THE PROMISE OF PEACE

INTRODUCTION

As we continue our season of Advent, we celebrate the coming of Jesus into the world and we anticipate Christ’s return to this world. Considering Christ’s first Advent (coming or arrival), we consider the kind of world He came into. When Jesus came the first time, He came into a world of political instability. There were great abuses of power with all the lies and deception that accompanied it. There were also the financial struggles of the people. The people by and large were under a great burden of helplessness and hopelessness because the masses were a conquered and controlled people. They most certainly were not a free people. Jesus also came into a world where violence abounded in the cities. Does any of this sound vaguely familiar? The confusion of the world Jesus came into is hauntingly familiar to our own world as we await His second Advent.

We are a people living in a cultural context of fear, helplessness and questioning whether things will ever get better. We are a people in great need of peace! Yet, it seems that peace seems to escape us. Tonight may our minds allow us to return to yesteryear and the land and time which Jesus came. He was born and placed in a manger in an insignificant and remote village called Bethlehem. It was a place with ordinary people who were doing the best they knew how as they longed for a better tomorrow. Outside the village of Bethlehem, along the Judean hillside, there were shepherds. These shepherds did not know it yet, but they were about to have the experience of their lives. [read text]

What started out as an ordinary night, was not ordinary anymore! This night would become the most extraordinary night of their lives. These shepherds probably were not your ordinary shepherds either. Every morning and every evening an unblemished lamb would be taken to the Temple and offered as a sacrifice to God. To keep stocked on the number of lambs required for this, the Temple authorities had available to them their own private flock of sheep. We know there were flocks that were pastured near Bethlehem. In all likelihood, these shepherds were in charge of the Temple sheep from which the offerings would be chosen.

As we consider the Christmas account from the gospel of Luke, we do not want to miss the issue of peace contained in the text. We want to settle the issue that eludes so many in our day. It is the issue of peace.

From our text we will address three components of peace.

Component #1:The Source of Our Peace

The source of genuine peace has always been the same. It has never changed. It has always been and forever will be found only in Jesus Christ. When any civilization rejects Christ and the peace He brings, like ours is currently doing, peace will be replaced by chaos, confusion, violence and fear.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied long ago, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

Yes, the source of peace is Christ. One of the many gifts a believer receives after Christ enters and transforms a life is the gift of peace. That is why Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

As the Prince of Peace, Christ has promised to send us His peace in any situation. This is the reason Philippians 4:6-7 instructs us to, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 1:19-20 further promises, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Ephesians 2:17-18 also declares, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.”

As you observe the flame of the third Advent candle, remember that the source of our peace comes from Jesus Christ.

Component #2: The Sanctuary of Our Peace

Since it is a biblical truth that genuine peace can only come from Christ, peace is something that the world cannot give. The world cannot give what it does not possess. Therefore, it is also true that it cannot take that which it cannot give. Genuine peace is a sanctuary that belongs exclusively to those who follow and serve the Prince of Peace.

This world is messed up and it is jacked up and there is more of the same to come. As I think about this, I am reminded of the dad who was desperately trying to watch a television program he was interested in. He also had a son who wanted his did to play with him. Now, this dad was a good dad and he enjoyed playing with his son. This father kept telling his son that he would play with him in a few minutes when his program was over. Well, you know how children can be. This boy ran into the room where his dad was trying to watch television. He came in every couple of minutes asking, “Daddy, is it time to play now?” This went on continuously until the father decided to give his son a task to do. He found an old newspaper with a picture of the world on the front page. He cut out the picture of the world and then cut the world into small pieces. This project was supposed to take about thirty minutes, according to the dad’s reckoning. So, the father set his son to taping all those pieces back together. The father was shocked when his son returned in five minutes. He momentarily entertained the possibility that he might have a child prodigy on his hands. The father asked, “Son, how did you get that done so quickly?” The boy answered, “Dad, it was easy. On the back of the world was a picture of a person. I just put the person back together and that is when the world came together.

As our God gives His peace to all who will receive it, He is renewing and reassembling His world. It is not merely the fact that the piece of God is a sanctuary. As God gives His peace to us, we become the sanctuary of His peace. Christ is the source of peace, but His people are the sanctuary of His peace.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be for all the people (2:10).”

The angel explains that the good tidings of great joy is available to all people. However, nowhere in this verse does it say, “peace on earth is for all people.” In fact. Scripture states the very opposite. Peace while living on this earth is reserved solely for God’s people. The NASB captures the literal rendering of Luke 2:14. It reads, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” That is a much different rendering than what we usually hear this time of year. Although the invitation to partake of the good tidings of great joy is given to all people, it can only be applied to those who comprise the ones who have pleased God. Who are those who have pleased God? They are the ones who have surrendered themselves and have received peace from the God of all peace. They have received His grace and allowed His favor to rest upon and within them. Only those who are pleasing to God can receive His peace. Peace comes from God and only God’s people can be the sanctuary of God’s peace.

I can just hear it now. “Preacher, that is not fair!” If this sounds exclusive and narrow, it is because it is. The truth is that there are those who are excluded from God’s peace. These are the people with whom God is not pleased. Who are the angels speaking to in this passage? They are speaking to the shepherds. They are speaking to the social outcasts of the day. These were good enough to shepherd the flock of the Temple sheep, but they were not good enough to go and worship at that same Temple. You know, there are many churches just like that. We look at the external appearance of people. In our minds they are “those people” and are not good enough. We do the same thing to others as the Jewish authorities were doing to the shepherds and others who did not measure up. The shepherds were perceived as being spiritually unclean. Yet it was the shepherds that God chose to reveal His plan of redemption to. God gave the joyous news of salvation to those whom others had rejected.

Is God’s peace selective? YES! it only comes to those with whom God is pleased. It only comes to His children, genuine believers in Jesus Christ. Although God’s peace is selective, He is willing to select you to receive it. Are you willing to receive it? I am so glad I did.

Component #3: The Scope of Our Peace

The secular music group U2 used to sing their own version of “Peace on Earth.” It went like this: Heaven on earth we need it now.

I’m sick of all this hanging around.

Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain,

Sick of hearing again and again

That there’s gonna be peace on earth.

The gist of the song is, “Get over it, we’re never going to see peace one earth.” This song and others like it miss the point. Such songs show a great misunderstanding about the scope of peace. The scope of peace is with God. The peace of Luke 2:14 is not a peace on earth from the cessation of war and conflict. Rather, it is a peace with God while we are on earth despite violence and conflict. It is the possession of peace now while the world is even coming undone and falling to pieces. It is not the world’s definition of peace that is in view here. It is God’s presence in His people that brings us peace.

If you are putting your hopes for peace in the people, powers and politics of this world, you are going to become very disappointed indeed. Peace is with God, not with the world. Jesus promised to give us His peace. He promised in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Peace is not to be found in this world and neither is it to be found with this world. True peace can only exist within a soul that is right with God and one who is walking with God, despite what is happening in the world. We cannot have it both ways. Mark it down, when we make our peace with God, conflict with the world is inevitable. That is because peace with God involves opposition with Satan. James 4:4 reminds us, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

It is a huge mistake to seek to make peace with the world. Yet, that is what we are guilty of doing many times. Just like Charlie Brown, we set ourselves down at the booth of the world’s cheap psychology for retail therapy. We believe that surely this will give us the peace we desire. We pop the world’s pills, rather than taking the position of prayer. We turn to Jack, Jim and Bud instead of turning to Jesus. We should remember that the scope of our peace is with Jesus, not with the world.

Conclusion

The third candle of the Advent has been lit and it signifies peace. To enjoy peace this Christmas we need to remember three facts concerning peace. First, our source of peace is Jesus. Second, as we come to Jesus as the Prince of Peace, He causes our lives to become the sanctuary of His peace. Third, more and more we come to realize that our scope of peace is with God, not the world.

Horatio Spafford was a Chicago businessman who sent his wife and three daughters to Europe by ship while he remained back in the United States. His intention was to catch up with them later. However on the way there, the ship his family had boarded encountered a terrible storm which caused the ship to become disabled and damaged. The result was that all three of his daughters drowned. The only positive light in all of this was that Mrs. Spafford survived. Unfortunately, it became her sad responsibility to wire her husband with the painful news concerning their daughters’ demise. The message simply read, “All of our daughters have been lost. Only I have been saved.” Mr. Spafford took the next available ship for Europe. As the ship came near the place where his daughters had drowned, the captain of the ship pointed to the place where the ship had gone down. It was at that very spot from the deck of the ship that Mr. Spafford wrote the following beautiful and yet haunting words:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

“It is well; it is well with my soul.”

What about you? Is it well with your soul right now? Do you have peace or is your soul in turmoil? Could it be that you are at war tonight? Maybe you are warring with yourself, a family member, a friend or even a fellow believer. If this is you, you must come to terms with your situation if you are to have peace this Christmas. Maybe you are mad at God about something that you thought He should have taken care of for you. Maybe it is an issue of un-confessed sin. Whatever it is, talk to Jesus about it. He wants to give you His peace this Christmas. Will you receive it?