Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
Speaker 2: I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
Speaker 2: this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it
Speaker 2: gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Speaker 2: Enjoy the message, and I want to share a brief
Speaker 2: Christmas message.
Speaker 1: With you today.
Speaker 2: And don't get me wrong, just because I said brief,
Speaker 2: for me, brief means something different than it may mean
Speaker 2: at other churches. But don't want to take too long.
Speaker 2: I understand the demands of this season, and so let
Speaker 2: me just share with you from Luke chapter one, verse
Speaker 2: sixty seven through seventy nine, his father Zechariah was filled
Speaker 2: with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, Praise be to the Lord,
Speaker 2: the God of Israel, because he has come to his
Speaker 2: people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn
Speaker 2: of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.
Speaker 2: As he said, through his holy prophets of long ago,
Speaker 2: salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all
Speaker 2: who hate us, show mercy to our ancestors, and to
Speaker 2: remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our
Speaker 2: Father Abraham to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
Speaker 2: and to enable us to serve him without fear, and
Speaker 2: holiness and righteousness before.
Speaker 1: Him all our days.
Speaker 2: And you, my child, would be called a prophet of
Speaker 2: the most High, for you will go on before the
Speaker 2: Lord to prepare the way for him to give his
Speaker 2: people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
Speaker 2: because of the tender mercy of our God, by which
Speaker 2: the rising sun will come to us from heaven. Somebody say,
Speaker 2: here comes Heaven. Tell your neighbor, watch out here it comes.
Speaker 2: Forty percent of you participated when I asked you to
Speaker 2: touch your neighbor. You don't like them, look at him
Speaker 2: and say, here it comes. The priest Zechariah is speaking
Speaker 2: of the prophet John the Baptist, and he's now talking
Speaker 2: about Jesus, whom John the Baptist was pointing to. He
Speaker 2: said that he will shine on those living in darkness
Speaker 2: and in the shadow of death, in the shadow of death,
Speaker 2: in that place of despair, to guide our feet into
Speaker 2: the path of peace. That's my title for today, the
Speaker 2: path of peace. And I won't make you talk to
Speaker 2: your neighbor. One more time after this, But look at
Speaker 2: him and say, you look like you need some of
Speaker 2: that peace that he's preaching about.
Speaker 1: We have a.
Speaker 2: Challenge today to try to calm our minds and receive
Speaker 2: the message.
Speaker 1: My brother comes to church. He's here right now.
Speaker 2: He comes to church whenever he can, lives in New
Speaker 2: Jersey's He's like, I bet you.
Speaker 1: Love preaching at Christmas.
Speaker 2: Everybody's in the spirit, And I was like, no, it's
Speaker 2: not my favorite time to preach because people are so
Speaker 2: stressed out and you have to work three times as
Speaker 2: hard because it's stuffy. Sometimes people brought a relative and
Speaker 2: they don't want that relative to see how they normally
Speaker 2: act in church, and so they tense up and then
Speaker 2: they've got so much going on. It's actually you would
Speaker 2: think it would be, you know, Jesus's birthday would be
Speaker 2: an easy occasion to preach, but I actually find it
Speaker 2: more challenging, not less, because it's just stress levels are higher.
Speaker 2: Happy Birthday, Jesus, we created chaos and commercialism that drives
Speaker 2: us all to the brink of insanity. In your name,
Speaker 2: Thank you for being born the spirit of season. But
Speaker 2: I always wished as a preacher that I could have
Speaker 2: a metaphysical power to read your mind. I would think
Speaker 2: that would be so helpful to do my job if
Speaker 2: I could see your stress level, or even if you
Speaker 2: had a number like the beds that have the sleep number.
Speaker 2: What if I could see your stress number on today,
Speaker 2: I could. I could do it so much better as
Speaker 2: I can see, Like, are you at a seven or
Speaker 2: a three? Matter of fact, right now, what would you
Speaker 2: give your stress level?
Speaker 1: One to ten? Just in this moment?
Speaker 2: So I'm hearing a three? Who said three? You're not
Speaker 2: old enough to have a three stress level. You're supposed
Speaker 2: to be like eighty before you realize that all the
Speaker 2: crap you worry about isn't worth worrying about. And then
Speaker 2: you can have a three stress level where you just
Speaker 2: don't care. I can't wait to get old and just
Speaker 2: not care. That'd be great. You're too young for that.
Speaker 2: But somebody said ten. Did you say ten? And I'm
Speaker 2: not going to ask you why? In fact, I don't
Speaker 2: even have to. All right, here's what we'll do. We'll
Speaker 2: do another one real quick. I know this is personal,
Speaker 2: but at every location, play long, just close your eyes,
Speaker 2: get the thing on your mind that is the greatest
Speaker 2: source of stress in your life at this very moment,
Speaker 2: and you better not be picturing me.
Speaker 1: All right, get it on your mind.
Speaker 2: What is the single greatest source of stress in your life?
Speaker 2: Will broaden it a little bit, not in this very
Speaker 2: very moment, but in this season of your life. All right,
Speaker 2: got it? Now open your eyes. You're gonna be shocked.
Speaker 2: But I know what you were thinking. I know what
Speaker 2: you're I know I know this much. I know that
Speaker 2: the thing that you thought of fell into one of
Speaker 2: the following four categories. Okay, it was either related to
Speaker 2: a place, a pace, a problem, or.
Speaker 1: A person or maybe people.
Speaker 2: People's just in general, all of them, every last one
Speaker 2: of them, just human beings, Homo sapiens. So it's either
Speaker 2: a place that you're going after this or even for
Speaker 2: some people, church can be stressful. It can be stressful
Speaker 2: to I'm sure it's stressful to come to elevation. I'm
Speaker 2: sure it's you know, if you've never been here, especially
Speaker 2: because it's confusing because they got like violins and cellos
Speaker 2: on the stage, but then they start shooting laser beams
Speaker 2: and it's mixed messaging, like what kind of church is this?
Speaker 2: A white church? Black church? It's a traditional church. Yes,
Speaker 2: yes to all of the above. It's a kind of
Speaker 2: church where you can't figure out what kind of church.
Speaker 2: It's a good news to all people kind of church.
Speaker 2: But some of the stressful places that we will go
Speaker 2: this Christmas season, it can be a place. If you
Speaker 2: have to fly, certainly understand your dread for that experience.
Speaker 2: Just walk through the airport telling yourself over and over again,
Speaker 2: I'm not a human, I have no rights, and you'll
Speaker 2: be okay.
Speaker 1: The pace of life.
Speaker 2: I hear people mention this a lot doing busy um busy.
Speaker 1: Busy, busy, busy, busy. I'm busier than the one one
Speaker 1: arm wall paper hanger. I said that to me the
Speaker 1: other day.
Speaker 2: That's weird busier in a three legged cat trying to
Speaker 2: cover up his poop on ice.
Speaker 1: Somebody said to me, run.
Speaker 2: Around like a chicken with my head cut.
Speaker 1: Off, so violent. All I said is, how are you doing.
Speaker 1: You're like decavitating chickens. So it's like the pace of life.
Speaker 2: Understand that if you've been running people everywhere, you've been
Speaker 2: like an unpaid uber driver for a thirteen year old.
Speaker 1: I understand. I feel you.
Speaker 2: Sometimes it comes down to a problem in your life
Speaker 2: that is persistent, and sometimes it comes down to one
Speaker 2: that you're just pushing through. Right now, a lot of
Speaker 2: people listening to me preach right now are having a
Speaker 2: hard time focusing with their minds because of the pain
Speaker 2: in their box or what can be even worse, somebody
Speaker 2: that you love that you can't do anything to comfort them,
Speaker 2: and that can be difficult. And really the fourth category
Speaker 2: that I mentioned people, that's really the whole thing, which
Speaker 2: is why when I asked you to imagine in your
Speaker 2: mind the source of your stress, the greatest source of
Speaker 2: your stress, I was very clear I said imagine it
Speaker 2: because some of you would have started pointing if I
Speaker 2: would have let you, which is a bad idea. Like
Speaker 2: some of you are are sitting next to what you
Speaker 2: perceive to be the source. See, you should look really
Speaker 2: confused right now, is my advice. Now, I think it's
Speaker 2: important before we begin a discussion on the path of
Speaker 2: peace to try to talk about the source of stress,
Speaker 2: because whatever you identify as the source of your determines
Speaker 2: where you will seek your peace. Amen, I'll say that again,
Speaker 2: whatever you say this is the source of my stress
Speaker 2: that regulates and determines where you seek your peace.
Speaker 1: And so the.
Speaker 2: Christmas story, of course, comes along and challenges us in
Speaker 2: all of those ways that we experience stress and pressure.
Speaker 2: Christ is born to challenge us as it relates to
Speaker 2: our expectation of peace. The Jewish people had a very
Speaker 2: particular expectation of the kind of peace that the Messiah
Speaker 2: would bring.
Speaker 1: Zechariah states it.
Speaker 2: Very clearly and paints a picture of the kind of
Speaker 2: peace that the Jewish people were looking for God to
Speaker 2: bring through the prophesied Messiah. It features such expectations as
Speaker 2: mentioned in verse seventy four. He says that this Messiah
Speaker 2: will rescue us from the hand of our enemies.
Speaker 1: Notice the word.
Speaker 2: From the expectation of peace for the Jewish people is
Speaker 2: that God would deliver them from their circumstances, from their oppression,
Speaker 2: from their being marginalized, from their poverty, from their despair,
Speaker 2: and from their darkness. It was surprising then for me
Speaker 2: to see the shift that Zechariah made in verse seventy nine,
Speaker 2: where he said that the rising sun will shine on
Speaker 2: those living in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Speaker 2: And so it represents a shift in perspective that God
Speaker 2: does not always rescue me from Sometimes he visits me
Speaker 2: in my trouble, and for so many years I have
Speaker 2: thought that the thief of my peace was other people,
Speaker 2: or certain places, or the schedule of my life. Which
Speaker 2: is kind of funny because I'm the one who said
Speaker 2: yes to all that stuff that I'm stressed about, and
Speaker 2: so now I'm asking God to take away the things
Speaker 2: that I committed to. And I've tried so long, you know,
Speaker 2: to arrange my life in such a way that I
Speaker 2: would no longer experience those stressful events and stressful people.
Speaker 1: And if God would just change them, and if everybody
Speaker 1: would just.
Speaker 2: Act the way they should act for a little while
Speaker 2: this Christmas.
Speaker 1: But the Lord has been speaking.
Speaker 2: To me in these last few days about the path
Speaker 2: of peace. And what I realized the more I reflected
Speaker 2: on this promise of peace that God gives us Isaiah
Speaker 2: nine to six. His name will be called Wonderful counselor
Speaker 2: Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and.
Speaker 1: The Prince of Peace.
Speaker 2: But notice the prophet didn't call him the Prince of convenience,
Speaker 2: or the Prince of ease, or the Prince of comfort,
Speaker 2: or the Prince of my preferences. Because a lot of
Speaker 2: times when God promises me peace, what I hear in
Speaker 2: translation is that God is promising me convenience, or God
Speaker 2: is promising me ease, or God is promising me my
Speaker 2: preference being met.
Speaker 1: But the Lord has been speaking to me.
Speaker 2: And maybe you don't need to hear this, but just
Speaker 2: in case you do, it is impossible to experience peace
Speaker 2: when you are expecting perfection. See my problem. I'm coming
Speaker 2: to realize this. It's not other people. It's not the place,
Speaker 2: it's not the pace, and it's not the problem. The
Speaker 2: problem is not the problem. I can tell you the
Speaker 2: problem is not the problem. Because Jesus was born in
Speaker 2: a manger.
Speaker 1: The Angel appeared to shepherds, So.
Speaker 2: The shepherds were the people that you would least expect
Speaker 2: the herald to make the announcement of the birth of
Speaker 2: the Son of God. And yet he showed up to
Speaker 2: the least likely people in an unlikely place. So it's
Speaker 2: not the people. It's not the place. It's not the pace.
Speaker 2: The shepherds were always on the move from place to
Speaker 2: place to place to place. It's not the it's not
Speaker 2: the place, it's not the pace. It's not the people.
Speaker 2: It's not the problem. Here's my problem. My problem is
Speaker 2: that I can't receive peace because I'm expecting perfection. And
Speaker 2: the Angel said, are you're gonna help me, preacher? It's
Speaker 2: just me today. I'll make it quick. Here's the whole message.
Speaker 2: If you need to go, if you got things to do,
Speaker 2: I'll give it to you right now, and you can
Speaker 2: go on and get the target and hopefully everything will
Speaker 2: turn out all right. The enemy of your peace is
Speaker 2: not other people. It is not other places. It is
Speaker 2: not how fast life is or the way the world is.
Speaker 2: The enemy of your peace is your insistence on perfection.
Speaker 2: And when Heaven came down and appeared to humanity, it
Speaker 2: was not in the form of perfection. In fact, God
Speaker 2: did not come down looking like a deliverer. He came
Speaker 2: down looking like a dependent.
Speaker 1: He came down as a baby.
Speaker 2: And so when the Prince of Peace came, he didn't
Speaker 2: come dressed in power. He came in pampers. Why because
Speaker 2: God wanted you to know that He's going to bring
Speaker 2: you peace, but not like you expected him to bring in.
Speaker 2: It's not gonna look like you pictured it. It's not
Speaker 2: always gonna fit your preferences. It's not always going to
Speaker 2: live up to your exact specifications of the performance of people.
Speaker 2: So if I'm going to live at peace.
Speaker 1: I've got to surrender my expectation of perfection. I feel
Speaker 1: like I can leave.
Speaker 2: Every Christmas party is going to be so much better
Speaker 2: that you attend because of what I just told you.
Speaker 2: Every place you set your foot over the next three
Speaker 2: days is gonna be so much more peaceful because you
Speaker 2: just realized that peace isn't found in a place. Peace
Speaker 2: is not found in a set of circumstances that is
Speaker 2: problem free. It is not that he delivers me from it.
Speaker 1: It's that he meets me. Can I show you something
Speaker 1: real quick?
Speaker 2: He said that he will guide us with the light
Speaker 2: in the valley. He didn't take us out of the valley. Yeah,
Speaker 2: though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death,
Speaker 2: I will fear no evil.
Speaker 1: I'm at peace on the path.
Speaker 2: Why not because I'm not going through it, but because
Speaker 2: I'm not going through it alone. See, there's somebody with me.
Speaker 2: That it's greater than once.
Speaker 1: I guess the path to peace to a strange path.
Speaker 2: That God would send his son as a child, that
Speaker 2: God would burst the eternal cosmos and enter into creation
Speaker 2: in the form of the most imperfect being.
Speaker 1: I know some of you disagree because I hear.
Speaker 2: You saying things about babies that I just don't personally
Speaker 2: agree with.
Speaker 1: And we can agree to disagree. It's Christmas. We'll just
Speaker 1: but I say, oh, yes, he's so perfect. Mm hmm.
Speaker 2: If you say that you've never taken one home, that's
Speaker 2: what I know.
Speaker 1: Huh. And so it's a strange path to peace.
Speaker 2: You know, if God wants to come and set things right,
Speaker 2: he should come down as a warrior, not as a weakling.
Speaker 1: Why not skip that stage.
Speaker 2: Jesus should have come twenty four years old, full of testosterone,
Speaker 2: and yet he comes tiny.
Speaker 1: Anthem into a desperate place.
Speaker 2: You know, the story about Joseph waited till the last
Speaker 2: minute to airbnb for the census, ended up in a
Speaker 2: ended up in a cold place in the presence of
Speaker 2: God was born there.
Speaker 1: The path to peace is a strange one.
Speaker 2: That the path to peace for Jesus would lead through
Speaker 2: Gathsemone where he would pray, God, if there's any other
Speaker 2: way than me going and experiencing their wrath from your
Speaker 2: hand for them, let this.
Speaker 1: Cup passed for me.
Speaker 2: The path to peace for us would lead Jesus through
Speaker 2: the Kidron Valley, where he would ultimately as we come
Speaker 2: to understand more than Zechariah understood in Luke chapter one,
Speaker 2: who was prophesying about his own son, John the Baptist,
Speaker 2: would prepare the way for Jesus, who would guide us in.
Speaker 1: The path to peace.
Speaker 2: But the path to peace with God for us led
Speaker 2: Jesus to a hill.
Speaker 1: Where he died at the hands of sinful men. It's
Speaker 1: a strange path to peace.
Speaker 2: We have to admit that he would come in weakness
Speaker 2: and die in weakness to become our strength.
Speaker 1: It's a path to peace.
Speaker 2: It's a strange thing about peace because whatever you identify
Speaker 2: as the source of your stress determines what you consider
Speaker 2: the source of your peace. And that's why I don't
Speaker 2: like to blame people for my stress, because if people
Speaker 2: brought me the stress, then I need people to change
Speaker 2: for me to have peace. But I'm past the point
Speaker 2: in my life of wanting for people to have to
Speaker 2: act a certain way for me to have peace in
Speaker 2: my own heart. And I love what the angel said.
Speaker 2: Abby was quoting that scripture and she did it perfectly,
Speaker 2: and I don't even want to do it myself because
Speaker 2: she did it so good, and I don't want to
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 1: I don't want to.
Speaker 2: Mess it up, as she said, And the Angel said,
Speaker 2: unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good
Speaker 2: news of great joy. Because the first thing that the
Speaker 2: shepherds felt in the field when the announcement of Jesus
Speaker 2: Christ came forth from the Angel, was not faith.
Speaker 1: It was fear.
Speaker 2: See, we think that the presence of God is always
Speaker 2: going to make us feel better and comfortable. But the
Speaker 2: first the shepherds felt was fear. See, they found peace,
Speaker 2: but they found it through fear. Peace did not come
Speaker 2: to them directly.
Speaker 1: It had to pass through their fear.
Speaker 2: And they found God in the place of their greatest fear,
Speaker 2: in the fields where they were keeping the sheep from
Speaker 2: predators at night. They were lonely people in a lonely place.
Speaker 2: And here comes the Angel, says, Glory to God in
Speaker 2: the highest and on earth peace.
Speaker 1: Now notice this, The peace is.
Speaker 2: On earth, but it's not from earth. The peace is
Speaker 2: on earth, but it's.
Speaker 1: Not of earth.
Speaker 2: See. I don't want this plastic peace that comes from people.
Speaker 2: I've learned that if the peace comes from people, people
Speaker 2: can take it away. If it comes from situations, situations
Speaker 2: can change and take it away. So I don't want
Speaker 2: a peace.
Speaker 1: That comes from a promotion at work.
Speaker 2: I don't want a peace that comes from a convenient circumstance.
Speaker 1: I don't even want.
Speaker 2: A piece that comes from a feeling. I don't want
Speaker 2: a piece that comes from a situation.
Speaker 1: I want a piece.
Speaker 2: That the world didn't get and the world can't take
Speaker 2: it away. Come on giving praise if you've got an
Speaker 2: unsakable peace, an unspeakable joy. I read that scripture all week,
Speaker 2: The path to peace, the path to peace? What is
Speaker 2: it that I need to get out of the way
Speaker 2: in my life to experience peace? So I'm not running
Speaker 2: around all the time just concentrating on all the missing pieces,
Speaker 2: And now I'm missing peace because all I.
Speaker 1: Can see is the pieces are missing.
Speaker 2: Because when you're a perfectionist like I am, enneogram type one,
Speaker 2: the thing that God will give you as a prescription
Speaker 2: for your perfectism.
Speaker 1: Is children.
Speaker 2: And I am on a dosage of three children. Three
Speaker 2: children per day guarantees that there will never be a
Speaker 2: moment in your house that is completely peaceful. I'm telling
Speaker 2: you right now, I can count on zero toes how
Speaker 2: many times in the last seven years I've had three
Speaker 2: peaceful children all at the same time in one house.
Speaker 2: So you know what I'm having to learn to do.
Speaker 2: I'm having to learn to take my peace in pieces.
Speaker 2: Because if I wait until everything is peaceful, if I
Speaker 2: wait until every child is happy, if I wait until
Speaker 2: everyone is getting along, if I'm waiting for peace, if
Speaker 2: I am waiting for every child to bow their head
Speaker 2: and say the blessing and clear their dishes and thank
Speaker 2: their mom, I've learned to celebrate God us. One kid
Speaker 2: puts the bowl in the sink, forget about the dishwasher.
Speaker 2: That's a red Sea Old Testament miracle.
Speaker 1: Just in the sink. Even in the sink is a blessing.
Speaker 2: I'll celebrate one bowl in the sink.
Speaker 1: See this Christmas. You can't wait for everybody to get along.
Speaker 2: If there's even a piece of piece, you gotta thank
Speaker 2: God for it and snatch it and take it and
Speaker 2: celebrate it.
Speaker 1: Because what's this?
Speaker 2: Zacaraiah didn't say he'll show us the path too. Piece,
Speaker 2: give me my scripture. This is the best Christmas scripture
Speaker 2: I ever saw.
Speaker 1: In my life. Seventy nine. He will guide our feet
Speaker 1: in the path. It's not the path.
Speaker 2: Two piece, because that means that peace is out there somewhere.
Speaker 2: But it's not the path to piece. That's how I've
Speaker 2: been living my life. God forgive me when I get
Speaker 2: through this season. Oh, when I get through twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1: What calendar isn't gonna.
Speaker 2: Fix any chaos in your life. The same dude you
Speaker 2: let steal your piece all last year is gonna be
Speaker 2: standing right there at your window with a crowbar in
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna have peace. You know, my kids get older,
Speaker 1: they won't need so much. Uh huh uh huh.
Speaker 2: Now that they're gonna be driving, You're gonna have a
Speaker 2: lott of peace.
Speaker 1: Then when they're out on the road on your insurance.
Speaker 2: That's why I can't project my out here, or I
Speaker 2: can't project my peace on people, or I can't project
Speaker 2: my peace on a certain place. It's not the path
Speaker 2: to piece. That's not the message of Christmas. When God
Speaker 2: came down to be born of a virgin and was
Speaker 2: wrapped in claus and lie in a manger, he didn't
Speaker 2: promise a path to piece, as in a future event
Speaker 2: that will happen. When it's not a win, then peace.
Speaker 2: It's not a one day piece.
Speaker 1: It's not a.
Speaker 2: Someday fairytale beauty and the beast piece. It's not a
Speaker 2: when I get married peace.
Speaker 1: It's not a.
Speaker 2: When I send the kids off peace. It's not when
Speaker 2: I pay my student loans off peace. It's not a
Speaker 2: when I get through Christmas peace. It's not a when
Speaker 2: my in laws lead peace. It's not the path to piece.
Speaker 2: It's the path of peace. What does that mean? Every
Speaker 2: step I take, peace with me, every move I make, He's.
Speaker 1: With me every season of my life. He's present. So
Speaker 1: what's this. I'm not waiting for it. I'm walking in it.
Speaker 2: Somebody say, walk in it, walk in it, walk in it.
Speaker 2: That's the that's the Christmas sermon. Change my title. I
Speaker 2: told you it was called the Path of Peace. But
Speaker 2: I want you to tell them when when when they
Speaker 2: ask you, what did the preacher preach about today at
Speaker 2: your your church, the the evolution that you went to
Speaker 2: on on the Christmas.
Speaker 1: Tell him he told me to walk in it.
Speaker 2: Stop waiting for it, Stop waiting for it, and start
Speaker 2: walking in it.
Speaker 1: You hear me, Ni Rob walk in. You hear me.
Speaker 1: Toronto walk in and you hear me. Roanoke walk in
Speaker 1: and you hear me. Matthews walk in it. You hear me.
Speaker 2: Winston Salem walk in and you hear me River walk
Speaker 2: walk in it. You hear me Blakeney walk in it.
Speaker 2: You hear me Valentine walk in it. You might have
Speaker 2: to walk through a.
Speaker 1: Valley, but you don't have to lie.
Speaker 2: Down and tie. You don't have to curl up in
Speaker 2: a fetal position and wait for this season to be over.
Speaker 2: I don't have time to trip. I'm preaching about Jesus.
Speaker 2: It doesn't matter what the devil puts in my hand.
Speaker 1: I'm on it. I'm on it. I'm houn it. Glad
Speaker 1: I almost trimmed.
Speaker 2: I didn't plan it, but I'm gonna use it because
Speaker 2: some of y'all got some people waiting for you when
Speaker 2: you leave church, and if you're not careful, you're gonna trimp.
Speaker 1: But get your balance back and fix your eyes on Jesus.
Speaker 2: The author and finisher up your faith. What can I
Speaker 2: I don't have time to trip. See, we've been looking
Speaker 2: for peace in all the wrong places. The peace of
Speaker 2: God has never found in human strength or in our perfection.
Speaker 2: The way that God brings peace into our lives is
Speaker 2: the same way that Jesus was born in the world
Speaker 2: in weakness. That's where you find peace. Weakness. I don't
Speaker 2: like it that way, Jesus, don't go to the cross.
Speaker 2: It'll make you look weak. But that's the only way
Speaker 2: that I can bring peace. He didn't bring peace like
Speaker 2: they wanted him to bring peace. That's why they all
Speaker 2: walked away when he died. They wanted the Prince of
Speaker 2: Peace to come in power, but instead he came in weakness.
Speaker 1: Well, I prayed for you before you got here. I
Speaker 1: prayed for you. I prayed that.
Speaker 2: God would give you his peace, but I prayed that
Speaker 2: you would stop.
Speaker 1: Looking for it.
Speaker 2: If y'all could stop talking right now while I finish
Speaker 2: the sermon, thank you. I prayed that he would bring
Speaker 2: it to you, not in the places that you would
Speaker 2: normally expect it. Pray that he would bring it to
Speaker 2: you in that place in your life where you feel
Speaker 2: the weakest, Not in the place where you're so busy
Speaker 2: trying to show everybody how strong you are. You're never
Speaker 2: going to get peace trying to appear perfect. You can't
Speaker 2: experience peace when you're expecting perfection. Who told you that
Speaker 2: you had to be perfect before you could experience peace
Speaker 2: with God.
Speaker 1: God's not for you to be perfect.
Speaker 2: He's already done everything that needs to be done for
Speaker 2: you to have peace. And the peace of God is
Speaker 2: not the absence of problems. The peace of God is
Speaker 2: not getting people to act right or say that they're sorry.
Speaker 2: The peace of God is not a certain place. I'll
Speaker 2: tell you man, I've been in some beautiful places with
Speaker 2: no peace. I've been on some beautiful vacations and beautiful
Speaker 2: resorts no.
Speaker 1: Peace in my heart.
Speaker 2: And yet I've sat by while my dad died and
Speaker 2: experienced unspeakable peace as he took his dying breath. Because
Speaker 2: the only thing required for you to receive the peace
Speaker 2: of God is to lose your pride and accept it
Speaker 2: in the place of your weakness. I know we want
Speaker 2: God to come like Zechariah wanted him to come and
Speaker 2: deliver us from the difficult places, and deliver us from
Speaker 2: and rescue us from the hectic schedule, and deliver us
Speaker 2: from and rescue us from all of the problems and
Speaker 2: the obstacles that are in front of us in this season.
Speaker 2: But the peace of God is not the absence of problems.
Speaker 2: It is the presence of Christ to enable you to
Speaker 2: walk in it. This is Christmas, and I begin di
Speaker 2: sermon by asking you a question what's the source of
Speaker 2: your stress? And now I want to ask a different one,
Speaker 2: what is the place of your weakness? Because that's the
Speaker 2: place where God is going to show you the greatest grace.
Speaker 2: Hear me today, I'm not a prophet or the son
Speaker 2: of a prophet, but on the authority of God's work,
Speaker 2: I declare to you this day is born to you
Speaker 2: in the place of your greatest weakness, a savior who
Speaker 2: is Christ, the Lord. As that you stand reverently to
Speaker 2: your feet with no one moving. I want to pray
Speaker 2: for that place in your life where there is a weakness,
Speaker 2: that place in your life where there is a missing peace.
Speaker 2: That place he said that a light will dawn in
Speaker 2: the shadow of the valley. In that place is the
Speaker 2: path of peace.
Speaker 1: Not to peace.
Speaker 2: Stop believing that you'll get it one day when God
Speaker 2: told me to tell you he wants to give you
Speaker 2: peace in the process, in the process of who you're
Speaker 2: becoming with every step in arrival, peace in the process.
Speaker 1: That's what incarnation means.
Speaker 2: That's why this weird Christmas story suddenly makes sense because
Speaker 2: peace came in the form of weakness, just to admit
Speaker 2: that you need him as.
Speaker 1: The first step.
Speaker 2: So right now, in the holiness of this moment, on
Speaker 2: this sacred occasion called Christmas, there's a place of weakness
Speaker 2: in your life where you would like to invite the
Speaker 2: Holy Spirit this season to come and bring his deep
Speaker 2: peace that transcends all understanding. I want to ask you,
Speaker 2: at every location and all over the world watching online,
Speaker 2: to lift both of your hands in the air to
Speaker 2: God as a sign of your surrender and trust.
Speaker 1: Father.
Speaker 2: For every hand stretched before you today, I decree your
Speaker 2: peace for that situation. I cannot read their mind and
Speaker 2: I cannot know their struggle. But not only do you
Speaker 2: know the need, you are the one who longs to
Speaker 2: meet it. Thank you Father for this moment, for when
Speaker 2: we are weak, then we are strong. We thank you
Speaker 2: for Emmanuel, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, a Prince of Peace.
Speaker 2: Your head still bowed and your eyes still closed, you
Speaker 2: can put your hands down. There's someone here who is
Speaker 2: far away from God, and the message of Christmas is
Speaker 2: that you don't have to stay that way. Right now,
Speaker 2: I'd like to invite you to receive the gift of salvation.
Speaker 2: The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth
Speaker 2: that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that
Speaker 2: God raised him from the dead.
Speaker 1: You will be saved Christmas.
Speaker 2: I would love to lead you in this prayer that
Speaker 2: just acknowledges your need for Jesus. So we'll pray now
Speaker 2: out loud as a church family at all of.
Speaker 1: Our locations for the benefit of.
Speaker 2: Those who are coming to God or maybe coming back
Speaker 2: to God right now in this moment. The presence of
Speaker 2: God is here, real and available, and so we pray
Speaker 2: this prayer together for all of those who are in
Speaker 2: need of salvation today and want this.
Speaker 1: To be your new beginning. Pray with me, Heavenly Father.
Speaker 2: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
Speaker 2: and the Savior of the world.
Speaker 1: And today I make Jesus the lord of my life.
Speaker 2: I believe he died that I could be forgiven and
Speaker 2: rose again to give me life.
Speaker 1: I receive this new life. This is in Jesus' name.
Speaker 2: If you just prayed that on the count of three,
Speaker 2: shoot your hand up high. I want to celebrate you
Speaker 2: on every location. One, two, three, hands up, hands up, Hands.
Speaker 1: Up, God, Bless you, God, bless you.
Speaker 2: Come on.
Speaker 1: Rejoice about it.
Speaker 2: Come on, people of God, rejoice about it.
Speaker 1: It's the greatest gift. It's the reason for the season.
Speaker 2: Come on, let's rejoice in the salvation of our God.
Speaker 2: Let's rejoice in the peace of our God.
Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2: Special thanks to those of you who give generously to
Speaker 2: this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
Speaker 2: You can click the link in the description to give
Speaker 2: now or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for
Speaker 2: more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1: You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2: You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
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Speaker 2: Elevation Church.
Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening. God bless you.