The Gift of Peace
Notes
Transcript
Today we are going to travel back in time almost 3,000 years. The nation of Israel is in trouble. Their golden days have come to an end. Solomon has died. The nation is divided. The northern kingdom of Israel is about to be exiled by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom of Judah has turned a deaf ear toward God. It is a dark time in Israel’s history and God calls forth a man named Isaiah to be his prophet to the kings of the south to warn them of the coming judgment.
Isaiah chapter 9 is an interruption in the prophesying of doom for a nation to remind them of the hope of restoration in the future. Though they may face God’s judgment for their current actions, A day will come when the judgment will cease and instead there will be peace. The peace will be ushered in by the one they have been waiting for. Their Messiah, the anointed one, the chosen seed of the woman from Genesis 3 will come and usher in peace for the nation.
But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
We know this person to be none other than Jesus Christ, born of Mary, the child born is not just a human child. The child born carries the titles of Mighty God and Eternal Father. These are names for God. We know that Isaiah is prophesying that this child is deity.
His final name is the Prince of Peace. This is where we will focus on this morning.
The coming of Christ brings us the offer of peace.
The coming of Christ brings us the offer of peace.
The hope of Israel was for a future ruler who would judge rightly, but that hope was not just the hope of a nation. It was and still is the hope of nations. The world cannot save itself, but we still look for someone within the broken system to fix the broken system. What we needed was someone from outside the broken system to come and set it straight. If we expect there to be true and lasting peace, it will not come from within ourselves. It must come from someone outside of ourselves.
Because Jesus is God, he has and will accomplish this. The coming of Christ offers us peace in three ways:
Peace with God.
Peace with God.
The Bible teaches us that we are enemies of God until we come to believe in Jesus as his Son and trust in the sacrifice he made to free us from the penalty of our sin.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
The truth is that we are enemies of God until we believe and trust in the death of Jesus on our behalf. Coming to faith in Jesus requires us to understand and accept the responsibility of our sins, knowing that we deserve the death Jesus took for us, and also knowing that his death bought our pardon.
Through Christ, we have:
Judicial peace.
Judicial peace.
The term justified in Romans 5:1 means to declare righteous. It is the action of a judge behind the bench issuing a declaration. When we have jury trials the jury is the deciding party based on evidences presented during the trial. When the evidences for either side have been presented, the jury spends time in deliberation, where their task is to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. When a verdict has been reached, the jury presents it before the court.
You and I are the defendant in God’s courtroom. One day our case will be heard, but there will be no jury trial. God is the supreme judge of the universe. He alone decides whether you are guilty or not guilty. How confident are you that you measure up to God’s standards? Are you sure you have been good enough? Have you ever lied? Have you ever taken anything that doesn’t belong to you? Have you ever thought about sleeping with someone else’s spouse? Have you ever committed adultery? Have you ever thought about killing someone? Jesus says murder begins with hatred toward someone in your heart. Adultery begins with lusting after someone in your heart. If you said yes to all of these, you have broken five of the ten commandments. If you have said yes to one of these you have broken all of the commandments. James 2:10 says,
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
So you see, it doesn’t matter how many of God’s laws you haven’t broken. To break one is to be guilty of all of them.
That is an extremely scary prospect. Who could possibly keep them all? Jesus. 2 Cor. 5:21 says,
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Judicial peace with God comes from acknowledging that in God’s courtroom you stand guilty, but Jesus has stepped in to take the sentence for you. Do you know you have judicial peace with God?
Relational peace.
Relational peace.
Some think judicial peace with God is the only peace that need to worry about. But we are not just serving a God who is judge over the universe. We are in relationship with a God who is our Father. Gal. 4:4-5
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
We are in relationship with God and the enjoyment of that relationship is contingent upon our obedience to his commands. The more you align your life with the commands of Christ, the richer your fellowship with God is. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
If you say that you love Jesus, then there should be evidence of your submission to him and his leadership in your life. If you love Jesus, there should be a growing hunger to know him and his word.
Relational peace is experienced when the relationship is functioning correctly. How many of you would have a spouse who would be unfazed if they knew you were cheating on them? No one! You cannot break trust in a relationship and continue to enjoy the benefits of the relationship.
I heard a story this week about a pastor who is dealing with a rebellious daughter. She was sneaking out at night and drinking. They took the car away as a consequence of her actions. There is a time in which trust will have to be restored, but she will also have to take responsibility for her actions.
We sin against God and then shrug it off like He is not affected by it. That’s not true. When you sin against God, you cut yourself off from the blessings he wants to give you. How would you rate your relationship with God? Do you feel close or distant? Distance is always due to you withdrawing from him, never God withdrawing from you. The good news is you can return to closeness with him by simply confessing your sin.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Is there anything you need to confess to the Lord today so you can leave here right with him?
Peace for yourself.
Peace for yourself.
The coming of Christ also provides peace for yourself. Sometimes the trouble is not confessing your sins. Maybe you are quick to remember that you need to ask for the Lord’s forgiveness but you are simply overwhelmed by guilt from past mistakes. Maybe you know God has forgiven you, but you feel like you still have to somehow earn his love. This is simply untrue.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
You may be here today and know that you are saved by the blood of Jesus. You may know that you can confess your sins, but there is a part of you that is uncertain that God will really forgive you. But these words ought to provide confidence that God will forgive yo and restore you.
For weeks you have heard about God who is unchanging. He does not change his character from one day to the next. He does not treat you like a favored child today and smite you the next. God is not a drunk Dad who may beat you down or might not. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and full of lovingkindness. He removes your sin as far as the east is from the west. You can go north for so long but then you will start heading south. But if you go east, it does not matter how far you have traveled, you will never start traveling west. The opposite is also true. If you travel west, there is never a time where you will start traveling east. This is what God has done for you.
Do you simply need to forgive yourself this morning and experience a restored relationship?
Peace with others.
Peace with others.
Not only has the coming of Christ brought us judicial peace, relational peace, and peace within ourselves, but we also have the potential to have peace with others. The holiday season can be a very hard season for some. There might be family members you would rather avoid at the table this year. They might bring someone you would rather avoid. There may be relational hurt that is unresolved. Those things are going to be difficult to navigate.
Remember that as a follower of Christ, you are a peacemaker. This is easier said than done. Sometimes it is just easier to keep the tension rather than work toward peace. Restoration is hard, but it is always right.
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
There is a phrase in our culture for when someone wants to make peace with another. We call it extending an olive branch. In Genesis 8, the waters of the flood were receding. Noah sent out a raven to see if the water had dried up. Then he sent out a dove and it returned with nothing. A week later, he sent the dove out again and it returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf. The olive branch has been used as a symbol of peace forever. The olive leaf in the dove’s beak symbolized God’s judgment on the earth was over. Peace was restored.
Are you in conflict with someone right now? Wouldn’t it be nice if this Christmas the best gift you received was not one you can unwrap from the bottom of a Christmas tree, but finally making peace in a relationship? Do you need to extend an olive branch to someone this Christmas season?
Do you know that you have judicial peace with God? Do you have relational peace with him? Do you have an inner peace regarding the forgiveness of sin? Or is there someone in your life you need to make peace with?