1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:08,200 Seat, it's great to have you here with us this second week of 2 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,440 Advent. Just before we get started this 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,840 morning, just want to let you know some of you may be aware of 4 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,640 a bill that is been in discussion this week in our 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:23,680 Parliament, Bill C9, and the discussion around removing 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:30,440 sincerely held religious belief as a defense of free speech. 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,000 And I just want to let you know that Pastor Kirk and I are aware 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,560 we have spoken to a number of other pastors in the area and we 9 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,200 have put together a letter to send to our MPs to express our 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,040 concern about that. We would stand with the 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,600 government in wanting to make sure that no one is a victim of 12 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,040 violence because of incitement through words. 13 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,760 But we have a deep concern and conviction that we are able to 14 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,960 preach the whole counsel of God without fear. 15 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,640 And I know this reality. I know sooner or later, if you 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,480 are here at Forward Church, I will end up saying something. 17 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,920 Pastor Kirk will end up saying something because we preach from 18 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:10,320 the word of God. That's going to bother you. 19 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,800 It's going to invent you. It's going to maybe strike a 20 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,400 nerve with you. That's what happens when we get 21 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,080 an encounter of truth that transcends culture and we would 22 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:26,360 never want to allow the culture of the time to affect what we 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:27,960 preach. So we're always going to preach 24 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:31,080 the full council of God's word here at Forward Church. 25 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,440 And whatever happens with legislation, that wouldn't stop 26 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:42,880 us from doing that. But we think it's our duty to 27 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,400 respond and use the the levers of influence that we have to 28 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,960 make our concerns known. And so just wanted to keep you 29 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,520 aware in case you've heard some things about this bill. 30 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,120 There's nothing to be scared of. God's in control, God's 31 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:02,200 sovereign, but we want to do our due diligence in letting our 32 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,440 position be known to those who He has placed an authority over 33 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,320 us. I'm going to invite you to turn 34 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,919 to Matthew chapter one, verse 18. 35 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,480 You walked in the door and you would know this Christmas season 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,840 has arrived, right? The Christmas tree was out 37 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,680 there. In fact, the Christmas trees are 38 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:25,520 out there. I'm so thankful for the team of 39 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,240 people that have been in decorating out there in here 40 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,880 over the last week or so. Man, it looks, I mean, yeah, 41 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:34,120 let's give them a round of applause. 42 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:40,520 I, I forgot last week the lights are going up in here and I 43 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:41,920 walked in. I was like, man, this is 44 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:46,560 beautiful, this is so great. And just loved watching the tree 45 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,000 come in this week and everybody rally around and work. 46 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,480 And yesterday we had Sharing Christmas and it was amazing to 47 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,560 watch our guests walk into the building. 48 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,680 Thank you for all of you. We had so many who served at 49 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:00,200 Sharing Christmas. Let's give them a round of 50 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:06,880 applause too. One lady, she walked in and and 51 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,920 I was close to the door and I heard her say this. 52 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:15,240 It's like heaven. And, and what I was so blessed 53 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,360 by yesterday was I think that was the experience of a lot of 54 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,720 our guests in the building, that because of you who served and 55 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,280 put in so much time and effort, man, you brought a little bit of 56 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,720 Jesus into the lives of everybody who stepped into the 57 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:30,240 door. It was such a blessing. 58 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,400 I, I mean, I just heard so much feedback from our guests, the 59 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,960 people who attended, just how overwhelmed they were. 60 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,200 And we're hoping to see many of them back at a Christmas Eve 61 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:44,800 service this year. I said Christmas arrived, some 62 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,480 of you, it arrived November 1st because you're weirdos. 63 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,720 It was like Halloween done Christmas here. 64 00:03:54,440 --> 00:04:00,280 But traditionally this season that we find ourselves in in the 65 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,640 church calendar is not Christmas. 66 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,280 This is Advent. The the Christmas or the 67 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:14,880 Christmas starts December 25th with the Christmas and then it's 68 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,160 12 days of feasting and celebration. 69 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,040 Some of us would probably be better off if Christmas was 70 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,560 limited to 12 days of feasting celebration. 71 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,120 I don't know I would be if it wasn't like 2 months of feasting 72 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,360 and celebration. But traditionally it goes from 73 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,600 December 25th to January or or December 25th to January 5th. 74 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,440 And then Advent is this season of four weeks leading up to 75 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,320 Christmas. And Advent comes from the Latin 76 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:49,480 word Adventist, which means arrival or coming and see. 77 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:54,520 Advent is, is meant to be a season not of feasting and 78 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,280 celebration, but of preparation and anticipation. 79 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:04,400 It's, it's this season where we talk about these four things 80 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,440 that we're talking about over these four weeks of, of hope and 81 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:15,360 peace and joy and love, but in anticipation of Christ coming to 82 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,280 bring those. And then now on the other side 83 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:21,200 of his first coming in anticipation of his second 84 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,840 coming, when it will come in full completion. 85 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:30,720 So Advent is a season of not yet. 86 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:39,400 Advent is a season of of tension and, and I have a sneaking 87 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:43,240 suspicion, although we probably haven't consciously thought 88 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:48,720 about this as churches or as a culture, that that's exactly why 89 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:54,200 we've kind of written Advent out of the story, because we love 90 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,800 everything to be wrapped up neat and tidy. 91 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,640 We don't like the seasons of tension, we like the seasons of 92 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,440 completion. We want to move straight from 93 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:13,600 tension to resolution, but Advent forces us to live in this 94 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:21,040 in between time. It makes me think of the reality 95 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,360 that Amanda and I have faced when we have moved houses 96 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,320 before. I don't know what moving is like 97 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,520 for you, but this is a little bit of what moving. 98 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,120 I don't have a, I don't have a picture of Amanda, but that is 99 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,400 basically the face that my wife makes. 100 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,440 She said I could share this. I got permission. 101 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:47,240 When we move and everything is just in, in chaos and in boxes 102 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:53,400 and our life is in pieces around us, she just freezes because she 103 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:58,560 just feels overwhelmed. She, she, she gets paralyzed in 104 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,280 the center of it. And I think for a lot of us, 105 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:07,320 like that picture in some way symbolizes how the entirety of 106 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:13,840 the world feels just chaotic, uncertain, unsteady. 107 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,680 Everything in, I mean, the pieces feel like they're all 108 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:18,680 there, but we're not sure where to find them. 109 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,240 I I, I, I think that's the spirit of our age, this spirit 110 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,120 of uncertainty that we live in where it feels like either 111 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,840 everything is falling apart or everything could fall apart 112 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,480 tomorrow morning when we open up the news, right? 113 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,360 I don't know if you've been, I feel like I've been living that 114 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:44,120 for the last six years. There's just this low level of 115 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:49,320 anxiety that just permeates everything, all of culture and, 116 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,320 and gets weaponized by social media. 117 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:56,000 That's the society. Why low? 118 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,000 And then there's the personal level, right? 119 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,000 There's the reality that always, at all times in all of our 120 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,720 lives, all it takes is a single phone call or text and your life 121 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:13,480 gets flipped upside down. All it takes is is 4 simple 122 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:17,480 words. These four simple words, hey, we 123 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,160 need to talk. And all of a sudden everything 124 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:25,400 kind of starts spinning around you. 125 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:29,840 We just live our lives and make our plans. 126 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:39,600 They get upended all the time by a job loss or by a diagnosis or 127 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,679 by a secret that gets brought from the darkness into the 128 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:47,480 light. And I, I just want to let you 129 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:52,640 know that that uncertainty, that, that feeling that peace 130 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,920 could be shattered, that that reality, that peace does get 131 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:56,920 shattered. That's nothing new. 132 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:02,720 It's not a new reality. It is what it looks like to live 133 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,880 in this world. It, it's the world that Jesus 134 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:07,840 enters into. So let's, let's look at this 135 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:13,160 story, because this is the story of Jesus arrival on to the 136 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:14,720 scene. This is the story of the 137 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,360 nativity. Don't take my word for it. 138 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,480 Matthew says this in Matthew 118. 139 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,560 He says that the birth of Jesus came about this way. 140 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:29,720 Now listen to what the this way is, how Jesus birth comes about. 141 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,400 After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was 142 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:38,080 discovered before they came together that she was pregnant 143 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:44,840 from the Holy Spirit. That's the story that Jesus 144 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,520 enters into a story of relational chaos, right? 145 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,680 This is the story of Joseph, who is the earthly father, the one 146 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:58,800 who will take care of and father Jesus here on earth. 147 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:05,680 He knows what it's like to have a life thrown into disarray with 148 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:08,240 an announcement that comes to him with a word that comes to 149 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:13,600 him. One moment Joseph is there and 150 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,600 he is looking forward to his upcoming wedding. 151 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,800 Man, he's stoked and excited. He's got this wonderful fiance 152 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,000 by the name of Mary. They're looking forward to 153 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,160 getting married. The next thing that he knows, he 154 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:29,080 finds out that the woman he's engaged to is pregnant and he's 155 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,320 never slept with her. Imagine being Mary trying to 156 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:40,560 explain this to Joseph. It's not that I slept with 157 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:44,480 anybody else. The Holy Spirit came and now I'm 158 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,720 going to have a baby, Joseph. And it's not your baby and you 159 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,080 know it's not your baby, but just trust me, it's the Holy 160 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:57,280 Spirit. This is not a relational speed 161 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:03,320 bump in a relationship, is it? This is this is not like Mary 162 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,840 and Joseph debating, OK, when we get married, whose parents are 163 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:14,200 we going to spend Passover with? No, this is total relational 164 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:18,680 crisis. This is a life altering moment. 165 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,920 I don't in a Canadian culture. We just don't understand the 166 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,760 level of what is going on. This is an honor shame culture 167 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:33,640 and this is incredible shame on Joseph because either Joseph did 168 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:38,760 it or Mary went behind Joseph's back in either way, it's not 169 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:43,720 good. Joseph's peace in this moment, 170 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,960 man. Matthew makes it clear to us 171 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,920 again, Matthew is speaking to a Jewish audience who understood 172 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,560 very well when he said that Jesus birth came about in this 173 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:56,280 way. This is scandalous. 174 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,280 His life has been blown to pieces. 175 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,560 And so today I want to look at Joseph's story to find out this 176 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:09,520 How can we find peace when our world is falling to pieces? 177 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,360 How can we find peace when our world is falling to pieces? 178 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,400 Because Joseph's world has been turned upside down. 179 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,040 Joseph's world is falling to pieces. 180 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,360 So what's he going to do? Well, let's read verse 19. 181 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:28,920 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, not wanting to 182 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:33,600 disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 183 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:37,360 Remember last week we were looking at the story of Simeon, 184 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,000 and it's interesting that Simeon also had that word righteous 185 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,440 applied to him, that Simeon was a a devout and righteous man. 186 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,040 And now we're told Joseph is a righteous man. 187 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,800 We should talk about what does that word righteous mean? 188 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:54,560 Well, righteous means that we have a right standing with God. 189 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:58,280 So it's saying that Joseph in God's eyes had a right standing 190 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,400 with him. He was in in good stead with 191 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:06,280 God. Righteousness, though, comes 192 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:11,280 through faith in Christ. In the Old Testament and in this 193 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:16,040 moment, it's faith that God is a promise, keeping God who will 194 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:20,600 keep his word in bringing a rescuer, in bringing a Messiah. 195 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,000 And so in the Old Testament, people are saved by faith in 196 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,720 believing in the truth that God's promise will come to pass. 197 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:33,680 In the New Testament, they're saved by faith in the same 198 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:35,720 Jesus. And we are saved by faith in 199 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,680 trusting that that rescuer did come, that Savior has come as 200 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,920 the Savior of the world, that that Jesus was that one who was 201 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:48,200 promised. And then faith works itself out 202 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,800 in obedience. It displays itself in the way 203 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:55,080 that righteousness, good works show up in our life. 204 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:59,560 It's the evidence of trust. That's that's what obedience is. 205 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:04,360 It's the evidence of trust. So Joseph, as you can see in 206 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,480 here, he's a man who wants to do the right thing. 207 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,240 He has faith in God and is wrestling with what it looks 208 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,880 like to be righteous in this. But there's something else I 209 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:19,600 want you to see. I want you to see that bad 210 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,600 things can happen to righteous people right here. 211 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:29,040 Here's Joseph. He is, he's sorting through all 212 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,720 of the realities of this world. He, he's confused. 213 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:34,840 He's sitting there. How could this happen? 214 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,760 He's hurt. He's got a deep sense of 215 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,760 betrayal. He's fearful. 216 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,200 We know he's fearful because he's about to be told don't be 217 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,440 afraid, but he's fearful. His reputation is on the line 218 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,760 and just I think that we need to understand and know that you can 219 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,960 be righteous and still have your world shaken. 220 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,840 You can be righteous and still have all of these emotional 221 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:04,400 realities that you're grappling through. 222 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,680 You can be righteous and still have a really difficult, 223 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,600 terrible stuff come into your life and be confused about it 224 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,120 and not understand why this is happening. 225 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,920 Being a follower of Jesus does not mean that you will never 226 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,920 have your life fall to pieces, quite the opposite. 227 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,400 Jesus himself later on as he's getting ready to head towards 228 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:32,560 the cross in John 1633, on the eve of going to the cross, he, 229 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,440 he's talking to his disciples, He's trying to prepare them in 230 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:41,760 the upper room and he says to them, you will have trouble or 231 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,880 depending on your scripture, you will have suffering in this 232 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:47,960 world. You'll have times where life 233 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:54,120 falls to pieces. So if your peace feels shattered 234 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,360 today, if you're in that spot where you feel like the world is 235 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:05,440 falling to pieces around you, it's not necessarily the case 236 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:09,600 that you have fallen out of peace and favor with God. 237 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,080 It just means that you are a human being living in a broken 238 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,760 world, and that is the nature and state of things living in 239 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,880 this time of tension, in this time of Advent. 240 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:25,960 So you can be godly and still be confused. 241 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,760 You you can be faithful, still feel afraid. 242 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,360 You can love God and still struggle to understand what in 243 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,800 the world he's up to. You can be righteous and you can 244 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,440 still have your peace shaken. You still feel like your world 245 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:51,760 has fallen to pieces around you. Next verse says, but after he 246 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,400 had considered these things and I just imagine here this this 247 00:16:55,400 --> 00:17:00,160 idea of Joseph gets the news and I don't know what type of time 248 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,480 period he is sitting there wrestling dealing with this 249 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,440 stuff, but he's sitting there and he's you can tell he's 250 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,839 trying to it says he's trying to he's a righteous man. 251 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:10,760 He doesn't want to disgrace Mary. 252 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:14,079 So how do I do this? How do I love God and how do I 253 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:18,280 love Mary? Well, right, He's wrestling 254 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:23,160 through all these emotions. Then an Angel of the Lord 255 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,359 appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph son of David, 256 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:32,800 Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife because what has been 257 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,360 conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 258 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:39,600 She's going to give birth to a son and you are to name him 259 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:44,040 Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. 260 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,600 And here's what I want you to see from Joseph's story. 261 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,720 When the world feels like it's falling to pieces, peace is 262 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:56,120 found when we let God's words speak louder than our emotions 263 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,000 just got all sorts of emotions going on. 264 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:05,400 But into those emotions, God speaks and he, he says a few 265 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,000 things. I want you to hear the word that 266 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,280 the Angel brings to Joseph because I think there's some 267 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,760 words in here that may be very helpful to your heart this 268 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:14,880 morning. I know they've been helpful to 269 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:19,120 my heart this week. First, the first thing we see is 270 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:21,640 this. God knew Joseph. 271 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,720 Look how the Angel addresses him, bringing a word from God. 272 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,920 Joseph, son of David, he knows him by name. 273 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,480 He knows his story, right? He knows his lineage. 274 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,760 He knows where where Joseph has come from. 275 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,200 And God knows you. He knows your name. 276 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:47,760 He knows your story as you're here today, or maybe you're 277 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:49,480 watching online or listening later. 278 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:51,360 He knows where you're coming from. 279 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:53,800 He knows what's gone on in your past. 280 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,800 He knows what's brought you to this moment. 281 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,480 It's it's not a generic knowledge that God has of 282 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:01,160 Joseph. It's a personal knowledge. 283 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:06,120 It's a it's a deep knowledge. And so just know right now. 284 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:09,520 God knows the situation that you're in. 285 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,160 And then second thing we see is he knew what he was feeling, 286 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:15,640 right? What does he say to him? 287 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,400 Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid. 288 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:27,000 It's, it's not command as much as it is an invitation because 289 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,400 he can't command Joseph's feelings to cease. 290 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:36,280 It's, it's an invitation to, instead of being wrapped up in 291 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,960 his feelings to change his focus, right? 292 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:44,280 We get so overwhelmed in the moment we come into these spaces 293 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,280 where our world is falling to pieces that we, all of us, we 294 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,960 just get tunnel vision and it's all we can see. 295 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:54,680 And this is an invitation by God to just, hey, you're not alone 296 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,440 in this. I know about it and I'm here. 297 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:00,720 You don't have to be afraid. I'll be with you. 298 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:07,080 This is about how you make decisions moving forward. 299 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,720 It's about not letting that moment, that situation that 300 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,920 you're in be so overwhelming to you that it clouds all of your 301 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:19,280 decision making moving forward. And then third, God invites 302 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:23,160 Joseph into what God is doing, he says. 303 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:28,720 You shall call his name Jesus. That's the may seem kind of just 304 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:35,520 innocuous to us, but what he's actually doing in this moment is 305 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,480 he's giving Joseph naming rights. 306 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:44,080 That means that he is giving Joseph adoption rights. 307 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:50,080 This Jesus, this is going to be Joseph's responsibility and 308 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,120 privilege to be the father of here on earth. 309 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:59,320 He's saying, Joseph, I'm working out a plan and I'm inviting you 310 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,560 into my plan to be a part of it. And then the fourth thing is he, 311 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,280 he opens his eyes to the scale of the plan that he's working 312 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:11,440 out, right? He says he will save his people 313 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,680 from their since he's in Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, I know you're 314 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,720 caught up in this unplanned pregnancy right now. 315 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:19,600 I get it. It's, it's all you can think. 316 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,200 It's the only way that you can see this. 317 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,560 But this is so much bigger than that. 318 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:32,080 So often when we have lost our peace as Christians, it's 319 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,760 because we lose the bigger picture of all that God is doing 320 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,040 and has done. And it's this invitation from 321 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:45,440 God for Joseph to step back from his situation and recognize 322 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,800 God's working up something so much bigger than he can imagine 323 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:56,480 right in in this world, right in this waiting for hope world that 324 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:00,760 we talked about last week. I think we so often lose our 325 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:07,880 peace because we lose our hope. We we lose sight of the fact 326 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:13,040 that we have hope and the confusion of our circumstances. 327 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,480 It crowds out the peace of God in our lives. 328 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,600 It crowds out the promises that Pastor Keith was talking to us 329 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:23,240 about. I love the fact that we just 330 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,560 walked through that first song that we sang and talked about 331 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,720 those promises. They are truths of Scripture. 332 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,720 And in case Joseph isn't getting it, in case we don't get it, 333 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,840 Matthew is now going to take a little just kind of step over to 334 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:43,520 the side to show exactly that this has been part of the plan 335 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:49,200 all along with God, right in verse 22, he says all of this. 336 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:54,080 It took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through 337 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,080 the prophet Isaiah 700 years before. 338 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,880 See, the version will become pregnant and give birth to a son 339 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:07,080 and they will name him Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. 340 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:14,400 He's saying listen, listen, 707 hundred years before this 341 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,600 moment, this moment was already set in stone. 342 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,600 I love this. I love this truth. 343 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:26,000 Do you know what it means? It means long before Joseph had 344 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:32,400 a problem, God had a promise. And that's true for us. 345 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:38,720 Those promises in God's word, some of them are thousands, 3000 346 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,640 plus years old, but they're as true. 347 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:47,320 Today is the day that they were written down, they far out date 348 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,240 and they will far outlast your current problem. 349 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:58,960 This is where peace comes from. Not in your ability currently to 350 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:05,160 manage your circumstances, not in your ability to control the 351 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,560 outcomes. It's not in your ability to be 352 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,760 able to hold everything together when everything feels like it's 353 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:16,600 falling apart. It's not in your ability to be 354 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,840 able to come up with a plan to sort out every possible 355 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,000 circumstance, right? Some of you are planners or 356 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,760 you're over planners. Try and come up with all of the 357 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,800 potentialities and figure them all out. 358 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:31,520 That's not where peace is going to come from. 359 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,640 It comes from knowing that God is in control even when your 360 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:38,400 real world feels like it's out of control. 361 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:46,600 It comes from knowing that He is true to His promises no matter 362 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:52,720 what the world throws at you. It's knowing that God knows you, 363 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:59,280 that He loves you, that He hasn't forgotten you, that I'll 364 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:03,400 never forsake you. That's where peace comes from. 365 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:05,840 That that's why it's so critical. 366 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,600 That's why we're going to harp on this over and over and over 367 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:10,240 again. It's so critical that you know 368 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,120 God's Word, that you're in God's Word, that you're taking in 369 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:17,120 these promises, that you're memorizing these truths because 370 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:22,400 rooting yourself in this is what allows you to hear His word over 371 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:27,400 your emotions. That's why it's critical to 372 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:32,920 Createspace to be present in, in in corporate worship here, God's 373 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,440 word, yes, but also in your daily life to to createspace to 374 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,800 open God's word and let it speak into your life. 375 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:47,080 So this is now the 5th decade in life that I have got to 376 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,560 experience on this planet. And I will just say, if I was 377 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:56,280 ranking decades, the twenty 20s is the worst absolutely out of 378 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,080 the five decades. And man, and I were talking 379 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:01,240 about this, in case you're wondering, the 90s was the best, 380 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:08,840 but the twenty 20s is the worst. And so I live in this same world 381 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:12,880 as you. I live in this world as a dad 382 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:17,640 who's trying to figure out how to raise and and raise up three 383 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,760 teenage kids. I live in this world as a 384 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:27,160 husband to a wife who she would never, ever, ever talk about 385 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,960 this or tell you this, but deals daily with chronic disease. 386 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:38,600 I, I, I don't have any more idea where the economy is going, 387 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,040 where the stock market is going, where the global affairs of this 388 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:45,080 world are going than you do. In fact, if you've got a good 389 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:51,680 tip, I'd love to hear it. There are times where I wake up 390 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,800 and I read the news and I can feel anxiety start to creep into 391 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:04,000 my heart, but I read these words that God said to Joseph and I 392 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,880 know that these words are words for all of God's people. 393 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:13,400 Don't be afraid. Jesus has come. 394 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:19,520 The Holy Spirit's with you and Jesus is coming again. 395 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:25,760 And if you can know those three things with certainty, don't be 396 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:28,320 afraid. Don't be afraid. 397 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,480 See, when you already know the end of the story. 398 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:36,560 Story never gets that scary, does it? 399 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:42,160 When you are certain. Michael Caine used to talk about 400 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,360 the fact I'm going to have to censor this. 401 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:46,680 He would read, he would decide whether he's going to be in a 402 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,760 movie. He would read the script and see 403 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,320 if he was there at the beginning and if he was still there at the 404 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,880 end, and if he was still there at the end, he'd do the movie, 405 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,760 right? The great truth for you if 406 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:05,120 you're a Christian is the Bible says if you're in Christ, you're 407 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:08,160 there at the end. You don't have anything to be 408 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:10,240 afraid of. There may be a whole bunch of 409 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,240 things that come up and get stirred up in the middle of that 410 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,080 story, but you know how the story ends. 411 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:22,560 That gives you a lot of peace in all of those uncertain chapters. 412 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:30,520 I think more than we need people who will solve our problems, we 413 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,000 will. We need people who are going to 414 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,200 assure us of God's promises if we're going to have peace. 415 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,880 Joseph is not going to get answers to all of his questions 416 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:43,080 here. What he got was a promise, and 417 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,480 that promise was enough to give him the peace that he needed to 418 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:48,320 walk forward. Look at what happens next. 419 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:53,920 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord's Angel had commanded 420 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,600 him. He married her but did not have 421 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,920 sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son and he 422 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:05,000 named him. Jesus says Joseph woke up and he 423 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,080 does exactly what God had told him to do. 424 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:14,440 He moves forward, but he does so without certainty of how this is 425 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,600 going to go for him. You didn't get any of the 426 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,680 answers about what this was going to mean for his reputation 427 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:25,640 sorted out or Mary's reputation. He's got no clarity about what 428 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,800 the future is going to hold for this child. 429 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,760 He doesn't have a guarantee of how the people around him are 430 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,000 going to respond to his decision making. 431 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,720 None of that. All those things that would have 432 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,320 been working up, all of the fear, none of that gets solved. 433 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:46,880 It doesn't get a resolution here, but what he has now is he 434 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:53,280 has faith and confidence in what God has told him to do, and he 435 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,480 has faith and confidence in the God who has told him to do it. 436 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,720 And so he walks in obedience. He walks in quiet, costly, 437 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:05,920 courageous obedience. He marries. 438 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:13,720 He marries Mary, he provides for her, he protects her, he raises 439 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,440 up Jesus as his own son. Jesus will be known as Jesus, 440 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,880 son of Joseph. Isn't he that guy who was the 441 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,840 son of the Carpenter? That's how he's going to be 442 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:27,960 known. He obeys not because he's got 443 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,880 all the answers to his questions, but because he trusts 444 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:32,600 the one who has made a promise to him. 445 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:38,520 When your world is falling to pieces, peace comes through 446 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:42,480 trusting God. Peace comes through obeying God. 447 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:46,960 Peace comes through doing what God has asked you to do. 448 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,960 We we think that peace is going to be found in US controlling 449 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,920 our circumstances. It's not because you can't 450 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,720 control your circumstances. You never will. 451 00:30:55,840 --> 00:31:02,680 That's a fool's game. We have a world full of people 452 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,040 who are building audiences right now by promising certainty. 453 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,720 If anyone is out there that you're following that tells you 454 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,840 they know the problem and they've got all the answers and 455 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,040 solutions to fix all your problems, they are selling you a 456 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:24,400 bag of goods, right? If you, if you hear a politician 457 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,840 get up there and talk about how their party policies and 458 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,240 platforms are going to fix everything, that's broken. 459 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:33,880 Nonsense, absolute nonsense. They don't have that type of 460 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:40,240 ability and control. Religious leaders who promise us 461 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:46,600 with certainty if you do blank God will do this nonsense, 462 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,280 right? That is not the way that God 463 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:55,680 operates. There are lots of people in this 464 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:00,520 world who promise to fix your circumstances if you will just 465 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,240 follow them, if you will just trust them, if you'll just do 466 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:08,200 what they say. And it's super enticing in a 467 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:11,400 time like this where everything feels so certain to listen to 468 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,400 somebody who's speaking with boldness and confidence to tell 469 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,680 you just do A and you'll get B. But it doesn't happen that way. 470 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:23,280 It might work for a season, but it's only for a season. 471 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,160 And a lot of these people, what's interesting about them is 472 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,160 they'll use tactics to rob you of your piece, to make you put 473 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:36,520 their faith, your faith in them. They'll, they'll, they'll try 474 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:41,040 and stir up anxiety, they'll try and stir up rage. 475 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,560 The people who are trying to get you all fearful and trying to 476 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,800 get you all angry, they're not doing so to the goodness of 477 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,000 their heart. They're doing so for their 478 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,720 purposes. But God sends Jesus with a 479 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:59,720 promise, not that he's going to fix our current circumstances, 480 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:05,160 not that once you trust in Jesus everything is great, but that he 481 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:09,840 will be with you through all those circumstances and that he 482 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,160 will secure your eternal reality. 483 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:17,080 See, Jesus came to bring peace to a world that's fallen to 484 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,760 pieces. Let me read the rest of John 485 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:26,000 1633 for you. It starts out this way. 486 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:32,440 Jesus says I have told you these things so that in me you may 487 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:37,880 have peace, you will have suffering in this world. 488 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:42,160 I'm not going to fix it all. Trusting me, believing in me is 489 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:45,040 not going to make it so that in this world everything goes 490 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:48,560 swimmingly for you. But then he says this, be 491 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,600 courageous because I've conquered the world. 492 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:57,960 I know how your story ends, and I've assured it. 493 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:05,160 All of the problems in this world at their core are rooted 494 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:10,320 in one single problem, sin. When sin came into the world, it 495 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,320 shattered peace. It shattered the Hebrew word of 496 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,560 peace, Shalom, which means everything just as it was meant 497 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:20,840 to be, right? Sin comes into the world, and in 498 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,840 Genesis chapter 3, it all falls apart real quickly. 499 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:27,560 The world falls to pieces. Peace between people is broken. 500 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,239 Adam and Eve are no longer at peace with one another. 501 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:33,560 They feel shame with one another. 502 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:36,560 They're pointing fingers at one another. 503 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:41,000 Peace between US and creation is part of the curse that gets 504 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,480 brought about. We live in a broken world where 505 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:47,120 the natural world leads the heartache and suffering in a way 506 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:52,199 that it was never intended to. And most significantly, and at 507 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:56,080 the core of all, this peace between us and our Creator, us 508 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:59,960 and the God who brings life has been shattered. 509 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:06,880 And into this, this sin, sin brings fear and sin brings death 510 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:12,040 and sin brings us into a world shattered into pieces. 511 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:17,280 But Jesus comes to take those pieces and put them back 512 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,640 together. He comes to bring us peace. 513 00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:23,360 He comes to bring us to a place of peace. 514 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,760 That's the promise that Joseph was given, that she will give 515 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:33,200 birth to a son and you're to name him Jesus because he will 516 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:37,880 save his people from their sins. That's why he's the Prince of 517 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:42,080 Peace. He came to save us from our 518 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:44,240 sins. He came us to save us from the 519 00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:47,920 devastation to peace that flows from sin. 520 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:55,040 So peace starts by trusting that Jesus came to bring us into 521 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:57,640 peace with God. If you want to know where the 522 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:02,360 very foundation point of peace is, no peace is really on offer 523 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:05,880 until we are brought into peace with God through Jesus Christ. 524 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:12,120 That's what he came to do. He came, He was born, He lived, 525 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:18,200 and He died on the cross for our sins as the perfect atonement so 526 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:21,200 that we could be brought back into peace with God. 527 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,520 He paid the penalty for the sin that Adam and all of us who are 528 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:28,880 descendants of Adam own and have since that day that sin entered 529 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:33,000 the world. And he takes that on himself and 530 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:37,320 pays the penalty of death so that we could enter into life 531 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:43,200 and peace with God. And if you don't know Jesus, my 532 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:47,600 invitation to you today would be to place your faith in the One 533 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,440 who came to bring you peace with God, because that's where peace 534 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:55,000 starts. But what about those of us who 535 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,800 have been following Jesus for a long time and are struggling 536 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:01,800 with peace today? How do you rest in that type of 537 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,360 peace? The type of peace that we have 538 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:06,480 already had, provided and purchased for? 539 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,320 See, the peace is already there through Jesus. 540 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:11,720 The peace already exists, but some of us aren't experienced 541 00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:13,160 it. So how do we get to a place of 542 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:16,240 experiencing it? First, let me encourage you to 543 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:19,360 do this. Name where your peace has been 544 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:24,040 shattered. See, trusting God starts with 545 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:27,560 acknowledging the thing that has shattered your peace. 546 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:33,680 Worry and peace are incompatible. 547 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:39,480 What is it that has you worried and anxious in your soul? 548 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:46,240 Name it, the Bible tells us we can cast all our cares on Him 549 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:48,880 because He cares for us. Take that to the Lord. 550 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,880 Second, listen to what God says, not just what you feel. 551 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:57,200 Again, I just want to encourage you. 552 00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:03,360 Some of you would be so your your day would be so much more 553 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:08,720 peaceful if instead of scrolling social media or opening up the 554 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:12,200 news or turning on the television, you opened up the 555 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:14,520 word of God and allowed him to speak words of peace to you 556 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:18,640 instead of going to places that want to rob you of your peace. 557 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:25,240 So open scripture, slow down. Listen, if you're worried about 558 00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:28,960 God's provision, here's a great passage for you to go to. 559 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:34,840 Go to Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 to 33, and keep going to it 560 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:39,080 until the Lord begins to take that thing that you know as you 561 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,680 read it and it is in your head and begins to settle deep into 562 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:46,000 your heart. If you're worried about the 563 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:50,640 future, the next verse in that passage is great, Matthew 634. 564 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:55,120 Don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry 565 00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:58,440 about itself. Each day has enough troubles of 566 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:05,320 its own, or as your mother or grandmother used to say, don't 567 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:10,960 borrow trouble from tomorrow. The third is this. 568 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:13,080 Trust God enough to take that next step? 569 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,080 Some of you right now God has shown up to you. 570 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:19,080 He's telling you what you need to do. 571 00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:21,880 He's telling you that what the next step of obedience is. 572 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:26,240 And you wish that He would tell you 5 steps ahead. 573 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:28,720 You're sitting there and you're like God. 574 00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,360 The next step is great, but could I see the whole plan 575 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:32,920 before I decide to take this step? 576 00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:34,560 But that's not the way God operates. 577 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:42,920 You take the next step, Joseph, he says, take Mary as your wife 578 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:45,080 and name the baby Jesus. That's what Joseph gets. 579 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:50,120 God, how am I going to deal with all the no, just just do what 580 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:54,000 I'm asking you to do. Take Mary as your wife, name the 581 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:58,440 baby Jesus. Do the thing that God has asked 582 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:01,840 you to do instead of worrying about the 10 questions that God 583 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:08,800 hasn't given you answers to yet. Peace often arrives when we take 584 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:14,760 that one step of obedience and then four, expect that God will 585 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:19,560 keep His word, that the promises that God makes to you are yes 586 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:24,560 and Amen forever. He is faithful to His promises 587 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:27,640 always, even when we struggle to believe it. 588 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:34,000 Like, I don't know when God's going to bring peace to your 589 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:35,760 circumstances that you're in right now. 590 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,560 I don't even know the circumstances that you're facing 591 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:44,000 right now, but I know that He can bring peace to your heart 592 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,000 regardless of your circumstances. 593 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:51,280 The peace God offers is not a peace that comes from having 594 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:56,200 everything under control. It's a peace that comes from 595 00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,520 knowing that God is the one who is in control over all things. 596 00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:04,160 And the very best thing that we could do together collectively 597 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:08,400 church this morning is to come to the communion table and 598 00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:12,840 remember that the peace that we really long for in our hearts 599 00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:15,320 and in our circumstances and when our world is falling apart 600 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:18,600 right now has been secured for us. 601 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:24,000 It is true. And just as we begin to take 602 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:27,200 this, I just want to remind people the elements that we take 603 00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:30,120 the bread and the cup. These are elements for those of 604 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,480 us who have already said we believe. 605 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:39,480 I believe that Jesus body was broken for me, that his blood 606 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:41,240 was poured out on the cross for me. 607 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:43,440 If that's you today, I would encourage you. 608 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,480 Maybe today was even the first day that you placed your faith 609 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:47,640 in Christ. That's fine. 610 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:49,840 Join with us for the very first time and take communion. 611 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:51,720 But if you're not there yet, that's fine. 612 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:55,560 Don't feel any pressure to have to participate in this. 613 00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:58,920 This is something that we take as an acknowledgement that yes, 614 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,280 this is true. For me, it's a reminder to our 615 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:03,880 hearts to say, yes, this is truth. 616 00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:06,960 If you haven't received a cup yet, we've got some people 617 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:09,240 around you. Just put your hand up and 618 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:10,840 they'll come and they'll bring you one. 619 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:17,320 Just say to you this as we get ready to take it. 620 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:23,240 If peace is found in certainty, and in this certainty in 621 00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:28,680 particular, then no matter how much uncertainty is swirling 622 00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:38,280 around you, you can know peace. First Corinthians 1123 to 26. 623 00:42:40,160 --> 00:42:42,040 Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth. 624 00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:45,360 He says, For I have received from the Lord what I also passed 625 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:48,120 on to you. On the night when he was 626 00:42:48,120 --> 00:42:52,400 betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given 627 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:55,200 thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for 628 00:42:55,200 --> 00:42:57,960 you. Do this in remembrance of me. 629 00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:00,120 And in the same way he also took the cup. 630 00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:05,080 And after supper he said, This cup is the new covenant in my 631 00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:08,760 blood. Do this as often as you drink it 632 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:12,600 in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this 633 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,680 bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until 634 00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:20,800 he comes. These elements remind us that 635 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:25,880 while life may be uncertain, our salvation is not. 636 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:33,680 Life may be incredibly uncertain for you, but if you're in Jesus, 637 00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:35,920 you can be certain of a few things. 638 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:41,360 You can be certain that the body of Christ was broken for you. 639 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:46,440 And if you can be certain that there is a God who would step 640 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:50,840 down out of the glories and majesty of heaven, out of the 641 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:54,120 perfection of that place, and enter into all of the brokenness 642 00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:59,320 of this world for you, that He would go to the cross for you, 643 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:04,800 then you can be certain no matter what your circumstances 644 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:09,840 are right now, that He loves you, that He so deeply loves 645 00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:14,240 you. The blood of Christ. 646 00:44:15,760 --> 00:44:19,280 If you believe that Jesus blood was poured out for your sins on 647 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:22,160 the cross, it means that you are reconciled to God. 648 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:28,720 And if Jesus sin is enough to wash away all our sins, if Jesus 649 00:44:28,720 --> 00:44:34,160 death, if his blood can just wash away everything, then you 650 00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:36,920 are held fast. You're never forsaken. 651 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:42,640 You never have to live in shame. You're never beyond God's mercy 652 00:44:42,640 --> 00:44:47,760 and grace. And when we eat and when we 653 00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:53,960 drink, Paul says we don't just proclaim his death, but we also 654 00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:58,440 proclaim his return. We proclaim his death until he 655 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:04,920 comes again, when His peace will reign fully, where there will be 656 00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:07,640 no more brokenness, where all things will be restored and made 657 00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:10,800 right and somehow even more beautiful than they would have 658 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:13,400 been if nothing was ever broken in the first place. 659 00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:17,160 I don't know what you're going through. 660 00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:21,440 I don't know what you're struggling with today. 661 00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:23,960 I know what's robbing you of your peace. 662 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:32,480 But if you belong to Jesus, whatever that thing is is far 663 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:34,880 too small to separate you from him. 664 00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:41,680 It's far too small to keep you away from His love, and it's far 665 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:44,920 too petty for you to allow it to rob you of the peace that He 666 00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:49,920 purchased for you on the cross. So let's take these elements as 667 00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:55,520 a confession of these truths. Let me pray over the wafer and 668 00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:57,800 then we'll take it together. Father, Father, thank you for 669 00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:02,320 the bread. Thank you for your body broken 670 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:06,120 for us. Thank You for this fixed and 671 00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:12,000 certain reality that we can look to is an absolute declaration of 672 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:15,400 Your love for us. God, some of us right now, our 673 00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:21,400 circumstances are screaming so loudly, but help us to hear your 674 00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:26,760 word that promises us that Christ's body was broken for us, 675 00:46:27,560 --> 00:46:33,160 that we are loved, that we're accepted, that He paid the 676 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:35,520 fullness of the penalty for our sin. 677 00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:37,920 That if we're going through something right now, we belong 678 00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:41,720 to You. It is not punishment, it's not 679 00:46:41,720 --> 00:46:44,000 discipline. Christ took all the punishment 680 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:46,280 on his body. We may be disciplined in this 681 00:46:46,280 --> 00:46:48,280 moment. We may have have strayed off 682 00:46:48,280 --> 00:46:49,920 course. You may be using some things to 683 00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:53,000 lovingly correct us, but you will not punishment punish us 684 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:55,320 because Christ has take the punishment for us. 685 00:46:56,120 --> 00:47:00,120 Father, thank you for this true and certain promise. 686 00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:11,240 Let's take an eat. Let's pray over the cup, Father. 687 00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:16,520 Thank you for the cup. Thank you for the New Covenant, 688 00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:22,000 which supersedes the Old Covenant, what we were incapable 689 00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:29,600 of doing, of keeping all the laws Christ did on our behalf. 690 00:47:31,800 --> 00:47:35,080 Thank you for Christ's perfection applied to us. 691 00:47:36,240 --> 00:47:39,160 Thank you for Christ's forgiveness poured out by his 692 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:43,680 blood on the cross. Thank you that we get to come to 693 00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:49,720 you right now without fear, with no shame, that if we're in 694 00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:51,440 Christ, we have been reconciled to you. 695 00:47:51,440 --> 00:47:54,560 We've been named sons and daughters of the King. 696 00:47:55,840 --> 00:48:00,000 That all of the promises, all of the good things, all of the 697 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:05,280 blessings that were due Jesus have been offered to us as Co 698 00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:11,520 heirs with him. God, that includes the promise 699 00:48:11,560 --> 00:48:13,760 that you are going to come again, that Christ will come 700 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,960 again, that all things will be renewed and restored. 701 00:48:17,880 --> 00:48:20,440 And so, God, in the midst of the circumstances that feels so 702 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:24,080 uncertain and chaotic for us, God, would you give us a real 703 00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:26,960 sense of peace that washes over us knowing that we know how the 704 00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:33,840 story ends and it's certain. Let's take and let's drink. 705 00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:42,280 Let the worship team lead us in one more song of worship 706 00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:42,720 together.