"Our Comforter" (Louis) | John 14:25-31

Sanctuary & Fellowship Hall
06.28.2026

Guest Preacher: Rev. Dennis Louis

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

If you feel need to give towards the Ministry of the Catmart Presbyterian Church, we welcome you to do so at lmpc.org.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

We are see we're in the George Long Preaching Series this morning. Some of you are very familiar with that. Some of you are not. And I'm supposed to hold. Actually, we're getting all off now. We're supposed to hold till the fellowship hall joins us. So I'm waiting on a signal. And I will I will then start the introduction at that time. So sit tight. Um, I have no nothing to say. All right, there we go. Welcome, fellowship hall. We're glad that you are joining us, and we praise God for technology that works. Because Frank would have had to preach a sermon unprepared in the fellowship hall. Um, now we are celebrating the George Long Preaching Series here this morning. It was established by the session in 2001 as an annual reminder of our Savior's faithful use of his holy word in our midst. This series honors God for the blessings bestowed on LMPC through the ministry of Dr. George Long, who pastored us through a season of renewal in the 1970s and the 80s. Printed in the description of the George Long is a quote that is in George Long's Bible that lives in the office of the lead pastor, senior pastor here through the years. In this Bible of his, he wrote, This book has kept me from being lost. May I never in any sense lose it. That's the heart of the George Long Preaching Series. And our guest for this year is Pastor Dennis Lewis. I first heard Pastor Lewis while on vacation in Pensacola when he was at McAwain Presbyterian Church. And then I saw him come into our presbytery and I thought, how do I know him? And I remembered it was there. We are so glad he's in our presbytery. We are so glad he's in our city. He came to Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian Church in 2020, and he has blessed our city, our presbytery, and God is at work in that church in very significant ways, and we are so thankful. Dennis is a dear brother. I've been able to fellowship, share ideas with him. We served on a panel before together, and I am eager for you to hear the word of God preached by Dennis. Dennis has four children, he and his wife Theresa. So we welcome her as well as Dennis this morning. Dennis, come and preach the word to us.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Amen. Take two. Praise the Lord. Before I ask you to stand and um and I read the word, I want to take a moment of personal privilege to say how much I am truly thankful for the ministers here at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church and the members. You all have been beyond gracious to me, loving towards me and the congregation. I've received texts and emails regularly about how members and ministers in this church are praying for me and by extension the church as well. And so I thank you so much for that. Another point of personal privilege is I come with a warning, uh I should say. I I tend to get loud when I preach. I don't mean to do it. Um my wife said you just get excited and your voice carries. I'm not mad at anybody. So know that in advance. Um, this is my normal speaking voice in general, but there's something about God's word that gets me excited, and I know you all too. So the the gentleman in the back, you might want to tune me down just a little bit. And secondly, I I also tend to uh sweat when I preach, which is um, you know, another one of those uh default figures that I have, so I'm not having a stroke or a heart attack. Um, just so you know. And the last thing I want to say is I've been known to preach without paying attention to the clock, and so someone will need to tackle me at 1028 if that is the case. I see there's a clock up here, so I don't need to take off my watch. Brother, I'll I'll be good today. I promise you I'll I'll I'll stop on time. Please stand for the reading of God's holy and inspired word, and while you do, uh turn to John chapter 14, verse 25 through 31. This sermon is adapted from a series of sermons that I did at Chad Valley on the Holy Spirit. And before we begin, I want to ask you a question. Do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit? Do you sense him in your life? I'm not talking about a funny feeling, but you know he speaks to us, he's in us. Do you sense him? That's important. He's our inheritance. The context of this passage is that Jesus left behind the Holy Spirit so that we might commune with him. And one of the things this passage teaches us is that he is our great comforter. Do you get a sense of that? Let's read. Beginning at verse number 25. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. Amen. But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise and let us go from here. This is the word of the Lord. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord shall endure forever. And this is the word that will be taught unto you. Amen and amen. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for this blessed word. We thank you that in your infinite wisdom you codified it for us. And now we are able to read it, understand it, and Holy Spirit, with your help, see the significance of it to change our lives. Now, Holy Spirit, this is your word, and these are your people. Unite them together now for the sake of your glorious name. Amen and amen. Please be seated. I want you to look at verse number 27. This will be the meat of what I want to talk to you about. I'll read it again. It says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. I'm here to talk to you today about peace. About peace. The kind of gospel peace that Jesus is leaving his disciples. Now we live in unsettling times, and I've come to learn in my short time on this earth that unsettling times produce unsettled people. We don't need data points for this. In fact, it is self-evident. And I've also come to realize that peace seems to be elusive no matter where you go, whether it's on the world stage or whether it's in our own lives. Now, this portion of scripture is in the upper room, and Jesus is trying to calm the fears of his disciples. He's trying to comfort them. And contextually, that's what's happening. He's already told them that he will be leaving them, and so the upper room discourse essentially is him telling them to calm down. All is well. And then in a beautiful moment, he begins to talk about this peace, and he talks about the Holy Spirit, and the inference there is that the Holy Spirit will be their comforter. Now, let me pause and say this quickly. When we hear the term comforter, I don't know about you, but I normally think of a warm blanket. It's a way to feel safe and cozy. But that's not what Jesus is talking about. In fact, the term comforter comes from the Latin term fortis, which means to strengthen. And that's what Jesus is saying, in essence, that when the Holy Spirit comes, he'll come to strengthen you. And how will this strengthening take place? Well, the strengthening will take place because he will give you a peace that passeth all understanding. And if you read this text, you'll clearly see that the disciples are an anxious bunch. And you might say, Well, Pastor Dennis, how do we know that from the context? Well, we know that from the context because they're asking a bunch of questions. I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of person when I get nervous or anxious, I ask a bunch of questions. Now the irony of all of that is that because the more I know, the more anxious I get. But it is the case that his disciples are asking him all of these questions. Notice with me in John 13 and 36. Peter asks him, Lord, where are you going? And then Thomas in John 14, 5 asked a similar question. We do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? And then Philip in John 14, 8 says something similar. Philip says, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. And then in John 14, 22, Judas, not the Iscariot, said to our Lord, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world? Their hearts are certainly anxious, and they don't have any peace. And so our Lord, in a moment of clarity, is looking at them, and we can't see their facial expressions, but we know that their facial expressions are one of anxiousness and concern and worry. And then in a moment of clarity, he says to them, Peace I leave with you. Now, what is this peace that he's referring to? Now, in one sense, this peace, as we know it, is the shalom that Jesus is pointing back to. He uses a Renee in this passage, but he really has this idea of the shalom mentioned in the Old Testament. And it has two senses. First, it has sort of like this big picture, a macro sense. It's the external priest, it's the succession of from war. It's the kind of peace that we see in Isaiah 11, 6, where the prophet says the wolf will lie down with the lamb. And the young child will play in the adder's uh hole and the lion with the calf and so forth, right? It's symbolic of this ultimate future peace that will happen in the kingdom of God where it'll be completely absent of war and worry and pain. That's one sense. But the kind of peace that Jesus is talking about in this passage is the kind of internal inward peace of the soul that you and I as God's people ought to have. David captures this inward peace well in Psalm 131, when David says, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Well, what is David talking about? Well, he's talking about that glorious inward peace of the soul. Now, I've raised four children. Well, I should say I'm still raising four children. And when they were young, when they were just little ones, a few months old, if you put them on their mother's chest, they would go berserk. They would be ravenous. Why? Because they want milk, they want to be satiated by her milk. But now that they're older, they go to my wife's uh chest and they lay on her chest. They're not doing it because they want to be satiated by milk or comforted by milk, they're doing it because they want to be comforted by her and her presence. Beloved, have you ever been in the presence of the Lord and felt that glorious peace? I have. I remember the night I got saved. Um, the Lord gloriously came down and rescued me from death and hell. I remember it because I went to church for a young lady. Uh, to my shame. I cared nothing about Christ or the word. Maybe that's you in here today. You just or down in the fellowship hall. You came because uh you were trying to impress a young lady or you wanted to date someone. That's why I went to church. But I'm here to tell you today that I didn't leave with the young lady, I left with Jesus Christ. And I left with a peace that I couldn't explain. In fact, the next day I went into work, uh, my co-worker looked at me and she said, What happened to you? You look like you had a great night of partying. I said, Yes, I was partying with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I was happy beyond recognition. And I had a peace that I've never felt before. And beloved, that peace has never left me. And I want to ask you a question today. Do you have that peace? Do you? Do you? Well, Jesus goes on after he talks about that peace and he gives a remarkable contrast. And that's what we find in verse number 27. The contrast is between the peace of the world. He says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. And then he says, Not as the world gives. Now, this is critical because he's contrasting worldly peace with the eternal, wonderful peace that comes with being in union and communion with Christ. And we have to know the difference. Now you might be sitting there thinking to yourself, Pastor Dennis, what is the difference between earthly peace and this heavenly, glorious peace? By the way, he's not saying that this peace is future. He says the kingdom is dawned, and right now you can have this peace. So, what is this peace of the world? Well, if you're taking notes, the first thing I want you to write down is that this peace of the world is temporary. Isn't it interesting that all forms of peace we pursue in this world is ultimately temporary? If you're anything like me, you've been keeping up to date with the Iran conflict, and one minute there's ceasefire, and another minute they're bombing each other, and another minute there's ceasefire, and another minute they're bombing each other, and I'm like, well, why don't they make up their minds? Every time they change their mind, the gas prices go up. But the reality is, can we expect anything different from the world? The world doesn't know how to keep peace, it's always temporary. And beloved, sad to say that oftentimes we as Christians live in this cycle of brokenness in our relationships. But that's not what God wants. In first John, John says something powerful. He says, Love not the world, neither the things in the world. For all that is in the world, the love of the Father, for anyone who loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, and all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not from the Father, but of this world. And then he goes on to say, and the world is passing away. Have you ever paused and thought to yourself, what does he mean by the world is passing away? What does that mean? Well, the verb there is a passive verb, and it means that it is God Himself because of the curse, has made everything in this world ephemeral, temporary, and that any hope that we have in this world will ultimately pass away, including the peace that is built on this world. And so that's the first thing. The peace of this world is temporary, but next, the peace of this world is also circumstantial. It's the kind of peace that's predicated on circumstance. And so often this is the kind of peace we have. It's the kind of peace that is predicated on how much money we have in the bank. Anyone in here uh check their bank accounts daily or their 401k? I guess it's just me. I mean, you know, you don't have to do that. And I asked myself the other day, why why are you doing this? Is it because you're you're pinning your peace and satisfaction on how well the market is doing? Could it be that we pin our peace on how well our relationships are going, or how well we're doing at work, or if we got a raise recently, or if we got that project done in our home. Beloved, do you understand that our peace should never be circumstantial? But it often is. It often is. Theresa and I, my wonderful wife, we do premarital counseling, and every now and then we get a couple who will tell us, Pastor Dennis, uh, we don't want to have kids, so you don't have to go through the section of premarital counseling on children. And I'll say, Well, why don't you want to have children? And they say, Well, do you see the condition of the world? We don't want to bring kids into this world. And I said, Hey, tell me a time where it was ever safe to bring children into this world. Do you know of a time where it was advantageous to bring children into the world? The answer to our question is there's never been a time safe to bring children in the world. We bring children in the world because that's what God has called us to do if we're able to do it. We Christians don't uh operate based on circumstance, we operate based on the obedience of God and what he's called us to. And I say that in love for those that are waiting to have children until it's uh a better time. But the fact of the matter is, our peace is never circumstantial. Well, the peace of the world is also impotent, meaning that it doesn't possess the power to truly calm and quiet our soul. You mentioned uh there was mentioned uh the book of Ecclesiastes during the the worship time. And indeed, the preacher talks about vanity of vanities, all is vanity. So what is he referring to? He's talking about the meaninglessness and emptiness of all that we put our hope in in this world. But ultimately, he's saying that it's powerless to be able uh to be able to use the peace of this world to truly calm and quiet our soul. Doesn't matter what it is, whether it's education or relationships, food, drink, richness. You could go down the line. It's ultimately important in order to bring true peace to our souls. Our family uh two days ago watched the Michael Jackson movie. Now I'm not commending the movie, I'm just saying we watched it. I have to admit I am or was a Michael Jackson fan. But one of the things that struck me as I read as I watched the bio the biography of his life is that here's a man that had everything in the world except peace. Except peace. Incredibly talented, incredibly gifted. But no peace. Jim Carey, most of you know him as a uh comedian, but he's also a bit of a philosopher. He said this I wish everyone could get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see it's not the answer. And true enough, there's an impotency about the world and its peace. Now you're sitting there probably thinking to yourself, well, Pastor Dennis, doesn't all religion promise peace? What's unique about Christianity? You talk about this unique aspect of the peace that comes from Christ. But all religion points to peace. And I would say you're right. All religion claims to have peace, but ultimately it falters. Think of Islam, for instance. They talk about peace, but yet their peace is conditional and it's earned through obedience. Oh, what about Judaism? They talk about shalom, yes, but it's mostly future-oriented, and then again, it's conditional. Oh, what about uh Hinduism with their self-realization and the Dharma? By the way, who knows what that means? But even then, it's a distant goal and requires spiritual effort. Oh, what about Buddhism? Buddhism promises peace, peace through the eightfold path of inner discipline, but yet you have to achieve it through inner sustained self-effort. Beloved, all the religions of this world promise peace, yes, but it's required based on your own effort. Only Christianity offers peace that is an unconditional gift from God that's secured by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross and is implanted in you with the power of the Holy Spirit, so that it is a gift given to you as a part of your inheritance. No, this peace is utterly unique. And so, what is the peace that our Lord gives? What is the characteristic of that? Well, quickly, and I'll end with these three. Firstly, notice that this peace is permanent. Notice in verse 27, he says, peace I leave with you. Peace I leave with you. The idea there is that it's a permanent peace. It's without interruption or pause, without intermission. It is a constant peace, a secure peace, a firm peace. It's not going anywhere because it was secured by the blood of Christ. Notice Colossians chapter 1, verse 19 through 20. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to him all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross. That's the peace that was secured for you. I urge you to go and look at that passage. It's a beautiful passage. Time does not permit me so. But the peace that comes from God is eminently permanent. Permanent. Does not go anywhere. Secondly, this peace is personal. Notice he says, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. My peace. Meaning it's personal. It comes from Jesus Christ. It belongs to him, and he gave it to you. Now I want you to think about that because that's profound. You know, um, there are times in your life when you meet people and you wish that you can have some quality that they have. You meet a godly saint and they radiate and you say, Man, I wish I was like them. Or you meet uh Pastor Brian and you say, Well, I wish that I had his pastoral gifts. Or you come across someone like Kelly Capack and you say, Man, I wish I had his intelligence and his brilliance. But a day, you know, the other day I was in the gym and I saw this man. I was like, Man, good night. Uh, I wish I had his physique. It's never going to happen, by the way. And and and by the way, we can never obtain the gifts that other people have because they're unique to them. But I want you to see that Jesus says something different. He says, My peace I give to you. Now there are things that are incommunicable within the person of Christ. He cannot give us his omnipotence, he cannot give us his omniscience, he cannot give us his perfection. But, beloved, hear me today. The one thing that he can give to you is what? His peace. He says you can have that. That's communicable. It can be yours by way of union and communion with him. And if you think about the peace that our Lord gives, think deeply about what he had to go through. He had no physical comforts. Matthew 8 20 said that Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He was constantly attacked by the Pharisees and yet maintained his testimony. On many occasions, his physical safety was in danger, either through storms or stones or sticks. He was reviled and despised by men. His own family thought he was crazy. And his disciples would one day abandon him. And yet, and yet our Lord, through it all, was at peace. There was no place, no thing that happened to our Lord that shook his peace. Wouldn't you love to have a peace like that? And then lastly, I want you to see that this peace is a peculiar peace. He says, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. It's peculiar, it's otherworldly, it's supernatural peace. Its origins isn't of this world. It's peculiar. Paul captures the peculiarity of this peace in Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, when he says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. And watch this, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus. Have you ever thought about the glorious reality of what Paul is saying? He's exegeting Jesus' words on peace, and he's saying there's something about the peace of God. It's not that it's irrational, because sometimes we can be irrational, but he's not saying that it's an irrational peace. He's saying that it is a peace that sometimes is beyond our comprehension. John Wesley used to say about the early Methodists, I don't know if he'd say it about the Methodists now, but he used to say about the early Methodists, our people die well. Our people die well. And what did he mean by that? Well, what he meant by that is when his people were dying, they didn't thrash about. They weren't bitter. They weren't filled with regret. They weren't wishing that they had more time. They died well. Beloved, I've been a minister long enough where I've seen people die well and people not die well. I was in the company of a man once who was dying. To my knowledge, he was not a believer, and he was absolutely miserable and terrified, would lie on the other side. And then I've been in the company with dear saints who died with a smile on their face because they know they were going to meet with Jesus. That's a peace that passeth all understanding. And then Paul says, it will guard your heart and mind like a garrison. It's like a security detail. Like the president has. The peace of God will guard your heart in that way. Now, I'll end with this last point. There are many of you in here today that will say, Pastor Dennis, I'm an anxious person. And I don't have this peace. Yes, I pray and I trust God. I'm here today in church. And I desperately want to have this peace. What about someone like me? Who no matter what we do, I can't seem to have the peace that you speak of. There's hope for you. Look at the end of verse 27. Jesus says, Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. And underline the word afraid. The word afraid there is not the normal term for being afraid, phobos. It's another term. And it actually has the idea of cowardice. But the main meaning is that Jesus is telling his disciples, and you, by extension, is don't give up. Don't give up. Yes, you are fearful, but don't give up. If you are struggling, and you say, Pastor Dennis, I'm on the brink because I'm fearful and I don't have this peace. This is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ telling you that yes, in the midst of your anxiety and struggle, continue to persevere because remember, the peace of God will act like a garrison to keep you from giving up. Hold on to that, Christian. That's the power of our comforter. He will hold you to the very end. Our Father, we thank you so much for the power of your word. Holy Spirit, I pray that all of us might experience the peace that passeth all understanding. Father, I pray for the one in here that's struggling and on the brink. May the words of this passage lodge deep in their soul. May they be reminded that they serve a good and gracious and wonderful and kind God who left behind the Holy Spirit to be their comforter. I thank you for this church, and that the message of the gospel is proclaimed week in and week out to the praise of your glorious grace. May it continue. In Jesus' precious holy name. Amen and amen.