WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:02.319 Well, Merry Christmas, everyone. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:05.759 It's good to see all of you. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:08.400 Thank you for uh for spending part of your Christmas here. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:10.160 If you're new, welcome to His Hands. 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:16.960 My name is Justin, and uh I just want to say we're all really honored and blessed that you would spend part of your Christmas with us. 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:19.839 Also, for those of you that had to wait for chairs, apologies. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:21.280 Last year our 3 p.m. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:26.559 was a lot lighter, and so some idiot said to the Usher team, let's pull some chairs uh before the third. 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:27.359 I don't know who it was. 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:29.199 Couldn't have been, I mean, we'll figure that out later. 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:30.559 We'll do an investigation. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:33.200 Um so thanks for your patience. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:36.719 You guys exceeded our expectations, uh, but but we're glad for that. 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:40.079 Those of you that are part of his hands, that you're a regular, welcome back. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:43.280 This is our last chance to be together in 2024. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:52.320 We always take the Sunday after Christmas off to give everybody a break, but we will be back on Sunday, January 5th at 10 o'clock, and would love for everyone to come back. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:57.039 So we're here to celebrate Christmas, obviously. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:03.920 And every year we we pray and we we ask God to give us sort of a different angle so that Christmas is fresh in our minds. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.319 And our focus tonight is that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:14.319 We're gonna spend some time talking about what it really means for Jesus to be our Prince of Peace. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:17.519 But we've got to go back to the start of the story, and we all know how it goes. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:23.200 One night there were shepherds that were working a night shift, doing their job, under a canopy of stars. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:31.680 And in Luke chapter 2, it says that suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them, and they were terrified. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:37.120 But the angel reassured them, Don't be afraid, he said, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:44.079 The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David, and you will recognize him by this sign. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:48.400 You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:02:00.079 Suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying, Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:01.200 Peace on earth. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:08.319 That's sort of become a theme around Christmas, like if you were to go to a store, buy some ornaments with words on them, you would have a few choices, but not that many. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:14.240 You'd have joy, probably some hope, definitely peace, or maybe even the full peace on earth. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:17.439 Jesus has become synonymous with the idea of peace. 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:25.360 In fact, Alex read a scripture earlier from the prophet Isaiah, who foretold of Jesus' birth centuries before he was born, and I'll just read a short snippet of what Alex said. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:30.879 He said, For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:40.960 The government will rest on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:47.360 Like I said a few minutes ago, every year we try to find a unique theme so that Christmas stays fresh. 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:49.039 And the way that usually looks is really simple. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:57.680 A group of us in September get together and we meet and we pray and we brainstorm and we trust that God will give us an idea and we'll come out of it and we'll go, here's what we're gonna talk about this year. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:02.560 And it was really clear to us back in September that the theme was going to be peace, and that became Prince of Peace. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:09.280 And I was thinking personally about how chaotic and crazy our world is at large when we came up with this theme. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:10.800 Like our world is nuts. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:16.639 Just think back to the last year, even the last few months, and if you're someone that keeps up with current events, these things will be familiar to you. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:18.159 If not, look them up or don't. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:18.960 It doesn't really matter. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:20.479 Just know that the world is crazy. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:22.800 We've had conflicts all over the world. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:24.560 We had an election, you guys remember that? 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:33.439 Just your average garden variety American election with an assassination attempt and a candidate swap, you know, just like every election that we've ever had in recent memory. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:39.199 We've had mystery drones in the sky, we've had high-profile killings, one of which was a squirrel this year. 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:41.280 And if you don't know that story, look that up. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:42.159 I mean, it's crazy. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:43.840 We live in a crazy world. 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:45.520 And so that's where my head was at. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:51.120 We're gonna talk about how Jesus is the Prince of Peace in this world that is just chaos. 00:03:51.840 --> 00:04:08.400 But then something really interesting happened, at least to me personally, and I didn't know this when we chose this theme, but I went on, after this theme was chosen and announced, and we made the logo and talked about it, to have I went on to have the most chaotic month of my life so far. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:09.919 Definitely one of them. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:11.520 Bunch of different things happened. 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:26.399 Uh had the situation with one of my kids where we had to change the school that he was going to really last minute, and it went from being something that was like a thought to an urgent crisis decision, very high stakes, at least in my mind, very high stress, and to be honest, I didn't handle that stress in the best way. 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:40.160 I made this big financial decision, and when I made it for my family, I had a lot of peace about it, and then I had less peace after I made it, and then I had like no peace two weeks later, and I had regret, and I drove my wife and three or four of my friends absolutely nuts. 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:44.079 And I have peace again, but that's been a roller coaster that hasn't been fun to ride. 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:52.319 I had this weird medical thing where I just three weeks ago passed out, totally lost consciousness, got to go to the ER for a day. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:54.480 That was a blast, and sit in a hospital room. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:05:00.480 And I've had more tests done in the last month than I've ever had before in my life, and thankfully all of those have been good. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:02.800 But that's been like a chaotic little journey. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.160 And then just like the cherry on top, Sunday. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:10.800 A friend of mine gave the message for us on Sunday so that I could have the day to really focus on this. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:18.720 And I'm sitting at a stoplight on Sunday, and just out of nowhere, while I'm totally stationary, boom, a car rear-ends me from behind. 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:23.920 And I look in the rearview mirror to see the person promptly pull backwards and turn down a road and drive away. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:27.759 And I'm like, Merry Christmas! Peace on earth, right? 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:32.480 That is not what I said. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:36.319 Those are not the words that came out of my mouth. 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:46.399 A friend of mine actually texted me a few days ago, isn't it funny that the theme is peace on earth, and you've had such a crazy month? 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:48.560 Like, no, it is not funny. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:51.839 That is not the emotion that I'm feeling maybe a little bit. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:56.399 But God does have my attention, and I'm grateful for that. 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:20.319 I say all that to say that this whole theme of peace and Jesus being the Prince of Peace is one that has moved really quickly for me from being this sort of general theme, Christmassy theme, to a very deeply personal experience, more so than I can remember at any time I've ever given a Christmas message in the decade or so I've been I've been doing this. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:30.079 So I've been on this sort of journey for the last few weeks to understand peace differently and experience it, because I gotta talk about it now and I haven't felt like I've had it. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:31.839 It's something that Jesus promises. 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:36.879 Like he told his followers in John chapter 14, I am leaving you with a gift. 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:44.720 Peace of mind and heart, and the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give, so do not be troubled or afraid. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:57.759 I've spent a good bit of the last few weeks, either troubled or afraid, if I'm being honest, struggling to experience this peace that Jesus promises and that I'm supposed to talk about. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:08.879 But that's one of the beautiful things about following Jesus is he often shows up and shows you things that you didn't know you needed in times that you feel like you're the most desperate. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:11.920 And so turns out this is an ancient dilemma. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:18.480 This whole quest for peace, this is something that people have struggled with forever because turns out the world has been crazy forever. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:21.439 It's always been nuts, it's always been crazy. 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:26.879 Jesus' followers have wrestled with this idea of having peace through Jesus. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:28.079 What does that really mean? 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:28.959 How does that really work? 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:30.560 They've wrestled with this for centuries. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:31.920 This is an ancient problem. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:42.319 And so as I was researching and praying and studying and honestly just desperately trying to find some more peace for myself, I found something really ancient that brought me a lot of peace. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:44.240 And I want to share it with you guys. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:51.360 And this is either gonna be super interesting to you, and you'll be like, wow, I'm really glad I was there, and and that was helpful, or it'll be a huge waste of time. 00:07:51.519 --> 00:08:00.639 But the good news is the Christmas message is always shorter, so it'll be less of a waste of time than if you were here on a normal Sunday and I talked about something that was boring and whatever. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:01.680 Alright, here's here's what I found. 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:03.519 I'm gonna show you guys this, this image. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.800 Um this is something we're gonna talk about for a few minutes. 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:07.839 It's very old. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:19.439 The earliest images like this show up in our in our faith's history about 1200, so about a thousand years old, and it's something that is called the rota fortuna, which is Latin for the wheel of fortune. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:23.680 It's actually a little bit more ancient than even that. 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:42.879 A lot of times what happens in the history of our faith is that ancient cultures had ways of understanding the world and making sense of life, and then they would hear the message of Jesus and they would give their lives to Jesus, and the whole culture would be overtaken by this passion for Jesus, and sometimes they would just sort of like like stamp Jesus on top of the stuff they already had. 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.039 And that's this is kind of one of those things. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:57.519 The Greeks and the Romans had this mythology about a goddess called Fortuna, and she's the goddess of fate, and they understood life to be that she just sort of spins a wheel, and that's what determines how your life goes on any given day. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:04.960 Some of that stuff is silly and stupid, and sometimes it's like they're close, they've discerned some truths, they just didn't have the name right. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:08.799 Jesus kind of shows up and gives us the right name and helps us understand it better. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:12.879 And so this isn't perfect, it's a metaphor, it's not a diagram for how life actually works. 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:15.919 But again, maybe it's just because of everything I've been going through lately. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:19.440 This has blessed me tremendously, and it's helped me understand peace in a different way. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:21.279 Let me break this down for you. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:27.600 This is basically there to describe all of the places you can find yourself in life on any given day. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:29.360 So there's a lot of people pictured here. 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:30.799 Let's start at the top. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.519 The person at the top, that's a person who's crushing it. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:44.240 Life is going great, everything is wonderful, life could not be better, you have more than you need, you have you have material things to meet your needs, you have friends, you have love, you have everything that you could hope for. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:46.080 Life could not be any better. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:51.279 If you go to the other side of the wheel, you get this person who's who's falling. 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:53.759 Things have been much better in the past. 00:09:53.840 --> 00:10:02.559 Now everything feels like it's in a free fall, things are falling apart, relationships are breaking, circumstances are getting worse and worse, and that person may feel panic. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:04.080 Why is this happening to me? 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:05.200 How did this happen? 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:07.440 I used to be up there, now I'm headed down here. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:08.879 What's this going to look like? 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:10.320 All kinds of questions flood the mind. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:13.600 You go all the way to the bottom and you find a person, well, at the bottom. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:15.200 Things could not be worse. 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:17.039 Everything has fallen apart. 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:24.559 Life is truly in a rock bottom place, and then you keep going along the wheel and you find someone who's climbing. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:26.320 And they're not at rock bottom anymore. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:27.200 They're they're moving up. 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:34.720 In fact, that position at the top is in sight, and they might feel excitement and joy, maybe some ambition, because they feel like things are on the up and up. 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:42.159 And the truth is, if we look at that whole image again, we could all probably point to this and go, I'm somewhere there. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.200 Either one of those four or somewhere in between. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:51.440 In fact, just for your own sake, maybe look at this for a moment and figure out where you would put yourself right now? 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:55.120 Where do you land at this moment in life? 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:00.000 But then there's Jesus in the middle. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:03.519 And this depiction has him spinning the wheel. 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:04.480 That is not how it works. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:08.960 Jesus is not in heaven right now going, let's see how your day goes, like that's not how it works. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:09.440 Okay? 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:13.039 I feel confident that that's not how it works. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:17.519 But what is true is that Jesus is in a totally different place. 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:25.360 He is not on the edges, he's not at the mercy of the chaos and all the randomness of life. 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:28.879 In this image, he's in a totally different place. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:33.279 He's in a place of stability, he's in a place of peace. 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:38.240 My wife, when I showed her this, reminded me of something I'd forgotten about. 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:46.720 We have four kids, and we often go to this park really close to where we live, and this park has this it's like a merry-go-round on steroids. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:47.840 It's really just a death trap. 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:58.799 It's one of these devices where children climb on it, but then there's this device in the middle of it that a larger child can spin really fast, and that determines how fast the wheel goes, and so small children just fly off and get injured. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:05.360 And like how it passed the safety regulation, I do not know, but from an adult's perspective, honestly, it's hilarious. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:06.879 It's just great to watch. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:10.320 Sometimes it's your kid that flies off, and you're like, they'll be okay. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:13.279 But my kids love it, they love it. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:17.360 And anytime we go to the park, they want to play on that thing and it gets spinning and it's crazy. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:20.320 And a few years ago, we were there and they were doing the normal thing and kids are flying off. 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:25.519 And our youngest, Eli, who was maybe only four at the time, he had this epiphany. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:33.600 And in the midst of all the craziness and all of our kids just screaming and trying to hold on for dear life, he made his way to the center of the wheel. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:38.799 And turns out that little mechanism that makes it all spin, in the middle of that, it doesn't move at all. 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:40.720 And he just sat on that. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:49.440 And there we are watching our four-year-old just sitting peacefully, smiling, while all the other kids are screaming and yelling, and some of them are flying off. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:54.240 That was a big moment for me and my wife, because I looked at her at that moment and said, you know, we have four kids. 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.639 We really only need one of them to be successful. 00:12:57.679 --> 00:12:58.639 Truly. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.120 And he seems like he's got some stuff figured out. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:03.279 So let's go for that. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:04.639 No, all my kids are great. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:13.919 But but he figured something out in that moment that there's a place you can be where you're not at the mercy of the chaos. 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:16.240 That's where Jesus is. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:19.360 But it wasn't always like that for Jesus. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:28.240 He came to this earth, he left heaven, he was born as a person, he didn't skip any of the hard stuff, and he experienced every aspect of life that we experienced. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.039 He's been in all of those places on the wheel. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.519 Jesus knows what it feels like to be on the up and up. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:44.320 There was a time when he was teaching and preaching and doing miracles, and people thought he was awesome, and his popularity was growing, and everywhere that he went, he was like a rock star, and people were following him, and his name was famous. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:46.480 He knows what that feels like to be on the rise. 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:49.200 Jesus knows what it feels like to be at the very top. 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:58.720 There's a famous story of him entering this city, Jerusalem, and everyone cheers for him, and they they shout to him, and they're calling him a king and a savior. 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:02.080 Jesus knows what it feels like to be on the way down. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:07.360 Not long after that, he was betrayed and abandoned by his closest friends and handed over to his enemies. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:13.519 And he definitely knows what it feels like to be at rock bottom because it doesn't get more rock bottom than dying on a cross. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:15.840 So Jesus understands all of it. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.559 Wherever you may have found yourself on that wheel earlier, he's been there. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:27.519 But then Jesus did something really different that no one else has ever done before and no one has done since. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:33.360 Because he died, and then three days later, he rose. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:36.559 He defeated death. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:39.360 He overcame it. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:40.960 He overcame everything. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:44.399 In fact, he hinted this to his disciples in John chapter 16. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:47.600 He says, I've told you all of this so that you may have peace in me. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.000 Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:52.080 In other words, that wheel is going to keep spinning. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:53.759 But take heart. 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:57.440 Because I have overcome the world. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:00.000 Jesus overcame all of it. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:01.440 Even death. 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:13.200 And when he rose again, some interesting things happened, and he described it to his disciples by saying that because he had defeated sin and death and risen, that he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:14.559 All authority. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:26.720 The book of Hebrews describes it like this the Son radiates God the Father's own glory and expresses the very character of God. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.399 And he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:38.320 When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.279 I want to focus on that last little part. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:42.720 It says that he sat down. 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:43.759 He was seated. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:47.120 And in the culture that this was written in, this meant something very specific. 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.320 It isn't just where you sit at a table or where you are physically. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:52.320 It's about where you are in life. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:58.799 To be seated in a place of honor, to be seated in a place of authority meant that you were given a status. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:04.159 That Jesus was given authority and power. 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:07.919 Like he said, I've been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:13.039 He was seated in a place of power by God, by the Father. 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.480 Think about that. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:15.919 Keep that in your mind. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:19.440 I want to read to you one more scripture. 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:26.480 In Ephesians chapter 2, this man named Paul, who's an early follower of Jesus, a leader in the early church, he wrote something really interesting. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:36.559 He said, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.200 It is by grace that you've been saved. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:47.840 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:53.120 It says that we have been seated with Jesus. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:59.440 That we've been put in that same position because of our faith in him. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:04.720 If we've given our lives to him, if we've committed to him, we've been seated with him. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:09.039 And so I want to bring back this ancient wheel of fortune one more time. 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:11.839 And again, if this is boring you to death, we are almost done, I promise. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:15.039 I asked you earlier to look at it and say, hey, where am I on this? 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:16.559 Am I at the top, at the bottom? 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:17.279 Am I falling? 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:17.920 Am I rising? 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:18.720 Am I somewhere in between? 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:21.359 I don't know where you are, but I'm sure each of us could say, I'm there. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:38.880 But what God says is that because Jesus was born, lived, died, and lived again, because of what he accomplished, and because of his love for us and what he's done for us, you're not anywhere on that wheel. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:40.400 You're seated with Jesus. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:45.680 You're in the middle, you're in a place of peace, you're in a place of security. 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.720 I've thought about that a lot in the last few weeks. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:54.799 Even on the way here, today I got a phone call and it was my cardiologist. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:55.839 I've never had one of those before. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:57.039 This is a new experience. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.440 It's fun to answer that phone call. 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:09.119 And I just have to keep reminding myself, I'm not I'm not anywhere but seated next to Christ. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:17.839 And so what that means practically is that ultimately, it doesn't really matter what the diagnosis is. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:24.319 It doesn't matter how much is in the bank account or what's in the grade book or what's in the box score. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:31.039 It doesn't matter how popular you you are or you aren't, what people around you think about you, say about you, feel about you. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:35.279 All of that stuff, that's just part of the chaos of life. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.119 That stuff changes. 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:42.640 You might be at the top, you feel great, it can all change tomorrow, but ultimately none of that matters. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:58.319 What matters is that Jesus has overcome the world, he has overcome death, and he has invited you to sit with him in a place of peace, and he has the authority to do that because he is the Prince of Peace. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:01.279 And now, each of us, we can get our hope there. 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:12.240 We get our hope from the fact that Jesus isn't like the rest of the world, he's not changing daily, he's not random, he's not chaos, he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and his love for you will never change. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:28.720 And so, day in and day out, when you wake up, when you think about life and you feel chaos and you feel uncertainty, and you feel all of that, whether it's in the world around you or the world within you, whatever is going on, you are seated with Christ. 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:51.920 He loves you, he came and was born of a virgin, he lived a blameless life, he died on your behalf, he was risen to life, he overcame everything, and he shares that victory with you, and he offers you a peace that the world cannot give, and a peace that the world cannot take away. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:20:01.359 So put all of your hope and all of your trust and all of your faith in him and be at peace. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:05.119 We're gonna finish with a few more songs. 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:09.359 So I'm gonna invite the worship team back out, and I think they've got three more. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:12.000 Now I'm gonna say this and look totally okay if you're new to his hands. 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:12.880 We don't judge people. 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:19.680 Uh if if I know there's people in the room right now that are like, hey, you're nudging someone, like, this is our chance to get out of here, beat the traffic. 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.240 If you do that, you will not be judged. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:27.920 We will know who you are, but you won't be judged. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:29.680 I mean, no, it's fine. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.799 But this is a really intentional time. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:43.920 The next 10 minutes, 15 minutes, it's an intentional time to let that peace resonate and wash over you. 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:59.759 And so my prayer for all of us here is that you would experience the peace of God because Jesus is giving you a gift this Christmas, and it is peace of heart and mind, a peace that the world cannot give, and also one that the world cannot take away. 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:07.839 So as we sing these songs, rest, relax, don't worry about all the things you have on your to-do list for the next few hours, the next day. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:15.359 Take a breath and let the peace of God wash over you and fill you. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:16.559 Let's pray. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:19.680 Father, we thank you so much for this day. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:27.200 And Jesus, we thank you for coming to this earth, for changing everything, for changing history, changing our lives. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:30.000 We thank you, Jesus, for being our Prince of Peace. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.799 We don't want to be dependent on our circumstances for peace. 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.319 We don't want to be at the mercy of that wheel. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:45.359 We want to be seated with you, stable, secure, steady, just like you are. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:52.480 Resting in the fact that we belong to you and you love us, and that will never change. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.640 We love you so much, Jesus, and we pray all this in your name on Christmas. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:58.160 Amen.