Peace

Stand with me for the reading of the word, Numbers chapter 6. We'll read three verses starting at verse 24. Says, "The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift his countenance up on thee and give thee peace." These are truly some of the most beautiful verses just in content in scripture. They are words of blessing that came directly from the Lord. Moses had received this message from God and he was given distinct instructions to preach it to the people. Tell the people, "This is what I'm thinking about when I'm thinking about them." It's a beautiful blessing. And I feel today that God sent me to this pulpit to preach a very specific message, a blessing if you will in some ways to many that are in this house. Perhaps those that are joining us online from your house, I believe he will speak to you directly today as well. But here's what he asked me to share with you. It's the content of the final phrase of that passage of scripture. It's where God tells the preacher to tell the people that he will give them peace. Peace. For the next few moments, I'm going to preach a message that's just simply titled peace. It really is that simple. It's one word, it's a word of blessing, and it's the word peace.

Would you put your Bibles down, lift your hands and hearts one more time, and let God know you're a candidate to receive peace today. God, I thank you for what I feel in this house. Your presence is powerful. It is here. We have worshipped you and you have come close. You are near. I believe that your word is anointed because it is your word. And as it goes forth, I pray that it would find ready ears and open hearts. Today, speak the word into our lives. I am open to receive what you have to say to me today. In the name of Jesus, I pray. And everyone said, "Amen." You may be seated. The nature of his notoriety puzzled many. It was as if he burst onto the scene without truly any formal introduction. It wasn't through education. It wasn't through government. It wasn't through industry. As a matter of fact, most had never heard the name of this young man. But after one presentation, after one speech that he had given, his name began to travel and to trend throughout society, and people quickly took notice of this young man. They began to ask for access to him. They wanted counsel from him. They wanted to be near him. They simply wanted to hear the words that would come out of his mouth because they seemed to resonate with the situations they were facing and the places that they were in their lives in that moment.

His second speaking engagement, it was full. There were no empty seats. There was no vacancies. There was no space. And this process continued from venue to venue, from place to place, from city to city. With amazement, he continued to shatter attendance records. His team of handlers also grew about as fast as his group of followers did. One day, he into his destination city a little early. It was late in the evening. He was going to connect with the people the next day. And so he decided to go out early in the morning and take a walk by the lake just to relax and enjoy the area. But sure enough, somebody spotted him. And as soon as they spotted him walking by the lake, word began to travel quickly and all the people who wanted to see him, to touch him, to hear him came out to the lake. And he, being the kind man that he was, decided to give them an impromptu speech. That speech ended up turning into a days-long interaction. He was unable to leave because of the press of the crowd in front and on the sides and with the lake behind him. Finally, his handlers were able to get through the crowd and get to him and they guide him into a boat that just happened to be waiting there. And once he was in the boat, they did their best to get him across the lake away from the crowd.

He was exhausted from the day's events already. He had poured out all that he had in these moments and since his team was now taking care of transportation, this man, this speaker went to the back of the boat. He found a pillow. He laid down and he went to sleep. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. He was unsure, but what he was sure is that somebody was awakening him, kind of violently shaking him, calling out to him and as he groggily opened his eyes, he saw waves that were rising over the side of the boat. He saw fear in the eyes of those handlers that were supposed to be getting him safely to the other side. He heard the loud noise of winds and waves, but also the shouts of the people in the boat with him. And as Jesus opened his eyes, he was immediately aware that chaos had overtaken the calm. And that problems had overtaken the peace. And before he did anything, we read these words in Mark chapter 4 verse 39. He arose. He rebuked the wind. And he said unto the sea, "Peace, be still." And the wind ceased. And there was a great calm. Can you imagine that moment? What an amazing moment. Men who just a few moments ago were completely paralyzed by fear, fearful for their lives, that are now standing on the deck of a silent ship, where waves once beat and tossed against it, that are now calm, and they're simply staring at a man who woke up and uttered one word.

Peace. They were worried. There wasn't even a balmy breeze blowing. Peace. It's calm. This is where perhaps some of you in this house are today. Your life feels like you were sitting in a ship that is being tossed by every wave of life. Chaos and calamity are coming against you. You feel like you should have a handle on this. After all, you're pretty familiar with the boat. You kind of know how to handle life, but the reality is that while you have settled into seats in this sanctuary, your world is anything but settled. It's spinning around you. You're trying to take singular, solid steps, but it's as if vertigo has thrown your balance off. You're trying to grasp something solid or something steady so that you can just stand still for a moment, but it seems like everything you put your hand on is just shaking or wobbling or giving way. It's these moments where we find ourselves in that hopeful place of feeling like we've finally found sound ground and her foot is firmly planted that the rug seems to keep getting ripped right out from under us and we fall and we shake and we wobble once again. You're worried. You're anxious. You're afraid. And you're shaking the shoulder of Jesus wondering why he is not awake in your situation. You're questioning, why is he not concerned with my calamity? Why does he not care what's happening in my condition?

I I'm pre- I know I want to shout and run. I do. And we could do that, but I believe God has a quiet word in the midst of a storm to speak to somebody today. I believe he wants to sit something in your spirit that radically changes the way you walk out of here. Not because of some boisterous encounter, while those are amazing and we experience those, but because OF A STILL QUIET VOICE THAT SPEAKS THROUGH THE MIDDLE of earthquakes, IN THE MIDDLE OF TORNADOES, IN the middle of moments AND YOU HEAR THE WORD AND YOU CAN walk out knowing that he's leading and guiding one step at a time. I don't know where it's going to end, but I have confidence that this is the next right step and with that confidence in Christ comes a peace that passeth understanding. I you to notice something about this story. Before Jesus addressed the group of weary and worried people, >> >> before he spoke a single word to them, he turned and spoke to the wind and to the sea. I I'm an order kind of guy. I like numbers. My degree's in accounting. I have a minor in mathematics. So, that stuff just makes sense to me. There's rules. They just stack on top of one another and they work together. You know what doesn't make sense? I before E, except You bunch of English majors are weird.

Why are there exceptions? Just keep the I's and the E's in the same place. DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. HISTORY MAJORS, who I need to be careful here. I said I felt like I was at home. I'll just Y'all are close to MTSU. We got any history majors? PEOPLE WHO ARE FASCINATED WITH THE FACTS OF THE PAST AND KEEP WALKING INTO WALLS THAT ARE IN FRONT of them cuz they're not looking ahead. That's a joke. Just It's okay. Laugh. I want you to notice the order of this particular story because sometimes it changes our understanding. It deepens our appreciation when we recognize that Christ never did anything by accident. He was always on purpose, always on mission, and always meaningful in his words and in his actions. And even when he was sleepy, he still got order correct. Mark 4:40, it says this, after he has talked to the wind and the wave, it says he said unto them, his disciples, his followers, his handlers, he said, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have not little, not some, but not enough. He said, "How is it that you have no faith?" Did you pick up on that? This particular series of events, Jesus stands up, commands the winds and the waves, and they just respond perfectly, and then he turns and he questions those that believed in him. I believe the deeper lesson from this particular encounter is this.

It's a benefit or a lesson we can benefit from today because here was the issue in the entire story. The issue was never the storm for any party. I want you to hear me when I say that. I'll show you in scripture. The storm was never the issue. Here's why. Those fearful followers had an issue with him, not with what was happening out there, and he had an issue with them, and not what was happening out there. Let's go back and look at it in order and context. Mark 4 starting at verse 37. There arose a great storm. There were waves that beat into the ship so that it was now full of water. He, Jesus, who was in the back part of the ship, the hinder part, was asleep on a pillow, and here are these his followers, these they, and they wake him and they say unto him, "Master, do you not care that we are perishing?" He gets up. He addresses the wind and he addresses the sea with the word peace, be still, and they comply and respond to the word. Then he turns and looks at them, those followers, verse 40 says, and he asked them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" THEIR QUESTION WAS NOT, "JESUS, CAN YOU FIX THE STORM? THEIR QUESTION WAS NOT MASTER, CAN YOU HANDLE THE WAVES? THEIR QUESTION WAS, why do you not care about me?

And in the middle of that, he didn't respond to a request to calm the storms or to fix the wind. He just did that and then he turns and he looks at them and he doesn't go, WHY WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE WAVES? WHY ARE YOU NO, NO, NO, HE GOES, WHY WERE YOU SO fearful because you have no faith. The issue was never the storm for either party. It was always what the other one was doing. I'm preaching to somebody here today who very recently in the struggle of your storm perhaps have uttered the words, God, do you not care what's happening to me? You've given up on praying about the situation and now you've turned to wondering why he could care less about you. Why are you sleeping in my storm? Why are you not helping me? Do you not care that I'm perishing? Do you not care that my life is in front of you but it seems to be going away. And all the while, while this stuff is going on, and he's not helping and he's asleep in the midst, he's still present in your problem. He's still sleeping in your ship. He's there. He's right there, close enough you can call him by name. Close enough you can put your hand on him and shake his shoulder and while he's snoozing in that ship being rocked asleep by the waves, THEY SHOULD HAVE SAT DOWN and given thanks because that was the safest place they could have absolutely ever been was in his presence.

You see, somebody needs to stop worrying that the wind is going to knock it all over. Somebody needs to stop watching the water as the waves are filling your ship and you're worried, is this going to sink me? I'm not telling you there's not concern. I'm not telling you that the problems are not real. I'm not telling you that the truth is not that there are situations, BUT THAT'S JUST MY TRUTH. THE TRUTH, AS LONG AS he is with me, IS THAT HE IS PRESENT. HE IS CLOSE ENOUGH, and if he's not worried about it. So, Jesus, asleep on the ship, wakes up and goes, "Guys, come on. WHERE'S YOUR FAITH? NO FAITH? IT'S LIKE I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU THIS. I MEAN, if you read the scripture in Jesus' interaction with these guys, some of us probably would have left them in some various places and not kept carrying them along. It seems like he was continually going, "Why do you not believe? WHY DO YOU HAVE NO FAITH? WHY DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? STOP YELLING. STOP CUSSING. STOP KICKING. STOP FIGHTING. STOP IT'S KIND of like parenting. >> >> All the parents said, "Amen." That's something about those beautiful babies, they turn into terrible teenagers. Thank God for grandkids. Come on, I see some grandparents over here who'll testify. Thank It just comes back around and it feels so much better this time.

There's this fundamental misunderstanding on our part to think that the way we will experience peace is for God to fix our situations. Instead, the understanding that we must have is that God is peace. And if he is present in the situation, I have peace. It's not about what's happening outside the boat. It's all about who's in the boat. That's why Judges chapter 6 verse 24, after God has changed Gideon's identity, after he has brought him out from behind wine presses and given him victories with less than he thought he was able to do himself, he builds an altar, and at that altar he utters these words that he is Jehovah Shalom. The Lord is peace. It's not just my peace. He's not just your peace. He is peace. So, when I'm seeking peace, I cannot look AT THE STORM BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE. I have to look in the boat. If he's present, I can have peace. If he's absent, this stuff out here matters greatly. It changes. So, when we seek peace, the reality is we should be seeking God. Not a better situation, not a better circumstance. I'm not against praying for God to help in all these areas. Be specific. Pray with faith. He is a miracle-working God. He changes situations that people think are completely hopeless. He binds up marriages that are completely broken. He brings kids home after they've been gone for years.

He turns spouses towards one another. He provides provision financially, food, LIKE HE'S A GOOD GOD. THAT'S NEVER THE QUESTION. HE IS GOOD. My focus has to be, God, don't fix my issues constantly. God just be with me. Hey, look if I got to go through it, I want you in the boat. If I've got to walk through this, I want you holding my hand. It I don't Actually, I don't mind if you just sleep just as long as you're close enough I can hear you breathing. You know, the Holy Ghost, the word for Holy Ghost there about the breath of life when it says that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life is ruach and that ruach is truly God's breath. That literally means for us to come alive in our spirit, he's breathing in us. Any of you, don't raise hands, don't point fingers. Anybody ever slept near a noisy sleeper? One of those? You can hear them from three rooms over, but Hey y'all, I said no pointing fingers. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? We got some counseling that we can schedule right over here. There's something about though in moments when things seem to be calm and quiet and fear still You ever notice how fear comes in the quiet just as much as it comes in the loud? That's why peace will never happen because of the of what's around us.

And you ever been in those moments and it's just kind of gotten quiet and you're like, what just happened here and then maybe you hear that person breathing and you're just like, okay, I'm good. I woke up in a hotel room one night. I've It's one of those sleeps where you wake up and you have no idea where you are or how you got there, you know, you I don't understand it, but you just wake up and you're like, where am I? What day is this? What time is this? And then I just know that my wife is there. I hear just a faint breath and I'm like, Okay, well, at least there's two of us in this situation. Maybe that's just me. To bring this home for you to help you understand perhaps maybe a little more clearly, I'll use a an encounter or a scriptural context that's very familiar to us. How many love Christmas? You love that Christmas season? Well, there's some verses of scripture that gives us a lot of hope that we visit often in the Christmas season. I I'm going to visit a couple of them today outside of the Christmas season. So, we'll just call it Christmas in May. Isaiah 9:6 says, "For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And this son is going to have the government set completely on his shoulders.

His name shall be called" that name we were singing about a few moments ago. That name that is above every name. That name we would see him and we would say that because of him and that name, he is wonderful. He is counselor. He is mighty God. He is the everlasting father. And then it says he is the prince of peace. That makes a lot of sense in words. It looks very different in picture because when those angels showed up on Bethlehem's hillside to talk to the shepherds, they made this declaration in Luke 2:13 and 14. Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of heaven This is where the kids come out dressed in their robes and the It's Christmas in May. Y'all didn't have my people lined up. No, I'm just Lincoln. Sorry. >> >> A multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest." Now, notice this. On earth, peace. Just Have you ever just stopped on that phrase? In our minds, we often think that peace comes because situations are now handled. There's not a single situation that changed when Christ was born on the earth. The Roman government was still corrupt. They were still stealing and killing, the Greek culture was still twisted and broken. Hey, the church was still corrupt and broken. Nothing changed CUZ HE WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM ON THE EARTH. EXCEPT FOR THE SIMPLE truth that now peace was on earth.

How's that possible? How can there be peace on earth when every situation seems to continually get worse? I mean, they went from just killing a few to slaughtering every baby under 2 years of age. How that How was that more peaceful? How was it better that they had to go live in a foreign country before they could go back to their own home because they were being hunted or How's that peaceful? How did it come along that the Jews were still under oppression but also still in cahoots with the government so that they could get more money and more power all under the guise and name of wearing the clothes that would pray in front of others and say, "This is the way." How is that more peaceful? The truth is that society, situations, government, education, finance, none of it will ever present a pathway to peace. They will always be chaotic, peaks and valleys, up and down. But, the reality is that the way peace comes is when Christ comes into the situation. He doesn't have to fix a thing out there because everything he adjust is in here. Peace on earth. Caesar still ruling. Ended up in front of Pilate and Herod and that didn't go very well. Peace seemed to be shattered and broken and yet there was still peace on earth. As he's pointing to that moment he says this to his disciples in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give unto you. It's not the same peace that the world tries to give you. The world will promise you peace and will completely cause chaos in your life. But there's a different peace that I will give unto you. So in this sense, understand that your heart does not have to be troubled. I feel I I'm telling you I feel the Holy Ghost in this house. God God's speaking to somebody. He He's touching somebody right now. Understand and get your eyes off of what's out there and look back in here and just see his presence. If you haven't felt him in a while because you've been feeling everything about what's happening out there, stop those emotions and bring those thoughts under captivity. Bring your body under subjection and get in his presence for just a moment and put your hand back on him. Listen again for his voice because what will happen is regardless of what situation waits for you outside the door, if he's with you, you can and should have peace. Musicians are coming. John 16:33 a little bit later he says these things have I spoken to you. This is literally the end of his earthly ministry and he looks at those disciples as they are getting ready to see him crucified knowing that it's going to throw into tailspin everything that they've believed in. They're going to go, "We thought this was the one.

He was taken from us. What do we do now?" And he looks at them and he says, "These things I have spoken unto you so that in me you would have peace because the truth is that in this world, you will have problems. >> >> I didn't come to fix your problems. I didn't Thank God for every way he's made when there seemed to be no way. Thank God for every healing that has come into my life or into your life. Thank God for every door he's ever opened or ever closed, but if he never did another thing, if I had to go through this life in the worst of human conditions, dealing with the worst of human problems, suffering the worst of humanity in my own life, he is still worthy. And because I know him, I can have peace in the middle of it all. So, here's what I want to tell you. This is why Paul said it to the believers in Ephesus. Ephesians 2:13-17. He says, "But now in Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, you who were sometimes afar off, you've been made nigh through his blood." We celebrate the cross. Thank God for the blood. The blood still flows. The blood still covers. The blood still changes. THANK GOD for the blood. But it goes on and it doesn't stop at the blood. It says, "For he is OUR PEACE." AND BECAUSE HE'S our peace, he's reconciling one in the flesh and in God.

You know what peace is? It's not a divided mind. It's not a split heart. >> >> It's not a questioning spirit, but a faithful hand. No, no, no, no. It's where he comes into us and he brings it all together. Inside. It drops down to verse 16. It says that he might reconcile both this broken man, this sinful man, this ordinance, this law. He could reconcile them both unto God in one body on that cross where he has slain the enmity that came along with it. And then it finished with this. He did not come and preach forgiveness. Now, we know he preached forgiveness in the physical, but this is clear that the work of the cross was so that he could preach peace. Peace to everyone who was afar off, peace to THOSE THAT ARE CLOSE BECAUSE I'M TELLING YOU THAT proximity can sometimes not matter in our minds. They were in the boat with him. And they had no peace. So, whether you're afar off or whether you're nigh, unless you keep your eyes fixed on him. Unless you keep in his presence. Unless you let him be the deciding factor of all things to bring it together. You will constantly live in a state with no peace. He was the prince of peace. He preached peace. He promised peace. And he said he would give us his peace. Stand with me this morning.

The Bible's clear. You can read it through scripture to scripture and you'll never find a place where peace equates the lack of problems. Peace is not found in the absence of trouble. It's always and only found >> >> in the abiding presence of God. Don't be deceived today. It's clear the world is offering you peace. The world will tell you, "Well, if you just get this, it'll feel different. If you just try this, things will be better. If you just do this, it'll all work out." And the reality is all of us have chased those promises and found that it is a barren wasteland of chaos. We get to it and WHAT WAS PROMISED AS THE DESTINATION becomes nothing more than a distraction and a disaster and it breaks down and it crumbles and it falls. >> >> And yet there is a promise from one who says, "I will give you my peace." Peace that the world can't give, peace that the world can't take away, peace If you need peace today, today's your day. I I've just got good news for you. It's good news. This is an uplifting, exciting message even though it doesn't involve the outward expression of emotion. There's an inward lifting where God is lifting a head and lifting a heart. He's lifting eyes to see what's possible and what's beyond because he is very present. So, if you need peace with God, maybe you know you're not right with him in some way.

>> >> This altar is for you. If you need peace within yourself because your mind and your heart are restless, this altar is for you. You don't have to wait. You can come as you associate or you identify. If you need peace in a particular situation because you're dealing with conflict or loss or uncertainty or fear or questions or decisions that are beyond you, this altar is for you today. If you need peace from sin or from shame that YOU'VE BEEN CARRYING WAY TOO LONG, THERE'S A GOD WHO SAYS, "CAST ALL YOUR cares on me cuz I care about you." You see, this altar is open and I invite everyone to come to the altar. This is where our lives are altered. THIS IS WHERE WE'RE CHANGED. COME BY THE ALTAR today and receive peace. Step out of your seat. Open your heart. Lift your eyes and your hands and know that he is near.