WEBVTT

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What is your expectation of peace? For some of

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us, peace is finally getting home after a long

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day and realizing you don't have to be anywhere.

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Put your feet up, favorite drink to the side,

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just enjoy. Maybe you're turning off all the

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lights, grabbing your favorite blanket. Mine

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is black and white with the fuzzy side and a

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flat side on the other one. And watching a movie

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that you've already seen a million times because

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You don't really want any plot twists today.

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You're just trying to see Marty McFly go back

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in time and save his family. It's just awesome

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no matter how many times you saw it. Maybe for

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some it's Casablanca. I finally saw that for

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the first time the other day. Yeah, it stands

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up. You know, or maybe peace is simply making

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it through an evening without having somebody

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say to you, hey, we need to talk. We often imagine

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peace as the absence of conflict, everything

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going our way, having control, quiet, the chance

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to finally relax when the world stops bothering

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us. Basically, peace is when everyone and everything

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seems to cooperate with our plans. Michael Caine,

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the actor, one time said, be like a duck, calm

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on the surface, but always paddling like the

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dickens underneath. And honestly, that describes

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how many of us try to achieve peace. We look

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serene on the outside, pretending everything's

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okay, and meanwhile we're paddling frantically

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under the water so no one notices the chaos.

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Pastors are not immune from that as well. But

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it raises a question, if there's paddling, if

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there's pressure, fear, uncertainty, Does that

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mean that peace has actually disappeared? Does

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peace only exist when nothing goes wrong? Because

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the truth is, the world around us has never really

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been calm. Especially, I would say, when I'm

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looking at what it is to be an exenial. You may

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be wondering, what's an exenial? Well, maybe

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you've heard of Generation X, maybe you've heard

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of Millennials. Well, it turns out that there's

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a six year period right in between the last part

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of Gen X and the beginning of millennial, they

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call exenials, because we know a little bit about

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the old way that the world worked and a lot about

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the new way the world has worked, especially

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with the internet and the world drastically changing.

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So we have our nice little pocket where a lot

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of things change really quickly. You see, we

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grew up in a world where every time you thought

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things might settle down, something else happened.

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1984, the first Apple Macintosh and personal

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computing in your own home. 1986, watching the

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space shuttle go into space as the Challenger

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exploded. Going through that in kindergarten.

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1989, with the Berlin Wall falling, the same

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year as Tiananmen Square and the Chinese Communist

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issues. the Exxon Valdez spilling in all the

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poor ducks, the collapse of the Eastern European

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regimes, 91 being Operation Desert Storm, the

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end of the Soviet Union and Rodney King in California,

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92 being the LA riots, 93 being the first World

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Trade Center bombing, in case we forgot what

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had happened eight years previous to 2001. and

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the Waco siege with the Branch Davidians, 94

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and the Rwandan genocide, and watching O .J.

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Simpson being chased down the freeway, and many

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of us wondering who's O .J. Simpson. The world

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that we grew up in, but today's world is no different.

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If peace depends on calm circumstances, when

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has there ever truly been peace? So maybe expectations

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of peace, they're just too simplistic. Maybe

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we think peace is a mood or a setting or a temporary

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ceasefire or an escape from other people's expectations.

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But Advent asks a deeper, harder question. What

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if real peace doesn't come where you expect it?

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What if it doesn't look like what you imagine?

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What if peace is not the absence of trouble,

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but the presence of God? in the middle of it.

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And the question opens the door straight into

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Isaiah. See, Isaiah shifts the camera because

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the devastation is still fresh in their mind.

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The superpowers of the ancient world, these massive

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empires that looked immovable, they're actually

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toppling over like trees in a storm. Assyria,

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swollen with arrogance and boasting its own strength

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that brought down the northern portion of Israel.

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is itself going to be cut down. Judah, the southern

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portion, God's own people is not going to escape

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discipline themselves. They too will fall. Their

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kings, their pride, their defenses, all laid

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low. The writing is on the wall and they know

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it decades beforehand. Picture the landscape

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after a hurricane has torn through. Trunks snapped,

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roots exposed, the silence of judgment lingering

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in the air. That's the same scene that Isaiah

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wants us to feel. But in the middle of all that

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ruin, he says something quite strange. A shoot

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shall come out of the stump of Jesse. Not from

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a palace with banners still flying, not from

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a throne room still humming with life. And notice

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the stump of Jesse, David's father. It's not

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even from the stump of David, the famous king

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that everyone remembered, but from Jesse, David's

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father. A way of saying, go back even before

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the glory of David's days. Strip away the nostalgia.

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Start from scratch before you get back to the

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Davidic line. From a dead stump, forgotten roots.

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A people who have been through judgment, loss,

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exile, and shame. It's like when I got to buy

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my house about four years ago There was a bush

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that was in front of the house and apparently

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it had died during the ice storm of 2021 just

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months before I'd bought it And the recommendation

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was why don't you just go ahead and remove it?

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But instead I broke off all the dead limbs on

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the outside and left just this ugly little stump

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base intact at the bottom And within two years,

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it had already become beautiful and thriving

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again. You see, this is God's pattern. When people

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expect peace to come through strength, God grows

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peace through weakness, the stump. When people

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expect peace to come through victory, God's peace

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is growing through humility, the stump. When

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people expect peace to come through domination,

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God grows peace through righteousness, justice.

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Some of you know what that feels like. You may

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have given up, frankly, on the very idea of peace

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a long time ago. Maybe you're already telling

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yourself, there's no point in even hoping. Just

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count the days until it's over, whatever it may

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be. Judah lived under that cloud for over a century,

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feeling the weight of Israel's fall, wondering

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if they were next, all while trying to appease

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idols and imitate the powers that were around

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them. They were exhausted, anxious, spiritually

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numb. And right there, right in that long ache

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of waiting, God whispers, watch the stump. Don't

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look for an Everett David in armor. Don't look

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for a savior who fits the old mold of success,

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power, force, or bravado. Look for something

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new. something small, gentle, unexpected. Look

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for life growing where no life should be. And

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then Isaiah lifts our eyes to a world transformed,

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wolves lying down with lambs, children playing

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safely where danger once lived, the earth itself

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overflowing with the knowledge of the Lord. This

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is not peace that tweaks politics or peace that

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rewrites creation itself. It's looking to see

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how that peace that comes to rewrite all of creation,

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a kind of peace the world has never imagined.

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No wonder people were not ready for it. See,

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there's a moment in Israel's history where some

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people might have wondered if Israel's promise

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was happening right in front of them. Hezekiah,

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right after this, brought reform. He tore down

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idols. He redirected the nation to trust God

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again. And for a brief season, There was real

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hope, like a small green shoot breaking through

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the soil. But Hezekiah, he was just a taste.

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He was not the meal. A hint, not the reality.

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A shadow, not the substance. Because even Hezekiah,

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as faithful as he was, he still struggled to

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trust God completely. His famous moment when

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the Babylonian envoys showed that even he wavered,

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revealing his wealth instead of relying on God's

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wisdom. Because his reign was good. but it wasn't

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the promised peace. God gives His people these

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little previews sometimes to expect more and

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not settle for less. Hezekiah whetted the appetite,

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reminding Israel of the fear of the Lord, but

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he wasn't the promise. That longing was setting

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the stage for John the Baptist. You see, we move

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out into the wilderness and we watch John, who

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is preaching repentance, Not to be scolding for

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its own sake, not to shame, but to prepare. It's

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hard to hear, especially for those who don't

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want to listen, but it's for the sake of preparation.

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Leveling the ground, clearing the space, pulling

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the weeds out of people's expectations so they

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recognize the Messiah. John is saying, reset

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your expectations. Scrub your assumptions. Clear

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the soil of your heart because you cannot see

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the Messiah if you're anchored to the wrong story.

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I need to explain then what it is to have anchoring

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bias. It's the psychological tendency to let

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the first thing that you hear, the first voice

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that you trust, the first explanation you receive

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become your default. Once that anchor is dropped

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and you've heard somebody's story paint the picture,

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everything new gets interpreted through it, even

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if the anchor is wrong. That's why so often people

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are like, let me tell you first before you hear

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it from anyone else. You see, Israel had anchors.

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We have anchors. John came to reset them. Matthew

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shows that there were three anchors that could

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have happened with people. securing their hope.

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If they placed their anchor in the Pharisees,

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they would have expected peace by keeping the

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rules, being pure according to their codes, and

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having moral superiority. But if that's the case,

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Jesus is going to disappoint you. If your anchor

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is in Rome, then you're going to expect peace

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through force, economic strength, political dominance,

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like the Hellenistic Jews that were there at

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the time. But Jesus then would confuse you. But

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if your anchor is John, you expect peace through

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repentance, openness, humility, readiness, and

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then Jesus will fulfill you. You see, this is

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why God again in mercy sends John first. John

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is not the peace, he's the preparation for peace.

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John cannot give the kind of peace that people

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wanted because he was pointing toward the kind

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of peace that people needed. See, some of Jesus'

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very first disciples came directly from John

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the Baptist's circle, and that matters. Why were

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they ready when others were not? Because John

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had trained them to expect humility instead of

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power, truth instead of comfort. Repentance over

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defending yourself. God's surprising work over

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their own assumptions. John didn't just preach

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repentance. He reshaped expectations. He loosened

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the old anchors so we could receive something

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new. See, those who followed John had already

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begun unlearning beliefs that would have blocked

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them from recognizing Jesus. So when Jesus appeared,

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with a piece that was unlike anything that they

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had imagined, they didn't resist it. They recognized

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it. You cannot receive unexpected peace while

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holding onto unexamined expectations. You cannot

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receive unexpected peace while holding onto unexamined

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expectations. You know, if you see your character

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come up. If you watch the Ted looking to talk

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to the Robin and Barney, his friend, has to come

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along and say, have you met Ted? Sometimes you

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need someone to point you to someone besides

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themselves because we're open to the next voice

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when someone we trust introduces it. John is

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the have you met Jesus of the New Testament.

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Because he's pointing beyond himself so that

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people can meet the one who truly brings peace

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But the tone shifts and John says a sharp warning

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the axe is already at the root of the trees Why

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such intensity? Because false peace must be cut

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down before true peace can grow False peace says

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everything's fine False peace says, I'm not the

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problem. False peace says, if everyone else changed,

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I'd be happy. False peace is denial dressed as

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serenity. False peace is calm built on avoidance.

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False peace is the illusion that we can keep

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everything the same and still experience the

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Kingdom of God. But true peace, the peace that

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Isaiah described, says, Lord, Start with me,

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even if it burns. Prepare my heart. Cut down

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what is dead in me so something alive can grow.

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This is the collision of Advent. The shoot that

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comes from the stump, the axe at the root, they

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belong together. God brings real peace, but he

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often begins by cutting away the dead, the diseased,

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the deceptive expectations that we leaned on.

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because you cannot get the new shoot growing

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up unless you let the old tree fall. We move

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from the intensity of John's warning to the revelation

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at the center of Advent. Jesus is the fulfillment

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of Isaiah's vision, a peace that the world has

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never known, peace that's not through force but

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compassion. Peace that's not through victory,

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but vulnerability. Peace that's not through domination,

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but through righteousness. Peace that's not through

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the throne, but through a manger. Jesus is the

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shoot from the stump. He's a new David. He's

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not in armor, but in swaddling cloths. The ruler

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whose strength is gentleness, whose authority

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is love. It's not always easy. And not everything

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that Jesus said sounded like comfort and sounded

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calm. But maybe this is the deeper issue for

00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:29.460
us. Maybe we expect too little from God. Maybe

00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:32.539
we expect the wrong things. Or maybe we expect

00:17:32.539 --> 00:17:34.740
peace to move in the wrong direction, coming

00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:37.940
from outside rather than from the inside out.

00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:42.880
Maybe we expect a Savior who fits our preferences

00:17:43.289 --> 00:17:48.309
instead of transforming us. Jesus exceeds those

00:17:48.309 --> 00:17:52.910
expectations. He exceeds us. But not by comforting

00:17:52.910 --> 00:17:58.450
alone, but rather by confronting us. Because

00:17:58.450 --> 00:18:01.089
the real Messiah presents a peace that doesn't

00:18:01.089 --> 00:18:04.690
bow to our assumptions, but redefines them entirely.

00:18:05.930 --> 00:18:09.809
If you're uncomfortable, it's probably a good

00:18:09.809 --> 00:18:16.599
thing. leads us to the turn. Because Advent is

00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:21.259
not about waiting. It's about preparing. If John

00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:23.779
the Baptist prepared people for Christ's first

00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:27.680
coming, then we are meant to prepare people for

00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:32.400
his presence now, for his coming again. But let's

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be clear about this. We do not prepare people

00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:40.980
to fit Jesus as if Jesus fits our politics. as

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if Jesus protects our comfort, as if Jesus never

00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:48.160
confronts us or disagrees with us. Because that

00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:52.539
would be a false peace, a safe peace, an expected

00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:56.619
peace, a duck on the water whose feet are not

00:18:56.619 --> 00:19:00.859
paddling furiously, but in that case, a duck

00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:05.519
who is not alive. Instead, we prepare people

00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.220
for the Jesus who grows peace out of places that

00:19:08.220 --> 00:19:11.400
look dead. who restores what sin is damaged,

00:19:11.579 --> 00:19:14.980
who brings justice to the poor and burden, who

00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:18.400
heals creation itself, who challenges every false

00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:22.039
anchor that we cling to. We prepare people for

00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:26.519
the unexpected Jesus. The Jesus who brings true

00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:31.200
peace, not the peace we invent. It may sound

00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:34.940
like it conflicts with the hymn, O long -expected

00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:39.339
Jesus. But see, that's why the baptism of Jesus

00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:42.859
is different from the baptism of John. Because

00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:45.660
John's baptism asks, have you repented enough

00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:49.559
to enter the water? Jesus' baptism announces

00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:53.220
something radically different. You belong to

00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:57.660
me because my Father has claimed you. Peace is

00:19:57.660 --> 00:20:01.380
not achieved through your effort. It is received

00:20:01.380 --> 00:20:05.769
through my presence, through my word. through

00:20:05.769 --> 00:20:09.529
my spirit. The Prince of Peace doesn't wait for

00:20:09.529 --> 00:20:12.809
us to prove ourselves. He comes to us, claims

00:20:12.809 --> 00:20:18.970
us, restores us, and sends us out. So how do

00:20:18.970 --> 00:20:22.309
we close this message for the Peace of Advent?

00:20:23.289 --> 00:20:26.069
With the same voice that it echoed in the wilderness.

00:20:26.930 --> 00:20:29.869
In a culture anchored to Pharisees and Rome,

00:20:30.170 --> 00:20:33.670
God still sends a voice today to say, Prepare

00:20:33.670 --> 00:20:36.529
the way of the Lord, make His path straight.

00:20:36.710 --> 00:20:40.109
Because the peace that's coming, the peace born

00:20:40.109 --> 00:20:42.809
in Bethlehem, the peace promised in Isaiah, the

00:20:42.809 --> 00:20:46.069
peace proclaimed by John, it's better than what

00:20:46.069 --> 00:20:49.450
we expect. It's more surprising than what we

00:20:49.450 --> 00:20:52.809
would ask for. And it's more beautiful than what

00:20:52.809 --> 00:20:58.170
we can imagine. So come, Lord Jesus. Do not bring

00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:02.230
us peace that we hope for. Bring us your peace.

00:21:02.569 --> 00:21:05.890
that we need Thanks be to God