1. Isaiah 9.6-7; His Name will be Called:
* Wonderful -- He takes care of the dullness of life (meant to be exciting and abundant)
* Counselor -- He takes care of the decisions of life -- directs our steps
* Mighty God -- He takes care of the demands of life
* Eternal Father -- he takes care of the destination of life
* Prince of Peace -- he takes care of the disturbances of life
2. That's Our Tradition!
It is said that during a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, when the Shema prayer was said, half the congregants stood up and half remained sitting. The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up. The rabbi, learned as he was in the Law and commentaries, didn't know what to do. His congregation suggested that he consult a housebound 98-year-old man, who was one of the original founders of their congregation. The rabbi hoped the elderly man would be able to tell him what the actual tradition was, so he went to the nursing home with a representative of each faction of the congregation.
The one whose followers stood during Shema said to the old man, "Is it our tradition to stand during this prayer?" The old man answered, "No, that is not our tradition."
The one whose followers sat asked, "Is it our tradition to sit during Shema?" The old man answered, "No, that is not our tradition."
Then the rabbi said to the old man, "The congregants fight all the time, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand..." The old man interrupted, exclaiming, "THAT is our tradition!"
3. Peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is order as opposed to chaos; God brought peace/order out of chaos in the beginning and still does through is Prince of Peace. (1 Corinthians 14.33)
I. Our Prince of Peace Resolves Our Chaos with God
It's not the parts if the bible I don't understand that trouble me, it's the parts I do. ~ Mark Twain
* Do you struggle with your shortcomings before God?
A. He Reconciled us to Himself -- 2 Corinthians 5.17-19
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
1. Return to favor
2. Prodigal son
3. HIS initiative
B. He Removed the Separation -- Romans 6.23
1. Does not ignore our sin
2. Paid our Price -- justice was done
C. He Revealed the way to peace -- Romans 5.1
Therefore, since we are justified by faith [declared righteous], we have peace [end of animosity and increased harmony] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Faith in God that is willing to follow Him
2. Abraham -- Romans 4.3-5
3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 4 Now to one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due. 5 And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.
II. Our Prince of Peace Restores our Connection with Others
A. Imagine God's Words of Peace -- Luke 2.8-14
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And 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!"
[God's Intentions -- Our Actions
At the birth of Christ, the angels proclaimed Peace on earth, goodwill to men. But, when it comes to Peace, the world there is very little "Peace on Earth."
* In fact, statisticians say that since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than 8% of the time!
* A study in 1988 showed that out of 3530 years of recorded history, only 286 years saw peace.
* Moreover, in excess of 8000 peace treaties were made--and broken.
Moody Bible Institute, Today in the Word, June 1988, p.33.
B. Imagine God's World at Peace
1. We don't always have peace with others -- wars and rumors of wars; Ferguson, MO; not peace, but a sword
2. Peace comes through Jesus
[Remedy for conflict in the Middle East; within congregations
3. Peace is a high priority with God -- Ephesians 2.14-18
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. --
Christmas Truce
"On the first Christmas Day of World War I, British and German troops put down their guns and celebrated peacefully together in the no-man's land between the trenches. The war, briefly, came to a halt.
In some places, festivities began when German troops lit candles on Christmas trees atop their barricades so the British troops a few hundred yards away could see them.
Elsewhere, the British acted first, starting bonfires and letting off rockets. Private Oswald Tilley of the London Rifle Brigade wrote to his parents: "Just think that while you were eating your turkey, I was out talking and shaking hands with the very men I had been trying to kill a few hours before! It was astounding."
Both armies had received lots of comfort gifts from home and felt generous and well-disposed toward their enemies in the first winter of the war, before the vast battles began in 1915, eventually claiming ten million lives. All along the line that Christmas Day, soldiers found their enemies were much like them and began asking why they should be trying to kill each other. The generals were shocked. High Command diaries and statements express anxiety that if that sort of thing spread it could sap the troops' will to fight. The soldiers in khaki and gray sang carols to each other, exchanged gifts, traded names and addresses and played soccer between the shell holes and barbed wire. They even paid mutual trench visits.
This day is called "the most famous truce in military history."
4. Peace comes at a High Price for God
a. Jesus' Kingdom will have everlasting peace -- Isaiah 9.7
b. We have a down payment
c. Practice it -- Romans 14.17-19
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building.
III. Our Prince of Peace Reduces Our Confusion Within
A Duke University Study on Peace of Mind
Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:
1. The absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.
2. Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.
3. Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.
4. Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.
5. Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.
6. Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty
7. Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.
8. Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.
Philippians 4:4-7 "4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
1. Standards: I Set MY Clock By Your Whistle
Every day a man used to walk by a jewelry store, stop and set his watch by the big clock in the window.
One day the jeweler happened to be standing in his doorway. He greeted the man in a friendly way and said; "I see you set your watch by my clock. What kind of work do you do that demands such correct time each day?" "I'm the watchman at the plant down the street," said the man. "My job is to blow the five o'clock whistle." The jeweler was startled. "But...you can't do that," he blurted out. "I set my clock by your whistle!"
As we go through this life, we are not confused about what is expected of us. Jesus as the Prince of Peace eases our minds because we do not wonder what is expected of us from God. Jesus came and lived His life and set the standard. He taught the standard. Jesus is the standard. He communicated God's desires about our lives and it all has been recorded in the Bible.
2. Jesus' Standard of Peace -- not one another
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (John 14:27)
a. It doesn't look like peace we would prefer --
"I am in charge. If you do what I say, we'll get along just fine."
b. It's a peace that yields control; that turns the other cheek; that goes a second mile; that is more concerned about others than one's self
3. American POWs
American POWs in Japan did a marvelous thing when the war was over. They had been starved and beaten for months/years. When their POW Camps were discovered by American planes, Airmen dropped supplies to them. Not only did the GIs eat to their hearts' content, they shared their supplies with impoverished Japanese, who had days before had been bent on their deaths. How could they do this? They were at peace -- the War was over!
