The Light Brings Peace
12/8/2013 NLAC Proverbs 6:16-23 Luke 2:8-20
Suppose you went into the basement of someone’s home and the lights went out. As you were walking back in the dark, your foot hit something and all of a sudden you started hearing barking and growling. How many of you are going to freeze? How many of you are going to yell for help? How many of you are going to yell for help and run. Now suppose 10 seconds later, the light comes back on and you see the huge ferocious dog that you had imagined was coming toward you, was simply a voice on a recording machine and you had triggered it when you bumped into the switch in the dark.
How many of you are breathing a sigh of relief. The light has brought you peace. Being able to see makes all the difference in the world. One of the problems we have in the world today is that we are walking in darkness, but we do not know it. When you walk in the dark you will stumble over things that you cannot see, especially if you have never been in that place before.
Darkness is something that’s very easy to get use to and you don’t even realize that its dark. Have you ever walked into a room and asked, “why do you have it so dark in here”, and turned on the lights and everyone goes to cover their eyes. Somebody says, “turn off that light.” If you do and you stay in the room you will get use to the same level of darkness. You too will be in more darkness than you were accustomed to. The longer we are in the dark, the less we welcome the light.
God tells us in the bible, that we are in darkness, and that we need light to see the dangers that are all around us. God knows that if we can avoid the dangers, we will have a certain amount of peace. Christmas is about a world in darkness that received light from God in the form of Jesus Christ.
The word of God tells us, that Jesus was the light that was coming into the world. Whenever there is a light, you see stuff that you don’t ordinarily want to see. How many of you have lower wattage bulbs to keep from showing the dirt in your house? How many of you have chosen the darkness to do something you know you should not have been doing?
God gave us Christmas not so that we can exchange gifts, but because we all have a problem. But one of the problems is that because the world is in spiritual darkness, we don’t think we have a problem. But if we didn’t have a problem there would be no need for us to have Christmas, because there would not be a need for a Savior called Jesus.
Can you imagine what it must have been like if you would have been there that night when the angels showed up to the shepherds. It was dark that night, much darker than it is around Cleveland with its city lights. They were outside of town, and it was hard to tell who was a few yards away from you.
Now the shepherds were not out in the field having a bible study. They were probably using language that we would consider inappropriate, foul, and just down right cussing. They were not the cute figures we see on Christmas cards or the holy looking little figurines of the manger scene. They were the people that other people looked down upon. They were the gypsies of their day. They didn’t quite fit in. They were always traveling and moving with their sheep. They didn’t have much of a home life. In today’s life they would be like some people who live in abandoned buildings, because that’s all they have available to them.
Shepherds had the reputation, whether it was fair or not, as being thieves. They weren’t trusted. You’d hold your pocketbook a little closer to yourself as you passed by them. Since they lived and moved with the sheep, they didn’t have the latest fashion in clothes, they didn’t look good, they didn’t smell good, and they didn’t finish high school or probably any school for that matter. They didn’t show up for worship services, because they were considered to be unclean. Their schedule didn’t allow for them to go through all the religious purification rites to be considered clean. So a good religious person would not touch a shepherd because touching one would make that person unclean.
So we have this group of guys out in a field who have been written off by society as not worth much and not worthy of God’s attention, and they are probably drinking and carrying on like drinking people often do, lying, telling tall tales, and using bad language.
But let me ask you this, when you had your first child or if you ever have a child, who was the first person you went and told. How many of you were so excited at the birth of you’re your child that you told somebody, “quick, as fast as can go and find somebody in one of the abandoned house and let them know my child is born” or “go down to the place where the people drink and gamble on the corner and tell them to come see my child.” I dare say for most of us, that’s the last group we would send a very special invitation to. We might not to turn them away if they showed up, but we probably would not have invited them to come.
Yet God demonstrates his love by announcing some of the best news ever sent into the world to a group of people who everybody else had written off as nobodies.
You see because of spiritual darkness, people thought the world was made up of nobodies, somebodies, and some extra special somebodies. How many of you know that all of us are in need of a Savio,r and you have to recognize you’re nobody in order to receive the light that God was sending into the world.
When the angel burst out of the sky and this tremendous light flashed around the shepherds they were more terrified than when you heard barking in the basement. They probably thought the judgment God was about to some upon them. We are in trouble now and are about to get what we deserve. But the angel declared. Luke 2:10-14 (NIV)
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
I want you to notice that Christmas is mixed with emotions. First there is fear. The shepherds recognized the awesome power of God in sending this powerful angelic being. When they stepped into the light, they saw God as one of whom we should be afraid. Second there is hope. The angel didn’t come to tell them that God had given up on everybody and was ready to punish us for our sin. No the angel said, I’ve got good news for everybody. (How many of you know everybody means the good, the bad, the ugly, the mean, the broke, the rich, the addict, the religious, the young, the old, the believer, the atheist, the agnostic, the gay, the straight, the liar, the cheat, the strong, the weak, the smart, the unemployed, the brokenhearted, the joyful, the desperate, the homeless, the famous, the unknown, the guilty and every other caterogory you can think of in this world.
You see we may see people in all these categories, but the angel sees us all in darkness having need of the light. So it is good news that there is a Savior, who can meet all of us at our point of needs in various stages and circumstances of life. This baby born in Bethlehem is called a Savior. A savior is someone who rescues us from a given situation when we can’t help ourselves.
Suppose you were trapped in a burning car and could not get out. You see a person running toward you with a lead pipe. The person smashes your window and pull your out of the vehicle. Once you get out to safety, the car explodes. How many of you are thinking, “you are going to have pay me from breaking out my windows.” No most of you will see this person as your Savior to whom you owe a great deal of gratitude. You and I owe something to this baby that is coming into the world because he will become our savior.
This baby is not just another baby. This baby is God in human form. The angel goes on to say that the baby is Christ, the Lord. The Lord means, the one who is in charge of everything. To say Jesus is my Lord, is more than saying, Jesus is the one I sing songs to. It is saying Jesus is the one who has saved me and now I am living my life for him.
As the angel finishes telling them where to find the child all of a sudden a vast host of angels appear. Usually in the bible one angel appears and that gets the job done, but this announcement is so big, that God sends a large hosts of angels. It could have been a 1,000 it could have been 10,000 but however many, it would have scared the darkness out of you ,and you would have seen God’s glory.
The host of angels came in unison saying Luke 2:14 (NIV)
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people on whom his favor rests." We see from the angels that the coming of Jesus into the world is connected to people upon whom God’s favor rest having peace. The light is bringing peace into the world.
There are two kinds of peace that everybody needs. There needs to be peace with God and peace with those around us. That’s why the great commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, body and strength and then to love your neighbor as yourself. Without Jesus Christ, it is impossible for us to do these two things.
God has shown us what He is like in the Bible. God tells us that we are all unfit to be in a relationship with Him and that on our own we never will be good enough to be at peace with God. There was no way we could make things right on our own. Just like the person trapped in the car, we needed a Savior. God loved us even with all our sin and wrongdoing enough to choose to become our Savior. If you reject Jesus, you’re rejecting God.
Some of us may try to create our own rules about who God is and what God requires of us . But if we do, we do need to admit, we are making up God as we go along. You can trust the God you have created if you want to, but I prefer to trust a God who has eyewitnesses who were there and were willing to die to stand up for the truth, that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
God wanted us not only for us to be in a right relationship with God, but for us also to be in a right relationship to each other. Do you know one of the things that God absolutely hates is when a person destroys peace between people. Proverbs 6:19 says 16 There are six things the LORD hates— no, seven things he detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.
All of these things have to do with a breakdown in peace among people. That last thing says God absolutely detests, which means get upset with, despise, does not like, hates, when a person sows discord in a family, in other words destroys the peace in a family.
Is there anybody here who has ever destroyed the peace in a family? I know I have. Have you felt like doing what you wanted to do, when you wanted to do it without thinking about how it was affecting everybody else? When we do, its called being selfish. When we are selfish, it breaks the peace. We may try to justify our selfishness by claiming a right to something, but its still selfishness no matter who’s doing it.
It happens in the nursery class when one kid has a toy and another kid wants it. He or she grabs the toy and takes it. It breaks the peace. It happens with teens, when one girl likes a boy and another girl goes after the same boy. It breaks the peace. It happens with nations, when one government wants something another country has, and it declares war to get it. It breaks the peace.
We all have an idea of what will make a great Christmas this year. It may include doing good for others, but keep in mind it is still just your idea of what will make a great Christmas. Other people you live with may have an entirely different idea of what is going to make a great Christmas. When those ideas clash, as they most certainly are going to do, what will you do to maintain the peace on your end.
For instance, some of you are going to want to spend money wildly while some of you are not wanting to go into debt for Christmas. Some of you are hoping for a certain gift, but the person you want it from has already decided he or she can’t afford that. Some of you dream of everybody doing their part in cleaning up during the holidays. I can tell you now it’s not going to happen. Some of you are planning on trying to visit as many people as possible, when others just want to stay home. We all have our own version of what’s going to be the perfect Christmas.
Now it’s hard to accept this, but it iss true, each of our version of Christmas is a selfish version, because it’s the Christmas we want, and we want it, when we want it. What we need for a great Christmas is not getting what we want, but having a gathering where there is peace between us and God, and peace between each other.
Can you imagine what that might look like. Nobody is getting drunk and abusing somebody in the home. Nobody is cursing at people. Nobody is sneaking out of the home to do drugs or other things that ought not to be done. Nobody is spending money they do not have just because its Christmas. Nobody is insisting on getting a special gift. Nobody is fighting with their brother or sister in the house.
Everybody is speaking kindly to each other. Everybody is going the extra mile to get along with each other. Everybody is able to be thankful for each other. Everybody has a positive attitude on Christmas regardless of the present or lack of presents that was received. Everybody cuts each other is some slack and forgiveness is plentiful. Everybody is willing to help out with the chores and the activities. Everybody is given a little space for themselves. Everybody is seen as having value.
That’s the primary favor God wants to have rest upon us. No matter what the commercials tell us about how “getting things” will turn Christmas into everything perfect, it is just not true. We can get things and they will send us all into our separate rooms to enjoy them while we are neglecting the gift of each other.
Are you willing to give your family or your friends the gift of peace this Christmas. When someone spoils your version of how Christmas ought to be going, be it in the store, while you’re driving, or at home or even at church, will you make the decision to give them peace instead of anger. When they say, “Happy Holidays”, if you want to say Merry Christmas, will you say it with the biggest smile on your face to radiate the love of Jesus.
The light brings peace. Jesus was the light that was coming into the world, and that light was the life of people. After being light in the darkness, Jesus then turns to us and says, “You are the light of the world.” Tell the person next to you, “You are the light of the world.” If the light brings peace, are we bringing peace to the small piece of the world that God has assigned to us.
Andy Stanley once stated, “ So many people think I can do whatever I want, when I want to as long as nobody gets hurt. How many of you know, eventually you hurt yourself, and when you hurt yourself, you hurt those who love and care about you. Instead of attempting to do all we can risking getting close enough to hurt somebody, wouldn’t it be better to say, I can do whatever I want to, when I want to as long God is pleased and somebody is helped.”
That’s the kind of peace that the Babe in the manger wanted to bring into this world. When you invite Jesus Christ into your life, its not the baby that’s going to give you the power. It’s the resurrected Lord who has defeated every temptation, every heartache, every pain, and every situation to give you life. You don’t have to remain where you are. God has something better in mind for you. Christmas is proof that God is willing to offer you nothing less than the best. Will you receive God’s peace. Will you take it as a gift to share with others, by saying I choose to follow God, each time your peace is threatened. Don’t blame anybody for making you upset. Instead Thank God for the opportunity to please Him by maintaining the peace that God desires for us all.
Special thanks to Why Sheep Herders? by Terry Rolen His message provided some of the background information I used on the shepherds.
