Sermon Tone Analysis

\\ Punctuation makes all the difference.

An English professor wrote the words, "Woman without her man is nothing," on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it  correctly.

The men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing."

The women wrote: "Woman!

Without her, man is nothing."

What about the following words: . . .

peace . . . on . . .

earth?

Is this the promise of the angels to the stunned, star struck shepherds?

Was it an insignificant blessing?

Does every word really count or are there some that are superfluous.

The scripture indicates that God has a radical commitment to the preservation of the integrity of His Word.

Jesus was himself accused of heresy, of bringing a different or conflicting message than that contained in the Hebrew scriptures when in reality, he was committed to their fulfillment.

"/ //“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

//I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished./"

(Matthew 5:17-18, NIV)[1]

John in the final words of the New Testament canon, the book of Revelation concludes:

 

"/I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

//And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

//He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen.

Come, Lord Jesus./"

(Revelation 22:18-20, NIV) [2]

 

As we begin this message today, there may be some who find this sort of message to be a “splitting of hairs”.

I hope that it is much more than that.

Ultimately I believe that it may bring some fresh direction to your life that will result in the true, abiding peace of God ruling in your hearts.

"/Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

//Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

//And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.*

*/*/Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts/*/, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

And be thankful.

/*/Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly/*/ as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. //And* whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.*/"

(Colossians 3:12-17, NIV) [3]

 

In the Christmas season, I frequently see the words “Peace on Earth”.

The sense that I get is that people associate this as a Christmas promise.

In the over 3100 years of recorded world history, the world has only been at peace 8% of the time or a total of 286 years and 8000 treaties have been made and broken.

Is “peace on earth” really possible?

I've been told that a way to achieve inner peace is to finish the things I have started.

Today I finished two bags of potato chips and a chocolate cake.

I feel better already.

While desirable, it would seem that peace on this old earth is a pipe-dream.

/A *pipe dream* is a fantastic hope that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible.

The term derives from the visions or delusions induced from smoking an opium pipe [1], which was popular in Britain and America during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Some sources claim the term derives from the mescaline pipe, which was popular in the early twentieth century./

/ /

/The realization of a *pipe dream* usually requires an unlikely succession of events or a complete reform in the dreamer's behavior.

Misconceptions, obstacles unseen by the pipe dreamer, or simple ignorance of any issues involved are often disregarded.

Also pipe dream is alluded to by the fantasies (a rather comical, yet popular, example of this is a banana hallucination which regularly gives the opium smoker bad advice) induced by smoking an opium pipe, but this term has been used more loosely since the 1800s./

In other words, you’d have to be on drugs to believe that we will ever see peace on an earth governed by men, regardless of how skilled or talented they might be.

Why is that?

*/1.

/**/Our outer world – our environment, is a reflection of our inner world.

It may be different for a short period of time but before long we have to admit that we are the creators of our own environment./*

First put yourself at peace, and then you may the better make others be at peace.

A peaceful and patient man is of more profit to himself and to others, too, than a learned man who has no peace.

-- Thomas a Kempis in The Imitation of Christ.

Christianity Today, Vol.

41, no.

12.

I saw a Peanuts cartoon with Lucy saying to Charlie Brown, "I hate everything.

I hate everybody.

I hate the whole wide world!"

 

Charlie says, "But I thought you had inner peace."

Lucy replies, "I do have inner peace.

But I still have outer obnoxiousness" (from Barbara Brokhoff, New and Improved Jesus?

C.S.S., 1991, p. 53).

-- W. Frank Harrington, "When You Really Want to Quit," Preaching Today, Tape No. 138.

Our world is as it is because we are as we are.

We can never create an external reality that is not first an internal reality.

Men and women who are not internally at peace can never create a world that is at peace.

There are simply too many things that can go wrong.

How in the world can a nation full of people who cannot get along with their next door neighbors over stupid things, ever hope to get along with nations of people who themselves are not at peace.

We’ll sue our neighbors simply because it’s against the law to shoot them.

I remember David Clark telling us about the man who some months ago shot the young boy for crossing his lawn.

As a matter of fact, the first shot merely knocked him down and then he went outside and shot him a couple more times just to make sure.

/“Five great enemies to peace inhabit with us: avarice, ambition, envy, anger and pride.

If those enemies were  to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.”/

-- Petrarch

 

The Christmas promise was not for peace on earth.

Look at Luke 2:14.

"/“*Glory to God* *in the highest*, and *on earth* *peace to men* on whom his favor rests.”/"

(Luke 2:14, NIV) [4]

 

Before there can be peace on earth, there must be peace that comes to the tribal heart of man.

Peace to men is the Christmas promise.

In heaven . . .

Glory to God.

On earth, . . .

peace */to/* men.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is that we’ll have none of it.

We can’t even shop at Christmas time without wars and skirmishes breaking out.

I remember the videos of Black Friday, the most significant shopping day of the year in the US following, of all things, “Thanksgiving” – is that a mad house or what?

Christmas spirit makes you want to punch someone in the nose and many times it really doesn’t matter who.

Remember what Jesus said?

 

"/“Do not suppose that I have come to bring *peace to the earth*.

I *did not come to bring peace*, but a sword./"

(Matthew 10:34, NIV) [5]

 

You see, Jesus didn’t come to bring peace to the mass of humanity and you and I can never do that.

He came to bring peace to the troubled, restless human heart.

"/“I have told you these things, so that *in me you may have peace*.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart!