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The Missing Peace - Christmas 2024
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In this sermon, Ridley Barron preached about the profound peace offered by Jesus as described in John 14. He contrasted this divine peace with the fleeting and superficial peace the world offers, using metaphors and biblical narratives to illustrate the difference. Barron emphasized that true peace is not the absence of life's challenges but the presence of God amidst them, encouraging patience, kindness, and trust in God's enduring promises. Drawing references from Philippians 4 and Isaiah 26, he underscored that perfect peace comes from focusing on God and overcoming personal struggles like shame and guilt. Barron also critiqued societal dependencies on temporary comforts, urging listeners to seek lasting peace through a deep spiritual connection with God. Concluding with a prayer, he invited attendees to embrace God's eternal love and promises for genuine peace and rest.
Timestamps:
00:00 Seek God's perspective on anxiety, not society's.
05:11 Trust God for perfect peace and strength.
08:18 Perfect peace is unwavering trust and security.
11:54 Peace in turmoil: God's presence, not conflict absence.
16:33 Dwell on virtues for God’s peace presence.
17:35 Trust in God's goodness and strength always.
22:55 Internal storms require patience and understanding.
23:49 Responsibility is choosing kindness amidst internal storms.
27:46 Thanksgiving means true praise and prayerfulness.
32:14 Emmanuel means God with us, offering peace.
33:35 Trust God's unbreakable love and promises.
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Transcript
The Wish Scenario
00:00:00
Speaker
Suppose this morning I had the ability to give you one wish. I do not have that a ability, so don't get excited. But what if I did? What if I said you had one wish? Now, some of you are gonna be like my wife. When I asked her this question Friday in preparing my sermon, the first thing she said is, are we talking about spiritual things or physical things or financial things? And I said, you cannot put conditions on it. You get one wish, that's it. You decide how you use it. One wish, what would it be?
00:00:31
Speaker
Now some of you probably would go directly to money. This last year has been a challenge for a lot of us, most of us. Inflation has hurt many of us and some of you have had job changes and financial challenges of different kinds. So that that would be a natural thing for you. Others of you might say my marriage. My marriage needs some help. Some of you are because you're single and you can't find somebody to marry yet.
00:00:56
Speaker
Others of you are in the middle of 15, 20 years of marriage and you're going, we're just not on the same page. There's not very much peace at home. Others of you might choose happiness. Happiness on the surface seems like a really good thing. But happiness, as most of us know, is a temporary thing that's based on our circumstances. It's not really a condition of our lives.
Struggles and Anxiety
00:01:20
Speaker
And so for many of you, you've walked in here this morning, and if you're really honest with yourself, your heart is experiencing some kind of discouragement, some frustration, some anxiety, maybe some depression, lots of worry, lots of doubt. And you're going, where do I where do i turn from here? Where do I go to find solutions for all of this? Because this isn't this isn't where God wants me to be. This this book right here,
00:01:47
Speaker
We call it the Bible. For some of you it's on your iPad or your iPhone or or whatever and that's fine because it's not the the form it comes in, it's the words that are there. But this book is truth. It's not some truth, it's not a little bit of truth, it is all truth. Everything that is truth comes from this book.
Divine Peace vs Worldly Peace
00:02:07
Speaker
And you may be going, well Ridley, you're a pastor, you're supposed to say that. I believe it with all my heart. If I were picking up trash on the side of the road, if I were Working with parolees in downtown Nashville, if I was a politician, it wouldn't make any difference. This would be where I would go to find truth. Now the reason I'm stating all that clearly to you is because what I'm asking you to do this morning is to take everything you've learned and heard and been taught about anxiety and worry and doubt and fear and set it aside and ask God to show you what his perspective of it is.
00:02:45
Speaker
Because his perspective you're going to find is vastly different than what the world's trying to tell you. You see, the world wants you to believe that you have reasons to be anxious. And they build that anxiety more and more and more because in it is billions of dollars for pharmaceutical companies. And millions of dollars for psychiatrists and psychologists. Lots of cups of coffees with friends of yours who think they are counselors.
00:03:15
Speaker
and even the entertainment industry that tries to play to those things and make you feel good for 30 minutes or an hour or two hours, and that's just enough to keep you coming back to trying to find some kind of balm for your souls. This morning I want you to take a different look at what peace is really all about. And over the next four weeks as we examine this, my prayer is that every single one of us emerge with a greater confidence, a greater faith, that it doesn't depend on my situation, it doesn't depend on the circumstances of the world, it doesn't depend on what the news headlines are. It is possible for me, right now, in this moment, to have peace.
00:04:02
Speaker
We're gonna turn to Isaiah here. If you wanna go ahead and start turning over there, it's a prophet, kinda towards the middle of the Bible, one of the prophets that we need to hear from on a regular basis. We're gonna begin in chapter 26, but let me just kinda let you know, Isaiah's situation, very much like our situation today.
00:04:19
Speaker
Okay, immorality all around, false religions growing, abounding, people who are supposed to be religious, faithful people, not acting like it, wars and rumors of wars, natural events that are taking place, um problems with locusts and plagues that have occurred for centuries. All of those things existed back then. Isaiah is speaking from an environment that is very much like ours.
00:04:46
Speaker
So I want you to hear the words that God inspired him to write in that season of his prophecy. Verse 1, it says, on that day this song will be sung in the land of judah we have a strong city salvation is established as walls and rampants the the The reason I want you to see that right off the bat is just two chapters earlier, Isaiah is talking about the city of chaos and he's comparing them. And if you go back later this afternoon and just read that chapter, I think you'll hear a lot of very similar tones that run through our culture that were running through his.
00:05:20
Speaker
But in in this moment, he's talking about the city that is strong because its salvation is its ramparts. Verse two, open the gate so a righteous nation can come in, one that remains faithful. You, he's talking to God now, you will keep the mind that is dependent on you. Some translations say fixed, some of them say stayed, some of them say steadfast on you. You will keep the mind that is dependent on you and perfect peace for a distrusting in you. Some of you are shocked right now. You're going, wait a minute, peace would be good, but perfect peace? Is that even possible? Isaiah says, not you might, not it's a possibility. He says, you will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace for a distrusting in you.
00:06:17
Speaker
Trust in the Lord forever because in the Lord, the Lord himself is an everlasting rock. When Jesus arrived that first Christmas night, angels gathered on a hillside to sing to shepherds and they announced the good news with a phrase that you know by heart because you've heard it sung for ages. Glory to God and what?
00:06:41
Speaker
peace on earth. Jesus as he would teach over the three years of his ministry would many times say to people peace be with you or go in peace. And then as you read Paul's letters through the New Testament he would start and begin many of his letters with phrases like grace and peace be to you. You see at the end of the day that's really what we're all searching for.
00:07:04
Speaker
This ability to be at calm and at rest, no matter what goes on around us, no matter what place we find our lives immersed into. But this peace is a divine peace. It doesn't come from anywhere else, only found in the presence of God in our lives. You can have money, no peace. You could be married to the man of your dreams and still not have peace.
00:07:37
Speaker
You can have finances that seem solid in one moment and in the next moment, fine, there is no peace. What you and I want is we want harmony, we want understanding, we want things to be at rest, to be in balance in our lives. And here comes Isaiah writing these words, peace, peace that can be found.
00:08:04
Speaker
You see, what we're familiar with in the United States and of America and the Western world is inconsistent peace. You're familiar with that because most of us as Christians practice it. In one minute we'll give God our problems and for about four and a half minutes we'll be good. And in minute five, we're looking at Him going, where are you? Why haven't you answered? My agenda was that this would be handled by lunchtime. And so once again, our peace is gone. But God's promise is perfect peace.
00:08:33
Speaker
So what is perfect peace? Well, perfect peace is peace with God. It's not questioning, hey, what's my standing with God right now? Today, is it different than it was yesterday? Or is it different than what it was in the last hour? Do I know there is a guy? Can I trust that he is God? Can I trust he's a good God? And if he is a good God, am I okay with him today? Or did I do something yesterday that causes me to be in bad standing with him? That's not peace.
00:09:00
Speaker
Peace is knowing that you have a relationship with the living God who loves you deeply and that nothing can separate you from that. Perfect peace with other people means, again, that you're not questioning constantly, what's my relationship with them? Do they like me this week? Hey, they didn't they didn't like my Facebook post. What's going on there? i you know I haven't heard from them in a week. I haven't seen from them in a month. I haven't had conversations with them in years. Can I fight into myself to forgive them? Can they fight it in themselves to forgive me?
00:09:30
Speaker
That's not peace. How about peace with yourself? Peace with yourself. No fear of your past. No lingering shame from past mistakes. Guys, on a weekly basis, almost, when I am standing up here after services, I have somebody after one of our services come up to me and say something along these lines. It happened years ago, but I can't forgive myself.
00:09:56
Speaker
I can't get the guilt to go away. The shame still remains. That's not peace. It's not what God intended for you. Lastly, peace with your circumstances. You see, even when your circumstances aren't what you thought they would be, it's possible to be at peace. That dream marriage you thought you were going to have and 40 years later you're sitting on the front porch rocking chairs, you didn't make it 14 years.
00:10:23
Speaker
Those beautiful children you welcomed into the world are now the cause of every gray hair you've got on your head. And they walked away from the faith. That business you worked so hard to put together and suddenly it's falling apart, this can't be what
Trust and God's Promises
00:10:38
Speaker
peace is all about.
00:10:42
Speaker
Actual translation in Hebrew of this passage says, you will be kept in shalom, shalom. You're familiar with the word shalom, most of you, because you've heard it somewhere. It means peace. But he says, shalom, shalom. And Isaiah didn't have a stuttering problem. What it means in Hebrew is an emphasis on this word. God doesn't just offer you peace. He offers you perfect peace. Peace that goes beyond what the world can understand. Peace that even goes beyond our ability to understand.
00:11:19
Speaker
Now what you do need to understand is that peace does not mean you won't have trouble. Okay? Growing up, elementary school, when peace was your spelling word and you had to learn the definition, you probably heard something along the lines of the absence of conflict, the absence of war. Because that's not where peace is. It's not where it's to be found. Peace is not the absence of those things. Peace doesn't mean you won't have trouble.
00:11:48
Speaker
Jesus himself said in John 1633, I've told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Here he is, Jesus, the master teacher, the creator of all things saying in back to back sentences, you can have peace. Oh, by the way, there will be suffering. how that is two How do we reconcile those two thoughts in our heads? When when turmoil, when suffering to us doesn't mean peace.
00:12:18
Speaker
So how do you experience, how do you experience this perfect peace? What is shalom shalom? Well, I would say to you that the shalom that we are talking about is not the absence of conflict, it is the presence of God in the midst of your turmoil.
00:12:39
Speaker
Shalom is the actually the Hebrew idea of salvation. When we talk about salvation, we have one thing in mind, but for the Hebrew people, shalom meant perfect balance and rest in life. That's where being with God would bring you, where it would take you in your journey. But you say, man, my marriage stinks. You say, man, I've got illness in my body and the doctors can't do anything about it. I'm holding it together financially, just by a thread.
00:13:10
Speaker
There's porn in my home and our marriage is not doing good because of it. Where is the peace in that? I am scared to death and it's with good reason. How do you experience peace? Well, the answer starts with your mind. The paddle for peace begins with your mind. Now, moment of transparency for you. I have a mind that is a thousand different places at once.
00:13:39
Speaker
I have a hard time focusing on anything. If you've ever watched a dog chasing a ball when a squirrel's running by, that's kind of my brain, right, babe? Okay. I expect her to say amen. She used up all her amen's first service. so but she She knows this. We're in the middle of a conversation. She's right to the point where she's ready to say the very important part of the thing. And I'm going, hey, did you see that over there?
00:14:03
Speaker
And it drives her crazy. And sometimes it even drives me crazy because I'm like, I can't even focus on what I'm reading. I can't even focus on what's going on. And and that's one thing, but here's the problem. In the midst of those thousand thoughts or a hundred thousand untruths, the world wants to feed me. Lies about me. Lies about my God.
00:14:29
Speaker
lies about the relationship that he wants for me, lies about what my future holds and what it doesn't hold. Now see, for us, all of us in this room probably hears the thing. You have no problem believing God's promises for me or for the people around you. The problem comes when you try to apply those truths to your own life. Man, God loves people. He'll do anything for people. He sent his son to die for people, but would he really do that for me?
00:15:01
Speaker
Can I really trust that God loved me so much that he gave his son? Can I really trust that if I put my brain, my mind focused towards God, that he's gonna give me this peace? Surely not. Surely that's that's an everybody but me kind of thing. I wanna take you back to verse three again. Isaiah 26. Notice what Isaiah doesn't say. You will have perfect peace if you're consistently watching Fox News.
00:15:33
Speaker
You will have perfect peace if the right woman or man gets elected to office. You will have perfect peace if you get many likes on your Instagram. You will have perfect peace when you fix your brain on the future and what might happen tomorrow. You will have perfect peace when your financial problems are gone and the bills are paid.
00:16:00
Speaker
You'll have peace when the doctor's phone call sets your mind at ease. You see, there is only one solution, one place to find the peace that you and I and every one of us desire. And it comes by fixing our minds on God.
00:16:18
Speaker
Philippians chapter 4. Just in case you think peace is an Old Testament thing, let me fast forward to Philippians where Paul is writing under house arrest, basically in prison, or waiting to find out if he's going to live or die. That's pretty unsettling circumstances, right?
00:16:35
Speaker
So as Paul's writing in verse 8 of chapter 4, he says this, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell, not just a passing thought,
00:16:55
Speaker
Dwell, set up, shop, and live there. Dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me and seen in me, and the God of peace what? Will be with you. I know I've said it before, but let me make it clear, because we have guests here this morning. There aren't suggestions in this book, only commands and promises.
00:17:18
Speaker
So when it says the God of peace will be with you, let me assure you that the Greek translation is, He will be with you. He will be with you. When your mind is fixed on all the things listed above, then the God of peace will be with you. So back to my illustration. When my brain's going a thousand different places and I begin to sense that the world is putting thoughts in me, that Satan's putting thoughts in me, that that even well-meaning people are putting thoughts that don't belong there, that's when I have to look in the mirror and say, my God is always good and he is for me.
00:18:00
Speaker
That's when I have to look in the mirror and say, my God doesn't make mistakes.
00:18:05
Speaker
That's when I have to look in the mirror and say, my God's promises are always true. His word never fails. He is for me, not against me.
Lessons from Jesus Calming the Storm
00:18:18
Speaker
Who is God? Well, for me, when I'm tired, He is my rest. When I am weak, He is my strength. When I am in pain, He is my comfort.
00:18:34
Speaker
When I am lost, He is the Good Shepherd. When I'm in the darkness, He is the blinding, piercing light that pushes through to find me.
00:18:49
Speaker
Now, you need to be aware of this. Nothing can take your peace, but you can give it away. Nothing can take your peace, you can give it away. Paul was so sure of this that in the book of Romans he would write these words. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, because of you we are being put to death all day long, we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
00:19:26
Speaker
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing." That pretty much covers it all, right? None of those things will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That very nasty thing you said to the driver in the lane next to you yesterday cannot separate you from the love of God.
00:19:54
Speaker
That very nasty thing you said to your family member over Thanksgiving lunch because they didn't vote the way you did? Not gonna separate you from the love of God. That very nasty thing you watched on TV last night does not separate you from the love of God. His love is everlasting. His love is dependable. His love is a everlasting rock.
00:20:23
Speaker
Why can we depend on it? Because very clearly he says, I'm not giving you a piece, I'm giving you my piece. You see, the world's capable of giving you a piece, but it's a very flimsy piece. It lasts for a moment, for a season, and then it's gone. But when Jesus offers peace, he offers the real thing. He offers shalom, shalom.
00:20:50
Speaker
In John chapter 14, he would say to his disciples, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, I do not give to you as the world gives. In other words, that peace that the world will offer you, cheap imitations. It's like buying something from China when the American product is much better. Teemu, in other words.
00:21:11
Speaker
Don't settle for Teemu and I got something better for you.
00:21:17
Speaker
Peace is not, hear this, peace is not the absence of problems in your life, it is the presence of God in the midst of your problems. It's the presence of God in the midst of your problems. Y'all remember the story in the gospels where the disciples and Jesus were in a boat and a storm came up on the Sea of Galilee?
00:21:40
Speaker
um Just so you understand this, this is a really common thing on the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of galley is it's Galilee is at such an altitude that when when the cold winds come off the top of the mountains near the Sea of Galilee and they meet the warm water down there, these storms will pop up in a second. and They're not just rainstorms, they're violent storms.
00:21:59
Speaker
you You match that with the reality that in the current culture that these guys were living in, for them, most Hebrew people saw the ocean and the sea, water in general, as just very mysterious, very deep, it represented chaos. They were very scared of it. These guys who would go out and fish on the Sea of Galilee were seen as heroes because of the fact that they were going where most people wouldn't dare. So get the image. The storm pops up.
00:22:27
Speaker
Everything's going crazy around them. The storm is at its peak moment and Peter turns around and Jesus is snoring. He's asleep in the back of the boat. Well, instantly every single one of us can recognize there's a very violent storm, but what you may not see is that there's actually two storms. There's the one that's very visible with the lightning and the thunder and the wind and the rain. There's another storm that's internal.
00:22:55
Speaker
and sometimes the internal storms are the harder ones to manage. You see, I may look fine to you this morning, but you don't have a clue what I've been through this week. You may look good to me. I haven't walked through your shoes this week.
00:23:15
Speaker
So just for a second, let me share this side note with you. This is why Jesus' command to us as we love and interact with one another is to be long suffering and patient and kind towards each other. Because you walked by me in the hallway and didn't say hello to me with a big bright smile doesn't mean you hate me. It may mean that you just got the phone call from the doctor that you dreaded. It may mean that tomorrow morning you're getting up to go to work at a job that you don't know will be there by the end of the day.
00:23:43
Speaker
It may be that you just came away from a family dinner that was the worst in the history of your family over the Thanksgiving holidays. I can't dare understand where you have been and you shouldn't try to understand where I have been. Our responsibility isn't how you treat me. Our responsibility is how I choose to treat you.
00:24:04
Speaker
So there's this internal storm going on and in the midst of that internal storm, they dared to look at Jesus and go, Jesus, don't you care about us? Now hindsight's 20-20, I can imagine they were pretty embarrassed years later when they thought back to that question. But Jesus, don't you care we're going to die? And Jesus did to his disciples exactly what he'll do to you this morning if you ask him.
00:24:36
Speaker
Peace be still.
00:24:46
Speaker
Don't let your heart beat trouble. Don't keep letting your emotions be bounced from one side to the next with whatever's going on in your life. I am a father who loves his children.
Prayer and Peace
00:25:03
Speaker
I don't want to see you living like that.
00:25:08
Speaker
I don't wanna see you stressed and depressed and discouraged and frustrated and anxious. I don't wanna see you popping pills to try to make it through the day or drinking drinks to get through the night. I don't wanna see you fighting anymore. I want you to trust.
00:25:24
Speaker
Just to trust. Peace. Be still. If you're going through a hurt this morning, If you're going through loss this morning, if you're anticipating that something's gonna come back and give you backlash from something you said or you did, I want you to go back in Philippians chapter four, a couple verses with me, to verse six. Paul is writing, don't worry about what? Anything. That pretty much covers a lot, right? Let me go back and tell you, the Greek word there means
00:26:05
Speaker
Anything. Don't worry about anything. So, ah audience participation time. What's got you anxious today? What's got you anxious? Somebody say finances, because I know finances got some of y'all anxious. Don't act like you don't. Who else? What else? Kids. What? Holidays. Health. Future.
00:26:35
Speaker
Anybody get anxious about the news around you? Every time Israel lobs a missile one way or they lob a missile back, you're going, what's gonna happen next? What's gonna go on in Ukraine? What's gonna happen with Russia? What happens if North Korea does this? What happens if China does this? What happens if the president falls dead tomorrow? What if he lives? Oh my gosh. I mean, we can worry about anything.
00:26:55
Speaker
we can worry about everything. And here is Jesus, the creator of the universe. The Bible says in Colossians that everything is held together in him and by him. And it says, don't worry about those things. Stop it. Stop it. Put an end to it. Don't worry about those things. But in case you were confused about what he meant by anything, he says, but in everything,
00:27:25
Speaker
In every situation, babies being born, watching your parent die, having to live next to a neighbor who you can't get along with, dealing with that annoying person at work, dealing with the situations around you in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. You know what thanksgiving really means here? It means true praise of the creator.
00:27:52
Speaker
And the reason that's so important is when you focus on what God has already given you, then what he hasn't given you begins to fade away. Because what you realize is if you're gonna keep score, he's already blessed you far more than you should ever whine about.
00:28:11
Speaker
So by prayer and petition, can I just tell you that the best solution to your anxiety this morning, the best solution to your doubt, your fear, your worry, it's not another pill, it's not another horrible commercial at night where people try to dance and sing about their medication. It's not any of that, it is prayer, conversation with the one who put you together in the first place.
00:28:38
Speaker
The one who knows you better than you know yourself. The one who has said, do not worry about anything, because I've already conquered it.
Trusting God's Plan and Closing Prayer
00:28:54
Speaker
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Something I've learned about myself The best way for me to watch a college football game is to tape it. Wait till the score is announced and then go back and watch the game. Now, if you've ever tried that, you realize it doesn't take a whole lot away from the game. It's still pretty exciting as you're watching what's going on. I still scream at the referees for stupid calls, for guys who can't tackle, for coaches that don't do what I tell them to do. i It's still a fun part of the game, but you know what the difference is? I already know the outcome.
00:29:36
Speaker
I know that that missed tackle doesn't mean we lose. I know that that quarterback interception doesn't change the outcome of the game. I already know how the story ends. Two thousand years ago a baby popped into this earth and in part one of the things he came to do was to say let me tell you how the story ends.
00:30:03
Speaker
because then you don't have to worry about everything in between. It's been conquered. It's been finished. It's been completed, wrapped up, tied with a bow. You remember his last words on the cross? It is finished. It's done. Your bad marriage, don't lie awake and worry about it, bring it to me. I've got the story.
00:30:31
Speaker
I've got the pen in my hand, I can write this for you.
00:30:38
Speaker
If you're sitting here today and you're worried about what's next, your future, real uncertain, wouldn't it make sense to turn on the tape and go, hey, let me watch and see what the guy's already finished for me. Let me see what he's already done on my behalf.
00:30:57
Speaker
and everything by prayer and petition. The word petition is just simply request. Satan starts to whisper in your ear at night, hey, you'll never make it as a fill in the blank. Then you just turn over and say to Jesus, hey, that punk's at it again. Get him out of my head. Get him out of my head.
00:31:26
Speaker
that season when you think everybody around you is looking at you and saying you're never gonna be good enough, you pick up this word and you say, Jesus, point me to the places where you remind me that I'm more than enough, that you love me enough to die for me. That's where peace is found. It's the peace of God, not of this world. It's not found in a bank account. It's not found in a relationship. It's not found in success.
00:31:56
Speaker
It's not found in an agenda that gets accomplished every single day. It's the peace of God that the world can't give you and the world can't take it away. Again, peace isn't the absence of heartache or conflict or loss, it is quite simply the presence of God in your life.
00:32:20
Speaker
That's why later on Peter would be able to write these words, cast your anxiety on him because he loves you very much. He is with you now, right here in this place. The word Emmanuel, God with us. And you know what that literally means? Jesus is in your neighborhood.
00:32:44
Speaker
He's right there with you. He popped in to pay a visit and he chose to stay in the form of his Holy Spirit. He is peace on earth. He is available to you today and he offers Shalom, Shalom. You pray with me?
00:33:10
Speaker
Father, will you forgive us for clinging to things? that just cannot satisfy, things that just don't matter, the things that will be here one moment and gone the next. Will you help us to trust in the things that are good and right and fulfilling, the things that are permanent, like your love for us? I thank you for the encouraging words of a guy like Paul who said, what could possibly separate me from his love?
00:33:46
Speaker
And the silence that follows that question is the fact that nobody can come up with an answer. wouldn't we trust it right now? Lord, help us to give all of these things to you.
00:34:07
Speaker
every one of them by prayer and petition to turn them over to a God who is already the conqueror, who's already written the end of the story.
00:34:20
Speaker
Father, no matter what the doctor has told us, no matter what has what our spouses told us or our children have told us, you have beautiful promises you want to give to us. We just simply have to trust them.
00:34:36
Speaker
So this morning, right now in this moment, would you help us to let go of the chair in front of us and instead cling to the hem of your garment? Would you teach us how to shut out the lies of the world and instead turn and trust the truths of your word for us, your great and precious promises?
00:34:58
Speaker
If there's anybody here today who just needs a few moments at this altar to pray, Don't let what everybody else is thinking keep them from doing it. If there's somebody here today who needs to find Jesus, to trust Jesus, to know that Jesus is there, I pray that they'll have the courage just to come down here and talk to one of these staff.
00:35:23
Speaker
Lord, I do know this. I am a man, I'm a human father, and I know how deeply, how deeply how passionately I want my kids to be at and how it breaks your heart when we choose our own path instead of following yours. Maybe today that changes for somebody