His Name Shall Be Called
“The Prince of Peace”
Part 4
Isaiah 9:6
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Perhaps of all the things people think about though when the Christmas season roles around, peace is one of those most often mentioned. If you listen carefully you’ll hear many songs and sermons using this text to convey the idea that the birth of Jesus brought peace into the world.
I want peace don’t you? I would like to have peace on earth, good will toward men, wouldn’t you? I think most people would say; I would like to know the peace of God in my marriage. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to experience a marriage without strife or heartache? I would like to be at peace with my children. I would like to experience peace in my financial decisions. I would like to have peace of mind at the end of the day knowing that I have lived my life rightly and usefully that day. How about having peace in my thought life? James said, "Where do wars and fighting come from? Don’t they come from the lusts that war in your members?" In other words, our minds rage and war because of the lusts in them. Your mind wants one thing, and your body has a strong desire for it, but the Spirit of God tries to lead you in another direction, and because of the strong desire, there is warfare. I want the peace of God in those moments. We want peace for our churches. Our nation wants peace. The people in Iraq, Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan would like some peace right about now. And we always hear about world peace.
In Isaiah 9:6, we find the prophecy, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called…The Prince of Peace." Jesus is that Prince of Peace.
With all this focus on the birth of Christ and peace at this time of year, I think it will be worth our time this morning to examine some truths concerning this title, the Prince of Peace.
I. The Royalty of His Person
a. His royal descent
Humanly speaking there is no doubt that Jesus is of royal descent. We have the advantage of being able to trace his ancestry through both his mother and fathers family tree in the Gospel of Matthew chapter one and Luke chapter three. Isaiah 9:7 states that “…of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David…” Jesus is a direct descendant of King David
b. His revelation
Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Matthew 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Matthew 27:11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
Matthew 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
Luke 23:38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
John 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
c. His reign
1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
II. The Realization of His Peace
a. The distinction of His peace
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered.
The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled.
As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.
A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.
The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?
A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
You see, many of us have faulty ideas about what peace really is. In this life, there are going to be problems. You can’t prevent them, and as long as you are waiting for all your troubles to go away before you experience peace, then you will never know it. Real peace is being able to abide in the midst of the storm with the calm assurance that the Savior is there.
His peace is a peace that:
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
His peace comes in the storm:
Mark 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
b. The deliverance of His peace
God wants to give us peace:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
He sent His son so we could have peace:
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Peace comes through faith in Christ:
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Those who have exercised faith in the saving work of Christ on their behalf, who have repented of their sin and confessed Christ have;
So we are to know and experience peace here in this life today. But perhaps today you are listening to this message and you say, Brother Steve, I know all of that, and I still don’t have peace. Let me give you the 5 most common reasons I have found that people don’t experience the peace of God.
1. You are lost. We have already discussed this. If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will not and cannot expect to have a lasting peace in this life. You should know whether you are saved or not. Go back to that time in your life when you trusted the Christ as your Savior. If you are unable to remember that time, then you need to be saved today.
2. You are harboring known sin. Turn to and read Psalm 38:3-6. We were saved to walk a new life, and any time we revert back to sin, knowingly and willingly, there will be little peace. We must call it what it is and repent of it, turn away from it if we are to know the peace of God.
3. You are not obeying God. Not much unlike harboring sin, disobedience in the life of a believer cannot be blessed by God. God will never bless our disobedience. Do not expect peace if we are not obeying the promptings of the Lord. What has the Lord been speaking to you about? You must be obedient in that thing. Walk in the Spirit, follow the Spirit, if you want the fruit of the Spirit.
4. Lack of trust. Our lives are out of our control, and this frustrates us to no end. If we are to know the peace of God, then we must trust His ways, His plans, His judgments, and know that He will take care of us. That is the whole point of Matthew 6. If God will take care of the flowers and the birds, then He will certainly take care of us. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
c. The duration of His peace
Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
d. The delight of His peace
THE EMPTY GIFT
"I was enjoying 1st grade to the fullest until one day in December when the little girl behind me set "it" on her desk. It was the tiniest Christmas present imaginable, less than an inch on each side with white glossy paper tied up with a sliver of red cellophane. Immediately I was captivated. I had never seen anything so exquisite. Day after day the tiny gift caught my eye, and my active imagination tried to guess what miniature treasure might be inside. It had to be something wondrous beyond description.
I longed for that object with all the power a 5-year-old can muster. Finally, I became convinced that it should be mine. I deserved it because I desired it. Since I rode an early bus to school, it was a simple matter to slip into the empty classroom one morning. My hands eagerly tore open the tiny present. Inside I found - nothing.
Staring at the destruction in my hand, anticipation dissolved into disappointment and confusion. Gradually my stunned mind grasped the fact that the little package had been nothing more than a hollow decoration. I sat at my desk with the empty paper and an empty feeling, sickened by the knowledge of my guilt.
What the world promises is like this little gift. It promises much but pays little! For you see the Bible says:
Isaiah 48:22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
On the other hand what God promises He always delivers and He guarantees it to satisfy!
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
This peace can only come if you know the Prince of Peace. This child that Isaiah speaks of brings peace!
PEACE CHILD
In 1962, the Sawi people of New Guinea still lived in relative isolation. They were head-hunting cannibals. Their culture could not be more different from that of Don and Carol Richardson, and yet this missionary couple attempted to share Christ with them. In fact, two rival Sawi tribes, fascinated by the Richardsons, moved their villages right around the missionaries’ jungle home.
But Don became frustrated by his inability to find a point of contact. He was also discouraged by the 14 civil wars he had already counted right outside his front door now that the two tribes lived side by side. Eventually, the Richardsons decided to leave. However, the Sawi response surprised them: "If you’ll stay, we promise we’ll make peace in the morning."
The next morning the Richardsons awoke to see the most amazing ritual they had ever witnessed. The two tribes were lined up outside their houses, on either side of the clearing. Finally, one man dashed into his hut, grabbed his newborn son, and began to run across the meadow towards the other tribe. His expression betrayed absolute agony. His wife ran after him, screaming and begging him to give the baby back to her.
But her husband wouldn’t stop. He ran over to the other tribe and presented the boy to them. "Plead the peace child for me. I give you my son, and I give you my name," he said. Moments later, someone from that tribe performed the same agonizing sacrifice with the same intensity and passion. Richardson found out later that as long as those two children remained alive, the tribes were bound to peace. If they died, then literally all hell would break loose--cannibalism, murder, civil war.
While this amazing scene unfolded before him, Don suddenly realized that this was the analogy he needed to communicate Christ. The next time he spoke to the Sawi elders he told them of the perfect Peace Child, Jesus. Eventually, droves of Sawi became followers of Christ.
Several years later, on Christmas day, hundreds of Sawi from every tribe - tribes that had warred and cannibalized each other for many years - gathered together for a feast for the first time. A Sawi preacher stood up and read in his own language a scripture that few people in the history of the world have ever understood so clearly: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Later, the Richardsons would write that it was the best Christmas they had ever experienced. It was the best day the Sawi had ever known.
