abandon us, but he would send us the Spirit of God who would live within all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and that the Spirit of God would bring comfort and power and peace in our hearts and that we would know the presence of God in our life.

Now why do I need to sense the presence of God? Now I want you to understand something, that when we think about the presence of God, there is a theological level of this, but there is a practical level.

We know that God is omnipresent, meaning that he is everywhere at the same time, that there is no place that God is not, and it is a double -edged sword in our life. Certainly it is something that helps us to remember that wherever we go, Jesus is with us, so let’s make sure that we don’t drag the presence of Christ into places that are not honorable to God, but it is also a comfort that even as I walk through adversity,

as I walk through trials, as I walk through trouble in my life, there is the presence of God. Jesus Christ said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. There, why do I need the presence? Because his presence reassures me in my fears.

You see, the disciples were afraid, but they were reassured by the presence of Christ. Mary was afraid, but she was reassured by the presence of Jesus. The disciples were huddled together, not knowing what to do, but there, the presence of Christ.

He said, look, touch me. He said, you see me. And the Bible says they were glad. They were rejoicing, why? Because of the presence of God. And I want you to know this morning that the presence of Jesus is with you everywhere you go, every step you take, and every circumstance that you face in your life.

You do not have to live in fear. You do not have to be overwhelmed by anxiety because you have the presence of Christ with you. Why? Is it important for me to acknowledge his presence in my life? because his presence affirms us in our failures.

The disciples gathered and they had left Jesus. They scattered. Peter and John hung out close, trying to find out what would happen to Jesus. Peter would deny him three times. You know, sometimes we fail God.

And we don’t live up to the expectation of his truth and his word in our life. But I want you to know something, church, that even when I fail God, he does not leave me. Even when I fall short, God does not turn his back on me and say, I’m done with you.

There may be a lot of people in your life that have walked out. And there may be a lot of people that no longer hang out with you. But let me tell you, when you fail Jesus, his desire is not to be farther away, but to be closer to you.

And what we need when we fail God is the affirmation of his presence in our life. And so what I’m saying is this. Yes, I know God is everywhere, but God manifests himself through his spirit in my heart to comfort me and acknowledge in my heart that he is there.

Jesus is with me. You see, we’re humans. Why did Jesus want them to see him? Why did Jesus want them to hear him? Why did Jesus want them to touch him? Because he understood their humanity. We’re like the little girl who was thundering and lightning and she jumped into the bed and said, daddy, protect me.

And he said, don’t worry, honey. Jesus is with you. And she said, I know, but I need some skin and flesh right now. And you know, we’re like that, amen. We know God’s. with us. We know that He’s omnipresence, but sometimes we just need the manifested presence of God.

And that comes to us in many ways, but certainly through the power of His Spirit and the power of His Word and through the body of Christ, through the people of God, this presence is affirmed to us. And what I’m saying is that His presence reassures me when I’m afraid, and His presence affirms me when I have failed Him.

Why do I need His presence? Because His presence comforts me for the unknown future that I face. Every day is a gift from God, and you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. And that’s why it’s important that every day you and I keep short accounts and that we are in a right relationship with God.

We never know what our future holds. We never know. what we’re going to encounter or face but it’s the presence of Christ that brings comfort to us in this unknown future the disciples didn’t know what was going to happen they didn’t know how things would unfold they heard what Jesus said some of them digested it some of them never got it it just kind of went over their heads but Jesus Christ’s presence in their life affirmed to them and comfort them because that’s what the Spirit of God does is that we have a God who is going to take care of the future we don’t know what the future holds but we know who holds the future and so we give it all to him because he is a God who comforts us so how is it that I can acknowledge his presence in my life I would tell you to number one make sure that you discover his word that you would have a daily time in the Word of God you see the voice of God is right here I know you say I heard Jesus last night no no all that he has said is right here and you need to open this Bible up and listen I know that some of you you’re so hungry for the truth and you’re so on fire for the Word of God but I want to give you a warning that some of you are turning the Bible into an academic book some of you are turning it into a book that all you’re interested in it is building your apologetic case so that when you go to the Christmas dinner you can slam somebody to the ground listen to me friends this is God’s love letter to you this is Jesus speaking to you every day as pastor I have to be careful that this doesn’t just become the book that I prepare sermons out of this This is my heavenly Father speaking to me.

And so I want you to be careful that in your zeal and passion to defend your faith and to understand all the nuances of the Bible, that you lose that personal walk, that personal special time with the Lord Jesus Christ, that you open this word and it is your heavenly Father speaking into your life.

How can I acknowledge His presence? By spending time in prayer with Him. By spending time in prayer. It’s easy to get so busy we don’t have time to pray. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. You need to be in a spirit of prayer all day, absolutely.

And especially when you’re out there driving by those shopping centers and those malls, we need to be in a spirit of prayer, amen. But we need to be a people who pray, who just set aside time, and we’re just focused on Christ.

Oh yeah, throughout the day, we’re shooting up arrows of prayer to God, and we’re asking for His strength and help, but we also have a special time every day with Jesus, just pouring out our hearts to God.

You see, there’s nothing that will unite you to the heart of Jesus more than prayer. And you will sense His presence more in your life as you just dedicate a time of prayer. Maybe it’s a special room, maybe it’s a special place, maybe it’s a special time, whatever it is, and however it is, it’s all up to you.

But the thing I’m challenging you is that if you want to experience the presence of God, then you have to spend time in prayer with Jesus Christ, to experience and acknowledge His presence, and I’m talking about His manifested presence.

I’m not talking about some psychological, emotional experience, but I’m talking about real presence of Jesus. I encourage you to get plugged in to a small group, a Bible study, a class, where you can begin to experience the presence of God through the people of God.

Did you know the church are the hands and the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ? Did you know that we are the body of Christ? And the reason that we sometimes as Christians don’t experience the presence of God in our life is because we isolate ourselves from the church.

And I want you to know that when we come church every Sunday, when we gather together as believers in groups and classes and Bible studies, that we must recognize our role and responsibility that when people walk into our room.

that we are the manifested presence of Jesus and that maybe somebody needs a hug, maybe somebody needs an ear, maybe somebody needs a handshake, maybe somebody needs prayer, maybe somebody needs a smile, somebody is looking for the presence of Jesus Christ when they come to meet with the family of God.

Here’s our problem. We come and we say, pastor, bless us, entertain us. Woo, this better be a good service. If they don’t step up their game, we’re gonna go somewhere else. If they’re not perfect, then we’re gonna find another place where there’s a perfect church.

Have you heard that one? Hey, listen, if you find a perfect church, do that church a favor, don’t join it. You’re gonna mess it up. How many of you know that people are flawed and people are not perfect?

I know that there are people who think they’re perfect, right? But they’re not, they’re not. But what if you came to church every Sunday morning? What if you said, you know what? I’m not gonna jump out of bed at the last minute, but I’m gonna get up early and I’m gonna pray that God would use me today at church, that God would use me to be a blessing to someone, that God would use me to encourage someone,

that God would use me as his hands, as his feet, as his arms, as his heart. God would use me some way to help someone in the family of God. What if you came to church like that? Wow. Wow. Think about the unchurched.

Think about people who are discouraged and defeated. Think about if they came and they experienced that kind of presence. Think about in your Bible study, if you didn’t come to simply say, look, I need more knowledge.

The Bible says knowledge puffs up. But what if you said, look, I’m one to grow, but I also wanna love? You see what balances out knowledge is love. And what if you came in your Bible study in your class and you said, I’m not gonna just sit in my seat and say, bless me, teacher, but I’m gonna welcome everybody.

I’m gonna interact with everybody. I’m gonna listen. I’m gonna care. I’m gonna understand. I’m gonna pray. I’m gonna help. When Jesus Christ came, he came to conquer fear and death. He came to be our peace.

He wants us to live in peace and to walk in peace. And as we’ve been studying this message today on how to sustain peace in your life, remember that Christ is at the very center of us having peace. And no one can have peace without receiving Christ as their Lord and savior.

So I hope today. that if you have never taken time to humble your heart before an almighty God, that you would today receive the Lord Jesus Christ and accept him as your savior and call upon his name.

The Bible reminds us that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Let me encourage you to take time to check out our website, hopeworthhaving .com. And if you’ve made a decision today, you can hit that contact button and you can let us know how God is working in your life and the decision that you have made for the Lord.

We wanna send you some material, so send us your contact information and let us know the great work that God has done. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.