Advent of Peace
Notes
Transcript
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Introduction
Introduction
As we see this picture of the heralding of the birth of Christ, we see a picture of a scary and unusual time. Could you imagine being out on the farm at night, minding your own business, counting the sheep, when all the sudden an angel appeared! You can understand why the angel had to say “Don’t be afraid!”. After they were told of the birth, a “multitude” (a great crowd) of heavenly host. There was with the angel a multitude of the angels of heaven - rows upon rows of angels all praising the Lord, as the KJV translates “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill to men.” There is a song we sing this time of year “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” that is based on a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
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!
These beautiful words were written in a trying and unusual time, during the middle of the Civil War, but these words are not the end of the song. Longfellow takes a dark turn.
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!"
Longfellow was no stranger to heartache and rough times. He had lost his first wife at a young age, and his second wife tragically in 1861 near the start of the Civil War. Even during this time of grief, he was a staunch abolitionist who opposed the war. His son, on the other hand, could not withstand the appeal of the war and left for the war. His father stayed in a state of worry, and in 1863 his son was severely wounded and Longfellow spent time nursing him back to health. One writer made this comment of the time “With the tragic death of his wife and the wounding of his son in a war of which he did not approve, how could he believe that there was peace on earth? He saw the broken world filled with pain and death and momentarily believed that hate always would outweigh the good in the world, for it seemed to have done so during his recent sorrowful years.” But one thing remained - Longfellow was a devout Christian. He knew that, even though things around him may be scary, it may hold uncertainties, his faith remained strong. He finishes the song with these words”
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."
Now, I will be the first one to admit, this isn’t the most “Christmas-y” of openings for a Christmas sermon. But, I want us to think. All was going well for the shepherds, they did not think anything out of the ordinary was going to happen that night they led the sheep out into the fields. I’m sure they expected a peaceful night. Then everything changed. Leading up to 2020, we were all living normal, everyday lives not thinking of anything out of the ordinary. And things changed dramatically. So, even though we think of this being out of the ordinary, the only thing that we have been able to really tell is that this unknown has been going on for centuries. And we continue to long for peace, the same as we have or all these years. Yet we hear some wonderful news in this proclamation made by the angel, that there will be a true time of peace that will come.
Desire for Peace
Desire for Peace
25 When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none.
While we think of times as being bad now, we still have things pretty well.
We may not be extremely wealthy, we may not have designer clothing, we may not drive the newest of vehicles or eat at the fanciest of restaurants, but we are mostly well cared for even during uncertain times. However there will be a change of events that will one day occur. During the end times, there will be those who are actively searching for peace, but will not be able to find peace. When judgement comes, there will be no peace. All that anyone has will be lost and earthly possessions will be lost. Why will this happen? Because people will forget where they find true peace.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace.
Isaiah speaks of a time when people will turn away from God. They look for their own ways to find temporary “things” that will fill in for what they are truly missing - peace. Yet, as we look at the list of sins before verse 8, we can only conclude that sin is universal and we are all guilty of sinning.
What, then, changes the hearts of a believer so they can see true peace?
True Peace
True Peace
17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
There will be a day where a righteous kingdom will be established on earth. How would we define righteous? Whatever seems to be good and right in our eyes. We can justify anything and everything if we think hard enough about it.
All we have to do is convince our sinful mind that it isn’t sinful and we find a temporary peace in it.
10 Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash,
But the biblical definition of righteousness is what is good in the eyes of God. Can we look at the same justification and place it beside God’s view of righteousness and still make it stick? No! When we are out of the will of God, we can have no true peace. Those who rely on themselves for peace will eventually watch it all crumble. However, there is a way to know a true and neverending peace.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Of peace, there will be no end. We know that the peace was partially filled when the Messiah was born. A child is born - showing the humanity of Jesus. A son is given - indicating His deity, not only as God, but as His Son given freely. God with us - He came to earth, dwelling in this life with us. But there is something yet to come - the government will be on His shoulders - while the prophecy of Christ’s birth was made about 700 years before His arrival, it did occur. Even wen Christ knew His earthly ministry was coming to a close and was preparing His disciples, He spoke of the peace He would leave them.
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
But there is a time where He will return to rule over the whole world.
7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Bringing true, everlasting peace with him forever, and offering an opportunity for us to experience eternal peace through his death.
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
Closing
Closing
In the beginning, we spoke of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the period of rough patches in His. Times where he felt there was no peace. The end of his story was this: Charlie survived his wounds, returned home, and was mustered out of the army in 1864, and Longfellow was known as one of the best poets of his time and remains a legend to this day. Remember that despite your deepest troubles there is always hope to be found, and like Longfellow, we must remember it comes form God.
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.