Our Peace: Surpassed All Understanding

Good morning, and I just want to express my joy and my happiness to be here with you guys.

! Advent season really does minister a lot to my heart every year.

And as a special blessing to me getting a chance to come and share and preach God's Word to you this morning.

You know, as we've already defined, I hope most of you can walk away from the Advent season knowing what Advent actually is.

But just, if you're new in the scene, just know that Advent is just a Latin word for meaning either the coming or the arrival of an important person or an important event.

And in our context, there's no greater person than Christ the Messiah, no greater event than Him coming to the earth to come and dwell, walk among us, and to be our Savior.

So, as Nathan already pointed out, today's focus is focused on the Advent of peace.

So, peace that is coming to us.

But also, Advent also has another meaning.

It's not just we look back at Christ's first arrival when He came and came among us, baby in the manger.

But also, the coming or the arrival of Him coming back again to rescue us and to finally bring this dark world to an end and usher in the new heaven and the new earth coming to rescue us.

So, that's kind of a double meaning there.

We have a coming that we look back at and a coming that we are looking forward to in Advent.

But just by way of introduction, today we're talking about peace.

And in my own life, this has been a quest, a looking for what can I find peace in.

So, just know that this is a very personal message for me as well.

This ministered a lot to my heart.

Well, let's just go to the Lord one more time.

And I just want to just ask Him, Father, please, this morning, I pray that You would use me, a man with many flaws, many sins, imperfect.

I pray that You would be delighted to work through this broken vessel to minister to Your people this morning.

And God, I pray that Your Spirit would communicate the Word to our hearts, to our souls, to our minds, Lord.

That people here would be moved to greater love for You.

That they would know the peace of Christ that He has brought us.

In Christ's name, amen.

So, as you look around the world and you see the people in it, your friends, your co-workers, on the news, wherever it is,

and just stop and just look even at your own life, you'll see that there is a search for peace.

And no one can find it.

It's peace, you know, how we define things sometimes by looking at the opposite.

So, if we wanted to say the opposite of joy is sorrow or sadness, so the opposite of peace is anxiety.

And the word, at least, is used a lot in the Scripture for the word anxiety.

It means to be like inwardly torn apart, shredded apart by outward things that are happening or inward,

that are causing you just to be devastated in your soul, to be torn and ripped to shreds by circumstances that are around you.

It's a suffering of your soul and your heart that when you go through things in life and you can't cope with it,

you can't deal with it, you're feeling crushed and you're feeling ripped apart.

And I have been there even this week, and I know that you also have experienced that.

So, the people around us, and even you, you may have, people search for peace in all sorts of different things.

A big one, people search for peace in money and financial security.

They think, if I have enough money, I can deal with any kind of problem that comes my way.

But, as we know, that's not certain.

Things can happen where you can lose pretty much everything you have.

You never can have enough to feel safe and secure.

And another thing people look to is relationships, whether good or bad relationships,

thinking that this man or this woman or this friend can help me deal with anything going on in my life,

and I'm going to look to them to give me the peace that I need.

But, as we know, we're all broken, and we let each other down.

I can't give anybody peace.

We're not a reliable source of peace at all.

People will fail because people are broken and people have sinned.

And others look for peace, like just in vacations, escapes.

I used to have a habit of doing this many years ago.

So, just think, if I just go here, leave this physical location, and go somewhere I want,

my son and my stuff won't follow me there.

Not true at all.

You are you wherever you go.

And so, the stuff that you bring there continues to eat at you and gnaw at you,

even while you're in a different location.

And then you come back, and you're more stressed out than when you left

because you've been looking for it in the wrong place.

Other people look for it in health.

They want to take care of their bodies.

They want to look good.

They either just want to say, if I think that people can look at me and say,

I look good, we get approval from man, I'll have peace.

Or just, I want to take care of myself because I'm scared of getting sick.

I'm scared of dying.

But, you know what?

You can't maintain it forever.

And things happen.

You can do whatever you want to do.

But, eventually, we all are wearing out.

We all are fading.

And I think a big one that a lot of people look to is this idea of,

I can have peace if I can get in a routine, if I can plan well enough,

where I know everything is coming at me, nothing is going to catch me off guard,

and if something is just kind of thrown in the middle of that,

and your routine or your schedule is thrown off, you're thrown off.

And you don't even know how to cope with change.

And knowing that, like, nothing, plans aren't certain, life catches us off guard.

So true spiritual peace is just lost for many of us.

We can't grasp it no matter what we do.

It just eludes us.

So, why can't we be at peace with ourselves?

Why can't we be at peace with those around us?

Why is it always something going on in here that's, like, tearing us apart, ripping us to shreds?

And you may find that to be the case with you this morning.

So, what's burdening your soul?

What is it that you're anxious about that's tearing you apart?

So, Christmas time, the holiday season, is a time for a lot of people to try to regain that peace.

And it can be done in a good way, which is what we're trying to do,

but also, for most people who are without Christ and in the world,

they do it in a lot of false, superficial, shallow ways that never, ever actually bring peace.

It's the whole, you know, it's the Christmas spirit.

Cheer up.

It'll all be okay.

Be happy.

You know, this is the time when we just, usually we're mean and cool to each other,

but it's Christmas time, so let's be nice to each other and let's have peace together.

And it's sort of, you know, epitomized a lot of the stuff you see on TV,

in the movies you watch that are very, you know, warm, cuddly, cozy.

But, you know what?

Like, that stuff may be, you know, I'm not trying to hate on that,

but at the same time, what I'm saying is, that's not reality.

Like, we live in an awful, broken, sinful world.

And to kind of look to the world and say,

with this this shallow, warm, sentimental, you know, cheer up, it's Christmas, it's time to be happy,

it's about absurd as like sending a Hallmark card to a starving village in Asia

and saying, we hope you feel better because it's Christmas.

You know, it doesn't fix anything.

It's not real.

We have to have something that's not man-made and superficial

that can heal the broken world that we live in.

And so, we can't look to just what the world looks to at Christmastime.

More junk, more gifts, more party, more whatever.

It's not going to bring the peace that we need.

And so, but on the other hand, we can use this time,

the holiday time, the Christmastime,

to elevate our thoughts to a higher place

for the real meaning of what Christmas is.

But let's kind of create the problem.

So, we're starting to create the problem,

and then we're going to solve it, hopefully.

God's going to solve it through His Word.

But why do we have no peace?

Why don't any of those things work, right?

Why don't they work?

Well, the simple answer is that

we can't have any spiritual peace within ourselves or in the world

because we have a spiritual problem,

a spiritual condition.

And the reality is that we have sinned

and turned away against the God of peace.

And because of that, you will never have peace in yourself.

Because we are at odds with God Himself,

we'll never, ever have peace.

You can't have peace when God is your enemy,

when you have set yourself up against Him.

And the Scripture says

that all of us have sinned against God.

Every one of us.

We have chosen to love,

to give our lives to things that aren't worthy.

We have kind of either directly or indirectly

said to God,

You're not worthy of us loving.

You're not worthy of our obedience in our lives.

And we're going to do what we want to do

and try to find what only You can give us

through all these things that You have created

in the world.

And that's what it is.

All of us have fallen.

Our souls were meant to know God,

to worship Him,

to have a relationship with the God of peace.

Right?

The peace of God.

But sin has turned us against Him.

In James 4, verses 4-5,

James 4:4–5

I'll just read this to you.

James says,

You adulterous people,

do you not know that friendship

with the world is enmity with God?

Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of this world

makes himself an enemy of God.

Or do you not suppose that it is no purpose?

The Scripture says,

He yearns jealously over the Spirit

that He has made to dwell in us.

So this is just a picture of spiritual unfaithfulness to God,

having these strong affections

for the things in the creation

and not the Creator.

Paul says,

Because they, like being mankind,

exchanged the truth about God for a lie.

They exchanged it.

And we worshiped and served the creature

rather than the Creator

who is blessed forever.

And this word that he talks about,

don't love the world here,

like if you love the world,

you make yourself an enemy of God,

it means like a very strong

or immodest attachment to something.

And that's what we've done.

We've taken things in this world

and we've like loved them far more than they deserve.

And we haven't given that love to the Creator.

And so that's why,

and God deserves it.

He deserves it.

He is the Creator.

He made you.

He even sustains you at this very moment.

Every good thing you have

is from Him and Him alone.

your health,

your money,

your clothes,

everything you have

is a gift from God

to help you see that He is good.

But still,

we credit that to ourselves.

And we think that it's us sustaining us.

And we ignore

or either blatantly push Him away.

And so,

because sin has made us at war with God,

we will never have peace.

You cannot ever have

any inward spiritual peace

when God is set against you.

Isaiah,

57, 20-21,

you just might want to write this down,

but listen to this.

It says,

The wicked

are like the tossing of the sea,

for it cannot be quiet,

and its waters toss up mire and dirt.

There is no peace,

says my God,

for the wicked.

That's a picture of the world.

It's being tossed and tossed

and no quiet,

no peace.

And it says,

there's no peace.

God says,

there's no peace for the wicked,

no peace for those

who are set against Him.

You can't.

So,

that's creating the problem.

We don't have peace

because we are at war with God.

And mankind

who has set himself

against God.

But,

what we can do

at this Christmas time

is,

is use this

as a chance

just to elevate our souls

to a higher place.

If we use this

to focus on the true meaning

of Christmas

and, I guess,

rediscover it,

refresh it,

and allow it to play out

into the rest of our life,

not just Christmas,

but this is an opportunity

to hit reset.

But,

throughout the ages,

we celebrate that God

is a God of salvation,

that He has worked

through the ages

to bring salvation

to us.

Thousands of years

before it actually

came to us.

It was spoken

by the prophet Isaiah

700 years or so

before Christ came.

He told of the Prince

of Peace

that would come,

first bringing peace

to individuals

and then to the nations,

that His government

would be established

forever.

It says,

Isaiah 9,

6-7,

For to us a child

is born,

to us a son

is given,

and the government

shall be on His shoulders,

and His name

shall be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

And that's what we celebrate,

is the first coming

of the Prince of Peace,

and how He would bring

peace to our souls

and then to the nations.

So,

what is it?

I mean,

just stop and pause.

What is it that's making

you anxious today?

It could be several things.

Guys,

don't lie.

You're anxious

about stuff too.

Being stoic

and acting like you're tough

doesn't change it.

You still are being

torn apart in here

whether you show it or not.

And there are some things

you can have no control over.

So,

I beg you this morning

just to really let God's Word

just minister to your soul

that we would find that peace.

So,

let's just start with

a good definition

of peace.

I guess when we're talking

about it just biblically,

it does mean like

just the word

an inner calm

or an inner tranquility

of the soul,

a quietness of the soul.

and

I'll give you

just a definition

of what that looks like.

But here's

our definition.

Peace is the inner confidence

and trust

in God's wise,

sovereign control

of our lives

resulting from being

restored to Him

through Jesus Christ.

Peace is the inner confidence

and trust

in God's wise,

sovereign control

of our lives

resulting from being

restored to Him

through Jesus Christ.

So,

we can have peace

through Jesus Christ.

And that's kind of

where we're going today.

The Old Testament word

for that is just

shalom,

meaning

a complete peace,

an inner contentment,

completeness,

wholeness,

harmony.

So,

three things

we're going to look at today.

Now I invite you

just to open your Bibles

to a well-known passage,

Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Very familiar

just in the,

what we would refer to

in some ways

as the Christmas story.

Luke 2.

Let's go to verse 8.

So,

the three things

that we're going to look at.

Number one,

because God brought

peace to us.

These are reasons

we can have peace.

Excuse me.

Like,

why can we have peace?

Okay.

Because God brought

peace to us.

That's number one.

Because God brought

peace to us.

Look at Luke 2,

Luke 2:8

verse 8.

And in the same region

there were shepherds

out in the field

keeping watch

over their flocks

by night.

And an angel

of the Lord

appeared to them

and the glory

of the Lord

shone around them.

And they were filled

with great fear.

And the angel

said to them,

Fear not,

for behold,

I bring you

good news,

gospel,

right,

of great joy

that will be

for all people.

For unto you

is born this day

in the city of David

a Savior

who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be

a sign for you.

You will find a baby

wrapped in swallowing clothes

and lying in a manger.

And suddenly

there was with the angel

a multitude

of the heavenly hosts

praising God

and saying,

Glory to God

and the highest

and on earth

peace among those

with whom

He is pleased.

So there are some,

you know,

this is kind of

one of those

cliche phrases

that you hear

at Christmas

and most people

don't even know

where it comes from

or what it means

but it's like,

hey man,

it's peace on earth,

good will toward men.

And it's,

that's true

but look what the verse says,

among those

with whom He is pleased.

So this idea

that like,

it's not just this,

this weird,

you know,

peace floating out there

that we lay hold of,

it's come to us

only by God.

And it is going to be

on those

with whom He is pleased.

Those who will come

to know the Messiah.

So this is like

the dawning of peace.

Okay?

So if I said a minute ago,

God was our,

if you're without Christ,

like God is our,

He is your enemy.

But He has brought

peace to us.

And so,

you should know

like a really,

you know,

the well-known

Christmas tradition

of kissing

under the mistletoe

comes from the old,

you know,

ancient Celtic,

Scottish,

Irish tradition

of when

they would come together

under the mistletoe

to make peace.

Like enemies

would come over

and be together

and make peace

under the mistletoe.

And they would lay down

their weapons

and they would come

to talk about peace.

So that's why

it's kind of a symbol of that.

But God

has brought peace to us

by meeting under

a different tree

and saying,

come and meet with me

here to have peace

with me.

It says

in Colossians

Colossians 1:20

chapter 1,

verse 20,

through Him,

Christ,

He reconciled

all things to Himself,

whether on earth

or in heaven,

making peace

by the blood

of His cross.

Alright?

So His offer is,

though you have

rejected Me,

though you have

rebelled against Me,

though you have

loved things

that are not

even worthy

to be compared to Me,

I am offering you,

I am offering a chance

with this arriving Messiah,

this King,

to have peace.

So glory to God

on the highest

and on earth,

peace among those

who He has pleased.

Christ.

So,

it's not just

this random thing,

it is an offer,

like,

you want peace with Me?

You come

through My Son.

He is the Messiah,

I am sending

to save you

from your sin

and restore

peace

between us.

So,

there's like this offer

in Psalm 2,

is a messianic prophecy

about the Messiah.

It's about the coming

of Christ

and it's this idea

that Christ

is coming to the earth

and this is what it says

in verse 12.

It's saying to the kings

of the earth,

it says,

kiss the Son,

lest He be angry

and you perish

in the way,

for His wrath

is quickly kindled,

but blessed are those

who take refuge in Him.

So,

this is the offer.

God has brought peace

to us,

we celebrate that

at Christmas

that He came

and condescended

to be with us.

So,

that is good news.

That's good news

because God

has brought peace

to us.

And secondly,

the Bible talks about

peace with God.

Okay,

so,

we can have peace,

number two,

because we can have

peace with God.

Because we can have

peace with God.

Look at Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

There's just a couple

more places

for you to look,

so,

it's more topical today.

Romans 5,

go to verse,

let's see,

go to verse 1.

So,

why can we have

peace?

Because we can have

peace with God.

Look at Romans 5,

Romans 5:1

verse 1,

it says,

therefore,

since we have been

justified by faith,

we have peace

with God

through

our Lord Jesus.

go down to verse 6.

I've let you do

the whole section,

but we don't have time.

Look at verse 6.

It says,

for while we were

still weak,

at the right time,

Christ died

for the ungodly.

For one will scarcely

die for a righteous

person,

though perhaps

for a good person

one might dare

even to die.

But God shows

His love for us

in that while we were

still sinners,

Christ died

for us.

since therefore

we have now

been justified

by His blood,

much more

shall we be saved

by Him

from the wrath

of God.

For if while

we were enemies,

we were reconciled

to God

by the death

of His Son,

much more

now that we are

reconciled

shall we be saved

by His life.

More than that,

we also rejoice

in God

through our Lord

Jesus Christ

through whom

we have now

received reconciliation.

Ah, man.

This is so good.

Don't let this passage

be familiar to you.

So the Bible

uses words

in this passage

that describe us

before we were

in Christ.

Okay?

So God does not

help those

who help themselves.

This says

you were weak

and you were helpless.

You couldn't do

anything

to improve

your condition.

It used these

words.

Weak,

helpless,

ungodly,

sinners,

enemies.

Those are

descriptions of us

before we are

in Christ.

And you see

how Christ

came

and brought a

remedy

to each one

of those things.

Each one of them.

so it's a chance

to celebrate

that God

has sent

His Son

in order

that we might

not have

strife with Him

but have

peace with Him.

So our souls

can have peace

if you look

in this passage

knowing that

His sacrifice

and His shedding

of His blood

on the cross

would save us

from the wrath

of God.

That should bring

peace to your soul

knowing that the

Savior

has come

to take away

the wrath of God

on your behalf

so we can have

peace

because of faith

and trust

and confidence

in His blood

we can be

justified,

made right

with God.

Because right now

in God's eyes

like in a legal sense

we are guilty,

we are unrighteous

but because of

Christ now

He can look at us

and see the perfect

life of His Son

on us

and He can say

righteous,

justified.

We can be made

right with God

in that sense

because of what

Christ has done.

We can have

that inner serenity

of the soul

that comes from

being justified

in God's sight

and that

because we were

separated,

we were enemies

of God,

now we can have

fellowship with God

instead of like

being at odds

with Him

we can be

sons and daughters

we can have

a restored

relationship

with Him

reconciled

completely

by the blood

of His Son

and we can have

that.

So real spiritual

peace comes

with the reality

of knowing

that we've experienced

a divine pardon

from God

that He has

paid for our sins

in Christ

and that because of that

we can now be

reconciled,

restored back

to God.

We can know

again the God

of peace.

Alright?

That quietness

of the soul.

So the first question

is if you're looking

for peace today

and you don't have

the Messiah

in your life,

you don't have Christ,

know that it's just

going to be a vain

pursuit until you

reach this point

to where you come

to Christ

to be your

Savior,

your Savior

and your Messiah.

Alright?

So that's

the third thing.

It has to start there.

But the Bible

talks about peace

with God

but the Bible

also talks about

the peace

of God.

So this is

the third thing.

Because we can

have the peace

of God.

Number three,

because we can

have the peace

of God.

So go to this

very familiar passage,

Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

This is going to

start working out

a little bit,

at least practically,

how this comes about.

Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

Go to verse 4.

So I just kind of

want to,

as a side note,

I kind of want

to say this.

I think it would

be helpful,

maybe,

to have a right

understanding of

God here.

Because when God

gives us something,

He doesn't just

dispense it to us.

Meaning that He

has a lot of peace

and then He just

says,

here's some peace.

He kind of

gives it to us.

Or here's some love

and He's going to

dish it out,

you know,

dispense it.

It's not that.

It's God gives us

Himself.

He gives us

not just things,

but He gives us

Himself.

And when He gives us

Himself,

like in Him

is all the grace

we need,

all the peace

we need.

It's His presence.

He doesn't give us

something outside

of Him.

So,

just know that.

It's not like He's

up there just

dishing out pie

from the sky.

So,

He gives us Himself

in the Gospel.

So,

look at Philippians 4

and we're talking

about because we

can have the peace

of God.

Verse 4,

Paul says,

rejoice in the Lord

always.

Again,

I will say rejoice.

Let your reasonableness

be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand.

Do not be anxious

about anything,

but in everything

by prayer

and supplication

with thanksgiving.

Let your requests

be made known to God

and the peace of God

which surpasses

all understanding

will guard your hearts

and minds

in Christ Jesus.

So,

if you look at that,

we see this idea

of the peace of God,

this inner calm

quietness

of the soul

that Christ has promised

to believers.

Right?

If you'd all

looked on your bulletin,

there's a quote

by a Puritan.

One of my,

one of the ones I think

is one of my favorite

to read,

Thomas Watson.

They have a way

of saying things

that are so profound

in a very simple way,

in a very like deep way.

Thomas Watson said,

God sweetens outward pain

with inward peace.

It's true.

Very true.

And let's talk about

this peace of God now.

That inner confidence,

right?

This inner tranquility

we can have.

If you look at this,

we can talk about

the peace of God

and that comes again

through Christ.

Christ promised

that His presence

with us

would bring peace.

Many times

throughout the life

of Christ,

He would look

to His followers

and He would say

stuff like this,

like in John 14,

John 14:25

verse 25.

He's like,

these things I've said

to you

while I've still

been with you,

but the Helper,

the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father

will send in My name,

He will teach you

all these things

and bring to remembrance

all that I have said

to you.

And this is what He says.

He's like,

peace I leave you.

My peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives

do I give.

Let not your hearts

be troubled,

neither let them

be afraid.

He's like,

I'm going to give you

this peace that is

unlike anything

this world has

to offer you.

And I'm giving it

to you.

So,

I just,

this is one of my

favorites.

This is kind of

looking into this

passage in terms

of like,

what is the peace

of God?

What is it?

Jonathan Edwards,

another early

American Puritan.

I used to have

a shirt that said

Jonathan Edwards

is my homeboy

that someone

bought for me.

Jesus can't be

the homeboy,

but Jonathan Edwards

is like,

that's okay.

So,

this is what he said

about the peace

of Christ.

Listen to this.

Christ's peace

is a virtuous

peace,

and a holy

peace.

The peace

that the saints

enjoy in Christ

is not only

their comfort,

but it also

is a part of

their beauty

and their dignity.

They are virtues

of graces

that God has

given to us

by his spirit.

Christ's peace

is an unfailing

and eternal

peace.

It is everlasting,

everlasting,

is what no time

or change

can destroy.

The fountain

of his comfort

shall never

be diminished.

His comfort

and joy

is a living

spring to the soul.

And that's

what we're talking

about.

The peace

of God

that surpasses

all understanding.

So,

let's look at

this passage.

He's saying,

don't be anxious.

Why?

How do we deal

with it?

When you face

anxiety,

what do you do?

A lot of people

try to block it out

and they try to

focus on this idea

that if I can just

expel these negative

thoughts and just

think positively

about things,

it'll just be okay.

But the problem

there is,

like,

you're not facing

the reality.

Like,

there is hard

stuff going on

around you.

You can't ignore it.

You can't just say,

I'm just not going

to think about it now.

I'm going to put

my mind here

on these other things.

because those

overcoming facts

are going to be

there when you

come out of that.

And Paul is saying,

like,

I've learned,

I've learned this,

that when this

stuff happens,

I can look at it

and I can smile

because of what

he's going to teach

us here.

Here's some things

in this passage.

If you look,

it says,

rejoice in the Lord

always.

I will say again,

rejoice.

Let your reasonableness

be known to everyone.

All right,

so anxiety

causes you

to be unreasonable.

You ever notice that?

Like,

you can't even,

like,

think straight.

Your logic's gone.

And he's saying,

it shouldn't be

this way with you.

Let your reasonableness

be known to everyone

around you.

Why?

The Lord is at hand,

meaning that

he is near you.

His presence

is with you

and in you.

He's not far away.

Allow his presence

to come and bring you

this peace.

And he says,

don't be anxious

about anything,

but in everything,

by prayer

and supplication

with thanksgiving,

let your request

be made known

to God.

So,

going to God,

pouring out

your anxieties

and your burdens,

casting those on him

because he cares

for you.

And then,

this is a very

practical thing,

guys.

you have to put

your mind

on the truth.

You have to put

your mind on,

if we say we believe

these things

theologically,

you need to know

they actually affect

how you live,

if it's what you believe.

Like this idea

of the sovereignty

of God

and the goodness

of God,

like those aren't

just cool,

nerdy theological

topics.

They're supposed

to like penetrate

how you think

and how you live.

Years ago,

when I was going

through all my

physical stuff

with the transplant

and I wasn't

doing good,

I think,

I don't remember

this time,

I think I was

on life support,

wasn't doing good

in my recovery.

I had a very

dear friend of mine

who's a good

brother in the Lord,

but at the time,

I think,

at the time,

I think the sovereignty

of God was just

kind of a nerdy

topic for him.

So,

when this was

going on with me,

he was in panic.

He was like

freaking out,

like Clay's

going to die,

Clay's going to die,

you know.

But,

men like Nathan

and Wes,

who also were

grieved by what

was going on

with me,

they had a

greater confidence

that God was

in control.

Like they

allowed that truth

to work itself

into the reality

of what was

going on.

And so,

you have to put

your mind on the truth.

If you look,

you know,

look later in

Philippians,

he says,

whatever is good,

whatever is true,

whatever is praiseworthy,

they put your mind

on these things,

right?

And the God of peace

will be with you.

Right?

So,

we have to

stop looking at lies

and stop looking

at circumstances

and look to the truth

and allow God

to use that

to minister

to our hearts

to believe.

Right?

So,

what we believe

has practical implications

for how we live.

Even the greatest

doctrines in the Bible

affect how you live.

right?

So,

that's how we get it.

We,

if you look,

go on at this passage,

it says,

the peace of God

which surpasses

all understanding

will guard

your hearts

and your minds

in Christ Jesus.

So,

you don't just get

peace by

ignoring circumstances.

You get peace

by knowing

and having this

awesome feeling

of being protected.

right?

If,

if there's something

going on in your life

and you know

that like the sovereign God

of the universe

is with you

and for you

and you feel protected

even if there's

crazy things

going on around you.

That's just how it is.

That's how peace works.

Peace,

peace flourishes

!

Peace flourishes

in the midst of

suffering and chaos.

It's not in the absence

of suffering

and chaos.

It,

it comes up.

So,

this word

says right here,

it says,

guard your hearts

and minds.

It's a great,

military term

used in this context

for the Roman army

and other things,

but it means

to set a watch over,

to garrison over,

to guard.

And he's saying

the peace of God

will guard

your heart

and your mind

from anxiety,

from fear,

from worry.

It's setting a watch

over your mind

and your heart.

That's what the peace

of God does.

Isaiah chapter 26,

Isaiah 26:3

verse 3.

This is what he says

about God.

He says,

you keep him

in perfect peace

whose mind

is stayed on you

because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord

forever,

for the God

is an everlasting rock.

So,

trials and suffering

and loss,

they're the breeding ground

of peace.

That's where peace happens.

That inner peace

happens knowing

that Christ is with you

and that he is in you.

Right?

And he's going to guard

your heart

and your mind.

So,

the truth is,

though we,

our souls can be

healthy as ever

in the midst of

crazy circumstances.

Almost simultaneously,

right?

A friend of mine said,

if you're going

through a storm

in life,

if God doesn't

calm the storm,

he'll calm you

in the middle

of the storm.

You know?

And that's very true.

Not just nice

and poetic,

but true.

Like,

I've been there.

You know,

so many opportunities.

I don't want to just

kind of give you

an extreme example,

but,

I mean,

I can have

the peace of God

riding down the road

feeling stressed out

by life.

Just normal circumstances.

But,

but just so you know,

when fear

and death

and things like that

are knocking,

it can also be there.

Third night

into my transplant,

I remember going

to a different unit

that's on my mind

because we're in

touch with somebody

right now,

going through this

at a hospital,

a lung transplant

patient.

But I was there

and in a dark room

kind of glassed

around me

and I wasn't allowed

to have any visitors,

no one I knew

at the time.

And all the medicine

was kind of hitting me

and I was just

a little delirious

and very,

very anxious

about what was

going on around me

and just kind of

like moved around,

tossed around a lot

for those couple of days.

And in this room

just like around

maybe two in the morning,

I just kind of

was just watching

the clock,

couldn't go to sleep,

just had like

18 different

like attachments

on my body

and I just remember

quoting this scripture

to myself

and the peace of God

is real

not because I experienced it

but I experienced it

because it was real.

Alright?

And He met me there

and He guarded my heart

and my mind

in the midst of that.

And He gave me peace

in the midst of

when nothing good

was going on around me

at all, you know.

You can have that.

Christ being with us.

He's come to us

and He's coming again.

And 2 Timothy 3

Paul says,

Now may the Lord

of peace Himself

continually grant you

peace in every circumstance.

The Lord be with you.

So when His Spirit

is within us

like He promised,

the Helper,

the Holy Spirit

will come.

He will work in you

and He will remind you

of the truth

in those circumstances.

And He'll apply that

to your heart,

to your mind,

to your soul.

So look,

it's not going to be easy.

This life's going to

get harder and harder.

Harder and harder.

John 15,

verse 33.

I just want you to hear

the promise of God.

This is something Jesus said.

I just think it sums up

so much.

but I'm begging you

to lay hold of Christ.

He'll give you this

in the midst of everything

going on around you.

I've just seen

a very dear brother

and a very dear sister

walk through a hard time.

This is ministered

to their heart.

John 15,

verse 33.

He says,

this is what Jesus says,

I've said these things

to you

that in me

you may have peace.

In the world

you will have

tribulation.

But take heart,

I have overcome

the world.

So go to the Savior

and experience

the peace of God

that surpasses

all understanding.

And use this

Christmas season

as a chance

to refresh your mind

and refresh your heart.

Ask Him

to kick out

all these stupid things

that you're trying

to find peace in

that are not

going to let you down.

And ask that Christ

replace those things.

So,

let's pray together.