Since the dawn of time there has always been one desire on the hearts of all mankind, the desire for peace. What is funny is as I think about the past three weeks as we have looked at these three weeks of Advent one thing comes to mind, each facet of Advent are emotions that mankind has without God. Man is seeking Hope in a world that is as they see it full of evil, they desire to be loved and express love and everyone has a longing for Joy. These are all, longings that everyone wants, why because it is goes back to how we were initially created. All of mankind knows there is something wrong but there is something blinding mankind from seeing what it is and how it can be attained. This morning we will continue to look at a deep longing of the heart mankind is seeking and how it is a gift that was given to us over 2000 years ago in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This morning we are looking at the fourth candle, the first candle is called the Prophecy Candle, symbolizing hope, the second is the Bethlehem Candle symbolizing love, the third is the Shepherd Candle symbolizing Joy. This morning we will look at the fourth candle which is called the Angel Candle and it symbolizes peace.

Prophecy Candle - Hope

Bethlehem Candle - Love

Shepherd Candle - Joy

Angel Candle - Peace

I find it very apropos to call this candle the angel candle. Not only because of the angels role in announcing the Messiah's birth to the shepherds in the field, which is why this is called the Angel Candle, but also because of their standing before God in compression to our own. The angels are created beings, just as we are, they have intelligence, emotions and wills. They worship and praise God. They are also very curious about mankind. Look with me at what Peter says about angels in 1 Peter 1:10-12

1 Peter 1:10–12 NASB95

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

Peter is telling the church in this letter how the prophets of Old have pointed to this salvation which they have now received and how they have examined it as carefully as possible. The revelation of this salvation was not for their sake but for the sake of God and this salvation this grace which God has bestowed upon all mankind is so special and so incredible that even the angels long to look at it. See the angels are very curious not only about mankind but even about how the person and work of Jesus Christ impacts the life of all humanity.

Now angels are immortal so they have been around since their creation some time in the events of Genesis chapter one. Now angels are not omnipotent and omnipresent but they are observant. They have watched how Adam and Eve fell into sin. They have seen how God has destroyed the earth with a flood. How He has called Abram and Isaac and Jacob. They have seen how God brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt, how they were rebellious, how they rejected God as their King and even continued to give themselves over to idolatry over and over. They have even seen how God has sent the nation into exile and then brought them back out of captivity. How God treats His creation is a wonder to the angels they watch intently. Here is the most intriguing factor about God's relationship to mankind, man's rebelliousness and God graciousness. Angles don't receive this kind of grace from God. Those who have rebelled has been thrown out of heaven and will one day be judged for their rebelliousness but mankind on the other hand even though they are rebellious God is still gracious toward them. The announcement the angels bring to those shepherd in the field is a message of grace in the fact that God's gracious and glorious gift of His Son is a gift of peace for all mankind. This morning as we examine what the fourth candle in advent symbolizes we will learn about the Coming Peacemaker.

Advent - The Coming Peacemaker

Let's go ahead and looking at the announcement the angels brought to the shepherds recorded for us Luke's Gospel. We find the announcement in Luke 2:8-14;

Luke 2:8–14 NASB95

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

As is very clear in this passage the angels come to bring an amazing and powerful message, it is a message of peace. This peace is a peace that even though has its initial impact on man it spans across many facets. It is initially peace between man and God, but with this peace also comes a peace between man and man and man and creation. Jesus brings peace with God

Peace with God

There are so many people in this world who are looking for peace so many people who think the way to having peace is by uniting religions and taking from each religion the similarities and dumping the differences. The problem with that is if you only take the similarities and dumb the differences than you have to dumb what Luke has told us here brings peace. It is only through Jesus Christ. Luke has recorded for us the angels message to the shepherds which is a message to the world and this is not their message but God's message, that there is a baby born who is Christ the Lord who is born to be a Savior of all mankind. The angels then sing a son of praise to God, in the song they sing of the meaning of the child coming into this world. He is coming as a peacemaker. The peace He is coming to establish is first and foremost man to God.

The Hebrew's have a greeting for one another, it is there hello and their goodbye, it is the word Salome. Salome is best translated in the simple, peace. I remember growing up in the Catholic Church and I remember the priest reading some scripture and then saying, peace be with you, and the entire congregation would respond and also with you. I had no idea what that meant and I don't think the priest even knows the depth of what it means to have peace with one another. If we look at peace and we want to truly know what peace means we must know how the Israelites use this word Salome. It is not just a nice greeting or just a pleasantry. The word has the power and the impact upon the whole of the being, it is the idea of completeness. Completeness in life, health and prosperity. This has all to do with the heart as well as the physical.

What is funny is these interfaith groups as well as many religions around the world will agree that there life is incomplete. They will all admit to the fact they know something is missing in their lives and they are all trying to attain this level of completeness. God has prescribed for us the only way we can attain to this completeness, the angels sang about it and announced it to those shepherds who stood watch in the field at night. The only way to have true peace, the only way to be truly complete is through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Look the angels in the gospel of Luke are only announcing what the Israelites have been waiting for and what God has told them would happen. God through His prophet Isaiah said this in Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah 9:6 NASB95

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.

Look at those four amazing names here. Isaiah tells us there will be a child born, an incarnate being who is a son who will rule with power and might and His names will consist of, and are not limited to, Wonderful Counselor, one of wisdom and one who listens. Mighty God, full of divine power and strength above any mortal man. Eternal Father, there is no end to Him and there is no end to His unconditional love. Prince of peace, His rule is one of wholeness it will be complete and He will bring wholeness and thoroughly restore man to the way they were meant to be.

Jeremiah adds to this look at what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 33:8-9,

Jeremiah 33:8–9 NASB95

‘I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. ‘It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

As we see God will bring a cleansing of all sin all our iniquity. This is what separates us from God and He is offering a means of making this relationship whole again. That is the purpose of God the Son taking on the form created man is to save us from sin and to bring us to perfection, completeness. This is peace with God, this is the peace Jesus has brought to us by giving up His place in heaven and we can not have true everlasting peace with Jesus. He is the defining difference between every other religion, with out Jesus there is no true peace and mankind is continually seeking it. Yes there are other religions that give lip service to Jesus, He is a Son of God, He was a great prophet, a wonderful teacher. That is only lip service and that lip service will not bring anyone to peace true peace true wholeness. All those religions that follow this lip service are all working toward peace because they have attained it.

Paul tells us in Romans 10:8-10

Romans 10:8–10 NASB95

But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

See this it is a confession of the mouth, making it known with a public deceleration. As well as believing in the heart what God has done in and through Jesus, so it is a private acknowledgment as well that can bring about any true peace. It begins with God and being reconciled to Him.

From Peace with God we can now have Peace with Man.

Peace with Man

Mankind is trying to manufacture a false peace. Mankind sees the affects of sin in the world and they feel they have to do something about it and so they think they have the solution. Remove hateful speech from the world and remove poverty and stop wars. That's all well and good but those things are not the problem. It becomes even more pronounced around Christmas time doesn't it. Shows and songs promoting eradicating poverty at Christmas time and putting an end to all the hate. It should be a time of loving one another and finding the Christmas spirit. The problem is without Jesus Christ and without being made whole through His death, burial and resurrection, we have no peace with God we are not made complete. If we are not made complete their is no way to have this peace.

Why then do people who have no peace with God seek to manufacture peace with other men and women. Simple it is in everyone to seek this wholeness, this completeness. Paul in the first chapter of Romans tells them this.

Romans 1:18–23 NASB95

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

God has placed in man the longing for Him and all that He encompasses, Love, Patience, Peace. They want this, I am sure we have all felt this at some point in our lives, something is missing. For many people who come to know the Lord at an older age the reason why they finally come to God is because they realize their is something missing and they have been filling it with something false. It is when the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to the reality of what they are missing that mankind no longer follows the foolishness of the world and their own wisdom but find that true peace.

Unsaved people are looking for peace between man and man because they think it will fill the void that is missing. The problem is they are doing it all wrong. The void can only be filled by first knowing Christ who is the peacemaker. From first being made whole in our relationship with God and from knowing God then we can have true peace with out fellow man. This peace between mankind begins in the church. Through out the New Testament there is a teaching on how to treat one another, it has been called the one anothers.

We go back to Romans for our first one,

Romans 12:9–13 NASB95

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

So you see in this text we find how believers are to treat one another, and it begins with Love and not letting love be hypocritical. Meaning don't say your are loving and then treat people badly, especially in the church. True love is about putting others first and in order to know true love we first need to know God and from knowing God we know love and from knowing God we also know peace.

Paul continues this love and this peace which comes from God must be expressed in the church to our brothers and sisters in Christ but it also extends to others as well.

Paul continues in Romans 12:14-21;

Romans 12:14–21 NASB95

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 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.

See that, see how we are to treat those who hate us and those who hate God. No matter what they do to us no matter how they treat us we are not to do the same to them. We are to be at peace with our fellow man no matter what they say or how they treat us or what they believe. Listen I understand it is easy for us to be at peace with one another within these four walls, but once we step outside these four walls we now we will treat others how they treat us. That is not being at peace, that is not having a completed relationship with the Father. That is living a life full of pride and arrogance. The thing is if we want other to see what true peace is we need to live lives of peace toward them no matter how they treat us, never returning evil for evil.

Peace begins with God and is expressed toward mankind and the beauty of Jesus coming as the Peacemaker is being able to look forward to the future consummation of all things.

Eternal Peace

The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ should bring about a feeling of peace of mind and peace in your heart. Looking around at the world knowing how it is decaying because of sin should drive us to wanting to see Jesus' return. Look the peace we have with God in our relationship with Him and the peace we are to have with one another in this life is a picture of what we will have for all eternity. It will be perfection. There will be no more stain of sin, no more decay, there will be no more violence, it will all be gone.

Look Isaiah understood this look at what he wrote concerning true eternal peace.

Isaiah 11:6–10 NASB95

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.

This is amazing, true amazing. The true restoration of all things. Everything back to they way it was meant to be to begin with. Animals living in harmony with one another, people living in harmony with the animals and people living in harmony with one another. This will happen for all eternity all sin and all the affects of sin will be wiped away. This is the peace we have to look forward to. It is a future without any hurt, or any pain. Now I want everyone to listen to this because as I was writing this sermon all I could think of is this eternal peace and I want everyone to listen to what the Word of God has to say about this eternal peace. In order to truly understand this we need to look at Revelation 21-22.

Revelation 21–22 NASB95

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.” And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. “Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Christmas is a time to commemorate Jesus' first advent but it is also a time to look forward with deep anticipation, hope, love, and joy at the true eternal peace that can only come from Jesus Christ.