1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,360
Welcome to ECB's Weekly Sermon Podcast. ECB is an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

2
00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:23,280
with dozens of nationalities worshipping together. We invite you to connect with us from wherever

3
00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:31,360
you are through our website, ecb.asia, or our mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

4
00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,560
by this week's sermon. This is the good news and we want to share it with others and that's why you

5
00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:44,320
see this gift up here. We are in a series right now about unwrapping Christmas. And before we get

6
00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:50,720
into this gift and take a look at it together, I want to invite you to do something that the

7
00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:56,560
church has done for many, many years. What is that? It's turning to one another and extending

8
00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:01,040
the peace of the Lord. So this is how this works. You look at the person next to you

9
00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:06,000
and you say, peace be with you. And the person who is receiving that, yeah hold on, hold on,

10
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,760
says, and also with you. So you're giving it back and forth.

11
00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:21,200
Would you join me in praying? Good Father, as we have just sung, you are worthy.

12
00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:29,120
You're holy. You are so different than anything we know and experience and

13
00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:36,880
we love you. And as we take time in these weeks to, in anticipation,

14
00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:45,760
remembering back to the coming of this fragile, helpless baby who turned the world right side up

15
00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:52,160
and we eagerly anticipate and look forward to your return.

16
00:01:53,920 --> 00:02:00,000
We thank you and we ask that if anyone is here this morning that doesn't know

17
00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,880
the beauty of you, Jesus, and have received you as their Lord and Savior,

18
00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:11,040
Holy Spirit, would you be working? We invite you to do so. For any who have received that,

19
00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:17,520
do your work within us. May we receive your peace into the depths of who we are, parts we don't even

20
00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:23,840
know we need to receive it. We declare that you are worthy and we seal this all in the wonderful

21
00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:33,840
name of Jesus. Amen. Well, several years ago I was on a trip that I made to the church and I was

22
00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:39,520
on a trip that I made to Germany to be with a dear friend of mine whose father had passed away.

23
00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,880
And I took a few days with him and then got back on the flight and heading home to where I was

24
00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:51,440
living in Los Angeles. And as I found my seat near the back of the plane and the heaviness of the

25
00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:58,400
days it was sitting on me, there's commotion coming down the aisle. And this happened to be a father

26
00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:07,040
son making quite a bit of noise and guess where they sat? Right next to me. Well, shortly after

27
00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:15,120
they sat down, I happened to look over and I saw fresh scratches on the father's face and on his

28
00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:25,920
arms. And he was just sweaty. His brow was sweaty, his shirt was sweaty. And it looked as though he

29
00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:29,200
probably had to run through the airport or something like that to catch this flight.

30
00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:36,560
And not only that, but this boy that was, I don't know, around eight years old was screaming and

31
00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:45,600
yelling and scratching out of his father. It was an absolute mess. Now, fast forward, we take off

32
00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:57,200
and we're going along on this 14 hour flight and things get worse, more troublesome. People begin

33
00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:03,760
to turn around and look at this father with looks of contempt, of judgment, of condensation,

34
00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:12,160
and condemnation towards him. And not only that, but there was food now all over the seats,

35
00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:18,800
in front of me, on the floor, on my lap, drink. It was a mess. And the flight attendants were

36
00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:24,800
extremely frustrated and they said some words in German that I remember from my childhood friends,

37
00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:31,120
words that should never have been said and I won't repeat here. But worst of all in all of this was

38
00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:38,080
just the look on this father's face. It was one of such shame and deep weariness that was covering

39
00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:47,440
him. Eventually, his son fell asleep in the seat next to him, actually in between us. And the father

40
00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:55,680
leans over and he began just voluntarily sharing his story with me. This is a family from Afghanistan

41
00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,560
and they had fled the war as refugees and made it to the United States thinking life would be

42
00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:06,480
different. And it was different in some ways, but very difficult in other ways. They had to learn

43
00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:12,080
any language, their skills were not marketable, they were working crazy hours trying to balance

44
00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:17,440
taking care of their family and kids and all these different things. And it was during this time of

45
00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:23,280
transition that they started to notice their son, something was off with him. He was six years old

46
00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:30,160
and he wasn't speaking. He was just yelling and was very unsettled. They made a little bit of

47
00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:36,960
progress with him and they thought, oh, things are going to be well again. And then the pandemic hits

48
00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:42,320
and they're stuck in a tiny apartment, all of them together and the son's situation just gets worse.

49
00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:52,320
And they heard during this time about a physician, the specialist in Frankfurt, Germany,

50
00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:58,480
who could cure their son. So they had taken all their days and they'd saved them up. They had put

51
00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:04,160
all their resources together. They'd even borrowed some funds, flown halfway, the father and son,

52
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:10,480
halfway around the world to see this physician. They arrive, they stay the night and the next

53
00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:17,760
morning they go to the clinic and the receptionist greets them and says, oh, unfortunately the doctor

54
00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:24,080
has left for the next three weeks and on vacation and so you're going to have to just wait to see

55
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:31,440
him. With no options, the father and son dejected and despairing, went back to their hotel, stayed a

56
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:38,800
couple nights and then got on their flight home. This is where I encountered them. And the father

57
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:46,400
explained during this time that he said, you know, my Muslim Afghani community, when they started to

58
00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:53,680
see that something was off with my son, they shunned us and they pushed us out. So we also lost our

59
00:06:53,680 --> 00:07:01,600
community. They said it's because Allah is not for you. And it was at this point that this father

60
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:10,720
looks me in the eyes and he says, perhaps God isn't for me. It's this deep wondering, can we go to the

61
00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:16,800
next slide please, this deep wondering that comes out of the depths of our experiences.

62
00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:22,480
And we ask that question when things are not as they're supposed to be, when things are out of

63
00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:29,680
order, when things are not full of peace, when we're missing peace. In that state of missing

64
00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:35,440
peace, we're going to grasp for it, we're going to try for it. And we may taste it a little bit,

65
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:40,240
but eventually it's going to catch up to us and we're not going to be able to grasp it like we

66
00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:45,040
hope for. And that's where this father was experiencing. He was experiencing

67
00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:53,840
missing peace. God's story in scripture helps us to make sense of this. How so? Well, from the very

68
00:07:53,840 --> 00:08:02,720
beginning, God created humanity to image him, to be in this beautiful, perfect, undisturbed relationship

69
00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:09,440
with him. And out of that vertical relationship, there is this horizontal peace. Everything was as

70
00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:15,680
it was supposed to be. But for those of you who know the story, we don't even get to the second

71
00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:24,880
page yet. And this peace begins to unravel, right? So Adam and Eve make a decision to rebel. God had

72
00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,560
given them directions and they said, no, we're not going to trust in you, we're going to trust in

73
00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:37,440
your enemy. An enemy whose kingdom is marked by lying, destroying, and killing. So they switched

74
00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:42,960
their allegiance over to this other kingdom, this false kingdom. And it was at that point that you

75
00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:49,680
see peace beginning to unravel. Now, the biblical language, what they use rather than peace is

76
00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:56,960
shalom. We translate it peace. Shalom is not just the absence of conflict. Shalom is far more than

77
00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:03,120
that. Shalom is everything as it is supposed to be. It's where things are whole, complete.

78
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:08,800
Take this picture up here, this picture of a wall. It's complete, right? We have all the different

79
00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:14,560
bricks and pieces in place. It's straight and aligned, which means the foundation is there.

80
00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:21,600
There's, it looks like good mortar in between the bricks to hold it together. Now, what I want you

81
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:27,760
to do is we're going to populate this wall with different aspects of your life so it becomes a

82
00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:33,680
picture, an illustration for you to think about. So if you put your finances up there, you put your

83
00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:41,040
school experience up there, you put your friends, your family, your career, your hope, all these

84
00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:48,080
different parts of what it means to be a person, your health. When all that's in order, it's shalom.

85
00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:57,440
It's wonderful, right? But that's not usually how we experience life. Usually our wall is broken.

86
00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:04,880
Some parts of it are not in order as they're meant to be. So in this situation, you've just

87
00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:11,040
received a diagnosis. Maybe it's cancer, terminal cancer, and maybe the doctors have told you

88
00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:16,880
there's not a cure for that. This brick now becomes a missing piece from your life. So

89
00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:23,040
you're missing peace from your wall. And that may have impacts or maybe there's other impacts. So

90
00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:28,160
your family or your home life is broken, your social relationships are broken, and then

91
00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:33,520
eventually your finances and all these other things kind of break about. Maybe that's not you,

92
00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:40,400
but maybe it's a different situation where it's your family that's out of order. And I mean a mess

93
00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:46,640
where things are not peaceful. In fact, you don't even want to be in the home because of how there's

94
00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:55,280
how much conflict there is in that space. The more broken the wall is, the more desperate we are to

95
00:10:55,280 --> 00:11:01,280
reach out for peace. And the more desperate we are to reach out for peace as we journey along in life,

96
00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:09,520
the more we realize we can't grasp it. And I know this news sits heavy. We're like,

97
00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:14,640
we're celebrating Christmas, Pastor Phil. The darkness that is around though makes the light

98
00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:20,240
shine so much brighter. And here is where we turn. So I want you to just be honest with

99
00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:25,600
where your life is at, all the pieces, the parts of it, whatever's broken, whatever's missing,

100
00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:33,840
that shalom that you're longing for. And would you join this man that I sat next to in asking

101
00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:42,880
that question? Is God for you? If I take all of the different brokenness that is around me,

102
00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:48,480
the lack of shalom, and I've tried everything I can to put it in place, it can be easy to then say,

103
00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:56,640
maybe God is against me. So with that question in mind, we're going to unwrap a gift here.

104
00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:03,520
Sarah Morales, thank you for creating this beautiful gift. She made it and I said,

105
00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:08,640
if I made the gift, nobody would be able to tell that it was a gift. So thankful for that.

106
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:15,280
This is the gift of peace and we need to unwrap it. We need to see what is inside of it,

107
00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:19,120
all the parts and pieces of it, if we are going to receive this gift fully.

108
00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:25,600
And let me tell you, if you've been walking with Jesus for 50 years, there is still more peace to

109
00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:34,320
receive. If you don't know Jesus, there is great news of peace to be received by him. My daughters

110
00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:39,680
give wonderful gifts and what they usually do on the gift is they have a card at the front and it

111
00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:45,440
says to dad and then maybe something else. Sometimes they give a hint on that gift about

112
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:50,400
what the gift is going to be. So before we even unwrap this gift, we're going to look at the,

113
00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:55,760
I need to turn the right side up. We're going to look at the card and see what it is that has been

114
00:12:55,760 --> 00:13:04,560
promised to us. What has been promised to us, we covered last week from Isaiah. So 700, roughly

115
00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:09,920
years before Jesus comes, this is the note of promise about the gift that we're going to receive.

116
00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:16,880
And what does it say? For unto us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. We're just saying these

117
00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:24,080
words, right? They're very familiar to us. And the government will be on his shoulders. What does

118
00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:31,040
that mean? That means the full weight of all the responsibility in life is going to be on this

119
00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:40,720
child's shoulders. And he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father.

120
00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:46,960
And what's the last one? Prince of peace. Okay, so we've got our gift foretold here,

121
00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:54,800
our gift of peace, but he's not done yet. He says of the greatness of his government and peace,

122
00:13:54,800 --> 00:14:02,000
there will be what? No ends. Amen. Let's just call it there and go forward. No, let's go ahead and

123
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,120
unpack this beautiful gift and we're going to see the different parts and pieces of it. The arrival

124
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:15,360
of Jesus's birth actually helps us to understand the true beauty of this gift. So I'm going to open

125
00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:21,840
it up here, not unwrap it, and we're going to look at the first one. For those of you in the front,

126
00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:28,080
go ahead and just yell it out. Peace with God. Okay, so the very first gift that we receive

127
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:35,680
is a gift of peace with God. Now hold up a moment. If God has arrived on the scene,

128
00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:42,640
and I'm on the wrong side of this cosmic battle, is that good news or bad news?

129
00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:49,600
It's bad news. Think about D-Day, the big huge battle in World War II when the collective forces

130
00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:58,400
are coming through Europe. You want it to be on that side, not the other side. So how is this gift

131
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:06,320
of peace, this peace with God going to be obtained? Because like this seatmate of mine,

132
00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:15,440
and like myself, and like you, we've all engaged in some form of rebellion against God.

133
00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:24,160
So it seems that when he shows up, it's going to be trouble for us, not something good.

134
00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,480
And to add to this, let's look at the Isaiah passage, that card that I read at the beginning.

135
00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:35,120
What has he identified as? Not the King of Peace, but the what? The Prince of Peace.

136
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:43,200
That's peculiar. This word is one of an administrator, a military administrator

137
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:50,400
that is coming to cause this thing. So if I am the King, I'm simply ruling over my

138
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:56,480
kingdom with a certain flavor or dynamic to that. But a prince is one who is coming in,

139
00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:03,520
bringing the kingdom and administering the peace. And the word here is really one of a military

140
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:11,840
leader. So if you're tracking, you're thinking, okay, this administrator has arrived and I'm on

141
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:19,600
the wrong side of the battle. How is peace with God going to happen then? What is it going to

142
00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:26,080
look like if I have engaged in rebellion and I'm on the wrong side of this battle? Well,

143
00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:30,880
let's turn to the text and we're going to look at what happens when Jesus arrives.

144
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:37,040
Familiar passage, but again, keep your eyes open, your ears open to see what God is doing

145
00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:42,960
in this arrival of Jesus. So here's how Luke recounts it. He says, in that same region,

146
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,200
this is the region where Jesus had just been born. He had been born in Bethlehem and it's

147
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:53,280
the countryside there. There were shepherds out in the field. Okay, we're going to stop there.

148
00:16:53,280 --> 00:17:01,200
Shepherds, they're smelly, they're uneducated, they're outside of the city, and they're considered

149
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:09,600
those who are likely God is maybe against them. And they would be the first people to be trounced

150
00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:15,200
by an incoming army as a way to show those in the city, hey, look, what's going to happen to you to

151
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:21,040
instill that fear. So, and in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping

152
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:27,760
watch over their flock by night. And then angel, which is a messenger, he's a messenger of God.

153
00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:36,320
And then angel, which is a messenger of the Lord, appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shown

154
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:43,600
around them. This word glory literally means weight. So the larger I am, the more glory I have.

155
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:49,680
Think about this with a small swimming pool. If I jump into one of those little kid pools and I am

156
00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:58,720
a very large person, I will displace all of the water, right? My glory is causing things to happen

157
00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:05,360
in that situation. So imagine yourself as a shepherd, and you're in the countryside. And this

158
00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:10,720
man, this messenger shows up with God's glory surrounding him. Well, what is God's glory?

159
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:19,360
He doesn't have a body. So this is his power, his strength, his knowledge, all of the force

160
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:24,320
of who God is, all of the strength of who he is, is somehow shining around this person.

161
00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:31,600
And often in the Bible, when glory shows up, it shows up with a picture of fire. So perhaps

162
00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,680
this man was there and it looked as though everything around him was on fire.

163
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:44,240
Imagine yourself as a shepherd seeing that. Oh, Lord, help me would be the response. And so here

164
00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:51,200
we have a shepherd looking out there and he's thinking, uh-oh, trouble has come. The Prince of

165
00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,600
Peace has come to administer the way and I'm going to be the one that needs to be taken out.

166
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:02,560
And so we understand why the shepherd was filled with great fear.

167
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:12,240
But what does the messenger say? The messenger said to them, fear not. It's easy for you to say.

168
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:18,560
I'm looking at you and I'm seeing all of this. How am I supposed to not fear in this situation?

169
00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:28,480
Fear not for behold, look upon, let's see what is going to happen. Behold, I bring you

170
00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:37,760
good news of great joy. What is that great joy? Joy that will come for who? All people,

171
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:44,720
including dirty shepherds, including my seatmate, including you and including me, for all people.

172
00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:51,600
Well, what is that good news? For unto you is born this day in the city of David a what?

173
00:19:51,600 --> 00:20:01,760
A Savior. A Savior who is Christ the Lord. That's good news. That is great news. And here's what

174
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:11,600
actually happens. This tiny little helpless baby comes upon the scene and you can think of it as

175
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:20,080
him sitting in that stone feeding trough as an offering from God, a peace offering. And

176
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:27,120
you can think of it as a gift from God, a peace offering on your behalf saying rather than you

177
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:36,000
being trampled, I give you myself to take your place. And all of the things that you have done

178
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:42,000
have rebellion against me. I take that upon my own shoulders, shoulders that will end up being

179
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:49,120
where I will be nailed there for your sake. Paul says the following in Colossians. He says for God

180
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:59,520
was what? Pleased. Don't pass over that. God is pleased to come and offer himself for you.

181
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:09,120
God was pleased to have all his fullness. He's not actually weak. He's not that helpless baby

182
00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:17,520
in his fullness, but he surrendered it somehow and through him to reconcile to himself all things,

183
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:25,920
whether things on earth or things in heaven by making what? Peace through his blood shed

184
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:35,040
on the cross. Amen. That's a wonderful gift. Peace with God. That's only part of the gift though.

185
00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:40,160
That's part of the gift. This Prince of Peace, he comes to administer justice and he takes it upon

186
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:46,560
himself, thereby taking your place and saying, you can now have a restored relationship with me.

187
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:53,920
Well, let's continue to unwrap this and let's look at the second part of this gift. Again,

188
00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,920
you guys did such a great job. The first service, I could hardly get them to speak. So here we go.

189
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:06,320
Can we read it out again? Peace from God. So we're coming to the second aspect of this. So I've got

190
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:13,360
my vertical relationship intact now with God, but he's offering something even more. Peace from God.

191
00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:19,920
So here we continue the story and Luke says the following, he said, and this will be a sign for

192
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:25,600
you. Actually, these are the angels speaking it to these shepherds. You will find a baby wrapped in

193
00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:32,960
swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Familiar words for those of you who have journeyed with

194
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:38,320
Jesus for some time, but again, let's unpack this. Let's unwrap it a little bit and see what is going

195
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:47,760
on here. If I have peace with God, that may be just a promise, but my actual life is not going

196
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:53,840
to change at all. So I could have told my seatmate on that flight, this is the prayer you say, and

197
00:22:53,840 --> 00:23:00,080
then hold on and you'll get into heaven at the end. But that's not the God we follow. He comes to also

198
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:05,520
bring peace with him. A peace on the horizontal level, a peace that we get to experience.

199
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:12,240
Now, how do I see this? How do we see this in this passage here? How does Jesus show up?

200
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:22,080
He shows up as a baby, but not just any baby, a baby who doesn't even have a place to be born in.

201
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:31,440
A baby who is in a dinky little town, a baby who has been given to a teenage mother to care for.

202
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:36,320
We just celebrated one of my daughter's birthdays and I was thinking back to bringing her home from

203
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:44,320
the hospital. Those of you who have held a brand new baby, remember that feeling? They're so tiny

204
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:50,640
and they're so helpless. They can't even hold their head up. They're like, you got to put your

205
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:57,440
hand there. It's the number one thing a father needs to learn. And this baby, this helpless baby

206
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,480
is not going to survive any moment at all without that help.

207
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:10,320
So the savior of the world is entrusted to us in this way. Fast forward just a little bit and this

208
00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:16,960
family with this now young toddler end up fleeing to Egypt as refugees.

209
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:25,040
This is the upside down kingdom that this prince of peace brings. It does not make sense. It doesn't.

210
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:33,280
If you were to plan a way to come and turn things over again, this is not it. A small baby in a

211
00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:39,280
manger and then entrusted to a teenage daughter who will then be refugees as they're fleeing for

212
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:48,400
their life. Why does God do this? Because he is stepping into the very existence of the lack of

213
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:55,280
peace that I experience and that you experience and that this man on the flight was experiencing.

214
00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:02,800
There is none of us here that says, God, you don't understand my situation. He does. He fully

215
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:09,920
gets it. And so he sits with the man on that flight in all of what is wrong and he's with him.

216
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:16,240
And this is how he brings that peace from above to him. It's an upside down kingdom.

217
00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:24,720
But he also calls you to participate in that kingdom. We have a long term ECBer named Scott

218
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:28,960
Hayden who has taught courses on conflict resolution, peacemaking.

219
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:33,440
And he does this in schools. He's done this with our business fellowship. He's done this here with

220
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:40,960
an ECB. And what he's doing is he's helping us to know how to walk in the way of peace, peace from

221
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:48,560
God. But we have to understand something about this peace. This peace is one that comes at a

222
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:56,640
sacrifice, a willing sacrifice in the following ways. Jesus says, I will not be a victim of

223
00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:04,000
the peace. I will not be a victim of the peace. I will be a victim of the peace in the following

224
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:10,720
ways. Jesus says, blessed are the peacemaker for they will be called what children of God.

225
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:16,000
Well, what are those peacemakers? Jesus teaches us about this. There are those who forgive their

226
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:21,760
enemies. There are those who turn the other cheek when they've been hit. They are those who give

227
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:29,440
them the loam and peace of God. They are those who work endlessly on behalf of their king of peace

228
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:34,160
for that. But Jesus isn't one who just says, hey, these are your marching orders. I'm going to sit

229
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:41,040
over here and every once in a while I'm going to give you a clap or a hand of applause. No,

230
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:50,400
Jesus actually did all of this with us. Philippians 2 says the following. I don't have it on the

231
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:56,800
screen here. I want you to just listen to what Jesus did. So just let the words of God soak in

232
00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:04,000
here. Again, a familiar passage. Do nothing, nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.

233
00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:12,720
But in humility, count others as more significant than yourself. Let each of you look not only to

234
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:19,680
his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this in mind among yourself,

235
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:25,280
which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, he took on

236
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:34,080
human nature, the form of a servant being born in the likeness of man. And not being found in human

237
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:40,480
and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

238
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:48,000
even death on the cross. Is that a trustworthy savior? Absolutely. He is willing to go to all

239
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:56,000
of those extent to offer this peace from himself. But he calls you to do that with one another as

240
00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:03,920
well, to be people who are full of peace to others. Contrary to the experiences we often have in life,

241
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:10,720
this leader comes serving, lifting us up and taking our life from where it was and bringing

242
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:16,640
healing and shalom back to it. Jesus says the following about the peace he offers. He says,

243
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:26,160
peace I leave you. My peace, not the peace of your circumstances, but my peace I give you.

244
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:33,760
I don't give to you as the world gives. See, we long after the peace that we think we know,

245
00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:39,280
but he comes and he says, I give you a different peace. So we need to look to him and say, this is

246
00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:45,680
the peace that comes from him. So after establishing that vertical relationship, that relationship

247
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:52,080
with God where we have peace with him, he now comes launching a new kingdom, a kingdom of peace

248
00:28:52,080 --> 00:29:01,680
for those around you. But I hope you're sitting there and saying, Pastor Phil, I still have things

249
00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:07,440
that are out of order in my life. And loving my enemy seems like a worse situation than before

250
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:17,200
possibly. And you know, whatever those questions may be. Well, here is where Jesus brings the final

251
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:23,360
gift. The Prince of Peace comes with the final gift. And what is that final gift? Now it's on

252
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:31,840
the screen, so we're all going to read together. What is it? Peace guaranteed. If I give a promise,

253
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:39,680
which we do with one another all the time, I may or may not be able to fulfill that. Not so with

254
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:47,360
God. God is different. When he speaks, it's as good as done. And when he promises, it's as good as

255
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:54,400
though that will happen. So this peace guaranteed, let's go ahead and look back to the arrival,

256
00:29:54,400 --> 00:30:00,320
the story, and here we're going to find more details that help us understand this. And suddenly

257
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:07,680
there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts proclaiming or praising God for the

258
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:16,800
first time. And they were all saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those

259
00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:23,040
whom he is pleased. We have a promise here. If God is pleased with you and if that relationship has

260
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:32,560
been restored this way, then what will be your gift? Peace. Okay, but maybe I'm not experiencing.

261
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:38,240
I'm not seeing here. Well, let's go ahead and look at the story with a little careful attention.

262
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:45,280
Peace is promised to those with a restored relationship, but there's a guaranteed aspect

263
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:50,000
that will come later. And Pastor Rene unpacked this with the idea of hope, the certainty of what

264
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:56,400
will come and we as followers of Jesus walk in that. What do you notice though about the angels

265
00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:01,760
here? There's an angel army, an army of messengers. If a battle is about to happen,

266
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,600
they're going to be running around. They're going to be working hard. They're going to be

267
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:11,600
sharpening their tools, fixing their weapons, whatever it may be to engage in battle.

268
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:20,560
What are these soldiers doing? These terrifying soldiers. They're singing like we did last week.

269
00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:29,600
They're praising God. How can they do that when the hope of the world is three kilos,

270
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:37,280
can not hold his own neck up and is sitting there in a manger with a 14 year old, possibly girl,

271
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:45,520
as his mother? How can they do that? They should be on full alert, helping with this situation.

272
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:54,080
But see, they know something about the God that we serve. This was the plan that he put into place

273
00:31:54,080 --> 00:32:01,040
from the beginning of time. When Adam and Eve said, God, we want to rebel against you. He said,

274
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:09,040
I love you and I promise through you a son will come. You fast forward to Isaiah and he tells Isaiah

275
00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:14,560
write this down for unto you a son will come. And these are some characteristics of this son.

276
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:24,880
Fast forward to 2000 years ago and this son comes. Everything God speaks happens. Everything he

277
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:33,920
speaks happens. Peace is guaranteed. So what does he actually speak then? What is it that he

278
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:39,680
expresses? Well, before we get there though, I want to turn to the last part of our story here

279
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:44,960
because our shepherds are kind of the key characters besides Jesus in this story. Here's

280
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:50,720
what it says. When the angels went away from them into heaven, so now the army is gone and they're

281
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:57,440
left with this little baby, the shepherd said to one another, let's go over to Bethlehem and see

282
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:01,200
this thing that has happened. Okay, we're going to check it out. We're going to see if what the angel

283
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:11,120
said was true. So they go with haste and they find Mary and Joseph and this little baby lying in a

284
00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:16,720
manger. And when they saw it, they made known the sayings that had been told them concerning the

285
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:27,760
child. And all who heard it did what? Wondered at what the shepherds told them. This is something

286
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:34,000
that was promised to them in that moment. And what do they do? They go and see that it is exactly as

287
00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:41,760
God said it was. Again, another little picture or hint into what is going on here. You have these

288
00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:48,400
angels singing and you have these shepherds who have just seen a promise of God come true. So

289
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:53,120
again, this is the God that we follow and when we're in this situation where things look

290
00:33:53,120 --> 00:34:00,080
completely hopeless, we remember back to words that Jesus said. What did he say in John 16 to his

291
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:06,800
followers? He says these words just before his circumstances, his wall crumbles to absolute

292
00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:13,920
pieces. Here's what he says, I have said these things to you that in what? Me, not in your

293
00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:19,440
circumstances, but in me you may have peace. In this world, you're going to have problems.

294
00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:24,480
We're all headed in there. No matter what age you are, things will begin to fail.

295
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:36,080
But do what? Take heart. For I have overcome the world. This is why those angels can sit there

296
00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:43,600
singing while their Lord is sitting there as a helpless infant because he has overcome the

297
00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:49,600
world, no matter if it doesn't look like it. When God promises that his baby would be peace for us,

298
00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:56,720
he did it. When God tells you to take heart because he has overcome the world and all that

299
00:34:56,720 --> 00:35:03,520
is broken and maimed and out of order, it too will pass away at some point. Peace is guaranteed.

300
00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:10,240
Let's take a look at where those who are in Christ are heading. It's beautiful.

301
00:35:10,240 --> 00:35:18,880
He, God Almighty, will wipe away every tear from their eyes. That sounds really wonderful.

302
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:28,880
And death shall be no more. Also wonderful. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor

303
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:37,200
pain anymore. For what? For the former things have passed away. For the present things have

304
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:45,840
passed away. For the former things have passed away. And he who is seated on the throne said what?

305
00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:52,160
Behold. Look upon. Look upon what is going to happen. The same thing the messenger said

306
00:35:52,160 --> 00:36:00,240
to the shepherds. Behold. Something is happening here. Behold, I am making some things new.

307
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:07,360
Only a little bit new. All things new. Peace is absolutely guaranteed.

308
00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:16,960
So we return to my seatmate and his question. And I want you again to be honest if there is

309
00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:23,200
this wondering, God are you against me with the circumstances I face? God are you against me?

310
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:30,400
God are you against me? And this is what we could say to this man on the flight.

311
00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:36,160
After we have just recounted this gift and all of the beautiful reality that is there.

312
00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:45,520
We can look him in the eyes and say Jesus is with you. He knows and has experienced all of what you

313
00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:50,720
are going through right now. The scratches on your face and your arms. The shameful looks that others

314
00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:56,640
are giving you. The weariness that you are experiencing. Every part and piece of this he

315
00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:03,600
knows. He went through that because of his great love for you. And he stepped into your world to

316
00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:10,240
be with you. Why? So that he can repair that relationship vertically with him. So is God

317
00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:17,280
against you? Absolutely not. God is more for you than you will ever be able to know. Behold and

318
00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:25,760
wonder at this. There is great news of joy. But not only this. In showing up to be with you in this

319
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:32,880
lowly state. He wants you to know that he not only sees you in your son but he wants to actually

320
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:41,040
restore peace in your own family. I live in Bangna and there is a coffee shop in the same little

321
00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:48,720
Muban that I live in. And at that coffee shop that is all about restoring those who have been in the

322
00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:54,720
sex trafficking industry. Restoring them back to a position of hope and dignity. It's a wonderful

323
00:37:54,720 --> 00:38:01,280
coffee shop. And sometimes when I'm sitting in there this school that is close to us, international

324
00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:09,520
community school, will come in with a group of young kids. These kids are all kids with disabilities.

325
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:13,600
And there's these teachers that are loving on these kids and bringing them in there and helping

326
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:20,640
them to learn what it is to sell and buy and giving them tools to walk them into a life where

327
00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:28,000
they can experience greater peace as they grow up. The world would say these are the weak. These are

328
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:34,000
the shepherds on the outside. These are the ones that obviously God is not favoring. Jesus comes

329
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:38,480
and he says these are my image bears and I love them and you will care for them and you will do

330
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:44,800
so with deep profound love because I've done that for you. So I can look this man in the face and I

331
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:51,600
can say that God loves you and he sees this and he is there to restore things and to bring you into

332
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:57,600
a greater sense of peace. But I'm not going to oversell this and say that you're going to

333
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:06,160
experience a healing. Maybe. But maybe not. We don't know. But even with that if your son remains

334
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:11,040
in this condition and you offer him a little more peace in this life just like we get to experience

335
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:17,040
a little more peace. The God of the world has guaranteed that everything that is wrong will one

336
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:23,520
day be made right. That wall that we looked at at the beginning when it's completely crumbled down

337
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:29,520
and you think how can it be restored? Not only will he put it back together. He'll make it better

338
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:37,520
than it was at the beginning. That's this wonderful gift that we get to receive. For those of you who

339
00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:47,120
don't know Jesus in this way have not received him as your Lord and your Savior. Don't miss that he's

340
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:56,400
coming to encounter you right now. Don't pass over that. How do you receive that gift? It's free.

341
00:39:56,400 --> 00:40:02,720
There's no strings attached. There's a bow but no strings attached. If you have been walking with

342
00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:12,080
Jesus for a long time there is more peace to be experienced. And for you it is a living into the

343
00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:17,280
peace that has come from him. Being an agent of that peace to your family, to those around you,

344
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:24,320
to your neighborhood, to the city, to this country, to the world. And there's more peace to experience

345
00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:28,000
that is a deeper intimacy with this God that we follow.

346
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:58,000
For more information about our ministry, please visit our website.

347
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:26,000
And remember to join us next week. God bless you.