He (Jesus) Came To Bring Us Peace.
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But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Topic: He Came To Bring Us Peace
I. What is Peace?
I. What is Peace?
Peace is written throughout the pages of the Bible because it is one of the reoccurring themes throughout scripture.
Old Testament thought: (Shalom) Peace is safety, health, prosperity, favour, well-being, completeness.
New Testament thought: (Eirene) First means national tranquility, secondly means harmony and concord between individuals, thirdly means security, safety, prosperity (because one is safe or secure (country) it leads to the prosperity of the said person or persons, it also means inward peace or harmony.
When Jesus came, when he was born into this world, He was born to bring us peace. Throughout the Old Testament scriptures, the Jews looked forward to the coming of the Messiah whom the prophets had foretold of:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
I want the world to know, I want the unsaved to know that Jesus didn’t come so that we could hang lights up, He didn’t come so that we could put a tree in our house and put presents underneath, Jesus didn’t come so that we could have family get togethers, eat ham, for those who like alcohol drink some liquor or wine and celebrate with your friends. No Jesus came to bring us peace in the earth, Jesus came to bring us peace in our minds, peace in our bodies, peace between us and God! The gifts are cool and all, the lights our pretty, but for every believer that believes in Jesus and has received salvation and is walking in salvation through Jesus Christ (because everyone is not walking in salvation that celebrates Christmas) we celebrate Jesus coming into this world.
It is mind boggling to me for those who celebrate Christmas but they don’t live for Christ. They do not realize that the same one they celebrate is going to be the same one that is going to judge them and possibly send them to the lake of fire if they don’t repent. But for every believer that has accepted the free gift of salvation we celebrate that Jesus came to deliver us from sin, we celebrate that Jesus came to give us eternal life, we celebrate that Jesus came to snatch us out of the grip of damnation, we celebrate that Jesus came to bring us peace!
II. Jesus’s presence brings peace.
II. Jesus’s presence brings peace.
In the Old Testament, a judge by the name of Gideon begin to know God as Jehovah-Shalom. We studied this two weeks ago. The Israelites had messed up and The LORD allowed the Midianites to persecute the Israelites. The scriptures declare that the Midianites were so cruel to them that Israelites made hiding places for themselves in mountains, caves, and strongholds. The Israelites would plant crops so that they could have food to live on and the Midianites would take their crops, then they would take all of their livestock. The Israelites were reduced to starvation, then, they called out to the LORD to deliver them. The opposite of peace is strife. Judges 6:12 says “The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!” Gideon being unsure about this to The Angel of the LORD to show him a sign that you are really going to help me. Don’t go anywhere until I come back, Gideon goes and cooks a young goat, baked some bread without yeast, brought those things along with a pot of broth to the angel. The angel commands Gideon to place the meat, bread, and pot of broth on the rock. The angel of the LORD touches the items with the tip of his staff and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he brought and then the angel of the LORD disappears! Gideon builds an altar there and named it Yahweh or Jehovah-Shalom which means The LORD is peace! The LORD was getting ready to bring peace to the Israelites.
Now we see in the New Testament that God is fixing to do the same thing. This time this peace just wouldn’t be for the Israelites, this peace would be offered to the whole world through the personage of Jesus Christ.
We see from the onset that when Jesus is born into the world, that there is a peace that his parents and those in the area experienced.
Mary and Joseph was in Bethlehem during tax season to pay taxes to the Roman Government. Mary was expecting, they were looking for a place to stay but there was no room available in Bethlehem. This was turmoil, but when Jesus was born....they would soon forget about their sorrows that night, because some amazing things would happen. Angels appeared to shepherds in a field and announced the birth of the Messiah, a star shone bright in the sky over the place where Jesus was born, 3 Magi, travelled from the East and brought precious valuable gifts to Jesus and began to worship him. In the midst of chaos and financial difficulties, Mary and Joseph experienced peace that was bought to them through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ presence brings peace!
On several occasions throughout scripture the Lord Jesus would speak unto those who were distraught, who were suffering, or who were afraid and whenever He showed up, he brought peace with Him:
Jesus speaks to the winds and the waves:
Jesus speaks to the winds and the waves:
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Jesus speaks to the woman with the issue of blood:
Jesus speaks to the woman with the issue of blood:
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Jesus speaks to his disciples prior to him dying:
Jesus speaks to his disciples prior to him dying:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
After Jesus had died and was resurrected, the disciples were distraught and locked in the upper room for fear of the things that had befallen Jesus, but then Jesus appears in the midst of them:
After Jesus had died and was resurrected, the disciples were distraught and locked in the upper room for fear of the things that had befallen Jesus, but then Jesus appears in the midst of them:
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Jesus’ presence brings peace!!!
Jesus’ presence brings peace!!!
Peace 2:
Jesus had and has a way of bringing things down, when there is turmoil, when there is strife, Jesus has a way of showing up and letting you know.....it’s okay I’m here.....I’m here with you!
However, the greatest peace is not a life absent of turmoil or strife, the greatest peace is not so much when things are going wrong and he brings us peace, the greatest peace that Jesus brought us is peace with God!
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
To have peace with God means to be in accord with God, to not be at odds with God or rather for God not to be at odds with us. Now the question is asked “how can we be at odds with God?” and then the answer is found here in Col 1:21:
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Sin and wickedness is the result of being far away from God, likewise, sin and wickedness can draw us away from God. Why? Because God is a holy God and yes God is a God of love, He is a God of forgiveness, but the fact remains that God does not like sin.
When you willfully live in sin, you are alienated from God, when you willfully live in sin and oppose God in wicked works you are an enemy of the state of the kingdom of God. A person is an enemy of God and they are separated from God because of evil thoughts and evil actions.
But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ came into this world to bring us peace with God, by his sacrifice (his death and resurrection), Jesus paid the penalty for sin, because the scriptures declare that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. I don’t know about anybody else, but I came out this morning to celebrate, I came out this morning to give God glory because Jesus came into this world to bring me peace!
Paul said in the previous verse (19 &20)
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
In other-words:
For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Paul then says we were included because we “were” past tense....meaning that we use to have evil thoughts, we use to have evil actions, we use to be enemies of God through our wicked works.....but thank God Jesus, Jehovah Tsidkenu, thank God Jesus who Isaiah calls “The Prince of Peace, thank God that Immanuel, came into this world and died for your wicked thoughts, died for you wicked actions, redeemed you, purchased you with His blood, washed you, forgave you, justified you, and placed his Spirit inside of you! That’s why it shouldn’t be a single quiet person in here, that’s why we can celebrate because Jesus....The Lord......he is my salvation!
III. Experience True Peace In Life (Application)
III. Experience True Peace In Life (Application)
The LORD never promised us that in life we won’t experience difficulties. However, He did promise that He would be with us in our difficult times. The LORD did promise us that even while we may be in the midst of difficulties and turbulent times that he would help us.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
When we find ourselves distraught, uncertain, fearful, in anguish, in pain, we have to learn how to use and tap into the peace that the Lord Jesus Christ has given to us. We need to learn how to get into the presence of the LORD!
The writer of Psalms 16:11 records:
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
We have been through a turbulent 2 years. The coronavirus invade this country and our lives in March of 2020, since then, life has been totally different for us. Many of us were concerned about this virus and if truth be known at times we were afraid and paranoid. We were told a great many things, people told us that by summer of 2020 the virus would be gone, false prophets prophesied that this virus would be gone in 3 to 4 months. Instead, 2 years later and now we are dealing with a strand that is more transmissible than ever before, hospitalizations are up. The epidemiologist are now saying that this virus will eventually go endemic meaning that the virus will always be with us. But despite of those things we take refuge in the fact that the Lord promised us that he would always be with us.
Therefore:
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
Listen to this same scripture in the NLT:
But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.
I praise God for what he has promised.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
What did God promise you? If you don’t know what He promised you it is hard to rejoice. But when you recall the promises of God, that God would never leave us nor forsake us, He promised that if we walk up right before Him, He’d withhold no good thing from us, He promised He would fight our battles, He promised to deliver us, He promised to forgive our sins, He is the God who will never lie, if He makes a promise He’s going to keep. When you know this and remember this, regardless of what you go through in life it will cause you to rejoice, even in the darkest of times.
No wonder Isaiah said:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Here is the key, we have to trust in the LORD and keep our minds fixed on Him!
This is why Apostle Paul writes:
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
No matter what is going on in your life, I want you to know that you can experience peace!
No matter how broken you are Jesus came to bring you completeness, Jesus came to make you whole, He can heal the trauma, He can heal the hurt, He can take away the pain, He can free you from the addiction, He can deliver you from the thing that has you bound! Jesus came to bring peace!
Well preacher how do I experience this peace? By knowing Jesus as your personal savior, by believing the good news of the gospel. Jesus came into this world to bring you peace by his death, burial, and resurrection. If you place you faith and trust in Jesus and believe with all your heart that Jesus died and rose from the dead, that he ascended back to heaven, and sent back the Holy Spirit for every believer, you can tap into this peace.
We believe what the scriptures says in that we are saved by grace through faith:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
What gift?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
In the book of Acts, after the gospel was preached the Apostles gave those who heard the word an opportunity to repent of their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
The initial steps that are needed to experience peace with God is:
Believe the Gospel.
Repent of your sins.
Be baptized in Jesus’ name.
Receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
You can then experience the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. When you get to know Jesus and when Jesus comes into your life, His presence brings peace.
Jesus Came To Bring Us Peace!