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God With Us Brings Peace
0 Plays1 second ago
Lk. 2:8-14, Is. 9:6-7, Jn. 14:27, Eph. 2:14, Mk. 4:37-39
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Transcript
Finding Peace in Faith
00:00:00
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A nurse once shared a story from her time in a hospice unit, and if you've ever been to a hospice unit, you know it's a place where death is not simply a possibility, it's a certainty.
00:00:13
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and One evening she entered the room of an elderly gentleman who was nearing the end of his life, and he was laying calmly in his bed, and she could quiet she could hear him just quietly humming this old gospel hymn.
00:00:27
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And so she tapped on the door,
00:00:31
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Mr. Johnson, can I come in and interrupt you? Sure, sweetheart, come in. She said, Mr. Johnson, is the time draws near for you, can I ask you an honest question? Are you the least bit afraid?
00:00:47
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He simply smiled and he said, oh, sweetheart, there's no room fear for fear here. Jesus Christ is right here next to me. And so my heart is at peace.
00:01:00
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Because my heart is at peace, everything is at peace. Just outside that room, however, is anything but peace. Machines beeping, doctors running, nurses scampering, grief echoed all throughout the halls, death was everywhere, but inside that small space for Mr. Johnson, something else ruled.
00:01:23
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It's not denial, it's not optimism, but it was the peace of Christ Jesus. That night, that nurse realized what Scripture teaches each of us today, that peace that Jesus gives is not simply the absence of chaos or trouble in your life, but it's His presence in that trouble and chaos.
00:01:47
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Christ does not wait for the valley to disappear.
Facing Challenges with God's Peace
00:01:50
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He simply walks right in it with you.
00:01:56
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Brothers and sisters, many of us here this morning are in a valley. Know and be encouraged, he's right there with you. Christmas is typically thought of as a season of joy.
00:02:09
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But I'm fully aware that for many today, it's a painful season. Maybe that's you this morning. What battle are you fighting as you walk through these doors? What pain is relentlessly bombarding you? What darkness darkness is haunting you this morning as you came here?
00:02:30
Speaker
even in the bright twinkling lights of this Advent season, can be a dark time for many. Rest assured that even in that darkest of times, even in the darkest of places, that we can lean on God who is with us, Emmanuel, and we can experience His peace. My prayer for you this morning, each of you, is that you will experience that comforting peace, that supernatural peace that simply comes from Jesus.
00:02:59
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We step into this final Sunday of Advent as we look forward to Christmas just a few short days away. I was reminded this morning so eloquently as my dogs wrestled around on the bed this morning, it was time to get up.
Reality vs Expectations
00:03:17
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Kim is out of town, I thought for sure today would be a day I'd be able to sleep in, but no, the dogs won't be up bright and early. And I do what most of you probably do. i reach over on the side of the the table and I grab my phone and see what time it is.
00:03:33
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An emergency email right at the top of my inbox.
00:03:39
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Seeking my attention, disrupting my peace. Amazon wants you to know it's too late to order anything and it get there by Christmas.
00:03:53
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What does peace mean to you this morning? I suggest it's something more than just a feeling of calmness. Matter of fact, I'm going to teach you from God's Word exactly what peace is.
00:04:06
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You know, as I step back through these last couple weeks in preparation for Christmas, I often read through, like some of you guys are doing right now, the Christmas story. And I read through in detail through Luke's account because it is the most detailed.
00:04:21
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Last Wednesday I read it and and something struck me for the first time.
Shepherds and the Message of Jesus' Birth
00:04:26
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that that And I read it because I read one of my notes and it's been many years. And I thought, you know, I can't believe I forgot that.
00:04:33
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You know who gets a bad rap in the Christmas story? The shepherds. Do you realize that? The shepherds of all people, they're outcasts. They're dirty, they're unruly.
00:04:47
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They're the lowest rung on society's ladder.
00:04:53
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Matter of fact, it didn't used to be that way. you I hope you know that, right? that The shepherd profession at one time was was highly sought after. I mean, we had Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, even King David was a shepherd.
00:05:06
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But somewhere along the way, this crew became a Motley crew. As much as I really wanted to wear my Motley crew t-shirt up here today, i paused.
00:05:20
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By the way, I dress like this just for Dottie. I wore a shirt and tie again for Dottie. I know how much she appreciates it.
00:05:29
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The shepherds had a menial job in regards to what you and I would call today a menial job. Hard labor out in the elements, hard work, physical work with animals that were quite sneaky.
00:05:42
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They were pretty low on on the totem pole. On the other end of that spectrum would be the religious leaders of the day. They were smug in their moral goodness and their high positions of power, making sure everybody else knew they were on top and you were on the bottom.
00:06:02
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Pharisees, Sadducees up here, everybody else down here. Now what's interesting to me in this Christmas story, folks, is that the angels chose not to visit the elite. They chose not to visit the people on top.
00:06:16
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They chose rather to visit these people on the bottom. Imagine the surprise of the shepherds. That star-filled night in Bethlehem where the brightest star is shining in the sky which is just so dim that you can point out that star.
00:06:32
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And the whole expanse is glowing with the brilliance of this light. And the angel of Lord Luke describes for us this beautiful scene. Luke chapter 2 verses 8 through 9.
00:06:44
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Listen, it says, that night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. And suddenly, which by the way is Luke's favorite word. i don't know if you read Luke. Everything is suddenly with Luke.
00:06:56
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Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them. The radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified. But the angel reassured them, don't be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
00:07:11
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The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. And you will recognize him by this sign. You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, laying in a manger.
00:07:24
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Suddenly, see, there it is again. Suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to those in whom God is pleased.
00:07:42
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The words are almost unbelievable as the messengers who bring it. The angels are making this grand proclamation of peace to those on whom God's favor or his grace rests.
00:07:55
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And the angels are bringing this fantastic news to all people. The shepherds, the lowly ones, the ones out in the field, the ones with the stinky animals. Can you imagine the confusion and the doubts that had been going on in the minds of the shepherds?
Traditions vs True Christmas Message
00:08:12
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Wait, I think you guys got it wrong. Not us, us, the shepherds in the field, seriously?
00:08:25
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What about the religious elite? They're just down the road on the left. Maybe you got a detour. Those are the people you're supposed to be bringing this fantastic message of proclamation.
00:08:36
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Us?
00:08:39
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But brothers and sisters, much like most of Jesus' teachings, this announcement didn't fit the mold of expectation.
00:08:49
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And I put a note to myself, how many of us have the same expectations, especially during this time of year?
00:08:58
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The trees are decorated in red and green. That's the way it's always been done. It's an expectation. Where are all the red poinsettias?
00:09:13
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Oh, there's a hush going over the crowd right now.
00:09:18
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Doesn't fit the mold of expectations, blue and silver decorations. Oh, that rhymes. I didn't even plan on that. Thank you, Lord. Isn't it funny how sometimes our traditions, our expectations of how things are supposed to be can get right in the way of what's actually happening?
00:09:39
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The shepherds are thinking to themselves, we're the most unlikely candidates. This fantastic news has been poured out on us, and ironically, the people who should have been expecting it, the religious elite, they're not even mentioned.
00:09:54
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The most holy weren't given permission. a place to kneel down in the stable. They had to hear about it, matter of fact, second hand.
00:10:05
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The announcement to the shepherds that God had come to be with them, to be born in the manger, turned everything upside down. Turned what was expected into the unexpected.
00:10:19
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So I'm asking you today, brothers and sisters, as you come in to worship, Are you expecting it to look a certain way? Are you expecting me to look a certain way?
00:10:30
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Are you expecting a suit and tie? Are you expecting red and green? Red and green.
00:10:44
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Or can God's word be proclaimed in blue jeans and sandals?
00:10:49
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Can God's word be proclaimed with a tree that has blue and silver decorations?
Understanding Shalom: Comprehensive Peace
00:10:56
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doesn't fit the mold of our expectations.
00:11:01
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His favor, it was brought back to my mind several times this week, is poured out on the most unlikely of people, not the ones who deserve it. His favor is on all those who humbly acknowledge their brokenness and who accept this gift of hope, love, joy, and we'll see today peace, this fantastic word of wholeness.
00:11:26
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of completeness, of restoration that Jesus brings.
00:11:32
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Think about it. I thought about what does this look like today as ah as a real life example. Here's a stinky shepherd in a lowly job who's now been given this great delivery, this message from above, this proclamation.
00:11:50
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And it's changed their entire situation, if we can call it that.
00:11:57
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They're no longer the stinky, lowly shepherds. They're now the FedEx delivery guys
00:12:04
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that you're waiting for anxiously outside your door. Oh, I did this the other day. So drove by. I was like, oh, my gift is here. Oh, it was to the neighbor. Then I went out pretending to check the mail, this fantastic FedEx guy that that knows me all too well. He said, nope, not for you.
00:12:22
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He knew it, I was busted. I said, well, I just saw you driving down the street. They're like our new best friends, aren't they, these FedEx guys when they come?
00:12:31
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Brothers and sisters, these shepherds have been restored. They're no longer the lowest on the totem pole. They've been given this fantastic news and this restoration, this wholeness, this oneness that comes with it.
00:12:48
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We see played out through the rest of the Bible. All Jesus' teaching, by the way, on shepherds is always in a positive light. do you realize that moving forward? They're no longer the lowly guys on the totem pole.
00:13:02
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Peace is not based on your class or your position or your occupation. but on his purpose and his design to bring good news that will cause great joy for all people.
00:13:20
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I simply put, he is the Prince of Peace. Do we realize that this morning? We sang that today, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Glory to God in the Highest.
00:13:31
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What does it look like this Sunday, this last Sunday of Advent, as we as we prepare really the next couple days for Christmas? What does this look like for you and I? What does peace look like? What does wholeness, what does completeness, what does restoration look like?
00:13:47
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And just have three quick things that I wanted to point out. Peace, this word peace, is considered wholeness. It's called shalom in the Old Testament. When God gave Moses the law and he set up the roles and the duties for the priests,
00:14:01
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to guide the spiritual lives of the ancient Jews, he gave them this ultimate blessing. He gave it to Moses, but it's often referred to as the Aaronic blessing. It's in Numbers 6, 24 through 26.
00:14:14
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Listen to this. May the Lord bless you and protect you, or your translation may say keep you. May the Lord smile on you, be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Does that sound familiar to anybody?
00:14:28
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Yeah, it's the core of most benedictions. It's the popular lyrics of many Christian songs these days. The Hebrew word for this is shalom.
00:14:38
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It's rich, it's powerful, it's complex, it's multi-layered. It's something that we simply try to, in English, say, peace. But it's not...
00:14:49
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Calm. It's not A, be without trouble. Peace here is this full picture. i i had somebody teach me one time. It's like Jesus wrapping his arms all the way around you like a big bear hug from Jesus.
00:15:04
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Matter of fact, I put in my notes, big bear hug Jesus question mark. Like it was almost heretical when I think about it. How dare we think about Jesus in a bear hug? But brothers and sisters, this is what shalom really means. It is a rest restoration. It is the bringing of broken pieces back together.
00:15:23
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It's this type of peace that God with us, Emmanuel, The Prince of Peace, the Prince of Shalom, brings you an eye. It's this Prince of Peace who Isaiah foretells in Isaiah 9-6.
00:15:37
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For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
00:15:50
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His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of heavenlies armies will make this happen.
00:16:05
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The Jews of Jesus' day were waiting expectantly for this Messiah. They're still waiting, by the way, today for that same Messiah to show up. Their expectation was he was going to show up as a warrior.
00:16:20
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He's going to come in and lay waste to the Romans who were oppressing them. He was going to put the Jews back in power so that they might feel shalom. This concept of shalom is foundational to the Jewish people, to the Jewish culture, to the Jewish spiritual life.
00:16:38
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But I put it it, goes back even further all the way to the garden. And I know, big pause, everybody's like, no, not the garden. Brothers and sisters, that's where Shalom was. Where Adam and Eve walked in wholeness and completeness.
00:16:53
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In restoration with God. And that's where it was broken.
00:17:01
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And at that moment that it was broken, God had a plan to restore it all. To bring back Shalom. To bring back completeness. To bring back wholeness.
00:17:13
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And he does that through each one of you. And he's doing that through me. See, when we give our lives to Christ, he restores us from the inside.
00:17:24
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But he doesn't just restore you and I, he restores the relationships that you and have.
Peace in Christ: Unity and Restoration
00:17:29
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So I put a question mark today for myself. Is there somebody in your life that needs restoring?
00:17:38
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Maybe it's a grown kid.
00:17:43
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We often think about peace. There's an absence of conflict. But i I want to really drive home today it's it's not that at all. Peace is really this wholeness.
00:17:56
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Peace is this completeness. Peace is the person of Jesus, and that's where we're going to go second. It's not just wholeness, it's a person.
00:18:06
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Near the end of Jesus' life, he spoke these words to his disciples. shortly before he was arrested and crucified, John 14, 27. And I think, if I could take a little liberty, I think he has his apostles, these disciples, close by him, maybe in a circle.
00:18:24
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and i And I anticipate him leaning in, and he's telling them this. He's saying, I'm leaving you with a gift, which is peace of mind and peace of heart.
00:18:38
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And the peace I give you is a gift that the world cannot give. So you don't need to be troubled, nor you need to be afraid. Jesus knew his followers were getting ready to experience a crushing blow.
00:18:51
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But he had this gift, which was a different gift that the world couldn't give them. He's going to give them this peace that couldn't be known. It's a special kind of gift that can't be taken away.
00:19:03
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It's a gift that you and I can't create on our own. It's not an absence of pain or noise or violence or uncertainty. It's the peace of Jesus.
00:19:16
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His assurance is simply this. I'm going to go away and there's going to be trouble. But I'm going to come back and I'm to be with you in the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul tells this same message to the church in Ephesus.
00:19:32
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He says, for Christ himself has brought peace to us. As we experience God's peace, we become interwoven or inseparable, almost like these, you remember these Chinese finger toys that you used to put on? it's You stick your fingers into each side and it locks your fingers.
00:19:51
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This is the visual picture of this. We've been so tightly interwoven, you you can't separate, you no matter how hard you pull, you can't be separated from the peace of Jesus. He goes on, Paul says, and he says,
00:20:05
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that Jesus unites the Jew and the Gentile into one person. You're no longer Loretta and Patrick. You're no longer Vicki and Bob.
00:20:16
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You're now one person in Christ Jesus. He's broken down that wall of hostility, meaning there's no difference between you and I now that we are in Christ.
00:20:27
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He brings peace between you and i because we have peace between us and God.
00:20:35
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It's a picture of perfect shalom.
00:20:40
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I'll put as a funny note to myself today, i thought, when was the last time you were at the store when you went to Arlen's and you checked out and you were leaving and you just said, may the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
00:20:55
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You realize that was a common thing that was said as you visited somebody and then you left somebody. It's a prayer of peace. May the may the peace, may the wholeness, of the completeness of Jesus Christ be with you now.
00:21:09
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So that when we sit and we fellowship together, we experience that peace. But then as we go out into the world where we know it's chaotic, where we know there's trouble, that same peace is bestowed upon us.
00:21:22
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My challenge to you is today, go to Orleans and say that to somebody. Just see their reaction. Then hand them the card. Hand them the card that you picked up. Hey, by the way, we're all crazy for Jesus at First Baptist. Come on, and visit us at Christmas Eve.
00:21:39
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What does this mean for you and I today? This is where I want to land. If peace is wholeness and peace is a person in Jesus, what does that mean for you and I today? When we talk about peace, when we talk about completeness, when we talk about wholeness, when we talk about shalom that Jesus offers, what does that look like for you and I today?
00:21:58
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I put, for many of us, I think this sounds like a pipe dream. But something so far away from reality. It's something that's nice, it's a good idea, something you might hear on a Hallmark commercial.
00:22:12
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But that type of peace, that type of wholeness, that type of relationship with Jesus for some of you is so far away.
Trusting Jesus' Peace in Chaos
00:22:20
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Because you're struggling in the storms of life right now. And you feel like he's not there with you.
00:22:27
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Let me encourage you this morning. He's right there with you.
00:22:31
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Remember the story of the disciples in the boat in the Sea of Galilee?
00:22:37
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That must have been one really bad storm. If you think about it, right? We've taught this story to the kids since they were a little bitty, and and you guys have heard it as grown adults.
00:22:48
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These are seasoned fishermen who are on the sea all the time. And it says they're the ones who are scared this storm has come up. Can you imagine how bad that storm must have been for fishermen who were really at home on the sea?
00:23:06
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Mark's account tells us here, verse 37, 39. I love this. Teacher, it says, in fear the disciples woke up Jesus, and so what they say to teacher, don't you care that we're gonna drown?
00:23:22
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Doesn't that just sound like us? Right in the middle of the storm, what do we do? Lord, don't you care about us? Where are you? You've forgotten Jesus woke up and he rebuked the wind and he said to the wave, silence, be still.
00:23:42
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And suddenly the wind stopped and there was a great calm or peace.
00:23:49
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you imagine that picture? You're on that boat. Jesus is just napping. most Most scholars say he's in the back of the boat, backside of the boat. And the water is so rough and the waves are crashing over.
00:24:03
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And they're thinking, surely this is the end? Wait a second. Let's get Jesus. This is the guy who created the storms, who created the water, who created the waves, who created the wind.
00:24:17
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Let's go right to the guy who can stop it all. I often wonder if they were talking amongst each other first. Hey, how are we gonna get out of this? Anybody got a bucket? Oh wait, Jesus is here.
00:24:29
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Because friends, that's what we do oftentimes. When the storms of life come, we go to everybody else but Jesus.
00:24:37
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He tells them, it's okay, you don't need to be afraid. And he just calms the storm.
00:24:49
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Archie Sproul said this, I love this. He said, the power of Jesus' peace isn't diminished by our storms. The power of Jesus' peace is so grand and so magnificent that the worst storm that you could be in is nothing to him.
00:25:08
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That peace, that wholeness, when you have that relationship with Jesus, it fills you up and calms you. So that as you're laying on death's bed, you can sing a hymn.
00:25:22
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You can hum a hymn. glorious gospel hymn. It's going to be okay. I don't need to be afraid.
00:25:32
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Brothers and sisters, this is what the peace, the wholeness of Jesus does in our life. It transforms us from the inside out. It fixes us right with our God, but it also fixes us right with our brothers and sisters.
00:25:45
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It's a piece that the world doesn't know because the world is not in Christ. often love when people come to me and they tell me about all this trouble that they're having in their lives and they're unbelievers and I'm going, yeah, I get it.
00:26:00
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We have the same problems as Christians, but we handle it differently because we have the one who manages all that problem for us right there beside us.
00:26:13
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Let me encourage you in this final week of Advent, as you look to him, and as the winds blow and the storms swirl, that maybe you need to look at Jesus as that baby in the manger, or maybe you need to look at Jesus as that carpenter's son who is asleep in the boat.
00:26:31
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That in the midst of whatever life holds this week, whatever storm that you're right in the middle of, that you'll remember that Jesus is the one who comes in all peace. in all power, he is the Prince of Peace and he's always with you.
00:26:44
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And he's always restoring and he's always comforting. And it's that peace that I pray you will experience this season. And all God's people said.