Christmas Peace
Isaiah 9:6-9:7
Good morning to our online friends. We are glad that you are here to join us.
Would you turn in your bible or mobile app to Isaiah Chapter 9?
We have been in a series “In the manger” and last week we looked at Christmas Hope- the Hope we find in Jesus.
We are going to look today at a “Christmas peace”.
Peace is an elusive thing- if we find it, we say we are at peace, if we don’t find it, the lack of our peace is disturbing to us.
We cannot experience the peace of God without God.
That ought to get you thinking as we see a world trying to have the blessings of God without God.
We say we want the things of God yet we are taking Him more and more out of our daily lives.
Christmas for a believer should be a time of reflection-Reflecting on what Jesus has done for us- and upon reflection, it should show us where we are in our relationship with Him.
I want you to know the story of Christmas never…never gets old.
In fact we should be spreading the message of Christmas all year long. AMEN
Each year I try to look at Christmas with fresh eyes, but I should not have to. It should not get old because a dying world lost in sin with no way of escaping itself is a dilemma-die in our sins or find someone else to take the punishment.
For believers Christmas time is a reminder of a God who cares deeply for each one of us.
He is not caught by surprise that we are lost and has by choice come into this world.
Jesus Christ the Messiah, the Savior of mankind started in that manger but has completed the redemption process at the cross.
We cannot have one without the other. You cannot love the baby Jesus and not accept the risen savior.
You cannot make light of all the Scriptures that give us direction on salvation and cling to an idea of a God who overlooks sin.
Background of Isaiah writing-
Between 700- 800 years of Jesus coming, Isaiah the prophet prophesies that there is a coming a savior.
He describes the people of the time as a nation of gloom.
A people that have no future without a savior; someone had to come and redeem this lost world.
Isaiah speaks of a people oppressed and in darkness- whose darkness is lifted by a great light coming to shatter the yoke of our sin.
A promised child who would come from our heavenly Father and one who would far exceed all human rulers that they were looking for at the time.
This great light is none other than God Himself- the creator of light and light Himself. Light that would push back darkness and sinless Jesus took sin upon Himself so that mankind had a way of redemption.
Isaiah 9:6-9:7 Text
“To us a child is born”- The Savior of mankind.
“A Son is given”- From God the Father.
The weight of the world, the weight of sin is on his shoulders.
No one else could ever come and redeem mankind.
In the book of Hebrews, the 4 throne names of the messiah carried a lot of weight for those looking for Him.
Wonderful Counselor- The counsel that Christ brings defies the expectations of mankind and exceeds our human ability to understand.
Furthermore, Christ goes beyond merely being a counselor as we understand that term, but he is the one who derives the plan.
The counsel that Jesus brings is the plan for our salvation.
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace.
The Hebrew word for “peace,” shalom, is often used in reference to an appearance of calm and tranquility of individuals, groups, and nations.
The Greek word Henosis (hen-o-sis) means “unity and one accord”; Paul uses to describe the objective of the New Testament church.
The deeper, more foundational meaning of peace is “the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual’s restoration with God.”
In our sinful state, we are enemies with God (Romans 5:10). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are restored to a relationship of peace with God (Romans 5:1). This is the deep, abiding peace between our hearts and our Creator that cannot be taken away (John 10:27–28) and the ultimate fulfillment of Christ’s work as “Prince of Peace.”
From the bloodline of David has come a mighty God and a mighty counselor.
A royal that will cause the world to marvel, a redeemer who will do marvelous things, fulfill prophecy, and He will be powerful, enduring, compassionate and protector of God’s people.
The Jewish faith is still waiting for Him, some have believed and there is a messianic move of God within the Jews.
The Christian community which hinges salvation completely on the completed works of Christ on the cross has lost a lot of its zeal because to follow such a savior involves changes in our lives and we don’t handle change very well.
Some have watered it down and made it a Christmas story that does not get lived out in our lives.
A.W.Tozer
“Modern Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it was poison it would not hurt anyone, and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone.”
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace are words to a familiar song we sing a couple times a year.
Isaiah prophecy about the coming messiah has to be more than words we read and sing it has to be lived out in our lives.
This world we live in keeps crying out for peace.
We say that we want to get along.
We say and have cute sayings but we will never have peace without the prince of peace. (repeat)
In a world filled with war and violence, it is difficult to see how Jesus could be an all powerful God who acts in human history and be the embodiment of peace.
Physical safety and political harmony does not reflect the peace that God the Son is talking about.
In our sinful state, the reason Jesus came was to restore us to a relationship of peace with God.
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Christ came in the form of a baby to die on the cross so that we can have a restored relationship with God that was broken at the fall of man.
Romans 5:1a
“Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Phil. 4:7
“And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.”
You cannot buy the peace of God, you cannot read it in a book written by man, because the peace of God comes to us as we trust in Him.
It transcends all our understanding.
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor. 1:25)
A fool sees wisdom in himself
A fool says in his heart, there is no God
A fool mocks God
A fool is right in his own eyes, but laughs at God.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.”
The peace of God is a God-thing! It comes from trusting God.
No longer in that manger is a baby dependent on Mary and Joseph. As much as Satan tried to stop what God the Father had put in to motion, no longer are evil kings pawns to be used to stop Jesus from delivering mankind.
Christmas time is a reflection of the love that God had for us. We can look at the manger scene and we can reflect on what Jesus did for us but remember He is no longer a baby and He is no longer going to the cross because He has already been to the cross.
The peace of God comes in the trust and assurance of the risen savior.
Peace of mind is something we all want.
We all want to be able to rest, not have worry, and live life to the fullest.
We cannot find peace, because we have placed our trust in the wrong things and the wrong people, we get depressed, we get discouraged.
We get angry at each other, forgetting who the real enemy of our soul is.
We lash out at God and everyone else 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.
C.S. Lewis
God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
You cannot have the peace of God without peace with God.
Some are asking for God’s peace without having God. Lewis is saying there is no such thing.
Peace on Earth is a phrase we see at Christmas time- a quick look around tells us we are not there.
We struggle with peace within ourselves- and we wonder why we don’t have peace with each other.
Regret our past.
Struggle with weakness.
Worry about the future.
Try to find ourselves.
Look for purpose.
And we don’t ask God for help!
We struggle on relationships with others
Try to find the perfect mate.
Some run from conflict so they don’t have to deal or face problems.
We hurt the very ones we say we love.
We become mad at the mistakes and actions of others.
We talk about God’s peace- we say we want it
Let me wrap this up-
Jesus is our model to find peace with God
He taught his disciples to love each other, love their enemies. Imagine what this world would look like if we could do that.
He taught us that He is our advocate between sinful man and God.
Peace was broken when sinful man lived apart from God.
Sin separates us from God, that separation breaks peace with God.
Only Jesus can restore wholeness and peace between sinful man and holy God.
Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.
The element of lasting peace is the presence of God- His presence is the presence of peace within us. The peace of God gives us an inner since of contentment, regardless of life circumstances.
Does enjoying God’s peace mean that you will never have storms in your life?-Hardly.
It does mean that in those storms you can have peace that does more than dull the pain, you can have a sustained peace that only God can give.
Perfect peace comes when you fix your mind on Christ- no matter what you are going through. You will focus on God, not your circumstance.
You trust Him, not after you have exhausted all of your resources, but first…
Romans 15:13-
“May the God of peace fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Go to Luke 2 quickly verse 21, the verse after the Christmas story- “On the eight day, when it is time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived,”
Jesus named before Mary was conceived
Circumcised as was the custom of the Jews
Brought to the temple to be consecrated to the Lord.
Luke 2:22-32 read from Bible (Simeon)
You want to understand peace- it is in Jesus! You have to experience Him first hand, not what someone has told you. “For my eyes have seen your salvation.”
“You may now dismiss your servant in peace”!
If you are here this morning and you need peace- Don’t look for it in another person. Don’t look for it in money or a job or a house or any material thing.
DON’T LOOK FOR IT TO BE UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE-It can only be found in Jesus Christ, the prince of peace. You will find it in Jesus Christ and you will see that other things in your life will come in order. He has to be first!
Most have been doing things backwards-
Amen.
