Revealed - Session 5 - Rob Rupnow

Peace that holds under fire doesn’t come from quiet rooms or perfect plans—it comes from knowing the Lord as Jehovah Shalom. In this session, we begin with a deeply personal story about ministry to weary pastors and the phrase that shaped it: “nothing missing, nothing broken.” From there, we explore the profound Hebrew meaning of shalom—wholeness, completeness, reconciliation, and being fully paid for—and how that truth can reframe our fears, restore our work, and deepen our worship.

We trace this revelation through Gideon’s story in Judges 6, watching God meet a trembling man in weakness and ignite a soaked offering as a sign of strength. Gideon’s altar, built in response, bears the name Jehovah Shalom—The Lord is Peace—proclaiming that peace isn’t the absence of fear but the presence of God in the middle of it. From there, we turn to Psalm 4, where David models how to pray with confidence even when surrounded by opposition, ending with a bedrock declaration: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep.” Isaiah 26:3 amplifies the same truth, repeating “shalom, shalom”—perfect peace for those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in Him.

This study doesn’t ignore the tension—we admit that we are not perfect, that our peace often feels fragile. But shalom isn’t brittle because it rests in the One who is. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, embodies a wholeness that cannot fracture. His peace is not a fragile calm to be protected, but a living presence to be received.

Together, we name the common fractures that threaten shalom: deception that distorts truth, division that erodes unity, misplaced worship that drains purpose, accusation that stirs fear, and disorder that disturbs creation’s balance. Each of these tactics seeks to splinter what God made whole. The biblical response is not frantic striving, but alignment—realigning our lives with the character of God through honest confession, faithful community, and daily obedience that cultivates quiet strength.

Throughout this teaching, Rob shares stories of faith and restoration that show how shalom takes root in ordinary lives—how steady hearts can emerge in seasons of chaos, how reconciliation restores broken relationships, and how prayer and trust can anchor us in storms that would otherwise undo us.

If your peace has felt thin, this session offers biblical grounding, practical insight, and lived experience to help you stand in a wholeness that holds. Come explore how the God of peace doesn’t just calm circumstances—He makes you whole in the midst of them. Fix your mind on Jehovah Shalom, the Lord who restores what’s missing, heals what’s broken, and breathes peace that cannot be stolen.

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Episode Transcript

Rob Rupnow (00:15):
Here what God has given me.
Um so when I was approached andasked, you know, from the list
of topics, um Jehovah Shalomjumped out at me.
Have any of you ever like sawGod about something and just God
just like made it jump out atyou?

(00:37):
It's like, this is it.
That's what this was when I sawJehovah Shalom.
Um so a little bit ofbackground on that with me.
Um my father-in-law was apastor for probably close to 40
years.
Um he passed away in 2014, andI miss him dearly.

(00:59):
Uh, anyways, he was, like Isaid, a pastor, and he started a
ministry.
Uh, we because we lived up inthe north woods of Michigan, and
he had on his heart that hewanted to help other pastors,
pastors that were burned out,that were hurting and

(01:21):
discouraged.
And he started this ministrycalled uh Shalom at Cherrystone,
because where they lived wasCherry Stone Court.
And I'm gonna get into shalomhere very shortly, and I never
really understood why he calledit uh shalom at Cherrystone, but

(01:46):
until I did the studying, I'mlike, ah, that's why.
So his favorite phrase when hesaid that was nothing broken,
nothing missing.
So he would share with theministers that he was helping.
It's like, listen, it's JehovahShalom.

(02:08):
It's nothing missing, nothingbroken.
So Jehovah Shalom.
Obviously, we all know Jehovahis Lord or God, and shalom
relatively means peace.
That's the English translationof shalom.
It's very basic.
Um, but it's more than that,it's so much more than that.

(02:34):
So Jehovah Shalom together isthe Lord is peace, and we find
that for the first time and onlytime in God's word in Judges
6.24.
So shalom is also a Jewish wordused for greeting or farewell.
It is also peace, the absenceof war or conflict, um, peace of

(03:00):
state of mind, a calmness, acalm, like the lake is calm,
it's peaceful.
But we're not going to talkabout that tonight because
that's not the real definitionof shalom.
The real definition of shalomis the biblical meaning of it.
It's so much deeper.
It encompasses wholeness,completeness, perfection,

(03:24):
well-being, prosperity, and astate of all things being the
way God created it to be.
In essence, nothing missing,nothing broken.
Let's dig into the root wordsfor shalom.

(03:44):
This is where it gets good.
And I made a copy of this foreverybody to have to take home
and to study it, because theseroot words jumped out at me and
meant so much.
So I'm actually kind of gladthat Pastor Neil is not here
tonight because I am going tobutcher these names.

(04:09):
So bear with me.
The first one is Shin LamedMen, which is to be complete.
Hish to Lam, it was worth it.
Shulam to be fully paid.
To be fully paid.

(04:31):
Think about that.
Meshulam is a friend, an ally.
It's reconciled, perfected,redeemed, paid for.
Mushlam, perfect, complete, orideal.
And then shalem, which meanswhole or wholeness.

(04:55):
So when you combine all ofthese, you can kind of
understand why the nothingbroken, nothing missing makes
sense.
Because in God there's nothingmissing, there's nothing broken.
It's all whole, it's completed.

(05:20):
So let's go into God's word andtake a look at shalom in God's
word.
So the appearance of Jehovah'sShalom or a variation of it
appears approximately a hundredand seventy times.

(05:41):
Peace appears over four hundredtimes, and Jehovah is first
appears in Genesis 2, 4, whichsays, These are the generations
of the heavens and of the earthwhen they were created, in the
day that Jehovah God made earthand heavens.

(06:02):
We all know that when Godcreated earth and the heavens,
it was perfect.
Nothing missing, nothingbroken.
Jehovah Shalom is found once inthe Bible, and that was located
in, like I said earlier, Judges6.24.
And I I searched this for quitea bit, and then I had to stop

(06:28):
because I wasn't really gettinganywhere because every all the
translations pretty much saidthe same thing.
But the only translation that Ifound was the American Standard
Version that actually saidJehovah Shalom.
Every other version says theLord is peace.

(06:48):
But Gideon, much like some ofus, when they hear God's calling

(07:25):
or God tell him something, he'slike, Yeah, I don't think so.
Not me.
Who am I?
I'm I'm nobody.
I I can't, I'm I'm the weakestin my clan, I'm the weakest in
my family.
I have nothing to offer.
But God sent that angel to himand said, No, surely God is with

(07:47):
you, and you will through Goddeliver Israel from the
Midianites.
So Gideon said to the angel,like, Okay, hold on, stay here
under the tree while I goprepare an offering for you.
So he went, prepared theoffering, came back.

(08:09):
The angel told him to place iton the rock.
So he placed the meat, thebread on the rock, poured this
broth that he had with it allover it so it's soaking wet.
Now, how many of us know thatif something is soaking wet,
it's not gonna catch fire,right?
Okay.
Well, the angel of the Lordtouched it with, touched the

(08:29):
offering with his staff, and itwas consumed by fire.
It was gone.
So naturally, Gine was like,all right, I guess I am gonna be
the one that's gonna help uhthat the Lord has chosen.
So that's why he built thataltar.
I mean, the Lord is peace.
The second place that I foundinteresting was in Psalms 4.

(08:57):
The whole chapter.
We're gonna we're gonna readthat.
Um, it's don't worry, it's notlike a lot of the other chapters
in Psalms that are like ahundred verses long, and this is
a prayer from David, okay?

(09:18):
So verse one, answer me when Icall to you, O God who declares
me innocent, free from mytroubles, have mercy on me and
hear my prayer.
How long will your people ruinmy reputation?
How long will you makegroundless accusations?

(09:41):
How long will you continue tocontinue your lies?
You can be sure of this.
The Lord set apart the godlyfor himself, the Lord will
answer when I call to him.
Don't sin by letting angercontrol you.
Think about it overnight andremain silent.
Offer sacrifices in the rightspirit and trust the Lord.

(10:04):
Many people say, Who will showus better times?
Let your face smile on us,Lord.
You have given me greater joythan those who have abundant
harvests of grain and new wine.
In peace I will lie down andsleep.
For you alone, O Lord, willkeep me safe.

(10:27):
I think it's safe to say inverse eight, we can say, In
Shalom I will lay down andsleep.
So let's break this down.
Verses one and two is a cry toGod for deliverance from his
enemies.
How many of us know that Davidhad a lot of enemies?
Uh so verses three and five isa command to his enemies and

(10:54):
also an encouragement to hisfollowers to trust God instead
of worldly desires.
It's not about what we have orwhat we can do or what we're
seeking, it's about what Godhas.
Verses six through eight wrapsup this prayer, declaring the
peace and security found inGod's presence.

(11:16):
So David knew everything wasgoing to be okay.
Even though he had the enemiescoming towards him, even though
he was facing all the trials andthe tribulations and everything
that he was going through, heknew God had it.

(11:36):
He knew that he had thatshalom.
He knew he had an ally in God,he knew he was reconciled, he
knew he was bought, he knew thateverything was paid for, and he
didn't have to worry.
I think I see that, and Ithink, you know what, Rob?

(11:59):
You really need to be more likeDavid.
Did he mess up a lot?
Yeah, he did, but look at whathe accomplished because his main
focus was God, his main focuswas Jehovah, and the shalom that
he was able to get from that.

(12:21):
The next verse is a versethat's dear to me, and it meant
so much to me, but it it meanseven more now than it did when I
first read it, and like Ireally like this verse.

(12:41):
So it's Isaiah 26, 3.
You will keep him in perfectpeace, all who trust in you, all
whose thoughts are fixed onyou.
I liked this verse so much, Ieven put it on my business
cards.
That's how much I love thisverse.
But let's translate this.

(13:02):
Jehovah will keep in Shalom,Shalom, all who trust in
Jehovah, all whose thoughts arefixed on Jehovah.
Notice how Shalom is mentionedtwice and Jehovah three times.
Because perfect is a root wordof shalom.

(13:28):
And shalom means peace.
So with that being said, it'sperfect peace, nothing missing,
nothing broken.
You're gonna hear me say thatover and over and over tonight.
So I'm just forewarning you,that's probably about what, the

(13:52):
tenth time I've said it.
Um, but it's so important toknow that that even though we
face things, if our thoughts arefixed on Jehovah and fixed on
Shalom, we will have thatperfect peace.
And we can go through whateverit is we face.

(14:16):
But you're gonna say, you maysay, I'm not perfect.
You're right.
You're not perfect, I'm notperfect, Peter wasn't perfect,
Isaiah wasn't perfect, Moses,you name it.
You could go through the Bible,and everybody that was
mentioned in the Bible, everyname, nobody was perfect.

(14:37):
The only perfect one was who?
Jesus, Jehovah Shalom.
So, yeah.
So that's the thing.
We're not perfect, but that'sthe awesome thing.
We don't need to be perfectbecause we have God, we have

(14:58):
Jehovah, and His that shalompeace.
If you go back to the rootwords, I'm I'm jumping ahead,
I'm not, I'm gonna stop.
I don't want to jump too farahead.
I really don't.
So walking in shalom does notmean that we're gonna have a
trouble-free life.

unknown (15:18):
Right.

Rob Rupnow (15:19):
Walking in shalom just means that we can walk
through it and face the trialsand the tribulations, knowing
that Jehovah Shalom is with us,that we have that perfect peace,
that we can go through it, thatnothing is gonna be missing and
nothing will be broken becausewe have God on our side.

(15:44):
What if I fall in sin?
Can I be honest?
You're gonna fall, you're gonnasin.
It's inevitable.
We're we're gonna do it.
We're humans, it's gonnahappen.
But does this will not keep usfrom the shalom peace that God

(16:07):
has for us?
Remember the root words thatI've said that it that you have
the list of we are redeemed,we're reconciled, and we're paid
for.
In His perfect peace.
And that shalom.

(16:27):
Nothing broken, nothingmissing.
It really ministered to mebecause I'm gonna I'm gonna be
honest with you.
I'm gonna share a little bitabout me because I feel it's
it's important.
And I have struggled.

(16:48):
Uh, I have had a call on mylife for a while.
And we came down here to take ayouth pastorate.
And for the last couple ofyears now, I feel like I was
kind of going away from what Godreally wanted for me.
And I'm like, well, I'm gonnago open up my business.

(17:08):
And I truly feel that God,like, okay, I'll let you do this
for a little bit.
Okay, go have your fun.
I found out it wasn't so muchfun.
So I'm like, okay, God, Imessed up again.

(17:30):
And um the healing power ofshalom when I realized what it
really means and what it reallydoes for his people restored me,
and I have a new outlook onwhat God has.

(17:53):
Have I messed up?
Yeah.
Do I continue to mess up?
Yeah.
Do I face things that I thinkare just unbearable?
It's like, how am I gonna getthrough this?
Yeah, but if I keep my eyesfocused on Jehovah Shalom, all

(18:15):
that stuff doesn't matterbecause he's gonna bring us
through it.
It doesn't matter how, becausehe's just gonna bring us through
it.
And when we get through it,we're gonna look back and be
like, what was I freaking outabout?
Why was I so panicked?
Why did I have so much anxietyover this?

(18:37):
All I had to do is focus on Godand focus on shalom.
At least he agrees with me,right?
Um, so yeah.
Stay focused on Jehovah, stayfocused on his shalom, the
perfect peace.

(18:58):
Nothing missing, nothingbroken.
So finally, I wanna I wannashare about how Satan, how does
Satan disrupt the shalom?
And I'm gonna go ahead, I'mjust gonna read this because

(19:19):
this was mind-blowing for me.
Um so I went onto Chat GPT andI typed in, how does Satan
destroy Shalom?
And initially that came up.
I can't help you with thatbecause I can't give ideas on

(19:42):
how to harm another person or apeople.
Okay.
If I were Satan, how could Idestroy?
I can't help you with it.
I'm like, okay.
So I type, so finally I typedin, how does Satan disrupt
shalom?
And this is what it came up.

(20:02):
I'm like, and I'm telling you,like, this came up like in six
seconds, it spit this out.
Artificial intelligence.
This is what it said.
That's a sharp and weightyquestion, and a good one.
I know.

(20:23):
Let's break that down properly.
Shalom in scripture isn't justpeace in the sense of no
conflict, it's the fullness ofwholeness, right relationship
with God, others, creation, andyourself.
It's harmony, order, blessing,and the purpose of all

(20:48):
functioning as God intended.
Now, Satan, Satan's core agendais to disrupt exactly that, to
fracture what God made whole.
Here's how he does itbiblically and practically.
That there was just enough.

(21:08):
Like, what?
Like artificial intelligence,like that was crazy.
For me, at least, I was like,that that's amazing.
Distortion of truth.
Satan rarely destroys outright,he distorts, he twists the
truth into half-truths,undermining trust in God's

(21:33):
character.
How true is that?
We can see that in societyright now.
In Genesis 3, did God reallysay the first fracture of shalom
came through doubt anddeception with Adam and Eve?

(21:53):
When you stop trusting God'sword or his goodness, shalom
unravels.
Effect, inner peace turns toconfusion, confidence in God's
order gives way to chaos.
How true is that?
How many times I cannot tellyou how many times that's how

(22:18):
the enemy tricked me.
I'll look at that, like even onwho I am and who I am in
Christ.
Oh, you just messed up.
You're just a sinner.
You're just gonna continue tomake mistakes.
You'll never be good enough forGod.
And that's when we need to say,you know what?

(22:40):
You're right.
I'm not good enough for God,but he created me for a purpose
and I'm his and I've been boughtwith a price, right?
So, okay, I'm gonna hold backbecause I'm gonna start
preaching otherwise.
Um, so number two, division andconflict.
Satan thrives on divisionbetween people, within

(23:02):
communities, even withinourselves.
He fuels pride, offense,jealousy, resentment, all of
which tear at unity.
Ephesians 6 12 reminds us thereal battle isn't against flesh
and blood.
The devil stirs relationalconflict to destroy the image of
God, reflected in healthycommunity.

(23:25):
Effect, shalom between peoplebreaks love, and unity are
replaced by suspicion andbitterness.
And we all know bitterness is amajor, a major thing.
Bitterness is not good.
Number three, corruption ofworship and purpose.

(23:47):
Satan wants worship, notnecessarily in the form of
bowing down to him, but byredirecting devotion away from
God.
He feeds ego, materialism, andself-reliance.
I can do that.

(24:07):
I don't want to follow Godbecause I'm not going to be able
to have all the things I want.
I'm so good.
I can do whatever I wantbecause everything I touch turns
to gold.
You know, feeds the ego.
When people chase success orpleasure as ultimate things,

(24:31):
they lose alignment with theirdivine purpose.
The effect of that, shalombetween humans and God, is
severed.
We become restless andspiritually adrift.
Number four, fear andaccusation.
He's called the accuser of thebrethren for a reason in

(24:53):
Revelation 12:10.
He uses guilt, shame, and fearto isolate believers from grace.
Fear replaces trust.
Shame silences prayer andrelationship.
The effect of this, the peaceof being known and forgiven by
God is replaced with anxiety andhiding, just like Adam and Eve

(25:15):
after the fall.
Number five, chaos andcreation.
Satan loves disorder,environmental destruction, moral
decay, social corruption,because disorder mirrors his
rebellion.
Shalom includes creation,order.

And we know this in Genesis: God created everything in order. (25:38):
undefined
When greed, violence, orcarelessness rule, it echoes the
serpent's lie that we candefine good and evil on our own
terms.
The effect, the harmony ofGod's word, the harmony of God's

(26:03):
world is disrupted andeverything becomes disjointed,
spiritually, socially, and evenphysically.
In short, whenever there'sdeception, division, disorder,
despair, or deception ordistortion, Shalom has been
fractured and Satan'sfingerprints are nearby.

(26:25):
But the good news is Christrestores Shalom.
Isaiah 9:6 calls him the Princeof Peace, literally Prince of
Shalom.
Through his cross andresurrection, he reconciles all
things to himself, Colossians 120, repairing every fracture

(26:47):
Satan caused.
Now I could have sat, I this iswhy I wanted to read this
verbatim.
I typically don't do thatbecause I like studying and I
like writing things down in mywords and hearing God.

(27:07):
And I did for this whole thing.
But what Chat GPT came up with,I don't after I read it, I was
like, I can't.
I have to read this verbatimjust because of the root of
where it came from.
It was so accurate.

(27:29):
Listen, Satan is trying sohard, and he doesn't do it
blatantly, he does it throughlittle tiny things to try and
sever shalom in the church, insociety, in our country, in our

(27:50):
world.
I'm not going to get intospecific things, but you can see
in everyday life, all you haveto do is turn on the nightly
news, and you can see where theenemy is plugging in, trying to
disrupt and destroy shalom.
He's trying to stop what Godhas created.

But here's the good thing (28:14):
he can't.
He can't.
Shalom is permanent, it'sperfect, it's whole, it's
complete.
You can't break it.
What God created and what Godhas made and what God has called

(28:35):
you to be and what God hascalled you for cannot be
severed.
Satan can try, but he will notsucceed.
All we need to do is stayfocused on Jehovah Shalom.
Amen.
So with that, I mean uh I'lljust end in prayer and then we

(28:58):
can go ahead and you know, youcan be in your groups.
You have uh a sheet withquestions on it.
Um, they're really easyquestions.
We talked through it, most ofthem are probably on the other
sheet that I gave you.
Um, I I was telling my daughterthat I would probably be the
worst teacher in the entireworld because if I had to create

(29:22):
questions, everybody would passbecause they're so simplistic.
So let's go ahead and pray.
Father, we thank you for thisnight.
We thank you, Father, for theword that has gone forth.
Thank you for using me as yourvessel, God.
Father, I pray right now foreveryone here to experience your

(29:44):
shalom, your perfect peace,God.
Nothing missing and nothingbroken, God.
Lord, that we will focus on youand realize who we are.
Father, that we have been Paidfor.
We have been bought.
We have an ally and a friend inyou.

(30:05):
We have been redeemed andreconciled in you, God.
You have chosen us and you havecreated us, God.
Father, we thank you for that.
And Lord, as we go on with thisnight, Father, that you will be
with us in our discussions andthat your spirit will be with us
and that you will be with us onour way homes, Lord, that you
will keep us safe.

(30:26):
In your name we pray.
Amen.