Hope and Peace... Really???
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Advent Candle Reading - Peace
Advent Candle Reading - Peace
6 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.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah wrote this passage centuries before Jesus walked the earth. He was waiting expectantly for a king for Israel that would fulfill this image and restore the people of God to a place of security within the world. A king that would remove the hand of oppression, that would rule in peace and be a source of great joy.
Isaiah tells us of a promise that will be fulfilled. Though he expects to see the promise fulfilled in his lifetime, he is left waiting and faithfully pointing toward the truth. This is the same promise that we are waiting for as we move toward celebrating the birth of the Christ child. We stand on the other side of the nativity, and the other side of the cross and the empty tomb, and yet we still long for peace. Peace for the world, and peace within ourselves.
Hope and Peace
Hope and Peace
The world has experienced thousands and thousands of wars.
The world has had 100’s of epidemics. Sometimes to huge proportions and other times we barely have record of impact of them.
The world has experienced despair beyond all imagination. I’m thinking of the Great Depression, the economic downturn of 2007 - 2008, the Great Recession of 1997. The housing crisis that comes in cycles.
And any number of personal ups and downs and the sideways turns that life sends our way. Those ups and downs, stab us to the core. Change our way of thinking, alter our families FOREVER!!!
In 2007 and 2008 Jill and I were sitting pretty well, we both had good job and made great money. Our house value was the highest it had ever been, retirement and 401K were going to really payoff. And we were in our mid-40’s and I was thinking about retiring by the time I was 55.
Yup another housing crisis, another economic downturn, and unemployment for this sales guy with a company closure and mass layoffs.
WOW… That was a wake up call. I’m sure it was no matter where you were and were you lived. 401K and retirement always don’t feel as secure as they used to. Your home is worth is nearly what you paid for it 10 years before this happened.
All of sudden
HOPE and PEACE are replaced with FEAR and TENSION, DISAGREEMENT, and 100 different feelings.
It doesn’t matter who and how much you believe or how strong your faith is. When you work for an Airline for example and halfway through your career the pension goes away and your the sole bread winner of your family.
Where is HOPE and PEACE in all of that...
It is in NONE of that...
That is not how God made us, not how he designed us.
It is vitally important for all of us acknowledge first for ourselves and then for the world around us that we are created us in His image
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
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God created man, all of mankind in his image. Before the time when sin entered the world, God created us, all of us. Because of that relationship, we are on God’s mind all of the time.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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I hope that I have firmly established, planted in your minds that he supernatural “magic” of Christmas is not based on us, on our feelings, on our standing with God.
This GLORY which leads to GRACE and TRUTH goes beyond us and extends to the WORLD!
OK… so let me get this right.
God built me… Yes
He built me for what..? To experience His Glory that leads to GRACE and TRUTH.
But I am a sinner, I’m not in a personal relationship with Christ.
“…While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
You remember the shepherds, waiting and watching on hillsides, tending their sheep.
Shepherds were a bunch of rough and tumble guys. Maybe our equivalent today would be men and women that work on oil rigs or work as “crabbers” in the waters off Alaska.
And the GLORY of the LORD shone around them. Without any knowledge of who God was… God stretched His glory around EVERYONE.
Of course they were astonished, THEY WERE FREAKED OUT!!!
They experienced ALL OF THAT in spite of their lack of a “personal relationship.”
As those shepherds gathered the area of the manger, they witnessed the birth of baby… Let me remind of the GLORY and AWE that surrounds this event
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 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.”
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They were not only transfixed by the birth of a baby in a feed trough. THEY Were transfixed by the GLORY LORD.
You may have wondered if I was going to get back to HOPE and JOY for this Christmas season.
YES to both...
But… Without the GLORY of the LORD, HOPE AND PEACE MEAN NOTHING!
Christmas becomes
X-M-A-S! FOOD! and FOOTBALL!
Hope and Peace change our focus!
HOPE IS A PROCESS!! YOU HAVE TO GET IT!!
We don’t just wake up one morning have hope.
Hope and Faith are intertwined! There is a relationship between them is the as Hebrews 11.1 says
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hope comes first in an evaluation of the circumstances.
“Man I hope that my car has enough gas to get to Yakima.
OR...
MY FAITH IN CHRIST, GIVES ME HOPE IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES!!!
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
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“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance; character and character...HOPE
This process, drives HOPE into our souls. It changes the way that we look at the world. It changes the way that we process any and all circumstances that we are in.
It changed the way that the scruffy shepherds saw the a child born in a feed trough in Bethlehem.
It can lead and guide how we process and put a framework of understanding around many in our community are so very ill, some with CoVid and others with various critical illness.
IF we develop this attitude, this outlook on life and its circumstances of relying on HOPE that is found in a relationship with Christ.
5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
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We will not be disappointed… The Holy Spirit will “pour”; the sense here is to drive it deeply into our souls, HOPE!
Let’s bring this back to this advent season...
Our lives will never be the same after a year like 2020.
In all of our circumstances, God and Christ are present, even if your not in a personal relationship with Him. God still created you. He wants ALL of us to be in a personal relationship with him and it is as easy as asking Him into your life and asking forgiveness for your sins.
But our HOPE and our FAITH is NOT built on things seen but unseen
4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called—
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
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We are made to have HOPE!!!
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As a place to grow from… HOPE we naturally, almost supernaturally move from a HOPE to a place of peace
In the worst of Jill and I’s time, I was without a job, due to economic downturn, we had two kids in college, our house was worth barely what we paid for it, our 401K and retirement where all TANKING!!!
All of you have similar circumstances that you could tell us. No water, no crops, no profits, bad business deals, family and personal issues.
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ALL OF THESE ROB YOUR SENSE OF PEACE!!!
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I would encourage you to find someone to share your burdens with. I know that people are very PROUD and we never want to show are vulnerable side.
But the burden will be lighter after it is shared with someone. I have great big shoulders and am willing to walk through this stuff with you.
Peace is very illusive...
Even for someone who thinks they are in tune with God.
We, OK I’m one of those who find it difficult to find PEACE AT TIMES.. WE, I am constantly fighting that which is peace robbing against that stuff that allows me to experience HOPE.
I am learning… I am trying to model peace… And encourage peace and offer peace.
If you are still working on peace… keep working
We will finally have that PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING. When we finally look in that proverbial mirror that I keep bringing up and see what it is to have peace when we see the reflection of Christ.
Peace the Hebrew word is probably familiar to many of us...
Shalom...
Peace, goes hand-in-hand with Faith and Hope.
Jesus said...
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Peace, The World, Our Hearts, Our Troubles, Our Fears.
All of those, equal the experience of all of us in 2020.
We pray earnestly that 2021 is different!
The people of the first century struggled with this concept of peace. The people of every century since the first has dwelt with the difficulties that it is to have peace and hope in their troubled world.
WW1 - “The Great War,” “The War to end all wars.” 40 million people lost their lives
WW2 - War that claimed 85 million lives across the world. Nearly 3% percent of the population of the world.
Korea - 5 million people died, including 40,000 Americans in a three-four year active active conflict.
Vietnam - 3 million people died.
Iraq & Afghanistan - 500,000 killed
Police Officers killed in the line of duty - 22,217
THIS DOES NOT APPEAR LIKE PEACE
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not a pacifistic, I’m not materially against war.
But I am at my core advocating for PEACE.
Now wait a minute… those seem to be opposite sides. They are of the same coin!
I have a quiz, a test for you… I’m going to read some verses and then I’m going to let you decide what is talked about in scripture as peace.
50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
13 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.”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
I hope that you can see a pattern here! The inner peace that comes in communication with God is his desire. At least 100 times in The New Testament Christ calls us to PEACE
A PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING
I am not going to preach to you something that I don’t grasp. So instead I’m going relay a journey that I’m on and hopefully there is something familiar that you can identify with.
I am on a journey to realizing INNER PEACE in my life.
I fight the tendency to worry… about many things that rob me of INNER PEACE
I fight with worry and doubt… that robs me of INNER PEACE.
It’s distracting… it’s distracting me in my relationship with God and I suspect it may be in yours
You may identify with one or more of these statements… Or you may not… In any case Christ liad out the pattern for us, He is by our side and with us as we journey towards hope and an inner peace that tells us no matter what happens and who it involves He is by our side.
As we transition to our time of communion lets remember that the celebration of the upcoming birth, brings us to a place were we can also have new birth and new life that comes from a brand new or renewed relationship with God through HOPE, FAITH, AND TRUST IN CHRIST.
Elders...