Live Free with Josh Howerton - Living With the Prince of Peace | Ep. 229 | Thursday, December 21, 2023

Episode Date: December 21, 2023

There are fears that reside in all of us that try to keep us trapped. When anxieties grip your heart, turn to the Prince of Peace. He was born into a broken world and willingly died on a cross for us. But because of His resurrection and who He is, we can have perfect, eternal peace. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's daily drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. This Christmas, we want to invite you and your family to join us for our candlelight services on December 22nd through 24th at any of our six locations. or for church online. For more information, visit latepoint.com. com slash daily drive.

And now, let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up, everybody? We are just a few days away from Christmas. In fact, a lot of churches are starting services today, and I get to be a part of one of those tonight. I cannot wait. So thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. My name is Bro,

and we are talking about the different names of Jesus listed in an ancient prophecy about the promised Savior of the world. Let me read it to you once again. It's found in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, in the Old Testament section of the Bible. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called a wonderful counselor,

mighty God, everlasting father, and the prince of peace. We talked about the first three this week, and today I want to spend a few minutes on the fourth one, The Prince of Peace. You all know what a phobia is, right? and most of us are aware that the best known phobias like hydrophobia, the fear of water, claustrophobia, the fear of being closed in, arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. But let's see if you can identify a few the lesser-known, but very real phobias, such as isolophobia, that's the fear of being alone, agoraphobia,

just the opposite of fear of crowded public places, aviophobia, some of you got this one, the fear of flying, coraphobia, the fear of dancing, some of you need that one. A chlorophobia, the fear of cats, calvrophobia, that's the fear of clowns. Did you know that there are 536 documented and medicated phobias? And some of them are kind of funny. But there are other fears that reside within all of us that aren't so funny. Fears that keep us from doing what we want to do. Fears that keep us from being who we want to be.

Fears that keep us paralyzed and stuck. So can I ask you this Christmas season, could you use less fear and more peace? is anxiety and worry and panic keeping you from embracing life and living in with gratitude and passion? Let me give you one more phobia. Chronophobia.

That's an irrational fear of the future. Anybody got one of those going on? I was reading a news app on my phone at a coffee shop the other morning and there were also flat screens around a place tuned to like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC. I felt like I was surrounded by bad news. They were talking about the war going on in the Middle East

and the Ukraine, Another mass shooting. On one screen, there was something about North Korea and their nuclear weapons. Another report on the horrific sexual harassment and abuse case, political tension around the world in our country. There are reports on hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires. There's a lot of anxious people right now wondering, what's next?

There's a whole lot of chronophobia, a ton of fear, uncertainty, and a whole lot of tension. And I think we all long for all this calm and all this bright, but it seems like all is chaos and nerves are tight. And I don't know, but I'm guessing that that's the way it is in many families. Maybe this season, all your fear and tension centers around relationships. You're dreading those Christmas gatherings and dinners. I mean, the thought of cousin Eddie parking his RV in front of your house for two weeks,

it's about to make you throw up. All kinds of tension in this life. Relational tension, global fear, political chaos, economic uncertainty, and personal stress. No wonder we long per peace. And so did they. I'm talking about that young couple in the very first Christmas. They experienced distress not unlike the times in which we live, except things were even darker.

They lived in a world of extreme tension, and they too long for peace on earth goodwill toward men. For them, it was a time of political tension, extreme economic pressure, racial discrimination, oppression. It was a really, really, really dark time in history, all kinds of fear and anxiety, just waiting so long for a way. word from God, things really did seem hopeless. And can you imagine the personal anxiety this young

couple felt dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, having to trust what an angel told you was true? I got to teach a few years from one of the caves that were used as quote-unquote stables outside of Bethlehem. Man, that cave was so dark and filthy with centuries of soot on the ceiling from campfires, spiders everywhere, animal waste. It was really, really gross. And pretty eye-opening for me. Max Lakato writes an imaginary prayer of Joseph, standing outside of this stable. He says, this isn't the way I planned at God. Not at all. My child being born on a stable. This isn't the way I thought it would be a cave with sheep and donkeys, hay, and straw. This isn't in all what I imagine. I imagine family, grandmother's neighbors, clustered outside the door, friends standing by my

side. I imagine the house erupting with the first cry of the infant, slaps on the back, loud laughter jubilation. That's how I thought it would be. This doesn't seem right. What kind of husband am I? I provide no midwife to aid my wife, no bed to rest her back. Her pillow is a blanket from a donkey. My house for her is a shed? The smell is bad. The animals are loud. Did I miss something? Did I God? This is not the way I wanted it to be. This is not the way I wanted my son. Oh, I did it again, didn't I, father? I don't mean to do that. It's just that I forget. He's not my son. He's yours. child is yours, the plant is yours, the idea is yours. But forgive me for asking, is this how God enters the world? Well, the answer is yes. Animals, manure, smells, flies, labor, breathing, groans,

push, pain, cries, stress, anxiety, tension, and then he showed up. The child, Yeshua, Jesus, the Prince of Peace. No flashball. no paparazzi, no blue fleece jumper, just a baby wrapped in strips of rags lying in an animal food trough. The Savior of the world. The Prince of Peace. I love how the first birth announcements

went out to a bunch of people who were considered nobody's outcast. These homeless shepherds living in a world of fear and darkness. It says in Luke chapter 2, suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appear with the angel praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace

to men on whom is faithful. favor rest. Into Joseph's world, into Mary's world, into our ever-changing world, filled with global, economic, political, relational, and personal fear. Jesus is the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and he brings peace. You need to know a couple of things about this piece. First of all, it's an eternal peace. Many people haven't put their finger on it yet. In fact, it took me a while, too, but the tension, the anxiety, the worry, the fear, and their heart is because they're really not at peace with God. I heard about a little boy who got lost in the Christmas rush at Target one day.

And a man noticed this little guy just walking along carefree all by himself looking at toys and he didn't think anything of it until over the loudspeaker came an announcement. A little boy named Josh has been lost. Josh is seven years old. If anyone sees Josh, please bring him to the information booth at the front of the store. The man laughed to himself when you heard the little boys say, dang it, I'm lost again. You know, Christmas reminds us that without a savior, we're all lost.

And it was a good day when I dropped my pride and owned that reality and started my search for eternal peace. I found that because of Jesus' insatiable desire to love us, he sent his son, who would grow up like us in this crazy world. He would encounter the same challenges, frustrations, and temptations. But he didn't cave to those temptations. It would live a sinless life so that he could become the blameless sacrifice for our sin. So he could take the rat for us and we could live forever. Again, talking about this coming baby, the prophecy in Isaiah 53 says, But he was wounded and crushed for our sins.

He was beaten that we might have peace. After that event, when he was wounded and crushed and beaten and whipped to nail to a cross, and then raised from the dead, a guy named Paul wrote these words in Romans 5. Therefore, since we've been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ, our Lord, has done. If you want to have real peace, I'm talking about. an eternal peace with God, you need to enter into a personal relationship with that baby in a manger who grew up to pay the price for your sin. He is the only way to eternal peace, the only way

to eternal life, and it's an absolute gift from God. I'm also discovering it's not only an eternal peace, but it's an internal peace. Jesus gives us peace on the inside, regardless of the tension on the outside. In fact, Jesus said this in John 14, verse 27, peace I leave with you. My peace I give you, and I don't give it to you as the world gives. Don't let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. You see, the world defines peace as the absence of conflict. But Jesus said, I'm going to give you a peace that's not like the world's. I will give you a tranquility in the midst of your trouble.

I will give you a calm in the middle of your chaos. It's a peace so supernatural that you're not even going to be able to explain it. Other people. Read this verse back around Thanksgiving. It's been huge for me. throughout my life, especially during a really tough season, is Philippians 4, 6, and 7 says, Do not be anxious about anything.

But in everything, my prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. If you've experienced it, you know how that sense of peace is pretty unexplainable. It really does transcend human understanding.

It kind of wraps you up like a warm blanket on a cold night. It comes and settles you. it down takes your heart rate from like head-banging heavy metal to smooth jazz. The Prince of Peace says, I'm going to give you an unexplainable peace in the center of your storm, a calm in the middle of your chaos,

a hiding place in the middle of your toughest times, and my perfect love will drive out your fear, and I will flood light into your darkest hours. I'm praying that you would lean into him today, and you would find real peace, eternal peace, and internal peace, for your soul.

See you back tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review,

and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe.