Jehovah Shalom

Well, good morning to those that are in the building, those that are watching online.

My name is Jeannie Burgess, and I minister here at True Life under Pastor Devon and Stacey Alexander.

And it's an honor to be trusted that when they're out, that they trust me to

listen to the Lord and bring forth a word for you.

And so I honor Pastor Devon and Stacey for allowing me to be able to do this today.

And I just want to pray right now before we start. Father, in the name of Jesus,

I thank you for your anointing.

I ask, Father, that you fill my mouth with your words. That,

Father, that the people will hear you and not me.

I yield to you, Lord, that I am just a vessel for you to flow.

Give your people a timely word, a word of freedom, a word of restoration.

I thank you, Jehovah Shalom, for showing up today.

And Satan, we bind you in the name of Jesus. There will be no spirit of confusion

here. In Jesus' name, amen.

So this summer, we've discussed a series of the names of God.

And so far, we have discussed Elohim, Abba, Jehovah-Jireh, El Shaddai,

Jehovah-Rapha, Adonai, and El Elyon.

And today, we are going to discuss Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace.

It's really funny. I feel that I don't think I'm the only one.

I may be the only one. But as I seek the Lord and prepare messages to come here

and give you a word, What I'm studying on, I feel like I definitely get tested on.

And all week I have had opportunities to either, and they're opportunities because

you always have a choice, to either step into peace or step out of peace.

And all week long, it just seemed like there was more opportunities of,

am I going to believe that Jehovah Shalom is active in my life or not?

In Jehovah Shalom, it means the Lord is peace. That's who he is.

He doesn't have peace. I mean, he has peace, but he is peace.

And so we're going to reflect on Jehovah's nature of peace. Okay.

Peace from a world's point of view is so wrong. Peace is not a concept.

Peace is not an absence of conflict and things around you. When my circumstances

are right, when I have enough money in the bank, when I feel good in my body, then I'll have peace.

That's just happiness, and it's very temporary.

Peace is having the presence of Jehovah Shalom even in the midst of conflicts going on around you.

So peace is not dependent on our circumstances. And true peace is a person.

And that person is Jehovah Shalom.

And that's why people in the world, they can't obtain peace from material things.

There's not enough drink, enough food, enough substance, enough relationship

that can give you true peace.

There will always be something missing, something lacking. But true peace is

knowing who is with you while you walk through life.

And so within the Old Testament, we're introduced to Jehovah Shalom in the book of Judges.

Now, we're not going to put anything on the screen right now because I'm going

to paraphrase some things, and then I'll tell the ministers in the back when to put the verses up.

But paraphrasing, you could follow alone in your own Bible in chapter 6 of Judges.

And what we see here is the Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight,

and the Midianites were ruling over them for seven years.

And the Midianites were cruel to the Israelites, attacking the people,

stealing their food and resources.

And the Bible states that the Midianites, they would come in large groups like locusts.

And when they would come to the Israelites' land, they would just strip the land.

They would take their food. They would take their resources.

And they were cruel. And the Israelites were hiding in caves and mountains.

And then they cried out to the Lord for help. So the Lord sent a prophet to the patriarchs.

And in Judges chapter 6, again, I'm still paraphrasing, but 8 through 10,

Judges 6 · chapter mention

it says that the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites, and he said this.

He said, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.

I brought you out of slavery. Can you hear the Father's voice?

I did this. I brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you.

I came to you and I freed you from oppression. I freed you from slavery and

I drove out your enemies and gave you their land.

I told you I am the Lord your God.

You must not worship the God of the Amorites and whose land you now live.

But you did not listen to me.

It's almost like it's a parent, a father saying, I told you these things and I told you one thing.

Do not conform to the world.

And is that not what the Lord says to us now?

I'm giving you these opportunities.

I'm giving you new ground in your life. But when you get there,

wherever there is for you, when you get there, there's still going to be conflict.

There's still going to be unbelievers. Don't conform because your environment matters.

Those that you are around, it matters. And if you're not careful where God has

planted you to be a leader, you begin to follow.

Your thoughts begin to conform. If you're not careful, your words start to conform.

You start sounding like them and thinking like them. And before long,

you start acting like them.

And here we see apparently...

They must have gotten the land and began to worship those false idols because

they're being overtaken by the Midianites.

And it says that the Lord said, you have disobeyed me.

And so this is where we're going to pick up in the verses will be on the screen.

It says the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon.

So in Judges 6, verse 12, we're going to read through 15. It says that the angel

Judges 6:12

of the Lord appeared to him, which is Gideon, and said, mighty hero, the Lord is with you.

Sir, Gideon replied, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?

And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?

Didn't they say the Lord brought us up out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned

us and handed us over to the Midianites.

In verse 14, it says, Then the Lord turned to him, Gideon, and said,

Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you.

But Lord, Gideon replied, how can I rescue Israel?

My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in

my entire family. I want to pull out some key points here.

First, the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, And the very first thing that

he said was, mighty hero, the Lord is with you.

Later on, Gideon begins to question, why is this happening to me?

Have you ever been in a season of your life where you're like,

why is this happening? Life is just a lot right now.

But we know what was going on. They didn't obey.

And also it's very interesting how Gideon responds back.

When the angel of the Lord came and said, mighty hero, the Lord is with you.

Gideon starts saying, how can I go forward and do what you're calling me to do? I'm the weakest.

I'm the least. So what I'm pulling out of this right now, the key points that

I want you to focus on is it matters how you see yourself.

It matters how you see yourself. It matters what you say about yourself versus what God says about you.

Here, the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, and he is telling him,

look, you are a mighty hero.

That is what I'm telling you you are, and the Lord is with you.

Wherever I'm telling you to go, God is with you.

So peace here, it's not a concept. It's a person,

and it goes on to say that God told Gideon that he would be with him in this

fight and that Gideon's clan would destroy the Midianites as if they were fighting one man.

He was there to fight the battle for Gideon and his clan.

And in Judges 6, verses 24, this is where we're introduced to Jehovah Shalom.

Judges 6:24

Judges 6, verse 24, it says, And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and

Judges 6:24

named it Yahweh Shalom, which means the Lord is peace.

In the midst of conflict where the land is being stripped of food,

there's severe maltreatment, severe drought and famine.

In the middle of that conflict, that is where Jehovah Shalom showed up on the

scene and said, I'm with you.

I am the Lord that is peace. When you go forward, you get to go forward in my peace.

And throughout the Old Testament, Jehovah Shalom shows up to his people.

Let's take a look at Isaiah. Isaiah 41 verse 10, it says, Don't be afraid,

Isaiah 41:10

for I, Jehovah Shalom, is with you.

Knowing Jehovah Shalom is with you is what helps you not be afraid.

So when you get that doctor's report, you can tap into peace versus fear because

you know Jehovah Shalom is with you.

When you get that unexpected bill or that tax bill or resources,

you don't know where the resources are going to be. You don't know how you're going to pay that bill.

Instead of receiving that fear that tries to creep in, you can operate in peace,

in a position of peace, because you know Jehovah Shalom is with you.

And it says, don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged,

for I, Jehovah Shalom, I am your God.

I will strengthen you and I will help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

We can operate in a peace that passes all human understanding because we know who goes with us.

We know Jehovah Shalom, peace himself, is walking right there with us.

Whether you have just came out of a battle, whether you are in a battle,

or whether you're about to go into a battle, Jehovah Shalom is with you. He walks with you.

And that is how you stay in that peace which passes all understanding and that

you're not afraid and discouraged.

So the question is, is do you know who is with you? Or are you trying to do it on your own?

In Jeremiah chapter 17, verses seven and eight, it says, but blessed are those

Jeremiah 17 · chapter mention

who trust in the Lord. That's me.

Say, that's me. That's me. I hope it's you because there's a big distinction

whether you trust in the Lord or you're trusting in the world.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope

and confidence. That's me.

Here's what the Lord says about us. You just said that that's you.

Well, this is what the Lord says. They are like trees planted along a river

bank and with roots that reach deep into the water. We are not shallow Christians. We have deep roots.

We can stand firm when the wind and the storms come because those with those

shallow roots, that tree's going to topple right over.

But when you have those deep roots, you stand firm.

And that's who you just said you are. You said that's me.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope

and confidence. They are like trees planted along a river bank with roots that

reach deep into the water. and this is what's not going to happen to us.

These trees, us, we're not bothered by the heat.

And we're not worried by long months of drought because our leaves stay green.

Our leaves aren't crusty and dried up. We're strong.

So I don't care if they say that they're going to start laying people off.

I don't care if I have been laid off or I've been fired, and I don't know where

my next job is coming because I know Jehovah Shalom is with me.

And I know I'm going to operate in peace, and I'm going to trust him.

And my roots are going to stay strong in that foundation and he's going to tell me the next step to take.

And when he tells me the next step to take, I'm going to take it with confidence.

Right here it says, I trust in the Lord, so I'm putting my faith and my hope

in him. I'm going to operate in confidence because God is not a man that can lie.

Jeremiah 31 verse 25. This is in the easy to read translation.

Jeremiah 31:25

It says, I will give, this is Jehovah Shalom talking to you.

It says, I will give rest and strength to those who are weak and tired.

Let that promise just soak in.

I will give rest and strength to those who are weak and tired.

We do not have to fight our own battles.

We are just still and we rest in God's peace, knowing that he's strengthening us, he's restoring us.

And he said right here that he will give us rest and strength.

About a year ago, some of you know this story.

I believe I've shared this in another message, but the Lord put it upon my heart

to share it again. About a year ago, life was just happening for me.

I don't know, and I'm not talking about Zoe life, like God's kind of life.

I'm talking about the world life, like life.

Living. And it was just happening. You know, have you ever had a time where

you're just like, wow, there's just a lot building up.

And about a year ago that's just where I was at you

know I'm serving the Lord I'm excited for the Lord and just life

life was just happening and it had probably been

about a month after my mother

had passed away and I wouldn't say that

I was in a you know a depression or grief

it was just life multiple things was happening

so it was about a month after she had passed away and I was

at our our pediatric therapy

clinic we have a clinic and I was there one night late

by myself and I had told Josh you know I just want to go and clean it I just

want to be by myself for right now and so I went and I was I was cleaning the

clinic and I went into this one room and on the wall we have this picture it's

a verse and it says when you go through deep waters I'm with you.

And in that moment you know I just it wasn't like I was done that I was just

like I'm mad at God and I want to I'm stepping away from God it wasn't it was

a just a tiredness just a weakness of

God it's just a lot of life and I sat down on

the floor I was by myself and I had

a moment if you know what that means I just had a

moment with the Lord so I was crying and I was sitting

there and I it was like I couldn't it wasn't

a prayer it was just right out of my spirit all I

said was don't let me go it wasn't

that I was wanting to drift away from God I wasn't trying to get away from him

it was almost like you know if you're holding on to something and it's just

this slippery and you're just like I just I got to hold him I got to get close

to God I gotta hold on but I felt like I'm just it's just life like waves going

over you and I was like don't let me go.

I don't know why I said that. I've never said that in my life,

but I just, God, don't let me go.

And you know, I got it together. I locked up that night and I drove home and

I got home pretty late and I jumped in the shower and I was praying in the shower.

And right before I got out, I heard the Lord speak to me.

And I believe he wanted me to share this because I believe he's speaking the

same thing to so many of you right now.

And it wasn't an audible voice, but I heard it in my spirit.

And I heard him say, I will never let you go.

And it was just one phrase that I had said hours before.

God, just don't let me go. And I went about my business. And I heard the father

say, I will never let you go.

He's got you. That's peace.

That is the voice of peace, the person of peace.

Jehovah Shalom saying, whatever you're going through and whatever's coming,

because I sense that. I feel like for all of us, we're about to step into something.

You know how you just sense things like something big is about to happen.

Whatever is coming, I've got you.

I'm not going to let you go.

Whether that's in a relationship that you know you're about to step into or

step out of, whether it is you are believing for healing in that body and you're waiting on a report,

or whether you're like, Lord, I don't know where the resources are to pay these

bills and to be a greater blessing to your kingdom.

It is okay to believe to be out of debt and your needs and wants and desires

met because we are not like that rich man that we talked about in the offering message.

We're that person that seeks the kingdom of God. He needs you.

Have you ever thought that God needs you?

He needs you. He needs you to be the hands and feet of Christ and go out and expand his kingdom.

And he's telling you as you get ready to step into whatever you're about to step into, I've got you.

I will never let you go. So for me, I have a tendency, this is my personality

just from, you know, the way I've grown up and who I used to be.

I do like to control things. I like to know what's coming. I like to plan.

I, you know, it's like, okay, what can I do? What can I do to take care of this?

What can I do to take care of this? And God's saying, no, no, no, no.

What I need you to do is trust me. I need you to be confident and do what I tell you to do.

And wherever I'm telling you to step, you're going to follow Jehovah Shalom.

And that's where that perfect peace, that peace which passes all understanding,

it guards you and it keeps you.

And that's how when you walk into a room, you are different.

And someone may say, I know your story.

I know what you're going through. And most of the time it's going to be family that will do that.

And they're going to say, I know you. I know your past. I know what you're going

through. How can you have peace right now?

And that's when you introduce them to Jehovah Shalom.

And you say, let me tell you who's with me.

I'm not doing this on my own. And that's not being prideful at all.

That is a confidence. That is assurance.

And so let's take a look in the New Testament.

2 Thessalonians 3, verse 16. It says, Now may the Lord of peace himself,

2 Thessalonians 3:16

we're going to keep it on the screen.

Now may the Lord of peace himself, that's Jesus.

Jesus, the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit,

they are one but different.

Jesus, the Word made flesh, came and dwelt among us, and he died for us.

He rose from the dead, and He is the Lord of peace Himself will give you His

peace at all times and in every situation.

If you're facing a surgery, God is with you.

He's going to give you peace at all times and in every situation.

If you are walking into a hospital room to pray for somebody,

it's not you. You open your mouth and you just let the Lord of peace speak through you.

If you're walking into a job interview and you feel like Gideon and you feel

like you're inferior and you're the weakest,

you say, Lord, I'm going with Jehovah Shalom and I'm putting my hope and my

confidence in you that you're going to help me know what to say when I don't know what to say.

You're going to give me wisdom and creative ideas so that I can be in this position

to be a greater blessing to the people here in this business than I can grow

and be a greater blessing to those in this community.

That is what is about expansion.

So when Pastor gets up and he talks about, we are well able,

we are well able, it's not just because Pastor wants a building to grow his ministry.

That is not what it is.

God has given him a vision to grow God's vision. And he knows that expansion

will cause growth and faith to erupt for the people in the building.

For the people in the community, for the people of God's kingdom.

It is about this ripple effect of blessing and reaching more people.

People need freedom. People need peace.

The people of the world, they need to be introduced to God, Jehovah Shalom.

They need to know that they can operate with a peace where there is nothing

missing, nothing broken.

That is the peace that we're talking about today. And in Psalms 56 verses 3

Psalms 56:3

and 4, we're going to take a look at that one.

Psalms chapter 56 verses 3 and 4, it says, But when I am afraid,

Psalms 56:3

because let's be real, life happens in our natural body.

We get afraid, but we don't have to receive a spirit of fear.

When I am afraid, this is what I'm going to do.

I put my trust in you, Jehovah Shalom.

I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God. So why should I be afraid?

What can mere mortals do to me? Let's leave that up on the screen.

Here it says, the psalmist is saying, when I'm afraid, when I feel fear, I have a choice.

And the choice that I'm going to make is I'm putting my trust in the creator.

I'm putting my trust in God.

And the greatest fear, Pastor Devon has spoken about this, the greatest fear

is God not doing what he said he was going to do.

But that will never happen.

God's word does not come back to him void. He is not a liar.

That is a disgrace to our Father.

It is truth. When he speaks, it settles it. So what God has spoken to you, it settles it.

We praise God for what he has promised, and we trust him, and we're not afraid

because we know he's going to come through.

So when you open your Bible and you find a promise from the Lord...

That settles it. When you open the Word of God and every time someone had an

encounter with Jesus, He healed them, I'm going to receive my healing.

And I'm going to be like that tree where my roots grow down deep. I'm not going to doubt.

And I will stand there and I will stand alone if I have to because I'm going

to believe what the Word of God says.

And there may come a time where you are going to have to stand alone.

And you're going to have to say, do you believe what the Word says?

There may come a time where somebody's going to be in front of you and ask you, do you truly believe?

Where are your roots? Are they shallow or are they deep?

And the way our roots get deep is by continuing to trust in the Lord with every

opportunity that comes.

It says, when I am afraid, there's no shame.

And feeling fear, but we don't receive it. When I'm afraid, I will put my trust in you, Jehovah Shalom.

I praise you, Jehovah Shalom, for what you've promised me, and I trust you.

So why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?

You know, I wasn't going to share this, but I will.

Even death for believers. Now, I am speaking from a point of view that you believe

in Christ and you have a relationship with you.

Even death, we don't have to fear. Because for us as believers,

when that time comes and we have lived a long, satisfying life,

and Jesus, he tarries and the rapture doesn't come in our lifetime,

there's going to be a passing over for us.

But we don't have to fear. Because what happens is for a believer who believes

in Christ, we just step over.

We step over truly into a land of living.

We just step over. people is going to take care of this body.

But our spirit, who we are, we just step over. To be absent from the body is

to be present with the Lord.

Just like that. I believe, just like that, I'm coming home. But I'm with the Father.

If you believe in Christ.

If you believe in Christ, it's a stepping over. And to be present.

That's why the word says, death, where is your sting?

Now for people that don't believe, there's a sting.

But not me not you you just said that's me when we were talking about those

trees that are firm and built into foundation,

not even death where is your sting because when that moment comes we just step

right over we just step right over and we're with the presence of God,

Jehovah Shalom is with us even in the very end he doesn't leave you you have peace.

Thank you, Jesus. Isaiah 26, 33, and I'm going to wrap up with this.

It says, you, Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace, will keep you in perfect peace.

All who trust in you and all whose thoughts are fixed on you.

Perfect peace, nothing missing, nothing broken.

We get that by keeping our thoughts on God. This is not something that we just

muster up and that we can do on our own.

When our thoughts are on God and we keep our thoughts, and you've got to do something.

I mean, you've got to keep your thoughts on God because there are things in

this world that are pulling at you each and every day to steal your peace, to steal your thoughts.

But if you fix your thoughts on God, he said, I will keep you in perfect peace.

I don't know what you're going to step into tomorrow.

But God does. And whatever you step into tomorrow, Jehovah Shalom goes with you.

And he gives you peace. And he says, hey, as long as you've got your mind on

me, you're going to stay in perfect peace. Because that's who I am.

It's about being in the presence of God. When you're in the presence of God,

sin can't stay in the presence of God.

Fear can't stay in the presence of God. So when you're with me is what Jehovah

Shalom is saying to you today.

When you're with me and you go in my power and you keep your thoughts on me,

I'm gonna keep you in perfect peace is when those thoughts get off of me.

So we are gonna fix our thoughts On God and when we do this this is when we experience true life.