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Text: Luke 2:8-15; Isaiah 9:6
Theme: Our God is a God of peace who give peace to those upon whom His favor rests.
Date: 12/24/17 File name: JourneyTowardChristmas04-02.wpd
ID Number:
I’m sure many of you here this morning remember Paul Harvey.
He was one of the preeminent story-tellers of our era.
Several years before his death, Harvey told a series of stories about the meaning of Christmas.
In one of those stories he told of a father whose son — the son’s name was Charles — had eagerly gone off to fight for the Union Army during the American Civil War.
He did so without his father’s blessing.
One winter day, unbeknownst to his parents, Charles had walked out of his family’s house on Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and headed toward the train station.
He boarded a train bound for Washington, D.C. where he enlisted to fight for the Union.
Like many young men of that day, the son saw war as a chance for adventure and glory, but he also saw it as his duty, later telling his father that he was more than willing to lay down his life for the nation if need be.
After months of sitting in camp, the son finally saw battle and was severely wounded at the Battle of Mine Run.
News of his son’s injuries reached the father on Christmas Eve 1863.
The following day Charles’s father wrote a poem entitled “Christmas Bells” that expressed his anguish.
That father was the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
You know part of that poem because the last refrain is a stanza in the Christmas Hymn "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day".
It’s not terribly lengthy so let me read the entire poem.
I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
It was the Old Testament prophets who announced God’s promise to give His people a Savior who would lead His people into peace.
“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.”
(Isaiah 9:6, NIV84).
This is perhaps the most quoted Messianic prophecy of the Old Testament.
The people of Israel looked forward to the day when “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end” (Isa.
6:7).
For a nation of people who frequently experienced war with their enemies, persecution by their neighbors and subjugation by foreign powers, this was indeed a powerful hope.
Now, let’s jump ahead 500 years past Isaiah’s prophecy to the night sky over the small
Judean village of Bethlehem.
Shepherds are gathered around a small fire.
Some are fitfully trying to sleep on the rough and rocky soil.
Others a milling about recounting the days activities, perhaps a few are even arguing over politics and religion.
Abruptly the still darkness is pierced by blinding light and a symphony of praise as angels announce the birth of Messiah.
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
(Luke 2:13–14, NIV84).
This day of angelic visitation to shepherds had been planned from eternity past ... a moment in time picked out before the foundation of the world.
The world was made for this day, and all that this day means in history.
On this day the shalom of God was given men.
Unfortunately, peace in this world has been hard to come by.
Over the last 3,500 years of history human society has experienced a mere 268 years free of major conflict.
In the 20th century alone, it is estimated by historians that 231 million people died in world wars, civil wars, and other regional conflicts.
In an address to the Royal Society of Literature in London in 2,000, Margaret Drabble, a British novelist, referred to the 20th century as “A Beastly Century”.
If Jesus is the Prince of Peace why do we see so little of it in our world?
Because the promise of Shalom is for God’s people, not a fallen world.
I. GOD HAS PROMISED HIS PEOPLE A PRINCE OF PEACE
“The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.”
(Psalm 29:11, NIV84)
1. and yet, even for many believers, peace seems impossible to experience in our troubled world
a. too many professing Christians are struggling with anxiety, or disappointment or fear or apprehension
b. they see troubles on every side and peace of mind and soul is not one of the blessings they consistently experience
ILLUS.
Like Gideon in the Old Testament, we sometimes find ourselves asking, 'if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?
A. GOD WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO KNOW AND EXPERIENCE PEACE
1. there was a time in King David's life when he found himself fleeing from Absalom during his son's rebellion and attempted coup
a.
David felt intense pressure and a deep anxiety of soul
b. but David fixed his thoughts on God and remembered the joy that comes with trust in him
1) comforted and at rest despite overwhelming danger, David concluded: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
(Psalm 4:8, NIV84)
2. as most of you know, the Hebrew word for peace is Shalom
a. it is a multi-faceted word occurring over 200 times in the Old Testament
1) about 25 times it is used either as a greeting or a farewell
2) when it is used in such a way it implies a blessing upon that person's life
ILLUS.
It would be as if upon greeting a good friend we would say, "God bless you!
I wish for you prosperity, health, wholeness and harmony in your life."
3) when a Hebrew greeted a friend with "Shalom!" he was wishing that friend all these good things
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