WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.880 Today, we're going to take a posture of peace 2 00:00:02.880 --> 00:00:05.880 by not delaying joy. 3 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.280 Hi, I'm Lindsay VanZale. 4 00:00:09.280 --> 00:00:13.140 Posture is a podcast that serves a short, audible fist bump 5 00:00:13.140 --> 00:00:15.400 to remind you that God is in everything. 6 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:17.280 Together, we're gonna be emboldened 7 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:20.300 to take a daily posture of perfect peace. 8 00:00:23.240 --> 00:00:25.440 In Mark 4, starting in verse 35, 9 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.000 there's the story of Jesus and his disciples. 10 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.520 They're out on the boat in the middle of the sea 11 00:00:29.520 --> 00:00:32.439 and it says, a great windstorm arose 12 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:34.400 and the waves were breaking into the boat 13 00:00:34.400 --> 00:00:36.200 and the boat was filling with water. 14 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:40.000 And it says, Jesus was asleep in the stern. 15 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:41.720 And so his disciples came to wake him up 16 00:00:41.720 --> 00:00:43.320 and they said in verse 38, 17 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:47.880 teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? 18 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:52.360 And so Jesus wakes up and it says, he rebukes the wind 19 00:00:52.360 --> 00:00:56.360 and says to the sea, peace, be still. 20 00:00:56.400 --> 00:01:00.600 And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 21 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.880 And then he said to his disciples, why are you so afraid? 22 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:06.420 Have you still no faith? 23 00:01:06.420 --> 00:01:09.640 And it says his disciples were filled with fear, 24 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:11.440 probably shock and awe. 25 00:01:11.440 --> 00:01:12.560 And then they said to one another, 26 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:17.560 who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? 27 00:01:17.720 --> 00:01:20.440 Now this week, we have been talking about joy 28 00:01:20.440 --> 00:01:23.160 and joy and peace, they partner together 29 00:01:23.160 --> 00:01:26.960 in raising our expectation of God's goodness in our lives 30 00:01:26.960 --> 00:01:30.960 and in developing a deeper trust in him. 31 00:01:30.960 --> 00:01:33.760 Peace and joy create this like beautiful rhythm in us. 32 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:37.280 When we are at peace, joy rises up. 33 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:40.840 When joy rises up, we are at peace. 34 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:43.080 The fruit of the spirit is who God is. 35 00:01:43.080 --> 00:01:46.680 So joy and peace, patience, kindness, gentleness 36 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:50.760 and so much more, those are already present within us 37 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:52.920 because he is present within us. 38 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:55.960 So we're not dependent on anything external 39 00:01:55.960 --> 00:01:59.600 or even our own ability to produce joy and peace. 40 00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:02.640 Instead, we are learning to connect with 41 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.800 all God already is within us. 42 00:02:05.800 --> 00:02:09.639 Second Peter one verse three really illuminates this truth. 43 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:14.640 It says, God's divine power has given us everything we need 44 00:02:15.480 --> 00:02:17.600 for a godly life. 45 00:02:17.600 --> 00:02:21.520 There are days I honestly just need to let that sink in. 46 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:26.520 I have everything I need for a victorious life. 47 00:02:26.600 --> 00:02:29.080 Now in yesterday's episode, we talked about the power 48 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.360 of joy and its fullness. 49 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:36.000 When joy expands within us, it expands our capacity. 50 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.480 And your enemy knows this, which is why our joy, 51 00:02:39.480 --> 00:02:42.520 much like our peace is often under attack. 52 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:45.960 Now he can't touch our joy because he can never empty 53 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:49.560 any fullness of Christ, he can't undo the work of Jesus. 54 00:02:49.600 --> 00:02:53.880 So what he tries to do instead is diminish joy 55 00:02:53.880 --> 00:02:56.720 in our own eyes so that we don't see it 56 00:02:56.720 --> 00:02:59.560 for the powerful force that it is. 57 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:01.440 And there's many ways that he does this. 58 00:03:01.440 --> 00:03:04.000 There are two that I'm seeing a lot of right now 59 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.480 and I shared one of those yesterday. 60 00:03:06.480 --> 00:03:09.520 I shared in yesterday's episode a lie 61 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:11.600 that he tells us about joy. 62 00:03:11.600 --> 00:03:15.280 And today I'm sharing an accusation that he uses. 63 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:19.920 By the way, the enemy's language is lies and accusations. 64 00:03:19.920 --> 00:03:22.240 The Bible says he is the father of lies 65 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:24.600 and the accuser of God's people. 66 00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:27.600 So we can always recognize his language 67 00:03:27.600 --> 00:03:29.100 if it's a liar and accusation. 68 00:03:29.100 --> 00:03:34.100 And an accusation that the enemy uses to diminish joy, 69 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:36.600 diminish the definition of joy in us, 70 00:03:36.600 --> 00:03:40.180 is that he says being joyful, 71 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:44.200 especially in the midst of hard times, is being naive. 72 00:03:44.200 --> 00:03:46.560 I mean, it has been said to me before by other people, 73 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:48.200 you're just being overly optimistic. 74 00:03:48.200 --> 00:03:49.940 You don't know how bad it is. 75 00:03:49.940 --> 00:03:52.160 If you understood how bad it was, 76 00:03:52.160 --> 00:03:56.280 you wouldn't be so insert calm, peaceful, joyful. 77 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:59.400 Or I've even been asked, how can you be so calm 78 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:00.640 even when all this is happening? 79 00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:02.960 Do you even care? 80 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:04.920 Which is an accusation. 81 00:04:04.920 --> 00:04:07.480 Now, this type of accusation got me thinking 82 00:04:07.480 --> 00:04:09.720 about the story in Mark 4. 83 00:04:09.720 --> 00:04:13.280 Do you think that Jesus was unaware 84 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.079 of the damage a storm could do to a boat 85 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.000 in the middle of the sea? 86 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:21.260 Do you think he was naive to the fact 87 00:04:21.260 --> 00:04:23.200 that people die in shipwrecks? 88 00:04:24.280 --> 00:04:28.460 I think he understood the severity of storms, 89 00:04:28.460 --> 00:04:30.980 and yet he slept. 90 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.240 And then when he was awakened, not by the storm, 91 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.640 but by his disciples who were freaking out, 92 00:04:36.640 --> 00:04:38.720 Jesus faced the storm. 93 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:42.320 He didn't ignore it, he faced it. 94 00:04:42.320 --> 00:04:46.280 And he said, peace, quiet, be still. 95 00:04:47.200 --> 00:04:51.560 Jesus' peace influenced the storm. 96 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:55.880 The storm did not influence Jesus' peace. 97 00:04:55.880 --> 00:04:58.240 And you could argue, well, yeah, but he's Jesus. 98 00:04:58.240 --> 00:04:59.960 Like, of course he could be calm. 99 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.920 Yes, He is Jesus, and 1 John 4, 17 says, 100 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:08.800 As He is, so we are in this world. 101 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:14.000 All He is, is already in you. 102 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:20.320 In times of stress, uncertainty, pain, confusion, frustration, 103 00:05:20.320 --> 00:05:27.040 I have so many times said, I will be glad when this is over. 104 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:32.480 But why wait when you already have the joy of Jesus in you? 105 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:36.240 Why wait to be glad? Why wait to be joyful? 106 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:40.720 Don't delay the very thing that strengthens you. 107 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:46.240 Let joy rise up in you. Let its fullness take up space in your 108 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:53.040 head, in your heart, in the peace and the joy that is in you. 109 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:56.880 It's greater than any trouble you'll ever face in this world. 110 00:05:56.880 --> 00:06:01.520 The promise of perfect peace is found in Isaiah 26 3, 111 00:06:01.520 --> 00:06:08.160 and in Hebrew it is shalom shalom, meaning complete wholeness, 112 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:13.440 nothing missing, nothing broken. This is who you are in Jesus. 113 00:06:13.440 --> 00:06:19.440 Let's declare this together. Today, I am kept in perfect peace. With my 114 00:06:19.440 --> 00:06:23.520 whole heart, I trust the Lord. I am strong, 115 00:06:23.520 --> 00:06:29.440 I am victorious, I am whole. Remember friend, you are a living testimony of 116 00:06:29.440 --> 00:06:33.520 Jesus's ultimate win. Not because of anything you did, but 117 00:06:33.520 --> 00:06:37.280 because of what he did for you. With every step you take today, you're 118 00:06:37.280 --> 00:06:43.360 putting Jesus's victory on display and Satan's defeat on replay.