Welcome to our latest talk where we explore the profound difference between the world's temporary solutions for peace and the enduring peace that comes from a divine source. Step into a scriptural and practical journey to understand how true peace isn't dependent on circumstances but is a gift from God that surpasses all understanding.
Show Notes:
Understanding Different Definitions of Peace:
The Illusion of Temporary Solutions:
Biblical Insights into True Peace:
Practical Implications for Daily Living:
Conclusion and Call to Action:
Join us, as we explore the depths of peace beyond human understanding and how you can apply these truths to overcome anxiety and experience lasting serenity in your life.
Welcome to this week's Crowd Church service.
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Matt Edmundson:church service starts right now.
Matt Edmundson:Hello,
Dan Orange:sorry, I just put my phone on do not disturb so we don't get any calls.
Dan Orange:I'm
Anna Kettle:literally like nudging Dan like you're live.
Anna Kettle:Slick start.
Anna Kettle:Slick.
Anna Kettle:Come on guys,
Dan Orange:come on.
Dan Orange:Very slick.
Dan Orange:I thought someone's going to text me or ring right in the
Dan Orange:middle of a crucial moment.
Dan Orange:Yeah, you don't want that.
Dan Orange:No.
Anna Kettle:You don't want that, definitely not.
Anna Kettle:So how are you Dan, apart from being a little bit winging out there?
Dan Orange:Yes so we're on Instagram.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, this is exciting.
Dan Orange:Yeah, which means I have to press buttons a lot and switch between.
Anna Kettle:So if Dan looks like he's concentrating extra hard,
Anna Kettle:that's because he actually is.
Dan Orange:Which camera?
Anna Kettle:I know, which camera, where do we look?
Anna Kettle:So he's doing all the tech and flipping between images for Insta,
Anna Kettle:and I just sit here and talk like normal, so I get the good job.
Anna Kettle:So what have you been up to Dan?
Anna Kettle:What have you been up to this weekend?
Dan Orange:Not much.
Dan Orange:Not much that's not true, sorting, which I think we're going to talk to you.
Anna Kettle:It's that time of year, isn't it?
Anna Kettle:Like that April, May, getting ready for summer, coming out winter sort.
Anna Kettle:I've been sorting this weekend as well.
Anna Kettle:We've sorted out the garden, we've started to, we've sorted out
Anna Kettle:the garage, bit of a clear out.
Dan Orange:Yeah, we've been doing paperwork, all fun things.
Dan Orange:Oh yeah, we're so rock
Anna Kettle:and roll here at Crowd Church.
Anna Kettle:I did go to a gig on Friday night though offset it with that.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, that was nice.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, but no, yeah, it's
Dan Orange:I saw that on Instagram.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Yeah, I'd like to have gone.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, it was good.
Anna Kettle:zuTons, if anyone's interested.
Anna Kettle:It was good gig on Friday night.
Anna Kettle:And today has been a nice sunny day.
Anna Kettle:So we've, what have you been up to today?
Anna Kettle:Have you been out in the sunshine at all?
Dan Orange:Aye.
Dan Orange:Haven't done I've enjoyed the sunshine from the window
Anna Kettle:It's the best place to enjoy it because it's still a little
Anna Kettle:bit windy at least in Liverpool where we're broadcasting from other
Anna Kettle:people might be different, but it feels like We're still waiting for
Anna Kettle:spring to really get going here.
Anna Kettle:It's like sunny but cold.
Anna Kettle:Yeah,
Dan Orange:we've got sun so it's a start.
Dan Orange:It's not raining every day.
Dan Orange:Yeah anymore, which is very good.
Anna Kettle:Yeah,
Dan Orange:We just need a bit of heat
Anna Kettle:Yeah, definitely.
Anna Kettle:We did get out this afternoon.
Anna Kettle:We went out to a local park with some friends.
Anna Kettle:We went for lunch and went to the park after church.
Anna Kettle:And it was nice.
Anna Kettle:It was like mediocrely warm, but yeah, nice to have a little
Anna Kettle:bit of sun, but a bit cold.
Anna Kettle:Anyway, that was our weather report.
Anna Kettle:That was
Dan Orange:our weather report.
Dan Orange:Onto Crowd Church.
Dan Orange:This week.
Dan Orange:We talk about
Anna Kettle:peace.
Anna Kettle:That is
Dan Orange:a good subject.
Dan Orange:So still on our series, Fruits of the Spirit.
Dan Orange:And one of those fruits, one of those gifts from God is peace,
Dan Orange:which is we'll find out more, but it's a challenge, isn't it?
Anna Kettle:Yeah, peace, I feel like it's something that
Anna Kettle:everybody's looking for right now.
Anna Kettle:It doesn't feel like the world is a very peaceful place at the moment.
Anna Kettle:So I'm really keen to, to hear this talk, which we've got
Anna Kettle:coming up from Pete Farrington.
Dan Orange:Yeah yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.
Dan Orange:I'm listening to a book at the moment Matthew Perry from
Dan Orange:Friends, Chandler from Friends.
Dan Orange:Oh, I've read,
Anna Kettle:yeah, I've read that.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:His autobiography.
Anna Kettle:It's really interesting.
Dan Orange:And it's a search from the first few chapters
Dan Orange:it's a search for peace.
Dan Orange:It really is.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, I recommend it.
Anna Kettle:It's really interesting.
Anna Kettle:I think he makes his piece over time, but goes through quite a lot of addiction
Anna Kettle:and stuff and kind of obviously rich, famous, everything in the world can
Anna Kettle:possibly throw at you and still really struggles through life and struggles to
Anna Kettle:find that peace outside of having that spiritual connection with God, which I
Anna Kettle:think he does touch on winding up points.
Dan Orange:One thing he says right at the beginning is.
Dan Orange:There's a massive hole in my life, which I tried to fill with material things,
Dan Orange:and this big, huge material hole.
Dan Orange:And then he says, perhaps it was a spiritual hole, not a material hole.
Dan Orange:That's very interesting.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Let's see
Anna Kettle:what Pete's got to say.
Anna Kettle:And then we'll come back to that discussion.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Any questions to please just yeah, anywhere, Instagram,
Dan Orange:YouTube, Facebook, just post them.
Dan Orange:And we'd love to answer them afterwards, but here's Pete.
Pete Farrington:What is unshakable peace and how can I attain it?
Pete Farrington:That's what we're going to be exploring a bit today.
Pete Farrington:But I want to say at the top that something we have to be aware of is
Pete Farrington:that the world does not always use words in the same way that the Bible does.
Pete Farrington:We at times might use the same vocabulary, but we've got different
Pete Farrington:dictionaries with different definitions.
Pete Farrington:So when the world talks about peace, at least in terms of internal peace,
Pete Farrington:it's often really referring to an emotional state that's brought
Pete Farrington:about by preferable circumstances.
Pete Farrington:So a life that's free of adversity, lack and suffering.
Pete Farrington:A life with enough safety nets, buffers, insurance, security
Pete Farrington:cameras and backup plans.
Pete Farrington:And so peace increases the further away you are from harm and trouble.
Pete Farrington:But where the world's version of peace is something that comes from having
Pete Farrington:desirable circumstances, the peace God gives comes in spite of our circumstances.
Pete Farrington:We see this laid out for us clearly in Philippians 4 where
Pete Farrington:Paul says, The Lord is at hand.
Pete Farrington:Do not be anxious about anything.
Pete Farrington:But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
Pete Farrington:let your heart, let your requests be made known to God.
Pete Farrington:And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
Pete Farrington:hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Pete Farrington:So peace may not be what we would naturally consider the appropriate
Pete Farrington:or expected response to what we see.
Pete Farrington:We'll come back to that passage later.
Pete Farrington:But how often have you searched for peace in places that only
Pete Farrington:provided temporary relief?
Pete Farrington:Because there is a lot of temporary relief that you can find in the world.
Pete Farrington:You can do a lot to put distance, often, at least temporarily, between yourself
Pete Farrington:and the cause of your fear and anxiety.
Pete Farrington:Like even the algorithms on social media are designed in a way to just
Pete Farrington:keep giving you more of what you want.
Pete Farrington:More of what's comfortable for you to see and to remove any challenges
Pete Farrington:to the beliefs that you hold.
Pete Farrington:And, so people get further entrenched in the dogmas that they hold to.
Pete Farrington:And we hear a lot these days about creating safe spaces, which at times can
Pete Farrington:really become spaces where you're just not exposed to anything that opposes what you
Pete Farrington:believe or could be potentially offensive.
Pete Farrington:And people talk a lot about setting boundaries and of course there are
Pete Farrington:common sense things that we should do to protect ourselves and others.
Pete Farrington:And there are things we can do to reduce chaos and panic in life.
Pete Farrington:But what I'm trying to get at is that we have access to every tool and
Pete Farrington:technique that man's ever come up with.
Pete Farrington:And yet we don't actually seem to be becoming a more peaceful people.
Pete Farrington:We haven't really come up with a permanent lasting solution.
Pete Farrington:I think it's interesting how many things that you can buy to, to help you relax,
Pete Farrington:like zen gardens and colouring books for adults and books about mindfulness.
Pete Farrington:But with all of the formulas and techniques that we've got, we only
Pete Farrington:seem to be becoming more anxious.
Pete Farrington:And of course, one method that I think we all turn to at times
Pete Farrington:is distraction and avoidance.
Pete Farrington:We can use entertainment, hobbies, and social media as a means to
Pete Farrington:escape from troubles and find peace.
Pete Farrington:And we can really go a long time without unplugging, switching off and just
Pete Farrington:being alone with our own thoughts.
Pete Farrington:I read something quite insightful about this recently by a guy called
Pete Farrington:Tony Reinke, I think his name is.
Pete Farrington:The smartphone is causing a social reversal.
Pete Farrington:The desire to be alone in public and never alone in seclusion.
Pete Farrington:He was piggybacking on something that the German theologian Dietrich
Pete Farrington:Bonhoeffer had said in the 1920s.
Pete Farrington:He said, we flee silence, we race from activity to avoid having to be alone with
Pete Farrington:ourselves for even a moment, to avoid having to look at ourselves in the mirror.
Pete Farrington:My goodness, I wonder what he'd say today.
Pete Farrington:He also said this, Not only are we afraid of ourselves, of discovering and
Pete Farrington:unmasking ourselves, but even more we are afraid of God, that he might disturb
Pete Farrington:our aloneness and discover and unmask us, that God might draw us into partnership
Pete Farrington:and do with us whatever he wants.
Pete Farrington:Because we fear such unnerving, lonely encounters with God, we avoid them.
Pete Farrington:Avoid even the thought of God, lest he suddenly get too close to us.
Pete Farrington:Suddenly having to look into God's eyes, having to be accountable
Pete Farrington:before him, is too dreadful a notion.
Pete Farrington:Our perpetual smile might fade.
Pete Farrington:Things might get completely serious in a way to which we are not at all accustomed.
Pete Farrington:He said this anxiety characterizes our entire age.
Pete Farrington:We live in perpetual fear of suddenly being seized and
Pete Farrington:called to task by the infinite.
Pete Farrington:and would rather socialise or go to the movies or theatre until we
Pete Farrington:are finally carried to our grave.
Pete Farrington:Anything, rather than having to bear a single minute before God.
Pete Farrington:He penned those words almost 100 years ago.
Pete Farrington:But even back then, Bonhoeffer saw through the veneer and the mask that
Pete Farrington:we try and hide behind to avoid facing the things that really trouble us and
Pete Farrington:expose just how fragile our peace is.
Pete Farrington:Now, when Jesus was at the Last Supper with his disciples, shortly before
Pete Farrington:his crucifixion, he said this, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
Pete Farrington:Not as the world gives, do I give to you.
Pete Farrington:Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Pete Farrington:So what does his peace look like and how is it different to ours?
Pete Farrington:Because he carefully described peace, the peace he was giving as my peace.
Pete Farrington:And Jesus there was going far beyond what was what was
Pete Farrington:customary to say when departing.
Pete Farrington:He said, my peace I give to you.
Pete Farrington:I read this in a commentary in the Bible, the word for peace, Shalom.
Pete Farrington:It never means simply the absence of trouble.
Pete Farrington:It means everything which makes for our highest good.
Pete Farrington:The peace which the world offers is the peace of escape.
Pete Farrington:The peace which comes from the avoidance of trouble and
Pete Farrington:from refusing to face things.
Pete Farrington:The piece that I'm talking about today is not something you can
Pete Farrington:achieve with a new practice.
Pete Farrington:It's what comes only from knowing a person.
Pete Farrington:And this kind of peace is not the result of carefully curating your life.
Pete Farrington:It's a fruit of the Spirit.
Pete Farrington:So let's go back to that passage in Philippians.
Pete Farrington:Philippians 4, verses 3 to 6.
Pete Farrington:The Lord is at hand.
Pete Farrington:Do not be anxious about anything.
Pete Farrington:But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
Pete Farrington:your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses
Pete Farrington:all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Pete Farrington:So we're commanded, don't be anxious.
Pete Farrington:Okay, yeah, thanks Paul.
Pete Farrington:I'll just stop.
Pete Farrington:I'll just stop being anxious.
Pete Farrington:I don't know why I hadn't thought of that.
Pete Farrington:But this command is qualified by the preceding phrase, the Lord is at hand.
Pete Farrington:So how can I attain this peace?
Pete Farrington:The Well, peace doesn't come from a new practice.
Pete Farrington:It comes from knowing a person.
Pete Farrington:And I'm really not a fan of alliteration.
Pete Farrington:I think it's the cheesiest thing ever.
Pete Farrington:Oh, it makes me nauseous.
Pete Farrington:But it came to me, so I'm doing it today.
Pete Farrington:I have three P's, okay?
Pete Farrington:Peace is a person, it's a promise, and a position.
Pete Farrington:So for the rest of this talk, I'm going to unpack that a little bit.
Pete Farrington:So peace is a person.
Pete Farrington:I want to take us, I want to take us to a prophecy in the Old
Pete Farrington:Testament in the book of Isaiah.
Pete Farrington:This is a prophecy about Jesus.
Pete Farrington:Isaiah 9 verse 6 says, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
Pete Farrington:and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called
Pete Farrington:Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Pete Farrington:Peace is a person.
Pete Farrington:But let's go back a couple of chapters.
Pete Farrington:In Isaiah 7, there is another prophecy there are many in Isaiah, but there's
Pete Farrington:another prophecy in Isaiah 7 about Jesus.
Pete Farrington:This chapter tells us about it also tells us about a guy called Ahaz, who
Pete Farrington:was the king of Judah at the time, a bad king, like most of them were.
Pete Farrington:There were two nations waging war against Ahaz.
Pete Farrington:And in verse one, it says, In the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, son
Pete Farrington:of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of
Pete Farrington:Remalia, the king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it.
Pete Farrington:In verse two, we're told that the heart of Ahaz and the heart of
Pete Farrington:his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
Pete Farrington:Have you ever felt like your peace is fragile, easily shattered
Pete Farrington:by the slightest troubles?
Pete Farrington:In verse four, God then speaks to the prophet Isaiah and tells him
Pete Farrington:to go to King Ahaz and say, be careful, be quiet, do not fear.
Pete Farrington:And do not let your heart be faint because of these two smouldering
Pete Farrington:stumps of firebrands, those two kings, at the fierce anger of Resin
Pete Farrington:and Syria and the son of Remalia.
Pete Farrington:Then verses 10 through 12, it says again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, Ask a
Pete Farrington:sign of the Lord your God, let it be as deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
Pete Farrington:But Ahaz said, I will not ask and I will not put the Lord to the test.
Pete Farrington:So God speaks to Ahaz through the Prophet Isaiah, challenging him to
Pete Farrington:ask the Lord for a sign of his help.
Pete Farrington:And under the guise of humility, it was really false humility,
Pete Farrington:Ahaz declined saying no.
Pete Farrington:I couldn't put the Lord to the test.
Pete Farrington:I won't do that.
Pete Farrington:But he's really just saying this because he'd already determined
Pete Farrington:in his heart to seek help from the king of Assyria instead.
Pete Farrington:And then verses 13 through 14.
Pete Farrington:It says, Here then, O House of David, is it too little for you to weary
Pete Farrington:men that you weary my God also?
Pete Farrington:This is the Prophet Isaiah speaking.
Pete Farrington:Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Pete Farrington:Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.
Pete Farrington:That means God with us.
Pete Farrington:And it's like God was challenging Ahaz.
Pete Farrington:Go on Ahaz, what's the biggest sign that you could request of me?
Pete Farrington:What would convince you once and for all?
Pete Farrington:What would quell your fears for good?
Pete Farrington:Ahaz then declines and God gives him the sign, Emmanuel.
Pete Farrington:The sign he gave is Emmanuel, God with us.
Pete Farrington:The sign is God himself with us and you could make a request as deep as
Pete Farrington:Sheol or high as the heavens and God has still trumped it and out given
Pete Farrington:your request when he gave us himself.
Pete Farrington:And how the preposition with should come between the words God and us is
Pete Farrington:the mystery and the wonder of the ages.
Pete Farrington:God with us.
Pete Farrington:Or like we read in Philippians, the Lord is at hand.
Pete Farrington:Now, if we fast forward a few centuries, we come to a story of
Pete Farrington:this Emmanuel, of Jesus, and how he can, and how he can still a storm.
Pete Farrington:So we read in Mark 4, verses 35 through 41, On that day, when evening
Pete Farrington:had come, he, Jesus said to them, Let us go across to the other side,
Pete Farrington:to the other side of the lake.
Pete Farrington:And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
Pete Farrington:And other boats were with him.
Pete Farrington:And a great windstorm arose.
Pete Farrington:And the waves were breaking in the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
Pete Farrington:But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.
Pete Farrington:And they woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not
Pete Farrington:care that we are perishing?
Pete Farrington:And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still.
Pete Farrington:And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Pete Farrington:And he said to them, Why are you so afraid?
Pete Farrington:Have you still no faith?
Pete Farrington:And they were filled with great fear, and said to one another, Who then is this,
Pete Farrington:that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Pete Farrington:I think this is amazing.
Pete Farrington:The carpenter, Jesus was a carpenter.
Pete Farrington:So the carpenter was asleep in the boat while the fishermen were panicking.
Pete Farrington:Like how is that possible?
Pete Farrington:The guys with all the experience of being at sea, the ones with all the
Pete Farrington:expertise, they're just flapping.
Pete Farrington:If I'm on a plane and the pilot starts running down the aisle
Pete Farrington:screaming help, I am not going to choose that moment to take a nap.
Pete Farrington:I would be losing it.
Pete Farrington:I'd be in bits.
Pete Farrington:And these guys don't say, it's not like they say, Teacher, could
Pete Farrington:you please come up and help us?
Pete Farrington:Their heads are just gone at this point.
Pete Farrington:They're like, don't you care?
Pete Farrington:Don't you care we're perishing?
Pete Farrington:But they hadn't truly realised who he was.
Pete Farrington:Psalm 89, verses 8 to 9, says this, O Lord, God of hosts, who is mighty as you
Pete Farrington:are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you, You rule the raging of the
Pete Farrington:sea, when its waves rise, you still them.
Pete Farrington:And real, unshakable, lasting peace comes from knowing the one
Pete Farrington:who rules the raging of the sea.
Pete Farrington:Isaiah 26 verse 3 says, you keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed
Pete Farrington:on you, because he trusts in you.
Pete Farrington:This verse is for you.
Pete Farrington:Reminds me quite a lot of Peter in the Bible.
Pete Farrington:There's a story in the New Testament.
Pete Farrington:I'm going to read oh, I haven't got the reference here.
Pete Farrington:We'll put it in after, but it says this immediately, he made
Pete Farrington:the disciples, this is Jesus.
Pete Farrington:He made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other
Pete Farrington:side while he dismissed the crowds.
Pete Farrington:And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went upon the mountain by himself to pray.
Pete Farrington:When evening came he was there alone but the boat by this time was a long
Pete Farrington:way from the land beaten by the waves for the wind was against them and in
Pete Farrington:the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea but when
Pete Farrington:the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified and said it is
Pete Farrington:a ghost and they cried out in fear but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying
Pete Farrington:take heart it is I do not be afraid And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you,
Pete Farrington:command me to come to you on the water.
Pete Farrington:He said, come.
Pete Farrington:So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
Pete Farrington:But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink,
Pete Farrington:he cried out, Lord, save me.
Pete Farrington:Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying
Pete Farrington:to him, O you of little faith.
Pete Farrington:Why do you doubt?
Pete Farrington:And when they got into the boat, the wind seized, and those in
Pete Farrington:the boat worshipped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God.
Pete Farrington:The interesting thing is that nothing at all had changed in Peter's experience
Pete Farrington:from when he was walking on the water to when he started to sink.
Pete Farrington:His surroundings and his circumstances were exactly the same.
Pete Farrington:In those two moments, when he was walking on water and when he was
Pete Farrington:drowning, the waters were beneath him.
Pete Farrington:He still wasn't on dry ground.
Pete Farrington:The only thing that was different was where he was choosing to look.
Pete Farrington:So let's go back to that verse, 3, you keep him in perfect peace
Pete Farrington:whose mind is stayed on you.
Pete Farrington:Peace is a person.
Pete Farrington:Amen.
Pete Farrington:Amen.
Pete Farrington:And Peter later went on to say in 1 Peter 5, verses 6 to 7, Humble yourselves,
Pete Farrington:therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may
Pete Farrington:exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Pete Farrington:And this is how personal it is.
Pete Farrington:God cares for you.
Pete Farrington:And I love how personal Jesus was when he when he appeared to the disciples
Pete Farrington:after his resurrection, in Luke 24, verse 36, it says as the disciples were
Pete Farrington:talking about these things, as they were gathered together, Jesus himself stood
Pete Farrington:among them and said to them, peace to you.
Pete Farrington:Now, you might be tempted to just think, oh, this was a customary greeting and it
Pete Farrington:was, but these would have, the disciples would have been astonished at this.
Pete Farrington:Remember, the last time that they'd hung out with Jesus was was when Jesus
Pete Farrington:had said, My peace I give to you.
Pete Farrington:And he's now returning to them with those same words, peace to you.
Pete Farrington:But according to all human logic and behaviour, these words should
Pete Farrington:not be coming out of Jesus lips.
Pete Farrington:Because they'd all deserted him at his crucifixion when times
Pete Farrington:got hard, they all left him.
Pete Farrington:So like Jesus, Jesus comes back to them and says, peace to you.
Pete Farrington:When they were eating dinner the other night and Jesus said, peace, I leave
Pete Farrington:with you, my peace, I give to you.
Pete Farrington:Not as the world gives, do I give to you.
Pete Farrington:Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Pete Farrington:Like guys, do you remember that night?
Pete Farrington:Yeah, that's right.
Pete Farrington:The night when you all betrayed me.
Pete Farrington:Yeah, that's the one.
Pete Farrington:I promised you peace then.
Pete Farrington:And here I am now coming in peace and I'm making good on that promise.
Pete Farrington:So peace is a promise that God makes to us through Jesus.
Pete Farrington:Peace is a person.
Pete Farrington:Peace is a promise.
Pete Farrington:And finally, peace is a position that we have before God through Jesus.
Pete Farrington:Romans 5 verse 1 says, Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace
Pete Farrington:with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pete Farrington:Because of what Jesus did on the cross in purchasing our freedom and our
Pete Farrington:forgiveness and taking away, removing the guilt and the shame that we have because
Pete Farrington:of our sin, we have peace with God.
Pete Farrington:And if you remember Bonhoeffer's words from earlier, He spoke about
Pete Farrington:being afraid of God, not being able to bear even a single minute before God.
Pete Farrington:Christ came to reconcile us to God, to bring us back to the Father
Pete Farrington:and to give us peace with God.
Pete Farrington:God with us.
Pete Farrington:God is at hand.
Pete Farrington:That's why we're commanded, do not be afraid.
Pete Farrington:Thank you for listening.
Anna Kettle:Wow.
Anna Kettle:So what did you think of that, Dan?
Anna Kettle:Lots in there.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Lots in there, isn't there?
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:And again, with the tech, quite an abrupt end.
Anna Kettle:Dan's still getting used to this new setup, guys.
Dan Orange:I was still writing notes.
Anna Kettle:Dan's still getting used to all the extra
Anna Kettle:buttons he has to think about.
Anna Kettle:So apologies not so slick as normal, but anyway no I thought there was
Anna Kettle:loads of really good stuff and that I really enjoyed that talk.
Anna Kettle:I know the thing that really struck me was just the idea that firstly began on
Anna Kettle:around peace that surpasses understanding.
Anna Kettle:And I think that's it.
Anna Kettle:It's peace that's.
Anna Kettle:It's easy, not easy, but it's, it makes sense to have peace when life's
Anna Kettle:straightforward, when life's easy, when things are going well, you can
Anna Kettle:have a natural peace, can't you?
Anna Kettle:You have more peace of mind about your finances.
Anna Kettle:If you've got a good job and a regular salary, you have more
Anna Kettle:peace of mind about your health.
Anna Kettle:If you've just had a health check and everything's clear.
Anna Kettle:You might have more peace about, I don't know, the security of your home.
Anna Kettle:If you fit a fancy alarm on it.
Anna Kettle:So certain things that can give us a natural amount of peace, but to
Anna Kettle:me, that's finite and it's still limited and it's circumstantial.
Anna Kettle:And the thing that really struck me is there's also this whole
Anna Kettle:level of peace that Jesus offers us that is nothing to do with.
Anna Kettle:Our circumstances at all.
Anna Kettle:It's a piece that surpasses understanding.
Anna Kettle:And I think that's the really cool point that was made that, yeah, there's
Anna Kettle:this piece that you can experience that's beyond our circumstance
Anna Kettle:and beyond what life happens.
Anna Kettle:And isn't that something we all want and need in this age where
Anna Kettle:life is uncertain so often?
Dan Orange:Yeah, I agree totally.
Dan Orange:And it's the verse that when I'm praying for myself for peace, I always pray.
Dan Orange:When I'm praying for other people.
Dan Orange:I always pray that I think it wasn't even that long ago that God just said
Dan Orange:to me, because that piece that passes all understanding, when I was younger,
Dan Orange:we used to sing a song and it all, and I didn't really I didn't understand it.
Dan Orange:It was just a, it was a long word and it was like okay.
Dan Orange:But then it suddenly sunk in when later in life that we don't
Dan Orange:have to understand the situation.
Dan Orange:God understands it.
Dan Orange:And that means that.
Dan Orange:Pete said later on, the peace is independent of your circumstance.
Dan Orange:It's independent of your thinking.
Dan Orange:It's independent of your, what others have told you.
Dan Orange:It's independent of how you can get your head around it.
Dan Orange:You might not get your head around it.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:But God's peace is still available in that situation
Anna Kettle:because it's a piece that comes from like this
Anna Kettle:is the point that Pete made us.
Anna Kettle:It's a piece that comes from like knowing who God is in spite of your
Anna Kettle:circumstance and knowing who you are in God and the promises that God is
Anna Kettle:given to us as his children that go way beyond anything that's
Anna Kettle:happening to you in the natural.
Anna Kettle:Have you got any examples like of practice?
Anna Kettle:Sorry, I'm putting you on the spot now.
Anna Kettle:But have you got any examples of when you've known a piece that
Anna Kettle:doesn't match your circumstance that is like surpasses it?
Dan Orange:Yeah, I think something that's just off the top of my head, but
Dan Orange:it potentially is, I've said this lots of times before, but I run my own business.
Dan Orange:So my income is very erratic.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:It's effectively sales.
Dan Orange:So some things are good.
Dan Orange:Sometimes they're good.
Dan Orange:Sometimes they're bad.
Dan Orange:And it doesn't mean I don't have to put work in, doesn't mean
Dan Orange:I don't have to plan things.
Dan Orange:But even when things, times are tough, times are hard.
Dan Orange:I pray that prayer and God has actively given me that peace.
Dan Orange:He said, yeah, it's okay, Dan, you can just rest in the fact that I've got this.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:And sometimes that'll be well, so many times it will be literally in the morning.
Dan Orange:I'll get a text.
Dan Orange:Yeah, that Dan, we like that quote.
Dan Orange:We'll go ahead.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Dan Orange:But sometimes it might not be that.
Dan Orange:That quick, but so many times it no, sometimes it isn't that
Dan Orange:quick, but it's just a knowledge.
Dan Orange:Yep.
Dan Orange:I've got you.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:That is such a good practical example.
Anna Kettle:I really like that.
Anna Kettle:And I relate to it cause my husband's self employed as well.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:And your finances, do you go up and down a bit on that and
Anna Kettle:yeah, it is that trust, isn't it?
Anna Kettle:That God's got it.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, whether you can see it at that moment or not, I have
Anna Kettle:a example from last year.
Anna Kettle:I remember about this time last year, myself and my husband,
Anna Kettle:Andy, sadly lost a pregnancy.
Anna Kettle:And it was our fourth baby in a row that we'd lost.
Anna Kettle:I remember a friend said to me, I spoke to her, she'd also had a couple of
Anna Kettle:baby losses in the past and a friend said to me, like, how are you doing?
Anna Kettle:And I was like, yeah, it's hard, it's sad, but we're okay.
Anna Kettle:And we chatted through stuff and she just said, she didn't say it to me
Anna Kettle:there and then, but a few months later she said to me, I just felt like you
Anna Kettle:had such a piece about you even in the middle of what's such an awful situation
Anna Kettle:and so sad and hopeless in the natural.
Anna Kettle:She was like.
Anna Kettle:I just felt like God's peace was all over you.
Anna Kettle:You just seemed at peace, even in the middle of it's exactly what they
Anna Kettle:were saying in the midst of a storm that when you know, even though the
Anna Kettle:circumstance isn't great, but Jesus has you and he still has hold of you
Anna Kettle:and he still has a plan for your life.
Anna Kettle:And that, that's definitely a very tangible one and I really felt at the
Anna Kettle:time I was like, This situation isn't the one we wanted, but I'm at peace with
Anna Kettle:the fact that God's bigger than this.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:And he still has me and he has my family.
Dan Orange:I agree.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:And it goes on to Pete's point that peace is a position, isn't it again?
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:So I said this before, it's not circumstances.
Dan Orange:God's, Jesus said, my peace, I give to you.
Dan Orange:And we've been reconciled with God.
Dan Orange:If we know Jesus, if we've asked him to come into our lives, asked
Dan Orange:him to change us, we're in that position that he has taken away
Dan Orange:that fear of being outside of God.
Dan Orange:So we can stand in that position of peace.
Dan Orange:And it's a great place to be.
Dan Orange:It doesn't mean things are easy.
Dan Orange:There was still the the fishermen were still in a storm.
Dan Orange:They were still about to die.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:But God, Jesus came with a peace
Anna Kettle:and I think that for me is the thing.
Anna Kettle:It's not again.
Anna Kettle:The point was made.
Anna Kettle:It's not the avoidance or absence of problems like life is
Anna Kettle:going to throw troubles hours, Christians aren't immune from that.
Anna Kettle:No one is because this world is broken and imperfect.
Anna Kettle:And I think even Jesus said that in the Bible.
Anna Kettle:He said, you will have problems, but I'll be with you.
Anna Kettle:Through them.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Like that was the point that he left his disciples with yeah.
Anna Kettle:You won't not have problems.
Anna Kettle:You will.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:But it's that you can see that in the storm situation, can't you?
Anna Kettle:I love the point though.
Anna Kettle:It was hilarious that.
Anna Kettle:All these professional fishermen were like stressing and probably because they
Anna Kettle:realized how dangerous the scenario was.
Anna Kettle:They were in the storm.
Anna Kettle:They didn't know what to do.
Anna Kettle:And Jesus was like sleeping.
Anna Kettle:And I think to me, that just really speaks of Jesus knew who his father was.
Anna Kettle:He knew God.
Anna Kettle:And he had such a peace in God being in control that he wasn't rattled the way we
Anna Kettle:so often are when the storms of life come.
Anna Kettle:And yeah, it's just, it blazed my mind that story every time because I
Anna Kettle:know I would be one of those fishermen running around like a headless chicken.
Dan Orange:He was in a double great position because he
Dan Orange:was the creator of the earth.
Dan Orange:So we had control over that.
Dan Orange:And he was a joiner.
Dan Orange:So he knew what the boat could take.
Dan Orange:Why wasn't he asleep?
Dan Orange:Peter said as well, that so not Peter in the Bible, Pete Farrington in
Dan Orange:the talk he talked about when Jesus said to Peter, come onto the lake
Dan Orange:and walk, Jesus was walking in the water, he came, Peter started to sink,
Dan Orange:his circumstances were no different.
Dan Orange:I love that.
Dan Orange:We can have peace when our circumstances have not changed at all.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:It is challenging to me, but when he took his eyes off God, that's when he sank.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, so more about knowing God's presence in your situation
Anna Kettle:than having the solution, isn't it?
Anna Kettle:It's about, and that's the thing that really struck me in this talk.
Anna Kettle:It's about the presence of God, not the absence of trouble.
Anna Kettle:And for me, that's probably my biggest takeaway from this.
Anna Kettle:It's just, Yeah, that's really profound.
Anna Kettle:It's just knowing God's presence with you changes everything more
Anna Kettle:than your circumstances changing.
Anna Kettle:Actually,
Dan Orange:That's the biggest thing of Pete's talk that really spoke to me.
Dan Orange:That yeah, nothing changed around him, but his focus changed.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:And it back at the beginning of Pete's talk, he talked, he quoted
Dan Orange:from Dietrich Bonhoeffer about not, sometimes our absence of peace is
Dan Orange:because we're running from God, because we're trying to do the next activity.
Dan Orange:If we stay still, we might have to listen to him.
Dan Orange:And that could be scary, or it can be scary because we know two things.
Dan Orange:We know one, he's going to tell us the truth.
Dan Orange:And two, we need to listen to him.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Dan Orange:From activity to activity.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Spending that time with God is key.
Dan Orange:I believe that's what it is for me.
Dan Orange:I know it for me.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, I totally agree.
Anna Kettle:I was just looking at the comments box and there's one here from Matt Crew.
Anna Kettle:He's just said we have some amazing brave.
Anna Kettle:What's the story podcast from ladies who suffered loss?
Anna Kettle:Yeah, that's true.
Anna Kettle:And we also to be honest, we have some amazing stories.
Anna Kettle:Like I sometimes post that podcast and if you haven't checked out yet,
Anna Kettle:please do because actually there's all kinds of amazing stories from amazing.
Anna Kettle:Ordinary people like you and I and just, but who've overcome some
Anna Kettle:incredible difficulties in all different types of ways of life.
Anna Kettle:And I think, yeah, in so many of those stories, you can see how having God's
Anna Kettle:presence with you through some really challenging times in life, whether
Anna Kettle:that's illness or loss, or challenges in work, all kinds of things that
Anna Kettle:life can throw at you, but just.
Anna Kettle:Having God with you in it as people telling their sort of journey, own
Anna Kettle:journeys and stories of faith in the middle of hard things is just, honestly
Anna Kettle:I love hosting them 'cause they're just so powerful and every time I have one
Anna Kettle:of those conversations, I come away thinking just feeling so inspired.
Anna Kettle:Because it's that thing again, God's presence in the middle of
Anna Kettle:difficulty makes all the difference.
Anna Kettle:And yeah, I definitely recommend people check out the podcast if they haven't,
Anna Kettle:because it's just if you're interested in learning more about how you have peace in
Anna Kettle:the middle of like stormy seasons of life.
Anna Kettle:That podcast is just full of examples.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, just brilliant.
Dan Orange:Yeah, absolutely.
Dan Orange:It's worth really worth listening in.
Dan Orange:Again, sometimes I do feel like I repeat myself, but it's just because
Dan Orange:these things have spoken to me.
Dan Orange:I find it.
Dan Orange:I find life easier when I've heard from other people going
Dan Orange:through the same situation.
Dan Orange:I'm sure that must be the same in everything, even in my working life,
Dan Orange:if I don't know how to do something, I'll go on YouTube, I'll ask someone,
Dan Orange:it's the same thing, isn't it?
Dan Orange:Oh, they got stuck on that.
Dan Orange:Ah, that's how they did it.
Dan Orange:Let's find out from other people.
Dan Orange:Yeah,
Dan Orange:in the same situation, those that know Jesus have chat to them.
Dan Orange:And if you don't know, if you don't have friends around you that know this
Dan Orange:God, then The What's The Story Podcast is a great way to hear those stories.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:And please send in your prayer requests.
Dan Orange:We've just enjoyed, I love it.
Dan Orange:This week people send it in on WhatsApp requests that we can pray
Dan Orange:and we can just, we, it's a very Christian term, lift you up to God.
Dan Orange:Just say to God, this person here is struggling with this.
Dan Orange:This person here would like to know the answer here.
Dan Orange:Speak to them.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:And we've seen some amazing answers to prayer as well through, through that.
Anna Kettle:And yeah, and it is exciting.
Anna Kettle:So yeah, absolutely agree.
Anna Kettle:Just pray yourself, but also share those prayer requests with our team and we'll
Anna Kettle:happily pray for you through the week.
Anna Kettle:We've got a whole team here, Crowd Church or do that and commit to do that.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, it's a good offer.
Anna Kettle:I also loved what Pete was just saying about the three P's, I thought
Anna Kettle:they were really easy to remember.
Anna Kettle:So it was like kind of peace comes from like knowing the person, like
Anna Kettle:who Jesus is and then the promise.
Anna Kettle:So the promises they has given to us that we would know things like you'll
Anna Kettle:know peace that surpasses understanding.
Anna Kettle:And then the position you have, like.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, knowing who we are because we're loved by God.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, I love that.
Anna Kettle:It's such a simple way of remembering it.
Anna Kettle:So yeah, I'll definitely log that one away for the week.
Dan Orange:And it makes it possible.
Dan Orange:So the final thing I want to say is the end.
Dan Orange:There's a commandment.
Dan Orange:There's do not be afraid.
Dan Orange:Yeah,
Dan Orange:and if God hadn't given us that assurance of peace, Then
Dan Orange:that would be a horrible commandment because you'd be asking us to
Dan Orange:do something that's impossible
Anna Kettle:or just be self effort or striving to feel peaceful.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Which is anyone who struggles with anxiety will know.
Anna Kettle:It's just that's, someone says, Oh, stop, just stop stressing about it.
Anna Kettle:That never makes anyone feel less stressed.
Anna Kettle:I would say that to my husband.
Anna Kettle:He says, just stop stressing on it.
Anna Kettle:And I'm like, every time you say that to me, it makes me more stressed
Anna Kettle:because I was stressing at you and I'm stressing at the problem.
Anna Kettle:It's just, no one's ever felt less anxious by being told to
Anna Kettle:stop feeling anxious, right?
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Dan Orange:So for God's commandment to say, don't be afraid, we
Dan Orange:can either look at it like that and go, Oh, how's that help?
Dan Orange:Or we can say if he's commanded us, he must have provided.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:On the live stream just before Andy said like worship
Anna Kettle:or listening to worship and praise music really helps him.
Anna Kettle:And I think that's really, that's a really good point because I think it
Anna Kettle:comes back to the presence of God.
Anna Kettle:I feel like whenever I put on Christian music, it brings me right into that.
Anna Kettle:Sense of the presence of God when I'm maybe don't feel that close to
Anna Kettle:God or my mind isn't focused on God.
Anna Kettle:It helps me.
Anna Kettle:It's just a really practical way because it helps me focus on God and
Anna Kettle:feel close to him and to like focus my gaze on him really and who he is
Anna Kettle:and takes my, and I just think that shift of thinking about who God is.
Anna Kettle:Takes and taking my eyes off my own problem.
Anna Kettle:That really helps.
Anna Kettle:That really helps that shift.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, absolutely.
Anna Kettle:From anxiousness to knowing the peace of God.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:Often.
Anna Kettle:So that is a really top tip.
Anna Kettle:I totally agree with that.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:And Matt's just said, yeah, he does as well.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:It's, yeah.
Dan Orange:Like you say, it takes out, focus off the situation, just says,
Dan Orange:yeah, let's put our focus on God.
Dan Orange:Let's not sink.
Dan Orange:Yeah.
Dan Orange:Let's walk on.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, we're all about that.
Anna Kettle:That sounds cool.
Dan Orange:So what's next week?
Anna Kettle:So next week, guess what?
Anna Kettle:You've got another double whammy.
Anna Kettle:We're back for more of this.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, next week is me and Dan hosting again.
Anna Kettle:So sorry about that.
Anna Kettle:If anybody's hating or poor tech today, we promise we'll be a bit better next week.
Anna Kettle:A little bit more,
Dan Orange:more practice.
Dan Orange:Yeah, better on the keys.
Anna Kettle:Yeah.
Anna Kettle:No, I think we've done.
Anna Kettle:I think you've done a good job tonight, Dan.
Anna Kettle:Better than I would have done if you weren't here, let's put it that way.
Anna Kettle:No, so we're back next week hosting, but we've got Dave Connolly
Anna Kettle:speaking next week and he's going to be talking all about patience.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, that's going to be awesome.
Anna Kettle:I love Dave Conn.
Anna Kettle:He's just got so much wisdom.
Anna Kettle:So yeah, that will be a good one to tune into as well.
Dan Orange:Indeed.
Dan Orange:So thanks very much for all your comments.
Dan Orange:Thanks for tuning in.
Dan Orange:And if you've got any prayer requests, like we said, please
Dan Orange:send them in, just visit crowd.
Dan Orange:church, all the details are there.
Dan Orange:Thank you.
Anna Kettle:Fab.
Anna Kettle:Yeah, we'll see you soon then.
Anna Kettle:We'll see you next weekend, guys, because we'll be back here again.
Anna Kettle:Hopefully, see you then.
Anna Kettle:Bye.
Anna Kettle:Have a good one.
Matt Edmundson:Thank you so much for joining us here on Crowd Church.
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Matt Edmundson:It has been awesome to connect with you, and you are awesome.
Matt Edmundson:It's just a burden you have to bear, and hopefully we'll see you next time.
Matt Edmundson:That's it from us.
Matt Edmundson:God bless you.
Matt Edmundson:Bye for now.