ADVENT WEEK 2
Notes
Transcript
Church, look around at the world we live in.
Every headline screams of conflict. Every neighborhood carries tension. Every heart knows the ache of unrest. We are a people longing for peace—but too often, we settle for substitutes. We chase quiet moments, but they fade. We grasp at control, but it slips through our fingers. We try to manufacture peace, but it never lasts.
And then Advent comes.
Advent interrupts the noise with a candle lit in the darkness. Advent whispers into the chaos: “For unto us a child is born… and His name shall be called Prince of Peace.”
This is not sentimental peace. This is not fragile peace. This is the peace of heaven breaking into earth. The peace that silences storms, reconciles enemies, and guards anxious hearts. The peace that is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ Himself.
When the angels filled the night sky over Bethlehem, they didn’t announce a new philosophy or a temporary truce. They declared a Person. “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people He favors!” Peace has a name, and His name is Jesus.
So this morning, as we light the second candle of Advent, we are not just remembering a story—we are receiving a promise. A promise that in the waiting, in the weariness, in the wars within and without, Christ Himself is our peace.
Week 1 we talked about Christ more obviously but we also talked about hope. Will you spell hope Jesus we went back into Isaiah like we're gonna do today and saw where the Messiah our hope was promised and today we're gonna see where the same Messiah who is our hope is also our peace. Israel was in very dark times when Isaiah spoke this prophecy.
“Israel was surrounded by war, crushed by fear, and drowning in idolatry. Yet God spoke: ‘For a child will be born for us…’ In the middle of turmoil, God promised peace. And that same promise is alive for us today. Because peace is not the absence of trouble—it is the presence of Christ.”
THE PROMISE
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
6 For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace
Here we see another messianic prophecy. Its language is very precise. Isaiah said a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us (emphasis added). This tells us that Jesus had to be born as a child to come to us, but he is also the preexistent Son of God who was given to us. The child would be born in time and space in Bethlehem, but the Son has existed from all eternity. And since the government will be on his shoulders, which is a reference to Jesus’s coming rule in the millennial kingdom, he rightly bears the great names ascribed to him: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Here again we see the “near” and “far” aspects that frequently occur in Old Testament prophecy because Jesus was born two thousand years ago as a child, but the government of the universe has yet to be placed “on his shoulders.” This will happen at his coronation as King of kings and Lord of lords in the millennium. So what does this teach us about God about the character of God it teaches us that even in our worst seasons God has a plan it teaches us that his plan and his purpose coincide with peace it teaches us that before the Messiah was here he was promised as we're about to see when the Messiah came he was proclaimed and then as we look forward he is going to continue to rule for all of eternity as the king of kings and the Lord of Lords and although yes he's that amazing and he's that big He cares about your unrest H.e cares about what's going on in your life and he promises to lead us beside the still waters he promises peace. He is the Prince of peace.
God’s peace is promised even in seasons of uncertainty. I would say especially in seasons of uncertainty!
2. THE PROCLAMATION
10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:
11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!
10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to people he favors!,,
Luke reports another angelic visit, this time to nearby shepherds watching their flock at night. These were shepherds who cared for lambs used as sacrifices in the temple in Jerusalem. The unexpected and glorious appearance of the divine visitor terrified the shepherds yet he brought good news of great joy .Not only was the visit unexpected, but the message was too: Today in the city of David (Bethlehem) a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. Israel’s Messiah, her anointed and appointed King, had finally come. And God chose to announce his Son’s birth—not to the political or religious leaders of the day—but to a group of humble shepherds. He would be a Messiah for all the people and offered as a sacrificial lamb like those cared for by the shepherds. He was born, the angel told them, “for you.”
2:12 To confirm his words, the angel told the shepherds where they would find the Christ child. This infant King wasn’t lying in a palace but in a manger. The shepherds were responsible for making sure that newborn lambs had no defects since the sacrificial animals had to be without spot or wrinkle. So the shepherds would tightly wrap the lambs in cloth to keep them from becoming blemished and injuring themselves. This explains why Luke makes the point that Jesus was wrapped tightly in cloth, since at his birth he was the sinless Lamb of God whose substitutionary sacrifice would take away the sin of the entire world (see John 1:29; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 1:19–20; 1 John 2:2).
2:13–15 Yet even though the circumstances of his entrance into the world were lowly, his birth announcement was anything but. Suddenly the angel was joined by a multitude of angels! The army of heaven came together to praise the Lord (2:13). They gave glory to God and announced peace on earth to people he favors (2:15)—to all those who would submit themselves to the Messiah.
The angelic announcement of “peace on earth” repeated so often at Christmastime is not about quiet tranquility or merely the absence of animosity between people. It is a declaration of the coming end of hostilities between a holy God and sinful humanity through the atoning work of the Messiah: peace with God. The Son of God came to pay the penalty for our sin and impute to us his righteousness. Only when “we have been declared righteous by faith,” can “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). Peace among people is only possible when humanity is living at peace with God and submitting to his kingdom rule. Peace is not earned—it is gifted. I need Christ more because He is the only source of true peace.
3. Practice of Peace
So we went back to Isaiah to see where he prophesied of the Messiah coming which is how we see the promise of peace then we just finished looking at where Jesus is born and we see the angels coming to the shepherds and proclaiming that the Messiah the Prince of peace had been born and that they could go see him wrapped tightly in cloth and they did and they became the first ones other than the angels to go and proclaim that the Messiah the Prince of peace had come and had come for us. We're now gonna look at how peace is a gift from God it's a byproduct of his presence but we can practice peace let's take a look in Philippians 4:6-9
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.
9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Be anxious for nothing: This is a command, not an option. Undue care is an intrusion into an arena that belongs to God alone. It makes us the father of the household instead of being a child.
But in everything by prayer and supplication: Paul wrote that everything is the proper subject of prayer. There are not some areas of our lives that are of no concern to God.
Prayer and supplication: These two aspects of prayer are similar, but distinct. Prayer is a broader word that can mean all of our communication with God, but supplication directly asks God to do something. Many of our prayers go unanswered because we do not ask God for anything. Here God invites us simply to let your requests be made known. He wants to know.
Be made known: God already knows our requests before we pray them; yet He will often wait for our participation through prayer before granting that which we request.
With thanksgiving: This guards against a whining, complaining spirit before God when we let our requests be made known. We really can be anxious for nothing, pray about everything, and be thankful for anything.
Every time we begin to worry, we should see that as a call from God telling us that it’s time to pray. This is an important principle: the more you worry, the less you pray. The more you pray, the less you worry. Prayer can often feel frustrating—like when you go to a soda machine, put in your money, punch the button, and nothing comes out. But thinking of it in those terms causes us to miss how prayer works. God wants us to make requests “with thanksgiving.” Of course, when you have a problem and it isn’t going away, giving thanks is not at the top of your priorities list. But Paul’s telling us to give thanks, not for the problem itself but for the God we are inviting into our specific problem. Offering thanks is a demonstration of faith in God’s goodness and provision despite what we see.
What can you expect when you pray in this way? The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. In other words, you’ll experience calm in the midst of chaos. You will know God heard your prayer, not necessarily because the problem is solved, but because of the peace that God gives you. Paul calls it a peace that “surpasses all understanding” because even we won’t entirely understand how we are able to have peace in light of some of the troubles we experience. Nevertheless, this peace guards our “hearts and minds.” It’s as if God puts soldiers and sentries around our feelings and our thoughts.
God gives us peace, but we must hold onto it. We don’t want to lose our peace in the next hour or the next day. So to prevent that, Paul says we’re to dwell on whatever is true … honorable … just … pure … lovely … commendable, and if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, we’re to focus our attention there. One of the reasons we don’t keep our peace is because we tend to dwell on the things that are set in opposition to the peace we’re asking for. We mull over a lie or over bad things that could happen. And if we continue to entertain messages that work against our peace, anxiety will soon return. We must, therefore, ask ourselves if we are able to praise God for the things that we are dwelling on. If we can’t, then we’ll soon lose the peace God has given us.
