[0:00] All right, we're back to the Beatitudes. This may be in two parts. We'll see how we go. We'll see how far we get this morning. This is another big one. Matthew chapter 5, back to the Beatitudes.
[0:10] We're going to read the, can we read? Yeah, thank you so much. You can read the section so we can go over all of them, and we'll stop where we are this morning. Father, as we come to your word, will you speak to our hearts? Lord, it's been so much going on this weekend, but that doesn't matter. What matters more than anything else is this is the Lord's day, and this is our time of worship and rest in you, and we would glorify you and see you and be fed by you. We come as needy people to you. Will you please meet us here, satisfy our deepest longings. Thank you for the music we have sung. Thank you for our praise team who continues to bless us with good choices of music that help us to lift our hearts to you and help us to encourage one another in doing so.
[0:55] God, will you speak to us now through your word, through your unworthy servant? May Jesus get all the glory. In his name we pray. Amen. Matthew chapter 5, beginning in verse 1, and we're going to read through. So the crowd, seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, that's Jesus. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. Now here we go. He opened his mouth and taught them, saying, he is kingdom character. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
[1:47] blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. In our text, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. That is the word of the Lord. Please be seated.
[2:03] All right. As you've been, we've been going through this series, I've tried to emphasize that as churches, we are embassies of the kingdom of God. Embassies of the kingdom of God. We're a little different from other embassies because we are aggressively trying to get people to come in. Most embassies don't do that. But that's what the kingdom in an embassy does. We are seeking, we are representing another land in our communities. We're living according to rules of our country, respecting the rules of this country. But we have another rule that we live under. We have another king who cannot be voted out of office, who is Lord forever and ever, king eternal. To him we bow, and to him we give our allegiance above all other allegiances. Amen? Thank you.
[3:08] But the kingdom of God, these embassies, let's just say, are to be places of peace. Places of peace. Places of peace. Yet you know and I know that in every church you will find elements of disruption to that peace. Sometimes that disruption comes from the outside. As the world encroaches upon the church, as the forces of darkness attack the king, the embassy of the Lord, and there's friction. And the church is fighting back and dealing with that, fighting with the Lord's weapons of righteousness. It's not our culture's weapons. Amen? I'm just wanting to make sure we're on the same track. That's all. But sadly, sometimes the church is attacked because God's people, some of God's people, have gotten off course and allowed something other than the gospel to control their hearts and even their public stance as a church. Now we'll come back to those realities in the next beatitude. But whether either of these, either of those are true, most of the church's disruption actually comes from the inside. I know this because if you read the letters of the
[4:26] New Testament, most of the problems being addressed by the apostles were in the congregations that they wrote to. Read the New Testament letters. Paul is helping the churches deal with their own problems internally. We're the problem, but we're also God's people.
[4:50] You see, the enemy knows that the best way to hinder the church's mission is not from the outside, it's from the inside. And this is why all, that's why I read all the, all the beatitudes, all of those marks of kingdom character are so important. When the people of God begin to allow Jesus, allow the Spirit of God to work in them, forming them into Christ's image, they begin to exhibit those marks in the beatitudes. They begin to look like Christ. And as we look like Christ, we can become peacemakers within the body and we need peacemakers. Holy smoke, do we need peacemakers in our churches? We need people who will follow Jesus no matter what in making peace, not at the sacrifice of truth, but making peace in his name. You heard our dear sister Alyssa talk, talk about as an Asian American in this country, you know, it, the turmoil that can be because you are different. We've all seen it. This is our national heritage. We, we love to put people on the in and put people on the outs, especially if they look differently or help us vote differently.
[6:21] Okay. Amen. Yeah, I'll say it for you. But as we are more focused on the kingdom as a church, the kingdom and its Christ, we begin to exhibit his character as kingdom people. And key to the health of a kingdom focused church, again, are people who are Christ's warriors for peace.
[6:52] You're fighting for something. We all are. We all have things we believe are so important, non-negotiables, even within our churches.
[7:05] But what are you really fighting for? Do you really know what you're fighting for? Well, there's several parts here I want you to focus on as we look at this passage and to think it through together. First of all, the kingdom of heaven has a God of peace. That's what gets this whole ball rolling. Our God is a God of peace. All right, let's define what kind of peace he brings.
[7:39] Let's define what does, what does our Lord Jesus mean by peace? Because when we think of peace, we always think of the absence of conflict. And that's good. That's true. That's a biblical idea.
[7:50] And peace. But as you know, and many of you know, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom. The language of the Jewish people, the word is shalom. It has a range of meanings, though. It's not just the absence of conflict. When the Jewish people spoke of shalom, they spoke of wholeness, completeness, well-being, prosperity, welfare, harmony, tranquility, maturity, and security. See, it's a big word.
[8:24] It encompasses all of those things. It's much more than the absence of conflict. And that's the background I believe the Lord is coming from as he talks to his kingdom people about what it means to be peacemakers.
[8:39] This is the kind of peace that can only come from God because he is the God of true peace. And that's one of Paul's most used references to God is that. He's the God of peace. Romans 16, 20.
[8:59] The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 1 Thessalonians 5, 23. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you're taking notes, I'll just give you two more references. 2 Corinthians 13, 11. Romans 15, 33. And Philippians 4, 9.
[9:28] Each one of those passages, Paul refers to God as the God of peace. Do you get the impression that peace is important to who God is? Even when we come to that great passage, when the prophecy, one of the great prophecies of the Messiah, Isaiah looking as it were through time, he sees him.
[9:58] Coming. Hundreds of years before he comes. And Isaiah 9, 6. For to us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. And the government of the kingdom, that is, shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Prince.
[10:24] Both the Father and the Son are pictured as having peace as part of their nature. It's an attribute of God that he is a God of peace. It is a mark of the Son of God that he is truly the Prince, the very Prince of Peace.
[10:44] But if God is constantly seen as the source of peace, it must stand to reason that peace is something people need.
[10:57] Why is God being highlighted, highlighted as this God of peace? Because you don't have it. You and I struggle. We need, listen, remember Shalom, we need wholeness because we are broken.
[11:15] We need prosperity because we are spiritually poor. We need completeness because we are incomplete. We need harmony because we are in conflict internally and externally.
[11:29] We need security because we are not safe. You get the idea? God supplies what we need.
[11:41] He supplies what we without him lack. All of us, in and of ourselves, lack Shalom.
[11:54] But God has come. God has come to our rescue in Jesus. He has come to be the Prince of Peace, who restores the peace that was broken when Adam and Eve sinned against him and led our whole race into disharmony and brokenness and unwellness.
[12:17] Therefore, the king's people have his peace within them. Remember, the Beatitudes are not describing what you must do in order to get into heaven or into the kingdom.
[12:31] That's not what it's doing. Remember this. It's describing who his people are. Once you've been snatched up by Jesus, this is who you are to become.
[12:43] This is who you are, whether you are living it fully or not. And before God, he sees you like this because this is Christ in you. So you stand before God as poor in spirit.
[12:56] You stand before God as though you stand before God in these characteristics. Now, what God is calling us to do is work out what he's worked in. It's to practice what he has given us.
[13:09] And so he's saying to us, if you are one of my children, you look like this. Not how you get in, but how you look if you belong to me.
[13:21] First of all, we must have, if we're going to be peacemakers, we've got to have his peace within us. This is the good news. This is the gospel of the kingdom through Jesus.
[13:34] First of all, in order, first of all, the peace of Eden was destroyed, remember, by humanity's sin. So all of us now are born at war with God.
[13:46] I'm not at war with God. I never thought of myself. No? Okay, that's okay. But guess what? God was at war with you. And if you knew better, you'd know you're at war with him.
[13:57] That's how we're all born. We are all born enemies of Christ. We're born into the kingdom of darkness. That is where the devil reigns.
[14:08] In our sin and rebellion, though created in an image of God, we are fallen and in rebellion. We naturally, left to ourselves, we naturally do not follow God's will or his love.
[14:24] Nor do we want to. That is our natural state. Without Christ in our hearts, we don't want to follow God.
[14:35] I don't care what we say. But if you haven't come to that place where you've experienced his peace in your heart, you don't want to follow him. He's the worst thing you want.
[14:48] You don't want him. So we can't just decide on our own to be at peace with him. God must take the initiative. And that's what he does.
[14:59] By his grace and mercy, he sends his son. When the world was doing its best to destroy itself, and we're still trying. God, in the fullness of time, sent forth his son, born of the woman, born under the law, that he might redeem us from the curse of the law.
[15:18] That he might enter our lives. Romans 5 is so beautiful. I think it'll be on your screen. Romans 5 reminds us that, therefore, this beginning in verse 1, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[15:36] Now we drop down to verses, I think, 8 and 10. For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person.
[15:48] The apostle said, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die, possibly. But God, here we go. I love that phrase. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[16:04] Verse 10. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled, we're at peace, shall we be saved by his life.
[16:20] This is the goodness of the gospel. Peace with God is the gift to those who trust in what Jesus has done by dying and rising again for their sins.
[16:33] We are reconciled with God. Therefore, we have peace with him. Reconcile. I always think about, when I think about that Ephesians 5, Romans 5 passage, I always think about in the ancient times and who knows, maybe it still goes on in some places, but in ancient times, when you had two warring kingdoms, right?
[16:56] If they wanted to make peace with one another, what would they do? They'd marry off their children. So my daughters would marry the son of the kingdom of Bagby.
[17:09] And we would become family. You tend to not want to kill family. I mean, there are exceptions, I know, but you tend not to want to kill family.
[17:21] Because I don't want to kill my daughter, and they don't want to kill their son. Okay? So that's how we get together. I think it's striking that when God, the Father, as it were, wants to make peace with sinners, he marries off his son to a bride called the church.
[17:45] He marries off his son to a people who are now encapsulated into one body. We are the church. We are the bride of Christ. God makes peace by making us family.
[18:01] Changes our whole disposition towards one another. God now can show us love and mercy and grace because his justice has been satisfied in his son's death for his people.
[18:14] And now we can show God respect, honor, and glory that he deserves because now we're family. And we recognize him as Jesus taught us to pray.
[18:26] Our Father who art in heaven. Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father. As J.I. Packer said, and knowing God, Father is the Christian name for God.
[18:38] We're family. And this peace is God's gift. The war is over and we've been conquered by his love.
[18:50] God is no longer against us. And the enemy of our souls, the king of darkness can do nothing about this peace.
[19:03] The peace you have with God through Christ cannot be harmed in any way by the enemy. Matter of fact, you can't even harm that because God has done it.
[19:18] And he didn't ask your permission or need your help. He's done it. It's unassailable. Nothing can touch this peace. Nothing can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[19:32] Nothing means nothing. I know I'm not very good with English sometimes, but I think I got this right. Nothing means no thing. Nothing in all of creation or outside of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus because the war is over and God has made you part of the bride and you are family.
[19:51] Hallelujah. But the devil can do one thing. He can encourage you to doubt it.
[20:03] He can't touch it. But sometimes you know, sometimes you've all experienced it probably, that sometimes you felt like, Lord, am I really? Are you really?
[20:14] Are we really good? Stuff has happened in your life. Or have you sinned again? You did it again.
[20:27] You thought you repented before and you fell on your face and you hated it. But here you go again. You did it. Not saying you didn't repent before, but here's the reality. We are still in our flesh.
[20:37] We are still fallen human beings and we still mess up. Does God change his mind about his peace with you? The answer is no. But the devil will encourage you to believe he did.
[20:54] God has made peace with you. In his son. If you've been snagged, snatched and grabbed by the peace of God in Christ Jesus.
[21:05] If now your heart is to please Jesus, that means you're in the family and he will never kick you out. You may feel like it, but your feelings sometimes can lie to you.
[21:18] Not saying you don't really feel it. Of course you feel it. But there may not be actually what's happening. And here's one time where it's not true. You may feel like God is forsaken.
[21:30] You may feel like because the dark night of the soul has come. You don't feel his presence and stuff has happened one thing after another. And you're wondering where God is. Let me tell you where God is.
[21:42] He's the same place he was when his son hung between heaven and earth for your sins. He was right there. The father never left the son. The son might have cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[21:53] But that was just for a moment. When he bore your sin, just for a moment. One hour when even the sun refused to shine and darkness covered the earth.
[22:05] And the son bowed his head and he cried out, it is finished. And that, the father kept his word. I will never abandon you. I will never leave you, son. And he raised him from the dead to prove it.
[22:19] He was forsaken that you may never be forsaken. Peace with God cannot be taken away from you.
[22:31] Even though you may feel otherwise. The second thing, though, I want you to notice. And this is why I'm going to do this in two parts. The second thing I want you to notice is that that peace with God produces in us the peace of God.
[22:47] Peace with God that cannot be assailed, cannot be touched, leads to us having the peace of God. The tranquility of heart that's not dependent on our circumstances being perfect.
[23:02] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Boy. You ever experience that? When you're, when stuff is happening around you and you see it, you're not blind.
[23:14] You see it. And it's, and maybe stuff is even happening in you. But somehow, come on, Sister Geraldine. Somehow, you, you just, you just rolling right on through.
[23:29] Somehow, you're not losing your mind and you still have your hair. Somehow. Sorry, Matt. Somehow, you are just, you, you have that moment where you can say, like Job said, remember?
[23:46] The Lord gives and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's a gift from God. That's not you. That's you walking in the peace of God.
[23:58] That's you walking in the fact that you know that whatever happens, it is well with my soul. You know that whatever happens, all is right with me and God.
[24:09] And that leads to that sense of tranquility where, where you are able to, as it were, go through the storm. Trusting in the one who's driving the ship.
[24:24] That peace is always attacked by the enemy. The sense of that peace. Because we're talking about something that you sense, that you experience, that you feel.
[24:37] That is always being attacked. And the enemy is always coming after you in that sense. But our Lord promised us some things. John 14, 27.
[24:49] Jesus said to the disciples, this is on the night before he was betrayed. Peace. He's going away. He says, peace I leave with you.
[25:01] I love that. I'm leaving, but I'm leaving you something. My peace I leave. What kind of peace? My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you.
[25:11] Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid. How does the world give peace? Okay, because he says not as the world gives.
[25:22] How does the world give peace? It's circumstantial. The world gives us peace and promises peace only if our circumstances are perfect or very good. We have to be, you got to have enough money in the bank.
[25:35] Enough money in retirement. Your kids have got to be perfect. If you're married, or if you're married, your marriage has got to be perfect. You know, you've got to have all kinds of harmony.
[25:46] You've got to, everything, your job, you've got to love your job. It's got to be, everything's got to be right on your job. The world can only give us circumstantial peace. Because it cannot give us the peace of God.
[25:59] It cannot give us the peace that goes down deep. Now, sometimes we can do it with drugs. And I'm not against drugs. I'm not against drugs. I love drugs. I love drugs. Prescribed.
[26:18] It's nothing wrong with going to your doctor. Listen, I am convinced that Paul and his doctor hung out a lot. You know how I know? It's called Luke.
[26:30] Luke was a physician. He traveled with Paul. Luke doctored on Paul constantly. Paul's body was a wreck. Been beaten so many times. That boy had aches and pains you wouldn't believe.
[26:41] You're talking about arthritis? Oh my gosh. Everything hurt. Luke kept Paul going. So doctors who prescribe and help you, amen.
[26:52] But there's something they can't give you. And that's the peace that surpasses knowledge. The peace that comes from Jesus. The peace of God that's within.
[27:03] Only the gospel. Only Christ, as he said, can give us that peace. And he offers that to his people. He said, this is your birthright. I give you this peace.
[27:15] My peace. Not Greg's peace. My peace. Not Mike's peace. My peace. The peace of the Son of God.
[27:28] Oh, come on, y'all. Y'all gotta just feel that for a minute. The Son of God says, I'm gonna give you the peace. The peace that he had as he went to the cross. Now, I know what you're thinking.
[27:40] I know what you're thinking. I can feel you. In Gethsemane, that night in that garden, when he cried out to the Father, can we do something different? Can this cup pass for me?
[27:53] He prayed three times. But then, how did he end the prayer? Do you remember? You gotta know. How did he end the prayer? Come on, Debbie. Nevertheless, not my will be done, but thine.
[28:05] The peace of God. He gets up. Tells his disciples, you're whack. And says, my betrayer comes.
[28:18] Judas walks up to him and plants a kiss on him. Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss? But this is the hour of darkness. He knew exactly he was in total control.
[28:30] That's the peace of God. He stands before Pontius Pilate, the man who could have set him free. The man who knew, who thought he could set him free. And he says to him, my kingdom is not of this world.
[28:41] If it was, my servants would fight and you'd be tokes, baby. That's what his treasure is telling. He said, but do what you will.
[28:54] Man, that's the peace that he offers you and me. The peace that sits in the midst of the storm. And trust, not in my ability to make it.
[29:07] Doesn't trust in my ability to tough it out. It trusts in his ability to keep me. His ability to not let his love leave me.
[29:18] His ability to make sure that I reach my destination. See, here's the thing. I've got to be okay with the destination that he has planned. You see, as long, listen, as long as you are fighting against God's destination for you, you will never be at peace.
[29:34] You've got to surrender to his plan. We'll go back to the beatitudes. Blessed are the meek. In other words, we're not demanding our rights from God. Lord, I deserve better.
[29:47] Really, no, you don't. But I deserve better. As long as you're doing that, you're kicking his peace to the curb. But when you say to the Lord, nevertheless, not my will be done, but yours.
[30:03] You can go to sleep at night. You can go to sleep at night. Fuck will think you crazy and high on illicit drugs. Because they can't figure out why you, what?
[30:17] What's wrong? How come they talk about you at work? You see how they treat you? I saw how they treat you. Girl, let me tell you. Man, I wouldn't take that if I were you, man. If I was you, I'd punch somebody. I mean, the world always got solutions for your problems.
[30:30] I hope you're not listening. Because their solutions will get you arrested. And fired. And divorced. Come on, somebody.
[30:41] And divorced. We see, this is the kind of peace. You, when people have this peace, their marriages can survive. Oh. When you're walking in the peace of God, your sinful spouse can deal with sinful you, and you can deal with your sinful spouse.
[31:04] You know you both messed up, right? When you're, when God's peace is ruling your hearts, the world can throw whatever it wants at you.
[31:17] And you will survive and thrive and grow in Jesus. Because all the world can give you is temporary peace. That's always subject to change.
[31:30] The Lord's peace is rock solid. Rock solid. This is why he says, and I'm going to end with this section here.
[31:40] This is why he says, Paul, through Paul, he says this in Philippians 4, 4 through 7. This is Paul writing from prison. Okay? The most joyful letter he ever wrote is Philippians, and he's in jail.
[31:53] Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Paul, you're in jail. Rejoice in the Lord. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.
[32:04] The Lord is at hand. In the midst of my circumstances. In the midst of my pain. In the midst of my trial. Who's at hand? The Lord.
[32:15] Do not be anxious about anything. Or it can be translated, stop being anxious about anything. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.
[32:30] And why, Paul? And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. You can't get your head around it. Will guard, will guard, will guard, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[32:47] The peace that Jesus gives that we can access as we pray. As we thank him for all that he's done for us.
[32:58] Even though the situation itself, you don't like that. But he's done something else for you that cannot be touched. You're praising him. And then you're bringing to him the situation.
[33:11] Sometimes, you have to pray more than once. But, Lord, we want to pray once and say, okay, God, where are you?
[33:29] Do it. And the Lord's saying, where are you at? Where'd you go? No. Paul said, I think it was 2 Corinthians 12. I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan.
[33:44] And I besought the Lord three times. Please take it away from me. And what did God found? What did Jesus say to him? No. For my grace is made perfect in your weakness.
[33:58] Paul said, well, if that's true, bring it. Because I want your grace. I want your sufficiency. He prayed three times, though. That's the point I'm trying to make. He kept praying.
[34:10] Sometimes for the peace of God to really be ignited in your heart, God wants to hear from you. He wants to let you want him. That you want him.
[34:24] Even more than your circumstances to change, you want him. And as we want him. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, he gives the desires of our heart.
[34:37] And he knows what our real desire should be, even when we don't. Peace. His peace will guard your hearts.
[34:48] It's like this. Here is your heart. And God sends troops to surround your heart. To keep the enemy from getting in.
[35:00] That's what he's talking about. That peace surrounds you like a military garrison. Hey. Guards you.
[35:10] And guards your heart. Your innermost man. We talked about heart before. Pure in heart. Remember? Talked about the heart. He guards the most important part of you. The part of you that loses his mind. The part of you that worries.
[35:21] The part of you that frets. The part of you that is cowardly and runs. The part of you that fights and uses the wrong weapons to fight with. That part of you that responds to hardship and does crazy things and says things you regret.
[35:35] That he guards that heart. And even your mind. And your mind is part of the heart. And minds. Even your thoughts are being guarded. Because you know what happens? When we're surrounded and we're in pain.
[35:47] We dwell on it. We fantasize on it. We. Man. If you're like me. That is. I don't know. Maybe you're not like me. But you can't get it out of my head. I need to.
[35:59] But when I hit my knees before God. There's something about being in the presence of God. Something about being in the presence of God. Where there are no fear. There is no fear.
[36:11] He does something there. Begins to work on you. And that's what Paul is saying. The peace of God. Comes to guard your hearts. And your mind.
[36:22] In Christ Jesus. Well. Without the Lord's peace in your heart stuff. Here's what's going to happen.
[36:33] I'm going to tell you that. Here's what's going to happen. You will demand that circumstances. And other people. Give it to you. If the Lord's peace is not guarding your heart.
[36:48] We as human beings cannot live without peace. Come on physicians out there. If inner turmoil. Over time.
[37:00] Destroys us. Breaks down the mind. And the body. And people do things to themselves they shouldn't do. Because they can't. They can't. You can't thrive that way.
[37:14] You can't thrive that way. And so you will seek peace from somewhere. If it's not peace from God. You will look for peace somewhere else.
[37:24] It will be in creation. It will be of a. You will demand people to give you peace. You will demand your spouse to give you peace. You demand your job to give you peace. You demand your children to give you peace.
[37:35] You will demand all your friends to make you happy. You will make all those demands. If you're not looking to God for peace. You will look for somewhere else. And those things will fail you eventually every time.
[37:50] You know why? Because you are too complicated. And too selfish. And too broken. No one can fix you but God.
[38:02] No one can fix Kevin Smith but Jesus. I can't demand Sandy to give me what only God can give me. Only Jesus can give me the peace of God. And peace with God.
[38:13] I've got to go there to be whole. And healthy. And well. And wholesome. And experience it. So then I can deal with life. In a fallen world. So if you're not looking to God for peace.
[38:28] You're not going to be a peacemaker. If you're not experiencing the peace of God. You can't be a peacemaker. You're going to make the church. You're going to make the church give you.
[38:40] You'll make the body give you. When only God can. You'll make elders give you. You'll make pastors give you. You'll make small groups give you. Where only Jesus can give you.
[38:54] And you know something. When you do that. You squeeze. You squeeze folk. You squeeze people. And you know something. Eventually. Some of them will leave you.
[39:07] Because they can't take it. They can't take it. It's not their fault. You're looking for peace. In the wrong place.
[39:22] An artist. Two artists were asked to. Paint peace. I mean. How you going to paint peace. Right. And so one artist got to work.
[39:32] And he started painting. He painted this beautiful sunset. You know. Sitting beside. The water. Looking out at the. At the ocean. And the waves are just. He's got palm trees.
[39:43] Just bending slightly. And that. That sounds like peace to me. Oh my goodness. That sounds like Miami man. Miami. Billy. That's my. That's my spot in Miami.
[39:53] On Key Biscayne. On my beach. Crandon Beach. Under my palm tree. Looking out at the ocean. That's my spot. But the other artist said. Okay. He painted a storm at sea.
[40:08] Ship rocking back and forth. Waves. Tsunami type stuff. Coming in. At the corner of the painting.
[40:18] At the bottom. There was a rock. With two birds on it. And they were singing. That's the peace of God.
[40:30] That's the peace that you. That's why we sing so much. Christians are always singing. Heaven is full of song. Read Revelation.
[40:40] They're always singing. That's what God gives us. We're the birds. On the rock. In the storm. Singing. Singing what? Worthy is the lamb that was slain.
[40:54] Worthy is the father. Worthy is the son. Hallelujah. We're singing about the glorious God. Who has saved us and redeemed us. And has promised us life in this world. And the life to come.
[41:06] We're singing about what cannot be taken from us. Jesus. And all of his benefits. Is that what you're singing? Is that your song? Is that what you're fighting for?
[41:17] Father help us now. Oh Lord. We are people who are beset upon by so many things. So many things attack our hearts.
[41:27] And attack our minds. And oh Lord. Attack our world. And we need you. Will you please. Oh Lord. Draw us. To yourself. Forgive us of our sins. Give us the peace with you father.
[41:42] And having given that peace father. Help us to walk in the peace that Jesus gives us. The peace of God. Help us to sing. And make melody in our hearts to you.
[41:55] Even encouraging one another. As the storm rages. May we sing. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[42:05] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[42:20] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[42:36] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[42:46] Amen. Amen. Amen.