Gift of Peace
Notes
Transcript
Handout
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Peace is rooted in the Hebrew word shalom. It is a gift from God that includes inner tranquility, spiritual well-being, and harmonious relationships, and can also mean justice and restoration. Jesus is presented as the "Prince of Peace," and his arrival ushers in this deeper, restorative peace.
Peace is a gift from God, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, not something humans can create on your own. It is a supernatural state that comes from a relationship with God through Jesus.
To better understand peace, lets look at the opposite of peace in the Bible?
The opposite of "peace" in the Bible is
Chaos, Confusion, and Disorder.
This biblical definition extends beyond a simple absence of conflict to encompass a lack of proper order and harmony.
Some other related opposites include
Sin
, Anxiety, and Doubt.
We have studied lately that the Bible presents God as the source of order, contrasting His actions with the initial state of formless chaos in creation (Genesis 1:1-2:3).
We also studied that sin brought Adam and Eve out of peace and fellowship with God and each other. Teaching us that genuine peace comes from living in obedience to God's commandments.
Anxiety and doubt are seen as direct enemies of peace that create inner turmoil and disturbance causing guilt, hiding, and nakedness.
Lastly, Confusion is considered the opposite of God's peace, especially in the context of worship and community life.
Therefore, now that we understand the seriousness of the lack of peace and all the bad experiences of holidays without peace, let’s look at a real life senario. Living in the south, most holidays and celebrations are experienced around a meal. Now, I don’t believe this was a Christmas meal, but how many meals are filled with anxiety, choas, and confusion.
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
Cumbered about =
to be pulled away from a reference point, be pulled/ dragged away
to have one’s attention directed from one thing to another, become or be distracted, quite busy, overburdened
Does this sound familiar?
Lets first understand Busyness:
Understand Your Plight:
Understand Your Plight:
We’re busy with our jobs:
Even though 86% of men work an average of more than 40 hours a week, most say they still don’t have time to get everything done.1
Only 57% of Americans use all of their allotted vacation time.2
This has negative effects not only on our families, but also on us personally: CNN: In a 6-year study of 2,500 workers, those who worked 11-hour days were 2.5× more likely to become depressed than those who worked 8-hour days.3
And we’re not getting enough sleep.
The average American gets about 2 hours less sleep per night than recommended … which leads to all kinds of problems: obesity, diabetes, lack of concentration and efficiency, and more depression.
And then you have kids, which adds new layers of busyness to your life.
We’re busy people, and our future doesn’t look like it’s slowing down …
The New York Times had an article saying that vacation used to be like an on-off switch; now [because of technology] it’s more of a DIMMER switch.”4
How many of you remember the now-infamous study presented to Congress in the 1960’s. The study claimed that with all the new labor saving devices, within 30 years we’d only work 15 hours a week and our main problem would be what to do with “all this time on our hands.”5
Is that anyone’s experience?
● Not mine: I got depressed this week because I have to-do lists of to-do lists … and I spend more time a day managing and organizing my to-do lists and than actually doing the things on the list!
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
(She’s tattle-taling; and she feels self-righteous; and now she’s bossing Jesus around, which, you know, is not a good habit. 3 strikes.)
Busyness will cost you the joy and true meaning of Christmas.
Understand Your Personality:
Understand Your Personality:
Many commentators have suspected that you have two have personality types being presented here.
Martha: type-A; task-oriented; server, she gets stuff done.
Mary: type-B; The Socializer personality; people-oriented, just likes to hang out with people.
or Type-C; The Thinker; detail oriented, logical, prepared.
There is also a 4th Type-D; The Supporter; task oriented, stabilizing, cautious.
Understand, the issue is not which personality is right, wrong or the best.
Remember God created us all with our personality.
15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and intricately put together in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me unformed, yet in Your book all my days were written, before any of them came into being.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
Therefore, God is not saying that we should never be busy preparing meals; or that we should all just sit around and do our quiet times, or spend all of our time socializing and having fun all day every day. That would go against so many other things Scripture teaches.
One of the spiritual gifts God gifts is serving and hospitality.
Plus, Jesus was busy. Notice the phrase, “as they went”
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
So why does it seem that Jesus is picking on Martha?
Why not say, “OK, Martha, here’s your problem … you should take a break and listen to a sermon now and then; but Mary, you should get off your rear every once in a while and help.” That’s what I would have said, why I’m not Jesus. So why pick on Martha?
Well, you see, our society usually values Marthas more than Marys … Marthas are considered to be great Christians. Without Martha’s a lot of stuff would not get done. And because of that, Marthas usually value themselves and consider themselves to be great Christians. Marthas tend to enjoy the praise and recognition of all their hard work.
And so Jesus chooses to deal with a rather dangerous temptation for competent, responsible Martha-type of people.
You see: Just like it’s harder for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven; it’s harder for competent people to find the will of God. I’ll tell you why.
Serving, even though is a spiritual gift and a command of Jesus Christ for all Christians, does not equate to faithfulness and the will of God.
Many of us like to be busy because then we feel important; needed.
Notice, this is the attitude of Martha.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
Do you recognize the Fear?
Fear the meal wasn’t going to get done; fear that people would think badly of her.
Can you relate? A lot of our busyness is driven by our fears?
● Trying to please people. Scared of what they’ll say if I don’t host the dinner or do the extra work or volunteer to bring my special “pie” or whatever.
● Trying to prove yourself—you can’t ever rest because you are trying to prove something to your parents; your siblings; yourself.6
You know, there is that Voice behind you or inside of you or on your shoulder always saying, “It’s not good enough!”
● Wanting to be important …
○ Interesting … In those studies I cited earlier about busyness … the Wall Street Journal said that a little investigation into these studies uncovered the fact that a lot of people exaggerate the hours they work to prove that they are useful.7
So in other words, sometimes we overwork because we like to feel useful; and other times we exaggerate how much we overwork, because that makes us feel even more useful.
Kind of sounds like pride:
“I’m the only one who can do this. I’m special. I’m unique.”
Parents: Many parents are insanely busy taking their kids all over the place, driven by the fear that their kids are going to fall behind. Isn’t that why we have them involved in everything? Fear that we are not going to give them all the advantages in life.
A Professor at George Mason University, Bryan Caplan, conducted extensive studies on biological twins adopted by different families … and what their research showed is that all the things the parents had their kids involved in had little to no effect on what the child achieved or how they turned out (assuming the home environment was stable).8
Caplan sites a study where kids were asked to grade their parents, comment on what they want to do better, etc. Rarely did the kids ask for more time, but they did say that they wished their parents were less stressed and so prone to anger. Kids suffer, Caplan says, from “secondhand stress.” All the busyness we are pouring into their lives to add value are actually crushing both them and their relationship to us
Utilizing Jesus’ Proposal?
Utilizing Jesus’ Proposal?
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Martha, Martha = the intensity of emotion. Kind of like when our parents use our middle name.
Mary hath chosen that good part =
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
Focus on Jesus -
Focus on Jesus -
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jesus accepted you in your imperfections.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Your identity is in Christ.
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Thats why Paul says,
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
He is the one whose opinion matters.
Lastly, she was worried about the food to serve the guy that fed 5,000 with a boys lunch of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes.
Also the same guy that told Satan,
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Again to His disciples after they returned from getting food while Jesus met with the Samaritan woman.
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
The Meal is important but not the big picture.
Here’s the better way: Come to the feet of Jesus; find your sufficiency in him … and then do what he tells you!
● It’s not that he’s saying, “Don’t work.” He’s saying, “Just don’t start there; start with me.”
● Jesus told Martha that she had neglected “the best thing.”
“Best thing” is not “only” thing. “Best” thing means “first” thing.
● You start at the feet of Jesus, resting in him, and hearing from him. And then when he tells you do something, go do it.
○ (If Jesus had said to Mary, “Go get me a cup of water,” don’t you think she’d do it? Of course!)
You see: The question is not, “What needs to be done?” The question is: What does he want me to do?
● We live in a world of seemingly infinite need, and the question, “What needs to be done?” we’ll never get rest: One more emergency to plan for; one more need to meet; one more rainy day to prepare for.
● So don’t start there. Start with resting in Jesus, and then ask what he wants you to do.
Look at this familiar and very enlightening scripture.
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
○ What is your real responsibility this Christmas? To acknowledge him. To obey. His responsibility is to make your paths straight.
Here’s another good one Psalm 127:1–2
1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows: For so he giveth his beloved sleep.
My wife wonders why I sleep so easy, lol.
○ You have a job during the day … then you go to sleep.
○ But who will guard the city? And what about the crops? God will.
■ He never slumbers or sleeps.
■ He is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary … he gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength!
○ Martha: What about dinner? The one who multiplies fish and bread has got it under control!
This passage contains a very somber warning about what Jesus says is the greatest danger of our busyness: “You are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary …” (10:41–42)
○ The greatest danger with our busyness is it keeps us from the one necessary thing: Knowing Jesus!
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
○ “… Mary has chosen the good thing, which can never be taken away from her.” All the other things you are consumed with can be taken away from you!
Which leads me to the 2nd thing I want to say:
Focus on the Eternal -
Focus on the Eternal -
You need to think seriously about how we are spending our time. Because how you spend your time is how you spend your life.
● Your life is essentially a series of days. How are you spending your days? That’s show you spend your life!
● Some of you are not stressed because you are lazy … “I’m definitely not Martha …”
○ Basically, you are spending your whole life on you—YOU WILL GIVE AN ACCOUNT!
○ “You are not your own, you are bought with a price.”
○ A life of leisure; a life of retirement; a life spent pursuing your own interests—is something for which you’ll have to give an account!
Will you Trust Christ this Christmas?
Will you Prioritize Christ this Christmas?
Don’t be selfish this Christmas, Prioritize Christ.
