WEBVTT 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.280 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:11.599 We exist to awaken this generation to new life in Christ. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:13.039 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.399 To find out more, go to awakeningchurch.com. 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:20.079 Good morning, Awakening Church. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:26.559 My name is Naseem, if we haven't met, and I work on staff here as our Connections and Communications Director. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:29.519 And this morning I'm stoked to bring the word. 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:45.119 It's so crazy for me to think about how at the start of this year in January, I was preaching to you guys on stage in a cafeteria at Delmar High School to hundreds of people in a crowd on our Awakening Vision series. 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.240 Yes, that was this year, if you can believe it. 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:53.759 And now it's like a year later, and here we are in this beautiful makeshift studio. 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:56.719 And I'm just left thinking, wow, this is so wild. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:59.119 What a difference a year makes. 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:03.039 Normally at the end of a year, we do reflections, right? 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:05.359 Maybe you had a word for 2020. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:09.120 Maybe you're looking back on different goals that you set out to accomplish. 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:20.799 End of every month, I take out my journal and I just have this, these like series of questions I'll ask. 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:22.640 How was I challenged this year? 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:23.599 How did I grow? 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:24.799 What was I feeling? 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:28.480 And I just really, really value that time of reflection. 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:39.439 And as we come to a close in 2020, just based on conversations I've had or things I've overheard, this common thread I've been hearing is this desire to forget about 2020, right? 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:43.519 Like let's just toss it to the wind, let's forget about it, let's start fresh next year. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:55.040 And honestly, I don't think that that's healthy, but I do think that it's safe for us to conclude that 2020 probably didn't have this list of accolades that we accomplished, right? 00:01:55.120 --> 00:02:07.120 This laundry list of like, I don't know, all these like goals that we set out to accomplish and we did, or you know, maybe your Instagram feed is not filled with lavish restaurants or parties or these international trips that you took. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:09.120 No, unfortunately not. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:18.080 Instead, the year has been filled with waves of uncertainty and chaos, doubt and stress. 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:25.919 And this looming question of can I even experience peace amidst this turbulent and chaotic year, right? 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:29.039 Like, is peace even possible for me in 2020? 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:38.560 Over the last few weeks, we have centered our Advent series, Arrival, on the four prophesied names of Jesus in Isaiah 9, 6. 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:39.039 Right? 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:45.840 We've studied Jesus as this wonderful counselor, this mighty God and an everlasting Father. 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:52.400 And today we're concluding that with the fourth prophesied name of Jesus, our Prince of Peace. 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:56.240 Friends, Jesus is our Prince of Peace. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:59.120 And I don't know if you're like me, I'm pretty guilty of this. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:03.599 Sometimes I'll think like, okay, duh, like that's great for Jesus, right? 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:09.439 Like Jesus is this embodiment of every amazing virtue that I feel like I can't accomplish. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:15.520 And so for me, I'm thinking, that's great for him, but what does that mean for me in the midst of my chaos? 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:19.919 This morning, I want to take us back to a familiar passage. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:24.560 If you were with us two weeks ago, Ryan touched on this, and this morning I want to continue that. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:26.560 It's in Mark 4:35. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:36.719 Maybe you've heard this story a million times, or maybe it's your first time, but I think that there's something so important, especially in the first few verses, that we often tend to gloss over. 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:39.199 So allow me to set the scene a little bit. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:45.840 In this passage, the disciples are in the middle of their own 2020 storm, if you will. 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:50.960 And just as an aside, I think it's interesting that we refer to 2020 as a storm, right? 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:52.319 I keep hearing that language. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:57.759 And if you notice, the last few weeks in our sermon series, we've been referring to literal storms, right? 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:07.439 Like last week, Chris talked about his dad driving them through the eye of a storm and how he still felt so safe with his dad, kind of being in control and that fatherly figure through the storm. 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:11.840 And this morning we're reading about the disciples in a boat in a literal storm. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:13.360 I just think that's so interesting. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:14.639 So let's read. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:23.839 Verse 35 opens As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, let us cross over to the other side of the lake. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.000 I want to stop right there. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:35.360 Jesus, who's all knowing and in all control, says to his disciples, let's cross over to the other side. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:41.759 He's inviting his disciples to cross over, and he knows there's about to be a storm, right? 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:44.079 If you read this, you know there's a storm coming. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:45.839 There's something so important here. 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:48.000 I think there's a lesson for all of us, but let's keep reading. 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:49.279 We'll circle back to this. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:50.800 Verse 36. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:56.000 They took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.199 But soon a fierce storm came up. 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.439 High waves were breaking into the boat and it began to fill with water. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:07.920 But Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:09.759 Jesus is chilling. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:11.120 He's unbothered. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:14.319 He's completely at peace in the middle of this storm. 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:20.079 Then the disciples woke him up, shouting, Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown? 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:25.920 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, Silence, be still. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:30.319 Suddenly the wind stopped and there was a great calm. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.279 And then he said to them, Why are you afraid? 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:35.600 Do you still have no faith? 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:38.480 Isn't it funny how relatable this is? 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:42.480 I read this verse and I'm like, as millennials would say, it me, right? 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:44.160 Like, teacher, don't you care? 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:46.079 I feel like that's our immediate MO. 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:50.000 When anything stressful happens in our lives, don't you care, Jesus? 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:52.399 And notice the assumption that they make. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:54.560 Don't you care that we're going to drown? 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.600 To them, there's no other possible outcome to this storm. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.399 It's like, no, we're gonna drown, Jesus, and you don't care. 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.519 And all the while, it takes one word from Jesus to stop the storm. 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:08.959 The wind stops, and there's a great calm. 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:17.680 Friends, I think that we forget that sometimes in our own lives we have access to experience that great calm. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:25.120 We have a prince of peace that offers us this great calm, the wind stopping even in the middle of our storm. 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:29.040 But the calm might not look what we expect or what we want. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.600 See, Jesus doesn't promise that there won't be a storm in our lives. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:37.759 So I think it's it's probably time for us to stop being surprised by the storms, right? 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:39.439 Sorry, not sorry. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:41.600 Because this is life. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:45.120 You know, 2020 has not taken God by surprise. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:47.920 It's not like God took a year off from being God. 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:48.560 No. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:54.240 Sometimes it takes a storm for us to get to the other side. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:07:00.480 And I want to encourage you with this today that the storm in your life is not the absence of peace. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:01.040 No. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:05.439 But Jesus in the boat with you is the presence of peace. 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:06.639 I'll say that again. 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:10.399 The storm in your life is not the absence of peace. 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:14.639 Jesus in the boat with you is the presence of peace. 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:17.839 And you might be wondering, okay, Nassim, like what is peace, right? 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:20.079 Like, what do you guys think of when I say peace? 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:23.680 I think for some we might think of harmony, right? 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:27.680 Just going with the flow, this sense of ease, feeling tranquil. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:32.319 Maybe you think of hippies, maybe you think of passivity, right? 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.480 I want to take us on a word study journey through the word peace. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:40.160 The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:44.720 And the beautiful thing about Hebrew is every letter also has its own meaning. 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:50.879 So the word shalom in Hebrew is three letters: mem, lemed, and shin. 00:07:51.519 --> 00:08:03.120 When you put mem, lemed, and shin together to get shalom, linguists have translated this to English to mean having the teeth to destroy the authority of chaos. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:07.680 Having the teeth to destroy the authority of chaos. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:09.360 Mm, right? 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:11.279 I'm just like, it's so powerful. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:19.680 I read a book over this summer that talks about the current culture, like Western culture, and how we're so quick to just, we want to hustle, we want to hurry. 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:21.279 It's all about accomplishment. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:27.920 And the author, Jefferson Besky, talks about how true shalom is the antidote to chaos. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:31.439 He writes, true shalom carries weight. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:32.480 I love that. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:35.759 See, shalom or peace is not self-discovery. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.360 No, it's not what you get after years of therapy or reading self-help books. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:42.559 It's not just like a feeling that comes to you or a state of being. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:44.240 No, it holds weight. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:45.440 It's gritty, right? 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:46.320 It has teeth. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:47.679 It's not passive. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:54.879 You and I are victorious in his peace in this shalom, even through our circumstances. 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:59.840 And when we talk about chaos, I want to camp out here for a second and kind of talk about chaos. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.320 See, for me, when I think of chaos, I think of it having two layers. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:09.679 I think of the first layer of chaos being the object of your stress, right? 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:16.080 Maybe it's the diagnosis, maybe it's the loss of the job or the stressful job that you're currently in. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:20.000 Maybe it's the loneliness or the despair or the depression, right? 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:22.240 That's the object of our chaos, layer one. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:26.159 And then layer two is the authority of chaos. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:33.039 I get this visual of a snake slowly wrapping itself around its prey, right? 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:34.320 Around you and I. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:43.360 The authority of that chaos that begins to rob us of our joy, of our peace, even robbing us of starting to question God, right? 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:45.440 Like God, don't you care where are you? 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:48.159 It's so multifaceted. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.440 And then in that, we're also struggling for control, right? 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:59.039 All the while in this strife and this worry, we're striving for control when he offers us completeness and wholeness in his shalom. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:04.720 And friends, the good news is that this peace has already arrived to us. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:08.559 It's arrived to us in our Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:12.480 This is why I love Advent so much, is Advent is this season, right? 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:17.919 This month where we're able to symbolically reflect on the people who were waiting, right? 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:24.399 There was about 700 years that went by between when this prophecy in Isaiah was told to when Jesus was born. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:25.840 So people are waiting. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.399 They're expecting this Prince of Peace to come. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:32.399 And the beautiful thing is for you and me, in real time, he's arrived, right? 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:33.360 He's already here to us. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:35.360 So we're just being able to celebrate in that. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:36.960 It's so powerful. 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:42.000 And if you are watching this and you know Jesus today as your savior, amazing. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:43.279 That's awesome. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.399 And the good news is it doesn't stop there, right? 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:53.200 See, knowing Jesus or being a Christian is not this unlimited ticket to peace in your life. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:54.639 Surprise, surprise. 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:56.159 It was a surprise for me. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:00.879 No, so you might be wondering, okay, so then how do I experience this shalom in my life? 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:02.799 How do I experience this peace? 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.080 There are actually conditions for receiving Jesus' peace. 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:11.519 And I want to walk us through three of those conditions today. 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:15.679 Those conditions for receiving that shalom in your life and mine. 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:20.240 The first is fixing your mind on Jesus. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:30.559 Isaiah 26, 3 says, You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:34.480 See, our natural tendency is to fix our eyes on the storm, right? 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:36.240 It's like the disciples, like, don't you care? 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:37.120 We're about to drown. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:38.000 I'm in this storm. 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:39.600 Where are you, Jesus? 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:43.120 And instead, we don't realize he's in the boat with us, right? 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:47.120 We we don't often think of him in the boat with us offering this shalom. 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:52.320 Ask yourself, what is your mind fixated on right now? 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:54.879 Even as you're watching this, where does your mind go? 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.919 Like, what is that stressful situation you're going through? 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:02.080 I often like to challenge myself in the middle of my stressful moments. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:04.879 Like, where is my trust level at right now? 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:16.000 I really believe that every storm in our lives is this opportunity to kind of take a step back and be like, what is this storm showing me about how little or how much I'm trusting in Jesus? 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:18.080 It's so convicting. 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:25.440 So as we fix our minds on him, that shalom begins to make its way in. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:28.639 And you might be wondering, okay, but what about all my stress, right? 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:30.879 What about all my worry and the things I'm going through? 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:32.960 Because that's valid and that matters. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:37.120 And that brings me to the second condition, to receiving his peace. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:42.480 It's bringing that worry and that anxiety to Jesus in prayer first. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:47.200 See, normally our first instinct is for control, right? 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:51.759 We're faced with a stressful situation and we're like, okay, what's my game plan? 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:52.080 Right? 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:55.120 Like maybe you go into flight mode, fight mode, whatever that might be. 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.639 It's like, let me come up with a game plan to figure out how to fix this. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:05.039 Paul's words in Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7, sum it up perfectly. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.360 One of my favorite verses in the Bible. 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:10.480 He says, Don't worry about anything. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:13.279 Instead, pray about everything. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:17.200 Tell God what you need and thank him for all he's done. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:25.039 Then, emphasis on the then, then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.600 I love the way the NLT translates that. 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:39.039 For me, there's been moments in my life where I'm faced with so much stress. 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:47.120 Like maybe it's a decision that I have to make, or maybe it's this moment where in the moment I'm just so about to be crippled with like, what are people gonna think? 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:50.320 And as a recovering people pleaser, that that's happened a lot. 00:13:50.559 --> 00:14:00.639 And there are moments where I take it to Jesus first in prayer, and I feel this, it's not even a feeling, it's like this promise of protection over my mind, right? 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:04.559 I just feel this immense amount of peace, this shalom. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.679 And I want to talk about this word guard, right? 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:10.559 It says his peace will guard your hearts and your minds. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:19.120 Friends, the word guard in this translation is literally the equivalent to a military guard protecting a fortress from siege. 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:20.960 That is so powerful, right? 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.960 It's it's not this like I pray for peace and I feel this like feeling of relief. 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:27.360 No, it's a deep promise. 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:36.960 It's a promise that when we take these requests and these anxieties to him in prayer, he guards our minds from fear, from our joy being robbed. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:39.039 The peace grounds us. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:47.759 The discipline for us to experience this peace, though, is bringing that laundry list of worry and anxiety to him first in prayer. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:51.120 It might even mean taking a posture of surrender, right? 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:55.200 Maybe you've noticed people when they worship raising their hands or getting on their knees. 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.799 Maybe that's what it looks like for you. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:02.399 Is like, what does it look like for me to really just offer up that entire load I've been carrying to him? 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:05.840 Getting on my knees, closing my eyes, surrendering. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:15.279 So in fixing our minds on him and in taking our worries and anxieties to him in prayer, we begin to experience this shalom. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:22.799 And finally, the third condition to experiencing this shalom is obeying the words of Jesus. 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:25.360 It's obeying the words of Jesus. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:27.440 Friends, I'm just gonna call it like it is. 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:30.720 Sometimes as humans, we want peace without the obedience, right? 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:31.679 Like I'm I'm guilty. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.600 We want the peace without the obedience. 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:46.879 And I'm reminded of just, you know, experiences or situations that I've seen with people where maybe you might be lacking peace in your life, but it might be because you're not in obedience to him in that area of your life, right? 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:51.679 Maybe there's an area of your life where there's major unforgiveness that needs to take place. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:16:01.679 Maybe it's in a dating relationship and you are knowingly dating someone where you know this is not what God has called for a godly union, and you're still moving forth. 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:03.679 Maybe it's an area of pride. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.559 Maybe God wants to check you in your humility. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:08.080 The list goes on and on. 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:09.919 Maybe it's it's curbing your anger, right? 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:11.600 And not reacting in anger. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:18.879 John 15 is this amazing passage where Jesus talks about abiding in him, obeying him. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.080 I want to read a few of those verses to us as a reminder. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:29.360 Starting in verse four, Jesus says, Remain in me and I will remain in you. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:34.080 For a branch cannot produce fruit if it's severed from the vine. 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:37.120 And you can't be fruitful unless you remain in me. 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:42.159 Yes, I am the vine, Jesus, and you are the branches, you and I. 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:46.399 Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:49.600 Then jumping to verse 10, and this is the kicker. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:57.120 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my father's commandments and remain in his love. 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:02.639 I've told you these things so you'd be filled with joy, and that your joy would overflow. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:05.599 See, friends, we talk about the fruit of the Spirit, right? 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.759 The Holy Spirit producing this fruit in us. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:09.839 Well, peace is one of those fruit. 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:17.680 And it is through abiding in Jesus, it's through obeying his commands that we begin to bear this fruit of peace in our own lives. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:23.200 And abiding in him or obeying him isn't just this, you know, sometimes I go to church on Sundays, right? 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:24.880 Like sometimes I like go to a small group. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:26.559 No, it's so much deeper. 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:34.720 I encourage you to ask yourself today as you're watching this, are my roots planted deep down into Jesus, right? 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:39.200 Is he this master vine and I am that branch that's deeply connected to him? 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:43.359 Maybe it's as practical as just, you know, what does obedience look like? 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:45.279 Like maybe I have to pick up my Bible more. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:50.480 Maybe I have to make it a habit of actually reading my Bible more to know what are Jesus' exhortations to me? 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.559 Like, how am I called to obey him? 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:58.640 And we don't obey out of legalism, we don't obey to just check things off to be in right standing with God. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:00.079 No, absolutely not. 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:07.279 No, it's it's through the obe it's through the obedience and the abiding that our love for him grows deeper and deeper. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:09.759 It grows deeper and deeper, right? 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:13.920 And and that's what he's talking about when he says your joy will begin to overflow. 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:19.680 I think of Jesus in that boat with the disciples, right, at the end where he says, Why are you so afraid? 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:20.960 Have you no faith? 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.079 I really believe that this is where that faith begins to grow too. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:29.680 The more we obey, the more we abide, the more our faith grows because we see how trustworthy he is. 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:34.400 We see how sovereign he is, we see ourselves how he sees us, right? 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:37.920 So, how do we experience this shalom? 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:40.000 How do we experience Jesus' peace? 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:48.720 It's not the absence of the storm, it's the presence of Jesus in the boat with us, and it's through us fixing our minds on him. 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:54.000 It's us taking the worries to him in prayer and obeying his words. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:59.920 As we come to a close, I want to share another verse with you guys. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:02.720 And this is a very famous verse. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:12.160 I'm sure that many of you might have this verse, maybe even framed in a picture in your home, or maybe it's embroidered on a pillow or something, a very 90s thing to do. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:14.799 Psalm 46, 10. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:17.920 Be still and know that I am God. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:24.240 And I'm gonna be honest, I had never read this verse in its full context before. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:26.559 I had always read it and I love it, right? 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:28.799 I think we all love it, we hear it, we love it, it's great. 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.039 And I had never read it in its full context. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:35.359 So, in preparation for this sermon, I went back and I studied Psalm 46. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:41.759 And it was crazy to realize that Psalm 46 is a psalm of distress. 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:49.279 The entire psalm, the psalmist, is crying out to God, basically talking about how his world is on fire. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.119 I read it and I'm like, wow, this is so reminiscent of 2020 for many of us. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:20:02.720 There's this powerful imagery of the world quaking, the earth shaking, mountains falling and surging into the water in verses one through nine. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:06.000 And then it's almost like he wrote he's reminded in verse 10. 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:11.359 Suddenly he says, I'm reminded, be still and know that I am God. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:16.000 And this runs so parallel to Jesus in the boat to the disciples, right? 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:18.559 Amidst all the chaos, it's one word. 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:21.839 He says, Silence, be still, and the great calm arises. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.920 The waves just immediately pass. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:26.319 Be still. 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:32.880 When I think of be still, you know, I think of being quiet or being passive, right? 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:36.720 When I read that verse in the past, I took it to mean like, okay, just be still, right? 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.480 Like take a minute, pause. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:40.000 Okay, he's God, right? 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:40.559 Are you with me? 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:42.400 Because you just kind of are like, yeah, be still. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:43.200 Know that he's God. 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:44.480 Like, great reminder. 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:49.359 So I read this a step further, and I want to invite you to geek out with me just a little bit on this. 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:56.400 The beautiful thing about be still, the actual Hebrew translation of what that means, is to let go. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:58.160 It is to surrender. 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:02.480 One direct translation is letting go to become weak. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:04.079 How powerful is that? 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:05.759 How weakening is that for us? 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:08.079 It's like the art of utter surrender. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:18.240 And to geek out a little bit further, when you look at those two phrases, the imperatives, to be still and to know, the emphasis is on the second imperative. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:24.640 So what that means is literally, it is in our being still that we know he is God. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:32.799 It is in the surrender, it is in the letting go that we therefore know that he is God and experience at shalom. 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:39.920 And I think that knowing is the light bulb moment where shalom comes in, and you're like, okay, I get it. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:46.079 Recently I had one of these be still and know that I'm God moments. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.640 I want to share that with you guys. 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:52.880 For the last year and a half, I've been seeing a spiritual director. 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:59.759 And if you're not sure what that is, it's kind of like a counselor or a therapist, and they're trained to help you focus on Jesus. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:09.839 Jesus and to know him more in his word and to kind of walk you through different spiritual practices to really just align you more with Jesus, to help you grow in your faith. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:12.720 Shout out to Patty, if she's watching this, she's awesome. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:14.400 Patty's my spiritual director. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:20.960 And during COVID season, we've been meeting outside in this beautiful garden at a church by my house. 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:32.160 And last month when I went to see her for our appointment, she led me through an exercise that was so, so integral to my faith and to this be still and know moment. 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.880 And normally it's a 10-minute exercise. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:37.279 It's called the park bench exercise. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:45.839 And I wish I had time to lead us through that right now, but I encourage you to take 10 minutes this week if you'd like and do it on your own. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:51.119 But I kind of want to just share the nutshell version with you of my experience. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:59.920 So basically she invites you to take about five minutes in the beginning, before anything, to really silence all the noise out, right? 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:02.559 Lord knows how long it takes to just shut down your mind. 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:05.039 So really just to shut out all the noise. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:07.359 And she began to walk me through this prompt. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:14.319 She's like Nassim, you're going to picture yourself on a park bench and Jesus coming to you on that park bench. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:21.200 And I want you to just take 10 minutes to picture this and to kind of go through that experience in silence. 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:24.480 And then you know we'll we'll talk about what you experienced. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:35.119 And I know this might sound kind of weird to some but I I just share this just to share how tangible this experience was for me of really just having this moment with Jesus. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:24:07.440 And I'm personally not a person who has visions or you know kind of a lot of people get pictures from God or whatever, but that's why I share this is it's beautiful because it was a new moment for God and I and I share this to share that any of us can have a moment like this where you just silence and invite Jesus in so as I as she's prompting me right she's saying you're gonna picture this okay and I'm gonna be so honest you guys my first thought I was like okay I was like I'm ready I'm ready to go I have my list like Jesus I'm drowning why don't you care? 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:08.400 That was my attitude. 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:14.079 I literally was saying okay yeah I'm ready Patty let's do this like Jesus come towards me like why don't you care? 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:34.079 I'm drowning and so as I'm like kind of just trying you know I'm giving you the expedited version that's my attitude right that's my posture and as I'm just sitting in silence and I'm picturing Jesus walking towards me the first thing I experienced was utter awe at Jesus walking towards me. 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:38.160 Like I could I couldn't speak really I just was like okay wow I'm just gonna pause for a sec. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:44.480 So I I'm just pausing and I'm like wow I'm having this moment with Jesus and I couldn't speak. 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:54.559 And then Jesus sits on the park bench next to me and he invites me to just curl up on his lap and put my head on his lap. 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:59.039 And I'm immediately picturing myself like even as a younger version of myself. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:03.119 And he's like playing with my hair and I'm just laying there. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:07.039 And for me one of my top love languages is physical touch. 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:13.279 So even just that moment that was so raw and tender was so powerful. 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:39.680 And I felt like in that moment it was honestly like this this prince of peace right this royalty coming towards me this you know his daughter and offering me a deposit of his shalom and I just immediately felt like I could just like take a breath and guys I just feel like we all need to take a breath right it's it's been a time it's been a season. 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:50.799 And I felt like in this moment on this park bench just laying down I just was like I just like let it out and the list didn't matter the list didn't matter anymore. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:26:15.839 Like I just had this moment of like he knows the list he knows the list front to back and I'm sitting here wanting all these answers and wondering why Jesus this and that and he's like can you just be with me and in that moment as I'm just laying there right I I just was like that is being still and knowing right that is the being still like I just was able to be still and I knew he's Jesus he's peace he's in full control. 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:43.039 And it was so so special and as I left that day I went home and I journaled and this this one line that I wrote down was I can be at peace with uncertainty because I'm certain of his presence and friend you can be at peace with uncertainty because you are at peace with his presence I pray that this message and this moment has encouraged you. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:53.039 2020 has been a storm right it's been a storm and the reality is that January 1st is not a magic bullet. 00:26:53.200 --> 00:27:08.880 I'm sorry to say that it's not right we don't know when things will change if they will change I don't know that you don't know that and so what we do know is that this year was not a waste no it was not a waste you and I were shaped. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:11.200 We were shaped by this year. 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:16.720 And I just encourage you that Jesus is in the boat with you. 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:23.200 So many people I've heard this year say, you know, we're all in the same boat and I just want to speak some truth to that that's not true. 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:24.880 We're not all in the same boat. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:28.720 We're all in the same storm we are not all in the same boat. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:35.359 See some of us are cruising through a storm on a yacht thankfully right maybe you haven't been as affected. 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:46.160 Some of us are in a canoe or a raft you know like trying to get by and others are are just on a plank of wood trying to just survive this storm. 00:27:46.880 --> 00:28:02.319 And whatever heaviness you're carrying whatever boat you're in Jesus is in the boat with you and we need him we need him more than ever he is in the boat with you and he wants you to go to the other side. 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:21.680 That's the key is that he wants you to get to the other side and he offers you and I this shalom this gift that you and I through him have the teeth have the grimininess to destroy the authority of chaos and his shalom guards our hearts and our minds through whatever storm we go through. 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:23.279 Let's pray. 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:33.119 Jesus I pray for my brothers and sisters right now God that through whatever storm we're in that our eyes would be on you. 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:35.519 You are our Prince of peace. 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:42.559 Jesus I thank you that we can rest in that truth I thank you that you invite us to lay down on a park bench next to you. 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:53.759 God, the same way that in that boat that you were just chilling on that cushion, I wonder, I'm sure you you wanted that for the disciples to just kind of lay down next to you in that in that um boat and just have this moment. 00:28:54.400 --> 00:29:01.839 God I thank you that you are a God of peace that you've given us this gift, this grittiness to destroy the authority of chaos. 00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:08.319 And Lord my prayer for anyone watching this right now, Jesus would we step into those conditions? 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:11.680 Would we step into those conditions for receiving your peace? 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:42.079 Because it's a two-way street God it's a two-way street we work in conjunction with you Jesus we partner with you so maybe we remember Jesus to fix our minds on you to bring our worries to you before we even start to stress out would we obey your commands God would we obey and abide in you Lord may we let go in full surrender and be still and know that you are God in your name amen