WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Faith is more than a feeling or a theory. It's 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:06.059 a decision that moves your feet, opens your hands, 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:09.019 and activates God's promises. In our brand new 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.820 book, Faith Act, Jeffrey and I take you on a 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:13.839 powerful journey through some of Scripture's 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.800 most transforming moments, where ordinary people 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.699 dared to obey and saw heaven move on their behalf. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:24.140 Order your copy of Faith Act today on Amazon. 00:00:26.410 --> 00:00:29.010 Week number six in our series that we've entitled, 00:00:29.289 --> 00:00:33.630 Not Mine, But God's. Everybody say that, Not 00:00:33.630 --> 00:00:39.030 Mine, But God's. Now our first four messages 00:00:39.030 --> 00:00:45.090 brought us up to the Advent season, right? But 00:00:45.090 --> 00:00:49.689 we're continuing with those words that are commonly 00:00:49.689 --> 00:00:52.829 talked about and used during the Advent season. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:58.420 See, long before Gabriel spoke to Mary, angels 00:00:58.420 --> 00:01:02.460 visited the shepherds. Our wise men saw the newly 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:05.239 formed star. Long before any of that happened, 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:09.260 God planted a promise, a seed. We talked about 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:13.340 seeds last week. Everybody say a promise. A seed. 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:17.840 God planted a promise in the hearts of his people 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:24.079 that the Messiah was coming, the deliverer. The 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:30.920 rescuer is coming. Now, I believe the two most 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.579 important events in the history of the world, 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:38.459 two most important events, are the incarnation 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:44.659 and the resurrection. Everybody say incarnation. 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:49.359 Everybody say resurrection. Because without either 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:54.079 one of those, we would be helplessly and hopelessly 00:01:54.079 --> 00:02:01.359 lost. Now, the Bible encourages us to celebrate 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.819 the resurrection, to remember the resurrection, 00:02:05.099 --> 00:02:08.319 the death, the burial, and the resurrection of 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:11.919 Christ. And some people, and I agree with you, 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:14.900 the Bible doesn't actually tell us or invite 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:21.780 us to celebrate the birth. But... What we're 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:26.379 celebrating is the incarnation. Because without 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:30.740 the incarnation, without God stepping down out 00:02:30.740 --> 00:02:36.099 of heaven and adding humanity to his deity, you 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:41.240 know what? If that didn't happen, then Jesus 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:46.460 is no different than anyone in this room. Because 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:50.810 he would have been born in sin. And if he would 00:02:50.810 --> 00:02:52.969 have been born in sin, then he would have had 00:02:52.969 --> 00:03:00.169 to die for his own sin. But he was sinless. I'm 00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:04.129 glad two people are talking to me. Here's what 00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:07.830 I want to encourage you. Never get to the point 00:03:07.830 --> 00:03:12.289 where that's not a big deal. Look to the person 00:03:12.289 --> 00:03:13.889 beside you and remind them that's a big deal. 00:03:15.069 --> 00:03:19.629 God did that for us. And it's easy when we go 00:03:19.629 --> 00:03:21.810 to church all of our life to come to the point 00:03:21.810 --> 00:03:24.509 where I've heard that a thousand times. You know, 00:03:24.530 --> 00:03:26.990 that's not really a big deal. But this is a big 00:03:26.990 --> 00:03:33.569 deal. God loves you so much that at just the 00:03:33.569 --> 00:03:35.729 right time, the Bible says, the Father looked 00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:38.590 at the Son in the throne room of eternity at 00:03:38.590 --> 00:03:40.990 just the right time, and He said, it's time. 00:03:41.930 --> 00:03:47.610 And Jesus stepped down out of heaven. He's all 00:03:47.610 --> 00:03:50.550 God. Everybody say all God. And he's all man 00:03:50.550 --> 00:03:52.830 at the same time. He's not half and half. He's 00:03:52.830 --> 00:03:56.090 all God. He's all man at the same time. That's 00:03:56.090 --> 00:03:59.270 what the incarnation is about. And that's why 00:03:59.270 --> 00:04:01.550 I think we need to celebrate that more than just 00:04:01.550 --> 00:04:10.409 one day a year. So, Advent. How many of you grew 00:04:10.409 --> 00:04:13.270 up going to a church where they did Advent services? 00:04:14.750 --> 00:04:19.490 Four people? I didn't grow up with that. My dad's 00:04:19.490 --> 00:04:23.370 a pastor. I mean, we never, you know, had a lot 00:04:23.370 --> 00:04:24.990 of times there'll be a wreath and there'll be 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:27.889 different candles and pink candles and a purple 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:32.230 candle and all those kind of things, right? And 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:34.470 you light a candle and read Bible verses each 00:04:34.470 --> 00:04:38.490 week. But I was exposed to that. And when I went 00:04:38.490 --> 00:04:40.750 to Myrtle Beach, I became the chaplain at Lakewood 00:04:40.750 --> 00:04:43.360 Camping Resort in Myrtle Beach. And you know, 00:04:43.420 --> 00:04:45.639 it really meant a lot to me, even though I'd 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:48.420 never experienced that growing up, never been 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:52.899 involved in that. What does Advent mean? Advent 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:56.040 means the arrival. Everybody say the arrival. 00:04:56.459 --> 00:05:06.800 The arrival of a notable person or a thing. So 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:10.079 you might have heard the word arrival used like... 00:05:10.329 --> 00:05:13.069 I mean, the advent used like the advent of the 00:05:13.069 --> 00:05:16.389 internet, which could be very bad. The advent 00:05:16.389 --> 00:05:18.269 of smartphones, all those kind of things, right? 00:05:19.329 --> 00:05:23.970 But it's the arrival of something. Notable person, 00:05:24.089 --> 00:05:26.410 and we've talked about the incarnation, so Jesus 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:30.350 is the notable person. The God -man is the notable 00:05:30.350 --> 00:05:36.550 person. But along with him, he brought some notable 00:05:36.550 --> 00:05:43.980 things. The greatest is salvation, right? That's 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:47.060 the greatest thing he brought, a way that we 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:51.079 can be saved from our sins and spend eternity 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:57.379 with God. Now, during this season, because we're 00:05:57.379 --> 00:06:00.019 looking at this for four weeks as well, we're 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:02.439 preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:06.600 Jesus. You know, you see all the commercialization 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:10.490 of Christmas and all those kind of things. And 00:06:10.490 --> 00:06:14.269 hopefully by focusing on the birth of Jesus and 00:06:14.269 --> 00:06:17.089 the incarnation for these four weeks, we can 00:06:17.089 --> 00:06:22.930 keep focused on the right thing. Right? So we're 00:06:22.930 --> 00:06:26.949 preparing our hearts. I'm not just up here just 00:06:26.949 --> 00:06:30.850 blowing air out of my mouth, right? We're preparing 00:06:30.850 --> 00:06:35.689 our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We're 00:06:35.689 --> 00:06:39.120 also... receiving some things. We're having the 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.759 opportunity to receive some things that Jesus 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:47.040 brought with him when he came, some notable things 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:52.339 that he made available to us and he offers to 00:06:52.339 --> 00:06:56.600 us. And last week, we looked at hope. Everybody 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:59.879 say hope. This week, we're looking at peace. 00:07:00.019 --> 00:07:02.600 Everybody say peace. Next week, we're looking 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:06.959 at joy. Everybody say joy. And then the fourth 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:08.959 week, we're looking at love. Everybody say love. 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:16.060 Because these are four notable things that Jesus 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:20.959 brought with him, made it available to all men. 00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:27.939 And if we listen with expectation, see, we can 00:07:27.939 --> 00:07:29.920 come and we can just listen or we can listen 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.279 with expectation, but I believe if we... come 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:36.600 expecting. Everybody say expecting. If we listen 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:38.879 with anticipation that God's going to speak to 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:42.519 our hearts and God's going to just do something 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:47.680 great in our lives today, we just might hear 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:51.360 his voice. You just might hear his voice calling 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:59.060 you out of the noise and into his life. Because 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:00.939 these things that we're talking about, these 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:04.040 notable things that came with Jesus and he brought 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:08.879 those things with him, those things are only 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:12.199 a part. You can only receive them when you're 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:16.680 in Christ. So he wants to call you out of the 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:21.240 noise and into his life where you will experience 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:26.199 the things that are available to you in Christ. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:36.019 Luke 2, verses 8 through 14. That night there 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:38.919 were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, 00:08:39.139 --> 00:08:45.139 guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly an angel 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:49.000 of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:54.299 of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were 00:08:54.299 --> 00:08:59.759 terrified, but the angel reassured them. Don't 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:03.480 be afraid. Everybody say, don't be afraid. Don't 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:08.080 be afraid. You know, last week, Gabriel appeared 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:12.899 to Mary, and she was a little shaken up, just 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:16.259 like you would be if an angel just showed up 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:18.820 right now and started talking to you. I mean, 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:22.179 if an angel appeared right beside me, I mean, 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.200 we would all be shaken up a little bit, I believe, 00:09:24.340 --> 00:09:27.690 right? All of a sudden, there he is. All of a 00:09:27.690 --> 00:09:29.009 sudden, he's talking and I'm not talking anymore. 00:09:29.129 --> 00:09:35.149 I'll hand him the mic. And this is common when 00:09:35.149 --> 00:09:40.809 God sends an angel to talk to people that it 00:09:40.809 --> 00:09:45.629 shakes them up a little bit, but God's word is 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:49.289 always, don't be afraid. Everybody say, don't 00:09:49.289 --> 00:09:54.289 be afraid. That's not just when angels show up. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:01.360 This word from God is for when fear shows up. 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:06.419 Does fear ever show up to anybody in the room? 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:15.120 Well, when fear shows up, God's word for you 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:22.000 is don't be afraid. This angel talked to the 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.279 shepherds. Don't be afraid, he said. He had a 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:28.309 message. I bring you good news. Everybody say 00:10:28.309 --> 00:10:31.210 good news. I bring you good news that will bring 00:10:31.210 --> 00:10:35.750 great joy. Everybody say great joy. And the translation 00:10:35.750 --> 00:10:39.509 of this is great mega joy. I mean, it's great, 00:10:39.549 --> 00:10:42.230 great joy. Not just great joy, but great, great 00:10:42.230 --> 00:10:47.490 joy. I bring you good news that will bring great 00:10:47.490 --> 00:10:55.129 joy to all people. To all people. The Savior. 00:10:56.400 --> 00:11:01.980 Yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:06.759 in Bethlehem, the city of David. And you will 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:11.059 recognize him by this sign. You will find a baby 00:11:11.059 --> 00:11:16.620 wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:19.879 feed trough. I mean, you know, manger is like 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:23.940 a pretty word now, but it's a feed trough. You're 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:27.740 going to find this baby. Wrapped up in claws 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:34.899 and laying in a feed trough. Suddenly, here's 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:38.320 another suddenly. Everybody say suddenly. Suddenly, 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:41.779 the angel, that one angel was joined by a vast 00:11:41.779 --> 00:11:48.559 host of others. The armies of heaven. And they 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:53.820 were praising God and saying, glory to God and 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:58.700 I is heaven. And peace on earth to those with 00:11:58.700 --> 00:12:02.399 whom God is pleased. Let's join their praise. 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:06.019 You want to say it? Let's say it. Glory to God 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:10.940 in highest heaven. And peace on earth to those 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:16.779 with whom God is pleased. The angels declared 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:22.240 peace on earth. Everybody say peace on earth. 00:12:24.939 --> 00:12:27.320 December is not always a peaceful time of year, 00:12:27.419 --> 00:12:32.240 is it? Most people walk into December with more 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.980 stress and anxiety and exhaustion than peace. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:41.879 Has anybody ever experienced some of that? For 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:45.279 many, the holidays only magnify what's missing. 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:51.039 You remember the way things used to be, you know. 00:12:53.419 --> 00:12:55.820 Gannon and I had a very close friend that we've 00:12:55.820 --> 00:12:58.799 had now for over 20 years. They've actually visited 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:02.159 the church. They would come and snowbird in Claremont. 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:06.600 And we got word yesterday morning that Lois, 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:09.159 many of you might have met Jerry and Lois from 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:12.559 New York. Lois passed away unexpectedly yesterday 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:17.320 morning. And, you know, it's like, it's one thing 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:19.379 when you kind of expect it because you've been 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:22.129 going through some things and going down. But 00:13:22.129 --> 00:13:25.450 she passed away yesterday morning. So for that 00:13:25.450 --> 00:13:29.570 family, you know, it's a time of celebration. 00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:33.190 And it's a time, you know, it's Christmas time. 00:13:33.289 --> 00:13:36.509 But you know what? It will probably always be 00:13:36.509 --> 00:13:39.809 marked for them just weeks before Christmas. 00:13:40.009 --> 00:13:41.570 That's the way they're going to remember it. 00:13:42.570 --> 00:13:46.570 And Gayna's dad the same way just the week before 00:13:46.570 --> 00:13:50.549 Christmas. And my mom the same way. And you remember 00:13:50.549 --> 00:13:52.730 those things. You remember what's missing. You 00:13:52.730 --> 00:13:59.210 remember the people who are missing. Right? But, 00:13:59.330 --> 00:14:05.070 when you're in Christ, you don't grieve like 00:14:05.070 --> 00:14:09.309 the world grieves, is what the Bible says. Hello? 00:14:11.149 --> 00:14:14.389 Because we're in Christ. And we have hope, like 00:14:14.389 --> 00:14:16.929 we talked about last week, right? We have hope. 00:14:17.009 --> 00:14:22.960 We're in Christ. So instead of being messed up 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.940 in stress and exhaustion and anxiety, you know 00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:31.759 what? In Christ, everybody say in Christ, there 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:44.399 is peace. In Christ, there is peace. I want you 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:48.590 to remind yourself of this every time. Because 00:14:48.590 --> 00:14:51.110 every single person in this room is going to 00:14:51.110 --> 00:14:55.809 have an opportunity over the next three weeks 00:14:55.809 --> 00:15:01.330 and month or, you know, probably today. Everybody's 00:15:01.330 --> 00:15:05.190 going to have an opportunity to get stressed. 00:15:08.009 --> 00:15:12.850 Everybody is going to have an opportunity for 00:15:12.850 --> 00:15:17.289 a little anxiety. Everybody's going to have an 00:15:17.289 --> 00:15:22.990 opportunity to be exhausted. Everyone. Look at 00:15:22.990 --> 00:15:24.330 the person beside you and tell them, you too. 00:15:25.950 --> 00:15:30.509 Everyone's going to have that opportunity. Some 00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:32.389 people sit in this room and say, well, I'm the 00:15:32.389 --> 00:15:34.509 only one because I'm the only one who's gone 00:15:34.509 --> 00:15:37.110 through what I've gone through, so I'm the only 00:15:37.110 --> 00:15:39.509 one who has stress or anxiety or exhaustion. 00:15:41.029 --> 00:15:47.200 Now, that's a big lie from the enemy. That's 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.440 a big lie from the enemy. To have those thoughts 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:54.200 that you're the only one that has the opportunity 00:15:54.200 --> 00:16:00.320 to be stressed out. You're the only one that 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:02.100 has the opportunity to worry about something. 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:10.039 When you find yourself there, then you think 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:14.220 that, you know, I'm the only one. And that's 00:16:14.220 --> 00:16:24.720 the wrong place to be. For any of us. Ever. Because 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:33.179 God. Has given you. In Christ. Everybody say 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:38.720 in Christ. In Christ. The peace of God. Is available. 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:44.460 For you. No matter what's happening on the outside. 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:54.940 See, natural peace depends on circumstances. 00:16:55.539 --> 00:16:57.720 And if you're wondering why I got this rock and 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:01.700 this paperweight up here, throughout this series, 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:05.900 this has represented the best that we can do 00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:16.519 on our own. This represents us living as putting 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:19.380 more emphasis on our soul than on our spirit. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:24.380 And for those of you who haven't been here, I 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:28.539 need to remind you that you are a spirit. You 00:17:28.539 --> 00:17:33.220 are created in the image of God who is a spirit. 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:41.400 You are a spirit. You have a soul. Your soul 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:46.579 is your mind or your thoughts, your will or your 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:55.900 desires. Y 'all taking notes? Your mind, your 00:17:55.900 --> 00:18:01.440 will, and your emotions. Now that's your soul. 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:08.160 I don't know how many years of my experience 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.539 even knowing God and trying to live for God and 00:18:11.539 --> 00:18:15.339 love God and walk with God, the best I was doing 00:18:15.339 --> 00:18:21.849 was trying to polish up my soul. Like, I read 00:18:21.849 --> 00:18:23.829 the Bible, and then I'm like, okay, well, I've 00:18:23.829 --> 00:18:25.589 got to do this, and I've got to do that, and 00:18:25.589 --> 00:18:28.109 I've got to do this. And it's like me taking 00:18:28.109 --> 00:18:32.210 a piece of sandpaper to this rock, trying to 00:18:32.210 --> 00:18:38.410 make it look as good as I can make it look. But 00:18:38.410 --> 00:18:43.150 here's where I missed it. God isn't just calling 00:18:43.150 --> 00:18:46.210 us to do the best that we can do, to, like, read 00:18:46.210 --> 00:18:48.210 His Word and then do the best that we can do. 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:57.380 God is calling us to exchange our life of living 00:18:57.380 --> 00:19:02.859 based out of our soul all the time and exchange 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:08.380 our life for his life and live as a spirit connected 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:11.339 to his Holy Spirit who has moved on the inside 00:19:11.339 --> 00:19:15.900 of us. And we need to live as spirit beings. 00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:20.839 And allow the Spirit of God communicating with 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:27.220 our spirit to overcome and dictate our mind, 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:34.900 our will, and our emotions. We've spent our whole 00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:37.299 lives trying to live as a soul and be the best 00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:42.900 soul we can be. But we're spirits. We need to 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:46.599 learn to live as spirits. Because if we just 00:19:46.599 --> 00:19:49.059 live in the soul realm, if we live in the natural 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:52.420 realm, listen, natural peace depends on circumstances. 00:19:53.819 --> 00:19:56.559 That's the only peace that you can have in this 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:59.859 world apart from being in Christ. The only peace 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:03.339 you can have is a peace based on what's going 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:11.279 on around you at any given moment. If you have 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:14.619 peace when everything is going lovely, if you 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:18.640 have peace, but then when trouble comes, all 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:23.000 of a sudden you're falling apart, that's an indicator 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:27.039 of something. That's an indicator that you're 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:30.400 living your life in the natural, soulish, in 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:37.000 the flesh realm. And not living... And being 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.759 dictated by the spirit of God in your spirit. 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:46.559 Connected to God's promises and God's word. Natural 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.579 peace depends on circumstances, but God's peace, 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:54.559 the Bible says, surpasses understanding. It surpasses 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:58.009 human reasoning. See, it's not just locked into 00:20:58.009 --> 00:21:00.990 what's going on. Even if something doesn't go 00:21:00.990 --> 00:21:04.470 my way, I can stand in the peace of God because 00:21:04.470 --> 00:21:10.390 I'm in Christ. And Jesus says, my peace I give 00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:12.529 to you, my peace I leave with you. It's not like 00:21:12.529 --> 00:21:14.410 the world's peace. Everybody say, not like the 00:21:14.410 --> 00:21:20.769 world's peace. Not like the world's peace. And 00:21:20.769 --> 00:21:26.769 guess what? If we have... the peace of God, the 00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:30.569 world can't take it away. But if we have natural 00:21:30.569 --> 00:21:35.470 peace, natural circumstances can rob us of the 00:21:35.470 --> 00:21:40.410 peace of God. I'll try. I don't even know how 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:48.809 to say it. If all we have is natural peace, the 00:21:48.809 --> 00:21:51.190 world can take it away. The natural world can 00:21:51.190 --> 00:21:54.480 take away natural peace. By giving us a different 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:58.400 circumstance. But if we have the peace of God, 00:21:58.619 --> 00:22:02.700 we can stand in peace no matter what circumstance 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:10.039 we face. I'm the preacher and I wish I could 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:11.880 stand up here and tell you that I never lose 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:18.700 my peace. But I do want to tell you something. 00:22:20.619 --> 00:22:24.890 I don't lose my peace. Near as much as I used 00:22:24.890 --> 00:22:33.650 to lose my peace. You know, I used to lose my 00:22:33.650 --> 00:22:39.829 peace all the time. I mean, all you have to do 00:22:39.829 --> 00:22:46.650 is drive on I -4 for just a minute. Or even 27. 00:22:47.509 --> 00:22:52.450 I mean, you're driving on 27 and somebody's like, 00:22:52.750 --> 00:22:54.990 In an Indy race, zipping in and out. And I'm 00:22:54.990 --> 00:22:59.029 like, I used to lose my peace, but I don't lose 00:22:59.029 --> 00:23:01.170 my peace anymore. You know what? I started praying 00:23:01.170 --> 00:23:03.089 for him. I said, God, please protect those idiots 00:23:03.089 --> 00:23:11.230 in that car. I don't want them to die tonight 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:17.130 without knowing you. There's been times when 00:23:17.130 --> 00:23:19.230 I've been on I -4, and you know what? You just 00:23:19.230 --> 00:23:21.660 stop. And it's good since they opened up the 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:24.440 lane. You know, that makes it a lot better. Opened 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:26.839 up that extra lane. But there's times when it's 00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:31.579 just locked down. So instead of, listen, instead 00:23:31.579 --> 00:23:37.420 of losing your peace over it, I found something 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:42.700 that works for me. If I just start singing, if 00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:44.720 I just start singing praises to God right in 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.519 the middle of it, you know, there's... I'll never 00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:51.240 forget. There was one day on I -4. I mean, y 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:53.359 'all have heard of it like a glory cloud, right? 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:55.640 It's like, just all of a sudden, it's like, the 00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:59.619 glory of God. I think we need to do a series 00:23:59.619 --> 00:24:04.299 on the glory. Remind me of that. But I've been 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:07.539 in the car singing, and it's just like, I'm just 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:12.220 spending time with God. And I'm still flowing 00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:17.660 with traffic. I haven't completely. But... Just 00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:21.019 me and the presence of God in my car? I could 00:24:21.019 --> 00:24:22.880 care less how long it takes me to get anywhere 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:31.039 at that point. But see, I had to make a choice. 00:24:34.539 --> 00:24:36.559 And you're going to have to make a choice when 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:39.660 a circumstance comes your way that is going to 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:42.579 rob you of your peace this afternoon or tomorrow. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:53.680 You're going to have to stand up. Your spirit, 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:56.039 I'm not talking about with your natural feet. 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:57.579 I'm talking about your spirit's going to have 00:24:57.579 --> 00:25:02.799 to stand up. You're going to say, no, I'm not 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:07.480 falling for it this time. I'm not falling for 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:11.460 that anymore. Because I have the peace of God 00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:15.359 that surpasses understanding. And it's guarding 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:19.079 my heart and it's guarding my mind. And I'm not 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:23.059 going to fall for your tricks anymore. I'm not 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:25.880 going to be swayed by my circumstances anymore. 00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:32.059 You're going to have to stand up. Your spirit's 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:35.599 going to have to stand up and take charge over 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:42.440 your soul. God's peace surpasses understanding. 00:25:43.579 --> 00:25:45.759 And remember in this series we're talking about... 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:48.000 Whatever your source is, everybody say source. 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:51.420 Whatever your source is, see if your source is 00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:58.079 you, that's what you're going to display to the 00:25:58.079 --> 00:26:05.200 world, is you. But if your source is in Christ, 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:10.339 then you're going to display him to the world. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:15.829 And the world desperately needs, the children 00:26:15.829 --> 00:26:22.670 of God to rise up and display Him. The people 00:26:22.670 --> 00:26:28.349 that you work with are in desperate need of you 00:26:28.349 --> 00:26:33.390 rising up and seeing Christ in you, the hope 00:26:33.390 --> 00:26:40.009 of glory. Not just seeing you, your customers, 00:26:40.230 --> 00:26:42.130 the people that you work for, the people in your 00:26:42.130 --> 00:26:48.880 house. Because sometimes we can pull it off good 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:50.900 when we're not in our house, but in your house. 00:26:57.059 --> 00:27:02.660 You need to display Christ. Luke 2, that's not 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:07.660 the right reference. I can look it up for you 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:10.759 later. But anyway, it's verse 27 of something. 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:15.259 Here's what Jesus said. I think it's in John. 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:18.880 Here's what Jesus said. I'm leaving you with 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:23.319 a gift. Everybody say a gift. He's leaving you 00:27:23.319 --> 00:27:31.799 with a gift. Peace of mind and peace of heart. 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:39.519 So we receive gifts, right? You have to receive 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:44.920 a gift. You don't work for a gift. If you're 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:46.819 working for peace in your mind and your heart, 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.200 then all you're looking for and working for is 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:57.539 natural. But you receive peace. It's a gift from 00:27:57.539 --> 00:28:00.279 Jesus. I know I've shared this before. I'm going 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:07.500 to share it again. A long time ago, we were doing 00:28:07.500 --> 00:28:09.339 our conference, and it was in the early years 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:12.410 of the conference. And we couldn't spend, you 00:28:12.410 --> 00:28:15.089 know, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our 00:28:15.089 --> 00:28:17.690 extended family. We had to get to Myrtle Beach 00:28:17.690 --> 00:28:20.589 because we're expecting 1 ,900 people. And we 00:28:20.589 --> 00:28:22.630 booked all the hotel rooms and everybody's coming. 00:28:23.069 --> 00:28:26.990 And it was just like, we couldn't spend those 00:28:26.990 --> 00:28:30.430 days in upstate South Carolina or in western 00:28:30.430 --> 00:28:34.049 North Carolina. We had to get there. Had to do 00:28:34.049 --> 00:28:38.789 a seating chart by hand. JT knows what that's 00:28:38.789 --> 00:28:41.980 like. Anyway, we had to get there and get to 00:28:41.980 --> 00:28:45.039 work because the morning right after Christmas 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:48.680 Day, I mean, it was wide open until like January 00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:52.420 3rd. I'm talking working 20 plus hours most days. 00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:56.599 So we couldn't be there, but we decided to go 00:28:56.599 --> 00:29:01.519 early. And we drove like eight hours from where 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:04.880 we were in Alabama. We drove. To go have Christmas 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:07.579 with our extended family. Gayna makes amazing 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:12.160 chicken and dumplings. So she made chicken and 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:18.160 dumplings. And we invited everybody. I don't 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:22.200 know why. But people decided. You know family 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:25.140 decided. You know we're not doing two Christmases. 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:29.599 We're not coming. So we made all these chicken 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:32.160 and dumplings. Got word that nobody's coming. 00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:35.960 Just parents. It's great. We ate chicken and 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:39.059 dumplings. I'm never upset over eating chicken 00:29:39.059 --> 00:29:45.079 and dumplings. But we bought presents for all 00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:50.160 the children. Age -appropriate presents, right? 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:54.119 Because you got like two -year -olds, you know, 00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:57.519 different ages. Bought presents. Wrapped them 00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:00.900 up. We left the presents under the Christmas 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:05.599 tree. Because we wanted to express our love. 00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:08.220 A way to express your love is, one way is by 00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:13.259 giving gifts, right? For God so loved he, I'm 00:30:13.259 --> 00:30:16.799 glad I got two gaves. For God so loved he gave, 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:22.140 right? So we left the gifts. We came back later 00:30:22.140 --> 00:30:26.339 in January, came back again. Christmas tree's 00:30:26.339 --> 00:30:28.920 down, all the decorations are down, everything's 00:30:28.920 --> 00:30:33.319 done. But behind the couch, Y 'all know what 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:36.480 an entertainment center is? Big old huge entertainment 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.880 center with speakers and a record player in it. 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:48.319 Eight track. Had an eight track in my first car. 00:30:49.299 --> 00:30:55.099 Anyway, behind the couch and the entertainment 00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:59.380 center were all those gifts for the children. 00:31:03.819 --> 00:31:11.220 You know, we gave a gift, but it was never received. 00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:23.779 You have to receive a gift. And Jesus said, I'm 00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:28.599 leaving you with a gift. Here's the news today. 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:32.099 There's a gift wrapped up for you from Jesus. 00:31:33.609 --> 00:31:37.930 And that gift is peace for your mind and peace 00:31:37.930 --> 00:31:42.630 for your heart. A peace is greater than the circumstances 00:31:42.630 --> 00:31:51.009 that you face. But you have to receive it. He 00:31:51.009 --> 00:31:54.529 said, and the peace I give is a gift the world 00:31:54.529 --> 00:32:01.230 cannot give. And then he said, so don't be troubled. 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:07.740 So when you have the opportunity to be troubled, 00:32:07.900 --> 00:32:12.539 say, nope, not going to take that opportunity. 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:16.319 Jesus told me I didn't have to be troubled or 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:20.500 afraid. Jesus gave me his peace, and it'll guard 00:32:20.500 --> 00:32:24.039 my heart, and it'll guard my mind. And if you 00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:26.539 want to know where this is, for those of you 00:32:26.539 --> 00:32:30.160 taking notes, it's John 14, verse 27. I got John 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:33.859 right. But if you want to read it later, John 00:32:33.859 --> 00:32:38.000 14. 27. Listen, the world can only offer temporary 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:42.099 peace, conditional peace, circumstantial peace, 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:47.700 or escape -based peace. You might say, what's 00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:50.299 escape -based peace? Well, that's when you just 00:32:50.299 --> 00:32:52.619 get to the point where you've had so much that 00:32:52.619 --> 00:32:55.700 you just got to go eat some chocolate. That's 00:32:55.700 --> 00:32:59.779 escape -based peace. That means that you just 00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:02.779 get to the point where you just got to go watch 00:33:02.779 --> 00:33:06.259 Netflix or Hulu or whatever it is. You just got 00:33:06.259 --> 00:33:10.759 to escape, right? Got to go on a vacation somewhere. 00:33:11.319 --> 00:33:13.400 I'm just so overwhelmed. I got to get awake. 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:17.819 And for Gayna, this will be going to the shopping 00:33:17.819 --> 00:33:24.420 mall. She loves to shop. Hobby Lobby. She'll 00:33:24.420 --> 00:33:27.299 go spend hours just walking around Hobby Lobby. 00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:31.700 She don't like to go shopping with me because 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:34.059 I go get what I'm there for and I get out as 00:33:34.059 --> 00:33:40.380 quick as I can. I can leave my house, go to BJ's 00:33:40.380 --> 00:33:45.519 and be back home in about 35 minutes. Go get 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:50.059 everything I needed and get out of there. Listen, 00:33:50.119 --> 00:33:57.500 those escapes are just temporary relief. Temporary 00:33:57.500 --> 00:34:01.359 relief. Because the peace that your hope is in 00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:09.659 is a natural peace, like the world gives. Here's 00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:13.059 the peace that God gives. A peace that stands 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:16.559 in storms, that's the peace that God gives. A 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:18.880 peace that is not threatened, never threatened. 00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:25.199 A peace that cannot be stolen. And this peace 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:31.619 is rooted in who God is. I know you know it, 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:33.340 I know you know it, and I know you've heard it, 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:44.840 but God is Yahweh Shalom. God is Yahweh Shalom. 00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:51.820 God is peace. He is peace. He gives you peace. 00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:56.519 He is your peace. When you're in Him, when you're 00:34:56.519 --> 00:35:00.159 receiving the gift that He gives us, By being 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:08.619 in him, part of that gift is peace. Natural peace 00:35:08.619 --> 00:35:14.300 fails under pressure every time. But God's peace 00:35:14.300 --> 00:35:19.940 holds under pressure. The shepherds are terrified. 00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:23.880 The angel shows up talking to them. But just 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:26.360 like God's answer for us is do not be afraid, 00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:29.389 his answer to the... The answer to the angels 00:35:29.389 --> 00:35:32.969 was do not be afraid. Listen, the angel was still 00:35:32.969 --> 00:35:36.090 there. Their circumstances didn't change. The 00:35:36.090 --> 00:35:39.909 peace entered the scene. Even to the point where 00:35:39.909 --> 00:35:42.349 a multitude, they didn't have to tell them not 00:35:42.349 --> 00:35:46.070 to be afraid again because the peace of God had 00:35:46.070 --> 00:35:49.389 entered the scene. When God's peace shows up, 00:35:49.489 --> 00:35:58.469 fear loses authority over your life. I'm just 00:35:58.469 --> 00:36:04.150 letting it sit there a minute. When you have 00:36:04.150 --> 00:36:08.110 the peace of God in Christ, fear loses authority. 00:36:10.170 --> 00:36:13.010 Anxiety loses volume because it can get loud. 00:36:14.489 --> 00:36:22.190 And pressure loses its power when we receive 00:36:22.190 --> 00:36:27.019 that gift of God's peace. Natural peace comes 00:36:27.019 --> 00:36:33.400 and goes, right? Comes and goes. But God's peace 00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:37.659 stays and strengthens. It will strengthen you. 00:36:37.900 --> 00:36:44.119 His peace will stay with you. But we have to 00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:48.659 receive it and continue receiving it and continue 00:36:48.659 --> 00:36:52.860 to stand, continue. Our spirits continue to stand 00:36:52.860 --> 00:36:56.539 up. and rule and have dominion over our souls. 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:02.340 This is the way it happens. It's how you receive 00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:06.840 it. Your spirit receives it. Philippians 4, 7. 00:37:07.320 --> 00:37:11.820 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds 00:37:11.820 --> 00:37:17.239 anything we can understand. When's the last time 00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:21.119 somebody looked at you and said, wow, if I was 00:37:21.119 --> 00:37:23.260 going through what you're going through, I would 00:37:23.260 --> 00:37:31.239 be a mess. How are you not a mess? Because I 00:37:31.239 --> 00:37:35.000 have the peace of God that surpasses understanding. 00:37:35.260 --> 00:37:37.699 It guards my heart and it guards my mind. You 00:37:37.699 --> 00:37:43.539 know what? Before I received the gift of peace 00:37:43.539 --> 00:37:46.420 from God, I used to be tore up any time I went 00:37:46.420 --> 00:37:53.489 through something like this. But not today. You 00:37:53.489 --> 00:37:55.750 will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything 00:37:55.750 --> 00:37:58.789 we can understand. His peace will guard your 00:37:58.789 --> 00:38:03.710 heart and your mind as you live in Christ Jesus. 00:38:04.349 --> 00:38:09.289 Everybody say, in Christ Jesus. Every time we 00:38:09.289 --> 00:38:15.809 see in Christ, through Christ, by Christ, we're 00:38:15.809 --> 00:38:20.190 finding something that's available to us in Christ. 00:38:24.019 --> 00:38:28.900 Those prepositions mean a lot. A lot of times 00:38:28.900 --> 00:38:30.739 we just read right through them and we don't 00:38:30.739 --> 00:38:34.320 think about them. But this is telling us something. 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:40.920 In Christ, this is what's available to us. In 00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:44.320 Christ, his peace to guard our heart and our 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:49.139 mind. Hallelujah. I'm not talking about a peace 00:38:49.139 --> 00:38:52.289 that occasionally visits your heart. Or a peace 00:38:52.289 --> 00:38:54.349 that every once in a while drops in your mind. 00:38:55.590 --> 00:38:58.010 We're talking about the peace of God guarding 00:38:58.010 --> 00:39:02.690 your heart and your mind. His peace is not fragile. 00:39:04.449 --> 00:39:06.969 Natural peace is fragile, but his peace is not. 00:39:07.949 --> 00:39:11.750 Here's a Greek word for guard. It means to guard, 00:39:11.909 --> 00:39:14.849 to protect, to keep watch over the peace of God. 00:39:16.550 --> 00:39:19.489 Protects you, it keeps his watch over you, guards 00:39:19.489 --> 00:39:29.280 you. Like a military sentinel. It's like, I'm 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:33.960 God's peace. You're not coming in. Fear, you're 00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:40.480 not coming in. Worry, you're not coming in. This 00:39:40.480 --> 00:39:44.719 is God's peace. Guards, keep quiet. It's like 00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:47.849 a military sentinel. To actively display whatever 00:39:47.849 --> 00:39:51.989 defensive or offensive means are necessary to 00:39:51.989 --> 00:40:00.349 guard. That's what happens when your spirit stands 00:40:00.349 --> 00:40:07.829 up. Peace. This is Cambridge Dictionary. The 00:40:07.829 --> 00:40:12.050 state of not being interrupted or annoyed by 00:40:12.050 --> 00:40:26.539 worry. Problems. noise, unwanted actions. Everybody 00:40:26.539 --> 00:40:31.780 say this with me. I will not be interrupted anymore. 00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:38.659 It's a Greek word for peace. It means one. It 00:40:38.659 --> 00:40:41.460 means peace. It means quietness. It means rest. 00:40:42.300 --> 00:40:44.400 This is the New Testament. We looked at the Old 00:40:44.400 --> 00:40:48.380 Testament word for peace a few weeks ago. But 00:40:48.380 --> 00:40:54.619 this peace is rest for your heart and for your 00:40:54.619 --> 00:41:00.219 mind. Romans 14, 17. I say this every once in 00:41:00.219 --> 00:41:04.199 a while, but until we all get it, I'm going to 00:41:04.199 --> 00:41:07.340 keep saying it. That's okay. Until we all get 00:41:07.340 --> 00:41:10.980 it. Romans 14, 17. For the kingdom of God. Everybody 00:41:10.980 --> 00:41:15.739 say the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God. Jesus 00:41:15.739 --> 00:41:18.599 ushered in the kingdom of God into this earth. 00:41:20.260 --> 00:41:24.019 The advent of the kingdom was Jesus coming to 00:41:24.019 --> 00:41:28.179 earth. For the kingdom of God is not eating and 00:41:28.179 --> 00:41:32.059 drinking. Everybody say not rules. See, everybody 00:41:32.059 --> 00:41:33.980 was all twisted up, messed up with the rules. 00:41:34.139 --> 00:41:36.059 It's like you got to do this, do this, do this. 00:41:36.139 --> 00:41:38.000 You can't do this. You can't eat that. You can't. 00:41:38.219 --> 00:41:40.219 eat this, but you better eat this, and you better 00:41:40.219 --> 00:41:43.800 eat that, and it's just all about rules. But 00:41:43.800 --> 00:41:46.679 the kingdom of God is beyond that. It's bigger 00:41:46.679 --> 00:41:50.960 than that. The kingdom of God is not eating and 00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:54.639 drinking. Here's what the kingdom of God is. 00:41:56.119 --> 00:42:00.820 Righteousness. Everybody say righteousness. Righteousness. 00:42:01.679 --> 00:42:03.699 I'm going to go ahead and add this in here. Gift 00:42:03.699 --> 00:42:13.070 righteousness. Not works righteousness. By receiving 00:42:13.070 --> 00:42:18.050 Christ, we receive his righteousness. In Christ, 00:42:18.130 --> 00:42:22.530 we become clothed in the righteousness of God. 00:42:22.610 --> 00:42:25.469 In Christ Jesus is what the Bible says. So we 00:42:25.469 --> 00:42:28.590 take off our unrighteousness and we put on the 00:42:28.590 --> 00:42:31.730 robe of Jesus' righteousness. That's what the 00:42:31.730 --> 00:42:35.010 kingdom of God's about. About us being in right 00:42:35.010 --> 00:42:37.489 standing with God, not based on our ability to 00:42:37.489 --> 00:42:40.170 perform, but based on what he's done for us. 00:42:42.070 --> 00:42:46.210 The kingdom of God is not about the rules. It's 00:42:46.210 --> 00:42:49.250 about righteousness. It's about two more things. 00:42:50.630 --> 00:42:54.610 Kingdom of God is about peace. This is how important 00:42:54.610 --> 00:42:58.309 peace is to God. He is Yahweh Shalom. He is I 00:42:58.309 --> 00:43:02.260 am your peace. And he says. I've ushered in my 00:43:02.260 --> 00:43:04.340 kingdom into the earth for you to be a part of 00:43:04.340 --> 00:43:06.500 the kingdom and to experience everything I have 00:43:06.500 --> 00:43:08.699 for you. Jesus said, I've got a gift for you, 00:43:08.719 --> 00:43:10.900 and it's peace, and it's not like the world's 00:43:10.900 --> 00:43:13.179 peace. And in the kingdom of God, this whole 00:43:13.179 --> 00:43:16.360 kingdom is about gift righteousness and peace 00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:24.760 and joy in the Holy Spirit. It's how important 00:43:24.760 --> 00:43:29.199 this is to God. Peace is important. He wants 00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:33.969 you. to receive his gift of peace that's found 00:43:33.969 --> 00:43:39.130 in his person. The kingdom of God invites us 00:43:39.130 --> 00:43:50.889 to exchange panic for presence. The kingdom of 00:43:50.889 --> 00:43:59.090 God invites us to exchange stress for surrender. 00:44:02.250 --> 00:44:05.869 Kingdom of God invites you to exchange worry 00:44:05.869 --> 00:44:16.989 for worship. The kingdom of God invites us to 00:44:16.989 --> 00:44:22.409 exchange fear. Because God didn't give you a 00:44:22.409 --> 00:44:24.550 spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound 00:44:24.550 --> 00:44:28.250 mind. So the kingdom of God invites you to exchange 00:44:28.250 --> 00:44:37.050 fear. For faith. You see, exchange. See, it's 00:44:37.050 --> 00:44:45.550 not ours, but God's. And today, especially not 00:44:45.550 --> 00:44:53.429 natural peace, but the peace of God. Peace didn't 00:44:53.429 --> 00:44:57.969 come wrapped in perfection. Not in a palace. 00:45:00.110 --> 00:45:04.300 Not with the best. Peace didn't come wrapped 00:45:04.300 --> 00:45:08.760 that way. Peace came wrapped in swaddling cloths, 00:45:08.760 --> 00:45:16.400 just strips of cloth. Not the fanciest outfit 00:45:16.400 --> 00:45:23.139 from the fanciest store. Strips of cloth. Not 00:45:23.139 --> 00:45:29.440 in a palace. Or a jewel -encrusted baby bed. 00:45:37.210 --> 00:45:46.530 But not a feed trough. So the advent, the coming 00:45:46.530 --> 00:45:50.789 of the notable person, Jesus, the Son of God, 00:45:50.969 --> 00:45:56.489 also brought about the advent of the notable 00:45:56.489 --> 00:46:00.309 thing that we're talking about today. And that's 00:46:00.309 --> 00:46:08.269 supernatural peace. Supernatural peace. He brought 00:46:08.269 --> 00:46:15.190 it. He offers it. He wraps it up in gift form 00:46:15.190 --> 00:46:26.469 to each one of us. We have to receive it. By 00:46:26.469 --> 00:46:29.849 standing up. Everybody say, I'm going to stand 00:46:29.849 --> 00:46:34.630 up. I'm going to stand up. Every time some circumstance 00:46:34.630 --> 00:46:38.210 tries to knock me down or take my peace or steal 00:46:38.210 --> 00:46:42.130 my joy, I'm going to stand up. And my spirit 00:46:42.130 --> 00:46:46.190 is going to rule over my mind, my will, and my 00:46:46.190 --> 00:46:57.530 emotions. Jesus still brings peace today. If 00:46:57.530 --> 00:47:02.070 we'll receive him, if we will rest in him, if 00:47:02.070 --> 00:47:04.150 we'll do those things, then we're going to display 00:47:04.150 --> 00:47:15.469 him. It's not my peace, but God's. And I'm here 00:47:15.469 --> 00:47:18.269 to declare to you that it's available for every 00:47:18.269 --> 00:47:25.329 single one of you. It's his gift for you. So 00:47:25.329 --> 00:47:30.750 in the... opportunities of stress and worry and 00:47:30.750 --> 00:47:34.090 exhaustion that we face during this time of year. 00:47:38.690 --> 00:47:43.730 Unwrap the peace of God. Enjoy the peace of God. 00:47:44.989 --> 00:47:49.510 Experience the peace of God. Because that's what 00:47:49.510 --> 00:47:55.489 he has for you. Let's pray. God, thank you. Thank 00:47:55.489 --> 00:47:57.190 you for your truth. Thank you for your word. 00:47:58.250 --> 00:48:01.789 Thank you for all that you're doing. God, I pray 00:48:01.789 --> 00:48:06.090 that we would receive your word today. We would 00:48:06.090 --> 00:48:10.329 receive your gift today. And we would stand up. 00:48:13.769 --> 00:48:20.010 Stand up. Every time. Something happens today, 00:48:20.130 --> 00:48:25.110 tomorrow, this week, next week, every time. Help 00:48:25.110 --> 00:48:27.250 us to be reminded of your truth and help us to 00:48:27.250 --> 00:48:34.510 stand up. And say, not today. Not today. Because 00:48:34.510 --> 00:48:39.630 I'm standing in the peace of God. In Jesus' name 00:48:39.630 --> 00:48:43.989 I pray. Amen. This online worship experience 00:48:43.989 --> 00:48:46.489 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:48:46.489 --> 00:48:47.530 of Elation Church.