Is Peace a Paycheck? Examining the Link Between Obedience and Rest

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Good morning, my name's Adam.
[00:02:49] And I'm Reagan.
[00:02:50] Today we want to bring up something very important to us, and that is the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
[00:02:56] I know you've seen them out in the lobby.
[00:02:58] Big stacks everywhere, right?
[00:02:59] There's tons of them.
[00:03:00] And today is the last day to grab one, take it home with you, fill it up, and bring it back the following Sunday on the 14th, because we've got to get these out to where they need to go.
[00:03:11] So please grab one.
[00:03:13] Like I said, they're available in the lobby.
[00:03:14] They're also available downstairs in the preschool desk.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
yeah a lot of fun maybe even grab with your family take your kids with you shopping it's a really fun thing to do family and also if you don't know a lot about it is a great ministry and great gospel opportunity we also want you to know that this last Wednesday we had our annual church meeting at that meeting we're able to present the budget for 2026 and approve it but also we were able to give some updates about the pathway project you've heard us say one of our main goals in fact our number one goal is
[00:03:44] is 100% participation.
[00:03:48] That means we want everyone to be involved.
[00:03:50] We know that's going to look different for every individual and family.
[00:03:52] We want everyone here at Peninsula involved.
[00:03:54] Right now, we're about 60% participation and turning in those commitment cards.
[00:03:58] And so if you want to know, hey, can I still do that?
[00:04:00] Absolutely you can.
[00:04:02] You can turn one of those in a card.
[00:04:04] There's also a way to fill one out online where you can turn in a commitment card there.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
and even this morning we're gonna get to give some updates about where we're at right now but we are so thankful and excited about what God's doing here and look forward to 2026 and how he uses our church family yeah it's gonna be a big year we're very excited for that also coming up it is December so the Christmas Eve service this year it's on December 24th uh so this that Wednesday there's going to be four different services for you to choose from that you can you and your family can be at at 12 p.m 1 30 p.m
[00:04:36] 3.30 PM or 5 PM.
[00:04:39] Now we are asking that you go online and reserve your spot.
[00:04:44] It doesn't cost you a penny, but it helps us with numbers and knowing how full these services are going to be so that we can prepare accordingly to those.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
And if you're wondering, hey, are any of these different?
[00:04:54] All four of them are the exact same.
[00:04:56] Just different times, so what would be the best opportunity for you and your family?
[00:05:00] So reserve that spot and join us.
[00:05:02] You don't have to bring a ticket.
[00:05:03] Are you gonna be at the door?
[00:05:04] You gonna check them?
[00:05:05] I'm gonna, yeah, a little, for a while, yes.
[00:05:07] I'm gonna do some of that.
[00:05:09] No tickets needed, but we just look forward to joining, you joining us on the 24th.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
That's right, and so if you want to come to all four services in case you missed something in your notes, you can write something down that you missed.

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Actually, maybe don't do that because we expect a large crowd here, so we don't want to take those spots, but
[00:05:25] You can come back on the 28th.
[00:05:27] So that's Sunday, December 28th.
[00:05:29] You can join us for worship that Sunday.
[00:05:32] It's one of the Sundays in the year that does look a little bit different.
[00:05:34] Both services
[00:05:36] Everyone will be in the worship center together.
[00:05:39] Also on that day, we don't have our preschool kids, youth, or adult connect groups.
[00:05:44] It's just a time for us to worship together as families.
[00:05:47] So come either 9, 30, 11.
[00:05:49] We look forward to that chance to worship together as we kind of end out 2025, look ahead to 2026.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
and it's like it's a nice little break for the volunteers who work so hard all year long to provide things like child care and teen events all that stuff so getting to worship with your family on a specific Sunday you're one of those guys right yeah that's right so come worship with us on Sunday December 28th we look forward to that day also we just want to say thank you for being here with us today we look forward to a great morning together
[00:06:18] Well, good morning.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Outside is foggy and cold and gloomy, but in here is bright, warm, and joyful, right?
[00:06:47] Amen?
[00:06:48] Look at the person beside you and say, you look great.
[00:06:53] That's good.
[00:06:57] And if you didn't know that person, it's not flirting.
[00:06:59] The pastor told you to do that, so just wanted to kind of be able to do that.
[00:07:03] Let's play a little game.
[00:07:04] Finish the next line.
[00:07:05] Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King.
[00:07:17] There we go.
[00:07:19] Why aren't you guys singing?
[00:07:20] No, I'm just kidding.
[00:07:21] I'm just kidding.
[00:07:21] That's good.
[00:07:22] Today we're talking about peace.
[00:07:23] We're talking about peace in an unpeaceful world and how to get that as we walk with the Lord.
[00:07:30] Everyone who is a believer in Christ is called and part of that calling involves the peace that we have
[00:07:36] I'm excited to be able to worship with you today as we continue in the book of Acts talking about peace.
[00:07:42] It is the second Sunday of our Advent where we will be focusing on peace.
[00:07:47] Let's all stand together as we have prayer and right after that we will get to really sing out all the lines of Hark the Herald.
[00:07:55] Let's join together in prayer.
[00:07:57] Father, we thank you for this time to be here.
[00:07:59] We do welcome your warmth in our lives as we discuss today what peace is and what it looks like in Scripture and how Paul demonstrated it because he walked with you.
[00:08:10] Father, as we look at that, help us to be able to rest in that peace today because this is a crazy world of chaos that we live in, that we walk through.
[00:08:20] We want to have a different season this year to where we understand peace and we can walk in that peace.
[00:08:25] Regardless of the circumstances around us.
[00:08:27] So be with us now as we lift our voices to you to worship you.
[00:08:32] For it's in Jesus' name we pray.
[00:08:33] Amen.

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Glory to the newborn King Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled Joyful all ye nations rise

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
With angelic hosts proclaim

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
In time behold Him come
[00:11:05] of Christ Jesus Christ, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God,

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Then second birth
[00:12:37] Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room And heaven and nature sing And heaven and nature sing And heaven and nature sing
[00:13:15] Joy to the world!
[00:13:38] We will sing, sing, sing!
[00:13:38] Joy to the world!
[00:13:39] The Savior reigns!
[00:13:39] Let men their songs enrage!
[00:13:46] Reveal the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
[00:14:28] The world is filled with truth and grace that makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love
[00:15:28] God of glory, Lord of love Hearts unfold like crowns before Thee Hoping to Thee

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:16:37] Amen.

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
In the darkness we were waiting Without hope, without light Till from heaven you came running There was mercy in your eyes To fulfill the law and prophets To a virgin came the Word From a throne of endless glory To a cradle in the dirt
[00:17:14] Praise the Father, praise the Son Praise the Spirit, three in one God of glory, majesty Praise forever to the King
[00:17:46] To reveal the kingdom coming And to reconcile the lost To redeem the whole creation You did not despise the cross For even in your suffering You saw to the other side Knowing this was our salvation Jesus for our Savior
[00:18:27] Praise the Spirit free in one God of glory, majesty Praise forever to the King of kings In the morning that arose
[00:18:57] of Heaven held its breath, till that stone was moved for good, for the Lamb had conquered death.
[00:19:19] And the dead rose from their tombs, and the angels stood in awe, for the souls of all who come to the Father are restored.
[00:19:33] and Reconciliation, Reconciliation and Reconciliation.

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Father God we do praise your name it is the only one father that can be praised this truth father you stand you always will be your word has gone before us and father we come now in this place where we open your word and we hear your word and we apply your word to our hearts father we don't want to be the same as we came here father we want to be changed to be even more like you
[00:21:07] Father, teach us, grow us, help us this morning.
[00:21:13] We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, the name above all other names.
[00:21:18] Amen.
[00:21:19] Would you be seated?

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
There are some people in this room who get and understand and know 100% what peace in Christ is all about.
[00:22:11] There are many people who claim Christian faith but walk in anxiety, walk in pain, walk in struggle, walk in difficulty throughout the week, who don't quite get
[00:22:25] What it is because the definition of peace means something different to you than what Scripture teaches peace in Christ is about.
[00:22:34] It's a little bit different.
[00:22:35] There will be many today that's just a reminder, but I really feel like that there's going to be some here today that hear the word and you're going to go, oh, I've been somewhat missing the mark.
[00:22:47] I've been missing what that peace that's supposed to resonate within me is about.
[00:22:53] You might find it a little bit odd of the particular text that we're going to look at today because we're looking at Acts chapter 21 and 22 but we're taking one section out of it, five verses that really resonate with me about Paul demonstrating what peace is really about.
[00:23:11] Maybe it's because I've seen in my own family people making decisions to be obedient to God
[00:23:22] Even though it means discomfort, maybe it's because I've seen others who have struggled with it and I'm thinking to myself, if you would just do what God you know is telling you to do, that peace will come.
[00:23:37] A particular text I'm coming out of is going to lean us into peace in an unpeaceful world if we will allow the scripture text to speak to us today.
[00:23:49] It's okay if we just let the Spirit and the Word of God speak to us today.
[00:23:55] This is kind of where we're going.
[00:23:56] True peace is found in obedience to God's call, even when it leads into hardship.
[00:24:06] Following Him brings assurance during uncertainty.
[00:24:11] Anybody been uncertain in your life?
[00:24:13] Anybody ever have a moment in your life where you were just uncertain?
[00:24:16] Raise your hand, come on.
[00:24:17] We're all breathing, so we know.
[00:24:20] If you're human, I mean, it starts young, right?
[00:24:23] The uncertainty, will you get that thing for Christmas that you think you wanted?
[00:24:27] You know, you ask for a certain thing, and then there's that uncertainty.
[00:24:31] But then as you grow older, how many of you wish you'd go back and be a kid again?
[00:24:36] Anybody?
[00:24:37] Yeah.
[00:24:38] Can we just get some of that back?
[00:24:40] My wife and I talk about bottling up that joy that we see sometimes.
[00:24:43] We could just bottle it up and sell it.
[00:24:45] We would be billionaires, right?
[00:24:47] Open up this jar of joy into your home.
[00:24:51] Just joy comes out.
[00:24:52] Kids laughing.
[00:24:54] I watch videos of babies laughing especially.
[00:24:57] I loved it when my girls would get in that cackling moment, that deep belly laugh of just that joy.
[00:25:03] In a child's life,
[00:25:07] If they're being taken care of, they're being fed, they're warm, they don't have any problems in their life, they have this peace that's just resonating because of what parents are bringing to them and providing for them.
[00:25:23] And we end up growing up thinking that that's what peace is capsulized as.
[00:25:29] You know, I'm in perfect peace right now because I've got my cup of coffee, I'm sitting next to the fire, I don't have any responsibilities, and all my checklists are done.
[00:25:38] That does sound good though, doesn't it?
[00:25:41] If that could be.
[00:25:42] But that's not the world we live in.
[00:25:44] I'm convinced now that we are literally going to rest when we get to heaven.
[00:25:51] We will always have something pulling on us here because this this world is broken and has fallen and today we're looking in Acts chapter 21 and it's gonna be verses 10 through 14 just five verses and we're gonna be looking at a piece that was evident in Paul's life because he was being obedient to God.
[00:26:12] Chapter 21 and 22 actually flip the script for Paul and for the book of Acts.
[00:26:20] For Paul, he's no longer the missionary Paul, he is the witness Paul.
[00:26:27] He gets to now stand in front of people and just tell the story of what he's seen God do in his life.
[00:26:34] We'll reflect on that on Christmas Eve when we have our Christmas Eve service here.
[00:26:38] We'll reflect on the Paul of then and the Paul of now according to the book of Acts and the light bringing peace into his life.
[00:26:49] Paul reflects in a great way things that look like Jesus.
[00:26:56] If you think about it, and you'll hear me say it again in just a moment, if you think about it, Paul's face was fixed on Jerusalem.
[00:27:04] And you see in chapter 20 that he was fixed on Jerusalem because the Spirit was leading him there.
[00:27:12] It wasn't because he just had this agenda in his own mind the Spirit was leading there and the reason I'm pointing that out is you'll see in just a moment in the text we read he was getting warning not to go.
[00:27:21] There's also a scripture text we'll read in just a moment that Jesus' face was fixed on Jerusalem.
[00:27:32] So it's interesting how we bring that in and we can kind of pull from this and learn in our own hearts.
[00:27:38] Now, there's been a lot going on with Paul.
[00:27:42] There's a story here in Acts 21 where
[00:27:47] Peace is breaking into the chaos, the journey to Jerusalem.
[00:27:50] Everyone is warning Paul of the dangers to not go, and we're going to join in that in Acts chapter 21 verses 10 through 14.
[00:28:00] You can read silently with yourself either there or on the screen as I read out loud.
[00:28:05] It says, While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
[00:28:10] Now, Agabus was introduced earlier in the book of Acts.
[00:28:14] You can go back and read that.
[00:28:15] Probably within the first ten chapters I think he was introduced.
[00:28:19] As someone that was a believer.
[00:28:21] And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit.
[00:28:26] So what did he do?
[00:28:27] He walks up, he takes Paul's belt off of his robe or whatever he was wearing and he binds his own hands.
[00:28:34] So Agabus is binding his own hands and his own feet and he says this, Thus says the Holy Spirit, This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
[00:28:48] That's a picture.
[00:28:49] I mean, he took his belt, tied his hands and feet, and he's showing them, demonstrating, this is what's going to happen to the one that owns this belt.
[00:28:57] Well, everybody saw him take it off Paul, so it's very clear what's happening here.
[00:29:03] When we heard this, we, meaning Luke was there, he was witnessing all this.
[00:29:08] When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
[00:29:14] Then Paul answered, what are you doing?
[00:29:17] Weeping and breaking my heart, for I am ready, listen to this, I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
[00:29:33] And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, let the will of the Lord be done.
[00:29:45] That's a strong place to be, church.
[00:29:47] To be able to say those words, to mean it from your heart, and that's where we're headed.
[00:29:51] Let's pray before we talk through this.
[00:29:53] Father, we thank you for your word in just this small section that illustrates peace in Paul's life.
[00:30:00] Help us to grab it so that we walk out here today different because we've unfolded your word, we've applied it to our hearts, and we're walking with you.
[00:30:09] First in Jesus' name we pray.
[00:30:11] Amen.
[00:30:13] First section, verses 10 and 11, when God prepares you for what's coming.
[00:30:20] When God prepares you for what's coming.
[00:30:22] Knowing's half the battle, right?
[00:30:24] If we know what tomorrow brings, if we could just have an idea of what tomorrow's bringing, that would be half the battle.
[00:30:31] We would know how to prepare.
[00:30:33] Luke tells us that a prophet named Agabus comes down from Judea, he takes Paul's belt,
[00:30:41] God is giving Paul a glimpse of what is ahead.
[00:30:52] Agabus isn't trying to frighten Paul.
[00:30:55] That's not what this is about.
[00:30:57] He's preparing him.
[00:30:59] He's saying, this is what you're walking into.
[00:31:01] Just so you know, God wants you to know this is what you're walking into and throughout scripture God has forewarned his people so that they could be forearmed.
[00:31:14] Noah was warned about the flood not to terrify him but that he would be ready.
[00:31:21] Joseph dreamed of famine not to discourage him but to prepare him to be able to lead.
[00:31:28] Sometimes God's warnings are not stop signs, they're actually signs for us to become stronger.
[00:31:36] They steady us for obedience so that we're not blindsided.
[00:31:43] God gives us warnings from time to time of things that are coming.
[00:31:46] Have you ever talked to someone that's in the middle of something horrible and they say these words, I had this feeling.
[00:31:54] I had this thought.
[00:31:56] You know, in hindsight, looking back, I realized that God gives us those signs.
[00:32:04] And Paul could have taken this prophecy as a reason to stay home.
[00:32:08] Instead, he saw it as confirmation.
[00:32:12] God knew what awaited him, and that was enough.
[00:32:18] Did you catch that?
[00:32:20] God told him what he knew was going to happen, and for Paul, because God knew that was going to happen, that was enough.
[00:32:31] In the same way, we're talking about Advent, God sent prophets like Isaiah and John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ's coming.
[00:32:40] Their words didn't make life easier, they made hearts ready.
[00:32:46] That's a big part of obedience.
[00:32:50] Is our hearts being ready?
[00:32:52] God still prepares us today.
[00:32:53] He may not want to give us a vision or prophets to make it happen, but He gives us His Word and His Spirit to strengthen us to find out what's coming ahead.
[00:33:05] God's peace doesn't erase difficulty.
[00:33:09] It equips us to face it.
[00:33:14] Jesus spoke of this, by the way.
[00:33:16] He warned us.
[00:33:17] If you say, I want a warning,
[00:33:20] John 16 33 is where he warned us he says this I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace in me you may have peace in the world you will have what say it with me church tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world take just a moment to reread through that again
[00:34:08] When you resonate on that, do you not feel in your spirit?
[00:34:21] That scripture text right there for me has caused the world to pale.
[00:34:27] I get kind of anxious and uptight and I can just feel things going on and how am I going to fix this and how am I going to fix that?
[00:34:35] And then that verse comes to mind and I'm like, what am I doing?
[00:34:41] Cool your jets, Daniel.
[00:34:43] Calm down a little bit.
[00:34:45] Let's take it down a notch.
[00:34:48] The God that I serve is already in tomorrow.
[00:34:54] He knows what's coming.
[00:34:56] So when God prepares you for what's coming, next is when people don't understand your calling.
[00:35:03] If you're in ministry, for sure you've had people in your life that don't understand your calling.
[00:35:08] But there are many people who are walking in the faith.
[00:35:11] You're not in full-time mission.
[00:35:13] You're not in full-time ministry.
[00:35:15] But just some decisions you've made based on the way you feel God leading your life.
[00:35:20] You've probably had people go, Why would you do that?
[00:35:24] When people don't understand your calling.
[00:35:28] It says in verse 12, When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
[00:35:38] Paul's friends begged him to stay.
[00:35:40] They love him.
[00:35:41] Their instinct is just to protect him.
[00:35:47] Can you feel the emotion and the weight of that scene?
[00:35:51] They're not faithless.
[00:35:53] They're fearful.
[00:35:55] They think, surely God wouldn't want Paul to suffer like that.
[00:36:01] And that's how most of us think, isn't it?
[00:36:05] If something looks painful,
[00:36:06] It must not be God's will.
[00:36:10] But sometimes the safest place is not a trouble-free one, it's the obedient one.
[00:36:18] And people say, well, you know, I hear your daughter is moving to France and that must be hard for you, but isn't it better, she'd be better in God's will than running from Him.
[00:36:28] And I'm thinking, I know what you're saying there, and it is a true statement, but the way you're meaning it, I don't think it's accurate.
[00:36:34] Because she's in God's will does not mean that when she's sitting on a train in France that she won't be harassed by people.
[00:36:40] That she's not walking safer physically because of that necessarily.
[00:36:47] Because we're in a world of tribulation.
[00:36:52] But I do see obedience in her life.
[00:36:55] And I know that's what brings the joy and the peace in her ability to serve daily, is her being obedient.
[00:37:06] Sometimes we confuse peace with comfort.
[00:37:13] We think peace means everything around us is calm, but biblical peace means everything within us is surrendered.
[00:37:22] Seems like a nuance, but it's huge.
[00:37:27] You think about a parent who feels called to adopt though it brings sacrifice.
[00:37:31] You think about a believer who is called to forgive even though it costs their pride.
[00:37:36] You think about a missionary that moves overseas though it comes at a great cost to security.
[00:37:42] Each faces the voice of saying, don't go, it's too risky.
[00:37:46] Yet God's call is often costly.
[00:37:51] You think about Mary and Joseph.
[00:37:53] We're in Advent season.
[00:37:55] Joseph felt the tension of discovering that Mary was pregnant.
[00:38:00] Human wisdom said, divorce her quietly.
[00:38:03] But God's message through the angels said, do not fear to take Mary as your wife.
[00:38:11] Peace didn't come by avoiding the scandal.
[00:38:16] It came by obeying God's voice.
[00:38:21] The same is true for us.
[00:38:22] Peace is not found in
[00:38:23] Self-preservation.
[00:38:25] It's found in divine surrender.
[00:38:29] So we have when God prepares you for what's coming, when people don't understand your calling, and then we have when obedience costs you something.
[00:38:38] It says, Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?
[00:38:42] For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
[00:38:50] I probably will be locked up, but I'm also willing to die.
[00:38:56] The phrase, I am ready, in the original Greek, hetoumois imi, I am ready, it carries the sense of preparedness, a settledness, a resolved spirit within.
[00:39:10] Paul isn't defensive.
[00:39:12] He's not panicked.
[00:39:14] He's not argumentative even.
[00:39:15] He speaks with composed confidence.
[00:39:21] His peace comes from readiness, not resistance.
[00:39:26] He knows suffering is coming, but He doesn't fight it.
[00:39:29] Instead, He rests in God's will.
[00:39:33] That composure in language is the fruit of peace.
[00:39:41] Here's what we don't say enough, church.
[00:39:44] Whatever God's will is, we say it, but do we mean it?
[00:39:52] It's kind of like just the hospitality, hey, can I get you anything?
[00:39:57] And when they say, yeah, can you get me?
[00:39:58] You're like, oh, man.
[00:39:59] I didn't expect you to actually say something.
[00:40:08] Whatever the Lord wills.
[00:40:11] But we have to be there.
[00:40:13] We have to mean that.
[00:40:15] We have to be composed in that way spiritually.
[00:40:21] Verse 13 is one of the most courageous statements in the New Testament in my assessment.
[00:40:27] Paul isn't reckless, he's resolved.
[00:40:30] He knows what obedience will cost and he's made peace with it.
[00:40:34] His peace doesn't come from knowing the outcome per se, it comes from knowing the one who holds the outcome.
[00:40:43] That's the difference.
[00:40:44] Paul's resolve echoes Jesus' own journey.
[00:40:49] You see it in Luke 9, 51, speaking of Jesus.
[00:40:52] When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
[00:41:01] Like his Savior, Paul walks into danger with serenity because his heart is settled on God's will.
[00:41:10] Notice the change in verse 14.
[00:41:12] It says this, And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said,
[00:41:18] Let the will of the Lord be done.
[00:41:22] Peace multiplies when one believer stands firm in obedience.
[00:41:28] You know, on the night of Jesus' birth, the world was chaotic.
[00:41:32] The inns were crowded, there was no room for him, the political census was going on, social unrest, and yet heaven declared peace on earth.
[00:41:44] Peace wasn't a result of calm circumstances.
[00:41:48] It was the result of God's perfect plan unfolding.
[00:41:55] So you have when God prepares you for what's coming, when people don't understand your calling, when obedience costs you something, and then number four, when your peace strengthens others.
[00:42:09] Paul's obedience mirrors Christ's.
[00:42:11] Both were warned of suffering ahead.
[00:42:14] Both faced voices urging them to avoid it.
[00:42:18] Both said in effect, not my will, but yours be done, God.
[00:42:24] At Gethsemane, Jesus found peace not through escape, but through surrender.
[00:42:32] May peace I give to you, not as the world gives, is what Jesus said.
[00:42:38] If you're looking for peace in this world, spoiler alert, you ain't going to find it.
[00:42:48] Perfect peace is in surrender to Christ.
[00:42:56] At the cross, He absorbed the world's chaos to give us eternal peace with God.
[00:43:04] The cradle and the cross are connected.
[00:43:07] Church.
[00:43:08] The baby born in Bethlehem came to die in Jerusalem.
[00:43:12] His obedience brought the peace that Paul now embodies in the account that we're reading and the peace we celebrate at Advent.
[00:43:25] Let's look at this, number five, when peace becomes personal.
[00:43:33] So how do we live this out?
[00:43:34] How do we apply this?
[00:43:37] How do we find that peace when obedience feels dangerous and uncertain or kind of nebulous?
[00:43:46] You know, I can ask people sometimes, are you being obedient to God?
[00:43:50] And it's like this, deer in headlights look like, I have really no idea what you're talking about.
[00:43:58] Well, obedient to what?
[00:44:00] I gave my life to Jesus.
[00:44:02] What am I supposed to be obedient to now?
[00:44:07] And so how does this look?
[00:44:09] What are we doing in order to
[00:44:11] Gain that peace in our hearts that when we wake up we have peace.
[00:44:16] When we get up and walk through our day we have that peace.
[00:44:19] When we go to bed at night we have that peace.
[00:44:22] When the world explodes around us we have that inner peace that holds us.
[00:44:28] How do you walk with that?
[00:44:30] How do you keep that in front of you?
[00:44:32] Well, we can look at what Paul did here.
[00:44:37] A.
[00:44:38] Peace comes when we choose surrender over control.
[00:44:48] This is a hard one.
[00:44:49] This is a hard one for us men too.
[00:44:54] Surrender over control?
[00:44:57] Surrender sounds like a weak thing.
[00:45:00] Surrender sounds like I'm throwing in the towel.
[00:45:03] Surrender sounds like I'm giving up.
[00:45:06] It's a total different thing, though, than any of those.
[00:45:12] Many of us live, both men and women, live with clenched fists, grasping at the outcomes that we want to see happen.
[00:45:20] We want to see this happen, so I'm going to work toward that.
[00:45:26] Trying to manage everything, but peace begins when we open our hands
[00:45:31] Let the will of the Lord be done.
[00:45:35] There's been times in my life where I have grappled with something.
[00:45:38] Like I'm praying about it.
[00:45:40] I'm reading scripture.
[00:45:42] I'm trying to talk to people.
[00:45:43] I'm trying to move components.
[00:45:45] I'm moving this over here and this over here and this over here and everything.
[00:45:48] And it's still not landing where I want it to land yet.
[00:45:51] And I'm like, oh, I'm just like, I'm getting more and more uptight about everything.
[00:45:55] And then I'm like,
[00:45:57] Well, I guess I'll just have to let the Lord's will.
[00:46:00] You know, it makes me laugh when I say that that way.
[00:46:03] I'll just have to let the Lord's will be.
[00:46:05] And I'm thinking, you know, if I would have started that a week ago, I would have saved myself a lot of heartache.
[00:46:14] Oh, there's a situation.
[00:46:15] I'm going to see where the Lord leads on this.
[00:46:20] Pastor Jackson, the founding pastor of this church body, was perfect at that.
[00:46:26] I saw him many times when something horrible would happen.
[00:46:31] He would say, huh, I wonder what this means.
[00:46:34] What's God doing?
[00:46:37] I'd be like, I don't know.
[00:46:39] We better go take care of this and this and this.
[00:46:41] He'd be like, let's wait a little bit.
[00:46:42] I'm thinking, are you sure about that?
[00:46:47] And it worked.
[00:46:50] Where in our lives do we need to say, Lord, your will be done?
[00:46:59] And I ask this time and time again for myself as much as I ask it for everyone that's listening.
[00:47:06] Do we believe that God Almighty is sovereign?
[00:47:17] And you say, well, I don't really apparently know what the word sovereign means.
[00:47:21] So go look it up.
[00:47:23] When you get home today, look up the word sovereign.
[00:47:26] and reflect on that and have some time of being still and knowing God.
[00:47:31] Because there are some people who have a relationship or a decision or a calling that fear is holding you back from and you're not willing to let go and surrender and give up control.
[00:47:46] That's the opposite of peace.
[00:47:49] B.
[00:47:49] Peace grows when we trust God's presence more than we fear the path.
[00:47:56] These are somewhat connected, A and B.
[00:47:59] But obedience is not walking into the dark alone, it's walking with the light of the world in us.
[00:48:10] Christ's peace isn't the removal of storms, it's His presence in the middle of them.
[00:48:17] And the peace of God's which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[00:48:24] That's Philippians 4.7.
[00:48:27] The word guard there brings the image of a soldier standing watch.
[00:48:32] God's peace literally patrols our hearts, protecting us from panic.
[00:48:40] You ever had a panic moment?
[00:48:41] Anybody in here ever had a panic moment?
[00:48:45] We all have.
[00:48:46] We all have.
[00:48:48] Whether it's over sports or whether it's something really serious.
[00:48:51] Oh, sports are serious too, sorry.
[00:48:55] Over sports or like a horrible thing that happened.
[00:48:59] We've had those panic moments.
[00:49:03] And God's peace is patrolling our hearts.
[00:49:07] It is standing guard, wanting to remind us if we will just listen, I know it's horrible, but I've got this.
[00:49:17] Just walk with me.
[00:49:18] Be aware of my presence in the middle of this.
[00:49:21] Walk in my light.
[00:49:22] Know that I'm walking with you in the midst of this struggle.
[00:49:26] I'm here.
[00:49:27] I have not left you.
[00:49:29] I promised I'll never leave you.
[00:49:30] I'll never forsake you.
[00:49:31] I'm going to walk with you through it.
[00:49:35] In this world you're going to have troubles, but I'm here.
[00:49:37] I haven't left.
[00:49:40] I'm aware of the troubles.
[00:49:42] Which brings us to C. Peace spreads when others see your steadfast faith.
[00:49:50] When Paul's friends saw his resolve, they stopped arguing and began to trust.
[00:50:00] Sometimes your calm obedience will bring calm to others around you.
[00:50:05] Parents, your children are learning what peace is about based on your willingness to obey God and to lean into Him.
[00:50:14] Leaders, your team is watching how you react to things and when you show obedience to God and resolve and peace in Him, that is contagious to them as well.
[00:50:27] You panic, they panic.
[00:50:30] Church, our community learns peace when we follow God's call on where He's taking us regardless of what it costs us.
[00:50:43] I have here a small little compass.
[00:50:47] A compass is an amazing thing.
[00:50:50] I got one when I was a little kid and I didn't understand it at first, but when it was explained to me, I thought, that's the coolest thing in the world.
[00:50:57] If there's not a magnetic interference, the compass will always point to north.
[00:51:03] but there's a key to it it has to be floating on a bubble so that it has no resistance to it and you can take this compass and you can throw it up you can not like throw it up but you can throw it in the air I realize what that sounded like and you could twist it I could walk through a storm but when I get still and I hold this at level it automatically points north north
[00:51:32] West, East, South.
[00:51:36] Do you know what the key to it was?
[00:51:40] Being still.
[00:51:44] The storm can be around me right now, but I can tell you exactly which way north is because I got still and I let it settle and I looked.
[00:51:53] Paul's compass was focused on Christ.
[00:52:03] and the call that Christ had placed on his life.
[00:52:08] Some of us in this chaos of whatever's going on in your life, whatever struggle you're grappling with that hits you as soon as you wake up and you walk with through the day and then when you lay down at night and you're still kind of dozing off to sleep with this rattling around in your mind, we simply need to stop and be still and know God.
[00:52:32] We need to let the compass point us back in the right direction so that his peace that passes all understanding can take over our heart and let us know that even though the storm is raging the one who can stand up on the bow of the ship if he so chooses and say peace be still and the storm calm is still in control of our lives.
[00:52:55] We need to recognize that and surrender to him in that.
[00:53:00] That's what Paul did.
[00:53:01] That's how he was able to say, God knows I'm coming and He knows I'm going to be imprisoned most likely.
[00:53:09] I want to have an opportunity but the Spirit has called me to go to Jerusalem.
[00:53:13] God knows I'm going there and I'm willing to even die if He calls me to that.
[00:53:22] That's resolve and peace coming together.
[00:53:27] At this point, Paul has already written Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Romans.
[00:53:34] He's already written those books at this point.
[00:53:37] He has done a teaching on doctrine.
[00:53:39] He's been reaching Asia for 20 years.
[00:53:42] He has seen God do some amazing things, and he's resolved.
[00:53:48] That's why we say that this faith of sanctification in Christ is a journey.
[00:53:53] You give your life to Christ and then the rest of your life is practicing on how to surrender more of your life to Him so that you're more and more aware of His presence in your life.
[00:54:06] God is present in your situation.
[00:54:11] And for believers who are claiming Christ and following Him, that should bring peace that passes all understanding.
[00:54:24] That's who we are in Christ.
[00:54:29] Peace isn't found by avoiding conflict or controlling outcomes.
[00:54:34] It's found when our will and God's will meet and we say, Yes, Lord.
[00:54:45] This Advent, God may be calling you to forgive someone who hurt you.
[00:54:52] To give sacrificially to his mission, to step into a ministry that feels beyond your comfort zone, or to trust him with an uncertain future.
[00:55:03] You may feel the warning signs, this will be hard, this will be difficult, this is not wise, but peace comes when you obey anyway.
[00:55:14] So what's the application?
[00:55:16] Be still and know God, but then in obedience take that next step of faith.
[00:55:23] that moves you in the direction He wants you to go anyway.
[00:55:28] Think about the Israelites.
[00:55:30] When they were let go from Egypt, a two-week journey turned into how long?
[00:55:39] Forty years?
[00:55:42] Because they weren't getting it.
[00:55:45] They weren't following, they weren't understanding.
[00:55:47] There are some people who, when they give their life to Christ at an early age, they get it immediately and they walk a life that is filled with peace and joy.
[00:55:56] Not without trouble, not without struggles, not without difficult situations, not without oh-noes, but peace that passes all understanding, that walks them through it.
[00:56:05] And when they reach this older age, they have walked a life that reflects a witness and a testimony of Christ's goodness in their life.
[00:56:11] But there are those who give their life to Christ and they
[00:56:14] Let's pray.
[00:56:49] Father, that peace that is so easily disrupted in our lives, our desire is to relax, to be comfortable, to have every need met and our checklist complete.
[00:57:19] There's always something pulling on us.
[00:57:23] We live in a chaotic world.
[00:57:27] Your scripture teaches us, and Paul exemplified it, that peace is not based on circumstance.
[00:57:40] It's not based on a list of do's and don'ts.
[00:57:45] It's based on acknowledging your presence in our lives and knowing that you're in control and leaning into that.
[00:57:54] So Father, here's the thing.
[00:57:56] I know, you know, we all know that there are people here who are still arm wrestling with you.
[00:58:10] Something happened.
[00:58:13] that didn't turn the way that they wanted it to turn and they're wondering where you went.
[00:58:23] Remind us you've never left, that troubles come, confusion happens, but you're there to bring peace in the midst of it.
[00:58:43] So bring a breath of fresh air to our hearts today as we reflect on your peace that passes all understanding.
[00:58:56] For it's in Jesus' name we pray.
[00:58:59] Amen.

[00:59:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Please stand.
[00:59:11] Long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free.
[00:59:26] From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.
[00:59:44] Israel strength and consolation Hope of all the earth, the Lord
[01:00:02] Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart, Born thy people to deliver
[01:00:33] of the Lord Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Son of God, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God, Son of God,
[01:01:01] of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit,
[01:01:28] Praise us to thy glorious throne.
[01:01:36] By thine all-sufficient merit, Praise us to thy glorious throne.

[01:01:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let's pray.
[01:02:02] Father, you be praised.
[01:02:05] Allow us, as we abide in you, to sense your presence as we bring ourselves before your throne.
[01:02:12] In Jesus' name we pray.
[01:02:14] Amen.
[01:02:15] You be seated for just a moment.
[01:02:16] I want to talk to you a little bit about the Pathway Project and where we are at this current date.
[01:02:22] The Pathway Project is changing and growing as far as the commitments are concerned as we move forward.
[01:02:29] And we're excited about that.
[01:02:30] It changes daily, actually, so I'm just going to give you the now numbers.
[01:02:35] Remembering that our number one goal is 100% participation of people turning in commitment cards.
[01:02:41] And that helps us plan, that helps us do something that's tangible for each person to think through and pray where God may be calling on you.
[01:02:49] At this point, up to this point, we've had 60% of our families turn in a commitment card.
[01:02:55] And so that's amazing.
[01:02:56] Let's give an applause for that.
[01:02:58] That's great.
[01:03:00] We know many families are still working on and praying through what the commitment might be for the next two years for the Pathway Project.
[01:03:06] We're very excited about that.
[01:03:08] Out of that, we had 63 families who have no recorded giving in the history of Peninsula
[01:03:16] Commit to the Pathway Project to give.
[01:03:18] So that's another amazing applause on God's thing for that.
[01:03:22] We had another 62 families out of those commitments actually double their giving, which is absolutely astounding and amazing.
[01:03:32] And I'm so thankful for God and for their obedience to Him and following Him in that.
[01:03:37] Out of that that we have up to this point, we have $8.9 million committed for the two years
[01:03:43] Out of the 12 million dollar goals so far.
[01:03:45] So 60% who have turned in commitment cards is showing evidence of 75% of our goal being met.
[01:03:51] And so that's just exciting.
[01:03:53] Happy times for the Pathway Project.
[01:03:55] We're looking forward to that.
[01:03:56] You can still turn in a commitment card.
[01:03:58] In fact, for the whole two years, we'll have people turning in commitment cards to finish the Pathway Project out.
[01:04:05] Because of this, we know that it is a good sign.
[01:04:07] We voted on the budget this past Wednesday night.
[01:04:10] So the 2026 budget is moving forward.
[01:04:13] So our three-phase, two-year plan of moving into expanding our facility is still moving forward.
[01:04:19] There are still things...
[01:04:21] We've finished the first phase of the building project which is just the conceptual drawings.
[01:04:28] We're going into the more serious drawings now.
[01:04:33] The trigger will be pulled on that sometime in January and then sometime by March we'll have something to show
[01:04:39] The building will have March, April, somewhere in there will have hard numbers on what the building will cost for sure.
[01:04:46] And then the church body, the members of the church body will vote on moving forward with that commitment of actually putting a bulldozer on the property.
[01:04:55] Isn't that exciting?
[01:04:57] That's so fun to be a part of that.
[01:04:59] God's doing a great thing and it's a good time to be a part of His work.
[01:05:03] As we move into 2026.
[01:05:04] So as we finish up our time together, I want us to, as we always do, finish on scripture reading together.
[01:05:10] So let's all stand and you can read the scripture as it is on the screen before you.
[01:05:15] And this is Philippians 4, 6, and 7.
[01:05:21] Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[01:05:43] Go with him.

[01:32:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Good morning.
[01:32:48] My name's Adam.
[01:32:49] And I'm Reagan.
[01:32:50] Today we want to bring up something very important to us, and that is the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
[01:32:56] I know you've seen them out in the lobby.
[01:32:58] Big stacks everywhere.
[01:32:59] There's tons of them.
[01:33:00] And today is the last day to grab one, take it home with you, fill it up, and bring it back the following Sunday on the 14th, because we've got to get these out to where they need to go.
[01:33:11] So please grab one.
[01:33:13] Like I said, they're available in the lobby.
[01:33:14] They're also available downstairs in the preschool desk.

[01:33:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
yeah a lot of fun maybe even grab with your family take your kids with you shopping it's a really fun thing to do family and also if you don't know a lot about it is a great ministry and great gospel opportunity we also want you to know that this last Wednesday we had our annual church meeting at that meeting we're able to present the budget for 2026 and approve it but also we were able to give some updates about the pathway project you've heard us say one of our main goals in fact our number one goal is
[01:33:44] is 100% participation.
[01:33:48] That means we want everyone to be involved.
[01:33:50] We know that's going to look different for every individual and family.
[01:33:52] We want everyone here at Peninsula involved.
[01:33:54] Right now, we're about 60% participation and turning in those commitment cards.
[01:33:58] And so if you want to know, hey, can I still do that?
[01:34:00] Absolutely you can.
[01:34:02] You can turn one of those in a card.
[01:34:04] There's also a way to fill one out online where you can turn in a commitment card there.

[01:34:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
and even this morning we're gonna get to give some updates about where we're at right now but we are so thankful and excited about what God's doing here and look forward to 2026 and how he uses our church family yeah it's gonna be a big year we're very excited for that also coming up it is December so the Christmas Eve service this year it's on December 24th uh so this that Wednesday there's going to be four different services for you to choose from that you can you and your family can be at at 12 p.m 1 30 p.m
[01:34:36] 3.30 PM or 5 PM.
[01:34:39] Now we are asking that you go online and reserve your spot.
[01:34:44] It doesn't cost you a penny, but it helps us with numbers and knowing how full these services are going to be so that we can prepare accordingly to those.

[01:34:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
And if you're wondering, hey, are any of these different?
[01:34:54] All four of them are the exact same.
[01:34:56] Just different times.
[01:34:57] What would be the best opportunity for you and your family?
[01:35:00] So reserve that spot and join us.
[01:35:02] You don't have to bring a ticket.
[01:35:03] Are you gonna be at the door?
[01:35:04] You gonna check them?
[01:35:05] I'm gonna, for a while, yes.
[01:35:07] I'm gonna do some of that.
[01:35:09] No tickets needed, but we just look forward to you joining us on the 24th.

[01:35:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
That's right.
[01:35:13] And so if you want to come to all four services, in case you missed something in your notes, you can write something down that you missed.

[01:35:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
and the Holy Spirit.
[01:35:36] Everyone will be in the worship center together.
[01:35:39] Also on that day, we don't have our preschool kids, youth, or adult connect groups.
[01:35:44] It's just a time for us to worship together as family.
[01:35:47] So come either 9, 30, 11.
[01:35:49] We look forward to that chance to worship together as we kind of end out 2025, look ahead to 2026.

[01:35:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
and it's like it's a nice little break for the volunteers who work so hard all year long to provide things like child care and teen events all that stuff so getting to worship with your family on a specific Sunday you're one of those guys right yeah that's right so come worship with us on Sunday December 28th we look forward to that day also we just want to say thank you for being here with us today we look forward to a great morning together

[01:36:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
with our church family that's right and once again all these announcements are available online on the website you can go and see what's going on there so look forward to worshiping with you guys today well good morning church how are you doing today i know outside when we first woke up this morning it was cloudy and cold and kind of gloomy but in here is warm and bright and full of joy
[01:36:48] And isn't it a great thing to be a part of worship here today?
[01:36:52] So I want to play a little game with you.
[01:36:53] I want to see if you'll finish the next line.
[01:36:56] You never played that game before where you finish the next line?
[01:36:59] Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King.
[01:37:12] That's excellent.
[01:37:13] Very good.
[01:37:14] Didn't they do good?
[01:37:15] This is a promise of good things to come.
[01:37:17] The worship team just got excited.
[01:37:20] We're going to sing that in just a moment.
[01:37:21] Today, as we're in our Advent season, we're talking about peace.
[01:37:25] Peace on earth and what that means.
[01:37:27] Peace in the middle of an unpeaceable world.
[01:37:31] The Bible and Scripture has a whole different definition of what peace is compared to what many of us
[01:37:36] Equate peace to today and so we're going to talk about that we're going to take a little small section out of Acts chapter 21 just a small section where Paul demonstrates that he had peace in his heart in the midst of coming chaos so very excited about being able to stay in that as we're moving forward today as we worship together the worship team is now pumped and excited they're warmed up and they're ready so they're going to sing out would you stand with me as we open our time in prayer and after that the worship team will lead us
[01:38:04] And we will corporately praise our King of Kings.
[01:38:08] Let's pray together.
[01:38:08] Father, we thank you so much for your grace and your mercy that you give, but we also are reminded of your peace that is promised to our hearts, promised to who we are when we choose to follow you.
[01:38:20] So I pray that you would just lead us in that and you'd allow us to sense it and understand it.
[01:38:24] Father, as you hear us singing from our heart, hear our voices,
[01:38:29] You know where we are.
[01:38:30] We pray that you'll be glorified here today and that you'll be in our midst.
[01:38:34] In Jesus' name we pray.
[01:38:35] Amen.

[01:39:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
To the newborn King Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled Joyful all ye nations rise
[01:39:26] of Christ, with angelic hosts proclaim Christ is born in

[01:40:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Jesus man when man to dwell Jesus our Emmanuel Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King

[01:41:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
The Son of God, the hand-born Prince of Peace Hail the Son of Righteousness Light and life to all He brings Risen with healing in His wings Mild He lays His cross

[01:41:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
The sun's about to rise
[01:42:35] The Lord is come.
[01:42:54] Let us receive your King.
[01:42:57] Let every heart prepare Him room.
[01:43:02] And heaven and nature sing.
[01:43:02] And heaven and nature sing.
[01:43:03] And heaven and heaven
[01:43:50] Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy
[01:44:33] and Grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love, and wonders of His love, and wonders, wonders
[01:45:30] God of glory, Lord of love, Hearts and all thy powers before thee, Opening to the sun above.

[01:46:30] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In Jesus' name, Amen.

[01:46:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
We were waiting without hope, without light, till from heaven you came running.
[01:46:51] There was mercy in your eyes to fulfill the law and prophets.
[01:46:58] To a virgin came the Word.
[01:47:02] From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the dirt Praise the Father, praise the Son Praise the Spirit, three in one
[01:47:29] God of glory, majesty Praise forever to the King of kings
[01:47:48] To reveal the kingdom coming And to reconcile the lost To redeem the whole creation You did not despise the cross For even in your suffering You saw to the other side Knowing this was our salvation Jesus, for our sake you died
[01:48:29] Praise the Spirit, free in mind, God of glory, majesty, Praise forever to Thee.
[01:48:59] Heaven held its breath For that stone was moved for good For the Lamb had conquered death And the dead rose from their tombs And the angels stood in awe For the souls of all who come To the Father are restored And the Church of Christ was born
[01:49:28] of the Lamb.

[01:49:47] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Now this gospel truth of old shall not kneel, shall not faint.
[01:49:48] By His blood and in His name, in His freedom I am free.
[01:49:50] For the love of Jesus Christ, who has resurrected
[01:50:05] Christ the Spirit, created one God of glory, majesty Praise forever to the King of kings Praise forever to the King of kings

[01:50:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let's give Him praise.
[01:50:41] He's worthy.
[01:50:42] Amen?
[01:50:43] Yeah.
[01:50:46] Would you please be seated?

[01:51:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
The Advent season brings a lot of different emotions and feelings for many people in the world.
[01:51:36] And for us, it is supposed to be a season of bringing about peace and the promise of peace that we have in Christ.
[01:51:42] And speaking of the Advent season, I hope that you're taking advantage of the Advent cards, the Advent calendar that we put together.
[01:51:48] This was completely 100% in-house, and I've got to say, it is well done.
[01:51:55] So everybody that was involved in helping make this happen, great job.
[01:51:59] I'm impressed.
[01:52:00] Yes, let's give them a thank you for that.
[01:52:03] We're doing it in our home, and it's just really good, and it's fun, and it's just quality stuff.
[01:52:11] So I'm hoping you'll take advantage of that, grab that on the way out.
[01:52:14] You're only seven days behind on it, so you can catch up.
[01:52:17] There are quick reads, and you can be able to jump into that as well.
[01:52:23] Hey listen, there are many people in this world who misinterpret what the word peace means.
[01:52:31] Because if you think about the word peace, you're thinking about when you were in that moment of comfort.
[01:52:39] In that moment of no checklist to be accomplished.
[01:52:45] Everything was taken care of.
[01:52:47] You were sipping your favorite hot chocolate or coffee next to the fire and you were just warm and cozy and everyone was healthy and everything was great.
[01:52:58] And you were just at peace, right?
[01:53:01] And so we, a lot of times, will misinterpret the word peace with comfort.
[01:53:06] And Scripture has something very different to say about what peace truly is.
[01:53:11] And there are some in here who, when you gave your life to Christ, you grabbed what peace was, you understood what peace was at that moment, and you've been walking with it.
[01:53:22] But there are some who give their life to Christ and they grapple their whole entire life trying to find what that peace is and what it means as you're walking through life.
[01:53:32] So for some, today's message will be somewhat of a reminder to go, oh yeah, that's good, I'm walking with Christ.
[01:53:39] But for some, I am prayerful that it will be an aha moment for you.
[01:53:46] Because Jesus, when he came, he said he was coming for this very reason, to bring peace into the world.
[01:53:52] The angels sang when he was born, lighting up the sky, peace on earth and goodwill to men.
[01:54:01] This was what was happening and we, in the middle of chaos, the angels were singing peace on earth.
[01:54:08] People misinterpreted what Jesus was to do to bring that peace.
[01:54:14] So that's kind of what we're talking about today as we go into it.
[01:54:17] The big thought process is this.
[01:54:20] True peace is found in obedience to God's call, even when it leads into hardship.
[01:54:29] That's hard for some to swallow.
[01:54:31] Following Him brings assurance during uncertainty.
[01:54:37] Peace doesn't mean that tomorrow is already well known and what we're going to face.
[01:54:43] Peace is not thinking that tomorrow nothing wrong is going to happen.
[01:54:48] I am convinced more and more as I walk through this life that our true peace physically happens and mentally happens in heaven.
[01:54:59] Jesus told us, and we'll read that scripture in just a moment, that we were going to struggle here.
[01:55:06] Paul demonstrates a very unique passage that I'm going to pull out of chapters 21 and 22.
[01:55:13] We're kind of hitting 21 and 22, but I'm focusing it on five verses out of those two chapters because Paul demonstrates a peace that is in his heart and in a resolution, resolved way to move forward with what God has called him to do.
[01:55:34] He's on his third missionary journey.
[01:55:36] It's coming to an end, and Acts 21 is actually marking a significant change, not only in the book of Acts, because we'll see a difference now in the book of Acts between now and the end of this month, but it's also a difference in how Paul is doing ministry.
[01:55:52] He's no longer Paul the missionary that's going.
[01:55:55] He has become Paul the witness who is bringing witness to the call that has been placed on his life.
[01:56:02] And toward the end of 21 going into 22 he's actually retelling the story of that original calling.
[01:56:07] We're going to revisit that on Christmas Eve.
[01:56:11] We're going to look at that difference that it made for Paul when the light came into his life.
[01:56:18] So today we're taking just a few verses to look at what peace truly means in our lives.
[01:56:24] So when Paul arrives in Jerusalem the tension goes up quickly.
[01:56:32] As soon as he shows up and he starts giving witness and testimony, people find out that he's there, the tension just really ramps up.
[01:56:42] Advent is supposed to be a season of peace, peace on earth.
[01:56:49] But if we're honest, do we really feel like that there's peace on earth?
[01:56:57] That's the challenge.
[01:57:00] That's kind of the nuance of what we're going to be walking through today as we're looking at what Paul testified and how Paul lived.
[01:57:06] We reflect that on Christ and what He's called us to.
[01:57:11] Let me just kind of say this as the last little foundational mark before we read Scripture is this.
[01:57:17] If you are a believer in and a follower of Jesus Christ, you have been called.
[01:57:28] You have been called.
[01:57:32] The question is, are you obedient?
[01:57:37] So that's what we're going to look into as we're looking at this.
[01:57:42] Paul's peace, another big statement, Paul's peace wasn't the calm of a man who avoided danger.
[01:57:50] It was the confidence of a man who trusted God inside the danger.
[01:57:56] And that's what we're going to be seeing as we look at it.
[01:57:58] Acts chapter 21, verses 10 through 14.
[01:58:02] and I'll kind of read it out.
[01:58:04] We've been following in on Paul's comings and goings and now the world is actually starting to go a little bit kind of chaotic and crazy and he's heading back to Jerusalem.
[01:58:14] You've learned in chapter 20 rather, right around verse 13 I think is where it is, where Paul says the Spirit is leading him to go back to Jerusalem.
[01:58:25] So I want to kind of put that out there so you don't think that Paul was being kind of blind to what's happening here.
[01:58:31] Here's what it says in verse 10.
[01:58:33] While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
[01:58:40] We met Agabus back in Acts chapter 10, somewhere around there.
[01:58:44] so he's already hit the scene we know who he is and coming to us he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said now here's this picture let me give it to you Paul walks up to him he walks up to Paul he reaches and he grabs Paul's belt off of him and then he ties Agabus ties his own hands and his own feet
[01:59:05] So he's taken Paul's belt and he's tied his own hands and feet and this is what he says, Thus says the Holy Spirit, This is how the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
[01:59:29] When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
[01:59:41] Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?
[01:59:48] For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
[01:59:58] And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, Let the will of the Lord be done.
[02:00:12] That's a powerful place to be.
[02:00:16] Let the will of the Lord be done.
[02:00:19] And that's where I'm hoping that we will be able to land today in our spirit and our walk with Him.
[02:00:25] As we walk back through this,
[02:00:27] Let's talk a little bit about it.
[02:00:29] Number one, when God prepares you for what's coming.
[02:00:33] We see this in Acts 10 and 11.
[02:00:36] A lot of people say this was somewhat of a warning, and Paul should have heeded that warning, but he already said back in chapter 20 that the Spirit was telling him to go to Jerusalem.
[02:00:46] So, was it a warning?
[02:00:47] No, I think it was when he was preparing him.
[02:00:49] Luke tells us that the prophet named Agabus comes down, takes his belt, ties his hands and his feet, and then he says, the one who owns this belt, this is what's going to happen to him when he gets to Jerusalem and he'll be handed over to the Gentiles.
[02:01:05] God is giving Paul a glimpse of what is ahead.
[02:01:10] Now I want you to catch this because you may miss what's happening here.
[02:01:16] This is something that's huge in where Paul goes with this conversation.
[02:01:21] Agabus isn't trying to frighten Paul, he's preparing him.
[02:01:26] Throughout Scripture, God actually forewarns His people so that they can be forearmed with being prepared for it.
[02:01:35] Knowing is half the battle, is what we say.
[02:01:38] Noah was warned about the flood so that he could prepare for it.
[02:01:42] Joseph dreamed of famine, not to discourage him, but to prepare him to be able to lead.
[02:01:49] Sometimes God's warning are not stop signs.
[02:01:52] They're actually preparation signs to show strength.
[02:01:56] I would call them strength signs.
[02:01:58] Why do I say that?
[02:02:00] Well, they steady our obedience.
[02:02:03] Paul could have taken this prophecy as a reason to stay home.
[02:02:06] Instead, he saw it as God's confirmation.
[02:02:12] What do I mean by this?
[02:02:13] This is the part that I don't want you to miss.
[02:02:16] Paul knowing
[02:02:18] because Agabus is giving him a prophecy.
[02:02:20] He's giving him a word from the Lord.
[02:02:23] Paul knowing that God knows what's going to happen to him was confirmation he was heading in the right direction.
[02:02:32] You see what I'm saying there?
[02:02:34] He knew that God knew what was coming and that was enough.
[02:02:44] Oh, if we could only grasp that.
[02:02:47] To understand that God knows what's coming today, tomorrow, next week, next year.
[02:02:53] He knows what's coming.
[02:02:54] If we could grasp more than just the phrase, God is sovereign, but really understand what sovereignty really, really means.
[02:03:04] If you say, well, I don't really know what the word sovereign means.
[02:03:08] Look it up this afternoon.
[02:03:09] Get your dictionary out, look it up on Google, however you want to look it up, and get a good definition of the word sovereign.
[02:03:17] God is sovereign.
[02:03:20] And that was enough for Paul.
[02:03:21] He was reminded at that moment that Agabus said, Hey, this is what the Lord says is going to happen to you.
[02:03:26] And Paul said, Well, God already knows that then.
[02:03:29] That's enough for me.
[02:03:31] That's all I need.
[02:03:32] That's confirmation for me to be able to move forward.
[02:03:37] Advent, this season that we're celebrating as Christmas, the birth of Christ, it kind of happened in the same way.
[02:03:44] God sent the prophets like Isaiah and John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ's coming and their words didn't make life easier, it made hearts ready.
[02:03:59] When God warns us, it's making our heart ready to be able to lean into Him.
[02:04:06] I had a feeling that or I had a few signs that this was coming because or I was this and I just knew that this was coming that's God saying I'm in that I'm giving you warning I'm preparing you to know that I'm there too
[02:04:33] This is what it's all about.
[02:04:34] God prepares us today.
[02:04:36] He may not give us a vision or He may not give us a prophet to come up and take the belt off our pants and say, this is what's coming.
[02:04:44] But through His Word and through His Spirit to strengthen us of what lies ahead, He has already spoken into it.
[02:04:50] Jesus actually has spoken into it.
[02:04:54] God's peace doesn't erase difficulty.
[02:04:58] God's peace doesn't erase difficulty.
[02:05:02] It equips us to walk through it.
[02:05:07] John 16, 33.
[02:05:08] These are Jesus' words as He was speaking to us and He was warning us.
[02:05:14] He said these words, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace.
[02:05:25] In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart.
[02:05:34] I have overcome the world.
[02:05:38] I need to give you just a moment to meditate on that scripture as you read it to yourself again silently where you sit.
[02:06:24] If the Creator of the universe, who spoke all that we know into existence by His words, if He says the words, in me you will have peace, then why do we struggle with it?
[02:06:48] Take heart, Jesus said.
[02:06:53] Have overcome the world.
[02:06:57] So, when God prepares you for what's coming.
[02:07:00] Number two, when people don't understand your calling.
[02:07:06] If you're in ministry, you've had people in your life that don't understand your calling.
[02:07:11] Why would you move there?
[02:07:12] Why would you do this?
[02:07:13] Why would you do that?
[02:07:13] Why would you not go this route or that route?
[02:07:16] But even those who are believers in Christ and you've made decisions in your life of where to live or how to raise your family, those who are especially not believers will question you, but sometimes even believers will question, are you sure you're getting it right?
[02:07:31] And this is what we see happening here.
[02:07:32] It says, when we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
[02:07:42] Paul's friends beg him to stay.
[02:07:44] They love him.
[02:07:45] Their instinct was to protect him.
[02:07:48] Can you feel the emotional weight of this scene?
[02:07:52] They're not faithless people, but they are reacting from fear.
[02:07:59] They're probably thinking to themselves, surely God would not want Paul to suffer pain.
[02:08:07] That's how most of us think today, isn't it?
[02:08:09] If something looks painful, it must not be God's will.
[02:08:15] But sometimes the safest place is not a trouble-free place, it's an obedient place.
[02:08:25] Some people say, well, you know, your daughter moved over to France.
[02:08:28] Aren't you glad that she's following God's will?
[02:08:30] She'll be just fine.
[02:08:32] I'm not guaranteed that and neither is she.
[02:08:37] She is an example of obedience.
[02:08:40] She is an example of walking in obedience to Him, but that doesn't guarantee that something won't happen to her.
[02:08:50] We have to understand what's happening here, but comfort and peace do not always equate to what Scripture is teaching about this.
[02:09:01] We think peace means everything around us is calm, but biblical peace means everything within us
[02:09:10] is surrendered.
[02:09:11] That's where the peace comes.
[02:09:16] It's surrendering to the sovereignty of God's will for our lives.
[02:09:24] A parent may feel the call to adopt though it brings sacrifice.
[02:09:29] A believer may be called to forgive
[02:09:32] A missionary may move overseas though it comes at a cost to security.
[02:09:39] Each faces voices saying, don't go, it's too risky.
[02:09:43] Yet God's call is often costly.
[02:09:48] I think about in the Advent season, we're talking about Mary and Joseph.
[02:09:53] You know, Joseph felt the tension when he found out that Mary was pregnant.
[02:09:59] Human wisdom said, divorce her quietly.
[02:10:03] But God's message through an angel said, do not fear to take Mary as your wife.
[02:10:09] Peace didn't come from avoiding the scandal.
[02:10:13] It came from obeying God's voice.
[02:10:17] The same is true for us.
[02:10:18] Peace is not found in self-preservation but in divine surrender.
[02:10:24] Surrender, I know, especially a lot of times to guys, sounds like throwing in the towel.
[02:10:30] It sounds like giving up.
[02:10:32] It sounds like I'm washed over.
[02:10:34] It sounds like I'm a doormat now.
[02:10:36] And this is not the kind of surrender I'm talking about.
[02:10:38] I'm talking about surrendering to allowing God to work in your life rather than trying to control everything.
[02:10:48] So you have when God prepares you for what's coming, when people don't understand your calling, and then number three, when obedience costs you something.
[02:11:01] Then Paul answered, what are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?
[02:11:05] For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
[02:11:12] The phrase, I am ready, in Greek, hetomios emi, carries the sense of prepared, settled, resolved direction.
[02:11:25] I am ready.
[02:11:27] Like, I'm ready.
[02:11:33] Paul isn't defensive.
[02:11:34] He isn't panicked.
[02:11:36] He isn't argumentative.
[02:11:38] He is speaking from a composed confidence.
[02:11:41] His peace comes from a readiness.
[02:11:44] I am ready, not resistant.
[02:11:46] He knows suffering is coming, but he doesn't fight it.
[02:11:49] Instead, he rests in God's will.
[02:11:53] That composure in language is the fruit of peace.
[02:12:00] Verse 13 in my assessment is probably one of the most courageous statements in the New Testament.
[02:12:07] Paul isn't reckless, he's resolved.
[02:12:11] He knows what obedience will cost and he's made peace with it.
[02:12:18] His peace doesn't come from knowing the outcome, it comes from knowing the one who holds the outcome.
[02:12:25] Paul's resolve echoes Jesus' own journey too.
[02:12:29] Jesus knew what was coming his way and in speaking about Jesus in Luke 9 51 it says when the days drew near for him to be taken up he set his face to go to Jerusalem just like Paul so Paul like his savior walks into danger with a serenity in his heart because he settled on God's will
[02:12:53] And notice the change in verse 14, it says, And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, Let the will of the Lord be done.
[02:13:05] Peace multiplies when one believer stands firm in obedience.
[02:13:12] On the night of Jesus' birth, the world was chaotic.
[02:13:15] Think about it.
[02:13:17] Crowded inns, there was no room for them in the inn, the political census was going on, there was social unrest, and yet heaven declared peace on earth.
[02:13:28] Peace wasn't the result of calm circumstances at all.
[02:13:32] It was the result of God's perfect plan unfolding into history.
[02:13:40] So you have when God prepares you for what's coming, when people don't understand your calling, when obedience costs you something, and then number four, when your peace strengthens others.
[02:13:54] Paul's obedience mirrors the obedience of Christ.
[02:13:58] Both were warned of suffering ahead.
[02:14:01] Both faced voices urging them to avoid it.
[02:14:05] Both said in effect, not my will but yours be done.
[02:14:11] At Gethsemane, Jesus found peace not through escape but through surrender.
[02:14:19] My peace I give to you, Jesus said, not as the world gives.
[02:14:27] If you're looking for peace in the circumstances in this world, let me give you a hint.
[02:14:34] You won't find it.
[02:14:36] Because peace, perfect peace, is in Christ, not the world.
[02:14:49] At the cross, Jesus absorbed the world's chaos and sin to give us eternal peace with God.
[02:14:58] The cradle and the cross are connected.
[02:15:00] The baby born in Bethlehem came to die in Jerusalem.
[02:15:05] His obedience brought the peace that Paul now embodies in this account.
[02:15:11] And the peace that we celebrate here at Advent, the fact that we celebrate a risen Savior, our Advent now is a returning Savior that will come and bring us into that perfect peace, mental, emotional, physical, social, and everything.
[02:15:30] Which brings us to number five, when peace becomes personal.
[02:15:36] How on earth are we to live this out?
[02:15:40] How are we to find peace when obedience feels dangerous or uncertain?
[02:15:48] Anybody in here ever been at an uncertain point in your life?
[02:15:52] Anybody?
[02:15:55] Anybody else?
[02:15:58] We've all been in uncertain times in our lives.
[02:16:03] Life can bring uncertainty in the next 10 minutes.
[02:16:09] What we're seeing here is Paul was demonstrating peace in the midst of that uncertainty.
[02:16:17] There are different psyches.
[02:16:18] There are some people that want to know the plan from the very beginning.
[02:16:21] There are some people that can just play it by ear and don't care if there is a plan.
[02:16:26] There are some people that look like they've never had a plan.
[02:16:30] Wait, are you laughing because you're sitting with someone?
[02:16:35] But all three of those types of people that I just mentioned can have peace in their heart because they're walking with Christ.
[02:16:42] So how do you find this peace?
[02:16:44] Well, A, peace comes when we choose surrender over control.
[02:16:53] Stop trying to control the things we cannot control.
[02:16:58] It just won't happen.
[02:16:59] Many of us live with clenched fists, grasping at the outcomes.
[02:17:04] Well, if I move cog A to cog B, and then I take cog B and I move it over to here and everything, then this outcome will be this.
[02:17:12] And we're fighting for the outcome.
[02:17:14] Always fighting for the outcome.
[02:17:17] There's been times in my life where there was something that I wanted to see happen, and I would grapple with it, and I would talk to these people, and I'd pray about it, I'd read Scripture, I would move in this way, I would do this thing, I'd do that thing, and I'd get to the end of the week, and I would go, well, I guess God's going to do what God's going to do.
[02:17:33] You know how much anxiety I could have saved myself if I would have started back on Monday with just going, it looks like God's going to do what God's going to do.
[02:17:41] Let's just wait and see.
[02:17:42] Let's wait and see what God's going to do.
[02:17:45] Remember, he's sovereign.
[02:17:47] Sometimes we try to control things that we can't control.
[02:17:49] We're grasping for the outcomes.
[02:17:50] We're trying to manage everything.
[02:17:52] But peace begins when we open our hands.
[02:17:56] Let the will of the Lord be done.
[02:17:58] That's not resignation.
[02:17:59] It's release.
[02:18:01] It's releasing us from the pain and the hurt of trying to make things happen.
[02:18:05] Paul's surrender brought him peace that no circumstance could steal.
[02:18:13] Now I guess the question in our life is, what in our life do we need to say, the Lord's will be done?
[02:18:22] See, that's why I said at the very beginning, there are some people, when they give their life to Christ, they realize that surrender to Him was everything.
[02:18:31] and so they walk their life feeling peace and joy even though there's ups and downs in life that peace and joy is remaining steady because they're abiding in Christ and walking with him but then there are people who are on this side they give their life to Christ and they feel peace for a little while and then the first negative thing happens and they start grappling and now they're
[02:18:49] They're jockeying for control, and they're jockeying for navigation, and they're trying to figure it out, and they spend their whole life, and they get all the way over here to the end of their life, and they're thinking to themselves, Well, you know, I never really saw God move in my life.
[02:19:06] Experiencing God is many times that release of saying, I know He's in control, I know He can do what He's going to do, and I'm going to rest in Him.
[02:19:17] It doesn't mean you like the situation that you're in.
[02:19:20] It means you trust Him who's in that situation with you.
[02:19:24] That's what it means.
[02:19:27] Peace comes when we choose surrender over control.
[02:19:31] Is there a relationship, a decision, or a calling that fear is holding you back from releasing to Him?
[02:19:41] B.
[02:19:43] Peace grows when we trust God's presence more than we fear the path.
[02:19:52] Obedience is not walking into the dark alone, it's walking with the light of the world in us.
[02:19:59] Christ's peace isn't the removal of the storms, it's His presence in the middle of the storm.
[02:20:06] And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[02:20:13] That's Philippians 4, 7.
[02:20:15] The word guard brings an image of a soldier standing watch.
[02:20:20] God's peace literally patrols our hearts, protecting us from panic.
[02:20:27] You ever had a panic moment?
[02:20:29] Anybody?
[02:20:30] Anybody in here ever had a panic moment?
[02:20:33] You know, I'm convinced, you know, you have like, you know, you get burned, you have this nerve that pulls you back because that's the nerve endings.
[02:20:40] I'm convinced there is a panic nerve that fires off.
[02:20:44] And your whole body just like fight or flight.
[02:20:46] That panic.
[02:20:47] We have those panic moments.
[02:20:49] If we're abiding in Christ, it says He's guarding our heart.
[02:20:53] He is patrolling our heart to prevent that panic from taking over.
[02:20:59] Many people miss that.
[02:21:03] That just simply abiding in Christ, you wouldn't have to fear the path.
[02:21:09] God's peace literally patrols and protects.
[02:21:13] Peace spreads when others see your steadfast faith.
[02:21:21] Your trusting in Christ is not just for you.
[02:21:30] It's for other believers.
[02:21:33] So stop selfishly having a pity party and pulling other people down.
[02:21:37] Instead, put your trust in a sovereign God that's got you and is walking with you and knows what you're feeling and put it into Him so that you can be a faith strengthening person for other people.
[02:21:52] God meant for us to connect with one another.
[02:21:54] He meant for us to be able to corporately worship Him.
[02:21:58] But our faith will spread to other people.
[02:22:02] When Paul's friends saw his resolve, they stopped arguing and began to trust.
[02:22:09] Sometimes your calm obedience will bring calm to others.
[02:22:13] Parents, your children are watching
[02:22:17] and learning about peace by watching how you trust God.
[02:22:21] Leaders, your teams learn peace by watching you obey faithfully under pressure.
[02:22:27] Church, our community learns peace when we follow God's call even when it costs us.
[02:22:40] When I was a little kid, this is not the one, but when I was a little kid, I was given a compass.
[02:22:45] And I was just, when I found out what it did and how it worked, I was like, that's crazy.
[02:22:52] Now, I'm pretty simple-minded, so just go with me on this.
[02:22:54] It doesn't take much to impress me.
[02:22:56] But I thought, a compass, that's crazy.
[02:22:59] No matter how I turn it, it's always pointing north.
[02:23:02] But I also realized that
[02:23:03] Let's pray.
[02:23:07] Let's pray.
[02:23:23] Here's the thing about a compass.
[02:23:24] I can take it and I can flip it like this.
[02:23:28] I can spin it around.
[02:23:29] I can be standing in the middle of the storm.
[02:23:31] I can do this right here.
[02:23:32] But here's the key.
[02:23:34] This is floating on a bubble, so the moment that I get still, it points back to north, south, east, west.
[02:23:49] What am I saying here?
[02:23:50] Paul's compass.
[02:23:52] was focused directly on Christ and His calling on His life.
[02:23:58] No situation, no warning, no danger, nothing could get in the way of that.
[02:24:04] By this point, by the way, Paul has been doing ministry for about 20 years.
[02:24:08] He started churches in all of Asia, or most of Asia anyway, that they knew back then.
[02:24:14] He's already written Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, I think Galatians, and he's already written the book of Romans at this point.
[02:24:21] He's done his doctrinal teaching.
[02:24:23] He understands what it means to walk with Christ.
[02:24:27] And when the storm got crazy, he would be still and he would look at the compass that was pointing to Christ and he knew exactly where he needed to go.
[02:24:34] Some people in this room just need to be still and know God.
[02:24:45] That's what Scripture's talking about, by the way.
[02:24:49] It's being still and sensing where His direction is calling you.
[02:24:54] Get in the Word.
[02:24:56] Get in the Word and read it every day.
[02:25:00] They now have sociological, scientific study that proves that if someone reads the Bible one day a week, not much change.
[02:25:13] Someone who reads the Bible two days a week, not much change.
[02:25:18] Somebody who reads the Bible three days a week, they start noticing that there's a little bit difference in their demeanor and their behavior.
[02:25:26] But someone who reads the Bible four days a week changes completely.
[02:25:32] There's power in the Word.
[02:25:35] Be in it.
[02:25:36] Read it.
[02:25:36] Don't wait until Sunday to come in here and get the most phenomenal sermon you'll ever get.
[02:25:43] Okay.
[02:25:44] Thank you for laughing at that because that was funny.
[02:25:47] Read it.
[02:25:50] Sometimes I'm, I don't know, I shouldn't have said that.
[02:25:53] Okay.
[02:25:54] Get in the Word.
[02:25:56] Let the Word be your compass that points you back to Christ.
[02:26:03] Because that's what Paul was doing.
[02:26:07] Peace isn't found in avoiding conflict or controlling the outcomes of things to come.
[02:26:14] It's found when our will and God's will align.
[02:26:18] And that's what getting in the Word does.
[02:26:19] It aligns our will with His.
[02:26:21] It's not about us changing God's Word to match what we want.
[02:26:24] It's about us changing to match God's Word.
[02:26:30] There are places in our lives that we need to say, Yes, Lord.
[02:26:37] In this Advent, God may be calling you to forgive someone who hurt you.
[02:26:42] He may be asking you to give sacrificially to His mission, either monetarily or of yourself.
[02:26:49] He may be asking you to step into ministry and it feels a little bit beyond that comfort zone.
[02:26:54] He may be asking you to lead in some way in the church and it's something you've never done before and you're uncomfortable with it.
[02:27:00] He may be asking you to trust Him with an uncertain future, to know that He's going to walk with you in that.
[02:27:07] He may be giving you the warning signs, this will be hard.
[02:27:12] But peace comes when you obey anyway.
[02:27:18] People are so ready to throw in the towel.
[02:27:24] We're so ready when something doesn't please the way we want, we scroll on past it.
[02:27:30] Something isn't ordered as fast as we think it should be.
[02:27:32] We complain heavily.
[02:27:36] We're just this please me now society and we're not willing to wait, but we need to trust in God.
[02:27:45] When we follow the will of God, the peace of God follows.
[02:27:51] You've not experienced peace in your life?
[02:27:52] Are you a believer?
[02:27:54] That's the first step.
[02:27:55] You will never experience peace in your life like Scripture meant for peace to be in your life if you've never given your life to Christ.
[02:28:02] That's your first step.
[02:28:03] If you're not a believer and you're just trying this religious thing, religion will fall short every single time, the world will fall short every single time, but Christ will fulfill completely every single time.
[02:28:15] It's a matter of surrendering to Him and giving your all to Him and recognizing your need for Him as your Savior.
[02:28:22] In other words, God created things perfectly, sin broke the communion that we had with God, and we all have sinned and fall short of that glory, which means our communion with God is broken.
[02:28:34] The only bridge back to that communion with God is a relationship through Jesus Christ, who gave of Himself willingly, setting His face toward Jerusalem so that He could die and purchase people back.
[02:28:46] You give your life to Him completely, surrendering to Him, and then the peace
[02:28:52] Peace begins to pass understanding.
[02:29:01] Peace comes when we obey.
[02:29:08] When we follow the will of God the peace of God will always point us back to Christ.
[02:29:22] Let's pray.
[02:29:32] Father, sometimes in my own mind, in my own silly mind, I think to myself that me controlling things is going to be easier.
[02:29:45] That at least if I'm controlling things,
[02:29:51] I have a part in the outcome.
[02:29:58] I know you're not asking me to just sit down and stop.
[02:30:04] You're asking me to walk with you through it, to acknowledge you there, to lean into you there, to be sensitive to your spirit that tells me when to take a left foot or a right foot forward.
[02:30:26] I'm so encouraged by the fact that when Paul was warned, he was actually encouraged.
[02:30:33] The fact that you're in tomorrow should settle all of our minds.
[02:30:43] So thank you for meeting us right where we are, Father, and through your love refusing to leave us there, help us to be obedient in what you call us to do, to lay things at your feet and to give you control once again.
[02:30:56] For it's in Jesus' name we pray.
[02:30:58] Amen.

[02:31:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Please stand.

[02:31:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Come thou long expected Jesus Born to set thy people free From our fears and sins release us Let us find
[02:31:37] Our rest in thee Israel strength and consolation Hope of all the earth, thou art
[02:32:00] Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart,
[02:32:19] Born thy people to deliver.
[02:32:28] Born a child and yet a king.
[02:32:37] Born to reign in
[02:32:40] In us forever now Thy gracious kingdom bring By Thy known eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone
[02:33:10] By thine all-sufficient merit Raise us to thy glorious throne By thine all-sufficient merit
[02:33:42] Pray with me.

[02:33:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Father, the ultimate goal of finding peace is abiding in you and finding ourselves at your feet, at your throne.
[02:34:03] Jesus, you've purchased us to be able to do that and to experience that.
[02:34:06] So hear our hearts when we cry out to you and
[02:34:09] Help us to have the courage and the strength to give you those places in our lives that are creating anxiety or toil or panic.
[02:34:18] Help us to trust in your sovereignty, putting off what the world and the circumstance is giving us and focusing solely on you.
[02:34:29] In Jesus' name we pray.
[02:34:31] Amen.
[02:34:32] Be seated for just a moment have a quick announcement about the Pathway Project.
[02:34:37] We started about three years ago with a three-phase process that was to look at expanding our facilities and we started in the beginning of this year going into phase three of that process.
[02:34:50] Part of that phase was to not only pull together construction documents but also to look at how we were going to be programming and then how we were going to fund it.
[02:34:59] and starting back in May we had a vision meeting.
[02:35:02] We had people actually from that vision meeting begin committing to the Pathway Project even after the vision meeting.
[02:35:09] We've had people throwing into that and realizing that our ultimate goal is 100% participation in the Pathway Project, meaning 100% of the families that attend here and call this church home to turn in a commitment card toward that.
[02:35:24] To date, even though we're going to continue receiving Pathway Project cards, commitment cards for the next two years, to date 60% of our giving families have turned in a commitment card
[02:35:38] and I think that's amazing and worth celebrating.
[02:35:44] Interesting numbers to pull out of that.
[02:35:46] Out of that 60% of people who have turned in a commitment card, we had 62 families who have never had a record of giving to Peninsula actually commit to giving to the Pathway Project.
[02:35:57] That's a celebration for them and for us as well.
[02:36:00] I want to say thank you for that.
[02:36:04] We had close to 60% say that they were going to double their giving over the next two years, which is a validation to God's call on us as a church, which is absolutely phenomenal.
[02:36:14] With the 60% of commitment cards are turned in, actually coupled with the giving, we have now reached a goal of $8.9 million committed over the next two years out of the 12 million.
[02:36:27] That's 60% who have committed are committing to 75% of the goal so far.
[02:36:34] and that too is a praise to give to God so just under nine million dollars committed to the pathway project you may be asking what's this mean well the pathway project as far as the building expansion is concerned has never put the brakes or pump the brakes has been moving forward all along this past Wednesday night we met and talked about the budget and the budget was approved for 2026
[02:37:00] And that moves us forward with being able to go into the next phase of the building.
[02:37:05] We've already done the conceptual drawings.
[02:37:08] You guys saw that back in October when we revealed what the concept would look like.
[02:37:13] We're now stepping into what's called the construction design where we actually start drawing.
[02:37:19] It's the second phase of three.
[02:37:21] The third phase are the actual blueprints in hand.
[02:37:24] When we get finished with the construction design we will come before the church and say this is what it looks like and these are the hard numbers and then we as church members will vote whether to move forward with that building or not at that time.
[02:37:36] Very, very excited about where God is taking us.
[02:37:38] It is a wonderful time to be a part of what God is doing and He is blessing Peninsula
[02:37:43] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
[02:38:11] Let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[02:38:25] Go with Him.