Advent week two
Christmas brings… Peace
Introduction-
This morning we continue with the Advent series and we look at the “Peace of God”.
Peace is an elusive thing- if we find it, we are at peace, if we do not have it, the lack of peace is unsettling and disturbing. The search for peace is as scary as the fear of not finding it.
Advent by definition means “the arrival of a notable person, thing or event.”
We are preparing ourselves for the return of Christ.
Our whole life at times seems to be preparing to be prepared- Right? Amen.
This week we watched former President George H. W. Bush’s funeral on national television. Forget about political views, it was refreshing to me to watch a born-again Christian who made his faith known and lived out be honored for a life well lived and to have people from both sides say that he was prepared to die because he lived for Christ. To say of a believer that they lived to serve others and were at peace to be going home to their Lord is to me the biblical example of the peace of God.
We are past Thanksgiving, Black Friday craziness in the stores is nothing compared to the Black Friday of Christ being thrown in a tomb and left for dead. But that was just Christ preparing for His second arrival- His birth Christmas, His resurrection, Easter, His ascension, the Holy Spirit power to transform lives.
Nothing is impossible with God!
Advent is about ordinary people being introduced to a super natural God and being transformed by His loving work.
Out on the sign- “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given”-
Unto you is given a choice.
Isaiah 9:6-7 Read from Bible
Prayer-
Father, this morning may we find peace in knowing Jesus Christ as Lord who first came as a child in a manger. May we experience His love and see Him as wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. Amen.
Did you know that there are over 300 prophecies in the OT about the coming messiah? Fulfilled prophecy is proof of the deity of Jesus Christ, along with the eyewitness accounts, stories, traditions, and the written word of Almighty God by many different writers. Our text is recorded 700 years before the birth of Christ who was promised.
Behind the text is a nation of people who were oppressed and in darkness. Hearing of a savior coming that He would be their light.
One that would shatter the yoke of bondage
One that would change eternity
One that would set them free.
Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, forever… He is the answer to the brokenness felt, the yoke that restricts, the captor being set free. No longer in the manger, but a savior that offers peace in a world that steals our peace.
In our sinful state, the reason Jesus came was to restore us to a relationship of peace with God.
It is not till we acknowledge that we have sinned and have separated ourselves from God that we understand that Jesus has come to restore that relationship.
Romans 5:1-
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into the grace in which we now stand.”
You can take classes, read all kinds of books, listen to motivational speakers… no one can give you the peace of God except God. Repeat.
You cannot earn it.
You are not born into it. There is only one savior and you and I are not Him.
Phil 4:7
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Apostle Paul writes to the church at Philippi,
“Finally, brothers, sisters, whatever is true, whatever is notable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
You can’t buy it but you can live it. You can share it. You can experience God’s peace.
The longer I pastor and see people when they are hurting, the more I realize the importance of the peace of God.
C.S. Lewis
“We lash out at God and everyone around us. The peace of God can only come from God- there is no shortcut and there is no second option. You want the peace of God, look to God to get it.”
I watch as they attempt to find peace without God.
You wonder how a believer can go through the things they do, I tell you it is not in their strength, their wisdom, their talents. It is because they trust and rely on the peace of God which passes all our understanding and moves it into a God moment!
On the Today show Friday was a story of forgiveness- A pastor whose wife was killed in a car accident and found out she was seven months pregnant. Killed because a rookie first responder had been working nearly 16 hours and fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the yellow lines. That pastor chose forgiveness and that pastor chose to offer grace to the very man that take his wife and unborn child. I would like to say that I would be Christ-like and do the same. I would like to say that over time, I could build a relationship with a person who had done that to someone I love. All I can tell you is that pastor after making critical chooses found the peace of God in his life. It was trusting in Christ and living Christianity that he found God’s peace.
Peace with God brings the peace of God. It is a peace that settles our nerves, fills our mind, floods our spirit and, in the midst of the uproar around us, gives us the assurance that everything is all right."
The nation of Israel thought their peace would come from a person taking them out of the cruel hands of the Romans and they missed the messiah coming in. They were looking for their preconceived idea of the messiah instead of finding the messiah that was prophesied.
Nothing has changed over the years-
We still think we can save ourselves.
We live in a time of turmoil and we ourselves are living in fear.
We want to experience the savior when we need him and put him away when we are doing something that we know would offend him.
Something has to change in us.
We want peace of mind but we know that comes only when we have peace with God.
We struggle with peace in us and it reflects in our lives to having peace with each other.
Let take a moment, be in prayer, and see if we cannot find the peace of God that would change our lives.
The world says a bottle of wine, a pill, cheesecake, or a box of chocolate with ice cream is the answer to peace within us. Christians, hopefully, prayerfully, understand that it is found in the person of Jesus Christ rather than an object, material thing. One wears off in the morning and one lasts forever.
On that first Christmas, angels appeared to shepherds and declared that peace was available.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests" (Luke 2:14).
THE SOURCE OF PEACE
As a believer, it is from the Lord-
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
One of the many gifts from God is that He brings peace.
Galatians 5:22-
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.
And the Lord has also promised to send his peace when we ask for it....
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).
So peace is from God - - - and it comes to us, through Christ.
Colossians 1:19-20 explains that peace is from God, but it comes through Christ.
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
The Sanctuary of God’s peace in us as believers of Christ
In Luke 2:10 the angel explained to the shepherds, that the “good news of great joy,” is “for all people.” But nowhere does he say that peace on earth is for all people. In fact he says the opposite.
Peace on earth is reserved for God’s people alone. God’s peace is reserved for those, “On whom his favour rests” (v14). Not everyone gets to have God’s peace. Only people who are pleasing to God can receive his peace.
This may sound exclusive and narrow – and that’s because it is! The fact is, some people are excluded from God’s peace – and they are those people with whom he is not pleased.
But before you go off yelling, “unfair – unfair” you should notice who the angels are speaking to in the Christmas story.
The angels have appeared to shepherds.
Now shepherds at this point in history, were the outcasts of society.
In Jewish society especially, they were looked down on because they had to be out in the field with the sheep, and so they couldn’t get to the temple to worship.
So they were considered to be spiritually unclean.
But God chose to reveal his plan to these simple “unclean” shepherds – that the world had rejected.
Is God’s peace selective? Yes. It only comes to those with whom God is pleased – his children – Christians. But God is not selective, anyone can receive his peace – anyone can become a sanctuary of God’s peace - if they are adopted into his family.
This is the scope of peace. Peace is with God not with the world.
Jesus taught us this when he said,
“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)
Peace is not with the world
True peace exists within a soul that is right with God despite what is happening in the world.
In fact when we make our peace with God, we invite conflict with the world into our lives.
That’s because peace with God involves opposition to Satan and his work in the world.
You can’t have it both ways. If we want true peace we must make our peace with God not with the world.
“Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God & saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, & on earth peace, goodwill to men!’”
Illustration-
I imagine that almost everyone here this morning is familiar with Charlie Brown in the comic strips. Well, a few years ago it pictured Lucy walking up to Charlie Brown just before Christmas & saying to him, "Charlie Brown, since it is Christmas, I suggest that we lay aside all our differences & be friends for this season of the year."Charlie Brown says, "That's a great idea, Lucy, but why does it have to be just at this time of the year? Why can't we be friends all year long?"Lucy looks at him with that look that only Lucy can get & says, "What are you, a fanatic or something?"
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we actually started to practice the things that we hear & sing about at Christmas time?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we would take Christmas with us all the way through the New Year?
Close
C. S. Lewis said of Jesus-
“You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.”
The season of Advent invites us to examine our hearts and commitments to make sure the world view of Christmas does not weigh us down and we miss the true meaning of Christmas and while we want to spend time with family and friends and exchange gifts and express our love for each other that we do not miss the greatest gift ever given to man in Jesus Christ.
While we want peace with those around us, that we don’t miss the peace of God that only God can give and that is the indwelling presence of God Almighty in our lives that brings His peace even in times of turmoil.
To be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God… is to experience God’s peace.”
Prayer-
Father help us today to experience Christ fresh and new and then we will experience Christmas fresh and new.
Let us lean into the manger and see Jesus for who He is- the savior of the world!
For those desperately struggling to find peace, may the peace of God fill us to overflowing.
So Jesus can be called in our lives…wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Amen.
