Together In Christ

Peace with Jesus

God with us. Immanuel. Why does God make such a big deal out of that? Because it is a big deal!

Tonight we are looking at how Jesus provides peace through our relationship with Him, and that relationship is our choice always.

His birth is where everything changed.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” w (which means “God with us”).

 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” w (which means “God with us”).

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.

There was a TV show that debuted a few years ago called “Undercover Boss.” It was a fairly simple plot: some company CEO or owner would change his or her appearance and then go to work on the lowest of entry level jobs for the very company they were running. There, disguised as a regular Joe, they would find out who was truly a good employee, and who needed to be corrected or let go. Most often, they would discover someone who was doing an outstanding job and give that person a raise, or promotion or even a lot more. And what I found interesting the couple times I saw part of it was the way the employee would respond to finding out that his or her boss had taken on an average person’s position and worked at it. It’s a really big deal for a CEO with a multimillion dollar income to be working on the sweaty assembly lines alongside the “common folk,” and they would often have tears of joy just because they were convinced their boss really cared about them.

No one trusts a boss that doesn’t seem to know or care about what his employees do. No army trusts and follows a general who stays behind and just sends his troops ahead into battle. No one trusts someone who is so separated from your life that you would say to him, “You were never really one of us.” But Jesus brought peace between Himself and us by being one of us.

God has gone from Heaven, but His glory isn’t. Instead of going to earth to rule with an iron scepter, God Almighty, The Ancient of Days, has poured Himself into a human body – the tiniest, most helpless of them. He doesn’t wear the splendor of Heaven. He’s clothed in human flesh. Weak. Dependent. His delicate life is bound to earth and by earth, voluntarily exiled away.

Now do you see why Immanuel is such a big deal? Do you see why it’s so significant that Jesus Christ left Heaven, and came and lived among us on earth?

1.His birth is a personal gift to overcome sin!

The problem of sin is personal, our choices over and over to take instantly gratifying action despite the consequences

The problem of sin is personal, our choices over and over to take instantly gratifying action despite the consequences

The solution therefore has to be personal, eternally personal!

Jesus said and did many things, so when you say you’re doing something in the name of Jesus, it means that you’re some kind of reflection of what Jesus said and did. There is a meaningful relationship between Him and you.

Jesus was a person Who said and did things, so when you say you’re doing something in the name of Jesus, it means that you’re some kind of reflection of what Jesus said and did. There is a meaningful relationship between Him and you.

So your response is personal, Jesus makes it personal

If you’ve heard nothing else up to this point, please start now. This is of the utmost importance:

Your response is something only you can do. It’s not something your parents did for you when you were a baby. I’m glad if your parents intended for you to know the Lord, but the fact that you’re even listening to this message today shows that it’s not your parents reaction that you control. It’s yours.

According to the latest Pew research, 89% of the people in the US claim to believe in God in some form. That’s a lot of people. But start asking them about if they believe that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus should be followed and worshiped as God, and the questions suddenly get personal. Lots of people want God but not Jesus in the scene, because once I accept Jesus, this all gets personal, doesn’t it?

But the moment I begin to talk about loyalty to Jesus, here and now, I’ve gotten personal, haven’t I?

There are many ways to come to Jesus, but there is only one way to come to the Father.

Jesus was plain, straight-forward, and to the point. He declared that He is the only way to get to heaven, not one of the ways, but the ONLY way.

The Bible refers to Peter saying in:

 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

There is only one guaranteed way to go to heaven, and according to the Scripture, that’s through Jesus Christ.

2. Jesus provides the opportunity for us all to have a personal relationship with our Father.

 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

God, for a lot of people is “out there” somewhere, far away. That distance makes it easy to mold God to fit my own image of Him. It makes it easy to not feel like He knows what’s going on in my life.

But the moment I begin to talk about loyalty to Jesus, here and now, I’ve gotten personal, haven’t I?

There are many ways to come to Jesus, but there is only one way to come to the Father.

Jesus was plain, straight-forward, and to the point. He declared that He is the only way to get to heaven, not one of the ways, but the ONLY way.

3.A peaceful relationship is only possible due to being sought out.

He sought out the unloved, unliked, unaccepted, always seeking to send the message that it is personal for all of us.

 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

He seeks more of you right now, no matter where you stand in Him at this moment. Are you ready for the Prince of peace to have more of you?

Lets pray