The Reason Why We Struggle For Peace

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen. May the Almighty Jesus Christ of Nazareth bless you, guide you, protect you, and deliver you from the snares of the enemy, whether it be visible or invisible, in his mighty and holy name, Amen. The gospel for today is taken from the gospel according to Saint John and chapter 20 verses 19 to 31 inclusive, which is the end of chapter 20.

So it is John 20 and verses 19 to 31 inclusive. The Lord Jesus appeased to the apostles and other faithfuls who were in that upper room behind closed doors, locked doors and windows out of fear from their Jewish people, lest they be persecuted and even killed, being the followers and the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord appeased as the doors were all shut.

He just walks through those closed doors, and the first thing the Lord says to all of them who were there sitting in fear, peace be with you, or peace to you. And the first appearance was on the very same day where the Lord rose from the dead. Because when we read in chapter 20 earlier, we will see that the Lord is saying to Mary Magdalene, go and tell my brothers, I am ascending to my father and your father and my God and your God.

And on the very same day, this happened in the very early morning of Sunday, where Mary Magdalene and other women came early in the morning and brought some spices, you know, to do what was customary at the time. But realizing the tomb was empty, then Mary Magdalene saw somebody thinking, confusing him with a gardener. And she said, Lord, if you have taken my Lord, please tell me where have you put him so I can go and take him.

And then the Lord says to her, Mary, the tone of the Lord revealed to Mary Magdalene that this is truly the Messiah. Because she got used to him calling her Mary in that particular tone for three and a bit ease. And then the Lord says, go and tell my brothers, I'm ascending to my father and your father, my God and your God.

This was in the early hours of the Sunday morning. In the evening, the very same day, the Lord appears to the disciples who are afraid from the Jews. And then he says, peace to you.

Thomas was not there at the time. And then the Lord, when the first time he appeared, he said, come and see my hands and my side and check me out, if it is me truly or not. So they believed.

And then when Thomas came, the Lord had gone. So they told Thomas, the Lord is truly risen. And they remembered what the Lord said to them prior to the crucifixion.

They remembered all that. So they were reinstated into the faith once again. And they said to Thomas, well, he said to us, check my hands and my side.

So Thomas said, unless I see, unless I touch, I will not believe. Eight days later, the Lord comes and appears once again. Eight days later.

And then he calls Thomas to him. He said, Thomas, come here. Check my hands and check my side and see that it is I. Thomas says to the Lord Jesus, my Lord and my God.

The Lord says, now you believe because you saw Thomas. But I say to you, blessed are those who did not see yet believed. They send a message to us.

And they said, Bishop, why? Why did the Lord say, see my hands and my side? Why not the feet? Let us not forget when we go back to John chapter 13 and the last supper. What did the Lord do before the crucifixion? This is he got up, he girded himself and he washed the feet of his disciples. The reason why the Lord said, see my hands and my side, because you're my, my sons.

I don't ask my son to go to my feet. I, as your father, I'll go down to your feet. I washed your feet prior to the crucifixion.

And when you read towards the end of book of revelation, he says also when, when we make it through his grace into his kingdom, as we are entering, he will get up from his throne, the king of all kings and the Lord of all lords. He will get up and come to welcome us into his kingdom and give us his own throne to sit on and he will serve us. So the Lord is saying, you're my sons, you're my children.

I will not let my children bow to my feet. This is my job, not your job. You look, you check my hands, it's okay.

You check my side, it's okay. But to go to my feet, I'll do that. I will never let you do that because a father will get to the feet of his child and will kiss the feet of that child because that is an honorary thing for any father to do for their, for his children.

And this is why the Lord never asked them to check his feet. You're my sons, I kiss your feet, not you. Look how awesome our God is, how awesome our God is.

But the Lord says the first thing to them, peace to you. My beloved, ever since the human nature fell into sin, there was no peace. Ever since we made that mistake, we broke God's word, there was no peace.

Humanity, and I'm talking about the human race, I'm not talking about Christians only, but I'm talking the entire human race. You ask every single human being, what do you wish to have in your life? They will say, we want to be in peace. So they will strive in any way, form or shape possible to be in that peace, to live in that peace, to gain that peace.

Some people thought by gaining power, through power I'll gain peace. Some people thought they can buy their way into peace with money. So they tried to be extremely rich because they said, with money I can do anything and everything, including peace, I'll buy it if need be.

And everybody tried their ways, the hardest possible way a human could think of. And the harder they tried, the more miserable they ended up being. Look at the world, where is the peace? There is no peace.

Maybe you may look at some people from outside and say, oh look, they are happy, they live a very peaceful life. Well, spend five minutes with them and let me see if you're going to change your mind or not. Oh, when you see somebody say, living in a mansion, you say, oh man, I wish I lived in that mansion.

You walk into that mansion and you spend an hour with those people, you'll see them the most miserable ever. Empty, void, troubled, don't know what to do. And whatever they do, they are never content.

There is no peace. Because humanity thought that peace comes when I achieve something in this world. And the more they achieve, the more miserable they are.

There is no peace. Because peace, my beloved, is not a place, is not a thing you gain, is not a thing you buy, is not a throne you sit on. Peace is a person called Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

So peace is not a word, peace is a person. So when the Lord Jesus said, peace to you, he's saying, I now give you all of me. Because I am resurrected, I am risen from the dead, so now I will dwell in you in my spirit.

I will dwell in you in my spirit, so I'm giving you me. I am the peace. And until every single human being find Christ, they will never understand what peace is all about.

Never. Humanity decided in the 20th century to establish something called the United Nations. United, there is peace, supposedly.

If there is, if there is any place where these nations are definitely not united, is the United Nations. Definitely not united. They act on one another, they bluff one another, they laugh at each other's faces.

Everybody's got a mask on, they are faking it. Why? Because it takes God to give you peace. It takes God and God only.

It takes God to give you that peace. You see, grace brought the Lord Jesus. And when the Lord Jesus came, he brought peace.

That peace, meaning I am now living in harmony with God. This is what peace means. This is what peace is all about.

When you and I and all of us live in harmony with God. And what does it mean living in harmony with God? Meaning when I am pleasing God in everything I say and in everything I do. Now this is the struggle of the Christian world.

How do I live in harmony with the true living God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth? The reason why we struggle and and beyond the Christian world, the entire world, well they need to find the true living God. Everybody needs to find at the end the true living God. You may come and say I believe in God this way, or my God is this one, or my God is that way, my God is over there.

Whatever you believe in, at the end there is definitely one true living God who created everyone and everything, spiritual, tangible, both worlds, heaven and earth, and everything that you see and you don't see. There is one God creator of all this. For me, till the day I go to the grave and for eternities to come, will always be Jesus Christ of Nazareth, period.

Period. I don't need to even mention it. I don't need to even blink twice about it.

I don't need to even think about it. It just comes naturally. Until we find the true living God, there is no peace.

Everybody's fighting. Russia and Ukraine, they're trying to make peace. We pray for that.

We pray. People are being killed for what? You know what's ironic about all this? The world is fighting to see who's going to be the superpower, who's going to be in control, in charge, the most powerful nation, the most powerful leader. So, the world is striving to be in control.

Is it America? Is it China? Is it Russia? Superpowers. But the issue is, we're striving to be the most powerful nation in the world by killing one another. The Lord Jesus says, the only way for peace to have been made possible, I had to die on the cross.

It wasn't Isaac. It wasn't Ishmael. It was Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was offered on Calvary on Golgotha.

It was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We need to come to this Jesus Christ of Nazareth. One thing about Jesus Christ that can raise a humongous question mark is his virginal birth.

If there is anything, I'm just giving you one. There's plenty of reasons why Jesus is the reason for the season. But if there is one very profound reason why we need to find out more about Jesus, is his virginal birth.

And another thing, a lot of people agree that Jesus never made a mistake. A lot of people, not only the Christians, a lot of people agree. He never made a mistake.

Now, this unique figure in the entire human race, it is unheard of for someone to be born of a woman only, no earthly father. Unheard of. In the natural realm, it is impossible for a human being to be born of one parent only, and this female is the virgin of all virgins forever.

He does not have an earthly father. He only has an earthly mother, and her name is Mary or Mariam, our blessed, our holy mother Mary. That is extremely unique.

What is so special about this man? To only have one parent, one earthly parent. All his life, he lived it in holiness, perfection, no error found in him. Unheard of.

All humans fall very short. Everybody is lacking. Everybody is a sinner.

Everybody makes mistakes. This man is unique, very special. No mistakes in his life.

Perfect, like God. We need peace, my beloved. My son and my daughter, when you go out with your friends, you want to have a peaceful evening, a peaceful night.

You spend it with your friends. So you want to enjoy the moment, and you go out and you have fun. Well, let me tell you one thing.

When you come back, miseries and agonies and pains are still there, but it was only for a short moment. I forgot about them. It was like I was given a local anesthetic, and anesthetic can only relieve you for a short time.

The anesthetic is not the cure for the illness. The illness is still there. So no matter how many times you give it local anesthetic, how many times you relieve it with painkillers, the painkiller will wear out and the pain will come back again, much worse than before.

So I go out, and I have fun, and I dance, and I eat, and I sing, and I jump, and then I fly, and I travel everywhere, and then from drinking coca-cola to drinking scotch on the rock, and from that to the white powder, from the white powder to the gambling. These are all cousins, by the way. And then men with women, and women with men, and don't be men with men, and women with women, I'll kill you.

And then before you know it, the very peace you were chasing, the very tranquil life you were seeking, all of a sudden it has gone extremely wrong. I've destroyed it. Whatever I had before, it's gone.

You know what? I am no longer that person before. I don't know who I am, what has become of me. And the more I try to find peace, the more I'm empty, miserable, lost, confused.

Why? Because you're trying to find peace your way. You're trying to do it your way. This will never ever happen.

Never. Takes God. Peace to you.

Amazing how the Lord is. Look, after resurrection, that's the first thing He says. Now why did He say that? Why did He use the word peace? Because the Lord is saying, the world, since it rejected me, has no peace in it.

Since it rejected me, has no peace in it. Therefore, I am giving you my peace, so you can withstand the magnitude of the tidal wave coming your way from the world. Because the moment you receive the peace of Christ, the world will persecute you.

Let me tell you, my beloveds, if you haven't heard this before, well, hear it again, or hear it now. And if you've heard it before, hear it again. Look, is there heaven? 100% yes.

Is there hell? 100% yes. Does Jesus Christ truly exist? 100% yes. Does satan exist? 100% yes.

Yes. One of the signs of satan's existence is foul language. By the way, foul language is not a human invention, it's satanic.

It's from satan. Swear words? You want me to simplify it? Swear words? Satan taught those words to you, my beloved child, Satan. Oh, he swears.

Trust me, I know. And he swears very badly. He's got a foul mouth, very foul mouth.

Oh, he's getting upset now. You cannot go against the cross. The holy cross crushed you, satan.

You cannot. There is heaven and there is hell. There is the light and there is darkness.

There is the Christ and there is satan. 100%. They both exist.

Now, if you, my beloved child, if you try to do things your way away from God, you will never, ever, ever find peace. Never. No matter what you achieve, no matter what you reach, there will be never peace.

Never. See, this peace cannot be explained, cannot be expressed until you live it. Because this peace, it takes God to give it to you and to teach you and to give you the grace to taste this peace and to live this peace.

It is not something I can explain. It is not something I can teach. It is a life that must be lived in the peace of Christ.

Now, when you live the peace of Christ, tribulations will not end. Struggles will not end. You see, some people think when they come to the Lord Jesus, everything is going to be like honeymoon.

Everything is going to be smooth. I'll be cruising. I'll be flying.

If I'm sick, I'll get healed. And if I'm poor, I'll be rich. And if I'm weak, I'll be strong.

And if I'm lost, I'll be, well, you'll be found. But you don't realize that if you think you're coming to the Lord, everything is going to be fixed the way you think of fixing things, you're mistaken. That's why these prosperity preachers, especially in America, are a bunch of losers.

They make it sound like everything is honeymoon. Oh, Jesus loves you. And Jesus is going to make it all honey for you.

And Jesus is going to bless you. Sow the seed of a hundred dollars. Jesus will give you a thousand dollars.

Nonsense. A bunch of little kids playing in the street. From their biggest boy to the least of their, the smallest boy.

A bunch of kids. The Lord said it. He said, you will follow me.

The world will hate you. The world will persecute you. And the world will kill you.

The world. But do not be afraid. I have overcome the world.

I have overcome the world. Now I need the Lord in order in him I am victorious, triumphant. Otherwise I'm lost.

No matter how smart, intelligent, strong, powerful, wealthy, healthy, nonsense. Satan can devour any human being before they blink their eyes. No one is anywhere near the power of Satan and the wisdom of Satan.

No one. No human beings. One human being only overcame Satan.

Do you understand the magnitude of this? How, how important it is that I need to be close to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It's not about what you know and who you are. It's about are you in the Lord or outside of him.

Are you in the Lord or not? Are you in the ark or not? You can be the greatest swimmer in the world. If you're outside the ark, you will drown. And the one who cannot swim at all but inside the ark will be saved.

Only the Lord can save you. Only the Lord can deliver you. And only the Lord can give you that inner peace.

Where from outside I have problems and I have issues and I have tribulations from outside. But from inside I am at peace. People hate me.

I'm at peace. People talk bad about me. I the bishop, yeah? Talk very bad about me.

But I'm at peace. My dear friend, when the Lord gives me his peace, or I should say he gave me his peace, no matter what you say, you cannot take what God has given me. You cannot.

Impossible. So therefore, I won't retaliate. But I will tell you the truth.

But I love you. But I'll tell you the truth. I'll always love you.

But I'll tell you as it is. No hypocrisy. When we do something wrong, we lose our peace immediately.

When we do something wrong, we lose our peace. I go to the wrong people, I do the wrong things. I get up the following day, the most miserable being ever.

Empty, void, lost, confused, troubled. The moment I reconnect with Christ, all of a sudden that wild ocean becomes calm, crystal clear. I'm at peace.

I need the Lord Jesus, my beloved. Don't ever think by getting married is the solution. Don't ever think by being a bishop is a solution.

Don't ever think by being wealthy is a solution. Don't ever think by being the most powerful person in the world is the solution. The only solution to our struggles is Christ.

You receive him, you live in peace. Because through Christ, I am reunited with God. I am reconciled with God.

The Lord gave me that peace. He reunited me with God and made me live with him in harmony. But I need the Lord.

Why do we fight at home? Why do we fight in the church? Church leaders, they fight as well. At home, husband and wife, siblings, family members, they fight as well. Arguments.

At work, we argue, we fight sometimes. Friends on social media, gossiping, talking, maybe bad-mouthing people on TikTok, WikWok, NickNock. The moment we lose track of the Lord Jesus, I'm immediately in darkness.

There is the light and there is the darkness. And this is why, my beloveds, the moment the church loses her peace is when she loses her Messiah. When does the church lose the Messiah? When the church leaders begin to do things their way, not Christ's way.

It becomes a worldly institution. In the world, everybody fights over positions and thrones. They kill each other to gain a position.

When you see this kind of a struggle happening in the church, the focus is no longer on Christ. It is shifted on me. And when it's shifted on me, I want to be number one.

I want to be the leader. I want to have the biggest throne ever. I want the whole world to listen to me.

There will be no more peace, even in the church, the moment we lose Christ. This is why Christ, my beloved, is not Catholic, is not Orthodox, definitely not Protestant. The Lord Jesus is God.

Stop putting names on him. Stop putting names on him. What's the point? You're a Catholic but distant from the Lord.

Catholicism will do you no good. What's the point? You're an Orthodox and you are distant from the Lord. What will that do? What's the point of saying, my dad was a saint but I'm a sinner? Big deal.

You need to find Christ. You need to build a true personal relationship with the Lord. You need to come and start this relationship with the Lord Jesus.

Now the beginning of this relationship, the beginning to it, is Lord, I don't want to live for myself anymore. I want to live for you Lord. I don't want to do things my way.

I want it to be done your way. I don't want to be anymore me, me, me. I want you to be me.

I no longer live for myself but for Christ who lives in me. St. Paul knew it and he did it quite beautifully. That's why I love this man very dearly.

The reason why we are fighting, arguing in turmoil because we've lost that connection with Christ. So now I'm looking at myself. I'm focusing at me because if it's not the Lord then it's me.

The moment I focus on me, I want things to be done my way and if they are not done my way, I will not be settled until the case is settled. I was watching a video, a true one. This man, he's retired now, God bless his soul.

An amazing judge in America. He retired now but he was so kind, so merciful, so generous. Probably some, I can't remember the name but he's very famous on social media platforms.

Anyway, so this couple, like elderly couple came to court because the woman, the wife, received fines, driving fines. So she came with her husband. Now this is a piece of advice for every married couple, okay? Pay attention.

So she came with her husband to court and then the judge said, well it looks like you have fines. She said, your honor, yes I have fines but they are not mine, they're my husband's. He said, oh so you were not the one who were driving the vehicle, was your husband? She said, yes.

Why should I pay for them? He was driving the car. So he said, well you've just threw your husband under the bus. She said, well I'm not paying for it.

The fines are not mine, they're his. And then the judge looked at the husband, he said, is this the way you are treated all the time? He said, yes your honor. And then the wife, she said, well we've been married, I don't know, over 40, about 50 years and we are happily married, right husband? He said, yes honey.

You want to live in harmony and in peace? Always say yes to your wife. The day you say no, you've lost your peace. This is the way it goes with the Lord Jesus.

We need to say yes to him. Never no. The moment we say no to him, we've lost our peace.

The difference between the Lord Jesus and every single human being, if there is anything, as far as humanity, is one thing and it's very maybe trivial but so foundational. In every human being, there is the yes and there is the no. In Jesus, the man, there is the yes and there is the amen.

There is no no in Christ. He was always yes dad, amen dad, yes dad, amen dad, yes dad, amen dad. That's why he did what he did with no sword, no knife, no weapon, changed the world forever.

People hated him but he never lost his peace because he was always yes dad, amen dad. If Jesus had said to his heavenly fathers, no dad, sorry, I can't do it. He couldn't have done what he did.

If there is one thing we ask the Lord to teach us, let us live you Lord. Allow me to be the yes and the amen for you Lord. No longer no but yes and amen Lord, amen.

Let us bow our heads and ask the Lord Jesus for mercy and forgiveness to make us worthy to come forth and receive him in the true body and the true blood of Christ, amen. Our good God and full of mercy, our good God and full of mercy, whose grace and mercy is poured upon all. Pour my Lord the compassion of the delightfulness of your love upon your servants and again transform them in the hope of renewal to the life of repentance.

Renew in them your Holy Spirit by whom they are sealed for the day of salvation. Purify them by your compassion from all flesh and spiritual blemishes and assure the hope of their faith by the aid of your grace and instill the walks of their behavior and the paths of righteousness. Please them along with the saints in your kingdom by the assurance of the hope of their faith and the adoption as your children and in the joy of your absolving mysteries.

Empower them by the aid of your mercies to observe your commandments and fulfill your will to confess worship and praise your holy name the Lord of all Father and Son and Holy Spirit forever, amen. May the Lord Jesus forgive us and make us worthy to come forth and receive him in the true body and the true blood of Christ. Love the Lord, love one another, be good, be close to the church, have your home as a church, make a place for the Lord Jesus at home, please I beg you.

One corner, one place, turn it into a church where you have the holy cross, an icon of the holy mother of the Lord Jesus and both and a saint and put the holy Bible there and let that knee hit the ground and pray my beloved, pray turn the house into a church. Let Jesus start there with you my beloved in order to end up with you here in the church, in the universal church. Home is where it starts and here it where it ends, it's not the other way around.

It starts at home, ends in this church that you are here. My beloved, God bless you, I love you but Jesus Christ of Nazareth loves you the most. God bless.