SPEAKER_00: Thanks for checking out this podcast from Cardiffo Christian Church.
SPEAKER_00: We're so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00: Our hope is that through these messages you'll grow deeper in your faith and experience the life-changing hope of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's jump into this week's teaching.
SPEAKER_01: He is risen.
SPEAKER_01: Church, come on, a little bit louder than that.
SPEAKER_01: He is risen.
SPEAKER_01: Amen, church.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so glad that we're that we're gathered together to celebrate that truth together.
SPEAKER_01: Man, is this your first time at this church or uh your millionth time at this church, this is your church home, or somewhere in between, man.
SPEAKER_01: We uh are so glad and are so thankful for the opportunity to be able to gather and just worship our God, who is the only one who's worthy of our worship.
SPEAKER_01: Um, man, I'm uh we believe here at C3 that the resurrection changes everything.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not that's not just like a phrase that we say, it's something we actually really do believe.
SPEAKER_01: The resurrection changes everything.
SPEAKER_01: Paul himself says that if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.
SPEAKER_01: Like everything we're doing today is completely useless if Christ has not been raised.
SPEAKER_01: But, church, we know, indeed, today we celebrate he is alive forevermore.
SPEAKER_01: Amen?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: We know that he is risen indeed, right?
SPEAKER_01: That's what we celebrate.
SPEAKER_01: And the resurrection isn't just an elective that we add on to our faith.
SPEAKER_01: No, it is the foundation of everything that we believe.
SPEAKER_01: It is the foundation of everything else, every everything else that we believe.
SPEAKER_01: It's what it stands on, the foundation that it stands on.
SPEAKER_01: It's the final proof of our worth and our value that we have because of what Jesus has done.
SPEAKER_01: It's the final proof of the hope and the joy that we have in him.
SPEAKER_01: It's the final proof of the forgiveness that we have received freely from him, the justification that we have before a holy God, and this free gift of grace.
SPEAKER_01: It's all because of the resurrection of Jesus that it puts the final stamp of approval.
SPEAKER_01: The finished work of Jesus tells us who we are and whose we are.
SPEAKER_01: And today I want to talk about one thing in particular that the resurrection brings us.
SPEAKER_01: For the rest of our time this morning, I want to just talk about how the resurrection brings peace.
SPEAKER_01: The resurrection brings peace.
SPEAKER_01: And man, our world, our world needs peace, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01: And maybe you specifically come in this morning and whatever you're going through right now, you just you need peace this morning.
SPEAKER_01: I heard this about this cardiologist many years ago, Dr.
SPEAKER_01: Friedman.
SPEAKER_01: He was, you know, practic doing his practice and uh actually like a furniture upholsterer came into his, came into his office and said, Dr.
SPEAKER_01: Friedman, did you know notice the unique pattern of wear that's on the seats in your waiting room?
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, No, not really.
SPEAKER_01: I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff, you know.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, Well, there's there's an interesting, you would think that like all the the seats in the waiting room would all be like evenly worn.
SPEAKER_01: But the the seats in your waiting room, there's like they're just worn out on the very front edge of their seats.
SPEAKER_01: And and the very front edge of the little armrests.
SPEAKER_01: That's the only part that's really worn out.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Literally, the people that come into your waiting room are waiting on the edge of their seats.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I mean, it makes sense if you think about it.
SPEAKER_01: He's a cardiologist, people are coming in, probably referred from their general doctor, to come in and see what's going on with their heart because they think there's something going on with their heart.
SPEAKER_01: They're not sit back sit sitting back and relaxed.
SPEAKER_01: They're not comfortable waiting at peace.
SPEAKER_01: No, they're tense, they're rigid, they're on the edge of their seats, they're anxious, they're tight, they're restless.
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times that like that could be a picture of our world that we're living in.
SPEAKER_01: Just sitting on the edge of its seat, just like people are just restless and anxious and worried or living in fear.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe that's not just the world.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe that's more personal, maybe that's more me.
SPEAKER_01: Like I am restless, I'm anxious, I'm worried, I'm filled with fear, I'm not sitting back and relaxed and at peace.
SPEAKER_01: Like there's whatever it might be, if we were to look at the metaphor metaphorical seat cushions of your life, are they worn out on the edge?
SPEAKER_01: Are you sitting on the edge of the seat?
SPEAKER_01: Do you need just a little bit of peace?
SPEAKER_01: The good news of this resurrection Sunday is that to the unsettled, and to the anxious, to the worried, to the tired, to the weary, to those living in fear, and to those sitting on the edge of their seats, Jesus himself says, Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_01: We've been looking at the last word at the last words of Jesus that he spoke while he's on the cross, words of forgiveness and of grace and of trust.
SPEAKER_01: And today we look at another final word that Jesus speaks, but it makes sense that he's not on the cross anymore, but that he is alive again when we look at these final words of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: John gives us a little bit more detail.
SPEAKER_01: He says that as Jesus shows up, he shows up to his disciples to speak this final word to them, and they are like huddled together in a locked room out of fear of the religious leaders.
SPEAKER_01: They're like, those religious leaders just crucified the one that we were following, the one that we thought was the Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: What's this what's to say they're not gonna do the same thing to us?
SPEAKER_01: Like, so they're they're huddled and they're afraid, they're fearful of these religious leaders.
SPEAKER_01: They're in a in a locked room, and this is where our text picks up in Luke chapter 24, is where we're gonna be.
SPEAKER_01: Luke chapter 24, verse 36 says it this way.
SPEAKER_01: As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said, Peace be with you, peace to you.
SPEAKER_01: Now, in one sense, this isn't like a shocking statement that Jesus says right here.
SPEAKER_01: It's not a shocking statement of Jesus, a common greeting in Jesus' day, peace be with you.
SPEAKER_01: You've probably heard the Hebrew word shalom, right?
SPEAKER_01: That just means to be complete.
SPEAKER_01: That's what it means, to be complete.
SPEAKER_01: Everything in your life is working as it should be, nothing is out of place, all is working together towards its intended purpose.
SPEAKER_01: And to say, peace be with you to someone means that you just wish them well.
SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm just gonna wish you well, that their life would be whole and complete, not lacking, not in turmoil, but in order and working as it should be.
SPEAKER_01: The problem with this, of course, is that anybody can say this greeting.
SPEAKER_01: Like anybody can say those words.
SPEAKER_01: Anybody could come in and say, peace be with you, and just because somebody wishes you well doesn't mean they can provide it for you.
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: Like just because somebody comes in and says, Peace be with you, doesn't mean it's actually going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: That is, unless, of course, it's the words of the risen king who's saying it to you.
SPEAKER_01: See, like the words, these words have more weight to them because of who is saying them, you understand?
SPEAKER_01: Like, because it's Jesus Himself, this is not just a friendly greeting.
SPEAKER_01: No, this is an announcement, this is a proclamation by the risen king, the one who has the ability to actually provide it for you.
SPEAKER_01: He says, peace be with you.
SPEAKER_01: That's the the truth, is that the resurrection brings peace.
SPEAKER_01: I want to ask a question this morning that I think is gonna kind of guide us the rest of the morning.
SPEAKER_01: What kind of peace does the resurrection actually bring?
SPEAKER_01: What kind of peace does the resurrection really bring?
SPEAKER_01: And here's what I think.
SPEAKER_01: I think there's one kind of peace that all of us, whether we realize it or not, we're we're longing for it, we're searching for it.
SPEAKER_01: I think the resurrection brings that kind of peace.
SPEAKER_01: But I think there's another kind of peace that the resurrection brings that maybe we don't realize we need.
SPEAKER_01: And the resurrection brings that kind of peace too.
SPEAKER_01: That's the one I want to start with.
SPEAKER_01: The resurrection you might not realize you need, but that the resurrection brings, this peace that it brings is peace with God.
SPEAKER_01: It brings you peace with God.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you know this or not, but the Bible describes us, like you and I.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible describes you and I as enemies of God.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not just like you and I, it's not just like specific to this location, this building, just at the 9:30 service.
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's not not just just us, it's every person who's gathered or not gathered in every church today, it's every person who's ever lived in the history of all humanity.
SPEAKER_01: We are enemies of God.
SPEAKER_01: We're alienated from God and enemies of Him because of our sinful behavior.
SPEAKER_01: That's what the Bible teaches.
SPEAKER_01: Because of our sin.
SPEAKER_01: We chose friendship with the world, and as a result, we're enemies with God.
SPEAKER_01: And Paul says that as a result of this, we are by nature deserving of God's wrath.
SPEAKER_01: That's what we deserve.
SPEAKER_01: Like if God were to be uh like the fair God and give us the just punishment, then He should He should give us His wrath.
SPEAKER_01: That's what we're supposed to do.
SPEAKER_01: This is true of you and me.
SPEAKER_01: We are enemies of God, and sometimes we can fail to realize this, or sometimes we can just forget it.
SPEAKER_01: You know, or maybe we even hear that, we even hear that word enemy, and we're like, well, that's a little harsh.
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm not like on the opposite side of God, you know, like I'm not actively working against him, I'm not hostile toward him, like I'm not, I'm not trying to like go against his way.
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm a pretty good person, all things considered.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the thing, like sometimes the way that we are enemies of God is not normally like an outright or blatant rejection, although some people do live that way.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the way that we are enemies of God is more of like a more of a quiet insubordination, a seemingly small disobedience here and there, a subtle indifference toward him.
SPEAKER_01: Like that's how we're enemies toward God.
SPEAKER_01: What the Bible calls this, it kind of boils it all down and tells us this is sin.
SPEAKER_01: This is sin.
SPEAKER_01: Anytime we we live away from the will of God, anytime we live outside of what he wants for us, all of us are sinful people.
SPEAKER_01: And because of our sin and our disobedience, no matter how big or how small, no matter how we justify it, and because of our drifting, no matter how intentional or unintentional it may be, we are enemies of God.
SPEAKER_01: We are on the opposing side, we are in the other camp.
SPEAKER_01: And listen, there's nothing that you and I can do to get back on God's side.
SPEAKER_01: Like there's nothing that we can do by our own effort to come back to Him in a relationship.
SPEAKER_01: But church, you know what I know.
SPEAKER_01: That because of the resurrection, because of the of the cross of Jesus Christ, because of the finished work of Jesus, you and I are given peace with God forevermore.
SPEAKER_01: Like we are be like Jesus can declare this to his disciples and to us, because as the risen and victorious king, what Jesus has accomplished, what he has provided, is peace with God to all who will call on his name, to all who will step forward and follow him and submit to him in faith.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus has provided this peace that we need.
SPEAKER_01: We might not realize we need it, but it is vital for us.
SPEAKER_01: We absolutely need it.
SPEAKER_01: I read a story a few months ago of Don and Carol Richardson.
SPEAKER_01: Don and Carol Richardson were missionaries from Canada that went to Guinea and they went into like the deep jungles of Guinea and to the Sawi tribe that was there, S-A-W-I, the Sawi tribe, where they resided.
SPEAKER_01: There was no written language, no knowledge of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: Actually, this tribe was a cannibalistic tribe that valued treachery above all else.
SPEAKER_01: And so they went, and Don and Carol Richardson were determined to take the gospel to them, to share the hope of Jesus with them.
SPEAKER_01: And so they went and they moved there and they built the home and built a little clinic.
SPEAKER_01: Don was trained in Bible and language, and Carol was trained in the medical field, and they built this little clinic.
SPEAKER_01: They started living among them.
SPEAKER_01: And Don actually recounted later that once Carol got her clinic up and running and earned the trust of the Sawi people, she was saving on average a person a day.
SPEAKER_01: And Don started the slow and tedious process of translating the scripture into uh into the language, the non-written language of the Sawi people.
SPEAKER_01: It was a tedious process and long, and after several years of living there, he was able to speak the gospel story to them, not have it written down, but just be able to speak it to them.
SPEAKER_01: And so he started telling them the story of Jesus' crucifixion.
SPEAKER_01: Actually, it was the night before Jesus was crucified.
SPEAKER_01: He's praying in the garden, and his betrayer, Judas, comes and had told the guards, the one who I kiss is the one that you need to arrest.
SPEAKER_01: And as Judas approached Jesus and kissed him on the cheek, the Sawi people erupted an applause.
SPEAKER_01: They started going crazy.
SPEAKER_01: And they said, This is the one.
SPEAKER_01: He's the hero.
SPEAKER_01: Judas is the hero of the story.
SPEAKER_01: Like he's he's the one that we need to.
SPEAKER_01: We finally found the one who's who's worthy of worship.
SPEAKER_01: It's Judas.
SPEAKER_01: And Don was like, okay, my translation must be way off here, you know?
SPEAKER_01: Like that's so backward.
SPEAKER_01: He is Judas is not the hero of the story at all, you know?
SPEAKER_01: Like, my I must have done something wrong, you know.
SPEAKER_01: I must have forgotten a few uh language things along the way.
SPEAKER_01: After he questioning as best as he could, he came to understand they viewed Judas as the master of all treachery.
SPEAKER_01: They told him, hey, we would have never thought to kiss our enemy at the moment of truth.
SPEAKER_01: Judas is the hero worth following.
SPEAKER_01: Don was kind of like at his end here.
SPEAKER_01: He was like, How can I possibly persuade these people that Jesus is the one they need to follow?
SPEAKER_01: Soon after this, tribal war broke out.
SPEAKER_01: A neighboring tribe came to the Sawi tribe and declared war on them.
SPEAKER_01: And so there were weeks of battles turned into months of battles.
SPEAKER_01: There was bloodshed and there was uh there was death and there was just healing.
SPEAKER_01: Like they're Don and Carol doing their best just to try to heal as many people as they could in their clinic.
SPEAKER_01: And eventually it got to the point where Don and Carol were like, We this is not safe for us to be here anymore.
SPEAKER_01: We can't stay here anymore.
SPEAKER_01: And so they prayed, like, Lord, you're the one that you're the one that brought us here.
SPEAKER_01: How can we convince these people?
SPEAKER_01: Please show us how can we convince these people to pursue peace when they value treachery above all else.
SPEAKER_01: The next day, Don went to the chief, chief Esau of of the Sawi tribe and just begged him, Will you please make peace?
SPEAKER_01: Like we can't stay here if you don't if you don't make peace with the other tribe.
SPEAKER_01: And Don thought he was asking the chief to do something.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't realize what the full extent of what he was asking him to do.
SPEAKER_01: In this open field, and he kind of went over to it.
SPEAKER_01: Chief Esau was standing in front of his of his soldiers behind him, and the the opposing chief was standing face to face with with Chief Esau, and and they're standing there face to face in like it looked like they're lined up for battle or something, but nobody was, nobody, no, no arrows were flying, nobody was was trying to hurt each other.
SPEAKER_01: And and then he, as he walked up, he saw Chief Esau turn and go to his bride and take their newborn son from her hands and turn back to the opposing chief and hand his newborn son over to the opposing chief.
SPEAKER_01: The opposing tribal chief lifted the son up and they all began to celebrate as he accepted this child as the taro, the peace child.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what would happen.
SPEAKER_01: A rival tribe could offer a son to literally purchase the peace.
SPEAKER_01: And as long as the son lived, there was peace between the tribes.
SPEAKER_01: As long as the son lived, there was peace between the tribes.
SPEAKER_01: And let me listen, like Don realized it right there for the Sawi people, and he realized it for us too.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is the peace child.
SPEAKER_01: He's the one given to bring peace with God.
SPEAKER_01: Why we were enemies with God.
SPEAKER_01: Because of our sin, Christ died for us and brought us back into a complete and whole relationship with God again, with the loving God.
SPEAKER_01: Chief Esau was actually the first one to internalize this for the Sawi people.
SPEAKER_01: He was the first one to come to realize this for himself and accept Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He was the first convert of the Sawi people.
SPEAKER_01: Now, even to this day, hundreds of people in the jungles of Guinea gather together in this great structure.
SPEAKER_01: Hundreds of people gather every every Sunday, even this resurrection Sunday, to worship the God who has purchased them back by giving his own son.
SPEAKER_01: I love how Paul says this in Romans chapter 5.
SPEAKER_01: You see, at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
SPEAKER_01: Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
SPEAKER_01: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this.
SPEAKER_01: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
SPEAKER_01: Now, since now you have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him?
SPEAKER_01: For if while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life?
SPEAKER_01: Did you hear those words?
SPEAKER_01: Did you hear those words that like described us in this passage?
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you heard those words that describe us.
SPEAKER_01: It says, we were still powerless, while we were still in our sin, while we were enemies of God.
SPEAKER_01: It's at that point, when we are powerless, when we are still in our sin, when we are enemies of God, that Christ died for us and purchased us back, that he reconciled us back to God, that he brought peace with God, not after we did something good, not after we cleaned ourselves up, not after we did anything, not after we even had faith.
SPEAKER_01: No, it's because Jesus just simply made a way.
SPEAKER_01: It's only by the finished work of Jesus on the cross that you and I are brought back into the fold.
SPEAKER_01: And hear me, as long as the Son lives, we are at peace with God.
SPEAKER_01: And this is the truth of Resurrection Sunday, is that He is risen.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: He's risen indeed.
SPEAKER_01: That's what we know.
SPEAKER_01: That's what we believe to be true.
SPEAKER_01: And because the Son is alive forevermore, you are at peace with God forevermore.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the truth.
SPEAKER_01: If you are in Christ, then you have a reason to praise this morning.
SPEAKER_01: You have a reason to praise this morning because you have this eternal peace that was purchased for you by the blood of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the truth: if you are not in Christ, if you have not given yourself to him, if you've not submitted your life to his lordship, if you have not been baptized and committed your life to follow him, man, then today could be the day that you receive this eternal peace because of what Christ has done.
SPEAKER_01: You can respond to him and you can surrender to him and you can have this peace that the resurrection brings.
SPEAKER_01: A peace that you may not realize you needed, but that you absolutely do.
SPEAKER_01: It's peace with God.
SPEAKER_01: But the resurrection also brings another peace, a peace that if I had to bet, I would bet that you're longing for it right now.
SPEAKER_01: And that's peace from God.
SPEAKER_01: That's peace from God.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go back to our text in Luke chapter 24.
SPEAKER_01: Sorry, verse 36, this is what it says.
SPEAKER_01: As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, But they were startled and frightened, and they thought they saw a spirit, and he said to them, Why are you troubled?
SPEAKER_01: And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
SPEAKER_01: See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.
SPEAKER_01: And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet, and while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, Have you anything here to eat?
SPEAKER_01: And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and he ate it before them.
SPEAKER_01: Did you notice in this text how the disciples are described?
SPEAKER_01: They're described in a couple different ways.
SPEAKER_01: Like the response right at the beginning is they're frightened and startled.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't I can't blame them.
SPEAKER_01: I probably would be too.
SPEAKER_01: You know, like they're in a locked room, like huddled together, you know, like reflecting on what has just happened over the weekend.
SPEAKER_01: It's been a crazy, like tumultuous weekend for them, and they're trying to figure things out.
SPEAKER_01: They're on the edge of their seats, literally, here, and then Jesus is just there.
SPEAKER_01: Like they shouldn't be surprised that Jesus is just there.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's uh given his track record, you know, he can do anything he wants.
SPEAKER_01: And so they shouldn't be surprised.
SPEAKER_01: Like, how'd you get through that locked door?
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's the risen Messiah, of course he's gonna be there, you know.
SPEAKER_01: But they're startled and they're frightened.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus calls out what's actually going on in them.
SPEAKER_01: You see that?
SPEAKER_01: He says, Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your heart?
SPEAKER_01: And then he says, Hey, come look, look for yourself, come see for yourself, come touch my hands and my feet, come see for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: Like that I really am alive, I'm not a ghost.
SPEAKER_01: Like I this is really me in flesh and blood, right here before you.
SPEAKER_01: And then the text describes them and says that they disbelieved for joy and were marveling.
SPEAKER_01: They disbelieved for joy and were marveling.
SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's an interesting phrase, but it's like this is too good to be true.
SPEAKER_01: Like it's I like my mind hasn't reconciled what I'm seeing with my eyes yet.
SPEAKER_01: Like I can't understand this completely.
SPEAKER_01: I can't really, this can't really be happening.
SPEAKER_01: It hasn't quite sunk in yet.
SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus then asks for some food.
SPEAKER_01: It's interesting that the risen Messiah comes in and says, You got some fish here?
SPEAKER_01: That'd be great.
SPEAKER_01: That sounds really great right now, you know?
SPEAKER_01: Been dead for three days, it'd be nice to have a broiled fish right now.
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't know why he asks for this, but it's interesting.
SPEAKER_01: Like it seems like an odd interaction, but remember, Luke, like his he set out to record this gospel to provide an orderly account so that we can know for certain that this is the he really is the Messiah, that he really is the Son of the living God.
SPEAKER_01: He gave it an orderly account.
SPEAKER_01: He's giving us proof for the resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, just come see for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: Come touch my hands and my feet and see the scars for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: But then also, like, you got anything to eat?
SPEAKER_01: By Jesus taking a piece of fish, what he's actually doing is he is like negating the potential that this, that they could think that this is just a vision, that they're all dreaming the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: No, a ghost isn't gonna consume food in front of you.
SPEAKER_01: Like, let me prove it to you even more.
SPEAKER_01: I'm real and in the flesh, I really am standing here among you right now.
SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus is with them, they can have peace.
SPEAKER_01: Because he's with them.
SPEAKER_01: They don't have to be filled with fear anymore, they don't have to be worried or anxious, they can have the peace of God.
SPEAKER_01: See, the peace that comes from God is always found in the presence of God.
SPEAKER_01: Paul uses a really unique word.
SPEAKER_01: It's only used one time in all of the New Testament.
SPEAKER_01: In Colossians chapter 3, verse 15, he says this way Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.
SPEAKER_01: A preacher friend of mine explained this word is like this word rule in this passage is a word that carries the meaning of like a referee or an umpire.
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's baseball season.
SPEAKER_01: And there's like there's nothing worse than like than going to a baseball game and the ump behind the plate is just the worst.
SPEAKER_01: Like, cannot figure out what a ball, like what a strike zone is.
SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't mean to make anybody sin because you just had a bad experience yesterday at a tournament, okay?
SPEAKER_01: But like, that's that's what this is the worst thing ever.
SPEAKER_01: Whenever they can't seem to get it right.
SPEAKER_01: Like, it's like that was way outside, and you called that a strike.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how you got that right.
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: But he like, this is this is think about what an umpire does.
SPEAKER_01: Think about what an umpire does.
SPEAKER_01: An umpire steps into a situation of utter chaos and brings clarity and authority and like absolution, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like, here's the problem though.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes in our lives, we let the circumstances that we face call the shots.
SPEAKER_01: Like we let the relationship that's crumbling call what's what's a ball and a strike for us.
SPEAKER_01: We let that diagnosis determine who is safe and who's out.
SPEAKER_01: We let fear or worry or anxiety, our pain, our struggle, our sin be the ruling authority for us, to be what decides things about us or controls outcomes for us.
SPEAKER_01: And Paul is saying, let the peace of Christ be the umpire for you.
SPEAKER_01: Let him be the one, let this peace that comes from Christ, because he is alive forevermore, let this peace that comes from him be what tells you what is true and what is right in your life.
SPEAKER_01: What reminds you of what is a solid foundation to build on, no matter the circumstance, because of what Christ has done, you can have peace.
SPEAKER_01: Like no matter what circumstance you find yourself in right now, you can have peace.
SPEAKER_01: And as I was preparing this message, I couldn't help but think of many of you.
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm literally preaching to the choir this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Because I think of many of you, many people in this church who have just faced some absolute terrible circumstances, like dreadful diagnosis and debilitating depression, and just crumbling relationships and betrayal and cancer and death.
SPEAKER_01: Many of you have stared things like that face to face.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, so many times, as I've as I've interacted with different people in our church over the last few years who have stood face to face against certain circumstances, what I've seen over and over again is just an incredible amount of peace in the worst of circumstances.
SPEAKER_01: Like they're able to have peace.
SPEAKER_01: And it like they're not waiting on the edge of their seat.
SPEAKER_01: They're not wearing out the edge of their seat, you know?
SPEAKER_01: Like they're sitting back and they're comfortable.
SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
SPEAKER_01: The world on the outside looks in at a situation like that and says, that is foolishness.
SPEAKER_01: Like that makes no sense.
SPEAKER_01: But they're not waiting in foolishness, they're waiting in confidence because they know who's sitting right there with them.
SPEAKER_01: They know who the presence that goes with them no matter what.
SPEAKER_01: I was reminded of a family.
SPEAKER_01: As I as I was writing this sermon, I kept thinking about them.
SPEAKER_01: It was I kept thinking about Josh and Sheena McBroom, their son Hayden, who'd been involved here at C3 for years.
SPEAKER_01: It was September 24.
SPEAKER_01: Sheena was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a very aggressive brain cancer.
SPEAKER_01: She went through all kinds of treatments, surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation.
SPEAKER_01: She passed away in August of 2025 after a courageous battle with that cancer.
SPEAKER_01: And as I was like writing, studying, thinking about this peace that comes from God, I couldn't help but think of all my interactions with Josh and Sheena throughout that whole process, throughout that year-long battle.
SPEAKER_01: Every time I met with them, I prayed with them, I talked with them.
SPEAKER_01: There was this sense of peace, and it didn't make sense, you know?
SPEAKER_01: Like it just didn't make sense.
SPEAKER_01: Like, because whenever I would go talk with them or meet with them or pray with them or show up at a hospital, whatever, right?
SPEAKER_01: We would we would talk and pray, and it's like everybody knows what's going on.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody knows what the doctors are saying, everybody knows heartache that's that's ahead.
SPEAKER_01: We do we know what like what pain lies in in the future, we know the diagnosis, like we know, and we know the pain that Sheen is already going through right now, and it just didn't make sense.
SPEAKER_01: They had this peace about them.
SPEAKER_01: It didn't make sense.
SPEAKER_01: Like it just went against everything that made sense in the in the moment.
SPEAKER_01: I remember Josh calling when things had kind of taken a turn for the worse.
SPEAKER_01: I met him at Mercy here in Joplin in the waiting room.
SPEAKER_01: Him and Hayden, we talked and we prayed, and Josh recounted this story of a man named Horatio Spafford.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you know his name or know that know his store story.
SPEAKER_01: He was a believer, a successful attorney.
SPEAKER_01: Lost much of his wealth in the Chicago fire in 1871, and then soon after that, lost his four-year-old son to scarlet fever.
SPEAKER_01: His family was devastated.
SPEAKER_01: And he thought, we just need to get away for a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: So he sent his wife and his four daughters on a ship across the Atlantic to go to England for vacation.
SPEAKER_01: They went across and Horatio had plans to meet them after he had to finish up some business stuff back home and was gonna meet them after.
SPEAKER_01: And as that ship sailed across the Atlantic, there was a horrible collision and that sank the ship.
SPEAKER_01: Over 200 people passed away, including all four of his daughters.
SPEAKER_01: And as Horatio got on the next boat, heard of it, got on the next boat to go see his wife, the lone survivor, in England, they were sailing across that same Atlantic Ocean.
SPEAKER_01: The captain of his ship that he was on knew of the tragedy that had happened and told Horatio when they were sailing over the exact spot where that shipwreck had happened.
SPEAKER_01: And Horatio went to the edge and he peered over and saw the waves, and he thought of his daughters, and he wrote these words, these familiar words of comfort, of hope, of peace.
SPEAKER_01: He said, When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.
SPEAKER_01: Met with Josh this week and just asked him, man, so many, so many people need the peace that you have, that you had.
SPEAKER_01: So many people need that peace.
SPEAKER_01: How were you able to have that peace?
SPEAKER_01: And immediately Josh started telling me over and over and over again how he could just see the hand of God with them the whole time.
SPEAKER_01: The right doctors at the right at the right time, the right treatment, and the people of God just surrounding them in prayer.
SPEAKER_01: It was just obvious that he could just see the hand of God.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I didn't have to like what was happening, but I knew he was there, and that gave me peace.
SPEAKER_01: Church, hear me.
SPEAKER_01: The peace that you're looking for is not found when the pain and the struggle goes away.
SPEAKER_01: It's not found when life slows down enough and the schedule frees up enough.
SPEAKER_01: It's not found whenever you get to go on that vacation.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't like come suddenly when you get that raise or you get that worldly success that you're striving for.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't come when that relational strife is just avoided or magically healed.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't come whenever there's a clean bill of health.
SPEAKER_01: It's not found in perfect circumstances.
SPEAKER_01: No, the peace that you are longing for, it's always found in the presence of God.
SPEAKER_01: And the truth of the resurrection is that his presence now goes with us everywhere into every circumstance.
SPEAKER_01: We can say, It is well, because he is here, because he is with me.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you noticed this or not in our text.
SPEAKER_01: In our text in verse 36, it says, as they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said, Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_01: He was really there, he was really alive, he was really victorious, and he was really flesh and blood in their presence.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus is able to say, Peace be with you, because I am with you.
SPEAKER_01: That's what he says.
SPEAKER_01: Because I am with you, you can have peace.
SPEAKER_01: This makes sense, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01: Micah chapter 5 is talking about the Messiah who is to come.
SPEAKER_01: He says, He shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall dwell secure.
SPEAKER_01: For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth, and he shall be their peace.
SPEAKER_01: Ephesians chapter 2, Paul echoes this.
SPEAKER_01: He says, For Jesus He himself is our peace.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, the night before He was before He was killed, before He was crucified, he said this to His disciples: My peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.
SPEAKER_01: I do not give to you as the world gives.
SPEAKER_01: Do not let your hearts be troubled, do not be afraid.
SPEAKER_01: Church, because of the resurrection, his presence now goes with us.
SPEAKER_01: Wherever we go, into whatever circumstance, you can have peace from God.
SPEAKER_01: If you are aligned with Him.
SPEAKER_01: Every time we gather together, we go to these tables that are scattered around the room and we take these little emblems.
SPEAKER_01: We remember that Jesus willingly went to the cross on our behalf.
SPEAKER_01: He emptied himself of everything so that we could be filled with new life.
SPEAKER_01: And we go, and as we go this morning, what I want to encourage you as you go is to reflect on the peace that he has brought you.
SPEAKER_01: Because you were enemies of God.
SPEAKER_01: We alike were enemies of God.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, because of Jesus' sacrifice, we've been brought near to God.
SPEAKER_01: And as you go to the table, I want you to go and know what you're gonna receive as you go to the table.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna receive these little emblems.
SPEAKER_01: But what they represent is the peace of God that is promised to walk with everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: His peace will walk with you no matter the circumstance that you find yourself in.
SPEAKER_01: His peace will go with you because his presence will go with you.
SPEAKER_01: Man, if that, if that peace is something you need in your life, there's gonna be people on the back of the room, there's gonna be people up front who would love to talk with you about that this morning, about the steps you might need to take to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and to have that peace that He has freely offered to you.
SPEAKER_01: And church, as we go to the tables this morning, let's remember well, and let's worship well the peace that our God has brought us.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to the tables this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for listening to the Carterville Christian Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: Our prayer is that today's message has encouraged you and drawn you closer to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: To learn more or get connected with our church family, visit Carterville Christian.com.
SPEAKER_00: We'd love to walk alongside you in your journey of faith.