And On Earth Peace
Text: "Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:13-14 RSV).
Scripture Reading: (Luke 2:4-14)
Hymns: "Glorious Is Thy Name," McKinney
"Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come," Watts
"Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned," Stennett
Offertory Prayer: God of grace and God of glory, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to you we come today in worship and humility that we might acknowledge you as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We acknowledge you as our creator and as the giver of our life. We come today offering the love of our heart, the praise of our lips, and the service of our hands. We come bringing tithes and offerings that we might, with your help, minister to others and publish abroad to the ends of the earth the good news of your love revealed in and through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Introduction
The great prophet Isaiah looked forward by the help of the Holy Spirit and gave gracious descriptive titles to the Messiah, who would be born in the distant future. We hear him say, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’" (Isa. 9:6 RSV).
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
One of the very significant words of Christmas is peace. The hearts of people everywhere hunger for peace. Many pray for peace. Some have won-dered when Jesus Christ will bring peace. They have surmised that this peace will come only at the end of the age when he comes back as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Some have surmised that Jesus Christ is a failure as a peace-bringer. To take this position is to misunderstand the nature of true peace and the character of the peace that he brings to the human heart. Jesus had much to say about peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27 RSV).
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Following his resurrec-tion from the dead we hear our Lord greeting his apostles on three different occasions with "Peace be with you" (John 20:19, 21, 26 RSV).
John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Douglas J. Harris, in his splendid book, The Biblical Concept of Peace (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1970), makes a study of the Hebrew word shalom. He provides great insight into the rich meaning, connotation, and application of what Isaiah was talking about and what Jesus refers to in this word translated "peace." "People of Semitic background in the Near East greet those they regard as true brethren with Shalom. Where there is any barrier, the greeting is impossible" (p. 13). The root meaning of the word shalom means to be whole, sound, safe. Dr. Harris continues, "The fundamental idea is totality. God is the source and ground for shalom. Anything that contributes to this wholeness makes for shalom. Anything that stands in the way disrupts shalom" (p.14). A study of the Old Testament’s use of this word reveals the presence of shalom makes for community relationships that are wonderful in which people participate in the blessings of God. The absence of shalom makes for war and turmoil and unhappiness.
The word shalom is used to describe the health and well-being of indi-viduals. It is used to describe true prosperity. It is used to describe that condition of harmony which exists when there is an absence of war.
Peace is that condition which prevails when everything is sound and solid and stable and dependable and reliable. The term shalom is used to describe the experience of salvation, particularly when the fruits of sal-vation were health, prosperity, well-being and long life. The result was joy and blessing that come from doing God’s will (ibid., p.23).
When there was an absence of this soundness and integrity in personal character and in personal relationships, the result was defeat, disunity, distrust, alienation, poverty, and misery.
It is God who is the giver of shalom. In the Old Testament this concept included material prosperity as well as spiritual well-bring. Peace could not be enjoyed by those who walked away from God in stubbornness and rebel-lion and in self-destructiveness. "There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked" (Isa. 57:21 RSV).
Isaiah 57:21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Even God cannot give peace to one who is unwill-ing to live a life of faith and faithfulness.
Jesus Christ, as the Prince of Peace, came into the world to help people enter into a relationship with God and with self and with one another so that they can enjoy this precious gift of shalom.
What did Jesus mean when he said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you" (John 14:27 RSV)?
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
To enjoy peace is to be in harmony with God and self and others and things.
I. Christ gives us the peace of a clean heart.
A. Christ came as the Lamb of God to take away our sin (John 1:29).
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Jesus Christ died on the cross under the penalty of our sin that he might save
us from the condemnation of sin and return us to God.
B. As the Lord of life he offers to us forgiveness of sin that is full, free, and forever. By his sacrificial death on the cross, he has made it possible for us to be cleansed from all sin (1 John 1:7).
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
II. Christ gives us the peace of a right relationship with God.
Until people enter into a faith relationship with the Father God, they experience a rupture or a shattered relationship. In many respects this is like a broken bone or a dislocated joint. People stand in desperate need of entering back into a relationship with God that will bring inward peace.
To receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord into the heart is to be introduced into a child-father relationship with God (John 1:12).
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
A. We need to enter into a faith relationship with God so that we might be declared acceptable by God. This happens through faith in Christ, and we receive the peace of God (Rom. 5:1).
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
B. In this new relationship with God, we love him because we know that he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
Ill. Christ gives us the peace of a Spirit-controlled life.
A. The Lamb of God who came to take away the guilt of our sin comes in the Spirit to be the Lord of our life. He will deliver us from the power of sin.
B. Until we are controlled by the Holy spirit, we can have no peace. It is only when we let the controlling authority of the Lord of love become real in our hearts that we begin to experience the true peace God has for us. This is in the background of Paul’s warning against seeking to cope with the pressures of life by means of some artificial stimulant or depressant. He said, "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18 RSV).
Ephes. 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
To seek help through alcohol is to wor-ship a false god that will always disappoint. Only through the control of the Spirit of God rather than under the influence of an alcoholic spirit can we experience true control over our lives. In describing the end result of the fruit of the indwelling Spirit, we find that the individual experiences both peace and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
IV. Christ gives to us the peace of a proper attitude toward others.
This new attitude is implied and is to be implemented by a command-ment: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my dis-ciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35 NIV).
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Oh, the great inward peace that comes to the individual who relates to others in terms of uncon-ditional love.
V. Christ gives us the peace of a worthy purpose for living.
Many people are anxious about their reason for being. Jesus encour-ages us to so let God do his good works within us that others cannot help but recognize the presence of God in our lives (Matt. 5:16).
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
They will come to know God through our attitudes, actions, ambitions, and all that we seek to do. This kind of a purpose for being will bring God’s peace into your life.
VI. Christ gives us the peace of adequate reserves for all situations.
A pastor in Oklahoma City describes the financial peace he enjoys because of a habit he formed of always carrying a hundred dollar bill in his wallet. It gives him a sense of well-being and security. The security that a hun-dred dollar bill brings is nothing compared to the assurance of divine resources made available to us through Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Savior. Paul speaks of this sense of adequacy that came to him as a result of his relationship with Jesus Christ (Phil. 4:13).
Philip. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ offers you the peace of forgiveness that is full and free for-ever. Jesus offers the peace of belonging to the Father God and to the family of God. Jesus offers the peace of partnership and fellowship in his great work of bringing love, mercy, grace, power; and wisdom into the hearts and lives of people. Jesus offers the peace of his perfect provisions, not only in the present but in the future (John 14:1-3).
John 14:1-3
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
When Jesus Christ is in the heart, we do not have to worry about a home at the end of the way.
Jesus Christ is the peace-bringer to the individual heart. He will work to bring about harmony and peace within the relationships of the home and help you establish harmonious relationships with those about you. He came that there might be "Peace on earth among men of good will."
