December 8, 2024 • 43 mins
Discover the profound promise of peace that transcends life's chaos and personal struggles. Journey with us as we explore the biblical prophecy from Isaiah 9:1-7, promising eternal peace through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. As the holiday season approaches with its whirlwind of demands, find reassurance in knowing that the peace offered by Jesus is not fleeting or conditional but a deep, lasting shalom that brings wholeness to body, soul, and spirit.
Travel back to the Garden of Eden with us to understand the origins of peace and its loss due to sin. Through the teachings of John 14:27 and Isaiah 9, we dive into the promise of divine peace that Jesus left with his followers, a peace that stands firm against the shifting tides of worldly conditions. As we contrast the temporary peace of this world with the enduring peace found in Christ, we look forward to the promise of perfect peace in the future as envisioned in Revelation, offering hope for what is to come.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Isaiah 9, 1 through 7,.
There will be no gloom for herwho is in anguish.
In the former time he broughtinto contempt the land of
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has
(00:21):
made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan,
galilee of the nations.
The people who walked indarkness have seen a great light
, those who dwelt in a land ofdeep darkness.
On them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation.
You have increased its joy.
(00:42):
They rejoice before you, aswith joy at the harvest, as they
are glad when they divide thespoil For the yoke of his burden
and the staff of his shoulder.
The rod of his oppressor youhave broken, as on the day of
Midian, for every boot of thetramping warrior in battle
(01:05):
tumult and every garment ofrolled in blood will be burned
as fuel for the fire.
For unto us a child is born, tous a son is given and the
government shall be upon hisshoulder and his name shall be
called Wonderful Counselor.
Mighty God, everlasting Father,prince of Peace.
(01:28):
Of the increase of hisgovernment and of peace, there
will be no end On the throne ofDavid and over his kingdom, to
establish it and to uphold itwith justice and with
righteousness from this timeforth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hostswill do this.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, during the Advent season we read the
scriptures about peace that haveto do with Christmas.
We sing carols about peacecoming to earth.
We send Christmas cards outthat boast of the peace.
That is part of the Christmasstory.
(02:28):
But if we're honest, how manyknow that this season, during
this season, perhaps more thanany other time of year, peace
seems quite elusive?
I mean, let me just stress youout for a moment.
Between the decorating, hangingof Christmas lights, office
(02:48):
parties, church events, familygatherings, endless shopping,
endless baking, endless cooking,listen, doesn't it seem very
difficult just to find a momentof peace?
Some of you, this morning, youwould give your right arm for
five minutes of peace.
Well, I've come with great news.
(03:12):
Not only will the Lord Jesusgive you five minutes of peace,
beloved, he will give you alifetime, yea, an eternity of
peace.
How many believe that?
Now you may argue when I saythat you, you may say, pastor,
you don't know what I'm goingthrough.
You don't know how difficult itis financially for us right now
(03:36):
.
You don't know what's going onat work.
You don't know what's happeningwith in my children's lives
right now.
You don't know the loss we'veexperienced this year.
You don't know the loss we'veexperienced this year.
You don't know the diagnosisthat I just received, and while
I do not want to diminish thepain that you are going through,
I don't want to make light ofthe tragedies of your life.
(03:59):
I will say to you as much as toanybody else Jesus' peace is
available for you today.
You can walk out of here todayin perfect peace.
See the English word peacesimply means the absence of
conflict or despair.
But when the Bible talks aboutpeace it uses a wonderful kind
(04:25):
of loaded Hebrew word.
Anybody know it Shalom, and itcan mean the absence of conflict
.
But it means way more than that.
Shalom is not just about what'sabsent, but what is better and
present in its place.
The word shalom means wholeness, it means completeness, it is
(04:50):
to be whole body, soul andspirit, and the good news is
that the Prince of Shalom hascome.
(05:14):
In John 14 27 we read aboutpeace now.
To be sure, again in Advent welook back to Christ's first
coming and we look ahead to hissecond coming.
And when Jesus returns, we seethis in isaiah 9.
Before I get to john 14, let mejust read this or so in chat.
In verse 7 he says isaiah saysof christ, the, the increase of
his government and of peacethere will be no end on the
throne of david and over hiskingdom, to establish it, to
(05:37):
uphold it with justice andrighteousness, from this time
forth and forever more.
The zeal of the Lord will dothis.
Isaiah is talking about, firstof all, the Prince of Peace
coming to the earth, but then helooks ahead to another coming
of Christ, in which perfectpeace will come upon the world.
(05:59):
I just challenge you to go readRevelation 21 and 22.
Talking about the new heavensand new earth, the day when the
Lord returns and we receive ourglorified bodies.
Anybody looking forward to thatBeloved?
There's a day of perfect peacecoming, where perfect justice
will come to the earth, whereGod will reign holy and fully.
(06:21):
Sin will be eradicated.
Every tear will be wiped fromyour eye, there will be no more
pain.
Sin will be eradicated.
Every tear will be wiped fromyour eye.
There will be no more pain,there will be no more sickness,
there will be no more death.
And so we cry even so.
Come quickly, lord Jesus, amen.
So perfect peace is going tocome, but right now, while we're
(06:42):
waiting that that peace hasn'tcome yet, but while we're
waiting, we can haveunbelievable peace, unbelievable
shalom in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So now let me take you to John14, 27.
Jesus says to his disciplespeace, I leave with you.
My peace I give with you.
(07:03):
My peace I give to you Now.
I think that promise is for youtoday.
The Lord left his peace for you.
His peace he'll give to you Now.
Watch what he says.
Not as the world.
(07:31):
What's he mean there?
Listen to me.
Worldly peace is based on yourcircumstances.
That means when things aregoing well in your life and
there's no conflict, it's like,how often does that happen?
If there's no conflict in yourlife, no despair, then you've
got peace.
But the moment somethingchanges, with one phone call,
(07:57):
your life can change, yourcircumstances can change and if
you're depending on the worldlypeace, then that peace will flee
in that moment.
But Jesus says that's not thekind of peace I'm giving you.
Jesus said my peace is not likethe world.
In other words, his peace, hisshalom, transcends circumstances
(08:21):
.
That means that no matter whatyou're going through, you can
experience the peace of Christ.
So let me say it like this.
I'd love for you to write thisdown the peace that is available
to believers now is not aboutthe absence of problems.
It's about the presence ofJesus.
Do we have that on the screen?
I think we do.
(08:41):
It's about the presence ofJesus.
Do we have that on the screen?
I think we do, maybe not,that's all right.
Let me say it one more time thepeace that is available to
believers now.
It is not about the absence ofproblems, but it is about the
presence of Jesus Christ.
(09:01):
That peace for every one of you, that peace is available to you
today.
Well, I want to ask a questiontoday and try to answer it.
Why is the world void of peace?
It's a big problem for peoplewho do not believe in God or do
(09:22):
not trust God will not come tothe Lord Jesus Christ, because
they argue, if God is good, thenwhy is there so much chaos in
the world?
If God is all-powerful, why isthe world in such disarray?
Well, to understand that wehave to go back on a little
journey to the very first pagesof your Bible.
(09:42):
So if you would go with me tothe book of Genesis let's just
have some fun with this Goddesigned the world to be a world
of peace.
In the first two pages of yourBible, you will see the world,
you'll get an idea of the worldthat God designed, number one in
(10:06):
the creation account.
There was peace in the Garden ofEden between God and man.
Look with me at chapter 1,verses 27 and 28.
God created man in his ownimage.
In the image of God, he createdhim Male and female.
(10:27):
He created them In verse justthe first part of 28,.
And God blessed them.
Listen, adam and Eve were ableto be in the full presence of
God in the Garden of Eden.
They were able to walk with himin the cool of the garden and
they were able to converse withhim, and God blessed them.
(10:47):
There was perfect peace betweenGod and man In the Garden of
Eden.
There was also inner peace forAdam and Eve.
Look at chapter 2, verse 24 ofGenesis verses.
(11:11):
Therefore, a man shall leavehis father and mother and hold
fast to his wife and shallbecome one flesh.
Back up one verse when God madeEve out of Adam.
Here's what Adam said in verse23.
This at last, like he's sohappy at last is bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh.
She should be called womanbecause she was taken out of man
(11:33):
.
God made a help meet for Adamand listen, beloved.
Imagine this a marriage withoutany conflict.
There was no tension, there wasno arguing, there was no
nagging.
Come on somebody Glenn is nothere this morning.
(11:58):
Glenn, if you're watchingonline, we'll pray for Bill
before he leaves today and we'llpray for Bill before he leaves
today.
So there was peace in the garden.
There was peace between God andman, peace between excuse me,
adam and Eve had inner peace.
I just totally messed that up.
I'm glad I stopped here.
There was inner peace.
(12:18):
Look again at verse 224.
So I totally I wrote down thisverse wrong, but anyways, let's
just say this.
Somebody can find oh, here itis Verse 25.
The man and his wife were bothnaked and not ashamed.
So Adam and Eve had no shame,no guilt.
(12:38):
Did you ever feel guilty?
Wish you'd been a better father, better mother, better husband,
better wife, better Christian,better pastor, better worker.
Adam and Eve in the garden,they had no shame, they had
inner peace.
And then, as I've already said,they had peace with one another
.
My point is this that Genesis 1and 2 paint a beautiful picture
(13:02):
of the world.
God created a world of peace,void of darkness.
That's pages 1 and 2 of abeautiful picture of the world.
God created a world of peace,void of darkness.
That's pages 1 and 2 of yourBible, but then page 3, it
doesn't take long for man tomess it up, does it?
So sin, man's sin, robbed theworld of peace.
The world is broken.
(13:24):
The world has darkness,wickedness, malevolence, because
of sin.
It's the greatest problem.
Adam and Eve disobeyed in thegarden.
The Lord had told them not toeat of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, and yet theydecided to be, to disobey, to
listen to the serpent whisperingin their ears.
(13:45):
They decided to, at that moment, become their own gods, to make
their own decisions, to ruletheir own lives, and it cost
them and us dearly.
That choice broke man'srelationship with God.
Go with me now to chapter 3,page or, excuse me, verse 8.
And they heard the sound of theLord of God walking in the
(14:08):
garden in the cool of day, andthe man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence ofGod.
Do you get this?
What's happening?
They were with the Lord, godwas blessing them, they were
able to commune with him and allof a sudden, because of sin,
they hid themselves from theLord, because sin has caused a
(14:32):
chasm between man and our holyGod.
That decision to sin causedAdam and Eve to forfeit inner
peace.
3, verse 7, chapter 3, verse 7,their eyes were both open and
(14:52):
they knew that they were naked.
They sold fig leaves togetherand made themselves loincloths.
Adam and Eve were remember.
They were naked and not ashamed.
They had no shame, they wereinnocents.
But now, after sinning, theireyes were opened and they
realized that they are naked.
That's a common nightmare forsomebody right that they're
(15:12):
going to be caught, you know, onstage, and they forgot to put
their clothes on or whatever.
They were so nervous Likethat's a Really what this means.
Nakedness is your mostvulnerable position means
nakedness is your mostvulnerable position.
They become adamantlyvulnerable, exposed and they try
(15:34):
to cover their shame.
They lost their peace.
Then sin broke their humanrelationships.
In chapter 3, verse 12, adamjust throws Eve under the bus,
right, he's like she made me eatthe fruit.
In verse 16, this isinteresting.
God says to Eve your desireshall be contrary to your
(15:56):
husband, but he shall rule overyou.
God made Eve as a helpmate forAdam.
They were supposed to havewhat's called a complementarian
relationship.
God had put the man.
We read this in other parts ofthe scripture, God made man the
head of the wife, but it wasn'tthis domineering leadership.
Man and wife were to complementeach other and work together to
(16:20):
lead their homes and tocultivate the beauty of their
work.
But because of sin here's whatGod says to Eve You're going to
desire to rule your husband andusurp his authority and we see
this all the time today and,husbands, you're not going to
want to gently lead your wife,you're going to want to domineer
her.
Sin has broken relationships.
(16:44):
In chapter 4, cain we know thestory kills Abel.
The bottom line is this why dowe need peace in the world?
Because sin has broughtdarkness and evil and wickedness
upon the land, robbing it ofpeace.
The good news of the Christmasstory is that God was not
(17:08):
content to leave the earth howit was void of peace, because he
said I'm sending in Isaiah.
He said to his people I amsending you a prince of peace
and I'm going to come again andand I'm going to establish my
kingdom of my peace.
(17:29):
There will be no end.
Go with me again to isaiah,chapter 9, to our main text, and
let's just look at verses 1through 3.
But there will be no gloom forher who is in anguish, talking
about the people of God, israel.
In the former time he broughtinto contempt the land of
(17:52):
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter times he's
made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan,
galilee of the nations.
The people who walked indarkness, in other words, void
of peace, they've seen a greatlight.
People who walked in darkness,in other words, void of peace,
they've seen a great light.
Those who dwelt in the land ofdeep darkness on them is a light
(18:13):
shown.
You've multiplied the nation,you've increased its joy.
They rejoice before you, aswith the joy at harvest, as they
were glad when they divide thespoil.
In our text, just to give you aquick background, god's people
are under the threat of Assyria.
It's a nation in disarray.
(18:34):
Their defeat is sure and on theoutside it looks like Israel's
problem is first and foremostAssyria, this tyrant empire.
But it's not.
Their conflict is first andforemost with their God.
So I want you to go back a fewchapters with me in the book of
(18:57):
Isaiah.
Isaiah, chapter 1.
Isaiah, chapter 1.
And look at verse 4.
And look at verse 4.
Isaiah 1, verse 4.
Isaiah writes to the people Osinful nation, a people laden
(19:20):
with iniquity, offspring ofevildoers, children who deal
corruptly.
They have forsaken the Lord.
They have despised the Holy Oneof Israel.
Their main problem wasn'tAssyria.
The reason that Assyria was athreat to them was because of
(19:43):
their sin.
It was judgment from God.
And I'll just say to you todayour biggest threat is not some
Middle Eastern country, it's notChina, it's not Russia.
The biggest threat to ournation is sin.
It's to be in conflict with God, and that is true in your life
as well.
Your greatest problem is theproblem of sin.
(20:07):
The good news is this In thebook of Isaiah, god promises to
end Israel's darkness.
A great light has shone.
The prophecy says and how wouldthis peace come?
Interesting, not through thisgreat military leader who would
come and crush Assyria or crush,in the first century, the Roman
(20:31):
Empire.
It would come, in verse 6,through a baby.
Unto us, a child is born.
Unto us, a son is given.
In verse 7, he calls this child, amongst many things, the
prince of peace.
Verse 7, he calls this child,amongst many things, the prince
of peace.
In Isaiah 53, we see why hesent a child, because his goal
(20:55):
was not to come and conquer Rome, he would come to defeat the
powers of darkness, the powersand principalities, but Jesus
would come to save his peoplefrom their sins.
Isaiah 53 talks of the one whowould come as a suffering
(21:16):
servant and bear the sins of hispeople.
Luke 2,.
After announcing the birth ofChrist to the shepherds, the
angels proclaim famously Gloryto God in the highest and peace
with those whom he's wellpleased.
Beloved, the prince of peacehas come, which means a great
light has broken into thedarkness, which means you and I
can have peace every day.
(21:37):
Through Jesus, we number one,we get peace with God.
I'm going to read for youRomans, chapter 5, verse 1.
Says therefore since we havebeen justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our LordJesus Christ.
Through him, we have obtainedaccess by faith into this grace
(21:58):
in which we stand and we rejoicein the hope of the glory of God
.
Beloved, you and I, like Israel,because of our sin, we were
separated from our holy God,doomed, and there's nothing you
can do to save yourself.
You know so many people thinkyou know, if I want heaven, if I
(22:19):
want eternal life, I've got tojust be a good person.
Well, that would be fine,except you're not a good person,
you can't be good enoughbecause God's standard is his
law and none of us meet God'sperfect standard.
But the good news is this Godsent a baby in a manger to come
to live a perfect life, one whowould bear our sin, bear our
(22:42):
guilt, the suffering, service,the God man who would come and
do for us what we could not dofor ourselves.
Jesus came, jesus died, jesusrose again, and it's only by
grace, through faith in Christ,that you and I can be saved.
In peace, or today in Christ,you can have peace, repent and
(23:05):
be baptized.
Today, come to saving faith inthe Lord Jesus Christ.
Follow him all the days of yourlife and you will get peace
with God.
There's no greater need andthere's no greater blessing.
Through Jesus, we can also haveinner peace.
(23:29):
Matthew 11 28 said jesus makesthis great offer come to me, all
you who are burdened and heavyladen, and I'll give you rest
for your souls.
I hear that and I just want tobreathe in.
Come on, do it with me andbreathe out.
And the hustle and bustle ofthe season.
Today was a stressful morning,wasn't it?
(23:51):
Christy Connor was supposed tocome and lead these songs some
of them and he was ill thismorning and trying to get
everything together.
And here I am preaching onpeace and I just look at these
words Matthew 11, 28,.
Come to me, you who areburdened and heavy laden, and
I'll give you rest for yoursouls.
You know, it's only becauseJesus has made us right with God
(24:17):
that we can have inner peace.
Augustine said it like this ourhearts are restless until they
rest in God.
Peace with God leads to innerpeace.
The world is on a quest forinner peace.
If you type in Google how toget inner peace, it'll come up
with probably billions ofresults at least multi-millions,
but probably billions.
(24:38):
Experts will tell you tobreathe deeply, meditate,
practice mindfulness, do yoga.
But, jerry, as much as you loveyoga, it's not going to work
for you.
(24:58):
I don't care how much yoga.
You could go to a monastery fora full year, you could practice
yoga, you could do mindfulnessextra routines 20 times a day,
but if you don't have the Lord,jesus Christ, in your life, you
will never have lasting innerpeace.
What would it look like in yourlife today if you didn't walk
(25:19):
around in shame for your pastdecisions, for your choices, to
have a cleansed conscience?
It's available to you today.
Jesus also has healed ourrelationship with other people.
You know, it's one of the marksof Christianity our love for
one another.
Jesus said that in John.
He said by this everyone willknow you're my disciples, your
(25:43):
love one for another.
Romans 12, 18,.
As far as it depends on you,live peaceably with all.
We are people of the Spirit andJesus has reconciled us to God
and we are to be reconciled toothers.
We're to have a radical lovefor one another and even we're
to love our enemies.
(26:06):
In Anglicanism, the old historictradition, there's a part of
liturgy that's called thepassing.
It's called passing the peace,and so we call it.
In the modern church we call itmeet and greet.
You remember the meet andgreets?
We don't do that as muchanymore.
Studies have shown like newfolks makes them uncomfortable.
(26:27):
But as I study this out, Ithink we might want to start
this again, because it was aliturgical practice and it was
called Passing the Peace andwhat it was.
Churchgoers would physicallygreet one another during worship
service by shaking hands,hugging, and it was very
purposeful.
(26:47):
It wasn't just to say hi, itwas to signify a moment of
reconciliation with others andto share the peace of Christ
with one another before takingcommunion.
If they had ought with theirbrother, they'd take that time
and say you know what?
I need to address somethingwith you, or I need to ask your
forgiveness for something and itprepared their heart to receive
(27:10):
the Eucharist.
It occurred often after aconfession of sins and
absolution.
You know the Lord wants us tobe reconciled to people right,
we're to be reconcilers and tobe reconciled ourselves.
Through Jesus, we get peacewith God, we get inner peace and
(27:33):
we get peace with others.
Let me just say something realquick and then I'm going to tell
you how you can walk in thispeace, something the Lord just
laid on my heart yesterday as Iwas praying.
You and I remember peace isshalom, wholeness, completeness,
complete body, soul and spirit.
(27:55):
When the Lord returns, he isgoing to bring perfect shalom.
Remember no more sickness, nomore pain, no more sin.
You and I live right now in thestate of the kingdom.
We are in the already, but notyet, state of the kingdom.
Christ has come.
He has inaugurated his kingdomand his peace.
When he comes again, he's goingto consummate his kingdom and
(28:19):
his peace and we're in thein-between.
But we're not to just sit hereand wait to escape the world.
It's not our call.
Yes, we're to cry, come quickly, lord Jesus, but in the
meantime, you and I are to beagents of the kingdom, agents of
peace.
When Jesus went around in hisearthly ministry, every time he
(28:40):
healed the sick, it was aforetaste of the peace to come,
the peace to come.
When Jesus preached the gospel,he was being, at that moment,
an agent of shalom, because thegospel is what makes us whole
and complete.
Every time Jesus fed the hungry, he was acting as an agent of
(29:06):
shalom.
And Jesus said to his disciplesI won't get deep into this
because I preached a wholeseries on it this summer, but in
John, chapter 14, 15, and 16,you'll read that Jesus told his
disciples when I leave, you'regoing to do even greater things
than I'm going to do, and it'snot greater in quality but
greater in quantity.
He says what you've seen me doin quality, but greater in
quantity.
He says what you've seen me do,disciples, you go out and do
(29:29):
the same thing.
And he said in John 15, he saidif you're in me, you're going
to bear fruit.
And what it means to bear fruitis we're going around
continuing the ministry of Jesusthat he did on the earth.
And we are working as agents ofthe kingdom, signposts of the
(29:51):
kingdom to come.
I know there's times that wepray for people and they don't
get healed, but sometimes theydo, and when that happens it's
just a foretaste of the kingdomto come.
It's a foretaste of shalomwholeness that's coming
perfectly one day.
Every time you feed somebody Ithink we're taking jackets,
(30:14):
coats for the homeless right nowyou clothe someone who is cold.
You are working as an agent ofshalom, agent of peace.
That's what you and I are to besignposts of the kingdom to
come.
And the greatest thing we cando is share the gospel, because
(30:36):
that's when people receive thegospel, that's when shalom
really comes, the good news ofJesus.
So sit with that.
That's extra this morning.
But I'll close by just talkingabout how to walk in peace,
because I know many of you havebeen in church a long time and
you're quite aware of theconcept of the peace of God.
(30:57):
But look at me.
Can I ask you an honestquestion?
Is the concept of biblicalpeace a reality in your life, or
are you ridden with anxiety,ridden with worry and fear?
Are you walking in shame, guilt?
(31:19):
So how do you walk in peace?
I just preached about peace inour Fruit of the Spirit series
and I talked about how importantprayer is.
You know, paul in Philippians 4, be anxious for nothing, but in
all things, by prayer andsupplication, let your requests
be known to God.
(31:41):
And he says then the peace ofGod will guard your hearts and
minds in Jesus Christ.
So you got to pray, okay, butthere's something else that I
see in Isaiah, chapter 9, in ourtext, that you're going to have
to grasp if you want to walk inpeace.
Look at verse 6.
We find four names given toJesus.
(32:02):
Let's say them togetherWonderful Counselor, mighty God,
everlasting Father, prince ofPeace.
Now listen to me, don't missthis.
In order for us to experiencepeace, we must receive Christ in
His fullness.
(32:22):
In other words, listen to me,if he is going to be your Prince
of peace, he also must be yourwonderful counselor, your mighty
God, your everlasting father.
Everybody wants his peace, butdo you want his counsel?
Let's just take these quickly,one by one A wonderful counselor
(32:44):
I have people ask me all thetime do I know of a good,
licensed Christian counselor?
And honestly, in this area, forwhatever reason, they're few and
far between.
But I've got great news.
There's a counselor who's notjust good, he's wonderful, and
his name is Jesus.
His counsel will never steeryou in the wrong way, in the
(33:06):
wrong direction.
And listen, you can pray andreceive the counsel of the Lord,
but the main way you in thewrong way, in the wrong
direction.
And listen, you can pray andreceive the counsel of the Lord,
but the main way you receivethe counsel of the Lord is right
here.
If you don't open the Bible,you're not going to know the
counsel of the Lord.
In Psalm 1, 2, it says thisblessed is the man who walks not
in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way.
(33:28):
You've got to read your Bible.
You've got to seek the counselof the Lord.
But watch this, you've got toobey it.
You know I get real frustrated.
I do quite a bit of counselingas a pastor.
I do what's called justbiblical counseling and I'll
(33:51):
have somebody come to me andthey'll have issues, and so
we'll meet for 30 minutes or anhour and I'll give them some
homework and I'll say listen, ifyou do this it'll help and
they'll call me in another week.
Pastor, can I meet with youagain?
Well, sure, and my firstquestion is did you do this?
Don't waste my time Now I'mtrying to think which of you I'm
(34:14):
speaking to.
I can't remember.
Listen.
It's not enough to go to theLord for counsel if you're not
going to listen.
Beloved, he's a wonderfulcounselor and you know sometimes
.
We know what the Bible says,but we think you know times have
(34:35):
changed and I know a little bitbetter.
Let me just give you a reallygood example.
Okay, single people, listen tome.
The Bible says not to beunequally yoked.
That means you don't marry anunbeliever if you're a believer,
which means, by the way, pastorBen and Pastor Jerry back me up
on this you don't marry anunbeliever if you're a believer.
Which means, by the way, pastorBen and Pastor Jerry back me up
on this you don't date anunbeliever.
Yes, you tell your studentsthat all the time.
(34:57):
Right, there's something calledmissionary dating.
You know what it is.
Oh, if I date him or if I dateher, I'll win them to Jesus.
Don't be so sure.
See, in that moment you thinkyou know more than God does and
you say I know what the wordsays, but I'm in love and this
is just different this time.
(35:18):
This is different, like I know.
Generally this isn't good, butit's different and I've seen
this time and time again.
And a believer will marry ordate an unbeliever and it
crushes them because you did notlisten to your wonderful
counselor.
His ways don't seem fairsometimes, they don't seem right
sometimes, but beloved Isaiahsays in another part that his
(35:41):
ways are what Higher than ourways and his thoughts above our
thoughts.
He knows what you do not know,so seek the Lord.
The steps of a good man areordered of the Lord.
So you want his peace, take hiscounsel.
Secondly, he's got to be mightyGod.
He's got to be mighty God.
We're reminded here of thedeity of Christ.
(36:03):
He wasn't just a child in amanger.
He was, by the way, fully human.
We shouldn't sing the song awayin the manger because it's got
some really bad lyrics in there.
Some of you are freaked outright now.
No, crying he makes.
He was human.
Babies communicate by crying.
It's not a sin for a baby tocry.
(36:24):
Jesus cried.
Jesus cried.
He was fully human.
But that was not just a fullyhuman baby.
That little child in the mangerwas fully man, but fully God.
Amen.
He is mighty God.
Here's what that means.
(36:45):
You don't just go to Jesus forcounsel.
You make him the center of yourlife.
You know so many people.
They want to keep on livingtheir lives the same way and
they just want to tack on Jesusto their lives.
But if you want his peace,beloved, he's got to be your,
everything In him.
(37:07):
Acts says we live and we moveand we have our being.
It's all about Jesus.
It's not somewhat about Jesus.
He's not part of your life, heis your life.
If he's your savior, he's it.
So you got to structure yourlife around Jesus.
And then finally he's calledeverlasting father.
Now, this is not to muddy thewaters of the triune God the
(37:27):
Trinity.
You have God the father.
You have God the son.
You have God the Holy Spirit.
You have God the Father.
You have God the Son.
You have God the Holy Spirit.
So that's not the point here.
Jesus is not God the Father,god the Father is God the Father
.
All right, you confused whenIsaiah calls Jesus everlasting
Father.
Here the point is he's tenderlike a father, he's loving like
(37:52):
a father, which means this If wewant peace, we've got to trust
him.
You know, when my kids wereyoung I would say to them Son,
just trust me.
Just trust me.
If there was a storm outsideand they felt unsafe, baby, come
here, sit in my lap, just trustme, I'll protect you Through
many Dangerous toils and snares.
(38:15):
We will come.
But you can trust the Lordthrough it all.
He's not just a mighty God tobe served, he's like a tender
father who can be trusted.
Trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's noother way to be happy in Jesus
(38:37):
but to trust and obey.
Isaiah 26.3 says you will keephim in perfect peace, whose mind
is stayed on you because hetrusts you.
You trust the Lord today.
You trust the Lord today.
If you want the peace of Jesus,you must go to Him for counsel.
(38:59):
You've got to center your lifearound Him and you've got to
trust Him.
I will close, dean, if youdon't mind coming to the keys.
I'll close with a story that Iactually used when I did talk
about peace several weeks ago,but it's a story worth repeating
and, by the way, I printedsomething from Pastor Ron's hymn
(39:23):
book that he published.
It's got some of the words, thegreatest hymns, in it and it's
got stories behind the hymns,and so that's available on
Amazon.
It's a great, great resourceand beautiful book.
So I want to tell a story thatRon tells in there that you've
heard me speak about before.
(39:45):
It's about a guy by the name ofHoratio Spafford, 1828 to 1888.
1828 to 1888, horatio marriedAnna Spafford as a young man and
they had five children, fourgirls and one boy.
Horatio, he was a businessman,he was a senior partner in a law
(40:06):
firm, he owned a lot of realestate there in Chicago.
He loved the Lord and he was afriend and strong supporter of
the evangelist DL Moody, and hislife went quickly from one of
prosperity to one of greattragedy, beginning in 1870.
(40:27):
It was that year that HoratioSpafford lost his only son, who
was only four years old at thetime.
A year later, in 1871, tragedystruck again when the Chicago
fire took his business.
He lost his real estateholdings.
(40:50):
November 22nd 1873, anotherterrible loss took place for
Horatio and Anna.
The family was planning aholiday and they were going to
attend the DL Moody meetingswhile in London.
So they were going to go fromChicago across the pond to
London, but Horatio was delayedbecause of a business commitment
(41:16):
, and so he sent his wife andfour girls ahead.
So they went on a ship acrossthe sea when it was struck by a
steam liner, killing 226 people.
Anna, in the tragedy, as theship was struck, gathered her
(41:39):
daughters together and theyprayed.
And she somehow Anna, amazinglysurvived.
But her four little girlsdrowned, little girls drowned.
When she arrived to Europe, shesent a wire to Horatio with two
(42:01):
words Saved alone, horatioSpafford got on the next ship,
sailed across the sea to meethis wife and at a certain point
in the water the captain came upto Horatio and dropped anchor
(42:26):
and said this is the spot whereyour four little girls died.
And it is in that spot whereHoratio Spafford penned the
words to the beautiful hymn itIs Well when peace, like a river
, attendeth my way.
When sorrows like sea billowsroll, whatever my lot, thou'st
(42:54):
taught me to say it is well, itis well with my soul.
I hope that your lot is good.
I hope you don't experiencethat level of tragedy.
But I can say today, if you arein Christ, whatever your lot,
you can say today, if you are inChrist, whatever your lot, you
can say it is well, it is wellwith my soul.
(43:18):
The peace of God is availableto you today.
Isaiah 9, 1 through 7,.
There will be no gloom for herwho is in anguish.
In the former time he broughtinto contempt the land of
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has
(00:21):
made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan,
galilee of the nations.
The people who walked indarkness have seen a great light
, those who dwelt in a land ofdeep darkness.
On them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation.
You have increased its joy.
(00:42):
They rejoice before you, aswith joy at the harvest, as they
are glad when they divide thespoil For the yoke of his burden
and the staff of his shoulder.
The rod of his oppressor youhave broken, as on the day of
Midian, for every boot of thetramping warrior in battle
(01:05):
tumult and every garment ofrolled in blood will be burned
as fuel for the fire.
For unto us a child is born, tous a son is given and the
government shall be upon hisshoulder and his name shall be
called Wonderful Counselor.
Mighty God, everlasting Father,prince of Peace.
(01:28):
Of the increase of hisgovernment and of peace, there
will be no end On the throne ofDavid and over his kingdom, to
establish it and to uphold itwith justice and with
righteousness from this timeforth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hostswill do this.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, during the Advent season we read the
scriptures about peace that haveto do with Christmas.
We sing carols about peacecoming to earth.
We send Christmas cards outthat boast of the peace.
That is part of the Christmasstory.
(02:28):
But if we're honest, how manyknow that this season, during
this season, perhaps more thanany other time of year, peace
seems quite elusive?
I mean, let me just stress youout for a moment.
Between the decorating, hangingof Christmas lights, office
(02:48):
parties, church events, familygatherings, endless shopping,
endless baking, endless cooking,listen, doesn't it seem very
difficult just to find a momentof peace?
Some of you, this morning, youwould give your right arm for
five minutes of peace.
Well, I've come with great news.
(03:12):
Not only will the Lord Jesusgive you five minutes of peace,
beloved, he will give you alifetime, yea, an eternity of
peace.
How many believe that?
Now you may argue when I saythat you, you may say, pastor,
you don't know what I'm goingthrough.
You don't know how difficult itis financially for us right now
(03:36):
.
You don't know what's going onat work.
You don't know what's happeningwith in my children's lives
right now.
You don't know the loss we'veexperienced this year.
You don't know the loss we'veexperienced this year.
You don't know the diagnosisthat I just received, and while
I do not want to diminish thepain that you are going through,
I don't want to make light ofthe tragedies of your life.
(03:59):
I will say to you as much as toanybody else Jesus' peace is
available for you today.
You can walk out of here todayin perfect peace.
See the English word peacesimply means the absence of
conflict or despair.
But when the Bible talks aboutpeace it uses a wonderful kind
(04:25):
of loaded Hebrew word.
Anybody know it Shalom, and itcan mean the absence of conflict
.
But it means way more than that.
Shalom is not just about what'sabsent, but what is better and
present in its place.
The word shalom means wholeness, it means completeness, it is
(04:50):
to be whole body, soul andspirit, and the good news is
that the Prince of Shalom hascome.
(05:14):
In John 14 27 we read aboutpeace now.
To be sure, again in Advent welook back to Christ's first
coming and we look ahead to hissecond coming.
And when Jesus returns, we seethis in isaiah 9.
Before I get to john 14, let mejust read this or so in chat.
In verse 7 he says isaiah saysof christ, the, the increase of
his government and of peacethere will be no end on the
throne of david and over hiskingdom, to establish it, to
(05:37):
uphold it with justice andrighteousness, from this time
forth and forever more.
The zeal of the Lord will dothis.
Isaiah is talking about, firstof all, the Prince of Peace
coming to the earth, but then helooks ahead to another coming
of Christ, in which perfectpeace will come upon the world.
(05:59):
I just challenge you to go readRevelation 21 and 22.
Talking about the new heavensand new earth, the day when the
Lord returns and we receive ourglorified bodies.
Anybody looking forward to thatBeloved?
There's a day of perfect peacecoming, where perfect justice
will come to the earth, whereGod will reign holy and fully.
(06:21):
Sin will be eradicated.
Every tear will be wiped fromyour eye, there will be no more
pain.
Sin will be eradicated.
Every tear will be wiped fromyour eye.
There will be no more pain,there will be no more sickness,
there will be no more death.
And so we cry even so.
Come quickly, lord Jesus, amen.
So perfect peace is going tocome, but right now, while we're
(06:42):
waiting that that peace hasn'tcome yet, but while we're
waiting, we can haveunbelievable peace, unbelievable
shalom in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So now let me take you to John14, 27.
Jesus says to his disciplespeace, I leave with you.
My peace I give with you.
(07:03):
My peace I give to you Now.
I think that promise is for youtoday.
The Lord left his peace for you.
His peace he'll give to you Now.
Watch what he says.
Not as the world.
(07:31):
What's he mean there?
Listen to me.
Worldly peace is based on yourcircumstances.
That means when things aregoing well in your life and
there's no conflict, it's like,how often does that happen?
If there's no conflict in yourlife, no despair, then you've
got peace.
But the moment somethingchanges, with one phone call,
(07:57):
your life can change, yourcircumstances can change and if
you're depending on the worldlypeace, then that peace will flee
in that moment.
But Jesus says that's not thekind of peace I'm giving you.
Jesus said my peace is not likethe world.
In other words, his peace, hisshalom, transcends circumstances
(08:21):
.
That means that no matter whatyou're going through, you can
experience the peace of Christ.
So let me say it like this.
I'd love for you to write thisdown the peace that is available
to believers now is not aboutthe absence of problems.
It's about the presence ofJesus.
Do we have that on the screen?
I think we do.
(08:41):
It's about the presence ofJesus.
Do we have that on the screen?
I think we do, maybe not,that's all right.
Let me say it one more time thepeace that is available to
believers now.
It is not about the absence ofproblems, but it is about the
presence of Jesus Christ.
(09:01):
That peace for every one of you, that peace is available to you
today.
Well, I want to ask a questiontoday and try to answer it.
Why is the world void of peace?
It's a big problem for peoplewho do not believe in God or do
(09:22):
not trust God will not come tothe Lord Jesus Christ, because
they argue, if God is good, thenwhy is there so much chaos in
the world?
If God is all-powerful, why isthe world in such disarray?
Well, to understand that wehave to go back on a little
journey to the very first pagesof your Bible.
(09:42):
So if you would go with me tothe book of Genesis let's just
have some fun with this Goddesigned the world to be a world
of peace.
In the first two pages of yourBible, you will see the world,
you'll get an idea of the worldthat God designed, number one in
(10:06):
the creation account.
There was peace in the Garden ofEden between God and man.
Look with me at chapter 1,verses 27 and 28.
God created man in his ownimage.
In the image of God, he createdhim Male and female.
(10:27):
He created them In verse justthe first part of 28,.
And God blessed them.
Listen, adam and Eve were ableto be in the full presence of
God in the Garden of Eden.
They were able to walk with himin the cool of the garden and
they were able to converse withhim, and God blessed them.
(10:47):
There was perfect peace betweenGod and man In the Garden of
Eden.
There was also inner peace forAdam and Eve.
Look at chapter 2, verse 24 ofGenesis verses.
(11:11):
Therefore, a man shall leavehis father and mother and hold
fast to his wife and shallbecome one flesh.
Back up one verse when God madeEve out of Adam.
Here's what Adam said in verse23.
This at last, like he's sohappy at last is bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh.
She should be called womanbecause she was taken out of man
(11:33):
.
God made a help meet for Adamand listen, beloved.
Imagine this a marriage withoutany conflict.
There was no tension, there wasno arguing, there was no
nagging.
Come on somebody Glenn is nothere this morning.
(11:58):
Glenn, if you're watchingonline, we'll pray for Bill
before he leaves today and we'llpray for Bill before he leaves
today.
So there was peace in the garden.
There was peace between God andman, peace between excuse me,
adam and Eve had inner peace.
I just totally messed that up.
I'm glad I stopped here.
There was inner peace.
(12:18):
Look again at verse 224.
So I totally I wrote down thisverse wrong, but anyways, let's
just say this.
Somebody can find oh, here itis Verse 25.
The man and his wife were bothnaked and not ashamed.
So Adam and Eve had no shame,no guilt.
(12:38):
Did you ever feel guilty?
Wish you'd been a better father, better mother, better husband,
better wife, better Christian,better pastor, better worker.
Adam and Eve in the garden,they had no shame, they had
inner peace.
And then, as I've already said,they had peace with one another
.
My point is this that Genesis 1and 2 paint a beautiful picture
(13:02):
of the world.
God created a world of peace,void of darkness.
That's pages 1 and 2 of abeautiful picture of the world.
God created a world of peace,void of darkness.
That's pages 1 and 2 of yourBible, but then page 3, it
doesn't take long for man tomess it up, does it?
So sin, man's sin, robbed theworld of peace.
The world is broken.
(13:24):
The world has darkness,wickedness, malevolence, because
of sin.
It's the greatest problem.
Adam and Eve disobeyed in thegarden.
The Lord had told them not toeat of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, and yet theydecided to be, to disobey, to
listen to the serpent whisperingin their ears.
(13:45):
They decided to, at that moment, become their own gods, to make
their own decisions, to ruletheir own lives, and it cost
them and us dearly.
That choice broke man'srelationship with God.
Go with me now to chapter 3,page or, excuse me, verse 8.
And they heard the sound of theLord of God walking in the
(14:08):
garden in the cool of day, andthe man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence ofGod.
Do you get this?
What's happening?
They were with the Lord, godwas blessing them, they were
able to commune with him and allof a sudden, because of sin,
they hid themselves from theLord, because sin has caused a
(14:32):
chasm between man and our holyGod.
That decision to sin causedAdam and Eve to forfeit inner
peace.
3, verse 7, chapter 3, verse 7,their eyes were both open and
(14:52):
they knew that they were naked.
They sold fig leaves togetherand made themselves loincloths.
Adam and Eve were remember.
They were naked and not ashamed.
They had no shame, they wereinnocents.
But now, after sinning, theireyes were opened and they
realized that they are naked.
That's a common nightmare forsomebody right that they're
(15:12):
going to be caught, you know, onstage, and they forgot to put
their clothes on or whatever.
They were so nervous Likethat's a Really what this means.
Nakedness is your mostvulnerable position means
nakedness is your mostvulnerable position.
They become adamantlyvulnerable, exposed and they try
(15:34):
to cover their shame.
They lost their peace.
Then sin broke their humanrelationships.
In chapter 3, verse 12, adamjust throws Eve under the bus,
right, he's like she made me eatthe fruit.
In verse 16, this isinteresting.
God says to Eve your desireshall be contrary to your
(15:56):
husband, but he shall rule overyou.
God made Eve as a helpmate forAdam.
They were supposed to havewhat's called a complementarian
relationship.
God had put the man.
We read this in other parts ofthe scripture, God made man the
head of the wife, but it wasn'tthis domineering leadership.
Man and wife were to complementeach other and work together to
(16:20):
lead their homes and tocultivate the beauty of their
work.
But because of sin here's whatGod says to Eve You're going to
desire to rule your husband andusurp his authority and we see
this all the time today and,husbands, you're not going to
want to gently lead your wife,you're going to want to domineer
her.
Sin has broken relationships.
(16:44):
In chapter 4, cain we know thestory kills Abel.
The bottom line is this why dowe need peace in the world?
Because sin has broughtdarkness and evil and wickedness
upon the land, robbing it ofpeace.
The good news of the Christmasstory is that God was not
(17:08):
content to leave the earth howit was void of peace, because he
said I'm sending in Isaiah.
He said to his people I amsending you a prince of peace
and I'm going to come again andand I'm going to establish my
kingdom of my peace.
(17:29):
There will be no end.
Go with me again to isaiah,chapter 9, to our main text, and
let's just look at verses 1through 3.
But there will be no gloom forher who is in anguish, talking
about the people of God, israel.
In the former time he broughtinto contempt the land of
(17:52):
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter times he's
made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan,
galilee of the nations.
The people who walked indarkness, in other words, void
of peace, they've seen a greatlight.
People who walked in darkness,in other words, void of peace,
they've seen a great light.
Those who dwelt in the land ofdeep darkness on them is a light
(18:13):
shown.
You've multiplied the nation,you've increased its joy.
They rejoice before you, aswith the joy at harvest, as they
were glad when they divide thespoil.
In our text, just to give you aquick background, god's people
are under the threat of Assyria.
It's a nation in disarray.
(18:34):
Their defeat is sure and on theoutside it looks like Israel's
problem is first and foremostAssyria, this tyrant empire.
But it's not.
Their conflict is first andforemost with their God.
So I want you to go back a fewchapters with me in the book of
(18:57):
Isaiah.
Isaiah, chapter 1.
Isaiah, chapter 1.
And look at verse 4.
And look at verse 4.
Isaiah 1, verse 4.
Isaiah writes to the people Osinful nation, a people laden
(19:20):
with iniquity, offspring ofevildoers, children who deal
corruptly.
They have forsaken the Lord.
They have despised the Holy Oneof Israel.
Their main problem wasn'tAssyria.
The reason that Assyria was athreat to them was because of
(19:43):
their sin.
It was judgment from God.
And I'll just say to you todayour biggest threat is not some
Middle Eastern country, it's notChina, it's not Russia.
The biggest threat to ournation is sin.
It's to be in conflict with God, and that is true in your life
as well.
Your greatest problem is theproblem of sin.
(20:07):
The good news is this In thebook of Isaiah, god promises to
end Israel's darkness.
A great light has shone.
The prophecy says and how wouldthis peace come?
Interesting, not through thisgreat military leader who would
come and crush Assyria or crush,in the first century, the Roman
(20:31):
Empire.
It would come, in verse 6,through a baby.
Unto us, a child is born.
Unto us, a son is given.
In verse 7, he calls this child, amongst many things, the
prince of peace.
Verse 7, he calls this child,amongst many things, the prince
of peace.
In Isaiah 53, we see why hesent a child, because his goal
(20:55):
was not to come and conquer Rome, he would come to defeat the
powers of darkness, the powersand principalities, but Jesus
would come to save his peoplefrom their sins.
Isaiah 53 talks of the one whowould come as a suffering
(21:16):
servant and bear the sins of hispeople.
Luke 2,.
After announcing the birth ofChrist to the shepherds, the
angels proclaim famously Gloryto God in the highest and peace
with those whom he's wellpleased.
Beloved, the prince of peacehas come, which means a great
light has broken into thedarkness, which means you and I
can have peace every day.
(21:37):
Through Jesus, we number one,we get peace with God.
I'm going to read for youRomans, chapter 5, verse 1.
Says therefore since we havebeen justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our LordJesus Christ.
Through him, we have obtainedaccess by faith into this grace
(21:58):
in which we stand and we rejoicein the hope of the glory of God
.
Beloved, you and I, like Israel,because of our sin, we were
separated from our holy God,doomed, and there's nothing you
can do to save yourself.
You know so many people thinkyou know, if I want heaven, if I
(22:19):
want eternal life, I've got tojust be a good person.
Well, that would be fine,except you're not a good person,
you can't be good enoughbecause God's standard is his
law and none of us meet God'sperfect standard.
But the good news is this Godsent a baby in a manger to come
to live a perfect life, one whowould bear our sin, bear our
(22:42):
guilt, the suffering, service,the God man who would come and
do for us what we could not dofor ourselves.
Jesus came, jesus died, jesusrose again, and it's only by
grace, through faith in Christ,that you and I can be saved.
In peace, or today in Christ,you can have peace, repent and
(23:05):
be baptized.
Today, come to saving faith inthe Lord Jesus Christ.
Follow him all the days of yourlife and you will get peace
with God.
There's no greater need andthere's no greater blessing.
Through Jesus, we can also haveinner peace.
(23:29):
Matthew 11 28 said jesus makesthis great offer come to me, all
you who are burdened and heavyladen, and I'll give you rest
for your souls.
I hear that and I just want tobreathe in.
Come on, do it with me andbreathe out.
And the hustle and bustle ofthe season.
Today was a stressful morning,wasn't it?
(23:51):
Christy Connor was supposed tocome and lead these songs some
of them and he was ill thismorning and trying to get
everything together.
And here I am preaching onpeace and I just look at these
words Matthew 11, 28,.
Come to me, you who areburdened and heavy laden, and
I'll give you rest for yoursouls.
You know, it's only becauseJesus has made us right with God
(24:17):
that we can have inner peace.
Augustine said it like this ourhearts are restless until they
rest in God.
Peace with God leads to innerpeace.
The world is on a quest forinner peace.
If you type in Google how toget inner peace, it'll come up
with probably billions ofresults at least multi-millions,
but probably billions.
(24:38):
Experts will tell you tobreathe deeply, meditate,
practice mindfulness, do yoga.
But, jerry, as much as you loveyoga, it's not going to work
for you.
(24:58):
I don't care how much yoga.
You could go to a monastery fora full year, you could practice
yoga, you could do mindfulnessextra routines 20 times a day,
but if you don't have the Lord,jesus Christ, in your life, you
will never have lasting innerpeace.
What would it look like in yourlife today if you didn't walk
(25:19):
around in shame for your pastdecisions, for your choices, to
have a cleansed conscience?
It's available to you today.
Jesus also has healed ourrelationship with other people.
You know, it's one of the marksof Christianity our love for
one another.
Jesus said that in John.
He said by this everyone willknow you're my disciples, your
(25:43):
love one for another.
Romans 12, 18,.
As far as it depends on you,live peaceably with all.
We are people of the Spirit andJesus has reconciled us to God
and we are to be reconciled toothers.
We're to have a radical lovefor one another and even we're
to love our enemies.
(26:06):
In Anglicanism, the old historictradition, there's a part of
liturgy that's called thepassing.
It's called passing the peace,and so we call it.
In the modern church we call itmeet and greet.
You remember the meet andgreets?
We don't do that as muchanymore.
Studies have shown like newfolks makes them uncomfortable.
(26:27):
But as I study this out, Ithink we might want to start
this again, because it was aliturgical practice and it was
called Passing the Peace andwhat it was.
Churchgoers would physicallygreet one another during worship
service by shaking hands,hugging, and it was very
purposeful.
(26:47):
It wasn't just to say hi, itwas to signify a moment of
reconciliation with others andto share the peace of Christ
with one another before takingcommunion.
If they had ought with theirbrother, they'd take that time
and say you know what?
I need to address somethingwith you, or I need to ask your
forgiveness for something and itprepared their heart to receive
(27:10):
the Eucharist.
It occurred often after aconfession of sins and
absolution.
You know the Lord wants us tobe reconciled to people right,
we're to be reconcilers and tobe reconciled ourselves.
Through Jesus, we get peacewith God, we get inner peace and
(27:33):
we get peace with others.
Let me just say something realquick and then I'm going to tell
you how you can walk in thispeace, something the Lord just
laid on my heart yesterday as Iwas praying.
You and I remember peace isshalom, wholeness, completeness,
complete body, soul and spirit.
(27:55):
When the Lord returns, he isgoing to bring perfect shalom.
Remember no more sickness, nomore pain, no more sin.
You and I live right now in thestate of the kingdom.
We are in the already, but notyet, state of the kingdom.
Christ has come.
He has inaugurated his kingdomand his peace.
When he comes again, he's goingto consummate his kingdom and
(28:19):
his peace and we're in thein-between.
But we're not to just sit hereand wait to escape the world.
It's not our call.
Yes, we're to cry, come quickly, lord Jesus, but in the
meantime, you and I are to beagents of the kingdom, agents of
peace.
When Jesus went around in hisearthly ministry, every time he
(28:40):
healed the sick, it was aforetaste of the peace to come,
the peace to come.
When Jesus preached the gospel,he was being, at that moment,
an agent of shalom, because thegospel is what makes us whole
and complete.
Every time Jesus fed the hungry, he was acting as an agent of
(29:06):
shalom.
And Jesus said to his disciplesI won't get deep into this
because I preached a wholeseries on it this summer, but in
John, chapter 14, 15, and 16,you'll read that Jesus told his
disciples when I leave, you'regoing to do even greater things
than I'm going to do, and it'snot greater in quality but
greater in quantity.
He says what you've seen me doin quality, but greater in
quantity.
He says what you've seen me do,disciples, you go out and do
(29:29):
the same thing.
And he said in John 15, he saidif you're in me, you're going
to bear fruit.
And what it means to bear fruitis we're going around
continuing the ministry of Jesusthat he did on the earth.
And we are working as agents ofthe kingdom, signposts of the
(29:51):
kingdom to come.
I know there's times that wepray for people and they don't
get healed, but sometimes theydo, and when that happens it's
just a foretaste of the kingdomto come.
It's a foretaste of shalomwholeness that's coming
perfectly one day.
Every time you feed somebody Ithink we're taking jackets,
(30:14):
coats for the homeless right nowyou clothe someone who is cold.
You are working as an agent ofshalom, agent of peace.
That's what you and I are to besignposts of the kingdom to
come.
And the greatest thing we cando is share the gospel, because
(30:36):
that's when people receive thegospel, that's when shalom
really comes, the good news ofJesus.
So sit with that.
That's extra this morning.
But I'll close by just talkingabout how to walk in peace,
because I know many of you havebeen in church a long time and
you're quite aware of theconcept of the peace of God.
(30:57):
But look at me.
Can I ask you an honestquestion?
Is the concept of biblicalpeace a reality in your life, or
are you ridden with anxiety,ridden with worry and fear?
Are you walking in shame, guilt?
(31:19):
So how do you walk in peace?
I just preached about peace inour Fruit of the Spirit series
and I talked about how importantprayer is.
You know, paul in Philippians 4, be anxious for nothing, but in
all things, by prayer andsupplication, let your requests
be known to God.
(31:41):
And he says then the peace ofGod will guard your hearts and
minds in Jesus Christ.
So you got to pray, okay, butthere's something else that I
see in Isaiah, chapter 9, in ourtext, that you're going to have
to grasp if you want to walk inpeace.
Look at verse 6.
We find four names given toJesus.
(32:02):
Let's say them togetherWonderful Counselor, mighty God,
everlasting Father, prince ofPeace.
Now listen to me, don't missthis.
In order for us to experiencepeace, we must receive Christ in
His fullness.
(32:22):
In other words, listen to me,if he is going to be your Prince
of peace, he also must be yourwonderful counselor, your mighty
God, your everlasting father.
Everybody wants his peace, butdo you want his counsel?
Let's just take these quickly,one by one A wonderful counselor
(32:44):
I have people ask me all thetime do I know of a good,
licensed Christian counselor?
And honestly, in this area, forwhatever reason, they're few and
far between.
But I've got great news.
There's a counselor who's notjust good, he's wonderful, and
his name is Jesus.
His counsel will never steeryou in the wrong way, in the
(33:06):
wrong direction.
And listen, you can pray andreceive the counsel of the Lord,
but the main way you in thewrong way, in the wrong
direction.
And listen, you can pray andreceive the counsel of the Lord,
but the main way you receivethe counsel of the Lord is right
here.
If you don't open the Bible,you're not going to know the
counsel of the Lord.
In Psalm 1, 2, it says thisblessed is the man who walks not
in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way.
(33:28):
You've got to read your Bible.
You've got to seek the counselof the Lord.
But watch this, you've got toobey it.
You know I get real frustrated.
I do quite a bit of counselingas a pastor.
I do what's called justbiblical counseling and I'll
(33:51):
have somebody come to me andthey'll have issues, and so
we'll meet for 30 minutes or anhour and I'll give them some
homework and I'll say listen, ifyou do this it'll help and
they'll call me in another week.
Pastor, can I meet with youagain?
Well, sure, and my firstquestion is did you do this?
Don't waste my time Now I'mtrying to think which of you I'm
(34:14):
speaking to.
I can't remember.
Listen.
It's not enough to go to theLord for counsel if you're not
going to listen.
Beloved, he's a wonderfulcounselor and you know sometimes
.
We know what the Bible says,but we think you know times have
(34:35):
changed and I know a little bitbetter.
Let me just give you a reallygood example.
Okay, single people, listen tome.
The Bible says not to beunequally yoked.
That means you don't marry anunbeliever if you're a believer,
which means, by the way, pastorBen and Pastor Jerry back me up
on this you don't marry anunbeliever if you're a believer.
Which means, by the way, pastorBen and Pastor Jerry back me up
on this you don't date anunbeliever.
Yes, you tell your studentsthat all the time.
(34:57):
Right, there's something calledmissionary dating.
You know what it is.
Oh, if I date him or if I dateher, I'll win them to Jesus.
Don't be so sure.
See, in that moment you thinkyou know more than God does and
you say I know what the wordsays, but I'm in love and this
is just different this time.
(35:18):
This is different, like I know.
Generally this isn't good, butit's different and I've seen
this time and time again.
And a believer will marry ordate an unbeliever and it
crushes them because you did notlisten to your wonderful
counselor.
His ways don't seem fairsometimes, they don't seem right
sometimes, but beloved Isaiahsays in another part that his
(35:41):
ways are what Higher than ourways and his thoughts above our
thoughts.
He knows what you do not know,so seek the Lord.
The steps of a good man areordered of the Lord.
So you want his peace, take hiscounsel.
Secondly, he's got to be mightyGod.
He's got to be mighty God.
We're reminded here of thedeity of Christ.
(36:03):
He wasn't just a child in amanger.
He was, by the way, fully human.
We shouldn't sing the song awayin the manger because it's got
some really bad lyrics in there.
Some of you are freaked outright now.
No, crying he makes.
He was human.
Babies communicate by crying.
It's not a sin for a baby tocry.
(36:24):
Jesus cried.
Jesus cried.
He was fully human.
But that was not just a fullyhuman baby.
That little child in the mangerwas fully man, but fully God.
Amen.
He is mighty God.
Here's what that means.
(36:45):
You don't just go to Jesus forcounsel.
You make him the center of yourlife.
You know so many people.
They want to keep on livingtheir lives the same way and
they just want to tack on Jesusto their lives.
But if you want his peace,beloved, he's got to be your,
everything In him.
(37:07):
Acts says we live and we moveand we have our being.
It's all about Jesus.
It's not somewhat about Jesus.
He's not part of your life, heis your life.
If he's your savior, he's it.
So you got to structure yourlife around Jesus.
And then finally he's calledeverlasting father.
Now, this is not to muddy thewaters of the triune God the
(37:27):
Trinity.
You have God the father.
You have God the son.
You have God the Holy Spirit.
You have God the Father.
You have God the Son.
You have God the Holy Spirit.
So that's not the point here.
Jesus is not God the Father,god the Father is God the Father
.
All right, you confused whenIsaiah calls Jesus everlasting
Father.
Here the point is he's tenderlike a father, he's loving like
(37:52):
a father, which means this If wewant peace, we've got to trust
him.
You know, when my kids wereyoung I would say to them Son,
just trust me.
Just trust me.
If there was a storm outsideand they felt unsafe, baby, come
here, sit in my lap, just trustme, I'll protect you Through
many Dangerous toils and snares.
(38:15):
We will come.
But you can trust the Lordthrough it all.
He's not just a mighty God tobe served, he's like a tender
father who can be trusted.
Trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's noother way to be happy in Jesus
(38:37):
but to trust and obey.
Isaiah 26.3 says you will keephim in perfect peace, whose mind
is stayed on you because hetrusts you.
You trust the Lord today.
You trust the Lord today.
If you want the peace of Jesus,you must go to Him for counsel.
(38:59):
You've got to center your lifearound Him and you've got to
trust Him.
I will close, dean, if youdon't mind coming to the keys.
I'll close with a story that Iactually used when I did talk
about peace several weeks ago,but it's a story worth repeating
and, by the way, I printedsomething from Pastor Ron's hymn
(39:23):
book that he published.
It's got some of the words, thegreatest hymns, in it and it's
got stories behind the hymns,and so that's available on
Amazon.
It's a great, great resourceand beautiful book.
So I want to tell a story thatRon tells in there that you've
heard me speak about before.
(39:45):
It's about a guy by the name ofHoratio Spafford, 1828 to 1888.
1828 to 1888, horatio marriedAnna Spafford as a young man and
they had five children, fourgirls and one boy.
Horatio, he was a businessman,he was a senior partner in a law
(40:06):
firm, he owned a lot of realestate there in Chicago.
He loved the Lord and he was afriend and strong supporter of
the evangelist DL Moody, and hislife went quickly from one of
prosperity to one of greattragedy, beginning in 1870.
(40:27):
It was that year that HoratioSpafford lost his only son, who
was only four years old at thetime.
A year later, in 1871, tragedystruck again when the Chicago
fire took his business.
He lost his real estateholdings.
(40:50):
November 22nd 1873, anotherterrible loss took place for
Horatio and Anna.
The family was planning aholiday and they were going to
attend the DL Moody meetingswhile in London.
So they were going to go fromChicago across the pond to
London, but Horatio was delayedbecause of a business commitment
(41:16):
, and so he sent his wife andfour girls ahead.
So they went on a ship acrossthe sea when it was struck by a
steam liner, killing 226 people.
Anna, in the tragedy, as theship was struck, gathered her
(41:39):
daughters together and theyprayed.
And she somehow Anna, amazinglysurvived.
But her four little girlsdrowned, little girls drowned.
When she arrived to Europe, shesent a wire to Horatio with two
(42:01):
words Saved alone, horatioSpafford got on the next ship,
sailed across the sea to meethis wife and at a certain point
in the water the captain came upto Horatio and dropped anchor
(42:26):
and said this is the spot whereyour four little girls died.
And it is in that spot whereHoratio Spafford penned the
words to the beautiful hymn itIs Well when peace, like a river
, attendeth my way.
When sorrows like sea billowsroll, whatever my lot, thou'st
(42:54):
taught me to say it is well, itis well with my soul.
I hope that your lot is good.
I hope you don't experiencethat level of tragedy.
But I can say today, if you arein Christ, whatever your lot,
you can say today, if you are inChrist, whatever your lot, you
can say it is well, it is wellwith my soul.
(43:18):
The peace of God is availableto you today.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.