Sermon
Lanier Christian Church
David Simpson
November 25, 2012
God Sent Jesus to Give us Peace
Luke 1:67-79
We went to see the movie: "Lincoln" last week. It is the story of a small part of Abraham Lincoln's presidency as he sought to free the slaves. It portrayed briefly the horrors of the Civil War. As a native of Milledgeville, GA, civil war capital of the state of Georgia, it reminded me of the most famous Civil War character to march through my hometown - General Sherman.
It was on November 12, 1864, that Union General William T. Sherman began his destruction and burning of Atlanta. In just a few days he would begin his famous March to the Sea, which included marching through Milledgeville. It was the beginning of the end of the Civil War and by Christmas, Sherman had conquered Savannah and presented it to President Lincoln as a Christmas present. General Sherman said: “I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.”
Just this week, war between Israel and Gaza has taken place. It seems there is always a war somewhere. Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world of peace? And yet peace seems so elusive.
The Jewish people have a word for peace: “shalom.” People of the Old Testament days used to greet those they regarded as true brothers with the term, "shalom." Shalom means peace. Actually, the root meaning of the word "shalom" means to be “whole, safe and sound.” The idea behind shalom, behind peace, is to be a whole person who is safe and content and satisfied.
Anything that contributes to this wholeness makes for shalom. The presence of shalom makes for relationships that are wonderful-- relationships in which people treat each other with respect and all appreciate the blessings of God.
Anything that stands in the way of healthy relationships disrupts shalom. The absence of shalom makes for war and turmoil and unhappiness.
People know that peace is a necessity. It is a genuine need. We seek after peace because we need peace, and because we all want peace. It is difficult to live in turmoil. In fact, God wants us to have peace.
People seeking after peace is not a new concept. God’s way of giving peace has taken a totally new dimension, however, since the coming of Jesus. Because of Jesus, peace is more than just the absence of war. It is a spiritual and heavenly contentment that is only found in God. As we soon prepare to celebrate Christmas, know this: GOD SENT JESUS TO US TO GIVE US PEACE.
Jesus is the source of peace. If we truly want inward peace, and peace among people, and peace among nations, we must find it in Jesus.
When we read our verses for today we should realize that the people of Israel were not at peace. Today’s story in the New Testament book of Luke happened just months before the birth of Jesus. The Romans occupied the land. The local government was under the control of a Roman puppet king named Herod. So, the Jewish people clung to some of the last words in the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi 4:2 which reads: “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.”
Then for 400 years, God said nothing. And all along God’s people yearned for freedom from darkness. The righteous could look around and see wickedness everywhere. There was corruption in the Roman government. There was corruption in the house of worship and among the Jewish religious leaders.
And so many longed for an end to that darkness and turmoil. They looked for hope in a hopeless world.
And after more than 400 years, finally there was some hope again. God spoke through the priest Zechariah. God promised Zechariah that he would give he and Elizabeth a son, John, who would prepare the way for the Savior that was coming. The father of John the Baptist, the priest, Zechariah, sang these prophetic words at his birth:
76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."
A new day was dawning. Just as Malachi had promised…”the sun of righteousness will rise…” Hope was restored! A savior was coming that would guide all people out of darkness and death into the way of peace. The prophetic song of Zechariah gives us insight into the promised child of peace. Jesus came to change not only Israel but the whole world. Look at the changes Jesus would bring about as prophesied by Zechariah:
1. Jesus would give light to those in darkness.
Maybe today you feel like the people did then. Maybe you feel like your life is filled with pain and suffering. Maybe you are dealing with a crises or challenge that seems insurmountable. Maybe you feel like you’re working so hard just to survive and life is empty and hopeless. You wonder if your long night will ever end. There is good news today! Jesus is waiting to bring the light to your life. He didn’t just do this for the people 2000 years ago. He is still in the business of turning peoples’ lives around today. He can still bring hope and peace in a world of turmoil.
To understand how Jesus would give light to those in darkness, we must first remember why there was darkness in the first place. The darkness was a result of man’s sin.
We often suffer and lack peace today because of sin. We sometimes suffer from the consequences of our own sin, or perhaps we suffer from a sin committed against us. Then, there is the suffering due to the sin of Adam and Eve when all of creation changed. Tornadoes, storms, thorns, hurting, disease, hatred, fighting, and death.
And it is only through eliminating sin that we can be free from the darkness.
Jesus came to take away sin. John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah about whom this prophecy was spoken, introduced Jesus like this:
John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Sin got man into this problem that he had, and Jesus came to take that sin away. It was the only way.
John 3:19-21
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
The reason that light has dawned on some peoples’ lives and not on others’ is simple. Everyone has a choice. You can accept the light or reject the light. If you reject the light, you will remain in darkness. And with that darkness comes all the pain and suffering and turmoil of the night. But if you accept that light, Jesus, then he will turn your night to day. He will turn your suffering to joy. He will turn your sin to righteousness.
I remember as a young teen, along with two of my friends, going into the dark hallway of the downstairs church education building while our parents were in a meeting upstairs. We had a “glow in the dark” ball, so we made sure all of the lights were out in this dark hallway and we would throw the ball and watch it bounce down this long dark corridor. But as we chased the ball, we kept running into the concrete walls and wooden doors around us, because we couldn’t see! (We were found out by the adults and suitably corrected because our running into doors and walls made too much noise for those upstairs!) Only when we turned the lights on, could we find our way back upstairs.
Only with the lights on did we realize the error of our ways!
When you are in turmoil and struggling with a lack of peace in your life it often feels like you are running into a brick wall time and time again bouncing from one episode to the next.
It seems like such a simple answer, but maybe you need the light of Jesus Christ in your life. Perhaps sin has gripped your life. Perhaps pride has taken over. Perhaps you prefer your way rather than His way. Why not seek the light that Christ offers and see if a calming peace does not enter your life because you sought His guidance.
2. Jesus would be a light for those in the shadow of death.
Is there a more disheartening word in all the world…death…?
Unless death is instant, it comes much like a shadow, gradually looming over us until we are enveloped in its grip. Maybe that’s why mankind has always feared death. It seems so dark, and unknown, and frightening. And death is so unfair. It knows no age limit. Young and old alike are victims. Those devout and wicked are taken. Those vibrant and lazy both succumb. It is not predictable in any way. It is a fate we will all meet, unless we are alive at the return of Christ.
And yet, as foreboding as death is, Jesus our Lord brings a remarkable hope even amidst this greatest of enemies. He brings life to replace death. You know the verse so well: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Jesus takes our worst fear and worst enemy, death, and says I’ve come to end it all. We no longer have to be afraid of death, because Jesus defeated death for us. So many other religions of the world are based on religious leaders who claim to have found a way to deal with death, but then they died. But Jesus conquered death. He rose from the tomb. He conquered death. He brings hope and offers a new life. Jesus said to Martha at the death of her brother, Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25)
He’s talking about a better day on the other side…for there is a wonderful life that awaits us on the other side of this life.
Because of Christ there is hope that awaits us, even if you were filled with despair in this life.
There is love that awaits us, even if you felt unloved in this life. There is joy that awaits us, even if your life was filled with sorrow in this life.
There is peace that awaits us, even if you experienced nothing but turmoil in this life.
Even though we are not promised an exemption from death, we know, because of Jesus, that death does not have the final victory. We know, that as surely as Christ lives, we too shall live. Heaven will be our home and it will be more wonderful than we could possibly imagine. And it is interesting to note that in heaven, there is no more darkness…no more death. Hallelujah. Jesus has come and he gives me hope against my worst enemy. He is my guide into a peaceful eternity. Then, the song of Zechariah reminded us that:
3. Jesus would be a guide down the path of peace.
A former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India have come up with some startling information: Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick.
But Isaiah prophesied that there was coming a day when nations will “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)
When Jesus returns, peace will come with him. There will be no more war. Until that day, we must find peace within that is brought about also by Jesus.
Jesus promised: “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.” (John 14:27)
As you and I well know, there are so many times when the circumstances around us are not peaceful. There is tension and turmoil that is so unsettling. It reminds me of the chicken that fell out of the chicken truck a few years ago. I pulled into the church driveway one Monday and noticed a chicken sitting on the white line of the highway, just above our mailbox. I felt sorry for him. So I went up to the bird, and soon found he had been wounded, one eye clawed out and one wing severely injured. He wanted no part of me, and seemed content to just sit on the white line. Well, I knew one false move in the wrong direction and that chicken would be minced chicken, flattened by a vehicle coming down the road. So after some effort I finally got him moved several feet into the grass. I even took him some food (potato chips), trying to entice him further away from the highway. Eventually he did move, and I found him by our information mailbox the next day. Some distance away for a wounded chicken. He had died, but I hope he had finally found a few moments of peace in what must have been a tumultuous life for a chicken.
You know many of us never want to get out of the daily grind…the busy traffic of our schedules and activities and jobs and people. We want to stay on the “white line” amidst the traffic, where there is no peace. We have no clue what God means when He says: “Be still and know that I am God.” Peace seems so elusive. Maybe that’s because we don’t want to take the advice of scripture and the guidance of our Savior and come away to a quiet place. Sometimes, tragically, it is only near the end of our lives when we finally know what peace is. If fact, except for rare occasions, the only time I hear people say they are "at peace" is near the end of their lives.
Why not seek God’s guidance into peace now. The outward circumstances of your life may be very challenging but peace is still available through Jesus. Remember how calm Jesus was when he slept on a boat in the middle of a storm with his disciples?
Should we not seek that same kind of peace in Jesus? He stands willing to offer that to us today. He is a sure guide into peace if we let Him. The world doesn’t offer peace, only Jesus does. You will never find peace if you try to bring it about yourself. It only comes as we seek the guidance of our Lord who offers a peace that passes all understanding. A peace that will satisfy now within and point to a future peace that is coming one day that will be experience by all the saved.
Why not step aside from the busyness and the circumstances of your life that may have left you battered and bruised and seek His peace, but do it now, before it’s too late. Jesus is our sure guide into peace. I want a peaceful life that only He can provide. Don’t you? Find it in Him today!
