5/18/25 “A Peace that Puzzles”
“A Peace that Puzzles”
John 14:27-31
How many of you like to put puzzles together?
I enjoy puzzles…I don’t do too many of them simply due to time constraints.
Oftentimes when we perform at retirement facilities, there will be a ‘community puzzle’ on a table somewhere in a partial state of completion..
In general, most people like the challenge that puzzles offer.
Sometimes, however, puzzles can get a bit too challenging…
…especially when the picture doesn’t have a lot in the way of contrast to it…or when there are just too many pieces.
A couple years ago, Lisa & I stopped in at a large puzzle store in Pigeon Forge, TN….all they sold were - puzzles.
…There in the store, they had on display a 50,000-piece puzzle.
Not surprisingly, it took up an entire wall.
The owner said that it took his staff months to complete it…I believe it!
I especially like puzzles that depict maps…or mountains…or churches…
…and once in a while, I’ll pick one up at a garage sale or a second-hand store.
But – when you purchase a used puzzle – you’re always taking a bit of a risk, right?
(Show puzzle picture with one piece missing)
Yeah, if a puzzle box has been previously opened…there is always the chance that at least one piece will be missing – anyone here ever experience that?
There’s nothing worse than investing hours into finishing a puzzle only to realize that the picture cannot be completed.
..and even though all of the other puzzle pieces are there…it’s always that one missing piece…. that ruins the entire picture.
Well…Our passage of scripture for today deals with Peace – spelled P.E.A.C.E. rather than P.I.E.C.E….
….and like a missing piece from a puzzle that is never found…mankind has searched for lasting PEACE (Both externally and internally) for millennia…
…and has never found it…
Looking at the historical timeline of man, there have been far less moments of peace than there have been times of war…
…in fact…one historian calculated that in all of recorded human history – some 5,000 years of data…there have only been about 300 years of peace.
This has led one writer to describe it this way “It seems as though throughout human history, the moments in which there have been absences of conflict…have been moments when everyone was reloading.”
In the more than the 14,000 recorded conflicts in the history of the world, it is estimated that over 4 billion people have lost their lives due to war
Yes…the puzzle piece of political peace has never been found – and left to man’s own devices – it never will be.
Every peace treaty that has ever been signed has been – or will be – broken…
…because man is broken. At our core, we are sinful creatures bent on disobedience & destruction.
It is painfully obvious that by himself, man is completely unable to maintain political peace for any significant length of time.
…But what about - personal peace.
…How is man doing these days when it comes to being free of anxiety, worry, depression, and stress…?
Well….To put it mildly…Not Good.
According to the American Psychiatric Association (As of 2024) 1 in 5 people in America have been diagnosed with some sort of anxiety disorder….
…with over 70% of Americans reporting that they feel overly anxious or stressed out about something in their lives….
….whether it’s their health, the economy, their jobs, their bills, their marriage, their children, the political environment, politics….
It is obvious that – in our culture at least – the puzzle piece of personal peace also went missing somewhere under the table….
….never to be found through man’s efforts alone.
This brings us to what Jesus says about peace in our passage for today.
If you recall, Jesus is speaking here to his disciples just hours before he will be arrested and taken into Roman custody to be crucified the next day….
…talk about a stressful time in someone’s life!...yet Jesus remains calm, cool, and collected throughout the entire process of his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
So…Jesus’ instructions here in John 14 through 16 – called the Upper Room Discourse – are vitally important to his followers…
Those from 2,000 years ago – and - for us today….
…because they convey the final – essential – lessons that he wants his followers to hear and understand.
Even though there are 5 verses in this morning’s passage, we’re going to key in on just one of them today….
…And it is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible – verse 27 of the 14th chapter of John.
It reads like this in the NIV: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
The King James renders it this way “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
This passage – as you can tell – is about peace.
…But not in the same way the world understands peace.
The world generally defines peace as being the absence of something…
…the absence of war...the absence of relational conflict…the absence of stress & anxiety…the absence of noisy disturbances, the absence of unrest, etc.etc.
….but this definition of peace is incomplete.
Jesus describes peace here in this passage as something that he is giving to those who follow him.
Not just the absence of something…but an addition to a life that is rooted in faith.
If our lives are a puzzle, the piece representing true and lasting peace is supplied to the believer by Christ himself….
….while the unbeliever desperately searches for peace in the desk drawer of alcohol...in the carpet of addiction…in the cupboard of entertainment…in the cabinet of materialism…yet he cannot find it.
….he cannot find the puzzle piece of genuine peace because he is looking in all the wrong places!
Remember that old Johnny Lee song “Lookin’ for Love in all the wrong places”…?
We could replace the word ‘love’ with ‘peace’ and it would be true of humanity in general….
….the world is looking for peace in all the wrong places.
Jesus says “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you”
Biblically, there are actually two aspects to peace.
Peace can be objective…or it can be subjective.
Objective peace is positional – it has to do with a person’s standing before God.
…scripture describes this as ‘peace with God’
Let’s remember that every single one of us is born at war with God.
…the human heart is naturally inclined toward sin and disobedience to God’s standard of righteousness.
The apostle Paul speaks to this when he says “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:7)
Galatians 5:17 says “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other , so that you do not do what you want.”
Does this sound familiar?...
We as human beings have a predisposition toward sinful disobedience.
David wrote in Psalm 51:5 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
When I look into the beautiful little brown eyes of my 4 month old granddaughter…
…I’m reminded that someday (Lord willing) she will reach an age of accountability when she will need to accept the message of the gospel in order to receive objective peace with God through faith in Christ….
She will need to make a conscious decision to follow Jesus in order be right with God…
….if someone never decides to submit to Christ, he or she will always be at war with God…and destined for an eternal place of torment called hell.
….because that’s the state in which every single one of us is born into.
The original sin of Adam has put a permanent stain on the generational fabric of humanity…
….and the only way that stain can come out of someone’s life is if they have been washed in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
This is objective peace.
We are given a justified position in relation to God the Father through faith in the person and work of God the Son….no other way will lead to salvation.
As Jesus so unequivocally and directly stated earlier that evening, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Peace with God is THE essential piece to possess in your life-puzzle…
…without this piece, the efforts you have invested in your life’s endeavors will be nothing more than wasted time….
…much like investing time and energy in a puzzle containing a missing piece….resulting in a ruined picture.
One of my favorite quotes is from Francis Chan when he addressed a room full of high school graduates…..he said: “Never be afraid of failure…rather…be afraid of succeeding at something that doesn’t matter.”
In other words, you can be a successful, popular, wealthy, respected, well-liked member of the community…and also be headed straight for hell - because you never took the time to pursue peace with God through faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross.
Never lose sight of how peace with God will always be the most important component of your life!
Having the objective peace of justification securely in place within our life-puzzle brings us now to the second aspect of peace…
…subjective peace.
If objective peace is ‘peace with God’…
Subjective peace is the ‘peace of God’
This is the peace that comes by way of the Holy Spirit who indwells those who place their faith & trust in Jesus…
…this is the peace that provides serenity of soul during the difficult seasons of life.
This is the peace that enables you to remain calm in potentially volatile situations.
Subjective peace is an experienced, prayerful, supernatural peace that Paul describes in Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
…And it’s a peace the world simply cannot comprehend.
It’s a peace that puzzles the world.
Have you ever had anyone ask you: “How do you remain so calm in a situation like this?”
People who aren’t experiencing the ongoing, calming ministry of the Holy Spirit in their lives get completely stressed out by the latest negative headline…
or the current state of politics…
or a snarky comment from an associate or friend…
or the most recent disease that’s going to kill us all and end civilization as we know it….
….and I’m sure you’ve noticed how the vast majority of mainstream media outlets have learned to capitalize on people’s fears and anxiety?
Just the other day, I was flipping through a few morning news shows…
The first one was doing a segment on how newly discovered toxins in the environment are going to kill us all – unless, of course, we vote for the right political candidates who will fix the problem…and rescue us all.
Another network was doing a spot about the declining ice shelf in Greenland and how global warming was going to kill us all – unless, of course, we vote for the right political candidates who will fix the problem…and rescue us all.
The last network was talking about Artificial Intelligence and how quantum computers will soon take over the world and kill us all – unless, of course, we vote for the right political candidates who will fix the problem…and rescue us all.
It’s so predictable & nauseating how the media will manufacture or sensationalize a perceived problem…then bring the fear factor….then provide a politically-driven solution to this perceived problem.
The world does not know where to find true peace…that’s why so many people get caught up in these manufactured stories of gloom and despair.
People try to find inner, subjective peace through momentary diversions and distractions, such as power shopping…or love...or self-medicating…or false religions…or psychotherapy…or relationships…
All of these pursuits are based in escapism or delusion.
NONE of these things provide any kind of lasting inner peace.
Folks…Jesus says here in verse 27 that genuine peace can only come from obedience to Him…and it’s a peace the world will never understand.
The world advertises peace through many avenues…yet it never delivers.
God – on the other hand - offers true peace through one avenue…His Son…and His Son always delivers.
Jesus ends this timeless verse by saying “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
This phrase is like a ‘Therefore’ statement.
I have given you supernatural peace – Therefore - there is absolutely no reason for you to become stressed…or anxious…or scared…or troubled.
If you are in Christ today.…you need not fear tomorrow.
But – and this is important – this promise of supernatural peace will not automatically manifest itself in our lives….unless we decide to appropriate it.
….unless we decide to continually receive it…maintain it…work with it.
Think of a vehicle that needs consistent maintenance to remain running to its fullest potential….
You take it in for regular oil changes…you change the tires when they wear out…you have filters replaced when they get clogged….
…you take the time to ensure that the vehicle operates the way it was meant to operate.
This is similar to how we – as believers - must be actively and continually involved in performing the routine disciples of the faith in order to experience true, lasting peace in our lives.
…and at the same time, steering clear of sinful habits and decisions that will rob you of God’s peace.
Staying immersed in God’s Word…going to the Lord in prayer…fellowshipping with other believers…getting involved with ministries of the church…serving others…being accountable
If you aren’t actively pursuing these disciplines of the faith, you’ll be like a vehicle that never gets an oil change…that never gets new tires or filters…that never gets a new headlight…
…You won’t experience the peace OF God in your life.
…Your life-puzzle will be missing a piece…a very important piece…the peace of God.
…and you won’t be living the Spirit-filled life that God intended you to live.
Jesus said in John 10:10 that he came that we may have life…and have it to the full.
This is a promise of spiritual peace, satisfaction, and contentment.
A state of the soul that is completely foreign to this world…
A state of the soul that leaves people puzzled…
So today: If you don’t have God’s peace in your life…If you’re bogged down with anxiety…If you find yourself frozen with fear…If you’re depressed and disillusioned.
.…there is someone who wants to help you – if you will let him.…
….and His name…is Jesus.
Let’s Pray.