IMMANUEL : Peace

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

That always is pursuing us.

Let's let's put our hands together and really worship like we believe that we are accepted, that we are loved, that God is pursuing us.

We don't gotta work for it.

We don't gotta strive for it.

Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you that we could come into an environment where we are loved and accepted.

And more importantly, God, that you have pursued us.

So, Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that we all lean into these moments that we have together, that we lean into your presence, we lean into your word, knowing, God, that none of this is by coincidence, that we are here because you've led us here, because there's something that you have for us in this environment.

So, Father, I just pray for peace in this place.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

God bless you, church.

You can go ahead and take your seats.

Thank you so much for coming to worship with us.

While we're at it, can we show some love to our worship team?

They did such an amazing job today.

Thank you, guys, so much for the way that you guys lead us faithfully every single week.

We're so, so grateful for you.

Church, we're so, so glad that you're here with us today as we continue in our Emmanuel series.

Last week we kicked off our series with with Pastor Mike kicking it off and just talking about that when God is with us, that it's not just that he is with us, but who he is is with us, what he does is with us.

And it's a beautiful idea recognizing this love that God has for his people and knowing that when he's amongst us, that he's not holding anything back from us.

That was one of the main things that the enemy was able to do in regards to tricking up Adam and Eve, is making them believe that God was holding out on them, making them believe that God had some other plans for them.

But if we as the followers of God could really believe that God has given us everything that we need, the Bible says that we have everything that we need as it relates to life and godliness.

And if we can have a posture of receiving everything that God has for us, I think that there is healing and freedom and hope that is found in that.

So as we continue in this series, I want to invite you to join me in the Gospel of Mark chapter four.

The Gospel of Mark chapter four.

If it's your first time here at Celebration, I want to welcome you and thank you so much for coming to worship with us today.

Whether you're in the venue with us or if you're watching online, we're so, so glad that you're here.

As you've heard earlier from Pastor Mike, if there's anything that we can do to serve you or your family, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Text that word connect to 25101.

We would love to come alongside, pray with you, answer any questions you may have, or even celebrate what God is doing in your life.

It's a great opportunity for us to come together as a community.

One of our theme verses, and I want you to just kind of put this in your notes.

We referred to it last week, but just as a point of reference, one of our theme verses for this series is Isaiah chapter 7, verse number 14.

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

And this is kind of the premise of our time together.

It's this idea that therefore the Lord Himself will give us a sign.

See, the virgin will conceive a son and name him Emmanuel.

That idea of God being with us.

It's a beautiful image of God doing everything he can do to be with us and amongst us.

Starting here at uh the Gospel of Mark, chapter number four, starting at verse number 35, a familiar passage for those of us that have been around church for any period of time, but I'm believing that God's going to speak to us in a unique way today.

Starting at verse 35, it says this On that day, when evening had come, he told them, Let's cross over on the other side of the sea.

So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat, and the other boats were with him.

A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, and the boat was already swamped.

He was in astern, sleeping on a cushion.

So they woke him up and said to him, Teacher, don't you care that we are going to die?

He got up and rebuked the wind, and he said to the sea, Silence, be still.

Depending on your Bible translation, they may say, Peace be still.

We sung about that earlier.

The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

And then he said to them, Why are you afraid?

Do you still have no faith?

Verse number 41.

And then they were terrified and asked one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the seas obey him?

Understanding their context was that they were very familiar with what the Bible said in the book of Psalms and how it said that only God was the one who had the ability to silence the storms and he could actually part the seas.

So when they saw Jesus do this, they're still trying to understand that he is the Messiah.

So they're freaking out a little bit.

They're like, okay, so so who is this guy that he's actually doing the things that only God should be doing?

You and I have the advantage of knowing who he was, but in real time for that particular group of people, they were completely unsure of who they were looking at when they saw Jesus perform such a profound miracle, but it's one that's needed for all of us.

So if you're taking notes, and I really want to encourage you to do that, because I truly believe that this could be the type of message that can encourage us.

Today, I want to talk to us about the presence of God.

More specifically, I want to talk about the peace of God.

Today's message titled Simply This Peace is with you.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you so much for these opportunities that we have to come together as a community, both online and also in this facility.

God, I pray within the next few moments that you just give us open eyes to see you, open hearts to receive you, and open ears to hear everything that it is you have for us.

Speak to us, Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name.

Amen and amen.

You know, when I when I think about this idea or concept of peace, I think all of us probably begin to generate our own visuals of what we consider to be something that we would define as being peaceful.

For some of us, peace could be going on a vacation somewhere.

Hello, who remembers the days when we actually could go on vacation and everything was good?

Like sitting on sitting on a beach is a is a moment of peace for some people.

For other people, it's like getting on a cruise ship.

Man, God, I miss going on cruises.

Where you can just have permission to unplug and just relax.

But that that often is an image of peace.

For some, peace is like sitting, sitting on a couch on a rainy day and cuddling up to a great book.

That's not peace for me.

That actually sounds like work.

For me, I love watching the matrix, which you guys know.

Like that brings me peace, but my wife doesn't want me to have peace in our home because she's over the matrix now, but y'all pray for me.

She's gonna get saved one day.

But my point is, we all have different different things that we think of when we begin to consider this idea of peace.

But I want to give us a definition of it.

So we're we're working from the same the same framework.

Here's what a modern definition of what peace is.

It says this.

It says that that peace is the freedom of disturbance, it's tranquility.

No war or war has ended.

That's the that's the definition of peace.

Let me let me say that again: free from disturbance, tranquility, no war, or the war has ended.

That's how we see that that peace is defined in its modern context.

And and while that's helpful, and I do think that there's versions of that that are very true, I also believe that the Bible paints a different picture of what peace really is.

In fact, the way that the Bible defines peace is that it doesn't necessarily only revolve around this idea of the lack of conflict, but there's something a little bit more to it.

It's also dealing with the presence of something that has a little bit more significance.

See, the the word peace in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in Hebrew, it's the word shalom.

Maybe you've heard that before.

It's this word shalom.

In the New Testament, which was written in Greek, the word for peace is ereine.

Y'all didn't know that y'all pastor knew Greek, but I do.

Um, I reine.

That's the word for peace in the New Testament.

And ultimately, what that what that word, what that phrasing ultimately means is it means to be complete or whole.

Little bit different from the the translation we had earlier.

I want us to think of a structure.

Like think of a wall, and all of the pieces are all together.

According to the Bible, that would be an image of everything being at peace.

It's whole, it's restored, it's complete.

There's nothing missing, there's nothing lacking, that all the structures are in its right place.

So when you have the opposite of that, when things are missing, that is the opposite of having peace.

Whenever something's missing, when something's lost or something's stolen, case in point.

If you ever go to your favorite drive-thru spot, get all the way home and realize that they forgot the fries, that's the opposite of shalom.

Why?

Because something is missing.

That doesn't happen in the Pittman household because Megan has trained me up to make sure that I don't pull off out of the drive-thru window before I get a chance to read through every single thing.

That's a true story.

Whenever we order something and I'm going to pick it up, she sends me a text message image of the receipt.

And as I'm sitting there at the window, I'm looking through everything in a bag, which I don't know how that feels to the workers.

I don't know if I'm like questioning them right in front of them because you're looking at the bag and like, man, I packed the bag, but I'm like, yeah, but I don't want to leave here and there's something missing.

You see how complicated peace can be, but that's exactly what it is.

It's when you get home and something is missing, something is lost, something is out of order.

That's that's the opposite of peace.

But the image that God wants to create for us is this idea that there's nothing missing.

It's not, it's not the absence of conflict, it's not even the absence of opposition.

What peace is, true biblical peace, is the presence of something that means that nothing is missing and that there's nothing lost.

Here's the other thing that peace also often refers to our well-being.

You see in scripture where David approaches his brothers and he says, Hey, how is your shalom?

How is your peace?

Are you at peace?

In our household, the best way that we do that is like, hey man, are you good?

That's our way of saying, like, is everything okay?

Is there anything missing?

Is anything off for you?

Is everything okay?

This idea of recognizing that if there's an absence of peace, what can we do to bring it all together?

Because the truth of the matter is this life is very complex, it has a lot of moving parts, and there are moments when things in our life aren't synchronized properly, and it can cost us our peace.

So the idea of knowing that peace is when everything is in its rightful place and has its rightful order.

Now, this word peace or this idea of shalom, it also is a verb, which means that we have the ability to bring peace to situations.

That's where it gets interesting.

Because the Bible has given us the fruit of the spirit, which is peace, but this idea of knowing that we can actually bring peace.

So we we've all heard that phrase like, hey, we need to make peace with that individual.

That means that there's been a breakdown, that there's something missing, there's something lost, and that maybe we can bring something that will actually bring restoration and wholeness.

And here's the thing: sometimes an apology brings peace to a relationship.

Sometimes forgiveness brings peace or shalom to a relationship.

So we also have the ability to bring peace or shalom or wholeness into the environments that God has us in.

For us in our household, typically on Friday nights, that's a time for us where we gather as a family and we eat regularly together, but on Fridays we're a little bit more intentional and we sit there and it's an opportunity for us to bring shalom into our home.

It's our way for us to bring peace into our home.

And so we do, we sit back, we simply have conversations, and we speak life to anything if there's any lack.

Just this past Friday, my son Caleb, I'm so proud of him, he's doing dual enrollment.

So that means that he's in college and in high school at the same time, so that when he graduates from high school, he'll also have his associate's degree, which basically means I'm saving money.

Praise God for that.

So he's doing that right now.

I'm I'm I'm proud of him, but here's what that means he's working really hard.

So he recently took a test and he got a C on it.

He has higher standards, he was a little frustrated that he only got a C.

So as we're sitting together as a family, my wife was able to recognize that he didn't have shalom.

There was something off about him.

So she began to speak words of life.

She spoke peace into his life, like, hey, it's okay.

You worked hard, man, it's been a busy week, but but you're you're gonna continue to learn from your mistakes, you move forward.

You see how simple and practical it is?

It's simply speaking words of life wherever there's something missing.

That's how we demonstrate and model peace in the environments that God has put us in.

See, that was the responsibility of the kings of Israel.

They had this responsibility that their job was for them to be ambassadors and people who brought peace, but they always fell short.

So what ended up happening is the prophets began to look beyond the circumstances of the kings that were there, and they began to look to a king further down the line.

And the king they began to look through is the Messiah.

This idea that a Messiah or a king was going to come and he was going to bring ultimate peace.

In fact, Isaiah 9, 6 says that he's gonna be a child who was gonna be born, the government's gonna be on his shoulders, his name shall be wonderful counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace.

That meant that the Messiah was gonna come, and he's gonna be a person that brings peace, wholeness, restoration, saloon, and there will be no end to it.

That is what they were looking forward to.

This is the idea that they were looking for.

So this is why Jesus is such a big deal, as if we didn't already have a long list of it.

It's because Jesus' presence, his birth was meant to be a representation that peace has finally arrived.

And it's not a peace that's predicated on circumstances, but it's a peace that is determined by the presence of God.

That means that peace is not the absence of conflict, but it's actually the presence of Jesus.

It's encouraging for us to be able to look at our situations and know that my peace is not determined by what my external situations say, but my peace is determined by the presence of God.

Because if we find ourselves at a place where my peace is literally determined on what my external situations are, then that means that at any given moment, any little obstacle can take me out of the calling and purposes of God.

But when I recognize that my peace is rooted in something that transcends the circumstances I may face, it lets me know that no matter where I may find myself, that peace is available to us.

This is what the work of Jesus does, that he brings peace, wholeness, and shalom to all of us.

That's the beautiful image that Jesus brings.

He brings us peace with one another as well as peace with God.

That is what his perfect sacrifice is.

That peace is not the absence of conflict, but it's the presence of Jesus.

So you have to understand that Jesus was never meant to be an accessory, he's a necessity.

Let me say that again.

That Jesus is not an accessory, he's a necessity.

That we need Jesus in our life, that this is not something that we pick and choose and determine whether or not Jesus fit my outfit today.

No, I need Jesus because if I don't have Jesus, I don't have peace.

I need Jesus because if I don't have Jesus, I don't have salvation.

I need Jesus because if I don't have Jesus, I don't have wholeness.

It's understanding that we don't look at Jesus as an accessory that we pick and choose if we're going to apply him to our life today, that we need him in our life, and that is the beautiful image of knowing that the very thing that we need is available to us.

I was looking at this bumper sticker, and I'm always typically a little bit reserved about getting theology from a bumper sticker, but this one holds up.

Here's what it says: it says this, it says this.

It says, To know Jesus is to know peace.

But where there's no Jesus, there is no peace.

Did you catch that?

When you know Jesus, then you will know peace.

But where there is no Jesus, there is no peace.

It is impossible for us truly to have peace outside of the person of Jesus Christ.

That's why when we look in the Bible, we see that his ministry was rooted in this idea of bringing shalom or wholeness and completion to every person that he encountered.

Whenever there was a breakdown in social constructs, he brought wholeness to it or he brought peace to it.

The woman with the issue of blood, sickness, let me bring healing to it.

Lazarus is dead, let me bring healing to it, let me bring completion, let me bring restoration.

Even dealing with the hierarchy system of where women were accepted or not, the woman at the well, Jesus was bringing wholeness and beginning to fix this idea that there were people who were less than other people.

Jesus was always radically approaching the broken systems and bringing wholeness and completion and restoration to it.

This is why this narrative is so important because I think it beautifully illustrates this idea of what does it look like when our circumstances change, but Jesus is still with us.

Let me give us a little bit of background quick, real quick.

Jesus has been preaching all day.

He's been in this incredible preaching revival vibe, and he's finally at a place where he's like, you know what?

I'm ready to unplug for a minute.

Let's go to the other side.

So him and his disciples, they they chart this course, this 13-mile trek across the Sea of Galilee.

And as they're on this journey, about halfway through, the storm comes in.

Now, here's why this is so significant because these were all experienced fishermen.

They had all they had all been around storms before.

They were familiar with it, but the reason why this becomes a narrative that we learned from in scripture is because this was a storm that was different than other storms.

In other words, their normal skill set, their normal ability on how to navigate the storm, their normal tactics was not working in the situation.

So now they were at a place of complete panic.

We all probably know what that feels like.

Where we've dealt with situations before, we've had struggles, we had setbacks, we've had opposition, but then there's that moment where it kind of gets beyond you.

And when it gets beyond us, that's when we begin to freak out a little bit.

That's when we get a little bit nervous.

And so what the Bible says is that they look for Jesus because Jesus is on board and that brother is sleep.

Jesus is Jesus is knocked out right now.

There's a storm coming.

The Bible says that the boat was already swamped.

That means that the boat was on a verge of going down.

They're looking around as chaos, and Jesus is still asleep.

It's craziness out here, but Jesus is still asleep.

They're screaming back and forth, you need to do a little bit more, you need to do a little bit less, and Jesus is still asleep.

It can feel frustrating sometimes when we find ourselves in situations where we're doing everything in our own strength and we're looking around and we're asking ourselves, where is Jesus right now?

What are the things in your life right now that you feel like Jesus is sleeping on?

Man, we're in the middle of this pandemic and the world has changed and Jesus is sleep.

We're dealing with so much division and brokenness, and we're wondering where Jesus is because it hasn't been resolved yet, and it feels like Jesus is asleep.

It can feel so, so destructive to our faith when we look around and we see ourselves in situations that we normally were able to pray through, that we were normally able to hold out, situations that in our own strength that we typically seen work out, but now we're in the long game.

It's like we're in overtime of suffering and we're wondering where is Jesus at?

They look around and like, man, where's where's Jesus?

Jesus, he's asleep.

Now here's the thing, man, like Jesus is all-knowing, he's full of discernment.

What how how could he sleep through all this stuff?

Like, like me, I'm like a I'm like a fairly light sleeper.

Like my daughter, she typically comes and wakes me up virtually every morning to wake me up to go to the gym.

And I hear her coming, and I hope many times that she's not coming, but she still bombards and forces me to go to the gym.

But I but I know that feeling.

I can hear her coming even in my sleep.

I can just hear the footsteps of judgment and ridicule and dragging me off.

I can I can feel it in my spirit.

So I can sense it.

So how is it possible that Jesus is on a boat where it's about to sink and he is asleep?

I I believe with everything with Jesus, there's there's principles that he's trying to teach us.

I think what Jesus is ultimately showing us is that if I'm not losing sleep over this, why are you?

What are the storms that we find ourselves in that's causing us to lose sleep, but Jesus isn't worried about it?

That should be some comfort for us, that should be some encouragement for us knowing that Jesus isn't losing sleep, so neither should we.

There's a couple of principles that I think that can be encouragement for us as we look at this passage of Scripture.

Because it's in those moments we have a we almost have a split-second opportunity to make a decision where we can determine how we're gonna respond to the given storms we may find ourselves in.

Because it's a moment where I believe that the enemy loves to exploit these situations, these seasons, these storms, and it can often plant a seed of fear, a plant a seed of doubt, plant a seed of feeling like we're gonna be scattered because we have to remember that the enemy, that he's a thief.

And one of the things that he loves to steal is our peace.

Steal our shaloms, steal us from feeling like we are complete and that we are whole.

And after walking with God for over 20 years and walking through many a seasons, I've learned that there's two anchoring points that has helped me.

I didn't get this from a book.

I could easily give you guys 28 points on how to restore peace, but let me tell you the things that have allowed me to survive the decades of walking with God, being in ministry, being married, having kids, grandkids, and everything in between.

I want to give you something straight from the notebook of my suffering.

And here's the first thing that I want you to do that I think can actually give you peace, that can give you shalom.

Take Jesus at his word.

If you can be a person that simply takes Jesus at his word, I promise you that it will give you peace.

Let's look at this in this passage.

Jesus says to his disciples, he says, Let's go to the other side.

There was no doubt in his voice, there was no fear in his voice, there was no hesitation in his voice.

He made a statement about where they were going.

There was vision, there was clarity.

Let's go to the other side.

That wasn't a question mark, that was a statement.

And they began to move in preparation for the thing that Jesus had said.

But when the storm hit, doubt came in, and they began to find themselves no longer believing in what Jesus said, they didn't take him at his word.

They were so busy focusing on their situations, and it happens to us all the time.

But if we can be people that take Jesus at his word, that even when the storms may come, we are rooted in this idea that if Jesus said it, he's gonna finish it, that if Jesus called me to do it, then I know that he's gonna see me through it, that if Jesus has a vision for my life, then I know it's gonna come to fruition, and I can take him at his word, and I can have peace in knowing that the very thing that Jesus said he's gonna do, he's gonna accomplish it.

The irony of all of this is this earlier that day, Jesus had taught this profound message to his disciples.

This idea about how we're supposed to respond to the word of God.

Maybe you're familiar with this idea of the sower.

When a word gets sown that the Satan comes in, he takes it away, or the cares of this world can strangle it out.

He teaches this lesson about the importance of receiving everything that the word of God says and applying it to their lives, and then they're putting in a situation where they have an opportunity to do it and they fail the test.

I failed the test, you failed the test, we've all missed a mark on all that, recognizing that whenever God speaks a word over our heart, we have to be prepared, prepared, knowing that the enemy is going to come and try to take it away.

But I want to encourage somebody right now don't lose your peace.

You, if Jesus said it, he's gonna bring it to fruition.

Don't don't lose your peace.

That even though you may face some situations that may come against what God has said about you, don't lose your peace.

Peace is not predicated on external circumstances.

Peace is not determined on whether or not I go on vacation.

Peace is not determined on whether or not if there's no friction in my life.

Peace is not determined if everything lines up the way that I perfectly wanted to do.

Peace is not the absence of conflict.

Peace is the presence of Jesus.

Because I know if that I have Jesus with me, then I know that He's gonna make sure that I make it to my destination.

See, the problem is when we have peace that is predicated on circumstances, we end up finding ourselves being driven by our emotions.

And we can find ourselves pursuing peace in places that God has never called us to actually be.

But when I know that there's peace in the middle of this storm, then I know that God is indeed with me.

See, having Jesus doesn't prevent the storms from coming.

Having Jesus prevents the storms from having you.

Having Jesus doesn't prevent the storms from coming at all, it just prevents them from staying.

When you recognize that the presence of Jesus is never meant to remove obstacles or opposition, then we understand that peace is absolutely present with me.

You can take Jesus at his word.

Whatever he's spoken over your life, you can take it, you can take him for his word.

Whatever he said encouragement over your life, you can take him for his word.

I know that there's a pandemic, but you can take him at his word.

I know that there's opposition and resistance, but you can take him at his word.

We don't allow the evidence of the situation to make us believe that peace is no longer available.

The reason being is because the Bible says that Jesus is watching over his word to make sure that it accomplishes exactly what he said it's going to do.

I get images of a parent watching over a child that even though we're all here having a conversation, I'm still looking to make sure that my child is safe.

That is the image of God watching over his word and making sure that it pursues and finishes exactly what he said over your life.

This idea that in Jeremiah 29, 11, where it says, I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you, plans to give you health, plans to help you to move forward.

That means that God is watching over that word in your life.

And that means that he is gonna continue to make sure that that word finishes exactly what I said it's gonna do in your life.

It's gonna finish exactly what he said in my life.

So the issue isn't whether God's gonna do his word, the question becomes, are we in alignment with it so we can actually see the fruit of it in our life?

A lot of times it's not a matter whether God's gonna do what he said he's gonna do, it's a matter of whether or not we're in the place that he called us to be in, so that we can actually be the beneficiaries of what God has been speaking over our lives.

Be encouraged, friends.

That even if you find yourself in the middle of a storm, that peace is with you.

Don't lose your peace over the situation you may find yourself in.

That peace is not the absence of problems, it's the presence of Jesus.

Here's the second thing that has anchored me in all these years knowing that Jesus is in control.

Jesus is in control.

No matter where I find myself, that I can rest in knowing that Jesus is in control.

See, the scripture tells us that the storm comes in quick.

They're overwhelmed and they go to him in fear, they go to him with anxiety, they go to him with stress, and he gets up and he deals with it.

Jesus gets up in the middle of the storm and he deals with it.

Let's let's put it together.

They're in a storm, Jesus is there.

He gets up, he deals with it.

Jesus being the sun.

So that means that even when there is a storm, the sun is still present.

That even when there's times when you don't feel like you can see it or feel it, that the sun is still present.

And this idea that Jesus gets up and he deals with the storm.

See, I've learned that storms are very unique, the way that they are formed.

Even even the the the dynamic of it is essentially when when low pressure dynamics collide with high pressure dynamics, and then it creates this atmosphere that ushers in a storm.

You guys didn't know that your pastor was also a meteorologist.

I got I got I got gears in me, guys.

Y'all just y'all just wait.

But this idea that these these collisions of different these different pressures creates a storm atmosphere.

It ushers in the storm that we now know.

And here's the thing about storms.

Sometimes when a storm is really strong, you you can't even see the sun anymore.

Like you're you you know that the sun has got to be there, but but you can't see it.

And I think that sometimes that's how it feels for some of us.

That there's this storm that gets ushered in, and and I can't I can't see it.

The the clouds are dark, I can't see beyond my situation.

And those could be moments that make us feel with fear and anxiety and stress.

But the sun is still present.

And I think it's encouraging for us to know that the Bible says that this storm will not destroy you.

Let me tell you, I got Bible for it.

In Genesis chapter 9, after the flood with Noah's Ark, you know that God made a covenant with his people and he said this, that I will never destroy my people in the storm again.

Genesis 9 · chapter mention

In fact, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna give you a rainbow as a reminder that every time you see a storm, it's a reminder of my promises towards my people that I'm not gonna destroy you.

So who knew that every time you see a rainbow in a sky, that's actually God's message to mankind, even to this day, that the storm is not going to destroy you.

That's a beautiful image, knowing that the storm is not going to destroy you.

There's some of us that's sitting in this room right now when you're dealing with a storm and you're wondering what your exit strategy is going to be.

Allow the word of God to encourage you that this storm is not going to destroy you, that what you're facing is not going to destroy you, that every encounter that you're struggling with right now that is not going to destroy you, that's a promise from God.

But the thing that is so powerful about this is that you know that the very atmosphere that ushered in the storms is the same atmosphere that gives birth to the rainbow.

Because the sun shines through the moisture and it creates this image that reinforces the promise.

My God.

That means that every time there's a storm, there's an opportunity for the sun to shine through it to reinforce the promises of God in my life.

That means that the very thing that was meant to be a pain point becomes a platform for me to talk about the glory of God.

This is why when you have people that are dealing with cancer and they become cancer survivors, that becomes their platform.

People who've dealt with abuse, they are now overcomers of it, and now they're helping people who've dealt with abuse.

Let me encourage somebody in here right now.

Maybe your pain point, maybe your storm is simply your testimony in development.

Maybe what you thought was going to destroy you is God developing you for your calling and your purpose.

Don't you forsake this thing because God has put you in a place for a reason, knowing that this storm is not going to destroy you because Jesus is in control.

Be encouraged and knowing that Jesus is in control.

He gets up and he says these words, peace, be still.

The same language that he uses when he casts out a demonic spirit, which lets us know that this storm was spiritually motivated.

That it was not something that just happened, that just took place, but it was a it was a spiritual opposition that they were facing.

So Jesus used the exact same language, peace, be still.

Don't make another sound.

This idea of chaos surrendering to the voice and word of God.

I visited a friend of mine back when I was younger, and I still remember it as if it was just yesterday.

And there was this moment where when I walked into his house, because he told me, hey, when you come over, just walk in.

He didn't tell me that he had a ferocious Doberman pincher on the other side of the door that was going to be waiting that did not take kindly to people just walking in the house.

So when I walked in the door and I closed the door, I just heard this growl and I turned and I saw what appeared to be this 20-foot Doberman, I think it was actually 30 feet, depending on how you look at it, depending on your perspective.

But this massive dog was growling and looking at me.

And I'm not sure if you've ever been like so afraid that you don't have words.

It's almost like everything just becomes subtitles.

Like, mm-hmm.

Like I had nothing.

I was just all I could get out was yo.

So my friend came out all casually, but he saw that his dog was like closing in.

And he made this statement.

He said, Be quiet and don't move.

So I'm standing there.

I'm looking at the dog, the dog's looking at me.

I'm looking at the dog, dog's looking at me.

I'm looking at the dog, the dog's looking at me.

And there's no other communication.

So I look kind of over to my friend, I'm like, which one of us are you talking to?

And he said, Both of you.

But I'm also talking to my dog to be quiet and don't move.

It occurred to me that a single command was actually talking to both parties.

And what I found more often than not in my life, that a lot of times we're asking God to speak peace over our situation, speak calmness over our situation.

The problem is the storm is often more obedient to the word of God than we are.

Because sometimes God is telling us, peace, be still.

But we're running everywhere else trying to pursue the thing that God has already made available to us.

What if when we're praying and asking God to move in our life, He's asking us to stay rooted where we are?

Peace.

Be still.

Because if you move, you're gonna miss out on the growth or what I was trying to do in you in that place.

A lot of times we're asking God to speak to it, but God is speaking to us.

Be at peace, stand still.

Scripture talks about standing still and seeing the salvation of God.

Scripture talks about being steadfast and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

I think that sometimes at our peace, that we're looking at our situations and we find ourselves moving out of the place that God was calling to develop us to allow us to produce fruit because we think we have to do something in order to be the beneficiaries of the word that He's spoken.

I think that God is speaking over our storms right now.

The storm is listening, it's silent, it's being still.

But the question becomes can I be as obedient to the voice of God as a storm?

Can I be at peace?

Can I stand still?

Can I stay rooted?

I feel like I'm I'm talking to people that are that are in the valley of decision, and you're on the edge of your seat, and you feel like in order for you to experience peace, because you're pursuing it through this idea that it's the absence of conflict, it's the absence of resistance, that if I go over here, that's where I'm gonna get my peace.

If I if I leave this marriage, then that's how I'm gonna get peace.

If I leave the place that I know that God's called me, that's how I'm gonna get peace.

But unfortunately, those those that movement can trigger the storm to follow you where you are.

What if God is saying, peace, be at peace?

My presence is with you.

Be still.

I'm with you through this thing.

Peace is not the absence of conflict, but peace is the presence of Jesus.

And even though you may be dealing with some opposition right now, stay rooted, stay planted, stay the place that I called you.

Put yourself in alignment to my word so you can see the benefits of it flow out of your life.

All of us probably know people in our lives who are like the, I call them the veterans, the people who are, they have such profound stories.

I I have some pastoral friends that have been pastoring churches for decades, like literally like 30, 40, 50 years in some cases.

And and when I when I find myself talking to them about their journey, their ministry experiences, I love hearing the resume of suffering.

Not because I'm a masochist, but I love hearing how they endured and survived the setbacks and struggles.

It creates a very powerful story and narrative when you can say, I remember in our time when we went through this, but God showed up.

There was a moment when we had this struggle and God did this.

There was a moment when we thought that all was going to fall apart, but man, we stayed true to what God said and we saw the fruit of it in our lives.

It begins to build faith in someone like myself who finds myself at times feeling like, well, maybe I need to move to be the benefit, like maybe I need to do some things in order to experience peace, but I know that the thing that I'm doing, the place that I am, is the very place that God has called me.

So so maybe I actually just need to have a moment where I have peace and I'm standing still.

We all love to hear the story about the couple that's been married for 60 years.

That didn't happen with because there was no conflict.

That happens because there's a presence of Jesus through it all.

And what I want us to do is recognize that peace is not the absence of conflict, it's the presence of Jesus.

And wherever you may be feeling resistance right now, whatever that resistance and that tension point is right now, that peace be still is for the storm, but it's also for you.

Stay planted, stay rooted, stay connected to your community, stay connected to that marriage because I believe that the enemy is trying to exploit the storms that we face to get us to leave the place that God has called us and miss out on the fruit that He's calling us to produce.

The Gospel of John 14, 27 says this peace I leave with you.

My peace I give you.

I do not give you as the world gives you, so don't let your heart be troubled or fearful.

Jesus says that I'm leaving you my peace.

This wasn't a peace that was predicated on external circumstances.

That you know that the Bible says that Jesus was at peace as he was going to the cross.

That wasn't the absence of conflict.

He had peace because he was filled with purpose and calling and knowing that his suffering was going to bring wholeness to someone else.

Shalom.

It's not a peace that the world can give, and it's not a peace that the world can take away.

That is the peace that I believe that God wants all of us to experience on a daily basis.

You may have a terrible boss, but you can still have peace.

Your marriage may be something that's on recovery, but you can still have peace.

You may be dealing with some opposition and struggles, but you still can have peace because peace is not the absence of conflict, it's the presence of Jesus.

I want to talk to a very specific group of people right now.

Because I realize that it's it's years like 2020, it's seasons like we've been in that can kind of expose just how vulnerable we all really are.

It's exposed how vulnerable the church is, it's exposed how vulnerable our relationships are, that when our normal flow and rhythms get interrupted, it really challenges us to make sure that we're rooted in the right things.

But I also believe it's moments that we find ourselves in that that fear and anxiety and stress can rise to the surface.

So, what I want to do is I want to talk to some people because those are all very real things: stress and anxiety.

The definition of anxiety is being trapped in the future, where your mind is just constantly processing things in the future, but you can't reconcile it with your present.

Fear is almost being paralyzed, not being able to move forward because of there's things that are uncertain.

Absolutely, as people, we should have concerns about the future.

Absolutely, we should have concerns and burdens and prayer projects, but nothing on our hearts and on our minds should ever paralyze us, and it should never cripple us and it should never trap us.

That's a fruit that's not of God.

So I want to pray for some people in here now that may be wrestling with anxiety.

There may be some uncertainty in your life, there may be some things in your life that are unresolved, and as a result of that, there are some things that you're losing sleep about, and you're saying, God, I need you to show up in this storm or in this situation.

So let's let's create this space, even if you're watching this at home, with every head bowed and with every eye closed, maybe maybe you do have a little bit of anxiety.

Maybe there's a little bit of fear.

I believe that the presence of God is here to bring peace over that situation.

So if that's you, I'm not gonna ask you to come forward, but I do want you to raise a hand as a as a sign of faith, as a sign of surrender, asking God to bring peace over your situation.

So on a count of three, I just want you to boldly lift your hands up, saying, Keith, I need I need some peace.

I need peace at work, I need peace in my finances, I need I need peace in my home, I need I need peace with my family.

Whatever that looks like for you, on a count of three, did you boldly just lift your hand up so I can pray for you right where you are?

Even if you're watching online, I want you to participate in this moment.

One, two, three.

I just need I need peace.

My God, I don't want you to look around, but there's literally hands up everywhere, including mine, because there are situations that even I face that I have uncertainty or I don't have clarity on, but I am believing God to bring me peace because my peace is not going to be predicated on those external circumstances.

Heavenly Father, God, you see every hand that's lifted up.

Those who are watching online, those who are making that move in their heart, God, I pray for a peace that surpasses all understanding.

God, your call and your will for our lives is for us not to be so consumed with the future that we can't have peace in the present.

So, God, I'm praying in the name of Jesus that we know that shalom is available because you are present.

So, Father, I'm praying peace over our homes.

I'm praying peace over our careers and over our jobs.

I'm praying peace over our families, I'm praying peace over all of our resources, God.

I'm praying peace over every burden that's on our heart, God.

The peace that is not predicated on outcomes, but is predicated on your presence.

So, Father, in the name of Jesus, I speak peace over your people.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, as we prepare to go back into worship to kind of seal this in and to close out, I also want to create a space for those of us that have not yet accepted the Prince of Peace into our lives.

That's simply making the decision to make Jesus the Lord of your life.

As we said earlier, that Jesus is not an accessory, that he's a necessity.

And it's impossible for us truly to experience wholeness, freedom, completion without Jesus.

We all have an opportunity right now, in this moment, to simply say yes to Jesus.

So if that's you, you want to commit or recommit your life to Christ, whether you're in here with us or you're watching online, I want you to participate in this moment, knowing that right now that there is a discrepancy between me and God.

There's distance between us, and I want to close that gap by saying yes to Jesus.

If that's you, on the count of three, would I would love for you to raise your hand with boldness saying yes, I am prepared to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior and my Prince of Peace.

One, two, three.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

God bless you.

I see those hands.

I see those hands.

Church, can we put our hands together for everyone that is making that decision?

I am so, so proud of you.

Come on, church, let's really celebrate with those that are making a decision to make Jesus their Lord and Savior.

Here's what I want us to do.

I want us all to stand on our feet.

I'm gonna pray with us and we're gonna go into a quick song of worship to kind of seal it in, and then we're gonna we're gonna close out today's service.

But for those that are making that decision to say yes to Jesus, I could not be more proud of you.

Pastor Michael's gonna come up in just a few moments to give you some instructions and some next steps so that we can adequately resource you.

But what I want to do is all of us as a family, because we believe here at Celebration Orlando, that we're a family.

And whenever one of our family members comes home, he wants to celebrate.

So let's pray this prayer all together, helping along those who are praying this prayer for the first time.

Repeat after me, Lord Jesus, I give you my life.

I repent of my sins.

I believe that you died on the cross and that you rose from the dead.

And because of that belief, I am saved.

Fill me with your spirit and order my steps.

Bring me peace.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Let's give it up one more time for the presentation.

Thanks again for listening.

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