Chapter 1: Defining peace

So, amen, David. Here we are. Uh, peace that passes understanding. Why am I doing this lesson? Well, last week’s

lesson kind of kind of determined what would be next, I think, in the fellowship and the discussion. And we had some great fellowship last week. And

the moment I turned the the Zoom off, my phone rang and it was my lovely sister

who called and had all kinds of opinions about peace and thoughts from a professional pers perspective because she she’s a therapist in in that field.

And I thought, wow, that’s that’s really awesome. Now, I’m not going to be touching on the points that she made in

this lesson. I I want to reserve that for next week’s discussion so that she can bring that up herself and give you guys a chance to share your own stories

and your own backgrounds, your own battles with this because this is one of those verses in Philippians that we have

read a bazillion times, especially if you’ve come out of the the Christian system that if you’re honest, if I’m

honest, struggle to fully comprehend what does it mean to have this peace that surpasses all

understanding and and how will it guard our hearts and minds through Christ. Now uh again in

the Christian theology the answer to that question is just your faith in Christ

and by all means that’s a very good thing. You know, we all need to have our our faith in Christ. But when you do a

broader search study on this word, shalom, peace,

you you come away with a a much grander understanding of what Paul is trying to

say. As usual in our western Greek understanding, we have a singular definition for this word.

And the singular definition for this word is a lot like the image on the screen. You’re just sitting calmly and

you’re feeling no pressure. You’re feeling no anxiety. You’re just at what we call peace. But as I said, there’s a

lot more to it than than that. So let’s jump into this and see what we can see.

Chapter 2: Biblical perspective of peace

What is peace?

When most people think of peace, they think of a life free from conflict, trouble, stress, uncertainty, and hardship. They imagine peace as the

result of everything going right in their life. And that’s certainly true of me. problems being solved, relationships

being healthy, finances being secure, and life unfolding according to plan.

Now, before I go on, suicide is the highest amongst people that those two sentences just described. uh the

wealthy, the the elite, the the rich where they have no conflict. They have no trouble. They have no stress. All their bills are paid. There’s no

uncertainty. They know what they’re going to do every day of their life because they’re wealthy and there’s no hardship. Everything’s going right for them and all their problems are solved.

And yet, this crowd is where the highest rate of suicide is. And that’s an interesting thing to consider. In other

words, most people view peace as something that comes from favorable circumstances. But the peace described in scripture challenges that assumption entirely. How do you judge your peace?

Who or what has the power to disturb it?

And what if you could possess the kind of peace that remains untouched no matter what life throws at you? What if your peace was not dependent on your

health or your finances or your relationships or your circumstances or even what tomorrow may bring? What if it

was anchored so deeply in the character and promises of Yahw that no trial could shake it, no loss could diminish it, and no uncertainty could threaten it.

Scripture speaks of a peace that remains when every earthly reason for peace has vanished. And we’re going to take a hard

biblical look at that in the days of Yeshua.

A peace that endures when tragedy strikes without warning. Peace that stands firm in the face of suffering, loss, and persecution. A peace that’s

greater than your failures, stronger than your fears, more powerful than the voices that constantly remind you of who you once were and what was done to you.

Trauma, abuse. It’s a peace that refuses to be governed by your past because it’s rooted in the faithfulness of Yahw.

peace that remains when everything else is falling apart and the world is searching for peace.

Chapter 3: The crisis of anxiety

Consider for a moment some of these details.

According to the CDC based survey data, the percentage of American adults taking medication for anxiety has increased

from 11.7% in 2019 to 14.3%

in 2024. That represents roughly 38 million adults taking anxiety medication in 2024.

About 8 million more than in 2019.

Xanax alone accounted for approximately 15.4 million prescriptions in 2021.

Anti-depressants, many of which are prescribed for anxiety disorders, are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States.

Recent surveys indicate that between 13% and 17% of US adults are currently taking an anti-depressant. Disclaimer,

I’m not here to say that depression is entirely a spiritual thing. So, please don’t misunderstand the points that I’m

trying to make here. I know that there are people who have serious psychological issues with depression. I’m not here to minimize that at all.

What I want to show in these stats is something that kind of goes beyond that.

The overall trend is upward. Anxiety diagnosis have increased. Anxiety medications have use has increased. And

the percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety has increased substantially over the last decade, particularly since 2020.

Despite unprecedented advances in technology, medicine, convenience, comfort,

anxiety medication use continues to rise year after year. Millions of Americans are searching for peace

that the problem appears to be growing rather than shrinking.

And that is so true. When I was a young man in my say teens or 20s,

I never heard about people struggling with anxiety. It just wasn’t a deal. It wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t part of my everyday life. Not to say that it wasn’t

existent somewhere else, but I think most of you who are in my age category or older

would probably agree that we just didn’t hear a lot about this in our day.

I didn’t really start hearing about it consistently until my children were teenagers and the number of times that they

themselves brought up anxiety in what I might consider an unhealthy way. The world is searching for peace

and unfortunately instead of turning to yah they turn to medication because that’s all they know perhaps.

But there’s no question that the world needs peace. And if that’s the case, then doesn’t that also mean that the reason for peace is also increasing?

The global instabilities, the famines, the earthquakes, all these things that Yeshua said were birth

painans to the second coming, those those things have increasing as well.

Okay. So the first mention of peace in scripture, if you’ve been a part of this group for any length of time, you know that one of the things that we do is we

Chapter 4: First mention of shalom

always look at the first mention of any one word or topic that we are studying out. Why do we do that? Because it’s

kind of a exeetical law amongst um scholars, theologians. It’s said that

when you find the first mention of of any one word in scripture, the definition and how it’s being used in

that verse is its purest form and should be used uh similarly everywhere else that you find it. And I have found in my

own Bible study that that’s usually true. The first time that it’s mentioned is in Genesis 15. Now, as for you, he’s

talking to Abraham here. You shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. David, Tim,

Samuel, you don’t all have to share, but if any of you want to share, I’d like to ask when you read a verse like this, tell me what goes through your head.

What is what is what is he trying to say here? Don’t don’t if you’ve come away with a deeper understanding of this and I don’t want to hear that part

[laughter]

because we’re going to discover that in the course of our lesson. I want to hear what you might you might have come away

with as you read a verse like this. I would I would come away if first reading it, I would just come away with the

thought that okay, when my life is over, then I get to finally be at peace.

That only at that time that all striving cease and at that moment do I realize

not having to deal with tumult uh and trouble in my life. That’s what I would probably reap from that. um looking with new eyes.

Okay. Anybody else?

I would say that you um you’re looking forward to to dying and being with the father that you’re just actually ready.

You’re ready to go versus not being ready.

Okay. Anything different from you, David?

Yeah, I think it’s a matter of, you know, just being freed from any type of worry or regret, things that uh you

think you can still control. at that point you kind of almost like a surrender.

Thanks fellas. Uh the word here of course is shalom in scripture and believe it or not shalom does not have a

singular meaning. It means completeness and number. It means safety, soundness in body means welfare, health,

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prosperity, peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment.

That’s kind of how we use the word in English.

peace, friendship, human relations, peace with Yah, especially in covenant

relations, peace from war or making peace with.

Notice what this the word shalom does not mean in this verse. When it says that Abraham would go to be with his

fathers in peace, it doesn’t mean that Abraham was feeling at peace like the

guy in the image. He wasn’t feeling calm. It does not mean that he was free from anxiety. Does not mean that he was sitting quietly enjoying inner

tranquility. And that’s what peace means to us as I’ve said already several times, right? What does it mean? What what what else could it mean? Yas

promising Abraham that his life would reach its intended conclusion under his blessing and favor. Abraham

would die complete and whole and secure

and ultimately reconciled to Yahw. The emphasis is not on emotion.

It’s not on Abraham’s perspective.

And this is key as we go forward learning from the first mention of the

word peace shalom in scripture. We can say that shalom refers to a state of

wholeness and well-being that results from being in proper relationship with Yahw.

Something else I considered as I read this verse. Ecclesiastes 9 says, “For the living know that they will die.”

Anxiety, right? [laughter] We all know that we’re going to die. We

all think about it from time to time as we are living. We think about how we might die. Will I die in my sleep? Will

I die in a horrific accident? Will I kill over playing tennis? Will I, you know, you name it. We all think about

1. We’ve all thought about it. And that’s a source of anxiety, if even a little bit.

You know, just just this last week, I had a u an annual checkup with my cardiologist. Now, I don’t have heart

problems. I I never really have, but I go to a cardiologist once a year just to make sure things are kosher.

And I would be lying if I said while sitting there having him probe me, take my blood pressure, take my heart EKG,

and all these things that there wasn’t some anxiety there. And I think that’s true for all of us.

Nobody wants to have the doctor look at an instrument and go, “Hm.”

[laughter]

Right? We don’t we don’t want that. What do you What do you mean, hm? What does that mean? because we we fear that

moment even though we look forward to opening our eyes to eternity

and what’s coming next. There is always that subtle fear of the moment of our death. So that’s a source of anxiety.

But the dead know nothing. Once they’re dead, there’s no anxiety, right? Their love, their hatred, their envy have all

perished. All those things, love, hatred, envy, all sources of anxiety, perished.

Never more will they have a share in anything done under the sun. For there is no work. Work is a source of anxiety

for us. Or device or knowledge or wisdom. Do you know that knowledge and wisdom is also a source of anxiety?

Let’s see if Samuel can give us a good answer of this. How is knowledge or wisdom a source of anxiety, Samuel?

Because Solomon wrote that wisdom brings grief and knowledge brings sorrow

because you can see reality for what it really is. You’re not under an illusion.

Yeah. So all these things that I’ve highlighted in yellow are sources of grief and anxiety.

But the dead know nothing. Which means what? Which means they are in peace, right? Everything highlighted

in yellow cannon does cause some level of anxiety to our lives, but in the grave is where we have true shalom

because in the grave we know nothing. So when I look at Genesis 15 now, now I understand it through everything that we just looked at as it pertains to shalom.

But I also look at it a little differently in regards to say Ezekiel 9.

that when we are in the grave, there is nothing ever going to affect or have an impact on peace at all. There won’t even

be peace really as something that is felt. I just thought that was a curious way of

looking at that verse. So, what does the first mention tell us?

From the first mention alone, we can say that shalom refers to a state of wholeness and well-being that results from being in proper relationship to Yahw. already said that he is not

promising Abraham a feeling. He is promising him a condition. Abraham’s life would come to its appointed end

under the favor of Yahw, secure in his promises and reconciled to the one who called him. His circumstances throughout life

would include, just like they do for us, trials, fears, waiting, uncertainty, hardship.

Yet Yahw could still describe his end as shalom. And there’s a strange dichotomy

there that we’re going to explore in a later slide.

Even though the man’s life was filled with all of these things, the father could still describe his end

as shalom. And I think that’s a nod to our ultimate question. What is peace that passes understanding?

Chapter 5: Philippians 4 and the peace of God

Okay, our theme text really is Philippians 4, the guardian of the heart. Philippians 4:6-7. It says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to Yahw, and the peace of Yahw, which surpasses all understanding will

guard your hearts and minds through Yeshua.” Okay. Although this discussion is not about anxiety, I know it kind of

feels that way based on everything we’ve looked at. You can’t ignore its presence in the context of this verse. And for

the watchful eye, an equation shows itself. You’ve heard me say many times that I see equations uh linear equations in scripture and I see one here. Right?

When a person has anxiety, the answer is prayer and the result is peace. But there’s going to be one more thing added

to this linear equation as we go on. Few things should be noted here in this verse.

First, Paul says, “Don’t be anxious.” Almost as though it were a simple matter.

Yet for all of us, especially in these last days, anxiety is anything but simple. It can

be a daily struggle, a constant battle of the mind, and at times it can feel overwhelming for some. And I would dare

say that that’s true for every single one of us. It’s seemingly, what’s the word I’m looking for? Almost

insensitive for Paul just to say, “Don’t be anxious to somebody who struggles

with it every single What? What do you mean don’t be anxious?” like it’s something I can turn off. And yet for

those of us in faith, it can be under our control.

How?

Well, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

So, let me ask the fellas, what’s the difference between these two words, prayer and supplication? Prayer is when

you’re having a conversation with the most high. It’s not putting in a

request. It is acknowledgment of him. Um within that you can include praise. With

supplication, more or less, you are seeking redress or you are seeking for the father to work something on your

behalf in order to render deliverance from either sickness, um threat of death, um provision, things of that

nature. I would think that would be the the difference, brother Ed.

Okay, David. Tim, that’s pretty good definition.

Okay, you rest with Samuel’s definition, Tim.

Yep. Prayer is prayer is an overarching um you know includes adoration and confession and you know other

supplication is is like Sam said requesting the father to intercede on needs or praying for other people. It

seems like supplication is a subset of of prayer.

Yeah. So prayer is that word in Greek. I don’t know if I’m going to say it correctly or not. So I’ll just not say

1. I it means to approach him in worship, to approach him in reverence and conversation. It’s the general act

of coming before him. What does that look like? Well, does that mean someone’s getting on their knees and praying? Yeah, that would be definitely

an an act of of prayer. It’ be an act of coming before him. What are some other ways that we can come before him?

Because I want to explore this a little bit for the benefit of those listening.

What is another way besides the traditional, if you will, to use that that terminology of getting on your

knees or closing your eyes as we did this morning to say a prayer before our lesson? Because we know that we’re

taught in scripture that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and prays on our behalf

based on the things that are in our heart. So knowing that, I’m going to share with you what it means to me, but I’d like to get some of your thoughts as well, what it means to come before him.

Well, brother Ed, I would say for for me it is always giving acknowledgement and thanks. I draw a distinction between

praise and worship. Praise is I’m opening my mouth and I’m magnifying and

exalting the father and our king. That’s basically what I’m looking at when I’m worshiping. You know, not only am I down on my knees, but I’m flat on my face.

Okay. I think when you said uh I guess focused on on coming before him, I think for me it’s just it’s a matter of

setting everything aside and just focusing on him and and who he is versus being distracted by everything else.

Okay. Um I was going to say Bible says come before him to listen first. Um so I

sometimes there’s so much noise in us that um sometimes I just need to to you know just stop talking and just listen

you know look look in the nature or you know listen to the word and and maybe stop my self-t talk or or self thought

initially all very good uh explanations for certain. Let me just share with you

kind of what my whole idea is. My personal feeling is any time in the

course of my day, if I consider him, if I think about him, if I wonder about

him, whether I open my mouth to utter a word or not, I have come before the king. And as believers,

we’re supposed to always really believe and accept that we are always in his sight.

And when I look at the picture on the screen, I look at that young man sitting on a rock. I’ve been that young man

sitting on a rock overlooking some grand landscape. And immediately my thoughts are on him.

As the breeze is hitting my face, it almost feels as if he’s communicating.

As I look over the land and consider the abundance of life that exists just

in that one eyesight that is having its comingings and goings monitored by the

sovereignty of [snorts] his spirit. The fish that are under the sea the ocean or that lake whatever it is that depend upon him.

When I sit like that, whether it’s on a mountaintop looking over something like we’re seeing on the screen, or if I

stand on the shore of a grand ocean and listen to the waves roll in and feel the breeze on my face.

I can’t help but imagine that the sound that the waves are making are his

whispers, his communication, his reminding me of his presence.

When I stand in a thick forest of pine trees and I can hear the sound

of the pine needles clapping in the breeze.

I hear his voice. I haven’t said a word.

But I can’t help but feel that in that moment I have come before him and he

knows that he he knows what’s in my heart. He knows that I am aware

constantly of his presence and just by the thoughts that are going

through my mind which I just articulated to you that is reverence that is worship and of course opening my mouth is conversation.

So that’s prayer supplication as as the fellas explained is much narrower. It’s

a specific plea arising from a particular need slash anxiety [snorts]

or fear, lack of burden or crisis. It carries the idea of earnest petition.

And we do that, right? Our supplications are those things that are attacking our

shalom, whatever they may be. And they’re different for everybody. and we lay them at his feet.

And when we lay them at his feet, that gives us a sense of peace that is returning to us

in different measures depending on your level of trust.

But I ask this, how often do we do the supplication where we’re talking about our pains and

our needs, our crisis, our burden, the things that we lack?

How often do we do it with thanksgiving?

When we’re laying these things out before the father as we are commanded and taught to do, how often would you say that you’re

27 minutes

grateful for the things that are causing you anxiety?

I I dare say that not many of us would say that we do that on a regular basis.

So really the above equation as I said it would change looks more like this. We have the anxiety.

We pray. We do it with thanksgiving and peace. Why are we doing it with thanksgiving?

Because if you cannot be thankful for the challenges in your life, you certainly can’t trust him to carry them.

After all, he allowed them in the first place. And that’s the thing we have to keep reminding ourselves of whatever the

pain, whatever the source of pain, whatever the source of anxiety, whatever it is, the father is either sovereign in

your life or he is not. And of course, we know he is. He’s allowed these things to exist to teach you something.

And so when we go to him in supplication, it shouldn’t just be, “Father, help change this, change that.” No, it should be thank you for this

incredible crisis that we’re going through right now because it’s an opportunity to me for me to show you how

much I trust you, how much I believe that you can carry my burdens. The most important thing is

this, the peace of Yahw. And you may not have ever noticed this in this verse.

It’s not your peace that you’re trying to have or find. It’s his, right? My wife just said, “Yeah, good point.” It

really is a good point because we miss it. We’re all searching, as I said at the beginning, for peace. We all want my

peace. Serenity now from from Seinfeld, right? We’re all looking for my peace or our definition of peace.

Yeah. Yes. Our definition of peace.

And yet Paul says, “Hold on. When you pray and you’re grateful and you make

your requests known to the Father, his peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Yeshua.

There’s the catch.

When we saw the title of the lesson, we were all thinking how much we would love to have this peace that passes

understanding. Sorry, it’s not your peace to have alone. It’s the father’s peace that is given to you.

So the question is, how does bringing our requests to Yahw

result in having his peace? Well, first peace comes from knowing who is carrying the burden.

But you must trust a that he can carry it and b that he will carry it if and

that’s the big thing the big condition if you can let it go. All those things are connected to one another.

You have to believe that he can carry it that he will carry it if you let it go.

Now, think about your own life here at this moment, as I’m sure you’re already doing.

How many times have we heard, even in the Christian church, to give our

burdens to the father? But if we’re honest and real, we would say we’re not

entirely sure how to do that besides just saying, “Okay, father, here’s my my A, B, and C.” Right? Psalm 55 says,

“Cast your burden on Yahw, and he shall sustain you.” Again, if you’re a

logistics guy like me, you look at a verse like that and go, “Okay,

that sounds a lot easier than done.” Because I’m in the real world here. I

have real bills. I have people trying to take my money. I have health crisis relationships.

What does it mean to cast your burden on Yah? I I would like to hear from one or

all of you brothers as to what that looks like logistically. To me, what it

looks like is is not ignoring the the obvious. So you’re not putting your

hand, your head rather, in the sand and pretending that those things aren’t there, but you recognize whom you serve

the the vastness, the unfathomable depth of our Elohim. and you walk with a

certain type of assurance that no matter what happens to you in a fleshly sense, you know, ultimately all things work

together for the good of those that love our Elohim. So that’s what it comes down to to to me.

Casting in this particular, you know, situation, I think that it it gives you some level it reduces talking about this

whole element of anxiety. A lot of time that anxiety is a result of it’s all up

to me and if I don’t make it happen then it’s not going to happen and [snorts] all calamity will break loose. Right?

Where I think that when we cast it on on God we feel we’re not alone and we feel that we have this someone who’s walking

with us who can support us during that time and help us get through these things. Right? So I think that is a a

big component of anxiety is when you feel that you’re not dealing with something on your own and in this particular case you have this all

powerful almighty God that is with you uh and that gives you you know some element of of pre of of peace that things will work out.

Okay. So yeah so yes both both of those thoughts are are true. But let me just ask this question as we look at Psalm 55.

What does it not say, Tim? What does Psalm 55 not say? That it’s all going to work out for you.

Yes. It also says that the burden’s not going to go away. Right. Right. Yeah.

It doesn’t say that. Yeah. The magic.

It doesn’t say cast your burdens on Yahw and I’ll take them away. Or I’ll make it easier. Yep.

No. cast the burden on Yahw and he will sustain you. He will help you stand up underneath it.

Which gives us his peace.

First Peter 5, something I discovered in this verse that I had never seen before.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of Yahw that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him,

for he cares for you. How many times have we read that? How many times have we looked at that verse and got a

moniker of peace from it? That little thing in our heart that flutters, that little piece of feeling, that little

sense of, “Oh, this is so special.” And this is one of those verses that we might share on TikTok or text somebody, right? Because it’s awesome. And it is.

But did you know, I didn’t know until this week that the word for care and the word for cares are two different words.

I didn’t know this.

The word care for casting all your care upon him is mimna. I guess that’s it that word is. And as you would imagine,

it’s anxiety, worry, concern, distractions. In other words, the burden that kind of weighs on the mind. for he cares for you. It’s a different word.

That word is mele and it means to be a concern to someone,

to matter to someone, to have regard for someone and not actually that word’s not distracting but not being distracted.

Typo, sorry. In other words, to take interest in. So when it says he cares for you, it’s not this oohy gushy

emotional feeling that you and I might express to a loved one. I really care for you. No, that’s not what it means.

It means I’m taking care of you like I would take care of someone in need. Two completely different meanings.

But there’s a trick here. You have to humble yourself, right? That’s always important to understand that these

things are all there for us. But more importantly, we we have to trust this.

We have to trust what the father is trying to say here through Peter’s epistle that you are a concern to him.

That you matter to him. That he have he has regard for your well-being. The

biggest divide in our minds when it comes to things like this or

when it comes to learning things about this about the father is what we think

our needs are and what we think our cares are is completely different to him. You may think in your moment of need that you need A, B, C, and D.

That the father knows better. He knows you need E, F, G, H, and I.

And you have to be willing to trust that not only does he want to take care of you, but that he knows the best way to

do it. And that’s what it means to have his peace. This last comment that you made,

Chapter 6: Trusting God through trials

it actually ties back to the point that I went to made earlier and I’m sorry I didn’t interject earlier. The whole concept of being thankful during the

time of affliction. The I think you know talking about equations right this whole concept of

challenges and afflictions equals in our mind

to something bad right to some to to to pain where uh that might not necessarily

be the case right and and if we read in James this James 1 which I’m sure a lot of people are familiar with says my

brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

But let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Right?

So this goes back to the point you just said right now is that we should be thankful to be in these situations. Why?

because there will be a positive outcome and that positive outcome can be in maybe in two probably a lot of different

ways but two big ones two main ones is number one there will be growth and we will grow in who we are in our

understanding of who God is and uh you know it will bring us to the point where we are complete and lacking in nothing right so back to that point that you

said God knows what we need and in some cases the only way for us to be able to get to that point is through these

trials for being refined by fire, for example, right? Some people learn in different ways. In some cases, we need

to go through those challenges. Yet, like we said earlier, we’re not going through it alone. We’re going through him with his support. He is guiding us

and sustaining us so that we may become complete. And the other aspect of it is is that as we go through trials, it

gives opportunity for God to be glorified. And so we should rejoice in the fact that we are being used by God to glorify his name to the world. Right?

So, so just wanted to bring up why we should be thankful for this is because challenges doesn’t necessarily mean bad

things. It it can be, you know, many good things that come out of it ultimately.

That was powerful. And I would share that that you see that within the New Testament where the the disciples

question Yeshua with respect to the condition of the infirmed man. And the whole

question was, you know, he’s this way from birth. Why? You know, what did his parents do? What did he do? And Yeshua’s point was his parents did nothing wrong.

The man did nothing wrong. He’s that way for the purpose of Yah’s glorification.

Amen.

So what you said, brother David, is spot on. Amen. Thank you guys. Appreciate that.

Okay. So in our last slide, we we left off with, you know, but you have to trust this. And in this slide, we want to explore that. The path to his peace

and how trust is one. This this powerful verse in Isaiah 26. You will keep him in perfect peace. There’s our word shalom.

whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts you. Now again, I didn’t I’m not highlighting it in this slide, but as always, I see equations.

Why is the man’s mind stayed on Yahw?

Well, because he trusts in you. And because he trusts in you, he has perfect shalom. And I know it’s easier said than done.

How many times has someone exhorted us to trust in Yahw? How many times have we said to him ourselves, I want to trust

you, but that word comes out of our mouth. And what usually comes out of our mouth is all the reasons and all the things that we know that we should trust him with, but don’t, can’t, or won’t.

Right? Those three words are are important.

We say we want to trust him, but father A, B, and C are are all the things that we know we should trust him with, but

they’re also the things that we don’t, can’t, or won’t trust him with for one reason or another. And as a result,

our lack of peace remains. The big question is, to me, at least in my mind, everyone always says to trust Yahw, but

how how do I do this besides just saying it, right? Because anyone can just say something

doesn’t make it happen. How do I do this? What’s it look like to trust in a God that I cannot see or hear? What’s the answer?

Well, believe it or not, you either have to have seen him and known him or you

must know about him from his word. Now, think about the profound nature of that sentence.

When you consider all of our heroes in scripture who have like Abraham had this peace, how did

they have that peace? [snorts] Well, because Abraham heard Yahw’s voice, had lunch with him, [laughter]

and we would all like to say, “Yeah, you know, of course, Abraham had this shalom because he was having lunch with God of

the universe. Wouldn’t we all want that?” But that’s certainly not the the metric. That’s certainly not the key.

Why? Because Israel also saw him and heard his voice.

And yet they did not have that shalom, that that peace, right?

So we have to either know him or know about him from his word. And that’s really us. That part there, that last

part of the sentence is us. How do you put your trust in somebody if you don’t know that somebody?

Psalm 9 in Romans 10 tells us this. And those who know your name will put their trust in you.

Romans 10 says, “So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Yahw.”

So there is this element of having to discover this person in order for me to properly

put my trust in him which ultimately leads to my peace. Problem with so many in the world today is their knowledge of

him is very limited. Right? They only know him through the scriptures of the

New Testament. And a large percentage of those people have a distorted view of who the father is. I I think what it

boils down to is that when people en encounter Elohim, especially through

Yeshua, you know, as you know, as they call him, Jesus Christ, it is an awareness

of an Elohim. It’s an awareness of a God. But in Hebrew, there is a word

yada. And even though it can be interpreted as knowing, it is a

different kind of knowing. It’s it’s not in the essence or the sense of um science. It’s not um a static knowledge.

What it is is an intimate knowledge. And it’s that intimate knowledge that allows you to have the shalom, the peace that

you’re searching for even in the midst of all the tumult in your life.

Amen. Yeah, we looked at that word yada I think in our u in our lesson on the way if I remember correctly.

Very very very true.

You just hit [clears throat] on how do we know his peace? You know, knowing his name. I I just wanted to add Isaiah 48:18 also has a picture where it says

he says, “Oh, that you had heeded my commandments, then your peace would been like a river.” So, I I think actually

just taking it from that Greek mindset into doing it. Um Yeshua talks about this also in in John 7:17, one of my

favorite verses is he says, “If anyone wills to do his will, he will know concerning my doctrine, whether it’s from God or whether I speak on my own.”

It’s like there’s just when the rubber meets the road, we either are we going to believe this or we’re not. I’ve learned in my experience over 38 years,

I I have to just be willing to risk that and do that in in my heart. Risk that and go against the noise and just put it into practice.

And that serves right into my next equation because there is an element of risk.

When you quote unquote put something in his hands or decide to trust him, you are hearing about him. You’re learning

about him. And as a result of this hearing and learning, you’re believing in him. And as a result of that belief,

you are obeying him. And then you begin to experience his faithfulness as you’re

risking more and more and more into his hands. And then the trust grows. So this

all ties directly into everything that we’ve recently studied. Moses saying, “Show me your glory. Teach me your ways

that I may know you.” Understanding his armor from last week is to understand and to have his peace.

How many of us can share about this journey and how it’s exploded our understanding of the word

and as a result exploded our understanding of him and as a result

could say how much our faith has grown, how much our trust has grown, how much our peace has multiplied as the result.

It’s only with this increasing peace that any of us can stand up against what we know is coming. And the only way to

be at peace with giving your life for what you believe. Cuz for many of us, that’s that’s coming. We know this is

coming if we’re alive to see it. And to have his peace is the only way that we can stand up under it. And isn’t that

why Yeshua told the fellows, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.” what was coming in their life.

We all know what would eventually become of the 12.

We all know what what came for them. And that was the only way that they could stand up to it when it came

is because Yeshua gave them his peace.

And we see this not only in John 14, we see it in John 16. These things I’ve spoken to you that in me you may have

peace. Now the interesting thing about John 16 and why peace known and not felt is the importance when you read John 16,

Yeshua’s words about having his peace is nearly at the end of the chapter.

What comes before it is anything but peaceful to them. And this is an incredible little study to do for yourself. When you read John 16, here’s all the things that he said.

[laughter]

These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. There’s going to be persecution. There’s going to be people being put out of the synagogues

being killed for what they believe. And those people doing the killing are thinking are thinking that they serve God. He said he’s going to leave them.

He talked about their sorrow. talked about the coming helper of the Holy Spirit, the conviction of sin, the conviction of righteousness, the conviction of judgment.

Again, a reminder, a little while I’m not going to be here. There’s going to be confusion, guys.

Some of you are going to be weak. You’re all going to be scattered. These were all the things that Yeshua said in John

16\. Sprinkled in amongst them, though, as always is like the father, are some happy things. sorrow turning to joy.

Shared the analogy of childbirth, the permanence of their future joy, praying in his name, direct access to

the father, the father’s love for believers, Yeshua coming from the father, the disciples belief, Yeshua not being

alone, the ruler of this world, being judged, spirit guiding believers in the truth. Those are all good things he sprinkled in.

It says, “These things I have spoken to you so that,” and that’s really how you should read that verse, “So that you may

have peace in me.” In other words, in light of this all by itself, all those nasty things, peace is impossible. If we

look at that list, hindsight is 2020. We all know how all of that unfolded. We go, “Oh man, peace

is impossible with the knowledge of all this stuff.” And it is. It only becomes possible

When you consider what’s coming, when you consider what’s going to happen at the end, Samuel mentions Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo,

the only reason that they were at peace with being consumed by fire is because they knew what was coming in a good

sense if they died.

They had that sense of godly priority in their mind where their life really didn’t mean anything regardless of how

bad it got. And in their case, it’s pretty darn bad. [laughter] But they had that peace from knowing

what was coming. So the thing that struck me about John 16 is that Yeshua did not leave out the pain. He didn’t

soften reality or tell people only what they wanted to hear.

He was honest about the world we live in and the trials we would face.

And in this life, there is no path around suffering. You’ve heard me say many times, the only way out is through.

The question is not whether we will endure hardship, but how we will endure it.

We can walk through it in despair and hopelessness or we can walk through it sustained by his peace.

And peace is found in the ancient path.

Everyone is searching for peace, but few know where to find it. Peace is not discovered in changing our circumstances

like we think they are. Grass is always greener, accumulating more possessions or gaining greater control over our

lives. True peace is found by walking the ancient path. The path laid out by

Yahw from the beginning. It’s a path of trust, obedience, dependence upon him.

When we walk in his ways, we find what the world can never offer, what no trial

can take away, and even death has no power over, the rest for our souls, and

the peace that endures. We know this verse, but let’s compare Jeremiah 16 to Isaiah 59.

Thus says Yhovah, stand in the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths where

53 minutes

the good way is and walk in it. It’s one thing just to know that they’re there.

It’s a whole different ball of wax to actually walk in it. When you walk in it, then condition,

you’ll find rest for your souls. You’ll find peace for your souls. Compare that to Isaiah 59.

The way of peace they have not known.

There’s no justice in their ways. They have made crooked paths. Whoever takes

that way will not know peace. So how you find peace? By walking in the path. This

is why Philippians says Yah’s peace and why Yeshua says my peace.

Because peace is intrinsically connected to walking the paths he has prepared for

those who love him. Psalm 119, great peace of those who love your law, and

nothing causes them to stumble. Peace that passes understanding. Psalm 119 sounds like a pretty good definition.

When you are obedient to the father and you love his law, then nothing causes you to stumble.

Proverbs three, my son, don’t forget my law. Let your heart keep my commandments for length of days and long life. And

what peace they will add to you.

So in conclusion, what is the peace that passes understanding?

Chapter 7: Conclusion on biblical peace

Peace is not the absence of trouble, pain, conflict, uncertainty, hardship.

Peace is the settled condition of heart in a mind that is fully aligned with Yhovah, trusting his character, resting in his promises, and walking in his paths.

It is the result of faith, obedience, and covenant relationship with him.

Biblical peace is not determined by what is happening around you, but by who you are walking with and what

path you are walking on. It is the rest that comes from knowing that Yhovah is faithful, that his ways are good, and

that no circumstance can separate you from his purpose.

Peace is the fruit of remaining on the ancient path even while the storm is still raging around you. As believers,

we must stop pursuing the feeling of peace.

Because as long as we are living in this world, our circumstances will constantly change. Which means you are constantly

changing a feeling based on circumstance.

Trials will come, relationships will disappoint, our health may fail. The future will often remain uncertain.

Above all, the enemy will take every possible chance, every negative opportunity and situation he can find

and use it to challenge your faith, challenge your peace, distort your

perspective, magnify your fears, and convince you that Yahw is not faithful.

His goal is to move your focus from him and his promises to your problems, from

trust to doubt, and from peace to turmoil.

And as believers, we simply cannot allow that.

I’m I’m I’m sorry, Chef, but I need to add another ingredient because I like what All right. I I want you to I want the

brothers and sisters and everyone who has the ability to to hear um this now

and in the recording look at I believe it’s Exodus 12 or Shimote 12 and you see

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where the Most High instructs Moses to camp the children of Israel right up

against the Red Sea and in a impossible position where they couldn’t time where

Pharaoh would get the word where he would gather his army and his charity and go to destroy them for the entire purpose of being glorified.

So he gave instructions that placed the children of Israel in harm’s path for the express purpose of his glory. And I

think that’s something that we always need to read and consider. Thank you for allowing me to man.

Of course, brother. Thank you guys for listening all. Thanks for your input. Jump in there.

Yeah. I just wanted to say one more thing before we open it up for discussion. Uh thanks again another great powerful lesson. I think this is

one of those that you know you add to the top of your list of things as you’re reaching out to people um

for them to understand you know more about God and and and why

they should consider you know getting to know him better. Uh but I um you know but I’m but I’m excited about next week and even though Ed is not going to be

here with another great lesson um we are going to

be there and to continue to talk about this topic because it’s a very important fundamental topic that is uh disturbing

and is is something that uh causes a lot of people a lot of anxiety and unrest.

We’re gonna have this opportunity to dive deeper into this to share people can share about you know this this

concept that we have the knowledge that we just heard. We know that we should be doing differently but like Ed said

earlier it’s easier said than done. And so we’re going to talk about the struggles that you go through, the wrestling that you go through in trying

to put these things into practice uh so that we can ultimately, you know, grow

closer to that peace of God. And so I just want to invite you guys to come back again next week. It’s going to be a

great time of sharing and encouragement and strengthening. Uh and we’re looking forward to it.

Amen. Okay. It looks like uh Brother Luke’s up first. Shalom, Brother Ed. Wow. It’s amazing.

Chapter 8: Discussion and personal testimonies

Wow. Just so many doors opened. And uh but [clears throat] what I gravitate towards is Romans 8:28.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that are

called according to their purpose. That means all things whether it’s cancer, death of a loved one, hitting the

lottery. I believe peace comes from understanding, knowledge, and the implementation

of those two in wisdom. I I can’t expound any more than you’ve already done. I I just wanted to throw that

little verse in there because that that verse has carried me through so much so much since my walk. So anyway, thank you. Thank you so much.

Appreciate you. Okay, let’s see. Looks like uh the brother using Katherine’s count is got his hand up.

Yeah, me again. Um uh yes and amen to your teaching.

However, I um want to push back perhaps in anticipation of next week’s meeting.

Um and my my my confession of faith is I believe that the conditions of the garden are accessible to us now through the deposit of the Holy Spirit.

But in my experience, that path is still being guarded by a pair of cherubam with

a flaming sword. Um I I speak to this

on behalf of my wife. Um, and I ask [clears throat] for this

community’s prayer. I know you guys don’t know me, but I’ve been married to a woman for 27 years with a life

shattering emergency room breakdown um, anxiety disorder. That’s what it’s called, the anxiety disorder. like, “Oh,

we’re worried about the bills.” No, this this is that’s not a big enough category for the experience of my wife.

And I don’t know how to get there from here. We’re in a trial right now with our neighbor over a stupid fence line. And the guy’s just being a total jerk.

And this triggers everything, you know, from my wife from five years old on up to a loveless mom and an abusive father.

It triggers border issues. It triggers um abandonment issues. It triggers where you know we we’ve stood in faith. We’ve

confessed in faith. We believe these words and have no access to them. And I don’t know how to get there from here.

And I don’t I don’t want to be psychoanalyzed by you guys. I believe everything Ed said, Samuel, David. Yes.

Amen. I want prayer. I want prayer. I want breakthrough because it seems as if a part of this,

you know, is a condition of waiting upon the Lord that we do what we can and it

seems as if God is still not hearing our prayers. I mean, we’ve rebuked the devil. We’ve, you know, gone through

deliverance. We stand in faith. We believe the word. And yesterday my wife’s at the point of renouncing God

1 hour, 3 minutes

and over something as trivial as a fence line. It’s just it’s like the final

straw that um it’s just like too much to bear. And so I I’m going to leave that in your court.

I’m going to ask for the prayer of this community. And you know, maybe we’ll discuss further um

next week. Um but I I just leave that I leave that with you guys and um

it’s a timely topic. So I thank you for it. It’s just it sounds like word salad to me right now and you know that’s just where I’m at.

Well, brother, I I I’m grateful for and thankful for uh your vulnerability.

Amen.

And your humility and sharing this with 97 people. Um, of course, we will pray for you.

Matter of fact, we will take a moment and just come before you now as as we

pray. Um, before I I do that, let me just say one thing.

I think we can all attest to a moment in our life when we were near the breaking point. I certainly can.

And I got through it somehow. Some way he brought me through it. And it wasn’t

until 5, 10, sometimes 15, 20 years past it that I was to look back on it

with some sort of clarity and to see his fingerprints

on all of it. And how many times when I do that, I look back and I go, “Yeah,

now I know what the father was trying to get out of my heart or into my heart or

whatever the case may be.” So, he will sustain you even though you feel like you’re at your breaking point.

Let me just encourage you with that. The only thing you can’t do is give up.

If you give up, then you take away the victory that you’re you will have in the future. Amen.

But uh let’s let’s just all bow right now and and pray. Brother, what again was your name and your wife’s name?

Well, you know my wife’s name. I’m Jim. She’s Katherine. Yeah. Jim and Katherine.

Holy Father Yhovah, we come before you as a small group of believers scattered in the nations.

Literally coming into this room from all over the world, having 97 different

1 hour, 6 minutes

backgrounds and experiences and 97 different sets of pains and failures and

victories that we can all share from, that we can all ex um express to Jim and Katherine about how you have brought us to victory.

But we can also also attest, Father, how incredibly challenging it has been at times where we couldn’t see hope, where

we couldn’t feel hope. And much like Job felt like all we could do was sit in

ashes and scrape our skin with pottery charge.

You know what’s happening with Jim. You know what’s happening with Katherine.

You have their situation in the palm of your hand. You’re aware of every issue, be it great or small, in their life.

1 hour, 7 minutes

Show them your glory, Father.

Be it today, be it the moment we say amen. be it tomorrow in your perfect timing.

Show them your glory and help them to grow in their trust and to put their

hope in your peace and to look beyond the momentary as

Yeshua says trials and tribulations that we go through in the course of our life. that sometimes takes weeks, months, and years to resolve themselves.

Help us to see, help them to see that it’s an opportunity for them to not give

up their faith and in their trust in you. Renouncing you is what Satan wants.

Renouncing you is what he is hoping to accomplish through this.

Help them to see you when we put them in your hands. Together as a congregation,

be we scattered, we put them in your hands and just pray for great resolve. We ask these things in the name of your holy son Yeshua.

Amen. Amen.

Uh okay, brother. Amen. We we expect to hear by faith the good news of how you’re coming to understand things.

She’s coming to understand things and the victories that will certainly come.

Okay, let’s see. I think Daria is up next. Sister Daria, hello. Shabbat shalom.

Um, what was just said? I I’m looking forward to next week as well. And I think we will speak more

about these things. So I will not I will not mention it here only that I will pray for this family for uh Jim and

1 hour, 9 minutes

Katherine and for the situation with the neighbor that he’s just mentioned I will pray for that but um back to the peace

issue I want to say actually something uh when I became or uh I I knew about

God since uh 1991 and I was growing in a church then as

you know uh or don’t know I uh left uh god for 13 years

and when I came back uh I was so grateful that he has given me a second chance not only to come back to him but

he has also opened my eyes to Torah and gave me this wonderful for fellowship. And as I was starting to

discover the Torah and that the Shabbat, when I discovered the Shabbat is still

still valid, I mean my my eyes open, you know, like the tennis balls.

So um and uh then when I uh um when I

started to follow and really um just being thankful the the one day I remember I was just

laying in my bed and there was such a peace flowing I mean a piece I’ve never I’ve never experienced in my 25 years of walking uh the the the Christian path.

So that was something amazing and I want to also uh think I I think that God is

also giving us peace to you know to guard us and to tell us about kind of

danger that something is going on which is something that I’ve experienced even today when I was listening to uh a

message or a a teaching in a on a YouTube And there was a a a

um a brother or in Christ I would say who was was sharing his testimony and

and about the spiritual battle and he spoke about the shift shifters but then

you know then I I just in my spirit I felt that something is not good and

that’s the way that God is I think guarding us with with the peace that we

when we are listening to something which is not according to to the scripture or

there is kind of twisting in it that’s the that’s at least in my in my case

where the peace is starting not like to leave me but this peace in me tells me

1 hour, 12 minutes

be careful because this is not good so that’s I think that I want to share that

yes, God is giving us peace also to to protect us. So that’s what I wanted to share. Thank you.

Amen, sister. Thank you all the way from the Czech Republic. We’re so blessed to have you. Okay, brother Moore, you’re up next.

Uh first of all, I wanted to mention uh Jim, make sure you reach out to me. I’ve I’ve got some some tools that might be particularly useful to you. What I

wanted to say um in terms of our topic today is that uh sometimes we tend to think of

that we have symptoms of not having peace like anxiety disorder or depression that that that somehow that

that’s a spiritual brokenness when in fact it might actually be a symptom that we’re walking the right way.

uh could you think of a greater sadness than Messiah knowing that his disciples are going to leave him and that he’s going to be uh separated from the father?

Can you think of a more trying and anxious thing? So, I think it’s important that we don’t consider the bad things in our life or what what seems

bad necessarily as symptoms of us being on the wrong path where they might actually be symptoms of us being up

against the Red Sea like we’re supposed to be. So, I just wanted to send an encouraging word in that way.

Yes. Amen. Very wise words there from brother Moore.

Okay, guys. Well, listen. Um, today we had 99 people that are on with us right

now. Now, I need to apologize to you. In my Zoom account, in my current Zoom account that I’m paying for, it only

allows me up to a 100 people. So, if you’re one of those people that got kicked out or wouldn’t be allowed to

join, my heartfelt apologies to you. I was not expecting

99 plus people coming on today. So, I need to upgrade that and I will upgrade that. Uh but I’m very grateful that we

have you here if you’re a first timer and um look forward to engaging with you

in in future lessons and discussions. I wanted to end today with a couple more

words of wisdom as it pertains to peace and leave you with the ironic blessing.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn

his face toward you and give you peace. I hope you have a fantastic Shabbat. Thanks for joining us today.

looking forward to the time that we come back together and talk about Babylon.

Talk about Torah being freedom, what it means to come out of Babylon. That’ll be fun. There’s a lot of opinions out there as to what that looks like. We’re going

to try and get a biblical perspective as best we can. But, um, I’ll miss you guys next week as I’ll be with my son and his

wife who are in the way in in Columbus and spending time with him. Uh, as always, if you have questions or

comments, you guys can reach me by uh email. And I’m going to continue to try to do these dailies uh videos. They’re

really kicking my butt in big way uh timewise to try to pull those off every day along with researching and studying

for our weekly Shabbat. But I’m going to keep trying. Guys, may you be blessed.

May you have a fantastic weekend. And we’ll see you soon. And see you next week. Shalom. Shalom everybody. Shalom.

Shalom. Shabbat shalom. Shalom. Shabbat shalom. Shabbat shalom. Shalom. Shalom.

Great lesson. Thank you. Shabbat shalom. Yeah. Thanks. Fantastic. Fantastic. Shalom.

Shabbat shalom. Shabbat shalom. Bigger monitor to see everybody. Shabbat shalom. God bless guys.

Shabbat shalom family. Have a nice weekend.

[clears throat]

Shabbat shalom. Shalom. Shabbat shalom. God bless.

Takes a little longer to say goodbye, doesn’t it, with 99 people.

Praise the Lord for that. I’m trying to turn this off. neighbor.

Byebye