- December 7 – Step Into His Presence (Hebrews 4:14–16) – Pastor Matt Krachunis – PEACE
- If you look at America right now, almost nobody has peace. Alcohol, drugs, porn, doom scrolling, over eating, working out, buying, accumulating, working. almost every American ninety-plus percent uses some coping mechanism to numb loneliness, stress, fear, or pain.
- In other words, almost one hundred percent of Americans are medicating a soul-level ache they don’t know how to fix/// They are searching for peace…but very few are finding it.
- And this is why Heb 4 matters so much. Because peace doesn’t come from numbing our souls. Peace doesn’t come from distraction. Peace doesn’t come from chemicals, screens, or escapes.
- Peace comes from a Person. Peace comes from a High Priest. Peace comes from Emmanuel-God with us -who invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace and receive his peace
- HOW DO WE FIND PEACE? “Let us hold fast our confession.” We hold on to our beliefs.
- But before you can hold fast your confession, you must first receive the confession. .
HOW do WE RECEIVE the PEACE? You must first have this confession of belief to have peace.
- We receive peace when we confess that Jesus is the Son of God
- The verse says: “a great High Priest… Jesus the Son of God.”
- Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. This immediately brings peace into your life.
- Like Simon Peter we say – Matt 16:16 You are the Christ, the Son of the living God
- when we say “Jesus is the Son of God” we’re saying we confess Jesus as the Son of God, we are declaring that the baby in the manger is the eternal God who spoke the universe into existence.
- “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity.” – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- This is why Christmas is so wonderful. We and others around us declaring JESUS IS GOD
- The peace of Christmas begins with this: God didn’t send advice. He sent Himself.
- We don’t walk with an idea or a philosophy- Those can’t give peace to an empty soul- just cant
- If Jesus isn’t God, He can’t give peace./// He could only teach peace. But He is God, so He can actually deliver peace to your soul. present, and sovereign in our lives. A God that came to US
- John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. THAT’S THE PEACE OF JESUS
- A while ago the Krachunises were going through it. Paul in the NICU, Church stress etc.
- I’m sitting in my living room and some Jeep shows up. John R Butcher just walks up stays 2 hrs
- The Son of God didn’t call it in. He didn’t just send a messenger- He sent himself.
If a friend will show up when you’re hurting, how much more will the Son of God who came all the way from heaven to meet you in your weakness? MUCH MORE
- we receive peace when we confess that Jesus is our High Priest
- 1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
- The beauty of Hebrews, Christmas and Advent is that Christ represents us before God
- He intercedes for us, sympathizes with our weakness. Even tho he never sinned he understands
- Sympathize means He understands your weakness not that He excuses your sin.
- 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
- The God of this universe is there for you in the midst of your sin and doesn’t look down on you because of your struggles. He understands them. He knows your weakness. This brings peace
- You cannot have peace if you think you stand before God alone./// Peace comes from knowing Someone stands there for you. Understanding you. Defending you. Interceding for you.
- in the movies, there’s always this scene where the other one says “you can tell my lawyer”
- You don’t say ‘talk to my lawyer’ because you’re innocent. You say it because you need someone who knows how to stand in your place. You go get Johnnie Cochran for the glove fit
- I’m not saying to go out and create opportunities for your intercession. But you have a Savior that is there. Confess him as your high priest. Pray it. Believe it. Walk in it in times of distress.
- Call out and pray- Lord, As my high priest- intercede for me! I need your input- I need your help
- He brings us into the presence of God. He is divine, His priesthood is perfect, eternal, and unchanging. This gives us confidence that we are not maintaining our own salvation.
- Christ Himself is actively involved in our continual preservation, sanctification, and endurance.
- Jesus intercedes, understands and sympathizes with YOU. He is continually there for YOU
- He isn’t interceding in the past; He intercedes in the present. Your peace is a present-tense reality because His intercession is a present-tense ministry.
- Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
- You will never have peace trying to represent yourself before God. Peace comes from trusting the One who represents you perfectly your High Priest, Jesus Christ.
- We receive peace when we confess of the gospel we believe
- 1 Cor 15:3–4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
- You cannot have peace without the gospel because only the gospel kills your guilt and resurrects your hope. He died for me. He rose for me. He reigns over me. He’s returning for me
- You will never walk in peace if Jesus is a small Jesus. Peace comes from bowing to the Jesus whose name is above every name. Our glorious and wonderful savior who is above all.
- The gospel is not just information. It is a peace-producing declaration that God has already done everything necessary for you to rest in him and find peace for your soul
- 2 Cor5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
- Peace enters your life at the exact moment the gospel becomes more than something you know and becomes something you trust/// Don’t agree to the Gospel BELIEVE the GOSPEL
- we receive his peace with The confession of our faith and allegiance to Him
- Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
- We don’t just merely believe facts about Jesus. We live demonstratively for Jesus.
- Allegiance means Jesus gets the final say in every part of my life. No part he’s not invited into
- Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
- The Gospel is easy once converted. If you haven’t been converted, be converted! It’s the best
- When I say the gospel is easy once you’re converted, I mean your heart wants obedience even when obedience costs you something. You choose the hard obedient path, not the easy one.
- When you have been converted you openly and publicly hold fast to Him in all areas of your life
- You persevere. You may have setbacks or struggles, but you push through them. You continue
- You obey. You see the precepts of our faith as non-negotiables. You do what he says joyfully.
- Divided loyalty creates anxiety. Total allegiance creates peace./// There is no other way
- This is the heartbeat of Hebrews: Do not drift. Do not turn back. Do not shrink away.
- You cannot walk in peace while living in rebellion. Peace follows obedience like a shadow.
- Some of you are exhausted because you try to serve Jesus without actually surrendering to Him.
- We confess Him not only with our lips but with our lives.
- Revelation 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.
- Peace is not the reward of perfection. Peace is the reward of allegiance. Those who are with him
TRANSITION: If we RECEIVE this confession… then we HOLD FAST this confession…
and the result is peace real peace, You want peace? You must settle what you believe///
- we walk in peace When we know what we believe
- Knowing what you believe means you have settled convictions, not shifting opinions.
- when you have a clear, biblical confession who Jesus is, what He’s done, and who you are in Him you gain stability. Have a belief and keep it. You’ll have peace because you aren’t confused.
- Eph 4:14 That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting
- Peace comes after surrender, not after debate/// settle what you believe and be done w it
- Here’s what a settled biblical confession sounds like: I believe in the Trinity, that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe Jesus is the Son of God, fully God and fully man, who died for my sin, rose from the dead, and can forgive every sin I’ve ever committed. I believe the Bible is the word of God and the final authority for my life. I believe salvation is by grace through faith, and that baptism doesn’t save you but is required obedience. I believe you can’t lose your salvation, but you absolutely can drift if you don’t stay anchored. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, that believers can speak in tongues, that God still heals, and that Jesus is coming back again. I believe marriage is one man and one woman, and all sex outside of that covenant is sin. I believe women can pastor and minister but not lead churches. I believe tithing is biblical, free will is real, and communion with God is possible for every believer. Believers should join a church and treat it like a marriage. That’s why I have peace because my anchor hasn’t moved. IM NOT CHANGING
- 2 Tim 1:12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. PEACE GROWS WHERE CERTAINTY LIVES
- I am as colossians says- Col 2:6–7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith,
- If you want peace, stop letting culture disciple you and let Scripture define you. Quit wavering
- We walk in peace When we maintain our belief
- Truth must be revisited or it will fade. I constantly reaffirm my faith and belief. Gives me peace
- Peace grows where truth is rehearsed. Your heart leaks truth, so you must refill it.
- you read, reflect, worship, pray, and rehearse the gospel until it sinks into your heart.
- Ju20–21 beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
- External voices penetrate my heart sometimes. I see a tweet on X that will send me for a loop.
- But I maintain it through the unadulterated word of God. I always go back to the word
- If you don’t maintain your belief, outside voices will maintain it for you.///
- Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
- This is how faith moves from head to heart. Have a belief and keep reinforcing it.
- This is why listening to good preaching so important. Reinforce it- AMEN over and over again.
- I have peace because I am growing with God not because I’m confusing myself.
- The more Scripture you store, the more peace you feel. Repetition is the key to learning.
- Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Peace is not a moment- it’s a habit- You won’t drift if you keep rehearsing what God has already said.
- We walk in peace When we externalize our belief
- Faith is not just internal conviction; it is lived allegiance. If you believe it’s true, you act like it’s true. You obey. You speak it. You walk it out. Have a belief and live it out.
- Cognitive dissonance: the mental and emotional tension you feel when you believe one thing but behave in a way that contradicts that belief or when you hold two competing beliefs at the same time. If you believe one thing and live another, your heart will be at war with itself
- You can’t enjoy sin and enjoy Jesus at the same time/// the conflict will crush your peace
- Live congruently and you’ll have peace. Quit riding the fence. Be a Christian. Stop half way.
- You’ll have peace because you are living for God all day every day and the fight will be over
- 1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
- This means all day every day no matter what the things of God consume every part of your life
- You will never have peace halfway. Peace belongs to the fully surrendered.
- We walk in peace when When we come boldly in our belief
- This is the culmination. Peace comes when you actually step into His presence with confidence. Not timid. Not distant. Not avoiding Him. boldly because you trust your High Priest for peace
- Bold doesn’t mean casual it means confident because He opened the way. Come boldly
- Boldly because you know He sympathizes with your weakness. Boldly because His throne is a throne of grace, not judgment. Boldly Because you know he gives perfect peace
- Peace comes when you stop approaching God like a stranger and start approaching Him like a son///.Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy
- You don’t need to fear God. Christmas is Emmanuel, God with Us, prince of peace.
- Eph 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
- Boldness is the doorway through which peace enters. He’s your high priest. Come.
- You don’t come to a throne of condemnation you come to a throne of compassion
- CLOSE: The baby in the manger became the High Priest on the throne
so you could come boldly/// confidently, peacefully into His presence. - Some of you have no peace because you come to God last, not first
Come to him. Confess him. Receive him. Christmas peace and lifelong peace can be yours.
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