Relationship Renovation Series #3
Please read John 14:1-27
There was a guy who wanted peace of mind. He went to the therapist for a prescription for peace. He said, “My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. And, so far today, I have finished 2 bags of chips and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.”
We are learning the third element of Relationship Renovation, "peace." Peaceof mind is one of the most popular subjects for all people around the world. Everybody in this world wants peace of mind. Yesterday, I googled the key word “peace of mind” and found 24 million plus links! The first one was from the about.com entitled “Ten Commandments for peace of mind.” It got me curious so I took a look at the article. It lists the following ten instructions:
1. Do not interfere in others' business
2. Forget and forgive
3. Do not crave for recognition
4. Do not be jealous
5. Change yourself according to the environment
6. Endure what cannot be cured
7. Do not bite more than you can chew
8. Meditate regularly
9. Never leave the mind vacant
10. Do not procrastinate and never regret
I don’t know if following these ten commandments would really give me peace, but just reading them got me increased in anxiety. I guess, I will never have peace of mind because I definitely can’t accomplish #10, which says, “Do not procrastinate and never regret.” #9 was really bizarre, it says “Never leave the mind vacant” because those who don’t have peace of mind are the ones who can’t keep their mind vacant. It is also completely the opposite of what Buddhism teaches; to have peace you must empty your mind.
Ironically, listed next to this was a link to a Buddhist website, which is FindPeaseOfMind.org. I studied Buddhism in back in Burma, so I know that they emphasize a lot on peace of mind. Buddhism teaches you that the way to achieve peace and happiness is to stop suffering. The way to stop suffering is to have no desire. But the very existence of human being is the source of desire, and in order to have no desire we must stop existing. So the ultimate peace of mind can be achieved by ceasing from existence--by attaining the Nothingness, known as Nirvanah. In other words, you cannot be alive and have peace at the same time, but you can enjoy temporary peace by emptying your mind in meditation in Buddhist way. Still, you have to come back to this real world after the meditation to face your existence. In fact, God does not want us to enter the Nothingness, but God wants us to exist in a fruitful relationship with God forever through Jesus Christ.
The next link goes to a self-help website which again gives you another long list of instruction to attain peace of mind. The first one is “Reduce the amount of time you read the newspapers or watch the news on TV.” I don’t think burying my head from the real world will give me peace. My professor told me to go to the pulpit with the Bible in one hand and newspaper on the other. A relevant preacher is always updated with news. Jesus was that way. The Good Samaritan story is actually something in the news of the day and Jesus used it for teaching. I want the kind of peace that allows me to watch the news and process it with peace.
The next one says, “Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people.” What if that person is your spouse? Not implication intended. I think this is a recipe for divorce.
The conclusion of my research is that it helps me I understand better what Jesus meant when he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” I am glad that the peace Jesus gives us is different from the peace that the world gives, because the kind of peace the world gives is so temporary and so analgesic.
In John chapter 14, Jesus gives us his prescription for peace. The word peace is translated from the Hebrew concept of Shalom, which means being absent from worry and anxiety, specifically being absent from “heart trouble.” Jesus said, in verse one, “Don’t let your heart be troubled.” That is what peace is all about—a trouble free heart.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Today let us learn how we can receive this peace from Jesus Christ that is different from what the world can offer, learning from John chapter 14.
In order to receive peace we need to make two important decisions. The first one is:
1 – Believe in God and Jesus Christ
John 14:1 says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” The first secret of peace is to believe in God and believe in Jesus Christ because they are the same. In verse 6, Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”
Why does believing in him give you peace? Because Jesus is the proof that God loves you. Each and every one of us in this world has a certain level of guilt inside our hearts that makes our hearts troubled. Guilt is what makes us lose our peace. For some people, their guilt makes them run away from God and refuse to believe in God because if they do, they have to face stark reality of their painful guilt. But, deep inside their hearts they are hoping that their sins are forgiven so they can have peace with God and others, and with themselves.
Ernest Hemingway illustrated this human guilt by telling a story based on an old Spanish tale set in Madrid. A father and his son, Paco, had an argument, and the son left home. When the father cooled down, he tried to find Paco. He searched for him everywhere for months but couldn’t find him. Finally, in desperation, the father turned to the newspaper for help. He posted an ad that says, " Paco, all is forgiven, please come home. I will meet you at the steps of this newspaper’s office on Monday at 4 p.m. I love you, Dad." Paco happens to be a very common name. On Monday afternoon at 4pm about two hundred young men with the name Paco showed up, in response to the ad.
Jesus Christ on the cross is God’s ad of forgiveness. We lost our peace because we think we don’t deserve God’s love. We think we deserve God’s wrath and judgment instead, and it is true. But in Jesus Christ, God is sending us a message that God loves us. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
So believe in him and you will have peace because you will not be destroyed by your guilt but have eternal life.
Isaiah says, “Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—in peace because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
The second secret to peace of mind is…
2 – Let the Holy Spirit guide my life
Jesus said in verse 16, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” One of the benefits of believing in Jesus Christ is that you will be given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, known as our Advocate, Counselor, Helper, or Guide.
I think one of the most useful gadgets of today’s technology is the GPS navigator. It gives me direction to the destination that I am going, it tells me the nearest gas stations if I need gas, it tells me the nearest restaurants and restrooms, and nearest hotels and hospitals. Having a reliable GPS gives me peace in travelling. But, the GPS system must have the satellite connection in order to know where it is going.
The Holy Spirit is like the satellite for the GPS systems of the believers. Jesus said, “This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” Again this is the Spirit not everyone can receive, only those who believe in Jesus Christ can.
Who is the Holy Spirit and what does the Holy Spirit do?
1 – The Holy Spirit is Jesus himself living in us. In the Old Testament time, God is for us—Jehovah Jirah; in Jesus time, God in with us—Immanuel; now in our time God is in us, that is the Holy Spirit. Look at what Jesus said in verse 18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” In other words, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is dwelling in you. Just as God and Jesus is one, Jesus and his believers become one. In verse 21-23, he said the presence of the Holy Spirit will reveal only to those who love him. He said, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” That is our source of peace.
2 – The Holy Spirit enables us to do great things—even things greater than what Jesus did. Jesus in John 14:12, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” The Holy Spirit makes you powerful beyond your imagination. So don’t underestimate yourself. Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Sometimes we don’t have peace because we think we are powerless. Yes, we are, but through the Holy Spirit we are able to do great things. So have peace!
3 – The Holy Spirit will teach us everything. There are many things in the world that we don’t understand. The good news is that the Holy Spirit will teach us everything that we need to know. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” Then he says, “And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14 Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 Those who are spiritual, discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.”
16 “’For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” WWJD—What Would Jesus Do—is a popular concept. But I think the Holy Spirit makes us able to answer WWJT—What Would Jesus Think, because we have the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is a mind of peace.
4 – The Holy Spirit reminds you of God’s word. Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit…will remind you of all that I have said to you.” That’s why we have the Bible today because the Holy Spirit reminded the disciples of everything Jesus taught them. The Bible is reliable because even though the disciples didn’t understand a lot of things and couldn’t remember everything when they were with Jesus, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and after the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost, they were reminded of all the things Jesus has taught them, so they could teach others and write them down.
That’s why it is important to read the Bible regularly. You will need God’s word in your head so that when you heart is troubled and you lose your peace, the Holy Spirit will remind you of God’s word to comfort you, instruct you, and direct you, and to give you peace.
How to be filled with the Holy Spirit
So I am sure many of you are asking the question. How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? A lot of Christians live a defeated life because they don’t know how to tap into this immense power of the Holy Spirit. Some people think being filled with the Holy Spirit must be like speaking in tongues, or screaming, crying and dancing. No!
Based on what Jesus said in today’s passage, in v.17 “This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” The Holy Spirit abides with you and he is in you already because you believe in him. A lot of times we try to live a life guided by our worldly spirit rather than the Holy Spirit because we don’t recognize his presence in us. It is like a car equipped with a GPS navigator, but we just don’t turn it on and tune it to the satellite signal. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is simple, just believe that he is with you and you will discover that he is with you. It is not that he is not there, but that we ignore his presence. In 1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul calls a Christian that does not live with the guidance of the Holy Spirit “carnal” or “someone of the flesh,” that is a Christian that lives like a non-Christian, or a believer living link a non-believer.
Another helpful way to reconnect with the Holy Spirit is to practice spiritual breathing. That is to breathe mindfully by breathing in the Holy Spirit and breathe out your guilt in confession. The word spirit (ruah) in Hebrew language literally means breath, like the breath of God that was breathed into Adam to give him life. So you just do this as many times as possible everyday—breathe in the Holy Spirit and breathe out our sins, stresses, and the things that takes away your peace, and whatever is troubling your heart. Get it? That’s a very intentional and practical way to reconnect with the spirit, like a GPS that reconnects with the satellite. The best is to be connected all the time, and you will become conscious of yourself when you are living outside of the Holy Spirit. Like my GPS, it will say, “Lost satellite signal.”
When you allow your life to be guided by the Holy Spirit, you have peace. That’s why Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace (notice he says “my peace” meaning it’s not the world’s peace, but it’s his own peace, his special peace) I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
A peaceful person builds peaceful relationships. When you have peace, people around you will also benefit from you. So renovate your peace of heart this week and build a fruitful relationship.
Next week, we will learn another important component for relationship renovation—patience. It will be another exciting week. May God bless you all! Amen!
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