Skip to content The Advent of Peace | The Coming King with Dusty Davis Jun 17 · 26 min ...more
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The Advent of True Peace in Christ 0:01 Well, Merry Christmas from all of us here at Everyman Ministries. We love Christmas at Everyman. I'm sure you do too. The lights, the music, all the celebration. There's just this sense0:14 of hope. There's just this general goodwill we experience between men this time of year. And as the season starts before it really gets into full steam, our prayer is that this advent series0:25 would start to prepare all of our hearts for the coming king to get us ready to experience the wonder when King Jesus entered0:37 humanity. You know this time of year we talk a lot and we hear a lot about Advent. My kids favorite thing I think is the chocolate advent calendar. That's not what I'm talking about here. Advent simply means the coming0:49 of a notable person. Advent means the arrival of someone great. That is what we celebrate this time of year as followers of Jesus. We're not celebrating winter. This is not1:01 some cultural holiday. We are getting our hearts ready to celebrate the coming of the Messiah. The birth of Jesus Christ. But a lot of times even though we1:13 want to celebrate Jesus, we wanna make Christmas all about the baby, we wanna make it all about the coming king, it can be really hard to focus. There's just a lot going on.1:25 There's a lot of noise. Right? It's hard to bend our hearts and our minds towards Jesus and really just focus on him. It can be a challenge to live above our daily to do's. It seems like this time of year1:37 gets incredibly busy. We become slaves to our own Christmas calendar. It seems like more and more and more during this time of the year at least for me. It seems like1:49 the speed of life can steal the joy of Christmas. Is that ever true for you? Do you ever find that that the speed that life is moving at? That this entire season can just2:00 become a blur. It feels like it's over before it even starts. And beyond just moving quickly, it's obvious culture has made Christmas about so many things2:13 apart from Jesus. Right? Year end business objectives start to start to loom. We look at Christmas performances and Christmas parties. We've got 1000000 presents to buy and Jesus can get2:24 buried underneath all this. I know that many of us have closed the door in the Christmas season and purpose that next year, we will make sure that we pursue and focus on Jesus. But I think2:37 the best way to keep Christ at the center of Christmas is to start before the seasons here and really go back and unpack what it was that Christmas originally2:49 meant. What it still means for us 2000 years later as followers of Jesus. Now, I don't know about you. The Christmas season in the Davis house doesn't start until there's Christmas music. Right? Until3:01 the till the girls are singing along to Mariah Carey and All I Want for Christmas is You until the the silky voice of Michael Buble is is kind of going over a crackling fireplace. That's when Christmas has arrived and we3:13 can't start Christmas music until mom says so. My wife usually says yes on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner. But if you think about the songs we sing at Christmas time, if you think about the music3:25 that defines this time of year, there are some themes. 1 of which you can't avoid is peace. Now just think about it. Silent night, holy night, sleep in heavenly3:37 peace. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild. In the in the first Noel, right, we we actually hail the heaven born3:49 prince of peace. On and on and on, it's obvious. Peace is tied to Christmas, or at least it's supposed to be. But like we said as the flow of our lives can4:00 get so busy as Christmas season speeds up exponentially becoming this speeding bullet train heading to year end Racing through culture we can find ourselves desiring but4:12 lacking peace. Wanting peace but not not finding it. But I want you to take hope. Because peace, real peace, is something that was4:24 birthed into this world the moment that God draped himself in humanity. Really, the coming of Jesus, the advent of Christ was also the advent of peace.4:36 But his peace is so much more than we consider peace and what that means today. You know for too many people peace is just synonymous with Quiet right during the4:48 bustling Christmas season we can say we want peace when really we just don't want noise. We've reduced peace to just mean the absence of struggle. Right? Peace is just kind of that that quiet moment that4:59 stalemate in the family arguments when everybody lays their weapon down too often and for too many people. Peace just means the absence of war, the absence of strife.5:11 But to the first century Jews, peace or the Hebrew word Shalom meant so much more than all of that. See, the Hebrew word Shalom even5:23 echoed in the Greek New Testament in the word Eirene, they both mean perfect wholeness. Right? It's it's it's the presence of completeness. That's what peace is. It wasn't about what was5:34 missing. Peace is about what what was there. Right? We see in Job. Job looked out on his tent saw that none of his sheep were missing and said that they were in a state of Shalom. They were whole. They were as they5:45 should be. We see that Solomon brought Shalom to the temple when he completed it, when the temple was was full and done. The term was used relationally. Let's say my livestock5:57 kind of wandered into your crops and ate a bunch of them. Now I could bring Shalom back into our relationship if I paid you back for everything that you lacked. If I made you whole again. So6:09 shalom peace, in this context was never just the absence of fighting. It it speaks to the peace that you and I long for. That's the kind of peace that we were designed to experience, the kind6:21 that our hearts still want. Right? This was God's hope for his people. And the kings who were were overseeing the people of God, some brought this peace. All were intended to bring this peace, but all of them were6:33 limited. Because all of them had been affected and infected by sin. They they were human beings. They could not bring about6:44 this perfect wholeness because they were sinful. They'd have moments of it, but it wouldn't last forever. But the prophet Isaiah promised the people, promised you and I that6:56 1 day 1 would come who would bring to us true peace, lasting peace, perfect wholeness. Isaiah chapter 9 is 1 of the most beautiful passages in7:08 scripture. It's probably the most spot on Christmas passage because it so clearly speaks to us about the coming king, about what Jesus is like. Verse 1 starts off by telling us the situation7:20 he was birthed into says nevertheless the time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. It starts off with hope. It's a good word for us. Especially for people going through a dark7:32 and challenging time right now. It's not gonna last forever. This wasn't just wishful thinking. Isaiah wasn't just hoping that I guess this bad luck's gotta run out eventually. His hope was based on the7:44 coming Messiah. And what was he like? Look at Isaiah chapter 9 verses 6 and 7. It says this. For a child is born to us, a son is7:56 given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace.8:08 His government and its peace will never end. That was the object of his hope. That's the promised coming king. That's the Messiah. That's the8:20 advent and the birth of true Shalom. Right? They were promised, we were promised, we have received a savior, a redeemer. Right? The 1 whose kingdom of peace would8:32 never ever stop. The 1 with shoulders broad enough to support the governments of the entire world. We're talking about king Jesus. In this series, we're gonna unpack what the birth of Jesus brings.8:44 We're gonna look at some of the gifts that we receive from his birth. The first of which we see in this passage is peace. Now remember, we say peace, we're talking shalom, which means wholeness8:56 and completeness. The kind of peace that we long for. The kind of peace that we're never gonna find on this earth apart from Jesus. And in this short passage, we see how9:08 Christ brings peace through some of the names that Jesus receives, some of the ways that he's described. We have to remember, before Jesus was birthed, we9:20 were not at peace. Even in the moments when there was no war, because we weren't at peace with God. Our sin separated us from him. We were sinners by nature, born into it.9:32 We were sinners by choice. We choose to sin. There was separation between us. We could not experience peace until Jesus came. We have to remember, Jesus wasn't birthed into9:44 some neutral situation. Our peace had to be fought for. Christ had to win our peace. He had to fight against hostile evil and unseen powers.9:56 What was going on that night of Christ's birth if we had eyes to see supernaturally must have been unbelievable. But Jesus triumphant in his life,10:08 in his death, in his resurrection, in his ascension on high. He won our peace, and it was a hard fought peace against spiritual oppression, against sin, and against death.10:21 And on Christmas, we can now sit together and sing, all is calm and all is bright, only because Jesus is victorious. This verse from Isaiah reminds us,10:33 there is only 1 true and lasting source of peace. We can't find it anywhere else. It doesn't exist apart from Jesus. As we look at the names Jesus receives and the10:45 way we receive his peace, it begins by calling him the wonderful counselor. Isn't that beautiful? Jesus Christ is our wonderful counselor. You know what that10:56 means? That means we need counsel. If the first name he receives is that he gives wonderful counsel, you better believe we need counsel. It means that life is confusing. It means the11:08 truth is hard to figure out. It means our situations are challenging. But knowing that Jesus Christ is our wonderful counselor means that God hasn't left us to figure all11:20 that out on our own. And that brings us peace. God's given us Jesus, the wonderful counselor, and it's the wonderful counsel of Christ that brings peace into our11:32 lives. Wholeness, shalom, completeness, it starts in our lives when we receive and apply the wonderful counsel of Jesus. Right? If that's11:43 true, then this passage is inviting us into some serious self reflection. Because if I'm not experiencing peace, I have to ask myself, am I really pursuing?11:56 Am I really receiving? Am I really applying the counsel of Jesus? If I'm not experiencing deep and persistent peace even in the midst of struggles, I gotta ask, am I12:07 studying? Am I applying? Am I submitting to the counsel of Jesus? Through his written word. Through the daily leading of his holy spirit. Through the community of saints12:19 that he's put around me. Or maybe if I find my heart lacking peace there might be another voice of counsel that I'm building my life on. Maybe it's the news12:31 machine. Fox News, CNN. Maybe I'm seeking out my favorite podcaster for the answers to all of life's questions or my favorite political commentator. Maybe it's mindless stuff like ESPN or social media. Maybe it's my12:42 favorite business leader or self help guru. I don't know what it is, but I have to ask myself whose counsel am I trusting this Christmas season? Whose counsel do I pursue? Do I submit to daily? Is it Jesus's?12:55 And if I am seeking his counsel, if I'm sitting in church and hearing his word preached, if I'm engaging with the word during the week, the second question is, am I applying it? And what do I do13:07 when I come up against the counsel of Christ and it's at odds with what I've always thought to be true? Or what I'd like to be true? Or what I want? What do I do when the counsel of Jesus is just beyond my ability to13:19 understand? Because, guys, the peace in our lives will not ever outperform our submission to the leading of Jesus in our lives. The peace that we experience on a daily basis is directly13:31 tied to whether or not we're allowing Jesus to be the loudest voice in our lives. Now I'm not saying that by submitting to Christ's counsel, you somehow avoid the struggle. Scripture promises the13:42 opposite. It says that in this world, we will have trouble. But we have to understand that peace will always escape us when we're building our lives on the council of13:54 someone other than Christ. This passage goes on. Right? Not only is he our wonderful counselor, and that gives us peace, it also says that he's a mighty God.14:06 And you could translate this also as God is a mighty warrior. Another reason we can have peace this Christmas season is because our God is a warrior. He fights for us. We14:18 can get stuck this time of year marveling at the baby in the manger. We can forget. He grows up to be a warrior. God is a mighty warrior who fights against his enemies, the evil rulers and14:30 principalities in this world. Don't forget the end. Don't forget the book of Revelation where we see the sweet baby that was wrapped in swaddling clothes is now in a robe dipped with14:42 blood, sword coming out of his mouth, tattoo on his leg, eyes on fire, literally melting everything in front of him that is not holy. Our God is a warrior that gives us peace because our14:54 God's a warrior who fights for our peace and he will not stop fighting until the enemy is destroyed. Look at first Corinthians chapter 15 says this in verse 24. After that, the15:06 end will come when he will turn the kingdom over to god the father having destroyed every ruler and authority and power for Christ must reign until15:18 he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. That brings us peace to know that that's the end of our story. Christ reigning all of his enemies beneath his feet. The reality that Christ15:29 has won is winning in your life and will 1 day deal the death blow to your enemy and my enemy, that's good news. And remember, we're not efforting towards this. We're not trying to earn it.15:41 We're not trying to get there. We just receive Christ's victory. His victory brings us peace. Systematic theologian, Michael Byrd, put it like this. I love this.15:53 Satan's force is spent. His worst was no match for the best of the Son of God. The fatal wound of Jesus deals a fatal blow to death. The16:05 powers of this present darkness shiver as the looming tsunami of the kingdom of God draws ever near. Nigga. Our God's a warrior. He fought for our peace.16:17 Don't forget that. This is the eternal warrior king. He gives us wonderful counsel, But then look at what it calls him next. It says that he's our everlasting father.16:30 That seems like kind of a sharp turn doesn't it? I got wonderful counselor wisdom from on high. I got the mighty warrior destroying everything and then I've got Abba, daddy. We don't see this language very16:42 often in the Old Testament. It's a little more common in the New Testament. Jesus certainly drew us in to pray to our father who's in heaven. But why would he go from counsel to warrior to16:54 father? Because he wanted us to find peace in the loving embrace of our eternal father. Just like a child finds security and finds17:06 peace in the nearness of their father, God desires to bring peace by pulling us close, by holding us fast. I love surfing with all my kids. My youngest17:18 is who I surf with most often now. And when she first started surfing, I would stay close. I would make sure I was close, especially when a big set of waves would come through. You know, when a big set would come through17:30 and she was on a board much too big for her, I didn't leave her to figure it out on her own. I didn't coach her from the shore. No. What I would do is I would let my board17:42 go and she would let her board go. And I'd swim over to her, and she would just grab hold of me. And we'd go under the waves together.17:53 Now, I didn't have any control over the waves, but I was never going to let her go for a moment. She had no control over the waves,18:05 but she had control over choosing to trust me. She let her board go and she would just hang on tight. She found peace in my embrace. Now she trusted me18:17 to carry her. We have a loving father who actually does control the wind and the waves. He actually controls all things. But similarly, he's inviting you and18:29 me to let go of our board to let go of the other things that we're holding on to for peace to let go of our tight on our tight hold on the company that we're running or the money that we're making or the18:41 friends that we have or the image that we've created or the house that we live in or these the vacation that's coming the things that we think are adding to our peace. God says let go of those things and just hold on to18:51 me And he promises that he'll never let us go. If we're looking to something else besides Jesus to find peace, we'll always slip beneath the waves. But if we choose to cling to him,19:03 we find peace in his embrace. That's our God. That's whose birth we're getting ready to celebrate. The wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father. Truly,19:15 in all those things, he is the prince of peace. He defeated spiritual oppression. The spiritual oppression you and I were under. He restored our broken relationship with the father.19:27 He broke the chains of sin. He defeated death. Jesus set us free. So as you look for peace this Christmas, don't settle for quiet.19:39 If you want the peace that Jesus Christ brings, make sure you're submitting to the Prince of Peace. Let him rule. Trust the wonderful counsel of19:51 Jesus and walk in his truth. Then trust yourself to the power of the mighty God. Let him fight your battles for you. He's already won them. Choose to let go of anything else20:03 you're holding on to for peace and just cling to your eternal father who loves you. And then you will experience his peace, his20:15 shalom, his perfect wholeness this Christmas.20:21 Isaiah 43 19 says, see, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.Every Man Ministries: God's New Work in 2025 and Beyond 20:33 Hi. I'm Kenny Luck, founder and president of Everyman Ministries. And for the last 25 years, God has been using everyman to reach, to train, to encourage, and equip20:44 men to live out their calling as men. And today, I'm standing in Montana where we're hosting the very first Everyman Encounter. God certainly is doing something new. We have20:56 a group of men here encountering God in powerful and in new ways. You know, 20 25 was such an incredible year, and we are in awe of everything21:08 that God has done. Every man was a part of live events all over California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas, and here in Montana, and those were21:20 just the live events. We did father son events, men's retreats, youth camps, church services, school chapels, discipleship conferences, and more. In 20 25,21:32 we continued to follow Christ's encouragement in Matthew 25 where he said, I was in prison and you visited me. We saw incredible fruit in our21:44 prison ministry in partnership with God Behind Bars. Can you believe 1848 men professed Christ for the first time this last year? Our content was21:56 viewed in prisons over 1300000.0 times. Now here's the real exciting thing. We have 1600 men enrolled in Get Healthy courses. This year, we introduced the22:07 ebook collection, and the first 3 books have been seen over 11000 times. We get feedback every week from prisoners telling us about the22:19 encouragement and the transformations that are happening behind prison walls. In 20 25, God took the ministry of every man literally everywhere through our22:31 international partnership with pray dot com. All over the world, we've seen 7500000.0 minutes streamed on the Everyman platform. You know what that amounts to?22:41 188 countries all over the world. And now, we're using AI to translate our content into nearly every language,22:54 allowing us to encourage and instruct and teach every man like it says in Colossians 1 28. And we proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man so that we may23:06 present every man complete in Christ. Well, that was 20 25. What does 20 26 hold? We wanna focus on 3 things that are new, the local church, the next23:18 generation of younger men, and discipling men on a daily basis. Let's talk about the local church. We are launching a brand new series of our classic get healthy discipleship23:29 program. Over 1000000 men have been through it, and we're excited for the next generation of of men to go through and get healthy in family, in temptation, in friendship, and in their marriages. We're also going after23:41 men who are younger, the next generation. How? Through father son events. We're gonna have events that are geared up for young adults and college age events. Tomorrow, what it means to be God's man. And so you're gonna23:53 witness the launch of the dangerous good and young movement. In terms of discipling men daily, we're going to launch the new Everyman Encounter app. We're24:04 so excited about this because you're gonna be able to walk through daily challenges, daily studies, along with all of our content with the men in your life. We're gonna share prayer24:16 requests through the app. We're gonna remain connected to your forever brothers in group settings and situations, be able to encourage and sharpen 1 another all through the Everyman Encounter app. Now, we are going to24:27 continue our partnerships with pray dot com. We're gonna expand that partnership. You know, they've asked us to film for all 17000000 of their users a new series for the women in men's lives.24:39 We're excited about that. They've also asked us to own Father's Day with unique highlighted video content, daily devotions, and more to encourage all24:51 of those users. In 20 26, we're gonna continue to expand our prison ministry, actually looking at in person events within the walls of the prison for every man. We're gonna make some unique25:03 content just for the prisoners filmed exclusively behind bars. And we're gonna continue to speak at conferences, churches, schools, and retreats wherever God calls us25:15 to transform the lives of men. But listen, my brothers, it is going to take all of us if we're gonna reach every man to continue teaching and encouraging men behind bars, to25:27 train up the next generation, to live out their calling as God's men, and continue to see marriages strengthened, and finally, to reach men all over the world, the gospel of Jesus. It's25:39 just gonna take all of this because this is the great super sport, the super adventure called the kingdom of God. And we all get to play our25:50 part. So this is our invitation to you to take up your spot in the kingdom and serve with us. God bless.In this video 0:00 The Advent of True Peace in Christ20:33 Every Man Ministries: God's New Work in 2025 and Beyond56K followers
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