The Prince and His Gifts

A former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India have come up with some startling information: Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick.

Since 650 B.C. there have also been 1656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remainder ended in the economic collapse of the countries involved.

In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley’s execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need. So can we!

Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent and our sermon is on the subject of peace. Christmas needs to be a time of tranquility, but has developed into the opposite. Besides, we need more of it in our world today. Examples abound which tell us we need peace.

In addition, we need financial and vocational peace. Some of us are without work or we are in the process of making a career change. Such a transition is unsettling.

Thirdly, there is the often allusive emotional peace. Common are the challenges associated with fear and worry.

The Center for Disease Control reports that many Americans suffer from such mental conditions. Studies show these health problems and illnesses affect about 1 in 5 Americans. A tough situation such as a natural disaster, the loss of a loved one, or financial distress can trigger or increase depression and anxiety (http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Depression/).

The good news is that Jesus brings a special type of peace that supersedes all other forms. It is spiritual peace which is found not just in what He taught, nor reduced to how He lived. Rather it is larger than these. Peace is found in His name. Our thought for meditation centers on one of the titles given to Jesus in Isaiah 9:6: “And His name shall be called… Prince of Peace.” How does Jesus give us peace?

JESUS IMPARTS HIS PEACE TO YOU THROUGH YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.

Verse 6 tells us:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The setting of this verse is before the exile of Judah, the southern kingdom. This was not a time of peace for war torn Judah. King Ahaz had sought an unhealthy alliance with Assyria, in an effort to ward off conflict with the Israelites to the North. But in a couple of generations, bigger problems would exist in that the Babylonians would invade and take the Jews of that region into a 40-year exile.

This was not a time of outward tranquility. Ahaz was not a man of peace and he failed to achieve it through the right means. He suffered the consequences of seeking unhealthy alliances. God reminded Judah that her peace was not found in her outward sense of safety, but in her allegiance to God.

That is a lesson for us today. How often do we look for peace in other areas besides God? Today, people seek for harmony in life through unhealthy alliances. You name it: sex, drugs, alcohol, pornography, etc.

Two individuals that have been in the news over the past few weeks are Andre Agassi and Tiger Woods. Both were/are the best at what they do. But both have confessed to dealing with their pressures through alternative means- means that are destructive and wrong.

The message of Isaiah 9 is that peace is found not in circumstances, but in a person. The child; the son would bring about peace. This child would be the “Prince of Peace. The term for prince is שַׂר (sar) which can mean: chieftain, ruler, or captain.

At the time of His birth, the Magi presented him with gifts appropriate for royalty. Jesus is the bestower of this precious commodity. This is appropriated through faith in Him. Keep in mind the following vehicles of peace in your life, connected with your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Peace is facilitated through prayer. As we go to God with our concerns, He is eager to lend us that peace which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:8).

It is also appropriated through meditation on God’s word. Isaiah 26:3: The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee.

Tranquility is also afforded us when we get away from the distractions. Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” But it is found in Him. Since Jesus is the Prince of Peace, we can only garner such serenity through a relationship with Him.

Commenting on Isaiah 9:6, Old Testament scholar and Philadelphia native E.J. Young stated:

“…the cessation of warfare in itself does not bring about a desired condition of existence. There must also be removed the cause of war, namely, human sin. When this cause of war is removed, however, there must be a state of peace between God and man. Not only must man be at peace with God, but what is more important, God must be at peace with man. (E.J. Young, Isaiah, 340).

And so, the most important question you can ask yourself is: “Am I at peace with God?” Have you sought Him for the forgiveness that He grants to all who come to Him?

THE PEACE THAT CHRIST BRINGS US IS LIMITLESS AND EVERLASTING.

Isaiah 9:7 ESV

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.

The word for peace is the ever-popular Hebrew term שָׁלֽוֹם meaning: completeness, soundness and welfare. This ruler of peace is the one known as Jesus Christ. Notice that it would not be Judah’s political efforts or its alliances that would invoke peace. Rather it would be the Lord and Judah’s loyalty to Him.

And notice that the Prince’s government and the peace associated with it would be infinite. There would not come a day when it ceased to exist. This coincides with what Jesus said shortly before He went to the cross. His kingdom is spiritual in nature, and deals with the soul, rather than political entities. Jesus said to Pilate in John 18:36 "My kingdom is not of this world. …not of this realm." Yet this would not jeopardize the reality of it. The peace that Jesus gives is simply not tied to human institutions or actions. It is attached to Christ Himself. Christ’s reign is regardless of earthly governments or institutions.

Jesus promised His serenity to the early disciples. We listened earlier to His words found in John 14:27 when He said,

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

He said this at the end of His life, knowing fully He would go to the cross.

The kind of peace Jesus brought and brings is one that supersedes any institution or outward climate. Rather, His peace denotes harmony; or order (opposite of disorder).[4] The peace that Jesus promises affects the heart and transforms a person spiritually. He speaks of in Matthew 11:28-30:

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Caspar Schwenckfeld is known for stating, Having Christ, I am not sad. Through knowing Christ, we can have inner harmony that goes beyond our experiences.

We are to never believe that true peace is found when our environment or circumstances meet our expectations.

That will never happen.

Sometimes we think that things will be well when our political party is in office.

Or that life will be better when I have the job that I expect.

Or that I’ll feel at peace when I’m with the one I love; not the one I’m with.

Or, when we get the upper hand on the one with which we’re in conflict.

Many years ago, National Geographic included a photograph of the fossil remains of two saber-toothed cats locked in combat. To quote the article: “One had bitten deep into the leg bone of the other, a thrust that trapped both in a common fate. The cause of the death of the two cats is as clear as the causes of extinction of their species are obvious.” When Christians fight each other, everybody loses.[5]

Institutions or circumstances are never meant to be a source of peace. True spiritual peace can only come from the presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. Through faith in Christ, we are given the Spirit of peace. He inhibits fear in our lives. He is our Helper, the One sent by the Father who guides us into truth and reminds us of our peace with God or God’s peace with us. This is a peace in the conscience; a sense that God has taken away my sin. Through faith in His Son, He has a plan for my life and I must trust Him, no matter what. And when it is over, I will live with Him forever.

Dr. John Franke, formerly of Biblical Seminary, said these words in a Christianity Today article:

“The church, the community of Christ’s intentional followers, (is a) relational fellowship of love, a provisional demonstration of God’s will for all of creation. We are a people who, because we share in the Holy Spirit, participate in the eternal love of God. As such we represent God in the midst of a fallen world through lives that reflect God’s own loving character.” (John Franke, “Still the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Christianity Today December 2009, 27-31).

What peace is there in your life? Where are you looking for solitude? Are you looking for other means of solitude and personal satisfaction in things or people? Or are you starved for peace, knowing that you are looking in the wrong places? May I encourage you today to come to Christ again? Confess to Him that you’ve been looking aimlessly for peace and that you know He is its only true source. Confess your sins to Him and receive of His mercy. He will change your life.

CONCLUSION

Charles Fuller, a well known evangelist and Bible teach of the early 20thcentury, experienced many disappointments along with financial hardship during the Great Depression. Let go from his church, at one point in the three year storm, where he lost his home and his assets, he was visiting a banker, when he got a call from his wife. Mrs. Fuller informed him that their six-year old son, who had been suffering with a severe bout of pneumonia, had grown so weak that they could not discern a pulse.

Later that year, an earthquake hit his home community of Long Beach and wreaked millions of dollars in damages and killed 115 people. At one of the lowest points, Grace, Charles’ wife, was directed to Jeremiah 33:3 which states:

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you know not of.”

God began to lift her burden, as well as Charles’. They both grew confident that God had a plan. Grace told her husband: “Never mind how black things look now. God has assured me that He has great and mighty things in store for us for the future- things which we can’t even imagine now.”

So it happened. Fuller began preaching on the radio in 1937. He helped pioneer radio spiritual programming. Soon he was preaching every Saturday night on over 600 stations. He became one of the most respected evangelists of his time, and he later helped found Fuller Theological Seminary, named in his honor. This happened to a man that found outward peace ellusive. Remember our prayer: “Dear God, help us prepare for Jesus' birthday by remembering that it is only in Him that we can have spiritual peace. Help us to show others that Jesus is the reason for the season. Amen.”