Prince of Peace

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a privilege to share the Word of God with the Saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church and participate together in worship of our God above through the various presentations of His Word. Our Church exists by grace, for glory, in Love.

You’ve probably heard this before:

“It was the Night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that soon St. Nicholas would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads. And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap, had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

This poem has been circulating throughout our country and the rest of the world since it first appeared in the Troy Sentinel newspaper of New York in 1823. For the last 200 years it has been a predominant picturesque presentation of the culture at-large’s perception of Christmas. I don’t intend on breaking down the details of this tale this morning. However, I do want to point out one of the reasons this poem has resonated with folks for so long. What we see in this opening stanza could be described as a tangible peace. You can “feel” the peace in the house. No one is stirring, not even the mouse. All are settled and resting for a long winter’s nap.

There is a direct connection between sleep and peace. I think we all understand this from a psychological perspective. But this idea isn’t just the musings of modern psychologists, this is a biblical principle.

Psalm 127:2 ESV

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

This is why I like to sleep in! Psalm 127 says why are you getting up so early and anxiously toiling?! Naw man, sleep till 8! I’m kidding about that. But we do see here is that He, God, gives His beloved sleep and that rest from God is in juxtaposition to being anxious in life.

But what about when you know the Lord but you still aren’t resting well? What about when you spend your evenings tossing and turning? What about when you don’t feel peace? I want to remind all of us here this morning, first and foremost that even if you know Christ as your Savior, even if you know the great goodness of God, living in the fallen world, we can still struggle in this area. When you are worried about the ongoings around you, it is the normal fallen creature response to stay up at night, unable to rest. I can admit to the church, that this is a struggle I share. Many nights in recents months have been restless. When the worries of life pile up, whether that be a parent worrying for their children, a wife concerned about her husband, a recent loss still stinging, a pastor concerned for the wellbeing of the flock entrusted to him, a slow season in work, a new baby, or overwhelming schoolwork, whatever the case may be, when these worries stack up, you may often put on a brave face, but when it comes to the end of the day, often the pillow tells the story of the anxiety that you feel.

I don’t want to undercut the seriousness of any of those situations. However, I do want to remind all of us here this morning, myself included, that by the grace of God, there is peace to be found in the chaos. While we should not be apathetic, ignoring the problems that we can address and steward better with in our lives, at the same time, much of our anxiety and restlessness, much of our lack of peace, comes from our desire to control things that are beyond our control and to seek to be our own Prince of Peace instead of resting in THE Prince of Peace.

If you would, open your bibles to Isaiah 9:6 and Psalm 4. My intention this morning is two-fold. I want to introduce you to the perfect embodiment of peace. Secondly, I want you to see how through the Prince of peace, we can even in the here and now, sleep in heavenly peace.

Let’s begin by reading the anchor verse for this series, Isaiah 9:6.

Isaiah 9:6 ESV

6 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.

Allow me to briefly remind you of the context of this verse. Isaiah is a prophet, that means that he is a messenger of God, sharing what God wants to be made known to His people, the Israelites, in that time. If you read through the first 8 chapters of Isaiah, you’ll see that the message God has for the Israelites is a pretty harsh word! Particularly right before where we pick up here in chapter 9, God is telling His people that oppression is coming from the North. Their land is going to be taken from them and they are going to suffer at the hands of foreign entities. The Israelites had taken their attention off of the God of their salvation and so through the Assyrians, they are going to be shaken.

That’s a harsh pill to swallow! I know that there is much unrest in our current geo-political climate, but the Israelites were given specifics on who was coming and the threat was immanent. The situation for the Israelites was far from peaceful! They were facing a lack of peace both internally and externally. Internally, they had been hard hearted and were not living at peace with God, and now they have to add in the worry of being attacked! Externally, the oppressors are coming! If you remember back to a few weeks ago, they would have gladly joined in singing with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, singing, “There is no peace on earth I said!”

However, the faithful in Israel were not to be dismayed. Why? Because the same God that is giving them a warning of the imminent danger, is also giving them a glimpse of the glorious future! Yes, the Assyrians are going to take over for a time, but it is not superseding the power and plan of God. For what is also coming is this child that is to be born. The government shall be upon His shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and PRINCE OF PEACE.

For the past three weeks we have looked at the first three titles and how they are perfectly embodied in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Babe born in the manger was born to be the King of kings. There would have been 600 years between Isaiah’s announcement and the birth of Christ, but in the perfect fullness of time, the promised Prince of Peace would come and accomplish everything necessary to complete God’s plan of redemption for all of His people.

So what does this title, “Prince of Peace” mean? First, understand that the word “Prince” is the title of a magistrate. Sometimes we get so caught up in the semantics that we can throw ourselves into tailspins, reading too much into a word. For instance, I’ve seen some who struggle with the Title “Prince of Peace” Jesus Christ, asking how can He be both King of kings, and a prince. But that is an instance of over-reading the text. The intent is to highlight the royal aspect of this role. Prince was a common word for a government official. This title is pointing us to the reality that Christ is the peace bringer, and ultimately that peace will be shared throughout all of creation. Remember what the angels declared to the shepherds at His birth, “Peace on earth, the good will of God towards men!” Calling Him Prince or King is less important than recognizing that Jesus is THE Ruler and the only ruler who brings real peace. Don’t let semantics diminish the beauty of this glorious title of the Lord.

There have been many kings and rulers throughout the history of the world, but they never bring true and lasting peace. I would declare to you that Jesus brings real and lasting peace. Let’s briefly survey three ways Jesus Provides Peace. First in the here and now, all who believe in Him, all who see Him for the Savior He is, all who turn from their sin and follow Him, all who have faith in Jesus Christ, have been given PEACE with God. Romans 5:1 “1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

At Christmas time we are often asked by our loved ones what we need, that they might get it for us as a gift. Well the one thing that every person under the sun needs whether they recognize the need or not is PEACE with God! Our sin, our failures, our unrighteousness, has us at enmity, that is at WAR against God. But through the gift of faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, we are given even more, we are given ULTIMATE PEACE.

Christ brings personal eternal peace with God. Jesus said to His disciples John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Jesus tells those who believe in Him, Let not your hearts be troubled and don’t let them be afraid either! The kicker here is that this command is written in the present imperative. That means Jesus is talking about in this moment, in the now. He isn’t being dismissive of the problems that His disciples are going to go through, rather, He roots this command in the very gift that He gives to them, PEACE. Peace I leave with you, he says, A peace this world can’t even comprehend. Its a peace that comes from knowing that you have not been forsaken no matter what you are going through. It’s a peace that comes through the reminders of the Holy Spirit whom Christ gives to believers. Its the peace that exists in the knowledge that your God is using even the momentary affliction to grow you, strengthen you, or bring you ever closer to His presence, and in every situation what you are going through is for your good and for His glory because the One who created the universe calls you His own.

While these peace focus on us as individuals, the third type of peace that Christ brings, though I’m certain we could mine this vein deeper if we had the time, is comprehensive, creational peace. We understand that our world is broken, the sting of sin wages all around ever since the fall of man in the garden. Thorns and thistles mar our work. Cold and catastrophe come in waves. But in the very last chapter of the Bible we read, Revelation 22:1–3 “1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (read as the throne of the Prince of Peace!) 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.” Church, may we truly praise and appreciate that statement! No longer will there be anything accursed! Cosmological peace is coming! And it is coming because of our God and His great triune plan of redemption through Jesus Christ our Savior!

Jesus truly is the Prince of Peace.

With all of this in mind, would you now turn over to Psalm 4. As I have shared with you before, the Psalms are a collection of songs, its a heavenly hymnal. Psalm 4 is classified as an “evening psalm” That is a psalm that serves us well to recite in the evening, before laying our heads on our pillow. Now it is also important to note that it is a psalm of lament. King David was troubled as the Holy Spirit inspired him to write these words. David’s heart aches. There is little tangible peace in his life as he is running from his own his own son who is trying to usurp the throne. As we walk through this psalm we see four ways that we can live out the peace that Christ provides for us.

So Join in the Heavenly Chorus, praising the Prince of Peace, beginning with Psalm 4:1

Psalm 4:1 ESV

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

Peace in Prayer

In this first verse we see peace in prayer. Twice in this verse David is asking God to hear him. “Answer me when I call…Hear my prayer.” These are not demands given as if God owes something to David. Rather they show the deep reliance that David has on the Lord because of what God has already given him. Notice how David talks about God. “O God of my righteousness.” “You give me relief when I have been in distress.”

My question for all of us this morning is, do you know who you’re praying to? I know that people are quick to send up a prayer in a time of distress. We send out plea’s to the “general power above”, while it may be a personal request, its impersonal to the one you are making the request of. We see it all the time in movies and tv shows, “Hey Big guy upstairs, I don’t know if you’re up there, I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can, I could really use your help right now.”

Maybe you’ve done that before. I have to tell you as someone who loves you, those kinds of prayers don’t bring much peace! Why not? Because their is no confidence! It’s wishing on a star and hoping that its true without any real reason to back it up.

But you can find real, God given peace in prayer when you first come to know the God to whom you are actually praying to! Listen to these words from Hebrews 4:14–16 “14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We pray with confidence, we find peace in our prayer, when we know the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. When we have come to see that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, when we see that we are completely and utterly reliant on Him, we then understand that as the great High Priest, He sacrificed His life for us, cleansing us from our sin, giving us HIS righteousness, giving us relief from the shackles of sin, so then we know that because our God has already taken care of us so, we can then approach the throne with confidence, we can lift our prayers and say Answer me when I call, O God! Take my burdens and do with with them your will!

We find peace in Prayer when we know the God to whom we are praying and we know the God to whom we are praying when we see what He has done for us through Christ!

Let’s look to another way we live out peace in any circumstance. Read with me verses 2-5

Psalm 4:2–5 ESV

2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah 3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.

Peace in Purity

Here we see Peace in Purity. In verse 2, David raises this list of rhetorical questions to expose the shameful, sinful actions of his opponents. David sees that his opponents are not seeking righteousness but self adulation. They despise the Lord and His ways. They may be seeing a temporary, temporal success, but David knows that the path of sin only leads to destruction.

If you want peace in your life, then you must avoid that which is shameful, and instead follow the Lord through faithful obedience even through the storm that you are currently going through. Even when your circumstances are dark, if you know Christ, you must remember that you have been set apart for God Himself! And with that He hears you when you call! Verses 4 and 5 lay out some practical ways in which David was living out a holy life despite the difficulty of his season. He starts with our natural inclination to fly off the handle in anger. “What do we do when our temperatures rise, our necks get hot, and cheeks flush with passion? David says, “Be angry and do not sin”.” Church this is your reminder this morning in your moment of chaos, Get control of yourself. Bite your tongue. Even better, pray for your opponent. Go to God, and ask Him to deal with your heart. Separate yourself from the situation, go to your bed, ponder in your heart, be silent, and take your situation to God.

This is one of the hardest things to do in our current culture. We’ve forgotten how to be silent. How to be still. We always want some sort of sensory input. Music playing in the background, a show on the TV, a screen in front of our face. We need to reclaim the ability to be still and silent. “Getting quietly alone with God will clear our heads, remove the fog, and calm the angry and restless waves of our heads. It puts us in a position where we can see our sin as God sees it.” Take a moment maybe even this afternoon. Selah! Pause and ponder while praying to God!”

From there David says to offer right sacrifices, put your trust in the Lord. Our Prince of Peace issues the call to daily take up our cross and follow Him. That means obey Him even unto death. Obedience to the Lord may mean giving up on some lofty pursuit that you have been seeking that is based in unrighteousness or self-promotion. It means being more committed to the Lord than your personal desires. Even if we don’t fully understand His plan or purpose, we must trust the Lord and Serve Him with actions that are congruent with His character and Commands. Our Prince of Peace said that if you love Him, you will follow His commands. It may not always be easy, but it will always be right.

And there is peace in knowing that you are following the Lord. Stand true to your commitments that are made in sincerity. Love others, serve others, lead your family, saturate your life with God’s people and be active in His church. You will never regret faithfully serving the Lord and you will find peace in seeking purity in your life for the glory of God.

Which leads to the next way we experience the peace of God from the Prince of Peace. Look to verses 6 and 7.

Psalm 4:6–7 ESV

6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” 7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

Peace in Prosperity*

Here we find peace in prosperity. (with an asterisk). Remember that this psalm was written in a time of desperation and ill-fortune by King David. Though I’m certain the circumstances are different for us all, many of us feel desperate and like the recipients of a short-order in this moment. We just want to see *some* good.

That’s not a bad desire. When we long for something good, we’re longing for this world to return to its state before sin marred the land. We want to be fulfilled, we want to be prosperous. These are good desires. God told Adam before he ever sinned to tend the ground, be fruitful, multiply, exercise dominion over the animals. We want to be prosperous.

My friend, I want you to know that you can find peace in prosperity. But it’s probably not the prosperity you’re initially thinking of. That’s why if you’re taking notes, I put that little asterisk on the word prosperity. Look again at verse 7. David says, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

The “stuff” will never satisfy. You will never find peace in material prosperity. But when you know the Prince of Peace, the Good Shepherd, when you know that He went to the cross to cover every one of your sins and give you perfect peace with the perfect God, then you, my friend, are more prosperous than you could ever imagine. Your cup runneth over and over and over. There is more satisfaction in being reconciled to God, His face, His favor, beaming upon you, then you will ever have in house, in a car, in a job, or anything else. When you understand the great gift that is salvation in the Lord, you have true peace in complete eternal prosperity!

Let’s look to the forth and final way we find peace from the Prince of Peace. Read with me verse 8.

Psalm 4:8 ESV

8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Sleep in heavenly Peace

“David has talked to God. He was with the Lord, he knelt in his presence, and he knows he has the Lord’s favor. Nothing remains for him to do but to lie down for a good night’s sleep.” He could be attacked overnight, he’s still on the run for his very life, but he knows the Lord is with Him. As Paul says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And he sleeps. He sleeps in heavenly peace. The attacking and accusing voices have been silenced by a grasping of the bigger and forgiving God.

There is a hymn that we sang a bit earlier in the Christmas presentation that has been engrained in my mind this past week. Silent night. As a side note, I think it’s highly unlikely that the night that Christ was born was all that silent. From the cries of a newborn to the Angels rejoicing and shepherds running around telling everyone what they saw, I think it was a pretty loud night. But as we have seen throughout our text today, there can be peace in the loudness of life and there was certainly peace as the Prince of Peace was born.

I tried to do some research on the song this week and I found some very interesting details. According to one source, during World War 1, soldiers were spending Christmas Eve night on the battlefields of France. After just four months of fighting, more than a million men had perished in the conflict. The bodies of dead soldiers were scattered between the trenches. Enemy troops were dug in so close to one another that they could shout back and forth at one another. All of a sudden, a miracle happened. The British troops watched in amazement as candle-lit Christmas trees began to appear above the German trenches.

Henry Williamson, a young soldier with the London Regiment wrote in his diary: “From the German parapet, a rich baritone voice had begun to sing a song I remembered my German nurse singing to me…. The grave and tender voice rose out of the frozen mist. It was all so strange… like being in another world — to which one had come through a nightmare.”

Silent Night Holy Night All is calm All is quiet

“They finished their carol and we thought that we ought to retaliate,” another British soldier wrote, “So we sang “The First Noël” and when we finished, they all began clapping. And they struck up “O Tannebaum” and on it went… until we started up “O Come All Ye Faithful” [and] the Germans immediately joined in …. this was really a most extraordinary thing — two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.”It is recorded that enemy soldiers greeted each other in the no man’s land that was a killing zone the day before. The soldiers wished each other Merry Christmas and agreed not to fire their rifles on Christmas Day. The spontaneous cease-fire eventually embraced much of a 500-mile stretch of the Western Front. According to the reports of soldiers at the scene, hundreds of thousands of soldiers celebrated the birth of the Prince of Peace among the bodies of their dead.

The peace of that moment was temporary, but a picture of the peace that Prince of Peace brings that lasts for eternity. Peace for you and for me.

There’s a line at the end of the first verse of Silent night that has resonated with me this week. “Round yon virgin, mother and child, holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”

As I’ve sang that song a million times over the year, I always pictured the baby Jesus going to sleep in His mother arms.

I’d like to offer you a different interpretation this morning. Because that babe was born to a virgin fulfilling Scripture as God said He would be, because Christ is the Holy Infant born to be King of kings, because He tenderly loves sinners so much that He would die to pay for our sins, because He was born, lived righteously, died gruesomely, and raised victorious, it’s not just HE who sleeps in heavenly peace. It’s you, it’s me. It’s all of us who know, love, and serve our Prince of Peace.

Do you know Christ today? If so, sleep in heavenly peace. If you aren’t sure, I am here, this church exists to point you straight to him. Make that know to me today during this hymn of response. Come to know the Prince of peace and may we leave here today ready to lay down our heads this evening and sleep in heavenly peace.

Let’s pray.