INTRODUCTION
• PC VIDEO
• Slide #1
• We all have things that we want for Christmas. As we continue with our “iWant” series, we will examine another one of those wonderful ‘Iwant” items that we can get from God.
• We live in a world that is very unsettled at best; we see wars, rumors of wars, terrorism, and threats wiping countries off the map.
• We see many people whose lives are unsettled, they are struggling to make ends meet, struggling to hold their relationships together, struggling to find the joy in life.
• There are a lot of misconceptions concerning peace as we saw in our clip this morning.
• We are going to try to clear up some of those issues today.
• As we look at the account of the angels appearing to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus, we are going to explore the issue of peace.
• Let us turn to Luke 2:8-14.
• SLIDE #2
• Luke 2:8-14 ( ESV ) 8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
• Let us begin today by answering the question,”What is peace?”
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. What is peace?
• Before we look at what peace is, we really need to understand what it is not.
• Peace is not just getting along with other people; it is not just having the comforts of life and feeling good about it.
• Look at what Jesus said in Luke 12:51
• SLIDE #4
• Luke 12:51 ( ESV ) Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
• What Jesus was saying that we were either going to be with Him or against Him. That is the division He would bring.
• Peace in not just the absence of war or strife although these things can be a part of peace.
• Peace is not overpowering another to get them to do what you want them to do. The old Soviet empire believed that peace was them being in charge of the world.
• What is peace?
• The peace referred to is the peace that only the Messiah can bring—not peace after war or conflict, but peace between sinful humanity and the holy God.
• There is a difference between what the world calls peace and what Jesus offers to us.
• SLIDE #5
• John 14:27 ( ESV ) 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
• Peace is being in a right relationship with God.
• When we commit our first sin we are at war with God and as result we can never experience true peace until we correct that problem.
• In our text when the angels first appear to the shepherds they are afraid, but by the time the angels are done speaking with them, they are full of joy.
• The angels told the shepherds that they had were bringing good news of great joy that was for all people.
• Peace is the contentment, rest and harmony that results from one being in a right relationship with God.
• SLIDE #6
• Romans 8:6 ( ESV ) 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
• When we are in a right relationship with our God, life will be full of peace.
• SLIDE #7
• Philippians 4:7 ( ESV ) 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
• SLIDE #8
II. Where does peace originate?
• In our video clip we saw a few ideas as to where peace came from. Some said from within ourselves, some said from feeling good about decisions we make, and some implied that it came from things in our environment.
• None of these suggestions are the real truth.
• Let us look at verses 10-12 of our text again.
• SLIDE #9
• Luke 2:10-12 ( ESV ) 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
• The blessing of Christmas is that God gave us a gift!
• Peace originates from God. We cannot make our own peace. The whole Old Testament system was designed to show us that we could not pay our sin debt on our own.
• SLIDE #10
• John 3:16 ( ESV ) 16“For God so loved the world,£ that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
• The reason we need Jesus is we cannot make peace with God without Him.
• Trying to make peace with God on our terms would be like breaking an established traffic law and then telling the judge how we would make it right.
• When we sin, we sin against God; therefore, we need to make peace with God on His terms, not ours.
• Peace with God comes with the forgiveness of sins which comes from accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior!
• SLIDE #11
• Ephesians 2:14-17 ( ESV ) 14For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
• Peace begins and ends with God.
• Once we are at peace with God, then we can experience true peace with man. This happens because we are changed, we see people in a different light.
• Once we are at peace with our fellow man, peace between nations is possible.
• We will never have real peace in the Middle East unless those folks have peace with God first.
• The best we can hope for in this world is tolerance. True peace is not tolerating the existence of another person or nation.
• There are people here today that are not able to experience peace in their lives because they do not have real peace with God.
• When our sins are forgiven, we can experience peace because we are not longer burdened with them. We can see life in a new way because we know there is a God in heaven who loves us and who sent His Son to die for us!
• SLIDE #12
III. Who receives peace?
• In the announcement to the shepherds, the angels said the gift was for everyone, BUT does that mean that everyone will accept the gift of God’s Son?
• Let us look at verses 13-14 again.
• SLIDE #13
• Luke 2:13-14 ( ESV ) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
• Notice the angels say peace on earth among those with whom HE (GOD) is pleased.
• “Pleased” means to be among those who are the objects of the good will, or the approval of God.
• God’s love shines on all, even the worst people you can think of (Romans 5:8).
• God’s peace only comes upon those who have accepted the gift of His Son and are actively living out their faith!
• SLIDE #14
• Philippians 4:9 ( ESV ) 9What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
• When Jesus came, there should have been celebrations throughout the world, but for many, there was no celebration because they did not feel the need for peace, life seemed like it was fine.
• For the angels to appear to the shepherds says a lot about our God. Shepherds were generally outcasts of society because they could not easily keep the Law because of their jobs.
• God made the greatest announcement ever made to the lowly shepherds in their fields.
• I bet those men were never the same!
• Many in churches and outside of churches struggle in life with issues of forgiveness, anger, malice, and a general lack of peace because they have not developed an active relationship with the giver of peace!
CONCLUSION
• Do not miss one of the greatest gifts of Christmas, peace!
• Are you ready to make peace with God, today is the day!
• God loves you! He did a lot for you!
