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Peace – Timothy Keller [Sermon] — Transcript

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0:00the scripture this morning is from
0:03Paul's letter to the Philippians chapter
0:05four verses four through 12 rejoice in
0:11the Lord always I will say it again
0:16rejoice let the gentleness of your be
0:21evident to all the Lord is near do not
0:25be anxious about anything but in
0:28everything by prayer and petition with
0:31Thanksgiving present your requests to
0:34God and the peace of God which
0:38transcends all understanding will guard
0:42your hearts and your minds in Christ
0:45Jesus finally brothers whatever is true
0:51whatever is noble whatever is right
0:55whatever is pure whatever is lovely
0:58whatever is admirable if anything is
1:03excellent or praiseworthy think about
1:05such things whatever you have learned or
1:10received or heard from me or seen in me
1:14put it into practice and the God of
1:18peace will be with you I rejoice greatly
1:22in the Lord that at last you have
1:25renewed your concern for me indeed you
1:28have been concerned but you had no
1:30opportunity to show it I am NOT saying
1:34this because I am in need for I have
1:37learned to be content whatever the
1:39circumstances I know what it is to be in
1:43need and I know what it is to have
1:46plenty I have learned this secret of
1:50being content in any and every situation
1:53whether well fed or hungry whether
1:56living in plenty or in want this is the
2:02word of the Lord
2:05the premise of the Bible is that there's
2:08a difference between a morally
2:10restrained heart and a supernaturally
2:13changed heart there's a difference
2:15between controlling suppressing the
2:19natural self-centeredness and insecurity
2:23of the heart through willpower and
2:26seeing it permanently change through the
2:29power of the holy spirit and in the book
2:34of Galatians chapter five there's a list
2:36of the traits characteristics of a
2:38supernaturally changed heart
2:40they're called the fruit of the Spirit
2:41love joy peace patience it's a classic
2:44list and each week we're taking one of
2:46those traits and taking a passage the
2:51scripture that describes it and trying
2:53to come to understand how we can have
2:55more that supernaturally changed heart
2:57in our own our own lives today we look
3:01at peace peace and we're going to learn
3:06three things from this classic passage
3:08the character of peace the disciplines
3:11the three disciplines of getting peace
3:13and the secret Paul uses that word the
3:17secret of peace okay the character of
3:20peace the disciplines of peace and the
3:22secret of peace now the opposite of joy
3:28is sadness or despair does grief but the
3:33opposite of peace is anxiety fear and
3:38debilitating worry so you see here in
3:40verse 6 it says don't be anxious about
3:43anything and the antidote is the peace
3:47of God by the way this word anxious is
3:51not the normal it's it's not normal care
3:53and concern if you love somebody if you
3:55love something if you love anything you
3:58have the burden of love and concern that
3:59comes without automatically but this is
4:01a word that actually means to be torn up
4:03to be torn into pieces by debilitating
4:07worry and fear so what is this peace of
4:10God two things just to start two things
4:13that Paul tells us about it
4:15first it's an inner calm and equilibrium
4:19because they're here down at the bottom
4:21verse 11
4:2312 he says I've learned how to be
4:25content in whatever circumstance I've
4:27learned the secret of being content in
4:29every situation which is to say I'm the
4:32same in one situation as the other
4:35that's poised equilibrium an inner calm
4:38and for a second let's think about his
4:40circumstances see you and I here in New
4:46York we spend money in order to get
4:49poised you spend money on pills spend
4:53money on therapy you spend money on and
4:56these things you know are things that
4:58might maybe we need but we're trying to
5:01get at the poise the equipoise to face
5:04what you know our bills competition the
5:10boss our date or lack of dates one of
5:14the what you're doing is these are the
5:16things that we're that we're nervous
5:18about and we're anxious about it work
5:19and we're really working at it and Paul
5:21is facing torture and death he's in
5:23prison and he's saying I've learned the
5:26secret of being able to smile at that
5:29and look carefully does Paul say you
5:33know why I can smile in the face of
5:35torture and death because I'm just that
5:36kind of guy I'm a tough cookie no see
5:40that's that's talent see talent is
5:43something that you were born with there
5:45you've got it I'm just one of those guys
5:47he doesn't say that I've learned this he
5:48said I've learned it what does that mean
5:50it's not natural to me in fact it's not
5:52natural to you either I have learned it
5:56this calm so that I've got this
5:58equilibrium in any situation but that's
6:01not the only thing the second thing Paul
6:03tells us about the character this piece
6:04it's not just an absence of fear it's
6:08the presence of something in particular
6:11it's a sense of being protected because
6:15that doesn't come out as well in English
6:18as it should it says in verse 7 the
6:20peace of God will guard your hearts and
6:23your minds the word guard is a military
6:26word it's a very vivid word
6:28means to take a bunch of soldiers to
6:30take an army and surround a city with
6:33the army to protect it from invasion so
6:37if you have an army out there you sleep
6:39really well you know there's a whole
6:41army out there I don't have to worry
6:42about Marauders or anybody you know I go
6:45to sleep at night and this is getting at
6:48something very important and we'll see
6:50this in a minute both in the ancient
6:52times and in modern times when people
6:54try to give advice on how to be calm
6:57they almost always talk about removing
7:03certain thoughts don't think about that
7:06don't think that don't think those
7:07negative thoughts stop thinking about
7:09that stop think about that control your
7:11thoughts you know expel the negative
7:14thoughts that's how you get calm but
7:17here we see the peace of God is not the
7:20absence of some thoughts it's the
7:22presence of God himself the God of peace
7:26will be with you
7:29Christian peace is not expelling
7:33negative thoughts the problem with
7:34expelling negative thoughts is what
7:36you're really doing there is you're just
7:39refusing to face how bad things are you
7:42know you're not being realistic okay I'm
7:45going to get calm by not by not facing
7:47the facts well essentially Christian
7:49peace is not that you stop facing the
7:51fast facts but you get something in your
7:53life a living power that comes into your
7:54life that enables you to triumph over
7:56those facts lifts you up over and
7:59through them and it's a sense of being
8:02protected and you know I I you lots of
8:08us have experience I think lots of
8:09believers experienced it's this peace of
8:12God but in the situations that I have
8:15been present as a pastor usually where
8:19I've seen people experience this peace
8:23of God that passes that transcends
8:27understanding that goes beyond anything
8:29we can really account for I've seen some
8:32people in horrible situations tragic
8:34situations in some cases having faced
8:37some violent death of a loved one
8:39unlooked-for
8:40that's just the worst kind of situation
8:42to be in and ordinarily when you're
8:45you're cruising along in life and
8:47suddenly somebody who you loved here is
8:48just ripped out of your life
8:50violent at that time you feel
8:52unprotected you feel vulnerable you feel
8:53like exposed you feel like you feel a
8:56you know ravaged and yet sometimes I've
9:00seen Christians experience exactly the
9:02opposite they feel during times like
9:04that protected like everything somehow
9:07they have a sense that God is with them
9:09and everything is going to be okay they
9:13feel protected they know exactly how bad
9:16things are but they've got something
9:17that enables them to triumph over it if
9:20you've ever been on a coast and seen in
9:24a storm and seen the waves come in and
9:26hit the rocks sometimes the waves are so
9:28huge that it covers some rock you might
9:31be watching and you say that's the end
9:33of that rock no way that rocks going to
9:34be there and when the ways recedes
9:36recede there it is hasn't budged an inch
9:39and Paul is like that if you read his
9:43life wave after wave
9:45you know he's beaten he's stoned he's
9:48flogged
9:49he's shipwrecked they're after him
9:51they're trying to kill him he's betrayed
9:53wave after wave after wave and it's a
9:55plain historical fact he's right when he
9:57said I have found a way to be completely
10:00poised under any circumstances he's the
10:04rock all the waves of life could not
10:07break him and he says this isn't a
10:09natural talent you can learn this so
10:11that's the character of Christian peace
10:13it's an inner calm and an equilibrium
10:15that comes from that but also a sense of
10:17God's presence and almost a reason
10:20transcending sense of his protection
10:22number one number two what then are the
10:26disciplines by which you can develop
10:28this peace because actually Paul's
10:29giving lots of advice in here lots of
10:32advice on how you can develop this peace
10:35and have this peace of God - and there's
10:39three disciplines and I'll name them
10:41thinking thanking and loving I know the
10:46third one should be a th but I couldn't
10:48figure it out thinking thanking and love
10:52thinking notice verse eight he says
10:56brethren whatever is true whatever is
10:58noble whatever is right whatever is pure
11:00think on these things and the God of
11:03peace will be with you so the first
11:04thing is thinking and this is really
11:06important really important let's take a
11:09look at the first three of this long
11:11list think about whatever is true noble
11:15right now that sounds pretty general
11:19generic doesn't it whatever it's true
11:21noble right but when Paul this is Paul
11:23and when Paul uses these words these
11:25particular greek words in the pauline
11:27corpus and his writings he's talking
11:30about doctrine he's talking about the
11:34teaching of the Bible about God about
11:36sin and about Christ and about salvation
11:39about the world and human nature and
11:41God's plans for the world and the plan
11:43of salvation that's what he's talking
11:44about and this is amazing he's saying if
11:50you want peace think about doctoring
11:52think about what you know about life and
11:55about God and about and this is so
11:58completely different than what you're
12:00going to find if you walk into it
12:01Barnes Noble or a Borders bookstore and
12:03you go to the place on anxiety worry
12:06stress dealing with stress how to relax
12:08and you get out a book and here's what
12:11the will never do never none of these
12:14books will ever say so you're stressed
12:16your own hat you know anxious let's
12:18start by asking the big questions what
12:21is the meaning of life what are you
12:23really here for what's your life all
12:25about where have you come from and where
12:28are you going you know I mean what
12:30should human being spend their time
12:31doing never you think that's going to
12:33relieve stress to a modern New Yorker of
12:36course not why here's why they go right
12:40the technique they never ask you to
12:42think they never say let's think about
12:44the big questions you know what's life
12:45all about let's let's put things in
12:47perspective never they go to techniques
12:48they go to they go to relaxation
12:50techniques they go to work rest balance
12:54for example they'll say look a couple of
12:56times you know every quarter go
12:59somewhere sit on a beach look at the
13:01surf and just bracket out and stop
13:02worrying about thinking about every
13:04just or they'll give you thought control
13:06techniques about dealing with negative
13:08thoughts the negative emotions guilt
13:10thoughts and so forth they will never
13:11tell you to think they'll tell you to
13:12actually go right the technique here's
13:15why let me read you - you don't want to
13:19where I'm going for a second but they
13:21read you two interesting quotes here's
13:22Charles Darwin and Charles Darwin said
13:26quote a person who has no assured belief
13:31in the existence of a personal God and
13:33no belief in a future existence with
13:37retribution or reward such a person can
13:40have for his rule of life as far as I
13:42see only to follow whatever impulses and
13:45instincts are the strongest or whatever
13:49seems to him to be the best ones Oliver
13:55Wendell Holmes jr. you know great the
13:58Supreme Court justice quite a formidable
14:00intellectual mid early 20th century and
14:03one of in his personal correspondence he
14:06once wrote this to a friend he says
14:08there is no reason for attributing to a
14:10man a significance different in kind
14:13from that which belongs to a baboon or a
14:15grain of sand the world has produced me
14:19and the rattlesnake but I will kill it
14:23if I get the chance and the only reason
14:24is because it is incongruous to the
14:27world I want the world everyone is
14:30trying to make according to one's own
14:32power now by the way Oliver Wendell
14:35Holmes got a lot of heat for this
14:37he's the Supreme Court justice you know
14:39and he says you know there is no
14:41rational reason to say that human being
14:43and a human being is really more
14:45valuable more significant than an animal
14:48or a rock oh my gosh people have gone
14:51but you know what his his biographers
14:53have said you know he's just working out
14:55the implications if you don't believe in
14:56God this is what Darwin is saying is
14:58that you don't believe in God and you
15:00believe you're here by accident and when
15:02you die your rot that's it and when the
15:06Sun dies everything goes away I mean and
15:08therefore nothing that human beings have
15:10ever tried to accomplish what amounts
15:11anything okay what are the implications
15:15of that
15:16one of them is there is no right and
15:18wrong you may feel there's right and
15:20wrong Darwin says you may have a feeling
15:22but your feelings shouldn't trump
15:23anybody else's you can feel it but there
15:26is no right and wrong there's really no
15:28way to tell people how they ought to
15:29live Holmes is right ultimately what a
15:33human being is is just we've we're the
15:35product of these forces and we're going
15:37to go away someday and what's to say
15:38that you know may feel more significant
15:40than an animal or a rock but you're not
15:42and what the biographer said was Holmes
15:44was simply thinking out the implications
15:48of not believing there's a God or
15:49there's a purpose in life well I know
15:52plenty of New Yorkers that have the same
15:54beliefs lots of the same people have the
15:58same beliefs that is they have the same
16:00beliefs a they don't think there's a God
16:02I think things are here by accident but
16:03they would say to think about it like
16:05that to work out the implications is
16:06morbid okay look fine that that's fine
16:12to say let's not think out the
16:14implications it's morbid but I want you
16:16to see what you're doing you're getting
16:18your piece by not thinking out the
16:22implications of your beliefs
16:23whereas Paul is saying Christian peace
16:25is exactly the opposite Christian peace
16:27comes from thinking out the implications
16:29thinking see what what are the true and
16:33the right what what are what's the
16:35Christian doctrine God there's a God and
16:38he made us for fellowship with him and
16:41he created a perfect world you know a
16:44perfect world and which is no sorrow or
16:46disease or death originally and he
16:49wanted to live with us in it and of
16:51course it's gone all wrong and we've
16:52turned from him and the world is broken
16:54but he's sent his son into the world to
16:56rescue us and he's preparing a new
16:58heavens and new earth we're going to
16:59live with him forever look at your value
17:02look at the fact that the future is
17:04secure now what does that mean if you
17:07are a Christian today and you believe
17:09all that doctrine and you're not at
17:11peace
17:11you're not thinking and that's something
17:14you're not thinking see there's a stupid
17:18piece and then there's a smart piece let
17:22me tie the stupid piece stupid pieces
17:24ohoho to the bottle I go to heal my
17:26heart and drown my woe
17:28now what's that
17:29a couple I'm gonna pop a cork I'm going
17:31to sit under a tree I'm going to look at
17:33the surf and I'm not going to think I'm
17:34going to Brack it out see if I think
17:36about all the things that are going
17:37wrong in life and in the world I'm just
17:39going to bracket it I'm not going to
17:40think as much but the Paulo cent if
17:42you're a Christian you don't bracket out
17:44you you bracket in you think big big
17:48picture everything's going to be okay
17:51you know if you really believe just the
17:54basic Christian truth and you think it
17:57and think it and think about it you're
17:59going to get peace and if you don't have
18:00peace you're not thinking there's stupid
18:03peace in there smart peace and
18:04Christians peace is not by making
18:06yourself stupid it's by making yourself
18:08as as aware of your beliefs as
18:10thoughtful as possible that's only
18:14number one because if you first learn
18:15the discipline of thinking then secondly
18:17there's the discipline of thinking
18:19because see how very important that is
18:22in verse six Paul says don't be anxious
18:24okay don't be anxious fine well then
18:27what should we be doing but make
18:30requests to God with Thanksgiving so
18:34Thanksgiving is put against anxiety but
18:36look carefully here it's a little
18:38counterintuitive isn't it see what we
18:41would say is you make your requests to
18:43God and then you get your requests and
18:46if you get your requests you think
18:48that's not what it says
18:50it says you thank him as you make the
18:53request well why should I thank him
18:56because I'm making the request John I
18:58want to wait and sit until he so I see
19:00what he's going to do no Paul says
19:02you're never going to be content unless
19:04you make your request you that means you
19:07acknowledge that life is in his hands
19:08and you thank him for whatever he's
19:10going to do you're never going to get
19:14contentment unless you see this now this
19:15is this is a this is a heading you might
19:17say subheading under thinking that's why
19:19I put it thinking then thanking but now
19:21listen we already talked about this God
19:24has not did not make the world to be a
19:26world filled with sorrow and death and
19:29violence and suffering but he's got a
19:34plan he's got a plan to renew it he's
19:37got a plan to get it back
19:39and the plan is put in the abstract in
19:43Romans 8:28 where it says if you love
19:46God God is working everything together
19:48for good in your life
19:49absolutely everything even the bad
19:51things even the things that he hates the
19:53things that he didn't put into this
19:54world he is going to weave into a plan a
19:58tapestry he's going to put everything
20:00together and he's going to weave it all
20:01together for your good in his glory
20:03that's an abstraction here's the
20:06concrete on the day that Jesus Christ
20:10was crucified all of his friends would
20:14have looked up and at him and said I
20:15can't believe this the good he was doing
20:18the people he was healing the people's
20:20lives he was changing I can't believe
20:23this happened I can't believe that these
20:25charges were trumped up I can't believe
20:27they're doing this i N and you would
20:28have said I can't believe that God could
20:30bring anything good out of this you
20:33would have gone home slender's
20:34absolutely no way God could bring
20:35anything good out of this and you were
20:37looking straight at the greatest thing
20:39God has ever done toward the redemption
20:42of the world but you couldn't get it
20:44into your little brain at the moment as
20:46to how that could possibly be and God is
20:49saying that is just the the prime
20:52example of what I'm doing in everybody's
20:55life even the terrible things that are
20:59happening to you I'm working out for
21:01good you know now that you know I'm only
21:04saying this because I'm like a little
21:05dog a little rat and when I push down a
21:07bar and I get food I push it again so
21:10I'll tell you the story again because
21:11you always like it you know the most
21:13vivid example of this for me was when
21:16you know in my early twenties I prayed
21:18for a year oh there's a girl that I
21:20wanted to date and she was breaking up
21:22with me I was a girl I was thinking of
21:23marrying and she wanted to break up with
21:24me I was all week all year I said Lord
21:27don't let her break up with me of course
21:28was the wrong girl wasn't the one
21:31sitting out here looking at me with a
21:32grin on her face right now
21:35but I actually helped God I mean I
21:38actually put I did what I could to help
21:40God with the prayer because she was that
21:42one summer near the very end of the
21:44relationship she was working at a Pope
21:47you know a resort for the summer in a
21:49Poconos and I got a job as a short-order
21:51cook at the same resort I was saying
21:54Lord I'm making this as easy as possible
21:56for you
21:56you know I've asked for this prayer and
21:59I'm just you know I'm taking the
22:00distance down everything but I look back
22:03at it God was saying my son when a child
22:07of mine makes a request I always give
22:13that person what he or she would have
22:16asked for if they knew everything I know
22:20do you believe that to the degree you
22:23believe that you're going to have peace
22:24and if you don't believe it you don't
22:28have peace and whose fault is that is it
22:32God's see make your requests known with
22:39Thanksgiving so there's thinking that's
22:42the first discipline and if you if you
22:43do that then thanking is a second
22:45discipline but loving loving is the last
22:48one and where do we get that well notice
22:52Paul doesn't just say think on what is
22:54true what is noble what is right and by
22:56the way you know where it says think
22:57about such things that that is the Greek
23:01word there means to drill down it means
23:04to ponder it means to not over chew over
23:06meditate it doesn't just mean think
23:09about it just it means it just means you
23:13know just continually pound these things
23:17into your head but see the first three
23:19have more to do with the mind whatever
23:21is true whatever is noble whatever is
23:23right but then look whatever is lovely
23:26whatever is admirable whatever is
23:28excellent this is attraction this is
23:32love he says not enough just to think on
23:36the right things it's also important to
23:38love the right thing and here we have to
23:41go to San Agustin San Agustin great
23:43Christian thinker live in the third and
23:45fourth century he
23:47completely aware profoundly aware of the
23:52problem in Greek philosophy and it had
23:55been for years in fact Paul's referring
23:57to it the great problem is how can you
24:01live a life of contentment and the Greek
24:06word for that was at Arak eeeh and
24:08that's the very word Paul uses twice in
24:1111 and 12 he says I've learned I've got
24:13the adder akhiya it means to be
24:15independent of circumstances it means to
24:17have this poise it means to have this
24:18power and not to be upset devastated you
24:23know melted down freaking out over
24:25anything
24:26always poised and of course as you might
24:30guess the Philosopher's that really work
24:32that out were the Stoics and what the
24:35Stoics taught was the reason why most
24:38people are not able to live contented
24:40you know lives of equilibrium is that
24:43they they love the wrong things you
24:47should never love success if you set
24:50your heart and success even if you get
24:52successful you'll always be anxious
24:53you'll never have peace because you'll
24:54be afraid you love losing it and of
24:56course if you don't get it you'll even
24:57be worse and you shouldn't set your
24:59heart primarily on family because even
25:02if you get a good family you'll always
25:03be worried about it you always be
25:04anxious you see for something to go
25:06wrong with the family and if something
25:08does go wrong with the family you you
25:09know you'll be devastated so that the
25:11philosophers were saying here's the
25:12problem you're loving things that you're
25:14not in control of and therefore they
25:17said don't you dare give your heart to
25:19anything but your own virtue that's what
25:23the philosopher said that's what
25:24certainly the stoic said most of them
25:27because the virtue is something you can
25:29control you can't control success it has
25:32so much to do with circumstances you
25:33can't control your family things can go
25:36wrong with your family you can't control
25:37this you can't control that so don't set
25:39your heart on anything you can't control
25:40that's what they said and then you will
25:42know tranquility set your heart only on
25:46your own virtue you can be courageous
25:48you can be have integrity you can be
25:50honest
25:51set your heart only on the only thing
25:53that should really truly make you
25:55content is to know that you are being
25:57the person you want to be that you're
25:58that's under your control nothing else
26:00and San Agustin said you guys have
26:02completely missed the boat if you think
26:05that your virtue is under your control
26:08it is not listen if you if you say I the
26:14thing I'm going to live for is success
26:15and you've set off yeah it's not certain
26:18you're going to have success but if you
26:20say the thing that matters to me is that
26:22I'd be the person I want to be to live
26:24according to my principles you know
26:26living according to my virtues he says
26:28that's every bit is uncertain you don't
26:30have control over that you're human
26:31being you're frail and if you fail then
26:36you've got nothing Agustin says you you
26:40got it all wrong you shouldn't be loving
26:41things out there and you shouldn't be
26:42loving anything in here and then he said
26:45only love of the immutable can bring
26:48tranquility only love of the immutable
26:52what's the immutable that which cannot
26:54change your virtue can change don't
26:58don't give me this stuff about control
26:59he says your problem is that our problem
27:02the reason we don't have pieces were
27:03loving mutable things things that
27:05circumstances including our virtue can
27:07take it away from us but there's one
27:08thing that's immutable that not only can
27:11circumstances not take it away from you
27:13but even the worst circumstances in this
27:15life only give you more of it have you
27:18thought about that what's the worst
27:21circumstances violent death and there's
27:25one thing that if you love it supremely
27:26even violent death gives you more of it
27:28what is it the presence of God the
27:30beauty of God the face of God and that's
27:35the reason why a Gustin could say this
27:37and it was just amazing and his
27:38confessions he lays it out first of all
27:40he says this in confessions is his book
27:42book for he says God alone is the place
27:45of peace that cannot be disturbed
27:48and God will not withhold himself from
27:52your love unless you withhold your love
27:54from him see there it is if you love the
27:57immutable you'll have tranquility so how
28:00can you how can you not love the
28:01immutable only if you withhold your love
28:04from him but if you don't withhold your
28:07love from him you will not
28:08withhold his love from you and you might
28:11say and there at some point
28:12I think Augustine being a great writer
28:14was hearing an objection and the
28:16objection goes like this
28:17the objection says well no wait a minute
28:20here's thing I have to love God but I
28:22you know I love a lot of things I love I
28:24love material comforts I love people I
28:27love romance i lo you know there's lots
28:29of things I have to love God not these
28:31things then he says no no but you have
28:33to see that if you love God supremely
28:35you not only get God the immutable but
28:39you will find that in that all that what
28:42you have been loving in these things was
28:45actually in God he puts it like this
28:48he's praying Augustine writes quote what
28:52do I love when I love thee not the
28:55beauty of bodies nor the fair harmony of
28:57time nor the brightness of the light so
28:59glad sin to our eyes nor sweet melodies
29:02of varied songs nor the fragrant smell
29:04of flowers not limbs acceptable to the
29:07embracement of the flesh none of these
29:09things I love when I love my god but and
29:15yet I love a kind of light melody
29:19fragrance meat and embracement when I
29:22love my god but they are those which
29:26space cannot contain which time cannot
29:29bear away they are smells that breathing
29:32cannot disperse they are taste that
29:34eating cannot diminish this is what I
29:36love when I love my god and that's the
29:40final way to get the calm to get the
29:43tranquility to get the peace is to love
29:46him supremely now finally I told you
29:50character of peace the three disciplines
29:53of peace but the secret Paul talks about
29:55the secret and this is why we're not
29:57done yet and here's why we're not done
29:58yet try to go home and love the
30:02immutable just go ahead and then tell me
30:05you know write a paper and tell me how
30:07it went I mean you go home sit down find
30:10a nice quiet place sit down and then try
30:13go you just try to love the immutable
30:17and then it is I'm not feeling anything
30:19yet see God is just
30:21a term God is just he's an abstraction
30:24frankly the word God is just an
30:26abstraction but notice what it says the
30:31secret of the peace of heart of God or
30:33maybe I should say the peace of God
30:35keeps your hearts and your minds not
30:40just in God but in Christ Jesus and by
30:43the way hearts and minds are separated
30:45they're grammatically because Paul is
30:47trying to say it's one thing to keep
30:49your thoughts in Christ Jesus we already
30:50talked about this is another thing to
30:52put your heart in him to have your heart
30:54in Christ Jesus how does it work to find
30:59them attractive to find him lovely to
31:03find them unbelievably lovely see it's
31:06not enough that's it says Paul says I
31:08want you to find Jesus Christ lovely
31:11that's the only way you're ever going to
31:13love the immutable and finite
31:14tranquility well how do you do that
31:16think like this there's a place actually
31:18we read this it was in a passage we we
31:22looked at earlier this year but we
31:24didn't look at the verse it's in Isaiah
31:2657 remember when we were going through
31:28Isaiah and Isaiah 57 near the at the end
31:32of the chapter says this the wicked are
31:36like the tossing sea which cannot rest
31:39whose waves cast up mire in mud
31:42there is no peace says my God for the
31:44wicked hmm the wicked are like the
31:47tossing sea which cannot rest whose ways
31:49cast up mire and mud there is no peace
31:51as my god for the wicked now at first
31:54sight this just looks like another one
31:55of these Old Testament statements God
31:57will smite the evildoers but no look
31:59this is talking about natural
32:01consequences and the Stoics had it right
32:05and Augustine had it right if you love
32:08anything more than God I don't just mean
32:10it's important to believe in God of
32:11course you have to believe in God but if
32:13you love anything more than God if you
32:14live for anything more than God your
32:18life is going to be like a tossing sea
32:19Restless constantly what casting up mire
32:25in mud because your life is like a house
32:30built on sand instead of on the rock and
32:33you're always going to be having
32:33cave-ins we
32:35been through it if you love anything
32:36you're going to is be an anxiety about
32:39it anything more than God and so God is
32:42saying the natural consequence of
32:43turning away from me the natural
32:45consequence of not building your whole
32:47life centering your whole life on me is
32:48restlessness deep restlessness who took
32:55those consequences you know in second
32:59Corinthians 5:21 there we always that I
33:01always quote God made Jesus sin who knew
33:05no sin that we might become the
33:07righteousness of God in him and how I
33:09always try to point out that doesn't
33:11mean that God made Jesus sinful it means
33:13on the cross he treated him as the
33:16sinners deserve and what does this mean
33:18on the cross he got all the consequences
33:21of what we have done and this is one of
33:24them and can't you see it
33:26do you see Jesus Christ just walking
33:30through the crucifixion saying I'm just
33:32keeping my mind
33:33centered on God I'm okay I'm content in
33:37whatever circumstance I'm in Jesus
33:39didn't say that no because he wasn't why
33:41because he lost all of his peace
33:44he Christ my God my God why hast thou
33:47forsaken me
33:47in fact we're told that he died with a
33:50cry he died screaming Bill Lane the
33:56commentator on the book of Mark says he
33:59says the cry of dereliction at Kris
34:00screaming says crucified criminals
34:02ordinarily suffered complete exhaustion
34:05and for long periods were unconscious
34:08before they died the stark realism of
34:11mark's account describes a sudden
34:13violent death the cry of dereliction
34:16expresses unfathomable pain Jesus lost
34:23all of his peace all of his peace so you
34:27could have eternal peace and looking at
34:30that is what will get you through that's
34:33what will make him lovely and let me
34:35prove it to you we got a case right in
34:37front of you Horatio Spafford was a an
34:41American lawyer who lost everything he
34:44had in the Chicago Fire of 1871
34:48only two years later he sent his wife
34:51Anna and their four daughters on a ship
34:55across the Atlantic Ocean to England for
34:58trip the ship hit another ship on the
35:01way and began to sink as was sinking
35:04Anna got the four little girls together
35:05and they prayed and then the ship went
35:08under the water and they all were
35:10scattered under the waves and all four
35:13good little girls drowned Anna was found
35:16unconscious by a rescue ship floating
35:19they rescued her they took her to
35:21England and she cabled Horatio Spafford
35:26just two words saved alone and when
35:31Horatio Spafford was on the ship over to
35:33England to bring his wife home he began
35:36to write a hymn that we're going to sing
35:39at the end it is well with my soul peace
35:42like a river
35:43he wrote that and here's what I want you
35:46to think why would a man dealing with
35:49his grief seeking the peace of God the
35:51peace like a river spent the entire
35:54thing on Jesus my sin oh the Bliss of
35:58this glorious thought my sin not in part
36:00but the whole is nailed to the cross and
36:03I bear it no more praise the Lord praise
36:05the Lord on my soul
36:06what does that got to do with his four
36:07little girls that are dead everything
36:09you know why
36:10look when things go wrong one of the
36:12ways you lose your pieces you say maybe
36:14I'm being punished but no look at the
36:16cross all the punishment fell on him
36:19another thing you say is well maybe God
36:21doesn't care maybe does it doesn't care
36:22him no look what he did for us look what
36:25he bore for us the Bible gives you a God
36:30that says I've lost a child too but not
36:34in voluntarily voluntarily for your sake
36:38you sing that hymn and you watch a man
36:41thinking thanking and loving himself
36:44into the peace of God it worked for him
36:46under those circumstances they worked
36:49for Paul under his circumstances will
36:51work for you let's pray thank you Father
36:54for giving us this offer peace like a
36:58river peace in foul
37:01we see Lord that peace is not something
37:04that really does just come it's not a
37:06talent and it's really not even just a
37:09simple gift it's a discipline we we have
37:13a number of beliefs that we're not
37:14thinking into we have a wonderful God
37:17that we're not loving and therefore we
37:20don't have the peace we ought to have
37:21give us this peace because we know the
37:24secret how we can be thankful for even
37:27the bad things in our lives it's the
37:29cross how we can know that God is with
37:31us
37:32no matter what it's the cross and we
37:35pray though that you would help us
37:36knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ
37:39think and thank and love you into the
37:44peace of God
37:45in Jesus name we pray amen for more of
37:49this series and other resources from
37:51Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian
37:52Church please visit

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