God's Peace is Sufficient

Opening

Welcome to week 3 of our advent series Emmanuel and if tuned in last week you heard Pastor John speak on Joy. This week our focus turns to peace and how Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, brings us that peace.

As we kick our time off, I want to briefly look at a very very very familiar portion of scripture. The fruit of the spirit-

For fun for those of you at home I’ll give you a few seconds- See who can quickly rattle the fruits of the spirit off!

Alright, hopefully everyone shouted those out but let me read them off for us-

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

The point that Paul was driving home here was that we battle with ourselves..... against our flesh..... versus with the Holy Spirit because just prior to the fruits he listed the works of the flesh, the sinful things we struggle with and deal with. He then follows that up with the fruit that we bear when we are seeking God, dwelling in Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us.

And the fruits are kinda split into 3 sections based on intention. And in that first section we find these attributes that somewhat concern our relation to God.

This can translate into how we love God, find our joy in God and lastly, our main focus today, find our peace in and through God.

And for clarity, if you have never heard of these before, they are called fruits because like a fruit tree, you expect to see fruit and get fruit from it, if not it’s just a tree. Likewise as people, the fruits of the spirit are expected to be seen in our words and actions. If they aren’t, then we are like anyone who doesn’t have Christ..... and as believers we are called to be set apart because of Him.

Now, particularly peace in that first trio could arguably be the most difficult. It’s probably right there with joy. We live in a world that is fast paced, expectations are maybe higher than ever, anxiety and depression are rampant.....the list goes on and on. So, it may seem like it’s hard to find that peace.

And it’s apparently really important because we see the topic of peace come up over 400 times throughout scripture much of which was by Jesus himself.

So, What is peace?

If we merely when to a dictionary it would define peace in this way:

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Peace

1: a state of tranquillity or quiet: as

a: freedom from civil disturbance

b: a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom 〈a breach of the peace〉

2: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions

But....the biblical definition of peace is different. It really has nothing to do with freedom from something negative.....such as war, disturbance, oppression, etc. Though yes, it can indicate absence from strife and conflict and scripture even uses it in that sense, but it really is much more.

We see that scripture doesn’t indicate that peace removes us from conflict, either physical or emotional. Peace is something we gain from our relationship with God and has to be viewed from that lens. We see often in the O.T. Shalom which in it’s simplest form means peace. And the idea of peace here really means wholeness, to be complete. And for them, the intention was a wholeness that was to come. But how does that happen?

Isaiah 32:17 CSB

17 The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.

As we seek righteousness before a Holy God, peace is our gift. And we similarly see that in the N.T. but with a different scope.

Emmanuel, God with us, changes everything. And now, striving for righteousness, being made whole has been completely defined through Christ and now our savior is peace.

Ephesians 2:14 CSB

14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh,

So, peace for us is this- We have been made whole by the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the result should be a spirit freed from the trouble of this world when we strive to focus on Him.

With Christ, our peace, there is this underlying freedom for us. Regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Peter even tells us that persecution should be expected for us as believers. So, if our peace is reliant on the freedom from conflict, then that is something we cannot have, but thankfully our peace is defined by Christ, Emmanuel and it is always there for us.

Pray

Prelude

So, before we get too deep in things.....a question we can ask ourselves - Is peace the same for everyone or is it different for each of us? Sit on that for a bit.

As we think about the peace that Christ brings, I think it’s fitting to look back at the hope and the long desire for peace that the Messiah would bring

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

Here the prophet is laying out for us the one who would come and be the savior of this world. What a wonderful moment this is and is a complete contrast of what had just come before in chapter 8 of Isaiah, which is filled with literal doom and gloom.

Isaiah 8:22 CSB

22 They will look toward the earth and see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into thick darkness.

Chapter 8 seemingly leaves a tone of hopelessness and if that is where it would stop, that’s exactly what we would get, but thankfully it doesn’t stop there.

And the key points we can take away from these 7 verses are this:

1. God’s light will shine and be seen.

2. The people will be filled with joy and will have something to rejoice in.

3. God will be victorious in the face of his enemies.

4. Peace will be upheld

5. The Lord will reign forever.

There is hope in this. Unlike the ending in verse 22 of chapter 8. We get verse 6 of chapter 9

Isaiah 9:6 ESV

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.

Prince of Peace...... He is our peace.

The fight. The angst of our hearts. The battle against our sinfulness and flesh. The complete rejection of God is brought to a screeching halt when we cry out to the Prince of Peace.

This doesn’t mean things will be perfect. This doesn’t mean all your problems will go away. It doesn’t mean you won’t have a bad day..... But it does mean under all that imperfection, under all those problems and certainly in the midst of your bad day you have peace knowing who holds you up. Who is on your side. What a gift that you have been given by God, the creator of the heavens and the earth. The gift is that sin and death have been defeated and you are not owned by them any longer.

If that does not bring a level of peace into our lives as we reflect and dwell on it, I don’t know what will.

To recall just a moment ago when I asked the question, if the peace we have is the same or different-

Peace is a gift of the Holy Spirit from God. We should not confuse that gift with contentment, which is vastly different in the same way joy is different from happiness. Because these gifts and they are gifts are given to us because Christ came to this earth. My ability to be restless, anxious, moody, etc has nothing to do with the peace that God gives me. That is a constant. Now my contentment, is a totally different story.

But, I think in the midst of this we have to take a step back though. Because there is only one way to experience this peace and that is to put our complete trust and faith in the Lord Jesus. Believe that he came to this earth as a baby, He lived a perfect life, He went to a cross to die, taking on the full wrath of God for all of mankind’s sin, and three days after that death, He rose from the dead, making complete a way for us to be restored to God......You must believe and call upon the name of Jesus.

That’s why Isaiah’s message long before the birth of Christ was so anticipated. Before Him, hope, peace, joy.... seemed unreachable. But here it is.....fully available to us.

And you may be asking this morning, is this peace for me, is it enough?

Lets take some time and look that-

Is this Peace is for You?

The quick answer is Yes.

God wants us to remember we need His peace because of what we endure on the account of a sinful, fallen world.

Do you ever get anxious? Do you worry? Do you struggle? Do you question things? Of course. We all do. Some more than others. And that’s why we need His peace to guard us.

Philippians 4:6–7 ESV

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I couldn’t even begin to fathom walking this earth without that peace and having to battle without God’s great promise.

John Piper sums these verse in this way-

“The picture here is that our hearts and our minds are under assault. Guilt, worries, threats, confusions, uncertainties — they all threaten our peace. And Paul says that God wants to “guard” your hearts and minds. He guards them with his peace. He guards them in a way that goes beyond what human understanding can fathom. Don’t limit the peace of God by what your understanding can see. He gives us inexplicable peace, supra-rational peace. And he does it when we take our anxieties to him in prayer and trust him, that he will carry them for us (1 Peter 5:7) and protect us.”

Is this Peace is for Everyone?

The short answer again is yes.

We see this laid out in the Gospel of John

John 3:16–17 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

You may be saying well, nothing about that says peace. But the reality is, it’s screaming peace because the Gospel message is peace from God and He wants it for everyone who is willing to call upon His name.

......

I want to shift gears for just a moment.

Because, in the same vain, He want’s us to have peace with others so that that Gospel message is heard loud and clear.

Ephesians 4:31–32 ESV

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The peace that God has given us through Christ Jesus must pour from us to those around us.

I think also, it would be remiss not to think about this season....a season where we reflect on the coming of our Savior…the Prince of Peace but also one of hurt, heartache, pain, suffering, bad blood......

This year may be different than past years. Families may not find themselves gathering together. Christmas parties and events may be only happening on zoom. But the reality is regardless of the situation, hurt relationships are hurt relationships. Whether it’s with a friend, parent, sibling or your spouse.

Here is the thing....

Peace is not only the absence of conflict and animosity, but also the presence of joyful relationships with others.

I would encourage you today to seek peace. Not just a cease fire or we will do it for the family, but a true, from God peace that comes from overflow of love. Seek it, pray for it, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in it because that is what the Lord desires and it’s literally who He is.

Romans 12:18. He says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

Peace from God is for everyone. Let it also be an outpouring from you.

Is this Peace absolutely sufficient?

Let’s be reminded of our text this morning

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

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.

The peace that only God can give was given in the form of a baby that was born to us. He is God incarnate. The peace that He brings has no end. So, yes, this peace is sufficient for us as it is all we need as Jesus is our peace.

Like His grace it is a reminder for us that all we need is Christ. Because in our sinfulness and imperfection. We can boast of what He accomplishes through us.

2 Corinthians 12:9 CSB

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

That sweet grace that we need but are so not deserving of. A grace that is made possible because He is the Prince of peace.

And we know this is sufficient because the world cannot offer us what He can. And the reality of it, He has conquered the sin of this world so we can have peace.

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The assurance we should feel should show in our daily lives. Once again, not saying things will be perfect, but we have something to boast in.

He has overcome this world. The sin, the pain, the suffering......

Jesus has come to bring about peace among God’s people and that peace brings about hope.

There is hope through the peace that Jesus has given for all.

Allow me to retell a story I heard. During World War II, six pilots took off from an aircraft carrier in the North Atlantic to scout some enemy submarines. While they were gone, the captain of the carrier was forced to issue a blackout alarm. The ship went totally dark.

When the pilots tried to return, they could not find the ship. They radioed, “Give us some light, we’re coming home.” The ship’s radio operator replied, “Order: blackout. I cannot give you light.” In turn, each pilot desperately radioed the same message: “Just give me some light and I’ll make it.” Each time, the operator had to radio back, “No light—blackout!” Because there was no light on that ship, six young pilots went to their graves in the icy North Atlantic

We live in a dark world that very much is in need of light. The birth of Jesus Christ, who is God’s salvation, brought the light that offers hope to this fallen world.

........

In Jewish culture, after a baby had turned a certain age, parents were supposed to travel to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices at the temple. Mary and Joseph did this with Jesus and we see this later in Luke chapter 2, starting in verse 25.

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant[e] depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

-Luke 2:25-35

- Simeon had waited his whole life for this moment. He believed it. Jesus our Emmanuel ...... Jesus is our light. Jesus is our hope. He is our peace.

- That is why our remembrance and celebration of Christ’s birth is so important. It keeps things in perspective for us. Our society fills our time, engages us in all sorts of activities and consistently distracts us from the only hope and peace we all have in Jesus.

How are you letting yourself be distracted?

What are you telling yourself is important, but really it isn’t?

-Looking back at Luke 2: 10-14

The shepherds. God could have sent Jesus, the hope of the world, in any way He wanted. It could have been done in grand fashion.

But God's good news is spoken not to the elite or kings, but to lowly shepherds. Who would have thought this is how it would have happened?

These shepherds were watching over a flock of sheep never knowing that that night they would be seeing the ultimate sacrifice, the savior, the hope and peace of all mankind.

Jesus came into this world, like anyone of us, lived a life or perfection but eventually took on the sins and pain of this world for all of us. He truly is our peace and hope and is certainly deserving of all the glory.

His peace is for you and for everyone around you.....

Gods peace is sufficient for you today!

-Pray