I Heard The Bells ( Faith/Peace Advent)

Joy Candle Advent

Not surprisingly, the Bible has a lot to say about peace, as it attributes peace to Jesus himself: the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

In fact, the word peace appears somewhere between 200-400 times in the Bible.

In addition to the items listed above, biblical peace:

Guards our hearts from the devil (Philippians 4:7) Brings us joy (Proverbs 12:20) Is a blessing from God (Psalm 29:11)

Assists us during dire circumstances (Isaiah 54:10)

Isaiah 9:6–7 (ESV): For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Philippians 4:4–7 (ESV): Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 2:14 (ESV): 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Introduction/Background

Today’s text is from the Poem I heard the Bells by Henry Wadsworth.

The text for this hymn is based off of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1863 poem, “Christmas Bells.” The poem itself was inspired by several painful events in Longfellow’s life. For one, his son Charles joined the Union army without telling Henry before he left. Eventually, Charles was severely wounded in battle. Around the same time, Longfellow’s wife, Frances, tragically died from an accidental fire, which left Henry badly burned as well. Longfellow wrote his poem on Christmas Day, telling of the despair in his heart as he heard the Christmas bells play. Fortunately, this poem ends on an encouraging note, emphasizing hope and peace among men, despite the troubles of the world.

This is a sad song because it is written in the middle of the Civil War. Brother was killing brother America was on the verge of total collapse. They don’t teach in schools that the two way Civil War was, without Union Occupation nearly a four front war with California nearly declaring independence and Utah also nearly doing the same. The Federal Constitution was suspended and violence was happening all throughout the country. In my home state of NY you had NYC for session and Brooklyn, home of the naval yards, against. You had that same dynamic throughout the south as well.

We aren’t going to re-litagte the war today from the pulpit, but my view on this is that when brother fights brother everyone loses and so ALL of America lost the Civil War in my understanding.

Today our Advent Candle was about peace and we are a world that desperately needs peace. Wars and rumors of war are rampant Ukriane, Israel, we worry about China, and even people speak about division in our country is as high as it was in the Civil War.

So today As I look at some of Henry’s lines to look at the Biblical truth he based this poem on

Text

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Old Familiar Carols (Stanza 1)

One of the things I like to say about Christmas is that this is our holiday. Christmas is ours, the world sings our songs, uses our holiday and has to deal with the reality that this Christmas is about the birth of Christ.

We must not let the Carols and stories become so fiamalier that they loose the sense of priority in our lives.

The angels said this in Luke 2:10

The New King James Version (Chapter 2)

I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

In times of trouble in times of peace we forget our first joy. And so return to your great joy.

Christmas, the Lord’s supper can become just a tradition of men but the word reminds us

Hosea 6:6 ESV

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

When we celebrate don’t get caught into the trappings of Christmas. In our world everything is trying to hide or make less of the story of Christmas.

Alaina and I were watching a video about how a family celebrates Christmas. Many people attack this holiday because they want to really attaack the purpose of Christmas, which it the birth of Jesus. So the way for us to Keep Christmas is to proclaim with great joy the purpose of Christmas

How you can do this in your family

Teach your family the true meaning of Christmas

Don’t assume that your kids or grandkids understand why you have a nativity up or you put up a Christmas tree be as the angels and explain why. There are forces out their that are trying to undermine your peace.

We don’t know the exact date of Christ’s birth but there is very good reason to believe it is on the 25th of december do to Jewish calendaring reasons it was believed that you died on the same day you were concived in Jewish thought. So while we aren’t dogmatic on the event we know that, that was the reasoning in the church starting in the 3rd centuary. Many will try to buray that under lots of post-birth stories but that isn’t true.

It is your job to explain the point of Christmas.

Remeber that satan came to destroy John 10:10

John 10:10 (ESV)

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

So we must explain that Jesus came to bring peace with God

2. Let your family see you enjoying Christmas and enjoy Christmas with them.

The New King James Version (Chapter 6)

7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

When the Angels shared the great joy what did they do?

Luke 2:13 (ESV)

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God

All of them celebrated. The word Multitude here in the greek is the root of our English word “Plethora” Multitude. The Word Host is a military term, this was a group of warrior angels worshiping God.

So men letting scripture intprit scripture here. You are to defend, provide, and protect your families. You’re to leade your family in the worship of Jesus at Christmas. Your Family needs to see you lead the way proclaiming the birth of Christ. You need to be the one who establishes the traditions from your family and from your wifes. Take the best of both, that’s why we have stockings and Christmas trees btw.

You set the temperature in your home for Christmas. Are you like these warrior angels leading the charge of proclaiming God’s birth?

Do you without fear enjoy Christmas in a big way? In my home I set the menu for Christmas Dinner, my wife’s family did advent growing up I took that tradition and we make it our families as well. Are you doing the same?

In Despair I bowed my head (Stanza 3)

Luke 2:10 ESV

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

I want to like the angels for those of you who are having a Christmas that is a little blue this year give you some encouragement.

The Bible says this:

Psalm 130:7–8 ESV

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

The Psalmist here wants Us to know that The Lord is our hope

The NKJV Version

Psalm 130:7–8 NKJV

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

So you have a Mercy or Steadfast love and Plentiful/abudantly redemption.

You may be dealing with tough news this season, but God is Abudant in mercy.

Abudant in Redemption

And both translation say this “he will, he shall”

When you’re in despair this Christmas or whenever. Cling to the promises of God. Cling to them. And th peace of God which is Phil 4:7

Philippians 4:7 ESV

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When life hits grab onto the promises!

The Belfries of all Christendom God is not Dead nor does He sleep (Stanza 2 and 4)

We must continue to extol and share the message of peace Sharing the good news

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This truth we must proclaim to all men.

On the cusp Civil War, as one Christian people were preparing to war with themselves. I’ve read the stories of how in 1860 as men mustered out of West Point to their respective home states knowing what was coming spent one last Christmas hearing the word and singing the carols.

Our responsibility is to share the good news even in the awful moments.

The word Christendom once upon a time also ment the Western World. It will again btw, The old historic truths must be shared and stood upon by us.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We must give the gospel to all nations

Henry writes that God is not dead nor does he sleep because the Christian God is not dead. “Up from the grave he arrose.”

This was a man who lost his wife in a fire, was severely burned and had learned his only son was severely wounded in battle. We must be the belfries of Christendom. We must be the ones declaring the birth of the Lord. We must be like the first missionairy Christ who came so that we may know God.

Let me share so Endtimes thoughts with you.

The Bible is clear

Isaiah 11:9 (ESV)

9 the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:1–10 ESV

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

That day has come and is coming. The world in real time is filling with the knowledge of the Lord, more and more people everyday are coming to faith in Christ. Who can thwart God?

As you point people to the Glorious resting place that is Christ they will be transformed. Their families transformed, and in America’s case and this is true of every nation, they will be transformed.

We need to be as solid as old church bell towers. Solid, booming, consistent. We need to build our families the same. We have a God who does not sleep, who is no longer in the grave and when the clock strikes we repeat the same truth again expanding the knowledge of the Lord to all ends of the earth.

Peace on Earth Good will towards men (Stanza 5)

The Gospel

Micah 5:5 (ESV)

5 And he shall be their peace.

Tranistion to the Lord’s Supper

It pleased God to see the sacrifice of his son

Benediction

300 Quotations and Prayers for Christmas “May God Give You Peace with Yourselves”

May God give you peace with yourselves. May He give you goodwill toward all your friends, your enemies, and your neighbors. And may He give you grace to give glory to God in the highest.