Prince of Peace
Notes
Transcript
Section 1: Me
I love a good opening line in a book. My favourite one is from the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis. It’s opening line is “There was a boy name Eustace Clarence Scrubbs, and he almost deserved it.” Savage.
Another opening line I really like is: “Marley was dead: to begin with.” Does anyone know what book this is from? That’s right. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
This classic story centers on Ebeneezer Scrooge - a tight-fisted miser who loves money over all. One Christmas Eve, he is visited by three ghosts who show him his past, his present and his future. This introspective journey helps soften his heart and he changes his ways, becoming generous and joyful. It’s a fantastic Christmas story.
And there are lots of movies that tell that story: Mickey’s Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey in a weird computer animated form, A version from 1938 in black and white and even a 80’s version with Bill Murray as a TV executive called Scrooged. But, far and away, the best version ever created is “The Muppet Christmas Carol” [SHOW PICTURE] starring Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, the rest of the muppets and Sir Michael Caine as Scrooge, who plays this like he’s trying to win an oscar. It’s amazing and you should all go home today and watch it.
We are in a teaching series called “What Child is This?” where we are looking at the four titles that Isaiah uses to describe the Messiah, whom we know to be Jesus.
6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
This week, we are looking at the idea that Jesus is the prince of Peace.
Now, before we go any further, let’s talk about what peace is.
Peace = Shalom.
Peace isn’t just about not being in conflict, it’s about the presence of well-being that comes from God in every area of your life.
Therefore, to have peace, we have to have justice in our world. We have to live righteously, according to God’s ways. We have to have a sense of well-being in all our relationships. We have to have wholeness in our bodies, minds and souls.
So what does peace look like in your life?
Last Sunday, I felt stressed because of the amount of things for this week, which wasn’t really all that much, but with this Sunday coming, Christmas Eve service coming, and we had company over to celebrate my birthday, I felt like it was going to be nuts and so I was stressed.
I do that a lot: I see the mountain of what needs to be done and it paralyzes me a bit. Instead just putting my head down and getting through it all, I struggle with the enormity of it. Too many extra responsibilities leads me to a lack of peace.
Section 2: We
And I wonder how many of you are not experiencing peace - not experiencing shalom - lately? Maybe it’s the hectic schedule around Christmas that keeps you in stress-mode. Maybe it’s the conflicts that arise when you are near your family that denies you peace. Maybe it’s the loneliness that becomes more apparent during Christmas that affects you. Mqybe it’s health concerns and fears.
There are a lot of things out there that can rob us of our peace. And too often, we try to fill that desire for shalom with the things of this world - money, sex, power, entertainment - just as Ebeneezer Scrooge does.
But, there is good news for us.
78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace has come and through him, our shalom can be restored as we allow Jesus to rewrite our past, our present, and our future
Section 3: God
Jesus can rewrite your PAST
Jesus can rewrite your PAST
Joseph (“what you meant for evil”)
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
We cannot change the past, but we can change the meaning of the past. - Warren W. Wiersbe
Too many people are chained to their past. It’s like a weight around their neck as they try to swim in life.
But when we let Jesus re-write our past, it changes how we see it.
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Jesus doesn’t change what happened in the past. He rewrites the meaning of what happened. He changes you from being a victim, to being an overcomer. He shows you that even though what you went through was hard, and was evil, he redeems all things and can use your past to bless someone else’s present. He transforms trauma into ministry.
Peace comes when we let Jesus, the prince of peace, rewrite our past.
Jesus can rewrite your PRESENT
Jesus can rewrite your PRESENT
Esther (“such a time as this”)
14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
Situational Anxiety - when the unexpected causes a break in our shalom. Esther had it. We all have it.
God wants to use the things you are going through now - the good and the bad things - to shape you to become more like Jesus
Instead of living an unfulfilling life where circumstances through you through the emotional ringer over and over again, you can experience a peace that passes all understanding if you let Jesus rewrite your present by showing you his transformational and redemptive purposes in all that you are going through.
Peace comes when we let Jesus, the prince of peace rewrite our past and our present.
Jesus can rewrite your FUTURE
Jesus can rewrite your FUTURE
Paul
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” 13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.” 15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
If anything, we let our fears of the future rob us of peace now. Am I going to get into that school? Will I have enough saved for retirement? What’s going to happen when the other political party wins? Where’s the next war going to happen? Is there life after death and what will that mean for me? All these questions and more rattle around in our brains and in our hearts, robbing us of peace.
But when we let Jesus rewrite our future, peace enters our hearts now.
The birth of Jesus means that God has a better future in mind for humanity than what we experience here on earth. Just before Jesus was born, there was political corruption, sexual sin, greediness, and injustice. Just before Jesus was born, couples fought and divorced, sickness and disease was rampant, and friends betrayed one another. Just before Jesus, people were filled with fear over the future.
But then came the dawn of redeeming grace. And with it was the proof that God had a better future for humanity. He could have wiped us all out and started all over again, but he gave us a hope and a future through faith in Christ.
He rewrites the doom that we deserved and the despair that comes with it to give us a secure future of everlasting life in Heaven with Jesus our saviour. That vision of the future - the one centered on the prince of peace - gives us peace no matter what circumstances we may go through.
Peace comes when we let Jesus, the prince of peace rewrite our past, present and future.
Section 4: You
So what does it look like for us to let Jesus rewrite our past, present and future?
It looks like prayer.
Prayer of releasing
Prayer of trusting and discerning
Prayer of faith and fortitude
Section 5: We
Ebenezer Scrooge experienced his past, his present and his future and he was transformed by it. But why? Because he despaired. He saw there was nothing good or redeemable about any of it.
But those of us who put our trust in Jesus - who let Jesus rewrite our past, our present and our future, we have something he didn’t. Hope. Hope that God is working in us, through us and by his grace will bring us home to him. And not only is hope a more potent motivation for transformation, it gives us peace in our souls.
Peace comes when we let Jesus, the prince of peace, rewrite our past, present and future.
