The High Price For Our Peace

The High Price for Our Peace

Isaiah 53:1-12

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared June 2, 2024)

Background:

*Last Monday was Memorial Day, and this Thursday marks the 80th anniversary of the Allied D-Day invasion in France. So this is a good time to focus on the high price for our peace. Our Scripture today is Isaiah 53:1-12, and I'd like to begin by reading the first 6 verses.

MESSAGE:

*James Allbritton went home to be with the Lord in 2008. When I knew James, he was one of our faithful deacons over at McClendon Baptist Church in West Monroe. But like many men in that generation, James was a veteran of World War II.

*During the war, Bro. James served nearly five years in the Army Infantry. That included fighting all the way through France and Germany until the war in Europe was won. James was honorably discharged on September 24, 1945, with several medals.

*He was in the first wave of troops that landed on Normandy Beach on D-day. He was also in the Battle of the Bulge, so let me tell you a little more about those 2 major battles:

*Dwight David Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe. The D-Day invasion of France was on June 6th, 1944. It was one of modern history’s most important moments, because it led to the defeat of Hitler’s evil Nazi regime. An Allied Force representing 12 nations launched more than 5,000 boats and ships, 11,000 aircraft flew 28,000 missions, and about 150,000 ground troops landed in France.

*On D-day, under heavy fire, our brave armed forces landed on the beaches and scaled the cliffs of Normandy. About 4,500 of our soldiers were killed that day. And over 5,000 more were wounded. That number would have been twice as high, except for the planning, leadership, and courage of those men.

*But the day before this key invasion of Europe, the weather over the English Channel was terrible. And there was a serious debate about whether to postpone the invasion. The tides and moon wouldn't be right again until July. General Eisenhower said, "Such a postponement is too bitter to contemplate. I am quite positive, we must give the order." The invasion was launched, and the victory was won. (1)

*Ten years later, President Eisenhower spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast. He told of praying on the night before the invasion, and he heard a voice from above which said, "The weather is for your protection. -- Launch tomorrow."

*The bad weather put the Germans off-guard. They did not expect the attack. And victory came through the help of Almighty God! So never give up on prayer! Keep asking for God's mercy and blessings on us, on our families, on our churches, and on our nation. (2)

*Six months after D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944. Hitler sent a quarter million troops across an 85-mile stretch of the Allied front., from southern Belgium into Luxembourg. In deadly cold weather, the German troops advanced 50 miles into the Allied lines, forming a deadly "bulge" into the Allied defenses. That battle lasted through January of 1945. By the end of that month, about 19,000 Americans had been killed, 41,000 wounded, and 23,000 captured or missing. So many sacrificed so much for us to live in the freedom we have today. We should always be grateful for the over one million men sacrificed their lives to help us live in freedom and peace. (3)

*Today we are talking about the high price of peace. And the high price of peace is death. Someone had to die. But the only man who could die to give us peace with God was His Son, Jesus Christ.

*And in order to see the greatness of the Lord’s sacrifice, we need to see the greatness of our Savior. Isaiah saw the Lord’s greatness, and he gave this testimony in Isaiah 6:

1. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

2. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"

4. And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5. So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."