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Advent - Peace | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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Peace is not just a fuzzy feeling that you get
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when all of the things in your life come into
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line. It's not just a feeling. You know, I get
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a feeling when I'm sitting by a lake. And I like
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it. But it is not the peace of God. Because there's
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lots of people without the peace of God that
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sit by a lake and like it. Right? The peace of
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God is the order of God in our lives. And that
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seems like a very mechanical definition. But
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when God's order... comes into our life, His
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peace comes. The opposite of peace is the lack
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of God's order in my life. Okay? So we're just
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going to start right away with that understanding
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of peace. Before I read the text, Charles Schultz,
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the creator of peanuts, on limiting his thought
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life. I have a new philosophy. This is a quote.
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Quote, I have a new philosophy. I'm only going
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to dread one day at a time. Mark Twain on anxious
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thoughts. I am an old man and have known a great
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many troubles. but most of them never happened.
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I want to read that one again. I am an old man
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and have known a great many troubles, but most
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of them never happened. The wonderful Corrie
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Ten Boom. Worrying does not empty tomorrow of
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its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.
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It's a famous quote, but we need to hear that
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one more often, don't we? Worrying does not empty
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tomorrow of its sorrows. It empties today of
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its strength. Peace is God's order. You don't
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have order in your mind? You don't have peace
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in your mind. You don't have order in your home.
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You don't have peace in your home. Peace is God's
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order and the assurance that comes when I am
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aligned with Him. What happens when I know that
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the activity of my life is not aligning with
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God? the peace of God becomes elusive. Right?
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When I'm doing the wrong thing, I come under
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conviction. And that's a wonderful thing that
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comes from the Holy Spirit, conviction. But you
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know when conviction comes? When I am not in
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order anymore. I am lacking peace. Now I want
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to read the passage in Matthew chapter 2. Starting
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in verse, we'll start in verse 13. Now when they
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had departed, behold, this is the wise men, when
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the wise men had left them. Jesus is probably
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about two years old at this point. Now when the
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wise men had departed, behold, an angel of the
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Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, arise.
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Take the young child and his mother, flee to
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Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word.
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For Herod will seek the young child to destroy
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him. And when he arose, he took the young child
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and his mother by night, immediately, and departed
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for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod.
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That could have been, depending on which timeline
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you follow, it could have been anywhere from
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six months to three and a half years that they
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were in Egypt until the death of Herod. Departed
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for Egypt, was there until the death of Herod
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that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken
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by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out
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of Egypt I called. my son. Now Matthew is a wonderful
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author at pointing us to the messianic prophecies.
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More in Matthew than any of the other gospels
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you will see, this was done to fulfill that which
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was said. And so Matthew will oftentimes quote
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the Old Testament to prove that Jesus was the
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Messiah. This quote is very interesting. It's
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from the book of Hosea. It's from Hosea chapter
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11 and verse 1. And I want to read that. Hosea
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11 .1. Hosea was a very interesting prophet.
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I don't have time to talk about him this morning.
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But an incredible picture in Hosea's life of
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the relationship between Israel and God. And
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so he prophesies in chapter 11, when Israel was
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a child, I loved him. And out of Egypt, I called
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my son. It's very interesting because Hosea is
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very clearly talking about Israel. He's talking
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about the first time Israel was called out of
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Egypt. And he looked at his son, Israel. God
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the Father looked at his son who was in captivity.
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And God supernaturally called them out of Egypt.
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Initially, Israel came to Egypt because of a
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drought. At that time, Israel, who's... whose
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name before it was changed to Israel, was Jacob.
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And Jacob had 12 sons. And Jacob was getting
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older, and he had a son named Joseph. And so
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how they came to Egypt was the story of another
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Joseph, who had another dream. The situations
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were a little bit different, but it was because
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of a dream that Joseph had that his brothers
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sold him into slavery, and he came to the nation
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of Egypt. God raised up Joseph from Potiphar's
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household. where he was a slave, to the prison
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where he was suffering the bread of, what do
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they call that, the bread of affliction, the
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bread of affliction. There in the prison of Egypt,
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Joseph suffered, but he came up through that
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because he was an interpreter of dreams, and
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he became the number two guy. all of Egypt and
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ended up I'm shortening the story ended up bringing
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his brothers his father and all their family
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to Goshen a region in Egypt where they could
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survive the seven -year famine And there they
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continued to dwell, and there they continued
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to multiply for 400 years. And after 400 years,
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the cries of their slavery, where before they
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came in as guests, and now they were enslaved
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in the land of Egypt, and their cries reached
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the ears of God, and Pharaoh gave an edict. and
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said, I want you to kill every child that is
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male that is newborn. It's very interesting,
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the correlation between the initial story and
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the story of Jesus. And out of that proclamation
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from Pharaoh, Moses was put in a basket as a
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newborn and pushed down the river. where Pharaoh's
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daughter found him, and he was raised in Pharaoh's
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household as a prince. And so Hosea is remembering
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this Moses that was raised up, and through a
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whole set of other series of circumstances, this
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Moses that was saved from the death of the newborn
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males, became the deliverer for Egypt. And he
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went back and confronted Pharaoh, who was really
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his brother, confronted Pharaoh, and God, through
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ten miracles, pulled... Israel out of Egypt,
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the last being the Passover, where lambs were
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slain, the blood was put on the doorpost, the
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death angel came, and wherever the blood was
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not, the firstborn males, whether Egypt or Israel,
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all of Israel had blood on their doorposts, so
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all the firstborn males of Egypt were killed.
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And Pharaoh finally said, you can go. It was
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the blood of the lamb that protected them and
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ultimately pulled them out of Egypt. And Hosea
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is remembering this phenomenon. And you remember
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the parting of the Red Sea. And you remember
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them walking across on dry ground and getting
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to the other side. And then Pharaoh hardens his
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heart again and changes his mind and sends his
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armies after Israel. God holds the armies back
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with a pillar of fire until the Israelites were
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all the way across. And then he lifted that pillar
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of fire and Pharaoh's army. rushed in after them
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and God swallowed up the entire Egyptian army
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into the sea. Praise God. And Hosea is remembering
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this. It was out of Egypt that I called my son.
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My son. This is important. This is not in my
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notes, but Some of you have sons and daughters
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that are in Egypt right now. They're in the land
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of slavery, and I want you to know that there
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is hope in the land of Egypt. Out of Egypt I
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called my son. And you fast forward thousands
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of years to the Joseph that we started our story
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with, the husband of Mary. Being called by an
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angel in a dream to flee to Egypt. And this is
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our passage where we talk about peace. Because
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Matthew, by the Holy Spirit, says this passage
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was not only about Israel. This passage was about
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the Messiah. Not my son with a little S, but
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my son with a big S. Out of Egypt, I called my
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son. And Joseph fled to Egypt immediately at
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the leaning of the Holy Spirit. as directed by
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a dream. He immediately arises, wakes up his
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wife, bundles up the child, packs a few things,
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I'm sure, and heads to the land of Egypt. He
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didn't know why. He just knew that God had spoken
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to him and that he should obey and do it. The
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next... Moment! Herod issues an edict, finding
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out from the wise men where they worshipped the
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King of kings and the Lord of lords. And he had
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all the children in Bethlehem slaughtered. But
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because Joseph listened, Jesus is spared. I believe
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that Joseph was a man of peace. I believe that
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before he ever had the dream, before he ever
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met the angel, we see signs that he was a man
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of peace. Remember when he first found out that
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Mary was pregnant? And Mary said, it's by the
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Holy Spirit. Well, Joseph was a godly man, but
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he was also a thinking man. My fiance, my betrothed,
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is pregnant. And she tells me this story. And
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he's a thinking man. And he understands some
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things. And at first, he's not sure. If he believes
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her, this is all going to get out. And she could
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be stoned because of her being pregnant outside
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of marriage. She could be stoned, but guess what
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Joseph was? He was a man of peace. And he said,
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no, I'm going to divorce her quietly. We're going
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to do this under the table. We're going to get
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her out of the city. She's going to go somewhere
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where she can have her baby and not suffer the
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shame that could come upon her. He was a man
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of peace. We see that Joseph was chosen by the
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Lord because of his character to father the Son
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of God. Jesus. And I just want to quickly share
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three things that I believe that were a part
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of Joseph's life that helped them navigate. Because
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we have people from Bethlehem fleeing to Egypt,
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and Joseph needed to be led by the peace of God.
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And so how was it that Joseph was led by the
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peace of God? Number one, Joseph cooperated with
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the Holy Spirit. So many want peace in their
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lives, but they don't want to cooperate with
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the command of God. Look at this crazy world
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in which we live. Do you know how much Chaos
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comes because people do not follow the command
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of God. Lots and lots and lots of chaos out there.
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Have you noticed that there's chaos in the world,
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friends? Shake your head at me if you've noticed
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that there's chaos in the world. There's chaos
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in the world because we ignore the command of
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God. Listen to this. If one generation If one
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generation would follow the Word of God with
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regard to sexual activity, every single venereal
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disease would be wiped out. Every single one
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of them. But there's chaos in the world because
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we ignore the command of God. Peace comes when
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we follow Him. We want peace in our lives without
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cooperating with the Holy Spirit. As soon as
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the Holy Spirit spoke, Joseph said, here we go.
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And away he went. Psalm 119, 165 says this, Great
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peace have those who love your law, and nothing
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causes them to stumble. Isn't that a picture
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of Joseph? He loved the command of God. And how
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do we know he loved it? Because he followed it.
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Amen? And when you follow the command of God
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for your life, you have great peace. These are
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keys. Proverbs 3, 1 and 2 says this. My son,
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do not forget my law, but let your heart keep.
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My commands for length of days and long life
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and peace, they will add to you. You see, God
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is not out to get you and steal your fun. God
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is out to protect you. He wants your life to
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bear the fruit of peace. Real peace in your life.
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Amen? Isaiah 26 verse 3 was an important verse.
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I went through a season of the lack of peace,
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didn't I, Cammie? I did, didn't I? You almost
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didn't survive it. But you came through great.
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And Cammie wrote this scripture out and put it
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on my bedside table. Isaiah chapter 26 verse
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3. You will keep him in perfect peace. whose
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mind is stayed upon you. If you want God to bring
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peace in your life, you have to listen to what
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He tells you. That's easy, isn't it? Listen to
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what He tells you. It's not easy. It's simple.
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There's a difference between simple and easy,
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isn't there? It's a simple concept. Do what he
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says. But is it easy? No, it's not always. Because
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sometimes he tells us to do difficult things.
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Sometimes the things that he leads us to do don't
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line up with what we want. And what we want opposes
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what he says. And when that happens, if we hang
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on to our desire, our want, our need, we forfeit
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the peace of God. And that leads me to the second
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point, because peace is not the absence of difficulty.
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People think that if they just had more things
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lined up in their life, As far as amenities,
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that peace would come. If I just had a better
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car, peace would come into my heart. Dale says,
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yeah, right. If I just had more money. How many
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of you think your life would have more peace
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if you had more money? Americans. That's American
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thinking. But it is not the truth. Because the
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poorest of the poor can have the peace of God.
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You do not need more money to obtain the peace
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of God. You need more obedience. Mary and Joseph,
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what they were asked to do was never easy. From
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the very beginning, they're going to be ridiculed.
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They're going to be laughed at. Joseph, you're
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going to take that woman to be your wife when
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that is not your son? They were asked to walk
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a difficult road. But peace is not the absence
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of difficulty. In fact, God will... ask you to
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do hard things. And you can do them. Look at
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your neighbor and say, you can do them. God asks
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hard things. I've shared this story before, but
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it bears repeating. In 1555, Dr. Nicholas Ridley
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was sentenced to be burned at the stake in England.
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because of his witness for Christ. On the night
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before Ridley's execution, his brother offered
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to remain with him in the prison chamber to be
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of assistance and comfort. Nicholas Ridley declined
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his offer, saying, I intend to go to bed. and
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sleep as quietly tonight as ever I did. Because
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he knew the peace of God. He could rest in the
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strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord
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to meet his need. Isn't that amazing? The peace
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of God is not the absence of difficult circumstances.
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You might be walking through something difficult
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physically. You might be facing tightening in
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your wallet. You might be facing circumstances
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that are not ideal. And you wonder why God just
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doesn't kill King Herod right there so you can
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stay in Bethlehem and not leave. You wonder why
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God doesn't just change everything to make it
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easier for you. Well, he wants to teach you something.
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That in the midst of the trial, you can walk
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in perfect peace. Hallelujah. Around this room,
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right now. At homes, right now. are people that
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are suffering all kinds of situations and circumstances.
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I know some of your circumstances, they are not
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ideal. And even you would not wish your circumstance
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on anybody else. And you're walking through it.
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And I'm watching the peace of God on many of
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you in the midst of the storm. I love the story
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in Mark 4, 35. When evening had come, Jesus said
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to them, let's cross over to the other side.
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When they had left the multitude, they took Jesus
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along with them in the boat as he was. And other
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little boats were also with him, and a great
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windstorm arose. And the waves beat into the
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boat. We have a video if you watch one of our
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camping trips of a sudden storm. Pastor Ben,
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who's not with us this morning, was a part of
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that trip. A couple of the guys said, I have
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never been more scared in my life. The video
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that Alexandra took captures. A tree falling
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as the wind is blowing so hard. And there we
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were, thanking God that we were not on the water.
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It was a squall that came up in minutes. And
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that's what's happening here. Waves beat into
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the boat. It was filling up with water. But Jesus
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was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. I want
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to be like that. Anybody want to join me and
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be like that? That your trust is so strong in
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God that when the storm arises, you can sleep
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in the front of the boat. Do you know what that
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is? Peace. It's not the absence of difficulty.
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It's that in the midst of the difficulty, you
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know that God is with you. He is with you. This
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is the whole point of Emmanuel. God who is with
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you. He is with you. He is with you. There's
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turmoil in my family, pastor. He is with you.
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So they woke him and said, teacher, don't you
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care that we are perishing? And he arose, and
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I picture him rubbing his eyes, waking up, and
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said to the wind, peace, be still. And the wind
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ceased, and there was great calm. And he had
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a question for them, which I believe God would
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speak to you this morning and to me. Why are
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you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
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Trust in God. When I walked through what I did,
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it took me six months to really get a handle
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on things. And I wouldn't trade that six months
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of my life for anything because it was in that
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crucible that God taught me peace. I had such
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anxiety that I didn't sleep for three, four,
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five nights in a row. I would go days without
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sleep because of anxiety. I was embarrassed,
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to be honest with you. Here I am, the assistant
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pastor of the church, the worship leader. Anxiety
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affecting my heart. Having to go to the emergency
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room multiple times. I would read the scriptures.
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And at first I was like, why isn't it working?
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I'd be up in the middle of the night. And I would
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look at the mirror. And I, in time, began to
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prophesy over myself. And say, you shall live
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and not die. I would look at myself in the mirror.
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Do you know what I was afraid of? Dying. Things
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were not good physically. I had issues. But it
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exposed something in my heart that I was afraid
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of death. And it was this six -month period where
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God forced me to wrestle with things that were
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buried deep in my heart that I didn't even know
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were there. And I began to align my thinking.
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With the word of God. And slowly, slowly, slowly,
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I got on top and wasn't always on the bottom
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because when you're filled with anxiety, you
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feel like I am on the bottom. I can never get
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on the top of this. But I began to align my thinking
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and my life up with the word of God. And it was
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a struggle. And I wasn't on the waves physically
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in a boat, but I was. And I want to tell you
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that even then, that Jesus did not abandon His
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disciples. Don't think that if God says to you,
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you need to grow in your faith, that He is abandoning
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you. No, He's calling you up to a higher place.
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so that you can do what Jesus did. The next time
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the storm comes, guess what you can do? Sleep
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in the boat because you trust that God is there.
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I never want anybody to feel like they are less
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of a human being or that they are somehow failing
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in their walk because they have fear or anxiety
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or difficulty. I never want anybody to feel that.
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I know what that's like. But I do want to call
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you to change. Amen? I want to call you to rise
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up in the midst of your trial, to engage with
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it, and to become what God's called you to be.
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Joseph walked in peace, doing impossible things.
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And so can you. And finally this morning, peace
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comes when we position ourselves to hear from
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God. Joseph was a man of prayer long before he
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was ever chosen to be the Messiah's father. Peace
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comes when we position ourselves to hear from
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God. Go with me to Philippians chapter 4. And
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I want to read the promise of verse 7. Every
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one of you need this. In fact, you should write
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this down. Write this verse down and put it on
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your refrigerator. Philippians 4, 7. And the
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peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
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will guard your heart and mind through Christ
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Jesus. Isn't that a great verse? The peace of
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God will guard your heart and mind through Christ
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Jesus. Praise the Lord. I love Romans 16 when
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Paul is saying farewell. He says, and the God
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of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
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Amen? I love that. I love that. This is the God
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that we serve, crushing our enemies. And filling
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our hearts with peace. And the promise here in
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Philippians 4, the peace of God that goes beyond
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my ability to even think about it will guard
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my heart and my mind. And so I would make a decision.
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I'm going to enter into your peace today. And
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I would agree with the word of God. But the promise
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of verse 7 is attached to a commandment. And
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if you don't do the commandment, you cannot claim
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the promise. You have to fulfill the requirement
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in order to receive the promise. So what's the
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requirement? Well, let's back up. To verse 6.
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Be anxious for nothing. But in everything. You're
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all saying that. I didn't even tell you to say
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it and you're all saying it. In everything. By
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prayer. And supplication. With thanksgiving.
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Let your requests be made known to God. This
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is the requirement. And so when your thoughts
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are anxious, you know what I needed to do? Repent.
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And I did it again and again and again and again
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and again. Bringing my thoughts. My emotions,
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my feelings in line with the word of God. Instead
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of thoughts of anxiety, God, I want to bring
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this to you in prayer. I want to yield it to
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the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I want
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to thank you, God, for meeting every need that
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I have. I want to thank you, God, for helping
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me with every thought. Instead of anxiousness,
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Lord, help me to walk with thanksgiving. That's
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a great determent to anxiety, is to start to
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use your mouth to say all the things that you're
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thankful for. You know, that's a godly exercise.
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With thanksgiving. God, I thank you for your
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goodness in my life. I thank you for the way
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that you have blessed my life. I thank you, God,
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for your promises in my life, that they are yes
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and amen. And I had to... In the heat of the
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battle, there was probably about a month that
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was the heat of the battle, where every day,
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and I didn't always succeed, but I did it over
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and over and over and over again. And the promise,
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there came the day when the promise broke through.
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That happened when I was 35 years old. It was
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a year I'll never forget. I have not been overcome
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with anxiety by a symptom since. Because the
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peace of God guards my heart. And I want to tell
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you that the same God that worked in me can work
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in you. I want to close with Genesis chapter
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1. The Word of God begins with Genesis 1, but
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I'm going to close my message with Genesis 1.
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Because it illustrates the peace of God. In the
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beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
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The earth was without form and void. And darkness
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was on the face of the earth. Some translations
40:57
say chaos. And the Spirit of God was hovering
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over the face of the waters. Sometimes when you
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feel anxious about something, it's because it's
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not complete. Sometimes there's chaos in your
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world. It's one thing to come down to the altar,
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which I'm going to give the opportunity for anybody
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to receive prayer here in a moment. Any of you
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at home, we can pray for you. And the Spirit
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of God touches you when you receive prayer. How
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many of you have received prayer and you felt
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God touch you? Yeah. You know that it's real.
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But God can come and touch you here at the altar.
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But one of the problems is the world that you
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go back into is filled with chaos. Your home
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is a disaster. Your relationships are struggling.
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There is no order in the world in which you're
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going back to. And oftentimes you get a touch
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from God at the altar. but it does not translate
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into transformation in your life. I believe that
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God wants to touch you in the altar, but he's
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also going to speak to you some things that you
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need to get in order in your world. Isn't that
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what happened in creation? The Spirit of God
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was hovering over the waters. And God said, let
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there be light. And He began day after day for
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six days to bring order to that which was chaos.
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And when He created Adam and Eve, we don't know
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how long it was that they lived in the garden
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before they sinned. We don't know, but for however
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long they lived there in the Garden of Eden,
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under those idyllic circumstances, in that world
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of order, there was peace. It wasn't until they
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got out of alignment, That Adam was afraid because
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he was naked. And so he hid. And therein lies
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the problem of humanity. But Jesus shed his blood
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to redeem you. And to cover over the sin of Adam
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that flows in your veins and my veins. And to
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restore God's order to your life. Don't be surprised
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if you give your life to Christ. And then he
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suddenly begins to tell you things that you need
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to change in your life. It's not because he wants
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to be mean to you. It's because he wants to bring
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you his peace. And he's starting to adjust things
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and change things. Let there be this. Let there
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be that. And that which he did in creation in
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six days, he's starting to do in you. And that
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is called discipleship. I'm becoming a follower
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of Christ. I am ordering my life. I am lining
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up my life with what God is telling me to do.
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with what He is telling me to be. Young people,
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don't miss it. Don't let the world line up your
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life. It will end in chaos. Don't let the spirit
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of this age influence your desires. Don't connect
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yourself with people that are taking you down
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the wrong road. Line yourself up with God. Line
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yourself up with what He is saying. He doesn't
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want to just touch you for a moment. Oh, remember
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that time in my life where I felt good. He wants
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to implant peace in your life. A fruit of the
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Spirit that will increase throughout your entire
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life. That's what he wants to do. Amen? Anybody
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want that for their life? Anybody want that?
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I want that. That's what we see in Joseph. Led
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by the Spirit. Submitted to what God wanted for
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his life. Doing things the way God wanted him
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to do. Sometimes at the expense of his own reputation.
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But saying yes. Lord, we just come before you
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right now. The peace that passes all understanding.
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Lord, you are here in this room right now, and
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we acknowledge you. You're speaking to hearts
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right now. There's some that are in a difficult
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place. I want to pray for somebody at home right
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now. I want to ask in Jesus' name that you would
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just meet them right where they are in their
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living room. God, I want to pray for couples
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right now. There's turmoil and difficulty. But
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when we line ourselves up with your divine order,
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The peace of God comes. Lord, I'm asking you
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in Jesus' name that you would touch people this
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morning with your power, that you would break
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off of them the anxiety and the fear. And I ask
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God that you would speak to them. The things
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that they need to know to bring about change.
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It's for the long term. God, move in this place.
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If you're here this morning, perhaps you've just
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thought it was your personality. Well, I'm a
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worry wart. It's what I do. You didn't understand
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that it was part of the fallen nature. But this
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morning you're saying, you know what, I have
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been giving myself to that thing. And it's been
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a part of my life. But today I just want to declare
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my desire to walk in freedom from it. If that's
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you, I just want you to lift up your hand all
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over this room right now and say, that's me.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you. Anybody else?
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Thank you. Others with their hands raised up.
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You're tired of dealing with anxiety. You think
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that it can only be dealt with with a pill. But
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God wants to teach you to sleep in the boat.
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Lord, these that have raised their hands, God,
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I want to just ask in Jesus' name that you'd
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come alongside them right now. You don't abandon
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us. You never abandon us. You love us too much
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for that. I thank you, God, that for six months
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you could have abandoned me, but you never walked
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away. And you brought me all the way through.
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And I'm just asking right now that you would
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bring peace to the storm of the lives of the
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people in this room. You saw them raise their
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hands. They weren't raising their hand to me
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or to anybody in this room, but to you, Lord.
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And they were saying, God, I need your peace.
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Can we all just pray this prayer right now? Jesus,
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I thank you that you are the Prince of Peace.
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You speak to my situation. Peace be still. But
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you call me to be like you. And so I speak to
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my situation. Peace. Be still. Teach me, God,
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to cooperate with your Holy Spirit. Teach me
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to position myself. For the promise of peace.
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Teach me to grow in my walk with you. Put grit
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in me, God. That would never give up. But that
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would trust in your word. In the name of Jesus.
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And everybody said. Amen. Amen. Praise God. I
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believe some victory just happened in this house
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right now. Hallelujah. I believe some victory
52:29
just happened in this house right now. If you
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believe that, I want you to just stand up with
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me right now in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah.
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Just lift your hands to the Lord. If you feel
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comfortable just lifting your hands, just lift
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your hands to the Lord right now and thank God
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for being your peace right now. You're the Prince
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of Peace. You are my Prince of Peace. And we
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thank you, Lord. And we give you praise in Jesus.
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Mighty name. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Glory
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to God. Glory to God. Hallelujah. Thank you,
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Father. Glory to Jesus. Your name is Jesus. Your
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name is life. Your name is good. Praise God.