I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello and welcome
to 3ABN Family Worship.
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Happy Sabbath.
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Amen, amen.
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It's been a busy week.
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It's been a real busy week.
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And, you know, I
don't want to delay.
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Let's just go ahead
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and introduce the
rest of the family
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that's here with us.
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Okay, we got him,
the man without any hair.
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Did this on purpose.
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I know you did.
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My good friend, Eric Durant.
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It's good to be here.
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Eric, what do you do
here in 25 words or less.
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I am one of the engineers
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that make sure that
3ABN stays on the air
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and that all the
equipment continues to operate.
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Amen. We praise God for it.
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I know you're a busy man.
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Very busy. Busy man.
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But I'm blessed also. Amen.
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Yes, you are.
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And Ryan Day, Pastor Ryan Day,
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one of my favorite people also,
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we get to office
fairly close to each other.
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But I run down to
your office all the time,
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because you're the
man with the answer.
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Well, I don't know about that.
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But many times you're
the man with the answer.
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So I'm in your office probably
just as much as you are mine.
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Anyway, this is going
to be a wonderful program.
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So glad that
you're with us. Amen.
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And we're so
glad that you at home
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are taking the time out
or if you're in your car,
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just listening.
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We're so glad
that you're joining us.
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I'm Shelley Quinn. I'm JD Quinn.
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And it is a blessing to spend
these Sabbath hours together.
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You know, one thing
that I have learned is that
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the Sabbath is my reminder
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that God is not only my Creator,
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but He's the one
that's recreating me
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in the image of Jesus.
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He is the one who
is sanctifying me.
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And from week to week,
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it's amazing
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how you can get into a
performer type Christianity
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where you're trying to do more.
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But the Sabbath
always reminds me
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I can take a deep breath
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and say, Lord, I thank You
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that You are the
source of our salvation.
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We can never save ourselves.
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And I know that all three,
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the three of
y'all are all workers.
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You're very, very productive.
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All three of you are
extremely productive people.
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Not that you're
not, thank goodness.
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No, y'all are productive.
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I work on being productive.
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But anyway, so
Sabbath does mean a whole lot
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because it does whenever
though that sun goes down.
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Now that is a special time
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that we can get
the necessary rest
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that we need.
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But more than the rest
is just to focus on Him.
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Amen. Amen.
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Let's kick this off.
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Ryan, why don't you
have an opening prayer?
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Absolutely. Let's do that.
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Our Father in heaven, Lord,
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we're just so blessed
right now on the Sabbath,
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Lord, it's Your
Sabbath, Your day,
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the time that we
get to come together
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and commune with You,
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visit with You,
spend time with You.
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And, Lord, to spend time
with each other as family,
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as brothers and
sisters in Christ.
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And right now as we
prepare to open Your Word, Lord,
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give us the Holy Spirit
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to be able to rightly
divide Your word of truth,
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to be able to
understand it, to comprehend it.
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And, Lord, more than
anything draw us to You.
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Help these words
speak to our hearts.
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Help us, help it to
draw us to Jesus Christ.
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That's our prayer.
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And we ask it in confidence
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and in the name of Jesus Christ.
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Amen.
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Thank you so much, Ryan.
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This is such a
special time of the year,
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a time when people pause
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and consider the
birth of Jesus Christ.
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And I thought we
would start off tonight
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with one of the most
famous passages of Isaiah.
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I'm sure you've
heard it many times
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and we could
spend forever on it.
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But let's look at Isaiah 9
and we'll begin with verse 6.
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Isaiah has so much to
say about the coming Messiah.
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But this is the first
place he's mentioning in it
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and he says, Isaiah 9:6,
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"For unto us a Child is
born, unto us a Son is given,
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and the government
will be upon His shoulder.
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And His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor,
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Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
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Prince of Peace."
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Now, that is something,
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he said, he goes on,
let's go on in verse 7,
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"Of the increase of
His government and peace
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there will be no end,
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upon the throne of
David and over His kingdom,
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to order it and establish
it with judgment and justice
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from that time
forward, even forever.
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The zeal of the Lord of
hosts will perform this."
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How we praise God,
that this child was born.
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And this child
actually was our God,
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who came to become a person,
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the Son of Man,
and the Son of God.
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It's so amazing to me.
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But what we want
to focus on tonight,
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is Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
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And actually, tonight's program
is called pursuing peace.
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So let's define peace.
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What is peace?
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Well, it's a
personal sense of well-being.
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Okay.
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A wholeness, a
harmony and a security
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through a proper relationship
with God and fellow man
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from a Christian perspective.
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And, of course, then there is,
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the term that may also refer to,
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as you know, restful or
harmonious state of affairs
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among people or things,
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or within a
particular environment,
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as the note brings out here,
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which I thought
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properly kind of encompasses
a full definition of peace.
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But, of course, from
a biblical perspective,
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peace cannot exist
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as we're going to
find out without Christ.
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There is only true genuine peace
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found in Jesus.
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Absolutely.
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Tonight, what we'd like to
do is give you five points,
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if you've got,
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I'll help you around the table
with your Bibles and your pens.
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What we want to do is
look at why Jesus came,
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and that was to
achieve for us, peace with God,
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and like you said, with,
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that's the
foundation for all peace.
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Because if we don't
have peace with God,
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there's not going to
be any peace in our life.
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We will look at God
as the source of peace,
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try to understand
what is the peace of God.
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And then we're going
to take a chunk of time
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to talk about pursuing
peace with our fellow man.
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And finally, we'll end up
just with this disclaimer,
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that there will be
no true peace on earth
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until God recreates the earth.
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So why don't, Eric,
why don't you start off?
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Let's talk about...
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Well, first, let
me just say this,
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when God created the earth,
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it was a place of perfect peace.
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How was that peace lost?
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Peace was lost
through a lack of faith,
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a lack of obedience.
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It's a problem that I think
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a lot of us run into
where the devil raises doubt.
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And he raised doubt
in the minds of Eve.
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And by raising that doubt,
she began to question things,
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and she lost her faith.
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And instead of
following what God said,
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she started to
think of the alternatives.
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And the devil played into that.
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And I think we all
fall into that trap
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sometimes when Satan,
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and as a result we
ended up losing paradise.
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And when you think about it,
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here Adam and Eve
had that perfect peace.
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They walked with God
in the cool of the garden,
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and all of a sudden,
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do we know they
lost their peace?
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Yeah, they're hiding
behind the bushes now.
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But it wasn't just
losing peace with God.
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What happened when
God asked the question,
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"Who told that you were
naked? What's happened here?"
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Adam turned on Eve, didn't he?
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It's hurtful.
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So when we lose peace with God,
we lose peace with one another.
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Exactly.
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Suddenly... We
start grabbing for things.
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We start grabbing for things.
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So why did Jesus come?
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Eric, why don't you
read Colossians 1:19- 20,
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and we will see
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how he came to
achieve for us peace with God.
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Colossians 1:19-20,
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"For it pleased
the Father that in Him
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all the fullness should dwell,
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and by Him to
reconcile all things to Himself,
00:10:01.70\00:10:05.53
by Him,
00:10:05.57\00:10:06.90
whether things on
earth or things in heaven,
00:10:06.94\00:10:10.01
having made peace
00:10:10.04\00:10:11.37
through the blood of His cross."
00:10:11.41\00:10:13.88
Let's just talk
about that for a second.
00:10:13.91\00:10:15.38
We can't go beyond that.
00:10:15.41\00:10:18.55
How did God in the
person of Jesus Christ
00:10:18.58\00:10:21.88
make peace through His blood?
00:10:21.92\00:10:25.45
Ryan?
00:10:25.49\00:10:26.82
Well, it was through the cross.
00:10:26.86\00:10:28.19
And, of course, we
know that right there
00:10:28.22\00:10:30.43
in front of the
Garden of Eden when men fell,
00:10:30.46\00:10:32.76
and that peace was lost,
00:10:32.79\00:10:34.46
the declaration was made that
there would be a coming seed,
00:10:34.50\00:10:37.30
that Christ would come,
He would be the substitute.
00:10:37.33\00:10:41.10
In other words,
00:10:41.14\00:10:42.47
instead of man's
blood being shed,
00:10:42.50\00:10:43.84
it would be the
blood of Christ Himself.
00:10:43.87\00:10:46.34
And so what this, what
this is essentially saying
00:10:46.37\00:10:49.54
is that it was
through the blood of the cross
00:10:49.58\00:10:53.05
that peace was made
00:10:53.08\00:10:54.42
and that can
only come through God,
00:10:54.45\00:10:56.55
that can only
come, in this case,
00:10:56.58\00:10:58.09
through the bloodshed
of the Son of God Himself.
00:10:58.12\00:11:00.89
So, so it's more than,
00:11:00.92\00:11:02.26
you know,
sometimes we think about
00:11:02.29\00:11:04.76
how wonderful it is
to receive forgiveness,
00:11:04.79\00:11:07.20
1 John 1:9, that,
00:11:07.23\00:11:09.10
that when we confess our sins,
00:11:09.13\00:11:11.47
He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins
00:11:11.50\00:11:14.07
and cleanse us of
all unrighteousness.
00:11:14.10\00:11:16.81
But it's more than
enjoying, just cleansing.
00:11:16.84\00:11:22.11
It is a reconciling with God.
00:11:22.14\00:11:24.81
Sin is a barrier
between us and God.
00:11:24.85\00:11:27.58
But Jesus came to
break down those barriers,
00:11:27.62\00:11:31.15
and to bring us
into proper relationship.
00:11:31.19\00:11:35.46
And I like this word here.
00:11:35.49\00:11:36.83
And it took me a while
00:11:36.86\00:11:38.19
to really
understand it in the fullness.
00:11:38.23\00:11:40.26
In other words,
totality, so this, this,
00:11:40.30\00:11:43.63
this would be a done deal,
00:11:43.67\00:11:47.24
the way that the ingeniousness
of the plan that he had.
00:11:47.27\00:11:50.54
Amen.
00:11:50.57\00:11:51.91
I just, I just can't,
every once in a while,
00:11:51.94\00:11:54.88
I'll just kind
of float out here,
00:11:54.91\00:11:56.24
you know, and think about this.
00:11:56.28\00:11:57.65
It keeps coming down,
you deduce, deduce, deduce.
00:11:57.68\00:12:00.12
Then there's
the fullness of God,
00:12:00.15\00:12:02.28
the perfect plan that He
made, so that we have hope.
00:12:02.32\00:12:06.22
Amen. Amen.
00:12:06.25\00:12:07.62
Honey, you want
to read in Romans?
00:12:07.66\00:12:09.49
Romans.
00:12:09.52\00:12:11.03
Romans 5:1,
00:12:11.06\00:12:13.16
"Therefore, having
been justified by faith,
00:12:13.19\00:12:16.87
we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
00:12:16.90\00:12:21.10
Go ahead.
00:12:21.14\00:12:22.47
And in Romans 5:10,
just down a few script texts,
00:12:22.50\00:12:26.88
"For if when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God
00:12:26.91\00:12:30.91
through the death of His Son,
00:12:30.95\00:12:32.65
much more,
having been reconciled,
00:12:32.68\00:12:35.32
we shall be saved by His life."
00:12:35.35\00:12:38.95
All right.
00:12:38.99\00:12:40.32
So what does it mean
to be justified by faith?
00:12:40.36\00:12:44.53
Where you're
justified by your trust,
00:12:44.56\00:12:48.50
because ultimately,
that's what faith is.
00:12:48.53\00:12:50.07
What is justification?
00:12:50.10\00:12:51.43
So justification
is the pardoning,
00:12:51.47\00:12:53.27
it's basically the
pardoning of God saying,
00:12:53.30\00:12:56.64
you know what, my blood is
now being placed upon yours,
00:12:56.67\00:12:59.34
you are justified by
the sacrifice of Christ.
00:12:59.37\00:13:02.68
And so now you
are made righteous,
00:13:02.71\00:13:04.51
that's
essentially what's happening.
00:13:04.55\00:13:05.88
But you're not made righteous
because of your righteousness.
00:13:05.91\00:13:08.42
You're made righteous
because of the righteous act,
00:13:08.45\00:13:10.62
the righteous deed, and
the righteous sacrifice,
00:13:10.65\00:13:13.22
the bloodshed of Jesus Christ.
00:13:13.25\00:13:14.89
So you're
justified, in other words,
00:13:14.92\00:13:16.69
made righteous
because of your faith,
00:13:16.73\00:13:20.13
your trust in Jesus Christ,
00:13:20.16\00:13:22.10
who is ultimately
your righteousness.
00:13:22.13\00:13:23.67
So this idea of justification
is like coming before a judge,
00:13:23.70\00:13:27.77
and you are guilty.
00:13:27.80\00:13:29.77
That's right. Are we guilty?
00:13:29.80\00:13:31.14
We all are, aren't
we? Most certainly.
00:13:31.17\00:13:32.84
But to be justified means
to be pardoned to be to Him,
00:13:32.87\00:13:37.51
He basically has said,
clamp down and he says,
00:13:37.55\00:13:41.48
okay, you are no
longer guilty of your sins.
00:13:41.52\00:13:46.29
And like you said,
00:13:46.32\00:13:47.66
" Man couldn't do
that for himself."
00:13:47.69\00:13:49.46
It is only through
the blood of Jesus Christ,
00:13:49.49\00:13:52.36
only through His
substitutionary sacrifice
00:13:52.39\00:13:56.50
because once you've sinned,
what is the penalty for sins?
00:13:56.53\00:14:01.94
Death.
00:14:01.97\00:14:03.30
So there's no way
00:14:03.34\00:14:04.67
we could have
done this for ourself.
00:14:04.71\00:14:06.84
Ryan, why don't you
read Colossians 1:21?
00:14:06.88\00:14:10.01
Yeah, absolutely.
So Colossians 1:21-23.
00:14:10.05\00:14:13.78
And I'm reading from
the New King James Version,
00:14:13.82\00:14:15.42
it says,
00:14:15.45\00:14:16.79
"And you, who
once were alienated
00:14:16.82\00:14:18.25
and enemies in your
mind by wicked works,
00:14:18.29\00:14:21.66
yet now He has reconciled
00:14:21.69\00:14:25.46
in the body of His
flesh through death,
00:14:25.49\00:14:27.66
to present you
holy, and blameless,"
00:14:27.70\00:14:30.17
there's that
justification aspect,
00:14:30.20\00:14:32.13
"and above
reproach in His sight,
00:14:32.17\00:14:35.30
if indeed you
continue in the faith,
00:14:35.34\00:14:37.77
grounded and steadfast,
00:14:37.81\00:14:39.81
and are not moved away
from the hope of the gospel
00:14:39.84\00:14:42.78
which you heard,
00:14:42.81\00:14:44.28
which was preached to
every creature under heaven,
00:14:44.31\00:14:47.98
of which I, Paul,
became a minister."
00:14:48.02\00:14:52.32
And so, I love this text because
00:14:52.35\00:14:54.82
and I just want to reference
00:14:54.86\00:14:56.19
the two previous
texts we just mentioned,
00:14:56.22\00:14:58.13
Colossians 1:19-20,
00:14:58.16\00:15:00.06
which brother Eric read,
00:15:00.10\00:15:01.50
of course, JD read
Romans 5:1-10 there.
00:15:01.53\00:15:05.50
And I just read
Colossians 1:21-23.
00:15:05.53\00:15:08.17
There's a word that appears
in each one of these verses.
00:15:08.20\00:15:11.87
That to me is the central,
00:15:11.91\00:15:14.44
the central foundational
concept of why Jesus came,
00:15:14.48\00:15:18.61
why the Father sent His Son.
00:15:18.65\00:15:20.88
Because and I'm just reminded,
00:15:20.92\00:15:22.25
as I was reading
through these texts,
00:15:22.28\00:15:23.62
another text came to mind.
00:15:23.65\00:15:25.49
Isaiah 53:6.
00:15:25.52\00:15:27.92
All we like sheep,
00:15:27.96\00:15:30.59
starting with Adam
and Eve, all the way down.
00:15:30.63\00:15:32.83
"All we like
sheep have gone astray,
00:15:32.86\00:15:35.36
we have all went our own way."
00:15:35.40\00:15:38.67
Okay.
00:15:38.70\00:15:40.04
And so since we
have become lost,
00:15:40.07\00:15:42.27
like little lost sheep,
00:15:42.30\00:15:43.94
the father says, you know what?
00:15:43.97\00:15:45.44
I'm going to consent
if you go down there,
00:15:45.47\00:15:49.21
and you reconcile,
00:15:49.24\00:15:51.18
that's the word that we find
in each one of these passages
00:15:51.21\00:15:53.92
that we just read,
each one of these texts.
00:15:53.95\00:15:55.88
God, Jesus came to
reconcile, what does that mean?
00:15:55.92\00:15:58.95
Well, I remember
when I was a kid,
00:15:58.99\00:16:01.62
me and my brother
sometime would argue,
00:16:01.66\00:16:03.49
we would fight.
00:16:03.53\00:16:04.86
And sometimes that argument,
that fight would pull us
00:16:04.89\00:16:07.43
kind of push us a far
apart from each other.
00:16:07.46\00:16:09.76
But mom and daddy would
always come back in there
00:16:09.80\00:16:11.80
and make us hug and kiss and,
00:16:11.83\00:16:14.14
you know, say our sorries
00:16:14.17\00:16:15.50
and they would always make
sure that we are reconciled,
00:16:15.54\00:16:17.41
that is brought back together.
00:16:17.44\00:16:18.94
All we like
sheep have gone astray,
00:16:18.97\00:16:21.08
we've went our own way.
00:16:21.11\00:16:22.44
Jesus has come to reconcile us,
to bring us back into the fold,
00:16:22.48\00:16:26.21
to point us and set us back
in His way of righteousness.
00:16:26.25\00:16:30.05
Amen.
00:16:30.09\00:16:31.42
You know, what I think of
00:16:31.45\00:16:32.79
when I think of reconcile is
00:16:32.82\00:16:34.16
you reconcile your bank account.
00:16:34.19\00:16:35.52
Okay.
00:16:35.56\00:16:36.89
So we had a bank account,
00:16:36.93\00:16:39.43
and we owed a debt
that we could not pay.
00:16:39.46\00:16:43.73
So what happens?
00:16:43.77\00:16:46.13
Christ deposits
His righteousness,
00:16:46.17\00:16:50.81
imputes His
righteousness into our account,
00:16:50.84\00:16:55.81
and helps us
reconcile this account
00:16:55.84\00:16:59.41
so that we're no
longer in the negative,
00:16:59.45\00:17:01.48
now we can have peace and
God demonstrated His love,
00:17:01.52\00:17:06.55
in that while we
were still sinners.
00:17:06.59\00:17:09.72
Romans 5:8 said, He
sent Him to die for us.
00:17:09.76\00:17:13.53
Hallelujah.
00:17:13.56\00:17:14.90
We just need to go
and make a withdrawal.
00:17:14.93\00:17:16.46
Amen.
00:17:16.50\00:17:18.07
Many of us, it's there,
00:17:18.10\00:17:19.80
but we haven't
made a withdrawal yet.
00:17:19.83\00:17:22.50
Grace writes the check,
faith takes to the bank.
00:17:22.54\00:17:25.07
Okay.
00:17:25.11\00:17:26.44
One of the things
that we didn't mention yet,
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.04
and I don't know if
we're going to mention it
00:17:28.08\00:17:29.54
is this also
brings about humility.
00:17:29.58\00:17:32.41
Oh, absolutely.
00:17:32.45\00:17:33.78
When I think about
anyone going to the cross,
00:17:33.82\00:17:38.85
let alone Christ, God,
going to the cross for me.
00:17:38.89\00:17:43.12
How can you not help
to be humbled by that?
00:17:43.16\00:17:45.63
And that humbleness for me,
00:17:45.66\00:17:47.00
it brings me a
certain degree of peace
00:17:47.03\00:17:49.46
that no matter what
happens in this world,
00:17:49.50\00:17:51.57
trials and tribulations,
00:17:51.60\00:17:53.37
I have a God
that was willing to go
00:17:53.40\00:17:55.90
suffer and die for me.
00:17:55.94\00:17:57.44
And that brings
me a lot of comfort.
00:17:57.47\00:17:59.84
And He always has
His arms wide open.
00:17:59.87\00:18:01.88
Yes, yes. Yes.
00:18:01.91\00:18:03.38
Amen. Welcome.
00:18:03.41\00:18:05.91
We wish we had time to
go into your prodigal son.
00:18:05.95\00:18:08.02
So don't worry,
but we'll hold that.
00:18:08.05\00:18:10.45
I wanted to point out
one thing in Colossians 1:23.
00:18:10.49\00:18:14.79
What does that begin with?
00:18:14.82\00:18:17.79
"He says that
we've been reconciled,
00:18:17.83\00:18:20.06
He will present
His holy blameless
00:18:20.10\00:18:22.13
and above
reproach in His sight."
00:18:22.16\00:18:25.23
It's conditional, if.
00:18:25.27\00:18:26.87
If, that's the two,
00:18:26.90\00:18:28.57
the biggest two letter
word in the whole world.
00:18:28.60\00:18:32.37
If, indeed, we
continue in the faith.
00:18:32.41\00:18:37.55
That is, I would say that
that is covenant language.
00:18:37.58\00:18:43.12
Absolutely.
00:18:43.15\00:18:44.99
Because that's agreement,
00:18:45.02\00:18:46.35
there's an
agreement there, right?
00:18:46.39\00:18:47.72
There's a
conditional sense there
00:18:47.76\00:18:49.09
that if we partake in that,
00:18:49.12\00:18:51.26
then we have that bank account
00:18:51.29\00:18:53.70
that those funds to
withdraw or to tap into, right?
00:18:53.73\00:18:56.93
It's a beautiful thing. Amen.
00:18:56.97\00:18:58.83
Okay, so point number two.
00:18:58.87\00:19:00.60
JD, why don't you
start us off on that,
00:19:00.64\00:19:02.30
this is our source of peace.
00:19:02.34\00:19:05.61
And peace comes from God.
00:19:05.64\00:19:08.71
Yes.
00:19:08.74\00:19:10.08
And this is from Paul.
00:19:10.11\00:19:11.95
And I think that most of
his, most each one of the...
00:19:11.98\00:19:17.49
Epistles.
00:19:17.52\00:19:18.85
Epistles, yes,
00:19:18.89\00:19:20.22
as they start off,
he says grace to You,
00:19:20.26\00:19:21.99
but I love this grace to You.
00:19:22.02\00:19:24.39
In other words,
divine favor to you,
00:19:24.43\00:19:27.26
grace to You and peace from God.
00:19:27.30\00:19:29.26
Thank you, Jesus,
00:19:29.30\00:19:30.67
our Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:19:30.70\00:19:32.87
So where's the grace
and peace coming from?
00:19:32.90\00:19:35.94
God.
00:19:35.97\00:19:37.31
God, our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:19:37.34\00:19:38.87
Go ahead and read
Isaiah 26:3 because...
00:19:38.91\00:19:40.74
Yes.
00:19:40.78\00:19:42.11
So let us remember
our source of peace
00:19:42.14\00:19:44.41
is coming from God.
00:19:44.45\00:19:46.25
Then Isaiah 26:3,
this is one of my perfect,
00:19:46.28\00:19:48.85
this is one of my favorite.
00:19:48.88\00:19:50.49
"You will keep
him in perfect peace,
00:19:50.52\00:19:53.19
whose mind is stayed on you,"
00:19:53.22\00:19:55.39
and why?
00:19:55.42\00:19:56.76
"Because He trust in you."
00:19:56.79\00:19:59.19
Oh, I don't know
if there's anything
00:19:59.23\00:20:01.23
better than perfect peace.
00:20:01.26\00:20:03.53
Total, just being totally
in harmony with each other,
00:20:03.57\00:20:07.27
walking side by side,
00:20:07.30\00:20:08.70
understanding
each other, you know.
00:20:08.74\00:20:10.81
And this is what God does
when you know, I remember,
00:20:10.84\00:20:13.88
I used to use
this as an affirmation.
00:20:13.91\00:20:16.54
Oh, thank you, Lord,
00:20:16.58\00:20:17.91
that You keep me
in perfect peace.
00:20:17.95\00:20:19.61
Thank You that You
cause me to trust in You.
00:20:19.65\00:20:22.15
And then one day,
something happened.
00:20:22.18\00:20:25.25
That boy, I'll tell you
00:20:25.29\00:20:26.69
just an hour
after I'd done that,
00:20:26.72\00:20:28.09
I lost my peace.
00:20:28.12\00:20:29.46
And it was bad.
00:20:29.49\00:20:31.29
And I run around
wringing my hands,
00:20:31.33\00:20:33.50
and it's like, oh, no,
what are we going to do?
00:20:33.53\00:20:35.90
And suddenly the Lord,
you know, this scripture says,
00:20:35.93\00:20:38.63
He'll keep us in perfect peace,
00:20:38.67\00:20:41.57
if we keep our mind
focused on the author
00:20:41.60\00:20:44.27
and finisher of our faith.
00:20:44.31\00:20:46.98
And all of a sudden,
what I heard, not audible,
00:20:47.01\00:20:50.95
but what I heard
was, where are your eyes?
00:20:50.98\00:20:53.55
Focus on me or on your problem.
00:20:53.58\00:20:56.45
And so, when I
return my focus to Him,
00:20:56.48\00:20:59.82
that trust built back
up and peace was restored.
00:20:59.85\00:21:03.16
Eric, how about John 14:27?
00:21:03.19\00:21:06.13
John 14:27,
00:21:06.16\00:21:08.00
"Peace I leave with
you, My peace I give to you,
00:21:08.03\00:21:11.90
not as the world
gives do I give to you.
00:21:11.93\00:21:16.00
Not as the world
gives do I give to you.
00:21:16.04\00:21:19.67
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."
00:21:19.71\00:21:23.55
I love this because
there's so much fear right now.
00:21:23.58\00:21:27.88
And when He says,
00:21:27.92\00:21:29.52
"Let not your heart be troubled,
00:21:29.55\00:21:33.46
neither let it be afraid."
00:21:33.49\00:21:35.79
That tells me
that He has my back,
00:21:35.82\00:21:39.89
that He's going to protect me
00:21:39.93\00:21:41.66
that no matter
what comes my way,
00:21:41.70\00:21:44.47
it's going to be okay. I
just have to remain faithful.
00:21:44.50\00:21:47.80
And I have to
persevere through the trials.
00:21:47.84\00:21:51.31
And everything will be fine.
00:21:51.34\00:21:54.41
We just know that
00:21:54.44\00:21:55.78
He's in the midst
of the trial with us.
00:21:55.81\00:21:57.21
He's always in the
midst of the trials with us.
00:21:57.25\00:21:59.65
And this brings
me a lot of comfort.
00:21:59.68\00:22:02.22
I think that these,
00:22:02.25\00:22:03.59
both of these,
Isaiah 26:3, John 14:27.
00:22:03.62\00:22:07.66
If you have a
three by five card,
00:22:07.69\00:22:09.22
I put both of those on
there, put it in your purse,
00:22:09.26\00:22:11.66
put it in your wallet,
00:22:11.69\00:22:13.03
because daily,
you will find someone
00:22:13.06\00:22:16.46
that's out of whack
somewhere the other.
00:22:16.50\00:22:19.67
Their peace is disturbed.
00:22:19.70\00:22:21.64
And this is a
wonderful opportunity.
00:22:21.67\00:22:24.04
May I share something with you?
00:22:24.07\00:22:26.11
You know, the Bible tells us
00:22:26.14\00:22:28.81
that we don't
have to be troubled.
00:22:28.84\00:22:31.11
We don't have to be afraid.
00:22:31.15\00:22:33.11
There is
perfect peace out there,
00:22:33.15\00:22:36.48
if you will keep your
eyes focused on Jesus.
00:22:36.52\00:22:38.49
That's right. It's Satan.
00:22:38.52\00:22:39.85
He wants to steal our
peace, he wants us to be afraid.
00:22:39.89\00:22:42.86
He wants us because he knows,
the more afraid he makes us,
00:22:42.89\00:22:46.66
the more he separates
us from God in our hearts.
00:22:46.70\00:22:49.66
So when he says,
00:22:49.70\00:22:51.03
"Don't be afraid, "
00:22:51.07\00:22:52.40
he's saying stay
connected to God,
00:22:52.43\00:22:53.77
keep your eyes on Him.
00:22:53.80\00:22:55.14
I always think about Peter,
00:22:55.17\00:22:56.50
was it Peter who was
walking on the water.
00:22:56.54\00:22:58.51
And he took his
eyes off of Christ,
00:22:58.54\00:23:00.74
and he immediately sank.
00:23:00.78\00:23:02.51
And we don't want to
take our eyes off of Him,
00:23:02.54\00:23:06.11
we don't want to sink. Amen.
00:23:06.15\00:23:07.72
So we see in these scriptures
that the Father and the Son
00:23:07.75\00:23:11.65
are our source of peace.
00:23:11.69\00:23:13.15
What about the Holy Spirit?
00:23:13.19\00:23:16.32
Ryan, you want
to read Galatians?
00:23:16.36\00:23:18.99
Oh, I was hoping
you would go there.
00:23:19.03\00:23:20.50
And that's exactly
where I'm going to go.
00:23:20.53\00:23:22.03
Okay, good.
00:23:22.06\00:23:23.40
So I'm going to read Galatians
00:23:23.43\00:23:24.77
and I'm going to
reference another text
00:23:24.80\00:23:26.13
that goes along with it.
00:23:26.17\00:23:27.50
So Galatians 5:22-23 here says,
00:23:27.54\00:23:29.50
"But the fruit of the Spirit..."
00:23:29.54\00:23:31.81
Excuse me, the
fruit of the Spirit
00:23:31.84\00:23:33.88
is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering,
00:23:33.91\00:23:36.34
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness,
00:23:36.38\00:23:38.75
self-control, against
such there is no law."
00:23:38.78\00:23:42.12
So, of course,
one of those is peace.
00:23:42.15\00:23:43.82
Okay, now,
press the pause button
00:23:43.85\00:23:45.59
on that scripture
for just a moment.
00:23:45.62\00:23:47.72
I want to, I want to
highlight the fact that,
00:23:47.76\00:23:49.09
of course, we just read here,
00:23:49.12\00:23:50.69
that the fruit of the Spirit
00:23:50.73\00:23:52.16
so when Christ left,
00:23:52.19\00:23:54.23
He said, I'm going to
send you another comforter,
00:23:54.26\00:23:57.13
another paracletus in the Greek,
00:23:57.17\00:23:59.53
not to get too theological.
00:23:59.57\00:24:01.10
But simply, Christ knew
that when He would leave,
00:24:01.14\00:24:04.27
He would not
leave us comfortless.
00:24:04.31\00:24:06.01
So now, through the Holy Spirit,
00:24:06.04\00:24:08.11
Christ bestows
that peace upon us
00:24:08.14\00:24:09.94
through the work
of the Holy Spirit.
00:24:09.98\00:24:11.31
Now, as I was reading this text,
00:24:11.35\00:24:13.01
and when we were
studying for this,
00:24:13.05\00:24:16.02
a few texts came to mind.
00:24:16.05\00:24:17.45
First of all,
00:24:17.49\00:24:20.19
when Jesus was
resurrected in John 20,
00:24:20.22\00:24:23.46
it's powerful when you
read verse 19 of John 20.
00:24:23.49\00:24:25.46
It says,
00:24:25.49\00:24:27.13
"Then the same day at evening
00:24:27.16\00:24:28.50
being the first day of the week,
00:24:28.53\00:24:29.96
when the doors were shut,
00:24:30.00\00:24:32.13
or the disciples were
assembled for fear of the Jews."
00:24:32.17\00:24:35.37
Was there peace to start?
00:24:35.40\00:24:36.74
Oh, absolutely.
00:24:36.77\00:24:38.11
Were they worried, were
they in a state of peace?
00:24:38.14\00:24:39.77
No, they weren't.
00:24:39.81\00:24:41.14
Their whole world had
been turned upside down
00:24:41.18\00:24:42.98
because Jesus had died.
00:24:43.01\00:24:44.51
And, of course, now
He appears unto them.
00:24:44.55\00:24:47.22
And it's interesting that
He says, not once, not twice,
00:24:47.25\00:24:51.19
but three times in this
same short passage here.
00:24:51.22\00:24:54.39
"Peace be with you."
00:24:54.42\00:24:56.26
That's verse 19.
00:24:56.29\00:24:58.56
And He says it
again in verse 21.
00:24:58.59\00:25:00.23
"Peace to you."
00:25:00.26\00:25:02.00
And then He repeats
it again in verse 26,
00:25:02.03\00:25:04.63
"Peace to you."
00:25:04.67\00:25:06.00
Peace to you, peace be with you,
00:25:06.03\00:25:07.44
peace to you.
00:25:07.47\00:25:08.80
And it says there that
because He sense that fear,
00:25:08.84\00:25:11.47
He sense their discomfort,
00:25:11.51\00:25:13.24
He sense that they were on edge,
00:25:13.27\00:25:14.91
they were in a state of anxiety,
00:25:14.94\00:25:17.55
what He accompanied
with that peace be with you,
00:25:17.58\00:25:20.72
it says that He
breathed upon them,
00:25:20.75\00:25:22.52
and He said,
receive you the Holy Spirit.
00:25:22.55\00:25:26.35
This is the same God,
00:25:26.39\00:25:27.72
we're talking about
the source of peace.
00:25:27.76\00:25:30.69
God is the source of peace.
Christ is the source of peace.
00:25:30.73\00:25:34.50
The Holy Spirit is
the source of peace.
00:25:34.53\00:25:36.83
And so we have
to understand here
00:25:36.87\00:25:38.37
and I think of
that famous passage,
00:25:38.40\00:25:40.07
you know, the same God
that can speak to the winds
00:25:40.10\00:25:43.27
and the waves and say what?
00:25:43.30\00:25:45.21
Peace be still.
00:25:45.24\00:25:47.44
It's the same God
00:25:47.48\00:25:48.81
that can speak
peace into your life.
00:25:48.84\00:25:51.08
And so I'm thinking, you
know, as a sort of said, source,
00:25:51.11\00:25:53.78
I'm thinking of an
illustration for this.
00:25:53.82\00:25:55.15
And I thought
of one that really,
00:25:55.18\00:25:56.58
to me really fits here.
00:25:56.62\00:25:57.95
I remember, back years ago,
when I was living as a heathen,
00:25:57.99\00:26:01.62
I was a full time DJ,
00:26:01.66\00:26:04.03
and I traveled
around with my equipment.
00:26:04.06\00:26:06.03
And I would take this equipment
round to different places.
00:26:06.06\00:26:08.76
And I would set it all up.
00:26:08.80\00:26:10.13
And, of course, the one
thing that you had to have
00:26:10.17\00:26:12.53
for all of that to function
00:26:12.57\00:26:13.94
is a powerful electrical source.
00:26:13.97\00:26:16.47
And so I always would do,
00:26:16.50\00:26:18.07
I would set up all of
my equipment in places
00:26:18.11\00:26:19.91
just where it needed to
be, connect all the wires,
00:26:19.94\00:26:21.64
put everything together
and then you come to that point
00:26:21.68\00:26:23.85
where you press
that power switch.
00:26:23.88\00:26:26.11
And nine times out
of 10 always comes on.
00:26:26.15\00:26:29.82
But there's one day, I
press the power button,
00:26:29.85\00:26:32.25
nothing and I remembered
I plugged it up in the wall.
00:26:32.29\00:26:35.06
So I knew that's, that's not,
00:26:35.09\00:26:36.42
it's got to be
something else I spent.
00:26:36.46\00:26:37.79
I know,
00:26:37.83\00:26:39.16
I was in such a state of anxiety
00:26:39.19\00:26:40.53
because I was at an event
00:26:40.56\00:26:41.90
where I was getting paid
big money to do this event.
00:26:41.93\00:26:43.26
And I'm walking around
00:26:43.30\00:26:44.63
trying to figure
out what's going on.
00:26:44.67\00:26:46.00
All the while, what I realized
00:26:46.03\00:26:47.44
after searching
and pulling wires
00:26:47.47\00:26:49.10
and checking everything,
00:26:49.14\00:26:50.47
I walked back over to
that source to that wall.
00:26:50.51\00:26:53.74
And where I had plugged that in,
00:26:53.78\00:26:55.78
it was a weak outlet.
00:26:55.81\00:26:57.48
And the holes were bored
out and the cord had fallen out.
00:26:57.51\00:27:00.48
Oh, no.
00:27:00.52\00:27:01.88
Without that cord,
connected to that source,
00:27:01.92\00:27:05.89
it wasn't going
to function properly.
00:27:05.92\00:27:07.76
Christ is our source.
00:27:07.79\00:27:09.42
And we have people
today that you know work,
00:27:09.46\00:27:10.79
sometimes we have people
00:27:10.83\00:27:12.16
that are looking for substitutes
00:27:12.19\00:27:13.73
for momentary peace.
00:27:13.76\00:27:15.20
You know, they don't
necessarily want Jesus,
00:27:15.23\00:27:16.63
they don't want God.
00:27:16.67\00:27:18.00
They don't want religion.
00:27:18.03\00:27:19.37
But they'll do little things,
maybe read a book or maybe,
00:27:19.40\00:27:21.64
maybe I don't
know, take a bubble bath
00:27:21.67\00:27:23.07
or whatever that they think
00:27:23.10\00:27:24.44
just brings them that
momentary, you know...
00:27:24.47\00:27:27.61
Calgon moment. Right.
00:27:27.64\00:27:29.84
But you know, we
have to understand
00:27:29.88\00:27:31.21
from a Christian perspective,
from a biblical perspective,
00:27:31.25\00:27:33.95
Christ is the ultimate source
of genuine, long term peace.
00:27:33.98\00:27:39.39
Because He is
the Prince of Peace.
00:27:39.42\00:27:42.79
And it is, it's
totally unnatural.
00:27:42.82\00:27:45.79
If you've not experienced
it, we can explain it to you.
00:27:45.83\00:27:50.03
It is, He's not just the source.
00:27:50.07\00:27:53.00
It is His peace
that He's giving to us.
00:27:53.03\00:27:56.10
It is the peace of God.
00:27:56.14\00:27:58.47
Why don't you read,
Eric, in John 16:33?
00:27:58.51\00:28:02.38
John 16:33,
00:28:02.41\00:28:07.52
"These things I
have spoken to you,
00:28:07.55\00:28:09.92
that in Me you may have peace.
00:28:09.95\00:28:12.95
In the world you
will have tribulations,
00:28:12.99\00:28:15.62
but be of good cheer, I
have overcome the world."
00:28:15.66\00:28:19.36
One of the interesting things
about what you said, Ryan,
00:28:19.39\00:28:23.26
is that in the
repair world as an engineer,
00:28:23.30\00:28:29.30
99% of the time
00:28:29.34\00:28:32.14
the problem is the power supply.
00:28:32.17\00:28:36.11
That's the first thing
that you're taught to look at
00:28:36.14\00:28:38.35
when there's problems.
00:28:38.38\00:28:39.85
Number one, do you have power?
00:28:39.88\00:28:42.38
Number two, is it clean power,
00:28:42.42\00:28:44.19
you can actually
have dirty power,
00:28:44.22\00:28:46.22
which will
interfere with the circuits
00:28:46.25\00:28:47.72
and things like that.
00:28:47.76\00:28:49.16
So the power supply
is very, very important.
00:28:49.19\00:28:51.66
Well, you could preach that.
00:28:51.69\00:28:53.70
I'll leave that to
Ryan. That's a good point.
00:28:53.73\00:28:57.93
When you suffer tribulations,
make sure you have clean power.
00:28:57.97\00:29:01.60
Oh, I like that.
00:29:01.64\00:29:02.97
And everything's
going to be okay.
00:29:03.00\00:29:04.34
Amen.
00:29:04.37\00:29:05.71
But we find that
power, what does he say?
00:29:05.74\00:29:07.88
In Me.
00:29:07.91\00:29:10.38
It is only as if we
are believing in Jesus,
00:29:10.41\00:29:15.75
we have to be living in
Jesus, connected to the vine.
00:29:15.78\00:29:21.59
And JD, I know you
love Philippians 4.
00:29:21.62\00:29:23.86
Why don't you
read Philippians 4:4?
00:29:23.89\00:29:27.60
"Rejoice in the Lord always.
00:29:27.63\00:29:29.73
Again I say, rejoice!
00:29:29.76\00:29:32.90
Let your gentleness
be known to all men.
00:29:32.93\00:29:35.60
The Lord is at hand."
00:29:35.64\00:29:37.64
And I love verse 6.
00:29:37.67\00:29:39.64
"Be anxious for nothing..."
00:29:39.67\00:29:42.08
Put your name in there.
00:29:42.11\00:29:43.51
"Be anxious for nothing
00:29:43.55\00:29:44.88
but in everything by
prayer and supplication,
00:29:44.91\00:29:46.92
with thanksgiving,
00:29:46.95\00:29:48.92
let your requests
be made known to God,
00:29:48.95\00:29:51.39
and then the peace of God,
00:29:51.42\00:29:54.96
which surpasses
all understanding,
00:29:54.99\00:29:57.66
will guard your
heart and your mind
00:29:57.69\00:29:59.49
through Christ Jesus."
00:29:59.53\00:30:01.76
And it goes on
and says in verse 8,
00:30:01.80\00:30:04.00
"Finally, brethren,
whatever things are true,
00:30:04.03\00:30:06.70
whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just,
00:30:06.74\00:30:10.41
whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely,
00:30:10.44\00:30:14.44
whatever things
are of good report,
00:30:14.48\00:30:17.48
if there is any virtue
00:30:17.51\00:30:19.95
and if there is
anything praiseworthy,
00:30:19.98\00:30:23.25
meditate on these things.
00:30:23.28\00:30:25.62
The things which you learned
00:30:25.65\00:30:27.02
and received and heard
and saw in me, these do,
00:30:27.06\00:30:32.33
and then the God of peace
00:30:32.36\00:30:37.97
will be with you."
00:30:38.00\00:30:39.53
Amen.
00:30:39.57\00:30:40.90
You know what I love about that?
00:30:40.94\00:30:42.27
Jehovah Shalom, God, our peace.
00:30:42.30\00:30:48.54
And when it's talking about,
00:30:48.58\00:30:51.45
we actually cut,
there's a transition there.
00:30:51.48\00:30:53.98
When it's saying if
we're just be prayerful,
00:30:54.02\00:30:57.79
make
thanksgiving, with thanksgiving,
00:30:57.82\00:31:00.36
let your requests be made known.
00:31:00.39\00:31:02.52
But then it kind of
transitions to tell us
00:31:02.56\00:31:05.76
how to secure this peace,
00:31:05.79\00:31:08.96
you know, where He says,
start looking at what's true.
00:31:09.00\00:31:13.67
Look at what's noble,
consider these things,
00:31:13.70\00:31:18.11
and put them into practice.
00:31:18.14\00:31:20.94
And you're going to have
00:31:20.98\00:31:22.58
Jehovah Shalom walking with you.
00:31:22.61\00:31:25.65
I will honestly tell you,
00:31:25.68\00:31:28.25
I had a very bad
day on Wednesday,
00:31:28.28\00:31:34.52
I received six phone calls,
00:31:34.56\00:31:36.93
I've got two
friends who are dying,
00:31:36.96\00:31:39.43
just lost my best friend.
00:31:39.46\00:31:44.37
Everything that was coming
in, my heart was so heavy.
00:31:44.40\00:31:48.84
I mean, I was grieving
within for these people.
00:31:48.87\00:31:52.34
Then I watched the news.
00:31:52.37\00:31:54.44
And we're seeing
00:31:54.48\00:31:55.84
what happened with
the latest hurricane
00:31:55.88\00:31:58.28
is these poor people
already flooded out fires
00:31:58.31\00:32:01.45
that are still
going on the pandemic,
00:32:01.48\00:32:04.02
the social and
moral chaos in this world.
00:32:04.05\00:32:07.19
And I mean, I
remember turning off the news.
00:32:07.22\00:32:09.69
And I was like,
00:32:09.72\00:32:12.96
I need to focus on
what's good and pure
00:32:12.99\00:32:15.70
and get in the Word of
God to restore my peace.
00:32:15.73\00:32:20.80
And it is something that
00:32:20.84\00:32:23.94
it's so easy to
have your peace lost
00:32:23.97\00:32:26.51
if you don't
keep your eyes on God.
00:32:26.54\00:32:29.14
You have to keep
that clean power.
00:32:29.18\00:32:31.11
Amen.
00:32:31.15\00:32:32.48
When I was
reading, when I was reading,
00:32:32.51\00:32:33.85
whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble,
00:32:33.88\00:32:36.22
whatever things are
just, whatever things are pure,
00:32:36.25\00:32:38.52
whatever things are lovely,
00:32:38.55\00:32:39.89
whatever things
are of good report.
00:32:39.92\00:32:41.69
If there's any virtue,
00:32:41.72\00:32:43.32
and if there's
anything praiseworthy,
00:32:43.36\00:32:44.93
meditate on these things.
00:32:44.96\00:32:46.66
As he read that, I
was thinking clean power.
00:32:46.70\00:32:48.96
Clean power, amen.
Yeah, that's right.
00:32:49.00\00:32:51.33
Amen. That's good.
00:32:51.37\00:32:52.70
Ryan, why don't
you tackle Ephesians 2?
00:32:52.73\00:32:55.14
I think JD had a comment.
00:32:55.17\00:32:56.50
Well, I've just, as
you were talking while ago,
00:32:56.54\00:32:59.67
I was going to go back
to 2 Thessalonians 3:16.
00:32:59.71\00:33:04.45
"Now may the Lord of
peace Himself, give you peace,
00:33:04.48\00:33:07.98
always in every way."
00:33:08.02\00:33:09.98
And so I was just
thinking whenever,
00:33:10.02\00:33:12.05
yesterday, this complicated day
00:33:12.09\00:33:13.72
or Wednesday,
this complicated day
00:33:13.76\00:33:15.76
that you were having,
00:33:15.79\00:33:17.16
or this would be
always in every way,
00:33:17.19\00:33:20.66
the Lord will be with you.
00:33:20.70\00:33:22.20
Amen. Amen.
00:33:22.23\00:33:23.77
You said Ephesians 2? Yes.
00:33:23.80\00:33:25.13
Okay. Ephesians 2:13.
00:33:25.17\00:33:26.50
Ephesians 2:13-16 says,
00:33:26.53\00:33:28.77
"But now in Christ Jesus
you who once were far off
00:33:28.80\00:33:33.94
have been brought near
by the blood of Christ.
00:33:33.98\00:33:37.78
For He Himself is our
peace, who has made both one,
00:33:37.81\00:33:42.35
and has broken down the
middle wall of separation,
00:33:42.38\00:33:46.39
having abolished in
His flesh the enmity,
00:33:46.42\00:33:49.49
that is the law of commandments
contained in ordinances,
00:33:49.52\00:33:53.60
so as to create in Himself
one new man from the two,
00:33:53.63\00:33:58.40
thus making peace, and
that He might reconcile,
00:33:58.43\00:34:02.14
there's that again,
00:34:02.17\00:34:03.51
them both to God in
one body through the cross,
00:34:03.54\00:34:07.64
thereby putting
to death the enemy."
00:34:07.68\00:34:11.18
I love that.
00:34:11.21\00:34:12.55
Enmity between the
Gentiles and the Jews.
00:34:12.58\00:34:15.78
But what does He mean
that He abolished in His flesh
00:34:15.82\00:34:21.06
the law of commandments
contained in ordinances?
00:34:21.09\00:34:26.29
Well, if you go all the
way back to Deuteronomy,
00:34:26.33\00:34:30.33
my mind goes all the way
back to Deuteronomy Chapter 31,
00:34:30.37\00:34:33.00
where it says that,
that law, that Book of Moses,
00:34:33.03\00:34:35.94
which was not of
the Ten Commandments,
00:34:35.97\00:34:37.37
but was an additive,
given by God to Moses,
00:34:37.41\00:34:40.28
as a witness against them.
00:34:40.31\00:34:42.04
It reminded them of the
sin that they had committed.
00:34:42.08\00:34:45.15
It kept them in check
00:34:45.18\00:34:46.51
because of the sin
that they had committed
00:34:46.55\00:34:48.15
in violating the Ten
Commandment law of God.
00:34:48.18\00:34:50.82
And so, only Christ was able
to bring that reconciliation.
00:34:50.85\00:34:54.69
Only He through His peace
00:34:54.72\00:34:56.52
and I love how it words it here,
00:34:56.56\00:34:58.69
"For he himself is our peace.
00:34:58.73\00:35:01.46
And so that he might,"
00:35:01.50\00:35:02.83
in verse 16,
00:35:02.86\00:35:04.20
"He might reconcile both,
00:35:04.23\00:35:05.57
them both to God in
one body through the cross,
00:35:05.60\00:35:08.20
thereby putting
to death the enmity."
00:35:08.24\00:35:10.81
Of course, that
enmity is the sin,
00:35:10.84\00:35:12.97
it is, that enmity
is that separation,
00:35:13.01\00:35:16.11
that death,
that death separation
00:35:16.14\00:35:18.65
brought about
because of our sin,
00:35:18.68\00:35:20.35
the separation
between God and man,
00:35:20.38\00:35:21.92
and Christ is the one
who established that bridge.
00:35:21.95\00:35:24.89
He brought it back
together and reconciled,
00:35:24.92\00:35:26.86
it's a beautiful thing.
00:35:26.89\00:35:28.22
And He fulfilled
the law of Moses.
00:35:28.26\00:35:30.16
He became
00:35:30.19\00:35:31.56
all of that
ceremonial law pointed to Jesus.
00:35:31.59\00:35:35.80
And all of those
ordinances pointed to Jesus.
00:35:35.83\00:35:39.93
And so now, He has
given us this peace.
00:35:39.97\00:35:44.31
Okay, we have been
just laying a foundation,
00:35:44.34\00:35:48.44
if you don't know
the peace of the Lord,
00:35:48.48\00:35:52.85
I do want to encourage you,
what a time to just reach out.
00:35:52.88\00:35:59.35
If you don't
understand what we're saying,
00:35:59.39\00:36:01.76
if you say,
Lord, if You're real,
00:36:01.79\00:36:05.06
by the power of
Your Holy Spirit,
00:36:05.09\00:36:06.93
I want to experience Your peace.
00:36:06.96\00:36:08.90
If You're real,
00:36:08.93\00:36:10.47
help me to surrender
control of my life to you,
00:36:10.50\00:36:13.97
to yield that You might
fulfill in me Your purposes.
00:36:14.00\00:36:20.18
And I want to
experience Your peace.
00:36:20.21\00:36:22.54
I encourage you to pray that.
00:36:22.58\00:36:25.45
But it's all here
00:36:25.48\00:36:27.05
we've got peace is
being reconciled to God.
00:36:27.08\00:36:32.32
You can't have any
true peace without that.
00:36:32.35\00:36:35.36
It's coming from God.
00:36:35.39\00:36:37.29
It is the peace of God,
00:36:37.33\00:36:39.16
Jesus is our peace,
the Prince of Peace.
00:36:39.19\00:36:44.07
But it is so important.
00:36:44.10\00:36:46.70
We want to spend
some time on this idea
00:36:46.74\00:36:50.97
of living at
peace with humanity.
00:36:51.01\00:36:56.75
I think this is such a
relevant topic right now
00:36:56.78\00:37:00.45
because, you
know, when I look out,
00:37:00.48\00:37:03.32
I don't say a whole lot of peace
00:37:03.35\00:37:04.85
coming right now.
00:37:04.89\00:37:06.29
And, of course,
00:37:06.32\00:37:07.72
the Bible encourages us
to live at peace with others,
00:37:07.76\00:37:12.13
not by compromising the
truth, or loyalty to Christ.
00:37:12.16\00:37:17.03
But let me just read in,
00:37:17.07\00:37:20.70
in Hebrews 12:14.
00:37:20.74\00:37:27.64
This is a commandment to us.
00:37:27.68\00:37:30.68
Pursue peace with all people.
00:37:30.71\00:37:36.18
What?
00:37:36.22\00:37:37.55
Are you pursuing peace with...
00:37:37.59\00:37:39.99
What does it mean to pursue?
00:37:40.02\00:37:41.46
Strive Strive.
00:37:41.49\00:37:43.89
What is when the
police are in hot pursuit,
00:37:43.93\00:37:47.86
they're chasing
after something, right?
00:37:47.90\00:37:50.67
So pursue peace with
all people and holiness.
00:37:50.70\00:37:57.47
Oh, what does that
mean, pursuing holiness?
00:37:57.51\00:38:01.64
You know,
00:38:01.68\00:38:03.01
holiness is another
word for sanctification.
00:38:03.04\00:38:05.25
They're synonymous,
00:38:05.28\00:38:06.65
it just means to
be separated from sin.
00:38:06.68\00:38:10.35
Holiness isn't
00:38:10.39\00:38:11.72
when I put my hair
back in a tight little bun
00:38:11.75\00:38:13.66
and scrub my face,
wear my long skirts,
00:38:13.69\00:38:16.39
and I wear my long skirt.
00:38:16.42\00:38:18.29
But, but that
doesn't make me holy.
00:38:18.33\00:38:21.20
What makes me holy is
being sanctified by God.
00:38:21.23\00:38:27.67
But it means
00:38:27.70\00:38:29.04
that I have to
cooperate because God...
00:38:29.07\00:38:31.27
See, justification
00:38:31.31\00:38:33.81
is just the beginning
of the salvation process.
00:38:33.84\00:38:37.81
There is this
beautiful next phase
00:38:37.85\00:38:41.32
called sanctification.
00:38:41.35\00:38:43.45
Justification
happens immediately
00:38:43.49\00:38:46.55
when we accept Christ,
00:38:46.59\00:38:47.92
when we ask for
forgiveness of our sin.
00:38:47.96\00:38:50.43
But sanctification
00:38:50.46\00:38:52.49
is a life time of allowing God
00:38:52.53\00:38:57.47
to work in us to will
and to do His good pleasure.
00:38:57.50\00:39:00.77
So he says,
00:39:00.80\00:39:02.97
we've got to pursue
peace, pursue holiness,
00:39:03.00\00:39:07.68
without which no
one will see the Lord.
00:39:07.71\00:39:11.75
You know, I
actually think it's not,
00:39:11.78\00:39:14.12
I mean,
00:39:14.15\00:39:15.48
if you look at the
construction of the sentence,
00:39:15.52\00:39:17.29
most people say,
without holiness,
00:39:17.32\00:39:19.05
you won't see the Lord.
00:39:19.09\00:39:20.42
Well, if you're not
pursuing peace with all people,
00:39:20.46\00:39:23.63
you're not
going to see the Lord.
00:39:23.66\00:39:25.06
It says, looking carefully,
00:39:25.09\00:39:27.43
lest anyone fall
short at the grace of God,
00:39:27.46\00:39:31.83
lest any root of bitterness,
00:39:31.87\00:39:34.57
springing up causing trouble,
00:39:34.60\00:39:37.57
and by this many become defiled.
00:39:37.61\00:39:40.34
How does bitterness?
00:39:40.38\00:39:41.71
What does the
root of bitterness do
00:39:41.74\00:39:44.58
to our Christian walk?
00:39:44.61\00:39:47.85
Now, this is a
scary, scary verse,
00:39:47.88\00:39:52.49
because
bitterness is like cancer.
00:39:52.52\00:39:55.99
Ooh, that's good.
00:39:56.02\00:39:57.36
It eats away at you.
00:39:57.39\00:39:58.76
It can start small
00:39:58.79\00:40:00.13
and then it eats
away at you over time.
00:40:00.16\00:40:02.13
That's good.
00:40:02.16\00:40:04.50
Um, maybe I shouldn't
say this, maybe I should.
00:40:04.53\00:40:06.17
Go ahead.
00:40:06.20\00:40:07.54
But I have a relative
00:40:07.57\00:40:10.57
who I hadn't seen in 30 years
00:40:10.61\00:40:14.28
and when I met this relative,
we were going over some things.
00:40:14.31\00:40:17.95
And I found that
00:40:17.98\00:40:19.31
that this relative was
bitter against me for 30 years,
00:40:19.35\00:40:24.15
because I didn't help
her fix her car one day
00:40:24.19\00:40:27.82
when I was a teenager.
00:40:27.86\00:40:30.36
And she was, I said,
00:40:30.39\00:40:31.93
"First, I don't remember this,
00:40:31.96\00:40:33.46
but you held on
to this for 30 years,
00:40:33.50\00:40:35.73
because I didn't
help you fix your car
00:40:35.76\00:40:37.43
when I was a teenager.
00:40:37.47\00:40:39.40
And that created a
lot of other issues.
00:40:39.43\00:40:42.10
So that's when I realized that
we need to heal this cancer.
00:40:42.14\00:40:46.64
And we talked it through
00:40:46.68\00:40:48.24
and she realized
00:40:48.28\00:40:49.61
I'm not the person I used to be,
00:40:49.64\00:40:50.98
and things like that.
00:40:51.01\00:40:52.35
But bitterness is
very, very dangerous.
00:40:52.38\00:40:54.75
And what I read here is it says,
00:40:54.78\00:40:57.42
lest anyone fall
short of the grace of God,
00:40:57.45\00:41:00.96
and then it concludes by saying,
00:41:00.99\00:41:02.49
by this many become defiled.
00:41:02.52\00:41:05.29
So I think each one of us,
00:41:05.33\00:41:06.66
we have to search out
00:41:06.70\00:41:08.96
the bitterness in our own heart.
00:41:09.00\00:41:10.63
If we had that bitterness,
00:41:10.67\00:41:12.63
we need to come
to terms with it,
00:41:12.67\00:41:15.30
and the individual that
we might be bitter with,
00:41:15.34\00:41:17.67
and get rid of it,
because it'll eat us alive.
00:41:17.71\00:41:20.41
So you're
basically saying in my,
00:41:20.44\00:41:22.71
in my hearing you is that
00:41:22.74\00:41:25.31
if we want to pursue
peace with other people,
00:41:25.35\00:41:27.68
we've got to pursue forgiveness.
00:41:27.72\00:41:30.05
We've got to forgive and
try to reconcile with them.
00:41:30.09\00:41:35.89
Okay.
00:41:35.92\00:41:37.26
Let me bring this up, Shelley,
'cause I mean, I like this.
00:41:37.29\00:41:41.66
And we're, these
are cousins right here,
00:41:41.70\00:41:43.57
Hebrews 12:14-15,
00:41:43.60\00:41:45.67
but so does
Psalms 34:14 fit in this.
00:41:45.70\00:41:49.70
"Depart from evil and do good,
seek peace and pursue it. "
00:41:49.74\00:41:54.38
As I'm looking here,
00:41:54.41\00:41:57.08
depart, seek, and
pursue are all very active.
00:41:57.11\00:42:02.75
That means that
we've got to be involved.
00:42:02.78\00:42:05.79
So then we're dropping down here
00:42:05.82\00:42:07.62
being active, being positive.
00:42:07.66\00:42:11.03
We're here again,
pursue peace with all people.
00:42:11.06\00:42:14.46
So actively step out.
00:42:14.50\00:42:16.93
And then the opposite of that,
00:42:16.97\00:42:20.14
which I read this
00:42:20.17\00:42:21.50
and it just jumped
off the page at me.
00:42:21.54\00:42:23.67
If not, then we could
be spiritually careless.
00:42:23.71\00:42:28.84
Now that's pretty
heavy, you know, too big.
00:42:28.88\00:42:32.38
I don't mean to be careless.
00:42:32.41\00:42:34.32
But you can be
careless here maybe by accident,
00:42:34.35\00:42:37.49
if you're not active
in what you're doing.
00:42:37.52\00:42:40.56
And so we need to be determined,
00:42:40.59\00:42:43.63
we need the purpose.
00:42:43.66\00:42:45.06
Absolutely.
00:42:45.09\00:42:46.43
What you're saying
goes right into actually,
00:42:46.46\00:42:50.07
the heart of the
true biblical gospel.
00:42:50.10\00:42:53.00
In this sense,
00:42:53.03\00:42:54.60
what Shelley just
read in Hebrews 12:14-15.
00:42:54.64\00:42:56.94
And more specifically, verse 14,
00:42:56.97\00:42:59.47
pursue peace with all people,
00:42:59.51\00:43:01.21
there's a comma
there, and holiness.
00:43:01.24\00:43:03.45
And you said that some
people would take this next part
00:43:03.48\00:43:06.31
which says, without
which no one will see the Lord.
00:43:06.35\00:43:09.18
And they won't
apply that to holiness.
00:43:09.22\00:43:10.62
But I would agree with you.
00:43:10.65\00:43:12.52
I think that
that's a continuance
00:43:12.55\00:43:14.09
all of that before
00:43:14.12\00:43:16.49
speaking of the pursuing
peace with people and holiness
00:43:16.52\00:43:19.93
is a prerequisite for you
to be able to see the Lord
00:43:19.96\00:43:23.93
that salvational.
00:43:23.97\00:43:25.53
That's a salvational language,
00:43:25.57\00:43:27.30
that's a life or death language.
00:43:27.34\00:43:29.10
Now, with what you
were just saying there,
00:43:29.14\00:43:31.51
what came to my mind is this.
00:43:31.54\00:43:34.64
What God is
saying in these verses
00:43:34.68\00:43:36.04
depart from evil and do goods,
00:43:36.08\00:43:38.41
seek peace and pursue it,
00:43:38.45\00:43:39.88
this activeness
that involves a choice.
00:43:39.91\00:43:43.35
Jesus is using language
00:43:43.39\00:43:44.82
that flies in the
face of our nature,
00:43:44.85\00:43:47.16
this fallen nature that we have.
00:43:47.19\00:43:49.52
Now I'm using that language
because there's a lot of people
00:43:49.56\00:43:51.76
that believe in a
false, I'm going to say it,
00:43:51.79\00:43:54.63
for lack of a better word,
00:43:54.66\00:43:56.00
a false evangelical gospel
that says, sin is who I am.
00:43:56.03\00:44:01.17
I can't help but it's my nature.
00:44:01.20\00:44:02.87
And there's some
people that will say,
00:44:02.90\00:44:04.24
well, you know what I want to,
00:44:04.27\00:44:05.61
I want to forgive
that person in my mind.
00:44:05.64\00:44:07.31
But you know, my
just, it's, I can't help it.
00:44:07.34\00:44:09.84
My nature won't allow
me to forgive this person.
00:44:09.88\00:44:12.08
I just can't allow myself,
it's not in my nature to do so.
00:44:12.11\00:44:15.22
But yet Christ
what He is saying here,
00:44:15.25\00:44:16.89
that's a salvational situation.
00:44:16.92\00:44:18.95
That's a life
or death situation.
00:44:18.99\00:44:20.32
This is an active choice,
00:44:20.36\00:44:21.86
that you have to come
to grips within your life,
00:44:21.89\00:44:23.63
that in order for
you to have that peace
00:44:23.66\00:44:26.63
that surpasses
all understanding.
00:44:26.66\00:44:28.76
You have to be
able to be at peace
00:44:28.80\00:44:31.23
with your brethren,
00:44:31.27\00:44:32.97
even as hard as that may be.
00:44:33.00\00:44:35.30
And you can't be at
peace with your brethren
00:44:35.34\00:44:37.31
unless you're at peace with God,
00:44:37.34\00:44:39.14
but you can't be
at peace with God
00:44:39.17\00:44:41.21
if you're not at
peace with your brethren.
00:44:41.24\00:44:43.85
So it begins there but
yeah, it makes the loop
00:44:43.88\00:44:48.35
and you know what?
00:44:48.38\00:44:49.72
A scripture just hit me,
00:44:49.75\00:44:51.09
because we're talking
00:44:51.12\00:44:52.45
about this pursuit of
peace with our brother
00:44:52.49\00:44:57.13
and holiness with God.
00:44:57.16\00:44:59.26
Isaiah 48:18,
00:44:59.29\00:45:02.40
I don't know
00:45:02.43\00:45:03.77
why I didn't put
this in the syllabus,
00:45:03.80\00:45:05.13
but it just hit me.
00:45:05.17\00:45:07.40
If we're going
to pursue holiness,
00:45:07.44\00:45:11.57
that's it and don't
get hung up on that word.
00:45:11.61\00:45:14.81
It means that we are pursuing
the idea of allowing God
00:45:14.84\00:45:20.48
cooperating with God,
that He separates us from sin.
00:45:20.52\00:45:25.15
And that's the only time
00:45:25.19\00:45:26.52
you'll ever have
peace in your life.
00:45:26.55\00:45:28.86
Isaiah 48:18,
this is God speaking.
00:45:28.89\00:45:33.03
And He says,
00:45:33.06\00:45:34.66
"Listen to the
heart of a loving father."
00:45:34.70\00:45:39.97
He is saying
this to you tonight.
00:45:40.00\00:45:42.14
He's saying it to me, to
everyone around this table.
00:45:42.17\00:45:46.41
"Oh, that you had
heeded My commandments,
00:45:46.44\00:45:51.81
then your peace would
have been like a river,
00:45:51.85\00:45:56.55
and your righteousness
like the waves of the sea."
00:45:56.58\00:46:02.22
God wants us
00:46:02.26\00:46:05.16
to have His peace in our hearts.
00:46:05.19\00:46:08.46
And, you know, we see
00:46:08.50\00:46:09.83
and hear stories all
the time of missionaries
00:46:09.86\00:46:13.10
who are captured and imprisoned
00:46:13.13\00:46:17.24
and do incredible works
while they're in prison.
00:46:17.27\00:46:21.71
And they keep the
peace in the heart,
00:46:21.74\00:46:23.81
even though they're tortured.
00:46:23.85\00:46:25.75
And it's because
they have learned
00:46:25.78\00:46:30.42
how to receive that
river of peace from God,
00:46:30.45\00:46:35.19
that righteousness,
00:46:35.22\00:46:36.56
they still walk in
obedience to God's commandments,
00:46:36.59\00:46:39.89
and they still
seek to pursue peace
00:46:39.93\00:46:43.80
even with their enemy.
00:46:43.83\00:46:45.20
That's right.
00:46:45.23\00:46:46.57
And just is, it's very important
00:46:46.60\00:46:48.30
because it is a choice.
00:46:48.34\00:46:50.01
If you woke up
every morning in prison,
00:46:50.04\00:46:54.54
boy, you could
certainly have an attitude.
00:46:54.58\00:46:58.65
But if you choose, it
can be the best of days.
00:46:58.68\00:47:05.15
And so that is
very important choice.
00:47:05.19\00:47:07.72
But spiritually,
00:47:07.76\00:47:09.22
when you choose not to
actively seek this peace,
00:47:09.26\00:47:12.43
and to pursue
peace with your brethren,
00:47:12.46\00:47:14.76
and with God,
00:47:14.80\00:47:16.60
you are waking up
every morning in prison.
00:47:16.63\00:47:18.77
Ooh, that's good.
00:47:18.80\00:47:20.77
There are so many
people that I know,
00:47:20.80\00:47:23.54
I grew up in New York City,
who are very angry to this day,
00:47:23.57\00:47:28.14
just angry at life,
angry at everything.
00:47:28.18\00:47:30.75
When I talk to
them on the phone,
00:47:30.78\00:47:32.11
I'm like, here we go again.
00:47:32.15\00:47:34.18
And in every case
00:47:34.22\00:47:35.55
it's because they
held on to something
00:47:35.58\00:47:38.52
that festered, that
festered in them over time
00:47:38.55\00:47:40.96
and turn them into a
very angry individual.
00:47:40.99\00:47:43.63
So what this is saying to me,
00:47:43.66\00:47:45.49
and I think everyone else
00:47:45.53\00:47:46.86
is if you hold
on to these things,
00:47:46.90\00:47:48.23
if you don't forgive,
00:47:48.26\00:47:49.60
if you don't
learn how to forgive,
00:47:49.63\00:47:50.97
if you don't learn
how to trust in God,
00:47:51.00\00:47:53.67
it's going to fester
00:47:53.70\00:47:55.04
and turn you into someone
00:47:55.07\00:47:56.40
that you really
don't want to become.
00:47:56.44\00:47:57.77
Amen.
00:47:57.81\00:47:59.14
So if we're going to
live at peace with humanity
00:47:59.17\00:48:01.01
and going with what you said,
00:48:01.04\00:48:02.38
why don't you read out
Romans 14:19 and 12:17?
00:48:02.41\00:48:07.68
Romans 14:19,
00:48:07.72\00:48:10.39
"Therefore let
us pursue the things
00:48:10.42\00:48:11.95
which make for
peace and the things
00:48:11.99\00:48:14.56
by which one may edify another."
00:48:14.59\00:48:16.79
Boy, there's that
word again, pursue,
00:48:16.83\00:48:19.09
pursue the things
that make for peace.
00:48:19.13\00:48:22.63
You know,
00:48:22.66\00:48:24.00
sometimes somebody
will hurt your feelings,
00:48:24.03\00:48:26.94
they will offend you.
00:48:26.97\00:48:28.90
And I have to tell you
00:48:28.94\00:48:30.27
that did you know this
is what the Lord told me
00:48:30.31\00:48:32.51
once when I was
offended by someone,
00:48:32.54\00:48:34.74
it was kind of like,
look what they've done to me.
00:48:34.78\00:48:39.08
And, boy, I'm
telling you in the shower,
00:48:39.11\00:48:41.12
what I heard was,
00:48:41.15\00:48:42.48
I'm saying the word
blah-blah, blah-blah,
00:48:42.52\00:48:44.42
talking about change
them and blah-blah, blah-blah.
00:48:44.45\00:48:46.52
And what I heard was,
00:48:46.55\00:48:48.72
the spirit of offense
is the spirit of pride.
00:48:48.76\00:48:54.63
Whoa,
00:48:54.66\00:48:56.00
you think about that,
you cannot be offended that,
00:48:56.03\00:49:00.27
unless your
pride has been wounded.
00:49:00.30\00:49:03.47
And so all of a sudden,
00:49:03.51\00:49:05.07
and then it was finished
00:49:05.11\00:49:06.44
with which is the
spirit of Antichrist.
00:49:06.47\00:49:08.94
And I thought, whoa!
00:49:08.98\00:49:11.18
So now instead of me,
asking God to change someone,
00:49:11.21\00:49:15.08
I'm asking God
to change my heart.
00:49:15.12\00:49:17.32
Don't let me be.
00:49:17.35\00:49:19.29
And I am not an
easily offended person.
00:49:19.32\00:49:22.12
And I give Him all
the glory for that.
00:49:22.16\00:49:25.13
But it's that
idea of pursuing things
00:49:25.16\00:49:29.43
which make for peace.
00:49:29.46\00:49:31.00
Now, what does
he say in Romans 12?
00:49:31.03\00:49:33.54
This would be to
your friends in New York.
00:49:33.57\00:49:35.30
Yes, he says,
00:49:35.34\00:49:36.67
"Repay no one evil for evil,
00:49:36.71\00:49:39.51
have regard for good
things in the sight of all men.
00:49:39.54\00:49:43.24
If it is possible, as
much as depends on you,
00:49:43.28\00:49:46.82
live peaceably with all men."
00:49:46.85\00:49:50.02
They pay no evil for
evil. But I love that last part.
00:49:50.05\00:49:54.59
If it is possible,
00:49:54.62\00:49:56.49
you're supposed to
do everything you can
00:49:56.52\00:49:59.86
to try to pursue peace.
00:49:59.89\00:50:02.06
But sometimes we, it
says, as if it is possible,
00:50:02.10\00:50:05.57
as much as it depends on you,
live peaceably with all men.
00:50:05.60\00:50:11.37
So there's some you
just can't live peaceably.
00:50:11.41\00:50:14.01
That's right.
00:50:14.04\00:50:15.38
Yeah, it seems
like you know you can,
00:50:15.41\00:50:17.75
you can really make an effort
to make peace with someone,
00:50:17.78\00:50:21.78
but it's a two-way street.
00:50:21.82\00:50:23.99
That person,
00:50:24.02\00:50:25.35
the person that you're
trying to make peace with
00:50:25.39\00:50:26.72
has to be able to
also be in a mindset
00:50:26.76\00:50:29.69
to be able to
reciprocate that peace.
00:50:29.72\00:50:32.39
And sometimes we
run into situations
00:50:32.43\00:50:34.30
where we will do all that we can
00:50:34.33\00:50:36.30
to make peace with someone,
00:50:36.33\00:50:37.67
but that person's
heart is still bitter,
00:50:37.70\00:50:39.33
they're still a slave
to that bitter attitude.
00:50:39.37\00:50:41.57
And in this case,
00:50:41.60\00:50:42.94
we have a promise here from God,
00:50:42.97\00:50:45.44
that clearly tells us
that if it is possible,
00:50:45.47\00:50:47.01
as much as it depends on us,
00:50:47.04\00:50:48.38
in that case, we've done
all that we possibly can,
00:50:48.41\00:50:51.75
you know, live
peaceably with all men,
00:50:51.78\00:50:53.28
but in some cases,
00:50:53.31\00:50:54.75
some people may not
allow us to do that.
00:50:54.78\00:50:56.62
And that's not our fault.
00:50:56.65\00:50:57.99
So in that case,
we would just simply,
00:50:58.02\00:51:00.42
for lack of a better
term, dust the feet off,
00:51:00.46\00:51:02.82
dust the dust off our feet,
00:51:02.86\00:51:04.26
and continue to pray
for that person and go on.
00:51:04.29\00:51:08.23
And I think it's so wise
there that it gives us an out,
00:51:08.26\00:51:11.77
rather than sitting
here making you feel guilty,
00:51:11.80\00:51:14.34
and you just keep going back
and going back and going back
00:51:14.37\00:51:17.84
and the
bitterness and the bitterness
00:51:17.87\00:51:19.21
and then the guns come out.
00:51:19.24\00:51:21.88
Forgive me, Lord.
00:51:21.91\00:51:24.31
And all you're trying to
do is just be a good neighbor.
00:51:24.35\00:51:27.45
That's right. That's right.
00:51:27.48\00:51:28.92
I used to think forgiveness
was for the other person.
00:51:28.95\00:51:33.82
It's not, it's for us.
00:51:33.86\00:51:35.92
We have to learn to forgive,
00:51:35.96\00:51:37.29
even if, like we just mentioned,
00:51:37.33\00:51:39.69
you can't establish that peace
00:51:39.73\00:51:41.80
because like you
said, it's a two,
00:51:41.83\00:51:43.63
it's a two-party
thing to have peace.
00:51:43.67\00:51:45.90
You can still
forgive that individual,
00:51:45.93\00:51:47.44
even though there's no peace.
00:51:47.47\00:51:49.04
And by
forgiveness, you save yourself.
00:51:49.07\00:51:50.47
Amen.
00:51:50.51\00:51:51.84
That's right. Yeah.
00:51:51.87\00:51:53.21
And, you know,
something that love your enemy.
00:51:53.24\00:51:54.61
And what Paul
said, when you forgive,
00:51:54.64\00:51:57.81
I'm not sure, it was
Paul who said that about,
00:51:57.85\00:51:59.98
it's like you're heaping
coals on a fire on their head.
00:52:00.02\00:52:03.89
You know where that comes from?
00:52:03.92\00:52:05.79
And there was a practice
00:52:05.82\00:52:07.62
that when someone was repenting,
00:52:07.66\00:52:10.66
they had these
helmet type things,
00:52:10.69\00:52:13.23
it was like a plate,
00:52:13.26\00:52:14.76
and they would put coals of fire
00:52:14.80\00:52:18.00
on top of their head,
00:52:18.03\00:52:19.83
to show their repentance.
00:52:19.87\00:52:21.84
So what the Bible
is saying is that,
00:52:21.87\00:52:25.27
if you will love your
enemy, if you will forgive them,
00:52:25.31\00:52:28.98
you will heap
coals upon their head,
00:52:29.01\00:52:30.88
you can actually bring
other people to repentance.
00:52:30.91\00:52:34.08
And I remember
reading his story,
00:52:34.12\00:52:36.22
help me, Honey, I
think we read this together.
00:52:36.25\00:52:38.15
But anyway,
00:52:38.19\00:52:39.52
a man who was
00:52:39.55\00:52:43.12
I think he was
imprisoned in China,
00:52:43.16\00:52:44.79
and he had been tortured,
and he was a missionary.
00:52:44.83\00:52:48.06
And he was so
loving to his captors
00:52:48.10\00:52:53.47
that he brought them to Christ.
00:52:53.50\00:52:57.34
And, you know,
00:52:57.37\00:52:58.71
he had to go above
and beyond to do that.
00:52:58.74\00:53:01.91
But like you said,
it was for his benefit.
00:53:01.94\00:53:04.51
It kept him at peace,
00:53:04.55\00:53:06.11
but he ended up
bringing them to Christ.
00:53:06.15\00:53:08.15
Now, Ryan, would
you get into 1 Peter,
00:53:08.18\00:53:10.82
we got to get this.
00:53:10.85\00:53:12.19
Sure, absolutely.
00:53:12.22\00:53:13.56
1 Peter 3:8-12.
00:53:13.59\00:53:14.92
The Bible says,
00:53:14.96\00:53:16.29
"Finally, all of
you be of one mind,
00:53:16.32\00:53:17.99
having
compassion for one another,
00:53:18.03\00:53:19.89
love as
brothers, be tenderhearted,
00:53:19.93\00:53:22.40
be courteous,
00:53:22.43\00:53:23.77
not returning evil for
evil or reviling for reviling,
00:53:23.80\00:53:26.90
but on the contrary blessing,
00:53:26.94\00:53:29.87
knowing that you
were called to this,
00:53:29.90\00:53:32.47
that you may inherit a blessing.
00:53:32.51\00:53:34.64
For He who would love
life and see good days,
00:53:34.68\00:53:37.71
let him refrain
his tongue from evil,
00:53:37.75\00:53:40.78
and his lips
from speaking deceit.
00:53:40.82\00:53:42.98
Let him turn away
from evil and do good,
00:53:43.02\00:53:45.85
let him seek
peace and pursue it."
00:53:45.89\00:53:48.26
There it is, again,
00:53:48.29\00:53:49.62
"For the eyes of the
Lord are on the righteous,
00:53:49.66\00:53:51.83
and His ears are
open to their prayers,
00:53:51.86\00:53:54.30
but the face of the Lord
is against those who do evil."
00:53:54.33\00:53:58.37
You know, this brings up
a good point that you made,
00:53:58.40\00:54:00.30
as you were
introducing this segment here
00:54:00.34\00:54:02.54
of talking about being
at peace with humanity.
00:54:02.57\00:54:05.11
And that is we have to,
00:54:05.14\00:54:07.41
we have to consider
00:54:07.44\00:54:08.78
and sometimes we have to do
00:54:08.81\00:54:10.15
a little bit of
self-examination.
00:54:10.18\00:54:11.88
We have to do a
little bit of inventory
00:54:11.91\00:54:13.92
of our own selves.
00:54:13.95\00:54:15.68
Because I find
that a lot of people
00:54:15.72\00:54:17.55
and I get these calls.
00:54:17.59\00:54:18.92
In fact, I got a
call recently in pastoral.
00:54:18.95\00:54:20.89
Why can't I have peace?
00:54:20.92\00:54:22.39
I've been praying for it.
00:54:22.42\00:54:23.76
I've been praying
for it and praying for it
00:54:23.79\00:54:25.13
and praying for it
00:54:25.16\00:54:26.49
and I can't seem
to just have the peace
00:54:26.53\00:54:27.86
that I need in my life.
00:54:27.90\00:54:29.23
Well, that's not always
an easy question to answer
00:54:29.26\00:54:31.53
because I don't
know that person's heart.
00:54:31.57\00:54:33.23
I don't know that person's life.
00:54:33.27\00:54:35.07
But truly,
00:54:35.10\00:54:36.44
sometimes we may
need to take inventory
00:54:36.47\00:54:38.64
because many times the reason
00:54:38.67\00:54:40.01
why even as
Christians professed Christians,
00:54:40.04\00:54:43.08
that claim that
we believe in God,
00:54:43.11\00:54:44.68
claim that we live for the Lord,
00:54:44.71\00:54:46.11
but yet we don't have that peace
00:54:46.15\00:54:47.62
and that joy in our life.
00:54:47.65\00:54:48.98
Many times it's
because there's a compromise
00:54:49.02\00:54:51.82
somewhere in our
relationship with the Lord.
00:54:51.85\00:54:54.76
Many times we need to take
because there's a fine line.
00:54:54.79\00:54:58.66
Let me put an example here.
00:54:58.69\00:55:00.20
There's a fine line
00:55:00.23\00:55:01.56
between legalism
and liberal compromise.
00:55:01.60\00:55:04.77
We have to find that balance.
00:55:04.80\00:55:06.63
And I find that many
people who are in that real,
00:55:06.67\00:55:08.94
you know, that
opposite end of the spin
00:55:08.97\00:55:10.91
legalism perspective,
00:55:10.94\00:55:12.51
they're living according
to legalistic standards.
00:55:12.54\00:55:14.74
And then the other side
of that liberal compromising,
00:55:14.78\00:55:17.78
you know, there's no peace
00:55:17.81\00:55:19.75
on opposite
ends of the spectrum,
00:55:19.78\00:55:21.12
we have to find that balance.
00:55:21.15\00:55:22.78
You know, there's no,
00:55:22.82\00:55:24.72
it's hard to find
that fine line between,
00:55:24.75\00:55:26.72
you know, extreme
dogma and passive relativism,
00:55:26.76\00:55:29.86
which we've done a
program on that in the past.
00:55:29.89\00:55:32.86
We have to understand that
there can be no compromise.
00:55:32.89\00:55:36.53
And so sometimes,
00:55:36.56\00:55:37.90
and I'm going
back to Philippians 4,
00:55:37.93\00:55:40.60
take that spiritual inventory.
00:55:40.64\00:55:42.70
Ask the Lord,
Lord seek me, show me
00:55:42.74\00:55:45.54
because sometimes we're
not receiving that peace.
00:55:45.57\00:55:48.18
We're not
experiencing that peace,
00:55:48.21\00:55:50.05
because we've compromised
somewhere in our relationship
00:55:50.08\00:55:53.31
and sometimes we need to go back
00:55:53.35\00:55:54.68
and take inventory and see,
00:55:54.72\00:55:56.22
are we contemplating and
meditating on those things
00:55:56.25\00:55:59.39
that are true, those
things that are noble,
00:55:59.42\00:56:00.96
those things that are
just and pure and lovely,
00:56:00.99\00:56:03.46
and the things
that are of good report
00:56:03.49\00:56:05.16
on a virtue,
00:56:05.19\00:56:06.53
and things that
are praiseworthy,
00:56:06.56\00:56:07.90
all of these wonderful
aspects of the character of God,
00:56:07.93\00:56:10.70
there's something missing there.
00:56:10.73\00:56:12.07
And we have to understand
that there can be no compromise.
00:56:12.10\00:56:14.37
Amen.
00:56:14.40\00:56:15.74
All right, let's
just hit cloak quickly,
00:56:15.77\00:56:18.24
on our fifth point,
00:56:18.27\00:56:19.61
and that is
worldwide peace will not occur
00:56:19.64\00:56:22.91
until Christ
establishes the new heavens
00:56:22.94\00:56:25.78
and the new earth.
00:56:25.81\00:56:27.15
And for your edification,
read Matthew 24:6-14,
00:56:27.18\00:56:33.32
because Jesus is saying,
00:56:33.36\00:56:35.09
hey, you've got
to endure to the end,
00:56:35.12\00:56:37.99
we're going to see all
of these things happen,
00:56:38.03\00:56:40.63
but endure to the end.
00:56:40.66\00:56:43.23
And He is talking
about horrible things
00:56:43.26\00:56:45.97
that are happening on the earth.
00:56:46.00\00:56:47.34
And we're
seeing them happen now.
00:56:47.37\00:56:49.27
And then read Revelation 21:1-4,
00:56:49.30\00:56:55.18
and you will see
some beautiful things.
00:56:55.21\00:56:57.68
And Isaiah 11:6-9,
00:56:57.71\00:57:00.68
where God is talking about,
00:57:00.72\00:57:02.85
when the new heavens come down,
00:57:02.88\00:57:05.02
the lion and the lamb
are going to lie together.
00:57:05.05\00:57:09.16
And the leopard
and the young goat,
00:57:09.19\00:57:10.53
it's beautiful.
00:57:10.56\00:57:11.89
We're out of time.
00:57:11.93\00:57:13.26
I have to read my
favorite scripture of all,
00:57:13.29\00:57:16.90
and that is Romans 15:13.
00:57:16.93\00:57:19.50
This is our
prayer for you tonight.
00:57:19.53\00:57:21.50
We're so glad that you joined us
00:57:21.54\00:57:23.57
on this Sabbath evening,
00:57:23.61\00:57:25.24
"But may the God of hope
00:57:25.27\00:57:28.31
fill you with all joy
and peace in believing
00:57:28.34\00:57:32.41
that you may abound in
hope, eager expectation,
00:57:32.45\00:57:37.12
by the power of
the Holy Spirit."
00:57:37.15\00:57:38.79
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
00:57:38.82\00:57:40.52