ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS ... PEACE (Luke 2:14)
Key verse: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests" (Luke 2:14).
Big Idea: Where to find some peace at last.
INTRODUCTION
A friend sent me this email recently ...
A Wise man said to me! "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you’ve started." So I looked around the house to see all the things I started and hadn’t finished ... and before leaving the house this morning I finished off a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white, the Prozac, some Valium, some cheesecake and a box of chocolates.
You have no idea how good I feel!
Well that’s one road to peace, but I imagine that it will have worn off by the next morning.
Another writer defined peace like this, Peace is .... “a conception distinctly peculiar to Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatever sort that is” (Thayer).
I’m sure we’re all familiar with John Lennon’s song “Imagine.” In the eyes of the world this is probably the supreme peace song of our generation. How sad and ironic that he should be murdered by a deranged man - gunned down outside his New York apartment 25 years ago this week.
True peace seems elusive, even to those who fight hardest and cry loudest for it.
But at that first Christmas, angels appeared to some shepherds and declared that peace is available. And just in one single verse from the Bible, we find out where to find peace at last. So let’s take a look ....
The verse is Luke 2:14 and it says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests" (Luke 2:14).
1. THE SOURCE OF PEACE
Just over a century ago, archaeologists discovered two magnificent silver cups both with Irish Celtic origins. The first is known as the Gundestrup Cauldron and comes from a century or two before Christ. This was a the time when the Irish worshipped violent pagan gods. It is adorned with pictures of gods and warriors. One panel shows a gigantic cook-god holding squirming humans and dropping them into a vat of oil. These gods demand human sacrifice to appease their appetite.
The second cup is called the Ardagh Chalice and comes from the seventh or eighth centuries after Christ. By this time in history, the Irish had turned to Christianity – thanks to missionary efforts of St Patrick. Like the first cup, it is a work of magnificent craftsmanship, but the God depicted on this cup is radically different. It has a simple but intricate patterning, and the names of the 12 apostles are engraved around the rim. It’s different to the first because this is a cup of peace, and it was designed to be used in communion. (Source: reported in T Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilisation - Hodder, 1995)
In the first cup we see depicted a civilisation of disorder, where violence and fear reign supreme. It’s a society that knows nothing of Jesus Christ. On the second cup we see a civilisation that’s at peace with God – a people who celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
The point is this, the source of peace, in any civilisation, is God. That first Christmas, Peace came from God and dwelt in our world.
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. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end (Isaiah 9:6-7a).
a. Peace is from God.
So peace is from God. And we know this because he has told us that when he comes into a persons life, one of the many gifts that he brings is the gift of peace.
Galatians 5:22 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace etc
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.
b. Peace is through Christ.
God’s peace is not something we can conjure up within ourselves. It’s not something we can earn or attain through self-exertion. 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 (Colossians 1:19-20).
And Ephesians 2:17-18 adds this ...
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephesians 2:17-18).
People search for peace in all kinds of places – even Christians do this. But it’s plain, true peace comes only from God and it comes through knowing and having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
2. THE SANCTUARY OF PEACE
a. Peace is for God’s people only.
A father was sitting watching television, when his son came running over. "Dad, can you play with me?"
Dad enjoys playing with his son, and plans to give him plenty of time, but not just yet. "Soon, son, soon" says Dad. "When this program finishes."
Five minutes later the little boy returns. "Dad, can we play now?"
"Soon, son, soon. When this program finishes."
Two minutes later the little boy returns again. "Dad, is it time to play yet?"
Dad realises he’s not going to get any peace, so he decides to set his son a task that will take some time. he notices a picture of the world on the front page of the newspaper lying in front of him. He tears the picture out then rips it into small pieces.
"Now son, I’ve got a game for you. Take the pieces of this picture of the world and put them back together again and then we’ll play together."
The little boy eagerly takes the pieces away with him and sets to work. Dad’s relieved he’ll get to see the last half hour of his TV program. But to his amazement his little boy is back in less than five minutes. "I’ve finished daddy. Can we play now?"
The father is stunned when he turns around to see his son holding up the picture of the world, each piece sticky taped into the right position. Dad begins wondering whether he has a child prodigy on his hands. "How did you get it done so quickly?" he asks. "That would’ve taken me a good 20 minutes and I’m an adult."
"Oh, it was easy dad. On the back of the world was a picture of a person, so I put the person back together and that’s when the world came together."
Friends, God’s world is all messed up – but he’s putting it back together one person at a time. And as his peace comes into the lives of people, God’s world is being renewed. God wants to make people the “sanctuary of his peace.”
You see, God is the source of peace, but God’s people are the sanctuary of his peace.
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.
So peace is from God, and it is for God’s people.
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 jeering, “unfair – unfair” you should notice who the angels are speaking to in this 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.
3. THE SCOPE OF PEACE
U2 sing a song called “Peace on Earth.”
Heaven on earth
We need it now
I’m sick of all of this
Hanging around
Sick of sorrow
Sick of the pain
Sick of hearing
Again and again
That there’s gonna be
peace on earth.
Basically the gist of the song is, “Get over it, we’re never going to see peace on earth.” And if we watch the news on any night of the week, we might agree.
a. Peace is with God.
But how does that line up with the what the angels sang that first Christmas?
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men on whom his favour rests” (Luke 2:14).
It lines up perfectly. You see, the peace the angels sing about is “on earth,” but it is “with” God. In other words, it is peace with God while on earth – that is, now.
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)
b. 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).
As Believers we can sometimes seek our peace with the world. When we get stressed out or restless we need to check our relationship to God first, before we go out for retail therapy, fly off the handle. We need to check that the source of our peace is God, and that the scope of our peace is with God not with the world.
CONCLUSION
Maybe you are at war this morning. At war with yourself, or you’re at war with God because you have sinned against Him. Perhaps you’re at war with other people or the world.
If that’s you today then God invites you to receive his peace in your life – what’s your answer?
www.australindbaptistchurch.com
