Peace for Your Anxious Mind

one of the many things I love about Christmas I love the decorations anybody else at all type in the comment section I love the decoration now to be clear I don't like putting them up at all and it's my job to get the Christmas tree down and all the decorations down and they have to all come downstairs and where are my kids when I'm setting up I do not know but they're not nearby I don't like setting them up I don't like tearing them down I just like looking at them I really do I mean

I and then when they come down I'm like how did our house not look so good anymore I love looking at him uh I was looking around and I noticed there is at our house I can't speak for all of you but there is one word that's the most common word on our Christmas decorations at our house the most common word on our decorations is the word peace is everywhere peace I mean there's peace on coffee mugs and ornaments and wrapping paper and stockings and Christmas card and decorative pillows that only come out for 30

days and then go away for the next 11 months there's peace everywhere all over my house but it raises the question during the Christmas season why do we see peace everywhere but don't feel peace in our hearts why do we see the word peace everywhere and for many of us uh we don't have peace in our hearts in fact it was actually Jesus who promised us his peace he said to his disciples in John 14 ver 27 Jesus said Peace I leave with you not just any peace he says but my peace I give you

I do not give as the world gives this is a different kind of Peace this is only a peace that he can give I don't give like the world gives do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid this is a word for somebody who is anxious and maybe a little bit afraid Jesus promised us his peace and yet for many people it's more common to feel anxiety than peace right for many people in our culture today it's more normal to be afraid than it is to have a heart at rest and

when you look at it it doesn't take long to figure out why right pick up your cell phone and just start scrolling and immediately you're bombarded with just bad news everywhere I mean there's wars and rumors of wars and I know even right now at our Global audience there are many of you that are in the middle of uh horrible situation right now and there's all the stuff that should we be worried about it should we be worried about bird flu and UFOs I don't know I mean maybe it's you read about it everywhere and

then you know you got inflation you got interest rates and you know like my kids they're all married and it's like it's hard enough for them to afford Christmas much less how are they ever going to afford a house and so you worry about your financial future and about your health and your mental health and whatever you just bought at the grocery store that you can't afford it's probably even recalled because last week four things I bought got recalled there's a food recall and then you got your crazy family to deal with of the holidays

and am missst all that you still have to find a place for the elf on your shelf how do you do it all right and so Jesus says he's given me his peace sometimes in all the craziness I want to say okay Jesus if you gave me your peace either you forgot to give it to me or you gave it to me and I forgot where I put it right it kind of raises the question is like is peace like true peace is lasting peace is that really a promise for today for like 2024 is

peace even possible for us and what I want to do today is I want to tell you is not only is peace possible for you but it is a promise that applies directly to your life and it applies for you today the title of today's message is peace for your anxious mind and father we pray that your Living Word that never returns void would do a healing work and renew our minds God I pray especially for those who are anxious and and overwhelmed with worry um may your Holy Spirit draw Us close to you where

we would experience a supernatural peace that goes beyond our human ability to understand may it be so as you renew our minds with your truth we pray this in Jesus name and everybody who agrees says amen type it in the comment section amen just so we know you're agreeing with us now um we're in a message series called the arrival on Advent and if you missed last week Advent is um a very rich time for those of us who are followers of Jesus um it's something that's been going on literally for centuries and centuries and

centuries as people prepare their hearts to celebrate the first coming of Jesus and we also celebrate and look forward to the second coming the return of Jesus and so for four weeks we're preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus last week we lit the first candle we lit the Hope candle next week we'll light The Joy candle which is actually a different color you might find out why um on Christmas week we'll light light the love candle and then the cner candle represents Jesus today for the second week of Advent we are going

to light the peace candle and believe that the holy spirit will give those those of you that need some peace some peace if you need some peace from God say I need a little peace a you can type in the comment section I need peace from God I need peace from god let's look at God's word and let him speak to us um for centuries before the birth of Jesus people were awaiting the birth of a savior one day God's going to send the Messiah he's going to send a savior and then when the time

was just right we read that last week in Galatians at the exact right time God sent his son and the angels announced the birth of Jesus and the angels proclaimed in Luke 2:14 glory to God in the highest and go ahead and say it with me and what else and peace on Earth glory to God we praise you God you are worthy of all praise and as Jesus comes the angel promise Jesus would come as peace on Earth this was not the first time that Jesus was Des described as one who would bring peace in

fact if you go way way way way back 700 years before Jesus was even born in the Old Testament something known as the Messianic prophecy Isaiah prophesied 700 years before the birth of Christ this in Isaiah 9:6 for to us a child is born to us a son is given and the prophet gave Jesus four titles he'll be called wonderful counselor Mighty God Everlasting father and he'll be called what say it aloud he'll be called Prince of Peace in other words Jesus doesn't just promise US his peace but he actually is peace he is the

Prince of Peace that's who he is peace on Earth is literally God's son Jesus coming to Earth he is Prince of Peace in fact in the Hebrew Prince of Peace is made up of two Hebrew words they're the words SAR Shalom SAR Shalom uh what is SAR means SAR actually means the one in charge it means the Lord it means the chief or the general it's SAR kind of like a Roman SAR CZ a r or Julius Cesar see what I did there with you it's the it's the one who's in charge there's SAR Shalom

and Shalom is a Hebrew Greek ing it means rest it means Tranquility it means wholeness Shalom this is a great word is the fullness of Peace who is Jesus he's he is the the Prince of Peace he is the Lord of Shalom if Jesus comes as the Prince of Peace what does that mean for you what kind of Peace does Jesus give well the Prince of Peace gives us two types of Peace he gives gives us peace with God and Jesus gives us the peace of God say that with me what does he give us

he gives us first of all he gives us peace with God and he gives us the peace of God peace on Earth it starts with peace with God and this is really important now remember around Christmas time that's when more than any other time we talk about Jesus being born of a what virgin right and conceived by the what by the Holy Spirit Jesus was born of a virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit why does that matter it matters more than you can imagine when it comes to having peace with God if Jesus had been

born not by uh conceived by the Holy Spirit and not by a heavenly father but instead if he had an Earthly father he would have inherited the sin nature of an Earthly dad because all of us have sinned we're all born into as a sinner that's why you never have to teach a kid to be selfish little baby says mine because we're born with the sin nature Jesus was born of a virgin therefore he didn't have a physical Earthly father but was conceived by the Holy Spirit he was conceived who was his father it was

the heavenly father so he didn't have a sin nature instead he was born without sin and the Holy Spirit uh dwells within him that's why Jesus could be the perfect sacrifice ice because he was born with no sin because he never ever sinned and that's what Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul said that God made Jesus here it is who had no sin to be sin for us on the cross Jesus Took on our sins he was sinless he was the Lamb of God who was slain for our sins he had no sin

to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God if right now you're doing life outside of the will of God maybe you don't have a relationship with God and you don't feel at peace with God maybe you're like I don't know where I stand with God I mean like I'm trying to do good but I I don't really know uh I mean like I hope I'm good enough but I'm not really sure if you don't have peace with God let me try to explain to you the good news as simply

as I can not using my words but using words from God's word I'll explain the good news this way you can have peace with with God because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son Jesus that whosoever it doesn't matter what you've done doesn't matter how dark your life has been whosoever believes in Jesus would not perish but would have eternal life why did God send his son not to condemn the world but he sent Jesus to save the world and the word of God says if you confess your sins

God is faithful and just to forgive all of your sins and to cleanse you from unrighteousness therefore Accord according to Romans 81 now therefore if you're in Christ there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus if you're in Christ Jesus scripture says you're a new creation the old is gone and God will not hold your sins against you because of Jesus you can have peace with God you don't have to worry about where you stand with God you don't have to fear what happens to you after this life you can experience the

forgiveness and grace of God then you can tell people around you and one by one your family members and loved one can start coming to know Jesus and you could have peace with God because Jesus was born of a virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit had no sin became sin for us Jesus the prince of peace he gives you peace with God and not just peace with God but he gives you the peace of God now when Jesus promises you his peace it's kind of a conditional promise for example someone in my family might have

said to me and my sister when we were kids hey you can open up a Christmas gift on Christmas Eve if you don't fight with each other right that's kind of like you can do it but there's a rule to it there's kind of a condition to it and Isaiah 26 Isaiah promises us the peace of God but he shows us what we must do to experience the peace of God uh Isaiah 26 says this God will keep this is a beautiful phrase will keep in perfect peace all who not just do whatever they want

and live without God no no no no you'll be kept in perfect peace all who trust in God all whose thoughts are fixed on him you'll be kept in perfect peace all whose thoughts are fixed on him now what does it mean to be kept in perfect peace this is so rich that the word translated as peace is the word what Shalom right shalom in the original Hebrew text in Isaiah 26 to be kept in perfect peace is actually two words back toback it's shalom shalom back to back shalom shalom this is this this is

a theological term whenever you see words back to back in the Bible it's called a hebraic doubling what does it mean a hebraic doubling is simply a linguistic technique in the Hebrew Bible in which a word is repeated to convey an intensified meaning shalom shalom what does it mean when it's together what this word means is shalom shalom together this hebraic doubling it means a perfect and unbroken peace it means complete well-being both Inward and outward I don't know about you but I want some shalom shalom type in the comment section I want some shalom

shalom this isn't just a double portion of Peace it's more than that is perfect peace perfect peace now you may say if I had this perfect peace that means I don't have any problems ever again not at all sometimes you actually have to have problems to realize you have peace in the middle of problems right it doesn't mean that nothing's going to break it doesn't mean that your kids are going never going to fight and it doesn't mean that your spouse is no longer going to get on your nerves it's not what it means what

this perfect piece is it is much different than that and what we'll discover as we get to know the Prince of Peace we're going to discover that peace isn't found in the absence or problems but peace is found in the presence of God it's a perfect peace and the Bible calls it in the New Testament a peace that goes beyond our human understanding some of you who've been walking with Jesus for a long time you know this type of Peace um your marriage could be struggling and it's difficult and yet in the middle of it

you're seeking God and you have a peace that God hears the cries of your heart and God's going to work it out there are those of you you that uh maybe you have a child that's walked away from the faith walked away from the church and it's breaking your heart but you're praying The Hound of heaven after your kid you're believing that that the holy spirit's going to do a work and even though you don't see it you have you have a peace and an assurance that God hears your prayers and God's working in the

life of your child it could be that it's difficult to pay the bills and you're like you're kind of nervous about it but you you Faithfully you you tithe you believe God honors your generosity you believe that God is going to meet every one of your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus and you you have a peace H how do you experience this perfect peace I want to look again at Isaiah 26 this is so important it says God will keep in perfect peace who Anybody Everybody all whose thoughts are fixed on him

all whose thoughts are fixed the word fixed in the Hebrew is a cool word it's the word samach like I'll somach you not really I would never do that I'll hug you and but somach it means it means to lean on completely it means to fully rest oneself and so the you see the picture you'll be kept in perfect peace all whose thoughts are leaning on God you'll be kept in perfect peace all whose thoughts are leaning on the truth of God's word uh for example we'll play a little game um when people fall which

way do they fall what do you think someone said down that's probably pretty good they don't fall up that's close very good I'm at the Smart campus okay there you go come on right here I see yeah yeah all right they fall down okay uh what I'm about to tell you is almost as bad as that but I'm setting you up okay when people fall which way they fall research is conclusive 100% of the time they fall in the direction they were leaning see what I did there right I know it's bad but it's true

they always fall in the direction they are leaning and so I would ask you this which way are you leaning are you leaning on the truth of God or are you leaning on your own ability your own knowledge your own wisdom because Proverbs 3:5 it's on your coffee mug it says this trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge God lean on him and he will make your paths straight this is powerful don't lean on your own logic your own wisdom your

own understanding you can't get it all done lean on God's goodness lean on God's truth and in all your ways you you acknowledge Him the word in the Hebrew for acknowledge it's the word gadada and it means to know in all your ways you know him and all the ways you seek him and all the ways you let his word be your truth you lean on God's goodness you lean on God's promises you lean on God's strength and in all your ways you surrender to him and this is the Paradox of Peace it's a surprise

and it's true the peace of God is found in surrender not control it's surrender almost every time you find yourself anxious afraid overwhelmed up at 2:00 in the morning you're thinking about it through making your pros and cons list and trying to get it figured out trying to manipulate hey you know she said this and try trying to trying to make everything come out your way almost every time you're doing that you are overestimating your ability to control and you're underestimating the goodness of God you're leaning on your own understanding and you always fall in

the direction you are leaning it's a paradox peace is found in surrender not control so I would ask you right now are you trying to control something that's not yours to control we could stop right there and close in prayer and you can go home you got your money's worth okay like seriously are you trying to control something that's not yours to control in fact let's just do this let's just it's kind of different but I just feel move to do this let's just just take a moment close your eyes and just ask God am

I trying to control something that's not mine God teaches to trust you teach us to lean on you not our own understanding and God show us any areas of Our Lives that we're getting in your way we're trying to manipulate show us God and lead us to lean on you in jesus' name amen that means you can look back at me you're trying to control something that's not yours to control a relationship a person a financial situation a health situation a kid your spouse your spouse your spouse I'm saying that in case you weren't paying

attention you can't change them only God can surrender not control and you'll be kept in perfect peace all whose minds are fixed on God all whose minds are leaning on God and so you may say okay I like that I want perfect peace but what if I don't have peace fair question um remember Jesus is SAR Shalom he is the Prince of Peace he's the Lord of Peace this is so powerful and so personal that means because he's the Lord of peace that means that Jesus can give peace and what else can he do he

can take it away he's a lord of peace and this is really important and strategic because Jesus loves you and cares about every detail of your life and so if you're in a really difficult situation and you're leaning on him and you're seeking his word and you're crying out to him he can give you a supernatural peace that goes you're like going I don't know why I feel a peace right now I shouldn't I mean things are crazy but I just am that's peace from heaven and he gives that and those of you that have

walk with him you know that peace but then there are other times when you're about to do something dumb and he removes peace you're thinking should I go into debt to buy this high-tech smart refrigerator with a built-in TV and you just don't have a piece about it why because Jesus loves you and he's keeping you from paying 28% interest on a TV you'll never watch right you don't have a peace or you get a job offer in another city for more money and you're going this feels right there's more money but something deep down

like i' have to leave my church and my community and like it seems right but I don't feel a peace about it he's the Lord of Peace I've been dating this person and there's you know everyone tells me you know you've been going out so long and you should be moving forward and you're just going something doesn't feel right maybe it's the Lord of peace who gives it and he also strategically removes it just as Jesus gives us peace to comfort us he can withdraw it to refine us he's the Lord of all peace he

is the prince of peace and this is why this is such good news for for everybody God's peace it is a promise and it's a promise for you that through Jesus you can have peace with God and you can have the peace of God the problem is the world's jacked it up big time that the world and our culture today has kind of reduced peace to to temporary fixes like to entertainment to self-care Trends to empty promises that always fall short of truly satisfying the deepest part of our soul we we're falling for a counterfeit

we're trading Shalom God's sacred holy unending piece for shallow substitutes and wonder why our hearts always feel fractured whenever peace is disconnected from The Prince of Peace it becomes a false comfort that never ever lasts and that's why the words of Paul in the New Testament I've alluded to this verse multiple times from a Roman prison if you can imagine he he's chained up in prison potentially going to die and under the power of the Holy Spirit Paul pins these words to the Believers in Philippi and he says this Philippians chapter 4 he says do

not be anxious about anything for some of you that's a whole word for you right now whatever you're anxious about you're leaning on your own understanding don't be lean on God don't be anxious about anything but no matter what you're going through in every situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving you present your request to God you're leaning on God God I'm trusting you God I need you God I don't know what to do about this God I know that you're good you're you're you're presenting your request to God and when you do that when

you're leaning on God the what say it with me the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus when you present it to God it is the peace of God it's not the world's peace the world can't give it and the world can't take it away it is the peace of God because Jesus came you can have peace with God and the peace of God transparent moment I'm getting older had a birthday this week 50 something 50 something and you know what I actually I love it

I love it I love it I love it I love it I love it I love it I I love getting older with Amy I'm more in love with her than ever before and I actually love having a lot of years under my belt getting to know the character the goodness and the nature of God because he's so good in the first decade it's kind of like enthusiastic excitement and then it's kind of like reality sets in like three four decades into you're like yeah his word's true he is so good and it hit me

recently because we went through a difficult time it's always funny I always say like we went through a difficult time and then I talk about it people like going you're a real person like going uh yeah like you're and then they always say I'm so happy to know you're having problems cuz it makes me feel connected to you like glad to make you happy so there you go and I go yeah we're real people I mean we got six married kids that's a lot of people and stuff happens and we got a lot of you

and there there's a lot of complications in my life and I experienced um deep pain and in the past what I would have done is I would have like tried to disconnect by finding the latest show on Netflix and but what instead is I've Walk With Jesus long enough to just get down on my knees and to lean on him what I'm going to tell you is his word is true when I when I lean on him don't do not lean on my own understanding but fix my mind on him on his truth on his

promises on his goodness as I did that in the middle of a very difficult complicated painful situation there there is a peace that goes beyond my ability to understand and that is a p a piece that's not a promise for me because I'm a a preacher that's a peace that's a promise for me because Jesus is a prince of peace and that peace applies to you he is the prince of peace peace on Earth peace with God and the peace of God and peace I promise you is not found in the absence of problems is

found in the presence of God and it is a real peace available to you peace with God is through faith in Jesus the peace of God is for those whose minds are fixed on him so if you're leaning on yourself today lean this way with me and let's depend on the power and the presence of God's [Applause] [Music] truth God thank you thank you for an amazing church thank you that you're an amazing God you are worthy of all praise glory to God in the highest who brought peace on Earth through Jesus Holy Spirit would

you do a healing work in the minds and hearts of those who feel anxious today today at all of our churches and um all over the world online if you're in a situation where you you really maybe recognize you're leaning the wrong way you're leaning on your own understanding and you want the peace of God in a situation right now would you just lift up your hand maybe lift it up high like I need the peace of God type type in the comment section I need the peace of God for some area of my life

and as your hands are lifted up just kind of if you feel comfortable leaving them up up as a act of worship let me just pray for you God we we bring our burdens to you according to your word we cast all of our cares and anxiety on you because you care for us we do that now by faith in church even just where you're sitting wherever you're watching from you can just tell them what your burden is you can think it you're I'm praying for a child I'm praying for I'm praying for a health

issue I'm praying for healing for someone whatever I'm praying for restoration whatever it is just cast that burden on him right now and God we thank you that you hear the cries of our heart and that your word is true that when we cast all of our cares on you when we take our prayers and petitions to you that there is a peace from Heaven that guards our hearts and Minds God would you give your children your peace your peace a peace the world can't give a peace the world can't take away it's your peace

God we thank you that you are good we trust in you God we don't lean on our own understanding in all our ways we get to know you we acknowledge you we thank you that you'll keep and make our path straight and God that when our minds are fixed on you you'll keep us in shalom shalom your perfect peace as you keep praying today at all of our churches uh there are those of you that if we could sit down and talk openly you might say I really don't feel like I'm at peace with God

if we talked you might feel guilty for some things you've done you might be afraid of what would happen um after this life and that's that's something to take seriously and the reason you'd feel that way is because all of us have messed up we all have and the Bible's real clear the Bible calls it sin and God is a holy and a perfect God and sin separates us from a holy God but I told you is as simply as I could in the message about the good news and the good news is that God

does love you so much that he sent his son born of a virgin conceived of the holy spirit so Jesus was not born in sin and he never sinned so he could be the perfect sacrifice for the Forgiveness of our sins Christianity is not about joining a church it's not about doing good works it's about surrendering not control but surrendering to the lordship of the Prince of Peace who is Jesus the son of God perfect in every way who died on a cross for the Forgiveness of our sins and God raised him from the dead

so that anyone doesn't matter who you are doesn't matter what you've done anyone who calls on his name your sins would be forgiven and you would be brand new today there are those of you who not here by accident God brought you here for this moment you're not watching by accident you're watching because God has a message for you if you're not at peace with God today we're stepping away from our sin and we're surrendering completely Jesus be the Lord of my life you are the Lord of Peace you be the Lord of my life

I need your peace you be the Lord Of My Life forgive my sins today I surrender to you when you call on the name of Jesus he'll hear your prayer he'll forgive your sins and you will be brand new today at all of our churches around the world online those who say yes I need the Prince of Peace I want his peace I want peace with God today I step away from my sin I give my life to Jesus that's your prayer lift your hands high right now all over the place and say yes that's

my prayer I surrender to Jesus right back over here praise God for you others today saying yes Jesus I Lift Your Hands and say I surrender to you be the Lord of my life today and all of our churches people saying yes Jesus I Surrender online type in the comment section I'm surrendering my life to Jesus today would you pray with those around you pray heavenly father father save me forgive my sins be the Lord Of My Life fill me with your holy spirit so I could know you and serve you always thank you for

peace with you peace to serve you peace ser my life is not my own I give it all to you in Jesus name I pray life C can you celebrate today welcome those B into God's family did you connect with this message the hope of the world his name is Jesus and what he offers is still available to you today check out these videos to find out more about how you can find that hope and peace tap right here to start watching [Music]