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Advent 2024: Peace - Isaiah 9:6-7 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Good morning, everyone.
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I'm thankful to open up God's Word with you today to focus on peace.
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!
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Please bring it back.
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And I was just looking back on the last Advent sermon that I did on peace, and it actually
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was 2020, like right after COVID had started.
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And so it was like another tumultuous time that I actually had to speak on peace.
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But this is the Advent season long ago in ancient times, God preparing and promising
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to send a Redeemer.
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However, as we've said, Advent really just means coming or arrival, and also to focus
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on the birth of Christ and His first Advent, but also the second coming, which we greatly
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look forward to.
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Christ has come.
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He is our hope.
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He is our peace.
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And today, that is going to be our focus, Advent peace.
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And when you're learning to preach and to teach God's Word, a lot of the times some guys just
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kind of run straight to a text and begin to read it and walk through it.
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Another way to do it is actually to kind of create the problem first, and then through
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God's Word, show how God meets that particular need.
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And I just find it fitting to first talk about why there is an absence of peace in our personal
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lives and in our world.
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We can't find it.
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So the opposite of true spiritual peace, as most of us are aware, is anxiety.
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If our elders could count how many times we talk to people in our church, that anxiety is
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in those top two or three things that always come up of members in our church, godly people
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who are just struggling with anxiety.
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And the definition of anxiety in the Scripture, the word, just hurts to even hear it.
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It means to be inwardly divided, to be inwardly torn in different directions, so that you're fracturing
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basically from the inside out.
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You felt that?
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Like just different things pulling on you in your heart and in your soul, dividing you so
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that you're fracturing spiritually, and then physically following that.
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Very real.
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All of us have dealt with it.
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Some are eating up with it more than others.
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But anxiety is a very real and present thing.
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It's the opposite of peace.
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And we have an absence of personal peace, family peace, national peace, international peace.
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We're missing this in our world.
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There's been a lot of political unrest and national strife.
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Back in 2020, as we remember, we were struck with COVID-19.
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And for the first many months, none of us had any idea what was going on.
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And it was the first little disruptor, I guess, to our normal, comfortable lives.
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And it changed the world in many ways.
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One historian calculated that in the last 3,500 years, there's been less than 300 that could
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be actually roughly referred to as peaceful.
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That's not a lot.
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Basically, there's peace in the world just for enough time for both sides to stop and reload
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for the next thing.
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Do you want to think of it that way?
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In the last four to five years, we've watched a lot, a lot unfold before us.
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We watched the botched, disastrous, non-strategic withdrawal from Afghanistan that a lot of our
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members in our church and other men that I know were sort of the 9-11 generation over the
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last 20 years.
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There's just all of that disorder fall apart, probably worse than Saigon, leaving many people
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behind and many others dead.
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We watched the first major war ramp up since Vietnam, which would have been Russia invading
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Ukraine.
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The CCP in China, saber-rattling to conquer Taiwan and in many places the world.
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And about a year ago, in October, we witnessed the evil, wicked, demonic atrocities against
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Israel on October 7th.
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The slaughter and mutilation of innocents and hostages taken and the war in Gaza that followed.
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Iran firing hundreds of rockets and missiles and drones at Israel.
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We live in a world without peace.
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And many of my military friends scattered all over the place say they get briefed on war to
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war, world war ideas with China and other superpowers regularly.
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If this does happen, here's going to be our response.
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A world without peace.
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And on a domestic level, we witnessed crime go up in major cities and small communities.
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We witnessed LGBTQ ideology crammed down and enforced in our schools and our society.
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And for the last five to four years, there's been just great unrest.
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And it's hit you personally, if you're listening to this, from January 2021 to October 2024, this
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past October, the Bureau of Labor reported that the overall household expenditures were up
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by 20%.
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Groceries up 21%.
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Energy up 29%.
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Auto insurance 57%.
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And rent up 23%.
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All in the last few years.
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Many lost jobs.
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Many of you are still struggling to find work, changing jobs, cutting hours, working multiple
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jobs just to put food on the table.
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But all these different things expose a reality that there is a lack of peace in ourselves,
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in others, and in the world.
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It doesn't look or sound very peaceful.
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It's exposed it.
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Because for many years, we just had it so well, we thought.
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And it just revealed this false sense of security that we possess.
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And so the absence of peace leads people like you and I to search for it.
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Because we all long for it.
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We want to attain peace in our communities, our families, and the world.
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We want to be free from trouble, free from strife, free from fear, free from anxiety and
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conflict.
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And we long for true peace.
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We all do.
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Every human does.
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It's a relentless search.
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And we do it in different ways.
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Many of you do it with vacations and escapes.
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You just think, if I can escape the context I'm in and go have fun and disconnect.
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But the problem is, sin follows you wherever you go, and it's waiting for you when you get
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back.
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Others, you've sought peace through financial stability.
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I can just build that bank account up enough.
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But we know, particularly in the last four or five years, how that just drops.
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And I can't tell you how many men in our church I've talked to who have lost jobs, had to work
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multiple jobs just to provide.
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Others, by diversion.
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Alcohol, drugs, entertainment, online shopping, take your pick.
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Others in relationships, you just find that this person is strong and capable.
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If I just lean into that person, they will be the one who gives me peace.
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But then they turned out not to be Jesus.
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And then they crack and let you down.
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And in the process, you end up crushing them as well by putting that kind of hope in them.
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A lot of people search through peace by health.
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They just think, if I just eat right, work out, exercise, if I do the right thing, like,
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I will be ready for whatever comes.
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But yet, sickness still finds the most healthy of us.
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And others, by boosting up your own protection, security cameras, firearms, ammo.
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But you have found that, like, the bunker can never be deep enough.
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And there never can be enough ammo in the shelf.
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You're going to the next gun store and looking at the next gun.
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The next, how many ammo, how much ammo can you store away and et cetera.
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But even after you have all that, there is a lack of peace.
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It's not there.
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True spiritual peace cannot be found.
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It eludes us.
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So, why can't we ever be at peace in ourselves?
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And why can't we be at peace with those who are around us, others?
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What's burning your soul?
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What is it?
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I probably, if I named it, if I didn't name it, what is it?
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What's tearing your soul apart from the inside out?
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So, many people see Christmas and the holiday season as a pleasant distraction away from the burdens and cares of life.
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But food, family, fun, that idea, gifts, presents.
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The worldly view of Christmas, the, you know, cheer up.
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It's Christmas.
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It'll all work out.
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It's the season to be kind to each other and nice to one another.
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Be extra kind to everybody.
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But that warm, fuzzy feeling doesn't really help us with, like, how broken our world truly is.
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The worldly view of Christmas cannot patch up the world that has been wrecked by sin.
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No man-made, superficial peace can actually do that.
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So, if you're going to figure out why there's a lack of peace, we know there's a problem.
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But with any good doctor, you try to find out, like, the source of that problem, not just the symptom.
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The symptoms are we have no peace.
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What causes that?
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What is the true condition?
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And Scripture is not bashful about telling us that.
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But the reason we can't have peace within ourselves, with others, around the world, are they're just symptoms of a spiritual condition.
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That symptom is, or that source is, that we all have sinned and rebelled against God.
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We all have turned away from the God of peace and made war on Him.
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Sin causes an absence of peace in an individual soul, collectively as people, than a lack of peace in our world.
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It's just a trickle-down effect.
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Sin has caused us to rebel against God directly and indirectly.
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Hey, those days that we just ignore God, don't think about Him, don't give Him first in our lives,
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those are days that we rebel against God.
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It isn't just the atheists out there shaking their fists.
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It's the times that we ignore Him and count Him as little and insignificant.
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And we have no peace because our sin has made us enemies of God, our Creator,
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that we were meant to know and enjoy and worship and have a relationship with.
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All have sinned and fallen short of His glory.
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James says that we all have turned against God and we love sin.
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He says,
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You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
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Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
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This is a picture of spiritual unfaithfulness to God,
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holding the things of this world in a greater affection than the one who made them.
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That if you find that your life revolves around things, stuff, everything else,
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it exhibits that this is being controlled by those things.
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Know that God says here that He is jealous for the Spirit He created in you.
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A holy jealousy.
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He made you.
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You belong to Him, but yet you give it to other things.
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We have turned against the Creator and worshipped the things of creation.
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George Whitefield, the great awakening preacher,
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he basically, I remember I'm paraphrasing him,
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but he said,
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How can you ever dream of peace when God is your enemy?
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You cannot be at odds with the sovereign, good, glorious, almighty God and have peace.
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You can't be at odds with Him.
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Isaiah 57, verse 20, very familiar.
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The wicked are like the tossing of the sea,
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for it cannot be quiet,
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and as waters toss up mire and dirt,
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there is no peace, says God, for the wicked.
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God cannot give us true joy and true peace apart from Himself.
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There's just no such thing.
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So, if you need to be reminded of that reality as a believer today,
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or if you're hearing that for the first time,
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know that until your own soul is made right with God,
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you will have no peace or anything else.
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So, the true meaning of Christmas that we celebrate,
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even though it's stressful and busy,
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and boy, I get drownded in that a lot,
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I just want to slow down.
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But like, it just seems like there's this inevitable current that you get into,
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and you just take off,
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and you're just along for the ride for a lot of that stuff.
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But, it is an opportunity to pause and elevate our souls to a higher place.
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It's good for God's people, particularly,
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to put their mind and their heart on the true meaning of it,
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and to rediscover what it means to have true inner peace with God.
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Just really quickly, Scripture calls God,
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God the Father, the God of peace.
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Hebrews 13.20
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God the Son is the Prince of Peace,
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which we'll look at in a moment.
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Isaiah 9.6
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And God the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Peace.
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So, He is a God of Peace.
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So, how can we know that God of Peace?
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But really quick, let me define roughly what peace means
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as we see it, like in the Scripture.
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Ready?
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Peace is the inner confidence, rest, and trust
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in God's wise, sovereign control of our lives,
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resulting from being restored to Him through Jesus Christ.
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Peace is the inner confidence, rest, and trust
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in God's wise, sovereign control over our lives,
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resulting from being restored to Him through Jesus Christ.
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kind of a spin-off of our Old Testament word,
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shalom.
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In essence, a desire for completeness,
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a wish for contentment,
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a blessing for satisfaction.
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In short, a blessing that all that is good from God
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would flow into your life.
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I wish all that is good would come upon you.
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That satisfaction, completeness, and contentment.
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New Testament word,
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iron, where we get Irene, the name Irene from,
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really means a tranquil state of the soul.
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A soul that is at rest.
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A satisfied soul.
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We can have that by being made right with God
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through Christ.
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Augustine, one of the earlier guys
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that I was reading in my journey to Reformed theology,
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his famous quote in prayer to God,
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God, you have made us for yourself.
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Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless
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until it rests in you.
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Very true.
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So, let's look at three things today.
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Jumping into God's Word.
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Peace promised.
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Peace arrives.
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And peace experienced.
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First of all, peace promised.
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Turning your Bibles to Isaiah 9.
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Isaiah 9.
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We will start in verse 6.
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For to us a child is born,
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to us a son is given.
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The government shall be upon His shoulders,
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and His name shall be called
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Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
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Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
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Of the increase of His government
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and of peace there will be no end.
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And on the throne of David
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and over His kingdom,
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to establish it and to uphold it
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with justice and with righteousness,
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from this time forth and forevermore,
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the zeal of the Lord of hosts
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will do this.
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Sounds awesome.
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So this was a foretelling of peace.
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700 years before that instrument of peace,
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Christ actually arrived on the scene.
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God would bring salvation to His people.
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And if you notice that last part,
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the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this,
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that's a short way of saying
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that nothing is going to stop God
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from doing this.
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Like, nothing is going to prevent God
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from bringing this salvation
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and this peace to His people.
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He is going to accomplish it.
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So long ago, He spoke through Isaiah,
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a child is born,
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a son is given.
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That son, as we are aware of,
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is the embodiment of Emmanuel,
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God with us.
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Isaiah 7,
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Therefore the Lord Himself
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will give you a sign.
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Behold, the virgin shall conceive
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and bear a son
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and shall call His name Emmanuel.
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So the Messiah's character
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being tied to God
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proves His divine origin
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and His character.
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He is the wonderful counselor,
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the one who makes good
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and wise plans
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and has the ability
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to execute them
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on behalf of His people.
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He is the very might of God,
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the everlasting Father,
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a kingly, noble ruler,
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the powerful one
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who will lovingly embrace His people
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as a Father,
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the King who also is our Father.
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The birth of Jesus,
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the Messiah,
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has come already.
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He's establishing His kingdom
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and when that happens,
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it won't just happen temporarily.
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You study history,
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you're going to see kingdoms
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and empires just go
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from the greatest ones.
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We haven't even scratched
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the surface here in America
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if you read anything about Rome
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or anywhere else.
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Christ's kingdom will last
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for all eternity.
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That's what it says right here.
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This government,
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His throne,
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will last forevermore.
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You know me,
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I'm always feeling around
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with some kind of history something.
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Picked up an old book
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a good many months ago
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on King Arthur
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who's part history,
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mostly legend.
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And,
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as you're aware,
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Arthur was born
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in humble circumstances
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and became
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the rightful king.
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And,
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as many people
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don't really know this,
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he was more of a British,
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Celtic king
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from Wales.
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He wasn't like
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an Anglo-Saxon king.
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So he was Welsh.
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The Welsh would be very offended
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if you said
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he came from somewhere else.
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And,
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he was born of humble means
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and he was born
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the rightful king
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possessing Excalibur.
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And,
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his rule
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was to both rule over
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and unite
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the people
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of the British Isles
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to bring about
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unending peace
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and prosperity
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to the British Isles.
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And,
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Arthur
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sacrificed himself
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by dying in battle
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to secure
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his kingdom.
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On and on
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the parallels,
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right?
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But,
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Jesus
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is the true
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born king
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who rules
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by right
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and power,
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not our
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consent.
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Jesus
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will
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unite
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his people
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and he will
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bring about
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an unending
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kingdom
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of peace.
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As Arthur
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died on the battlefield,
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Christ died
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on the cross
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to secure
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his kingdom.
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Jesus
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is called
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the prince
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of peace.
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His noble reign
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will last
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forever.
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Boy,
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that will be
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great.
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I hate to
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shock you,
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but there's
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no president,
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no matter who
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you voted
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for,
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they're not
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going to be
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the prince
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of peace.
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It doesn't
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matter who
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you voted
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for.
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Only Jesus
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is going to
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bring about
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everlasting,
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perpetual peace
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to the nations.
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This is what
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God's word
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says.
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Believe it
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and be
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satisfied.
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Messiah will
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rule with
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perfect justice
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and righteousness.
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Man,
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that's something
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that we have
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been missing
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in our world.
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The mark
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of his kingdom
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that will
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have no end.
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So yes,
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there's going
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to be,
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between now
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and then,
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conflict
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and strife
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in the world.
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But,
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that doesn't
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deny or
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disprove that
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Jesus is the
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prince of peace.
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It only really
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shows why he
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came and the
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need for him
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to come,
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to bring about
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that perpetual
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peace.
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So this was
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peace promised,
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again,
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700 years
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roughly before
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Christ came.
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This brings
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us to point
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number two.
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Peace
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arrived.
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So,
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we have just
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a couple
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places for
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you to look
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at,
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but look
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at Luke
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chapter 2.
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Our very
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familiar,
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what we
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refer to as
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the Christmas
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story or
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Nativity
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story,
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whatever you
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want to
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call it.
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Some country
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people call
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it the
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Nativity
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story.
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We will
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look at
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Luke 2
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verse 8.
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This is
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peace
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arrives.
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And in
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the same
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region,
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there were
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shepherds
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out in
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the field
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keeping
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watch over
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their flocks
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by night,
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and an
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angel of
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the Lord
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appeared to
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them,
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and the
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glory of
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the Lord
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shone
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around them,
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and they
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were filled
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with great
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fear.
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And the
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angel said
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to them,
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fear not,
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for behold,
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I bring
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you good
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news,
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gospel,
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of great
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joy it
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will be
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for all
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people.
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For unto
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you is
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born this
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day,
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in the
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city of
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David,
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a Savior,
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who is
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Christ,
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the Lord.
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And this
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will be a
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sign for
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you,
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you will
24:40
find the
24:40
baby wrapped
24:41
in swaddling
24:41
clothes,
24:42
and laying
24:43
in a
24:43
manger.
24:45
And
24:45
suddenly,
24:46
there was
24:46
with the
24:47
angel a
24:47
multitude,
24:48
the heavenly
24:48
hosts,
24:50
praising God
24:51
and saying,
24:51
glory to
24:52
God in
24:53
the highest
24:53
and on
24:54
earth,
24:54
peace
24:55
among
24:57
those with
24:58
whom he is
24:59
pleased.
25:00
Underline that
25:01
last part.
25:03
So,
25:06
if you're an
25:06
outdoor person,
25:07
you've been
25:07
out in the
25:08
wilderness,
25:08
out in the
25:09
mountains by
25:09
yourself,
25:10
and particularly
25:11
like when the
25:11
sun goes down,
25:12
very calm,
25:14
how quiet it
25:14
is.
25:16
And imagine,
25:17
like all of a
25:18
sudden,
25:18
there are angels
25:19
there talking
25:20
to you,
25:21
the shock
25:21
that they must
25:23
have felt.
25:24
But Christ
25:26
came here,
25:29
he humbled
25:29
himself to be
25:31
born in
25:31
Bethlehem in
25:32
a stable
25:33
to poor
25:34
parents,
25:36
humble
25:36
accommodations,
25:37
not five-star
25:38
hotels or
25:39
castles.
25:41
He came
25:42
as shepherds,
25:44
as his
25:45
witnesses,
25:46
not religious
25:47
elites,
25:49
the humble
25:49
magi,
25:51
not powerful
25:52
kings,
25:53
and all of
25:54
it just to
25:54
frame the
25:55
mighty God
25:56
who came
25:56
here to
25:57
save us
25:58
with humility.
25:59
Christ took
26:01
on himself
26:02
flesh and
26:03
came to
26:03
save the
26:04
world that
26:04
he created.
26:06
Just get
26:07
your head
26:07
around that.
26:08
Angels
26:09
announces
26:09
arrival to
26:10
these lowly
26:11
shepherds.
26:12
And Jesus,
26:14
our Messiah
26:15
King,
26:15
arrived.
26:16
Notice,
26:16
glory to
26:17
God in
26:17
the highest
26:17
and on
26:18
earth,
26:18
peace among
26:20
those whom
26:21
he is
26:21
pleased.
26:23
Note that
26:23
God's peace
26:24
isn't just
26:25
a general
26:25
goodwill
26:26
to everybody.
26:28
It's not a
26:28
reward.
26:30
God's peace
26:31
is not a
26:31
reward to
26:32
those who
26:33
have good
26:33
will.
26:35
That's not
26:35
what this
26:35
says.
26:37
Rather,
26:38
it's the
26:38
gift of
26:38
God's
26:39
sovereign
26:39
grace,
26:40
his good
26:40
pleasure,
26:41
namely
26:41
towards his
26:42
redeemed
26:43
people,
26:44
those who
26:44
would trust
26:45
and give
26:45
their lives
26:46
to the
26:47
Messiah.
26:49
And so,
26:50
a beautiful
26:50
picture here
26:51
of Christ
26:52
arriving.
26:54
Just for
26:55
sake of time,
26:56
I'd like to
26:56
just keep
26:56
reading more,
26:57
but we'll
26:57
just stop
26:58
there with
26:59
the arrival
26:59
of peace.
27:00
This is the
27:00
first advent.
27:03
Right?
27:04
This leads
27:05
us to
27:05
point three.
27:06
Peace
27:07
experience.
27:08
So,
27:09
not only can
27:09
we have
27:10
peace,
27:12
right,
27:12
we can
27:12
experience
27:13
that peace.
27:14
How do we
27:15
do it?
27:16
It's out
27:16
there.
27:17
It's available.
27:19
How do we
27:19
have it?
27:21
Look at
27:22
Romans 5.
27:24
Go over
27:24
to Romans 5.
27:27
One of my
27:27
favorite
27:28
explain the
27:29
gospel to
27:29
somebody
27:30
passages.
27:32
Romans 5,
27:34
verses 6
27:34
through 10.
27:36
Just read
27:37
verse 1
27:37
with me.
27:39
Therefore,
27:40
since we
27:40
have been
27:41
justified by
27:42
faith,
27:42
we have
27:42
peace with
27:43
God
27:44
through
27:45
our Lord
27:46
Jesus Christ.
27:47
There's your
27:48
summary verse.
27:49
Okay?
27:50
If you want
27:51
peace,
27:51
you have to
27:52
have peace
27:52
with God.
27:53
And the
27:53
instrument of
27:54
that peace,
27:55
the conditional
27:55
part,
27:56
is through
27:56
Christ.
27:58
Not anything
27:59
else.
28:00
Like,
28:00
you can't
28:00
fill in
28:00
that blank.
28:01
It's just
28:01
Christ.
28:04
Alright?
28:05
Then you
28:05
jump down
28:06
to verse 6.
28:07
For while
28:08
we were
28:08
still weak,
28:10
at the
28:10
right time,
28:11
Christ died
28:12
for the
28:13
ungodly.
28:15
So,
28:15
our gospel
28:16
is not
28:17
God helps
28:17
those who
28:18
help
28:18
themselves.
28:20
We are
28:21
weak.
28:21
ungodly.
28:25
Verse 7.
28:26
For one
28:26
will scarcely
28:27
die for
28:27
a righteous
28:28
person,
28:28
though perhaps
28:29
for a good
28:29
person one
28:30
would dare
28:30
even to
28:31
die.
28:32
But God
28:33
shows us
28:33
his love
28:34
for us,
28:34
and that
28:34
while we
28:35
were still
28:35
sinners,
28:36
Christ died
28:36
for us.
28:38
Since
28:39
therefore,
28:40
we have
28:41
now been
28:41
justified
28:41
by his
28:43
blood,
28:43
much more
28:44
shall we
28:45
be saved
28:45
by him
28:46
from the
28:47
wrath of
28:48
God.
28:48
for if
28:50
we were
28:50
enemies,
28:51
we were
28:51
reconciled
28:52
to God
28:52
by the
28:53
death of
28:53
his son,
28:53
much more
28:54
now that
28:55
we are
28:56
reconciled,
28:57
shall we
28:57
be saved
28:58
by his
28:58
life.
28:59
So many
29:00
good things
29:01
in there,
29:01
but look
29:01
at the
29:01
words that
29:02
scripture
29:02
uses to
29:03
describe
29:03
us
29:04
before
29:05
we were
29:06
in Christ.
29:07
They're not
29:07
great words.
29:08
Weak,
29:09
helpless,
29:11
ungodly,
29:13
sinners,
29:15
enemies.
29:16
Those are
29:16
not things
29:16
you want
29:17
to be
29:17
described
29:18
by,
29:19
of those
29:20
who are
29:20
outside
29:21
Christ.
29:23
In
29:24
Celtic
29:25
history,
29:25
Scotland
29:25
Irish,
29:26
Welsh
29:26
history,
29:28
a lot of
29:28
you know
29:28
the pagan
29:29
Druids
29:29
would consider
29:30
the mistletoe
29:31
to be a
29:32
sacred plant.
29:34
And when
29:34
enemies met
29:35
under the
29:35
mistletoe,
29:36
hanging from
29:37
the sacred
29:37
oak,
29:38
they would
29:39
lay down
29:39
their weapons
29:40
in their
29:40
arms and
29:41
they would
29:41
embrace
29:41
peace.
29:43
The kiss
29:44
of peace
29:45
under the
29:45
mistletoe
29:46
wasn't a
29:46
romantic
29:46
idea at
29:47
that point.
29:49
It was
29:49
the way
29:49
enemies
29:49
would make
29:50
peace
29:50
with one
29:50
another
29:51
under the
29:52
mistletoe.
29:54
God
29:54
has
29:55
graciously
29:55
brought a
29:56
means of
29:56
peace to
29:57
us by
29:58
us kissing
30:00
the sun
30:00
at the
30:01
cross.
30:02
Underneath
30:03
the cross
30:03
of Christ
30:04
we can
30:05
have peace
30:06
through him
30:07
Jesus
30:07
to reconcile
30:09
all things
30:10
to himself,
30:11
all things
30:12
whether on
30:12
earth or in
30:13
heaven,
30:14
making peace
30:15
by the
30:15
blood of
30:16
his cross.
30:18
Colossians
30:18
1.20
30:19
So God
30:21
is basically
30:21
saying,
30:21
yeah,
30:22
though you've
30:22
rejected me,
30:23
though you've
30:23
rebelled against
30:24
me,
30:24
though you've
30:25
given your
30:25
love,
30:26
your money,
30:27
and your
30:27
time to
30:28
other gods,
30:30
you've
30:30
spurned my
30:31
rightful rule
30:32
over your
30:32
life,
30:33
by my
30:34
grace,
30:34
I have
30:35
made a
30:35
way for
30:36
you when
30:37
you couldn't
30:37
make a
30:38
way to
30:38
me.
30:39
I've
30:39
offered
30:39
you peace
30:40
through the
30:40
blood of
30:42
my son.
30:44
Many of
30:45
us are
30:45
aware of
30:45
Psalm 2,
30:47
the prophecy
30:48
of the
30:49
coming king
30:50
Jesus.
30:51
What does
30:51
it say at
30:51
the end,
30:51
kiss the
30:52
son,
30:53
lest you
30:54
perish in
30:55
the way.
30:57
We are
30:58
to kiss
30:58
this Messiah
30:59
and make
31:00
peace with
31:01
God through
31:03
him.
31:04
So Christmas
31:05
is a chance
31:05
for us to
31:06
celebrate that
31:07
idea that
31:08
God sent
31:09
his son in
31:10
order that we
31:10
might not have
31:11
strife with
31:11
him, but
31:12
have peace
31:12
with him.
31:13
No longer
31:14
enemies, but
31:15
friends and
31:16
sons.
31:18
We can have
31:18
peace knowing
31:19
that Christ
31:19
died in our
31:20
place and
31:21
suffered as
31:21
we just
31:22
read.
31:23
Not soft
31:26
words, saved
31:27
us from the
31:28
wrath of
31:29
God.
31:30
You will
31:31
have no
31:32
peace if
31:32
the wrath
31:33
of God
31:33
is still
31:34
over you.
31:36
But knowing
31:37
that Christ
31:37
bore your
31:38
punishment,
31:39
shed his
31:40
blood so
31:40
that you
31:41
could be
31:41
made right
31:41
with him.
31:42
That word
31:42
justified is
31:43
mentioned many
31:44
times in this
31:44
passage in
31:45
Romans, but
31:46
shorthand to
31:49
be made
31:49
right, to
31:50
have right
31:51
standing with
31:51
God, only
31:53
to be done
31:54
through Jesus
31:55
who reconciled
31:57
us to
31:57
himself.
31:58
I was
31:58
thinking of
31:58
the hark
32:00
the herald
32:01
angel sing,
32:02
glory to
32:03
the new
32:03
born king,
32:05
peace on
32:06
earth and
32:06
mercy mild,
32:07
God and
32:08
sinners
32:08
reconciled.
32:11
You will
32:12
not be
32:12
experiencing
32:13
peace if
32:14
you are
32:14
not
32:14
reconciled
32:15
to God
32:15
through
32:16
Christ.
32:18
Great
32:18
gospel in
32:19
our
32:19
Christian
32:19
hymns for
32:20
Christmas,
32:21
so eat
32:21
those up.
32:23
And we
32:24
can experience
32:25
that true
32:25
inner peace
32:26
by having
32:27
this divine
32:27
part in
32:28
being
32:28
reconciled
32:29
to God
32:29
through
32:29
what his
32:30
son has
32:30
accomplished.
32:32
He was
32:32
born for
32:33
this purpose.
32:34
And we
32:35
can experience
32:35
this peace,
32:36
it's not
32:36
just like,
32:36
yeah,
32:37
I can
32:37
have peace
32:37
with God,
32:38
but you
32:38
actually can
32:38
know it
32:39
and experience
32:40
it.
32:42
Jesus said
32:44
to his
32:44
disciples,
32:45
we were
32:45
reading in
32:45
John 14
32:46
earlier today,
32:47
and John
32:49
14,
32:49
verse 25,
32:50
telling his
32:50
disciples before
32:51
he is going
32:52
to be
32:52
arrested and
32:53
beaten and
32:54
crucified,
32:56
he said
32:57
this to
32:57
them,
32:57
these things
32:58
have spoken
32:58
to you,
32:59
to his
33:00
disciples,
33:01
while I'm
33:01
still with
33:02
you.
33:03
But the
33:04
helper,
33:04
the Holy
33:04
Spirit,
33:05
whom the
33:06
Father will
33:06
send in
33:07
my name,
33:07
he will
33:08
teach you
33:08
all these
33:08
things and
33:09
bring to
33:09
remembrance
33:10
all that
33:11
I have
33:11
said.
33:12
So there's
33:13
a good
33:13
one,
33:13
the Holy
33:13
Spirit helps
33:14
us remember
33:14
what Jesus
33:15
said,
33:16
not just
33:17
tells us
33:18
anything
33:18
all the
33:19
time,
33:20
remember
33:20
God's
33:20
word.
33:21
Then Jesus
33:22
says,
33:22
peace I
33:23
leave with
33:24
you,
33:25
my peace
33:26
I give
33:27
to you,
33:29
not as the
33:29
world gives
33:30
do I give
33:30
to you,
33:32
let not
33:32
your hearts
33:32
be troubled
33:33
nor let
33:34
them be
33:34
afraid.
33:35
So peace
33:36
is not
33:37
just the
33:37
absence
33:38
of strife,
33:40
conflict,
33:40
and turmoil.
33:42
There's not
33:43
a single
33:44
place in
33:45
the Scripture
33:45
that peace
33:46
isn't mentioned
33:47
outside of
33:47
craziness.
33:48
It's always
33:49
in the context
33:50
of something
33:51
going on
33:51
that's like
33:52
not awesome,
33:54
a lot of
33:54
strife,
33:55
a lot of
33:56
conflict.
33:58
This idea
33:58
that our
33:59
souls,
34:00
we can say
34:00
all is well,
34:01
right?
34:02
that true
34:03
spiritual
34:03
peace
34:04
manufactured,
34:07
not manufactured
34:08
by human
34:09
hands,
34:09
but by God
34:10
himself we
34:11
can possess.
34:12
Jonathan Edwards
34:13
once commented
34:13
about this
34:14
passage.
34:15
He said,
34:15
the believer's
34:16
peace is
34:18
both the
34:20
strength,
34:21
beauty,
34:21
and dignity
34:22
of the
34:22
saint.
34:24
The beauty
34:26
and dignity
34:26
of the saint.
34:27
It's like
34:27
this garment
34:28
we put
34:28
on that
34:30
makes us
34:30
stand out
34:31
in a world
34:32
full of
34:33
strife
34:34
and conflict.
34:37
The beauty
34:37
and dignity
34:38
of the saints
34:39
is the peace
34:39
that Christ
34:40
gives.
34:41
The settled
34:41
confidence
34:42
that your
34:42
soul is
34:44
not at war
34:44
with God
34:45
anymore.
34:45
It is
34:46
right with
34:47
God through
34:48
what Christ
34:49
has accomplished.
34:51
It's a
34:51
possession and
34:52
a privilege
34:52
that he has
34:53
given us
34:53
as saints.
34:55
The world
34:56
can't have
34:56
this.
34:56
It all
34:57
comes only
34:57
through
34:58
Christ.
35:00
We read
35:01
this earlier
35:01
today.
35:02
Again,
35:03
we don't
35:04
get peace
35:04
by not
35:05
facing the
35:06
facts and
35:07
turning around
35:07
and trying
35:08
to push
35:08
the negative
35:09
thoughts out
35:09
of our
35:09
life,
35:10
but rather
35:11
turning in
35:11
God to
35:12
help us
35:12
overcome
35:13
those
35:13
realities.
35:16
I've
35:16
learned it.
35:18
Not just
35:19
the absence
35:19
of danger,
35:20
but it's
35:20
also feeling
35:21
protected.
35:23
And no
35:25
matter what's
35:25
going on
35:25
around you
35:26
by a sense
35:27
of God's
35:27
real presence
35:28
with you,
35:29
God's
35:30
peace with
35:30
you,
35:31
regardless
35:31
of what's
35:31
happening
35:32
out here.
35:33
Isaiah 26
35:34
that we read
35:35
earlier,
35:35
you keep
35:35
him in
35:36
perfect
35:36
peace
35:37
whose mind
35:39
is stayed
35:39
on you
35:40
because he
35:41
trusts in you,
35:42
trusts in the
35:43
Lord forever,
35:43
for the Lord
35:44
God is an
35:45
everlasting rock.
35:46
I wrote
35:47
that verse
35:47
in my
35:47
whiteboard
35:48
in the
35:48
hospital
35:48
back in
35:49
my recovery
35:50
days of
35:50
early
35:51
transplant.
35:51
I had
35:52
those
35:52
three,
35:52
four month
35:53
stays in
35:54
the hospital.
35:55
My mind
35:56
was not
35:56
at peace.
35:58
I was
35:58
trying really
35:58
hard to
35:59
remind myself
36:00
of that
36:00
reality.
36:01
But it's
36:02
peace in
36:02
the midst
36:03
of the
36:03
storm,
36:04
not the
36:04
absence
36:04
of the
36:05
storm.
36:06
They can
36:07
exist
36:08
simultaneously.
36:10
And a lot
36:10
of people
36:10
here will be
36:11
able to tell
36:11
you many
36:11
stories of
36:12
having the
36:13
peace of
36:13
Christ when
36:14
everything else
36:14
is burning
36:15
down around
36:15
them.
36:18
Paul wrote
36:18
to Timothy,
36:20
Now may the
36:21
Lord of
36:21
peace himself
36:22
continually grant
36:23
you peace
36:23
in every
36:24
circumstance.
36:27
The Lord
36:28
be with you
36:29
all.
36:29
2 Timothy
36:30
3.16
36:31
So a good
36:33
reminder for
36:34
us is that
36:35
Jesus never,
36:37
never
36:38
promised his
36:40
followers anything
36:41
would be easy
36:42
and comfortable.
36:43
Not one
36:44
promise in
36:45
the scripture
36:46
says that.
36:47
Never
36:48
promised security
36:49
and comfort
36:49
in this
36:51
world.
36:52
Christ doesn't
36:52
want you to
36:53
be comfortable
36:53
in this
36:54
world.
36:54
To the
36:54
contrary.
36:56
He doesn't
36:56
want you to
36:57
get comfortable
36:57
in this
36:57
world.
36:57
He wants
36:58
to shake
36:58
you up
36:59
to remind
36:59
you that
37:00
this is
37:01
temporal
37:01
and fleeting
37:02
and we
37:02
need to
37:02
put our
37:03
minds on
37:03
eternity.
37:05
But he
37:06
promises
37:06
something great
37:09
to his
37:10
people.
37:11
I'm going
37:11
to close
37:12
with this.
37:12
John 16
37:13
33.
37:14
Jesus said
37:15
to his
37:15
disciples,
37:15
I've told
37:16
you these
37:16
things so
37:18
that in
37:19
me you
37:20
may have
37:21
peace.
37:22
In this
37:23
world you
37:24
will have
37:24
tribulation,
37:26
trouble,
37:27
trials.
37:29
But take
37:30
heart, I
37:30
have overcome
37:31
the world.
37:32
So as long
37:33
as we are
37:34
united to
37:34
Christ, we
37:35
also will
37:36
overcome.
37:36
come.
37:37
So just a
37:38
reminder to
37:39
use this
37:40
season, and
37:43
I'm preaching
37:43
this to
37:43
myself, that
37:46
we can have
37:47
and experience
37:48
that real
37:48
peace with
37:50
God through
37:50
what Christ
37:51
has accomplished.
37:53
And ending
37:54
on a jolly
37:54
note, Spurgeon
37:57
at a Christmas
37:58
sermon, he
38:00
says,
38:00
feast,
38:01
Christians,
38:01
feast.
38:02
feast.
38:03
But in
38:03
your feasting,
38:05
think of the
38:06
man in
38:06
Bethlehem.
38:08
Let him
38:08
have place
38:09
in your
38:09
hearts.
38:11
Give him
38:11
the glory.
38:12
Think of
38:12
the virgin
38:13
who conceived
38:13
him.
38:14
But think
38:15
most of
38:15
all of
38:17
the man
38:17
born, the
38:18
child given.
38:20
I will
38:20
finish again
38:21
by saying a
38:22
happy Christmas
38:22
to you all.
38:25
Let's pray
38:25
together.