Good morning. I was thinking as we were singing that there's a lot of state and local governments that are asking churches not to meet and not together.
! And some that are allowing them together, but also saying things like you shouldn't sing together.
And I don't know why, but just a minute ago, the Lord has put in my mind where they tell Jesus' followers to quit singing, like quit praising Him, quit making noise.
And He goes, well, if they don't, the rocks will.
And just the celebration, like God inhabits the praises of His people, and I'm just thankful that we can build up one another through song this morning.
So just join me again in prayer before we get into the Word together.
Father, we are grateful for a chance to gather as Your people, not as an act of defiance and not as an act of insubordination,
because we belong to one another, because we are the same body and we are the same family.
And we are closer to those here who are in Christ than many in our own blood family.
And we are to gather and declare Your greatness.
And we are to be the gospel made visible.
And Lord, as we look at Your Word today, I pray that You would speak to us through Your Word and by Your Holy Spirit.
And to strengthen and encourage us to have true peace by knowing You.
And we just ask that in Christ's name. Amen.
So, in ancient times, God prepared His people for the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ.
And at Christmastime now, we celebrate the fulfillment of a promise that God made to send a Redeemer to draw near to us
and provide a way for us to be reconciled to God.
And Advent, as we've said, is the Latin word for the word coming or arrival.
My wife is a big Latin person, so she was like, I actually just asked,
is that actually how you say it, or is that like an Americanized or Anglicized way to say it?
And she goes, it's actually Odwin Tuss.
And I was like, wow, that's cool.
I'll put that out there.
Because I've always butchered words.
I butcher words all the time.
But as the coming or arrival, and it's the time leading up to Christmas,
and there's no greater person in the universe than Christ,
and no greater coming than God coming to us in flesh.
And He will be coming again.
So, as we said, don't just celebrate the fact that He came, but that He is coming.
We have to bring both of those together.
And He came in humility as a baby.
And we anticipate His future coming in the clouds of great glory to establish His eternal rule one day.
And so, as we said, we're doing peace today.
I'm super bummed that I didn't get to light the candle.
I was going to get a blowtorch or something to really get it going today.
But it is lit.
It's a reminder of the peace that we can have.
But I like to sort of create the problem a lot of the time before we actually come to the Word.
But many people, all of us, have searched for peace and can't find it in this world.
The opposite of spiritual peace is anxiety.
Fear, debilitating worry.
And the Greek word for anxious is actually, like, check this out.
It means to be inwardly torn apart.
Being ripped to shreds.
That's like what anxiety means.
And so, you can imagine, you know, some of you have felt that.
Something going on and it just tears you apart inwardly.
And it's the opposite of peace.
And so, we can't cope with the things in life on our own.
And for many of us, 2020 has been an incredibly trying and difficult year.
Almost unending, it seems.
And the COVID-19 crisis were definitely in the first good many months where we didn't even know what we were dealing with.
It really shook a lot of us up and caused many to kind of live in fear and in anxiety.
And many of you, I know, have lost jobs, had to change jobs, have had a decrease in your hours.
A lot of uncertainty just in how you can provide for a family.
And many in our church, in this, you know, very room, have suffered greatly this year.
And tremendous pain.
And to cap it off, we have a lot of tremendous political unrest and national strife.
And sort of watching on as our constitutional republic is sort of disintegrating before our eyes and social chaos.
And many in this room have had to deal with that head on.
Most of us just look at it on the news.
But I know many of you in here have had to go and be a part of a lot of that to bring order.
And it really has exposed.
2020 has exposed this false reality of security that we've had in the U.S. for so long.
It's exposed just how easy a lot of our lives have been.
When many throughout history and even in the world today, that is a normal day for them.
And we just had it so well.
And God has blessed us.
But that doesn't mean that we've used that blessing to honor Him.
But to honor ourselves in many ways.
And so it's exposed this in us.
It's made us anxious.
It's made us fearful.
God has rocked the boat.
And many of us throughout 2020, maybe even before that, we've sought peace in the things of this world.
We've sought it in financial security.
If we could just put enough money in the bank and we'll be prepared for whatever is going to come.
And there's nothing against planning financially.
But when your whole peace is in those things, it can be really shaken.
Because it's never enough.
And others just in relationships and people that you know, strong personalities that you think,
if I just cling to them, I will be okay.
But then they let you down.
Others in just escaping, kind of like a vacation, getaway.
If we can just escape the circumstances that we're in.
But sin has a way of following you where you go and also waiting for you when you come back.
And others, you just think, if I just stay in good health, I'll be ready for whatever comes.
If I just exercise, eat right, sleep good, I'll be ready.
But then your body still breaks down.
And so I have, you know, a lot of friends and family from even today, but mainly from my past,
who are strong, conservative, good old boys.
And they're preparing for what's happening by stoppiling guns and ammunition.
And I'm just saying, guys, like, peace is not going to be found that way.
And our security, that's what you seek to build up, to guard us from what we think might happen.
But yet, even if you are the safest person inwardly, you're still anxious.
And why is that?
You're still afraid.
And many of you are trying to find peace in planning and in routine.
If I can just anticipate what's going to happen and plan on it, it'll be okay.
But then life catches you off guard and God does something that you don't expect.
And that exposes the anxiety that's in you.
But true spiritual peace cannot be grasped in this world.
It continues to sort of elude us.
But why can't we ever be at peace, though?
Like, why can't I have peace on my own?
And why can't we just have peace with those around us?
Why is there so much strife?
The burdening of your soul, feeling like being torn apart inwardly?
And for many, we've seen Christmas as a time of year to kind of regain inner peace.
And as if something just magical about the Christmas season.
So my wife and I, we do love cheesy, corny, Hallmark Christmas movies.
And it's just a distraction.
It's not like I'm like, let's go face the world now, like when I watch one.
It's just more of a distraction.
But I've taken note of like phrases that are repeated over and over.
And just the worldly view of Christmas, it's very just sentimentalism.
Warm and fuzzy, you know, cheer up.
Everything will be okay.
It's Christmas.
It's a season to be nice and kind to one another.
It's a time to give back.
I heard that one a lot in movies, whatever that means.
It's a time to show goodwill towards one another.
It's the holiday spirit.
It's Christmas.
Then you have the proverbial Christmas miracles that happen.
As if the season or holiday itself possesses some kind of supernatural power.
And it doesn't.
It's warm, cute, and funny, but not real.
And we live in a dark, crumbling world.
Where sin and the kingdom of the evil one is very apparent if we just open our eyes and step out of our doors.
And we can't go into a dark world armed with superficial holiday sentimentalism.
And just saying cheer up is Christmas time.
Just be happy is the happy season.
It's like sending a greeting card to a starving village in Asia.
Just be.
It doesn't equal.
And not man-made superficial holiday peace can really heal the brokenhearted, this diseased world.
And we can't allow that kind of sentimentalism to be our strength.
But why don't we have peace?
It's like, why does it seem so unattainable?
And the quick answer is the reason we can't find peace within ourselves or with the world around us.
It's the symptoms of a spiritual condition.
It's the reality is all of us have sinned and turned away from our creator.
We all have rebelled against God.
Every one of us, you and I.
From the greatest to the least, the richest of the poor, we all have set ourselves against our creator.
And we've made ourselves enemies of God.
And as Isaiah said, all of us like sheep have gone astray in each to our own way.
Sin makes us stupid and sin causes us to wander.
And our souls were meant to know God, to worship him, to commune with him, to live in a relationship of just loving obedience and dependence on him.
But as we know, we all have sinned and fallen short of our original intent, what God had made us to do.
And in James 4, it says,
You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with this world is enmity with God?
And therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
It's a picture of spiritual unfaithfulness and having a strong, inordinate desire for something that you shouldn't have.
And that's what we've done with this world.
And it exhibits itself in our lifestyle.
Just look around you and the people that are around you.
And how their world revolves around consuming and attaining the things that are in this world.
The stuff and the people in it that we love, we crave, we pursue.
And that puts us at enmity with God.
It says that he is jealous for the spirit that he created in us.
A holy jealousy that we belong to him, but we have rebelled against him.
And we have exchanged the truth about God for a lie.
It's a tragic and deadly exchange.
And so, we can't have peace.
George Whitefield said a long time ago,
How can you have real peace when God is your enemy?
And we cannot be at odds with the sovereign, glorious, powerful creator of the world.
You can't do that and actually have peace in your life.
You can't be estranged from the one who created you.
And Isaiah said in Isaiah 57,
The wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up mire and dirt.
There is no peace,
Says my God,
For the wicked.
And,
You know,
But,
While Christmas is coming,
It's a good reminder.
It's just a time for us to
Say to the world,
As we should be saying to ourselves every day as followers of Christ,
But,
Particularly at this time,
There's something you ought to know.
You can actually have and experience true peace with God.
One news anchor,
Who I kind of love and hate at different times,
Depending on the deal,
But,
Just said something profound.
And,
So,
Even some people in the world recognize that there's something different about this time of the year,
But we actually know what that difference is.
But,
He said,
Christmas is almost here.
And usually,
It's the happiest time that we have.
This year of all years,
2020,
Christmas,
It's had a deeper resonance.
Something closer to its original meaning.
In a time of crisis,
You inevitably,
Start thinking about the things that you might ignore,
If you were busier and more content.
In general,
People tend to become more spiritual,
More openly religious when they are suffering.
It's not an accident.
In fact,
It may be the upside of suffering.
You get to think beyond the next Amazon delivery.
For a minute.
Of course,
Not everyone in favor of all this,
Focus on big and enduring things,
Like our families,
What's true and what's not true,
And eternity itself.
All that tends to diminish the power of the people in charge of our temporal world.
For obvious reasons,
We take our leaders less seriously,
When we're reminded that they,
When they too are people just like we are.
They too will pass,
And death is inevitable.
Politicians understand this threat,
And so they figured out,
That Christmas is bigger than they are,
And as a result,
Try hard to cancel it.
And,
On to a few things there.
So even,
The world looks on and recognizes there's something different.
A lot of people,
Even people apart from God,
Didn't stop at this time of year,
And think about,
Such things.
And it puts things in perspective for them.
But the real Christmas is not just,
One day to be celebrated,
And a moral holiday.
But it's a chance to really elevate our souls as believers,
To remind ourselves of,
The true peace that we can have,
And obtain through knowing God,
Through his son,
Jesus Christ.
So,
Let's look at,
Peace today.
How we can have true peace,
Before we do it,
I want to just give you a rough definition,
Of what we mean by biblical peace,
Not,
Kind of a marrying,
Of the ways that it is used in the scripture.
So,
Here's the definition.
Peace is the inner confidence,
And trust,
In God's wise,
Sovereign control of our lives.
Resulting,
From being restored to him,
Through Jesus Christ.
Peace is the inner confidence,
And trust,
In God's wise,
Sovereign control of our lives,
Resulting,
From being restored to him,
Through Jesus Christ.
It's the Old Testament word for shalom,
Right?
It's a feeling of,
Of wholeness,
Completeness,
Contentment,
Well-being.
It's a,
Reminded of that.
So,
If you're feeling anxious today,
Or,
That's been a common characteristic of you,
For quite a while,
Ask God to use his word today,
To restore that to you.
And,
So,
I'm going to give you four,
Four points,
Or just some selected text,
But I'll give you the points first.
Number one,
We'll go back over them,
Because God has promised a means of peace.
Number two,
Because God has brought peace to us.
And number three,
Because we can have peace with God.
And number four,
Because we can,
We can have the peace of God.
And so we'll,
We'll unpack all of those.
But the first point,
If you want to turn in your Bibles to,
Isaiah chapter 9.
Isaiah chapter 9,
And let's go to verse 6.
The first point,
Because God promised a means of peace.
And this is looking back,
The past.
God promised a means of peace.
So Isaiah chapter 9,
Look at verse 6.
And a prophecy spoken.
For to us,
A child is born.
To us,
A son is given.
And the government shall be upon his shoulders,
And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government,
And of peace,
There will be no end.
On the throne of David,
And over his kingdom.
To establish it,
To uphold it with justice,
And with righteousness.
From this time forth,
Forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
So that last verse,
In verse 7,
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Meaning,
Nothing is going to prevent,
Or can stop,
The coming of this king,
And the coming of his established rule.
He would bring salvation to his people,
No matter what happened.
And Isaiah spoke of these things,
Almost 700 years,
Before Christ actually came.
A child is given to us,
Who is also a son.
He is the embodiment of Emmanuel,
God with us.
In Isaiah 7,
Verse 14,
It says,
You know,
Therefore the Lord himself,
Will give you a sign.
Behold,
The virgin shall conceive,
And bear a son.
And his name shall be called Emmanuel.
And so the Messiah's character,
Displays his divine origin,
Where he is from,
Exhibits the very might of God.
He is the wonderful counselor,
The one who is able to make good,
Righteous plans and decisions,
And execute them.
He is the very might of God.
He is the everlasting father,
Very kingly,
Noble,
And powerful one,
Who would also embrace his people,
As a father.
And with the birth of Jesus,
He has come,
And he is establishing his kingdom,
And I love this part,
He is establishing his righteous kingdom,
Not just for a season,
Not just for a short time,
There's no,
He has to not be elected for this,
He possesses it,
It is his,
For eternity.
And to kind of borrow the phrase,
Connected to the King Arthur legend,
He is the true born king,
Who will establish peace,
Right,
He's called the prince of peace,
Whose noble reign,
Will bring about an unending,
Error of peace,
As he reconciles,
And saves individuals,
That same peace,
Will spread,
Throughout all nations,
And he will rule,
With perfect,
Justice,
And righteousness,
Nothing behind closed doors,
No deceit,
No trickery,
True justice,
And true righteousness,
Will mark,
His rule,
For which there will be no end,
And that prince of peace,
Will bring an end,
To the conflict and strife,
In this world,
That is caused by sin,
And,
Just keep this in mind,
Just because there is conflict,
There is strife,
In your life,
In this world,
That doesn't deny,
Or disprove that Jesus,
Is the prince of peace,
But it actually only shows,
Why he came,
And the need for him to come,
So,
It was realized,
When he came,
In the past tense,
God promised,
A means of peace,
And,
God's son,
Would rule over the nations,
As the prince of peace,
Secondly,
Point two,
Is God,
Brought peace to us,
So he delivered,
On that promise,
God brought peace to us,
That's number two,
Flip over to,
Luke chapter two,
Verse eight,
Oddly enough,
My earliest recollection,
I can have,
Of this,
Passage,
Is from the Charlie Brown Christmas,
I say that to college students,
Down there like,
The what?
You know,
So,
But,
Luke two,
Verse eight,
So God brought peace to us,
He delivered on that,
Promise that he made,
Through Isaiah,
Luke two,
Verse eight,
In the same region,
There were shepherds,
Out in the field,
Keeping watch over their flocks,
By night,
And an angel of the Lord,
Appeared to them,
And the glory of the Lord,
Shown around them,
And they were filled,
With great fear,
And the angel said to them,
Fear not,
For behold,
I bring you good news,
Gospel,
A great joy,
That will be for all people,
For unto you,
Is born this day,
In the city of David,
A savior,
Who is Christ,
The Lord,
And this will be a sign for you,
You will find the baby,
Wrapped in swatting clothes,
Lying in a manger,
And suddenly,
There was,
With the angel,
A multitude of the heavenly host,
Praising God,
And saying,
Glory to God,
In the highest,
And on earth,
Peace,
Among those,
With whom he is pleased,
So this is the dawning of peace,
Christ came as a humble baby,
Born in Bethlehem,
To poor parents,
And the angels announced this coming,
With great,
Great power,
The glory of the Lord,
Shown around these lowly shepherds,
So,
You know,
My interest in,
Celtic history,
Some of you may know,
That like the druids,
Of old,
The pagan druids,
The mistletoe,
Was like a sacred plant,
That they believed,
Possessed magical powers,
And,
When chieftains,
Or enemies,
Came together,
They would meet,
Underneath the oak,
Underneath the mistletoe,
They would lay down,
Their weapons,
And come together,
And they would kiss,
Like a kiss of peace,
And they would talk,
Under the sacred oak,
And somehow,
It got transferred,
To lovers,
Kissing each other,
After that,
At some point,
But,
But the imagery,
Of,
Kissing under the mistletoe,
Was a way for enemies,
How they would make peace,
With one another,
And so God,
If you can,
Follow the metaphor,
Has graciously brought,
Peace to us,
Underneath,
The foot of the cross,
Of his son,
Says in Colossians 1,
Through him,
To reconcile to himself,
All things,
Whether on heaven,
Or on earth,
Making peace,
By the blood,
Of his cross,
And so,
God is saying,
Though you have rejected me,
Though you have rebelled,
Against me,
I have made a,
Means for you,
To be restored,
Back to me,
And that is,
By coming underneath,
The bloodstained cross,
Of my son,
So,
Note that,
In verse 14,
That God's peace,
Or good will,
Isn't a reward,
To those who have good will,
But rather,
It's a gift of God's,
Sovereign grace,
Namely,
Toward his redeemed,
Those who trust,
In the Messiah,
See that,
To those,
From whom he is pleased,
And how can God,
Be pleased with sinners,
Only when they are made right,
With him,
Through Christ,
And so,
It's not just,
Towards,
Every person,
But those who are in Christ,
And as David,
It mentions,
You know,
David,
He prophesied,
About God's anointed,
Who will come to rule,
Over the nations,
We,
Psalm 2,
Verse 12,
There's a command,
Given to,
The world,
This rebellion,
Against God,
It says,
Kiss the son,
Lest he be angry,
And you perish,
In the way,
For his wrath,
Is quickly kindled,
But blessed,
Are all those,
Who take refuge,
In him,
So we can,
Have that peace,
Through knowing Christ,
That's the dawning of peace,
When Christ came,
As a child,
And grew into a man,
And was crucified,
And then risen,
The third point,
Third point,
Because,
This is all,
How can we have peace?
Because,
We can have peace with God,
Or Nathan read earlier,
From Romans 5,
Just flip back over there,
There's only two more places,
For you to look,
But Romans 5,
Look at verse 6,
So God,
Brought this peace to us,
And now we can actually,
Have peace with God,
Peace through Christ,
Romans 5,
Just look at verse 1,
And then we'll skip down a little bit,
It says,
Therefore,
Since we have been justified,
We've been made right,
By faith,
We have peace,
With God,
Through,
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
Go down to verse 6,
For while we were still weak,
At the right time,
Christ died,
For the ungodly,
For one will scarcely die,
For a righteous person,
Though perhaps for a good person,
One would even dare to die,
Just stop to think about that,
In your head,
Think about the short,
Short list,
That you may have in your head,
Of very few people,
That you might be willing to die for,
It's probably a small list,
And most people,
Are not going to be willing,
To surrender their lives,
Especially if someone,
Doesn't seem like they deserve it,
Especially if that person,
Is a rebel,
And someone who is cruel,
You would be very hesitant,
To want to give your life for them,
But easy to give it,
For those that you love,
But it goes on,
And it says,
But God,
Shows,
His love for us,
And that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us,
And since therefore,
We have now been justified,
By his blood,
Much more,
Shall we be saved by him,
From the wrath,
Of God,
For if while we were enemies,
We were reconciled to God,
By the death of his son,
Much more,
Now that we are reconciled,
We shall be saved,
By his life,
And,
Just look at the terms,
In that text,
We were weak,
So,
God doesn't help those,
Who help themselves,
We were weak,
We were helpless,
We were in a position,
That,
Only God could do something,
About it,
We were ungodly,
We were sinners,
We were unrighteous,
But God showed his great love,
By dying for those,
Who didn't deserve it,
Through Christ,
And being made right with him,
Being reconciled to him,
So,
It's a chance for us,
This season,
To go to other people,
I challenge some of you,
To go,
To family members,
That you may have strife with,
And reconcile with them,
Because of Christ,
As a means to display them,
Display to them,
The peace that you can have,
With God,
From knowing,
That you are right with him,
God is no longer your enemy,
If you are in Christ,
You are welcomed,
As a child,
You are made right with him,
And so that should,
Sort of bleed out,
I mean,
Some of you can think about,
A relationship in your life,
Where you were,
There was great tension,
Great strife,
There had been a conflict,
And,
You went out to them,
And you reconciled,
And like man,
That you actually,
Really reconciled,
And the joy,
That came,
From being made right,
With that person,
It's awesome,
I have a,
When I was a sophomore,
At Duluth High School,
A long time ago,
I was not a follower of Jesus,
And,
There was a guy,
That I,
His name was Cliff,
But he,
Would get out in the courtyard,
Some of his friends,
At Duluth High School,
And he would,
Sing praise songs,
And they would pray,
And talk to people about Christ,
And I thought,
These people were crazy,
I thought he was crazy,
Would mock him,
Would make fun of him,
On a weekly basis,
He continued,
To show love,
And then when I was 18,
God humbled me,
Through,
Helped circumstances,
And really used that,
As a means,
To truly save me,
And,
Make me right with them,
And,
I was meeting with a group,
Of high school guys,
And we were talking about people,
That really impacted us,
And how to live for Jesus,
And Cliff came to my mind,
And I hadn't seen him at that point,
In probably like three or four years,
And I've been out of,
Excuse me,
I was a freshman,
I think,
At Perimeter College,
And,
So I shared about him,
And I thought,
Man,
I cannot believe,
How I treated that guy,
In high school,
Just,
Just such shame,
And,
And I sat there,
In that small group,
And I prayed like,
Lord,
I would love to see him again somehow,
I don't know how,
This was before the days of Facebook,
And all that kind of stuff,
So,
You couldn't just,
Get a look in a phone book,
Or not talk to somebody at all,
So,
I,
Then went to,
Something called 722,
With Louie Giglio,
At North Point,
And there's a few thousand people,
In this room,
And he does the whole,
Stand up and greet somebody,
That you're going to be with,
Be around tonight,
Y'all remember that,
People used to do that,
I stood up,
And turned around,
And he was sitting directly behind me,
And I was just,
Just floored,
And he just said,
Hey,
I'm Cliff,
Who are you?
And I was like,
He probably doesn't even remember me,
Because so many people made fun of him,
Back in the day,
And I said,
Man,
I've got to talk to you,
After this is over,
And,
So later on,
I said,
Hey man,
I just want you to know,
That I was one of those people,
Who mocked you,
And made fun of you,
And,
Your love for Christ,
Was such an awesome display for me,
And I just want you to know,
That God has saved me,
And I'm with you,
Like I'm on your team now,
And he dropped,
He had this big backpack on,
He like took it off,
Threw it off,
And gave me a hug,
And said,
Brother,
You are forgiven,
And just the joy,
That came,
In that moment,
But,
If you see the,
Just follow what I'm saying,
Christ saved me,
Brought me peace,
And then I was able,
To go out,
And have peace with others,
Because of that,
That's,
What this does,
This is how we can have,
The peace of God,
And it won't come,
Any other way,
It's the true,
Spiritual inner peace,
That we have been saved,
We've been made right with God,
Through the death of his son,
And then lastly,
This is the last point,
How can we have peace?
Because we can have,
The peace of God,
So God,
Doesn't just save us,
And have peace with us,
But he actually gives us,
The ability to have that peace,
Familiar text,
Philippians 4,
Let's turn to Philippians 4,
And,
If we know the God,
Of peace,
We can experience that peace,
In our actual lives,
Philippians 4,
And verse 4,
Paul says,
Rejoice in the Lord,
Always,
Again I will say,
Rejoice,
Let your reasonableness,
Be known to everyone,
The Lord is at hand,
Do not,
Be anxious,
About anything,
But in everything,
By prayer,
And supplication,
With thanksgiving,
Let your requests,
Be made known to God,
And the peace of God,
Which surpasses understanding,
Will guard,
Your hearts and minds,
In Christ Jesus,
The peace that surpasses,
All understanding,
The inner calm,
Of the soul,
That comes not from this world,
But by being made right,
With Christ,
And,
If you are anxious,
What's one of the first characteristics,
You can think about,
You are unreasonable,
People lose their mind,
When they are overcome by fear,
And I have known,
Some believers,
That,
Would say things like,
Yeah,
I know God is on his throne,
Isaiah 40,
Blah,
But then their whole,
Lifestyle,
That week,
Was characterized,
By fear,
By anxiety,
And unreasonableness,
And if you really do believe that,
If you believe that God is in control,
You'll be reasonable,
You'll bring things down,
You won't add into the drama,
You will be changed by the peace of God,
So let your reasonableness,
Be that witness to people,
Because the Lord is at hand,
Don't be anxious,
But go to him,
In prayer,
In supplication,
And when you do that,
The peace of God,
Will guard your hearts,
And minds,
In Christ Jesus,
We have that peace,
Because you are guarded,
By something,
It's a feeling that,
Nothing can get to you,
Because of something out there,
That's guarding you,
And when God Almighty,
Is guarding you,
You're pretty safe,
No matter where you are,
In a place like this,
Or in a dungeon,
For his name,
And,
Often in times of great distress,
God will give,
The gift of peace,
To his followers,
It's not found out here,
It's found,
You know,
In here,
Christ gives that,
To us,
I'm just going to read,
John 14 for you,
You don't have to turn there,
But Jesus spoke about this,
You know,
When people die,
Or,
Are about to go away,
They,
They bequeath,
Or they,
They give something,
To the people they love,
As they go,
An inheritance,
Or something,
But when Jesus,
Was getting ready to leave,
This is what he said,
In John 14 verse 25,
He says,
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,
And,
This is the peace,
That Christ gives his followers,
He doesn't just kind of,
Leave it to us,
But he puts us in possession,
Of it,
He gives it to us,
And,
That's just not,
Expelling negative thoughts,
And kind of refusing,
To face reality,
That's not how you have peace,
I know,
That's a coping mechanism,
Many people have,
Let's just ignore it,
Just don't,
Think about it,
Push it away,
But then it comes back,
Right?
And,
Jonathan Elwood,
Is one of my favorite,
Preachers of old,
Talking about John 14,
And the peace that Christ,
Leaves us,
He said,
Christ's peace,
Is a virtuous,
And holy peace,
The peace that the,
The peace that the saints,
Enjoy in Christ,
Is not only their comfort,
But it also,
Is a part of their beauty,
In their dignity,
It's like we wear it,
It characterizes us,
And is attractive,
They're the virtues,
Of God's spirit,
Wherein the image of God,
In them is partly,
Consists,
Christ's peace,
Is an unfailing,
And eternal peace,
It is everlasting,
It doesn't change,
And cannot be destroyed,
The fountain of all his comfort,
Shall never be diminished,
His comfort,
And joy,
Is a living spring,
In the soul,
You know what a spring is,
It's just there,
And restores,
And so,
Don't just,
Ignore what's going on,
But face it,
And turn to God,
And allow him to change you,
In the midst of it,
Guard,
Your hearts and minds,
God can do this,
Isaiah said,
Again in verse 20,
Chapter 26 of Isaiah,
Verse 3,
He says this about God,
You keep him,
In perfect peace,
Whose mind,
Is stayed on you,
Because he trusts in you,
Trust in the Lord forever,
For the Lord,
Is an everlasting rock,
So is your mind,
Stayed on God,
Like we have to fight,
For that daily,
There's so many things,
Competing for it,
And pulling it away,
That usually,
Create anxiety,
But if your heart,
Is fixed on him,
He will give you,
Perfect peace,
Peace in the,
The midst of the storms,
Of trials,
And suffering,
And loss,
That's the breeding ground,
Of where true peace,
Actually occurs,
It's not against that,
It's not circumstantial,
The truth is,
We can have,
Healthy souls,
In the midst of,
All the stuff going on,
Almost simultaneously,
As something,
Out here is happening,
Many of you,
Have experienced this,
Our peace comes,
From the overwhelming,
Conviction that God is good,
That he is in control,
That he loves us,
And that permeates us here,
And exhibits out here,
Don't tell me,
That you're,
You're experiencing,
The peace of God,
When your whole life,
Is frantic,
And you're,
You're upset,
And you're anxious,
About everything,
Now God's people,
Battle that,
But just know,
That Christ has promised,
To give you this,
If you are in him,
Maybe you just need,
To be reminded of that today,
Like put yourself,
In possession of,
His peace,
It says in,
Second Timothy three,
Now may the Lord,
Of peace himself,
Continually grant you,
Peace in every,
Circumstance,
The Lord be with you all,
So this is Christ's promise,
He has not promised,
Easy,
And man,
We have had it easy,
For so long,
I have had it easy,
Didn't promise it,
And,
The uncertainty,
Of this world,
Will bring,
Anxiety,
And fear,
And uncertainty,
And,
Christ doesn't want you,
To be comfortable,
In this world,
He wants to,
To shake you up,
He wants to remind you,
That your true home,
Is not,
Here,
That we are fleeting,
Be gone,
Very soon,
We were made,
For another world,
So let's keep our eyes,
Fixed on eternity,
And I know,
That many of you,
Are familiar with this verse,
And this is how I will close,
But just,
Anchor your soul,
In this promise,
Christ said,
To his followers,
In John 15,
He said it to us,
I have told you,
These things,
That,
In,
Me,
You may have peace,
In this world,
You will have,
Tribulation,
You will have,
Trials,
You will have,
Struggles,
It's going to happen,
But take heart,
Because I have overcome,
The world,
So if you are,
A part of Christ,
You also will overcome,
If we are in Him,
Because He has overcome,
We will overcome,
And we can have,
Peace in,
Him,
So allow this Christmas time,
To be a chance,
To sort of remind yourselves,
Anchor your souls,
Of the peace,
That we can have,
With God,
Through Christ,
And therefore peace,
With those around us,
If the sin,
Is changing people,
Then they will also love,
Other people that are around them,
It's the,
It's the only cure,
For things,
It's not,
Earthly solutions,
But in Christ,
We can have peace,
True peace,
So,
With that,
Let's pray together,
Ask the band to come up,
Just take a moment,
And reflect on the fact,
If you need to discover,
This peace in Christ,
For the first time,
Or you just need to have it,
Refreshed and renewed,
To be a need to networked,
To networked,