Peace and Action
Notes
Transcript
The season of Advent, and this week our theme is peace, but after hearing that passage you all may be wondering how we’re going to connect that with peace. Well, it may connect better than you had thought.
Prepare the Way: The Action of Peace
Prepare the Way: The Action of Peace
Our passage this morning is really instructive on how we prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. So let’s take a moment to break it down.
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”
1. Call to Repentance
1. Call to Repentance
Matthew 3:1-3
John the Baptist's call to repentance sets the stage for Jesus' arrival. This is not just a historical event, but a model for our spiritual lives. Just as the people of Israel needed to prepare their hearts for the coming of Christ, so too do we need to actively prepare ourselves to receive God's peace through genuine repentance.
When we’re thinking of peace there are severazl kinds of peace we can think of:
Peace - the absence of war.
Peace and quiet in a home setting.
Peace as in inner peace.
John is calling us to a type of peace with God, a peace of repentence of recognizing our need for a Savior.
Too often when there is conflict in our lives whether that be inner conflict or conflict with others we look to others as the cause. It’s their fault - as if we have no control over ourselves.
Throughout the Scriptures that position is challenged. In the earliest chapters of the Bible we read: Genesis 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Did you hear that? Think of all the examples of personal disicpline we see around us. If you watch sports - think of the athletes at the highest levels. I think of Olympians or other athletes at the top of their field.
I have the privilege of having known athletes who competed at the top level of their sports. While competing they were vey discipline not just on the track or the field but in all areas of their life. For instance my friend Caleb was very open about his regimen as a speed skater:
Strength training
Mental visualization training
Cardio and endurance training - roadwork running, and skating, also biking.
Stretching and flexibility training
Diet - calorie intake and healthy foods
Sleep - 8 hours every night. He went to sleep at the same time every night and got up at the the same time every day. An hour before he went to bed all electronics were off.
Prayer and Bible study.
All of these were part of his training. It was all in preparation for the races, and ultimately the Olympic Trials.
Going on, we read Mt 3:4-6
Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
2. Live Authentic Faith
2. Live Authentic Faith
John sets the example of living out his message through simplicity and authenticity. Perhaps his life can inspire us to reflect on our own lifestyles and the authenticity of our faith practice.
Are we trying to live like everyone else? Jesus told us we cannot be living by the worlds standards and God’s - they’re not the same. Jesus put it this way, Mt 6:24
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Here he was speaking specifically of money, but we serve all kinds of masters. What are the things for which you will alter your schedule?
Practical changes in our lives can reflect the inner transformation that comes with true repentance and alignment with God's peace.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
3. Beware of Complacency
3. Beware of Complacency
John’s warning to the Pharisees and Sadducees serves as a stark reminder of the need for sincere repentance. Clearly there is a caution here against complacency in our spiritual lives.
Last week I shared about leaders in a book I’m reading talked about tithing their time. They made a focused effort to become closer to God through prayer, personal bible study, group prayer and Bible studies, and worship.
Too often, if we’re honest we’re very superficial in our faith. I’m thankful that in this church I don’t see people checking their watches during our worship service in a rush to get out. Yet I also recognize in my own life that if I say my faith is the most important thing in my life then my day to day activities should indicate that. Does it?
We cannot be complacent when it comes to our faith. I want to encourage you to examine yourr hearts and avoid the superficiality of hollow religious practices, striving instead for genuine transformation that reflects God's peace.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
4. Embrace the Coming King
4. Embrace the Coming King
John speaks about the One who comes after him—Jesus—who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Accepting Jesus is the ultimate step in seeking God's peace, marking a profound change in our lives. Have you fully accepted Him? Embrace Christ fully, understanding that His presence brings true and lasting peace through repentance and His divine empowerment.
As we continue on in our journey through the Advent season, we wait with hope, and we want to strive for peace. It’s so easy to get caught up in the anxieties of the season. Jesus told us often not to be anxious. After telling us not to be anxious about what we will eat, drink, or wear he says, Matthew 6:34
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Just one verse earlier he said, Matt 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
The apostle Paul spoke of anxiety to the church at Philippi saying, Phil 4:6-7
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This was one of the first verses I ever memorized. It’s powerful. I can worry about a lot of things and Paul gives us a recipe:
Prayer + supplication + thanksgiving
Prayer has a way of recentering us. It reminds us of who is really in charge. It is a place of breathing - refocusing our attention, and recognizing all the pressures we feel are not ours to carry alone.
Supplication - that’s a big word. A pastor friend of mine used to refer to his $0.75 words in his sermons. I think this would be a 75 cent word. It means to “ask or beg for something earnestly or humbly.” I think of it as asking and remembering who it is you ask.
Thanksgiving - reminds me to reflect on all the ways God has answered my prayers in the past. Knowing what God has done in the past gives me more trust and faith that He will continue to do more of the same. By thanking God for the way that I have seen my prayers answered in the past I am reminded that this is not just an exercise but is a real thing.
Peace and Action
Peace and Action
True peace with God requires intentional action in our lives, demonstrated through repentance and readiness to follow Christ.
A we journey forward in our faith it is not just a seasonal thing to be thinking of repentance, authenticity, and action. It is a day by day embracing of the coming King!
How are you embracing Jesus as King day by day? How is that embrace evident in you day by day? My prayer for each one of you is that Jesus would be more real and more evident in your life each and every day. Why? It’s all to the glory of God. AMEN.
Let me pray for you.
