Collierville First Baptist Church

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I love that song. Don't you love that song?

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Jesus said in John chapter eight, verse 12, he said, I am the light of the world. He follows me, will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. Oh, what a wonderful Savior as Christ our Lord. He really is the light of the world. You know, there are a lot of kids in this room who are looking forward to opening their Christmas presents.

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But I want you to know that God gave some special gifts to us as the human race. He gave us the gift of hope. He gave us the gift of love. He gave us the gift of joy. And I want you to know today he's given us the gift of peace, supernatural, life altering peace. Now, you may be here today and you say, pastor, speaking of peace, I need some peace and quiet.

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Maybe that's something that a mother of small children has uttered in the past week in the in the rush of Christmas. Or maybe this is something a patient who's dealing with endless tests, scans, appointments and insurance issues has uttered. I just need some peace and quiet. Or maybe this is something that a dad who's trying to put food on the table for his family, and who is facing deadlines and relentless pressure at work.

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And he's saying, I just need some peace and quiet. Maybe you're saying that today. I just need some peace and quiet. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem entitled Christmas Bells. He wrote it on Christmas Day, 1863. Just two years earlier, his wife Frances had died in a horrible house fire. And then in March of 1863, its night, ten year old son, Charles signed up and enlisted in the Union Army without his dad's knowledge.

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He was wounded. He made his way home, and he was at home with his dad, going through a long ordeal of recovery. Two weeks later, after his son got home, Longfellow sat down to write his poem. He was filled with anxiety, the trauma of all that had been happening in his life just caved in on him. The absence of peace was very real to him.

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In the first stanzas of the the poem Christmas Bells, Wadsworth painted a rosy scene of peace on earth. But then, in the midst of the poem, there's a sudden shift. And the words get more, get darker. Listen to what he wrote in the middle of that poem. It was as if an earthquake rent the hearth stones of a continent and made for lone, forlorn the households born of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

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And in despair about my head. There is no peace on earth, I said. For hate is strong. And mocks the song of peace on earth. Goodwill to men. But in the last stanza he comes back with a ray of hope. He said. Ray wrote this in the last stanza. Then peal the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.

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The wrong shall fail. The right prevail. With peace on earth. Goodwill to men. What do we make of the angel's message to the shepherds there in the field outside of Bethlehem? They said in Luke 214. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. Obviously, if we look at, the piece that the the angel talked about, the, the world's understanding of peace is totally different than God's understanding of peace.

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The peace that he provides is not necessarily the absence of pain, presh, pressure, or problems. It is a sense of completeness and fulfillment in a believer's life. It produces a powerful sense of confidence in the Lord, and the Lord knows exactly what he's doing, and he's totally competent at handling every situation that we might face in our lives.

00:05:48:27 - 00:06:26:12
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God's peace gives us Surance that all is right in your soul. Would you bury his for just a moment? Heavenly father, I thank you that you promise peace to the inhabitants of this planet that you created. I thank you, Heavenly Father, that your peace is a very real peace. It is far better and far stronger than any kind of peace we could ever make for ourselves on this planet.

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And Heavenly Father, I pray today that through the Holy Spirit's ministry, you would speak through me, and you would make your peace come alive in our hearts. And I pray that we would not just know about it. I pray we would experience your peace this Christmas season. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Now, the thing I want you to remember is this peace is possible.

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Peace is possible that you may look at your made, and you may look at your friend that you're sitting by. Say, it looks impossible to me, but I tell you, in Christ peace is possible. And today I want to just unpack for you four kinds of peace that God provides for us today. The first one is the most important one, and it is spiritual peace.

00:07:28:04 - 00:08:04:08
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Spiritual peace. Some of you in this room, or maybe you're watching live stream, you feel as if there's a rift between you and the God who created you in your mother's womb, your heart and your soul are endlessly bombarded with guilt and with doubts. Now, this first kind of peace is super important. Without spiritual peace, you will never experience hope, love, or joy.

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This peace is incredibly real and powerful. I want you to look into this truth in Romans chapter five one and two. Listen to what Paul wrote. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we exalt in hope of the glory of God.

00:08:41:05 - 00:09:14:01
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Do you see that reference to the peace with God? Every person on this planet is is separated from God. There is there's a legitimate rift between us and God, and it's caused by something that the world denies. And the world tries to cancel this idea. It's the idea of sin s And the Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

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I don't care who you are. I don't care how religious you are. I don't care how many good works you might stack up in your life. I tell you, on the authority of God's Word that the Bible says there is a legitimate rift between you and God. The Bible says that there's a hostility that exists between us and God.

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The Bible says that we are enemies of God, enemies of God. Is there any hope for us? Is there any way that the God of heaven would forgive us and give us new life in Christ? New hope? No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we can't create this peace with God. It's impossible in and of ourselves.

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You see, God pursued peace with us by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to this planet 2000 years ago. Jesus, God's Son, lived as a human being for 33 years on this planet. God sent Jesus to us so that we could understand who God is and what God wants out of our lives, and how he wants to bless us.

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Jesus lived a perfect life. For 33 years, Jesus did something that none of us could ever pull off. Jesus lived without ever committing a single solitary sin. And therefore, at the age of 33, Jesus was able to go to the cross of Calvary. And God the Father took our sin and our guilt and laid it upon the broad shoulders of His Son.

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And God the Father punished His son in our place, who died in our place. So that we could be forgiven and have new life in him. You see, Jesus was willing to offer his blood and his body as payment for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God. And Jesus was raised from the dead three days after he died.

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The Bible says in Romans that he was raised from the dead for our justified location, so that we would be declared not guilty by God, so that we could know with absolute certainty that God the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf. And Jesus is alive. He's seated on heaven's throne. And our Bible says that one day he's coming again.

00:12:01:10 - 00:12:30:02
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He is coming again. Jesus is our peace. He is our peace. To receive spiritual peace, you must. Number one. You must confess your sin to God. You must submit to God. God, I'm a sinner. I can't save myself. I can't remove this barrier between me and you. And then you have to be willing to turn from that sin.

00:12:30:02 - 00:13:02:05
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This call repentance. And the Bible. You got to repent of your sin. And number three, you must place your faith and trust in Jesus as your Savior and your Lord. Now, if you do that, look what the Bible says again in Romans chapter five verse one. Therefore, having been justified means declared not guilty by what? By faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

00:13:02:05 - 00:13:30:09
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Jesus is our peace. Our peace with God. So peace is possible. So what does this peace with God mean? It means that all of your sins are forgiven. If you believe in Jesus. It means that you never have to live with the fear of death ever again in your life, because Jesus had died in your place, and he promises you life eternal.

00:13:30:11 - 00:14:08:28
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You see, peace really is possible. It begins with spiritual peace. And then comes another kind of peace. It's a peace that everybody in this room has an opportunity to appropriate at any moment in your life. It's called personal peace. Peace is something that everybody wants. Yet few seem to find it. In July 2022, the U.S. government launched the 988 Mental Health Lifeline.

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People experiencing mental health stress could simply call or text 988 to speak to a trained responder, according to the study. Since then, 988 has received five oh excuse me, 9.5 million calls. Text chats, including 500,000 in 1 month alone. Now, once you have peace with God and so many people are living their lives even as believers, without this personal peace.

00:14:47:22 - 00:15:11:29
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But once you have it, it makes all the difference in your lives. In John 1427, Jesus looked into the eyes of his disciples. These men had followed him for three years. They had banked their whole lives on the fact that he was the King of the Jews, and that his kingdom was coming, and they were going to be a part of his kingdom.

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And they thought it was going to be very, very quickly. But in the upper room, just before he died, Jesus looked into their eyes and told them that he was going to die and that he would be resurrected from the dead. And he told them this. He said, you can't follow me now. Can you imagine what that did to those disciples?

00:15:41:00 - 00:16:07:20
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And then he said this to them in John 1427 he said, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. So Jesus promised them a special kind of peace, his kind of peace given to those disciples. In a moment of great heartache.

00:16:07:22 - 00:16:33:12
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In Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven, Paul wrote, be anxious for nothing, and in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Notice it's not peace with God now. It's the peace of God.

00:16:33:15 - 00:17:06:23
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And it is given to men, women, boys and girls who place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul said that it surpasses comprehension. In other words, nobody can understand this kind of peace. It's otherworldly. It's supernatural. Now, let me give you an illustration. I want you to remember when Jesus sent the disciples from the Sea of Galilee before Jesus was crucified.

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You remember they were in a boat and there was a ferocious storm on the Sea of Galilee. And the boat was taking in water. And where was Jesus? What was he doing? He was in the front of the boat asleep. He was asleep. And the disciples woke him up. Imagine Peter waking Jesus up and wake up. Jesus, don't you understand?

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We're all about to die.

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And Jesus raised up. And with no anxiety whatsoever.

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He said to the winds in the waves. Peace, be still. And the Sea of Galilee became like a sea of glass. And those disciples said, who is this, that even the winds and the waves obey him. Now fast forward. We've seen Peter in the upper room where Jesus says, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you.

00:18:15:09 - 00:18:51:12
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Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Now let's fast forward even further. Jesus has resurrected from the dead. He's alive. He's ascended back to heaven and the disciples have launched the church. They have received the gift of the Holy Spirit of God. And in acts chapter 12, the Bible says that the authorities, the religious authorities arrested James, the brother of John, and they had him.

00:18:51:12 - 00:19:22:20
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Herod had his head taken off. He was beheaded. And then, because Herod seemed to like the fact that the religious leaders really, really enjoyed seeing a guy's head cut off, especially a follower of Jesus. They arrested Peter. And so Peter's in prison and he chained to soldiers. He's chained. Is fader chained? And you know what Peter's doing the next day?

00:19:22:23 - 00:19:50:06
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It looks like he's going to have his head removed, too. You know what he's doing in acts chapter 12? He's sound asleep. He's asleep. And an angel is sent by God to deliver him from prison and from impending death. And do you know what the angel has to do when he comes into Peter's cell? He has to nudge you.

00:19:50:08 - 00:20:32:23
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He has to wake him up. So wake up, Peter. Let's get out of here. And sure enough, they get out of there, and Peter realizes that he has been visited by an angel and that God has delivered him from impending death. Now, the reason I tell you that story, I wanted you to see how Peter reacted to trouble and trials before the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and how he'd reacted to trouble and trials after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and after he received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

00:20:32:26 - 00:21:09:28
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That, my friend, is peace. When you can sleep, knowing that your head may be removed the very next morning. That is supernatural. That's the peace of God gets it. Now, Jesus promised believers the same peace that kept him calm in the face of mockery, scorn, hostility, hatred, betrayal, and even death. The same peace, my peace I give to you.

00:21:10:01 - 00:21:39:12
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You may be here today, and your heart is absolutely full of anxiety and worry. And I tell you, my friend, that Jesus promises you the same peace that kept him calm in the midst of his trials, in the midst of his approaching death on the cross. It's for you. So what's the key? How do you appropriate that kind of peace?

00:21:39:15 - 00:22:09:14
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When you're full of anxiety and worry? Well, one of the keys is abiding in Jesus. Turning to Jesus, we talked about believing in Jesus. When we talked about peace with God. But it's also important that your faith remains strong and healthy after you believe in Jesus and you trust him even in the midst of the most adverse circumstances that you've ever seen in your life.

00:22:09:16 - 00:22:41:11
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And you stay close to him by reading your Bible, by praying, by coming to church, by interacting with other believers and serving the Lord in and through the body of Christ. You see, peace really is possible. It begins with spiritual peace. And then comes personal peace. And then comes a third kind of peace relational peace, getting along with other people.

00:22:41:14 - 00:23:09:24
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Let me ask you, do you have a problem getting along with other people? Do you? Do you have somebody in your family that when they show up for the Christmas festivities, you begin to walk on eggshells because you never know what's going to come out of their mouth? You never know what they're going to say or do, and it just puts everybody on guard.

00:23:09:26 - 00:23:43:00
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It seemed like every family has at least one of those people. Hey, I read about a peanuts cartoon and Lucy was saying to Charlie Brown, I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world. And Charlie says to her, but I thought you had inner peace. And Lucy replied, I do have inner peace, but I still have outer obnoxiousness.

00:23:43:02 - 00:24:12:18
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Maybe you've got some people in your family, and there's a lot of outer obnoxiousness in their lives. How do you deal with that? How can you have relational peace with somebody that desires no peace? Well, it comes from the Lord himself. I want to tell you that God can do something very special in your life. He can give you a special kind of peace that will enable you to have victory.

00:24:12:18 - 00:24:39:27
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In those moments when the outer obnoxiousness of that person really begins to grate on your nerves. I'm telling Jesus can do that for you. You see, peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit of God. Listen to these verses. Romans chapter 12, verse 18, if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

00:24:40:00 - 00:25:09:10
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See, now you can't control what other people do. You can't control what the Lucys in your family does. You can't control it. But you can control your reaction and your response to it. Right? So the Bible says, when it comes to you, be at peace with all men. Romans 1419. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

00:25:09:13 - 00:25:57:15
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Second Corinthians chapter 13, verse 11. Finally, brethren, rejoice. Be made complete. Be comforted. Be like minded. Live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. Ephesians chapter four, verses 1 to 3. Listen to it. This is for, for, for you and me. As we enter into our Christmas festivities with our family. Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another, and love being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit.

00:25:57:16 - 00:26:36:01
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Listen in the bond of peace. So what can we do? How can we have this relational peace when we're dealing with somebody that knows how to get on our nerves? How do we do it? Well, here he tells us, right here. Be humble. Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Show tolerance for the other person in love. Do you realize that you can love people that are hard to love?

00:26:36:04 - 00:27:08:09
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You know how you love people that's hard to love. You ask the Holy Spirit to love them through you. To give you patience. To give you tolerance, to help you do everything in your power to be at peace with that person. Our Lord's supernatural tranquility can stand guard over your heart, your mind, and even your tongue. Even in situations that are filled with turmoil and anxiety.

00:27:08:16 - 00:27:51:05
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Peace is possible. It begins with spiritual peace, and then it results in personal peace and then relational peace. But here's the fourth kind of peace. It's going to be the peace that blows your mind. It's universal peace. Believe it or not, the Bible promises that in the future, the entire world will experience lasting peace. Now listen, this lasting peace is not going to come through some kind of you in treaty.

00:27:51:08 - 00:28:23:25
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It's not going to come as a result of a politician that gathers other world leaders around them and hammers out a peace agreement. That's not not the kind of peace we're talking about here. It's not going to come by some kind of utopia that's created by the smartest people in the world. That's not going to happen. It won't be because of, I promise you, light, spiritual peace and personal peace and relational peace.

00:28:23:27 - 00:29:10:14
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This universal peace comes only through. Are you ready? It comes only through the Prince of Peace. Only through the Prince of Peace. Let me give you a prophecy that was written over 700 years ago, 700 years before Christ was incarnated. It was written by Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah. And chapter nine, verse six and seven said, for a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

00:29:10:16 - 00:29:36:11
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There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness. From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. But you say, pastor, it looks impossible. Look at what's happening in the world today.

00:29:36:14 - 00:30:13:15
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This morning I jumped on a computer and I went to a website called the Global Peace Index. The Global Peace Index 2024. Here's what it revealed. There are currently 56 conflicts. The most since World War two. 92 countries are involved in conflicts outside their own borders. The rising cost as a result of this wars and rumors of wars has increased food insecurity and political instability globally.

00:30:13:19 - 00:30:48:28
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With Africa, South Asia and the Middle East under the greatest threat? And you say, pastor, do you really believe that one day on this planet there's going to be universal, lasting peace? I do believe that because I believe that the prophecy of Isaiah is going to be realized in fulfillment one day, and King Jesus us will rule and reign on this planet for a thousand years called the Millennial Kingdom.

00:30:49:00 - 00:31:14:06
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And all the nations will come and they will worship King Jesus, and he will rule the world, and the world will be without brokenness, without hate, without injustice, without division, without war, without disease, without death, without brokenness. All of that will be totally eliminated. And then after that thousand year reign, then Jesus is going to create new heavens and a new earth.

00:31:14:09 - 00:31:30:05
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And it's going to be perfect, a perfect utopia forever. You say that's a pipe dream? No, it's not a pipe dream. Jesus, promise it and Jesus will deliver it one day. I promise you.

00:31:30:07 - 00:32:05:22
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So I want you to know peace is possible. Peace is possible. Let me ask you a question. Do you have spiritual peace? Is there peace between you and God, or do you still sense there's a rift between you and God, a distance between you and God? Well, that distance is there because of your sin. Are you willing today to confess to God that you're a sinner?

00:32:05:24 - 00:32:32:02
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Are you willing today to ask God to forgive your sin and to cleanse you and give you victory in your life? Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to place your faith and trust in Christ alone? In just a moment, we're going to stand and we're going to worship. We're going to give you an opportunity to do just that.

00:32:32:04 - 00:33:00:02
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I hope and pray that today you will experience spiritual peace for yourself. And then what about what about, personal peace? The peace of God. Are you filled with anxiety and fear today? Are you? You don't have to live life that if you're born again believer, you do not have to live like that. You can live with freedom.

00:33:00:04 - 00:33:32:02
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You can live victoriously. Why? Because Christ has made available to every believer in this room. His peace. His peace. Not the world's kind of peace, but his peace. And I'm going to ask you today to leave your seats in just a moment. Come to this altar, bow before the Lord, and just ask him to take away your anxiety, take away your fears, and fill you with his supernatural peace.

00:33:32:04 - 00:34:01:28
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The peace of God. John 1633 Jesus said this to his disciples. These things I have spoken to you, so that in me. You may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage. I have overcome the world. So I ask you, do you have spiritual peace? Do you have personal peace? Are you experiencing relational peace in your relationships?

00:34:02:05 - 00:34:30:17
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Is there somebody that you need to forgive? Is there somebody that you need to call and say, look, I'm sorry I said that. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have done that. I pray that you will experience relational peace this Christmas in your family relationships. And let me ask you this. Are you looking forward to this universal peace that only Christ can provide?

00:34:30:19 - 00:34:50:14
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Oh, that's going to be a wonderful thing. It's going to be a wonderful day. Do you realize the Bible says that one day every knee will bow, every tongue will confess? Of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth. And every tongue will say that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Oh, it's going to be a wonderful day.

00:34:50:16 - 00:35:11:02
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I hope and pray you'll be a part of his kingdom. That you'll look forward to his kingdom. That you will anticipate it every single day. That he allows you to live. So I'm going to ask our staff to come. I'm going to ask our worship team to come, and we're going to have a time where we're going to worship the Lord.

00:35:11:05 - 00:35:40:24
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And this is your chance to come to a staff member and just say this, hey, I need this spiritual peace. I need to have peace with God through Jesus, and we'll help you with that decision. Or maybe it's relational peace, or maybe it's personal peace or the anticipation of universal. But you come allow God to work in your heart today.

00:35:40:27 - 00:36:08:27
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Don't miss this opportunity. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for our time of worship today. I thank you for the worship, the music and prayer. I thank you for the worship that we've had through the Word of God today and I pray. Heavenly father, that your peace, the peace of Christ, will reign supreme in our hearts, in our lives.

00:36:08:27 - 00:37:31:10
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I pray for that person who needs spiritual peace, for that person who needs personal peace and relational peace and universal peace. Oh God in heaven, I pray that you work powerfully in their hearts today and you would accomplish your purpose in Jesus name. Amen. Let's stand and worship and you come as a Lord. Large.