Advent 2017: Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:1-7 Prince of Peace Introduction: “We need Advent as much as ever this year. The world has gone insane. False prophets and charlatans abound. We need the clear calling of "Come Lord Jesus" to resound over our culture of compromise and nonsense. And we need the comforting knowledge that he will, indeed, come.” - Mike Cosper But Advent isn’t just about waiting..it’s about living under the reign of Christ now. It’s about living out the kingdom until he returns in second advent. In the text we just read, Judgment is coming upon Israel for all their unrighteousness, injustice and rebellion. Chapter 8 of Isaiah ends with these words - "And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness….It looks like the end for the children of Israel and their wicked kings - they are promised judgment, destruction, darkness and gloom…. But then immediately in the next verses we’re told that the darkness and the people sitting in darkness will be dispelled by a great light, the light of this King to be born..He’s not just any old king. He is the long awaited messianic king, the Son of David. Throughout history people have sought and still seek the perfect society, the perfect government, the perfect king or queen to rule. Maybe we don’t put it in those terms but that’s what we’re really saying.. I read this the other week but I want to read it again - Recently Ben Affleck was interviewed by USAToday about why hero films are so popular. He said, “We certainly are in need of heroes in 2017. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world, from natural to man-made disasters, and it’s really scary. Part of the appeal of this genre is wish fulfillment: Wouldn’t it be nice if there was somebody who can save us from all this, save us from ourselves, save us from the consequences of our actions and save us from people who are evil?” Ben is expressing a real, and actual human longing. A desire for a True King - One who will love his subjects, who will protect us and bring thriving to our lives. One who will rule in righteousness, truth and justice. One who will usher in a kingdom of peace. That’s what Isaiah 9 is all about. I like to take the last part of this section (vs.7) and then to read this passage in light of it. “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” or NET reads, “The Lord’s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this.” Because of God’s intense devotion to his people he will send the son, he will enthrone his perfect king over the earth. And it says, “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end” In His Intense love land devotion, God sends us the gift of his Son, this child, this newborn King..And Christmas is about celebrating and receiving this gift of Jesus Christ as king. This is the kind of good news that makes you want to jump up and cheer! We’ve looked at this king for the last 3 weeks, he is the wonderful counselor, he is mighty God, he is Father of the ages, and lastly he is Prince of Peace. 1. What is meant by the title Prince of Peace? 1. The title sounds regal and heroic; but what does it really mean? 2. In Biblical times a prince was an administrator. So this king is the administrator of peace. But peace in scripture is not like the peace we talk about in our day. Peace is the Hebrew word “Shalom” and it actually means complete or wholeness. When the Bible speaks of Shalom it doesn’t simply mean the absence of war and animosity, “it means complete reconciliation, a state of the fullest flourishing in every dimension- physical, emotional, social, and spiritual - because all relationships are right, perfect, and filled with joy.” -Tim Keller (Generous Justice) 3. “Shalom describes a comprehensive kind of fulfillment or completion, indeed of perfection in life and spirit which quite transcends any success which man alone, even under the best circumstances, is able to attain” - J.I. Durham and J.R. Porter 1. Shalom then is peace in it’s most comprehensive sense. It is what every human being longs for - wholeness. and we are being told that God is sending us one who will administrate, who will deal out this peace! 1. “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the 2. 3. 4. 5. poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” 1. There is not a plot of ground or a creature that will be left out of this administration of peace - it will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea! 2. I just want to reiterate again this passage says that -The zeal of the Lord of host (God’s passion) - is to give us this king, this administrator peace. To us a child is born, to us a son is given. God wants peace, and wholeness for our lives! Remember in Luke 2 when the armies of Heaven appear to the Shepherds? What do they say; what is their message? “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those whom he is pleased with.” It brings God great glory to give us peace! “Glorifying God and recovering human wholeness (Peace) are not mutually exclusive: they are an indissoluble whole. - Charles Talbert. “If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak.” -Lewis The fact that it glorifies God to bring peace to mankind is an amazing statement because it seems that most of us would view these ends as mutually exclusive. But it is only logical to assume that the creation would find it’s purpose, wholeness, it’s peace in it’s Creator....and that God would be most glorified when we are most satisfied in him, living under his reign. 6. “God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. Lewis 2. How Does Peace with God Come About? 1. Just like C.S. Lewis says, by giving himself for us and to us… 2. Our cultural narrative tells us the only way to experience true peace, freedom and happiness is if we are fully in charge of our lives. But of course this self-centered desire to command and control our lives is what leads to conflict with others and especially conflict with God. The Bible actually tells us that hostilities with God are actually the root of hostility with others.. and there is no lasting peace on earth because humanity is at war with God.. 3. The claim of Christmas though is: God and Sinners reconciled! Peace on earth; God and Sinners at peace through the coming of the Prince of Peace!. 4. Maybe you don’t feel that you are hostile to God - but we need to be clear about which God or version of God we are talking about. We are talking about the God of the Bible. The God who says, I created you, you are mine. I deserve to have all of your allegiance/loyalty, trust obedience, all of your praise and affections. I alone have the rightful kingship or authority over your life. The God who says, You are hopeless lost without me, you desperately need my grace, my love, my light, for your own healing, wholeness and hope. That’s the God we are talking about. 5. The truth is that every single one of us Christian or not, have a problem with this God, we have a cosmic authority problem. At the core of the human heart there is an impulse that says, “ No one tells me what to do,” and this as I said is the root to all our other problems in life. We actually create god’s of our own liking to mask our own hostility to the real God, who reveals himself as our absolute King. 1. We express our hostility to God both in disobedience and Irreligion ( I want to live the way I want to live, no one tells me how to live) and also in religious or moral ways (using obedience as a way to put God in our debt…. I’m a "good" person so God owes me -blessing, health, happiness, eternal life). in this way we try to control God, not trust and obey him. 6. Here in Isaiah and in Luke we have God’s message to the world! Peace, through the Prince of Peace. It’s not a negotiation, it’s not asking us to come half way. It’s a declaration of something that is coming to pass. 7. Everyone of us have great fears about giving up control of our lives.. what about my rights? - how can we trust God to be gracious; how can we trust him to be good and fair; how can we trust this declaration of peace? 1. First -when Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in Luke 2, it is the host of heaven - the armies of God who in the OT are powerful angelic warriors who can destroy great armies. They are the ones announcing Peace from God… 2. Second - the Message - "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 1. The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of peace of Isaiah comes as a helpless vulnerable child. 1. "Come and stand amazed, you people, see how God is reconciled! See his plans of love accomplished, see his gift, this newborn child. See the Mighty, weak and tender, see the Word who now is mute. See the Sovereign without splendor, see the Fullness destitute.” - Klaas Hart 2. Look at Jesus, the Almighty God, becoming weak, helpless, a newborn baby. Jesus radically surrendered his rights for our sake. For our salvation. Jesus lived a life of radically allegiance/loyalty, trust, and obedience to God - the life we owe to God. He was fully surrendered to Him. He had total peace with God; yet he lost that peace there at the cross so that we might have peace with God. 3. If the omnipotent Son of God would radically lose control all for you - then you can trust him. This should dispel our fears. 3. The Lord of host laid down his weapons of warfare at the incarnation. Jesus could have come with the sword of judgment and demanded allegiance and dealt out justice. But instead he came in peace, he came in meekness. Look to the end of his life there he is again laid out in helplessness, arms and feet pinned to a cross -all for you. How can you not be disarmed by his love? How can you doubt his good intentions for you? 1. Only God, your Creator knows what will truly satisfy you, what will bring peace to your life...and the good news is that he has made a way that you can come to him and receive that peace, and that life. It is through the work of his son, Jesus Christ, who came and established the kingdom of God, and died for your sins that kept you from God, from his kingdom, and from the joy and peace that he has for you. So now you can be part of that kingdom, now you can draw near to God, and have peace and true fulfillment….. 2. In his presence there is fulness of Joy and at his right hand are pleasures evermore... There is joy, peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit.... He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul he fills with good things.....God declares that he is the fountain of living waters; Jesus said if you are thirsty you can come to him to have that thirst satisfied..... See God’s glory and our peace are not mutually exclusive, they are bound up together in an eternal bind. 3. Conclusion: Accept his offer of peace - surrender - give up your warfare. Lay down your arms and surrender to him. And know this, to surrender to God the creator, to Jesus Christ, is to truly become whole, to have peace. It is what you were made for. You were made for God, for his love, for his friendship, for his counsel, for His fatherly care, to know him, to serve him, and when you surrender to him all these things come together to give you a whole new way to experience life. Life in all it’s fullness. Life at peace with your Creator. This is the peace being offered to us through the Prince of peace. 1. But that peace doesn’t just end with us - “Christmas means that through the grace of God and the incarnation, peace with God is available; and if you can make peace with God, then you can go out and make peace with everyone else.” -Tim Keller 2. Those who have peace with God, and have been filled up with his love, approval, acceptance, with his life and power now go out into the world and diffuse that peace everywhere they go. They are agents of God’s peace and reconciliation among races, classes, families, neighbors, by this God brings peace on earth.