MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2023)
TEXT: Proverbs 25:21-22; Exodus 23:4-5; Isaiah 9:6; Acts 2:38
A. It’s the Sunday after Christmas & the beginning of a New Year, & our hearts are still full of the hymns that we sang proclaiming the wonderful message that Jesus Christ was born!
And we believe what the prophet Isaiah long ago wrote about Him when he declared, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, & the government will be upon his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
But that last little phrase, “Prince of Peace,” makes us pause a bit because our world is embroiled in regional, cultural, ideological, & even racial wars. And most of us are convinced these conflicts must end, for such hatred & terror cannot be allowed to reign supreme.
Almost all of us know someone who was personally affected by the tragedies of 9/11, or the conflicts with terrorism since that day. And the result is that for most of us life has become more precious than we ever acknowledged before.
B. Of all the Christmas songs we sang during these past few weeks there is one that is rather special to me. I seldom can sing it all the way through without a catch in my voice or tears in my eyes. For some reason the words have an emotional affect on me more than almost any other Christmas song I sing.
The 1st verse says: "I heard the bells on Christmas day their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, goodwill to men."
"Peace on earth, goodwill to men." What familiar words especially at Christmastime. That was the message the angels sang to the shepherds, "Glory to God in the highest, & peace on earth, goodwill to men."
That sounds great, but we live in a world filled with enemies. Peace seems so elusive, & goodwill is not universal. The song goes on:
"And in despair I bowed my head: ‘There is no peace on earth,' I said,
‘For hate is strong, & mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.'
Then pealed the bells more loud & deep: ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men.'"
"Goodwill to men?" It’s a beautiful message, but does God really expect us to take it seriously?
C. I believe God does intend His teachings to be taken seriously. So He not only speaks the words, “…peace on earth, good will toward men," but He gives us the key to unlocking the door to peace so that we really can attain it.
What is that key? Listen to these words, “If your enemy is hungry give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, & the Lord will reward you."
If I asked you where to find those words in the Bible, some of you might say, "Jesus said them in the 5th chapter of Matthew." And I would give you partial credit because Jesus does say something similar when He tells us to love our enemies & to be kind to those who curse us.
Some of you might say, "Paul said them." And I would give you partial credit for that as well, because in the 12th chapter of Romans Paul quotes from this passage.
But the words I have just read are the words of Solomon in Proverbs 25:21 22. “If your enemy is hungry give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, & the Lord will reward you."
Whether it is in the O.T. or in the New, God's Word says that if there is going to be peace on earth then we, as God's people, must treat our enemies with love.
PROP. What about this idea, "love your enemies feed them care for them?" Can we really love our enemies? God seems to think that we can but only when we realize the source, the example, & the power of this love in our lives.
I. THE SOURCE OF THIS LOVE
A. Where does this kind of love come from? The principle expressed goes all the way back to Ex. 23:4 5. Moses is telling the people God's law, “If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, do not leave it there, be sure you help him with it."
That can be hard for us to do because our normal inclination is to love those who love us & hate those who hate us. But that is not the way God wants His people to be.
B. The beautiful picture that comes out of both the Old & New Testaments is of Moses, Elisha, Solomon, Jesus & Paul, all proclaiming the same thing, "If there is ever going to be peace in our world then God's people must learn how to treat their enemies."
God is no respecter of persons. He loves us all, & His love never ceases. Even though we don't return His love, His love is still there.
SUM. So the first thing we need to realize is that before there can be any peace we must learn that the source of love & peace is God Him-self. “God is love.” From His great heart comes this love that is for all.
II. JESUS IS THE EXAMPLE OF THIS LOVE
A. The second truth is that Jesus is the example of God's love.
ILL. Sir Walter Scott told of walking down a road one day & being followed by a stray dog. He became annoyed at the dog & picked up a rock, not wanting to harm the dog - just to scare him off. But his aim was more accurate than he had anticipated & he threw it harder than he thought. He hit the leg of the dog & broke it.
He expected the dog to retaliate & snarl at him. But the dog wagged its tail & slowly limped up to Sir Walter Scott & licked his hand instead of biting it.
That's what we’re talking about. How love is there even though it is not returned. Jesus is God's example of what it means to love.
B. Jesus did not come into a world of peace. We must not forget that when we look at the beautiful Christmas cards with the midnight sky & sparkling stars & the wonderful manger scene of the animals & shepherds & a couple next to a beautiful baby with a halo around his head.
The world Jesus entered was not a world of peace. There were greedy tax collectors & greedy politicians taking all they could get. And in Jerusalem Herod would soon be plotting to do away with the baby who was born “King of the Jews.”
It was not a world of peace. Yet, into this war torn world came the Prince of Peace & He portrayed God’s love. Mary & Joseph had to flee with Him into Egypt to save His life. He grew up in a gossipy little town called Nazareth where fellow teenagers probably made fun of Him because He was not like them.
His hometown later asked Him to perform miracles for entertainment & threatened to shove Him off a cliff. One day they even called Him crazy.
He grew up in a world where His own people would not receive Him & where the religious leaders who should have recognized Him, instead made false accusations & crucified Him. Yet when Jesus was nailed to that cross He cries out, “Father forgive them. They don't know what they are doing.”
Here is God loving when love is not returned. Here is God with His enemies gathered around the cross, giving them what they really needed more than anything else His great love.
SUM. That is what Solomon is talking about. That is what Moses & Elisha & Paul are all talking about. That kind of love. And Jesus is the example of that love. “Peace on earth, goodwill to men.”
III. THIS LOVE IS FULFILLED THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A. Why is it so hard for us to love - to express it in our lives? I’ll tell you why. Because this love comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. There are some things in life that just can't be explained apart from the Holy Spirit.
ILL. When the angel told Mary that she was going to bear a child, do you remember her question? She asked, “How can this be?” And the angel said in essence, "It can't be, except by the power of the Holy Spirit."
ILL. Remember the day of Pentecost when Peter & the rest of the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit? Peter preached & 3,000 responded. Some people marveled & asked, "What does all this mean?" Peter answered, "It means that the Holy Spirit has come."
And then Peter went on to tell them, “Repent & be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
We usually love our families. I love my wife. I love my children, grandchildren, & great grandchildren (most of the time). But Jesus said, "You have no reason to boast if you just love those who love you. Even the pagans do that. But if you are going to follow me then learn to love those who don't love you back. And that includes your enemies."
That can happen when the Holy Spirit fills us. His power makes it possible for us to love those who don't love us back.
B. The Proverb we read a few minutes ago has an amazing climax to it. Solomon said, “…you will heap burning coals on his head.”
For years I read that & thought, "Well, I can't do anything to my enemies, but God will get them. He'll punish them, & His punishment will be like putting burning coals on their heads." For years I thought that this was what this passage was teaching.
ILL. Which shows you how ignorant we are of some of their customs. For in the Mideast, you see, they carried almost everything on their heads. They carried water pots & baskets of food on their heads. They even carried pans of hot coals on their heads.
Fire was essential for life. It kept you warm when it was cold. It cooked your food. It provided light at night. That was before the age of matches or Bic lighters. And the only way to keep a fire going was to never let it go out. If your fire went out the kindest thing a person could do would be to give you coals from their fire.
So what Solomon was saying was, "When your enemy's fire goes out give him coals from your own fire. He will carry them home on his head so that he can be warm & cook his food & have light at night. God will reward you for your kindness, & your enemy might even become your friend."
Somehow our behavior, our words, & our actions must be so different that the world will know that God has really made a difference in our hearts & in our lives.
SUM. So never think that the words, “Peace on earth, good will toward men,” are just words that we read at Christmas time. Realize that God spoke seriously, & He expects us to listen & put them into practice.
ILL. For nearly 4 years the United States had been embroiled in a bloody Civil War, & in the dark winter months of 1864, at Petersburg, VA, the Confederate & Union armies were once again facing each other & preparing for battle. Robert E. Lee commanded the Southern forces, & Ulysses S. Grant commanded the North.
Late one evening, as the two armies were on guard against any surprise attack, one of Lee’s generals, Major Gen. George Pickett, received word that his wife had given birth to a healthy baby boy.
The news spread up & down the Confederate line & soon Southern soldiers were building huge bonfires in celebration of the event.
Word of the strange fires reached Gen. Grant &, fearing an attack, he sent out scouts to see what was happening. The scouts returned & reported to Grant about the birth of Pickett’s son & that the fires were celebrating his birth.
It just so happened that Grant & Pickett had been contemporaries at West Point & knew each other well. So despite the fact that they were on opposite sides in the war, to honor the happy occasion Grant ordered his men to build bonfires, too. And soon, for miles on both sides of the line, bonfires were burning brightly.
What a peculiar night it was. There was no taunting back & forth between the lines. No shots were fired, no skirmishes in the dark. There was only light – celebrating the birth of a child. But it didn’t last long. Soon the fires burned down & once again darkness took over – the darkness of night & the darkness of war.
Well, the good news of Christmas is that long ago, in the midst of great dark-ness, there came a light & all the darkness of the world was not able to overcome it. And it was not a temporary flicker, but an eternal flame - & His name is Jesus!
There are times, in the events of the world & in the events of our own personal lives, when we may feel the light is being snuffed out. But then Christmas comes to affirm once again that whatever happens, the light is still shining, & we can escape the darkness if we’ll see & follow Jesus.
INVITATION: Maybe you are at war with yourself this morning. Maybe you are at war with God because you have sinned against Him. Maybe you are at war with other people. God wants you to have peace in your life, so He offers the peace that passes all understanding. Will you answer His invitation as we stand & sing?
