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SERMON NOTES
Main Idea
What peace did Jesus bring, and how can I have it?
We all have our own ideas of what peace looks like:
• Living in a safe neighborhood
• Peering over a lake at sunset when the water is as smooth as silk
• Your kids are all quietly reading books in the living room
We all have our own idea of what peace is, and yet, when we zoom out on a national or global level, there is an incredible lack of peace in our world.
According to the American Psychological Association, inflation is a leading stress for 83% of adult Americans. [https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2022/infographics/infographic-money-inflation]
Other stressors include:
• stress at work or school
• childhood trauma
• fear of the unknown
• neglect
• loss of a loved one
• abuse/bullying
• marital issues
• isolation
• social anxiety
What causes it?
• war – Ukraine and Israel
• volatility
• conflict
• strife
• uncertainty
• disorder
• worry
• anxiety
• distress
• lack of control
To regain a sense of peace, we look to a host of external options to help us cope:
• medication
• yoga
• food
• alcohol
• drugs
• emotional support animals
• sleep
• mentally check out
• suicide
While we all love the atmosphere of Christmas time, you may be entering this season with a host of stressors, and the last word you would use to describe how you feel is peace.
As we celebrate Peace in this Advent Season, I want you to be encouraged that peace is possible, and not just a generic or an emotionally-driven commercialized version of peace, but a true, lasting, inner peace that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, I want to focus on the peace Jesus brought and discover 4 ways to attain it in our own lives.
Passages
Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Luke 2:10–14 ESV
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
These will be our core verses, though I will jump around a bit.
Outline
I – Reconciliation
II – Relationship
III – Refuge
IV – Rule
I – Reconciliation
Behold
There is something to behold: good news of great joy for everyone that their savior/messiah has come.
And his birth will bring two things:
1. Glory to God in the heavens
2. Peace to all humans whom God is pleased with.
This seems to indicate a connection between the glory of God and the peace of men.
Peace doesn’t come from our efforts to make peace. We don’t manufacture it. It must begin with a focus on God’s glory.
The Savior Saves
The Savior saves us from something and to something. Far too often, we only focus on that first part but forget to delight in the second.
First, God saves us from our sins and trespasses.
Colossians 1:19–20 ESV
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
The truth of this verse is nothing short of the gospel itself.
- We were once God’s enemies and at war with him. We were separated and estranged because of our rebellion.
- While we were at war, we were under his wrath and helpless to change that reality.
- This is not a reluctant truce made to stop the fighting.
- The cease-fire in Gaza meant the fighting stopped, but did not mean peace. The turmoil was just below the surface. The war ceased, but the worry, volatility, hate, and uncertainty remained.
- Your sin also created a debt that must be repaid because God demands we be holy. The debt we owe God is unpayable… just as much as a $1 million mortgage is unpayable by the income from a part-time babysitter. It’s just not possible. But, when Jesus died for you, he paid your debt and saved you from the penalty of that debt.
- Reconciliation means the fighting stops, and you stand justified, holy, and debt-free before God.
Some of you need to stop believing the lie that God is angry at you every time you mess up. Your salvation is not performance-based. The condemnation rightfully deserved from your sin is removed. You are reconciled to your Creator, so the peace in your life must stem from your peace with God.
The war, isolation, conflict, and volatility with God is gone.
So, if Jesus came to bring peace and part of that peace means that you have been saved from judgment, condemnation, sin debt, and God’s wrath… what have you been saved for?
II – Relationship
Relationship with God
We are not simply soldiers who were formally at odds with God but are now co-existing.
God adopts us as His children. We have entered into His household in the closest way possible.
This relationship gives us things like love, compassion, and grace. Not because of anything you or I did to make ourselves attractive to God. He is the one who made the first move to draw us close. And once we have Him (or better yet, He has us…), we will never lose Him!
But that’s not all. We don’t just live in a vertical relationship with God. We also live horizontally with one another.
Relationship with each other
Peace in a human relationship comes from being tuned to Christ (like pianos tuned to the same tuning fork)
Distress, disorder, and strife come when we try to define what is right and wrong.
We will never be harmonized when we define what the notes of the Christian life are instead of looking to the standards set by the tuning fork.
Biblically, it looks like this:
Ephesians 4:1–3 ESV
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Similarly, Paul says in Colossians:
Colossians 3:12–15 ESV
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Take heart that peace in marriage, the gathered church, and friendships are possible. The key is to focus on Christ and dance to the melody He makes.
The first two realms of peace are like inner wellsprings. The second two help us have peace in the storms of life, inwardly and outwardly, even when we can’t control either.
III – Refuge
To understand the following two points, we need to shift our thinking from a Democratic Republic to a Kingdom.
Protection from threats
Now that we are not at odds with God, we can run to him when the world is at odds with us.
Psalm 91 is a declaration of God’s protection and security amid turmoil.
Jesus Christ is God and King. He sits on the throne and upholds it with justice and righteousness.
God is often described as a strong fortress, a mighty tower, or having His people secure under His wing. All of these describe safety from danger and peace behind fortified walls.
Protection from yourself
There are outward threats, and there are inward threats. There are physical battlefields, and there are mental and emotional battlefields.
Philippians 4:4–7 ESV
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When we are not in control of what’s happening around us, we can take refuge in the one who is. The creator of our hearts is greater than our hearts. Therefore, we can be at peace in His presence: a peace that overcomes anxiety, uncertainty, worry, and doubt.
Isaiah 26:3 ESV
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
And, in the same stream, we can also have peace in His rulership.
IV- Rule
Sovereignty
This is why God’s sovereignty is such a beautiful truth.
He is in complete control, just like Matthew 28 says.
We can run to Him like a child runs behind his father for security and comfort.
Title
Prince of Peace is a royal title.
We are called to become more like Christ, so as we do, we will have peace in increasing measure.
Galatians 5:22–23 ESV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Conclusion
This is a lot to take in.
Don’t try to memorize all of these verses.
These are four different aspects of biblical peace.
Your job is to look at your life and decide which one you need to focus on. Do you constantly condemn yourself? Focus on the peace that comes through reconciliation. Are you constantly anxious by uncontrollable circumstances happening around you? Dive into the scriptures that speak of God as a refuge and draw peace from His protection.
That is your takeaway. Take one attribute of biblical peace and pursue it until you have it!