Peace Has Come Down! Series

THE SHEPHERDS' STORY (Luke 2:8-14)

Now let me take you back to that night—that HOLY NIGHT—when everything changed.

There were shepherds out in the fields, doing what they always did—watching over their sheep through the long, dark night. These weren't fancy people. These weren't religious leaders. These were working folk, doing an honest day's—or night's—work.

And suddenly—SUDDENLY—the glory of the Lord shone around them!

Can you imagine? One minute it's dark and quiet. The next minute, GLORY EVERYWHERE!

The angel said: "Fear not! I bring you GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY for ALL PEOPLE!"

And then—oh, then!—a whole HOST of angels showed up singing:

"GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN, AND ON EARTH PEACE TO THOSE ON WHOM HIS FAVOR RESTS!"

PEACE ON EARTH - THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Listen to what those angels declared:

"PEACE ON EARTH!"

Not peace in heaven—we know there's peace in heaven! Not peace for a select few—but peace ON EARTH! Peace for ALL PEOPLE!

The angels announced that night what the prophet Isaiah had promised:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, PRINCE OF PEACE!" (Isaiah 9:6)

The PRINCE OF PEACE had arrived!

ROMANS 5:1-5 - THE PEACE FOUNDATION

Now let me break this down from Romans 5. Paul says:

"Therefore, since we have been JUSTIFIED by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!"

We Were at WAR

Before Christ, we were enemies of God. Our sin put us on the wrong side of a holy God. There was a war going on—rebellion in our hearts, separation from our Creator.

But Jesus came to END THE WAR!

Verse 1: "We have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!"

The fighting is OVER, church! The battle is WON! The treaty has been SIGNED in the blood of the Lamb!

We Stand in GRACE

Verse 2: "Through him we have obtained ACCESS by faith into this GRACE in which we STAND!"

We're not tiptoeing around, hoping we don't get kicked out. We're not barely holding on by our fingernails. We STAND in grace! We have ACCESS to the Father!

We Rejoice in SUFFERING

Now here's where it gets good—here's where Paul gets radical:

Verses 3-4: "Not only that, but we REJOICE in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope!"

The world says: "I'll have peace when everything is going right." But Paul says: "We rejoice EVEN IN SUFFERING!"

Why? Because:

Suffering produces ENDURANCE (we get stronger)

Endurance produces CHARACTER (we get better)

Character produces HOPE (we get expectant)

Hope That Won't Let You Down

Verse 5: "And hope does not put us to shame, because God's LOVE has been POURED into our hearts through the Holy Spirit!"

Not dripped. Not sprinkled. POURED!

Like oil running down Aaron's beard! Like rain in a drought! Like mercy in the morning!

God's love has been LAVISHED on us through the Holy Spirit!

THE GIFT THE WORLD CAN'T GIVE

Jesus said it plain in John 14:27:

"Peace I leave with you; MY peace I give you. I do NOT give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

The World's Peace:

The world says:

"Get more money—then you'll have peace"

"Get the right relationship—then you'll have peace"

"Get your health right—then you'll have peace"

"Get everything under control—then you'll have peace"

But that peace CRUMBLES when:

The money runs out

The relationship falls apart

The diagnosis comes back

Control slips through your fingers

Christ's Peace:

But Jesus' peace?

It's there when the money's tight

It's there when relationships are tested

It's there when the doctor gives bad news

It's there when everything is falling apart

Because HIS peace doesn't depend on your circumstances! His peace depends on HIS PRESENCE! His peace is based on HIS PROMISE! His peace is secured by HIS POWER!

EPHESIANS 2:14-18 - JESUS IS OUR PEACE

Paul tells us in Ephesians:

"For HE HIMSELF is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has DESTROYED the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility!"

Jesus didn't just bring peace—HE IS PEACE!

He broke down the walls:

The wall between Jew and Gentile—DEMOLISHED!

The wall between slave and free—DESTROYED!

The wall between male and female—TORN DOWN!

The wall between Black and white—SHATTERED!

"His purpose was to create in himself ONE NEW HUMANITY!"

One family! One body! One people under ONE LORD!

And how did He do it?

"Through the CROSS, by which he put to death their hostility!"

The cross is where peace was PURCHASED! The cross is where the war ENDED! The cross is where love CONQUERED!

FOR OUR PEOPLE - A WORD

Let me speak to my people for a moment.