12.5.2021 - Peace Made New (1)

December 5, 2021 - Peace Made New Good morning! Great to see those of you here in person & hello to those of you joining in online. We are in the second week of Advent - this season in the church calendar where we reflect on what Jesus coming to earth means for us. Jesus' birth was more than a heart-warming symbol. It was the first wave of God's plan to redeem & restore all of creation. God's goal in sending Jesus was to make everything new - including you & me. That's the theme we're focusing on this Advent. Last weekend, Michael kicked off our series by talking about hope made new. Today, we want to look at how peace has been made new. Peace is a word that you see and hear a lot at Christmas time. It shows up in Christmas songs and movies & is at the heart of the Biblical story of Christmas. Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ... the prophet Isaiah wrote this - anticipating the coming of the Messiah. ● 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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. Isaiah 9:6-7 And upon Jesus' birth, the heavens opened and the angels sang out: ● "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14 Peace is something that we long for, and we desperately need more of. How can peace be made new through Jesus? Let's first consider...our search for peace. If we're honest, our search for peace is often tied to our circumstances. We buy into the notion that... "if these circumstances in my life can just get in the right spot... then I can experience peace." ● If my grades, or my finances can get sorted out ● If my dating life, or my marriage can get on track ● If this blasted pandemic would just end already... ○ Then, I can experience peace! It's not that those are bad or wrong desires - we just need peace that goes deeper than favorable circumstances. Here's another - for many of us, our search for peace is often tied to avoiding conflict. This is a down-side to some of our Minnesota-nice culture... where we smooth things over and we don't talk about difficult items... in hopes of "keeping the peace." But is that really what peace is about? Contrast those ideas with the the Biblical concept of peace (Shalom) In the Bible there are two primary words used for peace. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom, which is echoed in the New Testament by the Greek word "err-ray-nay." The folks at the Bible Project recently produced some wonderful resources on this topic... take a listen to their description: ● The most basic meaning of shalom is complete or whole. The word can refer to a stone that has a perfect whole shape with no cracks. It can also refer to a completed stone wall that has no gaps and no missing bricks. ● The core idea is that life is complex, full of moving parts and relationships and situations, and when any of these is out of alignment or missing, your shalom breaks down. Life is no longer whole. It needs to be restored. In fact, that's the basic meaning of shalom when you use it as a verb. To bring shalom literally means to make complete or restore. ● Peace takes a lot of work because it's not just the absence of conflict. True peace requires taking what's broken and restoring it to wholeness, whether it's in our lives, our relationships, or in our world. That's the biblical concept of peace. With that in mind, I want us to read a short section from Colossians 1. On first glance, this may not seem very "Christmas-y", but as we unpack this, we are going to discover that this rich passage explains so much about why Jesus came to earth. Colossians 1:15-20 (NLT) 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 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. What a powerful passage to reflect on at Christmas-time! In Jesus, the invisible God has become visible. The creator has become the created. The pre-existent one that reigns supreme... now exists in time and space as a humble babe. Colossians 1 proclaims that Jesus is our path to peace. The peace that we are searching for isn't found in a set of principles or in a philosophy. It's found in a person. Jesus is our path to peace. 2 big items stand out to me in this regard. Colossians 1 emphasizes how Jesus is ● Fully God and fully human And because of that, Jesus is... ● Uniquely able to enact true peace and reconciliation Look more closely at verses 19-20. (19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 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.) Verse 19 says that - God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. At Christmas-time, we take time to reflect on the miracle of the incarnation. The eternal God that created everything has invaded our temporal world. ● The angel said to Mary, "Do not be afraid; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and his kingdom will never end." ● And after the birth of Jesus, the angels proclaimed to the shepherds. "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." - Not someday, he'll have the potential to be somebody great. No, today, a Savior has been born, Christ, the Messiah, the Lord. - All of who God is was birthed in this little baby Jesus. Mind-blowing. In Verse 20, we read - Through Christ, God reconciled everything to himself. There are a couple common ways we use the word reconciliation... that illustrate the impact of what God has done through Christ. ● First - we talk about reconciliation happening in the resolution of a conflict. Two parties that were once at odds with each other have found a way to settle those differences. And ideally, they are no longer opposed to one another... they are moving forward together. ○ Through Christ, God was reconciling relationships... between us and God, and between us and others. ● Another spot that the word reconciliation often comes up is in accounting. ● For example - to keep track of our family's finances, I use a handy app on my phone called You Need A Budget. (Any YNAB fans out there?). ● The other day, I was working on our budget. So I pulled up my app and I "reconciled" my electronic ledger with what the bank has in its records. It's fun: when I hit the "reconcile" button on the app & all the numbers are correct, digital confetti bursts up on my screen. ● If reconciling my checking account can be worth celebrating.. How much more can we rejoice when our debt of sin has been taken care of by Jesus & he has credited to us the riches of his righteousness? Verse 20 also goes on to say: God made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. ● Through Christ, God has brought shalom to us. He has taken what is broken and is restoring it to wholeness. ● And that peace is not just showing up in isolated areas... God is bringing shalom to everything in heaven and on earth, and everything in-between. It's all encompassing. And how was that accomplished? By Jesus giving up his life on the cross. The story of Christmas is awe-inspiring, but it is just the first scene in the bigger narrative of God making things whole again. The baby in the manager eventually became the man that hung on a bloody cross. And through his death, Jesus made peace brand new. He closed the great divide and made a way for us to be reconciled to God. Here's a way to sum up what we've talked about so far: The baby born in the manager - the one who would eventually die on the cross for us was neither Christ alone, nor God alone, but God in Christ. He was truly and fully both God and man. He was uniquely qualified to represent both God and mankind on our behalf in bringing about redemption and restoration. Only Jesus could truly bring shalom to us. Let's continue by looking further at how practical Our Experience Of Peace can be. Through Christ, God has reconciled everything. He has made peace with everything in heaven and on earth. What does that include? There are few things that the New Testament talks about consistently. First, as we were just highlighting: ● Through Jesus - we can experience peace with God Last weekend, Michael shared a bit from Romans, ch 5, which begins this way: We have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Romans 5:1 Romans 5 details how our identity markers can all be turned on their heads. ● Ungodly sinners become full of goodness and righteousness ● Enemies of God are now welcomed into God's family & called his friends ● Those who were once alienated from God have now been drawn near ● We can have peace with God because of what Jesus has done for us. Let this sink in for a moment... these aren't just bits of religious theory. These can be very real experiences in life. ● Imagine never questioning if you are loved. ● Imagine the strength that you can draw upon, because you "know in your knower" that the God of the universe is for you and not against you ● Imagine embracing that what you've done wrong, really can be forgiven. ● Imagine the confidence you can live with, as you learn to run to God in your weakness and brokenness, rather than hiding from him in shame. Friends, there is tangible substance to this. These experiences are real and transformative. The New Testament also details that... ● Through Jesus - we can experience peace within ourselves This passage from Philippians 4 is one that I return to over and over, as I seek to experience more of God's peace in my life. Would you read these couple verses aloud with me? Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 Real peace is something that we long for. What if... the things we read in Philippians 4 could become more practically true in our lives? ● What if... when a wave of stress comes over you this week, you brought that to God in prayer rather than stewing in worry? ● What if you learned to boldly ask God for what you need, instead of relying on your limited inner resources? ● What if God's peace could become a guard around your heart and mind... helping protect you from the pressures and brokenness of this world? There is a subjective quality to this, but I know in my life - I can't deny the tangible experiences I've had of God's peace and the difference that has made. ● Last week, my wife Andrea was sharing with our Wednesday night group how God met us with his supernatural peace in the aftermath of our first daughter dying. The grief was so heavy, but God's peace and presence weighed even more, sustaining us through our darkest days. ● I was thinking again recently about receiving the diagnosis several years ago that I had a tumor that was going to require neurosurgery to remove. ● Add to that the roller coaster of raising kids into young adulthood, the rigors of pastoral ministry over a couple decades, and taking some pretty big risks along the way. ● We've had so many great things happen over the years - and countless times when we desperately needed an infusion of God's peace to get us through. We've found God to be so faithful. It's my prayer today... if you are facing things that seem beyond your control or pain that feels overwhelming - even in those difficult places - I pray that you will experience God pouring His supernatural peace into your hearts as you look to Him. Here's another promise we have about peace being made new. ● Through Jesus - we can experience peace with others In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul spends quite a bit of time detailing how Jesus' work on the cross can bring people together that were previously at odds. In their day, the big divide was between Jews and Gentiles. But this truth can be applied to any kind of relationship. Listen to this from Ephesians 2 You who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace. He has made us both one... and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility. Ephesians 2:13-14 Jesus steps right into our divisions and makes reconciliation possible. And then (amazingly) he invites us to be agents of that peace as we relate to others. What does that look like? 2 thoughts come to mind. First... ● Remember when we talked about how shalom is not merely the absence of conflict, but things being restored to wholeness, to completeness? ○ At times, there is a real need for "creative provocation." Sometimes, to bring about peace, we have to deliberately provoke tension. ● There are instances where we have to upset the status quo - and bring the unhealthy items of a dysfunctional relationship or system to the surface. ● As challenging as this is to our Northern Minnesota culture - sometimes being an agitator is the first step needed to achieve true peace. Right along with that... we also want to have a warmth about us as we seek to create peace between us and others. We can become conduits of peace. Here's an illustration that drove this truth home to me recently. ● One of the remodeling items we've done during Covid was to have some pieces of remnant countertop cut to go on top of our radiators. Our cats love it - the heat comes on and they lay there all day! ● Think about this: by themselves, the toppers are just cold hard stones. ○ But, when placed properly, they radiate a wonderful warmth that brings comfort. That's a lot like us, isn't it? In ourselves, we can't manufacture supernatural peace. But, we can be conduits of peace as we get into contact with God. ● This is one reason why our personal time with Jesus can be so powerful ● As you spend those moments with the Lord, it's like setting your spiritual thermostat... You warm up to the day and receive something real from God that you can radiate to others. Okay - one last item. We can experience peace, because... ● Through Jesus - everything in creation will be set right (eventually) With so much brokenness in the world, it is easy to grow weary. But, when we remember how this story is going to end, we can be renewed in our experience of peace. Look again at a passage Michael kicked our Advent series off with last Sunday. Revelation 21. 1 Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Revelation 21:3-5 Historically, Advent is not only a time to look back at the birth of Jesus. It's also a time to look forward and anticipate Jesus' second coming. ● the time when everything in creation will be made whole. Right now... there is still so much pain around us. We ache and groan because things aren't yet the way they are supposed to be. Just think back to the news headlines of this past week. There is so much that still needs to be made whole. And yet - there is an expectant hope that we can grasp onto. This season of waiting isn't meant to be a time to hunker down in fear, holding on for dear life until Jesus returns. No, we can actually pray for those future realities to become more present right now. We pray... ● Let your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ● Lord, I believe that everything is going to be made new someday... could that be more of our experience right here, today? Shalom graphic... ● God's promise: to complete, to make whole, to reconcile everything through what Christ has done. ● Any item that is missing or out of alignment... is a place that we can ask God to pour in his supernatural peace. ● Let's look to him right now to do that in our lives. Have them stand... introduce ministry time - In just a few moments... we're going to have prayer available up front - Describe that. - We're also going to respond to God in worship. - "Jesus is first in everything..." as an invitation into worship, following up on last week. - Sing your way into God's presence. - Coming in alignment with these truths... experience the peace that comes with that. Prayer items: - Aligning yourself to Jesus as first in everything - Where are you wanting to know more of God's peace in your life? - Shalom of completeness, wholeness? - The core idea is that life is complex, full of moving parts and relationships and situations, and when any of these is out of alignment or missing, your shalom breaks down. Life is no longer whole. It needs to be restored. - Radiating his peace in different contexts: name them - Healing prayer?