WEBVTT

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 so again i say good morning to you we're so glad that you could join us we have a lot going on

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 a lot going on and so we are doing all that we can to try to be together even though we can't

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 physically be together and we're thankful for this technology but as i said last week i never

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 thought we'd be using it quite like this but so thankful to have it um i i've been spending a

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 little bit of time online lately and i saw a video not too long ago of two boats and they were two

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 boats that were identical same make model everything and they were both uh side by side

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 in the water and the water was really choppy and windy but the fascinating thing about the video is

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 two identical boats the one uh the one on the left was rocking and tilting and shifting and every

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 every wave that hit it made it look like it might tip over and the same boat right next to it identical

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 on the outside remained perfectly calm and the waves were crashing into it the chop was crashing

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 into it but the boat remained completely steady and the reason is that these boats were identical

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 on the outside but one of the boats had an internal stabilizer there was a gyroscope in the boat that was

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 whirring away and as long as that gyroscope was in motion the boat remained steady no matter how choppy

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 the water gets and the water got and uh and it's really the same with people you know when life gets choppy

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 and crazy when there's a lot of uncertainty there are some people that are completely undone by that they

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 they lose perspective they give way to panic um other people who might look the same and act the same on the

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 outside are somehow able to remain calm and even keel no matter how choppy the water gets

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 and this is more relevant than ever right now in the midst of this global pandemic

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 the water is as choppy as it's ever been there are people all around the world who are sick

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 and dying in greater and greater numbers um this thing is it seems to be spreading at an exponential rate

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 some of you are isolated and are facing the prospect of a long period of isolation others of you are

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 trying to manage and care for and love your young kids and uh and trying to do some work from home

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 some of you are facing uncertainty in your job maybe you're worried about losing your job maybe you're

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 not making an income because you're paid hourly some of you are small business owners and you're facing

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 the prospect of closing up shop and all of these things are are dreadful they bring all kinds of

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 challenges with them and when you look around there's really no corner of life that has not been

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 impacted by this and so in order to get through this we need an internal stabilizer we need that

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 that process whirring away inside to keep us steady no matter how choppy the water gets and so that's

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 going to be our focus for the next few weeks here at advent live stream worship we're going to be

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 looking at various passages of scripture that help us understand what it takes to become the kind of

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 people who are able to remain calm and steady and even keel no matter how much uncertainty we face and

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 how choppy the water gets we're going to start by looking at this very well-known passage in

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 philippians it's a letter that paul wrote we're going to be focusing on chapter 4 verses 4 through 9

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 and i wanted to start here because paul is uniquely qualified to speak to us in our current

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 moment many of us right now may feel that we are under house arrest we we don't feel like we can

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 leave our homes we feel shut in and as paul wrote these words he was literally under house arrest most

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 likely in rome and he was awaiting a trial and facing the possibility of an execution so even though

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 he was facing those circumstances he was able to write this letter to the philippians and it's amazing

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 letter and there's so much wisdom in here for how to how to remain calm and even joyful despite the

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 circumstances that we face and here's what he says in in verse 9 of chapter 4 he says what you have

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 learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things and the god of peace will be with you

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 so paul because of all that he faced had to learn how to practice peace he had to learn how to

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 develop these internal processes so that he could remain even keel and he's commending these practices

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 to us he's saying do as you have seen me do and the god of peace will be with you and so we're going

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 to look at three of these practices that paul commends to us in this passage and we're going to see that

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 all of them are necessary each one is necessary to to give us that kind of stabilization the first

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 practice that paul commends comes in verse 4 he says this rejoice in the lord always again i say rejoice

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 he's emphasizing let your reasonableness be known to everyone in other words he's saying no matter what

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 your circumstances no matter what you face choose joy and the biggest revelation of this verse is that

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 joy is a choice we can choose to rejoice and you may you may ask how's that possible you know is this

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 some kind of like pollyanna pie in the sky uh optimism that that denies reality and that's not at all the

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 case that the reason that it's possible no matter what we face to always choose joy is that joy is not

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 rooted in us nor is joy rooted in our circumstances but joy is rooted in who god is it's rooted in god's

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 character it's rooted in a god who is unchanging it's rooted in the fact that god is always there no

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 matter where you are this morning no matter how alone you might feel god is there with you

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 it's rooted in the fact that god's love is always being poured into your life even if you feel

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 unloved even if you feel that no one is thinking about you or no one cares about you god is looking

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 at you right now and he's loving you he's delighting in you and it's rooted in the fact that god's purposes

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 are always unfolding and if your life is anything like mine it rarely makes sense and yet god's purposes

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 are always unfolding and so practicing joy means choosing to turn our attention to god and to

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 celebrate these truths to celebrate who he is to revel in him no matter what we're facing you know i was

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 watching the hobbit the other day with my boys because coronavirus and i was struck by the part where bilbo

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 and the dwarves are in mirkwood forest and they've been in there for some time and in the book it says

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 that they are completely lost and it says that they've been in the in the forest so long that they

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 are sick for a sight of the sun and of the sky and uh they're starting to fight amongst one another and

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 argue and blame one another and the book says that in reality they're much closer to their goal than they

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 realize the they're much closer to the edge of the forest and the end of the darkness than they realize

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 and yet they have no idea because all they can see is the darkness right in front of them and then it

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 says that bilbo decides to climb up one of the trees until he can stick his head above the canopy

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 and he's able to do that and he sticks his head above the leaves and finally he's able to turn his face

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 toward the sun and he feels the warmth of the sun on his face he feels the breeze blowing against his

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 skin he sees all of these butterflies fluttering around the tops of the trees and he's able to see

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 where they are and he takes a deep breath and then he goes back down to tell the dwarves and that's

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 essentially what it means to practice joy that's what it means to choose to rejoice paul's saying if you

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 want inner stability it starts by choosing joy that doesn't mean ignoring the darkness it doesn't

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 mean being naively optimistic or idealistic it means choosing not to dwell in the darkness

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 choosing to look beyond it paul's saying rise above the darkness he's saying turn your face toward the son

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 of god he's saying take a moment to feel the breeze on your skin and know that the spirit of god

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 is with you he's saying remember that the darkness one day will end and the ending of the darkness is

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 probably far closer than it feels but one day it will end and we will go on that's what it means to

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 choose joy and if you do this it's not only going to change how you feel it's going to change how you

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 relate to other people that's why it makes sense for paul to go on and say let your reasonableness be

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 known to everyone because if we're regularly choosing joy and we are dwelling on who god is and

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 his love for us and his grace for us then that will naturally overflow into our relationships with other

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 people we will be gentle and kind and gracious and forbearing and all of the things that that word

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 means so the first practice of peace the first way to get that internal stabilizer going

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 is to regularly choose joy get your head above the trees and turn your face to the son of god

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 now somebody hearing this might object and they might say you know this sounds great but there are

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 real problems in life and we can't always be sticking our head above the trees and looking at the sun at

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 some point we've got to go back down into the darkness and we've got to deal with the problems in

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 the world and that leads to the second practice that paul commends to us which is the practice of

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 thankful prayer thankful prayer he says in verse 5 the lord is at hand the lord is here with us

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 do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let

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 your requests be made known to god and the peace of god which surpasses all understanding will guard

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 your hearts and your minds in christ jesus so he's saying just like we are able to choose joy rather than

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 dwelling in darkness he says we are also able to choose to hand things over to god in prayer

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 rather than dwelling in anxiety because the core of anxiety is our desire to control things and paul says

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 you have a choice you don't have to clutch those things with a white knuckle grip believing it all hinges

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 on you you have an opportunity to hand them over at any time day or night hand them over to god in prayer

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 and then he says something pretty amazing he says no matter what whenever we pray whatever we're

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 asking for whatever the circumstances that we are bringing to to the lord he says we should always

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 express our gratitude to god and i want to make it clear he's saying we should thank god in advance

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 before we even know the outcome of our prayers we're saying god thank you for whatever you do

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 in response to these prayers and this kind of prayer thanking god in advance thankful prayer no matter

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 what the outcome that's only possible if we trust god if we trust his character if we trust that even if

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 it doesn't seem like it he is for us he's for you

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 elizabeth elliott lost her husband uh when he was killed on the mission field and in one of her books

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 she writes about british shepherds and she says that british shepherds will often take sheep one by one

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 and regularly they have to throw sheep into this huge vat filled with antiseptic liquid and the

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 shepherd has to force each sheep completely under the surface of the liquid eyes ears nose they have

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 to go completely under and it's terrifying to the sheep and they make all kinds of sounds that that that

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 let you know that they're terrified they they struggle and fight and the and the and it looks cruel

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 but it's also necessary because if the shepherds don't do this then the sheep will become infected with

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 parasites and disease and the suffering will be far worse down the road and so uh it's ultimately for their

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 good even though it doesn't seem like it and elliott says this as she reflects on the grief that she's endured in

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 her life she says i've had some experiences in my life which have made me feel very sympathetic to

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 those poor sheep i couldn't figure out any reason for the treatment i was getting from the shepherd i

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 trusted and he didn't give me a hint of explanation as i watched the struggling sheep i thought if only

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 there were some way to explain but such knowledge is too wonderful for them it is high they cannot attain it

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 you know trusting god doesn't mean believing that bad things won't happen hopefully we're not that

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 naive trusting god means trusting that whatever does happen god can use it for our good whatever does

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 happen somehow it will become a part of the good work that god is accomplishing in the world now i don't

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 pretend to understand how that is but then again i'm not god but i think that should give us hope for

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 this whole pandemic as awful as this has been as much suffering as it has caused and will cause i'm

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 going to be honest i am praying that god uses this pandemic i'm praying that god uses it not only am i

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 praying that he ends it but i'm praying that he uses it that that that somehow our society is fundamentally

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 altered as a result of it i'm praying that it changes our lives i'm praying that it changes the

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 world i'm praying that it wakes us up i'm praying that it takes a society that is divided into shrill

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 special interest groups and and politically obsessed and i'm i'm praying that somehow it lifts us above that

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 that somehow it gives us perspective that we didn't have before that it changes our interactions with

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 one another that that when we are able to come back together again in society in public spaces that we

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 that we look at one another and even if we've never met we say i missed you i missed these small

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 insignificant grocery store interactions i missed being able to say hello to you on the street and

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 maybe we'll do a little more of that that's what i'm praying for and and you say well how do we know

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 that god can do this and i would say the best example of this in history is the cross

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 simultaneously the greatest act of evil ever committed and yet god wielded that to bring

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 about the greatest good imaginable because it made possible the redemption of the world

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 and me and you if you put your faith in him and if god can wield suffering like that to bring about that

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 kind of good surely he can wield whatever suffering we're experiencing to bring about good as well and and

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 and and what we see is that when we pray like this thankful prayer trusting god and thanking him in

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 advance for whatever outcome he brings when we pray like this it says the peace that passes understanding

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 will guard our hearts and minds now i just want to i want to make it clear the peace that passes

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 understanding is the peace that comes when we let go of our need to understand that's why it's the peace

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 that passes understanding it's me saying to god i don't need to understand this i don't need to control it

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 i'm going to let it go because i believe that god has things firmly in hand and we know in our hearts

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 that god is god and we're not so these are the first two practices joyful joyfulness choosing joyfulness

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 and in thankful prayer thanking god in advance no matter what the outcome and in the third practice

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 that paul commends practice of peace this may be a bit of an odd phrase good mental hygiene which we could

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 also say good spiritual hygiene um we've heard a lot lately about having good hygiene we've learned

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 about the importance of washing our hands and and washing them thoroughly we've learned about the

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 importance of coughing into our elbows when we cough and we're around other people we've learned about

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 the importance of social distancing and and avoiding interactions as much as possible um if you go into

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 any restaurants or go anywhere in public people are constantly wiping things down to try to

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 uh disinfect as much as possible these are all good practices of hygiene but there's also something

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 to be said for mental hygiene it's as important if not more important and if we're going to make it

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 through this we need to have good mental and spiritual hygiene as well i keep this on my desk i love it

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 somebody gave it to me um it's a it's a soap that that claims to not only uh kill our germs on contact

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 but it also kills sin on contact which is really great wash away your sins soak uh so that's one way

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 to do it but probably a better way to do it would be to think about uh the things that we're exposing

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 ourselves to um this is what paul's describing in verse 8 um he says in verse 8 whatever's true

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 whatever's honorable whatever is just whatever is pure whatever's lovely whatever's commendable

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 if there's any excellence if there's anything worthy of praise think about which means dwell on

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 these things um the things that you dwell on this is the principle the things that you dwell on

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 are going to determine how you feel and how you act so if you're feeling right now if you're feeling

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 anxious if you're feeling depressed if you're feeling hopeless it is probably because you are dwelling on

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 things that are leading to those feelings the other night laura and i were kind of antsy we couldn't

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 sleep we knew it was late we should probably go to sleep we said maybe we should watch something we

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 said let's turn on the news it was a horrible idea it was a horrible idea um these kinds of decisions

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 are not good mental and spiritual hygiene and and right now with the pandemic in full swing it's very

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 tempting and honestly very justifiable to stay glued to the news um to stay glued to the headlines to to

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 to to to be constantly tracking with the latest developments and to a certain extent that of

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 course is justifiable and makes sense but too much of that can really do damage it can begin to wreck

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 you mentally and emotionally and spiritually and maybe you're not even aware that it's doing as much

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 damage as it's doing and then beyond the news and beyond tracking these things uh as i said a moment

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 ago as much as we are thankful for social media and these platforms that allow us to do this

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 um we have to understand that almost all websites and social media platforms and apps almost everything

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 in that world is funded by advertising now that has major implications because the way the business

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 model works is the more they can grab your attention and hold your attention the more money they make

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 and so there's some of the best and brightest people in the world spending full-time hours researching

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 how to grab your attention and how to hold your attention as long as possible and it turns out

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 negative emotions feelings like envy or resentment or outrage these are most effective at grabbing and

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 holding your attention uh this comes from tristan harris at the center for humane technology who's put out

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 some really good stuff on all of this but uh in other words there's an entire industry out there

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 aimed at making you feel bad because if they make you feel bad they can grab your attention and they can

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 hold it for longer which means they can make more money and we need to understand this when we're

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 engaging on these platforms as much as we appreciate being able to live stream our worship we also need

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 to make sure we disconnect and decommodify ourselves and dwell on things that are good and true and beautiful

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 maybe very bad for business but it's very good for the soul so read cook journal if you don't journal

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 start journaling listen to music play music exercise take up painting get outside as much as you possibly can

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 when you use the internet making make sure you're you're using it as much as possible for live in-person

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 connections with other people and of course join us whenever we do live events at church of the advent our

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 team is working hard to develop more opportunities to do that over the coming weeks the point i want to make is this

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 don't just focus on your physical hygiene focus on your mental and hygiene just as much we're going to

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 need that if we're going to make it through this so to kind of pull all this together this is the point

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 that i want you to take away this morning and kids if you're if you're still with me if you're listening

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 talk with your parents about this kids and parents as a family it uh talk about this if you're if you have

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 roommates in the house housemates talk with each other about how you're going to encourage one another to

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 cultivate these habits this is the point the peace of god is not some kind of supernatural sedative

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 that's not how it works the peace of god is not like a like a holy spirit anxiolytic where we ask

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 for peace and god kind of fills our hearts with happy feelings peace is something that has to be

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 practiced it's a it's a habit of the heart um the boat that we talked about at the beginning remains

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 steady as long as those processes are whirring away inside as long as there's motion and in the same

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 way we remain steady as long as these practices remain in motion inside us choosing joy thankfully

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 praying to god and thanking him in advance no matter what the outcome might be and then practicing good

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 mental and spiritual hygiene practice these things paul says and the god of peace will be with you

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 let's pray lord we thank you for your word and uh lord we know that um even as these are things that we

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 need to practice that um we also need your holy spirit that we need you to take our practices which will

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 always be incomplete and we need your spirit to enliven them and bring life uh to the darkest most

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 hopeless parts of our heart lord um we pray ultimately that you would fill us with your presence this

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 morning i pray that you would uh enable us to get our heads above the trees to turn our eyes toward the

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 son of god and to behold him in his full glory lord and that would fill us with hope so that we can face

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 the darkness ahead together we pray this in your son's holy name amen