The Master's House - Week 2: Peace

We got a lot of great things happening, and many

of you don't know, we had nothing to do with

it other that we hosted it. But but yesterday we

had an organization that was here on the property and

gave Christmas to over one hundred families yesterday. So listen,

even though we didn't buy the gifts, we didn't do that,

as a result of your faithfulness, we were able to

have a place for people to come and and gather

to be able to receive Christmas for their families.

So that was a great thing.

And then of course we've got our food pantry coming

this Saturday. If you've never seen what happens on Saturdays

during the food pantry, I would I would invite you

to come either this week or next week and just

see the lives that are touched and changed through that

ministry because it is powerful to see. You know, every

single week, over one hundred families come and receive enough

food and groceries to be able to make it for

you know, several sometimes two weeks worth of food to

be able to make it. And it's a powerful thing.

So if you have an opportunity to come out, they

start at eight o'clock go till about twelve or twelve thirty,

or really they stay until the last people come and

get food. But I would encourage you to come and

be part of that, especially during the holiday season.

It is especially eye.

Opening and heartwarming to be part of that. So I

want to invite you to come and be part of that.

As we look at the second week of Advent, we're

going to be talking about the peace of God today.

I was expecting somebody to shout about that. I mean,

the peace of God today. So if you got a Bible,

we're gonna start in Luke chapter two, famous that famous

Christmas passage that talks about peace. We're just gonna read

verses thirteen and fourteen Luke chapter two, and the backstory

here this is when the angels they're coming to the shepherds.

The shepherds are out in the field.

They've seen the star, they've recognized that something's happening.

And the angels show up in the field.

And thirteen it says, and suddenly there was with the

angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and

saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good.

Will towards men. Father. We thank you for your word.

It's the only change agent that we have, and I

pray that today it takes root deep at the fabric.

Of our being and it brings a harvest.

Lord, that you allow us to walk more truly and

purely in your holiness, being a light to men. Lord,

we thank you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You know, when we read this passage of scripture, it's

important to know that the Angel said peace on earth,

goodwill towards men. But actually what is happening is it

was one of the most unsettled times.

In all of scripture.

There's an occupy force in Israel, the census is happening,

so it's chaos. People are moving around, people are going

from town to town that they're just that there's a

whole lot of stress and anxiety. And the Angel shows

up and he says, hey, peace on earth. And I

bet these shepherds were looking around thinking, yeah, that's a

good one. That's a good a comedic angel. There is

no peace on earth. But the reality is he wasn't

talking about the atmosphere. He wasn't talking about that. He

was talking about the fact that there was coming to

earth a peace that passes understanding there was coming to

earth a peace that can dwell in the hearts of

mankind that was unlike anything had it ever been experienced before,

and it was set apart for those who would receive

the Savior as their own, for those that would open

their hearts and invite Jesus in So a lot of

times when we think of peace, we get it wrong

because we think that peace is external. We think that

God is going to speak peace, and he can. Amen,

he can, but you can't dictate where.

The peace comes from.

Come on, now, you know we want to pray, but

we also want to tell him how to do it.

You know, there are times where he shows up and

he stands on the front of the load and he

says peace, be still, and the waves and the wind stop.

But there are other times where he says peace and

he gives us peace. But externally everything looks exactly the same,

that there's nothing that settles down around us. And it's

in those moments when nothing settles down around us that

everything is still going, that the winds are still blowing,

the waves are still ragy, the bank account's still empty,

your kids are still crazy, your boss still hates you,

your credit cards are mixed out. I knew y'all wouldn't

shout his loud over that one because nobody wants to it. Right, Amen,

Those things are still happening.

But God still is.

Able to bring peace that when we're facing those moments

where we are seemingly standing at a crossroads and we

don't know where to go, we don't know which path

to take, that we need God to give direction. We

need God to show us his peace in the way

that we should go.

In John chapter fourteen, verse twenty.

Five, it says, these things I've spoken to you while

being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name, he will

teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all

things that I said to you. Now listen, he says,

I'm the Holy Spirit's coming, and he is going to

bring to remembrance all things that I've said to you,

the things that I've said, the things.

That you've seen.

Holy Spirit's gonna come. He's gonna remind you of those things.

So this is not an external thing that's coming come

on somebody. It's something that he's going to remind you

that I've already taught you, just like we misunderstand the

anointings sometimes, like it's this mystical energy.

That's somewhere out there.

Peace is not something that's out there somewhere that is

sprinkled on us like fairy dust. It's not this energy

that moves in and out of rooms. It is something

that Jesus has already spoken to us. The root of

it is in his word. It is there in black

and white. He says, it's there. I've already spoken these things.

Everything you need for peace, I've already taught you. Now

I'm sending holy Spirit to remind you of those things.

And he says, to teach you things and to bring

to here remembers all things. And he says, peace I

leave with you. That's how we know he's already given

it to us. He's already spoken it to us, because

he says, this piece I leave with you, my piece,

my piece.

I give to you. Now, I don't know about you, but.

If he's given me his piece that's different than my piece,

that's different than the piece that I engineered that I generate,

you know he didn't find. Now, let's just bear with

me here for a minute, because you know people struggle right.

He didn't find his piece in a bottle. He didn't

find his piece.

And a pill.

He didn't find his piece in something new, something bought,

something purchased.

His piece came.

From the supernatural, and it invaded the natural and pushed

back the pressures that were pushing against him. He didn't

say I'm going to give you peace. He says, I'm

going to leave peace. I'm going to give you my peace.

He's going to give you something of divine origin that

is common to the Son of God.

Y'all just not ready this morning, y'all not shy me. Listen.

He's not living.

He's not leaving you some manufacturer thing. He's leaving you

the original peace. Not as the world gives. Do I

give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither

let it be afraid. So he says, my peace I'm

giving to you, and here's the key, that your heart

wouldn't be troubled and that you would not operate in fear.

So two areas where we need.

Peace when our heart's troubled, or when we are in fear,

when fear is an option. We need God's peace when

our hearts are troubled. Pastor Clay said, I can't remember

if he said it. He talks so much, I can't

remember when he says things. I don't remember if he

said it as the beginning of worship experience or if

he said it at the ten at ten this morning.

But he said, hey, I just feel unset. I just

I've been anxious. I've been just kind of just kind

of it's just the aggravation happening. That's his heart being troubled. Amen,

that's heart being troubled. The other time is when I'm

facing things that it's not just a little aggravation, but

I need God to do something because I'm actually to

the point where this thing that is happening is attacking

my faith because fear is the enemy of faith. The

presence of fear diminishes the operation of faith.

Let me say that again, the.

Presence of fear diminishes the operation of f Faith and

fear are opposing forces. And he said, here's the thing.

For faith to fully work, peace needs to be present.

For faith to engage, peace needs to be present because

I need to know that I know that I know

that God has got it. I need to know that

even if he doesn't get it the way I want

him to get it. He still knows what's best for me.

In Isaiah chapter fifty five, starting in verse eleven, this

is one of those powerful Pentecostal scriptures that we like

to quote. Amen, you know those when we're feeling really spiritual.

We like to throw these things out.

There says, so shall my word be that goes forth

out of my mouth.

It shall not return to me void.

But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall

prosper in the thing for which I send it. You

know how many times have you heard somebody say God's word.

God's word coming out of my mouth changes the atmosphere.

But here we find these powerful statements seated in peace,

because when we keep reading, it says, for you shall

go out with joy.

And be let out with peace.

The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing

before you, and all the trees of the field shall

clap their hands.

He says, you shall go out with joy.

In other words, our our number one go to operational

status should be joy that when we go out, when

we just go and do our own thing, when we're

when we're going through the mundane moments of life, those

ordinary things, when we're going to the grocery store and

we're going to the car wash, and we're going to work,

and we're braving the come on, I'm braving the mall

during Christmas season, that we should go in joy, joy,

that intestinal strength that allows us to stand that when

the enemy comes in those mundane moments, I don't even

recognize it because the equilibrium on the inside of me

joy is pushing back against him, and I may not

even recognize the attack because I'm full of joy. And

when I go, I'm going in joy, he says. So

when I go, when I go out, I'm operating in joy.

But when I'm let out, when it's something, when it's

something I wouldn't normally do, when I'm having this goden

moment where God is carrying me, I.

Don't know what that sound was my mouth just made.

That was completely weird.

It felt weird to But anyway, when I'm being led out,

when God is positioning me, when I'm getting ready for end,

maybe when I'm getting ready for decrease, when I'm going

through something hard, when I'm going through something that will

take my eyes off Jesus. When I'm let out, I'm

let out with peace. I'm let out with peace because

peace gives me the ability to walk into the unknown,

to step out of the boat onto the water, to

do the things that need to be done, understanding that

it might not be the way I want it to be.

But God is fully capable of keeping me and lifting

me and prospering me through it all. So when we

talk about being led by peace, we're not talking about

that God gives you an easiness that God just looks

and it says, okay, well, if I.

Go there, that's easy. If I go there, that's hard.

So that must be where God wants me to go

because there's peace over there. It has nothing to do

with outside conditions.

It's you look down that path, and that path looks.

Like rainbows, and you think, you know what if I

get down there and those rainbows turn into rain I

know I'm going to get wet.

But I look down this path, and down this path it.

Looks like it's full of monsters and all kinds of

terrible things. But when I look down that path, I

think to myself, but you know what, if I walk

down that path, I know God is not going to

let anything defeat me or anything bite me.

That's the peace of God. I know y'all don't like that.

I know y'all don't like that, because what we want

God to do is we want God to lay out

an easy path and that be His will for our lives.

But I will guarantee you that where God is calling

you will not be easy because you do not need

God to lead you to do something that's easy.

You can do that on your own.

God wants you to be led by his peace so

that you step out and you begin to work, and

when things get tough, you operate through that knowing that

God has got you, and your testimony is built and

people see Him in you. Everything we do is about

other people seeing God in us. Somehow we think our

relationship with God is about us, but it's not. Our

relationship with God is about everybody that's watching. It's about

the people seeing the testimony built in me and the

way I handle the struggles and the ways and the

wind and all of the storms that blow.

Peace allows me to operate that even.

If things go bad, I'm still going to be okay.

And Colossians chapter three, verse fourteen, it says, but above

all things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

I wish I could preach that, but I got to

stay on that. That's we're gonna come back to that

next year. We're gonna we're gonna come back to verse fourteen.

But above all things, put on love, which is the

bond of perfection.

And let the.

Peace of God rule your hearts, to which also you

were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the

Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,

teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all

in the name of the Lord.

Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father.

Through him.

God does not give you peace. Everybody, listen. God does

not give you peace to sit on the couch.

God does not give you peace to dodge hard things.

God does not give you peace to exist. God gives

you peace to go and do all things as unto him.

God gives you peace to go and take ground for

the Kingdom. He gives you peace to go and live

in your purpose. He gives you peace to go and

strive towards your destiny. He gives you peace so that

you know that in your goings and in your doings,

that if there is a stumble, He's already leaning in

to catch you. It is the root of grace working

through this thing we call peace, grace that God is

leaning in towards humanity. He's always leaning in, and his

ear is set towards us. His hands are already moving

in the direction. He already has momentum to meet us

in that moment of need when we stumble and we

get ready to fall. Whether it's sin, or whether it's

poor decisions, or whether it's just us on the wrong path,

He's always there and he's always ready.

Have peace knowing that.

God has got you, and God will catch you. And

you may not understand how you'll navigate it.

You may think you're going to have a nervous breakdown.

You may think you don't have enough money, you may

think you're not smart enough. But God's peace will sustain you.

We want God's peace to affect things, but God's peace

doesn't affect things. God's peace affects people.

It affects you.

That no matter what is set against you.

He can give you peace to navigate it.

Not that i'll laugh, not that it'll be easy, but

that I'll survive and I'll come out on the other side.

And when i come out on the other side, I'm

going to be a little bit stronger, a little bit smarter,

a little bit better, a little more faith, a little

more love, a little more peace, a little more joy.

I'm almost singing.

If you have somebody wo's up here playing the somebody's

up here playing the organ, I would have probably burst

into song.

Right then, you give.

Us just a little bit of all those things, because

peace is the stabilizing factor. Peace is the stabilizing part

of our relationship with God, that says, listen, the boat

might rock, but it won't turn over.

But if it does, I've got a life jacket for you.

That you may get thrown into the fire, but I'll

be there with you. But if not, I'll make you

fire proof. See that's peace. Peace is knowing that God's

desire for us is bigger than our situations and our circumstance,

and that has to.

Rule our hearts. Hold on, let me just verse fifteen,

and let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

Let me read my last passage you guys can go

ahead and come on. I'm gonna preach for a little while,

so be comfortable. But you can go ahead, and this

is a perfect time for you to come in and

let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Philippians,

Chapter four, verse six. Be anxious for nothing? How many

of you? How many of you know that sometimes the

Bible writes things that are hard to do.

Raise your hand if you know that.

How many of you in the last ten days have

been anxious for something?

Yeah?

I mean transparency, right, that's the way we operate here. Transparency. Yeah,

that's one of those that you know, when I get

to heaven, just like, count it all joy when you

fall into various trials.

I'm gonna ask about that one.

Right. This is another one. This is another one that

be anxious for nothing? For nothing, I mean that word

really means nothing. There's lots of things I'm anxious for.

I'm anxious for the Lord to come back.

Man. Man, I'm just I just, I mean, when I

you know.

I'm just like, yeah, that's I want that to happen.

I want Florida State football to get a new coach.

I'm anxious for it. I'm anxious. I'm anxious to get.

Home and lay down and take a nap.

I'm anxious just to snuggle up to my wife and

still a little kiss later this afternoon.

Amen.

But he says, be anxious for nothing, because it's not

about actions. It's not about the things that will happen.

It's about buying into God and who he is, and

believing he's who he says he is right now in

this moment. Because if I'm anxious for something else, if

I'm always looking and needing something else, I may just

well miss what God is doing.

Right here, right now.

Peace allows us to be present in the moment, without

the fear or the desire for anything else, knowing that

now here, this is what God has promised me, and

I will find him in this moment. Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

Let your requests be known to God.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will

guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. He says,

the peace of God that passes all understanding.

Do I let God's Peace rule in my heart by

leaning not unto your own.

Understanding, but trusting God acknowledging his way, that his way

is the best. Stop trying to figure it all out

and fix it. Stop pressing for things that God is

not yet ready to give you. Stop worrying about things

that will probably never happen. Every morning I wake up

in something new hurt, Samen, I think it's a rule

when you turn fifty new things hurt every day, and

every day I think that's probably the thing that will

kill me. That's the first thought that I think. I

told her, it's probably infection going to go to my brain.

By this afternoon, I'm gonna die. Because we naturally want

to worry about the worst case scenarios. We want to

worry and fix ourselves into a frenzy. We want to

be consumed by every aggravation, by the what if questions

of life. When God says, I've already left you my peace,

I've given you my peace. So for just a moment

in closing, let me let me frame a day in

the life of Jesus, because if we have his peace,

we need to understand his world.

That every day he walked here.

Was under the fear of persecution and death, that every

day he walked here he had to make the hard

decisions of where to go, because after all, God wants

to be everywhere.

For all people.

But when Jesus was here in the flesh, he had

to make the decisions for those that he would encounter.

And those that he wouldn't.

That every day he was referring the jockeing of position

of his closest friends and ministry partners, saying, who will

be the greatest, Who's going to sit at your right hand?

Who is this? Who is that?

And he managed all of that tension every day, that

every day those people that followed him closely looked to

him for provision. That every day when taxes were due,

he had to look at Peter and say, you know what,

go down to the lake and pull it out of

a fish's mouth. That he was faced with the things

that we're faced with. And even more yet, he said,

I'm gonna give you my peace because none of those

things derail me from my purpose. I'm here to do

the father's will. You are here to do the Father's will.

You were here for a plan and a purpose, and

God has something for you that's so much greater than

anything you could imagine. So quit worrying about the things

that are binding you in the moment, because tomorrow holds

possibilities that will blow your mind, and the potential of

what God will do in you is immeasurable by human standards.

And let the peace of God that passes all understanding

fill your hearts.

Now listen, I know some of you are facing tough things.

I know some of the that you've gotten. Some of

you talked to me about the things.

That you're facing.

It breaks my heart, But I want to tell you something.

God has got you. Even if it don't work out

the way we want it to work out.

God has got you.

That when things when things work out worse than we've imagined,

God has got you because he loves you and he

cares for you. Let the peace that passes all understanding

guard your heart and your mind, because worry will diminish

your hope and fear will kill your faith.

And those are the two things you need to move

towards your miracle.

Father. Right now, in the name of Jesus, I speak peace,

and I call that peace out of every believer.

Fix our eyes on you, Lord. We love you, and

we thank you for who you are.

You know the only way you can tap into this

peace is if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord

and savior. If you've never asked Jesus to forgive you

of your sins, you've never made him the lord of

your life.

This peace is outside of anything you can grab hold of.

It's not something you can manage on your own, something

he brings you.

So, if you're here.

Today and you've never asked Jesus to forgive you of

your sins to be the lord of your life. Or

maybe you're here and you know there's distance between you

and God. You know that you've allowed things to come

in into your life that have positioned themselves between you

and here Heavenly Father. In just a moment, I'm going

to give you an opportunity to come turn those things

over to the Lord, to give him your life, to

wash you clean and make you a brand new creation.

And the moment that happens, he gives you his peace. So,

if you're here and you're struggling and you don't know

where to turn, you don't know what to do, I'm

going to ask you to turn your life over to Jesus.

But every head bowed and every eye closed. If you're

here today and to say passed, or pray for me.

I want to give my life to Jesus.

I want to I want to.

Rededicate my life. Or I want to give my life

to him for the very first time. If that's you,

slip your hand up and say that's my pastor pray

for me. I want to turn it all over to Jesus.

I want to make things right with him.

Amen. Amen, Amen, Wait just a moment.

Amen, Every eye open, every head looking around, everybody standing

to your feet with me. The band's gonna sing and

we're gonna worship. But I want to if you if

you need something, if you've decided you need an encounter

with Jesus for whatever reason, I want you to come

to the front. I'll pray for you. But I also

want to tell you that we need to learn not

to wait until the end of the worship experience to

come to the altar. And when we open the altars

during the miracle moment, that's for you to come to

the Lord and bring him your cares and your needs.

Because if we make the decision rather than to be

compelled emotionally, I think that we have a more active

faith experience with the Lord.

Amen. So for now, listen.

If you're bothered by something, if you're worried about something

to come, you're in the miracle moment. Let us pray

for you. You don't have to wait till the end. For Jesus,

this moment is no more anointed than that moment. He's

here all the time. So, as the band sings, if

you need something, I'm gonna step down.

I'll pray for you.

I'll believe God for a miracle in your life.

But just know that you already have His peace. You

just need to lean into it.