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Welcome to the River City Church
podcast and a message by our 

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lead pastor, Jason Powers. 
Our prayer is that this message 

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would inspire and encourage you,
build your faith and point you 

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to the life changing love of 
Jesus. 

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May you enjoy the goodness of 
God as you follow Him today. 

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The prophet Micah says he will 
be their peace we've. 

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This is Week 2 of Advent and 
Advent is the season is the 

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church. 
It begins the church year and we

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begin the church year with 
waiting. 

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Advent is a season of waiting, 
of looking The first Advent was 

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the people of Israel, the nation
of Israel and the whole. 

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Earth waiting for the Messiah, 
waiting for the promised One. 

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Well, Jesus has already come and
he's always already demonstrated

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himself to be King. 
And so now we wait for his 

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return. 
But it's similar a lot the same,

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waiting for his return as 
waiting for him the first time. 

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But the Christmas season, this 
Advent, as we talk about peace 

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and hope and joy and love, and 
we are in the presence of trees,

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so many trees and Garland and 
flocking and candles and lights 

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and bells. 
And we know and we see it and 

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it's good and it kind of lifts 
our spirit for a minute. 

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But the really big things, the 
difficult things in life, the 

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loneliness, the fear, the 
anxiety, the emptiness, we have 

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to acknowledge that. 
The bells and the whistles. 

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And the trappings don't 
dissipate much of the pressure 

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of real life just because it's. 
Cold. 

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Cold when the wind blows and the
bells ring and the candles and 

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you got all the store and the 
candles are lit up and there's 

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bells. 
If our souls are empty or thin 

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or waiting, it just sounds like 
noise. 

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Music of Advent can just be a 
distraction if your soul is 

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depleted, if you're empty, and 
if you're waiting. 

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Christmas is the season of 
giving of gifts. 

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It is a season of lists and and 
waiting and going on this but 

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if. 
We're not careful. 

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The season of giving can become 
the season of comparison, a 

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season of pressure, a season of 
discontent. 

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You felt that you do the best 
that you can. 

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But man, why does Santa always 
bring the best stuff to the 

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neighbors next door? 
Why don't he? 

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You know I didn't get APS 4. 
Why don't we have that right? 

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PS Five. 
Now see, I'm still grumpy over 

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the four. 
I don't it's a season of bright 

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lights. 
Dim spirits. 

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It's a season of big noise, 
empty hearts, tired, weary, 

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going. 
All the stuff is good. 

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All the places that we go, 
right? 

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The parties on that that stuff, 
that's good. 

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But the reality nagging behind 
the behind all of this, the 

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thing that we go and the quiet 
moments when the bells are gone 

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and the music is gone away. 
The trappings of Christmas just 

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can't bring you peace. 
But they can. 

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Reveal your longing for it, and 
I think this is where Christmas 

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meets. 
Us and our longing for peace and

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the place that we go to find it 
and the places that we go to 

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stop, to pause like Chris was 
talking about, to slow down and 

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to be proactive into the world 
instead of just reactive on it. 

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And we realize like if it was 
just a matter of Christmas 

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season, we would hang wreaths on
the door and reindeer in the 

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front yard all year long. 
But it's not We hear the bells 

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and we sing the songs and we 
want it. 

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And there are moments we catch 
glimpses of it where we're at 

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rest and we're we're at peace. 
But then there's something else,

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and there's more of it. 
It's been about five years since

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I've taught the entire Advent 
series by myself. 

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For the last five years, this 
has been a teaching team series.

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And the reason was back at our 
old building, I came. 

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And it was this message in 
particular that I walked off 

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this stage again after teaching 
about peace and said I will not 

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teach that again until I 
understand it. 

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And it wasn't that I didn't 
understand that it wasn't that I

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didn't know where the Bible 
verses were. 

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It wasn't that I didn't know 
what Michael was. 

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I just didn't know peace in my 
own life. 

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I had the same things that we 
all have too much month at the 

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end of the money kids that are 
growing up and becoming things 

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that I start to realize I don't 
have any control over that. 

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And who am I? 
How do I deal with the things 

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that are big and that are scary?
And this job is so wonderful and

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I love doing this, but a big 
part of my job is just a job. 

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It's budgets and staff meetings 
and coming and going. 

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And the reality is, most of the 
time when I walk off the stage, 

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I feel like a giant imposter and
a big pretender. 

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And it doesn't change at 
Christmas. 

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And there isn't. 
Peace. 

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I realized about five years ago 
when I was walking through this 

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and I was looking for and I 
noticed that I didn't have it. 

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I could talk about it, but I 
didn't have it. 

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I realized, So what is that? 
When you have moments and you 

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realized that the peace that I 
had been looking for was a 

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counterfeit peace. 
It wasn't that I wasn't. 

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Trying to get peace. 
It wasn't that I didn't want to 

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peace have peace, I just wasn't 
going about it the right way. 

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I would wake up and try to 
convince myself that I was good 

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at whatever good means right. 
And what happens then Good 

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becomes whatever room I'm in. 
If I'm in a room with really 

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well behaved button up people, 
well then good means morally 

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better. 
And what happens then is if I'm 

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in with people that I feel are 
better than me morally, well 

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then what I do is start to. 
Pretend, don't I? 

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And you know what happens when 
we pretend we don't have peace, 

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Because where there's pretense, 
there's the fear of being found 

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out. 
What if I'm not as smart as they

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say they are? 
What if I'm not as good a 

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preacher as they think I am? 
What if I let them down? 

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Because the reality is I know 
exactly how good I am and I'm 

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not whatever I try to convince 
you of otherwise. 

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And so the distance between what
I try to put on and what is real

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in my heart and soul, that gap 
is where peace dies. 

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This definition of peace that 
comes from our culture, we talk 

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about consolidation of power, 
getting all the strongest people

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to believe one thing and to 
respond one way. 

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And if we need to get in order 
to that peace is powerful enough

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that if we have to step on a few
people or conquer a few enemies 

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to get it all together and get 
the right things done, it's just

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a small price to pay. 
So we got to crush a few skulls,

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so we got to step on a few 
throats to get it done. 

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That's OK, as long as then we 
can then have peace. 

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But the problem is, as soon as 
you gain peace by crushing your 

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enemies, your peace. 
Finishes because their children 

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are bitter that you've killed 
their parents. 

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And so we find peace over 
people, only to find peace 

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dissipating again as their 
children come for retribution. 

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We chase peace through control. 
If I can just make it all work, 

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if I can just fit it, if I can 
just get enough time and energy 

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and money into the right place 
at the right time with the right

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people there, if I can just make
all of that work, then it will 

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all come together and everything
will be fine. 

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If I can just make this work. 
And so we walk around the world 

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trying to control the world. 
And when we inevitably, every 

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minute of every day come to the 
realization that we do not live 

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in a world that will be 
controlled by you. 

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We have this tension. 
I have this need to control and 

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I have this radical inability to
control. 

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And so do you know what we do? 
We drink. 

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Or we take drugs. 
Or we spend money. 

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Or we cheat. 
We do anything that we can to 

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numb the peace. 
We're looking, we're searching, 

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we want it. 
I just can't make the world do 

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what I want it to do. 
And So what I want, it's so 

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important to acknowledge and 
admit at this Christmas season, 

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right? 
Like there, we're going to solve

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this. 
But we've got to begin with the 

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bad news. 
If we're going to understand the

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good news, we have to begin with
the bad news. 

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The bad news is that most of us 
long for real peace. 

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And we have settled for 
substitutes for counterfeits. 

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Last week we we came to saw this
realization that if we confess 

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our darkness, it will open the 
door to hope. 

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You remember, we saw the people 
of Israel under the oppression 

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of the Assyrian Empire, and they
thought that the promises that 

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God had made them about 
protection, about provision, 

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about a. 
Future about a destiny. 

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God's people thought that God 
had let them down. 

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And when they came to that place
and they acknowledged and 

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recognized and confessed the 
darkness around, and when they 

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looked around, they'd go, this 
isn't what it's supposed to be. 

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Into that place. 
God said, I'm solving this for 

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you. 
When we confess and admitted our

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darkness, the door to hope was 
opened. 

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And this week when we confess. 
Our fears and our anxious. 

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Are you listening? 
I'm not talking about just 

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confess. 
That you're anxious. 

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I'm talking about standing in 
front of the mirror and 

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confessing. 
I'm afraid that if I don't work 

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myself to the bone, I'm afraid 
that if I don't fill every 

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minute with every activity that 
any person can imagine and think

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of, and I don't tell everybody 
how busy I am, I'm afraid they 

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won't think I'm worth anything. 
And so we grind and we burn to 

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the nub and we're trying and 
we're going and we just, we 

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don't have peace. 
And so my hope is for us to 

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prepare room here for the peace 
of God that comes and we're 

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going to look at a different 
place. 

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This isn't one of the 
traditional Advent readings 

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today. 
But the reason we're dealing 

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with this was because this 
summer as I was processing this 

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and I knew Christmas is coming 
and I'm like, well, we're going 

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to have to talk about this. 
And so, you know, what are we 

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going to do? 
We can have this right during 

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this time. 
This is a passage. 

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This is a story that I came 
across that will help me 

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understand what peace meant. 
That helped prepare me to deal 

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with this passage today. 
And it's not perfect. 

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I'm high strung, boy. 
Shocked. 

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You're shocked by that, right? 
I'm high strung. 

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My brain works fast. 
I'm creating problems that have 

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never existed in the whole 
world. 

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So that I may then worry about 
them and fear about them. 

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And what I want to tell you is 
that's friend, that's not the 

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world that you were created to 
live in. 

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That's not the reality that 
Jesus came to show us. 

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That in fact, is the very world 
in reality He came to save us 

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from. 
When we talk about salvation and

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we talk about peace at 
Christmas, this is what we're 

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talking about. 
So we're going to be in the book

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of Judges. 
And it's upfront. 

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So a couple things like here's 
OK, so here's why I'm a big fan 

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of like paper Bibles, OK? 
Because when the paper Bible, 

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what you can see is this is the 
beginning and this is the end. 

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And relatively speaking, things 
move from here. 

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To here so you're like how 
insulting that you would. 

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Feel like you have to tell us 
that it's OK. 

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I get it. 
Like, I know, right? 

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Here's what's important. 
This is Jesus where we find 

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Jesus, OK? 
This is where we pick up our 

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story today in the book of 
Judges. 

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OK, so now God made a promise to
Abram. 

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He said I'm going to make you a 
family and a nation, and I'm 

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going to bless the world through
your. 

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Family And so Abraham had a son 
and his son had a son, and they 

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became a family and they went to
Egypt and they became slaves. 

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And then God chose Moses and 
said Moses, go get my people and

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tell them to go. 
And Moses said you're crazy, 

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there's a pharaoh there and 
he'll kill me. 

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And God said go anyway. 
So Moses went and got the. 

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People out of Israel and they 
settled. 

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Into a place and when we come to
this, we're in a season now 

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called the period of the judges.
There was no king. 

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It was that enemies would come 
and God would raise up a judge. 

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Some of the judges you've 
probably heard of, you've heard 

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of Samson was a judge. 
Many of you may have heard of 

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Deborah who was also a judge 
today in Judges Chapter. 

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Six, we're going to read about 
Gideon, who was a judge, OK? 

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So now where we come to the book
of Gideon is a very similar 

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place to where we were last time
in the book of Isaiah, except 

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00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:36,080
this time the enemy of God's 
people is the Midianites. 

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00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,840
Now the Midianites were brutal. 
People talk about them like they

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were locusts. 
They would show up and they 

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00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:42,560
would devour everything they 
would eat. 

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00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:46,480
Every crop take every herd, 
every everything, right? 

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00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,360
Like they're the Grinch reaching
down the chimney for the last 

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crumb of Midianite of of of a 
Israelite stuff, right. 

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00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,560
So we come to six verse 11 and 
we read this. 

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00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:59,000
The Angel of the Lord came now. 
Let me pause right here. 

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We could go real deep and spend 
a lot of time talking about the.

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00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:04,320
Lord and the Angel the Lord. 
Here's what I want you to know 

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00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,200
today in the Old Testament. 
Before we saw Jesus, there was 

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this thing how do how does God 
who is a spirit show up right? 

239
00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,360
And so I don't want to I don't 
want to parse this too much 

240
00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:16,840
today. 
What I want to show us is what's

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00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,280
happening here is God is 
appearing to Gideon, OK? 

242
00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,400
God is showing up in this place.
So here's what we have. 6 verse 

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00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,080
11, The Angel of the Lord came 
and he sat under the oak that 

244
00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,520
was in Ofra, which is just a 
place, OK? 

245
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,480
It's a place in Israel. 
It belonged to Joe Ash, the 

246
00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,000
Abbey Azarite. 
OK, so here's a guy, Joe Ash. 

247
00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,760
And now listen, Joe Ash's son 
was Gideon, and Gideon was 

248
00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,800
threshing wheat in the wine 
press in order to hide it from 

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00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,040
the Midianites. 
OK, so let's look at what we got

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00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:46,800
going on. 
We've got Gideon hiding. 

251
00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:51,480
Now I want to ask you, why do 
you hide scared? 

252
00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:54,920
We hide when we're afraid that 
there's something out there 

253
00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,880
that's bigger than us, that's 
going to take from us what we 

254
00:12:57,880 --> 00:12:59,960
don't want, right? 
So what we're told is that 

255
00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:02,960
Gideon is afraid and Gideon is 
in the wine press. 

256
00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,760
Threshing wheat. 
So there were two places in this

257
00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,760
kind of agrarian. 1 was the 
threshing floor. 

258
00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,800
The threshing floor was where 
you would take wheat, all the 

259
00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,280
kernels and the stalks of wheat,
and you would take them together

260
00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:16,920
and you'd take a. 
Big like fork what do they call 

261
00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,320
it? 
Pitchfork right and you'd. 

262
00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,840
Throw it up in the air and the 
little papery husk, it's called 

263
00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,920
the chaff, very light. 
You'd throw it up into the wind 

264
00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,200
and the wind would blow the 
chaff away. 

265
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,440
You've heard about separating 
the wheat from the chaff, right?

266
00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:32,080
It's how it goes. 
You throw it up and you throw it

267
00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:33,520
and the wind will take the chaff
away. 

268
00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,320
And what you're left with is the
heavier kernels, right? 

269
00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,960
So when you are threshing wheat,
you want to be in a high place 

270
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,680
up on top. 
Now there was another place in 

271
00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,400
Israelite agrarian called the 
wine press. 

272
00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:49,920
Now the wine press is where you 
would take all the grapes that 

273
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:51,040
you would have. 
And you would. 

274
00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,840
Crush them to make wine. 
That's good. 

275
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:55,680
See, right. 
So now here's the thing. 

276
00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,080
When you're crushing the grapes 
and you're making wine, what 

277
00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,800
happens to the liquid When if 
you're on a high place on the 

278
00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:04,400
top of the hill, right, Where's 
the liquid going to go down. 

279
00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,400
So where would you have a wine 
press down? 

280
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,720
So the wine press was at a low 
spot in the ground, generally on

281
00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,120
rock or in a cave. 
Generally there would be very 

282
00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,520
little wind there, which is 
means it's not a great. 

283
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:24,320
Place for threshing wheat Is it 
getting his scared out of his 

284
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,640
mind and he is changing every 
aspect of his life to 

285
00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,160
accommodate his fear? 
You ever felt like that? 

286
00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,240
You ever been so afraid you 
don't check your e-mail? 

287
00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,680
You ever been so afraid that you
don't go check the mail? 

288
00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:44,240
You ever been so afraid of that 
you don't go to the doctor? 

289
00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:47,360
You ever been so afraid? 
This is Gideon. 

290
00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:53,040
Gideon has accommodated fear and
anxiety in his life to the point

291
00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,160
where it is now the defining 
characteristic. 

292
00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,160
It is now the defining quality 
of what he does. 

293
00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,240
There's Gideon hiding in Daddy's
wine press. 

294
00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:04,840
Threshing wheat. 
What's interesting? 

295
00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:09,240
The most important words I want 
to point you 2 are the first 

296
00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:15,480
several words in verse 11, the 
Angel of the Lord aim because 

297
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,840
what I want to say is I don't 
know where you are today. 

298
00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,240
I don't know what you're dealing
with, but if you like Gideon, 

299
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:24,920
you're doing the unthinkable in 
an unthinkable place because 

300
00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,360
you're afraid and because you're
scared and you have lost that 

301
00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,320
picture of yourself and you've 
tried to start defining yourself

302
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:32,120
by other things and by external 
things. 

303
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,040
You're right in a place where 
Gideon was. 

304
00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,720
And the good news is that God 
enters Gideon's story right at 

305
00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,480
the exact moment where peace 
seems least likely. 

306
00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,200
That's where God comes and gets 
involved. 

307
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,920
It's that moment where Gideon 
doesn't have anything left to 

308
00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:48,720
hope, and he doesn't have 
anything left to look. 

309
00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,960
For he's resigned. 
Himself to a word of fear and. 

310
00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,320
God shows up in that space. 
So the question is, where does 

311
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,520
peace seem least likely to you? 
The debts too big, right? 

312
00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:59,280
God could never deal with that 
debt. 

313
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:01,560
You're just stuck for the rest 
of your life. 

314
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,440
Maybe you made a bad decision 
and now you're underneath it and

315
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,880
you've just resigned yourself to
debt and death and toil and 

316
00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:09,920
anxiety for the rest of your 
life. 

317
00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,040
Maybe that's the point where God
enters your story. 

318
00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,720
Maybe the cancer is too 
aggressive and you heard about 

319
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,560
that Doctor Who said you can't. 
Maybe you can't. 

320
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,240
Maybe that's the point where God
enters your story. 

321
00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,640
Maybe that person across the 
table, that neighbor you've 

322
00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,640
heard love your neighbor as 
yourself, and you look across 

323
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,480
the street at your neighbor and 
that person is too different 

324
00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:32,760
too. 
Dissimilar. 

325
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,480
Too unlike. 
You can never build something 

326
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,480
with them. 
Or maybe your sin is just too 

327
00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,560
obvious. 
Maybe you wish you had one of 

328
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,320
those secret hidden sins that 
didn't show on your face, but 

329
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,680
you don't. 
And maybe the guilt and the 

330
00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,520
shame that you fear because of 
this has just chased you down 

331
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,560
for your entire life, and you 
have bought into the life that 

332
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:56,680
you can come here, but you can 
never really be free from that. 

333
00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,440
Your sin is just too big. 
That sin in particular, there's 

334
00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,520
no grace for. 
There's no coming. 

335
00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,599
Back from that one, what I want 
to show you, friend, is in the 

336
00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:10,119
middle of your fear, in the 
middle of Gideon's fear, God 

337
00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,280
came to him. 
Listen. 

338
00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,960
Are you listening? 
You think you're just here to 

339
00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,520
hear me talk? 
If all you hear today is me 

340
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:22,599
talk, you may have wasted your 
time. 

341
00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,720
Because what I would say to you 
is this may be your wine press. 

342
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,680
This may be the moment in your 
fear where God has something to 

343
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,360
say to you. 
It's not about hearing me. 

344
00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:38,000
It's not about pleasing me. 
It's not about, it's not about 

345
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,160
any of those things. 
This is about the fact that in 

346
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,640
this moment, in this place, in 
the place of your fear, your 

347
00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:49,560
anxiety, your discontent, God 
has something for you. 

348
00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:54,040
And what would you expect to 
hear from God in your hiding 

349
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,800
place? 
Now, let's be real careful and 

350
00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,880
talk like cuz when I we talk 
about stuff that's hard, right? 

351
00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:01,920
Like we can talk about 
addictions and fears and 

352
00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,080
anxieties and stuff like that. 
But when we start talking about 

353
00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,240
hiding place like this, I just 
want it to be like a closet. 

354
00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,880
No, I mean when you are wasted 
drunk, because that's the way 

355
00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,440
that you get away from your 
problems and God meets you 

356
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:14,760
there. 
He doesn't wait for you to sober

357
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,160
up. 
He doesn't wait for the headache

358
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:17,800
to get him. 
I mean, he shows up to you in 

359
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:19,440
there. 
What does God want to say to? 

360
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,080
You in that moment. 
When you're verbally abusing 

361
00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,320
your spouse because you can't 
make or do what you want, or you

362
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,560
can't make him do what you want.
When you're licking it on your 

363
00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,120
kids because you can't figure 
out how to control them and 

364
00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,440
manipulate them and make you 
want to do, and you start to 

365
00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:33,960
feel like you're losing the 
whole thing. 

366
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:38,800
What does God say to you in that
moment when you are busy and 

367
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,040
exhausted and tired and afraid, 
but nobody ever told? 

368
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:43,960
You that. 
You're more important. 

369
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,160
Than what you do? 
What does God say to you then? 

370
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,280
Because he showed up for getting
in a place of fear and a place 

371
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,520
of anxiety. 
And what I hope that you see is 

372
00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,360
that God probably isn't going to
tell you what you think. 

373
00:18:58,360 --> 00:18:59,800
So again, the context. 
Is. 

374
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,960
Gideon right hiding on daddy's 
threshing floor, doing what he's

375
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:04,640
got to do. 
When we read this in verse 12, 

376
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:09,880
then the Angel the Lord, the 
Lord appeared to him and said, 

377
00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:14,320
the Lord is with you. 
Mighty warrior. 

378
00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,080
Get the picture? 
This is Gideon hiding again, 

379
00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,400
right? 
And here comes God, mighty 

380
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,920
warrior. 
You're like, here's where God 

381
00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,440
begins to build peace into our 
life. 

382
00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,920
When God shows up to Gideon, he 
begins with two things. 

383
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:34,040
Are you listening? 
Presence and identity. 

384
00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:38,960
The first thing that he told him
was God is with you. 

385
00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,040
Listen to me here. 
Look at me. 

386
00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,560
Where are you today? 
Have you given up hope? 

387
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,280
Have you lost hope? 
Did you weep all the way here? 

388
00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,200
Are you weeping right now? 
Listen to me. 

389
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,440
What I want to tell you as God 
is with you, He's not ashamed of

390
00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,120
your tears. 
He's not afraid of your fears. 

391
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,360
He's not embarrassed by the 
thing that you have gone 

392
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,800
through. 
He is standing here and He wants

393
00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:01,480
you to know that He is with you 
and you can't change that. 

394
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:03,800
You didn't start it, You didn't 
do it. 

395
00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:05,920
You didn't create this 
situation. 

396
00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:08,960
He did and He came to you. 
And what He wants you to know is

397
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:10,320
He is with you. 
And the second. 

398
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:12,040
Thing that he comes to is 
identity. 

399
00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:18,360
He called Gideon a mighty 
warrior as Gideon cowered in the

400
00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:21,720
shadows, afraid of the Midianite
onslaught. 

401
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:24,400
Here's what that means. 
Are you listening? 

402
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:26,680
That means that you're not who 
you think you are. 

403
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,640
That means that thing that you 
let define you, and maybe you 

404
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:32,800
let it define you because 
somebody told you it defined 

405
00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:34,960
you. 
Maybe your dad told you when you

406
00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,080
were growing up, maybe your boss
told you, maybe a sister or a 

407
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,760
teacher, or it's just something 
that you told yourself, but you 

408
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:42,320
told yourself that you didn't 
fit. 

409
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,800
You told yourself you didn't 
have any value unless you were 

410
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,640
producing something. 
You don't have any value unless 

411
00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,320
you are important or significant
or seen. 

412
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,840
And what God says is that's not 
true. 

413
00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:59,760
God called Gideon a valiant 
warrior before he stepped out of

414
00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:01,440
the wine press. 
Now let me just ask you. 

415
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:03,800
Did he know? 
Was he telling the truth? 

416
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:07,760
Had Gideon ever felt like a 
mighty? 

417
00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,280
Warrior. 
See. 

418
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,600
Well, let's keep going. 
It's like there's a story here 

419
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,800
that's going on, right? 
Gideon's got this incomplete 

420
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:22,160
picture. 
God calls him dying warrior. 

421
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,560
And listen, my hope is that this
is like water for your thirsty 

422
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:26,440
soul. 
Some of you. 

423
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,800
I'm talking particularly to 
those of you who peace seems 

424
00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:34,120
like a cruel joke thing that God
talked about but never delivers.

425
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,760
Remember, when we come to these 
stories, we don't put ourselves 

426
00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:39,760
in God's place, right? 
Like we don't look at God and 

427
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,680
go, yeah, I think I would do it.
God didn't know we put ourselves

428
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:42,800
in. 
So listen, here's like, here's 

429
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:44,600
what I want you to be, Gideon. 
For a while. 

430
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,880
Blessed are you, the Lord is 
with you, valiant warrior. 

431
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,920
And Gideon said to him, Please, 
my Lord, you can imagine a 

432
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,480
little bit of sarcasm dripping. 
Please, my Lord, if the Lord is 

433
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,880
with us, why has all in this 
happened? 

434
00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:03,360
Oh, Lord is. 
With me, he says. 

435
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,960
Oh, so I'm just threshing wheat 
in a wine press just for my own 

436
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:09,200
good? 
Lord's with us, huh? 

437
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:10,840
Yeah, we're your people. 
God. 

438
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,680
You said you promised you 
deliver, right? 

439
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:16,800
Why has all this happened? 
And we're all your wonders that 

440
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:21,000
our ancestors had told us about.
They said the Lord has brought 

441
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,720
us out of Egypt, but why is the 
Lord abandoned us and handed us 

442
00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,880
now to Midian? 
You didn't even know you could 

443
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,360
whine when you read the 
Scripture, but it's important. 

444
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,280
God, where were you? 
We followed you and you have 

445
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:33,920
been Lord. 
I went to church every week, I 

446
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,880
read the Bible, I gave the 10%, 
I did a smug, I did all the 

447
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:43,240
things God and you let me down. 
See, this is what fear does in 

448
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,920
the moment with the shadows. 
Fear will give you 1,000,000 

449
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:50,000
reasons and then a million more 
to doubt the voice of God. 

450
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,160
It'll give you 1,000,000 reasons
to tell you that that voice in 

451
00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,840
your head that tells you that 
he's with you, that he sees you,

452
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:58,680
that you're a valiant warrior. 
He had every. 

453
00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,160
Reason to tell you that you are 
wrong. 

454
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,960
And what does Gideon do? 
Oh, I'm about oh, you're the 

455
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:05,000
Lord is with me. 
Great. 

456
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:06,520
If he's with me then why does 
everything? 

457
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,680
Suck so bad. 
You ever feel like that? 

458
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,880
Surely if I was a God, I would 
create a reality better than 

459
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,240
this one, right? 
But what I want? 

460
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,120
You to say is this opens the 
door for what comes next. 

461
00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:26,280
And this is the most important 
thing because what Gideon does 

462
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,200
is express honestly his longing 
in his heart. 

463
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,840
God. 
He's not rejecting God. 

464
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,640
He's saying, God, I want to 
believe that you're good, but 

465
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,760
I'm having a hard time 
reconciling the difficulty that 

466
00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,240
I'm in with the reality of your 
goodness because either you 

467
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:44,000
can't stop this or you're not 
stopping this. 

468
00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:49,520
And I don't understand. 
Have you ever felt like that? 

469
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,640
Well, Gideon's questioning in 
this moment isn't God's 

470
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,280
existence. 
He's questioning God's nearness.

471
00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:01,880
And what I would say is that is 
the place where peace vanishes. 

472
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,880
Peace is that sense of knowledge
that it's going to be OK. 

473
00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:10,920
Not that I am going to do it, 
not that I'm going to fix it. 

474
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,240
We don't care that much. 
About that because we know who 

475
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,880
we. 
Are the question is. 

476
00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:19,840
Is God with us? 
Is God going to be here? 

477
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,880
Is God going to do something? 
Is it going to be OK? 

478
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,960
So Gideon asks these questions, 
right? 

479
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,040
Serious questions. 
And listen, here's what I want 

480
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,960
to tell you. 
You have to ask those questions 

481
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:30,600
and you have to ask them in 
prayer. 

482
00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,160
You have to go before the Lord 
and whatever it is that 

483
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:34,880
convinces you that you're 
praying, if you got to get on 

484
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,960
your knees or fold your hands, 
you got to say the hard thing to

485
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,160
the Lord because the Lord 
responds to Gideon and what does

486
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,960
he say to him? 
Verse 14, he says this, the Lord

487
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:49,360
turned to him and says, go in 
the strength that you have and 

488
00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:52,360
deliver Israel from the grasp of
Midian. 

489
00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,760
I am sending you. 
He didn't answer a single one of

490
00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,440
his questions. 
God, where are you? 

491
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,960
Why have you done this? 
He's like, not now Gideon, 

492
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:06,320
you've got to go. 
They are waiting for you, man. 

493
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,440
They are waiting for you to go. 
It gives them an assignment. 

494
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:12,920
And what he says is go in the 
strength that you have. 

495
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:14,840
He's not. 
He doesn't even want to measure.

496
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,080
We're just like, Lord, this is 
I, Lord, I only have three 

497
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:19,680
skills. 
Well, three's enough. 

498
00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:23,120
Just kidding, Lord. 
It was one skill. 

499
00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:24,920
One's enough. 
What? 

500
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,120
Was the secret to Gideon having 
enough? 

501
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:35,760
I am with you. 
That's the good news. 

502
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,800
You can't. 
You can't help whether Midian is

503
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,400
invading or not. 
You can't help. 

504
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,720
The quality and nature of your 
enemies. 

505
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,480
You can't help that. 
You feel like you're slinging 

506
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,920
wheat in the winepress. 
All you can do. 

507
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,120
Is wrap your head. 
Around and hope and plant in 

508
00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:56,680
your heart this idea that God's 
plan is to give us peace through

509
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,160
companionship. 
We don't want that. 

510
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,160
You don't want that. 
You want peace through a problem

511
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:03,600
solved. 
You want peace through radical 

512
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:05,720
empowerment to do what I want to
my enemies. 

513
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,640
And that's just not the story. 
In fact, there's nowhere in the 

514
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,400
story. 
That that's the story. 

515
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,280
Do you remember how God went to 
Abraham? 

516
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:14,760
Do you remember how this story 
started? 

517
00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:16,840
He went to Abraham and he said 
go to the land. 

518
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,880
I'll show you. 
He didn't say go over there 400 

519
00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:21,400
steps and then take a left and 
then go through here. 

520
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,720
He says, I'm going to show you 
walk with me. 

521
00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,320
And he went to Moses and Moses 
thought he was going to handle 

522
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:27,840
it. 
And Moses, he was, he was going 

523
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,160
to be the guy, right? 
He was God's guy. 

524
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,600
So what does he do? 
He sees injustice and he gets 

525
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,280
involved in what does he do? 
He kills an Egyptian. 

526
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:37,840
Well, then he's got to go hide 
in the desert for 40 years. 

527
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,840
And what happens is God comes to
him and he calls his name. 

528
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,320
Do you remember what he said to 
Jesus? 

529
00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:44,400
Jesus told him after he said, 
don't worry about what you're 

530
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,200
going to say when you get called
in because I'll be there with 

531
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,600
you and I'll teach you the 
things that he has to say. 

532
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:51,720
He's saying, Gideon, don't worry
about it. 

533
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,320
Gideon, I'm going to be with. 
You. 

534
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,560
And what does Gideon say? 
Please, Lord, how can I deliver 

535
00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:01,040
Israel? 
Look, my family's the weakest in

536
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:03,160
Manasseh and I'm the youngest in
my father's family. 

537
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,960
Literally Gideon's. 
Like bro, I'm in a wine press, 

538
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:10,360
bro. 
I'm literally scared of my own 

539
00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:15,720
shadow. 
I'm scared of every single thing

540
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,520
possible. 
Moses did the exact same thing. 

541
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:20,360
Moses was so tough, he's. 
Killing. 

542
00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:23,280
Egyptians, I will single 
handedly deliver myself, my 

543
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,280
people, ha ha, ha, ha ha, right?
And then later, right, at first 

544
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,200
he's like, God, how could you 
let your people down? 

545
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:29,920
You do this, right? 
And then when God calls me, he 

546
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:31,400
says, Hey, I want you to go to 
Pharaoh. 

547
00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:33,720
Moses. 
You want Moses is like, I can't 

548
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,040
talk, blah, blah, blah, blah, 
right? 

549
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,520
So at first when he's accusing 
God, God, where were you and all

550
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:40,120
this? 
And when God's like, let's go 

551
00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:42,480
make peace, he's like, well, I 
can't do it. 

552
00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:47,840
OK, is it me or is it? 
You I can't figure out like I 

553
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:49,520
don't. 
Know I don't know who it is. 

554
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,400
The fact is, God isn't the least
bit concerned about throwing you

555
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,280
to a place where you feel like 
you don't have it all. 

556
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,440
God is perfectly content for you
to be out of your depth and out 

557
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,840
of your water and out of comfort
so that you will know that He is

558
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:07,520
with you. 
Now I have to say this. 

559
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,520
This is my pastoral obligation. 
Are you ready? 

560
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,320
Are you listening? 
And I say this with love. 

561
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,680
And my hope is that I say this 
and a light will go on. 

562
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:19,080
This is not good news. 
For you if you like to 

563
00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:24,320
spiritualize control. 
If every time I ask you how 

564
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:28,120
you're doing, you say I'm so 
busy and you just want me to go,

565
00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:30,600
oh, you sure must be important, 
I'm not going to tell you that. 

566
00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,080
I'm going to tell you it's your 
fault. 

567
00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,600
You should say no to more 
things. 

568
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:46,720
Watch. 
No, you spiritualize control. 

569
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:49,840
If you think micromanaging your 
kids is giving them the best 

570
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:51,600
opportunity, this isn't good 
news for you. 

571
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:58,240
This isn't good news for you. 
If you demand clarity before 

572
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:01,200
taking a step. 
This isn't good news for you. 

573
00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,640
If you have to know how every T 
will be crossed and how every I 

574
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,880
will be dotted and how every 
step that you take will fall. 

575
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,400
He didn't say that to Abraham. 
He said go and we'll figure it 

576
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:11,520
out together. 
I. 

577
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:16,160
Want him to send me a little 
Waze link so that I can have her

578
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,720
just tell me turn left and 400 
feet and you know why I want him

579
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,720
to send me a Waze so I can go. 
I think I'll take the scenic 

580
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:25,280
route today and do my. 
My own thing anytime that I 

581
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,920
want, right? 
But what God says instead is I'm

582
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:29,720
going that way. 
Let's go together. 

583
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,360
You stick with me, and as long 
as you're with me, we're going 

584
00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,240
to be OK. 
This isn't good news for you. 

585
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:40,560
If you call fear discernment. 
If you think every time you're 

586
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:42,880
afraid of something, that means 
you don't have to do it. 

587
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:46,640
That means every time you're 
uncomfortable, you're excused. 

588
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,520
If it's every time something 
that you hear that you don't 

589
00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:51,600
like, that doesn't make sense, 
that doesn't fit into your 

590
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,960
already conceived of worldview, 
this isn't good news for you. 

591
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:01,120
But if you know that the peace 
that has eluded you feels 

592
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,480
tangible and close, this is good
news. 

593
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,240
Because in your darkness and 
your fear and your anxiety and 

594
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:13,240
your lostness, God shows up. 
And so here's the good news. 

595
00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:16,560
Like when Gideon was afraid. 
So I didn't like, give him 

596
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,400
anything. 
He's just like, hey, I'm here 

597
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,960
with you. 
Hey, Gideon, I see something in 

598
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,280
you that you don't see. 
I think that's my spiritual 

599
00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:24,480
gift. 
My spiritual gift is 

600
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,760
encouragement. 
And what I tell people is that 

601
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:30,480
means that I generally believe 
that you're capable, that you're

602
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:32,000
more capable. 
How do I say it? 

603
00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,160
I generally believe that you're 
capable of more than you. 

604
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,640
Think that you're capable of 
right, like you got the Holy 

605
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:40,960
Spirit, dude, like the same 
spirit that like part of the 

606
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,080
water that brought Jesus from 
that you're fine. 

607
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,800
You just need to like get going.
And God is not afraid to like 

608
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:48,840
right? 
Get out and get going. 

609
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,360
Because he knows and he knows 
that it's going to be afraid and

610
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:53,920
he and he knows that it's scary 
and get in, in his darkest 

611
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,520
moment, God is just literally 
just standing there encouraging 

612
00:30:57,520 --> 00:30:59,480
him. 
Look at you, you mighty. 

613
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:03,000
Warrior hiding in the shadows, 
right? 

614
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:09,680
And what happens is you 
listening as God begins to speak

615
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:13,520
His presence, and as God begins 
to speak about Gideon's 

616
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:17,040
identity, the fear begins to 
melt off of Gideon. 

617
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,000
The fear begins to drip off and 
he just does the thing that he 

618
00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:22,880
knows to do. 
What do you do? 

619
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:24,960
When God begins to confront your
fears. 

620
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,080
What do you do? 
When God challenges your deepest

621
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:32,120
held assumptions. 
When verse 17 then he said to 

622
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:36,080
him, Gideon now talking to the 
Lord, he says, if I have found 

623
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:37,200
now. 
You got to realize that. 

624
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,240
Gideon's whole world has been 
peeled back here. 

625
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:45,640
If I have found favor with you, 
he says, give me a sign that you

626
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,840
are speaking with me. 
OK, so let's real quick. 

627
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,440
Gideon is not asking for proof 
that this guy is speaking with 

628
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:53,520
him. 
Do you know what the proof of 

629
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:56,920
him speaking with him is 
speaking with him, right? 

630
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:03,040
This this isn't about proof. 
Listen, if I have found favor 

631
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,400
with you, give me a sign. 
Now listen for the sign that he 

632
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,240
asks for. 
Please do not leave this place 

633
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,840
until I return to you. 
Let me bring my gift and set it 

634
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:13,800
before you. 
I just want to stop. 

635
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,480
What Gideon says is, will you 
please not leave? 

636
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,400
Like, I know you're sending me 
to do something. 

637
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,600
And it's hard and it's scary and
I don't know how it's going to 

638
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,000
come. 
But here's what I need from you.

639
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:28,240
God. 
OK, here's the deal that will 

640
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,360
make God. 
You. 

641
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:36,120
Not abandoned me when I go do 
this thing that you're asking me

642
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:37,360
to do that I don't even know 
what it means. 

643
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,320
I don't know where it comes when
I go to do this thing. 

644
00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:40,720
God can I? 
Can you? 

645
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:42,720
Will you be here when I get 
back? 

646
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:48,200
And he said, I will stay until 
you return. 

647
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:55,080
God's waiting for you. 
God went to Gideon and he found 

648
00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:57,640
him in his fear, and he waited 
for him. 

649
00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,200
Listen, here's what that means 
for me and you. 

650
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,120
Are you ready? 
You don't want to hear this, but

651
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:06,200
I love you unintendedly. 
You are way more afraid of your 

652
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:10,600
fear than God is. 
He is not remotely in a hurry to

653
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,320
deliver you from the things that
pose no existential threat to 

654
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,520
you. 
Because what Gideon found in the

655
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:19,600
midst of his fear is a God who 
will wait for him. 

656
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,200
A God who will still be there 
when he gets back. 

657
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:26,040
And So what does Gideon do? 
Right? 

658
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:27,880
Gideon's like, OK, I'm going to 
go, I'm going to go do this 

659
00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:29,280
thing. 
And Gideon does what we talked 

660
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:30,360
about. 
Remember last week when we 

661
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,840
talked about kind of preparing 
space, right? 

662
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,800
We talked about hospitality. 
Well, look at what Gideon. 

663
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,640
Does verse 19. 
So Gideon went and prepared a 

664
00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:41,520
young goat and unleavened bread 
from half a bushel of flour. 

665
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:46,760
OK, so let's talk biblical. 
What are they called when you 

666
00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:49,320
make one measure, another 
measure, right, Because it says 

667
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,160
half a bushel. 
OK, so we've got a young goat. 

668
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:53,840
So the young goat would have 
been. 

669
00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:57,080
Held for a celebration right 
like you read you read about in 

670
00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:00,520
the in the prodigal son, the 
youngest son comes home, father 

671
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:02,720
kills the the fattened calf. 
This is that the young goat. 

672
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,240
This is a celebration. 
Now remember the context here 

673
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:07,640
Gideon is hiding on the 
threshing floor because 

674
00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:10,880
Midianites consume everything 
they are in a famine. 

675
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:14,800
They are in a panic and now 
Gideon says let's go kill the 

676
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,920
fattened calf. 
He's saying let's have a feast 

677
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,080
right here. 
Talks about half a bushel. 

678
00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:25,320
Half a bushel is 20 to 22 lbs of
flour. 

679
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:28,239
Talk to me sourdough Mamas. 
How much sourdough? 

680
00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:33,560
Can you make with 20? 
5 lbs of flour. 

681
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:36,639
Here's the important listen. 
Don't miss this. 

682
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:40,360
Just a second ago, Gideon was 
hiding from sight, didn't want 

683
00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:42,320
anybody to see him. 
And now all of a sudden he hears

684
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,320
about the presence, this Angel 
of the Lord, and now he's 

685
00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:48,320
killing a fattened calf. 
And 25 how much bread can you 

686
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,280
make with that, right? 
And he's presidency. 

687
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:53,280
Gideon is starting to see he's 
not so worried about the 

688
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,960
Midianites destroying him. 
Now he's more concerned about 

689
00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,600
his hospitality, about treating 
his friend. 

690
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:04,320
And he goes extravagant because 
his fears weakening. 

691
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:08,840
Did I finish reading that? 
He brought them out and offered 

692
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,080
to him under the oak. 
OK, so now he brought him a 

693
00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:12,440
meal. 
So what do you expect when you 

694
00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,000
have a meal? 
You come over to my house. 

695
00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:15,680
We cook. 
We have the goat and the bread 

696
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:17,800
and all the stuff. 
We sit on the table and we eat 

697
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,760
and we talk and we chew the fat 
and we spend the evening 

698
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:23,920
enjoying each other. 
And let me just tell you, in 

699
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,960
those moments, often fear will 
dissipate because I'm able to 

700
00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:29,520
tell my friend David I'm just 
worried about work, man. 

701
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:31,120
It just doesn't. 
It doesn't happen. 

702
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:35,240
And in that space, my fear 
begins to dissipate when I 

703
00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:38,440
realize that I'm not alone. 
Side note, we're the body of 

704
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:40,480
Christ. 
Do you know how Christ comforts 

705
00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:43,680
his people? 
All y'all right? 

706
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:50,040
And so here's Gideon brings in 
this meal and the Angel of God 

707
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,120
says take the meat with the 
unleavened bread and put it on 

708
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:53,800
this stone and pour the broth on
it. 

709
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:55,960
This is OK, so now. 
We're starting to get some 

710
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,480
symbolism stuff. 
OK, pull the. 

711
00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:01,560
Broth on it, then the. 
Angel of the Lord extended the 

712
00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,080
tip of the staff that was in his
hand and touched the meat. 

713
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:07,840
Just feed me, bro. 
I'm not touching it, right? 

714
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:14,280
He touched the meat and the 
unleavened bread and fire came 

715
00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,920
up from the rock and consumed 
the meat in the unleavened 

716
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,240
bread. 
Then the Angel, the Lord, 

717
00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:22,240
vanished from the site. 
There's another place. 

718
00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:25,520
There's another place where meat
would be taken. 

719
00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:29,960
It would be laid on the table 
and liquid would be poured over 

720
00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:32,200
it and it would be consumed with
fire. 

721
00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:36,200
Do you know where that was? 
On the altar in the Tabernacle. 

722
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,640
The offering for sin is brought 
and placed on the altar, and the

723
00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:44,360
sacrifice is made. 
And what the Israelites would 

724
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:52,360
have called that is worship. 
Gideon goes to bring hospitality

725
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,120
is obedient. 
He says I'll do what you say 

726
00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,560
God, I'll go where you say I'll 
make that I'm still afraid, but 

727
00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,360
God, I'm going and I'm doing it 
and what that means what that 

728
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:04,800
shows us is that obedience in 
the presence of fear is the 

729
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:09,240
beginning of worship. 
Listen, some of you one of my 

730
00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:13,440
favorite things to watch when I 
watch worship is like the 

731
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,080
nervous, like the like the tight
lippers, right and I grew up 

732
00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,600
Baptist, right like this is 
where this is how you worship in

733
00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:21,120
the Baptist Church, right? 
You don't like sing too loud, 

734
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:24,400
right? 
I'm so I watched, but sometimes 

735
00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:27,360
I'll watch a moment where 
someone will engage and things 

736
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,840
just change. 
The guard begins to drop, maybe 

737
00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:33,480
their eyes closed and they begin
to sing differently. 

738
00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:36,960
I don't want to say his songs 
are great, that the worship of 

739
00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:40,280
the Lord isn't just a song. 
It's a sacrifice of obedience. 

740
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:42,760
It's a sacrifice that says I 
believe there's a world. 

741
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,080
Out there that's. 
Different than that, than this 

742
00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:46,880
one. 
And I want to respond to that 

743
00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:51,400
and I want to walk towards that.
And that begins by obeying in 

744
00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:53,400
the presence of fear. 
And here's what it looks like in

745
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:58,400
a very like you go on Facebook 
and you see somebody who says 

746
00:37:58,400 --> 00:37:59,760
something about you. 
It's a subtweet. 

747
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,760
They don't call you by name. 
They would never do that. 

748
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,320
But it's a subtweet and it's 
under there. 

749
00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:05,640
And you all of a sudden are 
angry, but you're also a little 

750
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,200
bit afraid because what if 
people believe that nonsense? 

751
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:10,240
What if they believe what they 
say about me? 

752
00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:12,480
What if they believe? 
A thing and you begin to fear 

753
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:14,840
that feel that fear well up and 
you're like, well, I got to 

754
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:16,640
crack back on that, like I got 
to fix that. 

755
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,080
I got to solve that problem. 
But instead you just say, Lord, 

756
00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:20,680
I'm going to leave my reputation
to you. 

757
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:24,080
And you don't respond. 
You see what that is? 

758
00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:26,600
That is obedience in the face of
fear. 

759
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,160
You're afraid if I don't defend 
myself, who will defend me? 

760
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:36,640
The Lord. 
You can do it or the Lord can do

761
00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:38,480
it. 
He has more tools at his 

762
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:41,560
disposal than you do. 
He's generally proven better. 

763
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,440
The whole Red Sea on the 
Egyptian thing, I was pretty 

764
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:46,920
good. 
Pretty good, right? 

765
00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:51,400
This is the apocalypse, right? 
The revelation. 

766
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,080
This is what Gideon sees in that
flash of fire when the tip of 

767
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,680
his staff touches that meat and 
the fire comes up. 

768
00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,080
Gideon is realizing who he is 
and what happens when you see a 

769
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,080
God. 
Verse 22 when Gideon realize 

770
00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:08,240
that he was the Angel of the 
Lord, he said Oh no. 

771
00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:11,280
Lord God, I've seen the Angel of
the Lord. 

772
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:15,040
Face to face, see. 
God's holiness is a destructive 

773
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,360
thing. 
We can't stand in the presence 

774
00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:19,320
of God's holiness. 
And you're just like, oh, well, 

775
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:20,720
that's just me. 
No, listen, I want to make this 

776
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:22,040
point. 
We're sinful. 

777
00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:24,680
And this is a flawed analogy, 
but I think it'll get you. 

778
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,080
Imagine I've got a shirt, a 
white shirt. 

779
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,360
I mean, it is crisp. 
I mean, it's pristine. 

780
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:31,720
And I have taken this shirt to 
the cleaners and they have 

781
00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:34,680
pressed it and iron it and it 
has got the heavy starch and I 

782
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,480
can stand it up on its own. 
And I put it in and have to 

783
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:39,680
slide my hands through the 
sleeves and I can feel them 

784
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:41,560
tearing. 
And it is, oh, and it is 

785
00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:43,280
beautiful. 
And I put it on and I'm. 

786
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,680
Buttoned up and it is good and I
look good and I'm just standing 

787
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:50,240
yourself admiring myself in the 
mirror like yes, right, and here

788
00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:53,760
come my children, Peanut butter 
and Jelly on their hands because

789
00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:55,360
it's lunchtime and they are 
sprinting. 

790
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:59,480
Daddy and they. 
Jump towards me and I meet them 

791
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:07,400
with the stiff arm of love. 
Do I love my children less 

792
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,440
because they have gunk on their 
hands? 

793
00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:14,800
Absolutely not. 
Absolutely not what I do. 

794
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:18,000
Then as I take my children, I 
lift them up and we go clean 

795
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:21,960
them off so that they can have 
the hugs and kisses that they 

796
00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:25,560
desire. 
You can't have the peace that 

797
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:28,200
you desire as long as we insist 
on the. 

798
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:31,400
Control and the. 
Clarity and all of those things 

799
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:36,040
that we need and what worship 
does is reveal God's holiness 

800
00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,440
and grace. 
That's why it's hard. 

801
00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:42,200
That's why I'm often times we 
resist it because when you close

802
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:45,360
your eyes and get quiet and you 
begin to sing about a God and 

803
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:48,360
you sing out the song worthy of 
it all is the one for me. 

804
00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:50,920
I just put it on because that's 
a song about God's goodness and 

805
00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,840
his worthiness and just know. 
When you get in a quiet space 

806
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,240
and you close your eyes and you 
just by yourself begin to sing, 

807
00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,640
you are worthy of it all. 
You are worthy of it all, 

808
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:02,360
friend. 
Your heart begins to melt. 

809
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,920
Things begin to change. 
You begin to experience 

810
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:07,320
something that is different than
what you have experienced 

811
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:09,840
before. 
And it is God's holiness, and it

812
00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:12,760
is God's power. 
And it can be difficult. 

813
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:14,600
And Gideon knows it, and he's 
afraid. 

814
00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:17,560
And he's like, oh, this is it. 
I've seen what I'm not supposed 

815
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,120
to see. 
I know that God wants to bless 

816
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:21,760
me or protect me or whatever, 
but I'm not. 

817
00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,120
Supposed to see him and what 
does God say to him in that 

818
00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:29,160
verse 23, but the Lord said 
peace Gideon, don't be afraid. 

819
00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:32,920
I'm not here to kill you. 
Some of you think that if you 

820
00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:35,760
draw close to the Lord he's 
going to destroy you and kill 

821
00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:39,400
you. 
Gideon is expecting retribution,

822
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:42,160
but instead what he gets is the 
opposite of that. 

823
00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:46,360
And that's what peace is. 
Peace is not the absence of 

824
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:48,960
fear, it is the presence of a 
holy God. 

825
00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:50,400
Now let me connect something, 
right? 

826
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:53,520
Because this is Christmas. 
We're told that our peace is 

827
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:55,440
Jesus. 
So let me connect this to us, 

828
00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,920
right? 
So we go down to verse 24. 

829
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,960
So Gideon built an altar to the 
Lord there, and he. 

830
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:03,080
Called. 
He called the. 

831
00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:07,960
Altar. 
The Lord is peace, and it's 

832
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:12,000
still there today. 
What Gideon did here was called 

833
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:13,480
an altar. 
Said like that's the altar, but 

834
00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:15,920
he named the altar after the 
Lord. 

835
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:18,600
What Gideon did here is name the
Lord. 

836
00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:21,760
And what did he name the Lord? 
Peace. 

837
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:26,760
Jehovah Shalom. 
Yahweh Shalom. 

838
00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:32,080
And so Gideon names peace. 
Peace is the presence of God on 

839
00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:35,280
the threshing floor of our 
disappointment last week we saw 

840
00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,760
Isaiah and what Isaiah did was 
expand peace. 

841
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:42,280
God's presence is in the that 
unique weird little story on the

842
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:44,240
threshing floor right there and 
God needs him. 

843
00:42:44,240 --> 00:42:48,040
But then Isaiah expands it last 
week, Isaiah 9 verse 6. 

844
00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:51,080
A child will be born to us, a 
son will be given, and the 

845
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:52,520
government will be on his 
shoulders. 

846
00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:55,920
He will be named wonderful 
counselor, mighty God, eternal 

847
00:42:55,920 --> 00:43:00,280
Father, Prince of Peace. 
We see the God who met Gideon on

848
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:03,920
the Russian floor as peace 
himself when we see Jesus his 

849
00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:06,040
son. 
And when we get to Luke chapter 

850
00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:09,200
2 and we read about the angels 
and they're announcing to the 

851
00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:12,480
shepherds, suddenly there was a 
multitude of heavenly hosts with

852
00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,080
the angels praising God. 
And what do they say? 

853
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:17,400
What's their message? 
Glory to God on the highest 

854
00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:22,280
heaven and peace on earth to 
people that he favors. 

855
00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:26,240
And in John chapter 14, Jesus, 
on the verge of death, the 

856
00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:29,280
shadow of the cross, looks his 
disciples in the eyes and says, 

857
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:30,480
my. 
Peace, I'm leaving you. 

858
00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:34,960
Not the kind of peace that comes
from Rome and a sword and a gun 

859
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:38,640
and a military adventure. 
Not the kind of peace that comes

860
00:43:38,720 --> 00:43:42,360
from the Sanhedrin with 
religious observance and and all

861
00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:45,080
kinds of guilt and fear and 
shame because you're not living 

862
00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:46,360
up to what you want. 
That's. 

863
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:53,160
That's not it at all. 
It's the peace of Jesus who 

864
00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:57,720
meets us in our fear and invites
us into worship. 

865
00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:03,200
So the Christmas question 
actually is, are you looking for

866
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:11,160
peace in the wine Press of 
strength and control, or will we

867
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:15,360
instead worship the Prince who 
came as peace for us? 

868
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:17,520
So now if you're a Christian and
maybe you're in here and you've 

869
00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:20,040
been walking with Jesus and you 
come to another Christmas 

870
00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:22,680
holiday season and you see the 
lights and the bells and all 

871
00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:26,560
this, but you feel powerless and
you feel ashamed and you wonder.

872
00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:29,800
If Jesus just kind of died and 
saved you, but then left the 

873
00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:32,720
rest up to you and what I'm 
going to say is friend, your 

874
00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:37,720
role and responsibility is to 
find him in this and what you 

875
00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:40,040
like what this is what Chris 
talked about with with the 

876
00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:42,120
communion. 
You've got to make space. 

877
00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:45,360
You have to force margin into 
your life because you're bosses 

878
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:48,200
and the voices outside, the 
voices of the Midianites, 

879
00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:50,120
they're going to keep telling 
you that you got to be afraid. 

880
00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:51,760
They're going to keep knocking 
on the door. 

881
00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:53,920
It's going to keep knocking down
and you're going to keep 

882
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:57,040
listening to them. 
So createspace in your life and 

883
00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:00,680
find the God who is with you and
he was looking after you and 

884
00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:03,160
guess what? 
You may not have enough for your

885
00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:06,000
current situation. 
You may have to sell your house,

886
00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:08,840
sell your car. 
You may have to do a manner of 

887
00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:13,640
crazy wild thing. 
Lord is with you, valiant 

888
00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:17,120
warrior, and he will be there 
where you go. 

889
00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:21,320
Now, maybe you're not a 
Christian. 

890
00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:23,680
Maybe you're here because 
someone offered to buy you lunch

891
00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:25,240
after this. 
That's a good friend, and you 

892
00:45:25,240 --> 00:45:27,640
should take them up on it. 
You should let them buy you 

893
00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:30,680
lunch, make them spend for you. 
Get the steak. 

894
00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:33,040
It's good. 
Tell him, tell him. 

895
00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:38,440
Jesus would want it, right? 
But listen, maybe this is all 

896
00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:40,720
new to you, the idea that God 
wants you to have peace. 

897
00:45:40,720 --> 00:45:42,960
Maybe what you thought was just 
God wanted you to be good, or 

898
00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:45,840
God wanted you to not have fun. 
Or maybe you just have you're 

899
00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:48,320
more like maybe you're at that 
Gideon place at the beginning of

900
00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:51,120
the story where he said, if 
you're so good, why is this so 

901
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:53,000
bad? 
If you're so good, why is my 

902
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,200
life so difficult? 
Listen, what I want to tell you 

903
00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:59,600
is the story that we tell is not
the story of a God who came to 

904
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:01,800
make everything comfortable and 
easy in our life. 

905
00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:05,160
But we tell is the story of a 
God who came. 

906
00:46:05,320 --> 00:46:09,520
To invade our life with. 
Peace in the face of our 

907
00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:11,880
enemies. 
Not an easy life. 

908
00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:14,840
Not a life where we are never on
the threshing floor. 

909
00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:17,720
Not a life where we never have 
to face things that we don't 

910
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:19,760
understand. 
A face, a world and a life where

911
00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:23,040
we constantly face things that 
we don't know and we don't 

912
00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:25,360
understand. 
And the confidence that we serve

913
00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,360
a God who is. 
Present and with us and for us 

914
00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:31,320
and loves us. 
That is the story that we tell. 

915
00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:34,760
And what I'm asking you today is
if you have never done that, I'm

916
00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:40,040
asking you to get into that 
story, to begin living that 

917
00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:42,760
story. 
Here's how that happens. 

918
00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:46,560
The first thing you have to do 
is confess, talk about the fact,

919
00:46:46,560 --> 00:46:48,200
the reality of your way. 
Try. 

920
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:50,240
I've tried to earn my way into 
security. 

921
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:53,880
Can never have enough money. 
I've tried to be handsome 

922
00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:55,520
enough, I've tried to make 
people like me enough. 

923
00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:58,400
I've tried to be smart enough. 
I've tried my way day after day 

924
00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:01,360
after day. 
And my way produces fear, my way

925
00:47:01,360 --> 00:47:04,200
produces anxiety. 
Because the world that I'm 

926
00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:07,440
trying to control isn't mine to 
control. 

927
00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:11,600
And I'm not asking you to do 
anything at that point, Just say

928
00:47:11,600 --> 00:47:14,800
it. 
Say it the way that I approach 

929
00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:16,880
relationships, the way that I 
approach money, the way I 

930
00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:20,560
approach spirituality, the way I
approach my job causes fear and 

931
00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:22,000
anxiety. 
And then I want you to confess 

932
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:25,760
again that the life that God 
wants you to have and the life 

933
00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:28,040
that you want for you to have 
are different. 

934
00:47:28,240 --> 00:47:30,720
See, you just want to have 
enough money to go on a vacation

935
00:47:30,720 --> 00:47:32,360
every now and then. 
And God wants you to have 

936
00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:36,040
purpose and life and abundance. 
And God wants you to know that 

937
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:39,760
there is nothing in this world 
that can destroy what God has 

938
00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:41,520
begun in you. 
And he wants you to know that 

939
00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:44,160
hard times will come and you'll 
the last. 

940
00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:51,280
We have to confess that we 
cannot walk our way and arrive 

941
00:47:51,280 --> 00:47:53,560
at the destination that God has 
for us. 

942
00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:58,120
I cannot simply do what I think 
and want and arrive at the peace

943
00:47:58,120 --> 00:48:01,720
that God has for me. 
So what that does is it presents

944
00:48:01,720 --> 00:48:03,720
us. 
I confess that I've been walking

945
00:48:03,720 --> 00:48:06,000
my way and haven't arrived at 
the peace of God. 

946
00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:09,880
And I confess that God has a way
for me that if I'll walk that 

947
00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:12,200
way, then I can know and achieve
the peace. 

948
00:48:12,640 --> 00:48:15,560
Moment by moment, day by day, 
slowly but surely over time. 

949
00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:17,480
And then the biblical word for 
what we do is. 

950
00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:20,720
Repent, we begin to look. 
For. 

951
00:48:20,720 --> 00:48:24,400
Peace in a different place than 
we looked before we begin to. 

952
00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:30,280
Look for peace down a different.
Road than we have before and so 

953
00:48:30,280 --> 00:48:32,160
I want to very specifically 
we're going to pray but I want 

954
00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:34,880
to talk especially to you if you
today just said I want that I 

955
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:37,880
need that peace from Jesus and 
you've never said that before. 

956
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:40,080
I'm going to ask you that. 
I'm going to pray. 

957
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:41,920
I'm going to ask you to pray 
with me. 

958
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:44,160
And then, but before I do that, 
when that's done, because you're

959
00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:45,960
going to want to go, people are 
going to start shuffling. 

960
00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:47,960
Hey, listen, by the way, I'm 
going to give you a blessing. 

961
00:48:48,120 --> 00:48:50,680
If you start hurrying out after 
the blessing, the blessing is 

962
00:48:50,680 --> 00:48:52,000
not for you. 
I'm just saying that that's 

963
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:53,280
good. 
That's good. 

964
00:48:53,280 --> 00:48:57,960
Yeah. 
After you've received the 

965
00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:02,000
blessing, I want you to send me 
a text message, one word text 

966
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:04,440
the word follower to the number 
94000. 

967
00:49:04,440 --> 00:49:06,080
That's not my phone number. 
That's a short code. 

968
00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:07,320
I'm not showing up at your 
house. 

969
00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:08,840
I'm not going to do anything. 
Nothing like that. 

970
00:49:09,520 --> 00:49:10,640
I just want a point of 
accountability. 

971
00:49:10,640 --> 00:49:14,000
I want you to say today I chose 
the path of peace for the first 

972
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:15,840
time. 
Let's pray together. 

973
00:49:18,960 --> 00:49:22,200
Father God, I thank you that you
met Gideon there on that 

974
00:49:22,200 --> 00:49:23,720
threshing floor. 
And I thank you that you're 

975
00:49:23,720 --> 00:49:26,120
willing to meet me on my 
threshing floor as well. 

976
00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:29,360
Places that I go to hide. 
And Lord, you are well 

977
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:32,880
acquainted with the dark spaces 
in my life, the places that I go

978
00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:38,320
to hide, the masks that I put on
to pretend to appear to be when 

979
00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:39,920
I'm not. 
You see all of those things. 

980
00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:42,560
And Jesus, I believe that your 
desire is to deliver me from 

981
00:49:42,560 --> 00:49:47,560
those. 
And Jesus, when I read the story

982
00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:52,080
of Gideon, I, God told Gideon to
go get a sacrifice. 

983
00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:57,040
And God accepted Gideon's 
sacrifice, but the peace came 

984
00:49:57,040 --> 00:49:59,960
before that. 
But Jesus, when I think about 

985
00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:04,040
your sacrifice, you made peace 
eternally. 

986
00:50:07,640 --> 00:50:09,760
And Father, I pray for those in 
here maybe who haven't known you

987
00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:12,120
before and in this moment 
they're saying, I've tried to 

988
00:50:12,120 --> 00:50:15,160
find peace every way that I can 
and I need it from you. 

989
00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:18,320
That's you. 
Pray this on you. 

990
00:50:18,320 --> 00:50:20,400
Just pray quietly in your heart.
Say it with me. 

991
00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:25,360
Jesus, I realize that I have 
been trying my own way to get to

992
00:50:25,360 --> 00:50:27,520
You and it has not led me to 
You. 

993
00:50:30,040 --> 00:50:33,320
Today I recognize that that path
is faulty and it will never lead

994
00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:35,040
me to what I desire, which is 
You. 

995
00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:41,080
But Jesus, I confess that is 
sin, and I ask that You would 

996
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:46,920
lead me on the path to peace. 
Save me from the path that leads

997
00:50:46,920 --> 00:50:51,440
away from You, that I might be 
made new and restored in Your 

998
00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:54,520
presence. 
Thank you Jesus, for your love 

999
00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:57,560
and Your grace. 
We ask all these things in Your 

1000
00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:00,160
name and for Your glory. 
Amen. 

1001
00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:03,600
Thank you for joining us today. 
River City Church is all about 

1002
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:06,320
experiencing and expressing 
God's love in our lives and 

1003
00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:09,000
community, and we hope that 
you've been able to experience 

1004
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:11,640
that today. 
As grateful as I am that you've 

1005
00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:14,960
spent this time listening in 
this morning, this podcast is no

1006
00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:18,000
substitute for full 
participation in a local church.

1007
00:51:18,400 --> 00:51:21,560
I love it when River City people
listen to other pastors, but it 

1008
00:51:21,560 --> 00:51:24,640
is those who show up week after 
week faithfully giving their 

1009
00:51:24,640 --> 00:51:27,560
support and time and resources 
that make all of this possible. 

1010
00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:31,360
If we can help you get connected
to a local church, pray for you,

1011
00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:34,640
or support you in any way, click
the link in the description and 

1012
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:36,760
let us know. 
If you'd like to financially 

1013
00:51:36,760 --> 00:51:39,600
support the ministry of River 
City, click the give link on our

1014
00:51:39,600 --> 00:51:42,760
website in the description. 
Don't forget to subscribe and 

1015
00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:44,480
don't forget to share this with 
your friends. 

1016
00:51:44,680 --> 00:51:47,480
Thanks so much for listening. 
May the Lord bless and keep you 

1017
00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:49,080
in all grace and peace.