Peace for Life's Storms: Jesus' Promise in John 14

You believe in God, believe also in me. You know what the story of those of us who follow Jesus? This is the worst it can ever be. It gets bad sometimes. But if you're here today and you don't know Jesus, this is the best it can ever be for you. Jesus says you believe in God. He's looking at us this morning, go, you believe in God? Good job. That's not enough. Believe in me. You know, I'm talking about when the storms come. [00:44:28] (27 seconds)  #BelieveInJesusNotJustGod

And we realized you gotta be prepared because we're all one breath away, and there's gonna there there's gonna be a day. Do you know where you're going? I I I read an article online, and it was about a tombstone in London, England. And this tombstone had a beautiful epitaph engraved in stone. Here's what it said. It said, Paul's now stranger as you pass by. As you are alive, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be prepared for death and follow me. [00:41:24] (30 seconds)  #PrepareToMeetGod

Now you could be sitting here this morning and you're saying, Scott, are you trying to say that something happening in my life in 2026 can somehow, some way be related to an act on a cross over two thousand years ago? Look at me. Yes, sir. I will. Yes, ma'am. I will. The message will never change. Jesus died had to go to the cross for us. Why is there so much evil in this world? It's right there. It's because of us. [00:30:46] (32 seconds)  #CrossMattersAlways

But it was at that moment when I saw the plane break through the last storm clouds just above the storm clouds. The sun was shining. And I know you're sitting there going, Scott, the sun always shines. You know what? Look at me. It does. It never shows up late. It never calls in sick. It never says it's in a season. Okay? It doesn't happen any of that. It's there twenty four seven. And there's not one person in this room, you woke up this morning with an anxiety attack going, is the sun gonna be there? [00:47:18] (35 seconds)  #SunThatNeverFails

Let me tell you, something happened to me several years ago. I lost a friend of mine. He was an acquaintance. He wasn't really a friend. And I'm just gonna be straight up with you. I thought you I'd bitten that line that you had to go to Starbucks a couple of times before you started tell talking to somebody about Jesus and he got he got taken away in an accident. And I remember being at the funeral going that will never take place in my life again. Here's what I learned. Real friends bring friends to Jesus. [00:58:38] (26 seconds)  #RealFriendsBringToJesus

The greatest privilege I have in my life is to share with you the one that can change your life. It's it's it's like this. Okay? I'm not gonna be your travel agent. I love if you're a travel agent, God bless you. Okay? I love you. But a travel agent sends you an email. A tour guide goes with you. Now a tour guide can't experience it for you. It's gotta be your experience on the trip, but a tour guide can be right beside you. Look at me. I can be your tour guide right now leading you to Jesus. [00:50:04] (27 seconds)  #GuideYouToJesus

But I want you to look at me. Nothing will ever be cured until I deal with the root issue. I have to deal with the root issue so I can be healed. Do you understand? You could be sitting here this morning going, man, I've tried this. I've tried that. What is the meaning of life? Jesus says, peace I leave with you. My peace I'm gonna give to you. And I started thinking, how do I describe to this group the word peace? [00:38:31] (30 seconds)  #DealWithTheRoot

It's laying your head upon any pillow knowing you have peace with a holy God. Jesus said, what does it profit a person if you can gain the entire world and lose your own soul? And I'm speaking to some of you in this room right now within the sound of my voice and you know you're constantly restless. You've never experienced the word peace in your life. I'm not talking about walking up and down the aisles. I'm not talking about filling out a card. I'm not even talking about lifting your face. [00:39:25] (33 seconds)  #PeaceWithAGod

It it it just tingles because the the muscles go in spasms because the nerves are sending out waves, and it just starts. It's like you just you can't get relief. And so you put this on the wall, and you put it on the trigger point in that muscle. And I'm telling you, a couple of times, I think I've heard the hallelujah chorus a couple of times. It feels that good. Okay? And it just takes all the tension off your arm, and you step back and you go, man, that feels so good for a couple minutes. And then the pain comes back. [00:37:30] (30 seconds)  #MomentaryRelief

Now I know you're sitting here going, Scott, where in the world are you going with this? You know what I've realized about most people? They they like to cure they like to relieve the symptoms. The pain, the agony. You just want something to take the pain away. Anything. It could be greed. It could be pornography. It could be drugs. It could be reckless relate. You know what I'm talking about. And all it is is to do something to take the pain away. [00:38:00] (31 seconds)  #SymptomReliefFails

When life's going great, he's there. But right now, this morning, some of you, you got your mask on. I know how this works. You come into church, put your mask on, everything's great when your life is falling apart. Jesus says, when your life is falling apart and you cannot see God's hand anywhere, you can trust his heart and he has best for you. And this morning during this invitation time, if you're in this room, you don't know him. I'm not talking about you know about him. I I I know that. [00:49:26] (31 seconds)  #TrustGodInYourBreakdown

Some of you don't know this, but I call this a middle aged man's best friend. Because let me tell you what happened to me. I have what you call two ruptured vertebrates in my neck. Does anybody have disc problems, back problems? Let me just okay. We could start a support group. There's so many of us. So let me tell you, I went in and I I want the orthopedic surgeon. Here's how he described it. He said, the jelly has left the doughnut. [00:36:40] (31 seconds)  #DiscProblemsRelatable

But let me remind you of something real quick. Isaiah says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord's not gonna hear me. That means if I have sinned, the Lord's not gonna hear me. You've already raised your hand or you should have raised your hand, okay, saying that you told a lie. So we're in problems. The Lord's not gonna hear our prayer. You go to the book of Thessalonians and Paul says this says, pray without ceasing. Can can I just ask you, how can you reconcile God not hearing your prayer to God, always hearing your prayer, go to Jesus? [00:52:07] (26 seconds)  #ConfessSoGodHears

Do do you know this morning there's only one requirement, and that's surrender. He's not gonna meet you in a conference room. He's not gonna negotiate, But right there where you're sitting, the person beside you will not know what's going on. But the Bible says, if you'll come to Jesus, he'll in no wise cast you out. They're gonna rejoice. That means they're gonna throw a party in heaven on your behalf. So this morning, real quick, we're not gonna be much longer. [00:53:00] (23 seconds)  #SurrenderIsTheOnlyRequirement

Now, know you're out there going, nobody better ask me. Alright. Don't get mad at them. Get mad at Scott. I'm leading this service. But when they lean over, they're not saying they're better than you. They're not even saying they've got life to get tied together. What we're saying is we're all messed up. And the only place to find peace and hope is at the foot of the cross. It could be for salvation. It could be for your marriage. It could be for the addiction. Let's go ahead just take the mask off. It could be for the thoughts that go through your head of just ending it all. [00:59:36] (28 seconds)  #FootOfTheCrossHeals

A lot of us have it like a baby with its parents, and that's pretty and cute, but that's not what Paul is saying. If you go back and study Romans 10, Paul is then quoting from Joel. The book of Joel is talking about the coming day of the Lord. There's a lot of anger, a lot of wrath. So there's an urgency here when Paul says, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Let me give you a mind picture. You're drowning. [00:51:06] (23 seconds)  #WhosoeverCallsShallBeSaved

It's because the the Bible makes it very clear. We all have one thing in common. You may not know me. I may not know you. You live in Texas. I live in Alabama. I know it surprises you when I show up with shoes on. I get that. No. No. I we get that all the time. But you know what? We have one thing in common. We've all sinned. If you don't believe me, let me ask you a question. If you've ever told a lie, [00:31:19] (23 seconds)  #WeveAllSinned

``And he lived a sinless perfect life. And he and you know what his message? His message wasn't thank me. His message wasn't even pay me. You know what his message was? Follow me. Because he went to the cross and he did something for me I could not do for myself. He did something for you. You could be sitting there going, well, I'll just pay my own sin. You can't. You've already raised your hand. There had to be a payment. So when Jesus went to the cross and they lifted him up, because Jesus is all God, he is firmly grasped to God's deity. But because he's all man, at that point, he could reach out to the sinfulness of mankind. And when they lifted him up, Jesus became the one who bridged the gap between God and man together again. [00:33:43] (41 seconds)

doesn't that seem weird to you? How is it that we've all been infected by this thing called sin? We come from different states. We have different backgrounds, but no one is exempt. Do you understand? You have to go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. And it was in the Garden of Eden where the woman, Eve, was deceived, but the man, Adam, deliberately disobeyed. And from that moment, sin has flown through the veins of every man, every woman, every boy, every girl. We're sinners before a holy God. Now, I love to preach about the love of God and the forgiveness of God, but I have never grabbed my Bible where it says three times, he's loving, loving, loving. [00:32:11] (36 seconds)

Why why is there so much pain and suffering and evil? It's because we live in a fallen creation. What is the meaning of life? If I could borrow it from the Westminster Confession, it is to know God and enjoy him forever. Jesus didn't die on the cross so that we could be a bunch of religious people. Look at me. Jesus died on the cross so he could have a relationship with you. And if all Jesus did was die for us, I'd say that's a good man, but I'd never call you to follow him. I I'd never say come and follow Jesus if all he did because there's been a lot of good men and women who have died for good causes. [00:40:12] (31 seconds)