The Giver of a Better Peace | Pastor Daniel Batarseh | Maranatha Shabiba 2023 Conference | Friday

Father, we turn our eyes to you again tonight, and our prayer is

simple. Your servant Paul told the

Thessalonians that our gospel came to you not only in Word,

but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with full

conviction and Lord, from the bottom of our hearts, we pray

that what happened among the Thessalonians would be our

portion tonight. We ask that you would do it by

your Spirit. Let your presence come and touch

us and renew us, heal us, convict us, save some.

Only you can do that. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen. Amen.

Meet me in your bibles in First Kings chapter four.

First Kings chapter 4. Beginning in verse 24.

1 Kings 4 · chapter mention

First Kings 4 verse 24 to 25. And Speaking of Solomon, the

1 Kings 4:24–25

Holy Spirit says, for he had dominion over all the region

West of the Euphrates, from Tifsa to Gaza, over all the

kings West of the Euphrates, and he had peace on all sides around

him. And Judah and Israel lived in

safety from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his

vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.

Solomon's name simply means peace.

It derives from the Hebrew word Shalom, and it was a very

fitting name, because peace was a factor that distinguished

Solomon's reign in comparison to all the other kings of Israel.

Solomon has something very special about him.

He did not fight wars like his father David did.

He actually, he didn't know any wars at all.

There was an unusual tranquility.

There was an unusual alliance and serenity with Solomon as he

took over as the leader of the people of God.

And as we just read in summary of this verse, this man was able

to maintain decades, years upon years of harmony, civilly and

internationally. That's impressive.

That's significant. And we see here that there is no

other king following Solomon who was ever able to replicate such

peace in the land. And not only do we get a summary

that there was safety among the people of Israel from border to

border, that's what we read here.

We also realized that there was something that each person who

was under his establishment, what they enjoyed because of

Solomon's leadership. It's this interesting phrase.

You read it with me. It says every man under his vine

and verse 25 and under his fig tree.

Men and women did not have to hide in their homes, did not

have to be worried about any siege or any attack from

outside. They were able to liberally be

in their own personal gardens and enjoy the fruit and the

shade found therein. And this was not just a one time

commentary about what Solomon was able to provide to the

people of Israel. This became a proverbial

expression, a proverbial expression that would describe

enjoyment and rest and peace. And more significantly, it

actually became a prophetic hope, a prophetic hope for the

future generations of the people of God.

And so even the prophets borrowed that First Kings 425

statement to give the people something to look forward to.

So when the son of David, the promised son of David, who would

rule and reign forever and ever, they would long for that even

more. They would have a scene of what

they could expect. Here's proof of that.

When you go to the prophet Micah in chapter four of Micah and

verse three and four, this is a prophecy about Jesus Christ, not

in his first advent, but when he returns, Jesus Christ is coming

back. Understand that the Lord Jesus

Christ will return on this planet, and when He returns on

this planet, he will plant his feet on the Mount of Olives.

And when he does so, he will also establish His throne in

Jerusalem, in Jerusalem, and he will rule and reign the nations

for 1000 years. And so this is what we are

looking forward to. We're not merely looking forward

for Christ to take us up, we're looking forward to Christ coming

down. And when he comes down, he is

going to prove to all the governments, all the nations,

all the peoples for all generations, that there's no

king like him. And so here's a glimpse of that

in the Old Testament of the second Advent of Christ, of what

you and I are expecting. And I'm among those who believe

that he's coming very soon. Here it is in Micah 4 three to

four. Hope we have it ready.

More importantly, have it ready in your Bible.

He shall judge between many peoples and shall decide for

strong nations a far off. And they shall beat their swords

into plowshares, meaning they're going to turn their weapons into

farming equipment. There's going to be no war when

he comes and their Spears into pruning hooks.

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall

they learn war. And Can you imagine a period of

hundreds upon hundreds of years where no war will happen?

Look at the next verse. But they shall sit every man

under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them

afraid for the mouth of the Lord of hosts.

That's spoken. So you see, the prophet by the

Spirit borrows the language of first kings, and he uses it for

a future reality to come. And what we're told here about

the Messiah is that he will settle disputes among the

leaders of the world and there will be a peace unlike any other

time, and every single person will enjoy personal prosperity

and security unmatched. Oh, here's that, just Micah.

Here's Zechariah and Zechariah 310.

Is Zechariah another prophet near the end of your Old

Testament? We're told something in one

simple verse that echoes what Micah's saying.

That echoes what Solomon was saying in that day.

What day? When Christ comes, when he comes

in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, everyone of you will

invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his

victory. So this became an expression of

anticipation, an expression of a desired daily reality that there

will be mutual trust, that there would be a corporate harmony,

that there would be this sense of security and love among

people. No crime, No Fear, no bad news.

It would just be this, everyone having their own little personal

utopia. And that being the experience,

whether you look WE north or South, oh come Lord Jesus, come

Lord Jesus. But you know, what's fascinating

is when you have this Old Testament background, it perhaps

may add something. This is just a little nugget for

you to enjoy. I hope that it adds something

perhaps to a a very specific moment in the early phases of

Jesus's ministry when he was recruiting his disciples.

So let me show you that if you want to turn with me to John

chapter one and look here in John chapter one, verse 45, John

the Baptist is telling people, behold the Lamb of God.

He's here. He's in our midst.

Now Jesus is beginning to draw his Father's namely his 12 that

he wants to train to be apostles.

And here's one of them, Philip. Philip found Nathaniel and said

to him, We have found him, We have found him of whom Moses in

the law. And also the prophets wrote

Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph.

So he friends his He find his friend Nathaniel.

We we we found him the one that's been promised.

He's here. And look at the response of his

friend in verse 46. We are told here, Nathaniel said

to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Phillips said to him. I love Phillips.

Never come and see. I'm not going to hear.

Argue with your come and see. Nathaniel was praised.

If you know the story, you know that he was praised by Jesus

himself of being someone who had no deception in him.

There was no guile in him. There was no trickery in him.

What you see is what you got. And in in a simplicity of heart

he spoke his mind. And you get proof of that right

here. And what girl can come out of

Nazareth? So this is not somebody who's 2

faced. This is somebody who was

transparent, somebody that you can trust, somebody that you

didn't have to second guess concerning who he was in terms

of his character. And we praise Nathaniel for that

Jesus praise. And we praise and we long to

emulate what Jesus praise. But unfortunately, many people

have limited Nathaniel to that virtue alone.

You know what you see here about Nathaniel?

You know what I at least see here?

Nathaniel was not just simply hearted, he was not just a

person who was open. Nathaniel was a strong, serious

seeker of God. I'll tell you why.

Because Philip, when he came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ

being the Messiah, he goes to Nathaniel.

Now, you know this. When you have some good news,

when you have something that you learned, you tend to go to

people and you tend to make the phone call to those who will

value what you have to say, right?

I hope you're not those who just tell people anything and they

just, you know, they just trample on whatever you have to

say, especially if it's spiritual things.

So we have an idea here that Nathaniel was somebody who knew

about the Messiah. Somebody that just not only knew

about the Messiah, but longed for the Messiah.

He was who was somebody who longed for the Messiah.

And then and Philip knew to go to him, and he knew that

Nathaniel would appreciate this news.

That's it. That's a wonderful thing.

And Jesus confirms, I believe, something further it it.

It just solidifies that truth about Nathaniel.

Look what Christ says about it. When finally Nathaniel meets

Jesus face to face in verse 47, we read here what happens.

Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said of him,

Behold in Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit, Israel.

That's an interesting word that's not often used in the New

Testament. By the way, The word Israelite

is not often used in the gospel accounts.

But look what Nathaniel says right after Nathaniel said them.

How do you know me? Jesus answered him before Philip

called you. When you were under the fig

tree. I saw you now.

Light bulb maybe went off right before Philip called you.

When you were under the fig tree.

I saw you, I saw you. Now.

Many people have concluded from the story that what Jesus did

was showcase his omniscience to demonstrate to Nathaniel,

doubting Nathaniel that he is indeed the Messiah.

His nature is indeed more than human.

He is divine, and that is true. He does showcases all knowing

power. But out of all the details that

Jesus Christ highlighted about Nathaniel, out of all the things

he could have said, the one thing that he underscores is I

saw you sitting underneath that fig tree.

I saw you sitting underneath that fig tree.

Why is that even significant? Why is that important?

Why was Nathaniel sitting underneath that fig tree?

All the scriptures doesn't explicitly tell us, but when you

look at Christ giving him this, Nathaniel answers in a certain

way. In a moment I'm going to show

you that. But it makes you wonder

concerning Nathaniel about his his knowledge of the prophets.

It makes you wonder if Nathaniel being a strong seeker, is much

stronger than you and I thought. Philip and I just only found a

friend who is, who is aware of the Messiah and his potential to

arrive at any time, even in his lifetime.

There was something about here in this moment revealing the

depth of his faith during Solomon's reign.

What are we told? That people were sitting

underneath their vine and their fig trees concerning the Messiah

to come. What are we told?

That they're going to enjoy the same when the Son of David

arrives? What is Nathaniel doing sitting

underneath a fig tree? There's no liberty here.

There's no peace. You have Roman oppression.

You have spiritual corruption that has been unchallenged

concerning man's greed and their manmade tradition.

So for for for this man to sit beneath or underneath a fig tree

doesn't reflect accurately the environment that he is in.

You might disagree with me, but I I think there's something

here. I think that with Nathaniel is

doing at this very spot was not lounging around mindlessly.

I'm persuaded that Nathaniel here is contemplating and

meditating of what it would be like if the Messiah came to

clean up this mess. Here is underneath.

This victory in Jesus is not just revealing.

I know where you are physically. Jesus is revealing.

I know what's in your heart. I know what's in your heart.

Here is a man here. That's an Israelite daydreaming,

perhaps, about the Kingdom to come.

Could it be? Could it be?

You're saying? I don't know.

Well, look at Nathaniel's answer in verse 49.

That might indicate Nathaniel incident.

Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are what?

The King of Israel. You're the king.

You're the king. Perhaps in that moment that as

Jesus was interacting with Nathaniel, there was something

deeper going on. There was, there was unawareness

that Christ revealed about Nathaniel, that awoke something

in him. And if this is true, if what I'm

presenting to you is a possibility, then what a

glorious truth it is. Jesus Christ doesn't just know

where you're sitting. Jesus Christ knows what's

occupying in your heart. He knows what you yearn for.

He knows what you desire. He knows your ambitions.

He knows what your affections are set on.

And when they are set on him, he takes note of it.

He's aware of it. And that makes me excited to

know that those aches of the soul, people's prayers for

Christ to be known to be real, to come again, He's fully, fully

aware of that. And that blesses me.

I hope it blesses you. But we haven't.

We haven't accomplished our goal here.

Because if Jesus is greater than Solomon, which what we're trying

to accomplish and discover here that what more does he have to

offer if the prophecies of the Messiah to come in His rule are

echoing what Solomon was able to give.

So Solomon was able to give people the ability to sit

underneath their vines and their fig trees.

And here is Jesus who is going to do the same when he comes and

rules and reigns forever and ever.

That's wonderful. But what I want to propose to

you today is that Jesus Christ this morning you heard is

building a greater temple. Additionally, Jesus Christ

offers a better peace and Solomon.

And that's what I want to persuade you in The peace that

Christ is able to offer surpasses whatever Solomon was

able to give during those 40 years.

And the peace that Jesus is able to give, you don't have to wait

when he rules and reigns for 1000 years.

You just have to let him rule your heart today.

Christ being king is not a future reality.

Christ is king right now, and you either have him as your king

or you're your enemy and his enemy.

That's all it is. There's no neutrality.

There's no in between. And I pray today that every

person here would bow the need to King Jesus.

That's what my prayer my desires.

You're going to hear the gospel tonight or you're going to hear

the gospel tonight. And even if there's one person

in here who has not made Jesus Christ king, you have an

opportunity to do so in these very dark and trying times.

But let's talk about the peace of Jesus.

You heard the summary verse in First Kings.

I would open the service, the summary verse that from border

to border there was peace in the land and there was security that

every Israelite was able to enjoy.

Is there a summary verse about the peace that King Jesus can

offer? And I propose to you there is.

Here's a summary verse, at least one among many, that

communicates what Christ can do with peace.

It's in 2nd Thessalonians 316. Turn those Bibles there and

highlight it and never forget it.

Second Thessalonians, Chapter 3, verse 16.

2 Thessalonians 3:16

We are told what the Lord of Peace can do now.

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace.

Look at the quality of this peace at all times.

In every way, the Lord be with you all.

What kind of peace does Jesus Christ give?

It's all-encompassing. What kind of peace does Jesus

Christ give? It's unending.

That is the peace that Jesus Christ gives and this is what

Paul is saying to these believers.

God is able to secure in your soul and emotional, mental,

spiritual serenity. Check this out.

I know it sounds too good to be true, but it is true every

second of every season that you walk through.

It's not exaggeration. I'm just reading the Bible.

I'm just giving you the verse. What does at all times in every

way mean? Is this poetic license or is

this true promise? I choose the latter at all

times, in every way, and it is extremely fitting that Paul

would write this promise, though it is applicable to all.

He wrote this promise, particularly to the

Thessalonians. Again, you want revelation in

the Bible? Ask one simple question.

Why? Ask it a lot.

Why? Why?

Why? Why?

Why? And things will come.

So here's my question. Why them?

Why them? And guess what?

You have the answers. Are you at 2nd Thesalonians?

No. Yes.

Yes, You were there. OK, Second Thessalonians, go

there with me. Go to chapter one.

Let's do this quickly here. 2nd Thessalonians 1.

Four. There was something happening in

every single chapter of Second Second Thessalonians.

There's three small chapters. Here's chapter one, verse 4.

Here's what the church is going through.

Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God

for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in

the afflictions that you are enduring. #1 The Church of this

group of believers was enduring suffering outside.

They were enduring persecution. They were enduring challenges,

threats. And verse five tells us that

they are suffering because of these persecutions.

Something that we're not very familiar with.

Suffering is not when you don't have a strong Wi-Fi signal, OK,

that's not suffering. That's suffering for Christians

in America. Mostly, that's not what we're

talking about. Real suffering, like go to jail.

Suffering for believing in Jesus Christ, being stone kind of

suffering, being separated from your family because you claim to

believe in this Messiah that challenges all these other

pantheons of gods. That's the kind of suffering.

But you go to chapter 2 and you read something in verse one.

And two, the suffering doesn't end there as that's enough.

But no, there's even more now concerning the coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ and are being gathered together to him.

We ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or

alarmed, either by a spirit or spoken word or a letter seeming

to be from us to the effect of the day of the Lord has come.

So now you have another degree of suffering, not just people

persecuting from the outside, but false teachers who are

creeping inside. And they are harassing these

pure hearted believers trying to convince them this faulty view

of the last days that the Lord has already come and they're

there and they missed out on the return of the Lord.

And they are shaken. They're shaken in mind.

They're disturbed from within because false teaching can do.

They can rob you of your peace. There's a lot of people today

who have no peace in their salvation because of false

teaching. There are a lot of people today

who are tormented, who have had all the joy sucked out of their

walk with the Lord because of false teaching.

And so you have your spiritual suffering.

You have a spiritual suffering where these people, these poor

Christians who who have been raised up by Paul are now being,

are being harassed. You think that's enough?

You think that's enough. You have persecution from

outside. You have false teachers coming

inside chapter three. You go to chapter 3 and you read

verse 11, and what do you read here?

Second Thoughts Thelonian is 311.

Here's what we're told for we here.

Paul says that some among you walk in idleness.

Idleness is to cease from any useful activity.

That's what it means to be an idle person.

Among You walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies.

When people are not busy with good work, they become busy

bodies. You know what a busy body is?

Sounds weird, right? Busy body.

It means to meddle in other people's affairs.

Does it happen in churches or no, It happens a lot.

Come, Lord Jesus, happens too much.

Busy bodies, one person said it cleverly.

Gossip is the fruit of idleness. But you know what I discovered?

There's even busy people who still gossip.

So that's like an extra evil. It's like if if if if

fruitfulness is supposed to occupy, so you don't have time

to do things that you're not supposed to do, how is it that

you're so busy and you still are doing this stuff that's like a

that's like a grace to be so evil?

I just don't understand it. Walk in idleness but busy at

work. Not busy at work, but busy

bodies. So not only do you have false

teachers, you have troublemakers in the church.

I want Christians slandering and talking.

Did you see what you do? And now there's issues within

the church, and the pastors have to sit down with everybody and

figure out what's going, that kind of stuff.

So let's let's bring it all together.

You have persecution, you have suffering, you have false

teachers. You have people who are

Christians who are creating problems in the Church from all

sides. Problems outside problems inside

spiritual suffering, social suffering, relational suffering,

suffering. You're swimming and suffering,

Thessalonians. And how does Paul sign off on

the letter Now? May God deliver you from every

single affliction, and may you never know any kind of pain,

ever. It isn't right that.

What does he say now? May the Lord of Peace himself

give you peace at all times and in every way.

You see how context makes everything so beautiful after

all the problems that they're enduring, Paul says.

I'm praying and asking not that these things would go away, but

that you would stand firm and that you would know a stability

and an unshakable confidence in the goodness of God despite

these challenging circumstances that are washing over you like a

raging current. That's the kind of peace that

Jesus gives. Why is it better than the peace

that Solomon gives? Because as much as sitting

underneath your vine and fig tree is a wonderful proverbial

expression of a national time of enjoyment and prosperity, it is

only produced and only possible through what Solomon was able to

do. What did Solomon do?

He was a political genius. That kind of thing was only

because the economics were in their favor.

It was surface level. But the moment those things

disappeared, that reality of sitting underneath the vine tree

was no longer a reality. It was stripped from them.

The peace that Christ gives is not dependent on those things.

It's a reality. Despise, whether they are

reality or not. And I know, I know that sounds

like Christians. We all know that, right?

I I know that this is very familiar to us.

But peace at all times, in every way, that's our inheritance.

When Christ is king, that's what he bestows upon his subjects as

servants, his friends, his children.

I want it. I don't want to just quote it in

a sermon. I don't want to just give it to

the counseling because I want it for myself.

And Paul here is not giving wishful thinking.

Here. He he's giving even more than

just a theological truth. He is giving a truth from

personal testimony. Paul was something else.

Would you agree with me? And as great as Paul was, Christ

towers over him. It's a great study to see how

Christ even makes Paul look, small as a big of a giant as he

was. But still Paul, arguably the

greatest Christian who've ever lived this man.

Every time I read the Book of Acts, I feel small.

I feel small, especially when you come near the end of the

Book of Acts. I mean, this guy gets battered

and bruised, tossed and thrown, and you don't get a peep out of

him. You don't you you.

You can't squeeze murmuring out of the guy, no matter how much

he's crushed. Nothing.

And as I was preparing this thinking, like Paul is writing

here from experience, yes, by the spirit, primarily.

More importantly, this is supernatural, divine revelation.

But Paul can say, I know what it's like to have peace at all

times. In every way, Paul's a real

person. Let me give you one example

among many, many portraits of how this man was absolutely

dominated by this kind of peace. In Acts 28, Paul gets stranded

on an island not with his friends, but with a bunch of

strangers who were prisoners on their way to Rome.

Paul was numbered among these prisoners.

The false Jews there, who were giving accusation concerning

Paul, brought him to the point where he wanted to appeal to

Caesar concerning his case. And so they put him on a ship

and they they launched him over there to Rome and and there was

a detour storm breaks out, a horrific storm.

There was darkness for several days and eventually the ship was

steered off course and they crash and they land on an island

called Malta. And here's Paul Drenched,

drained, exhausted. And in Acts 28, verse 2, this is

Acts 28:2

what you read between Paul and those 200 and something

prisoners showing up on the shore.

And the native people here showed us unusual kindness, for

they kindled a fire and welcomed us all because it had begun to

rain and was cold. So just imagine.

Pause. It's OK to imagine it.

Here's Paul. You were just flipped over into

the ocean. You found your way over to this

random bank, and now it's raining and it's cold, raining

and cold. That's enough for people now to

go to church on Sunday. It's raining and it's cold,

right? Here's Paul.

He's on an island. He's already soaked and he's

soaked on top of it. What does Paul do?

Look at this in verse three, when Paul had gathered a bundle

of sticks. Paul, what are you doing?

And put them on the fire. Here you have a man after all he

went through and he still wants to serve.

He already proved this point that he, though he wasn't the

official captain, was really the captain of that ship.

If you read that account, he's giving directions.

Like I told you guys, you guys were wrong.

Now that This is why we're in this mess.

You didn't listen to me earlier. So Paul, Paul had already won

the admiration of many of these people.

And here's this man who is now on this island.

And out of all the people, Paul is highlighted for his humble

service. He looks around and he finds

these sticks. Hopefully they're dry so that he

can feed the fire. And as he is picking up these

sticks, camouflage in the bunch is a Viper came out because of

the heat and fasting on his hand.

OK, this has got to be the breaking point.

This has to be the breaking point, right?

You've been to trial after trial.

You were in chains, you had people saying false things about

you. You were beaten and bruised.

You're put on a ship. You're sent over with a bunch of

prisoners. You endured a time where people

did not even eat because it was so horrific.

There was number sunlight. There was number guidance.

Imagine, imagine being in the middle of the ocean with no

sense of direction. After all of that, here, now

they come into this random island.

Paul wants to go to Rome. He wants to preach the gospel to

Caesar and all those officials. And here he is now, on a

unfamiliar terrain with random people, a bunch of criminals.

And he still wants to do good. He still wants to reflect

selfless sacrifice. And has he's doing it.

A snake plunges its its venom into his hand.

What do you do when you suffer when you're doing good?

Notice the Viper didn't attack anybody else.

Just Paul. Just Paul.

Out of all the hundreds of people that that Viper could

have, like, I had to be the most righteous man on that island.

Serving God does not exempt you from suffering.

Serving God does not exempt you not just from one time

suffering, but from perpetual consistent challenges and

trials. I don't know what kind of

Christianity you bought into, but get back to the biblical

Christianity. Understand that Paul said in

Acts 14 that through many tribulations we must enter the

Kingdom of God. Many tribulations.

Not some. So Paul had gathered a bundle of

sticks. He he put them on the fire.

Viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand.

And now this man has a dangling snake on his hand.

What do you expect him to do? Well, let's read on and see what

happens in verse four when the native people saw the creature

hanging from his hand. Just imagine that sight.

Clothes ripped up, skin shriveled up from the salt

water. It's cold.

It's raining. Here's Paul with a snake

dangling from his hand. They said to one another.

No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the

sea, justice has not allowed him to live.

So here's how they interpreted. Perhaps the native people

learned very early on that all these men that just showed up on

our island were in fact criminals.

Perhaps the Roman leaders who were governing that ship told

them, you know, we got a bunch of criminals here, so they

understood who they're dealing with here.

And so Paul was a nice guy, nice enough to help out, but they

understood because of the snake dangling from his hand.

Oh yeah, he must surely be a murderer.

He must surely be a criminal. And they had this understanding

of divine retribution. You do evil, evil comes to you.

And that's how many people believe and understand how life

works, even in the relationship with God.

Do good, only good will come. Do bad bad things happen.

That's Job's friends theology. That's the whole problem with

Job's friends job. The only reason why you're

suffering to this extent is because you have sin.

Cuff it up and repent. Cuff it up.

You can't be suffering like this.

If you're a true follower of God, you must have done

something along the way. Just admit it and we can move on

and God will bless And Job's like you're not getting it.

I've walked to my conscience and my knowledge.

I've walked right with him. So it's this faulty view, the

skewed view of how God allows things to happen into our lives.

And these, these native people had no different theology than

Job's friends and many even unfortunately today.

Well, let me, let me stop here and and just make this point.

They were wrong and how they interpreted this event in Paul's

life. But were they entirely wrong?

No doubt. This man is a murderer.

Was Paul a murderer? He was a murderer.

He was a murderer. He approved of the death of

Steven. He ripped families apart who

named the name of Christ. They weren't wrong in their

assessment of who Paul was in his past.

Where they were wrong is that though Paul was a murderer, he

was a forgiven murderer. That's the difference.

And when you are a forgiven Sinner, this concept and this

illusion of karma is destroyed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

It doesn't apply to you. So yes, he is a murderer, but

he's a forgiven murderer. Big difference.

And look how Paul. Look how Paul responds in verse

five. It's so amazing to see this man

and one civil verse. He, however, shook off the

creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

He just took it off. So it comes on his hand.

Why? He's a murderer.

Look, justice has come after him.

And here's Paul and shook it off into the fire and just went on

to feed the flames with the sticks again.

No fist with snake hanging off of it raised up to heaven.

No, enough is enough. God, how much more do I need to

sacrifice for you? And this is what I have to this

is my portion, this is my plot. I'm a man.

How much can I endure? I'm over there.

I'm going to sit right there on the in the island, and when

you're ready to make this thing work out for me, I'm ready to

serve you. None of that.

He shook off the snake, and Revival broke out on that

island. What was his secret?

How does a man able to absorb so much and yet remain at peace?

Would you like to know? Because there's an answer.

Something happened many, many, many chapters ago in the Book of

Acts that anchored Paul to endure all that he would up to

the end of the book of Acts, before all of this really

started, before it really took a downward spiral.

Paul was in prison and his faith was being determined, supposedly

from a human standpoint, from the officials.

God had already determined his destiny, and and Paul, while

he's in the barracks, is waiting.

Jesus appears to him. And when Jesus appears to him,

Jesus tells him something. And that is the secret to Paul's

peace. That is why he can endure the

storm. That is why he can endure the

snakes. That is why he can endure the

slander. He can endure.

All of that because of Acts 23, verse 11, Acts 2311 is the

Acts 23:11

secret to this man's peace at all times, in every way.

The following night the Lord stood by him and said, take

courage. For as you have testified to the

facts about me and Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.

You catch it. Jesus told Paul, Paul you're

going to Rome, you're going to go to Rome.

And Paul believed the word of Jesus.

So when the ship lost its course, when the snake inserted

its poison in his veins, you know what I believe was going in

the back of mine's Paul Paul's mind?

I'm going to Rome. Jesus told me I'm going to Rome.

Nothing will stop me from going to Rome.

Nothing. Because Jesus said it.

So here I am, delayed in life, right?

I'm on Malta when I'm supposed to be in Rome by now.

But Jesus said I'm going to Rome, so I'm going to Rome.

Here's this life threatening attack.

But Jesus told me I'm going to I'm not dying because he says

you must testify also in Rome. I'm going there all what would

happen to our peace if we really believe the Bible, all what

would happen to us if we really, really believe the word of God?

You'd be amazed to know how even with ministers, when things get

really tough, they don't believe the Bible, even the Bible that

they preach week after week after week.

Believe him. What did Paul say in 2nd

Festivals 316? That the Lord of Peace himself.

I'm going to end with that. I won't go there.

But let me give you another example.

This is this is unplanned, but I think it's helpful.

This is just another example of what happens when the Lord is in

your life, when you have the Lord Jesus standing by you

though you perceive it or not. There's an interesting story.

It's one. It's one of my favorite stories

in the Old Testament concerning the miraculous.

And where else would you go concerning the miracles of God?

You can go to Moses, you can argue for that.

But Elijah had just a highlight reel of miracle after miracle

even more than Elijah. Some people debate and argue

that Elijah had double the miracles than Elijah because he

asked for a double portion of Elijah's anointing.

So Elijah, at one point in Second King's chapter 6 is in a

specific place, and I want you to turn there, turn there with

me in Second King's chapter 6. And he's there with his servant,

his unnamed servant, in Second Kings.

And in Second Kings we read something in verse 15 when the

servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went

out. Behold, an army with horses and

Chariots was all around the city.

Imagine waking up to that. And the servant said, Alas, my

master, what shall we do? So here's the servant of Elijah,

and he goes, there's two of us and there's hundreds and

thousands of our enemies surrounding our home boss.

What do we do? May the Lord of Peace himself

give you peace, and always and every time.

What does Elijah say to his servant?

He says in the next verse. He said, do not be afraid, Do

not be afraid. For those who are with us are

more than those who are with them, The servant is thinking,

What are you saying? There's you and me.

What are you alluding to? And here's what Truman of God do

for people who can't see what they see, the next verse tells

us. In verse 17 maybe we froze and

you go to second king seven say This is why you have to have a

copy of God's word because technology sometimes fails you.

Then Elijah prayed and said, Oh Lord, please open his eyes that

he may see. Please open his eyes that he may

see. So the Lord opened the eyes of

the young man. Older generation pray for the

younger generation. What did Moses do for Joshua?

Joshua was fighting the battles Moses, symbolizing the older

generation, had his hands up while the young one was fighting

battles with the Amalekites. Intercede for this young.

It's very easy to complain about Gen.

Z, but we have to pray for them. Oh Lord, please open his eyes

that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of

the young man, and he saw and behold, imagine this.

The mountain was full of horses and Chariots of fire all around.

Not the city, not the house around 2 Elijah.

So just imagine. Here's Elijah.

And from Elijah all the way expanding to the mountains were

these Chariots of fire. And here's this young man.

Wow. It's a special story.

But you know what makes it more special?

The details that we tend to overlook.

Does anybody know? I know we have trivia tonight,

but here's another trivia question.

Does anybody know the specific location by name where this

miracle took place? And some are looking down at

your Bibles, which is smart. Go to verse 13 if you please

would. And he said, go see where he is.

This is before this the the army surrounded Alan China, servant

that I may send him, sees him, it was told and behold, he is in

where Dolphin. He's in Dolphin.

Dolphin. That is where the vision of

these Chariots of fire surrounded this one servant of

God saying, what's significant about Dolphin?

Here's what's significant. It's only mentioned in one other

place in all of the Hebrew scriptures.

Dauphin is only mentioned in one other place in all of the Bible,

and I'm not going to tell you where it is.

I'm going to tell you to turn your Bible there.

In Genesis 37 is where we were told at first about Dauphin, and

this is the second and last time that Dauphin is mentioned in

Genesis 37. Let's begin in verse 15.

Joseph was summoned by his father to go search for his

brothers, who were shepherds, to check up on them.

So he goes to check up on them because he's told that they are

in check him. So he arrives there and he's

looking around, check him, and he can't find his brothers.

He can't find his brothers. And so a man.

This is one of my favorite examples of God's Providence in

our lives. A man, unnamed unknown, found

him wandering in the fields and this man asked him, what are you

seeking? What are you seeking?

Pause there. He's going to tell him what he's

looking for, and the man is going to give him directions to

his brothers. Do you realize that if this man

had not asked him where his brothers were, Joseph could have

avoided all that trouble? Do you realize that everything

in Joseph life, you can argue, hinged on this man?

There are no accidents in the Christian life.

No accidents, Not one accident. Do you know what security you

live with when you realize that yeah, the flat tire was in an

accident when the the job didn't come through and you called

several different places and none of them answered back.

That's not an accident. You prayerfully even in your

singleness, though it might feel like an affliction.

It's not an accident. It's not an accident.

God doesn't toy around with us. He doesn't put the world into

motion and from time to time see people come to know him.

Say you're my child and I get back in there and figure it out.

That's not how God works. There's not one accident in your

life if you follow Jesus Christ. A man found him wandering in the

fields, and if this man had not asked him, Joseph could have

went right back home and said that I didn't find them.

And he could have enjoyed his nice colorful robe, but he would

have missed the call of God. The man asked him, What are you

seeking? Here's how Joseph answers.

I'm seeking my brothers, he said.

Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.

You must have seen him. There's there's many of them.

And he gives him what he believes to be the right answer

in Genesis 37 verse 17. And the man said they have gone

Genesis 37:17

away for her. Them say let us go to, let us go

to Dothan. So Joseph went after his

brothers and found them at Dauphin.

That's the only other place where Dothan is mentioned in the

Bible. What happens to Joseph at

Dauphin? He's taken by his brothers and

he is thrown into a pit like a trapped animal.

And after a short period of time, he's sold into slavery.

And you know the rest of the story.

So with two instances where you see Dawson mentioned in the

Bible, two things happen. In Elisha's case, in Dauphin, he

was ambushed by his enemies. In Joseph's case, in Dauphin, he

was. He was abandoned by his family,

and I believe with all of my heart that this simple reference

of Dauphin in two situations where two different servants of

God were surrounded the same reality that Elijah enjoyed was

the same protection that Joseph knew.

In Dothan. Elijah was surrounded by the

presence of God's faithfulness and goodness.

Is it any less true for Joseph and Dothan?

No, it was just as much true said prove it.

I can prove it because in Psalm One O 5, verse 17, we are told

he sent a man ahead of them Joseph to go into Egypt.

Who's he? God, you say?

That man gave him the directions.

Yeah. But God was the one who sent

him. You're saying?

But he was sold into slavery? Yeah.

But God was the one who sent Joseph.

You're saying, Yeah. But he was thrown into a pit.

And and he, he was made to believe that he died and his

father believed that he, he ceased to exist.

Yeah, but God sent Joseph. God was the master planner.

And he used those agents and those actors, and even the evil

of jealous, envious men, to fulfill the will of God, to

preserve the family of Jacob, so that in the end the Messiah

would be able to usher in and come through the seed of Father

Abraham. Joseph was just as surrounded in

Dothan as Elijah was in Dothan, for the Lord was with him,

because when he sends you, he goes with you.

And I love that story about Elijah because the servants eyes

open, he goes. Wow, they're everywhere.

And when you continue in second kings, you realize that those

Chariots of fire, they didn't really do anything.

They didn't attack the armies surrounding Alysha.

They they were just stationary. They were there.

They seemed almost irrelevant because Alysha goes on to pray.

Lord strike them with blindness and he does some merciful thing,

leading them to a banquet instead of to their slaughter.

But all Elijah and his servant needed was the knowledge of the

presence of God. God didn't even directly

intervene. All God did was open their eyes

to the truth. There's more for us than there

is against us. That's all Elijah needed, the

acknowledgement and the awareness that the Lord is here

with me. He may not have, but he's aware.

He may not. He may not turn the situation

around, he may not provide a supernatural intervention, but

all I need to comfort my soul is the knowledge that he's here.

He knows, he sees. That's all you need.

So I end with that summary of the peace that Solomon was not

able to give 2nd Thessolians 316 May the Lord of peace himself

give you peace at all times in every way.

The Lord be with you all, the Lord be with you all, the Lord

be with you all. Here's what I take from this

this peace that was delivered unto you through the word of

God. That level of peace is

impossible without the Lord of peace.

So here's what I want to say to you, because I'm going to speak

to two different groups of people.

In closing, You can't have peace from the Lord unless you first

have peace with the Lord. Do you have peace with God?

Do you have a settled relationship with the Lord?

You can't have peace from the Lord until you first have peace

with the Lord. Are you saved?

Are you saved? Because Christ is the means by

which we have peace with God. This Friday night, I want to ask

you a simple question in your heart of hearts, down deep

inside, do you know that you know that you know that you're

right with God? Do you know I'm not asking what

an evangelist in your local church or that event that you

went to many years ago, signed in your Bible and said on this

day? I'm not asking that.

I'm asking does your heart testify I have peace with God?

You will not have any peace with God unless first you receive his

son, unless first you bow your need to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know your mom did. That's great.

I know your dad did. That's wonderful.

Salvation is not a family package, though.

You have to make a choice at one time.

Consciously, Jesus Christ is my Lord.

Jesus Christ is my Savior. Jesus Christ is the only one who

can watch me and forgive me of my sins.

Have you done that? Have you with your mouth,

confessed that he is Lord and believed in your heart, that God

raised him from the dead? Have you, whether in a meeting

or in your bedroom, bowed your knee to him and said, Lord, I

surrender my life to you. Have you done that?

Because if you have not done that, you will not know this

peace. You will not know this peace in

this life, and you will surely not know peace for all of

eternity. You know, I was thinking about

this the other day, and sometimes these thoughts come at

night, and they keep me up at night.

I was thinking about eternity. Eternity.

Think about it. Never ending existence.

Never ending existence. Scripture says that eternity is

written on our hearts. There is a desire for

immorality, immortality, right? We want to live on forever.

And there's there's something seriously wrong with a person

when they want to cease to live. We even our body reflexes in a

way. You blink.

Your body protects your life because you want to continue to

live on. And there is a life to come

where you will never, ever, ever, ever, ever die.

Ever. And there's only two locations

where that eternity will be experienced.

This is I present this to you because I, I, I've had somebody

tell me this many years ago. You shouldn't try to scare

people to get saved. So what does Jude say?

Snatch others with fear? Snatch them?

Some people need to be snatched. Need to be waking up.

You've been to 1000 meetings and you're still not saved, man.

You've been to 1000 meetings like this, and you're still

going to get up and go about your way, and you're not even

confident that you have peace with God.

What's wrong with you? How?

How do you go to bed at night? How do you get up and laugh with

your friends, not knowing that your soul is in the hand of God?

How you will enter into eternity, you will.

And either you will hear from Christ, enter into the joy of

your master, well done, good and faithful servant, or depart for

me. I never knew you.

And guess what? There's no second chances.

That's it. You will be sealed in a fate

where there is no prayer hard enough that you can pray.

There is no scream. Louder that you can scream.

It's settled. You've heard about him.

He's been offered to you. And yet you still have swatted

away his salvation over and over and over again.

Do you have peace with God? Have you?

Have you settled where your soul is going to go?

You've planned where you're going to go to school.

You've planned where you're going to go on vacation.

You've planned how many kids you're going to have.

You've planned where you're going to live.

You plan your business invention.

And you haven't thought a thought about your eternity.

Not one thought where I'm going to go when I die.

And I'm trying to convey to you, I know it's intense now.

It's okay. Intensity is good.

I want to convey to you that Christ and his love is calling

for you and he wants to save you.

He's not indifferent. He freely loves you.

He's not under compulsion by the Father to rescue sinners.

He longs. I lay down my life.

No one takes it up for me. I lay it down.

I want to lay down my life. I want to die.

I want to get on that cross so that I can save sinners.

I love them. They're created in my image.

I want to rescue them and I want them to be in my bosom forever

and ever. That's Jesus heart.

He wants to save you and he wants.

You to have peace with God. He wants you to never worry one

moment after you confess Christ about where you're going to

spend eternity, not one moment. He wants you to ever doubt that

if you stand before God, whether you will be accepted or not, He

will accept you. That is how much God the Father

loves the Son, and through the sun loves you, receive Jesus

Christ and realize, as my brother said earlier, that you

have sin from head to toe. You are polluted with evil, and

there is only one way by which you can be washed.

Cleanse every record around every perversion that would make

you blush if you shared it even with your closest friend.

Even such sin God knows about, and He's willing to forgive.

He's willing to forgive the thing that embarrasses you, the

thing that keeps you up at night, the thing that makes you

even cringe physically because you thought, how did I go so far

into that depravity, even such a sin.

Christ is willing to forgive. He's willing to receive.

And wash gladly, but you have to come.

To him, you have to be humble. You have to be desperate, oh, be

desperate tonight. Be desperate enough to forget

anybody behind you, in front of you, beside you and say, oh, I'm

going to even bow my knees before Christ say, Lord wash me,

please forgive me. I want to be born again.

I want, I need peace with God. I need peace with God.

He's willing to give it peace with God.

And not just peace for all he turned, but peace from that

moment on. Walk with God like Joseph,

knowing that even when the most closest people to you betray

you, he stands by you. Peace with God.

That as you're serving him, there's enemies.

As we're seeing rise up in America, enemies against the

gospel truth. No matter how much we might be

squeezed with our freedoms, no matter what's coming down the

Pike, no matter what we're going to see happen to local churches,

oh, there is more for us and more against us.

That kind of peace is available. Only when the Lord himself is

received, I invite you. Today, to repent of your sins

and to crown Jesus Christ as Lord.

To beg him to forgive you. To ask Him and to confess that

He's the only way into the Father's arms.

And he'll do it. Tonight you'll leave here

changed. Your eyes will be opened.

I remember what it was like to be born again.

Believers, do you remember when you were born again?

Yes. Do you remember what it was

like? Yes, I'm going to talk to you.

Tomorrow about the reports that Queen Sheba heard concerning

Solomon, and those reports so moved her heart, she said.

I got to find out about Solomon myself.

Aren't you? Bothered unbeliever by the joy

that the people you know who are Christians have that you don't

have. Isn't it just you're like, I

want that. Don't is is not a part of of

what a Christian does in a person's life.

We we elude that peace and that joy that should cause people to

thirst because we're salt. I hope so.

It can be yours. It can be yours.

Today. Tonight you can be changed.

And even though you've heard this every single year and

you've left the same, why, why not tonight?

It'd be different now. Believer peace.

You have peace. You're his.

You belong to him. The Father is yours.

You're accepted in the beloved. But may the Lord of Peace

himself. He's speaking to Christians at

all times, in every way. I'm sure all of us in here can

say I I can't say that that is my Christian experience.

And if we can. Humbly confess that before the

Lord, here's what I want. I'm not saying this to condemn

anybody. I'm actually saying this to

excite us. No matter what our experience

is, no matter what your personality is, your quirks are

the high level anxiety that you have.

That's abnormal in comparison to the next person.

This is your inheritance in Jesus Christ.

That's your that's your inheritance.

That's what King Jesus gives to his servants, something that

King Solomon could not. King Solomon could not calm the

conscience. King Solomon can only offer the

peace as long as everything he did was in favor for the people.

King Jesus, On the other hand, Chapter one, Chapter 2, Chapter

3 can still say, but you can be at peace.

That's strength, that peace that protects your joy, that keeps

you anchored. How do we get that peace?

How do we stay in that peace? Well, that's whole another

sermon on its own. But there's a hint from this

very verse. What is Paul doing?

He's praying this peace to be real in the believers lives.

Now may the Lord, I'm asking the Lord to do this in you.

And so I even invite you tonight.

I want to be very specific. You're here.

You've made time to be in the presence of God's people.

But we're not here just to listen to lessons.

We're here to meet with God. You're the temple of the Holy

Spirit. What was the purpose of the

temple for God's people and God himself to come as close as

possible to meeting with one another?

And so when we're the temple of the Holy Spirit, every single

time we gather, we gather despite the singing, despite the

praying, despite. That's all wonderful.

But those are all means for one chief end, and that is to meet

with God, Meet with God. I want to invite you today as a

blood bot child of God, to bring the matter that you don't have

peace with to him. You're unsettled, You're

disturbed, You're frustrated. You're angry.

You have no security. You have no hope.

It's keeping you up at night. It's causing arguments.

It's causing friction. It's causing you to doubt.

It's causing you to regret. It's causing you to kick

yourself. Whatever the means is, whatever

the reason is, bring it to the Lord tonight.

I need peace here. My marriage, Lord, is killing

me. I need peace in my marriage.

I'm in my singleness, Lord, and it's been a long time.

I need peace here. Give me peace even if I remain

this way. Give me peace even if my spouse

doesn't change. Give me peace.

I'm afraid, Lord, of how to raise my children.

I don't know how I'm going to provide for them.

Lord, I'm anxious. I'm trying to be strong in front

of my wife. Give me peace, Lord.

What? I'm serving you in the ministry

and there's troublemakers in the church.

There's false teachers that are coming.

There are people outside that are threatening me.

There are even believers causing all these issues.

Lord, give me peace. Help me have this peace so that

I can do what you've called me to do with joy and happiness and

integrity. Give me this peace.

Will he not do it, Spurgeon? Said many things, and he says

things unlike really many other preachers can.

He has the power. To breathe peace into the.

Heart. To create peace in the soul and

lull. The spirit into that sweet sleep

of the beloved which is the peculiar gift of heaven, I will

give you rest, said he and he can and will do it.

You'll breathe the peace into your heart.

So really, I think everybody has a call here to answer non

believer man, how many more signs do you need in our world

for you to get it? We're not a.

Random planet floating in the blackness of space.

I know there's a lot of talks about aliens.

We're willing to believe that, but not Jesus.

It's incredible. This is not random.

God created one hurt world to be inhabited by man.

I know they're going to try really hard to make that a

reality in Mars and on the moon or wherever they're trying to

go. But God created one world to be

inhabited by man. And this world is not an

accident. This world is perfectly

described by the word of God, your existence, the commentary

of all the chaos and the problems, all the evil.

It's this book that gives the precise diagnosis and gives us

the solution. Jesus Christ is real.

He's alive. He came once.

He fulfilled many hundreds of prophecies.

What makes you think that he's not going to fulfill the rest of

them. He's going to.

I want you to be ready when he comes.

He will. And I want you to be ready to

stand before Jesus Christ of Nazareth who died was.

Buried Rose again and will come back to be the ruling king

forever and ever. Are you right with him?

How do I get right with him? Go to the cross, run to the.

Where's the cross? It's the truth of the cross.

Bring your sins, bring all your burdens and bring them to the

Lord. Saying, Lord, the preacher said

that I can bring all my sins because your word says you're

willing to forgive all. Can you forgive me?

You will be forgiven. Lord, I want you to be king of

my life. I don't want you to be king when

you come. And I'm not ready.

I want you to be king now so that when you come, I have joy.

So be king now of my life. Do that tonight, Believer.

What is it in your heart that has weighed you down?

It's robbing you of your testimony.

It's not helping you sing. You're even distracted.

Now, while I'm preaching, because you're so overcome by a

sorrow, by harassment, by a thorn.

Come to the Lord tonight. I know we have a program

tonight. You know, what's the best

program? Meeting with God.

That's the best program. It's the best program.

And I just, I can't. I I know that there's order and

service. I'm all for that, right?

But there are meetings that call for response, a call for an

answer. You hear all this and to just

dash it away as just well, that was really stimulating.

That's it. God, please hear me.

I want the supernatural truth in my life.

But this place can turn into a Nazareth real quickly.

Jesus could not do many things in Nazareth.

He was. He was amazed at their unbelief.

You know, I read an interesting verse in First Corinthians.

I'm done here. There is a place in a public

meeting. There's a place in.

A public meeting. Public meeting is for the

corporate expression of worship, fellowship, all those things.

But there is a place in the public meeting for you to talk

to God alone. Can I show a scripture for that?

I read this other than I made and it just made me glad.

It's in First Corinthians 1428. Look, I'm proving it to you.

I'm done after this first. Corinthians 14.

Thank you, brother. 1st Corinthians, 1428.

This is speaking about the gift of tongues and how that works in

the church. I'm sure you would love for us

to talk about tongues right now. We're not going to talk about

them, but look at the principle here.

But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep

silent in church and speak to himself and to God.

Let. Him speak to himself and to God.

The idea there is that in some moments, though it's a

particular context, there is a place for you and God.

You and God, I want that for you now.

Tonight. You and God don't worry about

what's coming up next. You know how this conference

goes. Nobody's sleeping tonight

anyway. Nobody is.

Meet with God. Are you at peace with God?

Let me put it this way, even if you're a believer.

Hey, hey, hey, you're faithfully walking the Lord.

But something's disturbing. I'm not even talking about that

kind of believer. Now I'm talking about you,

believer. You walked away from God.

You're backslidden. You're icy cold.

You've been in here the past two days, day and a half.

I lost track of it and nothing has moved you.

Not one thing. And you're content in that place

now. One thing has.

Wooed your heart to say. Isn't the Lord amazing?

You haven't even talked about God this whole time.

And you're a Christian and you're dry as a stick, Though

you have justification, practically, you're not right

with God. That needs to change.

And let this conference be the opportunity for you to change.

Like, here's the goodness of God.

It's that I believe but help my unbelief.

Here's the man with his child. Jesus says anything's possible

for those who believe. And here's this man just it

spills out like something. Hit him in the gut.

He goes, I believe, but I help my unbelief.

It's weird, Lord, I do believe, but I kind of don't.

And the Lord still heals his son you can.

Come the way you are, but based on the simple invitation, you're

willing to act on that little truth, and God is still willing

to honor your humility and touch.

You and rescue you from the place that you're in right now.

It's been too long, man. It's been too long and.

You've gotten used to the rhythm of just going through the

motions, but your soul is shriveled up.

And you knew a time when there was a fire in your belly and

there was a time where you just couldn't help but sing his

praises and talk of his goodness.

And those are just, those are just memories.

Now why we go from glory to glory, not from boring to

boring? All to say, I'm not going to

give you any more scenarios. All to say is can we meet with

the Lord tonight? Can we just say, Lord, please, I

need peace, Lord, I need peace with God.

Lord, I need you to do some of my heart because I know I'm not

walking right with you. And it's been a few months now

and I know it's only going to get worse.

You need to rescue me now, tonight, Lord, you, why don't we

do that? And let's see what the Holy

Spirit will do. Would you bow your hearts?

Would you bow your heads with me?

And can the musicians come and and just assist us in our

attention to the Lord? Now may the Lord of peace

himself, Now may the. Lord of peace himself, thank

you, give you peace. At all times and in every way.

At all times and in every way, oh Lord, you know exactly where

each of us are at you. Know who doesn't have the peace

of salvation? You know who doesn't have the

peace of your promises? And we ask.

That is, Paul prayed for a supernatural impartation of this

allencompassing, unending peace. May you breathe that peace into

our hearts, Father. We cannot force or manipulate

anything. We cannot do anything for

people's lives to change. But we do do our best in

positioning ourselves for you to touch us.

And so at this time, whether we sit or kneel or stand, lift our

hands, or bow our heads, Lord, we just asked that you would

look upon our hearts, and that you would help us, help us trust

that you are a greater king, and that you give.

A better peace than even Solomon did for.

Those who don't yearn for you, like Nathaniel, yearn for you,

renew that, yearning for you. Help us know the joint.

Security of being in right place with you and we look to.

You now as we seek your face. Amen.

The musicians. Will will play softly, not to.

Manipulate your emotions but. To assist the truth that we

heard and to help us meditate. Maybe you need to pray with

someone, and I want to be one of those people to pray with you.

And so as I often do, I'll be standing in the back somewhere

there, and I'm more than willing to pray.

Pastor Mark, who opens and who has been opening the services,

Pastor Mark, also a servant of the Lord, is willing to pray

with you. You've seen him every service.

So you know how he looks and where he is.

You can just approach him. I'm sure that's fine, Pastor

Mark. He will be more than willing to.

Maybe you came with a brother of a friend.

Maybe you there's a believer that you know beside you can

pray with him. But let's just seek the Lord in

his in his presence as the temple of the Holy Spirit.

The veil has been torn. The veil has been torn.

We don't go to a building now. You are that building.

Your heart is his home where you are, right?

Now you can meet with him. You can meet with the Lord just

in quietness. If you need to get up for any

reason, if you need to go. We're not holding you hostage.

All I ask is that you don't disturb because there's

something powerful when we pray. There's something powerful when

we pause and we say, God, I'm here to meet with you.

Please don't interfere with that.

You're going to laugh and throw Frisbees until 1:00 in the

morning after this. But for now, just meet with the

living God. As they do this, and as you

pray, we'll, we'll continue with singing in a moment.

But I'm back there, please. I know that sometimes people

want to share their hearts, but for the sake, if there's more

than one person to just, let's go straight to the matter and

pray about it so that others can have a chance to be prayed over

as well. Seek the Lord and.

His face seek his strength continually.