The Cure for Chaos (Video) — Shane Idleman

Christ’s Birth as the Foundation Amidst Chaos

Most of you feel, as most of you know, the tension in the air with what's going on in our nation. And we know that Christ is that only solid foundation. And tying that in with the Christmas story, as I was doing that this week, I don't know how many of you listened to Adrian Rogers on our radio network, but he mentioned in a sermon how when they put people on the moon—I know that's in discrepancies on that now with all YouTube videos and things like that, but let's just assume it was real, okay, guys?

Entertain me. I don't want to get emails. You know, that that was the biggest event in the history of mankind. And he said, no, the biggest event in the history of mankind was Christ coming to Earth. And I thought that was so profound.

The Messiah Anticipated Throughout Scripture

And so, what the Christmas season—obviously, Pastor Abrams is going to give a different message tomorrow, but there was anticipation, Genesis, Deuteronomy, Job. There was always anticipation of the Messiah, of a Savior, the people knowing that they needed that gift.

And Isaiah 9 -6 is a very important verse right now in this time of season. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And this is not the government of the donkey and the elephant.

This is the government. This is the government that means rule and dominion. All rule, all dominion is given to the Son. It's upon His shoulders. And because of that, His name is called what? Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.

The only way to know true peace is to know Jesus Christ. He changes your heart, and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. And that really is the cure for chaos. And so, there was a lot of anticipation for about 4 ,000 years, depending on your dating of humankind, and what happened in the garden, and in the fall.

And even God said that the serpent is going to strike the heel, but Jesus is going to crush his head. And throughout Job, and Deuteronomy, and the prophets, there's a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, anticipation.

The Fulfillment of the Christmas Promise

And then we come to the fulfillment, why many of us are here today, Luke 2. Joseph went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. And that's where we get all of our stories, Bethlehem and Judea.

Because he was at the house, he was part of the lineage of David. He was registered with Mary, who was his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, when they were there, that the days were complete for her to deliver.

She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn. And of course, that preaches a sermon right there. There's not a lot of room in the hearts of Americans, or even globally, for Jesus.

There's no room. Push him out. I'm busy doing other things. I have no room for God to come in and disrupt my life. And there's excuses, and pushing him out. And so, I don't want to read too much into this, but there's a lot of truth to that.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.

And they were greatly afraid. And let me tell you, whenever God shows up, it is magnificent. It is life-altering. It is life-impacting. That is one thing about Christianity. This is not a religion. It's a relationship, a relationship with the living God, where God comes down in the form of Jesus Christ and transforms the hearts of men and women.

You can experience God. It's relational, and that's the difference. Many people have religion. They go through the rules, go through the checklist, and they go to church from time to time. And they do these things, but it's not about religion.

It's about a relationship. And so the glory of the Lord was shown around them. Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid. What's interesting is when you're afraid of God, you're not afraid of man.

But when you're afraid of men, you don't really follow God. You don't trust God. When I fear God, I don't fear man, but when I fear God, I don't want to trust the things of God. And that's where a lot of fear is coming in right now, is there's no fear of God in this place.

Could we not say that about our nation? There is no fear of God in this place. We're mocking God's word. We're trashing his holy standards. There's no fear of God in this place. But they said, do not be afraid, obviously for a different reason.

I bring you good news. This is great news. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord, and he will be assigned to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

The Reliability and Power of Scripture

And I've got this recently. I get negative comments, as you know, pretty much every day, 365 days a year, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. It doesn't matter. Negative, negative. How do you trust the Bible?

Well, that would be a whole sermon. But you have to look at the prophetic accuracy of Scripture. The prophetic accuracy is amazing. I'm going to talk about that, hopefully, at the beginning of next year.

What about the historical accuracy of the Bible? It nails it historically. What about the cities? The city of David, Israel? You can see these things. You can visit them. The scientific accuracy, believe it or not, the Bible is not wrong when it comes to science in many different areas.

And you see the consistent theme of Scripture throughout all of 1 ,500 years of Scripture written on three different continents by 40 different authors all saying the same thing. The unity of Scripture, the conformity of Scripture, the life-changing power of Scripture that goes in it.

It cuts like a knife. Why do they not want Jesus to... You can't pray in Jesus' name. You can't quote Scripture. You can't get the Bible, but you can bring in every other ungodly thing into the schools and into the courthouse.

Why is that? Because there's power in His name, power that shakes the heavenly realm. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord. And of course, after this baby was born, we know the rest is history.

The Incarnation and Christ’s Sacrificial Death

And a few years ago, I gave a message on Christmas, born to die. And if you think it through, that was His birth. He was born to die, to be that sacrificial lamb that took the wrath of God upon the cross.

Matthew 1, 22, 23. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us.

So 700 years before Christ, the prophet wrote this, and he said His name will be called such and such. His name is Emmanuel, God with us. And that's where Christianity is separate as well, that God came down to man.

And I don't want to get into, there's some deep waters here. I need a good hour to really, or more, to talk about this union that Christ was fully man and fully God, and He had to come as God and make that death on the cross a perfect sacrifice because man could not die for man.

And there's a lot of deep theological truths in there. But the bottom line is His name, Emmanuel, means God is with us. And then of course we see rejection or acceptance, and that's my job. I didn't call myself, trust me, I would not have called myself to do this.

I just, I liked when everybody liked me. I was a motivational speaker, you know, and now you start talking about hard truths that people don't like. It's because they need to hear it. That's why you often hear me say, if you don't like what I'm saying, it's probably because you need to hear what I'm saying.

Rejecting or Receiving the Messiah

And Jesus gave them the opportunity. All tied in with the Christmas story in Luke 19, verse 43, for the days will come. Now this is interesting. This is Jesus. So we have anticipation, His fulfillment, the Messiah is here.

Everything the prophets wrote about, here He is. He's healing the sick and the recovery of the sight to the blind. He's raising the dead. The Messiah is before them. They have a choice to be made. There's a choice before them.

And so this is Jesus saying, for the days will come when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close in on you on every side, and level you and your children to the ground.

Shane, this isn't very seeker-sensitive, no, but it's very true. It's very helpful. This is a time in 70 AD, 70 AD, so about 40 years after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection that Titus, the Roman captain, the Roman army came in, surrounded Jerusalem, and killed nearly a million people.

It all was fulfilled. But here's the key. All this happened to you because, the last sentence here, you did not know the time of your visitation. Jesus said, the Messiah is here. You can accept or reject, and that same call has been going out for 2 ,000 years.

That's why the Bible says, when you hear his voice, harden not your heart, that call goes out to God, and there's a crying out to God, and Jesus would even look over Jerusalem, and he began to weep over Jerusalem, and he was probably not very quiet.

That's why I have some proof text for when I get loud. Jesus got loud, Isaiah got loud, John the Baptist got loud, because it's passion. And he cried, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, I wanted to gather you.

I wanted to gather you to me, but you were not willing. You stiff-necked people. You rejected me. And that's the same call at Christmas today. There's an acceptance or a rejection. Don't miss him. Don't miss him like they did.

Don't miss him. This is so important. This is where all of eternity sets on this concept, this truth. Jesus is only a whisper away. He's only a prayer away. And how I'm tying in this part about chaos, the cure for chaos, is Matthew 11.

Jesus’ Invitation to the Weary

Jesus said, come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. One reason I preach so passionately is because I've lived it. I'm not up here as a Bible salesman. I'm not up here trying to get people's money.

I've met Jesus Christ. He's changed my heart from the inside out. I should be dead. I should be on my fifth marriage. I should be locked up because of alcoholism. And so, Jesus saved me, and he set me free.

Doesn't mean there's not a little of the struggles that go on. Doesn't mean that the old nature doesn't invite you back. Do you ever hear the old, come on, you remember those days? Oh, he'll plant the seeds that were good, but forgets to tell you about the bad news.

He always shows you that sin looks attractive. Every time I throw out a little fly, fly fishing, that little fly looks attractive until they bite it. It looks attractive. It looks good. But see, here's another invitation, and that's one thing that God, people say, well, why doesn't God just do this?

Why doesn't God just, because God will not force us. There's a drawing, there's a convicting, and there's a call, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. Are you burdened tonight? Are you heavy laden?

He said, come to me and I will give you rest. So it's an invitation to the weary. He is the healer to the sick. He rebuilds the broken. He strengthens the weak, and that's why he goes on to say, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Surrendering Burdens to Christ

Oh, once you find that rest, there's no turning back. Once you've experienced the power of God, there's no turning back. Once you have the peace that surpasses all understanding, and you say, well, I was blind, but now I see I was lost, but now I'm found.

There's no turning back. Take my yoke upon you, he said. And if you don't know what it is, a yoke, they would put on an oxen and on another oxen and double the strength. They would pull that load together, pull that heavy load.

And Jesus said, you take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Anyone need rest tonight? Whoo. Well, here's an acronym I thought of, releasing everything Satan tries, releasing everything Satan tries.

I rest in Christ, and whatever Satan is trying to do to take me out, I will cast those cares upon Jesus and take his yoke upon actually him. He says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. So does that mean Jesus carries my yoke?

All right, so here we go. Come to me all weary and heavy laden or burdened, and I will give you rest. So I found this, something I used to use. I'm embarrassed I don't use it anymore, it's a little too heavy now.

But you're carrying this, right? This is what most people, especially unbelievers, you know, you're just carrying this load around all day long. That's why I have to have Xanax. I have to go for the drink.

I'm suicidal. I'm depressed. You're not meant to carry this load. You can't. What would happen if I carry this around all day? I give up. I'm done. I don't want to, I can't keep carrying this load around.

I can't keep, and God forbid it falls down there, and I'm just, no matter where I go, no matter, okay, if I just, if I marry the right person, this load will leave. It gets a little heavier sometimes.

Well, for some of you, not me, not me, no, no, don't, don't, I'm going to get in trouble. So, oh, this is not working. Nothing is working. I can't get rid of this. I can't, oh, see, that was close. And you're just, you're just pulling it around.

That's what we try to tell unbelievers. You can't, you weren't designed to carry this. You're going to fall. You're going to fall. This is not, it's your ball and chain. You're tied to that sin nature, and it just keeps, you just keep carrying it wherever you go, and the load gets heavy.

I can't keep parenting like this. I can't keep raising my kids like this. I'm about ready to give up. I'm about ready to have anxiety attack or panic attack. I'm about ready to throw in the towel. I can't, I can't carry this around me my whole life.

And so that's where you have to get to that point where Jesus said, cast your cares upon me. Give me your yoke. Let me carry this. And then what does he do? He gives you his yoke. I can do this one. I can do this one the whole sermon.

He says, my yoke is easy. Because see, there's always a little something, something. You just can't get, you just can't get completely free on this side of heaven. You're going to have to carry a little bit, but I got this.

Jesus, if you take that, oh heavens, I'll take this. I'll carry this around with me. Here's my yoke. I'm learning. See by, he said, take my yoke upon me and you will learn. There's a little bit of burden there.

You learn the mind of Christ, the will of God, because you're carrying the little bit of what you can manage because Christ takes the full load. That's what that means to cast that care upon him, to cast that load.

Oh yeah, I told you I carried the whole sermon. Though there may be giants in the land, by faith we will take a stand. I don't know about you, but my beloved has called on Christmas. I don't know about you, but I have to keep serving him.

Finding Strength in the Psalms

My heart yearns for him as a deer pants for the living water. So, my soul pants for thee, oh God. I will seek you with all of my heart. I will seek you in the morning hours. I will praise you even in the storm.

And Lord, as I praise you and seek you, you will lift me up. I sought the Lord, and he delivered me from my destructions. I will lift up my eyes to the hills, and where does my help come from? My help comes from God, the creator of the earth.

Oh, taste and see that God is good. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

Why? Because the Lord holds me, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness shall follow me all the days of my life. Yes, there's a little load, there's a little something, something. But thank God it's not that.

Thank God that God has taken that away. But Shane, I hear you, but I don't feel it. You've got to release it in your mind. The battle's up here, folks. The battle's up here. It's not a physical 100-pound weight.

It's a weight inside. Oh God, I'll reach out my hands, I'll seek your face. And here I'll find heaven on earth, here I'll find grace. Emmanuel, God with us. It was, there was a lot of people at the first service.

Surrender, Judgment, and the Narrow Way

I think we had well over 300. And I knew there were people there that were unbelievers, rejecting God. And it's hard because you know you can't force it. You could only plead. And I reminded them that refusing to surrender only prolongs the conflict.

Maybe that's even for someone tonight, a believer. Refusing to surrender fully to God is only going to prolong your conflict. God doesn't eventually say, you know what, you win. You're right, Shane. Shane, you got me this time.

Refusing to surrender. And that has to do with the unbeliever as well. Refusing to surrender only prolongs the inevitable. All ways lead to God. Did you know that? Don't walk out yet. I'm not getting heretical.

Did you know that all ways lead to God? You want me to finish the sentence now? All ways lead to the judgment seat of God. No matter what path you take, you will stand before God someday. Doesn't mean you're going to heaven.

The Bible is actually clear on that. Broad is the road to destruction. Narrow is the way to gate. Narrow is the way that leads to eternal life. So all these people, all ways lead to God. Yeah, but you're not going to want to go on 99 of those ways.

Jesus said, I am one of many ways. Wake up, 530. I'm going to make you do jumping jacks. I am one of many ways. Would you consider me if you just choose me? No, he said, I am authoritative. It's amazing.

Jesus as the Only Way to the Father

The Bible, I love when the Bible says this. These people come back confounded. And why didn't you get Jesus? Why didn't you trick him? No man ever spoke like this man. With authority, he would challenge the religious leaders.

And he would say, no other way. I am the way, the truth, the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through the Son. There is no other way. There is no plan B. There is no backup plan. There is no suggestion.

It doesn't matter what you're feeling inside or what you believe, what you think. Well, I don't agree with that, Shane. It doesn't matter. It won't change truth. Truth does not change. You don't change truth.

The truth changes you. And so you have to get to a point of surrendering your will. So surrendering and saying, God, I need you. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

Something that's always been amazing. Maybe I've shared this before. But when you talk about these things, not everybody likes to hear that. We all agree? Just post it on Facebook. You see what happens.

Post that verse on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter. The wages of sin is death. Oh, watch out. But the irony is the most feedback that we get, I'm sure Pastor Abram will agree, over the years always has to do with the hard scriptures that challenged their arrogant and angry heart and brought them to repentance.

That's where the change came from. It didn't come from the fluff. It didn't come from a candy coating. That gets us nowhere. It's the truth of God's word that pierces the heart. And so, although people don't like to hear it, it's what they need to hear.

Faith, Repentance, and Christ’s Atonement

And although Jesus was sinless, the Bible says that he was treated as if he were sin. And people get, there's theological debates out there and it's really not that difficult. When the Bible says that he became sin, doesn't say he became a sinner.

Doesn't say he sinned. He became sin. All the sin of mankind fell on Jesus on that day, on Calvary, and God's wrath was satisfied in a moment. He was born to die. And that's why faith and repentance are the only keys that unlocked this door.

There's no other way. Faith, belief in Jesus and who he said, he said it, you wanna get mad? Why do you get mad at the preacher? I'm just the messenger. Get mad at the author. He said it. He said, I'm the way, I'm the truth.

I'm the life. Nobody comes to the father except through me. And now we understand why it's not just a concept. It's not just a good idea. Somebody had to pay the price. Somebody had to pay the wages. That tells you there's a cost.

Hey, who earns wages in here? The wages of sin, the cost of sin has a price. You gonna pay it? How are you gonna pay it? Nobody can pay it. So Jesus became sin, satisfied the wrath of God. And the only way to engage that and be covered by what Jesus did is through faith and belief and repentance.

See, faith and belief are so important because I have faith and I believe that that happened. Okay, that's one thing. Great, are you gonna repent? No. Just had somebody at the first service said, no, I'm not gonna believe.

I'm not gonna repent. You have to have both. Did you know that even the demons believe? Wait a minute, wait, wait, wait a minute. The Bible says even the demons believe and they tremble. Another translation says shudder.

Have you ever walked in and seen something and it just, there's a trembling. Sonic boom, dogs go crazy. My little daughter comes running to me. What happened? There's something. So they believe and tremble because of what they believe, but it didn't produce obviously repentance.

See, you have to have both. I believe I have faith and now I'm repenting. Repenting means I see sin the way God sees it. How I like to explain it is repentance lines me up with God. Okay, I'm off. Without God, I'm off.

I'm going a different direction. Repentance is actually a change of mind and then it changes my actions. I repent, I'm a sinner. God, I am fallen, the wages of sin and death. I am under the wrath of God and I repent to that.

God, please, would you save me and set me free? Jesus Christ died for me. I acknowledge it, I believe and I repent. Now I'm lining up with God's way of thinking. I've repented, I've turned to him. And that's why, if you think about it, how many times do you hear repentance taught on TV or the radio or churches in general?

And I told you before, I would not preach repentance very much if I was trying to please people. If I was trying to tickle the ear, we want to grow a huge mega church. We would not challenge people in this area because they don't like to hear it, they've offended.

I run to people, it seems like every month, that they just, I haven't seen you in a while. Oh yeah, I don't know. I don't want to hear that repentance stuff. I want to enjoy my sin, but freedom comes from repentance.

So that might be for some of you. Refusing surrender only prolongs the conflict in your own heart. And many people die with that conflict still in their heart. I had a privilege of going with some of the teens last night to, it's not assisted living, it's independent living, the homes.

And they did some carols and talking to a lot of the older people. Some were 90s and they're 90s. And some were believers, but some weren't. And I thought, this is not a lot of time. How long are you going to fight God?

94 years old and you're still fighting God? Folks, the reason we reject God is a simple, ugly word called pride. Me, me, I, I. And pride has to be smashed with the hammer of God. And the Bible also says the wages of sin is death.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. See, there's a choice that has to be made. We're not here talking about pixie dust and fairies. This is real, this is truth. This is life altering, it is life changing.

So what we're going to do tonight is we're going to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Resurrection day is celebrating the empty tomb, but Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Those who got their heart right before God, they've repented, they believe.

And even maybe you're a believer, but you've been living in a lot of unconfessed sin and you've just kind of been playing games with God. Tonight is a time to make a full profession of faith, fully surrender, Lord, I'm sorry, and take communion with the right heart.

Peace Through a Right Relationship with God

And I'm going to conclude on this topic of the cure for chaos and just encourage even believers, even believers that are going through a lot of challenging situations. If your school is chaotic for young adults or family life is chaotic or any type of life is chaotic, turn to him completely.

I don't know, I can't explain it, but something happens, divinely happens where actually your heart changes, your nature changes. There's peace where there used to be fear. There is joy where there used to be trepidation.

There's all kinds of things that take place when you have a right relationship with God, but it begins with fear.